Watching the Doctor

by RedRobyn2

The Doctor is stranded in prison, dealing with the revelations of the Timeless Child and the memories of her time travelling, all alone. Until the Tardis decides enough is enough and gathers her and some of her more recent companions to help her deal with her past and make some amends by watching her adventures. Characters watch the show, set after Timeless Child/Pre-Resolution.

30. The Wedding of River Song

Hello everyone!

May I present to you, the winner of the three choices: The Wedding or River Song!

Am I completely happy with this? No, but I do want to upload it for you all so I stop procrastinating.

Please enjoy and read the author's note at the bottom!

Thanks for reading.

Robyn

---

The majority of people woke up slowly and in small groups. Taking their time to enjoy the calm morning, having quiet untense conversations about random things, and sipping cups of tea (in true British fashion) as they watched more and more of the group poor into the kitchen.

There was a small minority of the group, namely the Doctor (and the Master, not that he'd ever admit it), that hadn't slept much, not that they ever did. Stuck thinking about all that they'd seen and unnerved by the thought of what might be next, though the joy of being surrounded by friends and family usually outweighed the crushing disappointment and self-hatred of knowing what had happened to them all because of her. The few nights they'd spent here had gone by fairly peacefully, as there was no actual danger bar the past shown in the videos, yet for some reason last night she hadn't been able to enjoy the peace, and she wasn't quite sure why, which only made everything worse.

Still, she stuck to her silent promise from last night, and tried to focus on the positives, deciding not to reveal her turbulent thoughts and restless night and instead focus on those around her. She was the last one to enter the kitchen in the morning (even the Master was hiding away in the darkest corner), she received several waves and smiles as people noticed her entrance. River immediately saddled up to her and shoved a mug of warm tea into her hand with a soft smile, likely noticing her slightly shaky hands but not saying a word.

For around an hour the group enjoyed each other's presence, each sharing stories from their time before, with and after the Doctor, although they all stayed on the cheerful side with their stories, never dipping into more tense or dangerous ones. That would be left to the videos to show for now.

Eventually though, everyone seemed to decide it was time to make their way back to the movie room and see what the Tardis had in store for them next. It didn't take much time for everyone to settle back in the places they'd claimed over the last few 'days' (or whatever was going for days in the timeless place here). As soon as they were all settled the next title revealed itself.

"The Wedding of River Song?" Amy raised an eyebrow at her daughter whose own eyes had widened at the title. It seemed like she was going to play a central role in this video.

"Which one?" The Doctor snorted teasingly, grinning widely at her wife.

Rory just sighed at the three of them. Despite their cheer, all four were trying to think about what the video was actually going to feature – the Doctor's grin wavered slightly as a thought occurred to her, she had a feeling she knew what this video was going to be about. If she was right, this would be … interesting.

"Guess we'll have to wait and see." River shrugged, raising a questioning eyebrow at her wife as she noticed her more subdued mood. The Doctor shook her head minutely, she'd have to watch.

[London 5:02pm 22nd April, 2011]

The Doctor winced at the data and time, realising she was absolutely right in her theory.

"That's oddly … specific." Bill commented.

(Not the London we know though, with steam trains running on aerial tracks through the Zurich Re building, cars carried by balloons...)

"Erm, are we sure that's London 2011?" Ryan asked confused.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how London looked in 2011." Amy added, getting more confused as the video went on. The date was very specific, London was messed up and it all apparently had something to do with River getting married – oh, she had a sudden idea about what it could be but the memories were blurry.

The Doctor sighed, "No that's what it looks like when you break time." Everyone's heads whipped around to face her, staring in silent shock.

"That's … one way to break it to us." Rose declared. "Really doesn't suggest this video is going to go well." The Doctor's grimace reassured no one. Rory, Amy and River all shared a concerned look.

NEWSMAN [OC]: And it's another beautiful day in London. There are reports of sunspot activity and solar flares causing interference across all radio signals so apologies for that. Pterodactyls fly over children playing in Hyde Park.)
GIRL: Guys, look!
(The pterodactyls swoop and the children run to the trees, past the sign 'Pterodactyls are vermin. Do not feed.'

"Are pterodactyls like seagulls in this broken time version of reality?" Yaz asked conflicted between confused and entertained. Non one answered her, all sharing a similar train of thought.

A Roman centurion in a chariot waits at the traffic lights and the headline on the Londinium Cotide is - War of the Roses enters second year.
On a TV in a shop window is a breakfast television programme -)
BILL TURNBULL [on TV]: So do you think you can top last year's Christmas Special?
SIAN WILLIAMS [on TV]: And can you tell us anything about it?
DICKENS [on TV]: Well, all I can say now is that it involves ghosts, and the past, the present and future, all at the same time.
SIAN WILLIAMS [on TV]: Ooo, we love a ghost story.
NEWS ANCHOR [on TV]: Crowds lined the Mall today as Holy Roman Emperor, Winston Churchill, returned to the Buckingham Senate on his personal mammoth.

"This is just weird." Clara shook her head, things just got more and more broken. "It seems like something out of a book or movie."

[Churchill's office]

(Winston Churchill is having his blood pressure checked by his Silurian male nurse.)

"Is that a Silurian?" Martha asked surprised, "Like Madame Vastra?"

The Doctor nodded, "With time as broken as this, a lot of things that are seemingly impossible and possible, including Silurians being on semi-friendly terms with humans.

"How did time break in the first place?" Donna asked the question they'd all been thinking.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, glancing at River, before answering, "Just watch, it's a very long story."

MALOHKEH: Not too many late nights in Gaul, I hope.
CHURCHILL: Just the one. I had an argument with Cleopatra. Dreadful woman. Excellent dancer.

"Winston Churchill in 2011, talking about meeting Cleopatra while getting attended by a Silurian nurse." Mickey shook his head, "Now I really do think I've seen everything."

MALOHKEH: I can tell from your blood pressure.
CHURCHILL: What time do you have, doctor?
MALOHKEH: Two minutes past five, Caesar.
CHURCHILL: It's always two minutes past five. Day or night, it's always two minutes past five in the afternoon. Why is that?

"Because an idiot broke time." The Master snorted degradingly, with a pointed look at the Doctor which was promptly ignored.

MALOHKEH: Because that is the time, Caesar.
CHURCHILL: And the date. It's always the twenty second of April. Does it not bother you?
MALOHKEH: The date and the time have always been the same, Caesar. Why should it start bothering me now?

"Everything about this is crazy." Rory shook his head, occasionally shooting concerned looks at River. Between the title of the video and the way the Doctor kept glancing at her suggested she was heavily involved which was concerning for several reasons. He also couldn't help but think about the timeline, where were they compared to River? Was this before they knew she was their daughter or after? He narrowed his eyes at the screen, before realising what this likely was going to be about, "Oh."

His defeated tone drew some side looks and curious glances (as he clearly had an idea what this could be about), but no one asked any questions.

CHURCHILL: I want to see the Soothsayer. Where is he?
MALOHKEH: In the Tower, where you threw him the last time.
CHURCHILL: Get him.
(A bedraggled figure in toga and shackles is brought it.)
CHURCHILL: Leave us. Tick tock goes the clock, as the old song says. But they don't, do they? The clocks never tick. Something has happened to time. That's what you say. What you never stop saying. All of history is happening at once. But what does that mean? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand what happened to time.
DOCTOR: A woman.

"Of course, the soothsayer's you." Jack shook his head with a fond grin that didn't match the worry in his eyes.

"Cryptic answers and in the middle of trouble." Martha added, "I mean who else would it be."

[Disabled spaceship]

(Earlier -)
DOCTOR: Imagine you were dying. Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home and in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the devil himself. Hello, Dalek.

"Oh Daleks, because this mess can't get much more confusing or worse." Graham sighed.

DALEK: Emergency. Emergency. Weapon system disabled. Emergency.
(The Doctor opens up the top of the Dalek.)
DOCTOR: Hush, now. I need some information from your data core. Everything the Daleks know about the Silence.

River, Amy, Rory, and the Doctor all flinched as one when they heard that name. The first three were starting to have some suspicions about why they couldn't remember anything about this.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you all know something about this Silence?" Bill asked, having noticed (alongside literally everyone else in the room) the way the group had flinched at the name.

"You could say that." Rory grimaced.

"Are they friendly?" Ryan cut in, voice hopeful but clearly expecting a negative answer.

"Not even remotely." Amy snorted with a dark look on her face.

"Of course, they're not." Ryan sighed.

"Wait, the Silence? Like those creepy memory-deleting things from Trenzalore?" Clara asked, eyes widening in realisation.

The four nodded with matching grimaces. Things just kept getting better and better.

[The Docks of Calisto B]

(A cloaked figure walks through destruction towards the figure in the stetson, who then steps into a seedy space bar.)

"You and your hats." River shook her head fondly. The Doctor grinned back unrepentant.

DOCTOR: Gideon Vandaleur. Get him. Now.
BARMAN: Who says he's here?
(The Doctor drops the Dalek's eyestalk onto the counter. A short while later, the Doctor is at a table reading Knitting for Girls when the cloaked figure sits down with him.)

A few people snorted, amused at the sight of the Doctor's reading choice. The Doctor was a weird person, and easy to underestimate when you saw them like this, but that wasn't a mistake people often made twice.

DOCTOR: Father Gideon Vandaleur, former envoy of the Silence. My condolences.
VANDALEUR: Your what?
DOCTOR: Gideon Vandaleur has been dead for six months.
(The Doctor sonicks the figure, which is wearing the same style eyepatch as Madam Kovarian, and it goes rigid.)
DOCTOR: Can I speak to the Captain, please?
(The small figure in the eye nods and runs.)

"Is that the Teselecta?" Amy's eyes widened, glancing between the Doctor and the screen. The Doctor nodded with a small smile. She definitely had a strong feeling about the contents of this video.

