Bless You, Sweetie (Doctor Who- 12/River)

[PropertyofCora]

I was so excited Matilda3948 wanted to do this Doctor Who trade with me after the Christmas Special destroyed all my River feelings. I discovered that I simply cannot get enough of 12/River, and it's nice to see I'm not the only one on here thinking that! So Matilda3948, I hope you enjoy this story. I have had so much fun writing the first part for you, and there will definitely be more to come.

Warning: Serious spoilers for the Christmas Special.

Part 1

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“Well, Sweetie, I’m all yours. Have you given any thought to how you’d like to begin our evening?” River winked and sauntered down a random hallway in the TARDIS. It was still difficult to resist crying for joy over the fact that said evening would turn into a night lasting twenty four years, but why waste such precious time on ugly tears?

It was an impossibly short amount of time, but it was so much better than a moment, she didn’t want to think about the fact that forever would eventually have to come to an end. For now, she wanted to concentrate on making that forever count for something.

Oh, and she certainly had many ideas up her sleeve for just how much they could make it count.

After passing a few peculiar looking doors –those were new, like most of this version of her Doctor’s TARDIS. She would have to snoop later while he slept. Does one even sleep if it won’t be morning for another twenty four years?

The wine from dinner was making her feel warm, but an odd chilling sense was poking around the back of her mind until River paused with the realization that the Doctor had not followed her from the control room.

“Is something wrong?” River called, heels clicking loudly as she made her way back. This time she was fairly certain the third door to her left led to the pool now, which she made note of for later.

River quirked an eyebrow as she rounded the corner. The Doctor was standing by the consol, staring up at the light and squinting.

She carefully moved up beside him so as not to startle him from whatever he seemed so focused on, hoping whatever danger they would surely face any moment now wouldn’t last too long and cut into her night.

If she had to die next, she might as well get a break from near-death experiences for a bit; it only seemed fair.

She pushed a few of her curls aside and watched him—the face she was still getting used to but growing more fond of by the minute—noting his face was nothing short of serious.

“Doctor,” River whispered, pulse beginning to race with concern. “What’s wrong with the light?”

“Hmm?” he hummed, barely acknowledging her and squinting harder. River glanced up and felt annoyed that she couldn’t spot a thing out of the ordinary with it.

“The light—you’re staring at it. Is there something the matter with it?”

A quick check of her current wardrobe told River that she had no less than 7 weapons on her within reach should the mystery beast attack.

She was so concentrated on reading the Doctor’s peculiar expression, trying to guess before he could bother telling her, that River reached for her gun when the Doctor suddenly let out a gasp.

Huh… huhRESHOO!

The Doctor sneezed openly, nearly shattering her eardrum due to their proximity.

“Doctor, what’s wrong with the light?” His avoidance was driving her mad.

He sniffled and wriggled his nose, blinking up at the light a few more times before turning to her with the same dazed confusion. “The light?”

“Yes, the light you were just staring at.”

“Oh,” he chuckled, bringing about only more confusion and less answers to River’s quickly growing mental list. “My nose itched.”

This time it was River’s turn to blink at him. “Your… nose itched?”

“Yes,” he hummed to himself. He turned and grabbed his sonic from off the consol before heading in the direction of the hall River had tried to take before. “It seems looking into the light induces some kind of photic reaction that quickens the sneeze process. Peculiar, I’ve never had a body with that trait, but you know how it goes. New body, new rules, and all that.”

She followed him, trying to wrap her mind around her husband’s strange way of terrifying her at all the wrong moments.

“You know,” River began when she caught up to him, “Your nose seemed to be itching an awful lot during our diner this evening, too.”

“Did it?”

“You know it did.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“You were sniffling and sneezing the whole time after the second course.”

“Are you sure?”

“Doctor!”

“Fine, maybe I was, so what?” he pouted, stopping in the middle of a hall and turning to face her with his arms crossed across his chest. The effect was a little lost in a throaty cough he quickly muffled into his fist.

Rived narrowed her eyes at him, studying his face for a clue. The twitching of his reddening nose stood out to her more this time, having escaped notice before only due to the unfamiliarity of his new face. But now that she was looking, it was entirely unmistakable.

Huh… huRESHooo, EIISHHooo!

He sneezed twice, barely contained into his sleeve, then looked up at her with the saddest puppy-dog pout she could ever remember him making and gave a pathetically wet snuffle.

“You have a cold.”

“Impossible.”

“Of course it’s possible, new body, new immune system. Even in the old one it was probably possible.”

River wasn’t certain that was actually true, but the thoughtful look on his face felt close enough to a gold star of achievement.

His thoughtfulness turned to a glare, and River huffed to herself in annoyance at the way those eyes narrowed at her. She shook her curls and prepared for one of their usual verbal spars—it would end in more ‘I hate you’s but after tonight those were really beginning to lose their effect.

Then she noticed it, subtle at first but quickly growing. He wasn’t glowering—though with this face it was certainly harder to tell—but more… squinting in discomfort. His nostrils began to twitch as an unmistakable tickle returned, lips parted and breath hitching.

And of course, her doctor merely stood there staring at her as though determined to ignore it so he could get back to their arguing.

“Must I do everything.” River sighed.

