Fic: Always Goodbye Part Two
Title: Always Goodbye Part Two
Author: RubyChan05
Prompt used: "After the Doctor and Jack part ways, the Doctor goes off on his usual adventures but meets him over and over again in the future. It's centuries of change for Jack, but no more than a few months for the Doctor."
"Why does the Doctor always run away? And does Jack understand?"
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: All DW.
Summary: Centuries of change bring a brand new relationship
Everything changed in the 79th century. Jack had lived through his own century in hiding, afraid that the Time Agents would cotton on at one point and drag him in for questioning. Afraid of meeting himself and causing some sort of paradox.
When the Doctor found him, he was in Athens. Sitting on the steps of the ruined Parthenon, staring up at stars. After nearly 6000 years, he looked exactly the same as he had when the pair met again in the year 100 trillion. Only the eyes gave him away; eyes that had seen far too much in their lifetime. Eyes that were older than the Doctor’s now.
At the Doctor’s approach Jack looked up, a warm smile spreading over his face at the sight of the Time Lord.
“Doctor. I had a feeling I’d be seeing you tonight.”
He pushed himself to his feet, moving easier without his greatcoat. It didn’t seem to be anywhere around, and the Doctor assumed that Jack had temporarily discarded it in the heat. It felt odd to see him without it now. Throughout the centuries, Jack had kept to the classic styles, expressing delight when they had temporarily come back into mainstream fashion during the 41st century. The trend had passed by the 42nd, but Jack was adamant that they’d be fashionable again one day.
“Oh, did you now? I suppose you fancy yourself some kind of Doctor detector now then? I mean, 6000 years after all…maybe you’re evolving.” The Doctor said lightly. Jack scowled.
“Look, I said sorry for the Face of Boe crack. Can we just move on now, please?”
The Doctor shrugged, eyes twinkling.
“Fine. So where are we off to tonight, Captain? I don’t believe I’ve been to this corner of the world during this time period yet.”
“You’re not missing much. Athens fought hard to stay as retro as possible…it’s more like the 65th century, never mind the 79th. Although the cocktails at the Greek Goddess bar are to die for…well, I’m guessing about the dying part but they still taste excellent.” Jack grinned.
The Doctor sighed dramatically, casting mock-disappointed eyes at Jack.
“I don’t know…Athens, a city stuffed full of history and culture, and you want to go get hammered.”
“Not hammered. Buzzed.”
“Same difference where you’re concerned.”
Jack just grinned at him, walking over and offering his arm as if he were a gallant gentleman escorting some young lady. The Doctor raised an eyebrow but gave in anyway, linking his arm through Jack’s and allowing the other man to lead the way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The cocktails lived up to Jack’s promises, yet the Doctor and Jack were nowhere near drunk when they finally left the bar. They’d actually spent most of the time talking instead, reminiscing about old times and swapping outrageous stories of their latest adventures. Jack had actually beaten him there, but the Doctor had decided that there really hadn’t been a hope of winning against a several thousand year old man. Especially not when it had been a week apart for him, and 64 years of change for Jack.
The pair were walking side by side when their hands brushed together, and the Doctor didn’t hesitate before slipping his hand firmly into Jack’s, feeling the immortal’s fingers closing firmly around his own.
The mood shifted, and the Doctor could practically see Jack scanning the area for the nearest hotel when he surprised even himself by speaking.
“Wait. Why don’t we just…walk like this for a while?" He murmured. Jack stared at him for a moment before grinning, squeezing the Doctor’s hand slightly as the tension dissipated and they started strolling again.
“If that’s what you want to do Doc, I certainly have no objections.”
The city was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night, and as they approached one of the various ancient Greek temples scattered around the Doctor felt a strange sense of peace in himself. Jack was scrambling up the small rise, and the Doctor followed him right to the top, shivering slightly at the cool breeze he felt there despite the overall heat.
