Hi everyone!

Here's the updated version of A Good Man Goes to War!

As always thanks for reading and hope you enjoy

Robyn

The group had gathered back in the kitchen, split into small groups and happily chatting away over food and hot drinks. They were enjoying the chance to calm down and discuss stories from their adventures without the pressure and tension of seeing it on screen. River, Jack and the Doctor had strolled in late and immediately grabbed some tea that had been left out for them, River nodded at Rory who had been watching them with a small smile, before joining the group. The conversation was purposely kept light as it had been a long day full of realisations and horrible stories – the last time they'd had a long break and chance to sleep was after the Timeless Child video after all and they were all glad for the chance to relax.

It didn't take long before the group started dispersing, giving their apologies as they left for their rooms. It had been a long day and they were all tired, having not realised how tired they actually were until they took a break. The Doctor and River were the last to bed, River having to almost literally drag her wife to her room to stop her thoughts spiralling as she contemplated the videos of the day.

The next morning, the group slowly congregated back in the kitchen, grabbing coffee and tea to try and wake themselves up. The chatter was quite and almost subdued compared to the laughter and loud chatter from the night before, all still too sleepy and apprehensive about what they were going to watch today – they'd seen several 'calm' videos and it felt like there was a big video coming shortly so they were all worried about what it would ensue and which of them would be involved.

The Doctor hesitated in the doorway, having noticed her wife talking with her parents in one corner of the room, there was still only half the group in the kitchen, everyone taking the chance to enjoy a calm start to the day. She knew she had to talk to several people in the group still with varying urgency but she really needed to talk to River, especially after some of the videos they'd watched yesterday. She just didn't want to take away her wife while River was enjoying time with her parents, it wasn't often that happened and she knew how much River loved her time with them. The conversation couldn't really wait but still, she hesitated.

The decision was taken out of her hands when River glanced up mid-conversation and noticed her hovering in the doorway. River smiled softly at her before turning back to her parents and muttering something before getting to her feet and moving towards where the Doctor stood.

"Morning Sweetie, how about we take this to the garden?" River grabbed the Doctor's arm and led her down the corridor without giving her a chance to answer.

The Doctor tried to organise her thoughts as River led her through the garden and towards a bench, hidden away amongst the greenery. They settled on the bench; bodies turned to face each other as much as they could when sitting next to each other. They sat in silence for several minutes, both tying to figure out where to start and what to actually say.

Surprisingly it was the Doctor who actually broke the silence. "Where are you from River?"

River squared herself, sighing but putting on a smile, "Does it really matter?"

"It does to me. Please, River I need to know." River remained silent so the Doctor continued, voice quiet and pleading. "Are you from after the library?"

"Why does it matter?"

"River." The Doctor looked into her eyes, "You know why it matters."

"I'm not sure I do."

This time it was the Doctor who paused, noticing how River was avoiding her eyes. She'd thought they had dealt with all these issues on Darillium but clearly their time apart and time in the room had given River some reservations. The Doctor waited until Rover finally met her eyes, smiling softly. "Because you matter to me."

"And yet you keep putting yourself in danger without a care about surviving." River countered.

"Why is that relevant?"

"Don't think I didn't notice how you didn't deny it." River started, narrowing her eyes at the Doctor who just kept her face blank. "It's relevant, Doctor, because you matter to me, but you don't seem to matter to you. You keep putting yourself in danger as if there aren't people that cared about you!

"You do the same thing River! How many times have your parents and I run into you in trouble?" The Doctor exploded, arguing back with hands waving in the air.

"That's different!"

"No, it's not. I'm who knows how old, and have practice with this. I know what I'm doing! You don't. I've failed your parents enough; I can't fail you anymore!"

"Oh, so this is about you again!"

"No, you're missing the point River!" The Doctor flinched back, realising suddenly that the conversation had taken a turn.

"Am I?! You could never look past my parents, it's always about my parents!" River continued arguing, not noticing how the wind seemed to have been taken out of the Doctor's sails. She was breathing heavy as she finished shouting, taken a moment to centre herself. She hadn't expected this when she'd gone to talk to the Doctor but she'd gotten so caught up in the argument that it had run away from her.

The Doctor's next words were quiet, as she stared out into the garden, slouched over. "Do you really believe that?"

River hesitated before answering, copying the Doctor and staring into the garden. "No."

The Doctor frowned, eyes still not looking at River beside her, staying quiet. Neither of them believed her and both were just waiting to see which of them would admit it first.

River broke first with a small sigh. "I used to, and I think a part of me still does, but I know you love me. Darillium made that clear, it's just hard sometimes."

"I love your parents, but in a different way to how I love you. Your parents are my friends and I love them dearly and miss them still, but you're my wife and I adore you. It took me decades to even start to come to terms with your loss after Darillium. You saw your picture on my desk." The Doctor pointed out with a vague wave of her hand.

"I know, Sweetie. I love you too, even when I wasn't supposed to." River answered back softly.

"My bespoke psychopath." The Doctor smiled, turning to face River again. Silence reigned for several minutes, listening to the fake bird song that the room used to make the garden feel more real.

"Do you really want to know?" The Doctor scrunched her face up in confusion at River's words, gaining a small exasperated smile from her wife. "Where I came from."

The Doctor's face turned blank again, as if to ward off the hurt she felt was inevitable. "Will you tell me?"

"I think you already know."

"I'm an idiot, make it clear for me." The Doctor muttered, hope rising as if to choke her.

"After the Library." River smiled softly at the Doctor who barely managed to hold back a choked sob, chest bursting with joy and hope as she looked up at River who was watching with understanding shining in her face.

"How?" The Doctor managed to choke out, questions speeding around her head so fast she couldn't vocalise them.

"You forget how much practise I have escaping different prisons." River smiled almost smugly, "Not met one that could contain me yet."

"That doesn't explain anything." The Doctor complained but couldn't stop the smile from overtaking her face.

River grinned, definitely smug this time. "You'll have to work that one out yourself, Sweetie. I promise we'll meet again though. The universe is big but not big enough to keep us separated for ever."

"Just let it try." The Doctor grinned back. The couple grinned at each other, relishing in each other's presence. They sat in joyful and pleasant silence for several minutes, neither wanting to move. It was who know how long later that Amy strolled into the room, looking around until she spotted them sitting on the bench together.

"Are you two done canoodling or do you need some more time alone?" Amy grinned at the pair.

"Amy!" The Doctor said scandalised.

River just chuckled, smiling. "We're done for now mother." She turned to the Doctor as she stood up. "Come on, we have a day of more videos to gather blackmail from."

The Doctor smiled as she stood up and the three of them strolled through the garden towards the exit, glad for River dodging the matter of their conversation around River. "I knew letting you all meet would only lead to my doom."

Amy smiled, "I think it was inevitable that we would meet. After all, someone needs to keep you in line."

The Doctor grumbled, seeing matching mischievous grins on both mother and daughter, "I hate this."

The duo laughed, "No you don't Sweetie. You love us."

"Debatable."

The trio kept chattering away as they moved out of the garden and Amy led them to the cinema room where the rest of the group had already congregated. They separated to take their normal seats, settling in as the rest of the room kept chattering away quietly, ignoring their entrance. (Well, Jack wiggled his eyebrows at River and the Doctor but the Doctor ignore him while River just grinned).

It took a few minutes for the group to quieten down, looking towards the Doctor expectantly. The Doctor smiled, glancing around the group of some of her closest friends and family (and the Master who was a category of his own), her own thoughts questioning what videos would be shown today, but she persevered.

"Well, let's see what's up next." She turned expectantly to the blank screen, waiting impatiently for the video title to appear for that would at least give her a clue as to what they would be starting the day with.

The words, 'A Good Man Goes to War' appeared and immediately her hearts plummeted in her chest. There was only one thing this title could really refer to. Her gaze snapped to Amy and Rory, feeling River shuffle closer to herself on the sofa. The pair's expressions had hardened, both making the same realisation as the Doctor had, their own eyes moving to lock onto River as if to reassure themselves she was still there.

The majority of the group were looking around to see if anyone else had any idea of what the video would be about. None of them missed the way the Doctor was watching Amy and Rory or how the couple were watching River.

"Erm, I'm guessing you know what this video is about?" Graham asked, glancing between the four of them apprehensively. Their expressions weren't promising that this would be a nice calm video to start the day.

"Unfortunately." The Doctor muttered, expression dark. This and everything leading up to Demons Run wasn't exactly her proudest moments. It was her fault that Amy and Rory had lost their child, and her fault River had suffered the childhood she had (not that it could really be called a childhood). She'd definitely given in to her darker side at points and she knew the Master would enjoy that, because of that she purposely avoided glancing in his direction.

The whole room was now glancing between the four, apprehensive at the dark looks they all shared. Nothing about this video was going to be good then.

Rory sighed, these weren't fond memories but it wasn't like they were getting a choice in watching it or not. He nudged Amy to try and stop her spiral of thoughts and 'what ifs'. He knew logically the group was going to need some context to fully understand the video, and clearly none of the others were going to give it, which meant that task fell to him. "For contexts sake, Amy was pregnant and was kidnapped by a group known as the Silence. What the Doctor and I had been travelling with was a kind of plastic avatar known as a ganger, known of us knew this until just before this video is set, I think. When we found that out, the Doctor and I gathered allies and readied an attack on their base to get Amy and the bay back. From the title, we think this is the attack."

The group listened to Rory's explanation with widening eyes, this was a whole new level of terrible and they were staring to understand why the four of them had reacted like they had. None of them were quite sure what to say to that. Clara, however, had scrunched up her face thoughtfully.

"The Silence?" She asked the Doctor, drawing the room's attention to her. "Like on Trenzalore?"

Amy and Rory's eyes had snapped to the Doctor expectantly, they'd never gotten a full answer on who the Silence were or why they'd needed to stop the Doctor and they hadn't been focussed on that – far too focussed on getting their daughter back.

