[A/N. So I'm actually sort of ignoring the whole 'the first time she sees his new face is right before they go to darillium' deal, because let's be real-I need a bigger playground with these two. Also, sorry in advance. This isn't great. I'm sort of sick, so there may be plot holes and all-around bad writing...sorry. Had to write something. Tell me what you think, anyway! Thanks :) ]

River has always been a very easy person to find. She doesn't try to hide her adventures- it's near impossible, anyway. When she visits somewhere, she always leaves an explosion or a really, really, really big party in her wake.

So it's odd when, on their 156th anniversary, he can't find her.

He searches all the normal places- first the uni- the only place the woman doesn't bring absolute havoc to- then rebellions and monarchies and wars that seem particularly appealing to someone with a love for cleverness and weapons and also have an underlying good cause that's absolutely irresistible. He ends up caught in every one he finds.

He still can't find her.

He gets rather worried, then. He starts looking at the big parties, the ones that start on this day, their 156th, that last for days on end. After all, it is their anniversary. Perhaps she's trying to surprise him.

Eighteen parties in he finds her- from a century ago, in the wrong time. She's young and mischievous and dressed in a show stopping red dress that clings to her curves so sinfully that every male (and more than a few women) within eyesight is salivating. But she's young- too young to know this him. Still, he joins in on the inevitable adventure (because even if she can't know it's him, he isn't one to give up an opportunity to save the world with his wife).

When she finds out it's him- which, really, takes an embarrassingly short amount of time- he slips a potent (but harmless) drug into her celebratory champagne that will make her forget the day. He presses a kiss to her forehead and sets off again.

He's been searching that particular day for months when the panic sets in. He's gone through half the universe by now, and the TARDIS has been been running unceasing analysis of any news that could possibly allude to his wife since he began the search. She hasn't found anything, either.

He goes to the Ponds, though he knows it's a long shot. He knows that this River, in this time, has been to Manhattan, and that though she does visit, it's painful and she usually avoids it. Still, he knocks. His Amy opens the door- it's late evening, and she's in a fluffy robe and her make up's been scrubbed off. She looks tired and grumpy, and the first words that come out of her mouth are "if you're trying to sell something, there's a sword in this house and I will use it."

He grins, because he can't not, and clasps his hands together behind his back. "Conveniently, I'm not. Is your daughter here?"

She rolls her eyes. "Friend of River's, are you? Or enemy." She scrutinizes his face, as if she can perceive the nature of their relationship just from the set of his nose. He can see the moment she decides she's too tired to try to figure it out. "No, she's not here. Haven't seen her in a few weeks. Sorry, Mister."

And the door is shut in his face.

Okay, so it could've gone better, and there's definitely a pang in his heart at the reminder of what he's lost, but his main concern is that she's not there. This was his absolute last resort- he had no desire to open up old wounds- and she's not here.

She could just be time traveling, he reasons with himself. After all, it is their anniversary. Perhaps he whisks her off in his future on this day?

But River isn't irresponsible- she doesn't just leave an entire day behind. She makes it back within a few minutes of her departure, always- even when he gets it wrong bringing her home, she corrects it. And future him wouldn't do this, anyway.

By the time he makes it back to the TARDIS, he's willing to tear the universe apart to find her.

He doesn't have to. The Old Girl's got something- even if he definitely doesn't like it.

-------

The planet is tiny and largely uninhabited. There's no building he can see, but he knows from classified schematics that there's an underground base located several hundred feet to his left. He's updated his sonic- it can now open a few more doors, shut down a few more systems- let out a sound that'll temporarily disable anyone with ears that can't handle it. Ears that aren't Time Lord. He has River's favorite blaster in his pocket. He tries to convince himself that he won't use it himself, but he's not actually sure how true that is. Not if what all the evidence the TARDIS has found is true.

He's already scanned the area, and the security system for the base should be down for another minute- it likely won't be enough to arouse suspicion. He runs over to the nearly invisible hatch, and calmly tugs on the handle. It comes up without a problem, and he slides in noiselessly.

