"What about that one?" Rose whispered in the cold night.

River took Rose's hand and used Rose's fingertip to trace the constellation in the sky. "A wolf."

"Come off it. You're only saying that 'cause of my nickname."

"No. It's supposed to be a wolf. This one," River had Rose trace the stars again. "A bird."

"They should be next to each other."

She smiled and gently brushed snowflakes from Rose's coat. They were planet-side, and they found themselves situated in the middle of a clearing. Snow fell like leaves in an autumn breeze and ice crusted every tree branch. The rest of the crew refused to wander in such cold and messy weather, but River insisted on a walk amongst the ice. Rose thought that it was a smashing idea.

Now, not so much. The cold was seeping into their bones and sending shivers through their skin. The stubborn women weren't ready to go back to the ship just yet, so River started to make a large snowball. Rose smirked and made one of her own, which lightly hit River in the back. She glared and promptly returned fire.

Being, well, River, River's snowballs and aim were too impeccable to exceed. Rose surrendered and laughed when River did a bit of a victory dance. She raised her eyebrows when River flopped to the ground, but she realized that River was making a snow angel. Rose couldn't resist joining in the fun, yet they soon stopped to glance at one another.

"Idea," River announced. "Snowmen."

"I haven't made those is in ages."

"Like riding a bike. Never forget how."

Beaming, they began the building process. Naturally, River could calculate the exact measurements of snow required and the method in which to properly shape the snowballs for maximum structural integrity. Rose clumsily built the foundation of hers, and River managed to find a pile of sticks to create arms and noses. Then, they backed away to admire their handiwork.

"You have to stop being so perfect," Rose groaned at River's immaculate creation.

"Only if you do."

They went in for a kiss and River could feel the chills in Rose's spine. She took Rose by the hand and they departed for the ship without a word. After all, they were fairly certain that skin shouldn't be turning blue or going numb.

By the time they returned, most of the crew had gone to bed or their bunks for some quiet time. So, Rose and River didn't mind a passionate kiss in the open outside of the infirmary.

River stopped for a moment and gingerly pulled the knit cap from Rose's head. She brushed the melting snow from Rose's hair, and Rose removed her gloves so she could unbutton River's heavy coat. River had lifted it from Mal years ago, which made Rose think that the oversized thing was far too cumbersome and heavy for River to wear for long.

As the coat flew onto the nearby couch, River kissed her again with intense fire. Rose's heart hammered in her ribcage and she had to get as near to River as possible. It escalated as snow clothes were shed, and Rose anxiously swallowed at what might happen.

"Cold," River quietly whispered. "Body heat helps."

"I think that I've heard something about that before…"

"It's a fact. Scientifically proven."

"Scientifically proven?" Rose thoughtfully hummed. "Well, I guess it'd be a bit mental to challenge proven facts."

"Further research can always be conducted."

She held onto River's icy fingers. "And how does one go about conducting this research?"

"Must perform studies and experiments to gather data."

"Data is a really good thing to have," Rose had a small smile. "What's all this about body heat, then?"

"Can't explain it well with words. Has to be a demonstration."

"I do like demonstrations…" she quietly responded. River's frozen lips went to her neck and she started to walk them backwards towards her room. "I like them a lot…"

… … … …

River softly kissed Rose's bare shoulder and walked her fingers up her clammy spine. Rose chortled and tugged River's arm about her waist. She burrowed into River's side and allowed the jumble of blankets and sheets to swallow her. They had fallen asleep for a time, yet River had stirred only moments ago.

Rose's groggy voice was like songbirds in River's mind. "Hi."

"Hello," River answered in a way that made Rose chuckle again. "Go back to sleep."

"Na, I'd rather be up with you," she flipped to face River and daintily nuzzled her nose. "Well. Some demonstration."

"You're a quick study."

"I had a great teacher."

"Such a trite line…"

"You set me up for it."

River smiled and brushed hair from Rose's face. "Beautiful."

"You talking about me?"

"Nope."

"Didn't think so. Stunning."

"Are you referring to me?"

"Nope. Talking about the color of the walls in here."

"I was talking about the furniture."

"It is nice furniture."

"Nice walls too."

They held their stoic faces for a moment and had to burst into laughter. River tightened her hold on Rose with a serious smile. "You are."

"So are you. I can't believe that I was running from this. Best thing ever."

"Better than being somewhere bigger on the inside?"

"Well, those days were something else. But, I don't know. It didn't feel like this."

"Real?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to be settled down 'cause it was so dull, but going all over the place and dealing with evil television sets was mental. I didn't have time to breathe, really. It was one extreme or the other. Eating chips and working in a shop or going about like a mad person with death about every corner. The TARDIS was a better fit than London. No doubt about that. Never. But, I mean, there was no middle ground or something. Can't really describe it."

"Need excitement and adventure with a small dose of boring."

"Not boring. Just. I don't know. Reality. Never wanted that before, when I was with him. I perfectly happy then. I really was. But, I wound up here…"

"A world that has balance."

"I like balance."

"You have good balance."

She ignored the flush on her neck. "Really, it's brilliant. Running about, causing trouble, being an outlaw and coming back to an almost sort of normal life. Not too normal. Can't take normal."

"Obviously. You're with me."

"I am. Finally. Guess that you've always been right."

"Inevitably."

"Oh, shut it," Rose playfully rolled her eyes. "I was trying to say that you were right about it. Hearts doing what hearts do."

Rose pecked River's for head, and she cuddled into Rose's side to signal the end of their chat. They held onto one another until slumber returned. River woke before Rose and managed to slip into her own room just before Simon came to the infirmary. She got dressed and went right back into Rose's room to delicately wake her.

"Breakfast," she whispered across Rose's cheek with a quick kiss. "Might want to wear a scarf."

"Oh no," Rose yawned as she sat upright. "How bad is it, Rivy?"

"Looks like a suction cup attacked your throat."

"You're lucky you're so cute."

"I've heard that before."

"From who?"

"See you at breakfast."

Rose fondly grumbled and forced herself to get with the day. She saw the impressive marks on her neck and laughed as she sported an old scarf. It was cold enough that she could get away with it, but it wouldn't be long before someone noticed that she was hiding something.

She didn't know that over half the crew were aware of things already.

"Cute scarf," Kaylee commented when Rose entered the kitchen.

"Thanks," she couldn't hide the blush.

Kaylee wiggled her eyebrows at Simon, who did a comedic spit take. Everyone stopped to stare at him and he cleared his throat. "Something was caught…"

"More like someone," Zoe whispered to Kaylee. They both giggled and Mal gave them a curious look. "We didn't say anything, sir."

"Nope," Kaylee shook her head and then whispered again. "Don't have to."

They laughed and River knew that things were about to get interesting.