Chapter Text
-Jack's Perspective-
Pain. That was what his world had been reduced to. Nothing but the blinding pain that seared through his body. When he could think, he wished for the pain to end, but not even the relief of death kept the pain away for long. No, it just made the pain worse as he died, reviving with nervous newly healed and the pain worse than ever. It never took long for him to start screaming again, even if he swore to himself that he would never give them the satisfaction of hearing him scream or beg them to stop. Now he was sure that his screaming never stopped, even though he could no longer hear himself. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, he could do nothing but feel pain and scream.
Then just as suddenly as the pain began it stopped. He barely dared to believe that after so many days, weeks or even months of screaming it was over. For all he knew it could have even been only hours that he was trapped, but he doubted it. He tensed, panting as he tried to prepare for the pain to start again. This had to be a trick of theirs. There was no other explanation for it. He opened his eyes, trying to see out into the dark room. He didn't see anything so when a gentle hand stroked the side of his face, he jumped. He stopped himself from leaning into the hand, still telling himself it was a trick. Even as the shackles that were holding him in place were released, he didn't dare to believe it was over.
-DW-
The Doctor looked confused at the monitor as the TARDIS landed. He had been aiming for a planet in the Sundorsa system, just trying to cheer himself up. It had been a month since he had removed Donna's memories and returned Rose to the other universe. His thoughts since then had become dark and he found himself feeling as if the laws of time were his to control. He ran his hands over his face as he sighed. How could he consider himself a winner when all that had happened is that he ended up alone, again? He had allowed himself hope that he didn't have to be. When he had been aboard the TARDIS, surrounded by his friends, he had imagined for one moment that they weren't going to leave him. That he could travel on in their company. It was a fool's hope, though, and because of it, he had ended up feeling more alone than ever.
He considered changing the destination on the TARDIS, pulling the handbrake and leaving. There was one thing he had learned, though, in his years of traveling. That was the TARDIS always took him where he needed to go. If she brought him here, there had to be a reason for it. Whether or not he wanted to deal with the reason was another matter. Sighing, he headed slowly for the door, grabbing his coat as he stepped out onto the dark planet. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a dirt path. To either side of the path, it was lined with trees, making it impossible to see what was waiting for him in the distance.
There was little to see under the starlit night in the forest. Around him, crickets chirped and occasionally an owl-like creature called out. Using his sonic as a torch, he walked along the dark path. Trees rustled around him and made him uneasy. He had never liked the dark nights, not even as a child. He wasn't going to let the darkness stop him, though. He was curious of what was at the end of the path. As he walked he saw the outline of a small building finally. He picked up the pace a little, happy to finally have a destination. Getting closer to the building, he saw that it was surrounded with caution signs, warning whoever was approaching to turn around. The Doctor smiled. He loved ignoring a good keep out sign.
Reaching the small building, he realized that it was a cabin. He knocked on the door of it, his pyschic paper already in hand with his prepared story that he was a Forest ranger. When no one came to the door after a minute, he tried the door handle, finding it locked. His sonic made quick work of the lock letting him in. He poked his head into the unfurnished room.
"Hello?" He called out. He received no answer, not that he expected one. The room was obviously unused. He was about to turn around and leave when he heard a noise. He stopped, listening for it. He heard it again, almost like a squeak. Furrowing his brow, he walked further into the room. As he approached the empty kitchen, he heard it louder. Scanning with his sonic revealed that there was someone alive in the basement. Going to the closed door, he opened it. He stepped back as he was greeted by a stench that made him gag. He put his shirt sleeve over his mouth and nose continuing forward.
"Oh Jack," he whispered as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Standing in the middle of the room, shackled to the floor and ceiling was the immortal. He had been stripped naked and was standing in a pile of his own filth. A power cord was attached to the floor and Jack writhed, trying to scream as electricity coursed through his body. The Doctor used the sonic to quickly disable the mechanism. He walked forward, looking into Jack's unseeing bloodshot eyes. It would be kinder to let him die again. The Doctor wasn't going to let that happen, though. He stroked the side of Jack's face and Jack flinched away from him.