He would've used the TARDIS, but She can't get in. They have an incredible shield up- one that appears to be specifically designed to keep him out.

He thinks it's funny.

There's no one in the dark room that he lands in, and his eyes take a moment to adjust. The door is to his right. A bright light streams under it, and he knows that he has 45 more seconds to slip through the hallway and find the security room.

He slips his hand in his pocket before he pushes the handle.

There are three guards in the hall, and they all fall to their knees when he activates the high-pitched screeching. A fourth comes out of the room he's about to go into. He has to hold it down for a good 10 seconds, and three pass out, blood pooling around the sides of their heads. The fourth curls into a ball.

Through the next door, this one a solid metal that would definitely be difficult to get into- or out of- with the security on.

25 seconds left.

He scans the camera feeds quickly until he finds what he's looking for. Even chained, dirty, and in a darkened room, River's hair is impossible to miss. He takes note of the location; it's too far to make in the next fifteen seconds- which he assumed would happen. He's surprised he made it this far so quickly- he's been surprisingly steady.

He exits, stepping over an unconscious body, and plots the quickest route to his destination in his head. He memorized the layout of the base a few minutes ago. He does the calculations, and fixes the setting on his sonic as he runs. Through more doors. Security comes back up in 3, 2... They still won't know right away- after all, he's taken down the guards who had access to footage in the building, but as soon as someone goes through that hallway, he's going to be found out and the base will be put on lockdown. He thinks he can still get them out. He hopes.

There's another 200 feet to go. Somehow, he hasn't seen anyone else, so he assumes no one else was affected by the sonic. He makes a sharp right, and runs straight into a very wide, hard chest.

"What the-" The man growls, just before the Doctor slams the button. This guard, too, goes down. There's a shout, and footsteps. A door slams.

Down this hallway, there's only one door- it's not opening. It's the one, though- her mind is there, faint, trapped-but he can feel it.

He's running again, going through the different settings on his screwdriver until he finds the one that'll work. It does. The door swings open, and he's running in.

The room is huge, and there are at least 20 people scattered around.

At least five are gathered tightly around a figure. He knows who it is.

Every one of them stops and turns at the slam of the door and the whirling click of the lock.

He must be quite the sight- he's had an adrenaline rush going through his system like a freight train for the past couple of hours, and it's still pumping. It intensifies when he gets a look at what's happening.

River is passed out cold, chained to a wall. She's in a thin hospital gown that does little to keep anything hidden, and there's all sorts of wires attached to her head and chest. A silver crown sits atop her hair, one that makes him see the library and her smile and Goodbye, sweetie and light and there are bruises, so many, everywhere, yellow and blue and purple but he's

Seeing

Red.

He doesn't know exactly when he drops his sonic, when River's blaster goes off, but it does, and he realizes that he's the one who's been pulling the trigger when the only ones left standing are those by his wife.

There are fists pounding at the door.

He walks over them, footsteps silent. Two have blood on their knuckles. One has a lab coat. The other two hold a bucket of water and a dripping rag, and

one

two

three

four.

The scientist is terrified. The clipboard she's been clutching falls to the ground, as do her knees. The look in her eyes- the terror, the plead for mercy- doesn't contain an ounce of guilt.

He picks her up by the collar, shoves her over by the wall.

"Move," He warns, "and you'll see your friends again soon."

------

Removing the wires takes a lot of careful precision. He's been a neurosurgeon, yes, but it didn't last long and it's a bit more difficult with shaking hands and the sound of people trying to break in the door.

When he checks the variety of screens they have set up beside the table of medical equipment, he can tell they've inserted them directly into several parts of her brain. He can't make sense of what they've been doing, though- he has the girl for that.

He manages to get himself under control long enough to get them out without causing any more damage. He bandages all her wounds carefully, then checks the rest of her.

Along with a painful-looking twisted wrist, she has several broken ribs, he can tell immediately, and when he checks under the thick layers of gauze on her legs, it's obvious that they shot her kneecaps out.

She didn't go down easily.

He uses the sonic to go through the system, to try to take down the shield. Using the computers in the lab, he makes short work of the security and the TARDIS begins materializing around River just as the lock on the door clicks.