The Doctor nodded at Clara but here eyes were focussed on Amy and Rory. "Yes. The cracks in space – like in Amy's bedroom – there was one more which went to Gallifrey. They wanted to come back to their proper place in space-time but needed confirmation that this was the right place, they wanted me to say my name to confirm it. The Silence was put together to stop me doing that, not that I would have anyway, as Gallifrey coming back would have restarted the Time War. This group branched off and went back in time to stop me getting to this point but-." The Doctor shrugged; expression still dark despite her deceptively nonchalant attitude. "Timey-wimey."

Amy and Rory's eyes had never left her as she explained, eager for the explanation now that River wasn't in actual danger. The explanation didn't make up for what had happened though, nothing ever would. Clara nodded along, thinking back to her time on Trenzalore, the whole 'adventure' had been overshadowed in her mind by the Doctor's regeneration but there had certainly been several comments that had made no sense to her at that point. As horrible as this video seemed like it was going to be, she couldn't deny her curiosity to get some background for both the Doctor's history with the Silence and River.

The Doctor glanced around the room again, taking in the mix of confused, horrified and apprehensive expressions. This video was going to be interesting. "Let's just watch." When no one contested her, the video started.

Dorium is in the backroom of a space bar, making a deal with a client. He has the security software they wanted - through a whole Judoon brain

"Ah, Dorium." Jack nodded in recognition of the black-market salesman.

"You know him?" The Doctor asked before shaking her head, "Of course, you do."

"Who is he?" Ryan asked, "You know, for all of us unaware."

River and the Doctor shared a glance before River answered, "Dorium runs a bar in the 52nd century but he's most well known as a salesman on the black market." The group nodded at the explanation, realising why the trio knew him (they didn't always stick to the straight and narrow – Jack and River seemed to make a game out of crime even). It also explained how casual he was discussing extracting a brain.

A cloaked figure reaches for the box but Dorium demands money first. Dorium takes the money and keeps talking - he knows the rumours and what they're up to, he knows whose child they have stolen and asks if they are crazy for making the Doctor angry

The Doctor glowered at the screen; eyes furious in remembrance of what the Silence had done. Saying they had made her angry was a vast understatement. She made a mental note to keep a close eye on River, while she wasn't around for most of the attack on Demon's Run it might bring back some bad memories from her childhood. Amy and Rory were also glaring at the screen while the rest of the group glanced between the screen and the trio concerned. Several of them had seen the Doctor angry, and hurting one of their companions was certainly one guaranteed way to anger them.

The Master raised an eyebrow at that comment, he'd been listening to the Doctor's explanation for the video with excitement bubbling. He'd only heard rumours about the Silence but from everything he'd heard he may get to see the Doctor give into her darker side, which he always loved to see (it meant she wasn't as different from him as she claimed she was). He watched her glower at the screen, and knew she felt his eyes on her but was just refusing to look at him (to his annoyance).

On Demon's Run, Melody Pond has been born. Amy talks to her baby

AMY: 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 a time for lies. What you are going to be, Melody is very, very brave.

"And you are, no matter how much I wish you didn't have to be." Amy smiled sadly at her daughter, Rory holding her close to comfort them both and offer protection from the memories this video was going to induce. "But you are also very loved, always."

River smiled softly at her mother, she (obviously) didn't remember her time on Demon's Run as a baby and couldn't deny her curiosity to see this side of it. The fact that those were her mother's first words to her gave her conflicting feelings, but Amy's reassurances now lifted her heart. She didn't often get to spend time with her parents with all of them being aware of her identity, but she always savoured that time.

"Wait, that's River?" Rose asked, confused like several others in the room. They knew River was Amy and Rory's daughter but it was another thing to connect this new born baby with River (who was older than her parents).

"Yes." Rory answered, glancing between his wife and daughter. Her birth name is Melody Pond but she took the name River Song. We'd met River before this but didn't know she was our daughter." He explained, realising that might get confusing later. The parent-daughter trio gained several bewildered looks from the group, the situation just kept getting weirder.

Kovarian interrupts giving her a time limit. Amy ignores her and tells Melody that someone is coming to save them

Amy turned to smile at Rory, who sat up just that little bit straighter, aware that Amy was talking about him, even as some of the group glanced between the Doctor and him unsure. He'd been frantic trying to find Amy and his baby, and the Doctor had for once given up on their morals and rules so they could storm Demon's run. Knowing both his daughter and wife were safe now was the only reason he wasn't on edge, though this was likely to induce a reoccurrence of his old nightmares.

On a Cybership far away, the Cybermen register an intruder

The group watched the chance of scene, confused by the sudden appearance of the Cybermen, as it seemed unrelated to the matter with Amy. Even Amy and River were watching the screen confused, while Rory and the Doctor exchanged a look and small nod.

Back with Amy, Kovarian takes Melody as Amy begs her to not

The room watched, split between heartbroken and furious as they saw baby Melody/River taken from Amy. Rory's hands were clenched while Amy's eyes were locked on River to reassure herself.

"How dare they!" Donna declared, furious and not ashamed to show it. Everyone agreed with her even if none of them spoke up, far too furious to actually verbalise it and aware that they couldn't do anything as this was the past as horrible as it was to just watch.

The Cybership is shaking

Amy keeps speaking about the person coming for them - he looks young but is actually hundreds and hundreds of years old and tells the missing Melody that he will always be there for her as he is her father

"Wait, hold up a second." Bill spoke up, holding a hand up to emphasise her point. Her gaze turned to Rory. "Hundreds and hundreds of years?" The rest of the group made the same realisation as Bill, all turning questioningly to Rory. Anyone who had any doubts over who Amy was talking about, were completely sure in it being Rory now.

"Long story involving the cracks in space and time." Rory sighed, even while Amy and River grinned proudly. "Long story short, I spent about two thousand years as a Roman Centurion."

"I have so many more questions." Bill muttered, mind immediately jumping to her own experiences with Romans (and their fate). No one asked any further questions though, reading between the lines and realising that Rory wasn't likely to answer any questions they asked.

Amy refers to him as the Last Centurion

"Why are you being so dramatic?" Rory asked her wife. The one good thing about this video so far was finding out what had happened when he wasn't around, and getting to see baby Melody for real (so two good things really but he didn't want to give the bad-memory inducing video that much credit).

Amy shrugged with a small smile, "I wanted to scare them, plus reassure myself and Melody." She answered softly, gaining a small frown from her husband. It wasn't often Amy admitted weaknesses, but it showed how affected she had been by the whole mess (though who wouldn't be at having your daughter taken from you?)

Rory appears on the Cybership, he has a message and a question. He wants to know where his wife is as the cyber legion he attacked monitors everything in this area, so they know. If they tell him, he'll go

The room turned to look at Rory who shifted uncomfortable under all the silently watching eyes.

"What?" He finally asked, unsure why they were all watching him.

It was Yaz that answered, "Nothing, just wasn't expecting that from you. I mean you are kind of a -." She trailed off with a wave of her hand.

"A what?" Rory asked again, expression revealing how he was only more confused now.

"A dork." Bill finished for Yaz, with an apologetic shrug.

Rory's face scrunched up as if he was about to protest, but Amy interrupted him chuckling, "They're right."

The Cyberleader asks for the Doctor's message. The other ships in the legion explode outside the main ship in response as Rory asks if they want the question repeated

Jack whistled, "That's certainly a message Doc."

The Doctor glared at him, more for the nickname then the comment. Amy, however, rolled her eyes. "Neither of you can call me dramatic." She pointed a finger at both the Doctor and Rory who held up their hand sin mock surrender, neither wanting to invoke Amy's wrath.

On Demon's Run, two cleric soldiers are walking and talking about the cyber legion being blown up by the Doctor and Rory, one can't help but be impressed as the others warns him not to

"Seems you have some admirers even amongst the enemy." Mickey commented, with a raised eyebrow at the screen.

Amy, Rory and the Doctor all shared a glance, thinking about the young soldier that had helped them but died in the end. They didn't know why most these people worked with the Silence and they didn't really care, after all the trouble they'd caused them, the answers wouldn't change anything.

They keep moving and talking about the Doctor - how he called the Atraxi back for a scolding after chasing them off

"I mean, he's not wrong." Clara smiled, the whole group thinking back to the video they'd watched yesterday where Chinny had first met Amy and Rory. Despite the horrible situation, they couldn't deny they were (at least) mildly entertained by the idea that these soldiers had heard stories about the Doctor and admired them in some way even though they were enemies.

A tannoy warns them they're on Yellow Alert. The clerics pass a young woman sewing

Amy, Rory and the Doctor exchanged another look and held a silent conversation. This video would at least give them a chance to learn more about this young woman, alongside how baby Melody had been stolen. They didn't like having to relive everything but it may actually answer some of their questions about the events of that time.

The clerics comment on her, before getting back to what they're doing

Amy narrowed her eyes at what the young woman is actually sewing, realising that this was when she's made the prayer leaf with River's name on it.

They're trying to identify psychic paper (and failing), they've been on yellow alert for three weeks

"They're expecting you." Martha noted, catching the Yellow Alert comment. She was broadly ignoring the remark about identifying psychic paper as she knew far too well why they were learning that and didn't like the implications.

"They had been for a while." The Doctor nodded; eyes dark. It was times like this she hated her reputation, it hurt just as many people as it seemed to help and nothing ever changed, not really. Sensing her wife's spiralling thoughts, River nudged her in the side as a silent message of 'stop it'. The Doctor looked up to her wife who just smiled softly down at her, eyes reminding her of several of their conversations on Darillium. River held no blame for her childhood (bar Madame Kovarian) just like how the Doctor didn't blame River for trying/succeeding in killing her.

The tannoy reminds them not to interact with Headless Monks without divine permission

"Headless monks?" Graham asked, looking like he already regretted asking.

"Exactly as it sounds." The Doctor answered with a grimace, "But you'll see."

Everyone largely ignored Ryan's comment of, "Ominous." The apprehension settled deeper in their bones.

The Fat one talks about how you're not supposed to stare at them as they'll kill you if they think you're trying to see under their hoods

"Sounds like lovely fellows." Most people ignored Nardole's comment even though they largely agreed with the sarcasm.

He's talking with the Thin one and Lorna, they're talking about the Headless Monks and how they follow their hearts as doubts is the head's fault

"Wouldn't a balance between the two be better?" Yaz asked, face scrunched up at the thought of being headless and in thought.

