First and Last Night

The Doctor and the Hatter danced around the TARDIS controls, flying the time machine through the Time Vortex, while Astra was strapped into a baby seat on one of the jump seats, already sucking on the ear of her new teddy bear, Cyril, that she had got for Christmas only a few hours ago. She had been most insistent on adding a little dark blue bowtie to her new teddy, much to the Doctor's delight and the Hatter's amusement.

The Time Lords brought the TARDIS to a gentle landing in the middle of Stormcage, right outside River's jail cell. The Doctor pulled the handbrake down, just as the doors swung open and River stepped into the console room, smiling back up to them a little hesitantly, clearly still a little unsure about how they might take her presences, given the fact that she was still very early on in her timeline. The Hatter flashed her a quick, reassuring smile as she moved around to stand beside the Doctor before the stairs, reaching out to take his hand.

River returned the smile before her eyes fell on the floor length, metallic gold dress that was hanging on the hatstand by the console, quite low cut in the front and tight fitting, "The dress is a little daring…" she remarked, eyeing it as she neared them.

"Yep," the Doctor grinned, throwing the dress a quick look, "So I went for this instead," he looked down at his white tuxedo jacket and shirt, complete with black bowtie and trousers.

"Somehow, I don't think gold would have suited you, sweetheart," the Hatter said with a hint of amusement, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, absently using her thumb to wipe away the bit of pale pink lipstick she left behind.

River raised her eyebrows, looking back to the Hatter, taking in her outfit, which was…different. None of it really should have worked together and yet, somehow, on the Time Lady, it just did. A dark blue dress with large silver printed roses scattering the silk fabric and dipping slightly at the back hemline, while she wore a bright yellow, thin belt around her waist and a pair of flat bright pink shoes with an ankle strap, no doubt to make sure the shoes stayed on while running. Her hair had been curled and pulled back off her face in a half-up, half-down style with a bright pink fascinator hat sitting slightly askew on top of her head with large fabric flowers attached to it. She even had a pair of earrings, little stud silver stars.

"Are we going out?" she asked, pulling her eyes off the slightly unusual outfit and splashes of colour.

"We are," the Time Lady nodded to her, giving her a cheeky little smile, "We just figured…while you're parents are sleeping, why not have a little bit of fun?" she suddenly frowned and turned towards Astra, pointing a stern finger at her, "The same doesn't go for you, missy".

Astra gargled something from around the ear of her very soggy looking teddy, making River blink slightly and snap her head around towards the baby.

"We don't care how unfair that is," the Doctor told the baby, though his attempt to come off as stern really didn't work with the faint smile on his face, "River isn't our daughter, you are and don't talk back to your mother," he sighed slightly, glancing at the Hatter, "Those teenage years are going to be hell, aren't they?"

The Hatter winced at the thought, "Worse than an entire battle fleet of Dalek's, I'd wager," she muttered, resisting against the urge to shiver. He met her eyes and sighed again, before turning back towards the controls, preparing to set off again.

"Hello, Astra," River smiled softly, moving across to kneel beside the baby seat. Astra pulled the teddy out of her mouth, looking curiously back to River, "I don't suppose you've meet me yet, have you?" she reached out her hand, while the Doctor and the Hatter paused to watch.

Astra seemed to examine her for a moment, before she gave a happy little squeal and tried to clumsily reach out a hand, though she appeared to be far more interested in River's mess of curly hair then her hand.

"I'd watch out, River," the Hatter laughed, coming to stand on the other side of the chair, "Astra's developed quite a liking for hair recently, poor Amy had to pull her hair back because Astra was so obsessed with its colour".

River laughed slightly and straightened, "She's very sweet".

The brunet turned back towards her daughter, her face softening as she watched Astra go back to sucking on the teddy, though her eyes were fixed on River's hair still, "She is, rather," she agreed, before winking at River, "Though, I am a little bias," she leaned down to place a kiss on Astra's head before she quickly undid the straps holding her firmly in the seat, cradling her against her chest as she looked back to River, "So, do tell us, how's Stormcage so far? Is the food any good? I do hope they have jelly, I'm rather fond of jelly myself".

"I'm on the first night of twelve thousand consecutive life sentences," she replied with a small shrug, not appearing to be overly concerned about it, "Kind of early to say".

"Right…" she nodded slowly, before breaking into a wide smile, "Still, do they have jelly?"

River just laughed and shook her head, "Where are we going?"

