5) Closing Time
Sep. 16th, 2013 07:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starjargonThe Doctor gets His Goodbye with Rory
A/N- Not so much centered on River, but a different Pond. The idea came from reading a different fanfic that let Rory say goodbye. It drove me crazy that the Doctor didn’t even speak to Amy and Rory in Closing Time. (Roranicus is an awesome name that needs to be used at every possible available moment.) Also, I answered one of my own long- standing questions about The Wedding of River Song. Please let me know what you think- I stink at dialogue, and really want to improve. Disclaimer- all quotes belong to Steven Moffat and the BBC. I like to borrow from the best.
He thought he’d been undetected. That he could creep back into the shadows and carry on without them, well, let them carry on without him. But he should have known. They were his Ponds, and if there was anything he’d learned from a River who could message him 12,000 years in the past to catch her jumping out of a spaceship, or from an Amelia who could remember him when he never existed, it was that they would always find him. This time it was the male Pond who found him after he’d so cleverly hidden himself behind a short clothing rack after staring at them obviously for a few seconds too long.
“Doctor.”
He pretended not to hear, but turned around when the Centurion said it a little louder, afraid he’d draw even more attention, something he really didn’t need more of at the moment when he and Craig were being stealthy bumbling around the store.
“Rory! Rory the Roman. Didn’t see you there. What a-“ the lights flickered, “coincidence.”
“Doctor, I know you saw us. You kept staring.”
“Was I? I do that sometimes. Well, not so much stare as glance. For long periods of time. Or glimpse, love a good glimpse. Peeks, they’re excellent too-”
“Were you going to say hello?”
“Hello! Can’t talk now, things to do. Got appointments to keep. Very important. Glad we could catch up.”
“Doctor, couldn’t we just- could you come by the house sometime? We haven’t seen you in awhile. How long’s it been for you?”
“Oh two hundred years, give or take a decade.”
“Two hundred years- but that would make you eleven hundred-“
“And three. Though I don’t see why that matters. I’m still just as cool as ever.”
“Right.” Rory said, unable to completely mask the sadness from his face. “Very cool.”
Seeing the emotions pass his old companion’s face, the Doctor stopped with the joking. “Rory- that thing. That I hadn’t done yet. With the hard slap from your daughter. It’s going to happen soon.”
Rory almost looked away in sad realization, but decided play it cool and knowledgeable and cohesive instead, “But you couldn’t kn- how did you- why are yo- cant’ you jus- how soon?”
“Couple of days.”
“Does it have to? Can’t you just run? Make sure doesn’t, that it never happens?”
“It’s a fixed point, Roranicus. Not all of time can be rewritten. And this is already set. ‘An impossible astronaut will rise from the deep and strike the Time Lord dead.’”
Rory nearly broke at that.
“But Doctor, who is the astronaut? It can’t be River? She’s fixed. Since Berlin. She wouldn’t want to kill you anymore.”
“I doubt they’ll give her the choice. But Rory, do me one last favor.”
“Of course. Anything. Anything you ask.”
“Be there for her. She’ll blame herself for not being able to stop it, and that’s something that should never ever happen. Please.”
“Of course Doctor. Always. But- well, I don’t understand. Why does it have to be her? Why make her kill you? Can’t they find anyone else? If they’re so bent on your destruction, why not use someone who never needed brainwashing in the first place. Listen to my rambling- as though I’m asking your favorite recipe,” he added, no longer able to quite stand the solemnity of the moment.
“They don’t just want to kill me, they want to hurt me. Dead at the hands of my best friend’s daughter. What could hurt worse than that?”
“But what about her?”
“Collateral damage. In their eyes, anyway. Someone convenient to take the fall. That’s why I’m counting on you, Centurion. Make sure no matter how they use her, they’ll never have her. Swear to me.”
Rory looked so lost. Torn between wanting to save his friend and wanting to kill him himself so his daughter wouldn’t ever feel the pain he knew it would cause her. But he tried to accept what had to happen. What had happened. What would always happen.
“I swear Doctor. No matter what.”
“Good man. Now, steer clear of any cyber… things you come across will you Pond? And jammie dodgers.”
“What?”
“My favorite recipe. It’s a special one for jammie dodgers. Instead of a heart there’s a bowtie in the middle. It’s cool.”
“Oh. Right.”
They looked at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, and just as the Doctor was about to turn away, Rory grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.
“You’re a good man, too you know. Even if sometimes you forget.”
The Doctor hugged back tightly, grateful for this absolution. Here was Rory the Roman, so much a better man than he. The Doctor had invaded and destroyed every aspect of his life, from his childhood to his child, yet here he was, offering comfort in his time of need. There was a strength in him, in all of them, that he needed now. The Doctor, though he would never admit it, was scared. But, now he had a plan. He would go to his death, since he knew he had no choice. Bravely even. But he would make absolutely sure that his Ponds were with him when he did.
