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wintercompanion2015-07-06 05:52 pm
trobadora) wrote in wintercompanion2015-07-06 05:52 pm
Entry tags:
Arameth: Aftermath (Doctor/Jack) [PG-13] - SUMMER HOLIDAYS PROMPT #4
Title: Aftermath
Author: Arameth
Prompt: #4 - dance, inorganic chemistry, Voyage of the Ilean'a, Hindddli
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None Really
Spoilers/warnings: AU
AN: This fic will be in two, maybe three, parts. Each one while complete will have minor foreshadowing of the next. Beta’d by the lovely Shebear, thank you!
Aftermath
Jack tossed fitfully in his bed, the blankets becoming tangled in his legs. His eyes moved rapidly under their lids and sweat poured down his face. Abruptly, his eyes flew open, the scream still echoing in his mind, although it did not make it past his lips. He reached out wildly, reassuring himself that he was alone and still in his bed on the TARDIS when he telepathically felt her song gently caress his mind. He let out a deep shuddering sigh when he was sure where he was.
‘This is why I don’t usually try to sleep anymore,’ he told himself silently, ‘because it isn’t worth the nightmares.’ He was more tired now than when he first laid down.
Sitting up, he kicked off the stifling sheets and padded over to the bathroom. He ran the cold water, enjoying its chill on his hot skin before splashing it on his face. He glanced up and took a deep breath when he caught sight of himself in the mirror.
He looked much younger than he had before; he hadn’t seen this face since he was in his late teens, early twenties at most. Uneasy, he looked away from the familiar stranger’s eyes and looked down at his body. He’d definitely lost weight over the last three weeks, not surprising, since his appetite was almost completely gone.
He hadn’t been the same since he had been kidnapped from Torchwood three and forced to accompany the E-kasians on their mad voyage on their ship the Ilean’a. The Aliens had needed someone well versed in inorganic chemistry, dance and the ancient dialect of Hindddli.
The voyage itself, once they had stopped ritually beating and starving him to prepare him to become the living sacrifice to their God Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, hadn’t been too bad.
He looked over at a small amber bottle resting by the sink. The Doctor had prepared it for him, but only if he had trouble sleeping, and it was still full. He picked up the bottle and turned it over in his hands. Surely, by now, he should be able to sleep without pills. It had been three weeks since ...It happened. He should be stronger than this. He was stronger than this. He was not going to let the dreams, the weird stuff that kept happening to him, stop him. They might have taken his voice and his ability to dance from him but no more; He refused to surrender anything else.
In a fit of anger, he threw the bottle against the wall where it shattered, leaving a pile of small pink pills and amber glass. Determinedly he got dressed. A few laps around the track in the park he’d found while wandering the corridors in herself should tire him out enough to sleep.
~~~
Running was not working.
He was exhausted, but he still couldn’t sleep because his mind persisted in replaying his strange ordeal over and over again and he was powerless to stop it.
~ ~ ~ ~
Three weeks earlier
Jack, the Doctor, and Martha were exploring the market place of a small Earthlike planet. Martha had been charmed by the local custom of offering sweets and strings of flowers to new comers and was currently chatting with several of her new admirers. The Doctor had found several parts he could use in his never ending cycle of repairing the Tardis and was busily haggling with the owner about acquiring a slightly used AJ10-190 he could convert to increase the fuel efficiency of his old girl.
Bored, Jack decided to find some amusement for himself when he noticed an old woman trying hopelessly to draw water from the Public well in the center of town. Not wanting to offend, he looked around to see if any of the locals would help her, but no one else seemed to notice her.
Ever the gentleman, he offered to not only help her draw the water but to carry it back to her home, which he promptly did. After receiving his payment, a kiss on the cheek and an odd blue flower the exact shade and color of his eyes, from the elderly woman, he hastened back to where he’d left Martha and the Doctor in the market. But they were no longer where he’d left them, the market was closed.
Resigned, he headed back to where the time ship, disguised as a blue box, was parked. He was hungry, tired and disappointed ‘this had been a rare no running for your life trip’ on a pleasant planet with harmless people and delicious smells everywhere and all he had to show for it was… he sighed, he was strangely pleased with the day- so he hadn’t gotten laid or even a meal but he’d helped a sweet old woman get enough water to last her for a month and that was okay. It had been a good day after all. Whistling, he opened the Tardis door and went inside.
~~~
The old woman watched the handsome young stranger as he left her small run down cottage. Its garden, however, was seemingly overrun with a staggering amount of flowers, each one competing to have the most riotous color and scent. He carefully closed the gate and waved at her as he left.
Assuming her own shape she spoke. “You are so very pretty, my dear, so good and so mannerly, that I cannot help giving you a gift." She whispered to the departing man’s back. She was a fairy, who had taken the form of a poor old woman, to see how far the civility and good manners of this handsome man would go. Too see if he was worthy of all the gifts he already possessed. He had surpassed her hopes for him by being both good and kind, helping her for no personal gain but simply because he could.
