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Description
Hangover. He had a friend famous for that. A dead friend. A two times dead friend. Owen Harper: marvelous medic with a snarky personality.

Hangover. What he was going to get if he could drown his sorrows with hypervodkas. If his immortal, time vortex infused body would let him.

Hangover. Such a good medical treatment. Why didn't doctors prescribe it? Tips the scale between reality and fantasy. Unrivaled bliss…

Makes you forget.

Three bottles of hypervodkas lay on the bar counter in front of him. Jack was drunk, or as drunk as any immortal man could get. Drunk, as if it would wash away all the horrors he had done. As if it would heal the pain, make the wrongs right.

The human-looking bartender, probably some man from Sto, slipped him a piece of folded paper. Jack looked up at the slightly bearded man who told him, "It's from the man over there." The bartender walked away and brown hair with a brown pinstriped suit came into view.

Mixed emotions ran through the captain. Anger, sadness, relief. But mostly, "What?" he mouthed. The Doctor just gazed back brokenheartedly with a small nod at the paper which Jack then opened.

"I'm sorry." That was all it read. Those two words angered Jack to the point where he got out of his seat. Damn right the Doctor should be sorry. He should have been there. He should have been there when the world needed him the most. He should have been there when Jack needed him the most. Just as Jack was about to lay a punch on the Doctor's jaw, the Time Lord winced and took his hand out of his pocket to rest it on the wall. The hand flickered gold for barely a second, but Jack noticed.

"You're hurt," Jack stated brusquely, dropping his own hand.

"I'm fine," the Doctor assured as he regained his composure. "And I'm sorry. I should have been there. I just… I don't know what-"

The immortal captain forgot all about his problems as he asked, "What happened?" He looked at the hand that had returned to normal.

"Well…" the Doctor trailed off. "Let's just say, the Master deserves some respect." Jack smirked. "He saved my life after all. He saved the world." Jack gazed on quizzically. "Speaking of saving lives," the Doctor continued. "I think you'll be hearing that beautiful Welsh voice you love for a little while longer. Maybe even forever. Although… That does make two of you."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. The Doctor nodded over to where Jack had been sitting. The chair, that should have been empty, had now been occupied by a nervous looking man who was glancing around anxiously. He seemed pretty uneasy in the midst of all the alien life forms.

Jack Harkness's breath caught as he saw the man's profile. That face, that beautiful face. That wonderful face Jack never thought he'd see again. At least, not alive.

Jack turned back to the Doctor. "No," he laughed uneasily. He was just drunk. That's all. Just drunk. The Doctor wasn't really here. That man wasn't really here. It was all just a hallucination from the hypervodkas.

Except…

He couldn't hallucinate from getting drunk. Which inevitably meant…

This was real.

"No…" Jack repeated, now more and more unsure of himself. "You didn't," Jack told the Doctor.

The Doctor just smiled back. "You love him Captain. Don't let anything ever take him away from you again. Promise me."

Jack nodded as tears formed in his eyes. This was the first time in all of his immortal life that he was crying out of happiness and thankfulness. He wasn't sure, but he was certain the Doctor had a film of tears over his eyes as well. The Time Lord was giving his immortal friend something he could never have. A love for life. Even Rose. Even though he saw her again, even if he professed his love for her, the Doctor still had to send her back.

The Doctor had no one for life. That was his curse.

"Have a good one Jack," the Doctor said before turning away.

Jack nodded and returned to his seat, barely able to contain his excitement. "Excuse me sir," he began teasingly. "I do believe that is my seat."

The man turned around and went wide eyed at Jack's voice, becoming even more astonished at Jack's face. The captain just flashed one of his signature Harkness grins, patent pending.

"So you're like me now." Jack said. It was more of a statement than a question. "So you'll never leave me again." Jack's voice filled in the man's silence. "Come on Jones, Ianto Jones. I know you're not much of a talker, but you've never been this quiet."

"What happened to you Jack?" came the concerned reply.

Jack's smile faded away. "You died," he answered, stroking his lover's cheek. "You died and I thought, 'There's no point anymore,' so I gave up, but Johnson came and got me. Ordered me to fix it. Told me my daughter said I could."

"And you did."

Jack nodded. "And I killed my own grandson for it." Ianto was too shocked to reply to that. "So I ran," the captain continued. "I ran across the world but that didn't work. Six months later I came back to Cardiff. Gwen gave me my vortex manipulator that I'd lost when the Hub blew up -when I blew up-" here Jack grimaced, "and I ran again. Ran across the stars."

"Did it work?"

"Yes," Jack replied. He looked into Ianto's eyes. "I have you back. Forever." He smiled genuinely and gave his lover a kiss.

It didn't matter that about half of the creatures in the bar were staring at them. It didn't matter that about half of them were whispering amongst themselves at the spectacle. It didn't matter that Jack had been pained for all that time. What mattered was that he had his Welshman in his arms.

Because when you've crossed the seven seas and you've walked the world, when you've traveled across the stars and you've died a hundred thousand times… When you've done all that out of pain, somehow, the person you're holding is rightly your entire universe.

