Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box.
The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare. Oh.
He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS, his voice was almost a growl
"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."
---
10 minutes earlier
---
This was bad. This was very bad.
A calm, nice day on a desert planet far away from any kind of danger.
Spare parts to keep the Time Lord happy and a nice harmless city to explore for the girl.
Jack had of course made sure he stayed with said girl to a) to deepen their connection (completely platonic... for now) and b) just in case the Time Lord decided to depart without bothering to wait for him.
What could possibly go wrong? Sure. Famous Harkness luck. He should have known.
He pulled Rose around another corner into another small alley.
They didn't have much time left, but they both had to catch their breaths.
They had lost the Flinks a while ago, but in this labyrinth of small alleys and dead ends he wanted to be sure.
There wasn't any room for mistakes. Literally.
They had to get to the Doctor. Fast. Or it wouldn't matter that he had been able to get Rose out of a Flink transport ship at all. Even though he was quite proud to have pulled that off.
He coughed, as did the girl currently pushed against a sandy wall in front of him, trying to stay as much in the shadows as it was possible in this far too hot desert.
He saw the question in her eyes as soon as he was able to look up again, taking in deep breaths, willing his heart to slow down.
They couldn't afford to panic now, that would be fatal. He needed her functioning. At least her feet.
Best way to do that was to keep her busy, keeping her mind from thinking it over. So he took her hand, peeked out twice to see they weren't followed and fell into a jog again, pulling her along.
Told her casually that the carp-headed aliens had tried to get her into a zoo, how he had found her using his irresistible talents. And bribing of course.
"Why me and not you?"
he picked up speed, grinning back at her, feigning hurt.
"Seems like you're prettier than me."
He found himself ranting on, thankful that he hadn't the time to look back at her reactions when he told her that the pinkish smoke in the ship they had just escaped from had been poison gas.
At least for humans. Who would flood his own ship with poison gas, that would be stupid.
Bit his lip when he remembered a senior officer at the mess telling him how he had lost an entire crew to that lovely looking pink fog. Watching as they spat their lungs out.
It left the victim first disoriented, then gasping for air, then faint and then die. In under 20 minutes after the exposition.
Felt a little tug when he dropped that info as casually as he could, not stopping, not turning around, trying hard to keep running although his lungs were on fire.
He was quickly calming her of course, actually pulling the little dermal injector from his Emergency Kit out, stating that she would get the broadband antidote in it or a more specific one from the Doctor, but first they had to reach the time ship.
Just in case the Flinks were still following.
The backyard it had landed in had only one exit, better to defend if necessary. He would think of something there.
Hoped the Doctor could think of something.
The TARDIS had to be around the next corner now, he prayed the Doctor would be there already.
But there was no one.
Harkness luck.
The blue box was there, but the Doctor wasn't. Of course not, that would have been the easy scenario.
The fluffy version where the Time Lord rushed in and saved them in a second with a mere raised eyebrow. Hugs and kisses and a pat on the head for Jack.
He gave the wood panels a hard kick (oh, he would pay for this if the Doctor ever found out) and turned back, to check if Rose was still standing. She was panting, seriously pale, but still awake.
So on to plan B.
Seemed like dying as a hero became a habit since he met those two.
Harkness luck.
He laughed and felt how the world seemed to sway around him. He tried to shake it off, almost losing his balance.
Disorientation.
No time left for waiting. Now just one task was left ahead, get the stubborn girl to play her part.
Something in his look made her frown and he realized his walls were crumbling. He smiled.
"Jack, what's wrong? Lets just inject ourselves with that thing and we'll be fine, right?"
He shook his head, the world swaying on even when he fixed her again. Held up the injector to show her how small it was. Emergency size, not Save The Day Size.
"One dose." and he had already decided who would get it.
Realization crept over her features, then fear, then something he defined as her personal stubborn Rose Tyler face.
Didn't fail to recognize her lips getting a tinge more blue. The stress made her heart speed up, the toxin spreading faster.
So she wouldn't just nod and give him her arm, save her own hide and let him do his hero routine.
Of course not, that would have been the easy way.
Harkness luck.
"No. Jack, lets just wait for the Doctor, he'll know what to do."
For a split second he considered that, hated himself for it instantly because his instincts screamed to inject himself.
He gave his subconscious survival instinct a good mental kick. Seemed like it hadn't been in touch with his conscience for a very long time. Only recently started calling again because of an alien and a 21st century shop girl.
He couldn't do it. Not to her.
He had begun pacing, trying to keep his emotions in check, think of something. There was no other way out.
"Look, let's go inside, I'm sure there's something we could use around in there."
