Yowzah Oneshot Collection (1)

87(G)

River had always known about the Doctor's revolving door of companions -- male, female and mostly human. It was part of the very basic education she’d been given by the Church. She had a few names, but none of the faces. Her mission was clear. Kill the Doctor, but do not harm the companions. They were the victims, emotional hostages of the Doctor. And she had seen that firsthand as Mels, watching Amy be swept into the Doctor’s gravitational pull. Then she’d taken Rory with her. While Rory managed to keep his head, Mels had known how enamored Amy was of her Raggedy Doctor at the same time she was preparing to marry Rory. Amy had always been a bit selfish when it came to the Doctor.

No wonder Amy hadn’t told Mels that the Doctor was hot.

In her next regeneration, seeking out the companions was a matter of scientific research. River had taken tea with Ian and Barbara Chesterton. She’d visited Liz Shaw in her lab and took a very risky trip to intercept Jamie McCrimmon before his mind was wiped by the Time Lords. She’d managed to save him from the Redcoats in those first few desperate moments after the mind wipe, interviewing him again to compare the memories. She spent long afternoons with an older Sarah Jane Smith, who wound up inferring more of River’s past that she’d ever thought possible. Tegan Jovanka had given River a sad smile and closed the door in her face. Martha Jones and Mickey Smith were more open but still guarded, and Wilfred Mott made River promise to come visit him regularly when he was out looking at the stars.

River kept that promise until the night he passed away from old age, with a smile as he gazed at the heavens.

Of course, there were Amy and Rory’s experiences, all filled with spoilers about the adventures her older self had had with the Doctor, because they hadn’t known better and spilled it all to Mels. Those memories were fragmented since her regeneration, and River knew it was the Time Lord defense mechanism to keep a paradox from happening. She only knew that she had traveled on the TARDIS with Amy three times before her birth, and those had happened in her future.

It was all there in her thesis. A list of every companion with dates as specific as River could get. She’d not been able to track all of them down, but enough of them overlapped to where she could fill in the gaps.

And then …

“So, what’s he told you about Rose?” Martha asked River during one of their interviews in her third year at university, held at a coffee shop in London while Mickey was doing a freelance patrol for UNIT.

“Rose Tyler?” River keyed up her official data on the young woman. “First companion the Doctor had since the Time War. His ninth regeneration. She traveled with him for approximately two years, was forced into an alternate universe during a battle with the Daleks and Cybermen, then came back briefly to assist with another battle with the Daleks. Your husband dated her for a few years and was a childhood friend.”

Martha took a sip of coffee and rolled her eyes. “Of course. Why I’m not surprised you knew all that? But what about the rest of it?” She set the mug down and leaned forward. “You care about him, don’t you? The Doctor, that is.”

Schooling her face very carefully, River mimicked Martha’s actions. “I find through my research that he isn’t the man I was led to believe a long time ago.”

“You don’t have to act. I know you see him often enough, and I know that look. The one you think you don’t have, but you do.” Martha gave her a sympathetic smile. “You’re going to want to ask him about Rose Tyler. If you’re thinking about acting on that look in any way, you have to talk to him about her, or I think you’ll wind up like I did.”

“And how’s that?”

Martha laughed a bit bitterly. “A fool.”

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