I Believe In This
By Literary Litany
Summary: The Ninth Doctor and Rose have a quiet moment discussing Fate on their visit to Women Wept. Oneshot.
Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Doctor who. That credit goes to the BBC, as would any money I made off of this if I had made money. Which I didn't. Why do I write these again? Oh, right, I'm obsessed.
"Do you believe in fate?" She asked, thoughtful expression on her face.
"No." He said firmly, and with conviction. She tore her gaze from the bright stars of Women Wept to his face, curiosity overcoming her usual policy of not prying into him or his past.
"What do you believe in then?"
"What is. The now. The present. Existence. Whatever you want to call it." He gestured vaguely around them.
"So no higher powers then?" She asked half to herself, musing over his answer.
"Of course I believe in higher powers." He said as if the idea he didn't was offensive. She turned to him surprised. "I've met a few, you know. Well, I outwitted the Dark Guardian, so not sure if he still counts as 'higher', but I imagine even he wasn't the top of the food chain. There's always something bigger than you, Rose. Always."
He folded his hands behind his head and resumed star-gazing as she took up the occupation of brooding over the enigma lying next to her. The silence between them stretched, but it was companionable as quiet moments with him usually were. She imagined he would have preferred to be moving, and he was just giving her times like this to let her mind catch up with all she'd seen and done.
"That's a nice way to think about it, I guess." She said after awhile, feeling the need to make some assessment of his philosophy.
"Is it?" He replied distractedly, the ageless look of bemusement crossing his features.
"Yeah. I mean, if you were the best there was out there, all the responsibility would be on you. No excuses. Nothing out of your control. No uncertainty." She watched him for some reaction to her idea, and he turned to look at her with that look of fascination he wore when she said something that intrigued him.
"Would that really be so bad? To be certain of everything?" He asked, a Socratic tone to the question.
"Yes." She said firmly, finding herself confident in that fact for some reason. "Because… I dunno… Not knowing everything is all that makes it okay sometimes… Ya know?" She contorted her face as if dissatisfied with her words, but he nodded.
"I think I do." He said softly, and she could almost hear the unspoken addition. That's why, sometimes, I'm not okay.
This silence was uncomfortable, and she scraped her mind for some way to fill it.
"I believe in fate." She said impulsively, and he quirked his eyebrow in silent query, pained expression gone. Rose blushed a moment before pursing her lips and considering how to phrase an explanation.
"It's like… All this stuff has happened to me since I met you." She said in that distant voice that told him she wasn't looking at the stars but seeing those things happening again. "Before all that… I was average. Normal as could be. And, I dunno, I just can't believe that all of this," She gestured to the breath-taking view before settling her eyes on his face. "It can't be just luck and chance."
She didn't look away as their eyes met, and he spoke so quietly he wasn't sure she'd hear him. "Why not?"
Her smile was as infinite as anything he'd seen in his nine-hundred years. "It's too perfect."
A/N: Huh… This is another spur-of-the-moment write, so very little thought involved. Which is strange because it ended up being a little on the philosophical side… Not really my views expressed, more what I thought the characters might say.
There is a quote from a Neil Gaiman comic in there somewhere… If anyone recognizes it. Anyway, Hope you enjoyed the read. I love reviews, even and especially critical ones, so please please drop me some feedback.