Chapter Text
Riversong truly loved the Doctor. Her level of love was disguised behind her clever ruse. The Doctor on the other hand; his intentions with his bride were unclear. Did he love her back, just the same? Or was Riversong just the product of time and space, whose main purpose was to fill a gap or fix a paradox in the universe? The biggest question in the universe, wasn't the Doctor's true name. It was this.
Who is Riversong to the Doctor?
This was a question that went through her head, many times as she lay in her cell; awaiting her knight in all his fez-y, bow tie glory. The confinements of her living space were too small to bear. She wanted to be with the Doctor, who offered the entire universe and all the space she desired. She wanted to travel with him, exploring galaxies, discovering planets and saving lives in between. That was how a married could should be. Not this whole frustrating business with the Doctor's commitment issues and Riversong's imprisonment. She sighed often, internally, externally and eternally, waiting for the Doctor to come back for her. She did her best to flip the switch in her mind to the more logical side, but it was impossible. The Doctor consumed her thoughts, day in and out.
"Ugh, Doctor!" She called, mostly out of boredom and frustration. She was reasonably restless. She needed to get out and the Doctor was the only way out she would take. She didn't expect him to come, and he didn't.
But someone else did. And it wasn't anyone Riversong wanted to come across.
"Hurry men! Storm the building and take what you need. Should we encounter glorious battle, remember; we fight to the death!" Cries rang out from a battalion of warriors. Not just any warriors; the infamously annoying, Sontarans. Riversong was more than informed about their brutal and militant nature; enough to know that she needed to get the hell out of there. She lept from her hard bed and rushed to the lock on the bars. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a ring and put it on. It looked like a wedding ring, and was a gift from the Doctor. As romantic as that sounds, the ring was actually just the equivalent of a hair pin in terms of a lock pick. She tapped the lock with her ring finger and it opened.
"Hey!" someone yelled. River didn't stick around long enough to see who it was. "Get back here!"
River had escaped from this place plenty of times, but somehow still didn't know where it was exactly, she was going. Each hallway twisted and turned into another. There were no doors in sight. The panel beside her exploded in a flash of green light. The Sontarans had found her.
"Kill boys! Kill!" One screamed. The rest of them hollered a mangled battle cry and began firing at will. Shot after shot, they missed.
"Greatest soldiers in the galaxy my arse. They can't even aim properly." Riversong thought. She dodged to the left, a beam missing her by an inch. As the shots kept on coming, each panel next to and in front of her burst into flames. Sparks rained down from above as the electrical tubes disintegrated. She toppled to the right, dodging a burning tube and lost her footing.
"Damn it." The shot that hit her right below her neck came as no surprise to her.
The Sontaran general laughed with accomplishment. "Ha ha ha! We've got her men!" A chorus of cheers rang out from the other soldiers. Riversong was no stranger to pain, but this was something else. She felt her flesh bubble and sizzle like bacon. It burned. Bad. She pictured a big black hole in her neck and the very image made her sick. But Riversong was always prepared.
She whipped out a small ball, another gift from the Doctor. On it was a single button. It looked very nonthreatening, but she knew better. She clicked the button and threw it over her shoulder, towards the Sontarans. The bomb didn't even make a loud explosion. One little ding and that entire side of the ship was gone. The ball also put up a wall of protection. It supposedly constricted atoms together to form an unbreakable shield. Maybe. The Doctor doesn't make sense 98% of the time.
"Well thank god I was on this side of the ship." said a voice. "Hey pretty lady." The stranger stepped out to reveal a man, with dark hair and a smirk of confidence.
"Why hello, Captain Harkness."
"Oh please, call me Jack. Or Captain. Whatever you're comfortable with." he said with a wink. Riversong struggled to not roll her eyes. The universe's biggest flirt, Captain Jack Harkness, was here to...to do what, exactly? Rescue her? Kill her? Lecture her? What on earth was he here for?
"The Doctor sent me," he answered, "He said he needs you." Riversong's heart fluttered a little. He needed her? She pushed herself up to her knees, her back injury stinging mercilessly. Harkness put his hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet. His hands lingered there for far too long, but eventually let go before he got hit.
"Not to be ungrateful or rude, but why did the Doctor send you?"
"Because he knows I'm the one person that can get something done and done right." He said, confidently. Riversong narrowed her eyes, wondering if that smirk of his ever went away.
"Be careful with that smile, Jack." she said, jealously, "You'll get crows feet on that pretty face of yours." She moved past him, unsure of where she was going to go. He's the one person who can do things right? What about her? Did the Doctor agree with him? He lightly grabbed her arm.
"I'm flattered that you worry about me." Riversong's breath was stolen from her lungs and her body felt like goo being squished. Ugh, she hated cheap time travel. The TARDIS was so smooth you could relax in a lounge chair. This felt like she was being banged around as if she were in a flipping car. Probably an old prototype of a time machine. Eh, humans did their best.
She cringed as they arrived at their destination. The sunlight was blinding after being in that dark cell for so long. She scanned her surroundings and was quick to recognize Earth. People bustled around, hurrying to get back to their daily lives. Jack started walking.
"Keep up, River. I've got to get back to work."
"Just tell me where he is and I can escort myself there." He shook his head.
"No good. He specifically said for me to bring you to him." Riversong was puzzled. Why was the Doctor being so cautionary? That wasn't exactly his style. Jack walked right up to a motorcycle and hopped on, patting the backseat to tell River to get on. He handed her a helmet as he put his on.
"Come on," he said impatiently.
"God, what's the rush, Captain?" She thought in annoyance. She threw her leg over the backseat and was barely able to hang on before Jack took off. He drove like a demon, as if there was no such thing as cops to pull him over, or other people who weren't in danger of being hurt. He swerved through cars and squeezed through tight spaces until they finally made it out of the city and into the countryside. Riversong wasn't an anxious person by any means, but riding with Jack Harkness would've terrified anyone.
She saw it. That beautiful blue box. The doors swung open, welcoming them in. The roar of Jack's bike lowered to a low growl as he stopped inside.
"Here's where you get off." He said, but River was already off.
"Until next time, Captain Jack." she said, flirtatiously. He grinned and winked, backing his bike out into the countryside where it took off once more, heading back for the city. She snapped, closing the doors.
"Hello sweetie." she sighed, turning around.
"River, run!" called the Doctor. He was chained to the counsel, struggling to break the chains. His clothes were shredded and burned. His hair was scatted and his face desperate.
"EXTERMINATE!"