"The small people in the killer robot shape-shifting thing from Berlin?" Rose asked, earning nods from those that had been in Berlin.

Jack whistled, "It seems a lot of things are coming together." He shot a pointed look at the Doctor who avoided any eye contact.

[Teselecta]

DOCTOR [on viewscreen]: Hello again, the Teselecta time-travelling shape-changing robot powered by miniaturised people. Never get bored of that. Long time since Berlin.
CARTER: Doctor, what have you done to our systems?
DOCTOR [on viewscreen]: They'll be fine if you behave. Now, this unit can disguise itself as anyone in the universe, so if you're posing as Vandaleur, you're investigating the Silence. Tell me about them.
CARTER: Tell you what?
DOCTOR [on viewscreen]: One thing. Just one. Their weakest link.

"What are you up to?" River asked the Doctor quietly; she had several pieces of the puzzle and yet they still didn't seem to make a clear picture.

"Just watch." The Doctor mumbled back.

[Calisto B space bar]

(A game of chess is in progress, and a Queen is sizzling with voltage. The Doctor's opponent is an alien in an eyepatch.)

"That is a dangerous game of chess." Clara declared, eying the Queen wearily.

DOCTOR: The crowd are getting restless. They know the Queen is your only legal move, except you've already moved it twelve times, which means there are now over four million volts running through it. That's why they call it Live Chess. Even with the gauntlet you'll never make it to Bishop Four alive.
GANTOK: I am a dead man, unless you concede the game.
DOCTOR: But I'm winning.

"You've got him exactly where you want him." Nardole realised, recognising the Doctor he'd spent so long with in this younger one. The Doctor nodded.

GANTOK: Name your price.
DOCTOR: Information.
GANTOK: I work for the Silence. They would kill me.
DOCTOR: They're going to kill me too, very soon. I was just going to lie down and take it, but you know what? Before I go, I'd like to know why I have to die.

"Is this about Lake Silencio?" Amy whipped around to face the Doctor, finally making the missing connection and wanting confirmation.

The Doctor sighed, but nodded. Amy, Rory and River all shared knowing looks, they all knew what this video was going to be about for certain now and it was going to be interesting. They couldn't help but be intrigued to see the Doctor's perspective of it, especially as their memories of it were a bit blurry.

"Lake Silencio? You've mentioned it a few times." Martha's eyes narrowed at the group, wanting answers.

The four exchanged another set of looks. The Doctor visibly considered answering for a moment before turning to meet Martha's gaze. "Like I said, it's a very long story. We'll likely watch it at some point, but all you need to know is I was supposed to die at Lake Silencio, it was a fixed point, but I got around it eventually. This is how I got around it."

No one seemed satisfied with that as an answer, but they knew they weren't going to get any more out of the Doctor now. Those that knew anything about fixed points exchanged concerned looks, things were getting worse with every moment, but the broken time made a bit more sense to some of them.

GANTOK: Dorium Maldovar is the only one who can help you.
DOCTOR: Dorium's dead. The Monks beheaded him at Demon's Run.
GANTOK: I know. Concede the game, Doctor, and I'll take you to him.

"How can taking him to a dead man help?" Donna exclaimed, annoyed at how confusing everything was getting.

"You'd be surprised." The Doctor answered cryptically.

[Charnel house]

(Lots of skulls, some on shelves, some on the floor.)
GANTOK: The Seventh Transept, where the Headless Monks keep the leftovers. Watch your step. There are traps everywhere.
DOCTOR: I hate rats.

"What's eating them then?" Rose asked quietly.

GANTOK: There are no rats in the transept.
DOCTOR: Oh, good.
GANTOK: The skulls eat them.
(The skulls on shelves turn to look at the visitors.)

"That is terrifying." Bill muttered, wide-eyes staring at the screen. She wasn't the only one nervously watching the screen.

GANTOK: The headless monks behead you alive, remember.
DOCTOR: Why are some of them in boxes?
(Nice boxes on pillars.)
GANTOK: Because some people are rich, and some people are left to rot. And Dorium Maldovar was always very rich.

"Ah rich privilege still exists when decapitated by weird alien monks, good to know." Yaz snorted.

(The Doctor opens Dorium's box. The blue head sneezes.)
DOCTOR: Thank you for bringing me, Gantok.
GANTOK: My pleasure. It saves me the trouble of burying you. Nobody beats me at chess.

The room immediately tensed, realising the trap the Doctor had just walked into.

(Gantok draws his weapon and moves forward, triggering a trap. He falls down into a pit of ravening skulls.)
DOCTOR: Gantok!
(Gantok gets eaten, then the skulls turn their attention upwards. The Doctor sonics the pit closed again. Dorium opens his eyes.)

The group watched wide-eyed in horror as Gantok met his fate. Even if he had been about to shoot the Doctor, they weren't sure he deserved that.

"That's one holiday destination I'm going to strike off my bucket list." Jack mumbled.

DORIUM: Hello? Is someone there? Ah, Doctor. Thank God it's you. The Monks, they turned on me.
DOCTOR: Well, I'm afraid they rather did, a bit.
DORIUM: Give it to me straight, Doctor. How bad are my injuries?

"He doesn't know?" Rory asked, "How doesn't he know?" The Doctor just grinned and waved to the screen.

DOCTOR: Well
DORIUM: Ha, ha! Oh, your face.

Rory just sighed.

[Churchill's office]

CHURCHILL: This is absurd. Other worlds, carnivorous skulls, talking heads. I don't know why I'm listening to you.

"You're telling him this as a story?" Clara asked the Doctor who nodded with a smile.

DOCTOR: Because, in another reality, you and I are friends. And you sense that. Just as you sense there is something wrong with time.

"You're friends with Winston Churchill? No, wait. Of course, you are." Martha shook her head.

The Doctor grinned, sharing a glance with Amy who was also grinning widely, both thinking back to their visit with Winston and the mess with the Daleks.

CHURCHILL: You mentioned a woman.
DOCTOR: Yes. I'm getting to her.
CHURCHILL: What's she like? Attractive, I assume.
DOCTOR: Hell, in high heels.

"You know me so well Sweetie." River purred at her wife, who flushed a bit in response.

CHURCHILL: Tell me more.

[Charnel house]

DORIUM: Oh, it's not so bad, really, as long as they get your box the right way up. I got a media-chip fitted in my head years ago, and the Wi-Fi down here is excellent, so I keep myself entertained.

"Love his priorities." Bill chuckled.

DOCTOR: I need to know about the Silence.
DORIUM: Oh. A religious order of great power and discretion. The sentinels of history, as they like to call themselves.
DOCTOR: And they want me dead.
DORIUM: No, not really. They just don't want you to remain alive.

"Oh yeah, because that's so much better." Yaz muttered, glancing at the Doctor.

DOCTOR: That's okay, then. I was a bit worried for a minute there.
DORIUM: You're a man with a long and dangerous past, but your future is infinitely more terrifying. The Silence believe it must be averted.

"Trenzalore and Gallifrey right? They wanted to stop you saying your name and bringing Gallifrey back." Clara remembered, a scowl forming on her face as she remembered that mess and grief.

"Yes, we're watching things a bit backwards -."

"Oh, so just like normal then." Rose grinned, interrupting the Doctor.

The Doctor rolled her eyes but carried on what she was saying, "This is before I knew any details about the Silence, other than they stole River because they wanted her as a weapon against me. That they wanted me dead because of something they thought I would do. I wanted information on why everyone wanted me dead – more so than usual anyway." She clarified at the end as she saw several people about to open their mouths to make a comment.

DOCTOR: You know, you could've told me all this the last time we met.
DORIUM: It was a busy day and I got beheaded.

"Solid argument." Nardole nodded in agreement and understanding while the Doctor rolled her eyes at him.

DOCTOR: What's so dangerous about my future?
DORIUM: On the Fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered.
DOCTOR: Silence will fall when the question is asked.
DORIUM: Silence must fall would be a better translation. The Silence are determined the question will never be answered. That the Doctor will never reach Trenzalore.

"They failed there, but what they feared didn't come about anyway. Yet, Melody was still stolen from us." Amy glared at the screen; she'd never forget what the Silence had taken from her. Her expression softened very so slightly when she noticed the Doctor's guilt-laden expression.

DOCTOR: I don't understand. What's it got to do with me?
DORIUM: The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?
DOCTOR: Yes.
DORIUM: Are you sure? Very, very sure?
DOCTOR: Of course.
DORIUM: Then I shall tell you. But on your own head be it.

"Ominous." Mickey muttered. He was just glad that they already knew what the question was, if not it would have been another mystery to add to a long list that only seemed to grow, yet never shrink.

[Tardis]

DORIUM [in box]: It's not my fault. Put me back. Ow! I've fallen on my nose. Have you got wi-fi here? I'm bored already and my nose is hurting. We all have to die, Doctor, but you more than most. You do see that, don't you? You know what the question is now. You do see that you have to die.

"I'm sorry, people are asking about his name so the logical answer is for him to just accept being killed? Dorium is crazier than I thought." Jack declared angrily.

"Jack." The Doctor attempted to calm him but he ignored her.

"Don't 'Jack' me Doctor. We all know I'm right. In what universe does any of that make sense?" Jack asked, defensively.

"It doesn't, but they were scared Jack. People do stupid things when they're scared." The Doctor tried to defend them, but her own mind couldn't help but drift to her terrible time on Midnight, that was a horrifying example of what fear could do to people.

"That doesn't excuse them." Jack shot back, most of his fire gone, eyes locked on the Doctor.

"No, no it doesn't." She sighed in agreement. There was nothing else either of them could say.

