"Raise your arms!" Jack commands and the Doctor does so, a look of irritation on his face. He doesn't wince even though the movement has to hurt and so Jack pretends he doesn't know his friend is in pain and takes his time wrapping the bandage around the Time Lord's body. He isn't too gentle either, not making his anger a secret.

The wounds have been torn by claws and are deep, if not particularly dangerous now they have been cleaned. They run over the Doctor's chest and back and there's a bite mark on his right arm. Jack finishes his work and when the Doctor lets his arms drop he does flinch a little.

"That's what you get for being so self-destructive!" Jack tells him, causing the Doctor to roll his eyes – it's not the first time they're having this argument. Since he started travelling with the Time Lord again Jack has seen him nearly throwing his life away for nothing far too often to assume the Doctor might be over his tiny little death wish.

The Doctor is so old and experienced but he is also very mortal. Jack is not, and somehow that makes him feel responsible for his friend. As if it was his job to watch over him, make sure he doesn't get hurt. That's what friends do anyway.

And the Doctor is making it so damn hard.

Most of the time his stunts end harmless, nothing worse than scratches or bruises, but Jack always sees what could have been, and in this case he sees the Doctor with his throat torn out, his guts strewn across the meadow.

He doesn't think of the silent glares he receives every time he lets himself get killed for no particular reason.

Now the Doctor also glares, but it isn't silent.

"What did you expect me to do?" he asks. "Stand around and let them get eaten?"

"I could have stopped it! My wounds would have disappeared once I came back to life."

"Yes, but for that to happen you'd have to die first. I've done that, remember? I know dying isn't fun, not matter how much you claim to be used to it. No." The Doctor raises his good hand to stop Jack's protest. "Besides, you were too far away. I can't just sit back and hope someone else will arrive in time to do what I could do myself! There's nothing to get agitated about. It's just flesh wounds anyway."

"That's not the point!" But it probably is, and the Doctor's scowl tells him so. He is sitting on the couch in the console room, looking up at Jack, his long legs dangling above the floor. So damn boyish, so damn sexy, and Jack doesn't know if he should send him to bed and read him a bedtime story or bend him over the console and screw him senseless.

He is spared the misery of choosing by the fact that neither is an option.

When the Doctor puts on a clean shirt he doesn't hurry. Jack flirts with him on a regular basis, makes no secret of his desire for this man (just of the exact extent of his desire). He's played the game of "Make a Move on the Doctor and be Rejected" for years, which is fun but frustrating because the Doctor always wins. Still the Doctor has no problem with shedding his many layers of clothes in front of his friend and Jack can never tell if he should feel insulted because the Doctor doesn't take him seriously, feel proud because he trusts him and knows Jack would never touch him or be plain and simply amazed because the Doctor, quite obviously, has no idea what he's doing and wouldn't know what to make of the word 'teasing' in this context.

Jack has lived among people from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty first century long enough to understand that not everyone shares his open sexuality, but despite occasionally joining the flirting game the Doctor gives a new definition to the word 'clueless'.

Jack sighs and helps him into his jacket because his anger can never last when he knows the Doctor is in pain.

"Just be more careful next time," he says and doesn't know how many times he's said it before.

The Doctor still looks annoyed – he thinks he's too old to need to be looked after while Jack will never understand how he managed to get this old in the first place.

"As if you'd let anything happen to me," the Time Lord mutters.

-

Contrary to public belief the Doctor doesn't seek trouble. What he really wants is to see the wonders of the universe, and sometimes he simply needs to see that the universe is wonderful because it is easy to forget. But what he finds most of the time is chaos and destruction and death, and still so much bravery and compassion in the face of it that he can never loose sight of what he's fighting for. There is always someone deserving to be saved. Sometimes the Doctor just doesn't know if that also counts for him.

Though he never said it he is grateful for Jack's company. The human is cursed with immortality but instead of despairing in the face of a lonely eternity he keeps going, keeps being himself. And the Doctor knows he is the only constant Jack has in this ever changing cosmos of the short-lived. He counts on the Doctor to be there and being the one to blame for Jack's situation it's the least the Doctor can do for him.

Sometimes Jack keeps him from giving up. Most of the time it isn't necessary.

There's a lot out there worth living for. (Jack once said there were so many things worth dying for that the Doctor just hasn't yet been able to pick one.) Even though it hurts to go on and fight and it's painful to fail again and again the Doctor is still trying to make things better. He has to, because he can.

But it is a welcome change when once in a while the TARDIS takes them to a place that doesn't need to be saved. Some place that is simply somewhere they haven't been before. So when the Doctor steps out of the TARDIS and into a meadow bathed in sunshine and there are no armed men, no explosions and no screams for help within the first five minutes of their arrival he allows himself to relax a little and hope that this time their visit to this planet will be just for fun.

Maybe there's something new to learn here, some mystery to discover, and even if there isn't the sky is enough reason to stay for a while: it is pale blue like the sky of Earth but the three large moons that are circling the planet in a close orbit are partially covering one of the three suns and only when they manage a full eclipse at a time when the other suns are down is there a brief moment of darkness in which they'd be able to see the neighbour planet with its rings of gas in front of the Residion nebula.

