Author's Note: *Peeking up from behind a hastily erected bunker* Hoping no one wants to flog me after the ending of that last chapter! Thank you for sticking with me through all the angst in Cardiff. The end is in sight and then the Doctor and Donna can finally get on with growing together and more sexy times!
Thanks again for all the comments and messages. The plot bunnies are multiplying like well... rabbits. :D Much love to DM1 and basmathgirl for all your insight and support!
Jack and the Doctor ran towards the Tardis, both throwing glances over their shoulders to see the angels moving towards them with deadly intent. The eight original angels were nearly flying through the intervening space, arms upraised and fangs bared as they must have realized that their prize and prey were about to slip from their grasp.
Donna was shouting encouragement to them, her hands holding the doors to the Tardis wide while they ran. It seemed time had slowed down, each second viewed through the lens of an eternity before the next crashed through. She tried to keep all of the angels in her line of sight, but there were now so many in the basement and more still flowing through the rift that she had to constantly pan her gaze over the vast space in order to lock as many in place as she could.
The Doctor's face was a study in cold, hard purpose; dark eyes burning with the rage of a thousand suns and it seared straight to the core of her. She felt that he was falling hard and fast into that dark pit of rage just as he had done on the surface of mars where his actions had nearly doomed the future of the universe, but she found herself for once hard pressed to find the will to pull him back. She was screaming and railing right beside him, her own anger was a terrible thing that should have worried her but right now, in this moment, as she was staring down the merciless monsters before her, she found she couldn't find the will to stop herself. All life on earth hung in the balance, and now the stakes were personal.
Donna stepped back out of the way so that they could leap the last few steps to safety, the temporal field of the Tardis reaching out to envelope the two of them but not before she saw movement from the corner of her eye and a stone hand reaching out towards Jack's flying form.
"Jack, LOOK OUT!" Her scream came a moment too late causing him to spin about in mid-air, the angel swept its touch across his cheek before he came flying through the doors to land on the floor of the Tardis. His wild gaze locked onto Donna's before his eyes clenched closed and he let out a gut-wrenching scream of absolute agony.
The Doctor stumbled to a stop, leaning against the railing for a brief moment while he let his mind sink hard and fast into the consciousness of the Tardis. The doors to the Tardis slammed close with an ominous sense of finality, the angels were within striking distance of the ship and Donna imagined she could hear their cries of rage when the door cut them off from their prey. The Doctor was already instructing the Tardis on the modifications to her calculations in order to seal the rift, his promise to the angels seething within him.
Jack's body had bowed upwards off the ground, his jaw clenched so tight it was a wonder that his teeth weren't ground to dust. His hands were clawing at his body, and his muscles had begun contracting in vicious knots that were racing under his skin in an impossible living mosaic.
Donna fell to her knees beside him, voice choking on her sobs while her hands hovered over his body helplessly wondering what they could do to help him. "Jack! Jack, look at me. What's going on? How can we help you?"
Jack turned tortured eyes to her, his irises were already starting to turn red as blood vessels had begun to burst. He was clawing at his chest, the knotting of the muscles now painfully visible all across his body while he bared his teeth in another terrible scream.
Gwen and Daniel both jerked around at that sound, jumping to their feet and rushing to his side just as he reached up and grabbed a hold of the Doctor who was kneeling down beside him.
The Doctor was looking down at Jack with horrified sorrow, his eyes shining with the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to save him this agony. Jack looked into those eyes and knew what was coming, though he still struggled to form the words. "How bad is it going to be, Doctor?"
Daniel looked up at the Doctor at that strange question, wondering why the Doctor was not rushing to help this man who was obviously in very real distress and most likely dying on the floor in front of them. He knew basic CPR but that was the extent of his medical knowledge, the man before them was wracked with terrible convulsions that looked to be tearing his body apart. His eyes were stained red with blood from some sort of internal hemorrhage and he was beginning to foam at the mouth. There was a red mark on his cheek that was looking angrier with every passing moment as lines of sores began to spread in a wave across his face and down over his body.
The Doctor was crying now, clutching Jack's shuddering hand tight against his chest before he reached out to brush Jack's hair away from his damp forehead. "I'm so sorry, Jack. You're in temporal flux right now. The angel is trying to send you back in time and the Tardis is fighting to keep you here. The stresses are going to most likely rip you apart."
Jack's back bowed off the grating of the Tardis, his heels drumming in agony as he felt muscles and bones begin to snap within his body. His heart was already shuddering under the strain and his lungs were fast filling with fluid, and it was getting harder to focus on anything the Doctor was saying as his brain was beginning to shut down.
Donna was staring aghast at the Doctor, her eyes begging him to do something to ease Jack's pain or at least make it so he wouldn't suffer so horribly. She had known that he was immortal from the Doctor's own memories of his time with the man, but she had never before witnessed the price of that immortality. She had thought that it had meant he couldn't be killed, that he just went on living and never died. She had never realized that he had to die and sometimes die horribly in order to be reborn.
"Doctor, isn't there anything we can do? How can he bear this?"
The Doctor raised his tortured gaze to her, letting her see the utter desolation at having to watch his friend suffer what was going to be a truly brutal death. "There's nothing I can do, Donna and frankly I'm out of time. The fields will eventually balance themselves out, but not before they exact a heavy price."
Gwen was simply hugging herself, keening softly in the back of her throat as she rocked back and forth on her heels. She had seen Jack die many times, she remembered vividly when he had given nearly all of himself to defeat Abaddon and how it had taken him days and days to be reborn from that death. How she had despaired that maybe finally he had been killed when he had sacrificed himself to undo the folly of his team. However, he had sent her away from him before he had called the demon to him so she would be spared having to witness his agony. Now though, she could only stand helplessly by while his body was ripping itself apart in front of her.
Daniel gaped at the Doctor, dumbfounded that he would just so casually dismiss the plight of the man before him, a man that he had called friend. Is this what happened when someone lived for so long? Life no longer meant as much to them that they could just callously disregard the suffering before them? "There has to be something, Doctor. This is obviously a very advanced craft, surely you have a medical bay! Surely you can help stabilize him or… or.." He trailed off when the Doctor's gaze rose to lock with his own. He felt blasted by the intensity of the fury that was seething within the man before him, the walls of his control had been completely shattered and he was teetering on the edge of something truly terrible. This Doctor was no human with human understanding or ideals, and he alone had to bear the terrible weight of deciding who would live and who would die.
"I am out of time, Daniel even if there was something I could do to save him. The gateway is still in flux right now, and this is the time that I have to act in order to stop the angels."