"You're alright. I'm not going to hurt you," The Doctor reassured him. Using the sonic, he released Jack from his bonds. Jack crumpled to the floor, unable to cry out due to screaming. He lay there shivering, even as the Doctor took off his coat, trying to lay it over him. Jack didn't move as he lay there shivering. The Doctor leaned down, tenderly picking Jack up in his arms. Jack weakly tried to fight the Doctor. He didn't have the strength to do anything but make carrying him difficult. The Doctor held him tightly as he started on his way. It would have been easier to go get the TARDIS, but the Doctor wasn't about to leave Jack alone even for a moment. Jack needed him and the Doctor wasn't about to let him down again.
The Doctor struggled to keep walking down the path as he carried Jack. Jack's fighting him didn't help anything, nor did it help that he couldn't hold Jack and use the Sonic to light his way. Several times he almost tripped over unseen obstacles in his way. Only once did he actually come close to dropping Jack as he hit a rock with his foot. He managed to stay upright, somehow, clutching Jack as tightly as he could to his body. In gratitude, Jack's teeth sunk deeply into his arm. The Doctor resisted the urge to push Jack away, but knowing Jack was just defending himself did nothing to relieve the pain.
"Jack, I'm trying to help you," the Doctor scolded him. He received no answer except for the teeth to dig in deeper. His arm felt wet where Jack's mouth was and he hoped it was just saliva from Jack's mouth though he had a feeling that once aboard the TARDIS he would find that he was bleeding. The Doctor reached out his mind to the TARDIS, thankful when she hummed back at him. She was near and he just had to make it a little further before he would be safe inside. He walked as quickly as he dared until his beloved blue box appeared along the path. Adjusting his grip, he snapped his fingers. The door opened inward for him, lighting the rest of his way out of the forest. He took a deep breath of relief, regretting it immediately as the stench of Jack filled his nostrils.
"You are getting a bath as soon as I get you inside," The Doctor informed him. The rest of the walk took less than a minute, and he gratefully closed the doors behind him. With the doors shut, they were safely sealed away from the rest of the world outside. He had once told Rose that not even the assembled hordes of Gangas Kahn could get through those doors and he meant it. If there was anywhere in the universe that he felt completely safe it was in his TARDIS. He just hoped that being in the familiar place would help calm Jack down as well. Looking at the man in his arms, he could see that it was a false hope that Jack hadn't broken his skin as blood dripped down his arm, wetting his sleeve. Jack's mouth was still firmly attached to his arm and the Doctor resisted the urge to flick him in the nose to get him to let go.
As he exited the console room, he found that a bathroom had been placed immediately in front of him and the door to the medi-bay next to it. He silently thanked the TARDIS as he carried Jack into the bathroom. The tub had already been filled and the steam from the water fogged the mirror. The Doctor sat Jack down on the floor first, untangling him from his coat. He made a face as he placed the coat aside to be washed. With Jack on the floor, he was also finally able to free his arm from Jack's mouth. Blood poured down his shirt and the Doctor swore colorfully in Gallifreyan. Moving his sleeve, he could clearly see that he was going to need stitches. He used his teeth to rip his sleeve further, then used the bottom half of his sleeve to wrap around his arm as a makeshift bandage. That accomplished, he lifted the squirming immortal up off the floor, depositing him into the bath. Almost immediately Jack began to scream again. His vocal cords were ruined from screaming previously so it sounded rough and squeaky.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor apologized as he cleaned Jack up as quickly as he could. Jack's skin should have been raw from the filth, but thanks to his immortality his skin was just a little red. Still the bath had to hurt the tender flesh and as soon as he could, he lifted Jack from the bath, carrying him naked once more to the medi-bay. Upon setting him down on the bed, Jack went ballistic. He kicked, punched, screamed and tried to bite the Doctor using all the strength he had to try to fight him off.
