FIC: New Casablanca [reel_torchwood]
Title: New Casablanca
Author: trillianastra
Prompt: Casablanca
Pairing(s): past Jack/Rose, Gwen/Rhys, Rose/the Doctor
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: angst, mild swearing.
Spoilers: None for Torchwood. Pretty much… the entire movie, for Casablanca.
Disclaimer for TW and the movie you are using: Torchwood and Doctor Who belong to the BBC. Casablanca belongs to Warner Bros. This is produced purely for entertainment and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: This is completely AU for both Torchwood and Doctor Who. Setting is a city on a distant planet, helpfully named New Casablanca, sometime in the future.
Cast:
Rick Blaine - Jack Harkness
Victor Laszlo - The Doctor
Ilsa Lund - Rose Tyler
Sam - Toshiko Sato
Captain Louis Renault - Rhys Williams
Ugarte - Owen Harper
Major Strasser - John Hart
Bar Staff - Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones
Jack stood on the roof of the low building, the warm breeze ruffling his hair slightly, and looked out over the city. The light was softer at this time of day, just after the first of New Casablanca’s two suns had set, but before the second. The natives, and the ex-pats who’d been here almost as long, called it the betweentime. At least, that was the nearest translation - there was a word for it in the native language, though no-one spoke that much anymore. With the number of travellers who passed through every day, it was easier to just stick to Standard.
He smiled to himself as he heard the familiar sounds of his staff opening up for the evening - voices joking with each other, the clatter of chairs being rearranged, a glass being dropped. Sounds he heard every day, so often that he suspected he’d miss them if they were gone. He sighed, took one last look out at the city, and headed downstairs. They’d be open soon, after all, and the customers liked it when they could have a drink or a chat with the bar’s owner, or so Gwen kept telling him.
He stopped briefly in his own quarters, changing into a fresh shirt and running a comb through his hair quickly. That was something else Gwen kept nagging him about. That done, he headed downstairs to the bar. A quick glance told him that everything looked fine - Owen and Ianto behind the bar, cleaning glasses while arguing about something, Gwen wandering through the tables, fiddling with the centrepieces now and then. And, in the far corner, the star attraction. Grinning, he strode over to the small performance area, where The Piano was. (It fully deserved the capitals. It was, after all, the only antique Earth piano on New Casablanca, and he’d expended considerable effort and cash to get both it and its player for the bar.)
Toshiko, widely known to be the best piano player in the system, sat on the piano stool, eyes closed as her fingers effortlessly ran across the keys, warming up for the night’s business. She opened her eyes just as Jack got there, and smiled.
“Sounds good.”
“Jack! I was just practicing…”
“Still sounded good,” he shrugged. “How’s she holding together?”, he added, meaning the piano.
“Absolutely fine,” Tosh retorted in mock affront. “Some people take good care of their instruments.”
“All right, all right, I was only joking!”
“I know,” she smiled sweetly. Jack groaned and walked over to his table (near the entrance, but not too close), where he sat down to watch the first customers come in. As he watched, he thought about his little team. They were all human, unusually for this planet, where so many different species were mingled together. He’d picked most of them up from the human colonies - he’d found Toshiko in a saloon… was it twelve-times-New York or thirteen, he could never remember… on New Earth, Owen had been in a district jail on Terra 4, Ianto had been a surprise find in a colony called Serendipity, and Gwen had been on New Casablanca her whole life - her family had been among the original human colonists, a few generations back. He got asked, frequently, why he chose people from other planets. He didn’t really have a particularly good answer for that - just that it felt right. Besides, the bar - Jack’s - was well-known (on- and off-world) as a meeting place for humans on a world with a rather small human population.
Since the Galactic War had broken out, though, the bar, and New Casablanca in general, were developing a new reputation. Due mostly to pure chance, their little world found itself on the edge of a war zone. That had brought a whole new source of revenue to the planet - because for the ‘fugees escaping the planets where the worse fighting was, the easiest way to reach the safety of the Allied Planetary Region was to get to New Casablanca and buy, beg, plead, barter, or steal passage on a shuttle to Orion City. This also meant that the bar had a steady stream of ‘fugees pass through most nights, which was theoretically a good thing… assuming that Jack could figure out a way to stop Owen trying to convince them that because of the war, a single glass of water cost 200 credits, or selling them tickets for nonexistent shuttle trips.
Well, Jack mused, it could be worse. There were much bigger things his barman could be involved in - organised gangs conning refugees out of their valuables, even gangs of thieves preying on them from the second they docked. Jack’s had a strict rule on that - anyone caught actively stealing was out (as well as anyone that Jack didn’t like the look of), and handed over into the reliable hands of Rhys, the planet’s head security officer, who also happened to be a regular fixture at the bar. (Though Jack suspected that might have more to do with his front-of-house manager and the quality of his hypervodka than any particular concern for the safety and wellbeing of the ‘fugees.)
He was just settling into a chair at his usual table, with his usual glass of water in front of him, when the security officer in question ran past the door, followed by several more junior officers. Gwen went to the door, trying to see what was going on. After a moment she turned back.
“I think they were chasing someone. Couldn’t see who it was, though.”
“Probably one of the smugglers,” Jack answered.
“Probably…” she echoed, with a faint frown. After one more glance outside, she shook herself and looked back, surveying the inside. “No point worrying about it,” she said, more to herself than to anyone else, then added, “Uh, Jack… have you seen Owen?”
“No, when I came down he was behind the bar.”
Her frown deepening, Gwen strode over to the piano, then the bar, where she quickly asked Toshiko and Ianto if they knew where Owen was. Neither had any ideas, though Ianto did mention that Owen had gone ‘to the back storeroom’ some time ago and hadn’t returned. Gwen sighed as she stormed over to Jack’s table.
“Your barman is missing. Again. I would suggest you do something about that, because I’ve got a bar full of people to look after.”
Jack thought about saying something like ‘It’ll be fine’ or ‘He’ll come back on his own’, but that idea died when he saw Gwen’s expression. Instead he grinned, stood up, and headed for the door while pulling on his coat. On the way out, he said, “I’ll find him. Don’t worry so much.”
Jack had a feeling that he knew exactly where his erstwhile barman was. He knew that because he’d found Owen there a few times before. It wasn’t a very noticeable building, and it wasn’t somewhere that the security officers ever thought to look, and that was why it was a good place to hide out if you were involved in activities of questionable legality. The building - an infrequently-used storage warehouse - was even close enough to Jack’s to be convenient, and before long Jack was walking up to the side door, glancing around to check that no-one was around. Inside, he yelled Owen’s name, waited a moment, then yelled again.
