Chapter Text
Captain Jack Harkness had known about Tommy Brockless and his task since the very moment he arrived at Torchwood Cardiff in 1918. It had never been a secret that down in the basement, a young soldier was frozen in a cryogenic chamber, waiting for the day he could leave his unusual prison for more than a day per year.
Therefore, Jack was stumped when he followed the sound of an alarm tone through the hub to his office, finding a box with an open temporal seal and a short letter inside. After two and a half months as the new Head of Torchwood Three and more than a century in Torchwood's employ, he had falsely assumed there weren’t any secrets left.
The letter, written in a distantly familiar, elegant cursive proved him wrong, of course.
To the Director of Torchwood Three,
the occupant of cryogenic chamber 007 is subject to the strictest secrecy. The Director of Torchwood Three is sorely responsible for the safety and concealment of the said occupant and is required to carry out an annual health check on the 16th of February. Since the resident doctor is not permitted to interact with or have knowledge of occupant 007 an appointment at St Helen’s Hospital in Cardiff is required.
The box containing this letter must be locked upon perusal until the next time the seal breaks.
Further instructions will follow once the time is right.
Doctor Matilda B Brennan
Head of Torchwood Three, Cardiff
Thinking about his long-dead predecessor Jack felt the usual twinge of guilt. The cold-hearted operative had been everything Jack disliked about Torchwood, nevertheless, he felt remorse about having to shoot her due to her being in alien possession at the time.
Her involvement in the letters secret however explained why he had never heard a word about a new cryosleep resident. She had disliked him just as much as he did her and her distrust in all things concerning Captain Jack Harkness lasted until her very end.
The shared information was slimmer than everything they had on Tommy and there it already was reduced to the bare minimum. Jack had no name, no species, no date of arrival and no explanations, not even a case number. He knew nothing about the person in chamber seven. In fact, for all he knew it could be his own face that greeted him once he opened it.
All he could gather from the letter was that this person had been in cryosleep for at least 59 years, as Brennan had died in August 1941.
With a sigh Jack let his head fall on his crossed arms in the office that still didn’t feel like his own. During the past few weeks, between strenuous correspondence with the Institutes’ base in London and George VI, he had managed to establish some sort of routine in the hub but so far, he hadn’t replaced any of the former Torchwood agents. Unfortunately, that meant he had to move into the bunker under the office to keep an eye on the rift manipulator at all hours of the day.
By now he was exhausted and lacking the necessary time to adequately mourn the loss of Alex, Karen, James and Ariana.
To say this additional responsibility felt like a punch in the gut would be an understatement. Jack was only glad he didn’t have to bother with any secrecy this year. The two of them would be alone in the hub.
~
The doors of the cryogenic chambers were black with lettered numbers that offered no hint of their contents. The reason for this stylistic choice was twofold. No intruder or guest should be able to have access to the people most vulnerable in cryosleep and those in cryosleep were spared the unsettling experience of seeing a dozen unmoving, deathlike faces whenever they woke up.
Only now Jack realised the third purpose, as obvious as it should have been. With only the golden numbers on the outside you could hide whoever was on the inside from nosy Torchwood Agents. His shoulders sacked in resignation as he pulled out the freezer cabinet, a small window granting a first look of its occupant.
With more or less practised movements Jack prepared the presumed man for defreeze, taking care with the injection and monitoring his vital signs. He used the time to take a good look at his new charge. Whilst he couldn’t completely rule out other plausible species Jack felt safe in the assumption that he was dealing with a human, most likely of Earth origin. There were no mutations visible from the outside and his pulse, body temperature and brain activity were in range for a 21st century human male.
Seeing as the man was fully clothed there was still a chance that contradictory characteristics were hidden beneath the jeans and T-shirt. If Jack played his cards right, he might find out whether they existed at a later point.
The man was 5ft 10 or 11, in his mid-twenties going by Earth standards, with short brown hair and features that were expressive even in his unconscious state. No, Jack wouldn’t mind charming the young man out of his well-fitting clothes.
Under his appreciative gaze, the man slowly woke from his slumber, blinking a few times in the process. Jack’s breath caught when his eyes met striking blue ones, but he hid it by plastering on a huge smile.
“Captain Jack Harkness,” Jack introduced himself, “Do you know where you are?”
“Torchwood Three, Cardiff.” The answer came quick, without any confusion or hesitation.
“Good. Your file didn’t list your name and age. Mind filling the gaps?”
„You can call me Seven if you like,“ the man said with a minuscule uptick in the corner of his mouth. Jack noticed, of course.
“Then you may call me Jack,” he replied, offering the other man his hand, who took it in a grip stronger than he would’ve expected from someone fresh out of cryogenic sleep.
“Seven, huh? Any chance I’ll learn your actual name today?”
“None at all.”
Jack had expected as much. With a shrug, he went on to explain Alex Hopkins’ absence and the change in leadership. Seven gave his condolences but did not ask any further questions, which relieved Jack to no end. He was more than happy to redirect the conversation to less depressing topics.
“Do I at least get to know how long you’ve been here?” he asked, already prepared for another negative response.
Instead, Seven seemed to give the question careful consideration before nodding once. Just like Jack had suspected his handsome face was even more expressive with his eyes open. Every emotion was plain to see, and he wondered if Seven was aware how easy he was to read.
