"River Song," the Doctor practically sang as he walked out of the TARDIS with a large smile covering his face. They were getting closer to their child entering the world and he was more desperate to spend time with her before the baby arrived. She was beautiful, she was glowing from the pregnancy and she'd become even more gentle than he believed possible as her bump grew and she got closer to her due date. "Mrs Doctor where are you?" he asked quietly, approaching her cell to find it completely empty of both his wife and her belongings before he sighed and unlocked the door before glancing around. River wasn't here anymore, she wasn't living in Stormcage. Leaving the prison cell in silence, the Doctor quickly entered the TARDIS before approaching the console. "Take me to River," he smiled, laughing when the blue box began to take him where he was desperate to go. Hearing the TARDIS land a few moments later, the Doctor quickly ran towards the door before stepping out of the blue box to find himself standing in Brian William's perfect garden.
"Doctor," the man greeted as he walked out of his house and stared at the younger looking man. "I thought I heard you arrive," he declared as the Doctor nodded and turned to shut the door to his home before glancing at the house. "She's on the sofa," he said simply as the Doctor sighed, remembering the first time that they'd explained the situation to the man who after a few moments of silence had accepted River into his life while Rory and Amy had shaken their heads at his quick acceptance. "She's literally just fallen asleep, she arrived crying and she didn't want to say anything but after a cup of tea she calmed down," he explained, his concern for his grandchild obvious as the Doctor slowly moved towards the house and stepped inside towards the living room, knowing exactly where it was now.
"It's not the baby is it? The baby is okay?" the Doctor quickly asked as he walked down the corridor with his wife's grandfather, his concern obvious as Brian smiled weakly at him and shook his head.
"I don't think it was the baby, she wasn't in any pain," Brian explained as they stood in the doorway of the room and glanced in to see River asleep on the sofa, her arm curling around her large baby bump while her father's blanket was draped across her. "I never thought I'd be a great grandfather," he laughed as the Doctor smiled, unable to take his eyes off his wife. Hearing a small sigh, the two men watched as River began to slowly wake on the sofa. "I'll go and finish my watering while you two talk, got to keep my roses alive," he declared before disappearing out of the house again while the Doctor slowly approached his wife who was opening her eyes.
"How far are you now?" he asked quietly as she glanced down at her stomach for a moment before sitting up and staring at her husband.
"Eight months now. We're nearly there," she admitted before shaking her head, tears running down her cheeks again as horror covered his face. River Song never cried, not without a really good reason and now she was in tears!
"River," the Doctor said quickly before sitting on the edge of the sofa and wrapping his arms around her. "What's wrong? What's happened?" he panicked, nervous that she was hurt or there was something wrong with their baby and she hadn't told Brian about it for some reason. "River," he said quickly. "Come on Doctor Song, talk to me please. I need to know what's wrong in order to make it better."
"Professor Song," she suddenly corrected him as he slowly moved away from her, shock covering his face as he shook his head for a moment. "Manhattan Doctor," she said quickly as he nodded, realising why she'd sought comfort at her grandfather's house. "I've lost them, I've lost my parents," she sobbed, burying her head into his shoulder as he tightened his hold of her. "They'll never see our baby Doctor; they'll never know that they're grandparents to this child. I can't believe they're gone Doctor."
"River," he whispered, pressing a kiss into her curly hair as he kept her close. "They were together, they lived a long life together and that's all that matters. They were happy," he explained as she nodded, knowing that they hadn't died, they'd just gone on to live their lives in a different time without them. "And they loved you River, right until the moment they left. They both live in you River. You've got your mother's determination and courage, her fierceness and you've got your father's kindness and loyalty," the Doctor whispered to her, brushing his fingers through her curls as she remained in his arms, sobbing quietly. "They're never going to be truly gone River," he stated as she remained silent, the Doctor suddenly realising that while he'd been having a breakdown at the realisation of losing Amelia Pond and her husband, his closest friends, his wife had been pregnant and forcing herself to stay strong for him until he was gone. "Do you want something to eat? A drink?" he questioned, desperately trying to think of somewhere of making her feel better with what she'd learnt. He knew she was grieving and he didn't know what to do, he couldn't deal with crying. He wasn't ever good when it came to crying!
"I might try and sleep a bit more sweetie. Today has been a nightmare," she said quietly before relaxing back on the sofa, her eyes shutting for a moment as he watched her in silence. Hearing a footstep by the doorway, the Doctor turned to see Brian standing silently in the doorway.
"She just lost Rory and Amy," the Doctor stated quietly as Brian nodded slowly; remembering when he'd learnt the truth of why he hadn't seen his son or daughter in law for such a long time. "I keep learning that she was pregnant during these things and I feel terrible. I should be keeping them safe and instead my pregnant wife broke her wrist because I wouldn't help her," he announced, the frustration in his voice obvious as Brian stared at him in silence. "I've ruined all their lives," the Doctor said quietly.
"Doctor," Brian sighed as the Doctor shook his head.