"I will give to you a gift," continued the Fairy, "with every word you speak; there will appear either a flower or a rare jewel."
~~~
When Jack entered the Tardis, he was accosted by his worried friends.
“Where were you? We searched everywhere for you!” Martha scolded, “We couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“Yes, Jack,” the doctor stated coolly, “where were you? I saw you helping the elderly woman but that was hours ago. You know we wanted to leave by sunset to see the ‘The Circle of the Seven Winged Swans,’ you would have gotten what you deserved if we had left without you.”
“Met some pretty boy or girl and you forgot about us, hormones more important than your friends?” The timelord asked disdainfully.
"I’m sorry for being late," the immortal said contritely. “I was helping the old lady and time got away from me. I ran back to the market as fast as I could, but it was closed and you were both gone. I didn’t mean to make you miss the swans.”
While he was speaking there fell from the captain’s lips: fifteen roses, fifteen pearls, fifteen diamonds and one orchid.
"What? What?” said the doctor, quite astonished despite himself at the sight of by gems and flowers falling from his friend’s mouth. It must be some kind of trick though he could not ascertain how it was done.
Martha laughed and clapped her hands, delighted by the shower of richly colored jewels and flowers that were piling up at the captain’s feet as he explained
“Jack…“he said interrupting the man’s story. “What happened to you? How is this possible? What did the woman, if woman she was, do to you?”
He picked up one of the jewels at the human’s feet and examined it, not only was the ruby real but of exquisite quality as well. Eyeing the other items in the pile he discovered that all of the jewels were perfect specimens of their kind as were the flowers, impossibly fragrant and alive.
“She did nothing,” he exclaimed, “I told you she was just a sweet old lady!”
“Did she give you anything? Did you lose consciousness?”
“I told you, she did nothing. I helped her carry her water, from the town’s well to her house, then I fixed her pump so she wouldn’t have to go to town just to get her water , she kissed me on the cheek after giving me this flower and I left.”
He stopped speaking and slumped against the console watching Martha and the Doctor as they examined the scattered piles of flowers and gems. He was as confused as they were about how and why this was happening.
It was bad enough what would happen to him when people discovered he could not die…but this? He shuddered if anyone discovered this- he had to find some way to either stop this or hide his new freakish abilities.
Tbc
Source
Toads and Diamonds by Charles Perrault, Lang, Andrew, ed. "Toads and Diamonds." The Blue Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1965.
Author: Arameth
Prompt: #4 - dance, inorganic chemistry, Voyage of the Ilean'a, Hindddli
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None Really
Spoilers/warnings: AU
AN: This fic will be in two, maybe three, parts. Each one while complete will have minor foreshadowing of the next. Beta’d by the lovely Shebear, thank you!
Aftermath
Jack tossed fitfully in his bed, the blankets becoming tangled in his legs. His eyes moved rapidly under their lids and sweat poured down his face. Abruptly, his eyes flew open, the scream still echoing in his mind, although it did not make it past his lips. He reached out wildly, reassuring himself that he was alone and still in his bed on the TARDIS when he telepathically felt her song gently caress his mind. He let out a deep shuddering sigh when he was sure where he was.
‘This is why I don’t usually try to sleep anymore,’ he told himself silently, ‘because it isn’t worth the nightmares.’ He was more tired now than when he first laid down.
Sitting up, he kicked off the stifling sheets and padded over to the bathroom. He ran the cold water, enjoying its chill on his hot skin before splashing it on his face. He glanced up and took a deep breath when he caught sight of himself in the mirror.
He looked much younger than he had before; he hadn’t seen this face since he was in his late teens, early twenties at most. Uneasy, he looked away from the familiar stranger’s eyes and looked down at his body. He’d definitely lost weight over the last three weeks, not surprising, since his appetite was almost completely gone.
He hadn’t been the same since he had been kidnapped from Torchwood three and forced to accompany the E-kasians on their mad voyage on their ship the Ilean’a. The Aliens had needed someone well versed in inorganic chemistry, dance and the ancient dialect of Hindddli.
The voyage itself, once they had stopped ritually beating and starving him to prepare him to become the living sacrifice to their God Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, hadn’t been too bad.
He looked over at a small amber bottle resting by the sink. The Doctor had prepared it for him, but only if he had trouble sleeping, and it was still full. He picked up the bottle and turned it over in his hands. Surely, by now, he should be able to sleep without pills. It had been three weeks since ...It happened. He should be stronger than this. He was stronger than this. He was not going to let the dreams, the weird stuff that kept happening to him, stop him. They might have taken his voice and his ability to dance from him but no more; He refused to surrender anything else.
