Torchwood Is Yours 3/12
Sep. 22nd, 2010 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
humantalesTitle: Torchwood Is Yours
Author:humantales
Beta:quean_of_swords
Artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rotaryphones
Character: Captain Jack Harkness, OC's
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,649
Warnings: AU
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: When Jack lands over a hundred years past where he was aiming, he has some time to fill. Why not spend it baby-sitting the Rift?
Masterlist
1870
After spending an hour talking to the town officials, Jack knew that convincing them that the Rift was real would take a long time, more time than he was willing to spend on it. In fact, if he hadn't backed off when he did, he might have had to break out of the local version of psychiatric hospital. Not something he wanted to do. On the other hand, most of the regular policemen knew that there was something "different" about Cardiff. So Jack abandoned the town officials; he didn't really need them and it would be easier to work without their interference. By New Year's Day, he'd talked to each of the policemen who walked the streets of Cardiff, describing the Rift and explaining what to do with the most common "gifts" that came through it.
Fortunately, Jack had brought enough valuables to set himself up very nicely and his investments were doing well, so he had the money to set up what he needed to do, what he wanted to do, right. He bought an unused warehouse and set up a research lab, containment cells, and a little flat in a back corner. He subscribed to every scientific journal in England and Wales so that he'd know what technology was contemporaneous and what wasn't, and then went to work building the tools he needed to monitor and control the Rift. He was having fun doing something good. He'd wanted to be a physicist when he was a boy; now, he got to do it and protect people at the same time. He'd always understood the attraction of the Doctor's peripatetic lifestyle, but he thought the Time Lord was missing something by not having a base and a group of people who knew him.
Jack had visited Victorian England a couple of times, but he had always been part of an official Agency mission and he'd never been on his own. He discovered that finding someone to sleep with wasn't easy, unless he was willing to actually get married. Sex wasn't any more difficult to find than anywhere else, especially since he didn't mind paying for it. Paying a prostitute, as long as they weren't diseased, was the simplest way to get laid. He wasn't ready for any real relationship. However, Victorian prostitutes, or anyone else for that matter, weren't interested in sleeping together. Jack enjoyed sex as much as anyone else, but he hated sleeping in an empty bed.
Still, sex was definitely better than nothing, so Jack had found where the professionals worked. The idea that prostitution was shameful, that it left the women contaminated and unclean, was far out of his worldview, but it wasn't the first time he'd run into it.
He had almost as much of his attention on where he was walking, trying to keep his boots from getting too filthy, as he was on the people around him. He saw one girl, she couldn't have been out of her teens, with a baby in her arms. Seeing Jack, she walked over. "For the baby?" she asked, her hand out.
Neither she nor the baby were clean, but the baby looked well fed and healthy. The girl, on the other hand, looked as if she would fall over any second. Jack tried to think of a polite way to ask, but wound up saying bluntly, "How on earth are you surviving?"
The question brought a little colour to her cheeks as she looked down. "However I can, sir. What would you like?"
Before he'd met the Doctor, it had been a long time since Jack had really cared about anyone's welfare but his own. Then, he would have had no compunction about having sex with the girl, with the baby bedded down safe nearby. Now . . . "When did you eat last?"
"I had breakfast, sir," she said.
It was near midnight, and Jack would bet that 'breakfast' had been a slice of bread, or a bowl of thin gruel. He sighed. "What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Sarah," she said, her voice getting quieter.
"Is anyone waiting for you?" Jack asked. He didn't want worried family coming after him. When she shook her head, he put his finger under her chin and lifted it so he could see her face. "I was about to have something to eat. Why don't you join me and we can discuss arrangements while we eat?"
Her eyes went huge as she stepped away. "No, please," she said, looking behind her, where there was only a dead end. "Please, don't, sir," she whimpered, starting to cry.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Jack said. "I just, you remind me of someone, someone who—" No, not going to think of that. "Look, Na-Sarah, I just wanted to get some food into you. Get you and the baby into the warm for a bit." Plastering a smile on his face that he hoped didn't look too frightening, he said, "I don't like eating alone."