"Rory and Amy never got to look after their baby, River never had her parents and was brought up to kill me and our baby will never meet their grandparents because of me, because I couldn't keep them safe," the Doctor stated before moving off the couch to give River more space to sleep. "I'm going to lose her; I'm going to lose her soon and I'm never going to forgive myself."
"What do you mean?" Brian asked as the Doctor walked out of the house and towards the TARDIS, not wanting to think about everything. He was losing his wife! She was a professor now, they'd been to Manhattan and they were reaching the end of their time together. Hearing footsteps behind him, the Doctor turned to see Brian Williams standing in the doorway. "What do you mean you're losing her?" the man questioned as the Doctor shut his eyes for a moment. "She's my granddaughter, that's my great grandchild she's carrying so you tell me what you're talking about Doctor."
"She's going to die. Sometime soon she's going to sacrifice herself for me, for everything we've done together," the Doctor stated as Brian remained silent. "She's going to die right in front of me and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It's a fixed point, I can't change it. I can't stop the mother of my child from dying," he shouted, his fist slamming into the door of the TARDIS as Brian stared at him, his head shaking for a moment while he remained still. He was going to lose another member of his family, another one of his descendants before him. He'd lost his son, his daughter in law and he was going to lose his granddaughter soon according to the time traveller!
"I'm going to make some tea," Brian whispered before disappearing into the house, the Doctor sighing as he took in the fact that tea and gardening were Brian's comforts. He did them whenever he felt like he needed an escape. Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, the Doctor forced himself to enter the house again and join his sleeping wife in the living room. He was going to savour every moment he had with left with River. Pulling a chair up to sit beside the sofa, the Doctor brushed his fingers across her bump, a small smile covering his face when he felt their baby kick him.
"You're going to be an amazing child," the Doctor admitted as he relaxed back in his chair, keeping his hand on her large bump. "You're the grandchild of the girl who waited and the last centurion," he stated as his smiled grew. "Your grandmother was the strongest woman I've ever met, excluding your mother of course. She waited twelve years for me to come back and she waited again for us to rescue her once, she was so strong and feisty as well. She fought pirates and machines with needles that were going to kill her," he explained as he smiled at the memory of Amelia Pond, the girl with the fairy tale name and the woman who would fight for whatever was right. "And your grandfather was so devoted to her," he stated, remembering the nervous Rory Williams who had been Amy's jealous and shy boyfriend and the roman centurion who had sat for two thousand years to keep her safe. "Your grandmother may have waited twelve years for me but he waited two thousand for her because he loved her more than anything and she loved him just as much, even if at times it didn't seem like it."
"Do you want a cup of tea Doctor?" Brian called from the kitchen, stopping the Doctor's comments for a brief moment.
"No thanks," he replied before smiling down at his wife's baby bump. "And your mother is a mix of all the best things of her parents, although she can shoot a gun a lot better than either of them. Once your grandmother was trying to make a point and kept shooting the gun at random times, someone ended up taking it away from her," he declared before leaning down and pressing a kiss to the clothed bump. Their child was still kicking strongly, desperately attempting to annoy their sleeping and emotional mother. "Please stop kicking, your mum needs to sleep and you're going to wake her up and make her angry and it won't be you she'll be angry at."
"She's already awake sweetie," a voice muttered as his smile grew, watching as River's eyes slowly opened. "Your child can really kick Doctor."
"Why do you always say my child when our baby is being naughty?" the Doctor moaned as she smiled.
"Because you're childish and that's where they get it from," River responded as he nodded, leaning down to kiss her quickly as she smiled weakly against his lips. "I heard everything you said about mum and dad," she said quietly as he nodded, watching her as her fingers brushed across his cheek. "They're happy together aren't they?" she questioned as he smiled.
"River Song, your parents were happiest when they were together. I think it would have been worse if Rory had just gone and Amy had been left behind, they had a long life together full of adventure," he stated as she nodded for a moment before glancing down at her bump. "I didn't know you were pregnant."
"You wouldn't have done, they make amazing perception filters," River stated as she found his hand and tightly held onto it.
"River you could have been…" he began before she shook her head.
"I wasn't," she stated, interrupting him.
"But you still could have been River Song," he commented. "You broke your wrist, there were angels everywhere. I always put you at risk, everyone's at risk when they become involved with me River," he stated, remembering all the companions he'd lost over the years.
"Will you stop repeating that fact," she declared angrily, her frustration obvious as he moved away from her. "We all know that running with the Doctor is dangerous, we know it right when we start, but we still do it, we still do it because you're important to us and you make life so much better. You open our eyes, provide us with new opportunities," she stated as he remained silent. "We know the risks, I know the risks of being married to you, with having a child with you but I wouldn't change it."
"I'm the reason that you weren't brought up by your parents," he stated.
"No, Madame Kovarian is the reason and I don't want to ever hear you blame yourself for that again Doctor," River insisted as he remained perfectly still, not wanting to argue with his wife. "Why don't you come and sit with me properly?" she suggested, patting the space beside him as he glanced across in the direction of the kitchen. "He spent time with Amy and Rory; I don't think he'll care if we cuddle on the sofa."
