Fic: Miscommunication
Mar. 5th, 2025 07:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
freakishlemonTitle: Miscommunication
Fandom: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Characters: The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Rory Williams, The Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams
Tags:
Word Count: 1,170
Summary: “So…” Rory dragged the word out as his eyes followed up and up and up the side of the monstrous stone structure in front of him. “This is the castle.”
AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774271
Notes:
Originally posted at my LiveJournal on June 30th, 2010.
Fandom: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Characters: The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Rory Williams, The Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams
Tags:
Word Count: 1,170
Summary: “So…” Rory dragged the word out as his eyes followed up and up and up the side of the monstrous stone structure in front of him. “This is the castle.”
AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774271
Notes:
Originally posted at my LiveJournal on June 30th, 2010.
“So…” Rory dragged the word out as his eyes followed up and up and up the side of the monstrous stone structure in front of him. “This is the castle.”
“Yep,” said the Doctor from where he crouched in the mud next to him.
“This is the castle where that thing took Amy.”
Rory glanced nervously over at the Doctor, who was trying to spread out an old map with muddy hands against the boulder they were hiding behind. He had noticed that this boulder hadn’t come to be in these mud flats by itself. It was half sunk into the ground, like it had been thrown there by a petulant child. A giant, evil, petulant child.
Which was entirely possible because the Doctor had managed to land them on a planet populated by a giant and ill-tempered troll-like race. Rory imagined that if the Hulk and the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk ever started a family, their children would look like these people.
He had a really bad feeling about this.
“Where do you think-” Rory swallowed hard, eyes swinging back up to keep watch on the castle. It was one of those buildings that looked like it might try to crush you while you weren’t looking. “Where do you think she is? In there, I mean.”
“Hmm? Oh. Probably up there.” The Doctor flung out an arm to point without looking up from his map.
“Oh.”
Rory squinted, trying to make out the top of the spire, but the grey clouds and sheer height of the thing obscured it. Of course, this thing would lock Amy up in the tallest tower ever built. That was always the way, wasn’t it?
“Well, it looks like there might be a way in here…” the Doctor mumbled to himself.
Rory didn’t want to turn away from the castle to look at exactly where “here” was, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the Doctor tap a spot in the upper right hand corner of the map, satisfied with his discovery. The Doctor fumbled with the map for a moment before handing it off to Rory, who looked down at it quickly, hoping to discern exactly what they were supposed to be doing now, but all he saw were faded crooked lines and muddy fingerprints. He folded it up and stuffed it into his pocket.
“So, Doctor. What’s the plan?”
“Plan?” The openly baffled look on the Doctor’s face made Rory’s stomach lurch unpleasantly.
“For rescuing Amy.”
“Oh, I don’t need a plan. I’m the Doctor. These things just… come to me.”
“Right. That makes me feel much better.” Rory muttered under his breath as he moved to peer around the boulder. “How dangerous is this going to be then?”
“Probably very.” The Doctor buzzed the sonic screwdriver in the direction of the castle, checked the readings, and made a sound that Rory had come to think of as the “oh shit we may all die for real this time” sound. “Erm. Yes. Very looks to be about right.”
“Right.” Rory swallowed hard.
He hated this bit. He didn’t mind helping with the planning (or the not planning, as the case may be) or any of the stuff leading up to this point, and he didn’t really mind too much of what happens afterwards. After all, the adrenaline kept him running and generally out of harm’s way, which was good. He’ll even admit to himself that the rescuing is sort of heroic and manly, which are two words that had never been used to describe him back in Leadworth. He liked the relief after it was all done and, when they hadn’t managed to piss off the entire plant, the respect was quite nice.
But it was this bit. The bit where he knows that he’s going to be jumping off the deep end and the inevitability of it all makes him wonder what the hell he was doing following this nutter around time and space.
“Okay,” Rory said after he found his voice again. “What do we do?”
