Episode: The Master Stitches
Chapter: Loose Ends [5/5]
Summary: Torchwood wanted to find a way to fix the problem without anyone killing each other first. Amy and Rory wanted to keep a secret while keeping everyone safe. Jack wanted to get rid of the Master before he was driven insane. Koschei just wanted… He wanted… What was it again? Or the one where things gets fixed but still stay broken… and where things get better yet worse at the same time.
Rating: T
Jack takes in large gulps of air, feeling, as any other time he's come back to life, like he was almost drowned. There's a strange ringing in his ear, but he's too busy coughing out the dust he inhaled to make sense of it, quickly pushing himself off his stomach to sit on his heels and take stock of the situation.
The room is brick, with no windows and some crates against the walls, covered in dust. There's only one door leading to stairs that go up, and the only light in the room comes from a sad little bulb that's more yellow than white due to age.
Someone is lying on the dusty floor, flat on his face and with his hands by his sides, as if he hadn't tried to break his fall. Like he fainted. Or is he dead?
Jack jumps to his feet faster than he thought he could, and has to stop as his blood rushes to his brain, lightheaded for a moment, before he can approach the fallen figure.
His muscles twitch as if he's been electrocuted, and he feels as jumpy as if he'd drank all the coffee in the Hub.
Someone's calling his name, but the person Jack's carefully checking for a pulse, the Master, is in deep unconsciousness, breathing deeply and with his face relaxed into something that is almost calm. Or, at least, it is before Jack touches him, because the instant skin meets skin, the Master scrunches his nose and tries to shift away from the touch without actually moving.
"Yeah, nice to see you too, you bastard," he chuckles under his breath before he can stop himself, dropping to sit by the Time Lord's side as he adjusts the comm back into position so he can make sense of what the others in the Hub are shouting about. "Hey, I'm here! We're both fine, no sign of Bilis or the Neverwere anymore. Only lots of dust. What happened?" he asks, tapping a foot to try and burn some nervous energy while he pokes at the Master again to see him squirm—ah, that is, to make sure he doesn't stop breathing in his sleep, of course.
::What happened? What happened?! You tell us what happened! What the Hell did the Master do?!:: Owen shouts, terrified out of his wits if Jack doesn't mistake that edge in his voice, but he can only blink in confusion, frowning softly, as he stops himself from poking the asleep Time Lord again.
"What are you talking about?"
::Jack, the Master's image started flickering before he started with his 'judgement', and got covered by static soon after, so we don't know what he did, but Bilis…:: Ianto starts, as unnerved as Owen, and Jack lets out an impatient huff as he rolls his hand in the air. ::You started… I don't know what he did to you, it looked like you were in pain, but Bilis… Bilis was catatonic, not reacting, until. Until he… Until the Master said Abaddon was dead. Jack, Bilis melted. With only the Master's words, Bilis melted into nothing, and then the Neverwere just – they just – Jack, what the Hell is a Time Lord?:: he asks, voice shaking, and Jack gets to his feet to pace nervously, still trying to burn the energy coursing through his veins and making him jumpy.
The Master stays on the floor, unmoving, though his frown relaxes with the distance between them.
"I told you. I told you we shouldn't mess with the Rift. Time Lords were the stuff of nightmares in the Time Agency, and I seriously thought the Doctor was going to erase me from history when we first met but he said I was being stupid and he wouldn't do it because he had fixed everything and I was definitely not going to do something that stupid again, but you opened the Rift and this is what happens when you mess with time and the Time Lords come after you, you disappear like you never existed and—"
::Jack! Breathe!:: Owen shouts, interrupting his tirade, and Jack takes a couple gulps before he realizes just how oxygen-starved he actually is.
"Sorry. I feel like I'm high on caffeine," he answers with a high-pitched giggle before running a hand down his face, trying to focus. "I think he used me to make a Fixed Point or something, to set Abaddon's defeat in time so it can never be brought back again. Maybe this is the same thing that happened in the alley, with the regeneration energy, only I don't regenerate and so I'm being hyperactive right now and damn, but doesn't it feel like I could go up against a whole army of Weevils and come out on top! Oh, that gives me ideas—"
::Jack!:: Gwen shouts and, for the first time since he woke up, Jack stops.
She's not embarrassed or exasperated or even amused. Gwen is terrified, so much that he can hear the tears in her voice.
