River led her husband into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them.
"Any particular reason to be getting away from the kids?" He asked quietly, assuming she needed to talk to him.
She shook her head, closing her eyes and taking his hand as she leaned against the door, "I just wanted to be alone with you for a few minutes."
He nodded without further question and squeezed her hand softly. "I'm right here."
"Do you want to shower with me?" She asked quietly, "I could use some hot water on my back."
He nodded again. "Yes, that sounds lovely."
She moved to turn on the hot water. They shed their clothes and fairly quickly got under the water.
River kept her back to the water, leaning against the Doctor for support, humming at the feeling of the warmth against her skin. He wrapped his arms around her, glad to have her close. He massaged her lower back, creating a neat balance between the hot water and the pressure of his hands.
"That feels wonderful." She smiled, pressing her face against his skin.
He hummed. "Has your back been bothering you today?"
"Yes, quite a bit actually, but that's nothing new."
"I guess being so full in term isn't terribly comfortable."
She nodded, "Especially when you have three children who always want to be carried."
"To play Devil's advocate, one of them can't really walk on his own." He chuckled, "and they like being held by you better."
She smiled weakly, "Oh, sweetie I don't think that's true."
"Even I think your arms are the best place in the universe." He hummed.
"Oh, stop." She smiled.
"Never." His smile mirrored hers.
She nuzzled his neck, pressing soft kisses. He held her close, glad that she was there with him.
"I want us to go out soon on one last adventure before Terra comes." She said.
"You mean besides the gardens?" She nodded. "Alright." He agreed. "Where to?"
"Somewhere exciting. Any suggestions?"
"There's a moonlight festival on Vlun-98 every ten years. We could go to one of those."
She shook her head, "No, I've already been to four of those."
"Hmm, Delva day on Javuhx?"
She thought for a moment, "Any other suggestions?"
"It might help if I had something more specific than 'adventure'." He pointed out.
"I want to go somewhere exciting. Somewhere like the Dundenbar Galas." She smiled, referring to a highly dangerous serious of parties in the Exteler galaxy.
"River... Are you sure about that? You're so close to you due date and it's really not that safe a place..."
"Of course, I'm sure. This is the last time we're really going to get to go out for a while and I want to go somewhere fun."
"Fun and dangerous are not synonyms. There's the running and every other person there has a gun and there's such a high rate of crime." He fretted. "What if you get hurt?"
"They're synonymous for me. And if it gets too dangerous we can go. I won't get hurt, I can care for myself."
He looked at her, feeling his disapproval get pushed back down at the how excited he looked. "...Alright, but we're taking all precautions."
"All?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Perception filters, bio-dampeners, and bring your guns."
"Whatever you say, my love." She turned to wash her hair.
"So which first? Vaetir or Dundenbar?"
"Oh, definitely Dundenbar." She smiled, of course choosing the more dangerous one.
"I'm not sure we'll have time for both before Terra comes." He pointed out.
River shrugged, "Then we'll bring her on the family-friendly outing to the gardens. I'm not leaving our friends with a newborn."
He nodded. "How soon do you want to go?"
She shrugged again, "Soon."
"I want you to be feeling better." He murmured.
"Then we'll wait until I'm better."
They finished the shower after another few minutes, drying off and getting in pajamas.
River slid into bed beside her daughters, who had long since fallen asleep. Amelia curled towards River in her sleep as the Doctor settled on the other side. "Night, love."
"Goodnight, sweetie." She murmured.
He reached for her hand over their daughters. She took his hand, squeezing lightly. He let his eyes droop shut and tried not to worry too much about the place River chose.
Sleep came quickly.
Sunday was a mellow day. The Doctor wanted to give River a day to recover from her sudden sickness yesterday, so it was spent with lots of sitting around and drinking tea.
Arthur played with his new toys for hours on end, never letting his whale out of his sight. The girls colored and ran in the yard. It was clear that River was not enjoying just sitting in the house. She was a bit irritable throughout the day, pacing and constantly fidgeting.
The girls invited her to play in the yard with them while the Doctor was making dinner, wanting her to play 'Queen of the Forest' with them." River played with her daughters, happy to be outside and moving.
The girls were giggling when the Doctor called them all in for dinner, claiming that their little sister would be the new princess of the forest. They continued to giggle throughout dinner, playing with their food and squirming in their chairs.
"Looks like you girls had are excited." The Doctor smiled at them.
"We made fairy houses so we can catch a real live fairy!" Freya explained.
