He knew full well that her childhood had been fraught, which had been part of his reasoning in thinking that flitting through time might not be the healthiest thing for a child to develop lasting relationships outside of ones parents, in their case. He knew River hadn't had even that luxury of knowing her parents as a child. Still, he regretted saying it aloud after seeing the expression on her face, her movement away from him.

Perhaps it had needed said, still he hated see the firecracker of a woman, the woman that he'd loved, looking so full of self-doubt.

"River..." he started as she moved back, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"