“I am going to go around there,” the Doctor pointed, “and see if we can’t find a way inside.”
“What do I do?”
“You-”the Doctor snapped his head around and did that thing where he puts his hands on your shoulders in a gesture that he probably thinks is comforting but actually ends up making you feel very uneasy about what he’s going to say. “Are going to wait here.”
“What?”
“Like I said. Very dangerous. I’ll try and sneak in. I’ll signal when it’s safe for you to come out.”
“What’s the signal?”
“Don’t know yet. But you’ll know it when you see it.”
“Right.” Rory nodded. Okay. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad after all.
The Doctor leaned in close and, very seriously, said, “Stay put. Do not, under any circumstances, follow me.”
“Right. Very dangerous. Got it.”
The Doctor nodded once and took off running into the now thickening fog.
Rory waited, crouched in the cold, wet mud. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The Doctor had everything under control. He’d get in, give Rory the signal, and then they’d go rescue Amy. No problem. Waiting was fine.
Rory was good at waiting.
About twenty minutes later, Rory heard hurried footsteps rushing towards the boulder. He held his breath, hoping that whatever it was would pass by without noticing him. He squinted his eyes shut, knowing that that wouldn’t do anything in reality, but it made him feel a little better.
The footsteps stopped and Rory heard the unmistakable noise of the Doctor throwing himself down beside him in the mud, slipping as he went. It was unmistakable because Rory had learned early on that no one quite falls like the Doctor. He imagined it was a similar experience to watching a newborn giraffe on ice.
He opened his eyes with a relieved sigh.
“Did you find a way in?”
“I didn’t get that far.” Rory stared at the Doctor for a moment.
“What were you doing for twenty minutes then?”
“Waiting for you.” The Doctor said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“You told me to wait here!”
“Yes, well…” The Doctor didn’t quite meet Rory’s eyes. “No one ever actually listens to me. They just follow me anyway.”
When Rory didn’t respond, the Doctor continued, “I wasn’t quite sure what to do.”
For a second, Rory thought he was joking. He almost laughed, but the Doctor looked so earnest, so he just shook his head, smiled, and got up from the mud. He grabbed the Doctor’s arm, hauled him up, too, and positioned himself so that he was ready to run to the castle. The Doctor grinned widely, moving slightly ahead of Rory as if he’d been completely in charge of this situation from the very beginning.
“Doctor?”
“Yes Rory?”
“If you wanted me to come with you, you could have just said so.”
“Yep,” said the Doctor from where he crouched in the mud next to him.
“This is the castle where that thing took Amy.”
Rory glanced nervously over at the Doctor, who was trying to spread out an old map with muddy hands against the boulder they were hiding behind. He had noticed that this boulder hadn’t come to be in these mud flats by itself. It was half sunk into the ground, like it had been thrown there by a petulant child. A giant, evil, petulant child.
Which was entirely possible because the Doctor had managed to land them on a planet populated by a giant and ill-tempered troll-like race. Rory imagined that if the Hulk and the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk ever started a family, their children would look like these people.
He had a really bad feeling about this.
“Where do you think-” Rory swallowed hard, eyes swinging back up to keep watch on the castle. It was one of those buildings that looked like it might try to crush you while you weren’t looking. “Where do you think she is? In there, I mean.”
“Hmm? Oh. Probably up there.” The Doctor flung out an arm to point without looking up from his map.
“Oh.”
Rory squinted, trying to make out the top of the spire, but the grey clouds and sheer height of the thing obscured it. Of course, this thing would lock Amy up in the tallest tower ever built. That was always the way, wasn’t it?
“Well, it looks like there might be a way in here…” the Doctor mumbled to himself.
Rory didn’t want to turn away from the castle to look at exactly where “here” was, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the Doctor tap a spot in the upper right hand corner of the map, satisfied with his discovery. The Doctor fumbled with the map for a moment before handing it off to Rory, who looked down at it quickly, hoping to discern exactly what they were supposed to be doing now, but all he saw were faded crooked lines and muddy fingerprints. He folded it up and stuffed it into his pocket.
