Fic: Dark Star Rising
Apr. 13th, 2010 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theatre_girl79Title: Dark Star Rising
Series: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters: Jack Harkness, The Doctor, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: The Doctor unearths the two years of memories Jack lost while with the Time Agency.
Word Count: 5,009
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
knitchick1979
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, Doctor Who,or the characters therein, they belong to the BBC and RTD. Any original characters and places are my property.
Summary: When your life stretches out forever, there are some things you should never remember, and the people you can truly trust are limited.
Author's Notes: I started this idea withknichick1979 once upon a time. When I saw the challenge by knm1234 as part of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
wintercompanion I knew I had to write it. Angsty, but well worth the read I believe.
Dark Star Rising
“Dear God! What is that?” Ianto came to a halt, Jack skidding to a stop next to him looking out over the Bay.
A swirling column of water rose out of the Bay, going higher and higher into the sky. It was a whirlpool pedestal that started to glow an eerie shade of dark green. Wind whipped off the maelstrom, tucking Jack’s coat around his legs and tousling his hair. For as much wind as there was, there was a definite lack of sound as Jack could hear footsteps run up behind him on the stones.
“Bloody hell,” Rhys muttered.
Jack could feel his stomach churning faster than the water. This was not right. This should not be happening. He turned to Ianto who just continued to stare at the thing, the younger man’s eyes glistening from the salt spray that should have been stinging. Yet, Ianto kept watching it. Jack lightly touched Ianto’s arm to get his attention. When that didn’t work, he shook Ianto’s arm, the other man finally turning to look at him.
“We need to evacuate the city now,” Jack said in his serious voice.
“What is it?” Gwen asked, stepping between the two men.
“A dark star. It’s a dark star that has somehow fallen to the Earth,” Jack replied, turning back to the churning waters.
“And it landed right on our doorstep?” Ianto interjected.
“And she’ll be pissed,” Jack said, stepping forward.
Suddenly tendrils of water flicked out from the column, steaming fingers that snapped at the team, as the wind roared around them. Jack grabbed Ianto by the waist and pushed him to the ground, covering Ianto with his body. Ianto’s breath was knocked out of him, but he seemed okay. Jack could feel a twinge in his left ankle, but that didn’t matter now.
“RHYS!” Gwen’s cry broke through the windstorm
Everything stopped just as abruptly as it had started as the column of water froze and the sounds of the storm ceased. The water surrounded a woman suspended in mid-air, who had appeared as suddenly as the storm had. She was tall with black eyes, long raven hair, pale skin, and wore a glittery black gown.
Ianto pushed Jack off of him and stood up. He held out a hand that Jack gratefully accepted as he pulled himself up, favouring his left ankle. Jack inwardly groaned. A dark star was terrorising his city and here he was injured for a bit. He shook out his ankle. He would make do.
“Where is the one called Harkness?” the woman demanded.
Ianto twisted and glared at Jack. Jack shrugged his shoulders as he had no clue as to why the woman wanted him. He mouthed ‘I don’t know’ to Ianto as he let go of the man’s hand and approached the woman.
“I am Captain Jack Harkness,” he said. “I don’t believe I have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”
“Liar! You know perfectly well who I am. You killed my entire family,” she said, her voice shaking him. “You, Jack Harkness, are a murderer and you shall die for your crimes!”
This couldn’t be. He had done some nasty things in his day, including murder, but you would think he would remember offing the entire family of a dark star. Ianto strode up to Jack, hands on his hips. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Gwen helping a soaked Rhys up from the pavement, his clothing clinging to every inch of him.
Jack held up his hands in front of him. “Whoa! Whoa. I’m sorry. I don’t even remember who your family could be,” Jack said to her.
“That’s going to help,” Ianto mumbled under his breath.
“WHAT!?!”
The water seemed to explode, flooding Mermaid Quay. Ianto wrapped his arms around the lightpole next to him, holding tight, while it flattened Jack to the ground. Water washed over him, pushing into his nose, mouth and eyes. He could barely breathe. Through the maelstrom he could hear Gwen crying out for Rhys.
Through the sheets of water, he could see Rhys being dragged into the ocean and he was unable to stop it. Ianto grabbed Gwen’s arm as she ran full tilt past them, as if the water did not exist to her. Ianto held her to him.
As soon as it started, the water stopped moving. Jack coughed up the sea as he struggled to his feet, looking with wide eyes at Rhys encased in a pillar of water. This was all his fault, but he didn’t know how or why.
“Oh God, give him back to me, please,” Gwen pleaded with the star, her arms outstretched as she walked to the railing.
“Why? Harkness showed my family no mercy.”
“He doesn’t care about Jack bloody Harkness! Neither do I! Rhys is innocent,” she cried out.
“Gwen,” Jack started to give her a word of warning when the sea slashed out again, snatching Gwen up and into the sky. It encased her in water as well. “No!”
“One more penalty Harkness,” the woman moaned.
“No you don’t,” he said, anguish in his voice. Jack’s world was crumbling around him and he refused to lose the last bit of humanity he had. He ran to Ianto, standing in front of him, his back to the woman. Grabbing Ianto by the lapels, he nearly shook the younger man. “Run.”
“Jack, what about Gwen and Rhys?”
“I don’t care. I’ll find a way to take care of it. You run.”
The water slammed into his back like a boulder being driven by a jackhammer, sweeping him away from Ianto. Jack didn’t know exactly what he screamed, his voice lost amongst the waves. His eyes stung as he watched Ianto swept up and into the sea. She encased him in a column of water and with a simple flick of her wrist all three of his friends were plunged into the depths of the Bay.
Jack flew to the railing, his heart sinking as they sunk deep. He didn’t know if it was real or imagined, but he saw fear in their eyes. Banging his fists on the cold railing, Jack cried out. What evil had he done that they had to be punished so?
“I will be back for you Harkness, after I have done to them what you did to my family.”
“I don’t remember this,” he cried. “You can’t punish me - you can’t punish them - for a crime I didn’t commit!”
“Oh but you did, and I can. The Shadow Proclamation has no jurisdiction on Earth, but I do.”
“They’ll hunt you down. They’ll kill you for breaking the Earth treaty.”
