Raising a Song 101 [Sequel to Hello Sweetie]

Chapter 8

The Doctor smiled thinly at Anthony as he handed him Brooke's bigger-on-the-inside suitcase. "River put a ton of clothes in there. She'll be fine. I'll be back tomorrow."

Georgia bounced Brooke higher on her hip. "Any special Time-Lord instructions?"

"Oh, yeah," The Doctor said, "she likes playing the Wii. She can read, and I packed a couple Galifreyan and maybe an English book in there. Don't read them to her. She gets annoyed. River made her several bottles of milk and put them in your fridge. If she doesn't have enough for some crazy reason, her digestive system can probably take smoothies and finely crushed food by now. And don't buckle her into a stroller. Or a car seat. She'll unlatch it. Just tell her she needs to stay put, and she will. We've already talked about that." He paused, taking a breath. "I'll be back tomorrow, Brooke." He leaned over and kissed her temple.

He patted Anthony on the shoulder. "Did you tell River goodbye?" He asked softly.

Anthony raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

The Doctor shook his head, as if to clear the thoughts clouding his  mind. "Just wondering. See you."

With that, he turned and left the house.

Georgia eyed the door for a moment after he left, then turned to Brooke.

"So. . . you like playing the Wii?"

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Darillium. October 26, 3748. 

"This is beautiful." She murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. "We should've come before."

He bit his lip and rested his cheek on her curls. "No, I don't think so."

"I don't  see why not. This is just amazing, dear."

He sighed and searched his memory, hoping to find that the River he'd met at the Library had somehow not mentioned him crying. No, she had. And his resolve was quickly fading as the night went on.

Without his permission, water that had pooled in his eyes fell and landed in her hair.

His eyes darted down, hoping she hadn't noticed.

She did.

 "What's wrong, my love?" She asked, running a hand over his cheek. "You alright?"

He choked back a whimper that was threatening to escape the more he let his thoughts run wild. "Yeah. Sorry. Fine. You're just. . ." he placed his hand over hers on his face, "you're the most amazing and beautiful and perfect woman I've ever met." He did a mental facepalm. When did he get sappy?

Her eyes grew a glint of suspicion. "Doctor, what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing." He shook his head. "I just don't want you to forget that."

She nodded, though he could tell she wasn't satisfied, and went back to watching the towers sing.

The rest of the night went by quickly, too quickly. He gave her the screwdriver. He'd put two things in it- the neural relay and a message. He didn't know which his younger incarnation had put in the Library. He didn't understand what had happened. She was in the mainframe, yes. He knew that much.

But when she'd plugged those cables in, her body was gone. Vanished. River had done something, and it wasn't just sacrificing herself. So he put both in there and hoped for the best.

He cried silently throughout, and she didn't comment. He didn't let go of her at all, keeping contact in hopes he'd never have to let her leave.

It didn't work.