Work Text:
She knows who he is, of course. She’s been around for a while, and even if she hadn’t, the name Jack Harkness isn’t uncommon in the sorts of circles she frequents. She knows what the Doctor has told her, of his immortality, of his fondness for sex and violence. She’s seen the pictures, and she’s read enough books at this point to spot him, scattered through time across the pages of history. She’s met him, a number of times, when her curiosity got the better of her, and when his criminal activities lined with hers.
However, knowing and understanding are two different things. She knows she can see Harkness’s face, fuzzy, swimming before her eyes as she fights for consciousness. This does not mean she understands, and the sudden fear of what she doesn’t know spikes in her chest as she heaves in a breath of harsh air.
“Easy,” Jack murmurs at her, and she snarls, something animalistic in her rising to the surface as she tries to move, limbs twitching sluggishly.
“It’s alright, you’re alright, try not to move.”
River groans, and every inch of her body aches, and she forces her eyes open, scanning the room, taking stock of her surroundings as she shoves down the panic crawling up her throat. She’s in a medbay, an IV taped to the crock of her arm- she’s unrestrained, and Jack Harkness is just sitting there, looking at her.
He leans forward, and she tenses on instinct, but he only reaches for the edge of the bed, pressing a button, and River gasps as the back of the bed starts to tilt up, allowing her to lay partially upright.
“Here.” He hands her a cup of water, reaching forward so the straw can reach her mouth, and after a moment's hesitation, River accepts. And soon as the water hits her throat she’s reaching for the cup with shaking hands, sighing as the liquid soothes down her dry throat.
“…Thank you.” She chokes out, voice rough. It’s been so long since she’d spoken. Since she’s touched anything real. The now empty cup trembles in her hands, and Jack takes it from her gently, setting it down on the ground beside his chair.
“How are you feeling?”
River glances at him. He’s smiling, sort of, watching her carefully as if he expects her to leap out of bed and bolt for the door at any moment. If she was more confident in her legs' ability to hold her up at the moment, she’s sure she would have done just that. Instead, she ignores the question, surveying her surroundings again.
She’s on a ship, she thinks, listening to the hum of engines in the walls. 35th century medical equipment at least, if the color of her IV bag is any indication.
“It’s an old Woo’dlan medship.” Harkness tells her, guessing her thoughts as she stares around the room. “Found it half buried in the Caribbean, crashed a few decades before by our estimation. We managed to fix it up.”
River nods, slowly, flexing her fingers on the sheets as she processes.
“You got me out of the Library.” She says after a long moment, staring into Jack’s handsome face as he nods at her, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. “Found traces of a life in the system. Took me a while to figure out what it was, and longer to work out how to get you out, but- I managed.” He grins mischievously at her. “Bit of a shock when I saw your face, though- couldn’t tell it was you, just from the files. How-“ He shakes his head, half-amused expression on his face. “Should I even ask how you got in there?”
“The Doctor.” River sighs, and Jack blinks, slumping a little in his seat. “Right.” His voice is steady, but his eyes swirl with something as they meet hers.
“I died.” River explains simply, arm shaking as she lifts it, rotating her hand in front of her face, examining her fingers. “He had my consciousness saved in a neural relay. Put me in the Library.”
“He’s good at leaving people behind.” Jack says. When she looks up at him, his expression is unreadable.
“The Doctor doesn’t like endings.” She replies quietly. “I imagine he thought it was a- mercy, of sorts. A way he could have saved me. But a prison is still a prison.”
Jack doesn’t reply, only purses his lips, sighing deeply.
“How did you get me out?” River asks finally, and Jack tilts his head, looking at her with a small smile. “Biomass printer. Reconfigured it a little bit, but the Library systems saved your genetic code.”
River blinks. “…You’ve printed me a body.”
Jack nods, face splitting into a grin. “The whole thing’s fucking wild, I’ll have to show you the schematics later. Torchwood confiscated it ages ago, of course. All I had to do was upload your consciousness, which- typically that would be the most difficult part, but you’ve always done things differently, Professor.” He winks at her, and she feels the corners of her mouth turn up despite herself. “But seriously, River- how are you feeling? Any pain?”
