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amulyTitle: Life is All, Part I: Allons-y Alonso, Chapter 1
Pairing: Jack/Alonso, mentions of past Jack/Ianto
Word Count: 2,640
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jack discovers that Alonso knew the Doctor, and begins to expect that things are afoot.
Warnings: Ianto-death!angst
A/N: 1.] Thus begins my epic fix-it fic. I’ll be posting a chapter every Friday (fix-it Friday, as it were). Just know that this fic is going to be really, really long, so get ready for the long haul. But, I’ll tell you right up front: Ianto comes back in the climax of Part II. And there are three parts, so all of Part III Ianto is alive and kicking.
2.] As for this chapter: I probably over-used ellipses in this chapter, because of all the Jack angst. He’ll get a little happier as this series goes on. Maybe.
Jack watched as the young man pulled on his clothes. He was kind of cute, in that earnest puppy-dog sort of way. The uniform helped. “So, I take it by the looks of that uniform, you’re navy?”
Alonso looked over from where he was buttoning up his shirt, almost surprised to hear Jack talking to him. “Yes. No. Well…”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Some officer you are.”
“Well, I’m just a midshipman. And it is…was…on a cruise liner.”
“That’s close enough to navy,” Jack confirmed. “Where were you stationed?”
Jack noted that Alonso seemed surprised that he was still talking to him. Did he really give off that much of a love-‘em-and-leave-‘em vibe? He hadn’t before; not to this extent. More of a love-‘em-and-chat-amicably-afterward vibe. It must just be…since…
“I was on the Titanic. Part of Max Capricorn’s fleet. You heard of him?”
Jack shook his head. The look of surprise on Alonso’s face didn’t go unnoticed. “I’ve been…terrestrial, for a while.”
Alonso frowned. “Must have been your whole life. Company’s been around for over a century.”
Jack sighed. This is why he should never talk to them afterwards. “Yeah, well, I live under a very large rock. So, Max Capricorn’s got a big cruise line company?”
“The biggest in the galaxy.” Alonso was dressed now, holding that cute little hat under one arm. He shifted from foot to foot awkwardly.
“Listen, just, sit down. You’re making me nervous.” Jack sat up on his bed and stretched, popping his back. “Here, you want something to drink?” He pressed a contact on the wall, and out popped a mini-bar. He had to admit, after so long on Earth, it was nice to have some of the creature comforts he had grown used to in his days as a Time Agent again. Jack grabbed himself a water and nodded at Alonso.
“I, uh, water’s fine.”
Jack tossed a water across the room, then closed up the mini-bar. Alonso caught it somewhat awkwardly. Weren’t exactly too worried about physical requirements in the navy nowadays, were they? Shame. Not that Alonso hadn’t performed physically admirably just a few minutes ago.
“So, Titanic, huh? Why exactly did he pick that name?”
Alonso took a sip from the water bottle. It was kind of cute, the way he pressed the back of his hand to his lips after he drank. He really had that whole awkward-cute thing down. Still, the earnestness: almost annoying. Definitely could get annoying over long periods of time. Jack’s stomach clenched. He had seemed so earnest, when he had first…offering him the coffee…
He blinked and took a long gulp from his water, trying to focus on what Alonso was saying. “…and it turns out he was trying to crash it, so I guess the name was appropriate. We were just lucky the Doctor was there, otherwise-”
“What?!” Jack jumped up from his bunk. He gripped a slightly terrified Alonso by the shoulders, fingernails digging into the fabric. “What do you mean, the Doctor? How do you know the Doctor? When was this?!” His eyes flicked frantically between Alonso’s, desperately seeking answers. So the Doctor knew this kid. That’s why he knew his name. But…why…
“I…yeah. He showed up, he was a stowaway. Saved us all, told me how to keep the engine’s power….”
“What Earth-year was this? Do you know?”
Alonso thought back for a moment, nervousness obviously impeding his memory. “I…I…it was Christmas! Christmas on Earth, that’s why we were there. And…it was after that star that came…”
“The Christmas star? One year after, two?”
“Just…just the next year, I think.”
