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nineveh_ukEmailing my sisters about Doctor Who, youngest sister owned that she wouldn't mind an "I love you" from the Doctor towards Rose. And I, well, I just can't. He's 900 and she's in her early twenties and a different species. This is one of those romances that just doesn't do it for me. And so I imagined the final scene of season 4. Hence my second ever piece of Whofic.
Tiny spoilers for season 4, none for the final episode, about which there is not even speculation. I'd be grateful if people didn't give any spoilers or info-based speculation that they may have for the coming episode in the comments, at least until 8 o'clock in the evening the day after tomorrow.
*
The Tardis door rested ajar.
‘Are you sure? There’s your Mum – and Mickey. The Tardis belongs in this universe; it’s harder to navigate outside it. If you changed your mind, you might not be able to go back.’
‘ I don’t want to go back. I want to stay with you. I love you.’
‘Course you do. Well, come on then. Allons-y.’
Rose moved towards the Tardis, and then hestitated. The Doctor stopped, with his hand on the door.
‘Rose?’
‘Doctor, do you love me?’
‘What?’
On the other side of the warehouse, Donna and Martha looked at one another and tried to blend into the wall.
‘Do you love me, Doctor? It’s not a hard question.’
‘I do. Course I do. Oh, I do, I do, I do.’ He looked at her steadily. ‘Only not like that.’
‘Like that?’
‘Like you want.’
‘How then? Because you flirt with me all the time, and you said I could stay with you forever. How do you love me, if you don’t love me like that?’
The Doctor rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.
‘We-ell. It’s kind of hard to explain.’
‘Why don’t you try.’
‘It’s like. Look, when you were a kid, did you ever have a pet? Great things, pets. Companionship, loyalty, even protection. You know, like a dog or something.’
‘A dog?’ Rose’s voice was effortfully neutral. Donna looked around for the exit.
‘Or a hamster. But a pet. And you really, really loved it. Did you?’
‘Well, Gran had a cat. I used to play with it when we went to stay.’
‘A cat. OK. A cat will do. Not a cat person myself, but each to her own. So your Gran had this cat, and she loved it, and you loved it, and it was your friend, and you took care of each other, and one day it died.’
‘It died?’
‘It died. And you were sad. Really, really sad. It felt like the whole world had broken and everything was hollow. And worst of all, you wondered if there was anything you might have done that might have saved it, because you’d have given anything to save it.’
‘Yeah.’
‘But it still wasn’t the same for your Gran as your Granddad dying. And it wasn’t the same for you as your Mum dying. Because your Mum’s like you.
‘Rose, there are lots of ways that you can love all sorts of people, species – even things.’
‘Things?’
‘The Tardis is a thing. Honestly, preferred descriptor set down in the manual. But love like that is different. I’m old, Rose. I’m hundreds and hundreds of years old. I’ve seen things you can’t imagine and things I can’t describe. I can see all of time and space in the back of my eyes. I’m the last of my kind. I’ve lost everything that I could love, over and over again. Some come back, but others never will. I'm too late for love.’
‘But you don’t have to be the last. We could make something new, you and me. You said that humans in the future were flexible, why can’t you be?’
‘That’s humans. That’s what’s so wonderful about humanity – how adaptable you are, you spread yourselves across the stars because you’re always able to change! Time Lords aren’t like that. Our whole civilization was based on perfection and stasis. I can’t change like you. Less adaptable. I suppose that’s why they died, really; the Time Lords and the Daleks. The two races that could never change. Even cybermen upgrade themselves.’
‘But you’re not like the others. You're different from them in so many ways! Why not this one?’
‘It doesn’t work like that. Last year – a different last year, a different time, not a good time – there was one, another Time Lord. He’d escaped the Time War. I thought - He could have changed – he had the chance, he could have changed everything, but he wouldn’t. He chose to die because he couldn’t change. Rose, I’ll travel with you to the end of the universe if you want, but I’ll never love you, and I won’t pretend it’s worth your hoping otherwise. That would be worse than anything.’
‘I see.’
He put out his hand and wiped the mascara smeared on her cheeks. ‘Choke up, chicken. Think of what we’ve got to see! The Fountains of Norengard. The Pink World of Stoke. Lippington! You’ll love Lippington – biggest art museum in the galaxy, everything from van Gogh to Crixelplat III's brain installations. Where do you want to go first?’
‘Home.’
‘What?’
‘I want to go home. If you don’t love me I’ll find someone who will, because there’s something better than time and space, and I've learnt that now that even if you can’t.’
‘Yeah.’
‘So, bye, Doctor.’
‘Bye, Rose.’
‘I’ve got the phone. You could come for a holiday one day.’
‘I’ll do that. Tell Jackie to put the kettle on.’
‘I will.’
He stepped into the Tardis and closed the door behind him. It wheezed and disappeared and Rose made her way out of the warehouse to the tarmac. Donna and Martha unpeeled themselves from the walls.
