Caldonia

Just another day in the life of the Ponds, stranded on an alien planet... It's not always a disaster.


They’d landed on the planet Caledonia, a surprisingly sunny place, considering it had been named after Scotland, but one with a nice heathery landscape, cliffs, rocky beaches, and brisk spring winds.

Amy and Rory had taken a walk, the Doctor assured them there were no aggressive natives or dangerous fauna. Going from his track record on that, Rory had looked at River and gotten a nod that this time he was right.

The Doctor and River had stayed behind to argue over how to repair the Tardis, which had landed them here by mistake, but fortuitously.

Amy and Rory strolled back a few hours later, considering that the obligatory sparks and fires and yelling would be over by now.

They climbed up the grassy knoll where the Tardis was parked to find River sitting in the grass. She didn’t see them at first. She was crooning a soft lullaby, and her hand was tracing the Doctor’s face.

The normally hyperactive Time Lord was asleep, his head on her lap. She sifted her fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his sweet, angular face. He looked impossibly young in slumber.

Rory shifted and accidentally stepped on a twig. He grimaced. Amy glared at him. He hadn’t meant to interrupt their idyll. River had such a tender look on her face. The Doctor looked so cherubically innocent.

It was sort of weird.

River looked up at the sound and laid a finger across her lips. “Shhh.” She smiled at them, never shifting, never stopping her caress of the Doctor’s cheek.

She nodded toward the Tardis. Amy grabbed his hand and pulled Rory inside. The door was open to allow the smoke to air out.

The Doctor mumbled something behind them. “It’s nothing, Sweetie,” River said softly. “Go back to sleep.”