In a fit of anger, he threw the bottle against the wall where it shattered, leaving a pile of small pink pills and amber glass. Determinedly he got dressed. A few laps around the track in the park he’d found while wandering the corridors in herself should tire him out enough to sleep.
~~~
Running was not working.
He was exhausted, but he still couldn’t sleep because his mind persisted in replaying his strange ordeal over and over again and he was powerless to stop it.
~ ~ ~ ~
Three weeks earlier
Jack, the Doctor, and Martha were exploring the market place of a small Earthlike planet. Martha had been charmed by the local custom of offering sweets and strings of flowers to new comers and was currently chatting with several of her new admirers. The Doctor had found several parts he could use in his never ending cycle of repairing the Tardis and was busily haggling with the owner about acquiring a slightly used AJ10-190 he could convert to increase the fuel efficiency of his old girl.
Bored, Jack decided to find some amusement for himself when he noticed an old woman trying hopelessly to draw water from the Public well in the center of town. Not wanting to offend, he looked around to see if any of the locals would help her, but no one else seemed to notice her.
Ever the gentleman, he offered to not only help her draw the water but to carry it back to her home, which he promptly did. After receiving his payment, a kiss on the cheek and an odd blue flower the exact shade and color of his eyes, from the elderly woman, he hastened back to where he’d left Martha and the Doctor in the market. But they were no longer where he’d left them, the market was closed.
Resigned, he headed back to where the time ship, disguised as a blue box, was parked. He was hungry, tired and disappointed ‘this had been a rare no running for your life trip’ on a pleasant planet with harmless people and delicious smells everywhere and all he had to show for it was… he sighed, he was strangely pleased with the day- so he hadn’t gotten laid or even a meal but he’d helped a sweet old woman get enough water to last her for a month and that was okay. It had been a good day after all. Whistling, he opened the Tardis door and went inside.
~~~
The old woman watched the handsome young stranger as he left her small run down cottage. Its garden, however, was seemingly overrun with a staggering amount of flowers, each one competing to have the most riotous color and scent. He carefully closed the gate and waved at her as he left.
Assuming her own shape she spoke. “You are so very pretty, my dear, so good and so mannerly, that I cannot help giving you a gift." She whispered to the departing man’s back. She was a fairy, who had taken the form of a poor old woman, to see how far the civility and good manners of this handsome man would go. Too see if he was worthy of all the gifts he already possessed. He had surpassed her hopes for him by being both good and kind, helping her for no personal gain but simply because he could.
"I will give to you a gift," continued the Fairy, "with every word you speak; there will appear either a flower or a rare jewel."
~~~
When Jack entered the Tardis, he was accosted by his worried friends.
“Where were you? We searched everywhere for you!” Martha scolded, “We couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“Yes, Jack,” the doctor stated coolly, “where were you? I saw you helping the elderly woman but that was hours ago. You know we wanted to leave by sunset to see the ‘The Circle of the Seven Winged Swans,’ you would have gotten what you deserved if we had left without you.”
“Met some pretty boy or girl and you forgot about us, hormones more important than your friends?” The timelord asked disdainfully.
"I’m sorry for being late," the immortal said contritely. “I was helping the old lady and time got away from me. I ran back to the market as fast as I could, but it was closed and you were both gone. I didn’t mean to make you miss the swans.”
While he was speaking there fell from the captain’s lips: fifteen roses, fifteen pearls, fifteen diamonds and one orchid.
"What? What?” said the doctor, quite astonished despite himself at the sight of by gems and flowers falling from his friend’s mouth. It must be some kind of trick though he could not ascertain how it was done.
Martha laughed and clapped her hands, delighted by the shower of richly colored jewels and flowers that were piling up at the captain’s feet as he explained
“Jack…“he said interrupting the man’s story. “What happened to you? How is this possible? What did the woman, if woman she was, do to you?”
He picked up one of the jewels at the human’s feet and examined it, not only was the ruby real but of exquisite quality as well. Eyeing the other items in the pile he discovered that all of the jewels were perfect specimens of their kind as were the flowers, impossibly fragrant and alive.
“She did nothing,” he exclaimed, “I told you she was just a sweet old lady!”
“Did she give you anything? Did you lose consciousness?”
“I told you, she did nothing. I helped her carry her water, from the town’s well to her house, then I fixed her pump so she wouldn’t have to go to town just to get her water , she kissed me on the cheek after giving me this flower and I left.”
He stopped speaking and slumped against the console watching Martha and the Doctor as they examined the scattered piles of flowers and gems. He was as confused as they were about how and why this was happening.
It was bad enough what would happen to him when people discovered he could not die…but this? He shuddered if anyone discovered this- he had to find some way to either stop this or hide his new freakish abilities.
Tbc
Source
Toads and Diamonds by Charles Perrault, Lang, Andrew, ed. "Toads and Diamonds." The Blue Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1965.
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