A/N- Not so much centered on River, but a different Pond. The idea came from reading a different fanfic that let Rory say goodbye. It drove me crazy that the Doctor didn’t even speak to Amy and Rory in Closing Time. (Roranicus is an awesome name that needs to be used at every possible available moment.) Also, I answered one of my own long- standing questions about The Wedding of River Song. Please let me know what you think- I stink at dialogue, and really want to improve. Disclaimer- all quotes belong to Steven Moffat and the BBC. I like to borrow from the best.
He thought he’d been undetected. That he could creep back into the shadows and carry on without them, well, let them carry on without him. But he should have known. They were his Ponds, and if there was anything he’d learned from a River who could message him 12,000 years in the past to catch her jumping out of a spaceship, or from an Amelia who could remember him when he never existed, it was that they would always find him. This time it was the male Pond who found him after he’d so cleverly hidden himself behind a short clothing rack after staring at them obviously for a few seconds too long.
“Doctor.”
He pretended not to hear, but turned around when the Centurion said it a little louder, afraid he’d draw even more attention, something he really didn’t need more of at the moment when he and Craig were being stealthy bumbling around the store.
“Rory! Rory the Roman. Didn’t see you there. What a-“ the lights flickered, “coincidence.”
“Doctor, I know you saw us. You kept staring.”
“Was I? I do that sometimes. Well, not so much stare as glance. For long periods of time. Or glimpse, love a good glimpse. Peeks, they’re excellent too-”
“Were you going to say hello?”
“Hello! Can’t talk now, things to do. Got appointments to keep. Very important. Glad we could catch up.”
“Doctor, couldn’t we just- could you come by the house sometime? We haven’t seen you in awhile. How long’s it been for you?”
“Oh two hundred years, give or take a decade.”
“Two hundred years- but that would make you eleven hundred-“
“And three. Though I don’t see why that matters. I’m still just as cool as ever.”
“Right.” Rory said, unable to completely mask the sadness from his face. “Very cool.”
Seeing the emotions pass his old companion’s face, the Doctor stopped with the joking. “Rory- that thing. That I hadn’t done yet. With the hard slap from your daughter. It’s going to happen soon.”
Rory almost looked away in sad realization, but decided play it cool and knowledgeable and cohesive instead, “But you couldn’t kn- how did you- why are yo- cant’ you jus- how soon?”
“Couple of days.”
“Does it have to? Can’t you just run? Make sure doesn’t, that it never happens?”
“It’s a fixed point, Roranicus. Not all of time can be rewritten. And this is already set. ‘An impossible astronaut will rise from the deep and strike the Time Lord dead.’”
Rory nearly broke at that.
“But Doctor, who is the astronaut? It can’t be River? She’s fixed. Since Berlin. She wouldn’t want to kill you anymore.”
“I doubt they’ll give her the choice. But Rory, do me one last favor.”
“Of course. Anything. Anything you ask.”
“Be there for her. She’ll blame herself for not being able to stop it, and that’s something that should never ever happen. Please.”
“Of course Doctor. Always. But- well, I don’t understand. Why does it have to be her? Why make her kill you? Can’t they find anyone else? If they’re so bent on your destruction, why not use someone who never needed brainwashing in the first place. Listen to my rambling- as though I’m asking your favorite recipe,” he added, no longer able to quite stand the solemnity of the moment.
“They don’t just want to kill me, they want to hurt me. Dead at the hands of my best friend’s daughter. What could hurt worse than that?”
“But what about her?”
“Collateral damage. In their eyes, anyway. Someone convenient to take the fall. That’s why I’m counting on you, Centurion. Make sure no matter how they use her, they’ll never have her. Swear to me.”
Rory looked so lost. Torn between wanting to save his friend and wanting to kill him himself so his daughter wouldn’t ever feel the pain he knew it would cause her. But he tried to accept what had to happen. What had happened. What would always happen.
“I swear Doctor. No matter what.”
“Good man. Now, steer clear of any cyber… things you come across will you Pond? And jammie dodgers.”
“What?”
“My favorite recipe. It’s a special one for jammie dodgers. Instead of a heart there’s a bowtie in the middle. It’s cool.”
“Oh. Right.”
They looked at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, and just as the Doctor was about to turn away, Rory grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.
“You’re a good man, too you know. Even if sometimes you forget.”
The Doctor hugged back tightly, grateful for this absolution. Here was Rory the Roman, so much a better man than he. The Doctor had invaded and destroyed every aspect of his life, from his childhood to his child, yet here he was, offering comfort in his time of need. There was a strength in him, in all of them, that he needed now. The Doctor, though he would never admit it, was scared. But, now he had a plan. He would go to his death, since he knew he had no choice. Bravely even. But he would make absolutely sure that his Ponds were with him when he did.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 03:13 am (UTC)