Wanderer of Time (doctor who)

Chapter 17: The Ghast of Caliburn House

River sat humming in her cell, staring up happily to the ceiling. The Doctor and Wanda had just brought her back after a wonderful day in the Umbeka. A whole planet made of snow and ice. They had spent the entire day playing in the snow: having frozen picnics, sledding, snowball fighting, snowmen building, the works. The snowball fight had been the best, especially when both she and Wanda teamed up against the Doctor. He pouted in defeat the entire time after becoming soaked by the snow all over him. She chuckled lightly when a white light flashed softly in the corner of her eye. She glanced over to see First Wanda appear inside her cell.

"Hello, sweetie! Glad to see you again," she said happily as she sat up. The young Wanda blinked around in confusion.

"Oh. Hello, River. How are you?" she asked quietly, looking around the small cell. "Is the Doctor here, or . . ."

"You just missed him," River told her.

"Do I normally show up when he's not here?" Wanda asked curiously. River shrugged slightly.

"Sometimes, but rarely," she explained. "And you only stay for a little while before taking off again. You can never be away from the Doctor for too long."

"Oh," Wanda spoke quietly. She sat down on River's bed, sighing heavily.

River scooted next to her, putting her arm around the girl's shoulder. "What's wrong, sweetie? What's on your mind?"

Wanda hesitated for a moment, afraid to trouble River with her worries. She pinched her thumb, twisting it around some within her lap. "I've made the Doctor mad again. I didn't mean to, but I just keep messing up."

River chuckled lightly. "You made the Doctor mad? That's usually my job." She frowned when Wanda still looked sad. "Where did you come from?"

"I was with Nine."

River nodded, suddenly understanding what happened. "Ah. You've told me about him. Don't worry. From what I heard that Doctor just has a bad temper on him."

Wanda nodded, knowing that from experiencing said temper. But she still felt a sharp twist of guilt and worriment. "I'm just afraid that if I keep making him mad, then the other Doctors in the future will hate me."

"Oh, he could never hate you, sweetie."

Wanda sighed. "How could you be so sure I'm not rewriting time for the worse?"

River gave Wanda a small smirk. "Spoilers." Wanda smiled, but the worry showed within her eyes. River stared at Wanda for a moment before walking over to her dresser, digging through it. "I have something for you. I forgot to give it to you last time." She turned around and handed Wanda a small, light blue crystal attached to a short keychain. It sparkled in the light, given it a beautiful sheen.

Wanda stared at it with bright eyes, feeling awed by the beautiful crystal. "What's that?"

River sat back down next to Wanda. "It's a promise. A promise that, no matter what, I will always be there for you. Even if the Doctor won't, I will." River pulled out a silver chain from around her neck with a similar blue crystal attached. Though, hers looked to be much older and worn. "It's a matching set. That way we always know we're there for each other, and never really separated through time." River grinned to her.

Wanda's smile brightened and quickly gave River a large hug. "Thank you. It's wonderful." She sat back, admiring the crystal. She then clipped the crystal onto her TARDIS key necklace, making sure keep it close to her. "I wish I had something to give you. I haven't had much time to really explore or shop around any worlds yet."

"Don't worry about it. You and I will have penalty of time to do that later. For now," River leaned over to her bedside table, grabbing a deck of cards, "time of us to play some poker."