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serene_quillTitle: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 5: Do Over I Do Over (Part 2)
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 304: I Do Over, AU
Summary: Time moves on, until it doesn’t… Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snarkyandsparky and goddessfreya_87 for the beta work!
Previous Parts can be found here
Despite his apparent cheerful willingness to use the previous loops knowledge to entertain Allison and Jack, Nathan was worried. A ‘bone deep absolutely no clue what to do until he knew what was causing it’ sort of panic that resulted in him providing comfort in the one way he knew to distract them—utilizing his dark sense of humor.
“Look, Dr. Fletcher, you’re being redacted,” Nathan said, smirking. “I suggest you let all your lab animals out on your way and see how much Thorne needs you then.”
“Dr. Stark?” she asked faintly, looking blankly over at the sheriff, who was trying not to smile.
“All the lab animals?” Jack asked, giving Nathan a pained look. “I’m not going to round them up, and Jo might get violent on us if we make her do it.”
“Good point,” Nathan replied, checking his watch. “Hey, we have to get down to the atrium if we want to catch Thorne getting slapped. You should come, Dr. Fletcher.” The scientist simply stared, open mouthed in shock before following them.
He strode ahead, hearing Jack ask Allison in an undertone, “This is really bad, isn’t it?”
“He doesn’t know how to fix it,” she confided to Jack, nodding. “This is his way of coping till his brain catches up or something gives. If you’ve got any ideas, I’d toss them his way now.”
Nathan waited for them to catch up to the elevator, giving Allison a maniacal grin. “Oh come on, Allie, you know you’re dying to see Thorne get slapped.”
Allison tried to hide a smile in response, but it slid out. “He is right about that,” she admitted, and Jack hugged her around the shoulders.
“A little bit of fun, at least, before we have to start treating this as a crisis,” Jack agreed, kissing the top of her head gently. Fletcher looked faint, darting a glance in Stark’s direction as though she expected a fight to break out at any minute.
“It’s a time loop,” Nathan told her with a wink. “If there’s anyone you want to try kissing, consequence free, I say go for it. They won’t remember it tomorrow.”
“Neither will she,” Jack objected, giving Nathan a look. “And while this has been fun, what if it was just a one time phenomenon?”
“Hey, I just saw the kissing thing on an episode of Stargate once,” Nathan replied, shrugging. “But in answer to the other part, if someone screwed up time enough to cause a time loop, there’s no way they can fix it on their own. They’ll need my help.”
“Does your ego naturally fit in this building, or did you build some sort of compression device for it?” Jack shot back, but Nathan could see the relief in Jack’s eyes that Nathan was so confident in his ability to fix this. Nathan was just surprised he was playing the sheriff so well, not actually feeling confident in the slightest.
“Come now, Sheriff, you know it fit in here until I bagged both you and Allison. Landing both of you has done wonders for my ego,” Nathan replied, making Allison choke back a laugh. Fletcher was now looking dazed, nodding to herself.
“Strangest dream I’ve had in ages,” she muttered, pinching her arm lightly. “Uh, as long as I’m having it, where can I find Dr. Fargo this time of day, Dr. Stark?” she asked, glancing at Nathan as she dug in her pocket and produced a tube of lip gloss.
“Heli-pad,” he replied instantly, trying to ignore the mental image. “Delivery of the new… clock.”
“That’s gotta be it!” Jack said triumphantly, pointing at Nathan as they stepped off the elevator, leaving Fletcher to her pursuit of Nathan’s assistant. “I knew you couldn’t actually invent something that didn’t destroy the world!”
“It is not the clock!” Nathan grumbled, but Allison had folded her arms over her chest.
“Nathan, you don’t know that!” she replied. “It came online during the window you and Jack set up for when time looped. If we unplug it and it doesn’t work, you’ll be able to sync it up again when we loop.”
“There’s no way that clock caused this,” Nathan insisted, stopping along the side of the atrium, nodding to where Thorne was arguing with the red haired scientist. “It’s just not capable of it.”
“All right. Maybe the clock you invented isn’t,” Jack agreed, looking thoughtful. “But you said the Swiss were fuming. I assume that means sabotage isn’t out of the question?”
“I guess not,” Nathan agreed, suddenly distracted. Across the forum, Thorne had caught the scientist’s hand mid-flight before it could strike her, forced her arm behind her back, and brought her down to her knees before security had reached them. “Well, that’s different,” he observed, trading a look with Jack. “She saw it coming.”
“She probably caused the loop,” Jack agreed grimly, and Allison tugged at their arms, jerking her head toward the elevator.
“We need a plan and discussing it 20 feet away from a potential suspect is not the place to do it,” she said in a low tone. “My office.”
Nathan nodded, his happy façade crumbling as he began to think through the ways Thorne might have managed to create a time loop. Jack, he was surprised to see, looked relieved by his sudden 180, also looking thoughtful. “What?” he asked gruffly, and Jack smiled.
“I like it better when you start planning,” he admitted, subtly squeezing Nathan’s hand. “I even take back some of my control freak remarks.”
