Disclaimers: All the characters in this story belong to the creators of Buffy, Torchwood and Doctor Who.

Author's notes: This story is set after season seven of Buffy, at the beginning of season five of Angel and after season four of Torchwood. Esther never died at the end of miracle day.

Chapter three

Where am I? He thought as he took a look around his surroundings.

The rather smooth looking man, who had tried to calm him down, had brought him here, to his bedroom. Thing were getting ugly out there and then some. The captain could see that it was clearly affecting William; if that was even his name. Maybe he was this John that the angry, brunette was shouting about? He shuddered at the thought. John didn't sound like a nice person…And for some reason, he wanted to be nice.

He could still hear them rowing. Angry words were flinging because of his presence. The angry brunette, her name was Gemma? No, not Gemma…Gennie? No…it didn't matter. She was adamant that he was John. So full of hate.

What did I do? He thought.

"I don't care what you say Jack! THAT monster in your room is John!" he heard her scream.

Now another voice. This voice was small…maybe that belonged to the other woman?

"Maybe we should all just calm down…and take ten to regroup?" she suggested.

He shut his eyes as the arguing continued. He was more than scared. He was terrified.

He didn't belong here. He may have lost all memories and forgotten who he was but, everything inside of him screamed 'You don't belong here'.

Maybe, just maybe he should run. They were all caught up in their argument. They wouldn't notice him slipping out…into the dark. Gulp. Turning his head slowly, he looked out of the window. Another gulp. Going out in the dark didn't seem to appeal to him anymore.

As his head took his eyes on a trip around the room, he first noticed the desk, which held several products. Face cream, comb…and hair gel. He noticed an old looking mirror hanging up on the wall. Its frame was a golden bronze and was such a beautiful design. Pausing before he decided to make his way over to it. He stared at the reflection. His reflection. Reaching out a mud filled finger, he touched his reflection like he hadn't seen it in centuries.

The door opening pulled the battered and beaten man out of his revere, causing him to jump. It was Jack.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump…" he started.

Jack noticed he had gone back to staring at the mirror.

"17th century. It's French. Birthday present off King Louis himself."

He hoped to see some sort of recognition but there was nothing. Not even a glimmer. Placing the clothes on the bed and the bowl of water, wash cloth and first aid kit on the table, Jack decided to go a little deeper.

"We had such a fun time at that party…He even got some action, which, to be honest…I've never actually seen him do that," Jack laughed.

The laugher didn't last long as he noticed this meant nothing to the man.

"He must've been drunk…"

The captain took a look at his friend as he unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt sleeves, rolling them up. Something major had happened here. However, there was also the small issue of how he ended up in this time?

"Can you take your shirt off?" the captain asked, noting how bad it looked.

The man nodded and gingerly followed the instructions. For some reason, he felt uncomfortable undressing in front of him.

Jack was about to speak, when in the quietest voice, the man spoke.

"Who am I?"

That was the nail in the metaphorical coffin. Definitely something wrong Jack thought. Taking the wash cloth, he dipped it into the bowl of soapy water and rung it out. He walked towards the man. Taking his hands in his. He tried so hard to pull away, even though he knew the captain was trying to help.

"You're William J Davies."

"What does the 'J' stand for?" William enquired.

The captain smiled.

"It stands for James. After your father. James Henry Davies."

William blinked. It didn't sound like his name. And he certainly didn't recognise his supposed father's name. The captain had seen near enough everything in all his lifetimes. Some scary stuff, some not so scary stuff. This however, was top of the scary list. What would cause something like this to happen?

Jack began to clean William's torso, letting his fingers linger. He had longed for this. William winced.

"Sorry…"

Jack felt anger boiling over as the dirt was removed to reveal the full extent of his injuries. He found it hard not to cry.

"Jesus! What…happened? Do you know? William, do you even know how this happened?" Jack asked, incredulously.

Williams head sunk as he tried to think. Scratching his unruly beard, he met the concerned eyes of the captain.

"No…I don't know. I don't know anything!" he cried.

