Rec: "No Return and No Deposit," by sheldrake

[nonelvis]

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: No Return and No Deposit
Author: sheldrake
Rating: All ages
Word count: 3866
Characters: 10th Doctor, Romana, OCs
Summary: "There's a sort of sliding scale of aloneness." Meetings with Time Lords in bars.
Warnings: none

Recced because: Two different bars, and two different encounters between out-of-time people create an atmospheric and introspective story. The fic explores travelling, home, and the ways people are alone. Romana's final monologue is chilling and hopeful and perfect. There is so much depth to this fic - when you finish you want to read it again.

Excerpt:

It's amazing, the difference you feel the first time you go up on your own. There's nothing like it. You're there, alone, in the middle of nothing at all -- and you can't believe your luck. You can't really believe you're getting away with it.

It stays with you, that wild joy at being (finally, finally) on your own. To have escaped them all at last. It's addictive. And after a while, you find you're always escaping, always restless to move on. You never stay anywhere for very long.

But then, slowly, something creeps up on you; a vague feeling of dissatisfaction you can't even put a name to. And you find yourself making hurried plans for an emergency landing, suddenly hungry for company, for evidence of life. And every time, there's that same cold panicky feeling at the back of your throat. The fear that this time, after all, you'll be too late. That there will be nobody left.

And then you'll really be alone.

Comments

[clocketpatch]

Thank you for the rec. I'd forgotten about this fic, and was very glad to be reminded.

[eve11]

This was fantastic. Thanks for the rec!