[oncoming_storms] - Return to somewhere you haven't been for a long time
The ship looked the same as it had all those years ago, hurtling, out of control, toward Earth, a blazing harbinger of destruction for the prehistoric animals milling about unwittingly on the planet's surface. It shuddered and ripped itself apart and sentenced to death the youngboy stranded inside.
Save him.
She was breaking so many laws of time just by bringing him back to this point, she knew. They kept out of sight of their past selves,certainly, hovering on the opposite side of the ship, but the possibility of merging time lines, or meeting themselves -- it was ever present. And this moment, it had all ready come to pass -- must come to pass -- and it was a moment in time he might never be able to forget.
But even if the ship had to careen into the infant planet, the boy inside did not. Unlike Pompeii, his death was not a fixed point in time, and after all his recent losses, why couldn't the Doctor save one whom he thought long-since lost?
Save him, Doctor.
He didn't listen, not at first. He busied himself with anything and everything else, refusing to check her scanners, to look at the small digital display that would show him the ship on which stood his adopted son. This was wrong, his actions said. He couldn't change this, he couldn't save the boy, just like he couldn't save anyone else. Why did she bring him here, why put him through this, so soon after he'd lost another child?
She ignored him and urged again, senses humming against their bond, tired but insistent. I took you to her, she whispered, tugging and prodding in an attempt to get him to at least listen. He never, ever listened. I want you to have this, and I loved him, too. Why won't you save him?
"Because I can't!" he hissed, voice tinged with so many emotions. "Because it happened and he died and I can't change that!"
The TARDIS' lights dimmed, flickering briefly to show her discontent. You've saved others from their fate in the past, she said, brushing against his mind, ghostly fingers playing against the neurons and synapses, seeking out the memories of rescuing Charlotte from her paradox, of sending Rose to another universe so she might have the family she'd almost ripped time apart for. The ship must crash, but he needn't die. Save him, Doctor.
He shook his head. "It's not that simple," he whispered. "There are laws, rules! I can't just go back and change it because I want to! You know that!"
I do, she said simply. But since when has that mattered?
The Doctor drew up short at that, giving the TARDIS a weary glance before rubbing his eyes. "I can't," he whispered.
She didn't speak for a moment, humming darkly as he tried piloting her away from the ship. At the last moment, however, she shuddered, electrifying her console to force him to remove his hands before he could input a location. She'd come this far and broken so many laws, what was the sense in going back now, leaving him lost and defeated? She'd caused a paradox to bring him to his daughter; she'd do so again to give him back his son.
With a whirring groan, she materialised aboard the vessel in time to see Adric give up, his youthful features marred by sadness and defeat and something akin to disappointment -- for his lost math problem or the Doctor's inability to save him, she couldn't be sure. She knew, however, that there were bare minutes before the ship shuddered apart as it entered the Earth's atmosphere, that here, in this room, her past self and her Doctor could not see what was happening, and so could never know what their future selves had done. Must never know. She would condemn them to centuries of sadness to give his Tenth one ray of hope in a universe gone bleak from despair.
If only he would grasp it.
The Doctor stared at her doors, face set in a hard line. "Take us back," he said softly, and yet it held the weight of every scream he'd ever uttered. "I won't have you do this. Take us back."
She shuddered. Save him, she whispered urgently, desperately. If she could, she'd step out herself, take the boy in her arms and pull him to safety, shower him in years of lost love and the unspeakable joy of his return. But she could not -- she could not overcome the boundaries of her own physiology -- and so she relied on her Doctor to make the move for her. He wanted to, she knew he did. But hope and happiness was hard to come by in a universe that had taken it all away again and again.
Doctor! she cried, interior glowing red as the emergency lights flashed on, warning of the impending explosion. She could survive it, yes, but it would leave them exposed to their pasts, and she doubted he could handle watching the boy die again when he was so close. You bring hope and life to so many others. Why can't you take it yourself? He is here, he is alive! Save him, Doctor!
Still he stood, silent and resolute, the clock ticking down. He wasn't going to save the boy, he was going to watch him burn, as he'd watched his own race burn. The TARDIS screamed at him, desperate. She'd failed him with Jenny, she'd led him to death. And perhaps it was wrong -- surely it was wrong -- but all she wanted was to bring him a life so why wouldn't he move? There was no time! Why --
His footfalls rang loudly through her interior as he slammed open her doors and darted out, a surprised and tear-stained Adric staring back at him as the Doctor grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him inside the safety of the TARDIS, her doors closing the moment they were through, rocking as the ship they'd once stood on shook itself apart. The Doctor scurried to the console, flipping switches and pulling levers as fast as possible, and the ship disappeared among the fire and debris, unnoticed and unknown, while nearby, the past wept for its loss.
"Doctor?" Adric whispered then, a tinge of uncertainty in his voice, and the man whom he had named turned to face him, expression unreadable for a long while. "Is that really you?"
