All I've Got To Do (Open!)

[The Second Doctor]

The Doctor and his companions had landed in twenty-first century London. The Doctor had let Jamie and Zoe run off and explore on their own because he couldn't imagine much trouble happening in the city in the time period they found themselves in. Plus, Jamie, who came for the mid-eighteenth century, still found future Earth very intriguing so let Zoe, who came from the twenty-first century, lead him around her home planet and time. The Doctor was going to go and do some exploring of his own.

And that was because he was already starting to find that his TARDIS always brought him to various places for a reason. Most of the time it took awhile for the reason to become clear but only after he and his companions actively went out and explored the area. Sitting in the TARDIS and waiting for Zoe and Jamie to come back was going to accomplish nothing. So, the Doctor made sure that his TARDIS was locked up and gave a cursory glance around at the passersby, who didn't seem in the least bit curious as to what this big blue box was doing on the sidewalk and even less curious as to why an old man had just stepped out of it.

He began to wander aimlessly in no particular direction, and when he passed a newsstand, he picked up one of the papers to look at the date. "December 31, 2011," he said out loud to himself. Nothing remarkable about that date, besides the fact that it was the last day of the year. The Doctor began to flip through the paper then. And that's the only reason he caught the story tucked into the right hand corner of page six. Strange lights spotted over the city the past four nights and the times the lights were spotted all corresponding to times that different people were last seen.

This was worth investigating. The Doctor folded the paper back up and placed it back where he had found it. He began walking off again, calling out "Jamie! Zoe!" this time around. It was still hours before nightfall but he wanted them by his side right now. He wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, his eyes too busy scanning his surrounding area looking for his companions' faces. And that was why he accidentally bumped into a passerby. "Excuse me," he apologized, taking a glance at who he had run into.

[River Song]

River had decided to surprise her parents with a visit this New Year’s Eve, but rather than teleport herself directly to their home, River decided to stop somewhere and pick up a nice bottle of champagne for the occasion. She was just about to walk into a little shop, when someone bumped into her.

"Excuse me," he apologized, taking a glance at who he had run into.

As River had pictures of all of the Doctor’s previous faces, she quickly recognized the man; however, she wasn’t sure of the exact order of the Doctor’s regenerations and had no idea which one this was.

She just knew it was Him.

River smiled in reply and shook her head from side to side, saying, “Oh, it’s quite alright – really!”

She would have to be careful not to reveal too much… Foreknowledge could be a very dangerous thing, indeed.

“And, a Happy New Year’s to you,” River added in a tone that a stranger would never use; rather, she spoke as if she knew him quite well – which she did. Only, he didn’t know her…

“Do you have anything exciting planned for the evening?” River continued with glittering eyes, attempting to spark up a conversation with the Second Doctor.

Of course, if he mentioned the alien lights, River would feel the urge to offer her assistance – her parents could wait. Besides, they didn’t even know she was in the city.

[The Second Doctor]

He had run into a woman...a woman who felt different to him. People of the twenty-first century were all about differentiating themselves in whatever ways were possible, and that included clothing style. This woman's outfit wasn't any stranger than anyone else's walking by but the Doctor still felt like she didn't quite belong here, which was kind of ridiculous because it's not like traveling through time was a convenience millions of creatures had.

And then the way she told him to have a happy New Year. Perhaps she was just one of those people who liked to think that they knew everyone--that no one was a stranger to them any longer as soon as they started speaking to them. "Thank you," he said, letting a polite smile cross his face, "And the same to you too." He was going to wander off and continue looking for his two companions but then she asked him a question. He didn't have time for a lengthy conversation. Danger was just a few hours off as soon as it started to get dark outside.

But still the smile never left his face as he decided he could at least answer her one question. "Well, I've only just arrived here with two of my friends. I won't know what I'm doing these evening until I find them and ask them what they would like to do." And they would, no doubt, want to investigate these strange lights further. They knew how the TARDIS always brought him to various places for a reason (and, yet, that didn't stop them from running off, making him waste valuable time trying to find them again).

The Doctor's mind kept on roaming back to those lights. Since this woman was so interested in having a conversation with him, he was going to ask her a question of his own. "Do you happen to know anything about these lights that have been spotted around here the past few days?" The Doctor knew her knowing anything that wasn't in the newspaper was a long shot but some people, when they saw something strange going on, did their own research because they just couldn't resist trying to crack whatever was going on on their own.

[River Song]

"Well, I've only just arrived here with two of my friends. I won't know what I'm doing this evening until I find them and ask them what they would like to do."

River smiled and nodded her head in understanding, though she had no idea who these two companions were… But, the fact that he was traveling with people – and not alone – even though she wasn’t very familiar with this face of the Doctor, still pleased River.

