[ They're really only arranged because Clara seems to have finally become fed up of the Doctor's lack of organization, 'a hoarding problem' may or may not have been uttered at one point, but it's all ... fine. It's fine! There's a very specific place for every specific item, except for the one that he appears to be looking for. ]
I think I've lost a tie. [ He scratches his head, then gets to his feet and dusts his pant legs off. ] But never mind that, no, it's not important. Well β not for now, anyway. [ His pile of clothing will live. So will he. Moving on: ] Yes! So, you're all right, then? You look all right. I'm glad you're all right. [ He makes a quick study of Rosinante by the door. ] You are all right?
I'm not hurt, if that's what you're asking. All that dream stuff stayed in the dream. Good thing, or I'd probably burn through all the supplies left in the infirmary.
[Not an especially funny joke considering how many bullet holes he'd had punched through him, but his humor often trends on the dry and slightly dark side.]
The rest... I dunno. I just wanted to thank you for trying to get me out of it.
[ The Doctor nods, accepting of both his assessment of Rosinante's health, and his statement itself. He does look to (thankfully) be in one piece (heh), and for now that's enough.
Of course there's no telling what sort of damage the dreams might have done on the psyche; he has his own ghosts from dreams past that he's still dealing with. ]
Oh, there's no need to thank me. [ He flaps a hand, nevertheless touched. He smiles softly. ] It's what I do, eh? I'm here to help.
[He shrugs, and finds himself having a hard time making eye contact. It's too personal, all of it - what the Doctor saw, and now Rosinante thanking him. He's doing it because it's the right thing to do anyway, but it's hard for someone who's used to slipping into the background and keeping people at a comfortable emotional distance.]
A few other people saw that same dream, since I kept somehow coming back to it. Head won't let go, I guess. Most of them just asked questions, tried to understand. And that's fine, but - well. I didn't expect people to help the way you did, finding a way out like that. Made an impression.
[There, he's said his piece, and frowns with his hands in his pockets.]
Oh, you β [ The Doctor, overcome with humany-wumany emotion, and his own general penchant for hugs, gets to his feet and comes over to the large man.
It might look a little comical, for even the tall alien with his long limbs couldn't fully wrap them around the taller, larger man β but he does try. And the thought (and the emotion) is there.
He squeezes as much as he's able to, and then steps back. ] You're a friend to me now β well, I suppose you've been a friend to me for some time. It's what I do for my friends. And if you're ever in need of help in the future, all you have to do is ring me up.
[Somehow that makes him feel even more self-conscious, that hug - but only for a moment, before he sort of slouches as he accepts it. It's a little hard to hug back, all he'd get is air without pulling away so he can lean way down, so the slouch will have to do as reciprocation, especially as by the time he's thinking maybe he should set a hand on the Doctor's shoulder or something, he lets go.
Once again, he's called friend by someone he wishes he knew better, because it's hard to really feel like he's earned a title like that.]
Thanks. I... I'll remember that. I'll try, anyway. Won't lie, your help would be appreciated here and there back home, given what you say that ship of yours can do.
[ There will be plenty of time for future hugs, and the Doctor is far from offended. If anything, the slouch really is an encouraging response. He's smiling when he properly pulls back. ]
Yes! Your world of oceans and a ship that isn't the same sort of ship as my ship but a ship nevertheless. I promise, Rosinante, if and when my TARDIS finds me, I'll find a way to your home. I'd love to see it.
[ And if he can help there, well, that's just a perk of the job, really. He doesn't make promises lightly, not if he doesn't have any intentions on keeping them, but seeing that Rosi is reunited with that boy in the box, and finding some peace β well, that's something the Doctor wants to help with.
(Whether he will remember any of this by the time they're finished here ... yes, that is the question, isn't it?) ]
Oh, I don't doubt that. Sounds unlike anything I've ever dreamed of. And... more important, I think Law would like it too. I'd love for him to see something like that. He's had it rough. Could use some joy in his life.
[See, he can't talk about himself for long, but he can turn all sorts of attention onto the boy he was willing to die for. He's the one who needs it most now, because every ounce of kindness and love that Law gets takes him one step farther away from the destructive path he had tried to set himself on.
Yamato tells him that Law found himself a new path, but Rosinante figures there's nothing wrong with a little more, anyway. What teenage kid wouldn't want to fly through stars and see other worlds, and know that there are so many good people out there just like him?]
Of course! Yes! Your friend Law is absolutely welcome to see time and space and the TARDIS in all her glory.
[ The Doctor thinks he'd really like to meet this young man that Rosinante cares so much about, so much that he'd sacrifice himself to save his life. A bond like that, loyalty like that β it's something he holds in high regard. ]
Some day, then. Dunno how I'd find you, after all this, but if you figure out a way to find us, then don't hesitate. If, you know, you've got time between saving worlds and all that.
[He smiles, like it's intended as some sort of joke, but really and truly even if the Doctor thinks of him as a friend, there's probably lots more important stuff he gets up to. That's how it sounds, anyway. But maybe, if there's a few days he can spare - well, surely time travel allows a little visit like that, right?]
I travel back and forth through space and time. I will always have time for a visit.
