InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "you're my best friend"

so_impressive (so_impressive) wrote in vas_captio_rpg,
@ 2009-08-02 20:12:00

Entry tags:

!complete, day 17, jack harkness, location: in town, the doctor (nine), the doctor (ten)

Who: The Ninth Doctor, the Tenth Doctor, & Jack Harkness
What: Insight, mourning and questions.
Where: The town-- they'll be moving as they talk.
When: Day 17; About 8:25pm
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete

It was likely that Ten had wanted to be alone after the murder of his friends Ianto, Sarah Jane, Shannon, and Remy LeBeau.. In fact, Nine knew it would be so. And he, really, wanted to be alone too. He'd left Rose in the care of the werewolf child, which he knew Ten would hate, but he was sure she'd be safe there. The damage had been done for the day. And Nine had started out about the town, not to find time for himself.. but rather, to find himself. He wanted to discuss Sarah Jane. He'd known she was here, he'd talked with her over the journals. But he hadn't met with her. He'd known Jack was here, and he'd avoided him, too. He'd avoided them all. Less for his own sanity, and more for theirs. When this was all over, he was gone. It was done. Why get them all confused and tangled up about it? This regeneration was done. Best to let it die.

But he'd found that he simply couldn't, and he'd written that message to Jack, telling him to meet him at the clock tower around nine. He had half an hour to talk with himself, get things straight and settled, then go back for Jack. You had half an hour to get yourself together, Doctor, and help the people who needed you. You were lucky to even get that. If he knew himself, and he liked to think he knew himself well, he'd definitely be alone somewhere. Somewhere familiar.

The drawing had shown that ginger and Ten in the barn, so that was where the Time Lord headed, his mind still lingering on thoughts of Sarah Jane. His beautiful Sarah Jane.

He stepped into the barn a moment later, hands hanging limply at his sides. When had he gotten so in the habit of pushing his hands into his jacket pockets? He'd seen Ten do that nearly every time he'd spoken with him. Hm.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-05 01:53 am UTC (link)

There was a large part of Jack that didn't want to show up at the clock tower. A very large part. The Doctor (Nine, he was calling in his head to keep the two men separate as, frankly, he wasn't having any of this John Smith nonsense), however, had asked her to come and Jack wanted to see him. He wasn't sure why as he was still pissed at the man who left him behind with nothing but Dalek dust.

Jack, however, wasn't holding too much of a grudge. Just a rather large one. The size of Cardiff and London combined. Right.

He was sitting on the ground, back against the clock tower while he waited for the Doctor. Jack, however, didn't look like his usual self which was why he was avoiding everyone. Jack wanted to be able to mourn in solitude and he really had no desire to see anyone. The worst part of this was that he didn't have anything of Ianto's -- at least not here.

Not even a tie.

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fromgallifrey
2009-08-05 02:24 am UTC (link)

John Smith spied Jack quite a ways off. He saw him there, pacing it seemed, looking simultaneously wiped and caged. The Time Lord looked at his shoes. He'd been doing that a lot today mostly because he felt like he'd failed everyone. He'd failed those who died. He'd failed those left behind, too. He'd failed everyone and right in front of him was living, breathing, aching proof of that failure. He was so very sorry, Jack.

Carrying on down the road the time for apologies was pushed to the back of his mind. He was the Doctor, dammit, and he had to put on that brave confident face. "Captain!" He called out, giving the con-man a chance to hear them coming if he didn't already see them.

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so_impressive
2009-08-05 02:40 am UTC (link)

As his counterpart called out, Nine remained quiet, taking a few more steps in that silence before he spoke up again, leaning his head a little closer to the younger-looking version of himself. "So how angry is he? We did leave him behind on a Dalek ship, unable to die." For Lord knew how long. But notice that, John Smith? He was now saying 'we', not 'I' or 'Me'. But 'We'. You did something wrong, and you were the same person. But when you were trying to distinguish? You were two completely separate entities. Of course you'd noticed, it was you talking. You knew what he was thinking. He laid a lot of blame on himself, for a lot of things. It wasn't just one incarnation that had screwed up, or that had done something wrong, or that had failed to see.. it was all of them. Everything that Ten had ever done, he could blame Nine as well-- as Nine could blame Eight, and on down the line. They were all the same, when it came to screwing up. They shared the blame.

