wintercompanion | plaid_slytherin: Companionship (Ten/Jack) [All Ages]

Title: Companionship
Author: The Plaid Slytherin (

plaid_slytherin)
Challenge: Alien
Rating: All Ages
Pairing: Ten/Jack
Spoilers/warnings: Spoilers for Children of Earth
Summary: The Doctor asks Jack the same question every fifty years.

Jack watched the people passing in the street from his seat in the outdoor café. He didn't know why the Doctor had told him to meet him here. It was awfully out of his way, this place, but he had to admit it was nice. Sunny—two suns to be exact—and the café was clean, with impeccable service from cute girls.

Jack sipped his coffee. It wasn't coffee exactly, but it was a coffee-like substance. He couldn't pronounce the name the waitress had used. She'd told Jack this was because he had a tongue.

"Good morning." The Doctor dropped blithely into the seat across from Jack.

"Find the place all right?" Jack asked.

The Doctor shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair. "Oh, my sense of direction is impeccable."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, all right," said the Doctor, defeated. "I asked around for you. You're hard to miss; you're the only one here who isn't orange."

Jack grinned and signaled the waitress to bring the Doctor a cup of coffee. "So, why'd you tell me to meet you on the Planet of the Fake Tans?"

The Doctor leaned forward, elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "Just wanted to see you."

"Oh?" Jack grinned.

"Oh, you know what I mean." The Doctor shook his head. "I worry about you sometimes."

Jack shrugged. "I'm fine, trust me."

The Doctor blew out his breath but he didn't say anything. The waitress brought his coffee and he gave her a pleasant smile. Her cheeks flared purple, which Jack thought was an unfortunate color for the blush response in this species.

"So, what have you been up to?" asked Jack.

The Doctor added liberal amounts of cream and sugar to his coffee, to the point where Jack wondered if it could still be considered coffee (if it even had been coffee). Ianto wouldn't have considered it coffee, he thought fondly, with a pang.

"Oh, the usual," said the Doctor. "I went to a planet where the buildings were made entirely of Velcro! You really haven't lived until you've walked on the ceiling."

"Sounds like fun," said Jack absently.

"What about you?" asked the Doctor.

Jack shrugged. "Not much." He tapped his broken vortex manipulator. "It's not as easy for me to travel as you."

"Fair enough," said the Doctor. "Do you want some cake?"

Jack wasn't sure he wanted anything sweet but the Doctor had already waved the waitress over and ordered two slices.

"You should come with me," said the Doctor conversationally.

"Doctor," said Jack warningly.

"Yeah, I know, I offer every fifty years and you always say no. I suppose I'm just wondering when you're going to stop punishing yourself."

Jack glanced down at his now-empty cup. He didn't want to tell the Doctor that he was afraid of losing his humanity. He could feel a shred of it leaving him every morning. It was why he tried to spend time with humans. It was hard to do without getting too close, something he didn't want to let himself do either, but he'd managed for 150 years so far. If he went off with the Doctor, an alien, what would happen to him, then?

"You've got another gray hair." The Doctor said suddenly, pointing. "What's that, number three?"

Jack didn't say anything but he batted at his fringe in an attempt to check.

The Doctor smiled smugly. "Made you look."

Jack scowled. The waitress arrived then with their cake. Jack hadn't planned on eating his, but he had to admit it looked good. He didn't recognize the berries on top but they proved sweet with a pleasantly tart aftertaste.

"Have you answered me yet?" the Doctor asked.

"No," said Jack.

"All right," said the Doctor. "Let's hear it."

Jack shook his head. "I mean my answer's no."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it's not. My limit on 'no's is three. I'm not leaving without you."

"Doctor..."

"What are you doing, Jack?"

"I'm working on Hylar, you know that."

"'File clerk in a shipyard,'" said the Doctor sarcastically. "That's much more impressive than 'Time Agent' or 'head of Torchwood.' Definitely beats 'Doctor's companion.'"

Jack didn't meet the Doctor's eyes. "I can't go with you," he said simply.

"What do you mean you can't? Of course, you can! Right now, just come with me."

Jack shook his head. "I'm..." He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid."

The Doctor blinked, as though this had been the last excuse he was expecting. "Afraid? You are afraid of coming with me. Jack, you're immortal."

"Exactly." Jack set his fork down. "I'm afraid of..." He shrugged. "Becoming more alien than I already am."

He'd half expected the Doctor would be offended. He was an alien after all. Jack was almost hoping he would be offended and storm off, and maybe wouldn't ask Jack to come with him again for another hundred years instead of fifty.

"You are an alien," said the Doctor casually. "Alien's a relative term. You're an alien to me."

Jack shrugged. "You know what I mean. Becoming less... human."

The Doctor considered this. He rested his chin on his hand again and looked at Jack thoughtfully. "When's the last time you had a friend?"

"What?" Jack blinked.

"Mate? Buddy? Pal? Companion?"

"I don't..." Jack began.

"Exactly," said the Doctor. "Humans are social creatures."

"It's easier if I stay by myself."

"Social interaction would keep you human, not osmosis," said the Doctor evenly.

Jack glanced up at him.

"I really think so," said the Doctor, answering his unasked question.

Jack folded his hands. "I have a job."

"My health plan's better."