‘Do you think we should go after her?’ said Martha.
Donna shook her head. ‘Give her a minute. It’s a bit embarrassing, getting your heart broken in public.’
Martha shook her head. ‘Stupid idiot. Why didn’t he just tell her about the cloacal ducts? Put me right off when I learned that about them.’
‘Cloacal ducts?
‘Instant cure for fancying a Time Lord. Come and get a coffee first – you won’t want one afterwards.’
Tiny spoilers for season 4, none for the final episode, about which there is not even speculation. I'd be grateful if people didn't give any spoilers or info-based speculation that they may have for the coming episode in the comments, at least until 8 o'clock in the evening the day after tomorrow.
*
The Tardis door rested ajar.
‘Are you sure? There’s your Mum – and Mickey. The Tardis belongs in this universe; it’s harder to navigate outside it. If you changed your mind, you might not be able to go back.’
‘ I don’t want to go back. I want to stay with you. I love you.’
‘Course you do. Well, come on then. Allons-y.’
Rose moved towards the Tardis, and then hestitated. The Doctor stopped, with his hand on the door.
‘Rose?’
‘Doctor, do you love me?’
‘What?’
On the other side of the warehouse, Donna and Martha looked at one another and tried to blend into the wall.
‘Do you love me, Doctor? It’s not a hard question.’
‘I do. Course I do. Oh, I do, I do, I do.’ He looked at her steadily. ‘Only not like that.’
‘Like that?’
‘Like you want.’
‘How then? Because you flirt with me all the time, and you said I could stay with you forever. How do you love me, if you don’t love me like that?’
The Doctor rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.
‘We-ell. It’s kind of hard to explain.’
‘Why don’t you try.’
‘It’s like. Look, when you were a kid, did you ever have a pet? Great things, pets. Companionship, loyalty, even protection. You know, like a dog or something.’
‘A dog?’ Rose’s voice was effortfully neutral. Donna looked around for the exit.
‘Or a hamster. But a pet. And you really, really loved it. Did you?’
‘Well, Gran had a cat. I used to play with it when we went to stay.’
‘A cat. OK. A cat will do. Not a cat person myself, but each to her own. So your Gran had this cat, and she loved it, and you loved it, and it was your friend, and you took care of each other, and one day it died.’
‘It died?’
‘It died. And you were sad. Really, really sad. It felt like the whole world had broken and everything was hollow. And worst of all, you wondered if there was anything you might have done that might have saved it, because you’d have given anything to save it.’
‘Yeah.’
‘But it still wasn’t the same for your Gran as your Granddad dying. And it wasn’t the same for you as your Mum dying. Because your Mum’s like you.
‘Rose, there are lots of ways that you can love all sorts of people, species – even things.’
‘Things?’
‘The Tardis is a thing. Honestly, preferred descriptor set down in the manual. But love like that is different. I’m old, Rose. I’m hundreds and hundreds of years old. I’ve seen things you can’t imagine and things I can’t describe. I can see all of time and space in the back of my eyes. I’m the last of my kind. I’ve lost everything that I could love, over and over again. Some come back, but others never will. I'm too late for love.’
‘But you don’t have to be the last. We could make something new, you and me. You said that humans in the future were flexible, why can’t you be?’
‘That’s humans. That’s what’s so wonderful about humanity – how adaptable you are, you spread yourselves across the stars because you’re always able to change! Time Lords aren’t like that. Our whole civilization was based on perfection and stasis. I can’t change like you. Less adaptable. I suppose that’s why they died, really; the Time Lords and the Daleks. The two races that could never change. Even cybermen upgrade themselves.’
‘But you’re not like the others. You're different from them in so many ways! Why not this one?’
‘It doesn’t work like that. Last year – a different last year, a different time, not a good time – there was one, another Time Lord. He’d escaped the Time War. I thought - He could have changed – he had the chance, he could have changed everything, but he wouldn’t. He chose to die because he couldn’t change. Rose, I’ll travel with you to the end of the universe if you want, but I’ll never love you, and I won’t pretend it’s worth your hoping otherwise. That would be worse than anything.’
‘I see.’
He put out his hand and wiped the mascara smeared on her cheeks. ‘Choke up, chicken. Think of what we’ve got to see! The Fountains of Norengard. The Pink World of Stoke. Lippington! You’ll love Lippington – biggest art museum in the galaxy, everything from van Gogh to Crixelplat III's brain installations. Where do you want to go first?’
‘Home.’
‘What?’
‘I want to go home. If you don’t love me I’ll find someone who will, because there’s something better than time and space, and I've learnt that now that even if you can’t.’
‘Yeah.’
‘So, bye, Doctor.’
‘Bye, Rose.’
‘I’ve got the phone. You could come for a holiday one day.’