"Well, that is exciting. Did Mummy help?"
"Of course!" Freya nodded enthusiastically.
He smiled at the three as Arthur wiggled. The boy was excited to see everyone else excited, thinking there was something fun. River kissed Arthur's head, smiling at him.
"Muh!" He reached for her. She pulled him into her lap. "Birday."
Terra kicked against him.
"That was yesterday, my love." River murmured.
"Birday?" He looked up at her.
"No birthday today." She shook her head.
"Un." He pointed to himself proudly.
"Yes, you're one!" She beamed, giving him another kiss.
He looked at his sisters and pointed. "Twoo!" It was about the only other number he knew that was bigger than one.
"They're a bit older than that, sweetie. I think it's getting time for bed."
"Mummm." He clung to her.
"Come on, my darling." She murmured, standing up.
"I'll put the girls to bed." The Doctor offered.
She nodded, bringing Arthur upstairs to put him to bed. The boy was determined not to settle or let go of River.
"Come on, sweetie, it's bed time." She tried putting him in his crib again.
He clung to her finger, trying to stick it in his mouth.
"You can have it if you lay down." She reasoned. He hesitated, finally lying back, though he still had her finger in his grip. "There you go, that's it." She murmured, kissing his cheek, letting him hold her finger.
He smiled at her, his whale clutched in his other hand. "Lulu. Mummuh, Taya!"
"Yes, my sweet. Terra will be here very soon."
"Bi budder!" He declared.
"Big brother." She smiled and nodded.
Arthur finally yawned and loosened his grip on her finger.
"Goodnight, my love."
"Mummuh." He hummed sleepily, curling up to his whale. She kissed his head once more, then left the room.
The Doctor had gotten the girls to bed and convinced them to sleep in their own bed tonight with Toby keeping them company.
He was changing into his pajamas, Tiber on the bed. River crept up behind him, wrapping her arms around his bare chest. He placed his arms over hers. "Hey."
"Did the girls go down alright?"
He nodded. "I think they were okay once Toby settled in with them."
"That's good."
"You seemed a bit antsy today." He noted.
She shrugged, "I've been sitting at home for so long."
"Are you feeling better than yesterday?"
She nodded, "Yes, much better." It wasn't completely true, she probably still could use a bit of rest.
"Then maybe we ought to have an outing while the girls are at school tomorrow."
"What are we going to do with Arthur?"
"Sitter?" He suggested.
She thought, "Well, I suppose we could."
"Or we could go somewhere that we could bring him too." He added. "Though I assumed your want was to go to Dundenbar since you were so excited about it."
"I think I'm still a bit tired for Dundenbar, perhaps we could go out with Arthur tomorrow."
He nodded, glad she didn't want to jump right into the more risky adventure. "So somewhere a bit quiet then?"
She nodded as well, "Yes, that would be ideal."
"Maybe somewhere we can take a nice walk." He finally finished getting changed.
"Yes, that sounds lovely."
He got into bed, patting the space next to him. She crawled onto the bed, laying down with a hand pressed to her side. He wrapped his arms around her. "Do you think Amelia's alright?
"I hope so. She seemed better today." She murmured, tracing circles on her belly.
He watched her hand, eventually placing his hand over hers. "School will help focus her."
She smiled weakly, "Yeah, I'm sure it will."
"She's moving quite a bit." He commented.
"I've noticed. She keeps kicking me." She sighed, looking down at her belly, "I guess she's starting to run out of room."
"I would assume." His eyes followed hers. "You've swallowed a planet."
She shot him a glare, "Shut up."
"Sorry." He snapped his mouth shut. She looked back down at her belly, a mix of worry and sadness filling her eyes. "Riv... you know I didn't mean that in a bad way."
She didn't answer, closing her eyes and biting her lip. He shifted on his side so he could look at her.
"What's the matter, love?"
She shook her head, "Nothing, I'm fine."
"You're upset." He whispered. "I upset you." She didn't say anything, not wanting to confirm the statement. "I still think you're gorgeous if it means anything. I never stopped thinking that."
"I don't feel gorgeous." She muttered, "I feel like a whale."
"The two aren't opposites, love." He soothed. "You're carrying life and that if beautiful. You make it look sexy."
She rolled her eyes, "Doctor, please. I don't see how I could possibly be considered sexy looking like this."
"River Song, you are the sexiest creature in the universe. Size has nothing to do with it." He said quite genuinely.
She looked at him, "Really?"
"I couldn't count on a dozen hands how many people agree with me." He nodded and smiled, kissing her cheek. "You are drop dead stunning."
