Drabble (bonus): For President and Planet (+JLC interview snippets)

[john_amend_all]

The first bonus drabble today (as in, the pairing was not generated at random). The prompt I gave myself was "River/Rassilon", and the result came out as:

In the dimly lit bar, Mels stiffened as she heard her contact's voice.

"Vodka martini," he was saying. "Shaken, not stirred."

A moment later he was at Melody's table, the drink in his hand.

"You got it?" she asked.

"If you can give me what I want."

Reluctantly, she handed him the stolen datacore, receiving in return a small bottle labelled Extract of Cercis Siliquastrum. He rose to depart; on an impulse, she caught his sleeve.

"You got anything planned for this evening?" she asked.

He turned his dark gaze on her.

"The things I do for Gallifrey," he murmured.

This runs neatly into an interview with Jenna-Louise Coleman in today's Telegraph, which says in part:

She had previously auditioned to play a friend of Amy Pond. 'I didn't think I'd get the role, though, because of the height difference between Karen [Gillan] and me. I am pretty short compared to her.'

... would this be Mels we're talking about here?

Also, props to Lucy Cavendish, the author of the article, for not perpetuating the 'Classic companions were all hopeless screamers' myth:

Unlike Bond girls, however, the role of companion has never been token. She's never just been eye candy. When I was a child, the companions were bright, scientific and brave (Liz, Jo, Sarah-Jane). There was a romance between the Doctor and Romana, a regal Time Lady, but that was rare — he usually has a more cerebral relationship with them. One thing they all have in common, however, is their feistiness.