A/N: The last chapter might not mean 'the end' if there is more. Thank you for your support and encouragement as you marked this story or remarked in the comments! It has been my greatest delight to bring this story to your eyes. If you care for Lokane tales, I highly recommend Alydia Rackham's work. Start at Fallen Star and you will not be led astray from an engaging story of more Loki. For audio options, go to Maria Chester's Youtube channel 'Wonderful World of Stories.'

Iris

Epilogue

River enters a library's inner level, wearing a spacesuit. She sees a man wearing a blue suit and approaches him. His brown hair is less rumpled than it was before but she knows who he is—who he must be. She walks right up to him, flashing her signature smile.

"Hello, Sweetie."

He spun, squinting at her from behind his glasses. "You must leave. Get out of here now! Go back where you came from. Never come back here and warn your friends that no one must come here. This planet is dead."

He looked at the group that followed her, all wearing spacesuits and groaned. "Oh, I hope you're not archaeologists."

That was her cue. Still smiling, River stuck out her hand. "Professor River Song. Archaeologist."

Flummoxed, he watched her stay and not leave like he'd really wanted. Ordinary people could be so stubborn. She watched him still, could not stop looking at him, and let no other emotion than her stubbornness show.

She stepped away to another part of the library, then called him over.

River made herself as comfortable as could be on the cold tile floor. "You're doing a wonderful job acting like you don't know me."

"There is a good reason for it," he responded stiffly. He studied her some more. She and her posse were obviously staying in the midst of the dangerous library. Given, he didn't know when the Vashta Nerada would surround them, but he must be vigilant.

River shrugged, fished out her book, and let his wariness slide. In time, he would know her very well. To say more would lead to spoilers, so she flipped through the pages.

"Alright, let's do diaries. Where are we now? The crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet?"

She watched his owlish face a few more seconds before continuing. "Obviously ringing no bells."

River flipped to another section where the entry began: 'Sandwiches by the bridge. Stop in Spain. Precocious prince passed me a spray of periwinkles.' The words she saw made her smile at a pleasant memory. "Picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?"

He looked at her face, still lost. She suppressed a disappointed sigh of her own. Her Doctor would have perked up, let his smile fill his whole face at the mention of that place. Actually, there was a great deal fewer worry lines here on his face. He was too young to have shared memories just yet. Oh, well. River wouldn't forget. That had been one of her best times with the Doctor. She leaned forward and took his face in her hands. River cherished all encounters with the Doctor, hers or one who didn't know of their history. The backwards sequence of occasions they met in was part of what made him so infuriating. How she wanted to tell him of their lovely trip now, but she knew better. 'Spoilers' was her code, and she would use that word to the end.