Title: Shock and Awe
Author: scgirl_317
Summary: Immediately follows Ransom for a Time Lady. The Doctor takes Jenny to the Hub to see Martha. She then meets Jack, who proceeds to, well, act like Jack.
Author's Note: This is being posted as a crossover, since it's written from Torchwood's POV. This also takes place in the universe I've built up in my head where Martha and Mickey joined Torchwood and CoE never happened. (It's no wonder Davies stepped down as showrunner after 2009. The amount of hate mail he must have gotten after what he did to Ten in EoT and killing Ianto in CoE must have been obscene. I know I will never forgive him.) The ending is a little "meh" to me, but it gets the point I wanted it to.
A/N 2: This is for Tari, a "thank you" for helping me with Ransom. We both giggled like the fangirls we are at the idea of Jack meeting Jenny. This morphed out of that Twitter conversation.
The lift opened, allowing Martha and Mickey passage into the final hallway that led to the Hub. The cog door rolled back, and they got their first glimpse of the chaos on the other side.
"You got the tranquilizers?"
"Yeah! Don't forget the chocolate! And make sure it's dark chocolate, this time!"
"Will you two get a move on? She's already gone five miles!"
"Mickey! Martha! Great to have you back! We have a pteranodon to catch," Jack greeted, patting the younger man on the shoulder before following Ianto.
Martha shook her head at the whirlwind and dropped her things at her desk before moving over to where Gwen was tracking their co-workers.
"This is why I didn't go for the longer honeymoon. Any longer than a week, and the world might have ended."
Gwen laughed at the amusement in her friend's voice. Things had actually been relatively quiet since the Jones-Smith wedding a week prior. There had been no rift activity for over a week, and none was predicted for several more days. If Myfanwy hadn't gotten loose, all they probably would have done was sit around twiddling their thumbs.
"So, what's going on?" Martha asked.
"Somehow, Myfanwy escaped, a few minutes ago," Gwen replied. "What are you two doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow."
"Mister over there wanted to make sure nobody had messed with his computer," Martha replied with a laugh.
"Oi! You were just as eager to come back as I was," he shot back playfully, grabbing her around the waist.
While Mickey moved over to his computer and Gwen directed Jack and Ianto over the comms, Martha went down to autopsy to check on her tools. She cast a melancholy look around the white tiled bay. She had been sorry to hear about Owen and Tosh, and she knew that Jack, Gwen, and Ianto still mourned their loss. She and Mickey filled the roles competently, but they knew they would never really replace them, and she wouldn't want to.
Satisfied that everything was as she left it, she went up to the main level where Mickey was at his desk helping Gwen track Myfanwy. Jack had just reported that Ianto had secured their errant pet and they were on their way back when a familiar grinding sound filled the air. Martha and Mickey traded an excited look as the TARDIS materialized in the tide basin.
The door opened after a couple seconds, and the Doctor stepped out, only to quickly step back when he realized he was ankle-deep in water.
"Ah, one moment."
He disappeared back inside the TARDIS, and the ship dematerialized and resettled six feet away on the grating.
"There we go," he said, exiting the police box once again, shaking his foot to get rid of the excess water as he looked around. "So this is the famous Torchwood Hub. Looked smaller on the scanner."
"Sorry the welcome party isn't any bigger, we weren't expecting company," Gwen greeted. "It's an honor to meet you in person, Doctor."
"You too, Gwen Cooper," he replied, taking her offered hand before turning to Martha and pulling her in for a hug. "Martha Jones!"
"Actually, it's Jones-Smith, now," she corrected with a grin.
"Smith? I thought you were marrying Tom Milligan?"
"Yeah, that ended shortly after the Daleks," Martha shrugged. "It wouldn't have lasted; he was too freaked out by what happened. I called it off just before we moved to Cardiff."
"'We'? Wait, Jones-Smith? Don't tell me you married..?" the Doctor drifted off, glancing at Mickey.
"Sure did, Boss," Mickey grinned widely.
"Congratulations, though I must say, Martha Jones and Mickey the Idiot…," the Doctor teased.
