Before Yesterday Comes and Tomorrow Dawns - To Dream An Impossible Dream

By Sylva Dax

A/N: This chapter is set after DOTM for River and before The Snowmen for the Doctor.

I apologize for the extended delay in updating. Real life got a bit busy, and my characters didn't like the road I was taking them on. So, just when I started getting them under control, the season finale and the ANNOUNCEMENT through me for a loop.

Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from the show is owned by the BBC.

~DW~

River opened her eyes and stretched, feeling more rested than she'd felt since Ryan was born. The Doctor had insisted on handling this morning's feeding. Well, it was time to rise and check on her boys.

The TARDIS raised the lights as soon as she flung back the covers. Donning her robe, River made her way to the console room.

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Mum? What are you doing here?" River asked, surprised to see her mother sitting in the jump seat with Ryan in her arms.

"We asked the Doctor to bring you and our grandson by for a visit," Amy answered her daughter. Nuzzling Ryan, she adds, "We have something big to share with you that couldn't wait. They're waiting for us. Ryan and I waited for you. Didn't want you worrying when you woke up. You might want to change."

"Really?" River asked, more intrigued than she had been a moment earlier.

"Yes, really," Amy chuckled. "Now move along. You're picking up your husband's bad habits: always keeping me waiting."

"Really! How rude," River said, laughing as she headed back to her bedroom.

~DW~

Amy, still carrying Ryan, led the way to her living room where the others waited. Taken totally by surprise, River paused on the threshold when she realized that her husband and father were not alone.

"Oh, Amy, I didn't realize you already had company. We'll come back at a better time," River said, reaching for Ryan.

"Melody Pond, you'll do no such thing," Tabetha said hastily.

Looking at her grandmother in surprise, River responded, "They know?"

"Yes, we told them," Amy told her daughter.

"Everything?"

"Yes, everything," Rory assured his daughter as her husband bounced happily beside him.

"Really?" River half sobbed, overcome by emotions she'd held in check for so long. Immediately, she found herself being wrapped in the arms of her grandparents, and all she could think was, They know.

Amy handed Ryan to his father before linking arms with Rory. They looked at each other warmly, bright grins lighting up their faces. Rory cleared his throat in a vain attempt to get everyone's attention. A shrill whistle did it for him.

Squeezing Amy's hand in appreciation, Rory faced his family's curious gazes. "Well, um, Amy and I have an announcement to make. We, um, we're-"

"We're going to have a baby!" Amy blurted out.

"But that's impossible!" River responded without thinking.

~DW~

"What will you call her?" River asked, gazing upon her baby sister.

Rory, perched beside his wife and infant daughter, said, "After all the Silence did to Amy while she was pregnant with you, it's a miracle she was able to have her. She's our own impossible girl."

"We've decided to call her Clara," announced Amy.

~DW~

Amy stepped out onto the patio when she heard the telltale wheezing of the TARDIS. She smiled when her daughter emerged from the blue box once it finally materialized. The Doctor followed her out. Before anyone could say anything, a tiny blur shot out the patio door, lodging itself firmly in River's arms.

"Mummy," Ryan cried, kissing his mother.

Hugging him fiercely, River said, "Oh, I've missed you so much. Look how big you're getting.

Arms wrapped around River's neck, he leaned over to kiss his father. "You brung her just like you said."

"Of course I did," the Doctor said, tapping his son on the tip of his nose. "I said I would, didn't I, and I never say what I don't mean."

"Rule one," Amy murmurs, eliciting a quickly choked off chuckle from River.

"Now, mum, you know the Doctor always has his reasons for meaning what he doesn't say," River said with a grin. "Where's dad and Clara?"

"He'll be down soon. He just got home from hospital," Amy answered as River set Ryan back on the ground with a kiss to his forehead. Brow slightly furrowed, she asked Ryan, "Why didn't Clara come with you?"

Shrugging, Ryan said, "She was messing with those silly doorknobs she found the other day."

"Well, you go tell your Aunt Clara that her sister is here," Amy instructed.

"Okay," Ryan piped, immediately darting to the door with the boundless energy of youth. Just before disappearing through the door, he paused and turned to his mother to ask, "You won't leave before I get back?"

The question stabbing her in the heart, River responded with a reassuring smile, "Of course not, sweetie." After he disappeared through the door, River moved forward and hugged her mother. "I've missed you too. Younger you is adorable but …"

"You miss your family," her mother said knowingly.

"And my best friend," she added.

~DW~

"Hi, dad," she greeted her father with a kiss.

"Melody," Rory said, pulling his daughter into his arms. "It's been too long. I assume the Doctor is here too."

"How else would I get here," was the resigned reply. "I don't seem to be able to find this you with the vortex manipulator. You're always younger; sometimes knowing who I am but not often enough and you're never with Ryan." With those words, River's cracking facade broke and she began to sob in her father's arms. "Oh, dad, his childhood is slipping by without me. All I get are these snippets of time to cherish in my cell."

Anger welled up in Rory as he held his sobbing child. It was time to draw the line. Too much was being asked of her again! "Then don't go back," he told her.

Looking at her father in surprise, River shook her head and said, "But I have to. I made a promise."

At that moment the Doctor entered the room, Clara holding to one leg and Ryan to the other, both giggling. Amy followed carrying tea.

"Hello, Rory," the Doctor greeted.

"Why, Doctor? Why should she leave her child to go sit and rot in a prison cell for a crime we all know she didn't commit?" Rory demanded as River stepped back, staring longingly at her son.

"You know why," the Doctor answered. "You've already lived it. History-"

"History be damned! This is our daughter we're talking about. Your wife and the mother of your son!" the Roman roared, causing Ryan to run to his mother and Clara to hers. "Have you ever stopped to think how much you're hurting her?"

"Everyday," the Doctor whispered, looking at the pain-filled eyes of the woman he loved. "But I made a promise." Not one line.

Amy spoke up then, "You made a promise to us, Doctor, that you didn't keep."

"Because I couldn't," he answered. "I would have if I could. River, understands. Don't you, love?"

Holding her son close, River nodded.

Turning in triumph to his in-laws, the Doctor said, "You see. Now, what say we put all of this behind us and throw ourselves into enjoying this visit? River, Ryan and Clara have some wond-"

"I can't," River gasped. "I can't do this anymore. Doctor, I know I promised but I can't. I can't go back. I can't go back. He's my son. I can't go back! I can't go back! I CAN'T GO BACK!"

~DW~

"River, River, wake up. Wake up, love," the Doctor pleaded. "You're dreaming."