Gallifreyan History 101

The Doctor awoke with a start, his green eyes darting around the darkness. His hair was sticking up at odd angles and he rubbed his face blearily, unable to see the cause of his wake up call. The TARDIS hummed gently around him, as if she was snoring and he smiled, pressing a hand against the wall. Perhaps, he thought, that was what woke him up. After all, he wasn't much of a sleeper before River was pardoned from Stormcage, but now he found that sleep was exactly what he needed after the long nights that River had him up…in more ways than one.

Rolling over, he let the warm blankets engulf him again and he reached over to his wife's side of the bed, only to feel cold mattress mocking him. He froze; dread filling him to his fingertips. At three months into her pregnancy, River and their child had been restless, well past the stage of Morning sickness, if that's what one could call it when a Time Lord baby was concerned. The nausea had come at all hours of the day, and sometimes at the most appropriate times. He was sure that Julius Caesar wasn't too happy when River's breakfast had ended up covering his new sandals. No, the nausea had passed, quite early on but with each day the child grew, and shifted around; causing what River described as the weirdest sensation she had ever felt. Of course, the first time had been amazing, full of wonderment and awe but their child was already the size of a baby ready to emerge and it had become more than uncomfortable for her. River was huge now, in a beautiful, whale looking way and she found it so very difficult to get up without his help.

So where could she have gone? The Doctor wondered, kicking off the blankets. The lights turned on immediately and he padded across the room silently, focusing over the sounds of his Sexy for his wife. The corridors seemed so silent and empty as he wondered down them. They were bare, so unlike when the Pond's, or Donna or Martha or Rose had occupied the rooms, when the air would be filled with excitement for their next adventures. He sighed, flicking his hair back. He missed them all, sometimes. Rose had been the hardest to let go, especially after everything they went through together, and everything they had shared but with River, the void left by his friends, and past loves was mending.

He passed the kitchen and stopped when he heard the fridge door close, and he chuckled, relief flooding him. Of course she would be having a craving at this time of night…or morning, he never could tell. Time was relative after all. With a smirk, he pushed into the kitchen, River sitting atop the wooden bench with a large mixing bowl clasped in her arm. A plate sat next to her, piled with at least a dozen fish fingers and the Doctor gaped at his wife who grinned guiltily.

"You're…But you…." He stammered and River dipped another Fish Finger into the cold yellow custard.

"Don't mock it until you've tried it, sweetie," She mumbled through a mouth full, one hand rubbing her over sized stomach. The Doctor said nothing as he stalked towards her, his hands out stretched.

"You're eating all my Fish Fingers and Custard!" he cried indignantly. She frowned at him and he leapt onto the bench beside her, dipping an appendage into the liquid. He licked it off quickly, this time grabbing a Fish Finger, smothering it in custard before shoving it in his mouth with a crooked grin.

"Your Fish Fingers and custard?" River scoffed playfully, "The last time I checked, I lived here too…and besides, you got me into this situation." She gestured towards her stomach and took another bite of her snack.

The Doctor grinned; brushing his mouth against hers and his tongue darted out to lick a bead of custard from her lips, moaning at the taste. River smiled against him, pulling back as she ran her fingers over his arm gently.

"Well at least I'm sure now that it's your baby, and not…Jim the Fish's or something," she teased, squealing when he jumped off the bench and pulled her into his arms, his lips attacking her neck.

"Cheeky," he mumbled, watching as she clung to the custard bowl and plate of Fish Fingers and he carried her slowly towards their room, contentedly letting her feed him as they walked. The bedroom doors opened automatically and the Doctor let his eyes run over his wife's swollen belly and glowing body as he laid her onto the bed. Her blonde curls were fanned out behind her head and her blue eyes were sparkling up at him as she bit into another custard covered fish finger, one hand rubbing at her tummy. Her skin had a healthy glow to it and her whole body was relaxed, as if nothing in the universe could ruin her happiness of this moment. It was clichéd, but the Doctor swore that every single time he saw her; she got more and more beautiful.

"Want some?" River offered, waggling her eyebrows suggestively and the Doctor climbed onto the bed, crawling on his hands and knees to her, stopping to kiss her belly. Their child kicked against River's hand and she giggled, her husband's fingers pushing her top up, tracing gentle patterns over her skin. She was pretty sure that they were Gallifreyan symbols and it brought sudden thought to her mind as she wound her fingers through his hair.

