Note: *sees the deadline has been extended and flails*

Chapter 3 - Unable to Recall

Unaware of the bright light that was shone in his eyes, he felt his left eyelid being released by a finger that certainly wasn't his and it closed, revealing darkness again. There was a light slap to his left cheek and his brow furrowed. Then another slap but to the right cheek and he shifted uncomfortably, groaning at an oncoming headache. Suddenly he gasped as a searing pain tore through his whole body and instantly, his eyes flashed open.

"Woah, easy there, junior," came an American voice. He gently placed a hand on his arms. "You just fell off a building."

"W-what?"

"Dunno how you survived that but you only got a few cuts and bruises. A bit of a gash to the head, but I managed to patch that up, so expect a bit of a headache." The man craned his neck in all directions. He was in a white room.

"Where…" he trailed off. "Where am I?"

"Well you should know since you came in uninvited by the front entrance," the ex-Time Agent muttered. The man blinked in confusion and rubbed his eyes.

"I did?"

Jack frowned. "You collapsed in my arms about thirty minutes ago and I hooked you up to a life machine. You suddenly escaped the Hub and we had to find you. We found you jumping off the building and found your body on the ground and immediately got you back…" He said the last part almost too slowly. The man frowned.

"I… I jumped off a building?"

"You don't remember?" Jack boggled.

"That's impossible," came another voice. A tall man in a blue suit sauntered down the stairs studying some papers. "You just hooked him up to a life support machine because his hearts were both failing and when we find him, he's perfectly fine…" He looked up from the papers and noticed Jack next to the awoken man. "We-ell, except for the knock to the head and all," he quickly added.

"Care to explain?" Jack slowly asked with that same tone when he expected an answer. "Time Lords do have more dense bones than humans and a rapid healing factor." He hinted, gesturing at the man.

"No." The Doctor slammed the papers to a nearby surgical table and frowned at the man.

"Where am I?" the man declared.

"Torchwood," Jack chipped in.

"Torch-what?"

"It's a secret organisation that deals with aliens," the Doctor summarised, feeling a little himself. "Now tell me. What were you doing wondering into a place you've never heard of? You couldn't have just stumbled upon it."

"Unless he did know about Torchwood and decided to infiltrate the base," Jack interrupted, eyes narrowing. The ginger man frowned.

"What?!"

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked, ignoring the man's confused manner.

To his surprise, the man took a moment of thought before speaking. "Alex."

"Right… Alex…" he said, waiting for some sort of a continuation, but Alex simply frowned and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "You don't have a surname?"

Alex shrugged and the Doctor ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay… I'm the Doctor by the way. This is Jack," he said, nudging the ex-Time Agent.

Jack noticed the Doctor's suspicious tone. "Does his name ring any bells?"

The Doctor saw where he was trying to go. "Maybe, maybe not," he simply replied. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Why are you talking like I've done something wrong?" Alex murmured. The Doctor turned to him and crossed his arms.

"Well, it seems you've caused enough trouble to upset the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor replied. "Care to explain?"

"Shadow what?"

"Blimey, you don't remember anything," Jack breathed.

"Has he been like that since he woke up?" the Time Lord boggled, taking a closer look at Alex in concern.

"Yeah, he couldn't recall his last events."

"What you can't remember jumping off a building?" the Doctor exclaimed. Alex huffed in annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" he snapped, hitting his the back of his head against the autopsy table.

"No don't do that," Jack murmured, cupping the back of Alex's head with his hands. "We might need to scan your head since it took quite a shock from the fall."

"Ten steps ahead of you," the Doctor interrupted, buzzing his sonic screwdriver at Alex and eventually pocketing the device without spending much time inspecting the results. "Concussed… he's got amnesia," he sighed. Jack whistled.

"Not surprised since he banged his head pretty hard from such a height…"

"Isn't that when someone loses their memory?" Alex questioned. "I saw it happen in a movie once."

"Yeah, except it doesn't take two hours to regain all your memories," the Doctor muttered. "This is going to be hard…"

"What is?"

"Well for starters, we don't know if you're even human," Jack chipped in.

"I am human," he protested, but noticed Jack shaking his head.

"Let's take this one step at a time," the Doctor explained slowly and seemingly more directed at Jack. "Where do you live?"

"I don't really have a permanent home," Alex said. The Doctor arched a brow. "I can't really stay in one place for too long," he quickly added.

"Sounds like someone I know," Jack murmured. The Doctor rolled his eyes and continued.

"Who are your parents? Any family?"

Alex took a long moment of thought, frowned and then shook his head. Jack, however, brought his hands to his mouth and tried not to show much emotion, whilst the Doctor looked at Alex with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry, I can try to remember," Alex panicked.

"No, no, it happens in all amnesia cases," he waved off. That was a lie. He proceeded with another question. "What was the last thing you remembered before waking up here?"

Alex screwed his face in concentration before feebly shrugging. Jack was getting tired of the pointless questions and slammed a fist on the side of the autopsy table.

"Dammit, how are we supposed to help a man who only knows his name and the fact that he travels?" he growled. "There's gotta be more that you know or remember," he almost begged Alex.

"Jack," The Doctor warned.

"How about Gallifrey? Does that name seem any familiar to you?"

"JACK!" the Doctor yelled. "He's not a Time Lord for crying out loud. Just because he has two hearts, doesn't make him one. Don't think this is some sort of a sick joke," he snapped.

"Why can't you just accept he's a Time Lord?"

"Because he's not!"

"He's got two hearts!"

"I ended them! Everything's gone, even the Daleks."

"Yeah, the Daleks…" Jack replied with a sarcastic tone. "Well, it's not like Harriet Jones killed herself," he shouted, recalling a past memory. The Doctor growled.

"Shut up! You don't know a thing about what I'm going through. Nine hundred years of pain and suffering I had to go through."

"Well for your information, I've gone through all that in two thousand years."

"You spent your life being dead two thousand times!" the Doctor shrieked.

Before Jack could retaliate, a hesitant mumble distracted the two arguing men.

"Gallifrey…" Alex whispered, looking utterly distant; sadness showing his eyes. "Why does that name seem familiar?" He blinked, wiped his face and stared in surprise. "Doctor, Jack, why am I crying?"

"I don't know, why are you crying?" the Doctor answered back, studying him even more. Alex fell into yet another brief moment of thought before mumbling.

"It's like… there's this empty feeling inside."

"Oh my God," Jack gasped. The Doctor gazed at the ginger man for a moment before realisation hit him like a bomb.

"You… you don't remember anything?" the Time Lord croaked, a giant lump forming in his throat. His eyes bore the Alex's empty eyes. "You don't remember…"

At once, the Doctor walked out of the autopsy room.