“It’ll be worth it to see you die,” the woman said. The water exploded, blinding Jack momentarily, and then the Quay was unnaturally quiet. The woman and the people he cared about were no longer visible.
Jack slumped towards the tourist office entrance, sloshing along the way. He called Detective Swanson and had the police cordon off the entire area for three blocks around the Bay. If a dark star really wanted to wreak havoc, a police cordon for three blocks would be like nothing to her. He made his way down to the Hub, feeling as if he had lost everything. Once again he was alone in Torchwood.
His whole body, including his mind, seemed to shut down as he spotted the lanky man in a brown-and-blue-pinstriped suit standing next to the water basin, in his secure base of operations. The man turned away from the water tower and looked at Jack.
“Doctor?” Jack asked, unable to believe it. “What are you doing here?”
“I came inside, used that lift you have around the fountain. You probably didn’t hear the TARDIS land amongst the maelstrom and chaos going on outside.”
“No,” Jack said, his voice cracking as he ran for what had once been Tosh’s computer terminal. He started digging through the database. “What are you doing here and now? Did you know?”
“The crimes you committed against that woman’s family? Not until recently.”
“No! Did you know I was going to lose them all today? Are you here to try and save me?” Jack stood up from the computer, not finding what he was looking for. “I won’t let you. I’m not giving up on saving them.”
“What makes you think you can save them?”
“I HAVE TO TRY!” Jack struck out, knocking a pile of papers off the desk, sending them scattering like a storm. “If she truly wants to see me suffer, she won’t kill them yet. I still have time to save them.” Jack slumped down in a nearby chair. “Thing is, I didn’t kill her family.”
"Yes you did,” The Doctor replied, taking off his spectacles and putting them back in his pocket.
“You’re lying,” Jack stated.
“I wish I was,” The Doctor replied, cutting across the Hub and crouching in front of Jack.
Jack shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t remember it.”
“You wouldn’t,” The Doctor said. He pulled out a small datadisc from inside his suit jacket. “I searched out the time agency. It was after you killed her family that they removed two years of your memories.” The Doctor stood up, pacing away from Jack. “You told me about losing those memories, that that was the reason you left the Time Agency.”
“Yes,” Jack replied, leaning forward in the chair, hands on his knees.
“The Time Agency was afraid of what you had become. They were afraid of what you were capable of. If you had decided to turn against them, they would have had no chance. Your partner got you to come into Agency headquarters, they tried to kill him, and removed your memories.”
Jack looked at The Doctor in disbelief. In the middle of all this shit, he had come with so many answers. He stood up, unsure of which way to turn. The Doctor put a hand on his soaked chest, stopping him.
“Why don’t you go shower and change, don’t want you catching pnuemonia - not even the sonic can help with that - and I will go upstairs and talk to our star lady.” He put the datadisc down on a nearby desk. “It’ll be right here if you want to see for yourself.” The Doctor cupped Jack’s cheek in his hand, holding it there a moment and then headed out the main cog door.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
“Hester! Hoshi! Esther! Seren! Sitara! Agoyoanye! Whatever you wish to be called, I look to speak with you,” The Doctor yelled at the sea, hands on the railing over the Bay.
The water swirled and the dark star woman rose from the middle of it. “What do you wish of me?” She looked at him, in her eyes the coldness of space.
“The humans you took, let them go.”
Her laughter cut quick to the bone. “No.”
“Look, they’ve done nothing to you.”
“But Harkness has,” she responded, riding the wave until she was standing before The Doctor.
“And if I had hurt your family, would you punish my people as well?”
“If it pleased me, then yes.”
He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers, rocking back and forth on his heels. “You know,” he said, thinking out loud. “This goes against the Earth treaty and doesn’t look so good with The Shadow Proclamation. You’re the last of your kind, right? The last star of the Trebans system?” He quirked an eyebrow, appraising her looks. He should be right, he usually was.
“Perhaps.”
“I know what it’s like to be the last of your kind. I would really hate to see every star of that system shoved into the farthest recesses of a black hole. Time and light no longer existing. Nothing of a life, stuck in the event horizon, being ripped apart forever.”
“You have a suggestion?”
“Forget Harkness, forgive him for what he did. He’s a different man now, trust me. I have seen him change over the years. Well, even I have changed.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking on things.
“I need Harkness dead. Do you know how long I have been searching for him, tracking him down, even after he changed his name?”
“I can kind of guess.” The Doctor shook his head from side-to-side. “Do you have to be the one to kill him?”
“I would prefer it, but no.”
“Let the humans go and I will bring you proof that he is dead.”
“I will only release them when you bring me this solid proof.” With a loud splash, she droppped back into the water.
“Oh Jack, what have you gotten yourself into now,” The Doctor mumbled. He headed back downstairs.
Entering Torchwood, The Doctor found Jack slumped on the sofa behind the work area. He was gripping the datadisc in his fingers, and they were turning white. Jack had cleaned up a bit, was wearing trousers, braces and a vest, but that’s not what stopped The Doctor. What made him stop was the haunted look in Jack’s eyes.
“You looked at the datadisc?” The Doctor asked.
“Most of it. I did those things.” Jack dropped the datatdisc to the table with a clatter.
“That’s what they say you did—”
“No, Doctor, I did them. I know the kind of person I was back then. I was the ‘go-to guy’ for things like that. I took pleasure in it.” Jack looked down at his entwined fingers, not able to look The Doctor in the eyes. “I know I did it. I murdered her family, I arranged for them to be tortured forever.”
The Doctor sat down on the table in front of Jack. “You’ve changed. No one has seen that more than me. After Canary Wharf, I would never have willingly set foot in anything remotely linked to Torchwood, but look where I am. You changed that.”
Jack brusquely stood up, pulling away from The Doctor. “I still have it in me.”
The Doctor followed Jack, putting a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. “All of us have that inside of us, even Timelords.” He gave Jack’s shoulder a squeeze. “It’s what you do with that knowledge that determines what kind of man you are.” The Doctor couldn’t help but think on the mistake he had made with Captain Adelaide Brooke.
Jack dug something out of the pocket of his trousers, and turned around, taking The Doctor’s hand. Whatever had been in his hand was now between them. The Doctor pulled his hand away and saw a bottle of white pills.
“What is this?”
“Let me forget. Allow me that.”
