Fic - Conversations With The Dead
Title: Conversations With The Dead
Author: szm
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Cyberwoman, Sound of Drums, Last of The Time Lords
Summary: Jack gets a vistor while on the Valiant
Beated by the lovely and wise hellenebright
Jack sucks in a great lungful of air, like he hadn’t breathed in hours. Which is more or less true. Every muscle aches and his chest complains bitterly about his lungs being pressed back into service. He’s back in the chains now; he lets them take his weight just for a moment. He coughs up salt water. Drowning really is an awful way to go.
It’s dark, everything powered down, must be late. Jack’s eyes are drawn to something white, almost shining in the half light.
“You know,” says a voice from somewhere behind him. “That’s almost crueller than killing you in the first place.”
Jack can see the white thing is a wreath, white lilies. He tries to turn his head to see who the voice belongs to. “I’m sure he left a thoughtful note,” says Jack, trying to cover for the fact that every part of him feels like damp cotton wool.
Someone walks from behind him into his eye line; she leans over the wreath and finds the card. “It just says, ‘better luck next time,’” she reads out loud.
Jack’s about to ask her who she is when she straightens and turns. It takes him a few seconds to recognise her. Last time he saw her she looked very different.
“Lisa?” he asks, shock evident in his tone. “Great, so now I’m hallucinating.”
Lisa chuckles. “Not so much, I’m real. In a way.”
“I hate to state the obvious,” replies Jack. “But you’re dead.”
“So were you,” counters Lisa. “You’ve spent more time dead recently than you have alive. You’ve… jammed the door open a little bit? Just enough to let me talk to you. It’ll probably wear off,” she shrugs.
“More likely you’re a figment of my imagination. Guess I’ve finally lost it.”
Lisa laughs. “Why on earth would you imagine me? Besides,” she gestures to herself. “I looked a little different last time you saw me.”
“You look better like this,” says Jack softly, closing his eyes against the roaring pain in his head.
“Sheet metal is never a good look,” replies Lisa. Jack feels a warm hand on his cheek. “Still with me Jack?”
Jack manages to open his eyes and pull himself straighter. Lisa’s hand falls away and she takes a step back. Jack wishes she put it back; even if it is only imagined the warmth is welcome. No-one has touched him for comfort in… a long time. Jack tries to smile, “Sure thing beautiful. The sheet metal didn’t cover much, wasn’t it cold?”
Lisa wrapped her arms around herself. “All the time,” she whispers
“I’m sorry,” says Jack, wishing he could hug her. To give them both some strength.
Lisa looks up and gives him a wry smile. “You’ve been mostly dead all day, I’ll let you off.” Jack looks at her blankly. “You’ve known Ianto all this time and he’s never made you watch The Princess Bride?”
Jack shakes his head. “Any good?”
Lisa smiles, lost in a memory. “That was our first date, only he says it doesn’t count as a date because it wasn’t meant to be one. We hadn’t known each other long, we worked in different offices. We got talking one day and I mentioned I never seen it so he asked me round to his to watch it.”
Jack can’t help but smile with Lisa, she’s beautiful like this, and Jack can see why Ianto fell for her.
He can’t keep his eyes open any longer; he passes out, slumped in the chains.
**
Jack wonders vaguely if taunting your prisoners could be considered a hobby, or if it’s part of the job description for ‘evil overlord of earth’. Saxon - Jack won’t call him ‘Master’ not even in his own head - certainly seems to enjoy it.
Jack’s lost the thread of the latest rant. It’s hard to concentrate past the burning pain in his chest. He honestly is hoping Saxon kills him soon; death is turning out to be the only respite available.
Jack is distracted by a movement behind Saxon. He peers over Saxon’s shoulder. It’s Lisa, mouthing along to Saxon’s speech and pulling faces. Saxon frowns and turns, trying to see what Jack is looking at. Lisa beams at him and waves manically. Saxon clearly can’t see her and Jack starts to giggle. Saxon whips his head round.
“What the hell’s so funny, freak?” he sneers. Lisa is miming bunny ears over his head.
“Nothing,” Jack gasps out between the laughter and the pain.
Saxon looks furious, which just makes the whole thing funnier. The giggles turn into fully-fledged laughter. Jack can’t stop. Saxon slaps his face hard, but Jack keeps on laughing.
