fic: extraordinary
Dec. 7th, 2008 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thirty2flavorsTitle: Extraordinary
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor, Donna and some brief mentions of the additional cast of "Midnight"
Genre: Angst-y gen, which is apparently mynot so new favourite or something.
Spoilers?: Through "Midnight" (4x10)
Summary: Donna Noble is angry.
Excerpt: “They were scared,” was all the Doctor would say, and for once Donna found herself wishing he’d relinquish the moral high ground and admit that they were wrong, wrong, wrong, cowards and idiots and quite nearly murderers.
Once she’d stopped being terrified with concern, Donna had started being furious.
She was furious at herself for staying behind, for lounging by a pool while the Doctor’d been off putting himself in mortal peril. She was furious at the Midnight staff and their apparent reluctance to believe the story put forth by six of their guests. She was even a little (and, she admitted, rather unfairly) furious at the Doctor, for having such an incredible knack for finding trouble everywhere he went.
Mostly, though, she was furious at them, the five people who had come so close to killing her best friend.
Convincing an entire establishment that they ought to pack up, lock the doors behind them and toss out the key was not an easy task, not even for the Oncoming Storm and Donna Noble, Supertemp. The five people standing awkwardly in the back corner, actively pretending the Doctor didn’t exist, had not been much help.
Donna had wanted to scream at them. Would have, too, if the combination of the Doctor’s vice-like grip on her hand and his impassive face hadn’t been begging her to stay silent. She’d settled instead on the coldest glare she could manage and felt a twisted sort of accomplishment when they’d shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
They were lucky, Donna thought, that she hadn’t been there.
“They were scared,” was all the Doctor would say, and for once Donna found herself wishing he’d relinquish the moral high ground and admit that they were wrong, wrong, wrong, cowards and idiots and quite nearly murderers. She knew, on some level, that perhaps she ought to feel some measure of sympathy; they had, after all, been thrown into a horrible situation, seen death and terror and the worst of themselves.
She couldn’t seem to muster up the morality.
The problem was that she could see the haunted look in the Doctor’s eyes and she knew what had put it there. It wasn’t the mysterious force that had hijacked his voice and paralyzed his body. It wasn’t that he’d nearly been killed, because that was hardly a first. It was that they were human, the lot of them, ordinary, plain, simple, boring, average humans, the sort he so frequently brought onto the TARDIS, the sort he fought so consistently to protect.
It scared her, perhaps as much as it scared him. Perhaps more.
“Come on,” he said eventually, once the point had finally been made and they were able at last to retreat to the TARDIS. Donna clung to his hand as they walked, determined to anchor him, searching for and failing to find something to say.
They were nearly back to the quiet corridor where the ship was parked when the all-too-familiar sound of running came from behind. They spun around to look at the same time, and the Doctor dropped her hand.
“Doctor!”
Donna recognized the voice as one of the five, the dark-haired boy who’d stood separate from the rest, arms folded protectively across his chest. He was young, and Donna presumed that before today he considered homework and overbearing parents to be the absolute worst that life got. He stopped when he reached them, wedged his hands into the pockets of his jeans and didn’t quite make eye contact with either of them.
“Jethro,” the Doctor said, nodding ever-so-slightly, his voice and expression unreadable.
The boy shifted his weight from one foot and back to the other, and then finally lifted his gaze to meet the Doctor’s. “I just – I wanted to… apologize.” He dropped his gaze back down to the floor. “It was just – everyone was –” He fumbled for the words and Donna nearly felt a pang of sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
At her side, the Doctor nodded again, the faintest sign of a smile on his lips. “I know.”
That was that, apparently. Jethro gave a twitchy, nervous smile and went back the way he came; the Doctor turned on his heel and continued towards the TARDIS. Bewildered, Donna gaped after both of them, then shook herself and started after the Doctor.
She caught up to him as he was fishing in his pocket for the TARDIS key. She leaned heavily against the familiar blue wooden frame and stared at him in disbelief.
“That’s it?” she asked, and he met her eyes as he slipped the key into the lock. “'I know?'”
He raised an eyebrow. “What would you have preferred me to say, Donna?”
Lots of things, Donna thought, and probably several the TARDIS wouldn’t be keen on translating. Instead she said, “He tried to kill you.”
“And he apologized. The only one, too.” He shrugged. “I liked Jethro, well enough. He was clever.”
Donna stared. “He tried to kill you,” she said again, in case the first time had gotten lost in translation.
