Ficlet ~ "Passing Through"
May. 17th, 2007 07:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ivydoorTitle: Passing Through
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ivydoor
Character/Pairing: Ten, implied Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Summary: He has to keep moving.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all the characters, but that doesn't stop them from playing in my head. Yes, I'm aware of how dirty that sounds.
Author's Notes: Big thanks tokalleah, sensiblecat, & leighleighla for their beta work and feedback :)
He never stays in one place. Especially in this body, but he's always traversed through life, never stopping. Stopping means you think. Stopping means you feel. Or maybe stopping meant drying out and becoming one of them. So he travels from planet to planet, past to future and back again. Never, ever stopping, always passing through. He meets new people and leaves old friends.
And then suddenly he had nowhere to stop even if he wanted to. Somehow, it made keeping going that much harder. That had to be a paradox or, at the very least, ironic. He soldiered on. Never let it be said that he's not a survivor. That's him. Until one young human girl grabbed him by the collar and brought him to a grinding halt. It wasn't the first time someone forced him to pause, and it wouldn't be the last. It's just that it was the first time since that.
Things started to have a bit more meaning than they did after that. And then more meaning than they did even before. That bit snuck up on him. He's not sure at what point that happened. Somewhere between her calling him unimpressive and telling him to lob a missile at her. He loved her for that. For both of those. For using a gently humorous tone to call him on his crap and for being strong when she had no right to be, especially when it gave him an existential crisis.
He found she liked passing through just as much as he did. She was trouble, but always the sort he liked. They kept pace with each other without really trying. They traveled through times and places long gone and far in the future. Sometimes with laughter, sometimes with tears, but always together.
Sometimes others tagged along with them. It’s funny how “him” became “them” without anyone saying anything about it.
Now that she’s gone, he spends his days in places he never took her. At least most of the time. And he travels alone. Can’t take the best if the best is long gone. Somehow he’s ended up in London again. Early 21st century even. He was aiming for the Lagoon system to pick up yet another replacement part for the TARDIS when she landed here of all places. What is it with him and headstrong females?
He wanders aimlessly down the street, lost in thought, until he realizes this was where they had made a run for it, ditching Mickey in some massive electronics store. They had made a mad dash to the corner chip shop and were sitting there for over an hour before he figured out where they were.
His feet take him to the shop he had been in before. He gets his chips and debates on the correct amount of salt. She had always poured on much more than necessary and then howled if he even dared touch vinegar to them. He sits, eating his too-salty-with-no-vinegar chips, and ponders the benefits of passing through. He’s come to hate the quiet. It very rarely stays that way around him. But here, eating chips is as close as he can get to the quiet moments he used to enjoy, like laying back on apple-grass. But it’s time to move before thoughts catch up like a certain pesky ex-boyfriend.
He moves on from the shop, vowing to keep on moving until he can’t move any longer. Tying himself down to one spot for even a few minutes makes all those thoughts appear, so it’s best to just keep going.
He purposefully heads back in the general direction of the TARDIS, hoping to leave this era and this place once and for all. As he walks along, ignoring the throngs of people bustling in every direction, he travels to the large courtyard area where he’s parked the TARDIS. The landscaping isn’t very well cared for and the plants seem a bit overgrown. All it takes is a glance in the right direction at the right moment and he sees something glinting in the sunlight. Like a blackbird drawn to a shiny object, he stops and leans in to examine it properly. The TARDIS is right there, across the street, waiting to move on. He’s just passing through. No need to stop.
But his curiosity gets the better of him and he discovers that the shiny objects are plasma coils and the building is a hospital. From there, his brain goes into full analysis and he realizes there is something going on. What, he has no idea. Who is doing it? Could be anyone. For any reason. He’s just passing through, but a little snooping couldn’t hurt.
He checks into the hospital and before he knows it, he gets involved. He’s still just traveling past, not looking for trouble. Somehow trouble always finds him. Maybe one day, the right sort of trouble will find its way back to him.
Author:
ivydoor Character/Pairing: Ten, implied Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Summary: He has to keep moving.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all the characters, but that doesn't stop them from playing in my head. Yes, I'm aware of how dirty that sounds.
Author's Notes: Big thanks to
kalleah, sensiblecat, & leighleighla for their beta work and feedback :)He never stays in one place. Especially in this body, but he's always traversed through life, never stopping. Stopping means you think. Stopping means you feel. Or maybe stopping meant drying out and becoming one of them. So he travels from planet to planet, past to future and back again. Never, ever stopping, always passing through. He meets new people and leaves old friends.
And then suddenly he had nowhere to stop even if he wanted to. Somehow, it made keeping going that much harder. That had to be a paradox or, at the very least, ironic. He soldiered on. Never let it be said that he's not a survivor. That's him. Until one young human girl grabbed him by the collar and brought him to a grinding halt. It wasn't the first time someone forced him to pause, and it wouldn't be the last. It's just that it was the first time since that.
