Ch 38

The TARDIS had decided to put the girls bedroom just two doors away from where River and the Doctor were. Jack was still asleep in the chair, though he twitched his foot at the noise of the door creaking open. Freya was splayed out sideways on her bed, her head off her pillow and feet dangling over one side of the bed. She always was one for ending up in strange positions while she slept. Amelia on the other hand started to stir and stretched her arms before sitting up and rubbing her eye with a yawn. She squinted at the two figures who had just entered, but could only make out their silhouettes in the dark. "Mummy?" She asked hopefully.

"Hi, sweetheart." River whispered, walking closer to her and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Amelia's whole face lit up. She couldn't believe it; after all that time in the sickbay, she had doubts of her mother ever waking up. Amelia practically jumped out of her blankets and pounced into River's arms. "Mummy!"

She had a bit of the wind knocked out of her by the force of Amelia's jump. "Hello, my love." She held her tightly, kissing her temple.

Amelia nuzzled into River and made herself comfortable in her arms. She had no plans on leaving any time soon. "Is your head fixed?"

"Yes, my head is all better now." She assured.

"It won't make you sleep any more?"

River shook her head, "You don't have to worry, Amelia. Everything's fine."

"You said that before." She looked up at her.

"Well, sometimes things happen that make what I say not true anymore, but I promise everything will be okay."

"Pinky promise. And cross your hearts?" She held out her little finger.

River wrapped her pinky around hers, crossing her heart with the other hand, "Cross my hearts."

She seemed satisfied by this. "Did sleeping hurt the baby?"

She shook her head slowly, "No, the baby's okay."

Amelia placed her hand on River's belly as if making sure. She leaned her head down and whispered thinking River couldn't hear. "Don't worry baby. I'll make sure nothing bad happens when you get here." River smiled weakly, finding it sweet that Amelia was so protective over her younger sibling.

A tiny foot, or maybe a hand, pushed back against Amelia's hand. Sisters.

Amelia looked up at River, her eyes sparkling. River's smile grew wider, relieved that she was finally feeling the baby move again, "Doctor! Sweetie, come here."

He had been leaning against the doorframe, watching her and Amelia interact and getting a bit lost in his own thoughts. He perked his head up at his name being called and came over next to River, smiling down at both of them. "What is it?" Freya shifted in her bed at the noise of them talking.

"The baby's moving again." River whispered, smiling up at him. She glanced over at Freya.

His face lit up the same way Amelia's did when she was River again. "Really?" It was like a weight lifted off his shoulders. He had blamed himself so much for accidentally paralyzing the baby, and he really had no idea when it would move again. He wanted to jump up and down, but instead he sat on the bed and placed his hand next to Amelia's. River beamed when she felt another push beneath their hands, looking up at him in delight.

He took a moment to decided whether to kiss her and risk grossing out Amelia or not. He went with it, kissing River passionately and earning a disgusted noise from Amelia as well was Freya who was sitting up in her bed and looking at them.

River wrapped her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair, not noticing the girls squeals. "Mummy that's gross! Stop it!" Freya whined sticking her tongue out. River pulled away, laughing a bit. Freya climbed off her bed and onto Amelia's. "Mummy? Why do you kiss daddy so much?"

"Because I love daddy very, very much and kissing him makes me happy." She smiled, running her fingers through Freya's hair.

"Then why don't you just hug him instead?"

"Because I like kissing him."

"But it's gross." She countered.

"Well, if I couldn't kiss him anymore, then I would be very, very sad."

Freya thought about this. "Mm...Fine. You can kiss him, but not in my room."

"Alright, I'll try my best not to kiss him in your room." She smiled, leaning into the Doctor.

Freya moved closer to River. "Whatta you all doing anyways?"

"Everybody was feeling the baby move."

Freya smiled and placed her hand where everyone's hands were just before. She too felt the baby brush up against her hand.

"Daddy, Uncle Jack said that if we were good, he would buy us a puppy!" Amelia chirped, still snuggling up against River.

"Er..." The Doctor looked over at his sleeping friend and then at River. "Uncle Jack and I have a little talking to do."

River raised an eyebrow, "But, Amelia, you're going to get a new sibling soon. I don't think that getting a puppy would be a very good idea right now."

"But the baby will like it, too! Please?" She begged.

"Amelia, I don't think so. A puppy is a lot of work, and so is a baby. Both at the same time may be a bit too much, I'm sorry, sweetheart."

She stuck her lip out and pouted. "But Mummy!"

"How about we get something smaller that needs less work, hmm?" River kissed her forehead.

"Like what?" The girl couldn't think of anything as fun as a puppy but smaller.

"How about a fish? Would you like a fish?" River suggested.

She shook her head. "I want a puppy."

"But you can't have a puppy, Amelia." She frowned, "What about a cat?" She tried again, it may be a bit more work than a fish, but was still considerably less than a dog.

"A kitty?" Amelia looked up at her and slowly began to smile.

"If daddy says it's alright then we can think about getting a kitty."

"Maybe we should wait until the baby's born." The Doctor pointed out.

What's a kitty?