Jack released Alonso from his grip and walked back to his bunk. The Doctor knew Alonso. The Doctor had worked with Alonso, had used him to help save everybody. It was before…he was still alive…and now the Doctor introduced them…
Jack down heavily down on the bed. It was probably just some coincidence. The Doctor knew them both; they were both in the same bar, so why not introduce them. He was sure to have heard about what happened – but apparently didn’t care enough to fix it – so he was throwing Jack a bone. That’s all there was to this.
“Jack? Jack?” Alonso’s voice cut through Jack’s reverie and he glanced back up. Poor kid, he looked so nervous and concerned. “You know the Doctor?”
“I…we were traveling buddies. Way back.”
“Wow, that’s neat.” Alonso continued hurriedly. “That we both knew him, and all. Just…what are the odds?”
Jack pressed his lips together. His head drooped, and he stared at the ground: ratty carpet, stained over the years and never cleaned properly. He…he cleaned his carpet every other year. He had to explain it once when Jack had showed up unexpectedly and been shoved out immediately, complaints of boots and explanations of wet carpet ringing in his ears. Fuck. It still hurt, to remember.
“Are you…are you alright?”
Jack swiveled his head up, glancing at Alonso. Geeze, this kid. He was young. Really young. “How old are you?”
Alonso looked almost offended at the question. “I’ll be 27.”*
Fuck. The same age? And those eyes…blue…
The coincidences were too much. Jack stood up. “What do you say we grab something to eat?”
“I…”
Jack arched an eyebrow. “What, you got somewhere better to be?”
Alonso grinned. “No. Guess not.”
“Good. Then we’ll grab some food.” Jack glanced around the small hotel room. “Now…” he slapped his hands together, rubbing them. “Help me find my trousers.”
**
They were sitting in a cheap diner. Jack was munching on the first thing he had glanced at on the menu; all the food from these places was pretty much the same fare: greasy, but relatively edible, and usually full of protein. Alonso had been more discerning about his choice of food. Probably why he was so skinny. Of course, he had been discerning about his food. Hadn’t stopped him from putting on some weight recently. “Sex weight,” Jack had called it once, when they were lying in bed. Ianto had complained when Jack had grabbed at his love handles during sex. Jack had made sure that Ianto appreciated his few extra pounds, that night.
Jack tossed down his food. Couldn’t go two fucking seconds without…
“So, did you want to know something specific?”
Jack glanced over at the young man. He was sipping his drink from a straw and looking all the younger for it. “Sure,” Jack leaned back into his seat. “Tell me what happened with the Doctor.”
So Alonso told him. Told him about the Titanic, and being shot, and Max Capricorn’s mad plans. How the Doctor had saved them all (of course. When did he not? Well, except…) and how he had managed to recharge the ship’s engines and pilot them safely back into space. “He saved us. He was magnificent. I mean, I had never seen…”
Jack waved a hand. “Yeah, he’s amazing. He saves everyone. I know.” His sharp tone must have been obvious, because Alonso glanced down at his food nervously.
“You don’t…you and the Doctor…”
Oh. Oh. Jack laughed. “No! No. We…we never…” Jack gestured with his fingers, then laughed again. “Oh, no. If he were here, he’d…no. The Doctor’s not like that. I mean…” Jack paused, collecting his thoughts. “He’s a Timelord. So, when it comes to us humans, he has a tendency to…” Jack waved a hand vaguely, trying to figure out how to put it. “Ignore us. Not ignore, just…not get that involved. After all, we all die on him in the end.” Fuck. Well, there it was again. If he still had the stopwatch he could time it: how long could he go without thinking of him. Then again, if he had the stopwatch, it’d be a constant reminder. Not that everything else wasn’t.
“You…did he do something, to you? I mean, no offense,” Alonso smiled nervously, “but you seem pretty upset. Over something.”