"Sweetie?"

"Yes River?" He mumbled against her tummy, kissing just above her belly button.

"Our baby…how long, if it's a Time Lord, will it be until I give birth?" Her tone was curious but there was a hint of anxiety in her voice and the Doctor moved up her body, leaving no place un-kissed.

"Well, if we want to focus on the plus side…soon." He kissed her nose.

"How soon?"

"A month? Maybe two, if you're lucky."

River took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting herself ignore the sympathetic smile he was sending her. In as little as a month, at just four months into her pregnancy, she would be giving birth to a Time Lord child, and though it excited her to no end, fear was the main thing that was ringing alarms in her brain. Fear of any complications that may be caused from her only being half Time Lord. Fear of her child getting harmed because of her. But the one thing that terrified her, that had her shaking in fear was the thought that, what if what happened to her as a child happened to her baby? She wasn't sure she could handle that like her mother had; to have her child torn from her without a say in it would surely kill her. So would the day that she met the Doctor and he had no idea who she was. That, she decided, would be the hardest moment of her life, but thankfully she wasn't at that point yet.

As if reading her mind, the Doctor kissed her temple, silently discarding the food to the floor and he rubbed gentle circles over the baby as it kicked again. It certainly was active today.

"River, look at me." She did as she was told and her teeth worried at her bottom lip. "I am going to protect you and this child with everything I have, do you hear me? I am letting nothing hurt either of you, I promise."

River nodded, tears welling up in her blue eyes and the Doctor wiped them away from her cheeks as they began falling.

"Do you trust me, River?"

Without hesitation, she nodded, leaning her cheek into his palm, his thumb brushing over her soft face.

"Then you know that I will never let you fall, not without putting up a fight, you got that?" As he said this, he could see her, pale faced and crying as she connected herself to CAL in the Library and he shivered, sucking in a shaky breath as the images that plagued his dreams returned, haunting him.

"I know, sweetie. But how are we…I mean, what if one day we have to split ways? What are we going to do then?"

The Doctor silenced her with a finger and kissed her cheek again, still wet with tears.

"We'll figure that out when that day comes, okay?"

River nodded and took a deep breath, wincing as the baby moved inside of her. Their child was being more restless today than usual, and was in fact the reason that she had woken in the middle of the night. There was no possible way she could sleep while her baby was shifting around awkwardly inside of her tummy, despite how tired she was.

The Doctor offered her a sympathetic smile, knowing that it was half his fault that she was so exhausted; after all, it took two to tango. He sidled back down her body until he was face to face with River's belly again and he began whispering secretively.

"Do you want to know something?" He asked and there was a gentle kick against his hand. He smiled. "You are going to be the only child born in a very, very long time with Time Lord in you. And that makes you the most special little boy, or girl, in the whole entire universe."

River chuckled, sniffling and she placed her hand on the back of her husband's head, her thumb stroking at the base of his skull gently.

"And you're going to have the entire universe and more at your fingertips. And do you know why? Because your mother and I love you so very much and plus," The Doctor grinned stupidly, tracing a custard laden finger over River's belly. His lips traced the liquid, his tongue following it and his wife shivered. "You're already a lover of Fish Fingers and custard and in my books, that's just brilliant. But you and your mum need to get some sleep, so how about I tell you a story to help you along, hmm?"

His voice was soft and soothing as he began telling the tale of a planet that once existed, home to the greatest people that ever lived; the Time Lords. He spoke of the race, their intelligence, their power, their brilliance because of Rassilon and Omega and the scientific advances that changed the world, and spread throughout the universe. He explained the greed and the havoc that was wreaked because of these advances, the lives lost.

"And so when I was in the museum one day, I saw this beautiful Type 40 TARDIS and I knew I had to have her. Her doors were unlocked, which was an act on her part, and from that day she stole me…"

By the time he was explaining about K9, River had drifted off, her fingers still woven through his hair. Their child must have been finally resting too and the Doctor grinned, pressing a kiss to River's stomach and forehead before he secured an arm around her waist, nuzzling her neck. He inhaled her scent deeply. Whoever knew that Gallifreyan history 101 could send someone to sleep? Perhaps he would use it the next time he got captured and needed a way to get past the guards? He smiled at that thought and let the sound, smell and feel of his wife pull him into sleep.