rubychan05: Powerless 2/2 (Ten/Jack, Nine/Jack, Jack/Ianto) [R]
Title: Powerless 2/2
Author: rubychan05
Challenge: Power
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Jack/Ten, implied Jack/Nine
Rating: R
Spoilers: To be safe, all episodes of DW and TW to date
Warnings: Non-con, torture, character death, heartbreak and angst
Summary: When Jack is abducted by aliens there's only one thing the Doctor can do to save him. And it breaks his hearts.
Part One
Donna’s getting antsy again. He promised her the wonders and splendour of the universe, and according to her he still hasn’t delivered. He’s not quite sure what she wants him to do - she seemed perfectly happy when he took her to Pompeii and the Ood sphere after all - and when he dares to voice his doubts he gets a glare for his troubles, an annoyed rant about how every time they went anywhere they got caught up in some sort of galactic war or life and death problem.
He can see her point, but really. It’s not like he plans these things.
He guesses he must have started pouting at one point, because after a while Donna comes over and gives him the closest she gets to a soppy apology, telling him she doesn’t mind being asked to lay her life down every other week, really. Which ok, is pretty sweet of her, but is also just the thing to make the Doctor feel even guiltier and before he knows it he’s keying in the coordinates to the seventh planet of Argos (no relation to the store) and holding on tight as the TARDIS jerks into flight.
The Argos system is practically empty, only two of its planets habitable, and the last time he visited Argos 7 was full of peaceful nomads united by the distant presence of the so called ‘Mistress’ or ‘Master’ of the planet. When he’d popped in the so called ruler had been eager for a new person to talk to, and he’d left feeling more than a little full after being almost force fed the delicacies from the king’s personal stores.
He’s sure it’s a place that will finally live up to Donna’s expectations, and even if it doesn’t he knows for sure that they won’t encounter any trouble.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mistress Ghanji is more than welcoming when he materialises in the middle of her banquet hall, asking one of the children standing along the walls to fetch them sustenance fit for guests such as them. Within minutes he’s deep in conversation with her about the adaptations they’ve made to live under the ever increasingly hot Sun, and it’s only at Donna’s horrified gasp that he looks around to see what’s the matter.
Her face is open, pity written across her features, and when the girl turns to him to offer a cake from her tray the Doctor finds himself looking into dead eyes. He jerks back as if burnt, feeling his stomach clench as a more detailed examination of his surroundings find the others to be the same. These aren’t willing servants. These are slaves, and he can’t stand slavery.
“You keep slaves here?” He asks, voice tight and controlled, and Ghanji blinks in surprise.
“Of course. My grandfather started using them years ago, and it’s been a tradition ever since. In fact,” She smiles, looking increasingly proud of herself. “We even buy in specimens from other worlds, such as Earth.”
“Earth?” Donna’s voice trembles, although the Doctor can’t be sure if it’s in rage or revulsion, and Ghanji beams as if she’s said something good.
“That’s right. We only have the one at the moment, although I plan to purchase more when the Smorgas return to our part of the galaxy - the pair I bought were awfully entertaining.”
“Really?” The Doctor remarks, voice hard and tight as steel, but Ghanji doesn’t seem to notice as she only continues to boast.
“Oh, they were very special. Why, one of them has even proved himself to be honoured with the gift of the gods! He is immortal, and as such my own status has risen through him. Perhaps I should send for him now?”
The Doctor freezes, mind racing at Ghanji’s last suggestion. An immortal from Earth…it can’t be. Jack is the last person he’d expect to see in a place like this, and certainly not as a slave. It has to be someone else, perhaps an alien who merely had the power of regeneration. But still…
“Bring…bring him in.” He says faintly, and his knuckles turn white as he grips the sonic screwdriver in his pocket, trying to ignore the shrill ringing of the bell Ghanji’s just rung. For a few minutes there’s only silence as they wait, before eventually the curtain is pulled back and a barely clad male enters the room soundlessly, moving to kneel beside Ghanji’s throne and incline his head.
“Mistress Ghanji.” The words are dull, defeated, but the Doctor would know that voice anywhere and sheer rage rips through him as he gazes upon the broken form of the Captain, a man who’s only a shadow of his former vibrant self.
