Fic: Zulu [Dollhouse/Torchwood]
Title: Zulu
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Adelle DeWitt, Topher Brink (hinted Jack/Adelle)
Rating/Warning/Spoilers: PG-13, post-CofE, but no explicit spoilers
Summary: Jack wants to forget, to be someone else for a while, and goes to the one person who can help him do that.
Author's Notes: Um. This occurred to me while watching the new episode of Dollhouse.
Disclaimer: Jack is property of the BBC. Adelle, Topher, and the Dollhouse are property of Joss Whedon. I make no profit from this story.
Crossposted to crossoverfic, torch_wood and crossing_who.
When Adelle picked up the phone on her desk, she heard the voice of the last person she ever expected to call her.
“Adelle DeWitt?” The caller asked. She hesitated a second before saying, “Yes, is there something I can help you with?”
“I’d like to meet with you. Alone. I have an offer for you. I’m outside.”
With that, the caller hung up, and Adelle was left listening to a dead line. Taking a deep breath, she replaced the phone handset, and headed for the elevators.
She emerged from the office building that concealed the Dollhouse into bright LA sunshine, and looked around until she saw the man waiting for her, sitting on a bench nearby. He stood up as she walked over. “Ms DeWitt,” he said, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Adelle gave him a small, restrained smile of her own. “Captain Harkness. I thought you said something about never wanting to see me or my organisation again.”
He flinched visibly at the ‘captain’. “Call me Jack, please.”
“If you wish. You said you had an offer...”
“Not here. You still have an office, right? Can we talk there?”
“Of course.” He followed her into the building, not saying anything until they were sitting in her office. “Now, this offer? It must be something unusual, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“There was nowhere else.”
“I find that hard to believe, Jack. I thought you abhorred our work. Dehumanising, I think that was the word you used.”
He shrugged. “Times change. I’ve changed. And things have happened to me since then. I’ve lost people.” He looks up, meets her gaze for the first time, and she sees the anguish in his eyes. “It’s too much to carry around with me. I want to be someone else for a while. Someone who doesn’t have so many ghosts. You can do that, right?”
She knew what he was asking. Though the last time they met - ten years ago now, when the Dollhouse was still strictly theoretical - he’d been disgusted by the idea, and had done his best to get their research destroyed, he was sitting in her office, volunteering to become an Active. She wondered what had happened to him, to make him despair of his life so thoroughly.
“I believe so. It may be more difficult than usual, due to your… condition, but it should be possible. You understand that, if you do this, when the contract is over all your memories will be restored…”
“I understand.”
“And once it’s done, the contract is binding for five years.”
“Believe me, I can spare five years. How soon can you get this done?”
“There is a procedure, normally, but I think we can waive most of it. You’ll need to have a physical exam, however, at the very least. Is there anyone I can contact for you?”
“There’s no-one. I’ll do whatever you say, just… please, Adelle,” he reached out and grasped her hand, “please help me.”
Feeling more than a little flustered, she nodded quickly. “I’ll do my best. I need to call our technician, and no doubt there will be several reams of paperwork for you to sign…” She stopped herself, knowing that she was babbling and it wasn’t helping Jack in the slightest. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and smiled. “I’ll help you.”
Several hours later, Jack had been thoroughly examined by Dr Saunders and given a clean bill of health, and the necessary paperwork had been quickly drawn up by the administrators, and they were back in Adelle’s office, going through the contract.
“Are you absolutely certain that you want to do this?”
He nodded. “I need to be someone else for a while. Unless you know another way…”
“No.” She hesitated. She didn’t normally have to ask potential Actives this. “Will you at least tell me why?”
He exhaled slowly. “I’ve lost too many people that I care about. It’s happened too many times, I meet someone, they get drawn into my world, and they end up getting hurt or dead. Moving around doesn’t help. So maybe, if I’m not me, it’ll break the pattern.”
“Oh…” she put on a brave face for him, though inside she felt like crying. “Well, we’ll take good care of you, I can promise that. And in five years, you’ll be free to leave and maybe everything will seem better.”
