A/N: Hey, y'all! Sorry, this isn't a new chapter. I decided for fun to write a detailed summary of each chapter in my stories just like you see on the TARDIS Wiki site for each individual episode. Also, I'm not entirely sure if there's a fan wiki sites out there, where fans can write detailed summaries of Doctor Who themed fanfics (I've seen a couple, but I don't know if they're legit), but if there is, it'd be cool if my fanfic made it on one of those sites. I'm not sure how to post my summaries on there (if those fan sites even exist), but if one of you wants to copy these summaries and post them onto the site, I would happily give you permission to do that, so long as you give me full credit as the original author of the overall series. I have also begun each summary with an iconic quote that sums up the entire chapter.
I also plan to do this for my other Nova Sue stories as well. So far, I've only got this one, and I'm currently writing detailed summaries for "Part 1: Becoming" and I'm going to split it into four individual 'episodes' with titles where it appears like a legitimate TV series (sadly not on TV). Eventually when I write those summaries, I will also split them into four parts that will be posted at the end of Part 1 (after Chapter 48).
"Arising: A Nova Sue Prequel" Detailed Summary
Chapter 1: Two Dangerous Words
"Sweetie… I'm pregnant." –River Song
River Song sits on a bench at her favorite spot on the Luna University campus, waiting for her husband, the Doctor, to arrive, feeling extremely nervous to tell him what she thinks to be the most dangerous secret, as well as the two most dangerous words, in the universe: I'm pregnant.
She had recently found out that she was pregnant when she had accidentally cut herself with the knife she was using to chop vegetables for a meal she was preparing for herself, and she was surprised to see that familiar golden glow of Regeneration Energy appear and heal her hand, which shouldn't have been possible, what with the fact that she had given up her Time Lord powers for the Doctor when she used them to resurrect him from the dead after she had poisoned him with lipstick laced with Judas Tree poison (See "Let's Kill Hitler"). She had also felt extremely sick over the last few weeks, which was another sign that she was, indeed, pregnant.
As she sits on the bench, waiting for her husband, she begins having second thoughts about telling him, as she believes that he may have mixed feelings about the pregnancy as well as the idea of raising a child that the whole universe (especially the Silence) may wish to take advantage of in the worst possible ways, especially with the baby being Time Lord. She thinks he would be thrilled to be a father again, but he would not approve to raise a child during the most dangerous time of his life and with so little time he might have left before his fate on Trenzalore (see "time of the Doctor").
As River thinks about all of this and thinks about going back to her apartment, the TARDIS arrives, indicating that it's too late to change her mind, and she enters the police box, deciding to just act casual and make sure to cover up her slight baby bump. The Doctor greets her warmly, and she returns the greeting as she settles in a chair across from the main console. After comparing diaries, and when asked by her husband where in Space-Time she would like to go to start her vacation from her professorial duties at Luna, River says she just wants to chill in the TARDIS with him, and he agrees, albeit suspiciously, as he's never known River to typically refuse an action-packed adventure; though he usually doesn't mind just "chilling" in the TARDIS with her either.
However, this time, River's behavior seemed a bit strange to him. As they share a passionate kiss, the Doctor asks about his wife's strange behavior, and she thinks about dismissing it as just tiredness from a busy year at the University, but she ultimately decides to reveal the truth, believing he has a right to know, as well as thinking he may just find out anyway, no matter how well she tries keeping the secret from him. After much persuasion, she finally tells him that she's pregnant.
Chapter 2: A Second Chance
"I haven't been a father in so long. I never thought I'd ever be one again." –The Doctor
"And now you get a second chance. A chance at raising our child." –River Song
The Doctor is, as River highly expected, shocked by the news and has a slight panic attack, fretting that he may not be the father, and River tries calming him, saying that he is, in fact, the father, explaining what happened earlier that day when she was preparing lunch for herself and was healed by Regeneration Energy that she believed to have come from the baby, as that's the only explanation as to how she temporarily regained her Time Lord powers. Thankfully, this calms the Doctor, and he congratulates River for being pregnant as well as expresses his excitement for being given a second chance to be a father again after centuries of being one last.
However, he expresses his concerns for what would happen if his enemies, particularly the Silence, found out that they're about to have a child together, and worries what they would do to the child if they found out—would they attempt to take their child away and raise the child into a psychopath, just like they did to River way back when at Demons Run? The Doctor also expresses his concerns for how much time he truly has left to spend with his family and raise his child, feeling that Trenzalore and the so-called 'Fall of the Eleventh' could be just around the corner. In response to this, River says that none of that should matter to them as long as they're able to spend the entire amount of time they have left together with their child—referring to the child as 'her'—and live it to the fullest.
The Doctor is puzzled as to who 'her' is, and River shrugs, saying she doesn't know if the child is, indeed, a girl, and that it's "just a feeling." This, to River, is a lie, as she remembered back during the time after she lost her parents (and the Doctor lost his In-Laws) to the Weeping Angels and stayed with the Doctor for a while after, the Doctor had accidentally revealed too early (as well as subconsciously) that their first child together would be a girl, and she never forgot that brief conversation and was excited that this was coming to light at that current moment. The Doctor responds by saying that he hopes their child is a girl, as this way he can name her after his granddaughter, Susan, and River chuckles by saying they can discuss baby names later, as she wishes to reveal the great news to her parents.
However, the Doctor is partially against this idea, as he had scanned River since she came aboard the TARDIS, and he discovered her Lindos Levels (which is a Time Lord hormone that triggers Regeneration) to be extremely high, and because of this, River—rather, the baby—has become a danger-magnet; in other words, the Doctor's enemies are more attracted to her energy and could come after it and take advantage of it, and he recommends that she stay in the TARDIS "just to be safe." However, River refuses, saying she has her gun and will be with her parents, and promises to call him if things go sideways. Not fully convinced, the Doctor reluctantly agrees and says he'll pick River up in an hour—and then very quickly reducing it to half an hour thereafter—but River firmly says she'll allow him to pick her up after two hours, and he, again very reluctantly, agrees, and he drops her off on Amy and Rory's street, sharing his excitement to find out what they think of the news of being future grandparents.
Chapter 3: Telling the Parents
"Melody, Mels, River—it doesn't matter. You'll always be not just our daughter but also our best friend. Nothing and no one is ever gonna change that." –Amy
"Agreed. We'll always love you, no matter what. You, the Doctor... Even our new grandchild, whoever he or she will be." –Rory
As River rings her parents' doorbell, she can't help but think about the last time she saw them, which was after they were taken by the Weeping Angels in New York (See "The Angels Take Manhattan"), and how "wrong" it feels to be standing there on their doorstep after standing next to their gravestone, which, of course, is something that she can't tell them. As she thinks about this, she begins crying uncontrollably and automatically blames the hormones she's experiencing with her current condition.
