[Makebelieve] Fic: This Glorious Sadness - DW/TW - Jack/Ianto, Jack/Ten, Jack/John

[makebelieve archive]

This Glorious Sadness
by PEJA

Fandom: Torchwood/Dr Who
Genre: slash
Chapter number if WIP: Undefined. I'm also working on a piece called "Let Me
Be Empty" which picks up immediately after "Children Of Earth" and explains
where Jack fled at the end of Season Three.  There is a slight possibility
that that piece may work into this story line creating a series, or it may
go off into something entirely different.  If these two do merge, there
could well be several pieces with Jack falling farther and farther into his
personal hell that develop to this point...we will have to see
Characters/Pairing:  The arc offers lots of possibilities, but lets say
Jack/Ianto, Jack/John H, Jack/Ten
Portrayed by  John Barrowman/Gareth David-Lloyd, John Barrowman/James
Marsters, John Barrowman/David Tennet
Rating: FRM for mental destruction
Summary: A broken Jack Harkness is discovered in a slave market
Warning: angst, depression, slavery
Prompt: Only prompt for this is a need for answers to what now?
Previous chapters or series at: Again undetermined
General thanks to all of you folks who are requesting short fics and improvs
in the various fandoms. You're keeping the words flowing.
Comm/List Written for: http://community.livejournal.com/cardiff_tales
Permission to archive to WWOMB: Y
Author's websites:
Disclaimer.  Dr Who and Torchwood do not belong to me. no money made in this
Acknowledgments/Notes: One of the things that stuck out for me in the
follow-up specials was John Barrowman's comment that Jack had experienced
depression through the show. That his daughter's faith in him fueled him up
again, so for me, it has to be asked what happens when Jack loses his soul
mate, sacrifices his grandson and destroys the tenuious link to his daughter
when he was so close to giving up before.


The Doctor found him quite by accident.

He'd been following a tip. Humans had been showing up in the Azriel slave
marts. If the tip could be believed, humans had proven to be quite a popular
draw among the patrons of the slave mart as it happened, driving the hunger
to own one to dangerous scales. He'd actually heard rumors that one group of
black marketeers had tried to force the planet Earth to hand over a tenth of
their children, implying that the children would be a source of a much
desired drug. The humans had all but buckled to the outrageous demands until
an eleventh hour miracle ended the threat.

The Doctor was confident that the unflappable Captain Jack Harkness would
have been a big part of that particular fate causing that nefarious plan to
go terminally wrong.

Still, the threat of this happening again had The Doctor scurrying to the
black market slave planet.

He was quite taken aback, though, at the sight of the torn and tattered
Greatcoat flopping from a rope line near the back of the market. Jack's
trademark coat was not something anyone would expect to find millions of
light years away from Earth, so it was with a planet sized lump of
apprehension roiling about in his stomach that The Doctor rounded the
makeshift curtain and stopped dead in his tracks, stunned by the sight
before his horrified eyes.

In the shade of this make-shift awning, Jack Harkness lie curled up in the
dust and grime listlessly drawing circles in the sandy soil.

"Jack."  The Doctor moved to his side quickly, touching his shoulder.

Jack reacted to the touch instantly, and violently. Rearing up onto his
knees with an animalistic growl, he slammed both hands into the Doctor's
shoulders and shoved, propelling The Doctor backwards and away from him.

Caught off guard, The Doctor landed with a dusty, painful thump on his tush,
catching himself with his arms just in time to prevent a nasty conk to the
noggin.  He stared, gape-mouthed at the other man, too shocked to speak.

Jack used the time The Doctor took to rein in his speechless shock to
scramble into a darkened corner by the rickety, weathered shed, cowering
with his hands over his head.

"Wha...?" The Doctor stammered, getting his feet under him and moving in
ever closer circles to the other man.  "Wha...?"

Jack's warning snarls gave him pause and he stilled, studying the wild-man.
"Jack?"

Jack hissed and spat like a feline, cautioning him off from behind his
trembling arms.

Before The Doctor could speak again, a swaggering man in a British Redcoat
jacket ambled out of the shack. His clear blue eyes widened as he caught
sight of Jack curled up and trembling against the wall. Not giving The
Doctor a second glance, he darted to the other man's side murmuring soft
words and slowly, so very heart-breakingly slowly, Jack let his arms drop.

Jack's stormy gaze stabbed the second man. He tilted his head slightly,
listening to the flow of reassuring words.

"Okay?" the second man asked when Jack finally quieted, still taking care
not to touch Jack in any way, even while his hands fluttered in what clearly
would have been comforting caresses if the movements came to fruition.
"You're okay now, love."