"Absolutely." The Doctor smiled proudly.

The Thin one and Fat one are married, they introduce themselves to Lorna

That drew a few snickers from the group. They were all conflicted as on one side, this group of soldiers hadn't really done anything yet and the video focussing on them was unexpected but mildly entertaining, but on the other this was still the group that had kidnapped Amy and stolen baby River.

Several Headless Monks are watching them, the Fat one departs with some comments about lent

There was another break out of snickers at the comment. Though the group was a bit apprehensive about seeing him leave with the Monks who were giving them the heebie-jeebies.

The Thin one asks about Lorna's encounter with the Doctor, she was young living in the Gamma Forests and he told her to run, and its the only thing that ever happened here

"She's met you?" Rose asked, despite the video literally saying that. She just wanted the Doctor's clarification on the mater, taking the soldiers' words with a grain of salt.

"Apparently." The Doctor answered.

The group narrowed their eyes at the Doctor, reading between the lines – a talent they'd all picked up during their travels with the Doctor. "You don't remember her, do you?" Donna raised her eyebrow accusingly.

"No, I don't." The Doctor sighed, answering reluctantly. "I vaguely remember the incident she was talking about but there were several people there and I don't remember everyone I've ever met." She'd met a lot of people over the years (and that was only those she could actually remember without the memory issues) but she couldn't remember them all, no matter how much she wished she could have at least remembered Lorna.

The Fat one is with the Headless Monks, he's joining the ranks of the Headless - the monks bing forward an empty box

"That's not good." Mickey muttered. The whole group now knowing that the Fat One's fate wasn't pleasant. Even though he was the apparent enemy from what they'd seen he didn't deserve that.

The Thin one asks Lorna where the Doctor is, Lorna thinks he could be anywhere

The group smirked at that. Again, they were conflicted – for once it was satisfying to see no one was underestimating the Doctor but that was usually one of their advantages, one they'd clearly lost. The group was curious to see where the Doctor actually was though - surely, they couldn't try to storm the base when it was just the Doctor and Rory?

In London 1888, Vastra pulls up in her carriage

"Vastra." Clara smiled, looking at the Doctor for confirmation despite how sure she was in her deduction. The Doctor grinned back nodding, thinking of her old friends, she should definitely visit the Paternoster gang some point soon and see what they thought about her latest face.

"She's a friend of yours?" Martha asked, curious. Clara, River and the Doctor exchanged a glance and a mischievous smile, knowing they hadn't properly seen Madame Vastra yet.

The Doctor nodded at Martha; a fond smile prominent on her face now. "Yes, a dear friend that has helped me several times when I desperately needed it." Her mind immediately went to her time staying with them after losing Amy and Rory, the time on Trenzalore and then her time after regenerating again. Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax were dear friends that she should definitely visit more.

Jenny greets her. Vastra informs her Jack the Ripper has killed his last victim and she won't be needing dinner, she lowers her hood revealing herself to be Silurian. Jenny tells her something has happened

"A Silurian?" Jack asked, blinking. Then he shook his head with a small smile. "You have the weirdest friends."

"Madame Vastra woke up in the 1880s and I ran into her in as Ears, I managed to convince her to integrate into society and she became a detective, alongside her maid and wife Jenny. Strax later joined them. They're also the inspiration for Arthur Connon Doyle's Sherlock Holmes." The Doctor explained, proud of her friends.

The group just listened before shaking their heads at the Doctor's antics, that was all just typical Doctor friendship making.

"I guess we know what happened to Jack the Ripper then." Bill muttered, that was one mystery solved, and not in the way most people believed. Conspiracy theorists would never think that an ancient lizard species found and ate Jack the Ripper after all.

The Tardis has appeared in the drawing room, Vastra tells her to pack as an old debt is about to be repaid

"You're calling in the cavalry." Yaz noted, a bit excited to see some more of the Doctor's friends. The ones they'd met (in the room and on screen) so far had been great and the way the Doctor had talked about them made them seem like they would be good to meet.

"Yes." The Doctor said, expression turning darker in memory of the attack.

4037 AD, the Battle of Zaruthstra, Strax acts as a nurse to a young boy

"That is a potato." Ryan remarked, pointing a finger at the screen. Several people, those that had never met a Sontarans and even some that had, nodded their heads in agreement.

The Doctor smiled but shook her head, "That's Strax, he's a Sontaran. They aren't potatoes but they have about the same brain cells as one."

"I'm hoping he's friendlier than the ones we met." Donna crossed her arms with a pointed look at the Doctor. The Doctor winced slightly at the reminder of the Atmos mess but nodded with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

She purposely ignored Ryan's last whisper to Yaz of, "A potato." To which Yaz patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Strax tends to the boy, telling him he'll get better and one day they meet on the battle field again where he will destroy the boy - Sontaran bed manners

"Erm, he has an ... interesting bed manner." Rose said hesitantly, at least the young boy seemed comforted by the Sontaran's comment.

"That's Strax." The Doctor smiled, thinking of the memory worm incident with the second splinter of Clara in Victorian London.

A soldier asks about him being a nurse

"That is a good question. The ones we met were definitely not the type." Martha raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, the ones they'd met had been all about ending Human life in favour of a new clone world, not acting as nurses.

The Doctor shrugged, "If it doesn't explain on screen, I will in a minute." Martha nodded her consent to that and allowed the video to continue.

Strax tells him it is a penance to restore his honour, as helping the weak is the greatest punishment a Sontaran can endure. The soldier asks about who gave him the punishment, he doesn't get a verbal answer as the sound of the Tardis is heard

The group turned to look at the Doctor all recognising the sound immediately. "So, you're the one who came up with that and you're there to get him." Amy said, it was interesting to actually see this part of the attack as she'd only been around the last half and Rory and the Doctor and only told her the vague details. The Doctor nodded, frowning in thought of why it had been necessary. At least one good thing came out of Demon's Run – Strax met with Vastra and Jenny to become the group/family they were now.

Strax says his farewells as his punishment is over

The group smiled at that, starting to recognise that was Strax's way of showing concern which was certainly entertaining to watch.

In Stormcage prison, River Storm returns in Regency era clothes. She's been at the Frost Fair. She picks up a guard's phone telling them to turn off the alarms as she is breaking back in not out

"You're in prison?!" Yaz asked, sitting up straighter in her chair. She'd known that River didn't always stay on the right side of the law (as seen in the Husband of River Song video) but it was something else to see her breaking in and out of prison. Her police sense was whirling around trying to figure out why she was in there.

Amy, Rory, the Doctor and River exchanged a glance before River turned back tot eh expectant eyes watching her with a sad smile, "Yes."

"Why?" Yaz couldn't help but blurt out when River didn't elaborate. She didn't miss the silent conversation River and the Doctor seemed to have.

"I killed someone but they didn't stay dead, it was just necessary for everyone to think they were for a while." River tried to remain vague but the way she glanced at the Doctor and from the hints they'd already heard several of them put together that the one she'd 'killed' had been her wife.

Bill, however, had narrowed her eyes at the screen, taking in River's outfit. The Doctor had mentioned to her once that she'd taken River to the Frost Fair and had Stevie Wonder sing for them, was that where the River on screen was from?

Rory stands in the corridor. He asks if they have met yet (timeline issues), they have

Rory's eyes and entire expression softened, realising now why River had been so off during that meeting. Of course, she knew who he was, he was her father. Knowing River, it was also possible that this was after Manhattan for her, after she'd already lost them. "I'm sorry River." Rory muttered quietly to River, mourning the loss of his daughter's childhood and his time with her.

"It's okay, dad." River smiled sadly.

"No, it's not." Rory's entire face was sad and mourning, so much that it left River speechless and unable to answer back.

River tells him it's her birthday, and the Doctor took her ice skating on the Thames in 1814 - Stevie Wonder sang under London Bridge

"Aha! I knew it." Bill declared to herself, drawing the room's confused attention. The Doctor was smiling and chuckling softly, knowing what Bill was taking about while everyone else was confused. Bill finally noticed the wait of the room's eyes on her and she smiled sheepishly. "Oh, eh, the Doctor took me to the Frost Fair later and mentioned he'd been before. When I saw River's clothes I kinda guessed she'd come from there." The group grinned at the young woman.

They've come from different points in time

"Like always. Your timelines are a tangled ball of string." Amy complained with a sigh, eyeing the Doctor and River who smiled unrepentant, the pair were holding hands.

Rory agrees, as there can't be two Doctors. River says that's a different birthday

"Sounds exciting. Remember to invite me next time." Jack flirted, with a wink.

"Jack!" The Doctor protested.

"I'll think about it Handsome." River then winked back at Jack to her wife's embarrassment.

"River!"

River checks her diary as Rory says he needs her

The group all recognised the diary as the one they'd seen with River and Eyebrows in the video they'd watched yesterday. Clearly it was how River used to keep the time lines straight.

River realises it's Demon's Run, she knows as she is from his future

"That's a good question." Mickey said, glancing at Rory who just looked a bit embarrassed.

"Blame the Doctor." Rory rolled his eyes.

"We always do." Martha smiled, giving the Doctor a glance to make sure she knew she didn't mean it (the Doctor had a very big guilt complex for the wrong things and she didn't want to set her off).

The two banter about the Doctor's weird rules such as looking ridiculous

The father-daughter duo grinned at each other, enjoying the small time together, bantering away.

Amy grinned, happy to see her husband and daughter getting along. "At least you admit it." She remarked in reference to Rory's costume (although she had enjoyed it on their Christmas cruise before the ship failed and the Doctor had to pull a 'Christmas Carol' scheme to save them).

Rory asks for her help to rescue Amy but River can't help, not yet.

RIVER: This is the Battle of Demon's Run. The Doctor's darkest hour. He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further, and I can't be with him till the very end.

"You can't be with them because you're already there as the baby, right?" Yaz asked, trying to piece the clues together.

River nodded with a sigh; she'd hated having to turn Rory away when he'd asked for her help but her hands were tied for once. "Yes, but none of them knew that yet." Several people winced thinking about how Rory and the Doctor were going to take the refusal, and unnerved by River's words.

