CH 53

River woke up with a yawn, sleepily nuzzling herself into the warm body that was wrapped around her.

Jack was still half asleep as he felt River's head nuzzle against him. He hadn't realized that their limbs were tangled together, one of the Doctor's legs caught in the mix. He yawned as well, remembering that River had invited him on the bed last night. He tried to shift his arms free from the heap but couldn't manage to without shaking everyone too much.

"Doctor..." River mumbled, forgetting that Jack was in her bed and thinking it was still just her and the Doctor. She had yet to realize that there were two pairs of arms wrapped around her instead of just one.

"Mmm...?" The Doctor shifted his arms to pull River closer to him.

She smiled, eyes still closed, and leaned up, pressing a kiss deep to Jack's lips, thinking he was the Doctor, "Morning, sweetie."

Jack was definitely wake now. He tried to push her back but the Doctor was already leaning to kiss River's neck. Either Jack was having a very good dream, or his friends had forgotten about the third member of the bed. River giggled, moving her head to give him a better access to her neck, still not completely awake.

Jack pinched himself. Nope, not dreaming. Which was both fortunate and very unfortunate for him. He had to get out of there before they realized he was even there. He slowly tried to shift out of the bed. The Doctor smiled against his wife's skin, holding her close as he placed kisses up and down her neck.

"Where are you going?" She whined, thinking the Doctor was the one getting up.

"I'm right here." He paused his kisses, raising an eyebrow, eyes still foggy with sleep.

She froze, her brain finally registering that they weren't the only ones in bed. Jack held his breath hoping he could turn invisible. She stared at him, her eyes wide. "Jack..."

"Er..." Jack tried to smile innocently at her but it was more of an I-at-the-pie-you-made-for-dessert kind of smile. She looked from him, back to the Doctor. She was hoping that her husband and been the one she had kissed before, but she had the sinking feeling that that wasn't the case.

The Doctor was sitting up now as well, completely shocked with no clue as to why Jack had been sleeping on the other side of his wife. "River, what the hell is Jack doing in our bed?" The question came out a bit harsher than he had meant it.

She shrunk back just a bit, "Doctor, I don't...I don't know." She whispered. When she had told Jack to get in their bed, she had been half asleep and therefore couldn't remember doing it at the moment.

Jack cleared his throat to get their attention. "If I may say something..." He ignored the death stare from the Doctor. "I came in here in the middle of the night because your ship hid my room. River... wouldn't get up and help me find it so I pushed you guys over and slept in your bed." He had a feeling that River needed him to take the blame.

"...What?" She looked back at him. That seemed to jog her memory a bit, remembering that he had tried to wake him up, and then told him to sleep with them. She looked back at the Doctor.

He believed Jack, his glare softening slightly. "'Rule 412: No crawling into bed with me and River. Ever. This is our personal space, Jack. And a don't appreciate you in my bed when I want to cuddle with my wife." Jack nodded.

"Doctor, he didn't...just crawl in to bed. I asked him to. He came in looking for his room and I told him to get into bed with us. And then this morning, I kissed him...I thought he was you. I forgot he was in here." She confessed. She couldn't let Jack take all the blame for this, not after everything he had done for them.

"You kissed him?" He echoed in disbelief, thinking back to the fight they had just had. He took a moment to think, knowing that immediately getting angry would not help anything. "You promise you thought he was me?" If she had kissed him knowing fully that it was Jack he would've been heart broken. But this wasn't quite that situation.

"I promise. I'm so sorry, I didn't..." She trailed off, after the fight they had had the previous day, she didn't want to mess things up all over again.

He pulled her in close to him, pressing his lips against hers. "I believe that kiss was meant for these lips, then."

She felt a huge rush of relief, melting into the kiss. "I love you so much." She whispered, once they had broken apart, kissing his cheek, chin, forehead, temple.

"I love you, t-"

"Ahem!" Jack fake coughed, interrupting him. "Still in the room here, did you want me to go? It looks like someone's getting all hot and bothered."

She looked back at him, smiling, "No, it's alright, we'll stop. Besides, I want to go make the girls breakfast before they get up. I want to spend more time with them since I haven't been doing that lately." She gave the Doctor one last kiss on the lips before getting up out of bed.

He stayed in bed a moment watching River's hips sway as she walked to the kitchen and debating on whether or not to scold Jack some more for ruining his morning cuddle. Deciding a simple glare would be enough, he 'gracefully' got off the bed and put on his regular attire before following his wife to the kitchen. "Need any help?" He asked, snaking his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.

She beamed resting her head against his. "Hmm...well I could use a few kisses." She purred. He grinned and kissed her lips, lingering a little before peppering her jawline with light pecks. She smiled into the kisses, turning so she could cup his cheeks and pull him closer. His hands started to wander her back and tangle in her hair as he moved back to her lips and deepened the kiss. She kissed him back until her lips were red and swollen.

