Lost and Found

Disclaimer: The BCC owns all these characters and shows. Lucky, lucky them! No infringements intended from this story.

This is my vision of what happens after Jack steps into the TARDIS at the season finale of Torchwood. In the Doctor's timeline it's post-Donna and pre-Martha. Yeah, I know that might not be accurate, but this is the Doctor we're talking about and anything can happen! Rating is for swearing and mild m/m slash. Enjoy!

The doors opened, and he stepped in.

He didn't even hesitate, didn't think about Gwen waiting in his office for coffee, or Ianto, or Torchwood, or anything. No, this was the Doctor, symbolically crooking his little finger, and Jack went running. Too much was at stake not too. Too many questions, too few answers. He felt the thrum of movement, the groaning of gears as the TARDIS set off for who knew where. But that didn't matter to Jack.

There was something Jack needed to do.

He was leaning against the console, arms across his chest, a smile playing about his lips that didn't quite match his eyes. Jack took a few steps, stopped, studied him wordlessly. This wasn't the Doctor he'd fallen in love with, not physically, maybe not any other way. Yet it was. Fuck, Jack hated paradoxes.

"Hello, Jack," the new-to-him Doctor said softly.

The voice ran a shiver down Jack's spine. All the old feelings he'd trampled down on, pushed into a closet and locked away, burst out and demanded recognition. And Jack was tired of pretending. His encounter with the real Captain Jack had taught him a thing or two, and he was about to put it to use.

He crossed the space between them and punched the Doctor hard on the jaw.

The Doctor gasped and staggered back a few steps, touching his face, eyes bewildered, brows knitted in confusion. Before he could ask Jack said: "That's for leaving me to wonder what the hell happened for so long."

He pulled the Doctor against him and kissed him as hard as he'd just punched him, tangling his fingers in the soft light brown hair, his lips coaxing and pleading at the same time. He felt the Doctor return his kiss for a brief beautiful moment before he pulled back, both of them flushed and gasping for breath.

"And that's for coming back," Jack said.

"That's a hell of a hello, Captain," the Doctor managed at last.

"I've been saving the feelings up in a Christmas Club account. They've accumulated interest," Jack shot back.

The Doctor nodded, rubbing his jaw. "I deserve that," he acknowledged.

"That, and a lot more," Jack said. "But business before pleasure, Doctor." He turned the full force of his gaze on the Time Lord, words tumbling out so quickly he couldn't stop them. "What happened? Where did you go? What happened to Rose? I died, and now… I'm alive. And I can't die. And you left. And didn't come back until now. WHY?"

The Doctor winced at the progressive emotion in Jack's tone. He was running the scale of anger, hurt, confusion, fear, desire and love and back down again in one-hundredth time.

"Are you going to punch me again?" he asked lightly, trying to turn the intensity down a bit.

"Depends on what you have to say. If you're lucky you might get another kiss," Jack whispered. He moved against the Doctor, letting him feel his body without actually touching him. His mouth a centimeter away from the Doctor's ear, he whispered again. "Please. No riddles, no vague grandiose statements. Just the truth, whatever it is."

The Doctor moved back, brown eyes narrowing as they met Jack's blue ones. When he spoke his voice was tired, but resolved.

"All right. Follow me."