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Jack was here
by Lilithangel
“Who the hell are you,” Rory demanded, “and what are you doing here?”
It had only been a few minutes since the Doctor had left and Rory had begun his vigil and he had his first challenge to meet.
“Captain Jack Harkness at your service soldier,” the figure said stepping into the light. “I came here because you told me I did. Thought you might like the company, at least I remember you telling me you liked the company.”
Rory looked at the man in the long military coat and kept his sword pointed firmly. “How could you remember me telling you anything when I don’t remember ever meeting you?”
“That’s because you haven’t met me yet,” Jack said raising his hands in a peaceful gesture.
“This is a time travel thing isn’t it?” Rory said with a sigh.
“Yep,” Jack said letting his jacket sleeve slip down to reveal a strap that looked very similar to the one the Doctor had used.
“How come you remember?” Rory said with suspicion. “Are you from the fixed future or the new future?”
“Both,” Jack said with a frown. “I remember the stars but I know they never existed, except if they never existed then humanity never left Earth and I was never born. Good thing I’m a fact and an anomaly,” he added with a grin.
“Can you go after the Doctor?” Rory said. “Can you help him save Amy?”
“Best I can do is keep you company for a bit,” Jack said, “this one’s the Doctor’s to fix and your Amy. River assured me it would work out provided it didn’t of course.”
“This time stuff makes my head hurt,” Rory said sheathing his sword and sitting down.
“You should try living it,” Jack said, “My head is a jumble right now as it tries to accept the changes. Kind of fun though,” he grinned and sat down next to Rory.
“I’m going to be here a long time,” Rory said despondently, “the Doctor thinks I’ll go mad.”
“The human mind is an amazing thing,” Jack said, “You’ve handled this much, what’s two thousand years?”
“Oh god,” Rory said as Jack’s words sank in. “How long can you stay?” he asked hopefully.
“I’ll have to pop off for food now and again and to check on the universe,” Jack said, “and the wife will want to know I’m still around, that’s assuming the marriage is still valid.” Jack grinned. “We could be living in sin again, she’d like that.”
“You’re married?” Rory said knowing it was a stupid question. “How does she cope with being married to a time traveller?”
“Luckily she’s used to it,” Jack said, “and she’s as bad as I am. Of course her other husband is worse. We haven’t got to the part where we’re all married yet but she assures me it’s great. Timey Wimey Wibbly Wobbly,” he added to Rory’s confused look, “as a friend once so succinctly put it.” Jack pulled out a little black notebook and read something. “The timelines are all compressing so I’m not sure what’s going to happen next. You were a little uncertain about that yourself. I’ll be back as soon as I can, whenever that is.” He leaned over and kissed Rory quickly on the lips. Before Rory could react Jack had pressed buttons on his wrist strap and disappeared.
Rory’s eyes widened, “I hope I’m not his husband,” he said.
* * * * *
Rory was getting really tired of people wandering away with his box. The centurion getup was becoming a bit of a liability he had to admit but he was rather fond of it and Jack loved to tease him about it and the legends that were building around him. He wouldn’t mind if they didn’t keep coming to nick Amy.
“You’d look rather smashing in a surcoat,” Jack said from behind him, “although I would miss the calves.”
“Fat lot of good you are,” Rory said, not admitting just how good the surcoat looked on Jack.
“I’m here now,” Jack said. He clipped two small objects to the sides of the Pandorica and suddenly it only weighed half what it had before and Rory was able to drag it completely into the cave.
“Stupid knights,” Rory grumbled as he sat down, “does it look like the Arc of the Covenant really?”
Jack laughed and slid down the side of the box to join him. “We seem to be running out of sacred artefacts,” he said, “history’s getting really squeezed now.”
“How’s the wife?” Rory asked. “Have you met the husband yet?” He always asked and Jack always teased him.
“She’s good,” Jack said, “not sure I’ll get the husband now, all the future is missing. How’s the fiancé?”
“Still not talking to me,” Rory quipped, “but not long now. Less than a thousand years to go.”
“It won’t feel like a thousand years,” Jack said, “we’ve been taking some readings and time is squeezing too.”
“That’s good,” Rory said, “I wasn’t the best at history at school, I’m waiting for the Victorian era, at least I saw that on telly. Are you forgetting your husband?”
