thenotchdoctor :
“Shit.”
He spotted Amy when the little girl called to her. At once the dots connected. Fragments of the other Doctor’s memory pieced together and mingled with his own. The taste of her lips, the feel of her skin, blood on her face. I hit her with a spade - no, that wasn’t me. But I hit her, left her there, went for her husband. He had meant to take her, too, mother and daughter. He remembered that now. By the time he had finished with River’s father, the mother had gone. In the end, did that even matter? That universe was no more.
Notchy remained still, prepared to defend himself if this mother became incensed at his proximity to another daughter. It was difficult to fight the urge to be vulgar, to pass comment on her relationship with the Lord President, but common sense was victorious.
“I haven’t touched her,” he declared. “Your brat approached me.”
The first thing that caught Amy’s eye was her daughter’s smile. The little girl was always up for an adventure or other and could make even a trip to the store seem exciting. Going for a walk, trying to clear her head on a decent enough day was grounds for a quest to the water fountain. She could hear it bubbling behind Gwen’s shout and it made her laugh.
Her smile was short lived, though. Gwen’s present company elicited a moment of confusion and she frowned. Somewhere deep within her mind she remembered who he was. She had seen him before. At a quick glance he would have looked every bit like Gwen’s father but there was something different in how he held himself. There was something different in his face, too.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his words and the memories slipped into place. This one had been at River’s home. He’d been helpful but snide and it seemed nothing had changed.
“If you had I’m sure I’d hear of it,” she said casually once she was close enough. “And she’s not a brat. Though I’m not so sure about you.”
Gwen tugged at her mother’s sleeve, insistent on attention. “Mum, did you bring it? Please tell me you brought it. I need to make my wish.”
One eye on the almost Doctor, Amy reached into her pocket for the little bauble. It looked like a silver coin but it would dissolve when sunk into water. An old trick from her traveling days made for a great toy that didn’t litter in the fountain.
“Of course.”
Gwen smiled at him happily, a sharp contrast to the wariness of her mother. “The winner of the quest gets ta make a wish with the magic coin. It doesn’t always come true but that’s ‘cause wishes are for fun, not for real stuff. You want ta try it?” She held her hand out, open palm with the coin for him to take if he wanted.