Jack huffed out a heavy breath, slumping back down into the dust without a
glance in The Doctor's direction.  A soft humming lifted on the dry air from
the prone man.

"That's right, Jack-O-Mine. You're safe. No one's gonna put hands on ya
while ole' John's here."  The Red coated man's head swiveled around and he
hurled a venomous glare at The Doctor. "No one."

The warning was clear.

The Doctor nodded, raising his hands in supplication.

"What's going on here?" a woman swayed her way across the market, her
movements sensual and compelling. "Hart, what happened to him?"

Hart rose to his feet, slapping off the dust from his pants legs. "Was him,
Mistress" he provided mid-slap. "I only left Jack for a couple minutes.
Thought he might need some water what with all this heat..."

The woman's eyes swept the area, finding no water or even a bottle that
might have held the suspiciously missing fluid.  "Water?" she asked, arching
a brow.

Hart had the grace to blush, "Yeah, well.."

The woman reached out, catching Hart's ear in a painful pinch and twisting
enough to have his knees trembling. "You left him alone again."

"Ow! Ow!  Ow!...." Hart crowed, twisting away from her punishing grasp.
"Fuck! Shit! Ow!  Sorry, Mistress. Won't happen again. Promise..."

"Liar," She hunkered down in front of Jack. "He's not improving, Hart.  I
don't know how much longer I can afford to swallow the expense of keeping
him..."

Hart went down on his knees, clasping her hand, "Mistress, please..."

"He is for sale, then?" The Doctor snapped on the implication.

The woman rose, turning to face him. "You are interested in him?"

"Ahmmm...," The doctor pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I might be persuaded
to consider..."

"I'm certain we can come to some sort of an equitable arrangement." Her dark
eyes moved slowly over him assessing the cut of his character with a sharp
professional eye.  "He is a fine specimen, don't you think? Very
attractive..."

"He is a pretty piece," the Doctor remarked, moving nearer. "Nice teeth," he
added when Jack reared up and bared his teeth aggressively.

"He makes an excellent guard dog," The woman murmured, turning a low selling
point to a positive.

The Doctor forced a soft chuckle. "So I have seen." He leaned closer,
willing Jack to show some sort of recognition.  "What happened to him?"

"Who can say," the woman responded with a casual flip of her hand. "These
two were apprehended in a skirmish over one of the outer rim planets.
Sentenced to lifetime servitude for pirating. I was just lucky enough to be
the Market of the day." she sighed dramatically. " should warn you though,
that they are a package deal. This loafer here," she settled a sharp slap
against Hart's cheek. "is the only one who can control the other."

"Mercenaries, then?" the Doctor said with a nod. "All right. I could well do
with a pair of trained ...body guards." The Doctor moved to examine Hart,
making a big thing of squeezing his upper arms, checking under his tongue
and peering down one ear canal while holding a lighter at the other side.

Hart scowled at his antics, muttering under his breath about the man being a
flake, ending in "All I need is to be bought by some kind of flake."

The Doctor grinned at him. "Oh, but I am not just your common ordinary
flake, I assure you." He moved back to squat in front of Jack. "Isn't that
right, Jack?"

Jack's lips peeled back into a sneer, then he eased up on one arm and tilted
his head, murmuring,  "I remember a doctor..."

The Doctor's smile was brilliant as his body thrust back to a standing
position and he hurled a figure well above the going rate at the woman,
ending with "Won't haggle, I know their worth, so take it or leave it."

The woman nodded. "Done."

The deal was sealed with papers changing hands and The doctor took his
slaves under wing, instructing a leery Hart to bundle up Jack, "And don't
forget his coat, man, what are you thinking?" He quipped as they made to
leave the area behind.

Hart darted a curious glance at The Doctor before scooping Jack's coat off
the line and draping it over Jack's drooping shoulders as they were lead
away from the street vender's shack.

Jack leaned over to whisper, "I know a doctor," into Hart's ear, adding
"Intimately."

"Yes, darling, Jack-O-Mine." Hart murmured comfortingly, than hurled a
questioning glance in the direction of the preening stranger walking next to
them. "It's all right then, you think?  Going with this guy?"

Jack reached out a trembling hand and laced his fingers with The Doctor's.
"I know...The Doctor."

Startled by the contact, The Doctor studied Jack a long moment, then smiled.
"Yes, Jack. That's right. The Doctor.  I'm The Doctor."  He paused, drawing
Jack to a standstill as well. "I'm taking you home with me. Back to the
Tardis."

Jack stared back into The Doctor's eyes for a long heart beat, then said, "I
know The Doctor."


end this chapter

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