Just Keep Breathing

Thanks to all of you for the support and reviews! I selected a name before I even finished the previous chapter, so it's all been decided, but thanks for your suggestions. This chapter takes place five-ish weeks after the last one. Because as much fun as pregnant-River is, I think we're ALL getting anxious to see that little bundle of Time Lord-y joy. Also, we made it to FOUR HUNDRED REVIEWS! Give yourselves all a hand! And I hope to get many more….*hint hint*

River and the Doctor landed in her grandparents' back garden as Sophie was weeding a large patch of tomatoes. She looked up, surprised, as the Doctor peered out and asked,

"Melody isn't here, is she?"

Sophie nodded,

"She's in the living room with Tom…shall I send her home?"

"No, that won't be necessary," the Doctor said, but just then a little girl dashed out the back door. The Doctor closed the door to the Tardis and locked it as he was nearly run over by little Melody Pond.

"Doctor! You're here!"

He smiled as the girl wrapped her gangly arms around him and beamed up at him.

"Hello Melody Pond."

"You're early! My birthday isn't until tomorrow!"

"And how old will you be, Pond? Thirty or forty at least, right?"

She giggled and shook her head, tossing her ginger locks this way and that.

"No silly, I'll be nine."

"Nine years old already?" the Doctor asked, beaming at her, "Really?"

"Yes!" She grinned at him and rolled up one of her sleeves, showing him a scraped elbow. "And look what I did yesterday! I was playing in my tree house and Dad called me in for dinner and so I tried to jump down and I scraped my elbow. But I didn't even cry!"

"You didn't? Wow, you're one tough girl."

"Daddy says that too."

"Speaking of your father, shouldn't he be coming home soon?" Sophie asked. Melody pulled out a battered fob watch from a chain around her neck and checked the time.

"Daddy will be on our street in…three minutes."

"Why don't you go surprise him and walk him home?" Sophie suggested, "The Doctor will be here for your birthday, I'm sure. Right Doctor?"

"Give your Dad an extra-big hug for me, okay Melody?" The Doctor avoided answering the question, knowing that he could guarantee nothing. The little girl didn't notice, but merely beamed up at him.

"Okay!"

After giving him a big hug, Melody dashed back into the house, calling,

"Bye Grandpa!" as she ran out of the front door and down the street to meet her father.

"She's certainly got spirit, doesn't she?" the Doctor asked wistfully, and Sophie nodded.

"I assume you're here about my great-grandchild?"

"River's inside now. She's thirty-six weeks along."

"Thirty-six?" Sophie replied, surprised.

"Last time we met you…well it's in your future…you told us that River would probably be pregnant for forty-three or forty four weeks. She's got a bit left to go."

"Poor dear is probably set to get it all over and done with. Why has she come to see me now?"

River opened the door to the Tardis and walked out…only her belly was large and rounded, so it was more of a waddle.

"I wanted you to check up on the baby, as well as…well…breathing."

"Breathing?"

"During labor," River explained. "I'd like you to deliver me if possible, but I doubt it will happen that way. And I want some techniques, especially since I don't want any pain killers."

"You don't want pain killers?" The Doctor exclaimed, sounding alarmed. This was the first he had heard of any of this.

"I don't know how they'll affect me or the baby; Dad said when I was a kid that I had really weird reactions to some medications and I know that aspirin could kill you, so I want to play it safe."

"We could use some of the pain killers that Time Lords use."

"Doctor, this is something I want to do. I know it's going to hurt, but I've been shot a half dozen times; I've been badly injured. I think I can manage labor."

Sophie snorted,

"If I were you, dear, I'd listen to him. Childbirth isn't a walk in the park. I was in labor with your uncle Jeffrey for two days. I thought I was going to die of exhaustion. Your father was better; six hours of labor. Still, it's no picnic. Take the pain medications if he can get you some."

"Grandma, I want to do this with no drugs. It's natural."

"Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's good for you," Sophie quipped, and River glared at her.

"Can't you just support my decision? I just want to have my baby and do it the way I want to."

Sophie nodded quietly,

"You're right dear, it is your decision. If it gets unsafe, though, I will drug you. We'll make sure it's safe first, of course, but I'm not skimping on safety on a whim. Make sure that you discuss it with the Doctor beforehand though, because once you're in labor, you might just change your mind."

River nodded and Sophie pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.

"Let's go have some tea, shall we? We can do a few scans and tests and then I'll teach you those breathing techniques."

They went in and found Tom in the kitchen, popping scones in the oven.

"River!" He cried, delighted, and pulled her into a hug. "Goodness, look at you! You're just about ready to pop, aren't you?"

"Thanks Grandpa," River replied sourly. "Really. That's what every woman likes to hear."

"Excuse her," the Doctor interrupted apologetically, "She's a bit cranky."

