Title: Not Today, Thank You
By: ninefics
Word count: 1042
Characters: Jack Harkness, 10th Incarnation
Pairing: N/A
Rating: PG
Warnings: A bit of angst
Spoilers: End of Doctor Who S1 and S2. Nothing really for Torchwood.
Disclaimer: As with all fanfiction, this is not-for-profit, just for fun, and all the assorted other words that really mean nothing but look like an attempt.
Author's Note: As of the end of Torchwood S1, this is AU.

"Jack!" he cried and rushed forward, his arms open wide for a hug.

Jack Harkness took two steps back and tried to place the man who was barreling toward him, a maniac grin on his face and his eyebrows raised so high they were practically above his head. He raised his hands in a "stop" gesture, bracing himself for the other man's impact.

The man stopped short, his eyebrows dropping and knitting together. "You are Captain Jack Harkness, are you not?"

"Ye-es? I am." There was something familiar about this man; something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Jack was great with names and faces, but this face wasn't connecting with any names. "Have we met?"

"It's me! The Doctor!" The man insisted, thumping his chest and gesticulating. Remember? Aliens and bombs and Rose hanging from a Zeppelin and Daleks and...?" He didn't have time to finish his sentence. Jack Harkness' fist connected with his jaw.

Some undetermined amount of time later, The Doctor opened his eyes and realised he was streched out on a rather naff couch in something that looked like a tube station, only so crammed with technology it made the TARDIS look tidy. There was a pterodactyl perched on a railing, staring down at him. "Oh that's brilliant," he breathed and sat up. The pterodactyl flew upward, disappearing into the dark.

"What happened to me," Jack said. He rounded a corner and stopped in front of The Doctor.

"How did you get to Cardiff?" The Doctor countered.

"That's not important. What is important is that you tell me what the hell happened to me."

"I don't know what you mean?"

Jack narrowed his eyes. The look on The Doctor's face told the truth. He really didn't know. But he had to know. Someone did this to him, and if not The Doctor....

"I'm immortal," Jack said bluntly. "I can't die. I've been shot, electrocuted, stabbed, poisoned... you name it and it's probably happened."

"Have you had your head cut off?"

Jack look surprised. "No, I can't say that's happened."

The Doctor stood and slipped his hands into his pockets. He stepped towards Jack and sniffed delicately. "Yes, probably not. Supposed to be the only thing that would actually kill an immortal. At least according to this film I saw once."

Jack grabbed The Doctor's arm. "Let's back up a minute. What happened to me, and why do you look different?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"We were going up against the Daleks. They had Rose and we didn't have much in the way of weapons. I remember getting shot or shocked or something. I thought I was dead."

"Rose! Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS. She melded with it. She... she must have felt you dying and pushed TARDIS energy into you. Probably with the very innocent thought of 'please don't die'. And now here you are. Unable to die because of a young woman's wish."

"In almost any other situation it would be romantic. What happened to Rose? Why are you different?"

"Sacrificed myself to save her. I regenerated." The Doctor took a step back, spread his arms, and turned in a circle. "Got this as a result. Not too bad, aye?"

"I liked you better the other way."

"Did you really? Big ears and all?"

Jack smiled, nodded. "Big ears and all. Where's Rose now?"

The Doctor's grin faltered. "She's... home. We're not... traveling together any longer. You know how it is." He looked at Jack and raised an eyebrow. "You probably do, don't you, being immortal and all. You just reach a point where you know the person you're with isn't going to live forever, so you say goodbye to them. Let them go live their life while you go back to just kicking round the universe, seeing where you end up."

"So it's just you now. No one with you."

"Just me. All by my lonesome. What about you?"

"Me? Oh, I've got a team. A staff! I sent them home early, though. I didn't want... I didn't want them to see you. It would raise questions I wouldn't want to answer."

The two men fell silent, staring at each other, each offering the other a bemused smile.

The Doctor spoke first. "Jack, you know... if you're immortal... we could kick round the universe together. You and I. Just like old times, aye?"

"Except it wouldn't be like old times. Rose is gone and you... you've changed." He put his hands in his pockets and clenched them into fists. The Doctor's offer was tempting. Paperwork and policies was not his thing. But so much was different now. He's still The Doctor, he told himself. He's still the same man. He just looks different.

"Oh, come on. You know you want to."

Once upon a time, those words coming from The Doctor would have made him agree to anything. This time they just made him feel hollow. Abandoned all over again. "I couldn't. Really. I've got this place and my staff and the pterodactyl and a stack of reports on my desk that need to be reviewed..."

"It's a TARDIS, Jack! We could go and have adventures and see things and I'd have you back for work tomorrow, bright and early!"

"Could you maybe... maybe change back?" Jack flinched as he said it, knowing it sounded shallow, but this man, although he was certainly attractive, was not his Doctor.

The Doctor's face fell. He shook his head sadly. "I suppose I should be going, then. Places to go, people to meet. History to accidentally upset." He held out his right hand. Jack grasped it, then pulled The Doctor in for a tight hug. The Doctor cradled the back of Jack's head and whispered "I'm sorry." A sound that could have been either a laugh or a sob escaped Jack's lips.

They separated. "Are you sure?" The Doctor asked.

"Not today, thank you. Give me a month. A week, even. The paperwork will drive me crazy eventually and I'll be begging to take off with you." There was a pause. A momentary hesitation in which Jack nearly said yes. Instead what he said was "Come on. I'll show you the way out."