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Brian woke with a start. There was a line of blue light cast across the room from where the street-light outside was peering through the drapes. He grumbled as he rolled over, knowing instinctively that it was a ridiculous time of the morning – or middle of the night – and was proven right as he saw the glowing red numbers of his digital clock that read; four-o’seven.
He sat up; suddenly unable to sleep with the emptiness that surrounded him. He’d felt at peace for a time, knowing that Rory and Amy were off having their adventures with the Doctor. After he’d sent them off he’d told himself that he’d come by the house once in a while; water the plants as he’d promised and check that everything was alright. He never admitted that each visit was an excuse to check to see if they had come back. A few times he could see that they had; things moved or there was a short note left beside the kettle. But they were always gone again.
It was only after the sixth month of not seeing them since the invasion of the little boxes that he decided he’d move in. Rory had said many times that the spare room was open to him. And considering their twelve-hundred year old secret was no longer a secret to him, he felt it was time to take up the offer.
He’d moved all of his things in on a Sunday, packed up his apartment and locked the door. He’d set a picture of Rory with Amy on his bedside table, right beside the only framed picture he still had of Margaret, holding Rory the day he was born. He felt at home there, but he missed them terribly. They were happy though, he was sure of it. The notes never said much, just that they were happy and safe and travelling again.
He didn’t bother with turning on the lamp; he was hoping to go back to sleep anyway. But for a short while he sat there in the bed, looking out through the gap in the curtains and wondering where they were. He wondered if he watched the sky long enough, he might see the TARDIS fly by. It was almost completely impossible, but the ‘almost’ is what kept him looking and hoping.
A crackle of lightening burned the air and he startled out of the bed, throwing the blankets to the side as he ran to the open window. There was no sign of clouds though, no thunder, no smell of rain. It was then that he noticed movement down stairs, the silhouette of a woman on the front steps.
He dashed down the stairs, wrapping his robe around him as he went. But as he neared the door, he came to a stop. If it was Amy, she’d have opened the door and barged through by now. If it was one of their friends, it was odd that the door-bell hadn’t chimed. He edged closer, peering out through the peep-hole but unable to see the woman that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Cautiously, he unlatched the door and pulled it open.
She seemed surprised to see him there. She sat perched on the stoop in a black evening gown, her hair of tight golden curls pulled up on her head with a few tendrils falling in her eyes. Her shoulders were hunched, shaking from the tears he could see in her eyes. She sucked in her bottom lip, staring up at him as he watched her, quite confused as to who she was and why she was there. Somehow, though, he found something about her so very familiar.
“Who are you?”
The question served to only worsen the turmoil as she covered her face with her hand for a moment, sniffling before taking a deep breath and pulling herself to her feet. For that brief moment she’d looked shocked but when she stood up and faced him, straightening her shoulders and looking him in the eye, the tears subsided and she was the picture of serenity or perhaps steel, he wasn’t entirely sure.
“Where did you come from?” He breathed, still trying to figure out just what made this woman so very familiar.
“I’m a friend of the Doctor’s.” She spoke softly, her small smile genuine and the green of her eyes brightened from her tears. She was beautiful, surely, and the feeling that he somehow knew her was internally driving him wild.
“Has something happened to him?”
“No,” She chuckled. “The Doctor’s fine. It’s, uh,” Brian’s heart plummeted. She hadn’t even said the words and his heart was in his stomach. She didn’t really need to say it. He’d heard it from the Doctor’s own lips that those who travel with him could never do so forever, some left, some had to leave and some – some died.
“But he promised. Never them, he said. He promised, never them.”
“Brian,” She breathed, stepping forward and reaching for his hands. He didn’t even realized that he hadn’t given her his name; her palms where warm, her gentle fingers wrapping around his, her thumb brushing over the back of his hand as she reassured him with a small smile, warming him instantly. There was only one person in the world that’d ever been capable of doing that. “They’re safe. They’re together.”
“Then where are they?”
“They’re in New York, there’s no way of knowing when.”
“Okay, okay, well the Doctor can’t just go and get them?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Brian’s eyes narrowed. “You sound just like him.” He spat. “Talking to me like I’m stupid. Just tell me what happened; explain it to me and maybe it won’t be so complicated.”
