River Harkness Brought Up In The Cold, Grows Into A Man In The Darkness Of A Cellar With Only A Candle

River Harkness brought up in the cold, grows into a man in the darkness of a cellar with only a candle for warmth, where pain is a lesson and a gift and scars replace mothers kisses on injuries. River Harkness sent to be a double agent, to keep an eye on the man who could ruin everything, to become that mans son so that he loves him too much to suspect the truth of why Isobel keeps River throughout the year. River Harkness is sent as a little boy and knows this may be a man he one day has to shoot, to murder but he's a little boy and his Grandmother presses a kiss to his knee when he hurts it and his Grandfather teaches him by the fire. River Cartwright becomes comfortable and familiar and someone he likes being and someone who doesn't want to kill the people he loves. Someone who unquestionably loves both of his families.

Then on a walk one day Jonathan Cartwright asks his grandson to shoot him if he ever gets too old, too sick and where River Cartwright struggles and wrestles with it River Harkness can make both of his fathers proud when that day comes.

River Harkness who has been brought up on preventative measures, on the ideology of stopping things before they get bad and putting rabid dogs down before they can do harm. River Cartwright who was brought up on garden picnics and fireside wisdom and compassion but both are sons of their fathers and both are unquestionably loyal.

River Harkness points the gun and River Cartwright pulls the trigger.