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Thursday Afternoons

The Fifth Week - The Planetarium

It didn't take long, but eventually he had dedicated Thursday afternoons with his son. He went on adventures with Clara on Wednesdays but Thursdays were always reserved for his little boy. Those boring days became something with increasing importance and as every week passed and he watched his son grow The Doctor's being there became an inescapable need. He couldn't back out, if not for Isaiah's sake but for his own. He needed these days like he needed air. Life was becoming unbearable in between each visit.

He was never late. In face some weeks he arrived early only to sit in the park or on River's front steps. Some days River let him inside, when she was home and other days – more recently – he would wait by the gate of Isaiah's school until the bell rung for the end of the day and the boy was allowed to leave. Isaiah had told The Doctor quietly that he loved that, walking out of the building to find him waiting with all the other mum's and dads. It made him feel like everyone else.

After he collected the little boy for their Thursday afternoon The Doctor stayed as long as River Song would let him which, as each week passed got significantly longer. Some nights he stayed through dinner, others he got to tuck the boy in and on even better nights he followed his wife into her bedroom and fell asleep alongside her.

It was still a little bit surreal. And then again, he wasn't exactly a new father either. The Doctor imagined that this would have been his response regardless of how River told him, when she told him and he knew that if one of his children from Gallifrey, as impossible as it was, turned up on the doorstep to his TARDIS he would be just as scared. But, even though he was terrified of Isaiah, of everything that would come from him, The Doctor was also intrigued.

This child was a magical wonder. He was smart and curious, he was childish yet serious and he was dying but he was so alive.

The Doctor wanted to show him the stars, desperately. He wanted to lock the little boy inside the TARDIS and show him a lifetime of things. He wanted to show Isaiah the beginning and the end of the universe just because he knew the young boy would never get that chance. He wanted to show him what his mother was denying him, but he couldn't go against River's word.

"John!" Isaiah called, his arms swinging as he crossed the road, his too big school bag pulling back his speed. "John, John!" He continued to call as he reached the sidewalk. "It's Thursday, have you come to see me because it's Thursday?!" The Doctor nodded as the boy, once he had reached the older man, wrapped his arms around his legs and squeezed tight. "But I have homework." He mused before continuing to speak without taking a breath. "But I don't always have to do my homework, right. 'cause I'm really smart and I get extra anyway and it's really easy. I don't think mum would mind. What do you want to do today Mr. Smith?" The Doctor took a step back as the boy continued to speak, his words flying at a shocking speed.

Lifting the bag from the boy's shoulder's The Doctor reminded him to take a breath. "How about we get you inside first, check in with mum and then think of something?" The boy nodded as he surrendered his large back to the man who made it look too small.

Once inside, the two of them leaning over the dining room table with a map River had wonderfully supplied. Fingers prodded at the page, Isaiah pointing out street names he remembers with good candy stores or beautiful public spaces. While the boy spoke, his face alight as he taught John Smith the wonders of his town and city The Doctor had already formed a plan.

River looked at him with worry when he asked to have the little boy for longer than an hour the look of adventure alighting his eyes. Hands wrapped around a mug she nodded slowly. "Great, I just have to go get my car and we can go." The Doctor tapped the boy on the head before heading for the front door with a comment about coming back.

"He's just brilliant, Mum." Isaiah beamed after The Doctor had left, causing his mother's worried face to brighten. "He talks really fast and he's really funny!" The boy giggled, his head thrown back with an obvious memory. "Do you think he likes me, mum? 'Cause I really like him." He turn from her for a moment to reach of an apple slice that had been placed on the dining table waiting for Isaiah's arrival before he got home and placed one in his mouth.

River hummed softly, an affectionate smile slipping across her mouth towards her sons beautiful innocence. Inside, her heart was aching. "Oh, Isa." She stepped closer to the dining table so she could pull him into a hug. "I'm sure he adores you." She whispered, her hand ruffling his hair before she let him go. "Are you happy to go with him, Isa?" River asked softly. She trusted her husband, really, she did. He knew better and he also knew that she would hunt him down and destroy his hat collection. But, the important thing in this situation was Isaiah. He needed to be comfortable. With another two apple slices in his mouth at the one time the young boy nodded vigorously. "Okay, well he said longer than an hour so you'll need to take a coat with you, anything else?" The boy shook his head as he slipped off his chair, fruit in hand and ran up the stairs.

