The Doctor had barely left the control room of the TARDIS when the sound of terrified screams reached his ears. He broke into a run, and the TARDIS herself aided his expediency by moving the medical room closer to him.
The scene that he came upon just about broke his hearts, and had him wanting to weep. Rather than finding Jack waiting for him on one of the beds, the young immortal was instead huddling in the far corner of the room, screaming and crying hysterically, and slapping his hands wildly at anyone who tried to get close to him. Even Ianto hadn't come away unscathed, judging by the deep red welt on his cheek.
"What's going on?" he asked of no one in particular.
"He panicked," Gage answered, sounding confused and a little frightened. "As soon as we brought him in here, he freaked out. I have no idea why! None of us can get anywhere near him, not even Ianto!"
The Doctor hesitated, staring at his hysterical former companion with growing concern. He knew well enough that if Ianto couldn't calm Jack down, then there was no point in him trying. He was trying to decide what the best course of action to take was – sedation was out of the question, as it would only delay the inevitable, not to mention it would possibly only cause Jack even further trauma on top of what he'd already suffered – when the TARDIS whispered to his mind, offering a possible solution.
He listened, intrigued, before speaking to the others.
"Everyone, back off. Let him have some space."
"Doctor?" Rose asked anxiously. "What are you going to do?"
"Not me," he answered. "The TARDIS."
Understanding dawned in Rose's eyes, and she quickly moved right back. Ianto and Gage exchanged worried glances before reluctantly doing the same. Ianto, however, positioned himself near the door. The last thing they needed was for a panicked and frightened Jack to be running off and getting lost in the bowels of a ship that was obviously a hell of a lot bigger than outside appearances suggested.
"What's going on?" Gage asked in confusion.
"The TARDIS is talking to Jack," Rose murmured. "See, she's not just a ship. She's sentient, got a mind of her own. Listen, can you hear her?"
"I can't hear anything," Gage admitted, but Ianto nodded slowly.
"I think I can hear a sort of hum, like it's in the back of my mind. Is that her?"
"It is," the Doctor confirmed, pleased.
"And she's talking to Jack right now?"
"Just wait, and watch," the Doctor told him.
So they did, and over the next few minutes they watched as Jack's tears slowed and eventually stopped. He very gradually relaxed from the tight huddle that his body had been locked into, until he sat slumped against the wall, with his cheek pressed lightly to the coral. Eventually, they became away of Jack humming softly to a song that only he seemed to be able to hear.
"Doctor?" Rose asked finally. "What's she sayin' to him?"
"I don't know," the Doctor admitted, sounding surprised but not especially put-out. "She's blocked all of us listening in, including me. Whatever she's saying, it's for Jack alone."
Slowly, Jack turned on the floor where he sat, huddling closer to the wall. His hand came up to lightly stroke the coral, and a tiny smile graced his features.
"Ianto, she wants you to go to him now," the Doctor said. Ianto didn't need to be told twice. He walked over and crouched down beside Jack, slipping and arm around his shoulders.
"She says I need to let her help me," Jack mumbled. "She says she'll take away the ouches."
"Yes, she will, love. Are you going to let her do that for you?"
Jack didn't answer verbally, but instead allowed Ianto to help him get up. Ianto guided him over to the med table, and encouraged him to lie down. As soon as he had done so, a soft blue light engulfed him for perhaps ten seconds at the most. When it faded, the wires that had been cruelly embedded in his flesh were gone, and there was no sign they had ever been there to begin with.
Jack was not the only one to benefit from the TARDIS' care, either. Similar blue light also swept over Ianto, Gage, Rose, and even the Doctor, cleaning them and healing them of any injuries that they had.
"Better?" Ianto asked with a smile as Jack sat up again and examined his body in wonder.
"Better," Jack agreed happily.
"Good. Now, maybe we can find some clothes for you."
And suddenly, the uncertainty was back with a vengeance as Jack remembered that he wasn't supposed to have no clothes on.
