The Doctor took a deep breath before he opened the door to their bedroom. He saw River's small, shaking form under the covers in their bed.
He instantly felt guilty. "River." He said quietly as he climbed onto the bed and sat so he was just behind River's back so he could gently rub soothing circles on it. "No matter what the test said River…" The Doctor began before she finally spoke up.
"I'm… pregnant." She said quietly.
The Doctor nodded before pressing his lips to her cheek. "Are you alright?" he asked her just as quietly.
"I'm scared." She admitted as she sat up so she was facing him. "I'm not Mum material."
The Doctor smiled at her. "You're going to be a wonderful mother River." He tried to comfort her.
River shook her head. "I don't even know how we're going to make this work Doctor." She said, clearly feeling stressed.
"What do you mean?" He asked her gently.
"Doctor we're trapped in the 1950s. I can't go to any doctors and medicine in this century is poor at best." River said quietly.
"You're going to be okay." The Doctor tried to comfort her.
"You're not the one that has to squeeze a person out of your bits!" River replied angrily before curling up under the covers again. "So shut up about it!"
"Oh River." The Doctor tried to apologize immediately. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to dismiss your feelings." He said honestly. River had tears running down her cheeks, something that under any normal circumstanced would have made his blood boil. But this time, it was his fault. And there was nothing he could do to fix it. He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks as he pressed his lips into the crown of her head. "What are you worried about?" He asked her quietly.
"Everything." She admitted quietly. "I'm scared of being pregnant but I'm even more scared of what's going to happen after it's born. We're not parent material sweetie. We travel the universe in a time machine and fight for our lives on a regular basis."
The Doctor nodded, showing her that he understood the concerns she had voiced. "We're going to figure something out." He assured her gently. "We can stay here with your parents for as long as you'd like." He promised with a gentle kiss to her lips.
"I want to be with you. That's all I want right now." She told him quietly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and spooned behind her so that her back was flush against his chest. "Thank you." She said quietly as he pressed his lips multiple times along her neck.
The Doctor quietly hushed her. "Get some rest. We can talk about this more after you get some sleep. You look exhausted."
River nodded before settling comfortably into his arms where she fell asleep.
"Mummy!" Anthony called excitedly as he ran up to her and tugged on her dark blue skirt.
"Yes Anthony?" Amy asked him as she continued to carry the laundry basket she had been balancing on her hip toward the laundry room.
"Where's River?" He asked her expectantly.
They had arrived at the laundry room so Amy set down the basket with a sigh. "She's not feeling too well today so The Doctor is taking care of her."
"Is it because of her baby?" Anthony asked her with interest.
Amy smiled at her son. She and Rory had felt terrible about lying to him last night, but it couldn't have been avoided. "We're not sure if River's having a baby yet Anthony." She told him honestly.
Anthony shook his head, remembering what he had seen due the perception filter the night before. "I saw it." He said insistently.
Amy sighed once again, this time rolling her shoulders trying to relieve some of the tension in them. "I know Anthony." She replied as she pressed a kiss to her son's forehead. "I wish I knew how to explain this to you." She said as she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Mummy I want River." Anthony whined, this time his lip quivering in the way that it only did when he was genuinely upset rather than when he was simply trying to get attention.
"Oh sweetheart." Amy said sympathetically. She knew he had developed a rather strong bond with his older sister, but she hadn't expected him to break down so suddenly. She gently wrapped her arms around him pulling him into her arms so that his face was buried in her shoulder as he cried.
"Amy I'm home!" Rory's voice rang from the entry way.
"Back here!" Amy called back as she gently stroked her fingers through her son's soft brown hair.
When Rory saw his son's distress he quickly squatted down so he was at their level. "Hey little man what's the matter?" He asked him gently as he pressed a kiss into his hair.
"River." He said quietly as he voluntary switched from his mother's arms to his father's.
Amy sighed as she stood up to begin the wash.
"What happened to River?" Rory asked Amy seriously as he stood up with his son in his arms, clinging on to his neck tightly.
Amy shook her head. "Nothing too terrible. He just misses her." She filled Rory in on the details of Anthony's breakdown.
"Hey, why don't we make something for River?" Rory suggested remembering the new box of crayons he had in his work briefcase.
"Like what?" Anthony asked, his small hands wiping at his eyes.
"You could draw her a picture." Rory said as he walked to the kitchen, setting his son down on the table before going to grab the crayons and a piece of clean paper.
"What should I draw?" Anthony asked his father seriously once he was sitting in position to draw.
Rory was sitting across the table from him as he sorted through the mail. "What do you think River would like?" Rory replied, not looking up from what he was doing.
"I don't know." Anthony said quietly before thinking for a while. Eventually he began drawing as Amy came in to start dinner.
Amy stopped for a moment to press her lips against her husband's. "How's Anthony doing?" She asked him.
"Fine." Rory allowed. "Any word about River?"
"I just checked on them, River slept most of the day and she's just waking up." Amy reported. "She's still feeling a bit ill, but she's going to try to join us for dinner."
"That's good." Rory replied quietly.
It was then that River did emerge from her room. Anthony hopped down from the chair and grabbed his drawing that he had just finished. He quickly ran to his older sister and grabbed onto her legs.
River smiled as she took her brother's hand in her own. "How are you Anthony?" She asked her brother sincerely as they walked to the living room.
"I made you this." He said shyly as he handed the paper to his sister as they sat down on the couch, Anthony struggling a bit to climb onto River's lap. "Do you like it?"