“Owen, get the hell out of wherever you’re hiding. Now, preferably.”
A long moment later, he saw the pale face of his barman emerge from the shadows, smiling a little sheepishly.
Jack didn’t give him time to say anything.
“What was it this time?”
“… it’s nothing bad.”
“Owen…”
“Fine. I heard a rumour.”
“About what?”
“I heard that the shuttles are going to stop running between here and Orion City. Something about it being too dangerous, because of the war. The last trip is supposed to be tomorrow morning.”
“I heard something like that. What has this got to do with you?”
“I have two tickets for the last shuttle. Don’t ask how I got them, you don’t want to know. I just have them, and I was planning on selling them on. But that bloody Rhys, the one Gwen’s always pining after, his lot have got it into their heads that I acquired these tickets by illegal means, so when I got word that they were after me I had to take off…”
Jack stopped him with a look. “Hold on… did you actually resort to anything illegal to get those tickets?”
Owen didn’t answer for a long time, then said quietly, “I might have done.”
Jack closed his eyes for a second. “Right. First, give me the tickets.”
“What?”
“Hand them over. Rhys knows me, he knows I don’t tolerate illegal activity in the bar. I’m the safest person to look after them… and that’s actually quite surprising.”
“Okay.” Grudgingly, Owen handed over a thick envelope, which Jack placed carefully in the inside pocket of his coat.
“Second, get back to work. And third, how do you get into these situations, anyway?”
Owen opened his mouth to answer, but Jack cut him off with “No, on second thoughts, don’t answer that. I really don’t think I need to know. Now back to work, go on.”
Jack watched with a grin as his barman ran out, and followed at a more relaxed pace. Back in Jack’s, he looked around, seeing Owen busy serving customers at the bar alongside Gwen and Ianto. He walked nonchalantly over to the piano, where Tosh was playing something classical, just loud enough to hear but not so loud that it drowned out conversation. He stood at the piano for a moment, listening to the music, then quickly opened the lid and slipped the envelope he’d taken from Owen out of his pocket and into the piano. Toshiko, without missing a note, looked at him curiously. He winked discreetly at her, and she nodded quickly in understanding.
As he went back to his table, Jack praised his own stubbornness in needing to have an authentic upright piano from the original Earth. If he’d chosen a modern, technological equivalent, it wouldn’t have been any use as a hiding place.
Back in his chair, he signalled to Gwen to bring him a drink, and she was soon hurrying over with a glass and a stoppered bottle.
“Do I want to know what happened with Owen?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. It’s under control.”
“Just keep it that way. Do you want water or scotch?”
“Make it the scotch, this time.”
Efficiently, Gwen poured scotch into the glass and handed it to him. She was about to go back to the bar when he stopped her. “Leave the bottle, okay?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“All right.” She replaced the bottle on the table. “Oh, someone came in, while you were… gone. He said he knew you.”
“I’m not expecting anyone, where is he?”
She pointed discreetly at a man who, currently, was standing at the bar, talking quietly to a pretty native girl. Jack took one look at the man’s face, and took a large swallow of scotch. “Oh, no…” he murmured.
“Jack?”
“I know him. He’s bad news.”
“Should I call Rhys?”
“No, not yet. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Well, all right… don’t do anything reckless.”
Jack just smirked at that, raising an eyebrow as if to say Seriously?, and Gwen rolled her eyes and headed back to the bar.
Alone again, his gaze fell back to the customer at the bar. It was true, what he’d told Gwen. He did know the man, and he was bad news. John Hart had been dangerous and unpredictable even when they were in the Agency together, and Jack had heard that since leaving, his former friend had been working as a mercenary. It occurred to him that he should have expected Hart to show up sooner or later. The bar was, after all, on the edge of a war zone. Hart was probably here on a job - he always had liked to mix business and pleasure
He sat up a little straighter in his chair when he saw the other man notice him and walk in his direction. Hart pulled up one of the empty chairs without being asked, leaning back.
“Didn’t think I’d see you on this world.”
“Wish I could say the same. What are you doing here, Hart?”
“Ooh, last names, really? I thought we were closer than that.”
“Emphasis on were. What are you doing here?”
“A job.”
“I figured that much. I don’t want you doing your job in my bar.”
“This place is yours?”
“My name’s over the door.”
“Huh.” Hart shrugged eloquently, in a way that suggested never thought you’d be the one to settle down.
“People change. I had to grow up sometime.”
“I see. Well, it’s been a pleasure. Lovely to catch up, but I’ve got things to do. I’ll be around, though.” With a final, sharp look at Jack, Hart gets up and stalks back to the bar. Jack sips from his glass and wonders what job brought his old friend to his bar.
While Jack considered the evening’s events, two customers, both strangers to New Casablanca, walked into the bar. The man was tall and skinny, wearing a long brown coat. His companion was a young blonde woman, who currently wore jeans and a t-shirt, a look that she would have called modern and that most of the people in the bar would have called vintage.
The woman glanced nervously up at the man. “Doctor, are you sure a bar is really the right place to be at the moment? You don’t even drink!”
“I’m not here to drink. I arranged to meet someone here, someone who has shuttle tickets offworld.”
“Not that again, I told you I don’t think we should just go like this. We should go back, there are people who need our help…”
The Doctor stopped walking and turned to face his companion, his expression serious. “I know.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “But we don’t have the TARDIS, and there are people out there who would quite like to see us dead. We’ll go back eventually, but it’s not safe. I couldn’t put you in danger like that.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“Besides,” he added, “just imagine what your mother’d do to me if I had to tell her you’d got hurt, or worse, because I got you stuck in the middle of a war zone.”
“Oi!” She punched him playfully on the arm. “Don’t talk about my mum like that.”
“Sorry…” he looked around and saw Gwen heading their way with a helpful smile.
“Hello there,” Gwen said cheerfully, “how are you this evening? Would you like a table?”
The Doctor grinned. “That would be great, thanks.” He looked around quickly. “Could we have a table somewhere away from the windows, please?”
“Certainly, we should have room at the back. Follow me please, sir, madam.” Gwen led them through the room, soon finding them a table in a dimly-lit corner, well away from the windows. “Will this be suitable?”
“Perfect.”
“And would you like anything to drink?”
“Water for me, please… Rose?”
“Um… could I get a champagne cocktail? I always wanted to try one of them.”
