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amythest_n_ice) wrote2008-02-17 12:51 am
Birthday Gifts
Here we have Jack/Ten birthday HC/Fluff (odd combo I know)
Jack Harkness stood in the reception area of the Administration dome on Io, waiting for the colony’s chief of security to deign to spare him five minutes. Since Torchwood had been swallowed up by UNIT when Earth had made legitimate first contact, Jack had once more run for the stars. He might be able to hide his immortality within Torchwood’s lax record keeping, and heavy staff turnover, but in a military structure, he would have been caught out in no time. He supposed he was lucky he had been able to hide on Earth as he had for over four hundred years. As Humanity had spread out through the solar system, their final step before the leap into the darkness of space, he had set himself up as a private security consultant, double checking the security measures of the ever growing colonies, usually for the admin, but sometimes, like now, for Earth Central Government. He suspected the fact he had been hired by ECG was why the security chief was keeping him waiting.
What a way to spend my 500th birthday, he thought sourly, being pissed about by some penny ante security chief who’s job I could do better than him if I was lying in a coma. He clenched his fist around the data chip that held his recommendations, and then realizing he would have to do the whole report over if he broke it, forced his grip to relax.
“Ooh, what a scowl. Careful you don’t crack the dome, I’ve heard depressurization is a sod of a way to die.” A jarringly familiar voice said from somewhere behind him.
Jack spun round and saw him leaning against the doorframe, the same sort of pinstripe suit, now in a darker blue, the same artfully unkempt hair, the same long trench coat, and the same converse trainers. The eyes looked a little older, but the manic grin was completely unchanged.
“Doctor?”
“Who else would be able to track you down, given the lengths you seem to be going to, to hide your trail. I followed your Vortex Manipulator by the way.”
“Yeah, well Earth doesn’t have the tech to do that yet, so it’s safe enough for me to keep it. What are you doing here?”
“I came to wish you happy birthday. The big 500 is quite a landmark. Come to the TARDIS with me, I have a surprise for you, Jack.”
“What, you want to show me your etchings?” Jack snorted, the urge to flirt with the Doctor coming back as if it hadn’t been 300 years since he last saw the man.
“Maybe later. Come with me.” The Doctor repeated, holding out a hand.
“I thought I was Wrong. What happened to that?” Jack asked, surprised at the trace of bitterness in his tone, he had thought he was long over that. He didn’t miss the Doctor’s slightly guilty wince when he said that.
“Trust me Jack, come with me.” The Doctor held out his hand again.
“I have a job to do here you know.” Jack pointed out, holding up the data chip.
“You know he isn’t going to pay any attention to your recommendations Jack, he’s an ass, and you know what happens to this colony, you can’t change that. You don’t need the money either. So, any more excuses?” The Doctor asked, offering his hand for the third time.
An instinct warned Jack that if he danced around the offer again, the Doctor wouldn’t ask for a fourth time. He grabbed a notepad and pen from the table in the room, scrawled ‘security recommendations’ on it, and left it on the empty secretary’s desk, with the chip sitting on top of it, then with a wild grin that he knew he hadn’t used in far too long, he grabbed the proffered hand and allowed himself to be dragged out of the room, and through the warren of corridors in the admin dome.
The TARDIS was parked on the edge of the Dome, and the Doctor didn’t pause in his momentum, opening the door and pulling Jack inside. The console room hadn’t changed as far as Jack could see, until the Doctor pulled him around the console. The captain’s chair that had always been there had been replaced with a slightly larger and plusher looking seat. This was where the Doctor took Jack, making him sit down.
“Sit there, just a short hop to where we’re going.”
“Where?”
“Jack, the word surprise indicates that the destination isn’t going to be revealed until arrival. Unless the dictionary has changed along the line and no one told me?” He snarked, reminding Jack oddly of his earlier incarnation for a moment.
“Doctor, the word surprise in your dictionary was usually defined as ‘run for your life’.” Jack shot right back.
The Doctor gave him a wry grin to acknowledge the point as he launched them, and then came to sit beside him on the roomy seat.
“I promise Jack, no running for your life today, this is a carefully planned birthday treat. The TARDIS checked thoroughly to make sure there were no disasters, invasions, or uprisings.”
“Why are you going to all this effort?”
“I told you, 500 is special.”
Jack sat there looking at him for a long moment, then grinned.
“So, do I get to know when your birthday is, so I can do something for you?”
The Doctor blushed faintly, which amused Jack, he had never seen the Time Lord do that before, he didn’t know he could blush.
“I timed my visit carefully Jack, it’s my 1000th birthday today, and your coming with me is the best gift I could have.”
“What? But, I thought that…..”
“Jack, my reaction to your immortality when it first happened was because of the way your presence made me feel, yes. Also because I was afraid, of the way I had started to feel about you. Now though, your presence in the universe has been assimilated, you no longer send out the ripples of distortion that used to affect the TARDIS and myself.”
“Oh, oh wow,” Jack said, sitting back in the chair.
“Does this mean that you’ll actually come and visit me more often now?” Jack asked.