To see that they'd have to stay for a while though.

Jack steps beside him as the Doctor gazes down into the valley, where a small, picturesque city is waiting for them. A street leads out of the town and on it they can see wagons drawn by animals that do not look like horses at all. The drivers still look humanoid enough.

"So. Let's see what's going on down there," Jack says, a lightness in his voice that for once is real.

"Not much, I'd say," the Doctor answers. "Seems like a pretty normal day we've picked. But it's a city. I bet they have a shop down there. Several shops in fact. Haven't seen a good, proper shop in ages."

"You have no money," the human reminds him, as if one thing had anything to do with the other.

"Who says I want to buy anything? I'd just like to see a shop again. There's something nice about good, small old shops, where you could buy things you don't need. If you wanted to."

"I know plenty of shops selling things you will certainly never need," Jack smirks. "I can take you there if you want to."

"Thank you, but my scientific curiosity only goes so far."

"You don't even know what I have in mind!"

"Well, it's kind of hard to know your mind, because I can hardly hold my breath long enough to find it in the gutter it's disappeared in." The disapproval in the Doctor's voice isn't real and Jack laughs and puts his arm around his shoulder, pulling him close.

"The gutter is big enough for two," he suggests.

"And you make sure the other place is always occupied," the Doctor nods, slipping out of his grip. "Can I count on you not harassing any natives when we're down there?" He looks down at the city again, eager to get there. It might look ordinary but visiting a new world is never dull, and now he can assume nothing will attack them the excitement quickly takes over.

"That depends on the natives," Jack shrugs. "Travelling with you for so long I've become nearly celibate. Let a guy have a little fun!"

The Doctor snorts. "If by 'celibate' you mean not molesting me in my sleep and keeping your hands off things that would eat them I can't argue."

"That's just because you never sleep," Jack admits with wink. As if he'd have to defend his reputation…

"Well, yes. I prefer a shop," the Doctor states. "A harmless shop. That sells things. Normal things."

"How about you go find your shop then, and I see how friendly the natives are?" Jack offers and the Doctor nods, flashing his friend a quick grin.

"Okay, bye!"

He starts running down the hill, his coat flapping behind him. Either this place is harmless and it's okay to split up or it isn't, in which case they'd get separated anyway. They always are.

The further he's running downwards the faster he becomes until his legs can hardly keep up with his own speed. At the feet of the hill, where the first buildings stand, the Doctor stumbles and nearly falls.

"Oh, hello wall!" he says, addressing the small house he's (collided with) used to stop his run. The wall in question has no windows and is build from rough stone that goes along with the primitive carts they've seen from above. It doesn't answer.

The Doctor turns and waves to Jack who's following him down the hill at a somewhat more reasonable speed before jogging down the small alley that hopefully leads to a proper street.

It does, and the Doctor discovers that even from nearby the inhabitants of the city look like humans. Their clothes are colourful, wide and apparently it's common for the men to wear their shirts open, revealing their naked chests. Jack will like that, the Doctor muses and ignores the stares he receives because his own multi-layer outfit. From the local fashion and the temperature he assumes that it is summer now.

The closer the Doctor gets to the centre of the city the more storeys the stone buildings have, and after a few minutes he reaches a large, plastered place lined with shops of all kind. He smiles to himself. A nice little peaceful city with shops. Exactly what he was hoping for. What could possibly go wrong in a city like this?

Expect that he's feeling a little odd. As if something in this place isn't quite as it should be.

A startled cry makes him turn his head to look at a rather rude young man, pointing at him with a trembling finger. The Doctor frowns at him – he knows his outfit don't fit the fashion but this guy's overdoing it. He's also attracting the attention of several other people. They're staring as well, whispering to each other, and a few of them quickly turn around and leave.

Apparently they don't see many strangers around here. With the quality of their roads that's hardly surprising.

"Hi," he says cheerfully. "I'm the Doctor!"

Seems like they don't like doctors either, because the rude young man turns around and runs away. After a moment everyone else is gone as well.

The Doctor frowns to himself. There's got to be more to their reaction than just the fact that they don't know him. Confronted with a stranger they should have shown at least a little curiosity. Contempt, if they indeed disliked everyone from elsewhere. But these people haven't shown dislike. They've shown fear.

Terror, to be exact.

Standing alone on the now deserted place the Doctor doesn't waste time feeling like a child again, avoided by everyone. He turns left instead, runs over to a tall building older than the others. The feeling that something's off gets stronger the closer he gets, and the stronger it becomes the more he begins to understand what it is.

His skin tingles as he presses his palms against the cool stone. It is covered in cracks, withered, paled and worn out by centuries of sun and rain. No, not centuries. Millennia. This building is old. Older than the city.

Older than the building.

The Doctor's face darkens as he takes a step back and silently says goodbye to his hope for an uneventful trip. The age of this building isn't the same as the number of years that have passed since it was erected. Now he knows what to look for the Doctor realises that the place feels the same, if to a much lesser extend. Something has messed with this city, has torn parts of it out of the normal flow of time in a way that feels both familiar and wrong.

The Doctor can't even guess what happened but he'd be surprised if it had nothing to do with the people's fear of strangers. He only hopes Jack doesn't get into trouble.