Ghanji smiles, ruffling his hair affectionately as if he’s a dog waiting to be stroked, and to the Doctor’s horror Jack actually leans into the touch, poisonous as it is.
“I have to admit, he’s my favourite. The Smorgas took him and his companion on one of their raids of Earth. It took a while to tame him, but the results were quite spectacular. He became one of my best breeders - fathered twenty children in his first year alone, another fifteen the next. Then his friend died and unfortunately he lost that lovely spark. I couldn’t bear to let him go, so he’s my pet now.”
“…Jack?” The Doctor’s voice is choked, and both Donna and Ghanji stare at him in shock, although Donna’s face is far more stricken. Jack doesn’t respond. The Doctor doesn’t know whether that’s because he’s forgotten his own name or because no one other than Ghanji registers anymore.
Both explanations make him angrier than he can remember being in a long time.
“You know him?” Ghanji exclaims, and her face is pale in the face of the Doctor’s fury, showing uneasiness for the first time today. The Doctor ignores her, rushing to Jack’s side and forcing the ex-Time Agent to look at him. Jack’s eyes are dark and empty, and for the first time since they met the Doctor can’t see the soul behind them.
Only glass, shattered and jagged, cutting into everything around it.
“Jack, it’s me…the Doctor…remember me, old friend?” He whispers, and he feels the desperation rise when Jack only blinks at him. “Damn it, Jack! Talk to me! There must be something left of you in there!”
Jack shivers at the loud voice, face distressed, and the Doctor shuts his eyes so he doesn’t have to see such fear in someone who was once so strong.
“Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood Three, report!” He snaps, a last ditch effort, and finally Jack twitches in his grasp, eyes suddenly focusing on him.
“Doctor…” He murmurs, and the Doctor swallows hard, gentling his grip on Jack’s arms.
“It’s me, Jack. I’m going to get you out of here, I promise. Can you stand?” Jack just stares at him, and the Doctor cries inside. He’s seen that look before on the faces of those who’ve lost all hope, on the faces of those ready to give up and die. Except that Jack’s been denied even that escape, and all that’s left now is something the Doctor isn’t sure he can fix.
“Jack…come on now. We’re going to leave this place, we’re going back to the TARDIS…” He tries, and Jack shudders, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
“I can’t…I…Ianto…he’s here…”
Closing his eyes, the Doctor breathes deep. He remembers how happy Jack sounded on their way back down to Earth after the Year That Never Was, how Jack wouldn’t shut up about the young Welshman with a big bed and an even bigger heart. Jack had clearly cared a great deal about Ianto, and for some reason the Doctor had found himself feeling more than a little jealous at the idea of his one time lover finding someone new.
For the dead friend Ghanji had mentioned to be Ianto…
“Shhh…” He whispers, lightly placing his fingertips against Jack’s temple’s and easing his way inside Jack’s mind. It’s pitifully easy to gain entry, so battered the other man is, and what he finds is enough to make him want to weep openly.
Memories of the few times Jack and Ianto found happiness with each other here, almost drowned by the memories of Ianto screaming, bleeding, convulsing. He hears bone snapping, the sickening squelch of a dagger between ribs, and remembers the crushing guilt and horror as if it were his own.
He watches as Jack returns to their shared room only to find Ianto lying still and cold upon the floor, robbed of his pulse by a vicious heart attack he didn’t have the strength to fight. For the first time ever he sees Jack cry openly, cradling Ianto in his arms and rubbing the gold band around his…
Pulling back the Doctor stares at Jack in shock, grabbing the immortal’s hand and staring down at the simple gold ring on his left ring finger.
“Oh no…oh Jack…” He breathes, and Jack lets out a small, hitching sob.
“We were partners. I…we…he was my husband…I can’t…I can’t leave him here…he’ll be all alone…”
Rising to his feet the Doctor glares at Mistress Ghanji with pure hatred, feeling a dim satisfaction as she cringes back. What this woman has done is beyond forgiveness. Were he a worse man he’d happily tear the palace down brick by brick to destroy this hateful empire, but he’s a Time Lord, and Time Lords must show mercy.
“He’s coming with us.”