She smiled weakly, "A dozen?"
"I'd probably need a lot more." He reasoned.
"Oh, stop." She murmured, hitting his arm lightly, though she was smiling now.
He chuckled. "Never."
She gave him a soft peck on the cheek. He grinned and returned the gesture on her lips. She looked back at her belly. Though the worry had lessened, it was still present.
Terra pushed against her hand. Room?
No, there's no more room. She sighed.
Why?
Because there isn't anymore. River wasn't in the mood to have this conversation.
Terra didn't understand why River was so snappish at her, falling silent. River rolled on her side, her back starting to ache.
"Were you talking to her?" The Doctor asked curiously.
"No." She lied, shifting uncomfortably.
He didn't push, seeing the look of discomfort. "Would you like me to rub your back?"
"That would be nice." She murmured.
He gently pulled her close and started massaging her back. She melted against his hands, relaxing as he worked the knots in her back. He started humming as he did, not fully aware of the fact.
She moaned, "That feels amazing."
He chuckled. "Your welcome."
She nuzzled the pillow, sighing contently. He massaged her back for twenty minutes before stopping. "We should sleep."
She nodded, "Alright, goodnight."
He turned out the light and snuggled up with her. "Night, love." She leaned against him, drifting off.
-x-
Toby was lying on the other side of River in the morning, head wiggled under her arm. River was fast asleep, nuzzled against the pillow.
Amelia slowly walked in the room, peering over the end of the bed. "Mummy?" She poked River's foot.
"Hmmm?" River hummed.
She tried to climb up on the bed, stuffed Adipose in hand. River started falling back to sleep, not really disrupted by the movement. Amelia slipped and plopped to the floor, pulling the blanket back since it was still in her grasp. "Mummy!"
River jumped awake at the alarmed cry, "What is it? What's wrong?"
She sat sniffling on the floor. "I fell."
"Oh, sweetie." She murmured, sitting up with some difficulty, "Are you alright?"
She shook her head, clearly fighting not to cry. "I had a bad dream I and just wanted a hug!"
"I'm sorry, sweetie." River got out of bed, wrapping her arms around the little girl.
Amelia clung to River, giving into tears. River stroked her hair, rocking back and forth, "It's alright, my love. You're alright."
Toby roused and hopped off the bed, joining them on the floor.
"B-but what if you die again and Daddy can't fix it?"
"I'm not going to die again, my love." She assured.
"But in my dream..." She choked. "You didn't tell us last time! You just got sick and you knew and you didn't say anything!"
River hugged her tighter, "I promise you that it won't be like that this time. I promise."
"I don't wanna grow up without a mummy. Arthur and Terra need a mummy." Amelia whimpered, not quite registering her words.
"You're not going to grow up without a mummy." She assured, sighing softly, "I'll be here for you, no matter what."
She didn't say anything, burying her face against River. River kissed her forehead, rocking back and forth, "It's okay. You're okay."
Toby licked Amelia's foot as the Doctor stirred and sat up, spotting his wife and daughter on the floor. "What happened?"
"Amelia had a nightmare." River murmured, still rocking with her daughter.
"Oh, poor thing." He got up and joined them, placing an arm around the pair. Amelia nuzzled against her parents, feeling better in their arms. "How about I make you hot cocoa with your breakfast today, hmm?" He offered.
"Really?" A small smile formed across her face.
He nodded. "Yeah." She grinned, hugging him tighter. He smiled softly. "I'll wake your sister and start breakfast."
River nodded, "Do you want to come with me to check on Arthur?" She asked Amelia.
"He was really sad in my dream."
"I'm sure he's just fine in real life." She stood, taking Amelia's hand. Amelia hung on to her Adipose as they went to Arthur's room, Toby trotting next to them.
River opened the door to the nursery, switching on the light. Mr Thomas was curled up in the cot with Arthur, though the boy wasn't distressed by this, slumbering peacefully.
River touched the boy's belly, "Morning my love."
He squirmed and opened his eyes. "Mummah!"
"Hello." She beamed, reaching down to lift him up.
He giggled and looked around. "Mia!"
Amelia waved up at him. "Daddy said we're gonna have hot chocolate." She told her brother.
"Tocat!"
"Yeah." Amelia smiled a bit more and touched his foot. "I'm glad he's okay."
"Of course he's okay, my love." River murmured.
"Can we have hot chocolate now?" She asked.
She nodded, "Come on, let's go downstairs."