"Hey, hey, calm down. Guys, all of you, it's alright, it's over now. Look, Bilis was at fault and he paid the price. The Master won't hurt you; the Doctor won't hurt you either. You heard him, right? Bilis manipulated you, you aren't guilty of anything. Just, don't open the Rift again, alright?" he tells them as softly as he can, as soothing as he can manage when he's already tapping a foot against the ground and stealing glances at the unconscious Time Lord. "Really, everything's going to be—"
A phone rings through the comm, and Jack falls silent, startled and curious, even as he resumes his circuit around the room. Everyone else is quiet too, so when the tone is cut mid ring and the phone's owner answers, Jack hears it as clearly as if Amy was standing next to him.
::Hello? … Doctor? Oh my God! Doctor! How—? … Yes, yes, fine. What—? … Twelve hours? But… Well, if you're sure… Alright, I'll tell him. See you in twelve hours. … What souvenir? Doctor? Ugh, he hung up,:: she scoffs, sounding far more relieved than the Torchwood team had been, but then again, Jack's grinning like a loon too, now that he knows the Doctor's alright. ::Captain? The Doctor says hello, and that he's sorry he can't visit. He says you'll meet again some other time. Also, we can't go back to the TARDIS until twelve hours from now, and he says you'll let us sleep in the Hub?::
"Of course I will! The Doctor's friends are my friends. And, well, the Master behaved before, so I guess he can stay too. Only, can someone come pick us up? I don't think I'll be able to drive, I can't seem to sit still," he answers with a chuckle, bouncing a bit on his toes.
It takes a bit for a nervous Ianto to come pick them up, and by then Jack is already outside with the Master leaning against the wall, pacing nervously in the alley. He spends all the ride back to the Hub tapping his hands against his thighs in whatever chaotic rhythm he feels like in the moment, but fortunately, Ianto doesn't hold it against him. He explains about how he can remember his sister now, and how all the Neverwere victims disappeared from the Hub, alongside any records of them having ever been there. Gwen gave Andy a call to ask about the alley, but apparently that has been fixed too, with Andy having no memory of anything happening there. The only thing left to check would be the TARDIS, but since the Doctor called, Amy and Rory are happy staying at the Hub instead.
So, after the Master is left all gift-wrapped in the Hub's couch, Jack lets Gwen take Amy and Rory out to show them the touristic spots and decides to go for a run to try and burn his nervous energy.
He doesn't come back until late at night, but the whole team is still there, awake and definitely calmer than they'd been when he left.
"Jack! Come here, we have a present for you!" Gwen calls from the ring of chairs around the couch, where a sleepy Master is sitting between Amy and Rory and looking around in confusion.
"Can I take a shower first?" he asks, feeling calmer himself and no longer like he's about to jump out of his skin and run around like a headless chicken.
"No way! We've been waiting for you for ages now, come on!" Amy answers with a bright grin, taking two brightly wrapped presents out of a shopping bag.
"Wait, you were serious about the present thing?" he wonders in surprise as he joins them, turning to look at the Master, who is finally peeling himself out of the blanket he was wrapped in. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I'm not going to fall apart at the seams. You?" the Master answers simply, not hiding the confusion and wariness in his gaze as he meets Jack's eyes.
"Like I'm no longer hyper-caffeinated," he returns with an amused snort, sincere despite his initial misgivings.
The Master is still the Master, and definitely not to be trusted. But he came through when he said he would, and, as far as they've been able to tell, things are actually back to what they should be. No Neverwere victims, no people missing because of the Meanwhile, no temporal displacement of the walls in an alley.
Jack remembers Gwen telling him that perhaps the Master had found the right Doctor too. And, when he thinks back to the basement, to those wide gold-green eyes meeting his, open and sincere and pleading for Jack to trust him, Jack finds himself unable to think of that man as 'Saxon' or with as much hate as he assigned to the name of 'the Master' anymore.
Sure, he hasn't forgiven him, he never will. But the least he can do is think of him as the ally he turned out to be. Looks like the Doctor's trust wasn't misplaced, after all.
Suddenly, he can't help but feel excited about that 'personal future' for completely different reasons.
"What did you do? With Bilis and the Neverwere. How did you fix that?"
"Stitches. I stitched the timeline using you as the thread. You're a Fact. Unchangeable, ever-present, part of the very nature of things. You must always live. And that means that, since Abaddon's death is now tied to your existence, Abaddon will always be dead, so Bilis will be bringing in a moment in time that will never happen. He's a Meanwhile now, that alternate second in time when Abaddon could come back and he would do it. But don't worry, that'll never happen," he explains with a wave of a hand, shrugging dismissively, and, while Jack thinks he gets it, the others just roll their eyes and shake their heads, deciding it's not worth it to try to understand the mechanics behind such a chaotic statement.
"And the time lock? Did you stitch that closed too?"