“Of course, of course! I…I wouldn’t dream of…”
“And when I return,” the Doctor hisses “I expect to see every single on of these slaves released and back with their families or people who can care for them. I expect to see another sitting on the throne. And if I don’t? You will wish you’d had the sense to listen to me, because I will show you why they call me the Oncoming Storm, I swear…”
She nods so fast it almost looks like her head will fall off but the Doctor is far from amused. It takes both him and Donna to persuade Jack to come with them, and even then Jack refuses to leave before visiting something he calls the ‘dumping ground’.
The ‘dumping ground’ turns out to be an ill kept graveyard, full of graves squashed together to make maximum use of the space, and Donna lets out a noise like a wounded animal as what she’s seeing sinks in. Jack stumbles to the far corner and kneels in front of the only grave in the place that looks cared for, and the Doctor somehow already knows what he’ll see before he even gets close.
A slab of rock lovingly engraved with a wobbly epitaph marks the final resting place of Ianto Jones, only 25 years old, and the withered bunch of flowers no doubt placed there by Jack shift in the wind, brown petals flying away. It’s a bitter, heartbreaking sight, and when Jack kisses the gravestone before getting up to leave for the last time it’s almost too much.
The Doctor wishes he didn’t have to see things like this. Even after 900 years they still hurt.
There are wounds that cannot heal, and even a lesser man that the Doctor would be able to see that Jack’s is one of them. There are too many cuts in places too deep to find, and even if the Doctor slaved away for a thousand years he wouldn’t be able to heal Jack, however much he wants to.
That night he creeps into Jack bedroom and sits on the bed, silently studying the still form of the Captain. He’s not asleep - the Doctor can see his eyes glinting in the darkness - but he doesn’t say a word, and it’s with a shuddering sigh that the Doctor says the words he knows will be both Jack salvation and his destruction.
“I lied when I told you there was nothing I could do.” He whispers, and his hearts break with every word. Jack’s tense beside him, back rigid, and when he speaks the hope in his voice makes the Doctor want to run.
“Doctor…?”
“I can take the energy from you. I did it to Rose back at the satellite…it would only take a few moments to remove the Vortex.”
“But why…I mean…”
“Rose gave you the Vortex to keep you alive. If I take it you’ll die. Right here, right now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why let me know now?” Jack whispers, and the Doctor swallows.
“Because I didn’t want to be alone. Because I knew what it would do to you, and I was selfish enough to want you alive. But what happened on that planet broke you Jack, and I can’t fix you. I never could. And this is the only way I know how to make it even slightly better.”
He chokes, and Jack studies him for a moment before sitting up and wrapping him in his arms, holding him tight as if the Doctor’s the one who endured two years of Hell down on that planet, not Jack.
The Doctor remembers lying in these arms hundreds of years ago, thousands of years in the future. Right now, in a hundred other times, there are versions of him and Jack fucking in the console room, making love in the very bed the Doctor’s sitting on right now.
It was never Rose. Not in the way he had Jack. Not like that.
“Thank you.” Jack whispers, and the Doctor swallows his own sob as he leans forward to kiss lips he hasn’t touched since regenerating, drawing the Vortex out of Jack and into himself. He feels Jack’s body grow cold in his arms as the most devoted of all his companions slumps further and further back until the Doctor’s supporting his entire weight.
Then suddenly the Doctor’s full of the energy of Time itself, flowing strong and golden through his veins, mingling with his blood and bringing a rush of warmth and love with it that can only be Jack himself.
When he looks at Jack now, the ex-conman’s timeline has finally come to an end, the kinks and curls in it slowly straightening.
“Jack…” He watches with blurred vision as Jack blearily opens his eyes, a slow, sweet smile hovering about his lips. The Doctor looks into clouded blue eyes and breathes in harshly at the sheer gratitude he sees there, the thanks for his release. Then eyelids flicker shut, hiding those blue eyes forever, and Jack’s head lolls to the side as the death the Daleks dealt him all those years in the future is finally complete.
The Doctor screams into Jack’s corpse like he did to the Master’s, pain and regret hitting him like waves until he can barely breathe under the onslaught. This time, there will be no second chances. There’s no way he can fool himself into believing there’ll be another time, another place where he and Jack can have their moment together.
As his cells explode inside him, DNA ripping itself apart to form a new body, he remembers the two humans who gave everything to save him from himself after the Time War and bring him into the light. They poured their love into him like he was the only one who mattered, and he thinks it is only fitting that he gives up a regeneration for Jack just like he did for Rose.
