Faith 1/1; The Doctor, Donna, Rose (offstage); G

[scarfman]

Title: Faith 1/1
Author: scarfman
Characters/Pairing: the Doctor, Donna, Rose (offstage)
Rating: G
Setting/Spoilers: Doomsday, Season 2008 casting
Betareader: qtrhorserider
Disclaimer: This work is derivative of properties of the BBC. No profit shall be made and no market of the owner(s) is infringed upon.
Summary: He needs to think better of himself.
crossposted scarfman dwfiction marriedonmars time_and_chips

---

The Doctor wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand, wondering whether Martha'd still have left her mobile had he told her this story. He looked at Donna from the corners of his eyes, sitting next to him on the wide console room chair, to see how much she hated him. Oddly, she looked like she needed to think about it first.

"You didn't let go," said Donna.

Right, she'd figured it out.

"Rose was falling into this Void thingy, with all the Seibermen and Dollics," Donna continued, "and you watched her go."

"Yes," the Doctor said, dropping his eyes back to his lap.

Donna exhaled through pursed lips, making a surprisingly unintentionally rude noise for someone who must be hating him so much right now. "And that's why you never told Martha the whole story? Or Jack? Or me? Till now."

"I'm a coward," mumbled the Doctor. "I should have let go, and gone into the Void with Rose."

Donna struck him at the back of his head with the flat of her hand.

"Ow!" cried the Doctor, glaring at her and rubbing the injured spot. He'd expected tears of betrayal, screams of anger and hatred, demands to be returned home instantly. He hadn't expected to be smacked upside the head like a misbehaving child.

"D'you think ghost dad could have caught you and Rose both, Martian Boy?!" Donna demanded. She didn't call him Martian Boy when she was mad because she thought he was being cowardly, only when she thought he was being stupid. Sometimes he was.

"I didn't know Pete was going to catch her!" the Doctor snapped, the headache taking the edge off his guilt. "I still don't know how he knew to show up right then. Unless his Torchwood had some sort of cross-world viewer that they never had time to mention to me. Or something. Might explain why Jake was so much less surprised to see me than I was to see him. But I'll never know now. Unless I do get across someday. In which case first order of business will be going back and making sure, myself, that Pete knows when to show up, Blinovitch convergence permitting -" Donna brandished the heel of her hand and he shut up.

"If she had actually fallen into the Void, then you'd've let go," Donna said. "You know you'd've done that for her. Hell, you'd do that for me, and we don't even like each other!

"How many times have you escaped certain death by a hair's breadth? Just since I've known you? You do it all the time. And you keep saying Rose was just as 'brilliant'. You keep saying she pulled off just as many of those escapes in her time as you did. The reason you held on isn't that you were afraid to follow her, because if she'd needed it you'd've let right go. You were just waiting to make sure that she needed it.

"You held on because because of your faith in Rose."

fin

Comments

[svanderslice.livejournal.com]

*sob* That was lovely, and well very well put. Extra brownie points for your explaination of how Pete got the moment exactly right.

[miss-mady.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, that ending-- oh.

So good.

Brilliant.

[chibi-kitsune06.livejournal.com]

*sob* It was fantastic! Donna smacking the Doctor on the back of the head made me lol gets me excited to see the next season with her as the Doctor's new companion!

[starxd-sparrow.livejournal.com]

Oh, how lovely. That Donna... the voice of reason to be sure.

Nicely played.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Lovely. My thoughts tend to go that he didn't let go, and wouldn't have, because if he was on the outside, there was still a chance he could've done something to save her--and he'd have done absolutely anything. But this works as well, because it goes with the way their relationship was portrayed. He believed in her, she had faith in him.

Donna smacking him was Of The Good, too. He needs it sometimes.

[spastasmagoria.livejournal.com]

oh awesome. great scene.

[larielromeniel.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this. I think I'm going to like Donna as a companion.

[romanathethird.livejournal.com]

Oh that was fabulous!!! I think I'm gonna enjoy having Donna as a companion!!!!

[sunnytyler001.livejournal.com]

"You held on because because of your faith in Rose."
Yes, he did!
Very well said Donna!!!

[themolesmother.livejournal.com]

I have my hopes for Donna. Mostly based on your fic. I hope RTD doesn't let me down.

MM

[xbriyeon.livejournal.com]

Oh that was lovely. and yes, he really needed that smacking.

[hippiebanana132.livejournal.com]

Beautiful =)

And I don't know if this - "You know you'd've done that for her. Hell, you'd do that for me, and we don't even like each other!" - was supposed to make me giggle, but it really did.

[truthmaker]

Very touching. I can only hope that Donna will be this good in the actual series.

That said, I actually laughed out loud when Donna smacked him. I almost expected a comment about mothers at that point. :-)

[scarfman]

Donna didn't wait for fanfiction to take on herself that particular task otherwise relegated to companions' mothers.

I'm glad Donna is enjoyed as I anticipate her. I've never written so much future-speculative fanfiction in my life as I have this year (having largely mined out the past, perhaps), and I've begun to wonder how it'll hit me if RTD's Donna seems very different from mine. Or, for that matter, his 2008 Martha. And Doctor.

[lunaserenade.livejournal.com]

*gets teary* .... I love you. Write more.... *clings*

Donna was just perfect and spot on and just *wibbles* <3!!!!!!!!

[sapphire-child.livejournal.com]

Ooh lovely, lovely - I like your take on the Doctor's emotions in this, that he truly believed Rose would be okay which is why he didn't let go. And Donna/Ten chats are always good - she's fabulous.

Thanks for the link!

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

I don't think the doctor is a coward per se, but he does prefer to run from some issues instead of dealing with them. It's really simple though, there's nothing he could have done as letting go would have doomed him as well as Rose. It's survivors guilt that's getting to him.