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wintercompanion2012-02-25 01:04 pm
mahmfic.livejournal.com) wrote in wintercompanion2012-02-25 01:04 pm
Entry tags:
mahmfic: The Dance of the Goblins (11/Jack) [G]
Title: The Dance of the Goblins
Author/Artist/Vidder/...:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mahmfic
Challenge: Love
Rating: G
Pairing: 11/Jack, 11/River, Jack/Estelle
Spoilers/warnings: AU. 1940s WW2. Hurt/Comfort. Infidelity.
Summary: Jack is a Captain in the RAF and was injured in battle. He's been spending his time in a War Hospital under the care of his unorthodox Doctor.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Read Part 3
Donna decides to stay with him for the next twenty minutes and gossip while the Doctor, no, John is in his meeting.
"How'd you meet him? Our Doctor?" Jack asks his curiosity fully peaked.
She gives out a hearty laugh. "You'd never believe it. He sort of hijacked my wedding."
Jack almost spits out the water he was drinking which causes his new friend to giggle more.
"See, I told you! Met John on my wedding day. Christmas Day it was, too. I'm walking down the aisle, my grand-dad giving me away. I was wearing one hell of an expensive dress. Nothing you'd see in La Gazette du Bon Ton, mind you but it was beautiful." Donna's eyes were glazed over, remembering her special day. Suddenly she frowns deeply. "Then this madman and a woman with the curliest hair you'd ever seen run into the church and he screams, 'Stop! Stop the wedding!"
"He didn't!" Jack's mouth his wide open.
"Damn right, he did. I marched right up to him and politely asked why the hell should the wedding be stopped. He babbled on and on about the air flow, my perfume, and the candles. Just babbled away like he still does now and made mad gestures with his hands. No one had a clue what he was on about. I think I called him horrible names like Martian-Boy. Though that's more of an endearment now since I know that his favorite author is Jules Verne. Anyway, the woman he's with finally pushes him aside and kindly explained to us that there was a gas leak and wouldn't we be so kind to exit the church before it exploded?"
"What?" He is fully intrigued by her story. "How did this come about? What happened?"
"Well, we evacuated of course. The church did blow up not too long afterward. Lee and I had to get married in a pub down the road instead. But if it wasn't for John, I'd be dead."
"How did he even know about the gas leak?"
Donna smiles, her eyes twinkle. "Yeah, something you don't know about our doctor. He likes adventure. Likes to go mucking about in places he shouldn't be and doesn't belong. That was one of those times."
Jack crinkles his brow. "Say, who was the woman with the Doc?" He knows the answer and is afraid to hear it.
"His wife. River Song. She's a doctor too. Not a medical doctor like John. She studied archeology."
"You don't have much to say about her," he comments. "Doc was the same way when I asked him."
"You asked him about River?" Donna tuts and shakes her head. "Bad area of conversation, mister if you want to get in my best mate's trousers."
He opens his eyes wide. How the hell did Donna know that? He had never told her, not so much as hinted how he felt about the Doctor. Had Martha told her? She must have. But Martha wouldn't tell a soul, she wouldn't. He hadn't planned on telling her how he felt about her best friend, not yet anyway. It wasn't—
"Easy, solider boy. I can see your mind running a mile a minute." She gets up from his stool and silently shuts and locks the door, closing the blinds to the tiny window as well. "Sweetheart, first off, I'm a woman and I pick up on these things. Secondly, I'm John's best friend. After all these years I know what's going on inside that massive head of his. Besides, he told me how he fancies you and that you kissed."
Jack's heart leaps to his throat. John fancies him. He's not repulsed. He fancies him!
"I think I better tell you about John… and River. Maybe you'll understand him a little better then." She places her hand on top of his as she begins her story.
"John and River have similar pasts. I suppose that is one reason what drew them together. Both were raised in orphanages, got the best grades in school, were loners up until uni. That's where they met. I think they took an English class together. They found each other appealing, as a challenge; they got on great. He proposed to her on graduation day and they eloped a few days later. They never had a permanent place of resident. They kept moving along, having adventures, like when I met them. But one day that changed and John wanted to settle down. A little blue house in the country, he said. But River didn't. She wanted to keep on with their current lifestyle. So…"
Jack waits and is frustrated when he doesn't finish her story. "So? So what?"
"So, John got a house in the country, a little blue one, got a job here before the War started. And River kept on travelling. I have no idea where she is now. I don't think he does either. And that's it. That's them in a nutshell, Jack."
"She abandoned him?" Jack asks disgusted.
