"Don't move him." Jack cautioned. "I need to check the circuits first."
The Captain carefully walked around the cryogenic capsule checking for cracks and shorts in the circuitry. Something had shifted during the Welsh earthquake five days ago, causing an automated warning of possible awakening to be sent to the Conservancy. Jack Harkness slipped off his RAF greatcoat and folded it, before he crawled underneath the platform of the capsule holding the torch steady on the main panel. There were small cracks in the casing, probably due to the scattered limestone loosened by the quake. These would widen if the capsule shifted, compromising the environmental system
"Vital signs are steady," noted the Catkin doctor. She kept an eye on the monitors as she scraped away the debris from the transparent portion revealing the face. "Breathing shallow, but within the range." Mara could see the family resemblance in the strong jaw line, chiseled features, and unruly hair. She cast a sideways glance at Jack as he worked. This was not the confident man she had seen in the field. The Captain was troubled.
Jack finished repairing what he could of the circuits, but could see that some parts were permanently damaged from by the first jolt of the quake. The limestone tunnel system had been cool and dry when he had first set up this hiding place for Gray's capsule and the material he could salvage of the Torchwood Archives after the Hub was destroyed. He had rigged a monitoring system, and faithfully came back at least once a year to check on Gray; each year hoping for a medical breakthrough that would cure his brother's insanity. Now new cracks in the surface of the wall of rock showed signs of moisture and stagnant water pooled around him as he shivered in the cold. The cave and tunnel system was no longer secure.
As the Captain crawled back in front of the container, Mara handed him a towel from her kit to dry off, and then his coat.
"We will need to move the chamber to the TARDIS, then transfer Gray to the infirmary," noted Mara. "We need to do this slowly, Jack. This can't be rushed."
Jack grimly nodded in agreement. They turned to the sound of footsteps crunching towards them through the tunnel debris. The light of another torch played on the walls as the younger man made his way to them.
"We have to move the archive," Jens sighed as he reached their position. "Some of the connecting tunnels are weak, and then there is the problem of seepage." He stopped. "You're sure you don't want to give some of this stuff to UNIT?"
Jack pursed his lips and frowned. His blue eyes flashed with annoyance. "I don't trust bureaucracies, especially UNIT. Too much of this stuff would be devastating in the wrong hands." He looked back at the capsule.
"How is he doing?" asked Jens as he came closer.
Mara checked her instruments. "No apparent damage, but we need to transfer him to the sick bay and get him out of this contraption," Her light blue eyes and gray fur gave her a ghostly appearance in the torch lit cave. Even though she was part human, the Catkin genes were clearly dominant. "Could you pull the cart over here so we can position it under the cryogenic unit?"
The Time Lord went to the entrance of the cave and retrieved the cart. Mara watched as the two men struggled to place the container on the cart and labored to push it out the cave entrance. She had known Jen for a long time and jumped at the chance to work together, even though the call was at short notice. They teamed as medics treating the survivors of the Trinairan conflict on Epsilon Three. That was long before Jack, and the regeneration that changed her gender. The fine female features had strengthened to the more chiseled manly visage, still striking enough to beckon a second look from strangers of both sexes. Mara smiled as she listened to the two men as they carefully maneuvered the cart over the uneven rocky floor of the cave.
Jen had matured from the flighty teenager Mara had first encountered. She was now an experienced medic and scientist, with a keen mind and cool under pressure. Jen was well known in the Interstellar Nature Conservancy for her careful pragmatic approach to search and rescue operations. Most were surprised to hear she paired up with the unpredictable Jack Harkness, or that he stuck around long enough to have a serious relationship. After the regeneration, it was an even bigger revelation that she was a chronarch, now a male, and the offspring of the Doctor. Adding an "s" to her name morphing it to the Nordic version of John helped. Those outside their circle of friends assumed Jen had left with their daughter Toshi, and the flirtatious Jack had just moved on to another lover. The Conservancy kept the truth about both of them on a limited need to know basis, but rumors still spread.
"Do you want to transfer all of the Archives today, or do you want to come back?" asked Jens as they pushed the container up the slope of the cavern.
"All of it, I'm sure UNIT knows I am in the area and are already looking for us," muttered Jack. He turned at the entrance of the cave to check for observers. There were no signs of intruders in the isolated mountainous area. "Mara is strong, and her assistant can help after he finishes preparing for Gray in the infirmary."
