Note to reader: This is a sequel, so before you read this, I suggest you read the other one. Though you may be able to follow along without it...only problem, I write as I think, as I get ideas so I have no idea how many references I'll make to the previous one. (Also, if you started following me as an author because of You Are Always Here To Me, then there's a special place in my heart for you!)

I do not own these characters, only one of my creation is Amelia Song, all other credits go to the BBC, the Doctor Who series and all the brilliant minds therein.

But without further ado...

"Is not!" The Doctor argued upon entering the TARDIS.

"Is too!" Amelia Song argued right back.

"No."

"Yes," she smiled smugly.

"No," he humphed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes," Amelia mocked her father's actions and to add emphasis to hers she stamped her right foot on the ground.

"What," he began picking his foot up and reenacting her movement, "is this all about?"

"This," she stomped her foot again, "is me stamping my foot on the ground."

"I know what that is, I mean," he sighed, "why is it necessary?"

"Why isn't it?"

"Um," he dropped his arms, "because it's not."

"Mummy does it all the time," she excused.

"Yes, and mummy shouldn't be doing it either."

"But if mummy can-"

"Don't even think about saying 'i can too.'"

"I can too," stamping her foot on the ground again.

"Just like your mother," he threw his hands up in the air, giving up. Shaking his head he walked over to the keyboard and yanked the scanner over to him. Amelia rushed after him.

"Whatcha doin' poppa?" she was on her tip-toes straining to see the screen.

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" She had propped herself up so that she was off the ground but not quite sitting on the console. She still couldn't see the screen and so she tried to lean over. "The kind of stuff momma would be okay with...or, the kind of stuff that momma would send me out of the room for?"

"Send you out of the room?" He stopped what he was doing to look at her.

"Yeah," she nodded, "sometimes when you explain something as 'stuff' I can stay here, but then there are other times that you say 'stuff' and momma tells me to go read - or something else boring."

"Boring," he laughed, "reading isn't boring."

"Yes it is," she narrowed her eyes at him, "and you're changing the subject on me."

"No," he stuttered, "I am - most certainly not - changing subjects on you."

She hopped down and crossed her arms over her chest, while still maintaining eye contact.

"I don't even wanna know," River was coming into the console room, arms in the air. Amelia spun around, almost falling over, "so much like her father," River mumbled as Amelia rushed to her and threw her arms around her mother.

"Momma, I've missed you!" She squeezed River tight.

"You were only gone for-" she looked at her husband.

"Twenty minutes."

"Really?" River was surprised, "Twenty minutes?" She shrugged, "okay, bit longer than I thought."

"You missed out on a lot," Amelia continued to prattle on. "We were just there, minding our own business-"

"Why don't I like where this is going?" River glared at The Doctor who shrugged his shoulders briefly and then pulled the scanner so that his wife could no longer meet his eyes, though he knew if River wanted to bad enough, she would most definitely move. Amelia cleared her throat at her mothers interruption.

"I am talking," she snapped back, very annoyed with her mothers interruption.

"Oh my-" she let out a heavy breath, "you are your daddy's daughter to be sure."

Amelia pulled away from her mother and crossed her arms. "Can I finish? Not that I really even got started."

River was amazed at the amount of sass her daughter both possessed, and exercised on a very regular basis. She had so much of both of her parents in her that sometimes it was hard to determine whose attitude, sass or characteristic she was acting out. She could more than hold her own in an argument and would win most of them. Amelia was very perceptive, and it was almost as if she could sniff the bullshit out and get right to the truth. She certainly was special, no one could say that she wasn't.

"Momma," Amelia was shaking her. "Can I finish talking? Or are you gonna sit there in googly goo land all day?"

"Ha!" The Doctor exclaimed from the other side of the scanner, "'googly goo land.'"

River picked Amelia up off the floor and walked toward him and shoved the scanner away.

"What are you doing?" River glared at him.

"Admiring our daughters choice of words."

"Uh-huh..." Rivers glare softened ever so slightly.

"Momma," Amelia had grabbed ahold of her shoulders and was shaking her again in an effort to get her attention. "SO," she dragged out, "poppa and I were there, minding our own business when-"

"Please tell me your lives weren't in danger, please, just tell me that."

"When," Amelia continued neither acknowledging or denying her mothers question, "all of a sudden came this, Dalek. I mean it had to be a Dalek, it couldn't have possibly been anything else, and it did say 'Exterminate' and it did shoot at us..." she slowed, "well, we weren't really in danger." She looked guiltily at her mother, "and we had our sonic's...so technically, we're fine." She smiled.