[ Time has never really run along the usual way for him, not until he'd started this whole Ximilia business, but there are some things that will never change about the Doctor. Soon as he gets his TARDIS back, oh, he's going to go about time the way he always does: the wibbly-wobbly way. ]
Shouldn't be a problem. There isn't a world that the TARDIS couldn't find if we needed to be there.
[Right. Time travel. He can just make time if he needs it, is that how it works? Sounds like it.
It's hard to feel this kind of optimism when he's so used to distrusting people and their promises. Maybe he just wants to believe this could actually happen. It could be a way for him and Law to break free of the people who will end up hunting them, because he knows they will, after the theft of Law's fruit.
But. Topic to be broached on a later date, if either of them remember this after it's all over.]
Spoken like a man with real faith in his ship. I - [about to say something, he instead shakes his head.] Sorry, I won't keep you. Been a hell of a few days. Thanks again.
[ Yes, with a few rather uncool exceptions involving fixed points and time paradoxes, time can always be made, and time can sometimes even be re-written. That is, after all, what they're all here to do, isn't it? To rewrite time, to change something that had happened because it shouldn't have happened. Save lives, save themselves, save worlds. Even in the Doctor's case, for very selfish reasons perhaps, he wants to rewrite time. He wants to rewrite a fixed point.
And yes, he certainly hopes they'll remember everything about their time here. (But he's confident he'll remember.) ]
If you can't trust your ship, who can you trust, eh? [ The Doctor grins, but there's truth to his words; through thick and thin, he constantly trusts his ship with his lives. With the lives of his friends.
He watches Rosinante quietly, scratching at his chin as he catches that slight hitch of hesitation. But whatever it is he wanted to say doesn't continue, and while the Doctor leaves his metaphorical doors open for Rosinante to continue, he doesn't. Not yet anyway. ] You're not keeping me if there's something on your mind. But it has been a hell of a few days. Hell of a few months at that.
[And that invitation, plus the agreement that follows, brings so many questions to mind that he hesitates rather than saying his farewell and leaving. For all that he's found that he likes in the Doctor, the man is still quite the mystery to him, and that makes him uneasy. Might as well raise one last little question before heading out - the larger, heavier ones are too much right now, but surely the Doctor won't mind indulging a bit of curiosity for a minute.]
I'm... not exactly sure how to ask this, but you made me wonder, just now. Do you experience time the same as the rest of us? If you travel in time and have all the time in the world, then... it must sound ridiculous to think of days and months as significant.
Oh. [ The Doctor shakes his head, expression deepening a little. He isn't offended, of course not, but Rosi's question is a fair one and it deserves a serious answer.
Well, as serious as the Doctor's able to respond anyway.
He straightens. ]
Every moment in time is significant. Every day and every month, and every second. Yes, I can and do travel back and forward in time, and this might just be the longest I've ever gone through it the normal way but. But! None of it, not one single minute, has ever been ridiculous. I treasure all of it because none of it is ever the same.
[It's so nearly impossible to imagine what that's like, but then, isn't that expected? He's only human, and he's only ever conceived of time going in one direction before this place. Trying to picture it from a perspective where each point in time exists not in an ever-growing direction but as individual circumstances, all of them distinct, makes his head hurt.
Whether the Doctor's being honest about his appreciation for them all, Rosinante isn't sure. But it sounds nice, and so for now he'll leave it at that.]
All right. I... Thanks. That's... I'm glad.
[He's silent for a moment. And he hopes it's a true sentiment. All of human history, all of so many worlds, makes it too easy to think that maybe nothing he does is significant in the long run. And while one part of his mind says that's fine, why should he be important? The other truly wants to know that none of his sacrifices were meaningless.
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I think I've lost a tie. [ He scratches his head, then gets to his feet and dusts his pant legs off. ] But never mind that, no, it's not important. Well β not for now, anyway. [ His pile of clothing will live. So will he. Moving on: ] Yes! So, you're all right, then? You look all right. I'm glad you're all right. [ He makes a quick study of Rosinante by the door. ] You are all right?
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[Well.]
I'm not hurt, if that's what you're asking. All that dream stuff stayed in the dream. Good thing, or I'd probably burn through all the supplies left in the infirmary.
[Not an especially funny joke considering how many bullet holes he'd had punched through him, but his humor often trends on the dry and slightly dark side.]
The rest... I dunno. I just wanted to thank you for trying to get me out of it.
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Of course there's no telling what sort of damage the dreams might have done on the psyche; he has his own ghosts from dreams past that he's still dealing with. ]
Oh, there's no need to thank me. [ He flaps a hand, nevertheless touched. He smiles softly. ] It's what I do, eh? I'm here to help.
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[He shrugs, and finds himself having a hard time making eye contact. It's too personal, all of it - what the Doctor saw, and now Rosinante thanking him. He's doing it because it's the right thing to do anyway, but it's hard for someone who's used to slipping into the background and keeping people at a comfortable emotional distance.]
A few other people saw that same dream, since I kept somehow coming back to it. Head won't let go, I guess. Most of them just asked questions, tried to understand. And that's fine, but - well. I didn't expect people to help the way you did, finding a way out like that. Made an impression.
