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Chapter Twenty-five
Seto's feet pounded on the ground as he ran faster than he had ever done in his life. The sound of his shoes hitting the paving slabs below magnified inside his head as he felt them synchronize with his thumping heart. His view locked onto the call box that seemed to take forever for him to approach, but still he was determined to reach it before it dematerialized. I 'won't' let this chance pass by right in front of me; I 'will' get Mokuba back!
With his mind focused purely on his brother there was no time for Seto to register the TARDIS that was now only a few metres in front of him and so ended up crashing right into it. Ignoring the pain caused by the impact and vigorous sprinting he summoned what energy he had left to pummel the time machine's doors whilst calling out for the timelord. "Doctor! Doctor!!"
A pause as Seto struggled to breathe from his exhaustion and the TARDIS doors continued to remain closed. Please open up. He drew in as much air as his aching lungs would allow him, then continued his bellowing and beating. "Doctor, get out here! DOCTOR!!"
"Shhh!" The timelord hissed as one of the doors opened and out he stepped to drag the noisy offender away from his TARDIS. "Donna's sleeping and I don't want to wake her."
"Sorry." The remark was meant to be sarcastic but ended up sounding cheerful as Seto's joy and relief from seeing the Doctor seeped through into his speech. "I take it you both enjoyed your stay on that leisure planet?" The interest in making small talk was meant and failed to show sarcasm also.
"Actually, that's one adventure I'd rather not talk about for some time." The Doctor stated as he currently had no desire to retell the experience of being stranded on the broken down crusader vehicle. Repeating his tale to Donna on his return to her had been tough enough. "For our next outing I was thinking of staying here on Earth, - you know familiar territory and all that, - possibility travelling back to ancient times? Personally, I didn't enjoy Rome that much. Greece is nice though. Maybe Egypt; take a peek at how those pyramids were really created …"
"Forget ancient Egypt, I've been there and it isn't all that great." Seto butted in on the one sided conversation that the Doctor had spiralled off on and received an intriguing look from the timelord. "Trust me, long story."
"Oh-Kay." The Doctor mused as he studied the smug looking face of the panting Seto, clutching at his side, before he continued with his ramblings. "In that case then, I think travelling across the stars may be the better option after all. Alpha Centauri perhaps? Or what about the Isop Galaxy, - I was travelling through there not too long ago actually….." The over excited grin on his face slowly disappeared as he continued to stare at the younger man, finally realising that he was out of place. "What are you doing here in Cardiff Seto? And why were you hammering on the TARDIS?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Now that he had the timelord's full attention and having managed to regain control over his breathing, Seto began to explain the situation. "When you returned me to KaibaLand after that escapade you insisted on dragging my brother and I on, - it wasn't there…"
"What do you mean 'it wasn't there'?!" The Doctor exclaimed, his face wrinkled with confusion.
"Like I said; it wasn't there!" Seto growled in annoyance at having been interrupted by the timelord. "At my first realisation, you took off too soon for me to inform you, so I travelled all the way here to find Jack and wait so that you could put things right once again…"
"Put things right?!" This time the Doctor received a rather heated glare for his interruption. "You, - well Jack actually, - lied to me? You interfered with your timeline and now want me to put things back to how they used to be?!"
"That's about the gist of it."
"No." The answer was snorted in a disbelieving type manner.
"What?!!" That wasn't the answer Seto was hoping to hear. He 'has' to help me, how else am I going to get Mokuba back?
"I warned you, and Jack should have known better!" The Doctor's words were snarled as he glared back at the shocked looking man. "That luxurious lifestyle you fought hard to gain, well that's gone now so you're just going to have to learn to live without it. I know it will be hard for you to adjust at first, but trust me it'll soon come to you. In about a year's time your memories will have also adjusted so this will be the only life you've ever known and any memory you may have of your stepfather will be gone; so at least there'll be some good to come from all this. Just go back home, to Mokuba, and …."
"I have no brother in this timeline."
"What?!"
"Making sure that my father got to the hospital, before my mother died during my brother's birth, meant that he favoured her life instead of his." Seto painfully recalled the event that caused him heartache from either outcome as he watched the timelord standing there with mouth and eyes wide open with surprise from the revelation. "Mokuba was never born." Please, you have to help me. "He never existed here, and I am the only one who seems to care about that!"