He didn't answer, not immediately, going back to fiddling with the TARDIS, lips drawn. Then he sniffed, looked to the ceiling, and turned to the boy, a wide grin spreading across his features. "Always and forever," he quipped, opening his arms and giving Adric the hug he'd never dared give the boy before. "Figured you could use a hand."
Adric held him tight, laughing and crying all at once. The Doctor returned the hug, keeping a tight reign on his own emotions, though the TARDIS could sense them, anyway, and gently returned them, humming softly.
Eventually the two men broke apart. "You're a bit of a paradox now, and for that I'm sorry," he said, though he smiled. "We can't have any of my past selves finding you, so ... what do you say? Wanna come with me again? I mean, you're gonna have to deal with Donna -- nice enough woman, I guess, 'cept she's ginger and I'm not and she really needs to learn to wear proper shoes -- but I'd love to have you on board. Or I can take you back home, but it's up to you."
The boy's eyes lit up at the very prospect of travelling with the Doctor again, and he opened his mouth to reply with --
"What's going on out here, Space Man?"
"I'm sorry?" Adric asked, stunned, as Donna stepped into the room. The Doctor's face fell a moment before he realised the boy was addressing Donna, then he grinned and wrapped an arm around Adric's shoulders, giving him a squeeze.
"Donna! We've got ourselves a new friend. Well, old friend. Well, new for you, old for me. Anyway! This is Adric! Comes from E-Space, travelled with my Fourth and Fifth. Try not scaring him away, okay?"
Donna gave an affronted snort. "Don't tell me to stop scaring people when you're the one going all 'Oncoming Storm' or whatever you call it. Where'd he come from, anyway?"
The Doctor blinked. "You ... didn't hear the sirens or the big explosion or anything? You know, the commotion that just happened?"
She shrugged. "I was taking a nap. You can't expect me to keep track of everything going on around here, can you?"
The Doctor groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Donna..."
Adric laughed, pulling away from the Doctor and holding a hand out to Donna. "I'm Adric. It's nice to meet you."
She returned the shake and smiled. "It's good to see a new face around here. Now I won't have to stare at that bean pole all the time. Just between you and me? He could use a sandwich. Shop."
Adric laughed again and the Doctor huffed. "I'm not a bean pole!" he argued, but the two were all ready leaving, heads leaning together and chattering away as the boy went to get his room set up and Donna offered to help.
In the silence that followed, the Doctor turned to the TARDIS' console, considering her quietly, then smiled and began fiddling with her controls. He didn't speak, but he didn't have to, and she hummed softly, contentedly, the smallest seed of joy winding its way into their bond.
Muse: The TARDIS
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 1,581
Save him.
She was breaking so many laws of time just by bringing him back to this point, she knew. They kept out of sight of their past selves,certainly, hovering on the opposite side of the ship, but the possibility of merging time lines, or meeting themselves -- it was ever present. And this moment, it had all ready come to pass -- must come to pass -- and it was a moment in time he might never be able to forget.
But even if the ship had to careen into the infant planet, the boy inside did not. Unlike Pompeii, his death was not a fixed point in time, and after all his recent losses, why couldn't the Doctor save one whom he thought long-since lost?
Save him, Doctor.
He didn't listen, not at first. He busied himself with anything and everything else, refusing to check her scanners, to look at the small digital display that would show him the ship on which stood his adopted son. This was wrong, his actions said. He couldn't change this, he couldn't save the boy, just like he couldn't save anyone else. Why did she bring him here, why put him through this, so soon after he'd lost another child?
She ignored him and urged again, senses humming against their bond, tired but insistent. I took you to her, she whispered, tugging and prodding in an attempt to get him to at least listen. He never, ever listened. I want you to have this, and I loved him, too. Why won't you save him?
"Because I can't!" he hissed, voice tinged with so many emotions. "Because it happened and he died and I can't change that!"
The TARDIS' lights dimmed, flickering briefly to show her discontent. You've saved others from their fate in the past, she said, brushing against his mind, ghostly fingers playing against the neurons and synapses, seeking out the memories of rescuing Charlotte from her paradox, of sending Rose to another universe so she might have the family she'd almost ripped time apart for. The ship must crash, but he needn't die. Save him, Doctor.
He shook his head. "It's not that simple," he whispered. "There are laws, rules! I can't just go back and change it because I want to! You know that!"
I do, she said simply. But since when has that mattered?
The Doctor drew up short at that, giving the TARDIS a weary glance before rubbing his eyes. "I can't," he whispered.
She didn't speak for a moment, humming darkly as he tried piloting her away from the ship. At the last moment, however, she shuddered, electrifying her console to force him to remove his hands before he could input a location. She'd come this far and broken so many laws, what was the sense in going back now, leaving him lost and defeated? She'd caused a paradox to bring him to his daughter; she'd do so again to give him back his son.
