SHARP
This was a prompt supplied by talcat for szm. szm used another prompt and I couldn't resist using this one myself.
Title: SHARP
Characters: Ten, Donna
Spoilers: Second Doctor
Disclaimer: Not mine; they belong to RTD and the BBC.
Rating: Open
Summary: Sometimes, memories need a little help to surface.
He was staring into a shop window when Donna finally tracked him down. She'd realised she was asking a bit much of him after the first hour, but the chance to shop in the equivalent of Harrod's in the 93rd century (and with unlimited credit to boot!) had been too much to resist. Weighted down with several bags, she had looked around as she exited the shop and spotted the familiar lanky figure across the street. When she reached him, she saw that the shop was one that specialised in antiques. It was more than a little disconcerting to see an Apple iPod as one of the displayed items but she realised that wasn't what was holding the Timelord's attention.
It was a knife of some kind, along with its sheath. Both looked more than a little battered, but the blade was still bright and the leather of the sheath had obviously been well-cared for. It wasn't all that fancy, compared with a lot of other things in the window, but it held the Doctor's attention in a way that was almost frightening. Donna watched him for a moment. They had been travelling for a while, now, and she was starting to get the hang of some of this mercurial alien's expressions. She knew this one; she'd seen it before, on many a world.
"Who was it?" she asked softly.
The Doctor blinked and turned his head to look at her, but some of his attention was still on that knife and his eyes were looking beyond her, into that vast ocean of time that was his natural environment. "Just something that reminded me of someone."
Donna looked at the knife. "Another Companion?" she guessed. There was so much about this bewildering man she didn't know and he guarded himself so carefully she sometimes thought she would never know more than the surface reflections.
"Hmmm," the Doctor sighed, smiling softly as he looked at the knife again. "Another time, another me." He blinked and suddenly shook himself, turning that mad smile on her that no longer fooled her for a moment. "So, you all shopped out?"
"Not quite," she said, and laughed at the mixture of dismay and panic that touched his eyes. "Tell you what; why don't you go off and do something Martian and we'll meet back at the TARDIS is another couple of hours?"
Relief swamped his features for a moment. "Righto! Don't get into trouble, now," he admonished as he bounded off like a sunstruck gazelle, all legs and manic enthusiasm.
Donna snorted. "Ten minutes, tops, and he'll find trouble," she sighed to herself.
OOOO
"Well how was I to know that there was an alien fleet poised to invade the planet?" the Doctor demanded plaintively once they had got back to the TARDIS and taken off.
"You're the Doctor," Donna pointed out tartly over her shoulder as she went to deposit her singed bags in her room. "There's always an alien fleet, or something like that."
"Not always!" the Doctor squawked indignantly. "Well, maybe sometimes. Well, maybe most of the time. Well, maybe... how about a cup of tea, then?" he demanded as he lunged for the kitchen.
OOOO
"Here," Donna said as she came to sit beside him in the library and poured herself a cup of tea.
The Doctor eyed the package she had given him a touch suspiciously. "What's this?"
"Well, I don't know when your birthday is - or even if Martians have birthdays, but I figured I'd get you something just for the hell of it." She watched him over the edge of her cup as he fondled the small package warily. "Go on, open it; it won't explode."
"Never sure with you," the Doctor mumbled before giving her a wide grin and ripping off the paper with gay abandon. His face changed when he realised that he was holding the dagger from the shop and Donna suddenly felt nervous.
"I know you like to keep your secrets and I know I've probably put my foot in it, but I saw the look on your face and-"
"No," the Doctor said.
Donna's face fell.
"No, you haven't put your foot in it," the Doctor continued, stroking the dagger with a kind of reverence, a gentle smile on his face. "This is a wonderful present, Donna. Thank you." He lifted his head to give her a wider smile that turned into a bewildered frown. "Why are you looking like that?"
Donna ducked her face and wished she didn't turn such a hideous shade of red when she was embarrassed. "Well, I was a bit worried," she mumbled.
After a moment, the Doctor's face cleared and he gave her bowed head a fond smile. She was such a bundle of contrasts, this Donna Noble. She wore her heart on her sleeve, for all the universe to see, and could switch from virago to saint, warrior to healer, in a blink of an eye. She constantly surprised and tested him, which was the best kind of Companion for him to have.