"No." The Doctor gave a hysterical laugh from what he had just heard as his hands raised to grip at his hair. "No, that's not possible!"
"I'm afraid it is." Seto stated as he watched the distraught timelord and felt confident that the help he sought would now be given to him. "You don't seriously think that I'd come all this way searching for you just for the sake of material possessions?"
"No, no, no!" The Doctor chanted as he thought about the last encounter he had had with the younger of the Kaiba brothers. "Nooo!" His hands fell back to his side again before he turned on Seto. "You have no idea what you've done!"
No idea? He's got to be kidding me? I practically murdered my own brother and he thinks I don't know that I did so?! Seto held onto the urge to argue back as it would probably only make matters worse and wouldn't achieve anything. "But you're going to help me?"
"Help you?" For a moment the timelord just stared at Seto, and despite his own wanting, knew what the answer had to be. "No." He spoke calmly before turning to head back into the TARDIS.
"No?!" Seto roared as he launched himself at the Doctor and grabbed him by the collar of the long brown trench coat. With an icy glare, his eyes fixed on the timelord's that returned a stern gaze, indicating that his mind on the matter would not change. Resisting the temptation to strike out at the Doctor both physically and verbally for refusing to help him, Seto forced the urge back and his glare gradually melted. "Please, I'm begging you. My brother means the world to me." Tears began to trickle from his eyes as the stern face continued to look back at him. "I'll do anything."
"I'm sure you would." The Doctor agreed staring at the now broken man and gently eased the weakened grasp from his coat. "But I've already intervened with your timeline once before and I'm not prepared to risk doing it again."
"When?" Seto demanded feebly as he tried to vanquish his heartache, failing to stop his thoughts that screamed for the captain's comfort, as his exhausted body finally admitted defeat and sank down to the ground. I need you Jack!
"Eleven years ago." The Doctor sighed heavily and his eyes glazed as he thought back to the day when he first met the two brothers. "The TARDIS was drawn to your company's building as it detected a Cyberman conversion unit that your stepfather had built in a room located far below ground level." He looked down to where the younger man now knelt. "A Cyberman is …."
"I already know what they are." Seto spoke tearfully as he cut into the timelord's explanation. "They're on Torchwood records." He clarified.
"Of course they are." The Doctor frowned. He knew that Torchwood was certain to have an in-depth case report of the Canary Wharf incident, but what was this man doing reading highly classified documentation? "Anyway… because of my presence there at that time, you and your brother became trapped inside the machine before I had the chance to disable it. Thanks to your courageous sacrifice Mokuba was saved, but I failed to stop you from being converted into one of them." There was a brief moment of silence as the timelord slipped even deeper into the memory. "I felt so bad for the anguish I caused that boy."
"So you went back to rectify your mistake and selfishly cure your own guilt." Seto's voice was bitter as he glared up hatefully. "One rule for you and another for everyone else?"
"It wasn't like that." The Doctor sighed, though he had a feeling that no matter what his explanation may be, it would not be reason enough for the other to accept. "I broke the rules also, and did what any decent being would do by trying to make amends. It's because of that which made things worse by creating a pre-destined paradox as a result." He paused for a moment before he spoke out loud his ponderings. "Pre-destined or ontological? As extremely clever as I may be, I always manage to confuse the two. Still I suppose it doesn't matter too much since they're both practically identical …"
"You're rambling again."
"Yeah, I have a tendency to do that, I do apologise." The timelord received an un-amused look in return and swiftly continued with the recollection. "As I was saying; travelling back in time to delete all trace of the conversion unit, - completely removing the threat so that you wouldn't face the tragic fate, - meant that your brother and I ended up in your stepfather's office. We took refuge behind the dividing screen as you and he entered; that's how I overheard the conversation and learnt of the abuse."
"But if you overheard, then so did Mokuba!" Seto exclaimed fearfully as he was made aware that his little brother knew of the torture he had suffered. A silent nod from the Doctor was confirmation of one of his worst fears. "Please tell me that he didn't blame himself for my misfortunes."
"I'd be lying if I did."
More tears began to reform in Seto's eyes. "So for all those years, he knew of my endurance and blamed himself? Why didn't he come to me, talk to me? I'd have made him see that it wasn't his fault."
