Winter companion: The great race (Part eight)

[m_findlow]

Title: The great race
Author: m_findlow
Prompt: 2 - Lucy, races, flag, on a holodeck at wintercompanion
Rating: Thirteenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Pairing: PG
Content notes: Spoilers for all seasons of both series, and the Torchwood Big Finish audioplays.
Length: 33,192 words
Author notes: Beta'ed by beesandbrews. I don't own them, they belong to their respective creators.
Summary: A new adventure awaits two old friends as they compete in the greatest race of a generation.

They spent a long time in companionable silence after that, watching the scenery go by, lap after lap, after lap. It had been fun for a while, but the Doctor could see how the repetitiveness of it would addle the brain and cause one's concentration to drift sideways. It certainly wasn't as demanding as navigating a minefield of asteroids, but there was enough of a challenge to undo even the best flyer if they didn't staying focused.

Lucy was a case in point. The race had been going for more than twenty hours, and she must have put in many more hours on top of that, preparing her ship. The Doctor kept a keen eye on their flight path as Lucy's hands grew more relaxed around the controls. She'd offered to take the helm two hours ago, but Lucy had steadfastly refused.

'Lucy,' the Doctor gently shook the pilot's shoulder. 'Time to let me fly for a while. You're exhausted.'

Her eyelids heavy, Lucy grudgingly nodded, and allowed the Doctor to take her place. A few moments later she curled into the co-pilot's seat, grateful for the reprieve.

Passing through a long stretch of empty space, the Doctor got up to stretch her legs, and to wrangle herself a new co-pilot.

'Up and at 'em, Jack,' the Doctor said, nudging his shoulder with her foot. He didn't wake, instead curling over on his side, wrapping an arm around her leg, hugging it. 'Marry me?' he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes, stepping out of his grip before he nuzzled her boot. She shook his shoulder. 'Jaaaack?' His eyes opened this time. 'Already?'

'You've been asleep for seven hours. I think that's enough beauty sleep, even for you.'

'Seven? I could have sworn I'd only just closed my eyes.' He pushed himself up off the floor. 'Aw, man, but that feels better,' he said, stretching out his cramped muscles. 'How are we doing?' he asked.

'We've only seen two other racers in the last few hours, and I think we managed to lap at least one of them.'

'Well, that's good news.' He slid into the seat next to Lucy, strapping himself in. 'How are you doing? Need a break?'

She hated to admit that her eyes were dry and tired. She'd done long haul trips before, but she'd always made a point to stop and rest. She nodded.

'Go get some sleep, then. I'll take over.'

She knew she was tired because she couldn't be bothered arguing. 'Just watch that pass by Ellus,' Lucy warned. 'If you can fly through the planet's rings instead of around them, we can cut a good ten minutes off each lap.'

'Roger that,' he said, giving her a mock salute.

Lucy got up out of the co-pilot's seat, swapping with the Doctor, and took up position in the seat behind. She nestled into it, shutting her eyes.

Jack studied the flight path ahead of them, all smooth sailing for several light years. Right at this moment, it hardly felt like a race. Before taking his seat, he glanced down at the tiny ball of purple and gold, and smiled. She'd probably hate him for thinking it, but she was so adorable, curled up there fast asleep. He grabbed her jacket off the top of his seat, tucking it in around her for warmth.

He settled in front of the main flight controls and began going through the motions, checking the status of their systems, consulting the map, and generally making himself at home. It felt good to be at the helm of a ship again. Perhaps when this was over, he might consider buying one of his own. As much as he had enjoyed being a free agent, it had its limitations. He could still only go wherever and whenever a ship might be willing to take him. Sometimes that cost credits, other times that meant hard labour, or at least being able to make himself useful. There was no such thing as a free ride. Having a ship would make him the commander of his own destiny again.

The Doctor watched him quietly as he went about the task, before finally speaking. 'How long has it been since we last saw each other?'

Jack drew in a breath and exhaled slowly, mulling the question over.

'Ten years? Fifteen?' It felt like an eternity and no time at all. 'I don't really keep track,' he confessed. 'When you've got forever and you don't get any older, time kinda loses any meaning.'

All he knew it was that it was still possible to lose track of it. Drinking was the best strategy for eliminating big chunks of time. That was the one upside of being immortal – he could drink himself away and not wake up the next morning with a shocking hangover. He could put away more booze than even the most seasoned alcoholic. Most of the time he remembered nothing. Not how he'd got home, wherever that was, or how he landed in someone else's bed, nor what he'd done with the remainder of the evening, though he could take an educated guess. Sometimes he got rowdy drunk, and they kicked him out, or he chatted up whatever exotic creature came his way until they got bored and decided to leave. Occasionally, he just went and stood right on the edge of the tallest building he could find, swaying drunkenly, not caring if he went over. Alcohol exacerbated his maudlin moods, but still he drank just to fill in the hours. He didn't have anyone to be accountable to anymore.

'I thought you'd still be on Earth.'

'There's nothing keeping me there anymore,' he replied. Just a bunch of ghosts, not all of whom he'd managed to leave behind.

'Nobody caught your eye?' The Doctor mused, trying to eke out more. 'You were always so eager to go home all those times before, like there was someone waiting for you to come back.'

He clenched his jaw, the Doctor having struck a nerve. 'You know me, Doc. I'm not good at commitment. I never could settle down.'

'No, of course not,' she said, keeping up the pretence.

'So, what about you?' Jack asked.

