Advice ('Old Friends' entry)
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who_contestTitle: Advice
Rating: PG, for very mild language
Genre: Angst/Missing Scene
Word Count: 445
Pairings or Characters: Eleventh Doctor, Madame Vastra, mentions of other characters
Spoilers: Vaguely spoilery; takes place between 'The Angels Take Manhattan' and 'The Snowmen'; reference to 'The Runaway Bride'.
Warnings: None
Summary: I scratched my head, looking for the right words. “Say I'm taking advice from some old friends."
The phone was ringing. Against my better judgment, I answered. “Hello, Vastra.” It couldn’t be anyone else. I don't give this number out to just anyone. Sometimes I wonder why I give it out at all. “How are the missus and the potato?”
“They’re doing well, thank you. They’d like to know where the Doctor is, however.”
With a bitter chuckle, I shifted my grip on the receiver. “They know where I am.”
Her voice tightened. “The man who hides from life on a cloud will have to find a new name, so long as he remains there. Where is the Doctor, the man who saved the universe? The hero? The good man?”
“Dead and buried.” Buried with the Ponds. And with everyone else I’ve ever loved and lost. “The universe can get along just fine without me.”
"You don't believe that any more than I do."
Some lizards can be so aggravating. "I'm hanging up now!" I slammed the receiver down. It rang again. "What?"
“Why?"
“I don’t owe you an explanation.”
“Which is all the more reason for me to appreciate one. Please.”
Did I say aggravating? It bears another mention. "Fine. If you really want to know that badly.” I scratched my head, looking for the right words. “Say I'm taking advice from some old friends."
"What sort of advice? And from what friends?"
Damn that Vastra. Didn’t she realize how much it still hurt?
Ignoring the twin aches in my chest, I responded. “Amy Pond--you’ll remember her--told me not to travel alone. So I’m not traveling alone, just like she told me. And Donna Noble. She said that I need someone. To stop me.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “So I’m stopping me.”
"Is that honestly how they meant for their advice to be interpreted?"
"Probably not. Does it matter? This is how I choose to interpret it.”
“You’re making a grave mistake, and I’m afraid that you may end up regretting your actions. There have to be consequences.”
“I don’t recall asking your opinion!” Realizing how harsh I was beginning to sound, I took a different tone. It wasn’t her fault that I felt this way. It was my own. "Look, I know you’re trying to be kind. Don't think it isn't appreciated. But if you want to help me, then please leave me alone.”
“I respect your pain, Doctor. We all do. But you can’t hide from the universe forever.”
“I can try.”
I laid the receiver down more gently this time.
"I need to take that phone out," I muttered. “First thing tomorrow.” Or perhaps the day after. I’ve always had time to kill.
Rating: PG, for very mild language
Genre: Angst/Missing Scene
Word Count: 445
Pairings or Characters: Eleventh Doctor, Madame Vastra, mentions of other characters
Spoilers: Vaguely spoilery; takes place between 'The Angels Take Manhattan' and 'The Snowmen'; reference to 'The Runaway Bride'.
Warnings: None
Summary: I scratched my head, looking for the right words. “Say I'm taking advice from some old friends."
The phone was ringing. Against my better judgment, I answered. “Hello, Vastra.” It couldn’t be anyone else. I don't give this number out to just anyone. Sometimes I wonder why I give it out at all. “How are the missus and the potato?”
“They’re doing well, thank you. They’d like to know where the Doctor is, however.”
With a bitter chuckle, I shifted my grip on the receiver. “They know where I am.”
Her voice tightened. “The man who hides from life on a cloud will have to find a new name, so long as he remains there. Where is the Doctor, the man who saved the universe? The hero? The good man?”
“Dead and buried.” Buried with the Ponds. And with everyone else I’ve ever loved and lost. “The universe can get along just fine without me.”
"You don't believe that any more than I do."
Some lizards can be so aggravating. "I'm hanging up now!" I slammed the receiver down. It rang again. "What?"
“Why?"
“I don’t owe you an explanation.”
“Which is all the more reason for me to appreciate one. Please.”
Did I say aggravating? It bears another mention. "Fine. If you really want to know that badly.” I scratched my head, looking for the right words. “Say I'm taking advice from some old friends."
"What sort of advice? And from what friends?"
Damn that Vastra. Didn’t she realize how much it still hurt?
Ignoring the twin aches in my chest, I responded. “Amy Pond--you’ll remember her--told me not to travel alone. So I’m not traveling alone, just like she told me. And Donna Noble. She said that I need someone. To stop me.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “So I’m stopping me.”
"Is that honestly how they meant for their advice to be interpreted?"
"Probably not. Does it matter? This is how I choose to interpret it.”
“You’re making a grave mistake, and I’m afraid that you may end up regretting your actions. There have to be consequences.”
“I don’t recall asking your opinion!” Realizing how harsh I was beginning to sound, I took a different tone. It wasn’t her fault that I felt this way. It was my own. "Look, I know you’re trying to be kind. Don't think it isn't appreciated. But if you want to help me, then please leave me alone.”
“I respect your pain, Doctor. We all do. But you can’t hide from the universe forever.”
“I can try.”
I laid the receiver down more gently this time.
"I need to take that phone out," I muttered. “First thing tomorrow.” Or perhaps the day after. I’ve always had time to kill.
