Here is the next chapter I promised would be up this weekend. Enjoy!
*11 weeks*
The Doctor and River stood in the middle of a room in the TARDIS. The walls were blank and the room was empty.
"I'm thinking white walls." River said.
"I was thinking blue. TARDIS blue." The Doctor attempted to persuade his wife.
"I don't know. I think it'll be easier to change or alter if the walls are white."
"Yeah, but blue, River. TARDIS blue."
"Or maybe yellow." River ignored her husband's pleading.
"Definitely not yellow. Blue."
River moved towards the rows of various paint pots that were lined up against the wall on the far side of the room. She browsed the rainbow of colours searching for a white. She grabbed a paint pot and turned towards her husband to find him sat in the middle of the room sulking. River grabbed a second paint pot and placed them both in front of him.
"Tell you what, sweetie. Why don't we choose both?"
"White and blue?" The Doctor looked up from his spot on the floor.
"Yeah. Two walls white and two walls blue?"
The Doctor immediately brightened and grabbed the pot of blue paint. River smiled and took the pot of white paint.
"Okay, so you can paint the far wall and the wall with the door in blue and I'll do the other two."
"Sounds good to me."
An hour later, the paint was dry and both The Doctor and River sat in the middle of the room enjoying a lunch of sandwiches and admiring their work.
"The crib could go against the far wall and the rocking chair could go in the corner next to it." River suggested.
"Then we could put the changing table next to the door and a box of toys in the middle of the room."
"In the middle? Won't that look a bit odd?"
"It can go against the wall then."
"No in the middle is fine." River smiled at her husband and enveloped him in a brief hug. "Thanks for all your help today, sweetie."
"You're welcome. I'm glad we've got this sorted."
"Me too. We just need to actually get the furniture in here now."
"I'll get started in a minute."
"What about me?"
The Doctor sighed.
"Heavy lifting and all, it's probably best that you just relax."
"I could help. I just wouldn't do any lifting. I could put some of the stuff together or put the toys in a box."
This time it was River pleading to her husband. The Doctor was slightly worried and still not completely over the scare they had a couple of weeks ago.
"Fine, just promise me you'll stop if I ask."
"Promise." River gave her husband another brief hug.
The Doctor jumped up and ran out the room. River started to clear away their plates and placed them in the TARDIS kitchen. When she came back, the Doctor had already moved the boxes full of their flat-packed furniture into the room and had started to open them. River went out and came back with the Moses basket and placed it in the corner of the room.
"Sweetie, are you sure you know what you're doing?"
The Doctor was staring at the instructions in his hand, trying to make sense of them.
"Yeah, I know what I'm doing."
River sighed and took the sheet away then placed it back in his hands the right way around.
"Ah." The Doctor started fitting pieces of the crib together.
River started unpacking the changing table box and fitting pieces together. At least the Doctor had allowed her to help in some form or another.
A couple of hours later, all the furniture had been put together and everything was in place.
"It's perfect." River leaned against the Doctor who'd wrapped his arm around her middle.
"It is." He leaned in a pecked his wife on the lips.
River deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around the Doctor's neck. The two broke apart and stared at one another. The Doctor took his wives hand and pulled her towards the door.
The next chapter will see the Doctor and River visit another planet. Tips and suggestions welcome as usual.