“Of course. Someone will bring your drinks over in a moment.” Gwen went to the bar, and the Doctor and Rose sat down.
Rose looked around at the décor, glancing at the other customers. “Okay, this place doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Well, it’s a bar. There are lots of places like this, all over the galaxy.”
“That’s not what I mean. This one feels different. I like it. Who’s this person we’re meant to be meeting?”
“I’m not sure, I don’t know what he looks like. He gave his name as Harper, said to be here at nineteen-hundred hours and he’d find us.”
“How does he know what we look like?”
“He’ll find us. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” The Doctor grinned in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Just then, a wiry, dark-haired man approached their table with their drinks on a tray. He placed the drinks in front of them, and walked away. Rose looked around, shrugged, and picked up her glass, tasting the cocktail she’d asked for.
The Doctor got pulled into a conversation with a small green-skinned couple at the next table, and as there was nothing much going on Rose sat back and listened to the music playing. It sounded oddly familiar, somehow… she frowned slightly, trying to figure out where she had heard the music before.
After a few minutes she picked up her drink and went for a walk around the bar, mingling with the other customers. Near the bar, a man caught her attention.
“Now, what’s a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?”
“I’m not alone.”
“I don’t see anyone with you… you should be more careful, there are disreputable people on this world.”
“Yeah, there probably are.” She took a step backwards. “I’ll be going now.” Quickly, she walked over to the area where the piano was, without looking back. Then she glanced at the piano player, and gasped in surprise. Realisation dawned on her face as she remembered why the music had sounded so familiar.
“Toshiko?”
Tosh looked up, without stopped, and her eyes widened when she saw Rose. “Oh my god…” she murmured, “Rose, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here with a friend. How… you were on New Earth before, how did you end up here?”
“I think you know. Does he know you’re here? You know whose bar this is, don’t you?”
“I saw the name… oh, god, I didn’t think… I haven’t seen him. Is there any chance that he might not be here today?”
Tosh winced. “I’m sorry. He’s here… don’t look over now, but he’s at one of the tables in the front.”
Despite herself, Rose couldn’t help glancing over, just for a second. She shut her eyes for a moment, then looked back at Tosh. “Oh, god, he looks just the same… what am I going to do now…”
“You could… um, well, you could talk to him.”
“Maybe…” Rose leant on the top of the piano, trying to look casual. “Look, does he… since we last saw each other… has he ever mentioned me? I know you two used to talk a lot…”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think he’s mentioned you at all.”
Rose went pale. “Oh.” After a moment, she smiled weakly. “Um, thanks, Tosh. It was great to see you again.”
“You too. I hope you figure something out.”
“So do I.”
“He misses you, you know?”
Rose frowned. “You said he never mentioned me.”
“He doesn’t have to. He was different back then. The others here, they don’t see it, they weren’t with him. I can tell.” Toshiko shrugged simply. “He misses you.”
“Thanks for telling me.” Rose hurried away towards the front door, hoping to slip out before he saw her.
Jack was still at his table when he saw the blonde girl, the one who’d exchanged a few words with Hart before giving him the brush-off and going over to talk to Toshiko about something, rush over to the door. As she hurried out, he caught a glimpse of her face.
“Rose?” he said to himself. Quickly he got up and, leaving his drink on the table, went out after her. He found her on the paved area outside, sitting on one of the outdoor tables.
Walking up behind her, he said, “You know, it’s more comfortable inside.”
She turned her head, looked at him, then looked away. “Hello, Jack.”
“What are you doing here, Rosie?”
“I didn’t think you were going to be here.”
“You could have just come and talked to me. I saw you talking to Toshiko.”
“I…” she sounded like she was about to cry. “She said you missed me.”
“I do.”
“She said you don’t talk about me. Ever. Why don’t you talk about me? You used to tell me lots of stories about your exes.”
He moved closer, sitting down on the table edge next to her. “I guess I still hoped you might not be an ex.”
Rose burst in tears at that. “Oh… shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought… I don’t know what I thought. But… I’m here with someone else. We’re… we’ve been together for a while.”
“Hey, it’s all right. I wasn’t expecting anything.”
She wiped her eyes quickly. “I should go back inside. He’ll be wondering where I am.”
“I’ll walk you over,” he said with a smile. “I want to meet this guy of yours, anyway.”
She smiled back, and they walked back inside together, heading back to Rose’s table. When they got there, they found the man Jack assumed was Rose’s companion, who was currently talking to… Hart.
Suddenly alert, Jack put on his best I-own-this-bar smile. “Good evening. Miss Tyler, is this your table?”
Rose looked at him oddly. “Yes, thank you,” she said as she sat down. Her friend looked concerned. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. This is Jack, he owns this place.” To Jack, she said, “This is my friend, the Doctor.”
The Doctor grinned. “Ah, the proprietor of the establishment! Lovely to meet you.. actually, grab a chair, we can have a drink.”
Jack glanced at Rose, but she seemed to be making a distinct effort not to look at him, so he shrugged. “I’d love to,” he said. “So… Doctor, was it? What brings you to our little world?”
“Oh, you know… looking. I like looking at things. Sometimes I just travel around, looking at stuff. It’s fun, you should try it.” The Doctor looked entirely too nonchalant, from Jack’s point of view. In fact, from where Jack was sitting it looked like the Doctor was actually here for some very specific, very important reason, that for some reason he didn’t want to talk about. He wondered what the reason might be, then he remembered that the fourth person at the table was Hart, and suddenly he had his answer.
His train of thought was disturbed by his fellow ex-Time Agent, who smiled dangerously. “Well, looking’s not bad. Always preferred touching, myself.”
“Museums must be a nightmare,” the Doctor said, still maintaining his expression of careless relaxation. “All those ‘No Touching’ signs…”
“I don’t tend to spend much time in museums,” Hart said. Unless you’re robbing them, Jack added mentally. He knew what his ex-friend (and ex-a few other things, too…) was like.
When he couldn’t take it any more, Jack looked over at Rose - whose glass, conveniently, was empty. “Miss Tyler,” he said, “I believe you all need some more drinks. Would you like to order some more, at the bar?”
Rose quirked an eyebrow at him. “Uh… yes, OK. Sure.” They got up together, walking in the direction of the bar. Jack whispered to her quietly, “Okay, what are you two really doing here?”
“We got stranded. The Doctor has a ship… but we got separated from it. We’re trying to get back to Orion City… the shuttles go through here, right?”
