Title: Sticks and Stones
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, 50ficlets
Prompt: 2, Words
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor, or his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

Jamie put his hands to his ears, wishing that doing so could cut off the remembrance of some of the words that had been said when he was on that beach before the Doctor had spirited him away. That had been one of the worst times of his life, one that he'd prefer to forget.

There was no way that he could put into words how much some of those words had hurt him. He'd felt that he had no place in this world -- a world with the Doctor. Some of the words he'd heard had made him feel that he didn't even have a right to exist.

Especially the words that had come from that bitch who had only wanted him because he looked exactly like the Doctor. He hadn't been prepared to hear those words; he had thought that she actually cared about him, about who he was, even though he should have known better.

Of course, there were no romantic feelings for her within his heart or his mind. The Doctor had never thought of her in that way, and he didn't either. To the two of them, she was nothing more than a child, almost a daughter in the Doctor's eyes.

But never a lover. The Doctor was just as appalled as Jamie was by that thought; harboring any romantic feelings for her would have been incestuous in the Time Lord's eyes. And they both knew that her feelings for the Doctor were anything but romantic.

Her feelings, such as they were, had been entirely selfish. She had seen something that she wanted, and had been determined to have ti at all costs -- even if it meant destroying the universe to have her way. But she had ended up empty-handed when all was said and done.

The words she'd said when she had realized that he wasn't a Time Lord and wasn't exactly like the Doctor in every way had been some of the most hurtful that Jamie could ever hear. She had said that he was nothing, just a pale imitation, a cheap copy.

Maybe that was how he himself felt sometimes, but to hear those words coming from someone else was more painful than he had thought it would be. It had cemented his growing dislike of her, and strengthened his determination not to fall into her clutches at any cost.

She hadn't wanted him, not in any way. And the kiss that she had given him before she'd realized that he wasn't the Doctor had been slimy on his lips, the taste of it sour and rancid. He still shuddered at the memory, at the thought of kissing someone who turned his stomach.

He didn't know which had disgusted him more -- the unwanted, unasked-for kiss that he'd wanted nothing so much as to repudiate completely, or the hurtful words that had poured from her when she had known he wasn't the man she had set her sights on having.

At least he would never have to hear that hated voice again. Those chav accents of hers were long gone; he would never have to see her, other than in the photo albums that the Doctor had collected of his past companions. She was out of their lives for good now.

And good riddance, Jamie thought spitefully, removing his hands from his ears. The voice was no longer ringing in his head; the words had gone, even though he knew that whenever he was feeling down, they would probably always pop back up from the mists of his memories.

Those words would never be completely out of his mind, or out of his heart. They would always haunt him; a part of him would always feel that she had been right, no matter how hard he might try to force himself to think otherwise. He would always feel unworthy of the Doctor.

The one person who didn't seem to feel that way about him at any time was the Doctor himself, Jamie thought, his heart lifting and a smile curving his lips. The Doctor loved him just as he was, whether he was merely a copy and a pale imitation or not.

The Doctor would never use words like that to hurt him; he would never even think of saying them .The Time Lord accepted him in every way, in spite of his all-too-human frailties. The Doctor even loved him because those differences made him unique.

As long as he had the Doctor's love, nothing else mattered, Jamie told himself firmly, getting up from the library couch and heading for the corridor that led to the control room. Sticks and stones would definitely break his bones, but with the Doctor by his side, words could never hurt him.

***