Ficlet: Finding Her Way
Title: Finding Her Way
Author:
lemon_pencil
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Donna, Wilf, Sylvia.
Disclaimer: Not mine, one day...
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Journey's End.
Prompt word: Charm
Author's notes: Response to the weeky drabble challenge at doctor_donna . Post Journey's End.
"And next up, do you fancy getting your hands on £5,000 this lunchtime? Well, now’s your chance! We’re giving one lucky viewer the chance to be in the money with today’s competition…"
Donna yawned and stabbed at the remote, stretching out on the sofa. Another day to get through. Another day of feeling hollow and listless and weary and useless. Nothing had changed, so why had she recently been feeling like she’d once had something more than this? She kept coming back to the vast gap in her memory. It must have been a period where relatively little had happened, she supposed - where the sheer ordinariness of events had wiped away any lasting impressions. Somehow the explanation didn’t satisfy her.
Wilf was reading the paper in the armchair opposite, humming a cheery tune. Donna heard footsteps coming into the room, and groaned inwardly as Sylvia entered from the kitchen. She prepared herself for a lecture, and was not disappointed.
"Oh there you are! I thought you’d be up at the job centre by now, not watching daytime television! Well, not that I’m particularly surprised, if I’m honest. When are you going to sort your life out?" Sylvia nagged, hands on hips.
"I’ll go this afternoon, Mum," Donna mumbled, every cell in her body protesting at the very idea of it. She just didn’t seem to have the energy to do anything these days - and Sylvia’s clear lack of faith in her didn’t do a lot of good.
"You know your problem, Donna? You just don’t have any sort of willpower. As long as you’re living here with us, you think you don’t need a job because we’ll just provide for you, that’s it isn’t it? I wonder what you’d do if we weren’t around. You lead a charmed life, Donna, don’t you ever forget it."
Donna suddenly found herself on her feet, having had just about enough. "A charmed life? Is that what you call this? I wake up every morning and I feel…" She gestured helplessly. "So empty. I’m so tired, of everything. There’s something missing in me and I don’t know what it is. I feel like I’ve lost everything, but I never had anything special in the first place so what is it?" There was desperate tone to her voice. "I don’t know what’s happened to me. I feel… just…lost. I don’t know what to do! I don’t know!" Now she was almost shouting.
Sylvia shook her head disparagingly. "There’s no need to be over dramatic, missy. And what are you talking about? ‘Something missing’ - the only thing you’ve got missing is any kind of drive to make something of your life!"
The hurt, vulnerable expression on Donna’s face made Wilf rise from the chair and put his arm around her. She was trembling. "Will you leave her alone, just this once?" he said to Sylvia, squeezing his granddaughter comfortingly. "Donna will find her way, won’t you sweetheart? Just give her some time."
Donna looked gratefully at her beloved Gramps, and saw that he, if nobody else, believed in her. And that made the gloom that had settled lift a little. He was hugging her tightly now, and she found herself clinging to him like a child seeking reassurance. Maybe she would find her way. Eventually.
Author:
lemon_pencil
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Donna, Wilf, Sylvia.
Disclaimer: Not mine, one day...
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Journey's End.
Prompt word: Charm
Author's notes: Response to the weeky drabble challenge at doctor_donna . Post Journey's End.
"And next up, do you fancy getting your hands on £5,000 this lunchtime? Well, now’s your chance! We’re giving one lucky viewer the chance to be in the money with today’s competition…"
Donna yawned and stabbed at the remote, stretching out on the sofa. Another day to get through. Another day of feeling hollow and listless and weary and useless. Nothing had changed, so why had she recently been feeling like she’d once had something more than this? She kept coming back to the vast gap in her memory. It must have been a period where relatively little had happened, she supposed - where the sheer ordinariness of events had wiped away any lasting impressions. Somehow the explanation didn’t satisfy her.
Wilf was reading the paper in the armchair opposite, humming a cheery tune. Donna heard footsteps coming into the room, and groaned inwardly as Sylvia entered from the kitchen. She prepared herself for a lecture, and was not disappointed.
"Oh there you are! I thought you’d be up at the job centre by now, not watching daytime television! Well, not that I’m particularly surprised, if I’m honest. When are you going to sort your life out?" Sylvia nagged, hands on hips.
"I’ll go this afternoon, Mum," Donna mumbled, every cell in her body protesting at the very idea of it. She just didn’t seem to have the energy to do anything these days - and Sylvia’s clear lack of faith in her didn’t do a lot of good.
"You know your problem, Donna? You just don’t have any sort of willpower. As long as you’re living here with us, you think you don’t need a job because we’ll just provide for you, that’s it isn’t it? I wonder what you’d do if we weren’t around. You lead a charmed life, Donna, don’t you ever forget it."
Donna suddenly found herself on her feet, having had just about enough. "A charmed life? Is that what you call this? I wake up every morning and I feel…" She gestured helplessly. "So empty. I’m so tired, of everything. There’s something missing in me and I don’t know what it is. I feel like I’ve lost everything, but I never had anything special in the first place so what is it?" There was desperate tone to her voice. "I don’t know what’s happened to me. I feel… just…lost. I don’t know what to do! I don’t know!" Now she was almost shouting.
Sylvia shook her head disparagingly. "There’s no need to be over dramatic, missy. And what are you talking about? ‘Something missing’ - the only thing you’ve got missing is any kind of drive to make something of your life!"
The hurt, vulnerable expression on Donna’s face made Wilf rise from the chair and put his arm around her. She was trembling. "Will you leave her alone, just this once?" he said to Sylvia, squeezing his granddaughter comfortingly. "Donna will find her way, won’t you sweetheart? Just give her some time."
Donna looked gratefully at her beloved Gramps, and saw that he, if nobody else, believed in her. And that made the gloom that had settled lift a little. He was hugging her tightly now, and she found herself clinging to him like a child seeking reassurance. Maybe she would find her way. Eventually.