Logan

[im_torchwood]

It had been days and Jack had been keeping track of Logan. The young man had no money, no access to his accounts, no key card to the penthouse, no car, no resources, and he didn't even know how to use his phone. But Jack knew and while he gave Logan time he watched him on CCTV to make sure he was safe. Relatively.

But days had passed and he knew Logan had to be hungry, had to be exhausted trying to be homeless on the streets of London, and when he saw a dispatch for police to Logan's location Jack bolted to the SUV and he got there just as the police arrived.

"Torchwood," he said, flashing his ID. "I'll handle it."

Comments

[im_torchwood]

"Just keep in mind you've been empty for a while. Don't make yourself sick," Jack said as he sipped his water. On the table in front of the sofa had taken the time to lay out Logan's cards and banking information, as well as opening the lad's safe and rescuing his passport. It was all there for him. The world at his feet.

[logan_echolls]

Logan hummed a bit, but the slice was gone moments later.

"So, if you don't remember the island, but you do remember me and some stuff, does that mean you're from, like, some other timeline or whatever? That would be some classic island bullshit," he noted as he grabbed his next slice.

[im_torchwood]

"I haven't really figured out the science of it," Jack replied. "Just...time isn't as linear as people think and dimensions aren't as solid as we'd like to believe. Michio Kaku has some of the most groundbreaking stuff on multiverse theory for this time period. We understand it better in the fifty-first but it's still really complicated," Jack explained.

[logan_echolls]

Logan looked thoughtful for a moment, chewing his pizza and then shrugging one shoulder.

"The island is, like, its own little world. There's no voluntary in or out, it's just frozen, right? I used to think it was some kind of purgatory, but- I think maybe it's more like a drifting moment in time, right? It drifts through time lines and realities, picking things up as it goes and creating copies of those things- Those people who come and go, they don't leave their time line, if they did they'd just vanish from their lives, and I mean, that obviously doesn't happen- I mean, other people turn up for the same places who can confirm that. So maybe, like, the copies don't always get returned to the right places or times," he suggested.

[im_torchwood]

"So are you telling me I left and returned on my trip back to England and you wound up back in Neptune, then we just happened to meet each other in London and then by some bizarre circumstance your island incarnation burst out of your own body like it was a cocoon?" Jack said flatly, then took a sip and shrugged.

"It could happen. I've heard of stranger things."

[logan_echolls]

"You have a better explanation?" Logan asked. "I mean, it's not typical island fuckery, but none of us had any way of knowing what happened post island, right?"

[im_torchwood]

"Well...no. It's really as good an explanation as any," he said. "Slow down. You'll be sick."

[logan_echolls]

"I once ate an entire DQ blizzard before riding the tilt-a-whirl four times in a row at the state fair, Harkness. I'll be fine," Logan assured him as he finished another slice.

[im_torchwood]

"You're also...what?"

He paused to think.

"Eighteen?"

[logan_echolls]

"Twenty in August," Logan nodded.

[im_torchwood]

"Twenty," he repeated, then sighed. There was a special place in hell for a man as old as he was even looking at a twenty year old kid. A baby. Life hadn't even begun for Logan.

Except Jack did know some things from talking to Logan who he'd just lost. He knew about the mother and the father and the sister and the girlfriends.

"Twenty..."

[logan_echolls]

"I was seventeen when we first met," Logan replied. "We got stoned, we ate strawberries. ...You don't remember that at all? You were in the clinic that week. I don't think I ever got the full story, but I remember some seriously bad shit had gone down with you and this other guy. ...He'd really fucked you up."

[im_torchwood]

Jack closed his eyes. "I remember strawberries...and you. But I don't know why. It's here in bits and pieces but nothing makes much sense. I just know how I feel when I look at you. You feel like home to me."

[logan_echolls]

"No, Jack- Seriously... We weren't a thing. You were with House, I was with Neil. We kissed once, we fought a lot- We could hardly be in the same room for longer than a few minutes without wanting to kill each other, man," Logan said, sounding almost gentle. "I think whatever happened to us has messed with your memories."

[im_torchwood]

"No, Logan," Jack said softly. "We had something. We had something epic. I know it. One day I'll remember."

He got up then and sat his empty bottle aside.

"I plugged your phone in to charge. If you find an Apple store with a genius bar they'll teach you how to use it. And I spread out all your account info- your cards, your balance, and you've got some investments. Your contact's card is there."

He pulled on his coat.

"I think maybe this is where I say goodbye."

[logan_echolls]

"Wait, you're ditching me?" Logan asked, getting to his feet. "You can't ditch me, man. I don't know anyone here!"

[im_torchwood]

"Logan, why would you want me around? You said it yourself, we can't even be in the same room. Do you want to work for Torchwood? You could...I don't know, buy a Eurorail pass and travel. Meet beautiful girls. Get really drunk in all the old Soviet block countries. Have an adventure. I...work. It's what I do. I serve the Queen," Jack said, the ache in his chest making this hard. He thought he should have just retconned Logan and been done with this mess.

[logan_echolls]

"I'm not saying adopt me or hire me, asshole- Just... Don't ditch me, alright? Not yet," Logan muttered, hating to have to ask Jack of all people for any kind of help.

[im_torchwood]

"You're trying to kill me," he said, then sat back down. He reached out and stole a muffin from the tray.

"Fine. I won't ditch you," he grumbled.

[logan_echolls]

"Don't make it sound like a such a damn hardship. I thought you'd be at least a little pleased to have your favourite punching bag around full time," he quipped dryly, grabbing a can of coke and cracking it open.

[im_torchwood]

Jack flopped back into the sofa and pressed his hands over his eyes, wondering what he must have done to deserve this. Things had been going so well. And now...what a mess.

"So we fought a lot?" he asked, hands still on his eyes.

[logan_echolls]

"We've thrown more punches than we've had conversations," Logan snorted. "Sometimes we get on okay, then one of us says something shitty and it ends badly.

"Last time we really fought..."

He trailed off, wondering if he really wanted to share what had happened. Then decided he might as well.

"...Last time we fought, I stopped fighting back. I told you- Uh... I told you that I tried to kill myself. Three times, actually. I tried to kill myself three times, and we- I dunno, we called a small truce and shared a joint, and... You, uh. You kissed me. I told you I didn't want to fuck up what you had with your boyfriend, and that I couldn't- I dunno, I couldn't do that to Neil. Things with me and him were going to shit, but it wasn't over yet, you know?"

[im_torchwood]

Jack listened and nodded, his hands falling away. He looked at Logan for a long moment.

"For what it's worth- I don't feel the need to punch you right now," he said. And he thought better of mentioning kissing...or the fact that there were no boyfriends or husbands here.

[logan_echolls]

"Give it time, man," Logan snorted, eating another slice of pizza, then finally stopping.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do now," he admitted, making his way over to the table to look at the items Jack had laid out. "I don't know how to transition back into the real world."

[im_torchwood]

"What year was it when you were on the island? That phone you have is ancient," he said, wondering just how much he'd have to fill Logan in on.