Doctor Who | Five Minutes
Jan. 24th, 2008 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eponymous_roseTitle: Five Minutes
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eponymous_rose
Word Count: 906
Rating: G
Characters: First Doctor, Susan, Third Doctor, Jo Grant, Fourth Doctor, Romana, Seventh Doctor, Ace, Eighth Doctor
FIVE MINUTES
1:00
She stands at the beginning of his journey, staring, hands clasped before her as though in supplication. He stops fiddling with the infernal machine's lock, slipping the stolen key into his sleeve as he turns.
"Hello, Susan," he says. "You should be in bed, child."
As though realizing this for the first time, she rubs at her eyes and yawns, but still she doesn't speak. In her silence is an implicit trust; as always, she's waiting to see what he does next. She won't tell anyone about this, her eyes say, and he wants to believe them.
"I'm just going for a quick trip," he says. "A brief journey, and then straight back."
She considers, a faint smile twitching on her lips, then shakes her head. "Grandfather," she whispers, with all the thrill of the unknown. "It's forbidden."
He pauses, considers, then nods. In turning to look at the lock again, his hand brushes against the Type 40's nondescript exterior, and he feels a vibration, a hum of power, of energy, of all the worlds out in the cosmos, within his reach at last. Danger and heady excitement and death and life, all waiting out there for him.
Susan is still silent, and he knows what she's working up the nerve to ask. And she'll suffer for this youthful enthusiasm, share his exile in his freedom.
"Susan," he calls over his shoulder, and wonders if she will ever forgive him, "have you ever seen a Type 40 from the inside?"
2:00
A distant flash of lightning flickers through the bars of the cell; automatically, he starts counting the seconds until the thunder.
Jo tugs at his sleeve. "Doctor?" It takes him a moment to realize that she's managed to squirm out of the ropes binding her wrists. "I'll do yours next," she says.
"Well done, Jo!" he says, and holds out his hands for her to inspect; she scrutinizes the mess of knots, then carefully starts unravelling them.
Outside, the thunder growls, deep and low. He knows he should be thinking of the next step, figuring out just how to overpower twelve armed guards, unbound hands or not, but he's distracted by the way Jo's untying his bonds, precise as any surgeon; collapsing the patterns of knots without breaking the rope.
"That's a sort of art, you know," he says, and she laughs.
"Like- like that Japanese paper folding!"
He grins. "Origami, Jo."
"That's the one," she says, smile fading as she concentrates again. "Not allowed to cut the paper, just to-" And she beams as the rope falls limp around his wrists, untied in record time. "-to fold it!"
But he doesn't reply; he's thinking again, of bending instead of breaking. He glances up at the unsteady supports of the prison ceiling, mentally measures the angle to the door, and grins. "Jo," he says, "you're a genius."
3:00
"Well," he says, "I mean, if you'd really like-"
"I'd much rather not," Romana says quickly. "Forget I brought it up."
"Can't," he mutters. "Memory like an elephant."
"Like a- like a what?"
He turns. "Elephant," he says. "Large Terran land mammal."
"With a good memory," Romana says, sounding more than a little dubious.
"Well," he says, then pauses, stares at her. "Why are you on about elephants, anyway?"
"You're the one who mentioned them," she says, and stalks around the console to stare at the readout.
The Doctor scoffs. Romana pays him no mind, so he scoffs again. Louder.
"Is there something caught in your throat?" she says.
He shoves his hands into his pockets. She ignores him. "No," he says, loudly, "as a matter of fact there is not something caught in my throat."
Just before he stalks out of the room Romana says something that sounds very much like: "Pity."
4:00
"Look at this, Professor!" Ace has one of the larger ice crystals in her hand; her eyes are alight with its multifaceted reflections.
He leans forward, makes a show of inspecting it. "A fine specimen," he says.
Ace grins, and then her smile slips. "Specimen of what, exactly?"
