It wasn't G rated. Or PG, for that matter.

No, more like PG-13. But not R. And, surprisingly enough, that was the Doctor's fault.

"Stop, honey." River mumbled, swatting at his arm. "I'm bored." He huffed. "And your bum is very nice. Have I ever told you that?" He wondered aloud.

She groaned and slapped his arm again. "Hands. Off."

He relented and let them splay across her back instead. "River, I've gotten plenty of sleep the last few days. I really don't need any more. I don't see how you do!" She cracked an eye open. "Sweetie, I swear, if you don't shut up, I'm going to duct tape your mouth shut and tie you on the floor while I sleep."

His mouth promptly closed. He knew she wasn't bluffing because she'd done it before.

So he very unceremoniously threw the covers off and pulled out of River's embrace. "Where do you think you're going?" She asked, eyes opening at the loss of heat.

He pulled his trousers on. "I told you, I'm quite bored. I've got to do something."

She sat up, propping her head up with her elbow. "And since I won't let you grope me in my brother's house, you're leaving to go where?"

His face reddened. "I wasn't.... groping you." She rolled her eyes. "Not yet, no. Now where are you going?"

"I..... maybe Akhaten." He replied, slipping his button-up on and beginning to fasten them. "You're going to the girl, then." River said calmly, getting out of the bed and stilling his hands to take over them.

"Well.... now that you mention it, it's not such a bad idea." He mumbled. She smiled softly at his uncertainty and continued to push another button through, pressing a kiss to his chest before she covered it. "What, you think I'm jealous?" She asked, helping into the vest. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's just that..." he fumbled, running his fingers through his hair, "she may or may not have snogged me at some point."

River's eyebrows shot up and she ducked her head to hide the corners of her lips quirking. "Oh, did she now?"

He gulped as she straightened his collar. "Yes?"

"Well," River said, looping his bowtie around his neck, "you'll have to wear one of our wedding rings, won't you?" She began tying it. "What do you mean? Are all my bowties our wedding rings?" He asked, watching her do it.

"Oh yes. This-" She put her hand up to his face and traced the Gallifreyan word for 'mine'. He chuckled. "Okay, works by me." He bit his lip. "But what if, you know, for some crazy reason, my next regeneration doesn't like bowties?"

River kissed his cheek and tied the knot, then smoothed it out. "Hm. If it doesn't like bowties, he might not like me." She was teasing, but there was an underlying tone there that made his gut twist.

The Doctor scoffed. "Ridiculous. Of course he will. I always will. Maybe I'll get a real wedding ring if I don't like bowties."

"Now, if you aren't back by tomorrow morning, I'll be very unhappy. If you get killed, I'll be very unhappy. So don't get killed, and get here back on time. Got it?"

He bopped her nose. "Got it."

She kissed his lips quickly and shoved his shoulder. "Go on, old man."

He giggled and leaned over Brooke's cot to press his lips to her forehead. "Daddy'll be right back." He promised, and hugged his wife again, only to pull away with of sadness on his face. "But you can't... you won't sleep." He remembered aloud. River shrugged. "It's four o'clock in the morning. I'll be fine. I've had plenty of sleep the last few days, anyway."

"Or maybe I should stay."

"You go right now and show that girl Akhaten. Now."

He bit his lip, but nodded and left to find Clara. 

--------

It'd been fun. Thankfully, Clara hadn't noticed the pacifier on the floor or the toy set up in the corner of the room. That would be interesting to explain.

But they'd helped, and that was what mattered.

However, the planet, the one that had started to take his memories, just brought the Library back to the front of his mind.

His mind wasn't like humans. He actually had his memories in different places, all stored away, some conscious and some unconscious. It was a lot more organized. River's wasn't exactly like that, but she still had a remarkable mind.

It was difficult to put the Library back once it was in the front.