Thankfully, she's able to control her emotions as her mother, Amy Pond, answers the door and happily greets her daughter and invites her into the house. River wanders into the Living Room and discovers her father, Rory, to also be home, as it's his day off from work. She joins him as she sits on the sofa, and they have a chance to catch up while Amy cooks lunch.
While the family are catching up, Rory points out that River seems to have "put on a few pounds" and expresses his concerns for her health, but River shrugs it off, saying that "it's not just the teaching and grading that's tiring [her] out. It's something else. Something wonderful." They ask what of, and River casually reveals that she is pregnant, feeling that it's now much easier to reveal the secret after she'd told her husband. Amy and Rory are shocked but mostly excited to hear the news, and they curiously ask how their son-in-law took to the news, and River sadly states that he didn't take the news quite as well as she hoped. She explains by asking if her parents remembered what happened at Demons Run (see "a good man goes to war"), and explains how the Doctor expressed his concerns for the exact same thing happening to their own child, should the Silence find out, as they have a theory that Madame Kovarian somehow survived the events of the '5:02 world' (See "Wedding of River Song"). Amy asks what River and the Doctor would do if they found out Kovarian had, indeed, survived the '5:02 world,' and River shrugs and says that they hadn't discussed their plans yet, and she dreads to have that conversation when they do decide to discuss it, fearing that their time with their child might be short-lived, as they might feel the need to give the child up for adoption in order to be kept safe from the Silence and other enemies.
Amy then expresses her concerns for their safety as a family, since River is pregnant with the Doctor's child, thinking the Silence or other enemies may barge into the house and do them—especially the baby—harm, and River feels guilty to not have taken her husband's advice to stay in the TARDIS, and she apologizes to her parents and attempts to leave when her parents stop her and assure her that whatever happens or whatever dangers may barge into the house, they can take them down easily, because "[they're] Pond Girls; [they] can handle anything!" as well as adding that Rory has experience in battles as a Roman Centurion "for almost two-thousand years! And plastic!" (see "the Pandorica opens" and "the big bang"). This slightly eases River's worries, and she agrees to stay a little longer with her parents until the Doctor arrives to pick her up again. The family express their love for each other—calling River 'Mels,' referring to her birth nickname as well as their best friend's name from before they learned of her true identity (see "let's kill Hitler")—as they continue catching up.
Chapter 4: The Deviants' Downfall
"There was one major event in Gallifreyan history—the second worst event in history behind the Last Great Time War—that which Rassilon dubbed 'The Deviants' Downfall.' Many Deviants planetwide were executed by his order, and the Capital televised it live to the whole world. I was just a kid when it happened, and even back then I understood what was happening. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant thing to see." –The Doctor
Several weeks fly by, and at this point, River is starting to slow down physically due to her condition, which has almost gotten her killed on multiple occasions, and the Doctor insists that River stay in the TARDIS more often, much to her displeasure, as to her, being cooped up in the TARDIS makes her think of her imprisonment in Stormcage Containment Facility. However, on the plus side, at least she's able to roam the TARDIS freely, unlike at Stormcage, so she doesn't complain all that much.
About five months into her pregnancy, the couple make a fantastic as well as concerning discovery. The fantastic thing that they discover during the latest ultrasound is that the baby's gender is a girl, which, of course, excites the Doctor greatly, as he may have a chance to name his daughter after his granddaughter, after all. However, the concerning thing they discover at the same time is that their daughter is revealed to be what the Time Lords called a 'Deviant,' meaning that their child will grow up to not be like a normal Time Lord like her father.
Upon being asked by his wife what a 'Deviant' is, the Doctor tells a story of when he was a kid, when Deviants were discovered and feared by the Gallifreyan High Council because of their highly advanced abilities, and the Deviants were taken in to be either experimented on or executed by law. When Deviants were first discovered, a large group of them were executed on live television planetwide, an event which scared the Doctor so much that he had nightmares for years about being one himself, even though he was never revealed to be one during his older years. He explained that the event was dubbed "The Deviants' Downfall" and was considered, at least to him, as "the second worst event in history behind the Last Great Time War."
When River asks if he knows if executing Deviants upon discovering one is still a law today, he says he's confident that the law "died with Gallifrey," so that shouldn't be a law anymore. He assures her that even if it did still exist on other planets, both he and River would protect their daughter from it for as long as she lived, which calms River down greatly. River briefly thinks about what the Silence would do if they discovered their daughter being Deviant, but the Doctor tells her not to worry about the Silence and promises to keep them both safe.
Chapter 5: Once was a Joy; Twice is a Privilege
"I think it's time you returned to the TARDIS, River. It's no longer safe for you here or anywhere outside of the TARDIS." –The Doctor
"Why? What aren't you tell—" –River Song (interrupted)
"Don't ask questions, River. Just do as you are told." –The Doctor
"Doctor—" –River Song (interrupted)
"Go, River! TARDIS! Now!" –The Doctor
After the discussion about the Deviants and the revelation of their daughter being one, River feels the need to visit her parents again to tell them about it, and the Doctor is highly against this, but after much persuasion from River, he allows her to go back for a short visit. Little does he know, this ends up being his worst mistake.
River is once again greeted by her mother (Rory ended up being called into work to aid with an emergency surgery) and is invited into the house. As River settles in the Living Room and Amy brews them some tea, Amy comments on how well her daughter seems to be moving along with her pregnancy, and River says she and the Doctor think they don't have long left until the baby is born—maybe a month or two. River casually reveals the gender of the baby, and Amy is excited for the Doctor and River to have a daughter and she and Rory to have a granddaughter.
River then discusses her daughter's "Deviancy" with Amy and her concerns for it, retelling her husband's story and her concerns for what the Silence would do if they found out about the child's advanced Time Lord abilities. Amy is disgusted by the story and how that was what the society was like for the Doctor on Gallifrey, and comments that "no wonder he left home and never wanted to come back", knowing how horrible that must've been for him.
