A/N: Several of my online fic friends (special thanks to ScrewedRiver) have asked for more stories with Evie, an original character I created as a friend to River Song during her time at Luna University, and as a lover of the man who will eventually be Jack Harkness (Nightmares and Dreamscapes). A few have also asked for more friendship stories - sexytimes or not - with some combination of Eleven / River / Jack / TARDIS (special thanks to BeverlyMaldoran) and I love to write those (Rooms in Time and Space, Bridges, and Shut Up; aka the Contact series).
And, as you know, more stories about Jack Harkness and the dark behind the flirting are always on the wish lists (special thanks to SnowyAshes) of, well, everyone with a pulse. Probably some people without one; Jack's not picky.
Enjoy.
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Captain Jack Harkness knew that the TARDIS - Sexy Thing - liked him again. And he was fairly sure her pilot did too, given that the last time they'd seen each other he'd been in bed with the Doctor and his wife. The mostly-human wife, not the TARDIS herself. He allowed himself to think about the possibility of that for a moment, then shook his head; it would be... logistically difficult, at least it would if it were more than just the two of them, or if it was physical... But even though he knew the TARDIS liked him again, he was a little surprised to see her there on the street corner in downtown Cardiff, especially as the Doctor was nowhere to be seen.
Jack crossed the busy street and knocked once on the police box door, whereupon it opened of its own accord. Uh-oh, he thought; she doesn't usually do that on her own. He poked his head in. "Doctor?" he called, "River?" No answer. "Old Girl, where are they?" he asked, addressing the TARDIS. He felt the headache he got when she talked to him directly, along with a wash of affection and a picture of a... a prison? No, a dungeon, a proper Earth dungeon, circa...fourteenth century? That can't be good. He climbed in and sat in the Doctor's jump seat. "Okay, Sexy Thing and Jack to the rescue, can you take me to them?" He felt the wash of emotion again, this time of mingled anxiety and agreement, and then the whooshing sound began and she shook as she flung them into the void between times.
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"River, can you hear me? River!" The Doctor's whisper was frantic as he urgently tried to wake his wife from her catatonic state. He'd gotten a note from her on his psychic paper, and all it had said was "I'm a child crying alone in the night," plus the coordinates for a fourteenth century keep just north of London. When he had arrived in the TARDIS River was nowhere to be seen, but the sound of arguing voices came from the guardhouse.
And what they had to say was not good. Very very not good, he thought, as he heard a loud voice say, "I say she's possessed by a demon! Y'don't see no normal girl covered in marks like that, I say they're the Devil's marks!" and then a calming voice but he couldn't make out the words, and the first voice demanding that they burn the witch.
The Doctor swore extensively under his breath in Gallifreyan when he heard River's uncharacteristically hysterical voice pleading with the men to just listen, because there are aliens about and they're controlling you, all of you! When River's voice was cut off by the meaty sound of someone's mailed fist striking her face, the Doctor lost control. How dare they! He didn't bother with the sonic; it looked like the door was wooden anyway, latch and all, and just backed up a few steps and charged. The wooden door gave way and the Doctor fell in a heap at River's feet as someone clubbed him on the head from behind.
When he awoke, it was dark. Not night-dark, and his time sense suggested it was still daytime, but gloom-dark, and he shook his head to clear it, sparking a dreadful headache. He groaned and dropped his head into his hands, trying to remember what had happened. He'd gotten a message from... River! His face came up out of his hands and he ignored the headache as he looked wildly around the tiny space for her. River, my River, where are you? There she was, curled up in a corner just inches away and she was asle- no, she was unconscious. "River, can you hear me? River!"
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When the TARDIS bumped to a stop, Jack stood up and took a deep breath. "Well, Old Girl," he said, "Off to the rescue. Any ideas?" He felt a wave of trust that he could handle it and a vague impression of the first Doctor he had met - the Ninth - wearing a jumper and a leather jacket in the nineteenth century. "Oh, good one, Sexy," Jack said, patting her console fondly and heading off to find the wardrobe. When he emerged, in full doublet, hose, and all the accoutrements of a wealthy late-fourteenth-century townsman, he swore he heard a snicker come from the console. "Stop it," he said with mock severity, "You can help me with the language, but I've got to look the part." He put his hood up to hide his short hair and took another deep breath before exiting the TARDIS.