Strong arms wrapped themselves around him and he relaxed back into Jack’s embrace, staring up at the stars and listening to Jack breathing. For a moment, he could fool himself into believing that they were the only two in the whole of the universe. Yet the thought only filled him with a sense of calm, not fear.
Somewhere a car screeched in the distance, breaking the illusion. He felt Jack tense slightly at the noise, the Captain’s arms slipping from him as reality intruded. Turning round, the Doctor smiled wryly up at Jack, shrugging.
“It was nice whilst it lasted.”
“Yeah.”
They were silent for a few moments longer. Then the Doctor leaned up to press his lips against Jack’s, and the pattern resumed.
Except it didn’t.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When the Doctor stirred afterwards, he could hear Jack’s steady breathing and knew the other man was asleep. Carefully extricating himself from Jack’s arms he searched around for his clothes, muttering quietly to himself when he found that his tie had somehow managed to end up on top of the wardrobe. Slipping into his shoes he made his way over to the door…only to freeze as he realised that the rhythm of Jack’s breathing had changed.
Jack was awake.
A quick glance over his shoulder showed that Jack was still facing away from him, but Jack had to have noticed that the space in bed beside him was empty now. Had to have heard the Doctor’s quiet shifting around as he got dressed. For a moment the Doctor considered just leaving, pretending that he hadn’t noticed that Jack had woken up. But then he realised there was no way he could do that, and he sighed and leaned back against the door.
“Well? Aren’t you going to say something?” The Doctor asked softly. Jack moved, turning so that he was facing the Doctor. His eyes glittered in the darkness, and the Doctor had the uneasy feeling that Jack could see him just as clearly here as he could during the light of day.
“What am I supposed to say? It’s always been this way…it’s not like anything would ever change if I spoke up anyway.” Jack replied calmly. The Doctor winced, hearing the unspoken words between the lines.
“So you do want things to change.”
Silence.
“Jack?”
“Doctor, you’re standing there wearing my lovebites on your neck. Clearly visible above your collar. Haven’t you noticed I’ve started marking you where people can see it now? And you still have to ask if I want things to change?”
“What do you want to happen?”
“I want to wake up one morning with you still in the goddamned bed. Not to a scrawled note. And certainly not money - I don’t appreciate feeling like a cheap whore.”
“That’s not…” The Doctor protested weakly, belatedly realising what that must have looked like. Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair and ruffling it up further.
“I know. I know you never meant it that way…that’s not your style. It just…hurts…sometimes, to wake up to the fact that someone you love always leaves before the night is over.”
“Love?”
“Yes Doctor, love. And don’t you dare pretend you didn’t know, because we both know you always have. You just choose to ignore it.”
The Doctor chewed his lip, swearing at himself. It was true…he’d always suspected Jack loved him, even if he didn’t know for sure. And now it was all out in the open, and he couldn’t pretend anymore. Even though after tonight, after this conversation, he knew that things would never be the same again anyway. But still…
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” The Doctor didn’t understand. If this had been hurting Jack as much as he claimed, why had the ex-Time Agent carried on with it? Why had he kept sleeping with the Doctor when he knew he’d be gone by the morning?
Jack chuckled quietly, and when he spoke his voice was full of quiet acceptance.
“Because I know you - this is how you work. You can never have relationships with your companions because you know one day they’re going to die, leaving you alone again. But at the same time, you can’t have a relationship with me because you know I won’t die, and you can’t commit. Even if you do love me.”
The Doctor, who’d been reeling from Jack’s easy understanding of him, snapped upright at that last sentence.
“Excuse me?”
“You think I’m blind, Doctor? I’ve seen how you’ve been changing towards me throughout the years. You’d never have even started sleeping with me if you didn’t have some feelings for me. And as for tonight…what do you call that scene at the top of the hill? Because where I come from, we call that a ‘romantic moment’.”
Jack met his gaze unblinkingly, and the Doctor stared back, hearts hammering a mile a minute. Then, without saying anything, he turned and stormed out.
