Ch 52
Summer approached quickly, bringing warmth and relief from school for everyone. Upon request, Arthur's birthday was spent on K'Tillyr, launching the Songs into their summer travels.
The twins were set to go stay with Vastra for a month starting a few days after Arthur's birthday. They'd had been told about their newest sibling and seemed to be quite excited about it, despite their attempts to act cool. Arthur had been told as well, leaving only Terra in the dark.
The two younger children were currently running around the console room, excited for their latest adventure. The Doctor had promised to take them to a beach where the water was so dense you could hardly ever get your head under without floating back to the top, just as soon as they dropped the twins off.
Lately, he was much more protective of River, doubling checking all their travel locations before they landed. River's middle had grown to a small but noticeable bump though it was still early on. She had been wearing flowing dresses and tops to conceal it so their friends and youngest daughter wouldn't become suspicious. She too was anxious whenever they went out, though she did her very best to hide it. She had been having more nightmares, waking up in a cold sweat most nights murmuring about Gallifrey and Rassilon.
Today, however, she was fussing over the twins, "Are you sure you have everything packed?"
"Yes. You've asked that, like, a million times." Freya shrugged her off. "You know if we forget something you can just bring it."
She held her hands up in surrender, "Alright, you're right. But you remember the rules we put in place?"
She nodded again. "Do everything Aunt Vastra says and if there's trouble don't go in headfirst like Dad."
"Exactly. If you need us, call. We'll come right away."
"We'll be okay," Amelia assured as they landed. "And it's only for a month."
"I know." River smiled softly, "We'll help you bring your bags out."
Vatsra entered the TARDIS just then, smiling brightly. Terra ran to her Aunt, hugging her legs. "[Hello there, little one. How are you?]"
"[I'm good! We're going to go swimming!]" She informed her Aunt excitedly.
"[How wonderful!]"
The others came over to greet Vastra as the Doctor helped move the girls' bags out. River helped with the bags as well, placing them in the bedroom that the girls would be staying in.
The children were telling Vastra all about their recent whereabouts when the Doctor and River finished moving everything.
"Why don't you two say goodbye and we'll let them go to the beach," Vastra suggested to the twins. They nodded going up to River.
"Goodbye, my loves." River murmured, hugging them both tightly, "Be good."
"And remember to call us, or we'll worry." The Doctor added though they'd worry anyway.
"We will, we promise." Amelia hugged him tightly.
"Good." He murmured. "Give your brother and sister a hug, too, yeah?"
They nodded, moving on to hug the little ones. Vastra came to hug the Doctor, "I'll take good care of them."
"And you'll call if there's trouble? Even a little sign of it."
"Of course. You know that I will."
"I know." He nodded, but couldn't help but to repeat himself. He and River both worried about threats to their children, even if none were readily apparent.
She smiled, not wanting to drag out the goodbye any longer, believing that a shorter one would be less difficult. "Come on girls, we have lots of exciting things to do."
Terra watched from River's side as her sisters left. "[What are they going to do with Auntie Vastra for so long?]"
"[I don't really know. I suppose we'll find out when they call us.]" River smiled. She didn't want Terra to get too upset about her sister's leaving, quickly moving them along to the next activity, "[Shall we go to the beach?]"
The girl nodded. "[Can I help pilot?]"
"[Of course.]" She went over to the controls, helping Terra set the coordinates. Terra knew a lot more about flying the TARDIS than when she had started, though she still had a ways to go, as did her brother.
River made sure they landed safely, triple checking all the scanners. Terra excitedly ran to the door, Arthur following. River took her husband's hand, running a hand along her belly. They followed their children out to the semi-crowded beach.
The Songs set up their beach blankets and umbrellas, Terra and Arthur asking if they could go swim. The Doctor gave the permission but told them to stay in sight. He and River stayed under the shade of the umbrella.
"The girls are going to be okay, right?" River murmured.
"Course." He replied. "Vastra knows what she's doing."
She nodded, "I'm sorry about last night," she whispered. The night before she had several nightmares, waking the Doctor up each time throughout the night.
"No need to apologize."
She smiled weakly, touching her head to his shoulder, "We need to tell Terra about the baby soon."
"She might just guess if you get in a swimsuit." He pointed out.
"Am I really that big?" She murmured, looking down at her stomach, which was a bit visible in her current sitting position.
"Well, you are in your third month, and if you recall, Gallifreyans grow faster than humans."
"I know, but I'm not showing that much." She murmured, smoothing her dress out over her abdomen.
"Just my imagination, then?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, no. I do think you're right. I'm bigger than normal, which probably means the baby is big."
"And healthy." He added.
"And that's all I care about." She whispered. They'd been doing extra checkups to make things were alright, which so far they were.
"So are you going to go swimming then?"
"Only if you go." She smiled, leaning in and kissing him.
"I will in a bit." He hummed against her lips. "I'm quite comfortable here."
"I'd quite like to spend the next few minutes just kissing you." She purred. His agreement wasn't voiced but rather shown by stealing another kiss from her. River smiled against his lips, pulling him closer to her.
Arthur and Terra squealed happily from the water, too far away and occupied to notice their parent's activity. The two siblings were competing to see who could last underwater the longest, though neither of them could last too long. The competition was also difficult due to the properties of the water making it extra buoyant and hard to stay under.