“For now… the last one leaves tomorrow.”
“I know that! We were meant to meet with some guy, the Doctor managed to arrange tickets. We’re supposed to meet the guy selling them here, tonight.”
Jack had a sudden flashback to his conversation with Owen, earlier that evening. Praying that he was wrong, he asked her, “This contact… he didn’t call himself Harper, did he?”
Rose thought for a moment. “I think so, why?”
Jack sighed. “He works for me. This evening I caught him with two stolen tickets for the last shuttle.”
“Oh… do you still have them?”
“Yes. They’re safe.”
“Well that’s great, we can get out of here!” The excited look on Rose’s face tore open something in Jack’s heart that he thought had healed a long time ago. She seemed to see it in his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” At her look, he shrugged and continued. “I get to lose you all over again.”
“Oh, Jack… you could come with us! The Doctor wouldn’t mind, there’s loads of room in his ship… if we ever get back it…”
“I can’t, Rose. I have this place… Toshiko and the others. I can’t leave them.”
“….oh. Sorry. I guess… I guess I thought there might still be something there.”
He knew exactly what she was trying to say. Once, he’d have given anything for her to be standing in front of him saying those words. But that was then.
He shook his head softly. “You left, Rosie. We were supposed to meet, get that shuttle together. You’re the one who never showed up.”
She looked down at her feet for a moment, and when she looked back up her eyes were full of tears. “I left a note.”
“You could have at least told me in person.”
“I couldn’t! I…” she took a breath, trying to find the words. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
“Yeah.” He led her through to the tiny office behind the bar, shutting the door behind them.
Rose wiped her eyes with one hand. “Do you remember when we first met? What I was doing in New New York?”
“You were waiting for someone. You never told me who.”
She hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, “It was the Doctor.”
“You… were you together back then?”
She nodded quickly. “Sort of. I…. we got split up. He told me to wait for him and look after his ship… and then I went to Belle Aurore that day, and I met you, and Tosh… and you were both so nice, and I didn’t know anyone… I didn’t mean for anything to happen… it just did.”
Seeing her standing there, tears rolling down her cheeks, Jack couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
“It’s fine. I don’t… it’s not your fault. I should have come to find you. It’s fine.”
“You’re not angry?”
“No.” He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “But, we do have a problem.”
“What?”
“The guy talking to your Doctor friend… he’s a mercenary. I know him, he’s dangerous. And I think the reason he’s here is to get hold of your Doctor. Maybe you, too.”
“What?” Suddenly, her tears had turned into anger. “Then what are we doing in here?”
“We’re in here because you wanted privacy and because letting Hart know that we know each other would be bad. It’s all right, though, I have a plan.” Without giving her time for more questions, Jack opened the door and stepped out of the office, quickly asking Ianto to take a tray of drinks over to the table where Hart and the Doctor were. Then he looked around, until he spotted the person he needed - Rhys, who was sitting on a stool at one end of the bar, deep in conversation with Gwen.
Jack strode over. “Rhys, sorry to interrupt, I need to tell you something.”
The security officer looked up, smile fading into a serious expression. “What?”
“I should have realised earlier… there’s someone in here who’s wanted for a list of crimes longer than my arm. He’s over there,” Jack nodded in Hart’s direction. “I think he’s trying to get work as a mercenary.”
“Right. Well, we’re not having any of that,” Rhys said as he stood up. “Thanks for letting me know.” With that, he grabbed a couple of his junior officers from a nearby table, then went over to Hart. Soon, the mercenary was being dragged out, protesting, in hypersteel cuffs.
Jack turned to Rose, and grinned. “Said I had a plan, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, impressive, getting someone else to do all the work for you….”
Smiling, Jack walked calmly over to the piano, retreiving the envelope with the tickets and putting it into his pocket. Then he went back to the Doctor’s table, where Rose was already sitting down.
The Doctor grinned as he approached. “You know, this is a very interesting place. Someone just got arrested…”
Jack did his best to smile. “Yes, with the all the refugees, New Casablanca has seen a bit of a rise in crime recently. But we have a strict no-tolerance policy here… as soon as I realised that the man you were talking to was a wanted criminal, I alerted security. I do try to look after my customers, here.”
“And you’re doing an excellent job. Now, Rose said you had something to give me…”
“Er… yes. One of my employees came into possession of a pair of tickets for the last shuttle off-world. I believe he arranged to sell them to you?”
“Oh, Harper works for you, does he?”
“I generally call him Owen, but yes. I have the tickets here.” Jack placed the envelope on the table, and the Doctor picked them up.
“Thank you for these. They must be very valuable…”
“I don’t want any money from you.”
“…really? Very generous of you. Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Rose echoed.
“It’s the least I can do.”
~The Next Morning~
It was foggy the next morning, when Jack met Rose and the Doctor outside the shuttle launch station. Rose smiled and hugged him when she saw him, but the Doctor just looked confused.
Rose rolled her eyes and pulled Jack off to one side to talk to him in private. “Thanks for this. For the tickets, I mean. You could have kept them for yourself.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got the bar.”
“Still… you didn’t have to help us, and you did. Thanks.” Reaching up, she kissed his cheek quickly.
“My pleasure. And hey, we’ll always have New New York.”
“Yeah, we will.” She frowned. “Hey, aren’t you quoting something?”
He laughed. “I don’t think so,” he said, doing his best to look innocent.
“No, you were, I’m sure… some old movie. I can’t remember what it was, though…”
Grinning, he hugged her quickly, one last time. “Here’s looking at you, kid. It was good to see you again.”
She glared at him. “Okay, now I know you’re quoting something…”
“Your Doctor is waiting for you. Go on, before you miss your flight.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I should go. ‘Bye, Jack.” She turned quickly and walked away, wiping her eyes with her hand so that the Doctor wouldn’t see that she’d been crying.
Jack watched her climb into the shuttle with the other passengers, then turned to leave. Nearby, he saw Rhys leaning against the wall of the station building.
“What was all that, then?”
“Just saying goodbye to an old friend.”
Rhys looked sceptical. “Uh-huh. What’re you going to do now?”
“The usual. Run the bar. Keep Owen out of trouble. Look after the others.”
“It’s going to get tougher, you know. No more shuttles until this war ends.”
“I know. Maybe I’ll start helping your guys out more.”
“We could certainly use a few more people, if we want to get through the rest of this war in one piece.”
