CH 11 [A/n] School is starting up so updates will be less... sorry
The next day they finished building the nursery, Silence free. Thought they were on edge, the days passed quickly enough, full of reading to the babies, finding new food combinations, and figuring how the Silence got in there in the first place which was a proving difficult to figure out. The Doctor tried to push that to the back of his mind as he waited in the console room for River so they could go to their class. A loud, frustrated cry could be heard from the wardrobe room. River's belly hadn't stopped growing and it was getting rather difficult for her to find something to wear the bigger she got. Today especially had had her on the edge. It was the first time she was going to leave the TARDIS since the Silence had invaded, her hormones were worse than they had been in a while and it was taking her forever to find something that fit properly.
"River? Everything alright in there?" He called down the hall, though he had already started walking towards the room.
"No! Everything's not alright!" She shouted, picking up on of her heels and throwing it at the door before going back to trying to yank up the zipper of the obviously too small dress she had on. He ducked at the flying shoe before entering the room.
"Let me help you with that." He goes over to her and attempts to zip the dress. As he tried to zip the dress, the zipper broke. River just stared at the reflection of the broken zipper in his hand for a moment before bursting into tears. She normally would have laughed at crying over such a frivolous thing, but with her hormones the way they were, she was reduced to tears. "Oh River. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Riv, don't cry. W-we can get a new dress..." He tried to pick words that wouldn't make her more upset.
"But I'm huge!" She sobbed, "Nothing fits anymore!" She looked over at the pile of dresses that had also proven to be too small earlier. It seemed like half the contents of the wardrobe was in that pile and seeing it only made her cry harder. He pulled her closer, letting his shirt get soaked with her tears.
"River... You're carrying twins, it's supposed to be like this." He stroked the sides of her belly. "Plus, I think you're the perfect size."
She sniffled as the stream of tears began to slow, "But I'm ginormous." She protested, glancing over at her offending reflection in the mirror.
"You're beautiful." He insists. He walks behind her so she can see the mirror in full, still keeping his arms around her. "You're pregnant, not fat. Look. You are still stunningly gorgeous. I think you are what they had in mind when they thought of the term 'glowing'" She stared at her reflection, biting her lip as she listened to his words.
A weak smile began to appear on her face as she did her best to pull herself together, "That's very sweet." She whispered.
"It's 100% true." He snaked his head around to place a kiss on her cheek.
Her smile grew as she let him press his lips to her cheek. "Thank you.." She murmured, "But that still doesn't help my problem of having nothing to wear."
"River, we live in an eleventh dimensional machine that exists through all of time and space. You really think she doesn't have a dress that fits?"
"Well I haven't had any luck finding one." She huffed, crossing her arms.
"Maybe she just doesn't want you to leave." He snickered, wondering why the TARDIS would ever dare to challenge his pregnant wife. He went back over to the closet and rummaged through it.
"She doesn't want me to leave so she'd rather make me miserable? Well isn't that sweet." She said sarcastically as she watched him rummage through the closet. He said something that was muffled from inside the closet. He soon emerged with a black dress. It was decorated with tiny blue beads near the bottom. They looked almost like stars.
"Try this." She took the dress from him, hesitating a bit before trying it on.
"Will you zip it up for me?" She asked, worried that it wouldn't fit like all the others.
"Of course." He moved, pulling up the zipper until it reached the top. She kept her eyes closed, refusing to look in the mirror.
"How does it look?" She asked.
"Absolutely amazing." He said to her ear.
She opened her eyes, smiling as her gaze fell upon her reflection, "It fits..." She beamed, turning to see the whole dress. He enjoyed seeing her happy. He had become a lot better at comforting her. "Thank you!" She hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek.
"We'll, I can't take all the credit." He smiled "And you're still missing something."
She frowned slightly, "What am I missing?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the perception filter.
"This." She sighed, taking the filter from him. As much as she hated wearing it, she did promise him she would. He fastened in behind her neck. Though they could still see the large curve of River's belly, if any one else looked, all they'd see was her flat stomach. She smiled weakly, running her hands along her full stomach. "Ready to go?" He asked, placing his hands on hers.