“What are you getting at Jack?”
“Those are what we call retcon. They are an amnesia pill. I want you to help me forget. Forget what I did in the Time Agency, forget Torchwood, forget my family, forget Ianto. Help me start new again.”
“I can’t do that.”
Jack grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. “Yes you can! You have to. There’s no one else I trust with this.”
“You want to forget everything?”
“Everything I have ever done.”
“The good will go as well as the bad.”
“I know, but it will be better in the long run. Those are the heavy duty pills. If you dissolve thirty of them in a liquid, that should work for my lifetime. They are tasteless, so I am trusting you.” Jack’s fingers squeezed The Doctor’s shoulders. He held up another, smaller bottle. “These are short acting retcon. One will only erase the last couple of hours. Once you save the others - because I know you will - make sure they each take one. They will survive without me.”
The Doctor snatched the other bottle of pills as Jack headed off into a far office. How could Jack ask him to do such a thing? Although, The Doctor did understand the trust that Jack put in him to even ask him to do this. The Doctor looked between both bottles and headed into the small kitchenette he had spied.
Fifteen minutes later, The Doctor walked into Jack’s office with a cup of tea. He put it on the desk in front of Jack, who had been looking at several pictures in an old tin box. Over Jack’s shoulder, The Doctor noticed that some were of the Captain himself.
“Jack, are you positive about this?”
“Yes,” Jack replied, not even looking at The Doctor.
“Well, then, drink up,” The Doctor stated, partially sitting on the corner of the desk.
Jack picked up the tea and sniffed at it. He took a big sip, and then drained the mug. Setting the mug down, he closed up the tin box and put it into The Doctor’s hands, closing the Timelord’s hands around it.
“You’ll keep that safe for me,” Jack said. “Shouldn’t you go and see about the others?”
“I kind of already made an arrangement. They’ll be fine,” The Doctor replied as Jack let out a huge yawn. “Let me take care of you first. Where’s your bed?”
“Downstairs,” Jack said, nodding his head towards an open sewer cover.
The Doctor stood up, putting the tin box down on the desk, and looked down the hole into a perfect little bedroom. “Perhaps we better get you down the ladder before you completely fall asleep.”
“How did you know the retcon would put me to sleep?”
“I scanned it with the sonic and saw it had a sedative in it,” he stated, lifting Jack up under the armpits. “Down you go.”
He watched as Jack clambered down the steps, as if he was at ease doing it. The Doctor deftly followed after. Looking around the room, he noticed how quaint it was, how it had little splashes of Jack-style all around. Jack flopped down onto the edge of the bed, just staring at nothing.
“You’re not going to take me with you, are you Doctor?” Jack seemed crestfallen, almost broken.
“Not yet. There’s some things I need to take care of first,” The Doctor replied. He sat down in the small arm chair and propped his head up against his fingers just looking at Jack, seeing him. “Why this? Why now, Jack?”
“I thought you would understand.”
“Oh, I wholeheartedly understand, more than you can imagine,” he mumbled to himself. “Just, why now? After all this time and access to these pills - or something similar - what about now?”
“It’s not like I’ll remember why,” Jack retorted, stifling a hearty yawn. “It’s become too much. All the years, all the love, all the losses. Do you know I have a daughter and a grandson I rarely see? I never even told Ianto about them. My whole life stretches out behind me in fractured little pieces, barely making a whole anymore.”
“Oh, Jack,” he drew out. He did understand. He understood more than Jack would ever know. It was him that had to sacrifice his own family in the Time War. At least Jack had a chance. He had a chance at even a broken piece of happiness for any amount of time, for whatever he could get out of it. The Doctor knew his days were numbered, but Jack had the closest to forever anyone could get. Jack had opportunities to screw up, but he also had as many opportunities as there are stars in the sky to see things set right.
Jack’s head fell forward into his hands, his elbows on his knees, and began to cry. As long as The Doctor had known Jack, it had taken great moments of sadness to see the man cry. He moved over to the bed, his arms around Jack, holding him tight, letting the man sob. After several minutes, Jack looked up at The Doctor, his eyes bleary and bloodshot.
Without even asking, Jack leaned in and pressed his lips to The Doctor’s. In that small bit of contact he could fell every bit of Jack’s need for normalcy, for safety, for comfort. Jack went to pull away, and The Doctor placed both hands around Jack’s head, holding him close. This time he kissed Jack.
Nestling his head into The Doctor’s shoulder, Jack just held The Doctor tight. He stroked his hand up and down Jack’s back, as if soothing a long-suffering child. The Doctor put down his mental walls - hiding away the facts of the Ood’s call, and what had happened on the Mars station - and let Jack psychically hold on to him, pulling comfort from every fibre of his being.
Jack let out a big yawn, and then their breathing became syncopated. Together, as if they were one mass of hurting humanity. He planted an almost fatherly kiss on Jack’s forehead.
“Come, we should get you to bed.”
“Don’t leave me here alone.”
“I won’t leave you alone. You have my promise on that,” The Doctor replied as he stood up before Jack. “Come. Come,” he replied, pulling down the covers.
The Doctor pulled off Jack’s undershirt, amazed at how perfect Jack’s skin was. He did notice a small pinprick of pink which was in the same location as when he had to patch Jack up after that encounter with the Daurotons. Even time eventually healed those wounds for him, and would for this. He undid Jack’s trousers, motioning for the Captain to stand up, which he did.
“Doctor? After all these years, finally?”
Behind the sorrow, The Doctor could see a hint of mirth and a bit of the Jack he knew. “Captain, you would think, but no.”
“Pity. No last request for a dying man?”
Jack didn’t know the half of it. “Perhaps next time, Captain.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jack retorted as he stepped out of his trousers and slid into bed. “But please, stay.”
“Until you sleep,” The Doctor, sitting up against the headboard, laid out next to Jack. “Then I have to take care of your friends.” He took Jack’s hand in his, holding it tight. His other hand stroked through Jack’s hair as he let a calming sensation come from his core.
Jack finally fell asleep, slumping against The Doctor’s warmth. He picked up Jack’s left hand and undid the buckle on the wrist strap, sliding it off, putting it in his pocket.