She moved to the front door, standing with it open as she watched The Doctor park a car in front of her house. She was shocked, genuinely shocked. "Where on earth did you get that?" She asked once he got out and walked through her front gate.

"The TARDIS." He answered simply and when she asked if he could actually, properly drive it he just nodded humbly. "Do you want to come?" The Doctor asked softly as he caught her studying him with a worried face.

River shook her head quickly, her hand flying out to his arm in reassurance. "Oh, no. Gosh, no. It's your time with him. I don't want to intrude." The Doctor shook his head muttering to her that it was nonsense and she was welcome to come. But River Song stuck to her guns allowing her husband and son some time together on their own. She had the little boy to herself to five-years. The Doctor now needed some time to catch up. "Where are you taking him?" She asked with interest.

"The museum. They have a planetarium if I remember correctly, right?" River nodded, Isaiah had only been begging her to take him but she had always been hesitant to do so.

Smiling brilliantly River nodded, "He'll love that." She told her husband who in turn smiled back.

Isaiah came clunking down the stars if not but two seconds after that. "Are you coming, mum?" The little boy asked at the bottom of the stars.

"Oh, you know. Isa I would love too, but I just had a whole heap of papers handed in at school today and I need to mark them. You and John are going to have a brilliant time." She beamed, as she moved towards the table by the door the plant from six weeks ago replaced with an empty space. "Take this." River handed Isaiah her mobile phone. "In case you need me for anything, call the house phone." She looked to The Doctor, a silent warning. She was entrusting him with her son's life and he was to call if anything should so happen before trying to deal with it on his own.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" The Doctor asked again, he could see it on her face. She did, she really wanted to but she was giving them their time and as much as The Doctor respected that he really didn't mind his wife joining them.

With a shake of her head and a reminder that she really did have papers to mark The Doctor took Isaiah's hand and lead the little boy out of the house, leaving his wife standing in the doorway only to watch as he lead her son away. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. They were coming back but somehow it felt like her son was being taken from her, carted away to another life because she was no longer fit for him. She feared this, but she always feared she wouldn't see him go. That he would be snatched in the night and she would have been helpless to stop it. River watched from the front step as The Doctor ensured Isaiah was buckled into the car before climbing in himself and taking off. She really did worry that he had no idea how to drive the machine but she was calm. He wouldn't hurt their son, not intentionally and although he could be bigheaded about some things he wouldn't do so around the boy in fear of hurting him. River trusted that fact as she closed the door the behind her and left her two boys to their day while she tended to the papers River now wished she hadn't set for her students.

Upon arriving at the museum that had held chapters in both the lives of The Doctor and his very young son, both couldn't contain their excitement. There was something about history, about its age and for The Doctor about the way it could be changed that made museums so alluring, so tempting and completely divine.

Isaiah ran ahead of The Doctor like a child let loose in a candy shop. Really, what was the older man to expect from a child of an archaeologist and Time Lord. He followed behind eagerly, letting Isaiah tug him through his favourite exhibits, ones Isaiah admittedly explained he had seen several times before, but they were still his favourite. Slowly, The Doctor learnt that River had a great part to do with the museum too. Occasionally Isaiah would point something out and claim that his mother had been a part of the research team. She didn't go on digs though, not anymore. She didn't want to be away from her son and she certainly didn't want to pull him away from their life. The Doctor knew it to be a different story now. River Song was scared that she would fall in love with her haphazard travel again and endanger her son's life in the process.

They had been there for half an hour before Isaiah gravitated towards the Planetarium doors all on his own. "Mum never lets me go in there." He huffed, his hands slapping his sides as he gave his best little boy pout.