River looked at the picture that Anthony had handed her. She smiled as she began to recognize each of the members of their family on the page. The Doctor was tall and skinny and wearing a bowtie, while River's endless mass of curls gave her away. Anthony had made sure Amy's hair was as red on the paper as it was in real life. She smiled as she identified Rory and Anthony on the page as well. "Thank you Anthony I love it." She assured him as she pulled him into a hug on her lap.
"I wanted to give you something cause I miss you." He told her as he rested his face on her shoulder.
River gently kissed her brother's forehead. "I'm sorry you missed me today." She said quietly.
"Are you really having a baby?" He asked her after a few minutes of calm silence.
River was taken aback by his question but she smiled anyway. "Yes." She replied, her voice shaking slightly.
"Your baby is going to have the best mummy." He informed her matter-of-factly.
River could feel herself starting to tear up, internally blaming her hormones she managed to speak. "I'm glad you think so."
"I think so too." The Doctor said from the doorway. He had been leaning against the frame of the archway to the living room for the past several minutes. It was remarkable how good she was with her little brother without her even being aware of it.
River blushed immediately, smiling slightly at her husband before returning her gaze to her younger brother.
"I'm sorry River." The Doctor said with a slight laugh as he moved to sit next to her. "I wasn't trying to embarrass you."
"I'm not embarrassed!" She snapped immediately as she handed Anthony to The Doctor before getting up and storming out of the room.
"River!" He called after her desperately, but it was to no avail.
"River's mad." Anthony said after a moment as he grabbed onto The Doctor's nose.
"Hey!" The Doctor cried playfully as he began to tickle him. "I know she is." He sighed after a moment. "What's your secret? How come she's never angry at you?"
"I dunno." Anthony shrugged, raising his hands up to emphasize his point. "I'm just special I guess." He informed him importantly.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes… That is definitely it." He informed him with a smile.
"Okay mister Williams." Amy said as she entered the room to retrieve her son. "It's time to wash up for dinner."
"Can I wash up with The Doctor?" Anthony asked hopefully.
The Doctor cut in before Amy could respond. "I've got to go help River." He told Anthony importantly as he stood up, carefully placing Anthony down on his feet.
Anthony nodded before willingly going to wash up with his mother.
The Doctor then went to the door to him and River's bedroom. He stood outside for several minutes before gathering the courage to knock on the door. "River?" He asked gently after knocking.
"Go away." River's voice could be heard quietly.
"River I'm sorry." He apologized honestly. He felt terrible that he had hurt her so much with one comment and he didn't want to ever do it again. When she didn't respond he became concerned. "River are you alright?" He asked through the door, his hand beginning to move toward the handle, but not quite grabbing it yet. When he got no response once again his concern multiplied exponentially. "River?" He asked again as he opened the door very slowly. He was surprised when she wasn't in the bedroom and was actually in the washroom. He knocked on the door to the washroom before opening the door slowly.
River was sitting on the floor, her head resting miserably on the toilet.
"River." The Doctor said sympathetically as he grabbed a hair elastic from the counter and sat down next to her. He spent a few moments rubbing her back comfortingly before beginning to plait her hair so it wouldn't be in her face.
"Thank you." River said quietly, her eyes firmly shut as she willed her stomach to stop churning. "I'm sorry for snapping at you."
The Doctor shook his head. "It's fine River. Don't worry about it." He dismissed her concerns. "I just want you to feel better."
"You and me both sweetie." River replied weakly.
A few minutes later River's stomach had seemed to settle and she had settled into The Doctor's lap while he gently rubbed circles on her abdomen. River was almost asleep when a knock sounded at the bedroom door.
The Doctor sighed as he gently stood up, keeping River in his arms so he could carry her to the bed. "You don't need to…" River had begun to protest, but he had already gently laid her down on the bed.
"River, Doctor?" Amy's voice questioned through the door as The Doctor moved quickly to open the door, which he slid through the small opening to the outside.
"Is River alright?" Amy asked, her light brown eyes filled with concern.
The Doctor sighed. "She's still sick. She was throwing up a few minutes ago."
"This doesn't feel right." Amy said quietly.
"Hey." The Doctor said quietly. "She's going to be okay." He said, rather unsure of himself as he pulled Amy into a hug.
"You don't know that." Amy replied softly. "She's terrified Doctor. You missed so much of her early life, travelling around without any of us. She's so scared of so many things, but she refuses to let you know. She's strong, but you have to remember what she was born and conditioned to become. I feel like we're never going to be able to really have River."
The Doctor held onto Amy tightly. "I wish I had been there. I'm going to regret that for the rest of my life." He admitted quietly. "But she's become a wonderful woman Amy. You shouldn't feel like she's any less than who she could have become, and it's not your fault."
Amy nodded as she backed slowly out of their embrace, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you." She said quietly as Anthony made his way into the hallway and grabbed onto his mother's legs.
"Where's River?" Anthony asked his mother for seemingly the hundredth time that day.
Amy sighed leaning down to pick up her son from his spot around her legs. "She's not feeling well." She said as she nuzzled him so that his face was pressed against her neck.
"I want to eat dinner with River." Anthony whimpered quietly.
"Maybe tomorrow." Amy said sympathetically. "I bet The Doctor would sit next to you if you asked him nicely."
"You don't even have to ask me." The Doctor said with a smirk as he took Anthony from his mother. "Let's go eat."
Author's Note: Thanks everyone for reviewing I hope you're all enjoying the story!