"Caleron Beta," the Doctor answered from where he was still working at the controls, "Boring planet of the chip shops, but…!" he held his finger up, breaking into a smile, "There is a four hundred foot tree growing out of a cliff on the north side of a mountain in the middle of the sea," he quickly typed something into the controls as he spoke, glancing back up again to see River's excited expression, "And, if you take the lift to the top and look up at exactly twelve minutes past midnight on the 21st of September 2360, you can see more stars in one sky than at any moment in the history of the Universe," he lightly clapped his hands together, "It's like daylight, only magic," he moved around to the control panel on the other side of River, pulling a lever as he looked back to her, "You could read a book by it".

"Or you could just enjoy the stars," the Hatter cut in, giving the Doctor a fond smile as she lightly adjusted Astra in her arms. She doubted if River would even think about reading with a show like that going on above her head to enjoy, "Never mind that, though," she shook her head, casting the console a quick glance before focusing back onto River, "You had better get dressed, we ought to be arriving in ten minutes".

"Which reminds me…" the Doctor glanced back over his shoulder to River, moving around to the other side of the console, fiddling with the controls, "Did you bring the diary, River?"

River reached into her trouser pocket, pulling out the TARDIS shaped book, "It's a diary?" she asked, holding it up for them both to see.

"Yes, it is," the Time Lady nodded to her, watching as she began flickering through the fresh, unmarked pages, her tone growing firmer, "And it's very important that you listen to us right now, because there are rules…"

"Oh, you've gone all strict," she commented with a mock pout.

"River," the Doctor said sternly, eyeing her carefully as he moved to stand beside the Hatter again, neither Time Lord taking their eyes off her. This was very important for River to understand, otherwise it could cause a great deal of trouble for them all, "It's all in the wrong order for the three of us, we never meet in sequence," he explained, and River glanced back up to them from the pages of her diary, seeming to have realised just how serious this actually was, "You put everything in the diary so we know where we are".

"Put what in the diary? Sweetie, I'm in the highest security prison in all of the known Universe".

The Hatter laughed softly, giving River an almost fond look, "And who do you think you are?" she said with a pointed look, "River Song could walk in and out of any prison, whenever she so pleased, just for the sheer fun of it".

River blinked slightly, breaking into a small smile, "I'm River Song…" she said slowly.

"Exactly," she grinned, adjusting Astra in her arms, "Now, off you pop to get changed and all pretty…not that you need to spend much time doing that, my dear…" she gave River a little wink, "And if you don't like the dress, feel free to pick something else out of the wardrobe. Oh, and a hat!" she brightened suddenly, looking almost like an excited child, "You have a good face for a hat," Astra gargled something, and she glanced at her, nodding happily, "Even Astra agrees with me, River".

"She is your daughter, dear," the Doctor remarked with a soft smile in the Time Lady's direction.

"Right…" River nodded, frowning slightly, "And the wardrobe is…?"

"First right," he spun back to her, pointing off towards the small set of stairs and the hallway leading off into the rest of the time machine, "Second left, just past the helter-skelter".

River closed her diary and gave them a quick smile, turning and almost skipping down the stairs, disappearing off down the hallway, just as the sound of gunfire sounded from the other side of the TARDIS doors, making the Doctor and the Hatter whirl around in alarm.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" the Hatter asked warily, glancing back over to the Doctor, tightening her grip protectively on Astra.

"Not that I know of," the Doctor muttered, looking a little concerned himself. He hurried around the console and down the stairs, dashing across to throw the door open, his eyes widening at the sight of who was outside as the air was filled with shots of lasers and smoke, "River!" he exclaimed, just as a second version of River stumbled into the time machine and directly into his arms, holding an energy weapon, barely giving him a chance to close the door.

"River?" the Time Lady stared at the new, obviously older version of River Song, quite shocked.

"I knew you'd come back here, you nostalgic idiots," River gasped weakly, clutching onto the Doctor, who looked even more worried now as he half-carried her further into the console room, "Hold me!" she suddenly fainted in his arms, going completely limp.

"River!" the Doctor called urgently, trying to give her a little shake, "River! River! River!"

"Put her on the floor before you drop her, Doctor!" the Hatter ordered quickly, quite fearful that he might accidently drop River, given his usual lack of coordination even at the best of times. She dashed down the steps to join him, clutching Astra close to her as she looked worriedly at River's still face, Astra squirming worriedly in her arms.

The Doctor carefully lowered River onto the floor, leaning over her, "River?" he tried again, lightly tapping her cheeks as the Hatter knelt on the floor on the other side of River, "Are you okay?" he grabbed her arm, lifting it up, trying to check for any sign of injury that might explain her sudden collapsing in his arms, "Talk to me…okay, um…uh…" he looked quickly up to the Hatter, his eyes wide with panic, "She's not breathing!"