Tapping his finger to his lips thoughtfully he studies the ancient house, then he turns and presses his hand to the neighbouring building. Concentrates. There's nothing. Whatever happened was either a very focused phenomenon or this house had been build afterwards.

Lost in his thoughts the Doctor only notices that he's no longer alone when it's far too late. He turns away from the wall and all he can do is raise his arms in surrender as a dozen men in armours are pointing their spears at him. Their helmets only partially hide faces that show fear, fury and a lot of determination.

-

Jack takes a deep breath, enjoying the clear air that smells ever so slightly of salt despite this place not being anywhere near the sea. The soft wind is playing with the shirt he's opened to blend in with the locals, feeling very nice on his naked skin.

The people passing by eye him curiously. That they look like humans is a welcome bonus – not that Jack would mind a few tentacles, but there's no way of telling how tentacled or furry men and women on a primitive planet would react to someone like him.

A young woman is openly staring at him and he winks at her. She blushes, looks down – but not for long. Jack puts on his most charming grin as he walks over to her.

"Hello, I'm Jack Harkness!" he introduces himself, showing off his perfect teeth. He's learned that including a military rank in his name isn't always a brilliant idea. "I'm new to town and terribly lost. In fact I'm desperate for a guide to show me the local attractions."

"I… I'd love to!" she says, blushing even more. "But there's somewhere I have to go."

"Oh, such a pity! Now I have to find another guide as lovely as you!" But Jack already has his eyes set on another woman, a bit older but meeting his gaze openly and smiling back.

"You're new to the city?" she asks in an attractively deep voice.

"Oh, just passing through," Jack explains. "I won't be here for long, so I want to make the best of the time I have."

"I certainly can help you with that," she promises, looking him up and down with unhidden approval. At least this civilisation has already buried the worst of the silly morals primitive cultures often suffer from – if they ever discovered them in the first place.

Of course he wouldn't mind seeing a bit of the place as well. Who can tell if he'll ever back here for a second look?

But travelling with the Doctor for any length of time can be damn frustrating. He has to use his chances when he gets them.

"You sure you can't come?" he asks the woman he addressed first. "With two qualified guides I'd be sure not to miss any of the fun!"

She actually looks like she's having second thoughts about it though Jack can already see that eventually she'll stick to her refusal. Before she can confirm his assumption though, their chat is interrupted by an old man hurrying down the street towards them, a number of younger men and women in tow.

"My Lord, oh, my Lord," the old man says breathlessly, bowing deeply before Jack. "We had not expected your return! Had we known we would have greeted you in the appropriate way! Forgive your humble servants!"

Jack can only stare at him. The two women he's been talking to back away slowly, watching him with new interest – and looking just as confused as he feels. A pleading look in their direction doesn't provide the explanation he was hoping for.

"Right…" he says, at a loss. "You're forgiven."

"You are too generous, my Lord!" the old man tells him. Not that Jack wouldn't agree, but he'd like to find out what the hell is going on here and in that the guy isn't exactly helpful.

He's wearing long robes, as are the ones following him. Somehow his entire appearance screams 'priest' at Jack, and apparently he believes Jack to be the god needed for his religion.

It's slightly unsettling. He usually prefers people worshipping him in a different way and a very different setting.

Suddenly the eyes of his assigned guide widen and she steps back further.

"It's you!" she gasps. "Forgive me, I did not recognize you!" She turns, looks at the other passers-by that have gathered around them, most of them still sporting expressions of confused curiosity instead of downright worship. "The hero of legend has returned to us," she declares. "The Protector of Kradaat is honouring us with his presence once again!"

The effect is immediate. Whispers run through the crowd and then, all of a sudden, everyone is bowing their heads. The young woman that has refused to be Jack's guide earlier has tears in her eyes, throwing him pleading gazes. Jack can only throw blank gazes back at her, unable to comfort her as long as no one tells him what the hell is going on.

He is about to risk seeming very, very stupid by posing the dangerous question of who exactly they think he is when the old priest raises his voice to speak to the people. Jack is almost sure his words can he heard even at the other end of the city.

"I have grave news to you!" he calls. "The lost spirit of the Demon of Old Times has returned to our land seeking revenge, longing to bring chaos and destruction upon us once again!"

Shock and disbelief travel from one person to the next. Jack can see the fear on their faces as all colour drains from them. Mothers pull their children close.

"But you need not fear!" the old man continues. "For as you can see the Protector of Kradaat has returned in our time of need to banish the Ghost of Evil to the land of Shadows once again!"

There is a brief silence. Then a voice was raises, another – and soon the crowd is cheering and rejoicing and seeing the look of relief and hope on their faces Jack simply doesn't have the heart to tell them that he hasn't come with the intention of banishing anything.

The priest turns back to him, once again bowing deeply.

"The Spirit of Evil has already been entrapped, sealed away so it can not inflict any further harm upon this land," he says, much quieter. "But only your power will be strong enough to send it back to the shadow grounds."

"Well…" Jack begins slightly helplessly. "Of course it is. That what I came for, after all."

