daisybblue: Five Times Jack Finally Slept... (Jack/Ten) [PG13] (SUMMER HOLIDAYS, PROMPT 4)
Title: Five Times Jack Finally Slept and One Time He Got a Better Offer
Author: daisybblue
Pairing: Pre-slash Jack/Nine, Jack/Ianto, Jack/Ten
Rating: PG13
Spoilers/warnings: Spoilers up to the end of S4.
Challenge: Summer Holidays
Prompt group: 4: sleep - sleeplessness - dream - trance
Summary: Jack has a complicated relationship with sleep and an even more complicated relationship with the Doctor.
**
One.
He wasn’t Jack Harkness yet. He wouldn’t be Jack Harkness for another 28 years in his own timeline. He was just a child who snuck out of his room to stare at the stars and hope one day he would be able to fly. His mother found him in the middle of the night, curled up and shivering in his sleep. She picked him up and carried him to his bed, tucking him in and kissing his forehead. She lingered in the doorway, and whispered, “There will time for adventure and travel among the stars. Now you should just sleep.”
Two.
He was prowling around, blood humming with the events of the day. The ship was amazing, gorgeous and strange, and Jack had a slight crush on her. He started when he heard a voice from the darkness.
“Can’t sleep?”
There he was, even more strange and gorgeous than his ship. “Thought I’d check out this lovely lady instead.”
“No flirting with my ship!”
“But Doc, she deserves some attention.”
“No flirting!”
“Fine, I’ll have to flirt with you instead.”
“What, you have a daily quota?”
“Maybe I’ll explode if you stop me. Could you live with that on your conscience, Doc?”
The Doctor’s eyes darkened, expression tightening imperceptibly.
Jack backpedalled slightly, wanting more of the lightness, “More importantly, it’s fun.”
The Doctor relaxed, “I could use a bit more fun.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Hey! You aren’t getting that fun so easily. I’m cheap, not easy. I want my drink.”
“Well, I don’t have any of the good stuff readily available, but a little birdie has informed me that there is hot cocoa in the kitchen. Can I tempt you?”
“Best offer I’ve had in years.”
2 cups of cocoa each, and hours of conversation later, Jack finally managed to sleep.
Three.
The air stuck to his skin as he walked. He was on Earth now, but could not remember how he got there. He remembered excruciating pain, like nothing he’d ever experienced before and nothing he wanted to experience again. He remembered waking up. He remembered, oh God, he could remember the TARDIS whizz-whirring out of reality. He was stranded, surrounded by dust. For a moment he forgot. He forgot that he had escaped. His breathing became shallow as the panic came. He was trapped. He was all alone and he was trapped. They had left him behind.
It was at this moment that the air turned cool and the skies broke open. Softly at first, but soon enough rain was bucketing down. Jack just stood there, breathing hard, letting the rain wash everything clean. He was alone in the middle of nowhere and he needed to walk. It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but if he just kept going maybe he would find a settlement. From there, well, there was no from there.
So he walked. He walked through the rest of the afternoon, through the night. If he stopped, he may never start again. It was first light when he found people. His heart sank as he surveyed the damage wrought by the events on Satellite 5. “Gee, thanks, Doc,” he murmured, the words bitter on his tongue.
It took over a week to get the township functioning again. The dead were buried and the wounded were healing. Jack helped jury-rig a filtration system, so they no longer needed to walk miles to find drinking water. Food shortages were a danger, but not imminent. Finally, he slept. It wasn’t just a nap haunted by daleks and dust, but genuine deep sleep. Such was his exhaustion that he didn’t even dream.
Four.
He was barely of the commotion around him. He could faintly hear someone calling his name. He wanted to reach out and reassure them, but he couldn’t. That was strange. He was moving though, but he wasn’t doing what he wanted to. That definitely wasn’t right. He grew irritated, why wasn’t anything working?
“It’s all fine. This is how it’s supposed to be,” a voice at the back of his mind whispered. It sounded like the Doctor.
Right. He relaxed. The Doctor was taking care of him.
There was more yelling. Owen? He tried to focus. Yup, Owen. Except he wasn’t yelling, just wheezing. And why was his face that colour?
“Jack, let him go!”
He turned to see who else was yelling? Why were they so upset?
“If you don’t let him go, I will shoot you.”
Gwen. Why would she shoot him? Suddenly something clicked. Him. He was choking Owen. He seized the moment of clarity. “Gwen, shoot me,” he breathed as every fibre of his being fought to keep him silent.