"Don't be ridiculous. The 'stitches' aren't literal. They're a Could've Been. I made a Could've Been that contradicted the one that opened the time lock, so they're both cancelling each other now, and they will be until the end of time. Which, now that the Time War is time-locked once more, won't come in a really long while," he explains with a huff, leaning back into the couch and lifting his head arrogantly. "You're welcome."
"Wow, thanks. We're not worthy," Jack answers with an eyeroll and a chuckle, deciding to speak in place of Owen when the doctor hesitates to deliver the comment, obviously still rattled by what the Master did to Bilis.
Jack is equally freaked out, but at least he knows the Doctor won't let the Master get away with trying to harm Torchwood without a very good reason.
"No, you're not. But you can say that again," the Master huffs with a pleased grin, and Jack takes his sweaty shirt off and throws it into his face. "Harkness!"
"Oh, cry me a river. Anyone up for Chinese?"
They place their order while Jack takes a quick shower, and, as soon as he's back, Amy drops one of the presents on his lap and the other in the Master's.
"Open it. Now."
They do.
And as soon as Jack pulls the white t-shirt out of the wrapping and sees the message, he can't help but laugh.
"Oh, I love it!" he tells Gwen, who's looking expectant, and the rest of his team, who were obviously in on it if the grins on their faces are any indication. "There. Now I'm not naked anymore," he reads, smoothing the shirt to be able to read the second sentence under the large there, and, just for laughs, he takes his coat and shirt off and puts the new t-shirt on. "Well, someone knows my measurements quite well."
"They're on file," Owen answers with an eyeroll before pointing at Gwen. "She called to confirm as soon as they found the t-shirt shop."
"They?" Jack repeats with a grin as he turns to the couch, only to see the Master growl at an unrepentant Amy while Rory buries his head in his hands to muffle his laughter.
"This is discrimination!" the Master protests, waving his gray t-shirt as he glares at it, but Amy just snorts and engulfs him in a hug.
"No, it's not! And we love you anyway."
"Amy, be careful, you don't want to squish him," Rory comments with a huge grin, and the Master protests with a loud 'oi!' even as Amy laughs raucously and wraps him tighter in her arms to stop him from jumping on Rory.
"Oh, stop that! Try it on, come on. We need to see if we got the size right."
"What, so you can change it for the child size?" he scowls, and both Amy and Rory laugh loudly before they can stop themselves.
"What did you get him?" Jack asks, standing up and snatching the shirt from the Master's hands before he can hide it or his companions can recover enough to answer.
And, as soon as he sees it, Jack laughs.
Two pairs of long bird legs frame a chubby yellow chick, with the words you are all too tall written over the chick.
"This one is perfect!" Jack cackles as he shows it to the others, and everyone laughs.
"Oh, yes, laugh it up," the Master huffs, shoulders up to his ears and a murderous pout on his face, and Jack only laughs harder, unable to look at him now without thinking of a fluffy yellow chick, more so with his blond hair.
"Best present ever!"
Amy is hugging everyone, saying their goodbyes, when Koschei pulls Jack aside. The TARDIS doors are closed, and, despite the almost palpable nostalgia and badly hidden hope, Jack hasn't made any move to approach it or call for the Doctor he believes is inside.
This is it, goodbye Cardiff, goodbye Torchwood and goodbye Jack Harkness. Peace at last.
Only, there's one last thing Koschei needs to do.
"Don't tell me. I need to erase the team's memories," Jack says before Koschei can, as soon as they're far enough from the rest of Torchwood that they won't be overheard, and Koschei's surprise is apparently all the confirmation he needs. "I figured as much. Should I forget too?"
Koschei stays quiet, thinking it through, before finally shaking his head.
"Not necessary. You know enough to keep quiet, after all. Only…" he answers, hesitating as he remembers Jack's sad form hunched at an alien bar, and steels himself. "If you don't erase these memories, know this. You'll meet a past me, all in black and with mirrors for eyes. He's fresh out of the Valiant, you'll notice straight away," he explains, remembering how he'd almost called Jack 'Freak' when they'd met, the same grief in Jack's face reflecting in the Master's own.
Jack looks curious, but he nods nevertheless.
"So, act like this never happened. Won't be a problem, I still hate your guts," he answers, grinning without humor but not as sharply as if he was telling the whole truth.
Jack may not like Koschei, but he knows Koschei can be trusted – some, at the very least. Whatever he may think, it's obvious his opinion has changed… And, to be fair, so has Koschei's.
They're not friends—as if, Koschei doesn't make friends—and they don't like each other, but at least now they know they can trust the other to do what needs to be done without being stabbed in the back.
