Firsts and Lasts (10/River)

River smiled as she made her way around the site, unable to stop herself from getting excited. There was something about finally getting the answers to questions she had been researching from afar for month, and getting to find those answers personally that was just so thrilling to her. It was what she loved about archeology more than any of the papers she wrote or lectures she agreed to give. This was why she did it all.

"Alright!" She began yelling as people started to look lost around the site, refusing to get the expedition under way until the final and most important member of the team arrived. She only hoped that he didn't find her message too soon.

"I want the tent set up about fifty metres from the tomb entrance, that way there's somewhere reasonably safe to take anything we find as soon as we reach the surface" she explained, her train of thought lost when she heard a familiar noise, grinning as she turned to watch a blue police box materialise in the middle of the alien desert.

"No one goes into the tomb until I give the word" she warned before turning her back on the team, heading over the the TARDIS, snapping her fingers and letting herself in "Hello Sweetie!"

((For future reference. If you are opening up an RP, you must include as much detail as possible to help other members understand exactly what is going on so that they can insert their characters properly into the story. Also, we do not allow godmodding here. Which simply means, doing the actions of another character/member. For instance, the TARDIS materializing, how did The Doctor know to come there? How does River know how to snap open the doors? Is she that far in her time line? Details matter here is all))

The TARDIS sat still on the corner of downtown London, the pilot inside carefully studying an odd pattern on the back of a beetle through magnified classes. His form slouched over the control console as he bent over to get a closer look, "Hmmm..interesting" he grumbled, "The lines are completely off balance..either an alien force is taking over Earth through insects..or!...Or i'm completely loosing it". Taking off his glasses, The Doctor aggravatingly rubbed his eyes, groaning as he did so before sighing and placing his hands into his pockets. "This is what it's come to..bugs" he hissed, "Studying bugs like a creepy old guy..blimey..i need something to do".

Just as The Doctor finished speaking, the TARDIS jerked forward, sending him back into the railings, his hands cuffing the metal bars as tightly as they could. Narrowing his eyes, The Doctor flopped his body weight forward and crashed into the console. Grabbing the scanner and yanking it over to him, The Doctor's facial expression morphed into a perplexed and baffled slant. "What? What! What?!" The Doctor proclaimed, "What do you mean, you have to come somewhere?!" he asked his time machine as one final thrust nearly sent him head first into the time rotor.

His body sprawled across the control console, his hands trembling as they held onto the edges of the console. The Doctor finally released a sigh of relief as he slowly moved off of the controls and into a stand up position. Then the door handle turned and the wooden door began to slowly creek open. The Doctor's attention shot down the ramp as he stood in front of the controls and peered down, hello sweetie . The words rang through his mind as he stared, completely shocked and frozen, at River before mumbling, "River..", How can it be her? She's..She's in a computer hard drive...how?

(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really, really, really, really sorry )

River made her way straight to the TARDIS console, pulling the monitor around to her, pressing buttons as she pulled up the environment scan, her eyes taking in the information the TARDIS was able to offer her as she tried to figure out what the safest way into the heart of the tomb was, having hoped to get some idea of how deep the tunnels were from the TARDIS's databases, however she found herself disappointed.

"How was the flight, sweetie?" River asked, smiling to herself as she flicked through the available maps "I didn't bother setting the stabilisers, I figured it would emulate your flying style for you" she teased, sighing as she gave up on expecting to find out anything she didn't already know.

"Where are we?" River asked, turning around to lean against the console and watched the shocked Time Lord in front of her, pulling her dairy out of her belt to open it and start flicking through the pages, unable to stop herself from feeling a pang of hurt and disappointment as she saw just how young he was. "Asguard, have we done that yet?" she asked, unable to stop herself from worrying about how early she might have called him, trying to hide her worry as she kept a smile on her face "Or the ruins in Akhaten?" she asked with a deep breath, going back as young as she had met him so far, not knowing what to expect, the face in front of her one that she was unfamiliar with. She was unable to stop herself from studying it, having only seen it in a photo she had hidden away in the depths of her old, tattered diary.

"I need your help," River explained with a sigh as she closed her diary, her arms wrapping around it as she hugged it to her chest, as though if she held it close enough the man in front of her would magically morph into the man she knew all too well. At least he knew her name.