There was a moment of searing pain, then nothing.
He woke with a gasp, and two guns pointing at him. Tosh was over tending to Owen, while Gwen and Ianto eyed him with suspicion.
“What happened?”
“Who are you?”
“Captain Jack Harkness, head of Torchwood Three, Cardiff. What happened?”
Something obviously reassured them as Ianto rushed over to him. “You’re you, oh thank God you’re you.”
“Was the Doctor here? Did I miss him?”
Gwen came over to kneel beside him. “No, Jack. The Doctor wasn’t here. Some sort of parasitic alien decided you’d make a good host. We didn’t notice at first, but then, well,” she ended with a sob.
“Shh, I’m okay. I mean, even my hair hurts, and I think I could sleep for a year, but I’m okay. Is Owen okay?” he asked urgently. “Did I hurt him?”
“Yes, you bloody hurt him,” Tosh snapped, still leaning over Owen’s prone form.
“Oh Christ, I’m sorry.”
“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Ianto said.
“No, he’s right. Sorry, I’m just a little shocked. He’ll be fine. Sore and croak, but fine.”
“Good. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep for a while. Probably a long while. Wake me if you think the world is going to end.”
Ianto helped him down to his bed and lay with him until he fell asleep.
Five.
This couldn’t last forever. Martha would return or the Doctor would come through for them and it would be over. He had to hold on to that. He just had to hold on.
“Jack, my favourite freak, how are you this morning?”
“Either get on with it or fuck off.”
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Not to worry, pet, today can only improve.”
Jack spat at him.
“Don’t be like that. We’re going to have fun. Okay, when I say we, I mean I’m going to have fun. But that’s just semantics.”
“Couldn’t you just take the fuck off option?”
“You’d get lonely.”
“I wouldn’t. I’d still have all these charming men with guns to keep me company.”
“They’re boring. Credit where credit is due, Jack, I am very interesting.”
Jack took a moment to build up his venom. He needed this, he needed to feel like he was fighting back, in however small a way, especially on a day like this. When the Master was angry, Jack was just a punching bag and death was quick. It’s when he’s like this, chatty and bouncy, that he liked to experiment. Days like this, well, let’s just say he could do with fewer days like this.
“Fine, you are more interesting. Just get on with it.”
“Are you trying to ruin my fun?”
“Yes, is it working?”
“Not in the slightest. I will start though, I’ve a few theories I want to test. It might be better if we strip you down for this; it could get rather messy.”
Jack held out until his third death before he cried out.
*~*
He was alone again, but for his men with guns. He hadn’t been given his clothes, but he didn’t care. He was sore, exhausted, covered in his own blood and entrails, and basically ready to curl up in a ball and never get up again. He couldn’t sleep though. It was so much worse if he found him sleeping.
“You’ve had a long day.”
“You are not who I was expecting.”
“Tish’s distracting him.” When he saw Jack flinch, he hurriedly continued, “No. He doesn’t know she’s the one distracting him.”
“It’s nice to see you. How long has it been?”
“Does it matter?”
“I guess it doesn’t. How is everyone else? I only ever see these guys and Tish.”
“And him.”
“He doesn’t count.”
“I am so sorry, Jack.”
“I know.”
They just sat for a while after that. What more was there to say? After a while, the Doctor quietly left. Jack closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself that he just had to hold on.
He jumped when he felt a damp cloth brush against his belly, washing away the remnants of the experiments. It was comfortable, almost peaceful. “Doc, it’s really important that I am awake when you leave. He can’t find me sleeping,” a note of panic crept into his voice.
“I will, Jack. I promise. For now, just sleep.”
Six.
The TARDIS landed in the Plas. The TARDIS was in the Plas and the Doctor wasn’t coming out. Jack sighed. Of course the Doctor wasn’t coming out. Well, if the mountain won’t come to Mohammed. “Gwen, Ianto, I’m going out,” he said as stepped out of his office.
Gwen just rolled her eyes. “No, really?”
He stopped dead. “I’ll stay if you want me to. Gwen, if you need me here, I will stay.”
Her eyes softened. “Jack, go and be happy. We’ll look after each other for a bit.”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then turned and pulled Ianto in for something less chaste. “I’ll be back, I promise.”
Ianto just smiled at him, “I know.”
He steeled himself as he walked over to the TARDIS, unsure what sort of reception he was going to get. “Knock, knock,” he called as he let himself in.
