It was a relief to know she was all right. The Doctor didn't know what to expect of her mood when he returned. He wasn't the most adept at picking up on jealousy, after all. It had taken a visible glimpse of her competitiveness with Sarah Jane for him to understand something was a miss, and it had been enough that the Doctor had implied that he thought of her differently than the others. And he did.
Perceptive enough to know one of them needed some comfort, the Doctor shifted his pillow closer to her, then reached for her hand. He didn't want to keep her up for too long, but talking could help; the Doctor needed a little bit of comfort.
"I met her for the first time the very last time she would see me, and I'm not even the face she..." He flinched. When he met her in the library, she had nearly turned his world upside down. She knew his name. His name. Her parents were Amy Pond, Rory Williams, and supposedly a little influence from the TARDIS. "That's the trouble with time traveling. She didn't tell me much. Spoilers. Hah."
They both said that. It was unsettling and comforting all at once. He had gone on to marry someone capable of keeping up with him, but the Doctor didn't feel right about it. Whether that was because he was looking at the person he believed in the most or just that far more mystery surrounded River than he deigned to solve, he couldn't decide.
"I think she's hurt," he offered absently. "She doesn't offer much, but I think it's there. Bowtie's already seen her for the last time, the time before she summoned me to the library. He's a moving on sort. I never did get any good at that." Unconsciously, his hand squeezed Rose's a little tighter. "She said she hates his hats. Good taste, that one. Suppose I'm biased, of course."