First of all, thank you so much for all of the amazing comments. I would not have been able to write this without all of your support and it does help when your confidence has been knocked.

This was originally part of a longer chapter but I didn't know when I would be able to finish it so I have uploaded what I have done so far. Thanks again and enjoy.

'River…oh God, River.'

Her shirt was soaked through with blood which was pooling on the floor. She was breathing, the Doctor realised, but only short shallow breaths.

'River please…don't do this to me.' He gently brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and stroked her cheek, though when his hand came away with bloody fingertips he felt a fresh surge of anger build within his chest.

'YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE SAFE,' he shouted to no-one in particular. The Doctor wasn't angry with River, he never could be; he was angry with himself for not asking the right questions. How could he not have seen it? The fear in her eyes, her reluctance to come back – it wasn't just her death she feared, it was what she had to live with.

He needed to get her back to the Tardis, but he didn't know how to move her without making her worse. River looked so fragile, more so than he ever imagined she could look.

'I'm sorry,' the Doctor whispered, taking her freezing hand into his own. Looking briefly around the room, he saw that the bed had been overturned and the bookcase was lying in splinters. Blood trailed across the floor, and there were bloody handprints on the sink which she seemed to have clung to before she fell. It looked as if a tornado had been through the room, yet no guards or security had come to check on her. She had been alone.

Before the Doctor had time to think that through, he was jolted back to reality as River opened her eyes, gasping for breath. Her eyes widened when she saw the Doctor, her hands reaching desperately for him as she was too unstable for words.

'It's okay, I'm here,' he soothed, with no idea of what he was doing. River's eyes softened as she looked at him almost apologetically with tears sparkling in her eyes.

'It'll be alright I promise, and I never break my promises do I? Well, not when I can help it.'

River wanted to tell him everything, to beg him just to hold her close but she couldn't find the words. Her throat was still sore and bruised, and simply keeping her eyes open was taking all of the energy she had.

'We need to get you into the Tardis, okay?' River managed a small nod and put her arms around the Doctor's neck as he put his around her and started to pull her up as gently as he could. She knew as soon as she moved that it was a mistake. It was if her entire body was aflame as the pain engulfed her, more powerful than anything she had ever known. Everything hurt, but when she tried to scream only a strangled cry could escape her lips.

He could hardly bear it. He knew he was hurting her, but he had to get her back to the Tardis. Somehow, the Doctor managed to get River to her feet though had his arm not been supporting her she wouldn't have been able to stand at all.

'Can you walk?'

She gave a small nod, and slowly but surely the managed a few steps. But before they reached the cell door, River stopped putting a hand on the wall to steady herself. A pain in her abdomen caused her to double over, biting down on her lip so that fresh blood welled from where it had split.

The Doctor held her up, trying to talk to her though she couldn't make out what he was saying. A burning sensation rose in her throat and she bent over as she emptied the contents of her stomach. River had never felt so weak, her head throbbing with dizziness and every bone in her body aching, but even when the darkness beckoned she kept her eyes open; she knew that she had to keep going.

By the time she had stopped retching and managed to straighten, River had begun to shake. The Doctor had never been so frightened, feeling helpless as he realised he had no idea of what to do.

He gently lifted his wife into his arms and carried her to the Tardis, trying not to think about how

easily she had allowed him to do so. When they were inside he returned her to standing position, still keeping hold of her to make sure that she was steady.

'I have to get us to the hospital,' he told her as calmly as he could. She didn't argue.

'I…I'm s-sorry,' she whispered, hardly able to look him in the eye.

'Hey,' the Doctor said, tilting her chin to meet her eyes, 'you don't have to be sorry, don't you ever think that. It's going to be fine; I promised didn't I?'

She tried to smile, but the pain in her abdomen came again stronger than before, ripping through her as if a knife was tearing into her flesh. River couldn't suppress a gasp as agony took over her body, and she fell. The Doctor managed to catch her before she crumbled completely, lowering her gently so that she was lying on the floor. He took off his jacket and used it to cushion her head, noticing a tear escape from the corner of her eye and not wanting to imagine how much this was hurting her.

'River? River look at me,' he pleaded. Though it was a struggle, she opened her eyes. The Doctor put his hand on her face and stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. She was trembling quite violently now, sweat beading on her forehead and glistening in the dim blue light. Any colour her cheeks had once held had been drained and the Doctor realised that she was still losing blood. He undid his bow tie and wrapped it around River's shoulder as tightly as he dared, attempting to stem the bleeding.

'I…I'm dying, aren't I?'

'What? No, no of course not,' the Doctor dismissed at once. 'Why would you say that?'

River winced as she lifted her left hand to show him. The energy was dancing around her fingers like flames on a fire, weak but still visible and as bright a yellow as the sun on a summers day.

'But…but you can't…'

'I know,' River said sadly, trying to keep breathing as her chest grew tighter.

The Doctor shook his head, tears blurring his vision.

'You are fine,' he told her stubbornly, 'you're just…just trying to repair yourself with the little energy you've retained that's all. Temporary regenerative healing mechanism, that's what it is.'

She knew that he was wrong, but she smiled anyway. It was the feeling they both knew too well, the moment before regeneration, only this time there was nowhere for her to go. The fact that her body was even bothering to try told her everything she needed to know about her condition.

'I'm sorry, my love,' she whispered, the world becoming tinged by darkness, 'good-'

'River?'

Her eyelids fluttered closed and her hand fell limp to her side, the energy still floating around her hand. Her chest had stopped rising.

'Oh God…' He searched desperately for a pulse, finding a faint thud growing ever weaker. Pressing his lips to hers, the Doctor blew air into River's lungs and begged her to breathe, just for him. But it was no use. He had to get her to the hospital now; he had no idea what he was doing, and he knew that they didn't have time to wait.

Kissing River gently on the forehead, the Doctor bounded up to the console and launched the Tardis into the vortex as gently as he could, applying the stabilisers. The hospital he had taken her to when she had saved him, that of the Sisters of the Infinite Schism, was the best in the universe and right now that was what she needed. He gave the Tardis the co-ordinates and pulled them in towards their destination – only they never arrived.

The Tardis was refusing to land.