Perhaps expecting a child again was why he was so thoughtful lately. He would look at River and think about Mareksa and their children. River knew about his first family and the long story of the Time War. She was saddened by the losses he had been through and swore to stay by him until the day she died. He often wished that he could tell her when the day she died was, wanted so desperately to stop her from ever going to the Library. He knew that he would fail this family just as he had failed his first family.
He and Mareksa had known one another from the time they were children. Their parents worked together and they were in the same class at the Academy. From the time they were quite young their parents had arranged for their marriage, as was the custom in Time Lord families. Marek, as she was called by friends, was one of the most brilliant students in their age, while he was one of the worst. She was in the top one percent of their class, while he failed his first try and only managed a fifty percent on his second try. She paid no mind to it though, and laughed about it, telling him that if he ever really wanted to apply himself to a thing that he would be just as spectacular as she was thought to be.
They married upon finishing their education. She went into a career in inter-dimensional hyper physics while he went into medicine. They loved discussing their jobs and new ways of improving their society. Despite his terrible grades in school he was often rather serious, but she could make him laugh and smile. On the nights when she had a lot on her mind he would listen to her concerns. When their children were born they would spend as much time together as they could, taking trips and helping them with their school work. He couldn't remember a better time in his entire life.
Then one day, one terrible day, it all changed. It happened not long after their youngest son graduated from the Academy. Marek was traveling from the capital back to their house when the shuttle she was on had a power failure and crashed. She was severely injured as a result. She held on to her first form until he arrived so that she could say goodbye.
She was lying in a medical bed, bruised and cut and barely breathing. Then she saw him, and she smiled. "Sorry about the trouble, I was looking forward to dinner tonight." Her words came slowly and painfully.
He grinned a little and caressed her face. "You'll still have dinner tonight; you'll just have a new face."
She tried to laugh but it only came out as a groan. "It may not be my favorite anymore."
"Then we'll find your new favorite foods. You don't need to keep fighting the transformation; I'll be right here with you. I love you."
"Love you too," she whispered.
Then Mareksa changed. Her eyes, her hair, her face, her voice, everything he had known about her was transformed before his eyes. She let out a long breath and sat up on the edge of the hospital bed. She grinned a little. "How do I look?"
He was shaken but did his best to hide it and told her that she was beautiful, which was true, but he still felt that his wife was gone. He had seen other people he knew regenerate but somehow this one felt different.
She stood up and looked at herself in a nearby mirror. She nodded at her appearance and then proceeded to walk towards the door. "Not too bad, are you ready? I want to go home and change, and then eat. Maybe I'll still have the same favorite food."
He watched her walk towards the door and he could feel his hearts breaking. He would try to make it work but he knew that this was the end of their relationship. They both tried to work out there relationship, resuming their lives as best they could. She resumed her work, and for the most part had a similar routine, but she refused to renew their marriage vows.
Marriage and family were complex things on Gallifrey. Marriages were arranged in the first incarnation by the parents of the child time lords. The goal of the arranged marriages was to produce healthy children for the next generation. When either person died the marriage was ended but the family ties would remain. If both parties wanted to renew the marriage it was perfectly acceptable, but if one or both didn't want to renew the marriage they were free to marry as they pleased so long as they kept up with their family responsibilities. Family responsibilities lasted until children were married. Upon regeneration the only people who were still considered family were the parents and any direct descendants of an individual.
With their children all out of the Academy Marek's only responsibility to the Doctor was to see that their youngest son married. Shortly after his marriage, with all of her responsibilities to the Doctor ended, Marek left.
"I don't think we are right for each other," she told him. "I'm a new person, and some day you'll understand what it's like to regenerate and become someone new. We had wonderful times together, and there is nothing that will ever make me forget the life we lived together. It's time for me to move on though. You'll still see me, and I'll still be there for our children and their children. Find your happiness."
He rarely smiled after she left. Gallifrey didn't seem the same to him, and he no longer felt at peace there. He left his position at the hospital and began working a variety of odd jobs. What joy he did find was in watching his children begin their own families and in turn, watching his grandchildren grow. He had a particular fondness for Arkytior, his youngest grandchild.
Arkytior was curious about everything, and showed much promise at the Academy. She also shared her Grandfather's disapproval for the path Gallifrey seemed to be heading down, much to the distaste of all the rest of their family. Then one day he had a mad idea, he broke into a factory and stole the first TARDIS that had an open door. He then asked his granddaughter to run away with him, which she gladly did.
He and Arkytior found their way to Earth, where she took on the name Susan and he eventually took on the title of Doctor, hiding their true names from everyone else. He kept running, even when he left Susan behind. He would return to Gallifrey for a time and then leave, because there was nothing there to make him happy anymore. Even his companions in the long run only provided temporary distractions from his loneliness.
Then Gallifrey was lost, along with everyone he loved, and he had nothing left but to keep going with the hope that the memory of Gallifrey wouldn't die.