"You're fine Jack. I'm not going to hurt you, but you need to calm down before you hurt yourself," The Doctor chastised Jack as Jack fought. He put up the bars to the bed, hoping to keep him on it. The last thing he wanted to do was restrain his friend. He needed Jack to calm down and trust him, not panic because he was in shackles again. The drawer next to Jack opened, glancing in it the Doctor scowled.
"I'm not sedating him. He is afraid," The Doctor informed the TARDIS. She hummed at him. "Yes, I know he bit my arm, but I don't think he realizes it is me. I don't know how much he is able to see or hear at the moment." The Doctor smiled as the drawer closed, then opened again. Rather then still having a syringe inside there was a pair of pajama trousers with an elastic waist. The Doctor pulled them out of the drawer, then grabbed one of Jack's legs, slipping them on. Jack fought harder as he took his other leg and forced it inside the trousers as well. As he started to pull them up Jack's waist, Jack's forehead furrowed in confusion. He got them all the way up, then reached out stroking Jack's head softly.
"There that's better isn't it," He told him softly. Jack didn't respond as his eyes darted unseeing around the medi-bay. "You're safe with me Jack. I'm going to take care of you, I promise. Let's just have a look and see what we are dealing with shall we?" The Doctor pulled out his sonic. Running it slowly over Jack's body, he flicked it to the monitors. The TARDIS analyzed the information displaying it for him to read. Jack had major damage due to the electricity that raced through his body. At the moment, he was both blind and deaf due popped blood vessels in his eyes and damage to his eardrums. Reading that the Doctor glanced at Jack. It was no wonder he had fought so hard as he couldn't recognize it was a friend helping him and no longer his tormenters. He caressed Jack's head softly again as he looked once more at the screen. Jack's vocal cords were raw from screaming and he was dehydrated as well as on the verge of starvation. The drawer opened with the sedative again and this time the Doctor took it out. He picked up the syringe and filled it with the amount the TARDIS suggested.
"You need to rest," The Doctor informed Jack. Even though Jack couldn't hear him, the Doctor felt the need to try to talk to him. "I am going to give you a sedative to allow you to sleep. Once you are asleep, I will set an IV up for you to get you hydrated again. I will also use a high nutrient drip so that you don't starve to death before you heal." He cleaned a place on Jack's arm then pierced his skin with the needle. Jack cried out, starting to fight him again. The Doctor made gentle shushing sounds as he finished giving Jack the injection, then removed the needle. It didn't take long for Jack's movements to grow sluggish. The Doctor covered him with a blanket, tucking him in as he drifted off to sleep. As soon as he was out, the Doctor set up and IV, attaching the drip to it.
With Jack receiving the care he needed, the Doctor finally turned his attention to his own arm. Blood was still flowing down his arm and had turned his sleeved dark brown. Sending a silent request to the TARDIS to wake him as soon as Jack was awake, the Doctor headed back to the controls. He made a notation of he destination and time before changing them to Earth. He would pop in quickly to see Martha and have her suture his arm, then leave before Jack woke up. Until Jack calmed down, he was a danger to not only himself, but everyone around him and the Doctor wasn't about to put Martha into harms way intentionally. He also decided not to take Jack back to Torchwood until he was healed. He could and would care for his friend. He owed him that much.
-Jack's Perspective-
Jack fought as the person who released him from his bonds, covered him with a blanket. At least he assumed it was the same person as he was still unable to see them, despite them being in front of him. Almost tenderly they picked him up in their arms. He didn't buy it, though. There was nothing tender about the people who had locked him in this room and sent electricity coursing through his body. As much as he didn't want to remain shackled in the room, he also didn't know if where the man was taking him was worse. The man carried him for awhile before he almost tripped. Seeing an opportunity, Jack latched onto the man's arm, biting down.
He was slightly amazed that the man didn't drop him. He bit down harder, the taste of blood filled his mouth, but still he didn't let go. The man kept moving only adjusting his grip once. Jack was finally set down on a hard floor. The blanket was removed and the man forced him to remove his teeth from his arm. Once again naked, he was picked up and placed in a burning hot liquid. Jack screamed as the boiling water scalded his skin. He kept screaming as the man rubbed it on his legs. Jack was thankful that he couldn't see what the man was doing to his legs as he was sure that it would be horrific to witness. He imagined that blood was seeping from his legs into the water as the man tore at them. He was actually thankful when he was lifted out of the liquid.
