Title: The Life Of John Smith

Rating: T+ (for now)

Pairing: River Song/ Eleventh Doctor (John Smith)

Genre: Angst/Romance

Summary: (AU) John Smith is not like normal people, he can see what won't happen, the infinite possibilities of a single event. It's a curse that drives him crazy, to the point where he decides he must die, only to meet the one woman whose life is a complete mystery to him.

The Life Of John Smith

Prologue

My name is John Smith. Ordinary enough sounding name eh?

But I'm not ordinary, ordinary people see the present when they step out their front door, they see it as it is happening,

'Mr Hall is walking his dog, that kid over there is riding his scooter.'

Now, when a psychic steps out his front door, he sees the future, what will happen.

'the kid with the scooter will crash into Mr Hall'

I am neither.

I see what will never happen, the thousands of possibilities of that one event.

When I step out my door the kid avoids Mr Hall and scoots around off the pavement. In that same moment he's doing several other things as well, hitting a lamp post, running over the dog, getting hit by a car.

Now imagine having to live with that, every day of your life, only ever seeing what won't happen, and not just the bad, but the joys of life as well.

The marriages that are only ever going to be relationships, the relationships that will stay friendships. The friendships that will remain as just two strangers on a crowded street.

I see all of that. I always have.

Until the day I met her, River Song.

Winter Solstice, 2010

Snow falls gently on the ground outside, covering the bare earth of a quiet suburb.

It's the early hours of the morning, the cosy moments when a wife would press her body against her husband in an effort to keep warm, when a dog would clamber into the safety of a little boys bed, when a teenager finally puts away their phone and drifts off to sleep.

For John Smith, today is none of that.

This is his last day on Earth.

He showers at half past five that morning, as per normal, slipping into his freshly pressed black trousers and buttoning up his shirt. John throws on his favourite long green coat to banish the cold away as he winds his colourful scarf around his neck.

He doesn't stop to have breakfast; he always stops around the corner for coffee instead.

John reaches for his car keys, lying abandoned on the kitchen table and then decides against it.

He looks up, taking in the sight of his house instead.

It has everything a normal person has, sofa, coffee table, rug, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a laundry and a living room.

Only one thing is notably absent...mirrors.

When he was five, he remembers his mother forcing him in front of one in order to brush his hair.

The curse, it turned out, worked on reflections as well.

He couldn't bear to see all of that. He couldn't bear to see it now. He'd thought at the time that he was seeing the future, but what really happened was much worse anyway.

With a final glance at his house, John strides to the front door and opens it, taking a deep breathe, his lungs getting a blast of frigid air that he so badly needed right then.

John slams the door behind him. The house groans back in reply, already mourning the loss of it's owner.

note: next chapter will be longer I promose! :)

All reviews are welcome!