When Amy asks where the child got her Deviancy from and whether she inherited it from the Doctor or River, River says she is unsure, but that the Doctor theorized that the baby could've inherited it from River, as she and the baby both were conceived in the TARDIS while in flight through the Time Vortex, and explains how Time Lords generally got their powers from the Time Vortex, usually by looking into it rather than travelling through it (see "the end of time"). However, River is unsure if she was truly Deviant, as she no longer possesses her Time Lord powers since she gave them up for the Doctor back in Berlin (see "let's kill Hitler").
When asked if the Doctor and River had talked about what they would do if the Silence found out about the baby's existence, River explains that they have discussed the possibility of either attempting to raise the baby themselves in the TARDIS—though she remembered the Doctor mentioning that the Silence have snuck on board before, when they attempted to blow up the TARDIS on Amy and Rory's wedding night during the 'Pandorica' incident (see "the big bang")—or give the child up to be raised by another family who has no connection to the Doctor whatsoever. River shares her thoughts about each of the options, saying that them raising their child in the TARDIS was the most logical option, as the baby would be safer there than anywhere else in the universe, but the Doctor disagreed since he reminded River about the Silence invading the TARDIS in the past; who's to say they could do it again with their daughter on board? On the other hand, River was determined not to have their daughter be given up to another family, as she plans to raise her child in a way that Amy and Rory never got to raise River.
When Amy suggests that she and Rory raise their granddaughter instead, commenting that "plenty of people are raised by their grandparents", River says she had suggested that to the Doctor as well, but the Doctor put the kybosh on that idea, saying that the Silence know where Amy and Rory live, and that would be the first location the Silence would think to look for the child and, therefore, wouldn't be safe. Amy then asks what River and the Doctor would do if they, nor Amy and Rory, can't raise the child themselves, and River explains that they'll have to figure something else out, as "[they] can't take any chances" in the Silence finding out about their daughter's existence, and that "[they've] had several close calls already."
As River explains this, she is interrupted when the ladies hear a loud noise from the kitchen, and Amy volunteers to check it out. River is against this and insists on investigating it instead, as she has a gun, but Amy insists that River stay on the sofa and "protect [her] baby" while she creeps into the kitchen, thinking something must've fallen over from the AC unit having blown something off the counter, or something of that sort. Once Amy enters the kitchen, she immediately gasps and reprimands the apparent intruder before she screams in pain and is knocked unconscious. When River hears this, she automatically gets up from the sofa and enters the kitchen after her mother, wondering what the hell happened, when something unexpected happens.
The next thing River knows, she is waking up back on the sofa with a pounding headache, as well as her husband suddenly having arrived sometime at the house (as well as Rory having returned from work), and he's in absolute hysterics, yelling and cursing at Amy for not protecting River well enough, and Rory attempts to comfort Amy as she attempts and fails to explain what happened as she can't remember what happened for the life of her. The argument continues and escalates between the family members, and River eventually speaks up, asking what happened. As the Doctor checks on her, Amy attempts once again to explain and is about to share a theory that the Silence were somehow involved, when the Doctor interrupts her mid-sentence and orders River to return to the TARDIS without questions. River attempts to ask questions anyway, but the Doctor is strict, and River reluctantly decides to do what he orders, knowing better than to argue with her husband when he is in his "Oncoming Storm" mindset, and says goodbye to her parents before returning to the TARDIS in extreme confusion.
As she waits for the Doctor to return, River can't help but fret over the possibility of the Doctor forbidding her from seeing her parents again (at least until the baby is born), as well as what her mother said about the possibility of the Silence, indeed, being involved in whatever happened in the kitchen, which, she believes, would explain her and her mother's memory-loss. Once the Doctor finally returns, River once again attempts to ask him what happened in the kitchen, but he refuses and, instead, makes her promise that she stay in the TARDIS until the child is born, as it's clear that she's no longer safe anywhere, even stating that he shouldn't have allowed her to visit her parents in the first place. He assures her that she can still see her parents if she wants, but they would have to visit her in the TARDIS rather than her visit them at their house.
River agrees to the Doctor's pleas and, suddenly feeling tired from the horrifying ordeal she went through during her visit, decides to go to the Doctor's bedroom to take a nap and offers for her husband to join her. At this time, from the Doctor's point of view, he discovers something horrifying. He discovers that River is actually a Flesh Avatar, just like Amy way back when (see "the rebel flesh" and "the almost people"), and he automatically gasps in fright. River asks him what's wrong, but he quickly brushes it away and calmly tells her he loves her and that he'll be up to join her later, as he has some things he wants to get off his chest preferably alone, and she complies, even when him wanting to spend some alone-time is sometimes bad for him, as it sometimes leads to him making stupid choices that he often regrets making afterwards.
Once River is out of earshot, the Doctor slams his fist on the TARDIS console several times, apparently breaking his hand as well as parts of the console, angry that he let the Silence trick him three times at this point in the exact same way as the other two—the first time being with Amy when the Silence placed a fake version of her in her place, and the second time in the exact same way with River (going by 'Melody Pond') as an infant. The fact that the Silence have targeted River and his daughter in the exact same way as they targeted Amy while she was pregnant with River angers the Doctor even more than last time, since now, the Silence are targeting family instead of friends as well as the Doctor's own child, and he does not plan on showing any mercy this time round.
Of course, he keeps this to himself, lest River finds out and her Flesh form disintegrates before he has a chance to find her real body, wherever the Silence took her. He dreads to think what the Silence could be doing to her and to their unborn baby at this very moment, wherever and whenever they are in Space-Time, and he plans to get his revenge on the Silence once and for all, no matter what it took or whether or not he would die in the process. In his mind, "as foretold in the prophecy, it was time for Silence to fall."
Chapter 6: Lost River
"No matter where in Time and Space you are, I will find you, whatever it takes, and I will never stop looking for you until you are back safe in my arms. Both of you. I promise." –The Doctor
River wakes up after a horrible nightmare, and she discovers, to her horror, the face of Madame Kovarian sneering at her through a strange hatch in the wall of the Doctor's bedroom, sniggering, "Not long now, sweetie...", indicating how much time is left until it's time for River to deliver her child, and then Kovarian would immediately snatch the child from her and train her into a psychopath against her father thereafter, just like they did River. She gasps in fright, apparently waking the Doctor who snoozes beside her. River points to the now-closed 'hatch' in the wall and says that she saw Kovarian there looking at her, but the Doctor says there's nothing there—it's just a wall—and attempts to calm River by encouraging her to go back to sleep, but River is too scared to sleep, convinced that Kovarian had somehow returned and managed to sneak aboard the TARDIS. The Doctor highly doubts this and attempts to assure her that no-one would be able to enter the TARDIS "without [his] explicit permission", which doesn't ease River's worries as much as he hoped. Instead, he tries to ease her by cuddling against her and placing his hand (the one that he had injured in the previous chapter) over her baby bump, which somewhat works.
