Healing introduces some Gallifreyan mysticism to Marion and Kristoph. I have touched already on the idea of Kristoph’s sister Renita being part of a cloistered Sisterhood that devotes their time to contemplation. I thought about how to describe the House of Contemplation. It had to be something like a convent, but something more mystical than that.

The six sided room of perfect balance that Marion comes to first is based on the idea that the hexagon is a sacred symbol on Gallifrey. That’s why TARDIS consoles are six sided, of course. The idea of no doors, and the optical illusion hiding the exit from the room made it just that little bit different.

Of course, the Room of Preparation is going to be a soothing, aromatic bath. And then Marion is dressed in silk robes so that she looks like a novice of the Sisterhood. Looking like she belongs is obviously important.

The refectory with the frosted glass roof was inspired by the main dining room in the University of Central Lancashire, which was one of the more inspired bits of design that went into that campus. This refectory is much more quiet and refined than UCLAN, and the food on offer much healthier.

The design of the tower, with rooms rising up in a circle around the roof of the refectory owes something to the BBC Television Centre in Shephard’s Bush. I have always liked that central rotunda of the famous ‘donut’. It seemed a perfect design for the Contemplation Tower.

Renita, of course, is a sweet, delightful woman. She is ready to help Marion get over her troubles with her calming meditations. The levitation and the clouds enfolding her mind were pleasant to write. I could have made it a much longer scene, really. But there was no need. Marion was asleep through most of it. Time passed and she woke feeling much better.

It might strike some readers as odd that a visit to a lady who has sequestered herself away in a celibate life of contemplation ends with Marion pouring Kristoph an aphrodisiac potion at dinner, ready to resume their sex life. But after all, that was what it was all about.

The discussion on the way to the House of Contemplation, of course, is an important one. This idea that Time Lords have built in methods of controlling pregnancy – holding back the active ingredient – occurred to me quite some time before, but there never really seemed to be a place where it fitted into the conversation in any of the other story arcs. Here, it is an important piece of information, because it will be relevant to their future attempts to have a baby. Of course, readers know that isn’t going to be easy. This is the end of only the first of those tragedies for Marion and Kristoph.