Drabble: Facing A Long Wait

[bk_forever]

Title: Facing A Long Wait

Author: badly_knitted

Characters: Jack, Tarot Girl, mentions the Doctor

Rating: G

Written For: Challenge 318 – Long Overdue at tw100

Spoilers: Jack’s section of Fragments.

Summary: Jack’s got a long wait ahead of him.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.

A/N: Thanks to ‘I Love Janto’ for the idea for this one!

“The century will turn twice before you find each other again,” the Tarot girl tells him.

Her words hit Jack like a physical blow, a punch to the gut that almost takes his breath away. More than a hundred years before he’ll find his Doctor again? How will he bear it, existing day to day for another century? He already feels he’s lived too long.

But what choice does he have? None whatsoever if he’s honest, he’s waited so long, giving up isn’t an option. One day the Doctor will come and then he’ll finally get some long overdue answers.

The End

Comments

[too-beauty.livejournal.com]

so fitting use of the prompt!

[bk_forever]

Thank you! I have a couple more written, and some other ideas too - some happy, some not so happy. I thought I would struggle, but people keep giving me ideas. =)

[milady-dragon.livejournal.com]

I always felt sorry of Jack for having to wait for so long, and then to have the Doctor call him "wrong". I can just imagine the heartbreak.

[bk_forever]

Eternal life just isn't being kind to poor Jack!

Thank you!

[owensheart.livejournal.com]

Poor JAck that is a very long wait.

Great drabble.

[bk_forever]

Thank you!

Yes, I think it's worse because now he KNOWS how long he has to wait. Before, he thought maybe the Doctor would arrive the next day, or next week, but now he knows he has to wait at least 100 years.

[bluelilacs.livejournal.com]

What a kick in the gut! And then the reception and treatment he got from the Doctor! I still want to smack him for that when I think of it.

[bk_forever]

Yeah, me too. After everything Jack went through while waiting for the Doctor, the way he got treated when they finally met again was just disgusting!

Thank you!

[asia27.livejournal.com]

I feel for poor Jack. This Doctor just didn't treat him as a valued friend and Companion and then to be tortured for a year after finding him? I loathe it when Jack is referred to as a 'freak' and 'wrong'

[bk_forever]

You and everyone else! For an enlightened being, the Doctor can be really petty and cruel. He should have shown compassion for Jack's plight and instead he blamed Jack for being immortal. The Doctor should take at least part of the responsibility for Jack's condition. Jack put his life on the line and died to buy the Doctor more time. If he hadn't, Rose wouldn't have had to bring him back from death.

Thank you!

[pfyre.livejournal.com]

I've always felt that RTD took the easy way out in Utopia in having Ten and Jack hash it out while Jack was in a separate area being drenched in stet radiation. Ten's harsh and truly cruel labeling of Jack as "wrong" was and still IS in itself wrong. I've always felt that most especially since the reboot that the male companions -especially Jack- have gotten the raw end of the deal from the Doctor. My muse finally prodded me to write a short piece to address that. That you for this piece. Immortality has never truly been kind to Jack and you captured that here. Thank you for sharing.

[bk_forever]

Thank you very much! =)

Yes, I'd have to agree, the male companions seem to be barely tolerated and dismissed at every opportunity while the female companions enjoy honoured status. That's a situation that needs to be addressed on the show so that small boys watching can feel they could be as good a companion as any girl. The Doctor seems unfairly biased towards the ladies. Have you posted your piece? I'll have to read it (if I haven't already).

The Doctor's treatment of Jack is a rather shocking display of prejudice and discrimination, when you think about it. He gets treated badly because he's different and the Doctor is very intolerant towards him even though Jack has done nothing wrong. Jack was the victim of a young woman's desire to save her friend. Rose meant well, what she did was accidental, but it's condemned Jack to eternal life through no fault of his own and the Doctor is punishing him for that. It doesn't send a very good message to impressionable youngsters.

[pfyre.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you've read my musing.... I'd posted multiple places but it's been awhile.

'After all is said and done'
http://archiveofourown.org/works/244940

I completely agree that the Doctor's treatment of Jack is shocking and unfortunately I doubt it will ever be address within the show - RTD was behind it and I don't think Moffat is concerned about it....

[bk_forever]

Yes, that's the problem, isn't it? Moffatt has no real reason to address the issue with Jack, because the Tenth Doctor is long gone and Jack isn't appearing on Doctor Who (at least not that I'm aware) anytime soon. Sometimes RTD seems to have resented Jack for being immortal and therefore un-killable.

It would be nice to see the other issue addressed though, the way the Doctor treats male companions. There's a new Doctor, maybe there will be a new part-time male companion. We can hope that if there is, he will get treated better.

Thanks for the link, I'll read it as soon as I can find some time for reading - between writing, betaing and life, I'm way behind with reading!

[jedi-harkness.livejournal.com]

*hugs Jack*

[bk_forever]

He's had a difficult time since arriving on Earth!

Thank you!

[timelordshines.livejournal.com]

*Hugs poor Jack.*
That must have been really hard for him to hear. I can't decide whether he would think it would be better to be warned that I would be that long, or if he would rather not have known and just taken each day at a time.

[bk_forever]

At least knowing it WOULD happen gave him some hope, even though it was a looooong wait. Not knowing would mean never knowing if the Doctor would EVER come, then he'd just get more and more disillusioned every day.

Thank you!