Title: Another Chance
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Table: 10_per_genre
Prompt: 8, Betrayal
Author's Note: Continuation of Caught in the Rain.
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 Jack Harkness. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor stood staring at the man whose hand rested on his shoulder, almost unable to believe that he was actually seeing Jack in the flesh. It had been so long; it seemed like years since he'd looked at that face and felt that touch.

He had to blink several times and raise his hand to clear his eyes, not only of the tears that he'd let fall so freely, but of the rain that they'd mingled with. He wanted to reach out and brush Jack's wet hair away from the other man's eyes, but he didn't dare.

Instead, it was Jack who reached out to him, pushing the wet hair away from his eyes without a word. The immortal nodded at the Tardis, a small smile curving his lips as he took a step forward, taking the Doctor's arm as they moved towards the ship.

"Let's go in. We'll only get soaked if we stand out here, and I don't want either one of us to catch a cold. I might not be able to die, but the common cold can be one hell of a nuisance, especially when I have forever for it to hang around," he said, a laughing tone in his voice.

The Doctor didn't say a word, merely nodded and let Jack lead him towards the Tardis. He wasn't sure what to say; what did one say to a lover who had walked away a long time ago and then suddenly, miraculously, decided to return?

Or was this a return? It might not be. Maybe Jack had seen the Tardis from wherever he'd been and had made the decision to talk to him again, to tell him not to come back to Earth, that what they'd had between them was over and done with.

He was wasting his time coming back here. Jack didn't want him back; this man wasn't giong to give up all that he had with Torchwood to travel with an alien in a blue box. Even if Jack still loved him, it wasn't a love that was going to last. It was only a fleeting emotion.

That was the way all love affairs went for Jack. He didn't feel emotions deeply; he thought he was in love with someone for a short time, while the intensity of the affair lasted. Once that intensity began to wane, he was looking for the next in line, ready to move on.

Jack had betrayed him when he'd walked away, and the bitterness was still there, just under the surface of his emotions, always threatening to break cover and spill over him. He'd thought he was over that, but he probably never would be.

The Doctor entered the Tardis silently, moving up the steps to the control room as Jack quietly closed the door and followed in his wake. He didn't particularly want to sit down on the couch; there was nothing to do but stand there and wait for the immortal to speak.

Jack's hand was on his shoulder again, turning the Doctor to face him. The Time Lord was still silent as his eyes met the other man's gaze; words wouldn't come, even though a multitude of accusatory phrases were hovering there, just behind his closed lips.

"I'm sorry," Jack whispered, raising a hand to stroke the Doctor's cheek. "I just wanted to tell you that. I should never have left. I made a mistake, Doctor. I know you feel like I betrayed you, and I don't blame you for that. But I'm asking for another chance."

"Wh-what?" Everything that he wanted to say had suddenly fled from his mind in the wake of Jack's words. Of all the things he'd expected the immortal to say, that hadn't been anywhere near what he had thought he might possibly hear.

"I said, I'm asking you for another chance." Jack moved closer to him, sliding his arms around the Time Lord's waist and pulling the slender man against him. "I need you. I always have. I thought Torchwood could replace what I felt for you. I was wrong."

"Did something happen with Torchwood?" It was the only thing he could think of that would bring Jack back to him; some catastrophe must have taken place that had made Jack turn his back on what he'd said was the most important thing in his life. "Did they ask you to leave?"

Jack laughed, shaking his head. "No, they don't even know that I want to. This is entirely my decision, Doctor. I've had a lot of regrets about leaving you, and the way I did it. I knew when I was walking away that I was making a mistake, but I was too proud then to admit it."

"What made you change your mind?" He couldn't believe that he was hearing these words; they couldn't be coming from Jack, not his Jack who hadn't been his for such a long time. Jack wasn't the kind of man to admit he'd been wrong, not without a struggle.

"I missed you more every day." Jack's voice was soft, barely above a whisper, his voice husky. "Every time I thought about you, I knew I'd done the wrong thing -- for both of us. I wanted you back, but I was afraid to try to call you. I didn't know if you'd come back after the way I treated you."

"You did what you thought was right," the Doctor murmured, wondering why he was making excuses for what Jack had done. It had been the most painful experience he'd ever lived through; why should he feel that he had to lighten Jack's conscience?

"I might have betrayed you by walking away -- but I didn't leave you in my heart," Jack told him, his voice breaking. "Please believe that, Doctor. I didn't really want to leave. I just thought .... that it was the best thing for you in the long run not to be involved with me."

"Being without you could never be best for me," the Time Lord blurted out, the words leaving his lips before he could stop them. He couldn't meet Jack's eyes; those words had told the other man all he needed to know about the Doctor's feelings.

"It's not what's best for me, either," Jack told him, taking the Doctor's face between his hands and gazing into the Time Lord's eyes. "I'm leaving with you this time, Doctor. And I'm not coming back. The team already knows that I'm gone for good. To them, I'm history."

"What about how much they need you?" the Doctor asked, his voice trembling. He could hardly believe this was happening; it was so sudden, so unexpected. There had to be something behind it, some hidden motive that Jack wasn't telling him about.

"They don't need me." Jack shook his head with a soft sigh. "I needed them more than they needed me, even when I tried to pretend I didn't. I needed something to anchor me here, to keep me from wanting you. But it didn't work. The longer I was away from you, the more I needed you."

"So that's it? You leave with me now, just like that?" The Doctor's voice took on a hard edge, a tone of disbelief. "You haven't even asked me if I want you with me. You don't know that I haven't found another companion, or that I don't prefer traveling by myself."

"It's up to you, Doc." Jack's crooked smile went straight to his heart; he'd thought he would never see that smile again, not directed at him, at any rate. "If you don't want me here, if you tell me in all honesty that you want me to stay here, then I will. I'm leaving it up to you."

"Don't go." Again, the words slipped out before the Doctor could hold them back. "You know I don't want you to leave. I'm just .... afraid that you will. That you'll get tired of me and change your mind again. I can't bear to go through that a second time."

"You won't." Jack placed a finger beneath the Doctor's chin, tilting the other man's face up to his. Their lips were so close that they were almost touching; the Doctor felt a surge of fire flash through his body as those full, sensual lips brushed against his own.

"I won't leave you again," Jack murmured against his mouth. "It nearly killed me to walk away the first time. I couldn't live through that again. Turning my back on you a second time is the one thing that could kill me. I'm not going to be stupid enough to do that again."

The Doctor closed his eyes, letting himself melt into Jack's embrace. Maybe this wouldn't last. Maybe Jack's words were only so many empty promises. But for now, he was going to take this at face value, and believe that Jack was back with him to stay.

He couldn't do anything else. His body had already surrendered to that remembered touch; his hearts were following, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. Jack had always owned his hearts, and there was no way that he could demand that the immortal give them back.

"Welcome back," he whispered, leaning against Jack and giving himself up to that warm embrace. He might be making the biggest mistake of his life, but it was a risk he was willing to take. And if he was betrayed again, then this time, he would have only himself to blame.

***

Next story in series - Should've Known Better.