Jack emerged at the edge of a forest just outside a keep or a fort of some kind. Dungeon's probably under there, he thought, sighing. Let's go see what's what. He headed toward what looked like a guard post, and rolled his eyes when a belligerent-looking man in chain armor stepped out of it and stood, legs spread and hands on hips. "Ho there!" shouted the man as Jack approached, "What business d'you have here?"
Jack affected a bored look. "I've come to collect two escaped patients of mine, my good man," he said not bothering to use the appropriate version of English; he knew that Sexy Thing would take care of any translation issues. "I represent Bethlem Royal Hospital." The man stuttered apologies about how he didn't know and how could he possibly have known, right this way sir, I'll take you to them, let me just get the guard captain, and Jack let the man witter on as he scoped the place. It was a good thing that Bedlam was already a name to conjure with, or Jack could've been in trouble; this place was foul. He shuddered to think what they'd done with the Doctor and River, and regretted taking another deep breath (ugh, the smell!) as the voluble guard opened the door to the guard house and waved "milord doctor from Bedlam" through it.
Jack entered the room and introduced himself by the title the guardsman had bestowed upon him, then said, as if it were a very minor point, "I understand that two of my patients escaped their transport to Bethlem Royal Hospital and came here to your keep. I've a specially locked carriage waiting at the edge of the woods, if you would be so kind as to bring them here?" He looked inquiringly at the man who must be the guard captain. The captain snapped his fingers - his gauntlets were sitting on a table next to him - and a smaller, younger man dashed out a doorway in the back of the room.
"You should keep better control of your patients, milord doctor," the captain said mildly, "I'm afraid there was some... damage to your female patient, as my men feared she was marked by the Beast." He raised one eyebrow as Jack winced in spite of himself; who knew what the people of this time considered "damage"? "You are concerned for the wench?" the man continued, "Even a madwoman? Don't be; I wouldn't let my men do any permanent damage, and perhaps the blow to the head has cured her madness." He laughed, clearly taking Jack's reaction as that of a soft townsman, rather than a "real man". The captain clapped Jack on the back in a friendly manner, and Jack allowed his knees to buckle slightly in an effort to encourage the assumption, and then winced again as the Doctor staggered through the door, carrying an unconscious River Song, who was wearing clothing appropriate to the era. He hoped the Doctor would forgive him for what he was about to do.
"All right," he said impatiently, "Give her here. And don't run off again," he hurried on as the Doctor opened his mouth to protest. He took River's limp form from the Time Lord, squeezing his hand gently during the transfer, and breathed a sigh of relief as the Doctor's mouth snapped shut. He looked around. "Can I expect you to come quietly with me to the special carriage, uh, Mister Chronos?" The Doctor looked incredulous, but managed a nod. Jack almost laughed at the expression on the Doctor's face, but managed to squash the reaction, nodded once, and jerked his head toward the door. "Let's go, then."
"Wait," said the captain, and a guard blocked the doorway. Jack froze. "How can I be sure you're who you say you are?" he asked Jack suspiciously.
"You can't," piped up the Doctor, "because I've got his papers." He dug in his pocket for the psychic paper, giggling maniacally. Jack groaned inwardly, thinking, now he's going to play the part of the madman to the hilt. Wonderful. The Doctor held the wallet holding the paper high, waving it around and continuing to giggle, "I've got his papers, I've got his papers," he said in a high sing-song voice.
The captain looked carefully at the Doctor, then turned to Jack. "Is he dangerous?" he asked, jerking his head at the Doctor.
Only to himself, once River gets ahold of him, Jack thought, but shrugged as best he could while holding River. "Not really," he said offhandedly, "just annoying."
The captain looked unconvinced. "Just the same," he said slowly, "I'm sending one of my men with you to this special carriage of yours." He looked Jack up and down with open contempt, "because frankly, I don't think you can handle the both of them by yourself." Jack nodded resignedly as the captain directed one of his men to take the Doctor's arm, and then they left the guard house and started toward the edge of the wood.
