A/N: Holy crap. Maybe it's just because I've never done a sequel before, but this many follows and reviews for ONE CHAPTER… it's making my head spin. So… thanks, kids. Writing as Jack was hysterically fun; hope it's just as enjoyable to read, but criticism is always welcome.

Jack had an interesting relationship with death.

He'd been killed countless times, now. From his travels with the Doctor to Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness just seemed to be a magnet for anything vaguely lethal and pointy. Innuendo always intended. One would think he'd be used to it. In a way, one would be right. But then, one would also be neglecting to consider what happens after, wouldn't one?

In some ways, it had become terrifyingly normal for Jack to feel himself die. It was actually shockingly simple. No flashing lights, no nostalgic scenes of his childhood, not even an "icy cold hand of something-or-other" to beckon him to the afterlife. Just… gone.

That was a small comfort, he later realized. When… if… he truly died, at least he knew it would be simple. Like turning off a television. Boop. Done.

But in other ways, death would never come easy for Jack. Actually, to nitpick, it wasn't death. It was un-death.

He'd been asked to explain what it felt like to come back from the dead, and couldn't never give an adequate answer. The closest he'd ever come was being dragged over broken glass. But even that couldn't bring to mind the agony of it. To feel your body wrench itself into a state that no human should/would/could ever hope to be in. He had a newfound respect for newborns. Arriving into the world was hard.

At least the whole "broken glass" thing faded quickly; it was usually gone by the time he opened his eyes. The part that lingered was the deep pains in his chest as his heart and lungs struggled back into motion; the ache in his limbs as his cells reversed the process of death. And most of all, the fiberglass-itch in his lungs as breath pushed its way in.

Speaking of which…

…all I will stand! Only two kinds of men would drag a man across the world only to stand idly by while he dies. A madman and a monster!

Aragorn, take a deep breath.

Oh, hell. His hearing was coming back. Brain functions, nice of you to join the party. How's the wife and kids? Soon to come, he was sure.

Just give him a moment. He'll be alright.

I'm giving you exactly one. Explain! NOW!

…And here was touch. He was lying down. It was wet and he was cold. Two of his least favorite things. The tingling in his chest told him of what was about to happen.

I'm warning you! EXPLAIN!

Give him a minute, and he can do it himself!

The tingling was turning into a slow burn. His lungs were on fire. Well, so long oblivion. Nice while it lasted.

EXPLAIN!

Here we go…

NOW!

With a spine-wracking, guttural gasp, air shot into Jack's lungs. His heart exploded into a rapid staccato beat, and his eyes shot open. Unfocused, all they saw were vague, shadowy forms that wielded streams of silver light. Instinctually his arms shot out, flailing away in panic.

He was alive. Again.

"Jack!" Something had caught him, and was holding him steady. Jack's heart was hammering in his ears and his chest was imploding on itself, but his vision cleared. An unfamiliar face was only six inches from his, the owner holding him flush against a skinny chest. Jack managed to grin between gasps.

Damn, those cheekbones… And that hair…

The man smiled, with a twinge of… something. Something bad. "Welcome back, Jack."

Jack felt a coal of ice begin to burn in his stomach. He had heard his name pronounced in a number of ways. Laughter. Anger. In the best of times, as a breathy, orgasmic shriek. But only one person had ever spoken his name with such a distinct mixture of amusement and frustration.

Jack's smile slipped away. "Doctor…"

The Doctor's face dropped to an identical expression. "Hello."

And then he was on the ground again. Something had pushed the Doctor away and was leaning over him. A very attractive something, with a lovely blonde hair and striking eyes. "Are you alright?"

Jack smirked his best smirk. "Now that you're here, pretty eyes." The man's face, bless him, paled significantly, but he managed to help Jack sit up. Jack was treated to the sight of the scruffy man from earlier, currently gaping at him and holding a sword. Behind him was a short, rotund man with an impenetrable beard who was staring at Jack with a mixture of terror and awe.

Jack waved a hand at the two of them. "Hello, there."

"Don't start," the Doctor said automatically, and before Jack could protest his eyes snapped to the taller man. "I told you; he's perfectly fine. And frankly, if you're going to react like that every time something happens that you don't understand… you'll give yourself a heart attack, understand? I'd either change my tune, or I wouldn't stick by me for long."

"Neither would I," Jack muttered, glaring daggers at the Doctor who either didn't hear him or was ignoring him beautifully.

"How…" the man with the sword was sputtering so hard, Jack was afraid his eyeballs would burst from his head. "That man was dead!"

