FIC Torchwood/Doctor Who - "Companionship"

[fajrdrako]

Title: Companionship
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters: Jack, Sarah Jane Smith
Challenge: Way back in May I accepted a challenge from neadods to write a 'first kiss' scene between Captain Jack Harkness and Sarah Jane Smith. I did not forget. I was not even slow to start working on it, as I loved the idea. But I wrote one scenario after another and discarded them as inadequate or unconvincing. It proved to be extraordinarily difficult. Here at last is a version I like enough to post.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, no claims, all property of the BBC.
Notes: Spoilers for Doctor Who episode "The Last of the Time Lords", with a fleeting reference to "School Reunion". Cross-posted to galactic_conman and dwfiction.


Companionship

From the very beginning, Sarah Jane Smith did not trust Captain Jack Harkness. He'd come sailing out of nowhere, appearing on her doorstep with a smile full of promises and a mouth full of lies.

Clearly he knew some things about the Doctor. He'd met Rose, yes, that she could believe. He'd been on the TARDIS, obviously; his information was too good to have been acquired any other way. Beyond that, she believed nothing. There were too many things he didn't say, or couldn't, or wouldn't. He'd met the Doctor - that didn't necessarily make him any kind of a friend of the Doctor, least of all a friend of hers.

She did some research on him, and came up with an inescapable fact: there were no records of any American named Captain Jack Harkness being in the UK since 1941. He was false as a Titanian brisket, this Captain, and she intended to keep her eye on him.

His organization, Torchwood, was even worse. It seemed everyone with any actual power knew about Torchwood, but no one knew the important details. The whole institution looked like a powder keg. She had a good talk with UNIT; they were suspicious of Torchwood, too. "Weaponry no one should have," they said, and "too much power, too little accountability". It seems Queen Victoria set up Torchwood under suspicious circumstances, to guard the world against alien threats in general and the Doctor in particular.

This was an expose waiting to be written, even if it was another article that should never see the light of day. Since Torchwood under Harkness seemed to pose no immediate threat, and the rest had disappeared with the Battle of Canary Wharf, she let it go for the sake of more immediate matters. When Captain Jack again turned up on her doorstep, she told him to go away and not come back.

One day, more than a year after the Battle of Canary Wharf, he broke the silence. She received a telephone call from Captain Jack Harkness.

"I've seen him," he said, without preamble. "I have news. Do you want to hear?"

There was only one person he could be talking about. She shouldn't listen. It might be a lie. But she'd had no word for so very long, not since the Krillitanes had invaded that school. She said, "Very well. Come to my place."

"On my way," he said, and disconnected. It was probably literally true: he no doubt rang her from his car. She put the kettle on for tea, and tried not to pace in anticipation. Luke was off somewhere with Maria, and she was glad - she wasn't sure how to explain Captain Jack to Luke. She wouldn't lie about him, of course, she didn't lie to Luke. But she didn't much want to talk about the mysterious Captain, either.

When Jack tapped on her door twenty minutes later, Sarah Jane had already finished half of her own cup of tea. His smile was as she remembered. She ignored it. "Come in," she said. "Care for some tea?" She hoped she managed to sound sufficiently casual. Friendly but not gullible. Businesslike.

"I'd rather a glass of water," he said, and she got it for him. They sat in her living room, with Jack in the large, comfortable chair, while she sat on the sofa. He said, "The TARDIS came to Cardiff to refuel. I hitched a ride. On the outside."

As he continued, she saw how absurd it was, like all his stories. A severed hand, as some sort of Doctor alert? Riding the time vortex hanging onto the outside the of TARDIS - what was he, Spider-Man? Going to the end of time? Searching for Utopia? Well, that all sounded like the Doctor, right enough, he was always into wild extremes, and seemed to be more so inclined as time went on. Not that time ever just 'went on' for the Doctor.

Captain Jack's story got more and more outrageous. Meeting another Time Lord at the end of time, one who'd lost his memory, who turned out to be a friend of the Doctor, but insane and power-hungry. Harold Saxon and Archangel. Toclafanes and warfare. A year that never was, of imprisonment, enslavement and resistance. Martha Jones, saviour of mankind. Deceptions, tricks of the mind, and psychic magic.

Sarah Jane listened to him without interruption. "Quite a story," she said, mildly, when he stopped.

"Yes."

"If I didn't know him, I wouldn't believe any of it."

"But you know him."

"I was looking into the disappearance of Harold Saxon."

"Oh?"

"And the way he popped up a couple of years ago. He was almost as mysterious as you."

Jack smiled at that. "No one is as mysterious as me."

"...But your ego is bigger."

"Not just my ego," he murmured, but she pretended not to have heard him.

She tried to picture the scene he described. The gunshot, the woman in red. The Doctor in tears. "He loved him?"

"The Master was the only other living Time Lord. The Doctor wanted to save him. It was his last chance... He couldn't save the others, back in the Time War. He thought he could maybe save this one. Just this one."

