gracie_musica | Deviations from the Norm -- Deja Vu All Over Again

Title: Deviations from the Norm
Chapter Thirteen: Deja Vu All Over Again

dwtwprompts prompt: "Men willingly believe what they wish." - Julius Caesar.
Date Written: 6/22/08
Rating: G/K
Word Count: 1,137
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Rose, Mickey, Jake Simmons, Jackie/Pete (mentioned), Doctor (mentioned), Rose/Doctor (mentioned)
Spoilers: Major for Doctor Who 02 finale, Torchwood 01 & 02 (sorta)
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: So when I was watching Turn Left tonight/this morning, this plot bunny reawoke and bit at me. I'd had it in mind for a while, so it was a bit more fun.

Previous chapters found here.

Rose was heading into work. Hurrying, running more like, she and her mother had gotten into yet another fantastic row and she was running behind. The shop was just around the corner, she was almost there --

A tall man stepped out in front of her. He was dressed smartly, in a suit and a blue undershirt that made his blue eyes pop. His dark hair was impeccably kept, and he was wearing a heavy wool overcoat to guard against the cold. Rose had worked in a shop long enough to know that he was probably wearing at least two of her paychecks.

"Excuse me, miss," he said, the accent a little odd in her ears. Welsh? "Are you Rose Tyler?"

"Y-yeah," Rose said, unsure about how to proceed. "And who are you?"

The man smiled. He held out his left hand for Rose to shake, and she noticed the stretch of gold around his left ring finger. The blonde reached out her hand as well, still unsure about the crazy man in front of her.

She watched, amazed, as the man lifted her hand to his mouth, never taking his eyes off of hers. His mouth was warm against her chilled hand as he brushed his lips over her knuckles. "Someone who would like to thank you, Rose Tyler, for changing the course of his life."

Rose pulled her hand away and dashed around him, running the rest of the way to Henrik's, looking over her shoulder just once to see the man joined by another figure in a long blue coat.

Tricia Delaney gave Rose an odd look when she came bursting into the shop. "Everything alright, Rose?"

"Yeah," the blonde panted, holding the sudden stitch in her side. "Just ran into a mad person wandering the streets."

"You shouldn't have done that," Jack scolded, pointed a gloved finger at Ianto. "You know better than to go messing with time lines."

"She never met me at Canary Wharf, Jack," Ianto replied, giving him a grin. "I'm not completely senile."

"You're old enough to be!"

"And you're older than me, so age before beauty."

The Captain was caught off-guard by the quip, and his stern face quickly dissolved as he laughed. "Come on, then, young 'un, let's get a room before these dummies come to life."

Rose was pretty much an old hand at the whole 'parallel world' thing when she landed her job in the alternate Torchwood. Mickey, bless him, was a huge help, as was Jake. Her father was a help too, but he and her mother were busy with their own thing. Not that Rose could blame them. There were times when she'd give anything to be back with the Doctor.

The Preachers, what was left of them, had been absorbed into Torchwood as a sort of special-ops, experts in fighting off alien attacks. Rose, since she had her affiliations with the Doctor and plenty of experience herself, managed to get a fairly high-level position practically as a walk-on. She needed training, however, so she, Mickey and Jake had boarded a train and been sent down to Cardiff.

"Torchwood London's still pretty messed up, so all training of new recruits has been sent down to the Cardiff branch," Jake explained as Rose watched the countryside go whizzing past the window.

"That's nice," she said, sort of disinterested. The Doctor's hatred of guns had rubbed off on her, and she wasn't exactly thrilled at getting weapons training.

"Rose," Mickey said, and something in his voice made her look up. "There's something you need to know."

"What?"

"The leader of Torchwood Cardiff is this universe's Jack."

"Captain Jack's been the head of the Cardiff branch for about eighty years," Jake informed her, handing over a picture. Her Jack smiled up from the glossy picture, dressed in the Torchwood dress uniform. Rose smiled, carefully stroking her fingers over his cheek.

"There was an accident with some alien tech years ago, it's more or less made him immortal," Mickey explained. "He dies, but he comes back to life after a bit."

"Not a scratch on him, him or his husband," Jake agreed.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Husband?"

"He's still Jack," Mickey said with a grin. "He'll hit on anything that moves, tells outrageous stories that can't be true. But he's different too, a bit heavier."

"Doesn't look all that bad to me," Rose said, looking down at the picture again. There was a sort of lingering sadness in his eyes, that hadn't been there as definitely as before. "Does he know?"

"Yeah, we've told him that you and the other Jack traveled together with the Doctor." Mickey grinned. "He's looking forward to finally meeting you."

Jack was waiting for them on the train platform, a navy blue overcoat nearly brushing the ground. Mickey and Jake got firm handshakes, the same smile Rose had become so enamored with flashed all about. "And you're the famous Rose Tyler."

"That's me," Rose replied. It felt odd, seeing someone she so absolutely adored but who didn't know who the hell she was.

Jack laughed and pulled her into a friendly hug, one she returned. He even smelled the same.

"Captain," Jake said after a few moments, laugher and mock-reprimand in his voice. "You should probably ask your husband if you're going to go about feeling up pretty women."

"It would be even wiser not to do it in front of him," an amused Welsh voice came from behind her.

Jack laughed and finally released her, looking over her shoulder. "Rose, this is my husband and my second, Ianto Jones-Harkness."

Rose turned and blinked in recognition. "I know you," she said. "I've seen you before, in London."

Ianto's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I'm sorry Miss Tyler, but we've never met."

"Rose?" Mickey touched her shoulder.

"I'm sure I saw you." She looked over at Mickey. "It was the same day I met the Doctor, the Autons."

"You're probably just mistaken," Jack said, stepping around her. "My Ianto's only been in London when we were on Torchwood business, and then I never let him stray too far away." He leered at Ianto.

Ianto, apparently, was used to this sort of thing, because there was a ready retort. "If he's left alone for too long, Cardiff gets a bad name."

Jack growled playfully, pointing a finger at Ianto.

A single image flashed in her brain, an instant snatched over her shoulder. The mad Welshman grinning at another man in an RAF greatcoat. It was Ianto, for sure, and the way Jack was standing --

Nah. Couldn't be.

"I'm sorry, I must have met the other you," Rose said, waving a hand and pushing the thought away. "Is there any chance of maybe getting some lunch? I could murder some chips right about now."