Chapter 4: Fob

A few days had passed since Jack had kissed Caden. But somehow he still could feel her lips on his, and it was driving him crazy. He wanted so much to go up to her and tell her how he really feels, but he didn't want to risk losing her even more then he already had. The awkward silence that came between them ever time they were in the same room together was finally disappearing.

It was as he was walking out of his office and down the ramp, did he see Caden just sitting on the sofa looking at a magazine. Walking down the steps, a thought came to his mind. "Hey Caden!" He called to her from the stairs.

"Yeah," She looked up at him from the boring magazine that she was looking at.

"I was wondering means Ianto took Kaydence out for the day, if you would like to go out to lunch with me. And then maybe I can show you around." Jack asked but then quickly added, "That's if you want."

Caden stared at him and then smiled. "Let me get my shoes on." A smile came to Jack's face when she said that.

Minutes passed and finally Caden came out of the room that she was sharing with Kaydence. With converse on her feet, she skipped her way over to Jack, without hurting herself…unlike Kaydence. "You ready?" Jack asked with a smile as he stood in front of a concrete slab.

"Yeah," she looked down at the slab and then up at the ceiling. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Why does that look like it should be up there?" She asked as she pointed up.

"That's because it does." He stepped on to the slab, but Caden just looked at him as if he was crazy. Holding out his hand, he whispered to her, "Trust me." She looked at his hand and looked up at the ceiling. Taking a breath, she put her hand in his and stepped up beside him. "Hang on."

"To what? The air?" She added sarcastically.

BEEP!

The slab raised into the air, causing the unexpected Caden to cling to Jack for dear life. She had seen him once use this way of travel to get the surface, but she would have never thought that she would be on it with him. "You okay?" Jack asked softly in her ear as they passed the half way mark.

Looking up, Caden was surprised to find herself inches away from him. The tips of their noses were only an inch away, and his lips…oh, she couldn't think. She was so close to him and she wanted so much to feel his lips again. A kiss that made her feel alive, just like the last one. But she couldn't, she didn't want to risk breaking her heart again. She didn't want to loss him. But then she looked into his eyes, and she couldn't remember what she was thinking. His eyes, so blue that she thought that there was nothing to compare them too. But as she looked at them, she felt as if they penetrated her soul, her heart. She felt as if he could see her every thought, her every desire. But in his eyes, she could see his own desire. His desire for her.

She finally whispered a reply, "I don't know."

He was still looking down at her, even though they were only inches apart, he felt as if they were worlds apart. Catching his train of though, he said, "You'll get used to it." He looked down at her lips, and found that they were apart just slightly. Seize the air that escaped his lungs, he told her, "Besides we already stopped." With those words, Caden was finally able to take her glaze off of Jack and looked around. Finding that he was right, they had stopped, she pulled away from him.

Caden watched as people walked by without even glancing that them. "Why don't they notice…" Then she realized, "The chameleon circuit."

"Got that from a dream?"

"Got a lot of stuff from my dreams," She whispered to him, causing him to smile.

They had just finished their hotdogs that they had for lunch, when Jack spotted a ice cream stand. He had insisted that they got a ice cream cone and so they did, Caden got a chocolate cone, where Jack got Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Sitting down on a bench, Jack asked, "So how often were your dreams?"

"I had them every night, every time I fell asleep in class, every daydream or took a nap." She licked her ice cream and then finished, "And sometimes even when I close my eyes. But I didn't see every moment. Every dream seemed to be a day or two apart or once in a while a week apart." She licked her ice cream where it was melting and then asked, "And yours were every second?"

"Yeah, but remember I had almost 200 years to go through your life." He looked at her taking in every detail, "You only had 15 years to go through mine."

"Well that doesn't seem very fair." She said making him laugh, she smile as she looked out over the park that they were sitting in. Kids were playing in the playground, they were laughing and having the time of their lives. Then a thought came to her mind and she just had to say it out loud, "You would think that someone who had seen every minutes of my life, would know me just as good as I know myself." Jack looked at her, but she was watching the kids play. A light breeze pasted by them causing her hair to flow gracefully. He had never really notice her hair, sure he had noticed what she looked like but it was always her green eyes that caught his attention. So he never noticed that her brown hair was just as beautiful. He noticed the natural highlights of red, black, and some blonde streaks as well. And it just wasn't straight, it had a wave to it that made it ripple in the wind just stunningly.