"Well let's face it; it's not like you made it easy for him. You're not exactly the talkative type either, and there's no way that you'd have believed him about what happened once you were then ordered out of the room. Then there's the fact that you were a cold hearted …"
"What happened when I was ordered out of the room?" Seto asked but clearly couldn't remember which time the Doctor was referring to, as Gozaburo's attitude towards him had always been dominating right from the first moment he had set foot across the mansion's threshold.
The Doctor glanced down towards the blue watery orbs waiting for an answer from him. Maybe I've already said too much? He pondered to himself. The last thing that I want to do is make him feel even worse than he does right now.
With an uneasy sigh, the timelord decided to make the truth of the incident known to the broken man. "The day of your stepfather's death was the occasion that your brother and I were hidden in his office. He sensed our presence behind the screen and ordered you out of the room in order to confront us. I revealed myself to him as I demanded information relating to the machinery hidden underground, and then …"
"I can see where this is going." Seto interrupted. "You're the one who is responsible for Gozaburo's 'suicide', as you killed him in your attempts to gain the facts that he adamantly withheld." He saw the startled look flash briefly on the Doctor's face from the accusation and then bitterly added. "You murdered him, leaving me with the months, - make that years, - of unnecessary hell which followed!"
"You've got it all wrong…"
"I was the one targeted to take the blame!" Seto continued, ignoring the timelord's assurance, his voice filled with anger as he recalled the time following on from his stepfather's death. "Within a matter of minutes of his body being discovered, fingers were pointed my way which led to me being cuffed and taken into custody under suspicion of murder." Slowly the rage began to ease and give way to the traumatized emotions that he had stored up for so many years. "At first I had nothing to fear, I knew I was innocent and that they'd just want to keep me overnight for questioning. But that night turned into days, which turned into weeks and then into months. Seven months in total, the first two of which I wasn't allowed any contact with Mokuba, and the times I was after that, I can count on the fingers of just one hand!
"The tabloids ran countless speculation stories about me; 'The ungrateful, greedy, urchin', who 'fooled and misled everyone', as I 'plotted against the kind and generous millionaire', who had 'taken pity and given a new life' to my brother and evidence and eyewitness accounts were created and used against me during the trail, which gradually, - and thankfully, - fell apart to then be decided it had been a suicide case all along.
"By that point everything about me as an individual was completely tarnished and stripped away, but still I fought on in a world that had shown me nothing but coldness since the loss of my parents." Seto stared up tearfully towards the Doctor. "Mokuba is my life, without him…" His words became inaudible as he failed to hold back the surge of tears and cries that escaped him.
Now I understand why he kept the truth about your stepfather's death from you. The Doctor conversed in his mind as he crouched down in front of Seto and held out a handkerchief. Your brother would rather suffer the guilt of what he had done, than cause you this much pain to remember that time, and possibly hate him in return for what you had been through . He frowned as he watched the broken Seto continue to cry helplessly, his offer of the small square of cloth went unnoticed. "This is exactly my point of why I won't attempt to alter your timeline once more. In a way, it is my fault that those things happened to you, but I did not kill that crazed stepfather of yours."
With great effort, Seto managed to regain some control over his emotions. "But you know how he died, don't you?" He asked through waterlogged eyes with a croaky voice.
"I do." The timelord confirmed as he let out a sigh. "You're not going to like the answer I'm about to give, but you must understand that it was purely an accident." He re-pocketed the handkerchief that now just seemed to be ignored. "It was Mokuba's doing."
"No. Not Mokie…"
"Like I said; it was an accident." The Doctor repeated as he saw Seto return to his wallowing state. "The revelation of what had been happening to you was too much for Mokuba to deal with. A combination of his loyalty towards you and the negative emotions he felt, meant that he unleashed that fury and swiftly had your stepfather at his mercy." A sad, but at the same time, fond smile faintly appeared on the timelord's face. "You'd have been so proud of him.
"Your brother was in a position were he could have easily caused that man great pain, not enough to kill or seriously injure him, but still … I wouldn't want to experience anything like that, and the point is that he 'could have' but didn't. Battling within himself; his emotions, morals of what was wrong and right, he came out victorious even though it felt like he had let you down. He knew what it was to be the better man, as he had been, not necessarily shown but definitely taught, and learnt all this from you.
