LOVE
NINETEEN
"Wil! John! Hello!"
The Doctor gazed up at them cheerfully from the floor of his ship's control room. He was sitting cross-legged with a neatly folded stack of clothing piled on his lap and what looked like a mobile phone clutched in one of his hands.
A small black and white Earth feline sat next to him, studiously ignoring what appeared to be several plates of food. The cat looked up at the new arrivals with bright green eyes.
"Spike!" John exclaimed. "How are you? Come here you pretty kitty!" He leaned over, extended a hand and snapped his fingers. The cat stood and silently padded over to him. After a brisk scratch behind the ears John scooped him up in his arms and gave him a quick kiss. Spike purred loudly in response.
Wil had already recognized (it was difficult not to!) the aforementioned pile of clothing as belonging to Jack Harkness and noted warily that said pile included the Captain's precious greatcoat. "Hey, Doctor. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Wil. Just fine. And you?"
"I'm good. John's good. We're both good. A little busy these days but that's nothing new…"
"No, I suppose not..."
She walked over to him and looked down expectantly, "You rang?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. And thank you – the both of you – for coming so promptly." He looked up at her and smiled. "Uh, do you mind?" he slowly raised the precariously balanced stack of clothing up toward her.
"No, not at all," she accepted the apparel from him and then watched as he unwound off the floor to his full height.
Wil inhaled deeply and caught the strong, spicy scent of Captain Jack Harkness from the items she now clutched tightly to her chest. The almost overpowering aroma and its accompanying memories made her knees go weak and her face feel flush. She looked down, hoping neither man had seen her reaction but knowing full-well that both probably had. It would've been hard to miss…
"Do you want to tell us what's going on, Doctor?" John asked as he carefully placed Spike back down on the floor and gave the cat one last affectionate pat.
"Well… several things, John. Erm, John and Wil… I guess the first one is that I've lost Jack."
John's eyes had been following Spike as he unhurriedly meandered over to the food plates and began daintily to eat from one of them. Now the former Time Agent peered icily back up at the Time Lord. "You've lost Jack?"
"I left him at a medical clinic…"
"Iserliss?" Wil interrupted him.
"Ah! Yes! Iserliss! You know of the man then?"
Wil and John both nodded.
"Very good… Right! I left Jack with Iserliss, or the doctor as he now prefers to be known. Ha!" he chortled. "A bit funny don't you think? Well… anyway, when, as instructed, I returned an hour later Jack was gone. So were the doctor and his assistant, incidentally. And the facility…" Here The Doctor's face suddenly turned dark, foreboding. "Well, I found Jack's clothes but not Jack, and there was evidence of recent violence. And worse. Much worse…"
Wil pressed the clothing more tightly to her body as her heart sank, "What did you see, Doctor?"
He just blinked at her.
"Doctor? I asked: what did you see?"
"I saw death. Jack's death. Repeated deaths. Horrible deaths."
Under his breath, John let out a stream of expletives.
Wil realized although she could plainly hear what The Doctor was thinking, that unlike John there was absolutely no ambivalence. The Time Lord's words and thoughts were clear, cold and lucid, and totally in sync with each other. She had to admit, the forthrightness was refreshing – a distinct relief. Like walking out from a stuffy, overheated room into the refreshing drizzle of a cool, gray morning.
"Then we'll go and find him," she announced straightforwardly.
The Doctor nodded several times but then he shook his head.
"Several things?" John interjected.
Wil looked at him, annoyed, and he glared back at her just as irritated. "The Doctor told us that there were several things going on," John scowled, "what are the other things, Doctor?"
The Time Lord glanced around and then realized what he was seeking was already in his hand. He held the object up in the air so they could see it plainly. "This is the cell phone Martha Jones gave me. While I was dropping Jack off at the clinic she tried to call us. I'd forgotten to take the phone with me – well, I always forget to take the phone with me." He frowned and then shrugged. "It's kind of intentional actually. I detest cell phones, brain cancer you know… But anyway Martha called and left a message. Jack and I have been asked by Ianto Jones to return to Cardiff posthaste. It seems that Gray has escaped."
"WHAT?" Wil nearly roared.
John shook his head and said much more quietly, "When it rains it pours."
The Doctor gazed at him thoughtfully and nodded. "Ah! One of the Captain's favorite maxims. And yes, indeed, it appears to be pouring."
"But how…?" Wil was having a hard time coping with the news. It was the last thing she wanted to hear – that Jack's psychopathic little brother was once again on the loose.
"Gwen Cooper is missing as well. They believe Gray might've somehow manipulated her into freeing him."
"Poor Gwen!" Wil lamented.
"Yes. I'm quite concerned for her," was The Doctor's worried response.
"Is there anything else?" John asked matter-of-factly.
Wil turned to stare at him, "What do you mean? Things aren't dismal enough? Are you hoping for even more bad news?"
His eyes flashed. "No, I'm not. But I do want to make sure there's nothing else that requires our attention, M'Lady."
The Doctor looked back and forth between the two of them, suddenly realizing there actually was another issue, but it was one he'd been totally unaware of until that very moment. He conspicuously cleared his throat. "No, John, there's nothing else. Just those two… or is it three items on our action list: rescue Jack, find Gray, rescue Gwen. I'm not sure if the last two are separate line items or not… But they probably aren't – aren't separate that is; let's call them the same." The Time Lord vowed to himself to not blunder into the middle of a relationship obviously heading for the rocks. I'll have to dust off my old 'I don't want to take sides' speech…
John thought for a moment then grinned beakishly, as if claiming ownership of a particularly juicy piece of roadkill. "Seems to me we're going to need to split up."
"Oh no, not again," Wil moaned.
But The Doctor nodded in agreement. "It only makes sense. Both situations need to be dealt with immediately. The question is which one do the two of you prefer to tackle?"
"That's not what I'm thinking, Doctor…"
Then to John Hart's profound surprise, Wil stepped forward both literally and figuratively, "I know what John's thinking and he's absolutely right. He should go with you to Cardiff. It makes perfect sense because he's had quite a bit of experience dealing with Jack's brother in the past. Besides, Doctor, you can't go there alone. We won't let you. All of us know only all too well what Gray is capable of. He may be unbalanced but he's also crazy dangerous. You're going to need help and John's the only one who fits the bill. The Torchwood Team is good, but they're totally outclassed by Gray. He'll eat them for breakfast."
"But… but… By yourself, Wil?" the Time Lord sputtered.
"No, she's got it right, Doctor," John picked up the argument and administered the coup de grâce. "Besides, Wil won't be alone; she'll have Grasshopper with her."
The two of them smiled at each other and as they did The Doctor noticed that in neither case did their smile reach their eyes.
-00-
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."
Friedrich Nietzsche