You Reap What You Sow (9&10 of 45)

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Chapter Nine:  Overload

Two nights later the TARDIS was fully charged. The following morning, the TARDIS made a short hop to Edinburgh in 2018. The Doctor had insisted on speaking to both Dr. Visily and Dr. Kaylee Harkness separately and without Rose to explain Rose’s condition. Kaylee had been extremely concerned at her husband’s and brother-in-law's roles in the loss of Rose’s memories and she wasn’t too thrilled with the plan the Doctor and her father Jack had come up with to try to recover some of them.

“Do you know where he is right now, Kaylee?” the Doctor asked his great granddaughter.

Kaylee focused on the ceiling, her brows drawing together as she concentrated. “He’s off cleaning up one of his brother’s messes before the Reapers can be activated. He’s transcendent. Why?”

“Because he may be the only person that can help Rose if our plan tonight fails,” the Doctor explained.

Kaylee bit her lip. “I’m not sure he can be allowed to interfere, Granddad. He has to maintain balance.”

“And how is Rose not having her memories a part of maintaining balance?” he demanded.

“You know I can’t tell you that. You already know too much of your own future as it is.”

“Will Rose ever get her memories back? Do you know?”

Kaylee bit her lip but when she spoke she didn’t answer his question. “She’ll love you again. Now if you’ll excuse me, Granddad, I have patients to see.”




“You’ve healed up nicely,” Dr. Visily told Rose after a brief examination. I want to see you again in two weeks time. Do you have any questions for me?” Rose squirmed uncomfortably, trying to think of how to ask a man who was a stranger to her if it was safe to resume sexual relations with her husband. Not that she was ready to do that, but she remembered very clearly how she had responded to the man’s touch.

When she had finally gotten the courage to mutter the question out, Dr. Visily said, “Normally, I like my human patients to wait the full six weeks, Rose. But your physiology is different than a regular human being. You are for all intents and purposes recovered from the birth trauma. It won’t hurt you to do it, but it’s really up to you. Whenever you’re ready.”

She had sighed. She’d actually been hoping he’d have told her no, that she would have to wait another two weeks. Now she had to deal with a mass of confusion over what she wanted, what she was ready for, what the Doctor might expect of her if she told him the truth. Not that she had any intention of lying to him, but…

They’d been closer since that night she’d allowed him to touch her. But she’d frightened herself with the intensity of her reactions to the man and though they’d slept in the same bed since that night, she’d held herself back from repeating her actions, claiming exhaustion. She’d let him hold her, let him take her hand, let him watch while she nursed the baby if he wanted to. She wasn’t going to pull away, but it was hard dealing with all of the odd emotions he brought up in her and how just being around him had made her want to throw caution to the wind.

She’d sighed and moved back out to the waiting room where the Doctor was waiting with Dare. Shortly after that they were ushered into the pediatrician section of the office and the Doctor introduced her.

“Rose, this is Dr. Kaylee Harkness.”

“Harkness?” asked Rose. “Are you Jack’s wife, then?”

Kaylee laughed. “No, I’m not. He’s my dad.”

“What? How?”

Kaylee shrugged. “Time travel.” When the Doctor had spoken with Kaylee earlier they had decided not to blur the issue with how exactly Kaylee was related to them, either.

Kaylee lifted Dare from Rose’s arms and weighed him then measured his length and the size of his head, and returned him to his mother. “He’s growing well; he’s gained enough weight and inches to put him in the 90th percentile. Now, as far as we know, his combined Time Lord/altered human DNA gives him an extremely strong immune system. It’s up to you if you want him to go through the human vaccination program.”

“What’s your opinion, Dr. Harkness?” Rose asked.

“I think it’s totally unnecessary, but I’ll give you the literature and you can make a decision for yourselves. It won’t harm him. If the baby was more than half human I’d recommend it, but really the Time Lord redundant systems will kick in and protect your child from human viruses,” Kaylee explained.

“Now, he’s got a clean bill of health. I should see him again when he’s two months old.”

She walked them out of the office and they headed to the TARDIS, returning it to Cardiff in 2008. It was night time when they arrived and they left the baby with Donna while they met up with Jack.

He took them to the sight of his battle with Abaddon, although battle wasn’t the best word for it. The creature had tried to draw the life force out of an immortal being and had managed to kill Jack deader than any time before. The man had recovered eventually but it had taken him a long, long time.