"Please can we get one now! Please! Please! Please!" Amelia cried, Freya bouncing on the bed beside her, nodding in agreement.

"It's a type of animal, sweetie."

"There's a lot going to right now, it's only a few weeks..." The Doctor looked at River for help.

Animal...?

"You'll see as soon as you're born." She looked between the girls, "We really should wait, girls."

"But we don't want to!" They cried.

"Jack!" River snapped, waking him up.

"Wha- huh?" He opened his eyes with a start, surprised to see River. "River! I see you're feeling better."

"Yes, I am, thank you. But what is this I hear about you buying my girls a puppy?"

"Oh. Well..." He knew what River's bad side was like. It was not somewhere he'd like to go again. "Well they would quiet down after you were... 'sleeping' and it was the only thing that made them feel better."

"I appreciate you trying to make them happier, but I really don't think we can deal with a puppy right now." She glanced at the Doctor.

"You're Timelords. I thought you could deal with anything." He teased.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, shut up. A new puppy really isn't the best thing to have around a newborn baby."

"Well I assumed you'd get some sort of weird alien breed that wouldn't hurt your baby."

"Alien or not, it's too much work to have both at the same time." She sighed, looking down at Amelia and Freya.

Jack looked between the sad girls and River. "What about a cat?"

"Well...we'll have to think about that." She looked over at the Doctor, "I think Vastra mentioned Strax finding a few kittens recently, we could at least let the girls play with them." The girls had never met Madame Vastra before, and River rather liked the idea of introducing them to her friend.

The Doctor nodded. "I think that's a brilliant idea." Madame Vastra was someone one who he had a lot of trust in not to mention could fight quite well. "How about I give her a call, later?"

"Mind if I tag along?" Asked Jack.

River nodded, "I wouldn't mind. Do you want me to call her now?" She asked, excited to talk to her friend again.

"Sure." The Doctor said, pulling Freya into his lap. She smiled, gently lifting Amelia off her lap.

Amelia hung on to her mother. "No, stay here!"

"Amelia, sweetie, we're going to see my friend, I have to call her." She tried to move again.

"But you jus' got here! You hafta stay!"

"I-" She sighed, looking back at the Doctor, "Maybe you should call her."

"Right." He began to move Freya off of his lap. Both girls snuggled up close to her as the Doctor left, glad she wasn't in a coma or worse.

River was glad to be getting them out of the TARDIS and hopefully getting their minds off of what had just happened. "We're going to go see my friend Madame Vastra today. You remember the stories I've told you about her right?"

"You mean the lizard lady?" Freya asked. Jack listened too, since this was the first he was hearing about this woman.

"Mhmm, yes the Lizard Lady." She murmured,

"An' you told us about that time at Demons Run." Amelia piped up, forgetting about the cat.

"Did I?" She murmured, trying to remember when she did that.

"Yeah! When we turned three an' kept asking you about our old crib."

"Ah, I see. You're poor mummy's getting old, I can't barely remember telling you that story."

"Well, you wouldn't tell us that much. Just that you and daddy had gotten into an argument and about the people who were there and when you ran over to the crib."

"Well, I think you're still a bit young for the full story. " She kissed her forehead, looking up when the Doctor returned.

He smiled at the bunch. "We can go today after lunch." Though technically after lunch could be any time they wanted, they liked to at least attempt to keep things linear.

River beamed, getting up and giving him a quick peck on the lips, "Wonderful."

"Well, then. How about some breakfast every one?" He glanced at Jack debating on weather to let him stay.

"Breakfast sounds nice." River took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"I think I'll pass on this one. Not really hungry at the moment." Jack excused himself, letting them have some family alone time.

"What do you girls want for breakfast?" The Doctor asked wrapping a hand around his wife's waist.

They nodded, Freya bouncing off the bed while Amelia slowly climbed down with her favorite toy in one hand, clutching onto River's dress with the other. He glanced down at Amelia and up to River. He tried his best to express without words for River to see what was wrong. "Amelia? Sweetie, is everything alright?" River asked softly, kneeling down so she was eye-level with her.

The Doctor and Freya had headed out the door to the kitchen to give them some privacy. Amelia looked somewhere between angry and about to cry, but didn't answer her.

"Amelia, sweetheart, what's wrong?" River murmured, running her thumb over her cheek.

The girl looked down at her feet, trying to avoid her mother's gaze. After a few more moments, tears spilled over her cheeks and she whispered. "Don't go."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere." She brushed away her tears with her thumb, pulling her into a hug.

"People keep trying to take you away. People keep trying to get daddy, too. And Freya, and me." She began to wail. "Why do they want us apart? Why does this keep happening? Don't let them take us, mummy!"

River sat down on the floor, pulling Amelia into her lap, "Shhh. Shh. Amelia, it's alright. Nobody's going to take you or me or daddy or Freya away again. I promise, we're all going to be together and everything's going to be okay." She murmured, kissing her head and rubbing her back as she rocked back and forth.

"But even when the mean people aren't here, you keep getting sick and going to sleep when you're not s'pose to! What if you go to sleep forever?" She cried.

"I won't go to sleep forever. I promise, I'll always wake up." River ran her fingers through her hair. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'll always wake up for you."