[Senate room]

CHURCHILL: But what was the question? Why did it mean your death?
DOCTOR: Suppose there was a man who knew a secret. A terrible, dangerous secret that must never be told. How would you erase that secret from the world? Destroy it forever, before it can be spoken.
CHURCHILL: If I had to, I'd destroy the man.

"Ruthless." Rose muttered.

"He was a leader during war, he had to be at times." The Doctor shrugged.

DOCTOR: And silence would fall. All the times I've heard those words, I never realised it was my silence, my death. The Doctor will fall. Why are we here?
CHURCHILL: This, this is the Senate Room.
DOCTOR: Why did we leave your office?
CHURCHILL: Well, we wanted a stroll, didn't we?
DOCTOR: I think I've been running. Why do you have your revolver?

"You're missing memories." Amy realised, tensing up.

"You're under attack." Rory added, understanding what Amy had realised. Both thinking back to their own time on the run in 1969.

CHURCHILL: Well, you're dangerous company, Soothsayer.
(There is a single tally mark on the Doctor's arm.)
DOCTOR: Yes. I think I am.
CHURCHILL: Resume your story.

"I don't think this is the time to finish the story, seeing as you're clearly getting attacked!" Donna protested, sending a disapproving look at the Doctor.

[Tardis]

DORIUM [in box]: Doctor, please, open my hatch. I've got an awful headache. Which to be honest means more than it used to. It's like some terrible weight pressing down on my
(The Doctor has put Dorium's box down upside down.)
DORIUM: Oh. I see.

"Bit petty." River raised an eyebrow at her wife.

"Like you can talk."

DOCTOR: Why Lake Silencio? Why Utah?
DORIUM: It's a still point in time. Makes it easier to create a fixed point. And your death is a fixed point, Doctor. You can't run away from this.

"You underestimate the Doctor's ability to run." Clara snorted. That earned a few chuckles from the rest of the group.

DOCTOR: Been running all my life. Why should I stop?
DORIUM: Because now you know what's at stake. Why your life must end.
DOCTOR: Not today.

"The more you tell the Doctor something, the less they will want t do it." The Master drawled from his corner, almost fondly if you could read between the annoyance.

DORIUM: What's the point in delaying? How long have you delayed already?
(The Doctor makes a telephone call.)
DOCTOR: Been knocking about. A bit of a farewell tour. Things to do, people to see. There's always more. I could invent a new colour, save the Dodo, join the Beatles. Hello, it's me. Get him. Tell him, we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and driving. I have got a time machine, Dorium. It's all still going on. For me, it never stops. Liz the First is still waiting in a glade to elope with me. I could help Rose Tyler with her homework. I could go on all of Jack's stag parties in one night.
DORIUM: Time catches up with us all, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Well, it has never laid a glove on me! Hello?

"You weren't coping well, were you Doctor?" Martha asked quietly. The room silent and trying their best not to put more pressure on the Doctor, they all knew from experience that if they all put pressure on the Doctor, she'd either close up completely or answer but leave everyone unhappy, it was a lose-lose situation.

"That obvious?" The Doctor put on a false smile, and fake cheer. She wasn't fooling anyone. Her fake expression dropped straight into a blank look upon seeing everyone watching. "Can you just leave it for now? This video is going to be bad enough as it is." Thankfully no one spoke up, allowing the video to continue. They all mentally added this to the long list of things to eventually talk to the Doctor about (it was becoming a very long list) but their worry over this video's contents was outweighing their desire for answers about the Doctor's past wellbeing 9the simple answer was she wasn't okay and hadn't been in a long time).

[Nursing home]

NURSE: Doctor, I'm so sorry. We didn't know how to contact you. I'm afraid Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart passed away

The room was silent, all looking down in respect for the late Brigadier. Most had never met him, but they'd all heard about him from the Doctor (some much more than most), but they all knew how much the Doctor had cared for him. It felt like the Doctor was getting hit when they were already down.

[Tardis]

NURSE [OC]: a few months ago. Doctor?
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes, I
NURSE [OC]: It was very peaceful. He talked a lot about you, if that's any comfort. Always made us pour an extra brandy in case you came round one of these days.
DORIUM: Doctor? What's wrong?
DOCTOR: Nothing. Nothing. It's just.
(He puts the phone down and takes the Tardis blue envelopes from his pocket.)
DOCTOR: It's time. It's time.

Amy, Rory and River all shared a knowing look upon seeing the familiar envelopes, getting a better idea of when this was for the Doctor, they'd all wondered privately what had made the Doctor decide enough was enough, and now they were finding out. The Brigadier's death seemed to have taken the wind out of the Doctor's sails, been a hit of reality that knocked them over and made them give up, or at least decide to go with whatever plan they had (and they were all hoping the Doctor actually had a plan at this point and wasn't just giving up – it was hard to work out based on the behaviour of the Doctor in the video, and what they knew about that regeneration).

[Calisto B space bar]

VANDALEUR: Surely you could deliver the messages yourself?
DOCTOR: It would involve crossing my own time stream. Best not.

"When has that stopped you in the past?" Donna sent the Doctor a pointed look.

"I try not to, unless I really have too." The Doctor shrugged; she couldn't exactly deny it. "There's a reason I said it is best not to."

"Personal experience." Martha shook her head fondly; they shouldn't have expected anything else with the Doctor.

[Teselecta]

CARTER: According to our files, this is the end for you. Your final journey. We'll deliver your messages. You can depend on us.
DOCTOR [on viewscreen]: Thank you.

"Their files are wrong." Graham pointed out, although it came out a bit more like a question. He knew the Doctor didn't die then, not even that regeneration, but you could never be too certain with the Doctor.

"Most are. She likes to regularly delete herself from all records." River rolled her eyes at her wife, who just shrugged smugly.

[Calisto B space bar]

VANDALEUR: Doctor, whatever you think of the Teselecta, we are champions of law and order just as you have always been. Is there nothing else we can do?

River and the Doctor shared knowing looks. The rest perked up, the start of an idea niggling at the back of their minds. Maybe they had some knowledge of how the Doctor was going to wriggle their way out of this mess.

[Senate room]

CHURCHILL: Why would you do this?
(The postman delivers the invitation to Rory and Amy. River gets hers, too.)
CHURCHILL: Of all the things you've told me, this I find hardest to believe. Why would you invite your friends to see your death?
DOCTOR: I had to die. I didn't have to die alone.

"Doctor …" Amy muttered quietly. She'd been so angry and focussed on her grief (rightfully) after seeing the Doctor die, felt so hurt for him to invite them only to go and die in front of them and then a younger version of him appearing and the whole mess that followed, that she hadn't really thought about why. Why had the Doctor wanted them there – besides the mess in 1969 – and in the end he just hadn't wanted to be alone. Don't get her wrong, she was still pissed but it had been a long time ago now, and she could understand a bit more now, she could sympathise more. Her lonely raggedy Doctor. The Doctor just shook her head in a silent plea in response to her speaking up.

[Road]

AMY: Doctor!
DOCTOR [OC]: Amy and Rory. The last Centurion and the girl who waited. However dark it got, I'd turn around, and there they'd be.

"Always Doctor." Rory spoke up in place of Amy (who was still watching the Doctor with old grief). The Doctor smiled thankful, and hoped that the pair would know how much she appreciated that.

[Senate room]

DOCTOR: If it's time to go, remember what you're leaving. Remember the best. My friends have always been the best of me.

The group all watched silently, they knew the Doctor wasn't going to actually die (or they sincerely hoped) but she sounded sincere in the moments they witnessed only in times of true strife or near death. The advice he was giving Winston was haunted and honest, something learned from being alive so long. They couldn't help but feel honoured if not more and more concerned.

CHURCHILL: And did you tell them this was going to happen?
DOCTOR: It would help if you didn't keep asking questions.

"Everybody always asks questions." The Doctor sighed exasperated, but it was fond.

"Hypocrite." River smirked, looking pointedly at the Doctor.

(There are three tally marks on his arm now.)
DOCTOR: (sotto) We don't have much time.

"We never do." Rose shook her head with a sigh.

[Road]

(River shoots off his stetson.)

"What do you have against my hats?" The Doctor asked River, thinking of all the hats she'd killed (and it was many).

"Everything, sweetie."

CHURCHILL [OC]: And this woman you spoke of. Did you invite her?
RIVER: Hello, sweetie.
DOCTOR [OC]: Yes, she was there. River Song came twice.

"As did you." Rory reminded the Doctor who just waved him off.

[Lakeside]

(The picnic.)
DOCTOR: Napoleon gave me this bottle. Well, I say gave. Threw. Salud!
ALL: Salud!
RORY: So, when are we going to 1969?

"1969? What's that got to do with anything?" Mickey asked, confused.

"At the moment, nothing. Back then, potential answers and a mystery. Like I said, it's a long story but I'm sure it will be shown at some point." The Doctor explained.

DOCTOR [OC]: Everything was in place. I only had to do one more thing. I only had to die.

"Just a small thing then." Bill muttered, mind drifting to her own Doctor's death without her wanting it to.

(The Doctor waves at Delaware by his pickup, and River sees the Impossible Astronaut.)
RIVER: Oh, my God.
DOCTOR: You all need to stay back. Whatever happens now, you do not interfere.
RORY: That's an astronaut. That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake.

"I'm guessing that's half the reason you ended up in 1969." Martha remarked, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the astronaut coming out of the lake.

(The Doctor goes to the astronaut, who is now the adult River, not the child Melody as before.)

"This is when you killed the Doctor." Clara realised, remembering that reveal from what felt like so long ago. Several of the vague comments they'd heard over their time in the room were starting to make some more sense (although they would still like the full context).

"Yes." River answered, eyes never leaving the screen, expression unreadable. The Doctor frowned, taking River's hand in her own and squeezing in an attempt to ground her wife, and pull her away from whatever memory she was currently reliving. The small thankful smile that River sent her way told her that her plan had at least partially succeeded.