"Well you two must've slept well I take it." A voice came from the doorway. River jumped at the sound of the voice, breaking the kiss and looking to the doorway. Vastra smiled gently at the pair holding a cup of cold herbal tea. "I must say, you both look well. Much better than you did last night."

She smiled, holding the Doctor's hand tightly, "Yes, we feel better."

"I'm glad." She stepped further into the room and paused. "I didn't mean to... interrupt you. I'd just like to heat up my tea."

"No, it's alright." River let go of her husbands hand, taking the muffins out of the oven. "I made breakfast."

"How lovely!" Vastra put the kettle on and looked over the perfectly golden muffins. "May I have one?"

"Of course, have as many as you like! I should go wake up the girls and tell them breakfast is ready." She started to walk towards the door. "Want to come?" She asked the Doctor. He nodded eagerly, hoping to sneak in an extra snog in the hallway.

They were hardly a few paces away from the kitchen before he had River pressed against the wall and was kissing her neck again leaving a few red marks where his mouth was. She whimpered, her chest starting to heave. "Doctor..."

"Yes, love?" He murmured against her skin.

"You...you know I'm not ready to do anything more than this, right?" She murmured.

"I know, River." He pulled back for a moment, smiling to show that he understood. "But that doesn't mean I can't snog you senseless."

She smiled weakly, "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page and that you weren't expecting me to..." She stopped, hesitating before leaning in to kiss him again.

"I'm not expecting you to do anything you're not ready for or uncomfortable with." He said, cupping her face as they kissed. She nodded, pulling him closer to her, kissing him softly.

After a fair amount of kissing and a bit of rustled hair, the Doctor remembered that they had left the kitchen for things other than snogging. "We should wake the girls." His breath was a little heavy. She nodded, a bit wild-haired with red marks all across her neck and chest and red swollen lips. "I hope the girls don't get too suspicious." He grinned as they opened the door to the girl's room.

River laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before going over to Amelia's bed, stroking her hair softly. Amelia yawned and rolled over so her back wasn't facing River. She kept her eyes closed and buried her face into her pillow, hiking her blankets up her her chin. River smiled, leaning over to kiss her head. "Amelia, sweetheart. Time to wake up."

At that she pulled the blanket over her head, wanting to sleep in longer due to her late night. A sleepy and muffled "No." came from beneath the blanket.

"I've made special muffins for you." She tried to coax her, trying to gently pull the blankets off her head.

She poked her nose out. "Do they have blueberries or chocolate chips?"

"Half have blueberries and half have chocolate chips." She smiled, tapping her nose.

Amelia smiled, shrugging off the blanket and sitting up. She stretched her arms out and yawned again. "Can I have breakfast in bed?"

River thought about it for a minute, "Only if you promise to try and not make a big mess."

"Can I have breakfast in bed, too, mummy?" Freya piped up, wrestling off her blankets.

She smiled and nodded. "Let me go get everything for you. I'll be right back." Amelia and Freya bounced excitedly in their beds. The loved when River made them muffins, or any kind of baked goods.

She left the room, returning with muffins for them both along with two glasses of milk. "Thank you mummy!" Amelia cheered, taking the glass with extra caution.

"Of course, my love." She smiled, scooping up Tiber as he rubbed himself against her leg. "Now, eat up, I have a very special day planned for us."

"Are we going to the zoo?" Freya bounced nearly spilling her food. The Doctor glanced at River, wondering if they would be doing the cremation today.

She looked back at him. "Well, I have to talk to your daddy about it first." He certainly didn't have many objections to going to the zoo. They were much safer with the threat of Kovarian gone. His main concern was how strong River felt. She looked much better than she did a couple days ago, the Timelord in her helping recovery move along, but the healing process was still a slow one.

She pulled him out into the hall, squeezing his hand tightly. "I want to have a nice day out with the girls, before we have to do the cremation. I want them to be happy, and remember the happiness in their life before we do this. We can do the cremation tonight." She wasn't thinking about her recovery, she was thinking about her children.

He nodded and rubbed her arm to comfort her a little. "Do you think you're up for all of that? I mean... you're still healing. I know you feel fine now, but you should still take things slow."

She nodded slowly, "If I feel tired I'll take a rest." She was trying to be strong and show him that she would be able to handle it, "Don't worry about me."

"You know I can't help it." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Should we ask our guests if they'd like to come to the zoo with us?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yes of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if they'd rather rest here. Taking care of the girls can be exhausting at times."

"They don't seem to mind very much. Did you see the drawings on the ground?"

"What drawings?" She asked, having not noticed them before.