Her eyes still frightened, Sarah said, "Toff like you shouldn't have any trouble finding someone to eat with him. Don't need someone like me."
"True," Jack agreed, "except that those people want me to be like them. People like you are usually willing to just let be."
Jack didn't know if she was really reassured, or if the temptation of food and warmth was too much, but Sarah nodded. "For that, I get a pound."
It was hard keeping the pity off his face, Jack had hundreds of pounds in his wallet, but he understood pride. Oh, how well he understood pride. "Not a problem. You'll have your pound and a meal. It's this way."
There wasn't much in Jack's little flat. "Hope stew's all right," he said, as he heated it up. Sarah nodded mutely.
The baby picked then to announce its hunger. Sarah bit her lip. "Go ahead," Jack said. "It won't bother me."
"He's not mine," she said. "'S my nephew. Can I give him some broth?"
"Sure," Jack answered. "Is that good for him?"
Sarah shrugged. "M'sister's new man finally kicked us out this morning. Said he wasn't paying for another man's get. Knew it was just a matter of time, but I didn't think he'd kick Mattie out, too."
Mattie seemed to have a good appetite, but Sarah just picked at her food. "Come on, now," Jack urged her. "Can't waste good food."
"Sorry," she said, starting to actually eat. "What, what are you going to want?"
"Have you ever done this before?" Jack asked. Her scared look gave him the answer. "Do you want to?"
"Don't want your charity," Sarah said, starting to push her stew away.
"It's not charity," Jack said, pushing it back. "Look, when I was probably about your age, I left home. I'd have been in real trouble if some people hadn't helped me out. I can't pay it back to them, so let me pass it on to you."
"Why'd you leave?" Her voice was so quiet Jack almost couldn't hear it.
He sighed. "I went to fight in a war. Not one of my best ideas."
"You've done all right for yourself."
"Lots of luck," Jack said, smiling, "and a bit of help from some good people." Of course, he'd also done what Sarah was trying, but it had been in very different circumstances; he'd been lucky. He looked around his flat. "Can you clean and cook?"
Her head came up. "Of course," she said.
"I don't have the time or the inclination to clean up after myself," Jack said, liking the idea more as he thought about it. "In fact, you could help me keep the whole warehouse in some kind of order. I can expand this a bit, make another room for you and Mattie. I'll find out what wages are reasonable," and knowing this society, double or triple them. "How's that sound?"
"I thought you'd want your bed warm as well?" Sarah asked.
Jack was pleased that she didn't seem frightened any more. He smiled at her. "I'll admit I hate to sleep alone, but I know what it means for a young lady like yourself to be . . ." He let the sentence trail off.
Sarah snorted. "I'm not a lady," she said, with laughter in her voice. "If you want a bed warmer, and you'll keep Mattie and me, I'm good."
"I'm not sure I am," Jack said, surprised at himself. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't see Sarah as an adult. She was just a child and, while he was many things he wasn't proud of, he wasn't a paedophile. "No offence, but it'd feel like sleeping with my baby sister."
Looking over at Mattie, Sarah asked, "Can I sleep in here for tonight?"
Jack looked around his little kitchen. It was serviceable, but there were no windows, the floor wasn't especially clean, and it was just dismal. "If you don't mind, we can share the bed," he offered. "It's more than big enough for all three of us." When Sarah nodded, he smiled. "I can even provide a bath for you."
When Jack woke up screaming in the middle of the night from a nightmare starring Daleks, he was more reassured than he could believe to have little Mattie to walk back to sleep, with Sarah making both of them tea.
Not only was she a more creative cook than Jack, and determined to wipe out every bit of dirt that made its way into the warehouse, much less his flat, but Sarah was also more than willing to help out in the lab. She was bright as well, picking up the concepts quickly. If he had to be stuck in a primitive time on one planet, Victorian England with a little sister and baby brother wasn't such a bad place to be.