He looked back down at Jack, gripping his hand tighter before he murmured. "It's going to be hell, Jack and I'm sorry. But I'll see you on the other side." Daniel didn't understand the Doctor's words but then he realized that they were not meant for him to understand.
Jack nodded faintly in response, his face now nearly covered in angry sores and his eyes completely bloodshot. "Give em hell for me."
"Oh I intend to, Jack, I promise."
Jack closed his eyes and with a heart wrenching scream began to convulse wildly against the grating, the cracks and pops within his body as it began to destroy itself were so bad that Gwen's hand flew to her mouth and she turned around where she could be noisily sick.
Donna's lips pursed against the wave of nausea that swept through her as well, her hands clenched so tightly into fists she was afraid that she was going to draw blood. She lifted her gaze from Jack's thrashing body to the Doctor, his eyes were locked on hers in a plea for understanding.
She could only numbly nod when she felt the grim purpose settle within him, her gaze clinging to his body as he made his way up to the control center and began move about the console in preparation to seal the rift.
Donna leaned against Jack, her arms snaking about his body to hold him close as the thrashing seemed to continue to grow in intensity until it felt as if the very ship itself was shuddering in agonized response. She whispered softly against his chest that they were all there with them, and that he would not be facing this alone.
She didn't know if he could hear her through the convulsions and twisting screams of agony, she only pressed her cheek closer against the writhing muscles of his chest opening her mind to his and trying to let him find some sort of comfort in the gentle mind touch though she could not feel anything in return from him.
She knew the Doctor felt her opening her mind to Jack and she shuddered slightly when she felt his touch mingle with hers, the combined strength of their minds helping to soothe Jack from this tortured life.
Gwen and Daniel knelt down next to Donna, ringing Jack in a circle of love and compassion that would stand with him until the end.
The Doctor looked at them from his perch by the control center, his gaze locked on Donna's form as she huddled over Jack determined to show him he wasn't alone as his body was so terribly tormented. Gwen and Daniel all crowded close in support while Jack's body spasmed and convulsed in its death throes.
The Doctor was unable to stop the tears that were flowing down his cheeks nor was he able to still the raging inferno within him at that sight. The Tardis had created Jack and in so doing would ensure that he would never die, but the price that he had to pay for that curse was almost more than the Doctor could bear to witness.
Though only a few short moments had passed since they had all entered the Tardis, it still felt like an eternity to all of them. There was a sound of scrabbling against the outside of the Tardis, the angels had surrounded it and were most likely trying to find a way to breach its defenses so that they could feast.
The Tardis was moving gently within his mind, the two of them working in perfect symbiosis to finalize the last modifications before he reached up to the lever that would finally activate the time circuits.
He looked over to the four humans, feeling his hearts clench in his chest while he let himself listen to Jack's never ending screams as the temporal fields warred for supremacy. His jaw clenched with a grim finality and any thought of mercy at the last moment was scoured away by the cold anger that had been churning within him since he had found those bodies in the warehouse.
Though he knew that Donna supported his decision one hundred percent, this was something that she could not help him with. This was his decision alone and in the end when he remembered how Andy has been killed and tossed so casually aside, and Jack even now was being ripped apart before his very eyes, he knew that this decision was the right one.
"Everyone, hang on!" With that final warning, he threw the final lever home and grabbed onto the rail around the control console for dear life.
The Tardis slammed violently to the side when that lever connected, the lights going dim and the time rotor began to stutter in its casing before it sent a wave of temporal energy racing outwards.
The angels that were clustered around the Tardis were suddenly enveloped in a blinding white light the raced out from the blue box to envelop the entirety of the basement before it raced upwards to shoot out of the top of the warehouse in a strident beam of energy that pierced the clouds.
The Tardis had tapped into the controls of the rift manipulator and though Torchwood was locked down, the manipulator was still operational as it ran directly off the energy of the rift. The Doctor's fingers were flying over switches and dials striving to maintain control of the surging temporal energies that were struggling madly to rip out of his control and race over the surface of the planet. He couldn't spare a glance for the humans who were being tossed about the ship like rag dolls, their shrieks and cries of fear echoing through the cavernous space as the ship was thrown violently to and fro.
Jack's screams had faded away and the Doctor knew that finally mercifully his suffering had come to an end, most likely when the Tardis had first locked onto the rift manipulator to close the gateway to the alternate universe. The temporal fields within him had indeed balanced themselves out, at the cost of his own life.
His hands were firm on the controls where he deftly manipulated the fields, the connection between him and the Tardis was blazing with its strength as the ship used his own thoughts and perceptions to subtly alter the field over the next few seconds.
His gaze was riveted on the scanners before him while his legs were braced widely to support himself against the buffeting of the ship. Because they were the heart of the disturbance he was able to fully see into the alternate reality where the angels were now fleeing from the storm of time that was sweeping over them.
"Oh no, you can't get away that easily." He muttered grimly, twirling another dial and sending a surge through the rift that enveloped each and every angel before that wave of energy exploded outwards in a cataclysmic explosion, the bulk of which echoed back through the gateway and into that dead reality before the rift began to seal itself closed.
The Tardis spun wildly through space, almost like it had been thrown end over end before there was a cascade of sparks from the console and the ship sent that blast of energy ricocheting through the disintegrating gateway. The resulting explosion of energy ripped a bubble of time from their own universe, trapping the angels within before the Doctor severed the umbilical and cast it adrift in the void. Forever sealing the angels in a frozen pocket of time from which they would never be able to escape again.
The Tardis shuddered one last time before finally settling back into the universe, the lights had dimmed and there was an acrid smell of smoke but the ship was still relatively in one piece and the angels had finally been destroyed.
Donna picked herself up from the floor of the Tardis, wincing when she felt the aches and pains in her body from where she had been slammed against the coral supports. She quickly checked on Gwen and Andy who were similarly banged up, before she ran over to where Jack's body was sprawled unceremoniously halfway up against the wall of the Tardis.
Though she knew what she would find, it was still more than she could bear when she saw the blood reddened eyes staring blankly at the ceiling above. With a shuddering sob, she reached her fingers up and gently slid his eyes closed before lowering her head and keening in utter desolation.
Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and gently pulled her to her feet, pulling her close against the Doctor's chest as he wrapped his arms tightly about her. His lips were buried in her hair, his own tears burning a trail down his cheeks as he whispered to her that it was finally over and that they were finally safe, but at such cost.
She clutched tightly to him, sobbing brokenly against his chest while inside her mind was reeling from all that had happened this day. He was whispering softly in her mind, fingers of thought stroking over her in a gentle caress almost as if he was trying to convince himself that she was still there and with him.