"Well, do something!" she almost shouted, feeling her hearts racing.

"Right," he swallowed, turning back to River, "Breathe, breathe, come on…" he leaned closer to River's face, looking close to giving her mouth to mouth, but he was still hesitate. It was awkward thinking about doing something like that, even if it was to save River's life, he just had to get it through his head that it was about saving her life and that the fact that he would have to touch his own mouth against hers was the downside of doing that, "Gotta keep breathing…uh…" he leaned down, mere inches from her mouth, when he paused and frowned slightly, tilting his head sideways to listen for a second, "River," he sat upright, looking down at River's face with a mildly exasperated expression as the Hatter looked between them in confusion, "You are holding your breath".

"Oh, you have got to be kidding…" the Hatter closed her eyes, her shoulder slumping as all the previous panic and fear of before faded, though her hearts were still beating far too fast for her comfort. Of course River had been faking, she ought to have known straight away, after all, she and River were quite alike in many ways and that was something that she would likely have done herself, in the past…well, if she wasn't afraid of giving the Doctor a double heart attack in the process, that is.

River's eyes snapped open, smirking, "Did I impress you, honeykins?"

She shook her head in mild annoyance, climbing back onto her feet, "If by impressed you mean almost gave me a heart attack, then yes," she sighed heavily, "Well done, very fine prank," she paused, giving Astra a sharp look, "Don't get any ideas, young lady".

"Get up, River!" the Doctor huffed as he stood, too, marching back up to the console as River simply smirked wider and pulled herself back onto her feet. She even had the nerve to give the Hatter a cheeky wink, which made the Time Lady smile despite herself, before moving to take Astra's hand and give it a little kiss in greeting, narrowly avoiding getting a chunk of her hair pulled out, "What are you doing here?" he demanded, pulling a lever harder then really needed, setting them off again, "Who's shooting at you?" he turned back around to face them.

"Oh, just some Sontarans," River shrugged carelessly, looking away from Astra, though she still kept a hold of her tiny hand, "Chased me halfway across the galaxy," she broke into a small smile, "I probably shouldn't have asked them if they were on a hen night".

The Hatter tried so hard not to laugh, but she just couldn't stop the small giggle that escaped her, while the Doctor looked positively scandalised by the whole thing, "Oh, that is classic," she grinned, giving River a proud look.

"River, you can't do things like that!" the Doctor scolded, giving her a stern look, "And you…!" he turned on the Hatter, pointing a finger at her, "You shouldn't be encouraging her, Hatter!"

"She's not my daughter," the Hatter said lightly, still smiling. If River was…it would be another story, she would actually have to pretend to be cross and wait until she was alone before allowing herself to enjoy the mental image, "Don't be a spoil-sport, sweetheart".

River smirked at the Doctor, who was opening and closing his mouth in disbelief, "So what?" she gave him a challenging look, "You've already had me banged up in jail for five years, what else are you gonna do? Spank me?"

"Now…" he began, holding up a finger.

"River," the Time Lady cut in, her smile replaced by a small frown, "We might not be your parents, but you'll still show us respect, so don't start getting mouthy with your godfather".

River let out a loud sigh, "Fine…" she dragged out the word, sounding more like a teenager then a grown woman, when she frowned slightly, catching sight of the golden dress still hanging on the hatstand. She walked closer to it, "Wait, have you two brought someone else here?" she asked suspiciously, spinning back around to narrow her eyes on them, "Does anyone agree to wear that dress?" she whirled around and stormed off up the stairs leading to the upper levels of the console, while the Doctor rubbed his face and the Hatter sighed, "Where is she?" she demanded, clearly quite upset over the whole thing.

"River, think it through," the Doctor tried, lowering his hand.

She stopped partway up the stairs, turning to glare down at them, "This happened the last time we were here," she complained, giving them an accusing look, "You brought someone else!" she turned and continued up the stairs.

"We really didn't, River!" the Hatter called after her.

"Yes, you did! I heard you talking to her!"

"It's the same night!" both Time Lords said in unison, exchanging a look, just as River disappeared around the corner.

"Doctor, Hatter…" they jumped and turned to see the first River standing on the level below them in the doorway of the hallway, looking back to them with a curious expression, holding a handful of clothing in her arms. She eyed them, "Were you two talking to someone?"

The Hatter fixed a bright smile onto her face, "Just talking to each other," she reassured her quickly, hoping she looked and sounded believable, "I was…trying to see if I could mimic another person's voice," she cleared her throat as the Doctor shifted a little awkwardly beside her, feeling like she probably should have just left it without the last part.