"Out there is a team and a tomb... I need to get to the heart of the tomb and find the Emperor's burial chamber. Legend has it that there are books in there telling of ways the natives were able to turn prisoners to stone over time" she explained "Hopefully it will give some clues of how the weeping angels began, or where they came from." she explained with a small sigh "I've hit a dead end and it's my last lead... only problem is there's no telling what could be down there"

The Doctor just stood there, his mind still wrapping around the fact that River Song stood before him; everything she said going in through one ear and flowing out of the other. Then finally he snapped out of his gaze. "You're alive!" He exclaimed, quickly wrapping River into a hug before pulling back and looking at her closely, "Hold on! Are you a copy? Holographic image? Psychic link tapped through the TARDIS matrix and projected from my thoughts? No, hold on...that's rubbish..you're real. Skin textures a bit off but still.." he ended with a sniff, "Real". Looking at her for a moment, The Doctor shook his head and turned to the controls and yanking the scanner over to him and reviewing what River had pulled up, "I'm not going to be in that book of yours by the way" he told her, his eyes locked on the scanner, "I've met you before..well..once but that's it..well..for me, me. Future incarnations have but i am just out of reach in your time line" he stopped as he glanced back at her, "Don't ask how i know..just know that i know. Like how i know exactly what's inside of that tomb and that you need to pull every single person you have ready to go in there out...send them home so that they can live".

Pushing off of the controls, The Doctor turned fully to River, eyeing her deeply as he took two steps towards her then stopped, "The Weeping Angels have existed for millions of years..long before this universe was created. So why are you so keen on figuring them out ey? This is the second time i've been through this kind of thing with you..well..second..well..second for him and first for me..well..we're the same person so technically..second..well..yeah..second..sorry..where was i?". Loosing track of where he was, The Doctor stopped for a moment then continued, "Tell those men to pack up and go home...you don't want to see what's down there" he told her, "trust me".

River couldn't stop herself from jumping at the sudden out cry and exclamation of her achievement of continuing to live, trying to push away all her thoughts, but she couldn't stop them all from gathering around her death. He was so surprised to see her alive, what did that mean? Was she really that close to the end of her timeline? She closed her eyes as she tried to block out the pain of his words, unable to help herself wrapping her arms back around him to hug him back, though it hurt to not be in HER Doctor's arms.

"Rude" she warned him with a playful glare when he accused of her skin texture being off, unable to stop herself from seeing the glimmer of the man he would become in him as she told herself again why she had to be strong and get through this. If she got through this, she would get all her wonderful memories she had already lived through.

She smiled slightly at his insistence that he was going to be staying out of her journal, leaning back against the console as she held it close, shaking her head with a knowing smile. "You don't know that" she insisted "Nor do I, our timelines aren't linear, they're all jumbled up." she tried to explain, taking a deep breath as she pulled the monitor away from him in the hope of getting his attention for longer than a few seconds. "I think you need to get the rules straight" she told him, trying to keep herself calm and collected, having never thought about the day she would be the one having to go over the rules with him. "And pay attention, because they're your rules and you should obey them for your own good. Our lives are in the wrong order, everything goes in the book so we know where we are. My past is your future and you know how dangerous foreknowledge is. You never, ever are to look in my diary. For your own good" she warned him "However, it works the other way around too. Don't let me know what's still to happen in my life, I need to live it, Doctor." she sighed, leaning back against the console and scanning the screens to make herself look like she wasn't affected by the day. Why couldn't she have just been given him a little bit older just this once? Why today?

River was unable to stop herself from smiling at the Doctor's insistence that she didn't want to know what was down the tomb, not even slightly deterred by his warnings of danger and death, knowing it meant she was on to something good. If she was lucky.... very, very, VERY lucky, she might just get to see her parents again before her time was up.

"I am very sure that your insistence against going inside is the universally recognised sign that I am onto something good" River insisted with a smile, sighing as he asked about her motivations, closing her eyes for a second before she proclaimed "Spoilers," and moved on in her conversation. If he thought he was going to get a better answer than that he was mistaken.

"Half that team out there are women, so I will happily send the men home if it makes you happy but the extra hands could be helpful. I am going into that tomb, and I am finding what I am looking for today" she warned him firmly "I have been working towards this for years, and no one knows more about the weeping angels than I do, so don't think I'm not prepared and that I don't need to see those books. I know you. I'm going in there and you're coming right behind me and no one will be dying today." she insisted, pushing away from the console to head out into the sun, calling over her shoulder "I have a uniform out there if you want to change. Or stay the way you are, makes no difference to me, just be ready in five minutes" she warned, taking a second as soon as she was out of his sight, walking around to the back of the TARDIS to lean against it and take a deep breath, her eyes closing as she tried to tell herself that she would get through it. It was his turn to meet her, and she needed to be patient with him.