"You want to cuddle Professor Song?" the Doctor smirked as she rolled her eyes at him before he moved to sit beside her and tightly wrapped his arms around her body, her face burying into his neck as he glanced down at her. "I like it when you're pregnant."
"Why?" she immediately questioned.
"You're much cuddlier when you're pregnant, although when you're hormones go the slightest bit towards angry you're scarier than you've ever been," he commented, groaning when River's elbow hit him in the chest. "Do you remember the whole craving issue?" he asked.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have taken all the jammy dodgers and told me I wasn't allowed to eat them because they were yours," River commented angrily as the Doctor looked down at her.
"That wasn't my fault; I didn't know you were craving them. I thought you were binning them when I wasn't looking," he immediately responded as her eyebrows rose.
"Why would I do that?" River asked.
"Well you don't like things I like and you have this habit of destroying them," he declared as she waited for what she knew was coming. "Like my hats, a good hat never lasts around you River. No one has ever treated a hat as badly as you've done," the Doctor muttered as she rolled her eyes, not surprised that the hats were brought up again. "And I did buy you more jammy dodgers in the end."
"After you told me I was cruel for attempting to hide your food Doctor," she argued as he smiled, remembering his wife throwing various things at him until he'd agreed to go and buy her some of the biscuits that she desperately wanted. "At least you were clever enough to listen to me and buy the biscuits in the end."
"I was more worried about you bruising my face River if I didn't," he declared as she rolled her eyes at him before burying her face into his chest and relaxing into his arms. "Are you planning on staying here tonight River or are you going back to wherever you're living?" he asked, glancing around the living room as River shrugged in his hold.
"I wanted to be around family earlier, I wanted someone to talk too and he's the only family who knows about me so I just turned up here," she admitted, groaning when the baby continued to kick her harder. "I don't want to be alone tonight; I don't want to be in my apartment on my own because I know all I'll think about will be my parents."
"Then don't go back, stay here or stay in the TARDIS with me," the Doctor suggested as she glanced up at him.
"You wouldn't stay here with me if I decided to stay with my family tonight," River announced as he remained silent. "So it's either stay in my grandfather's house with him or go to the TARDIS with you, why don't you stay here with me?"
"River I'm not good in houses," he muttered. "I'm not good at real life; I'm not good at living in houses and being normal. I stayed with your parents once and went insane after a few moments," the Doctor explained as she sighed.
"So you won't stay with us tonight?" she asked.
"You really want me to stay here don't you River?" he muttered as she shrugged, trying not to seem desperate. "I guess I could manage one night in a normal house because my wife really wants it," he declared, unaware of the large smile that was now covering River's face at his agreement. "But when I keep you awake all night because I'm bored…"
"I'll shoot another one of your hats."
XOOXOXXOXOXOXO
"River," the Doctor panicked, concern covering his face when he glanced across at his wife who was screaming in the bed. Holding her down to stop her from thrashing about and hurting either herself or their baby, the Doctor watched as her eyes quickly opened to stare up at him before he pulled her into his arms. "You were screaming," he stated as she shut her eyes in frustration, hating herself for seeming so weak in front of everyone. "What happened? You had a dream?" he suggested as she nodded for a moment. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
"I dreamt about our baby sweetie," she said quietly.
"And that led to you having a nightmare?" he asked, clearly concerned as she rested her hand on her stomach, not knowing what to say. She didn't know how to explain her dream to him, how to explain her concerns and fears to the one man who she was supposed to be able to be open with. This was her husband after all! "River," he said quietly.
"I dreamt that our baby was abandoned," she blurted out before they both fell silent. "I dreamt that you disappeared on an adventure and never came back, or at least not until it was too late and I died. I dreamt that I died and abandoned our baby," she stated, his arms tightly wrapping around her body as he shook his head. He didn't want to think about the library. He didn't want to think about River leaving him forever, disappearing from his life. "What if something happens? What if something goes wrong and our baby is left alone because neither of us were there?" she questioned.
"Our baby will never be abandoned," the Doctor promised before leaning across and pressing a kiss to her lips. "Our baby will always be loved River even if something ever happened to us. I promise, our little time lord will be loved and cared for," he declared, his fingers brushing across her bump as she nodded. He was right; he was always right about these things. "I promise that our baby will never be alone River, our baby will always be safe if anything ever happened to us."
"Nothing's going to happen to us though Doctor," she whispered, shutting her eyes to relax and fall asleep as he remained silent, not knowing how to respond. "We're going to have a baby and we're going to be a family in our own strange way."
I dislike this chapter as it seems really repetitive of previous chapters but hopefully you enjoy it. I decided to move further forward in time to get a move on with the story but I will bring up things that have happened in the gap between the last chapter and this one in future chapters. We are getting closer to the birth of the baby as well which should be entertaining.
Please continue to review, I love hearing from you and any ideas you have for future chapters or anything you'd like to see are greatly appreciated and I can normally find somewhere to put them in. This story isn't just for me, it's for you too and I want it to be a story you want to read and enjoy.