Donna shrugs. "Sort of. I remember when he came over to my place the first time it happened. It was such a rainy day. I remember because he didn't even have an umbrella and he was soaking wet. He told me everything with this huge smile on his face, heartbroken even though he was."
"When he confided in me that he was developing feelings for you he was so scared. Do you know why? Because he knows eventually you will leave him like she did. You'll go back to the War. Maybe meet someone else out there on the field or worse will die out there. If you don't, you could go back home to your wife and not to him. River's scarred him, Jack. And he's frightened because he is still legally married to River, wherever the hell she is. And then there's the consequences of being in a relationships with someone of the same sex and what if your relationship was made public knowledge? You know what he told me, Jack? He said that he didn't give a damn that he'd lose his medical license or if people would try and murder him. He'd be worried because you'd get hurt. That's what kind of a man John Smith is, Jack."
She looks at her wristwatch, looking surprised. "Dear me, I have to go back on my shift. Can't gab to you all day, now can I? Mail has to be sorted and delivered. Phone calls have to be made. Bills have to paid. Unwanted visitors to chuck out. Busy day. Ta!" Donna unlocks the door and rushes out without another glance back at him.
He sits alone in the quiet room and thinks. He and John have both been hurt by a woman, though in different ways. He knows that he wants to protect the Doctor, more so now than before, after learning this new information. It isn't fair that he's gone through a horrible marriage. A man like him only deserved the best of what the world had to offer.
"Donna! Donna, no jammie dodgers! Can you go down to that little market and—" John halts in the middle of the room. "Donna's not here."
"She felt a few minutes ago," Jack says, trying to keep his voice level.
"Ah." The Doctor straightens his tweed jacket and trousers. "Excuse me for my rude interruption, Captain Harkness." He turns away but Jack grabs his coat sleeve.
"John, wait." He pulls the Doctor closer to his hospital bed and leans his head against the small of John's back, wrapping his arms round his waist. "I'm sorry. For what she did. I've been hurt by my wife too, John. I know what it's like to be betrayed. Estelle is pregnant with another man's child."
John turns around to face him, his expression is so mournful.
"I promise." Jack continues, "God, you have my word, that I will never hurt you. Give us a chance, John."
He waits. The air is thick.
John begins to cry silently, so Jack sits up in his bed, kisses the tears away. It surprises him when John cups his face and pulls him into a chaste, salty kiss. When he pulls back he whispers in Jack's ear, "I'm going to hell for this, aren't I?"
Jack whispers hotly in the Doctor's ear, "I'll be right there beside you."
Author/Artist/Vidder/...:
mahmficChallenge: Love
Rating: G
Pairing: 11/Jack, 11/River, Jack/Estelle
Spoilers/warnings: AU. 1940s WW2. Hurt/Comfort. Infidelity.
Summary: Jack is a Captain in the RAF and was injured in battle. He's been spending his time in a War Hospital under the care of his unorthodox Doctor.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Read Part 3
Donna decides to stay with him for the next twenty minutes and gossip while the Doctor, no, John is in his meeting.
"How'd you meet him? Our Doctor?" Jack asks his curiosity fully peaked.
She gives out a hearty laugh. "You'd never believe it. He sort of hijacked my wedding."
Jack almost spits out the water he was drinking which causes his new friend to giggle more.
"See, I told you! Met John on my wedding day. Christmas Day it was, too. I'm walking down the aisle, my grand-dad giving me away. I was wearing one hell of an expensive dress. Nothing you'd see in La Gazette du Bon Ton, mind you but it was beautiful." Donna's eyes were glazed over, remembering her special day. Suddenly she frowns deeply. "Then this madman and a woman with the curliest hair you'd ever seen run into the church and he screams, 'Stop! Stop the wedding!"
"He didn't!" Jack's mouth his wide open.
"Damn right, he did. I marched right up to him and politely asked why the hell should the wedding be stopped. He babbled on and on about the air flow, my perfume, and the candles. Just babbled away like he still does now and made mad gestures with his hands. No one had a clue what he was on about. I think I called him horrible names like Martian-Boy. Though that's more of an endearment now since I know that his favorite author is Jules Verne. Anyway, the woman he's with finally pushes him aside and kindly explained to us that there was a gas leak and wouldn't we be so kind to exit the church before it exploded?"
"What?" He is fully intrigued by her story. "How did this come about? What happened?"
"Well, we evacuated of course. The church did blow up not too long afterward. Lee and I had to get married in a pub down the road instead. But if it wasn't for John, I'd be dead."
"How did he even know about the gas leak?"
Donna smiles, her eyes twinkle. "Yeah, something you don't know about our doctor. He likes adventure. Likes to go mucking about in places he shouldn't be and doesn't belong. That was one of those times."