“She wanted proof that he was dead, she’ll get it,” The Doctor whispered, taking one last look at his sleeping avenging angel.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
He ushered the three slightly soaked people down into the Hub. “Right! Well, now that that’s taken care of—”
“I still can’t believe its really you. You’re really here,” Gwen interrupted.
“In the flesh,” The Doctor responded.
“Wait, who is this bloke again?” Rhys held tight to Gwen, always staying between her and The Doctor.
“I’m The Doctor,” he replied. “And there’s one more thing Jack wanted me to make sure you did,” he said, holding out the bottle of retcon. “Just one each.” He handed two pills to Gwen.
“Is this necessary?” Gwen asked, taking the white pills from him.
“Yes,” he simply said.
“Come on then,” Gwen said, pulling Rhys towards the kitchenette.
They disappeared and The Doctor looked at Ianto, holding out the bottle. Ianto looked at the bottle and then at him. He folded his arms across his chest, but did not acknowledge the retcon.
“Where’s Jack?”
“He’ll be bac—”
“Where’s Jack? What happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“I know him. There’s no way you would be down here without Jack following you around like a puppy to his Master.”
Gwen and Rhys came back, each drinking a bottle of water, and settled on the couch, together. Ianto nodded his head at The Doctor and headed into Jack’s office. The Doctor followed. Stepping inside, he grinned at Jack’s bit of coral - it would take him a long while yet to grow it. The door closed behind him.
“Tell me what happened to Jack.”
“He’s sleeping.”
“He’s sleeping?” Ianto came around to look The Doctor in the eyes. “In the middle of all this, he’s sleeping?”
“Not exactly his choice, but if you look into his quarters, you should see him.”
Ianto looked down the open manhole cover and then stared back at The Doctor. “What happened? Will he be okay?”
He held out the bottle of retcon to Ianto. “This happened. He needed to. And he wants you to take it.” He looked at Ianto meaningfully. “You could take more if you want. Forget everything about Torchwood, all the things that have happened to you - here and at Canary Wharf.”
“How did you?”
“I thought you looked familiar, and after that last thing with the Daleks, I asked Jack. You have to know it’s his wish to take the retcon, not mine, not my usual modus operandi. But if you want to start over, I can arrange it.”
“I would lose all the bad stuff - the Cybermen, the loss - but I would lose all the good stuff - my friendship with Owen and Tosh, dates with Lisa - and I would lose Jack.”
“What if all you had left with him was a year? A month? A couple of days?”
“I would hope it would be worth it, plus, its a hazard of the job, working for Torchwood. I would rather spend my last days with Jack than living in bliss unaware of what was happening around me.”
“Jack was right. You are truly a brilliant man Ianto Jones,” The Doctor said, holding out the bottle of pills to Ianto.
Ianto took the bottle looking down at it, rolling it in his hands. He took out one pill, putting the rest on Jack’s desk. Looking at The Doctor, he swallowed the pill without taking anything to drink.
“Go on, get down there,” The Doctor said, pointing to Jack’s quarters.
Ianto moved over to the ladder. “It was a pleasure to meet you in person, Doctor.”
“Same here, Ianto Jones. Now go. Jack will need you.”
The Doctor watched Ianto climb downstairs and then headed back into the Hub. Seeing Gwen and Rhys asleep, Gwen’s head on Rhys’ shoulder as he held her tight, he smiled. Jack had surrounded himself with good people. He looked at the computers and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Adjusting the setting, he aimed at the main screen and fired, effectively deleting the footage from the last couple of hours. Let them live in peace, for a bit.
Heading back, he checked in on Jack and Ianto, both sound asleep. He tucked Ianto’s arm around Jack and pulled the covers up over both of them. He gave Jack one last kiss on the forehead and stood back. Slipping the wet vortex manipulator from his pocket, The Doctor put it on the bedside table and left the Hub for good.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Jack slowly woke up in Ianto’s arms. It wasn’t a bad place to wake up, but he couldn’t remember how he get there, or what happened before. That was a little disturbing. He shook Ianto by the shoulder, but the younger man didn’t wake up. Jack smirked and worked his hand down, grabbing Ianto by his manhood, yet he didn’t stir. Jack sat back. Something had happened, and he didn’t know what. Something was wrong.
He climbed over Ianto’s prone form, something that would usually lead them into more than merely waking up, and grabbed his trousers from where they were folded over the armchair, already braced. He grabbed an undershirt and put that on as he slid into a pair of boots. With one last look at Ianto’s angelic face, he noiselessly climbed up the ladder.
Pulling himself out of the hole, the first thing Jack noticed was that the hub lights were set at ‘daytime’ and how quiet it was. Looking through the open door of his office, he was surprised to see Gwen and Rhys asleep on the sofa, together.
“Gwen? Rhys?” he called out, and yet got no response.
Something was not right! Jack stepped backwards to his desk and yanked open the drawer that held his antique Webley gun, and stopped as he spotted the bottle of retcon sitting on the corner of the desktop. He snatched up the bottle, shaking the pills back and forth. He knew he hadn’t left this out here. Yet, that would explain why they had all passed out - but what had happened? He stuffed the bottle of retcon into the front pocket of his trousers.
Jack armed himself, sliding the gun and holster onto his belt. He quietly advanced into the main area of the Hub. Something nagged at his subconscious. Despite feeling out of whack, he knew he was safe. Jack looked down and was surprised to see his vortex manipulator missing. He calmed down as he vaguely remembered seeing it on the bedside table. Why would he have taken it off?
Moving over to the computer, he pulled up empty screen after empty screen of CCTV footage. He kept hitting the ‘next’ key with fervent abandon. He was supposed to protect his team! Suddenly he stopped and rewound the footage until he caught the camera that watched the Fountain. It was there he saw The Doctor’s blue police box. It was then that he saw The Doctor come up on the invisible lift and entered the TARDIS, giving one last look to the camera. Jack gaped in astonishment.
He replayed the footage over and over again, amazed at why The Doctor had been there. He pulled the bottle of retcon out of his pocket and his eyes flicked between the bottle and the frozen image of The Doctor on the screen. After hesitating a moment, Jack reached out and deleted the image of The Doctor.
“Thank you,” he said, under his breath, hoping one day he would be able to ask The Doctor about what had happened. Until then, he had a family to take care of, as he looked at Gwen and Rhys and thought of Ianto asleep in his bed.
