AUTHOR'S NOTE: Heyy! This is sort of a filler chapter, because the events of this chapter lead up to what is coming next, but it's not really because it's part of the looming twists and turns. I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry for the wait, real life takes over sometimes :( But anyway, please review, it means a lot! xx See the bottom of the page - after reading the chapter - for additional notes on this chapter. I didn't want to put it up at the top because of spoilers! x

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this fanfic, and I do not own Doctor Who. Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and this is purely for fun and non-profitable purposes!

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: The greatest of gifts

River wandered through the lonely TARDIS corridors in search of her family. She swayed her hips as she walked, and the hem of her long, flowing black dress parting to reveal shiny patent, black platform heels. River looked stunning in the tight-fitting, strapless black dress which fell to her ankles. The dress was tight around her chest and was pulled in at her slim waist, with a thigh-high slit cut which exposed a slither of her soft sun-kissed skin. The thin material floated as she walked and River had accessorised the plain, yet effective dress, with a diamond necklace and her captivating green-blue eyes were enhanced with a small amount of black eye make-up that defined her beautiful eyes; her eyes sparkled with delight as she continued to make her way to the console room. Her wild, unruly, yet stunning, golden feathery curls fell at her shoulders and bounced a little as she walked. She did not care if she was a little over-dressed; it was her birthday why shouldn't she look her best? After all, the Doctor had promised her that he was going to take her on a trip, just the two of them for a little while, whilst Jenny cared for Lily in the TARDIS in their absence. Except there was a small problem, she couldn't find any of them. She'd woken and upon finding the Doctor's side of the bed empty she had got herself washed and dressed, ready for the adventure he had promised her the night before, and when she had departed the bedroom and entered the corridors in search of him, there was no sign of life anywhere.

As River approached the console room, the lights were off and the room was dimly lit, so River stumbled onto up the stairs, her arms instinctively reaching out to support her if she should fall flat on her face, which luckily she didn't. River called the Doctor's name through the darkness as she took small steps forward. Suddenly the lights clicked on and River was greeted with ruby red balloons suspended in the air, tied to different parts of the console and the railings. There was a hand-painted banner, a white background with big red letters, obviously painted by Lily, which was tied around the centre column of the TARDIS. Lily, Jenny and the Doctor jumped up from where they were hiding behind the console, yelling 'Surprise'. River let a huge grin spread across her cheeks and after getting over the small shock, she let out a wave of laughter run through her and she moved towards her family. Lily ran towards her, and River enveloped her in her arms, kissing her blonde curls, before bending down to her level and kissing her cheek softly before holding her little hands in hers and squeezing them tightly, she looked up to the Doctor and Jenny who were smiling ecstatically.

"You did all this for me darling?" River gasped, Lily nodded and River was smiling as she hugged her little daughter tightly and stood up straight again. She began making her way towards Jenny and then hugged her tightly too. "Thank you my love"

"No trouble" Jenny laughed, as River released her from her embrace and she made her way towards Lily, putting her arm around her and squeezing her against her side tightly.

"And you..." River grinned cheekily, walking towards the Doctor and flinging her arms round his neck as his hands traced her slender silhouette. "I might have known you'd been planning something"

"But, you didn't, did you?" He asked with a worried tone to his voice.

"No, it was a lovely surprise sweetie" She let her hand wander behind his head as she brought his lips passionately to his.

"Happy birthday my love" The Doctor smiled, giving her one last quick kiss before they parted and he took her hand in his, lacing his fingers between hers. "Do you want to open some of your presents?"

"Of course!" She squealed in delight, her eyes wandering to the delicately wrapped parcels that were piled up on the floor. The he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"I have a surprise for you afterwards. The trip I promised you" He smirked, flirtatiously.

