The familiar whooshing sound rang in the air as a cool breeze sent her messy curls flying behind her. She jumped to her feet, the Lost Artefact of the Silurian Age falling limp on the sandy beach and completely forgotten. Her heart skipped a beat as she both dreaded and longed for the arrival. The blue box materialised on the shore with a splash.

Just as the door opened, River recollected herself and dropped to her knees, examining the artefact closely with her back to the TARDIS. However, she was aware of every movement behind her. In fact, she even stole glances out of the corner of her eyes.

"Hello, honey. You look busy," the Doctor exclaimed cheerfully. He stood behind her shoulder, peering at the carved, black box in his wife's hand.

Her heart pounded her chest, but she maintained concentration.

She nodded. "The Lost Artefact of the Silurian Age. Lost for many millenia and now finally uncovered. It wasn't too difficult to guess the location after browsing through the data on the subject."

"The data is quite meagre. Only one legend exists about the Lost Artefact, but if you had searched the TARDIS database -"

"I am talking about the data I received from the TARDIS database," River interrupted, a smile spreading across her tanned face.

She brushed off a bead of perspiration trickling down her forehead. The Middle Eastern deserts were blistering, but the beach she was excavating was far worse. Fortunately, the night would bring a cold yet calming wind. She liked the cities and towns - full of vigour and life. Not to mention the broad and excellent touristic choices: the tallest building in the world, the largest mall, the fastest rollercoaster - this place was a dream. Enough with the advertising.

The Doctor was frowning; she could tell without even looking. "When did you do that?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Last time I was aboard, which was....Let's see....Two weeks ago by my time which may be any number of months by yours, if at all. Did you miss me?" she teased.

Finally, she allowed herself to turn and almost fell back to the sight that awaited her.

"Sweetie...." she murmured, her eyes growing wide with anxiety and...fear.

The Doctor was covered in scars.

A/N: This is like an introduction, so it's short. Next chapter will be longer. Promise. In celebration of Alex Kingston's 52nd birthday (and you too, Jack). Happy birthday, River!