This is my first time writing for Doctor Who, so I'm feeling a bit nervous about posting this. I really have a thing for 11 and River, and I can only hope that I did them justice, because they are two wonderful characters. The setting for this is non-specific, but I can imagine it being sometime towards the end of series 6.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, because if I did River Song would feature in every episode and would have loads of flirting/sexy times with the Doctor!

The ring so worn, as you behold,
So thin, so pale, is yet of gold:
The passion so it was to prove;
Worn with life's cares, love yet was love

George Crabbe

Love yet was love

The Doctor was standing in the console room, fiddling around with random buttons and levers. He had dropped Amy and Rory off at home for a few days and, although he would never admit it to anyone, he was bored. So very, very bored. It had been a long time since he had last travelled without a companion, there were no exciting adventures to be had, and even the TARDIS seemed a bit moody today, which was probably down to the fact that he wouldn't stop fiddling with her buttons.

He stopped mid-motion as he heard a swishing sound behind him, followed by an all too familiar "Hello Sweetie".

The Doctor turned around and looked straight into the ever beautiful, smirking face of River Song. She looked slightly younger than the last time they had met, and he briefly wondered where they were in their respective timelines.

With a few quick strides he had closed the space between them and, rather than simply saying hello back, he cupped her face with both hands and kissed her firmly on the lips. River, not the least bit taken aback by his sudden course of action, eagerly responded to the kiss whilst her hands found their way underneath his jacket, running her fingers over his back.

When they finally broke apart they were both slightly out of breath and the Doctor took a step back, letting his hands rest on her hips, to take in the sight of the beautiful woman standing before him.

"Well, we're obviously a bit further along in your timeline," River said smiling. "It's been a while since you last kissed me like that."

The truth of the matter was that it was still quite early days for him. But after that first unexpected, but not entirely unpleasant kiss after he had dropped her off at Stormcage, he had come to realise that he rather liked kissing River, and that he would try and do that as often as possible from now on. River didn't mind at all. In fact, she seemed to rather enjoy their newfound intimacy (from his perspective) on their subsequent encounters.

And today she had managed to show up at exactly the right time. He had been so bored all on his own, and snogging River senseless in a corner of the TARDIS seemed like a perfectly good way to while away the hours until their next adventure. But he did wonder how she had managed to end up here in the first place.

"Saying hello can get a bit repetitive after a while, so I thought I'd try something new for a change," he said, smiling coyly at her.

"Well in that case forget hello, and promise to always greet me like this from now on," she replied.

"Hmm maybe I will," he murmured, leaning in closer again as if he was about to kiss her. River closed her eyes and parted her lips slightly, expecting to feel his lips on hers at any moment. "But only if you tell me how you managed to get in here."

Her eyes snapped open again at those words. She hadn't expected him to pull away at the last moment, and she certainly hadn't been expecting that question.

"I used my vortex manipulator," she said.

The Doctor shook his head. "That might work for travelling between time zones or planets, but it doesn't work for the TARDIS."

"Well apparently it did, and here I am," said River.

"That's odd," the Doctor said, "nobody has ever managed to do that before."

"I'm not just anybody," she answered. "And besides, the TARDIS likes me. Don't you old girl?"

The TARDIS hummed in agreement which made both of them smile.

"Anyway," River continued, "I believe you were about to kiss me?"

"I certainly w.." the Doctor began, but fell quiet as River pushed one of her golden locks behind her ear and a certain shimmer caught his eye.

"What's that?" he asked, gesturing to her left hand.

A look of shock washed over her features and she quickly dropped her hand, trying to get it out of sight, but the Doctor was too fast and took hold of it mid-motion.

He held her hand in his own, his index finger tracing the simple gold band on her wedding finger.

"You're married?" he asked her.

She wanted to say 'spoilers', but as their gazes locked she knew it was unnecessary.

She sighed. "It is still early days for you, isn't it? I must've done something wrong because I was expecting to meet a later you."

"If you had known you'd be meeting me, I mean this version of me, would you have taken it off?" he asked.

River nodded.

"So who's the lucky guy then?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood and hopefully getting some information out of her.

She just shook her head. "Spoilers."

"Oh come on River," he pleaded. "Can't you at least tell me something?"

She shook her head once more. "You'll find out soon enough, I promise you."

He sighed. "I hate it when you say that."

"I'm sorry sweetie," she said as she lifted her hand to his face to caress his cheek. "But that's the way it works."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "I know," he said.

River pulled him down to her and their lips met once more in a soft, gentle kiss. "I should probably go," she said as they rested their foreheads against each other.

"You don't have to," the Doctor said.

"I know I don't, but it's for the best," she replied.

Reluctantly they moved away from each other, and River started typing the coordinates of her destination into her wristband.

"But tell me one thing before you go," the Doctor said. "Did I dance at the wedding?"

Her eyes lit up and she smiled knowingly at him in a very River-like way. "You most certainly did."

fin

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