Ficlet: Care - An In Charge Coda
Title: Ficlet: Care - An In Charge Coda
Betas: The wonderful wendymr & dark_aegis.
Rating: Teen; strong language
Spoilers: The Doctor Dances
Characters: Jack/Nine
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction; the characters are the property of the BBC and used here without permission. No money was made.
Summary: Jack's being a bad patient.
A/N: Written for sahiya for bidding on me in the help_haiti auction. She wanted Deal!verse h/c in the aftermath of In Charge. (It's possible to read it on its own, though some allusions will be clearer if you've read the fic.)
Care
An In Charge Coda
"Jack Harkness," the Doctor growls. "What did I say about you gettin' out of bed?"
"Ummm… don't?" Jack replies with a sheepish smile. It's the middle of ship night. Rose went to bed hours ago, after keeping him company for most of the day. But Jack couldn't go to sleep - he's been lying flat on his back all day, for crying out loud. He thought he'd take the chance for a little outing, hoping the Doctor might not check on him for a while. But he's barely been out of bed for five minutes and already he's been cornered by a very annoyed looking Time Lord.
The Doctor raises an eyebrow pointedly. "An' where are you right now?"
"The game room. But Doctor, I was bored and-" He yelps when the Doctor's hand connects with his ass and looks at the Time Lord with wide eyes, his lower lip sticking out. He briefly considers a tremble, but decides that would be pushing it too far.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Cute." He puts a hand on Jack's neck and fixes him in a glare. "Did that really hurt, or are you just trying to make me feel bad so I'll give in?"
Jack holds the wounded expression a moment longer, then he flashes the Doctor a cheeky grin. "Is it working?"
"No." He kisses Jack firmly, turns him around, and starts propelling him toward the door. "What does it take to keep you in bed?"
Jack cranks his neck to answer the question, but the Doctor shakes his head. "Don't answer that. An' I meant to keep you in bed, resting."
"Doctor, really, I'm fi-" He suddenly feels his knees weaken and grabs for the doorframe to steady himself. Before he can, the Doctor's arms are around him and he's leaning securely against his lover.
"You were saying?" the Doctor asks sardonically - but he's rubbing gentle circles in the small of Jack's back.
Jack looks up sheepishly. "Guess I'm not completely fine, then."
"Jack, you're on your second day of recovering from pneumonia. The only reason you're feeling as good as you do are the uppers I've got you on. An' I'd hate to take you off those and let you feel miserable, but I'll do it if it's the only way to keep you in bed an' allow your other meds to work." He wraps an arm around Jack's waist and starts supporting him towards his bedroom.
Jack sighs. Over the last two days, he's slept more than a reasonable person should in a year, played board games with Rose, read books, watched films on the entertainment system the Doctor installed in his room - and he's sick of it all. Bored, and feeling useless and lonely. But look what ignoring the Doctor's instructions got him. He's lucky the Doctor discovered him when he did, or he might be lying on the game room floor by himself now. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be difficult."
The Doctor drops a kiss on his head. "You've just spent three days dragging an injured human and a blind an' stubborn Time Lord off a mountain. You've earned the right to be difficult, lad. 'S not my inconvenience I'm worried about."
"Then why don't you-" He stops abruptly.
The Doctor looks at him sharply. "Why don't I what?"
"Nothing."
The Doctor stops and takes Jack by the shoulders to turn him towards him. "Jack?"
Jack sighs. What the hell. Can't get much more pathetic than needing to be half-carried back to bed, anyway. "You want me to stay in bed - so why don't you just stay with me?"
The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Don't start that again. Had this discussion. As much fun as it'd be, it'd be too hard on your system."
And they say he's the one with the one-track mind. Jack bristles. "I didn't mean sex! You could just h-" He stops and shakes his head. He's not going to beg for cuddles like a sick toddler. Jack straightens his shoulders resolutely. "No, of course, you're right. Sorry. I'll be good."
The Doctor cocks his head, and his eyes seem to look right into Jack's soul for a moment. Then he slowly shakes his head. "Oh, Jack."
He raises his chin defiantly. "What?"
