The sudden death of Herman drove everyone in the media sector into a frenzy, scores of people on the phones, scrambling to get ahead of the news, while trying to figure out the optics for the show, having lost its sole show runner abruptly.
Details remained murky, but Herman's adopted daughter broke the news, and she couldn't bare to speak to anyone anymore than needed, that the media circus couldn't get anything more than what the police and other knew.
With the death weighing on their minds, the heads of the studio decided to temporary suspend the show after the last set of episodes aired for the series, while giving them time to sort out the details.
Herman helped tapped enough episodes that it'll last them for a while, but still, the optics of how to proceed with the news.
Fans from around the world showed support and held vigils for Herman in their areas.
River held the funeral a few weeks after Herman's death, she invited the Samito, the Ko'gan, David, and he in return invited Pete, Catherine, and Jenny, wanting to show solidarity with River, having heard the news while away.
In accordance with Herman's wishes, River didn't make it a spectacle, she didn't have a preacher or anyone residing over the last rites, as Herman never believed in the sort, and chose to follow what he laid out.
Just the few people he came to like in the time of his exile to Earth.
Her frizzy sunburnt hair tied back in a bun, wearing all-black and a veil over her face, River overlooked the freshly drugged grave of her adopted father in the quiet cemetery, her reddened eyes hidden behind the black veil, the tears rolled down her reddened cheeks.
She overheard the others coming towards the plot, turning her head subtly.
It's unheard of seeing Samito express grief, but they did, and they produced tears after hearing Herman's death.
For Samito, they don't cry salty tears like humans, it's a risk to their healths, instead they cry watery tears, fresh as the rivers, and it did the same thing as regular tears did to humans, drying out their skins, reddening their eyes.
"We're so sorry for your loss," Jenny expressed condolences to River, taking River's clammy hands into her warm hands, River thanking her for it.
Sniffling, River wiped down her face with a tissue, before Pete came to express his condolences for Herman, and River thanked him for it, as well.
David came to River's side, taking her hands, as he apologized for no coming sooner after hearing the news.
A bitter smile on her face, River waved it away, saying she understood, adventuring doesn't always end promptly.
"I hadn't heard silence like this since I left the planet," they overheard the Ko'gan approaching the plot.
Dom's shocked at the silence, having grown accustomed to the bustling inner city ambiance, and Shale responded that humans typically showed respect for their deceased relatives by the way of having an area designated that'd be quiet, allowing them to reflect.
The Ko'gan showed sympathy for Herman's sudden passing and River thanked them, even if Dom didn't understand it fully, he understood how the loss of Herman affected River.
"I, uh, guess we should do it, now, he-he always liked things prompt," River exhaled sharply as she decided that with them here, they'll start River's version of a sermon, having found a piece of paper stowed away in Herman's desk.
It had her name on it, so he must've wanted to give it to her, she hadn't read it, when he passed, she didn't get enough time.
Herman wouldn't wasted time for something he would've put on a post-it and if it was something he didn't want her to read, he wouldn't have had it in his writing desk, he'd keep it where he kept all his private things, in his mind.
As she's about to open the letter, River heard footfall, when she looked up, she saw another man coming towards them.
Pete and David recognized him and when River called out, the man introduced himself as Hamon, Herman's former headmaster and teacher.
He shook her hand and expressed condolences for River's loss and she thanked him for it.
"Why haven't Lee and Theo come?" David asked Hamon, figuring they'd come to express condolences for River's loss and Hamon explained that they're on their latest adventure, they couldn't make it in time, Daleks, the devils they are, have them on their toes.
However, he made sure they're aware and they expressed their condolences.
"Adventures' never over," Pete expressed the old saying that came from his time.
River understood, but thanked Hamon, nonetheless.
"He was a good man," Hamon tells River how Herman was a good man and a father, brash, aloof, but a good person overall.
Put a smile on River's face as she thanked him, before asking more about Herman, and Hamon says that when Herman was in school, he got into more trouble than Medi ever did.
Yet, he was a prodigy, and though he may disagree, the universe weeps for the loss of a prodigal man.