Things started to have a bit more meaning than they did after that. And then more meaning than they did even before. That bit snuck up on him. He's not sure at what point that happened. Somewhere between her calling him unimpressive and telling him to lob a missile at her. He loved her for that. For both of those. For using a gently humorous tone to call him on his crap and for being strong when she had no right to be, especially when it gave him an existential crisis.
He found she liked passing through just as much as he did. She was trouble, but always the sort he liked. They kept pace with each other without really trying. They traveled through times and places long gone and far in the future. Sometimes with laughter, sometimes with tears, but always together.
Sometimes others tagged along with them. It’s funny how “him” became “them” without anyone saying anything about it.
Now that she’s gone, he spends his days in places he never took her. At least most of the time. And he travels alone. Can’t take the best if the best is long gone. Somehow he’s ended up in London again. Early 21st century even. He was aiming for the Lagoon system to pick up yet another replacement part for the TARDIS when she landed here of all places. What is it with him and headstrong females?
He wanders aimlessly down the street, lost in thought, until he realizes this was where they had made a run for it, ditching Mickey in some massive electronics store. They had made a mad dash to the corner chip shop and were sitting there for over an hour before he figured out where they were.
His feet take him to the shop he had been in before. He gets his chips and debates on the correct amount of salt. She had always poured on much more than necessary and then howled if he even dared touch vinegar to them. He sits, eating his too-salty-with-no-vinegar chips, and ponders the benefits of passing through. He’s come to hate the quiet. It very rarely stays that way around him. But here, eating chips is as close as he can get to the quiet moments he used to enjoy, like laying back on apple-grass. But it’s time to move before thoughts catch up like a certain pesky ex-boyfriend.
He moves on from the shop, vowing to keep on moving until he can’t move any longer. Tying himself down to one spot for even a few minutes makes all those thoughts appear, so it’s best to just keep going.
He purposefully heads back in the general direction of the TARDIS, hoping to leave this era and this place once and for all. As he walks along, ignoring the throngs of people bustling in every direction, he travels to the large courtyard area where he’s parked the TARDIS. The landscaping isn’t very well cared for and the plants seem a bit overgrown. All it takes is a glance in the right direction at the right moment and he sees something glinting in the sunlight. Like a blackbird drawn to a shiny object, he stops and leans in to examine it properly. The TARDIS is right there, across the street, waiting to move on. He’s just passing through. No need to stop.
But his curiosity gets the better of him and he discovers that the shiny objects are plasma coils and the building is a hospital. From there, his brain goes into full analysis and he realizes there is something going on. What, he has no idea. Who is doing it? Could be anyone. For any reason. He’s just passing through, but a little snooping couldn’t hurt.
He checks into the hospital and before he knows it, he gets involved. He’s still just traveling past, not looking for trouble. Somehow trouble always finds him. Maybe one day, the right sort of trouble will find its way back to him.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 12:06 pm (UTC)Maybe one day, the right sort of trouble will find its way back to him.
Beautiful line.
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Date: 2007-05-17 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 12:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 12:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 12:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 12:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 01:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 01:47 pm (UTC)Also, icon!love :D
no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 01:39 pm (UTC)For using a gently humorous tone to call him on his crap and for being strong when she had no right to be, especially when it gave him an existential crisis.
I love this line, and that last line. I thought your Doctor voice was excellent, kind of a nice blend of Ten and Nine, really.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 01:50 pm (UTC)Thank you! I tend to think his internal voice stays much the same regardless of regeneration. That's how it's always felt to me anyway. :)
I'm so glad you liked it.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 05:09 pm (UTC)Favourite bit:
Things started to have a bit more meaning than they did after that. And then more meaning than they did even before. That bit snuck up on him. He's not sure at what point that happened. Somewhere between her calling him unimpressive and telling him to lob a missile at her. He loved her for that.
And I also LOVE the idea that they played that horrible mean trick on Mickey. It's both a bit funny and a bit sad.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 05:33 pm (UTC)I'm so sorry *offers consolation choklit*
And I also LOVE the idea that they played that horrible mean trick on Mickey. It's both a bit funny and a bit sad.
It does sound like something they would have done though, doesn't it? It always struck me that it looks like she's wearing the same thing as she was in School Reunion during that little clip of them running. *points to icon*
I probably should write a fluff about my mental canon for that to make up for dumping angst on you, huh?
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Date: 2007-05-17 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-17 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 12:28 am (UTC)This is heartbreaking but so, so sweet. *loves*
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Date: 2007-05-18 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 11:34 am (UTC)The idea of the Doctor eating chips alone - Brilliant.
It’s funny how “him” became “them” without anyone saying anything about it.
I love this line (because it's so true).
no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 11:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 11:04 pm (UTC)The last line was wonderful. *How I want it to be true!* But my favorite line was this one:
Sometimes others tagged along with them. It’s funny how “him” became “them” without anyone saying anything about it.
So true and so wonderful, even if it's bittersweet in retrospect.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 11:59 pm (UTC)