She made her way over to the tent once more, starting to pull out maps and sheets of papers, arranging them in an order that made more sense as she went over the plans twice in her head, unable to stop a small part of her getting nervous at the warning she had just received. She was going to do this, and she wasn't going to let anyone die in the process.

The Doctor simply stood there, his mind working out everything that had just happened, even though there was a slight connection to his future incarnations memories about River, there was a blur. A blur that he was left to figure out. Rubbing the back of his head, The Doctor turned back to the controls and yanked the scanner back over to him again, the outside camera on the TARDIS zooming in on River as she sorted out the papers and maps of the tomb. Then something caught his eye, one of the maps stuck out more than the rest. The Doctor squinted at the scanner before thrusting off the controls and rushing down the ramp, the doors opening before him with the snap of his fingers then creaking shut behind him.

Dashing across the sand, The Doctor came to a sudden stop once meeting River, quickly snatching up the map in question and studying it. Lifting it up, The Doctor tried to get a better look before finally laying it back down on the table and flipping on his glasses, "One of these maps..has something the other doesn't...aha! Gotcha!" he suddenly exclaimed, landing his finger on a small extension on the outline of the tomb. "This small blip was just discovered am i right? Well..just discovered by newer technology..you see" The Doctor began to explain, laying out the other outlines, "This is the newest outline...makes you think doesn't it? What could be hidden so well that only recent technology can pick it up ey?" he ended with a sniff, glancing over to River. Immediately, The Doctor nodded his head, "Yes yes i know. I-i'm not helping you..i'm..i'm just exploring my curiosity" he tried to retract as he took a few steps back to his TARDIS, "Like i'm opening up my own Pandora's box sort of thing" he joked.

Turning fully around, The Doctor bolted back to his TARDIS. Once reaching it, he opened the door slightly, leaned in and snagged his trench coat then closed the door behind him. Dashing back to River, The Doctor placed his trench coat onto her as he approached her from behind then shot to the front, "I've got a feeling we'l need that if we're going to go down there" he concluded, sniffing as he looked at her with his coat on, a smiling emerging on his face. "You look pretty good" He said trying to hold back his grin, spinning around to face the entrance of the tomb, "Your persistent and clever..." he chuckled softly, "I see why i like you...now..let's see what the weeping angels have in store..allons-y".

River turned around in slight surprise, a small smile creeping over her lips as she saw that impossible man running across the sand, slightly taken aback as he snatched the map from her and started to study it. She couldn't resist a smug smile when he let his curiosity take over, watching him closely as he looked for the inconsistency she knew he would find.

"Yes, sweetie" she answered his question, taking a step closer to look over his shoulder at the maps she had been studying for years. The archeologist's smile only grew when the Time Lord before her tried to insist that he was only answering his curiosity. "You always are dear!" she called out to him as she watched him rush back to the TARDIS, rolling her eyes as she went back to examining the plans. She had to make sure that she had this right.... he was so young, if he something were to happen to him now she would have never had her life with him.

But then he threw out a comment, one that caught the gentle face beneath the mass of curls off guard, her breath hitching as he compared the puzzle to a pandora's box. "Oh, Doctor" she murmured to herself "You're going to have a whole Pandorica to yourself" she muttered, sighing as she turned her attention down to the table, picking up her communicator, starting to punch in co-ordinates as she readied herself to open the tomb.

"Get the grav globes" River instructed to the people around her, starting to tick off the last of the items on her list, determined that she wasn't going to loose anyone that day "I want five per group. I don't want us to run out of spares if they get shut down" she insisted with a deep breath, only being snapped out of her concentration when she felt something around her shoulders, unable to control her grin at his words, pulling her arms into the coat she had been offered "Oh Doctor, you don't know the half of it" she smiled, wasting no time in leading him over to the entrance of the tomb.

She pressed the communicator to the fitted sensors, having ensured that the tomb was properly secured the moment she arrived, not because she didn't trust her team, but because she didn't trust what was inside. "Disarmed!" she yelled out loudly, wanting to make sure everyone had the message "I want flashlights on at all times and back up grav globes ready to deploy! If anyone wander's off you'll have me to deal with, and I think you would prefer the angels" she warned, turning to send a grin at the Time Lord "That means you too, Doctor. Behind me" she warned, throwing the first grav globe into the tomb in front of her, taking a deep breath as she looked around and observed the now lit path before her.

"For you, Mum and Dad" she mumbled under her breath, taking a step into the brightly lit corridor, her hand moving to rest gently on the gun strapped to her hip. She knew better than to expect it to do any good, but she could hope.