"I'm sorry," he offered to Ianto, genuinely upset. "I didn't mean to, Yan. Really…"
Anxious to comfort and reassure him, Ianto hugged him and pressed a kiss to his temple.
"It's all right, cariad. No one is angry with you, and you haven't done anything wrong, I promise. We just want you to feel comfortable and warm."
Much to the Doctor and Rose's interest, Jack's face had gone flame red as he realised that everyone's attention was on him, and he shifted awkwardly on the table, trying uselessly to hide his nakedness. Taking pity on the man, the Doctor turned and bustled both Rose and Gage towards the door.
"Ianto, there are clothes on the end of the bed," he said over his shoulder. "Don't worry about sizes, the TARDIS will have that covered. When you're done, she'll show you to his room. Once you're both settled, I'll bring along something to eat and drink."
And then, Jack and Ianto were alone in the med room.
Curious, Ianto examined the clothes and was pleased to find a comfortable and loose pair of tracksuit pants, plain loose-fitting tee-shirt and a warm sweatshirt, as well as a simple, plain pair of boxers. On the floor was a comfortable-looking pair of slippers and, just as the Doctor had said, everything was in just the right sizes.
"C'mon, then," he said, and helped Jack get the clothes on so that they could both feel comfortable again.
"Can you tell me why you got so upset when we came in here?" Ianto asked gently as he helped Jack to tug the sweatpants up over his hips. Jack glanced about nervously.
"I… I thought…"
He trailed off, embarrassed.
"You thought what?" Ianto asked. "Talk to me, Jack, please."
"It reminded me of the other place," Jack blurted out. "Like the bad place. I thought that… maybe…"
"That it was all just a trick?" Ianto suggested gently, and Jack stared down wordlessly at his hands, ashamed and embarrassed. Ianto hugged him reassuringly. "It's all right, love. No one is mad at you."
"But I slapped you," Jack pointed out shakily, watery eyes fixed on the angry red welt that adorned Ianto's cheek. Ianto laid a palm lightly against Jack's face, and directed him to look away from the mark.
"You were frightened and confused. It's understandable, and no harm was done. You didn't hurt me, Jack. It looks worse than it really is, and I promise you it'll fade pretty quickly. You don't have any reason to be ashamed, I promise you."
"She said that, too."
"She?"
Again, Jack looked around, and smiled tentatively at the coral walls.
"TARDIS."
Ianto looked as well, and again was conscious of that gentle hum in his mind.
"You can hear her, can't you?" he asked curiously. "In your head?"
"She's talking to me," Jack said softly, sounding awestruck. "I can hear her. She's telling me not to be scared. She sounds pretty."
The young Welshman smiled at the innocent words. He didn't fully understand how it was possible for a ship to communicate like that, but the bottom line was that the TARDIS had calmed Jack's fears, and taken away his pain. For that alone, Ianto was immensely grateful.
Recalling what the Doctor had said about Jack's room, Ianto finished helping him to get dressed, and urged him gently towards the door.
"How about we go and find your room, then?"
Happy and content for the time being, with recent traumas pushed firmly to the back of his mind, Jack allowed Ianto to lead him from the med room.
Only minutes previous, the Doctor herded Gage and Rose out of the med room, and away down the corridor.
"Let's just give them a little bit of space," the Doctor murmured when Rose tried to protest.
"All right," Rose conceded, in somewhat reluctantly. "It's just… you know, kind of hard to believe it's the same bloke. The Jack we took on board wouldn't have ever been embarrassed about bein' naked."
"The Jack we took on board may never come back," the Doctor warned her quietly. "There is no way to know whether that part of his personality is gone permanently. Our priority now is helping Jack to recover, and we just have to take it one step at a time. We have to be prepared that the man back there may be very different to the one we knew. But for now, we'll just let the TARDIS take care of him. We'll let her take care of them both."
"She really is sentient, isn't she?" Gage asked, looking around him in wonder as they walked. The Doctor beamed with pleasure at Gage's acceptance.
"Yes, she is. Welcome to the TARDIS, Mr Adams. The best ship in the universe, and the last one of her kind."
