Can't Fix You
Chapter I | Radio Silence
It had been twenty odd years since James had seen his father. He could still remember the day that he had to go away. Chloe and he were playing in the back yard when something came out of the brush.
Something that wasn't from there.
Something that came after them.
If it hadn't been for their father, it probably would have killed them both. Their mother wrapped her arms around both her children as she watched her husband wrestle the beast to the ground. Once he had gotten it down and into the van, he ran back over to the house, wanting to check his two little ones. The scratches on his body were already healing and James stared with them with a fascination he had never expressed for anything.
And at the moment he knew that his father wasn't normal.
Karen yanked both children away from him before he could touch them. "Don't touch them Jack! What was that, what are you?! I want you to leave." James looked up at his mother, his sister was already crying and his father looked heartbroken as he stood to head out of the door.
James wriggled out of his mother's hold and ran straight for his father.
"James Kimberly!"
He ignored her shouts and leapt into his father's arms, wrapping them around his neck to hold him tightly. "I don't want you to leave da', please don't leave. Don't go." He didn't say anything for a long moment, just holding his son, inhaling his scent to remember him.
And finally he spoke, but it wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"Be a good boy for your mom."
Jack placed him on the ground and James watched as his father vanished from his life.
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James fidgeted as he sat on the examination table. He was listening to the doctor a little. Fading in and out as he stared at the PET scans. He lit up again. The cancer was in his hip and spreading down to the thigh muscles, along with his lungs.
His eyes hurt from staring at the bright screen for so long. Who knew that something so small. Those tiny little white dots on his lungs and in his hip, were the things that were killing him.
A tight squeeze to his hand and the sound of the door shutting brought him out of his daze, looking over at Davy. He's been with Davy since he was twenty-two. James was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma two years later, and then given another five to live. Of course he'd been living with it for about three now, that didn't mean he had two years to go.
No matter how hard he tried to push Davy away, the bastard was too stubborn to leave him. So here he was, looking over the PET scans with him, listening to the doctor when he knew James couldn't.
James inhaled and exhaled a little, smiling over at him. "What did he say? I wasn't listening." Davy laughed and moved his hand to brush a curl out of his face. "Of course you weren't." He sighed a little and lowered his head, smile fading from his face. "He said it's getting more aggressive. Maybe a year and a half at this rate since it's spreading to your lungs now."
"Hmmn. Well it explains why I'm having issues getting my breath."
Davy nodded lightly, staring at their hands. He looked sad again. But Davy always looked sad now. They had been friends since they were three. He was losing the person who met the most to him. Who made him feel useful. James often thought about what Davy would do once he died. Would he go back to work? He had told him that he was made redundant, but he knew he quit to stay home and take care of him.
"So what do we do now?"
"I think you should get together with your dad. You need to tell him what's going on."
James sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. He had looked for years to find his father again, it wasn't until recently that it had actually paid off. He worked somewhere down by the harbor. "I suppose your right. I'll talk to him and see if I can come down to see him." He replied as pushed himself up off the table. He held onto Davy as he stood, already panting a little as he was helped into his coat. James reached and grabbed his cane. "I'll drop you at home and go get something to eat, give you a chance to call the old man."
James almost laughed but stopped himself, nodding over to him. "Yeah, okay sounds good."
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He stared at the number on his phone, finally he clicked send and pressed it to his ear, listening as it started ringing.
"Hello, Touchwood, this is Ianto Jones, may I help you?"
James frowned a little and cleared his throat. "I'm looking for Jack Harkness, is he there?" The line was quiet for a moment before it clicked and another voice answered.
"Jack Harkness?"
"Uh—H-Hey da'. It's James."
The sounds of shuffling and something falling over made him smile a little. He resisted the urge to laugh but finally gave in when he heard his father curse.
"James! How are you? Christ, it's been forever. Everything okay?"
No.
Nothing's okay.
"Yeah, everything's fine. You're just a hard man to track down." He laughed a little and stared at his knee for a long moment before speaking again. "So, if it's okay with you, I'd like to come see you today or whenever." There was silence on the other side of the phone.
"Sure Jamie. You know where I am I assume?"
"Yeah, I have the address. Can I come today?"
"Yeah, it's just me and Ianto right now, probably better so the whole team doesn't swamp you. Come on by."
James' heart felt like it was going to beat out of his bloody chest. He still sounded the same as he had twenty years ago when he left. "I'll see you in a little while okay?"
"Sure thing kiddo. Hey—I love you James."
"Love you too da'."
The phone went dead and James pulled himself up. He scribbled out a quick note and headed out the door.
Davy,
Went to go see my dad, be home later.
Love you,
James.
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Walking up to the building, James furrowed his brows. This didn't look like anything. What the hell did he do for a living? Finally he just shook his head and headed inside. He looked around at the quiet interior, before he leaned over the desk and called out. "Hello? Anyone here?"
After about five minutes he was going to give up and leave, but finally someone came out of the curtain. He was a young man. Probably about his age. "Are you James?" He asked extending a hand to him, which James took after shifting his cane.
"Yes, I'm Jack's son."
The younger man looked a little stunned but kept his smile and nodded, hitting a button. A large metal door started to move and James looked over. "Down the stairs, go left, up the stairs and take a right at the computers. His office is at the end of the hall."
"Heh… thank you, um, you must be Ianto huh?" The man nodded and slipped back behind the curtain, leaving James to find his way up on his own. He walked down the stairs, having to stop and catch his breath before he could continue. James walked into the hub and gaped at everything. He'd never seen anything like it.
A loud shriek made him cover his head, he had to resist the urge to hit the floor. If he did, he'd never get up without help. Slowly he made his way over to the steps and walked up them, heading right at the computers like Ianto had told him to. Very lightly he knocked at the door and was waved in.
He was right.
His father hadn't aged a day.
Twenty years later and he was still—well him.
Jack smiled when he saw him and stood from his chair, walking over to wrap his arms tightly around him. "Ohh, Jamie. It's been a long time." The younger man nodded to him and held him as tight as he could for a moment before pulling back. "Twenty years and you—heh. You haven't changed."
He smiled sheepishly and rubbed his head a little before nodding. "Can't die, therefore I don't age."
James immediately felt a twinge of jealously. Here he was, twenty-seven years old and he was dying. Slow and painful, and his father couldn't die or grow old. He assumed that meant he couldn't get sick either.
"James? Jamie are there kiddo?"
He shook his head and blinked as he was knocked out of his daze. He hadn't even realized that he had slipped into one. "I—oh, Christ yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired."
Jack looked over at him, eyes scanning up and down his thin figure, trying to figure out what was really wrong with him. "What happened to your leg? Were you in an accident or something?"
His breathing was getting hard the more he stared at him. He had to tell him now, but part of him wished he had brought Davy with him. James didn't know if he could get the words out. "I—I have something to tell you." He watched as the older man leaned against his desk and nodded for him to continue.
James was shaking.
He was scared to get the words out.
He was scared to hurt his father.
"I—I have cancer."
He swallowed hard and stared at his feet, god now he was afraid to look up at him.
"Oh—Is it—?"
He nodded and cut him off before he could ask.
"It terminal. I'm dying."
Finally his eyes moved up to look at Jack's and James instantly regretted it.