Only to have his relief vanished the moment his body touched a soft surface. Jack fought with all his strength, soft surfaces were never a good thing when captured. Soft surfaces meant beds and beds meant rape. While he was from the fifty-first century and enjoyed sex, he enjoyed it when it was on his terms. He was going to continue to fight the man as hard as he could and make the man regret the decision to take advantage of his body. The man grabbed his leg forcing rope around it, then grabbed the other and forced the rope around it as well. Jack hesitated in his struggling as he realized that the rope wasn't rope at all but a pair of trousers. The man gently caressed his head.
He was confused about what was happening. His head hurt from trying to figure it out as well. Since becoming immortal, he could not remember a time when he felt so close to death, even as death claimed his body. He wasn't about to trust the man and he was right not to as a sharp pain started in his arm. He felt the effects of the drugs the man injected into his system almost immediately. He tried not to give into the blackness that was clouding his mind. He couldn't stop it though and soon sunk into the nothingness that he hoped would be a permanent death.
-DW-
The Doctor landed the TARDIS in Martha's office at UNIT. He bounded towards the door, reaching for his coat as he did. As he passed by the coral it normally sat on he remembered that it wasn't there. He sighed, he was going to have to get his coat cleaned soon before the filth Jack was covered in ruined it. He didn't want to have to find a new coat, he loved that coat. Janis Joplin gave him that coat. Well, he said gave. In reality, she had let him try on the coat and he had taken it with him. He was sure that she would have been alright with him having it if he only had asked. Maybe he should go back and ask her. Later, he decided. He pulled the door open bounding off the TARDIS with a grin. Martha was sitting behind. Her eyes narrowed as they focused on his bloody arm.
"Doctor what happened to your arm?" Martha asked as she stood up, going around her desk. The Doctor looked at.
"I got bit," The Doctor explained vaguely. Martha shook her head.
"Sit down and let me see." She instructed motion towards the chair. The Doctor sat down in it, holding his arm out for her to look at. Martha pulled on a pair of gloves before carefully peeling the makeshift bandage. Blood began to flow freely again. She pushed the bandage back against it, making him hiss in pain. "Sorry, but I have to stop the bleeding. Can you hold it the cloth to your arm, while I go get my suture kit and more bandages?"
"Yes," The Doctor agreed. He gently placed his arm on the bandage to hold it in place. Martha tutted, moving his hand to tighten his grip. He glared at her. She didn't apologize, as she pulled off her gloves and left her office. She returned fairly quickly with a suture kit, fresh bandages and a longer bandage to wrap around his arm. Pulling on a new pair of gloves, she picked up one of the bandages and pressed it to his arm. She had to change the bandage several times before the bleeding slowed enough she could look at his arm.
"This is a human bite," Martha informed the Doctor as she examined it. It was obvious from the shape of the teeth as well as being oval.
"Is it?" The Doctor asked in fascination as he looked at his arm. Martha slapped him in his good arm making him pout.
"How did you get bit?" She wondered. She pulled out a Time Lord friendly local anesthesia and filled a syringe with it.
"He didn't mean to bite me. He is just afraid," The Doctor immediately defended Jack's actions. "It is my fault for getting my arm too close to his mouth. When he calms down and realizes I am only trying to help him, he will feel bad about it."
"He is still aboard the TARDIS?" Martha asked. The Doctor nodded. "Are you sure you should be trying to help this man on your own?"
"I can handle Jack," The Doctor told her. Martha processed the information. The Jack she knew was never afraid enough to bite someone to defend himself.
"Captain Jack," Martha questioned confused.
"Is there another?" The Doctor wondered. Martha shook her head.
"No. What happened to him?" She asked as she cleaned around the wound on the Doctor's arm.
