Author's Notes: I don't own these characters. They belong to the BBC and/or Russell T. Davies.
Jack struggled against the arms that held him fast. Across from him, he could see the Doctor was in the same predicament.
"We are going to have so much fun with the two of you," a voice announced. Jack couldn't locate the source.
They – whoever they were – started to drag the Doctor away.
"NO! DOCTOR!"
The Doctor yelled something in response, but the words were garbled.
"Relax, Captain. You won't miss him for long."
Jack gasped awake in the quiet, dark room.
"Shh, my love," a female voice purred beside him. "It was only a dream."
Jack's breathing began to slow as he sagged back against the soft pillows. "Right. A dream."
"It was about him again, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Jack answered.
"My poor baby," the woman murmured, stroking his hair. "Here, this will help."
The touching stopped as Jack heard her pouring a liquid into a glass; he reached out for it. Her superior night vision enabled her to hand it to him without turning on a light. "Thanks, sweetheart." Jack took a healthy swig of the sweet liquid. He put the glass on his nightstand and settled back down, spooning against her warm body. "Same dream, too."
"It will pass, Jack."
Jack closed his eyes. "I know. Sorry to keep waking you up because of … him."
"It's all right. You know I require less sleep than you."
"Still." He yawned, drowsiness coming over him once again. "I'd give anything to stop dreaming about that son of a bitch."
When Jack awoke again, he was alone, and sunlight was streaming in through the large glass windows. He smiled and stretched lazily. It would be a few hours before Princess Yulena returned; he had the place to himself, as it were. He got up and pulled on some light clothing for a jog, checking his reflection in the enormous mirror on the wall. It stretched for a full eight feet and stood six feet tall. He had asked Yulena about it, but she simply said that it had been installed ages ago, and she had grown used to it.
After a few weeks, Jack was nearly used to it as well. Sometimes it made it seem as if there was someone else in the room with him, but he was getting over his unease. He stretched carefully, warming up and inspecting his reflection at the same time. He had to keep himself in top condition; it wouldn't do for the Princess's betrothed to be seen looking unkempt. Satisfied at his appearance, he left the royal apartment, nodding to the guards in the hallway before making his way down to one of the many, impeccably landscaped courtyards. He jogged four laps around it.
The Palace of the Gontreckna family was immense, easily the size of a city. Jack seldom went outside it anymore, as he had to be under royal guard when he did. And Yulena was never happy about it when she was told later. Jack decided instead to content himself by spending his days inside the palace walls, exploring, relaxing, and generally having no demands made of him whatsoever. He laughed sometimes when he imagined what the Doctor would think of him now, living in the lap of luxury. Even his Torchwood team probably would have been surprised. But with so many lifetimes ahead of him, Jack was determined to live at least one of them comfortably. Yulena knew of his "condition," which was part of the reason he would never actually rule the planet. Wouldn't be fair to have an immortal king, he thought to himself as he sat down by one of the sculptures. He looked up at the pink sky, enjoying the sun on his face.
After being dropped and abandoned on this planet, Yulena had taken him in and eventually asked him to spend the rest of her days with her. To his own surprise, at first, he had said yes. Now, he could hardly think of wanting another life. He knew that when Yulena eventually passed – though Ontuksians had lifespans that were twice that of humans – he would move on. But that was a long way off. Yulena was young.
Jack looked up as he heard a faint noise coming from the palace. He tried to jog towards the source of it, but he couldn't locate it. "What's that sound?" he asked one of the guards.
"I'm afraid that the royal family keeps many pets, some of which become unruly from time to time. I apologize for the disturbance, sir. Shall I check on it for you?"
"Nah. I was just curious. Never mind," Jack answered, jogging back to the rooms he shared with Yulena. The noise had stopped, but for some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He had never seen any pets at the palace. He made a mental note to look for them later as he stepped into the shower. He didn't want to be late for breakfast – or brunch – or whatever the proper name for the meal was. His new lifestyle was worth the price of playing domestic with the royal family at designated intervals.
The Doctor tried to lie as still as possible. He switched to respiratory bypass, since breathing hurt, due to his broken ribs. He faintly tried to think of the last time he had eaten anything and couldn't remember. The long Ontuksian days blurred together, even with his superior time sense. He was too busy trying to stay alive.
He heard the cell door open, though he lacked the energy to even lift his head; his back was to the door.
"Are we starting to wear you down, Doctor? That's a bit disappointing."
The Doctor forced his eyes to stay open, even though he was staring at the wall. "What've you done with Jack? Where is he?"
"Your concern for him is touching, if completely baffling, Doctor. He can't die. You can. I will never understand why you keep asking about him."
"Because I know what you can do," the Doctor said, keeping the waver out of his voice. "I know how you can play with people's minds. Where is he?"
"He's safe and well, if you must know," the man answered, coming closer. "In fact, you'll be able to see him soon."
"What've you done to him?"
The man laughed harshly. "Made him happy, Doctor. Something I doubt you could have done successfully."
The Doctor mentally winced; he had hardly had the chance to try. It had only been a few weeks since he had brought Jack back from Azamarya. Things had been going well but slowly. They thought they had all the time in the universe until they decided to answer a distress call from this planet. It had turned out to be a trap for them both.
"Are you going to be angry with us for that?" the man challenged.
"Yes, because it's not real," the Doctor ground out.
"Of course it's real. But anyway, enough chat for now. Since I doubt you can manage it yourself, I'll have the guards bring you to your new quarters. Then you'll be able to see Jack whenever you want."
"I'm warning you; undo whatever you've put into his head. Let him go."
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but he's betrothed to my sister."
"What?!" The Doctor involuntarily jerked at that and bit back a cry of pain.
"Oh, did no one tell you? One day, he's going to marry Yulena. I wouldn't dream of breaking her heart by taking away her fiancé."
The Doctor fought down a wave of nausea. "No," he whispered. He took a deep breath. "This is wrong. It isn't real!"
A staff impacted with the Doctor's legs. The Time Lord screamed, trying not to writhe in pain or move at all.
"Take him to his new quarters," the prince told the guards. "I can't wait to see his face."
To be continued ...