The Doctor gave her a strange sort of smile and shouldered open the door. “Lots of people have tried to kill me. No one’s quite got the hang of it yet.”
Donna stepped into the golden light of the TARDIS console room and frowned.
“So he apologizes and it’s just water under the bridge, then? That’s it? No lecture? No righteous Time Lord anger?” She raised her eyebrows. “If it was me they’d tried to chuck out of their bloody space bus you’d be absolutely beside yourself.”
“Well, yes, probably,” he conceded, tossing his coat over one of the coral struts. “But it wasn’t.”
He leapt up the ramp to the console, no doubt eager to leave the diamond planet far behind, and Donna instinctively braced herself as the ship dematerialized. From his spot at the controls, the Doctor looked over at her.
“He’ll have plenty to deal with because of today, Donna, without a guilt trip from me. They all will.”
“But so will you.”
The Doctor only smiled.
Donna heaved a sigh as she made her way up the ramp. There was no point in being angry, not if she was never going to see those people again, and his resolute smile only dredged up the worry she’d managed to bury under her fury. She knew how the Doctor dealt with things – or rather, how he didn’t – and she remembered too clearly the delay there’d been before he’d hugged her back.
“It’s just that they were people,” she admitted, coming to stand at his side, tracing her fingers over the unfamiliar controls of the TARDIS. “Just… regular, ordinary people. Just like me.”
“Oh, they were nothing like you, Donna.” The Doctor smiled sideways at her. “The people I travel with – none of you are ever really ordinary.”
Donna found she didn’t have the heart to correct him.
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor, Donna and some brief mentions of the additional cast of "Midnight"
Genre: Angst-y gen, which is apparently my
Spoilers?: Through "Midnight" (4x10)
Summary: Donna Noble is angry.
Excerpt: “They were scared,” was all the Doctor would say, and for once Donna found herself wishing he’d relinquish the moral high ground and admit that they were wrong, wrong, wrong, cowards and idiots and quite nearly murderers.
Once she’d stopped being terrified with concern, Donna had started being furious.
She was furious at herself for staying behind, for lounging by a pool while the Doctor’d been off putting himself in mortal peril. She was furious at the Midnight staff and their apparent reluctance to believe the story put forth by six of their guests. She was even a little (and, she admitted, rather unfairly) furious at the Doctor, for having such an incredible knack for finding trouble everywhere he went.
Mostly, though, she was furious at them, the five people who had come so close to killing her best friend.
Convincing an entire establishment that they ought to pack up, lock the doors behind them and toss out the key was not an easy task, not even for the Oncoming Storm and Donna Noble, Supertemp. The five people standing awkwardly in the back corner, actively pretending the Doctor didn’t exist, had not been much help.
Donna had wanted to scream at them. Would have, too, if the combination of the Doctor’s vice-like grip on her hand and his impassive face hadn’t been begging her to stay silent. She’d settled instead on the coldest glare she could manage and felt a twisted sort of accomplishment when they’d shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
They were lucky, Donna thought, that she hadn’t been there.
“They were scared,” was all the Doctor would say, and for once Donna found herself wishing he’d relinquish the moral high ground and admit that they were wrong, wrong, wrong, cowards and idiots and quite nearly murderers. She knew, on some level, that perhaps she ought to feel some measure of sympathy; they had, after all, been thrown into a horrible situation, seen death and terror and the worst of themselves.
She couldn’t seem to muster up the morality.
The problem was that she could see the haunted look in the Doctor’s eyes and she knew what had put it there. It wasn’t the mysterious force that had hijacked his voice and paralyzed his body. It wasn’t that he’d nearly been killed, because that was hardly a first. It was that they were human, the lot of them, ordinary, plain, simple, boring, average humans, the sort he so frequently brought onto the TARDIS, the sort he fought so consistently to protect.
It scared her, perhaps as much as it scared him. Perhaps more.
“Come on,” he said eventually, once the point had finally been made and they were able at last to retreat to the TARDIS. Donna clung to his hand as they walked, determined to anchor him, searching for and failing to find something to say.
They were nearly back to the quiet corridor where the ship was parked when the all-too-familiar sound of running came from behind. They spun around to look at the same time, and the Doctor dropped her hand.
“Doctor!”
Donna recognized the voice as one of the five, the dark-haired boy who’d stood separate from the rest, arms folded protectively across his chest. He was young, and Donna presumed that before today he considered homework and overbearing parents to be the absolute worst that life got. He stopped when he reached them, wedged his hands into the pockets of his jeans and didn’t quite make eye contact with either of them.