“…Just sore, I think.” She answers after a moment. “Like a whole body bruise.”
Jack nods, looking satisfied, turning to tap at the computer behind him. “You’ll need a bit of time to recuperate, from what I understand… rebuild muscle, all that.”
“Figures,” River sighs, slowly stretching each arm out in front of her, testing the strength. “how long was I dead?”
“Ah… eighty five years, I think, linearly. They cleared out the infestation a couple years back.”
River exhales, processing. “I couldn’t quite tell, in there. Felt like years and days at the same time.”
“What was it like?” Jack asks quietly, blue eyes glinting with sympathy as he watches her.
“…It was a simulation. I could do what I wanted, read everything the Library had, fight pirates and whatnot. It wasn’t awful. I enjoyed myself, even, at some points. But it wasn’t real.” She sighs again, and her voice is starting to fade, throat still rough with new skin. “I’m glad to be out.” She finishes, smiling softly. “Thank you, Captain.”
Jack gives her a two fingered salute, standing with a grin. “Anytime. You should get some sleep- and I should get back to the deck, I’ve left the autopilot on long enough…” He grumbles to himself, stretching his arms out over his head with a sigh.
River hums, already feeling the edges of sleep pulling her back down. “Where are we headed?”
“Cardiff.” Jack responds, “22nd century.”
Ah. “Torchwood still running?”
Jack shrugs, looking tired. “Something like that. Sleep, River.”
“Goodnight, Jack.”
She jolts back to consciousness as the ship lurches, the landing gear screaming outside as she shakes herself awake. She feels like she’s slept better than she has in years, despite the rough wake up call, and her body thrums with energy as she pushes her hair out of her face. She flexes her arms, testing the muscles and nodding in satisfaction. Seems she’s kept the muscle definition, even if she’ll need to bring back the memory.
Swinging her legs out from under the sheets, she examines the plain clothes Jack has put her in- plain grey sweats and a T-shirt-, and she rests her bare feet on the floor, testing the strength in her legs as she leans out of bed, only swaying slightly as she adjusts back to a physical body. Steadying herself on the walls, she makes her way into the hall of the small medship, finding her way to the cockpit just as Jack emerges from inside.
“River!”
“Morning, Harkness.” She smirks up at him, and he grins, resting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. “Bit of a rough landing?” She teases, and he scoffs, shoving her shoulder gently in reproach, careful not to off balance her. “My driving is perfect, thank you. Not my fault the Woo’lans can’t make a functioning brake system.”
“Ah, blame it on the engineers, I see.” She smirks, leaning past him to peek at the cockpit, humming appreciatively. “Although from the looks of it, you’ve done enough tinkering to be considered the engineer yourself- don’t tell me you can’t install a brake.”
“I’ve been busy!” Jack protests, but he’s grinning, and River finds herself laughing, accepting his offered arm as he leads the way off the ship.
The Torchwood hub is just as interesting as River imagined it would be, although she admits she didn’t anticipate the live pterodactyl that lives there.
The place is noticeably quiet, as well, with empty desks and only Jack’s greatcoat hanging by the vault door. She doesn’t comment. Torchwood has a reputation, after all- and she’s spent a long time reading the history books. She can put the pieces together.
“I’m thinking Chinese.” Jack calls from across the hub, a pile of takeout menus on his desk. River hums agreement, making her slow way up the stairs to his office. “Spring rolls sound fantastic right now.” She sighs, dropping herself heavily onto his couch.
“I’d think anything would sound fantastic right now.”
River snorts. “God knows- I’m starved. Suppose that’s what happens when you’ve been dead for eighty years.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Jack smirks, tapping the number into his phone. River rolls her eyes, stretching her arms around her head with a soft sigh. “Here,” Jack calls out, and she looks his way just in time to catch the granola bar he tosses to her. She hums thankfully, tearing the wrapping off and sinking her teeth into it with a quiet moan of satisfaction. Jack winks at her, still holding the phone to his ear, and River smirks, leaning back into the couch with her prize and allowing Jack’s eyes to trail appreciatively down her body.
