Ch 64
Khejaphorax was a desert scape of a planet with grey, sandy soil that once held civilizations.
The Doctor brought out a few fold-out chairs for the family to settle down with and River helped the kids pick the right spot where they could start their mini-excavation.
River knelt in the sand with Terra, getting right to showing her everything they needed to know about excavating. Lesson one was how to gently move back sand without damaging any possible artifacts. Arthur sat in on the lesson while the twins went right for the big shovels.
River watched proudly as Terra grinned, practicing the skills her mother showed her. "Do you need a lesson too?" She asked her husband.
He smiled, "I wouldn't mind a refresher."
"I do have to warn you: I give kisses instead of As."
"I'd better keep top marks, then."
"You'd better." She winked.
"You've gone all strict, Professor. Not that I mind..."
"Just wait until tonight. I've got a pair of handcuffs that need breaking in."
"Such thrilling promises, Mrs Doctor." Their voices were low now.
River took his face and gave him a thorough snog. "There'll be a lot more of that later tonight," she purred once they pulled apart.
"I'll hold you to that," he promised.
"I do hope you mean that literally."
"[Mummy look!]" Terra interrupted with a wave of her arms and proudly held up a piece of pottery about the size of her thumb.
"[Oh, that's wonderful!]" River easily moved flirting to the back burner as she got down to examine the piece, telling Terra about how old it was and what it was probably used for.
"[Is there more of it?]" What Terra held was only a piece of the object.
"[Yes, there's probably more, you just have to keep digging.]"
The girl jumped right back into her work, looking very focused.
River glanced at the other children's going-on. Arthur, who was near Terra, had found a piece of the same pottery. The twins had found something large and metal, and were digging to see how big it was.
"I think we've got quite the archeologists on our hands." River murmured to the Doctor.
The Doctor hummed in agreement. "You've been rubbing off on them."
"And how do you feel about archeology now? Do you have a higher respect for what I do?"
"It's the you part of what you do that catches my attention. I still think it would've been just as lovely to visit here when there were people."
She smiled, "Well, perhaps we can go on that adventure another day."
"You know that device I was telling you about is coincidentally from the golden age of this planet." He pointed out.
"Is that so?"
He nodded. "I was going to stop by today anyway to get it."
"I hope it works."
"Me, too," he hummed, watching Terra proudly pull up more pieces of her ceramic discovery.
"I need to sit for a minute." River murmured. He offered her a hand up and helped her over to the folding chairs he'd set up.
The children were quite content to spend the next few hours digging up artifacts. They ran over to River whenever they found anything, hoping it was something important.
Terra just about completed her object— a sculpture of one of the creatures that used to live on the planet. She enlisted the Doctor for adhesive to stick the pieces together and River for information about her find. River informed her that it was probably once a toy for a child. The people of this planet commonly gave their children miniature sculptures as toys to teach them values of care and gentleness.
"[Can I keep it?]" She asked hopefully.
River nodded. In the eyes of archeology, the object was so common that museums already had dozens of them.
After a bit of excited jumping from their youngest, the Songs herded the kids back to the ship.
Arthur had dug up a shield and the twins had managed to salvage a whole set of masks. The children all were allowed to keep their finds. After putting them in their rooms, they each went to wash up so they could get ready for their respective planned activities. Terra decided that she wanted to go visit Bill and show her the sculpture she had found.
"[Can you call?]" Terra asked her father as her siblings got dropped off, pointing to the console phone.
He nodded, dialing Bill.
"Hello?" Bill picked up on the other end.
"Bill. It's me," the Doctor said, "I need a favour."
"Are you bumping up my assignment again?"
"No, just wondering if you wouldn't mind a watching Terra for a bit. River and I have some errands to run and Terra wants to show you what she found on her archeology dig." He explained.
"Oh, no I don't mind!" She smiled.
"Ah, good, because I'm already parked in your kitchen."
"Wha-?" The sound of her running down the stairs could be heard through the phone.
"[She said yes.]" The Doctor smiled at his daughter, putting the phone down.
Terra ran out of the ship to meet Bill and the Doctor poked his head out to make sure the two were situated. Satisfied, the Doctor offered Bill a smile and returned to the console.
He popped by the planet they were just at to pick up the device before parking back in the flat. As River was napping in the TARDIS bedroom, he decided to take the time to work on the device at the desk in the room. It was a small, circular disk with sharp insertion mechanisms on one face. A few coated wires came off the edge, each one ending in a tiny, square-shaped part that also had insertion mechanisms.