DOCTOR: Well, then. Here we are at last.
RIVER: I can't stop it. The suit's in control.
DOCTOR: You're not supposed to. This has to happen.

"Doctor." Jack muttered, edging closer on the sofa. Hating being able to do nothing but watch as the Doctor accepted his death. It may have been a long time ago now, but he hated feeling so useless and having to watch one of his oldest friends in this situation. He'd also become quite close to River, and while he may not know everything she'd gone through, he could see how much this was hurting her too.

RIVER: Run.
DOCTOR: I did run. Running brought me here.
RIVER: I'm trying to fight it, but I can't. It's too strong.
DOCTOR: I know. It's okay. This is where I die. This is a fixed point. This must happen. This always happens. Don't worry. You won't even remember this. Look over there.

"You really don't make anything easy." River muttered; eyes locked onto the screen. She knew this had happened, she remembered seeing it from the other side, but she couldn't remember this part. Which was something she was half grateful for and half despised.

RIVER: That's me. How can I be there?
DOCTOR: That's you from the future, serving time for a murder you probably can't remember. My murder.
RIVER: Why would you do that? Make me watch?
DOCTOR: So that you know this is inevitable. And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven.
RIVER: Please, my love, please, please just run!
DOCTOR: I can't.
RIVER: Time can be rewritten.
DOCTOR: Don't you dare. Goodbye, River.

River watched; expression schooled carefully. She was hating having to sit by and watch this, having to relive it. Her memory of the day from this perspective was practically non-existent, and most of the time she was very glad for that. It was hard to read the Doctor, and this video hadn't really revealed whether the Doctor had originally had a plan to escape or if it had been more of a last-minute thing, based on their interaction with the Teselecta it seemed more like the latter.

(The Doctor winks, then shuts his eyes. The astronaut suit zaps him multiple times but he doesn't die this time.)
RIVER: Hello, Sweetie.
DOCTOR: What have you done?
RIVER: Well, I think I just drained my weapon systems.
DOCTOR: But this is fixed. This is a fixed point in time.

"You sound so shocked." Yaz commented.

"She shouldn't have done that." The Doctor replied stubbornly.

RIVER: Fixed points can be rewritten.
DOCTOR: No, they can't. Of course they can't. Who told you that
(Everything dissolves into white.)

"And that is how time broke." Rory sighed. It made a lot of sense knowing the whole story now, and was absolutely something River (and the Doctor if the reverse was true) would do. However, it was hard to watch this all again after they'd spent so much of their time having to deal with the consequences.

[Senate room]

CHURCHILL: Well? What happened?
DOCTOR: Nothing.

"I'm pretty sure that's not true." Clara argued. "I think everything happened."

"Everything happened at once and nothing happened at all." The Doctor countered.

"Now you're just being purposely argumentative." Clara raised both her eyebrows at the Doctor who smiled cryptically.

CHURCHILL: Nothing?
DOCTOR: Nothing happened. And then it kept happening. Or, if you'd prefer, everything happened at once, and it won't ever stop. Time is dying. It's going to be five oh two in the afternoon for all eternity. A needle stuck on a record.

"And that's bad?" Ryan asked.

"That's very bad." The Doctor clarified.

CHURCHILL: A record? Good Lord, man, have you never heard of downloads?
DOCTOR: Said Winston Churchill.
CHURCHILL: Gunsmoke. That's gunsmoke. Oh, I appear to have fired this.
(The Doctor has a spear.)

"You've run out of time." Martha declared. The whole room tensed, remembering the sight of the Silence from Trenzalore, and not wanting to see them again (but when did they ever get what they wanted?).

DOCTOR: We seem to be defending ourselves.
CHURCHILL: I don't understand.
DOCTOR: The creatures that lead the Silence. Remarkable beings. They're memory-proof.
CHURCHILL: But what does that mean?
DOCTOR: You can't remember them. The moment you look away, you forget they were ever there.
(Four tally marks on his arm.)
DOCTOR: Don't panic. In small numbers, they're not too difficult.

"You've jinxed yourself." Bill shook her head disapprovingly.

(But his other arm is covered in marks. They are hanging from the ceiling in a big cluster. A grenade rolls in. The Doctor knocks Churchill down. Boom, and soldiers enter.)

"That's horrifying. What are they, bats?" Graham said.

The rest of the group was more focused on the arrival of the soldiers. "Are they soldiers back-up or more enemies?" Mickey asked, hoping the answer was the former, but knowing their luck it was likely the latter.

SOLDIER: Go! Go! Go! Keep the Silence in sight at all times, keep your eye drives active.
CHURCHILL: Who the devil are you? Identify yourselves.
AMY: Pond. Amelia Pond.

"And here I am." Amy gestured to the screen as she appeared. She's been waiting for her turn to appear but also dreaded it, knowing what as going to happen from the pieces she'd put together over the years. The rest of the room had all turned to face her, in search of answers. Upon seeing her gaze locked on the screen, they quickly realised they weren't going to get any answers from her, and they all turned to the Doctor instead.

The Doctor smiled slightly at her confusion, "Just watch, it should explain."

DOCTOR: No! She's on our side. It's okay.
(Amy is wearing an eyepatch.)
DOCTOR: No. No, Amy. Amy, why are you wearing that?
(Amy shoots the Doctor.)

"Amy!" Several people shouted out in shock and surprise, the Scot herself just laughed at their reaction. She'd reached up towards her eye to feel for an eyepatch that wasn't there but the room's reaction had distracted her from the start of her thoughts spiralling.

The Doctor laughed at their shock, although she did shoot a small glare at Amy who just grinned. Her reaction earned lots of annoyed looks from the group which made her smile as she answered. "Don't worry, it's not like that. Just watch." Her words led to the group all turning back to the screen, desperate for more answers.

[Railway carriage]

(The Doctor wakes on a couch, looking up at a ceiling fan. There is the sound of a train whistle.)

"Broken Time Amy knocked you out." Bill realised, face wide in an 'Oh!' expression.

Amy looked at her bewildered, mouthing to herself 'Broken Time Amy', she looked like she wanted to question it before visibly shutting her mouth and deciding it was better to just … not.

NEWSMAN [OC]: The Government has again apologised for extensive radio interference caused by solar flare and sun spot activity.

"That's the second time the sun spots have been mentioned." Martha narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Things like that were rarely repeated unless they were significant for some reason.

DOCTOR: Amy?
AMY: Those stun guns aren't fun. I'm sorry. I wanted to avoid a long conversation. You need to get up, though. We'll be in Cairo shortly.
DOCTOR: Amy Pond. Amelia Pond from Leadworth, please, listen to me. I know it seems impossible, but you know me. In another version of reality you and I were best friends. We, we travelled together. We had adventures. Amelia Pond, you grew up with a time rift in the wall of your bedroom. You can see what others can't. You can remember things that never happened. And if you try, if you really, really try, you'll be able to
(He is gesturing with a model Tardis.)

"She remembers you then." Rose. "How's that possible, if time is broken?"

"The crack in her wall from when she was a child, it left her a bit more exposed to things than the majority of people. It meant she could remember more, events like this had less of a sway over her mind." The Doctor tried to explain, glancing at Amy. That very trait had been very useful for things like this and the mess with the Pandorica (times seemed to break a lot back then … which was concerning).

DOCTOR: Oh.
(And on the far wall are her sketches - Dalek, Silurian, vampire, pirate, Weeping Angel.)
DOCTOR: Oh.
AMY: You look rubbish.

"Amy." Rory sighed exasperated with his wife.

"You can't tell me he doesn't." Amy argued, defending her broken time self (as named by Bill).

DOCTOR: You look wonderful.
AMY: So do you. But don't worry, we'll soon fix that.
(She holds up a tweed jacket.)
DOCTOR: Oh, Geronimo.

Amy, Rory, River, and Clara all grinned at the familiar saying from their old Doctor. It made them feel oddly reminiscent and wistful for their time traveling with Chinny.

(A little later, shaved and dressed.)
DOCTOR: Okay, you can turn round now. How do I look?
AMY: Cool.
DOCTOR: Really?
AMY: No.

"Phew, I thought the alternative version of myself had actually gone insane." Amy grinned teasingly at the Doctor.

"Oi! You tyring to say something, Pond!" The Doctor complained.

"Oh, I would never Raggedy Man."

"She absolutely would." Both River and Rory said in sync, a rare moment of them showing their father-daughter bond.

DOCTOR: Cool office though. Why do you have an office?! Are you a special agent boss lady? What's that mean? Not sure about the eye patch, though.
AMY: It's not an eye patch. Time's gone wrong. Some of us noticed. There's a whole team of us working on it, you'll see.

"You have to wonder, with all our experiences of time travel and with the Doctor, are we included in those people that noticed." Martha spoke up contemplatively. She'd hope after all her time with the Doctor, UNIT, and independent that she'd notice something was wrong.

"There's a strong possibility. You've all been exposed to much more than most humans. There's a good chance that you'd notice things others wouldn't and knowing you all, you'd want to do something about it. Maybe some of you have met each other in alternative realities like this, and you wouldn't even know it. "The Doctor shrugged; face scrunched up deep in thought. Martha raised a very good point, one that she'd have to think about more later.

DOCTOR: And you've got an office on a train. That is so cool. Can I have an office? Never had an office before. Or a train. Or a train slash office.

"You're like a toddler, so easily distracted. Honestly, Spaceman!" Donna shook her head, fondly exasperated.

Amy snorted, "You should have seen him when those cube things arrived, he stayed with us for a while and acted like a kid high on sugar."

