Chapter 15

Interlude: The Fallouts

The TARDIS materialized in the living room just as Jackie was filling the kettle with water. She heard the familiar whooshing sound and hurriedly put it down. Smiling in amazement, she hurried over to the living room- but her smile faded away when Rose opened the TARDIS door with a haunted look on her face.

"You're alive," Rose whispered. Jackie froze and blinked in surprise. Rose exhaled loudly and rushed over to her, giving her a tight embrace. She kept whispering over and over. "Oh mum... you're alive!"

Jackie gingerly patted her daughter on the back. "Well, I was, the last time I looked. What is it? What's happened, sweetheart? What's wrong? Where did you go?"

"Far away. Very far away," the Doctor murmured as he stepped out of the TARDIS. He wanted to just stay in the TARDIS- or stand back, his arms crossed- but if there was one thing he had learned from Jack and Reinette, it was that there were times he should not run away. He took another hesitant step forward. Jackie finally noticed what was wrong and stared at him.

"Where is that Captain Jack? And where is Mickey?" she inquired. The Doctor sighed.

"Jack is... is traveling through time and space with a French woman. We'll pick him up in due time. And Mickey- well, he's gone home."

He glanced at Rose. She was quietly sobbing now, and his heart broke just a little. He was still tempted to run away... to just pretend that nothing went wrong, that everything was okay... but he couldn't. Not now. Not today. He looked back up with a tired sigh.

"I think it would be better if we talk about this over a cup of tea."

Silence. Jackie stared at him incredulously.

"What's wrong with you two today? Did I just hear you suggest that we have tea and actually, properly talk, or am I just going bonkers?"

"Both, I guess. And I'm definitely insane to say that. You humans have been rubbing off me too much," the Doctor muttered, shifting on his feet uncomfortably. He snapped out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the kettle. The water inside started to boil immediately. He pushed the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and groaned. "Are we going to have tea, or not?"

"Oh, all right, all right."

Jackie rolled her eyes before rushing to the kettle. Rose slowly lowered her arms and brought a hand up to wipe the corners of her eyes. Then she looked up towards the Doctor. She smiled tearfully.

"Thank you," she whispered. The Doctor gulped, feeling his heart tighten momentarily.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"It isn't nothing for me," Rose murmured, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against the Doctor's chest. The Doctor hesitantly placed his hands on Rose's back. His double heartbeats quickened quite a bit, but if Rose noticed it, then she didn't say anything. And the Time Lord felt thankful for that.

"So what happened with Mickey?" Jackie asked, glancing between Rose and the Doctor.

The three of them were seated around Jackie Tyler's table, each holding a teacup. This was far too domestic for the Doctor's taste, but... well, better get it over with. The Doctor glanced at Rose; she was staring dazedly into her cup, and it seemed that she wasn't in a mood to talk. He sighed inwardly and turned his head to Jackie.

"We accidentally crashed into a parallel world," he started, and hesitated. Better not talk about Pete. Or the parallel-Jackie. He shook his head a little and continued.

"And then the Cybermen- robots with human brains in them, I mean, they are a lot worse than you could imagine, by the way- anyway! They tried to take over that world. We stopped them, of course. But many people died. And brave ol' Mickey stayed behind to take care of his parallel-grandmother and save the rest of the world."

"So Mickey is in a parallel universe? Can't Rose visit him, then?" Jackie asked. The Doctor shook his head ruefully.

"No. Not anymore. We can't punch a hole in the wall of the universe."

"Oh," Jackie murmured. She didn't know about dimensions and universes, but she did know that Mickey was Rose's best friend. And not being able to meet him ever again- that would hurt. She wrapped her arms around Rose.

"Sweetheart, it was Mickey's choice. He would live a good life. You know that," she said, patting her daughter's back. Rose blinked rapidly before leaning into her mother's embrace. Her eyes fluttered shut. She sighed, relaxing a bit.

"I know. But I- but I- I'm going to miss him, that's all," she admitted.

And for the thousandth time, the Doctor wondered if he had messed everything up by coming into her life.

Jack and Reinette danced across the stars.

As a start, Jack Harkness took her hand and took her to a 21st-century (well, probably, if his Vortex Manipulator was accurate) bookstore. There, he showed her the museums, the bookstores. They laughed together as they read the history book about Madame de Pompadour.

"'After the appearance of the mysterious Captain, she disappeared without a trace and never came back. It is rumoured that the King disposed of her and created this story to avoid the blame.' How amusing," she giggled, picking up a chip. She peered at it curiously. "What is this?"

