Ch 73
In the morning, the smell of breakfast arrived in the bedroom before either of the Songs left the bed.
"Sweetie?" River murmured sleepily, starting to stir from her sleep.
The Doctor had already been awake for a little while. "Hm?"
"It smells wonderful. What did you make?" She curled against him, opening her eyes.
"I didn't make anything." He replied. "But it smells like sausage."
"I thought you said you were going to make breakfast." She murmured.
"I was waiting for you to wake up," he explained.
"Oh, I see." She breathed, "Well I would like to stay in bed with you for a bit longer."
He nodded with a soft smile. "Of course."
She wrapped her arms around him sighing contently. They stayed like that for the better part of an hour until there was a knock on the door.
River had started to fall back asleep, the knock pulling her out of her sleepy trance, "Come in."
Missy entered bearing a plate with some sausages on in and half of a Victoria sponge cake. River's jaw tightened, though she didn't say anything. Missy silently put the food down on the nearest flat surface, looked at the couple, then left again.
"That's would explain the food we've been smelling." The Doctor whispered.
River hummed, still watching the door. The Doctor got up and brought the food over, trying one of the sausages. "How is it?" She asked.
"Overcooked." He wrinkled his nose.
"Well, she did say she doesn't know how to cook."
He nodded, going for the Victoria sponge. He grimaced as soon as he took a bite. "Don't try that."
She smiled weakly, "Is it really that bad?"
"I think she used tomato paste instead of jam."
River held back a laugh, "Is that so?"
He nodded. "A sweet thought, but unfortunately a failed one. I'll take you out to breakfast and spare you...," he gestured to the food, "this."
They didn't end up getting up for another hour, taking their leisure time to get out of bed and dressed.
"Maybe we should just stay here. I don't really feel like leaving our bedroom today. We hardly ever get time to ourselves anymore, it'd be nice to spend the day with you in here."
The Doctor smiled. "This is a rare opportunity isn't it?"
She nodded, "We don't have to leave the room if we don't want to."
"True." He tapped her nose. "But I would like to find a suitable replacement for Missy's attempt at breakfast."
"Well, I suppose we can go make breakfast, but after that, we barricade ourselves in here, yeah?"
He agreed to this plan and they soon snuck into the kitchen. Together, they made breakfast, making quite a mess in the process. Deciding that they didn't want to bother with clean up yet, they left the mess and took their newly improved breakfast back to the bedroom.
River had insisted on a rather odd combination of foods, happily settling back in bed.
"Does that really taste good to you?" He asked, looking at her choice of food.
River nodded, "You should really try some, it's fantastic."
"The last time I tried one of your cravings I burned my mouth because of all the peppers."
"Oh, don't be dramatic. I kissed it better, remember?" She teased.
"I couldn't drink anything hot for days." He countered.
"You were fine." She laughed, rolling her eyes, "Try some of this, it's not hot." He hesitated for a moment before caving and taking a bite. "It's good, right?" She smiled expectantly.
"It's... interesting." He said, trying not to grimace at how sour the combination was.
She frowned slightly, "Why do you say it like that?"
He managed to swallow the bite, quickly going for something blander. "How much lemon did you put in this?"
"Why? Is it too sour?" She took a bite, "I think it tastes alright."
"I think our son likes lemons more than I do." He grinned.
Felix shifted low. Bored.
River winced, "Your son is bored"
"Bored, hmm?" He leaned down to her middle. "Do you want a story?"
"Yes," She translated as Felix wiggled.
"I think we should let mummy choose which one I tell." He hummed.
"I'd like to hear about your favorite date that we went on." River decided.
"Now, how can I possibly choose a favorite?"
"If you can't decide then choose one of your favorites." She offered.
He thought about it for a moment before deciding on a time they'd gone to Paris.
"I like this one too." River murmured, taking his hand. He kissed her knuckles and kept her gaze as he retold the story. She smiled. It was amazing how even after all their years of being together, he could still make her insides melt with just a look, though she wouldn't ever admit that.