"Oi!" Martha gasped in faux offense, slapping him on the arm. It was then that she noticed the woman standing behind him.
"Oh my... She's alive!" she said, her eyes wide as she stared at Jenny. "How?"
"I regenerated," Jenny said as she walked up to stand beside her father.
"I thought…" Martha trailed off before bursting out laughing, pulling Jenny in for a hug. "I'm so glad he found you!"
"Gwen Cooper, Mickey Smith, meet Jenny, my daughter," the Doctor introduced, once Martha had released her.
"But I thought Jack said you were the last?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, it's a long story. Got tangled up in a civil war that was fought by soldiers genetically engineered and created by a progenation machine. Jenny was created from a sample taken from my hand. My handy right hand," he added with a grin; he waved his fingers at Martha, reminiscent of when Martha had found his hand in Jack's tank.
"Good lord, Jack was right about you," Gwen muttered.
"Yes, where is the good captain?"
"He and Ianto are out chasing a pterosaur," Martha said matter-of-factly.
"Come again?"
"Myfanwy, Jack's pet pteranodon, got loose," Gwen explained. "Although, why we say she's Jack's pet, I don't know. Ianto's the only one she won't bite."
"One thing I've always wondered," Mickey cut in. "How do they get her into the Hub?"
"Let her in through the hole in the pavement from the invisible lift," Gwen answered.
As if on cue, a loud squawk came from overhead, and Myfanwy swooped low over their heads.
"Sounds like the boys are back," Martha noted.
"Myfanwy must have been in a good mood, today," Gwen guessed. "Last time she escaped, it took five hours to catch her again."
"That's because Jack always forgets the chocolate."
The paving stone slowly lowered from the Plass overhead. Jack's laughter rang out through the Hub, and as it got closer to the ground, they could see him pressed closely against Ianto.
"Hey, Captain Cheesecake, save it for when we don't have visitors!" Mickey called out, grabbing the older man's attention.
Jack looked over, his face breaking into a large grin as he saw the Doctor.
"Doc!" he exclaimed, bounding off the paving stone and over to where the others stood; Ianto followed at a slower pace.
"Hello, Jack," the Doctor greeted with a fond smile. "And Ianto Jones, it's nice to finally meet in person."
"You too, Doctor," the Welshman replied.
"You know I always love to see you, Doctor, but please tell me the world isn't about to end again," Jack asked as Ianto returned the remaining chocolate to the kitchenette.
"No, I think the world will last for a few more days," the Doctor laughed. "Actually, I wanted you to meet Jenny."
Jack's attention was directed to the blonde at the other man's side, and he instantly turned on the signature Harkness charm.
"Hello, there, I'm Captain Jack Harkness," he said, taking Jenny's hand and kissed the back of it. "Been traveling with the Doctor long?"
"Not really," she said. "I have heard all about you, though. You didn't tell me he was so handsome," she finished, leveling a raised eyebrow at the Doctor and knowing that that was all it would take to wind the two up.
Gwen and Martha struggled to contain their amusement as the Doctor sputtered in protest. Mickey studiously appeared busy in order to hide his smirk. Jack jumped at the open invitation and continued to lay on the charm. Ianto stood quietly back; he had long grown used to Jack's flirtatious nature, but that didn't mean it didn't make him feel a twinge of jealousy—at least, when it wasn't directed at him. The Doctor simply stood there with an unreadable expression.
"So, where did he pick you up?" Jack continued.
"We… ran into each other in the market on Picon 3," Jenny replied, wondering just how far her father would let Jack go. "What about you? How long have you known the Doctor?"
"Depends on who you ask. For me, it's been about two thousand years. For him, what? Four, five years?"
"Sounds about right," the Doctor said.
Myfanwy squawked once more as she settled onto her perch up near the ceiling, successfully diverting the conversation.
"Where did you get a pteranodon, Jack?" the Doctor asked, glancing up at the dinosaur.
"Ianto," the captain simply replied with a grin. "His job interview for Torchwood Three consisted of tracking her down and helping me catch her."
