Ch 86
Freya knocked on the bedroom door when she and Jack arrived there. "Mum?"
"Come in." River called from inside.
Arthur and Amelia were on the bed next to River. Freya joined them as Jack came over.
"Number five, then?" he commented.
River nodded, smiling weakly, "This is Felix Jacob Song."
Jack grinned. "Did Doc finally cave?"
"It was a compromise," she laughed softly.
Felix whimpered in his sleep, starting to stir. The infant blinked up at his mother, then realized there were about four other faces staring at him and made a confused noise.
Arthur bounced excitedly on the bed, "Can I hold him?"
"Can I hold him, too?" Amelia asked with equal excitement.
River nodded, "Yes, you can both get a turn. Who wants to go first?"
Amelia let Arthur have the first go and River carefully placed the baby in his arms. Once settled, Felix and Arthur stared at each other before the latter grinned widely. "I like him."
"I'm very happy to hear that." River beamed.
Arthur let Felix wrap a tiny hand around his finger. "Hello, Felix."
"Where's Terra?" River asked.
The others looked a little uneasy at the question before Jack answered, "Doc's calming her down before she comes in."
River's expression fell a bit, "Right, I was afraid she'd be upset."
"She'll come around. The Doctor knows what he's doing." Jack tried to assure.
"I know." She nodded, turning her attention back to Arthur.
"Terra's not gonna hate him, is she?" Arthur asked worriedly.
"I'm sure she won't. She'll love him once she meets him." She tried to assure, though was mostly telling herself.
Amelia took her turn holding the baby with her mother's help. "This is Amelia." River murmured to the baby, "She's very excited to meet you."
After Amelia, Jack got to hold the baby. At this point, Felix was getting a little tired of unfamiliar faces and being shifted around every few minutes. The baby started to cry while in Jack's arms, squirming about. "Sorry, little man." Jack handed him back to River.
"It's okay." River hushed Felix, "It's alright, Mummy's here."
Just then, the Doctor came in with Terra trailing behind. River's eyes softened when she saw Terra, "[Hello, sweetie.]" She sighed with her free hand.
"[Hi, mummy,]" Terra sighed tiredly, having worn herself out a bit from crying. She looked around the room at everyone, staring with accusation at the bandages on River's head.
"[Come here, my love.]" River beckoned her over.
Terra wiped her nose on her sleeve and crawled up on the bed. River wrapped her free arm around her, pulling her close. Terra sighed into her mother's warmth, though refused to look at the bundled baby in her arms.
"Can you take him?" River asked her husband, nodding towards the baby. The Doctor nodded and scooped up Felix with ease.
River wrapped both arms around Terra once she was able, humming softly. Terra sniffed harder, though was just about out of tears for the moment. Her mother continued to hug and hum to her before finally asking, "[How are you feeling, my love?]"
Terra shrugged, not having the energy to do much more than that. Her emotions of upset were otherwise obvious from her body language, though whether it was shock from knowing what had happened to her parents or resentment towards her new brother was unclear.
River looked at her husband, not knowing what to do. She was afraid to push her daughter, but she also hoped that if Terra saw the baby, it would make the bonding process a bit easier.
The other children watched silently as the Doctor took a step towards the bed with Felix. "[Terra, my love, I'd love for you to meet your brother.]"
She buried further into River's embrace, refusing to look.
"[Nothing bad can come from seeing him, I promise that,]" he continued.
"[It's alright, Terra.]" River soothed.
Glaring, the girl finally dragged her gaze towards the baby, not really able to see his face from where she was. The Doctor sat carefully on the edge of the bed so she could see.
"[Do you want to hold him?]" River asked.
Terra still said nothing, staring intensely at the tiny face that stared back at her. Her mind had been so busy conjuring up scenarios of a deceptively charming little boy over the past few months, that it was something of a shock to see this fragile, harmless infant that still was getting the hang of control his own arms. "[He's... smaller than the pictures.]"
River nodded, "[He came a bit early, so he's not quite as big as he could have been.]"
She and Felix didn't break eye contact. "[Does that mean he's going to be sick or something?]"
"[No, he's not sick. He's just small.]" River assured, though in truth they wouldn't know if there were any cognitive effects until the baby was older.
Felix, having seen everyone moving their hands about as they signed, started waving his own little hands in the air in an attempt to copy them.
River smiled, "[Look at that, he's trying to sign for you.]"
Terra frowned. "[He's not even saying anything.]"
"[That's because he doesn't know how. We have to teach him… Do you want to hold him?]" River asked again.
Terra shook her head, reaching out to correct Felix's hand shape. Felix grabbed onto Terra's finger reflexively. "[Hey!]"
"[It's okay.]" River assured, "[That's just what babies do.]"
Terra wiggled her finger in her brother's grip, making him laugh.
"[Isn't he sweet?]" River smiled.
"[Do you love him more than me?]" She blurted out.
"[Of course not!]" River shook her head, "[I love you both equally.]"
Terra looked uneasily between all her siblings who were watching patiently. "[But what if you change your mind?]"
"[I won't change my mind.]" River promised, "[I love you very, very much and nothing could ever change that.]"
Terra sighed in a conflicted manner, staring down at Felix and finally taking her finger back. Felix wined slightly at the loss, though Terra couldn't hear it. "[Can we go home now?]"