"Thanks to the way you raised Mokuba, always placing him above your needs, no matter what the costs; he turned out to be a decent man, - and the way that society is going, it will soon be a rarity to come across people like that. Everything that you lost, he still has because of …" The Doctor stopped as he realised he'd been rambling again and hadn't made matters any better for Seto, who was now staring beyond the damp patches where his tears had fallen. "Anyway, once Mokuba had backed down your stepfather pulled a gun on him. In his defence, your brother used the newly re-charged sonic screwdriver to knock the weapon to the floor, only it was so powerful that it blasted the old man across the room and through the window to his death."
Slowly, the Doctor pushed himself back up to his full height whilst still staring down at the grief stricken man and the puddles that were now forming on the ground. "You have my deepest sympathies for what has happened, but I will not correct the mistake you have made." There was no reply from Seto as he remained motionless with the vacant look in his eyes. "I really am very, sorry." And you'll never know just how much. With a heartbreaking sigh the timelord turned and headed back to his TARDIS.
"I should have seen this coming."
The timelord froze in his tracks as his hand was about to push open the wooden door. "I was wondering how long it would be before you jumped me!" He exclaimed, turning back around to see the captain walking slowly towards him.
As Jack approached he glanced sorrowfully down at Seto. Once by the younger man's side he reached down and placed a hand onto his left shoulder. I'll sort this. I promise. He gave a gentle reassuring squeeze before letting go of his companion who had failed to be lifted out of the trance-like state. "After all, you've abandoned a man in need before, so why wouldn't you do it again?" His view was diverted onto the Doctor now as he strode over to him.
"When have I ever…?"
"Satellite Five; need I say more?" Jack elaborated slightly, now standing right in front of the timelord.
The Doctor sighed as he lowered his head into his hand and massaged his temples. "We've been over this already." He moaned at having the incident, of when he had left Jack behind on the Gamestation, raised once more. "I thought we had things sorted and all was forgiven."
"Forgiven, yes." The captain confirmed. "Forgotten, never." The last image he had of the dalek shooting him dead resurfaced in his mind, closely followed by the terrifying rebirth that started his immortality, and of course the TARDIS disappearing to leave him stranded on the lifeless Gamestation. Although the incident was painful to recall, he wouldn't let ill feelings develop from it. "I've witnessed what happens to those who let hate consume them, and I won't let that happen to me."
Peering out from underneath his fingers, the Doctor felt relieved to hear that no grudge was being held against him for the unfortunate occurrence. Out of all the people he had ever gotten on the wrong side of during his travels, Jack was one of those he didn't want chasing him down for revenge, - something he knew would be possible for him to do over the next several billion years.
"Look at him Doctor." The captain gestured behind himself to where Seto knelt in his fixed posture. "He needs help, the kind that only you can provide at this current moment in time…"
"And he wouldn't be like this had you not let him interfere with his timeline!" The Doctor stated sternly as he lowered his hand and stared harshly at Jack, who silently shifted with uneasiness from the scowling. "You used to be a Time Agent for crying out loud! You should have known just what kind of consequences there would be …"
"I messed up; I'm aware of that!" The captain shot back determined not to let the timelord rant on with his preaching. "That's why I intend to see that things are put right again. I had my reasons for why I stood aside, and if I had any idea that that one tiny change would cause this much disruption, then I wouldn't have let it happen at all."
"That's not good enough."
"Oh come on!" Jack's eyes were wide and pleading for the other to understand. "Surely you've experienced similar situations? Times where you don't care, - you want to break the rules of time and space, - throw everything into chaos and to hell with the consequences, all for the sake of someone you care for?"
The Doctor remained locked in the stare-out with his old companion. "I always stand by what I know is right."
"So to stand aside and watch a young boy witness one parent die, and then for the other to fall apart right in front of him is the right thing to do?"
"If that's the way it originally happened, then yes."
The captain's fist clenched as he fought to keep his anger to a minimum. All the legends and stories he'd been told about the Timelords during his childhood and duration at the Time Agency suggested that the entire race had only seen the universe in black and white, - right or wrong, - there was no in between. For this fact to be proven true wasn't of any real surprise to him, but the heartless and unsympathetic way in which it was said by the timelord did, especially since he knew that the Doctor was more than capable of showing compassion.
"Why get yourself worked up over this Jack? If it's some kind of guilt thing…"
"I can deal with guilt, it's Seto's wellbeing I'm concerned for."