The cats came to keep him company, sitting on near his feet. He worked for a good few hours, taking apart the covers on the electric parts beginning to require them. He allowed the cats to wander as they pleased, occasionally talking out loud to them.
River was still sleeping when he was finished, Tiber nestled next to her. The Doctor eventually got up, stretched, and settled next to his sleeping wife in bed. He wasn't exactly tired, but the proximity was welcomed.
"Honey..." she mumbled sleepily, feeling his weight beside her.
"Hmm?" He answered wrapping his arms around her.
"Hi..." She breathed, rolling over to face him.
He smiled. "Nice nap?"
"Mm, very nice."
"You slept through lunch. Are you hungry?" He asked.
"Not terribly." She nuzzled his neck, "Where's Terra?"
"Bill's watching her." He smiled at her way her hair tickled his nose.
"So we're alone?"
"Yes, we are. Unless you count these guys." He gestured to Tiber who slept on her other side.
"And this guy." She tapped her belly, "But he seems to be sleeping right now."
"How opportunistic." He hummed, leaning forward just enough to kiss the shell of her ear. She hummed, closing her eyes again.
He pressed kisses to her jaw and just behind her ear, letting his lips wander. She beamed, "This is nice."
"I'm glad." His tone was calm and relaxed.
Suddenly there was a bang outside their door so loud that it startled River out of bed and onto her feet. The Doctor got up as well, "What was that?"
"I don't know." She breathed, as there was a knock on the door.
"Gun. Now." He whispered. There shouldn't have been anyone in the house let alone then TARDIS. All of their friends knew to call ahead.
River grabbed her gun off the dresser, getting ready to shoot.
"Oi! I told you to keep your hands up. He's already going to be angry at me for letting you out, I don't need you to break anything on top of that." Nardole's voice came from outside the door. It was apparent that he was talking to someone.
"Nardole?" The Doctor said hesitantly, already having an idea of who exactly was on the other side of the door based on the bit of conversation he could hear.
"Erm...yes?" The man answered, sounding nervous.
"If who I think is with is with you, then you'd better have a bloody good explanation." He threatened
"It's not my fault! I couldn't get in contact with you. The perception filter under the school was malfunctioning and I needed help."
Starting to fume, the Doctor opened the door and glared as he came face to face with Missy.
"Hello, I hope we're interrupting something." Missy smiled, her hands still up in the air. Nardole was behind her with a pointy looking stick, though was looking less and less confident now that the Doctor was in front of him.
"Why did you bring her here?" He shifted his gaze to Nardole.
"The vault door wouldn't close right after I brought her food."
He sighed. "Just...give us a moment. Wait in the console room and don't let Missy touch anything."
Nardole nodded, ushering Missy back to the console room. The Doctor closed the door, turning back to River.
River's jaw was tight, her whole body rigid.
"I'll deal with her if you don't want to." He offered
"No, it's fine." She muttered.
They took their time going to the console room, the Doctor steeling himself for whatever excuses the others might make. River was particularly cross about the interruption.
Nardole looked increasingly guilty as the Timelords entered.
Missy looked poised, hands clasped patiently in front of her. "So, what are you going to do with me now? I can't go back into the vault."
"You think I can't fix it?" The Doctor challenged.
"Nope."
He raised an eyebrow. "How exactly did it break?"
Missy shrugged. "Nardole?"
"I-I don't know."
The Doctor muttered irritably under his breath, starting to pull levers. River still had her blaster in hand watching.
"Nardole, Missy, with me. You're going to explain this." He growled, landing and heading out the door. Missy sauntered out, quite confident.
The Doctor looked over the massive lock on the vault, frowning.
"Can you tell what's wrong?" River asked.
"Nardole." He hissed. "He forgot to turn off the time accelerator before he opened it. Every damn fuse in here is blown."
The other man wrung his hands, "I-I was in a rush."
"That is the most pathetic thing you've said all day." He glared.
"Doctor, stop it." River hissed."It as a mistake and speaking to him like that doesn't make it any better."
His shoulders slumped and he shut his mouth. He took a breath. "Yes... sorry. I'm just not sure what we're going to do with her now—it's going to take me a while to fix this if I can at all."
"You could lock me in the TARDIS," Missy suggested. "You could put me in a room. Like my own flat, but without as much freedom. I'm sure the TARDIS can do something like that for you."