"[If you want to.]" River nodded slowly.
She was quiet for a moment. "[Is his room ready?]"
"[Not quite, there's still a few things we wanted to put in to decorate.]"
Terra wasn't ready to admit aloud that the baby wasn't quite as bad as she thought. "[We should finish that then.]"
"[You're right, we should.]" River nodded, hoping this was a good sign.
"Can I help drive?" Arthur asked.
The Doctor nodded to him. "It's fine with me." Arthur jumped up as soon as he got the okay and ran towards the console room.
"[Are you going to help decorate Felix's room when we get home?]" He asked Terra, hoping that the 'we' included her.
She nodded slowly, "[I like decorating.]"
He offered a smile. "[Do you want to help Arthur drive?]"
She nodded again. The two of them joined Arthur in the console room where Vastra made herself known. Terra ran to Vastra, giving her a big hug.
"[Hello, little one,]" Vastra hugged her back. "[How have you been?]"
"[Can you take Felix home with you?]" Terra asked.
"[No, he lives with you.]" Vastra explained, keeping a schooled expression.
"[But can't he live with you instead?]"
"[Babies need to live with their own parents.]" She said gently. "[And you've already got that lovely nursery set up for him. I don't have any baby things at my home.]"
She pouted, "[Then can I come and live with you instead?]"
Vastra couldn't deny her surprise at the question. "[Wouldn't you miss your mum and dad?]"
"[Yes so Mummy will come one day, and Daddy will come the other day.]"
"[Well,]" Vastra tapped her chin thoughtfully. "[That's certainly a creative solution, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline.]"
"[Why?]" Terra frowned.
"[You know why, dear. You live here with your family and where your friends are and where your school is. A brother is no reason to leave that behind.]"
"[I don't want a little brother.]"
Vastra kneeled down to Terra's level, sighing. "[You know, I had sisters once.]"
"[Really?]"
"[Yes,]" she nodded. "[We didn't get along too well all the time. My oldest sister, she could be very bossy to me, and we had many disagreements.]"
"[Like Freya?]"
"[Yes, a bit.]" She smiled weakly, though there was something just a bit sad in it.
"[Do you get along now?]"
"[She's not around anymore.]" Vastra explained. Terra frowned at this information. "[There isn't a day that I don't think of her. Siblings are a very special thing, you know. You and your siblings, in particular—there's no one else in the universe like the five of you. Your time together is valuable and may not always be so limitless.]"
Terra looked at the ground, knowing that her aunt was right.
"[I'm not saying you must force yourself to love them, little one. I'd just hoped you wouldn't see your brother as so much of a curse.]"
Terra nodded slowly, starting to understand. Vastra straightened up leaving the subject to sit, "[Would you like to show me how well you can fly the TARDIS?]"
Terra nodded, going to help her brother at the controls. Between the two children and a subtle nudge from the Doctor, the ship landed neatly in the flat.
Jack, the twins, and River soon joined them in the console room—the later holding the baby in her arms.
"Mum, how did your head get hurt?" Arthur asked.
"I got hit in the head." She gave him the very vague answer, hoping he wouldn't question her more. Freya glanced at her mother, though wisely kept her mouth shut as Arthur nodded. Their parents would go over the whole story with Arthur and Amelia a bit later so for now, that was all the explanation Arthur would get.
They were greeted by the cats when they exited the ship. Jack and Vastra offered to stay to make dinner for everyone.
River accepted the offer and to put Felix down in the nursery. Out of habit, Terra followed her mother, wanting to stay close to her.
River gently set the baby down in his cot, turning to her daughter. Terra stared at her brother. "[Why does he sleep so much?]"
"[Because that's what babies do. They need to sleep to help them grow and replenish their energy.]"
"[What else does he do?]"
River laughed softly, "[I'm afraid he doesn't do much right now. He eats, sleeps, cries and sometimes likes to look around the room.]"
Terra didn't seem put off by this. "[So he can't really play or anything?]"
"[Not yet. In a few months, once he gets a bit bigger, he'll be able to play more.]"
"[So he can't steal Arthur from me yet.]" She looked a bit pleased at this realization.
"[No, not yet. And I don't think he'll steal Arthur from you.]"
"[What if Arthur wants to play with him more than with me?]"
"[I don't think he will.]" River shook her head, "[If anything, I think you might want to play with Felix more since you're closer in age.]"
"[Arthur's only three years older than me. I'm nine years older than him.]" Terra pointed at the sleeping baby.
"[Yes, you're right, and Arthur is twelve years older than the baby, so I think he might grow tired of playing with someone so much younger than him.]"
Terra thought about this worriedly. "[He doesn't get tired of playing with me, does he?]"
River shook her head, "[Of course not!]"
Terra looked around the room uncertainty. "[What do you still have to put in here, anyway?]"
"[We wanted to put up some more pictures to start.]"
"[Like what?]"
"[Pictures of our family. Would you like to help pick some out?]"
Terra nodded slowly. River turned on the baby monitor, leading Terra out of the room. The girl didn't seem upset to the point of tears like she was earlier, but she wasn't exactly happy either. A strange in-between state has settled over Terra; she was starting to realize after her talk with Vastra that Felix wasn't going anywhere.