CH 28
River was afraid that if she tried to move Freya, she would wake up, so she stayed with her on the couch, waiting for the others to get back. It was a good ten minutes after the movie ended before Jack and Ianto could be heard laughing about something as they re-entered the TARDIS.
"Hey River?" Jack's voice called.
River carefully scooted off the couch, opening the door, "In here." She called before going back over to Freya.
Jack was still snickering about the joke, but lowered his voice as he saw that Freya was asleep. "Looks like that was sorted out. Ianto and I were just heading out. We wanted to say bye, first. Oh, and the Doctor's with Amelia in her room. He got her a new toy and one for Freya too."
She nodded, smiling up at him, "Thank you for coming and spending sometime with them. We'd love to have you again soon, if you'd like."
"I'd love it. Those two are great and I never thought I'd love the name 'Uncle Jack so much.'' "
Thank you, Jack. They had lots of fun with you, and I got a very...memorable Mother's Day with you watching them." She smirked.
He smiled and gave her a two fingered salute. "See ya later, River."
"Goodbye, sweetie." She smiled back, watching as he and Ianto turned to go.
"Mummy...?" Freya half murmured as she stirred.
"Hmm?" River looked down at her, stroking back her curls.
"Was that Uncle Jack?" She yawned.
"Yes, it was. He came to say goodbye."
"But I didn't get to say bye!" Freya pouted.
"Well you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you. He'll be back soon." River assured, "Daddy and Amelia are back, do you want to go see them?"
The girl nodded. "Did they save me any grilled cheese?"
"I don't know, sweetie. Let's go see." She lifted Freya up off the couch, blankets and all, carrying her back to her room.
"Hi, Freya!" Amelia said excited to know what her sister and mother had been up to without her. Coloring books and crayons were strewn over her bed which the Doctor sat on the end of. He avoided eye contact with River, assuming she was still angry with him.
River carefully set Freya down on the bed beside Amelia, glad to see that she joined in on the coloring almost immediately. She only glanced at the Doctor, not saying anything to him. They stayed there with them for a while, avoiding the elephant in the room. A few times it looked like he was going to say something, but then ended up complimenting their daughters' drawings.
"Mummy? When are we gonna go to the zoo?" Amelia asked. "You promised we would. "
"I think we should wait a few days." River sighed, leaning against the wall.
"But then we can, right? Can we bring Uncle Jack?" Freya nodded in agreement that they should invite Jack. They looked at River for an answer.
"If you want to invite him then you can, but he's a very busy man so he may not be able to come."
"Mummy." She laughed. "We live in a time machine. We can just bring him when he's not busy."
River simply nodded, her eyes fixed on the floor. The Doctor followed her gaze, absent mindedly, knowing that there must've been something more that was on her mind than just what had happened with Freya. He wanted -he needed- to talk to River about this. He needed her not to be furious; He need to explain himself. But he wasn't comfortable with leaving their daughters unsupervised and as far as he could tell, neither was River. She sat down on Freya's bed, watching as the girls continued to color. She was tired and upset, lost in the heaviness of her thoughts.
"River..." He finally said. "Why don't you take a nap? ...You look tired. I can watch them."
She shook her head, not wanting to leave them. "I'm fine." She murmured, her voice monotone.
"I..." She must've been more upset with him than he thought. "You sure?"
"Yes, I'm fine." She repeated, refusing to look at him.
"...Alright." He felt terrible enough as it was, but having River against him made him feel even worse. He hated to see her so cross. He was rubbish at apologies and and it had already failed the first time.
River stayed silent for another minute, staring at the floor, then asked, "Did you save any grilled cheese for Freya?"
He nodded. "I put it in the fridge." That was followed by more silence, with only the sound of crayon on paper. She nodded, fidgeting in the uncomfortable silence. Even Freya and Amelia began to notice it after a while.
They looked up at eachother and exchanged glances. "Mummy...? Is everything alright?"
"Yes." Her voice broke, and she took a deep breath, clearing her throat, "Everything's fine."
