I now present you with the final chapter of "Lost in Time." Thank you.

Chapter Ten: Where the Truth Lies

"Ow!"

Rory frowned. "Sorry, but if you would just stop squirming around."

"You are sewing my skin together; I think I am entitled to a little squirming around."

The Doctor watched Rose and Rory from afar. Rose was clean and wore a little white tank top which was pulled up enough so he could see the tan wrapping bandage around her waist. Rory said she was going to be kicking arse in just a few weeks, but the Doctor couldn't get the image of Rose when she had first materialized on the TARDIS an hour ago out of his mind.

"You're home Rose, and you are safe."

Rose threw her arms around him, sobbing. He held her tight against him as the other's watched. He rubbed her head gently.

"I thought, I thought—" she sobbed.

"I know and I am so sorry Rose. I wanted to come sooner, but I couldn't, I am so sorry." He kissed the side of her head and hugged her more tightly.

And she screamed.

He let go of her and she fell to the ground, clutching her ribs, tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. When the tears mixed with the blood, it tinted them red; he hadn't noticed this when she was a hologram.

"What is it, what's wrong?" the Doctor reached to touch her, but pulled back unsure of what to do. Rory rushed over and knelt down at her side, his instincts taking over.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked, pulling her arm gently away from her side.

"My ribs…I think, ah!" she cried as he pushed down on her side carefully.

Rory pulled her shirt up and revealed a large, plate-sized bruise forming on the right side of Rose's waist.

"Broken." He confirmed. "Amy, help me get her to the medic chamber—first would you mind helping her into the shower, so I can stich her up before that cut becomes infected."

Amy and River both assisted her up and they slowly moved from the room, leaving the Doctor standing off to the side, his shirt splattered in blood from her clothes.

About twenty minutes later, he heard her screaming and ran up the stairs until he found them in the medic chamber. She was sitting up on the metal gurney in the center of the room, in clean clothes that he recognized and guessed they had come from her old room (courtesy of Amy). The white shirt was pulled up high, just under her breast, so that her white bra was showing, as Rory wrapped the bandage as fast and tight as he could. River looked like she was trying to hold Rose's hand, but had ended up keeping her still, instead. Rose's free hand was holding a white, blood stained cloth to her head. Amy stood far off to the side, watching and biting her thumbnail. Unsure of what to do, he the Doctor took a place beside Amy.

Rose, took a shallow breath. "I'm sorry, it just HURTS!" She jumped as Rory pulled it tight, one last time.

Rory pinned it to the bandage and pulled her shirt down.

"Let's get that cut fixed up, it should only need one or two…"

"So are you going to tell me how you did it?" Rose said to the Doctor as Rory finished up, taking off his rubber gloves with a snap.

"The Diviner—this metal disk that—"

"Yeah, I know all that, but how did that worthless thing help you? Didn't do a thing for me…well, maybe a little."

"It was something Amy had said: we will save her." he stepped closer to Rose. "I realized we had asked it the questions we thought that we were meant to. What we didn't ask was: if we were going to save her and if your death was a fixed point. It said yes to the first and no to the second."

"Huh. And how did it say you would save me?"

The Doctor looked down at his feet. "That questioned had already been asked before."

"By?"

The Doctor met her eyes. "It wouldn't say."

"What does that mean?"

"It said that the information was 'unavailable'."

Rose didn't know what to say to that so she went back to the point. "So then how did you do it?"

The Doctor sat on the table next to Rose. "Well, I used the most powerful weapon in the world: my mind."

River rolled her eyes.

"After doing much mathematical, timey-wimey…stuff, I realized that we had a two and a half second gap where we could fly in and save you and then get out before the ship blew." He was emphasizing with his hands. He glanced at her. "By the way, wonderful plan. But there are now orange asteroids floating around space like…traffic cones."

Rose's mind was reeling. "So you appeared in a two and half second gap? Is that even possible?"