“Oh, I’m sure they can’t be too far away…“ she said, trying to sound encouraging. It was an oft occurring ‘thing’ for companions of the Doctor to wander off on their own; however, she had never encountered any sort of New Years Eve tragedy in her research that resulted in permanently missing companions, so River felt certain that they would turn up eventually – whoever they were.

"Do you happen to know anything about these lights that have been spotted around here the past few days?"

His question took her completely off guard – but, that was what she loved about this man. He was always surprising her…

River furrowed her brow and tilted her head, asking, “Lights? What sort of lights…?” Lights from the sky could possibly indicate alien activity, and if that was the case, River might just have to put her impromptu plans with her parents on hold.

That was when River’s eye caught the headline on a local newspaper that had been tossed into a nearby rubbish bin. She reached over and grabbed it, and the story mentioned the strange lights in the sky, and also the fact that people had gone missing where these lights had been seen.

“Hmm…” River mused dropping the paper back into the bin. “Sounds worth looking into, I daresay,” she said with a delighted smirk.

And then, River remembered her manners. She reached out her hand to shake his and said, “River Song. Archaeologist.” But, she was no mere fossil jockey… as she hoped to prove to this Doctor.

[The Second Doctor]

The Doctor had to keep it in mind that this was Zoe's time. She would know where they were going and what they were doing, and this woman was right; they couldn't have gotten too far by now. Maybe they might even pick up a newspaper themselves and come running back to the Doctor when they read the same story he had. "I'm sure they'll stay out of trouble," he said, sounding slightly less encouraged than the woman had. Maybe Zoe would try staying out of trouble but Jamie had a knack for not being able to do the same.

He was going to answer River's question but then her eyes alighted on a newspaper and he didn't have to say a single thing to her because she found out all on her own. "But who's doing it and why? One person every night for the past four nights. Whatever they're doing, they're trying to be discrete. That much is obvious." This wasn't the Doctor just musing out loud; this was the Doctor telling River what he was thinking. But why would he do that? He didn't even know her.

His thoughts were quickly snapped away from that puzzling question when she introduced herself to him. Oh, how he hated archaeologists! He tried his best to cover the momentary frown that appeared on his face at her profession. Digging up ancient artifacts--artifacts that the Doctor could go and see when they were brand new. He shook her hand, nonetheless, his smile returning just as quickly as it had disappeared. "The Doctor," he introduced himself. "I would advise you to stay indoors tonight." That was a fair bit of advice. He wished he could share it with the rest of the population in the area in danger.

"But I really must be going now before my friends do manage to get themselves into trouble." It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. River seemed like a nice enough woman and very intelligent too but he couldn't remain wagging his chin with her for any longer. With his words spoken, the Doctor began to head in the direction he had seen Jamie and Zoe running off to.

[River Song]

"I would advise you to stay indoors tonight… But I really must be going now before my friends do manage to get themselves into trouble."

River frowned – she had a bad feeling about this…

She couldn’t just let him walk off into trouble on his own! “Doctor…? Please wait.” River politely requested her face stone-serious as she reached out a hand towards him in a gesture that said ‘wait’.

“If you’re going to look into these lights and disappearances, I’m going to have to go with you,” she declared, not about to take ‘no’ for an answer. Her earlier plans to spend the evening with her parents would simply have to be put on an indefinite hold. Even if the Doctor wasn’t here, River would want to look into whatever it was that was happening with those lights…

“I… I can’t really explain too much…” River said, feeling a bit lame – but, she couldn’t give away too much information. Foreknowledge could be a very dangerous thing.

“You’ve only just now met me – and, maybe this is the first time for you… But sometime in your future, you come to know me much, much better. In fact,” River went on, “I think that the future you would want me to go with you.” She looked into his deep blue eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t try to turn her away.

[The Second Doctor]

The urgent tone in River's voice caused the Doctor to stop in his tracks and turn around to face her again. The Doctor was already quickly learning that people somehow naturally trusted him whenever they spoke with him but never had some stranger he had just run into offered to go investigate something with him that could be very dangerous. Trust only took people so far; risking their lives for someone they just met usually wasn't in the bargain.

But before the Doctor could open his mouth to say 'no,' River clarified her statement. She knew another version (or versions) of him. He had never seen her before today but she knew him in a different face. But just because he was going to get to know her in his future it didn't mean that he automatically should agree to her helping him out tonight. He and Jamie and Zoe with him; their help should be more than sufficient for what he needed to do tonight--not that he knew exactly what he would be required to do tonight, that is.

He would have to make a decision and stick with it. Quite possibly, he was messing up his future's timeline by interacting with her too early but it was a risk he was going to have to take. "All right, Ms. Song," he said, "You can come with me but you must do everything that I tell you to do." If things got too dangerous and he told her to run away, he wanted her to run away. It was risky enough changing his future with her by meeting her too early but it would be even riskier if she ended up dying tonight because he had agreed to have her accompany him.