“So, Doctor. What’s the plan?”
“Plan?” The openly baffled look on the Doctor’s face made Rory’s stomach lurch unpleasantly.
“For rescuing Amy.”
“Oh, I don’t need a plan. I’m the Doctor. These things just… come to me.”
“Right. That makes me feel much better.” Rory muttered under his breath as he moved to peer around the boulder. “How dangerous is this going to be then?”
“Probably very.” The Doctor buzzed the sonic screwdriver in the direction of the castle, checked the readings, and made a sound that Rory had come to think of as the “oh shit we may all die for real this time” sound. “Erm. Yes. Very looks to be about right.”
“Right.” Rory swallowed hard.
He hated this bit. He didn’t mind helping with the planning (or the not planning, as the case may be) or any of the stuff leading up to this point, and he didn’t really mind too much of what happens afterwards. After all, the adrenaline kept him running and generally out of harm’s way, which was good. He’ll even admit to himself that the rescuing is sort of heroic and manly, which are two words that had never been used to describe him back in Leadworth. He liked the relief after it was all done and, when they hadn’t managed to piss off the entire plant, the respect was quite nice.
But it was this bit. The bit where he knows that he’s going to be jumping off the deep end and the inevitability of it all makes him wonder what the hell he was doing following this nutter around time and space.
“Okay,” Rory said after he found his voice again. “What do we do?”
“I am going to go around there,” the Doctor pointed, “and see if we can’t find a way inside.”
“What do I do?”
“You-”the Doctor snapped his head around and did that thing where he puts his hands on your shoulders in a gesture that he probably thinks is comforting but actually ends up making you feel very uneasy about what he’s going to say. “Are going to wait here.”
“What?”
“Like I said. Very dangerous. I’ll try and sneak in. I’ll signal when it’s safe for you to come out.”
“What’s the signal?”
“Don’t know yet. But you’ll know it when you see it.”
“Right.” Rory nodded. Okay. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad after all.
The Doctor leaned in close and, very seriously, said, “Stay put. Do not, under any circumstances, follow me.”
“Right. Very dangerous. Got it.”
The Doctor nodded once and took off running into the now thickening fog.
Rory waited, crouched in the cold, wet mud. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The Doctor had everything under control. He’d get in, give Rory the signal, and then they’d go rescue Amy. No problem. Waiting was fine.
Rory was good at waiting.
About twenty minutes later, Rory heard hurried footsteps rushing towards the boulder. He held his breath, hoping that whatever it was would pass by without noticing him. He squinted his eyes shut, knowing that that wouldn’t do anything in reality, but it made him feel a little better.
The footsteps stopped and Rory heard the unmistakable noise of the Doctor throwing himself down beside him in the mud, slipping as he went. It was unmistakable because Rory had learned early on that no one quite falls like the Doctor. He imagined it was a similar experience to watching a newborn giraffe on ice.
He opened his eyes with a relieved sigh.
“Did you find a way in?”
“I didn’t get that far.” Rory stared at the Doctor for a moment.
“What were you doing for twenty minutes then?”
“Waiting for you.” The Doctor said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“You told me to wait here!”
“Yes, well…” The Doctor didn’t quite meet Rory’s eyes. “No one ever actually listens to me. They just follow me anyway.”
When Rory didn’t respond, the Doctor continued, “I wasn’t quite sure what to do.”
For a second, Rory thought he was joking. He almost laughed, but the Doctor looked so earnest, so he just shook his head, smiled, and got up from the mud. He grabbed the Doctor’s arm, hauled him up, too, and positioned himself so that he was ready to run to the castle. The Doctor grinned widely, moving slightly ahead of Rory as if he’d been completely in charge of this situation from the very beginning.
“Doctor?”
“Yes Rory?”
“If you wanted me to come with you, you could have just said so.”