Finally able to look away from her, he thought of what she had said, "Your favorite color is green, because it's the color of your eyes and your birthstone. But it changes from green to blue or black, depending on how you feel. But green will always be your favorite color no matter how you feel." He took a bite of his ice cream and continued, "When you were with your parents or any one of your family, it wasn't the real you. The real you was when you were with your friends, the people who understood you the best. You're truly a real friend because you're the reason why your friends wouldn't have food at lunch when you went to school…high school and college. And when you would borrow their stuff, you would have it for so long that you would think it was yours and not theirs." A smile came to his face, "You're such a great friend that you could write a book that had direct quotes from them. And no matter what happened or how much they hurt you by doing something or say something, you would always be there, you would always be there to protect them." He looked at Caden and found her looking at the ground but that didn't stop him, "Even if your friendship is made up of 'taking pleasure in each other's suffering'." He looked up at the sky, "You love horses because you think that they are the greatest animals on Earth. The most loyal animal companion anyone could ask for. But you love them so much because when you're riding one and you go into a gallop, you feel free…you feel as if you're flying." A sniffle came from Caden, she never knew that there was someone out there that knew her this much. Kaydence didn't even understand her, that way, not like Jack. He had somehow been able to understand her every comment, her every whim, he understood her completely. She listened when he continued, "Your greatest fear is a cage. Not the steel bar type. But the type that women were put in the past. Not being able to express your opinion. To do what you want or where you want. To love who you want and not someone who you don't. You want to be free, you want to feel the wind on your face and in your hair." He looked at her to find that she was looking at him with tears in her eyes. Forgetting about the ice cream in his hand, he dropped it and cupping her cheek and he wiped away the tears that made her beautiful eyes puffy and pink. And then he said one last thing, "You think that no one wants you, but you're wrong. You think that no one loves you, but you're wrong." He wiped the tears away again even though there weren't any this time. Jack really wanted to add three other words but he knew that if he did then he would lose her.

Silence went between them, it wasn't awkward silence, it was just silence. The silence that comes when you're thinking of things. For Caden she was thinking of everything Jack had she to her, about who she was. He was right, he had been right except for the very end. No one wanted her, and no one would love her. She was alone. And then she thought of when Jack was truly alone. The year that never was, was the hardest thing he had ever done. Looking around the people walked right on by not even knowing of what had happened. And the only people who knew was Jack, the Doctor, Martha and her family, things she told Kaydence, and then herself.

"So you saw the year that never was." Jack stated bring her out of her thoughts only to think that he had been reading her mind.

"Yeah, didn't really want to see it, but I didn't have a choice in the matter." She replied with a shrug.

"You shouldn't have had to see that and I'm sorry that you did." He told her, softly.

"I didn't like it, but then that one part was okay." She said with a smile. "The first time that I was about to be heard and seen for that matter."

"I believe you called Saxon a fucking asshole." Jack chuckled as he's mind went back to that moment.

"I usually never say that, but I was just so mad at him, for what he had done to you. To the Doctor, to Martha. But also the world." She shook her head, "But it didn't help." Looked down at her ice cream that she had forgotten about and started to lick it fiercely.

She took a bite out of her cone, when he said, "So that was your first." As she chewed, she nodded. "Not mine." Caden started to choke on the cone that she had accidentally inhaled. Coughing it up, she was finally able to breath. Turning towards Jack, she looked at him surprised by what he had said. "You were at a mall, with Kaydence and you arguing about a birdhouse—"

They were arguing, "But I want a birdhouse." Kaydence told Caden in a somewhat whining voice.

"Why do you need a birdhouse?"

"Cause I want more birds in my backyard." Kaydence told her with a look a sister would give her twin sister.

"But your cats will go after those birds and you know how you hate that." Caden told her as she shook her head and then added, "Those poor 'dead' birds." Caden didn't stop there, she even added a sniffle.

"Fine! I won't get a birdhouse, but then what am I going to get?"

Caden thought for a well and then a light bulb went off. "A watch."

"But I already have a watch."

"But not a fob." Kaydence looked at her confused. "Who have I told you about that has a fob?"

"That doesn't help, what is a fob?" Kaydence asked as they walked into a watch shop and was looking down into a case.

"A fob is a pocket watch," Caden and Kaydence both turned around only to see a man five feet away from them, looking at watches. He wore a World War II blue wool trench coat, and she could see a strap from the spenders that he was wearing.

"That was you!" Caden stood up, took a few steps away and then turned back to him. Running her hands through her hair she started to ramble, "Why didn't I see that before? I should have seen that! I should have realized that it was you and not some han…" She looked at him and added quickly, "Random bloke."

"Caden," Jack tried to interrupt her.

"But I am so stupid," But Jack was unsuccessful. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, Caden." She said as she hit herself on her forehead.

"Caden!"

"What?"

Jack stood up and took her heads, so she wouldn't hit herself anymore. "You are not stupid. You are very smart, one of the smartest people I know."

"The Doctor smarter."

"No one's smarter then the Doctor. He just knows everything."

"What about—"

"Tosh is smart at computers and things like that, but you are smart too, just at different things. Never doubt yourself." Looking down at the ground, she placed her head against his chest. Jack wrapped his arms around her knowing that she needed the comfort and the support. And then she put her arms around him, he closed his eyes and held her tighter.

It was as they had their arms around each other did they almost forget what had happened. That was until, "Jack?"