The Finish Line (Torchwood fanfic)
Title: The Finish Line
Rating: PG
Warning: Character death.
Characters/Pairing: Jack, the rest of the TW team and a little Jack/Ianto
Time Setting: after s1, july to be exact. Spoilers for They Keep Killing Suzie and End of Days
Word count: 1822
A/N: What is this? Again?! Still, blame it aaaall on athousanderrors whom I’m throwing random bunnies at. An extra cookie for those who can spot what I've copied straight off my favourite tv show ^.~ And thank you, to both my betas ♥
The title is a songtitle by Snow Patrol (I had no inspiration for titles)
Summary: Jack has returned, but when the story starts he is... dead. For real this time. But the reast of the Torchwood team needs to bring him back.
Name: Captain Jack Harkness
Date / Place of Birth: Unknown / Unknown
Date / Place of Death: 2007-07-09 / Torchwood 3, Cardiff
Cause of Death: Gunshot wound
There was no doubt about it now, Jack Harkness was dead. He had been for over two weeks. They had tried everything -- talking, kissing, slapping, electric shocks and just plain waiting and wishing. Nothing. Jack was still pale and cold. No machines, no matter how advanced or alien, could detect any life signs, only slow deterioration. This time it was final.
Gwen had described the events of Jack’s disappearance for the rest of them. She said she had heard a screeching noise and a wind had swept through the Hub. Concerned, she had asked if they knew about any teleporting evil aliens known to cause storms but Ianto had calmed her, saying he knew what had taken Jack.
The introductory education at Torchwood One had included information on a man called The Doctor and his means of transport, the TARDIS. Ianto had heard the sound of the TARDIS himself once, before the Battle of Canary Wharf. He knew that must have been who had taken Jack. No... he knew that was who Jack had happily gone off with. Their captain had mentioned the Doctor on many occasions, always with longing in his voice.
It took time for them all to accept that Jack was gone, and they knew he could come back at any second, no matter how long it had been for him. They had even kept Jack's office as he left it. Owen had, unsurprisingly, been the one to seize command but no one protested. He had learned his lesson and was more humble and listened to the others. In fact, everyone had learned a lesson from having caused the beginning of the Apocalypse and then seeing their boss sacrifice himself to stop it.
Even without Jack they had managed to become a real team. Now they worked together, as a unit, not a group of people each with their own agenda. And without Jack's firm leading hand and knowledge they had to work harder and cooperate on a level they never had before. In a way Jack's disappearance had helped them, but it didn't make up for their feelings of loss, betrayal and in some cases, heartache.
Not by a long shot.
But Jack had come back. When spring had arrived in Wales they had all heard the faint screeching of the TARDIS materialising and dematerialising outside the Millennium Centre. They had all almost held their breath, afraid to hope, until Jack came down, happier than ever. He had met his Doctor again, gotten the answers he sought and made peace with his past. And he had missed them. Everyone had greeted him with hugs and kisses, some more... passionate than others. They had been happy for a couple of months.
But now Jack was gone, with no hope of returning.
Everything had happened so fast.
They had been on a regular mission, checking up on some presumably alien technology. What they hadn't expected was a group of three well armed men, hired to acquire alien artefacts for rich collectors. The men had been just as surprised to see the Torchwood team and a struggle had ensued. A struggle including not only fists but plenty of firearms and whizzing bullets. They had managed to get all three on the ground, two dead and one injured, but not without receiving some severe wounds themselves -- Tosh had been shot in the thigh and Owen had broken his left wrist.
Jack had been kneeling next to Tosh who was lying on the cold concrete, making sure her gunshot wound wasn't life threatening. The wounded artefact hunter had staggered onto his feet and was heading towards Jack from behind, gun raised. Gwen had called out to warn him, causing Jack to turn and stand up.
The bullet had hit him right in the temple.
Gwen had blamed herself. If Jack hadn't turned and remained on the ground the bullet would either have missed him completely or just hit something not vital.
There had been no chance of saving him, death had been instant. They had tried and hoped that he would come back to life like he had done so many times before. But Abaddon had sucked all extra life force from Jack, turning him mortal again. After little over a week they had given up. Jack's body had been placed in cold storage next to Suzie and Ianto had started to put Jack's few possessions in cardboard boxes. They tried to just go on with their lives and work. With the Rift being more volatile than ever they didn't have time to mourn.
Yet another week had gone by, with them trying to work just as before and once again another catastrophe was hanging over their heads.
"We need to bring Jack back," Gwen said. "He's the only chance we've got at stopping this."
"We've tried everything, he's not coming back," Ianto answered her, his otherwise so calm voice trembling slightly.
"No. No we haven't." Everyone turned to her, hopeful. "I'm sorry, I know, he can't come back. Not completely. But we only need a minute…" she trailed off.