“It’s what he didn’t do.” Jack stared down at his plate. He just wanted to…he wanted to scream, and rant, and break things… “He and I traveled together. A long time back.” Jack paused. “Then he abandoned me. I spent a long time stuck on Earth, waiting for him to come back. Eventually he did, and I went back to him.” Jack paused. Alonso didn’t need to know everything. Just the basics. “But, after a little while, I left him. I had carved out a place for myself on Earth; I found…”
“You lost someone.” Jack shrugged, avoiding eye contact by looking out the diner window. Outside, a veritable kaleidoscope of alien life wandered past. All of them, living their lives, working, loving, dying…and they didn’t even know about Earth. About everything that happened.
“Yeah.” It shouldn’t still hurt, like it was still fresh and raw - not after months. No one else he had ever…he had never been this upset, for this long. Then again, he had always left before anything had happened. But he hadn’t been ready to leave him. He…they deserved more time. “He…we worked together. We neutralized any alien threat on Earth – that was our job. Then one day, a threat came that…”
“You couldn’t neutralize.” Jack shrugged one shoulder, still staring out the window. This Alonso kid was alright. Understanding, gentle, kind. Figures the Doctor would find him.
“He died. And the Doctor wasn’t there.”
The two men sat in silence for a moment. A gang of Judoon stomped past the window, on their way to stop some crime.
“If he’s…” Jack waited for Alonso to go on. “If he can travel through time, why didn’t he change it?”
Jack sighed. “Some events are fixed. You can’t change them, because it would re-write history too much. I guess…I guess this was one of those.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Alonso frown. “But…I mean, maybe Earth meeting the aliens was important, so the Doctor couldn’t change that. But, your…”
“Ianto. His name was Ianto.”
“But, Ianto shouldn’t be that important, right? I mean, why couldn’t the Doctor just save him? If you two used to travel together…”
A harsh laugh escaped Jack’s mouth before he could stop it. “He even owed me one. I mean, we both owed Martha, so he paid her back, but he owed me for the elevator shaft…and the vortex manipulator…and the Daleks…and the year I had to spend on the Valiant…and I blew up the paradox machine, even!”
Jack stopped himself. He could go for a long time if he let himself get started. “I guess Ianto’s death was that important. I don’t know why, but it must be.”
Another pause. Alonso’s hand twitched on the table, looking like he wanted to lay it over Jack’s in comfort. “How…if you don’t mind…”
Jack took a breath. “There was this alien race; we called them the 456, we never knew their real name.” Otherwise Jack would have tracked them down to their home planet long ago and destroyed every last one of them. “Years ago they made a deal with Earth: a dozen children, in exchange for an antivirus. We agreed. But then they came back.” Jack paused, taking a drink. “They wanted millions of kids this time. Ianto and I…we went in…” It was so stupid. Why had he let Ianto come with him? But…he had insisted…he wanted to be by Jack’s side…he was making him a better man…helping Jack make up for some of those past mistakes…
“Sorry, Jack…” Jack waved away Alonso’s concern, taking a moment to run a hand over his face. He had replayed that day over and over again in his mind, thinking of the thousands of ways he could have done it different, of how he could have lived…
“We confronted them, Ianto and I. They released a virus into the building we were in. Ianto…” Fuck. He was choking up for real now. “He died. In my arms…” Jack stood up abruptly. “Just…gimme a minute…”
He rushed to the bathroom, ignoring the concerned looks from Alonso. He locked the door behind him and sank against it, disregarding the dirt and grime all over the bathroom. Ianto. Oh, Ianto. It shouldn’t hurt this much, he shouldn’t matter so much to Jack…but he did. Jack didn’t know when it had happened, when Ianto had become the most important thing in his life, the thing keeping him together. He had been fine, all those years before, all those loves before. But then Ianto came into his life – forced his way in; a mixture of a sob and a laugh bubbled out of Jack at the memory – and he had somehow gotten attached, somehow…
He had fallen in love. It was stupid, and it was cliché, but…but Ianto.
Jack pushed himself to his feet. Wiping the back of his hand across his eyes, he stumbled to the sink and turned the faucet on. He splashed some of the cool water onto his face, then looked up at his reflection. His eyes were still red. Oh, well. Not the time to be worried about vanity.