Rory demands to know why, River tells him its the day the Doctor finds out who she is

"I guess the dramatics run in the family." Jack grinned in an attempt to diffuse the tension. The comment about the battle of Demon's Run was not promising in anyway, and he could only imagine how Rory and the Doctor were going to react to River saying no. The group mostly ignored him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there." River muttered to the Doctor who smiled softly back at her.

"Don't be, I understand now. You couldn't be."

In the Space bar with Dorium he's packing a case

"He's running scared." Rose said, with a raised eyebrow at the Doctor. It was likely she either knew or was the cause. The Doctor just waved at the screen, expression blank.

Kovarian interrupts with Manton asking why he'd closing down. Dorium is smart enough to know to run as they have angered a dangerous man

"Oh, he's a smart one." Donna said, thinking back to her own experiences with the Doctor going darker – mainly her first meeting under the Thames. The Doctor's expression just turned darker at the reminder, all she wanted to do was travel the universe and yet she'd built up a reputation – one that could scare people to this extent and more. She could feel the wait of the Master's eyes on her alongside the familiar tapping on their mental link but she ignored it for now.

Kovarian is blasé as he has done nothing for a month. Dorium corrects her, telling her there are people across the galaxy that owe him debts and he's finally collecting

"He knows you well." Mickey noted, after all Dorium was correct and they'd all seen it.

The Doctor shrugged, face deceptively blank (she wasn't liking this conversation). "We've had a few run-ins."

Amy, Rory, River and the Doctor shared a look at the reminder that they'd had Amy and baby Melody for a month before the attack. It had been part of the plan – as it gave Rory and the Doctor a chance to gather allies and to lull Kovarian into a false sense of security.

Dorium warns them that all the stories they've heard aren't stories but true, and asks if they seriously don't know what's coming for them

"I'm a bit scared to ask what kind of stories he is referring to." Graham said, eyeing the Doctor. There had been a few occasions where they'd run into people that recognised the Doctor, but not often, and it was always a mix bag of why they recognised her. The Doctor didn't meet anyone's eyes, her own gaze locked on the screen with a dark frown.

Jack and River, the two that had spent the longest travelling space-time and had heard most of the stories, shared a glance and silent conversation. It was River that answered, "There are a lot of stories about the Doctor across the universe. Honestly? They're a mix of good and bad, some told by those she saved and others by those she'd defeated. But we see the Doctor better than anyone else does, we know them better than those that listen to the stories. Trust what you already know." River squeezed the Doctor's hand in comfort, she knew how much her wife hated her reputation and she really didn't need any of her friends doubting themselves or her at this moment – the video was going to be hard enough.

Dorium asks if they know why their base is called Demon's Run, they asks how he knows their base location. The Headless Monks are clients of Dorium's

"You're going to get his help too, aren't you?" Martha said, more a statement then a question but the Doctor nodded in conformation anyway. Dorium had owed her a debt too and he knew lots of useful information, she would have been stupid to not get him involved.

The base's name is a very old saying - Demons run when a good man goes to war

"Que title sequence." Bill declared with a wave of her hands, trying to put some levity into the quickly darkening atmosphere of the room. She succeeded partially, drawing a few smiles from those uninvolved with the video.

Kovarian and Manton leave, Dorium is also about to but the Tardis sound is heard. Dorium protests saying they don't need him (because he is old, fat and blue)

"Why would being blue mean he couldn't help?" Ryan asked confused, was there some space etiquette he was missing here?

The Doctor smiled slightly, recognising where Ryan's thought process had gone. "I think he was just grasping at straws for why he shouldn't be involved."

"You weren't going to listen no matter what he said." Yaz remarked, a bit unsure.

The Doctor sighed, "He was part of the start of this mess and owed me several debts, the least he could do was help clean it up." She tried to explain, knowing this side of her was always going to frighten her newest companions who hadn't had much time to see it yet (outside of interactions with the Master) and hadn't been travelling with her/known her as long as the others.

On Demon's Run, Colonel Manton addresses the troops. He tells them the Doctor is just a man not a phantom or god. He's a loving man but they're going to change that. The troops cheer

Now the whole group was scowling at the screen, decidedly unhappy to hear how excited/determined the army was to kill the Doctor, their friend/family. It was also disheartening to see how drastically outnumbered the Doctor was from the small collection of people they'd seen him collect on screen, though he'd managed to win with worse odds before. Admittedly though, they were slightly entertained by the rumours that had apparently been going around about the Doctor – they had good reasons to be scared when they'd hurt one of his friends.

"Wait a second. Is that everyone?" Jack asked, head whipping around to face the Doctor as a thought occurred to him. "Why didn't you call me in? I would have loved to see you and you know I would have helped the moment you said one of your friends was in danger."

"I won't lie and say I didn't consider it." The Doctor started their explanation. "But you were busy with your Torchwood and I didn't want to pull you away from everything. Besides you didn't owe me anything Jack."

Jack's expression turned serious, reading between the lines. "I don't need to owe you for me to help you Doctor, you're my friend." He gave her a hard stare that told her he didn't believe her nonsense (likely it was only partially the truth) and they would be discussing it later. The Doctor avoided meeting his eyes which only served to make him more confident in his assessment.

Lorna enters Amy's room and brings her a prayer leaf with her babies name in Lorna's language

Amy's expression softened, she knew now that Lorna had ben genuine and had only joined to meet the Doctor again not kill him. Knowing her fate only made it worse. Rory took her hand, and smiled softly at her, "She was right, River always came home just not the way we expected most of the time." Amy nodded quietly, that was certainly true and she loved River but she couldn't help but mourn for her little Melody who she hadn't gotten to raise.

Amy is not having it, asking for Lorna's gun as Lorna's going to keep talking

"Amy!" The Doctor exclaimed, shaking her head at the Scot's antics. At least being kidnapped hadn't dampened her normal attitude. Rory just sighed at his wife while River grinned proud, she had certainly got some of her attitude from her mother even if she hadn't been entirely raised by Amy and Rory.

Amy looks over the rally, disagreeing with the way the group is talking about the Doctor like he's famous

"You're an idiot. A semi-famous idiot, but an idiot al the same." Clara declared, staring the Doctor down. The Doctor just shrugged unable to argue and far too focussed on the screen to try. That was one of the many reasons he loved humans so much, especially those that travelled with him.

Lorna calls him a kind of dark legend, and reveals that she met him when she was little. Amy says she was as well

"But then he was late because he can't fly his ship!" Amy stared pointedly at the Doctor.

"I said I was sorry! Besides do you know how hard it is to hit the right century let alone day?" The Doctor argued, glad for the distraction.

"You've said before." Amy raised an eyebrow disbelieving; the interaction drew a few snickers from the group while the Doctor just pouted (which she would deny if anyone ever pointed it out).

Amy warns Lorna to be on the right side when the Doctor comes, because he is, before taking the prayer leaf

Amy frowned at the floor, Lorna had chosen their side in the end and she'd paid with it with her life. Rory squeezed her hand in comfort, understanding why Amy had trusted the young woman now. The Doctor was also frowning at the floor, mourning the young woman who'd waited for him and yet they couldn't even remember her.

The rest of the group watched, unaware of Lorna's fate, but happy to see at least one decent person in the group, they were hopeful she chose the right side and helped the Doctor in the end, but for now at least she was being kind to Amy when she was all alone.

Manton keeps talking, declaring the Doctor will fall here and now

"Not going to happen." Rose stated, they all knew this wasn't where the Doctor died (she was in the room with them to start with) or even regenerated (as Clara had been with Chinny when she regenerated) which was a small bit of comfort as the tensions started to rise in the room.

Manton talks about why they allied with the Headless Monks, he lowers a Monk's hood to reveal they are truly headless

"That is wrong ... on so many levels." Bill declared, waving at the screen with a scrunched-up face. The rooms expressions revealed they agreed with her.

"I guess that explains the name." Yaz muttered, remembering Graham's earlier question.

He lowers a second hood, declaring they can never be afraid. Then a third hood, but is interrupted by the Doctor (who was under the cloak). The Doctor says hello and tells them to point their guns at him if it makes them better

The group all grinned at finally seeing the Doctor appear and surprise the army – the attack had begun and clearly the Doctor had a plan (for once).

"Guess they can be surprised." Martha smiled; the Doctor seemed in good spirits on screen but she had a feeling everything was only going to go downhill as River's words were echoing in her head.

"Sweetie, you really need to stop telling people to point weapons at you. It's not good for your or my health." River berated but the Doctor looked unrepentant.

"You really can't say anything about that." The Doctor argued back.

They all take aim except for Lorna

The group smiled at seeing Lorna not aim at the Doctor like the rest of the army. She certainly seemed to be choosing a side and it wasn't the Silence's. The group had mixed emotions at seeing the Doctor like this – on one hand it was good to see them confident and with a plan to rescue Amy and baby Melody but, on the other they couldn't forget River's ominous words.

In the control room, two clerics find sharp swords at their throats - it's Vastra and Jenny asking what button controls the lights

The room grinned, glad to see the Doctor's allies arriving and taking care of things while the Doctor held the main group's attention. Vastra and Jenny certainly seemed skilled in what they did, Clara was smiling thinking back to their time with the Paternoster gang when the Doctor had just regenerated and they needed help to survive those clockwork people. The Doctor smiled at seeing her old friends again, at least this video would allow her to see everything that had happened during the attack, including what she'd missed.

The Doctor calls out to Amy to be ready to leave

Amy grinned at the Doctor, remembering the elation she'd felt when she'd seen and heard the Doctor arrive, knowing that Rory was on his way as well. The Doctor smiled softly back; thoughts too caught up in where everything had gone wrong to really appreciate this part.

The lights go out as the Doctor moves, while Manton demands he shows himself. The army faces off against the monks as the Doctor is dressed as one. A shot is fired, a Monk kills a soldier as Manton protests

"You're turning them against each other." Donna realised, "They were already wary about the Monks and now you made it so they don't know who to trust and will be too distracted against each other to really stop you."

The Doctor nodded, smiling proudly at her. "And you say you aren't brilliant Donna Noble."