He tensed. While it was the only logical place that was also capable of speeding up time in isolated areas, he and his family used the TARDIS constantly, and he didn't want the kids to know about her. He turned fully to her. "You're making suggestions for your own imprisonment?"
"Well, the rest of you don't seem to have any ideas. I think I'm being rather reasonable, don't you?" She put her hands on her hips.
He didn't want to admit that she was, giving a huff instead. "I suppose it's our only option..."
"I'll go back inside then." Missy smiled.
"Supervised." The Doctor emphasized, fully intending on following.
"It'll be like we're flatmates." She went on, knowing that would bother him.
"Don't push it." He grumbled.
Inside the console room, the Doctor was even more on edge. "Missy, put your hands in the telepathic circuits." She walked over to the controls, putting her hands in the circuits as she was told. "I'm scanning your bio-signature. You'll be locked out of the controls, so don't think about trying to go anywhere you shouldn't."
"Fine. If that's what you think is going to keep you safe." She huffed.
River and Nardole entered the console room, staying near the door. "Nardole, show Missy to her new room." The Doctor told him.
Nardole nodded, ushering the Time Lady out of the console room. He avoided the Doctor's eyes, still quite afraid he'd be shouted at.
The Doctor scrubbed a hand down his face as they left. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this, River." She didn't speak, glaring a hole through the floor. He moved to her, stepping in front of her view. "Riv?"
"What?" She finally looked at him.
He opened his mouth to respond but his mobile rang before anything came out. Sighing, he picked up. River crossed her arms, looking away again.
He spoke for only a minute before hanging up. "Arthur's been sick, we need to pick him up."
She brushed past him, silently going to the controls.
"River, are you angry with me for keeping her in here?" He asked as they flew.
"I'm angry with you for a number of reasons, and yes, that is one of them." She breathed, "But I guess there's not much we can do about it."
He swallowed. "Well, perhaps, but I'd still like to try."
"What are you going to do?" She whispered, "You said she wouldn't find out about the baby, which she did, almost immediately. You also said she wouldn't be near us and now she's living in our home. What's next? The kids?"
"I..." he hesitated, the weight of her words settling in. "I don't know."
"I'm going to cancel my trip." She murmured.
He frowned. "Why?"
"I don't feel comfortable leaving now that she's so close to the children."
He nodded slowly, guilt settling in his stomach. She could, of course, always save the trip for any time in the future—they had a time machine after all— but there was something about ruining her linear plan that felt like his fault and he wasn't quite sure how he could begin to make up for it.
"We should get Arthur." She sighed, going to the door. He silently followed.
Arthur was waiting on the porch of his friend's house. The adults made brief conversation before ushering the boy off.
"How about you take a warm shower before you head off to bed." River suggested as they entered back into the TARDIS.
"It's not my bedtime." Arthur protested with little energy.
"I know, my love, but you're sick. You need to rest."
He frowned. "When's everyone else getting home?"
"Probably not for a while."
He sighed, "Okay, I'll go to bed... but can I have some toast?"
"Of course." River nodded. Arthur seemed satisfied, going off to shower.
River leaned against the console, closing her eyes.
"Do you want me to make his food?" The Doctor asked.
"I can do it." She shook her head, "I just need a minute."
"Alone?"
"To sit." She corrected.
He nodded, pressing a few button on the monitor. An image of Missy's new arrangements flickered to view, the screen turned away from River. He wanted to check quickly to make sure nothing was going wrong. Missy's new room seemed to look about the same as the inside of the vault. The walls and floors were bare. There was a piano, a bookshelf, and a couple chairs. He spotted Missy pacing. She looked like she was in fast forward, the time in that room sped up like it had been in the vault.
"I'll go make Arthur's food." River murmured, moving to leave the room.
He took his eyes off the screen to watch her go. "I'll meet you in the room...?"
"Okay." She nodded, before going to the kitchen.
Arthur came to the kitchen with wet hair after a while, eating small bites of the toast.
"How are you feeling?" River asked, sitting next to him.
He shrugged. "Kinda bad."
"I'm sorry to hear that." She murmured, "What's bothering you?"
"My stomach." He mumbled.
"Well, eat your toast and then I want you to try and get some sleep." She instructed.
"Can we go back to the house to sleep?" He asked.
"Of course." River nodded, "I'm going to go to the console room to bring us home, okay? Come meet me there when you're done." She got up, giving him a kiss on the top of his head.
River went right to the console, setting the coordinates for them to go back to their house. Nardole came back to the control room as well, only making eye contact with the floor and neither Song.