Curse of the Time Lords, perhaps.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-05 02:48 am UTC (link)

No, Jack didn't see the others approaching until Ten called out to him. He picked his head up, hoping he didn't look as shoddy as he felt and slowly hauled himself to his feet. Jack didn't feel like himself and not even forcing a smile to his face was going to cut it. It was hard to say if Nine would notice the difference in him, but he knew Ten would know -- Ten would understand.

Jack drew in a breath and leaned against the far corner of the clock tower, waiting for the two to come to him. Nine owed him that, didn't he?

At last, though, Jack gave a wave as the two men grew closer. So Nine really was here. It was one thing to hear him, it was another entirely to see him at last. "'lo!" Jack called out, then shoved his hand back into the pocket of his his greatcoat. So much for mourning in private.

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fromgallifrey
2009-08-05 03:00 am UTC (link)

"Clung to the outside of the TARDIS while it was going through the time vortex mad?" That had been a sight. "Though, I think he might be largely over it. Still might want to offer some sort of apology, for old time's sake..." You might be the same person, Doctor; but John Smith had explained and apologized on your behalf, it might mean more coming from you, no?

The Time Lord watched as Jack turned around, looking at the pair as they slowly approached; well, slowly for Ten's part anyway. He could spy at thirty paces the look on Jack's face and knew quite clearly what was going on in the Time Agent's head. Occupational hazard - spend too much time with someone and you start to be able to read their faces.

Coming to a slow stop he looked out past Jack at the clock tower. He didn't want to look at either of you for the moment - too busy tuning in to that confidence and rage and tuning out the hurt and self blame.

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so_impressive
2009-08-05 03:20 am UTC (link)

Nine didn't apologize nearly as well as Ten did. He didn't have those big brown puppy dog eyes, or that cute face, or that look of complete and utter sadness that could overtake him. No, he didn't have any of that. All he had were shallow, and often cold blue eyes. A stern set of his brow, and a thin-lipped mouth that pressed into an angry line just as well as it smiled. But it didn't apologize well. He would, however, try.. for Jack's sake. "The outside of it? Really?" Was asked more quietly to his counterpart as they came closer to Jack, but then they were near enough to him, and the younger of the two Doctors came to a stop.

"Hello, Jack." He greeted with a smile. "Put on a little weight, haven't you? That's what happens when you turn into a hero, you get a little thicker 'round the middle." He really couldn't help himself, he took every chance he could to poke fun or pick on Jack.. partially (mostly) because when Jack was around, Rose didn't see her Doctor. She only saw the dream boat. But his attitude switched around easily, and a more solemn look overtook his face. "I'm sorry, Jack. For Ianto, and for what happened before." Just moments earlier for him, but clearly years for the Captain.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-05 03:32 am UTC (link)

Ah yes, clinging to the outside of the TARDIS -- something Jack had done once and hoped to never repeat ever again. He already had one return trip in the TARDIS without much by way of mishaps (two, if one counted spoilers) but Jack didn't plan on holding onto the outside of the TARDIS anytime soon. Of course, it had resulted in one of Jack's deaths thank you very much.

In all honesty, Jack was shocked he managed to get an apology out of Nine. Perhaps his face was showing a lot more than he wanted it to. Deep breath and Jack schooled his features to something more neutral, even if his eyes looked dead. "You were just hoping that regeneration would knock off a few stone, weren't you?" Jack asked, letting the banter distract him. "Note for the future?" Jack threw a glance at Ten, "Lose any more and there won't be anything left."

Years for the Captain? Try a couple of millennia. But that was beside the point. "Thank you," Jack said, forcing that smile to stay on his face. Why did it keep sliding away, dammit? "All of them," Jack said, shaking his head. "Apparently I didn't do such a good job turning into a Hero, did I?"