River stood by her mother. "Rose, you are in the medical room of a space ship that travels through time, talking to a 907 year old Time Lord, and you just asked if that was possible?"

Rose shook her a bit. "I just can't believe…I was sure I was dead." She looked up at the Doctor. "Oh, my God, John and the others—the world?"

"Are all safe; you are a hero Rose." The Doctor said.

Rose looked up at River, sure she was thinking the same thing:

Rose nodded. She had a few silent tears on her cheeks. "What's going to happen to my family? My friends?"

River smiled. "They are going live, Rose, I swear."

"And…and me?"

River's face fell.

"You're a hero Rose." Was all River could say.

"What?" Amy asked looking between River and Rose, seeing the connection they were having.

But Rose didn't answer her; she spoke to River as if they were old friends. "You couldn't just tell me? For so long, I worried, I mean…"

"Spoilers." River smiled. She couldn't tell Rose the truth. She couldn't tell her what her future held, not when River was unsure of her own past.

Rose laughed, despite the tension in her body. "You said that when we first met."

The Doctor spoke. "Yes now it is time for you to explain that."

Rose and River exchanged a look.

"Spoilers." They said together.

The Doctor shook his head and didn't push it. "Rose, you need to get some sleep. You all do. You'll be home in the morning."

Rose smiled. "Is my room..?"

"In the same place it will always be."

They all retired to their own rooms, exhausted from the day. But the Doctor went to the control room and stared at the screens, not really seeing them, only seeing Rose's face as she cried out in pain as he did nothing. He decided it was probably time for him to go talk to Rose, to see if she was alright, but when he turned he saw her waiting for him on the steps.

"I thought you had gone to bed, how long have you been sitting there?"

Rose said nothing, just watched him, her face serious. Finally she said "You broke the rule Doctor."

"No, I explained this: the Diviner—"

"Said you'd save me. But you broke the rule before you asked the Diviner."

The Doctor said nothing. He was hoping she wouldn't figure out it had been him, had hoped she would think it was River.

Rose stood up carefully, holding on to the railing for support with one hand on her side. She walked up to the controls, on the far side, away from him. She put her hand on the TARDIS, stroking it lovingly, like a pet. After a moment of silence she looked up at him, flipping her blonde hair a bit.

"One of these days you aren't going to be able to save me." she said, her eyes flashing a bit.

"Are you put out with me for saving you?" he asked grinning a bit because this was just so Rose.

She shook her head. "No, not at all. I just want you to know that you can't save everyone."

I know. The Doctor pressed some buttons on the panel, he wasn't really doing anything but it kept him from looking at her. "Of course I can."

Rose said nothing. She watched him as he pretended to be busy.

"Were you going somewhere?"

"What?"

"When you turned around, you looked like you were going somewhere."

"Oh, right well, it's not really any of your business when I have to use the toilet, is it?" he still didn't look at her.

"I thought maybe you were going to go see River."

He stopped.

"She's your wife isn't she? You got married."

"It's a bit of a funny story, actually…"

"I know the story, I read all about it after I first met her. I wouldn't really say it was funny exactly." When the Doctor glanced up at her she was smiling. "So were you planning on telling me, or..?"

"I was on my way to see you." He said, flipping through some images of the first Geneva Convention. It might be nice to take the others somewhere without war for a bit.

"Really?"

"Yes I thought that we should talk." He found the planet called Geneva.

"'Bout?"

He said nothing and continued to play with the screen.

"I didn't mean it." Rose said, stepping closer to him. He didn't look up at her, but she could tell he was glancing. "I didn't mean it when I said I hated you."

"Yes, I know." The Doctor smiled and finally did look up at her. "Permission to hug Captain Tyler?"

"Permission granted."

The Doctor carefully wrapped his arms around her and she him, happy to feel her heart beating against his chest.

"I missed you Rose." He whispered in her ear and gave her a kiss on the side of her head.

Rose breathed him in deeply, wanting to savor this moment. "I missed you too."

