Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis/Torchwood/Doctor Who
Pairings/Character: 10th Doctor/Lorne/Sheppard, Jack/Ianto, TARDIS, McKay/Carson, Ronon/Martha, pre-Teyla/Tosh,
Summary: The TARDIS knows her Doctor is lonely and she vows to search through all of time and space until she finds the other half of her Doctor's soul. Major Evan Lorne has seen a lot of strange things but a matching-making Time Machine might be the strangest thing yet. However, someone isn't too happy with the Doctor's interest in Major Lorne and plans to make his own claim clear.
Beta: RoyalLadyEmma
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis, Torchwood or Doctor Who.
Written for the Major Big Bang at Slashing Lorne over at livejournal
Chapter 1
Every soul has a matching counterpart, their other half, and the moment they meet they are immediately drawn to one another. Once in a while, though, one soul can belong to more than one other. A certain Major was about to learn how true this can be.
Drifting peacefully in the vast silence of the void gave Jack and the TARDIS the time they so desperately needed to heal from the Master's cruelty. Jack's body was mending from the endless torture and death he had experienced at the hands of the madman, although his mind and his soul were healing at a much slower rate.
The Doctor had been able to repair the damaged TARDIS, successfully removing all traces of the Paradox Machine from her systems and then he'd disappeared into her depths to lick his wounds in private. Despite his isolation, the TARDIS could feel the aching loneliness that engulfed her solitary angel as if it were her own.
She was not a fool; she'd always known that her beloved Doctor was lonely. It had been the pervading emotion within her four walls ever since the day the Time War ended and her Doctor realised that he was the last of his kind. When he'd first boarded her, the TARDIS had thought that the brash Captain Jack Harkness would be the one to ease that loneliness and she welcomed him with open arms. Then, she looked into his future and saw the soul-binding love that would unite Jack with another, and they would be together, forever.
The TARDIS opened herself more fully than ever before so that she could soak up the overflowing waves of love that came from Jack and Ianto. Before heading to the void, the TARDIS had made a brief stop in Cardiff in order to pick up Jack's Ianto. She knew that the Welshman's loving touch was just what the broken soul of her beloved immortal was going to need to truly heal.
The TARDIS deeply regretted that she could not grant Jack's greatest wish of having a mortal life to spend with Ianto but she could grant Ianto's wish that he would never have to leave Jack. Without realising it, Jack, himself, had already laid the groundwork by sharing his vortex with Ianto; all the TARDIS had to do was wait for the right moment to inform them that Ianto was well on his way to becoming immortal.
Satisfied that she had done all she could to help Jack, the TARDIS happily entrusted her beloved captain to the safe hands of his soul mate while she focused on helping her lonely angel and the wounded Martha.
Being in the void meant that she could put the majority of her systems on automatic and devote herself to the search through all of time and space until she found his other half, the one soul that would resonate with her Doctor's, The TARDIS hummed with boundless joy as she found him in the distant Pegasus Galaxy on Atlantis. He was the only person in the Universe who would fit with her Doctor perfectly; she could hear the way his heart echoed with the same desperate loneliness that her dear Doctor's did.
A brief survey of her memory confirmed her suspicions that the Doctor had never visited Atlantis, although he had on one occasion met with a direct descendent of the Ancients. She peeked in on the Doctor; he was sprawled across a sofa in the Library, sound sleep – at last! – with a book on his chest and a half-empty cup of tea on the floor next to him. Able to study him without him knowing it, the TARDIS saw that there were new silver and gray strands in his hair and deep lines on his fact that hadn't been there before their journey to Malcassairo. Even though she'd been trapped below decks on the Valiant, she'd felt her Doctor's desperation and hopelessness during the Year That Never Was, and she'd been heartbroken that there was nothing she could do to help.
To her surprise and delight, the TARDIS was beyond pleased when she found a similar soul clearly intended for Martha, also on Atlantis. She was pleased the young medical student had finally realised that the Doctor would never look at her the way she wished he would and had finally opened her eyes to other possibilities. 'While Tom Milligan was a wonderful choice for Martha, he was not the only one or the best.' No, the TARDIS had found the perfect soul for Martha Jones.
'Oh, yes, I believe a visit to Atlantis is in order,' she thought gleefully. Workingcarefully to hide her match-making plans from her Doctor, the TARDIS began to seek out the best time to go and collect Major Evan Lorne. 'It's been a long time since we've had an artist onboard, I wonder if I could get him to paint me?'
Major Evan Lorne was excited; it was his first weekend off in what felt like forever. In fact, all of Atlantis was excited about finally getting some well-deserved down time. He was going to enjoy his time by finishing his latest painting.
'First, a nice relaxing hot shower,' Lorne quickly decided and in a matter of moments had stripped out of his gear and was headed towards his bathroom. 'I am really going to enjoy soothing his aching muscles under the hot water.' He sighed with pleasure as the spray hit his body, and he bowed his head and leaned against the wall so the shower could pound onto his shoulders.
The seemly permanent happy, contented smile on Jack's face soothed an ache deep in the Doctor's soul; he was so very happy that Jack found his soul mate in Ianto Jones. It was the young man's unwavering love for the immortal that was helping Jack to heal from his torture at the hands of the Master. Ianto stayed with Jack through thick and thin, celebrating his joys by day and enduring his nightmares at night. Through it all, the young Welshman remained warm, loving, and forgiving, although the Doctor had come across him late one night in the library. Ianto had been huddled in a corner, sobbing as though his heart were breaking. The Time Lord had quietly closed the door and wisely left Ianto to his privacy.
The Doctor didn't think there was any way he would ever be able to fully come to terms with the crushing guilt he felt for having used Jack the way he did. It was only because the Master had been kept so entertained by torturing and killing Jack that the Doctor had been able to tune himself in to the psychic power of the Archangel Network. If it weren't for the unending sacrifices Jack had made of his mind and body, Earth and the Universe would have fallen to the Master's evil vision.
The Doctor knew he had done great wrongs to Jack, just as he knew he had a long way to go to fix their friendship. But the Doctor also knew that whatever love Jack had for him once upon a time was gone, having been replaced with feelings of friendship. There was absolutely no doubt in the Doctor's mind that the one who now held Jack's heart was Ianto Jones. The Doctor was happy that Jack had found someone he could love truly and completely and more importantly, who could accept everything about the immortal. Ianto Jones was one in a million.
Yet watching them together made the Doctor's loneliness all the stronger and he occasionally begged off a group activity because their happiness was just too much to endure. He wished with both his hearts that he had someone to love and support him like Jack had with Ianto. In truth, the Doctor was the tiniest bit jealous that Ianto could so easily accept Jack for who he was, immortality included, when he himself still found it hard to even look at Jack without flinching. Adding to his list of sins against Jack was the fact that he'd never been able to hide his grimace of revulsion, however small, whenever he saw Jack.
It wasn't it until the TARDIS shuddered and wheezed through her typical landed did the Doctor break out of his dark, sombre thoughts. 'What are you up to?' the Doctor wondered as he studied his console. 'Where have you taken us, Idris?' He would have sworn that he heard her give a light, airy giggle in response to his questions.
"Doc, where are we?" Jack asked as he wandered over to the centre console to see what the man was looking at so intently, and since he was still holding Ianto's hand, the young Welshman was dragged along with him.
The Doctor stared at the console in disbelief, not sure if he was reading the displays right. "Well..." he began slowly, "I think the TARDIS brought us to Atlantis."
TBC...