The Doctor held up a hand to her as though to ask her to wait, but she ignored it and instead reached into her bra, pulling out a neatly folded lace handkerchief. River dangled it in front of his face mischievously, tugging it away whenever he made a reach for it.

“Admit you have a cold and it’s yours,” she hummed.

“I… I dod’t… huh…”

“Can’t pronounce those n’s, Sweetie? You’re not doing a very good job of convincing anyone here, including yourself.”

“River… dot fuddy.” Huhhhh..ehhhuhhh…

“You’re not invincible, Doctor. We both know the sooner you admit it to yourself, the sooner I can take you to bed.” She couldn’t help tossing in a wink at the end.

“Fihhh… fide.” He sniffled, and this time she was certain the glare was real. “You’re right. I bust be sigk.”

By this point, he could barely keep his eyes open with the way the impending tickle was fully overwhelming him. His hitching breaths grew stronger, signaling only seconds remained before the impending explosion.

All at once, River reached too slowly to hand him the lace handkerchief and the Doctor reached too quickly to take it from her, ending with her hand being pulled along with the fabric up over his face just in time for her to feel one final inhale. He exploded with his sneezes at last, cupped into the thin lace over River’s palm.

Huh…huuuuuuuuuuueREESHOO! HIIhhshoo! sheeOO!

She patted his back affectionately, barely caring of her current predicament.

It’s hard to be bothered by the things a man does after you’ve killed him and felt the overwhelmingly desperate need to do anything just to get him back again.

“Bless you, Sweetie.”

He continued to squint for a moment before evidently deciding his nose was finished for the moment. The Doctor took the handkerchief from her hand and used the delicate material to blow his noise in a most indelicate way, complete with a honk that made her cringe at the offending abuse of the material.

“You’re warm,” she pointed out, feeling his forehead while he was too distracted to stop her.

“It’s your bloody husband’s fault.” He sniffled wetly and pouted. “I knew something seemed off about him, should have known it was an awful head cold.”

“Which one?” she teased.

He looked ready to retort, nearly red in the face, but was cut off with a hastily covered HuhhESHHOOO off to the side.

“My, Doctor, jealousy suits you well. Maybe we should go pay a visit to my second wife after all.”

“River,” he warned.

“What, can’t a girl have some fun?” she laughed. He still didn’t look quite amused, but she knew somewhere beneath that new face, he was laughing along. “Okay, enough’s enough. You need to get in bed. I wasn’t joking about you feeling a bit warm.”

“I don’t want to be sick. It makes me sad. Old people get sick.”

“You are old, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Shut up, you. I wouldn’t want my wife finding out, she might grow tired of me and find another husband.”

“I hate you.” She smiled.

“No you don’t.”

“You’re lucky you’re ill. Come on, time for bed.” She tugged at his arm, hoping the TARDIS had relocated his bedroom somewhere close by.

“I can find it, don’t worry. You know your way around here better than anyone, I’m sure you can amuse yourself while I recover,” the Doctor insisted.

“Sweetie, I am not leaving you alone.”

“Of course you are. No use in both of us being sick.”

“If you even think I would care enough about that to risk missing any of my last night with you…”

He sighed and raised an eyebrow at her. “Fine. Lead the way.”

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To be continued...

[matilda3948]

WhooHoo!! It's sooooo great! I'll come back and quote my favorite bits later but just had to say how much I love it real quick.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Oh, that's just so unfair. All those Doctor/River feels, as if that goofy look on his face when she was ranting about how he wasn't 'in love' enough to stand by her at that moment didn't slay me, you just have to go and write amazing fanfic to follow up.

Your writing is so strong on imagery, I could just see him being all... well... him. You've got them down perfectly.

Now excuse me while I squee like an idiot for another half-hour.

[SneezyHolmes]

Simply wonderful! Can't wait for more!

[Vongola Undicesimo]

I spent the whole time reading this smiling like an idiot. They're too cute and perfect and ahhhhh!!!

[PropertyofCora]

WhooHoo!! It's sooooo great! I'll come back and quote my favorite bits later but just had to say how much I love it real quick.

Yay, I'm so very glad that you liked it! Can't wait to finish the rest for you =] I think my love for 12 has grown even more since writing this.

Oh, that's just so unfair. All those Doctor/River feels, as if that goofy look on his face when she was ranting about how he wasn't 'in love' enough to stand by her at that moment didn't slay me, you just have to go and write amazing fanfic to follow up.

Your writing is so strong on imagery, I could just see him being all... well... him. You've got them down perfectly.

Now excuse me while I squee like an idiot for another half-hour.

I knew when I saw River that the feels would be intense, but I was not prepared for how much I would love her with 12. I was sitting in the theater flailing in my seat the entire time. All that snow must have been cold... I can't even pretend I wasn't getting ideas right then and there. Thanks so much for the compliments! I was worried about 12 because I haven't seen most of season 9 yet (can Netflix please hurry for us Americans with no BBC?) so I feel like I didn't have the fullest grasp on all of him, but I'm so glad you think I did them justice.

Simply wonderful! Can't wait for more!

Thank you! Part two is definitely in the works right now. =]

I spent the whole time reading this smiling like an idiot. They're too cute and perfect and ahhhhh!!!

Awe, yay! I'm always happy to hear I've put a smile on someone's face. I agree, they're completely adorable, so naturally I just can't resist playing with them.