Kovarian starts to move as Manton tries to get the army back under control

Amy, Rory, River and the Doctor scowled at Kovarian, all aware that she was taking baby Melody away with none of them the wiser until it was too late. Poor Rory had never gotten to actually hold his baby, only a ganger. The video would give them the chance to see the swap and everything they had missed the first time at least, even if it brought back all the bad memories associated with it.

In the control room Jenny and Vastra talk about the Doctor as the Clerics are tied up. Vastra calls the Doctor attractive, Jenny calls her out as the Doctor is a man, Vastra claims all mammals all look alike

River looked the Doctor up and down, assessing which only served to make her nervous. It was rarely good when River looked at her like that.

"What?" The Doctor cracked and asked her wife.

"Hmmn?" River hummed, faking distraction. "Oh, nothing Sweetie. Just wondering how Vastra would react to you like this." The Doctor warily turned back to the screen, keeping an eye on her wife out of the corner of her eyes – she had a terrible feeling River was planning something.

Manton orders the army to not fire

"He's not completely stupid at least." Clara muttered; the Colonel at least recognised that if his soldiers kept firing, they would be killed. She couldn't blame the Doctor for their actions here – the Silence had taken Amy and stolen their baby and she'd seen (personally) the lengths the Doctor would go to protect their friends from harm, especially when they felt it was their fault. She'd also seen the start/end of the Doctor's interactions with the Church/Silence and she couldn't help but blame them for this as well as the Doctor's regeneration on Trenzalore so she wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic to the soldiers, even if she did feel slightly sorry for some of the foot soldiers who were just following orders.

A cleric in the control room is eyeing the door lock control but Vastra lashes him with her tongue while continuing her conversation with Jenny

"That is gross ... but at least she stopped him before he could do anything." Bill grimaced, she was glad to see a pair of happily married lesbians on screen and made a mental note to ask the Doctor to introduce her to them, even if one was a lizard that liked to eat people – clearly those documentaries she'd watched on Netflix hadn't been too far off.

Manton orders the army to disarm and drop their weapons, the army follows instructions chanting 'we're not fools'

"You are absolutely fools, as that is clearly what the Doctor wants." Martha shook her head, "You're now unarmed and distracted."

"You do know they can't hear you right?" Mickey gained a glare from his wife for his comment.

Vastra and Jenny notice Manton is regaining control and the Doctor has vanished

"That is a very good question." Rose said, glancing back at the screen who smirked purposely mysteriously and waved to the screen in answer.

Lorna has left, running through the abandoned corridors

"She wasn't stupid enough to stick around." Yaz muttered. The group watched the young woman curious to know what she was going to do as she'd clearly chosen her side.

In the main room, Silurians and Judoon beam in, Strax declares the base to be under their control

"The cavalry has arrived." Jack grinned, the Doctor was suddenly no longer outnumbered and Demon's Run had been taken with remarkably little bloodshed (so far). "Still feeling left out Doctor." The Doctor pointedly ignored him (just as she was ignoring the Master's continuous attempts to talk to her through the mental link).

Manton threatens them with backup if Demon's Run goes down. More back up arrives i the form of several spitfire plans who took down the communications array

"Am I seeing things or are those Spitfires?" Clara remarked, blinking as if to ward away the 'illusions'.

"No definitely seeing those too." Ryan answered back, looking equally disbelieving. The group all turned to the Doctor who was grinning wildly at seeing the Spitfire planes attacking the asteroids.

It was Amy who explained however, she hadn't gotten the chance to actually see them the first time and was enjoying seeing them attack the asteroid's communications. "Winston Churchill phoned us when I was travelling alone with the Doctor shortly after leaving with him. There was a problem with some Daleks and we beat them with the Spitfires in space so they've had practise."

"That explains so much and yet so little at the same time." Bill muttered. Amy and the Doctor were just grinning but refused to answer anymore questions while both Rory and River rolled their eyes at their wives.

Kovarian demands the baby as they need to evacuate

The mood in the room instantly plummeted. Amy, Rory and the Doctor scowled at the screen remembering how Kovarian had succeeded in stealing baby Melody. The Doctor squeezed River's hand in an attempt to comfort her, recognising the brave face her wife was putting on, she knew how much her childhood haunted River some times and this was only bringing up bad memories she'd done her best to bury.

Kovarian gets Melody in her Moses basket and sends her guards back into the room as they want the Doctor to think he's winning until the trap closes

The room was all scowling at the screen, they'd already hated Kovarian from the little they'd seen of her but now they outright despised her – here she was so causally staling little baby Melody from her parents, one of which she'd kidnapped. They were also nervous at the mention of the trap, all thinking that must be what River's words ere referring to earlier.

Lorna overhears Kovarian's plan

"She's going to tell you, right? Please tell me she's going to tell you." Martha sighed; if Lorna told them, they would at least have a chance to be prepared for the trap. By the dak expressions on the group's faces she could only guess that even if Lorna had told them, they'd still gotten caught in the trap.

The shuttle is ready for boarding, Rory protests as Kovarian thinks she escaped. The airlock opens revealing a pirate captain and his son. Avery reveals the ship is actually under their control

"Pirates? When did you meet pirates?" Rose asked curious. The Doctor's friends were always weird people but this was certainly an extreme example of it.

"Don't forget the siren." Amy added in, purposely trying to sow seeds of chaos in an attempt to distract herself from the horror she knew was coming.

Rory sighed at his wife while the Doctor shook her head at her antics, both aware of what she was trying to do. "It wasn't an actual siren." She ignored Amy and Rory's mumble of 'it certainly looked and acted like a siren'. "She was a computed generated doctor trying to care for an injured crew but her settings went a bit wrong. We managed to save Captain Avery and his son Toby and they took over control of the spaceship in the end." She explained, getting some hesitant nods of understanding but generally more confused looks than anything else.

Strax has Manton at gun point. The Doctor correts his earlier time estimate to take over the base

"You're getting cocky." River remarked quietly to the Doctor who only scowled in remembrance of what was about to come. She'd been so confident they'd won but still fallen right into the trap Kovarian had set for them.

The Doctor demands Manton tell his men to run away, as he wants them to be famous for that. He's angry which is new and he's not sure what;'s going to happen

The room shifted uncomfortable at seeing the Doctor like this, if there was one thing guaranteed to set of their anger it was hurting/taking one of their companions and Kovarian and Manton had certainly done that but this was the Doctor on the edge which was never a good thing to see.

The Doctor watched ashamed of her past actions, and even more ashamed that she still didn't really regret them. Getting over confident, yes? Making a point with Colonel Manton, not really. In her distraction she let the Master finally slip thought he cracks and open their dormant mental link.

"Nice to see you give into your darkness, dear. Do you think your latest pets will still stand by you, knowing what they know now?"

"Shut up." She scowled at him, pushing a feeling of annoyance-anger-frustration-sadness across by accident, which probably didn't help her case. "Yes, I gave into my anger, but unlike you it was to protect people I care about. You allow your anger to rule you and destroy everything for no reason. That's the difference between us."

"No reason! No reason! All these millennium and you still believe that? Your pets are right, you are an idiot." She could feel the fury radiating off him, both through the mental link and through the scowl he was aiming at her from across the room.

"And what reason could you possibly have? You revel in the destruction and chaos. What reason could you have to justify everything you've done. Nothing matters to you bar yourself."

"If you don't know by this point, I doubt you ever will."

"And what does that mean?" Now it was her frustration that was permeating through the mental link. She had reached her limit with all his riddles and justifications for hurting her and her friends.

"You. It is and always been you. For you, because of you, all you." With that final declaration, the Master closed of the link again, fortifying it on his side to prevent any emotions leaking out and across to her. That was fine with her, she was stunned speechless by the turn that conversation had taken.

Kovarian tells him good men have too many rules. The Doctor corrects her saying good men don't need rules but she'll find out why he has so many

Clara and the Doctor exchanged a look, both thinking about their time in the graveyard with the Cyber-army. She was no good man (woman? Person?) but neither was she bad. She had rules for a reason but they didn't stop her getting back at those that hurt her own, as was being showcased.

Kovaraian tells Manton to give the order, calling him Colonel Run Away

"Shots fired." Bill muttered quietly, the tension almost suffocating as the room was on edge. It seemed like Kovarian was surrendering and they'd won, but River's words still lingered making them all doubt that. There was still something to come and it wasn't going to be good.

With Amy, someone's hammering at the door as Amy searches for a weapon, coming out with something that could be an electric toothbrush warning the invaders she's armed and dangerous

"Amazing weapon, mother." River smiled teasingly at Amy. Even though the baby wasn't actually her, her heart was soaring at seeing her mother so ready to defend herself despite having no proper weapons.

"She doesn't need any." The Doctor remarked with her own smile. "A cross Amy is a scary Amy."

It's Rory

The group was grinning widely, the tension lessening for a few minutes at seeing the reunion between the married couple. The pair smiled at each other, not quite ready to celebrate yet as they knew the worst loss was still to come.

Rory opens the door to reveal himself carrying Melody, telling Amy they'll never get their baby

While the majority of the group smiled at seeing the reunion between parents and baby, but none of them noticed the dark scowls my, Rory and the Doctor were sporting. River was just watching sadly; her parents had been so elated to have 'her' back and it had all been a trap. Rory was especially furious, the knowledge he'd never gotten to hold his baby girl had always haunted him and here it was being shoved in his face again.

Amy worries over Melody, Rory reassures her everything is okay. He wanted to be cool but he's not succeeding in the face of their baby girl

"There was never any chance of you being cool, Stupid Face." Amy muttered quietly to Rory, uncharacteristically softly. The pair holding each other to comfort them through their grief.

The rest of the group was watching quietly, aware that this was a very private (and heart touching) scene that they shouldn't actually be privy too. The Doctor was doing her best to offer Rover comfort, knowing she never actually got the love of her parents in the way she should have.

The Doctor comes into them kissing and crying, he greets Melody after trying to escape and Rory pulling him back

"You're part of the family, Doctor. There was no way you were getting out of that." Rory smiled softly at his son/daughter/child in law who was cuddled up close to his daughter. The Doctor smiled softly back, unable to repress her guilt for being the cause of the situation and reason they had lost baby Melody.