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fromgallifrey
2009-08-05 01:08 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, yes," The Doctor said with a wily smirk. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes he wouldn't have thought someone capable of doing such a feat; yet, there Jack had been stuck to the blue box like it was nothing. Well, until he fell off dead.

The Doctor wasn't quite paying too close attention as the younger version of himself apologized. No, He'd already done his fair share of apologies. He'd beat himself up enough. Time for that ever confident Time Lord. He'd even ignore that comment from Jack. instead he'd scratch his head, shove his hands in his pockets and put everyone to work, because there were more important things than mourning. Things like getting everyone who was left out of here. And no, Jack, he wasn't going to chime in on that pity party, either. Everyone say hello to the angry, vengeful Time Lord and he wasn't talking about that one fresh off the Time War, either.

"We need to get back to work on the modulator, the surveyor, and determining what sort of glass we're dealing with. Sarah Jane had some circuitry from Mister Smith as well as an antenna from K-9 we could use to make the surveyor. I think we've got most all we need for the modulator. All that's left is to figure out the sort of glass."

Had they come here to mourn? Well, the Time Lord was putting on a different hat for them - he was putting on the one with 'wreckingball' scrawled across it's front.

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so_impressive
2009-08-05 02:23 pm UTC (link)

"Ah well, you know." Was all that Nine would say to Jack's comment about wanting to lose a bit of weight. The apology was forgotten as soon as he'd said it and those hands were patting down his pockets, as if searching for something, but he came up empty. Curious, that. He thought he'd put them in his pocket. Oh, that was annoying, wasn't it? Well, he'd have to find them later and get then properly to his older self. He had a feeling they might have been important.

Though, when Ten began talking about the modulator, his counterpart broke into a smile, that look of concern wiped completely from his face. It wasn't there often, and now it was gone for good.

"We've got to meet up with that Spock tomorrow, talk to him about the wall. And we've got to get back to the carnival, there are a few things we can use there. Bumper cars, the Ferris wheel, the Tunnel of Love has a few parts in it too, hard to get to, but would work nicely. We'll need a small motor." The Time Lord then turned, to focus blue eyes onto brown. "And the van I saw today, we're going to need that as well. No sense in trying to put anything together without proper parts, and if we cannibalize the van," Because he had no idea there was a car, too.. "Then we'll have a much better chance."

With this said, he was turning once again to face Jack. "Up for a walk?" A cheeky grin surfaced then, eyebrows lifting higher into his hairline. Walking (pacing, really) often helped him think. And that was what they needed right now, working minds.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-05 11:23 pm UTC (link)

Give Jack a few moments boys -- he's still a bit out of sorts and probably will be for a short time to come. But, too, he deserves a bit of time to try and get his head back on. Yes, Nine, Jack did have someone he cared deeply about so cut him just a little bit of slack if you would.

Ten's willingless to move on from things, however, was a welcome change for Jack. He needed something else to concentrate his time and energy on, otherwise he'd fall into that deep pit of despair. Not his fault that he was in this place where he was feeling mostly helpless, now was it? Give him his Hub and he could busy and distract himself for months. Give him a broken down town that kept stealing and killing people with no overt way to fight back? Well, Jack was working with a small handicap right now, wasn't he?

"Always up for one," Jack replied, managing a grin at long last. He clapped Nine on the shoulder, fitting himself between the two men. One had to know just how out of sorts he was given the lack of commentary about being between two Doctors -- a place he always waned to be.

"Hard to get to parts?" Jack asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Something tells me that's going to be right up my alley." Didn't really matter just how hard they were to get to. A couple falls and a drowning or two never really hurt anyone.

Jack glanced at Ten, knowing that look on the other man's face. Maybe that's what he should concentrate on for a bit: keeping that Doctor from turning into the Angel of Vengeance.

Something told Jack that just might turn out to be a full time job right now.

