Chapter three – Potentially the best day of Jack's life
"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed, running towards the sound of her voice. "How?" Jack had never seen him look so very human. His eyes were wide, movements frantic as he searched Tosh's workstation for the origin of the voice.
"I us- the pow- fr- par-x." Rose's voice came out in fragments, the connection weakening.
"Rose?" the Doctor tapped the sides of his head a few times, rocking on his heels as he assessed the situation.
"What's going on?" Rory looked terrible, dark circles around his bloodshot eyes. Amy walked over and took his hand, fussing.
"D-c-or!" Rose's voice was even less clear. Jack wondered if using his vortex manipulator would help, then again, it might make them loose the connection completely.
"Nonono," the Doctor murmured, sonicing everything around him. "TARDIS!" he suddenly yelled, running towards the invisible lift. Everyone looked at each other for a moment before running after him, using the other exit. Jack quickly put the Hub into lockdown using his vortex manipulator, he had a feeling they might be gone for awhile.
-'-'-
The Doctor jumped around, pulling leavers, pushing buttons, typing in commands. He was vaguely aware of the others entering, but didn't really care nor mind.
"River, I'm deactivating the cross-dimensional blockade. Could you-"
"Of course," she said shortly, getting to work.
"Right," the Doctor breathed after a few moments. "Hold on tight." He pushed the big blue button.
-'-'-
"Oh it's no good!" Rose exclaimed, smacking her hand against the console. "Dammit!" The large room her father had let her use at Canary Wharf suddenly felt suffocating. The technicians worked relentlessly to build up the connection again, but it just kept getting weaker.
"Rose," the Doctor said, gently taking her hands in his, brown eyes concerned. "He'll probably try strengthening the transmission using the TARDIS. Just wait a few moments." He took his glasses off, putting them in one of the pockets of his brown suit.
"Things are bad when you're the voice of reason, Doc," Jarrohn laughed, correcting the sleeves of his black leather jacket.
Rose ignored him, focusing on the Doctor instead. "I learned patience when I traveled through several universes to find you," she said, a burst of joy rushing through her as it sometimes did, just because he was here. The Doctor smiled, though it looked a bit forced.
"Rose? Can you hear me?" Rose immediately turned towards the console controlling the broadcasting device. She made a sign to the team behind her, getting the thumbs up. Entering the final commands, she stepped onto the silvery platform, straightening her shoulders.
"I can hear you," she said, trying to still the butterflies in her stomach. He would have changed. His voice wasn't the same so he'd most likely regenerated.
"Tell him to activate the fifth command and spin the won-won wheel," her Doctor said.
"Activate the fifth command and- um spin the won-won wheel," Rose said as the Doctor and Jarrohn stepped up beside her. "Here goes nothing," she breathed, taking both their hands.
-'-'-
"Whoa!" Gwen grabbed Amy as she stumbled, giving her a quick smile. The TARDIS was fantastic, Gwen had been slightly in awe since she entered. Two spaceships in one day. I love Torchwood. The TARDIS was also not very stable, which was why all of them clung to various items, hanging on for dear life.
"Incoming!" the Doctor shouted. Three people began materializing next to the control panel, a blonde girl in the middle, and a man on each side of her. The three of them were holding hands, standing completely still, knees a bit bent for balance. As their back was towards her, Gwen couldn't see much, but the one to the left looked strangely familiar. When the three strangers were completely stabilized, the TARDIS stopped moving so abruptly Owen actually fell. The Doctor stared at the newcomers.
"Oh," he said softly, hand fluttering over his bow tie. "Hi."
"Hi Doctor," the girl said.
"Hi," he said again, then pulled her into a hug, clinging to her. She gently hushed him, stroking his hair. The Doctor mumbled something into her neck, hands rubbing her back.
"I'm here now," she said softly. "I've been worried about you." The Doctor stepped back, quickly wiping his cheek with his hand. Gwen glanced at Jack who was looking at the scene with a sad smile.