[There, he's said his piece, and frowns with his hands in his pockets.]
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It might look a little comical, for even the tall alien with his long limbs couldn't fully wrap them around the taller, larger man β but he does try. And the thought (and the emotion) is there.
He squeezes as much as he's able to, and then steps back. ] You're a friend to me now β well, I suppose you've been a friend to me for some time. It's what I do for my friends. And if you're ever in need of help in the future, all you have to do is ring me up.
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Once again, he's called friend by someone he wishes he knew better, because it's hard to really feel like he's earned a title like that.]
Thanks. I... I'll remember that. I'll try, anyway. Won't lie, your help would be appreciated here and there back home, given what you say that ship of yours can do.
[But will he remember then? Who's to say.]
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Yes! Your world of oceans and a ship that isn't the same sort of ship as my ship but a ship nevertheless. I promise, Rosinante, if and when my TARDIS finds me, I'll find a way to your home. I'd love to see it.
[ And if he can help there, well, that's just a perk of the job, really. He doesn't make promises lightly, not if he doesn't have any intentions on keeping them, but seeing that Rosi is reunited with that boy in the box, and finding some peace β well, that's something the Doctor wants to help with.
(Whether he will remember any of this by the time they're finished here ... yes, that is the question, isn't it?) ]
And you would love the TARDIS.
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[See, he can't talk about himself for long, but he can turn all sorts of attention onto the boy he was willing to die for. He's the one who needs it most now, because every ounce of kindness and love that Law gets takes him one step farther away from the destructive path he had tried to set himself on.
Yamato tells him that Law found himself a new path, but Rosinante figures there's nothing wrong with a little more, anyway. What teenage kid wouldn't want to fly through stars and see other worlds, and know that there are so many good people out there just like him?]
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[ The Doctor thinks he'd really like to meet this young man that Rosinante cares so much about, so much that he'd sacrifice himself to save his life. A bond like that, loyalty like that β it's something he holds in high regard. ]
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[He smiles, like it's intended as some sort of joke, but really and truly even if the Doctor thinks of him as a friend, there's probably lots more important stuff he gets up to. That's how it sounds, anyway. But maybe, if there's a few days he can spare - well, surely time travel allows a little visit like that, right?]
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I travel back and forth through space and time. I will always have time for a visit.
[ Time has never really run along the usual way for him, not until he'd started this whole Ximilia business, but there are some things that will never change about the Doctor. Soon as he gets his TARDIS back, oh, he's going to go about time the way he always does: the wibbly-wobbly way. ]
Shouldn't be a problem. There isn't a world that the TARDIS couldn't find if we needed to be there.
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It's hard to feel this kind of optimism when he's so used to distrusting people and their promises. Maybe he just wants to believe this could actually happen. It could be a way for him and Law to break free of the people who will end up hunting them, because he knows they will, after the theft of Law's fruit.
But. Topic to be broached on a later date, if either of them remember this after it's all over.]
Spoken like a man with real faith in his ship. I - [about to say something, he instead shakes his head.] Sorry, I won't keep you. Been a hell of a few days. Thanks again.
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And yes, he certainly hopes they'll remember everything about their time here. (But he's confident he'll remember.) ]
If you can't trust your ship, who can you trust, eh? [ The Doctor grins, but there's truth to his words; through thick and thin, he constantly trusts his ship with his lives. With the lives of his friends.
He watches Rosinante quietly, scratching at his chin as he catches that slight hitch of hesitation. But whatever it is he wanted to say doesn't continue, and while the Doctor leaves his metaphorical doors open for Rosinante to continue, he doesn't. Not yet anyway. ] You're not keeping me if there's something on your mind. But it has been a hell of a few days. Hell of a few months at that.
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[And that invitation, plus the agreement that follows, brings so many questions to mind that he hesitates rather than saying his farewell and leaving. For all that he's found that he likes in the Doctor, the man is still quite the mystery to him, and that makes him uneasy. Might as well raise one last little question before heading out - the larger, heavier ones are too much right now, but surely the Doctor won't mind indulging a bit of curiosity for a minute.]
I'm... not exactly sure how to ask this, but you made me wonder, just now. Do you experience time the same as the rest of us? If you travel in time and have all the time in the world, then... it must sound ridiculous to think of days and months as significant.
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Well, as serious as the Doctor's able to respond anyway.
He straightens. ]
Every moment in time is significant. Every day and every month, and every second. Yes, I can and do travel back and forward in time, and this might just be the longest I've ever gone through it the normal way but. But! None of it, not one single minute, has ever been ridiculous. I treasure all of it because none of it is ever the same.
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Whether the Doctor's being honest about his appreciation for them all, Rosinante isn't sure. But it sounds nice, and so for now he'll leave it at that.]
All right. I... Thanks. That's... I'm glad.
[He's silent for a moment. And he hopes it's a true sentiment. All of human history, all of so many worlds, makes it too easy to think that maybe nothing he does is significant in the long run. And while one part of his mind says that's fine, why should he be important? The other truly wants to know that none of his sacrifices were meaningless.
He takes a step back toward the door.]