“Alright, then. I arrived at the hub in January 1941. That’s all you need to know” he stated, his tone leaving no room for arguments. Which didn’t mean Jack wouldn’t argue, just for the hell of it.
“We’ll see about that,” Jack smiled broadly, “I can be very convincing.”
“Guess we will,” Seven agreed, not taking Jack’s bait.
“No name and no age. Give me something to work with! You’re human, right? Two arms, two legs, one head and no tails.” He made a point of looking the man up and down, his grin on the more flirtatious side. “And the language. Definitely from earth. Although, you sound Welsh.”
“Well,” Seven dragged the word, “we are in Wales.”
Jack chuckled and dropped the topic after a pause.
„You have been here since 1941?“ A small part of him felt terribly smug because had been right in his earlier estimation.
„I believe that is what I said, yes.“ There was some mirth badly hidden behind the dry professionalism. Jack suspected that the other man wasn’t even aware of how much he was giving away.
„I can’t believe I wasn’t told about this!“ Jack huffed in mock outrage and threw his arms up in an over-the-top gesture.
„Oh, yes, because it is absolutely impossible that you don’t know everything.“
„Sassy.” Jack felt his lips curl up in an honest smile. “I like that in a person.“
He watched in amusement as Seven rolled his eyes in response. He found he liked that, too. In fact, Jack was beginning to think he might enjoy the man’s company in general.
With a wink, he turned and started toward the door. “Come along then, you’ll probably want a shower.”
In a quick stride, Jack led his unfrozen guest down the winding hallways of the hub's first basement. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Seven move with a confidence that suggested he knew the route well.
Deciding to press a bit further, he looked back and addressed Seven. „So, you haven’t seen anything but the hub and St Helen’s in 60 years?“
„59 days, Sir,“ he was quickly corrected.
„Oh, Sir. Love it.“ Seven made a face that had him laughing. Jack made sure to hold his gaze as he waggled his eyebrows exaggeratedly. „As we are alone today, just the two of us, what do you want to do on your day out of permafrost?“
Seven snorted, „Not whatever is going through your head.“
„Hey, it’s only our first date, I’m not that easy,“ Jack protested, trying and failing to keep an offended expression.
„I’ll try to remember it, Sir.“
Jack laughed, glad the young man was playing along. He appreciated the unexpected reprieve from his current leadership mess.
„You haven’t given me an answer yet. Anything you’d like to do?“ Although he acted like his question wasn’t serious, it absolutely was. Spending years and years underground, without any chance to have an actual life was gruelling, Jack knew from experience.
“I think you are supposed to put me back to sleep after the physical.”
“Oh, come on! Live a little.”
After yet another of his unaccountably sexy eye rolls Seven yielded.
„What do you have in mind?“ The young Welshman very much looked like he was already regretting the question.
„Well, since it’s our first date,“ Jack paused for dramatic effect. „Dinner? A movie?“
The emotions that flickered over Seven's face were so fast Jack couldn’t discern them all.
~
“So, you’ve met every Torchwood Three leader since 1941 at least once.” It wasn’t a question, but that wasn’t the point anyway.
“Yes.”
They were seated at a window table at a nice Italian place Jack had chosen for them. Looking over the candlelit table to his mysterious companion Jack decided it was time to learn more about his circumstances. Maybe he could even charm him into revealing his name.
“And what, they unfroze you, sent you to St Helen’s and put you back to sleep? For 60 years?”
“59 days. I was told I wasn’t the only one?”
“Yeah, there’s Tommy. Nice bloke. A young soldier who's been in our basement since 1918.”
“World War I.”
“Exactly.”
Before the following silence could grow uncomfortable, they were interrupted by a waiter who took their orders. Seven declined the offered wine, Jack had no such qualms.
Once they were alone again, he continued where they’d left off.
“Who has been your favourite director through the years? You must’ve met more than a dozen of them.”
Seven seemed to think on it for a moment. “Alex, by far. The others were colder, more clinical. Alex saw me as a person if that makes any sense.”
It did. Jack ended up sharing story after story of Alex and the rest of the team with Seven as a captive audience.
Throughout dinner, he learned that Seven was an exceptional listener. Jack found himself sharing not only the funny bits but the harder parts of Alex’s story. Having someone who didn’t suspect his involvement in the New Year’s Eve murder-suicide or tried to get him into a locked basement cell in London eased the heavy burden on his heart somewhat.
To his great disappointment, Jack also learned that was close to impossible to get any sort of personal or mission-related information out of the young Welshman. Seven kept his cards close while always staying polite and friendly.
After they ordered Tiramisu, with a spoon for two, Jack asked the question that had been on his mind since the morning. „Are you a Torchwood Agent?“
„Would you believe me, if I said no?“ His tone suggested that he already knew the answer. Which yes, fair enough, Jack thought.
„No,“ he conceded. There was no reason to trust anything the man offered since Jack had no way to verify his claims.
Seven smiled in amusement, which probably shouldn’t be as alluring as it was. „Would you believe me, if I said yes?“
„Also no.“ Jack didn’t pout. He absolutely did not.
Seven appeared to be happy to leave it at that, letting the silence be an answer, but Jack wouldn’t be Captain Jack Harkness if he let things go so easily.
With a huge smile, firmly crossing the border to seductive, he looked up into beautiful blue eyes. „So… Are you?“
Sometime later, as Jack paid for their dinner and they made their way to the cinema, he wondered just who the mysterious stranger in his basement really was. He couldn’t wait to find out.