"But--" Ianto was interrupted by Tosh who understood where Gwen was going.
"The glove!"
While Jack was travelling with the Doctor several alien artefacts and pieces of technology had turned up and they hadn't exactly told Jack about all of them. One very peculiar piece of technology had turned a much too curious Owen into a woman for a day, he had threatened the other three into utter silence for all eternity. But more importantly, another resurrection glove had turned up but they had, without hesitation, immediately locked it into the safe for extremely dangerous artefacts that should never be touched. And they hadn't told Jack.
"Are you sure you want to do this Gwen?" Owen asked. "Last time you did it you got slowly shot in the head. Remember?" Owen himself remembered it all too well. Gwen's lifeless body limp in his arms while Jack pumped Suzie full of lead. He tried to shake off the image, not to much success.
"Yes Owen. I am. It's Jack... I trust him," Gwen answered and put her hand in the glove. The cold metal made her shiver but it heated up quickly. "I'm ready."
They had put Jack on the autopsy table, hooked him up to the machine monitoring his heartbeat and taken their positions. Gwen was standing by Jack's head, Ianto was on his right side, Owen by the heart monitor and Tosh was still upstairs in front of the computer, ready to enter the codes needed... if they got them. She had wanted to be down there with them but she knew what had to be done.
Gwen took a deep breath, closed her eyes and placed her right hand on Jack's head, reaching into the darkness. With a loud gasp Jack opened his eyes. He was met by Ianto's calm, firm gaze; which reassured him he was safe. Jack had died so many times that coming back to life wasn't traumatizing, but being brought back could mean anything was going on.
"Ianto?" He looked puzzled at the man leaning over him while holding his restrained hand.
"They always come in pairs sir," Ianto answered with a faint smile.
"Why?"
Owen leaned into sight from his left. "You've made life difficult for us, Harkness." He smiled as he said it. "The Rift is shifting, we need to recalibrate the machine keeping it under control and you have locked us out with a code that I can't find anywhere in any cryptic form. We need it before Cardiff is ripped apart."
"It's Ace Toc Charlie Five Seven Queen dash Six Three dash Freddie. And repeat that once. Go save the world." Jack's smile was tired but heartfelt.
"Did you get that Tosh?" Owen said into his com.
"I did," she answered as she typed in the code a second time and hit enter. "It has been stopped," Tosh continued as she walked down the stairs to the autopsy room.
"Thank you Jack," Owen said while looking down at his boss sadly.
Gwen felt Jack starting to slip away. She desperately tried to hold on to the rope she imagined going from her heart to the glove and then stretching into the darkness beyond. It twitched in her mind, making it hard to control.
"Don't fight it Gwen, I don't blame you for what happened." Jack's voice was calm, but Gwen refused to give up. "Gwen, you can let go now. I've been waiting for this."
"But we need you," Tosh said with a choked voice as she put a hand on Jack's leg to show she was near. "And you...you-"
"No you don't, you've managed fine so far," Jack interrupted softly. "And don't worry about me, I've never felt better. I've finally found peace and I will rest without nightmares. I'm… happy."
They could all see it in his eyes; a sense of serenity they had never seen in the captain before.
"Gwen...let go."
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Partly to Jack, partly to the others around the autopsy table. Then she sobbed and stopped struggling. "I'm so sorry."
Jack closed his eyes and smiled. The sounds of the heart monitor went into one long monotone beep. With clenched teeth Owen shut it off.
"He's gone..."
Everyone around the table had silent tears running down their cheeks. Gwen took off the glove and gently stroke Jack's hair.
"Goodbye my captain," she said and turned to walk up the stairs and away from the man who had once opened up a new world for her. Owen put a hand on Jack's shoulder in a silent farewell and followed Gwen. Tosh walked up to Ianto and they both looked at Jack's smiling pale face.
"He looks so...at peace," she said to him. "Don't you think?"
"Yes, he does," Ianto answered while big tears stained Jack's white gown.
Tosh bent down and gently placed a kiss on Jack's forehead. "Sayonara..." She straightened up, trying to wipe her tears with her sleeve.
"Will you be ok Ianto?" she asked as she was about to leave.
Ianto just nodded as answer. He looked at the body. Jack looked like he was sleeping and dreaming pleasant dreams, but his face was pale and cold to the touch. Ianto softly stroked the soft skin of Jack's cheek and unlocked the wheels of the metal table. Carefully he rolled Jack back to the cold storage where he would be put away forever.
Silently crying, Ianto placed a last kiss on dead lips and closed the white plastic now surrounding the lifeless body.
Death had never looked so beautiful, he thought as he shut the small door to Jack's cold final resting place. Never so beautiful...
----
A/N: the phonetic alphabet Jack is using is the one used by the RAF up til 1942. Thought that one would be good since that’s when Jack would have been really gotten that way of phonetically spelling stuff over radio. The code here being ATC57Q-63-F
Rating: PG
Warning: Character death.