He signs the paperwork, and looks at her, melancholy. “There is one other thing…”
“Yes?”
“My coat.” He indicated the heavy military greatcoat, currently slung over the back of his chair. “Could you… look after it for me?”
“Jack, everything you have with you will be in secure storage until your contract runs out. Your coat will be fine.”
“No… not secure storage. That coat… what I mean is, could you, personally, look after it for me?”
She nodded before she even really knows what she’s doing. “Of course I will.”
“Thank you.”
She wanted to say something - goodbye, perhaps, or don’t do this - but somehow, she can’t find the words. Instead, she shook his hand and said, “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” before taking him down to Topher’s lab.
Later, she was standing in the doorway of the lab, watching Topher bustle around, checking everything. Jack looked over at her, and it occurred to her that he seemed… oddly peaceful. Happy, even. Most new Actives, at this stage, were distressed, worried that the procedure would hurt, scared that it might not work or that it might go wrong. But not Jack. He lay back in the chair - dressed in loose trousers and a t-shirt, as his own belongings were packed up already - and seemed to be almost looking forward to it.
What had he been through, she thought, to look forward to oblivion in that way? As she watched, his personality was stored onto a wedge, everything that he was so weighed down by, packed away. Then, he was given the basic imprint, the one that made sure he’d respond to his new name - Zulu - and that he would trust his handler, Reyes, implicitly.
When the procedure was finished, Adelle stepped a little closer. Zulu still looked like Jack, but wasn’t. As she approached, the new Active opened his eyes, looking at her.
“Did I fall asleep?” he asked.
“For a little while,” she said softly.
He turned his head to look at Topher on the other side of the chair. “Can I go now?”
“If you like,” Topher replied, and Zulu got to his feet, a little unsteady, and walked out. Adelle didn’t turn to watch him, but instead closed her eyes for a second and took several deep breaths.
“You all right, boss-lady?” Topher asked.
She opened her eyes. “Just do your job, Topher,” she snapped, before turning and walking quickly back to her office.
Inside, she caught sight of the coatrack, where Jack’s coat now hung, and suddenly, without even knowing why, she burst into tears.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Adelle DeWitt, Topher Brink (hinted Jack/Adelle)
Rating/Warning/Spoilers: PG-13, post-CofE, but no explicit spoilers
Summary: Jack wants to forget, to be someone else for a while, and goes to the one person who can help him do that.
Author's Notes: Um. This occurred to me while watching the new episode of Dollhouse.
Disclaimer: Jack is property of the BBC. Adelle, Topher, and the Dollhouse are property of Joss Whedon. I make no profit from this story.
Crossposted to crossoverfic, torch_wood and crossing_who.
When Adelle picked up the phone on her desk, she heard the voice of the last person she ever expected to call her.
“Adelle DeWitt?” The caller asked. She hesitated a second before saying, “Yes, is there something I can help you with?”
“I’d like to meet with you. Alone. I have an offer for you. I’m outside.”
With that, the caller hung up, and Adelle was left listening to a dead line. Taking a deep breath, she replaced the phone handset, and headed for the elevators.
She emerged from the office building that concealed the Dollhouse into bright LA sunshine, and looked around until she saw the man waiting for her, sitting on a bench nearby. He stood up as she walked over. “Ms DeWitt,” he said, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Adelle gave him a small, restrained smile of her own. “Captain Harkness. I thought you said something about never wanting to see me or my organisation again.”
He flinched visibly at the ‘captain’. “Call me Jack, please.”
“If you wish. You said you had an offer...”
“Not here. You still have an office, right? Can we talk there?”
“Of course.” He followed her into the building, not saying anything until they were sitting in her office. “Now, this offer? It must be something unusual, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“There was nowhere else.”
“I find that hard to believe, Jack. I thought you abhorred our work. Dehumanising, I think that was the word you used.”
He shrugged. “Times change. I’ve changed. And things have happened to me since then. I’ve lost people.” He looks up, meets her gaze for the first time, and she sees the anguish in his eyes. “It’s too much to carry around with me. I want to be someone else for a while. Someone who doesn’t have so many ghosts. You can do that, right?”