"You know," said the Doctor in a confiding tone to the man holding him by one arm, "the carriage is very special. Yes, very special indeed." He nodded owlishly at the man, who was walking as far away as he could without releasing the Doctor's elbow. "It locks you up and the only place they can let you out is Bedlam," he continued, and then turned to stand in front of his captor and began to sing, walking backward. Jack disguised laughter as a cough; he hadn't known the Doctor knew the lyrics and the tune to Tom O'Bedlam. And he had a surprisingly good singing voice as well, a nice clear baritone.
By the time the little party arrived at the edge of the forest, the guard was completely unnerved, and only too happy to avoid the "special carriage" entirely. Jack was fairly sure that had been the Doctor's point, and made a show of thanking the young guardsman profusely for taking care of his patients. When he waxed lyrical for the fourth time about how wonderful the guards had been, the young man fled, and the smile drained off Jack's face as the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS doors. He wordlessly deposited River into the Doctor's arms and they went inside, heading to the medical bay, where the Doctor laid River gently on the exam table and began to fuss with assorted controls and mutter to himself, pausing every so often to kiss the bruise on River's temple. Jack swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat at the sight; they were so... so tender with each other, even at their sexiest, and it was beautiful to see.
Jack watched and worried. He cleared his throat. "Can I help?" he asked. The Doctor waved one hand at him distractedly and grunted noncommittally. Jack sighed; he was fretting too, but the Doctor was nearly frantic and couldn't spare the energy to be courteous. "Right," he said, "I'll go find out where the TARDIS has put the kitchen, make you some fish fingers and custard, okay?" and was rewarded by a quick smile and a mumbled thanks. Good enough.
When he came back with the food - he'd brought vanilla and lemon - he saw to his relief that River was awake and sitting up, though she looked pale and a bit unfocused. He winced sympathetically, but put on his cheerful face. "Gave us a bit of a scare, Mrs Doctor River Song," he said teasingly, "but no permanent harm done, I trust?" She smiled weakly at him. "And you, Doctor, have some fish fingers and custard? They're not bad," he said, munching on one. The Doctor looked anxiously at River, and she smiled at him.
"Go, my love," she said, "talk to Sexy. That will make you feel better. Jack will look after me, won't you, Jack?"
Jack nodded, handed the Doctor the platter of snacks on his way over to the exam table, and swallowed the fish fingers. The Doctor left the room and Jack sat by the table. "Fish finger?" he asked River, and she shuddered slightly. He laughed, then sobered. "You really did have us worried, River. When will you remember that you're an archaeologist, not an anthropologist? DId you have to come to the here and now to investigate?"
She shook her head, and winced at the pain. "I had to; I couldn't do the research from my cell in Stormcage, or from Earth in any later century." She looked up at him, green eyes swimming with tears. "But I saw... I saw... dammit, I can't remember what I saw, Jack, but it scared me. Badly enough that I forgot myself and told the guardsmen that they were under attack, because I truly believed they were, and..." her words were coming faster now, heading toward hysteria, and he took her hand, stroking it gently until she calmed a bit. "I don't know what it was, Jack, but whatever I saw, it terrified me."
She looked utterly woebegone, not a usual expression on her face, and Jack kissed her lightly on the lips. "It's alright, River, the Doctor and I will look after you until we can figure this out, and then you'll be back to your usual self-"
"Right," said the Doctor from the doorway, "and I know just who to go to for help. Sexy's very helpful that way... River, do you remember Evie? From Luna University?"
River nodded, her face lighting up, "Of course I do," she said, "and she already knows some of the history, and... Jack?" She turned her attention to him. "Jack, you're hurting my hand," she said sharply, tugging on it. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern as he let go of the maltreated hand.
Jack nodded, but his eyes were distant, and his apology for squeezing her hand too tightly was perfunctory at best. He looked at the Doctor. "Evie?" he said, his voice strange, "Short curvy redheaded psychiatry student? At Luna University in the 5120s?" The Doctor nodded, a half-smile ghosting about his lips. He'd thought Jack had known Evie, but he had almost forgotten...
New guy," Evie had said, "goes by Boe, 'cause he's from the Boeshane peninsula on some colony that got wiped out last century, and they brought him here...
"I loved her," Jack said simply, and smiled.