-

"I always knew you would come back to us, as the legend foretold!" a handsome young man in long robes tells Jack eagerly as he's walking through the halls of the temple, surrounded by all the priests and novices. "Others have doubted you, have doubted the truth of the stories. But how could they call them myths when the scars are so plain to see everywhere in the city? And when the return of the Demon of Time was announced I knew you would not abandon us."

Jack only nods in response, still looking for a way to find out what he's supposed to have done without attracting too much attention. He spots his opportunity when the old priest, Haracas, asks him to wait in the 'Hall of Pictures' while he organizes all for the great hero's stay in this realm.

A number of young and attractive priests and priestesses stay behind to serve and pleasure him in any way he wants, but Jack is distracted by the images engraved into the walls. Images telling his story.

And it is his story – there can be no doubt about it.

The images are plain, lacking detail, but the dark haired man in the long grey coat is quite obviously him. The large image that takes up half of the northern wall shows him standing on a pile of rubble, his coat blowing in the wind. He is holding a spear and his hands are covered in blood but he is smiling as he looks down onto the city shown in the background. A hero watching over his people.

Jack does not recall ever having been to this place before but his clothes tell him that this didn't happen in the two years gone from his memory. It doesn't confuse him though, at least not more than this entire incident does anyway. He is a time traveller and knows that things don't happen to everyone in the same order. One day he will come to this planet's past and save the people from a terrible demon, causing them to worship him for ages. It could be worse.

When Jack takes a look at the smaller pictures running along the walls like pages from a book he discovers that it is worse.

The story they tell begins near the entrance of the hall and Jack walks along the engraved images with a growing feeling of dread. He sees a traveller from the stars, setting foot on this planet on the same hill the TARDIS is standing. Like the Jack of the pictures he's wearing a long coat and like his it is blowing in the wind, but this man's coat is black and the sky is dark. Jack sees two of the moons, the neighbouring planet with its rings, and another object he can't identify in a picture this crude, shown in all images as if it had a meaning. Maybe it has. Right now he couldn't care less.

The traveller known to these people as the Demon of Old Time walks down the hill to the city, and everywhere he steps the grass dies. Stone crumbles under his touch. In the city the people cower in fear and many turn to dust as the Demon approaches. One image shows him standing on the remains of a building with his arms raised and on the ground below skeletons are lying. He leaves the city in ruins.

Then the Hero arrives, down from the stars in a blaze of glory. He comes to the city carrying a spear that glows in a holy light and the survivors gather around him, falling to their knees at his feet. And the Hero blesses them with his strength and his love and he goes to hunt the Demon, who fears his might and flees to the hills and the woods. But the Hero finds him and they battle in front of the distant moons. The forest withers around them but the terrible powers of the Demon can not touch the Hero who gains the upper hand and binds him with his magical bonds.

The last panels show the people celebrating the Hero's victory and the Hero going back to the stars he came from. But it's the image before that that captures Jack's attention and keeps it, while his hands clench and tremble:

In it the Demon is bound to the ruined trunk of an ancient tree, his coat gone, his clothes torn and bloody, and the Hero, in all his glory, plunges the glowing spear through his heart.

And Jack feels his own heart stop for a moment. He can't breathe.

Because the depiction of the Demon is both simplistic and exaggerated, showing him with glowing eyes and claws instead of hands, but it is still painfully obvious that the man these pictures is the Doctor.

Getting killed by Jack.

-

"The astronomers predict that the Dark Tear will rule the sky once again in two days," a voice disturbs Jack's thoughts. He turns sharply and sees the young priest who spoke to him before, looking at the picture before him. He reaches out and his finger traces the outline of the dark object in front of the ringed planet. Jack assumes that it is a moon of that planet and can imagine how rarely it is seen on this world of almost constant daylight. "It has always been a bringer of harm and woe," the man continues. "The last time it brought us the Demon of Old Time, but it also sent you here to fight him. Now again his shadow returns at the time of its appearance, and once again you are here to protect us." His voice sounds dreamy and there is boundless admiration in his eyes when he looks at Jack. "History is calling for a repetition."

"Is it?" Jack's own voice sounds flat.

"Yes. High Priest Haracas is now setting the stages. In two days, when the Dark Tear is in the sky and the gates to the Land of Shadows open again you will send the Demon's ghost back where it belongs and seal the gate forever." They seem to have planned this very well.

Jack finds himself unable to share his enthusiasm.

"Kill him again, you say?"

"Send back his spirit," the man corrects him, as if that was obvious.

"Kill him again," Jack repeats, not paying attention. He laughs a little. "I killed him!"

"My Lord?" The young man is confused now but that's only fair, Jack thinks. He whirls around when Haracas steps into the hall, running over to the old man in long strides.

"You said the Demon was already entrapped!" he recalls. "Take me to him!"

"You will see him when we all do: on the ceremony in two days," the old man assures him.

"I want to see him now!"

"My Lord, it will bring bad luck should the two of you meet before the appointed hour!"

Jack snorts and pulls the man close, bending down so the priest can feel his breath on his wrinkled face.

"Nonsense! There's only one thing causing bad luck to you in particular, and everyone in this room, and that would be me if you don't take me to him!"

Haracas considers his words.

"As you wish, my Lord," he gives in. "You must know best. Forgive me fore questioning your wisdom."

