Fic: Fairy-Tales and Other Nightmares
Title: Fairy-tales and Other Nightmares - a story told in 3x3 drabbles
Authors: wmr / wendymr and wojelah
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler
Rating: PG-13
Summary/Author's Notes: The unexpected and totally fortuitous result of brain-sharing, courtesy of the Last Word Drabble Tag Challenge.
I would like to thank wojelah for agreeing to write this with me, and for being a fantastic writing partner. I bow to your talent! Readers may recognise three of these drabbles; they were originally posted as part of the Drabble Tag.
>
Fairy-tales and Other Nightmares
Jack
I
Love is a myth, nothing more than a fairy-tale used to bribe children into compliance.
Mother will love you if you clean up.
You’ll never be loved if you don’t behave.
Then you grow up and realise you’ve been lied to. There’s no such thing as love.
There’s lust, and there’s sex, and there’s using people to get what you want from them, and walking away without looking back.
That’s why Jack can’t figure the Doctor and Rose out. It’s as if they never saw through the myth.
They say they love him, and he wants to believe in fairy-tales.
***
II
“Love.” Jack stares at them. “What do I know about that?”
Rose’s eyes are wide, pleading, asking questions he doesn’t want to answer. Next to her, the Doctor leans against the TARDIS railing, saying nothing.
Rose tries again. “You love us. I know you do.”
He laughs, not unkindly. “That’s not love, Rose, it’s sex.”
“You’re wrong.” He turns away from the truth in her voice. He is Captain Jack Harkness. Lust is cheap. Love, he can’t afford.
His hand is on the door when another’s covers it. He can’t turn around. Doesn’t dare.
The Doctor’s voice is soft. “Don’t.”
***
III
He still can’t turn around, and for a different reason. His vision’s blurry.
“Why?” he finally asks, voice unsteady. “I’m not... I don’t...”
Rose strokes his back. “If we never had sex again, would you still want to be with us?”
“Jack,” the Doctor prompts when he doesn’t reply.
How can they even ask? They saved his life. How can they not know...?
Oh.
“You love us,” she says, completely confident.
“You heard her.” The Doctor’s hand grips his, refusing to let go.
And they love him.
This isn’t a fairy-tale. It’s so, so much better than that. It’s real.
***
Rose
I
Fairy-tales are true. She’s learned that, travelling with him. With them. The Doctor and Jack. The Doctor, not the man she met and still completely the same. Jack who didn’t die, who’s with them again, beyond all expectation and hope.
Fairy-tales are true, and she’s always believed in happy endings.
But as she extricates herself from tumbled, sleep-warm bodies, she knows believing in fairy-tales isn’t always a comfort.
Because if the happy endings are true, then so are the monsters. Curled up in the captain’s chair, the TARDIS dim around her, Rose wonders why the Bad Wolf stalks her dreams.
***
II
Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
No-one. It’s rubbish. It’s just a reminder that fairy-tale endings aren’t all about Cinderella getting her prince. Or princes, in Rose’s case.
Sometimes she’s devoured by the wolf.
Still feels crazy, though. If she’s having bad dreams, why aren’t they about Daleks? Or gas-mask zombies or planets on fire?
But she knows why. Once, she read that a wolf can symbolise her own fears - and there’s one fear she’s never voiced, even to herself.
That one day the Doctor will realise she’s not clever enough, or special enough. That she’s not good enough.
***
III
Jack's touch makes her jump. “Hey, beautiful,” he says quietly. “Bad dreams?”
She swipes at her eyes. He cups her cheek, traces the path of her knuckles with gentler fingers. “Sorry,” she mutters, looking away. What she sees in his face hits too close to home. She's not the only one who wanders at night.
He scoops her up. She lets him, curling into his arms. The Doctor reaches out for her as Jack sets her down, folding her in, murmuring words she doesn't know but understands anyway. They bracket her and, for tonight, she lets herself believe she's safe.
***
The Doctor
I
He is a legend on so many worlds. He holds Time in his hands; brings the storm in his wake.
He looks at Jack and Rose, bright with adrenaline from another near-miss. He feels them leaving him, their timelines diverting. They never understand that danger arrives on his heels. He knows it will claim them, too. Jack will leave. Rose will - he stops.
He knows it's his own weakness keeping them here. He should let them go. They should leave. It's better that they do.
Rose laughs. Jack laughs. They look to him.
He can't do this. He mustn't. He flees.
***
II
The secondary console room is quiet. It’s also somewhere they’ll never know to look for him.
Why did he ever start this? He knows the truth: everything has its time and everything dies. Some things die long before their time. No-one gets to live happily ever after.
Rose should be back in London, with a home, a job, a life. Husband and kids. Jack should make a fresh start to his life, instead of knocking about time and space propping up a battered old Time Lord, almost getting killed.
That’s settled, then. They’re going home.
He tells himself he’s relieved.
***
III
They're in the hallway when he leaves.
Jack shrugs. “The TARDIS wouldn't let us in-”
“So we waited.” Rose finishes. Her eyes are sad.
The Doctor frowns. “Rose-” The next bit disappears into Jack's yawn.
“Long day,” Jack says, unapologetic. “Bed, everyone?” He walks off, but his body language doesn't match his tone.
Rose tugs him along behind. Outside the bedroom, they face him down.
“We're not leaving,” she says, chin stubborn.
“Try and make us,” Jack dares.