She took a deep breath, nodded, "I'm ready if you are."
He smiled. "Well then, come along Song." He took her by the hand leading her out. She hesitated a bit as she stepped out, a bit worried that there would be some type of threat outside the doors. A breeze was blowing. It wasn't strong, but enough to make the grass sway. The class was at a hospital of course. The tall building could be seen at the bottom of the hill they were on. A green moon, the universal sign for hospital, was painted on the side of it.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked, staring at the hospital, trying to convince herself that it was one of the safest places she could be.
"You could stay in the TARDIS if you don't want to come." He said. "But if I'm delivering our children, I want to know what I'm doing. So yes. I'm sure I want to do this."
She closed her eyes, "Alright then, let's go."
They walked in to the hospital, him keeping a protective arm around her waist. They went up to the desk clerk. "Hi, we're here for the 10:00 class." River was on guard for an signs of danger and barely heard him talking to the clerk. She felt like everyone was staring at her and she wrapped her arms protectively around her belly.
"River? Are you listening?" The Doctor was trying to get her attention.
"Sorry what did you say?" She asked, his question bring her attention back to him, "Were you talking to me?"
"I said it's on the eighth floor. Elevators are this way." He looked at her a bit confused.
"Alright..." She noticed the look he was giving her, "What?" She asked.
"Nothing. You just seem... distracted." She waved him off, "I'm fine." She murmured, heaving towards the elevators.
"Right." He decided to leave it, following after her. She was still rather anxious as they walked up to the class and she fidgeted a bit the the perception filter around her neck as they approached the door. "You ready?" He asked, noticing her anxiety. "The parenting class is only fifty minutes and then it goes straight into the other bit."
She nodded quickly, "Yes, of course I'm ready." There were already a few other couples in the room. All of them having an obvious baby bump. River probably would win the 'who has the biggest belly' if any could actually see hers. The instructor helped them get situated at one of the tables. She noticed that all the other women in the room seemed to have much smaller stomachs than she did, which only soured her mood even more as she sat down at their table.
The class went by quickly. Or at least for the Doctor it did. He kept glancing over at her and she looked like she wanted to leave. The part about parenting was a basic 'how to' sort of thing. The second part covered a variety of topics starting with the basics of delivering a baby, then moving on to how to deal with things like a breach or if the cord was around it's neck. He he winced a little, hoping that wouldn't actually happen. River's face grew progressively paler as the instructor went on about all the complications, especially in twin pregnancies. She wasn't worried about her own safety as much as she was about the two children.
When the class ended, they didn't get up immediately. He took her hand in hopes of offering a little comfort. "None of that's going to happen, Riv."
She squeezed his hand tightly, "But you can't be sure of that..." She whispered, "I...I want them to be safe."
"They are safe, I'm sure of it. They're in good position and they are Time Lords after all." He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "It'll be alright."
She let out a shaky sigh, leaning forward and hugging him tightly, "I hope you're right."
"Me too." He said under his breath. "How about I make you a nice cup of tea when we get back?"
"I'd like that a lot." She smiled softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. As she looked up at the doorway, her smile faltered for a moment.
"River?" His eyebrows furrowed.
Her grip on his hands tightened considerably, then released, her eyes moving back to meet his, "Sorry...I just thought...I thought I saw something." He looked behind him to see an empty doorway. "I don't see anything..." He looked back at her. "But best to have your guns at the ready. Just in case."
She went to retrieve one of her guns, only to find the spot where she had placed it empty. She swallowed, "I want to go back to the TARDIS right now."
"Come on." He stood up. "Where's your gun?"
"I-I don't know it's not here." She took his hand, pulling him towards the door. They moved quickly to the elevator.
"Do you have a second one?" She checked for the second, only to find it gone too. "I know I had them..." She murmured. They stepped into the elevator.
He pressed the closed button repeatedly. "We need to get out of here." Her heart began to pound as the elevator lights dickered above them. She clutched onto his hand. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her. He scanned the elevator with his sonic. The lights flickered again and her heart skipped a beat.
