plaid_slytherin: Need a Lift? (Ten/Jack) [All Ages]
Title: Need a Lift?
Author: plaid_slytherin
Challenge: 2011 Doctor/Jack Bingo Fest
Prompt used: Street corner, two in the morning
Rating: All Ages
Pairing: Ten/Jack
Spoilers/warnings: vaguely for Torchwood: Children of Earth
Summary: Jack finds himself high and dry and needing a ride.
Jack had lost track of where he was. He'd done so much planet-hopping, hitching lifts, stowing away, or, if found out, working his way, across the universe. His goal had been to reach a place where he didn't recognize the surroundings, couldn't feel the influence of Earth. One day, he'd looked up and realized he'd achieved it.
It was winter here, and a light snow was falling. The village was closed up for the night, small-town folks going to bed early, far from the hustle and bustle of the never-sleeping city, the name of which Jack's mouth couldn't possibly pronounce, but he called it Yax.
That was where he'd landed, on a freighter stopping off to exchange cargo. From Yax, he'd walked to the village, which didn't even have a name, as far as Jack knew, didn't need one.
"Should've planned ahead," he muttered under his breath. He was the only one still awake. He didn't know of any place he could stay, anywhere a human would be welcome. The people of this planet weren't xenophobic, but Jack didn't look a thing like them. For one thing, he was a good three feet shorter than what would be considered "short" for a Rhonian, for another, he only had hair on his head, and that hair wasn't green.
He paused, looking both ways at the intersection, not that there would be any oncoming traffic-there were very few motorized vehicles on this part of the planet, and the drivers that did exist would know better to drive on a dark, snowy night.
Nope, he was completely and utterly alone.
But wasn't that what he wanted?
In all his travels, Jack had avoided getting close to anyone. There had been beings who'd caught his eye, certainly-even offers, but he hadn't acted on any of them.
"Okay, Jack," he muttered under his breath. "What do you plan do with yourself tonight?" No one answered.
He looked behind him, debating going back the way he'd come, but his tracks had already been filled in. He tilted his head back, letting the thickening snow pelt his face. The sky was a light shade of purple, almost lavender, but it still reminded Jack of the snow-sky over Cardiff, that he had seen over so many years.
"Need a lift?"
The voice was the last one he'd expected to hear. Jack whipped his head around to face the Doctor, standing in the cross street. The night was still remarkably quiet, and Jack almost would have believed it was his ears playing a trick on him.
"You offering?" he called back. He had no intentions of taking the Doctor up on his offer, but he'd like to hear the Doctor's response.
"Yes, I suppose I am," the Doctor said. "Might want to have a talk, but I'll take you somewhere."
Jack hesitated.
"You have options, I realize," the Doctor went on. "You could freeze to death. Or knock on random doors, hoping to find a stranger with both a kind heart and a translation implant." He paused, jammed his hands in his trouser pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Or you could come with me. Warm, dry… TARDIS still has your room the way it… was." He rubbed his nose. "Your choice, Jack."
The statement about his room gave Jack a jolt. He had never, not in a million years (or, several hundred, rather) guessed that some sign of his prior life might remain in the TARDIS. He had imagined, almost from the moment he'd first set foot in the nineteenth century, that his room would be jettisoned, just as he seemingly had. That it had been different was a not-unpleasant surprise.
"Where would this lift drop me off?"
"Anywhere you like." The Doctor took his hands out of his pockets, as if to show he was unarmed. "I won't pass judgment."
Jack was skeptical. "How'd you know where to find me?"
The Doctor smiled. "Street corner, two in the morning? Always a taxi when you need one."
Author: plaid_slytherin
Challenge: 2011 Doctor/Jack Bingo Fest
Prompt used: Street corner, two in the morning
Rating: All Ages
Pairing: Ten/Jack
Spoilers/warnings: vaguely for Torchwood: Children of Earth
Summary: Jack finds himself high and dry and needing a ride.
Jack had lost track of where he was. He'd done so much planet-hopping, hitching lifts, stowing away, or, if found out, working his way, across the universe. His goal had been to reach a place where he didn't recognize the surroundings, couldn't feel the influence of Earth. One day, he'd looked up and realized he'd achieved it.
It was winter here, and a light snow was falling. The village was closed up for the night, small-town folks going to bed early, far from the hustle and bustle of the never-sleeping city, the name of which Jack's mouth couldn't possibly pronounce, but he called it Yax.
That was where he'd landed, on a freighter stopping off to exchange cargo. From Yax, he'd walked to the village, which didn't even have a name, as far as Jack knew, didn't need one.
"Should've planned ahead," he muttered under his breath. He was the only one still awake. He didn't know of any place he could stay, anywhere a human would be welcome. The people of this planet weren't xenophobic, but Jack didn't look a thing like them. For one thing, he was a good three feet shorter than what would be considered "short" for a Rhonian, for another, he only had hair on his head, and that hair wasn't green.
He paused, looking both ways at the intersection, not that there would be any oncoming traffic-there were very few motorized vehicles on this part of the planet, and the drivers that did exist would know better to drive on a dark, snowy night.
Nope, he was completely and utterly alone.
But wasn't that what he wanted?
In all his travels, Jack had avoided getting close to anyone. There had been beings who'd caught his eye, certainly-even offers, but he hadn't acted on any of them.
"Okay, Jack," he muttered under his breath. "What do you plan do with yourself tonight?" No one answered.
He looked behind him, debating going back the way he'd come, but his tracks had already been filled in. He tilted his head back, letting the thickening snow pelt his face. The sky was a light shade of purple, almost lavender, but it still reminded Jack of the snow-sky over Cardiff, that he had seen over so many years.
"Need a lift?"
The voice was the last one he'd expected to hear. Jack whipped his head around to face the Doctor, standing in the cross street. The night was still remarkably quiet, and Jack almost would have believed it was his ears playing a trick on him.
"You offering?" he called back. He had no intentions of taking the Doctor up on his offer, but he'd like to hear the Doctor's response.
"Yes, I suppose I am," the Doctor said. "Might want to have a talk, but I'll take you somewhere."
Jack hesitated.
"You have options, I realize," the Doctor went on. "You could freeze to death. Or knock on random doors, hoping to find a stranger with both a kind heart and a translation implant." He paused, jammed his hands in his trouser pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Or you could come with me. Warm, dry… TARDIS still has your room the way it… was." He rubbed his nose. "Your choice, Jack."
The statement about his room gave Jack a jolt. He had never, not in a million years (or, several hundred, rather) guessed that some sign of his prior life might remain in the TARDIS. He had imagined, almost from the moment he'd first set foot in the nineteenth century, that his room would be jettisoned, just as he seemingly had. That it had been different was a not-unpleasant surprise.
"Where would this lift drop me off?"
"Anywhere you like." The Doctor took his hands out of his pockets, as if to show he was unarmed. "I won't pass judgment."
Jack was skeptical. "How'd you know where to find me?"
The Doctor smiled. "Street corner, two in the morning? Always a taxi when you need one."