He tried to pretend he didn’t hear Jack’s small, quiet whisper.
“And that’s the last I’ll see of him. You fool, Harkness.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After that, the Doctor went out of his way to avoid Jack. Whenever the TARDIS landed he double checked to make sure he’d actually arrived where he’d been aiming for, then triple checked to make sure Jack wasn’t anywhere about the area. A few times, the TARDIS had purposefully materialised in places Jack was likely to be, but the Doctor refused to relent and merely took off again.
One time, in 82nd century Budapest, he’d seen Jack in the monitor. 300 years had passed since he’d last laid eyes on the Captain, and he’d been shocked to see the pure misery in Jack’s face as the man stared at the TARDIS from the shadows of a nearby building. Jack hadn’t even tried to get closer; had just melted away into the darkness and left, as though he’d given up hope that he’d ever see the Doctor again.
It had left the Doctor with a horrible empty feeling, and he’d almost gone running after Jack before he remembered their last conversation. So instead he’d just flicked a few switches and dematerialised, despite the TARDIS’ humming protests.
It was in 82nd century Tokyo that everything changed again.
The Doctor had intended to watch the 8120 Tokyo Olympics, but instead found himself running for his life as an army of Judoon somehow got it into their heads that he was the alien fugitive they were looking for. By all rights they shouldn’t have even been on Earth as it wasn’t under their jurisdiction, but this particular group seemed particularly tenacious.
The Doctor had ended up in a dead end alley and was searching desperately for another way out when there was a sudden volley of shots fired behind him, Wheeling round, the Doctor gaped at the sight of a man on a motorcycle, his face obscured by a helmet, firing upon the Judoon whilst managing to dodge the returned shots at the same time.
Whatever weapon the man was using, it was obviously strong enough to get through the thick Judoon armour, as one by one the Judoon keeled over, snorting with pain. The last Judoon fired another shot and the man ducked down low, the wall behind him burnt black. Twisting up, he shot the Judoon in the chest only to yelp as the alien crashed down against the motorbike, knocking it over and trapping the man beneath the collective weight of the bike and the Judoon.
Hurrying over, the Doctor quickly set to work freeing his mystery rescuer, not liking the groans of pain coming from inside the helmet.
“Hang on there, I’ll have you out in a jiffy. I’m going to have to just try pulling you out - grit your teeth, it’s going to hurt. A lot.”
Gripping the stranger underneath his arms, the Doctor pulled, feeling the man beginning to slip from underneath the fallen motorcycle. The man cried out as he was suddenly pulled free, and the Doctor carefully laid him down against the alley wall, wincing in sympathy as he saw the mangled mess of the stranger’s legs.
“Ouch. That’ll take a while to heal…where’s the nearest hospital round here?” The Doctor asked. A low chuckle came from within the helmet, and the Doctor blinked in confusion.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Doctor. I’ll heal soon enough - I’m not exactly normal am I?” The stranger reached up with his right hand to pull off his helmet, revealing none other than the very man the Doctor had been avoiding so long.
“Jack!” He gasped, suddenly realising why a ‘stranger’ had just risked his life to save someone he’d supposedly never even met before.
“Got it in one. Couldn’t exactly leave you to be executed, even if you have been an idiot lately.” Jack grinned weakly. His breathing was laboured, and the Doctor wondered exactly how much pain Jack was actually in.
“Come on, we’ve got to get you to a hospital.” He tried, but Jack just waved him off.
“I’m fine. Give me an hour or two, and these will just be flesh wounds. If I go hospital then I’ll just have to answer some pretty awkward questions.” He said firmly. The Doctor hesitated, before wrapping an arm around Jack and pulling him up, supporting practically all of his weight so that no pressure was put on Jack’s legs.
“Then you’re coming back to the TARDIS until you’re good to go again.” Part of the Doctor was yelling at him, demanding to know what he thought he was doing. But the larger part was nodding in approval, and he knew exactly which side the TARDIS would take. He’d done some truly awful things to Jack during the time they’d known each other, and this wasn’t going be another of his mistakes.
