Taking Tally [Open - Casual]

[Captain Jack Harkness]

He lost count long ago. It wasn't that he tried, really, but when he looked back on it, he couldn't remember. He just couldn't. The century had gone and past, and he saw the "new" Doctor once or twice since then. And yet, he couldn't remember how many times he had died.

In the past year, it had to have been at least a hundred. There were months he went by without a single death, then suddenly, he was dying once, twice a day for an entire month. Sometimes it worked that way. Most of the time he went by like a normal human being, then he was reminded again and again that he can't die.

Maybe he should really keep a tally. Get a chalk board and mark when he died. Oh, I died three times this week. Let's mark it up. It might help him remember.

He didn't want to remember all of them.

Maybe he shouldn't keep a tally.

Jack rubbed his face, walking to where he kept his extra clothes, wanting to get out of his blue shirt with the hole in it. The shirt with his blood on it. The shirt that proved he died.

Sometimes he didn't know what he wanted. He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped his suspenders off of his shoulders. One thing was always constant, though.

He always wanted a new shirt.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Sometimes it alarms him, how eager they can be to come. In all honesty it fascinates him, the human concept of boredom; what it makes them do. They have perfectly good, stable existence, and yet they crave so much more than the mundane lifestyle that is handed to them. Always wanting more. That wasn’t so much a human concept, but a natural one.

He gets it too. He wants more, sometimes. He tells himself that he has far better than he deserves, and maybe he does, but sometimes he wishes that nobody ever left, or died, or forgot. He wishes the happy memories didn’t end with painful ones. But they all inevitably do, because everything he touches turns to ash sooner or later, in one way or another.

Perhaps being human is just a bourgeois concept.

He’s alone right now. The last one left a few days ago, because seeing a whole city die at once proved to be too much. He tries to remember the days so long ago, when he was a child, when death affected him so emotionally, and it scares him that he can’t.

He needs to be with someone. The need for companionship is overwhelming, and though he knows it would be better to just be alone, for everyone’s sakes, he just can’t.

Perhaps he can return to someone’s life he’s already ruined, though. That way the guilt’s already there, so new guilt has little room to grow. Well, that’s not true; with him, there’s always room for new guilt to grow.

He ends up in Cardiff. He rather likes the place, Wales, despite many of his previous companions distaste towards it. He’s not really sure where he’s headed, until he finds himself standing in front of one of the entrances to Torchwood.

Captain Jack Harkness.

Just think the name makes him smile. Frown, and then smile. The impossible human being. Head of the reformed Torchwood. He was a good man.

The Doctor wonders what would happen if he were to knock on the door. Was it even a door? He couldn’t be sure. He stands in front of it for a dramatic length of time before deciding to knock.

OOC: I’ve never actually seen Torchwood; I don’t know how you get it. Hopefully this works.

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[Captain Jack Harkness]

He was right. He always liked a new shirt after an incident.

There was a knock. Jack glanced over his shoulder at the door, tugging his new shirt on to his shoulders and poking the buttons in to their proper holes quickly. It was rare someone came to Torchwood and knocked on the door. It must have been important for them to do that. He walked over to the door, shoving his shirt tail in to his pants and fixing his suspenders as he did.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by a somewhat familiar face. The Doctor. Well, a version of the Doctor. The Tenth one, if he wasn't mistaken. The one with the suits and ties and lots of hair. Jack smiled at him. It was always nice to see his pretty face spontaneously.

"Wasn't expecting you to be here," he announced cheerfully, stepping to the side to let him in.

Torchwood was a little more than messed up. Recently they had a good amount of aliens and other creatures come in from the rift, and that left Torchwood a mess. Jack wasn't happy with it; he'd have to clean it himself if the team wouldn't do what they were supposed to.

"Hope you don't mind the mess," he said with a grin. "Weevils don't clean up after themselves."

[The Tenth Doctor]

The door opened, revealing the well-recognized face of none other than Captain Jack Harness himself. Jack recognized him immediately and smiled. The Doctor loved it, when Jack was smiling. Because when Jack was frowning, someone was usually dying. He was a cheerful guy, after all.

“Wasn’t expecting you to be here,” Jack said, moving to allow the Doctor to step inside. Of course, not before he gave Jack a quick and slightly awkward hug, slapping him on the back gleefully. The facility was fussier than the Doctor remembered it, but it was the same place. The air still had that same buzz, the one that screamed it wasn’t normal. The one that he made fun of in his own mind constantly. “Hope you don’t mind the mess, Weevils don’t clean up after themselves,” Jack apologized.

The Doctor stopped looking around for a second and turned to look back at Jack. “Weevils?” He grinned, thinking about Jack dealing with the troublesome creatures. “Curious.” He laughed, simply because he could, and said, “Haven’t seen you in a while. Just stopped by for a visit. Well, you know me, it’s never just a visit with me, but so far, it’s really just that, and that’s all.” His words came out slightly jumbled, pitch going up and down with excitement. Oh, sometimes he got excited so easily; this incarnation was peppy, that’s for sure.