Two new hearts twist and pump into being, and the right may be Rose's but the left will always be Jack's.
Author: rubychan05
Challenge: Power
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Jack/Ten, implied Jack/Nine
Rating: R
Spoilers: To be safe, all episodes of DW and TW to date
Warnings: Non-con, torture, character death, heartbreak and angst
Summary: When Jack is abducted by aliens there's only one thing the Doctor can do to save him. And it breaks his hearts.
Part One
Donna’s getting antsy again. He promised her the wonders and splendour of the universe, and according to her he still hasn’t delivered. He’s not quite sure what she wants him to do - she seemed perfectly happy when he took her to Pompeii and the Ood sphere after all - and when he dares to voice his doubts he gets a glare for his troubles, an annoyed rant about how every time they went anywhere they got caught up in some sort of galactic war or life and death problem.
He can see her point, but really. It’s not like he plans these things.
He guesses he must have started pouting at one point, because after a while Donna comes over and gives him the closest she gets to a soppy apology, telling him she doesn’t mind being asked to lay her life down every other week, really. Which ok, is pretty sweet of her, but is also just the thing to make the Doctor feel even guiltier and before he knows it he’s keying in the coordinates to the seventh planet of Argos (no relation to the store) and holding on tight as the TARDIS jerks into flight.
The Argos system is practically empty, only two of its planets habitable, and the last time he visited Argos 7 was full of peaceful nomads united by the distant presence of the so called ‘Mistress’ or ‘Master’ of the planet. When he’d popped in the so called ruler had been eager for a new person to talk to, and he’d left feeling more than a little full after being almost force fed the delicacies from the king’s personal stores.
He’s sure it’s a place that will finally live up to Donna’s expectations, and even if it doesn’t he knows for sure that they won’t encounter any trouble.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mistress Ghanji is more than welcoming when he materialises in the middle of her banquet hall, asking one of the children standing along the walls to fetch them sustenance fit for guests such as them. Within minutes he’s deep in conversation with her about the adaptations they’ve made to live under the ever increasingly hot Sun, and it’s only at Donna’s horrified gasp that he looks around to see what’s the matter.
Her face is open, pity written across her features, and when the girl turns to him to offer a cake from her tray the Doctor finds himself looking into dead eyes. He jerks back as if burnt, feeling his stomach clench as a more detailed examination of his surroundings find the others to be the same. These aren’t willing servants. These are slaves, and he can’t stand slavery.
“You keep slaves here?” He asks, voice tight and controlled, and Ghanji blinks in surprise.
“Of course. My grandfather started using them years ago, and it’s been a tradition ever since. In fact,” She smiles, looking increasingly proud of herself. “We even buy in specimens from other worlds, such as Earth.”
“Earth?” Donna’s voice trembles, although the Doctor can’t be sure if it’s in rage or revulsion, and Ghanji beams as if she’s said something good.
“That’s right. We only have the one at the moment, although I plan to purchase more when the Smorgas return to our part of the galaxy - the pair I bought were awfully entertaining.”
“Really?” The Doctor remarks, voice hard and tight as steel, but Ghanji doesn’t seem to notice as she only continues to boast.
“Oh, they were very special. Why, one of them has even proved himself to be honoured with the gift of the gods! He is immortal, and as such my own status has risen through him. Perhaps I should send for him now?”
The Doctor freezes, mind racing at Ghanji’s last suggestion. An immortal from Earth…it can’t be. Jack is the last person he’d expect to see in a place like this, and certainly not as a slave. It has to be someone else, perhaps an alien who merely had the power of regeneration. But still…
“Bring…bring him in.” He says faintly, and his knuckles turn white as he grips the sonic screwdriver in his pocket, trying to ignore the shrill ringing of the bell Ghanji’s just rung. For a few minutes there’s only silence as they wait, before eventually the curtain is pulled back and a barely clad male enters the room soundlessly, moving to kneel beside Ghanji’s throne and incline his head.
“Mistress Ghanji.” The words are dull, defeated, but the Doctor would know that voice anywhere and sheer rage rips through him as he gazes upon the broken form of the Captain, a man who’s only a shadow of his former vibrant self.
Ghanji smiles, ruffling his hair affectionately as if he’s a dog waiting to be stroked, and to the Doctor’s horror Jack actually leans into the touch, poisonous as it is.