"His name was Jamie," he said abruptly. "Jamie MacCrimmon. He was a lot like you: bossy, impatient-"
"Hoy!" Donna said indignantly, although there was a small smile tugging at her lips.
"-kind and protective," the Doctor finished with an answering grin. He was momentarily ambushed by the memory of the young Scotsman standing in the old control room, arms folded and a long-suffering expression on his face.
"And do ye have any ken as to where we are this time, or is it going to be one of those surprises that ends up with us running for our lives?"
"So ye meant for us to crash into yon spaceship then?"
"I'm not letting you out of the TARDIS on your own, Doctor. My nerves wouldna be able to take the strain."
"He was quite insufferable at times," the Doctor said with a wide smile. "Always bossing me around and telling me what to do. Anyone would think he was the older and more sensible one of us!"
"Tch, how could anyone doubt you being sensible?" Donna said with mock astonishment. The Doctor glowered at her.
"Oh yes, you do remind me of him, sometimes." He glanced down at the dagger and brightened. "Did I ever tell you about the time Jamie used his dagger to hold off a troop of feral Kinestans while Zoe and I tried to rescue some trapped archaeologists? Well, we landed on Kinesta and I knew right away that something wasn't right-"
Donna settled back in her chair and listened in rapt attention as the Doctor told her story after story, fingering the dagger and occasionally looking down at it with that same fond smile. She wouldn't ask what had happened to Jamie. She didn't want to risk bringing the shadows back into his eyes. For now he was back in his past and it was obviously a much happier place. She wasn't going to chance breaking the spell that the dagger had cast over him.
"In fact, I'll take you to meet him!" the Doctor suddenly said, leaping to his feet.
Donna blinked. "What, he's still alive?" she asked.
The Doctor stared at her. "Well, of course he is." He paused and tugged at his ear. "Well, technically, since we were in the 93rd century, no, he isn't. But I can take us back to when he was alive. He hasn't met this regeneration, or you." He gave a wide grin. "Oh, I can't wait for him to meet you!"
He bounded off, leaving Donna to flounder in his wake and wonder whether that last statement was either praise or an insult. She rolled her eyes as she made for the door to follow after the Doctor. Knowing him, it was probably a bit of both!
OOOO
Title: SHARP
Characters: Ten, Donna
Spoilers: Second Doctor
Disclaimer: Not mine; they belong to RTD and the BBC.
Rating: Open
Summary: Sometimes, memories need a little help to surface.
He was staring into a shop window when Donna finally tracked him down. She'd realised she was asking a bit much of him after the first hour, but the chance to shop in the equivalent of Harrod's in the 93rd century (and with unlimited credit to boot!) had been too much to resist. Weighted down with several bags, she had looked around as she exited the shop and spotted the familiar lanky figure across the street. When she reached him, she saw that the shop was one that specialised in antiques. It was more than a little disconcerting to see an Apple iPod as one of the displayed items but she realised that wasn't what was holding the Timelord's attention.
It was a knife of some kind, along with its sheath. Both looked more than a little battered, but the blade was still bright and the leather of the sheath had obviously been well-cared for. It wasn't all that fancy, compared with a lot of other things in the window, but it held the Doctor's attention in a way that was almost frightening. Donna watched him for a moment. They had been travelling for a while, now, and she was starting to get the hang of some of this mercurial alien's expressions. She knew this one; she'd seen it before, on many a world.
"Who was it?" she asked softly.
The Doctor blinked and turned his head to look at her, but some of his attention was still on that knife and his eyes were looking beyond her, into that vast ocean of time that was his natural environment. "Just something that reminded me of someone."
Donna looked at the knife. "Another Companion?" she guessed. There was so much about this bewildering man she didn't know and he guarded himself so carefully she sometimes thought she would never know more than the surface reflections.
"Hmmm," the Doctor sighed, smiling softly as he looked at the knife again. "Another time, another me." He blinked and suddenly shook himself, turning that mad smile on her that no longer fooled her for a moment. "So, you all shopped out?"
"Not quite," she said, and laughed at the mixture of dismay and panic that touched his eyes. "Tell you what; why don't you go off and do something Martian and we'll meet back at the TARDIS is another couple of hours?"
Relief swamped his features for a moment. "Righto! Don't get into trouble, now," he admonished as he bounded off like a sunstruck gazelle, all legs and manic enthusiasm.