“Jethro,” the Doctor said, nodding ever-so-slightly, his voice and expression unreadable.
The boy shifted his weight from one foot and back to the other, and then finally lifted his gaze to meet the Doctor’s. “I just – I wanted to… apologize.” He dropped his gaze back down to the floor. “It was just – everyone was –” He fumbled for the words and Donna nearly felt a pang of sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
At her side, the Doctor nodded again, the faintest sign of a smile on his lips. “I know.”
That was that, apparently. Jethro gave a twitchy, nervous smile and went back the way he came; the Doctor turned on his heel and continued towards the TARDIS. Bewildered, Donna gaped after both of them, then shook herself and started after the Doctor.
She caught up to him as he was fishing in his pocket for the TARDIS key. She leaned heavily against the familiar blue wooden frame and stared at him in disbelief.
“That’s it?” she asked, and he met her eyes as he slipped the key into the lock. “'I know?'”
He raised an eyebrow. “What would you have preferred me to say, Donna?”
Lots of things, Donna thought, and probably several the TARDIS wouldn’t be keen on translating. Instead she said, “He tried to kill you.”
“And he apologized. The only one, too.” He shrugged. “I liked Jethro, well enough. He was clever.”
Donna stared. “He tried to kill you,” she said again, in case the first time had gotten lost in translation.
The Doctor gave her a strange sort of smile and shouldered open the door. “Lots of people have tried to kill me. No one’s quite got the hang of it yet.”
Donna stepped into the golden light of the TARDIS console room and frowned.
“So he apologizes and it’s just water under the bridge, then? That’s it? No lecture? No righteous Time Lord anger?” She raised her eyebrows. “If it was me they’d tried to chuck out of their bloody space bus you’d be absolutely beside yourself.”
“Well, yes, probably,” he conceded, tossing his coat over one of the coral struts. “But it wasn’t.”
He leapt up the ramp to the console, no doubt eager to leave the diamond planet far behind, and Donna instinctively braced herself as the ship dematerialized. From his spot at the controls, the Doctor looked over at her.
“He’ll have plenty to deal with because of today, Donna, without a guilt trip from me. They all will.”
“But so will you.”
The Doctor only smiled.
Donna heaved a sigh as she made her way up the ramp. There was no point in being angry, not if she was never going to see those people again, and his resolute smile only dredged up the worry she’d managed to bury under her fury. She knew how the Doctor dealt with things – or rather, how he didn’t – and she remembered too clearly the delay there’d been before he’d hugged her back.
“It’s just that they were people,” she admitted, coming to stand at his side, tracing her fingers over the unfamiliar controls of the TARDIS. “Just… regular, ordinary people. Just like me.”
“Oh, they were nothing like you, Donna.” The Doctor smiled sideways at her. “The people I travel with – none of you are ever really ordinary.”
Donna found she didn’t have the heart to correct him.
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Date: 2008-12-08 02:37 am (UTC)Actually, I don't know that my comment even makes sense, but yeah... great work, and I really enjoyed it.
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Date: 2008-12-08 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 03:23 am (UTC)“Oh, they were nothing like you, Donna.” The Doctor smiled sideways at her. “The people I travel with – none of you are ever really ordinary.” -- so very true, of all of his companions.
Nicely done.
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Date: 2008-12-08 03:52 am (UTC)Thank you!
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Date: 2008-12-08 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 03:54 am (UTC)Thank you!
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Date: 2008-12-08 03:42 am (UTC)THAT is the reason why I love that episode so much. It's different from a lot of the others becuase they're just people. Hooray for you for pointing that out.
I really like this. You've got Donna down pat. :)
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Date: 2008-12-08 03:56 am (UTC)Thank you! I've been writing her a lot lately, she's a lot of fun.
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Date: 2008-12-08 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 06:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 06:31 am (UTC)Sorry I rambled a bit there. There's just so many aspects to this that I adore. &hearts: Major Love!! \o/
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Date: 2008-12-08 06:56 am (UTC)...and I mean, I would be pretty angry if a group of strangers tried to kill one of my friends, so.
No worries, I love rambling! Thank you!
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Date: 2008-12-08 09:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 05:59 pm (UTC)Thank you!
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Date: 2008-12-08 08:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 12:41 am (UTC)There are a few post-Midnight fics around, of course, but this is definitely one of the best for all the reasons everyone else has mentioned. It's also unique among those I've read, in that you go on to consider what happens next: after the hug, after he's told Donna what happened. And of course he'd want to stop the tours, and of course the other passengers wouldn't be able to meet his eyes, and he wouldn't accuse them and Donna would be furious.
