Chapter Text
Captain Jack Harkness jumped out of his skin as a bubbling sound emerged in the otherwise quiet hub. He shot out of his chair, grabbed the go bag that he kept underneath his desk, and ran towards where the Doctor's hand was kept.
After the incident with the container shattering the last time, Jack ensured the next one was ten times stronger.
Thoughts of his long-awaited friend shot through his head like a bullet.
He had endured torture, numerous deaths, and rebuilding an entire government agency from the past. He had waited. He was finally going to be given the satisfaction after all this time.
Maybe it wouldn’t be like it was. But it was a start.
Jack smiled longingly as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder and reached out to grab the hand that had grabbed onto his and ran with him down a hospital corridor, changing the course of his life forever.
The second that Jack's hand made contact with the glass, an electric discharge shot from its container and made a connection. Jack barely had time to process the odd occurrence before his vision slowly faded, and he succumbed to unconsciousness.
Jack groaned out as he woke up.
The last few minutes that had happened felt like a dream—a really cruel dream to wake up from.
His hands met cold concrete as he pushed himself up and leaned back.
It took three whole seconds before he noticed something was wrong. His eyebrows scrunched up as he put his hands through his hair.
Everything was off.
He could hear a buzzing noise that fluctuated and felt like a cold breeze. He could see he wasn’t in his familiar Torchwood hub. He waited with bated breath as he turned his head.
The wooden walls surrounding him climbed up, transiting into a dark metal spiral attached to a tunnel-shaped glass structure. It reminded Jack of the Doctor's console room—the console part, at least.
Everything else was drastically different. The wooden walls had a circular language etched into them. Pyrography if the dark burned edges indicated anything.
Some seats against the wall reminded him of those cabinet rooms he had seen during the Second war. Cushy leather backed by stained wood. He could imagine a soldier sitting there uncomfortably, feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by luxury after so much time in the trenches.
The earlier assumed concrete floor was more of a beach-colored stone, laid like tiles. It was more comfortable than it looked. A warmth radiated from under his palms. Heated flooring.
Everything felt too much. All at once. His heart pounded and felt as though it had doubled.
He quickly pulled himself off the floor and began to figure out his next steps.
Walking forward, he swept his hand across the square console. It looked like a bunker computer, and an aquarium had a child.
Maybe this was the Doctor's Tardis? He easily could’ve redecorated. If he could find the man, he would compliment him on his improved interior decorating.
The console buzzed like the lingering sound he had blocked out, and the cooling sensation returned. It swam from the buttons and traveled up his forearm, feeling more like a person's hand trying to provide Jack comfort. An anchor that felt like Ianto’s coffee or the Doctor’s smile.
He needed answers. Now.
“Doctor?” Jack wandered from the console towards the hallway. Sconces lit up as he went further in, calling out and opening doors occasionally.
He remembered the Tardis being like a maze sometimes, but this was becoming ridiculous. It seemed as though he had done circles instead of making any progress forward. Jack leaned against the wall with a sigh. He was finally one step closer, yet he felt a million light-years away.
“Doctor?” He called out once more in desperation.
A few seconds ticked by before the knob of a nearby door opened and revealed a woman. She was wearing a lovely jacket that complimented her russet eyes. Her hair was up into a quick ponytail, and she leaned out of the door frame with a smile he had seen many times before.
“Last time I checked, I’m not a doctor yet, Captain.”
Jack swallowed down his thoughts and cleared his throat. He put his award-winning smile on and hoped wherever in the Tardis the Doctor was; he wouldn’t reprimand him for introducing himself.
But before he could continue, the lovely lady whose name he hadn’t caught yet continued the conversation.
“Have we landed yet, Captain?” Her playful smile still lingered, but she looked more closed off than before. It was a split second, but Jack assumed he must’ve made a face that had soured her for some reason.
“Not yet.” Jack’s more logical side caught the repeated use of Captain, but he had no recollection of meeting her before. A slight wave of fear gripped him as he thought back to the last time he had woke up to missing time and people who knew him but he had no idea who they were.
“Then why’d you need me then?”
“Who wouldn’t need you?” Jack flirted reflexively with a wink, “I was just checking on you, making sure you were alright.”
Martha’s mood changed again as she smiled more brightly and flushed. She most certainly did not mind being flirted with by the Captain. Recently, she had thought that the alien had become withdrawn with her after their latest adventure. It was hard to accept the human Captain had treated her with disdain and contempt. She had helped him through all of it and never got one thank you.
It felt bitter thinking back to the weeks of racist comments from so-called enlightened people. The chores were fine, but it was exhausting dealing with the states and the fear of the ride back to the Tardis every night. The only bright side was The Captain, and even though the people around him influenced him, it angered her that any version of him could ever talk to her like that.
It was nice to know the regular Captain was checking in with her. It lightened the mood, and her internal tension bubbling up to the surface calmed down.
He had looked at her like she was in a new light. Different from the guilty, forlorn look that had weighed against his face the previous days. Different from looking right through her and remembering someone else.
