Stocking Double Drabble: Bleak House
Story: Bleak House
Author: wmr / wendymr
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ninth Doctor
Rated: PG
Series: Bigger Inside
Summary: "It was you! I was in your head."
Written for lindenharp as a stocking stuffer during fandom_stocking; reposted today in honour of her birthday. Sorry this isn't new for you, lindenharp! Set during Dimensionally Transcendent.
Bleak House
Jack sits bolt upright in bed, heart pounding, breathing erratic. It’s all still there in his head: the pungent smell of burning and the terrified cries of the trapped. Loneliness, desolation and soul-deep guilt.
His heart-rate is just returning to normal when the door to his bedroom bursts open and the Doctor appears, a worried frown creasing his forehead. “You all right, Jack? You had a-”
Nightmare, he thought - but now he knows. “It was you! I was in your head.”
The Doctor doesn’t deny it, but that information would never be volunteered. He wasn’t supposed to know what was really happening.
“Is that...” He hesitates. It’s an intensely personal question. But he needs to know. “Is that what you live with? All the time?”
The Doctor shoves his hands in his trouser pockets. “My head’s a scary place, Captain. Best stay out of it in future.”
“Didn’t exactly intend to go in there,” he points out.
The Doctor nods. “Need to start your training. Sooner the better.”
“Okay,” he agrees, “but what about you? You can’t live like this!”
The Doctor looks away. “Oh, I can, Jack. And I deserve to.” Then he’s gone.
Jack doesn’t sleep again tonight.
- end
Author: wmr / wendymr
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ninth Doctor
Rated: PG
Series: Bigger Inside
Summary: "It was you! I was in your head."
Written for lindenharp as a stocking stuffer during fandom_stocking; reposted today in honour of her birthday. Sorry this isn't new for you, lindenharp! Set during Dimensionally Transcendent.
Bleak House
Jack sits bolt upright in bed, heart pounding, breathing erratic. It’s all still there in his head: the pungent smell of burning and the terrified cries of the trapped. Loneliness, desolation and soul-deep guilt.
His heart-rate is just returning to normal when the door to his bedroom bursts open and the Doctor appears, a worried frown creasing his forehead. “You all right, Jack? You had a-”
Nightmare, he thought - but now he knows. “It was you! I was in your head.”
The Doctor doesn’t deny it, but that information would never be volunteered. He wasn’t supposed to know what was really happening.
“Is that...” He hesitates. It’s an intensely personal question. But he needs to know. “Is that what you live with? All the time?”
The Doctor shoves his hands in his trouser pockets. “My head’s a scary place, Captain. Best stay out of it in future.”
“Didn’t exactly intend to go in there,” he points out.
The Doctor nods. “Need to start your training. Sooner the better.”
“Okay,” he agrees, “but what about you? You can’t live like this!”
The Doctor looks away. “Oh, I can, Jack. And I deserve to.” Then he’s gone.
Jack doesn’t sleep again tonight.
- end