Chapter ten – end of an era
While the Doctor and Rose were talking, across them a similar conversation took place. The only difference was that here Violet and Ben weren't sharing life stories. They were talking about the future, or in their case, the lack of it.
„So, we're screwed, right?"asked Violet after she got bored with the silence at their hiding spot
„Pretty much, yeah"answered Ben, then after some time he added „Hartmann is not a complete idiot. She must've checked the security cameras of the labs. That means she knows that we left the building with one Jack Harkness. She'll assume that he's the prisoner, and we're with him. I'm sure that by now she has a permission to arrest us."
„Maybe we could explain her about this Jack being a parallel one, and the prisoner is the one she wants"she wondered aloud
„You really think she'd listen? She hates us. If we tried to explain the situation, she'd charge us with not only helping Harkness, but with letting strangers into the building, not notifying the senior staff about them, and with that endangering the national security. Then there is the fact that two of the mentioned three are aliens. Not even Pete could stick up for us."
„You forgot, that if she saw the tapes, she probably knows about about your relation to Harknes too, not to mention she must've heard the Doctor's ardenian comment too."she said, giving up the hope, that they'll get out of the mess ever.
„Yeah, that too."he said „We really are screwed."after some silence he asked „Do you think we can get cells next to each other?"
Violet laughed quietly „Idiot. And even if we could, I don't think we'd see or hear each other that much. I bet the Boss already has plans how to use you. She could fire the hackers, a couple of technicians."she trailed off, still musing
„Oh, no. The hacker guys already hate me for the stunt I pulled with Brynon's laptop."he exclaimed with mock sincerity
„Now be serious. What're we gonna do?"she asked, changing her expression from carefree to sincere.
„I'm not sure. We could go back to Torchwood and say we forced you to cooperate, but then you captured me. Then at least you'd be off the hook."
„No way."she replied immediately
„Ok. Option No.2 is that I could round up some old friend who owe me."he said, then nodded when Violet asked if he meant alien friends.
He was going to mention more options, but didn't have the time to do so.
Harkness and Martha arrived
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„So,"began Harkness. „Before we were rudely interrupted by that unknown lock-picker, you were going to tell me what you meant by 'the other one'."
„I wasn't going to."she channeled his inner Brynon, hoping that she wasn't going to share the scientist's fate
„You're feeling brave too? Tsk, tsk"he taunted „Didn't you learn from the geek? Maybe I have to refresh your memory "
Martha shut her eyes, and waited for the pain to come. 'Cause it's going to hurt. She was sure, that Harkness was going to shoot her in the leg, or arm or any other place that's painful, but fairly harmless. After all, he wanted the information she could offer.
When she heard the sound of the fired gun, but didn't feel the pain, she dared to open her eyes. She was greeted by the sight of the grinning Jack Harkness.
Standing over the still form of an other Jack Harkness.
„Hello"he said, and as soon as he finished, Martha flung herself into his arms, and hugged him tightly
„Are you really you?"he heard her question, muffled by his coat, which Martha buried her face into.
„Yes sweetheart, it's me. And look who did I bring with me"he joked, motioning towards the others.
Martha slapped his arm lightly, then turned to the Doctor exclaiming „What took you so long"
„So long? You spent what? Twenty minutes with him?"he answered, slightly offended, then said „Sorry. Must've been a long twenty minutes"
„It was."then she motioned towards the shot conman „Is he dead?"
„No, just unconscious."answered Rose „Now that you mention it, maybe we should tie him up"when Jack and the Doctor moved, she added „And don't forget to take away his guns"
They did as Rose said. They searched every pocket they could find, first on his coat, and they found so many, that it was easier to strip him. Five minutes later the conman had nothin, except a T-shirt and his boxer shorts on. When they were done, they searched their own pockets to find anything to tie their prisoner up.
„Here"Ben spoke up for the first time since Harkness' capture. He was holding two pairs of cuff-like things in his outstreched hand
„EM cuffs! Brilliant!"exclaimed the Doctor, snatching them from Ben, and clicked them on Harkness' wrists and ankles, behind his back
„Whats?"asked Martha
„Electomagnetic cuff. Put them on prisoners, and they can't touch any electric device. Or sonic. Hell, they can't touch any modern thingies. So if they want to escape, they have to stick with the pocket knife as a deadly weapon"he explained. Then continued his musings „Handy little thing, it is. They were invented in the 61th century by the ardenians. The other races discovered them through the Brotherhood. Where did you get them?"he asked Ben
Ben gave him a look, that couln't be misunderstood. It clearly said 'are you serious?'. When the Doctor didn't give any sign that he understood that, he answered „On the ship this morning"
Their conversation was interrupted by a pained groan. They turned their head, so they all faced the source of the sound.