But he shook his head, without stopping to pace. He had considered that already, had seen the TARDIS' med bay. Most advanced med room he'd ever seen, still creeping him out with its clinically whiteness.
But they would be dead before he even figured out in which drawers the scanners were.
"I know exactly what to do, Rose."
Was that fear in her eyes? Why?
Shouldn't she be glad he took the decision from her? She grabbed his arm, making him stop, making him look at her. Pleading.
"No, Jack, listen, don't do this. It was my fault after all. The Doctor might need you."
Sweet girl.
He knew exactly who the Doctor needed. He smiled, wiped the tears out of her face.
"It's okay. Besides, I owe you one."
More than one to be honest. Saving him from a German bomb was only the most obvious one. Stubborn girl.
This had to go down the hard way.
"Undress."
He bit down his smirk. He had always wanted to say that.
The stench was still on her, woven into the fabric, he couldn't risk re-contamination after injection.
Seemed like he learnt something useful in chemistry after all. 'Remove contaminated clothing' sounded like the thing he would remember of course.
He swallowed hard, rummaging through his feelings, getting the soldier back to the surface.
Authority. That would do the trick.
He pushed her out of his arms, she stumbled and almost fell. When she just blinked at him surprised he pulled out his last ace.
His gun.
"There's no time Rose, now get out of your clothes."
"NOW!" oh, he hadn't known he could still bark orders like that.
Her flinch showed that it had worked. Authority is a (very much drained) Villengard gun.
But the psychology behind it was still in place and she sat down, finally obeying, fumbling on her shoes. Stubborn girl, still hoping there was an easy way out if she just waited for it.
"Don't play for time, come on! Lets get this over with." he moved, came to stand in front of her. Her pleading eyes made his heart break.
"Jack, please... I'm sure the Doctor will..." he cut her off, this was no use.
He knew it was useless to hope for miracles in the field. "The Doctor's not here, is he?"
Help yourself, if you rely on others you're dead. First lesson at the Academy.
His shaking hands helped her out of her clothes, his mind urging him to hurry when breathing got more painful.
So this was it.
An almost naked (and seriously crying) Rose in front of him.
"Always wanted to do that."
Undressing her. Not dying of course. Somehow this wasn't how he had imagined it. But at least he got to do it before his lungs turned into liquid.
No more poison for her to inhale. She should be fine with the dosage now.
She looked like she would break any second, only her stubbornness and the fact that she was biting down hard onto her lip preventing her from doing so.
He smiled, leaned his forehead against hers.
"Now give me your arm." not much time left. His fingers felt numb already. A few more minutes and his hands would be useless.
She struggled, but he noticed her moves were slurred already, no force behind the punches aimed at his chest.
He placed the injector onto the soft flesh, stilled her last struggle, smiling when he saw she was sobbing.
Dying as a hero, dying for a girl. He should have known.
The chemical in the injector had an immediate effect, leaving her unconscious but breathing steadily.
Undressed, lying in the dust of a desert world.
Sentenced to live, without being asked. She would kill him if he survived this after all.
He lost his composure for a second, leant down and gently placed a kiss onto her lips. He whispered "You´re worth it" before he got up again.
Not much time left.
Trying to keep standing on wobbly knees, trying to keep awake as long as possible, the vague hope in the back of his mind that the Time Lord might return after all.
Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box.
The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare.
Oh.
He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS his voice was almost a growl
"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."
---
Now
---
"Just one... tiny ... reason, Jack." the words were practically spat out, pushing him even stronger into the wood of the police box.
His head felt light, the words of the alien barely reaching him, his ears filled with cotton the world had turned into a silent place.
Being killed by the boyfriend of a girl he flirted with.
Undressed actually. Drugged and undressed.
Now that sounded even more like a proper Jack Harkness Death.
He hoped the Time Lord would hurry, he didn't fancy puking his innards out.
He was gasping, not sure if the Time Lord crushing him had anything to do with that. He gulped in air as much as he could, but nothing useful seemed to stream into his lungs.
He had seen fish thrown onto land by fishermen in Pompeji once, and had the vague feeling he looked exactly like those unfortunate creatures now.
He registered the confused look on his attacker's face, the loosening grip, asking why he smelled like he'd played in hay.
He convulsed, which should have been a laugh had there been enough air. As far as he knew this planet didn't even have meadows. Just drifting dust. True, that had it's own charm, too.
Without the steadying grip of the Time Lord he ungracefully slumped down onto the ground.
The confusion on the Time Lord's face seemed to grow even more, but his eyes refused to focus on the alien, keeping the world blurry.
He thought he wheezed something close to the actual word 'Flink' before his strength left him and he lost his grip on consciousness.
Terrible last words.