"Yes," Jack and the Doctor said in tandem. As though they were equally confused what the question was.

"I do that," Jack explained as politely as he could. "And then, I get better."

Poor scruffy-man seemed to be having some sort of spasmodic attack. He began to pace back and forth, and with a sudden motion that made everyone flinch, plunged his sword into the ground. He lunged for the Doctor, holding him by the lapels of his long coat.

"I have had enough!" the man shouted angrily, face flushing. "Enough of talk I do not understand! Enough tales of… o-of planets and space and nothingness! Enough of you expecting us all to follow blindly, like hunting dogs! When a dead man sits up and walks, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" Scruffy-man shook the Doctor to punctuate each word. "ENOUGH!"

And suddenly the Doctor was in his arms and he was pulling him away, as the blonde and the dwarf did the same to scruffy-man. Jack felt a twinge of annoyance; why was he helping? At least some part of him was enjoying watching the Doctor get throttled.

"You have talked for hours, and yet never explained! Who are you? How do you do… all of this?" Aragorn seemed close to a breaking point, and the other two were having a hard time holding him back.

The Doctor shook him off quickly, holding out his hands to the man across from him. "Aragorn. Take a breath, please." Aragorn growled, struggling against his captors. The Doctor's hands dropped to his sides. "I'm not the one you're angry with."

Aragorn stared at him in disbelief. The Doctor continued, unabashed.

"You're angry with the orcs. You're angry with Saruman. With the goblins. With Sauron. But me?" The Doctor shook his head. "You're not angry. You're afraid."

Aragorn's face dropped its snarl. Next to him, the blonde and the dwarf looked equally stunned. He Doctor nodded.

"You all are, all three of you. Because you don't understand. You can't understand how I do what I do, how I know what I know. How I conjure things from far distances. How I speak to monsters. How I brought this man back to life." He gestured at Jack, who was about to protest, but the look on the Doctor's face made him swallow his words.

"You're trying so hard to understand me that it's killing you. Its driving you insane, isn't it?" Aragorn and the others were silent. "You don't have science. Or space-time. You don't have the means to deal with this, don't you understand? And I don't have the time needed to give them to you." The Doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but we don't have time. I can't tell you. Not yet."

Aragorn slumped. The others loosened their grips, now unneeded. "So what would you have us do in the meantime?" Aragorn asked bitterly.

The Doctor's expression was pinched. "Trust me. That's all you need to do is just to trust me."

And this was when Jack snapped. "Trust you? Oh, wonderful advice. Fantastic, to quote an old friend. You're diabolical, aren't you?" He flung a hand at the three men, standing shocked. "Oh, they'll trust you. Just like I did. Because they have no other choice, do they? But then, that's what you do best. Show off how amazing and unbelievable you are, with all your little talents and quirks. Make people rely on you, make them trust you. Make them love you. Then let them down. Abandon them."

"How long?" he hissed at the Doctor, pushing himself to his feet despite the shakiness in his limbs. "How long before you leave them all, like you did me? Leave them trying to find you, with no explanation? Leave them with a curse? How long?"

The Doctor turned to look at him, and Jack wanted him to scream. To curse, to push him, to throw a punch. To do anything other than what he did.

The Doctor shook his head slowly, and said, "Oh, Jack."

Oh, Jack.

Damn the bastard. Damn him to hell for pulling out the only two words that could possibly take the years of righteous anger in Jack's heart and replace it with pity. Pity for both of them at once. Because all at once, he saw the exhaustion. The exhaustion of a man who no matter what he did or how hard he pushed, couldn't escape his mistakes. Who helped others out of a lack of an ability to help himself. The same exhaustion Jack saw when he looked in the mirror.

Jack was right. The Doctor was diabolical.

"You…" he managed to say, pointing at him. "You owe me an explanation."

"And us," the dwarf put in.

Aragorn thankfully chose that moment to stand up, or else Jack believed they could still be standing there glaring at each other. "We must move. Now. Or Rose and the Hobbits are lost."

Jack blinked. "Rose? She's alive?"

The Doctor nodded. "And captured. By orcs."

"…You owe me two explanations. Or one very, very long one."

"They have time on their side," Aragorn continued. "We have lost almost a day. We shall have to run. No stopping. As long as it takes."

