Ch 39
River went looking for Freya after helping Amelia with breakfast. The TARDIS allowed more rooms to appear for River, including her own. She went to her room, shoulder's sagging.
Inside, the Doctor and Freya were sitting on the bed, talking. River froze in the doorway, straightening up. Freya turned back to look at River, looking rather guilty. River's eyes shifted from her daughter to her husband.
The Doctor looked calmer than his daughter, murmuring to her, "She won't yell at you, I promise."
"I won't, I promise too." River murmured.
The Doctor nodded encouragingly and Freya took a breath. "I... I tried to look at the book again... Sorry."
River's eyes ignited with fear and anger, she looked like she was about to start yelling again, then remembered her promise. She took a breath, replying in a somewhat calm voice, "I thought I told you not to."
"You did." Freya stared at her feet.
"She didn't actually read it," the Doctor added. "I found her before she could."
River relaxed a bit more, "Why did you try to read it again after I said not to?"
"Because I wanted to know what was in there. You and Dad have been keeping secrets since you got back and I... I get when you don't tell Terra or Arthur cos' they're little, but I'm not little." She confessed. "Sometimes you still treat me like I'm little."
"We're just trying to protect you." River whispered, looking down, "I told Amelia that I don't want you reading the book because there are things in there that I don't want you to know. There are things about your father and me in there, nothing-" She sighed, "It's only going to make you sad if you read it. I was trying to protect you from that."
"Dad already told me what it is. He said... he said he killed a man."
River looked up at the Doctor, meeting his eyes. His gaze was steady and seemed sure of this decision. It had been for many reasons, none the least of which was giving the kids enough information that they would be satisfied and stay off of River's trail.
River nodded slowly, "Yes, well...are you alright?"
The Doctor nodded and Freya shrugged. "I kinda knew that you've... done that before. But I thought you stopped."
"The man he killed was a very, very bad man, but we didn't want you to be afraid, especially after everything that's been happening."
"What made him bad?"
"He killed a lot of innocent people." Her hand grazed her stomach again, just as Amelia had pointed out. The Doctor swallowed and nodded in agreement.
"Dad said he was going to kill all of us."
"Yes, he was, but you don't have to worry about him now." River's jaw tightened.
Freya nodded. "You would tell us if we did have to worry, right?"
"Yes, we would." She lied.
"Thanks," she murmured.
"Go eat, there's some food for you in the kitchen."
Freya nodded, leaving the room. River closed the door behind the girl, sighing.
The Doctor watched his wife. "Alright?"
She shrugged, "I guess so."
"I'm sorry if telling her about Rassilon was too much." He murmured.
"It's fine." She shook her head, "She was just going to keep trying to read the journal if you didn't."
"Yes," he agreed, pausing for a moment. "I think she's right. She deserves our honesty."
River shook her head, "They're not old enough yet."
"Not Terra and Arthur, no, but the girls are almost fourteen." He pointed out. "I'm not saying we should tell them everything," there were certainly some things that were going to stay permanently privet, including the miscarriage, "but they're clever and something like this might happen again."
"Well, I've thought of a solution that would keep them safe." She murmured.
"And what would that be?"
"We could use the Chameleon Arch on them."
He inhaled sharply, taken back by the suggestion. "That's a very extreme length to take."
"I know." She whispered, "But it's the only way they'll be safe." She whispered, "Permanently safe."
"Until they grow old and regenerate. We don't even know where the Council is or how close they are to finding us. "
"I know, but we're always going to be worried. They're always going to be following us. If we rewrite their DNA then they'll be safer. The Council hasn't seen the children and doesn't know what they look like, so with the Chameleon Arch they won't be able to find them."
"I'm not so sure, River. This... this is only something we should do if there are no other options left, and right now we have options."
She nodded, her hand brushing across her stomach again. He stood approaching her. "If it does come to that, love, I want to tell the kids exactly what's going on. They deserve that much if we have to make them forget all of this."
She nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. He was in front of her now. "We'll figure something out." he murmured. She looked up at him trying to hide how sad and tired she was. He could see through it but didn't comment. Instead, he reached for her hand and squeezed it for a moment.
She looked away from him, pulling her hand away and turning to leave the room. The twins had gone to join their other siblings. River didn't go to find them, instead, going to the shooting range to try and get some tension out.
The TARDIS provided suitable targets shaped like Council members. River wasn't quite on her A-game today, missing several easy shots. The ship offered a more explosive weapon that wouldn't require as much precise aiming to cause damage. She took it, though still struggled a bit, not entirely focused on the task. Deafening booms echoed through the room every time the weapons were fired. She had earplugs in so the booms didn't sound as loud and weren't as bothersome.
Behind her, the scanner started chiming. The TARDIS had put one in the room for River's comfort.
In between one of her shots, she heard the sound, the chiming having become rather loud. She immediately ran over to the scanner, looking it over. The TARDIS had picked up signals of something that was scanning the ship.