Resisting, with some effort, the urge to laugh at her startled expression - she's been spending too much time around him - he pats her shoulder reassuringly. "The people here think these caves are sacred. The ice is supposed to protect from harm."
She snorts, a bit of the old cynicism shining through, but he catches the brief look of distress on her face as she realizes that the ice is melting in her hand. "Sacred ice," she mutters, and lets the dripping crystal drop to the ground. "Now I've seen it all."
They stand in the caves, silent, as the ice melts at their feet.
∞:
Thirty-four seconds remaining.
Thirty-nine.
Fifty-three.
Twelve seconds remaining.
His hand is hovering over the controls of the TARDIS, not enough to break, not enough to touch, not enough to melt, but-
Worlds are spinning, now, faster and harder and dying and living with each breath.
Two seconds remaining.
He thinks now this must be it, but time is ill and sways on its feet again, sending him reeling into the past.
Thirty-four seconds remaining.
"Well," he says, softly, into the distant thunder. "It's close enough, anyway."
The world, for once, has the decency to end.
Author:
eponymous_roseWord Count: 906
Rating: G
Characters: First Doctor, Susan, Third Doctor, Jo Grant, Fourth Doctor, Romana, Seventh Doctor, Ace, Eighth Doctor
FIVE MINUTES
1:00
She stands at the beginning of his journey, staring, hands clasped before her as though in supplication. He stops fiddling with the infernal machine's lock, slipping the stolen key into his sleeve as he turns.
"Hello, Susan," he says. "You should be in bed, child."
As though realizing this for the first time, she rubs at her eyes and yawns, but still she doesn't speak. In her silence is an implicit trust; as always, she's waiting to see what he does next. She won't tell anyone about this, her eyes say, and he wants to believe them.
"I'm just going for a quick trip," he says. "A brief journey, and then straight back."
She considers, a faint smile twitching on her lips, then shakes her head. "Grandfather," she whispers, with all the thrill of the unknown. "It's forbidden."
He pauses, considers, then nods. In turning to look at the lock again, his hand brushes against the Type 40's nondescript exterior, and he feels a vibration, a hum of power, of energy, of all the worlds out in the cosmos, within his reach at last. Danger and heady excitement and death and life, all waiting out there for him.
Susan is still silent, and he knows what she's working up the nerve to ask. And she'll suffer for this youthful enthusiasm, share his exile in his freedom.
"Susan," he calls over his shoulder, and wonders if she will ever forgive him, "have you ever seen a Type 40 from the inside?"
2:00
A distant flash of lightning flickers through the bars of the cell; automatically, he starts counting the seconds until the thunder.
Jo tugs at his sleeve. "Doctor?" It takes him a moment to realize that she's managed to squirm out of the ropes binding her wrists. "I'll do yours next," she says.
"Well done, Jo!" he says, and holds out his hands for her to inspect; she scrutinizes the mess of knots, then carefully starts unravelling them.
Outside, the thunder growls, deep and low. He knows he should be thinking of the next step, figuring out just how to overpower twelve armed guards, unbound hands or not, but he's distracted by the way Jo's untying his bonds, precise as any surgeon; collapsing the patterns of knots without breaking the rope.
"That's a sort of art, you know," he says, and she laughs.
"Like- like that Japanese paper folding!"
He grins. "Origami, Jo."
"That's the one," she says, smile fading as she concentrates again. "Not allowed to cut the paper, just to-" And she beams as the rope falls limp around his wrists, untied in record time. "-to fold it!"
But he doesn't reply; he's thinking again, of bending instead of breaking. He glances up at the unsteady supports of the prison ceiling, mentally measures the angle to the door, and grins. "Jo," he says, "you're a genius."
3:00
"Well," he says, "I mean, if you'd really like-"
"I'd much rather not," Romana says quickly. "Forget I brought it up."
"Can't," he mutters. "Memory like an elephant."
"Like a- like a what?"
He turns. "Elephant," he says. "Large Terran land mammal."
"With a good memory," Romana says, sounding more than a little dubious.