"Why?" The Doctor gave a disbelieving laugh at what he was hearing. There was no further explanation from the captain who just shifted awkwardly where he stood. "I hope you're not deluded enough to think that he came all this way because he wanted to be with you?"
"Of course not." Jack laughed nervously. "He came hoping to find you, so that you could help him." There was more nervous laughter as the captain briefly glanced back towards the younger man kneeling in his trance, and then returned his gaze back to the timelord. "But during these last few weeks whilst he's waited for you…" He paused with his words as the Doctor's eyes fixed firmly on his own as they waited for the explanation, causing him to loose track of the rest of what he was going to say and so got straight to the point. "I love him."
I knew it! The Doctor's eyebrows rose with forged surprise. "Believe me Jack; Seto isn't the type of guy who'd consider being your lover. In fact I'd say you've got more chance building a snowman on the surface of the sun than getting him into your bed…"
"Is that all you think I want from people?!" Jack hissed angrily as he held back the urge to yell.
"You're a fifty-first century male Jack…"
Seeing the timelord just shrug off the biased stereotype assumption, the captain failed to keep his cool any longer and allowed his voice to grow in volume as it bordered on hysteria. "It's not like you to be so judgmental!" Jack's eyes were wide as his hands rose to anxiously grab hold of the Doctor before he changed his mind and they just simply fell back down to his sides. "I didn't ask to be the person I am!"
"How many times do you want me to say it? I'm sorry. And I'm sure that if Rose knew she would also…"
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Jack saw the Doctor jump from his outraged cry. Struggling to stay calm, he continued his protest. "I didn't ask to be pumped full of pheromones during my days as a poster-boy, nor did I ask for my home-world to be engulfed by war and forced into the military, along with all my friends." Two big blue eyes glistened as they filled up with the saddened memories of his life in the fifty-first century. "I won't lie to you Doctor.
"When I first meet someone, I can't stop myself from thinking what it would be like to … well, it's hard to change old behaviour patterns of living for as much pleasure as possible since any day, - any moment, - could be your last in those dark and desperate times. But once I've spent more time with them, got to know the person a little better, that's when my views usually change and feelings develop, - or not." Jack's voice began to take on a resentful tone. "And the way that I feel for Seto isn't sexual like you always assumed!"
Now it was the timelord's turn to shift uncomfortably. "I shouldn't have judged you like that." His eyes remained focused on the captain's though they desperately longed to look away in shame of his biasness.
"No, you shouldn't have." Jack spoke firmly as he stared back at the timelord and forced himself to say the rest of what was on his mind. "The old you, - the one that didn't hate me, - wouldn't have even considered such a thing."
"What?!" The Doctor exclaimed at the statement he had just heard. "Jack I … I don't hate you."
"Funny way of showing it." The captain snorted sardonically. "The past couple of times you've shown up here, you couldn't wait to get away, and the only reasons I got to tag along on both occasions was because the situations were out of your control..."
"But what about when I asked you to come with me?" The timelord interrupted with his reference to the proposal he had made after the year that never was, which had been caused by the Master. "If I remember rightly, you turned me down in favour of Torchwood and your team."
Choosing to ignore the argument that the Doctor was making, Jack continued. "Since you regenerated, you've done nothing but look down on me, - speaking as though I'm a child who's always in the wrong. We lost that equality, trust and friendship that had been built…"
"We haven't lost it."
"Yes, we have!" Traces of hysteria were sneaking back into his voice. "Remember how things were when we first met? How you and Rose changed my selfish outlook on life? The three of us travelling in the TARDIS? Exploring worlds? Having a laugh? Flirting?…….Bananas?"
Bananas. The Doctor couldn't help but smile fondly as he remembered the jokes they shared involving the bendy yellow fruit.
"There was a time when I would gladly follow you across the universe, time and space." Jack paused as he hesitated. If I don't say this now, then I never will. "And even though you changed and are no longer 'my Doctor', I would have enjoyed nothing more than to be by your side for the rest of my life, but you were too blind to see it and now …. It's too late." He diverted his view from the timelord's startled expression and glanced back at Seto once again.
"I'm still me." The Doctor assured, feeling awful that he could have pushed one of his friends so far away. And not just any friend, but one who cared dearly for him and could have spent a great chunk of his life travelling alongside him. "It's just that sometimes you're too much to take …" He trailed off as making yet more excuses would not cheer up his old companion.