Series: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters: Jack Harkness, The Doctor, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: The Doctor unearths the two years of memories Jack lost while with the Time Agency.
Word Count: 5,009
Beta:
knitchick1979Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, Doctor Who,or the characters therein, they belong to the BBC and RTD. Any original characters and places are my property.
Summary: When your life stretches out forever, there are some things you should never remember, and the people you can truly trust are limited.
Author's Notes: I started this idea with
knichick1979 once upon a time. When I saw the challenge by knm1234 as part of wintercompanion I knew I had to write it. Angsty, but well worth the read I believe.Dark Star Rising
“Dear God! What is that?” Ianto came to a halt, Jack skidding to a stop next to him looking out over the Bay.
A swirling column of water rose out of the Bay, going higher and higher into the sky. It was a whirlpool pedestal that started to glow an eerie shade of dark green. Wind whipped off the maelstrom, tucking Jack’s coat around his legs and tousling his hair. For as much wind as there was, there was a definite lack of sound as Jack could hear footsteps run up behind him on the stones.
“Bloody hell,” Rhys muttered.
Jack could feel his stomach churning faster than the water. This was not right. This should not be happening. He turned to Ianto who just continued to stare at the thing, the younger man’s eyes glistening from the salt spray that should have been stinging. Yet, Ianto kept watching it. Jack lightly touched Ianto’s arm to get his attention. When that didn’t work, he shook Ianto’s arm, the other man finally turning to look at him.
“We need to evacuate the city now,” Jack said in his serious voice.
“What is it?” Gwen asked, stepping between the two men.
“A dark star. It’s a dark star that has somehow fallen to the Earth,” Jack replied, turning back to the churning waters.
“And it landed right on our doorstep?” Ianto interjected.
“And she’ll be pissed,” Jack said, stepping forward.
Suddenly tendrils of water flicked out from the column, steaming fingers that snapped at the team, as the wind roared around them. Jack grabbed Ianto by the waist and pushed him to the ground, covering Ianto with his body. Ianto’s breath was knocked out of him, but he seemed okay. Jack could feel a twinge in his left ankle, but that didn’t matter now.
“RHYS!” Gwen’s cry broke through the windstorm
Everything stopped just as abruptly as it had started as the column of water froze and the sounds of the storm ceased. The water surrounded a woman suspended in mid-air, who had appeared as suddenly as the storm had. She was tall with black eyes, long raven hair, pale skin, and wore a glittery black gown.
Ianto pushed Jack off of him and stood up. He held out a hand that Jack gratefully accepted as he pulled himself up, favouring his left ankle. Jack inwardly groaned. A dark star was terrorising his city and here he was injured for a bit. He shook out his ankle. He would make do.
“Where is the one called Harkness?” the woman demanded.
Ianto twisted and glared at Jack. Jack shrugged his shoulders as he had no clue as to why the woman wanted him. He mouthed ‘I don’t know’ to Ianto as he let go of the man’s hand and approached the woman.
“I am Captain Jack Harkness,” he said. “I don’t believe I have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”
“Liar! You know perfectly well who I am. You killed my entire family,” she said, her voice shaking him. “You, Jack Harkness, are a murderer and you shall die for your crimes!”
This couldn’t be. He had done some nasty things in his day, including murder, but you would think he would remember offing the entire family of a dark star. Ianto strode up to Jack, hands on his hips. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Gwen helping a soaked Rhys up from the pavement, his clothing clinging to every inch of him.
Jack held up his hands in front of him. “Whoa! Whoa. I’m sorry. I don’t even remember who your family could be,” Jack said to her.
“That’s going to help,” Ianto mumbled under his breath.
“WHAT!?!”
The water seemed to explode, flooding Mermaid Quay. Ianto wrapped his arms around the lightpole next to him, holding tight, while it flattened Jack to the ground. Water washed over him, pushing into his nose, mouth and eyes. He could barely breathe. Through the maelstrom he could hear Gwen crying out for Rhys.
Through the sheets of water, he could see Rhys being dragged into the ocean and he was unable to stop it. Ianto grabbed Gwen’s arm as she ran full tilt past them, as if the water did not exist to her. Ianto held her to him.
As soon as it started, the water stopped moving. Jack coughed up the sea as he struggled to his feet, looking with wide eyes at Rhys encased in a pillar of water. This was all his fault, but he didn’t know how or why.
“Oh God, give him back to me, please,” Gwen pleaded with the star, her arms outstretched as she walked to the railing.
“Why? Harkness showed my family no mercy.”
“He doesn’t care about Jack bloody Harkness! Neither do I! Rhys is innocent,” she cried out.
“Gwen,” Jack started to give her a word of warning when the sea slashed out again, snatching Gwen up and into the sky. It encased her in water as well. “No!”
“One more penalty Harkness,” the woman moaned.
“No you don’t,” he said, anguish in his voice. Jack’s world was crumbling around him and he refused to lose the last bit of humanity he had. He ran to Ianto, standing in front of him, his back to the woman. Grabbing Ianto by the lapels, he nearly shook the younger man. “Run.”
“Jack, what about Gwen and Rhys?”
“I don’t care. I’ll find a way to take care of it. You run.”
The water slammed into his back like a boulder being driven by a jackhammer, sweeping him away from Ianto. Jack didn’t know exactly what he screamed, his voice lost amongst the waves. His eyes stung as he watched Ianto swept up and into the sea. She encased him in a column of water and with a simple flick of her wrist all three of his friends were plunged into the depths of the Bay.
Jack flew to the railing, his heart sinking as they sunk deep. He didn’t know if it was real or imagined, but he saw fear in their eyes. Banging his fists on the cold railing, Jack cried out. What evil had he done that they had to be punished so?
“I will be back for you Harkness, after I have done to them what you did to my family.”
“I don’t remember this,” he cried. “You can’t punish me - you can’t punish them - for a crime I didn’t commit!”
“Oh but you did, and I can. The Shadow Proclamation has no jurisdiction on Earth, but I do.”
“They’ll hunt you down. They’ll kill you for breaking the Earth treaty.”
“It’ll be worth it to see you die,” the woman said. The water exploded, blinding Jack momentarily, and then the Quay was unnaturally quiet. The woman and the people he cared about were no longer visible.