Squeezing her tightly for one more indulgent moment, he then stepped away from her and turned to check on Gwen and Daniel. Daniel was climbing slowly to his feet with Gwen's help, holding his hand to the back of his head with a grimace but he otherwise looked none the worse for wear. Gwen it seemed had fared the best out of all of them and only had a minor cut across her left temple. She looked to the Doctor, almost afraid to ask the question as he approached.
"Doctor, what happened? Are we safe now?"
He reached up to brush her hair out of her face, making sure that the wound on her head was not too serious before he nodded in response. "Yes, we are safe. This batch of angels will never be able to touch our universe again."
Daniel shook his head to clear the last of the cobwebs, trying to come to terms with how everything in his world had changed this day and how he would never be able to view the world the same again. "How can you be sure, Doctor? I mean they came through once before."
The Doctor shook his head grimly at that, his eyes lit with a brief flash of the fury that had blazed so clearly before it faded once more. "I made sure of that, Daniel. I used the power of their own rift to rip a bubble of time from our universe and trap them within it. I then severed the connection with the bubble and cast it adrift in the void. Nothing can ever enter that bubble again and they can never leave." The Doctor was looking into the distance beyond the walls of the Tardis, his voice grim when he continued. "They will indeed starve to death because there is nothing in that pocket universe except for themselves. They will lose shape and form and eventually fall to dust. Too many people have died because of my mercy, well today I decided no more."
Gwen shuddered at his words, having a brief glimpse of the truly terrible power within this man and how it was barely leashed beneath his veil of civility. He was the earth's greatest champion, and woe be to any who would dare cross him.
"I need to go check on Cardiff PD before we can get back into the hub. Also, I need to get Doctor Jones up to Cardiff so she can assist with Ianto's injuries." The Doctor jerked at her words, having completely forgotten that Martha had liaised with Torchwood. She would actually be perfect to treat Ianto, especially if he was suffering temporal effects from the touch of the angel.
Gwen ran to the door and threw it open, jerking around when she heard the Doctor's warning shout so that she nearly fell through the door before she caught herself. She felt her eyes widen and her hands clutch frantically at the edge of the doorframe before she could tumble head over heels into the void beyond.
The vast panorama of space spread before her shocked gaze, reds and blues of a huge nebula swept across the vista before her and the stars were so close she felt she could almost reach out and touch them. "Oh my god! We're in space!"
The Doctor came up behind her and carefully pulled her back from the opening, but he did not close the doors. Daniel had come up beside her and was staring out at the vista as well with something akin to wonder in his eyes, his mind barely registering the fact that they were standing in an open doorway looking out into space and were not protected in any perceivable way. "Doctor, how are we still breathing? How did we get out here? Where did the earth go?"
The Doctor smiled at the thousand questions, his gaze flicking to Donna momentarily where she was fussing over Jack's body trying to make sure he was in a more comfortable position when he was reborn. He remembered when she had first come aboard the Tardis and had thrown the doors open just as Gwen had done, and the shock that she had felt when she had been met with a very similar view. How he loved humans and their endless sense of wonder, even when faced with truly terrible events. Their spirits immediately bounced back from the terror and found beauty in the simplest of things.
"The Tardis is protecting us. She projects an atmospheric bubble around the ship whenever the doors are opened in space." He patted the wall of the ship affectionately and Gwen was almost positive she could feel the satisfaction from the ship in response to that touch. "The blast threw us clear of the earth, we're actually somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy right now." His voice grew distant as he continued. "Must've traveled along one of the lines of force when we sealed that rift and the Tardis just ricocheted around through time and space a bit before settling here. Nothing really to see here, humanity won't come to this galaxy for at least another four thousand years but there's plenty of exciting stuff going on with several other species that are in power in the galaxy right now. Several space faring races are just starting to travel amongst the stars in their local clusters, though none have stumbled across each other yet. First contact is always such a gamble. You get one hot head and thousands of years of war could break out. Luckily, nothing like that happens here for at least another couple of millennia." He was babbling right now and he knew it, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself. It was a release of all the tension that had been coiling within him since he arrived in Cardiff he supposed, but it felt good to finally feel like the steel band around his chest had loosened.
Daniel fell hard against the railing by the door, his arms wrapped around the support and holding onto it for dear life as he listened to the Doctor casually talk about the future of the human race as if it had already happened and the fact that they had not only been thrown clear of their own galaxy but were even now floating serenely in a completely different galaxy. His entire life had been turned on its head in less than twenty-four hours. He had lost one of his best friends in a truly horrible way today, had come face to face with monsters that were the stuff of nightmares and now he was standing in a crazy blue box floating amongst the stars. He honestly didn't know how he would be able to go back to his simple life back in Cardiff now that he knew what was really out there. He wasn't sure that he would want to go back now either.
"But Gwen, you're quite right. We do need to return to earth and make sure that Ianto is alright. Do you have Dr. Jones' number in your mobile?"
Gwen turned away from the impossible sight before her, blinking her eyes up at him in an attempt to bring her mind back into focus. "I'm sorry, Doctor?"
He smiled gently at her befuddled expression, having seen it on many human's faces over the years he cupped her shoulders in his hands and gently rubbed her arms to bring her back to herself. "It's all right, Gwen. I know that you're most likely in shock right now, it's a natural delayed reaction to the adrenaline dump that you've experienced today but I really need you to focus for just a little longer so that we can make sure everyone back home is taken care of." She caught her lower lip between her teeth and nodded in response. "Thank you, Gwen. Now do you have Martha Jones' number in your phone?"
She shook her head and pointed across the room to Jack, her lips quivering once more when she saw that he was still motionless after his gruesome death. She wondered how long this rebirth would take as it looked like the damage done to his body had been truly terrible indeed. "Jack has her number, Doctor. But we're in space. How can you give her a call here?"
He grinned at her, hands pulling his sonic out of his pocket and twirling it between his fingers. "I've got that covered!"
He walked over to Jack, a soft smile on his lips when he saw that Donna had settled cross legged next to him and was keeping a silent vigil over his body. He knelt beside her, hand squeezing hers tight when he saw that she had straightened his body out and he was now laying on his back and not tossed up against the wall like so much trash. Her compassion as always rising to the fore in all the she did. "Thank you, Donna."
She looked up at him with dull eyes, the smile on her lips faint because inside she was desperately trying to sort through all her emotions over the events of the past few hours. He knew that they would absolutely need some down time after this, and he knew just the place to take her. A place where they could both be indulged and pampered for a little while, and just be together with nothing more important to decide then whether to go swimming or shopping. He couldn't wait for that actually.