"We'll see," Jack mutters darkly as he follows the priest out of the hall.

-

There's a small cell in the cavern under the temple. One single cell, meant for one single prisoner. When they build the temple to worship Jack the Hero they also included a place to keep his dreaded opponent should he ever return. How thoughtful of them!

Jack has to suppress the urge to kill when he looks through the bars into the small room.

"As you can see we used the bounds you left behind for this purpose to bind him," Haracas explains with pride. As if there was anything to feel pride for.

"Open the cell!" Jack commands, his voice so hard that no one dares to protest.

On his way Jack saw single pictures describing his myth all over the temple, and now they make him sick. Even in here, in this cell they can be found. There is one on either side of the wall the Doctor is chained to: One showing Jack in his victorious pose, bathed in a ray of sunshine, as if to remind the captured demon all the time who defeated him.

Only he cannot not remember it, because it hasn't happened to him yet. But it will in a past that is their future.

The other picture shows the end of their battle, with the Doctor dying by Jack's spear.

"Oh, fucking hell!" the human curses, rushing over to his friend. "I'm sorry, Doctor, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be silly," the Doctor orders. His clothes are dirty and a little torn, his lips split and his skin marked with bruises, but apart from that he seems remotely fine. "It's not your fault!"

"I fear it is. These people seem to see me as some kind of saviour."

"I noticed." The Doctor states dryly, nodding in the direction of the large image of Jack. "Did they tell you what is going on?"

"There's some legend…" Jack begins. He clears his throat, trying not to sound desperate. "A legend that someone who looked like you came from the stars and caused destruction, and someone who looked like me killed him."

"Yes, I've seen the pictures." The Doctor nods. "And since we're both time travellers we can assume that the ones looking like you and me have indeed been you and me. But I'm more interested what will happen in the future."

"That is the future," Jack whispers, not quite getting how the Doctor can not care.

"The immediate future, Jack," the Doctor says impatiently. "We'll worry about the other thing once we're out of here."

"The immediate future seems to be pretty much the same," Jack admits. "They expect me to kill you again in a ceremony in two days."

The Doctor still doesn't seem too concerned. "That won't happen," he states. "I'm going to survive long enough to come back here at an earlier time."

"Of course it won't happen!" Jack calls out, louder than is wise. "Because I'm not going to hurt you!"

In the silence that follows he can hear the priests gasp for air.

-

It would have been better to keep quiet Jack decides two days later, when he is escorted towards the inner yard of the temple by two strong and armed guards. The past two days he's spend chained to the column in the centre of the Hall of Pictures, staring at the engraved images and trying to justify his actions to himself. Eventually he gave up and accepted that nothing he did has improved their situation in any way.

Whatever will happen exactly when Jack and the Doctor come here the next time, for these people it was centuries ago. Most of the story has been lost over time and they made up their own parts to fill the gabs, as it always happens when history becomes legend and legend myth. The Jack in these pictures isn't the real Jack anymore, it is a figure of their imagination. And of course theses priests claim to know exactly what is the truth and what isn't. So when Jack declared their legends were wrong and the Doctor was his friend and should be released immediately they came to the conclusion that their once noble hero has been corrupted by the darkness of the demon and must now be saved from the evil that took over his soul. Though no one has given him any details Jack can imagine how this 'saving' will happen.

The temple yard is large and on the pillars that circle the centre Jack can see more pictures of him and the Doctor. The moment of the hero's victory seems to be a favourite of the engravers and Jack can't help the shiver than runs down his spine every time he sees that.

Legends change with time. Looking at these pictures Jack is aware that they may not have much to do with the actual events. The Doctor isn't known for terrorizing primitive civilisations so whatever will bring them to this planet's past probably won't be his friend's urge to kill and destroy. But all legends have some truth woven into them, some unchanging facts. There is no doubt that some day they will return here, and Jack fears he also knows the outcome of the visit when he looks at his engraved self plunging a spear through the engraved Doctor's heart. The future, set in stone.

All the priests and priestesses have gathered in the yard, along with a number of important looking men in black clothes. Their deaths as a high society event.

The Doctor is already there when Jack is led to the centre of the yard where two plain pillars of wood have been erected. One of them is surrounded by a pile of wood and Jack's stomach turns.

He comes to stand beside the Doctor, who has been chained to the other pillar with the same chains used in his cell. Jack notices because something about them seems a little odd.

"Are you okay?" he whispers. The Doctor nods.

"And you?" A second of hesitation. "They didn't kill you, did they?"

"Not yet," Jack assures him. "They gave me the best food and drink and apologized every day that they had to chain me up like a common criminal."

"Quite right to. You're a holy criminal, after all."

"I fail to see the humour," says Jack grimly, but then the Doctor isn't smiling.

"As do I, in fact," the Time Lord admits. "I fear this has the potential of becoming a very uncomfortable day for you."

"Oh, you noticed!" Jack laughs harshly. "Well, you're lucky. You'll only have to die once today."

Despite his words he doesn't really believe that the Doctor will die here, and not only because the stones of the temple predict a different future for them. Something like this won't be the end for them. Somehow they'll get away, because they always do.

The Doctor doesn't look particularly worried either. Just a little.

