Ch 60
The three went downstairs to where the twins were watching telly. "Girls, your sister has a question for you."
The twins looked at Terra expectantly, who slowly signed, "[Do you like being big sisters?]"
They were both quick to nod. "[It means I can be the boss.]" Freya said.
Terra's eyes went wide with that statement. She was used to being bossed around during their games and hadn't thought about the fact that she could now be the boss of someone.
"[Yeah, and whenever you or Arthur don't know something, we can tell you and then you think we're the smartest people ever.]" Amelia added.
"[Did you always want to be a big sister?]" Terra asked.
"[Pretty much.]" Freya confirmed and Amelia nodded as well. They could both still remember their excitement for William's arrival and their insistence that River gave them a little brother when they didn't get one the first time.
Terra looked at her Father, frowning at the fact that she didn't have the same feelings. "[Does being the boss sound like any fun?]" He asked her.
She nodded hesitantly. He could see that while this was helping slightly, but it wasn't doing the whole trick. River quietly thanked her two older daughters for their efforts, following as they went to talk with Arthur.
"[Do you like being a big brother?]" Terra asked.
Arthur nodded like his sisters did. "[I like having you to play what I want with.]"
Terra nodded in agreement, "[So we don't need another baby because we already have each other.]"
He shook his head. "[No, we need another baby so I can get away with more stuff while you and it distract Mum and Dad.]"
"Arthur!" River shot him a look, though Terra giggled.
He quickly realized his mistake. "Er... I was just kidding!"
"Mmm-hmm." She raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.
He gave the most innocent smile he could manage. "[I'm excited about the baby because I want a brother.]"
"[Well, we don't know if it's a boy.]" River reminded.
"[Auntie Jenny bet that it would be a boy.]" He pointed out.
"[Yes, but that doesn't guarantee anything.]"
Terra was not getting any assurance from where the conversation was going, pouting more as it went on.
River noticed the pout, "[Either way, having a baby sibling isn't so bad. Right Arthur?]"
He nodded. "[It's awesome!]"
River looked hopefully at her daughter. Terra shrugged, looking away. River's face fell and her gaze shifted to the Doctor.
"[We'd love it if you came with us for the ultrasound.]" The Doctor urged.
Terra hesitated but finally agreed. He offered a smile and gestured for Arthur to come as well. Arthur followed, eager to find out if his aunt was right. The twins were recruited as well, the lot of them piling into the med bay excitedly.
River got on the exam table, and Amelia offered to hold Terra's hand. The Doctor put Terra down and set up the machine. Terra hugged her sister's leg, looking at the machine uneasily.
An image of the baby flickered into sight on the screen. The Doctor moved the probe around for a minute or two before pausing, smiling, and pointing to a spot on the screen. "There we are."
All the children, except Terra, smiled and awed at the image.
"[What is it?]" Terra asked.
"[A boy. You're going to have a brother.]" He smiled.
She looked slightly relieved at this news. Meanwhile, Arthur was jumping around the room, cheering, "Finally! A brother!"
The Doctor looked at River. "I'm still not letting you name him after Jack."
She laughed, "That's fine by me, it's Jack that's going to be complaining."
"I can deal with him." He stole a quick kiss from her, then gave his attention to Terra. "[Was that so bad?]"
The little girl shook her head.
"[Do you want to try?]" He offered her the probe.
She took the probe from him, pressing it against River's skin. Skeptically, she angled the probe around, watching as the image changed in real time along with her movements.
"[Do you see the baby?]" River asked.
She nodded. "[How can you tell it's a boy?]"
"[Well, because boys are a bit different from girls—]"
"[I know the difference.]" Terra stared at the screen. "[...So that's his head?]" She pointed.
River hummed, overlooking the interruption. "[Yes, it is.]"
"[Then there are his feet.]" She traced the image curiously.
"[Yes, you're right.]"
"[He doesn't really look like a whole person, though.]"
"[Well, that's because he's still growing. He still has a couple months before he's ready to be born.]"
"[What happens when he's born?]"
The Doctor answered this, "[You and your siblings will go with one of our friends while he's being born because we'll be very focused on doing that.]"
Terra nodded slowly, "[Did I look funny before I was born?]"
"[Funny how?]" He clarified.
"[Not finished.]" She pointed to the scan of the baby again, "[Like that.]"
"[Yes, I suppose you were. All babies look like that when they're still growing.]"
"[Do you have a picture?]" she asked.
He nodded. "[Let's clean up here then go see, hmm?]"