He could feel the tension in Jack at the suggestion, but the immortal didn’t protest. He just let the Doctor half drag, half carry him back through the Tokyo streets to where the TARDIS was parked.
The expression on Jack’s face as they entered somehow managed to make the Doctor feel even guiltier than before; it was an intense mixture of joy and wistfulness, and the Doctor regretted not letting Jack come back onboard sooner.
Settling Jack on the small sofa in the console room the Doctor dashed about, hitting buttons seemingly at random. Jack blinked.
“Are we leaving?”
“We’re just moving a few days into the future - those Judoon will be coming round soon, and they’ll be mad. Especially if they think their alien has just got away from them.”
Jack didn’t reply, and when the Doctor looked round he was surprised to see the other man looking vaguely embarrassed.
“I don’t suppose you know whether they were looking for an Altraxian, do you?” Jack asked quietly. The Doctor raised any eyebrow.
“Might have been. Why?”
“Met one a few days ago. Seemed like a nice guy, really. Helped him repair his ship, though he never explained where it had got those awful burn marks on the outside…”
Shaking his head, the Doctor chuckled as he landed the TARDIS.
“I don’t know…more gullible now after 6000 years than you were when I first met you.” He snickered, pretending not to notice Jack’s indignant expression.
“Hey! Young people should learn to respect their elders, thankyou very much!” Jack retorted, flashing the Doctor a grin when the Time Lord rolled his eyes good naturedly at the comment.
“And why should I? You never showed me any respect when I was the older one.” The Doctor objected. Jack shrugged, reclining back against the sofa and stretching like a cat.
“No respect? I called you ‘sir’ sometimes, remember? Not to mention deferring to you when planning battle strategies - now that one stung.”
“I remember. Going after Blon in Cardiff that time…” The Doctor murmured wistfully, remembering when things hadn’t seemed quite so complicated. A sneaked glance at Jack’s face showed him that Jack was thinking the same thing - the other man looked rather nostalgic sitting there.
Sighing, the Doctor abandoned the console and moved to sit next to Jack, taking the immortal by surprise as he took Jack’s hand in his.
“You were right, you know. I do love you. But I’ve never had anything like this before…I’ve never had something I knew wasn’t going to go away after a few years. And I don’t think I’m ready to commit to anything…at least not for now.”
Jack regarded him silently for a moment, before surprising the Doctor as he broke out into a wide smile and offered the Doctor his hand.
“Then how about this…we carry on as we have before. But you’ll try and visit me more often, and you’ll actually stay the night when you do come. Then when you find it in yourself to commit, I come back on board the TARDIS. Deal?”
The Doctor hesitated, but one look at Jack’s twinkling eyes made all his doubts melt away, and he found himself shaking Jack’s hand firmly.
“Deal. With one addition.” He agreed. At Jack’s confused frown, he leaned forward and tapped the other man on the nose. “You get your Vortex Manipulator back to full working order.”
Jack stilled, eyes widening at the offer.
“You mean…” He breathed. The Doctor nodded, suddenly serious.
“It came to me earlier…unless you find some way of travelling back in time at one point, you’re not only going to live until the year 100 trillion, you’ll live past it, in a time where everything else is dead and gone. And I won’t have you live that life, Jack.”
To his confusion, Jack fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it up for the Doctor to examine. The Time Lord blinked, staring down at what was clearly a list of dates and place names.
“Jack Harkness, you didn’t…” He muttered in disbelief. Jack grinned jauntily back.
“If you mean did I make a list of where I was when, then yes I did. Hoped I may get to use it some day…this way I don’t run the risk of meeting myself.”
Shaking his head, the Doctor sighed, resigning himself to a lot more of this cocky attitude in the future.
“You knew I’d relent one day, didn’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Like I said, you’re an impossible thing, Jack.”
“But I’m your impossible thing.”