Gage paused in his stride to brush his fingers reverently over the coral walls.
"I'm sorry I can't hear you, you beautiful thing, but I'm glad to be here anyway."
The Doctor's expression turned bemused.
"Keep that up, and you'll give Jack a run for his money."
Gage frowned, sensing another slight aimed at Jack, but when he looked around at the Doctor there was nothing mean in the Time Lord's expression – only fond reminiscence.
"What do you mean?" Gage asked, taking care to keep his tone neutral.
"When Jack first came on board," Rose explained, "the Doctor told him to behave himself, or he'd find himself on the wrong side of an airlock. Only trouble with that was that within twenty-four hours, Jack had flirted and charmed his way into the TARDIS' good books. The Doctor couldn't have gotten rid of him then even if he'd wanted to."
Gage smiled faintly, and opted not to comment on the fact that the Doctor clearly had found a way in the end to rid himself of Jack.
"I wasn't entirely serious about the airlock," the Doctor mused. "After all, whose idea was it to rescue the good Captain off his precious Chula ship?"
Rose rolled her eyes, and Gage got the impression that this was a discussion that had been held more than once in the past.
"Yours."
"Thankyou." He looked back to Gage, with a smile on his face at the memories. "Jack was the second tag-along that we'd picked up. The first bloke was a big mistake, and caused far more trouble than he was worth. Jack, though… Jack was something special. He just needed a chance, and the right encouragement. I didn't trust him when we first met him, because he was trying to con us, but he had something the other idiot didn't. Jack had a capacity and a willingness to learn and change. Once he realised and accepted that he'd made a mistake, he did what he had to in order to fix it, and I loved him for that."
Gage was left feeling slightly stunned, not only by the Doctor's words, but also by his tone. There was an emotion in the Time Lord's voice that the younger man had not expected to hear. There was pride, respect and above all, love.
"You really do care about him, don't you?" Gage asked, and the Doctor nodded fiercely.
"I love Jack, just as I loved all my companions. What happened to him on Satellite Five was not his fault, and I made a terrible mistake in never going back for him. I just hope that one day he'll be able to forgive me."
"Couldn't you still do that? Go back for him, I mean."
"I wish I could, but it's not that simple. Everything that's happened here has become part of established events, including Jack's captivity over the last hundred or so years. It can't be changed."
They halted again by a door that slid open to reveal a simply furnished, but comfortable looking room.
"Your room, Mr Adams, for as long as you care to stay."
Gage paused in the doorway, and looked back at the Doctor and Rose with renewed hope.
"It's over, isn't it? We never have to worry about Torchwood again?"
The Doctor's expression was sober as he answered.
"I won't guarantee that Torchwood is finished, but I promise that right here and right now, you're all safe. And if you like, I'll be happy to take you somewhere that Torchwood has never been heard of."
Gage smiled, and shook his head.
"No, it's okay. And it's not me that I'm worried about. I just want Jack and Ianto to be safe."
"They will be," the Doctor promised sincerely.
"Well, that's good enough for me," Gage said. "Thankyou, Doctor… and you too, Rose."
Once Gage had disappeared into his room, Rose rounded on the Doctor.
"What do you mean, 'will be'? Why didn't you say they are safe?"
"They're safe from Torchwood, yes," the Doctor agreed as he led the way to the kitchen. "But Jack is still at risk from UNIT. I want it to be that if for any reason Jack decides to return to twenty-first century Earth, that he's not going to be locked up all over again."
"How are you going to do that, then? You know someone in UNIT?"
"Several, actually. But no, that wasn't what I had in mind. When Jack's settled in a little better, I'm going to take him to meet someone who has the power to make sure UNIT never lays a hand on Jack, ever."
"You gonna tell me who this VIP is?" Rose pressed. The Doctor grinned widely at her.
"Her Majesty, the Queen of England."
The Doctor was just finishing putting together a tray of food and drink for Jack and Ianto – Rose had already delivered a similar tray to Gage – when she finally gave in to her curiosity and spoke.
