A Second Chance

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Tru Calling, and I'm not making any money from this fic. I guess the plot of this fic kind of belongs to me, though

Summary: Luc was never supposed to have died that day – Fate got messed up big time. Jack finally gets a chance to put things right – but there's a price to pay first…

Warning(s): Spanking (quite severe); spoilers up to The Last Good Day; mentions of violence; some mild swearing; slight character ooc:ness, probably

Summary: I don't write M/M as much as M/F, but from the episode where Luc dies, I thought Jack really deserved to pay for what he'd done – but it wasn't until the episode mentioned above that I started to care about the character. (But this would never happen – not only because of the spanking). Plus, I'm taking a lot of creative licence with this, seeing as I don't really know what the connection is with the characters – I'm just guessing

Jack lay back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He just couldn't cry anymore. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Meagan's face. Not the happy smile she'd worn during the day when they'd spent time together, but the fear and tears on her face as she dangled over the edge of the tower, with Jack holding onto her arm.

This is my job. It shouldn't be this difficult.

Jack let out a mild curse, and hit his pillow. It wasn't just Meagan's face he was seeing. It was Luc's as well. Apparently, her death had opened up something inside of him. There was a pain deep in his heart.

Maybe it was because Meagan and Luc were the only two people's deaths he had played an active part in.

What the hell is wrong with me? I've never felt like this before!

"Conscience troubling you, huh?"

Jack sat up on his bed, and frowned as he noticed a faint glow in one corner of his room. He squinted, and then his eyes widened as he noticed a familiar figure standing there. "Oh… You have got to be kidding."

"What's wrong, Jack?" Luc asked. "You seem rather… surprised to see me. I thought you were all about making sure Fate gets its way. You think that I was supposed to die that day? You messed things up."

"So, what?" Jack asked. "You're gonna ask for my help, huh? You won't get it."

Luc shrugged slightly. "If you're so concerned with Fate, I would have thought you'd be happy to put things right. But even if you won't help voluntarily, you are going to do as I say. Otherwise, the whole world will end up being destroyed if you carry on doing what you're doing."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "It's your girlfriend who's messing with Fate. Every time she has a rewind day and saves someone who's supposed to die, she tears a new rip in the fabric of the universe."

"You know, you can see all sorts of things when you're dead," Luc commented. "You probably don't remember what it was like when you died – but I know that Tru's dad has been lying to you."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"If things worked out the way they were supposed to, then why do you think rewind days even happen?" Luc asked. "There's a reason Tru's mom and dad came together. There's a reason why, when either you or Tru is asked for help, the other one gets the information necessary to find the victim."

"No." Jack shook his head in disbelief. "You're wrong. We're opposites. We're not supposed to be working together."

"You're opposites, but not in the way you think," Luc answered. "Not in life and death. You're two sides of the same coin. It's only when you work together that Fate's designs are truly made clear. But someone else is trying to stop you, by manipulating both you and Tru to work against each other and therefore never reach your full potential."

I hate to admit it… But he's talking sense, Jack thought. After all, Tru's dad was so set on Tru never finding out the truth about him. He'd had his first wife killed to stop what she was doing. Maybe… Jack really was the one working against Fate.

"Prove it," Jack demanded.

"Let's take the first person that Tru saved from killing herself," Luc answered. "The woman was pregnant. Her daughter is supposed to go on to become a key player in a movement to stop people from using up all of the fossil fuels and start taking better care of the earth, coming that much closer to stopping global warming."

"I think you're just making that up," Jack stated.

"Tru's day rewound four times once," Luc continued. "She had to preserve a father's heart for his daughter. When she grows up, that little girl is going to be an ambassador for peace." When Jack didn't say anything, Luc went on: "And Meagan? The girl you caused to die? She was supposed to eventually be treated for leukaemia. That should have caused her to go on to work with developing a cure for people with cancer. Her work would have caused a huge breakthrough in this. Want me to go on?"

Jack opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Then, "No, it's all right. So… why are you here? You know, after what happened with you and Meagan, Tru's not gonna trust me at all. She won't work with me."

"That's why you need to go back," Luc answered. "But first… There's something we need to do."

"Like what?" Jack asked. Will I even remember this later? This is so freaking weird… Still, maybe it wasn't that weird to have a representative of Fate here in his apartment.

Luc glanced at Jack. Then, his hands went to his belt. He undid the buckle, and pulled the wide piece of leather through the loops before doubling it over in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Silly question. Jack had actually been on the receiving end of a strapping many times from his father during his teenage years. But still… Luc was not going to use that on him. I can admit that I was wrong, but I'm definitely not going to let him strap me!

"You know, it's going to happen whether you like it or not," Luc commented. "You can either accept it, or fight it – and then it's gonna be a whole lot worse."

"Worse than a beating with a belt? What's worse than that?"

"Getting it on the bare," Luc answered, taking a step towards the bed. "You want to put Fate back on track? This is the only way. So just lie across the bed, all right? This is a small price to pay for what you've done."

Jack hesitated, and then slowly got off the bed. He was only wearing his boxers, but he didn't dare try and put on some trousers. He turned so that his back was to Luc, and then slowly leaned across the bed, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. He's right. This really is a small price to pay.

Jack kept his eyes on the opposite wall, but he still heard Luc come up behind him. He braced himself against the blankets, waiting for the first strike from the belt to fall. When it came, he heard it a brief second before he actually felt the pain – which felt like a line of fire across his bottom.

With the second strike, Jack sucked in a breath. As the fourth one landed harshly, he couldn't help groaning. Despite his best efforts to take the punishment stoically, as the strapping continued, the tears began to fall, and when one lick landed right across all of the others, Jack couldn't help crying out.

And still, the hard strapping continued.

If it weren't for the pain in his backside, Jack would think that this whole thing was a dream. Finally, though, he slumped, letting himself surrender to the pain and guilt he felt. And with surrender came finally the freedom he craved, despite the pain from the strapping and the fact that, all along, he had been working against Fate.

And that was when Luc finally stopped.

For a few moments, Jack just lay there, the tears streaming down his cheeks. Then, as he straightened up, he wiped the back of his hand across his damp eyes, and looked at Luc. "Ask me," he demanded. "Ask me for help. Let me make all of this right. Please…"

Luc's mouth twitched into a smile, and then he looked at Jack. "Jack… Help me."

And the last couple of months rewound…

I might write a sequel if people liked this…