Chapter Text
The Doctor sat in the Tardis, the ring between his fingers. He scanned for her again, with no luck. And again. And again. There were only so many places she could be, and he had been to them all a hundred times at every point in time he could think of. He would never give in. He would search for her for the rest of his days if that’s what it took. That didn’t make it any easier.
Xxx
They had taken to tackling her every day, twice a day, and pinning her down as they injected her with supplements to keep her alive. They had increased her torture to three times a day, morning noon and night with chilling accuracy. But she had grown accustomed to that. What was worrying her now were the whispers she heard when she pretended to be sleeping.
River knew nothing of Time Lord babies; the only person who did was the Doctor. She guessed that she was nearing the end of her sixth month, although her abdomen was still small beneath the shapeless dress they had forced her into. Yet she heard them talking about next week, about delivering her baby, her son. If they took him then would he not be weak, if not dying? Few babies survived…or were Time Lord children different? She didn’t know, but she did know that she had to do something before it was too late.
That night, she pretended to be sleeping when they came in with the needles. Today there were only two of them, and one watched the door as the other approached her; they thought her docile. They were wrong. With a swift movement, River kicked his leg, sending him sprawling to the floor. She rolled over and took the gun from the guard’s holster and pointed it at the other in the room before he even had the time to realise what was going on. She stood slowly, a hand protectively over her abdomen.
‘You know me,’ she said weakly, her voice rasping after weeks of screaming and silence. ‘You know what I can do with a gun, so don’t even try. You, over by him.’ The guard on the floor, maybe twenty years old at most, scampered up and stood next to the other man.
‘Now, you’re going to tell me how to get out of here’
‘You can’t,’ the older one said simply. ‘You leave this room, you know what happens.’
‘How do I get this off?’ she asked, her hands touching the cool metal around her neck.
‘Only Kovarian knows how.’
‘Not feeling very helpful today, are you?’ River took the safety off the gun and aimed it at the younger man’s chest. His eyes widened.
‘Okay, let’s try something else then. Why can no-one find this place? What’s hiding it?’
‘I-It’s a perception filter,’ he stuttered.
‘That’s not powerful enough, try again,’ she warned, moving closer.
‘Please! It is, but it’s not a normal one. They used s-stolen technology, a chameleon circuit to disguise it, make it undetectable and everyone inside it lost to the universe.’
Time was running out, but now River knew what she had to do.
‘Communicator, now.’
The young soldier, hands trembling, handed her his computer and she took it, backing away to the wall. River dropped the useless gun and set to work, typing vigorously as the guards ran. She had seconds. If she was clever enough, very clever…
Xxx
It was a bleep. Just a small one, but enough for the Doctor to jump to his feet and run to the screen that was flashing and making the noise. A signal, a message…co-ordinates. The Doctor felt his heart thumping in his chest; it was her. Of course it was her. The message disappeared after a few seconds, and although he scanned he could find no trace of it. Whatever she had been using to send the message had been cut off. A million terrifying thoughts ran through his mind as to why that would be but he pushed them aside; that wasn’t going to help her now. He remembered the co-ordinates and set in a course, begging her to hang on until he could get there.
Xxx
Erickson looked up from the console and held his breath as he watched River fight the guards who had come to give her the daily injection that kept her alive and grab the communicator. As the others ran to alert Madam Kovarian, he watched River working quickly and knew what she was trying to do.
In that moment, he had a choice to make. He was alone, for now, and River was there trying desperately to send some sort of communication; he could help her, or he could stand by and watch. It wasn’t a position he wanted to be in. This was a job he hadn’t wanted or asked for, but the ill health of his daughter had forced him to take it. The Silence needed scientists, and Kovarian had drafted him specifically for the job of watching over their Time Lord baby.
He knew that the only way to save his daughter was to use the influence and resources he would have access to working for them, and though it sickened him to do so he had taken it. He hadn’t known that they would use his greatest weakness against him, threatening to find and kill his daughter if he didn’t comply. It was the only thing that kept him going each day, but now it was going too far. River was an innocent woman, one of the strongest and bravest he had ever known, and there was no excuse for what she had been through. Taking her baby away would kill her, of that there was little doubt, and even if they somehow managed to keep her alive through the process then he was sure that her life would not be worth living. His decision was made. It had gone too far.
He ran quickly to the open door into River’s room, though she didn’t look up from the device she was holding.
‘I know what you’re trying to do,’ Erickson said, ‘and I won’t stop you.’
River’s brow wrinkled in confusion and her eyes darted up to survey him for a second before she continued her task.
