Title: Fly Me Courageous
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: past Jack/Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: Song Shuffle Challenge
Prompt: "Fly Me Courageous," by Drivin' N' Cryin'
Author's Note: This was written for the Friday Flash Fiction: Song Shuffle Stories challenge at the Terrible Minds blog
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

He couldn't fly.

He wasn't a hero, though many people had said throughout the ages that he was. He was simply a Time Lord, a person who tried to do the right thing. He couldn't save everyone. He couldn't even help everyone. He was just one man.

The Doctor looked down at the sea below him, the sea that he knew he had to jump into if he wanted to live. The Cybermen were behind him, closer than he had anticipated they would be; if he didn't jump and take his chances with the sea, then he was doomed.

It was so much harder to be a courageous hero than he had thought it would be. It required too much thought, too much weighing of the fact.

If he was Jack, he would simply jump, and let the future take care of itself. He would simply be glad that he had a chance of escaping the Cybermen, and take that chance.

He wouldn't be standing here weighing the consequences of his actions and wondering if he would be doing the right thing by taking such a chance. He would just close his eyes and let himself fall through the air, hoping that he would survive.

Of course he would survive, he told himself with a mental snort. He was, after all, a Time Lord. If this body was close to death, he would simply regenerate into a new one. He might not go on in this form, but he would go on. He was absolutely positive of that.

But he wasn't Jack. He was himself.

The Doctor glanced back, realizing that the Cybermen were within a few hundred feet of him now. He had to make up his mind, had to decide if the risk was worth taking.

Was it? Did he dare to jump, knowing what could be waiting? He didn't want to die, didn't want to lose this body that he'd come to love. He wanted to stay as he was, for as long as he could.

He didn't want to go. Not like this. Not now.

He didn't have to be a hero. He could let the Cybermen take him, and try to figure out a way to escape from them. Maybe that would be the better choice in the long run. He didn't have to run. Maybe it would be more heroic to let himself fall into their hands.

Which was the more courageous option? he asked himself. To take the risk that he might not come out on the winning side with one of his most ancient enemies, or to risk going up against the elements? For just a moment, he had no idea which way he should turn.

The Doctor glanced behind him once more, weighing his options, balancing the risks.

Then, his decision made, he faced the sea, closed his eyes, and held out his arms.

And flew.

***