Ch 57
"Baby's kicking," River broke the silence. All the children, with the exception of Terra, looked over excitedly and River waved them crowded around River's stomach, putting their hands there to feel the baby. River made them take turns.
Terra sat back, arms crossed. The Doctor looked over. "[Alright, sweetheart?]"
"[I want them to play with me!]"
"[They will in a moment.]" He assured.
"[I don't want them to play with the baby.]"
He frowned slightly. "[Why not?]"
"[Because I don't like it.]"
"[Well they're going to play with the new baby in the future, too. That's what siblings do. They'll play with both of you.]"
She looked more distraught by this, "[What if the new baby is better than me?]"
"[You're both wonderful, Terra. Neither one of you will be better than the other, you're both amazing in different ways.]"
"[But if the baby can hear then that's better, right?]"
"[It's not better or worse.]" He soothed.
She held her arms up for him to pick her up, still pouting. He put his guitar aside and scooped her up. "[Do you want to feel the baby?]"
"[Are you going to?]" Terra would do it if her father was going to do it.
"[Yes,]" He nodded with a warm smile.
"[Okay.]" She sighed.
He placed his hand on River's stomach as Terra did the same, the other children moving out of the way. River smiled up at him, the two waiting for the baby to move. It kicked after a minute, brushing against Terra's hand.
Terra tried to jerk away again.
"[It's okay.]" The Doctor assured. "[It's supposed to do that, it's not going to hurt you.]"
"[It's weird!]" He smiled.
"[Weird how, my little star?]"
"[It feels funny.]" She wiped her hand off in her shirt as if she had just touched something slimy.
"[It's quite normal. I bet it feels a little funny to Mummy, too.]"
Terra hugged the Doctor tightly, not wanting to feel the baby anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and started humming to comfort her.
"I think it's time for her to go to bed." River murmured.
He nodded, standing with the girl in his arms. Terra snuggled against her father, closing her eyes. He brought her up to her room, pulling out pajamas for her.
"[Can you sleep in my bed tonight?]" She asked.
He smiled. "[I'm afraid not, but Mr. Thomas will keep you company,]" he said as the cat jumped onto the bed.
"[Why won't you stay?]" she asked.
"[I've got to sleep in my own bed with Mummy.]"
"[But Mummy has the baby to keep her company so she doesn't need you.]"
"[I suppose so, but I need her.]" He explained, laughing slightly.
"[Why?]"
"[Because I love her very much and being close to her helps me sleep.]"
"[Oh...like when Toby sleeps on my bed?]"
He nodded. "[Yes, like that.]"
"[Will you read me a story then?]"
"[Do you want to pick one out?]"
She nodded, going to her bookshelf and pulling out a book called, Baby Zygon Plays Chess. He read the book to her, tucking her in after it was finished.
The other children were now heading to bed, stopping to say goodnight to their father. He made sure the other three were seen to, though by now the twins were in charge of their own bedtime and Arthur only needed a little tucking in.
He came downstairs after the kids were settled to find River in the kitchen. Her back was to him and she appeared to be cleaning off the countertops. He came up behind her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
She jumped, whirling around, though she relaxed when she saw it was him, "You startled me."
"Sorry, dear."
"It's okay." She murmured.
"Cleaning up?" He asked.
She nodded, "Looked messy in here"
"Want help?" He offered.
"Sure." She nodded again.
He helped River clean up the kitchen, putting things away as she wiped down the counters. After the kitchen was done, she wanted to clean up the living room, putting away the toys that were out. They spent a while cleaning up the downstairs, making soft conversation as they did.
"We should get paints for the baby's room," he suggested.
She nodded, "And we should get some new toys and blankets. We could make a trip tomorrow."
"We could, though we can't start painting until Freya moves into the downstairs room." He reminded.
"Right. Maybe we could move her down here tomorrow then."
They finished cleaning and retired to their room.
"I'm going to take a shower, do you want to come?" She asked, already starting to undress. He nodded, doing the same and joining her under the running water.
His chest was pressed against her back. "I didn't think we'd be nesting so early."
"I feel like I need to get it done." She murmured, leaning her head back on his shoulder.
"So you can have time to relax later?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands on her belly.
She placed her hands on his, "I suppose so. But I'm afraid I won't get everything done in time. Our house is so much bigger than the flat in London and there's so much to do to get ready for the baby."