Jack chuckled to himself, and started to walk back to the bar. Rhys started walking as well. “You know, Rhys, I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…”
Author: trillianastra
Prompt: Casablanca
Pairing(s): past Jack/Rose, Gwen/Rhys, Rose/the Doctor
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: angst, mild swearing.
Spoilers: None for Torchwood. Pretty much… the entire movie, for Casablanca.
Disclaimer for TW and the movie you are using: Torchwood and Doctor Who belong to the BBC. Casablanca belongs to Warner Bros. This is produced purely for entertainment and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: This is completely AU for both Torchwood and Doctor Who. Setting is a city on a distant planet, helpfully named New Casablanca, sometime in the future.
Cast:
Rick Blaine - Jack Harkness
Victor Laszlo - The Doctor
Ilsa Lund - Rose Tyler
Sam - Toshiko Sato
Captain Louis Renault - Rhys Williams
Ugarte - Owen Harper
Major Strasser - John Hart
Bar Staff - Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones
Jack stood on the roof of the low building, the warm breeze ruffling his hair slightly, and looked out over the city. The light was softer at this time of day, just after the first of New Casablanca’s two suns had set, but before the second. The natives, and the ex-pats who’d been here almost as long, called it the betweentime. At least, that was the nearest translation - there was a word for it in the native language, though no-one spoke that much anymore. With the number of travellers who passed through every day, it was easier to just stick to Standard.
He smiled to himself as he heard the familiar sounds of his staff opening up for the evening - voices joking with each other, the clatter of chairs being rearranged, a glass being dropped. Sounds he heard every day, so often that he suspected he’d miss them if they were gone. He sighed, took one last look out at the city, and headed downstairs. They’d be open soon, after all, and the customers liked it when they could have a drink or a chat with the bar’s owner, or so Gwen kept telling him.
He stopped briefly in his own quarters, changing into a fresh shirt and running a comb through his hair quickly. That was something else Gwen kept nagging him about. That done, he headed downstairs to the bar. A quick glance told him that everything looked fine - Owen and Ianto behind the bar, cleaning glasses while arguing about something, Gwen wandering through the tables, fiddling with the centrepieces now and then. And, in the far corner, the star attraction. Grinning, he strode over to the small performance area, where The Piano was. (It fully deserved the capitals. It was, after all, the only antique Earth piano on New Casablanca, and he’d expended considerable effort and cash to get both it and its player for the bar.)
Toshiko, widely known to be the best piano player in the system, sat on the piano stool, eyes closed as her fingers effortlessly ran across the keys, warming up for the night’s business. She opened her eyes just as Jack got there, and smiled.
“Sounds good.”
“Jack! I was just practicing…”
“Still sounded good,” he shrugged. “How’s she holding together?”, he added, meaning the piano.
“Absolutely fine,” Tosh retorted in mock affront. “Some people take good care of their instruments.”
“All right, all right, I was only joking!”
“I know,” she smiled sweetly. Jack groaned and walked over to his table (near the entrance, but not too close), where he sat down to watch the first customers come in. As he watched, he thought about his little team. They were all human, unusually for this planet, where so many different species were mingled together. He’d picked most of them up from the human colonies - he’d found Toshiko in a saloon… was it twelve-times-New York or thirteen, he could never remember… on New Earth, Owen had been in a district jail on Terra 4, Ianto had been a surprise find in a colony called Serendipity, and Gwen had been on New Casablanca her whole life - her family had been among the original human colonists, a few generations back. He got asked, frequently, why he chose people from other planets. He didn’t really have a particularly good answer for that - just that it felt right. Besides, the bar - Jack’s - was well-known (on- and off-world) as a meeting place for humans on a world with a rather small human population.
Since the Galactic War had broken out, though, the bar, and New Casablanca in general, were developing a new reputation. Due mostly to pure chance, their little world found itself on the edge of a war zone. That had brought a whole new source of revenue to the planet - because for the ‘fugees escaping the planets where the worse fighting was, the easiest way to reach the safety of the Allied Planetary Region was to get to New Casablanca and buy, beg, plead, barter, or steal passage on a shuttle to Orion City. This also meant that the bar had a steady stream of ‘fugees pass through most nights, which was theoretically a good thing… assuming that Jack could figure out a way to stop Owen trying to convince them that because of the war, a single glass of water cost 200 credits, or selling them tickets for nonexistent shuttle trips.
Well, Jack mused, it could be worse. There were much bigger things his barman could be involved in - organised gangs conning refugees out of their valuables, even gangs of thieves preying on them from the second they docked. Jack’s had a strict rule on that - anyone caught actively stealing was out (as well as anyone that Jack didn’t like the look of), and handed over into the reliable hands of Rhys, the planet’s head security officer, who also happened to be a regular fixture at the bar. (Though Jack suspected that might have more to do with his front-of-house manager and the quality of his hypervodka than any particular concern for the safety and wellbeing of the ‘fugees.)
He was just settling into a chair at his usual table, with his usual glass of water in front of him, when the security officer in question ran past the door, followed by several more junior officers. Gwen went to the door, trying to see what was going on. After a moment she turned back.
“I think they were chasing someone. Couldn’t see who it was, though.”
“Probably one of the smugglers,” Jack answered.
“Probably…” she echoed, with a faint frown. After one more glance outside, she shook herself and looked back, surveying the inside. “No point worrying about it,” she said, more to herself than to anyone else, then added, “Uh, Jack… have you seen Owen?”
“No, when I came down he was behind the bar.”
Her frown deepening, Gwen strode over to the piano, then the bar, where she quickly asked Toshiko and Ianto if they knew where Owen was. Neither had any ideas, though Ianto did mention that Owen had gone ‘to the back storeroom’ some time ago and hadn’t returned. Gwen sighed as she stormed over to Jack’s table.
“Your barman is missing. Again. I would suggest you do something about that, because I’ve got a bar full of people to look after.”
Jack thought about saying something like ‘It’ll be fine’ or ‘He’ll come back on his own’, but that idea died when he saw Gwen’s expression. Instead he grinned, stood up, and headed for the door while pulling on his coat. On the way out, he said, “I’ll find him. Don’t worry so much.”
Jack had a feeling that he knew exactly where his erstwhile barman was. He knew that because he’d found Owen there a few times before. It wasn’t a very noticeable building, and it wasn’t somewhere that the security officers ever thought to look, and that was why it was a good place to hide out if you were involved in activities of questionable legality. The building - an infrequently-used storage warehouse - was even close enough to Jack’s to be convenient, and before long Jack was walking up to the side door, glancing around to check that no-one was around. Inside, he yelled Owen’s name, waited a moment, then yelled again.