From the Doctor's point of view, he's spent the last few days secretly searching for the real River throughout Time and Space, and he's failed every time, which is beginning to infuriate him. What also infuriates him is the fact that he has to keep up appearances, pretending that there's absolutely nothing wrong with River whatsoever, as he doesn't want her to get suspicious lest she end up disintegrating spontaneously before he's able to successfully find her. To him, laying here in bed with a Flesh version of his wife, it feels wrong, like he's cheating on his real wife as well as wasting time in saving her, as who knows what the Silence are doing to her right now in their time.
As he thinks about all of this, his thoughts are interrupted when River suddenly asks about his injured hand, and he shrugs it off by saying that it was "just [him] being [his] clumsy old self"; however, River thinks otherwise, seriously doubting that clumsiness could've caused such injuries, but she doesn't question him about it. Deep down, the Doctor felt that he deserved the self-inflicted injury, as he saw it as punishment for what he let happen to River and his unborn daughter. In spite of this, he decides to heal it with his Regeneration Energy to ease River's worries. She is, of course against this, as she doesn't approve of him wasting his energy when he has so little left as he's at the end of his Regeneration Cycle (see "the angels take Manhattan" and "time of the Doctor").
He, however, shrugs it off, saying that her irrational fears are "[her] hormones talking", and she needs to calm down. She involuntarily snaps at him, believing that she's capable of taking care of herself just fine in her condition and that "[she doesn't] need a doctor!" and immediately regrets saying this afterwards, knowing that he's done so much for her when she's done very little for him in return because of her condition. The Doctor tells her not to worry about it, and that he should be apologizing to her, saying how he's been looming over her far too much and agrees that she is capable of taking care of herself, but he forgets that a lot because he's so used to helping people and doesn't know when to stop even when people tell him to. However, he says that in River's case, knowing that she doesn't like to look weak in front of him, he says that she shouldn't be afraid to ask him for help and show weakness, as he's always willing to help her because he cares so much about her and loves her. He says that "right now, you are my main priority, and I'd be damned if anything were to happen to you or my daughter—our daughter. No matter where in Time and Space you are, I will find you, whatever it takes, and I will never stop looking for you until you are back safe in my arms. Both of you. I promise." These last words confuse River, as, to her, she's never left his side like she promised, and the Doctor rewords his last statement by saying that what he truly means is that no matter where she is, he would always think about her and love her, and he won't ever stop loving her. He says that he would always come running to her, and that she and his daughter are "seared onto [his] hearts always."
His words finally calm River down, and her husband encourages her to sleep again, and she reluctantly agrees, teasingly calling him a "nostalgic idiot," as he uses his telepathic abilities to gently force her into a much-needed sleep, teasingly calling her "[his] bespoke psychopath" (see "let's kill Hitler"). Once he's convinced River is fully asleep, the Doctor quietly gets dressed and slinks out of the bedroom and back to the Control Room where he continues searching for the real River, muttering seemingly hopelessly, "Where are you, River?"
Chapter 7: Push
"Welcome back, dearie. Long time no see." –Madame Kovarian
"Kovarian... How... How did you survive?" –River Song
"Now, now, dearie. We don't have time for that right now. You have a little princess to bring into the world. Looks like she's ready to pop now. It's time. Push..." –Madame Kovarian
During the final month in River's pregnancy, the Doctor continues searching for the real River behind the Flesh River's back. At one point, he returns to Demons Run, hoping to find some sign that the Silence have returned to revive their former base of operations as well as where they're keeping River, but sadly he finds nothing and no-one; the place is apparently left just as abandoned as he and his army last left it (see "a good man goes to war").
Meanwhile, from River's point of view, she's beginning to get suspicious of her husband's strange behavior. She notices that every time she enters the room, he seems to quickly cover up what he's doing and come up with some ridiculous lie, which begins to infuriate her. At one point, she managed to catch what he was doing and was confused when she saw an image of herself on the TARDIS screen with the words "no results" printed across her portrait, clearly showing that the Doctor was, for some odd reason, looking for her, even when she was currently aboard the TARDIS.
On the last day of her pregnancy, River finally decides to approach her husband about his distant and dismissive behavior. Of course, he automatically attempts a lie, but she calls him out on it, refusing to let him lie, and demands to know what he's doing—specifically, why he seems to be searching for her when she's obviously standing right in front of him—and what really happened in her parents' kitchen on the day she last visited them. As he attempts to dodge the topic and suggest that he take her to the Med Bay, River suddenly goes into labor and her water breaks, but instead of water, Flesh comes out of her body. Upon recognizing the substance, she instantly realizes what happened in her parents' kitchen—that the Silence had, indeed, broken into her parents' house and replaced River with a Flesh copy of herself, and the Doctor has been spending all this time searching for her real body behind her Flesh self's back without success.
The Doctor apologizes for not telling her, and she demands to know why he didn't tell her. He confesses that the only way to be successful in finding her is that he must disintegrate her Flesh form so that her conscious mind can reconnect with her real body (as the TARDIS is only able to trace River's location where her conscious mind is), but he refuses to do this, saying that he doesn't want to lose her, as disintegrating her will mean he loses her, even temporarily, and he can't stand to be away from her. Thankfully, River is understanding and tries assuring him that he wouldn't lose her and their child forever like he thinks, as she knows that once he traces her real body, he will immediately come running to save her and their child. This calms down the Doctor a little, and River convinces him to go ahead and disintegrate her, as she can't give birth in her Flesh form, and he reluctantly uses the sonic screwdriver to melt her form.
Once this is done, River wakes up back in her real body, but she's in a different place entirely. A hatch suddenly opens above her, and she looks up and is shocked to see Madame Kovarian's face sneering down on her, telling her that her "little princess" is "ready to pop now" and it's time for her to "push…" River screams in horror as she gives birth to her daughter, while Kovarian watches in gratitude that her scheme to turn the child into a weapon against her own father is beginning to come to fulfillment.