"How-" the Doctor began.
"The Paradox," the man to the right answered, speaking quickly."As it was created on top of the Rift, it was magnified, allowing us a loophole." His voice sounded very familiar, though she couldn't quite place it. "As we're inside a paradox, us being here is not risking ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time."
"Of course! The paradox growing stronger is what made me all itchy," the Doctor deduced quickly.
"But as the paradox is weakening as events unfold the way they're supposed to, this will not be undone," brown suit guy answered.
"Marvellous!" the Doctor replied, beaming.
"Introductions, sweetie?" River said in a cool voice, having walked to stand next to him. Uh-oh, someone's in trouble. Gwen fought the urge to grin, a glance at Owen confirmed he'd repressed no such urge.
"River?" the man who had spoken earlier said in surprise. "Of course, you were from my future, and this is my future," he mumbled. "Weeell, his future. It was my future then, and his- let's just leave this topic."
"Timey wimey," the Doctor said, nodding in agreement.
"Sweetie?" the girl said. Gwen wished she would just turn around so she could see her properly. She didn't want to disturb the scene in front of her, didn't dare to be honest. Too many emotions involved.
"Right." The Doctor cleared his throat, fingers fluttering nervously. It made Gwen want to laugh – the all powerful time lord, scared of two human women. "Rose, this is River Song. River, this is Rose Tyler."
"Charmed." River gave the girl a strained smile, holding out her hand. "I'm his wife," she said by way of greeting.
"Oh?" Rose said neutrally, shaking it. "Technically so am I." They seemed to have begun a staring contest, still holding hands.
"What name do you go by?" the Doctor asked the man to the right loudly, looking nervously between the two women.Weird phrase.
"Alonso."
"What? You could have chosen any name. You could have called yourself Geronimo! Or Bob! Or Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein, which is one of my personal favourites. Quite the tongue twister, yet very respectable. But you chose Alonso?"
"I know, it's brilliant, isn't it?" Alonso said excitedly. "People can say allons-y Alonso, or I can say 'you can call me Al', like the song," Alonso continued, practically bouncing. The Doctor grinned.
"That is pretty groovy," he agreed. "I am brilliant though," they chorused.
"Two Doctors," Jack sighed happily. "I love it when that happens."
"Jack!" Alonso turned around and Gwen's jaw dropped. It was the Doctor. Well, the Doctor before regenerating, like she remembered him from when the Daleks had stolen the earth.
"Doctor!" Jack grinned, jogging up to give him a bear hug. "And my sweet Rose." He hugged her as well, kissing her cheek. "And you, you gorgeous man," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "If only Ianto was here this day would be one of the best days of my life," he laughed.
"Agreed!" the man said, turning around.
Gwen was sure her jaw hung somewhere around knee level. Jack. The other man was Jack.
-'-'-
"So, you guys live in a parallel universe," Amy began after all explanations had been made. They'd all gathered in the Harry Potter library, where the Doctor kept his nine thousand Harry Potter books, all translated into different languages, many of them not originating from earth. "You're the Doctor, but a human version-"
"Metacrisis-" Alonso tried to correct her.
"-accidentally created, and no, I'm not going to be more specific than that because it makes my head hurt." She turned to Rose. "And you used to travel with him, then accidentally got stuck in a parallel universe for awhile. And you're the equivalent of that universe's Jack," Amy concluded.
"Jarrohn, actually."
"What?"
"My name's Jarrohn, not Jack."
"Oh." Amy was silent for a second. "Well, that simplifies things. Did I miss something?" she turned towards the Doctor.
"Um, no. Not really." The Doctor kept glancing between Rose and River, while the 'other Doctor' kept glancing between 'Amy's' Doctor and Rose. River was ignoring all of them and 'the Jacks', as Amy had begun thinking of them, seemed very amused by it all, something calculating over both of them. Most likely they were entertaining themselves with inappropriate fantasies regarding the entire scenario.
