relativeprompts #3
The first time I ever actively disobeyed an authority I had heretofore respected was when I received a summons from Gallifrey that I was required to return home (for whatever reason; I don't even recall if they gave one now), and I told The Doctor I didn't want to go. I know that he still set the coordinates for Gallifrey, but...could he have known that we would wind up in E-Space instead of N-Space? He certainly seemed surprised enough to wind up on Alzarius instead of Gallifrey. Whether he did or not, I was glad to have a temporary reprieve. But I knew that ultimately, it could only be temporary. Time Lords have all the time in the world to catch up with a person, and I couldn't hide forever. So I had to leave; The Doctor was interfered with enough by them, and I knew they could usually track him down. Staying in E-Space was my only possibility for resistance, and so I did.
Yes, I had good reasons for staying -- I knew I could make a difference in the conditions of the Tharils' lives. But I also stayed for selfish reasons, petulant ones. Like a child who doesn't want to obey a mother's call just out of spite, I decided that I didn't want to come home just because they'd requested I do so. It was rebellion, pure and simple. If I was going to come home, I wanted to do it on my own terms.
And of course later, I did.
Yes, I had good reasons for staying -- I knew I could make a difference in the conditions of the Tharils' lives. But I also stayed for selfish reasons, petulant ones. Like a child who doesn't want to obey a mother's call just out of spite, I decided that I didn't want to come home just because they'd requested I do so. It was rebellion, pure and simple. If I was going to come home, I wanted to do it on my own terms.
And of course later, I did.