Tom handed River a mug of tea and poured the Doctor another mug full of hot, steaming liquid. River bolted down her tea and then followed her grandmother down to the basement, stopping the Doctor when he stood to go with her.

"I'm fine. Just…stay and talk to Grandpa, okay? We'll call when it's time for breathing."

The Doctor slowly sank back down onto his stool at the counter. He looked mournfully up at Tom.

"She's been funny recently," he confided, "I think she's just ready for all of this to be over with and she's frustrated about having to wait."

"And you?" Tom asked, checking on the scones.

"I'm…" the Doctor paused for a long moment, trying to find the right words. "Rassilon, Tom, I'm scared stiff. When my children were born on Gallifrey, the men weren't allowed in the birthing rooms—I wasn't allowed to be there. I don't know what I'm going to do, how I can help. She's going to be in so much pain and there won't be anything I can do about it."

"I was there when Jeff and Rory were born, as well as Stella, our daughter. It's hard, but it's not as bad as you think. Sophie didn't need me much, she just kept sending me out to fetch her cold drinks and then when she actually had to deliver, she squeezed my hand so hard that I think she broke a finger. Other than that…she was very calm about the whole thing. Micromanaged as well, she did. She kept checking all of her levels and correcting the nurses…she was a bloody nightmare for the doctors there."

The Doctor chuckled weakly,

"Yeah, I bet she was. River's so strong…I don't know what use I'll be."

"She's strong on the outside, Doctor. But she's scared and she's going to be vulnerable and doing something that she can't learn to do in a book or even with a few breathing techniques. There's no way to practice for labor. She's going to be doing something new and terrifying and she's going to need you with her."

The Doctor sipped at his tea as Tom checked the scones again, and then pulled them from the oven.

"Was it awful, watching her in all that pain?" the Time Lord asked.

Tom was quiet for a moment as he put the scones on a cooling rack and turned off the oven.

"It was and it wasn't," he said thoughtfully. "She didn't scream at all, she just breathed and I could see from her face that she was hurting, but she refused to scream. I think it was mostly because the nurses were encouraging her to and she wanted to spite them."

The Doctor let out another weak chuckle.

"But it was because especially with Jeff," Tom continued, his voice softer now. "She kept checking the clock and then looking at me with these huge, red-rimmed, exhausted eyes saying, 'It can't be much longer now, Tom, right? I don't think I can go on for much longer' and then it would be hours and hours more. Those were the longest two days of my life. When Jeff was born, she held him for a while and then fell right asleep, she was so tired."

"You don't think that River will be in labor for two days, do you?" the Doctor asked anxiously.

"Couldn't say," Tom rumbled. "Have a scone."

The Doctor took a scone from the little china plate and spread jam over it before stuffing it into his mouth.

"Fatherhood is…terrifying." He said, a bit of jam dribbling down his chin from his full mouth. "I haven't done this in hundreds of years and I'm as scared as I was the first time."

"You're a good man," Tom said gruffly, "You do right by River and you'll do right by her child."

He handed the Doctor a napkin and the Time Lord cleaned the raspberry jam from his face, licking what he could reach with his tongue and wiping the rest up with the napkin.

"Are you two bonding up here?" Sophie asked lightly as she opened the door from the basement and walked into the kitchen, followed by River.

"No," Tom and the Doctor said simultaneously.

"Right then," Sophie nodded, smirking in a very River-ish manner, "Scones and then breathing."

River smeared apple butter over hers and had another mug full of tea. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she joined Sophie and the Doctor in the living room.

"River, lie on your back and rest your feet on the floor," Sophie instructed. "We're going to learn about several types of breathing and when to use them. The Lamaze breathing that everyone knows—two puffs out, one breath in—is all well and good, but you need to learn to relax yourself. Take a deep breath in and hold it until it feels ready to be released…good. Now once your lungs are empty, wait until you need to fill them. I don't mean hold your breath, don't do that during labor, but just stay relaxed and breathe when you need to. Just be very calm, breathe slowly. In now…and out. Good job, love. Again…in…and out."

Sophie coached River and the Doctor followed along, listening carefully to any tips or hints she had about labor. They spent maybe an hour in the living room, just learning to breathe in different ways. After that hour was up, the Doctor helped his wife to her feet.

"You be sure to practice those," Sophie told her sternly. "Every day I want you to practice, all right? Let these become habitual to you—whenever you're stressed or hurt or upset, try to use these. They'll help."

Kisses and hugs were exchanged all around and as they walked into the Tardis, River looked impulsively over at her husband.

"I want to go visit my parents."

The Doctor looked back at her and began to take some of Sophie's relaxing breaths. Rory, though by now he was used to the idea of pregnant-River, was still an intimidating figure. And adding a hormonal River to a volatile Scotswoman and the Last Centurion didn't seem the wisest idea. Despite his misgivings, he punched in the coordinates of where he wanted to go.

He continued his calming breaths as he started up the Tardis. If nothing else, this was going to be interesting.