"Let me get this straight. Queen Victoria banished you…"
"She banished you, too, don't forget," the Doctor reminded her. Rose pulled a face.
"Fine. She banished us and set up Torchwood, and you're going to take Jack to meet one of her descendents?"
"Queen Elizabeth is a different prospect entirely compared to Queen Victoria," the Doctor said. "I've known her ever since she was a young girl, and I think I can safely say that we're quite good friends. Jack won't have anything to fear from her."
"You really think she'll protect Jack from UNIT?"
"Without a doubt, but I want to do this as soon as possible, before the Captain starts to regain any of his old personality."
Rose frowned, feeling herself immediately go on the defensive on Jack's behalf.
"Why's that?"
The Doctor finished filling the tray, and turned to look at her seriously.
"Think, Rose. When you first met Jack, how did he make you feel?"
The blush that coloured Rose's cheeks at those memories answered his question better than any words could have done.
"Exactly," he confirmed. "When you look at Jack now, though, what's your first reaction?"
The blush rapidly faded, and tears stung Rose's eyes.
"I just wanna hug him, and tell him everything's gonna be okay. I wanna keep him from ever getting hurt again."
The Doctor smiled as understanding dawned in her eyes.
"Exactly. We're going to take advantage of Jack's current state of mind just this once. Then, hopefully, he'll never have to worry about Torchwood or UNIT ever again."
Ianto honestly hadn't known what to expect when they finally came to Jack's room, but to say he was surprised would have been an understatement. Of course, he had no way of knowing what Jack's room had originally been like, but the sight of it right then was more than sufficient to erase any doubts he might have still been harbouring about the ship.
It was as though the TARDIS had looked directly into Jack's mind, and decorated the room accordingly. The room was filled with vibrant colours, creating a cheerful atmosphere that was such a stark contrast to the bleak little room in Secure Archives.
There were two beds side-by-side. One was covered in more sedate shades of brown and blue, but the other matched its surrounding with its brightness. And if the colours weren't enough to tell them whose bed it was, the sight of two familiar items sitting on the pillow washed away all remaining doubt.
Jack uttered a wordless cry of delight and charged over to his own bed, snatching up his blanket in one arm and the toy dog in the other. Then, sitting on the edge of the bed, he cuddled both to his chest in contentment. Ianto watched, astounded. He didn't know whether either item had come from, and to be honest, he'd completely forgotten about both. His only explanation was that somehow, Jackie Tyler must have brought them on board with her. If that was the case, Ianto was even more thankful for the good woman who had taken them both in.
"Look!" Jack exclaimed joyfully, and Ianto smiled.
"I know, Jack. I see them."
"TARDIS put them in here," Jack stated confidently. Ianto didn't think for a second to dispute the claim. He simply smiled, and stroked the closest section of wall.
"Thankyou. He needs every bit of comfort that he can get."
Though he couldn't make out words, or even really make any sense of it, he was sure he could feel the ship hum her agreement back to him. Any further attempts to communicate, though, were put on hold when the door slid open to reveal Rose standing there with a near to over-flowing tray. She paused just inside the threshold of the room, her eyes wide as she took in the over-bright décor.
"Wow. This is… different."
"Jack likes lots of colours," Ianto said simply, by way of explanation. Rose's look of astonishment faded, and she smiled warmly at both men.
"So I see. Now, I hope you're both hungry."
Ianto watched as she set the tray down, giving them both an eyeful of the food that adorned it. There were sandwiches, fruit, pastries, a large jug of juice and a thermos.
"Coffee, for you," Rose explained, handing Ianto the flask. "Apparently the TARDIS thought you'd prefer it to tea. Sent the Doctor into a right tizz, it did."
Ianto chuckled as he unscrewed the top, and he all-but salivated at the aroma that filled his nostrils.
"Thankyou," he murmured in gratitude. Meanwhile, Jack had ventured over to the table, and was peering at the selection with interest. His stomach growled loudly, telling both Ianto and Rose just how hungry he was. Rose laughed, and patted the back of one of the chairs.
