She had promised to travel with him, how could she not. After making it inside the TARDIS he had dragged himself to sit on the stairs, his head hung as he looked at the floor. When he finally looked up she could see all the pain, the loss of her parents written clearly in his eyes. She was feeling it just as keenly, yet she was better at hiding it. She had always been better at hiding her feelings, locking them away in the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind. For as long as she could remember she had done that, locked them away to stop the pain, suffering and brutality to save herself the pain. Melody Pond was not weak, which of course meant neither was River Song. After seeing her parent's first hand she knew she was definitely her mother's daughter. On saying that, being the daughter of a Roman soldier who waited for two thousand years to be back with the woman he loved was no small feat either.

Standing at the top of the stairs looking down at where he sat she decided to give himself some space, let him brood as she not only gave him some space but gave herself some space. He had been right of course when he had pointed out there were her parents and she should be just as devastated as he was. She was, but she would not let him see her crumble. She had said to her mother that he hated seeing things damaged, and hated seeing things age and end. If she left him alone she would have enough time to pull herself together, give her the strength to be strong for him.

The shower was hot, the strong spray of the water just right as she stood under it with water hitting her head and back. Her face was wet from a mix of water and tears as she finally let them fall, letting her body grieve for the death of her parents. She had no idea how long she stood under the water before she turned to turn the water off. Her body was aching, and her eyes and cheeks were feeling puffy and swollen from crying. She didn't bother to look in the mirror after she dried off, not wanting or needing to see how bad she looked. With a dark blue dressing gown wrapped tightly around her, she walked slowly back to her bedroom, or more so their bedroom.

The TARDIS automatically put the bedside lamps on low when she pushed open the bedroom door to enter. Between running around Manhattan to escape the angels and the loss of her parents, her body had been put through the wringer and she was both physically and mentally drained. Taking the dressing gown off she gave a small smile and thanked the TARDIS mentally for the folded peach silky camisole and shorts at the foot of the bed. Slipping them on she pulled the thick duvet back and sat down on what was his side of the bed. She didn't expect him to come to bed, the fact he hardly ever slept being just one of the reasons she lay down on his side and covered herself back up. Burying her face in his pillow she inhaled deeply, the smell of the outdoors, of rainstorms and forests flooding her senses. There was also that smell that was just him, the smell of musk, of his soap, and of course the smell that was distinct to space and time. She felt her eyes start to sting again just before the TARDIS started to make the unique sound saying she was landing, or as she called it the noise it made when he parked and left the brakes on. She hadn't set a course when she piloted it, just let it pick where it wanted to go, or where it needed them to go. Willing herself to not cry she screwed her eyes shut tight and hoped sleep would claim her soon.

She wasn't there when he found the last page of the book, didn't see his face scrunch up as he fought the tears. But she was there when he entered the bedroom and heard him slowly removing his clothes before he moved to sit on her side of the bed. She didn't move as she felt the duvet lift up, lying perfectly still as he climbed in beside her and covered himself up. She tried to take slow steady breaths, not wanting him to know she was still awake. When he turned on his side and shuffled across the bed towards her she froze, not sure if she could deal with his grief on top of her own. Yet he stopped just short of touching her, the heat from their bodies filling the small void between them.

"River." His voice soft and low in the darkness, his breath brushing against her neck.

She didn't reply, her throat seeming restricted from either not enough sobs or too many.

"It's okay, River." His hand coming to rest on her arm as he spoke.

"No, no it's not." The words were croaky and dry as she finally spoke.

"No, but it will be." Gently tugging on her arm to get her to roll over so he could see her face.

She didn't want to roll over, didn't want him to see how weak and vulnerable she was yet her body betrayed her. Turning over to face him she only saw the silhouette of his face before she crumbled, huge ragged sobs finally breaking free as he gathered her in arms and held her tightly against his chest. No matter how hard she fought for control, fought to break free from his grasp she was fighting a losing battle. The sobbing didn't stop, the need to cling to him like he was her last breath didn't ease. Eventually, she gave up fighting, her battle long since over as the loss of her parents came flooding to the surface.

He hadn't realised he was crying as he held her, feeling her hot tears against his skin seemed meaningless compared to hers. They were her parents, her one constant in this whole mess that was her life. Even before they knew who she was she knew who they were. He thought back to his first meeting with the renowned River Sing, the day she died to save him. The day he had kept secret from her every time they met. When he saw her again at the Byzantium he was just as perplexed by her, yet strangely attracted towards her. As time went on and they kept meeting he couldn't help fall in love with her, no matter what order they were in time-wise he loved her. Images of their wedding, real or not played in his mind, her declaration of just how much she loved him causing both his hearts to swell before breaking at the thought he would lose her.

Lying still with her sleeping in his arms brought a fierce sense of protectiveness towards her. He didn't want to let go, didn't want to let her slip away from him as her parents had done. He knew he had to though, their timelines now already mapped out and fixed. She had to go to the library, had to meet his previous self and end her life without him knowing who she really was. She had told his previous self that he would take her to Derillum, they would see the singing towers just as he promised but kept putting off knowing it was nearing the end of their time, her time. He wasn't sure when that would happen, only the days were growing shorter. Looking down at the mass of blonde curls on his chest his arm instinctively pulled her impossible close, feeling her breath blow across his chest as she too seemed to try and meld her body with his.

"Go to sleep, I can hear you thinking too much." Her voice was sleepy as she kissed his bare chest.

"Sorry, couldn't help it." A small smile on the corner of his mouth as he kissed her temple.

Closing his eyes he let the feel of her twin heartbeats under his hand smooth him, knowing she was alive and safe in his arms was enough for now, enough to keep the future away until morning.