Title: The Big Picture
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: R
Table: 12
Prompt: 5, Pirates
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.

***

Jack looked around him, taking in the situation as coolly as he could. That wasn't easy for him to do, considering that he was surrounded by half a dozen burly men, all with scowls on their faces and murder in their hearts -- men who were holding the Doctor captive.

He was standing by the Time Lord, but there was no guarantee that he could be quick enough to fight off these men and help his lover. There was too much to be done, and too little time to do it in. He would have to risk it all if they were to have a chance.

He glanced over at the Time Lord, wanting to be sure that the other man was still unharmed. Jack wasn't sure if that glance gave him some peace of mind, or worried him even more. The sight of the other man wasn't as reassuring as he'd hoped it would be.

The Doctor was bound to the pirate ship's mast, tied too tightly for it to be possible for him to wriggle free. He was gagged with a cloth, which Jack would have found sexy in another situation -- if it wasn't for the naked fear in the Time Lord's eyes.

Somehow, he had to free the Doctor and get them across the deck to where the Tardis was standing. There were only a few feet -- not more than twenty at most -- between the two of them and the safety of the ship, if they could only make it there and slam the door closed.

So near, and yet so far. He might be able to free the Doctor within no more than a few seconds -- but then those pirates would be all over the two of them, and Jack didn't doubt that they would fatally wound the Time Lord in an effort to get at him.

He had to place himself in front of the Doctor, be sure that nothing could get to him. The problem was, if he himself fell, that would leave his lover wide open to any attack. And he knew that he wouldn't last long against these bloodthirsty ruffians.

He glanced at the Doctor again, his gaze meeting those wide dark eyes. The Gallifreyan was counting on him to get them out of this; he was the only hope either of them had. It was either take the risk and try to make their escape, or face certain death.

Death, to him, wasn't such a big thing -- but to the Doctor, it would be devastating. It would mean that he'd regenerate into another body, a new body that he wasn't ready for. And Jack didn't want that to happen. He wanted his lover to keep the body he had.

Could he get them out of this without unduly risking the Doctor? He wasn't sure, but he knew that he had to try. In the long run, nothing mattered except the Doctor. To stand here and try to make up his mind as the seconds ticked away was only putting them both into greater danger.

All right. He had a sword in one hand, and it wouldn't take more than a second for him to reach for his gun. None of these men were armed with anything but swords, and he was a fair hand with one. He was going to have to fight their way out of here.

But first, he'd have to free the Doctor. He could do it; he only hoped that the Time Lord could guess what he was going to do and react accordingly. At this point, everything depended on how well the Doctor knew him, and could guess what he was planning.

As their eyes met again, Jack could feel that thread of trust and understanding that connected them grow stronger. The Doctor would be ready, no matter what he chose to do. He had to trust in the Time Lord as much as the other man placed that same trust in him.

Those dark eyes held all the trust in the world; a knife thrust of fear for his lover went through Jack so suddenly that he almost gasped aloud. He couldn't bear to think of going through the rest of eternity without this man if anything should happen to the Doctor.

He'd do whatever he had to do to ensure that this man would be safe -- even if it meant sacrificing his own life. Who knew if he would always come back? He could be beheaded by one of those swords; there would be no resurrecting himself from that.

But if his ultimate death would get the Doctor out of here, then he'd gladly throw himself into any kind of danger that had ever existed. Anything that he had to do for the Time Lord, he would gladly do it -- and consider himself a lucky man to have had that privilege.

Jack didn't give himself more time to think about what he was going to do; if he did, then he would back away from his intentions, and that would be a good way to get the Doctor killed. He couldn't hesitate; he had to rush in and attack, take the other side unawares.

He lifted the sword above his head, then brought it down on the ropes that bound the Doctor to the mast of the ship, severing through them in a quicksilver flash of movement. The Time Lord was heading for the Tardis in the blink of an eye, not even bothering to pull the gag from his mouth.

Jack whirled to face the pirates, bringing his sword crashing down on one of them at the same time that he drew his gun and fired. One man crumpled to the ground, the other screamed and clutched at his shoulder, blood spurting through his fingers.

That was two of them taken care of -- but the other four were still coming at him. Jack fired again, seeing one of the other pirates fall to the ground almost in slow motion. The other three let out angry screams and closed in on him, forming a half-circle around the immortal.

He raised the sword threateningly in one hand, pointing the gun at another pirate with the other. He was backing in the direction of the Tardis as he did so, hoping that the Doctor had reached the ship and had the door open by this point.

Jack pressed the trigger again, sending another one of the pirates to his maker. How many more bullets did he have? And was his swordsmanship good enough to face one of these two men who were now advancing towards him if he had to take them in a swordfight?

Maybe he wouldn't have to find out. He didn't dare cast a glance behind him; any relaxation of vigilance could get him killed at this stage, and he knew that the Doctor wouldn't leave his body here. He would risk himself to get Jack into the Tardis, and all this would have been for nothing.

He was close to the ship now; he could almost feel her at his back. One of the men in front of him rushed forward, sword raised -- and Jack knew that this was now or never. He had to either fight, or turn and run. And he knew which was the best choice.

Jack raised his sword to parry the blow that the pirate aimed at him, firing at the other one as he did so. The metal clashed, glinting in the sun as the other man slowly toppled to the ground, a surprised look on his face as though he couldn't believe he'd been killed.

His back was against the Tardis; all he had to do was back through the door to his right. But there was one more thing to be done first. It might not be fair, but to him, it was justice. He took aim with his gun again, right between the last pirate's furious eyes.

The shot rang out even as he thrust his sword forward -- directly into the man's heart. Blood spurted over the dark wooden planks of the deck; Jack watched the shower of red dispassionately, then pulled the sword out with a jerk of his wrist and lowered his gun.

That was what happened to anyone who threatened his lover. An ignominious death, one which, in Jack's eyes, they richly deserved. No one was going to attempt to take the Doctor's life and live themselves. He'd made that promise to himself, and he intended to keep it.

"Jack." He turned at the sound of the Doctor's voice, letting out a sigh of relief as his eyes took in the sight of the Time Lord standing in the doorway of the Tardis, the cloth gag hanging around his neck, his dark eyes wide with trepidation.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly, moving towards the door of the ship and reaching out to touch the Doctor's face. The other man nodded, and Jack felt a wave of relief sweep over him. He'd saved his Doctor. That was all that really mattered.

"Let's get out of here," he said softly, not looking behind him at the corpses he'd left lying on the wooden deck of the pirate ship. He didn't want to think about them; he'd deal with any guilt he might have later. But he knew himself well enough to know that there would be no guilt.

How could he feel guilty about doing what he'd had to do to make sure that the Doctor was safe? In the big picture, the Time Lord's life was more important than these criminals who had wanted to capture him and sell him for the purpose of lining their pockets.

"I think that's a good idea," the Doctor said, his brow furrowing in a frown. "And let's try not to come to a place like this again." He didn't look towards the bodies sprawled across the deck either; Jack was fairly sure that the Time Lord wanted to get out of here as badly as he did.

He didn't glance back as he entered the ship and closed the door firmly behind him. A few seconds later, the blue police box shimmered into nothingness, leaving no clue behind that it had ever been there as the bright sun continued to beat relentlessly down on a scene of destruction.

***