My Hope (Doctor Who x reader)

11: Back to the Future

Y/n hardly stepped out of her TARDIS before she heard her name being mentioned.

"Y/n should have just landed, so I'll go catch her up on the situation."

It was a woman's voice. She didn't sound very bothered at all, despite (presumably, by how she spoke about Y/n) being the one to send the distress signal. Her voice was smooth and had a sort of inherent smugness about it, as though she knew something nobody else did. She sounded mature and sly and honestly a bit fun. Suddenly Y/n was looking forward to the day they knew each other; that is, if they were friends and not some sort of enemies.

Y/n walked toward the voice, mentally noting the TARDIS' location (though she hardly needed to memorize it). It didn't take long to find the woman she heard, seeing as they were both headed toward each other, and Y/n paused to observe her, to study her.

The first noticeable trait was the woman's hair. Wild corkscrew-blonde curls that looked well maintained, hardly any strays or frizz despite being in a slightly humid cave system. She looked around 5'7 (170cm) or so and wore a typically army-like outfit, fit with camouflage and all. She didn't look like a soldier to Y/n, though. Her eyes matched the tone she spoke in before, if not slightly older, somewhere deep down. Those very eyes lit up at the sight of Y/n, as though they hadn't seen each other in a while.

"There you are! Right on time, as usual," the woman smiled, eyes sparkling, "Right then, I suppose I should explain everything, yes?"

"Uh... Yeah."

"So, weeping angels. There's one trapped in the ship up there, as far as we know." The two began walking toward the campsite the woman's companions set up in. "It seems we're supposed to neutralize it. Of course, I told them I was busy, but they said I could invite you along only if it happened now. I had to accept, since you're supposed to be here apparently. That is what you said was written down, yes?"

Y/n stared at the woman. When she wanted an explanation, she was sort of hoping for something more like "hello, nice to meet you, here's why I called you here and also who I am!" People could never be so simple, unfortunately. She just blinked and puffed out a breath. No better way to get answers than to be blunt about it; that's what her father indirectly taught her (she was pretty sure), at least, and it hadn't failed yet.

"Who are you?"

The woman froze, instantly looking at Y/n. A few emotions flashed across her face, first confusion, then shock of some sort, before finally resting on a sort of sadness or longing. Y/n felt as though she was a photograph of a dead friend, and the woman just opened an old shoebox to see her. It didn't feel quite like the woman saw Y/n, not really.

"Oh... I see. Right, yes, sorry. I suppose we haven't met yet on your end, then?" The woman gave Y/n a smile, much more docile than the one before. "It was inevitable. Everyone has to meet at one point. Time travel can be so troublesome."

Y/n just nodded along, vaguely understanding. "So we're going to be... friends?"

"The best of. I'm River Song."

"I'm... Y/n. You know that. Sorry." She shifted a bit nervously, not really comfortable with how the woman—River Song—looked at her. "What do you mean written down?"

"That... I can't tell you. I'm not too sure myself. All I know if that in your future you seem to know everything." River had quickly covered her sadness with a mask of her usual self, it seemed, as she nonchalantly waved away the question. "I suppose you'll be getting whatever has everything written soon, though, because this is the first time I've seen you where you didn't know things ahead of time. And trust me, cutie, I've known you a long time."