There was no need for him to stay anymore.

At least, that's what the official missive said. Jack happened to respectfully disagree: he thought that leaving a new super soldier alone with no one who was used to a presence like his was just asking for trouble.

But there was real trouble forming in the UK that required his expertise. He was needed to look at some alien tech that they had discovered been used by the Nazis- whether it was actual alien tech would have yet to be discovered. He hoped it was alien and not just leftover by some lazy time-jumper. Alien was much more interesting.

(Not as interesting as Steven Rogers had become, but he'd just have to hope they crossed paths later).

He'd wanted to say goodbye to Rogers before he left, and Peggy had directed him towards the small medical section of the SSR base. Between his rank and his flirtation skills, it wasn't hard to find where the super soldier had been stashed away while they ran more tests. After finding the room, Jack waited for a nurse to exit with a tray full vials of blood before he slipped in before the door could close.

"Might want to be careful who you give those out to," he said with a shadowed grin, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to gesture behind him.

Steve Rogers looked up with wide eyes and straightened out of his slumped, seated form on the patient table. "What are you doing in here?"

Jack pulled the swivel stool out from under the doctor's desk and moved to sit in front of Rogers. "Making sure they left you in one piece," he said jovially, despite partly meaning his words. He wasn't sure if he entirely trusted the SSR. He didn't fully trust Torchwood, and he hadn't seen enough to believe the two units were all that different.

Rogers pursed his lips and looked towards the door. "I just want to help however I can," he murmured. "All of Erskine's formula was lost, so now I'm the only way to potentially make any more."

Jack surveyed him closely. He hadn't seen Steve Rogers for long before he had transformed, but it was still easy to see the kind, determined boy that Erskine had spoke of before. "I wouldn't be too sure of that," he warned lightly. "Part of Erskine's formula was choosing you, Steve Rogers. Especially now that we've seen what you can do in pursuit of justice… well, I'm not sure I'd trust whoever the Army chose to bestow the same power upon."

Steve stared at him cautiously. "Dr. Erskine told me… he told me not be 'a perfect soldier, but a good man.' To stay who I was."

Huh. It seemed the good doctor had the same worries that Jack did about what would happen if the wrong type of soldier was given such strength. "You know what they say: great minds think alike!"

Steve overall seemed to relax at his joke and now raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Doesn't the full saying end with 'fools rarely differ?'"

Oh, wonderful! There was the man beneath the new façade.

"Are those fighting words I hear?" Jack teased briefly, although he sobered before continuing. "But really, Rogers. Don't forget what he said, and don't lose yourself to the feeling of power." His thoughts unwittingly flashed back to the Doctor and the Master, who both were clearly old friends that had somewhere diverged onto very different paths. "It never ends well."

"Why tell me all this now?" Steve asked.

Jack sighed as he stood up. "Oh, maybe it's because I like you. Or because everyone needs a reminder of who they are every once in a while. Or maybe because I know how it feels to be… an unknown anomaly." He offered his right hand as he moved to stand in front of Steve. "But mostly, it's because I'm shipping out today."

Steve firmly grasped his hand and shook it. "Any chance I can tag along?" He tried to keep his voice light, but Jack could hear the painful honesty in his plea.

"If I was heading out to the front I'd consider sneaking you along, but I'm afraid my next mission is of the 'classified intelligence' type," Jack admitted. "I don't think you'll be stuck here for too long, though."

Rather, Jack knew that Steve Rogers would make it to the European Theater soon enough. He may have had a habit of messing with timelines on more than one occasion, but this wouldn't be one of those instances. It wasn't worth the risk to potentially disrupt the history of Captain America.

Steve sighed and nodded as Jack made for the door. "Good luck out there, Captain Harkness."

Jack gave him his signature grin and wink as he opened the door. "I'll make sure to give the Nazis your regards, Steve Rogers."