Steeling himself, he leaned over Jack's body and felt around in his coat pockets for his cell phone, grinning triumphantly when he found it. He pointed the sonic at the phone and with a few quick adjustments, modified the phone to be able to make intergalactic phone calls. Much as he had done for each of his companions in recent years.
Thumbing through Jack's contacts, he pulled up Martha's number and gave her a quick call.
"Martha?"
"Doctor?"
He winced when he heard the answering shout on the other end of the phone in response to his query. "Yes, it's me. And yes I know, I'm on Jack's phone."
"Why are you on Jack's phone? What's going on? Where is he? Is he all right? Are YOU all right?" He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger at the barrage of questions that were shouted at him.
"Martha, it's a long story and I really don't have time right now. Are in you anywhere near Cardiff at the moment?" He breathed a huge sigh of relief when he heard the affirmative. "I need you to get to Torchwood ASAP. There's been an incident with the angels. Don't WORRY I've dealt with them, but Torchwood is locked down and Ianto Jones may be severely injured. I need your expertise because I am not quite sure what kind of injury it is."
"I'm actually in Gloucester, I can be there in under an hour."
"Thanks, Martha. You will have the Tardis medical facilities at your disposal should you need them. Be prepared for it to be serious though. He was touched by a manifestation of an angel and he seemed to think it had shattered his shoulder, I don't know if there will be any other temporal effects as well."
"All right, Doctor. I will see you in just a little bit then."
"Thank you, Martha."
With that, he ended the call and returned the phone to Jack's pocket before he rose to his feet and made his way back to Gwen and Daniel.
The two of them were leaning against each other, taking comfort in the familiar while they were trying to understand all that had happened in such a short period of time. The smile on Gwen's face was wistful as she looked out amongst the stars, the tears streaking down her cheeks in an unstoppable flow. Daniel was merely staring out with barely concealed wonder, though his own heart was also aching at all that they had lost that day. "Andy always was a bit of a dreamer, wasn't he? God, if only he could've seen this!"
Gwen laughed softly at that, her hand rising to brush the tears from her cheeks. "Yeah, he probably would've wanted to jump out for a closer look. He always did leap before he looked." The two of them chuckled softly at the memory, the moment of shared laughter easing the pain if even for a moment.
The Doctor quietly came up behind them, unwilling to intrude on what was obviously a shared moment of grief between the two friends. He let his gaze wander over the panorama before them, for once feeling the wonder that his human companions did when they were faced with the inexplicable. It was times like these when he was forcibly reminded why he had always hated traveling alone, the times when wonder in the simple things that he took for granted helped him take that step back and remember all that he had fought for.
"Gwen?"
She turned at the sound of his voice, sniffling softly and wiping her cheeks dry before she looked up at him. "Yes, Doctor?"
His eyes softened at the haunted look in her eyes though she made sure to put a strong façade in place, her emotions once more being relegated to the back burner to deal with more pressing matters. How he sometimes hated what happened to those who came into contact with him. How their lives were always irrevocably altered and not always for the better.
"Is the lockdown part of the time lock? Or is that a different failsafe?"
Gwen cocked her head at that, trying to remember everything that Ianto had told her about the time lock. "I don't think so Doctor. When it activated before in the medusa cascade, I remember Ianto saying that nothing could get in or out which I assume would also apply to any transmissions. The fact that Ianto was able to call us should mean that it didn't fire?"
The Doctor smiled at her words, reaching past her to gently swing the doors shut. "Perfect, then I can take the Tardis back into the hub and we can open it up in time for Martha to get in."
"You're not going in there without me, Doctor."
The Doctor spun around at the sound of Jack's voice, his face lighting up and the laugh that erupted from his lips was filled with relieved joy. He sprinted across the Tardis with Gwen only a few steps behind him to find Jack struggling with Donna's aid to sit up.
He looked like hell, but his body was rapidly healing itself and already the grotesque bulges of torn muscles were fading away like they had never existed. His eyes were still shot through with blood, but the Doctor knew that it would only be a matter of time before all signs of his ordeal were completely gone. He was smiling wanly at the Doctor, moving carefully because each move caused an involuntary shudder to course through his body. "You weren't kidding, Doctor. I think that was one of the worst one's yet and THAT's saying something."
The Doctor looked to Donna and Gwen, feeling the heavy ache in his hearts lessen when he saw the beaming smiles on their faces. At least there was a silver lining to this truly dark day. "It's about time! Now we can really get this show on the road!"
Daniel was staring at the four of them huddled together on the floor, positive now that he had gone right around the bend. He watched the Doctor and Gwen both run up to Jack just as he sat up and laugh and joke with him as if coming back from the dead were an everyday occurrence. He shook his head once more, trying to clear his muddled thoughts before he felt the room begin to spin around him with ferocious intensity. PC Daniel Morgan, hardened veteran and grizzled police officer, fell to the floor in a dead faint.
Ianto Jones was drifting in a sea of agony, he felt as if his entire body was submerged in a raging torrent of fire that never seemed to end. He thought he heard voices from time to time, the echoes of laughter teasing him in the darkness.
He had no idea how much time had passed since he had initiated the lockdown, the only light was the occasional bright flare of incandescent energy from the rift manipulator. He clung to the hope that those blazing beams of light were a testament to the fact that the team was still alive and fighting.
The light from the rift manipulator began to strobe in a frightening cadence and the ground began to growl beneath him in an anguished response. He squinted his eyes closed against the blinding glare, terrified that the shaking beneath his body would continue to grow until the walls began to collapse around him. He could only huddle in on himself while he listened to the crashing of equipment around him, dust falling from the walls above him and coating his body in a soft layer before just as suddenly the light faded and the hub was once more plunged into darkness. He lay panting in the dark, waiting to see if the tremors would begin again.
He had no idea how much time had passed, the absolute darkness had once more begun to play tricks with his mind. The voices were fading in and out of his ability to understand them, sometimes he felt like he was running down an endless tunnel trying to always catch up to the whispered conversations but just as soon as he got close enough to make out what they were saying they would vanish once again.
He jerked partially awake when he thought he could feel hands touching his body, a gentle caress across his fevered cheek pulling him up from the depths of semi-consciousness. He blinked against the blinding white light, crying out softly at the pain that stabbed through his skull.
There were people standing over him, though he couldn't make out their features, their voices were merely a garbled jumble of sounds through already tortured senses. The light slowly became more bearable and the distorted shapes over him slowly resolved into Jack, Martha and the Doctor's worried faces. All three of them were peering down at him in concern though it was Martha who had been shining the bright light into his eyes.
He gasped at the sudden blinding wave of pain that swept through his body, though he couldn't stop the tears of joy that fell from his eyes when he realized that they were not another fevered hallucination. "Jack, you made it!" His voice sounded like it had been ground to dust, each word causing a spasm of pain to ripple through his body.
