Title: Event Horizon
By: _usakeh_
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: Jack/Ten
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: The term event horizon actually has many meanings; the most common usage, however, has to do with the circle around a black hole beyond which all matter gets sucked into the black hole's gravitational field. I'm referring to that here. To find out precisely why, of course, you'll have to read the story!

“No,” The Doctor said. “No, Jack. For the hundredth time, no.”

“I’m not used to being rejected,” Jack replied, “so at least tell me why. What is it? My magnetic personality doesn’t do it for you? Time Lords are immune to captivatingly good looks? Why? Tell me.”

“I’m not interested. I’m not interested in what you humans call ‘sex,’ that silly insertion of slot A into slot B. That’s not intimacy. That’s nothing! Nothing!”

“So I take it you’ve given it a try.” Jack placed his hands on his hips. “Maybe it was just the wrong person.”

“No.” The Doctor shook his head vigorously. “I’ve never had what you call ‘sex’ with a human. I can’t. It would be too dangerous.”

“Dangerous, eh?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “Sounds kinky.”

“It’s not what you think. If I get that close to a human, I might try to really have sex with him.” Jack’s eyes lit up; the Doctor liked the sound of “him” and not “her.” That was a good sign. “And that would probably kill him.”

“See?” Jack grinned. “You’ve got a use for me at last, Doctor.”


“No. No, no, no.” The Doctor backed away from Jack, shaking his head. “I don’t care that you’d end up coming back to life if I accidentally killed you; I am not going to do that to you. You’re not prepared to handle it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll just go mad, instead.”

“What’s so hot about Time Lord sex, huh? At least tell me that, Doctor.” Jack stayed still; this time, he’d let the Doctor come to him. “Why can’t I handle it, exactly?”

“You’re not a telepath. Not naturally, anyway. Sex doesn’t just require a bodily connection; it requires a mental one, as well. You open your mind to your partner. He opens his mind to you. Thoughts and emotions mingle together. You travel through his memories; you become part of his desires. Then it all converges.”

“Yeah.” Jack sighed. “That does sound really, really hot.”

“I wouldn’t put it in precisely those terms, but yes. It is. But it’s also impossible for the two of us to do that. You’re human. I’ve lived for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years.”

“So have I, now.”

“It’s not the same. Not the same at all.” For just a fraction of a second, The Doctor looked oddly lost; then he collected himself and continued. “I am also connected to the Time Vortex. It’s an indirect connection, but it exists nonetheless. You can’t handle those energies. They’ll kill you.”

“I think I’ll take that risk,” Jack replied.

“You don’t know what it will be like, Jack. It will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. I can’t…I can’t put you through it. You’re not meant for it. It’s impossible for that to work, with the two of us. Impossible.”

“Perfect!” Jack exclaimed. “I am, after all, an impossible thing. You said as much. Only one question remains: my room, or yours?”


“Neither.” The Doctor’s tone was firm, decisive.

“Right here on the TARDIS floor, then?” Jack asked, smiling mischievously. “Not sure she’d like that.”

“No. Jack, you’ve got to listen Doctor to me. No.” The Doctor stared out at him; Jack couldn’t tell whether the glimmer in his eyes stemmed from amusement, sadness, or a strange combination of both. It was always hard to tell, with the Doctor. Always. “Why are you so keen on it, anyway? I’m telling you that you might die–”

“Since when is that a problem for me?”

“Fine then. Might go mad. Why risk that for something you might not even enjoy? Something I highly doubt you’ll enjoy, in fact, unless I’m vastly mistaken about the human capability to control the extent to which it is receptive to telepathic signals.”

“Why? Always looking for the latest thrill, I guess. C’mon, Doctor. Have a little sympathy for me here; I’m getting bored here. I need something new.” Jack paused. “Now you answer me this: why are you so afraid?”

“Afraid?” The Doctor repeated.