Now that he's not wracked with grief, Koschei realizes that while he didn't end with a gun in his face because guns weren't allowed in the bar, he should've still ended up with his face smashing into the counter. But he didn't. Jack won't forget this 'adventure', which means Koschei won't end up with a broken nose in his past.
But that also means there's one last warning he has to deliver.
Jack has earned that much.
"He's not a liar. Whatever past me may be, he's not a liar," he tells Jack, who looks even more surprised than before, yet still manages to contain his curiosity.
For about a second.
"How do you know Rose?"
… Well, that is not the question he was expecting.
Koschei stays silent, listening to Rory and Harper argue about something while Sato tries to keep the peace, thinking about how to answer Jack's question without giving the future away.
Finally, he looks away with a sigh and buries his hands in the jacket's pockets to hide their trembling.
"Rose saved me," he whispers, mustering enough strength to meet Jack's startled gaze so he knows he's sincere, before looking away once more so he doesn't catch the grief he feels churning in his hearts. "She… She was there for me after… after I lost everything. And now she's gone, but… But at least she can be happy now," he adds, managing to smile as he thinks of her living with her family and the Doctor's Metacrisis.
Jack hesitates, torn between asking more or just accepting it, before finally sighing and smiling as he shakes his head.
"I'll have to take your word for it."
"Yes, you will."
"Ugh, fine. But I'll find a way to confirm what you said, and don't think I won't give you Hell if you messed with me," Jack threatens with a grin, and Koschei snorts even as he grins back.
"Raggedy Man! What are you two talking about? I thought you wanted to leave as soon as you could," Amy calls, startling them and making them turn to see they have the attention of all the others, curious and analyzing.
"Just needed to put Harkness back in his place," he answers as he struts back to them, grinning widely as he hears Jack scoff at his back.
"Oh, is that what you were doing? I thought you were demonstrating what 'puffed up like a peacock' looks like," he snarks back, but Koschei just brushes his own shoulder even as the others snicker.
"Keep thinking that, Jack. Whatever makes you feel better."
"So, any tips for the future?" Cooper asks as they step up to the TARDIS, and, key already in hand, Koschei hesitates.
"No tips for the future, Gwen. That's not how time travel works," Jack tells her before Koschei has an answer ready, but he still takes a deep breath and turns around to face them.
"What do you call a war of one?"
"An autoimmune disorder," Rory answers without hesitation after a startled second, and Koschei wonders at how quickly he came up with it before rolling his eyes.
"A tactical exercise," Cooper says when she sees his expression, and Amy perks up.
"Oh, good one!"
"And mine wasn't?" Rory asks with a frown, and Amy pecks his cheek with a grin.
"Shut up, stupid."
"Regret."
As one, everyone turns to Ianto Jones, who doesn't appear the slightest bit bothered yet still looks away to hide the emotion in his eyes.
"Fear," Toshiko Sato adds, also looking away but sparing a quick glance towards Harper.
"Denial," Owen Harper says, glaring at the wall, and Koschei can feel the way both Amy and Rory look at him, as if asking him what he's going to do now.
"Hope," Jack adds, standing tall and with his burning eyes meeting his fellow Torchwood agents', who seem to perk up enough to at least relax, if not to smile back softly. "What do you call a war of one?" he asks, turning to Koschei.
What are you fighting against? What do you fear?
Koschei turns the key in the lock and gestures for Amy and Rory to go into the TARDIS, but stops just before following them to meet Jack's eyes.
"Victory."
The door closes without a sound at his back, and the TARDIS welcomes him back with a trill that puts a smile back on his face.
"Raggedy Man, you have to call the past me to tell us the Doctor is alright," Amy tells him as she hops to him with the TARDIS' phone, and Koschei blinks in surprise as he takes it from her on his way to the console.
"Do I?" he asks as he flies them to the Vortex. "Oh, alright. Twelve hours ago, right?" he asks, just to make sure, and when Amy nods, leaning against the railing next to a grinning Rory, Koschei looks down at the number already in the phone and presses call, thinking about what to say as the tone rings.
"Hello?" Amy's voice asks tentatively from the other side of the line, and Koschei grins mischievously.
"Say Doctor!"
"Doctor? Oh my God! Doctor! How—?"
"You'll have to remind me to make this call once we're back on the TARDIS," he tells her before she can go on, cutting her rant, and, when she answers, the smile in her voice is more than clear.
"Yes, yes, fine. What—?"
"You can't come back to the TARDIS yet; it'll take about twelve hours for everything to be ready."
"Twelve hours? But…"
"Oh, don't you worry, Jack will let you sleep in the Hub. It'll be fun!" he tells her with a grin, giving the present Amy a mock glare as he points at the t-shirt he's been forced to wear, and she answers with an unrepentant smile.
