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I will Remember You
by Lilithangel
He knew almost nothing about farming when he landed, well crashed really and everyone was amazed that he walked out of the smoking crater with barely a scratch. They were welcoming anyway. It was a harsh planet and all hands were needed. So long as he was prepared to work he was welcome to stay.
So he stayed, and he learnt to farm. Learnt to enjoy the warm soil under his fingers and the blessed release of working so hard that sleep was dark and dreamless. Because he hated his dreams, hated the vague ghosts of memories of death that ran across his eyelids every time he closed them. He didn't know anything about his past, his name or his character. Karl, the leader of the settlement, said that a man showed his character through his deeds not his dreams and he was a hard worker, which was all that mattered to them.
He was good at fixing things too and folks would bring him things to tinker with in the evenings. They were a long way from the space port and parts were hard come by, so they were all good at mending things but some things needed a special touch. They showed him what he'd had on him after the crash. He didn't recognise them but soon figured out how they worked and so he kept them. They didn't often come out of the small chest he made for them and the clothes he'd been wearing.
They called him Lucky for his survival story and it was a nice name so he didn't argue.
A year after his arrival he returned to the crash site for the first time. He wasn't sure why he hadn't been back, there just hadn't seemed to be time or reason so he didn't know what had drawn him back. Except for a face that he knew he should recognise that was the only thing in his dreams that didn't disturb him.
Staring into the slowly regenerating crater he couldn't see anything familiar, anything that triggered memories. He closed his eyes briefly and then picked up the shovel. He liked his life on Hearth and the fragmented memories simply hinted at a life he didn't want anymore.
He buried them and returned to the farm.
Twenty years and he was still the same. Others had noticed but nobody said anything to his face. Behind his back he knew they talked and while they were happy to have him there, they were all grateful that he hadn't formed any strong relationships. Whilst he had grown fond of many and spent many pleasurable nights with them he'd never developed any stronger feelings. Many of the ones that had seen his arrival were gone now, including Karl and he had become a permanent fixture in the new town.
It was a good life and he had grown strong and tanned from it. He didn't know why he wasn't aging at the same rate as the others but it seemed normal. There wasn't anything overtly different about him but he'd avoided the local doctor for a reason he couldn't quite understand. It wasn't difficult to do since he'd never felt comfortable around the man anyway.
The settlement had grown and was reaching closer to the space port every day, but he was happy to tend his crops and watch over his animals. Oh, he knew there was a huge amount of knowledge in his brain that had nothing to do with farming or any topic the settlers would understand. He knew it wouldn't take much to bring it to the surface, but he knew it came with a lot of knowledge he didn't want, memories that hurt even without knowing them.
He thought he might regret losing some of the faces that haunted his dreams, but the rest was too horrible to focus on. Until the day the not-stranger appeared.
The space port was still far enough away that visitors were always welcomed with interest, especially handsome ones who appeared out of nowhere and took such interest in the town.
He was looking for someone who looked like Lucky, except called Jack, and was smart enough to notice the closed in faces at his questions. He settled in at the bar and didn't ask anymore questions. Instead he charmed everyone, chatting about everything and nothing. Even old Murdock, who never talked about the war that left him so scarred, came and sat next to the stranger. They shared stories, not of war but of camaraderie and history that the stranger looked far too young to understand. Of course they were used to folk looking younger than they were.
When it became obvious that the stranger wasn't planning on leaving, Lucky came into the bar. He didn't want his friends at risk, no matter how friendly the stranger seemed.
The stranger smiled at Lucky and Lucky knew he'd seen that smile before. It was associated with good things and not so good things, but it was a smile he trusted.
"Jack," the man said, "like the new look, very agricultural."
Lucky looked down at himself with a frown. He was wearing his best overalls, having changed when Karl Junior came to tell him about the stranger.
The man's smile slipped as he saw Lucky's incomprehension. "Jack?"
"My name's Lucky," he said, "have we met?"
"Yes we have," the man replied, "I'm the Doctor."
"Nice to meet you, Doctor," he said, offering his hand. "I'm afraid I don't remember you," he added, "I had an accident you see. I don't remember anything before I crashed here. Doctor of what?" He wanted to know who this Doctor was to him and he didn't want to know.
Instead of explaining the Doctor ordered them drinks and asked Lucky about his farm. They chatted until Lucky relaxed and even felt comfortable enough to flirt. The others in the bar drifted off leaving them in private once they saw Lucky relax.
The Doctor smiled at the flirting. "Buy me a drink first," he said, and a memory of another face and another time those words were spoken nearly knocked Lucky off his seat.
"Doctor?"
"Jack," the Doctor smiled with delight as recognition lit Jack's eyes.
"What happened?"
"You got lost," the Doctor said, "we were in the middle of a battle and I lost you."
Jack frowned, "I remember, sort of. It hurt and I died."
"You died a lot, Jack," the Doctor said with a small frown.
"How did I get here?"
"The ship you were on got caught in a time stream while you were dead. It took me a while to lock onto the distress beacon. I got here as soon as I could when you didn't return."
"You don't normally come looking for me do you?" Jack said, not sure why he knew that.
"You normally take care of yourself just fine," the Doctor replied, "but you normally come back too. I was worried. You must have hit your head pretty hard," he added lightening the mood, "to knock the memories out of that hard lump."
"It's not that hard," Jack protested with a grin.
"I've got the Tardis parked around the corner," the Doctor said, "you ready to go?"
Jack looked at the Doctor in surprise. It hadn't occurred to him that the Doctor had come to fetch him, not just find him. His first instinct was to say yes, but Lucky reminded him that there were animals to take care of and a farm as well.
"No," he said, surprising them both.
"What do you mean no?" the Doctor said in shock, "this isn't like Cardiff, you're not protecting the Earth here."
"I've got a farm and animals that I just can't walk out on, Doctor. I just need some time." It wouldn't take long to sort out his farm, he knew that. There were several young couples that would welcome an established place to get their start. It would give him enough time to sort his head out though. There were a lot of memories competing with space in his head, along with Lucky's life. It felt like Lucky was who he would have become if those creatures hadn't destroyed his life so long ago. It had been nice to be Lucky for the last twenty years, but forever might be too long when he should be helping to save the universe.
The Doctor surprised him by tagging along, exploring the farm with fascination and getting into things he really shouldn't. He stopped when the goat tried to eat his tie and sat in the kitchen while Jack spoke with the leaders of the town about candidates for taking over the farm.
"You've made a nice home for yourself here," the Doctor commented after things were settled and Jack was packing up a few personal items.
"This was Lucky's home," Jack said, "I'm not Lucky, not really."
The Doctor fiddled with one of the handmade coffee mugs Jack had been given for a birthday present. "I had an ordinary life once, when Martha was travelling with me. I had to be human for a while. It was nice, the slow path, but duty called." His eyes darted to the small mirror in the corner. "You could stay if you wanted..."
"You came all this way to find me and now you don't want me? I'm crushed Doctor," Jack teased, but there was a note of something there that caught the Doctor's attention.
"As I recall," he said, "before the battle you had agreed to buy me that drink and take me dancing. Are you backing out?"
Jack laughed and the tension was gone. "I'll teach you moves you can't even imagine," he said.
Walking into the sitting room Jack opened the chest there and pulled out a long grey coat and a leather wrist strap. After putting them back on where they belonged, Jack filled the chest with the things he wanted to bring along and slung it over one shoulder.
"Ready?" the Doctor said.
"Ready," Jack answered. He left the door unlocked for the new owners and followed the Doctor back to the Tardis. Home is where the heart is and Jack's heart would always be with the Doctor.
END