No one interrupts their quiet conversation. Despite having fallen from grace Jack is still their legendary hero, and the Doctor is believed to be a terrible demon, or at least his spirit. Most of the people hardly dare to look at them for long.

They fall silent anyway when Haracas enters the yard, wearing white, noble looking robes and an aura of authority. In his hand he carries a long, vicious looking spear Jack recognizes as the weapon depicted everywhere in the temple.

The high priest stands in the centre of the ring formed by the stone pillars, his back to his prisoners as he addresses the men and women gathered at the edge of the yard.

"Soon the light will leave us and the Dark Tear will rule over this world once again!" he begins, his voice loud and clear. "The gates to the shadow grounds have been opened but the Protector of Kradaat will seal them shut, so that no shadow will haunt this world ever again." He turns to look at the chained Doctor. "The Spirit of the Demon of Old Time has already escaped the Land of Shadows, seeking to bring harm over the people of Kradaat once more. But using this holy weapon the Protector will banish it and seal the gates between the worlds with this false form's dying breath!" He raises the spear for emphasis and the crowd makes suitably subdued noises of amazement.

"When did they have the time to make up this bullshit?" Jack mutters to the Doctor and shuts up when Haracas looks directly at him.

"However, the noble spirit of the Hero has been darkened, corrupted! When the Demon returned he poured a part of his own evil essence into the Hero's heart, turning him into his servant!" There are worried noises coming from the people but not enough to assume they haven't been prepared for this. Or that the old man isn't about to offer a solution.

He does so a second later:

"Before the Hero can do his noble work," he says, "we will have to free him as he once freed us. As the sky darkens the ritual fire will bring us light and the evil that has taken over our Protector's spirit will perish in the purifying flames!"

"Purifying flames!" Jack echoes with a sneer. "And here I was hoping they'd come up with something at least remotely original!"

"At this time the humans on Earth are too busy learning to walk on two legs to burn anyone," the Doctor points out. "So technically these people had the idea first."

"Whatever." The sky above them is beginning to darken as the large moon is slowly wandering in front of the one visible sun. "I wonder if old Haracas has taken into consideration that ashes aren't particularly helpful when it comes to killing."

The Doctor doesn't answer but in his face Jack can see concern. Like him he's probably imagining how these people will react when Jack, purified or not, comes back to life after having been burned to a crisp.

Strong hands grab his shoulders and pull him away from the Time Lord. The weapons of the guards poke Jack it the utmost respectful way until he climbs up the pile of wood and allows a younger priest to bind him to the pillar. He swallows dryly. This isn't going to be fun.

When he comes back Haracas will see it as the confirmation of all his beliefs. He'll kill Jack because he refused to kill the Doctor, and when he returns to life he'll expect him to be healed and ask him to kill the Doctor again. If Jack still refuses, which he's planning to, he'll probably be burned again, not having been purified enough. He can see it quite clearly.

If he keeps refusing these people will eventually get over the idea that only he can banish the demon and find someone else to kill the Doctor. Standing on the stake watching the man with the torch enter the yard Jack begins to realise that they are right now in serious trouble.

The air smells ever so slightly of rust and age.

His only hope is that the first time he returns from the Land of Shadows himself he can take them by surprise and escape. Free the Doctor and get away from here. But he's bound with chains of metal that will survive the fire and his hope is slim.

The torch is passed on to Haracas who's using great gestures to set fire on the wood Jack is standing on. The crowd is cheering openly now – not only because their beloved hero is about to be burned before their eyes but also because of the light the fire provides. On this planet the night never falls and the darkness makes then nervous. As the smoke fills his nostrils Jack can't exactly summon a lot of sympathy.

There is a loud crack that isn't caused by burning wood. The smoke is obscuring his view but Jack can see enough to make out the tall, slim form of the Doctor stepping away from the pillar he was bound to.

"This stops now!" he says.

And suddenly everyone falls silent.

With a low crack the pillar falls, and so does the spear of a young guard who turns and runs with a cry of fear. Some of the crowd follow, but Haracas stays rooted to the spot, his face white as a sheet. Another guard gathers his courage and attacks the Doctor but his weapon rusts and crumbles in his hands and he follows his friend into the safety of the temple.

"Release this man!" the Doctor commands. He steps closer to the fire that is beginning to lap on the legs of Jack's trousers and all of a sudden the flames die. In the sudden darkness horrified voices are heard but no one else attempts to leave.

"Release him or you will know my wrath!" the Doctor's voice echoes over the yard.

"Never!" Haracas answers, but his voice is trembling. "You have no power in this world, Shadow!"

By way of responding the Doctor places a fine boned hand onto the wood that has been burning only seconds before. At first nothing seems to happen, but then Jack notices the smell of decaying wood in the disappearing smoke and suddenly he's sinking down as the pile he's standing on begins to shrink. It also seems to get a lot softer.

One minute later he's standing on earth.

The darkness isn't complete. Up in the sky the Residion nebula is glowing in blue, green and yellow and in the soft light Jack can see the Doctor standing tall amidst the people wanting his death. He turns to look at Jack and in the dark his eyes are glowing ever so slightly.

And there are a hundred things Jack would say to him if he wasn't so busy staring in complete and utter amazement.