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fromgallifrey
2009-08-06 11:39 pm UTC (link)

"Spock, right," Ten was looking of again. He was sort of half paying attention. Really, when it came down to it, Nine should have probably let him stay in the barn. If questioned, he'd say he was working out some sort of calculation about the number of copper coils necessary to make the modulator function properly. In reality he had a half dozen ghosts wandering around in his thoughts. Add to that the markedly disappointed, distrustful looks from the brothers Winchester, and it was pretty easy to see why the Doctor felt suddenly a bit off balance. He couldn't help but think he was two steps away from being hurled out in front of an extonic star - he'd already just barely dodged that once.

They were walking now? Ten blinked, realizing he'd started moving without really thinking about it. "At least we've got a proper speaker this time..." Of course the Doctor was planning on cannibalizing it out of one of the vehicles. He'd ready about that Impala and then there was Andy's Van which he'd seen in passing but not thought much of.

"We need to be mindful to the people, angry and scared are very dangerous combinations and Sam Winchester is just fanning those flames."

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so_impressive
2009-08-07 03:35 pm UTC (link)

They were walking, with Jack settled between them. "No, that's the last thing we need. No angry mobs, thank you very much." The slightly taller Time Lord returned to his counterpart, turning his head to study him past Jack for a long moment, before those blue eyes lifted back up to Jack. He knew his older self was dealing with some sort of demons right now, something he really couldn't relate with just now. Not those sorts of demons. Sorry, Doctor, you were alone with your feelings at this particular moment. And you just weren't as important as Jack settled between you. You never were. Everyone else would always come first, even when you were a completely separate person. You had to know that.

They had, in fact, come out here to grieve, hadn't they? Wasn't that the point? He'd done his part, and Ten would just have to suck it up, like he always did. But Jack? Jack was clearly a mess, there hadn't even been a bad joke about being sandwiched between two Doctors. Nothing. He hadn't even yelled at him about leaving him there on the Dalek ship.

"Someone captures the heart of Jack Harkness and you're not eager to tell me all about him? From what I hear, this place has spit out its dead before. There's a very good chance he could be back before day break." It had happened before, right? Everyone was so eager to think those people were dead. And the Doctor wasn't one to give false hope, he thought they were dead too.. but the more people talked, the better they were able to grieve properly. Sometimes it just all flowed out. It was your turn to start talking, Captain Jack.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-09 03:18 pm UTC (link)

Jack had seen those few journal entries, knowing exactly what Ten had been talking about. The only problem was that one of those entries had, in fact, been his own. He wanted nothing to do with the Powers that Be and if he could take them down himself? Right now, he would. Besides, what did he have to lose? Wasn't like they could kill him, now could they?

He was out of sorts and had Jack known what Nine was thinking, he would have been glad the other man had picked up on just how out of sorts he was. The only problem, however, was that Jack was going to do everything in his power to make it seem like he was just fine.

Lies, all lies, Harkness.

To be honest, Jack wasn't sure why he had come out here. Nine had asked him to come and Jack had that strange compulsion that, whenever the Doctor called, he'd be there. The Doctor had called, so here he was -- but in truth all Jack wanted was to be alone in his grief and to mourn his lover in private. Jack wasn't really ready to admit just how much Ianto had meant to him.

Jack walked, comfortably sandwiched between the two Doctors and after a few paces, lifted his arms as best as he could in the greatcoat and slung them over both Doctor's shoulders. "Ah, better," he said, forcing himself to not look so dejected. Only problem was that it wasn't working well.

"I wouldn't say he captured," Jack replied, shrugging off the question. "He was... well... one of my employees. It was a convenient shag." What a fantastic lie, Captain Harkness. Only problem is the fact that it's a complete lie and the look on his face spoke volumes over his words. Jack quickly pressed on, not wanting to look like a man who had just lost his partner.

Even if he was. Jack couldn't admit it to himself, so how could he admit it to either Doctor? He couldn't, that's how.

"It's spit out its dead before," Jack continued after a pause, "but nothing like this. Nothing like what we saw on the monitors. Coupled with the fact others went through those experiments the day before? That was the warning shot and we all fucking missed it."

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