Chapter 8: Search for a Song
"Doctor? Are you alright? What's wrong? Why are you smiling?" –Amy
"I sense her..." –The Doctor (about his daughter)
"Sense who? Mels?" –Amy
"No... My daughter. She's been born." –The Doctor
For several minutes, the Doctor sobs uncontrollably over what is left of River's Flesh Avatar, thinking she and his unborn daughter are truly gone, despite knowing that this isn't actually true. Eventually, he pulls himself together and travels to the Paternoster Gang's residence in Victorian London, 1892, and asks them for help in finding his family and bringing them back. Surprisingly, Jenny Flint (Madame Vastra's maid and wife) answers the door, and the Doctor tells her his problem and asks for her to pass on the message to Madame Vastra when she returns from her errand. Jenny briefly congratulates him on his new member of the family as he prepares to head back to the TARDIS to travel to his In-Laws' house next.
Once he arrives at Amy and Rory's house, Amy asks how River (again, calling her 'Mels') is doing and whether she's had their baby yet, and the Doctor ignores her questions and explains what happened to River. Of course, Amy and Rory volunteer to help save their family, but the Doctor refuses their help, not wanting them to face the Silence again and relive all those horrible memories from Demons Run, but they say they don't care about any of that and only care to save their daughter and granddaughter, as "[they] never give up on family, no matter what happens."
The Doctor reluctantly agrees to let them help him, and as they rush off to get ready, the Doctor suddenly gets a migraine that lasts a few short minutes, and he feels a new psychic link connect with his own mind, and he cries, knowing only one person the new psychic link could be coming from—his daughter. He tearfully and happily confirms this when Amy asks him about it after hearing him wince in pain, and, like Jenny, she congratulates him, but he dismisses her, saying that they shouldn't waste any more time in saving River and their daughter, and Amy rushes to join Rory upstairs to get ready for war against the Silence.
Chapter 9: A Good Man Goes to War 2.0
"I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved. That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Nova, is very, very brave." –River Song (quoting her mother to her newborn daughter)
Far across the universe on the Silent Sun ship orbiting a star on the verge of going supernova, River recites her mother's speech from Demons Run (see "a good man goes to war") to her newborn daughter, dubbing her 'Nova,' believing that to be a fitting name for a Time Lord as well as "a spawn of the Doctor." She tells Nova to be brave, no matter where the Silence take her or what they do to her, and that her father will always come to save her. Madame Kovarian tries rushing River with her goodbyes to her daughter, but River fights them away and demands to know what they plan to do to her daughter, and Kovarian explains her plan to use the supernova's energy to merge with Nova's Regeneration Energy to weaponize it to use against the Doctor. River refuses to let this happen and defends her daughter to the best of her ability, but the Silence are far too strong and take Nova away while they restrain River before they lock River alone in the Infirmary.
Meanwhile, the Doctor has finally managed to find River, and he, the Paternoster Gang, and the Ponds strategize how to get aboard the ship and rescue River and Nova (at this point, the Doctor is aware of his daughter's name, as he heard River whisper it through their psychic link). They debate whether or not to have an entire army help them take over the ship like they did at Demons Run (see "a good man goes to war"), but the Doctor declines that idea, saying that the five of them are enough. Deep down, he plans to avoid any confrontations with Kovarian or anyone else, as he remembered that not working out so well the last time, as that gave the Silence the advantage to take Melody Pond away and place the bait in her place to trick him, and he vows not to let that happen with his daughter. The Paternoster Gang agree to rush to the Control Room like last time (see "a good man goes to war"), and Amy and Rory rush to find River, while the Doctor rushes to stop the Silence from doing whatever they plan to do with the supernova with Nova (at this point, he has a pretty vague idea what they plan to do). With their plan set, they attempt to board the ship.
Meanwhile, Madame Kovarian orders one of the female Silence members to place the child into the machine they created to absorb the supernova's energy and transfer it into the child's body, merging it with her Regeneration Energy. The soldier does what she's ordered, and once the child is in the machine, the soldiers activate the machine, and it begins sucking in the supernova's energy into the chamber. When the hot fumes touch the baby's body, she begins crying out in pain and begins seemingly regenerating, all while the star's energy is absorbed into her body as it heals. While she watches, Kovarian sniggers to herself at the fact that her plan is working successfully and that the child will make a great and dangerous weapon against the Doctor yet.
Meanwhile, just as the TARDIS lands aboard the Silence ship, as everyone steps out, the Doctor immediately senses a sharp pain through his psychic link from his daughter's end, and he senses her pain from the star's energy burning her skin. He automatically rushes to find and save her, despite the rest of the group's protests.
Upon the TARDIS's arrival, one of the soldiers alerts Madame Kovarian, and she orders for the soldiers to terminate the experiment. However, one of the other soldiers warns against this, saying if they take the child out now, the star's fumes will enter the ship and cause much damage and maybe even destroy the ship and everyone aboard, but Kovarian doesn't care and insists that they terminate the transfer anyway. The female soldier takes the regenerating Time Lord infant out of the chamber and replaces her back in her cradle, and the group evacuate the room as the room fills with the star's fumes, damaging the machine and its controls. One of the other soldiers expresses his concerns about this, but Kovarian says it doesn't matter and that they have what they came for now—i.e. the child with the star's energy now absorbed into her body, ready to be detonated like a legitimate supernova.
As the ship begins exploding and Silence members scramble to escape, the Doctor rushes around the ship, hunting for his daughter and desperate to save her. He finds the room where Madame Kovarian was performing her earlier experiments, but the room is almost completely filled with the star's fumes, which causes the machine to explode and force the doors to shut for safety and security purposes. Seeing this destruction, the Doctor realizes what they did to his daughter, and as he plans to find her and get her back, another soldier ends up running into him and taunts him about how he failed to save his daughter and that Madame Kovarian is long gone with her by now. The Doctor fumes with rage and demands the soldier at gunpoint to tell him where they took her, but the soldier spits in his face, saying he won't tell him anything and that "[he'd] die before [he'd] betray [his] madame and [his] fellow Vokanari!" ('Vokanari' being another name for the Silence organization as well as an anagram of 'Kovarian'). Upon seeing that the Doctor is holding him at gunpoint after stealing his gun with a swift Venusian Aikido move, the soldier doubts the Time Lord will actually use it, calling him a pacifist, but the Doctor dismisses his comment, saying that "[he changes], and not just [his] body" and that the soldier should choose his words more carefully before he actually decides to kill him just out of spite, as if that would fix everything. The Doctor demands once more where the Silence took his daughter, but the soldier basically gives the same answer and adds that "the transfer has already been done." When the Doctor asks "what transfer?", the soldier briefly explains the purpose of the star's energy, confirming the Doctor's theory of the Silence weaponizing his daughter's Regeneration Energy to use against him one day when she's older (the soldier even joking about the Doctor's daughter literally becoming her namesake), and the soldier shrugs off any and all other threats from the Time Lord, saying that "my madame's secret shall die with me!" The Doctor shrugs this reply away, saying that even if he has to hunt Kovarian down himself, he won't rest until his daughter is found and back safe in his arms. The Doctor also admits that he doesn't care if the soldier dies, as he's actually willing to leave him behind as punishment. Before he leaves the soldier and everyone else to die, the Doctor threatens to take down every Silence member in existence and will die trying, especially since he believes this is the only way to keep his family safe. After receiving a message from Vastra saying that they have a little over a minute until the ship blows and they need to return to the TARDIS asap, the Doctor agrees and rushes away to look for his wife and in-laws.