Jack's answering smile was brilliant. "Of course, I made it Ianto! We've got you now and Martha is going to make sure to take good care of you, just rest now."
Ianto gripped Jack's hand tightly and nodded in response to his words, finally letting go of the fear that had been keeping him semi-lucid and slipping safely into unconsciousness. He was safe now and he was content in the fact that he could finally let go of all the fear and let someone else take up the burden for a while. He knew that he was in good hands, and that it was time for him to heal.
Donna sat on the couch next to Daniel Morgan having sensed that he was far more affected by Jack's resurrection than he was letting on. He hadn't said much to her yet, was just staring moodily over at the open doors of the Tardis while he twirled an empty mug in his hands.
Gwen had gone over to assess the damage at the docks and to see how Cardiff PD had fared in the aftermath. She had not been looking forward to telling them about Andy, Bob and Michael, especially when she had to try to explain just what it was that had killed them. Jack had been in no shape to join her, though he assured her that he would debrief them later.
They knew from news reports that a goodly portion of two of the warehouses and the ground underneath had simply vanished when the Tardis had sealed the rift, the resulting void had caused an explosion and a corresponding earthquake that had blown across that section of the wharves before dissipating into the atmosphere. Thankfully the area had been cordoned off, so the casualties were hopefully light.
Daniel had wanted to go with her, but the Doctor had been adamant that he stay in the hub for a while. Most likely wanted to make sure that he wouldn't fall apart again in front of his men. He was still ashamed that he had fainted when he saw Captain Jack Harkness' strange resurrection, the crazy thought that had flitted through his mind was that the angels had somehow managed to get on board the Doctor's ship and that he was once more seeing the ghosts of the dead walking.
When they had told him the truth about Jack, he couldn't help the black rage that had welled within him though he had hidden it well. He couldn't stop the thoughts that it wasn't fair that Andy had had to die, while Jack would be able to just continue blithely on. It just wasn't fair.
"How are you doing, Daniel? Holding together?"
The Noble woman was looking at him with far too much knowledge in her eyes, the blue-green gaze piercing through all of his barriers right to the core of him. If he didn't know better, he would think she could almost read his mind.
"Yeah, just peachy. My best mate is dead and I just saw another man come back to life." His laugh was forced at that. "Just another day in the life of Torchwood I suppose, but for us normal blokes it takes a bit of getting used to."
Donna turned to face him fully, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder in a bid to get him to meet her gaze. "I know how hard it must be for you, Daniel." She shook her head when she heard his disbelieving snort at her words. "No, Daniel, truly I do understand. The Doctor is like fire and ice and rage. He is the protector of time and space itself and yet he is like the storm at the center of the universe."
Her voice took on a slightly distant quality while she let her mind travel back to all that she had experienced with him, both the good and the bad. "He shows us wonderful and desperately terrible things, and sometimes we are privileged to witness the truly awesome burden that he has been carrying for longer than any of us can imagine. Sometimes it's hard to remember what is truly at stake when we lose so much, when the pain is so dreadfully personal that it feels like there is no hope anymore."
Daniel was looking at her with a strange expression on his face, her words hinting that she too had somehow felt something similar to the fathomless anguish that was screaming through him. "You've been burned too haven't you, Donna?"
Her smile was wistful at the question, for the first time Donna realized that she no longer thought of the metacrisis with as much pain as she had even a few days ago. This last day had reminded her that life was too precious to spend on regret and recrimination, it had taken nearly dying hand in hand with the Doctor to realize just how precious every moment in her life can be. "I thought I had been, Daniel, but now I realize that no I haven't been burned, not really. Yes, he changes those lives he touches, sometimes in inexplicable ways, but it is up to us to make of those changes what we will."
She looked up when she felt the gentle brush of the Doctor's thoughts against hers as he stepped out of the Tardis, her eyes shining when they locked with his and her mind sinking gratefully into his for a moment before she returned her attention back to Daniel. His thoughts lingered within hers briefly, while he let her feel his gratitude for helping Daniel to cope with how much his life had been turned upside down.
You owe me, Spaceman.
I know I do, Donna. I owe you for more than you could ever know. She shivered at the whispered promise in her mind before deliberately disentangling her mind from his, though she was acutely aware of his progress across the hub to Jack's office.
Daniel had watched her in total fascination when the Doctor had stepped out from the Tardis, their gazes had locked with an intensity that had seemed to block out the world, before she had turned her attention back to him. "You love him very much, don't you?"
She jumped at his question, eyes darting across the hub towards the Doctor's retreating figure before she let out a defeated sigh. "Yes, I do. I've loved that man since he first saved me. I love him for his endless compassion and his unbearable sorrow. I love the wonder that he has at the simplest things in life and for the mercy that has saved untold millions. I love him for all that he is and was and ever will be." Her words were uttered softly, her eyes unfocused while she reveled in the wonderful intimacy of their shared bond. Coming back to herself with a start when she felt Daniel's gaze on her, she looked back to him and tried to adopt a stern voice. "Don't ever tell him I said that."
Daniel laughed softly at that, surprised at how good the simple action felt. "Don't worry, Donna, your secret is safe with me."
She smiled and gently squeezed his hand. "Are you sure you're going to be all right, Daniel?"
"I just wish I could get over the feeling of how unfair it was that Andy had to die, but that Jack was able to walk away relatively unscathed in the end. Why couldn't the Doctor do anything to save him Donna?" He asked the question without any real heat or anger, just a desperate need to know that there really had been no hope and that Andy's death hadn't been for naught.
Donna took a deep breath at that, not sure how much of what little she knew of Jack's own tortured history she should share but also recognizing that he needed an answer that could help him make sense of the insanity that had descended upon them all.
"I can't speak for Jack, Daniel. I know that he did not choose to be the way that he is but that's his story to tell should he so choose. I can tell you though that he too had to pay a heavy price. We all have in our own ways really." Her look turned thoughtful as she continued. "Maybe it's the way the universe determines if we are worthy companions for the Doctor. I don't know."
She shrugged softly at that, before shaking her head and forcing herself back on track. "What I do know though Daniel is that if there had been a way to save Andy, the Doctor would have moved heaven and earth to do so. I have seen him do so before and I know for a fact he would have done the same here. Andy knew what was at stake and also that we all were out of time. Please do as he asked and try to remember his sacrifice, remember his life and remember that he gave that life so that the entire earth and possibly the universe could be saved." Her hand squeezed his tightly one more time before she rose to her feet. "Remember him with dignity, Daniel. He deserves no less."