"I hope we see that." Donna shared a grin with Amy that made the Doctor shiver, that was a terrifying friendship blooming. The pair of red-heads could be very destructive if left alone together. Thankfully, Rory seemed equally concerned, at least she would have a partner in stopping the trouble the two started.

AMY: God, I've missed you!
DOCTOR: Okay. Hugging and missing now. Where's the Roman?

"That's a good point. Where am I in all this chaos?" Rory asked the Doctor.

"Where you always are, Rory the Roman." The Doctor answered with a purposely cryptic grin and a gleam in her eyes. Rory just sighed, feeling like he should have expected an answer like that.

AMY: You mean Rory.
DOCTOR: Mmm.
AMY: My husband Rory, yeah?
(She gets a drawing from her desk.)
AMY: That's him, isn't it? I've no idea. I can't find him, but I love him very much, don't I?

"That looks nothing like me!" Rory complained, sending Amy a hurt expression. Amy just chuckled, unable to take it too seriously (and knowing Rory wasn't really offended).

DOCTOR: Apparently.
AMY: I have to keep doing this, writing and drawing things. It's just it's so hard to keep remembering.
DOCTOR: Well, it's not your fault. Time's gone wrong. Do you remember why?
AMY: The lakeside.
DOCTOR: Lake Silencio, Utah. I died.
AMY: But then you didn't. See, I remember it twice, different ways.

"I only remember one, but I know which version I prefer." Amy muttered to herself.

DOCTOR: Two different versions of the same event, both happening in the same moment. Time split wide open. Now look at it. All of history happening at once.
AMY: But does it matter? I mean, can't we just stay like this?
DOCTOR: Time isn't just frozen, it's disintegrating. It will spread and spread and all of reality will simply fall apart.

"Yeah, let's not leave it like that. I like time un-disintegrated." Yaz announced, looking a bit more panicked at that revelation. The Doctor's earlier declaration of it being 'bad' was a strong understatement.

(A soldier enters. Guess who.)
RORY: Ma'am? We're about to arrive. Eye drives need to be activated as soon as we disembark.
AMY: Good point. Thank you, Captain Williams.

"Seriously! I'm right there!" Rory sighed dramatically, ignoring the group as they all started to laugh at his misfortune.

DOCTOR: Hello.
RORY: Hello, sir. Pleased to meet you.
AMY: Captain Williams, best of the best. Couldn't live without him.
(The Doctor compares him to his sketch, and laughs. Rory leaves.)

The rest of the group laughed alongside the Doctor on screen, even Rory couldn't deny the humour of the situation.

DOCTOR: No.
AMY: What is wrong?
DOCTOR: Amy, you'll find your Rory. You always do. But you have to really look.
AMY: I am looking.

"Clearly not well enough." Rory muttered good-naturedly. Amy nudged him teasingly in the side.

DOCTOR: Oh, my Amelia Pond. You don't always look hard enough.
AMY: Why are you older? If time isn't really passing, then how can you be ageing?
DOCTOR: Time is still passing for me. Every explosion has an epicentre. I'm it. I'm what's wrong.
AMY: What's wrong with you?
DOCTOR: I'm still alive.

Several people grumbled at that declaration from the Doctor, Jack the most audibly. But no one actually argued, knowing that it wasn't the time and the Doctor wouldn't listen. Still, they didn't like the blasé way that the Doctor declared it.

(The train crosses a viaduct into a pyramid with a Stars and Stripes on the side and the title Area 52.

[Storage area]

RORY: You have to put it on, sir.
DOCTOR: An eye patch. What for?
AMY: It's not an eye patch.

Everyone turned to face the in-room Rory. "I don't know, it looks like an eye patch to me." Bill muttered.

Rory threw his hands up in the air in frustration, "That's not me! How would I know?"

"Just saying." Bill put her hands up in surrender.

RORY: It's an eye drive, sir. It communicates directly with the memory centres of the brain. Acts as external storage.
AMY: Only thing that works on them. Because no living mind can remember these things.

"Back up memory file. Of course. Why not. What are our lives." Clara sighed, shaking her head.

RORY: The Silence.
(Held in individual tanks filled with liquid.)

"That is creepy, and doesn't seem like it is going to end well." Rose declared with a frown.

RORY: We've captured over a hundred of them now, all held in this pyramid.
DOCTOR: Yeah. I've encountered them before. Always wondered what they looked like.

The group al grimaced at the sight of all the Silence in tanks. Thanks to the Tardis they could remember what they looked like, but they weren't sure that was a great thing or not, they weren't exactly friendly-looking.

AMY: Well, put your eye drive on and you'll retain the information, but only for as long as you're wearing it.
DOCTOR: The Silence have human servants. They all wear these.
AMY: They'd have to.

"Great observations, Doctor." Clara rolled her eyes at the Doctor.

RORY: This way.
(The Doctor puts the eye drive on.)
RORY: They seem to be noticing you.
DOCTOR: Yeah, they would.

"Everyone always does." Jack winked at the Doctor who attempted to ignore him, although everyone could see the way her lips twitched up into a smile.

AMY: So why aren't the human race killing the Silence on sight any more?

"I'm sorry? We were doing what?" Mickey blinked, turning to Amy, Rory, River and the Doctor for answers alongside the rest of the group.

The four all exchanged a glance before River spoke up for the group with a smirk. "Spoilers." Her answer earned frustrated groans from the rest of the group, as the four snickered to themselves, very happy someone else was suffering because of that reply for once.

DOCTOR: That was another reality. What are the tanks for?

"Oh yes, very casual. Alternative realities. Very normal." Nardole muttered to himself.

RORY: They can draw electricity from anything. It's how they attack. The fluid insulates them. And I really don't like the way they're looking at you.
DOCTOR: Me neither.

"I don't think anyone does." Martha declared, eyeing the screen wearily. "They have a plan." The Doctor's grimace was not reassuring.

RORY: Ma'am, I'm sure it's nothing, but I should really check this out. They haven't been this active in a while. You two, upstairs. Check all the tank seals. Then the floors above. Get everyone checking.

"At least you're being proactive with the oncoming danger." Rose mused.

SOLDIER: Sir.
RORY: You go ahead, Ma'am.
AMY: Thank you, Captain Williams. Doctor, this way.
DOCTOR: Captain Williams, nice fellow. What's his first name?
AMY: Captain. Just through here.

The group all laughed at that, more from the disbelief of Amy not knowing Rory was right in front of her rather than the bad joke.

DOCTOR: Just give us a moment. Just need to check something, Ma'am.
(The Doctor goes back to Rory. Amy speaks into a hidden microphone on her lapel.)
AMY: We're in. He's on his way.

"Who is Broken Time Amy talking to?" Yaz asked curious.

"We're really sticking with that name, aren't we?" Amy muttered to herself.

DOCTOR: The loyal soldier, waiting to be noticed. Always the pattern. Why is that?
RORY: Sorry, sir?
DOCTOR: Your boss, you should just ask her out. She likes you. She said so.

"Is this really the time to be meddling sweetie?" River raised an eyebrow at her wife.

"There's always time for meddling." The Doctor countered, grinning widely. "Besides, you can't talk Melody Pond."

RORY: Really, sir. What did she say?
DOCTOR: Oh, she just sort of generally indicated.
RORY: What exactly what did she say?
DOCTOR: She said that you were a Mister Hottie-ness, and that she would like to go out with you for texting and scones.
RORY: You really haven't done this before, have you?
DOCTOR: No, I haven't.

"He sees right through you instantly." Bill grinned.

"Who wouldn't?" Donna snorted in agreement.

RORY: See you in a moment, sir.
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes.
AMY: Come on, Doctor. Time for you to meet some old friends.

"What kind of old friends?" Martha asked wearily. That kind of comment could go in several different ways, and the group was very hopeful that it was actual friends. And seeing as it was Amy making the comment, it was more likely (even though it was technically Broken time Amy and not the Amy in the room with them, but semantics).

RORY: Attention all personnel.

[Control room]

RORY [OC]: Attention all personnel. Please check all assigned containment units.
(A lady in a white coat is watching a screen.)
KENT: You were right. Just his presence in the building caused the loop to extend by nearly four chronons.
(The clock now reads 05:02:57, 58, 59.)
DOCTOR: Hi, honey. I'm home.
RIVER: And what sort of time do you call this?

"Of course, it's River." Rory shook his head, but everyone could see his smile at seeing his daughter on screen (and safe for the moment). It made sense considering the title featured River and her appearance in the video so far had been limited.

KOVARIAN: The death of time. The end of time. The end of us all. Oh, why couldn't you just die?
(She is tied to a chair.)

"Oh, and Kovarian." Amy gritted out, anger alighting in her eyes at the sight of the woman who stole her daughter, a tinge of guilt was on her face for those that knew how to read her.

DOCTOR: Did my best, dear. I showed up. You just can't get the psychopaths these days. Love what you've done with the pyramids. How did you swing all this?
RIVER: Hallucinogenic lipstick. Works wonders on President Kennedy. And Cleopatra was a real pushover.
DOCTOR: I always thought so.
RIVER: She mentioned you.
DOCTOR: What did she say?
RIVER: Put down that gun down.
DOCTOR: Did you?
RIVER: Eventually.

"You two are unbelievable." Rory shook his head at his daughter and daughter-in-law. The rest of the group seemed equally fondly exasperated, but they were all smiling at the interaction between River and the Doctor.

"Ooh, can I join in?" Jack asked, winking at the pair.

The Doctor flushed a bit redder while River just winked back, "Sorry handsome, this one is all mine."

KOVARIAN: Oh, they're flirting. Do I have to watch this?

"If we have to watch it, you have too as well." Amy muttered, rolling her eyes at her best friend and daughter. She loved them both but she really didn't need to see them flirting constantly.

