fandomtownies | Sea caves: Wee Hours of Sunday Morning

Sea caves: Wee Hours of Sunday Morning

Jack - the older one, Captain Jack - sat on the floor of the cave, staring at himself. His younger self had barely moved and he couldn't touch him; all he could do was wait.

There must be someone on this island that would come and get him, even if Jack, in his drug addled state, hadn't thought there was. And if not, he'd take him back to the Hub. Gwen wouldn't report him, and she'd be able to treat his injuries without creating a paradox that would make one - or both - of them disappear.

[ooc: may contain very very minor spoilers for the season finales of the last two seasons of Doctor Who, and rumours and wild speculation regarding Torchwood.]

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He felt Jack move, heard a strangled moan, and bared his teeth. "Might be fun in diferent circumstances, but right now?" He lifted his gun, and settled himself more firmly in front of Jack. "Not gonna happen."

"Oh, I think it is going to happen," Parker growled, stepping forward to flank Sam. She blinked when she got a look at the Captain. "You. Are in trouble already. Don't push it."

Cedric doesn't actually speak but he does blink rapidly and manages to focus his wand on...Jack. Or not Jack. He's not sure. And he doesn't look towards the Jack that he knows either.

Not right now.

He relaxed slightly, letting the gun sag towards the floor, when he heard Parker's voice. "Parker, right? I'm disappointed. You didn't bring the ribbon."

And at those words, Jack lifted his head from where he'd been hiding it in his hands. His older self was going to get them both killed.

Pushing to his feet, he stepped between them and held out a hand. "It's okay, seriously. Weapons down, everybody." Unfortunately, he still wasn't steady and he started to topple sideways.

Isabel had been staying to the back but she jumped forward when Jack started to fall, trusting the others to watch her back and her own ability to shield them if it came down to it. Catching him, she lowered him carefully to the floor. "You dork. I go away for a week and look at the trouble you get yourself in."

"I'm sorry, Izzy," he said quietly, in the first of what he knew were going to be many, many apologies, and buried his head against her shoulder.

Quiet, apologetic Jack was not what Isabel expected. She hugged him gently before pulling back and ruffling his hair. "Ice cream," she teased quietly. "Lots and lots of ice cream." Opening the first aid kit, she started to assess his injuries. "Let's get you fixed up."

"You," Sam motioned the older man away from Jack and Isabel with the zat. She didn't take her eyes off him, trusting Isabel to have Jack's care in hand. "Get away from them. Slowly."

Letting his eyes travel from the girl half curled around Jack, to the two pointing weapons at him, to the young man hanging back, he started to grin.

He let his gun drop completely and looked down at Jack. "I'm impressed. Four at once? And I didn't think you had anyone to come and get you."

For some reason, that makes Cedric snarl and he points the wand at Captain Jack's face. "Shut up."

With the gun down and Cedric in ready position, and Sam covering her, Parker feels okay about doing what she does next.

Which is step up and palm-strike the guy in the nose. "You bastard. You leave him for eighteen years, and then get him kidnapped? I should use your hide for a wall decoration."

He wasn't expecting it and jerked away a bit too late, staggering back a step, laughing. "What?" Safety on, he shoved the gun in his pocket and poked at his nose, wincing. "What are you talking about?"

Sam shot Parker a look, trying to ask what was going on and also making sure that the other girl stayed out of the line of fire. "You can't have him."

Parker takes a step back, seething, and watching the guy poke at his nose. "There can't be too many faces like that running around the galaxy. I'm assuming this is Jack's long-gone and never-missed biological parent. And that somehow he's in this Torchwood mess." She glared at him. "I'd punch you just for existing, never mind Jack getting hurt."

The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself, but he had to say something. "Parker." It came out strangled, and he tried again. "Parker. He's not my parent. He's me. Just a lot older." Leaning back against Isabel, he muttered, "And way more annoying."

"Oh, don't bet on that, Harkness," Sam took a second to glare at him, then turned back to the older man. "If you're Jack Harkness, prove it."

"Sam." Jack winced, wondering if she was ever going to forgive him. He managed to push to his feet, one hand resting on Isabel's shoulder. "Look at him, will you? He's me."

Cedric doesn't say anything immediately but he does look from one the younger Jack's face to the older Jack's.

And he remembers he woke up alone and he could've helped. But he didn't know.

After a long pause, he says, "They look the same. It might be the truth."

Parker stared at the guy a moment, then closed her eyes and rubbed her knuckles. "Okay. You. Older Jack Guy. What. The. Hell. How did he get hurt, what are you doing here, why didn't you bring him to the dorms, and most importantly... what?" Parker flailed at him, seething. "Just, what?"

"Parker. Calm down. Please." He crouched down, deliberately trying to lower the threat level and smiled young Jack's smile at her, had he but known it. "It's really simple. Sort of. Two very stupid people threatened him to get me here. So here I am."

"I can't touch him, because if I do, he could go poof and disappear. Or I could. So I couldn't bring him to you, you had to come and get him. And he was drugged, which is why he's about to fall on his ass again."

"How long have you been here?" Sam asked, finally beginning to believe this half-assed explanation. Not that she lowered her weapon, although she was tempted to use it on the third stupid person who hadn't called anyone.

"Has entropic cascade failure begun to set in, or are you just worried about setting off the Blinovitch effect? How are you not making a huge paradox just by being here, by the way?"

His eyes lit up, and he turned towards Sam, sitting down and making himself comfortable. "Only about three, four hours. Blinovitch effect. And I'm not creating a paradox, because as far as we can figure it, I'm immune from changes in my time line. There was an incident," and he snorted at the understatement, "that kind of excised me from the past. Whatever he does, doesn't change me."

Cedric has no idea what they're talking about, if he's honest, he probably doesn't want to know.

He finally lets his wand fall lax at his side and he glares at Jack before glaring again at Captain Jack. Really, it's all he's got.

Jack winced and looked at the ground, before letting his legs fold under him, leaning back against Izzy while she started wiping the abrasions on his wrists with something that stung.

He was just starting to realise how badly he'd screwed this up.

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