"You need to apologize to Nardole." River murmured, to her husband.
It took the Doctor a minute to get the words going. "Sorry for snapping, Nardole."
"Oh...erm... it's okay." He said, hardly looking up.
"It's not okay." The Doctor moved towards him. "I put you in a difficult situation and blamed you when it went wrong."
Nardole nodded, scooting slightly away.
He sighed. "We'll drop you back home. You don't have to do any more odd jobs for me anytime soon."
"Okay. Thank you." The man nodded again.
Arthur plodded into the control room, coming up next to River. "When did Nardole get here?"
"He's was here before you came home." River murmured, "He was just helping your father with something, but he's going home now."
"What was he helping with?" Arthur looked between the adults.
"Lifting some heavy things," Nardole added quickly, trying to be helpful. Arthur seemed to buy it, not asking any further questions.
They brought Nardole home, then went back to their house. Arthur was too tired at this point to complain about bed, though he did request a story. River took care of both things.
The Doctor was on the bed in his night clothes when she came in, reading by lamplight—reading being a loose term for frowning at a page for several minutes and trying not to think about the mad Time Lady they had locked in a blue box.
"You're going to bed?" River asked as she walked into their room.
"Lying in it, at the least." He let the book flop forwards into his lap, having been reading one line over and over without remembering what it had said. "I'm not sure about sleep yet."
"What about Terra and the twins?"
"Bill texted and said she'd drop Terra off, and girls both have rides home." He informed her.
She nodded slowly, "Okay."
He watched her for a moment. "I'm sorry about today."
She nodded again, looking away from him.
He sat up a little more. "Look I... I may be in just a little over my depth. I hate that you're having to deal with the shortcomings and short-lived promises. I didn't think this would happen." He took a slow breath. "But here we are. And I don't care about Missy's ordeal more than I care about you and the kids. I want to do everything I can for you lot. Everything else comes second."
"I know. It's just been so...difficult." She sighed, "Everything involving her has been so stressful and I worry what the stress is doing to the baby." She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I know." He slipped out of bed, approaching her. "I worry, too, even with the weekly scan. So really, my love, if there's anything I can do, just say it. I don't care what it is or if it's random and ridiculous. You're the most important thing in the universe to me next to the kids and whether it's going galaxies away to fill cravings or just kissing you, I'll do it. I want to do it."
"I don't know anymore. I can't relax knowing that she's here, in our home." Her voice broke, "I don't feel safe in the TARDIS anymore."
He pulled her into his arms, glancing at the blue box that sat in it's designated corner of the room. "Do you want me to send her away for now?"
She nodded, hugging him tightly and pressing her face into his shoulder. The ship disappeared from the flat without him having to so much as reach for his mental connection with the TARDIS. The dematerialization was silent and understood.
River held onto him tightly, "I don't know what to do anymore." She repeated.
He held her securely, trying to provide as much physical comfort as he could. "It's okay not to know. I don't quite know either, but we're going to figure it out, River."
"Okay." She breathed, relaxing a bit more now that the ship was gone. He rested his head gently on hers. "Can you talk to me, please? About anything." She murmured, hearing his voice made her feel better.
He thought for a moment about a topic, settling on Felix when he felt the baby shift between them. River put a hand on her belly, listening to his words. He kept his voice soft and level, much like it had been before they were interrupted.
Eventually, they sat down on their bed, staying cuddled up. He continued to murmur to her, letting the topics of his words vary. Eventually, the doorbell rang, which the Doctor said was probably Bill dropping their youngest off.
"You can stay in bed if you like and I can get it." The Doctor offered, to which River accepted
Bill was there, as he predicted, and he thanked her for taking care of Terra for the evening. Terra was still cuddling her sculpture, though now looked exhausted.
"[Did you have fun with Bill?]" He asked his daughter, ushering her inside.
She nodded, "[We had chips for dinner!]"
"[Just chips?]" He raised an eyebrow. Terra nodded, beaming. He resisted the urge to look menacing towards Bill. "[Well I'd like you to have some fruit if you're not too full of chips.]"
"[I don't want fruit.]" She pouted.
"[Not even a clementine? You love clementines.]"
She shook her head, "[I want dessert!]"
He sighed, scooping her up onto his hip. "I'll see you later Bill."
Bill waved goodbye, quickly exiting for giving his daughter chips for dinner.