"You know, you could always—"

"No, I couldn't." Rose pulled back to look at his face. "Even if I could, you were right."

He nodded. "Probably, but what about exactly?"

"You have new companions, you don't need me tagging along."

He shook his head. "Rose, you know I didn't mean that."

She nodded and looked at him reassuringly. "Yes I know that but I know that my time is up for now. I had you for my turn. I am just glad that you are not alone."

"You don't have to leave Rose."

"I will never leave you Doctor." She said and kissed his cheek. She smiled up at him. "But I am pretty sleepy and those pills Rory gave me for the pain could knock a horse out, so I am going to leave you for my bed."

The Doctor laughed for what had to have been the first time since he got the message from Rose.

"Good night Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth."

"Good night Doctor." Rose began to walk away but stopped and turned back to him. She pulled something out of her pocket and set it near his hand on the panel.

He watched as she slowly made her way up the stairs and out of sight. It wasn't until he heard her echoing footsteps retreating down the corridor that he picked up the picture she had given him.

It was the picture of her, the Meta-Crisis Doctor, and the baby Noble. It looked worse than it had earlier, torn in some places and dog eared in the lower corner. He flipped it over and read the writing on the back:

The Neptune Solar System, Friday, 4:22 P.M. 6543.45832

"Our daughter." Rose smiled and pulled a picture out of the black bag. It was of three people: an obviously tall, laughing man, with spiky hair in jeans and black suit jacket lying down across a laughing Rose's lap. Both were looking at a little blond haired girl laughing and clapping her hands, who was sitting in between them.

"She is beautiful." The Doctor said, awestruck as he took the picture from her.

"How did you find us?" Rory asked…

The Doctor pulled a pen out of his sleeve, hoping no one would notice, and quickly wrote down everything. He was breaking the rule, one he had set long ago. But it was Rose. He burned up a sun just to say goodbye to her. At least he could give her this chance to say goodbye.

After he was done he looked at the picture, really looked at it. She was so happy. The Meta-Crisis Doctor had a bit of grey in his hair, and their little girl looked just like Rose, except the hair was a bit darker. She was happy, happier than the Doctor had ever seen her.

Rose gently took the picture back from him, not noticing the new writing on its back. Not knowing he had just given her the chance to say goodbye. Not knowing she was about to hate him.

"I miss them so much."

I will fix this Rose, he wanted to say. I will get you get back to them.

Underneath the Doctor's quick scrawl, written in a different ink from the blue he had written in were the words thank you.

The Doctor didn't look at the picture again, but put it in his breast pocket. There was one last thing he was supposed to do now.

River crept along one of the dark corridors of the TARDIS, her hand sliding along the smooth walls until she found the door she was looking for.

She opened the plain brown door of the Doctor's souvenir room and slid inside. It was dark, but she found the light switch quickly. She had been in there a million times before, but she hadn't told anyone that.

She looked on the various shelves of the room, it was a big room, and the walls were lined with shelves. None contained the Diviner. She decided that maybe the Doctor hadn't put it back yet and turned to leave.

She yelped in surprise as she saw the Doctor leaning against the brown door with his arms crossed over his chest, the Diviner in his right hand.

"Looking for something?" he asked, grinning.

"Yes: you. I wanted to talk to you, and I you weren't in the…how long have you been standing there?"

He pushed off the door and walked over to her. "I've had this conversation already tonight. Boring."

"I'm here for the Diviner."

"Yes I figured that." He was circling her, looking her up and down. He looked a little disappointed. "You know, just when I think I know you River Song, you end up surprising me. I don't like surprises."

"That's not true, you love surprises. Just last month, when we were fighting off the Bijouz, you said you loved it when they surprised you with that third head. Well, third and a half."

The Doctor said nothing, just watched her. He turned away and grabbed a tan leather bag that was sitting on one of the many shelves, put the Diviner in it, and handed it to her.

She eyed him suspiciously.

"Isn't this what you were looking for?"