“What, you gonna do, Harry?” he says in great hiccupping breaths. “Kill me?”
There’s an explosion of white-hot pain as Saxon drives the knife in. He leans into Jack’s ear.
“Why not? I already killed Ianto Jones today,” he whispers as Jack dies.
**
Jack sucks in air as he is pulled back. “Thanks, Rose,” he whispers to himself weakly. He’s in a cell, not chained this time, but no doubt Saxon will send someone along to fix that soon enough. He stretches; he was dead long enough to feel stiff now. He also itches, clean is a feeling he can only dimly remember.
Then it hits him, like a punch in the face. Saxon killed Ianto…
“He’s not dead,” Lisa says flatly.
Jack turns to see her. Sitting on the floor with her back propped up against the locked door.
“The Master said…” says Jack weakly.
Lisa doesn’t move, head tipped back against the door, eyes closed, “Saxon, not ‘Master’. He lied. Why do you think I’m hanging around? It’s not for you.”
Jack pulls himself into a sitting position. His joints are screaming at him and he feels old. "You’re waiting for Ianto?” he asks softly.
“He never gave up on me,” replies Lisa. “And he needs looking after.”
“Because he doesn’t look after himself,” Jack finishes for her.
Lisa nods, the door opens and Lisa is gone. Tish walks in with a bowl of what passes for food. Jack finds the strength to smile and flirt. Tish smiles back, even if it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Ianto is alive, he’ll be watching out for the others. Jack has a little hope left.
**
Lisa’s there every time he comes back. She jokes and smiles, and keeps him going. Allows him to keep a part of himself free from Saxon.
He comes back to find himself on the hard shelf that passes for a bed in his cell, to find her wrapped around him. She’s warm and smells sweet. Electrocution is always the worst to come back from. Every part of him feels out of sync for hours after. Heart beating too fast, limbs respond too slow. He lies there for a while and lets her tell him that Ianto and the others got out of Japan fine, no matter what Saxon says.
He believes her, she would know.
**
He shoots the paradox machine and it explodes. Everything reset, and none of it even happened now. Except it did.
He sees Lisa out of the corner of his eye as he runs back to the Doctor. She smiles and is gone.
“Thank you,” Jack whispers under his breath.
Author: szm
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Cyberwoman, Sound of Drums, Last of The Time Lords
Summary: Jack gets a vistor while on the Valiant
Beated by the lovely and wise hellenebright
Jack sucks in a great lungful of air, like he hadn’t breathed in hours. Which is more or less true. Every muscle aches and his chest complains bitterly about his lungs being pressed back into service. He’s back in the chains now; he lets them take his weight just for a moment. He coughs up salt water. Drowning really is an awful way to go.
It’s dark, everything powered down, must be late. Jack’s eyes are drawn to something white, almost shining in the half light.
“You know,” says a voice from somewhere behind him. “That’s almost crueller than killing you in the first place.”
Jack can see the white thing is a wreath, white lilies. He tries to turn his head to see who the voice belongs to. “I’m sure he left a thoughtful note,” says Jack, trying to cover for the fact that every part of him feels like damp cotton wool.
Someone walks from behind him into his eye line; she leans over the wreath and finds the card. “It just says, ‘better luck next time,’” she reads out loud.
Jack’s about to ask her who she is when she straightens and turns. It takes him a few seconds to recognise her. Last time he saw her she looked very different.
“Lisa?” he asks, shock evident in his tone. “Great, so now I’m hallucinating.”
Lisa chuckles. “Not so much, I’m real. In a way.”
“I hate to state the obvious,” replies Jack. “But you’re dead.”
“So were you,” counters Lisa. “You’ve spent more time dead recently than you have alive. You’ve… jammed the door open a little bit? Just enough to let me talk to you. It’ll probably wear off,” she shrugs.
“More likely you’re a figment of my imagination. Guess I’ve finally lost it.”
Lisa laughs. “Why on earth would you imagine me? Besides,” she gestures to herself. “I looked a little different last time you saw me.”
“You look better like this,” says Jack softly, closing his eyes against the roaring pain in his head.
“Sheet metal is never a good look,” replies Lisa. Jack feels a warm hand on his cheek. “Still with me Jack?”