‘I’ll do that. Tell Jackie to put the kettle on.’
‘I will.’
He stepped into the Tardis and closed the door behind him. It wheezed and disappeared and Rose made her way out of the warehouse to the tarmac. Donna and Martha unpeeled themselves from the walls.
‘Do you think we should go after her?’ said Martha.
Donna shook her head. ‘Give her a minute. It’s a bit embarrassing, getting your heart broken in public.’
Martha shook her head. ‘Stupid idiot. Why didn’t he just tell her about the cloacal ducts? Put me right off when I learned that about them.’
‘Cloacal ducts?
‘Instant cure for fancying a Time Lord. Come and get a coffee first – you won’t want one afterwards.’
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 11:35 am (UTC)That's my feeling. Given that the Doctor quite clearly does not regard any of the humans as his equal on a pretty fundamental level (and maybe they're not), I just feel that the crash would be inevitable in Ten/Rose. One day he will abuse his power - he does it all the time. I found River Song's "he's fabulous, but I'm not his devoted little puppy" much preferable (although to be honest whilst I am amused by flirtations, I don't want a romance ever to be the focus of the show).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 10:55 am (UTC)Youngest sister protests at Eldest Sisters cruel mockery! And requisitioning of "Choke up chicken" to do that as well?! Cruel, cruel sister. I liked it though. And Martha and Donna watching the affair. Donna is so obviously a Rose/Ten shipper. Without spec or spoilers (lest it encourage more teasing) I think it may cause her to do something unwise.
I definitely can see the logic of the sentiment though that the Doctor almost certainly couldn't or wouldn't fall for Rose in the same way as he might fall for a fellow Time Personage, but still. He's obviously a bit keen on River...
Again with the agree to disagree on this one, you Rose/Ten basher, you!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 11:27 am (UTC)Donna is not a Rose/Ten shipper. Donna enjoys gossip. And River offers good times on equalish terms without the threat of a mortgage.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 02:24 pm (UTC)Now that I will agree with. Although with a particularly Rose/Ten interest...
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 11:07 am (UTC)I really enjoyed the Whofic, particularly Donna who could clearly see exactly what was going to happen (very plausible too). You have the Doctor's voice off pat.
But I have to ask: cloacal ducts?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 11:25 am (UTC)Time Lords have two hearts; no reason that other bits of their anatomy shouldn't vary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloaca) from the human norm...
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 11:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 11:39 am (UTC)That said, I think this makes a lot of sense. I see the Doctor as effortlessly able to love, but not necessarily able to love in the same way as a human (it's interesting that to me we see some of those same influences working on with Jack as he is portrayed in Torchwood. He, too, has an incredible capacity for love, even sexual love, but he's got the competing forces of immortality (like the Doctor) and the very human relationships of being part of a team shaping that ability).
And as usual, I love the way you mix the humor with the tragedy, which is spot on for the show. ‘A dog?’ Rose’s voice was effortfully neutral. Donna looked around for the exit. - this is such a great line.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 02:05 pm (UTC)Though I think it may be "particularly" rather than "even" sexual love in the case of Captain Jack!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 12:59 pm (UTC)I think Nine and Rose were mates, in a flirty way, and then she developed this huge crush on Ten and convinced herself it was Twoo Wuv, and he probably didn't even realise. He's not good at dealing with human women who fall in love with him. Possibly this is because he doesn't really consider them as equals and doesn't realise they think differently.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 02:06 pm (UTC)Thankyou! But alas, I wouldn't count on it!
I am in total agreement with your second paragraph.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 01:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 04:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 01:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 04:15 pm (UTC)*Or that he just doesn't fancy them and they smell a bit wierd.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 02:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 04:14 pm (UTC)'Yeah,' shrugged Romana. 'That tendency to premature ejaculation can be really embarrassing.'
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 02:51 pm (UTC)*hastily sets coffee-flavored yogurt aside / succumbs to fit of inordinate mirth*
Especially enjoyed the Donna and Martha dynamic here as well.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 04:12 pm (UTC)There, don't you want to read more fic like that?
[Although I fear that coffee-flavoured yoghurt really is wrong.]
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 04:21 pm (UTC)Though, now that I'm pondering realms of potential wrongness, what I really want to see from somewhere is Jack/Ten/Byerly Vorruyter. *schemes some more*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-04 09:28 am (UTC)Jack/Ten/Byerly Vorruyter
It's not quite what you ask for, but this Torchwood meets Barrayar (http://legionseagle.livejournal.com/6831.html) may be of interest.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-03 08:39 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, I'm afraid this isn't going to make the RTD version, though it really should.
MM
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-09 02:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-04 07:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-04 09:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-04 04:39 pm (UTC)Have also just clicked on the Wikipedia link you supplied and am now feeling slightly ill.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-09 02:44 pm (UTC)It's the almost audible sound of slurping. Yuck!