River looked back at him. "Was it really a Dalek?" River's voice was stern.

"Well," he pulled his hands up off the keyboard, "it may have been a Dalek," he stuck his finger up to her lips so she couldn't interrupt him, "but I can't be sure."

"It is," Amelia crossed her arms again, resuming the argument from earlier.

"We don't know that," he dropped his hand from River's mouth and crossed his arms as well.

"It is."

"We don't know that."

"Yes we do."

"How?" He flung his arms out to his sides, "how do we know that?"

"It said 'Exterminate.'"

"I can say 'Exterminate' and not be a Dalek."

"So...?"

"So...we can't know it's a Dalek for sure, just because it said 'Exterminate.'"

"You don't think it was a Dalek, Doctor?" River chimed in.

"Well, that's the thing, River," he sighed and yanked the scanner back over, "I don't know. And when I don't know something-"

"You go crazy."

"Well I believe I'm substantially already there."

"Your words, not mine."

He shook his head at her and then resumed his typing.

"Where are we going?" Amelia and River asked in unison.

"Somewhere."

"What are you looking at?" River tried to peer over but he moved the scanner.

"Stuff."

"I know, I know," Amelia began to wiggle, "put me down, and I'll go read a boring book."

"What?" River looked at her confused as she set her daughter down who then skipped her way from the console room with both her parents staring after her.

"Other part of the conversation you missed, I'm afraid."

"Of course," she sighed.

"Now," he was immediately defensive, "before you say anything, we were...technically, fine. It did say 'Exterminate' like she said, and technically," his arms began flailing around, oh how she loved that, "it did shoot at us, but we're fine. See?"

"I think when it comes to her, your definition of 'fine' and mine, do not in fact coincide."

"Well, fine. According to my definition we were fine."

"Would you stake your life on that?" River's hands were on her hips.

"Why would I need to?"

"Indulge me," she crossed her arms, "would you stake your life on your definition of fine and whatever the hell just happened back there?" She flung one hand in the direction of the doors and the other fell at her sides.

"Based on, we did in fact make it out alive, I'd say yes."

"Why did it take you twenty minutes to get ice cream?"

He crossed his arms, "what were you doing that twenty minutes seemed long?"

"Stuff," she avoided his gaze.

"River?" His eyes narrowed at his wife, "did you take the TARDIS?"

"Maybe..." she admitted guiltily.

"Where to?" His tone was rising. She'd taken the TARDIS and for all she knew they could have died based on the fact that the TARDIS might not have even been there when they got back to it, and it was true they were running to get away from - what was more than likely - a Dalek. But that was not the point in this moment. River had taken the bloody TARDIS. Where had she gone with it and what the hell was she doing?

River was averting his gaze. She had a reason. She always had a reason, but she'd let this slip. How was that a good thing? He wasn't supposed to find out, and she was terrified of what his reaction might be and what he might do when he learned her little secret...well she thought it was little, he would more than likely disagree.

"River," he brought her back, "where did you go?"

"Somewhere."

"Okay, you're being cryptic," he started waving his arms around again, "and there's almost always something that I'm not going to like when you get all cryptic on me. And I don't like that," he pointed at her, "I don't like that River. I don't like you getting all cryptic." He looked around frantically hoping there would be some clue nearby that he was missing, "what were you doing with my TARDIS?!"

"Oh, we're getting possessive now aren't we?" She was going to avoid it as long as she could. Then an idea happened upon her, but could it work? Would he accept it? She wasn't hopeful, but she was going to try it anyways.

"What were you doing with the TARDIS, River?" He'd crossed his arms and was tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

"Spoilers," she smiled. There she'd tried it. Would he accept it? Would he drop it? She hadn't tried that word on him in years, well she did when she was trying to be cute or sarcastic, but now was probably not the time he would just roll it off his shoulder and move onto another conversation.

"That doesn't work anymore, River," he dropped his arms and pointed at her, "not since we became all linear and everything..." he gasped and looked at her, "unless you went into our future, which you swore you'd never do!"

"No, of course not," she was fanning her hands at him in an effort to calm him down, "not our future. Just places."

"Right, thank you River, we'd already figured that one out." He shook his head and then stepped forward towards her, lifted his arms, pulled her forward and kissed her. Sure they kissed, they kissed a lot more now, but she was usually very open after they did, not that he had a problem with that at all. Pulling away from her, "what were you doing with the TARDIS?" He dropped his hands and stepped back, "please don't make me ask again."

"I was..." she sighed, "well...I...um, see it's kind of hard to explain..."

"Time machine," he gestured around him to signify the TARDIS, "we've got as much time as you need."