Meanwhile, River is still trapped in the Infirmary, feeling hopeless after losing her daughter and failing to protect her. When the door suddenly opens, she stands up as two soldiers step inside and prepare to kill her, knowing that she's served her purpose, as they only needed her to deliver her child and nothing else, but thankfully Amy and Rory arrive just in time to stop them. They hand her back her gun, and she uses it to trap the soldiers in the room by shooting the controls on the side of the door, literally sealing their fate. After this, they begin rushing back to the TARDIS, and they run into the Doctor on the way, who is overjoyed that River is alive and alright. The Ponds are concerned when they notice that he hasn't returned with Nova, and he sadly confesses that Kovarian had already taken her away before he could reach her, and they meet the Paternoster Gang back at the TARDIS in the nick of time as the ship explodes.
Chapter 10: Lost and Found
"Oh, look at you... You are beautiful." –The Doctor (upon seeing his daughter for the first time)
Back in the TARDIS, the entire group feels guilty that they failed to save the Doctor's daughter. Amy and Rory attempt to soothe River while the Doctor broods by the console, desperately wanting to go after his daughter but is uncertain as to how. The Paternoster Gang stand off to the side, feeling uncertain as to help the family.
When Amy and Rory try to cheer the family up by discussing ways to save their granddaughter, the Doctor says there aren't any ways, which gives Amy the impression that the Doctor has given up in saving his own daughter, which astounds her. The Doctor says that he doesn't have a choice but to give up since the Silence are long gone, so there's no way to go after them. In that moment, he suddenly realizes that there is, in fact, a way, that way being to use his new psychic link with his daughter to locate her using the TARDIS's telepathic circuits. He quickly does just that, and the link takes them to a small shuttle that Madame Kovarian and a few of her followers escaped on, and he, Vastra and Strax go aboard to search for his daughter while the rest of the group stay on the TARDIS.
The trio enter the Cargo Hold of the shuttle, and the Doctor and Vastra order Strax to keep watch while they follow the link to a locked door hidden among the boxes and crates. They hear the sound of baby coos from the other side of the door, as well as someone shushing the baby upon hearing them approach from outside. Believing that the baby coos are his daughter's, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door and enter the small room where they find a young boy, no older than five years old, seemingly guarding a cradle on the table where the soft baby coos are coming from. The boy is terrified to see them and automatically defends the cradle from them, thinking them to be "bad guys". The Doctor assures the boy that they aren't there to hurt him but are, instead, there for the baby and plan to take her to a much safer place. The boy, introducing himself as Nolan when asked his name by the Doctor, states that he was tasked by his mother to protect the baby from "the bad man" at all costs and that he won't let the bad man take her. Nolan then recognizes the Doctor as "the bad man" when Vastra called the Time Lord 'Doctor' earlier, and Nolan boasts about him being trained to kill the Doctor one day when he's grown up. The Doctor is highly disturbed by this, but he assures Nolan that he's not a bad man anymore and that he helps and protects people such as Nolan and the baby. The Doctor then attempts to get to the baby, but Nolan steps forward and blocks him from approaching, to which Strax enters from outside and pushes the boy back, threatening to "blow [his] head off of [his] puny shoulders." Vastra is appalled by this and reprimands the Sontaran for leaving his post before she alerts the Doctor that they need to leave as there might be someone coming down to the Cargo Hold to check about the noise.
However, the Doctor doesn't pay attention to Vastra or anybody else around him, too focused on his own child lying in the cradle smiling up at him. He is moved to tears when he notices some physical features that match his own (particularly her eyes and chin) and River's, as well as when he holds her for the first time and she automatically falls asleep in his arms, completely trusting of him. Only when Vastra attempts to pull him away does he regain his focus on the situation, and as they leave, the Doctor turns back to Nolan and apologizes to him for not being able to save him as well, knowing that the Silence have taught him too much about the Doctor being "the bad man" that there's no way he can convince Nolan otherwise. At this point the Doctor also realizes that Nolan refers to his 'mother' (though not his real mother) as Madame Kovarian. The Doctor tells Nolan that he shouldn't deserve this fate with the Silence, and of course Nolan doesn't understand or believe him, and so the trio have no choice but to leave the boy behind to be trained by the Silence.
When they return to the TARDIS with the baby, River is hysterical and begs to see her child, but the rest of the family encourage her to sit down and to not strain herself, as she's still very weak from childbirth, before they hand the baby over to her. When the baby is handed over to River, she automatically cries and rocks her, commenting on how beautiful she looks. The rest of the family 'ooh' and 'aah' over the baby, with Amy asking what the new parents will name her. River says she's been calling the child 'Nova' on impulse since she gave birth to her, and so she decides that to be the child's name, as well as offering to use the name 'Susan' as her middle name, as the Doctor wished that to be her name also, and River decides for Nova to use her surname 'Song'. The rest of the family are sold on the name, especially the Doctor, who asks to hold her again, wanting to welcome his daughter into the universe properly. Once again, he cries at the realization that, since Nova's birth, he is now officially a part of a family again, now becoming a legitimate father again after centuries, and he feels that he'd be damned to ever lose the family anytime soon, especially his daughter now that he is no longer the 'Last of the Time Lords' with Nova now in existence.