“Only some?” Nathan asked, earning himself a quick flash of a flirtatious grin.
“Not even that many,” Jack replied impishly.
“You will pay for that,” Nathan warned him as they entered the office, Allison carefully sealing the door behind them.
“Looking forward to it,” Jack replied cockily, sitting down and giving Allison an expectant look. “You don’t think it’s Thorne,” he guessed, and she nodded.
“I’m just not sure Eva has the scientific wherewithal to pull off something so massive,” Allison replied. “If nothing else, she had to have help. And the timing on the clock is just too close to dismiss.”
“We can’t follow up on both right now,” Nathan objected, and Jack gave him an odd look.
“Of course we can,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Both of us are stuck looping after all. One of us tails Thorne, figures out what she’s up to, the other one shuts down that clock, makes sure it isn’t connected.”
Nathan paused, eyes on his hands, idly observing a thin cut on his thumb, poking at it and producing a little jab of pain. “I don’t want to let either of you out of my sight during this,” he admitted, poking at the cut again, rather than admit how any loop could be the end of everything. Jack’s hand slid into his view, taking his injured hand and raising it out of Nathan’s view. Nathan, almost unwillingly, followed the movement up as Jack softly kissed the injured thumb. His eyes met Jack’s, and he sighed, nodding. “But I will,” he conceded, breath huffing out in a soft laugh when Allison came over to tighten the little circle, giving Nathan an excuse to pull them in close for a moment.
“Worrywart,” Allison teased, leaning up to kiss Nathan softly. “Jack and I can go shut down the clock, or we can go after Thorne. You and I have to split because one of us needs to check the clock for sabotage.”
“Good point,” Jack agreed, shrugging when Nathan gave him an expectant look. “Well, my plan involved shooting the thing.”
“Not a good idea, you could set off a reaction that would blow up most of GD,” Nathan replied dryly, giving Jack a much put upon look. “Shoot it? Really?”
“I don’t think my usual ‘outsmarting you by unplugging it’ trick will work,” Jack snarked back, rolling his eyes.
“All right, Nathan, where do you want us?” Allison asked, giving him an expectant look.
“Safety in numbers,” Nathan decided, standing. “You two tail Thorne,” he said, giving Jack a pointed look. “Do you have a light revolver, maybe a Smith and Wesson J frame?”
“Nathan, I haven’t fired a gun in a few years,” Allison objected, sighing when he simply gave her a resolute look. “Fine, hang on,” she grumbled, breaking away from them and unlocking her safe, pulling out a gun box and shoulder holster. “I’ll arm myself, thank you both very little.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Jack objected, though his eyes were trained on Allison loading the gun with expert precision. “But I can’t say it was a bad idea,” he mused, and Allison shot him a smug smile.
“Turning you on, Sheriff?”
“Oh yeah,” Jack agreed, eyes raking over her. Nathan snorted, shaking his head. “What, just cuz it’s not your cup of noodles,” Jack elbowed Nathan as he mangled the expression, and Allison laughed.
“All right, I’ll walk you two as far as the atrium,” Nathan said once Allison’s sidearm was concealed beneath her suit jacket. He tried to watch the other two out of the corner of his eye, pretending not to be worried.
“We’ll be careful,” Jack promised, giving Nathan a solemn look as they walked into the entrance, obviously not fooled. “Stop worrying so much, Nathan.”
“Just have one more thing to do for this time loop,” Nathan smirked, a hand darting out and catching Jack’s uniform before he could back away. Jack swallowed, looking around warily, and Nathan gave him a moment to panic, as well as to attract the attention of every scientist in the forum.
“What are you…?” Jack hissed, his words trailing off when Nathan gave him a heated look, only a second’s warning before tugging the sheriff into a bruising kiss. To Jack’s credit, the hands on Nathan’s shoulders curled inward, forcing Nathan closer and giving as good as he got. It was reckless, Nathan supposed, when one of them might mange to keep time linear, but he doubted it enough to take the risk.
“Holy hell that’s hot,” Nathan heard a woman mutter and finally broke the kiss, leaving a rather dumbfounded Jack staring at him.
“I think you broke him,” Allison observed wryly, sliding up before Nathan could treat her to the same reeling in and kissing him softly though no less passionately. Nathan, still feeling an inkling to play a little, wrapped an arm around her and dipped her back, making her laugh into the kiss, shaking her head as she stood back up straight. A moment later, she looked solemn again. “You be careful too, Nathan.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Nathan replied smartly, giving them a wink before he strode out, counting the number of open mouthed stares as he went. Reaching double digits before he reached the elevator, he considered his mission a success.
He reached the lab and came to a sudden crashing halt, shaking his head and silently making a mental note to work on a brain bleaching chemical for occasions like this, clearing his throat pointedly. Fargo sprang back from the young veterinarian, flushing bright red. “Uh, Dr. Stark,” he stammered, adjusting his glasses. “Uh, Dr. Fletcher mentioned something about a time loop.”