“Owen, get the hell out of wherever you’re hiding. Now, preferably.”
A long moment later, he saw the pale face of his barman emerge from the shadows, smiling a little sheepishly.
Jack didn’t give him time to say anything.
“What was it this time?”
“… it’s nothing bad.”
“Owen…”
“Fine. I heard a rumour.”
“About what?”
“I heard that the shuttles are going to stop running between here and Orion City. Something about it being too dangerous, because of the war. The last trip is supposed to be tomorrow morning.”
“I heard something like that. What has this got to do with you?”
“I have two tickets for the last shuttle. Don’t ask how I got them, you don’t want to know. I just have them, and I was planning on selling them on. But that bloody Rhys, the one Gwen’s always pining after, his lot have got it into their heads that I acquired these tickets by illegal means, so when I got word that they were after me I had to take off…”
Jack stopped him with a look. “Hold on… did you actually resort to anything illegal to get those tickets?”
Owen didn’t answer for a long time, then said quietly, “I might have done.”
Jack closed his eyes for a second. “Right. First, give me the tickets.”
“What?”
“Hand them over. Rhys knows me, he knows I don’t tolerate illegal activity in the bar. I’m the safest person to look after them… and that’s actually quite surprising.”
“Okay.” Grudgingly, Owen handed over a thick envelope, which Jack placed carefully in the inside pocket of his coat.
“Second, get back to work. And third, how do you get into these situations, anyway?”
Owen opened his mouth to answer, but Jack cut him off with “No, on second thoughts, don’t answer that. I really don’t think I need to know. Now back to work, go on.”
Jack watched with a grin as his barman ran out, and followed at a more relaxed pace. Back in Jack’s, he looked around, seeing Owen busy serving customers at the bar alongside Gwen and Ianto. He walked nonchalantly over to the piano, where Tosh was playing something classical, just loud enough to hear but not so loud that it drowned out conversation. He stood at the piano for a moment, listening to the music, then quickly opened the lid and slipped the envelope he’d taken from Owen out of his pocket and into the piano. Toshiko, without missing a note, looked at him curiously. He winked discreetly at her, and she nodded quickly in understanding.
As he went back to his table, Jack praised his own stubbornness in needing to have an authentic upright piano from the original Earth. If he’d chosen a modern, technological equivalent, it wouldn’t have been any use as a hiding place.
Back in his chair, he signalled to Gwen to bring him a drink, and she was soon hurrying over with a glass and a stoppered bottle.
“Do I want to know what happened with Owen?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. It’s under control.”
“Just keep it that way. Do you want water or scotch?”
“Make it the scotch, this time.”
Efficiently, Gwen poured scotch into the glass and handed it to him. She was about to go back to the bar when he stopped her. “Leave the bottle, okay?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“All right.” She replaced the bottle on the table. “Oh, someone came in, while you were… gone. He said he knew you.”
“I’m not expecting anyone, where is he?”
She pointed discreetly at a man who, currently, was standing at the bar, talking quietly to a pretty native girl. Jack took one look at the man’s face, and took a large swallow of scotch. “Oh, no…” he murmured.
“Jack?”
“I know him. He’s bad news.”
“Should I call Rhys?”
“No, not yet. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Well, all right… don’t do anything reckless.”
Jack just smirked at that, raising an eyebrow as if to say Seriously?, and Gwen rolled her eyes and headed back to the bar.
Alone again, his gaze fell back to the customer at the bar. It was true, what he’d told Gwen. He did know the man, and he was bad news. John Hart had been dangerous and unpredictable even when they were in the Agency together, and Jack had heard that since leaving, his former friend had been working as a mercenary. It occurred to him that he should have expected Hart to show up sooner or later. The bar was, after all, on the edge of a war zone. Hart was probably here on a job - he always had liked to mix business and pleasure
He sat up a little straighter in his chair when he saw the other man notice him and walk in his direction. Hart pulled up one of the empty chairs without being asked, leaning back.
“Didn’t think I’d see you on this world.”
“Wish I could say the same. What are you doing here, Hart?”
“Ooh, last names, really? I thought we were closer than that.”
“Emphasis on were. What are you doing here?”
“A job.”
“I figured that much. I don’t want you doing your job in my bar.”
“This place is yours?”
“My name’s over the door.”
“Huh.” Hart shrugged eloquently, in a way that suggested never thought you’d be the one to settle down.
“People change. I had to grow up sometime.”
“I see. Well, it’s been a pleasure. Lovely to catch up, but I’ve got things to do. I’ll be around, though.” With a final, sharp look at Jack, Hart gets up and stalks back to the bar. Jack sips from his glass and wonders what job brought his old friend to his bar.
While Jack considered the evening’s events, two customers, both strangers to New Casablanca, walked into the bar. The man was tall and skinny, wearing a long brown coat. His companion was a young blonde woman, who currently wore jeans and a t-shirt, a look that she would have called modern and that most of the people in the bar would have called vintage.
The woman glanced nervously up at the man. “Doctor, are you sure a bar is really the right place to be at the moment? You don’t even drink!”
“I’m not here to drink. I arranged to meet someone here, someone who has shuttle tickets offworld.”
“Not that again, I told you I don’t think we should just go like this. We should go back, there are people who need our help…”
The Doctor stopped walking and turned to face his companion, his expression serious. “I know.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “But we don’t have the TARDIS, and there are people out there who would quite like to see us dead. We’ll go back eventually, but it’s not safe. I couldn’t put you in danger like that.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“Besides,” he added, “just imagine what your mother’d do to me if I had to tell her you’d got hurt, or worse, because I got you stuck in the middle of a war zone.”
“Oi!” She punched him playfully on the arm. “Don’t talk about my mum like that.”
“Sorry…” he looked around and saw Gwen heading their way with a helpful smile.
“Hello there,” Gwen said cheerfully, “how are you this evening? Would you like a table?”
The Doctor grinned. “That would be great, thanks.” He looked around quickly. “Could we have a table somewhere away from the windows, please?”
“Certainly, we should have room at the back. Follow me please, sir, madam.” Gwen led them through the room, soon finding them a table in a dimly-lit corner, well away from the windows. “Will this be suitable?”
“Perfect.”
“And would you like anything to drink?”
“Water for me, please… Rose?”
“Um… could I get a champagne cocktail? I always wanted to try one of them.”
