__ a mother's love;
River had never thought she'd be here. The vortex manipulator on her wrist was still sending shrill residual energy from the time vortex up through her veins in a way that made her shiver. Shaking out of hair, she looked down the street. No one walking the cobblestone streets of Victorian England tonight. River wondered off-handedly if Jill the Ripper was roaming, but she didn't still on the corner in fear-- not River Song. After all, she had a date with her daughter, and it would be horrible to keep her. The clip of her boots bounced off the stately buildings as the stalked the streets, seeming oddly loud to her delicate ears. It was a longer walk than she would have expected, but travel by vortex manipulator didn't have the benefits of the TARDIS. She ended up in about the right time and about the right place. Still, it was better than nothing. There was a man willing to pay a small fortune for her retrieval of the Scion Jar of Obsidian. The click of her heels stopped outside a wide and locked gate. For most people, it would have been a deterrent, but not for her. She slid her hand between the bars and with a deft movement unhinged the lock. Slipping through and closing it behind her, River tried not to be awed by the sight of the estate that had been hidden behind that gate, but as usual-- she failed. Madame Vastra's home was exactly what every Steampunk fetishist imagined a Victorian mansion in the center of London should be... and more. The windows gleamed invitingly, and she gave into the invitation they offered. Her hand slid past the foliage as she strolled the garden towards the front door. It was as much as a reverie as she allowed herself-- a stroll through a garden, but it was brief and necessarily so-- she was a busy woman. The knocks as the door rang out through the courtyard, and it was only moments before Strax appeared in the doorway. He bubbled out some response about peons and how they should know better than to appear so late at the door. “Dear, do tell Vastra I need to see her. I have need of my daughter.” Walking into the foyer past the Silurian, she called loudly, “Oh, Elizabeth...” The name echoed through the room. “Mummy's home."