He sinks into the couch beside her a minute later, tossing the phone onto the desk with a clatter as he sighs, sinking into the cushions. “Tired?” River says, grinning down at him around her mouthful of granola. Jack huffs. “You may have been sleeping peacefully, but I’ve had a ship to pilot. I’m looking forward to crashing after this, gotta say.”
River chuckles. “I’m starting to feel that way as well.”
Jack nods, eyes shutting as he leans his head back. “You’ll probably be worn out for a few weeks.” He comments, peeking up at her with a sympathetic grin. River sighs, leaning her shoulder into his. “I suppose that’s expected.”
“Yeah. And- I don’t think it needs to be said, but- you’re more than welcome to stay here for a while.“ He sighs, shutting his eyes again. “Encouraged, even.”
River is quiet for a moment, before tossing the empty wrapper to the side table and curling further into Jack’s side. “It’s just been you for a while, then?”
Jack shifts a little, something complicated passing over his face as he glances at River. Nods. She sighs. “Oh, Captain.”
“It happens.” Jack tells her, voice soft. “People- people die. I’ve gotten used to it now.”
“No, you haven’t.” River murmurs, running a comforting hand up and down his thigh. “No.” Jack agrees, quiet. “Maybe not.”
“How long has it been?”
“Ah…” Jack laughs a little, “I haven’t been here, the whole time. Linearly it’s been about a century since- since Torchwood shut down, I guess.”
“And for you?”
“A bit longer.” Jack says, vague, and River doesn’t press, only reaches out to run a hand through Jack’s hair, scratching softly at his scalp. “Tell me about them.” She asks, and Jack swallows, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before he exhales. “Owen, Tosh, Ianto. Gwen. The team. Gwen lived- well. Died at 94.”
River just looks at him, at the pain still swirling in his eyes, grief that must be centuries old now. She wishes, not for the first time, and perhaps a little ridiculously, that she could take all this from him. She’s not one to bother herself with what sorts of things people deserve, but- she can’t imagine anything that deserves the prison she knows immortality to be. She got a taste of it, in the Library- even if she was dead, the knowledge that she was stuck there, never to escape, never able to rest- it had been a weight on her for longer than she realized. She can only imagine what Jack must feel, and knows just as well that there’s nothing she can do about it. So she just squeezes his arm, and listens quietly as he tells her about them. She laughs as he tells her about catching Myfanwy, about some of the things the rift spat out at them over the centuries. They eat their spring rolls and noodles, he tells her about Ianto and she hums in understanding when his voice breaks, rubbing circles on his shoulders.
“Enough about me.” He says after a while, River’s head on his shoulders, both of them comfortably full and sleepy. “You’ve got a whole new lease on life, huh?”
River huffs a laugh. “If that’s what you want to call it, maybe. I’m not sure my tenure at Luna quite applies to the situation, though. Might have to find a new job.”
“You’ll figure something out.” Jack grins, and River’s lips tilt up in amusement. “Are you gonna look for him?”
She doesn’t ask for clarification- it’s never really needed, when it comes to him. She hesitates, mulling over her options. “I’m… not sure. It’s complicated, I suppose.”
Jack hums, shifting a little on the couch as he drapes an arm around her back. River glances up at him, and he meets her eyes, and she sees nothing but plain understanding reflected back at her. “Have you seen him?”
“Yeah. Or, her, at that point. Broke her out of jail.”
River blinks, processing. “Jail?”
“Judoon facility. Took me almost twenty years to get to her cell.”
River exhales sharply, eyes flicking back to Jack’s, and he smiles sadly. “I’m alright now. It’s been a while since then, for me. She- honestly, I bet she’d like to see you.” He sighs. “She just… she seemed lonely.”
“…Oh.” River responds, voice quiet as she mulls this over. “Oh.” Jack agrees. “She had a whole group of friends, but- I don’t think she really knew them- or more that they didn’t really know her.”
“She didn’t let them.” River surmises, and Jack snorts. “What else is new?” He mutters, just a bit of resentment in his tone. River just sighs, reaching out to take his hand and tangle their fingers together.
“I’m not sure what happened.” Jack adds after a moment, “but something happened. Something big.”
“What else is new?” River repeats, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Jack huffs a laugh.