[Captain Jack Harkness]

The Doctor (no, he should name him something, something like Smithy; Smithy was good) stepped through the door, taking a moment to give Jack a slightly awkward hug before continuing. Jack blinked, shaking his head a bit and closing the door. Usually, Smithy didn't touch him unless provoked, much less hug. It was a bit odd. But not unappreciated. Jack took any form of affection he could get sometimes.

Smithy laughed when told about the Weevils. They certainly were troublesome. He knew what Smithy was thinking. Not all were bad. Janet was a good one. Jack liked Janet. Poor girl.

This version of The Doctor certainly was different from the one Jack knew and loved. He was peppy, energetic, and generally just happy. It was a little weird. Jack had to remind himself over and over that he was The Doctor, just not his Doctor. It was nice, though. This Doctor was a nice little change in pace.

"You're a bit... excited, aren't you?" Jack asked, smiling and following him further in to the building. "Nice to be worthy of a visit. Makes me feel important."

Jack leaned on a desk, watching Smithy move around the room with a grin on his face.

[The Tenth Doctor]

“You’re a bit… excited, aren’t you?” Jack asked. The Doctor’s smile stayed plastered on his face, but lessened slightly. Oh, when was this for Jack? He seemed… less. Less bright. He still shined, but in a different way. In an old way. The trouble with time travel was, he didn’t know what anybody had gone through up until now, whenever now was.

After all, Jack had seemed a little surprised at the Doctor’s hug. Wasn’t Jack the one who used to kiss him? But, well, it wasn’t exactly him him, was it? That’s right, Jack had seen so much more of him during the last him, when he was the him with little hair and big ears, and older too. He wondered how long it had been since Jack had last seen him; which him it had been. Still, he hadn’t thought he had been all that peppy. It was just how he was. Normality. But if the last him that Jack had seen was the last him, then it could be either way around; he was either peppy or Jack was quieter, or both.

“Am I?” He said, interested. “Curious.” He walked with Jack a bit further into the depths of Torchwood.

“Nice to be worth of a visit,” he said, leaning against a desk. “Makes me feel important.” The Doctor turned from the everythings that he was observing excitedly and stared directly at Jack. Yes, he definitely looked a little different.

“Oh Jack,” the Doctor sighed, grimacing just a bit. “Jackity Jack, Jack Harkness. The impossible man. The last man on Earth. You’re always important.” He thought about what he’s said for a second. Would the last him have said that? Yes, of course he would have, it had just been him. But maybe it hadn’t? The confusion of being the same but different made him worried that his sentiment might upset Jack. He was rather sentimental this time.

“When was the last time you saw me, Jack?” He asked, honestly curious. “What was the last me you saw?”

[Captain Jack Harkness]

“Jackity Jack, Jack Harkness. The impossible man. The last man on Earth. You’re always important.”

Jack really couldn't help but smile at Smithy's words. He smiled a toothy grin at him. He was a glutton for compliments. Any form of compliment or affection or anything really, Jack ate up. He couldn't help it, really. All the things Smithy was saying really hit home. Made Jack happy.

“When was the last time you saw me, Jack? What was the last me you saw?” Smithy asked, and he looked very curious about it.

Jack shrugged, taking the moment to scratch at his jaw. He knew about the possibility of seeing his old Doctor around. He also knew the possibility of seeing Smithy's regeneration. It was a bit weird. Jack knew about both of them dying and regenerating. He was always prepared for a new face on The Doctor. But the chance to see his old Doctor excited him.

"You," he said truthfully. "I haven't seen the others yet."

Not that he was really looking.

Jack grinned a sly little smirk. "Did you get jealous that I might have seen someone else before you?"

[The Tenth Doctor]

The Doctor was pleased when he saw Jack grin. Yes, that was the grin he’d missed; he liked that grin. It fit Jack better than a frown, or a concerned face, and he’d seen Jack make far too many of those in the past. Then again, a lot of the times he’d seen Jack had to do with saving the world from certain death by aliens, or something terrible that included a lot of people going to an early grave, so he couldn’t really blame the man. He asked Jack when was the last he’d seen him.

“You,” the man answered, and he looked earnest. “I haven’t seen the others yet.” Oh, well, that was good, he supposed. Not that he really would have asked, but he didn’t want to know about what his future self would look like, not at the moment, not really ever actually, because he really really liked his regeneration, he really did. Though, he was a little surprised that his last self hadn’t dropped by in a while.

“Did you get jealous that I might have seen someone else before you?” Jack probed, a playful little grin on his face. The Doctor chuckled.

“What, me get jealous of me? I don’t think so,” he answered, happy to joke around with Jack for a bit. He definitely liked seeing the man better when they weren’t worrying about their more mortal friends dying on the spot. Perhaps he should drop by more often? Then again, that might cause trouble. He was trouble, sometimes.

He looked around the area and suddenly thought that something was missing. Something big. Several somethings. Someones. Oh… “Jack, where’s the rest of your gang?” He really hoped the answer was more along the lines of ‘Oh nothing just out on a job,’ rather than ‘They all died and I’m alone again.’

