Title: The Key
By: el_evergreen
Pairing: Doctor/Jack
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: *sigh* They all belong to someone else. I just borrow them.
Author's Notes: I always wondered how Jack got his own TARDIS key... here it is! It mentions a previous one-shot of mine, "Journey to the Past", but it's not necessary to read it first.
Summary: How and when Jack got his very own TARDIS key.

***

They're on some distant planet now, one that Jack keeps forgetting the name of. It's small, barely bigger than Earth's moon, and it's population is about a third of the United Kingdom's. This, the Doctor explained to them, is why it's the perfect planet to run to in order to escape from "the madness."

This tiny, lonely planet took Jack's breath away as soon as he stepped out of the TARDIS. Just a few weeks ago he was stuck in the London Blitz, conning the Time Agency. Now, he finds himself sitting cross-legged in grass such a light blue that it's almost silver. It seems to shiver around him every time there's even a hint of a breeze.

The trees, taller than any building he's ever seen (and he's seen a lot of buildings) sway above him, dropping a handful of bluish-purple leaves every few minutes. It's cool here — expected, since they're a good distance away from the sun — but nice. He's not sure, but he thinks he can hear the sound of an ocean somewhere off in the distance.

"You're quiet," the Doctor's voice says softly, drifting to him from somewhere behind.

Glancing over his shoulder, he sees the Doctor reclining against one of the trees' trunks, and Rose curled up nearby on his leather jacket, which he's spread out for her. He wonders how long she's been sleeping.

"Nothing to say," he replies, almost afraid that if he talks too loudly he'll disturb the peace.

"Suppose we shouldn't have taken you there without asking."

Jack frowns. He knows the Doctor's referring to a few days ago, when they caught him off-guard with a surprise visit to his hometown. He admits it was a bit of a shock — an unwanted one, at that — but he knows they meant no harm. He knew he'd have to face that part of his past one way or another, anyway.

"It's alright," he says, turning to face the Doctor. "It was good for me, in a way."

The Doctor offers a smile, a tender one Jack's seen him use only with Rose. Then, he extends his hand to him.

Jack's breath catches, and he stares at the hand as though he's just found Pandora's box. He knows he should move, either go to him or refuse, but he feels as though he's been frozen in place. The only things he seems able to work are his eyes, and he glances up from the hand to the person it belongs to.

The Doctor's staring back at him, not profoundly, but patiently. His eyes study him in such a way that makes Jack feel as though he's being turned to… something — stone, ice or whatever word one should use in a situation like this. He's not sure; he's never been uncertain like he is now. Jack Harkness always knew what to do and say. Always.

Now, he finds himself hesitant, afraid even. He wonders if, perhaps, he's over-analyzing things like he often does.

His eyes dart to Rose, still sleeping on the Doctor's coat.

"I don't bite, Jack. Not much, anyway."

He can't stop the smile that creeps across his face, and, slowly, stands and steps forward. Placing his hand inside the Doctor's, he lets himself be pulled down gently. He curls up on the ground next to him, trying to figure out if the air's become cooler or if it's just the Doctor's alien temperature radiating off him.

Reaching into the pocket of his trousers, the Doctor pulls out a string. Attached to it is a single key. "Here," he says. "I want you to have this."

Jack holds open his hand, surprised at the warmth that seems to be coming from inside of the key when it's dropped onto his palm. "What's this?"

"TARDIS key," he replies. "It's… you know. Rose has one… figured you wouldn't want to be the only one–I just…" he sighs. "I thought you might like to have one, too. You never know when you'll need it."

Closing his fingers around the key, Jack shifts his head on the Doctor's shoulder to look up at him. "Why would I need it, Doctor?"

The silence he gets in response worries him, but only for a moment; when he feels the Doctor wrap his arm around him, pulling him closer, he forgets anything he was thinking in the moments before. "Just keep it," he says.

Shifting his head back to a more comfortable position, Jack presses his face into the Doctor's shoulder and smiles lightly to himself. "Thank you."

They lie there in silence, Jack trying to figure out if there's a set rhythm to the Doctor's double heartbeat, for the longest time. Some kind of realisation hits him abruptly, and his stomach flips. These two really are his family now… he wouldn't give them up for anything offered. He can't help but wonder why, then, if this is true, he feels like there's something else he wants…

Pushing the thoughts from his head, passing it off as being selfish, Jack finds the Doctor's shirt balled up in his fist. He releases his grip slowly, and glances up. "Doctor?"

No response.

The Doctor's eyes are closed, and he isn't breathing (a habit, he says, he picked up from being around humans) but Jack's almost positive he's not really sleeping. He's not even sure if Time Lords sleep. He does notice, though, that he's got his hand resting gently on the back of Rose's head, his fingers tangled in her hair as though he had scratched her to sleep.

Still, he feels brave and sees no reason why he shouldn't. The Doctor himself said he and Rose aren't official; why should any worry of hurting her feelings stop him now?

He reaches up and, his fingers trembling visibly, brushes the back of his hand along the Doctor's jaw. There's no movement, and he decides it's best to just get some sleep.

At the same moment he pulls his hand away, he feels another slip over it, holding it in place. It's the Doctor's — the one not tangled in Rose's hair — and there's a soft smile creeping across his face.

Jack chuckles lightly to himself; he had never been sleeping.

Pulling Jack's hand back up, the Doctor forces it open gently. He presses his lips to the inside of his palm, lets them linger there for a moment, then curls his fingers around Jack's. Not once did he open his eyes.

Then, he's still again. Their hands are entwined on the Doctor's chest, which is rising and falling slowly; he's breathing again. Old habits.

Jack smiles once more, burying his face in the Doctor's shoulder again. He has a feeling he'll get the best sleep he's had in a long time tonight, and when he wakes he knows they'll be right there next to him.

***