Fic: Thy Willing Soul (1/2)

[yamx]

“Jack, you just don’t understand!” Rose pushes her hair out of her face impatiently.

“No, I don’t! That’s why I’m asking!” Jack throws up his hands in frustration.

“Can’t you just accept it?” Rose snaps.

“Not unless you explain-” Jack snaps back.

“Jack, leave her be.” The Doctor says tiredly. He hates it when his companions fight.

Comments

[wendymr]

I want to run straight away and read chapter 2, but I have to tell you first how much I am loving this! You've done an absolutely amazing job with my prompt. I love Rose's stubbornness, Jack's complete lack of understanding of where she's coming from (because it's completely beyond his experience), and the Doctor acting as mediator - a role he rarely, if ever, plays - as well as being so willing to admit to Jack how much he wants them both. That scene with Jack and the Doctor alone? *melts*

Wonderful! *runs to chapter 2*

[yamx]

Aw, thank you for taking the time to comment on this chapter separately when you were dying to read chapter 2. :) I'm glad you like what I did with the prompt.

Yes, the Doctor really can see both sides here, even though he wants Rose to change her mind just as much as Jack does. I'm glad you like the scene between Jack and the Doctor - Jack needed both the comfort and the openness. (And any hesitations the Doctor had about starting something with his two companions were over before the point where this story starts. He wouldn't have done cuddles and kisses if he thought it was wrong.)

[canaana]

But Jack was thinking of it as an act of intimacy - of love.

I love so many things about this scene, but this sentence really highlights the difference in their paradigms. And the fact that Rose got as far as achieving this understanding at an intellectual level gives me high hopes for the next part. :)

[yamx]

And the fact that Rose got as far as achieving this understanding at an intellectual level gives me high hopes for the next part. :)

I trust part 2 bore out those hopes, then. :)

I'm glad you like Rose's thought process here. And thank you for taking the time to comment on both chapters separately. :)

[maniacalshen]

Interesting the way you've written the Doctor here. I like it. He's very precise about every word and motion when dealing with Jack and Rose. That makes sense; he's a grand manipulator when he needs to be, so of course he'd use those same skills for more positive reasons.

That's probably not the case when he gets really mad at either companion, though. :-p

[yamx]

LOL - he's not thinking of it as manipulation here, he's thinking of it as "doing his best to comfort Jack/make Rose understand," and "doing what they need him to," but you are completely right, it's the same process, just used differently.

And yes, when he's really upset he's not anywhere as controlled - think of Father's Day, where he cared about Rose but was truly mad at her, versus TED/TDD, where he didn't particularly care about Jack and was mad at him. His psychology was much better in the second case. *g*

So now that he cares about them both, he's not nearly as controlled when they really get to him. But still controlled enough not to do anything too stupid - most of the time. *g*

[debs7]

I really like this story. I love how it explores the differences between the 2 humans. You've done a fantastic job of capturing the essence of all the characters.

[yamx]

Thank you very much! Showcasing the *huge* cultural gap between Rose and Jack was very important to me while writing, so I'm glad that worked. :)