Amy claims the name Melody Williams is a geography teacher, correcting her husband to Melody Pond

"It's a beautiful name." Martha offered quietly, smiling softly as she watched the lovely scenes on the screen.

Amy looked at her assessing for a minute before smiling back knowingly, "You're a mother too, aren't you?"

The room whipped around to face Martha. Rose, the Doctor, Jack and Donna especially curious to hear the answer. Martha and Mickey smiled at each other before Martha smiled back at Amy nodding, "Yes, we have a son – August. He's only a toddler at the minute."

"Congratulations!" Rose exclaimed, earnest smile shinning on her face. Though the look she gave Mickey told him she would be interrogating him on why he hadn't told her later. "But, aren't you worried about him?" She finished cautiously.

Mickey shook his head, with a soft reassuring smile. "He was staying with Martha's sister Tish when we got teleported to the room. And the Tardis said no time would pass." He shrugged, it was more the case that they were confident in the Tardis and knew August was safe that let them be so calm. There was a bit more chatter, mostly congratulations, before the group quietened down and the video continued to play.

The Doctor says something about her smelling nice and how he'd never sniffed her, before asking Amy to come over so he could try

Half the room turned bewildered to the Doctor, confused by what they were saying. Amy and Rory just rolled their eyes, turning to their daughter who was looking slightly embarrassed by what she'd been saying as a baby.

"What are you going on about this time?" Donna asked, with a dramatic sigh.

"I speak baby." The Doctor replied, only to receive even more bewildered looks.

"You're pulling my leg now Doc." Graham blinked.

"Nope, complete truth Graham." The Doctor smiled. Amy and Rory nodded along in confirmation, stopping any more questions but not the confused and entertained looks.

The Doctor apologises for taking so long, Amy reassures them saying she knew they were coming and calling them her boys

Amy grinned at the pair, who grinned back. They were certainly her boys, even if the Doctor now looked female. That would never change.

The Doctor reveals he speaks Baby, Amy is disbelieving. Melody critiques his fashion as the Doctor protests

"That's our daughter." Amy smiled at River, "Already judging the Doctor's fashion sense." The Doctor pouted while the rest of the group started chuckling. It confirmed the Doctor spoke Baby, despite how disbelieving it sounded.

Vastra tells the group the army is leaving, declaring the Doctro has never risen higher

"And now all that is left is the fall." The Doctor muttered quietly, unheard by anyone outside of River and Jack who shared a concerned look over her head. Things only unravelled from here.

Amy carries Melody to outside the Tardis, she doesn't like the noise. She's asked the Doctor to turn something off but the Doctor claimed he didn't want to punch a hole in space-time

Amy narrowed here eyes at the Doctor, before pointing a finger at him. "Lies! All you had to do was turn the brake off."

The Doctor held her hands up in mock surrender, "The Tardis wanted to talk to her, it's not my fault baby Melody didn't like the sound. Amy only narrowed her eyes further but didn't make another comment.

Jenny updates the group - the Judoon are escorting the clerics away, the Spitfires are back in their own time and Captain Avery's crew have departed

"All your back up is leaving." Jack muttered nervously, edging a glance at the Doctor who shared her own exchange with River, Amy and Rory which did not reassure him.

Strax offers to help feed Melody as he is gene spliced for nursing fluids

"That was something I never wanted to hear." Bill declared, pulling a face.

The Doctor comes out of the Tardis with a wooden cot

The Master's head snapped around to stare at the Doctor who refused to meet his eyes. He recognised that crib – it had been the Doctor's, and then the Doctor's children and grandchildren. He hadn't known that the Doctor kept it, although he should have known, she was very sentimental and kept most of her stuff, albeit hidden away from human eyes in the Tardis.

The rest of the room noticed the interaction but didn't quite know what it signified, outside of Amy and Rory who gave the Doctor sympathetic looks. If anyone could understand the Doctor's pain of losing children it was them, although the situation was entirely different in many ways.

The Doctor reveals Melody isn't hungry, just tired. Amy asks about the cot, and The Doctor dances around the answer as Melody calls it very pretty

"It is Sweetie." River murmured to the Doctor, recognising the significance of the crib. "Thank you." The Doctor could read through the lines, River was thanking her for looking after baby her, looking after her parents and for bringing out the crib despite its significance.

Rory asks where he got a cot from as Amy puts Melody in

The room all turned to the Doctor, all a bit hesitant to ask as they knew the Doctor had had children and grandchildren at one point. Donna was the one brave enough to ask, voice deceptively soft, "Was that your children's crib?" Donna's mind was thinking back to the video they'd watched the other day, thinking about the revelations made due to Jenny's existence.

The Doctor hesitated, face openly showing grief and wistfulness as she glanced at the crib. Taking a deep breath, she looked around the room, registering all the sad and concerned looks she was being shot. "Yes." She answered quietly. "It was my crib, my sibling's crib, my children's crib and my grandchildren's crib. And now my wife's."

The group was quiet at that revelation, eyes not meeting the Doctor's. Whenever her past on Gallifrey or family was brought up it left the group unsure about what to say, as there wasn't really anything they could offer for comfort.

It's a very old crib. Amy asks if he has children then if he ever had children. The Doctor doesn't answer, instead talking with Melody as Amy asks who slept there

Amy eyes the Doctor sadly, knowing she'd been pushing questions and he'd been avoiding them. She did feel a bit guilty for pushing the questions when he so clearly didn't want to answer, especially as she knew the pain of losing her children. The Doctor met her gaze, understanding and grief shining in her eyes, but she managed a small shaky smile – she understood why Amy was desperate for answers.

Vastra summons him to the control room, he goes to take the excuse to leave - they still don't know what the base is for

Amy, Rory, River and the Doctor shared a knowing glance – they knew now what the base was for and why they wanted baby Melody and they hated it. "I'm sorry." The Doctor murmured to River, knowing it was her fault that River had been raised as a weapon. "It wasn't your fault, Sweetie. Blame Kovarian if you want to blame anyone." The Doctor looked doubtful but didn't argue for the moment.

"Why did they want your baby?" Yaz asked, her police sense coming to the front of her brain. Then she winced at how the question sounded, mouthing 'sorry' to Amy and Rory.

"For nothing good." Amy scowled at the screen, unprepared to answer any more questions. The group eyed her nervously but recognised that she wasn't going to say anymore.

Amy asks if she was here the whole time, when she thought she was on the Tardis she was really on the base

"Wait what?" Mickey asked, utterly bewildered.

The four exchanged another look before the Doctor sighed and started to explain, "They replaced Amy with a ganger sometime before the incident with the Tardis being put in a human body, but for Amy it felt like she was with us the entire time until she went into labour and we discovered it wasn't actually her." The group frowned at that, realising Amy must have been kidnapped for quite some time.

The Doctor asks permission before hugging Amy, reassuring her while she was physically on the base, mentally, with her heart and soul she was on the Tardis. When she saw the face through the hatch it was reality bleeding through, they must have taken her just before America

"America?" Martha asked, curious despite how she was frowning as the Doctor painted a picture of Amy's time as a ganger.

"Don't ask." Rory groaned.

"We really don't have good luck with America." Amy sighed; their first trip to America had been the mess with the Doctor 'dying' and then the next trip they had 'died' and gotten sent back in time by the Angels.

Rory seemed to consider that for a second before sighing in agreement, "We really don't, do we."

The Doctor declares they were very clever - whoever wants Melody

"The Silence were unfortunately clever but very stupid." River said with her own sigh.

"Aren't those the same thing?" Ryan asked unsure.

"No, they are not mutually exclusive. Like how the Doctor is a genius but also an idiot." Ryan nodded at River's explanation, while the Doctor pouted.

They still don't know why they wanted her. Rory asks why the Doctor didn't tell them as he knew Amy wasn't real but didn't say

"You knew! You knew and didn't tell them?!" Donna exclaimed, furious for the young couple as she turned on the Doctor.

The Doctor winced at Donna's anger but didn't even try to muster any excuses just waving to the screen. That action only drew a more furious glare from Donna who reluctantly turned to the screen after a minute. The Doctor did however, mouth a 'sorry' to Amy and Rory.

They were listening. Amy demands to know something as its their baby, she wants to know anything. The Doctor tells them its his crib, he slept there

Rose looked at the Doctor with narrowed eyes, "You told them something you know they wanted to know and technically did follow their request while also avoiding the main argument."

"It's a skill the Doctor's unfortunately mastered after all these years." River answered for her, while the Doctor schooled her face blank. The crib was still bringing back memories both good and bad and that wasn't a distraction she could afford at the minute.

The rest of the group eyed the crib with a new light, Amy's comment echoing in their heads. Although there was also the thought of it may have not been her first stars if the Timeless Child thing was to be considered.

Lorna is found listening at the door, Strax demands she drops any weapons and states her rank and intent

"Good." Martha muttered; Lorna had managed to find the group so she could tell them about the trap. The tension immediately rose in the room again, as there was still the possibility of the trap Kovarian mentioned.

IN the control room, the Doctor is with Dorium. Dorium has hacked into their software - he sold it to them

"He's definitely helpful then." Mickey whistled, earning a nod from the Doctor.

Vastra reminds him to be careful with his anger - its the shortest distance to a mistake. He'd said that to her when she tried to avenger her sisters in the London Underground

"That's how you met Vastra?" Clara asked, she'd never got the full story from either the Doctor or Vastra but it would certainly make sense.

"Yes." The Doctor smiled, thinking of her friend, Vastra was very wise and willing to speak up and deal with her nonsense even when others wouldn't. River was smiling as well, there was a reason she liked Vastra after all (several actually) but her ability to call the Doctor out on her nonsense was one of them.

Vastra asks if Melody is human, Dorium reveals they'd been scanning hr since she was born and found something. Melody is human with some Time Lord DNA

"You didn't know?" Nardole asked.

The Doctor sighed, "I didn't have any reason to expect otherwise. Both her parents were human and I'd never had a married couple in the Tardis before." Amy and Rory exchanged a glance, Rory's face was a bit red as they realised what was going to be discussed.

