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Beta-ed: TattooedLibrarian

Spoiler alert: End Of Days

Jack just stared at the screen, he really did hate television, it reminded him too much of Rose and the Doctor, Daleks, death, everything, but he'd have to put some sort of alert for detecting things like this. For him watching television was compared to how most people of this time felt about black and white pictures, it was so detached from normal. Jack enjoyed the full experience of the 51st century version of TV where you were inside of the screen, you could feel it and touch it, it was as close to a live presence as can be, so staring at flat screen was underwhelming. The woman on the screen was talking about judgment day and he couldn't look up and down to estimate her, to see her shoes, or her hands. It was hard to tell her real emotions like this.

"Ok then, I'll look for the End of Days scripts to see if there is a link." Suddenly Ianto spoke and again surprised Jack; he forgot that he was still standing there.

End of Days script, which sounded even worse than the flat screen. When Ianto emerged from basement with a dusty thick book the cog door opened and Tosh came in running towards her station. Owen was lagging behind her holding his shoulder. Jack got annoyed when he saw that. He was just showing off his wound like he was some kind of a hero. The little prick had gotten worse and worse over the years. Now was the time to show him the boundaries of his own needs.

Ianto started to read out aloud from their favourite book of superstitions; he had never even heard about the book before he landed at Torchwood Cardiff, after that he had to watch carefully to avoid the book's rules. At first he simply refused to read it, but in time it became clear that it was more important to know how people interpreted the rules than what was written in the book.

Everyone listened to Ianto, even Owen paused his cocky comments, so Jack stepped in to stop it.

"You people just love any story that denies the randomness of existence." He had to say to Ianto.

"Thanks, that makes me feel whole lot better." Replied Ianto ironically but Jack hardly heard him as he was already three steps ahead trying to find any solution.

Sadly Tosh proved he was more than correct in his fear about the Rift. He confronted Owen, but bastard just stood there without shred of guilt and challenged him to produce a solution on the spot like he was some kind of miracle worker. Even in his contempt for Jack, Owen had such high expectations from him, he had to almost be a god.

"If it wasn't for me you two would be still stuck in 1940s" said Owen and Jack went stiff as the real Jack's smiling face came into his mind. That wound was still too fresh and Jack felt rage against Owen.

"What are you going to do?" shouted Owen trying to force Jack to erase consequences of his own actions.

"We'll think of something" Jack said to them honestly, but they looked at him with eyes full of fear so he had to reassure them. "This is not the end of the world. I'm certain of that." Is this the time to say 'I've seen the future, it exists'?

Luckily a call came in from a hospital and Owen was off with Tosh.

After that Gwen shouted at him like he was the insensitive one in all this trying to protect Owen from him.

"All of our actions have consequences" Jack tried to argue with her holding back his rage.

"All your staff has feelings, even Owen" she said with her big sympathetic eyes and he lost it.

"Well you would know" he said with scorn and turned to leave before he said something worse.

"Would you rather be stuck in World War Two?" she yelled but then her phone rang and he didn't say, yes I would, back to her.

A Roman soldier, whom he would have found fun in other circumstances, brought some adrenalin release. That helped to ease his tension but when Owen stepped back in the Hub and his rage barometer went through the roof.

Owen charged at him with all his fear and anger, demanding a magical solution, demanding the secret he always thought Jack was keeping from them. He asked Jack to take away his pain and fear, so when Jack told him the truth; that there is no solution, he went mental. Once again Jack tried to make him see his own faults, but no, Owen threw Jack's identity in his face.

"You don't even exist" Owen said and Jack went blank. "Jack Harkness isn't a real person" he continued and Jack's rage came back, he existed more than any of them, Jack Harkness was twice as real then Owen was with his constant drowning in anger and contempt.

"You're done here" Jack growled controlling his movements.

Owen calmed down when he realised that he'd lost, after all that is what he always expect, to lose. He gave a little spectacle of a poor man who knows Retcon is coming; like he would lose anything but the pain that never stops for him.

Jack watch that without backing down, he was detached from it; Gwen shouting at him:, Owen making him a monster that steals lives away; like he hadn't accepted it all when he joined, like he could live on if Jack left his memories of all this, like he hadn't Retconed so many people and considered it a mercy.

When the door closed behind Owen Jack felt relieved. He should have done it years ago but he considered his insubordination useful, even a sign of friendship.

"Let's deal with this" he said to his shaken team. Tosh and Ianto weren't looking at him, but he didn't have time to explain himself to them. Explanations wouldn't get them anywhere, they could stand his decisions, or they couldn't.