The Doctor felt like he'd exploded.

His brain had shattered into a million stars, free from worry, untethered from life as he knew it. Nothing held him to the ground anymore. Nothing made sense. All he could hear was the distinct buzz of disbelief in his ears.

River was pregnant.

Kovarian continued to cackle, waiting in her joy for the Doctor to respond. River sobbed to herself on the ground, clutching herself and begging uselessly to Kovarian to turn off the transmission.

River—was pregnant.

Words came out of his mouth, but he had no thought behind them. "The child—it's—"

"Yours," River promised, perking up immediately at the sound of his strangled voice. "Yes, it's yours—I've never—not with anyone else—"

He collapsed into the chair behind him, hyperventilating with shock.

"Doctor, please—I'm sorry, I know—I know this must be difficult for you—I didn't think it possible—"

"It's not possible," he whispered, strained and wide-eyed.

Kovarian burst in with the specifics, unfeeling for the couple in turmoil. "Poor little Time Lord—you were a father once, before the Time War. You never thought it could happen again, did you? Well, who would, what with her genetics and yours, but if you could procreate with anyone, it would be with a part-Time Lady. Didn't factor protection into your honeymoon plans, did you?"

"We never thought to—oh, my—I can't—" The Doctor shut his eyes tight and clutched the sides of his head, not believing a word.

He couldn't be a father. He'd lost his family once, in the Time War. The only person he could procreate with was a full Time Lady. River could not bear his children. The genes wouldn't match up. The time travel would mess up any potential conception. They had been completely safe on that front.

He couldn't be a father. It wasn't possible. He hadn't been a father in centuries, in millennia. It just wasn't possible. How could this happen?

"It's yours, no question," Kovarian continued reading his mind. "Our scanners told us everything we need to know. Almost entirely a Time Lord baby, about two months along. Poor River didn't want to worry you; oh, she knew how you'd go on about it. Another Time Lord in the universe. Dangerous. Unnatural. Wrong. She planned to give birth in secret and do her best to keep it from you, for your own protection. She knew you wouldn't be able to handle it."

River tried to argue, but the accusations that the Doctor would think their baby was unnatural hit too deeply and kept her from forming a word without a cry behind it. She waited desperately for his voice to come back and give her some sort of reassurance.

For the Doctor's part, he stayed stationary, still shocked.

Despite the power behind his child's existence, somehow the enemy didn't want to use his baby. They were just holding his wife and child ransom—for what?

To control him. To get him to do whatever they wanted.

That's when the white-hot emotion came out. He wasn't sure what the emotion was—anger, love, determination, hope—but it emerged, burning deep within. And it told him that his baby was not a mistake.

A Time Lord child was impossible, unnatural, and very, very dangerous, but it was one of his own kind, part of him. A little piece of him and River, something strong and full of promise. A piece of forever that he'd helped make, and for once, not by interfering in history. A star in its own right.

A baby.

"Kovarian," he said in a chilled, measured tone, "I don't know what sick universe you've taken my wife and my child to, but rest assured, I will spend eternity finding you and taking back what's mine. And when I do—I just might kill you for all the pain you've caused."

"We can do this one of two ways, Doctor: you either give yourself up to us for the lives of your wife and child, or you run, and your family dies."

He knew that River didn't die as an outcome of this, and neither did he. "Not quite liking my options, Kovarian. Really liking the idea of swooping in, rescuing my family, and shooting you several times."

"Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, we both know you never kill. You'll do the honorable thing you always do, and sacrifice yourself for them. My employer will be very pleased."

He growled, facing her off. "Kovarian, you can threaten me all you want. You can threaten me to the ends of the earth and I will turn a blind eye. But now you're the one who should be scared, because you've made a Time Lord very, very angry. You've threatened something very precious to him, and if I were you, I would be the one trying to run, and I would start running right now. I am coming for you and I will shake the foundations of your entire existence, and," he said levelly, without blinking, "I will do whatever it takes to secure River's safety, and our baby's. Even if that means I have to squeeze the life out of you—drop by drop."

Kovarian blanched. Shutting her mouth, she swallowed a few times and tried to regain her composure. "You can't possibly find us."

"Maybe I should change Rule 1. Rule 1 should be, never send your enemy a live video feed from your location. The TARDIS locked onto you from the minute you started this transmission. Want to tell me I'm wrong?"

"We'll kill them both if you don't surrender yourself."

"I don't think you would. I think they're too precious to your boss, whoever he is."

"This mission is suicide."

"Well, if it is, no one gets what they want, do they?" He flickered his eyes onto River's screen, where he saw her looking in awe at the speaker in her room, willing him to speak to her. "Now, Kovarian, before you end this little message, I'd like to have a talk with my wife."

"I'm afraid we can't let that happen."

"Oh, come now, Madame—there's no secret message I can give her that will help her where she is, and just think: you get a sentimental scene that will make your victory all the more delicious if you ever actually win."

