A/N: I've always wanted this to happen. I think Eleven would have made a great dad, save for the complications of timelines that he'd have to risk.
Even though I know it won't play out on screen, the thought itself brings enough of a smile to my face :)
This is how I imagine he meets his daughter (yes, it's always been a girl for me). Enjoy!
-themanonthemoon
DISCLAIMER: Doctor who does not belong to me.
"I'm sorry sir but I just can't let you in," were the last words the raggedy man registered before chaos ultimately ensued. He found himself caught in the midst of a flurry. Nurses were rushing past him, wheeling things in and out of a room known as DW (the Doctor's self-proclaimed acronym for 'Delivery Ward.' It eased his nerves a bit from saying the whole word.) He just didn't understand why River wanted this. She had all sorts of cravings. Those of which he understood came with the package of being pregnant. But this was by far, the uncanniest request. Sure, he succumbed to her tender eyes and the soft outline of her features. Even in her most vulnerable disposition, she effortlessly allured him. It wasn't long before he realized, he was fighting a losing battle, handcuffs or not. And for a second, in the chaos of the corridor opposite the DW, he felt like he didn't mind. To hell with it! He wanted to mutter, for he knew she had him wrapped around her little finger. There was no point pretending anymore. Sometimes she didn't even have to say a word, nor look at him with those all-knowing eyes. He was naturally drawn to her like a green plant to the Sun. She could make him turn all the colours of the rainbow plus a bonus of fifty shades of red.
But her decision to deliver in an Earth hospital was beyond him.
He felt pathetic and helpless - like a lost puppy in the midst of a room of headless chickens. He sighed and fell into one of the waiting seats. He decided against going through a pointless argument with the nurses to let him in. They were clearly inexperienced in matters of consoling a raging River. After all, it took him half a century to master that particular skill. As he watched them he began to doubt their ability to respond to anything at all. They looked like they couldn't even answer their own names, if questioned on the spot. She was sure giving them hell in there. A small smile forced its way on his lips. He could definitely hear her though. Throes of pain echoed across the walls and more obviously on the faces of the hospital attendants. They looked stricken – as if they themselves had just experienced labour. The Doctor looked at them hopefully, silently apologizing for their current misfortune. At least, she wasn't crying out his name. Yet.
It was only a matter of time...
Before he had to intervene.
The Doctor decided he could wait.
He sighed and placed his head in his hands. Truth to be told, it unnerved him at first. Completely and utterly scared, the Doctor had truly considered going back and rewriting time itself. Yet, a small bubble of hope formed it within his hearts; the hope of having a family once more.
How would it be like? He couldn't even remember! Maybe it was due to all those times he forced himself to forget. But everything was different now. Memories of a home which did not rely on the turbulence of a time vortex felt so far away.
They couldn't be together. Time wouldn't let them and despite how much River would insist, he knew her too well to realize she'd be unreasonable when she was passionate about something, especially when it concerned the wellbeing of their child. He simply couldn't give in this time.
Danger was partially the reason, if not, it was the inconvenience of having a child on board. His child.
He was aware that it was reckless and irresponsible and above all selfish to run away. To abandon his offspring and lose the chance of helping it stand, to watch it grow. He knew the amount of hurt River would have to harbor, more than usual. It was his fault but he knew it wasn't a mistake. Those nine months could never be undone. He would never allow it.
When he finally brought his head away from his palms, he noticed an unnatural silence in the corridor. The flurry had subsided and the number of nurses per unit square tile along the corridor floor opposite the DW had drastically decreased. In fact, only one remained, gazing expectantly at him like he was about to shower gold from his pockets.
He looked back quizzically before it hit him. Had he missed everything? River was prone to shouting irrational things when she was heated in the moment. Most likely being his name. The horror of the fact masked his features so quickly, the nurse standing by the door rushed to his side, misinterpreting him completely, "Don't worry sir. Everything's all right. She's fine. The baby's healthy. You can come in now," she consoled, leading him to the door by his arm.
The Doctor gulped and fought the urge to smack his forehead. The baby! The BABY!
There was a brief struggle between him and the nurse as he snatched away his arm to regain his composure while she only gripped him harder to prevent him from falling to the ground and losing consciousness altogether.
Before he knew it, he tumbled into the adjacent room and froze at the sight before him.
"I just hope she doesn't have your giraffe-like coordination," teased River in an anesthetic induced voice.
The Doctor didn't even manage to straighten his disheveled appearance, moreover his bow tie. His eyes were glued to the little bundle in his River's arms.
"Oh River, she's beautiful," he whispered as he sat by them, studying the features of their child.
"She's so pink," breathed River, straining to keep her eyes open and memorize every single detail of their child.
Instead of retorting that she was indeed pink because she was a girl, the Doctor simply hummed and pressed a kiss on his wife.
He looked at the little bundle in River's arms and dared not touch it. Time and space may tear them apart. She may never see him in this face that married her mother. She may never hear the stories about the madman in a box. She may never know of the raggedy man with the bow tie. But she will find him. Across time and space, nothing will stop her! The Doctor knew she would, because that's just what he'd do.
Slowly, he touched the tuft of soft hair on her head and began as if speaking to his best friend (in which he hoped she will be),
"I am a Time lord. I come from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation Kasteborous. I'm more than a 1000 years old and you might not always see me with the same face. I have two hearts and a box that can go anywhere and everywhere.
I travel through time and space and sometimes save peoples' lives. Most of the time, they save me.
I have done so many things I can't even explain and I have seen so many things I can't begin to describe.
I am the oncoming storm and the heart of the Sun."
The Doctor grinned, tears pricking his eyes.
"And if you forget everything else, just remember I'm your father.
I'll always love you and
I'll be waiting
for when you reach me."