“Of course. Someone will bring your drinks over in a moment.” Gwen went to the bar, and the Doctor and Rose sat down.
Rose looked around at the décor, glancing at the other customers. “Okay, this place doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Well, it’s a bar. There are lots of places like this, all over the galaxy.”
“That’s not what I mean. This one feels different. I like it. Who’s this person we’re meant to be meeting?”
“I’m not sure, I don’t know what he looks like. He gave his name as Harper, said to be here at nineteen-hundred hours and he’d find us.”
“How does he know what we look like?”
“He’ll find us. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” The Doctor grinned in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Just then, a wiry, dark-haired man approached their table with their drinks on a tray. He placed the drinks in front of them, and walked away. Rose looked around, shrugged, and picked up her glass, tasting the cocktail she’d asked for.
The Doctor got pulled into a conversation with a small green-skinned couple at the next table, and as there was nothing much going on Rose sat back and listened to the music playing. It sounded oddly familiar, somehow… she frowned slightly, trying to figure out where she had heard the music before.
After a few minutes she picked up her drink and went for a walk around the bar, mingling with the other customers. Near the bar, a man caught her attention.
“Now, what’s a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?”
“I’m not alone.”
“I don’t see anyone with you… you should be more careful, there are disreputable people on this world.”
“Yeah, there probably are.” She took a step backwards. “I’ll be going now.” Quickly, she walked over to the area where the piano was, without looking back. Then she glanced at the piano player, and gasped in surprise. Realisation dawned on her face as she remembered why the music had sounded so familiar.
“Toshiko?”
Tosh looked up, without stopped, and her eyes widened when she saw Rose. “Oh my god…” she murmured, “Rose, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here with a friend. How… you were on New Earth before, how did you end up here?”
“I think you know. Does he know you’re here? You know whose bar this is, don’t you?”
“I saw the name… oh, god, I didn’t think… I haven’t seen him. Is there any chance that he might not be here today?”
Tosh winced. “I’m sorry. He’s here… don’t look over now, but he’s at one of the tables in the front.”
Despite herself, Rose couldn’t help glancing over, just for a second. She shut her eyes for a moment, then looked back at Tosh. “Oh, god, he looks just the same… what am I going to do now…”
“You could… um, well, you could talk to him.”
“Maybe…” Rose leant on the top of the piano, trying to look casual. “Look, does he… since we last saw each other… has he ever mentioned me? I know you two used to talk a lot…”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think he’s mentioned you at all.”
Rose went pale. “Oh.” After a moment, she smiled weakly. “Um, thanks, Tosh. It was great to see you again.”
“You too. I hope you figure something out.”
“So do I.”
“He misses you, you know?”
Rose frowned. “You said he never mentioned me.”
“He doesn’t have to. He was different back then. The others here, they don’t see it, they weren’t with him. I can tell.” Toshiko shrugged simply. “He misses you.”
“Thanks for telling me.” Rose hurried away towards the front door, hoping to slip out before he saw her.
Jack was still at his table when he saw the blonde girl, the one who’d exchanged a few words with Hart before giving him the brush-off and going over to talk to Toshiko about something, rush over to the door. As she hurried out, he caught a glimpse of her face.
“Rose?” he said to himself. Quickly he got up and, leaving his drink on the table, went out after her. He found her on the paved area outside, sitting on one of the outdoor tables.
Walking up behind her, he said, “You know, it’s more comfortable inside.”
She turned her head, looked at him, then looked away. “Hello, Jack.”
“What are you doing here, Rosie?”
“I didn’t think you were going to be here.”
“You could have just come and talked to me. I saw you talking to Toshiko.”
“I…” she sounded like she was about to cry. “She said you missed me.”
“I do.”
“She said you don’t talk about me. Ever. Why don’t you talk about me? You used to tell me lots of stories about your exes.”
He moved closer, sitting down on the table edge next to her. “I guess I still hoped you might not be an ex.”
Rose burst in tears at that. “Oh… shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought… I don’t know what I thought. But… I’m here with someone else. We’re… we’ve been together for a while.”
“Hey, it’s all right. I wasn’t expecting anything.”
She wiped her eyes quickly. “I should go back inside. He’ll be wondering where I am.”
“I’ll walk you over,” he said with a smile. “I want to meet this guy of yours, anyway.”
She smiled back, and they walked back inside together, heading back to Rose’s table. When they got there, they found the man Jack assumed was Rose’s companion, who was currently talking to… Hart.
Suddenly alert, Jack put on his best I-own-this-bar smile. “Good evening. Miss Tyler, is this your table?”
Rose looked at him oddly. “Yes, thank you,” she said as she sat down. Her friend looked concerned. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. This is Jack, he owns this place.” To Jack, she said, “This is my friend, the Doctor.”
The Doctor grinned. “Ah, the proprietor of the establishment! Lovely to meet you.. actually, grab a chair, we can have a drink.”
Jack glanced at Rose, but she seemed to be making a distinct effort not to look at him, so he shrugged. “I’d love to,” he said. “So… Doctor, was it? What brings you to our little world?”
“Oh, you know… looking. I like looking at things. Sometimes I just travel around, looking at stuff. It’s fun, you should try it.” The Doctor looked entirely too nonchalant, from Jack’s point of view. In fact, from where Jack was sitting it looked like the Doctor was actually here for some very specific, very important reason, that for some reason he didn’t want to talk about. He wondered what the reason might be, then he remembered that the fourth person at the table was Hart, and suddenly he had his answer.
His train of thought was disturbed by his fellow ex-Time Agent, who smiled dangerously. “Well, looking’s not bad. Always preferred touching, myself.”
“Museums must be a nightmare,” the Doctor said, still maintaining his expression of careless relaxation. “All those ‘No Touching’ signs…”
“I don’t tend to spend much time in museums,” Hart said. Unless you’re robbing them, Jack added mentally. He knew what his ex-friend (and ex-a few other things, too…) was like.
When he couldn’t take it any more, Jack looked over at Rose - whose glass, conveniently, was empty. “Miss Tyler,” he said, “I believe you all need some more drinks. Would you like to order some more, at the bar?”
Rose quirked an eyebrow at him. “Uh… yes, OK. Sure.” They got up together, walking in the direction of the bar. Jack whispered to her quietly, “Okay, what are you two really doing here?”
“We got stranded. The Doctor has a ship… but we got separated from it. We’re trying to get back to Orion City… the shuttles go through here, right?”