Jack Harkness was waking up.
He opened his eyes, looked around, then sighed. He tried to move, but soon discovered, that his limbs are tied. It took him about half a minute to push himself into a sitting position. When he was relatively comfortable, he looked around again. He only saw Martha and the Doctor.
„Hello again. I don't think we've ever met."he said nodding to the Doctor. „I'm Jack Harkness, time agent. I…"
„You mean ex-time agent? Last time I checked you were an assassin. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong"interrupted Rose
„Rosie! How is the head? I hope that idiot didn't cause you much pain"he exclaimed, turning to face her. He also noticed the two other agents behind her, but not Jack „And Violet Black. Pleasure, as always. You're more beautiful than I remembered"at this point he was interrupted, again
„Why can't we have a silent prisoner. Just once."muttered Ben, rolling his eyes
„Ah, Benjamin. Isn't it a bit rude to tie your daddy up?"Harkness asked with feigned innocence
„Not as rude as genocide"Ben answered, without missing a beat
„Or abducting Torchwood agents"added Violet
„Violet, Dear. You know that I always do what I'm paid for"
„And what is that now"asked Jack, making Harkness spin around to face him. The conman gaped at Jack, then said
„You're the other one the woman mentioned. What are you? A clone? A shape-shifter?"
„That's none of your business. And answer the question."snapped Jack. After the talk with Ben he was watching out for the attempts to change a conversation
„Why should I tell you?"he asked
„If you don't, we're leaving you tied up for Torchwood to find you"answered Ben
Before Harkness could answer, they saw, or rather heard, two men entering the warehouse. The Doctor quickly put duct tape -he produced it from one of his bottomless pockets – over Harkness' mouth, preventing him from shouting. They dragged the struggling man behind a container, where he received a big dose of sedative –this one was fished out from the pocket of Ben's jacket. The others looked at him questioningly.
„In small doses it's a pain-killer. I wanted to give it to you because your wrist, but I forgot"he explained, and it was clear, that the last part was addressed to Rose
While they were occupied, the two intruder came closer. Jack wanted to avoid the fight - which would broke out if they discovered them- so he jumped out of their hiding spot to greet the as Harkness, grabbing and pulling out one of them with them.
„Hello, Gentlemen"he adapted Harkness' style, and noted that the new-comers were garrians
„Harkness"grunted the taller as greeting „Who's the other?"
„That's my temporary partner, Rose"he answered. He immediately noticed the weird glances they were giving them, even before feeling the swift kick that was delivered in his shin. He whirled around, and noticed, that the person there wasn't Rose. In fact, he was facing the rather annoyed Ben. He realized, that he must've grabbed him accidentally, instead of Rose
„Rose?"questioned the tall one, or alien1 as Jack dubbed it in his mind, while alien2 reached for his gun
„Alexander Rose"lied Ben smoothly, covering Jack's mistake
„The son of Brian Rose, the Duke of New Rome?"alien2 asked
„He is my uncle, but I'm sure you know that. Along with the fact, that women are not his preference of gender"he drawled in a tone, that reminded Jack of the snobby aristocrats of the 30th century. If he didn't know better, he would've believed that the man next to him was one of them
„Look, gentlemen, I don't have all day, so why don't we do what we're here for?"interrupted Jack. He didn't want to risk another slip-up
„Fine. Do you have the weapon?"
„Yes. Give me a moment."said Jack, and went back to the others to retrieve it
When he reached them, the Doctor grabbed his wrist, and whispered furiously „Are you out of your mind? You want to give it to them"
„No"Jack answered. „I just needed a reason to come here, so I could tell you to get behind them. When you're there, you could use the other dose of the sedative Ben shoved into my hand to stun one of the garrians, while we're dealing with the other"he finished, rather hurt, that even after the time they travelled together, the Doctor still didn't trust him completely
„Right. Sorry"the other man mumbled, then turned to the three women „Martha, you stay with Harkness, if he wakes, just hit him hard on the head. Violet, Rose you come with me. You have your gun with you right?...Perfect. If I can't knock him out, either of you shoot him."he turned back to Jack, and said „Is that okay, Captain?"