Madame Vastra congratulates the Doctor on his new member of the family before pulling him away from the Ponds to speak to him privately on the other side of the room. Despite not having any biological relation with the family, she expresses her concerns for Nova's safety, now that she's been born, saying how she will gradually come into her Deviant powers as she grows older, which will expose her to a great many dangers, particularly the Doctor's various enemies that wish to do her harm or take advantage of her powers. Regretfully, the Doctor agrees and admits that he may have to give Nova up for adoption, after all, believing she'd be safer with another family who has no connection to him whatsoever while at the same time keeping her powers hidden from everyone and even herself. He confesses that he doesn't want to make this decision, as he feels he would be taking the privilege of raising Nova away from River, especially since Amy and Rory were robbed of that privilege with River back at Demons Run (see "a good man goes to war"), and he fears that River would never forgive him if he made this decision, despite feeling the need to. He says that he wants what's best for his child, even if it means never allowing her to see him again or even know that he exists. Vastra replies by saying that for now, the Doctor shouldn't worry about it and should, instead, take some time off to celebrate with his family, as "nothing is more important than family." The Doctor agrees, and he thanks Vastra and the others for everything they did for him and his family before offering to take them home back to Victorian London.
Chapter 11: Together Again…Someday
"We'll see what type of girl she grows up to be." –River Song (talking about Nova)
"No matter what she grows up to be, I will be proud of the woman she becomes." –The Doctor
During the first few nights as parents, the Doctor and River experience several nightmares of horrible things happening to their beloved daughter—specifically, all the times they fail as parents, or when their daughter is found and taken advantage of or killed by the Doctor's enemies while they are forced to stand by and watch. Oftentimes when the Doctor has these nightmares, it becomes apparent that little Nova experiences the same nightmares as well, sensing her father's fears through their psychic link, which proves how powerful their link between each other is. When the baby is woken up by these nightmares, the Doctor takes her out of his old cot (see "a good man goes to war") and walks with her through the halls of the TARDIS to calm both her and himself, often taking her to the TARDIS library as, to the Doctor, that is the coziest place on the ship. While he would sit with her and help her fall back asleep, he would tell her stories of his travels as well as other travels he plans to take Nova when she's older. Amy and Rory try to help with Nova as well, but eventually they end up having to be sent home to go back to work, and the Doctor does that while River stays with him to continue recovering from childbirth.
Over time, his fears of their nightmares becoming real one day escalate, which leads him to make the decision to finally approach River about giving their child up for adoption, despite her refusal to do that. When he finds River breastfeeding their daughter in the TARDIS library, he sits with her and asks how she's recovering from childbirth as well as settling as a first-time mother. River says she's recovered fine and briefly comments about raising a child to be "exhausting", but her own nightmares have kept her from properly sleeping at night. She then describes a brief dream she had of being forced to watch adult Nova kill the Doctor under the Silence's control without being able to stop the event. The Doctor tries assuring her that those are just dreams and that they both made a promise to protect Nova no matter the cost. River then expresses her worries about them not being able to keep that promise for very long, especially after Nova grows up to the point where she can take care of herself and live her own life, and worries that Nova may not be capable of or safe to live out on her own with her Deviant powers always attracting the Doctor's enemies to her. After all this being said, River then expresses her worries to have to give Nova up to another family, after all, and she accuses the Doctor for having come into the library to find her and tell her that very thing, to which she once again says she won't do it and there has to be another way. The Doctor sadly admits that he's thought of every way he could think of for them to raise Nova safely, and he says there isn't any way for them to besides give her up for adoption.
Reluctantly agreeing with her husband, River asks who could possibly raise their daughter and keep the secret from the universe, as there's no-one else she can trust besides her parents, and the Doctor assures her that he will look for a couple looking to adopt and contact them about raising their daughter, but River is partially against this idea, saying that in order to fully trust the couple, someone (i.e. herself) should watch them from a distance to make sure they're doing their job properly. At first, the Doctor is against this idea, but then he has second thoughts and says that River watching the couple raise Nova from a distance may be acceptable as long as Nova never sees her, as it's more appropriate that River let the couple raise Nova themselves, believing the couple to be her true parents instead of the Doctor and River, as knowing about the Doctor and River being her parents might expose her true identity too much. He says that in order for Nova to be truly safe, she has to believe that she's 100% human by being raised like one. He even suggests that the couple give Nova an entirely different name to better hide her from his enemies, and suggests that he block his end of their psychic link so she doesn't sense him around. River then says that eventually Nova will have to know the truth, as "it is her birthright," and thankfully the Doctor agrees with this and suggests that he send Nova a coming-of-age gift that subtly represents her true origins, such as her very own sonic screwdriver, and even suggests writing a letter to her explaining their situation of why they had to give her up and that they still care for her. The Doctor then promises River that "[they] will see her again...one day," and imagines what Nova's future would look like after the events of Trenzalore (see "time of the Doctor")—assuming he doesn't survive them—and how proud he would be to see her continue his legacy, dubbing her "'Nova Susan Song: the Savior of the Universe,' like her father before her." River then states that she won't let Nova leave her sight until the day they do give her up, and the Doctor greatly agrees.
Over two days, the couple take turns spending as much time with their daughter as possible, and during River's turns with Nova, the Doctor spends the time searching for potential couples looking to adopt a baby girl, and he manages to find one recently-married couple in the US state of Kansas in the late 1990s that are willing to adopt Nova, even after he contacts them and explains Nova's so-called "abilities" (describing her Time Lord Deviancy) that should be kept hidden from the world and even herself if possible. He gives the same suggestion to the couple that he suggested to River—give Nova an entirely different name to better hide her true identity from his enemies. After the couple agree to adopt Nova, they arrange a time and date to take her, and the Doctor and River prepare to say goodbye to their daughter, not knowing when they'd be together again.
Of course, on the day of the adoption, the parents aren't remotely ready to give up their child, especially the Doctor. On the day, he hides out in the TARDIS library with her, holding her tightly to his chest and refusing to let her go, knowing how much he hates goodbyes. Eventually, River finds him there and calmly tells him that they've almost arrived at the meet spot where they will hand Nova off to her new 'parents', and the Doctor begs her to allow him a few more minutes with Nova alone before he's forced to say goodbye. River allows him the space with his daughter, and she tells him to meet back in the TARDIS Control Room when he's ready. Once she's out of earshot, the Doctor immediately begins sobbing uncontrollably, unable to stand saying goodbye, and of course little Nova cries with him, sensing his sadness through their psychic link. Eventually, he pulls himself together, and he carries Nova, very slowly, to the Control Room where River is piloting and landing the TARDIS. Once he arrives, he asks River if she has the box with Nova's coming-of-age gifts, including the letter he wrote her to go with the items in the box, and River confirms and says she's "got everything covered" and that "[he doesn't] have to do this if [he doesn't] think [he] can handle it." Believing he wouldn't handle the emotions, he thanks River for taking charge, and once they arrive at the meet spot, which is a small park near where Nova's new guardians live, he hands Nova off to River, telling his daughter that he will love her "now and forever, 'til the end of Time." After Nova is handed off to her, River gives her own form of goodbye, saying that she, too, will love her "'til the end of Time" and that "[they] shall be together again... Someday."