"Chips. Try them, it's okay," Jack shrugged, grinning like a madman. He wondered if the Doctor always felt this way- the sheer delight of showing people the things they have never seen. "Oh, Reinette, you'll be surprised at people's ability to warp the truth to satisfy themselves."

"Indeed!" Reinette nodded, popping a chip into her mouth. She looked up at him eagerly, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "I don't know what kind of life I would have lived without you."

"Oh, yes. Well, you still live a fantastic life," Jack replied, carefully leaving out the fact that she died at the age of forty-three due to pneumonia. But she didn't need to know that, did she? That was never going to happen now. Oh, how he was glad that he came back for her. He smirked and jumped to his feet.

"Where do you want to go now? The past, or the future?" he asked. "By the way, the Vortex Manipulator can act as a temporary translator, but it can't translate the languages of some aliens out there."

"Hmm," Reinette mused. "It seems that you are the one with more abundant knowledge here. You decide our destination, Captain."

"Oh, all right. Hmm, then..." he pondered. Then grinned. "Oh, I know! Starship UK!"

He held his hand out for her. She took it, a smile on her lips. And with a flash of light, they were gone.

Captain Jack Harkness and Reinette Poisson ran and ran. They laughed, they saved people, and they walked numerous galaxies. She got accustomed to the concept of time-traveling marvelously well, and even donned herself with a more modern outfit, such as a T-shirt and jeans.

"These so-called 'modern' clothings are highly convenient," she murmured, twirling around in front of a mirror. "But a little less graceful."

"We can't travel through time and space wearing a French dress," Jack reminded her. She shrugged and grinned flirtatiously.

"I've noticed that. It's a small price to pay. Anyway, where will we sleep tonight?"

"Oh, that."

During the nights they spent together, snuggled against each other, Jack would fondly rub his hand on her back and murmur that Reinette was a woman out of her times. She was always meant to be more than just a French mistress, he thought. And he felt thankful that he was given this opportunity.

And then time passed. Like grains of sand slipping through one's fingers, they passed slowly, but incessantly.

Jack never aged. Reinette did.

Their time was running out, as they had anticipated. They had known it would happen someday when they started running hand-in-hand. Yet, it didn't mean that Jack liked it. It wasn't that she was growing old; his love for her wasn't just because of her striking beauty and youth. No, it was much deeper than that. And definitely worse.

Rather, it was the sinking feeling that she was going to die someday, and he wouldn't be able to stop it.

When her aged feet stumbled during their run, Jack was there to gently catch her and lead her forth. Nothing changed between the two of them. But Jack himself was changing, bit by bit. He now understood- if only a little- what the Doctor had meant.

"I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay; you wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone that you..."

Someone that you love. Someone that you cannot bear to lose.

"...You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse."

Yes, it was a curse, Jack thought, watching Reinette sleep. He reached out and gingerly traced the lines of her wrinkles with his fingertips. He wept into his pillow that night.

Decades passed.

Reinette Poisson, formerly known as Madame de Pompadour, had passed away in her sleep. She was eighty-five. The death was a peaceful process, and Jack held her withered hand, watching as she exhaled her last breath. Born December twenty-ninth of the year 1721, she died in the year five billion, on New Earth.

Jack watched, his face devoid of any emotion, as her corpse was engulfed in fire. After the flames subsided, Jack received her cremated remains. He stared at the handful of white-gray ash on his palms. He stood, rigid, as the wind carried her ash away. And nothing remained in his grip. He was alone, now.

Somehow, it felt right.

He stood in the apple grass fields for three days straight, just stood and remembered their time together. After the emptiness came the gentle grief. And he found that he could smile, if a little. He looked down at his empty hands- which were still outstretched- and smiled.

Oh, how he wished that his hands were decorated with wrinkles, like her hands had been.

That's when he heard the familiar whooshing sound. It was literally a lifetime ago that he'd heard it... he looked up, blinking slowly. The blue police box was slowly materializing on the meadow. He stared blankly as the sound stopped and the TARDIS doors swung open.

Rose and the Doctor was standing at the doorway.

"Hello," he croaked, staring at his two friends. He smiled tightly.

"Jack!" Rose cried- sweet Rose, so nice and caring- and leapt forward. He felt himself being swept up into Rose's hug as she buried her face in his shoulder. He stood stiffly for a moment before raising his hands and wrapping her into an awkward embrace. The Doctor stayed behind and watched them wordlessly.

