If you were to take your time and observe James Sterling very closely, you could notice one most peculiar thing about the strange Interpol agent. A lot of the time you would see him with a glass of fine old Craig, but you would never see him touching the liquor.
Not ever.
He would hold the glass in his hands like a precious gem, swirling the liquid around the crystal glass, taking a deep breath and enjoy the smell of the rich tasty alcohol. But the glass never touched his lips.
There was a valid reason why Sterling never drank but not people knew that, and even less knew he actually didn't consume alcohol at all.
Alcohol was the reason why he had gotten into this entire mess in the first place. By normal reasoning he should hate the stuff and keep away from it as far as possible but this drink held so many valuable memories for him. He cherished the drink and yet loathed it at the same time.
How foolish he had been back then, too overwhelmed and naïve to see the danger that lay ahead. They had both been so young and inexperienced about the universe and its wonders and the dangers it held. Back then they had barely begum traveling with the Doctor. He and his beloved husband - just after their honeymoons.
When the president still had refused to let him marry the love of his life after saving the world from the Silence, the Doctor took them both to a strange world littered with couples of all species and sexes. Here, on Boundania, they married.
It had been the best day in Sterling's life or Canton's, as he was called in the old days.
They had risen their glasses of Craig on that magnificent moon and vowed to be there for each other no matter why may lay ahead on their journeys. Not time, nor space or distance could ever tear apart their true love.
If he had only known what he knew now. He had been so young, so foolish – he had been a different man.
The marriage of Canton Everett Delaware III and Jake Talley – a good memory, a happy one. Yet there were those that came at night, haunting his sleep and tormenting his old soul when he wasn't able to keep them away. Those memories that leave one sick and shaking with sorrow and regret, the ones you can never forget nor does one want to. The blame for all your horrible deeds, the regret for your mistakes.
Your bad consciousness, reminding you where you went wrong.
This particular memory must be the worst of them.
On that fateful day the three of them had been celebrating after a job well done.
There had been an alien in a major Craig distillery in Scotland when they arrived for the annual Whiskey, Rum and Craig festival. Of course it didn't take them long to chase the bad guys away. All it took was a little mumbo-jumbo on the Doctor's part, a few buzzes with the sonic screw driver and some luck.
At the end of the day Canton managed to single handedly save the entire Craig production and thus earned the gratitude of the owner and a livelong free pass for all the drinks he could ever want.
Of course he had to use the advantage that frightful night and celebrate with Jake. It had been a fabulous night, but the morning after had been the worst in all his life.
How does the saying go? Who rises too high has a long fall downwards. Canton fell the deepest anyone could ever go, he ended up in hell.
How one small mistake, one Craig too many could ruin your entire life and make you lose everything you've ever had. Everything you ever valued and leave your life devastated, in broken ruins and shattered memories.
That night after the huge party Canton woke up alone in their shared bed. The other side had been cold and there was no note on the nightstand or the pillow to be found. Jake always left a little message before leaving.
Every time but this one.
It took him a few hours to find out what had been different about that morning but ultimately that day, after getting royally wasted on the finest Craig in the country had been the beginning of the end for Canton. Not even the Doctor was able to fix what happened next.
But no need to get into painful detail, it had been a long time ago and lay in a long time in the past. Yet Sterling still thought about his late husband, he even checked up on Jake every now and again. It hurt like hell to see the younger man lead his life, unaware of his existence but there was nothing Sterling could do for him.
The Doctor had warned him, that if Jake were to remember the month directly after he had vanished from the hotel room, it might sent Jake's mind into overload and would go insane if he was very lucky. There was also the chance that he might die.
And yet despite all the danger he put Jake through, by being there. With the possibility he might get seen and recognized, Sterling simply couldn't stay away for too long.
He couldn't help himself to look out for his once so dear lover and do his best to keep him out of trouble. By god the kid could use all the help he could get as he seemed to have a way of constantly getting in trouble.
He was too smart for his own good and he knew how to use his talents to hack most of the problems away.
Smart Hardison, beautiful Hardison… lost Hardison.
TBC...