He dried his face and went back out into the noise and bustle of the diner. Alonso was staring down at his food, poking it with his spork. “Sorry. Just…”
Alonso’s head jolted up and he nodded vigorously. “No, I understand. It’s alright.”
Jack slid back into the booth and took a bite from his food. He chewed methodically, then took a long drink of water. All the while Alonso just stared at him, waiting semi-patiently. The leg Jack could feel jiggling under the table ruined the façade of calm. “Sorry. The 456 killed him, and several hundred others, with a virus. The next day we defeated them, and they left Earth.”
“This might seem a bit daft, but…”
Jack sighed. Here it came. The inevitable “how did you survive” question. He was sick of making up excuses about it. He opened his mouth to preempt it with some standard explanation 51st century vaccinations.
“Did they use the children to speak?”
Jack’s head shot up. “What? How did you…?”
Alonso blinked. “Well, I mean, I think I know who your aliens are. They’re in the solar system right next to my home world. I mean, if they’re the same ones…”
Jack practically leapt across the table, grabbing for Alonso’s shoulder. “Take me there. You have to take me to them.”
Alonso leaned backward in his seat, eyes wide. “I…okay…fine. Just, calm down.”
He knew. He knew. The Doctor knew where Alonso was from, he must have. That’s why he hooked them up. He could…he could find them. He could find the 456. He could get revenge. A niggling voice in the back of Jack’s mind told him that the Doctor wasn’t exactly the vengeful type (not most of the time), and that it didn’t make sense that he would want Jack to do this. But that had to be it. That had to be why the Doctor had given him the note. So Alonso could lead him to the 456, and he could hunt them down, and kill them. All of them.
“How soon can you leave?”
Alonso shrugged. “I’m not really doing anything. But, I don’t have a lot of money. I can’t afford…”
Jack waved a hand. “I’ll take care of it.” His fingers drummed on the sticky table. “We’ll leave on the first transport out tomorrow morning. Grab whatever luggage you’ve got and swing by my room later. You remember where it is?”
Alonso paused, then blushed. “No, not…I wasn’t thinking about…”
Jack slipped a keycard across the table. “Here, it has the room number on there. We’re traveling light, so just bring a few changes of clothes and some necessities.”
As he threw down a few credits for the meal and stood, Jack gave Alonso an once-over. He smiled reassuringly upon seeing the overwhelmed expression on his face, and winked. “Bring the hat.”
* Fun fact: GDL and Russell Tovey are the same fucking age. Freaked me out.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 06:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 01:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 11:08 am (UTC)I adore your Jack - his helpless rage at the universe, at himself, even at Ianto - or rather: the fact of Ianto dominating his thoughts and heart.
I very much want to see where this is going and have absolutely no objections against this being epic. :)
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Date: 2010-04-09 01:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 06:54 pm (UTC)The way I see it, Alonso, with all his puppy-dog-cuteness and apparent innocence that we see in Voyage of the Damned, might be good for Jack under certain circumstances.
>It's just...he's not Ianto! *cries*<
Well: yes. On the long run, Jack needs a hell of a lot more than cuteness. What I adore about the Jack/Ianto relationship is that it is so complicated and has so many layers. For me, the two of them always seem so very much alike in many ways, and they simply *fit*.
I think that you conveyed exactly that - he's not Ianto - very well in this first chapter. That doesn't say anything about Alonso himself, but all Jack - and all we, the readers - can see are the ways he is similar to and, precisely because of it, different from Ianto - and thus coming up short.
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Date: 2010-04-09 06:57 pm (UTC)Poor Jack still hasn't dealt with his grief
very wellat all, has he? I hope he's not about to do something really stupid. I mean, the Doctor can't know *everything* so it could be that Alonso's being from a planet so close to the 456's system is really just a coincidence. Albeit a very, very suspicious one, but Jack could be giving the Doctor a tad too much credit here. (But that's just my theory. We shall see if it holds water next Friday.)no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 08:12 pm (UTC)I actually liked Alonso, but I was majorly annoyed that the Doctor would so casually try to hook he and Jack up, not even taking the time to speak to Jack, explain where he was.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 08:41 pm (UTC)Don't feel too bad for him. He goes through some shit, trucking around with Jack, but I've got some good stuff planned for him eventually. It's not his fault he's not Ianto, after all.