A threatening mixture of pressure and heat built up behind his eyes, but the tears didn't come. Instead, he exhaled heavily and looked up to face the Doctor.

"How did you find me?" Jack asked, his throat tight. The Time Lord shrugged.

"We tracked your Vortex Manipulator. Followed your jumps, and here we are," he replied. Then he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Is she... is she gone now?"

"Reinette died in her sleep, a few hours ago. It was peaceful," Jack muttered, dropping his gaze. The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. A gentle breeze swept through their hair. Rose's hug tightened.

"Oh, Jack. You okay?" she whispered. He briefly considered lying, like the Doctor always did, but realized that he couldn't bring himself to.

"No," he said truthfully. "But I'm glad you came."

A few seconds lapsed in somber silence. Then Rose loosened her hug and tugged at his hand. Her big hazel eyes gazed into his pleadingly.

"You'll travel with us, right? Back onto the TARDIS. The three of us."

Jack hesitated. Then he inhaled deeply and nodded. "It would be my pleasure, Rose."

"Thank you," Rose whispered in a sincere voice. She held his hand a little bit tighter and smiled sadly. "Come on, Captain. Let's have some tea in the TARDIS."

Jack flinched at her casual use of the word 'Captain'. Reinette would often call him so out of affection or playfulness. The memory was so fresh that it hurt. Rose glanced at him, noticing that Jack had suddenly stiffened up. Jack immediatley realized that he was making her worry and smiled a little to reassure her.

"I..." he faltered, the words 'I'm okay' dying away at the tip of his tongue, because he was not okay, not with Reinette gone. Instead, he dragged up his old cheerful self with considerable difficulty and winked.

"I'd love that, Rose Tyler. By the way, where is Mickey the Idiot?"

A few hours later, the TARDIS was back in the Time Vortex, drifting in peace. A few empty teacups and mugs half-filled with hot chocolate was scattered on the kitchen table. Rose was asleep. The Doctor was fiddling with the coordinates when Jack came stumbling into the console room, a scotch bottle in his hand.

"Hey, Doc," he slurred out, slumping onto the console. The Doctor stared at him.

"You're drunk," he stated the obvious. Then he frowned. "How old are you?"

Jack barked out a laughter. "So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising."

"Jack-"

"All right, all right. I stopped counting."

"Already?"

"It hurt to see Reinette fade away. Plus, I don't age anyway."

The unsaid words- I wish I did- hung heavily in the air. Jack was silent for a minute or so. The Doctor turned his attention back to the console and started tinkering. His face was emotionless, but his eyes were full of grief and sympathy. He understood how Jack felt- almost too much.

"People like us, we go on too long," the Doctor blurted out. Jack turned to stare at him. The Doctor kept his eyes downcast as he continued. "We forget what matters. And that's why we need the mayflies. You see the mayflies, they know more than we do. They know how beautiful and precious life is because it's fleeting."

"So that's who Reinette was. My first mayfly... how poetic," Jack muttered. Then his head drooped. He moaned, clutching his chest. "It hurts. How can you stand it, Doctor? How?"

"I run away," the Doctor replied with a shrug. "I never stay long, because I can't bear to see my friends wither away. That's why they call me 'the man who comes for the battle, and runs away from the fallout'."

"And that's why you try to distance yourself from Rose," Jack said, realization dawning on him. "Because falling in love with a mayfly... it kills you from the inside."

The Doctor sighed, but didn't reply. After a few moments of silence, Jack took another huge swig from his bottle and jumped to his feet.

"But you're wrong," he declared in a loud voice. The Doctor's gaze snapped up sharply.

"What do you mean?"

Jack's eyes were burning with fierce determination as he slammed his hand down on the console.

"Because I stayed Reinette, she lived about forty years more than she did in the original timeline. She saw the stars, and she was happy. I made her life better, and before she died, she said that she was content. She thanked me. What we do, Doctor, makes them better. And we have no right to be selfish and run away when we know that."

"But you said it yourself- it kills you from the inside!" the Doctor pleaded desperately. "How can running away from that be considered 'selfish'?"

"A few years with Reinette was worth dying a thousand times for me," Jack said quietly, clenching his fist. "I don't regret the choice I've made that day. I don't regret a single moment spent with her."

Then he turned and stormed out of the console room. Stunned, the Doctor stared at his back until it disappeared from his sight. Then he lowered his head very slowly and chuckled.

"You're far braver than me, Jack," he muttered, sadness welling up in his hearts. "That makes the difference."

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