Story: Reprieve
Jack came back to life with his usual loud gasp which, to his great surprise, didn’t fill his mouth with dirt. Obviously, he wasn’t in the ground. He was someplace pleasant, with a gentle humming just like…
The TARDIS. The TARDIS med bay, to be precise.
“Hello, Jack,” said the Doctor, putting down a ridiculously thick book.
Sitting up, Jack made the first comment that came to mind. “No dirt?”
“The TARDIS teleport is very sensitive,” replied the Doctor. “Left the ring, though. You said that was important.”
“I said… oh.” Obviously, they were meeting at different points on their personal timelines. “I guess I have to mention this someday, then.”
“Oh, you didn’t tell me that I came. Just said you spent a long time in the ground. Thought I’d spare you.”
“My knight in time-traveling armor.”
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
“So… you’re not going to help, then?”
“Can’t.”
Jack nodded, unsurprised.
“The hardest thing about being a Time Lord, Jack, is not interfering.”
He’d been a Time Agent, and Rose had once confessed what happened when she tried to save her dad, so he understood. Sparing him some two thousand years of repeated suffocation wouldn’t interfere with the timeline (for which Jack was grateful), but anything more than that would. He nodded. “Thanks for the shortcut.”
The Doctor shrugged, “It’s nothing, really.”
And then Jack understood. Whatever happened - was going to happen - back in Cardiff, it wasn’t going to have a happy ending. It was there, in the Doctor’s eyes for a couple of seconds. Letting Jack skip time in the ground was nothing compared to what he had the power to change, but could not.
All the same, there was one hopeful aspect, which was that the Doctor cared enough about him, personally, that he took the initiative to find a way for Jack to avoid a distinctly unpleasant two millennia. Even if he’d accepted that those centuries of death would be his penance. Jack had learned to take his silver linings where he could.
“I’d better get back.” Whatever was going to happen, he’d rather face it sooner than later.
“Right.”
They headed to the console room. “So, I’ll see you around?” he asked the Doctor.
“Yep.”
The Doctor operated the TARDIS with his usual flair. Jack found it comforting to know that he’d be seeing the Time Lord again. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m guessing I have to go back in the ground?”
“Well, yes.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve calibrated the timing as precisely as I can, but I don’t know exactly when Torchwood will show up.”
“A lot sooner than they would’ve, from my perspective.” And maybe he’d get some of that penance in anyway.
“See you around, Jack.”
He winked at the Time Lord before the teleport activated and he was once again buried in Cardiff. Only this time he could anticipate being unburied very soon.
There was something to be said for an old friend stopping by now and again.
The TARDIS. The TARDIS med bay, to be precise.
“Hello, Jack,” said the Doctor, putting down a ridiculously thick book.
Sitting up, Jack made the first comment that came to mind. “No dirt?”
“The TARDIS teleport is very sensitive,” replied the Doctor. “Left the ring, though. You said that was important.”
“I said… oh.” Obviously, they were meeting at different points on their personal timelines. “I guess I have to mention this someday, then.”
“Oh, you didn’t tell me that I came. Just said you spent a long time in the ground. Thought I’d spare you.”
“My knight in time-traveling armor.”
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
“So… you’re not going to help, then?”
“Can’t.”
Jack nodded, unsurprised.
“The hardest thing about being a Time Lord, Jack, is not interfering.”
He’d been a Time Agent, and Rose had once confessed what happened when she tried to save her dad, so he understood. Sparing him some two thousand years of repeated suffocation wouldn’t interfere with the timeline (for which Jack was grateful), but anything more than that would. He nodded. “Thanks for the shortcut.”
The Doctor shrugged, “It’s nothing, really.”
And then Jack understood. Whatever happened - was going to happen - back in Cardiff, it wasn’t going to have a happy ending. It was there, in the Doctor’s eyes for a couple of seconds. Letting Jack skip time in the ground was nothing compared to what he had the power to change, but could not.
All the same, there was one hopeful aspect, which was that the Doctor cared enough about him, personally, that he took the initiative to find a way for Jack to avoid a distinctly unpleasant two millennia. Even if he’d accepted that those centuries of death would be his penance. Jack had learned to take his silver linings where he could.
“I’d better get back.” Whatever was going to happen, he’d rather face it sooner than later.
“Right.”
They headed to the console room. “So, I’ll see you around?” he asked the Doctor.
“Yep.”
The Doctor operated the TARDIS with his usual flair. Jack found it comforting to know that he’d be seeing the Time Lord again. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m guessing I have to go back in the ground?”
“Well, yes.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve calibrated the timing as precisely as I can, but I don’t know exactly when Torchwood will show up.”
“A lot sooner than they would’ve, from my perspective.” And maybe he’d get some of that penance in anyway.
“See you around, Jack.”
He winked at the Time Lord before the teleport activated and he was once again buried in Cardiff. Only this time he could anticipate being unburied very soon.
There was something to be said for an old friend stopping by now and again.