Ch 46

After a few minutes, Arthur decided that the ball didn't actually taste as good as Toby thought it did and looked up at River. "Up."

She lifted him with a groan, trying to hold him in a way that was more comfortable for her. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

"Mummm." He hummed, staring at her.

Her steps halted just as she reached the top of the stairs, putting a hand to her side and wincing.

Muh!" Arthur tried to get her attention. She ignored him, starting down the stairs. He whined at her the whole way down.

River set him down with the rest of his toys in the living room, sitting down on the couch, needing a rest. Arthur was anything but restful, banging his toys around loudly. She closed her eyes for a few minutes, her head starting to hurt.

The girls came into the room, faces pink from running around in the yard. "Mummy, what's for dinner?"

She opened her eyes, looking up at them, "Oh...Umm… What would you girls like to have tonight?"

"Can we order pizza? Pretty please?" Freya asked.

"Of course, we can." She nodded, too tired to argue or cook. She got up to get the phone, ordering pizza for their family.

"Can we have some of the goodies Daddy brought back? There's still leftovers." Amelia added when River got off the phone.

"After dinner, my love." She nodded, feeling another sharp pang in her side.

Amelia pouted but didn't protest, distracted. "Mummy, are you okay?"

"Yes, of course." She smiled, trying to hide the discomfort.

The girls looked unsure but shrugged. "Can we have cake at Arthur's birthday party?"

"Yes, I promise there'll be cake." River nodded, sinking back onto the couch.

"Chocolate cake?" Freya hoped.

River nodded again, "That's Arthur's favorite."

"And mine!" She grinned. "Me and Mia have been working on a super secret surprise present."

"Really? A super secret surprise present?" She smiled, "That' sounds very exciting." The girls nodded and scrambled up on the couch. "You two are such good big sisters."

"Daddy's been helping a little, but he's really going to like it!"

"Oh, really? Well, I'm very glad." She smiled weakly, "You two are very thoughtful."

"Are we going to go somewhere exciting?"

"Yes, but we haven't decided where yet." She nodded, "Now, why don't you two go wash up so you're nice and clean for dinner."

They reluctantly got off the couch and scurried off. River sighed, another but less painful than the last, pain came over her. She half wondered where the Doctor had gone off to. She hadn't seen him since she had gone to get Arthur and their little house wasn't big enough for him to really just disappear into it.

Toby wandered in and sat with Arthur who was delighted to be near him. "Puppy!" River sighed, laying down with a sigh, feeling a good amount of pressure on her lower back. She had one hand pressed against her back in an effort to ease the discomfort with counter pressure.

It was only a minute or two before the Doctor wandered in, behind the couch so River couldn't actually see him standing there.

"Da!" Arthur declared gleefully.

River looked at the baby, then up behind her. The Doctor smiled softly at her. "Hey."

"Hi." She whispered, giving him a weak smile back, "Where did you go?"

"I was just fiddling in the TARDIS." He murmured.

"Oh." She nodded, turning her face so he wouldn't see her wince again.

He rounded the couch, the wince not slipping by him. "Did you think I was doing something else?"

"No, what else would you have been doing?" She shrugged, "I was just wondering since I hadn't seen you."

He nodded and glanced at their son. "Arthur's woken up, did you hear the word he figured out today?"

"No? What word?" She asked, having not even realized he said a proper word earlier.

The Doctor pointed to Toby and Arthur grinned and cheered: "Puppy!"

Once again, River missed it, squeezing her eyes shut and moaning quietly. Her husband looked back wordily at her. "River, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine." She shook her head, "It's just her position... is not very ugh-comfortable."

He frowned, "What's she doing?"

"Her head is digging into my back and her back is pressed down against my pelvis." She opened her eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

"...Have you tried asking her to move?" He suggested.

"Yes, and she won't. She's been ignoring me."

He nodded, remembering her letting him that last night. "May I...?"

She sighed but nodded. He tentatively pressed his palm against their daughter who was very stubbornly wedged into her spot. He nudged very slightly, seeing if she'd respond.