Amelia looked between her parents. "Are you mad at daddy?" She tried again, wanting a truthful answer. Or at least on that made more sense than that.
She sighed, putting her head in her hands, "Amelia, I really don't want to talk right now. Just go back to coloring."
"...Sorry" The girl said quietly, returning to her book. Rver bit her lip, closing her eyes trying to keep from tearing up.
"River..." The Doctor couldn't bear it. He reached out to touch her arm and offered any comfort he could. He was starting to put together in his head that it wasn't only Freya who was upset and scared by the Silence.
She didn't pull away, but she didn't lean into his touch either, "What?" She asked, her voice nearly inaudible.
"I'm really sorry about earlier…" He began, though she already knew that much. "...I'm here. No matter what, I'm here. You know that?"
She nodded slowly, "Yes, I know."
"Where are you? Where has mind wandered? Where have you gone that's so distant from your family?"
River shook her head, not wanting to talk in front of the girls, "I'm fine. I'm right here." She whispered. He moved his hand lower to entangle with hers and traced his thumb in lazy circles at first then in Gallafreyan: 'Safe'. She squeezed her eyes shut, finally turning and burying her face in his shoulder. He brought his other hand up to stroke her hair.
Amelia and Freya knew better than to ask what was wrong this time. They stayed put, watching their parents.
River's shoulders shook lightly, clutching onto him. "I-I'm s-sorry."
"It's okay. It's okay. You had every right to be cross with me." And you have every right to be afraid of the Silence. He rubbed her back soothingly. She shook her head in disagreement, still clutching his hand as though her life depended on it.
The wet tip of a marker make contact with the top of her foot. Amelia had managed to climb off the bed and get a green marker. She drew the word she saw her father trace earlier: 'safe' and smiled up at her. River looked down at the word on her foot, then smiled weakly at her daughter, drying away the few tears that rolled down her cheeks.
"That must've been why your ship needed repairs." Amelia concluded. "We forgot to write safe."
She nodded, "It must have been." Freya climbed down next to her sister, grabbing a bunch more markers and placing them in a pile on the floor. She began working on the other foot and soon their mother's feet were a rainbow of words like love, happy, and safe. They also added things like, family, baby, mum, and hugs.
River laughed, looking down at the words on her feet. "Now I think you're just trying to show off how good you are at writing in Gallifreyan." She teased.
"I've been practicing really hard!" Freya proudly grinned.
Amelia reached into her pocket. "Look." She pulled out a napkin that had been drawn all over in Gallifreyan. The Doctor's neat hand writing was next to the more sloppy had writing of Amelia copying the word. "Daddy taught me some new words while we were waiting for the food to come."
"Ooh yes, I see." River smiled, looking down at the napkin, "I'm glad to see you've been practicing." The Doctor placed a kiss on her cheek, holding her close.
"I want to learn more words, too!" Freya said jealously.
"We got to have special ice cream and watch a movie together instead, remember? I'll teach you some new words another time, alright?" She offered, leaning into the Doctor's side. Freya nodded, satisfied with the offer. Amelia didn't get jealous over the ice cream though since she had had a milkshake with her lunch. "It's getting a bit late, we should start cleaning all of this up." River got up to start putting away the markers when the TARDIS jolted forwards, knocking her to the floor.
"River!" The Doctor rushed over to her. "River, are you alright?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'm fine… What was that?" She asked, pushing herself off the floor and moving to make sure the girls were alright.
"I don't know..." His heart beat a little faster, anxious about what had gotten in to the TARDIS.
"Mummy, I hit my elbow!"
She carefully checked over her elbow, "Does it hurt a lot?" She asked, making sure it wasn't broken or bruised.
"It hit my funny bone." Freya complained not liking the odd feeling it gave her.
River kissed it, "The feeling will go away in a minute." She assured, standing up and taking the Doctor's hand just as there was a loud bang from the console room.