"How did you catch her?" Jenny asked Ianto in fascination.
"Plenty of dark chocolate," the Welshman replied with a hint of a smirk.
It was then that Martha noticed a red stain below Jack's greatcoat, "Okay, come on, let me look at you."
"I'm fine!" he protested.
"But I'd rather you not bleed all over the Hub and have to listen to Ianto fuss about having to clean it up. Again."
With a dramatic eye roll learned from Ianto, Jack shrugged off his coat to reveal a large gash in his left side. Martha herded him into the autopsy bay, where she peeled off his shirts to get to the wound beneath. The Doctor hissed through his teeth at the sight of the jagged tear.
"That must've hurt," he said.
"It looks worse than it-yeow!" he yelped as Martha applied disinfectant.
"Oh, come off it, you'll be completely healed by the end of the day," Mickey shot out.
"You're just jealous you'll never achieve this level of perfection," Jack countered with a wink.
"'Perfection' may be a bit of a stretch," Ianto chimed in with a smirk.
"I haven't heard you complaining, lately."
"Alright, enough," the Doctor piped up. "I think Jack's suffered enough."
"Thank you, Doctor."
"We need to pace ourselves if we're going to continue bashing his ego," the Doctor continued, suppressing a grin.
"Oi!"
"Oh, come on, don't go too hard on him," Jenny protested.
"Thank you, Jenny," Jack said. "You are welcome here, anytime."
Jack finished off with a wink. The Doctor's eyes narrowed at that. He knew that look. He had been the recipient of that look many times—mostly as his ninth self—as had Rose and Martha, on occasion. There was no way he was letting Jack anywhere near Jenny.
"Okay, stop right there, Jack," the Doctor interrupted, unable to take any more. "You can forget any thoughts of Jenny right now."
"I was just being hospitable," the captain protested.
"I know your definition of 'hospitable,' Jack. You even think of trying anything, and I'll drop you off in the heart of a supernova."
"Sorry, he's a bit protective," Jenny said.
"I don't get it," Jack asked, having recognized the Doctor's firm tone as one not to be taken lightly.
"She's his daughter," Gwen answered, taking pity on Jack but barely able to contain her laughter; it wasn't the first time he had blundered into this situation, and it wasn't likely to be the last.
Jack's eyes widened as his face paled slightly, fully realizing now why the Doctor had been so quiet since he had arrived. Mickey let out a loud guffaw and Martha snorted in amusement. Ianto's eyebrows shot up, a bemused grin gracing his face as Jack began trying to backpedal his way out of the hole he had found himself in.
"Come on, now, Doc, Ianto's more than enough to keep me occupied, don't you think?" Jack laughed nervously.
"Not occupied enough," the Doctor growled.
"Don't worry, Doctor, we'll all make sure Jack keeps his distance," Gwen assured him, having recovered from her laughter.
The Doctor glanced over at Ianto, noticing that the young Welshman kept looking back towards the TARDIS. He couldn't help a smile at that.
"It's unlocked, go on and have a look," he said. "Just don't touch the console. Don't want you drifting off to the middle ages."
Ianto ducked his head bashfully, but approached the TARDIS nonetheless. Gwen gave in to her own curiosity and followed him. Ianto carefully pushed the door open, revealing the larger control room beyond. His eyes grew as he stepped inside.
"It's bigger on the inside!" Gwen exclaimed, stepping in after Ianto, causing Jack to laugh outside.
"I told you so!" he called after them.
"How far does it go?" Ianto asked, looking back at the Doctor, who was leaning against the door frame.
"Not sure," the Doctor replied with a shrug. "Seven hundred years and I've never found the end. Of course, the fact that she likes to rearrange things doesn't really help."
"Tosh would have loved to have seen this," Gwen said quietly.
"Yes, Jack told me about Miss Sato," the Doctor said. "I'm sorry we never met."
"Well, I think she would have had a few choice words to say to you, at first," Ianto said with a small smile. "She wasn't too happy about the way Jack ran off to meet you before the whole Saxon debacle."
