Series:
Title: Family Matters
Author: Joolz
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Genre: Episode related, angst
Characters/Pairing: Jack, Tenth Doctor, hint of Jack/Ten
Rating: PG-13
Season/Spoilers: Epilogue to DW
Word
Count: 1,300
Summary: Jack has the Doctor's cell phone number, he
isn't afraid to use it.
Notes:
This will be a series of stand alone
stories starting with an intergalactic phone call.
Warnings: none
++++++++
Family
Matters
Now
that Jack has the Doctor's cell phone number, he doesn't hesitate to use
it. It rings for a while before there's
an answer.
"Yes."
"Doctor. How are things?"
The
Doctor's voice was cold. "Oh, you
know. The usual. Is there something you wanted?"
Jack
frowned. The Doctor really had terrible
phone manners.
"No. Yes. Well,
sort of. I was actually calling about
Rose. Martha's been asking questions
about her, and I thought it would be better if they talked to each other. Cut out the middle man, so to speak. They met, but didn't have a chance to compare
notes. I think it would be good for
Martha to get to know Rose better. What
do you think? Could you stop by some
time when you're not too busy saving the universe?"
The
Doctor's response was clipped.
"Rose is gone."
"What? Gone where?"
"She's
in the alternate universe."
Taken
aback, Jack asked, "What!
Why?"
"The
multiple universe walls were closing.
She had to go back to where she was.
Dimensional retro-closure."
"Mickey
stayed here. Why couldn't Rose?"
There
was silence on the other end of the phone.
Okay, conversational dead end, then.
"Did
she want to go?"
"Not
exactly. She had to stay there with the
other me. Couldn't stay here, could he? It's for the best. They can have a normal life together."
Jack
was stunned. "You left Rose there
with him?"
"Jack." The Doctor's voice held a warning.
Jack
was having trouble taking this in. It
was wrong on so many levels. Rose had
been forced back to the other reality against her will. The Doctor had sent her away to be with
another man. Well, him, but not. Those things were tragic, but Jack was also
deeply hurt. He'd thought Rose was back,
and that they would be able to see each other.
Suddenly she was gone again, no chance to say goodbye or anything. He was sure the Doctor had his reasons, but
did he truly not realize that this affected more than just him? Wait until Mickey heard, and Sarah Jane and
Martha.
"Donna
let you do this?"
There
was silence again. Jack was becoming seriously
alarmed.
"Doctor,
where is Donna?"
"Yeah,
I was going to call you about that.
Donna's gone."
If
Jack hadn't already been sitting down, his knees would have buckled.
"Elaborate,"
he ordered.
"The
human/Time Lord meta-crisis she experienced was killing her. I had to remove all memory of meeting me and everything
related to me or what we did together.
If she remembers, she'll die. So
Donna's gone home to be a temp in Chiswick."
Jack's
mouth was hanging open. The scale of the
disaster was almost beyond comprehension.
Rose gone, along with the weird extra Doctor. The new, improved DoctorDonna
gone, forgetting the Time Lord as though she'd never even known him. How could the Doctor possibly cope with this?
When
he could speak again, Jack asked, "Who's with you now?"
"No
one, and I rather think that's for the best, don't you?" There, the sharp aggression his friend used
to cover pain was all too audible.
Jack
stood up. "Doctor, come here."
"I
don't think…"
Jack
interrupted forcefully, "No, you don't get to think. You don't get to talk. You're coming here to
"What
for, Jack? What's the point?" the
Doctor protested, sounding tired.
"Don't
argue with me. Do as I say. Are you setting the controls? Do it now."
"I
don't appreciate being spoken to like this," the Doctor said curtly, but
Jack could hear the buzz and whir of coordinates being entered.
"Tell
me about it when you see me," he answered, and closed the phone. Jack grabbed his coat and hurried out of the
Hub, taking the lift to the Tourist Office entrance.
When
he emerged onto the Plass, the blue police box was
materializing next to the fountain. By
the time the door opened and the Doctor walked out, Jack only had to take one
more step before he could wrap his arms around the Time Lord.
The
Doctor stiffened, then tried to push Jack away.
Jack didn't budge. He wasn't
crushing him, but he did have the Doctor quite firmly secured.
"Let
me go, right now," the Doctor ordered.
"No."
The
Doctor struggled a bit, but not seriously.
He undoubtedly could have freed himself if he wanted to, but probably
not without hurting Jack in the process.
Jack was betting that he wouldn't go that far, and it seemed to be
paying off. The Doctor stood still and reluctantly
let Jack hold him. It was awkward, and
Jack was starting to think he'd made a mistake when the tension suddenly drained
from the other man's body, and he relaxed against Jack's chest.
Jack
didn't move, trying to put all his love into the embrace, hoping that his
friend would be able to feel some of it.
"Are
you ready to come inside?" Jack asked eventually.
The
Doctor pulled back and Jack let him.
"Why? What's inside?"
"The
rest of the family."
"I
haven't got family. I'm just me,"
he waved his hand like a greeting, "last of the Time Lords here. No quaint little domestic arrangements for
me."
"If
that's what you think then you're a big dope.
You do have family whether you like it or not. The last few days should have taught you that
if nothing else. Kind of an eccentric,
dysfunctional family, but yours all the same."
Jack
went on, "Later we can call Sarah Jane.
I'm sure she'll bring Luke down if I promise to lock away all the
guns. But for now, Martha and Mickey you
already know. You need to formally meet
Gwen and Ianto, because they're my family, so they're yours by extension. Like in-laws."
The
Doctor rolled his eyes and said with exasperation, "We're not married."
"Whatever
you want to call it, we're connected.
We're going to know each other for a very long time, and if necessary
I'll spend all of it teaching you what that means.
"To
start with, when you're grieving, you will not do it alone. I'm not saying you have to spend every minute
baring your soul," Jack ignored a
snort from the Doctor, "but you matter to me, to us. It's selfish and frankly unacceptable to hide
yourself away as though you're all alone in the world."
"But
what if I want to be alone?" the Doctor challenged. "I could get in the TARDIS and not come
back. Throw out the mobile phone."
"You
could, but I'm asking you not to. We
don't have to get along all the time. We
don't even have to like each other all the time. All we have to do is trust each other. After everything we've been through we can do
that, can't we?"
There
was still a lot of pain and doubt in the Doctor's eyes, but there was also a
tiny spark of hope. A nascent interest
in trying something new, born of his unquenchable curiosity. He warned, "I'm not dependable. I could be very bad at this."
Jack
shrugged. "We'll work it
out." He put his hand on the small
of the Doctor's back and began to guide him toward the tourist office. "Come on. We will need to talk about Rose and
Donna." The Doctor balked and Jack
propelled him forward.
"Non-negotiable. But not
right away. First we'll get a cup of Ianto's coffee, the best in the universe. I know you're a tea man, but Ianto's coffee might just convert you."
"Humph. That's unlikely."
As
they entered the building, Jack asked, "And what was that question about
Gwen's family? Have you met them
before?"
"Ah,"
said the Doctor, "that's a good story.
And then I suppose I should tell you about my daughter, Jenny."
"I
can't wait."
End
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