Mara gathered her medical instruments and trailed after them until they reached Jens' TARDIS. Ajit met them at the door of the TARDIS and helped wheel the unit into the infirmary. Jack had been surprised at Mara's insistence that she bring her adopted son with her, but her résumé was flawless and Jens vouched for her judgment. The seventeen year old was small, but wiry and strong. He helped them transfer the heavy chamber to a table near the hospital bed, and quietly followed the Captain's orders to change the settings to start the transfer procedure. His dark eyes watched as Gray's color improved when the hiss of oxygen flow was corrected. Soon the unconscious man would be ready to transfer to the hospital bed in the center of the small infirmary.
"Agit and I will start transferring the Archives and set up a cataloging system in the library," said Jens. The young Time Lord knew that the questions that were sure to be surfacing in Jack's mind would need to be addressed with the doctor in privacy. Ajit followed him back to the cave, while Jack stood by the cryogenic unit, watching the rise and fall of his brother's chest, and the faint sound of a beating heart on the monitor.
"There is no sign of cellular damage," the doctor reassured the former Time Agent. "I know you were concerned, but it looks to me that the essential systems were operational, even after the quake damage."
Jack was quiet. Memories of his last meeting with Gray flooded his mind. His brother had tried to kill him, and his actions did result in the deaths of his teammates Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato. He closed his eyes remembering the glare of hate when his brother refused to forgive him, and the moment of surprise when he pressed the chloroformed cloth to his brother's face to stop his murderous rampage, and to prepare him in cryogenic stasis.
Mara drew closer and gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Psychology has come a long way in four hundred years. I did not see any physical anomalies or brain patterns that would point to insanity." She drew Jack closer. "I think it is a form of severe post traumatic stress disorder. We have better medication and therapy for that now."
"He blames me," Jack said softly. "My father trusted me to take care of him, and I let go of his hand." Jack continued to watch Gray in the coffin-like container. "He was held captive by those horrible creatures for years, because I failed him."
"You were a child yourself!" Mara protested. "How old were you? Twelve? Thirteen?" She squeezed his shoulder as he turned away. "Jack! Look at me! Please."
Jack turned back to meet her gaze.
"If your daughter had been in your place, would you have blamed her?"
Jack shrugged then shook his head. "It's not the same."
There was no way to reason with him, she thought to herself. Best leave it for another day. There was much to be done in the infirmary and in the storage of the Torchwood Archives before they returned to the Interstellar Nature Conservancy for the next assignment.
"In about six hours, it will be safe to transfer Gray to the hospital bed," Mara pointed out. "I can monitor this myself. Why don't you help Jens with the Archives? I'll signal you when I need you."
Jack hesitated as he turned back to look at his brother, then nodded in agreement. "Let me know if there are any changes."
The next hours were spent transferring the dusty boxes of records and stored alien artifacts to the TARDIS. The sentient ship added the necessary storage rooms as more was brought in. Jack smiled sadly as he reviewed Ianto's faded handwriting on the meticulous records. He thought back on how the archivist labored over each entry, insisting that the cataloging be clear and concise. The Welshman was right, as usual. Even after four hundred years, Jack deeply grieved his death.
After the twelfth load, Jens ordered Ajit to take a rest in the library while he and Jack went back for the rest of the items. He could tell his partner needed to talk.
"I can tell when something is eating at you," Jens prodded his lover as he stacked the last of the containers on the cart. "What are you thinking?"
The Captain continued to adjust the boxes silently. Jens looked at him expectantly. Finally Jack stopped and looked up.
"What if we can't cure him?" asked Jack. "What then? I can survive anything, but he could seriously hurt the rest of you. And what about Toshi? How is she going to respond to her uncle?"
The young Time Lord stopped loading the cart and turned to Jack. His short dark hair and trim physique was silhouetted in the fading light outside the cave entrance.
"One thing at a time, Jack. Mara thinks she can help him. Trust her." He circled around the cart and stepped behind Jack. He put his arms around his waist and kissed him on cheek. "Trust us, just trust us."
Jack gave him a slight smile and shrugged. His wrist strap beeped with a message from the doctor. He met Jens' eyes. "We need to go back. She is ready to transfer Gray."
Readers Note: I started this series of stories on the Doctor Who site as a writing exercise, but it caught on and and evolved. I wondered what Jack's life would be like in the future beyond Miracle Day if he met the Doctor's Daughter, Jen. In the last four stories, they worked as a team, and had a daughter Toshi. Jen was mortally wounded and regenerated as a man. The Doctor comes in and out of the storyline. The stories can be read separately. This will be a much darker story because it focuses on the return of Gray. If you would like an email alert link for the next chapter, check "Follow story" at the bottom. I listen to readers so reviews and PM suggestions are welcome.