“Yes, afraid.” Jack’s look darkened. “I’m not a child. I can tell. And I know what it’s like to have memories you don’t want to share. But sometimes you just have to let go, Doctor. Sometimes you just have to let go.”

“No.” The Doctor clasped his hands together. “I can’t.”

“Yes,” Jack insisted, rushing towards the Doctor and sweeping him into an embrace, “you can.”


From the first moment they touched Jack felt the energy surge through him. He would have liked to say that it was beautiful, felt wonderful; in truth, it reminded him more of the time he’d been struck by lightning. The power was pure and raw and relentless. Still, Jack pushed his tongue into the Doctor’s mouth, doing his best to savor every second. The Doctor’s thoughts were already crashing into his mind, sweeping over him like waves casting themselves onto the shore. With reluctance, Jack realized that the Time Lord had been right. He couldn’t hold onto the connection for much longer, never mind expand it. This alone was–

And then the skies fell open and Jack began to spiral into the oncoming storm. No. This was no mere storm. This was the middle of an exploding supernova. Jack gasped, trying desperately to pull back, but he couldn’t. It was already flowing through him, making his mind fragment into thousands of different pieces. He could see so much: the past, the present, hundreds of different possible futures. Gallifrey was burning in one frame; the Earth was being formed – forged from pieces of dead stars – in another. The flames were most dramatic of all, though. They stood out above all the other images; he could feel them scorching his skin.

Was this what lay beneath the Doctor’s bright smiles and frantic speeches? Was this how the Time Lord lived? In the midst of the chaos lying between creation and destruction? Between past and future, life and death? The Master had stared into the Time Vortex and gone mad; he’d been haunted by the sound of drums for the rest of his life. The Doctor said he’d run. But had he? Had he really? Jack let it all wash over him, giving in completely. He wouldn’t fight any longer; for the Doctor, he’d allow himself to be consumed by the raging fires. Everything had its time, after all. Everything had its time.


“NO! GIVE HIM BACK!” The Doctor was slamming his fists against the floor when Jack reopened his eyes. “Give him back!”

“You looking for little old me?” Jack managed, his vision still blurry. “Didn’t know you cared quite so much.”

“Jack,” The Doctor gasped, eyes widening. Jack had never seen the Time Lord so distressed. “You’re…you’re the same.”

“Of course I am.” Jack sat up slowly. “What? You really think you were that good? I’ve had better.”

“I thought I’d lost you there.” The Doctor shivered; immediately, Jack’s joviality vanished. “I thought you’d fallen into the Vortex.”

“The Vortex is inside your mind?” Jack inquired softly.

“Only indirectly.” The Doctor rubbed his forehead.

“That was indirect?” Jack asked, incredulous. Then a wave of exhaustion swept through him, leaving him barely able to keep his eyes open.

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded. “Now do you understand, Jack? Now will you stop asking me for something you can never have?” The Doctor’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Promise me, Jack, that you will never try that, ever again.” The Doctor grabbed Jack by his coat and pulled him fully upright. “Promise me, Jack.”

“Okay, all right.” Jack yawned. “Point taken. Plenty of other fish in the sea anyway, as they say.”

“Good.” The Doctor nodded. “Very good.”


When Jack fell asleep moments later, The Doctor scooped him up in his arms with a strength that was not entirely his own – the TARDIS didn’t mind giving him the energy, not now – and took him over to the closest bedroom. The Time Lord placed him on the bed and covered him with blankets. Something you can never have. The Doctor hadn’t been sure whether he’d been speaking to Jack or himself, at that point. He could never connect with another being that way ever again. But that was all right. It was all right. He had the TARDIS – always with him, always there – and he had people willing to follow him right to the end of the universe. That was enough, wasn’t it? That was more than enough.

The Doctor leaned down and the tenderly planted a kiss on Jack’s forehead. Then he walked back to the console room. The ever-present sound of a raging sea pulsed through him more loudly than ever.