RIVER: It was such a basic mistake, wasn't it, Madame Kovarian. Take a child, raise her into a perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor. Who else was I going to fall in love with?
DOCTOR: It's not funny, River. Reality is fatally compromised. Tell me you understand that.
RIVER: Dinner?
DOCTOR: I don't have the time. Nobody has the time, because as long I'm alive, time is dying. Because of you, River.
RIVER: Because I refused to kill the man I love.

"Well, this just became more tense." Ryan muttered to himself. Things had been fairly calm until now (bar the attacking Silence and broken time, but those were just small things), but it had taken a turn for the worst.

DOCTOR: Oh, you love me, do you? Oh, that's sweet of you. Isn't that sweet. Come here, you.
AMY: Get him!
(Soldiers grab the Doctor.)
RIVER: I'm not a fool, sweetie. I know what happens if we touch.

"What happens if you touch?" Rose asked, eyes flickering between the Doctor, River and the screen.

The Doctor glanced at River who was frowning at the screen, before turning to answer Rose's question. "I'm the epicentre but River is the cause. If we touch, time goes back to normal and everything is fixed."

"And they know that which is why they're trying to stop you touching." Martha clarified.

"Yes, they thought they had an alternative." The Doctor glanced at Amy, Rory and River in the room, "But there is no other way." No one looked happy about that, all hoping there was a way to fix everything without the Doctor dying, and there clearly was as the Doctor was still alive and hadn't even needed to regenerate despite what she claimed.

(The Doctor grabs River's arm.)
RIVER: Get off me. Get him off me! Doctor, no. Let go! Please Doctor, let go!
WOMAN: It's moving. Time's moving!
(05:03 and counting.)
RIVER: Get him off me! Doctor!
DOCTOR: I'm sorry, River. It's the only way.

"Don't you dare!" River turned to the Doctor, furious for her alternative self who was only trying to save the Doctor (and herself). Furious about the Doctor's attempts to die on them without any regard for anyone else.

"River!" The Doctor argued back, the rest of the group looking away trying to give them some privacy (despite there not being any available in a room like this).

"Don't 'River' me! You can't just do that!" River bristled, only getting more and more angry.

The Doctor on the other side just seemed to wilt, which made River pause slightly her anger dimming. "Can we please not for now? At least wait until you've watched the entire video."

River narrowed her eyes at her wife, anger dimmed but still bubbling beneath her skin. "For now." She agreed, it might be smart to have the full picture before she argued with the Doctor, and argue she would.

(They flash back to the lakeside, then the soldiers pull him off.)
RIVER: Cuff him.
DOCTOR: Oh, why do you always have handcuffs? It's the only way. We're the opposite poles of the disruption. If we touch, we short out the differential. Time can begin again.
RIVER: And I'll be by a lakeside killing you.
DOCTOR: And time won't fall apart. The clocks will tick. Reality will continue. There isn't another way.
RIVER: I didn't say there was, sweetie.

There was a heavy silence in the room at that declaration from River. They had all seen that River wasn't exactly morally pure, more leaning on the moral grey side of things at best (not that the Doctor was morally perfect either) and they knew that River loved the Doctor (and vice versa). But it was still something to hear her so steadfast and willing to let time be broken so she could save the Doctor.

Most people in the room would like to say they would make the morally right decision to fix time but if it was them in River's position, trying to save someone they loved desperately they weren't quite sure that resolve would hold up. It wouldn't be the first time in their travels with the Doctor that the only options were bad or worse, with people getting hurt no matter what they chose. It never made it less painful.

(In the storage area, a Silence puts its hand onto the glass of its tank, and it begins to crack. Captain Williams notices liquid dripping through to a lower level.)

"That's not good." Graham muttered.

"Great observation skills grandad." Ryan replied earning snickers from Yaz and an exasperated sigh from Graham.

RIVER: There are so many theories about you and I, you know.
DOCTOR: Idle gossip.
RIVER: Archaeology.
DOCTOR: Same thing.
RIVER: Am I the woman who marries you, or the woman who murders you?

"Why can't you be both?" The Doctor smiled softly at River.

River's eyes were sad despite her reply and tone. "Makes things more interesting."

DOCTOR: I don't want to marry you.

"I do. I did. I promise River." The Doctor leaned in closer to her wife, eager to fix the mistake her past self had just made. It hadn't been a case of not anting to marry River, it was more her fear of the whole situation and losing River in the end (because she lost everyone in the end, that was a fact of her life).

"I know sweetie, I know." Their time on Darillium had ensured that. Neither of them was the younger more insecure versions of themselves in that regard at least. There was plenty of other things they were insecure about at least.

RIVER: I don't want to murder you.
(Amy feels a drop on her head.)
DOCTOR: This is no fun at all.
RIVER: It isn't, is it?
AMY: Doctor, what's that?
DOCTOR: The pyramid above us. How many Silence do you have trapped inside it?
KOVARIAN: None. They're not trapped. They never have been. They've been waiting for this, Doctor. For you.

"Even tied to a chair, she's a smug pain." Amy glared at the screen. Everyone in the room had tensed upon hearing Kovarian.

"And you've walked straight into a trap." Clara grimaced.

"We always do." The Doctor shrugged, "Makes life more interesting."

"It makes life more dangerous, Martian." Donna argued.

RORY: They're out! All of them.
(And the soldiers are getting slaughtered. Rory bars the door.)
RORY: No one gets in here! Ma'am, my men out there should be able to lock this down. We have them outnumbered.
KOVARIAN: And you're wearing eye drives based on mine, I think. Oops.
DOCTOR: What do you mean?
(Electricity surges through Doctor Kent's eye drive. She screams.)

"Take them off, take them off." Rose muttered, eyes wide as the room watched in horror as Doctor Kent screamed and the electricity surged through the eye patches.

DOCTOR; Help her! Help her!
(Soldiers are being affected, too.)
AMY: She's dead.
(The Doctor's eye drive tries to zap him.)
DOCTOR: Eye drives off now. Remove them.

"But then you won't be able to remember the Silence!" Mickey worried.

Martha frowned, "It's better than being killed by the eye patches."

"That is true. No good choices, as usual." Mickey sighed.

(Amy takes the Doctor's eye drive off him, but then her own powers up.)
KOVARIAN: The Silence would never allow an advantage without taking one themselves. The effects will vary from person to person. Either death or debilitating agony. But they will take you all, one by one.

"Isn't she wearing one?" Bill asked wearily. No one spoke up, all just eager to see how everything unfolded.

(Madame Kovarian's eye drive starts to zap.)
KOVARIAN: What are you doing? No, it's me. Don't be stupid. You need me. Stop it. Stop that!

"Guess they decided they don't need you." Amy was a bit more vindicative than she would have liked. Several of the peoples closest to her edged further away.

DOCTOR: We could stop this right now, you and I.
KOVARIAN: Get it off me.
DOCTOR: Amy, tell her.
AMY: We've been working on something. Just let us show you.
DOCTOR: There's no point. There's nothing you can do. My time is up.
AMY: We're doing this for you!

"Just go with her!" Clara and several others shouted at the screen, all wanting the Doctor to just listen to Amy, Rory and River for once, and accept that maybe they didn't have to die. The Doctor just smiled sadly at them all.

DOCTOR: Then people are dying for me. I won't thank you for that, Amelia Pond.
KOVARIAN: Get it
RIVER: Just let us show you.
AMY: Please. Captain Williams, how long do we have?
RORY: Er, a couple of minutes.

"That's hopeful." Mickey sighed.

RIVER: That's enough. We're going to the Receptor Room right at the top of the pyramid. I hope you're ready for a climb.
RORY: I'll wait down here, Ma'am. Buy you as much time as I can.
AMY: You have to take your eye drive off.
RORY: Can't do that, Ma'am. Might forget what's coming.
AMY: But it could activate any second.
RORY: It has activated, Ma'am. But I'm of no use to you if I can't remember. You have to go now, Ma'am.
AMY: Yes.
RORY: Now!
AMY: Yes, thank you, Captain Williams.

"Rory …" Amy turned to her husband unsure what to say, she already knew this had happened and what came next but her husband's dedication to her still stunned her on occasions.

Rory smiled sadly at her, unrepentant and knowing he'd made the same decision any day, and knowing Amy knew that too. Neither were quite sure what to say, just very glad that this broken time had been fixed with all of them staying alive. The rest of the group watched, eyes growing wider in horror as Rory's fate seemed imminent.

(Amy leaves, taking one last look back. Rory fights the pain to keep his gun hand steady as three Silence break through the door.)
SILENCE: Rory Williams, the man who dies and dies again. Die one last time and know she will never come back for you.
(Amy lets loose a machine gun at them.)

Amy grinned widely as she returned to save Rory on screen, "Clearly you don't know anything." She grabbed Rory's hand and squeezed, she wasn't abandoning Rory no matter the timeline, not if she had anything to say about it.

AMY: Come on, you. Up you get. You all right?
(She takes his eye drive off.)
KOVARIAN: Amy, help me.
(Her eye drive is hanging off.)
AMY: You took my baby from me and hurt her. And now she's all grown up and she's fine, but I'll never see my baby again.
KOVARIAN: But you'll still save me, though. Because he would, and you'd never do anything to disappoint your precious Doctor.
RORY: Ma'am, we have to go, now.
AMY: The Doctor is very precious to me, you're right. But do you know what else he is, Madame Kovarian? Not here.
(Amy puts Kovarian's eye drive back in place.)
AMY: River Song didn't get it all from you, sweetie.
(Amy takes Rory's arm and they leave as Kovarian starts screaming.)

The group all watched in silent shock at Amy's ruthlessness, although knowing what they knew they couldn't entirely blame her for making that choice. Still, it was scary to see the normally peaceful (well, the more friendly kind of angry/murder-y) red-headed Scot do that. No one knew what to say, all making the smart decision to stay silent.

