Ch 46
River read with the kids for in the Doctor's office, trying to keep them entertained. Nardole arrived within the hour, carrying full bags of the children's possessions. The children took some comfort in seeing familiar things.
He also had a bag for River of things he'd pulled off the Councilman. River took the bag, immediately examining the contents. There were few strange electronic gadgets along with two guns and a number of sharp objects that looked equally unpleasant. River stared at the weapons, knowing they had been indented for killing her and her children.
"What are you going to do with them?" Nardole asked.
"I don't know yet." She murmured.
The twins were looking uneasily at what River was holding. Arthur tugged on her arm. "I'm hungry."
"Nardole, could you grab lunch for all of us at the cafe?" River asked, going into her purse to get money.
He nodded. "Any requests?"
The children each gave their requests, asking for sandwiches with crisps and juice. Terra had no appetite left to want anything, though feebly agreed to nibble on something and drink a juice.
River sat with the little girl in her lap, trying to get her to sleep while they waited for their food. Terra was easily lulled, exhausted from her fever and all the events of the day so far. River continued to rub her back even after she had fallen asleep, humming softly.
Nardole returned, and the older kids eagerly took their food and started eating. River let Terra sleep a bit longer before waking her, coaxing her to eat some bread and drinking a little. Terra ate pieces of bread that River tore off for her in tiny bits she could bear swallowing and drank only half a cup of juice before refusing any more sustenance. River let her go back to sleep after she had eaten a bit.
Outside the door, a shadow moved, the door knob turning. Arthur was the first to look up as the door opened, revealing the young woman the Doctor had been tutoring.
"The Doctor isn't here right now." River informed her.
Bill looked a bit flustered, not having expected to find six other people in the room. "These guys are a bit young for uni, aren't they."
"Yes, these are my children. The Doctor just went to...fix something for me at my house and he said we could stay here."
"Oh..." She nodded, not really getting it. "Do you know when he'll be back, I really need to tell him something."
"I don't know." River shook her head, "I'm sorry."
"Well, maybe it'll sort itself out." She said to herself. "You teach history, right? I've seen some of your lectures, they're really good."
"Thank you." River smiled, "I don't think I've ever caught your name?"
"Bill." Bill smiled, trying not to look too anxious. "And you're Professor Song, yeah?"
"Yes, I am." River watched her carefully, "Do you want me to call him?"
"You have his number?" Bill perked up a little. "Uh, yeah. Maybe- well it's not that big of a... there's just this creep in weird clothes trying to get into his lecture hall and no one's doing anything about it so- and he's really weirding me out so I thought... yeah, you should call him."
River's jaw tightened, "Show me."
"Are these guys old enough to be alone?" She glanced at the kids.
"Not in this situation. Nardole," River tossed him her mobile, "Call the Doctor. Kids, if anyone comes in here, I want you to take your sister and hide." She grabbed one of the guns out of the bag, kicking the rest over to Nardole, "Use these if you have to. If any of them get hurt I will remove your organs in alphabetical order, sew them back in and remove them again." Nardole nodded as seriously as he could with a face like his.
Bill looked startled again. "Woah, woah, what's going on. Guns?! You're kidding me..."
"Just a safety precaution." River murmured, tucking the gun away, "Now come on, we don't have time to lose."
Bill lead River out of the office, though didn't stop asking questions. "A gun is a precaution for some random bloke? That can't be a real one, you'd never be able to get on campus with it. Does this have to do with why you're staking out in the Doctor's office?"
"Yes it does, and he's not a random bloke. The man you saw is highly dangerous." She followed Bill through the halls.
"Is he like a gang boss or something?" Students stayed out of their way, the look of determination on River's face not something anyone wanted to get in the way of.
"Something like that." She muttered.
"Do you even know how to use a gun?" Bill nervously stuck her hands in her pockets.
"Just be quiet about it before someone overhears you." River hissed. They turned a corner, the lecture hall right in front of them. The door to the hall was open now, and the man nowhere in sight. River went into the room, closing the doors behind her and Bill.
On the lecture stage was the Councilman Bill had been talking about. He was pacing and scanning things, not having noticed the others yet.
"What are you doing?" River snapped from the other side of the room. The man snapped his head up, his scanner pointing in their direction. "Who are you?" She demanded.
The reply River got was in a language human ears could barely make sense of. She took out her gun, pointing it at him. The Councilman stilled and spoke again in the strange language in a harsher, threatening tone. Her expression hardened and she cocked the gun, staring him down. She had no idea what he was saying, but she had a horrible feeling about it.
"Professor, this is insane. I should get help." Bill whispered shakily.
"No." She snapped, "If you can't handle it then leave."
The Councilman took a step forwards, saying something menacing that Bill was almost sure translated to 'don't move'. River took a step forward as well, not stooping to the threat.
