A/N: Ok, so this part includes a little bit of... male bonding, shall we say...It's nothing heavy and nothing that should be new to anyone familiar with the character of Jack! Still, just a bit of a warning, just to be safe.
Again, feedback is welcomed with great gratitude.
"So, what's the plan Doc?" Jack asked, as the companionable group sat round a table awaiting tea. The Doctor and the DoctorDonna looked at one another in consideration.
"We take Sarah-Jane back to London, you back to your team in Cardiff..." The Doctor began, facetiously.
"About Rose and your carbon copy, Doctor," Sarah-Jane interrupted with a firm no-nonsense tone.
"Ah. That," The Doctor sighed, admonished.
"That little issue..." Donna mused.
"You must have some ideas?" Jack continued. "I can take Mark-Two off your hands if you want?" His eyes twinkled with disturbing levels of excitement. "I mean, leave you to Donna and Rose..."
"That won't be necessary, Captain," The Doctor said, particularly alarmed by the images that had passed through his mind at Jack's suggestion.
"But you've given it some thought?" Sarah-Jane enquired anxiously.
"Been thinking of nothing else since Dalek Oblivion," Donna stated simply. Three heads snapped to face her instantaneously. "Again, I have your mind!" Donna asserted slowly and carefully as though The Doctor was completely ignorant.
"Really there's only one option." The Doctor ignored her and stared into the middle-distance as he spoke. "Everyone has a home to go to, except for me and him."
"And Rose?" Jack enquired tentatively. The Doctor didn't respond. "Doctor! She's come all this way!"
"Like I said, everyone has a home to go to."
"But a sealed-off parallel world is a slightly different kettle of fish!" Sarah-Jane protested.
"She doesn't want to leave," Donna contributed.
"And you don't want her to," Jack added. He looked at The Doctor, his face creased with worry and compassion. "Can you really, honestly, say goodbye again?"
"She doesn't have to say goodbye. She can have... him." The Doctor spoke of his second self with distaste, his stomach twisting as he voiced the reality. His words were greeted with a stunned silence
from all quarters. Even Donna hadn't anticipated this, though she really should have done, had she given it the thought. Of course it was the obvious answer, in so many ways; they all knew that. But could one man truly sacrifice so much?
"And you? Doctor, think of yourself for once." Jack tentatively voiced the concern they all felt. Sarah-Jane looked at her hands, folded on the table in front of her, uncomfortably. Donna winced in anticipation of the explosion.
"The plan works," The Doctor stated, as casually as if he were approving a completed jigsaw.
"Doctor!" Jack needled a bit too hard, and Donna got her explosion.
"Jack, that means leave it!" The Doctor leapt to his feet and spun angrily away from the table. Jack was apprehended, but not defeated. He looked reproachfully toward Sarah-Jane and Donna, who were glaring at him rather than focusing on The Doctor, now leaning on a counter to one side with his head hung low and his back to them.
"Ohh, I'll deal with him," he mouthed theatrically to the women, and jerked his head towards the door. Both were reluctant to leave, but Jack suddenly looked serious and set. Sarah-Jane rolled her eyes in defeat and tugged at Donna's arm. After some silent push-and-shove and some inappropriate thoughts from Jack, they departed, and left The Captain and The Doctor alone in the still room.
As Jack ran his fingers down his face, rubbing the sides of his nose in despair, a barely audible "sorry" was whispered into the wall The Doctor was facing.
"You know I just want..."
"I know." The Doctor turned to face Jack now, though he averted his eyes, which were glistening more than they should in the pale light. "But what else can I do, Jack?"
Suddenly there was a clear vulnerability shining from the Time Lord, usually so stoic in the face of his own emotion. Jack felt a lump rising in his throat and had to bite his lip to prevent gushing. Instead he sighed, deep and sad. The Doctor eventually raised his gaze to meet Jack's, and the two men stared at one another, caught up in a wordless understanding.
After too many painful seconds Jack lowered his eyes to the table and shook his head.
"There's got to be a better way," he managed to croak.
"He needs a home."
"But you have needs too." For once, he wasn't implying the sexual variety.
"I don't know what to say to you Jack," The Doctor scratched the back of his neck, full of thought. "I have to do... what works."
"It doesn't work for you. What about what you want?"
"What I want isn't important. I have to consider the bigger picture. Think outside the box. Altruism. Time Lord. Why is any of this new to you?"
"You're being facetious again," Jack berated him. The Doctor looked partly sorry, but did not speak. "I understand your position; I get the Lonely Wanderer thing, I feel for you and I certainly don't envy you... but you can't dismiss this so off-hand. It's Rose, Doctor. How many times have you sent her away, for the greater good or for her own sake? How many times has she found her way back?" He folded his arms decisively and sat back. "She ain't gonna just accept it."
"Jack..." The Doctor sighed and composed himself. "I think you're missing the finer points here. He... the other me... he's not fully Time Lord. He's not like you and me, who carry on indefinitely. He's... he's like Rose. He's essentially human, but with the certain beneficial characteristics of... well, me."
"He'll live a normal life? Have a normal death?" Jack's face fell as the realisation struck. Silence prevailed as the news took hold and the full extent of what The Doctor was doing struck home. "Oh Doctor..."
The Doctor swallowed hard and momentarily moved his eyebrows up and down with a rightwards tilt of the head, conceding to Jack's acknowledgement of the magnitude of the gesture. "Everyone's a winner," he whispered darkly.
At the sight of his companion's transparent pain, matched with unwavering determination to do right, Jack Harkness slowly rose to his feet and approached him. The Doctor looked at him quizzically as they came face-to-face. He mouthed a "what?" as Jack gripped his upper arms, and his eyes widened as his friend softly touched his lips with his own. He did not allow his mouth to respond, nor did he pull away. He allowed Jack to express himself in the way he knew best. Jack himself ceased the contact seconds later, instead pulling The Doctor into a tight embrace. Gingerly the Time Lord put his hands on Jack's back and gulped as he rested his head on the proffered shoulder.
Coming to his senses moments later he straightened up and stepped back from Jack's arms. The calm brown eyes looked sorrowfully at the blue that shimmered with reluctant tears.
"And what was that in aid of?" he asked, remembering the kiss. It certainly wasn't the sort he'd have expected from Jack, who had clearly been awaiting an opportunity for a smooch for a long time. Jack merely shook his head as a solitary drop sneaked down his left cheek. "Oh come on, no blubbing." The Doctor lowered his eyebrows and looked down at the former poster boy.
"Sorry Doc..." Jack sniffed and straightened up too. "You're just... it's just... beautiful." He shook his head again and turned away.
"It's the best way," The Doctor said, placing a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack did not turn to face him but his shoulders shuddered with a huge, composing sigh.
"She's not going to like it," he smiled grimly as the two men faced each other once more.
"No. Not at first. But she'll understand. And be happier, hopefully, in the long-run."
"I hope you're right." Jack could now see the sense and significance in the plan but equally sensed a rebellion. "It's going to be hard."
"Good job I'm not as soft as you then, Captain!" The charade of light humour from The Doctor was not going to win any awards, but it was a preferable front to the ruptures treading the boards of his hearts. The two of them looked at one another a moment longer, neither fooled by the calm expression of the other, before a call of "tea's up!" echoed into the room. "Well then..." The Doctor forced a smile. "Allons-y!"
As Jack reluctantly followed through the door he marvelled that The Doctor could have any desire for food. For his part, any appetite had long since abandoned him, hand-in-hand with the hope of a happy ending.