Fic: An Overpowering Staleness (5/5)

[yamx]

Title: An Overpowering Staleness (5/5)
Betas: canaana, kae_nine & wendymr - Thank you, guys! All remaining mistakes are mine.
Rating: Adult (strong language, dark motives)
Spoilers: The Doctor Dances, Human Nature/The Family of Blood
Characters: Nine/Jack/Rose
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction; the characters are the property of the BBC and used here

Comments

[honorh]

Now, *that* was some quality fanfic. The way the Doctor feels totally makes sense. He does have a tendency to take all this guilt on himself. Thing about a big ego--and the Doctor does have one, in all incarnations--is that it's all too easy for him to blame himself for everything. Because he believes if he just gets it right, and he's Just Good Enough to get everything right (or so he thinks), everything will turn out fine. When things go wrong, therefore, *he* missed the boat. He's the one at fault.

It's manifest nonsense, and Rose and Jack see that. He needs to be taken down a peg here, odd as it sounds. He needs to realize he's not perfect--and no one's asking him to be. They love him for who he is, not who he imagines himself to be.

The ending was absolutely beautiful, and what I said last chapter still applies--you earned it. You're always good, but this? It's your best. You should be proud of it.

[yamx]

Your analysis agrees exactly with mine - the Doctor feels he should be able to "do anything," as he once told Rose he could, so whenever something goes wrong, he blames himself - because he's so smart and so powerful and so fantastic, he should have been able to do something. So his arrogance is causing his guilt complex.

And yes, Rose and Jack need to get him off his high horse and show him that he himself is wonderful, and lovable, even (or especially) if he's not perfect, and that he needs to accept that rather than demand perfection and thereby dooming himself to failure.

Thank you again for all your wonderful comments! I'm still blushing! :)

[firefly124]

Damn! That was just excellent! So very Nine to think he was just going to drop them off after that, for their own good of course, and so very Rose and Jack to handle him that way about it. I love the explanation of why John Smith rejected them and what it said about what was lying just under the surface of his mind all along. Excellent, excellent, excellent!

[yamx]

Thank you very much! I'm glad it rang true to you. :)

[humantales]

Jack's about to say something, but before he can, Rose takes a step back, pulls her hand from the Doctor's grasp, and slaps the Time Lord across the face. Yep, that about covers it. Go Rose!

Truly appropriate that it is Jack, the other soldier, who's the most help in getting things straightened out.

Very nice.

[yamx]

*smiles* Hey, someone had to slap him, and Rose is genetically predisposed to do so. ;)

And yes - Rose has endless compassion, but in this situation, Jack understands more than she does.

Thank you! :)

[sahiya]

*happy sigh* Yay. We got the comfort in the end, but not before they'd worked things out thoroughly. Good for Jack, not letting the Doctor perpetuate the behavior that caused the problems to begin with. I loved the explanation for why the Arch did what it did - I'd assumed something had gone wrong with the transformation, but it being a choice the Doctor made makes it even more interesting! (It also puts an interesting spin on where Ten and Martha end up in HN/FoB, if I apply it there as well.) And of course I loved the bit at the end, where Jack and Rose are wrapped around the Doctor and he's happy to be stuck where he is - a good sign all around!

In short, I completely adored this story. I agree with honorh that this is your best writing to date, and I feel so blessed for having received it. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

[yamx]

I always knew this story couldn't just end with "fob watch opens, everything is rainbows and puppies" - not after what had happened. They needed to talk it through, and Jack and Rose needed to discover why it had happened, and give the Doctor a piece of their mind about it. They deserved that chance after everything they'd gone through, and the Doctor deserved both the slap (and hard grip) and the hugs and kisses - and needed both, too. And of course it will be a work in progress - things like that don't go away overnight. But now at least they're working on it (and Jack *will* hold the Doctor to his word

[hazelwho]

This has been a great story! I love your take on 9!Smith, and I was fascinated by how your characters reacted to the situation. I especially liked Jack's role in this fic, in this whole 'verse actually. He's the soldier, and the practical one, but you still let him feel everything deeply. I loved the detail that he cried at night too, but waited until he thought Rose was asleep to protect her from his pain. I'm glad he gave the Doc a stern talkin' to, and I'm sure Rose's smack helped. Hopefully he'll get it through his thick Time Lord skull that he is loved in this world, and worthy of that love.

[yamx]

Yes, Jack does feel very deeply, but he's trained himself from a young age to keep it all hidden away. His relationship with the Doctor and Rose is the first time in many years that he feels safe enough to occasionally let his weakness show, but he'll still clamp down on his feelings and go into practical get-things-done mode when needed - and especially when the other two need him to be strong.

Rose's smack definitely helped - and the Doctor totally deserved it. Also the telling-off and Jack's... physical reproach. *g* It's still a work in progress, but they definitely made an impression, and he will try to do it their way from now on - though I'm sure he'll still need occasional reminders and stearn warnings. But hey, the fact that they all need each other is one of the biggest draws of their relationship, right?

Thank you for your comment!