Jethro was one of the best of them; I can't remember, but was he part of the lynch-mob or not? I didn't think he was actually dragging the Doctor, though his parents were. I'm glad he said sorry. :(
Very, very nicely done, as always!
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Date: 2008-12-09 12:57 am (UTC)They sort of hint at this at the end of the episode -- Donna points out that they should probably tell the Midnight staff -- but then of course the episode is over, and I can't imagine it would have been an easy task, trying to shut down the entire establishment, lol. And I've seen a couple other post-Midnight fics, too, but most of them seem to focus primarily on Donna's worry and/or the Doctor's trauma, and while that's well and good, I thought Donna's innevitable and well-earned anger would be interesting to explore, because Donna Noble is not going to take kindly to a bunch of people trying to kill her bff. The other thing I thought was interesting was that yeah, the Doctor definitely wouldn't accuse them, even though, as Donna points out, if they'd tried to do it to anyone else he'd definitely go all shouty Oncomign Storm.
I liked Jethro a lot, actually, I thought it was interesting to have the sulky teen be arguably the brightest of them. He does get caught up in it in the end and helps his father drag the Doctor towards the door, probably mostly because his mom is screaming at him to do something. (lol, his mom is the worst) I don't remember what the professor is doing at this point, but Dee Dee's huddled in a corner with her hands over her ears, and Jethro's mom is just kind of yelling encouragement to them (I think? I can't recall if she was actually helping or not, though she was definitely the instigator). Anyhow, I wanted someone to apologize, and Jethro seemed like the only one who would be up to the challenge.
Anyway, thanks again!
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Date: 2008-12-09 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 04:45 pm (UTC)But back at thise amazing piece of work, What is believable is that Donna wanted to scream at those people but the Doctor didn't want her to makle a scene. I also like that Jethro apoligized because he and Deedee were the people who were willing the less to throw the Doctor out. I really wanted to punch the other 3 in the face. Your fic wins the internet!
I also believe that Donna Noble would have given them a piece of her mind if she would have met them. She is the kind of character that speaks her mind and sometimes even the doctor can not stop her. And she is overprotective of the doctor. There is no way stopping her when she is pissed. (And for proof I have the two audiobooks).
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Date: 2008-12-09 06:23 pm (UTC)I liked Jethro the most, and even though he does get caught up in the moment I thought he'd be the only one who'd feel bad enough to apologize, or at leat the only one with the courage to apologize -- he and the Doctor seem to get along earlier, and while Deedee didn't actually help them try and throw the Doctor out, I also think she's the sort of person who might hide behind the "it wasn't my fault, I wasn't doing anything" excuse. I also liked the way they had Jethro be far more sensible and rational than either of his parents, who absolutely would never admit that they were wrong.
Had Donna met them while the Doctor wasn't there, I definitely think she would've completely gone off at them. Would've been awesome, and probably terrifying. And if it'd been anyone other than himself they'd tried to kill, the Doctor would be right there screaming with her, lol.
Haven't read/heard those, they good?
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Date: 2008-12-10 01:39 am (UTC)It is funny how Jethro's parents always ignore him when he makes sense, I also agree with you that he would be the only one to apoligise. I dislike his mother for one of her comments in the end. Something along the lines of "I told them it was her" when she did not do so. I feel kind of sorry for Deedee because she seems like a bright person that people ignore or just don't listen too. She tried to convince the others that the alien didn't let Sky go. She believed that it still possesed the woman. I think she gave up when she was told to shut up. Poor Doctor, who finds their behavior excusable. I was so pissed off on humanity after that episode. XD
For the moment there are two audio books "Pest Control" read by D.Tennant and the "Forever Trap" read by C.Tate. I personnaly loved both of them because it is really centered around Donna and the Doctor. At first it was weird listening to someone read but I soon got used to it. Both books have a different tone and it is interesting to listen to the reader talk with their respective characters. I think Donna was brilliant in both of those books. Espesially that she got angry in both of them!
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Date: 2008-12-10 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-10 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-27 12:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-03 01:14 pm (UTC)I especially liked "“Oh, they were nothing like you, Donna.” The Doctor smiled sideways at her. “The people I travel with – none of you are ever really ordinary.”
Donna found she didn’t have the heart to correct him." because that is just so them.
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Date: 2009-03-06 03:01 pm (UTC)