New Fic: "Closure" (Doctor Who)
Written for dark_aegis and wendymr's Rose Tyler Ficathon.
The story was written for malana, who requested Ten, Jack Harkness, and Four's scarf.
Title: "Closure"
Spoilers: DW through "Doomsday", Torchwood's "Everything Changes"
Summary: Jack needs to know what happened to him.
Closure
Spoilers: DW through "Doomsday", Torchwood's "Everything Changes"
Summary: Jack needs to know what happened to him.
Jack Harkness stabbed impatiently at the activator he wore on his wrist, but the topside lift still refused to budge. The Cardiff branch of Torchwood wasn't without a certain amount of charm (much like Jack himself), but the endless damp belowground contributed to a fair number of mechanical and electrical difficulties. Making a mental note to have Ianto check the problem, Jack used the normal egress and decided to make sure that nothing was blocking the reluctant mechanism from the outside. What he found stopped him in his tracks.
In a daze, he found himself in a dead run, desperate to reach the TARDIS before it could dematerialize the way that it did in so many of his dreams. The doors opened to receive him as he approached, and he skidded to a stop inside the familiar control room as the doors closed again behind him.
"Doctor?" he called out. "Rose?"
A tall, pale stranger stood up from where he had been crouched beneath the console and gave him a wide, friendly grin.
"Jack!"
The man fit the description of the Doctor that had circulated after the Sycorax and Cyberman invasions, but Jack had to be sure.
"I'd heard you'd changed, Doctor, but they never told me that you were pretty."
"Pretty? Is that what I am?" The Doctor circled the console and stepped off of the supporting platform. "I suppose I might be, at that. And you haven't even seen the mole yet."
Jack smiled in spite of himself. He didn't act much like the old Doctor, but Torchwood's records showed that the Doctor tended to change personalities as he changed bodies. "If it's really you, Doctor, tell me about the last time you saw me."
"Right. We were on Satellite 5, ready to fight the Daleks for control of the universe itself, and before you left to buy me some time, you kissed me goodbye. For some reason, I was expecting cinnamon, but you tasted of ashes." His eyes were downcast. "I suppose you knew you were going to die."
Jack's legs suddenly felt weak, and he sat down hard on the platform. "I did die, Doctor. And then, somehow, I was alive again. And when I came back, the Daleks were gone and so were you. Ever since then, I've wondered what happened."
"Of course you have." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair and seemed not to notice or care that he left it sticking in strange directions. "It was the Bad Wolf. Rose and I kept seeing those words over and over again, in different places and different times."
"I saw it a few times too, Doctor. But what does it mean?" Jack asked.
The Doctor sat beside Jack and swung his legs over the edge of the platform. "The Bad Wolf was the physical manifestation of the time vortex--the heart of the TARDIS itself. You saw it at work the last time we were in Cardiff. The energy it controls is vast, but it couldn't leave the TARDIS without a host."
"And it chose Rose." Jack grimaced.
"It didn't choose her, Jack." The Doctor stroked the console lovingly. "Rose chose to take the energy into herself. She used it to destroy the Daleks, and she used it to give you back your life."
"She may have given me more than she intended to. I've been hurt a hundred times since then, sometimes badly enough to be fatal. Everything heals within seconds. I've lost count of how many years it's been, and I never seem to age."
"I think I know why." The Doctor leaned close to Jack and flicked his tongue across Jack's neck, just a little below the jawline. "Mmmmm, yes, you're still full of vortex energy, bursting with it, in fact."
"Are you sure?" Jack angled his neck aside. "Maybe you should try it again."
The Doctor clapped Jack's shoulder. "The years haven't changed you that much, have they? Did you notice that the TARDIS let you in without a key? She recognizes you as a part of herself now."
"And Rose?" Jack asked. "Where is she?" He looked around the control room hopefully.
"Not with me anymore," the Doctor said flatly.
"She's dead, then." Jack's heart sank. "I know she was with you when the Cybermen came, but she hasn't been seen since. I saw how the two of you were together. She would never have left on her own."
"No, no, not dead. She's on Earth, in London, actually."
"She can't be," Jack insisted. "I would have found her by now."
"I never said she was on this Earth, Jack."