"Chivalrous nonsense," she snapped, and found herself on the verge of tears herself.

"Not nonsense. It's what he is. It's why we love him."

She looked at him quizzically. "We?"

"You. Me. Rose. Martha, too. How could we not?"

Jack was a con man, an actor. She knew that. But looking at him now, she believed that he knew the Doctor, believed that he loved him, that the Doctor had touched him in the same way he had her, and triggered a soul-deep change. Some people, after meeting the Doctor, would never be the same again.

Jack reached over and took her hand, squeezing it.

"How could we not?" she echoed. "I wish... How he must be hurting. I wish we could help."

"He'll find us if he needs us," said Jack. He kissed her hand, comforting her. Then he kissed it again.

She looked at him suspiciously, though didn't pull her hand away. "Jack Harkness. Are you coming on to me?"

He did not let go of her hand, which he had lifted to his lips. She could feel his warm breath against her knuckles as he held it there. Without moving his lips away from her skin, he lifted an eyebrow and said quizzically, as if it were another question rather than an answer, "Yes?"

She pulled her hand away quickly, and tried not to wish she hadn't. "Idiot man. I'm too old for flirtation."

He laughed - not at her, but in a warm sort of way that made even the air around him feel good. "Sarah Jane Smith, how old are you? Fifty at most? I have a century on you, and I'm not too old for flirtation. We both know someone pushing a thousand. Doesn't he make you feel young?"

"I miss him," she said bluntly. She felt like crying again. She was the idiot, a weepy old fool. She was usually more careful than this. But Jack's news about the Doctor had unsettled her, and Jack himself.... She realized how badly she had misjudged him before, and was furious with herself for it. He had needed her friendship, and she had coldly withheld it. Had she turned into such a suspicious old curmudgeon that she didn't know a friend when she met one?

"I miss him, too," said Jack gently. "Every day. Always. But it makes life worth living, you know? He's out there, doing his thing. And one day he'll return." He stood. So did she. He pulled her into his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and Sarah Jane let herself accept it. He was a link to the Doctor. A link to her past and the planet's future, even if he and she hadn't shared that time together. A link to a world out there of planets and aliens and adventures and dangers and doing things that must be done.

He had a very comforting hug.

She said, "What's this about you being more than a hundred years old?"

"A hundred and fifty. But looking good, don't you think?"

"Are you human?"

"Completely."

"Then how...?"

He kissed her, lightly, on the lips. "It's a long story. It involves the fifty-first century, and the Time Agency... or maybe the year 200,100 and a Game Station... or maybe a girl hanging from a barrage balloon in the Blitz. Tell you what. Let's order Chinese and I'll tell you the story of Captain Jack Harkness and how he became immortal."

"Immortal?"

"And hungry! Have a heart. I drove all the way from Cardiff and I haven't had any lunch."

"There's a really good Chinese place just around the corner. I'll call them - Luke loves it."

"Luke?"

"I can tell you a story or two as well, Captain. Did you know I'm a mother now?"

He sat, laughing. "You're full of surprises."

"It comes with the territory. Egg rolls, do you think?"

"Definitely egg rolls," agreed Jack.

- end -

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think it would be interesting to have SJS come to Jack needing help with K-9, the tin dog really is an odd, yet believable tie to the Doctor.

Hmm. I like that. I like K-9.

Trying to figure out Jack's history and timeline is a bit of a nightmare, isn't it?

It's both frustrating and fun. I like the gaps and holes in it all: you can put stories into them, stir things up an twist them around a bit.

Not that Jack needs much extra twisting.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

It's both frustrating and fun. I like the gaps and holes in it all: you can put stories into them, stir things up an twist them around a bit.

It is definately fun, but also frustrating, we've been given SO little to go on and the few dribs and drabs of Jack's history that have been mentioned we have no real way of knowing how much truth there is to any of it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

we've been given SO little to go on

True, especially given that he's the lead character in Torchwood and in Torchwood we didn't even have a good indication of his age.

But they're niggardly with information about all the characters. Look how little we know about Ianto!

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

True, but at least we can make some basic assumptions about the others... Ianto and Gwen are from Wales.. random guesses at their ages, etc. Jack meanwhile... who knows?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, who knows? Jack knows and the Doctor knows and they aren't telling us....

I think the writers on the show are trying to leave themselves lots of room to manoeuvre. Then they do something like complicating the issue with the Face of Boe - ! Randomly inexplicable.

I think we'll learn more next series.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I refuse to acknowledge the FoB thing. but yeah, they are certainly leaving themselves lots of wiggle room

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I refuse to acknowledge the FoB thing.

