Journey Amongst the Stars
By Lumendea
Chapter Fifty-Two: The Time Agent:
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
AN: And here I am trying to provide some closure to the great unanswered question of Jack Harkness' missing years. Oh boy, what am I doing? Yes, I know that there's been some stuff in audio and comic books, but I wanted to do my own take and planned this years ago and I've reached the point where I'm not letting newer canon stuff mess with my plan.
…
It was a bright and sunny day outside the TARDIS, according to the screen in the console room. With that in mind, Rose opened the wardrobe in her room to find a relatively basic outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. It was the sort of thing she would have worn at home, minus a science pun that likely wouldn't translate. Instead, this shirt was a solid blue color that matched the TARDIS exterior. As she pulled her hair back in a braid, Rose hoped that it was a good sign.
Rose headed down the hall towards the console room but was sidetracked when she found Jack's door open. Discarded clothing was tossed across his bed though he seemed to have settled on a look very similar to his airman appearance when they'd first picked him up. Rose wondered if the TARDIS didn't pick out clothes for him or if he was that picky.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Rose asked. She knew the answer but was wondering if Jack would squirm when pressed. "The Doctor says that the gallery's collection is amazing."
"Thanks, Rose," Jack said. "But, I need to get some tension out." He winked at her. "Being around the pair of you isn't healthy. All that sexual tension."
Rose rolled her eyes and was proud that her cheeks didn't heat up. "I understand," she said. Then sighing dramatically, she shook her head. "I miss it too."
"Are you ever going to give me details?"
"Never." Rose met his gaze firmly. "Never ever."
"Never say never, Rosie."
"Oh, I think I can say that I have no interest in giving you details about me and the Doctor's love life."
"Or lack thereof," Jack teased. "Honestly, I don't know how you can stand it. Especially when he's under the console and-"
"Do not!"
Rose was blushing now, and Jack grinned in victory. Narrowing her eyes, Rose dared him to push his luck and shifted her right hand just enough that her bracelet caught the light. It glittered gold, and Jack's eyes were immediately drawn to it.
"Empty threat," he said.
"You never know."
"Oh, I'm pretty confident that you aren't going to cut off my head." Jack paused, and his expression turned a bit more serious. "It's working again, right?"
"Yeah." Rose flicked her wrist and smiled as her bracelet quickly shifted into its sword form. "Just like the Guardians promised. Seems normal again." She released the hilt, and it immediately turned back into a bracelet. Rose shrugged. "All back to normal. Breaking that seal weakened it, but I got the impression that it had to be done to free the Violet Guardian."
Jack shook his head and laughed out loud. "That was a weird one. Even by our standards. Glad to hear that your sword is back to normal. Or as normal as anything ever is on this ship."
"Fair point," Rose conceded. "Hopefully, today will be nice and calm and help restore our normal."
"Things still weird?" Jack asked gently. "Any idea why?"
"Probably something that happened between the Doctor and the Toymaker," Rose answered. She shrugged as casually as she could manage. "He's a bit weird about the Guardians in general, and you ended up in a winter wonderland and me in a forest, the Doctor hasn't shared where the Toymaker put him."
Jack nodded in his understanding. His expression softened, and he leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
"Try not to worry. You know the Doctor; he needs to mull it over in his head." Jack stepped back and clapped his hands together. "Now, I have a day off, and I'm taking it!"
"A day off," Rose repeated with amusement. "From what? A constant adventure in time and space? Seems to me this is a vacation."
"You would think that."
Rose narrowed her eyes, and Jack darted past her into the corridor. Following him, Rose rolled her eyes when Jack laughed happily. The console room was lit up ahead of them, but it was dark outside the small window above the door.
"What happened to a sunny day?" Rose asked. She did not pout.
"It's dark here, not where you and I are going," the Doctor assured her. He was dressed in his usual jeans, jumper, and jacket and seemed more at ease today than he had yesterday. "He wants nightlife." The Doctor pointed at Jack with a judgmental stare.