The Doctor kisses him, and Jack returns the kiss without hesitation. He may be annoyed with the Doctor right now, but that's no reason to miss out on the good stuff. After a moment, he notices the Doctor's not being as forceful as usual. He's not even trying to control the kiss. It's soft, pliable, almost shy. With a frown, Jack pulls back. "What are you apologizing for?"
The Doctor smiles ruefully. "Bein' a stupid git. Missin' the obvious. Was feelin' bad 'cause I got you sick, so I threw myself into repair work like I usually do, an' it didn't even occur to me that you might need me for more than just checking your vitals every two hours."
Oh. Of course. His lover's been staying away because he's blaming himself. Should have figured. It wasn't the Doctor's fault that he got sick, of course. But there's no point saying that. He knows his Time Lord. No matter what he says, the Doctor will always blame himself for anything bad that happens to either of his companions. And now that Jack has all but begged him to stay, he'll probably feel too guilty to do anything but babysit him.
Jack looks at his feet, now feeling guilty himself. The Doctor doesn’t need to waste time holding his hand. He should have remembered the Time Lord has more important work to do. Jack can lie still and rest without help or supervision. "It's not that I 'need'… I mean, I'm perfectly fine by my- I'm old enough… You don't have to…" Is all this standing around making him dizzy, or how come he can't get out the suave words he's sure are on the tip of his tongue?
The Doctor shakes his head, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth. "Course not. But it'd be nice if I stayed for a bit, eh?"
That much he can admit to without bruising his ego too badly. "Yeah. It'd be nice."
The Doctor nods, and starts them moving towards the bedroom again. "Come to think of it, I could do with a lie-down meself. An' there's lots of maintenance stuff we need to talk about, anyway. Had an idea for the rear sensor arrays that I want your opinion on. An' you need to memorize more screwdriver settings. An' I could finally explain the different kinds of temporal couplings to you so you'll be able to realign them without me havin' to look over your shoulder all the time."
Jack nods. "Kind of a briefing."
The Doctor chuckles and pulls Jack more tightly against him. "Right."
Jack smiles and lets his head rest on the Doctor's shoulder. A briefing. In bed. Without sex, but with lots of cuddling. He can definitely live with that.
The End
Betas: The wonderful wendymr & dark_aegis.
Rating: Teen; strong language
Spoilers: The Doctor Dances
Characters: Jack/Nine
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction; the characters are the property of the BBC and used here without permission. No money was made.
Summary: Jack's being a bad patient.
A/N: Written for sahiya for bidding on me in the help_haiti auction. She wanted Deal!verse h/c in the aftermath of In Charge. (It's possible to read it on its own, though some allusions will be clearer if you've read the fic.)
Care
An In Charge Coda
"Jack Harkness," the Doctor growls. "What did I say about you gettin' out of bed?"
"Ummm… don't?" Jack replies with a sheepish smile. It's the middle of ship night. Rose went to bed hours ago, after keeping him company for most of the day. But Jack couldn't go to sleep - he's been lying flat on his back all day, for crying out loud. He thought he'd take the chance for a little outing, hoping the Doctor might not check on him for a while. But he's barely been out of bed for five minutes and already he's been cornered by a very annoyed looking Time Lord.
The Doctor raises an eyebrow pointedly. "An' where are you right now?"
"The game room. But Doctor, I was bored and-" He yelps when the Doctor's hand connects with his ass and looks at the Time Lord with wide eyes, his lower lip sticking out. He briefly considers a tremble, but decides that would be pushing it too far.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Cute." He puts a hand on Jack's neck and fixes him in a glare. "Did that really hurt, or are you just trying to make me feel bad so I'll give in?"
Jack holds the wounded expression a moment longer, then he flashes the Doctor a cheeky grin. "Is it working?"
"No." He kisses Jack firmly, turns him around, and starts propelling him toward the door. "What does it take to keep you in bed?"
Jack cranks his neck to answer the question, but the Doctor shakes his head. "Don't answer that. An' I meant to keep you in bed, resting."
"Doctor, really, I'm fi-" He suddenly feels his knees weaken and grabs for the doorframe to steady himself. Before he can, the Doctor's arms are around him and he's leaning securely against his lover.