The edges of her mouth twitched up a little at that. She did love to gloat, the evil woman. "You have five minutes."

"Thank you. I look forward to defeating you quite completely and watching that smirk disappear off your toad face."

With a final grimace, Kovarian turned off her screen, and River's face was the only thing that remained.

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor walked over to her monitor and, very gently, he stroked the screen, willing the pixels to come to life and bring River to him. "River, River, River."

"Doctor, is it true? Are you coming for me?"

"Try and stop me. All you have to do is hold tight and wait for me."

She smiled a little, unfolding herself from her crouched position. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't know how I could. Considering your reaction."

"I know. Sorry about that. I was just—well, I'm scared out of my wits, really, but it doesn't mean that—" He sighed. "Well. How are you? Are you all right? When did you, um, find out?"

"A month ago. Threw up at a ball on Goushira. Went to the doctor's the next day. You should have seen his face, seeing the species of the baby." River smiled. "Another Time Lord. You won't be alone anymore."

"I still can't believe it. When did we—I mean, when would we have—"

River thought back. "Sixth honeymoon?"

"On top of the pyramid we got married on." He smiled. "That's really fantastic."

"Yes, it is."

An awkward silence fell, remembering all the happenings on those magical nights in Egypt, before the Doctor felt more at ease. What's more, he felt strangely light and joyful.

Happy.

"River," he said in wonder, "we're going to have a baby. A beautiful baby, with my brilliance and your hair—"

"I really hope not. No one else could pull off this hair."

"Do you know if it's a—I mean, the gender—"

She looked up and smiled secretly. "Spoilers, sweetie."

"Oh, come on, please, just this once! I want to know." He was having trouble keeping all his emotions in check. He was still in shock, but a bubbling joy was about to surface, tinged with fear and a little bit of anger, and he wanted to stay calm for River.

"A girl."

"A girl…" His eyes went misty. "W-wow. A little girl. A daughter. Oh, River, this is fantastic! This is the coolest thing ever! A beautiful baby girl, with your eyes and your trigger finger, and my sense of style."

"No daughter of mine is going to wear a bowtie."

"I will have to convince you. Or, rather, her. She'll agree with me. She's going to be a smart baby."

She bit her lip, trying to contain her spark of happiness. "It's so good to hear from you. I miss you so much, my love."

"Be safe, honey. I will be there as soon as I can, I promise you." He swallowed. "I don't want to be away from you for another second, I really don't."

"Doctor, will it—um, will it hurt her?"

"What? I mean, I hear the delivery is pretty bad, but…"

"No, I mean, carrying her. The genes of a Time Lord in a part-Time Lord body? What if my body sees her as hostile and tries to hurt her?"

He considered it. "You're going to be fine. She'll gestate like a human baby. Now, River, you keep safe. Do your best to keep everyone away from you, make sure you eat well, and don't let them hurt you. I'm on my way, and I'm coming with a reckoning for everyone that decided to cross us."

She nodded, keeping up her bravery. "We'll be fine. We're waiting for you. We love you."

"Think of some great names while you wait—and please take care of yourself. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." He blinked away a tear. "I really don't know what I'd do without you, River. I'm sorry, this is all my fault, I've put you in danger, I should have left you alone—"

"Husband, shut up," she said firmly. "I wouldn't give up a single minute with you for a safer life, and we both know it."

"Well, you know what I mean. Don't let them hurt you, honey. And River?"

"Yes?"

"Take care of our baby. Tell her I—love her. Already. That I always will, no matter what she is."

River began to cry. "She knows."

"And tell her to listen to her mum, because she's one smart lady."

"She's an embryo, sweetie, the only command she could obey is to stop making me so sick."

Kovarian flickered on the screen, replacing the image of a laughing River. "Time's up, Doctor. You can either run or you can give yourself up—but don't imagine you can outwit us. He's even more of a genius than you are, and he wants you. Pulling apart the universe won't save you now—or your daughter." And her image disappeared.

The Doctor stared at the blank screen as the TARDIS lights returned. The news had him frozen in place, repeating the ghoulish things Kovarian had said and splicing them with his wife's beautiful, terrified face. The entire thing echoed with fear and hatred and doubt, and the Doctor shoved it form his mind with a shout.

Now came the time for planning. Someone in the universe had enlisted Kovarian's help in capturing him. Someone had found his weak point and taken River hostage. Someone expected him to turn himself and his box in to ensure their safety—well, that wasn't happening. He was the Doctor and he was the cleverest man in the universe, and if he couldn't save his own family from evil, what was the point?

He briefly considered getting Clara back, but dismissed the idea. He couldn't bring Clara into this kind of family battle and danger.

But he did need help—the last time he faced Kovarian, he had an army. What he needed now wasn't brute force. He needed intelligence. He needed someone cleverer than the cleverest man in the universe, someone who understood criminal minds and could take them apart.

The Doctor typed in new coordinates and steered the machine through time and space to the only chance he had at saving River and his daughter.