"Ooh, I look forward to it" She said flirting back at him before leaning in as well and whispering in his ear. "And I might just have a little surprise for you too"

The Doctor furrowed his brow, but smiled and released River's hand and she moved towards the presents, with Lily and Jenny following her. The all knelt on the floor and River began to open a few of her gifts. Lily handed her mother a card that she had made for her with 'Happy Birthday, I love you mummy' written across the front with a little picture of River, Lily, Jenny and the Doctor in the centre of the page. River felt her heart melting and a glow of happiness running through her body as she accepted the card and squeezed her daughter tightly. River continued to open her presents, the present from Jenny, the present from Lily, the present they had all come together to give her, and then, she finally came to the final gift, the gift from the Doctor. River tugged at the blue ribbon that was tied around the petite box. River gasped as she gently pulled out the dainty silver charm bracelet, with miniature Gallifreyan symbols and charms dangling from it, that she had been admiring in the intergalactic market just a few weeks ago, when they had taken a trip there. She had admired it in the window of the store, and the Doctor had made a mental note of how much she had adored it and had decided it would be the perfect gift for her birthday. River fastened it on her wrist and leapt on top of the Doctor, crying out a huge thank you and kissing him tenderly as she stroked his cheek.

"Thank you my love, it's just what I wanted!" River cried, her arms locked around his neck as she gazed into his eyes lovingly.

"That's alright, and it's not over yet, I've still got that special trip planned" The Doctor beamed, quickly, but gently, pushing his wife away, no matter how much he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her all over. He ran to the console and began switching on leavers and pressing buttons as he set the TARDIS in motion and set the co-ordinates for their next destination.

...[LATER]...

The TARDIS break noise kicked in and the Doctor and River waved the TARDIS off as it vanished into thin air, carrying Lily and Jenny aloft. The timelord and his wife were left standing on the beautiful planet alone, with not another living soul in sight. Jenny and Lily had agreed with their parents that they could go to the intergalactic market whilst the Doctor gave River her birthday treat, and the girls would return for them about four hours later.

The Doctor watched River looking around the planet in wonder. The three orange suns shone brightly, emitting beams of warm light around them. The lake sparkled and the luscious green grass had a glorious fragrance that wafted up their nostrils. The Doctor gripped River's hand tightly, holding the wicker picnic basket in his other as he led her through a narrow opening in the trees and through an enclosed cobbled path through the overgrown trees and shrubbery until they reached a more open space, although it was still private and closed off from the rest of the planet. The extravagant greenery, trees and plant life surrounded them and next to them, the tranquil sound of the waterfall could be heard as powerful waves of tepid water were cascading over the rocky cliff-face and tumbling into the still pool of shimmering liquid below. As River stood by the edge of the pool, admiring the sight laid out before her, the Doctor took the blue and white checked blanket from the basket, shaking it out and placing it neatly on the squidgy emerald grass. He sat down on it, pulling out champagne glasses, a bottle of River's favourite champagne and picnic food from the basket and spreading them out on the blanket. The Doctor lay down and soon after River joined him, snuggling herself close to his and resting her hand and her head tenderly on his chest.

"So, where are we then sweetie?" River whispered, closing her eyes for a moment so she could hear the sound of the waterfall crashing against the rocks and the trees swaying in the warm breeze.

"The Lost Gardens of Starllosa" He smiled. "Completely abandoned, we're the only people here, an entire planet, River that no one knows about"

"How come you know about it then?" She smirked.

"I know everything" He grinned cheekily and she kissed his cheek gently.

"Not quite everything" River mumbled under her breath, smiling to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing" She replied hastily, then quickly changed the subject. "So, what have you got planned for us?"

"Nothing" He smirked and stroked her hair tenderly.

"Nothing?" She lifted her head from his chest and looked supported herself on the palm of her hands that were placed firmly either side of his shoulders.

"Yep" He grinned widely. "Just you and me, the gardens, and a picnic, but other than that, I've not planned anything! We can just relax and enjoy your birthday together"

"Prefect" River breathed as she leant down and kissed him romantically, but her hands gave way and her body crashed down on top of his and they both laughed contently as River's hands slipped around his torso and his hands laced around her figure, hugging her tightly as he brought her closer to him.

Later on, after the Doctor took a paddle in the pool, and the pair enjoyed some time exploring the depths of the gardens, they settled down together on the picnic mat. The Doctor reached for the ice bucket which contained the bottle of champagne. The he proceeded to take two glasses and pour them each a drink. The Doctor offered River a glass but she refused it and gently pushed it away.