‘You can’t leave this room with that collar on, even if he does get here,’ he reminded her.
‘Then help me,’ she asked simply.
‘I’ll try and deactivate it, but it’s going to take time. You’ll need to stall Kovarian as long as you can, and I…I don’t know what she’ll try and do.’
River met his eyes and nodded. There was no fear there, not anymore, only resignation. There were so many ways to die, but she wanted to go down fighting and if this was to be the last stand she was ready for it.
Erickson gave her a quick smile and went back to the controls, already hearing the tap of Kovarian’s heels coming down the hall. Quickly, he re-routed main power to a console in a side room and nipped out of sight just as she came around the corner, beginning to work on disabling the device around River’s neck. He only hoped the Doctor would get there in time.
Xxx
Kovarian could see no-one in the control room, not the most unusual thing late at night, so instead went straight into River’s room. She had a gun which she held in a shaky hand, though still aiming for the older woman’s head.
‘What do you think that’s going to achieve, hmm?’ Kovarian asked, her voice colder than ice.
‘Your death,’ River answered simply, willing her legs to hold her up and her hands to remain steady.
Kovarian smiled humourlessly and pulled a small device from her pocket.
‘You can’t kill me,’ she grinned, ‘because I can kill you before that gun can do any damage at all.’
‘I don’t care,’ argued River.
‘Oh, but you care for that baby. I can kill you both, if I press the right thing. It wouldn’t take much.’
‘Go on then,’ River dared her. Kovarian laughed.
‘I know you, Melody Pond,’ she mocked. ‘You can’t help it but you’re attached to that child, to his child. It leeches the very life from you every day, and yet you love it. You love him. You won’t let anything happen to him.’
A single tear ran down River’s cheek; she was right, of course, although it pained her to admit it. She had hidden the communicator in the waistband of her underwear, hoping that she could keep Kovarian from knowing that the Doctor was coming. That was the only thought that was keeping her sane; he was nearly here.
‘Melody,’ Kovarian whispered almost softly, stepping towards her and reaching to wipe the tear from her cheek, ‘don’t cry. By this time tomorrow your son will be born. He’ll be raised as all Time Lords should be…’
Her expression darkened. ‘In a cage.’
Kovarian hit the button on the device and River couldn’t control the cry that escaped her lips as pain coursed through her body, like fire in her veins. Her vision went black for a moment, her legs wobbling, and she had to reach out to the wall to keep herself upright. Come on Doctor, she prayed silently, taking heaving breaths to try and abate the screaming in her muscles.
The lightning pain returned again too quickly, without warning. This time it was worse, stronger that it had ever been before and River was forced down harshly to her knees bending over her abdomen with her hands curling into fists. The communicator fell from its hiding place, clattering to the floor and she knew that the game was up.
‘What’s that?’
But of course, she already knew. Kovarian felt her own heartbeat speed up. No, she couldn’t possibly…she couldn’t have called him.
‘You ungrateful bitch…’ she stuttered, ‘what have you done?’
‘C-Called….my…husband…’ River choked out, lifting her head with dignity and smiling. She could see that the woman was scared, her eyepatch not able to hide the fear in the knowledge that the Doctor was coming. Her face darkened as she looked down at the woman who had, as usual, foiled her plans.
‘You’ll die for this. You and your baby.’
Everything stopped. Time, thought, the universe…it all meant nothing. The pain became her everything, her body lost and her soul drowning in a sea of agony. This was it, thought River. This was death. She hadn’t managed to save her child, their child, for she was sure that this was more than either of them could take. The sea began to part, giving way into blackness. To death. But then, though it felt as though it had gone on forever, it gave way.
‘What?’ Kovarian puzzled, pressing the button over and over again but growling in frustration as nothing happened. River slowly opened her eyes, trying to organise her mind rationally in the few seconds of consciousness she had managed to scrape together before the inevitable darkness. She had to use them to her advantage. With all of the will in the world, she got her hand to move and her fingers wrapped around the gun that had fallen beside her. Kovarian didn’t even notice as she picked it up and aimed it at her. There was no grand moment of confrontation, no great realisations or dramatic speeches. River fired, and Madam Kovarian died before she hit the ground. It was over far simpler than it had begun. And with that knowledge River closed her eyes, wondering whether the sound of the TARDIS was the call to heaven.
Xxx
As soon as the Doctor landed he bolted out of the doors. They were at a space station in the middle of an unmapped region of space, somewhere in the 52nd Century. It had been cloaked in a way he hadn’t known existed, though he still cursed himself for not being able to figure it out. None of that mattered now. He just needed to find her.