Donna snorted. "Ten minutes, tops, and he'll find trouble," she sighed to herself.
OOOO
"Well how was I to know that there was an alien fleet poised to invade the planet?" the Doctor demanded plaintively once they had got back to the TARDIS and taken off.
"You're the Doctor," Donna pointed out tartly over her shoulder as she went to deposit her singed bags in her room. "There's always an alien fleet, or something like that."
"Not always!" the Doctor squawked indignantly. "Well, maybe sometimes. Well, maybe most of the time. Well, maybe... how about a cup of tea, then?" he demanded as he lunged for the kitchen.
OOOO
"Here," Donna said as she came to sit beside him in the library and poured herself a cup of tea.
The Doctor eyed the package she had given him a touch suspiciously. "What's this?"
"Well, I don't know when your birthday is - or even if Martians have birthdays, but I figured I'd get you something just for the hell of it." She watched him over the edge of her cup as he fondled the small package warily. "Go on, open it; it won't explode."
"Never sure with you," the Doctor mumbled before giving her a wide grin and ripping off the paper with gay abandon. His face changed when he realised that he was holding the dagger from the shop and Donna suddenly felt nervous.
"I know you like to keep your secrets and I know I've probably put my foot in it, but I saw the look on your face and-"
"No," the Doctor said.
Donna's face fell.
"No, you haven't put your foot in it," the Doctor continued, stroking the dagger with a kind of reverence, a gentle smile on his face. "This is a wonderful present, Donna. Thank you." He lifted his head to give her a wider smile that turned into a bewildered frown. "Why are you looking like that?"
Donna ducked her face and wished she didn't turn such a hideous shade of red when she was embarrassed. "Well, I was a bit worried," she mumbled.
After a moment, the Doctor's face cleared and he gave her bowed head a fond smile. She was such a bundle of contrasts, this Donna Noble. She wore her heart on her sleeve, for all the universe to see, and could switch from virago to saint, warrior to healer, in a blink of an eye. She constantly surprised and tested him, which was the best kind of Companion for him to have.
"His name was Jamie," he said abruptly. "Jamie MacCrimmon. He was a lot like you: bossy, impatient-"
"Hoy!" Donna said indignantly, although there was a small smile tugging at her lips.
"-kind and protective," the Doctor finished with an answering grin. He was momentarily ambushed by the memory of the young Scotsman standing in the old control room, arms folded and a long-suffering expression on his face.
"And do ye have any ken as to where we are this time, or is it going to be one of those surprises that ends up with us running for our lives?"
"So ye meant for us to crash into yon spaceship then?"
"I'm not letting you out of the TARDIS on your own, Doctor. My nerves wouldna be able to take the strain."
"He was quite insufferable at times," the Doctor said with a wide smile. "Always bossing me around and telling me what to do. Anyone would think he was the older and more sensible one of us!"
"Tch, how could anyone doubt you being sensible?" Donna said with mock astonishment. The Doctor glowered at her.
"Oh yes, you do remind me of him, sometimes." He glanced down at the dagger and brightened. "Did I ever tell you about the time Jamie used his dagger to hold off a troop of feral Kinestans while Zoe and I tried to rescue some trapped archaeologists? Well, we landed on Kinesta and I knew right away that something wasn't right-"
Donna settled back in her chair and listened in rapt attention as the Doctor told her story after story, fingering the dagger and occasionally looking down at it with that same fond smile. She wouldn't ask what had happened to Jamie. She didn't want to risk bringing the shadows back into his eyes. For now he was back in his past and it was obviously a much happier place. She wasn't going to chance breaking the spell that the dagger had cast over him.
"In fact, I'll take you to meet him!" the Doctor suddenly said, leaping to his feet.
Donna blinked. "What, he's still alive?" she asked.
The Doctor stared at her. "Well, of course he is." He paused and tugged at his ear. "Well, technically, since we were in the 93rd century, no, he isn't. But I can take us back to when he was alive. He hasn't met this regeneration, or you." He gave a wide grin. "Oh, I can't wait for him to meet you!"
He bounded off, leaving Donna to flounder in his wake and wonder whether that last statement was either praise or an insult. She rolled her eyes as she made for the door to follow after the Doctor. Knowing him, it was probably a bit of both!
OOOO