Spoilers

Timeless

River glared at the paper in front of her. She had been reading the same paragraph over and over again but it just hadn't stuck. She was regretting assigning this essay, but it was too late now, and she had to get it marked. Thankfully, there were only a few papers left. Unfortunately, she had stopped making progress several minutes ago.

"Would you like some tea?"

River jumped as her husband's voice came from behind her. She turned to find him leaning over her shoulder.

"What?" she stammered before her brain caught up and she was able to process what he had said.

"I'm making myself some tea. Would you like me to make you some?"

"Oh, yes." She nodded. "Thank you."

He moved off and she tried to go back to marking papers, but it was no use. The words were still swimming in front of her eyes and her head was beginning to ache.

Presently, the Doctor returned with two steaming mugs. He handed one to her before taking a seat beside her. She set her papers to one side and snuggled up to him, cradling her mug in both hands.

"Long day?" he asked.

She nodded. "Some of my students were being . . . difficult," she said slowly. "What about you?"

"Today was alright. They weren't quite at their usual level of stupidity."

She laughed softly, resting her head against his shoulder. They spent the next hour in silence. River was staring into space, only moving occasionally to drink her tea. The Doctor's gaze was fixed on her and he was absentmindedly playing with a few of her stray curls.

Long after their empty mugs had grown cold, the Doctor began pulling out the pins that had been keeping River's hair in a semi-neat updo for most of the day. Each pin he pulled out let another bunch of curls spring free, framing her face and toppling into her eyes.

When he had freed her curls from the pins, he dumped them on the nearby table. Then he gently ran his fingers across her scalp. She groaned and leaned into his touch.

"Mmm. Yes," she murmured.

He continued massaging her head so she closed her eyes and leaned against his hand. He added his second hand so he could massage her scalp properly.

She pushed his hands away a few minutes later and turned to face him.

"Thank you," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You're welcome," he replied.

She kissed him briefly before burying her face in his shoulder and breathing in his scent. He glanced down at her, sensing the shift in her mood.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

River hesitated before speaking. "I just find it so hard to believe that we've been here for almost three years. Time is moving so quickly."

"We still have time, Sweetie," he said. "We still have more time ahead of us than we've spent together in the past."

"I love you," she mumbled.

"I should hope so," he laughed. "You're still stuck with me for several more years."

She pulled back to smile up at him. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I love you too, River," he said, leaning forward to press his forehead to hers.

River watched as her husband played a song on his guitar. His gaze was focused on his fingers as they moved along the frets. The first time she had found him playing, she had teased him relentlessly. But she had quickly learned to appreciate it. It was one of her husband's many new traits and she loved everything about him. The last version hadn't been very musical. It was nice to have the house filled with his music from time to time.