River frowned, "Doctor!" He was in the other room, too far away to hear her. She grabbed the scanner, running "Doctor!"
"In here," came the eventual reply from the same room she'd left the younger kids in.
"Come out here, please." She stopped in the doorway, not wanting to alarm the kids.
He was on the couch with a book, surrounded by all four of the kids. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, but we need to talk, now." She gave him a look.
He nodded, keeping a pleasant face for the children. "You lot stay here a moment. I'll be right back." They looked at each other but didn't say anything as their parents left the room.
River closed the door behind him, showing him the scanner. The Doctor frowned at the information. "They shouldn't be able to scan us in the Vortex."
"I know." She shook her head, "I don't understand how this is possible. And what about the kids? They're going to scan the children and know who they'll look like."
He shook his head. "They're scanning the TARDIS, assessing her tech. They're not doing life forms yet... The old girl will probably shut down if they try to look further than the console room in an attempt to stop it."
"This means they've found us." She whispered, trying to calm her panic, "They're going to know where we are."
"I rather think they already do." He said darkly. He was trying quite hard to think of a way around this that would use the chameleon arch.
"What do we do? I thought we had more time."
"Me, too," he whispered, taking a breath. "Maybe we need a little help. We could call Ohila or Jack..." he offered, knowing these options were feeble.
"No! We can't trust them! We can't trust anyone but ourselves!" She shook her head, jaw tight.
He was silent for a moment, the lights flickering. "We're running out of time."
"We have to protect the kids." She looked panicked, "Before it's too late."
He nodded slowly and solemnly. "We have to tell them, then."
"Okay..."
The kids looked up, noticing their parent's expressions, "What's wrong?"
The Doctor swallowed, "I'd like all of you to come with me and your mother."
"Why? Where are we going?" Amelia asked.
He looked at River, finding his throat quite dry. "We're being followed by the High Council of Gallifrey. They want to kill us and they will kill us if they catch us, so your father and I want to use a machine called the Chameleon Arch on you all to keep you safe." River explained, being open and honest, "It's going to re-write your DNA and make you human. Your Time Lord biology will be hidden inside a watch." She swallowed, "It's the only way we think you're going to be safe."
"I don't want to be a human." Arthur frowned.
"I'm sorry, Arthur, but you don't have a choice. They know where we are and we don't have time to think of a better solution."
"[Will it be forever?]" Terra asked.
"[Well, it won't be permanent. You'll have a watch that will have your Time Lord DNA in it, and when it's safe, you'll be able to open the watch and restore your DNA.]"
"It's going to hurt, isn't it," Freya whispered.
"Yes, but we can sedate you so you don't feel it."
"What does sedate mean?" Arthur asked.
"It's when we put you to sleep for a little while so you can't feel anything that's going on. "
The children looked unsure, but the lights flickered again so they followed their parents deep inside the TARDIS. River ran to get the sedative, quickly hurrying back to them.
Cloister bells started sounding from somewhere close to the console room. The Doctor helped the scared children fasten on the headpieces of the Arch. River carefully injected each of them, pressing a kiss to their foreheads.
"[I'm scared, Mummy.]" Terra whimpered.
"[It's okay. You're just going to fall asleep and then when you wake up you won't know what happened. You can do it.]" She tried to encourage her
"[What if they get us?]"
"[They won't. I promise.]" She gave her an encouraging smile.
The children's eyes were starting to droop. "[I'll miss the stars.]"
"[You'll see them again soon.]" River waited until they were completely out before starting up the Arch.
"They're going to forget me, you know," the Doctor sighed.
"They'll probably forget me too." She murmured, "We need to bring them somewhere they'll be safe."
"River maybe... maybe you should do this too."
"Why?" She looked upset at the idea, "Why would I leave you?"
"Because we have no idea how long it will have to be like this and the kids shouldn't be without parents." He persuaded. "You have the same hybrid DNA signature They'll be looking for as the kids do. You'll be safer too."
"I don't care about my safety. What about you? You can't do this alone."
"I can program myself into your lives as Basil so you can remember me to an extent..."
"I don't want to leave you." She shook her head, though she knew she should for the sake of their children.
He shook his head. "This isn't about me. And trust me, I'll stay close."
She squeezed her eyes shut, "Okay. For the kids." He took a step closer to her and kissed her forehead.
She went to get set up in the last arch. "Don't do anything stupid."
"Only when necessary." He promised. The lights flickered again, this time staying out for a few seconds. "I don't think there's time to sedate you."
"Okay, just do it." She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain.
"I love you." He whispered, activating the Arch.
She wasn't able to respond the pain coming almost immediately. She tried not to scream, but it was unbearable. Every cell in her body rewriting, she couldn't hold back an ear splitting scream. She ended up losing consciousness. As she did, the lights gave out completely.