"C'mon, then. Come and sit down and eat something. You're gonna have to put those things down, though..."
Rose started backwards a moment later, though, when Jack snarled openly when she tried to take his blanket and dog off him.
"Jack!" Ianto exclaimed in shock, and Jack promptly sank into the seat at the table, his eyes fixed sullenly on the table top.
"S'okay," Rose murmured, but Ianto shook his head.
"No. It's not. Jack, tell Rose you're sorry. Say it and mean it, or there'll be no fruit for you tonight."
It was an empty threat. Given that Jack probably had eaten nothing for over twenty-four hours, Ianto had no intention of making him go without. It had the desired effect, though, and Jack looked up at Rose with a contrite expression and watery eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Rose crouched in front of him, and smiled up at him reassuringly, while trying to suppress her own uncertainties.
"Apology accepted. But you know, I wasn't gonna take 'em away from you. I was just gonna put 'em back on your bed while you ate. Wouldn't want to get 'em all sticky and covered in food, would you?"
By then, Jack was looking very sheepish over his outburst.
"I'm sorry," he apologised again. "I was silly, wasn't I?"
"Yes, you were, but it's understandable," Ianto said gently. "I can only guess how exhausted you must be by now. How about we have something to eat, and then we'll get you ready for bed?"
Jack started to protest that he wasn't tired, only to be stymied by a jaw-popping yawn. Ianto couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
"I thought as much."
Jack looked down at his dog and blanket, still in a quandary over what to do with them.
"I have an idea," Rose suggested. "Jack, may I have your blanket for just a minute? I promise not to take it away."
He handed it over with obvious reluctance, and Rose took it over and spread it lovingly over Jack's bed. The torn and scruffy blanket looked out of place, but the smile it put on Jack's face was well worth it. She then took the toy dog and sat it on a third chair at the table that Ianto hadn't even noticed was there.
"There you go," Rose declared, and Jack positively beamed at her.
"Thankyou, Rose."
She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Anything for you, Jack."
Oblivious to the sudden emotion in her voice, Jack reached eagerly for a large, red apple on the tray, and promptly began to devour it noisily and messily.
"You're right," Ianto commented ruefully. "He would have had the blanket covered in apple juice in minutes." He paused, glancing quizzically at her when she said nothing. "Are you all right?"
Rose tried to smile, but couldn't quite pull it off.
"Sorry. Just never quite pictured him needin' a security blanket, is all. Doesn't quite go with how I remember him, you know?" She turned away abruptly, tears stinging her eyes, and Ianto stepped in and gently wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. She slumped against him, sniffling miserably. "I think it just hit how badly he's been damaged, and it's our fault."
"Thinking like that isn't going to help Jack," Ianto told her quietly. "He's just regressed to a state of mind where he can cope with everything that's happened to him. It doesn't mean it's a permanent situation. And as for the blanket, there is a story behind it, but I won't go into it now. Right now, I'd just like to see that he has a decent meal, and gets some sleep. If we're lucky, he might just be too tired to have any nightmares."
Rose pulled out of Ianto's arms, her own distress forgotten in the light of that revelation.
"He have a lot of them?"
"Regularly," Ianto confirmed. "The content varies... You can probably imagine that there are a lot of things that have happened to him to cause him to have nightmares."
"And now there's what happened today as well," Rose murmured sympathetically. "Be lucky if any of us get through tonight without any nightmares."
Ianto fought down a shudder as his thoughts went briefly to Lisa, and her terrible fate. She hadn't been wrong when she'd said that he didn't love her anymore, but he would never have wished such an end on her. He knew, without a doubt, that his own dreams would be plagued that night, and perhaps for many nights to come.
The Doctor hovered in the control room, trying with little success to focus on the panel he had open. His companions, both old and new, were all asleep but none of them were peaceful. Nightmares of varying intensity plagued all of them, but the Doctor was more than a little surprised to discover that Ianto, not Jack, was the worst affected. He tried to reach out to the young man in an effort to see what was disturbing him so much, and possibly soothe his mind, but he couldn't get through the Welshman's natural shields.
