Doctor Who fic: Learning Curve (1/1)
Title: Learning Curve (1/1)
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,345
Characters: Jamie, Zoe
Timeline: Set post-"The Invasion"
Summary: Jamies tries to convince Zoe that you can't learn everything from books.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the BBC.
A/N: Entry for who_contest's "Void" challenge.
Jamie tugged hard on the reins, slowing their horse to a slow trot. The animal foamed madly at the mouth and its breathing was alarmingly erratic. Had he pushed the horse any harder, he was sure it would have bucked him and Zoe or collapsed completely from exhaustion.
"What are you doing?" demanded Zoe. "They're getting away."
Off in the distance, a group of four riders disappeared over the horizon. Though Jamie couldn't see it, he knew there was a black bundle tied to one horses.
The Doctor. Unconscious and hopefully still alive.
"We cannae catch them on a dead horse," replied Jamie. It was smart of the kidnappers to leave only a weakened mount behind.
"But we don't know where they're going. In a few hours they could be anywhere."
Zoe was right, but Jamie wasn't about to admit the sentiment out loud. He didn't want her to panic even more. "Dinnae fash. This is the Doctor. He'll probably have freed himself by the time we catch up."
It was the truth and logical Zoe couldn't deny plain fact. He felt her heave a small, defeated sigh. If her arms hadn't been clutched around his middle, Jamie would have turned around to offer her a reassuring smile.
They rode on in silence for a few minutes. Their horse was still in poor condition, but Jamie was sure once it rested and fed it would be up to carrying them for a fair distance in the morning. He kept his eyes open for a stream as they rode through the field, but with the fading light it was getting harder to notice any details.
"Do all horses smell this bad?" Zoe asked.
Jamie stifled a laugh. The horse smelled fine to him, but he was used to handling the beasties. The smell of hay and manure and sweat actually reminded him of home, as did the landscape around them. "Never worked on a farm, have ye?"
"I lived on a space station, Jamie. There weren't a lot of opportunities to visit the countryside."
From the way she gripped his torso, he could tell this was her first time on a horse and that she was afraid of falling off. Not that Zoe would ever admit she was scared. "Ye'll get used to it. We'll have to stop soon, anyway, to make camp, so ye dinnae have to worry about the smell for much longer."
"Camp? Out here? But we don't have any supplies."
Jamie was about to answer when he thought he heard the sound of trickling water. He paused to listen and the horse did, too. It was a promising sign. The horse was more desperate for a drink than they were. It would head right for the stream. He gently nudged the horse in the sides and it took off at a moderate gallop.
"I have all the supplies we need." He had his dirk and a flint and some tinder in his sporran. They could drink from the stream and maybe he could find some edible plants if they were truly hungry, but even he couldn't think about food while the Doctor was in the hands of those wretched kidnappers. "Dinnae tell me ye never camped before, either."
"I've read books," said Zoe.
Jamie couldn't help himself this time. He laughed out loud.
"How is that funny?" He glanced back to see Zoe glowering at him.
"Ye cannae learn everything from books."
"Why not? I have the information. I just need to apply it."
At least she wasn't worrying about the Doctor anymore. Jamie continued to talk, welcome for the distraction. "It's not the same. Let's say ye give me a book on... Well, what was it that ye did back on the Wheel?"
"Astrophysics."
"Right, well let's say ye give me a book on that. I can read it but it dinnae mean I can take over yer job."
"You aren't suggesting that camping and astrophysics are similar. They are two completely different things."
By now the horse had discovered the stream and it gratefully dunked its mouth into the flowing water. Overhead, the sky was still streaked with orange, but sun set had come and gone. They had maybe half an hour before it was too dark to see.
Jamie moved to jump down from the saddle, but Zoe's arms were still around his waist. It seemed like she hadn't noticed that they had stop. He gently pried himself free and then leapt down. The soreness in his legs told him how out of practice he was, but there wasn't much need for horse riding aboard the TARDIS.
"Cannae ye just accept that there are some things ye cannae learn from words in a book?" Jamie held out his hand to Zoe to help her down from the saddle.
"Something as primitive as lighting a fire isn't that difficult. It's just chemistry when you get down to it."
"Oh, is that how it is? I'm primitive?" Jamie meant it as a joke, but he ended up sounding a tad more hurt than he intended.
