Good stuff. Though I never really "got" the 10/River arc... 10/Rose for me! 11/River, however...
Wonder if Rose ever knew his name.

Please don't delete this. It's really good and fits how he may have felt at that time. :)

First off I want to thank you for reviewing my Flash story, Speed Demon. It was my first foray into writing something about the Flash, and all in all, I hope it was a good attempt.

When I read your profile and noticed you had written a fic for Doctor Who, I simply HAD to see what you'd written. The Doctor (Ten mostly) has become a huge obsession of mine.

And lo and behold you wrote this story about one of my favorite moments from season. I, like probably everyone else, have always wondered what the Doctor's proper name is, and why he refuses to tell everyone. Well done on conveying how sacred and frightening it is to him to reveal that truth.

God, you're gonna get so tired of seeing my name pop up in your inbox one of these days ... ;)

But I couldn't not comment on this once I remembered you'd had it up. I'd always just skipped this piece over because I hadn't ever seen Doctor Who, but now that I have, it's fair game. :)

Maybe it's because I'm a morbid, depressing person, but my morbid, depressing theory is that he told her his name because he was dying and couldn't regenerate. Like the Butlers in Artemis Fowl, sort of thing. But that was just a passing thought and I hadn't considered it much more after that, I guess.

The Doctor is like the ultimate woobie, poor guy. I'm pretty sure words like "respite" aren't even in his vocabulary any more. And on top of everything else ... There's this.

Not being negative about the writing, which was great, more just the fact that it had to be written in the first place. From an in-universe perspective, if you know what I mean.

The writing itself seemed a little choppy in places, like the second paragraph:

"At some point in time and space he would meet River Song for the second time and they would hit it off. Hit it off big, apparently. Donna think she understood, but she didn't really...the ramifications of what had happened."

My first thought would be changing it to: "At some point in time and space he would meet River Song for the second time and they would hit it off. Hit it off big, apparently. Donna thought she knew, but she didn't really understand the ramifications of what had happened."

The elipsis just seems a little weird, that's all. Also, "think" to "thought," but that's just little.

"For centuries his companions, acquaintances friend, foe, and casual observers"-I think that'd sound better if there was no "s" at the end of "observers" since friend and foe are both singular.

"That he would again be known solely and for the rest of his life as...

"Just the Doctor."" Aww ... Again, poor guy.

Thanks for writing, as usual.

Ashe

I'd thought on the concept, but never really *thought* about it, if you know what I mean. Great one-shot... and it's so nice to see you're a Doctor Who fan, too!

An interesting conundrum, and one that I'm sure the Doctor tries not to think about. Though he has gone by John Smith as an elaboration on his title and it has been implied that other time lords, like the Master, know his true name.

Still, a very believable story. I do have one question though. Do all Time Lords follow this rule, or is it one that just the Doctor adheres to, perhaps as a means of protecting either himself or those around him?

Hmm...

This reminds me of a small situation in Doctor Who season four (with Tom Baker, loved his humor) when he met up with an old freind of his. The friend kept calling him 'Pete' or something (I DON'T HAVE PERFECT MEMORY) to which the Doctor glared at him and declared "It's The Doctor now."

Well... this was a totally useless reveiw... Good Job Though!

*le sigh* Time travel. It does strange things to one. Especially the Doctor. He, of ALL people, should know that time changes as often as writers change timelines.

This is a good point, though. And I doubt many people have thought of it, since they are wrapped up in Rose-colored glasses, if you catch my meaning.

A very poignant and though provoking piece! Great one-shot!

Well I am pretty darn happy that you elaborated on this. Also the PM made me feel special. I don't want to say its lacking because it isn't the right word, I think that this little chapter is skimming the top of the whole big issue. I can tell, or at least it looks like, you haven't made a set theory on why he cannot tell people his name. If you ever come up with one that you like please let me know I'd LOVE to here it. Please continue uploading your stories, you seem like the kind of writer to just get it right.

Toodles!