[Captain Jack Harkness]

Jack slipped on to the desk, deeming it his current seat, putting his hands on his knees. Smithy was smiling and laughing. Something about that laugh always made Jack feel a little better. This was nice. Being able to talk with someone again was nice. It was a good distraction.

Smithy suddenly looked surprised. He was looking around the building like he was looking for something. Or, someone. Great. He noticed.

“Jack, where’s the rest of your gang?”

Jack sighed. When the Rift opened up, they all went out, tried to figure out what was going on, and haven't been seen since. Jack liked to think that they would be back soon. Eventually, maybe, but they would be back. He really didn't want to rebuild again.

"They're... out."

It was the truth. If they had done what he wanted, they would be here, helping with the Weevils, helping straighten up, instead of Jack doing it on his own. But they went out to investigate against his wishes. Jack knew the results of investigating the Rift. Things happened. People disappeared.

"Been on my own for a while now. It's very quiet here."

He looked around thoughtfully, trying to keep the smile on his face. They'll be back.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Oh, oh that’s not… Jack had seemed to be cheering, but now he looked unhappy again, sighing. “They’re…out.” What did he mean out? They were coming back, right? But, the face Jack was making… Oh, that’s not so good. Maybe they’ve died. Oh dear, what if they’ve been dead for ages? But Jack had said ‘out,’ not, ‘gone’: though Jack couldn’t be described as unhopeful, he wasn’t unrealistic. So his word choice meant… they were still out there somewhere, right?

“Been on my own a while. It’s very quiet here,” Jack confirmed the Doctor’s suspicions. Out, not gone. But they’ve been gone for a while, which was likely the reason Jack was down; he was a personable man, and he liked company, or at least the Doctor thought he did, and so… Jack was looking around, the smile on his face had grown weaker in integrity.

The Doctor didn’t say anything in reply for a moment, just stared at Jack for a moment, thinking. The guilt for what he’d done to this man was coming back. No, no, it wasn’t completely his fault, was it? After all, She was the one who… but he’d brought Her with him, hadn’t he? Dammit.

“I’m rather in the same predicament,” he said, because, well, humans liked to share woes sometimes. Not that he was mourning anything, not really, but it was better than the other replies he’d been contemplating giving the sort-of-Captain, which were mostly along the lines of either a depressing monologue or an all too cheerful ignorance. “It’s quiet in the TARDIS too, been for a while.” Now he was just rephrasing Jack’s words, but it was true; nobody was with him right now, and that did make it quiet… He talked to himself, but the sound of his own voice got tiresome quickly.

He looked at Jack, his eyes showing something akin to hope. “There’s a lot of empty space in the place.” He was sure Jack would get the hint. Besides, it wasn’t a full time offer, just… one. One adventure. He couldn’t keep Jack away from this place too long, after all, and anyways, Jack might not even want to come; he probably wanted to wait for his friends to come back.

[Captain Jack Harkness]

"I'm rather in the same predicament. It's quiet in the TARDIS too, been for a while."

Jack smiled fondly. The TARDIS. He loved the TARDIS and it's many rooms and secrets. But it never was too quiet in the TARDIS. She often made noises and communicated in some way, whether it was murring or making whirling noises. She was never quiet. Jack remembered the TARDIS inside and out.

Smithy looked at Jack, his eyes looking somewhat hopefully at him. "There's a lot of empty space in the place."

Jack furrowed his brows together, looking confused for a moment. What was that look for? He was dropping a very blunt hint. Jack hummed lightly and started grinning again.

He was asking Jack to join him again.

Jack's smile broke out in to a full blown, cheesy grin. He leaned off of the desk, clapped his hands like some retarded seal, and laughed.

"Finally!" he jeered, going up to Smithy and wrapping his arms around him happily. "Something to do!"

[The Tenth Doctor]

The Doctor watched, waiting to see what would or would not happen, because Jack wasn’t a normal human in light of the fact that… he wasn’t predictable. It was one of the many reasons why his former self had loved Jack so much – the confusion Jack caused him – and why his current self still loved Jack so much now. Jack’s face moved between looks of confusion, understanding and glee, making a deep noise in his throat and grinning. The Doctor grinned back, though still cautiously so, for he had no idea if Jack was smiling because what he had offered was welcome, or considered ridiculous.

His fears we assuaged though, when Jack’s little grin became a large, full-face look of happiness. The man stood straighter, clapping his hands together with excitement. The Doctor grinned stupidly as Jack said, “Finally!” A teasing tone of scorn in his voice. The Doctor froze for just a second in surprise when Jack hugged him cheerfully.

“Something to do!” Jack cried. The Doctor wondered if Jack was bored, without his friends. Or rather, if he simply wanted away from the almost mind-crushing weight of waiting.

The Doctor laughed at Jack when the Torchwood head released him, a loony grin stuck on his face. “Brilliant, oh, that’s brilliant,” the Doctor said, a chuckle still playing behind his words. “Wherever you want to go then, Jack!” He thought for half a second before adding, “Within reason.” They couldn’t go back and see Rose of course. Of course.