A/N: This is a follow on to my story 'The Doctor needs a Song.' so I'd advise you to read that before continuing with this one. Also, there are some brief references to some of my other stories... It's something different, so enjoy! =)

51st century Earth, a loud and busy night club in the city centre, the perfect place for one to drown their sorrows and misery with alcohol and deafening music...

At the bar of the night club a woman sat on a barstool. She had wild blonde curls that had been tamed by a hair-scrunchie and she was wearing a mini skirt with a low-cut top and an open leather jacket which got men curious despite the fact that she wasn't interested.

Her make-up had run slightly down her tearful face and her eyes were blood-shot. Her head now rests on the counter buried in her arms as she sobbed.

"...River..." a comforting hand was placed on her shoulder. "It's okay. Everything will turn out for the better." The American accent sounded rather confident. The hand rubbed her shoulder gently, trying to comfort her.

The woman lifted her head slowly and more tears came streaming down her cheeks. She turned to face the man sitting next to her. She grabbed hold of her glass of Scotch and gulped it down. The ice cubes clanging against the glass as she slammed it onto the counter.

She still had some shots on the counter as well, just to try and make her forget for one night. This was a lot of alcohol, but River thought that she could handle it just as long as she didn't have to remember the misery. The drink she had just swallowed was her fourteenth and by now she should surely be drunk enough...

"...My life is a wreck..." she sighed still sounding fairly sober. "I have no job, I've lost my best friends, my home was raided by Stormcage Officers, I'm not even supposed to be in the city and to top that all off, I now know how and when I'm going to die!" her voice rose out of rage but, trembled out of sadness. "Things couldn't possibly get any worse..."

The man looked at her sympathetically. He exhaled. "It may seem like there's no hope right now, but just around the corner there's always a trickle of hope seeping out and it's up to you to find the source..." he spoke wisely and soothingly. "...I've had many personal experiences!" he mumbled out of humour afterwards- referring to his immortality state.

"Jack... I barely know you; yet it seems as if we've known each other forever... thanks for trying." She looked at him for a moment. His tight black shirt showed off his muscular torso but, his long jacket concealed his well-built arms. His face looked so familiar and so friendly.

"...Smile? You'll feel better." Jack asked. The tears had stopped running down her face and she forced a very faint smile out of the corner of her deep red lips.

"There... you see? It'll all turn out better if you just have faith." He returned the smile, only his was wider and more meaningful.

She sighed again and rolled her eyes at disgust of herself. "I'm... I'm sorry, Jack. I can't do it; I just... don't have as much faith as you do..." She held her head in her hand and rested her elbow on the counter.

Jack grabbed hold of River just below her shoulders and forced her body to face him. "Yes... you... can do it." He stared at her and spoke strongly. "You don't need him every second of your life; he can't always be there for you!" he shook her slightly as he spoke.

She sobbed again; his words had hit her hard. "Yes I do, Jack..." she whimpered and drew a deep breath. "He's... my husband..." she confessed. "I need him... and he needs me..." her voice was trembling. She picked up a shot glass and tipped her head back so the liquid could slide down her throat. At the same time, Jack had gulped down a shot as well he needed a strong drink too.

"...It may seem like that but, you don't. He can show you the wonders of the universe and take to places beyond your imagination but, it's up to you to make yourself worthy of his trust. You, River, have earned the right to travel the stars with the Doctor once upon a time but, remember he can't die and he doesn't age, he wouldn't want to see someone he cares about wither away and die... You have to understand that." Jack tried to make her see things from a different point of view- the view point of one who can't die of one who's seen someone they care about leave their life.

River grabbed the Scotch glass again and tightened her grip on it. "I know... but, I just need him here right now, he's the only one who can help me get through this... My Doctor, my husband..." Tears streamed down her cheeks again, her rage was boiling as her sadness was flooding.

"Just stop and think for a moment..." he grabbed her again and looked right into her soul. "What do you think he'll think of you when he sees you like this?"

River shoved Jack away aggressively and defensively as the tears just kept coming. "Stop it... just stop it!" she yelled. Her emotions overpowered her body, the sadness and the anger and the love. She tossed the glass across the counter and it smashed into small pieces as it hit the wall behind the bar.

River cried and cried and she didn't care about anything else apart from being with the Doctor... forever.

A barman then approached the shattered glass with a small dust pan and brush almost instinctively. He knelt down in front of it and began sweeping, not saying a word to anyone as he swept. He overheard River and Jack's conversation and he sighed out of pity. After he had swept up all of the glass, he tipped it into the bin and stood at the bar just in front of River who was crying on the counter top again.

"...River..." the barman said.

River lifted her head to see who spoke, she knew it wasn't Jack. "Wha-..." she was cut off by a pair of lips tenderly caressing against hers...