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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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"Yeah, me too." Gwen was going to notice her ship was missing if he didn't get it back before her shift. Hauling himself to his feet, he stretched and grinned at everyone. "He knows more than me about what happened, so if you've got any questions, ask him."

"Nice try," Sam said, taking a few steps closer, hands clasped behind her back, but didn't get within Captain Jack's striking distance. "But he doesn't know why you're doing this. Since I don't believe it's purely out of the goodness of your heart, I want to know why, and I want to know that you'll never again put Jack's life in jeopardy because of some stupid stunt."

She glared over her shoulder at Jack. "Not that he doesn't do that enough on his own."

His eyes narrowed, but he flashed her a smile. "It wasn't me that put his life in danger, he managed that all on his own. And I get the feeling I'm not the only one who thinks so." His gaze swept them all before returning to Sam. "I didn't have to come. Nothing would have happened to me if they'd killed him. So, yeah, goodness of my heart pretty much sums it up."

"Bullshit," Sam shot back. "Who are they and will they be back?"

"They were what was left of an alien slaver ring that the people I work for took out. And they won't be coming back." He bared his teeth at her, and it was barely a smile. "This is nothing to do with him and everything to do with me. And I'll be taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"You'd better. I don't care if you are Jack Harkness. If they show up and endanger this Jack--our Jack--again, I will be more than happy to take care of this problem at its root." Sam said, assuming the older Harkness would catch her implication.

A slow smile spread across his face and he relaxed completely. "I can live with that." Stepping closer to her, he leaned forward and said quietly, "Thank you."

That surprised Sam. "For what?"

"For watching out for him." He hesitated, then added, "I remember what it was like when I was his age, so go easy on him. He didn't mean to be an idiot."

"Sure he did." Sam snorted, for once truly believing that this was an older version of Jack standing in front of her. "Nice try. He should have said something."

"Yeah, he should have. He was stupid." Looking over, he watched the blonde girl fuss over his younger self, watched the way he was leaning into her, and his lips twisted into a half smile. "But still, go easy. This is all new to him."

"About that." Parker stepped a little closer, but made sure Sam still had a clear shot, and the Cedric could still hit him with a spell, if necessary. "He's not exactly you. And you're not exactly him. I get that. But..." She narrowed her eyes, studying him. "You knew all about him. You came to the rescue. Am I as far off as I was before, if I guess that you brought him back here, three months ago?"

"Oh, you are good." He looked her over admiringly. "I understand why he called you. Yeah, that was me." He tucked his hands in his pockets and smiled winningly, offering no further explanation.

Parker glared at him further. "And I'm assuming you set up his 'scholarship' for the school through Torchwood?"

Must not hit. Must not hit. Must not hit....

"Sort of. It was my idea, but someone else actually figured out how to sneak it through the books." He eyed her curiously. "Have you got a problem with someone else looking out for him?"

"Nnnnngh." Parker probably shouldn't have gotten within hitting distance, but she just *had* to. She whapped him on the arm, and then took another step back again, furious. "You left him to come up with scenarios where he was a black-marketeer slave-trading pimp for three months! Or worse! Would it have killed either you, him, or the timeline to tell him *some* of this back in May?" She folded her arms, fighting the impulse to whap him again.

"I assumed he'd covered it with his recording. I didn't check. And I should have." Looking as repentant as he could, he stepped closer, pitching his voice low, and brushed his fingers lightly across her arm. "I'm sorry he went through that, but there were things he had to forget."

Parker gave him her best bitch, please look, and said, "Do not try to charm your way out of this, Harkness. You screwed up. And trying to seduce me won't work." She gave him a slow once-over, then smiled evilly. "Been there. Done you. Kept the T-shirt. I don't need to take second shot on the newer version of the ride."

"Older, more experienced version, technically." Eyes crinkling with laughter, he grinned, absolutely delighted with her. "Oh, the curse of time travel that I don't remember you. I admit it. I screwed up, but I was trying to the best I could for him."

"Mmmm." Parker rolled her eyes, willing to give him just enough slack becaused of the saving-Jack, but still torqued. "Did he have to forget everything?" She scowled at him. "Because it's been hell for him, not remembering CJ and the last year and how he got here. He's better now, but you couldn't have left him one month for reference? A week? A day?"

"No." All mirth disappeared, leaving his face expresionless. "Forgetting everything was the deal. There was no way to pick and choose. But he knew everything before he agreed to it. He thought it was worth it." Glancing at Jack, he added softly, "And I wanted him to have a shot at a better life."

Rubbing the space between her eyes, Parker said, "Well, it would've worked better if you'd been more careful. I seriously suspect we wouldn't have this mess if you had." She glared over at young Jack. "Or if someone else didn't have delusions of superhero. But." She gave the Captain a grudging look. "I understand what you were trying to do."

"Good. And yeah, that's one thing that hasn't changed. Running into things withoout thinking? Kind of a Jack Harkness trait." He held out his hand towards her, palm up, one eyebrow raised in invitation.

Warily, Parker put her hand in his, having half an idea of what was coming.

And he folded her hand between both of his and stepped closer. "I asked him if there was someone I could call, and he said no. I'm glad he was wrong." Smiling warmly, he lifted her hand and kissed it. "I think he was just afraid you were going to yell at him."

Sea caves: Wee Hours of Sunday Morning

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