He struggles to say it, but he can't. No more than he could leave the TARDIS.
This is home. So are they.
end
Authors: wmr / wendymr and wojelah
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler
Rating: PG-13
Summary/Author's Notes: The unexpected and totally fortuitous result of brain-sharing, courtesy of the Last Word Drabble Tag Challenge.
I would like to thank wojelah for agreeing to write this with me, and for being a fantastic writing partner. I bow to your talent! Readers may recognise three of these drabbles; they were originally posted as part of the Drabble Tag.
>
Fairy-tales and Other Nightmares
Jack
I
Love is a myth, nothing more than a fairy-tale used to bribe children into compliance.
Mother will love you if you clean up.
You’ll never be loved if you don’t behave.
Then you grow up and realise you’ve been lied to. There’s no such thing as love.
There’s lust, and there’s sex, and there’s using people to get what you want from them, and walking away without looking back.
That’s why Jack can’t figure the Doctor and Rose out. It’s as if they never saw through the myth.
They say they love him, and he wants to believe in fairy-tales.
***
II
“Love.” Jack stares at them. “What do I know about that?”
Rose’s eyes are wide, pleading, asking questions he doesn’t want to answer. Next to her, the Doctor leans against the TARDIS railing, saying nothing.
Rose tries again. “You love us. I know you do.”
He laughs, not unkindly. “That’s not love, Rose, it’s sex.”
“You’re wrong.” He turns away from the truth in her voice. He is Captain Jack Harkness. Lust is cheap. Love, he can’t afford.
His hand is on the door when another’s covers it. He can’t turn around. Doesn’t dare.
The Doctor’s voice is soft. “Don’t.”
***
III
He still can’t turn around, and for a different reason. His vision’s blurry.
“Why?” he finally asks, voice unsteady. “I’m not... I don’t...”
Rose strokes his back. “If we never had sex again, would you still want to be with us?”
“Jack,” the Doctor prompts when he doesn’t reply.
How can they even ask? They saved his life. How can they not know...?
Oh.
“You love us,” she says, completely confident.
“You heard her.” The Doctor’s hand grips his, refusing to let go.
And they love him.
This isn’t a fairy-tale. It’s so, so much better than that. It’s real.
***
Rose
I
Fairy-tales are true. She’s learned that, travelling with him. With them. The Doctor and Jack. The Doctor, not the man she met and still completely the same. Jack who didn’t die, who’s with them again, beyond all expectation and hope.
Fairy-tales are true, and she’s always believed in happy endings.
But as she extricates herself from tumbled, sleep-warm bodies, she knows believing in fairy-tales isn’t always a comfort.
Because if the happy endings are true, then so are the monsters. Curled up in the captain’s chair, the TARDIS dim around her, Rose wonders why the Bad Wolf stalks her dreams.
***
II
Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
No-one. It’s rubbish. It’s just a reminder that fairy-tale endings aren’t all about Cinderella getting her prince. Or princes, in Rose’s case.
Sometimes she’s devoured by the wolf.
Still feels crazy, though. If she’s having bad dreams, why aren’t they about Daleks? Or gas-mask zombies or planets on fire?
But she knows why. Once, she read that a wolf can symbolise her own fears - and there’s one fear she’s never voiced, even to herself.
That one day the Doctor will realise she’s not clever enough, or special enough. That she’s not good enough.
***
III
Jack's touch makes her jump. “Hey, beautiful,” he says quietly. “Bad dreams?”
She swipes at her eyes. He cups her cheek, traces the path of her knuckles with gentler fingers. “Sorry,” she mutters, looking away. What she sees in his face hits too close to home. She's not the only one who wanders at night.
He scoops her up. She lets him, curling into his arms. The Doctor reaches out for her as Jack sets her down, folding her in, murmuring words she doesn't know but understands anyway. They bracket her and, for tonight, she lets herself believe she's safe.
***
The Doctor
I
He is a legend on so many worlds. He holds Time in his hands; brings the storm in his wake.
He looks at Jack and Rose, bright with adrenaline from another near-miss. He feels them leaving him, their timelines diverting. They never understand that danger arrives on his heels. He knows it will claim them, too. Jack will leave. Rose will - he stops.
He knows it's his own weakness keeping them here. He should let them go. They should leave. It's better that they do.
Rose laughs. Jack laughs. They look to him.
He can't do this. He mustn't. He flees.
***
II
The secondary console room is quiet. It’s also somewhere they’ll never know to look for him.
Why did he ever start this? He knows the truth: everything has its time and everything dies. Some things die long before their time. No-one gets to live happily ever after.
Rose should be back in London, with a home, a job, a life. Husband and kids. Jack should make a fresh start to his life, instead of knocking about time and space propping up a battered old Time Lord, almost getting killed.
That’s settled, then. They’re going home.
He tells himself he’s relieved.
***
III
They're in the hallway when he leaves.
Jack shrugs. “The TARDIS wouldn't let us in-”
“So we waited.” Rose finishes. Her eyes are sad.
The Doctor frowns. “Rose-” The next bit disappears into Jack's yawn.
“Long day,” Jack says, unapologetic. “Bed, everyone?” He walks off, but his body language doesn't match his tone.
Rose tugs him along behind. Outside the bedroom, they face him down.
“We're not leaving,” she says, chin stubborn.
“Try and make us,” Jack dares.
He struggles to say it, but he can't. No more than he could leave the TARDIS.
This is home. So are they.
end