Characters/Pairing: Jack, the rest of the TW team and a little Jack/Ianto
Time Setting: after s1, july to be exact. Spoilers for They Keep Killing Suzie and End of Days
Word count: 1822
A/N: What is this? Again?! Still, blame it aaaall on athousanderrors whom I’m throwing random bunnies at. An extra cookie for those who can spot what I've copied straight off my favourite tv show ^.~ And thank you, to both my betas ♥
The title is a songtitle by Snow Patrol (I had no inspiration for titles)
Summary: Jack has returned, but when the story starts he is... dead. For real this time. But the reast of the Torchwood team needs to bring him back.
Name: Captain Jack Harkness
Date / Place of Birth: Unknown / Unknown
Date / Place of Death: 2007-07-09 / Torchwood 3, Cardiff
Cause of Death: Gunshot wound
There was no doubt about it now, Jack Harkness was dead. He had been for over two weeks. They had tried everything -- talking, kissing, slapping, electric shocks and just plain waiting and wishing. Nothing. Jack was still pale and cold. No machines, no matter how advanced or alien, could detect any life signs, only slow deterioration. This time it was final.
Gwen had described the events of Jack’s disappearance for the rest of them. She said she had heard a screeching noise and a wind had swept through the Hub. Concerned, she had asked if they knew about any teleporting evil aliens known to cause storms but Ianto had calmed her, saying he knew what had taken Jack.
The introductory education at Torchwood One had included information on a man called The Doctor and his means of transport, the TARDIS. Ianto had heard the sound of the TARDIS himself once, before the Battle of Canary Wharf. He knew that must have been who had taken Jack. No... he knew that was who Jack had happily gone off with. Their captain had mentioned the Doctor on many occasions, always with longing in his voice.
It took time for them all to accept that Jack was gone, and they knew he could come back at any second, no matter how long it had been for him. They had even kept Jack's office as he left it. Owen had, unsurprisingly, been the one to seize command but no one protested. He had learned his lesson and was more humble and listened to the others. In fact, everyone had learned a lesson from having caused the beginning of the Apocalypse and then seeing their boss sacrifice himself to stop it.
Even without Jack they had managed to become a real team. Now they worked together, as a unit, not a group of people each with their own agenda. And without Jack's firm leading hand and knowledge they had to work harder and cooperate on a level they never had before. In a way Jack's disappearance had helped them, but it didn't make up for their feelings of loss, betrayal and in some cases, heartache.
Not by a long shot.
But Jack had come back. When spring had arrived in Wales they had all heard the faint screeching of the TARDIS materialising and dematerialising outside the Millennium Centre. They had all almost held their breath, afraid to hope, until Jack came down, happier than ever. He had met his Doctor again, gotten the answers he sought and made peace with his past. And he had missed them. Everyone had greeted him with hugs and kisses, some more... passionate than others. They had been happy for a couple of months.
But now Jack was gone, with no hope of returning.
Everything had happened so fast.
They had been on a regular mission, checking up on some presumably alien technology. What they hadn't expected was a group of three well armed men, hired to acquire alien artefacts for rich collectors. The men had been just as surprised to see the Torchwood team and a struggle had ensued. A struggle including not only fists but plenty of firearms and whizzing bullets. They had managed to get all three on the ground, two dead and one injured, but not without receiving some severe wounds themselves -- Tosh had been shot in the thigh and Owen had broken his left wrist.
Jack had been kneeling next to Tosh who was lying on the cold concrete, making sure her gunshot wound wasn't life threatening. The wounded artefact hunter had staggered onto his feet and was heading towards Jack from behind, gun raised. Gwen had called out to warn him, causing Jack to turn and stand up.
The bullet had hit him right in the temple.
Gwen had blamed herself. If Jack hadn't turned and remained on the ground the bullet would either have missed him completely or just hit something not vital.
There had been no chance of saving him, death had been instant. They had tried and hoped that he would come back to life like he had done so many times before. But Abaddon had sucked all extra life force from Jack, turning him mortal again. After little over a week they had given up. Jack's body had been placed in cold storage next to Suzie and Ianto had started to put Jack's few possessions in cardboard boxes. They tried to just go on with their lives and work. With the Rift being more volatile than ever they didn't have time to mourn.
Yet another week had gone by, with them trying to work just as before and once again another catastrophe was hanging over their heads.
"We need to bring Jack back," Gwen said. "He's the only chance we've got at stopping this."
"We've tried everything, he's not coming back," Ianto answered her, his otherwise so calm voice trembling slightly.
"No. No we haven't." Everyone turned to her, hopeful. "I'm sorry, I know, he can't come back. Not completely. But we only need a minute…" she trailed off.
"But--" Ianto was interrupted by Tosh who understood where Gwen was going.