The Doctor had tried to convince Rose to stay in the TARDIS with Dare and Donna, but she had refused. “He’s taking this risk for me!” She had finally shouted him down in her best Jackie Tyler imitation. “The least I can do is be there for him.”

“I don’t want you hurt,” the Doctor said.

“Look, if worst comes to worst I can leg it to the TARDIS. It’s not that far away. If you give the word, I’ll run. Okay?”

“Promise me, Rose. I want your word that you’ll abide by this,” he said giving her a hard stare. She wondered for a moment where the sweet, patient, loving man she’d known for the past three weeks had suddenly disappeared to.

“I promise,” she said softly.

Deciding that this compromise was the most he was going to get out of his wife, the Doctor yielded with bad grace. Jack removed the etherical engram reader from the pocket of his great coat and strode to the center of the field. He held it out in front of him and gently depressed the button.

As Jack had explained it, the holder of the device would be the only one sucked into the memory imprinted on a certain location. In this instance the memory was so strong that it washed over all of them.

As monsters went, the demon the Doctor had faced in the middle of an impossible planet on the edge of a black hole had been more frightening in appearance. But he’d been chained, not freed to walk the Earth. Flashes of its killing spree waved through their minds as body after body fell before it.

Then it had found Jack and crackling shots of electricity had connected the two for what seemed an eternity. However long it had been, and it couldn’t really have been the hours it felt like until Jack fell to the ground cold and blanched of all color, he’d never know.

As the memory receded the etherical engram reader began to beep crazily, its lights, usually white, blue or green had turned to a quickly flashing bright orange. A high pitched whine was emitted from the device and the light turned from orange to red. “Jack, get away from it,” the Doctor shouted.

Jack put the engram reader down and took several hasty steps away from it. At any moment, they expected the air to tear before them, for some strange alien army to appear through the gap. The whine became even shriller and the light flashed so quickly it nearly blinded them.

Suddenly it exploded, a brilliant red light shooting high into the sky. With a soft little pop a Dorfinian appeared before them. He strode quickly over to the engram reader and picked it up, quickly turning off the signal. He turned about in a slow circle, holding the device before him. He stopped as it pointed at Jack.

A beam of light shot out from Jack to the alien. Jack fell to his knees gasping in pain. The Doctor edged his way towards Jack, his eyes never leaving the bulbous orange creature before him. It was over in seconds, the light disappearing as rapidly as it had appeared.

The Dorfinian turned one tentacle eye on the Doctor and with a start of surprise snapped back out of existence. The Doctor’s eyes searched the ground where he had stood. The creature had taken the piece of technology with him when he went. There was no hope for the recovery of any of Rose’s memories in this way.

His eyes turned to Jack and he moved towards him. The man was crouching low to the ground, his eyes wide in alarm, and he was rocking himself backwards and forwards. “Jack?” asked the Doctor gently.

There was no response from the captain. He continued to rock, his eyes glazed over. “Jack!” the Doctor said sharply. He reached out and grasped the other man’s shoulder and Jack let out a high-pitched keen and batted the Doctor’s hand away.

“What’s wrong with him, Doctor?” Rose asked.

“I don’t know. Jack, you have to stop it.” He reached towards his friend again but the man scrambled backwards, falling over in his haste to get away. As he lay there sprawled, his breath coming in convulsive gasps the Doctor moved quickly. He put his hand to Jack’s head, sedating him. Then he put fingers to both sets of temples.

“He’s still trapped inside the memory,” the Doctor said after several long minutes. “It’s playing in his mind like a loop. I tried to stop it, but…I can’t. He has to come out of this on his own.”

“Can he?”

“I don’t know that either. Help me get him up, Rose. Let’s get him back to the hub and then I’ll have Donna call for help. She’ll know how to get a hold of people.”

Slowly they hauled the unconscious body of Jack Harkness back to the TARDIS.


Chapter Ten:  A Visit From the Wife

“What the hell did you do to him?” Dr. Owen Harper glared at the Doctor across the body of Jack Harkness. Jack lay curled up in the fetal position on the examining table, his eyes glassed over, a low hum coming from his throat. “He’s completely non-responsive to outside stimuli.”