The first River gave her an odd look, but nodded slowly and disappeared back down the hallway.

"Where you talking to someone?" the second River appeared at the top of the stairs, making the Time Lords jump again and quickly turn to look up at her.

"No, no, dear," the Doctor said hurriedly, holding up a soothing hand, "Just us".

She continued to eye them for a brief moment before she disappeared back down the hallway. The Doctor and the Hatter looked at each other, both wondering about just how they were actually going to manage to make this whole thing work without one of the River's running into the other, when the TARDIS doors suddenly swung open and a third River, older and actually wearing the golden dressed, strolled into the room. They turned to stare at her in disbelief and exasperation, even Astra gave a little coo, unable to believe just how complicated one simple night with River Song was turning out to be, and they hadn't even had a chance to step outside yet.

"You nostalgic idiots…" this older version of River grinned cheekily at them, walking towards them, "You just can't stop popping by to check up on me…" she trailed off, her eyes landing on the same golden dress that she was wearing hanging on the hatstand. She frowned as the Doctor quickly checked that neither of the other two versions of River were about to stumble across them, "Doctor? Hatter?" she glanced back to the Time Lords, who slowly began to move down towards her as she absently touched the strap of her dress, "Why have you brought another one of these?" she gave them a confused and suspicious look, "Who else is here?" she blinked, her eyes catching sight of Astra, "And why is Astra so young?"

"Um…" the Hatter bit her lip, looking down to Astra in her arms, her mind suddenly going completely blank as to how to try and explain Astra's age when it was quite clear that this version of River was far into their future.

The Doctor quickly checked over his shoulder again, "River," he turned back to her, fixing a cheerful smile to his face, hoping to distract her, "Could you check the light on top?" he pointed his finger up towards the ceiling, "I think the bulb needs changing".

"The bulb?" she repeated, eyeing them carefully, seeming to have forgotten all about Astra's age not matching up. She glanced at the Hatter, who gave her a broad smile and a nod, before slowly turning and heading back outside to check the bulb, as instructed.

"Oh, this is getting so complicated," the Hatter muttered to the Doctor, closing her eyes tightly, "One of them has to go, Doctor".

"Second that," the Doctor murmured in agreement, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, avoiding the flowers on her fascinator.

"Who are you talking to?" the second River demanded, storming back down the stairs, looking quite annoyed.

"You!" the Doctor spun back around, hurrying back up the stairs towards her, seeing his chance to start sorting out this whole mess before the Hatter ended up getting cranky. That really wasn't what he had wanted when he had planned this whole evening, he had hoped to try and make it a little romantic…hopefully with River there to also keep an eye on Astra, "I'm talking to you," he reached her at the bottom of the stairs, pulling his sonic screwdriver from his inner jacket pocket, "Back to Stormcage for you, Doctor River Song," he grabbed her wrist that had the Vortex Manipulator strapped to it, flashing his sonic at it.

"Oh…" River whined, pouting as she looked over his shoulder to the Hatter, giving her a hopeful look as the Time Lady moved back up the stairs, "At least give me a lift, you know what this thing does to my hair".

"Nice try," the Hatter smirked at her from behind the Doctor, adjusting Astra in her arms, giving her a little smile, just as River sighed and disappeared in a crackle of blue energy.

The Doctor stepped back beside the Hatter, breaking into a relieved smile, "One down, another one to go," he said happily.

"Sooner the better, sweetheart," she said quietly, catching sight of River's curly hair as the third version of River walked back into the console room.

"The lights fine," River told them, frowning slightly over to them, "I don't know what you're talking about…"

"No, River!" suddenly, another Doctor rushed into the room, dressed in a top hat and a black suit, "Wrong TARDIS, we're parked around the back…" he trailed off, catching sight of his younger self and the Hatter standing by the console, staring at him with wide eyes. Even Astra blinked, looking quite startled, "…younger versions," he broke into a smile, coming to a stop beside his version of River.

"Two of you!" River breathed, looking back and forth between the two Doctor's, "The minds races, doesn't it, Hatter?" she threw the Time Lady a cheeky wink and raised her eyebrows.

The Hatter coughed, her cheeks heating up, "River!" she tried scolding, though her voice sounded higher than normal.

"Oh, what's taking you so long?" another voice came, just before a tall brunet in a floor length, fitted dark blue gown appeared in the doorway. She blinked slightly as she caught sight of the scene unfolding, before breaking into a wide smile, "Ah, I see," she moved to stand beside her Doctor, looking back up to her younger self, giving her a little wave, "Hello…young me".