Daniel felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders with her words, he stood up with her and hugged her tightly whispering softly against her shoulder. "Thank you, Donna. Thank you so very much." With that, he pulled away with an embarrassed blush and a glance tossed to where the Doctor was leaning against Jack's desk watching the two of them with a soft smile on his lips. Daniel turned and picked his way around the piles of shattered equipment to the other side of the hub where he could listen in to the communications with Cardiff PD.
Torchwood had been ravaged in the aftermath of the sealing of the rift, but it was still structurally sound as ever and would be able to be rebuilt anew. At least the cosmetic damage would be easily repaired, it was the damage to her people that would take far longer to heal.
Donna smiled softly when she saw Daniel settle comfortably in a chair by the few remaining intact monitors, his gaze intent as he let himself be distracted by the simple task of listening to the reports coming over the radios.
She staggered slightly at the wave of exhaustion that suddenly surged through her, her knees suddenly going weak so that she had to catch herself against the side of the couch before she fell. The Doctor was at her side almost instantly, his hands cupping her cheeks and lifting her face to his concerned gaze.
"You're exhausted, Donna. I think you should lay down and try to rest for a bit."
She blinked tiredly up at him, her mind was fracturing beneath the strain of trying to keep all the emotions in the hub at bay as well as the temporal afterimages that were still dancing hazily around the edges of her vision while the rift was fitfully settling into quiescence. At least the lines of force and strange terrifying holes in reality were gone, but she still could feel the raw energy of the rift skittering across tortured nerves. "What if you need me, Doctor?"
His smile was brilliant, his thumb brushing over her cheek in an unconscious caress while he guided her to the couch. "I'll make sure to wake you should there be need, Donna. But please, I can feel your exhaustion beating at you. This has been a far more traumatic experience than either of us was expecting and your mind truly does need time to process everything that has happened and how your ability has changed even in the last 24 hours."
She quivered beneath his touch, her gaze locked with his like a lifeline before she whispered despondently. "Will I ever learn to fully control it, Doctor? Or will I always be this broken?"
He shook his head at her question, finger pressing against her lips in a gesture that had become so comfortably familiar between them. "Don't you dare say that you are broken, Donna. You are absolutely brilliant and today you were magnificent." He held her shoulders cradled in his hands, his gaze searing her very soul while his mind moved within hers determined that she feel the veracity of his words. "You were thrown head first into quite possibly one of the most dangerous and intense situations we have ever faced while you were trying to deal with the manifestation of an ability that you had zero experience understanding or controlling, and you not only rose above those challenges, you completely mastered them. You were calm in the face of terror and despondency and you were the voice of sanity to which we were all able to cling. You were our guide through the dark and into the light."
Her wide-eyed gaze was locked with his when she heard his words and his praise, her lifelong inability to accept compliments of any kind caused her to squirm uncomfortably beneath his intensity. The Doctor knew this intimately about her, knew that her mother's words had always had such an effect on her. Shouting at the world because she felt that no one was listening, but he was listening, he had always been listening. "You, as always, were the one to pull me back before I went too far. So don't you dare say that you are broken, you are anything but broken."
She shuddered beneath the truth of his words before she threw her arms around his neck in a near bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Doctor."
"You're more than welcome, Donna." He held her close for a long indulgent moment before he pulled back and slid his great coat off his shoulders, urging her to lay back on the couch before covering her with his coat. He smiled when he saw her eyes almost instantly begin to get heavy and she snuggled unconsciously deeper into his coat, her nose buried in the fabric so she could breathe deeply of his scent. It was no surprise to him that she instantly drifted off into much needed sleep.
He let his fingers brush her hair back her from her cheek before letting the touch sink into the soft fragrant mass of fiery waves. He sighed softly, feeling the pain and anger finally melt completely away just because he was able to touch her once again. He tucked his coat firmly about her body and with a last minute check of the barriers in her mind, he turned and made his way back to Jack's office.
Jack looked up when the Doctor walked back into the office having just gotten off the phone with Gwen who was even now on her way back to the hub for a full debriefing, and leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
"Any word on how Ianto's doing, Doctor?"
The Doctor nodded in response, stepping fully into Jack's cluttered office before perching on the edge of his desk. "Yes, though Martha nearly chased me out of the medical bay with her scalpel." He grimaced slightly at the memory, he had forgotten how protective she could be of her patients at times. "He is still in surgery right now, but it looks like he is out of the woods for the time being." He smiled at the sigh of relief that exploded from Jack's lips, the tension that had been coiled tight within the man simply melted away at those words. "She didn't really go into detail, but the Tardis filled me in on the particulars."
He frowned slightly when he noticed Jack lean over to start rummaging in the drawers of his desk, muttering softly under his breath before he triumphantly pulled a slightly dusty bottle of what looked to be scotch and two snifters from the bottom drawer. "So what was the diagnosis?" Jack asked even as he opened the bottle and poured two extremely generous helpings of the amber liquid, rising to his feet and coming around the desk to hand it to the Doctor before he leaned against it beside him.
The Doctor arched a brow when Jack shoved the glass in his hand, but took it without complaint and simply held it for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. "The cells of his body were beginning to flux. If we had been even a few hours later, Ianto would have most likely died in the same way that you did." Jack shuddered at the memory, his eyes sliding closed when he realized how close he had come to losing Ianto to a truly brutal death. "I can only surmise that because it was not a full-fledged angel that it took the touch such a long time to begin the process. Martha believes that the point of impact is where the main focus of temporal energy was and it had been the shifting of temporal fields in only a portion of his body that had led to the bones shattering in the way that they did."
He sighed softly at that, remembering the look on her face when she had first rushed into the hub. She had barely even stopped to give him a hug before she had rushed straight to Ianto's side, ever the professional she had immediately ordered them to take him to the Tardis medical bay and had set to work. Normally she would've had a team to assist her in an operation of this magnitude, but the Tardis was more than capable of assisting her in any capacity and in many ways the Tardis would be guiding her as well. It was delicate, painstaking work bringing the cells in his body back into sync with this universe, and it had to be completely thorough or it would only be a matter of time before he would be in danger once more. The physical injury and shock that he had experienced were easily fixed, but not before the more serious issue had been addressed.
"It is going to be a long night for her though and for Ianto as well, so I was told in no uncertain terms to leave her to it and she would come update us when she was able. But she did want to make sure that you knew that he will be all right in the end, Jack."
Jack's answering smile was brilliant, his hand reaching up to clap the Doctor on the back as he raised his snifter for a toast. "I think that deserves a toast, Doctor."
The Doctor nodded softly and raised his glass. "To all those that were lost today."
Jack clinked glasses with the Doctor in response. "And to all those that were saved."