1871
Author:
humantalesBeta:
quean_of_swordsArtist:
rotaryphonesCharacter: Captain Jack Harkness, OC's
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,649
Warnings: AU
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: When Jack lands over a hundred years past where he was aiming, he has some time to fill. Why not spend it baby-sitting the Rift?
Masterlist
1870
After spending an hour talking to the town officials, Jack knew that convincing them that the Rift was real would take a long time, more time than he was willing to spend on it. In fact, if he hadn't backed off when he did, he might have had to break out of the local version of psychiatric hospital. Not something he wanted to do. On the other hand, most of the regular policemen knew that there was something "different" about Cardiff. So Jack abandoned the town officials; he didn't really need them and it would be easier to work without their interference. By New Year's Day, he'd talked to each of the policemen who walked the streets of Cardiff, describing the Rift and explaining what to do with the most common "gifts" that came through it.
Fortunately, Jack had brought enough valuables to set himself up very nicely and his investments were doing well, so he had the money to set up what he needed to do, what he wanted to do, right. He bought an unused warehouse and set up a research lab, containment cells, and a little flat in a back corner. He subscribed to every scientific journal in England and Wales so that he'd know what technology was contemporaneous and what wasn't, and then went to work building the tools he needed to monitor and control the Rift. He was having fun doing something good. He'd wanted to be a physicist when he was a boy; now, he got to do it and protect people at the same time. He'd always understood the attraction of the Doctor's peripatetic lifestyle, but he thought the Time Lord was missing something by not having a base and a group of people who knew him.
Jack had visited Victorian England a couple of times, but he had always been part of an official Agency mission and he'd never been on his own. He discovered that finding someone to sleep with wasn't easy, unless he was willing to actually get married. Sex wasn't any more difficult to find than anywhere else, especially since he didn't mind paying for it. Paying a prostitute, as long as they weren't diseased, was the simplest way to get laid. He wasn't ready for any real relationship. However, Victorian prostitutes, or anyone else for that matter, weren't interested in sleeping together. Jack enjoyed sex as much as anyone else, but he hated sleeping in an empty bed.
Still, sex was definitely better than nothing, so Jack had found where the professionals worked. The idea that prostitution was shameful, that it left the women contaminated and unclean, was far out of his worldview, but it wasn't the first time he'd run into it.
He had almost as much of his attention on where he was walking, trying to keep his boots from getting too filthy, as he was on the people around him. He saw one girl, she couldn't have been out of her teens, with a baby in her arms. Seeing Jack, she walked over. "For the baby?" she asked, her hand out.
Neither she nor the baby were clean, but the baby looked well fed and healthy. The girl, on the other hand, looked as if she would fall over any second. Jack tried to think of a polite way to ask, but wound up saying bluntly, "How on earth are you surviving?"
The question brought a little colour to her cheeks as she looked down. "However I can, sir. What would you like?"
Before he'd met the Doctor, it had been a long time since Jack had really cared about anyone's welfare but his own. Then, he would have had no compunction about having sex with the girl, with the baby bedded down safe nearby. Now . . . "When did you eat last?"
"I had breakfast, sir," she said.
It was near midnight, and Jack would bet that 'breakfast' had been a slice of bread, or a bowl of thin gruel. He sighed. "What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Sarah," she said, her voice getting quieter.
"Is anyone waiting for you?" Jack asked. He didn't want worried family coming after him. When she shook her head, he put his finger under her chin and lifted it so he could see her face. "I was about to have something to eat. Why don't you join me and we can discuss arrangements while we eat?"
Her eyes went huge as she stepped away. "No, please," she said, looking behind her, where there was only a dead end. "Please, don't, sir," she whimpered, starting to cry.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Jack said. "I just, you remind me of someone, someone who—" No, not going to think of that. "Look, Na-Sarah, I just wanted to get some food into you. Get you and the baby into the warm for a bit." Plastering a smile on his face that he hoped didn't look too frightening, he said, "I don't like eating alone."
