"River?" He tapped on the door with his knuckles, then stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. His hands with clammy with nervous sweat, and he inhaled heavily, trying his best to remain confident. He approached the bed and sat down at the foot of it, placing a hand on River's shoulder. She turned to him, tears in her beautiful eyes. She wouldn't meet his stare.
His face softened. "Why didn't you tell me?" She stared down at her feet. "I- I couldn't. Our lives are messed up enough, I didn't want to make it worse." He stroked her face with his thumb, wiping away a tear. "Oh, River, this wouldn't make it worse. A little harder, maybe. But worse? No."
She hugged her knees. "I keep blaming myself for this, for-" Her voice broke off, and she stared at the ceiling, holding back tears. "For getting pregnant."
He glanced at her, eyebrows raised and bottom lip bitten. "So it's true?" She nodded weakly, and they sat silent for a moment.
He scratched his head awkwardly. "How, uh, far along are you?" "A little more than three months." She folded back the blanket and revealed her barely bulging stomach.
He swallowed,eyes growing in amazement. "Whoa." She nodded, laughing slightly at the look on his face. "Whoa indeed." He swallowed. "May- May I?" His hand was hovering over the bulge. She nodded faintly.
Nervously, he placed his hand on her abdomen, smiling to himself. After a moment, he removed his hand and looked her in the eyes, his own eyes sparkling. He scouted closer to her, and in his arms, she drifted off to sleep.
"Are you sure I can stay here?" She asked once she had awoken. She felt much better, although her body was still sore.
He nodded. "Of course! It's the safest thing to do, especially right now, with Kovarian after you and all."
"Well, yes, but... Won't it be intruding on you and Clara?"
He shook his head. "River, you're my wife. You're never intruding."
She hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, I'll stay I guess. Do you mind if I shower?"
He shook his head. "Go ahead. I have things to do anyway." He watched as she pulled herself out of bed and exited the room, bringing a towel with her.
With a groan, he pulled himself out of the bed and went in search of Clara. He bent his head around the corner of the hallways, wondering where she could be. A burnt odor hit his nose, and he smiled; of course, the kitchen.
He entered the kitchen where Clara was working on another souffle. "Another one?" She glanced up at him from the bowl of ingredients and shrugged. "Well, practice makes perfect." She sat the bowl on the counter and wiped her hands on her dress, giving her full attention to the Doctor.
"So? How's is she?" The Doctor sat, and Clara followed suit.
He sighed. "Ah, well, she's okay. Once she realized that I wasn't upset, she stopped panicking. She's in the shower at the moment, and should be out soon. Which reminds me, I should get breakfast started. Toast?"
Clara nodded. "Yes, that would be nice. Er, how are you doing, Doctor?" He had gotten up and was digging through the refrigerator. He looked up at her. "What?"
"How are you dealing with this. It's a lot of information to process."
He hesitated, thinking. "I'm fine. Already used to the idea, in fact. It's just..." He bit his lip. "We haven't- we-we-" He sighed, shoulders slouched and cheeks pink. "We haven't actually done that kind of thing."He cleared his throat, eyeing Clara and watching for the realization.
She gaped at him. "What? Then- How?"
He shrugged. "I guess she's farther in our time line than I am. Which means-"
"That you knew I would get pregnant when we had sex." He spun around and stared at River, his face red. "I, uh, I- I'm sorry, River."
Her face too was reddish. Her shoulders slouched in resignation. "This always happens. I'm always too early or too late. Goddamn vortex manipulator."
"It's okay, River. It happens all the time. Well, at least to us."
She sighed. "I know, I know. I can't blame you, Sweetie, but at least it would've gotten us out of this, uh, predicament." She sat down next to Clara, and the Doctor turned back to the duty of breakfast making.
While he clanked around River turned to Clara, voiced reduced to a whisper. "Thank you." Clara smiled slightly. "You're welcome. It was nothing, really." River chuckled. "No, it wasn't nothing. Just- thank you."
They sat in a pleasant silence as the Doctor passed around slices of toast, and attempted to converse like everything was still normal while they ate.
Of course, it wasn't. Nothing was going to be normal, not anymore.