A/N: Written for the who_contest.

Prompt: image of a sun rise over earth.

It's All Relative

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i.

"Rose," he had said once. "Close the doors and c'mere. Future or past? I'll let you decide." Running around the console, he had pushed this and turned that, looking up only when his companion stayed where she was, staring out into space with either hand on each door.

"It's beautiful," she had whispered just as he walked up the ramp to join her.

He had nodded. Of course it was. But, there was all of time and space waiting for them, and they could be standing in a field of giant poppies that crystallise in different weather rather than watching the sunrise over one planet.

"Yes, yes, gorgeous, beautiful, never been seen before," he had said hurriedly, leaning over her to grasp both doors with every intention of shutting it so they could travel safely through the vortex. But, her grip had stayed firm, and the glare she threw him over her shoulder made him let go of the doors and step back.

"Wha'? You take me to the end of the world because you think it's beautiful, but an ordinary sunrise, an earth jus' waking up is not good enough?"

"Of course, it's good enough," he had snapped, practically insulted. "It's more than good enough. We can watch it anytime. It happens everyday, you know."

She turned back to gaze over the planet. "It's jus'… Mum, yeah? She would be waking up around now, ready to make a cuppa for herself, Mr Taylor, the bloke who lives two apartments over, he would be getting the morning paper and hitting on Mrs Hues in apartment seventeen when he meets her at the deli. They would be startin' their day now, all of them, everyone who's waking up."

He had watched her, instead of watching the earth, which he did too many times, if he was as honest with himself as he should be.

"And then there are those who are going to sleep because it's night time and they're tired."

"This is what you think about?" He had scoffed. "You humans, sleeping half your life away. It's a wonder you get anything done."

She had given him an exasperated look by then. "You don't think that's beautiful? At any time, there's someone who's awake. It's like…" She paused, her brow furrowing with thought as she tried to articulate her idea. "It's like, the torch is always burning, yeah? There's always someone awake, someone aware. It's like earth never really sleeps because it's staying awake. Like shifts."

He had eyed her incredulously, his tone soft as he had said, "It's never dead. It's always active."

"Yeah," she muttered absent-mindedly as she continued to watch the light beam from the sun sparkle from the atmosphere of the earth. "It's beautiful, is all."

The Doctor would not have said that he agreed with her out loud, but crossing his arms across his chest, he had leant against one door while his companion leant against the other and silently, they had watched part of the earth wake up while another part went to sleep.

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ii.

"So, this is what you do when I sleep."

The Doctor looked over his shoulder just in time to see Martha Jones in jimjams rubbing her eyes and coming towards him. He closed the doors of the TARDIS with a quick flick of his wrists and bounded up the ramp towards the console, suddenly all nervous energy and uncontained excitement.

"Alrighty then. Where to? What would you like to see?" He flipped a few switches and checked out their coordinates even though he knew it by hearts. "No more one more trip, Martha Jones, the sky is the limit. I say sky, but galaxy is more accurate. We-e-ll, I say galaxy but… What?"

She rose an eyebrow at him. "You're joking, right?"

"Me? Joke? Why, I never joke. Not unless it's a very good knock-knock joke," he said bouncing on his heels. "And who could ever resist a good knock-knock joke?"

Giving him a look that he had become very accustomed to, she walked past him and down the ramp. "What were you looking at?" She opened the doors and stared out for a moment, looking over her shoulder just in time to see the Doctor's glance move away from her hurriedly as he fiddled with some switches.

"Doctor!"

He ignored her, burying one hand in his bigger-on-the-inside pocket and flipping switches that need not be flipped.

"Are we going back to earth?"

He sniffed, his eyes fixed on the console. "If you want."

She eyed him carefully. "How about an alien planet?"

Her words had the effect of making him finally look up at her with a manic expression of glee. "Alien planet it is. We-e-ll, alien for you and alien for me." His grinned widened. "Are you ready, Martha Jones?"

She barely had a second to prepare before the TARDIS closed its doors and they lurched their way into the vortex.

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iii.

Donna Noble cringed as she took a sip of her tea before her glance fell on the spaceman to her left. "You all right?"

"I'm always all right," came his familiar reply, which in all honestly, was a ball-faced lie. The tea she had made was untouched in his hands, and he watched the light of the sun grace the earth lightly.

They did this a lot, sit on the edge of the TARDIS with its doors open, watching a sun that never sets and never rises. It's a thing they did, as things went, after each adventure they would have a cuppa and talk, or in this case, not talk.

She bumped her shoulder against his and waited until he turned to face her. Her heart shattered at what she saw, the longing, the loneliness and the sadness in this alien's eyes, even though he smiled just the same as she did.

"At least you saved her. At least… we saved them all, library or no."

He smiled genuinely then, a big wide grin that was full of affection. "Donna Noble, what would I do without you?"

She pretended to think about it. "You'll be bloody useless, that's what."

She nudged his shoulder and he nudged hers, and silently, they watched the earth turn with cold cups of tea in their hands.

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iv.

He saw them sometimes, when they thought he wasn't there.

Amy and Rory, Rory and Amy, doing the things that Ponds do. Sitting against the open doors of the TARDIS and laughing and joking and just being… happy. It's nice, it's warm and cosy and feels like family and yet… It saddens him. He smiles, and yet it is pained. It's not something he quite understands, not really. It's something that had been there for a while now, buried under planets and adventures. It's something that he had ignored for so long, but decides to continue ignoring.

So, of course he had a habit of interrupting them. Of course he bounded happily, pulled them away and shut the doors to go onto their next big adventure.

The Doctor and his Ponds.

They didn't have time to watch planets turn.

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v.

"That's what I like about you, Brian," the Doctor said happily as he joined a man to watch what he was watching. "Good ol' Brian Pond, only one request and a simple one at that. You humans," he laughed, "such short lives, but you want to make the most of it. Simple pleasures! That's the key! The simple things in life."

Rory's dad didn't say a word for a while, simply scrounging up his face in thought before he said with a shrug, "Down there, it's my house. Can't see it, but I know it's there." He sighed. "We must look so insignificant to you."

The Doctor shook his head, offended beyond degree. "No. Never! Once I may have thought that, long ago. But, not now. Humans, you're my… people. Have been for quite a while now," he whispered.

"I understand, you know, why they join you. I understand."

The Doctor's grin widened proudly only to fall with his next words.

"I just… I want them back safe. My son, and Amy, I want them back safe. This is wonderful," he said with an awe-struck tone, gesturing to the fact that they were floating over a planet as casually as purchasing a beer at a nearby pub. "But they still need to live their lives. I hope you know that. I hope you'll bring them back once you're… um… done."

"Of course," the Doctor said, with as much conviction in his voice as he could muster. "I'll bring them back to you. I promise."

The Doctor grinned widely as he turned to watch the light of the sun brighten the earth gloriously, the heels of his boots clicking happily to a tune in his head.

What a promise to make! What an easy, pleasing promise to make.

Fin.