“I didn’t do anything to him. It was his decision!”

“How come I doubt that? Every time you show up, it’s trouble!”

“Owen,” Gwen Cooper said in a calm voice. She put a hand on his upper arm and he stilled for a moment. “Jack’s a big boy. I’m sure he knew what he was getting into.”

“You know how he is,” Owen ground out. “The Doctor shows up and he’s throwing all caution to the wind.”

“He’s hardly cautious at the best of times,” Gwen soothed, but Owen wasn’t having any of it.

“Just leave him to us and get out,” he snapped at the Doctor. “We’ll take care of him. He’s our friend.” The implication in his tone was clear.

“He’s my friend, too, Owen Harper--.”

“Dr. Harper,” Owen corrected angrily.

“And I’ve known him much longer than you have,” he continued.

“Will you two quit with the macho territorial crap?” Toshiko Sato yelled at the two men. “It’s not going to help Jack.” She handed Owen a readout and gave the Doctor a second copy.

“It’s not good,” Tosh continued. “His brain activity is all over the place. He’s in a very high state of excitation.”

“Not exactly new, is that?” Owen snarked.

“Shut it, Owen,” Tosh said, losing her usual cool reserve. “This is completely different than Jack’s funky normal baseline. His adrenaline levels are rising higher and higher with each scan. If his body doesn’t stop dumping it into his system soon it could kill him.”

“Well, maybe if he dies, it’ll reset his system,” Gwen suggested. “Maybe we should just let it run its course.”

“I don’t think that’ll work,” the Doctor said quietly. “He’s stuck inside the fear memory. The device, he called it the Ghost Machine--.”

“Oh, bloody hell!” Gwen’s calm snapped. “You used that thing? Why would you do something so stupid? It’s too powerful. We couldn’t control it. That’s why it was locked in the vault in the first place!”

“Jack thought he could control it. He…we thought the worst it could do was kill him. He’d just come back and then maybe…” The Doctor didn’t finish his sentence.

“Maybe I should call his daughter?” Donna asked. “She might be able to help.”

“Kaylee’s field is pediatrics,” the Doctor said. “There’s nothing she can do. We need to figure out a way to break the fear induced feedback loop.” The Doctor turned to Gwen. “Is there anything you have that’ll rewrite a nightmare into a dream?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go ask Ianto. He’s catalogued everything.” Gwen hurried off to find Ianto and Owen resumed glaring at the Doctor, arms crossed over his white lab coat, expression grim.

It was only a few moments later that Gwen and Ianto reappeared with a pretty blond woman in tow. “She just showed up,” Ianto explained, gesturing to the woman behind him and trying not to sound resentful.

“Andromeda!” the Doctor called out, relief coloring his voice at the sight of his granddaughter. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m supposed to be here,” said Andromeda. Andromeda walked up to the table and placed cool hands on Jack’s head.

“What are you doing?” barked Owen to the strangely familiar woman.

The woman remained silent, her eyes going out of focus as she intently scanned through Jack’s mind. When she let go she was breathing fast and hard.

“Look, not that I mind a gorgeous lady showing up in my med bay, but you don’t know what’s going on. You best stay out of this, whoever you are.”

Andromeda gave him a very strange look. “I know what I’m doing,” she said firmly. “I’m not just a pretty face.”

“I can see that,” Owen said, his eyes trailing down her body.

“Oh, gross, Granddad,” she said, shuddering in disgust. “Don’t be such a pervert.”

“Oi, I’m not that much older than you!” Owen protested in irritation.

“Owen, I suggest you back off,” the Doctor said. “This is Jack’s wife. And my granddaughter. And--.”

“And I wasn’t insulting you,” Andromeda said, butting in with a quelling look at the Doctor. “I was calling you what you are, Granddad.”

“What?” Owen looked completely confused.

“Your son is my father,” Andromeda said.

“I don’t have a son,” snapped Owen. “And if I did, he wouldn’t be old enough to be your father.”

“Time travel,” said Andromeda patiently. “And you do have a son.”

“Who’s the mother?” asked Gwen almost afraid to hear the answer.

Andromeda turned her eyes to the soft-spoken Welsh woman. “I’m sorry, Gwen.”

“How do you know me?” Gwen interrupted.

