Torchwood( A Torchwood/Captain Jack Harkness Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Nine: Scared

~~~Jack~~~

Diane was gone when I woke up the next morning. I walked down stairs and stopped by the railing. Diane was sitting at the desk, in my shirt, staring aimlessly at the object. It was two in the morning.

"Staring at it isn't going to help you know?" She looked up at e. She was...beautiful,Sitting there in my shirt, with her hair all messed up and her eyes droopy with sleep.

"Maybe not. But maybe it will spark something...anything." I walked down the stairs, leaning on the desk beside her. I tucked her hair behind her ear and she flinched.

"Ok, seriously, tell me what's wrong?"

"I..." She sighed, putting her hands over her face. "What happened the other day was a mistake. I don't think we should..." I cleared my throat. "repeat last night if you know what I mean." I walked away,leaving him standing there awestruck.

~~~Diane~~~

There's something wrong with me, right?  I'm insane for letting an amazing and attractive guy walk away, aren't I? I'm just...scared. Actually, scratch that, I'm terrified. I know how this works. I start to feel safe getting close to someone only to have them ripped away from me. It happened to Katherine and the Doctor, it happened to everyone else I've known since then...and I know it's only a matter of time before it happens to Jack too. I  walked back upstairs, walking to my room and changing into a t-shirt, grey jeans, and my combat boots. I folded Jack's shirt neatly and left it on his bed before walking back downstairs where Tosh, Owen, and Ianto had arrived.

"Good morning." I told them.

"Morning, Diane."

"So, what's the plan today?"

"Well, once Gwen get's here we're going to Tom's house."

"And I take it we'll try to find out what the heck this thing is?" I asked. Tosh nodded.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Gwen said, coming in."You ready to go?"

"About bloody time." Owen muttered,  walking out the door with Gwen trailing behind him. I watched Jack as he entered, his expression blank. He was always good at hiding his emotions.

~~~

"Our friend with the alien machine in his pocket is one Sean Harris AKA Bernie." Jack told us.

"And what he's doing with an alien machine is anyone's guess." I looked at his list of records.

"This kid is nineteen years old with a string of convictions on his plate. Burglary, shop lifting, credit cards..."

"Do warn me if he's dropping in." Ianto told us.

"Theft conviction, He was stealing tires off of a car when the owner caught him, giving him so much grief he apologises and starts putting them back on, which is cue for the police to show up." I finished."Oh and a shoplifting charge for a bottle of vodka and three pot noodles."

"Criminal mastermind." Owen said sarcastically as he played a video game."Got anywhere with that alien devcie."

"Alien of course." I started.

"Uh, gorgeous nanotechnology. Makes NASA look like Toys R' Us." Jack added.

"Well you've really narrowed things down haven't ya?"

"Well Owen," I said, unplugging his game. "If you've got a problem with it, do it your bloody self."

"At the station it was doing this, and when I hit the button, it lit up and went mad."
"Not doing it now, is it?"

"No."

"So, what's next?"

"This kid, Bernie, where does he live?"

"Splott."

"Splot?" Owen asked.

"I beleive estate agents pronounce it 'Sploe'." Ianto explained.

~~~

We all split up looking for him, Toshiko and Gwen going one way, Owen going another, of course leaving Jack and I alone.

"So where do we start?' I asked.

"Dunno. Anywhere in the area I guess." I nodded and started walking. Jack fell into step beside me."I know why you said it was a mistake."

"Jack, I'm not going to talk about this now-"

"It's because you're scared." He said, causing me to pause.

"You're scared that if you let yourself get to close to me, something will happen.You're like that with everybody."

"You're wrong."

"Really? Because I think I got it pretty spot on-"

"I'm not like that with everybody." I looked down at my feet then back up at him. "I'm like that with you. Yeah, I'm scared something will happen to the others, but...Jack if something happened to you...I really couldn't handle it."

"I told you I'm not going anywhere." I took a step towards him, leaning close to his face.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." He grabbed me, pushing me against the wall.  I could feel his hot breath against my lips. His face was only centimeters away from mine. His hands where holding my arms, crushing them between my body and his.

"What happened wasn't a mistake and you know it." He said intensely. "It definitely didn't feel like one...not to me. You can't say you didn't feel the same way."

"Jack...I can't."

"Why? Because you're scared?"

"YES!" He leaned even closer to my face, his nose brushing, just barely, against mine. He was so close. I could just barely lean in and my lips would be on his.

"We're all scared of something, Diane. But we have to face our fears to overcome them." He whispered.

"We need to go look for Bernie." I said, slipping out from between him and the wall and continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

~~~

So we found nothing. Jack and I walked back in silence.

"Let me help you." Jack said suddenly. I looked at him for more information."Your fear. Let me help you get over it."

"Jack..."

"I know you don't want to...because it's safer to just avoid it. Everyone thinks that but...you can't run from your fears forever." I sighed.

"Alright. Fine."