He points the blaster at the woman, who has been sitting in silence since he shoved her into place. "In. Now." He motions to the TARDIS doors.

Unwilling to provoke him, she keeps her head down and does as told.

They walk straight into the medical bay, just as he'd assumed they would. River lies on a cot nearby.

The TARDIS takes care of the woman immediately- she dematerializes, and he assumes She's put her somewhere uncomfortable.

------

River is definitely not okay.

In fact, if he didn't know that she didn't die today- couldn't die today, he'd say that she wouldn't live to see the next morning.

The electrodes on her chest, he discovers, have been shocking her right heart. It failed at some point, and they figured out that she wouldn't last very long without it. He tries not to focus on the memory of the agony he knows this must have brought her, and instead spends hours getting it to work on it's own again. Still, it's unlikely that it'll be permanent. He's a good doctor. He's not a great one.

The TARDIS, as always, knows what to do. They're at the Sisters of the Infinite Schism within seconds.

He assists several of the Sisters in bringing her to a room, and hurriedly explains all he knows. The surgeon raises an eyebrow, and he knows that she doesn't think River will survive.

He explains that she will. She must.

"I certainly hope so. We will do our best, Doctor."

And he's kicked out. It'll be a few hours, they say. They'll get him as soon as there are any changes.

He shouts and curses angrily at them, but he gets nowhere and eventually he has no choice but to give in.

He paces a hole across the waiting room floor. Those that don't glare at him have pity in their eyes.

He can't stand it.

The TARDIS comforts him as soon as he crosses the threshold, and he knows She's only trying to stop him from doing something he'll regret.

He takes several deep breaths, and takes River's blaster from his pocket and sets it on the console.

"I'm fine." He assures Her (himself).

The woman is in an empty room usually used for storage. Everything is gone now, and she sits in the corner, her back to him.

"I'd like a word." He says, voice surprisingly steady.

She doesn't move when she speaks. "They've trained me, you know. I can go days without water. You can torture me for months and I won't say anything."

"Is it really coming to that?"

"No." She turns her head slightly. "I didn't know why they made us go through it at the time. From what I heard, you didn't intentionally cause harm." She pauses, turns back to the wall. "Guess they knew something I didn't."

"What were you trying to do with her?" He asks, voice low.

"What everyone wants to do. Get a look inside that head."

"Why?"

She breathes out heavily. "Seriously? It's mostly genetically engineered Time Lord. Do you know how much money you could make if you could give someone more than one life?"

Wealth. Isn't it what everything revolves around? He wants to yell.

Instead, he asks, "Why did her heart stop?"

She shrugs. "Not sure. They brought me in after that happened. I was more concerned with mapping the brain."

He walks across the room, kneels beside her. She looks him in the eye this time.

"What do you think now? Was it worth it?"

She doesn't answer.

-----

He finds a planet light years away. He's had several run ins with the natives- they're not a nice type.

He shoves her unceremoniously out the door, and fishes around in his pocket. Pulls out currency from France, 18th century. From England, 23rd. Plasda, 37th.

He lets it fall to the ground at her feet.

"Get back to me on that, would you?"

------

He's back at the hospital less than a minute after he left. Still, he rushes to the waiting room.

No one's come.

-----

It's 3 hours later when the surgeon finally appears at the door. "Doctor," She says, smiling.

He's there in less than a second. "Yes?" He says, eagerly.

She hands him River's chart. "She'll live. It took a while to get her heart pumping like it needed to, but we found the problem and fixed it. She should've died days ago."

"She's strong," He murmurs, scanning through the information he's been handed. Three ribs, both knees operated on, punctured lung repaired...

"I should think so," She smiles at him warmly. "She'll be awake soon. Would you like to see her?"

"Yes, please."
------

When she wakes up, confused and bleary-eyed, he presses kisses on every inch of her face and squeezes her good hand so tightly he's pretty sure he almost breaks it too.

"You found me." She whispers, eyes fluttering.

He smiles for the first time in a while.

"Of course I did, River. I never forget our anniversary."