The TARDIS had landed exactly where she had told him, and it appeared to be some sort of control room. He looked around but saw no-one, feeling panic rise in his chest. He had expected guards, Silence, something, but not this.
‘Doctor?’
He span around to see a man in a lab coat coming out from an adjacent room. He was about to corner him, to grab him by the collar and force him against the wall until he told him where River was; but there was no need. The man simply pointed to the open door just around the corner.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said genuinely, ‘I tried.’
Not knowing or caring what he meant, the Doctor ran to the door and was faced with a nightmare. He saw Madam Kovarian lying across the floor, good eye still open and glazed over in death. Behind her was River crumpled in a heap with the gun still in hand and her hair sprawled beneath her.
‘River,’ he breathed, ignoring Kovarian and dropping to her side. She was cold, unresponsive as he stroked her hair back. ‘River, please.’ But no breath escaped her lips, and there was no pulse when he checked her neck. She was gone.
It was only then that he noticed. Her arm was hanging loosely over her abdomen, and as he took her hand in his own he saw what was concealed beneath it. The tears that had been burning in his eyes started to fall, and he was sure that he would never be able to stop them. She was pregnant. His child… they had wanted his child, their child, just as they had wanted River. A true Time Lord child, the greatest weapon of all. It made him feel sick, and he wished that Kovarian had lived long enough for him to tell her just how awful she was before he killed her himself.
Hatred bubbled darkly in his chest and he wanted to hit something, someone, anyone. He wanted to turn his back on the universe and run because it had never in all these years been so cruel. She had died alone, in pain, and fighting as she waited for him to help her. He hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye. Everything that mattered to him, every little thing, was gone. And a blissful happiness he hadn’t even known of had been ripped away before he had even had the chance to cherish the thought.
Somewhere, through the anger and the pain, the Doctor’s mind drifted. Her hand was warm where he held it, and he remembered being on the TARDIS after that awful night before her trial when she had been beaten to within an inch of her life. And then it came to him.
It hadn’t made sense then, why the regeneration energy had been enough to heal her even with the help of the untempered time vortex. But if she had been pregnant, then the child would have had the capacity for regeneration. Even in the early foetal stages the baby could have given her enough energy to keep her alive, and it had. And, if they were very lucky, they it could again.
The Doctor gathered River in his arms and begged her to hold on, running into the TARDIS and not looking back. Whatever was behind him was behind both of them now, and dwelling on the past would not help them in the future. He lay her down gently on the floor and without instruction the TARDIS doors closed and they flew gently off, travelling through the vortex without landing.
‘Come on,’ he willed, taking River’s hand and kissing it, ‘come on River you can do this. Come back to me.’
It happened so quickly that he almost didn’t have time to take it in. She woke with a gasp, her eyes flying open as her entire body became engulfed in the brightest yellow glow he had ever seen. It took a moment for her eyes to focus, her breathing rapid and shallow, but when her eyes settled on her husband she didn’t even try to hold back the tears.
The Doctor gathered River into his arms, holding tightly onto her as she sobbed gently into his shoulder. This was no time to be strong, and neither of them felt that they could be. He noticed how thin her frame was, her arms like twigs and her ribs palpable even through her dress, and he dreaded to think of what awful things she must have endured over the past few months.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he choked, clinging onto her as though their lives depended on it.
‘You found me,’ she whispered, hugging him back just as desperately, ‘never be sorry for that.’
He pulled back and let her rest her head against his chest, wrapping his arms around her protectively.
‘The baby…I didn’t even know.’
‘Neither did I,’ admitted River, ‘but they did.’
‘Is it…I mean…’ the Doctor stuttered, not sure how to phrase his question.
‘He’s fine,’ she assured him. ‘They’ve been dosing me with artron energy; they wanted to delivery him early to get me out of the way.’
‘Artron energy?’ The Doctor’s blood ran cold. He knew exactly the damage that could be done to someone without regenerative powers with artron energy, and by the shudder that ran through his wife he suspected she did too. ‘But River, that…that’s barbaric. They could have killed you.’
‘They almost did,’ she reminded him, starting to come back to herself.
They sat in silence for a moment, holding each other, before River stiffened and the Doctor felt his heart quicken nervously.
‘What is it?’ he asked at once.
‘I don’t know,’ she mumbled, ‘I-ah!’
A hand flew to her abdomen and the Doctor felt as though he were about to explode in panic.
‘What? What’s happening? Are you alright?’
‘I think so,’ she said slowly, her tear stained face looking up at him, ‘but I think that was a contraction.’