They talked for hours, though it felt like no time at all—like floating in a timeless bubble. His stories led to more stories, anecdotes, and pleasant conversations.
"What are we going to do when Felix comes?" River asked at some point, "All of our kids have been born in the TARDIS."
"We can still do that if you want," he answered, though had a feeling that Missy's presence changed the circumstances.
"But...Missy's here."
"Perhaps we can have her leave for a bit. Have Jack or someone keep an eye on her?" It wasn't a sound suggestion.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
He was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No." Anywhere that Missy wasn't detained was an opportunity for her to go near their children. Even with supervision, he didn't want her in the same dimension as the kids.
"I don't know what we're going to do." She whispered, "The TARDIS has always been the safest place for our children, but with her here..."
"I know." He reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "I know. But Felix is healthy and so are you. There's no reason to expect complications when he comes... we may have to settle for somewhere else."
She tensed, quite obviously not liking the idea, though it was clear that they didn't have any other options.
"We still have some time to think about it," he reminded.
"I know, but it's getting closer. And what if he comes early?"
"Then we'll be ready." He assured. "And he'll be perfect."
She smiled weakly, "You're right, I know you're right."
He took her hand, stroking his thumb over her skin. "The girls keep asking if they can be there."
"I know." She sighed.
"I keep telling them it's not a matter of their age, rather a matter of your privacy." He smiled weakly. "But at least they're excited."
"I'll think about it." She breathed, "But I don't know if I want them to see me like that. I don't want to scare them."
He smiled. "I don't think they'll be scared. They know how giving birth works and they know it's not painless."
She nodded, "It's always only been us, well...and Vastra."
"And Vastra," he echoed. "It's fine to say no, you know, if you can resist their puppy-dog look," he added. "But even so, there's no harm in keeping an open mind to it."
"I think about it." She repeated.
There was a knock. The Doctor glanced in the direction of the door, though didn't get up. "What is it?"
"Are you two ever going to come out of that bedroom or have you barricaded yourselves in?" Missy huffed.
"The latter." The Doctor answered with a slight grin in River's direction. River smiled back.
"I honestly don't see how you can find each other that entertaining."
"Well, there's this funny little thing I like to call 'being madly in love' and it's a permanent condition."
"It sounds disgusting," Missy muttered.
He rolled his eyes. "Is there something you needed?"
"Well, if you two are going to spend the day going at it like rabbits, does that mean I get the day off? Or will I be forced to bow down and rub her highness' feet once you're finished."
"Neither." He frowned. "You're not a servant but our three-day challenge is still in play." Missy grumbled to herself, on the other side of the door. The Doctor gave his attention back to his wife. "This is our day, isn't it?"
She nodded, touching her forehead to his. "I don't mind staying like this at all."
He grinned. "Neither do I."
Missy left at that point, letting the two get on with what she could only imagine was sex and pillow forts. The couple resumed their conversation.
Some hours later, River had insisted on rubbing her husband's shoulders and was now making him sit still while she did just that, "See? Doesn't that feel better?"
"Everything feels better when you're involved." He teased.
"Oh stop it." She laughed, kneading the knots in his shoulders.
"Shouldn't I be the one doing this to you?" He hummed. "You've been the one doing all the physical work for the baby for last six months anyway."
"I like making you feel better, my love." She breathed, kissing his shoulder.
"I know." He relaxed.
She moved to kiss his neck, "You're less tense now."
"Well, I have a very capable masseuse."
"I'm glad you think so." She hummed.
He let her work his shoulders, having been tenser to start than he would've admitted. She hummed softly as she worked, occasionally pressing kisses to his skin.
Eventually, the Doctor insisted on switching and returning the favor. River relaxed beneath him, closing her eyes.
"We should think about how we're going to test Missy." He murmured.
He felt her tense under his hands like he'd pinched her, "Do we really have to do that today?"
"I suppose there's tomorrow. We've got to do it sometime and I'd rather it be before we leave."
"Right..." She breathed, "Did you have any ideas?"