He flinched at the noise, moving protectively in front of River. "River..." He said quietly. "You wouldn't happen to have your guns on you...?" She nodded, taking her new gun out of the holster. He smiled just a tiny bit at how sexy she looked with her new gun. "Okay." He bent down to Freya and Amelia. "You two need to stay very quiet. Do you understand?" They nodded, Freya immediately reaching for the bottom of River's dress, clinging to her.
Tha banging came again, making it apparent that someone wanted really wanted to get in.
"Plan. We need a plan." He hit his hand against his head in an effort to make his brain work. "Get as far away from the control room as possible. I'm not taking any chances." River nodded, already ushering the girls out of the room and down the hall away from the console room. He gave her a quick kiss, promising to meet her there as soon as he knew what was going on. He went in the opposite direction, sonic at the ready as the girls scurried down the hall.
River ran with the girls down the hall to where a door had appeared. It was the door to the same room they had stayed not a day or two before. "Stay here, you'll be safe in here. I'll be back soon." She whispered kissing the tops of the heads before closing the door, waiting until it vanished again before running down the hall after the Doctor. "Doctor,I'm not letting you do this alone!"
"River, go back with the girls. You need to stay somewhere safe." He said even though he knew she wouldn't listen.
"Absolutely not. I'm staying with you." She insisted, taking hold of his hand.
He turned to face her, trying to think of something to convince her. "River, you're not just putting yourself in danger, you're putting our child at risk, too. And If you die again I'll never forgive myself. I still don't forgive myself for the last time and I couldn't bear it a second time. Our children can live without me but they can't live with out you. River, please." He begged.
"But I can't live without you." She whispered, "And our children can't live without you either, you're ridiculous if you think otherwise. I have to help you. I know how to keep myself safe. I'm not going back."
He his eyes shut at the sound of the TARDIS doors being ripped off their hinges, but squeezed her hand and pulled her face to his, kissing her. "Love you."
"I love you too." She whispered as the click of high heels could be heard coming closer to them.
He turned around, not realizing how tight he was holding her hand. "I think our problem would best be solved by not dying." He whispered, moving forwards as silently as he could. The lights flickered followed by a sickly sound made by the TARDIS. She nodded, her thoughts drifting to the girls, though she knew that the TARDIS would protect them till the very end.
"How many times are going to play this game before you give up, Melody?" Kovarians voice was close. "You know I'll win eventually."
River gripped onto the Doctor's hand even tighter than before if it was possible. She couldn't find her voice to respond. "Doctor. Dooooctoooor." Kovarian called out. "You may as well just tell me where you're hiding them. We're going to find your children either way." The TARDIS groaned in protest again as the lights dimmed further. "You hear that? That's your TARDIS. Dying."
"No!" River shouted, taking off down the hall, firing off her gun as she ran.
"River!" The Doctor ran after her. "River wait!"
Kovarian's cold laugh rang through the halls. "That's right Melody, shooting things will make everything better."
"You won't hurt my daughters! I'll never let you touch my children again!" She screamed, running through the twisting corridors, trying to find the wretched woman.
"Are you so sure?" They could practically hear the grin in her voice. "Tick tock goes the clock, Melody. For your husband and your children. For you and everything you hold dear to you." River suddenly stopped short, the words sinking in. Horrible images filled her mind, one hand covering her belly, the grip on her gun slacking.
"River!" The Doctor practically ran into her. He was breathing hard. "River..." His eyes were wide as he took in every detail of River's expression and stance. She didn't respond, frozen in place, her gun clattering to the ground.
He cupped her face in his hands. "River, talk to me. Just look at me a calm down." She shook her head, pushing away from him and running towards the source of the voice, her gun still on the floor. "River!" He picked up her gun, unsure what to do with it, put it in his pocket before sprinting after her. "River, come back!" He ran after her not having the faintest idea of why she would run to Kovarian unarmed, but he knew it couldn't be good.
There was fire in her eyes as she ran through the halls. She wanted to strangle her, crush the woman with her bare hands. "You'll never get your hands on them, I'll make sure of it!"
Kovarian was standing in the hallway, which was now quite dark, in front of a blank wall. She tapped on it and it made a hollow sound. "Something tells me I found where your children are hiding." She smirked.