He expected Zoe not to notice, but she quickly realized what she said. "I didn't mean it like that. You're just from a different time. Your capacity to understand-"
Jamie sighed. "Zoe, if ye dinnae stop talking, I'm gonna leave ye on that horse." It wasn't a serious threat, but he had half a mind to leave her there for a little while while he gathered supplies for the fire.
She took a moment to assess her position. It wasn't far to the ground, but with her short stature and limited experience, Jamie couldn't see her dismounting very smoothly or safely. He held out his hand again.
"What makes you think that I can't get down on my own?"
Jamie wasn't a very patient man when it came down to it. What little restraint he had left completely slipped away. "Do ye always have to be so stubborn? I never say anything when ye and the Doctor are jabbering away about computers and rockets and I'm left standing in the corner."
Without another word, Zoe grasped Jamie's hand. He hadn't meant to snap at her and he was silent as he helped her down from the saddle. Once her feet were settled on the ground, he went about removing the saddle and wiping down the sweat from the horse's back and flanks.
Zoe sat down on a nearby rock. She watched him work for a little bit before she spoke again. "You're not useless, Jamie. That's what this is about, isn't it."
Jamie slapped the horse on the rump, encouraging it to go forage before they lost the light. It also gave him an extra few seconds to think before he turned to Zoe. "I ken I'm not useless, but when ye and the Doctor get going, it's like yer speaking another language."
Zoe nodded to herself. "You feel excluded."
"Aye." He had a comfortable friendship with the Doctor that stemmed from all of their adventures together, and yet, here was Zoe, who had only been with them a few months, and she seemed to understand the Doctor better than he did. Maybe he still missed Victoria more than he realized. Things were so different now.
"I don't mean to push you aside. It's just habit, from working by myself on the Wheel." Zoe paused, offering him a brief, but sad, smile. "Socialization isn't something you can learn from a book."
They all had their strengths and weaknesses. Zoe's education from the future wasn't necessarily better than Jamie's upbringing from the past and vice versa.
"Come on. I'll show ye how to make a fire." He reached into his sporran and pulled out the flint and a pouch of tinder. There wasn't much in the way of firewood, but there was plenty of dry grass. He just needed some rocks from the stream to keep the fire from spreading.
If he could learn a few things from the Doctor and Zoe, the reverse was true, too.
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,345
Characters: Jamie, Zoe
Timeline: Set post-"The Invasion"
Summary: Jamies tries to convince Zoe that you can't learn everything from books.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the BBC.
A/N: Entry for who_contest's "Void" challenge.
Jamie tugged hard on the reins, slowing their horse to a slow trot. The animal foamed madly at the mouth and its breathing was alarmingly erratic. Had he pushed the horse any harder, he was sure it would have bucked him and Zoe or collapsed completely from exhaustion.
"What are you doing?" demanded Zoe. "They're getting away."
Off in the distance, a group of four riders disappeared over the horizon. Though Jamie couldn't see it, he knew there was a black bundle tied to one horses.
The Doctor. Unconscious and hopefully still alive.
"We cannae catch them on a dead horse," replied Jamie. It was smart of the kidnappers to leave only a weakened mount behind.
"But we don't know where they're going. In a few hours they could be anywhere."
Zoe was right, but Jamie wasn't about to admit the sentiment out loud. He didn't want her to panic even more. "Dinnae fash. This is the Doctor. He'll probably have freed himself by the time we catch up."
It was the truth and logical Zoe couldn't deny plain fact. He felt her heave a small, defeated sigh. If her arms hadn't been clutched around his middle, Jamie would have turned around to offer her a reassuring smile.
They rode on in silence for a few minutes. Their horse was still in poor condition, but Jamie was sure once it rested and fed it would be up to carrying them for a fair distance in the morning. He kept his eyes open for a stream as they rode through the field, but with the fading light it was getting harder to notice any details.
"Do all horses smell this bad?" Zoe asked.
Jamie stifled a laugh. The horse smelled fine to him, but he was used to handling the beasties. The smell of hay and manure and sweat actually reminded him of home, as did the landscape around them. "Never worked on a farm, have ye?"
"I lived on a space station, Jamie. There weren't a lot of opportunities to visit the countryside."
From the way she gripped his torso, he could tell this was her first time on a horse and that she was afraid of falling off. Not that Zoe would ever admit she was scared. "Ye'll get used to it. We'll have to stop soon, anyway, to make camp, so ye dinnae have to worry about the smell for much longer."