"The glove!"
While Jack was travelling with the Doctor several alien artefacts and pieces of technology had turned up and they hadn't exactly told Jack about all of them. One very peculiar piece of technology had turned a much too curious Owen into a woman for a day, he had threatened the other three into utter silence for all eternity. But more importantly, another resurrection glove had turned up but they had, without hesitation, immediately locked it into the safe for extremely dangerous artefacts that should never be touched. And they hadn't told Jack.
"Are you sure you want to do this Gwen?" Owen asked. "Last time you did it you got slowly shot in the head. Remember?" Owen himself remembered it all too well. Gwen's lifeless body limp in his arms while Jack pumped Suzie full of lead. He tried to shake off the image, not to much success.
"Yes Owen. I am. It's Jack... I trust him," Gwen answered and put her hand in the glove. The cold metal made her shiver but it heated up quickly. "I'm ready."
They had put Jack on the autopsy table, hooked him up to the machine monitoring his heartbeat and taken their positions. Gwen was standing by Jack's head, Ianto was on his right side, Owen by the heart monitor and Tosh was still upstairs in front of the computer, ready to enter the codes needed... if they got them. She had wanted to be down there with them but she knew what had to be done.
Gwen took a deep breath, closed her eyes and placed her right hand on Jack's head, reaching into the darkness. With a loud gasp Jack opened his eyes. He was met by Ianto's calm, firm gaze; which reassured him he was safe. Jack had died so many times that coming back to life wasn't traumatizing, but being brought back could mean anything was going on.
"Ianto?" He looked puzzled at the man leaning over him while holding his restrained hand.
"They always come in pairs sir," Ianto answered with a faint smile.
"Why?"
Owen leaned into sight from his left. "You've made life difficult for us, Harkness." He smiled as he said it. "The Rift is shifting, we need to recalibrate the machine keeping it under control and you have locked us out with a code that I can't find anywhere in any cryptic form. We need it before Cardiff is ripped apart."
"It's Ace Toc Charlie Five Seven Queen dash Six Three dash Freddie. And repeat that once. Go save the world." Jack's smile was tired but heartfelt.
"Did you get that Tosh?" Owen said into his com.
"I did," she answered as she typed in the code a second time and hit enter. "It has been stopped," Tosh continued as she walked down the stairs to the autopsy room.
"Thank you Jack," Owen said while looking down at his boss sadly.
Gwen felt Jack starting to slip away. She desperately tried to hold on to the rope she imagined going from her heart to the glove and then stretching into the darkness beyond. It twitched in her mind, making it hard to control.
"Don't fight it Gwen, I don't blame you for what happened." Jack's voice was calm, but Gwen refused to give up. "Gwen, you can let go now. I've been waiting for this."
"But we need you," Tosh said with a choked voice as she put a hand on Jack's leg to show she was near. "And you...you-"
"No you don't, you've managed fine so far," Jack interrupted softly. "And don't worry about me, I've never felt better. I've finally found peace and I will rest without nightmares. I'm… happy."
They could all see it in his eyes; a sense of serenity they had never seen in the captain before.
"Gwen...let go."
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Partly to Jack, partly to the others around the autopsy table. Then she sobbed and stopped struggling. "I'm so sorry."
Jack closed his eyes and smiled. The sounds of the heart monitor went into one long monotone beep. With clenched teeth Owen shut it off.
"He's gone..."
Everyone around the table had silent tears running down their cheeks. Gwen took off the glove and gently stroke Jack's hair.
"Goodbye my captain," she said and turned to walk up the stairs and away from the man who had once opened up a new world for her. Owen put a hand on Jack's shoulder in a silent farewell and followed Gwen. Tosh walked up to Ianto and they both looked at Jack's smiling pale face.
"He looks so...at peace," she said to him. "Don't you think?"
"Yes, he does," Ianto answered while big tears stained Jack's white gown.
Tosh bent down and gently placed a kiss on Jack's forehead. "Sayonara..." She straightened up, trying to wipe her tears with her sleeve.
"Will you be ok Ianto?" she asked as she was about to leave.
Ianto just nodded as answer. He looked at the body. Jack looked like he was sleeping and dreaming pleasant dreams, but his face was pale and cold to the touch. Ianto softly stroked the soft skin of Jack's cheek and unlocked the wheels of the metal table. Carefully he rolled Jack back to the cold storage where he would be put away forever.
Silently crying, Ianto placed a last kiss on dead lips and closed the white plastic now surrounding the lifeless body.
Death had never looked so beautiful, he thought as he shut the small door to Jack's cold final resting place. Never so beautiful...
----
A/N: the phonetic alphabet Jack is using is the one used by the RAF up til 1942. Thought that one would be good since that’s when Jack would have been really gotten that way of phonetically spelling stuff over radio. The code here being ATC57Q-63-F