AN: Reviews are always welcome!
The door of the TARDIS swung open and The Doctor poked his head out and looked around. The street looked familiar enough, but he had to find the nearest street sign to be sure that he'd landed in the right place. When he saw "Randolph Avenue," he closed the door behind him and headed off in the direction of River's house. The thought of facing his seemingly angry wife scared him, more so than any Dalek or Cyberman. He realized he was walking slower than normal, hands shoved deep in his pockets, looking down at the ground. To anyone else, he probably looked like a sulking puppy.
"Oi!" A very Scottish, very familiar voice called from the other side of the street. "We're over here!" The Doctor turned to see Amy and Rory waving at him. He waved and rushed over to where they were standing.
"Ponds! The glorious Ponds! Look at you!" He wrapped them both in a hug. "How did you get here?" he asked. They were confused.
"You dropped us off, remember? You told us that you'd be right back." Rory awkwardly patted The Doctor's back.
"Ah." He stepped back, still grinning like an idiot. "That would explain why you two are so old. Hasn't happened for me yet. Anyway, we're here because River sent me a message on the psychic paper. Future me knows that -for whatever reason- she needs you here, too. Thus, here we are. Headed off to find a River that is most likely very cross. This should be fun," he muttered before turning to walk farther along the sidewalk. After a few moments, The Doctor spun on his heels to look at the teenager that was following behind them.
"Hello," The Doctor said to the orange-haired teen.
"Hello," he said back. "I'm-" he was cut short as a wail of pain loud enough to be heard outside came from the house they stood in front of.
"River!" The Doctor said as he ran up the steps and soniced the door open. He ran into the house frantically. "River?" He rounded the corner to the sitting room, Amy and Rory on his heels. The sight that awaited them made The Doctor's stomach lurch.
River was lying on the couch, one hand gripping the back of it in pain, the other hand holding her bulging stomach. She grimaced, obviously deep into labor. Amy rushed around to her. The Doctor felt his knees go weak, but he was frozen in place. Rory joined Amy at River's side, and the boy looked around the house, uninterested. "This is impossible," The Doctor said, staring at River. Her eyes met his, the pain in them almost unbearable. "I'm so sorry," he said.
"Doctor, we've got to get her to the nearest hospital. She's been in labor for quite a long time," Amy said, brushing River's hair out of her face.
"We can't take her to a hospital! If they see she has two hearts, they'll dissect her faster than we can say 'oops.' Regular hospital is not an option." He scratched his head, trying to hold on to his sanity- and consciousness.
"Then what are we going to do?" Amy asked. "She can't just have the baby here!"
The Doctor bit his lip and rubbed his forehead, trying to force himself to move. After an internal war, he took a deep breath and scooped River off of the couch, cradling her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "We'll have to take her to the TARDIS. There's a medical bay on board. It's the best I can do right now." The Doctor walked down the steps, and then sped up into a gentle jog, trying not to jar River too much. He felt her tears soak through the fabric of his shirt. "Hang on, River. You're going to be okay. Just hang on."
"Hurry!" she yelled, the sound muffled.
"I'm trying!" He gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted right now was to be arguing with her. She was in no state, no matter how stubborn she was.
Amy and Rory followed him. Once they'd reached the medical bay, Rory helped The Doctor get River onto the bed. The Doctor stepped back, not entirely sure what to do next. Rory rushed past him, going for the I.V. supplies piled on one of the counters. The Doctor had almost completely forgotten about Rory's medical background.
"Is he a doctor now?"
Amy nodded. The orange haired boy moved to help Rory. He grabbed the heart monitor and started plugging it up.
"It's going to be a little different than normal," Rory told him, "because she's part Time Lord. We're going to need another set of pads. If you look, there are two inlets."
"Right," the boy said. The Doctor stepped beside Rory, who was fast at work trying to get the I.V. into River.
"Can I help?" The Doctor asked.
"Sorry, but you're a bit clumsy, Doctor. Amy, we're going to have to get her into a gown."
The Doctor was about to make a comment about how he was an expert at getting River out of her clothes, but this wasn't exactly the time. He paced behind Rory and Amy, glancing over every once in a while to see if River was okay. Every time she groaned he bit down on his knuckle a little harder.
"This is my fault. This is all my fault," the Doctor said.
"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious," Amy shot him a glare over her shoulder. No doubt, she was probably going to kill him once all of this was over.