“Jack! How’ve you been?”
“Fine. What’s wrong?” he walked over to where the Doctor stood beside the console.
“Nothing’s wrong. Why would anything be wrong?”
“You only show up here when something’s wrong. So I repeat, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just wanted to see my favourite fact.”
“Doctor.”
“Fine, okay, they’re gone, Jack. All of them. It’s just me, little ol’ me, in this great big ship and I think I’m going a little crazy.”
“Okay. Firstly, I think you need tea. Disgustingly sugary tea. Then we can talk, okay?” He strode past the Doctor, heading to the kitchen, and swore when the Doctor grabbed and kissed him.
“I have to say, that was not the reaction I was expecting,” the Doctor said with a pout.
“I was hardly expecting that! I offer tea after your little woe-is-me act, and you kiss me. Do you remember the last few times we’ve met?”
The Doctor huffed. “It wasn’t an act, I was trying to tell you I was lonely. I thought sex would have been the first place your mind went.”
Jack flushed, because it had been the first place his mind went. “I wasn’t going to act on it! Remember, new nobler me? And, again, do you remember the last few times we’ve met? You haven’t been exactly welcoming.”
“I came, didn’t I? I came looking for you. Isn’t that enough?”
“I’m not sure it is anymore,” Jack spat back.
The Doctor collapsed in on himself. “Oh,” he said quietly. “Then I am sorry, Jack. So sorry. I’ll leave.”
Jack sighed. “Don’t go. I didn’t mean it.”
The Doctor just looked at him.
“Okay, I meant it a little. But I’d like to hang around and find out what exactly is enough. If you’ll have me, that is.”
“I’d like that.”
So they made tea and talked. They sat and they talked for hours. It was oddly freeing to finally voice everything that lay between them. So much had happened, so much said and done.
Eventually, there was nothing left to say. At that point, well, they stopped being able to form coherent sentences.
“Doc, why did we wait so long for that?” Jack panted, basking in the afterglow.
“I honestly don’t know. There seemed to be very good reasons for it at the time.”
“I really don’t think we should wait so long to do it again.”
“I completely agree. In fact, I think we should do it again now.”
“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, but it will be the best you’ve ever had.”
“I don’t doubt that at all, Doc.”
Jack didn’t sleep for a long while after that, and neither did the Doctor.
Author: daisybblue
Pairing: Pre-slash Jack/Nine, Jack/Ianto, Jack/Ten
Rating: PG13
Spoilers/warnings: Spoilers up to the end of S4.
Challenge: Summer Holidays
Prompt group: 4: sleep - sleeplessness - dream - trance
Summary: Jack has a complicated relationship with sleep and an even more complicated relationship with the Doctor.
**
One.
He wasn’t Jack Harkness yet. He wouldn’t be Jack Harkness for another 28 years in his own timeline. He was just a child who snuck out of his room to stare at the stars and hope one day he would be able to fly. His mother found him in the middle of the night, curled up and shivering in his sleep. She picked him up and carried him to his bed, tucking him in and kissing his forehead. She lingered in the doorway, and whispered, “There will time for adventure and travel among the stars. Now you should just sleep.”
Two.
He was prowling around, blood humming with the events of the day. The ship was amazing, gorgeous and strange, and Jack had a slight crush on her. He started when he heard a voice from the darkness.
“Can’t sleep?”
There he was, even more strange and gorgeous than his ship. “Thought I’d check out this lovely lady instead.”
“No flirting with my ship!”
“But Doc, she deserves some attention.”
“No flirting!”
“Fine, I’ll have to flirt with you instead.”
“What, you have a daily quota?”
“Maybe I’ll explode if you stop me. Could you live with that on your conscience, Doc?”
The Doctor’s eyes darkened, expression tightening imperceptibly.
Jack backpedalled slightly, wanting more of the lightness, “More importantly, it’s fun.”
The Doctor relaxed, “I could use a bit more fun.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Hey! You aren’t getting that fun so easily. I’m cheap, not easy. I want my drink.”
“Well, I don’t have any of the good stuff readily available, but a little birdie has informed me that there is hot cocoa in the kitchen. Can I tempt you?”
“Best offer I’ve had in years.”
2 cups of cocoa each, and hours of conversation later, Jack finally managed to sleep.
Three.