Me too, but occasionally I give it a poke to see if it's still alive.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't mind horribly if it becomes one of the many things that RTD randomly changes the canon-worthiness of

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I hope he will! There are many problems with it - for one thing, it was just there in the first place for shock value. Kind of cheap shock value, at that, since it adds nothing of value to the mythos. For another, it doesn't *quite* fit our facts. But the important thing is that it doesn't hit the right tone for either character.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Well, considering he changed how long the TARDIS takes to refuel (24 hours to 20 seconds, before even realizing the rift had been opened) with no explanation I have high hopes for them discounting the FOB thing. I think you're right, it was added in at the last minute as a "Hey, what about *this* wouldn't that be great?" without giving a second thought to the huge inconsistencies it created.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

(24 hours to 20 seconds, before even realizing the rift had been opened) with no explanation

Hee. Good point. The Doctor could at least have taken Martha out for dinner, but no, he was too busy trying to run away from Jack. I am tempted to think it was all a tease - the Doctor knowing where Jack was, and coming by to taunt him with a "Catch me if you can!" - and then dashing away. Did he really need fuel? Did he really get any?

I think you're right, it was added in at the last minute as a "Hey, what about *this* wouldn't that be great?" without giving a second thought to the huge inconsistencies it created.

Yes. It looks like one of those crazy impulses that a writer gets and wants to try on for size, though any kind of good sense goes out the window.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

RTD does his best to discount the FOB thing in the commentary for "LOTTL" on the BBC website. and thank God, seriously, I mean only two episodes before they go into the whole "unchanging fact" thing and Jack shows no reaction whatsoever to the name FoB, yet now it's an old nickname and we find out we saw Jack die earlier that season? Errr, sorry, don't buy it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

RTD does his best to discount the FOB thing in the commentary for "LOTTL" on the BBC website.

Right - so the man who invented it doesn't even believe it! So much for that.

No wonder the fans don't believe it either.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I think it was a joke. I suspect the Face of Boe was already a famous creature when Jack was a boy, and that he was nicknamed after it because a) he's so vain that people would tease him about being just a big face and b) it sounds like the place he comes from.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to consider it a joke. I wonder if they'll ever make a reference to it again. I bet they don't - or if they do, it'll be like the line in "The Sound of Drums" discounting the idea that the Master could be the Doctor's brother, written years after the line it was in reference to.

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I was very pleased about the Face of Boe connection, except for the way it was set up. It's comforting to think that after all the ages he gets to die a peaceful death, including have the Doctor by his death bed, after sacrificing himself to save the planet.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't find the thought of Jack's death very comforting - ! I'd rather not think about it. And if he should be with the Doctor when he dies - yes, I like that aspect very much! - I'd like them to each know who the other is.

So: call me fussy that way.

I'm happier with the idea that Jack is immortal.

At the same time, I don't want to give the idea that this is a big deal. If it's canonical, it's at least canon that is easy to ignore.

I'd rather have a more exotic explanation for the Face of Boe.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I agree that the idea that Jack might have an end in sight is comforting, and the thought that the Doctor is at his side when he does die is also nice, but for the Doctor not to know who he is watching die ruins it for me.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

for the Doctor not to know who he is watching die ruins it for me.

Emotionally speaking, I have a dual problem: if I am forced to witness Jack's death, that's not the death I want for him, when not only the Doctor doesn't know who he is, but neither did I. But I don't want to see or be forced to think about Jack's end, either. Or any of the other characters. (The Doctor, for instance.) We all die. Let's leave it as an abstraction.

(Okay, if Jack's immortal he won't die, but that's another topic!)

My second problem is that if the Doctor doesn't know who his friend is who is dying, it ...loses impact. As if the whole thing is some sort of deception.

We're on very iffy grounds of crossed timelines, too.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

iffy grounds pretty much sums it up. There is just so much wrong with the Jack=FoB scenario it's hard to come up with where to start.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hmm - let me count the ways!

1. Jack is too cool for that
2. The background info of Jack and the Face of Boe don't mesh
3. It was a rather tossed-off moment to explain the entire life and death of a major hero
4. Jack has limbs; Boe doesn't
5. Jack is immortal; Boe died
6. Their personalities and priorities seem very different (can I imagine Jack, at any age, becoming laconic?)

I'd say it adds up to a sort of "you can't get there from here" scenario... Jack doesn't map into Boe however I look at it.

Boe doesn't flirt enough to be Jack.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I'd rather have a more exotic explanation for the Face of Boe.

Yes: I think from the form of it, it has never been fully humanoid; never had a body. It also seems to have sort of podlets. I see it as sort of between plant and animal.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes - whatever Boe was, he seems quite alien. He's one of those likeable, intriguing aliens, the kind you want to know more about - his physiology quite unlike a humans. I thought,for example, that he lived in a jar because he couldn't breathe the same air as humans. The plant/animal hybrid idea seems good to me. Much more fitting.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Perhaps originally aquatic, hence jar?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

He doesn't look fish-like, but at a pinch one could imagine some kind of octopus/squid/jellyfish like biological arrangement. Or maybe - going with your idea that he's an animal/vegetable mix, something that's a little bit like a squid and a little bit like seaweed. Sort of like Jabe and her people being humanoid-type trees.