“Jack,” River starts, after a few minutes of comfortable silence, “Thank you. For the rescue. And the company.”
Jack looks down at her, something soft in his expression. “Anytime, River.“ His blue eyes sparkle as they meet hers, and it’s easy, to lean in and press their lips together. Jack sighs into her mouth, tilts his head, and they slot together, kissing slowly, River’s hands straying to his hair, pulling him closer to her. She groans into his mouth, and his intake of breath is enough to send her head spinning. She shifts her weight on the couch, swinging her leg over Jack’s until she’s straddling him into the couch, pressing him back into the cushions as she kisses him.
His hands come up to her waist, gripping her sides as she rocks forward, drawing a delicious sound from his throat at the movement.
“Been a while?” Jack pants as River whines into his mouth, and she shoves at him half heartedly, mouth trailing down his throat. Jack laughs, the sound cutting off into a groan as she palms at him through his jeans. “Off.” She murmurs, voice husky, and he’s quick to obey, wiggling out of his trousers as she sits up to allow him the room, before diving back into his throat with a breathy laugh. He’s grabbing at her T-shirt before she can settle back down properly, and she laughs, pulling it over her shoulders as Jack switches gears, tugging his loaned sweatpants off her hips and tossing them aside, sighing appreciatively at her bare skin. “Knew I had the right idea, not bothering finding you some panties.”
She scoffs, nipping at his throat in retribution. He groans as she slides her hand into his pants, curling her fingers around his stiffening cock and sliding them down experimentally. Jack's fingers tighten on her hips, rolling her down against his dick, humming along as her hand slides out, pulling his cock free. She leans in again, sliding her tongue over his lips, and lifts her hips, allowing Jack to guide her down onto him.
They groan in tandem as they sink into each other, mouths sliding as they kiss slowly, rocking gently as they settle into the position. Jack’s right, of course- it has been a while since she’s done this, and it’s just as wonderful as she remembers, the tension already curling in her gut as she slides her hips forward, head thrown back as she cries out at the movement. Jack moans, hands jumping to her chest, and she nearly screams at the sensation, his fingers rolling her nipple as he sucks a bruise into her throat.
She does scream, this time, when Jack’s fingers on her chest are replaced by his mouth, hands trailing down to her clit, and she loses her breath, gasping into Jack’s shoulder at the stimulation, his name on her lips as her orgasm crashes over her, legs shaking as she tightens around Jack.
“Oh god, River,” Jack groans, and she lifts her hips just slightly before pressing back into him, and he’s coming with a low, guttural sound, head falling back on the couch cushions. River nearly collapses into his chest, and his arms wrap around her shoulders, clutching her into his body. He’s shaking a little, and River finds herself wondering if it’s perhaps been a while for him, too.
“Really shouldn’t have done that.” Jack grumbles after a minute of silent relief, slumped into each other, Jack’s cock softening inside her. River laughs, lifting up off of him with a soft groan, allowing his hands to manhandle her back down on his knees, snagging his discarded shirt to wipe her thighs clean. “One could argue that you were simply making sure all my new parts are functional.” She points out, smirking at him as he passes her back her sweatpants and top. Jack barks a laugh. “Oh, we’re going to need a much more thorough examination than that.” He winks, tugging his own trousers back on, stepping closer to her with a sly grin. River wiggles her eyebrows at him, and he laughs, snagging her by the arm and pulling her into a kiss. She lets him, sighs into his mouth, and follows him downstairs to his quarters with something settled in her chest.
She drops into his bed without hesitation, suddenly exhausted. She exhales, watching him vaguely as he putters about the room, changing into sleep clothes before climbing in beside her.
In the morning, she’s sure, they’ll start to discuss her plans next. Try to track down the Doctor, maybe, or something else. She’s alive, alive and out, and she’s suddenly wildly excited by it all. Her whole future, all new stories and adventures to be had- all stretching out in front of her eyes like a dream. A whole new lease on life, he’d said. All her life in front of her again, no timelines to follow, no knowledge of the end to come. It makes her feel almost human, in a way she’s never quite felt despite her genetics. She’s got time, now- time, and Jack.