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wintercompanion2009-07-29 08:55 pm
Yamx: Defences (2/4) (Jack/Nine) [PG-13]
Title: Defences (2/4)
Author: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
yamx
Beta: the utterly fantastic wendymr
Challenge: Summer Holidays
Prompt group: 4: sleep - sleeplessness - dream – trance
Rating: PG-13 (no explicit smut, but plenty of innuendo; strong language, including the f-word)
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction; the characters are the property of the BBC and used here without permission. No money was made.
Spoilers/warnings: The Parting of the Ways, TW season 2
Characters: Jack/Nine, Rose
Summary: Jack makes a dangerous mistake. The Doctor is furious.
This is the latest installment in the “Deal”-series. Go here for earlier stories.
Part 1
There can’t be any thought of sleep now. He just lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling, until his wrist comp finally says it’s time for breakfast. Then he puts on a shirt and some trainers and slowly makes his way to the kitchen.
He finds Rose and the Doctor sitting at the table already. Rose gets up to greet him with a hug. “Mornin’, Jack! Do you know what himself is so grumpy about this morning?” She grins with her tongue curled around her teeth, until she registers the expression on his face. She looks back and forth between them a few times. “Oh. Lovers’ spat?” The grin is gone, but there’s a teasing twinkle in her eyes.
The Doctor grunts. “Bit more than that. Our boy here almost blew up reality last night.”
Rose’s face falls. “What? What happened?”
The Doctor looks at him, his eyes dark and hooded. “Yeah, why don’t you tell her what happened, Captain? Rose deserves to know, doesn’t she?”
He nods. Standing in the kitchen doorway, looking straight at Rose, he tells her. Tells her exactly what he did, and what happened. He skims over the facts of regeneration, simply mentioning the Doctor’s “future self,” which gets him an almost approving glance from the Time Lord, but apart from that, he leaves nothing out, doesn’t spare himself.
She’s turned pale by the time he’s finished. “So – everything’s all right now though, yeah?”
“Yes,” the Doctor nods. There’s reassuring warmth in his eyes as he squeezes Rose’s hand. “No need to worry now. All sorted.”
Rose nods. “But – you’re still angry with Jack?”
With a sardonic glance in his direction, the Doctor nods. “Could say that.”
“He didn’t mean to, though. He had good intentions.”
“Road to hell, Rose.” A warning note creeps into his voice. “Stay out of this.”
“But-”
“Rose,” Jack kneels by her chair and takes her hands in his. “Stay out of this, yeah? This is between me and the Doctor.” He squeezes her hands. “I screwed this up all by myself. Don’t try to help me get out of it.”
She glances back and forth between them a few times, then she nods. “Right. None of my business.”
He nods and gets up, preparing to leave, but Rose puts a hand on his arm to stop him.
“Jack, sit and have breakfast.” Her voice brooks no argument.
He glances at the Doctor uncertainly, but the Time Lord is stirring his tea, ignoring him. He sits down slowly. He's not hungry, so he just sits staring at his hands, until Rose pushes a cup of tea and some buttered toast at him with a pointed look. He forces himself to eat.
After what seems like an eternity, the Doctor speaks up. “Rose – would you mind leaving us alone for a bit? We need to talk.”
Rose nods, and gets up. “I’ll be in the garden room.” She looks at them both imploringly. “You take care, yeah?” She takes her tea and leaves.
Jack swallows the last of his toast. This is it. He’s been lying awake for hours trying to come up with something to say. “Doctor-” he begins.
The Time Lord raises a hand. “Wait. Gonna let you have your say, but I need to say something first, ‘cause I thought long and hard about how to explain this without saying things that you don’t deserve, for all that you are a stupid ape.”
Jack nods. His fingers are clenched around the edge of the table.
“Don’t have to explain to you why destroying the universe is bad. I know you get that.” He meets his gaze briefly. “In fact, might have exaggerated there a little. Two TARDISes merging could destroy the universe, yeah – ‘cept, it’s not the first time it happened. And two TARDISes always also means two of me, an’ I’m a genius. Odds were always pretty good that it’d get fixed before too much came of it.”
Jack gulps. That’s one hell of an admission. But still, the Doctor – Doctors – shouldn’t have had to save the universe last night. That was his doing. He wants to say so, but he can see that the Doctor is working up the nerve to say something else, and he doesn’t want to interrupt whatever it is.
“Next bit is difficult, yeah? ‘specially ‘cause I am still pissed off with you.” He looks at Jack.