Amy's eyes had closed as she watched herself on screen kill Kovarian despite her pleads for mercy. She knew it was coming but it was still not great to see. The worst thing was she wasn't sure if she regretted it; as she said Kovarian had taken so much from her, things she could never get back. Still, it wasn't pleasant to watch. Rory squeezed her hand tightly but didn't say anything, just silently supporting her. She'd spent so long debating with herself about how she felt about this, and discussed it with Rory several times not every really reaching a confident conclusion.

Amy risked a glance at the Doctor who only smiled sadly, not giving her grief for the decisions made by the alternative time version of herself. The Doctor didn't exactly approve but couldn't and wouldn't criticise Amy. For a start it wasn't actually her, plus Kovarian had caused her so much grief and saving her would have likely caused more problems. And the Doctor had done much much worse, things everyone in the room had witnessed. She couldn't approve of her choice but she wouldn't publicly condone it. They'd all made hard decisions, and sometimes there was no good decision.

AMY: So, you and me, we should get a drink some time.
RORY: Okay.
AMY: And married.
RORY: Fine.

"Some things don't change." River muttered, still in a bit of shock over Amy's ruthlessness, well her ruthlessness for her. She' not witnessed it the first time but Amy had told her about it, her parent's love for her was something that she'd struggled with for a long time and seeing things like this, where they fought for her, helped (the dilemma of her as River verses their lost baby Melody had cost her many days of worry). She often forgot that her parents weren't as defenceless or kind as she sometimes thought they were. They'd travelled with the Doctor a long time, and been through a lot. As Amy had said, she'd gotten some things from her parents.

[Receptor room]

(Open to the sky, where the cap of the pyramid should be.)
DOCTOR: What's this? Oh, it's as timey-wimey distress beacon. Who built this?

"Timey-wimey distress beacon?" Clara raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the Doctor's description. The Doctor just shrugged; it was about as accurate as she could be.

RIVER: I'm the child of the Tardis. I understand the physics.
DOCTOR: But that's all you've got, a distress beacon.

"I'm presuming there is very limited resources with the whole broken time thing." River gave her wife a pointed look.

The Doctor held up her hands in surrender, "Not doubting you Sweetie." Everyone saw her smirk.

RIVER: I've been sending out a message. A distress call. Outside the bubble of our time, the universe is still turning, and I've sent a message everywhere. To the future and the past, the beginning and the end of everything. The Doctor is dying. Please, please help.
DOCTOR: River! River, this is ridiculous. That would mean nothing to anyone. It's insane. Worse, it's stupid. You embarrass me.

"Doctor!" Amy whipped around to face the Doctor who had crouched in on herself. Her motherly instinct had been lit upon seeing River's small flinch at his comment. The Doctor went to open her mouth, but Amy beat her too it, "Don't start with me! Here we are trying to save you and you're being stubborn and ungrateful. Maybe River made a mistake, but she did it to protect you! Because she loves you! Just because you think you're right doesn't mean you can't at least listen! Don't do that to River or us. The only embarrassing one here is you!"

The Doctor met her gaze unflinching for once, "A lot of terrible acts have been done because of love."

"And plenty of beautiful ones too." Rory countered, eyes stern.

"It's alright Amy." River tried to placate the clearly still angry Amy.

"No, it's not River." Amy shook her head, but her curiosity was outweighing her anger for now and fighting the Doctor when she was like this was like fighting a brick – utterly useless.

AMY: We barricaded the door. We've got a few minutes. Just tell him. Just tell him, River.
RIVER: Those reports of the sun spots and the solar flares. They're wrong. There aren't any. It's not the sun, it's you. The sky is full of a million, million voices saying yes, of course we'll help. You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. Did you think when your time came, you'd really have to do more than just ask? You've decided that the universe is better off without you, but the universe doesn't agree.

"It doesn't matter what the universe thinks, everything was breaking. Time had to be fixed and there was only one way to do that. You just needed to trust me." The Doctor said solemnly, not meeting anyone's gaze (and they were all on her).

"Sometimes you make it very hard to trust you." River said, equally serious. Her own eyes locked on the screen. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see the Doctor's minute flinch but she had no disagreements.

DOCTOR: River, no one can help me. A fixed point has been altered. Time is disintegrating.
RIVER: I can't let you die.
DOCTOR: But I have to die.
RIVER: Shut up! I can't let you die without knowing you are loved by so many, and so much, and by no one more than me.

The Doctor held her breath, taking in River's words in a way she hadn't back then. Back then, adrenaline had been rushing through her veins and they had limited time, but now she knew so much more about River and she'd gone through many adventures with her. The words had a new weight to them that felt suffocating with all of the tense feelings buzzing in the air.

"I meant it then and I mean it now." River whispered; the pair's eyes never left the screen. Both ignored how the Doctor's breathing stuttered before resuming slightly abnormally. River didn't need to remember her time in that broken reality to know how much she meant those words. It didn't matter how much they thought or how angry they were with each other, that didn't change the fact that they loved each other, it just meant sometimes they wanted to strangle each other.

DOCTOR: River, you and I, we know what this means. We are ground zero of an explosion that will engulf all reality. Billions on billions will suffer and die.
RIVER: I'll suffer if I have to kill you.
DOCTOR: More than every living thing in the universe?
RIVER: Yes.
DOCTOR: River, River, why do you have to be this? Melody Pond, your daughter. I hope you're both proud.

"We are." Amy announced loudly and proudly, arms crossed with a pointed look at the Doctor whose eyes had not left the screen. Without nay words, the Doctor's hand snaked out and took River's in her own again, both needing the comfort for what was about to come.

RORY: I'm not sure I completely understand.

"I never do." Rory sighed, shaking his head. This mess seemed almost as confusing as the first time he found out River was his daughter.

AMY: We got married and had a kid and that's her.
RORY: Okay.

"Love how you just accept that straight away, mate." Mickey raised an eyebrow at Rory with a grin.

Rory shrugged, "Things are weird. That's one thing I've learned is a constant where the Doctor is involved; things are weird and you just need to go along with it."

"Good point." Martha smiled with a short laugh.

DOCTOR: Amy, uncuff me now. Okay, I need a strip of cloth about a foot long. Anything will do. Never mind.
(The Doctor takes off his bow tie.)

"What on Earth are you up to now?" Clara asked the Doctor bewildered by his sudden change of tune. "Are you not forgetting the whole under attack, limited time thing?"

"It is important." The Doctor answered, expression schooled but glancing over at River, eyes leaving the screen for the first time in a while.

DOCTOR: River, take one end of this. Wrap it around your hand, and hold it out to me.
RIVER: What am I doing?
DOCTOR: As you're told. Now, we're in the middle of a combat zone, so we'll have to do the quick version. Captain Williams, say I consent and gladly give.

The Master sat up from where he'd been slouching, getting bored in his corner. "You're not -?" He muttered, too shocked to put much of his normal attitude into his tone.

"Yes, I am." The Doctor replied, looking just a tad smug of surprising the Master. He grumbled, slouching back in his seat with a glare, looking ever the angry cat.

RORY: To what?
DOCTOR: Just say it. Please.
RORY: I consent and gladly give.
DOCTOR: Need you to say it too, mother of the bride.
AMY: I consent and gladly give.

"You're getting married!" Bill realised happily. They all knew they were married and they'd had suspicions based on the title, but knowing River's long list of spouses and with all the chaos going on they'd almost forgotten about the title. It didn't explain how they were all going to get out of this alive though.

Yaz nodded, eyes-widening. "The title makes more sense now."

"More than some." Ryan mumbled.

DOCTOR: Now River, I'm about to whisper something in your ear, and you have to remember it very, very carefully, and tell no one what I said.
(He whispers something very short.)

The Master narrowed his eyes, lips pulled back in almost a snarl before he stopped. "You didn't tell her your name." It was a statement but everyone could hear the question in his voice.

"No." The Doctor answered cryptically, very smug to be aware of what was going on and leaving the Master confused.

"Your name?" Rose asked, curious. That was the reason for the whole mess in the first place after all.

The Doctor smiled softly at her, scanning the room to see everyone watching her. "In a traditional Gallifreyan, of which I just did the very short version, you tell your spouse your true name. One of the only times you ever speak it, or tell it to someone."

"But you didn't tell River." Martha tried to clarify.

"No, I had another plan." The Doctor answered, then she glanced at River before continuing. "And it wouldn't be fair as she wouldn't remember it."

DOCTOR: I just told you my name. Now, there you go, River Song. Melody Pond. You're the woman who married me. And wife, I have a request. This world is dying and it's my fault, and I can't bear it another day. Please, help me. There isn't another way.
RIVER: Then you may kiss the bride.

Clara narrowed her eyes at River and the Doctor on screen, putting together the clues before turning to the Doctor. "You didn't tell her your name?"

The Doctor blinked, feeling a bit weary under Clara's questioning gaze and unsure where this was going as she'd already answered that. "No."

"You told her your plan." Clara said, tone confident. She knew this Doctor, despite not spending as much time with this one as Eyebrows.

"In a way." The Doctor answered cryptically. Clara narrowed her eyes further but left her alone for the moment in favour of watching what would happen.

DOCTOR: I'll make it a good one.
RIVER: You'd better.
(The clock starts moving forward as we go to a white-out and flashbacks of the events at the lakeside when the Doctor died and was cremated.)
DOCTOR [OC]: And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven.
(The steam railways and cars on balloons vanish from London. The pterodactyls go away.)

The group all let out a breath, thankful to see time actually working again. Although they were still on edge to find out what the Doctor's plan to survive was, especially as they'd technically just watch him die at Lake Silencio. One problem at a time though.

CHILDREN [OC]: Tick tock goes the clock, he gave all he could give. Tick tock goes the clock, now prison waits for River.)