"Ok, to the first corner and then wait" she instructed her team, her eyes glancing down at the maps held by the communicator tightly grasped in her left hand, stopping when she got to the intersection to look both ways, weary to look for any sign of trouble.

The Doctor smirked, glancing over to River as she gave the orders to her squad, he couldn't help but smirk as he heard the words she spoke. Don't wonder off That simple statement made The Doctor think how long River has known him; which incarnation it may have been didn't matter and he had The Valeyard to thank for that. Years ago, The Valeyard returned and to mark his revenge on The Doctor, he used his attachments to his friends and companions against him. Every single incarnation at the second before turning into the next, stopped and continued on living. Every single incarnation was and is forced to live without the possibility of dying via age. Instead The Doctor is forced to watch his companions die by age, or worse, while he continues to live on. I can't tell her The Doctor thought as his eyes locked onto her and his mind snapped shut in a deep thought, Her time line is so fixed there isn't any room....maybe...maybe one day she will know. But it doesn't matter...knowing where she ends up every single time..no matter what i do.

That means you too, Doctor. Behind me River's words rang throughout his mind, snatching him from his deep thoughts and shifting his attention over to her form as she entered the tomb. Arching his eyebrow, The Doctor smirked then bolted after her without another thought in his mind, his converse kicking up sand behind him as he ran. Once beside her, he flipped out his sonic screwdriver and peered out to the dimly lit tomb.

His sonic screwdriver shined new light onto the tomb aside from the grav globe, his eyes squinting as they tried to pick up everything they could. Slowly the female dominated squad members entered further into the tomb, cautiously peering around corners and flashing their lights down almost every possible corner. Suddenly a form appeared before the team, then another, followed by another, all resting on the side of the tomb hallway. Extending his hand out, The Doctor stepped out in front of River and approached one of the forms. The closer he got, the easier it became detailed, his sonic screwdriver providing him most of his light until the grav globe loomed over him and shed light on the object. "A coffin" The Doctor mumbled, slowly extending his hand and opening it.

Inside of the coffin lay a Weeping Angel, it's eyes closed and hands crossed over its chest, The Doctor lowered his head, "Time isn't kind..even to angels" he mumbled, shaking his head as he looked up, "But why". Standing up, he peered around him, to the squad members gazing out at him and the other coffins now surrounding them, "Why hide something here?...if the angels buried something down here..maybe it's not something the rest of the universe isn't supposed to know about". Suddenly a grin flashed onto his face and he turned to face the rest of the hall, "That just makes me want to find out more" he mumbled before proceeding, although the thought of the dead angel still prominently wavering through his thoughts.

River's eyes didn't leave the Doctor when he caught up with her, unable to stop herself form rolling her eyes when he pulled out his screwdriver and an all too familiar whirring noise filled her ears. Of course he had brought it with him, and there was no point in asking if it was truly necessary because his answer would be yes.

River's breath caught ever so slightly as the Doctor stepped out in front of her, her eyes trained on him as he made his way over to the forms, barely able to control her nerves as she watched him reach out and open the coffin, ensuring that she was barely a step away form him incase something when wrong.

She took a deep breath in as she watched him open the lid, the smallest gasp escaping her lips as her eyes fell on the form before her, though she knew better than to trust the angels, even in death.

"Secure the coffin" she told one of the women to her right, weary of what could be waiting for them "It still has it's image... I don't want to take any chances of being tricked. If it's dead it stays that way, if it has some way of coming back from the dead then I don't want to give it the chance to come after us"

She was cautious, she had too many encounters with the Weeping Angels to not be, and she knew better than to think they would just give up their secrets easily, she knew they would be heavily guarded.

River smiled every so slightly at the Doctor's exclamation of interest. She had known he would come, he was as desperate to know as she was, some big mystery the Weeping Angels had kept hidden for all this time that he didn't know? It was like honey to a fly.

"I said behind me" River reminded him with a deep breath as she pressed forward, still keeping one eye on the blinking dot that showed their location on her communicator. "We've only just got in and there are already dead angels in coffins, whatever it is that they've hidden has to be good and if you get yourself killed, I'll kill you" she insisted, smiling slightly when they turned the corner and found themselves face with a giant stone door.

She made her way over to it, trying to open it only to find that it was locked. "A locked door" she smiled "There has to be something good behind there, how's a girl to resist?" she questioned, turning to the man whom had brought the screwdriver.

