[for the doctor]

[more_flexible]

Jack was surprised when he first saw that the doctor had declined the council bid, but then he looked down the list and had seen his own name. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. If the Doctor wasn't running, Jack was perfectly willing to step up.

He'd grabbed a sandwich and gone out front of the compound to eat. He'd been so busy for the past few weeks that now it seemed like he had nothing to do. Spare time was just something that got him in trouble. Maybe running for council could fill that vacuum.

Maybe he should ask the Doctor exactly what he was getting himself into.

Comments

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

Between the council bid (which the Doctor would have seconded for Jack had it not already been done), and the...rather interesting scene he'd caught a glimpse of as he'd mingled on Wednesday, the Doctor was rather pleased to find Jack sitting outside the Compound, looking terribly nonchalant as he munched on a sandwich.

As he'd told Jo on Guy Fawkes Night, Jack put up a terribly good public face.

"Afternoon, Cap'n."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Doctor," he replied with a nod and a sly smile, which he nearly wiped away along with the crumbs of bread on his lips. "Just the man I was going to hunt up. Think I could use your advice."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"One of the few things that I have in spades," the Doctor said, sitting down on the steps next to Jack with a soft thud. "I see you've recovered from alien hunting, or is this just a cunning plan?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Not hunting. Just catching," he chuckled. "And I'm over it. No, I was wondering...I got nominated for the council. What do you think?" Rather than offer up any more than that, he took another bite and waited.

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"Still haven't caught me. And..." The Doctor's hesitation was minimal. "Actually, I think it's a rather good idea for you, really. Do you some good to have a mission." It had been clear in the future that Jack was a good leader, anyhow.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

That hadn't been quite the answer he'd been expecting...except he didn't really know what he had expected. Jack swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah. A mission," he agreed. "What exactly is it, though? Somehow stacks of paperwork and tracking names for the wall don't really seem like much of mission." He paused, grinned, and tilted his head. "It sounds like work."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"Long periods of boredom surrounded by sheer terror," the Doctor assured him, leaning against Jack's shoulder. "But the mission...it's more than that. It's ephemeral but very real, the well-being of everyone."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Boredom and terror was what he'd come to expect from this place, but those moments of sheer terror were the times he liked best.

"Mmm," he murmured as he wrapped his head around a job description like that. It was pretty much what he'd figured, but it was nice to hear a voice of experience.

"I think I want to do it. Not like last time. I think...I think I really want to do it."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"I think you should," said the Doctor, quite definitively. "I'd vote for you. Admittedly, you may have...some people might not take you seriously, which is their stupidity, really." He rubbed his forehead with two fingers.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Not take me seriously?" he smirked. "I can't imagine who you're talking about. But really...oh, I don't know. I've been here long enough. Maybe it's time I quit pretending this isn't my life."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"These are mostly twentieth and twenty-first humans," the Doctor pointed out. "For them, political figures and shagging are linked and dangerous." He turned and looked Jack in the eye. "But they know full well you'll fight for them, so that's something. And Jack...the pretending...it only goes so far."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"The pretending is now a pile of ash on the beach," he shrugged, looking off toward the tree line. "With John gone, it's pretty clear I'm really not the guy I was before I met you. Maybe it's time to grow up. I can kind of see how I'd eventually be the man Gwen and Ianto and Tosh and O...they know."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"I'm not about to run off if you do," the Doctor pointed out, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. "All right?"

He paused, then cleared his throat. "Speaking of the beach."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

There was the most minute movement, just a hint of pressure as Jack leaned against the Doctor's hand. Doing so made the fact that he tensed painfully apparent.

"About the beach?"

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

Which meant that Jack knew exactly what he was talking about. And that he wasn't comfortable about it, which was pretty damned odd, in the Doctor's mind.

"Are you and Logan together?" he asked, simply, voice without judgment.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"No," he answered. "Just friends." That was the truth, except it wasn't. They weren't just anything. He didn't even want to go so far as to label what they had between them.

"He got divorced, you know. Didn't want me to say anything, so I didn't. It's...private?"

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"I know he did."

The Doctor cocked his head at Jack, lifting one brow and definitely not buying all of it. "Private sort of gets shot to hell when you're snogging in public, though. No offense meant."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"No, none taken. That night was the first time he's ever done anything...obvious. He didn't want anyone to know and I didn't have any problem with being discrete. But I get the feeling he's sick of sneaking around. It's not like anything stays secret here for very long," he explained. "But we aren't...together. I've had enough of that."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"Okay," the Doctor said. "Look, I just wondered. I know that's not what you wanted, and you just want...things. A good time." He wasn't sure what words were best for this anymore, not really. At one point they'd been able to say nearly anything to each other, and now he almost was embarrassed.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You can wonder, I just don't really have answers. It's nice to not sleep alone. It's nice not to be tied down." He smirked a little, letting the implication stand on its own.

"Everyone I care about has someone. I have a lot of someones, and a few of them are..." Jack shrugged and lifted his sandwich again. "...They probably fall into some quaint category. He's more than just a good time. Ianto asked me if it was something like I had with House. I think Joe just wants me to quit fucking his kid. Hard to stick a label on it, Doctor, and I'm not going to try. People will think whatever they want to, anyhow."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"I think you don't want answers," the Doctor said, and leaned his elbow on his shoulder, cheek in hand. "But the truth is, Jack, you're not the only person in the shag, and most people do eventually want answers."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You know, I really don't think he does," he said, almost certain it was the truth. If it ever started to shape into something that needed definition, he'd deal with it then. "I'll burn that bridge when I get there."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"Make it sound so ominous," the Doctor said, and blinked innocently at Jack, lips just slightly quirking in a terribly adorable way.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He survived for a couple heartbeats, but broke into a bright smile and laughed softly. "Maybe it is. Maybe...maybe it's not so bad right now. Either way, it's a lot better than fighting with him and avoiding him like I've done the past couple years."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

"The undeniable attraction?" drawled the Doctor, and the adorable smile became laden with innuendo. "Maybe you can't really handle being with someone more than once unless they give you trouble."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

That earned the Doctor a pointed look. There was a little too much truth in the quip and barring a decent comeback, Jack leaned in quickly and deposited a wet smack of a kiss against the man's cheek.

"Touche."

[sortofaman.livejournal.com]

The Doctor was not daunted. He merely looked back at Jack, smile playing just barely across his lips, as it did when he knew he had figured out something essential to a mystery. "My pleasure," he replied.