With a whirring groan, she materialised aboard the vessel in time to see Adric give up, his youthful features marred by sadness and defeat and something akin to disappointment -- for his lost math problem or the Doctor's inability to save him, she couldn't be sure. She knew, however, that there were bare minutes before the ship shuddered apart as it entered the Earth's atmosphere, that here, in this room, her past self and her Doctor could not see what was happening, and so could never know what their future selves had done. Must never know. She would condemn them to centuries of sadness to give his Tenth one ray of hope in a universe gone bleak from despair.
If only he would grasp it.
The Doctor stared at her doors, face set in a hard line. "Take us back," he said softly, and yet it held the weight of every scream he'd ever uttered. "I won't have you do this. Take us back."
She shuddered. Save him, she whispered urgently, desperately. If she could, she'd step out herself, take the boy in her arms and pull him to safety, shower him in years of lost love and the unspeakable joy of his return. But she could not -- she could not overcome the boundaries of her own physiology -- and so she relied on her Doctor to make the move for her. He wanted to, she knew he did. But hope and happiness was hard to come by in a universe that had taken it all away again and again.
Doctor! she cried, interior glowing red as the emergency lights flashed on, warning of the impending explosion. She could survive it, yes, but it would leave them exposed to their pasts, and she doubted he could handle watching the boy die again when he was so close. You bring hope and life to so many others. Why can't you take it yourself? He is here, he is alive! Save him, Doctor!
Still he stood, silent and resolute, the clock ticking down. He wasn't going to save the boy, he was going to watch him burn, as he'd watched his own race burn. The TARDIS screamed at him, desperate. She'd failed him with Jenny, she'd led him to death. And perhaps it was wrong -- surely it was wrong -- but all she wanted was to bring him a life so why wouldn't he move? There was no time! Why --
His footfalls rang loudly through her interior as he slammed open her doors and darted out, a surprised and tear-stained Adric staring back at him as the Doctor grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him inside the safety of the TARDIS, her doors closing the moment they were through, rocking as the ship they'd once stood on shook itself apart. The Doctor scurried to the console, flipping switches and pulling levers as fast as possible, and the ship disappeared among the fire and debris, unnoticed and unknown, while nearby, the past wept for its loss.
"Doctor?" Adric whispered then, a tinge of uncertainty in his voice, and the man whom he had named turned to face him, expression unreadable for a long while. "Is that really you?"
He didn't answer, not immediately, going back to fiddling with the TARDIS, lips drawn. Then he sniffed, looked to the ceiling, and turned to the boy, a wide grin spreading across his features. "Always and forever," he quipped, opening his arms and giving Adric the hug he'd never dared give the boy before. "Figured you could use a hand."
Adric held him tight, laughing and crying all at once. The Doctor returned the hug, keeping a tight reign on his own emotions, though the TARDIS could sense them, anyway, and gently returned them, humming softly.
Eventually the two men broke apart. "You're a bit of a paradox now, and for that I'm sorry," he said, though he smiled. "We can't have any of my past selves finding you, so ... what do you say? Wanna come with me again? I mean, you're gonna have to deal with Donna -- nice enough woman, I guess, 'cept she's ginger and I'm not and she really needs to learn to wear proper shoes -- but I'd love to have you on board. Or I can take you back home, but it's up to you."
The boy's eyes lit up at the very prospect of travelling with the Doctor again, and he opened his mouth to reply with --
"What's going on out here, Space Man?"
"I'm sorry?" Adric asked, stunned, as Donna stepped into the room. The Doctor's face fell a moment before he realised the boy was addressing Donna, then he grinned and wrapped an arm around Adric's shoulders, giving him a squeeze.
"Donna! We've got ourselves a new friend. Well, old friend. Well, new for you, old for me. Anyway! This is Adric! Comes from E-Space, travelled with my Fourth and Fifth. Try not scaring him away, okay?"
Donna gave an affronted snort. "Don't tell me to stop scaring people when you're the one going all 'Oncoming Storm' or whatever you call it. Where'd he come from, anyway?"
The Doctor blinked. "You ... didn't hear the sirens or the big explosion or anything? You know, the commotion that just happened?"
She shrugged. "I was taking a nap. You can't expect me to keep track of everything going on around here, can you?"
The Doctor groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Donna..."
Adric laughed, pulling away from the Doctor and holding a hand out to Donna. "I'm Adric. It's nice to meet you."
She returned the shake and smiled. "It's good to see a new face around here. Now I won't have to stare at that bean pole all the time. Just between you and me? He could use a sandwich. Shop."
Adric laughed again and the Doctor huffed. "I'm not a bean pole!" he argued, but the two were all ready leaving, heads leaning together and chattering away as the boy went to get his room set up and Donna offered to help.
In the silence that followed, the Doctor turned to the TARDIS' console, considering her quietly, then smiled and began fiddling with her controls. He didn't speak, but he didn't have to, and she hummed softly, contentedly, the smallest seed of joy winding its way into their bond.
Muse: The TARDIS
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 1,581