She smiled sadly, gripping his hand a little tighter and moving in a little closer. “It’ll still be complicated, Brian. Even the Doctor hasn’t yet come to terms with it. But they chose this. Amy chose to be with Rory; they chose to go together.”
“And he can’t get them back?” Tears clouded his eyes.
“No.”
She reached her hand out, grasping his elbow and leading him into the house. She closed the door behind them, leading him into the lounge and switching on a lamp. Brian watched her move about the room; she adjusted a cushion behind him before pulling a blanket out of the trunk by the fireplace. She made her way through into the kitchen and he could hear some rustling in a cupboard as the kettle started to boil. She arrived a few minutes later with two cups of tea. His still had the bag in, just the way he liked it. She moved around the house as if she knew exactly where she was going, which surprised him considering he’d never seen her around with Rory or Amy.
“Who are you?”
“I told you, I-”
He cut her off. “No; I know you said you’re a friend of the Doctor’s, but who are you really? You look familiar.”
She looked up towards the mantelpiece; he followed her eyes to the small picture frame that held an image within it, of Rory and Amy on either side of the woman that sat before him now, kissing her cheeks as she grinned broadly. He could see the picture was taken just outside the TARDIS, parked on a London city street. “If any one asked them, it was taken outside Earl’s Court station,” She smiled and Brian looked back to her. “But it wasn’t, not really, not in two-thousand and twelve, anyway.”
“You travelled with them?”
“Oh yes.” She grinned.
“And the Doctor?”
“Many times.”
“Were you with them, at the end?”
A tear escaped her eye and she set her tea on the table beside her. “Yes I was.” He studied her face and he could see a pain there that she was fighting to keep well hidden. And he knew, for some reason, she wasn’t familiar because of a small photo on the mantelpiece he’d never really noticed before.
“Were they afraid?”
He noticed her swallow deeply; her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment before she looked back up at him, tears hidden behind her smile as she shook her head. “No, they were very, very brave.” It was a half-truth, but he was willing to take it as long as he knew they were safe and together. He wasn’t sure who this woman was, but somehow he’d managed to trust her. Something about her made him want to trust her.
And then it hit him. He set his tea on the table, dropped the blanket and dashed up the stairs. He stumbled into his bedroom, grabbing the frame off the bedside table before quickly returning to the living room. She looked stunned when he re-emerged, grasping a photo-frame and grinning down at her with shaking hands. He held it out to her, his hand wobbling with the realization as he dropped down to his knees before her. He winced at the dull ache in his old knees, but it was worth it, to be close enough to show her what he’d discovered.
“This,” He pointed to the photo. “This is Rory’s mother.” The woman choked on a sob, gripping the frame tightly as his hand wrapped around hers. “I thought there was something familiar about you.” He whispered, reaching for her chin, guiding her eyes back to his. “The Doctor told me about time being strange and wonderful; he told me of some of the things he’d seen and some of the fantastic things that had happened to him. And you have her eyes.” He brushed a tear away from her cheek, smiling. “Is it too much to believe you are who I think you are?”
She didn’t say a word; she couldn’t.
“My wife is gone, she’s been gone a long time; Rory never had any brothers or sisters and when he married Amy, I thought maybe... Please don’t tell me that I’ve gone mad. Rory was going to be a great Dad, I made him swear.”
A single tear fell from her eye, trickling down her cheek until it hit the tip of his thumb where it rested on her chin. “The Doctor calls me River Song. But my parents,” She smiled a watery smile. “My mother, named me Melody Pond.”
Brian nearly choked. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him in a crushing embrace. River laughed gently through her tears as he held her tighter, kissing the top of her head. “A granddaughter.” He sighed, falling back on his haunches to look at her. “Wow.” He brushed his fingertips across her cheek. “Lucky me, hey? Prettiest granddaughter in the universe; and a time traveller too, I take it?”
River nodded.
“Well then, sit back, drink your tea, and tell me everything about yourself.” Brain pulled himself up onto the sofa beside her and River couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm.
“I don’t know if you want to know everything.”
“Oh don’t you spare a detail, my dear, it’s not every day a man meets his granddaughter for the first time.”
“Well,” River cleared her throat. “I suppose the first thing you should know is that I’m married.”
“Oh?” He smirked, taking a sip of his tea.
“To the Doctor.”
“Oh.” He coughed, choking on his tea.
The End.