"No thank you sweetie"

"It's your birthday, River, you should celebrate!" He grinned, attempting to hand her the glass once more.

"No, really sweetie please, it's a lovely gesture, but I don't want any" She smiled faintly, refusing the glass again.

"Are you sure?" He asked, obviously puzzled that she wasn't drinking to the extent she usually did. It was her favourite champagne and he'd bought it especially for her, yet she was refusing to have any and he couldn't quite understand why.

"I'm not drinking at the moment, sweetie" She sighed, avoiding eye contact with him, and busying herself with taking out the food from their packets and placing them on plates.

"Oh, why not?"

"Well...err, if we're trying to have a baby I thought it would be best not to"

"Oh, right, ok, no problem!" He smiled and tipped the contents of her rejected glass onto the grass, then took a sip of his own.

"Thank you love" She smiled and edged closer to him and let her fingers entwine with his. "This has been the best birthday I've ever had"

"Even better than the one where there was two of me?" The Doctor smirked, raising his eyebrows knowingly to match the flirtatious edge to his voice.

"Well, they were both brilliant for very different reasons" River chuckled, flirting back as she remembered one of her previous birthdays.

"So, what's made this birthday so special then my love?" He grinned, pulling her into his arms as she relaxed into his body and he kissed the top of her wild curls.

"...Well, I discovered something this morning" River mumbled, thinking carefully about what she was going to say next.

"Oh yeah? What's that then?" The Doctor cooed, stroking his wife's hair tenderly.

"...Um, well, you know how you gave me the gift I wanted, the beautiful bracelet" She began, raising her arm that donned the charm bracelet and she twisted her arm so it rattled a little.

"Of course"
"Well, now it's time for me to give you yours" She muttered, moving into a sitting position and sitting back on her knees, facing him.

"But, River it's not my birthday" The Doctor frowned, reaching out and holding her hand.
"No, but it's a gift that I wanted too. The greatest gift, the one we both wanted more than anything..." She said gently, waiting for him to catch her drift.
"...You mean?" He gasped, letting his mouth fall open and a hopeful smile to grace his lips "River, you're not...?"
"I am..." She grinned, biting down on her bottom lip nervously as she waited for the Doctor to respond properly. When he looked into her eyes lovingly, gripping her hand to steady himself, bracing himself for her to give him the news he was yearning for "Doctor, I'm pregnant"

The Doctor gasped in delight and his beautiful brown eyes were glazed over with happiness and a few tears escaped his eyes and ran down his cheeks as he pulled River into him tightly, her chin perched on his shoulder and his hand clasped firmly around her slender body and his hand buried in her golden curls as he kissed her forehead. He pulled apart from his wife and let his right hand rest tenderly on her cheek as his left hand wandered to her belly.

"You're pregnant? Really? Oh River, we're having another baby" He gasped, letting his eyes roam over her stomach.

"Yes we are my love" She smiled, resting her hand on top of his as it traced over the miniscule curve of her pregnancy bump.

The Doctor looked at River's stomach. He looked really carefully. He hadn't noticed a difference, which was surprising as he normally noticed every tiny detail of everything he encountered, but he hadn't noticed any change in River's body. But now that he knew she was carrying their little baby, when he looked at her belly, he could see a slight curve that he hadn't noticed before. Suddenly he took her in his arms and laid her down in his lap, his arm supportively around her neck as he leant down and kissed her deeply, running his hand over her stomach. River let out a roar of blissful laughter and it suddenly became infectious as the Doctor laughed with her.

"You found out on your birthday that you're having a baby, I don't think there is a better gift than that" He smiled blissfully.

Please review if you have a minute, it will make me so happy!

[NEXT CHAPTER UP SOON]

EXTRA AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yep, she's pregnant again. But there will still be twists and turns coming! I have lots of ideas! This time I'm going to do the whole 9 months pregnancy thing, in more detail than with her pregnancy with Lily when I just skipped the pregnancy. I'm going to do it properly this time, which means lots more chapters! Yay! x