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wintercompanion2009-01-31 10:09 pm
ent_alter_ego: Locked Out 3/3 (PG) [Ten/Jack]
Title: Locked Out
Author: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ent_alter_ego
Challenge: Domesticity
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: None besides the Thing About Jack
Summary: The TARDIS locks the Doctor out, forcing him to learn such tidbits as the limitations of late twenty-first century dishwashers.
Jack left his poker group earlier than usual, and came home to find the Doctor had, indeed, gotten bored. It occurred to him that he probably should’ve expected this: his dishwasher had been pulled out halfway, with various pipes and cables snaking out over the kitchen floor. The Doctor’s trainers stuck out from behind. “Doctor?”
“How was poker?” came the slightly muffled reply.
“I came out even. Obviously you lost your argument with the TARDIS.”
“On the other hand, I’m winning against your dishwasher.” Something clanked, followed by a murmured, “Aha!”
“There was nothing wrong with my dishwasher.” Other than not meeting the Doctor’s expectations, of course. It was a little late to make that case, though, seeing as the dishwasher improvement process was well under way. Jack hung up his coat and got himself a glass of water.
Behind the dishwasher, the sonic screwdriver buzzed. “The point of having a dishwasher is that you don’t have to wash your dishes by hand, and you still have to wash dishes by hand, therefore there’s something wrong with your dishwasher. Lucky for you, I’m almost done.”
Some people were visited by cousins who brought a bottle of wine. Jack was visited by a Time Lord who super-charged his dishwasher. All in all, Jack thought he probably made out better.
MONDAY
The Doctor was sipping tea when Jack came out in the morning. “See? The dishwasher’s much better.” He pointed to the load of dishes, which he’d forbidden Jack to so much as rinse, pleased with the results.
“Okay. Thanks.” What else could Jack say? “Have any plans for the day?” He hoped the answer was yes. Preferably, plans that didn’t change his appliances beyond recognition.
“Trying to convince my ship to let me in, maybe taking in a museum. Saw an ad for the Monet collection at the Museum of Fine Arts. Nice bloke, Monet. Course, he was a bit out of sorts when I met him, since I’d just fished him out of the Seine.”
Jack grabbed his wallet and tossed some cash on the counter, then started his coffee brewing.
“You don’t have to do that,” said the Doctor, eyeing the money.
“I don’t think your psychic paper is going to get you in. What are you going to do, claim you’re a museum inspector?” It wasn’t like he had to worry about money anyway, really. He had accumulated more money than he needed. If he went with the Doctor, he should give it to some worthy cause.
That thought caught him by surprise. Was he seriously considering traveling with the Doctor again?
“Thank you, Jack. You’re a better friend than I deserve, putting up with me. I know I’m not exactly an easy houseguest.”
He shrugged. “Keeps things interesting.”
While making scrambled eggs, Jack mulled over the idea of going with the Doctor. It was true that he hadn’t refused outright this time, but he hadn’t really thought of taking the Doctor up on the offer. However, he’d been on Earth for over two hundred years; a change of pace would be nice. Questions cropped up quickly, though. Was he still wrong? Could he trust the Doctor not to abandon him in another hellhole?
His musings were interrupted when the Doctor grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?” Then the Doctor waved his sonic screwdriver over Jack’s wristcomp, and the answer was apparent. “You’re fixing it.”
“Yep.”
He could go anywhere, anywhen now, with the Doctor’s approval (more or less). That gesture of trust had Jack in such a good mood that everyone at work assumed he’d had a weekend filled with wild sex. He tried to protest, but since he wouldn’t say the real reason for his cheer, nobody believed him.
***
“I hate paperwork.” Jack wandered into the living room, pleased to note that his kitchen was unmolested. “It only took us two hours to track down the thieves who stole alien technology. It took me four hours to fill out the paperwork. You’d think UNIT never totaled a hovercar before.”
The Doctor looked up from one of Jack’s books. “No paperwork on the TARDIS.”
“Yeah, but my apartment can’t lock me out.”
“I wouldn’t do it again. Leave you behind.” When had the Doctor gotten so good at figuring out the real reasons behind what people said?
As much as Jack didn’t want to have this conversation, it probably needed to happen. “So I’m not wrong anymore?”
Closing the book, the Doctor tried to sound casual. “Oh, you’re still as wrong as ever, in the abstract sense, but for you it’s right.”
“That doesn’t make much sense.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t, but it’s still true.”
That gave him something to think about. “How was the museum?”
“Like most museums, nice at first, stuffy after a few hours.”
Jack had never been a big fan of museums, so he just nodded and propped his feet up. “So you met Monet when you pulled him out of the Seine?”
“He wasn’t too happy with me at the time, since he jumped in…”
***
He’d rented a movie on the way home from work, which they watched after a dinner of pizza. Halfway through, Jack paused it. Instead of actually watching the movie, he had been doing quite a bit of thinking. He wasn’t bound to Earth anymore, that was true, but he still would find no other opportunity like traveling with the Doctor.
“This is a critical scene,” noted the Doctor with a hint of irritation.
Jack turned to face him. “Three months.”
“What?”
“Assuming the TARDIS lets you in, I’ll go with you in three months.” He’d reached his conclusion: it was taking a chance, but if he didn’t odds were good he’d spend a very long time regretting it.
“Brilliant!” Realization dawned on the Doctor. “Ohhh, that sly ship. The TARDIS stranded me here on purpose because she wanted you back.”
“Really?” There was confirmation that he’d made the right decision, Jack supposed.
The Doctor nodded. “I can go any time I want, now that you’ve agreed to come.”
Jack laughed. He loved that ship, and it was nice to be wanted.
THREE MONTHS LATER
He stood in the Commons, a small duffel bag in one hand and his TARDIS key around his neck. All in all, he was probably a strange sight, since he looked more than a little like the nearby homeless men, except that none of the homeless were clean or grinning with anticipation. Jack didn’t care. He had put in his time on Earth, and now it was time for something else. Oh, he’d be back – if nothing else the Doctor seemed to have adopted Earth – but Jack Harkness was done with linear living for the foreseeable future, such as it was.
Grinding heralded the materialization of the TARDIS. The sound brought an even bigger smile to Jack’s face. In no time the door opened and the Doctor poked his head out. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
Stepping into the console room felt a bit like coming home. Since the TARDIS had only been his home for a few months over two centuries ago, that was a bit strange. It also banished any lingering doubt as to whether or not he’d made the right choice.
The Doctor gave him a little smile. “Nice to have you back. The TARDIS thinks so, too.”
“It’s good to be back.” He looked around and put his bag down, wondering if he’d have the same room as he used to.
“Anywhere specific you’d like to go first?” asked the Doctor.
There was an entire universe of possibilities, which was much more than Jack had experienced in a very long time. After a moment of consideration he suggested, “The moons of Bella Minor are always interesting.”
“They had a cultural festival to celebrate the year one million.”
“Sounds good.” He’d never been to the moons of Bella Minor in that period.
“Just pull that lever when I say.” It was time for the Doctor’s creative strategies of piloting, although the mallet was currently not in use. The Time Lord ran around for a moment, pushing one lever with his foot while pushing a button with his fingertips. Jack thought perhaps a repair stop might be coming up in the near future. “Now! Allons-y!”
And they were off.
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Loved the dishwasher. Jack's lucky it still followed its original purpose when the Doctor was finished with it.
Locked Out 3
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