This outburst made him jump back a little. His friend was frightened. He got that more than anything. He, himself had experienced that when he first discovered he couldn't die. Ironic, that not being able to die would scare someone.

"It's ok…we'll figure this out," Jack spoke softly.

There was a long, awkward silence between them. Jack looked at William and then to the clothes.

"There are some jogging pants and a t-shirt there, also some socks. Rex said you could have them…do you want to get dressed before we start on your head?"

Jack pointed to the deep gash on William's forehead. Wrapping, his arms gently around his battered torso, William looked away from the captain.

"Yeah…"

The captain nodded.

"Ok, I'll be waiting out here so give me a shout when you're done."

With that, Jack left the room and stood on the balcony, looking down on the living room. He saw Esther and Rex sitting on the sofa, drinking. And Gwen, pacing.

"Could do with a stiff drink myself," he muttered.

OoOoOoOoO

None of them had said a word after Jack decided to go and help William. They were still reeling. Gwen was pacing the floor. How could he be so stupid? John seriously had him wrapped around his finger. So much so that Jack believed he was someone else.

"He's an idiot!" Gwen exclaimed, shaking her head.

Rex looked to the Welsh woman, who he had become friends with after the events of the miracle.

"So, what did this John do?" he questioned.

"What hasn't he done would be a better question…killing two of my colleagues; friends…we shouldn't trust him," she spat.

Rex looked deep in thought. He wanted to believe everything Jack was saying about this man who had only appeared a few hours ago, but the way Gwen was acting was making him lean towards her point of view. He knew she would never react like this without a reason. And a good one, at that.

"Ok, so what's next? Not like Jack is going to let you, US do anything."

Esther was getting frustrated. How could even be discussing this? Gwen nodded.

"I know…that's why we need to make him see sense. Make him see that this is what John does. How he could forget everything he has…."

"Just stop it!" Esther interrupted.

The clock struck twelve. Christmas day. Esther had noticed Jack was now standing on the balcony.

"How could you guys even be doing this? On today of all days!"

She looked to Rex who held up his hands in defence.

"Hey! It's not like the guy remembers anything. Esther, for all we know he could be this John and not realise it."

"Exactly! He doesn't know who he is but I do. I know that face anywhere," Gwen said.

Esther groaned and threw her hands up in rage.

"And so does Jack. You really think he would put us in danger by letting him stay here if he really was John?!"

There was silence.

"I'm going to see if he is okay, like friends should," Esther said, before she headed up the stairs.

Gwen also stood up at this point, muttering something about denial and how this will only end in a bad way. Rex was left alone. …It's not like Esther was wrong or Gwen, he thought. He was on the fence about this. At least, for now.

His expression saddened as he picked it up and raised it to the ceiling.

"Merry Christmas, Vera," he said, before downing the glass of wine in one.

OoOoOoOoO

Esther stood at the top of the stairs, watching her leader. He was so deep in thought. His face painted a picture of a millions words and emotions. Her mind was telling her legs to move yet, they stayed stock still. Jack had noticed her presence and turned his head to face her, stern look on his face. Noticing the apologetic look on the blonde's face, the corners of his mouth pulled into a small smile.

"Gonna stand there all night? I don't bite."

Esther smiled.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Jack."

Jack scoffed.

"Yeah, what a great Christmas this is turning out to be."

Taking a step forward, Esther placed a hand on his shoulder.

"How are things going in there?"

"Less than good. He doesn't remember anything, not a single thing. Two years we spent together…Two years and a lifetime of experiences all wiped out."

Esther looked at Jack. There was no easy way of putting this but she was going to have to ask now.

"Were you two…you know…involved?"

He smiled sadly at his colleague.

"No…I wanted to. After all, there was something about him that made me tick. But, he never barked up that tree."

Jack paused. Oh, how much fun that would've been.

"I guess that's why I had a relationship with John." he started.

"William was born in 1860 so, I guess being gay was frowned upon."

