Standing in front of a mirror as he's pulling on his olive stitched vest, a tall lanky man in his forties, with a look in his dark eyes as he studied himself extensively. In his mouth, a wooden pipe that hung on the edge on his mouth as he stared at his outfit for the day. A white pressed shirt with an olive stitched vest over it, a darker green for his stitched trousers, his hair a curly brownish mess, it's a miracle he even got out of bed this morning.
"Stop worrying, you look fine!" he heard a woman, around her mid-thirties, beside him as he turned his head.
When he spoke, the man had an unheard accent, sounded rural at times, otherwise neutral to some degree.
"I don't know why I let you talk me into this," the man exhaled sharply as he checked his bowtie, making sure it's tight enough as he turned his head back to face the mirror.
Giggling, the woman beside him crossed her arms as she stated, "You always said I was a troublemaker."
Nodding as he admitted he said it more than once, but added with, "You didn't have to drag me into show business, River. I don't think I'm perfect for this job."
Showing doubt in his capabilities, the man sighed as he turned to his side, looking at himself at a different angle, hearing River overhead remark that he's never dissuaded by anything, if it's something he can't figure out, he worked trying to understand.
"Science's different than guiding people who I wouldn't know from a hole in the wall," the man pointed out that there's a difference, but River shook her head, her curly sunburnt hair bobbing as she did.
River assured him that he's capable, with his amassed stories, he can easily make enough stories to last him the rest of his time on the show.
Thinking about it, the man nodded, but added that he doesn't think he should go that deep into it, far less people would've been appreciative if he delved into his mind too deep.
He knew many that would've wanted nothing more than him dropping dead on the spot, if they didn't kill him on the spot themselves. That's the best-case scenario.
Not many people like his face and for good reason, him being on this show's bound to rile enough feathers that pillow manufactures won't have shortages for the rest of their existence.
"I doubt they'll come all this way giving you trouble, now, Herman," River pointed out that it wouldn't make sense for the people formally in Herman's life suddenly springing up all because he decided to use them and their experiences in his part on the show, 'The Doctor' that's garnered plenty of buzz since it aired, more when the former showrunner departed.
"You don't know them the way I do," Herman pointed out that River never met them, much less knew in-depth, what kind of people they were when he was back home.
River pointed out that whatever he uses' only coincidental, after all, the former showrunner on the show made it similarly like the stories Herman told her.
Lightly snorting, Herman responded that he only told River the choice cuts, there's plenty of stories he never got around telling her, yet. Don't think he might, some's too close to home for him that he didn't want to bring it up, again.
Comforting him, River mustered that he doesn't have to deal with them ever again, they can't hurt him, again, and he admitted that she's right.
They're dead, they can't hurt him, haunt him, maybe.
"They made their mistakes," River pointed out to him as he left the mirror, going over to the oak table with an ash tray before he poured out the used ash from the pipe, smelling of lingenberries and other berries with hints of different mints, something of a favourite when he was back home, having replicated with what he found here.
"As I," Herman pointed out that he made mistakes, grave mistakes, and River once more comforted him, telling him he did what he had to do, it wasn't easy, but he did what no one would.
Filling his trusty wooden pipe with a small block of his homemade concoction and lighting it with a match, puffing air until smoke bellowed out of the pipe, Herman sighs as he paced around his home, nothing grand, a home to him, nonetheless.
River asks what he thinks, and he replies that he thinks he's crazy listening to her, but that comes with the territory of raising her.
"I trust you in good judgement, dad," River smiles at him, causing him to briefly stop before reminding her that he's not her father.
River parents, bless their hearts, died in a fatal accident sometime ago, leaving River orphaned at the tender age of thirteen, and she ended up meeting Herman by mere chance, and that's all she wrote.
He ended up giving her nickname, saying it reminded her of something he used to know, and River gave him her own nickname, Herman, after the famous TV character.
"Past a hundred years, it's not worth trying," Herman reminded River that he'll never marry. Never did it then, never will now, can't exactly find time for that sort, and he's just too much of a trouble putting up with that no doubt he'll simply frustrate whoever showed affection to him.
Patting him on his shoulder as he puffed a cloud of smoke through the side of his mouth, River impishly implied that he'll find someone, because he says he won't.
Like all those stories she heard from her mates, how their mothers warned that every time they swear against having children, marrying, whatnot, that'll happen to them. As tradition.
"I'd like to think I'm breaking that tradition," Herman challenged this as he pointed out that he spent years alone, so long, he never had any problems with temptations by any sort.
He's just too damn stubborn, asocial, the neighbourhood hermit.
Looking at the time, River prodded him to prepare for the trip to the studio, saying that despite him being a hermit, he has work to do, and he's forced out the door pulling on his olive-green coat while River followed.
… A few weeks have passed since Herman Tully managed to situate himself into the new role as the showrunner for the hit show, "The Doctor," and it alone made life interesting for him, as weirdly as it sounded.