"[I win!]" Terra exclaimed, thinking she had been able to do it longer than her brother in the last round.
"[Did not.]" Arthur frowned at her.
"[Yeah! I was under for longer.]" She claimed.
"[It was only half a second longer, that doesn't count.]"
"[It does too! Those are the rules!]"
"[I only came up first because I've got water in my ears! It's making my hearing all weird.]"
"[So? You don't need to hear underwater.]"
"[I like to.]"
"[Why?]"
"[There are cool sounds down there.]"
"[That's a stupid reason. I still won.]"
"[You're just jealous because you can't hear the sounds.]" He huffed, scowling at her.
"[I'll get Daddy and he can be the judge for the next round.]" Terra offered.
He nodded at that. "[He can help us stay under.]"
They agreed, getting out of the water and running back to her parents. The Doctor and River were still very much wrapped up with each other. Terra stuck out her tongue in disgust, taking a handful of sand and throwing it at them to get their attention.
The Doctor sputtered, pulling away from River. "[Terra! No throwing sand.]"
"[But you weren't paying attention!]" She defended.
"[Then you should have tapped up or asked your brother to call us.]" He scolded.
"[Sorry.]" She looked down at the ground.
"We want you to help us with our contest," Arthur said.
"What contest?" River asked.
"Our who-can-stay-underwater contest." He clarified.
"Oh, well we can do that." She nodded.
"[Will both of you come in the water?]" Terra looked hopeful. River hesitated, glancing at the Doctor.
"It might be a good time to tell her." He murmured.
River nodded, slowly, "[Terra, love, we have something to tell you.]"
"[What?]" She frowned slightly. "[Aren't you coming in the water with us?]"
"[Yes, but there's something we want you to know first.]"
"[Well what is it?]"
"[I'm going to have a baby. You're going to be a big sister.]"
She stared at River, looking quite confused. "[When?]"
"[Five months.]" River smiled hopefully.
"[Is it going to be deaf like me?]"
"[We don't know yet, darling. Probably not.]" She and the Doctor had been running tests to check the baby's hearing and no results were indicating that the baby would be deaf, though they couldn't be positive for another month or two once the hearing had developed more.
"[What if it's not?]" She frowned.
"[It won't make a difference whether the baby is hearing or not. We'll all love it just the same and we'll teach them to sign just like the rest of us.]"
Terra relaxed slightly. "[Is it a boy or girl or something else?]"
"[We haven't checked yet, so we don't know.]"
Terra sat down next to River and pointed at her middle. "[Is it in there?]" She nodded, smoothing back the fabric of her dress so her daughter could see the bump. Terra touched it hesitantly. "[You've gotten rounder.]"
"[Yes, that's what happens when there's a baby growing. When the baby gets a bit bigger we'll be able to feel it kicking.]" She explained.
"[What happens when it comes out? Where's it gonna sleep?]"
"[The TARDIS will make a room for it. In the house, Freya is going to move to the spare bedroom downstairs and the baby will have her room.]" River explained.
"[Does Freya know that?]"
"[Yes, she does. We told your sisters before they left and Freya offered to move.]" The room downstairs was a bit bigger than Freya's current room, so she certainly wasn't complaining about the deal.
Terra turned on Arthur. "[Did you know they were having a baby?]"
He nodded, "[I heard them telling Freya and Amelia and they made me promise not to tell.]"
"[How come I'm the last to know?]" Terra asked River.
"[Because you're the only one that hasn't had a younger sibling yet, so we wanted to find the right time to tell you.]"
"[You should have told me first because everyone else already knows what it's like and I don't.]"
River glanced at her husband for help. He smiled at his daughter. "[We wanted it to be an extra big surprise for you. Are you happy about it?]"
She looked a bit hesitant, shrugging.
"I hope it's a boy." Arthur murmured. "I've already got three sisters."
River watched Terra a bit worriedly, "Well, we can't promise anything."
"I know." Arthur nodded.
"[Will you come in the water now?]" Terra asked.
River nodded, she and the Doctor standing. Terra got back to the water as River took off her dress, the swimsuit underneath showing off more of her bump. Arthur followed his sister.
The Doctor took his wife's hand. "Alright?" She shook her head, pulling him closer to her. "What's wrong?" He asked softly.
"I think Terra's upset." She sighed.
"About the baby?" She nodded, pressing her face into his neck.
"She'll come around," he assured. "It'll take time, but she will."
"I hope so." She whispered, "Are you sure it's safe here?"
He nodded. "I checked the scanner three times. So did you."
She looked around the beach, looking at all the people, "And there's no one suspicious here?"
"No one." He confirmed. "Are you uncomfortable here?"
She nodded, though this wasn't unusual. Since she started showing, she was highly protective and a bit paranoid.
"Why don't we help the kids with their competition then we'll go?"
"Okay." She murmured, glancing around again. He squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek and they continued towards the water.
They played with the kids, helping with their competition. The Doctor announced that they would be leaving soon and that the kids should dry off.
"Can we stay longer, please?" Arthur begged.
The Doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not, but tell you what, we can go out for lunch somewhere nice."
"And can we get dessert?"
"Sure." He nodded.