“Time travel,” she said again. “And Daniel isn’t your son. He’s Diane’s.”

Owen stiffened as the name Diane fell from Andromeda’s lips. His eyes closed briefly at the thought of the woman who’d flown away from him across time or into oblivion for all he’d known. “Diane’s alive?”

Andromeda didn’t answer him directly. “She raised Daniel. He’s a good man. You’d be proud of him. You will be when you meet him one day. But I’ve already said too much. Suffice it to say that your son Daniel married my mum, or rather marries her. Hasn’t happened yet in your time line. My mother hasn’t even been born.”

Andromeda sighed. “Look, I’m sorry to drop all this in your lap but I really need to get back to what I came here for. I need to help my husband.” She reached behind her and grabbed the Doctor’s hand. “I need you as support and I’ll be the apex. What about Rose? Can she help?”

“She wouldn’t remember how,” the Doctor said.

“Oh,” said Andromeda. “The amnesia. I’d forgotten.” She scanned the faces in the room. “Well, Gwen can help. She’s an empath.”

“I’m a what?” Gwen said, startled.

“An empath. You have the ability to perceive and experience directly the emotion of another person,” Andromeda said. “It’s why you’re so good at your job. You can help us now.”

“How?” Gwen wondered.

“Stand beside me, take my hand, and take the Doctor’s. Granddad, put one hand on Jack’s temple.” They ranged themselves about the examining table, forming a circle. Andromeda put her free hand on Jack’s head and initiated a link.

The three of them were suddenly standing in an empty white room. Empty except the huddled form of Jack Harkness curled up in one corner. Above him stood Abaddon, draining the life force of the dying man. Gwen gave out a little shriek and the demon alien turned his head in her direction.

“It’s all right, Gwen. It’s an echo of a moment. It won’t hurt you unless you believe it can,” said the Doctor.

Gwen swallowed her fear down hard and then managed to say, “What do we do, then?”

“Support me,” said Andromeda dropping their hands. “You need to look at the monster and say its not real.”

The young woman stepped forward bravely, trying not to flinch at the coldness in the eyes directed at her. “You’re not real,” said Andromeda. “You’re a memory. A ghost. A false shadow.” At each proclamation she took a step forward.

Gwen had kept a tight hold on the Doctor’s hand and she could hear him muttering under his breath much the same words that Andromeda was saying. She took a deep breath and shook herself, before adding her own muttered litany to his.

“You’re an echo. You’re the past. You’re over. You’re done with.” Her steps had taken her directly in front of the monster and now she stepped between her husband and the evil creature. The monster turned his attention completely away from Jack, his gaze fixed solely on Andromeda. “Leave him.”

Sparks of lightning shot out of Abaddon and hit Andromeda square in the stomach. She did not flinch or scream or try to run. Calmly she stood there and then she whispered, “Granddad, get him and take him out. Now.”

“But what about you?” the Doctor asked, worried.

“I can take care of myself.”

“But--.”

“Trust me.” The Doctor sidled his way around the monster, Gwen with him. They managed to drag Jack away from Abaddon without him noticing what they were doing.

“Now, Doctor, take him now and wake up.” Her eyes had shifted to the others as she said those words.

“Think about waking up, Gwen,” the Doctor said. “On three. One, two, three.”

At the same time Andromeda said in a surprisingly strong voice, “You have no power over me.” The monster stared at her in utter astonishment before it flashed out of existence. Andromeda let go and thought of waking up.

“How is he?” she gasped as she returned to the real world. Owen was busily checking Jack’s vitals. The body on the table was slowly unclenching from the fetal position.

“Is he all right?” Rose asked. The Doctor looked round sharply at her voice. She’d stayed in the TARDIS to nurse the baby and she must have emerged sometime during the mental fight for Jack’s mind.

“We’ve broken the memory loop,” said a young blond woman Rose didn’t recognize, yet who still looked extraordinarily familiar. “Now only time will tell. I have to get back to my own time line. She hugged the Doctor and then went over to Owen. “It is good to meet you, Granddad,” she said hugging him. She raised her hands to his temples and said, “Now forget me.” Owen’s face went slack and his eyes closed. Andromeda had disappeared up the stairs before he opened them again.

A low groan from the table caused all eyes to turn to Jack.

Ch. 11-13:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/84532.html