“Well. I’m better now that you’re here.”
“Always a pleasure to make a beauty like you feel better.”
Jack was internally fighting the part of himself that needed to flirt with every single gorgeous being with a pulse to inform them of their attractiveness in case they missed it and the part of himself that was begging to find where the Doctor was so he could explain this whole mess.
In the end, both parts co-piloted.
“Well… I’m going to check on the console. See you in a minute, hot stuff.”
Without looking back, Jack speedily walked back the way he came, trying to find the console room. The walls thrummed with the cold comfort as his heartbeat sped up once more. This was all so concerning, and the quicker he could get an answer to what had happened, the faster he would feel better.
Up ahead, he saw a familiar archway and ducked inside quickly before realizing his mistake. This was not the console room; this was a medical bay.
A familiar room now seemed like it was brand new. He could count the times he had landed himself in the Tardis medical bay on both his hands. He had been eager to prove himself to the Doctor and Rose, primarily more to the Doctor. He threw himself before any danger they had encountered in their travels together. He tried so hard to prove himself worthy that he wasn’t tied to the fate of a conman. A time agent. A coward.
Why was this even happening? Was this a twisted dream, or had he accidentally activated an artifact? He wasn’t tired, but he slumped down to the floor with his eyes closed.
He counted in his head as he tried to slow his heartbeat down. Jack's face scrunched into confusion as he got to 200, and he hadn’t felt his heart rate lower. He put two fingers to his neck and checked his pulse.
It was off by a lot.
Jack opened his eyes and scrambled for the nearest medical instrument, a simple scanner.
He pointed it at himself and pulled the trigger mechanism, bathing himself in a blue light for a few seconds.
Two. Two hearts. The scanner image and its readings read two hearts. Jack scanned himself three more times before the information sank in.
There were three facts.
He woke up in a Tardis.
He was undecidedly a Timelord.
The beauty in the corridor had called him Captain, only Captain.
Jack couldn’t decide whether he should laugh or cry. He knew the basics of his situation now. Undoing what had landed him in this situation was another matter entirely.
He needed a solid plan of action.
He also needed to add learning the ship’s companion name to the growing list. He pondered momentarily as he put his hand over his chest, the rhythmic thumping relaxing him somewhat.
What would the Doctor do in this situation?
Lie and pretend like you know what you’re doing.
With A quick turn and ship lights guiding him, Jack found himself back in the console room.
A screen lit up as he strode forward, and he began looking into the Tardis’s files. It was easier that the ship seemed to know what he was looking for and directed him with a push.
Companion Files.
Files that the Tardis had independently compiled contained all the information you would want on the people who have been on board.
Latest companion, Martha Jones. 24-year-old medical student. Some stuff about family and background history and a few notes the ship had compiled that looked more like a teacher favoring a student than a ship taking logistics.
Jack went further into the files and paused as Rose’s name appeared in view. Her picture was her happily smiling in front of a wooden phone booth that looked a bit more like a retro elevator with a sliding gate. Jack smiled wistfully, thinking about his friend, and continued.
John Smith. 31, Doctorate of Science. There are no living relatives on file except for a note by the Tardis about an older brother, Irving, and his daughter, Suzan.
He looked like the Doctor; he was even dressed somewhat like him, at least in the photo shown. His leather jacket resembled more of a medic, and he had a worn-down armband and medical pin on his chest.
His eyes were lighter somehow like he hadn’t experienced as much as the Timelord he knew. His hair was longer, showing that it had a bit of wave to it even when slicked into a formal style.
His stance was still grouchy with his arms crossed over each other, but he held a smirk on his lips that reminded Jack of the mischievous nature the man always had.
He looked like a version of Jack, who had chosen a medic’s identity instead of a captain’s.
A light bulb illuminated itself in Jack’s mind as the last puzzle piece slotted itself into place. He had somehow ended up in a universe where he and the Doctor had swapped roles, species, and thankfully not fashion sense. However, as he took a second look, he found his familiar coat had, at some point been replaced with a leather equivalent. Jack quite liked his style. He quite liked that coat. Jack made a note to himself to see if he could find a similar thing to replace his old reliable for the moment.
“Are we ready for departure, Captain?” Martha walked into the console room with a pep in her step. As she got closer, she saw the photo on the monitor. “Who’s that?”
“An old friend. I was wondering if you were up to helping me surprise him.” Jack turned to face Martha and rested his palms against the console.
“We could pick him up and pop over to a planet I know you would love.” Jack winked, hoping he could swing this plan through.
“What type of friend is he?” Martha raised an eyebrow, questioning him. She could take meeting an old friend of the Captain’s as long as it didn’t make things awkward.
“The type that could use some cheering up?” Jack gave his best puppy dog eyes and tilted his head slightly to the left to make the expression more powerful. “I haven’t seen him in a long while, Martha.”
Martha sighed with a soft smile, sitting in the nearest seat. “You’re the Captain. Captain.”