“I have to admit, he’s my favourite. The Smorgas took him and his companion on one of their raids of Earth. It took a while to tame him, but the results were quite spectacular. He became one of my best breeders - fathered twenty children in his first year alone, another fifteen the next. Then his friend died and unfortunately he lost that lovely spark. I couldn’t bear to let him go, so he’s my pet now.”
“…Jack?” The Doctor’s voice is choked, and both Donna and Ghanji stare at him in shock, although Donna’s face is far more stricken. Jack doesn’t respond. The Doctor doesn’t know whether that’s because he’s forgotten his own name or because no one other than Ghanji registers anymore.
Both explanations make him angrier than he can remember being in a long time.
“You know him?” Ghanji exclaims, and her face is pale in the face of the Doctor’s fury, showing uneasiness for the first time today. The Doctor ignores her, rushing to Jack’s side and forcing the ex-Time Agent to look at him. Jack’s eyes are dark and empty, and for the first time since they met the Doctor can’t see the soul behind them.
Only glass, shattered and jagged, cutting into everything around it.
“Jack, it’s me…the Doctor…remember me, old friend?” He whispers, and he feels the desperation rise when Jack only blinks at him. “Damn it, Jack! Talk to me! There must be something left of you in there!”
Jack shivers at the loud voice, face distressed, and the Doctor shuts his eyes so he doesn’t have to see such fear in someone who was once so strong.
“Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood Three, report!” He snaps, a last ditch effort, and finally Jack twitches in his grasp, eyes suddenly focusing on him.
“Doctor…” He murmurs, and the Doctor swallows hard, gentling his grip on Jack’s arms.
“It’s me, Jack. I’m going to get you out of here, I promise. Can you stand?” Jack just stares at him, and the Doctor cries inside. He’s seen that look before on the faces of those who’ve lost all hope, on the faces of those ready to give up and die. Except that Jack’s been denied even that escape, and all that’s left now is something the Doctor isn’t sure he can fix.
“Jack…come on now. We’re going to leave this place, we’re going back to the TARDIS…” He tries, and Jack shudders, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
“I can’t…I…Ianto…he’s here…”
Closing his eyes, the Doctor breathes deep. He remembers how happy Jack sounded on their way back down to Earth after the Year That Never Was, how Jack wouldn’t shut up about the young Welshman with a big bed and an even bigger heart. Jack had clearly cared a great deal about Ianto, and for some reason the Doctor had found himself feeling more than a little jealous at the idea of his one time lover finding someone new.
For the dead friend Ghanji had mentioned to be Ianto…
“Shhh…” He whispers, lightly placing his fingertips against Jack’s temple’s and easing his way inside Jack’s mind. It’s pitifully easy to gain entry, so battered the other man is, and what he finds is enough to make him want to weep openly.
Memories of the few times Jack and Ianto found happiness with each other here, almost drowned by the memories of Ianto screaming, bleeding, convulsing. He hears bone snapping, the sickening squelch of a dagger between ribs, and remembers the crushing guilt and horror as if it were his own.
He watches as Jack returns to their shared room only to find Ianto lying still and cold upon the floor, robbed of his pulse by a vicious heart attack he didn’t have the strength to fight. For the first time ever he sees Jack cry openly, cradling Ianto in his arms and rubbing the gold band around his…
Pulling back the Doctor stares at Jack in shock, grabbing the immortal’s hand and staring down at the simple gold ring on his left ring finger.
“Oh no…oh Jack…” He breathes, and Jack lets out a small, hitching sob.
“We were partners. I…we…he was my husband…I can’t…I can’t leave him here…he’ll be all alone…”
Rising to his feet the Doctor glares at Mistress Ghanji with pure hatred, feeling a dim satisfaction as she cringes back. What this woman has done is beyond forgiveness. Were he a worse man he’d happily tear the palace down brick by brick to destroy this hateful empire, but he’s a Time Lord, and Time Lords must show mercy.
“He’s coming with us.”
“Of course, of course! I…I wouldn’t dream of…”
“And when I return,” the Doctor hisses “I expect to see every single on of these slaves released and back with their families or people who can care for them. I expect to see another sitting on the throne. And if I don’t? You will wish you’d had the sense to listen to me, because I will show you why they call me the Oncoming Storm, I swear…”
She nods so fast it almost looks like her head will fall off but the Doctor is far from amused. It takes both him and Donna to persuade Jack to come with them, and even then Jack refuses to leave before visiting something he calls the ‘dumping ground’.