"Well," he says, then pauses, stares at her. "Why are you on about elephants, anyway?"
"You're the one who mentioned them," she says, and stalks around the console to stare at the readout.
The Doctor scoffs. Romana pays him no mind, so he scoffs again. Louder.
"Is there something caught in your throat?" she says.
He shoves his hands into his pockets. She ignores him. "No," he says, loudly, "as a matter of fact there is not something caught in my throat."
Just before he stalks out of the room Romana says something that sounds very much like: "Pity."
4:00
"Look at this, Professor!" Ace has one of the larger ice crystals in her hand; her eyes are alight with its multifaceted reflections.
He leans forward, makes a show of inspecting it. "A fine specimen," he says.
Ace grins, and then her smile slips. "Specimen of what, exactly?"
Resisting, with some effort, the urge to laugh at her startled expression - she's been spending too much time around him - he pats her shoulder reassuringly. "The people here think these caves are sacred. The ice is supposed to protect from harm."
She snorts, a bit of the old cynicism shining through, but he catches the brief look of distress on her face as she realizes that the ice is melting in her hand. "Sacred ice," she mutters, and lets the dripping crystal drop to the ground. "Now I've seen it all."
They stand in the caves, silent, as the ice melts at their feet.
∞:
Thirty-four seconds remaining.
Thirty-nine.
Fifty-three.
Twelve seconds remaining.
His hand is hovering over the controls of the TARDIS, not enough to break, not enough to touch, not enough to melt, but-
Worlds are spinning, now, faster and harder and dying and living with each breath.
Two seconds remaining.
He thinks now this must be it, but time is ill and sways on its feet again, sending him reeling into the past.
Thirty-four seconds remaining.
"Well," he says, softly, into the distant thunder. "It's close enough, anyway."
The world, for once, has the decency to end.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-01-25 07:18 am (UTC)"Susan," he calls over his shoulder, and wonders if she will ever forgive him, "have you ever seen a Type 40 from the inside?"
Oh my goodness. Such painful, beautiful AWESOMENESS.
ETA: Also, I just finished watching Terror of the Autons, so Jo's escapology skillz made me squee a bit. ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:13 am (UTC)Also, I just finished watching Terror of the Autons, so Jo's escapology skillz made me squee a bit. ;)
Ooh, yay! I love the Third Doctor's era so much, and Jo's just awesome. Huzzah!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-25 08:48 am (UTC)::applause::
no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-25 10:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-25 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:17 am (UTC)I'm really glad you've been enjoying the fic - and thanks so much for commenting! :D
no subject
Date: 2008-01-26 02:18 am (UTC)So, yesterday your Liz fic was recced at
If you don't mind, may I friend you? I'm really enjoying your fic and you have Who squee, which makes me happy.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:24 am (UTC)Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the fic - after all, it's always such fun to write. :D
um, unless there's anonymous commenting? I actually just assumed
Hm, that's a good question. I'm a bit of a Teaspoon newbie, and just tend to sort of throw my fic up there at random, occasionally popping back to make sure the formatting's not all screwy. I think they used to have anonymous commenting, but have since disabled it. Possibly? /authoritative
Anyway, yes! Hooray for friendage, and I hope my rambly posts aren't too off-putting. *winks* Thanks again for the comment!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-26 02:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:28 am (UTC)Thank you! I've always found Romana extremely easy to write (comparatively speaking, anyway), but Ace is a bit of a different story. Much as I love her, it's pretty tricky to capture her voice when I haven't been watching McCoy's serials or listening to the audios lately. And it's been too long! Glad it's been working all right!
(At least, that's what I thought it was. I don't want to make assumptions, but the last minute sounds like it takes place during the Time War, what with the temporal instability.)
Well, I've decided to call it "systematically ambiguous" (sounds so much better than "I ran out of time for clarity" *winks*), but the Time War was definitely at the forefront of my thoughts while writing that bit.
Thanks so much for commenting!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-27 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-05 01:23 am (UTC)