The Way of Things, Chapter 32
Peter rubbed his eyes blearily, another long day without Rose done and gone. He’d come home and, after a light supper, had spent a few hours working at the table in the kitchen. After re-reading the same report for the fourth time, he’d given up, moving to stretch out on the sofa. He had a new book he’d been meaning to read for ages, and hoped it
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Bold idea for Peter.
No. She’d run away for a reason, and had taken pains to let her team know she’d be back. She’d known he was on that call, as well.
Ah, some detecting! And he realizes she might have been subtly talking to him as well.
collapsing into the bed that Rose would probably never see
Nice detail, if a bit sad. I think another "poor Peter" thought is in the works...
In spite of his sleepless night, he’d managed to oversleep.
That's not really unusual-- once you've found sleep, your body doesn't want to relinquish it.
He’d put the young DC in charge of the scene, and hoped the man would live up to the expectations Peter had for him.
It's nice to see Peter as a mentor of sorts.
Five pairs of eyes met his, but he only saw one. Rose was back.
Love this sentence.
He felt the room begin to tilt away, before he came to his senses. He covered automatically, “Sorry I’m late. Went on a bender last night. You know how it goes.”
Jake rose to the bait. “You sure as hell look like it.”
Doesn't he often look like it? Poor guy, must have been quite a shock to the senses. Wonder if everyone believes he did go on a bender, thinking about Rose.
He felt like he was one half of a tennis match; he watched everyone’s eyes move from him to Rose, waiting for her to make the next move.
Verbal tennis, an excellent spectator sport.
“Same goes for you two, you know.” His eyes glinted, and Peter thought he saw the man’s lips quirk.
Some help he was being.
Oh, I'd say he's trying to help them get together by giving them a much-needed push.
Rose was having as much trouble looking at him as he was at her, and the silence continued uninterrupted for several painful minutes while he tried to decide what to do, while he hoped that Rose would act first to save him the decision-making.
Very real thought process there.
“Why don’t you tell me what you learned during your visit to London?”... what kind of nerve had he hit?
Heh. I know where her thoughts are-- the lessons with Mum, not the report from Torchwood.
As he watched her, he suddenly regretted bringing up work. He didn’t want calm, collected Rose back. He wanted passionate, genuine Rose.
So says that pile of laundry... ;0)
Is it bigger than a breadbox?
The return of the snark!
“Surely you don’t need the help of a lowly DI to draft up something from a technical report?”
Ouch. Someone's feeling threatened.
He found a Biro
The first time one of my professors asked to borrow a Biro, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
he couldn’t help but push her buttons. Possibly, he admitted, because he didn’t want to give her an opening to push his. The best defence: a good offense.
Not the time for chess strategy, Peter! At least he realizes why he's doing it.
He was calmly writing his thoughts out, the handwriting neat and precise.
For some reason, I didn't picture him with neat handwriting.
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Poor Peter, indeed. He really does have a miserably lonely life; which is such a waste, because I see him as such a...valuable human being, really. He's funny, he's smart, he's fiercely loyal to those who he would consider a friend. But all outsiders see is the wall he's built to protect himself from being hurt, and they're not willing to wade through the briar patch to delve any further. *sigh* Poor Peter.
It's nice to see Peter as a mentor of sorts.
I genuinely think he wants to help people--well, people he thinks are smarter than the average bear. It's just...he's not necessarily been in a good mental space to do that. Again--Poor Peter. So much untapped, unrealize potential--mentoring not least among what he has to offer (you! chicklet73--and others! get your mind out of the gutter!)
So says that pile of laundry... ;0)
Bwah! [I'm not ignoring the intervening comments...it's just I've nothing of substance to add to them! :)]
The return of the snark!
It made me a very, very happy camper indeed to write Snarky!Peter again. Very happy.
Not the time for chess strategy, Peter!
Today's conversation topic: Does Peter play chess? Discuss.
For some reason, I didn't picture him with neat handwriting.
Here's my thinking on it--because I know it'll get discussed. :) In the normal course of business, when Peter's just Peter, I see his handwriting as a bit sloppy. But when he's tightly focused--when he's trying to rein himself in, to keep control, to at least *appear* as though he's fine or not affected--I see his handwriting as being very neat, very precise...very deliberate. It's another reflection of his attempt to control what's going on, when things around him are a bit wacky, I suppose--although my degree was most assuredly not in psychology, so I'm totally making that last part up. ;)
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Not even worth being actively disliked? Small wonder he's picked up sarcastic provocation as a habit. He may not be liked, but he's sure as hell not going to be ignored.
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There's a difference between being actively punished with silence and simply being ignored. Which do you think his 'rentals tended more towards?
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Baby monkey, man, baby monkey. :(
Though it may have seemed that way to Rose, I think he was more just retreating, drawing back out of self-preservation, rather than giving her the cold shoulder on purpose to make her feel bad.
In my experience with seeing people get/give the silent treatment, it's customary that one keep active and be obviously, deliberately not speaking to the person, versus leaning against the wall and simply not saying anything.
I don't know what is going on with Rose, because as much as she seems to think she's acknowledged her part in the current situation, and recognizes that the repair work is hers to initiate, she seems bound and determined not to be the one to apologize, not the one to act first. Pattern from when she and Jackie would row when she was a kid, or a pattern leftover from her time with the Doctor?
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Gah! No! Not the baby monkeys again! That depresses the hell out of me! Er, even though I agree, the silence was because he was ignored, not because he was being punished.
Pattern from when she and Jackie would row when she was a kid, or a pattern leftover from her time with the Doctor?
Hmm. Good question.
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What, if they can't even be arsed enough to be actively punishing you? Worse.
Ergo so many children whose parents divorce assuming it's at least partially their part, even though that's ridiculous?
As a child of divorced parents (first kid in my class with divorced parents, yay), I can say that it's not utterly out of the question that a specific individual child would be a sufficient stressor to cause disruptions in a marriage, but it's more common that it's the concept of kids in general that would lead to a divorce versus a given kid.
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I meant more in terms of her direct conflicts with the Doctor - not that she and Ten fought as notably as she and Nine had - he generally made the initial overtures of reconciliation, regardless of how in the wrong she was (e.g., Father's Day).
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He clearly needs someone to play with. Here's hoping Rose will fit the bill.
Today's conversation topic: Does Peter play chess? Discuss.
Speed chess all the way, baby. But he doesn't spend his time on BoardgameGeek arguing over whether Chess should be the fixed standard of a perfect 10 game.
I see his handwriting as being very neat, very precise...very deliberate.
The manual equivalent of enunciating very sharply. Yep, that's our Peter.
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