“Oh for…”
Part One
Comments are always love!
Author: RubyChan05
Prompt used: "After the Doctor and Jack part ways, the Doctor goes off on his usual adventures but meets him over and over again in the future. It's centuries of change for Jack, but no more than a few months for the Doctor."
"Why does the Doctor always run away? And does Jack understand?"
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: All DW.
Summary: Centuries of change bring a brand new relationship
Everything changed in the 79th century. Jack had lived through his own century in hiding, afraid that the Time Agents would cotton on at one point and drag him in for questioning. Afraid of meeting himself and causing some sort of paradox.
When the Doctor found him, he was in Athens. Sitting on the steps of the ruined Parthenon, staring up at stars. After nearly 6000 years, he looked exactly the same as he had when the pair met again in the year 100 trillion. Only the eyes gave him away; eyes that had seen far too much in their lifetime. Eyes that were older than the Doctor’s now.
At the Doctor’s approach Jack looked up, a warm smile spreading over his face at the sight of the Time Lord.
“Doctor. I had a feeling I’d be seeing you tonight.”
He pushed himself to his feet, moving easier without his greatcoat. It didn’t seem to be anywhere around, and the Doctor assumed that Jack had temporarily discarded it in the heat. It felt odd to see him without it now. Throughout the centuries, Jack had kept to the classic styles, expressing delight when they had temporarily come back into mainstream fashion during the 41st century. The trend had passed by the 42nd, but Jack was adamant that they’d be fashionable again one day.
“Oh, did you now? I suppose you fancy yourself some kind of Doctor detector now then? I mean, 6000 years after all…maybe you’re evolving.” The Doctor said lightly. Jack scowled.
“Look, I said sorry for the Face of Boe crack. Can we just move on now, please?”
The Doctor shrugged, eyes twinkling.
“Fine. So where are we off to tonight, Captain? I don’t believe I’ve been to this corner of the world during this time period yet.”
“You’re not missing much. Athens fought hard to stay as retro as possible…it’s more like the 65th century, never mind the 79th. Although the cocktails at the Greek Goddess bar are to die for…well, I’m guessing about the dying part but they still taste excellent.” Jack grinned.
The Doctor sighed dramatically, casting mock-disappointed eyes at Jack.
“I don’t know…Athens, a city stuffed full of history and culture, and you want to go get hammered.”
“Not hammered. Buzzed.”
“Same difference where you’re concerned.”
Jack just grinned at him, walking over and offering his arm as if he were a gallant gentleman escorting some young lady. The Doctor raised an eyebrow but gave in anyway, linking his arm through Jack’s and allowing the other man to lead the way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The cocktails lived up to Jack’s promises, yet the Doctor and Jack were nowhere near drunk when they finally left the bar. They’d actually spent most of the time talking instead, reminiscing about old times and swapping outrageous stories of their latest adventures. Jack had actually beaten him there, but the Doctor had decided that there really hadn’t been a hope of winning against a several thousand year old man. Especially not when it had been a week apart for him, and 64 years of change for Jack.
The pair were walking side by side when their hands brushed together, and the Doctor didn’t hesitate before slipping his hand firmly into Jack’s, feeling the immortal’s fingers closing firmly around his own.
The mood shifted, and the Doctor could practically see Jack scanning the area for the nearest hotel when he surprised even himself by speaking.
“Wait. Why don’t we just…walk like this for a while?" He murmured. Jack stared at him for a moment before grinning, squeezing the Doctor’s hand slightly as the tension dissipated and they started strolling again.
“If that’s what you want to do Doc, I certainly have no objections.”
The city was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night, and as they approached one of the various ancient Greek temples scattered around the Doctor felt a strange sense of peace in himself. Jack was scrambling up the small rise, and the Doctor followed him right to the top, shivering slightly at the cool breeze he felt there despite the overall heat.