His eyes widened. ‘The baby? Now?’
She nodded, unable to disguise her own fear. ‘It’s too early,’ she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
‘It’s going to be fine,’ he assured her, seeing the distress she was in and knowing that him panicking would only make matters worse, ‘I promise.’
‘Don’t say that,’ she said, starting to hyperventilate ‘you never keep your promises.’
He kissed her forehead fiercely. ‘I swear to you that this is one I will not break. If it’s natural then maybe we can stop it, if we get you to a hospital.’
He helped her unsteadily to her feet and kept an arm around her as they walked slowly up to the console and he left her clinging to the railings as he went to input the co-ordinates for the hospital he had taken her after she had saved his life in Germany what felt like a million years ago. As soon as they were on their way he went back to her, encircling and arm around her waist and letting her lean her weight on him. She groaned again, a hand covering her protruding abdomen.
‘I’m not ready for this,’ she muttered. ‘I can’t do it.’
‘Of course you can, you’re amazing,’ the Doctor told her kissing her temple. ‘I wish you didn’t have to, not now and not after everything, but we’re going to get through this. It’s going to be okay.’
As they landed the Doctor helped her to walk towards the door, but part way a strong contraction ripped through her and she began to lose her fight, gripping onto him as her body failed her. Lifting her into his arms the Doctor carried her, watching her lose consciousness in his arms despite his pleas for her to wake up. Her breathing was shallow but steady, and he knew that she simply didn’t have the energy to stay awake any longer. She had been through hell, and he was sure that there was more she would tell him that would chill him to the core, and now she was faced with the birth of a child, their son. It was too much.
The Doctor jogged out into the corridor, holding her tightly in his arms and called over the first nurse he saw. They were quick to bring a gurney and he lay her down as they scanned her with small instruments and murmured amongst themselves. He didn’t understand what they were saying, concentrating instead on holding River’s hand tightly and brushing the sweaty hair from her forehead.
‘I promise,’ he whispered, ‘I promise you it will be alright.’
She groaned, moving as though restless with a hand still over where their child still lay.
‘We have to take her to surgery,’ the nurse said, ‘please stand back.’
‘What?’
Before he had time to register what was happening, the Doctor was pushed back and lost the grip he had on River’s hand as she was wheeled away.
‘Wait, what’s happening? Where are you taking her?’
They didn’t reply, and he was left to sit and wait as they disappeared with the lives of his wife and unborn child hanging in the balance.
Xxx
Pain. Woozy. Fear. Those were the first thoughts that came to River’s mind as she started to come back to consciousness. When her eyes first opened the lights were too bright, and for a fleeting moment she wondered whether this was heaven. Her rational brain soon dismissed that theory. Surely in heaven you felt far less nauseous.
‘River?’
His voice was enough to bring her around, though as she tried to sit up a sharp pain lanced across her abdomen and she moaned lying back down.
‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ he warned her gently, resting a hand on her arm reassuringly, ‘you’ve been through a lot.’
‘I don’t…’ she started, trying to put together the disjointed fractions of memories that were coming back to her. Kovarian, TARDIS, pain…labour…
‘Where is he? Is he here? Is he okay?’ She started to panic, trying to sit up again and hissing as the pain once again brought her back.
The Doctor pressed a button to elevate the top half of her bed so that she was able to see her surroundings more and went over to the cradle by her side, picking up the small squirming bundle gently and bringing him to her.
‘He’s perfect,’ the Doctor said, a tear in his eye. River watched in awe as he brought over their son, almost unconsciously holding out her arms for him. The Doctor handed the baby to her, and at once he stopped wriggling just looking up at his mother and reaching up a hand towards her face.
‘Hello there,’ she breathed, bringing her hand up to meet his and feeling warmth spread through her as he grabbed at her finger and held on tightly. She looked up at the Doctor, her eyes glistening.
‘You kept your promise,’ she breathed, ‘he’s alright. He’s amazing.’
‘I told you I would.’
He bent down and kissed her head as her gaze returned to the small child who, with one hand grasping his mother’s finger, was starting to fall asleep.
‘What do we call him?’ the Doctor asked.
‘Hmm,’ River thought for a moment. ‘How about Jack?’
‘I like it,’ he grinned. ‘Jack Rory Song.’
‘That’s beautiful.’
The Doctor sat on the side of the bed and put an arm around her, hardly able to believe what he had before him. They stayed in silence, not needing to say a word. They would talk, they would cry, and they would both apologise and forgive things that needn’t have been offered. But they would get through it, together. As a family.
THE END