She knew what he was asking. Though the last time they met - ten years ago now, when the Dollhouse was still strictly theoretical - he’d been disgusted by the idea, and had done his best to get their research destroyed, he was sitting in her office, volunteering to become an Active. She wondered what had happened to him, to make him despair of his life so thoroughly.
“I believe so. It may be more difficult than usual, due to your… condition, but it should be possible. You understand that, if you do this, when the contract is over all your memories will be restored…”
“I understand.”
“And once it’s done, the contract is binding for five years.”
“Believe me, I can spare five years. How soon can you get this done?”
“There is a procedure, normally, but I think we can waive most of it. You’ll need to have a physical exam, however, at the very least. Is there anyone I can contact for you?”
“There’s no-one. I’ll do whatever you say, just… please, Adelle,” he reached out and grasped her hand, “please help me.”
Feeling more than a little flustered, she nodded quickly. “I’ll do my best. I need to call our technician, and no doubt there will be several reams of paperwork for you to sign…” She stopped herself, knowing that she was babbling and it wasn’t helping Jack in the slightest. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and smiled. “I’ll help you.”
Several hours later, Jack had been thoroughly examined by Dr Saunders and given a clean bill of health, and the necessary paperwork had been quickly drawn up by the administrators, and they were back in Adelle’s office, going through the contract.
“Are you absolutely certain that you want to do this?”
He nodded. “I need to be someone else for a while. Unless you know another way…”
“No.” She hesitated. She didn’t normally have to ask potential Actives this. “Will you at least tell me why?”
He exhaled slowly. “I’ve lost too many people that I care about. It’s happened too many times, I meet someone, they get drawn into my world, and they end up getting hurt or dead. Moving around doesn’t help. So maybe, if I’m not me, it’ll break the pattern.”
“Oh…” she put on a brave face for him, though inside she felt like crying. “Well, we’ll take good care of you, I can promise that. And in five years, you’ll be free to leave and maybe everything will seem better.”
He signs the paperwork, and looks at her, melancholy. “There is one other thing…”
“Yes?”
“My coat.” He indicated the heavy military greatcoat, currently slung over the back of his chair. “Could you… look after it for me?”
“Jack, everything you have with you will be in secure storage until your contract runs out. Your coat will be fine.”
“No… not secure storage. That coat… what I mean is, could you, personally, look after it for me?”
She nodded before she even really knows what she’s doing. “Of course I will.”
“Thank you.”
She wanted to say something - goodbye, perhaps, or don’t do this - but somehow, she can’t find the words. Instead, she shook his hand and said, “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” before taking him down to Topher’s lab.
Later, she was standing in the doorway of the lab, watching Topher bustle around, checking everything. Jack looked over at her, and it occurred to her that he seemed… oddly peaceful. Happy, even. Most new Actives, at this stage, were distressed, worried that the procedure would hurt, scared that it might not work or that it might go wrong. But not Jack. He lay back in the chair - dressed in loose trousers and a t-shirt, as his own belongings were packed up already - and seemed to be almost looking forward to it.
What had he been through, she thought, to look forward to oblivion in that way? As she watched, his personality was stored onto a wedge, everything that he was so weighed down by, packed away. Then, he was given the basic imprint, the one that made sure he’d respond to his new name - Zulu - and that he would trust his handler, Reyes, implicitly.
When the procedure was finished, Adelle stepped a little closer. Zulu still looked like Jack, but wasn’t. As she approached, the new Active opened his eyes, looking at her.
“Did I fall asleep?” he asked.
“For a little while,” she said softly.
He turned his head to look at Topher on the other side of the chair. “Can I go now?”
“If you like,” Topher replied, and Zulu got to his feet, a little unsteady, and walked out. Adelle didn’t turn to watch him, but instead closed her eyes for a second and took several deep breaths.
“You all right, boss-lady?” Topher asked.
She opened her eyes. “Just do your job, Topher,” she snapped, before turning and walking quickly back to her office.
Inside, she caught sight of the coatrack, where Jack’s coat now hung, and suddenly, without even knowing why, she burst into tears.