Strong arms wrapped themselves around him and he relaxed back into Jack’s embrace, staring up at the stars and listening to Jack breathing. For a moment, he could fool himself into believing that they were the only two in the whole of the universe. Yet the thought only filled him with a sense of calm, not fear.
Somewhere a car screeched in the distance, breaking the illusion. He felt Jack tense slightly at the noise, the Captain’s arms slipping from him as reality intruded. Turning round, the Doctor smiled wryly up at Jack, shrugging.
“It was nice whilst it lasted.”
“Yeah.”
They were silent for a few moments longer. Then the Doctor leaned up to press his lips against Jack’s, and the pattern resumed.
Except it didn’t.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When the Doctor stirred afterwards, he could hear Jack’s steady breathing and knew the other man was asleep. Carefully extricating himself from Jack’s arms he searched around for his clothes, muttering quietly to himself when he found that his tie had somehow managed to end up on top of the wardrobe. Slipping into his shoes he made his way over to the door…only to freeze as he realised that the rhythm of Jack’s breathing had changed.
Jack was awake.
A quick glance over his shoulder showed that Jack was still facing away from him, but Jack had to have noticed that the space in bed beside him was empty now. Had to have heard the Doctor’s quiet shifting around as he got dressed. For a moment the Doctor considered just leaving, pretending that he hadn’t noticed that Jack had woken up. But then he realised there was no way he could do that, and he sighed and leaned back against the door.
“Well? Aren’t you going to say something?” The Doctor asked softly. Jack moved, turning so that he was facing the Doctor. His eyes glittered in the darkness, and the Doctor had the uneasy feeling that Jack could see him just as clearly here as he could during the light of day.
“What am I supposed to say? It’s always been this way…it’s not like anything would ever change if I spoke up anyway.” Jack replied calmly. The Doctor winced, hearing the unspoken words between the lines.
“So you do want things to change.”
Silence.
“Jack?”
“Doctor, you’re standing there wearing my lovebites on your neck. Clearly visible above your collar. Haven’t you noticed I’ve started marking you where people can see it now? And you still have to ask if I want things to change?”
“What do you want to happen?”
“I want to wake up one morning with you still in the goddamned bed. Not to a scrawled note. And certainly not money - I don’t appreciate feeling like a cheap whore.”
“That’s not…” The Doctor protested weakly, belatedly realising what that must have looked like. Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair and ruffling it up further.
“I know. I know you never meant it that way…that’s not your style. It just…hurts…sometimes, to wake up to the fact that someone you love always leaves before the night is over.”
“Love?”
“Yes Doctor, love. And don’t you dare pretend you didn’t know, because we both know you always have. You just choose to ignore it.”
The Doctor chewed his lip, swearing at himself. It was true…he’d always suspected Jack loved him, even if he didn’t know for sure. And now it was all out in the open, and he couldn’t pretend anymore. Even though after tonight, after this conversation, he knew that things would never be the same again anyway. But still…
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” The Doctor didn’t understand. If this had been hurting Jack as much as he claimed, why had the ex-Time Agent carried on with it? Why had he kept sleeping with the Doctor when he knew he’d be gone by the morning?
Jack chuckled quietly, and when he spoke his voice was full of quiet acceptance.
“Because I know you - this is how you work. You can never have relationships with your companions because you know one day they’re going to die, leaving you alone again. But at the same time, you can’t have a relationship with me because you know I won’t die, and you can’t commit. Even if you do love me.”
The Doctor, who’d been reeling from Jack’s easy understanding of him, snapped upright at that last sentence.
“Excuse me?”
“You think I’m blind, Doctor? I’ve seen how you’ve been changing towards me throughout the years. You’d never have even started sleeping with me if you didn’t have some feelings for me. And as for tonight…what do you call that scene at the top of the hill? Because where I come from, we call that a ‘romantic moment’.”
Jack met his gaze unblinkingly, and the Doctor stared back, hearts hammering a mile a minute. Then, without saying anything, he turned and stormed out.
He tried to pretend he didn’t hear Jack’s small, quiet whisper.