River enjoyed gloating that she was right and Herman let her have that, he always had a soft spot for her, even on bad days.
He's got the new set of actors coming to him for advice and he gives it to them, giving critique, it's strange to him, people wanted his advice, and they happily took them without questioning him.
They've got at most, about four episodes done, the scripts, Herman wrote them with ease, and they've been hits with the people above, liking the new direction the show's going in since the inception of the idea that the titular Doctor regenerates as someone else.
It offered creative ways for Herman utilizing that the actor playing as the Doctor, now, is the same one that played him previously, which is quite interesting, to him.
During one of the downtimes, Herman helped with script reading, and one of the actors playing a companion to the Doctor, brought up something about a childhood incident, causing a snowball effect that made him reminiscent of times before.
Maybe it's his way of coping, because he ended up sharing a nugget of his past with the actors as they hung around the set.
River knows this story by heart, but not the actors, and he couldn't tell them everything like he could with River.
He had to censor things, obviously, but managed to tell the story without letting things slip that shouldn't slip.
At one point, Herman lived near the river, it had no name, it was just called the river, hardly anyone knew it as anything but the river. Living in the shadows of the society that once was his home, he endured the hardships of being forced into the life. He became unkempt, wild hair and all, tried keeping himself prim became increasingly difficult with the little things he was able to scavenge.
Herman didn't realize it at the time, but he lived near a high ranking family, and they had a son, who poked around places, even places he shouldn't.
He ended up in Herman's shack one day and Herman caught him digging around his meager things. They ended up talking and slowly became friends, which Herman tried dissuading because of issues that happened years earlier, but suppose in his isolation, he desired friendship.
The boy snuck food to him, which kept him alive, as he struggled eating at times, and kept it a secret from his family, who would've disallowed the boy from seeing Herman.
The boy's family knew of him but didn't realize where he'd gone after the fact.
If they found out, he'd have no choice but to move on, somewhere else, assuming he'd come out of it, alive.
Months' past, Herman taught the boy things that weren't being taught in those days, and eventually, the boy came to tell him that he's moving with his family, and knew that he wasn't going to see Herman, again.
Solidifying their friendship, the boy brought Herman a gift just before he left, his father's expensive wooden pipe, he wanted to replace the one that Herman made haphazardly, and impishly implied that his father wasn't none the wiser.
That same wooden pipe, Herman carried with him, even on days when he wasn't in the mood smoking. It's the only keepsake that Herman held to his name.
Since then, Herman never saw the boy again, and he doesn't know where the boy is and what he's doing with his life, but hopefully it was better than Herman's.
As expected, one of the actors asked what Herman did warranting the treatment and he exhaled sharply as he summed that he did something in desperation during the roughest parts of his history and paid for it.
He said nothing else, keeping it vague, but the actor playing the Doctor asked why he didn't seek out the boy, who would've been an adult by now, but Herman mentioned that he didn't want to bring him into it. Not to mention, he wouldn't know where to find him if he wanted to, they've lost contact for years, hard to say where to even look.
"Where do you think he is?" asked one of the actors playing the other companion, leading Herman thinking thoughtfully, before saying he didn't know, but if he knew his old friend well, the boy's a troublemaker at his core.
No doubt causing trouble with the knowledge that Herman taught him, but hopefully, he's doing more with his life, and isn't held back by the sins of the past like Herman.
The story ended, with the actors captivated, wanting more, but Herman saw the time, and moved them onward to the next set of things they needed doing for the day.
When he came home that night, River waited for him by the door, her frizzy hair tied back in a bun, as she walked with him through the simple home.
"Wars never easy," River pointed out as Herman poured out the ashes into the ashtray before filling up his wooden pipe with more of his concoction.
As the smoke came through the mouth of the wooden pipe, Herman exhaled sharply as smoke came through the side of his mouth, before he answered, "Don't I know it."
Joining him at the table, River tells him that he did what he could, as much as they disagreed, they couldn't deny that he did what no one would.
"I took lives, River," Herman looked at her with his weary dark eyes.
Reaching out and taking his free hand, River tells him that it was an accident. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have taken it out against him.
Shaking his head, Herman sighs as smoke pillared out of his wooden pipe, River gently stroking his hand.
"I don't know why I even told you. I shouldn't have even adopted you. You don't know how rigid they are," Herman worried that associating with River risks her public opinion and fears that they'll treat her harshly for it.
Her bourbon lips forming a smile, River tells Herman that she can handle what they throw at her, she's a big girl, now. Herman taught her plenty, she isn't a wallflower.
"And you're still a good man," River tells Herman that despite what he thinks, he's still a good man in River's eyes.
Without him, she would've been lost in the system, he gave her a chance at a new life, and helped her when she didn't have anyone. That's as much as anyone can ask for.
"Only you see the positives, Mallory," Herman exhaled as smoke jutted out of the side of his mouth.
THE END