"Yes," Jack said. "Yes, I do." He was grinning and nearly jittering with energy. "Thanks for the day off, Doc," Jack said warmly. He winked at the Doctor. "You two have a nice date."
"Jack," the Doctor said with a hint of warning. "I don't have to come back for you."
Something flashed over Jack's face, but it vanished quickly. Rose's eyes widened, and she noted that the Doctor seemed to have noticed as well.
"Rose will make you," Jack said.
"Suppose so would." The Doctor crossed his arms and leaned against the console. "Suppose that I might miss you too. Nice to have another set of hands to help with repairs."
The reassurance made Jack's smile widen further. It was a bit more real now, and Rose came closer to join them. She leaned against the railing and watched as Jack straighten a cuff.
"How do I look?" Jack spun around dramatically.
"Where you're going, I doubt it matters," the Doctor teased.
"You look good," Rose assured him. "Have fun."
Jack winked and opened his mouth to say something, but the Doctor gave him a look. With a laugh, Jack bolted out of the TARDIS doors. The slammed shut behind him, and the Doctor grumbled something that TARDIS wouldn't translate. None the less, he didn't manage to hid the small smile on his own face as he shook his head.
"Not sure why I put up with that one."
"You know why you do," Rose replied. She smiled sweetly at him. "Come on. You said it was just a short hop to this gallery."
"Yeah, let's get on the good side of the tracks," the Doctor said. "One continent away." He rolled his eyes and began setting the controls. "Hold that down," he told Rose as he nodded at a large button.
Rose held down the button and watched at the Doctor moved around the console with quick and practiced movements. She found herself smiling before reminding herself not to make too big a deal out of this. Yes, they were spending the day together, just the two of them, but it wasn't a date. No matter what Jack might be hinting at. It wasn't.
Stepping out of the TARDIS, Rose found herself standing in a sunlit town square, surrounded by elegant buildings. They were constructed out of modern-looking materials, but the style invoked the gothic style with arches and twisting towers. A couple of food stands were set up on the far side of the courtyard, and a massive fountain dominated the center of the square.
Humans and many variations of aliens were moving around the square. A small blue child with four eyes was pulling on the arm of a similar-looking adult and pointing at the statue in the center of the fountain. It was a collection of five humanoid figures, though only one looked human to Rose, and all were holding vases pouring out water. It was a mix of alien and classic.
"I love it!" Rose gasped.
Spinning around, she found the Doctor leaning against the TARDIS and smiling as he watched her. They had parked beside a row of small buildings that looked to be shops and restaurants. It was warm outside without being hot, and the humidity was similar to London. Between that and the atmosphere, Rose both loved it and was suspicious.
"Where are we?" Rose asked with a smile. Her eyes swept around the courtyard, noting the sandwich board signs and other familiar elements of a city.
"Early 34th century on a planet called Freyr," the Doctor said. "Colonized about four hundred years ago. This is the city of Donner, and as you can see, it enjoys a mild climate and is modeled heavily off of old Earth cities." He pointed at the largest building at the far side of the square. "That gallery is hosting a visiting exhibition of artwork from not only Earth but all across this section of the galaxy."
"Sounds nice," Rose agreed. "But let's look around a bit first, it's a nice day to not have to run."
The Doctor chuckled and extended his hand towards her. Rose took it with a broad smile, and together they headed off to explore the nearby streets. Judging from the number of people out and the position of the planet's sun, Rose estimated that it was morning. People were out sweeping the fronts of their shops and putting items on display in windows.
"32nd century, and we haven't invented a better broom?" Rose asked.
"There are some technologies that help keep things clean, but it would ruin the aesthetic of the city, so the residents tend not to use them."
"That is both strange and makes me really happy."
"To be fair, cleaning machines that are designed to be easy of the construction come through every other night," the Doctor added. "So even that sweeping is sort of for show."