"I guess time travel can't solve everything." He teased. "We've got so many helping hands, I'm sure we can get it all done in time."
"I know, but I want it done the right way." She murmured, implying that she wanted to oversee everything that was done. "We only have four months and we have to move Freya downstairs. Then I'm sure she's going to want to repaint the room, which will mean all the other children will want something done to their rooms. We also have to get the baby's room ready and you know we have a list of other things I want to be done."
"One thing at a time, my love." He pressed a kiss just below her ear. "Let's start with what we're going to do tomorrow and go from there, yeah?"
"Okay." She smiled weakly.
"We'll ask Freya what color she wants her new room and we'll paint it before we move her things." His voice was soft and he kissed her again, this time on her shoulder. "The kids can come to the store with us if they want."
"That sounds good." She breathed, finding what he was doing very comforting.
"What color do you want the baby's room to be?" He started absently tracing patterns over the skin of her abdomen.
"Probably green." She murmured, closing her eyes.
"I like the green." He hummed.
They talked softly to one another during the shower, the Doctor massaging River's shoulders and back as he did. She melted beneath his touch as he did this, completely relaxed when it was finally time for them to get out of the shower.
They donned their pajamas and settled into bed. "Are you going to see Missy tomorrow?" She asked quietly.
"I don't know." He admitted. "Maybe just to bring her some food..."
"Okay..." She breathed, squeezing his hand.
He squeezed back and leaned forward, kissing her properly.
"What was that for?" She murmured once the kiss had ended.
"Because I love you." He smiled gently.
"I love you too." She smiled back.
-x-
In the morning, they told the children the plan for the day and breakfast. As predicted, they all wanted new paint for their rooms as well.
They took the children to the paint shop, letting each of them pick out the new color they wanted. Freya chose a blue similar to the TARDIS, and Amelia chose a lighter blue. Arthur picked out a brownish red color while Terra changed her mind about who paint and decided she wanted a new shelf instead. She stayed by her father's side while they shopped.
River had seen staring at the greens for a few minutes.
"Can't choose?" The Doctor asked.
She shook her head, "Which do you like better?" She held up two paint swatches, both a shade of pale green.
"Em..." They looked about the same to him, so he pointed to the left one. "That one."
"Okay." She nodded, touching Terra's cheek, "[Are you sure you don't want paint, my sweet?]"
"[I like my room's color already. ]"
They paid for the paint, deciding not to pick up Terra's shelf today. They'd have to go to the furniture store anyways to get things for the baby, so they'd get the shelf then.
They spent until lunch moving the furniture out of the downstairs room in preparation for the paint. The Doctor insisted on not letting River lift any of the heavy things, recruiting the children to help instead.
"Are you sure you don't want my help?" River fretted, not wanting any of the children to get hurt moving furniture.
"We've got it." The Doctor insisted. They were moving the guest bed now, him at one end and three of the children at the other.
"Where exactly is all this furniture going to go?" She asked, looking at the living room, which was now full of pieces from the room.
"We're going to take it apart!" Arthur said excitedly.
"The TARDIS and the basement, I would think." The Doctor added.
"Okay." She murmured, sitting down on one of the chairs.
Arthur was about to start looking for a screwdriver when the Doctor stopped him. "Lunch first."
The kids asked for sandwiches for lunch. The Doctor got to work on those as the kids took a break outside. River helped him make the food. "You can relax for a bit if you'd like. You've done a lot of heavy lifting today."
"I don't mind," he murmured.
"Are you sure?" She touched his arm. He offered a smile and nodded.
The kids were called inside shortly for lunch. Freya was eager to get started on her room, eating quickly.
The rest of the day was spent painting Freya's new room. The Doctor barred River from doing this as well, worried about the paint fumes. The twins helped in her place. River helped by keeping the two little ones occupied and out of the way of the painting. (Freya had been clear that she didn't want her younger siblings messing up the paint in her room.)
Arthur wanted to help move the guest furniture to the basement from the living room, though with only River and Terra to help, none of them could lift the big things. River let them move the small things like lamps and pictures. She also had them help pack away the sheets and extra pillows.
Terra became bored after awhile, bothering River to come read to her. River agreed once everything that could be done was finished. She and Terra settled on the couch with a book. It was a book of fairy tales from Narloria. Terra stuck her thumb in her mouth as she watched her mother sign.
