Fic: Questions
Title: Questions
Author: alex_caligari
Beta: jellybean728
Characters/Pairings: Nine, Ten, Rose, Martha, Donna.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Puppets firmly attached to strings of BBC.
Summary: People always asked questions.
Author's Notes: A character study that's been sitting on my computer, beta'd yet unedited, for over a month. Now it is time to bring it to light!
People always asked questions. It was part of their nature, especially of humans. And he usually took the most inquisitive ones. He shouldn’t be surprised at what came out of their mouths.
“How long have you been like this?”
“Like what?”
“In a time machine. Blowing up things and rescuing idiots like me.”
He smiled at the jab. Rose was oddly self-aware for a human of her age. She knew what her place in society was, and didn’t expect much from herself. At least, that’s what she knew society expected of her.
“A while now. It doesn’t matter.”
“Since your planet...since it was gone?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah.”
She turned away, obviously worried about causing another outburst from him. She shouldn’t be afraid of him, not in the way she was now.
“Actually, been doing the time machine thing for longer than that. My people were happy to be rid of me.”
“Can’t imagine why,” she said, smiling slightly.
“Ah, but as soon as I’d leave, they’d be calling me back again.”
“Kind of like a parent.”
“I suppose.”
She was silent again. He wondered what she was putting together in her mind. “I think I’d like to go home.”
“Oh.”
“I just want to pick up a few things, say hi to my mum, you know.”
“Oh.”
“Is that alright?”
He smiled at her. “Of course.”
***
“Why two hearts?”
“What?”
“Two hearts. Why do you have two of them?”
Martha, the almost-doctor, the scientist, the logical thinker. She wanted to solve puzzles. She believed that there was always an empirical answer.
“You have two sets of things,” he said. “Two lungs, two kidneys, two hemispheres of the brain, two ovaries, two-”
“Yes, yes, I know all that. But a redundant circulatory system? It doesn’t make sense the way it’s set up. It shouldn't have evolved that way. Lung capacity has to be sacrificed to make room for one heart; I’m surprised you can run as fast as you can with two taking up so much room.”
He smiled at her. He thought it was interesting how this small detail, out of everything she had seen, was the thing that was bothering her. “What do you think?”
Martha stared at him like he was giving an exam question. “Well, you’re alien, so that means I can’t classify you as anything remotely human, not even mammalian. So your biology works differently. Maybe the two hearts compensate for the reduced lung capacity. You’re able to pump blood more efficiently, which means you can hold more oxygen.” Suddenly she frowned. “How is it you can breathe oxygen? Why do you look human if you evolved on a different planet?”
“It’s a long story,” he answered, without answering her at all. Martha wanted to know how things worked, and he was a whole new mechanism for her to figure out. He had to be careful; some people liked to take new things apart.
She looked around the ship, taking in the whole console room and settling on the central rotor. “Time machine,” she muttered.
When most people found out something strange about him, like his biology, they excused it by saying it was alien. No further questions. But Martha wanted to know why. It was new. It was interesting.
“You must have advanced genetic technology. If you can build time machines and sonic screwdrivers, you must have untangled the Time Lord genome. That’s right, isn’t it?”
He nodded.
“You could manipulate it, change it so you could fight disease, live longer, absorb radiation, anything. Grow another heart just because you could. If that’s how it happened, who knows what you used to look like. You could have been completely unrecognizable.”
Martha was lost in her speculations, not really seeing him anymore. She didn’t notice him look away. “I was,” he said quietly.
***
“How do you switch off?”
“What do you mean?”
“All this stuff, how do you get away from it? You can’t live like this all the time. It would drive somebody mad.”
Donna was always asking about the other side. The people he left behind, the allies he rejected, the enemies he tried to save.
“Do you mean, do I take a sick day? Take a sabbatical and relax on vacation?” He heard the bitter edge in his voice and hated it, but Donna knew better than to let that stop her.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said. “How do you stop feeling responsible for every little thing that happens in the universe?”
“I told you, Donna, I can see it, all the little things wrong with time like pulled threads. How can I ignore it? It’s like trying to ignore the cold when you’re freezing to death.”
“You keep up like this, you’re going to snap one day. And then what? Who saves us when we really need it?” Donna was tall, and with her stiff spine and sharp temper she was almost eye level to him. He met her glare for an instant before losing energy.
“What do you suggest?” he said, defeated. “There are times, Donna, some times when I want it to all go away so I can rest, just for a moment. I get so tired, and I just want to stop running. But what happens if I do that? You’re right; who’ll save you then?”
Donna, knowing she had gotten through to him, let her anger drain away. “I wish I knew. Maybe if you could talk to somebody. I don’t know, Martha maybe, someone who’s travelled with you before.”
He felt his face twist into a smile. “They have their own lives, their own problems. They don’t need me stumbling in and giving the same sob story everyone’s heard already.”
Donna looked lost without an answer. The wonderful thing about her was even when she was out of her depth, she wouldn’t stop trying. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Yeah.”
He loved their curiosity and their boldness. But sometimes he wished they would remain silent.