"Well, if you're sure…"
"Definitely. Ah, and tell Jack that the Doctor says hello and apologizes for being unable to visit. They'll meet again some other time," he adds with a hum, inputting the coordinates for Leadworth almost absentmindedly, though he stops himself when he realizes he doesn't know whether they want to be back the night before or the morning.
"Alright, I'll tell him. See you in twelve hours," she answers with a huff and a grin, and Koschei pulls the phone away—
"Ah, wait! Don't forget my souvenir!" he calls into the receiver once he catches present Amy's grin, and then finishes the call. "What do you think? I think it went well," he asks his companions before dropping the phone in its slot – and jumping as it rings, staring at it for a second before flipping it open and pulling it up to his ear with a tired sigh. "You've contacted the TARDIS. If you're hearing this message, it means the safety of the organization has been compromised and Operation Cleanup has begun. Please, stay in your current location so that the elimination of all proof related to the organization can proceed in an orderly fashion. Thank you for your collabora—"
"And here I thought there was nothing worse than a cheeky Time Lord," Jack interrupts before Koschei is done and can just hung up on him, and, startled at the voice, Koschei presses the wrong lever.
The TARDIS shudders noisily, almost throwing him on his face, and, by the time he fixes the controls, Jack is laughing at the other end.
"Why are you calling? Did we forget something?" he asks, scowling, and Amy and Rory frown at him in confusion.
"Midshipman Alonso Frame, from the Sto cruise liner Titanic," Jack answers, voice somber and meaningful in a way that has Koschei's frown deepening – before he tenses in realization.
"Oh, so that is what he had planned! I would've sent an anonymous message if only I'd known, a note or something. Maybe I could have ordered him a drink in your name, that always seems to work."
The humanoid who'd known the Doctor, in the bar he met Jack after—
"You finally caught up," he whispers, turning his back on Amy and Rory but gesturing for them to go.
"Word travels fast. And Gallifrey is a very recognizable planet," Jack answers, a sad smile easy to hear in his voice.
Koschei blinks.
Jack's sitting at the food of a bed in a basic motel room, probably in the same space port he found him in, hunched over his Vortex manipulator as he speaks into it, the sad smile on his face and his eyes full of pained tears but…
Koschei blinks again and he's back in the TARDIS, leaning over the controls and trying to figure out what's blocking his throat so he can dislodge it and… and say something. Jack said something, he should answer, right?
Yes, he should. But… what kind of answer is he supposed to give when all he can think about is Jack's eyes? The pained tears in his eyes, the sorrow in them, the complete lack of betrayal or… or…
Jack is sad but not for himself. He is sorry but not for himself.
"I understand now. And… I'm sorry. I should've seen it sooner. A war of one, indeed…" Jack sighs, chuckling softly in an attempt to lighten the mood that doesn't work. "Sorry about the gun. I know how much you hate those. And… Are you… Aren't you going to say anything?" he asks tremulously, and Koschei can almost see the way his smile fades.
But when he opens his mouth to try to answer, he finds he has neither the voice nor the words to answer with.
After another second of silence, Jack sighs, though the new sad smile on his face is easy to hear when he speaks next.
"Ianto kept a diary," he says in a quick breath, as if the past tense in that sentence would hurt less this way, and takes a tremulous breath to center himself once more. "I don't know the specifics, but between then and now, I can get an idea. And… Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but I'll tell you what the best man I've ever met once told me, after I messed up big time. I'm not the one who has to forgive you, but if it makes you feel better, you're good in my books. So, like that man told me, feel free to give me a call when you've forgiven yourself, alright?" he asks, softly, reassuringly, but Koschei only manages to take in a ragged breath. "… Right. But listen, I called you to warn you. I can't tell you much, but you've managed to do more with less so… Twenty-sixth of June of 2010. That's the day the Rift closed. That's the day Silence fell."
AN: Again, the title for this one is a nod to The Doctor Dances, the second part of The Empty Child, and Jack's first appearance.
I have officially lost all control of this ride, the characters don't listen anymore… I can't believe I had to get Gwen in there with a movie to stop those two idiots from killing each other. Although, in retrospect, it makes sense, given their history, but this wasn't supposed to be about that topic, since neither of them have all the cards on the table… And then that thing at the end happened. I don't even know anymore…
Next one will have a lot more of Amy and Rory, because I miss them. They took a backseat on this one (though they got their revenge with the shirt, I couldn't stop laughing with that one), but they'll be there and in the spotlight for the next one.
Next time: Another wrong turn, another crack in time, another instance of love conquering all… And another tragic ending.