"Hi…older me," the Hatter said slowly, returning the wave.

"And Astra!" she gasped, her smile growing even wider and full of excitement, catching sight of the baby held in the Hatter's arms, "Look at you, so tiny!"

The older Doctor smiled softly, wrapping an arm around his Hatter's waist, "We really should be going," he reminded her with a pointed look, glancing over to River, "We'll be late".

River nodded and turned, heading for the door, "They're taking me to the Singing Towers of Darillium!" she called back over her shoulder to the younger versions, missing the way that their smiles vanished at her words, "They've been promising for ages!" she disappeared outside.

The Doctor and the Hatter looked at each other, swallowing hard as they turned back to their older selves, seeing the terribly saddened expressions on their faces.

"When we first meet River, in the Library…" the Hatter began slowly, her voice soft, "The day that she…"

"Died, yes," the second Doctor nodded, and the second Hatter winced and closed her eyes, looking down at the floor.

"She said the last time she saw us was at Darillium…" the Doctor continued, looking between their older selves, "Is that now?"

The second Hatter lifted her head, glancing at her Doctor before turning back to them, "Spoilers," she said weakly, giving them a strained smile, "You know we can't tell you that".

The second Doctor struggled to give them a smile, "Good luck tonight".

"You too," the Doctor said with sad expression, inclining his head towards them, knowing that no matter how hard it might be to think of having to say goodbye to River right now was, for them, to know her as well as they obviously did, it must be simply heartbreaking.

"I'm so sorry, for both of you," the Hater told them gently, feeling her hearts go out to them, holding Astra tighter to her chest and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Thank you," the older Hatter nodded to her, smiling sadly. She took a deep breath, looking back to her Doctor, "We ought to go, sweetheart".

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, before giving their past selves one last look as they turned to leave, just as the youngest version of River appeared and hurried back up the stairs to the console, her arms full of clothing, when she slowed her pace as she caught sight of the older versions of the Doctor and the Hatter slipping outside the doors.

"Oh!" she gasped, drawing the Doctor and the Hatter's attention to her, "There's two versions of you!" she looked back to the Time Lords, smiling at them, "The mind races, hey, Hatter?"

The Hatter gave her a weak smile, not even feeling embarrassed by River's suggestive remark, not when she was feeling so sad for what they would one day have to go through, all the while having to pretend as if everything was fine in front of River.

"Right, come on, you," the Doctor tried to sound bright, moving to take the clothing from River's arms, "Let's go and see the stars," he tossed the clothing off to the side.

"But I haven't changed," River frowned, looking confused.

"And don't you ever," the Hatter said firmly, moving to her side, leaning in to place a kiss on top of her head, mindful to keep Astra out of grabbing range.

River looked between them, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, "What were the other versions of you doing here?"

"Sorry," the Doctor shook his head, managing a smile, "Can't say".

"What's that word you use?"

"'Spoilers,'" the Time Lady replied, giving her a small, amused smile. Oh, she remembered when that word had frustrated them so much and now, here they were, encouraging her.

River grinned, "I like that word".

The Doctor exchanged a look with the Hatter, shaking his head, "We thought you might".

She continued smiling at them, sighing loudly, "Oh, Doctor and Hatter…" she shook her head fondly, looking between them, "You and your secrets, you'll be the death of me".

She moved past them and stepped over to the console, missing the heartbroken look that crossed the Doctor and the Hatter's faces as they watched her go, knowing just how true those words really where. They looked at each other, their eyes meeting as the Doctor reached out and took the Hatter's free hand, squeezing it comfortingly. Even though they knew how it would all end, they still had now and they were going to make sure that their time with River Song was the best it could possibly be. She deserved that much from them.

And we have finally reached the end of season six, now onto season seven in 'The End Is Where We Start From,' the title of which was given to me by a very helpful guest review, so thank you so much for that again. I wasn't sure if I would end up using that title at first, but lack of sleep lately has really sapped by ability to come up with a title of my own and I really liked your suggestion from the start, so I decided to go with it. Keep an eye out for the new story, which will be posted in a few hours time and starts with 'Pond Life,' which mainly follows Rory and Amy's timeline before slipping into the Doctor and the Hatter's timeline. I tried to explain what I mean during the end chapter note; hopefully it's not too confusing.

Oh, and I should also mention that I actually made the Hatter's outfit for this chapter and it will be on my profile and on my Tumblr. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/favourite/alerted this story, this story actually has the most reviews out of all of my other stories! You guys are just so brilliant, I seriously can't say that enough, so thank you everyone :)