The Doctor watches tearfully as River carries Nova away and hands her off to her new human family. Seeing this, he breaks down in uncontrollable tears and sobs until River returns without their daughter. As she attempts to comfort her husband, she assures him that Nova will be happy with her new family and that she and the Doctor will see Nova again one day once she's old enough to know the truth. River assures him that she will keep him updated, as she is going to hop to various points in Nova's life and look after her from a distance and ward off any enemies that may attempt to target her throughout her childhood. The Doctor suggests that both of them try to attend any major events or graduations that Nova might be a part of, and River agrees before she says goodbye to her husband before she zaps away into Nova's future.
From the Doctor's point of view, he felt that he couldn't stand to sit around and wait an ungodly amount of years to see his daughter again, so he secretly hops to various points in Nova's life as well, keeping away from River if he ends up running into her and making sure that Nova doesn't see him. There are a couple of times in Nova's life that she does see him, but thankfully it's during an amount of time when at the end of the day she ends up forgetting she ever saw him, which partially saddens him. At one point, River caught him watching Nova a little too closely, and she scolded him for it, but eventually she accepted the fact that he was missing his daughter as much as she was, and she allowed him to watch over her as well, albeit at a much farther distance. As Nova grew up, the Doctor blocked his end of their psychic link so she wouldn't sense him around if he was in the area.
At the age of four, Nova regenerated for the first time due to aspirin, and after this, the Doctor and River both agreed that she needed to be watched a little more closely and more often, now that Nova's Deviant powers are fully awakened. They watched her live her life happily with her guardians and with her best friend Hazel McAdams whom she did everything with, even telling Hazel her secret after an incident at their local arcade with a Sontaran bounty hunter, which she handled like a champ much to the Doctor and River's surprise. Nova told Hazel her secret in the form of her using her Regeneration Energy to heal Hazel's arm after she was shot by the Sontaran. The Doctor and River even attended various choir and orchestra concerts in which Nova was the lead singer.
They were surprised to find out that one day after High School graduation, Nova decided to move out away from her guardians, thinking they'd be safer away from her since she believed her so-called "non-humanness" attracted danger to them, and she travelled to London, England where she was followed by Hazel. After a close call with a small group of Silence members in an alley near the Queen's Walk, the Doctor decided that now was finally the time to reveal themselves, since it's now clear that nowhere is safe for Nova. River assures her husband that she will find Nova and bring her back to the TARDIS, and she does just that after saving her from the Silence members who ended up kidnapping Hazel, who River was sadly unable to save.
Upon hearing them arriving back at the TARDIS, the Doctor turns on the outside cameras and listens in to their conversation. As he watches their interaction, he is proud to see how well Nova has grown up looking almost exactly like her mother (with a bit of the Doctor thrown in for good measure) even after her Regeneration. After River encourages her to enter the TARDIS, the Doctor laughs at Nova's reaction to it, believing that "no way more than two people would be able to fit in there." When River states that she should "never judge a book by its cover," Nova jokes about the blue box being bigger on the inside, saying it in a way that that should be impossible. At this, River suggests that she "snap [her] fingers and find out," and Nova is hesitant to do so, not knowing what would happen, but when she does it anyway, she is shocked to see the interior of the TARDIS, indeed, being bigger on the inside and comments on how "beautiful" and "impossible" it is and jokes about feeling like she'd just "stepped inside a Sci-Fi movie."
At this point, the Doctor finally decides to reveal himself to his daughter and say "hello" to her, and their adventures continue from here, the memories of her birth and everything leading up to it concluding.
Chapter 12: Epilogue—Nova's Thoughts
"I would like to say it was really neat that you compiled all of your memories, plus Mom's, into one giant memory. Seeing all of them felt like watching a movie on a TV screen, except instead of looking through a TV screen, we were standing in the actual memory, like we were living through it in real time like everybody else, even though nobody could see us, but it was still a really cool experience." –Nova (sharing her thoughts about the memories)
Nova Susan Song and the Doctor (now being referred to by Nova as 'Dad') 'wake up' back in the Real World after having been inside the Doctor's head, viewing all of his and River's old memories of Nova's birth and everything leading up to it, and Nova immediately expresses her thoughts about them. She talks about how surreal it was to stand in the memory and watch everything unfold before them, like standing inside a TV screen while the movie or show is being played but none of the characters can see them.
She expresses her thoughts and feelings about certain memories that stuck out to her—particularly the memories of when the Doctor had to disintegrate the Flesh River as she was going into labor, and how it made Nova cry upon seeing how much it mentally hurt the Doctor having to melt his wife and fear to never see her or his unborn daughter again; when the Doctor had to pretend that nothing was wrong in front of the Flesh River, and how Nova sensed how frustrating that was for him; the Doctor's anger at the Silence for how they had attempted to turn Nova into a weapon (supernova) against him, and how much that angered Nova as well; how shocked she was to see the Doctor come close to legitimately shooting the Silence soldier in the face out of anger for what they did to her.
Nova also expresses her great confusion about a few things—particularly who Nolan was, and whether he was the same boy (grown up) who aided her through the Silence Base to save her kidnapped family (see Chapter 42 in "Part 1: Becoming"); and why the Doctor and River made Nova feel alone during her childhood, not supporting her whenever she struggled to fit in or was afraid that her secret would be discovered. She talks about how if she'd known that the psychic link between them existed (which she didn't, as he had blocked his end of the link), she would've felt less alone having sensed that he was around. The Doctor confesses that he didn't mean to make Nova feel alone and that he was afraid of what would happen if he got too close to her, believing that his enemies would find them and discover her existence. He confesses that he'd had similar things happen with his past companions, most of them by accident, and he couldn't bear to see any of that happen to Nova.
Finally, Nova expresses her concerns for what would happen to her in the long run. Specifically, what would happen if she can no longer control her Regeneration Energy because of the added energy from the exploding star, as she was warned several times would one day happen to her, but the Doctor assures her that things would be fine between them and that they'll figure it out together when they need to.
After sharing their overall thoughts about the memories, Nova suggests that they go to one of the planets that the Doctor promised to take her to, and the Doctor agrees, saying that they deserve a short break from training. They rush off to get ready for their next adventure with an enthusiastic "Geronimo!"
A/N: Please let me know in the comments what you thought of my summaries for each chapter. See you all in the next part of the series :)