Jack woke up with a start. For a moment, Jack had wondered if it was all a dream. The only thing that kept him from jumping up and running to his office was the warm weight still laying on his chest. If the Doctor hadn't really returned to him. That instead Ianto had crawled into his bed while he slept. It would be strange as he and Ianto hadn't been a couple since he had nearly killed his grandson Steven a few months back. Though it had been the right choice in order to save all the children on Earth, Ianto hadn't forgiven him for the action. In truth, he had yet to forgive himself. Still it would be stranger to find out that the Doctor was really laying beneath the blankets, using his chest as a pillow. If it was the Doctor Jack needed to get him cooled down and quickly as his body was warm to the touch, meaning he was burning up with fever. Taking a deep breath, Jack moved the blanket to reveal the normally brown spiky hair, drenched in sweat.
"Oh Doc," Jack whispered, brushing his hair back. He knew that the Doctor could survive in higher temperatures for longer than a human, but Jack doubted that counted internally as well. The Doctor was burning up and he needed to cool him down quickly. He carefully extracted himself from the Doctor's arms. The Doctor opened his eyes a crack as he moaned at the loss.
"Jack," He whined.
"I'm sorry Doctor, but you are burning up. I am going to go run you a nice warm back to try to cool you down," Jack explained to him.
"K," The Doctor whimpered. Jack went to the bathroom and started the water in the tub. The water was just barely warm to his touch so he knew it would be warmer to the Doctor, but not too warm. He made sure the tub was filled, adding bubble bath to it to help the Doctor preserve his dignity if Jack had to check on him. Turning he started to stand up to go retrieve the Time Lord. He paused realizing that the bubbles were unnecessary as he looked straight at the naked man standing into the doorway. He didn't seem to care about the fact that he was naked in front of Jack as he walked over to the tub.
"You're naked," Jack squeaked. The Doctor looked at him confused.
"Did you want me to take a bath in my clothes?" He questioned Jack.
"No," Jack replied quickly as he tried hard not to stare at the Doctor's member. He offered a hand to the Doctor for support. The Doctor took it as he put his other hand on the edge of the tub to help balance himself as he climbed into the warm water. He settled down into it with a sigh. Jack continued to sit next to the tub dumbfounded over what was happening. He hadn't seen the Doctor in months and now here he was sleeping in his bed, saying he loved him and comfortable being naked in front of him. If he didn't know any better he would think the Doctor and him were a couple and he had just somehow forgotten.
"Doctor?" Jack asked.
"Hmmmm?" The Doctor wondered looking over at Jack.
"Where is Rose?" Jack questioned, the words slipping out of his mouth as soon as he opened it. It wasn't the question he had meant to ask, but he had to know.
"She is safe in the other universe with Handsy," The Doctor replied not able to keep the sadness out of his voice.
"So where have you been?" Jack wondered a little irritated now.
"Traveling," The Doctor answered vaguely as ever.
"With me?" Jack narrowed his eyes at the Doctor as the Doctor looked at him. The Doctor shook his head no. "Well something has changed Doctor and I think I have the right to know what it is."
"Can't a man change his mind?" The Doctor responded softly. "I am tired of being alone Jack. I love you and I want you to travel with me again."
"I love you too Doc. I have always loved you, but you have made it perfectly clear that this would never happen. So I have to ask again. What changed?" Jack knew he was being harsh. He could see it in the Doctor's eyes and hear it in his own tone. He had to be though. He would happily give his heart to the Doctor if he was sure that the Doctor wasn't going to just crush it. That the reason, he wanted him is because he was loved and not just because the Doctor was sick and needed a cuddle.
"I made mistakes Jack. I wanted to pay for those mistakes so I took Supanebuṭi..." The Doctor started.
"You didn't," Jack gasped in horror. Everyone in the fifty-first century knew of Supanebuti, also known as the nightmare plant. It was a highly toxic weed that grew on a small planet of the same name and banned across every galaxy in the known universe. Even if it was illegal to take the plant off the planet, every year people were discovered dead with its toxins in their system. Most of them took the planet willing in the form of a pill. The plant was such a powerful sleep aid that the people never woke up and eventually died from wasting away. Up until now, no one knew what they dreamed about as the Doctor was the first one Jack had ever heard of waking up from the pill.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone ever again," The Doctor whispered. He gripped Jack's hand tighter as he spoke. "Being a Time Lord my body fought the effects of the plant allowing me to wake up."
"What did you dream about?" Jack couldn't help but wonder. The Doctor didn't hesitate as he looked Jack straight in the eyes.
"You," He replied.
"Me?" Jack sounded doubtful. The Doctor was being so open and honest with him that Jack once again found himself pushing his luck. "You dreamed about me?"
"Not at first. I was on the prison planet Hades locked in their cells. I didn't want to be alone though and soon you were there. We got out of the cells and lived in the village together," The Doctor explained the dream.
"Did we have sex?" Jack couldn't help but wonder. The blush on the Doctor's cheeks deepened and Jack smiled. "Was it good?" The Doctor looked mortified as he nodded slightly. Jack chuckled.
"We eventually took in a daughter and that is when I realized it wasn't real. I convinced you to leave and I forced myself to wake up," The Doctor finished. Tears started to stream down his face again. "I miss her. I know she wasn't real, but I miss her and you."
"I'm here though Doctor. I'm real," Jack promised him. He let the water out of the tub and picked up the Time Lord in his arms, not caring he was getting wet in the process. He sat him down in the chair beside the bed and grabbed a towel. Carefully he dried the Doctor's body as the Doctor didn't resist. He then picked him up, not bothering to dress him, tucking him in his bed once more. The Doctor shivered slightly under the cool blankets.
"Jack, get in with me," The Doctor whined.
"I am going to get you a cup of tea first. We don't want you to get dehydrated now do we?" Jack questioned. The Doctor shook his head as he curled around Jack's pillow. Jack left him a moment to get the tea. He needed a moment to clear his head as well, so he took his time. The Doctor wasn't going anywhere, Jack was sure of that now.