They both then took a long drink, savoring the rich essence before swallowing. Jack reached over for the bottle and topped both their glasses back up before setting it aside.
"You're going to need a lot more than that bottle to get me drunk, Jack."
Jack grinned unrepentantly back at the Doctor. "That is a challenge I am almost tempted to take you up on Doctor. I have three cases of this stuff actually." His voice cracked on those last words as memories rose up unbidden when he thought of why he had stocked up on this particular scotch. "I bought it back in the 90's actually. The leader of Torchwood three at the time, Alex, was a huge scotch connoisseur and Oban 14 year was his favorite. I had bought those cases and squirreled them away for the big bash that was already being planned for the millennium." Jack raised his glass to his lips and drained it once more before pouring some more. It was now nearly as hard for him to get drunk as it was for the Doctor, but some nights he still found that he tried to lose himself in oblivion, if even for a little while. He hoped that this didn't end up being one of those nights.
The Doctor remained silent next to him, raising the glass to his lips periodically but otherwise just maintaining a companionable silence, knowing that Jack would continue when he was good and ready. He found he couldn't keep his eyes off Donna's sleeping form, his mind constantly brushing against hers to check on her dreams and make sure that she was all right especially after everything she had been through.
He knew that she would've been more comfortable in her room on the Tardis, but for some reason he couldn't bear to have her out of his sight right now and so he made sure to keep her close. Maybe it was because they had come so close to losing each other, maybe it was just because he was worried about her. Either way, he felt content there next to Jack while he could keep a watchful eye on her.
Jack took another sip of scotch before he sighed deeply and continued with his story. "Alex had looked into a medallion that had fallen through the rift several years earlier and it showed him a vision of the storm that was to come. It drove him mad when he saw it, he murdered every member of the team right as they were getting ready to ring in the new millennium and then he waited for me to return."
The Doctor sighed softly when he heard that. Nothing good ever came from knowing the future, at least not for humans. He always thought it was peculiar that they all wanted a glimpse, just to see if things would turn out well but in the end they never liked what they saw.
"I remember coming back from the mission ready to really get the party started but the hub was silent and their bodies were laid out along the walkway, gunned down without mercy. Mercy killings Alex called it, so that they wouldn't have to live through hell. Maybe he had a point now that I think about it, would it have been any better if they had been turned into cyber men?" Jack set his glass aside and leaned back against the desk, head falling back to try to still the racing of his thoughts as he remembered that terrible night. "That's the night Alex gave me Torchwood. His gift and my reward for a century of service. He even apologized for not being to spare me what was going to come. He told me to build torchwood into something worthwhile before it was too late, then he shot himself in the head."
Jack turned to look at the Doctor, piercing blue eyes locking with his as he slowly came back to the present. "That's when I believed that he was telling me to rebuild it into something that you would be proud of, instead of the xenophobic monster that it had been. I like to think I did a good job. At least I tried, Doctor."
The Doctor drained his glass and set it next to Jack's, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to digest all that Jack had told him. It started to make sense in the Doctor's mind now, the little hints that Jack had dropped over the months and years since they had been reunited but there was still a very big piece that was missing. "I was wondering how you had come to be in charge in Cardiff. From everything that I knew of Torchwood, you by your very nature should never have gone very far in the old organization. You did do a good job, Jack. I wish I had met the rest of your team."
The Doctor then cocked his head and leaned closer to Jack, his voice low as he murmured. "But that's not the real reason why you hated me is it, Jack? Something else has happened. Something relatively recent by your reaction when you first saw me."
Jack's startled gaze flew back to the Doctor's face, the intensity he read in those stormy depths was very nearly his undoing. Jack shook his head before he reached over for the bottle and topped both their glasses up, taking his in hand for courage he shook his head softly in denial of the Doctor's words. "I don't hate you, Doctor. At least not anymore, I don't think. I don't know, it's all very complicated."
The Doctor laughed mirthlessly at that, raising his glass once more to Jack in a mock salute. "Well we are both very complicated men."
"That we are, Doctor!" Jack's head dropped after those words, his whole body had suddenly gone rigid with a tension of which he was barely aware. "I told you that my brother had found me, but what I didn't tell you is what happened when he did."
The Doctor braced himself for what was coming next, if the tension that was suddenly pouring off of Jack was any indication, then it was going to be bad.
"I had lost him during an invasion on the Boeshane Peninsula when we were both kids. One minute I was holding his hand as we ran, and the next he was gone. I never gave up looking for him even after I joined the Time Agency. I never gave up hope that Gray had survived and was living somewhere in the universe." Jack shook his head with a soft snort. "Gray had been held captive for many years where he was tortured and abused on a regular basis. Eventually he was found, chained in the midst of a field of corpses." Jack's voice cracked when he remembered the horror he felt at the revelation of how Gray had grown up, before he had realized how very much Gray hated him and blamed him for everything that had happened to him. "Gray had learned very well how to destroy people from his captors. He had had years and years to watch them and learn from them while he plotted his revenge."
Jack pushed away from the desk and began to pace when the nervous energy suddenly became too much for him to remain still. "He used an old buddy of mine from the time agency to set bombs around Cardiff and detonate them for maximum damage and panic, all so that my team would be scattered trying to deal with the emergencies. He lured me to where I could see all of the explosions go off then he took me back in time to 27 AD, before Cardiff had been built. Gray was waiting there for me. I was so happy to see him that I ran to him without thinking, I remember hugging him and crying because we were finally together again. I never saw the knife that he stabbed right through me. He told me that he wanted my life, he wanted me to suffer right on the edge of death over and over again just as he did for all those years. He wanted me to know exactly how he felt while I lay there waiting for death. Over and over again."
The Doctor was listening to Jack's story intently, having never known much about Jack's past nor about the fact that he had lost a brother. He remembered well the scourges that had swept through many human colony worlds in the 51st and 52nd centuries, how millions had been killed and even more had been enslaved. It had been a dark time for humanity, and in the light of that was it any wonder that Jack's brother had been completely destroyed during his time amongst those creatures?
"He threw me into a deep grave and proceeded to bury me alive, no casket or protection from the suffocating weight of earth as it crushed me in utter darkness. I remember awakening from yet another death with earth still choking me, while just a few meters above my head the world was turning and people were living and laughing. I honestly forgot what the sun or even a simple breeze felt like. Sometimes I would dream that you found me and managed to rescue me, and other times I would just lose myself in memories while I waited for death and tried desperately not to go completely insane." The Doctor flinched at Jack's admission that he had dreamed of being saved by him, his own hearts aching at just how much torment Jack had suffered because he had dared to call the Doctor friend. It finally all made sense now, the anger that he had felt pouring off of Jack when he had first arrived in Cardiff though strangely that anger seemed to have faded in the last 24 hours.