River stopped, glaring at her at the other members of the Silence that stood behind her, "Don't you dare..."
"What ever makes you think I won't?" Kovarian raised her arm, which was completely made of metal. The last time she was in the TARDIS, (when River was still pregnant with the girls), she had been led to a room full of fire. She had made it out, but with a few sacrifices including her arm. "The TARDIS is dying. That means this plaster wall is just plaster." She turned on her heel punching the wall and making a large dent.
"No!" River cried, running to the wall earning several hits of electricity in the process. She blocked the wall with her own body, shielding the little girls that she knew were inside, "Don't...please..." Kovarain's bionic arm came down again, hitting River in the gut.
"River! No!" The Doctor cried, trying to get to her, but being blocked by the Silence.
With the wind knocked out of her, River doubled over and she fell onto her hands and knees. She gasped for breath, clutching onto her stomach. "D-Don't...take my girls..." She whispered, once she had managed to somewhat catch her breath, "I-I'll g-go with...you...if you p-promise n-not to take them..."
Kovarian paused her arm in mid air and lowered it to River. She grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up the wall, holding her so her feet couldn't touch the ground "Say it again."
River swallowed, looking her in the eyes, and steadying her voice before speaking, "If you leave my family alone, I'll come with you." She glanced over at the Doctor, her heart breaking, "And I won't fight."
Her lips curled into a smile before she dropped her. "Stupid girl. You shouldn't make deals like that when you don't know what you're doing." The Silence picked her up, holding her arms securely.
"NO! River! Don't do this! River, please!"
"I'm sorry, Doctor." She whispered, refusing to cry, she had to stay strong, "There isn't any other way to save the girls." After the blow to her stomach, she didn't think the baby would survive for very long, almost positive that she would ultimately miscarry because of it. "Take care of them..."
"No! River!" He fought and kicked against the Silence as River was hauled off. Tears blurred his vision and his knees buckled as he sobbed uncontrollably and the Silence left. "River." Was all he could say through his crying. "River come back. Please. River..."
She blinked back tears, not fighting as she had promised. If going with the Silence meant that her family would be safe, then it was the best she could do. A few silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she thought about how happy her family had been just that morning. Her wonderful, loving husband who she was leaving behind, two beautiful little girls whom she would probably now never see again and a baby on the way that was mostly likely dying.
They exited the TARDIS to a base deep under the surface of whatever planet they were on. Soldiers, Silence, and other people bustled around the area, working on weapons or practicing combat. Kovarian nodded at one of the workers who pushed some controls on the wall. The TARDIS fell through a shoot that had appeared below it and Kovarian smirked again.
River let out a startled shout, trying to run towards the shoot the TARDIS had just fallen through, "What did you do?"
"Did you really think I was going to let your little family go that easily? Honestly, Melody, you are so naive." Kovarian turned her back to the hole in the floor. "They're in an incinerator by now. Burning." Each syllable was spat out harshly from her mouth intended so River would have a clear image of her family's death.
"No!" She screamed, fighting against the Silence holding her with all the strength she had. Tears burned in her eyes, her husband, her beautiful girls… burning. They couldn't be gone, it couldn't be the end…
"You shouldn't be so distraught, Melody. We're going to kill you too. Just as soon at that one is born." She pointed a sharp nailed finger towards River's abdomen. "You'll be of no use."
River shook her head, glaring at her through her tears, "You're not getting this baby." She hissed, spitting in her direction.
Kovarian laughed. "And how do you propose to stop me? You have nothing but your fists, not one of your allies knows that you're here, and your only escape just got incinerated. Don't forget who you're up against."
"Believe me, I'll find a way." At this point, her threats were empty. She had no idea how she was going to prevent Kovarian from getting her baby. She could only think about her family and all the promises that had just been broken.
Kovarain rolled her eyes at River, muttering "You're pathetic." She started walking down the hall, gesturing for the Silence who were holding River to follow. "Come Melody, we have work to do."