Amelia clung on to her like if she let go everything she feared would happen, would. Although she heard what River was saying, she still doubted it a bit "Don't go. Not ever."

"I won't, sweetheart. I won't, I promise." She kissed her head again, holding her tightly. Amelia had to hear it a few more times before her sobbing became soft whimpers. "Do you want to go eat breakfast with Daddy and Freya?" River asked softly, brushing away her tears.

" 'm not hungry." She lied.

"Are you sure? I'm awfully hungry..." River murmured, trying to coax her to go.

She looked up at her mother, not wanting to leave her side. "Maybe I'm a little hungry."

River smiled, kissing her forehead, "Alright, come on then." She whispered, gently easing her off of her lap and standing up, taking her hand.

Amelia held onto her hand with a little more force than she meant to as they walked to the kitchen, which the smell of bacon and waffles was coming from. River helped her into a chair once they got to the kitchen. The Doctor kept up his smile as they settle themselves into their chairs. He put a still hot waffle on each of their plates with syrup and whipped cream for River.

Freya looked at her sister's red eyes and went over to her. "Mia? What happened?"

"What's this for?" River raised an eyebrow, when he added the whipped cream for her.

Amelia shook her head, not wanting to talk about it.

"Just a little treat. I thought you might like it." He smiled.

Freya nudged her sister again. "Come on. Tell."

River smiled, "Thank you, sweetie."

Amelia shook her head again, sniffling a bit and hugging her stuffed animal tighter.

Freya frowned in disappointment, but went back to her seat and focused on her food. River watched Amelia carefully, worry reflecting on her expression.

The Doctor kept looking at River, and Freya at Amelia, both wondering what was making the other so upset. "River?"

She jumped when she heard her name, his voice startling her and pulling her out of her thoughts, "Hmm?"

"...You okay?" He paused taking a bite of food and watched her carefully. "You seem... distracted."

"Yes, I'm fine." She murmured, looking down at her food which she had not yet touched.

"You haven't touched your food yet." He lowered his voice. "And you keep looking at Amelia."

"I'm fine, just not really hungry." She whispered, glancing over at Amelia again. Amelia looked up a bit confused. River had just told her that she was hungry a few minutes ago. River sat back in her chair, rubbing her forehead.

"River..." He said again. "Are you sure you're okay?" His concern for her only grew.

She nodded, her head hurting from the stress that had slowly begun to build up. "I'm fine."

"Then why are you holding your head?"

Amelia looked at her mother. Was she going to sleep again? She had just promised she wouldn't.

River sighed, bring her hand away from her head, "I'm fine. Now, will you all stop worrying about me?"

"Can't help it." He said quietly looking back down at his food.

She sighed again, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so snippy." Her shoulders were tense from the stress. The pressure of worrying about the Silence, the baby's heath, her family's safety, and now Amelia's worries were getting to her, making her stressed, tense and gave her a headache. It wasn't enough to make her pass out or get sick again, but it was enough to put her mood on edge.

"Why don't you lie down after breakfast?" He suggested. River was only snippy when she was angry or sick. He was sure she wasn't cross with him and the headache plus the fact that her face was a little pale told him that she wasn't feeling too well.

She shook her head, "I don't need to lay down. I'm fine"

"No matter how well you pretend you are, you can't hide the physical signs. Your face is pale and I know your head hurts." He stood his ground. "It'll only be for a little while."

She slammed her hands down on the table, pushing her chair back and standing up, storming out of the room. She didn't mean to get so angry, she just reacted before thinking.

He sat there stunned, trying to figure out what he said wrong. He looked over to the girls, whoes faces just about matched his. He was about to get up and follow her, but Amelia jumped out of her chair before he could even stand up and went in River's direction leaving her father and sister behind. She walked down the big hallway, peeking in every room before finally seeing River in one of them.

River sat on her bed, her head in her hands. She sounded like she was trying not to cry, unaware that Amelia was there. The girl walked in silently, not quite sure why her mummy was so upset. She came close enough to rest her tiny hand on River's knee and look up at her. "Mummy?"

"Amelia, please go finish your breakfast." She whispered, brushing her hand off of her knee.

She didn't move. "Mummy, what's wrong? Why did you get mad at daddy?"

"Amelia, go." Her tone was a bit harsher this time as she stood, ushering her out of the room.

"No, mummy!" She struggled against her, but River was much stronger than her. "No! Lemme stay!"

"Don't you dare talk back to me, missy. When I tell you to do something, then you do it, do you understand me?" River snapped. Amelia stopped struggling and let River push her out of the room. She looked back her mother, feeling let down and her bottom lip trembling. "Go back to your father, I don't want you to ever talk back to me again." She hissed, not really noticing her lip trembling. Amelia looked solemnly down at her feet, a small sob escaping her lips as she turned around to leave. River was already slamming the door, not realizing how cruel she was being.

Amelia stopped and started to sob. She didn't want to go back to the kitchen, she wanted to be with her mum. But her mum didn't seem to want to be with her. She looked around her. The kitchen was straight down the hall, but she turned right and then left. She started to run, trying to get as far away from that part of the ship as possible.