"Oh god, just shoot him or something. Get it over with!" Bill turned her head away.
The Councilman reached for his scanner again, pointing it at River. She fired the gun at Bill's words. A laser shot out of it, the heat felt by everyone in the room. At the same moment, a beam shot out of the device the Councilman had, acting as a shield.
"A laser gun? Are you kidding me!?" Bill gaped.
River fired again, and again the light from the man's device seemed to absorb the ray before it could touch its target. The man started walking towards them, muttering in his language.
"Bill, run." River hissed.
Bill didn't have to be told twice, bolting from the room.
River stepped closer to the man, hoping that she'd be able to get close enough to kill him. The light from the device grew brighter, spilling over River and scanning her. She flinched slightly as the light went over her. The device beeped information at the man.
"Consort." He hissed in strained English.
"Excuse me?" She growled.
He drew out a gun from his belt that matched the one she held. "Consort!"
River fired her gun again. He dodged, firing in back in turn. She tried to jump out of the way but the beam grazed her shoulder, leaving a nasty burn. She yelled in pain, dropping her gun. The other man kept shooting.
Outside the classroom, it sounded like people were gathering, concerned about all the noise inside.
Beams of deadly heat heat surrounded River, some of a chairs caught on fire. Another shot and suddenly pain was burning across River's abdomen so harshly that she nearly forgot where she was. The Council man stopped shooting when he saw her fall.
On the ground, River managed to get her gun back into her hand, her hands shaking. Somewhere in the lecture call, a wheezing-groaning noise started to sound.
Execution flooded her and eyes fluttered shut as she tried to regulate her breathing and force her body to work with the injury.
There was a loud thwack, then a thud of a body before a Scottish voice called out. "River?!" She opened her eyes, trying to answer him. Footsteps echoed closer to her and suddenly the Doctor was hovering over her. "Oh no..."
"Are my k-kids okay?" She asked.
"They're fine. They're safe." He was knelt down beside her now, trying to get a better look at the wound.
She smiled weakly, "It's only a nick."
"It's a lot more than a nick." He said worriedly.
There was no active bleeding since it was a laser gun, but she'd been hit squarely right below her heat. Muscle and skin were burned through, and he knew if she didn't get help that infection would spread right into her lungs in no time.
"Don't let the kids see me like this, please." She whispered, "I don't want to scare them."
"Don't worry, they're a bit preoccupied." He muttered.
The kids, Bill, and Nardole were all on the TARDIS, sitting in the other corner of the room, most likely trying to figure out how the dimensioned worked. He moved to lift her up, "Do you want me to call an ambulance?"
"If you think it's necessary." She wheezed.
"I can see your ribs, River. Of course, it's necessary."
"If something happens, if I don't make it, I want the kids sent back to London to live with Jack Harkness or Clara Oswald."
He was bringing her TARDIS, knowing he would be faster that an ambulance. "Nothing's going to happen to you. You're going to be fine."
"Okay..." she whispered, eyes closing.
A bewildered Bill and a relatively placid Nardole were peering out of the TARDIS. The Doctor instructed them to drag the unconscious Councilman inside and tie him up as he brought River into the blue box. River was also unconscious by now, limbs hanging limply. The ship took off as soon as Bill and Nardole were inside.
The kids were luckily off somewhere exploring the interior of the bigger-on-the-inside ship, allowing him to take care of their mother with little interruption.
"Is there anything I can do?" Bill asked.
"Make sure the kids don't come out here. And if that man wakes up you can knock him out again." The Doctor murmured.
They landed and the Doctor rushed out, River in his arms and Nardole on his tail. Swarmed by medical doctors, River was soon carted away.
"Why didn't you fix her on the TARDIS?" Nardole asked.
"What if the kids had walked in on us? She asked me not to let them see." The Doctor murmured, sighing. They were in the waiting area now. "She's still human. She still thinks aliens and space ships are fairytales. For the time being, we've got to do this the human way."
"What if they can't fix her?"
"Then I'll fix her. I've got more regeneration energy than I know what to do with now that I've... officially removed the Council."
"Are you going to let them open the watches then?"
"I don't know." He said honestly.
"Why not? If the council is gone then it's safe."
He was silent for a moment. "Have you read The Time Traveler's Wife, Nardole?"
Nardole shook his head.
"It's not exactly the happiest book and River and I... our lives used to be just like it. She said she'd never want to live a life that. She thinks she never has. So what if she's happier like this, hm? What if waking her up will only ruin all that?"
"Well, I don't think she's very happy thinking her husband is dead for one thing. I also think that if she knew you were thinking of making a big decision like this without consulting her, she'd kick your arse."
He snorted with amusement. "And, what, I suppose you have full permission to do it for her in her absence?"
He nodded, "Actually, I do."
