Our Timelord (A Doctor Who Fanfic)

Chapter 1 - A Discovery

River's eyes fluttered open. She felt a familiar sensation in her stomach and groaned inwardly. She detangled herself from her husband's arms and ran to the bathroom, holding her stomach. She was then violently sick into the toilet. River sighed frustratedly and leant against the side of the bath. It had been the same for days now, she didn't want to tell The Doctor, he would only worry but it just didn't seem to be going away. If it was the flu it would have cleared up days ago. She decided she'd have to check it out with the Tardis scanner. She had an inkling of what it could be but she really didn't want to think about it. She realised that now was the best time, when The Doctor was still asleep, so she brushed her teeth and quickly washed her face, leaving no trace of what had happened. River padded out to the console room with bare feet and with slightly trembling hands, started up the scanner.

"What's wrong with me eh?" She asked the Tardis, resting gently on the console. The scanner whizzed in response but gave no answer to her problems.

"Come on." River said, watching the scan intently. After a long, laborious minute the scanner bleeped at her, showing her exactly what she didn't want.

Medical Scan Results - River Song - Cause Of Sickness: Foetus Detected

"No." River whispered, shaking her head to try and blink it from her mind. "No."

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, gripping the side of the console till her knuckles were white. She wavered slightly while standing with the shock. She felt her eyes welling up and her lip quivered. I won't cry, she promised herself, I won't.

"Are you okay River?" The Doctor's voice came from the other side of the console room. River hadn't seen him come in and was taken by surprise. She quickly flipped a button on the scanner and the text disappeared.

"Mm? Yeah...I'm fine sweetie." She managed a weak smile at her husband. "Just felt a bit ill. I got the Tardis to check everything though. Nothing to worry about." She walked around the console and gave The Doctor a kiss on the cheek.

"If you're sure you're ok..." The Doctor said, seemingly not convinced. "If you need anything just tell me."

"You fuss too much." River said, putting on a more convincing smile and pretending to be her normal self, when in reality she was far from it. "I think I'll go and have a lie down. Go get your toolbox out. You'll have no interruptions from me this time when you're tinkering with the poor old girl's engine."

"Fine. You go have a nice rest." The Doctor smiled at her but he still looked worried.

River left the console room quickly and went back to the bedroom. She locked the door and collapsed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She quickly broke her previous resolve and let a few tears spill over onto her cheeks. How did this happen? She didn't think it was possible, she was only half timelord after all. How the hell was she going to tell The Doctor? Maybe she could get rid of it before he realised? River immediately chastised herself for that thought. If he ever found out he would never forgive her, and...well...she wouldn't be able to do it. She couldn't bring herself to get rid of her own child. The thought horrified her suddenly and she felt her hand hover over her stomach. She looked down and smiled nervously. Maybe she did have a motherly instinct after all, but a baby in the Tardis wouldn't be a good idea and their lifestyles just couldn't include a baby. River couldn't run from sontarans and shoot at them with a tiny child in her arms. It just wouldn't be safe, she couldn't give it the life it deserved but she would never want to give it away. She was going to have to tell The Doctor sooner or later, she was planning on staying with him in the Tardis for a while and he would notice. He was already on high alert from seeing her so upset, she tried to convince him otherwise but he would be looking out for evey little thing she did, and she couldn't stay locked in the bedroom all day. Just the thought of having to tell her husband that she was pregnant made the tears spill over again. She turned onto her front and cried bitterly into the pillow, her golden halo of hair spilling out around her. What she didn't know was that her husband had never got out the toolkit and he was standing right outside the door. He could hear her tears and it made him more worried about his wife than he'd ever been before.

After River had cried herself out, she got up and got dressed. She spotted her face in the mirror and saw that her eyes were red and puffy. She quickly ran into the bathroom and washed her face and put on a smile. Her eyes looked better but within seconds the bright, fake smile had reverted back to a very real nervous frown. River decided that it would have to do. It was the best she was going to get herself to look but The Doctor was inevitably going to interrogate her about everything. She was going to have to tell him. She took a shaky breath and opened the door. She made her way into the console room and peeked her head round the entrance at the top of the stairs.

"Hello sweetie!" She said brightly, a little too brightly. It didn't help that her voice was still hoarse from crying. The Doctor shot her a worried look. He could tell she'd been crying, River never cried. Something was really, really wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked her in a serious tone. Staring into her still red eyes. They looked sore.

"Nothing! I feel a lot better now. Nothing for you to worry about. There's nothing wrong with me." She said, trying to smile at him.

"Don't lie to me River Song." The Doctor said through gritted teeth. There was a note of danger in his voice and River was quite taken aback.

"I promise there's nothing the matter." She replied.

"River, I know there's something going on. I know that something is really wrong and I want to help you. You don't have to hide anything from me. Please... just be honest with me. Let me help you, whatever it is we can get through it together." The Doctor was begging now, slightly frustrated. River couldn't fake it anymore, and with a loud sob, she crumpled onto the floor. She sat there, hugging her knees and crying, even though she didn't think it was possible to cry any Doctor thought she looked helpless, like a little girl.

"I'm sorry." She choked out.

"River?" The Doctor ran over to her to comfort sat down next to her and let her wrap her arms around him and cry into his shoulder. He didn't have a clue what was happening to his wife and he was a picture of worry as he cradled River. "Shh. It's okay. I'm here, I've got you, it's okay."

"I'm sorry." River said again, in a whisper this time.

"It's okay River. Whatever it is that's happened, I will always love you. Always." The Doctor whispered into her ear through a layer of golden curls. She slowly started to calm down. Her breathing became more regular, and the tears sunsided. The Doctor looked at her, cupping her face with his hands and wiped the tears away gently.

"Doctor." River said, but didn't get further. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Doctor I...I...I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened with shock, unable to process what he'd just heard. Suddenly, he grinned like a schoolboy. "River that's... that's fantastic!" He laughed happily and he hugged her tightly, reassuring her slightly.

"I'm scared." She said to him.

"Of what?" He asked, still grinding in disbelief.

"Of everything. I don't want to be a bad mother." She said.

"River." The Doctor stared into her eyes, took her hands in his and placed them carefully on her stomach. "Believe me when I say, you'll be a brilliant mother. My River Song." He kissed her gently and she smiled. She took his arm and pulled him over to the console scanner. She pulled up the scan results again and pushed another button. Suddenly, an ultrasound image of their baby was pulled up onto the screen. River bit her lip nervously and kept her hands over her stomach, looking quite terrified at the picture in front of her. She turned to look at her husband, who was gazing in awe at the squirming image and she smiled. She pulled him in for a kiss. Maybe a baby wasn't so bad after all.