"Would you like the honours?" she questioned him with a smile "After all, you are the one who brought the sonic"

The Doctor couldn't help but mimic River in rolling his eyes as she told him to stay behind her so that she could protect him. Never had she been this way to him, Something must have happened to..well..me he thought to himself before the arrival of the huge stone door appeared before the team. Immediately his attention was diverted to it as he stared up at it's shier mass and size. Once more, however, River's words broke him out of his gaze and after listening to her, he couldn't help to mimic her once more.

"Well i don't know how i could do that" He began, waving the sonic screwdriver in between his fingers with a cocky smile, "You told me to stay behind you. Which means i would have to stand behind you while trying to open the door with my sonic...otherwise i'd be disobeying your rules..caption". Smirking and glancing over to the soldiers around him, The Doctor tried his best to hold in his laugh, letting a little bit slip before sauntering over to the door and eyeing it curiously.

Placing his ear up against it, The Doctor knocked on it a few times before taking a step back from it, "Well it's stone alright..stone about a foot through but! Also on the other side is technology..some high technological readings" he concluded before peering over to River and the female soldiers. "Oh! I didn't tell you?" He asked them rhetorically with a sniff, "I've been tracking a high technological output with my sonic..and..well..there's one here but also one a bit further through. Which means". He stopped as he held up his sonic screwdriver and activated it; with a sudden thrust, the giant stone door slid open, dust whirling out from inside of the room and rushing out into the open world. "Can i go through first or..or would you like me to stay behind you?" The Doctor asked River, tucking away his sonic screwdriver and nonchalantly placing his hands into his pockets, "There's lights inside the room, i could hear them through the echoes my knock sent through..bounced off of the LED bulbs and back to my ears. Distinctive sort of chattering sound...".

River knew she had attitude coming, she had, after all, told him one thing and then asked for another. She knew better than to expect that he would just let it slide. "I'll write you a permission slip, just try not to get yourself killed or I might need to spank you" she teased with a small smile, crossing her arms over her chest as she offered him the door, part of her knowing that she had to calm down. She knew nothing was going to happen to him, nothing could. She still had to kill him at Lake Silencio. It was fixed. But it didn't stop her from worrying that something would and she would never know him.

She watched him careful as he pressed his ear to the stone, though she was soon beaming and rolling her eyes as he proceeded to show off. "He think's he's so hot when he does that" she rolled her eyes to one of the women next to her, Krisstina. She had been asking for years to come on a dig with her, even though she had heard the stories of how people went missing and often died on Professor Song's expeditions. She still wanted to come. She was only thirty-two and had two children back home staying with their grandmother, they had already lost their father. River had to keep reminding herself of these small facts, always needing to harden her resolve that she wasn't going to let anyone die this trip.

"Good work, sweetie" River congratulated the Doctor, his sarcastic tone about having to stay behind her not lost on her for a second. "I still want you to stay behind me" she smiled tauntingly at him "I would like it very much, thank you sweetie" she smiled, sending orders down the group for the last person to grab the grav globe and look after it through their journey through the lights, wanting it close by incase they went out.

"You can go through second if you want" River teased as she walked through the doorway, not trusting what could be in the room as her hand went to her hip, pulling out her gun which she pointed in the direction she walked just incase. Shoot first, ask questions later. She was a good enough shot to injure and not kill if need be until she had the answers she wanted.

The Doctor smirked, glancing over the soldiers before entering in after River into the room, his body shifting to a defensive position as the darkness struck him like a brick wall. Cold air rushed out, running by each new body that entered before finally settling down in the center of the room. Slowly the light from the gravity globe shinned and quickly the objects scattered throughout the room became more clear. Stations holding tubes sat up against the walls, various control panels and access terminals scattered across the landscape.

Inside the tubes hovered a Weeping Angel, it's fleshly form an unfamiliar sight as they floated in a green water like substance. Slowly The Doctor approached one of the tubes, his eyes wide as his hand extended out and touched the glass of the tube. "Weeping Angels in a state of perfect balance..unconscious..healing it looks like" The Doctor mumbled, looking over the fleshy form of the angel as he spoke, "So the Weeping Angels..heal their wounded..in a tomb surrounded by the dead".

The angels head was lowered down, it's arms crossed over it's stomach as it's wings surrounding it's chest. The eyes were closed; an odd opposition to the events The Doctor was used to when facing the angels, not blinking. But for one the first times, he didn't have to worry, he could blink all he wanted to, he blinked. Turning away from the angel in front of him, The Doctor turned his attention to the center control panel, scrutinizing each of it's controls as he approached it. "There aren't any buttons here to open any of the doors..." He concluded, looking up and peering around the room around him, his eyes searching for doors, "So it's like we're on our own...unless we want to open one of these up and ask one of them".