And on the Ships at Sea
Title: And On the Ships at Sea
Fandom: Doctor Who
Character/Pairing: The Doctor (thenth) and Donna
Time Frame: After JE for the Doctor, before Runaway Bride for Donna. Sodding time-travellers.
Spoilers: Yeah, pretty much
Synopsis: A little girl, playing in rain puddles, meets a very strange man.
Word Count: 585
Rating: G
Warning: dramatic irony, angst, adorable little kid,
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and the characters and settings therein are the property of the BBC, and are used here entirely without permission but entirely with respect. This is for love, not for money.
Acknowledgements: Title is from the poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, quoted at the start.
Author's Notes: Written for the 15_minute_fic prompt of raining.
"The rain is raining all around/ it rains on you and me/ it rains on the umbrellas here/ and on the ships at sea"
The little girl is jumping from puddle to puddle, chanting in a sing-song voice.
He watches, longing to say something to alert her to his presence, but he doesn't dare. He's taking too many chances already.
It's worth it, however - the little girl carelessly playing in front of him is every inch the spitfire redhead he remembers.
Suddenly, she looks at him. "Who're you, then?" she asks, in a small but strident voice.
"Ah, I'm th... a Doctor. Doctor John Smith"
She snorts. "Can't be much of a Doctor it you're standing in the rain with no umbrella!"
He smiles "Well, I do have a terrible memory, you see."
She nods, sagely. "My dad's like that, mum's always after him. Grandad, too."
His throat tightens. He'd never really met her father, just very briefly at the wedding. And now she won't remember his death. Is that a mercy or not, he wonders.
"Is your dad a Doctor?" he asks, and she laughs.
"Nah, Dad works in a shop. Tells all the shopgirls what to do, and orders things, and stuff. I wouldn't ever want to work in a shop," she adds confidently.
He can't help but grin - she's so self-assured. He wishes she'd kept more of that. "Well what do you want to do when you grow up?"
She looks thoughtful, giving the matter careful consideration, and it's all he can do not to tear up, even as his grin threatens to split his face.
"I haven't decided yet." She says finally, "There's a lot of time, isn't there?" She rambles on, without giving him time to answer, "You know, I think I might like to be a Doctor, someday, only there's a lot of learning and exams in that, isn't there?"
He nods. "I had a friend who's a Doctor, too, and she was very worried about her exams."
"Didn't you worry about them?" she asks dubiously, and he reminds himself to be careful - she doesn't miss a thing!
"Well, they were such a long time ago," he says, and she nods, satisfied. He's grownup, after all, and all grownups are ancient.
"Anyway," she continues, "there's lots of other things - I might be a dressmaker's model, or a singer, or a writer, or an explorer, or a librarian, or an eximater."
He blinks. "I'm sorry, a what?"
She frowns at him impatiently. "An eximater. You know, kills bugs? I'd love to do that, but billy says girls can't, but mum says girls can do anything boys can."
"And you and your mum are right! And you know what else?" He leaned in conspiratorially. "I think you'd make a brilliant eximater." He tapped her on the nose fondly, something he hadn't done in ages, but felt the situation warranted. "In fact, I think you can do any of the things you mentioned, Donna Noble, any and all and many more. I wouldn't be surprised if you're a Doctor someday."
"Really?" she asks, wide-eyed, and he blinks away tears he hopes go unnoticed in the rain.
"Really." he says. She smiles, and with the lack of preamble of the very young, goes running off, attacking puddles with gusto.
It's not for a few minutes until she thinks to turn around and ask "Wait, Doctor, how did you know my name's Donna?"
But she's all alone in the street.
O_O ...I think I'm in a very small rut.
Fandom: Doctor Who
Character/Pairing: The Doctor (thenth) and Donna
Time Frame: After JE for the Doctor, before Runaway Bride for Donna. Sodding time-travellers.
Spoilers: Yeah, pretty much
Synopsis: A little girl, playing in rain puddles, meets a very strange man.
Word Count: 585
Rating: G
Warning: dramatic irony, angst, adorable little kid,
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and the characters and settings therein are the property of the BBC, and are used here entirely without permission but entirely with respect. This is for love, not for money.
Acknowledgements: Title is from the poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, quoted at the start.
Author's Notes: Written for the 15_minute_fic prompt of raining.
"The rain is raining all around/ it rains on you and me/ it rains on the umbrellas here/ and on the ships at sea"
The little girl is jumping from puddle to puddle, chanting in a sing-song voice.
He watches, longing to say something to alert her to his presence, but he doesn't dare. He's taking too many chances already.
It's worth it, however - the little girl carelessly playing in front of him is every inch the spitfire redhead he remembers.
Suddenly, she looks at him. "Who're you, then?" she asks, in a small but strident voice.
"Ah, I'm th... a Doctor. Doctor John Smith"
She snorts. "Can't be much of a Doctor it you're standing in the rain with no umbrella!"
He smiles "Well, I do have a terrible memory, you see."
She nods, sagely. "My dad's like that, mum's always after him. Grandad, too."
His throat tightens. He'd never really met her father, just very briefly at the wedding. And now she won't remember his death. Is that a mercy or not, he wonders.
"Is your dad a Doctor?" he asks, and she laughs.
"Nah, Dad works in a shop. Tells all the shopgirls what to do, and orders things, and stuff. I wouldn't ever want to work in a shop," she adds confidently.
He can't help but grin - she's so self-assured. He wishes she'd kept more of that. "Well what do you want to do when you grow up?"
She looks thoughtful, giving the matter careful consideration, and it's all he can do not to tear up, even as his grin threatens to split his face.
"I haven't decided yet." She says finally, "There's a lot of time, isn't there?" She rambles on, without giving him time to answer, "You know, I think I might like to be a Doctor, someday, only there's a lot of learning and exams in that, isn't there?"
He nods. "I had a friend who's a Doctor, too, and she was very worried about her exams."
"Didn't you worry about them?" she asks dubiously, and he reminds himself to be careful - she doesn't miss a thing!
"Well, they were such a long time ago," he says, and she nods, satisfied. He's grownup, after all, and all grownups are ancient.
"Anyway," she continues, "there's lots of other things - I might be a dressmaker's model, or a singer, or a writer, or an explorer, or a librarian, or an eximater."
He blinks. "I'm sorry, a what?"
She frowns at him impatiently. "An eximater. You know, kills bugs? I'd love to do that, but billy says girls can't, but mum says girls can do anything boys can."
"And you and your mum are right! And you know what else?" He leaned in conspiratorially. "I think you'd make a brilliant eximater." He tapped her on the nose fondly, something he hadn't done in ages, but felt the situation warranted. "In fact, I think you can do any of the things you mentioned, Donna Noble, any and all and many more. I wouldn't be surprised if you're a Doctor someday."
"Really?" she asks, wide-eyed, and he blinks away tears he hopes go unnoticed in the rain.
"Really." he says. She smiles, and with the lack of preamble of the very young, goes running off, attacking puddles with gusto.
It's not for a few minutes until she thinks to turn around and ask "Wait, Doctor, how did you know my name's Donna?"
But she's all alone in the street.
O_O ...I think I'm in a very small rut.