Jack manages to open his eyes and pull himself straighter. Lisa’s hand falls away and she takes a step back. Jack wishes she put it back; even if it is only imagined the warmth is welcome. No-one has touched him for comfort in… a long time. Jack tries to smile, “Sure thing beautiful. The sheet metal didn’t cover much, wasn’t it cold?”
Lisa wrapped her arms around herself. “All the time,” she whispers
“I’m sorry,” says Jack, wishing he could hug her. To give them both some strength.
Lisa looks up and gives him a wry smile. “You’ve been mostly dead all day, I’ll let you off.” Jack looks at her blankly. “You’ve known Ianto all this time and he’s never made you watch The Princess Bride?”
Jack shakes his head. “Any good?”
Lisa smiles, lost in a memory. “That was our first date, only he says it doesn’t count as a date because it wasn’t meant to be one. We hadn’t known each other long, we worked in different offices. We got talking one day and I mentioned I never seen it so he asked me round to his to watch it.”
Jack can’t help but smile with Lisa, she’s beautiful like this, and Jack can see why Ianto fell for her.
He can’t keep his eyes open any longer; he passes out, slumped in the chains.
**
Jack wonders vaguely if taunting your prisoners could be considered a hobby, or if it’s part of the job description for ‘evil overlord of earth’. Saxon - Jack won’t call him ‘Master’ not even in his own head - certainly seems to enjoy it.
Jack’s lost the thread of the latest rant. It’s hard to concentrate past the burning pain in his chest. He honestly is hoping Saxon kills him soon; death is turning out to be the only respite available.
Jack is distracted by a movement behind Saxon. He peers over Saxon’s shoulder. It’s Lisa, mouthing along to Saxon’s speech and pulling faces. Saxon frowns and turns, trying to see what Jack is looking at. Lisa beams at him and waves manically. Saxon clearly can’t see her and Jack starts to giggle. Saxon whips his head round.
“What the hell’s so funny, freak?” he sneers. Lisa is miming bunny ears over his head.
“Nothing,” Jack gasps out between the laughter and the pain.
Saxon looks furious, which just makes the whole thing funnier. The giggles turn into fully-fledged laughter. Jack can’t stop. Saxon slaps his face hard, but Jack keeps on laughing.
“What, you gonna do, Harry?” he says in great hiccupping breaths. “Kill me?”
There’s an explosion of white-hot pain as Saxon drives the knife in. He leans into Jack’s ear.
“Why not? I already killed Ianto Jones today,” he whispers as Jack dies.
**
Jack sucks in air as he is pulled back. “Thanks, Rose,” he whispers to himself weakly. He’s in a cell, not chained this time, but no doubt Saxon will send someone along to fix that soon enough. He stretches; he was dead long enough to feel stiff now. He also itches, clean is a feeling he can only dimly remember.
Then it hits him, like a punch in the face. Saxon killed Ianto…
“He’s not dead,” Lisa says flatly.
Jack turns to see her. Sitting on the floor with her back propped up against the locked door.
“The Master said…” says Jack weakly.
Lisa doesn’t move, head tipped back against the door, eyes closed, “Saxon, not ‘Master’. He lied. Why do you think I’m hanging around? It’s not for you.”
Jack pulls himself into a sitting position. His joints are screaming at him and he feels old. "You’re waiting for Ianto?” he asks softly.
“He never gave up on me,” replies Lisa. “And he needs looking after.”
“Because he doesn’t look after himself,” Jack finishes for her.
Lisa nods, the door opens and Lisa is gone. Tish walks in with a bowl of what passes for food. Jack finds the strength to smile and flirt. Tish smiles back, even if it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Ianto is alive, he’ll be watching out for the others. Jack has a little hope left.
**
Lisa’s there every time he comes back. She jokes and smiles, and keeps him going. Allows him to keep a part of himself free from Saxon.
He comes back to find himself on the hard shelf that passes for a bed in his cell, to find her wrapped around him. She’s warm and smells sweet. Electrocution is always the worst to come back from. Every part of him feels out of sync for hours after. Heart beating too fast, limbs respond too slow. He lies there for a while and lets her tell him that Ianto and the others got out of Japan fine, no matter what Saxon says.
He believes her, she would know.
**
He shoots the paradox machine and it explodes. Everything reset, and none of it even happened now. Except it did.
He sees Lisa out of the corner of his eye as he runs back to the Doctor. She smiles and is gone.
“Thank you,” Jack whispers under his breath.