A/N: Okay, I lied. There will be one more chapter of the "The Name of the Doctor" Because this chapter is already over 2k words and I prefer to keep them between 1,500 and 2,00. If you haven't already figured this out: this story is following the Doctor's perspective. Anything he doesn't see will not be written and I will probably gloss over all scenes not relevant to the story such as Doctor/Clara moments and the mental scene. Everything is very focused on River and his goodbye to her.

Down, down, down they fall. The slide continues for a ways in complete darkness, but after a few minutes, the flickering glow of flames began to dance in the distance. With little grace, Clara and the Doctor land in a dirty patch and scramble to their feet to look around. The Doctor immediately pulls out his screwdriver and scans for signs of life, but of course their are none. They are surrounded by the dead and one particular presence is still haunting him. River's presence is more solid than it has been since they first arrived on Trenzalor. Her eyes follow him and the Doctor does everything he can to avoid her gaze not wanting to feel that pang of regret and heartbreak that just grows stronger with each time he see's her.

The time lord brushes the dirt of his clothes and fidgets with his bowtie before heading off in a direction that was anything but random. Torches line the walls and he quickly grabs one to use against the darkness. Clara follows, as always full of questions. Taking a turn to the right, they continue down a small set of stairs and make their way to his tomb.

"Where are we?"

Shouldn't it be obvious? Cobwebs and the stench of death surround them both as they journey through the tunnels. "Catacombs."

"I hate catacombs. So how come I met your dead wife?" Straight to the point as always, the Doctor feels his heart stumble on the forward question.

"Oh well, you know how it is when you lose someone close to you. I sort of made a back-up." Pressing forward, the Doctor fights the urge to look back, not wanting to see her following them. There is a whispering of an all too familiar voice in his ears and while he can't quite understand what she is saying, he feels a deep and pressing sadness fill his hearts. Suddenly the singular whisper turns to many and the Whisper Men appear right on their tails.

The Doctor whirls around and quickly grabs Clara's hand to yank her out of harms way.

"Clara, come on! Run, run!"

And they begin to run.

Each time they round a corner the Doctor looks back, but the Whisper Men are always just a step behind. They run through tombs and up stairs. They run in circles and never seemed to be getting any further away. At last they stumble across a large archway and they pass through, and the Doctor shouts in realization.

"Come on, quickly, we're in."

Just as they enter the archway, he turns and notices the open steel door, but a hand grasps Clara's arm firmly so both are pulled back.

"Doctor!"

"Clara!"

Tugging with all of his strength the Doctor scrambles to free her. It only takes a second for him to break the grip of the Whisper Man and slam the door shut. Unfortunately, it does not work as well as he planned because a black, gloved hand is shut in the door still twitching. Their fortune takes a turn for the better when it is promptly retrieved and the door clicks shut.

Filled with a rush of relief, the Doctor pauses to catch his breath as Clara watches him with wide eyes. Her adrenaline is still racing from the close call, but both know that they have to keep moving.

"Yowzah."

For the first time, they have a chance to glance around and see where they are. The room is metallic and a dawning realization fills the Doctor. They made it to the TARDIS and she hums lightly in recognition of his arrival. The torch proves no longer necessary as artificial light can show them the way. The are near the Holding Ring, but there is no time to be sentimental.

Despite the distance they had come so far, there is still a ways to go. "Still a bit of a climb. I think I remember the way. Clara? Clara." The Doctor turns to see her leaning heavily against the wall and returns, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to help support her weight.

"Hey, it's okay. You're fine. The dimensioning forces this deep in the TARDIS, they can make you a bit giddy."

"I know, I know." Clara pulls away roughly and stares at him with obvious confusion and fear shining in her eyes. "How do I know? How do I know that?"

There isn't time for this discussion, so the Doctor tries to brush it off. "Clara, it's okay. You're fine."

Not to be distracted, she continues the never ending questions. "Have we, have we done this before? We have. We have done this before. Climbing through a wrecked Tardis." She pauses and recognition flashes across her features. "You said things, things I'm not supposed to remember."

The last time he traveled with her floats across his mind, but he pushes them back knowing they need to concentrate.

"We can't do this now. The Tardis is a ruin. The telepathic circuits are awakening memories you shouldn't even have." This is bad. This is very, very bad. Clara can't remember. It will mess everything up. Her focus slips and the Doctor calls her name trying to bring her back to the present.

"Clara. Clara? Clara, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean, you keep meeting me? You said I died. How could I die?" More questions and they were not even questions that he can answer. Clara shouldn't even remember them! She stares into the holding cell, not really seeing anything and gripping the bars to hold herself upright.

"That is not a conversation you should even remember." The Doctor feels like a broken repeating the same thing over and over again with a question whose answer he did not know. In frustration, she turns and raises her voice.

"What do you mean I died?" The Whisper Men are catching up and really there isn't enough time to explain her in-explainable situation because even he had no idea why she kept appearing!

"The girl who died he tried to save. She'll die again inside his grave." As the voices echo around the chamber, the Doctor glances around trying to figure out where the Whisper Men are coming from. They are not behind them, they are not in front of him. All he knows is they need to keep running because he is definitely not going to let her die again.

"Run. Run!"

The Doctor leads them with renewed energy, knowing he is close to where they need to run. There is another way to get out. They ran and ran, twisting and turning through the tunnels. The wardrobe was left far behind them and a strange door appeared that the Doctor had never seen. Perhaps the TARDIS was helping them. Eagerly, he pulled the door open and the cool air of the planet's atmosphere rushed over them. The TARDIS made an exit for them; she was still with him even after his death.