Jack slumped towards the tourist office entrance, sloshing along the way. He called Detective Swanson and had the police cordon off the entire area for three blocks around the Bay. If a dark star really wanted to wreak havoc, a police cordon for three blocks would be like nothing to her. He made his way down to the Hub, feeling as if he had lost everything. Once again he was alone in Torchwood.
His whole body, including his mind, seemed to shut down as he spotted the lanky man in a brown-and-blue-pinstriped suit standing next to the water basin, in his secure base of operations. The man turned away from the water tower and looked at Jack.
“Doctor?” Jack asked, unable to believe it. “What are you doing here?”
“I came inside, used that lift you have around the fountain. You probably didn’t hear the TARDIS land amongst the maelstrom and chaos going on outside.”
“No,” Jack said, his voice cracking as he ran for what had once been Tosh’s computer terminal. He started digging through the database. “What are you doing here and now? Did you know?”
“The crimes you committed against that woman’s family? Not until recently.”
“No! Did you know I was going to lose them all today? Are you here to try and save me?” Jack stood up from the computer, not finding what he was looking for. “I won’t let you. I’m not giving up on saving them.”
“What makes you think you can save them?”
“I HAVE TO TRY!” Jack struck out, knocking a pile of papers off the desk, sending them scattering like a storm. “If she truly wants to see me suffer, she won’t kill them yet. I still have time to save them.” Jack slumped down in a nearby chair. “Thing is, I didn’t kill her family.”
"Yes you did,” The Doctor replied, taking off his spectacles and putting them back in his pocket.
“You’re lying,” Jack stated.
“I wish I was,” The Doctor replied, cutting across the Hub and crouching in front of Jack.
Jack shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t remember it.”
“You wouldn’t,” The Doctor said. He pulled out a small datadisc from inside his suit jacket. “I searched out the time agency. It was after you killed her family that they removed two years of your memories.” The Doctor stood up, pacing away from Jack. “You told me about losing those memories, that that was the reason you left the Time Agency.”
“Yes,” Jack replied, leaning forward in the chair, hands on his knees.
“The Time Agency was afraid of what you had become. They were afraid of what you were capable of. If you had decided to turn against them, they would have had no chance. Your partner got you to come into Agency headquarters, they tried to kill him, and removed your memories.”
Jack looked at The Doctor in disbelief. In the middle of all this shit, he had come with so many answers. He stood up, unsure of which way to turn. The Doctor put a hand on his soaked chest, stopping him.
“Why don’t you go shower and change, don’t want you catching pnuemonia - not even the sonic can help with that - and I will go upstairs and talk to our star lady.” He put the datadisc down on a nearby desk. “It’ll be right here if you want to see for yourself.” The Doctor cupped Jack’s cheek in his hand, holding it there a moment and then headed out the main cog door.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
“Hester! Hoshi! Esther! Seren! Sitara! Agoyoanye! Whatever you wish to be called, I look to speak with you,” The Doctor yelled at the sea, hands on the railing over the Bay.
The water swirled and the dark star woman rose from the middle of it. “What do you wish of me?” She looked at him, in her eyes the coldness of space.
“The humans you took, let them go.”
Her laughter cut quick to the bone. “No.”
“Look, they’ve done nothing to you.”
“But Harkness has,” she responded, riding the wave until she was standing before The Doctor.
“And if I had hurt your family, would you punish my people as well?”
“If it pleased me, then yes.”
He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers, rocking back and forth on his heels. “You know,” he said, thinking out loud. “This goes against the Earth treaty and doesn’t look so good with The Shadow Proclamation. You’re the last of your kind, right? The last star of the Trebans system?” He quirked an eyebrow, appraising her looks. He should be right, he usually was.
“Perhaps.”
“I know what it’s like to be the last of your kind. I would really hate to see every star of that system shoved into the farthest recesses of a black hole. Time and light no longer existing. Nothing of a life, stuck in the event horizon, being ripped apart forever.”
“You have a suggestion?”
“Forget Harkness, forgive him for what he did. He’s a different man now, trust me. I have seen him change over the years. Well, even I have changed.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking on things.
“I need Harkness dead. Do you know how long I have been searching for him, tracking him down, even after he changed his name?”
“I can kind of guess.” The Doctor shook his head from side-to-side. “Do you have to be the one to kill him?”
“I would prefer it, but no.”
“Let the humans go and I will bring you proof that he is dead.”
“I will only release them when you bring me this solid proof.” With a loud splash, she droppped back into the water.
“Oh Jack, what have you gotten yourself into now,” The Doctor mumbled. He headed back downstairs.
Entering Torchwood, The Doctor found Jack slumped on the sofa behind the work area. He was gripping the datadisc in his fingers, and they were turning white. Jack had cleaned up a bit, was wearing trousers, braces and a vest, but that’s not what stopped The Doctor. What made him stop was the haunted look in Jack’s eyes.
“You looked at the datadisc?” The Doctor asked.
“Most of it. I did those things.” Jack dropped the datatdisc to the table with a clatter.
“That’s what they say you did—”
“No, Doctor, I did them. I know the kind of person I was back then. I was the ‘go-to guy’ for things like that. I took pleasure in it.” Jack looked down at his entwined fingers, not able to look The Doctor in the eyes. “I know I did it. I murdered her family, I arranged for them to be tortured forever.”
The Doctor sat down on the table in front of Jack. “You’ve changed. No one has seen that more than me. After Canary Wharf, I would never have willingly set foot in anything remotely linked to Torchwood, but look where I am. You changed that.”
Jack brusquely stood up, pulling away from The Doctor. “I still have it in me.”
The Doctor followed Jack, putting a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. “All of us have that inside of us, even Timelords.” He gave Jack’s shoulder a squeeze. “It’s what you do with that knowledge that determines what kind of man you are.” The Doctor couldn’t help but think on the mistake he had made with Captain Adelaide Brooke.
Jack dug something out of the pocket of his trousers, and turned around, taking The Doctor’s hand. Whatever had been in his hand was now between them. The Doctor pulled his hand away and saw a bottle of white pills.
“What is this?”
“Let me forget. Allow me that.”
“What are you getting at Jack?”