River took the bag, still looking at him. "Are you angry with me sweetie?"

The Doctor wanted to be, he did, but he just couldn't. He gave her a stern look. "No, but in the future, when you are stealing things from me to save my friends, just tell me, it will save you a lot of time."

He wasn't sure why he did it, maybe it was because of the way she smiled at him, but he leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips. He was already walking away by the time she had recovered from her surprise.

"Good night River."

She mumbled something, but he couldn't understand it. He smiled, content.

Rose glanced around her room, wishing she could just pack it up and take it with her. She inhaled the scent of her sheets, they still smelled like her old perfume, just faintly, but enough to make her stomach hurt as she remembered. The pictures on the wall still looked fresh, like she had just put them up. She had looked them over the night before after her talk with the Doctor and chose one she wanted to take with her. Rose put it in her pocket of her jeans (which she had been afraid wouldn't fit since she had worn them before she got the mum butt, but they had slid on smoothly).

There was a knock on her door. It was Rory with more pain killers. She promised she would take them and see an actual doctor once she was back on her Earth. The Doctor had told her earlier that morning, when she had been eating breakfast with the other companions, that the Time Lock on her Earth had become void after the Shadow's ship had been destroyed. Everyone was already back at home. The Doctor had tried to send a message to Torchwood HQ, telling them that Rose was alive, but he hadn't gotten it through, because the lines were down.

But she was going home today. With one last look around, Rose followed Rory out of the room.

"So, I guess this is goodbye." Amy looked glum. She was hoping that she would get a chance to talk with Rose, but she hadn't been in her room last night when she had gone to talk to her. She thought she'd get a second chance at breakfast but the Doctor had been there the whole time. Amy needed to know some juicy facts about the Doctor and she was sure Rose could supply some. Like maybe his actual name.

Rose looked much better than she had last night, even after her shower. Amy had made her laugh, asking her what kind of person got a tattoo there, but she hadn't really looked at or spoken to Amy since.

Rose knew she would have to talk with her—them all—eventually. But she was putting it off. She knew now why the Diviner had shown her what it had shown her, because she would live and get the chance to warn Amy.

"I'm afraid so." Rose said, her eyes watching the Doctor as he worked. River was with him, following him around, turning things off, turning things on. And the Doctor kept glaring at her as she did so; she was ruining his fun.

"Oh, River just let him do it. I kinda miss the sound." Rose laughed.

River rolled her eyes but stood back and let him work.

The Doctor didn't look up as he programmed in the destination she had given him. But he made a face. "Torchwood still has a house in the countryside?"

Amy frowned. "What do you mean 'still'?"

The Doctor glanced at Rose who was smiling the Rose Smile. Together they said "Werewolves."

Everyone, even River, looked at them as if they were crazy. Rose giggled and answered the original question. "I live in the countryside. I am not going back to work until I see my family."

The Doctor nodded and pulled the handle forward and they blasted off. It wasn't as rocky as she remembered, Rose was sure this was because he didn't want to hurt her ribs, and partly because River had pressed one last button before they had taken off.

Rose laughed at the sound of the breaks grinding and yelled. "I love that noise!"

The others laughed along with her. When they had landed, the Doctor said he wanted to sonic the area for a bit, to see how bad the damage the open Void had done and stepped out of the TARDIS, leaving them alone. Before Amy had even opened her mouth, Rose was speaking quickly and quietly.

"Listen to me, all of you. In a very short time you all are going to have to make a choice, a very difficult choice, between the Doctor and something else really important." Rose took a breath. "Amy, the choice will be mostly up to you, being the Doctor's best friend and all. But you will not be alone. You will have help from the Children of Time. We will be there and ready to help you."

"What are you talking about?" Amy looked at Rose as if she were crazy.

Rose didn't really answer. "You are not going to choose the Doctor, Amy."

Amy froze. "What?"

"You are not going to choose him and that will be the right choice."

No one said anything. Amy looked to River for help but she looked just as confused.