"Right." Amy let out a breath. "Why am I surprised there are parallel universes?" she asked no-one in particular.
"Why are you here?" the Doctor asked, looking at the three guests.
"I'm told Jack had two years of memories stolen by the Time Agency?" Jarrhon said, making it sound like a question.
"You didn't?" Jack asked sharply. Jarrohn shook his head. "So you're still an agent then?"
"God no, don't be daft." Jarrohn sighed. His hair was longer than Jack's and combed a bit to the side. Amy liked Jack's better. Then again, she kinda liked there were two of him. Shallow me. "I'm not sure which parts they took, our timelines are a bit different-"
"Because you never met the Doctor," Jack said softly.
Jarrohn nodded again. "Yes. But if we can find when our timelines stop being similar-"
"-if they are similar at all," Jack interrupted.
"Mm, yes, the thing is, I think I know which memories you're missing," Jarrohn said. Jack froze, looking at him intently. Amy couldn't imagine missing two years of your life. She'd be shaking the other version of herself demanding to know what happened then RIGHT FUCKING NOW thank you very much.
"We've been able to overhear you since the paradox began," Rose quickly explained. "Our Torchwood have built several machines to be able to reach or surveillance other universes should the opportunity arise. As you've noticed," she added. "As soon as I understood what was going on, I called Jarrohn."
"If our past is the same, I can tell you where Ianto is."
That caused a storm of "Whats?" and "Hows?" When everyone had finally quieted down, Jarrohn continued.
"Look," Jarrohn said. "To give you the short version; The reason I left the Time Agency was that I couldn't work for an organization that supported the secret branch of the sisterhood. They took humans and other species and changed them into other species. Many volunteered, fanatics that wanted to preserve endangered alien species, and I thought, good for them. If that's what they want, then fine. Then I realized, many hadn't volunteered." He smiled bitterly. "They became a whole different species, kicking, begging and screaming."
"Fuck," Jack breathed, rubbing his face harshly. Amy suppressed a shudder. "Do you remember seeing this man," he asked him, handing him his phone.
"No," Jarrhon shook his head. "I'm sorry. There were so many." He looked apologetic. Amy thought she saw a flicker of something in his eyes, probably just her imagination. Do they haveto be so distractingly gorgeous?
"Why not just grab a few samples of the endangered species and move them to a point in time where they would be needed to repopulate," Tosh asked timidly. Amy wanted to tell her to speak up and straighten her shoulders. She did make a good point though.
"Species change, evolution. Small, unnoticeable things sometimes, but there nonetheless. They couldn't risk setting them back," Jarrohn explained.
"So, your plan is to follow the coordinates from your universe in the hope that they're the same ones?" River asked sceptically.
"Yes it is," Alonso said, smiling brilliantly at her. River blinked in surprise, then smiled back. "If Jack and Jarrohn's timelines are the same up until that point, it is more than likely we'll find Ianto there. Trust me," he said. "I'm a Doctor." He grinned, like he'd just said something hysterically funny, making Rose roll her eyes fondly. He had a good smile, slightly manic, but in a nice way. Amy loved her Doctor, she really did, but she wished she'd gotten to know this version of him too.
"Well, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor sulked, most likely put out by the fact that it hadn't been his brilliant plan.
"So am I," Alonso reminded him. "But I'm also an actual doctor. Went and got myself a degree and everything." His eyes sparkled.
"Really?" Jack grinned.
"Oh yes. Doctor Tyler." He corrected his lapels, looking very proud, exchanging a grin with Rose.
"Way to go!" Jack congratulated.
"Mm, yes. I do like helping people," Alonso said softly. "And, you know, everyone calls me Doctor. It's just weird to be called something else."
"What about your actual name?" Gwen asked curiously.