'Oh,' a warm smile crept across her face. 'I've been there and done that.'

Jack nearly choked. 'You got married? When? More to the point, to who?'

'No one you know,' she replied, before frowning. 'At least I hope not. River Song is probably the one person in the universe who could give you a run for your money. Just picturing the pair of you in the same room makes my head hurt. The whole universe would probably tear itself apart.'

Jack laughed at the quasi-insult. 'Must've been quite a man, this River."

'Woman,' she replied. 'I was still, er...'

'A guy?' Jack laughed. 'Hey, I'm not judging. You love who you love. The rest doesn't matter. So, where is she now?'

The Doctor appeared wistful. 'Somewhere off in time and space, having adventures, getting into trouble. A lot like you, really.'

'You're not together anymore?'

'Diverging timelines,' she replied. 'Her end is my beginning. Makes first dates very confusing. She used to keep a diary of all the times we'd catch up along the way, but she'd never tell me when or where. Spoilers, apparently.' She sighed, and Jack saw the brief look of sadness in her eyes. 'According to the little blue book though, there are no more dates left now. We've reached the end of our temporal intersection. All of time and space but never enough time for love,' she said.

'I know,' he agreed. Falling in love had always ended badly.

Jack cast a look back at Lucy, watching her sleep. She was so young and feisty, yet adorable once you stripped away the attitude and just saw her for what she was. So much like his own daughter. He wished he'd spent more time loving her, even if her mother didn't want him there. 'She's a good kid,' he muttered.

'She is.' The Doctor paused for a moment. 'Jack?'

'Yeah?'

'There's something I need to tell you.'

'Fire away,' he said, his eyes never leaving the view in front of him.

'It's important.'

'That's fine.'

The Doctor turned in her seat and gripped the armrest with both hands. 'Promise you won't fly off the handle and get mad?'

Jack turned at the comment, finally meeting her gaze. 'What? What's so important that you can't just spit it out?' He let out a sigh. 'Look, if it's about the 456 thing, I-'

'It's not about that. But I am sorry.'

'So, what, then?' He didn't think anything was more important than that. That was the day the world ended for him.

'It's about Lucy.'

He cast a worried look behind him. 'What about her?'

'She and her brother got caught up in a racketeering operation Drax was running. Her brother was convicted and imprisoned. The only reason she's here risking her life is to win the prize money which will just barely cover the bail to free him. She didn't have the heart to tell you. All she wants is to save her brother.'

The admission rendered Jack speechless. It all made sense now. That desperate need to win, her hatred for Drax, and why she resisted any offers for help. Everyone else in the race was in it for the money and the glory, or just the sheer thrill of it; all completely selfish motives. All she wanted was to get back the one person she loved more than anything.

'I wish she'd told me.'

'She was too scared tell you. You said it yourself, money does strange things to people.'

'Not you though, huh? Having to make ends meet is a foreign concept for you. You've got your TARDIS. You can go anywhere and do anything. All you have to do is wave your psychic paper around.'

'You make it all sound so easy.'

'Don't get me wrong, I'm not jealous. Well, maybe sometimes. But it was never about the money,' Jack explained. 'I've got more than enough to keep me flush in hypervodkas and nice hotels. Living the life of the beau-monde is fun for a while, but I prefer the fast lane. Always have. It's been too long since I've done anything that really got my heart racing. That's why I came here - because living forever isn't the same as feeling alive.'

The Doctor took a good long look at the man she thought she knew, trying to reconcile those thoughts with the person sitting next to her.

She knew Jack wasn't so callous as to put his own needs ahead of others. The last time they'd seen each other he'd been prepared to detonate a warp star rather than let the Daleks kill his friends. He'd even let himself be killed by a Dalek in order to get away and bring help. And then there was Torchwood. Gods, but she'd despised Torchwood. One day, totally out of the blue, the TARDIS had uploaded all of Torchwood's databases. More of Jack's handiwork, she assumed, from the last time he'd been aboard. He always was a little too good at knowing what the TARDIS liked, tuning her systems and making her purr at his attentions. Who knew even a TARDIS could be swayed by a pretty face?

When she'd gone back to Earth years later, she'd discovered that Torchwood was gone, all traces of records on Earth erased, buried and hidden. The TARDIS had the only set now. She perused some of them in her spare time. Jack really had turned the place around if those reports were anything to go by. Aliens had been cared for, rehabilitated, rehoused or sent home, if that were possible. Research was observational and interactive, and there were strict controls for anything that could be used as a weapon, or might inadvertently change the developmental pace of technology on Earth. Considering their limited resources and capabilities, a few fancy computers and a rift machine that Jack banned them from using, they'd done remarkably well. Under Jack's guidance, Torchwood had become a force for good, and a fine representative for planet Earth. She was proud of him having come so far since that first encounter in wartime London.

'I know,' she said. 'For the first time I feel like I finally understand you, Jack.'

He gave her a winsome smile. 'Gone a lot of places and seen a lot of things. That changes you. I've met some people along the way who might have done the same,' he added.

The Doctor stared out into the stars. 'And they say a leopard never changes its spots.'

Part nine...

Comments

[bk_forever]

The Doctor may be starting to understand Jack, but she still has a long way to go. She still doesn't know how deeply Jack loves, or how much he's lost, or how badly those losses have broken him. She's barely scratched the surface.

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

They'd need to spend a lot of time together to truly understand one another and realise they're a lot more alike than they realise.