Terra kicked happily but refused to move. She wedged herself further against River's hips, quite comfortable. He sighed sympathetically, taking his hand away. "I think the best I can offer is a back rub."

River shook her head, burying her face in a pillow.

"River?" He said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head, "No, not really."

"I can start dinner." He murmured.

She shook her head again, "I already ordered pizza for us. Just sit with me, please?" She looked up at him.

He nodded willingly and settled against the couch. She sighed, reaching out to take his hand, needing something to squeeze something to distract her from the ache.

He squeezed back softly. "Arthur's learning quite fast."

She nodded, her grip tightening as Terra shifted further, "We really need to start the nursery soon."

"Actually... that's partly what I was doing on the TARDIS." He said.

"What?" She frowned, "Without me?"

"I was only making sure the room existed, I didn't put anything in it. It's just an empty white room." He revised his earlier statement.

She relaxed a bit. "Oh, alright."

"We should do some planning, though." He tread carefully, making sure she was alright on the subject.

"There's a lot of pressure around my hips." She huffed, ignoring his statement.

"From her position?" She nodded. "What kind of pressure? River, do we need to go to the med bay?" He fretted.

"No, no, I just need you to figure out some way to alleviate the pressure because it hurts." She squeezed his hand again, though was much calmer than him. "Distract me, please."

"Okay, um, right. Distraction. What about Arthur's birthday? Have we figured out all the details of that?" He tried.

"No, no I don't want to talk about that."

"Okay. Uh... nursery plans?"

She shook her head, "You do the talking, something else, please."

"Alright." He thought for a good moment. "Can I tell you a story from when I was a boy on Gallifrey?"

She nodded "Okay."

"So, as you know, I skipped class more than I should have when I was a boy. I was only in my third year at the time and one of my friend's had told me to meet them out at the big tree outside the academy. I listened foolishly and went there instead of to class, but he wasn't there. I must have waited for three hours there before I noticed that he'd carved something on my favorite climbing branch."

She nodded, signaling that she was listening.

"The note told me to go into the forest." He continued. "Which was really a stupid idea because I didn't have anyone with me and if something were to happen, it'd probably take days to find me. But it doesn't take many to agree I was an idiot, so I did go to the forest. The note had said, 'keep your eyes off the ground' so I went in staring at the tree tops instead of looking where I was going. I ran into three trees and tripped nearly a dozen times before deciding to just climb up. I looked through every nook and cranny and nest before I found his next clue on a piece of paper on the top of one of the highest trees."

She laughed softly, though immediately tightened her grip on his hand when Terra kicked, not liking the jostling she got when her mother laughed. He gave a small smile, squeezing back.

"I fell after that. As soon as I had the note I stepped on a faulty branch and fell right out of the tree. broke my arm too, but I didn't know that at the time. It kept getting worse after that. Night was starting and the forest was really quite a scary place at night. On top of that, the note had ripped and I could only read half of it. I figured out that the next clue was by the river, but I didn't know I was wrong at the time."

"Can you stop for a minute?" She asked, tugging him closer to her. He nodded, quieting himself.

She pulled him so his forehead was against hers. It was probably the closest they had been in a long time, but she wanted the contact. He blinked at her, surprised by the action but not at all protesting. She had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see his expression. Normally, he would kiss her, touch her cheek, rub her shoulders, and her heart ached when she realized he probably wouldn't do that now.

"Is, uh..." He lightly rested a hand on her shoulder. "This the sort of distraction you meant?"

"I...I don't really know what I meant." She whispered, her voice wavered ever so slightly, "I just- ...I..." She tried to find the words she was looking for, "I've missed you."

He smiled warmly. "I've missed you, too, love."

She smiled weakly, opening her eyes. He unconsciously rubbed his thumb back and forth, breathing her in. She gently brushed her nose against his, "I'm starting to feel better..."

The contact sent a few chills through him. "From the pain?"

"Yeah." She murmured.

"Good." He breathed. "I'm glad."

She hummed, eyes darting down towards his lips.