"I've failed a lot of people." Jack was still viewing the younger man as he spoke to the Doctor. Thoughts of Gray entered his mind though he did not speak his brother's name out loud to the timelord. "Tosh, Owen, Suzie, Alex, the list goes on and on." His view returned back to the now sympathetic brown-eyed gaze. "I love Seto as though he were my own brother and I'm determined not to fail him. Please help me to help him, and correct that mistake made in his timeline."
"No, I won't."
Please!!! The urge to scream out in desperation was held back as the captain refused to accept the answer he had been given. "In that case; I'll take care of Seto now and set things right later. He'll stay here and live his life out with me to watch over him, and when the fifty-first century comes around, - bringing the Time Agency and vortex manipulators with it, - then I'll go back and re-alter things myself…"
"Don't be an idiot." The Doctor sighed heavily at the stubbornness displayed.
"There's nothing idiotic about it." The Jack shook his head with a smug curve creeping on his lips. "How'd you like spoilers Doctor?"
"What kind of spoilers?"
Jack could see that he had the timelord's full interest in the question asked and began to reveal the information that he was relying on for the Doctor's cooperation. "I was on a mission for the Time Agency, - sent to the year 500076, - and had to come up with an alias. I ended up scouring a close by history book and guess whose names I saw? Seto and Mokuba Kaiba." He watched the timelord's eyes dilate from hearing his words. "They're both in the history books, so if the correction isn't made, then …"
"What were they in the book for?" The Doctor asked, knowing that he couldn't allow an error to go un-noticed and change things that had already been set out.
"Actually, I'm not sure." Jack confessed as he thought back to the mission and cringed at the memory. "I can only remember their names being there as I was distracted by this huge head in a jar that was watching my every move. Now I'm not one to judge species by appearance, but this guy was seriously creeping me out with his repulsive ugliness…"
"I'm sure the exact head you're referring to is a friend of mine, and believe me; he's an awesome guy." The Doctor smiled at the captain who was completely oblivious to the head's identity that only he and Martha were aware of.
"I'm sure he is, I didn't mean to cause offence." Jack assured as he watched the timelord break out into a show of silent, amused laughter. "So will you fix the mistake?"
The laughing stopped.
"Just do this one last thing for me, - well Seto really, - and I'll steer clear from you from now on." Another hesitation before Jack added. "I'll be out of your life for good."
"I don't want you out of my life." The Doctor assured his friend.
"But I need you out of mine." The captain's voice almost broke from the heartache he felt as the words left his lips.
Jack's words struck the timelord like a knife through both of his hearts, something he felt he deserved after the way he had treated the man he had abandoned on the Gamestation. For a moment his world had stopped. It seemed there was no noise, movement or the passing of time until the muffled voice of his companion shouting from inside the TARDIS brought him back to reality. "Doctor?"
"Who's that?" Jack asked curiously.
"Only Donna." The Doctor replied with a sad sigh as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Next he held his other hand out as he demanded the vortex manipulator from Jack, who wasted no time in complying and offered his arm to the timelord. He firmly gripped the captain's arm and began to shine his sonic over the strapped on device. "You've got three pre-programmed jumps on this thing and that's it.
"The first jump will take you and Seto back to one hour before I picked you two up outside the hospital. Once there, put right whatever you altered, and then the second jump will take you both to KaibaLand on the night that Seto originally left with me." The Doctor placed his silvery device back into his pocket. "The last jump will bring you back here several minutes after you set off on your mission, and then your 'space hopper' will revert back to its useless state."
"Doctor?" Donna's voice was heard again.
"Thank you." Jack breathed a grateful sigh of relief. "What made you change your mind?"
"Unlike you, I know why their names are there in the history book." He watched the fascinated look sparkle in the captain's wide blue eyes, and shook his head to show that he wasn't going to explain any further. "Spoilers Jack, spoilers."
"Aw, but I like spoilers." Jack pouted.
"Doctor!"
"Alright, I'm coming!" The timelord shouted back at Donna in the TARDIS. He spoke to Jack as his hand was placed against the callbox door. "Take care, Captain."
"You too, Doctor." Jack gave a farewell salute and couldn't resist the build up of curiosity that was growing inside. "Before you go, could I meet your lovely assistant?"