Jack's lips twitched. "Do I really need one?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe not, but it was worth a try." He glanced down at his empty plate and cup. "Do you happen to have any money?"

"Okay."

"Okay, your treat?" the Doctor asked hopefully.

Jack smirked. "And I'll come with you." He pulled a couple of notes from his wallet. "This counts as the drink I said I'd buy you." The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Jack said, "Coffee is a drink."

"That wasn't coffee," said the Doctor.

"Tough." Jack stood up. "Allons-y."

"Oi, that's my line," said the Doctor indignantly, but he stood and put his coat on.

As they walked off, the Doctor slipped his hand into Jack's and gave it a light squeeze. Jack flicked his eyes to the side and was rewarded with an eye-crinkling smile.

**

Na'oila watched the two men go as she came to clear the table. They were pretty good-looking for aliens, she decided. And they were excellent tippers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This was lovely,
"My health plan's better."
companion health insurance, also covers drycleaning.

LOL! Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. :)

Well, finally! I'm proud of the doctor for asking again and again, and finally insisting.

I was slightly confused by this, though:
The Doctor added liberal amounts of cream and sugar to his coffee, to the point where Jack wondered if it could still be considered coffee.
Well, no it can't. Because it *isn't* coffee. You made a point of that earlier...

I love the two of them walking off hand in hand in the end - and this DEFINITELY counts as buying the Doctor a drink! *g*

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

And I'll see what I can do about that mistake.

♥ This was gorgeous, thank you. :)

Than you for reading! Glad you liked it.

lovely! Please write the sequel where Jack is the Doctor's Companion.

I'd tune in to watch a season of Doctor Who with Jack Harkness as his companion. Eleven/Jack!

Next year will wintercompanion still be 10/Jack? Where will we post 11/Jack stories?

Oh, thank you! I will certainly have to consider writing a sequel. :D

I think the comm is just Doctor/Jack generally. I've posted Eleven/Jack here in the past.

Wintercompanions isn't Ten/Jack - it's Doctor/Jack, no matter which Doctor. I've posted many installments of my Nine/Jack series here, I know someone else has posted Five/Jack, and yes, we've even had Eleven/Jack already - I think that was even before we knew for sure what Eleven would look like... In other words, any and all incarnations of the Doctor are welcome. :)

And I want a whole season with Jack as the companion, too! Not that it's going to happen, but we can dream...

Oh it's wonderful! *claps* I loved:

"'File clerk in a shipyard,'" said the Doctor sarcastically. "That's much more impressive than 'Time Agent' or 'head of Torchwood.' Definitely beats 'Doctor's companion.'"

Lovely loveliness!

Thanks! Glad you liked it. :)

Very nice!

I love the idea of the Doctor stopping in to check on Jack every now and then.

"Social interaction would keep you human, not osmosis," said the Doctor evenly.

That was a very Doctor thing to say! :)

Great job!

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed. :)

awww...very cool, thanks. Loved it.

Thanks! Glad you liked it! :D

Oh, I do like the Doctor asking Jack every fifty years to travel with him! But why did Jack say yes this time? Just because he wanted to make the Doctor ask three times?

Nice, comfortable conversation between two men who know each other well - I liked that :)

The reference to health insurance rang false for me, as it's a very American consideration. I know you could argue that this all takes place on an alien planet and that Jack's been away from Wales/Earth for a long time, so he might be accustomed to different systems, so... Oh, and the Doctor's much more likely to say I suppose than I guess. Minor stuff, though, and considering I practically squealed when I saw you'd written more Ten/Jack it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story.

Thank you! I'm very glad you liked it. :)

I realized that, but I did think it was funny...

I'll swap out 'I guess,' though. I suppose that does sound more like him. Thanks. :)

I like their banter. "You are an alien," said the Doctor casually. "Alien's a relative term. You're an alien to me."

Thank you! Their banter is fun to write.

I liked this, very much. The Doctor made excellent sense for once.

Thank you! Glad you liked it. :)

i loved the study of jack here, his fear of losing humanity and his method of coping being VERY human

and some very jack moments, such as '"It's not as easy for me to travel as you."' and checking for the grey hairs

and i loved how the doctor came to ask every fifty years or so, because if any two people know more about time and loneliness, it's them, though i think, (in an attempt to give some kind of constructive criticism, i hope) that the doctor was kinda... apathetic, i guess. because the doctor knows what it's like to be lonely, and even though he was being kind, he would understand jack's situation

but still, the i think the idea and the relationship between the was written really well. nice work!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed. Especially thanks for the con-crit. That's always very valuable. :)

I really like this! The dialog is great throughout. Setting it 150 years after CoE means it doesn't have to have angst dripping from the ceiling like many of the post-ep fics (not that there's anything wrong with that, but change is good). Jack's pain here is present, but understated. Jack is being too like the Doctor by convincing himself that he's better off alone. The Doctor asking Jack every fifty years but finally putting his foot down about how many rejections he'd accept was cute. His point that avoiding social connections was making Jack less human is very true.

"My health plan's better."

Bad Wolf Insurance: for individuals with active, high risk lifestyles who need long term coverage...VERY long term.

Ha!

Thank you so much for the lovely comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

plaid_slytherin: Companionship (Ten/Jack) [All Ages]

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