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Date: 2010-04-09 09:20 pm (UTC)I don't dare to attempt a fix-it fic so anytime someone else starts one I'm there quicker than you can say "Ianto's back."
Read through a few of your comments and replies above and I agree... Alonso's not Ianto but his cuteness will suffice for a while :)
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Date: 2010-04-09 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-09 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-10 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-10 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-10 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-10 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-11 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-12 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-12 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 11:44 am (UTC)This is a very good start and I particulary love how you have included Alonso. He is an interesting and sweet character; the complete opposite to Jack. More importantly he is definitely not Ianto so I am looking forward to finding out what is going to happen between him and our Captain.
I was also one of those people who, when the Doctor hooked them up as it were, thought 'What?! That's not right!' now I've come round to the idea and really like the pairing. I am worried that Jack will treat him bad though and just use him as a way in to get his revenge on the 456 but he does have good heart in the end. Will have to keep reading and see.
Sorry for the essay lol but this fic has caught my attention; it is well written and well paced so I'll be back every Friday :) xxx
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Date: 2010-04-17 12:41 pm (UTC)Second, I personally am not a fan *at all* of Alonso/Jack. Sure, Alonso was sweet in DW, but kind of "meh" for me. And of course my fierce loyalty to Janto is getting in the way of being able to see any redeeming qualities about Alonso at all.
However, throughout the series I'm working on striking up a balance between my irritation w/ Alonso, and my recognition that he's a big sweetie who doesn't deserve bad shit to happen to him. So there'll be this kind of back-and-forth in how he gets treated by Jack.
(And I don't mind essays, gives us a chance to discuss DW and TW!)
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Date: 2010-04-25 03:08 am (UTC)I think I figured some stuff out, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I love fix-its, especially ones that are written well and have plot, like this one.
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Date: 2010-04-25 03:16 am (UTC)Also, you called my stuff well-written! *tears up* Even though I think you're horribly mistaken, thank you! Tune in every Friday for more!
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Date: 2010-04-25 03:20 am (UTC)^_^ Well, I'm enjoying this immensely. Thank you.
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Date: 2010-06-08 03:08 am (UTC)Unless of course the Dr gets in the way....but why should he, after all, as Jack says, he must have known where Alonso was from, that's why they were set up, right????? But still,....
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Date: 2010-06-08 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-03 07:50 pm (UTC)So, you just friended me, so I figured I'd come on over and see what you were up to. Lo and behold, the start of one of the best fix it fics EVAR. I don't normally like to read fix its that much, because of all the Ianto death and Jack angst--but this? This. is. wonderful. I clicked it because it said Alonso, and I was curious what you were going to do with him. Well, your Alonso is just adorable. I'm almost a little sad for him that Jack will be getting back with his Ianto because you've made Alonso so loveable. I love the way you have Jack remembering all the things about Ianto. It's beautiful. I have to admit I loled when Jack said the Doctor wasn't vengeful. Okay, his Doctor (Nine) might not have been, but he really doesn't know Ten that well, does he? And, oh gosh, you mentioned the stopwatch and it didn't seem cliche or anything. And we got awesome after-shagging awkwardness with Jack and Alonso. I love awkwardness (in fic, not for me in real life, lolz.)
Oh man, and your writing is really good, too. No typo's or anything to throw me off. You rock so hard.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-04 12:47 am (UTC)Soooo glad you discovered this and like it!!!
If you want more stopwatch stuff, check out my "42 Recreational Uses for a Stopwatch" *points over at Masterlist link on sidebar* It's, uh...42 different ficlets on uses of stopwatch. (Duh)
I really tried to make Alonso loveable, even though I totally hate him for stealing Jack away *glare glare glare* But! Don't feel too bad for Alonso; if you keep reading through what I've posted so far, you'll see in some of the later chapters that he'll end up just fine ^.^