He caught the flicker, hearts surging. "Can I...?"

She nodded.

He pressed his lips slowly down to hers, still unsure of himself. She leaned right into the kiss, urging him on. He was a bit surprised, letting his hand move up to cup her face.

She relaxed against his hand, slowly started to pull away after a moment. He pulled back enough to look at her. She watched him with shining eyes, touching his cheek gently. He smiled, leaning to her touch.

Arthur tried to get their attention from his place next to Toby. River smiled back at her husband, not even noticing Arthur.

"Mummah!" Arthur protested, refusing to be ignored.

She finally broke her gaze from the Doctor looking over at the baby, "What is it, darling?"

He crawled over to the couch, grabbing onto the cushions and trying to pull himself up.

"Oh, my, look at you!" River praised as he started to stand. He wobbled and he hoisted himself up, leaning on the couch and trying his very hardest not to fall over. She put a hand on his back to make sure he didn't topple backward, "Arthur! Good job!" She cheered, kissing his cheek.

"Up!" He frowned. She lifted him up so he could lay on her chest. "Muh." He hummed more satisfied.

She nuzzled his cheek, "Hello, sweetheart."

"Puppy!" He pointed.

River's eyes widened, finally hearing the world, "Yes! Yes, puppy! Very good!"

"Puppy, puppy!" He repeated, enjoying her approval. She laughed, kissing his forehead, and smiling at the Doctor.

The girls finally made their way back into the room, noticing that their parents looked happier than before.

"The pizza should be here any minute, girls." River smiled at them.

They grinned. "I want Daddy to finish his story!"

The Doctor hadn't realized they'd overheard. "Well, alright, but it's not the happiest ending. I got in a mess of trouble before my friend pulled me out of it."

"We want to hear!" The girls cheered.

He nodded. "So, I went down to the river and I sat on the bank to see if I could see any more clues. It was getting pretty dark so I wanted to I wanted to find it quickly."

The girls climbed up on the couch to sit with River and Arthur. The Doctor went through what he remembered, which involved several encounters with animals, a running into the trees, and a lot more clumsiness.

By the time he got to the part where he was out of the forest, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." River murmured, trying to disentangle herself from her family members.

The girls jumped off the couch and ran to the door first. "Pizza, pizza!"

River followed slowly, one hand on her back. "Alright, take a step back."

They crowded her legs, staring up at the pizza man. She paid for the pizza, then shooed them into the kitchen. Toby joined them, jumping up on a chair and staring intently at the pizza boxes.

"Down, Toby," River ordered, getting plates for the four of them and putting Arthur in his high chair.

Toby whined, retreating under the table. She pat his head, sitting down, trying to hide a wince.

The girls grabbed slices and Arthur reached towards the good smell. River got Arthur a slice, cutting it up into very little pieces that he could eat.

"Eeesa!" He beamed, shoving a bit in his mouth. River smiled, not very hungry herself.

"Are you going to have some?" The Doctor asked.

"Not hungry." She murmured, rubbing the underside of her abdomen.

"Are you sure?" He frowned slightly.

She nodded, "Yes, I'm positive."

He decided to ask more about it later. "Girls, say thanks to Mummy for ordering pizza."

"Thank you, mummy!" They said with mouths full of pizza. Even Arthur made some noise of appreciation, dropping one of his little pieces down to Toby. Toby was happy to clean up the mess Arthur was making.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go lay back on the couch." River murmured.

"Tired again?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes, that and sitting isn't the most comfortable position for me to be in right now." She eased herself up, "I felt much better while I was lying down."

They all nodded. "Can we eat in the living room so we can still all sit together?" Freya asked.

"If you're careful." She nodded.

They balanced their plates carefully and followed her to the living room.

"Can you bring the baby?" River asked the Doctor, her back already making her pay for lifting him up so much earlier.

"Sure." He scooped up Arthur and brought his plate, too. She lay down on the couch, using pillows to prop herself up. The others sat on the floor, the Doctor placing Arthur in front of him.

River settled with her family, smiling softly.