"Freya and Amelia made a bunch of them." He explained. "Some of us and there were a few with Jack, Vastra, and Jenny." He decided not to mention the one that had the baby in it.

She smiled, "That's sweet. I can tell that the girls adore them."

"Mummy!" Amelia called from her bed.

"What is it, love?" River asked, moving back into the room.

"I'm really sorry!" She said before she had explained herself. "I didn't mean to..." She held out her stuffed Adipoise, one of its chubby limbs damp with spilled milk.

"Oh, Amelia..." River sighed, looking her over. "Did you get it anywhere else?" She asked, taking the adipose from her.

"I think I got a little on my nightie..." She said guiltily.

"Alright, it's okay." She smiled warmly, kissing her head. "We'll have to wash your adipose and your nightie now." Amelia nodded and began to take off her nightie, still thinking River was a little mad at her.

She pulled her into her lap, peppering her face with kisses. "Don't worry, a simple washing is no big deal."

The girl looked up at River, relaxing as she realized that she wasn't in trouble. "Are we going to the zoo today?" She asked rubbing her eye.

She nodded, "Yes, we're going to the zoo, love."

She cheered up at this. "Can Uncle Jack come? Pleeease?" She dragged out the last syllable.

"You can ask him, but don't be too disappointed if he doesn't want to come. He's probably very tired."

"Can we ask him right now?" She said, already getting out of bed to put on a clean nightie.

River nodded, scooping up the adipose and the damp nightie. "Go right ahead."

"Come on Freya!" She called her sister, both of them running excitedly out into the hall.

River smiled weakly as she watched them go. The Doctor sat next to her, reaching down to hold her hand. "River... you wouldn't mind bringing your guns would you?"

She shook her head, "No, I wouldn't mind."

"Good." He kissed the side of her head. "It's just in case." He added. She nodded, though her eyes seemed to glass over with worry.

He was about to tell her something along the lines of 'everything will be fine' when the girls returned, somewhat dragging Jack with them. "Uncle Jack said he'd come, mummy! And so did Auntie Jenny and Vastra if they get to finish their tea!"

"Lovely." She smiled, pulling herself outwardly together.

"Can we go soon?" Freya asked, her feet bouncing her on their own accord.

She nodded, "We can go as soon as daddy and I go get dressed."

They nodded. "Come on Uncle Jack! Let's go see if Aunties are ready!" They dragged him towards the door. Jack looked pleadingly back to River and the Doctor having a feeling they were enjoying this.

River smiled weakly calling after them, "Try not to torture your uncle too much!" Their giggles echoed down the hall as they went to search for their aunts again.

The Doctor stood up, offering his hand to River. "I guess that's our cue to go get dressed." She nodded, squeezing his hand as she walked towards their bedroom, trying not to worry.

They dressed themselves fairly quickly, the Doctor sneaking glanced at River as she changed. Lately, her clothes had been much less daring, much more modest than usual. She kept her back to him the whole time she changed.

"Mummy! Daddy! Are you ready yet!" Even though they were in the other room, he could still tell that the girls were jumping around out of excitement and impatience.

"Yes, yes we're coming." River called, laughing a bit and walking over to the Doctor. "Ready?" She asked, adjusting his bowtie.

"Huh? Oh. Yes." He smiled, stealing a quick kiss from her.

She glanced up at him, rubbing his chest lightly, "Everything alright?"

He sighed wondering if he should bother to bring it up. "Yeah... Everything's fine." He offered a smile.

She furrowed her brow, "Something's wrong. Don't lie to me, I can tell."

He stroked the side of her face. "It's just that you seem very distant...I'm worried about you is all. I can't help it." He said softly.

She frowned, tugging on her shirt "What are you talking about? I'm fine, everything's...normal."

He looked at her clothes. They weren't exactly not something she'd wear, but there was something off about them. There was something off about her eyes, too. That 'extra River sparkle' as he liked to call it, daring and flirty and ready to run into a battle just for the fun of it, wasn't quite shining through. He knew it would take time for her to heal from everything that's happened. Especially the loss of their son. "Daft old me, I must be worrying too much."

"You do worry about me too much." She whispered, kissing his forehead. "I'll be fine. I am fine."

"I know, River." He squeezed her hand, hoping she wouldn't slip away. "I know."

"Today is our special day out with the girls, yeah? Tomorrow, it'll be our special day, you and me." She pressed her forehead to his. They needed a nice day out, just the two of them, away from the TARDIS. They needed to 're-connect' in a way on the adventurous level.

He beamed. "That's a brilliant idea." He moved to kiss her again, but their lips were only touching for a second before the girls were impatiently calling them again.

She pulled away, smiling weakly. "I guess we have to go." He nodded taking her hand again as they started to make their way to the console room.