“Those are what we call retcon. They are an amnesia pill. I want you to help me forget. Forget what I did in the Time Agency, forget Torchwood, forget my family, forget Ianto. Help me start new again.”
“I can’t do that.”
Jack grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. “Yes you can! You have to. There’s no one else I trust with this.”
“You want to forget everything?”
“Everything I have ever done.”
“The good will go as well as the bad.”
“I know, but it will be better in the long run. Those are the heavy duty pills. If you dissolve thirty of them in a liquid, that should work for my lifetime. They are tasteless, so I am trusting you.” Jack’s fingers squeezed The Doctor’s shoulders. He held up another, smaller bottle. “These are short acting retcon. One will only erase the last couple of hours. Once you save the others - because I know you will - make sure they each take one. They will survive without me.”
The Doctor snatched the other bottle of pills as Jack headed off into a far office. How could Jack ask him to do such a thing? Although, The Doctor did understand the trust that Jack put in him to even ask him to do this. The Doctor looked between both bottles and headed into the small kitchenette he had spied.
Fifteen minutes later, The Doctor walked into Jack’s office with a cup of tea. He put it on the desk in front of Jack, who had been looking at several pictures in an old tin box. Over Jack’s shoulder, The Doctor noticed that some were of the Captain himself.
“Jack, are you positive about this?”
“Yes,” Jack replied, not even looking at The Doctor.
“Well, then, drink up,” The Doctor stated, partially sitting on the corner of the desk.
Jack picked up the tea and sniffed at it. He took a big sip, and then drained the mug. Setting the mug down, he closed up the tin box and put it into The Doctor’s hands, closing the Timelord’s hands around it.
“You’ll keep that safe for me,” Jack said. “Shouldn’t you go and see about the others?”
“I kind of already made an arrangement. They’ll be fine,” The Doctor replied as Jack let out a huge yawn. “Let me take care of you first. Where’s your bed?”
“Downstairs,” Jack said, nodding his head towards an open sewer cover.
The Doctor stood up, putting the tin box down on the desk, and looked down the hole into a perfect little bedroom. “Perhaps we better get you down the ladder before you completely fall asleep.”
“How did you know the retcon would put me to sleep?”
“I scanned it with the sonic and saw it had a sedative in it,” he stated, lifting Jack up under the armpits. “Down you go.”
He watched as Jack clambered down the steps, as if he was at ease doing it. The Doctor deftly followed after. Looking around the room, he noticed how quaint it was, how it had little splashes of Jack-style all around. Jack flopped down onto the edge of the bed, just staring at nothing.
“You’re not going to take me with you, are you Doctor?” Jack seemed crestfallen, almost broken.
“Not yet. There’s some things I need to take care of first,” The Doctor replied. He sat down in the small arm chair and propped his head up against his fingers just looking at Jack, seeing him. “Why this? Why now, Jack?”
“I thought you would understand.”
“Oh, I wholeheartedly understand, more than you can imagine,” he mumbled to himself. “Just, why now? After all this time and access to these pills - or something similar - what about now?”
“It’s not like I’ll remember why,” Jack retorted, stifling a hearty yawn. “It’s become too much. All the years, all the love, all the losses. Do you know I have a daughter and a grandson I rarely see? I never even told Ianto about them. My whole life stretches out behind me in fractured little pieces, barely making a whole anymore.”
“Oh, Jack,” he drew out. He did understand. He understood more than Jack would ever know. It was him that had to sacrifice his own family in the Time War. At least Jack had a chance. He had a chance at even a broken piece of happiness for any amount of time, for whatever he could get out of it. The Doctor knew his days were numbered, but Jack had the closest to forever anyone could get. Jack had opportunities to screw up, but he also had as many opportunities as there are stars in the sky to see things set right.
Jack’s head fell forward into his hands, his elbows on his knees, and began to cry. As long as The Doctor had known Jack, it had taken great moments of sadness to see the man cry. He moved over to the bed, his arms around Jack, holding him tight, letting the man sob. After several minutes, Jack looked up at The Doctor, his eyes bleary and bloodshot.
Without even asking, Jack leaned in and pressed his lips to The Doctor’s. In that small bit of contact he could fell every bit of Jack’s need for normalcy, for safety, for comfort. Jack went to pull away, and The Doctor placed both hands around Jack’s head, holding him close. This time he kissed Jack.
Nestling his head into The Doctor’s shoulder, Jack just held The Doctor tight. He stroked his hand up and down Jack’s back, as if soothing a long-suffering child. The Doctor put down his mental walls - hiding away the facts of the Ood’s call, and what had happened on the Mars station - and let Jack psychically hold on to him, pulling comfort from every fibre of his being.
Jack let out a big yawn, and then their breathing became syncopated. Together, as if they were one mass of hurting humanity. He planted an almost fatherly kiss on Jack’s forehead.
“Come, we should get you to bed.”
“Don’t leave me here alone.”
“I won’t leave you alone. You have my promise on that,” The Doctor replied as he stood up before Jack. “Come. Come,” he replied, pulling down the covers.
The Doctor pulled off Jack’s undershirt, amazed at how perfect Jack’s skin was. He did notice a small pinprick of pink which was in the same location as when he had to patch Jack up after that encounter with the Daurotons. Even time eventually healed those wounds for him, and would for this. He undid Jack’s trousers, motioning for the Captain to stand up, which he did.
“Doctor? After all these years, finally?”
Behind the sorrow, The Doctor could see a hint of mirth and a bit of the Jack he knew. “Captain, you would think, but no.”
“Pity. No last request for a dying man?”
Jack didn’t know the half of it. “Perhaps next time, Captain.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jack retorted as he stepped out of his trousers and slid into bed. “But please, stay.”
“Until you sleep,” The Doctor, sitting up against the headboard, laid out next to Jack. “Then I have to take care of your friends.” He took Jack’s hand in his, holding it tight. His other hand stroked through Jack’s hair as he let a calming sensation come from his core.
Jack finally fell asleep, slumping against The Doctor’s warmth. He picked up Jack’s left hand and undid the buckle on the wrist strap, sliding it off, putting it in his pocket.