The Doctor steps up to him, touches his chains and they fall to the ground. As his friend turns back to the terrified priest Jack bends to pick them up but the metal falls apart in his hand, rusted through, a victim of age.

"I have all the power I had before, and more," the Time Lord declares. "We will leave this world in peace, but be aware: if anyone tries to stop us this city will not be spared, and this time there is no one to save you!"

His voice echoes between the walls surrounding the yard. When they walk away no one follows.

-

As they make their way out of the city Jack expects a spear in the back any moment and he keeps looking around. The streets are deserted. Everyone is inside their homes, hiding from the dark and the terrifying power of the Demon.

The Time Lord. Hell.

"What did you do there?" Jack asks as they leave the last houses behind, climb up the hill. Up in the sky they can see the rings of the planet and its moon a dark shadow before them. "That was…"

"Stupid," the Doctor interrupts him. "Dangerous. But this layer of time is already full of cracks. Something has messed with the age of this place and it's left scars…"

"You manipulated time." Jack doesn't know what to think of this. "Such a risk only to save me from the fire?"

"The fabric of time is fragile," the Doctor admits. "The balance… but here it is holding. Stable. All those cracks couldn't shake it…"

Jack looks at him sharply. Back in the temple the Doctor's voice has been resonating with power. Now it's shaky and quiet and the light is gone from his eyes. His face is white in the dim light.

"What's wrong?" the human asks concerned, just before the Doctor sinks to his knees, struggling for breath.

"Hard…" he presses out, but after a moment gets back to his feet.

Jack looks back to the city with worry, then up the hill. The slope is steep and if the people of Kradaat notice the Doctor's weakness they might attack.

The Time Lord trembles with the effort of moving when Jack slides his arm around his waist and helps him up the hill, supporting more and more of his weight. The TARDIS is almost in touching distance when Jack's friend falls to his knees again. He doubles over and his body shakes as he retches dryly.

Jack sits beside him, rubs his back helplessly until the retching stops.

"I'm okay," the Doctor assures him in a shaking whisper. "Okay…"

"Of course," Jack sarcastically agrees. He takes out his key and opens the door of the TARDIS before he helps his friend to his feet once again. Inside the Doctor collapses onto the worn narrow couch, breathing hard.

"You look ill." Jack doesn't attempt to keep the worry out of his voice but the Doctor shakes his head weakly.

"Exhausted," he clarifies. "Takes a lot of strength." He sinks down until he's curled up on the couch and closes his eyes. "Just let me sleep…"

"This is hardly the best place for a nap," Jack points out. The Doctor's feet dangle over the edge and if he moves even a little he'll fall off. But the Time Lord doesn't react to Jack's words and he doesn't look like he'll move anytime soon.

The couch still doesn't look very comfortable and the Doctor is dirty and hurt. Jack looks at him thoughtfully, wondering if he'll be able to carry him to his room. Reaching the conclusion that the TARDIS will probably locate that room near enough and that the Doctor is just skin and bones anyway he decides to try. Slides his arms around the Time Lord's shoulders and under the back of his knees and is surprised how easy it is to lift him. The Doctor hangs in his arms like a child, completely motionless, and his breath is slightly wheezing.

Jack finds his room behind the first door he tries.

Then the Time Lord is lying on his bed, still looking terribly pale and ill. His cheeks are sunken in and his face is covered in sweat. Tearing those objects from the flow of time must have exhausted him beyond belief. When he presses his palm to the narrow chest Jack feels his hearts beating far too fast.

"Sleep," he mumbles to the still figure. "If that's all it takes… You're definitely sleeping."

It is a rare sight. The Doctor doesn't need nearly as much sleep as a human and in all the time Jack has been travelling with him he has only once or twice caught him taking a quick nap. He has, however, seen him unconscious quite often.

The human doesn't think anything short of an explosion can wake his friend right now, but he's still as careful as possible as he undresses him.

The Doctor's thin body is covered in bruises all over. Apparently his captors haven't been particularly gentle with him, yet the only injuries that need to be cared for are on his wrists, where the skin has been excoriated by the shackles. It happens quite a lot when they are captured and Jack knows where to find everything he needs. The Doctor's wrists are delicate things.

Just like everything about him seems delicate right now.

Seeing his friend almost completely naked, still and defenceless on that bed Jack feels a surge of affection run through him, and the well known desire for this man who is so beautiful, so vulnerable and so incredibly impressive. It's easy to suppress. Jack has a lot of practice in suppressing his desire when it comes to the Doctor who must know that his friend wants him but can't possible imagine how much.

With a quiet sigh Jack drapes the blanket over the Time Lord and leaves for the console room, to make sure the outer doors are locked. As long as the Doctor is out they can't leave and he would rather not have a bunch of paranoid natives in the TARDIS, even though the ship would probably make sure they never found them in the maze of corridors. They will have a lot to talk about once the Doctor is back with him.

Jack's left leg is hurting where the flames have reached his trousers and burned the cloth away. He examines the wound, decides that it isn't worth dying for and treats it in the infirmary before going to his own room to change into clean clothes.

Eventually he returns to the Doctor and stretches out beside him, to join him in his well deserved slumber.

