Yowzah Oneshot Collection (1)

131(G)

The Light of a Setting Sun Admires.  
                            You

TheDoctorAndRiversArmyOfPeppers

The Doctor joyously skipped around the console, pulling leavers and pressing buttons. He was going to visit his beautiful, brilliant wife on her first night in prison.

Wife! Ha! What a lovely word. He never realized what a nice word 'wife' was before. Maybe it found it's niceness from River. Yes, he liked the idea of that.

He liked being married to River Song, the Doctor decided. It must be one of the best things that had ever happened to him. If not, then the best.

Now his life finally had something good in it.

He watched her when he thought she wasn't looking. And that was quite difficult because her eyes were often on him. But there were times when she looked up at the amazing star field above their heads with such awe, that he was able to drink in the stunning sight that was River Song.

She looked beautiful bathed in the starlight, like a golden Goddess. He wanted time to freeze so she would stay like that forever.

He kept looking away from her quickly. Probably too quickly, judging by the way her face fell. The Doctor hated himself for doing that to her, but he couldn't bare the amount of love in her eyes. It scared him. Nobody should love him like that, least of all River. But she did. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve her.

As quickly as her face had fallen, it returned to normal. But the Doctor knew better than to be fooled by that. He'd seen her do that far too often to ever be fooled by her like that again.

Then he looked up at the beautiful stars. It was a lovely night and he was determined to make the best of it. He didn't understand why River's face had fallen, but he was going to do his best to make her happy again.

The Doctor smiled to himself. River was the love of his lives, he thought. Never again would he love someone so deeply.

And the starlight looked lovely on her.

The Doctor did everything he could think of to show River that he loved her. He spoilt her with excellent birthdays and breakfast in bed. He went to grate trouble to make sure every date was amazing and he never missed Christmas or an anniversary. He looked at her with such love and hoped that was enough for her to know that she was his Universe. Because fear always kept him from using words.

But she was always hiding the damage. That was the only thing that annoyed him about her. How was he supposed to fix the things that were wrong if she never said anything? It hurt that she felt she had to hide. But he didn't know how to say it.

"The Doctor does not and has never loved me. I'm not lying," River said flatly.

The Doctor's hearts sank when he heard the robot confirm that River was saying what she believed to be the truth. It wasn't true. That was never true. And it hurt him that he couldn't correct her there and then.

She was so adamant that he never loved her that he realized how much of a mess he'd made of his marriage. But now he had a chance to get it right. This regeneration could be a new start for them both. Never mind how few pages she has left in her book, he'll get her another damn diary. So she could save that last page for the last time she sees him. And then he'll fix that, too.

He just wished she'd stop talking long enough to let him tell her who he was.

The Doctor heard River tell Flemming and the robot to scan the whole parsec to prove that he wasn't there, that he wasn't coming to save her. He had to stop River talking like that and embarrassing herself. And she'd give him away if they weren't careful. He tried to get her attention but she wasn't listening.

"When you love the Doctor it's like loving the stars themselves! You don't expect a sunset to admire you back! And if I happen to find myself in danger, let me tell you, the Doctor is not stupid enough or sentimental enough, and he is certainly not in love enough to find himself standing in it with me!" she insisted.

She looked over at the Doctor. Her tears were running down her cheeks.

He hoped everything he needed her to know was displayed on his face. It must have been because she recognized him. His heartbeats and breathing grew faster. Finally, she knew.

"Hello, sweetie," he said softly, in case she was in any doubt.

"You are so doing those roots," River said quietly.