“And that’s the last I’ll see of him. You fool, Harkness.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After that, the Doctor went out of his way to avoid Jack. Whenever the TARDIS landed he double checked to make sure he’d actually arrived where he’d been aiming for, then triple checked to make sure Jack wasn’t anywhere about the area. A few times, the TARDIS had purposefully materialised in places Jack was likely to be, but the Doctor refused to relent and merely took off again.
One time, in 82nd century Budapest, he’d seen Jack in the monitor. 300 years had passed since he’d last laid eyes on the Captain, and he’d been shocked to see the pure misery in Jack’s face as the man stared at the TARDIS from the shadows of a nearby building. Jack hadn’t even tried to get closer; had just melted away into the darkness and left, as though he’d given up hope that he’d ever see the Doctor again.
It had left the Doctor with a horrible empty feeling, and he’d almost gone running after Jack before he remembered their last conversation. So instead he’d just flicked a few switches and dematerialised, despite the TARDIS’ humming protests.
It was in 82nd century Tokyo that everything changed again.
The Doctor had intended to watch the 8120 Tokyo Olympics, but instead found himself running for his life as an army of Judoon somehow got it into their heads that he was the alien fugitive they were looking for. By all rights they shouldn’t have even been on Earth as it wasn’t under their jurisdiction, but this particular group seemed particularly tenacious.
The Doctor had ended up in a dead end alley and was searching desperately for another way out when there was a sudden volley of shots fired behind him, Wheeling round, the Doctor gaped at the sight of a man on a motorcycle, his face obscured by a helmet, firing upon the Judoon whilst managing to dodge the returned shots at the same time.
Whatever weapon the man was using, it was obviously strong enough to get through the thick Judoon armour, as one by one the Judoon keeled over, snorting with pain. The last Judoon fired another shot and the man ducked down low, the wall behind him burnt black. Twisting up, he shot the Judoon in the chest only to yelp as the alien crashed down against the motorbike, knocking it over and trapping the man beneath the collective weight of the bike and the Judoon.
Hurrying over, the Doctor quickly set to work freeing his mystery rescuer, not liking the groans of pain coming from inside the helmet.
“Hang on there, I’ll have you out in a jiffy. I’m going to have to just try pulling you out - grit your teeth, it’s going to hurt. A lot.”
Gripping the stranger underneath his arms, the Doctor pulled, feeling the man beginning to slip from underneath the fallen motorcycle. The man cried out as he was suddenly pulled free, and the Doctor carefully laid him down against the alley wall, wincing in sympathy as he saw the mangled mess of the stranger’s legs.
“Ouch. That’ll take a while to heal…where’s the nearest hospital round here?” The Doctor asked. A low chuckle came from within the helmet, and the Doctor blinked in confusion.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Doctor. I’ll heal soon enough - I’m not exactly normal am I?” The stranger reached up with his right hand to pull off his helmet, revealing none other than the very man the Doctor had been avoiding so long.
“Jack!” He gasped, suddenly realising why a ‘stranger’ had just risked his life to save someone he’d supposedly never even met before.
“Got it in one. Couldn’t exactly leave you to be executed, even if you have been an idiot lately.” Jack grinned weakly. His breathing was laboured, and the Doctor wondered exactly how much pain Jack was actually in.
“Come on, we’ve got to get you to a hospital.” He tried, but Jack just waved him off.
“I’m fine. Give me an hour or two, and these will just be flesh wounds. If I go hospital then I’ll just have to answer some pretty awkward questions.” He said firmly. The Doctor hesitated, before wrapping an arm around Jack and pulling him up, supporting practically all of his weight so that no pressure was put on Jack’s legs.
“Then you’re coming back to the TARDIS until you’re good to go again.” Part of the Doctor was yelling at him, demanding to know what he thought he was doing. But the larger part was nodding in approval, and he knew exactly which side the TARDIS would take. He’d done some truly awful things to Jack during the time they’d known each other, and this wasn’t going be another of his mistakes.