He dreams of the Dark Tear ruling the sky and of blood on his hands.

-

He wakes up with a start, drenched in sweat, his heart racing. Beside him the Doctor is sleeping still, peacefully, alive. Some colour has returned to his skin and his heartbeats, his breathing has calmed down. He's recovering.

For a long time Jack sits on the bed and watches him. Then he reaches out and ever so softly runs his thumb over his friend's cheek. Bending down he breathes a kiss to his cool forehead, then one to each of his eyelids. The Doctor doesn't stir. Jack's fingers touch his slightly parted lips, linger. He feels the Doctor's faint breath on his skin. It mingles with Jack's own when he leans in again and his lips hover over the Time Lord's, almost touching. Contemplating.

He retreats with a sigh. Runs a hand through the oblivious man's hair, down his throat until it touches the blanket covering him. He isn't going to kill him. He doesn't care what the stones are telling – how could he ever hurt this man who has done so much for the cosmos and received so little in return?

It's hard to turn away and leave him alone.

Jack's leg is still hurting and his wrists feel a little raw from the chains though they have been more comfortable than the Doctor's. Jack has been an honoured prisoner after all. Only the best for him.

He still isn't quite over the Doctor's little display of power. Looking at him it is easy to forget that he's anything but helpless.

He finds the kitchen next door and the TARDIS blesses him with coffee that's as good as Ianto's. They both know how he likes it best.

The Doctor still sticks to his tea. He's never been much of a coffee person.

When Jack steps out of the bathroom an hour later the Time Lord is in the console room, drinking tea. From a cup decorated with a picture of two little bunnies. They're blue.

"How are you?" Jack wants to know and the Doctor beams at him.

"Splendid!" he says. "Told you all I needed was rest. As good as new!" He looks down onto his wrists as if he only now noticed the bandages wrapped around them. "Well, almost."

His hair is damp and he's wearing clean clothes, just like Jack. The realisation that they must have taken their showers at pretty much the same time makes the human curse the fact that the TARDIS has so many bathrooms.

"Well, time to leave, don't you think?" The Doctor takes a look at the screen that's currently showing the outside. "There seem to be people sneaking around the TARDIS."

"Have been for a while," Jack nods. "A little bit longer and they'll start throwing stones at it. Or set fire. They like fire here." He grimaces.

"Right, yeah. It didn't hurt you, did it?" the Doctor asks as if he only now remembered Jack's adventure at the stake.

"Not at all," the human lies. "The flames never reached me."

If the Doctor has seen his clothes catching fire he doesn't show. In fact it's impossible to tell if he's even listening, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"They appear to be building some kind of catapult," he observes with amazement. "Oh well. What do you think, shall we give them a story to tell their grandchildren?"

"They're already telling enough stories," Jack grumbles as the Doctor pulls a lever and the TARDIS dematerializes. Jack watches the column in the middle of the console move up and down for a wile, while his friend is busy setting the coordinates for their next destination.

"Doctor," he says.

"Hm?" The Doctor doesn't look up from his controls.

"I'm going to kill you."

"You are?" Now the Doctor does look up, an expression of surprise and confusion on his pretty face. "Why?"

"I don't know. But the legends of those people say so!"

"Oh, that!" The Time Lord smiles with realisation, then turns serious again. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"How could I not?" Jack explodes. "We'll get there again, in the past. You said so yourself. And whatever happens then will end with me killing you. That gives us plenty of reason for worry!"

"Uh, no. Actually it doesn't." Apparently the Doctor reads in Jack's face that more explanation is needed. "According to the pictures in the temple it happened when the Dark Tear was last seen in the sky. That was more than five hundred years ago. Who can tell how much of that legend is actually true? And it might be centuries in the future for us. No one knows what will happen until then. Maybe I turn evil for some reason, in which case I would want you to kill me!"

"Oh, come on!" If possible Jack's expression darkens even more.

"Well, in that moment I might not, being evil and all, but from where I'm standing I'd want you to. Also," he quickly adds when Jack opens his mouth for a rather rude reply, "it could be a trick."

"A trick?" the human echoes.

"Of course. As I said, we can't tell what happened. Maybe you will pretend to kill me to fool those people but don't actually do so."

It's a good point, Jack has to admit. He feels the cold knot in his guts lessen ever so slightly. It's a far fetched hope but it reminds him that the future is not set after all. Not in detail. Something will happen, but all they can see of the actual events is a shadow.

"Besides, those pictures showed you poking a spear through my heart, didn't they?" The Doctor's eyes twinkle. "Well, I've got two of those. That won't necessarily kill me."

And at that point the hope takes over and Jack allows himself to believe that he won't kill the Time Lord after all. He closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again he steps over to his friend and pulls him into a tight hug.

In the days that follow though he often finds his mind wandering back to the engraved pictures and the story they told him. The doubt comes back, because he knows whatever they will do on that planet, there is pain waiting in their future. Maybe he won't murder his friend. But maybe he will.

The Doctor never seems to worry about it: What will happen will happen and they won't know until they get there. The never again talk about it.

But Jack silently vows not to let his friend set foot on that world ever again. If they don't go there he can't get hurt.

The knowledge that he's only fooling himself doesn't stop him from doing so.