Jack crinkles his brow. "Say, who was the woman with the Doc?" He knows the answer and is afraid to hear it.
"His wife. River Song. She's a doctor too. Not a medical doctor like John. She studied archeology."
"You don't have much to say about her," he comments. "Doc was the same way when I asked him."
"You asked him about River?" Donna tuts and shakes her head. "Bad area of conversation, mister if you want to get in my best mate's trousers."
He opens his eyes wide. How the hell did Donna know that? He had never told her, not so much as hinted how he felt about the Doctor. Had Martha told her? She must have. But Martha wouldn't tell a soul, she wouldn't. He hadn't planned on telling her how he felt about her best friend, not yet anyway. It wasn't—
"Easy, solider boy. I can see your mind running a mile a minute." She gets up from his stool and silently shuts and locks the door, closing the blinds to the tiny window as well. "Sweetheart, first off, I'm a woman and I pick up on these things. Secondly, I'm John's best friend. After all these years I know what's going on inside that massive head of his. Besides, he told me how he fancies you and that you kissed."
Jack's heart leaps to his throat. John fancies him. He's not repulsed. He fancies him!
"I think I better tell you about John… and River. Maybe you'll understand him a little better then." She places her hand on top of his as she begins her story.
"John and River have similar pasts. I suppose that is one reason what drew them together. Both were raised in orphanages, got the best grades in school, were loners up until uni. That's where they met. I think they took an English class together. They found each other appealing, as a challenge; they got on great. He proposed to her on graduation day and they eloped a few days later. They never had a permanent place of resident. They kept moving along, having adventures, like when I met them. But one day that changed and John wanted to settle down. A little blue house in the country, he said. But River didn't. She wanted to keep on with their current lifestyle. So…"
Jack waits and is frustrated when he doesn't finish her story. "So? So what?"
"So, John got a house in the country, a little blue one, got a job here before the War started. And River kept on travelling. I have no idea where she is now. I don't think he does either. And that's it. That's them in a nutshell, Jack."
"She abandoned him?" Jack asks disgusted.
Donna shrugs. "Sort of. I remember when he came over to my place the first time it happened. It was such a rainy day. I remember because he didn't even have an umbrella and he was soaking wet. He told me everything with this huge smile on his face, heartbroken even though he was."
"When he confided in me that he was developing feelings for you he was so scared. Do you know why? Because he knows eventually you will leave him like she did. You'll go back to the War. Maybe meet someone else out there on the field or worse will die out there. If you don't, you could go back home to your wife and not to him. River's scarred him, Jack. And he's frightened because he is still legally married to River, wherever the hell she is. And then there's the consequences of being in a relationships with someone of the same sex and what if your relationship was made public knowledge? You know what he told me, Jack? He said that he didn't give a damn that he'd lose his medical license or if people would try and murder him. He'd be worried because you'd get hurt. That's what kind of a man John Smith is, Jack."
She looks at her wristwatch, looking surprised. "Dear me, I have to go back on my shift. Can't gab to you all day, now can I? Mail has to be sorted and delivered. Phone calls have to be made. Bills have to paid. Unwanted visitors to chuck out. Busy day. Ta!" Donna unlocks the door and rushes out without another glance back at him.
He sits alone in the quiet room and thinks. He and John have both been hurt by a woman, though in different ways. He knows that he wants to protect the Doctor, more so now than before, after learning this new information. It isn't fair that he's gone through a horrible marriage. A man like him only deserved the best of what the world had to offer.
"Donna! Donna, no jammie dodgers! Can you go down to that little market and—" John halts in the middle of the room. "Donna's not here."
"She felt a few minutes ago," Jack says, trying to keep his voice level.
"Ah." The Doctor straightens his tweed jacket and trousers. "Excuse me for my rude interruption, Captain Harkness." He turns away but Jack grabs his coat sleeve.
"John, wait." He pulls the Doctor closer to his hospital bed and leans his head against the small of John's back, wrapping his arms round his waist. "I'm sorry. For what she did. I've been hurt by my wife too, John. I know what it's like to be betrayed. Estelle is pregnant with another man's child."
John turns around to face him, his expression is so mournful.
"I promise." Jack continues, "God, you have my word, that I will never hurt you. Give us a chance, John."
He waits. The air is thick.
John begins to cry silently, so Jack sits up in his bed, kisses the tears away. It surprises him when John cups his face and pulls him into a chaste, salty kiss. When he pulls back he whispers in Jack's ear, "I'm going to hell for this, aren't I?"
Jack whispers hotly in the Doctor's ear, "I'll be right there beside you."