Title: I'd Do Anything
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jethro Cane
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: Buffet 2, fc_smorgasbord
Prompt: 24, Trust
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Jethro Cane. Please do not sue.

***

"I'd do anything for you. You know that, don't you?"

Jethro's words were soft and a little hesitant; the Doctor was surprised to hear them spoken in such a tone. Of course, he knew that Jethro loved him, and that he was prepared to go to great lengths for him. But doing anything was a bit far.

"Anything, Jethro?" he asked, admonishment in his tone. "That's saying a lot. And even though I know you probably would do anything for me, I wouldn't want you to do some things. I wouldn't want you to sacrifice yourself for me, for example."

Jethro sighed, leaning back against the pillows and tightening his arms around the Doctor. They were lying in bed together, enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking; somehow, it always seemed as though their more serious conversations were started in this atmosphere.

"Anything," Jethro repeated, his voice husky. "I know you wouldn't want anything to happen to me -- but let's face it, Doctor. You're a Time Lord. I'm a human. I know you won't agree with this, but of the two of us, I'm the more expendable one."

The Doctor shook his head vehemently, a frown creasing his brow. "No, you aren't!" he protested, but was silenced by a kiss; Jethro bowed his head and captured the Time Lord's lips with his own, refusing to let him finish what he'd been planning to say.

"I've heard all of your arguments," Jethro murmured, his lips still so close to the Doctor's that they were nearly touching. "And nothing will make me agree with them, Doctor. You're much more important to the world than I am. You'll never change my mind about that."

The Doctor sighed softly, nodding, not really agreeing with his young lover but not wanting to get into an argument after they'd just made love. He closed his eyes, leaning back in Jethro's arms, giving himself over to the luxury of being held and caressed.

How long had it been since he'd felt like this? Really, the last lover he'd let himself be completely free with was Jack -- and that seemed like so long ago that it was in another lifetime, even if he had been in this body when he'd been with the immortal.

He'd like to say that there had been complete trust between himself and Jack -- but in all actuality, there hadn't been. He had loved the other man, yes, but there was still that little part of himself, somewhere deep inside, that had been held back.

That trust was there with Jethro. He couldn't put his finger on exactly when he'd come to have such utter and complete trust in this young man, but he did. Maybe it was because Jethro had gone out of his way to search for the Doctor, never giving up in his quest.

Or maybe it was just because he'd fallen so deeply in love.

Had he expected this at first? He couldn't say for sure, but he had hoped that he might find a relationship like this for all of his life. He'd always thought that there had to be someone out there who was in complete accord with him, who he could trust with the entirety of his hearts.

There had been very few times in his long life when he'd thought he had actually found that -- really, if he was brutally honest with himself, Jack had been the only one. And still, there had been that little kernel of himself, at the center of his being, that still wasn't sure.

With Jethro, everything had fallen into place as naturally as drawing breath. He had never had a moment's hesitation with trusting this young man -- and Jethro had come through for him in every sticky situation they'd been in thus far.

Of course, he could say that about most of his other companions -- but it was different with Jethro. His empathic abilities made him invaluable to the Doctor in many ways, and they made him more able to understand what the Time Lord was feeling -- even when he wasn't sure himself.

"I know that saying I'd do anything sounds like a promise that I'll never be able to keep -- but you don't know just how determined I can be to make those words come true, Doctor," Jethro told him, his voice soft. "But I promise I won't put myself into harm's way if I can help it."

"See that you don't," the Doctor answered, turning his head to press a kiss against Jethro's throat. "You know that I'd have a hard time going on without you. Yes, I know that it's going to inevitably happen in the future -- but there's no need to hasten that day."

"I can't argue with that," Jethro said with a laugh, brushing a kiss across his cheek. "But still, I want you to know how I feel, Doctor. How I've always felt -- even before we met on Midnight for the second time. I felt that way about you from the first time we met."

"I believe you," the Doctor said softly, reaching for his boyfriend's hand and twining their fingers together. "I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel the same way -- but I couldn't do anything about it, you know. You were with your parents at the time."

"That did make things a bit awkward!" Jethro admitted with a laugh. "I was trying to break away from them, you know. I think that was pretty obvious -- but it took me a while. Meeting you gave me the courage to do that, and to live my own life."

"I'm glad I could give you that, sweetheart," the Doctor said softly, squeezing his hand. "And you've given me so much -- the kind of complete love and trust that I've never found with anyone else. You aren't just a companion or a lover, Jethro. You're a part of my very soul."

"I've never trusted anyone the way I trust you, Doctor," Jethro whispered, his fingers tightening around the Time Lord's. "I've always felt that I had to hold myself back from everyone else in my life -- not to get too close to them because I could feel things too acutely."

The Doctor nodded, he was well aware of the problems that Jethro's empathic abilities could pose. It must have been hard for his lover to go through childhood and adolescence being told that those abilities were wrong, and made to feel like an outcast because of them.

"When I met you, it was like all the constraints my parents and society and .... and everything had put on me just melted away," Jethro continued, his voice catching slightly in his throat. "And then when we met again, I knew that you were my destiny."

"I think we both might have known that from our first meeting -- we just couldn't put it into words then," the Doctor murmured, his own voice barely a whisper. "We weren't allowed to. But now we are -- and there's nothing holding us back."

"I wish that I could make up for that first time we met," Jethro told him, raising his free hand to stroke the Doctor's unruly hair back from his face. "I held back then -- and I almost let my parents talk me into doing something I would have regretted all of my life."

"But you didn't," the Doctor said softly, turning his head again to look up at his young lover. "Your sense of decency was stronger than their blind hatred and fear, Jethro. That proved to me what sort of person you are -- and that you were someone I wished I could have by my side."

"Well, I am by your side now," Jethro said, sounding satisfied and happy. "And I don't ever intend to leave. Not until the time comes -- and that isn't going to happen for a very long time to come. So I'll be around to do anything for you for a lot of years, Doctor."

The Doctor shifted his position so that he was lying in Jethro's arms, face to face with him; he raised a hand to trace the outline of his young lover's lips with a gentle fingertip, his voice soft and husky when he spoke. "I'd like you to do something for me right now."

He wasn't prepared for how much Jethro took those words to heart. The young man wrapped his arms around the Doctor, rolling the Time Lord over onto his back in one swift movement, their bodies a sudden tangle of arms and legs, eager for contact.

***