"Oh god I can't stop it," the Doctor stopped in frustration as he pressed his hands to his wife's wound. She had a pulse but it was getting weaker by the second and he knew he was losing her. He was losing the mother of his tiny daughter who was currently sleeping a couple of rooms away. He'd managed to carry River onto the TARDIS, his wife waking up when they'd entered the medical bay to complain about the pain. "River what do I do? I don't know what to do to stop the bleeding," he declared, glancing up at her to see her eyes slowly opening and shutting in exhaustion. "I can't get you anywhere quick enough."

"Doctor," she mumbled quietly, her voice barely louder than a whisper as he kept his hand pressed against the wound. "I know I'm dying," River said quietly, his head shaking as he thought about the library and watching her sacrifice herself while he sat handcuffed. River didn't die here, she died in the library and saved thousands of lives and he had to find some way of saving her. Looking at him and the look that was covering his face, River quickly found his free hand and clung onto it. "Spoilers sweetie," she whispered, knowing he was thinking about something that had happened earlier in their encounters, something that she didn't even want to hear him say. Hearing their daughter start to scream, the Doctor shut his eyes as River felt tears run down her cheeks. "Go and get Clara," she begged.

"River, I have to put pressure on the bleed…" he argued as she slowly moved his hand away from the wound and pressed her own against the injury.

"I want to hold my baby Doctor, I want to hold my little girl before I…" she admitted as he nodded and quickly ran out of the room. She couldn't die, could she? She'd just had a baby; she had a little girl who needed her right now. Her husband needed her too. She couldn't just leave them because she'd got shot. Hearing the door open again, River glanced across in the direction to see the Doctor holding Clara to his chest while whispering to her, tears running down his face as he attempted to force a smile onto his face. He was trying to be strong. He was trying to be strong for her and their daughter but she could see the agony on his face.

"Your mummy's here sweetheart, she's very sick," the Doctor muttered as River shut her eyes for a moment. "But she wants to see you," he explained, sitting down on the edge of the bed as River reached up and brushed her fingers across her daughter's cheek, shocked at the blood that suddenly decorated her daughter's face. Hearing their daughter make the noises that she knew were some form of language, River watched as her husband shut his eyes while trying to think of an answer. "Mummy is very poorly Clara," he whispered, pressing a kiss to his daughter's head as River continued to brush her fingers across her daughter's body. She was so tiny, so helpless. She couldn't just leave her baby without a mother. When she'd found out she was pregnant she'd told herself that her daughter would always have a family, the family she'd had taken away from her as a baby. Hearing their daughter again, River shut her eyes, wishing that she could speak baby like her husband so she could understand what their daughter was saying. "She wants a cuddle River, I know you're not strong enough for a cuddle but I could rest her on you, she just wants to be close to you."

"I want her close, I just want to hold her," River whispered, not wanting to upset her little girl as the Doctor leant forward and rested his little girl on River's chest, his wife resting her hand on her little girl as she bit into her lip. "Your daddy is going to keep you safe," she sobbed as the Doctor stared at River. "He's going to take you to see the stars, all the planets out there. He's going to take you to see every single one."

"River please," the Doctor whispered as he watched her in silence, hating the pain and weakness that was covering her daughter's face. Hearing their daughter start talking in her own language again, River glanced up at the concern that was covering her husband's face.

"What's she saying? Doctor what is saying?" she asked quickly, clearly worried as he kept his eyes on their daughter. "Doctor," she begged quickly, needing answers while her voice remained weak. Slowly glancing down at her daughter, River felt the shock appear on her face when the golden light appeared from their daughter. "Doctor stop her, she can't do this! She can't sacrifice herself like this; she's not old enough to make decisions like this!"

"I can't stop her," he stated. "River I can't stop her," he declared, knowing better than to disturb someone who was regenerating. "I can't lose you River and this gives us a chance, this gives our little girl a chance to know her mother," the Doctor explained as he stared down at his wife who was shaking her head while crying. She didn't want their daughter to lose her lives because of her!

"Please, she can't lose her lives because of this," River said quietly, her hand brushing across her daughter as the light slowly dimmed down. "Doctor," the archaeologist panicked when she slowly moved to sit up and stared at her daughter who was perfectly still against her. Lifting Clara into her arms, River began to rock as she tried to wake her daughter up. "Doctor please, she's barely breathing. We have to help her, she's so weak."

"River, you know it's an exhausting experience," the Doctor whispered, his fingers brushing over his daughter as he stared at his wife and daughter, grateful to see River looking healthy again.

"She's three weeks old Doctor, she's so little. She's not strong enough to do things like that," River said quietly as she kept Clara close to her chest. "We're supposed to protect her, we're her parents. We shouldn't be putting her into dangerous situations," she stated quickly as she glanced down at her daughter, hating herself for what she was now thinking.

"River?" the Doctor asked, noticing the change in facial expression. "Why don't you go and put Clara in her room and try and sleep?" he suggested before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead and moving away as she stood up and held their daughter close to her. "I need to go and do something and then we'll talk, we'll talk about everything."

"Where are you going?" River asked as she moved towards the doorway with her husband.

"Somewhere important, I won't be gone long and then I'll be back and I won't go anywhere. You, me and Clara can spend the whole day together being a proper family," he promised, kissing her quickly before running through the TARDIS.

"Daddy will be home soon and we can spend all day together. You need to wake up baby, you need to wake up. Thank you for saving me beautiful girl but you shouldn't have. You need your lives," she explained as she entered her daughter's bedroom and rested the still child in the Doctor's cot. "I love you Clara Amelia, you're so brave."

XOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOX

"Clara," the Doctor called out as he entered the house and watched as the brunette ran down the stairs. "There you are," he sighed, quickly wrapping his arms around the young woman who stood there in shock. Why was he hugging her like there was no tomorrow? Tightening his hold of Clara, he quickly buried his face into the younger woman's hair before shutting his eyes. "You're okay, you're wonderful and you're completely alive,"

"Yes I'm alive but if you keep hugging me like this, I'll die from your crazy hugs," Clara admitted, the Doctor quickly stepping away as she smiled at him. "How's baby River and Doctor?" she asked as he slowly moved to sit down on the steps. "Doctor are you okay?"

"River was shot this morning," the Doctor said quietly as shock covered Clara's face. "She's okay now, Cl…" he began before shaking his head, not wanting to start confusing Clara with why their daughter had her name. "Our baby decided to save her but there are some issues and River's become emotional and I don't know what to do. Our little girl sacrificed her lives for River and she's barely breathing now."

"Then why are you here? You should be with your wife and daughter," Clara announced, shaking her head at him for being here with her when they needed her. "They need you right now, they need you to support them. River's probably terrified because she nearly died and then she's worried because your daughter isn't her usual self and River can't make it better."

"You're right. I just wanted to see you, see that you were healthy," he explained before standing up and walking out of the room, leaving a confused Clara on the stairs. Entering the TARDIS in silence, the Doctor quickly ran into the nursery to see River in the rocking chair with their daughter against her chest while she hummed quietly. "River," he said quietly.

"We can't keep her can we?" she whispered before glancing up at her husband, tears in her eyes as he remained silent. This was the conversation he had been dreading.