“For now… the last one leaves tomorrow.”
“I know that! We were meant to meet with some guy, the Doctor managed to arrange tickets. We’re supposed to meet the guy selling them here, tonight.”
Jack had a sudden flashback to his conversation with Owen, earlier that evening. Praying that he was wrong, he asked her, “This contact… he didn’t call himself Harper, did he?”
Rose thought for a moment. “I think so, why?”
Jack sighed. “He works for me. This evening I caught him with two stolen tickets for the last shuttle.”
“Oh… do you still have them?”
“Yes. They’re safe.”
“Well that’s great, we can get out of here!” The excited look on Rose’s face tore open something in Jack’s heart that he thought had healed a long time ago. She seemed to see it in his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” At her look, he shrugged and continued. “I get to lose you all over again.”
“Oh, Jack… you could come with us! The Doctor wouldn’t mind, there’s loads of room in his ship… if we ever get back it…”
“I can’t, Rose. I have this place… Toshiko and the others. I can’t leave them.”
“….oh. Sorry. I guess… I guess I thought there might still be something there.”
He knew exactly what she was trying to say. Once, he’d have given anything for her to be standing in front of him saying those words. But that was then.
He shook his head softly. “You left, Rosie. We were supposed to meet, get that shuttle together. You’re the one who never showed up.”
She looked down at her feet for a moment, and when she looked back up her eyes were full of tears. “I left a note.”
“You could have at least told me in person.”
“I couldn’t! I…” she took a breath, trying to find the words. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
“Yeah.” He led her through to the tiny office behind the bar, shutting the door behind them.
Rose wiped her eyes with one hand. “Do you remember when we first met? What I was doing in New New York?”
“You were waiting for someone. You never told me who.”
She hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, “It was the Doctor.”
“You… were you together back then?”
She nodded quickly. “Sort of. I…. we got split up. He told me to wait for him and look after his ship… and then I went to Belle Aurore that day, and I met you, and Tosh… and you were both so nice, and I didn’t know anyone… I didn’t mean for anything to happen… it just did.”
Seeing her standing there, tears rolling down her cheeks, Jack couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
“It’s fine. I don’t… it’s not your fault. I should have come to find you. It’s fine.”
“You’re not angry?”
“No.” He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “But, we do have a problem.”
“What?”
“The guy talking to your Doctor friend… he’s a mercenary. I know him, he’s dangerous. And I think the reason he’s here is to get hold of your Doctor. Maybe you, too.”
“What?” Suddenly, her tears had turned into anger. “Then what are we doing in here?”
“We’re in here because you wanted privacy and because letting Hart know that we know each other would be bad. It’s all right, though, I have a plan.” Without giving her time for more questions, Jack opened the door and stepped out of the office, quickly asking Ianto to take a tray of drinks over to the table where Hart and the Doctor were. Then he looked around, until he spotted the person he needed - Rhys, who was sitting on a stool at one end of the bar, deep in conversation with Gwen.
Jack strode over. “Rhys, sorry to interrupt, I need to tell you something.”
The security officer looked up, smile fading into a serious expression. “What?”
“I should have realised earlier… there’s someone in here who’s wanted for a list of crimes longer than my arm. He’s over there,” Jack nodded in Hart’s direction. “I think he’s trying to get work as a mercenary.”
“Right. Well, we’re not having any of that,” Rhys said as he stood up. “Thanks for letting me know.” With that, he grabbed a couple of his junior officers from a nearby table, then went over to Hart. Soon, the mercenary was being dragged out, protesting, in hypersteel cuffs.
Jack turned to Rose, and grinned. “Said I had a plan, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, impressive, getting someone else to do all the work for you….”
Smiling, Jack walked calmly over to the piano, retreiving the envelope with the tickets and putting it into his pocket. Then he went back to the Doctor’s table, where Rose was already sitting down.
The Doctor grinned as he approached. “You know, this is a very interesting place. Someone just got arrested…”
Jack did his best to smile. “Yes, with the all the refugees, New Casablanca has seen a bit of a rise in crime recently. But we have a strict no-tolerance policy here… as soon as I realised that the man you were talking to was a wanted criminal, I alerted security. I do try to look after my customers, here.”
“And you’re doing an excellent job. Now, Rose said you had something to give me…”
“Er… yes. One of my employees came into possession of a pair of tickets for the last shuttle off-world. I believe he arranged to sell them to you?”
“Oh, Harper works for you, does he?”
“I generally call him Owen, but yes. I have the tickets here.” Jack placed the envelope on the table, and the Doctor picked them up.
“Thank you for these. They must be very valuable…”
“I don’t want any money from you.”
“…really? Very generous of you. Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Rose echoed.
“It’s the least I can do.”
~The Next Morning~
It was foggy the next morning, when Jack met Rose and the Doctor outside the shuttle launch station. Rose smiled and hugged him when she saw him, but the Doctor just looked confused.
Rose rolled her eyes and pulled Jack off to one side to talk to him in private. “Thanks for this. For the tickets, I mean. You could have kept them for yourself.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got the bar.”
“Still… you didn’t have to help us, and you did. Thanks.” Reaching up, she kissed his cheek quickly.
“My pleasure. And hey, we’ll always have New New York.”
“Yeah, we will.” She frowned. “Hey, aren’t you quoting something?”
He laughed. “I don’t think so,” he said, doing his best to look innocent.
“No, you were, I’m sure… some old movie. I can’t remember what it was, though…”
Grinning, he hugged her quickly, one last time. “Here’s looking at you, kid. It was good to see you again.”
She glared at him. “Okay, now I know you’re quoting something…”
“Your Doctor is waiting for you. Go on, before you miss your flight.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I should go. ‘Bye, Jack.” She turned quickly and walked away, wiping her eyes with her hand so that the Doctor wouldn’t see that she’d been crying.
Jack watched her climb into the shuttle with the other passengers, then turned to leave. Nearby, he saw Rhys leaning against the wall of the station building.
“What was all that, then?”
“Just saying goodbye to an old friend.”
Rhys looked sceptical. “Uh-huh. What’re you going to do now?”
“The usual. Run the bar. Keep Owen out of trouble. Look after the others.”
“It’s going to get tougher, you know. No more shuttles until this war ends.”
“I know. Maybe I’ll start helping your guys out more.”
“We could certainly use a few more people, if we want to get through the rest of this war in one piece.”
Jack chuckled to himself, and started to walk back to the bar. Rhys started walking as well. “You know, Rhys, I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…”