The Doctor turns to secure the door, but as soon as it snaps shut it vanishes. Apparently, the exit is one way only. Whispering continues and it seems as if they are being herded, but really there is nothing else to do except keep moving. Around the box they run, ducking around gravestones, crossing over tombs until they turned the corner and see the face of the TARDIS herself. A small crowd of people consisting of both friends and foes are gathered around the door and he knew they are waiting on him. An all too familiar voice speaks and the Doctor knows who is facing the doors apart from the crowd before Simeon even turns to confront him.

"The doors require a key. The key is a word. And the word is the Doctor's."

"Here I am, late to my own funeral. Glad you could make it. Jenny." While speaking, the Doctor takes his positions between his companions and the Great Intelligence who threatens them all. A small nod of acknowledgement is all he shares with Jenny in greeting. He had already made the decision to not answer the question long ago when he was first told the prophecy: He will not say his name.

"Open the door, Doctor. Speak, and open your tomb."

"No." It will not be so simple and there is a firm resolve in the Doctor's tone. It will not happen.

"Because you know what's in there?"

That is precisely the reason why it is not a good idea. "I will not open those doors."

"The key is a word lost to time." The Doctor knows all of this and it will not change anything. "A secret hidden in the deepest shadow and known to you alone. The answer to a question." The Doctor steps forward and stops only when he is face to face with the man before him.

"I will not open my tomb." A touch of anger laces his voice as the Doctor reveals his frustration. What is it with people making him repeat himself over and over again today?

"Doctor, what is your name?" Simeon is unaffected by the show and his hand reaches up to grasp the Doctor's chin in order to lift his head and bring them nose to nose. It only takes a second for the time lord to reach by grasping the phantom's wrist firmly in an act of defiance, lifting his head all the higher. Seeing that he is getting no where, Simeon raises the stakes and gives a firm command. "The Doctor's friends. Stop their hearts." The Great Intelligence's fist closes firmly on itself in an actions that could seem as if he personally is squeezing the last beat out of each of his companion's hearts and the Doctor feels a rush of rage.

Straxs begins attempting to battle. Jenny is reasonable as always, but fear is obvious in her voice. Clara calls out his name. All the while, the Whisper Men close in, hissing lightly.

"Stop this. Leave them alone." The Doctor's companions are always a sore spot for him and unfortunately Simeon had chosen the only thing that could possibly cause him to doubt.

"Your name, Doctor. Answer me." No. His name is the most terrible thing and never could he trust anyone with it. He hadn't even told River yet in his timeline and yet he knew he would.

"Doctor?" Clara's voice stands out above the whispers and he glances out of the corner of his eye to see her backing away waiting for him to have a clever idea.

"Doctor who?"

Strax is under attack, Clara is cornered. Jenny and Vastra are at a loss of what to do.

"Please, stop it."

"Doctor who?"

"Unhand me, sir. Argh." Always the Sontaran, simply giving a command and expecting it to be obeyed. Strax had no means of fighting and the Doctor resorts to the same thing: commanding an enemy he knew would not listen.

"Leave him alone. Let him be."

"Don't worry, sir. I think I've got him rattled." Of course you do, potato head! It seems impossible. There are no weapons, threats are all empty, the Doctor has no idea how to stop the Whisper Men except to do the impossible: speak his name and open his tomb. He can not.

His hearts beat a crazy rhythm at twice their normal speed, but the Doctor does his best to hold his ground. When Clara calls out his name, he cracks.

"Doctor who?"

"Please!"

The word hardly leaves his mouth before there is a shifting behind them and the door creaks open letting a bright streaming light cover them all. All around him, his companions are released, but the Doctor stares at the doors not realizing why they opened until he hears an all too familiar voice. This time he can understand her.

"The Tardis can still hear me. Lucky thing, since him indoors is being so useless." River's form steps right in front of him, bathed in the light of the TARDIS and she has a small smile growing across her lips.

Behind him, Strax complains about the doors opening as if it was a surrender. "Why did you open the door, sir? I had them on the run."

"I didn't do it. I didn't say my name." He knew who did, but he can not say it out loud. River is always there; always in the corner of his mind. When he does something silly he can hear her sarcasm or see her laugh and roll her eyes. She follows him when ever and where ever he goes, but never before has she appeared so clearly. This time is different. This time the TARDIS hears her too.

"No, but I did." There is a note of pride in her voice that she could save the day and still keep his deepest and darkest secret. The Doctor stands there with his mouth slightly open not quite sure how to reach or if he should even acknowledge that she is really there, standing in front of them all. It wasn't until a beat later that a new question forms in his mind: Why is no one else reacting to the newcomer in the group?

He realizes no one can see her and forces himself to look away. It would hurt too much to speak with her and explain to the others what is going on. It is better to just pretend like she isn't there.

"Is everyone all right? Is everyone okay?" Vastra and Jenny cling to one another so the Doctor moves on. "Clara? Clara? Clara, are you okay?" She is not going to die for him today. Not if he has anything to say about it!

"That was not nice." Pulling her into his chest, the Doctor embraces her wanting nothing more than to keep her safe and protect her from the oncoming battle.

"I know. I'm sorry." The Doctor stood and once again placed himself between his companions and his opponent. "Now then, Doctor Simeon, or Mister G Intelligence, whatever I call you, do you know what's in there?"

"For me, peace at last. For you, pain everlasting. Won't you invite us in?"

The question is only a disguised command and there is no other option. Looking away with a sigh, the Doctor realizes he must face this and take whatever consequences that are to come. With a new resolve, he strides forward with his head held high and forces the door open not looking back at those he know will follow.
(The Doctor forces the doors further open.)

If you have a minute, please review. Let me know what you think and what you would like to see in future chapters. I cannot promise that I will include ever idea, but I will try to include some more because I have about 3 of my own so far and would like a bit more.