“No, he’s just not in the history anymore. We keep reminding each other but her diary is going blank. Reality is having a hard time dealing with us anomalies so don’t get yourself destroyed okay?”
“Okay.”
“You still fully functional?” Jack asked him.
“A few dents and dings,” Rory said not rising to the bait. “Do you like being married?”
Jack looked at him in surprise. “Yeah I do, I’ve always liked being married and this one keeps me on my toes.”
“How do you go about being married to two people?” Rory had wanted to ask several times.
“It’s not uncommon, won’t be uncommon, would have been…” Jack said, “Man I hate the way time is messed up, none of my memories make sense now. Anyway, she married me and then she married him and later we married each other, or it might have been the other way around.”
* * * * *
Jack had been right about time being squeezed but Rory was still glad when the twenty first century rolled around. The museum was a lot more comfortable than the other storage places he’d ended up in although he’d certainly seen more of the world than he’d ever expected, but was still full of long boring bits.
Jack visited intermittently, and not always in the same order and Rory did make friends with his workmates so it wasn’t a bad old facsimile of a life. But he was really glad to see the Doctor and Amy again, especially an Amy that recognised him and kissed him.
It wasn’t how he imagined it would end though with the Doctor being the sacrifice to bring the stars back. He’d really thought the Doctor could fix anything.
He was pleased to see Jack though. When Amy went to talk to the Doctor one last time Jack appeared behind them and Rory wasn’t surprised to see River let herself be hugged by him.
“I’m sorry my love,” she said to Jack, “I really thought I could do more. I wish I’d written this bit down.”
“Time can be rewritten remember? He’ll have a plan you know he will,” Jack said.
“Of course he has,” she said with confidence. “Do you want to say goodbye just in case?” River was holding onto Jack’s hand quite tightly Rory noticed.
“We haven’t caught up yet,” Jack said, “no point in confusing him.”
“But…” Jack hushed her with a sad look.
“Can’t risk the future that is going to happen,” he said firmly.
“It was a great first meeting,” she said with a smile.
“I saw a Dalek out there, or the remains of one,” Jack said, “through the eyestalk like I taught you, good girl.” He kissed the top of her head and she hit him in the arm. “Rory,” Jack added with a smile, “how’s the fiancé?”
“Talking to me finally,” Rory said, “good to see you Jack, thanks for all the visits by the way and those antigravity things too, they made things a lot easier.”
“You’re welcome,” Jack said with a smile, “I should go and make sure you get them. Anyway I’d better not be too close when things get hot, no telling what I’ll do to the end of reality.” He kissed River hard. “Never doubted him or you, never will,” he said softly and then disappeared.
“Those things are really giving me a headache,” Rory complained just as the ground shook and River called out to the Doctor.
* * * * *
“Are you married, River?”
“Are you asking?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“No hang on, did you think I was asking you to marry me, or asking if you were married?”
“Yes.”
“No but was that yes, or yes?”
“Yes.”
“River, who are you?”
“You’re going to find out very soon now and I’m sorry, but that is when everything changes.”
“Are you alright dear heart?” Jack said as River appeared in their room.
“Everything’s back to normal just like you said. Amy remembered and brought him back and it’s getting close to time,” she said, slipping her pearls and coat off. She curled up beside him knowing that with Jack she didn’t have to be Professor River Song terror of Daleks, she could just be River living a backwards relationship and going in circles. “He asked me if I was married and then panicked in case I thought he was asking me to marry him.”
“I bet you loved scaring the pants off him,” Jack said with a chuckle and she smiled at the memory.
“Was it hard to remember all the things that hadn’t happened?” she said as she kicked her shoes off and let him hug her close.
“Only because they were such wonderful memories,” Jack said. Her diary had been empty but Jack had remembered enough when the universe had reset to send her to Amy and Rory’s wedding day with the empty book and enough faith for both of them. “Nothing is truly forgotten and nobody is truly gone if you remember them.”
“He is such a noble idiot,” she said with a sigh.
“That’s why we love him,” Jack said.
“He’s still so young,” she said and Jack chuckled. “If you make a comment about how we like them I will have to hurt you,” she warned.
“He’s the Doctor,” Jack said, “it wouldn’t matter, didn’t matter what age he is.”
“I’m going to meet him for the first time very soon,” she said.
“And everything will change,” Jack said. “And it’ll be fantastic.”
And it would.
END