Yowzah Oneshot Collection (3)

29(M)

             Nothing Gold Can Stay

             RoseByAnyOtherName
                (badxwolfxrising)

It was surprising how busy life inside a computer could be.

River had no shortage of things to do before the children got home from school. She’d already done two loads of wash and proper Dave that morning, after clearing the breakfast dishes. There’d been chocolate chip pancakes, and she suspected she still had Dave’s chocolate fingerprints in naughty places. She was out in the garden now, trimming the rose bushes. No matter how often she pruned, they always seemed to run wild with riotous blooms. The seasons here were strange sometimes. It seemed like it had been spring forever. Maybe it had.

She felt a curious prickling sensation on the back of her neck, and all her hair stood on edge. She was quite certain she was being watched. She turned her head quickly, and scanned the trees at the back of the garden, but saw nothing. Wind whispered through the trees, and she swore she heard him whispering her name along with it.

Riiiiiiiiiiiverrrrrrrrrrrrr...........

But of course that was just wishful thinking, purely her imagination playing tricks on her. Becoming a data copy had done nothing to dull the sensations of loss and longing she still felt whenever she thought of the Doctor. She’d be lying if she claimed she didn’t sometimes let her mind wander to him, even when Dave was on top of and inside of her. The one time she had locked herself in the bathroom and wept furiously afterwards. He hadn’t understood, and she had felt bad, but he had forgiven her. He was a good enough man, and that made her feel even worse about it.

She still wanted something else. Life inside the computer became repetitive and boring, despite her best efforts to keep it interesting. Of course though she did have an endless supply of books, and there were always new worlds to escape into in that respect. Still, what happened on paper could never compare to her own memories of running through all of time and space. Still, it was better than nothing. And so long as she had her imagination and memories, she would never be bored and she would never be alone.

It started to rain then. Just tiny drops at first, but they quickly turned to big splotches of rain. Rain did frightful things to her hair. She hurried back across the garden, but was soaked to the bone before she could make it up the steps and back into the house.

In the kitchen, she stripped out of her wet clothes and put them directly into the washer. Her arms broke out into gooseflesh and her nipples puckered into stiff peaks with the cold. She hurried upstairs to the master bathroom and turned the shower on hot as it would go. While she waited for the water to heat up she combed her hair. She leaned over the sink and sighed, hating herself for feeling so empty when she was still so lucky to be here. When she looked back up he was standing behind her in the mirror. She gasped and turned to face him.

“Hello, River,” he whispered.
“My God, it is you,” she said, her voice faltering. Not believing her eyes she reached out to touch him, and felt the thin material of his suit rough against her fingers. When she spread her palm against his chest, she could feel the duel beat of his hearts humming beneath. “How?”

“Wasn’t hard, actually. Can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. I parked the TARDIS in the planet’s orbit and used the sonic to call up the data core. Using the power of the TARDIS I was able to beam a signal between this computer and my own. Well, not quite a signal. Myself, rather, or at least a digital representation thereof.”

“So you’re not real, then?”

“Well you tell me. Does this feel real enough?” he asked, pushing her up against the wall and kissing her with full force. Even with the cool marble against her back, she suddenly felt quite warm. Her fingers found their way quickly to the buttons of his trousers, and she deftly slipped them through their loops before shoving the offending garment over his hips. She went to undo his tie, but he hastily brushed her hands away and quickly did it himself. He let the tie fall to the ground before sliding his jacket off his shoulders and unbuttoning his shirt. All this he did in complete silence while she watched, the only sound the pitter patter of the rain against the windows and the water against the bathtub.