"Okay! What the hell is he doing here then? Kind of out of his time, isn't he?"

He nodded his head in agreement.

"You don't say…that's why I'm going to have to dig into this amulet. Maybe it's a time travelling device of some kind. Although, I've never heard of someone travelling by diamond," Jack stated.

There was a small, knock on the door, followed by a British accent.

"I'm done."

"Ok. I'll be with you in a minute," Jack replied.

The captain turned back towards Esther.

"That's my queue."

She smiled.

"I'll go and set up the spare room."

With that, Esther had disappeared down the hall.

OoOoOoOoO

Door shut quietly as Jack re-entered his room. William was now dressed in dark navy sweat pants and a white t-shirt. A fast improvement to what he had on.

"I heard…" William whispered.

Jack blinked.

"Heard what?" he enquired as he made his way over to the wash bowl.

"What you said to that woman…"

"Esther?"

"No…The angry woman."

The captain laughed to himself about the nickname William had given Gwen. It was true. She was a very short fused woman. He helped his friend sit on the bed. Taking hold of the damp wash cloth, he cleaned all the dirt off his face.

"Gwen?"

"Yeah…She thinks I'm John…doesn't she? What makes you think I'm not? A-and, I-If I've done all those bad things, why don't you just turn me over to the police?"

Tears were now raining down on William's chiselled cheek bones. He abruptly moved away from Jack, putting his back against the smooth wall.

"I deserve everything I get…" he sobbed.

Jack sighed. Thanks a lot, Gwen he thought. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Jack shook his head.

"No, you don't. You've done nothing wrong."

"How do you know? Do you know me?! In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a soddin' clue who you are either...So, why are you defending me?" William said, anger dripping in every word.

He was scared. The angrier he got the more scared he became. The anger was also because he didn't have a clue about anything that had happened in his life. Or who he was. Even though he was starting to believe Gwen, the angry woman. Jack sighed deeply. William refused to meet his gaze.

"Look at me…"

He bit his lip, slowly looking towards the captain.

"I know you're terrified. But listen to me. I know you. Inside and out. We spent two years travelling together. I trust you…"

He looked into his friend's terrified blue eyes.

"And I know you could never hurt a human…you're handy with a sword when it was needed but that's about it…my gentle friend, William. Always putting the safety of others first."

William gaped at Jack, who had now moved to the first aid box.

"I could still be John, though."

Removing a medium sized bandage and a roll of micro-pore tape, he walked back towards him.

"No! You're not. John is a clone of you. To be specific, the evil version of you…If it was him who came out of that amulet, I would've kicked his ass to the curb…without a second glance. No regrets."

William stopped and considered what Jack had said. He folded his arms across his chest. The captain stuck the bandage firmly on the cut and made sure it was secure.

"Say, I believe what you're saying? An evil version of me? Why would anyone need that? And how can you tell the difference?" William questioned, British accent strengthening.

Jack smiled.

"Well for starters, you have a belly button. Which, by the way clones don't have them and has already been checked," he started.

William lifted up his t-shirt to see that he was the owner of said belly button.

"The other thing is a completely different and long winded subject for which there is no time to discuss now."

"But…"

"It's gone past midnight, William. I'm tired. You look like you haven't had a good night's sleep in who knows how long. And it's also Christmas day."

William opened his mouth to speak but found Jack's hand covering his mouth. A frown now marred his face.

"I promise you, we will get your memories back and then you will see."

Jack smiled to his friend.

"Esther has set up the spare room for you. You're more than welcome to stay here while we figure things out. So what do you say?"

There was a long pause as he considered his options. Not that he had any. He didn't even know where he was. He had a different accent to everyone there. The American was right. He was tired.

"Ok…"

The captain nodded at the fragile man. Leading the way to the spare room. The man who could never die had no idea of what his friend had done. The horror and blood shed he had caused. But, then again, William had no idea either.

So guys what do you think? What was your favourite part? I know some of you may be waiting for the story to be in deeper before you review but I would really love to hear what you think! What do you think should happen next?