Jack nodded, grabbed the weapon and hurried back to the buyers. He watched the Doctor, Rose and Violet get into position
„Here we are"he set the device down the ground. Alien2 pulled a briefcase out. He opened it, and showed to Jack
„Liquified huon particles, six vial."alien2 made a move for the shield breaker, while alien1 said „It was a pleasure to trade with you"
Before alien2 reached the device, they heard a new voice right behind their back „Sorry to interrupt, but I can't let you to get that weapon. A race like yours shouldn't play with dangerous things like that"said the Doctor
The garrians whirled around and pulled their guns out, attepting to point them at the Doctor. But the Time Lord was faster, and stunned the taller. The other, no.2, turned back to shoot at Jack, but said man crouched down, so Ben could deal with the alien without him as an obscale.
The garrian and Ben fired at the same time, and fortunately for the latter, the former's aim wasn't very good. While Ben managed to shoot and stun him, the garrian blasted one of the containers, eight feet away from Ben's left side.
The Doctor and Jack quickly packed up the weapon and the briefcase, then they turned to the others
„Is everybody alright? Martha?"
„Fine. Harkness is still out."she answered
„Good. You"he said, turning to Rose and Violet, who nodded „Jack, Ben?"
„Fine""Alright"
„Okay, Now what are we doing with these two?"the Doctor asked
„The special-ops is surely on the way now. I say we tie them up too, and leave them to the Institute, along with Harkness"said Violet
„Good idea. Do you have ano….."he trailed off and grinned, when he saw the EM cuffs Ben was holding. He cuffed the garrians, then turned back to the man „Didn't pick you up one of those nifty electro-cages while you were on the ship?"he asked
Ben searched his pocket again, and now pulled out four little cube and handed them over. Meanwhile Jack dragged his alternate self over, and dropped him down, near the garrians. The Doctor put the cubes down around the stunned ones, then activated them with the sonic screwdriver. Green lights erupted from the parts, then connected in several places, forming a cage over the three occupants.
After he was done admiring his work, the Doctor slippped an arm around Rose's waist, and said „You know, I really don't understand why you were always nagging me about the things I have in my pocket. I mean look at the things Ben fished out"
„Useful gadgets and puppies are not the same, Doctor."Rose answered smiling
„Puppies? And I thought that the squirrel I found was the weirdest"quipped Martha
Right after Martha finished her sentence, Violet and Ben came back from their little tour to collect Harkness' things
„Here. You can keep them."said Ben, loading everything into Jack's arms. „His vortex manipulator can bring us back."the others nodded, and came closer to him „where did you parked your ship?"
„At the park."answered the Doctor „Near to the Nirvana poster on the stone wall. The cameras can't see it."
Three seconds, and an uncomfortable journey later the six of them were leaning to the wall near the TARDIS, trying to keep their last meal down
„Okay. That was really the last time I did that"moaned Violet
„I doubt that"spoke up the Doctor. „All of them turned to him, but he addressed his words to Ben „My past self just left the ship, to go after Rose, and I don't think it was just a mistake that you brought us here. Care to explain?"
After exchanging a look with her friend, Violet answered „The lab floor is full of security cameras. In …"she cheched the clock on the pole at the centre of the park „eleven minutes Hartmann will know that we helped you, and that Ben's not human. In thirteen minutes the three of us will be wanted. While it's not a problem for Rose, she can leave with you, Ben and I are screwed."
„With the device we could win a couple of minutes to get to the garage, go home, pack the necessary things and take off. Then meet up, find a nice planet or time frame, and live happily ever after"finished the story Ben
„This way you can find Jackie and Pete to say goodbye"added Violet, talking to Rose
„Okay"said the Doctor, and then watched the two running toward the garage. He turned to Rose „I know we already talked about it, but are you sure? Really, really, 100 sure?"
„I am."smiled Rose, then ran off.
From his place the Doctor could see Jackie and Pete exiting the building. He saw Jackie covering her mouth to stifle the sob, and saw Pete hugging her. He watched as Rose said goodbye, pausing only to wave to the drivers of the car and motorbike those exited the Institute. Then she turned back to her parents, hugged and kissed them again for the last time. He watched as she turned around, wiped her eyes and walked back to him. For a moment he caught Jackie's gaze; with that look he promised her that he'll look after Rose, that he'll love and protect her. Then he said, that he's sorry to tear her away. Jackie understood it, and gave him a watery smile. Then she turned, and let Pete led her away.
In that moment Rose arrived back. She kissed him, took his hand and said „Let's go home"
He smiled back, and opened the door. Martha immediately ran in, and disappeared into her room. When he turned to follow, he noticed, that Jack's still looking in the direction he saw the bike disappearing. The Doctor placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, and the three entered the TARDIS.