Or, he mused, it was more a case of the TARDIS actively keeping him out of the young man's thoughts and dreams.
He was just on the cusp of wondering what was being kept from him when Ianto settled once more into a dreamless slumber. Not all was peaceful, though, and the Doctor soon realised that Jack was not only awake, but wandering the corridors of the TARDIS. After just a brief moment's indecision, the Doctor went to find his former companion.
Jack was not woken by his own nightmares, but rather by Ianto's muffled screams of distress. For several long seconds, Jack sat frozen in bed, not knowing what he should do. Heart-breaking sobs broke his paralysis, though, and he climbed out of bed and went to his Ianto's side. He took a moment to consider what he should do, not wanting to wake Ianto up if he could help it. After all, Jackie had told him that Ianto needed sleep, and that he shouldn't wake him up. On the other hand, though, watching Ianto crying in his sleep made Jack want to cry as well.
Slowly, Jack remembered the many times that he had woken to find Ianto holding him close. On those times, Jack had generally found that he had no clear memory of his nightmares. Anything that did remain were effectively washed away by the sensation of being held by someone who he knew loved him. Therefore, Jack concluded in his own simple way, surely it would make Ianto feel better to be held as well.
His decision made, Jack climbed out of his bed and lay down on Ianto's. Taking as much care as he could, Jack put his arms around Ianto and hugged him close.
At first, Ianto tensed in his hold and distressed sobs escaped his lips. Jack held on to him, though, and rubbed his hands up and down Ianto's back, copying what he remembered Ianto so often doing for him. Gradually, Ianto's sobs lessened and his struggles eased, and before long he relaxed fully in Jack's embrace. Peace claimed his features, erasing the lines of distress and grief that had marred his young face, and he settled again with a quiet sigh.
Jack watched him for several minutes, assuring himself that Ianto was, indeed, sleeping peacefully, before easing himself off the bed. He'd intended to go back to bed, but his attention was inadvertently drawn away from the welcoming comfort of his bed, to the door of the room.
He'd been afraid he'd come on board, worried that it was all somehow just a trick. Though the ship had seemed familiar to him, he had no clear memories of her to ease his fears. The one thing he did remember with painful clarity was the sight of the blue box disappearing and leaving him behind with only dead bodies for company.
He felt a whisper in his mind, a heartfelt apology that he felt compelled to accept. Then, the door suddenly slid open, inviting him to venture out into the corridor beyond. He felt the whisper in his mind again, telling him it was okay, and promising that he was safe. He knew of no reason not to believe it.
With a glance at Ianto to ensure he was still sleeping peacefully, Jack collected his blanket from the bed and padded silently from the room.
The Doctor came upon Jack not far from the entrance to the garden. The young immortal was standing in a pair of blue satin pyjamas, leaning against the wall of the TARDIS. His eyes were shut and he was humming softly. She was singing to him again, the Doctor realised with more than just a hint of fondness. It seemed he was not alone in his desire to make amends.
He approached slowly, not wanting to frighten Jack in any way.
"Hello, Jack," he said gently. Jack jumped visibly and stumbled a little as he swung around to face the Doctor.
"I'm sorry," he blurted out in obvious panic. The Doctor held his hands up and spoke in as soothing a tone as he could manage.
"It's all right, Jack. You aren't doing anything wrong. There's no need to say sorry."
Jack shifted uneasily. He looked as flighty as a spooked rabbit, the Doctor thought sadly. As spooked rabbit that had no idea which direction to bolt in.
"I'm supposed to be asleep," he mumbled, his hand wringing the blanket nervously. "Ianto will be mad at me. I'm not supposed to wander off on my own."
"Well, you're with me, so you're not technically on your own, are you?"
Jack's face creased into a frown, as though he was trying to find a loophole in the Doctor's logic. He wasn't able to, and reluctantly conceded.
"No. I guess not."
The Doctor regarded Jack thoughtfully, considering how he could begin to encourage Jack to relax around him. In the end, the TARDIS took matters into her own proverbial hands and opened a door a little ways down the corridor. Warm, inviting light spilled into the corridor, attracting the attention of both men.