"Okay, River, you're going to have to push soon," Rory said, pulling The Doctor and Amy both out of the awkward tension. The Doctor walked over to River's side and offered her his hand. She took it and met his gaze. Words seemed irrelevant for the both of them, but their eyes conveyed a whole universe of conversation and emotion. "Okay," Rory sighed, "you can do this." The Doctor wasn't sure if Rory was talking to himself or to River. Maybe a bit of both.
River squeezed his hand, at times almost crushing it. He felt helpless. The only thing he could do was watch as the tears streamed down her face and her screams filled the air. "I HATE YOU!" She yelled. A strange wave of relief crashed over The Doctor. She wasn't totally gone: his River was behind that pain and struggle, somewhere.
"I know," he said, "I know." He buried his face in the bend of his arm, taking several deep breaths.
"You're almost there, River. Keep pushing!" Rory encouraged. The Doctor felt her squeeze his hand one more agonizing time, then he heard his child's first cries. River let her head fall back on the pillow, and her eyes slid shut, silent tears still rolling down her cheeks. Rory handed the baby to Amy, who wrapped it in a blanket before holding it out to The Doctor. He hesitated at first, all the awkwardness flooding back into him. He took the child from Amy, pressing his lips into a light smile.
"Hello," he said softly. "I'm The-" he stopped, realizing who he was talking to. "I'm your dad." He paused for a moment, listening. "No, the one on the bed is mum. The red one is grandmum," he grinned at Amy, but his expression fell as soon as he saw the look on her face. "The one over there is granddad, and the red boy is… um…"
"Uncle Vincent."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You named him Vincent?"
"Shut up," Amy snapped. "You have someone to worry about naming, yourself."
"Right. Well, little person, what do you want to be called?" Amy and Rory had to stifle laughs when they saw Vincent's face. He had been watching River intently, and didn't expect the man to actually talk to the baby, and expect an answer in return. But that's exactly what he was doing.
"Right. I forgot. I'm sorry. Well, you're a boy, so little boy names... Well, there's Charlie, or James. Then you have names that people I know have: Jack, Mickey, and Rory. And there are names like Garrett or Caden or- What's that? Caden? Yes, it's a good name. Bit human, but considering the circumstances, it's fine. Okay. Hello, Caden."
"Dad, her heart, er- hearts," Vincent was beside the monitor, which was slowing down. River's hearts were giving out. The Doctor handed Caden to Amy before running out and down the hall to the control room. He ignored the shouts that they issued after him. When he reached the console, he typed the coordinates in for the only hospital that he knew would take River without question. Once the TARDIS was en route, he ran back to the medical bay.
"We've got to get her out of here," he said, pulling out his sonic but feeling useless.
"Where are we?" Amy asked.
"Sisters of the Infinite Schism." Without another word, Rory and The Doctor pushed the bed through the door, Vincent following with the I.V. and heart monitor.
"Doctor, I don't know if she can withstand the transport," Rory said, trying to do chest compressions. He struggled as they moved towards the control room, not knowing if regular CPR would even work.
"This is the best hospital in the universe, and River is a lot stronger than any of us – okay, than I - give her credit for."
"This isn't the safest way to do this, though!"
"I DON'T CARE!" The Doctor roared. "I AM SICK OF PEOPLE DYING! I'M NOT LOSING ANYBODY ELSE! ESPECIALLY NOT HER!" He took a moment to compose himself before he spoke again. "Through those doors, they can help her. I can help her. I just have to… Oh, never mind. Let's just get her to the emergency room." They walked out of the TARDIS, into the middle of a chaotic hospital. After several vain attempts to get many nurses' attention, the heart monitor had slowed to an agonizing pace, on the verge of flat lining. The Doctor balled his fists in frustration, resisting the urge to punch the closest possible being.
He shifted to River's side, stretching his fingers out and popping his neck. Calm down, he told himself, the voice inside his head sounding more like River's than his own. The last thing you need is to be angry. Stay calm. He cradled her face between his hands, energy surging from his hearts to every surface of his body. He redirected all he could to his hands. "River, please. We need you." He pressed his forehead against hers, trying to concentrate on what he was about to do. One spark, that's all we need. His own words had never rang truer. He pressed his lips to hers, letting the energy flow freely into her. I love you, he told her, and everything went black.