Rose looked at River. "And River, I swear to God that if anything happens to her, I will kill you myself."

River nodded, she seemed to understand this a bit.

"What—?" Amy tried to respond but just then the Doctor poked his head into the TARDIS.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be: it's just a crack; we'll fix it on our way out." He looked at Rose. "Are you ready to go?"

Rose smiled, though it didn't meet her eyes. "On my way out."

The Doctor disappeared and Rose's face became serious again as she looked at them. Rose hugged Rory first and then River and Amy last.

"I'm sorry, Amy." She whispered in her ear.

Rose walked out the door and left them all stunned.

"I just realized," Rory said quietly. "We never asked her how she knew where to send the message."

No one said anything. Amy got the feeling that this would not be the last time they saw Rose Tyler. They could ask her when they met her again.

Rose closed the doors behind her as they disappeared with the same feeling that she would see them all again.

The Doctor had missed Rose's house by about half a mile so they had to walk. They walked in silence for a while. Sometime in, the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, just like the old times. They both smiled when he pointed this out.

He had changed so much from her old Doctor, the man she knew and loved. His worry lines had become laugh lines on his boyish face. But he was darker than his old self, she sensed, and she was sure that there was a great reason for this. An adventure she had missed as she became a wife, a mother, and a leader. She realized that the Doctor wasn't the only one who had changed.

"Are you nervous?" he asked as they walked along the small country road, hand in hand.

She nodded. "They think I am dead."

"They will be relieved, Rose."

Rose changed the subject. "So, where are you off to next?"

The Doctor played along. "I was thinking Barcelona, not the planet, but the country. I think my companions need a well-deserved holiday."

"You say that and then something bad happens. Every time."

He looked aghast. "Not true!"

"Every time."

They laughed and as they rounded the corner, it came into view: Rose's house. It was small, technically a cottage, with flowers out front and red roses that traveled up a lattice on the side of her house. There were three cars parked out front: A black jeep with Torchwood indented on its side, a Mercedes with a personalized yellow license plate that said PETE #1.

Rose took a deep breath, this time it didn't hurt her ribs.

"Are you ready?"

"I—"

"Rose!"

The Doctor and Rose turned as John ran out of the house, his face filled with disbelief and relief. "Rose!"

Rose ran towards him, leaving the Doctor alone. They met just outside the gate and embraced.

"I thought—"

"I know, I know." She soothed back his wild hair and then they kissed. "I love you."

"I love you, I love you…" the words were lost between their lips.

The air filled with cries of "mummy!" and "Rose!" as the rest of Rose's family and friends—Donna, Martha, Mickey, and Jack. An ugly dog waddled out after them, barking like it had a chicken bone in its throat.

Everyone embraced Rose in their arms and embraced each other, crying in relief and joy. Rose hugged her little girl the longest, with John's long arms wrapped around them both. The Doctor could still hear them whispering I love you…

And this is how the Doctor left them. He walked away, his hands in his pockets and a sad but content smile on his face. He always hated goodbyes, that was why he was so awful at them. It was better this way, he told himself. He didn't need to have an awkward conversation with his friends about why he doesn't visit. It was enough to watch them from afar.

"Wait, Doctor!" He heard a little voice behind him. He was expecting it to be Rose, but it was Noble.

He stopped and she almost ran right into him, her dark blonde curls bouncing.

"Thank you Doctor, for bringing my mummy back." she said and hugged his leg. He looked down into her blue eyes. "Thank you Doctor."

The Doctor patted the girls head hesitantly.

"Noble, where have you swanned off too?" John called from a distant.

Noble ran off as not to worry anyone, but glanced back once before she disappeared around the corner and smiled. If was the smile of someone who was too wise for their years.

When the Doctor had gotten back to the TARDIS everyone looked like they were ready to throw sharp things at one another.

"Everything alright?" the Doctor said shutting the door behind him.

"Yes." They all said quickly, putting smiles on their faces that didn't reach their eyes.