He nods, accepting that. It’s deserved.
The Doctor continues, looking at his tea again. “The TARDIS – she’s more ‘n just a ship, yeah? You know that. But – you don’t really get it. Neither of you. Would have to be fully telepathic to understand. She’s not just some type of ‘sentient machine,’ some sort of pet. She’s a person. Just as much as you and me. An’… she’s mine. Has been for centuries.”
When you’re mine, you’re mine – Jack remembers the Doctor saying that about him, back when their relationship started. And he remembers the older Doctor’s hints from last night. “I interferred in your relationship,” he bursts out. “Went behind your back. It’s like – same as if I had-”
“Nah, ‘s not the same. My relationship to her is not like my relationship to you. We’re bonded, but… differently. ‘S hard to explain, really. But… each other is all that she and I have left, yeah?”
Two beings, both the last of their species, both having lost their home and all others like them forever. He interfered with the Doctor’s last connection to Gallifrey. He’s an even bigger idiot than he thought. And he realizes what it must cost the Time Lord to be this open with him. Especially since he’s still angry.
The Doctor sighs. “Right. Had my say. Your turn.”
Jack takes a sip of his tea. God, what can he say? “Sorry” seems so inadequate. Still, it’s a place to start. “I’m sorry.” He looks the Doctor straight in the eyes and repeats. “I am so, so sorry. I didn’t get it. I had this idea, because the shields – doesn’t matter, anyway, I just thought I’d tune them up a little and surprise you, but – even if I hadn’t screwed it up, you’d still have been just as pissed off, right?”
“Well, maybe not ‘just as.’ But close.”
Jack nods. “Yeah. And I deserve that.”
The Doctor nods. Jack fancies he sees a slight flicker of approval at the admission, but can’t be sure.
Jack presses on. “So – what happens now? Where do we go from here?”
The Doctor looks back silently.
“I mean – you’re not-” He thinks the Doctor explaining all this to him must mean something, but he has to ask anyway, to be sure. “Are you going to throw me off the TARDIS?”
The Doctor looks taken aback. “Don’t be an idiot.”
Jack shrugs. “Seems like I can’t help it sometimes.”
The Doctor growls. “I’m rubbish at domestics, Jack, you know that. An’ I’m still angry, so don’t expect me to hold your hand and tell you you’re not an idiot right now.”
Jack had actually not expected that, but he doesn’t feel like justifying himself over such a minor thing when there are bigger issues to deal with. He just nods. “So, what do we do?”
“The ventilation shafts under the console need cleaning. It’s a mess down there – grease, dust, metal bits and bobs…”
If the Doctor wants to change the topic, he’ll go along. The Time Lord’s always preferred tech-talk to domestics. “I’ll get a drone ready.”
The Doctor turns his head by a fraction. “Don’t believe in drones, me. Some things are best done the old-fashioned way.”
Jack gulps and nods. “I’ll get right on it, sir.” It’s hard work, and filthy, but it’s working on the TARDIS – and after what the Doctor just told him, even this menial task seems like a sign of trust so deep he’s not sure he deserves it. And he’s done worse jobs in his life. If he has to spend the day scrubbing his way through stinking, slimy tunnels as his penance, then he won’t flinch.
*****
Two hours later, Jack’s muscles are aching, he’s smeared with grease, has small burns all over his arms where sparks keep catching him, and he’s terribly hot. He really wants a break.
The Doctor’s head appears through a hatch. “Aren’t you finished yet?”
He sputters. “Finished? Doctor, this is gonna take days.”
The Time Lord shakes his head. “Think, boy. What’s really the job here?” His head disappears.
Jack is confused. The job is to clean out the grime, right? That’s what the Doctor said, and heck, it’s necessary. The shafts are positively filthy. The poor TARDIS must be feeling-
With a zap, a large spark hits him on the arm – not dangerous, but with a serious sting. And that’s when he gets it.
“Oh.” He strokes the wall of the shaft. “This isn’t about the clean-up job at all, is it?”
The surrounding hum changes its frequency by a fraction.
He strokes the wall again. “This is about making it up to you. Because I hurt you just as badly as him, huh?”
Another small change in the hum.
“God, I’m sorry. I should have realized that sooner.” He puts his hand near an open circuit and rubs his thumb gently. “I’m really, really sorry. I promise I’m not going to come between him and you again, okay?”
