Title: Gotta Be Ready for Everything
Author: Jmaria
Rating: FR-13
Disclaimer: Joss owns Buffyverse, Davies owns the newest bits (TW) of the Whoverse
Spoilers: Post Chosen, set just before the start of Series one.
Characters: Dawn Summers, Captain Jack Harkness
Summary: Dawns waiting for the Right Sort of Doctor in Cardiff.
Words: 1029
A/N: Um, did I ever mention that this wasn't going to be happyish? Funny, yes, dramatic, yes, happyish - er, not really.
Gotta Be Ready for Everything
Jack looked nervous and angry, which meant he knew. That so couldn't be a good thing. The how was pretty easy to guess - stupid CCTV, she was so going to buy scramblers for the two cameras on her block. Hand on hip, Dawn Summers waited for him to stalk up her neat little walkway to her brand new home.
"Captain Jack Harkness doesn't make house calls, he simply whistles and grins and the houses fly down the street to him," Dawn smirked at him, her other hand stretched across the open doorway.
"Dawn, while I enjoy all of your lovely little Chuck Norris comparisons, now is definitely not the time for your jokes."
"It's true, you can pull yourself away from the Hub without your little entourage in tow. To what do I owe this house call to?"
"Inside, now, Summers," Jack nodded, glowering at her.
"Jack, you don't look cute - okay, that's a lie -"
"What are you doing in Cardiff?"
"Living," she frowned at him.
"You can't."
"Are you the king of Cardiff? Does Torchwood have that much pull? And who invited you inside?" She tossed out over her shoulder as he pointed to the sitting room.
Jack stared at her like she'd grown three heads. He sighed and rolled his eyes at her before continuing into the sitting room. Boxes were stacked up against the far wall, an easel propped across from the front window, and a TV already hooked up and already playing a DVD in Japanese.
"Just move in?"
"In the last week or so. I'm surprised it took you so long to realize that I was in the city. Especially after you canceled our meet-up last week. Jerk."
"Brat. I was busy."
"I heard. Torchwood's been popping up like the boogeyman at all the grisly murders. What bit of alien crap did you get your hands on this time, Jack?" Dawn grinned at him, shutting her door.
"A weird glove. Suzie's figuring out how to work it. Seems she's the only one who can tap into it," Jack flicked through the canvases - one of Jackie, of Mickey, of Rose and the Doctor. And one of him. "You drew these? Ever done any nudes?"
"Don't get any ideas, Jack. I am not re-enacting the Titanic scene. So forget about it."
"Just picture it - me in nothing but a diamond necklace," Jack smirked at her.
"To bad we don't have the antique car for you to leave a sweaty hand print in."
"Is that a proposition, Ms. Summers?"
"I like it in a bed, not too fond of getting the shift gear jammed in my back. I saw someone die that way once. It was not pretty," Dawn sighed. "You want a coffee?"
"Not after that image. So, what are you really doing in Cardiff?"
"Starting over."
"Why Cardiff?" His eyes narrowed.
"It's quiet, nobody knows me and the demons tend to steer clear of it. Might be all the aliens running around killing folk that puts them off their feed," she shrugged.
"What about all of that saving humanity crap you were going on about six weeks ago?"
"I've done my part. I - I can't -" tears formed in her eyes.
"Hey, hey, there," Jack was by her in a heartbeat, his arms pulling her close to her. "What happened?"
"This girl - Amy - she was just going out on a normal patrol. She was the cutest thing, trying to look tough. God, Jack, she was thirteen! Thirteen! We got ambushed, and - by the time back-up got to us - this vamp, he'd flung her into a headstone. He broke her neck, and all I could think of was that she looked like a broken doll!"
"It's all right, sweetie."
"No, it's not. I can't send little girls off to die and then pretend like it's okay anymore, Jack. I can't do it. I'm starting to slip. I've been in it so long that I can't see it as the death of a little girl. We lost a warrior. That's what we called her - a warrior when she was just a scared kid," Dawn took a shaky breath, breathing in Jack's comforting scent. Her fingers dug into the coat, that weird out-of-time coat he so loved. "So I quit. I ditched my car, my phone and my laptop in Rose's old Estate, took all of my money, closed accounts and paid by cash for this place, a new car, a new phone, and a new laptop. A fresh start."
"And your family? Buffy and the others?"
"Have no clue where I am. No one will ever connect me to Wales, much less Cardiff. I erased the phone and the laptop. Got a hacker I knew who's better than Willow to scrap 'em both."
"That the wisest thing to do?"
"I had to do it," Dawn pulled away from him. "Buffy wouldn't have let me go if I asked. Plus, she's in the Cleveland Hellmouth handling business. Perfect time to escape."
"Jack?" Toshiko Sato's voice buzzed in his earpiece. Dawn smiled at him, giving him the okay.
"Yeah, Tosh?"
"Theres been sightings of a rogue Weevil not far from your location. Lots of calls about men in Halloween masks. Do you want us to meet you there?"
"Yeah, Tosh. I'm on my way," Jack kissed the top of Dawn's head before turning toward the door again. "We're not finished."
"Of course not. You still owe me a coffee for last week. Besides, I have a feeling you might want to give me a job."
"There's just as many stupid deaths in my job as your old job."
"Plus you want to keep me all to yourself."
"Well, duh. The boys and girls would all want a piece of you and we can't have that, now can we?" he winked at her.
"I know, I'm just so hot!"
Dawn waved to him as he hopped back into his SUV. Her fingers dug into the back pocket of her sweats. The letter was still folded there, not touched. At least she hadn't had to tell him about it, and about why she was really in Cardiff. She'd have to tell him soon enough, and right now she didn't want to think about it at all. She was waiting in Cardiff for the Doctor, just like Jack. Maybe she could do some good while she waited for him, if Jack let her.