"So where are we going today?" Rory asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I was thinking you all could choose." The Doctor said with a smile.

"And you'll actually take us there?" River raised her eyebrows.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. How about someplace warm?"

Rory started naming off various places and the Doctor would comment. River glanced over at the silent Amy.

"What are you thinking, River?" Amy whispered.

"Right now I am thinking that the Doctor is right: we do need a holiday. Then we can worry about it."

"Who was she talking about, who are you supposed to—"

But River didn't answer; she was smiling like nothing was wrong as she addressed the Doctor. "You know every time you say that we need a break, something goes wrong."

The Doctor scratched his head. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Rory looked a little glum now. "We might as well go somewhere you want Doctor."

"Well I have been thinking the planet Geneva…"

Amy wanted to join the others, but she couldn't get Rose's words out of her head: you are not going to choose the Doctor…

Amy pushed this to the back of her mind. She would always choose the Doctor. Rose's warning and River's secrecy was now just an odd feeling in the back of her mind and a sharp butterfly loose in her stomach.

"So where do you think we should go, Amy?" Rory asked and they all looked at her, knowing that she would be the one to decide where they were going, that they would follow.

"What about Rio?"

Thank you everyone for everything you've done. Thank you for all the great reviews and the help with posting problems. And your patience.

This is the end…or is it just the beginning? I am planning on writing a prequel to this story and if that goes over well, a sequel. The prequel will be about River and Rose mostly, which is weird for me. I am planning just five chapters for that one. It will be the story of how Rose and River met. If you are interested in this, please continue reading for a taste of the first chapter of "Forgotten in Time."

River flipped through her TARDIS blue diary. According to it she was supposed to meet the Doctor, Amy and Rory in just eight more days, so they could go save some universe from the Bijouz. She had been looking forward to it for weeks, having only left her dingy cell twice in the last three months; she was beginning to get bored.

"There's some humans here to see you River." A guard said, tapping on her cell bars.

River stood up and opened up the door for him. They had stopped locking it all together now, knowing that it wouldn't stop her.

"They couldn't wait just a few more days, could they?" River smiled, leaning against the metal cell bars. "Is a man with a bow tie with them?"

"No, it's a couple of teens, girl and boy."

River's eye brows needed together.

"Is one red haired and the other, just sort of blonde, with a nose?" River motioned to the center of her face.

"The girl's hair is strawberry blonde and the boy's is black." He nodded. "He's pretty cute."

River smiled and raised her eyebrow. "I thought you were seeing David from accounting Reg?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't still notice other blokes." He said grinning. "So do you want me to allow them through?"

River nodded and the guard, Reginald, went to retrieve them. It was probably students, wanting to meet the famous Professor Song. River sat back down on her bed and slid the diary underneath her pillow, out of sight.

The guard returned with two young people. The girl had straight, shoulder length strawberry blond hair that stuck out from under a red, knitted beanie. Almost everything about her was red: her square rimmed glasses, her lipstick, her fitted sweater, and her boots. Her finger nails were even a shiny red. The only things that were not red were her black dress pants and a tan, cracked leather bag that hung over her shoulder. The boy was just a bit taller than the girl. He wore a dark blue (not TARDIS blue) long sleeved shirt and black denims. He did indeed have hair as black as the night. He was also very good looking.

The girl smiled at River. "Hullo, my name is Belle Noel Tyre and this is James Johnson."

"Jimmy." The boy raised his hand in the hair. "Hello."

"American?" River said, surprised.

"What gave me away?"

"The accent was a contributing factor."

"Ah, yes that gets me every time." He looked genuinely upset by this.

The girl shook her head. "Are we really having this conversation again?" she looked at River, apologetically. "It's a bit of an obsession of his."

River nodded. "Writing a paper on me are you?"

Belle and Jimmy glanced at each other.

"This is so weird." Jimmy whispered to her. "I mean her meeting us."

"Well it was going to happen eventually James." She whispered back.