The air stuck to his skin as he walked. He was on Earth now, but could not remember how he got there. He remembered excruciating pain, like nothing he’d ever experienced before and nothing he wanted to experience again. He remembered waking up. He remembered, oh God, he could remember the TARDIS whizz-whirring out of reality. He was stranded, surrounded by dust. For a moment he forgot. He forgot that he had escaped. His breathing became shallow as the panic came. He was trapped. He was all alone and he was trapped. They had left him behind.
It was at this moment that the air turned cool and the skies broke open. Softly at first, but soon enough rain was bucketing down. Jack just stood there, breathing hard, letting the rain wash everything clean. He was alone in the middle of nowhere and he needed to walk. It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but if he just kept going maybe he would find a settlement. From there, well, there was no from there.
So he walked. He walked through the rest of the afternoon, through the night. If he stopped, he may never start again. It was first light when he found people. His heart sank as he surveyed the damage wrought by the events on Satellite 5. “Gee, thanks, Doc,” he murmured, the words bitter on his tongue.
It took over a week to get the township functioning again. The dead were buried and the wounded were healing. Jack helped jury-rig a filtration system, so they no longer needed to walk miles to find drinking water. Food shortages were a danger, but not imminent. Finally, he slept. It wasn’t just a nap haunted by daleks and dust, but genuine deep sleep. Such was his exhaustion that he didn’t even dream.
Four.
He was barely of the commotion around him. He could faintly hear someone calling his name. He wanted to reach out and reassure them, but he couldn’t. That was strange. He was moving though, but he wasn’t doing what he wanted to. That definitely wasn’t right. He grew irritated, why wasn’t anything working?
“It’s all fine. This is how it’s supposed to be,” a voice at the back of his mind whispered. It sounded like the Doctor.
Right. He relaxed. The Doctor was taking care of him.
There was more yelling. Owen? He tried to focus. Yup, Owen. Except he wasn’t yelling, just wheezing. And why was his face that colour?
“Jack, let him go!”
He turned to see who else was yelling? Why were they so upset?
“If you don’t let him go, I will shoot you.”
Gwen. Why would she shoot him? Suddenly something clicked. Him. He was choking Owen. He seized the moment of clarity. “Gwen, shoot me,” he breathed as every fibre of his being fought to keep him silent.
There was a moment of searing pain, then nothing.
He woke with a gasp, and two guns pointing at him. Tosh was over tending to Owen, while Gwen and Ianto eyed him with suspicion.
“What happened?”
“Who are you?”
“Captain Jack Harkness, head of Torchwood Three, Cardiff. What happened?”
Something obviously reassured them as Ianto rushed over to him. “You’re you, oh thank God you’re you.”
“Was the Doctor here? Did I miss him?”
Gwen came over to kneel beside him. “No, Jack. The Doctor wasn’t here. Some sort of parasitic alien decided you’d make a good host. We didn’t notice at first, but then, well,” she ended with a sob.
“Shh, I’m okay. I mean, even my hair hurts, and I think I could sleep for a year, but I’m okay. Is Owen okay?” he asked urgently. “Did I hurt him?”
“Yes, you bloody hurt him,” Tosh snapped, still leaning over Owen’s prone form.
“Oh Christ, I’m sorry.”
“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Ianto said.
“No, he’s right. Sorry, I’m just a little shocked. He’ll be fine. Sore and croak, but fine.”
“Good. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep for a while. Probably a long while. Wake me if you think the world is going to end.”
Ianto helped him down to his bed and lay with him until he fell asleep.
Five.
This couldn’t last forever. Martha would return or the Doctor would come through for them and it would be over. He had to hold on to that. He just had to hold on.
“Jack, my favourite freak, how are you this morning?”
“Either get on with it or fuck off.”
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Not to worry, pet, today can only improve.”
Jack spat at him.
“Don’t be like that. We’re going to have fun. Okay, when I say we, I mean I’m going to have fun. But that’s just semantics.”
“Couldn’t you just take the fuck off option?”
“You’d get lonely.”
“I wouldn’t. I’d still have all these charming men with guns to keep me company.”
“They’re boring. Credit where credit is due, Jack, I am very interesting.”
Jack took a moment to build up his venom. He needed this, he needed to feel like he was fighting back, in however small a way, especially on a day like this. When the Master was angry, Jack was just a punching bag and death was quick. It’s when he’s like this, chatty and bouncy, that he liked to experiment. Days like this, well, let’s just say he could do with fewer days like this.
“Fine, you are more interesting. Just get on with it.”