The Doctor closed the door and brought Terra to the kitchen, knowing he'd have to spend a little while there convincing her to eat something healthy. Terra finally agreed, eating some tomato and cheese. The Doctor sliced her small piece of the food, watching her talk about her day until she said she was full.
"[Can I say goodnight to Mummy?]" She asked, holding up her arms for him to carry her.
He agreed, carrying her up the stairs to the bedroom. River was sitting up in bed, reading a book. Terra wiggled out of her father's arms, hurrying up to the bed. "[Hi, Mummy!]"
"[Hello, my dear.]" River put her book down, "[Did you have a nice time with Bill?]"
Terra nodded. "[We ate chips and watched telly!]"
"[Oh, well that sounds like loads of fun.]" River smiled softly, "[Are you headed off to bed now? It's very late.]"
"[It's only 9:30.]" She protested.
"[Yes and that's an hour and a half past your bedtime.]" She pointed out.
"[But Mia and Freya get to stay up this late.]"
"[Yes, but they're much older than you.]"
Terra looked like she might glare, though ended up yawning instead.
"[Your father will tuck you in.]" River kissed her forehead.
The Doctor scooped Terra up again before she could protest anymore, bringing her to her bedroom. Terra went right to sleep when her head hit the pillow, the Doctor returning to his wife.
River had gone back to reading her book. The Doctor slipped into bed next to her. "How're you feeling?"
"Look at this." She murmured, pointing to the page she was reading about stress and pregnancy. The page was describing how excessive amounts of stress could lead to premature birth, heart problems and other health issues with a baby.
This answered his question. "You know, you showed me that page when you were pregnant with Terra. And Arthur. And the twins for that matter."
"Did I?" She murmured, looking back at the page.
"Yes." He pressed a kiss to her head. "I know you're worried, my love, but if anything starts going wrong, we'll catch it."
She nodded, eyes still fixed on the page, "I don't want us to overlook anything."
"Neither do I." He paused. "Would a scan make you feel better?"
She nodded. He pulled out a scanner from the nightstand drawer. He always kept one there and it was just as accurate as the TARDIS. She took a deep breath, putting the book aside.
He programmed the scanner, letting it run its diagnostic. She held her breath when the scanner beeped, reaching for his hand. He read the results calmly. "Everything looks normal."
She let out a sigh of relief, "Good. That's good."
"We can scan as often as you'd like." He promised, giving her the tablet.
"Is it a bit excessive to do it every night?" She asked, going over the diagnostics herself.
"Who's here to say it is? It's not harmful to you or Felix, and it makes you more comfortable," he reasoned.
She nodded, finally putting the tablet aside, "Thank you."
He smiled softly. "Of course. Do you want to wait up for the girls or should I text them to wake us when they get home?"
"You can tell them to wake us." She murmured, running a hand down her side.
He nodded, eyes following her hand. "I was working on that device today. We can start collaborating to with you tomorrow."
"That'd be nice. You take such good care of me." She smiled weakly.
"Only because you let me." He teased.
"I've learned after sixteen years." She leaning in to kiss him. He hummed, their lips meeting. "I never got that adult time with you that I was promised." She murmured once they broke apart.
He raised an eyebrow, though his expression was a mix of pleased and mischievous. "Didn't we? I can fix that, you know."
"I'd appreciate it if you did." She smiled.
Grinding, he moving to kiss her again. She hummed against his lips, pulling him closer to her.
When the twins came home they found their parents asleep in each other's arms. They had no illusions of what they had thankfully missed, the clothes still on the ground enough of a hint.
Freya made a face and left it to her sister to inform their parents that they were home. Amelia decided to wake her father since River was half buried beneath him. She shook his shoulder lightly.
He snorted awake, turning his head. "Oh, em..."
"Freya and I are home." She informed, her face bright red.
He didn't know whether to laugh or apologize to her. He didn't dare move more than his head since his arm was the only thing covering River's bare chest. "Right. Er, thank you for letting us know."
She nodded, practically running out of the room.
"Sweetie?" River murmured sleepily, "What's wrong?"
He looked over at her. "Your daughters are home."
She hummed weakly, curling closer to him. He shifted to better wrap his arms around her. Maybe they would laugh about it in the morning, or at least share amusement when the twins avoided eye contact at the breakfast table.
"Baby..." She mumbled. Her belly was now pressed between them and Felix was insistent on wiggling. He smiled, putting on of his hands over her stomach. Felix settled against the Doctor's hand as River fell back to sleep.