Back with the others, Lorna warns them its a trap but Rory isn't convinced

"I mean you don't exactly have any reason to believe her, you hadn't met her before." Martha tried to reassure Rory noticing his guilty face. Rory smiled at her in thanks to which Martha smiled back – medical professions had to stick together after all.

Lorna says she only joined to meet the Doctor again. Jenny asks about joining an army, but Lorna says its the only way to meet a great warrior. Amy argues he isn't but Lorna asks why he's called the Doctor then?

"What does that mean?" Rose looked taken aback by that comment, as did several others in the group.

River, Jack and the Doctor shared a glance before the Doctor sighed and started to explain, "The word Doctor means different thing to different places. Where Lorna's from recognises the word differently to how you do." Some of the group nodded in understanding while the rest of the group have her assessing looks – they had more questions they just weren't going to ask them now.

The lights go out and Lorna warns them its starting

The tensions immediately rose again at the reminder of the trap – things weren't over then.

The Doctor protests the news as Melody is Amy and Rory's daughter. Vastra asks bout the Untempered Schism (the Doctor had told her about it before)

"You told her about the Time Lords?" Jack asked, curious. The Doctor must really trust Vastra to tell her that much, usually it was like pulling water out of a stone to get information out of the Doctor about the Time Lords and Gallifrey (for understandable reasons).

"Yes, I've known Vastra a long time, longer than I've known you even. She's trustworthy and has helped me on several occasions." The Doctor smiled wistfully, she really needed to visit Victorian London again and soon.

The Doctor argues that is a long term thing. Vastra aka bout regneration but the Doctor isn't sure, he doesn't undertsand how it happened

"It turns out she can regenerate." The Doctor muttered, eyeing River. From the look on Amy and Rory' faces they were also thinking about Mel's regeneration in Berlin. The rest of the group gave both River and the Doctor curious looks, secretly wondering how many times River had regenerated.

Vastra asks when it happened, when the baby was conceived. The Doctor is flustered and doesn't know, claiming it to be human stuff

The group was chuckling at how red the Doctor's face was turning in the room and how flustered they seemed on screen, it was definitely one guaranteed topic to fluster the Doctor. Rory's face was also turning red while Amy shook her head at the pair of them, honestly both her boys were easily embarrassed.

Vastra inquires about the possibility of the baby beginning on the Tardis during flight

DOCTOR: No! No! Impossible! It's all running about, sexy fish vampires and blowing up stuff. And Rory wasn't even there at the beginning. Then he was dead, then he didn't exist, then he was plastic. Then I had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. So, technically the first time they were on the Tardis together in this version of reality, was on their w

"I have so many questions about all of that." Bill declared, eyeing Amy, Rory, the Doctor and River as she waved at the screen. Several others were also doing the same thing, there was so many concerning things in the Doctor's rambled rant.

"Don't ask." Rory sighed, rubbing his forehead as if to ward of a headache. "Please, don't ask."

On their wedding night

"And you expect them not to have some fun?" Jack asked, wiggling his eyebrows at both the Doctor and the married couple in question. It only served to make Rory blush harder and the Doctor hide her face in her hands.

Strax confirms no life forms on the base outside of them and the Silurians, Lorna tells them the Headless Monks don't register as life forms. Elsewhere one creeps up on a Silurain

"That's not good. That's really not good." Ryan muttered as they watched the Headless Monk come up behind the Silurian warrior.

"At least Lorna's warned them." Yaz sighed, she could feel that this was going to go bad any second.

The Doctor protests more, but Vastra is confident. Dorium worries about how easily they gave up after putting so much hard work into it. The Doctor remebers how Amy worres about the baby having a time head

"And I was right." Amy crossed her arms, giving the Doctor a mock glare.

"Not really." The Doctor argued.

Amy's glare intensified, "I. Was. Right." The Doctor held her hands up in surrender, she really didn't want to get on the wrong side of the angry Scot.

They ponder what a new Time Lord would be for, Vastra decides a weapon as the Doctor protests. Vastra tells him they've seen him after all

The tension of the room skyrocketed, most of the group started shooting River concerned glances – it would certainly explain her attitude and antics that they'd already seen. The Doctor was scowling at the screen, both in memory of what the Silence did to baby Melody/River and also at the comment of her being a weapon – she resented that, she wasn't a weapon. Dangerous? Yes, but a weapon, no.

hey decide its too easily and leave, the Doctor's still having a crisis over everything

"You realised why they wanted a weapon." River noted, more a statement then a question. The Doctor nodded, still frowning. Amy and Rory were scowling while the rest of the group watched the interaction confused but nervous about the answer.

The Doctor remembers the warehouse in 1969, how Kovarian had revealed the child to be their hope in the endless war against him

"First of all – what is that from?" Clara asked, turning to the Doctor as the memory and subsequent scene on screen ended. "Second, this was to stop you from bringing back Gallifrey right? The Trenzalore mess?"

The Doctor nodded, face blank as the memories of Trenzalore resurfaced (and here was a lot of them, 900 years in fact). "That is from America, long story, don't ask. But for your second question – yes, they wanted to keep the silence and stop Gallifrey and then the Time War's return. They thought the only way to do that would be to kill me, hence River as a weapon. Need a Time Lord to kill a Time Lord." She sighed.

The group listened to the explanation with growing horror at the convoluted lengths the Silence/Church had gone through to stop everything. Amy and Rory were scowling at the screen, hating the whole mess even more the they already did and they weren't sure that had even been possible.

"Would you have?" Rory asked.

"Would I have what?" The Doctor asked, face furrowing in confusion.

"Would you have brought Gallifrey back?" Rory asked, face hard.

It was Clara who answered before the Doctor got a chance to. "He spent 900 years fighting a war single handed. The Church wanted to destroy Trenzalore where the crack was and he spent 900 years defending Trenzalore, knowing he would die there. He refused to bring back Gallifrey but also refused to allow the planet to be destroyed and all the innocents killed."

The Doctor offered a weak smile to Clara for the defence, she didn't really feel like she deserved it as River had still been taken because of her in the end. River gave the Doctor a concerned look, she hadn't heard that full story (no one had outside of Clara) and she could almost feel the Doctor heading towards a guilt spiral.

The Monks are on the move, a force field appears around the Tardis and the doors are locking - they're not leaving

"Really not good. Why does everything always go wrong?" Mickey bemoaned their lives. Several people nodded along, sympathetic with Mickey's complaints.

They decide to make a stand, Rory hides Amy and Melody behind some boxes

The group smiled at seeing Rory so ready to defend his wife and baby daughter, looking brave in the face of incoming danger. Despite that the tension was high in the room as danger was imminent and the trap was about to be snapped close around them.

Amy demands Rory stay alive and let the others die first, Rory remarks about how Scottish she is

"And don't you ever forget it, Stupid." Amy grinned at her husband, putting on a brave face as she realised what was about to happen.

Vastra, Lorna and Strax prepare for attack with Strax continuing to fail at genders

"Oh, Strax." The Doctor shook her head at the Sontaran.

Clara smiled softly, "He's never been good with gender, has he?"

Dorium claims they don't have to fight, he's friends with the Monks they can talk

The Doctor grimaced, remembering what was about to happen. Dorium was a lot of things but he hadn't deserved this, but at least it wasn't his final death. The rest of the group watched apprehensive; things were going too well so they had to go horribly wrong any second.

Dorium walks into the dark, he gets decapitated. Vastra and the others get ready, willing to protect Melody at all costs

The group winced at the sight of the headless Dorium and at the sound of the sword swinging. They gave him a moments silence; he'd been helpful despite his reluctance to start with. It was also a sign that things were starting to go wrong – the Doctor was starting his fall.

In the control room the Doctor protests a child being a weapon. On screen Kovarian tells him she will be and that she's enjoyed fooling him twice the same way. The Doctro relaises what she means and runs for Amy

"No." Jack's eyes widened as he released what had happened, eyes darting to Amy and Rory. There was no way they were going to react well to that.

As it was, Amy, Rory and the Doctor were scowling furious at the screen, although Amy and Rory's scowls were tinted with grief. The majority of the group hadn't made the same connection but had realised something was drastically wrong.

The fight is on, the Doctor is running and Kovarian appears behind Amy as River's tells the fill nursery rhyme
RIVER [OC]: Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun, when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies, night will fall and the dark will rise, when a good man goes to war.

"That is a horrible nursery rhyme." Bill declared, frowning at the screen.

"Aren't all nursery rhymes?" Yaz countered.

"Fair point." Bill consented. "Still hate this one."

"I think we all do." Rose added.

The Doctro screams for Amy
RIVER [OC]: Demons run but count the cost. The battle's won, but the child is lost.

The group was glancing at River, recognising her voice. The last line had them all on edge though, they thought they'd save baby Melody but clearly the trap had been snapped and the Doctor had missed something else. The Doctor squeezed River's hand tightly in attempt to comfort and ground both of them. River gave her a strained smile.

It's too late, Melody goes splat in Amy's arms

The room gasped out loud upon seeing the 'baby' splat into goo. Several people held their hands up to cover their mouths unable to verbalise the shock and horror of seeing it. Jack gave the couple sympathetic and understanding looks, he understood the pain of losing children (although not as young as they had).

Said couple were holding each other tight, not meeting anyone's gaze even as their own eyes were locked on River to reassure themselves that their daughter was alive and well even if they hadn't gotten to raise her like they'd wanted to. River watched in her own kind of mute horror of seeing the 'baby' splat, it was one thing to hear about it but entirely another to see it in and have to watch her parents' reaction to her loss. Sometimes she struggled with connecting their love of their missing baby to their love of her.

The Doctor tells them from behind a door that Melody is a flesh avatar but its too late, they know

"You're too late." Someone mumbled but the group largely ignored it, watching as the story continued. Things weren't quite done yet although no one knew what else the video could possibly show.

The Doctor runs in to a quite room, Rory tells him they know

Amy and Rory were holding hands so tightly their knuckles were white. That scene had haunted their nightmare for years and it wasn't something they'd ever wanted to see again. Even knowing River was now safe didn't offer them much comfort as they knew what kind of childhood she'd been forced through, even before she'd managed to make hew way to them and became Mels.