Author: alex_caligari
Beta: jellybean728
Characters/Pairings: Nine, Ten, Rose, Martha, Donna.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Puppets firmly attached to strings of BBC.
Summary: People always asked questions.
Author's Notes: A character study that's been sitting on my computer, beta'd yet unedited, for over a month. Now it is time to bring it to light!
People always asked questions. It was part of their nature, especially of humans. And he usually took the most inquisitive ones. He shouldn’t be surprised at what came out of their mouths.
“How long have you been like this?”
“Like what?”
“In a time machine. Blowing up things and rescuing idiots like me.”
He smiled at the jab. Rose was oddly self-aware for a human of her age. She knew what her place in society was, and didn’t expect much from herself. At least, that’s what she knew society expected of her.
“A while now. It doesn’t matter.”
“Since your planet...since it was gone?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah.”
She turned away, obviously worried about causing another outburst from him. She shouldn’t be afraid of him, not in the way she was now.
“Actually, been doing the time machine thing for longer than that. My people were happy to be rid of me.”
“Can’t imagine why,” she said, smiling slightly.
“Ah, but as soon as I’d leave, they’d be calling me back again.”
“Kind of like a parent.”
“I suppose.”
She was silent again. He wondered what she was putting together in her mind. “I think I’d like to go home.”
“Oh.”
“I just want to pick up a few things, say hi to my mum, you know.”
“Oh.”
“Is that alright?”
He smiled at her. “Of course.”
***
“Why two hearts?”
“What?”
“Two hearts. Why do you have two of them?”
Martha, the almost-doctor, the scientist, the logical thinker. She wanted to solve puzzles. She believed that there was always an empirical answer.
“You have two sets of things,” he said. “Two lungs, two kidneys, two hemispheres of the brain, two ovaries, two-”
“Yes, yes, I know all that. But a redundant circulatory system? It doesn’t make sense the way it’s set up. It shouldn't have evolved that way. Lung capacity has to be sacrificed to make room for one heart; I’m surprised you can run as fast as you can with two taking up so much room.”
He smiled at her. He thought it was interesting how this small detail, out of everything she had seen, was the thing that was bothering her. “What do you think?”
Martha stared at him like he was giving an exam question. “Well, you’re alien, so that means I can’t classify you as anything remotely human, not even mammalian. So your biology works differently. Maybe the two hearts compensate for the reduced lung capacity. You’re able to pump blood more efficiently, which means you can hold more oxygen.” Suddenly she frowned. “How is it you can breathe oxygen? Why do you look human if you evolved on a different planet?”
“It’s a long story,” he answered, without answering her at all. Martha wanted to know how things worked, and he was a whole new mechanism for her to figure out. He had to be careful; some people liked to take new things apart.
She looked around the ship, taking in the whole console room and settling on the central rotor. “Time machine,” she muttered.
When most people found out something strange about him, like his biology, they excused it by saying it was alien. No further questions. But Martha wanted to know why. It was new. It was interesting.
“You must have advanced genetic technology. If you can build time machines and sonic screwdrivers, you must have untangled the Time Lord genome. That’s right, isn’t it?”
He nodded.
“You could manipulate it, change it so you could fight disease, live longer, absorb radiation, anything. Grow another heart just because you could. If that’s how it happened, who knows what you used to look like. You could have been completely unrecognizable.”
Martha was lost in her speculations, not really seeing him anymore. She didn’t notice him look away. “I was,” he said quietly.
***
“How do you switch off?”
“What do you mean?”
“All this stuff, how do you get away from it? You can’t live like this all the time. It would drive somebody mad.”
Donna was always asking about the other side. The people he left behind, the allies he rejected, the enemies he tried to save.
“Do you mean, do I take a sick day? Take a sabbatical and relax on vacation?” He heard the bitter edge in his voice and hated it, but Donna knew better than to let that stop her.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said. “How do you stop feeling responsible for every little thing that happens in the universe?”
“I told you, Donna, I can see it, all the little things wrong with time like pulled threads. How can I ignore it? It’s like trying to ignore the cold when you’re freezing to death.”
“You keep up like this, you’re going to snap one day. And then what? Who saves us when we really need it?” Donna was tall, and with her stiff spine and sharp temper she was almost eye level to him. He met her glare for an instant before losing energy.
“What do you suggest?” he said, defeated. “There are times, Donna, some times when I want it to all go away so I can rest, just for a moment. I get so tired, and I just want to stop running. But what happens if I do that? You’re right; who’ll save you then?”
Donna, knowing she had gotten through to him, let her anger drain away. “I wish I knew. Maybe if you could talk to somebody. I don’t know, Martha maybe, someone who’s travelled with you before.”
He felt his face twist into a smile. “They have their own lives, their own problems. They don’t need me stumbling in and giving the same sob story everyone’s heard already.”
Donna looked lost without an answer. The wonderful thing about her was even when she was out of her depth, she wouldn’t stop trying. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Yeah.”
He loved their curiosity and their boldness. But sometimes he wished they would remain silent.