River sat there with her for as long as she wanted, reading and then re-reading the book to her. Arthur sat in at one of the last stories and asked afterward if they could order pizza for dinner. River agreed, calling in their order.
The family ate happily when the food arrived, half of them covered in paint.
"How's the painting coming along?" River asked.
"We're going to add another layer tomorrow." The Doctor informed her.
She nodded, "It looks like you could use a shower."
He grinned. "After dinner."
"Okay." She murmured, leaning in to kiss him.
Terra stuck her tongue out at her parents' display of affection. River sighed, "I guess we're going to have to keep the kissing till after dinner too."
"The baby thinks it's gross, too," Arthur said.
"Oh really? Is that so?" River raised her eyebrow.
The boy nodded. "That's why it's been kicking you."
She laughed, "I think the baby likes it when we kiss. I think the kicking means it wants us to kiss more." She teased.
"Nuh-uh." Arthur shook his head.
River smiled, putting a hand on her belly, "I think so." In reality, River was probably closer to right since the baby responded to her emotions, and the ones that came with kissing were generally good emotions.
After dinner, the twins claimed rights to the shower while Terra and Arthur sat down to watch a cartoon.
River did the dishes. The Doctor helped her out with them, the two talking quietly as they did, but were soon distracted by each other. There were only a few dishes left in the sink, though they chose to ignore them over each other. River tugged her husband closer, finding herself between him and the sink. The baby kicked between them, excited by River's excitement.
"We should go upstairs." River murmured.
"You think so?" Her husband asked, voice low.
"I want you." She breathed, "So unless you want to do it right here, I think we need to go upstairs."
"Yes, dear." He chuckled throatily.
"Are you laughing at me?" She teased.
He kissed her jaw. "I don't know what you're talking about, wife."
She hummed, tilting her head back. "Will the kids be alright without us?"
He continued kissing her. "Will the kids be alright without us?"
She whimpered, "Better than if they catch us."
He continued kissing her. "Fair point." He hummed against her skin. She whimpered again, pulling him closer. "We should really go upstairs..." He said, though wasn't stopping. She hummed in agreement, though made no effort to move either.
The baby kicked again and the Doctor finally pulled away to look at River. She pouted, looking up at him. He took her hand, pulling her away from the sink and towards the stairs. None of the kids bothered them once their door was shut, too occupied with their own activities.
-x-
River kissed the Doctor's shoulder, humming softly as they lay tangled in the sheets. The Doctor had his hand over her middle, feeling the light movements of their child.
"We should do it more often." She smiled.
"Am I slacking?" He wondered.
"No." She laughed softly, "I think my hormones are spiking my libido. And with the baby coming, we're going to have less time to ourselves soon."
"I have a way with time, you know." He tapped her nose.
"Oh, do you now?" She smiled. He hummed an affirmative, placing a kiss there as well.
"We should put the kids to bed soon," he said after a moment.
"Do we have to get up?" She pouted.
"Well, you could stay in bed and I can do it." He suggested.
"It's not the same without you here with me. I can help."
"If you say so." He moved to kiss her softly.
She hummed against his lips, putting her hand on his cheek. Warmth spread across their skin at every point of contact and he put his hand over hers, smiling. "Love you."
"Love you too." She murmured.
They stayed like that a while longer before finally drawing up the energy to get up and see their youngests to bed. The two kids didn't give them too much trouble, requesting stories as usual. After reading books and tucking them in, River and the Doctor met back in their own room and got comfortable in bed again.
River curled up next to him, "Doctor?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you sure that the baby's going to be safe with Missy so close?"
"I.. think so." He said slowly. "Nardole's been sending me updates, she's still secure."
"Okay..." She whispered, "I know we've talked about this, but...she took responsibility for William's death. She made it happen and she was proud of it. I don't want her to get the opportunity to do that again."
"We're different people than we were when that happened. She's different, too. We won't let anything come to that, I promise."
She nodded slowly, though his words weren't terribly comforting.
"...Do you want me to talk to her?" He asked.
"About the baby?"
"No, not necessarily... just give her a warning or something." He explained. If there was one thing Missy understood, it was consequences, and as it seemed, he was still a liability for her. "Set clear ground rules."
"Okay." She nodded, "That would be good."
"Tomorrow then." He agreed.
"Okay, tomorrow."
He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She whispered, closing her eyes.