"In the Doctor's defense, that wasn't his fault," Martha piped up. "In fact, the TARDIS ran to the end of the universe to try to shake him off. Jack was just too stubborn to let go."
"Are we seriously going back to that?" Jack asked, and Ianto could tell that he was uncomfortable; it had taken Jack a long time to get over the guilt of running off the way he had, especially after Tosh had told him how upset Ianto had been.
"Nah, if we want to pick on Jack, there are far better subjects," Mickey chimed in, successfully diffusing the situation.
The conversation drifted from there, and Ianto went back out to the kitchen area to make them all coffee. Jenny was regaled by Martha, Mickey, and Jack's tales of traveling with the Doctor, while Gwen and Ianto filled in stories of some of Torchwood's adventures. Before they knew it, it was well past dinnertime—as announced by Mickey's growling stomach—and so Ianto ordered takeaway for the seven of them, and the stories continued.
Only when it was the wee hours of the morning and Jenny was falling asleep on Ianto's shoulder did they call it a night. Martha and Mickey said their goodbye's before leaving and dropping Gwen off at her and Rhys' flat. Ianto was discreet about it, but it was evident he was staying in he Hub with Jack.
The Doctor stood in the center of the Hub with Jack as the others left and Ianto began to quietly tidy up. He looked back over his shoulder to the sitting area they had just vacated to find Jenny curled up on the sofa, and a smile came unbidden to his lips.
"I'm glad you found her," Jack said quietly, noting he look on the Doctor's face. "If anyone deserves for something good to happen to them, it's you."
"I don't know how much more I can take, though," the Doctor admitted in a rare moment of openness. "I lost my people, I lost Rose, I lost Donna, I lost Jenny once. I don't think I can handle losing her again."
"If you had known what was going to happen to Rose, would that have changed anything?" Jack asked softly, knowing the former companion was a sensitive subject.
"I don't know," the Time Lord admitted. "Maybe I wouldn't have wasted as much time. Maybe I would have told her…" he drifted off, but both knew how that sentence was going to end.
"Doc, if there's one thing I've learned in two thousand years, it's that you can't spend your life afraid of the 'what ifs,'" Jack continued. "I know I'm going to have to say goodbye to Ianto, one day. Could be ten years from now, could be tomorrow. I can't keep it from happening. All I can do is take each day as it comes and do what I can to show him how much he means to me."
The Doctor nodded, knowing that Jack could in some small part appreciate how he felt. He went over and knelt next to the sofa and gently brushed her bangs away from her forehead.
"Time to go, darling," he said, gently rousing her.
"Don' wanna go," she protested, still mostly asleep, sounding every bit like a small child not wanting to go to bed.
"We can come back later," he promised. "It's been a long day, you need to sleep."
Jenny moaned in protest once more before pushing herself up to sitting, at which point, the Doctor lifted her up in his arms.
"You're welcome back any time, kiddo," Jack said, smiling at the image of the Doctor carrying his daughter as he held the TARDIS door open for them.
"Bye, Jack, 'Anto," she mumbled, face buried in the Doctor's neck.
"Goodbye, Jenny," Ianto added, coming over to stand by Jack.
Her reply was little more than a tired hum, and the Doctor offered one last farewell before toeing the door closed. Within seconds, the familiar grind of the TARDIS sounded and the blue box faded from its place in the Hub.
Silence settled over the Hub—save for the quiet hum of the computers—and Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto. After staring at where the TARDIS had sat just moments ago, he turned to the Welshman.
"Have I told you today how amazing you are?"
"When I brought you your coffee," Ianto replied cheekily, recognizing the look on Jack's face and knowing full well where the conversation was ultimately headed.
"Well, aside from your obscene coffee-making skills, you truly are amazing, Jones, Ianto Jones," Jack continued.
As the conversation followed the path that they both had known it would—with far fewer words and making its way to Jack's bunker under his office—Jack sent up a silent prayer to whatever higher powers might be listening, asking for some grace for the Time Lord. It had been a long time since he'd been able to truly enjoy anything. Jack prayed that this respite would last.
Fin.