Title: Tish's Years.
Chapter 03: The Master's Shadow
Character, pairing: Jack Harkness, Tish Jones and the Master.
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who Universe.
Summary: Jack rescued Tish who after falling through the rift had found herself on an abandoned planet centuries in the future.
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: (Nothing explicit – but implicit sexual abuse scene) mention of past violence of torture.
Beta: Orion Lyonesse on ffnet or koram_dancer on LJ
...
The Master, the Valiant and a year long forgotten, except for them. A year they met, a year they learned about each other and about themselves. A year of struggle, a year of resistance upon which they'd built a strong companionship. They were old battlefield comrades; they were the last veterans of the End of the World, of the Year That Never Was. But nowadays, in that small ship lost somewhere in deep space, and cramped with Jack's pheromones, that year that had gotten them so close was standing between them as an impassable wall.
The Master's sickening laugh, Jack eyes closed and chained as he almost always was. He would always keep his eyes shut when it come to that, always, and Tish was grateful for it.
"Don't play shy, Tish, you naughty girl," the Master used to tease. "You like him, don't you? Doesn't he taste good, our Captain, better than anything you ever tried?"
Guards would remove what was left of Jacks shirt. Whatever the Master would do him, his skin would always grow back, as soft and smooth as the first day, and there was that smell, that so particular scent, so intoxicating it would drive her mad, get her to lose her self...
"Go ahead, be a good girl, Tish," the Master would mock. "Lick him, I want you to lick every inches of that skin. You know you like it, don't make me force it upon you..."
Soon she wouldn't be listening anymore, Jack's pheromones were so strong, so…Soon she wouldn't be here anymore, soon the Master could dispose of her body as he wanted, but her mind would be elsewhere, very far away and with Jack by her side.
*Come on, Tish, over here, come to me, give me your hand...Let's walk away.*
Jack would come for her, as he always did, and they would walk along on that beach, a very long and very peaceful beach on a faraway planet. She would focus on the two silver moons hanging upon the horizon ahead, on the shifting sand beneath her feet, on the friendly man walking by her side, and she could ignore what the Master would do with her empty body while she was away.
*If he found out, he'd get mad…*
*He already is.*
*Jack, please be cautious.*
*I told you, Tish, that's a private line, No one can interfere, not the Master, not even the Doctor.*
Jack would let her hand go just in time for the Master not to notice. However, disgusted and shocked, she would crawl back to roll herself against the nearest wall or vertical surface providing a feeling of relative security.
Jack would then face the Master defiantly alone, pushing and pushing him until he'd forget completely about her, until he got the Master to strangle him or kill him in any other way that would at least momentarily satisfy the mad Time Lord.
...
Tish woke up from her dream in Jack's little Chula ship. Jack had fallen asleep in his seat. He was so gorgeous when he was sleeping. To be truthful, he was always gorgeous, but it wasn't so much about his features than about his aura; Jack was generosity and self-denial hidden behind a cheeky mask of arrogance.
During that year Jack had taken more than was even humanly possible to imagine, and everyone knew it, everyone on board was aware of what was going on; some even felt concerned. But in the end it, it always came down to the same conclusion: Jack would come back, Jack would always come back; better Jack than anyone else...Even Jack and the Doctor seemed to agree, she couldn't...
Of course the Master enjoyed playing with anyone's concern or feelings towards others, and keeping them hidden was the best defence, but sometimes she couldn't help but think the Doctor was completely thoughtless about Jack.
However Jack would always choose the Time Lord's side, playing with the Master, teasing him, luring him into focusing on him.
As long as the Master was only playing with his body, Jack could take it. When it got to his mind though, it was more difficult, even if he wouldn't admit it. In the beginning, the Master had thrown a maddening tantrum because of Jack's mental resistance, but with time Jack's strength had weakened and keeping his mental barrier up was more and more difficult.
After Ianto's death, the Master finally got through Jack's mental walls, believing he would find the secret of his immortality. He did find it, at least what Jack knew, and it didn't satisfy him. Out of rage, he simply raped Jack's mind outright, leaving behind him an empty shell.
She was there. She'd watched. The Master always enjoyed an audience, especially when he knew the audience cared.
"Jack, he's gone," she told him, taking him gently in her arms. "Jack, please, look at me."
But Jack's eyes where empty, his being lost somewhere deep within. He was barely breathing, but he wasn't hurt, at least not physically.
*Jack, where are you? Jack, its' me, it's Tish, please answe…-*
But he didn't. She got in, for the first time she got in by herself. She found her way to the beach but it had been turned into an abandoned battlefield. She'd trudged through that wreck and ruin under a threatening sky, surrounded by frightening nightmares. She finally found him, rolled into a ball, hidden in a little strange, Victorian-like room, devoid of windows.
*You shouldn't be here, it's not safe, he'll come back...*
*He's gone, Jack. Give me your hand…*
Nothing was left of the man who used to challenge the Master on regular basis. Forgotten was the Doctor's and Martha's companion. He was nothing more than a terrified little boy, shivering in her arms. She stayed there, hugging him, whispering soft words.
*You can't stay here, Tish, if he comes back, if he finds you here…*
*I won't go without you, Jack, no way,* she told him. *And even if I wanted to, I couldn't found my way out.*
*You can do it, I know you can.*
*Maybe and maybe it's selfish, Jack, but we need you, I need you,* she'd said, ashamed of playing that card with him.
It worked. Jack took her hand and they walked together out of his wrecked mind. That terrible day, huddled in her arm, Jack cried for hours. She cuddled him like a baby, like he'd done so many times for her.
...
"Waking up?" she asked, coming out of the shower.
"Humm, I may have taken a nap..."
"Looks like it," she replied.
"Is it free?" he asked, gesturing for the hygiene cabin.
"I think so, didn't see anyone else around," she joked. "By the way, I wouldn't want to sound demanding, but you've no idea what I would give for a real shower, one with real water."
"I might be able to get you that, and even more," he replied from inside the cubicle.
"Really?"
"Tomorrow we'll make a stop by Sisko."
"Is it a star base or a planet?"
"A moon base, in fact. A sort of very big star base, orbiting around a gas planet. It's not well attended, but there are places a lot worse, even on Earth."
"And they have water showers on that moon base?"
"They've got a whole Hamman complex with sauna, Jacuzzi and so on. Better than in any Roman Imperator's dream, the most fantastic Turkish bath I ever tried."
"Wow, that sounds like fun."
"Did I mentioned, it's mixed?"
"Knowing you, I had already assumed."
Jack came out of the shower, a mischievous grin plastered across his lips, but was still keeping his mind locked, as he'd been doing from the first day. For him the Year That Never Was was far away and he'd had plenty of time to rebuild his walls and his mind. Of course, she knew why he'd left Earth, and how devastated he'd been by the Children affair and by Ianto Jones' second death.
"Do you think I could find a nice guy out there, preferably devoid of tentacles or too weird stuff?" she asked.
"There aren't many Humans around here, but you can find some humanoid. Perhaps some Gayates? Why? Are you in some kind of need?"
"You could say that," she laughed. "With you spreading pheromones all around us, even a nun would be in need, and I'm not one."
"I've known some nuns quite…"
"Stop it right now, Jack, or…"
"Or what?"
"Or I won't wait to see what's available on your damned moon base and simply ravish you."
"What made you think I would complain?" he laughed.
There was a little flutter, as if the Valiant's shadow had crossed the place, then it was gone; he dropped the masque and his mind walls, letting her to see the sorrow and loneliness hidden behind. Then, everything got simpler, even easy. The Master was long gone, and they were both in deep space but together.
To be continued