"That's only for Rose," Alonso said, smiling softly at the girl in question. Rose smiled back, taking his hand. Amy turned towards the Doctor to ask if it wasn't about time he got himself an actual degree, but her words died on her tongue when she saw his face. He looked sad, almost a bit longing as he regarded the couple. Of course. Alonso is the Doctor. Which means the Doctor loves her too.
"For the record, I'd like to remind you," the Doctor said, pointing dramatically at Alonso with his screwdriver, "we already got a medical degree in 1888. So I'm a real doctor too."
"Things have happened in the medical field since 1888," Owen drawled. "For example, we're not really into using leeches nowadays."And that was the end of that argument. Amy suppressed a giggle, pressing her hand over her mouth.
-'-'-
Jack and Jarrohn stayed in the Harry Potter library to compare their timelines in private, which was understandable as some things should be kept personal. The rest of them returned to the control room, Jack having talked the Doctor into picking up Martha.
"Should we really leave those two alone with each other?" Owen asked after a few minutes. Complete silence greeted the question.
"Oh. I didn't think that far," the Doctor said softly while Rose and Gwen broke down in a fit of laughter.
-'-'-
After Rose had come over her initial chock of the Doctor being married, she tried to come up with a way to break the tension. She didn't resent the woman, quite the opposite. It was good to know he wasn't lonely, she had worried quite a lot about that. "River," she called to the woman sitting in one of the chairs by the console, deliberately catching everyones attention.
"Yes?" River asked, raising an eyebrow, lowering the book she'd been writing in.
"Can I ask you something?" Rose said, walking over to stand across from her, leaning against the control table. She shot her her most disarming smile.
"Sure. Go ahead." River looked at her curiously, closing the book.
"You see, I once did a perm. I thought I'd look pretty-"
"You don't have to tell everyone-" her fiance tried to cut in. Rose ignored him.
"-which I did," she continued. "The thing is, the Doctor used to sneakily, sort of, bounce my curls when he thought I wouldn't notice. Like," she demonstrated, putting her hand under one of River's curls, flicking it upwards, making it bounce softly before settling.
"Him too, huh?" River smiled, much warmer than before. Rose grinned.
"It's bouncy hair," the Doctor sulked. "It's supposed to be bounced."
"I wish I had bouncy hair," her Doctor said wistfully.
"Yeah. Ginger bouncy hair."
Everyone contemplated this for a few moments until River firmly said "Absolutely not, sweetie."
-'-'-
Ianto woke with a gasp, trying to sit up only to notice he was strapped to the table, unable to move even his head. Don't panic, he told himself, taking a deep breath, then another, repeating until the urge to scream and trash passed. He took in his surroundings as much as he could. White walls, white ceiling and he'd bet anything the floor was white as well. Very clean. Very sterile. Like a hospital.
Or a research facility.
His entire body tensed again, the instinct to move run escape making the restraints feel choking. He closed his eyes, continuing his deep breathing, trying to calm the useless adrenalin rush. How long have I been here? He had no idea. Why is my arm hurting? He tried by pure force of will to look down at his left arm, the effort only managing to make him dizzy. He was wearing white scrubs, it hadn't even occurred to him someone might have changed his clothes.
"This one's cute," he heard a very familiar voice say. It suddenly felt hard to breathe.
"Looks are unimportant," a female voice answered as she walked up to the bed, coming into view as she checked his pulse and shone a light in his eyes.
Oh my god she's a cat. Ianto blinked to get rid of the black dots.
"Yeah yeah," the first voice answered flippantly, and suddenly Ianto was uncertain if he'd heard right. But he'd been so sure. A sharp quick pain in his arm made him flinch. Shot. Shit. Within seconds his head was spinning. The cat's companion leaned over to look at him curiously, asking the cat something Ianto couldn't focus enough to hear.
"Jack," Ianto tried to say, eyes rolling back as his entire body began to spasm.
-'-'-
"Alright, let's go pick up Martha," Jack said, buttoning the last buttons on his shirt as he entered the control room. "We have the coordinates."