"You were saying?" the Doctor asks sardonically - but he's rubbing gentle circles in the small of Jack's back.
Jack looks up sheepishly. "Guess I'm not completely fine, then."
"Jack, you're on your second day of recovering from pneumonia. The only reason you're feeling as good as you do are the uppers I've got you on. An' I'd hate to take you off those and let you feel miserable, but I'll do it if it's the only way to keep you in bed an' allow your other meds to work." He wraps an arm around Jack's waist and starts supporting him towards his bedroom.
Jack sighs. Over the last two days, he's slept more than a reasonable person should in a year, played board games with Rose, read books, watched films on the entertainment system the Doctor installed in his room - and he's sick of it all. Bored, and feeling useless and lonely. But look what ignoring the Doctor's instructions got him. He's lucky the Doctor discovered him when he did, or he might be lying on the game room floor by himself now. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be difficult."
The Doctor drops a kiss on his head. "You've just spent three days dragging an injured human and a blind an' stubborn Time Lord off a mountain. You've earned the right to be difficult, lad. 'S not my inconvenience I'm worried about."
"Then why don't you-" He stops abruptly.
The Doctor looks at him sharply. "Why don't I what?"
"Nothing."
The Doctor stops and takes Jack by the shoulders to turn him towards him. "Jack?"
Jack sighs. What the hell. Can't get much more pathetic than needing to be half-carried back to bed, anyway. "You want me to stay in bed - so why don't you just stay with me?"
The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Don't start that again. Had this discussion. As much fun as it'd be, it'd be too hard on your system."
And they say he's the one with the one-track mind. Jack bristles. "I didn't mean sex! You could just h-" He stops and shakes his head. He's not going to beg for cuddles like a sick toddler. Jack straightens his shoulders resolutely. "No, of course, you're right. Sorry. I'll be good."
The Doctor cocks his head, and his eyes seem to look right into Jack's soul for a moment. Then he slowly shakes his head. "Oh, Jack."
He raises his chin defiantly. "What?"
The Doctor kisses him, and Jack returns the kiss without hesitation. He may be annoyed with the Doctor right now, but that's no reason to miss out on the good stuff. After a moment, he notices the Doctor's not being as forceful as usual. He's not even trying to control the kiss. It's soft, pliable, almost shy. With a frown, Jack pulls back. "What are you apologizing for?"
The Doctor smiles ruefully. "Bein' a stupid git. Missin' the obvious. Was feelin' bad 'cause I got you sick, so I threw myself into repair work like I usually do, an' it didn't even occur to me that you might need me for more than just checking your vitals every two hours."
Oh. Of course. His lover's been staying away because he's blaming himself. Should have figured. It wasn't the Doctor's fault that he got sick, of course. But there's no point saying that. He knows his Time Lord. No matter what he says, the Doctor will always blame himself for anything bad that happens to either of his companions. And now that Jack has all but begged him to stay, he'll probably feel too guilty to do anything but babysit him.
Jack looks at his feet, now feeling guilty himself. The Doctor doesn’t need to waste time holding his hand. He should have remembered the Time Lord has more important work to do. Jack can lie still and rest without help or supervision. "It's not that I 'need'… I mean, I'm perfectly fine by my- I'm old enough… You don't have to…" Is all this standing around making him dizzy, or how come he can't get out the suave words he's sure are on the tip of his tongue?
The Doctor shakes his head, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth. "Course not. But it'd be nice if I stayed for a bit, eh?"
That much he can admit to without bruising his ego too badly. "Yeah. It'd be nice."
The Doctor nods, and starts them moving towards the bedroom again. "Come to think of it, I could do with a lie-down meself. An' there's lots of maintenance stuff we need to talk about, anyway. Had an idea for the rear sensor arrays that I want your opinion on. An' you need to memorize more screwdriver settings. An' I could finally explain the different kinds of temporal couplings to you so you'll be able to realign them without me havin' to look over your shoulder all the time."
Jack nods. "Kind of a briefing."
The Doctor chuckles and pulls Jack more tightly against him. "Right."
Jack smiles and lets his head rest on the Doctor's shoulder. A briefing. In bed. Without sex, but with lots of cuddling. He can definitely live with that.
The End