A New Beginning
Short one shot looking at Jack during and after the Parting of the Ways
Spoilers for the Parting of the Ways
Captain Jack Harkness had always been a self assured man. He may be a con man but an advantage to that was he could talk or hustle himself out of any situation – well at least that that's what Jack thought. He had finally found some unstoppable force, something that cannot be bribed or persuaded to change its' mind, something that was always sure to complete its task: death. Yes, the legendary Captain Jack Harkness had finally met his match in the face of a Dalek. He had stood there, valiant till the last moment, then he did something he didn't believe possible, something he wouldn't know how to do if he hadn't met the Doctor and Rose. He sacrificed himself in order to save others. He could have easily run and hid, made some excuse to leave, even beg for mercy to the Daleks – but no. Jack saw it as an opportunity, an opportunity to show he could be a good person – a brilliant, fantastic person as the doctor would say.
If Jack had learnt anything from his time with the Doctor – it was this. The ability to perform a selfless act, to be able to give your own life in order to save others, yes, Jack had learn to care about someone who wasn't himself. For that, Jack was proud, that was why he was able to stand on the Game Station and rather than jump in the Tardis and run away - he was able to stand in this dark, dank corridor and fight for his life. He knew that running down this darkened corridor, running to protect Rose and the Doctor may be the last thing he did, so he was going to make them proud. That was why he could shoot at a fleet of battle Daleks, why he couldn't run and flee, why he could look them eye to eye as he ran out of bullets knowing death was inevitable. For his two truest friends he could discard his emptied weapons and stand tall in front of this killing machine, that was why he could shout 'go on then exterminate me' at the monsters that surely would – he could do this for the Doctor and Rose because they had made him a man. Jack faced the beam of the Dalek and prepared for his inevitable death, he stood tall and proud as he was exterminated.
Only something happened, something Jack wasn't prepared for – the loyalty of Rose. She breathed life into every atom of him being, filling his soul and changing his existence. He lay flopped against the wall and he breathed in a sharp breath – Rose's final gift to him. Her final gift to the con man who save her from a rope in the middle of London, the same man who travelled through time and space in the Tardis, the man who became a friend – a close friend of the Doctor. But he soon learned the price you must pay to be a friend of the Doctor – you must be willing to sacrifice your life. Captain Jack Harkness would have laughed at an idea like that, but travelling with him and learning from him had taught him to care, taught him to sacrifice and he knew that within a second he would do it again.
Jack stood up and heard the familiar wail of the Tardis as it disappeared into another Universe. Jack saluted where the Tardis had stood – saluting the Doctor and saluting Rose, thanking them for allowing him to become the man he is today. Jack looked out of the viewing platform of the Game Station and knew he was faced with the impossible prospect of rebuilding planet Earth and he smiled. He would make the Doctor and Rose proud, he was sure of it for he was a new man. Captain Jack Harkness now understood the values of friendship, love, trust, and honestly. Starting to sing he began the slow and long task that lay before him.
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