The Monks are dead and Strax is wounded. He believed himself to be dying as Rory reassures him he isn't, Strax protests he's a nurse he knows the truth

The group looked stricken at the possibility of yet another ally dying especially so soon after losing the reason they were there in the first place. Though they were quietly proud of Rory immediately buckling up and trying to help Strax even after his loss.

Clara, however, looked confused. "But I've met Strax? He isn't dead." That gained hopeful looks form the rest of the room.

The Doctor smiled softly, "Yes, Vastra and Jenny managed to save him. He works and lives with the pair of them now in Victorian London." The group let out audible breaths at knowing Strax at least survived.

Jenny is comforting Amy who is not doing well, Jenny tells her it's not the Doctor's fault, Amy knows

Amy smiled sadly at the Doctor who offered her own smile back, both recognising the other as a parent that had lost their children. Amy at least had been lucky enough to have her child come back while the Doctor had lost her entire family a long time ago. She hadn't really blamed the Doctor but she'd lashed out with the pain of losing her baby.

Vastra comes up to them, Lorna is dying and wants to speak to him

"Oh God." Graham muttered, it seemed this video was determined to kill as many people as it could, it was also the rare occasion of the Doctor losing. Their goal of rescuing Amy had succeeded but their main goal of saving the baby had failed and it seemed the cost was Dorium and Lorna.

Lorna tells him she met him before in the Gamma Friends, he thanks her for helping his friends and pretends to remember him, saying they ran. She dies and he asks who she was

The group looked down at the floor for a moment of silence for Lorna, her death made all the worst by the fact she's achieved her goal of meeting the Doctor again and he didn't even remember her. Amy and Rory glanced at each other, neither of them had (rightfully) trusted the young woman to start with but the video had shown more about her then they'd ever known, she hadn't deserved her fate (they never did).

Vastra doesn't know but calls her brave, the Doctor says they're always brave

The Doctor scowled at the floor, Lorna was yet another death on her conscience and she couldn't even properly remember their first meeting. Those that died, her companions, friends and those that helped her on her adventures were always brave, but being brave doesn't mean you get to live as so many of them had found out.

Vastra asks what happens now, the Doctor agrees it's too late

"You're just giving up?" Donna asked, scandalised and furious. The Doctor usually never gave up and for them to do so now was just insulting.

The Doctor's whole body radiated sadness and regret. "We'd already met a young Melody, not that we knew it at the time. It was too late. This was our only chance to get her back." She tried to explain which only served to break the groups hearts more.

VASTRA: You're giving up? You never do that.
DOCTOR: Yeah, and don't you sometimes wish I did?

"Sometime yes but often no. It's part of who you are Doctor." Jack whispered quietly to her, trying to break her out of the funk she'd fallen into. He succeeded based on the small smile he sent her.

A flash of lightning and River appears calling him a solider and asking about his day

"Ooh, the Doctor's not going to take that well." Jack winced. As far as the Doctor was aware River had refused to show up for basically no reason at all when he had possibly needed her more than he ever had.

The Doctor winced, that was putting it lightly. She was about to apologise but River squeezed her hand and smiled down at her softly, predicting the apology. She didn't blame the Doctor for her reaction, stars know she would have reacted similarly if it had been her in the Doctor's place.

The Doctor demands to know where she'd been as he's always been there for her. River claims she couldn't prevent this and says she knows they're not all right but they're going to be, directing the last comment at Amy

The Doctor went back to scowling at the floor, removing her hand from River's, she'd just remembered what River was about to say and it was the exact worst thing she could have been told in that moment. She knew River didn't really blame her but her little speech had only made her feel terrible when she thought she couldn't feel much worse.

Amy and Rory smiled softly at their daughter. Her calm attitude and absence made a lot more sense in retrospect, when she'd rocked up late after refusing to help and been so nonchalant and calm in the face of their loss, they had been annoyed but River's reveal had changed everything.

River smiled back at her parents before frowning as the Doctor retreated in on herself and away from her. She maybe hadn't been the most delicate about the matter upon her arrival but she hadn't lied and the Doctor's reaction had been amazing (it wasn't often she got to pull one over her).

The Doctor shouts at her, saying it wasn't him he didn't do this. River refutes it calmly, saying it was all about him, he makes people so afraid. Doctor is a word that means healer and wise man, something they got from him but what might it come to mean if he continues like this. In the Gamma Forests Doctor means mighty warrior. They're going to turn Melody into a weapon to take him down, all because they're afraid of him

The group shifted uncomfortable as they listened to River's speech. She'd delivered it so matter of fact, leaving no gaps for arguments and the worst thing was they all knew it was true, as horrible as it was, she only spoke the truth. The Doctor's reaction on screen just made it worse, as he was at such a low point only for River to give him a shovel and tell him to dig down further.

The Doctor only shrunk further in on herself, her mind jumping to her own 'childhood' or rather what she'd seen of the Timeless Child's childhood – River and her were apparently a lot more similar than they'd thought. The fact that because of a group fearing what she could do (but wouldn't) they'd stolen her friend's child and made her into a weapon both horrified and terrified her. She'd never wanted any of this, all she'd wanted was to travel the universe (initially with her granddaughter) and yet she'd become this legend that people both feared and revered and she hated it.

River glanced at her concerned. At the time the Doctor had been too hyped up on what had happened and desperate to know her identity to really descend into a spiral of depressive thoughts, but that wasn't the case now. She had seen how broken he'd looked as she'd done her speech but it hadn't lasted long due to her reveal, seemingly it was hitting her wife hard now. She hated that she couldn't do anything about it, but it showed that they apparently still had issues to resolve.

The Doctor demands to know who she is, Rover instead comments on his cot. She's telling him asking if he can read

The group watched as the atmosphere in the room bounced rapidly from depressive to hopeful, they all knew who River was but the trio on screen didn't and this was apparently how they were going to find out.

He finally looks at the Old High Gallifreyan on the cot and his attitude changes, he's connecting the dots and talking about kissing her

It was like watching a switch flip as the Doctor's attitude did a complete 180. The group was glad for the break from the tension and the reveal of secrets when the trio needed them most. They didn't think Amy and Rory would have stayed composed much longer if River hadn't told them.

"You just realised that your wife was also your friends' daughter, didn't you?" Martha sighed at the Doctor's antics, although it was good to see them in better spirits. The question also served to get the Doctor in the room out of their funk at least for the moment.

"Technically we weren't married back then. But yes, it's a bit awkward to find out the woman you've been kissing is your friend's daughter." The Doctor answered, glancing at her parents in law.

"Everything about you is awkward, Sweetie." River rolled her eyes, but only grew concerned when the Doctor didn't glance at her.

"That sounds so wrong out of context." Yaz muttered, cringing. So may of their adventures sounded weird or wrong without context but that was just bad.

The Doctor is getting excited, asking how he looks. Then he turns to Vastra and Jenny saying goodbye until next time, and telling Amy and Rory he knows where their daughter is and that she will be safe. He tells River to take them home

"You could have at least explained something." Amy complained with Rory nodding along.

"You just disappeared and got all excited all of a sudden. It was very confusing and frustrating." Rory added in. The Doctor winced but offered a sheepish smile at them, she may have gotten a bit excited and then carried away in that excitement.

Amy and Rory protest, asking where he's going. He doesn't answer, just getting into the Tardis and leaving

"Doctor!" Rose exclaimed upon seeing him disappear without explaining anything. It was bad enough for them watching and they knew why and who River was, she could only imagine how Amy and Rory felt after losing their daughter.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" The Doctor put her hands up in surrender, cringing. "I got excited, okay?" She tried to explain only to meet a wave of exasperated and disbelieving glares while her wife chuckled next to her. She threw a betrayed look at River, who looked far too happy to just have her paying attention to her.

River tells Amy to be calm, instead Amy picks up a fun and demands to know where he's going and what River told him

"Woah, that is not calm." Bill's eyes widened upon seeing Amy grab the gun. Many of the room edged away from the trigger happy red-headed Scotswoman. Amy looked unrepentant, so most of the group decided to never get on the wrong end of her wrath. River clearly got it from her more than Rory.

Rory protests his wife's actions

"At least someone in the family is reasonably sane." Donna snorted.

"Can't argue that." Amy agreed with a shrug while Rory just sighed.

River reassured him its okay, the Tardis translation matrix takes a while with the written word. Amy still can't read it and River tells her it's because its Gallifreyan which doesn't translate. Instead she offers the prayer leaf which is their daughter's name in the language of the Forest. Amy protests that she knows her daughter's name

RIVER: Except they don't have a word for Pond, because the only water in the forest is the River. The Doctor will find your daughter, and he will care for her whatever it takes. And I know that. It's me. I'm Melody. I'm your daughter.

"Dramatic." The Doctor muttered; she'd missed that part after all but she shouldn't have expected anything else from her wife. Amy and Rory were both still watching their daughter, everything made more sense now but they didn't appreciate how River had taken so long to tell them (even though they knew she couldn't have told them before that point).

The group did feel a bit sorry for Amy and Rory. They'd gone through a lot that day only to lose their daughter then find out River, a friend, was their daughter all grown up. It was certainly a roller-coaster of emotions.

"That's what the Tardis said." Clara realised; face furrowed in thought. "The only water in the forest is the river. She knew."

"The Tardis is technically my third parent and can see all of time, of course she knew." River answered with a shrug. She hadn't realised the Tardis had said that back then but it made sense, her parents had had all the clues but hadn't put it together (which was understandable in their state).

Silence reigned in the room for several minutes before the Doctor broke it with a clap and false smile. "So, what did you think of that?"

"Terrifying."

"Enlightening."

"Horrifying."

"Heart breaking."

"Traumatising."

"All of the above."

Shouts came out from across the room. The Doctor grimaced in understanding, it was hardly her favourite moment either, especially knowing that they'd ultimately failed their goal and what River had been put through as a consequence. "You ready to keep going?" She asked, personally she was hoping that the next video was less tense and dramatic. She knew she had some nice calm adventures (not many, but they definitely existed) and she'd quite like to watch one of them instead of another like this, but knowing her luck that wasn't likely.

There was a murmur of agreement from the room, all of them too tense after the dramatic end to that video to really have any arguments. "Okay, here we go."