They wiped the gel off of River's skin and printed a picture of the baby before shutting down the machine.
The twins went back into the house to watch their show again, while Arthur opted to follow Terra and his parents to their TARDIS bedroom. The Doctor found River's picture box and settled on the bed with her and the kids, sorting through it to find the sonograms of Terra.
River found one of the first ones almost immediately, "[Here you are,]" she smiled, handing Terra the picture.
The girl examined it closely. "[I look kinda the same as Baby.]"
River nodded, "[Yes, you do look quite similar.]"
"[Is the baby going to look like me? He's from Dad's new face.]"
"[Well, you're both from my same face, so I think he will.]"
"[Do you have any pictures of us right when we were born?]"
River nodded, digging through the box until she found a picture of Terra that had been taken right after she was born. In the photo, River and the Doctor were cooing over the baby girl.
Terra stared for a long minute, "[Is he going to be that small?]"
"[He's going to be pretty small, but maybe not exactly as small as you were." Judging from the scans that they had been doing, the baby was bigger than the other children had been.
"[Why not? Aren't all babies the same size?]"
"[No, all babies are different. Size depends on when they're born, how they grow and their own personal genetics.]"
"[How big is the baby going to be?]"
"[Well, right now the baby is this big.]" River showed her with her hands, "[So in the next couple months he'll grow a bit more and be this big.]"
Terra looked calculatedly between her baby picture and the size River was showing her brother would be. "[How do you get him out?]"
River smiled softly, "[I think that's a conversation for later, my love.]"
She frowned. "[But Mia and Freya say they know! Do you cut him out or something?]"
"[You're not as old as Mia and Freya. Now, why don't you go grab a snack from downstairs? There's some leftover cake from the party.]"
The mention of cake quickly distracted her and she jumped off the bed to go help herself to some. Arthur also made an escape, leaving his parents to their own devices.
River smiled, entwining her hand with the Doctor's. "She seems to be warming up to the idea of having another Sibling." River murmured
"Yes, a bit. I think knowing it's a boy is helping her think of the baby as more of a person than a threat." The Doctor agreed.
She hummed, "Did you still want to see her today?" The Doctor and River had been planning on going to see Missy today before Jack had invited them over. It would be the first time River saw her since she had been placed in the vault, which was part of the reason why she had been so on edge that morning.
He nodded slowly. "There's still time to back out if you want to."
"No, it's fine." River sighed, "But only because I know how much it means to you."
He squeezed her hand back. "We don't have to be long."
She nodded slowly, "Let's just get this over with then."
They rose from the bed, quietly going to the console room. River helped pilot them to the university, the ship landing silently outside the vault.
Nardole was outside the Vault, slowing the time back down for them to enter.
"Are you a sure she won't do anything to hurt the baby?" River whispered.
"I'm sure. She doesn't know about him. You've got the perception filter on?"
River nodded, "Yes."
"Well leave if there's any sign of danger." He promised.
"Okay." She breathed as Nardole opened the door and they stepped inside.
Missy was in the center of the room at a piano, her back to them. She didn't turn right away, waiting for them to make the first move.
The Doctor sat in one of the chairs, gesturing for River to sit in the other. River sat, and Missy finally decided to turn, "Oh, I see you've brought a friend today, Doctor."
"Yes, well, more than a friend in my case." He said, tone level.
She stared at River, almost immediately noticing then perception filter, though she didn't realize what it was, "Something's off about her? What have you done?" She questioned as she surveyed River.
"How're you liking the piano?" He deflected casually.
"You're hiding something from me." She huffed, running her hand down the keys so it made an eerie noise, "I'll figure it out for myself if you don't tell me."
River shot him a slightly concerned look. He set his jaw, knowing the Missy was clever enough to go through with that. His slight change of expression was a silent question to his wife if he should reveal their secret or not. She averted her gaze, leaving him to make the choice.
"You know it's not polite to nose in on people's own business." He muttered.
"I said I was turning good, not polite. Those are two different things." Missy smirked, "Now let's see, it's not the hair because that's just as frizzy as ever. It's something about the body…?" She knew she had the upper hand in this situation, she had learned how to press the Doctor's buttons, especially now that she was in the vault with nothing better to do.
He stood, approaching Missy. "Are you quite done with that?"
"Are you going to tell me what she's hiding?" She crossed her arms, standing from the piano.
"It's not your concern." He said sternly
She shrugged, "Then I guess I'm not done. So let's see, definitely the body, I'd say torso area..."
He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Drop it, please."