"Dimension-hopping? She's on an alternate Earth? I never figured you to be so reckless, Doctor. That kind of travel can totally unravel the fabric of the continuum."
"Like this?" The Doctor reached for the bundle of fabric he'd been using as a pillow as he worked beneath the console. It was a long, multicolored scarf. At one time, it must have been quite extraordinary, but it was badly worn now--full of holes and covered with stains. The Doctor plucked at a loose bit of yarn and unraveled several inches of the scarf before pulling the strands idly through his fingers.
"It couldn't be helped, Jack. I did the best I could for her. My only regret is that I couldn't say goodbye."
"Yeah, you've got a lousy track record where that's concerned," shot Jack.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said softly. "Rose was dying, so I took the vortex into myself. That started this process--" he indicated his new body "--and I never think too clearly while I'm regenerating."
"We're not so different, are we Doctor? I can't die. You can, but you just create a new body and start over."
"Don't get too cocky, Jack," the Doctor warned. "I've got a limited number of regenerations, and your energy will run out eventually. I can't say when, but it's not inexhaustible."
"So if I kept throwing myself off a cliff--?"
"There'd come a time when you wouldn't get back up again. That how you want to use her gift?"
"Nah," Jack said. "Believe me, I've got more important things to do. But speaking of gifts, Doctor, I need to show you something." He picked up the remnants of the scarf and held a largely intact section in the air between his face and the Doctor's. Jack gradually stretched the fabric until tiny gaps in the knitted yarn allowed him the merest glimpse of the Doctor's face. "Do you see what I see?"
"If I can't punch through the fabric of space, maybe I can find a thin spot…" the Doctor mused.
"Maybe you can," Jack said. "Of course, I don't think the rift will cut it--you'll need the energy of a sun--but you can find her, Doctor. You can give her the closure that I never had."
The Doctor jumped up and started checking displays and adjusting the TARDIS controls. "I think you're right. I'm sure of it, actually, but how did you know?"
Jack stood and began walking toward the now-open doors. Just before he reached them, he turned back to wink at the Doctor and blow a kiss at the console. "She told me, Doctor." He patted the door gently on his way into the night, but his voice drifted back once more to the control room.
"She told me."
*****
end
The story was written for malana, who requested Ten, Jack Harkness, and Four's scarf.
Title: "Closure"
Spoilers: DW through "Doomsday", Torchwood's "Everything Changes"
Summary: Jack needs to know what happened to him.
Closure
Spoilers: DW through "Doomsday", Torchwood's "Everything Changes"
Summary: Jack needs to know what happened to him.
Jack Harkness stabbed impatiently at the activator he wore on his wrist, but the topside lift still refused to budge. The Cardiff branch of Torchwood wasn't without a certain amount of charm (much like Jack himself), but the endless damp belowground contributed to a fair number of mechanical and electrical difficulties. Making a mental note to have Ianto check the problem, Jack used the normal egress and decided to make sure that nothing was blocking the reluctant mechanism from the outside. What he found stopped him in his tracks.
In a daze, he found himself in a dead run, desperate to reach the TARDIS before it could dematerialize the way that it did in so many of his dreams. The doors opened to receive him as he approached, and he skidded to a stop inside the familiar control room as the doors closed again behind him.
"Doctor?" he called out. "Rose?"
A tall, pale stranger stood up from where he had been crouched beneath the console and gave him a wide, friendly grin.
"Jack!"
The man fit the description of the Doctor that had circulated after the Sycorax and Cyberman invasions, but Jack had to be sure.
"I'd heard you'd changed, Doctor, but they never told me that you were pretty."
"Pretty? Is that what I am?" The Doctor circled the console and stepped off of the supporting platform. "I suppose I might be, at that. And you haven't even seen the mole yet."
Jack smiled in spite of himself. He didn't act much like the old Doctor, but Torchwood's records showed that the Doctor tended to change personalities as he changed bodies. "If it's really you, Doctor, tell me about the last time you saw me."
"Right. We were on Satellite 5, ready to fight the Daleks for control of the universe itself, and before you left to buy me some time, you kissed me goodbye. For some reason, I was expecting cinnamon, but you tasted of ashes." His eyes were downcast. "I suppose you knew you were going to die."