"Do you want to go in?" He asked, watching as the boy fiddled with the scarf around his neck. Isaiah nodded slowly, his eyes wide. Mum wasn't around, she wasn't saying 'no' and John Smith was saying 'yes', Isaiah decided he liked this man a lot.

The Doctor pushed one of the large doors open, holding it as the little boy slipped under his arm and eagerly went inside, his whole body vibrating with excitement. Following the boy who was tripping over his feet as he stared at the illuminated ceiling The Doctor stepped forward to scoop the child up as he watched on with wonder, his eyes wide and his little mouth agape. 'Wow' came out of his mouth more than once as The Doctor found them two spare seats and sat them down.

"Do you think it's really that big out there?" Isaiah asked as the screen above and around them rotated slowly showing them one of the pinwheel galaxies in all its glory. The Doctor nodded with a whispered utterance of yes and in even quieter;

"It's even bigger." Turning to look at the boy The Doctor found Isaiah's eyes closed. "What are you doing?" He whispered, leaning into the child.

"Mum always says to savour a moment. Close your eyes, listen to it, smell it, try and remember it in your head. Mum's full of useful facts!" His eyes were still closed but he tilted his head towards The Doctor anyway. "What do you think space smells like, Mr. Smith?" Isaiah asked. He replied with something metallic. "Why do you think that?" Question after question, the boy never gave up and his curiosity towards space was achingly starting to show.

The Doctor shrugged beside him, his shoulder's rubbing against the boy's arm. "Space junk. There's a lot of metal out there, don't you think?" Isaiah nodded, his eyes open now as the picture around them changed and someone spoke into a microphone, explaining to those in the audience what they were seeing.

"Do you think that there could be life on other planets?" The boy murmured as the overhead voice spoke about there once being water on Mars, and the chances that some could still be found. The Doctor hummed, he didn't know if he was allowed to say. He had certainly seen other life but this time was yet to do so and he didn't know how River would feel about her son knowing such facts. Then again, he didn't have to know that it was actual fact. "I quite like Mars, it's my favourite of the planets. What about you, Mr. Smith?"

"Gallifrey" He whispered unintentionally.

"That's not a real planet. I know because I know them all. Mum, for my birthday got me a big book and it has everything about the universe." The Doctor laughed, happily at the little boy beside him while he ruffled his hair.

"That book needs some serious editing, then."

The boy shrugged with a mumbled 'probably'.

It was dark when The Doctor pulled up at River's home, the real stars shining above them almost welcoming as The Doctor lifted the sleeping child from the backseat of his car. He carried the boy into his house, the child on his arm asleep and drooling somewhat. Climbing the stairs steadily he made sure to tuck the child in and turn on a night light before kissing him goodnight and slipping out of the room.

Knowing the boy was soundly sleeping safely in his own bed The Doctor dragged himself back down the stairs in search of his wife. He found River in the living room, curled into the couch with a stack of papers both in front of her and beside her. Glasses perched on her nose, pen caught between her fingertips, he watched her for a moment as her brow crinkled and her pen lowered to scribble something on the page resting atop of her knee.

"Don't mark them to harshly, Professor Song." The Doctor teased, knowing exactly what she was like and the look on her face, the crease in her brow definitely showed no mercy. Looking up slowly she eyed her husband over the top of her glasses as he removed the marked work from the couch so he could settle in beside her. "Unfortunately, Isa is out like a light." He smiled, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as he pulled her closer.

"Did he love it?" She asked softly as she removed her glasses, transitioning from professor to wife.

The Doctor grinned, he couldn't help it as the look on Isaiah's face in that dark room came back to him so brilliantly in love with the whole thing. "He didn't want to leave. Hence why we're home so late. It took the security guards telling him that the stars had to go to bed before he relented. He wasn't too convinced, but." River laughed deeply. Of course Isaiah was sceptical, that would never change.

"So," River grinned. "He's asleep?"

"Dead to the world, in a manner of speaking." He lent closer, his smile growing ever wider as he kissed her deeply.