The ‘dumping ground’ turns out to be an ill kept graveyard, full of graves squashed together to make maximum use of the space, and Donna lets out a noise like a wounded animal as what she’s seeing sinks in. Jack stumbles to the far corner and kneels in front of the only grave in the place that looks cared for, and the Doctor somehow already knows what he’ll see before he even gets close.
A slab of rock lovingly engraved with a wobbly epitaph marks the final resting place of Ianto Jones, only 25 years old, and the withered bunch of flowers no doubt placed there by Jack shift in the wind, brown petals flying away. It’s a bitter, heartbreaking sight, and when Jack kisses the gravestone before getting up to leave for the last time it’s almost too much.
The Doctor wishes he didn’t have to see things like this. Even after 900 years they still hurt.
There are wounds that cannot heal, and even a lesser man that the Doctor would be able to see that Jack’s is one of them. There are too many cuts in places too deep to find, and even if the Doctor slaved away for a thousand years he wouldn’t be able to heal Jack, however much he wants to.
That night he creeps into Jack bedroom and sits on the bed, silently studying the still form of the Captain. He’s not asleep - the Doctor can see his eyes glinting in the darkness - but he doesn’t say a word, and it’s with a shuddering sigh that the Doctor says the words he knows will be both Jack salvation and his destruction.
“I lied when I told you there was nothing I could do.” He whispers, and his hearts break with every word. Jack’s tense beside him, back rigid, and when he speaks the hope in his voice makes the Doctor want to run.
“Doctor…?”
“I can take the energy from you. I did it to Rose back at the satellite…it would only take a few moments to remove the Vortex.”
“But why…I mean…”
“Rose gave you the Vortex to keep you alive. If I take it you’ll die. Right here, right now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why let me know now?” Jack whispers, and the Doctor swallows.
“Because I didn’t want to be alone. Because I knew what it would do to you, and I was selfish enough to want you alive. But what happened on that planet broke you Jack, and I can’t fix you. I never could. And this is the only way I know how to make it even slightly better.”
He chokes, and Jack studies him for a moment before sitting up and wrapping him in his arms, holding him tight as if the Doctor’s the one who endured two years of Hell down on that planet, not Jack.
The Doctor remembers lying in these arms hundreds of years ago, thousands of years in the future. Right now, in a hundred other times, there are versions of him and Jack fucking in the console room, making love in the very bed the Doctor’s sitting on right now.
It was never Rose. Not in the way he had Jack. Not like that.
“Thank you.” Jack whispers, and the Doctor swallows his own sob as he leans forward to kiss lips he hasn’t touched since regenerating, drawing the Vortex out of Jack and into himself. He feels Jack’s body grow cold in his arms as the most devoted of all his companions slumps further and further back until the Doctor’s supporting his entire weight.
Then suddenly the Doctor’s full of the energy of Time itself, flowing strong and golden through his veins, mingling with his blood and bringing a rush of warmth and love with it that can only be Jack himself.
When he looks at Jack now, the ex-conman’s timeline has finally come to an end, the kinks and curls in it slowly straightening.
“Jack…” He watches with blurred vision as Jack blearily opens his eyes, a slow, sweet smile hovering about his lips. The Doctor looks into clouded blue eyes and breathes in harshly at the sheer gratitude he sees there, the thanks for his release. Then eyelids flicker shut, hiding those blue eyes forever, and Jack’s head lolls to the side as the death the Daleks dealt him all those years in the future is finally complete.
The Doctor screams into Jack’s corpse like he did to the Master’s, pain and regret hitting him like waves until he can barely breathe under the onslaught. This time, there will be no second chances. There’s no way he can fool himself into believing there’ll be another time, another place where he and Jack can have their moment together.
As his cells explode inside him, DNA ripping itself apart to form a new body, he remembers the two humans who gave everything to save him from himself after the Time War and bring him into the light. They poured their love into him like he was the only one who mattered, and he thinks it is only fitting that he gives up a regeneration for Jack just like he did for Rose.
Two new hearts twist and pump into being, and the right may be Rose's but the left will always be Jack's.