"Very creepy children." Clara muttered.

"Most children's rhymes are terrifying if you actually look at the them." Bill replied, "Eyebrows made me do a 5000-word essay on them, very unnerving."

[Garden]

(Amy is sitting at the patio table looking up at the night sky. There is a flash of light nearby.)
AMY: Heard there was a freak meteor shower two miles away, so I got us a bottle.

"You know me so well." River smiled thankfully at her mother.

"Of course, you know you're welcome anytime River, no matter what." Amy smiled at her daughter. This part she did remember (vaguely, it was a while ago after all) and it would be interesting to see how it all connected, and more importantly how the Doctor had managed to survive.

RIVER: Thank you, dear.
AMY: So where are we?
RIVER: I just climbed out of the Byzantium. You were there. So young. Didn't have a clue who I was. You're funny like that. Where are you?

"The Byzantium?" Ryan asked.

"Weeping Angels." Amy answered with a grimace. Those that knew them all shivered, while the rest were left very confused but not wanting to question it based on those reactions, they'd only seen glimpses or heard mentions of angels until this point and they liked it better that way.

AMY: The Doctor's dead.

"That's a decent chunk of time." The Doctor attempted to joke (for the Ponds had spent a while travelling with the younger version of the Doctor before this).

The joke clearly fell flat and her smile was wiped of her face by the set of three matching annoyed looks from the Pond family.

RIVER: How are you doing?
AMY: How do you think?
RIVER: Well, I don't know unless you tell me.
AMY: I killed someone. Madame Kovarian, in cold blood.
RIVER: In an aborted time line, in a world that never was.
AMY: Yeah, but I can remember it, so it happened, so I did it. What does that make me now? I need to talk to the Doctor, but I can't now, can I?

"It doesn't change who you are. You're still Amelia Pond, the Girl Who Waited. You're still you. Sometimes there are no good decisions, and sometimes you make decisions based on emotion that you regret later. There's nothing you can do about it now, and you don't need me to tell you that." The Doctor sad softly, eyes sincere in a silent apology for being gone so long. Amy nodded quietly, taking in the Doctor's words, it wouldn't help when she needed him back then but it eased that small whisper in the back of her mind that had been brought up by the video.

RIVER: If you could talk to him, would it make a difference?
AMY: But he's dead, so, so I can't.

"No, he isn't, he just didn't tell us." Amy crossed her arms glaring at the Doctor.

The Doctor held her hands up in surrender, "I thought we'd already gotten over this!" She distinctly remembered getting hit by a water gun and dragged in for a Christmas dinner and long conversation after all.

Amy shrugged, smirk taking the place of the glare. "We did, its just fun to watch you squirm." The Doctor would absolutely deny pouting as the rest of the room laughed.

RIVER: Oh, Mother, of course he isn't.
AMY: Not for you, I suppose. You're seeing the younger versions of him running around, having adventures.
RIVER: Yeah, I am. But that's not what I mean.
AMY: Then what do you mean?
RIVER: Okay. I'm going to tell you what I probably shouldn't. The Doctor's last secret. Don't you want to know what he whispered in my ear?

"Yes, we all do. Desperately." Yaz declared, starting to run out of patience for this mystery. They seemed to keep dancing around it and they all just wanted to know how the Doctor had survived.

AMY: He whispered his name.
RIVER: Not his name, no.
AMY: Yes, it was. He said it was.
RIVER: Rule One?

"The Doctor lies." Amy, Rory and River answered in monotone sync before snickering to themselves as the Doctor smiled, shaking her head in fond exasperation at the Pond family.

AMY: The Doctor lies.
RIVER: So do I, all the time. Have to. Spoilers. Pretending I don't know you're my mother, pretending I don't recognise a space suit in Florida.
AMY: What did he whisper in your ear?
RIVER: Oh, that man. He's always one step ahead of everyone. Always a plan.

"Or that's what he wants everyone to think." Jack snorted, giving the Doctor a pointed look earning a smug grin and shrug back.

AMY: River, what did he tell you? River.
(Rory gets home to see Amy and River hugging and dancing around the garden.)

"Just tell us! Please." Rory moaned. They were all getting fed up of everyone dancing around it. Amy, Rory, River and the Doctor all shared a knowing look but no one answered them.

RORY: Hey. What?
AMY: He's not dead. He's not dead.
RORY: Are you sure, River? Are you really, properly sure?
RIVER: Of course I'm sure. I'm his wife.
AMY: Yes! And I'm his (pause) mother in law.

"You just realised that?" Martha grinned.

Amy nodded, "Bit weird to go from thinking of someone as your friend to them marrying your daughter and being your son or daughter-in law. Before this point, we either didn't know who River was or forgotten about them being married." She tried to explain, earning grins and nods of understanding.

RIVER: Father dear, I think Mummy might need another drink.
RORY: Yes. Yes.

"I think we all needed one." Rory grinned.

[Charnel house]

(Dorium's box is being returned to its pedestal by a cloaked figure.)

"Why are we back to Dorium?" Rose asked confused at the sudden change of scene.

"You'll see." The Doctor shrugged.

DORIUM [OC]: Who's carrying me? I demand to know. I'm a head, I have rights. I want my doors open this time. I demand that my doors are open.
(The figure opens his door and turns to leave.)
DORIUM: Is it you? It is, isn't it. It is you, I can sense it. But how did you do it? How could you possibly have escaped?

"That's you, right?" Bill asked, pretty sure but wanting confirmation.

The Doctor smiled fondly at her, "Yes that's me, trying to keep being alive semi-secret for a while."

"Must have been hard, you're not very good at staying on the down low, Doc." Jack grinned teasingly, he received a glare for the nickname but the Doctor didn't argue.

[Calisto B space bar]

CARTER [memory]: Is there nothing else we can do?
(The Doctor leaves, then pops back again with a big grin on his face.)
DOCTOR: Actually, thinking about it

"You used the Teselecta to survive." Clara declared, doe eyes crinkling in confusion. "But how?"

Martha's eyes widened. "It can shape-shift. You got them to shift into you and take your place." She snapped her fingers in realisation, her explanation causing everyone else to match her wide-eyed expression.

The Doctor grinned proudly, nodding in confirmation, they were always a smart bunch, sometimes too smart for their own good.

[Receptor room]

(What the Doctor whispered was -)
DOCTOR: Look into my eye.
(The Doctor waves at River from the eyeball of the Teselecta.)

"You idiot." Donna shook her head fondly. The group was all grinning, glad the Doctor was alive and to finally know how he had managed to survive.

[Charnel house]

(The Doctor removes the cloak.)
DOCTOR: The Teselecta. A Doctor in a Doctor suit. Time said I had to be on that beach, so I dressed for the occasion. Barely got singed in that boat.
DORIUM: So you're going to do this? Let them all think you're dead?
DOCTOR: It's the only way, then they can all forget me. I got too big, Dorium. Too noisy. Time to step back into the shadows.

"Which is why you constantly delete yourself from everything." Rose nodded along, things making more sense now with all these interconnecting videos and explanations. They were finally getting more of the picture.

"Which makes it very difficult for some to keep up with you." Mickey complained, thinking back to his time in UNIT.

The Doctor smirked, "Exactly."

DORIUM: And Doctor Song, in prison all her days?
DOCTOR: Her days, yes. Her nights? Well, that's between her and me, eh?

"I really don't want to hear about what the two of you got into alone." Amy muttered, but everyone could see her smile. It was nice to watch a video with a fairly happy ending comparatively and as much as she complained about the pair's flirting, she was glad they were happy together.

DORIUM: So many secrets, Doctor. I'll help you keep them, of course.

"I'm not so confident about that." Ryan narrowed his eyes at the head on the screen.

Yaz snorted, "Well it's not like he can tell many people there."

Ryan nodding his agreement at that, "That's true."

DOCTOR: Well, you're not exactly going anywhere, are you?
DORIUM: But you're a fool nonetheless. It's all still waiting for you. The fields of Trenzalore, the fall of the Eleventh, and the question.
DOCTOR: Goodbye, Dorium.
DORIUM: The first question. The question that must never be answered, hidden in plain sight. The question you've been running from all your life. Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor Who.

"Very dramatic ending." Bill muttered as the video faded to black.

Everyone looked around at each other, all unsure whether they actually wanted to say or ask anything about that mess. Like all the videos before, it had certainly been an emotional rollercoaster, but the majority of questions posed in the video had actually been answered for once, a real rarity with these videos.

The Doctor glanced around the room, hoping to speak up before River, Amy or Jack could drag her away from an emotionally charged conversation. "All ready? I guess we move onto the next one then."

"Once more unto the breach." Clara muttered as the screen faded to white and the next title started to appear, everyone watching to see what video was going to play next.

---

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you thought (of the story and chapter).

I just have a couple of notes:

First - I'm sorry about the gap in uploads, I've just been very busy with university exams and working, but it should be slightly better for a while (barring bouts of procrastination).

Second - what do you all think about S13 for those that have watched it. I've seen it all, and I have opinions but honestly, I don't hate it (it's not my favourite or brilliant, but it's not horrendous). I will eventually do S13 episodes (and bring in Dan, and replace Yaz and the Doctor with their newer versions but not yet)

Third - the plan for the next few chapters, I do have a rough plan. The next chapter is a Christmas special (which one is up to you!), then Listen (which came second in the vote - and thanks for all voting!), then a Classic Who episode (probably the Five Doctors), then Midnight, and finally a two part-er (likely The World Enough Time/The Doctor Falls - but that's not concrete). It's not completely solid but it is there, what do you all think?

Please do keep sending your suggestions in though!

As always, thank you so much and please leave comment! It really means a lot to me.

In summary for those that didn't read it - what Christmas special do you want for the next chapter?

Thanks, Robyn.