So he'd dropped Clara off and immediately start researching all the ways he could save her. The Tesselecta was the first that came to mind, but he dismissed it immediately. What River had wired up to her head that moment was something designed for the brain's memory space. Then there was the Flesh. He would have to send in a doppleganger River to meet her team and his younger self. Then he could upload the copy. There were flaws in that, too. It was still be one of his Rivers, and one of her would still be inside a computer. Some people would have jumped at the opportunity to live forever inside a mainframe with all the books ever written. River wasn't one of them.

She valued death. She liked being in control of that aspect. She'd never told him, but the nightmares of her with that spacesuit forcing her to stay alive and kill him woke her often. She'd tried to end her own life so she wouldn't end his, but she wasn't in control.

River liked control in general. She didn't have it when she was younger, not really. When she lost control, the only person she'd share it with was him. But younger him wasn't really him, and he certainly wasn't in the mainframe. Which led to another idea- could he get into the mainframe? Maybe. He had a very good idea of how to do it, and it made sense. But then he'd be leaving her to raise their child alone.

No, the only idea that made sense was to get her out of the mainframe once she got in. So that's what he'd have to do.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and adjusted the scanner. "River, River, River." He mumbled. "How do I save you?"

 Then the TARDIS scanner dinged. 

He walked over to it, and an image popped up. Well, a video. It was of the day he'd left River at Amy and Rory's house to take care of Brooke by herself.

As he watched, he noted how well she was doing. She fed the baby in the morning, ate in the morning, then manufactured a stroller and left the house. She got back an hour later, and he could tell by the little tufts of grass caught on the wheels she'd been to the park. Then she played with Brooke, fed her again, and rocked her to sleep.

Then she came back into the lounge and took the stroller apart, putting everything where it belonged.

He realized why the TARDIS was showing him this about the time Brooke woke up and River went to get her.

River could manage just fine on her own.

Hell, she did manage just fine on her own. When she went to Luna, she passed the tests and she wrote the papers. It had nothing to do with him. He'd just swing by sometimes. When she went to Stormcage, most of the time she escaped on her own. She made sure she had decent food, she made sure no one hit her, and she made sure that he was okay, the entire time. When she was a Professor, she got the job and graded papers. She went on expeditions and taught her students. She was the one who helped those students get their education. She handled him, kept up with him. On her own.

And the worst part? It stung.

February 26, 2013. 4:08 AM. Anthony and Georgia's House.

River can manage without me. She can. She can do everything without me. She doesn't really need me for all those things she does. Hell, if I wasn't there, she wouldn't have gone to prison! I've told her this before; that she'd be better without me. Before, she's just laughed. "No, my love. You're forgetting that I wouldn' t exist without you." She'd say, and then she'd kiss me and all my thoughts would fly away. And she's right. She wouldn't exist. But if I just left, and I didn't see her again after that, who would it hurt more?

That question scares me the most. Probably because I automatically think- me. There's no question. I'm the one who, I'm sure, will fall apart and not get back up after the Library. If I even think about that prospect now, I shudder. But it's true. I'll fall down, hit the floor, and not get back up. Instead I'll curl into a ball. Kind of like a poisonous, sleeping snake. Come near and I'd strike.

Getting River out would be largely selfish. I have no doubt that she wants out. But getting her out would make her continue go through a living hell with our backwards timeline (who knows the paradox). Not getting her out results in me not wanting to live anymore and her being stuck in a computer, never changing, never dying, never doing anything.

But, I get it. I think I do, anyway. Why else would the TARDIS show me that? The Old Girl almost misses her as much as I do. The point's not that she can stay in there without me and survive.

The point is, she can work on her own. She can get herself out of this.

[A/N. What do y'all think? Good, sucky, awesome, wondering if I'm on drugs (I'm not)? @riversong4ever helped me come up with an AMAZING plan for the Library fix-it part. It's gonna be awesome. It might take a while, but it'll be awesome.

Vote, comment, and eat bacon! (I don't know where that came from... I think I'm hungry...) ]