An Officer and the Noble Woman, Part 42

[dtstrainers]

An Officer and the Noble Woman, Part 42
Author: dtstrainers
Paring: Donna Noble/Peter Carlisle
Co-Captain of this Ship: WhosInTheAttic, for getting me started on this, but all errors are mine alone.
First Mate: The lovely serenityslady has officially joined the crew.  Thanks for the support and suggestions, especially this time around.
Rating: PG for

Comments

[dm12]

Ooh, Jack hit the nail on the head, didn't he? Wow! That was perfectly said, and I loved his theory as to why he actually chose that face for his Tenth; not Rose, but Donna in her future. That may put his Twelfth in context, too, since that was another face Donna would know.

Poor Doctor, I really feel for him. It seems he's confronting his true motivations here ("I want her back."), yet finally realizes that it can't ever happen. At last, he's looking out for the safety and happiness of his best friend....

It's never easy to lose someone you love.

Well done!

[dtstrainers]

Our Doctor is terrible with loss. He can save the Universe time and again, but he loses those he holds dear too frequently. And again, he keeps trying to set things right until someone steps in to stop him when he goes too far. Luckily Jack was up to the task- I'm thinking immortality gets a bit dull without a hobby, so we'll see if the inimitable Captain Harkness decides to show his face in this epic soap opera again. When he takes over, I'm usually relegated to the back seat in this saga, where I might make the occasional suggestion, but otherwise I leave the driving to him.

As always, thanks for reading and for commenting.

[saaammie]

Since I love Jack getting a bit back against the Doctor, I can't complain about that!

[dm12]

Yes, he is terrible with loss, but I think this one hit him even harder, precisely because he loved her, never told her, and he only found out that she loved him as he was blocking her memories. Also because this was by his own hand.

I could hear the Doctor in Ten's persona here, actually, as he was being a bit wistful and emotional about Donna. Eleven sort of pushed it to the rear with his surface whimsical behavior. There was a very sad and regretful Time Lord under that facade.

Jack made a very important point about choice; the Doctor treats his companions like children. Their decisions don't matter if he thinks otherwise. Donna was a mature adult, and he violated her wishes, violated her mind. While she might have made good in the end, it's all about choices; she wasn't allowed, the one time she couldn't stop him.

Oh, Jack's comment about the "cradle" below was a good tension breaker. Quite amusing, and maybe a bit true.

[saaammie]

Oh... I don't want Peter and Donna not to be together, but I wish...!

[dtstrainers]

I know, I know... but the dynamic would be different with Donna and Eleven. She'd treat him like a kid brother, I think, and slap him around with a bit more abandon. (Hmmm, that might be fun to write someday....)

No, as much as I love the Doctor, Peter Carlisle is my fictional One True Love. Jack gets to be the voice of reason here and kick some arrogant Time Lord arse in the process of making the Doctor see it's time for him to step aside and let Donna get on with her life.

But as it's been said, "The course of true love never did run smooth," and if 40 something chapters hasn't made it clear yet, I do so love a bit of melodrama.

[serenityslady]

(first of all, thanks for using my suggestion at the beginning - and I am chuffed that I am a tag!)

I am so proud of Jack in this. He stood his ground with Eleven and told him some important home truths, but was almost gentle about it at times. He knows he is in a unique position, in that he can now see both sides objectively. He hurts for his friend, but he also cares for Donna and knows that Peter is who she needs now.

As I said previously, you clever, clever thing! So Peter doesn't look like the Doctor; the Doctor looks like Peter!! That is a twist I never saw coming. And Jack's explanation is spot on. He (the Doctor) has always been preparing for his future meeting with Donna.

I am still holding out for the possibility that Donna's mind will sort itself out enough that the Doctor CAN see her again. He deserves to at least have his best friend back.

*slaps head* When I read the "cradle" line, I was thinking of a baby's cradle, not the other kind. *sheepishly hands over her perv card*

And I envy you the rain.

[dtstrainers]

Nah, your suggestion worked better than what I had- I was pacing it against the Doctor's current age- 'cos I'm sure Ten was lying about it, just as I'm sure Eleven did and perhaps even Twelve is doing now- and forgetting that the TARDIS was a museum piece when he stole her

[tkel_paris]

O...M...GOSH!

Woman, I already loved Jack, but I flipping adore him here. He told the Doctor like it is, and got him to really look and listen. And that is NO small feat given the royal snit Eleven had worked himself into. I was hoping to see Jack relay what Peter called the Doctor, but that might've been counterproductive now that I think about it.

It's almost feeling like it's close to being done. Only I doubt that the Doctor's stubborn pride can let her go so easily. He yearns too much to see her look at him with recognition, and... well, he's the great big outer space dunce. You know he's going to do something he shouldn't.

And I doubt that "cradle" is Eleven's. I think someone else brought it aboard. But that'd be... spoilers. ;)

Bravo. Just amazing! (And enjoy the cool and the rain. I heard about it from my mom. I know the whole area needs it.)

[dtstrainers]

Well, the Doctor likes to make people better and he isn't comfortable with the fact that not everyone gets away unscathed, even when he saves the rest of the Universe. To have the person who bears the brunt of it all be someone he loves and he's not able to fix it is something that he just can't walk away from. Jack was the obvious person to drive the truth about the Doctor and Donna home. The Doctor would listen to his friend like no one else in this matter, given that Jack would understand the crushing loneliness of eternity and had already loved and lost people- some by his own hand. Jack could, in some way, relate to what the Doctor is feeling

[tkel_paris]

The big one is that he doesn't give them a choice. He also doesn't tell them things that they should know to make an informed choice. I always felt like he didn't tell Rose enough to make her decide properly between not growing up and growing up, he wasn't respectful enough to Martha to tell her things she needed to know to treat herself with a bit more respect sooner, I won't even get into Amy and Rory and Clara, and then... well, there's Donna and the Duplicate. Neither got a choice. Will we ever know what the Duplicate would have chosen had he been given that freedom?

Good. Because the Doctor needs to face what his actions look like to the rest of the universe. Maybe then he'd understand better why it seems like the universe hates him.

More than once I've felt like Eleven/River is basically the reverse of Doctor/Rose. The one who looked older could/should have been arrested for robbing the cradle, so to speak. So... yeah, can't support either. Ever.

Aw... :DDDDDDDDD *hugs*

[noteissignedlc]

Aaaargh! Right. In. The. Feels. I think this chapter explains my head canon so thoroughly, and how so many of us can ship Peter Carlisle/Donna, Benedick/Beatrice, Peter Vincent/Nellie, Alec/Sarah, Chris/Dorothy and every other possible combination. ::: throws flowers ::: Brava!

[dtstrainers]

Why, thank you! I can so see Donna with Peter, and many of the other pairings you noted. I'm sure they'd be perfectly suited for each other and have a long, happy life together. I'm a sucker for banter and for angst, so with all their attitude piled high with emotional baggage, they're perfect for each other.

Thanks so much for reading and commenting. It is appreciated.