Jack felt bad when he had to leave the Doctor, when he clearly didn't want to be alone. He tried to call Owen but was directly sent to voicemail which meant he was spending time with Toshiko and didn't want to be disturbed. Ianto was busy and he had even tired the Song family but both River and Chris were out of town, they were celebrating their wedding anniversary. His last choice was Hart. He didn't want to ask so much of his friend but he didn't have a choice. He had promised John to send someone to him.
He was relieved when Hart was free and gladly accepted the favor. He owed Hart big time. Jack was feeling great when he entered the soccer arena. There was no one there which made him suspicious. He had sent a message to the trainer asking where everyone was, when 20 minutes had passed and he was still alone. He received a message a few minutes later, telling him that training was canceled due to the flu. Both their trainers weren't fit to leave the house and they were sorry that Jack wasn't told sooner.
Jack sighed to himself and began to walk back home. He chose to go the longer way to buy some pizza for them to share in the evening. He knew both John and Hart's favorite toppings on the pizza, so he didn't need to call them. Jack was smiling big when he opened the door to their house, he knew John would love the banana pizza.
"I'm back, the training was canceled. Sorry for destroying your alone time. I brought pizza." Jack entered the living room but felt cold when it looked like a fight had taken place in their living room.
"John, is everything alright? What has happened?" He was referring to both Hart and John while he searched for them. The whole house seemed empty and the TARDIS was locked. Maybe they were in the bed room. Jack opened the door. He felt cold and empty when he saw Hart strangling his restrained partner. Hart looked crazy and there was murder in his eyes. He had never seen his friend like that before. It scared Jack quite a bit. He finally understood who the attacker was.
"John! Let him go! He has done nothing to you!" When Hart ignored Jack and continued to choke John, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He attacked his friend and was wrestling with him for a while until he managed to knock him out cold.
Jack panted heavily and made his way to John, who looked pale but was breathing quickly. He felt relief that the other man was still alive. He tried to call for help but it was hard to dial with the adrenaline still pumping through his veins from the fight with Hart. He was shaking but he tried to calm himself down. He couldn't think straight. John grabbed his wrist and was giving him a pleading look.
"Jack, not the hospital please," he begged. Jack nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Of course not," he promised when he was sure that John wasn't damaged in a life threatening way. He freed his partner and held him close in his arms calming the other man down. He understood what his friend had done to him. It was his fault for calling Hart and leaving him alone with the psychopath. "I will just call the police, and then we will clean you up okay?" John nodded weakly without saying anything. Jack didn't like to see the usually talkative Doctor so quite. It was his responsibility now to make the other man feel safe again.
Jack sat by John's side while the police took Hart away. He had given Hart a disgusted look when the officers were taking his friend away. He didn't understand why Hart had acted like he had, and he doubted that he would ever understand. But the Doctor was safe now and it was everything that counted for him.
He took a bath with John to clean him up, being extra careful to not frighten the other man. He tried to feed him pizza when he had cleaned up but John just refused the pizza and bananas. Jack was really scared for John's well being but the other man refused to see a psychologist. He knew he couldn't force the other man to go, if John was not a threat to himself. He really hoped it would not come to that point. He knew John was strong, but he didn't know how much the other man could take.
John had cried himself to sleep in Jack's arms. It had taken a while but he was really tired after the horrible incident. Jack kissed his forehead and made his way to the kitchen. He locked away every single sharp object in the kitchen. He then made his way to the bathroom locking away both their razors and other sharp objects too. Jack made sure there was nothing that John could hurt himself with in the apartment. It felt stupid but he didn't know how bad John had taken the rape and the assault, and he didn't want to take any chances. He could finally rest beside his lover when he was sure the house was secured.
Jack placed a cup of tea beside John. It was evening and he hadn't talked to Jack during the day. He had refused to eat his breakfast, lunch and even dinner. John had only laid in their bed the whole day in the darkness and was facing the wall. He hadn't moved except for the time he had to use the bathroom. John was wasting away and Jack didn't know what to do.
Every day was the same, Jack tried his best to make him eat and drink. He talked to the Doctor every day in hope of getting a reply but he never received one. It actually felt like Hart had succeeded in killing him, because he felt like a dead person.
It was the middle of the night when Jack woke up. Tomorrow was his graduation and he really hoped John was well enough to come and watch him finish his time as a student and moving on to adult life with John. It didn't take Jack a long time to notice the absence of another body in the bed. He noticed the light was on in the kitchen, he really hoped John was hungry and went to get a nighttime sandwich. His heart sank in his chest when he saw every drawer and cupboard in the kitchen opened like he had been desperately searching for something.
Jack was getting nervous as he ran to the bathroom and found that it was locked. He could see that the lights were on.
"John? Is everything alright?" he asked waiting for an answer. He could only hear a weak sobbing from the bathroom. "The door is locked, can you let me in?" Jack still didn't get an answer except for the sobbing.
"John, if you don't open the door I'll have to kick it open," he warned still not getting an answer. "Stay away from the door, I will kick it in now" He kicked the door open and let his eyes examine the room. John was sitting on the floor with a defeated look on his face. He was bleeding from both of his wrist and he was holding a pair of bloody scissors with a tight grip in his left hand. Jack didn't understand where he got the scissors. He had been sure that he locked away every sharp object in the house. Around him laid every pill bottle they had in the house. Mainly aspirin and sleeping pills but there was some cold medication. He had shoved it down his throat with some alcohol. It looked like he was desperate to end his life. Jack felt stupid for forgetting the pills. How could he be so stupid so he could forget to lock away the aspirin and sleeping pills.
Jack tired take away the scissor from John but the other man just screamed at him to let go. He finally got the scissors from the broken man. He didn't care what John said now and he called the hospital.
Jack wasn't happy on his graduation day. The doctors had saved John's life, but his liver had taken some damage due to the pills and the alcohol. He tried to be happy with his friends but the only thing he could think of was John. If only he had hidden the pills too and made sure that the house was 100% secure. He felt like he wanted to punch John for his stupid actions when he met his lover later that day. He should be celebrating his accomplishment with his friends. He was furious at John.
"I think… I want to go to the therapist." John one day said to Jack when he was visiting him like he hand done every day that whole week. That was the first thing John had said to him in two weeks and it made him happy. John wanted to get better.
John was seeing his therapist once a week. It hadn't made a big difference in the beginning. After a month John had been asking for a kitchen knife which made Jack afraid at first, but when John explained he wanted to cook something, Jack couldn't just turn down his request. He let him use the knife as long as Jack could keep an eye on him. John was taking care of his garden again in his TARDIS and he had once again found his interest in physics. Their love life was back again along with the disciplining. John was his old self again but it had taken them almost a year. Jack didn't hide away the knives anymore or the pills.
It was a beautiful early morning in July. The Doctor was swimming in the lake as usual but this time Jack were sitting on the pier waiting for him with a basket filled with bananas, Jammie Dodgers, a bottle of wine, some sandwiches and of course a red apple for John. Jack invited him to join him under a blanket. He warmed the cold man for a while before he gathered his courage.
"John Smith, will you marry me?" He asked kneeling on one knee in front of John. John looked at Jack with a surprised face. He had lost his words, so he pulled Jack in to a deep kiss for telling him "Yes!"