"Or…" The Doctor interrupted, holding up a finger. He was beginning to grin- and at Jack, no less. "Oh, you are clever, aren't you?" the Doctor murmured, a spark appearing in his eye. Jack cocked an eyebrow, but the Doctor was beginning to babble. "My 'little talents and quirks' may save us yet, Jack Harkness! Just wait!" He slapped a companionable hand onto Jack's shoulder and raced off towards the lake.

Jack turned, offering a grin to the three men. "We haven't been properly introduced. Captain Ja-"

"What is he doing?" Aragorn interrupted, watching the Doctor as he began to clamber up a rock near the water. Jack scowled.

"My guess is showing off. How would I know?"

"Are you not friends?" Legolas asked in surprise.

Jack managed to grin and wink at him. "We're companions. No… well, we were. It's… complicated."

Before anyone could explain, the Doctor cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed forth a horrifying mixture of shrieks and grunts. It sounded rather like a live pig being torn in half, and the three men winced. Jack, however, was versed enough on his Helioant and Omnimantis to hear it for what it was.

A call for help.

In a moment, the ground began to rumble. And then, from the depths rose a monster, all squirming tentacles and smooth, green skin. Jack lunged backwards. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"A friend of the Doctor's," Aragorn said calmly. Jack stared at him, and the prince tried to smile, failing miserably. "It is… complicated."

"It always is, with him," Jack muttered, setting off after the Doctor who was holding up a hand to touch an outstretched tentacle.

"HELLO, FRIEND-DOCTOR," the monster was grumbling out.

The Doctor grinned. "Hello, Friend-Watcher," he replied. Jack reached him, panting and gazing up at the giant form in front of them.

"Friend of yours?" Jack raised a hand in greeting. "Hello, there. Jack. Name?"

"Don't start," the Doctor told him in English.

"DON'T MIND," the Watcher burbled, and Jack burst out laughing. He still had it.

"Friend-Watcher," the Doctor said, "Need help."

"HELP?"

"Remember little men?"

The Watcher blinked. "YES. AND MATE."

Jack jerked backwards in surprise. "Mate? Doctor- mate?!"

"Not now, Jack."

Jack lay a hand over his heart. "Doctor- I'm hurt."

"Not now, Jack!" The Doctor's cheeks flushed. "Friend-Watcher; all taken. Taken by orcs." The Watcher made a low growl. "Where orcs?"

"NOT KNOW," the Watcher rumbled. "BUT LOUD NOISES GOING EAST."

"What is east?"

"BAD. NO PLACE TO HIDE. FIRE HEATING THE DEEP WATER. NO HOME IN THE EAST."

"Doctor!" Aragorn's eyes were narrowed in impatience.

"Our friend has heard loud noises heading east," the Doctor called to him. "Ideas?"

"The east?" Aragorn's eyes narrowed. "East of us is Rohan, and…" Understanding dawned on them all.

"Isengard," Legolas said.

"Saruman," Gimli nodded, scowling.

"Then we go too," the Doctor said. He turned back to the waiting Watcher. "How far from big noise?"

"THREE DAYS."

"We have a three-day walk, as the crow flies," the Doctor announced. "But then, we don't have the advantages of our friend here; he can travel under the ground, in the water channels."

"We shall set a course near Riddermark," Aragorn said. "The horse-lords of Rohan may offer us help; but if not, they likely won't harm us. The road will be long, but…" he grudgingly nodded towards the Doctor. "We will have time to rest. My thanks."

"And mine," Gimli nodded. "After all; dwarves thrive in short sprints. Long distances wear on us. I would be of no use." Legolas rolled his eyes discreetly.

As the three trackers prepared to move, the Doctor offered a smile to the Watcher. "Again, my thanks."

The Watcher burbled happily. "GOOD-BYE, FRIEND-DOCTOR. FRIEND-JACK."

"Good-bye, Friend-Watcher," the Doctor nodded, and Jack waved slightly. And then the monster was gone, slunk below the surface of the lake. His dark outline made its way from the shore, towards the deeper water and the channels where he resided.

"Three days," Jack echoed. "Perfect."

"Oh?" The Doctor didn't seem to want to look at him.

Jack's smile slipped slightly, but he managed to sound upbeat. "Sure. Plenty of time to talk."

The Doctor chuckled humorlessly. "I'm about to spend my time walking with no food or water for days on end, spending my free time explaining the basics of science to an elf, a dwarf, and a prince to keep them from killing me. Forgive me if I'm not good company."

With that he left, walking quickly to join the others and leaving Jack in the dust as they began to run. Jack grimaced, jogging after them.

"Nice to see you too, Doc."