The Doctor didn’t answer as he jumped to his feet once more, and darted over to the console, making sure everything was in order as the landing sequence started. Jack felt a familiar pang of hurt at the Doctor’s actions, he had hoped that the Doctor would at least promise him a visit or two in the endless lifetime he had stretching before him.
“We’re there, come on Jack,” the Doctor said, holding out his hand once more and pulling Jack up out of the seat when he took it.
“We’ll need this.” The Doctor grinned, a strip of black silk appearing in his hand seemingly from nowhere.
“And what precisely will we need that for?” Jack asked archly.
“Take a guess.” The Doctor laughed, darting around behind Jack and dropping the cloth over his eyes. He put a hand on Jack’s broad shoulder when he moved to pull away from the blindfold, and felt the tense muscles quivering with a suppressed flight instinct.
“Trust me, please Jack.” The Doctor’s voice was softer than Jack had ever heard directed at him.
Such a simple request, Jack thought, but leaning back to allow the Doctor to tie the blindfold ranked up there as one of the hardest things he had done in a good few centuries, he was rewarded by a light squeeze to his shoulder, then the Doctor trailed his hand down Jack’s arm to grasp his hand once more.
“Thank you, Jack. I won’t let you fall, I promise.”
With a firm grip on his hand, and softly worded directions, the Doctor led Jack out of the TARDIS, the first thing Jack noticed was the scent in the air, soft subtle hint of evergreen and something very close to jasmine. He found himself automatically tracking the directions he was led in, long ingrained habit kicking in with the loss of his sight. Out of the TARDIS and across concrete or plascrete, left, still on the same hard surface, then left again, a pause, then on again, inside now, Jack knew. The air was warmer, and the scent of expensive polish replaced the natural scents and the floor had changed to some kind of laminate surface. Right, onto carpet, feeling deep and plush by the way he sank into it, and he could hear the crackle of flames, and the pop of burning wood. Once more onto a hard surface, back outside, Jack gauged, as the air freshened again. The Doctor guided him into a chair and moved behind him, working the knot of the blindfold.
“I get the distinct impression that you will be able to find your way back to the TARDIS without any input from me,” the Doctor said, sounding vaguely disapproving.
Jack shrugged, but found himself unable to form a sentence, or even remember what he had been about to say, as the blindfold fell away and the vista hit his eyes. They were on a private balcony of some kind, overlooking a soaring mountain lightly dusted with snow at the higher reaches. The light was fading, and the lilac sky was rapidly darkening to purple while twin moons were becoming apparent over the mountain. The chair the Doctor had sat him at was beside a table set with crisp white linens and sparkling crystal, while the centerpiece was two tall, slender white candles. Jack was awed by the beauty of the overtly romantic setting.
“I took the liberty of ordering for you, Jack. Hopefully your tastes haven’t changed too much.” The Doctor told him as a silent waiter stepped out and laid their meals before them, pouring each of them a glass of white wine before vanishing inside once more.
“Happy birthday Jack,” the Doctor said, picking up his glass and holding it to the center of the table. Jack raised his own glass chiming it gently against the Doctor’s glass.
“And to you, Doctor. Happy birthday.”
Jack sipped the wine and found it exactly as he liked, crisp, and a little tart and perfectly chilled. They talked quietly of little things as they ate, companions that had come and gone in the TARDIS, what Jack had been doing since they saw each other last.
The waiter cleared their dessert plates, and Jack leaned back in his chair, a fresh glass of wine in his hand as he looked out over the view. The sky was black now, unfamiliar constellations shining down brightly, and the snow atop the mountain looking like silver gilding in the light of the two moons.
“Have you had a good time Jack?” The Doctor asked, watching the younger man’s profile. He saw the smile, sweet and genuine, before Jack turned to face him.
“This has been the best birthday I can ever remember having.” He told him honestly.
“I have a gift for you,” the Doctor said, suddenly looking a little nervous as he fished a small gift from his coat pocket.
“You don’t need to give me a gift, you already did all this.” Jack objected, gesturing to the table, and the view.
“I need to give you this gift.” The Doctor insisted seriously, offering it to Jack.
Jack took the box, plain unmarked dark leather, tied shut with a white velvet ribbon. The ribbon came away with a single pull, and Jack opened the box to see a key nestling on a bed of silk inside.
“I don’t understand,” Jack said, looking up at the other man.
“A half millennia for you, a new millennia for me, and a new key for a new beginning, if you’re willing of course.” The Doctor explained, meeting his eyes steadily.
Jack felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes burned with tears as he stared at the Doctor.
“Jack, are you all right? You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to.” The Doctor looked worried now.
Jack shook his head, a couple of tears escaping at the movement, running down his face.
“I’ve missed you for so long, I never thought I was going to be able to come home again.” He rasped.
The Doctor hurried around the table, hugging him tightly, and Jack buried his face in the older man’s shoulder.
“So is that a yes?” The Doctor asked, stroking Jack’s back as he held him. Jack nodded, unable to speak for the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.
“Then I guess this is the best birthday ever for the both of us.” The Doctor whispered, kissing Jack’s hair lightly. Jack was coming home, and anything else they could work out in their own time.
End.