Woeful Wishes
Prompt: "wishes"
From: abbytemple
Words: 334
Genies, like fairies and leprechauns, were fairy tales. Made up. Not real. Fake. At least, on Earth they were.
Fairies, or rather, beings that looked like fairies, existed in many places. The ones on Earth were evil. They abducted children and were able to travel in time. They had large, gray bodies, and sharp teeth. Their faces were coarse and mischievous. On other planets, they could either be benevolent or not.
Leprechauns were not native to Earth. They came there long ago from a galaxy far away. They liked to cause trouble, but kept all promises. If a person managed to ensnare one, they came unto possession of a being almost as powerful as the Timelords.
But genies, despite the rich history surrounding them, were, to a certain extent, absolute poppycock. Even if they were real, no one could physically have enough power to grant all those wishes, and make them legitimate.
When the Doctor and Donna visited a planet that was previously not visited by either him or any companions, they found that exactly that lived there. Genies. The Doctor, as he was always inclined to do, didn't believe it at first.
It was a time when he almost broke.
The genies, or whatever they were, could do anything. They could bring someone back from the dead, could travel across universes and dimensions. They could do what the Doctor couldn't do.
And they could bring Rose back.
They offered to do it, too. In exchange for—what was is again? Help with a bloody war? Countless innocent deaths? Pardon from punishment? It didn't matter what it was in exchange for. They could bring back Rose, his Rose, and they could be together again.
But the good of others always came before his, and so the Doctor swallowed heavily, shifted his weight, moved his sorrow to the back of his brain, and didn't cry. He didn't fix his life. Not this time. Nor the next.
Because fairy tales, happy endings. . . they weren't real.
Poor Doctor. He deserves a hug, eh?