The Time Traveler and The Immortal

Who to protect

"It's...It's,"

"Bigger on the inside?"The Doctor's voice was amused and playful as I nodded dumbly. The inside of his blue box was almost as big as the banquet hall that we talked in back when he was still John Smith and I was still only Rose. There were four pillars that jutted up into the ceiling and leant away from the centre where a control panel flashed and blinked and wired. The walls seemed to be made of copper and gold with orbs indenting the crescent walls. The Doctor almost danced up to the console and the ship seemed to buzz with life.

"She's a T.A.R.D.I.S, Time And Relative Dimension In Space. And she." He pushed down on a button and flicked a switch. "Can travel anywhere in time and space." He almost flew around the opposite side and hit more buttons.

I walked slowly up to where The Doctor was, climbing the small set of steps gracefully, scared that one wrong move could fly me away.

"So, anywhere in time and space, where are you going to take me?" I was trying for a playful tone, pushing the awe and wonder from my lungs but the words got caught as I neared the console and saw the lights gleam and flash.

"Well as much as I would like to keep you for myself,"At this, he grinned and flicked his eyes up to me, "I need you to help me protect someone."

"Who?"I asked,

"Someone very close to me, or will be. She doesn't even know I exist yet and if she is to live the way she should, she shouldn't find out about me yet."His voice went sad and eyes clouded with memories. "Something happens to her eventually, and she never knew this version of me. I want to save her and give her a good life. But to do that I need someone who can protect her and someone who can stay by her side even as she ages and attracts attention."

"She doesn't know you yet?"I questioned, my voice was low so The Doctor crept out of his memories slowly and comfortably instead of all at once.

"No, and technically I've never met her. I looked into the time vortex accidentally when I was fixing the T.A.R.D.I.S up last week. I saw into my future and next regeneration I meet her. Bad things happened to her and I want to save her from that." He looked up at me and I realised that I was starting. He pulled a screen down from over his head and started pushing buttons and typing.

"What's her name?"I asked. I circled closer to see what he was going on the screen.

"Melody Pond," He half whispered, turning to me and pushing the screen in front of my view, "Well, River Song depending on when you meet her," He bent his head back and scratched the back of his neck. "But she was Melody first."

I looked at the image he was showing me. It was a small girl with milky white skin and wispy, dark, reddish, brown hair that curled around her temples and shoulders and flew off into the air framing her face. Her eyes were a watery blue with a ring around her pupil that was almost brown. She was wearing a brown cardigan that was fading and well worn. I looked to the doctor and he looked at me. His eyes were sad.

"That's her at age seven, she regenerated shortly after into a baby, I want to stop that. She was controlled and altered her whole life and I want that to change, I want to protect her. And I can't do that directly. If you protect her then she might lead a different life. So I'll drop you off when she was four and you can look after her from then. Please?"He added the please as an afterthought.

"Of Course, I came to help didn't I. And besides,"I added, "I want to help her, she seems sweet."

"River? Well, I suppose she might be at this age but she is more fire than sweetness when she grows up."He was smiling again as if he was remembering all the times he was burned by her fire, "She answered to no one and could beat a mule with how stubborn she is. She never cared what people thought of her."

"Well, those are some traits I'll have to keep."I grinned up at The Doctor, "Oh, where is she?"

"Florida, 1960s in an orphanage, sent there to try to keep her safe," The Doctor seemed angry as he uttered those words.

"And where will I be living with her?"The question flying off my tongue,

"Leadworth 1995, that's where and when her parents grew up, I may not be able to let them raise her but they can at least be friends so they have some input on her life."

"Clever,"I hummed,

"I will set up the house for you and all the money needed, and I'll even pop around and take you and Mels off to see the stars." His smile grew then fell, "If you want me to that is, I won't stay, I'm not the settling down type."

"I'm not either but I learned."My eyes softening at the look on The Doctor's face, "And Doctor, I would love it if you stopped by. You always have such interesting stories." He looked a bit happier after I said that,

"Ok then," And he gave me a great, big, gappy smile, "Oh, before we pick her up and drop you off I should probably give you a lesson in what's changed and what's happening in 1995 so you don't go around thinking King George III is still on the throne." He leapt down the steps and charged off into a corridor that came off the room we were in. "Allons-y,".

And I followed him, down the corridor into a library and started to learn what had happened while I was off in this blue box with a mad man who liked to be called Doctor.