"I-I don't suppose there's any old procedures they used to do, that, you could do for him, is there?" River inquired if there's any customs for these occasions that Hamon could do for Herman's sake and the old Time Lord gave a weary smile before pointing to the letter in River's other hand, saying that the custom's in the letter.
It's hard to gauge when a Time Lord dies, but when one does, it's customary for their loved ones to read a special letter set aside, marked with their names, written by the deceased Time Lord sometime in their life, like one would a will, in the event of their passing.
Unfortunately, it's a custom that lost traction on Gallifrey, one of the few that Hamon liked, and Herman clearly followed the custom, else he wouldn't have written the letter.
"He never told me much about it, what it was like, before the domes," River remembered her adopted father hesitant telling her anything about life on Gallifrey before he enacted the domes over the planet, forcing the Time Lords to remain under them for generations as the outside remained a radioactive hellhole.
Exhaling, Hamon responded that he understood Herman's reasonings, as it was a sensitive time for them, with the Time War and the Daleks, it's not surprising.
"They'll never forgive him, will they?" River asked if she's correct that the Council won't forgive Herman for what he done, even if it proved to have saved countless lives, and for a moment, Hamon grew quiet, before he finally answered a brief, "No."
If he so much as informed them of Herman's passing, they won't care at all, act in ignorance to his existence, won't give Hamon the satisfaction of having them admit Herman's existence.
Lowering her head, River sniffled, before Hamon attempted to cheer her up, telling her that Herman loved her more than anything, she was the apple in his eye, and it made a smile appear on River's face, hearing Hamon talk about Herman.
"Thank you," River thanked him and Hamon lightly patted her shoulder, encouraging her to commence the old tradition, and River nodded, moving to the front with the letter in both hands.
She called to their attention and they turned their heads as she undid the envelope, pulling out a neatly folded sheet from it.
Hesitantly, River opened the sheet, on it, it was a poem, short, prompt, just like Herman.
Before I go,
One more time,
Let me see my River.
It's enough to reignite the tears, further reddening her eyes as she broke down, having read the short poem before them, Hamon and Pete going over to comfort her.
Many tissues later, River's face stung from the constant tears running down, her nose a cherry red colour, as she sniffled, the touch of the tissue too much for her overextended nose, causing a burning sensation.
"Is… is that why?" River whimpered as she sat on one of the benches in the cemetery with the men while David and Jenny went to find things to help alleviate River's reddened face.
Raising his fine brow, Pete inquired what she's talking about, and River told him.
"When… when he… when he was… he was smiling," River couldn't speak, the air trapped in her throat, but Pete understood everything she was trying to say, and he processed this before Hamon said that, yes, that's why Herman smiled.
He saw his River, one more time.
"Oh god," River couldn't stop another barrage of tears from running down her face as Hamon and Pete comforted her, while David and Jenny returned, retrieving the necessary things to help River clean her face.
The soft white fabric, wet with a comparably soft cleansing solution that wiped away the mucus, and helped alleviate the irritation from the tears, River heard Hamon tell her that the poem Herman wrote, wasn't a poem.
It's a children's song.
The Council, well, River knows them by, now, but when the song was in effect, all children on Gallifrey sung it at least once in their lives.
When it was a different time, the River was important to their civilization, everything was credited to it, that it was a miracle that Herman saved much of it from the Daleks as he did.
"It was called… the River Song," Hamon recalled the name of the old song that he used to hear when he was younger, before the Council grew tired of it.
Wiping down her face, River felt the sorrow pass from her, alight with comfort, knowing the origins of her nickname, how much that river meant to Herman, how much she meant to him.
Collecting herself, it gave River a sense of closure as she overlooked Herman's grave.
When River felt it was time, she concluded the funeral, thanked everyone for coming, before she excused herself to grieve privately.
Pete took the time to see David and Jenny off with the promise of seeing Jenny at the house, once he was sure they're gone, he joined Hamon who remained near Herman's grave.
The men shared quiet words before silently leaving the cemetery in unison.
Among the tombstone, a figure stirs, waiting for the men to leave, before heading towards Herman's grave, carrying something in his hands.
Setting it on top of the freshly filled grave, the man stepped back, looking at it.
A freshly cut lithium rose.
When the man turned around, the sunlight helped further illuminate his unusually bright blue eyes.
THE END