River pulled back ever so slightly her eyes pleading before the worlds left her mouth. "Stay. Stay the night, please." She spoke on only a whisper as he lent of the top of her, overbearing and for the moment in control. River watched as he contemplated her plea. He had every reason to go, but he also had obligations to stay. She wasn't holding him down though, if he wanted to go he could and if he decided to leave in the middle of the night she wouldn't blame him. She understood the tug that pulled on his mind, the need for adventure and longing to be among the stars. She watched it all in her son, it was enough to hold one back from their calling it was too much to hold them both back, even selfishly for one night.

He nodded slowly, giving himself over to her in surrender. He could only deny her so many times and tonight, after spending the day with Isaiah, not twitching once or complaining about the slowness of time in its right order. He couldn't say no as he pressed against her on her living room couch. Their lives suddenly domestic and for once he didn't quite mind it. River gleamed as she lent up to kiss him softly, happy that her wish was granted but it didn't last long when Isaiah's shout circled through the house and without thinking she was up and off the couch in two seconds flat.

The Doctor wrapped his hand around her wrist as she moved passed him, stopping the woman in her tracks as her son called out again. "Can I get him?" He asked softly watching as the woman nodded.

Vaulting up the stairs two at a time The Doctor stopped at Isaiah's door, the little boys name written across the white wood as he took a moment to even his breathing before cracking the door open. "Raggedy Man?" Isaiah whispered quietly, sitting up in the middle of his bed his hair ruffled with sleep and his eyes still drooping.

"Hey, buddy." The Doctor whispered back, slowly inching his way across the room before he sat down next to the child who had seemed so distressed. "You okay?" Isaiah nodded softly as he curled himself into The Doctor's side, content with the comfortable warmth he found there.

"I had a bad dream that's all, I just wanted my mum."

"I can go get her if you want, it was just that she was marking papers and I wasn't really doing anything so I thought … but it doesn't matter, I'll go get her." He was about to get up, when Isaiah's tiny hand on his arm stopped him. He sat back down, relaxing into the child's matrass as the boy curled even deeper against him. He started to hum a soft song from his own childhood on Gallifrey as he felt the child's body go limp and his own eyes grew heavy. The Doctor was going to get up, to leave the room but he wanted to make sure that Isaiah was actually asleep before he did so.

River was standing over him when he opened his eyes, her hand on his cheek as she lulled him back into wakefulness. Helping him to unwind himself from Isaiah she laughed softly, commenting on how she finished her marking only to realize he hadn't returned an hour and a half after he went to check on the boy. The Doctor blushed, embarrassed that he had fallen asleep, it wasn't like him and his wife made sure to comment on that fact but that was all. She laughed at him softly before tugging him across the hall and ending their night in the same bed she had slept alone in (well aside from Isaiah on a few occasions) for five years.

[…]

The sound of little feet on the carpet pulled John Smith out of his slumber. He didn't even know that he was sleeping softly until he heard the feet and then a very faint whisper of his name. Instantly he was awake, ready to tend to the child's every need if the little boy as so easily wished it. Rubbing his eyes as he sat up The Doctor half expected a confused look on the child's face concerning why the older man, his friend, was sleeping soundly in his mother's bed. But there was no question and there was no confusion, instead Isaiah asked softly if he could climb in with him for a little while before his stomach started to growl for breakfast.

He shifted ever so slightly to allow the little boy some room as Isaiah curled into the warmth of his body and fell back asleep again his fluffy hair tickling at The Doctor's chin as he slept. Half an hour later the boy awoke again, his little finger poking at John Smith's face in a silence, yet persistent attempt at waking the man.

"Shh, mum's sleeping." He whispered loudly as The Doctor opened his mouth to protest. He stopped, turning his head to see that River was facing them, curled onto her side, her whole body relaxed with sleep. "Can you make me pancakes?" With a happy smile The Doctor pulled himself from his wife's bed, Isaiah who was still sitting next to him now clasped to his hip.

They made it down to the kitchen without a sound, as Isaiah's head fell heavily on The Doctor's shoulder while they moved their way through the small and sleepy little home. He hadn't once caught what the time was, but sunshine was starting to peep through the blinds rather rudely so The Doctor could only agree that it was morning.