"Naturally I'd say yes, but as far as I'm concerned; we're now no longer a part of each others' lives, so no." The Doctor's tone contained no emotion as he failed to look at his friend and just calmly entered the time machine.
Hurt and speechless, Jack watched as the TARDIS disappeared from in front of him. It had to be done. He told himself as to why he had chosen to cut the timelord from his life. Ianto deserves my sole affections, and now he's closer to having them…
"I feel it too." There was a very low, almost a whisper of a voice to leave Seto's mouth as he continued to stare transfixed at the ground.
"Seto?" The captain's view turned on the younger man who he slowly approached, wondering if he'd been aware of everything that had gone on from under his trace-like posture. Not remembering the question he had asked his companion before the rift's rupture, Jack's voice was full of confusion. "What do you feel?"
"The same as you do." Seto's view turned from the ground and up towards the older man towering over him. There were still traces of sadness in his eyes, but also a glimmer of newfound happiness. "I didn't want to make my feelings known in case you misinterpreted them, and the fact that to admit it would have seemed like I'd given up on Mokuba …" He hesitated, still scared to reveal all. "You're the older brother that I never had, but so desperately wanted, - needed, - to watch out for me." A ghostly smile appeared on his face. "Thank you Jack."
"No." The captain clasped his hand back onto his friend's shoulder were it had been just a few moments earlier. "Thank you Seto, for allowing me to experience that brotherly bond which was stolen from me so very long ago." He watched as the younger man raised his own hand and placed it on top of his, squeezing tightly to express his silent gratitude, and more friendly smiles were exchanged between them. "Come on; pull yourself together whilst I make a quick call." Letting go of Seto, he turned away to use his cell phone.
"Jack?" Ianto's voice was weak and mournful on the other side of the phone line.
Jack smiled at hearing his lover's voice before he then frowned at the saddened tone that had been used. "Have you been crying?"
"I …erm…I…I thought that you…it doesn't matter, forget about it."
"I wouldn't have chosen him over you Yantie, not in a million years." There was a deep longing to be able to see the young Welshman and squeeze him tightly, but right now Jack had other things to do first. "Just calling to let you know that I have to disappear with Seto for a little while."
"How long for?"
"I'm not sure." The captain sighed. "A couple of hours to me and him, five or ten minutes to me and you?"
"Is that all?" There was a chuckle.
A warm broad smile shone on Jack's face from hearing the now cheerful tone to his lover's voice. "I just didn't want you to worry."
"Okay, I won't." Ianto assured. "Should I have the coffee brewing ready for your return?"
"I'm going to need something a lot stronger than coffee."
"That bad eh?"
"Uh-huh." The captain gave another sigh and quickly glanced at Seto, who was now back on his feet and waiting patiently. "We'll talk later okay?"
"Okay, take care."
"I will." Jack ended the call and turned back to the younger man. "You ready?"
Seto nodded with uncertainty. "About as ready as I'll ever be." He moved closer towards the older man preparing the vortex manipulator for its first jump.
"Brace yourself." Jack warned as he took hold of Seto's hand and placed it over the device on his wrist. "This isn't going to be pleasant."
There were a couple of beeps from the vortex manipulator before a white light enveloped them both and transported the two men back through time to events just over twenty-four years ago.
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A/N: I was unsure wheather or not to split this chapter up into two, but kind of felt that it needed to be read as one, so left it this way.
This was the chapter that I struggled to write with my bout of 'writer's block', so I apologise if it doesn't read as smoothley as I had intended it to.
Yarsian - Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story :) In response to your question; I haven't seen Father's Day (completely) and without having a dig at Russell T Davies, he has a tendancy to overlook continuity too. There's a whole list of little 'nitpicky' things in this fic (and the previous one) that annoy me also, my advice is not to think about them too much.
starwefter - Thanks again for the typo pointer. I feel bad now for misleading you (and anybody else) about the 'duel' :( I'm so sorry.
doctorwho29 - Thank you, for a great idea! I'm not sure if I'll be able to work it into the third part, but failing that I would love to use it as the plot of a Yugioh/Doctor Who fic based around Yugi (I will credit you for the idea of course) Also, Daleks will appear later in this fic.
Isis the Sphinx - I thought you'd be happy, lol.
KG