Torchwood -- Hang On To Hope
Title: Hang On To Hope
redismycolour Challenge: Day Twenty-Nine
Date Written: 1/31/09
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 600
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, the Doctor
Spoilers: Doctor Who 03, latest Christmas Special
Warnings: Mentions of character death
Author Notes: Sequel to yesterday's Before His Time and to space_monkey52, who wanted a sequel.
Hazy Shades of Winter
Simon and Garfunkel
Jack felt like a complete and utter bastard, but he couldn’t handle being around Ianto for too long anymore.
It wasn’t Ianto’s fault, not by a long shot. It was the immortality/mortality dilemma once again rearing its ugly head.
Everything would be fine. Ianto was strong and young despite the blast he’d gotten from the Aging Ray (Gwen had named it. Ianto was thinking up a rhyming name). The Doctor would know what to do, would fix Ianto, and Martha was brilliant. They’d have Ianto back to himself in no time.
He believed that. He did.
It still hurt.
Jack’s immortality was always hanging over them, even when they didn’t talk about it. Torchwood made realists of them all, even when they shot for the best outcome. They knew that one day, Ianto would die and Jack would be alone again.
Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by the familiar, beloved whooshing noise of the TARDIS. The door opened and the Doctor strode out, bigger than life and looking serious, big thick glasses perched on his end of his nose. Jack embraced him fiercely, patting him on the back even as the brainy specs made him miss Toshiko.
The Doctor mirrored his movements. Here was a man who could understand his pain.
“Captain.”
“Doctor, thank you so much.” He pulled back and looked at his old friend critically. “How have you been?”
“Fine! Fine. Never better.” It was bright and fake and Jack could practically feel the loneliness rolling off of him. “How’s Earth?”
“Still settling,” Jack said. “Sarah Jane’s been keep an eye on Donna as best she can. She’s doing well.”
A physical weight seemed to lift from the Doctor’s shoulders. Jack knew he’d worried that her mind wipe wouldn’t take. The Doctor had finally broken down to Sarah Jane after much browbeating (that woman was a born mother), and the three Companions had taken it upon themselves to care for their long-lost sister.
Companions were family, even when they forgot.
The Doctor patted his shoulder. “How is your Mr. Jones?”
Jack shook his head. “Old before his time, thanks to tech. Martha’s looking after him right now. We’ve never seen it before, we were hoping…”
“That a Time Lord could do something about it?” the Doctor said, a tiny little grin tugging the corner of his mouth.
“Well, it is the area of your expertise,” Jack said, leading the Doctor around towards the Quay. He’d parked on the Invisible Lift, so they couldn’t use it.
The Doctor smiled and gave him a studying look. “It’s like looking in a crystal ball, isn’t it?”
“… How do you do it?” Jack asked. “Pick up people, make them better than they were, the people they were born to be, and then… Just let us go?”
“You lot seem to be clinging to me,” the Doctor pointed out with a laugh. “You do it because you have to. It breaks your heart, but without them… Without people to love and care for and to love you and care of you in their own little ways, you’re not living. Not really.”
Jack stared at him, stunned. The Doctor always knew just what to say, just how to put his own feelings into words.
The Doctor looked back and gave a small smile. “Your Ianto is special to you.”
“They all are,” Jack said honestly.
“I know. Oh, trust me, I know.” He gave one of those reckless smiles, and Jack knew that everything would be okay. “Now. Let’s go see if we can make your Ianto Jones look a bit more like himself!”
redismycolour Challenge: Day Twenty-Nine
Date Written: 1/31/09
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 600
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, the Doctor
Spoilers: Doctor Who 03, latest Christmas Special
Warnings: Mentions of character death
Author Notes: Sequel to yesterday's Before His Time and to space_monkey52, who wanted a sequel.
Hazy Shades of Winter
Simon and Garfunkel
Jack felt like a complete and utter bastard, but he couldn’t handle being around Ianto for too long anymore.
It wasn’t Ianto’s fault, not by a long shot. It was the immortality/mortality dilemma once again rearing its ugly head.
Everything would be fine. Ianto was strong and young despite the blast he’d gotten from the Aging Ray (Gwen had named it. Ianto was thinking up a rhyming name). The Doctor would know what to do, would fix Ianto, and Martha was brilliant. They’d have Ianto back to himself in no time.
He believed that. He did.
It still hurt.
Jack’s immortality was always hanging over them, even when they didn’t talk about it. Torchwood made realists of them all, even when they shot for the best outcome. They knew that one day, Ianto would die and Jack would be alone again.
Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by the familiar, beloved whooshing noise of the TARDIS. The door opened and the Doctor strode out, bigger than life and looking serious, big thick glasses perched on his end of his nose. Jack embraced him fiercely, patting him on the back even as the brainy specs made him miss Toshiko.
The Doctor mirrored his movements. Here was a man who could understand his pain.
“Captain.”
“Doctor, thank you so much.” He pulled back and looked at his old friend critically. “How have you been?”
“Fine! Fine. Never better.” It was bright and fake and Jack could practically feel the loneliness rolling off of him. “How’s Earth?”
“Still settling,” Jack said. “Sarah Jane’s been keep an eye on Donna as best she can. She’s doing well.”
A physical weight seemed to lift from the Doctor’s shoulders. Jack knew he’d worried that her mind wipe wouldn’t take. The Doctor had finally broken down to Sarah Jane after much browbeating (that woman was a born mother), and the three Companions had taken it upon themselves to care for their long-lost sister.
Companions were family, even when they forgot.
The Doctor patted his shoulder. “How is your Mr. Jones?”
Jack shook his head. “Old before his time, thanks to tech. Martha’s looking after him right now. We’ve never seen it before, we were hoping…”
“That a Time Lord could do something about it?” the Doctor said, a tiny little grin tugging the corner of his mouth.
“Well, it is the area of your expertise,” Jack said, leading the Doctor around towards the Quay. He’d parked on the Invisible Lift, so they couldn’t use it.
The Doctor smiled and gave him a studying look. “It’s like looking in a crystal ball, isn’t it?”
“… How do you do it?” Jack asked. “Pick up people, make them better than they were, the people they were born to be, and then… Just let us go?”
“You lot seem to be clinging to me,” the Doctor pointed out with a laugh. “You do it because you have to. It breaks your heart, but without them… Without people to love and care for and to love you and care of you in their own little ways, you’re not living. Not really.”
Jack stared at him, stunned. The Doctor always knew just what to say, just how to put his own feelings into words.
The Doctor looked back and gave a small smile. “Your Ianto is special to you.”
“They all are,” Jack said honestly.
“I know. Oh, trust me, I know.” He gave one of those reckless smiles, and Jack knew that everything would be okay. “Now. Let’s go see if we can make your Ianto Jones look a bit more like himself!”