“Are you trying to ruin my fun?”
“Yes, is it working?”
“Not in the slightest. I will start though, I’ve a few theories I want to test. It might be better if we strip you down for this; it could get rather messy.”
Jack held out until his third death before he cried out.
*~*
He was alone again, but for his men with guns. He hadn’t been given his clothes, but he didn’t care. He was sore, exhausted, covered in his own blood and entrails, and basically ready to curl up in a ball and never get up again. He couldn’t sleep though. It was so much worse if he found him sleeping.
“You’ve had a long day.”
“You are not who I was expecting.”
“Tish’s distracting him.” When he saw Jack flinch, he hurriedly continued, “No. He doesn’t know she’s the one distracting him.”
“It’s nice to see you. How long has it been?”
“Does it matter?”
“I guess it doesn’t. How is everyone else? I only ever see these guys and Tish.”
“And him.”
“He doesn’t count.”
“I am so sorry, Jack.”
“I know.”
They just sat for a while after that. What more was there to say? After a while, the Doctor quietly left. Jack closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself that he just had to hold on.
He jumped when he felt a damp cloth brush against his belly, washing away the remnants of the experiments. It was comfortable, almost peaceful. “Doc, it’s really important that I am awake when you leave. He can’t find me sleeping,” a note of panic crept into his voice.
“I will, Jack. I promise. For now, just sleep.”
Six.
The TARDIS landed in the Plas. The TARDIS was in the Plas and the Doctor wasn’t coming out. Jack sighed. Of course the Doctor wasn’t coming out. Well, if the mountain won’t come to Mohammed. “Gwen, Ianto, I’m going out,” he said as stepped out of his office.
Gwen just rolled her eyes. “No, really?”
He stopped dead. “I’ll stay if you want me to. Gwen, if you need me here, I will stay.”
Her eyes softened. “Jack, go and be happy. We’ll look after each other for a bit.”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then turned and pulled Ianto in for something less chaste. “I’ll be back, I promise.”
Ianto just smiled at him, “I know.”
He steeled himself as he walked over to the TARDIS, unsure what sort of reception he was going to get. “Knock, knock,” he called as he let himself in.
“Jack! How’ve you been?”
“Fine. What’s wrong?” he walked over to where the Doctor stood beside the console.
“Nothing’s wrong. Why would anything be wrong?”
“You only show up here when something’s wrong. So I repeat, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just wanted to see my favourite fact.”
“Doctor.”
“Fine, okay, they’re gone, Jack. All of them. It’s just me, little ol’ me, in this great big ship and I think I’m going a little crazy.”
“Okay. Firstly, I think you need tea. Disgustingly sugary tea. Then we can talk, okay?” He strode past the Doctor, heading to the kitchen, and swore when the Doctor grabbed and kissed him.
“I have to say, that was not the reaction I was expecting,” the Doctor said with a pout.
“I was hardly expecting that! I offer tea after your little woe-is-me act, and you kiss me. Do you remember the last few times we’ve met?”
The Doctor huffed. “It wasn’t an act, I was trying to tell you I was lonely. I thought sex would have been the first place your mind went.”
Jack flushed, because it had been the first place his mind went. “I wasn’t going to act on it! Remember, new nobler me? And, again, do you remember the last few times we’ve met? You haven’t been exactly welcoming.”
“I came, didn’t I? I came looking for you. Isn’t that enough?”
“I’m not sure it is anymore,” Jack spat back.
The Doctor collapsed in on himself. “Oh,” he said quietly. “Then I am sorry, Jack. So sorry. I’ll leave.”
Jack sighed. “Don’t go. I didn’t mean it.”
The Doctor just looked at him.
“Okay, I meant it a little. But I’d like to hang around and find out what exactly is enough. If you’ll have me, that is.”
“I’d like that.”
So they made tea and talked. They sat and they talked for hours. It was oddly freeing to finally voice everything that lay between them. So much had happened, so much said and done.
Eventually, there was nothing left to say. At that point, well, they stopped being able to form coherent sentences.
“Doc, why did we wait so long for that?” Jack panted, basking in the afterglow.
“I honestly don’t know. There seemed to be very good reasons for it at the time.”
“I really don’t think we should wait so long to do it again.”
“I completely agree. In fact, I think we should do it again now.”
“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, but it will be the best you’ve ever had.”
“I don’t doubt that at all, Doc.”
Jack didn’t sleep for a long while after that, and neither did the Doctor.