"I can only reach the cereal in that cupboard, but I don't like cereal on Fridays." The boy spoke, standing on the bench as he pointed John Smith in the direction of select ingredients he knew River kept.

Turning back to the boy, his arms full of items The Doctor grinned. "What do you have on Fridays instead?"

"Cereal." With a shrug of his shoulders Isaiah answered simply. "It's okay that we're making pancakes, they're for mum too!" Somehow The Doctor knew it wasn't going to be a good idea and that no matter what happened Isaiah was going to blame it all on being his idea and he was supposed to be the adult. Good thing he knew how to make killer pancakes then, at least he could save his sorry hide somewhat.

After avoiding the temptation of eating the pancake batter before it was cooked, and allowing Isaiah to slip some chocolate chips in. The Doctor piled the breakfast sweets onto three plates adorned with strawberries (Isaiah's idea) and sugar (The Doctor was going to say that was Isaiah's idea). The Doctor took a step back to admire his handy work, Isaiah's little flour covered self beside him, mimicking his hands on his hips.

Temptation winning out the little boy raced towards his breakfast eagerly, so much so that he knocked the tub of flour over in the process causing in to thumb against the tiles and scatter a white mist across the room.

"Sorry." He pulled back from the bench sheepishly, his feet leaving tiny childish marks on the floor. Looking up from the mess to Isaiah The Doctor worried about how he was going to approach cleaning the whole thing up but the look of utter devastation on the little boy's face was enough to make him forget what day of the week it was let alone that there was a mess to be cleaned.

Swooping forward he picked Isaiah up and sat him on the corner of the bench. "Are you okay?" He asked softly, holding the little boy's chin in his hand. It hadn't mattered that the flour hit the floor, he was already covered in it from attempting to help cook that the accident hadn't made a different to the small child. With a sniffle, Isaiah nodded softly, his eyes still refusing to look at The Doctor. "Isa, it's okay. It's really okay, we're going to take the breakfast up to mum and I'm going to come back down here and clean up. You're okay, that's all that matters. Now, how would your mum clean this up?" He asked and the child shrugged, his face a little lighter.

"Sometimes mummy just looks at it and sighs." Isaiah mumbled.

The Doctor took an easy opportunity to joke: "I don't think she cleans it up with a sigh."

"No," Isaiah shook his head. "She gets frustrated because I break things lots." It was The Doctor's turn to shake his head as he picked the child up from the bench and held him tightly, assuring him that it was definitely not the case. When the reassurance didn't work, The Doctor managed the boy in one arm and a plate of breakfast in the other before he scaled the stairs delivering them both to the still heavily sleeping River.

Putting the food down The Doctor busied himself in snuggling the boy next to his mother before running his hand over her cheek and lulling her out of her sleep. He dropped a kiss to the crown of her head, explaining briefly that Isa needed some reassurance that he wasn't too much hard work before he ruffled the boy's hair and left them with a shared plate of pancakes.

He didn't intrude after that. Instead The Doctor went about cleaning the kitchen to the best of his ability knowing that a school lunch would have to be finished (half of it already being in the fridge and done) and whatever else River's morning routine consisted of. But whatever it was she would want access to her kitchen, her clean kitchen. And he was right, not forty minutes later was River down the stairs and sliding into the kitchen, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.

"Thank you." She whispered. "I forget sometimes that he's there and I just, my day gets to me. I never realized he noticed." The Doctor nodded softly, it had really been no problem. "Nothing cuddles can't fix, that's something I'm always willing to do. Although, perhaps when he's not getting flour all over my duvet cover." She grinned and he should have been shocked, but really he wasn't. His River Song had always been fierce and overly confident, she oozed of a woman who could survive on her own, which she could – but she had always been a cuddlier. He loved that that had never changed.

"Next week?" He asked softly, double checking with an awful, unnatural to him insecurity as he did at the end of every visit.

She grinned even wider then as she lent up on her toes to kiss his cheek as she confirmed with a happy smile, "See you next week."

So as they say, see you next week.