For lastgallifreyan

[great_smile]

Who: Captain Jack Harkness and The Doctor
When: End of DW S4 and TW S2
Where: Tardis
Summary: The Doctor tries to take Jack back to Cardiff.
Warnings: None yet.

Comments

[lastgallifreyan]

"What, already?" said the Doctor, automatically. How many times had he heard a companion say that? He'd heard it from Martha and Donna in more recent months, and from numerous others over the decades. He was an expert at brushing aside their concerns, carefully enticing them into taking another trip.

He opened his mouth to suggest a quick jaunt. Felspoon, perhaps, even if an inexorable image of Donna swam into his mind as the words formed on his lips. Maybe not Felspoon, then. Somewhere else. Anywhere else. As long as it was far away from here, as long as it was loud enough to drown out the aching guilt in his chest.

Then he caught sight of the expression on Jack's face, and closed his mouth. Why should he keep the other man away from his ... family, just because he was lonely? It wasn't fair. He could hope with being alone. He was very good at coping.

"I know, I know," he said, spinning around to the console. "Right. Cardiff, 2008. Which month do you fancy? I could drop you off in the summer, if you like. Skip that nasty Welsh winter?"

He grinned at Jack, just in case he hadn't realised it was a joke. A few months made a big difference to humans. He wouldn't dream of depriving Jack.

[great_smile]

"Sure. Go for the summer months. This skin always looks better when it's tanned." He joined the Doctor, ready to press a button or help steer if it was required. Standing there, his fingers lovingly caressed the console. He didn't want to leave, but he did. It was very complicated. He knew how it felt, knowing that he'd be alone. He didn't want the Doctor to feel it too. He wished someday the Doctor would find someone to travel with. Someone just for him.

He leaned over and gently nudged the Doctor's shoulder with his. "Come to Torchwood for a little while. Consider it an adventure. I'll give you a tour," he murmured. He smiled at the Doctor. "You're always welcome there. Always.

If it wasn't for Ianto and Gwen, he'd let the Doctor entice him into many adventures. He had responsibilities. He belonged there. The Doctor knew that. He had to. He felt the TARDIS shaking around them. He would miss this. He would miss her.

"I feel like she might have forgiven me. She's not making me ride outside this time," he joked.

[lastgallifreyan]

The Doctor glanced sideways at Jack touched the console. It must be hard for the other man, finding himself shut out from somewhere he'd once considered a home of sorts...

Actually, that was a good point. Why hadn't she made any attempt to throw him off? The Doctor hadn't even felt any stirrings of annoyance in his mind, letting him know that the Captain wasn't welcome here, even if he had been invited.

Strange...

Too strange.

In fact, he wasn't entirely surprised when he flicked a switch to take them smoothly back to Cardiff, and found the ship jerking unexpectedly sideways instead. Staggering, the Doctor wedged a foot up on the console, using it to hold down a switch while he reached for a lever and his rubber hammers with his free hands.

"Here we go..."

[great_smile]

Jack smiled and stroked the TARDIS a little more. It wasn't so long ago that he stood here, white t-shirt and jeans, working on her with the love and care he always felt. It hurt so badly when she'd taken them to the end of everything. When he found out why she did it, it almost broke his heart. The TARDIS was a seperate entity. A person, just like the Doctor. It was different, but it wasn't either. To be let back inside again, after helping with the Daleks, it made him feel whole again.

The jerking threw him back against the wall. "What the...!"

His eyes widened and he barely had time to grab onto something to hold on. The ship seemed to rocket through time and space, as if on a mission of her own.

"Doctor?!"

[lastgallifreyan]

"I'm not doing anything!" the Time Lord exclaimed, still pressing buttons and pulling levers at a frantic pace. It didn't change the ship's course, but the flight became a little smoother. Smooth enough for the Doctor to place both feet back on the ground, and maintain only a one-handed grip on the console as he tinkered.

"Easy, old girl," he murmured, as the TARDIS came to an awkward halt.

He glanced over at Jack.

"Shall we take a look?"

[great_smile]

Jack stayed leaning against the wall of the TARDIS, trying to calm down and relegate his breathing. He was sure that the Doctor was not doing it. He was pretty sure it was the TARDIS who did. He smiled and gently moved over to the console, holding on as she came to a stop. He couldn't stop the eyebrow that raised as he looked over at the Doctor.

"Thought you knew how to drive, Doc?"

He grinned and moved over to the door. "Guess this is goodbye..." His voice trailed off and he looked at the Doctor, eyes locking with his. He wished that the Doctor would stay at Torchwood. Just for a few days. Maybe enough that he wouldn't feel so bad leaving the man. Opening the door of the TARDIS, he stepped out, forcing that grin of his on his face.

That grin faltered a bit as he looked around. The buildings looked almost futuristic. Above them, there were some little shuttles flying through the sky. This was not Cardiff. Or if it was, it wasn't the Cardiff he was supposed to go to.

"Where are we, Doctor?"

[lastgallifreyan]

"Well, I never technically passed the test," the Doctor admitted, running a hand through his already rather tousled hair. "Still, we're here now, aren't we?"

And that was what mattered, of course. Here and goodbye and the Doctor off on his own for another adventure. He couldn't stick around, whether he was invited or not. It wouldn't feel right, working alongside Torchwood. Interfering in the life Jack had built for himself.

He followed him out of the doorway, and pulled up short when he looked at the sky.

"Ah. I'm going to hazard a guess and say 'not Earth'?"