Jack's legs suddenly felt weak, and he sat down hard on the platform. "I did die, Doctor. And then, somehow, I was alive again. And when I came back, the Daleks were gone and so were you. Ever since then, I've wondered what happened."
"Of course you have." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair and seemed not to notice or care that he left it sticking in strange directions. "It was the Bad Wolf. Rose and I kept seeing those words over and over again, in different places and different times."
"I saw it a few times too, Doctor. But what does it mean?" Jack asked.
The Doctor sat beside Jack and swung his legs over the edge of the platform. "The Bad Wolf was the physical manifestation of the time vortex--the heart of the TARDIS itself. You saw it at work the last time we were in Cardiff. The energy it controls is vast, but it couldn't leave the TARDIS without a host."
"And it chose Rose." Jack grimaced.
"It didn't choose her, Jack." The Doctor stroked the console lovingly. "Rose chose to take the energy into herself. She used it to destroy the Daleks, and she used it to give you back your life."
"She may have given me more than she intended to. I've been hurt a hundred times since then, sometimes badly enough to be fatal. Everything heals within seconds. I've lost count of how many years it's been, and I never seem to age."
"I think I know why." The Doctor leaned close to Jack and flicked his tongue across Jack's neck, just a little below the jawline. "Mmmmm, yes, you're still full of vortex energy, bursting with it, in fact."
"Are you sure?" Jack angled his neck aside. "Maybe you should try it again."
The Doctor clapped Jack's shoulder. "The years haven't changed you that much, have they? Did you notice that the TARDIS let you in without a key? She recognizes you as a part of herself now."
"And Rose?" Jack asked. "Where is she?" He looked around the control room hopefully.
"Not with me anymore," the Doctor said flatly.
"She's dead, then." Jack's heart sank. "I know she was with you when the Cybermen came, but she hasn't been seen since. I saw how the two of you were together. She would never have left on her own."
"No, no, not dead. She's on Earth, in London, actually."
"She can't be," Jack insisted. "I would have found her by now."
"I never said she was on this Earth, Jack."
"Dimension-hopping? She's on an alternate Earth? I never figured you to be so reckless, Doctor. That kind of travel can totally unravel the fabric of the continuum."
"Like this?" The Doctor reached for the bundle of fabric he'd been using as a pillow as he worked beneath the console. It was a long, multicolored scarf. At one time, it must have been quite extraordinary, but it was badly worn now--full of holes and covered with stains. The Doctor plucked at a loose bit of yarn and unraveled several inches of the scarf before pulling the strands idly through his fingers.
"It couldn't be helped, Jack. I did the best I could for her. My only regret is that I couldn't say goodbye."
"Yeah, you've got a lousy track record where that's concerned," shot Jack.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said softly. "Rose was dying, so I took the vortex into myself. That started this process--" he indicated his new body "--and I never think too clearly while I'm regenerating."
"We're not so different, are we Doctor? I can't die. You can, but you just create a new body and start over."
"Don't get too cocky, Jack," the Doctor warned. "I've got a limited number of regenerations, and your energy will run out eventually. I can't say when, but it's not inexhaustible."
"So if I kept throwing myself off a cliff--?"
"There'd come a time when you wouldn't get back up again. That how you want to use her gift?"
"Nah," Jack said. "Believe me, I've got more important things to do. But speaking of gifts, Doctor, I need to show you something." He picked up the remnants of the scarf and held a largely intact section in the air between his face and the Doctor's. Jack gradually stretched the fabric until tiny gaps in the knitted yarn allowed him the merest glimpse of the Doctor's face. "Do you see what I see?"
"If I can't punch through the fabric of space, maybe I can find a thin spot…" the Doctor mused.
"Maybe you can," Jack said. "Of course, I don't think the rift will cut it--you'll need the energy of a sun--but you can find her, Doctor. You can give her the closure that I never had."
The Doctor jumped up and started checking displays and adjusting the TARDIS controls. "I think you're right. I'm sure of it, actually, but how did you know?"
Jack stood and began walking toward the now-open doors. Just before he reached them, he turned back to wink at the Doctor and blow a kiss at the console. "She told me, Doctor." He patted the door gently on his way into the night, but his voice drifted back once more to the control room.
"She told me."
*****
end