“She wanted proof that he was dead, she’ll get it,” The Doctor whispered, taking one last look at his sleeping avenging angel.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
He ushered the three slightly soaked people down into the Hub. “Right! Well, now that that’s taken care of—”
“I still can’t believe its really you. You’re really here,” Gwen interrupted.
“In the flesh,” The Doctor responded.
“Wait, who is this bloke again?” Rhys held tight to Gwen, always staying between her and The Doctor.
“I’m The Doctor,” he replied. “And there’s one more thing Jack wanted me to make sure you did,” he said, holding out the bottle of retcon. “Just one each.” He handed two pills to Gwen.
“Is this necessary?” Gwen asked, taking the white pills from him.
“Yes,” he simply said.
“Come on then,” Gwen said, pulling Rhys towards the kitchenette.
They disappeared and The Doctor looked at Ianto, holding out the bottle. Ianto looked at the bottle and then at him. He folded his arms across his chest, but did not acknowledge the retcon.
“Where’s Jack?”
“He’ll be bac—”
“Where’s Jack? What happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“I know him. There’s no way you would be down here without Jack following you around like a puppy to his Master.”
Gwen and Rhys came back, each drinking a bottle of water, and settled on the couch, together. Ianto nodded his head at The Doctor and headed into Jack’s office. The Doctor followed. Stepping inside, he grinned at Jack’s bit of coral - it would take him a long while yet to grow it. The door closed behind him.
“Tell me what happened to Jack.”
“He’s sleeping.”
“He’s sleeping?” Ianto came around to look The Doctor in the eyes. “In the middle of all this, he’s sleeping?”
“Not exactly his choice, but if you look into his quarters, you should see him.”
Ianto looked down the open manhole cover and then stared back at The Doctor. “What happened? Will he be okay?”
He held out the bottle of retcon to Ianto. “This happened. He needed to. And he wants you to take it.” He looked at Ianto meaningfully. “You could take more if you want. Forget everything about Torchwood, all the things that have happened to you - here and at Canary Wharf.”
“How did you?”
“I thought you looked familiar, and after that last thing with the Daleks, I asked Jack. You have to know it’s his wish to take the retcon, not mine, not my usual modus operandi. But if you want to start over, I can arrange it.”
“I would lose all the bad stuff - the Cybermen, the loss - but I would lose all the good stuff - my friendship with Owen and Tosh, dates with Lisa - and I would lose Jack.”
“What if all you had left with him was a year? A month? A couple of days?”
“I would hope it would be worth it, plus, its a hazard of the job, working for Torchwood. I would rather spend my last days with Jack than living in bliss unaware of what was happening around me.”
“Jack was right. You are truly a brilliant man Ianto Jones,” The Doctor said, holding out the bottle of pills to Ianto.
Ianto took the bottle looking down at it, rolling it in his hands. He took out one pill, putting the rest on Jack’s desk. Looking at The Doctor, he swallowed the pill without taking anything to drink.
“Go on, get down there,” The Doctor said, pointing to Jack’s quarters.
Ianto moved over to the ladder. “It was a pleasure to meet you in person, Doctor.”
“Same here, Ianto Jones. Now go. Jack will need you.”
The Doctor watched Ianto climb downstairs and then headed back into the Hub. Seeing Gwen and Rhys asleep, Gwen’s head on Rhys’ shoulder as he held her tight, he smiled. Jack had surrounded himself with good people. He looked at the computers and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Adjusting the setting, he aimed at the main screen and fired, effectively deleting the footage from the last couple of hours. Let them live in peace, for a bit.
Heading back, he checked in on Jack and Ianto, both sound asleep. He tucked Ianto’s arm around Jack and pulled the covers up over both of them. He gave Jack one last kiss on the forehead and stood back. Slipping the wet vortex manipulator from his pocket, The Doctor put it on the bedside table and left the Hub for good.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Jack slowly woke up in Ianto’s arms. It wasn’t a bad place to wake up, but he couldn’t remember how he get there, or what happened before. That was a little disturbing. He shook Ianto by the shoulder, but the younger man didn’t wake up. Jack smirked and worked his hand down, grabbing Ianto by his manhood, yet he didn’t stir. Jack sat back. Something had happened, and he didn’t know what. Something was wrong.
He climbed over Ianto’s prone form, something that would usually lead them into more than merely waking up, and grabbed his trousers from where they were folded over the armchair, already braced. He grabbed an undershirt and put that on as he slid into a pair of boots. With one last look at Ianto’s angelic face, he noiselessly climbed up the ladder.
Pulling himself out of the hole, the first thing Jack noticed was that the hub lights were set at ‘daytime’ and how quiet it was. Looking through the open door of his office, he was surprised to see Gwen and Rhys asleep on the sofa, together.
“Gwen? Rhys?” he called out, and yet got no response.
Something was not right! Jack stepped backwards to his desk and yanked open the drawer that held his antique Webley gun, and stopped as he spotted the bottle of retcon sitting on the corner of the desktop. He snatched up the bottle, shaking the pills back and forth. He knew he hadn’t left this out here. Yet, that would explain why they had all passed out - but what had happened? He stuffed the bottle of retcon into the front pocket of his trousers.
Jack armed himself, sliding the gun and holster onto his belt. He quietly advanced into the main area of the Hub. Something nagged at his subconscious. Despite feeling out of whack, he knew he was safe. Jack looked down and was surprised to see his vortex manipulator missing. He calmed down as he vaguely remembered seeing it on the bedside table. Why would he have taken it off?
Moving over to the computer, he pulled up empty screen after empty screen of CCTV footage. He kept hitting the ‘next’ key with fervent abandon. He was supposed to protect his team! Suddenly he stopped and rewound the footage until he caught the camera that watched the Fountain. It was there he saw The Doctor’s blue police box. It was then that he saw The Doctor come up on the invisible lift and entered the TARDIS, giving one last look to the camera. Jack gaped in astonishment.
He replayed the footage over and over again, amazed at why The Doctor had been there. He pulled the bottle of retcon out of his pocket and his eyes flicked between the bottle and the frozen image of The Doctor on the screen. After hesitating a moment, Jack reached out and deleted the image of The Doctor.
“Thank you,” he said, under his breath, hoping one day he would be able to ask The Doctor about what had happened. Until then, he had a family to take care of, as he looked at Gwen and Rhys and thought of Ianto asleep in his bed.
