Anythingdrabble Challenge 103 - Rotten timing

[m_findlow]

Title: Rotten timing
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack, mentions Gwen and John Hart
Word Count: 500 words
Rating: PG
Notes: Written for Challenge 103 - Rot at anythingdrabble
Summary: John's arrival has caused all kinds of trouble.

'There is the tiniest one percent chance he's breaking a habit of a lifetime and telling the truth.'

Even as Jack said the words he knew he was only saying them for Gwen's benefit. He didn't really believe that John hart could possibly be a changed man. He'd done every kind of rehabilitation program in the known universe, but still he'd shown up here, already murdered one person, terrorised a bar full of others and then proceeded to drink the bar dry. John was rotten right down to the core, but there was still something about him that Jack felt instantly attracted to. He knew he shouldn't. His time agency days were well past him now. He wanted to put all of that behind him. It hadn't all been bad of course, he'd done some brilliant work, and been known around the agency as a fixer- a guy who would take on any assignment, no matter how dangerous, and see it through.

Then they'd given him the one assignment that had begun unraveling it all. Being partnered with John had felt like a punishment rather than a privilege. The guy was unhinged, appallingly selfish, dangerous, and had contributed to the death of a  fellow agent, one whom Jack had both liked and respected. What had Jack done to deserve this?

There was something however in that relaxed yet highly volatile personality that Jack found himself drawn into. John was different, he was exciting in a thrilling we almost got killed kind of way. John had shown him the perks of working both sides of the game, taking advantage of their ability to float in and out of any moment in time and space. Like a drug - and there'd been plenty of those, too - John became a habit he just couldn't break.

That wasn't him now, though. Jack had done his own rehab of sorts, gotten himself clean of whatever influence John had created over him. He'd reverted back to his former self, the time agent who felt a duty to make things right and to uphold justice. John's return into his life now was a complication he didn't need. There was another angle being played here. What would John  care if a few radioactive devices got sucked through the rift and dropped onto Jack's patch? He was either using them as an excuse to get close to Jack, or there was something more sinister about these canisters, which was why he was happy to have Jack's team volunteering to do the legwork.

Jack admired Gwen's tenacity, and the way she saw straight through him. She knew that John couldn't be trusted either, but she also saw that Jack was wavering in his own convictions, dividing his loyalties between his team and his ex partner. On this one occasion he was going to have to cede control to her. Rot had a habit of spreading, and Jack knew all too well how easy it was to fall back into bad habits.