He could feel the tension in Jack at the suggestion, but the immortal didn’t protest. He just let the Doctor half drag, half carry him back through the Tokyo streets to where the TARDIS was parked.
The expression on Jack’s face as they entered somehow managed to make the Doctor feel even guiltier than before; it was an intense mixture of joy and wistfulness, and the Doctor regretted not letting Jack come back onboard sooner.
Settling Jack on the small sofa in the console room the Doctor dashed about, hitting buttons seemingly at random. Jack blinked.
“Are we leaving?”
“We’re just moving a few days into the future - those Judoon will be coming round soon, and they’ll be mad. Especially if they think their alien has just got away from them.”
Jack didn’t reply, and when the Doctor looked round he was surprised to see the other man looking vaguely embarrassed.
“I don’t suppose you know whether they were looking for an Altraxian, do you?” Jack asked quietly. The Doctor raised any eyebrow.
“Might have been. Why?”
“Met one a few days ago. Seemed like a nice guy, really. Helped him repair his ship, though he never explained where it had got those awful burn marks on the outside…”
Shaking his head, the Doctor chuckled as he landed the TARDIS.
“I don’t know…more gullible now after 6000 years than you were when I first met you.” He snickered, pretending not to notice Jack’s indignant expression.
“Hey! Young people should learn to respect their elders, thankyou very much!” Jack retorted, flashing the Doctor a grin when the Time Lord rolled his eyes good naturedly at the comment.
“And why should I? You never showed me any respect when I was the older one.” The Doctor objected. Jack shrugged, reclining back against the sofa and stretching like a cat.
“No respect? I called you ‘sir’ sometimes, remember? Not to mention deferring to you when planning battle strategies - now that one stung.”
“I remember. Going after Blon in Cardiff that time…” The Doctor murmured wistfully, remembering when things hadn’t seemed quite so complicated. A sneaked glance at Jack’s face showed him that Jack was thinking the same thing - the other man looked rather nostalgic sitting there.
Sighing, the Doctor abandoned the console and moved to sit next to Jack, taking the immortal by surprise as he took Jack’s hand in his.
“You were right, you know. I do love you. But I’ve never had anything like this before…I’ve never had something I knew wasn’t going to go away after a few years. And I don’t think I’m ready to commit to anything…at least not for now.”
Jack regarded him silently for a moment, before surprising the Doctor as he broke out into a wide smile and offered the Doctor his hand.
“Then how about this…we carry on as we have before. But you’ll try and visit me more often, and you’ll actually stay the night when you do come. Then when you find it in yourself to commit, I come back on board the TARDIS. Deal?”
The Doctor hesitated, but one look at Jack’s twinkling eyes made all his doubts melt away, and he found himself shaking Jack’s hand firmly.
“Deal. With one addition.” He agreed. At Jack’s confused frown, he leaned forward and tapped the other man on the nose. “You get your Vortex Manipulator back to full working order.”
Jack stilled, eyes widening at the offer.
“You mean…” He breathed. The Doctor nodded, suddenly serious.
“It came to me earlier…unless you find some way of travelling back in time at one point, you’re not only going to live until the year 100 trillion, you’ll live past it, in a time where everything else is dead and gone. And I won’t have you live that life, Jack.”
To his confusion, Jack fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it up for the Doctor to examine. The Time Lord blinked, staring down at what was clearly a list of dates and place names.
“Jack Harkness, you didn’t…” He muttered in disbelief. Jack grinned jauntily back.
“If you mean did I make a list of where I was when, then yes I did. Hoped I may get to use it some day…this way I don’t run the risk of meeting myself.”
Shaking his head, the Doctor sighed, resigning himself to a lot more of this cocky attitude in the future.
“You knew I’d relent one day, didn’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Like I said, you’re an impossible thing, Jack.”
“But I’m your impossible thing.”
“Oh for…”
Part One
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