Her eyes still frightened, Sarah said, "Toff like you shouldn't have any trouble finding someone to eat with him. Don't need someone like me."
"True," Jack agreed, "except that those people want me to be like them. People like you are usually willing to just let be."
Jack didn't know if she was really reassured, or if the temptation of food and warmth was too much, but Sarah nodded. "For that, I get a pound."
It was hard keeping the pity off his face, Jack had hundreds of pounds in his wallet, but he understood pride. Oh, how well he understood pride. "Not a problem. You'll have your pound and a meal. It's this way."
There wasn't much in Jack's little flat. "Hope stew's all right," he said, as he heated it up. Sarah nodded mutely.
The baby picked then to announce its hunger. Sarah bit her lip. "Go ahead," Jack said. "It won't bother me."
"He's not mine," she said. "'S my nephew. Can I give him some broth?"
"Sure," Jack answered. "Is that good for him?"
Sarah shrugged. "M'sister's new man finally kicked us out this morning. Said he wasn't paying for another man's get. Knew it was just a matter of time, but I didn't think he'd kick Mattie out, too."
Mattie seemed to have a good appetite, but Sarah just picked at her food. "Come on, now," Jack urged her. "Can't waste good food."
"Sorry," she said, starting to actually eat. "What, what are you going to want?"
"Have you ever done this before?" Jack asked. Her scared look gave him the answer. "Do you want to?"
"Don't want your charity," Sarah said, starting to push her stew away.
"It's not charity," Jack said, pushing it back. "Look, when I was probably about your age, I left home. I'd have been in real trouble if some people hadn't helped me out. I can't pay it back to them, so let me pass it on to you."
"Why'd you leave?" Her voice was so quiet Jack almost couldn't hear it.
He sighed. "I went to fight in a war. Not one of my best ideas."
"You've done all right for yourself."
"Lots of luck," Jack said, smiling, "and a bit of help from some good people." Of course, he'd also done what Sarah was trying, but it had been in very different circumstances; he'd been lucky. He looked around his flat. "Can you clean and cook?"
Her head came up. "Of course," she said.
"I don't have the time or the inclination to clean up after myself," Jack said, liking the idea more as he thought about it. "In fact, you could help me keep the whole warehouse in some kind of order. I can expand this a bit, make another room for you and Mattie. I'll find out what wages are reasonable," and knowing this society, double or triple them. "How's that sound?"
"I thought you'd want your bed warm as well?" Sarah asked.
Jack was pleased that she didn't seem frightened any more. He smiled at her. "I'll admit I hate to sleep alone, but I know what it means for a young lady like yourself to be . . ." He let the sentence trail off.
Sarah snorted. "I'm not a lady," she said, with laughter in her voice. "If you want a bed warmer, and you'll keep Mattie and me, I'm good."
"I'm not sure I am," Jack said, surprised at himself. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't see Sarah as an adult. She was just a child and, while he was many things he wasn't proud of, he wasn't a paedophile. "No offence, but it'd feel like sleeping with my baby sister."
Looking over at Mattie, Sarah asked, "Can I sleep in here for tonight?"
Jack looked around his little kitchen. It was serviceable, but there were no windows, the floor wasn't especially clean, and it was just dismal. "If you don't mind, we can share the bed," he offered. "It's more than big enough for all three of us." When Sarah nodded, he smiled. "I can even provide a bath for you."
When Jack woke up screaming in the middle of the night from a nightmare starring Daleks, he was more reassured than he could believe to have little Mattie to walk back to sleep, with Sarah making both of them tea.
Not only was she a more creative cook than Jack, and determined to wipe out every bit of dirt that made its way into the warehouse, much less his flat, but Sarah was also more than willing to help out in the lab. She was bright as well, picking up the concepts quickly. If he had to be stuck in a primitive time on one planet, Victorian England with a little sister and baby brother wasn't such a bad place to be.
1871