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Three months later Rose was sitting on a comfy couch in the library. After her return, she took up the habit of spending time there, sometimes reading, other times just staring at the flames in the fireplace. She often mused about the recent changes in her life. If somebody told her three months and a day ago, that this time she'd be here, Rose would've punched the person, for making fun of her.
But here she were in the TARIS, her home, with her Doctor. After coming back to their own universe, Martha came up to them, and said, that she wanted to go home for a while. She obviously realized that the Doctor and Rose would want to spend some times alone. She wanted to finish her training anyway. She said, that she'd be more than happy to come back after that.
Jack was back in Cardiff. The Doctor managed to took him back to the right year, but not the right month. They arrived six weeks earlier, six weeks before the Master takes over. Jack said, he didn't mind, he could occupy himself. He was helping to the two latest additions of the universe settle in.
She smiled at the memory, mostly when he remembered Jack's face, when the TARDIS rematerialized after departing from the park.
Flashback-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two of them watched as Jack went to the storage room to put Harkness' things away, without saying a word to them. After the sound of his footsteps faded away, the Doctor turned to Rose and said:
„I fixed the controls."
„Yeah?"she asked back, without paying any attention. She was thinking about Jack.
„Yeah. She travels not only in space and time, but might be able to make a trip or two in this world too."
Rose froze, then turned to him"Are you saying what I'm think you're saying?"she asked
„I do. But I thought, I'd check with you first. They're your friends"
„It would't hurt to ask. Let's go."
Right when the the ship rematerialized, Jack came back, asking if he could help. The Doctor made him pull levers and push buttons until they arrived. Jack went to open the door, eager to get away from the events of the day. He was a little suprised, when he found himself stepping into a living room, and was down right shocked, when a familiar voice spoke near him
„You know, it's rude to park in someone's flat without asking first"he drawled, then asked „So, what brings you here? Missed me already? I know I'm lovable, but seriously, we parted what, ten minutes ago?"
„Twenty-two. And now I see that the Russia sized ego is a family trait with you."said Rose from the TARDIS's door
„I agree."quipped Violet from the couch she was sitting on
„So, do you have everything packed?"Rose asked, nodding towards the bags they held
The two soon figured out what Rose wanted, and Ben was immediately objecting. However Violet found the idea very good; given that neither of them had any family left in that world. That way she didn't have to adapt to a whole new time frame. They argued for another two minutes, but they were cut off by the Doctor, who announced that the Torchwood team arrived.
With a last glance around his apartment, and the van that was approaching the building, Ben agreed to the plan too. He had only one thing to say.
„Is there a chance that you can get my bike?"
„Taken care of."the Doctor opened the TARDIS door, and pointed at his bike at the far end of the console room.
„How…"
„Rose"
Ten minutes later they were back in Rose's universe, as Violet started to call it (until Rose pointed out, that it's theirs too, now). The landing happened in the Doctor's usual bumpy way, in the wrong time, but they didn't mind. It gave Jack an opportunity to help Violet and Ben learn about the differences, and get jobs.
An hour after the landing they said their goodbye, and the three left the TARDIS. A couple of minutes later Martha told them about her wish to leave for a short time…
end of flashback---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rose was pulled out of her memory world by the Doctor, who just entered the library after fixing God-knows-what in the control room.
„Hey, what're you doing?"he asked quietly. He was still afraid, that one day Rose'd regret her decision to come
„I was thinking about that three months ago I was in another world. And that how happy I am to be back."
He sat down next to her, and she leaned into him.
„I'm glad you're happy"he said, but she knew he didn't come to tell her that
„What brings you here?"
„Nothing really…….Okay, I found this planet in the neighbourhood. They say there is a giant monster in the lake that eats people. The problem is, that there should't be any animal, the water is poisonous."
„So you want to go and explore"she asked, smiling
He scratched his head behind his ear and answered „Yeah. But only if you want to…" He was this way in the last three months, always tiptoeing around her, as if she'd pack and go away any minute. She knew that it might take some time for him to adjust to the situation he found himself in. That he'll never lose her.
„Let's go, then"she announced
As she watched him bouncing all way to the door, she realized for the first time in three months, that she really was home, it's not a dream. She followed the Doctor, who grinned at her, then opened the door.
Rose smiled and grabbed his hand.
She knew she wouldn't have it any other way.
End
Thank for all of you who read the story and reviewed.