"Yeah," he nodded, continuing to work her shoulders. "I think we should do it somewhere isolated. Not a planet she can accidentally destroy, but somewhere that would minimize the damage if it went wrong."
She nodded slowly, "And who's going to go with her?"
He was silent for a moment. "I don't want you to go."
"I don't want you to go either, but one of us needs to."
"I'd rather risk myself than both of you," he whispered.
She shook her head, "I'm not letting you go alone. She'll find a way to take advantage of you."
"But you're six months pregnant, River." She scowled as he continued, "I know you hate when I use that as an excuse, but it won't just be you in trouble if danger presents itself."
"Then we need to wait until after the baby comes because I don't want you going alone." She stood firm on her point.
"Waiting would be better." He agreed slowly, knowing that it this was probably the only compromise he could get.
"So, conversation over then?"
"Yes," he breathed. "I suppose so."
She fell silent, the air around them thick with tension. Felix kicked, feeling the unease. River shifted away from the Doctor's hands, but the movement only had Felix move more, delivering a swift kick downwards. She groaned, grabbing the edge of the bed.
"Riv?" The Doctor frowned with concern.
"I'm fine." She tried to assure.
"Is it the baby?" She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. His tone became more gentle. "Anything I can do?"
"Not unless you can fix the infection and the ligament." She muttered.
Before he could answer there was a knock in the door.
"What?" River snapped, the pain making her rather hostile.
"Oh, is that what time it is?" came Missy's sing-song voice. "And here I thought we were being kind to each other." River grit her teeth, but said nothing. "Look," MIssy continued, more serious now. "I wasn't planning on bothering you again today but I happened to stumble upon some information that I thought might be useful to you."
"What is it?"
"It's to do with your little ligament problem."
"And?"
"It's solution." Missy grinned, at which point the Doctor rose and opened the door just a crack. "Are you two decent or should I come back later?"
"We're decent." He muttered. "What do you mean you found a solution?"
"I mean I found an answer to your problem." She smiled through the crack in the door.
The Doctor skeptically opened the door further. "I doubt you've found something that I haven't thought of."
Missy waltzed in, "So this is what your bedroom looks like."
"We haven't rearranged it since the last time you were here." He crossed his arms, moving to stand by River who was a bit flushed from the pain..
"Yes, but I wasn't paying much attention last time."
"Right," he sighed. "What did you find?"
"Here" she handed over a paper.
He took it and read it over carefully. "I'm not so sure about this…"
"What?" River asked.
"I don't like the risks." The Doctor passed the paper over to his wife. It was an outline for a new neural bypass device for River that incorporated nanotechnology to simultaneously do its original job and get rid of the infection while stopping future complications. The problem was that this new device would essentially hack River's immune system, which was the part the Doctor was unsure of.
Missy's smirk turned sour. "After all my hard work you're not even going to try?"
"There's too much risk involved." River huffed. "It'll solve one problem, but if I lose control of my immune system then it could cause more problems than good."
"The risk is less than 10%. Is that really so much?"
River glanced at her husband.
"I don't like it," he sighed. "But... I'd be willing to build it with you. Whether it'll be used is unlikely."
"Well, I don't want to waste my time if you're not going to use it."
"It's my only offer. Build a module or scrap the whole thing-because I don't care how low the risk is. If there's even a slim chance that damage like that could be done to my wife, I'm not risking it."
River winced as Felix shifted low, reaching for the Doctor's hand. Missy wore a frown to match the Doctor's, finally hissing out, "Fine. Let's build it. You'll change your mind when you see how brilliant I am."
"Fine, then." River breathed.
"You can start gathering materials," the Doctor added, wanting MIssy to leave now.
"And how am I supposed to do that when I can't get your ship to cooperate?" She crossed her arms.
"By asking nicely," he said shortly. River let slip something like a growl, still in pain.
"You've got to be exaggerating that." Missy rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, Missy." River hissed.
"Would you please give up some privacy?" The Doctor asked.
"Fine. You two are boring to watch anyway." She rolled her eyes and left.