Rose shook her head fondly. Sweet scents were drifting out of a bakery nearby, and an ice cream shop was already open much to her surprise. On Earth, places like that wouldn't be open until at least noon. None the less, a child was leaving the shop with ice cream and an adult trailing along behind him.
"Want some? It's a variation on the ice cream you're used to," the Doctor said.
"Sure, I'll always take ice cream," Rose answered. "Ice cream and chips."
The Doctor smiled at the mention of chips. He gestured into the square as he released her hand. "Find a place to sit, and I'll be right back."
Nodding, Rose headed back down the street and looked around curiously. The Doctor usually didn't encourage them to separate. He must be really comfortable on this planet. Or he was worried about them not being able to find a place to sit if she didn't go and grab seats. In the short time that they'd been wandering, the square had already gotten much busier. There were two more stalls that had popped up with food and goods.
But what caught her attention was a man with a few aliens around him and smiling widely. Rose stopped walking and stared at the man. It was a Jack, but…. He was wearing different clothing. While Jack didn't only wear the World War era aesthetic, he was very fond of it, and the TARDIS wardrobe so far had indulged him. On rare occasions, he'd wear something else, but he'd definitely been wearing something that reflected that look when they'd dropped him off earlier.
This man looked just like Jack with the same easy-going smile as the aliens looked up at him adoringly, but he was wearing an outfit that blended in with the local wear. The tunic was tight around his neck and arms with a poncho-like piece over it. Rose couldn't imagine where he had gotten something that fit that well in such a short time.
Stepping into the shadow of the closest building, Rose watched curiously and tried to see if there was anything that could help her be sure. She didn't see his TARDIS key, but it could easily be under the poncho. His body language was like her Jack, and his flirting smile was very familiar. She glanced towards the TARDIS. While not front and center, she was clearly visible.
If he'd used his vortex manipulator to jump across the planet, then Jack must have had a good reason. He would have checked in with them. Right?
"Rose?" the Doctor's voice made her jump. She spun around to find him smiling in amusement and holding the promised ice creams. He held one chocolate ice cream bowl with a small spoon out to her. "What has you so interested?"
"Jack," Rose answered. She took the ice cream from him and gestured out to the square. "But I'm not sure if it is our Jack." Rose scooped up some ice cream while the Doctor leaned past her to look for himself. "We dropped him off earlier, so I don't know why he'd be here." Rose paused and frowned a little. "And why he wouldn't mention that he'd been here."
"That's him, but younger," the Doctor confirmed. "Not much younger," he said thoughtfully.
"Oh." Rose swallowed. "The Violet Guardian said that he'd find the answers soon…. Do you think?"
"Don't worry about the Guardians," the Doctor said quickly. Too quickly. "If this is Jack during those missing years, then we best stay out of his way."
"But what if we're supposed to figure out what happened and tell him?"
"Rose… Guardians are dangerous. I know that you get along with them, but they aren't anyone's friend." His tone was firm, but Rose could hear that he was trying to be gentle with his delivery.
"I get the feeling you know less about them than you think you do," Rose replied. She gave him a look of her own. "Violet was trapped, and it took a Star Knight's sword to break the seal holding her. And then it took White coming to help wear down the Toymaker's power. They aren't all-powerful, and White was really happy to see that Violet was safe."
"Rose-"
"We can agree to disagree," Rose said. "I know you have your history with them, but I have mine." She nodded towards Jack. "But you have to admit, us being here at the same time as Jack during the strange period that is missing, that's weird even for us."
"Maybe," the Doctor grumbled.
"Come on," Rose said gently. "The TARDIS takes us where we need to go."
"I thought you wanted to see the gallery."
"It'll be there tomorrow."
Rose hooked her arm with the Doctor and took him and her ice cream over to an empty bench not too far from Jack where they could eat and watch him without drawing attention to themselves. The younger Jack seemed utterly at ease, and Rose caught a glimpse of his vortex manipulator on his wrist. Was this the day that something big was going to happen, or was it just another day?