"Torchwood found me in the early 20th century, they dug me up then accused me of abandoning them just when I was supposed to be on assignment for them. I had to talk fast to convince them that I couldn't cross my own timeline and that they had to freeze me for another 107 years before I could properly confront my brother." Jack drained the last of his snifter, grunting softly when he barely even felt the bite of the alcohol. He knew that it would indeed take a lot more liquor to dull these memories if he didn't talk about them tonight, and finally for once the Doctor was sitting still long enough that he was able to talk to the only other being in the universe that could understand all that he had been through.
"I woke up in the morgue after Gray had killed Owen and Tosh and I was able to confront him. He was completely insane, all he cared about was his vengeance against me and he didn't give a damn how many he killed to achieve his greatest desire." Jack slumped against the desk next to the Doctor, his shoulders drooping as he finally was reaching the end of the long and crazy journey the last two thousand years had been for him. "I didn't kill him, Doctor though a part of me desperately wanted to for what he had put me through. But I sedated him instead and put him in deep freeze, hoping maybe one day I'll be able to help him."
He shook his head at that thought, gazing morosely down at the bottom of his snifter before turning tortured eyes back up to the Doctor. "You've rubbed off on me too much, Doctor. I just couldn't do it and I still have hope that one day maybe we can be properly reunited."
He tossed his head back with a sardonic laugh. "To think I'm actually nearly twice your age now Doctor! I never thought I would live to see this day."
The Doctor couldn't smile at Jack's attempt at humor, his own hearts were near to breaking because he found himself dwelling on all the suffering that he inflicted on those around him. Rose, Martha, Jack and poor poor Donna. Every single life changed forever, sometimes not always for the better. He sometimes wondered what the universe would have been like if he hadn't run away from Gallifrey. Would there even still be a universe if the Tardis had never convinced him to steal her in a mad bid to escape her own destruction?
He looked up at Jack's quiet chuckles, thankful that at least he was able to find some humor in nearly two millennia of never ending torment. His indomitable spirit once more rising to overcome even the most terrible of events.
For the first time that night, he was the one to reach for the bottle of scotch, surprised when he saw that it was over half empty though neither of them were showing any signs of having imbibed that much. With a shrug, he filled both their glasses and handed Jack's back to him.
"I'm sorry, Jack. Gods, it's all turned to rubbish since you met me hasn't it? I'm so sorry that this happened to you and that I will never be able to make it right. I'm sorry that I ran from you and stranded you on the game station, I'm sorry that those selfish actions of mine set you on this terrible path."
Jack jerked at those words, eyes flying to the Doctor when he realized that the man was nearly overcome with grief after everything that Jack had told him. "Doctor, it was not my intent to make you feel guilty over what has happened to me. In the end, I guess I have to look at it as a gift because in my own way I have made a difference in the time that I have been here on earth. I have made friends, and I like to think that I've done my own part in saving the planet from time to time." He let his gaze wander out into the hub, looking over at Daniel as he leaned over the communications displays before his eyes touched on Donna's sleeping form. "I finally understand Doctor, what I was meant to do. And finally all of that anger and hate and pain that I felt when I thought of you has just quietly dissolved into love and acceptance. I finally, after over two thousand years of life, have figured out how to forgive you."
Jack's shoulder nudged the Doctor's to take another long drink of his scotch, for the first time since his strange rebirth he finally felt free and closer to the Doctor than he had ever thought possible. The Doctor finally smiled wistfully at Jack's words, his moody gaze still focused intently on Donna's sleeping form. "Is that all it took? Two thousand years?"
Jack shrugged in reply. "Give or take a few decades. It helps to see that at least you're trying to make amends for some of your actions in the past by taking care of Donna through the midst of her own change."
The Doctor turned that brooding gaze on Jack, the never ending pain laid bare for the first time that Jack could ever remember. "I almost didn't, Jack. I almost botched the whole thing up by running away again, running farther and faster than I ever did before. I was turning into a fearful being, that vengeful god that I had once told you about and it absolutely terrified me because I found I didn't care."
"And now you've stopped running." It was a statement and not a question, Jack's eyes boring into the Doctor's so that he could not mistake the intent behind those words.
The Doctor took a shuddering breath, feeling completely exposed because of Jack's intuition but he could only nod in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah I have and after today it frankly scares the living daylights out of me." He turned his gaze back to Donna, his mind unconsciously reaching out to touch hers once more when he saw her stirring from the clutches of a nightmare. He gently wrapped her mind in his for a moment, helping to soothe the fear from her thoughts so that she could settle back into a gentle slumber.
Reluctantly pulling from her mind once more, he was surprised by the soft smile he saw on Jack's face. "In a way it's always been Donna, I suppose. We were both too blind to see it really, just mates and all that hogwash. Then everything changed and it was too late to do anything about it. I guess that was part of the reason why I fell so hard after I had to wipe her memories, the utter finality of that act had stolen any possibility of that future away. Or so I had thought anyways."
Jack had always felt there was something more between the Doctor and Donna though he had never been able to put his finger on it and Donna had been downright flirtatious with him in her own way. It had definitely confused Jack, who for the first time in his life had decided to tread carefully where she was concerned.
"There's always going to be danger, Doctor and you know that better than most but you can't let the threat of that rule your actions." Jack shook his head at that thought, leaning closer to the Doctor before continuing. "I think I am probably the only being in the universe who can understand the anguish and loss that you have experienced and will experience again no matter what. Of course it hurts to love, knowing that in the end you are going to outlive anyone that you have any feelings for but while I lay in that grave century after century, it was the memory of all those I had loved in my life that gave me something to hope for. If you don't take the chance, Doctor then really what the hell are you fighting for anyways?"
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully at Jack's words, the question he had asked absolutely demanded an answer. "Indeed, what am I fighting for then?"
"HA! See? Listen to your elders, Doctor." Jack couldn't help but tease.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and reached for the bottle to fill their glasses once again, handing Jack his and smirking before he let his gaze travel back to linger lovingly on Donna's sleeping form. He was fighting for his life, his love and his sanity. He was fighting for the chance at happiness for however long he could have it and in the end, he knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure that they lived life to the fullest even though the danger would always be waiting just around the next corner. She had shown time and time again that she would stand by him no matter the threat and that she would be that voice of reason and compassion that he sometimes lacked. They would be magnificent. Who was he kidding? They already were magnificent.
"Whatever you say, Gramps. Like that's ever going to happen."
They both laughed at that retort before they settled back and simply enjoyed the brief respite from the world's woes.