She sighed heavily. She'd tell him. She'd been caught, called out and cornered, she kind of had to answer him now, but she was still concerned about his reaction. Yes they were very happy, oh they had their squabbles but that was nothing out of the ordinary, and they were always - well mostly, there was the time that they lost Amelia on Ickerade, horrible planet, but aside from that they were very nearly - completely resolved and forgiven before they laid their heads on their pillows at night. But this was different. She was most certainly guaranteed that she knew what his reaction would be, and she was desperately wishing that someone could teleport her away from there immediately, before she had to explain herself, and she'd have to explain herself alright.

"River...what were you doing with the TARDIS?" He was getting tired of asking, and just hoped she would explain herself. If she didn't this time, he was determined that he would just give up. If she really wasn't going to tell him, well she just wasn't going to tell him. He could live with that, right? Right? No...he probably couldn't. Something was bothering her and she wasn't telling him, that sent up red flags everywhere.

"I was..." she inhaled and exhaled deeply, "on a date."

"Oh that's nice," he stated obliviously, but then it hit him. "A DATE?!" He stepped right up to her finger wagging around in front of her face, "what kind of date? A real date or a date as in, yesterday, today, as day in 1885? I thought we were fine! I thought we were happy! River, why were you on a date? Bloody hell River, I don't get it..."

River's hands flew up to his shoulders, "calm down and I will tell you."

He started taking some deep breaths.

"Now listen up, I'm only gonna say this once."

"Okay..." he was searching her eyes for some explanation. His head was still spinning. Date and River in the same sentence and that sentence not coming from him...he just couldn't fathom what that would look like or what exactly had happened, but if she was going to explain it, he would listen. Just like he always did.

"It's just to find out some information," she hesitated, "because he may have connections to let us know if Kovarian is still after Mia or if there's something we should be worried about..."

"Do you flirt with this person?"

"On occasion."

"Does he flirt with you?"

"Always..." There was no point in denying that.

"Does this person have a name? Do I know him?"

"Yes...and sort of," she shrugged, "it's not a good relationship."

"Does he know we're married, or does he think we're having issues?" He relaxed ever so slightly, "or does he think we're separated."

"Um, the last one."

"River...who is it?" He had a feeling he already knew the answer, and knowing that made him wary of the answer and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to know.

She sighed heavily, "Greg Sans."

"Greg SANS?! What the hell River? What are you thinking?!"

"Calm down...please."

He yanked the scanner in front of him and savagely attacked the keyboard.

"Whoa!" River tried to pull the scanner away, but he wouldn't have it. "What are you doing?" She was concerned. She wasn't going to lie. Sadly, he'd taken it exactly the way she thought that he would, and that was not very encouraging to her.

"The hospital! I'm gonna have a chat with Greg Sans!"

"Could you not? Please, Doctor. Just leave it be."

"Has he kissed you? Has he made any move on you whatsoever?"

"Yes..."

"Then, I'm going River. You can either stay in the TARDIS when we get there or come with me, but this isn't going on any longer. I can make him tell us, and then there will be no good reason for you to see or talk to him ever again."

"He's not as bad anymore," she paused putting a hand on his arm, "he's very remorseful for what happened."

"Well, good for him, but he's getting another piece of my mind, and nothing you can say will change it. So take a seat, 'cause we're going to see Doctor Sans. Doctor I'm-gonna-make-a-move-on-your-wife-after-you-expli citly-told-me-to-bugger-off."

"Um, mum, dad?" Amelia reentered the room, "whats going on? Where are we going?"

"Oh," he looked up at his daughter, "just something that daddy has to take care of for mummy."

"Okay!" She hopped down the stairs and plopped herself on the bottom one, "can I help?"

"Maybe," The Doctor began, "we'll see."

"Goody!" Amelia looked antsy and excited.

River was bewildered, and worried. She'd gotten so much from Sans lately, and she pretty much had him eating out of the palm of her hand. She would lose his trust most certainly, but she couldn't deny her husband a freak out, that Sans definitely deserved to get, so for now...she would wait patiently for the storm to make it's landing, and see it through till the end.

The Doctor was fuming. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Sans, but Sans was gonna hear it, not be a prat and leave his wife alone...well, that's what he was hoping for anyways. The last time Sans had showed little regard for what The Doctor had to say, had turned up with a betrayal to Kovarian, if he was still in league with her, then the last thing he wanted was to ensure the fact that Sans knew where he stood on the food chain and just what kind of hell would descend if he crossed him this time too.

Sans had it coming, and he was going to get absolutely all of it.