The Doctor scowled, Bill coming in with the children at that moment.
"[Where's Mummy?]" Terra asked.
"[She got a bit of a scratch so the doctors fixing her up.]" The Doctor answered.
"[I want to see her.]" She whimpered.
"[We have to wait until the doctors say it's okay. How're you feeling?]"
"[Not good. I want Mummy.]" She looked like she was going to start crying.
"[It's alright, poppet. She'll come out soon.]" He reached out a hand, hoping to offer comfort.
She started to cry, "[I want my Mummy and Daddy!]" Freya took her sister into her arms, away from the Doctor. The tiny girl sobbed into her sister's arms.
The Doctor sighed, missing them though they were right there. "[Sorry, little star, but I promise she'll be alright.]"
"You're going to let those children grow up thinking they don't have a father?" Nardole mumbled.
The Doctor's hearts tightened and he swallowed, knowing Nardole was right. He looked over the children, his children that he hadn't so much as been able to kiss goodnight over a year. "What did you lot think of the box?"
"It's big. How is it so big?" Arthur asked.
"It's a physics trick." He murmured, nearly smiling but not quite.
"You have a pool! And we moved! How did we move?"
"What a long and involved answer this is going to be," He reached into his pocket. "But you know, I think I have a shorter way of explaining it." He pulled out a pocket watch, fiddling with it in his hands for a moment before handing it to Arthur.
Arthur took it, looking it over. "What Am I supposed to do with this?"
"Open it."
The boy obeyed. Much to the surprise of the children and Bill, a soft gold light started to float up from the clock face right towards Arthur's face. Arthur stared, mesmerized by the light. The Doctor watched him nervously. Terra stopped crying, shocked by what she was seeing.
After a minute, the light faded,"Dad?" Arthur asked, looking at the Doctor.
The Doctor felt his eyes crinkle and his mouth smile before he even registered he was doing so and gave a nod.
Amelia looked angry. "What are you talking about Arthur!? Don't make jokes about that, it's not funny! That's not dad!"
Arthur ignored her, running to hug him. The Doctor could feel his eyes growing hot as he hugged his son tightly. "Arthur."
"I missed you!" The boy was crying too, hugging him tightly.
"I missed you, too. More than you could ever know."
"You have to fix the others." He whispered.
"I know." He said in the same tone. He pulled out three more watched from his pocket. "Do you want to help me?"
Arthur nodded, helping give his sisters the watches.
"I'm not opening this." Amelia frowned. "He hypnotized you or something! I don't trust it!"
"No! If you open it you'll remember!" Arthur insisted.
"You're crazy and he's crazy! Dad's dead and he's crazy!"
"Just do it!" He shouted.
Terra opened hers, not knowing what was happening with her other siblings and too scared at this point to ask. Light engulfed the little girl's face for a moment before fading, just as it did with her brother.
She blinked at Arthur, then at the Doctor and started crying again, though this time for different reasons. She flung herself into the Doctor's arms with a joyous cry.
"Stop it! Stop!" Amelia cried.
"It's alright, Amelia. It's okay." The Doctor murmured, holding Terra close.
"Why are they doing that? What did you do to them?"
"I gave them back their memories." He said honestly.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I was once the one to take them away." He spoke calmly. "I gave you and your siblings and your mother fake memories, I gave you a new life to keep you safe. Now, it's safe to give you back your old life."
"You're bloody crazy." She glanced that the watch uneasily, looking at her twin. Together, the two opened the watches.
The rest watched as the two were engulfed in the light. Once the light faded, they did the same as their siblings, running to hug the Doctor.
The only one left in the room who didn't know what the hell was going on was Bill. The Song children were too busy crying and laughing and hugging their dad to care about the human.
As this was happening, Ramone ran into the hospital, spotting the Doctor, he immediately ran over, "Where is she?" He demanded.
The Doctor's expression of joy fell quickly. "The doctor's are still seeing to her."
"What happened? You said she was safe!"
"She is." He stood up, the children clinging to his legs. "And she's going to be just fine."
"Then how did she end up in the hospital? I shouldn't have left her with you."
"There was a tiny skirmish. Trust me, it would have ended worse if she was with you."
Ramone scoffed, but was interrupted by the doctors with an update. "Who is here is direct relation for River Song?" Asked one of the doctors.
The children looked up at their father. "That would be me." The Doctor said confidently.
"No, you're not." Ramone scowled, stepping forward, "I'm her boyfriend. Besides the children, I'm the closest thing she has to a direct relation."
He scowled back, adding much more eyebrow into the expression than the other man was capable of. "Actually, I'm their father. So please save yourself the embarrassment and go wait with Nardole."
Ramone looked surprised, but hesitantly backed down. With a huff, the Doctor gave his attention to the medical professionals.