The hum brightens, the incessantly sparking connections suddenly lie quiet, and the temperature drops to a much more pleasant level. Jack smiles. “Thank you.”
He’s about to resume scrubbing when the Doctor’s head pops through the hatch again. Jack’s seeing him upside-down, so he can’t be sure, but is that a grin? “Took you long enough. Now get out here and help me set up the drone.”
With a chuckle and a last gentle stroke to the shaft wall, Jack complies.
*****
They work together in silence to prepare the drone, but there’s a twinkle in the Time Lord’s eyes when he looks at him. Screwing up his courage, Jack asks, “So – am I forgiven?”
The Doctor stops and looks at him. “By her? Yeah. She’s sweet like that. Me?” He shrugs, but there’s a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Let’s say you’re getting there. Will have to do one more thing, though.”
“Yeah?” He’ll do it. He’s willing to do absolutely anything. Well, absolutely anything that the Doctor would be prepared to ask of him. There are things he’d never do, but they’re not things the Doctor would ever expect.
“All in good time. For now, go and grab some food, have a bath, and take a nap, yeah?”
“I’m not tired.”
The Doctor glowers, but there’s more concern than heat in it. “You slept about three hours last night. Just go and lie down for a bit. We’ll talk later.”
Right. Like he’s going to be able to sleep with that hanging over his head. Still, a bath and a lie-down sound heavenly. And besides, he can see that the Doctor’s determined, and this is hardly the time to push him.
*****
Jack is soaking in the bath tub, and it’s wonderful. He lets himself sink below the water, enjoying the warmth and silence until the need for oxygen forces him to surface. With a lot of scrubbing and some strong-smelling green soap the TARDIS produces out of nowhere, he manages to get off most of the grime. He gets out of the tub, and towels himself off. Then he pulls his jeans back on. Not like he’s actually going to be able to sleep.
On his pillow, he finds a small jar of ointment, with a yellow sticky note on it. A sticky note in the Doctor’s handwriting. “For the burns and abrasions – apply generously,” he reads. He grins and opens it.
A familiar smell hits his nose. Koyden root. His grin widens. Koyden root helps with burns and abrasions all right – it’s a much-sought-after commodity on mining planets for that very reason. It also has the side effect of making people sleepy. Seems the Doctor is determined that he needs his nap.
He applies the ointment and lies down. Somehow, he’s not nearly as worried about his upcoming conversation with the Doctor anymore. Whatever it is, they’ll be okay.
He’s smiling as he falls asleep.
*****
The Doctor’s sitting in the kitchen when Rose comes in. “Fancy a cuppa? Just made a fresh pot.”
Rose nods. She pours herself a cup and sits down with him. “Where’s Jack?”
“Asleep, I hope.” She looks at him questioningly, so he explains, “Sent him to take a nap.”
Rose smiles, relieved. “Good. I was worried you were being a bit hard on him earlier, when I looked in on you blokes. Making him crawl around under there an’ all.”
The Doctor looks at her seriously. “Rose – what he did was really stupid. Could’ve been disastrous.”
“I did something disastrously stupid not that long ago.”
“Yeah, and I was hard on you then.”
“Didn’t make me do any hard labor. Didn’t punish me at all.” Yes, the Doctor shouted at her a little – as she’s sure he’s shouted at Jack. But once she apologized, he simply forgave her.
The Doctor sighs. “Well... reckoned the circumstances of that day were bad enough.” There’s an apologetic note as he says it that tells her he knows the subject is still painful. But she’s the one who brought it up.
She looks away for a moment, then back at him. This isn’t about her. “You’re not going to make him do heavy cleaning for days now, are you?”
The Doctor grins. “Nah, that’s over. He’s a clever lad. He apologized, and the TARDIS forgave him.”
Suddenly, Rose understands. She giggles. “Oh, so that’s what that was about?”
“Drone does a perfectly good job. Better, actually, but don’t tell him I said that. Tried really hard, he did.” He grins. “But the TARDIS likes a bit of groveling. Doing things for her the hard way. Giving her a chance to get in a good zap or twelve.” He pats the doorframe affectionately. “Been there myself many a time.”
“Doctor!” Rose eyes widen in feigned shock. “Is the almighty Time Lord admitting that he occasionally does something wrong?”
The Doctor grins at her manically. “Who, me? Never! Perfect angel, I am. Just misunderstood.”
At the exact same moment, he’s hit by a light slap on the arm from Rose and a playful zap from the doorjamb.
*****
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