Yowzah Oneshot Collection (2)

38(G)

The way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it's sent away

     mygalfriday (BrinneyFriday)

The silence in the car is like an angry, living thing as River maneuvers Grayle’s vintage boat of a car through the empty New York streets. Sitting in the backseat and trying desperately not to worry about her husband, Amy does her best to make herself invisible. It isn’t difficult to do considering the other two occupants of the car are too focused on each other to pay her any mind.

River refuses to even glance in the Doctor’s direction, her hands tight on the steering wheel and her jaw clenched tightly as she keeps her eyes firmly on the road in front of her. Amy can tell she’s fully aware of the Doctor’s continuous peeking glances at her, like a kicked puppy wanting to be let back into the house. She bites her lip against a grin as she watches him fidget in his seat, stealing another glimpse of his wife with increasing desperation to be noticed. She wonders if he realizes River would rather befriend a Sontaran than be the first to break.

Finally, he clears his throat, looking at River hopefully. She doesn’t even blink. He sighs, slouching a bit in his seat to pout. He looks really pathetic but Amy can’t bring herself to feel sorry for him. Whatever happened between him and River when she went to look for Rory resulted in her daughter breaking her own wrist for the Doctor and whether he fixed it or not does not erase that haunted look from River’s face that not even a hug from her mum could fix. The Doctor is her best friend, but River is her daughter, and Amy isn’t in the mood to be forgiving.

River is the epitome of calm as she drives with alarming speed through the damp streets glistening with rain, and the only way to determine exactly how not in the mood she is for her husband is her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. Either totally oblivious to this glaringly obvious signal or feeling too reckless to care, the Doctor tries a tentative, “River -”

“Not now,” she snaps.

Amy purses her lips and raises an eyebrow. Oh, he is in so much deeper than she realized. If only Rory were here to – no, not thinking about Rory right now. She breathes out steadily through her nose and pushes away all panicky thoughts. The Doctor and River are here, and with the two of them combined plus her own determination, there is absolutely nothing in the universe that can harm Rory Williams. She clings to that thought and returns her attention to the drama unfolding in the front of the car.

The Doctor has gone back to pouting, and his bottom lip is actually sticking out a bit as he stares at his knees with a wounded expression. It’s a good job River isn’t actually looking at him; otherwise her resolve would probably crumble at her cute little high heels. She suspects River knows that already, and it’s exactly why she hasn’t looked at the Doctor once. Amy knows the feeling. Holding onto anger is a difficult thing around their boys – the only way to stay properly furious is to avoid eye contact.

Unfortunately for River, the Doctor isn’t one to just give up – at least not for long. After another moment of feeling sorry for himself, he squares his shoulders and straightens his bowtie. Amy’s eyes widen in alarm. Oh, look out, River.

He glances over his shoulder and she quickly averts her eyes to the window next to her, bouncing her knee nervously as she pretends to be utterly focused on the buildings passing by. Look at that, what a nice street lamp. Oh, what a pretty puddle. Amy furrows her brow, affecting a fascinated gaze toward a shadowy stoop. When he’s quite sure she isn’t paying him the least bit of attention, the Doctor turns back to the front seat and after a moment of hesitation, scoots just a little closer to his wife.