A smile lit up the Doctor's face, and he held a hand out to Jack in invitation.
"Come with me. I think the TARDIS would like to show you something."
Jack stared down at the Doctor's outstretched hand with obvious trepidation. The Doctor merely waited, though, showing no hint of impatience. Finally, tentatively, Jack placed his hand in the Doctor's.
Smiling a little more widely than before, the Doctor led Jack down the corridor and through the open doorway.
During Jack's original, and rather short time in the TARDIS, there were many places in the ship that he simply had not had time to discover. The garden was one of those places, and so the Doctor could be sure that regardless of what memories Jack possessed, this was an entirely new experience for him.
It quickly became clear that the TARDIS had gone all out for her long, lost Jack. The garden was more lush and fragrant than the Doctor could remember it being for a very long time, and there were a number of new features that he was certain were primarily for Jack's benefit.
For his part, Jack stared about him in open-mouthed amazement.
"Is this outside?" he asked almost reverently. The Doctor easily picked up the undertones, and wondered just when the last time was that Jack had been able to enjoy a day out in the sun without anything to fear.
"No, not exactly," he explained. He paused, taking a moment to consider his words, while at the same time reminding himself that this Jack was not at the same level mentally or emotionally as the rogue time agent he'd met in London during the Blitz. "We're still in the TARDIS. This is her garden. She's created it to be like an outdoor garden, so it's like being outside without actually going outside. Quite useful, when you're in the vortex, and stepping out for a breath of fresh air isn't really an option." He paused yet again, acutely conscious that he was starting to ramble. "Do you like it?"
Jack didn't answer immediately. Drawing away from the Doctor a little, he sank to his knees and reached down to thread his hands through the cool grass.
"It feels real," he said softly in wonder. The Doctor couldn't resist an amused smile.
"That's because it is. Everything you see here is real, Jack. Some of it is from Earth. Some is from other worlds that I've visited. All of it is very real, and I promise you, nothing here can hurt you."
He watched with affection as Jack leaned down to smell a rose, and then lay down fully on the grass and hummed softly – a sound that the Doctor was quickly coming to recognise as a sign of contentment. It was a good thing, for now there was somewhere special that Jack could go, and the Doctor wouldn't need to take the TARDIS out of the vortex before time.
"You can come here whenever you like," the Doctor told him. "You don't need to ask permission. Just tell the TARDIS that you want to come here, and she'll show you the way."
Abruptly, Jack rolled over and sat up, uncertainty in his eyes.
"I have to ask Yan. I always have to ask Yan. He'll get mad if he doesn't know where I am."
"You really don't like him being upset with you, do you?" the Doctor mused, and Jack shook his head ferociously.
"Yan takes care of me. I have to be good for him. I love him."
The statement took the Doctor by surprise with its honest simplicity. He stared into Jack's blue eyes, and saw nothing there but the truth.
"I believe you do," he murmured. "Well, then. Shall we get you back to bed, so that Ianto doesn't wake up and wonder where you've gone."
Jack nodded. His deep-set need to behave for his beloved Ianto override desire to stay longer in the marvellous garden.
"We'll tell Ianto about the garden tomorrow," the Doctor promised him. "So then you'll be able to come any time you like, and not have Ianto worrying after you. All right?"
"Okay," Jack agreed, content with the offered suggestion. The Doctor held his hand out to Jack again, and was both surprised and pleased when Jack accepted it.
"C'mon, then. Let's get you back to bed."
Jack followed in silent contentment, whilst the Doctor struggled suddenly to hold back tears as he wondered again whether the damage done to Jack's mind was permanent. He hoped it wasn't the case, but he wondered all the same.
Another thing that hadn't escaped his attention was the irony of the fact that he was actually missing the innuendos that the Jack of old would have been throwing out thick and fast by then. He said nothing, though, and merely led his happily oblivious companion back to the security of his room and the comfort of his own bed.
to be continued...