Reunited by Sian
Synopsis: When Jack and the Doctor finally
talk, Jack gets an answer to his problem
Characters:
The Doctor (ten), Jack
Episode/Spoilers: Doctor
Who - 2 x13 Doomsday & some series 3 spoilers. Torchwood - 1x07
Greeks Bearing Gifts.
Rating: PG
Notes:
I've been writing Jack/Ten fics all summer (had to update this one
after Torchwood started) - this is the first I've posted, there
will be more.
Part Four
Jack sat in one armchair and the Doctor in another, the coffee table between them held a bottle of whiskey from another galaxy and two glasses, which the Doctor filled before handing one to Jack. Jack took a long drink, and then asked, "If you didn't bring me back, then who did?"
"Rose."
"You sent Rose home."
"Yes, yes I did," the Doctor agreed with a sad smile. "But she came back. She opened the TARDIS heart and used the time vortex to take her back to the Game Station. Then she used it to kill the Daleks and I'm guessing to bring you back."
Jack gave a small laugh. "Rose did that. God. And you didn't know what she'd done?"
"I knew she'd killed the Daleks, I watched her do it, but no I didn't know about you. I was dying, I'm amazed I managed to fly the TARDIS, I had no idea what was going on in the universe at the point. I just concentrated on getting off the Game Station and back to safety before my regeneration started. Rose didn't know what she'd done. She asked about you, I told her you were helping rebuild Earth, that you were fine. She didn't believe me as it turned out. A few weeks later, she made me take her to your home in the 51st century so she could say goodbye." The Doctor didn't know whether that would help Jack or make things worse, but it was the truth.
Jack nodded and stared down at his now empty glass. "At least you thought about me," he said.
The Doctor frowned, he was shocked that Jack would think they'd just forget him. "Of course we thought about you, we missed you," the Doctor replied. "I still miss you," he added. Jack was the only Human he'd met who understood his life, who he didn't have to explain himself to.
Jack gave a small smile. "You know, in spite of wanting to beat the crap of you for abandoning me, I missed you as well. It's strange how good it feels to be able to be myself around someone for a change." He sighed and leaned back in the chair. He'd been so sure that only the Doctor could have brought him back, he'd never considered any other explanation. He was surprised at how relieved he felt to hear that the Doctor hadn't deliberately left him, and he was actually touched to hear that both Rose and the Doctor had mourned him. There was one more thing though. "If Rose used the time vortex to bring me back, would that have any lasting effects?"
"Like?"
"Not being able to die, or age for that matter."
The Doctor nodded. "That's one of the reasons the Time Lords forbade using the time vortex to control life or death. It has consequences that go far beyond someone being alive who shouldn't be."
Jack wondered whether the Doctor included himself in that view, but decided he'd rather not know.
"But you can die," the Doctor added. After he'd seen Jack earlier, he'd been fairly sure how Jack had come back to life. So he'd trawled through the archives in the TARDIS database, searching to see whether his theory was correct. "The vortex brought you back to life and it's now keeping you alive. But every time you die and it brings you back, and every time you use it to help someone else," the Doctor gave Jack a knowing look, "you use up some of the energy. Eventually it will run out and then you will die."
"I don't know whether that makes me feel better or not," Jack admitted. "Am I actually alive?" he asked.
"You're sitting there, drinking my whiskey and talking - usually signs that someone's alive."
"But not always," Jack added.
"No," the Doctor agreed. "Do you breathe? Bleed? Does it hurt when you stub your toe in a door?" When Jack nodded, the Doctor grinned, "Then you're alive."
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They talked for another half an hour or so, until Jack's mobile rang - an automated call alerting him to an alien attack in a Cardiff hotel. "I have to go," he told the Doctor. "Will you be in Cardiff again?"
The Doctor had been planning visiting Cardiff occasionally to check on the rift - which was a relic of the time war and therefore indirectly his responsibility. But then he'd discovered that Torchwood had a base in the city and he'd decided that he'd be giving Cardiff a wide berth. Now of course, here was Jack, the head of Torchwood Cardiff but still his friend. He was reluctant to put himself any closer to Torchwood than he had to though. "Possibly."
"Worried about Torchwood?"
"Can you blame me?"
"They've changed."
"Is their motto still 'If it's alien, it's ours'?"
"Yeah."
"Then they haven't changed that much and this alien would rather steer clear."
Jack understood the Doctor's mistrust of Torchwood. "I can put a block on the scanners so they don't pick you up. And as long as you park here, no one will see you," he offered.
"We'll see. I'll phone you when I'm in this time again."
If that was the best the Doctor could offer, then Jack accepted it for now. "I really have to go."
The Doctor walked Jack back through the ship and to the console room. "She recognises you," he told him.
"She always did like me," Jack smiled. "Hey, if I have the vortex in me - does that mean I can fly her now?"
"No, you have to actually be a Time Lord for that."
"Shame."
"Oh yeah, terrible shame," the Doctor laughed. "I will be back here soon. I'll phone you."
END OF THIS CHAPTER
More Jack/Ten to come soon