"Camp? Out here? But we don't have any supplies."
Jamie was about to answer when he thought he heard the sound of trickling water. He paused to listen and the horse did, too. It was a promising sign. The horse was more desperate for a drink than they were. It would head right for the stream. He gently nudged the horse in the sides and it took off at a moderate gallop.
"I have all the supplies we need." He had his dirk and a flint and some tinder in his sporran. They could drink from the stream and maybe he could find some edible plants if they were truly hungry, but even he couldn't think about food while the Doctor was in the hands of those wretched kidnappers. "Dinnae tell me ye never camped before, either."
"I've read books," said Zoe.
Jamie couldn't help himself this time. He laughed out loud.
"How is that funny?" He glanced back to see Zoe glowering at him.
"Ye cannae learn everything from books."
"Why not? I have the information. I just need to apply it."
At least she wasn't worrying about the Doctor anymore. Jamie continued to talk, welcome for the distraction. "It's not the same. Let's say ye give me a book on... Well, what was it that ye did back on the Wheel?"
"Astrophysics."
"Right, well let's say ye give me a book on that. I can read it but it dinnae mean I can take over yer job."
"You aren't suggesting that camping and astrophysics are similar. They are two completely different things."
By now the horse had discovered the stream and it gratefully dunked its mouth into the flowing water. Overhead, the sky was still streaked with orange, but sun set had come and gone. They had maybe half an hour before it was too dark to see.
Jamie moved to jump down from the saddle, but Zoe's arms were still around his waist. It seemed like she hadn't noticed that they had stop. He gently pried himself free and then leapt down. The soreness in his legs told him how out of practice he was, but there wasn't much need for horse riding aboard the TARDIS.
"Cannae ye just accept that there are some things ye cannae learn from words in a book?" Jamie held out his hand to Zoe to help her down from the saddle.
"Something as primitive as lighting a fire isn't that difficult. It's just chemistry when you get down to it."
"Oh, is that how it is? I'm primitive?" Jamie meant it as a joke, but he ended up sounding a tad more hurt than he intended.
He expected Zoe not to notice, but she quickly realized what she said. "I didn't mean it like that. You're just from a different time. Your capacity to understand-"
Jamie sighed. "Zoe, if ye dinnae stop talking, I'm gonna leave ye on that horse." It wasn't a serious threat, but he had half a mind to leave her there for a little while while he gathered supplies for the fire.
She took a moment to assess her position. It wasn't far to the ground, but with her short stature and limited experience, Jamie couldn't see her dismounting very smoothly or safely. He held out his hand again.
"What makes you think that I can't get down on my own?"
Jamie wasn't a very patient man when it came down to it. What little restraint he had left completely slipped away. "Do ye always have to be so stubborn? I never say anything when ye and the Doctor are jabbering away about computers and rockets and I'm left standing in the corner."
Without another word, Zoe grasped Jamie's hand. He hadn't meant to snap at her and he was silent as he helped her down from the saddle. Once her feet were settled on the ground, he went about removing the saddle and wiping down the sweat from the horse's back and flanks.
Zoe sat down on a nearby rock. She watched him work for a little bit before she spoke again. "You're not useless, Jamie. That's what this is about, isn't it."
Jamie slapped the horse on the rump, encouraging it to go forage before they lost the light. It also gave him an extra few seconds to think before he turned to Zoe. "I ken I'm not useless, but when ye and the Doctor get going, it's like yer speaking another language."
Zoe nodded to herself. "You feel excluded."
"Aye." He had a comfortable friendship with the Doctor that stemmed from all of their adventures together, and yet, here was Zoe, who had only been with them a few months, and she seemed to understand the Doctor better than he did. Maybe he still missed Victoria more than he realized. Things were so different now.
"I don't mean to push you aside. It's just habit, from working by myself on the Wheel." Zoe paused, offering him a brief, but sad, smile. "Socialization isn't something you can learn from a book."
They all had their strengths and weaknesses. Zoe's education from the future wasn't necessarily better than Jamie's upbringing from the past and vice versa.
"Come on. I'll show ye how to make a fire." He reached into his sporran and pulled out the flint and a pouch of tinder. There wasn't much in the way of firewood, but there was plenty of dry grass. He just needed some rocks from the stream to keep the fire from spreading.
If he could learn a few things from the Doctor and Zoe, the reverse was true, too.