[great_smile]

Jack raised an eyebrow as he gazed at the Doctor. He had to remember to not get turned on by the cute and confused frowny face that the Doctor was so good at making. The corners of his lips turned up in a little smile and he walked back over to the TARDIS. Leaning against the blue box, crossing his arms over his chest, he was torn between shaking his head and laughing his head off.

“Clearly, we’re here,” he said, rolling his eyes. Of course he had to poke a *little* fun at the Doctor. “Could be New New Earth? Though I don’t think so. Doesn’t feel right.”

Reaching out, he ran a hand up and down the TARDIS door, sighing softly. He had a good feeling he knew just how they got here, wherever here was. And the Doctor had nothing to do with it. He couldn’t blame the girl. He missed traveling with the Doctor. Though this was one of the reasons he wanted to go back to Cardiff. He was afraid if he tried to travel with the Doctor and then go back, he’d be gone too long again. Last time Gwen and Ianto let him come back. Would they let him this time?

Still, traveling with the Doctor felt so good. So right. He wouldn’t be the man he was today without the Doctor helping him along. “We’re here now.” He smiled lovingly at the Doctor. He couldn’t help the emotions that he felt just by looking at the other man. They were feelings that would never die.

“Might as well go have one more adventure before taking me back. What could go wrong, right?”

[lastgallifreyan]

"No, it's not New Earth," said the Doctor, hands in his pockets as he leaned back against the TARDIS and surveyed their new surroundings. It looked like a fairly standard Earth colony. A few centuries after earth itself had been destroyed, if he was qualified to make a guess. (And, of course, he was.) "I'd recognise New Earth."

He grinned at Jack.

"Maybe the old girl just thought we could do with a holiday?" he suggested.

Or maybe there was an alien invasion just waiting to be foiled. Either way, this was going to be a lot of fun.

"Shall we?"

[great_smile]

Jack looked at the TARDIS, tilting his head to the side as he thought about it. She could have thought that. She had more power than either of them put together. She could easily have hijacked and said no, Jack, you're not going home yet. He smiled as he thought about it. As long as she promised to get him back in time, it would be okay. Right? He just couldn't let Gwen and Ianto down. Not again.

"Well..."

He turned back to the Doctor. He was grinning. It was that mad grin that was sorely missing on the Doctor's face. If one adventure was all it took to put it there, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Lead on."

Jack looked around where they had landed. At least they'd landed in the right place? It looked like some futuristic space port, where ships would dock or something. There were sure a few beautiful cruisers sitting there.

He pointed up to them. "Look at those." He whistled as he eyed them. He missed flying about in space.

[lastgallifreyan]

The grin certainly didn't feel as natural as it usually did. Losing Donna, coupled with the gradual departure of his companions (and the knowledge that they all had something else, when he was left alone), had left it's mark. The fact that it was there at all was a good sign, though, and it widened when he realised that Jack didn't want to leave just yet.

They had all the time in the world, didn't they?

"Oh, they're not that impressive," said the Doctor, hands in his pockets as he started to stride along the street with his coat flapping. "Look at those engine cores..."

[great_smile]

He shook his head. "Are you mental? Those are some of the sleekest babies. Definitely not some Chula medical transport. Look at that cruiser." He raised an arm and pointed at the one that was at the end of the port. It looked all shiny and new.

His eyes drifted to another at the end of the docks. "Now what is that one doing here? It certainly doesn't fit in with the others." He nudged the Doctor with a wide grin. It was a beautiful ship, really, just a bit worn. It was a dirty, battered up Firefly.

"Poor girl looks like she's seen trouble."

[lastgallifreyan]

"I prefer 'discerning' to 'mental'," said the Doctor good naturedly, although he was a just as enraptured by the Firefly. He liked a ship with a bit of character. His own TARDIS was ancient, battered and bruised and occasionally held together by sheer willpower. That was part of why he loved her.

"And it looks like she rode through the trouble quite well," he said, then: "Think they'd mind if we had a look?"

[great_smile]

Jack looked over at the Doctor. He could see that attention that growing on the other man’s face. He couldn’t actually hear what the Doctor was thinking, but he was pretty sure that it sounded similar to the thoughts in his own mind. “There’s always shrewd and perceptive also, but I like mental.”

Jack turned his eyes back to the ship, looking it over again. “Looks like it’s not inhabited at the moment. Whoever flies it must be out. Sure would like a tour…”

He looked over at the Doctor, winking. When did they ever wait for an invitation into an adventure?

[lastgallifreyan]

"You would," said the Doctor with a laugh. He had no reservations about exploring an unoccupied ship without permission. He'd done worse. You couldn't tell where danger would be lurking. Maybe this old Firefly would be the end of them all if he didn't take a look?

Or maybe he was just nosy?

It all added up to the same thing.

"After you, Captain?"

[great_smile]

Jack was like the Doctor in that way. He had no problem sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong. To him, there were a few reasons for this. He couldn’t really die, so there was no harm if someone got mad at him for intruding. And, more importantly, what if there was some adventure. Some danger that needed to be solved. Some person that needed to be rescued. It was important. Really. Or, at least he kept telling himself that.

Jack started to walk up the ramp and into the belly of the ship. “Huh,” he murmured, looking around. It looked like a cargo ship. And, apparently, it looked old. Well used, if you wanted to be kind. There were boxes and a lot of dust about. “Looks like she’s seen some use,” he mumbled, looking over at the Doctor.

He raised an eyebrow. “Seems rather deserted…” Was that Jack sounding disappointed? Nobody to flirt with, perhaps?