Calufrax

Wow --  my last rec of the week.  Already.  I thought long and hard about which fic to pick; there are so many wonderful authors on Teaspoon, and some folks with wonderful bodies of work, but I decided at that start of the week (as a way of narrowing things down) to pick individual stories that were generally short, punchy and preferably less well-known, which have haunted my memory for one reason or another.   I wish I could have recced a boatload more . . . which means I'll probably sign up for another run in the future.  ;)

Story: "The Day No One Died"
Author:  Rowena_Zahnrei
Rating:All ages.
Word Count: 2539
Author’s summary: "The Doctor spun on her, his brown eyes flashing in sudden anger. “Do you think I make this kind of call arbitrarily? Do you think I don’t want to go back and stop these idiots from destroying themselves? Their people?”
Martha was rather taken aback. “So, you’re just going to stand here, then,” she frowned. “Do nothing. Allow an entire people, an entire planet to die out just because you don’t want to upset the balance?"
The Doctor glared, his jaw set. “There’s more to this universe than one planet. I have to look at the bigger picture,” he said coldly. “And so do you.”

A brief story in five parts on why, sometimes, you can't go back. Even if you have a time machine."
Characters/Pairings: Ten, Martha
Warnings: None

Recced because: This is a relatively short, but memorable, examination of the things the Doctor can and cannot do to right wrongs and how the "larger picture" perspective of history can lead to a positive result from a tragic beginning.  It also touches on the power of words and writing, and is a beautifully-sketched portrait of hurt'n'angry S3 Ten, and his relationship with Martha.