River leaned forward and smiled. She whispered. "You do realize that this is a very small cell and that I can hear everything you are saying, since you are less than two feet away from me, don't you?"

Belle blushed.

"How old are you two? You can't be more than twenty."

"James is seventeen and I am sixteen."

"You're young, how did you get involved with…whatever it is you are here for?"

Belle and Jimmy exchanged another glance. It was James who answered. "We can't tell you that, sorry."

River nodded and leaned back, her eyes focused on Belle. "Tyre? That is a very unusual surname isn't it?"

"So is Song or…Pond." Belle smiled a bit.

River froze. "Reggie, why don't you go get a cup of tea?"

Reggie glanced up from Jimmy's backside. "I'm not supposed to leave you alone with guest."

"If she's going to run away, she's going to run away." Jimmy pointed out .

"Yes, go ahead and grab a cuppa tea, Reg." Belle said, smiling a charming smile, showing her straight white teeth.

Reggie gave them both a suspicious looks but turned and left. River stood and stared at them.

"Who are you?"

"Spoilers Ms. Song, spoilers." Belle reached into her leather bag and pulled out a plate sized metal disk with a hole in the middle of it. It gleamed in the fluorescent lights.

"What is that?"

"It is a Model 4 Diviner." Belle said. She looked at River uncertainly. "Do you…know what that is?"

"Vaguely."

"It is a type of device used to—" Belle began but Jimmy put a hand on her arm.

"It is all explained in the letter, Bells. Just give it to her." he said, pulling out a small manila envelope from the leather bag. He handed it to River, who took it hesitantly.

Belle nodded and handed the disk over to River. River put the envelope under her arm and took the disk in both of her hands. She looked it over.

"Careful, it can be…touchy." Belle backed up a bit.

"So what else can you tell me?" River said, eyeing them.

"Whatever you need to know is in there." Jimmy said nodding to the envelope and put a hand on Belle's upper arm, pulling her out of the cell.

Belle looked reluctant to leave, like she wanted to say more, but she didn't.

River stepped out of the cell with them, watching them back away. "Wait, when will I see you again?"

"You won't see us for quite some time."

"What do you mean that I won't? What, you will?"

Jimmy looked at the tight lipped Belle. "She said she would be by for lunch on Sunday, right?"

Belle nodded, still looking at River.

"What is it Miss Tyre?"

"I-I…" she looked up at James who gave her a gently frown. She looked back at River. "It was lovely meeting you Riv-Ms. Song."

And before she knew it, they had disappeared into the dark corridor. River stood there, dumbfounded (which didn't happen often), with the shiny disk in her hand and a light envelope in the other. After a silent minute, she stepped back into her cell, shutting the door with her elbow and sat down on the bed.

On the outside there was a note in familiar hand writing that said:

Belle and James, there is a note inside there for you, the rest is for the other one.

River looked at the handwriting. It was so familiar. She pulled the diary out from under her pillow. She opened it to a random page near the later pages and put the envelope and the page, side by side.

They were identical. The handwriting on the envelope was hers. Now even more curious, River reached deep into it and pulled out small microchip that had—in her handwriting—"River watch me" written on it in small letters.

River pulled out a loose brick from the wall behind her and a small sceen fell out on to the bedspread, along with some loose gravel from the wall.

River pushed the microchip into the little computer and a little menu hologram popped up in the air just above the screen. It was a video head shot of herself.

"Play." River ordered.

The image sprang to life. "So I see you have officially met Belle and James. Nice aren't they? Good kids, it's too bad that you won't see them again anytime soon. I will. But listen, I have a lot to tell you, and it's not something that is written in your diary…yet."

River knew she should feel confused, but this wasn't the first time she had gotten a mysterious message from herself. But this was the first time that she had had the message delivered to her.

The video continued. "There is a document attached to this chip that will give you times and dates, but I have to tell you face to face what you need to expect. Are you ready?"

River didn't know why, but she nodded. "Yes."