River came up beside him, putting a hand on his arm, "Just tell her, she's going to figure it out either way, we all know that."
He put his hand over hers, "Are you sure?"
"I'd rather you tell her than have her figure it out on her own."
"Too late." Missy chirped. "I rather think I've got it."
River swallowed, her hearts picking up, though externally she kept her cool, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
"You're up the duff with his wee kiddo, aren't you?"
"Well aren't you a clever girl, Missy. Someone give her a gold star." She mocked, taking off the prescription filter in confirmation.
The Doctor watched them carefully, still slightly in front of River to put some distance between her and Missy. The two woman stared each other down before either of them said anything.
"Well isn't that just peachy." Missy spat. She may have been trying to be good, but that didn't mean she had to be nice to River.
The Doctor tried not to glare, "You don't have to like it. I warned you before and I'll say it again: if any harm comes to River or my child by your hand..."
She held her hands up in surrender, "Alright, Alright. I've got it, no need to get your panties in a twist."
He snorted. The only child Missy didn't know about now was Terra, and he'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible.
"So I guess that's why you haven't been bringing your guard dog around then? Have I been causing stress for the fragile lady?" She mocked a swoon.
"She's not fragile." He glared more. "It wouldn't be wise to underestimate her."
Missy scoffed, "I believe you're overestimating her. She is a half-breed."
"What's your point?" He challenged.
She shrugged, loving that she could get him angry, "Just stating a fact."
"Your fact doesn't dictate my wife's capability for anything."
She shrugged once more, plopping back down on the piano bench, "Have you brought me anything to eat or has the living incubator gone and eaten it all?"
River was burning a hole in Missy's head with her glare. He pinched the bridge of his nose again, reaching into his pocket for a bag of stale scones.
Missy held her hand out as River rubbed his arm comfortingly. He dropped the bag into her hands, taking a step back with River. "I didn't bring River with me today so you could bully her, you know."
Missy rolled her eyes, "I'm not bullying her, it's called witty banter. You know, like they do on the telly. It's not my fault she hasn't got anything good to say back."
"Missy," He warned, "I brought her so you could practice apologizing to someone besides me."
She glowered, "And it had to be her? It couldn't have been anyone else?" She took a bite of one of the scones, immediately spitting it out onto the floor, "Stale scones? Really, Doctor? You've brought me your pet and stale scones?"
"Beggars can't be choosers, and yes it had to be her. She was as much affected by you as I was."
She tossed the bag of scones on the floor, crossing her arms and pouting like a child. He sat back down as well, watching her expectantly. River waited as well, arms crossed.
Missy closed her eyes against the emotion that started to well up at the thought of what she'd done to the Songs. She didn't like thinking about it, and she certainly felt no reward for showing any vulnerability, especially in front of River. "I'm sorry, alright? Is that what you want to hear?"
"Sorry for what?" River pressed.
Missy looked like a dog who'd been told to spit out what it had eaten. "Sorry for what I did to you and your family."
River's body instinctively tensed and her jaw tightened, "You killed my child. I don't think that's something I can ever forgive"
"I didn't kill it, that ghastly woman with the overly dramatic wardrobe did." She huffed. "I just... provided the means..." she trailed off as she realized what she was saying was no better. "Well, I'm not asking for your forgiveness am I?"
"Accepting an apology typically implies forgiveness." River muttered.
Missy was now the one to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Then don't bloody accept it, then!" She looked away again. "But I mean what I say."
River flinched when Missy raised her voice. "I'm going outside for some air." She muttered, staring at the ground as she left the vault; needing to get away from this.
The Doctor took a deep breath upon hearing the door shut. "That was unnecessary."
"What was?" Missy asked innocently, examining her nails as if nothing were wrong.
"I told you to apologize, not yell at her."
"She's fine, I only raised my voice a wee bit. She's done much worse." Missy huffed, "Besides, you were just telling me how 'strong' she is, surely she can handle a bit of voice raising."
"It's not about what she can handle, it's about the lesson I'm trying to get you to understand here." He sighed.
"I do understand." She sighed, "I've been in here for a while, I bet I could do what you do."
"Well, sometime in the future you've obviously convinced me that you've changed enough for me to go back and rewire your execution device." He met her eyes. "But you're not doing a very good job of convincing me now."
She huffed, crossing her arms again, "Alright fine, I'll play nice today. If you go fetch your to—...wife, I promise I'll be," she grimaced, "nice to her."
He stood. "If you break your promise I'll only bring more stale scones next time."
"I won't break it." She assured.