Title: Locked Away
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 20, Bittersweet
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor or Jack Harkness, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Jack looked up into the night sky, searching for what might look like a fallen star to some, but what would be a blue police box to him. He was sure that if he squinted hard enough, he would be able to see it, suspended there amongst the stars.

He had made a huge mistake when he had let the Doctor go back without him. He had thought that Torchwood was more important, but it wasn't, and never would be.

Leading the Torchwood team didn't mean anything when he was this miserable. He hadn't thought that letting the Doctor go would cause him this much heartache, but he had been wrong. And he was paying the price now -- a price that was far too high.

He just hoped that he wouldn't have to pay it for the rest of his life.

Jack closed his eyes, letting the memories of his time with the Doctor sweep over him. There were so many memories, all of them precious to him -- though not all of them were good ones. Some of them were things that he'd probably be better off not remembering.

And there were some bittersweet memories, some that he might do better to push aside, but that he didn't want to let go of. Those memories somehow seemed to be the most precious, the ones that he most wanted to hold on to with all his might.

No, the memories that he most wanted to hold on to were the times when he had been intimate with the Doctor -- not necessarily making love, but the times when they had held hands, shared a gentle kiss, or just simply smiled at each other.

Those were the times that were most precious to him -- and also, at the moment, the most bittersweet. The memories of holding the Doctor in his arms, kissing him, feeling that he could spend eternity with this man and always be happy and fulfilled.

Well, he had made his choice. As it turned out, the wrong choice.

Jack sighed softly, turning his gaze away from the sky with difficulty. How long would it be before he saw the Doctor again? And when he did, would the Time Lord have regenerated into another person, even further eroding the memories of what they'd been to each other?

He hoped not. He wanted to see the Doctor, his Doctor, at least once more, explain to him why he'd made the decision that had torn them apart.

Though he wasn't sure just how he would explain that choice to the Doctor, when he could barely explain it to himself. With another sigh, he turned away from the window, pushing the bittersweet memories aside and hoping that he could successfully keep them locked away.

***