"He was, ow," The Doctor yelped. Martha injected a small amount of the anesthesia, then removed the needle. He didn't try to talk again as she pierced his skin a total of seven times trying to numb the area around the bite mark. The worst was the seventh one, when she pushed the needle right into the middle of the bite. The Doctor gritted his teeth, holding the chair tightly. After she removed the needle, he took a deep breath, followed by another. The pain slowly began to fade, leaving a strange numbness behind. "He was tortured," The Doctor tried again. He looked away from Martha as she picked up her suture kit. "They left him blind and death temporarily while his body heals."
"Jack heals quickly. From what I have observed, he heals faster than you do. He should be up on his feet in just a few hours. Right?" Martha questioned.
"No, they used electricity to torture him. The electricity over a long period of time would interrupt the autron energy in his body making it harder for him to heal. While it would never keep him dead, it would make it hard for him to revive. The skin on his legs is irritated. In normal circumstances, he would be healed in a matter of minutes. Now the rash is staying until his body can heal," The Doctor explained.
"After I am done tending to your arm, do you want me to go check on him?" Martha wondered. The Doctor shook his head no.
"He is sleeping at the moment and when he wakes, I don't want him to accidentally hurt you," The Doctor replied.
"You have told me before, though, that you are not a doctor even if you go by that name. I can go in and make sure that he is comfortable," Martha offered. The Doctor thought about it a moment. She was right he wasn't a Doctor. Even if he did have medical training, he never had a formal degree. Most of what he knew, he had picked up in his travels. He had to learn more about humans than other species as he always had a human companion.
"If I tell you to get back, then I will expect you to get back without arguing me," the Doctor informed her. Martha agreed. She finished stitching his arm closed, hoping silently that it didn't get infected. If he was human then she knew that it was almost a given that the bite would become infected. Since he was a Time Lord, his immunity worked differently. Still she pulled out another syringe, giving him an antibiotic injection to be safe. When she pulled out the sling, he stood up refusing to put it on. Instead, he bounded into the TARDIS. Martha sighed, bringing the sling with her as she took off after him.
She found him in the medi-bay by Jack's bed. Jack was snoring softly as he slept sprawled out on his back. His brown hair needed to be washed and he needed a shave. Martha didn't focus on those details as she began to examine Jack trying not to wake him. She remembered the Doctor saying the skin on his legs was red. Pulling the blankets up, she rolled up one of his trouser legs to look at it. The skin was warm to the touch and had to be painful.
"Did you put an ointment on his legs?" Martha questioned the Doctor. She glanced up at him and he shook his head. "I thought not. I know he heals quickly, but a soothing ointment will make him more comfortable until he can heal the skin." Martha went over to the medical cabinet. Within moments, she found the cream she was looking for and returned to Jack. Pulling on yet another clean pair of gloves, she softly began to apply the ointment to his skin. "There now, that's better. Doesn't that feel better?" Martha question Jack fixing the blankets. She ran a check of his vitals, then had the TARDIS pull up the medication Jack had received. She tutted, seeing that the Doctor had only given him a sedative before the high nutrient drip. She went back to the cupboard, returning quickly with several vials and syringes. She measured and injected everyone into this cannula. Finally satisfied she stepped back.
"There now he is medicated properly and his legs have been tended to. He should feel a lot better once he is away," Martha informed the Doctor.
"Thank you for looking after him," The Doctor told her.
"You're welcome and I agree with what you are doing in order to heal him. Just because he can die and come back, doesn't mean that he should. Even if it is the easiest way to heal," Martha explained. "I know you are worried about me getting hurt, but I would like to stick around until he is awake so I can analyze him."
"If I tell you to get back, I expect you to listen," the Doctor agreed. He had sat down on the bed next to Jack's watching Martha work. She had gone beyond what he expected in order to make Jack comfortable. While he could take care of Jack on his own, it was nice to have another set of hands, especially while his arm ached. Martha agreed. She left the medi-bay to tend to her other patients while the Doctor watched over Jack. She just hoped that he didn't leave before she returned.