Yowzah Oneshot Collection (3)

189(G)

River generally liked water. And she honestly thought she'd been okay once she arrived at the Doctor's...until she got in the shower.

The TARDIS had about thirty bathrooms cataloged, if you knew where to find them. River's favorite was the one that looked like an odd cross between a Roman bathhouse and a Victorian dressing room. The tub was all stone and granite, with draw curtains instead of doors, but the floor was made of black and white York tiles with a Melville border. Or what the TARDIS assumed was a Melville border.

River scrubbed the soot from her face, her belly, her arms. It was sometime after that that she realized she was having trouble swallowing. She let out something like a whimper and took a deep breath. A lump formed in her throat. What was wrong with her?

Stormcage was built on a man-made planet that was equipped with man-made vegetation and an artificial atmosphere. The land was sculpted to endure perpetual rain without the fear of flooding. And the perpetual rain—a product of synthesized clouds, of course—was instilled to promote feelings of depression and gloom among the inmates of the facility. Every night you fell asleep to the sound of pouring rain outside your window, and you woke up in the morning to the sound of pouring rain outside your window.

Most of the long-term inmates couldn't stand to shower. The guards would often have to sedate them and hold them under the water until they were cleaned by the orderlies. It was something River had never understood before.

Now, under the hot running water of the TARDIS's most luxurious shower, River got it. It hit her suddenly, and she let loose another sob.

x

The Doctor was slowly twisting a double-ended screw into the asteroid tram when the TARDIS lights sputtered. He blinked, pushing his black goggles up over his forehead and craning his neck to stare at the console above him. The lights flickered again, almost like a blink of their own.

The Doctor swung from his hammock and ascended the steps to the main platform. "What is it, old girl?" he muttered. "Is something wrong with your electrical circuit...?"

The TARDIS lights dimmed of their own accord, all save the hallway light. That light blinked on and off. Curious, the Doctor walked into the hallway, where the light continued to flicker sporadically. He walked down the corridor, making turns left and right where the overhead bulbs seemed to be blinking the most. The TARDIS had her own ways of communicating with him, and if she was making the effort to tell him something it must be important. Whatever or wherever it was.

The Doctor stopped in front of a door on the second floor of rooms, where he could hear running water. He rolled his eyes at the ceiling. What was he supposed to do now?

A long, drawn-out sob answered his question. The Doctor froze in place, eyes coming down to narrow at the door. The sobbing continued, audible even under the run of the shower, and the Doctor closed his eyes. He had never heard River cry before. Sure, he had seen her shed a few tears here and there, but nothing like this. Even when she was about to die (but the Doctor didn't like to think about that).

A small, cowardly part of him felt afraid, wary; he wasn't sure he wanted to face whatever could prompt River Song to make such a noise. But it was River. Audacious, catty, untamed River, as unstoppable as a waterfall and with the current of a riptide. Another cry echoed off the bathroom walls. That did it.

"River?" the Doctor called, knocking sharply.

From inside the shower River's head jerked up. In all honesty she wasn't surprised that he had found her. "It's alright, Doctor," she called, grimacing at how her voice warbled. She heard a click and the unmistakable sound of his footsteps as he let himself in.