Description
Hangover. He had a friend famous for that. A dead friend. A two times dead friend. Owen Harper: marvelous medic with a snarky personality.

Hangover. What he was going to get if he could drown his sorrows with hypervodkas. If his immortal, time vortex infused body would let him.

Hangover. Such a good medical treatment. Why didn't doctors prescribe it? Tips the scale between reality and fantasy. Unrivaled bliss…

Makes you forget.

Three bottles of hypervodkas lay on the bar counter in front of him. Jack was drunk, or as drunk as any immortal man could get. Drunk, as if it would wash away all the horrors he had done. As if it would heal the pain, make the wrongs right.

The human-looking bartender, probably some man from Sto, slipped him a piece of folded paper. Jack looked up at the slightly bearded man who told him, "It's from the man over there." The bartender walked away and brown hair with a brown pinstriped suit came into view.

Mixed emotions ran through the captain. Anger, sadness, relief. But mostly, "What?" he mouthed. The Doctor just gazed back brokenheartedly with a small nod at the paper which Jack then opened.

"I'm sorry." That was all it read. Those two words angered Jack to the point where he got out of his seat. Damn right the Doctor should be sorry. He should have been there. He should have been there when the world needed him the most. He should have been there when Jack needed him the most. Just as Jack was about to lay a punch on the Doctor's jaw, the Time Lord winced and took his hand out of his pocket to rest it on the wall. The hand flickered gold for barely a second, but Jack noticed.

"You're hurt," Jack stated brusquely, dropping his own hand.

"I'm fine," the Doctor assured as he regained his composure. "And I'm sorry. I should have been there. I just… I don't know what-"

The immortal captain forgot all about his problems as he asked, "What happened?" He looked at the hand that had returned to normal.

"Well…" the Doctor trailed off. "Let's just say, the Master deserves some respect." Jack smirked. "He saved my life after all. He saved the world." Jack gazed on quizzically. "Speaking of saving lives," the Doctor continued. "I think you'll be hearing that beautiful Welsh voice you love for a little while longer. Maybe even forever. Although… That does make two of you."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. The Doctor nodded over to where Jack had been sitting. The chair, that should have been empty, had now been occupied by a nervous looking man who was glancing around anxiously. He seemed pretty uneasy in the midst of all the alien life forms.

Jack Harkness's breath caught as he saw the man's profile. That face, that beautiful face. That wonderful face Jack never thought he'd see again. At least, not alive.

Jack turned back to the Doctor. "No," he laughed uneasily. He was just drunk. That's all. Just drunk. The Doctor wasn't really here. That man wasn't really here. It was all just a hallucination from the hypervodkas.

Except…

He couldn't hallucinate from getting drunk. Which inevitably meant…

This was real.

"No…" Jack repeated, now more and more unsure of himself. "You didn't," Jack told the Doctor.

The Doctor just smiled back. "You love him Captain. Don't let anything ever take him away from you again. Promise me."

Jack nodded as tears formed in his eyes. This was the first time in all of his immortal life that he was crying out of happiness and thankfulness. He wasn't sure, but he was certain the Doctor had a film of tears over his eyes as well. The Time Lord was giving his immortal friend something he could never have. A love for life. Even Rose. Even though he saw her again, even if he professed his love for her, the Doctor still had to send her back.

The Doctor had no one for life. That was his curse.

"Have a good one Jack," the Doctor said before turning away.

Jack nodded and returned to his seat, barely able to contain his excitement. "Excuse me sir," he began teasingly. "I do believe that is my seat."

The man turned around and went wide eyed at Jack's voice, becoming even more astonished at Jack's face. The captain just flashed one of his signature Harkness grins, patent pending.

"So you're like me now." Jack said. It was more of a statement than a question. "So you'll never leave me again." Jack's voice filled in the man's silence. "Come on Jones, Ianto Jones. I know you're not much of a talker, but you've never been this quiet."

"What happened to you Jack?" came the concerned reply.

Jack's smile faded away. "You died," he answered, stroking his lover's cheek. "You died and I thought, 'There's no point anymore,' so I gave up, but Johnson came and got me. Ordered me to fix it. Told me my daughter said I could."

"And you did."

Jack nodded. "And I killed my own grandson for it." Ianto was too shocked to reply to that. "So I ran," the captain continued. "I ran across the world but that didn't work. Six months later I came back to Cardiff. Gwen gave me my vortex manipulator that I'd lost when the Hub blew up -when I blew up-" here Jack grimaced, "and I ran again. Ran across the stars."

"Did it work?"

"Yes," Jack replied. He looked into Ianto's eyes. "I have you back. Forever." He smiled genuinely and gave his lover a kiss.

It didn't matter that about half of the creatures in the bar were staring at them. It didn't matter that about half of them were whispering amongst themselves at the spectacle. It didn't matter that Jack had been pained for all that time. What mattered was that he had his Welshman in his arms.

Because when you've crossed the seven seas and you've walked the world, when you've traveled across the stars and you've died a hundred thousand times… When you've done all that out of pain, somehow, the person you're holding is rightly your entire universe.