He looked at the readings. "The Silence. We are too vulnerable in here. We have to get out." He soniced the button panel to make the elevator stop. Her heart began to pound as the elevator lights flickered above them. She clutched onto his hand. He managed to pull the doors open and wedge himself between them so they wouldn't close. "Go!"
She looked at the rather small opening, the flickering of the lights becoming more frequent, "I don't think I can fit."
"We don't have much of a choice." He pushed the doors open as much as he could. "Just try."
She tried to force her way through the doors, but could barely manage to get halfway through, "I can't...I'm sorry I can't."
He released the doors, running a hand through his hair. "Okay... not good..." He wreaked his brain for an escape when the light's went out, staying that way a few second before coming back on again. He reached out for River, securing her in his arms. "Stay close to me."
He could probably feel her heart pounding as she clutched onto him. "What are we going to do?" She asked, her whole body trembling.
The lights went out again.
"I don't know" He said, still looking around. "There's always the escape hatch..." He pointed up. "But I don't think..."
"What? What is it?" She asked, glancing up.
"Elevators have door on the ceiling." He gestured to the top of the elevator which had its escape door already open. He looked back down at her. "I think somethings gotten in."
She froze, her eyes growing wide, "Doctor..." She whispered, looking to the corner of the elevator.
"No..." He followed her line of sight to the creature in the corner. His grip around River tightened. He had no weapons, no way of protecting his family, but he'd be dead before he let them touch her. Electric sparks shot out of the creature's fingertips and River shrieked, not wanting her husband to get hurt. The Doctor pulled out his sonic, keeping the electricity at bay momentarily. "River, get out of here!"
"How?" She cried, looking for some way out of the elevator. "There's no way to get out."
"I-I don't know, can you get the door open again?" She moved away from him slightly to try and open the door. As she was struggling to force the doors apart, another wave of electricity was shot in her direction.
The Doctor jumped to block her from the electricity. Some of it was redirected from the screwdriver, some of it hit him, but despite his attempts, the Doctor could not block all of it. She let out a pained cry as she was hit, her whole body trembling with the shock. "River!" He instinctively turned around to make sure she was okay. Seeing her shaking sent fear and panic through his veins. He knew they had to get out of there. Now.
With strength half powered by adrenalin and half by terror, he pried the doors open far enough for both of them to fall through.
She dragged her body out of the elevator, gasping for breath as her body crumpled to the floor. The door closed, keeping the Silent in side the elevator.
The Doctor ran to her side "River!" She was shaking like a leaf, gasping for breath. "R-River..." Hot tears streamed down his face as he looked over her burn wounds that covered most of her body. "Th-This is my fault. This always happens, I shouldn't have brought you here..."
She couldn't hold back the tears that threatened to spill over, "It's not your fault..." She whispered, trying to push herself up, only to collapse again, "I just want to go home..."
"I'll get you there. I swear." Tears blurred his vision, but he looked around. There weren't any people around, just a dead nurse. They still had a floor to go before they could get out. Not knowing what to do, he lifted her up and moved as fast as he could out of there.
Her breathing as still frighteningly unsteady, and she was still shaking like crazy. She was beginning to feel light headed, her body going limp in his arms. "No no no! Hang in there River! We're almost there!" He wasn't sure if she even heard him.
It was a mad dash to the TARDIS, but the Doctor reached it in minutes. Although it only took him minutes to reach, River was completely unconscious by the time the Doctor carried her into the TARDIS. "Come on River! Stay with me!" He ran to the sick bay, laying her down on the bed. He was able to examine her wounds more thoroughly now. Large burns covered her right side. There was a laceration there to with he proceeded to put pressure on.
She let out a grunt of pain as he put pressure on her wound, the pain pulling her back to consciousness. "Oh god, River." Though he was relieved that she was conscious, she was still badly hurt. "I'm so sorry." He choked out as yellow light started emitting from his hands.
"Doctor?" She murmured, still confused as to what was going on, "What's happening?" She looked at his glowing hands, "What are you doing?" She tried to push his hands away from her. He kept them in place despite her protests. The light grew brighter before it dimmed. River's soft skin was underneath his fingers instead of the burns.