“Yes?” Nathan asked shortly, lifting an eyebrow expectantly.
“Well, so the clock probably can’t be turned on, just in case?” Fargo guessed, voice growing thinner and more nervous.
“No, it can’t,” Nathan ground out, looking at Fargo darkly.
“Can I…” Fargo hooked a thumb toward the door, and Nathan rolled his eyes upward, counting to five.
“You and your girlfriend get lost,” he growled, sitting down to begin dismantling his project to look for signs of sabotage. “Come back at 8,” he added, knowing it was well outside the time loop and enjoying the little irony in ordering Fargo away for that long.
“Yes sir,” Fargo agreed eagerly, dropping his work and practically fleeing with Dr. Fletcher.
“Idiot hormonal teens,” Nathan sniffed, choosing to ignore his own display of affection down in the forum. He sealed off the lab, adding extra protection to keep it in total lockdown till 8pm, then began dismantling the clock.
*-*
“Need a minute?” Allison teased Jack, who nodded emphatically, making her laugh. “You know, we could put on our own show, Sheriff,” she teased, raking her nails down his arm, which spurred Jack back into movement, taking her hand and tugging her out of the atrium where scientists were starting to whisper suspiciously.
“We’re supposed to keep a low profile if we’re going to be tailing someone,” Jack remarked, rolling his eyes.
“And I know where we can do it,” Allison replied, leading Jack down a small side corridor, a few quick taps on a keypad admitting them to the security room. “Pull up a feed of Director Thorne,” she ordered the GD officer on duty, and Jack nodded when the man looked at him for confirmation.
“I believe she’s on her way out for the evening, Dr. Blake,” the man said, showing her the feed. Thorne was in the garage elevator, which earned a grin from Jack.
“Excellent, your car is still surface level,” Jack told her. “We can catch her at the gate and tail her from there.”
“Sheriff, may I inquire…” the security officer started to ask, and Jack nodded.
“Uh, listen, if we’re not back by 8pm, you need to contact the General, tell him there was a security breach,” Jack told him, and Allison lifted an eyebrow, looking impressed at the quick lie.
“All right, why 8pm?” she asked as they headed back to the exit.
“Well, we know time looped well before then,” Jack explained, grinning. “Figured it was safe to tell him to call at 8, since it doesn’t seem likely there will be an 8pm.”
“Sounds like something Nathan would have come up with,” Allison remarked dryly. “I can only live with one of each of you, so don’t start turning into him.”
“God, there’s an awful idea,” Jack replied dryly. Allison unlocked the car, handing the keys to him, shrugging.
“You probably know more about tailing than I do, but put so much as a scratch on her…” Allison threatened.
“Got it,” Jack replied. He let the car idle, holding in place till Thorne passed through the gate, then followed. He kept his distance, fairly certain Thorne wouldn’t spot them, frowning as she headed out toward an empty stretch of fields. “Where is she going?”
“There aren’t any labs out here as far as I know,” Allison replied, and Jack slowed behind a ridge, seeing that Thorne had stopped her car. He looked at her skeptically, then out at the muddy field. “Hang on,” she muttered, pulling a bag from the back seat. “Gym clothes,” she said triumphantly.
She gave Jack a look, and he laughed. “What, you want me to turn my back?” he asked, and she flushed, dropping her head.
“No, I just find it distracting,” she replied, smiling up at him. “Stripping in front of you.”
“Okay, when you put it that way,” Jack felt his own face heat and turned his head. “This, uh, probably shouldn’t be turning us on you know.”
“Far too late to stop that,” she joked, laughing. “Nathan freaks out when we head into danger, and it turns us on. There’s a problem.”
“If you hadn’t noticed, everything about you turns me on,” Jack replied dryly.
“Hmm, remind me to take you up on that innuendo later,” Allison said tugging Jack into a kiss, lingering for a moment, then nodding that she was ready to go.
“Stay behind me, just in case,” Jack told her, as they crept down the hill, sliding into the tree cover, taking a moment to watch Thorne spread out some diagrams and pull a black metal device from her bag. “Think that’s how she’s doing it?” Jack whispered in Allison’s ear, and she shrugged.
“It doesn’t look sophisticated enough for that, but she’s definitely up to something shady,” Allison hissed back. “This is where Henry found those traces of baryogenic radiation.”
“All right, it’s a time loop, let’s get info,” Jack suggested, unholstering his gun. Allison smiled, and pulled hers as well, nodding when he signaled that he would approach, while she stayed back further and covered him.
“Ms. Thorne,” Jack said in a warning tone, motioning for her to back away. She looked like she might argue, but Allison stepped up, leveling her weapon as she did.
“Quite the hunting party,” Thorne remarked, setting the device down on the table. “It’s perfectly harmless, Sheriff, I assure you.”
Jack backed Thorne up a little further, nodding to Allison, who quickly holstered her gun and inspected it, activating it easily. “She’s running a survey of the terrain,” Allison said, bewildered. “There’s some sort of facility underground here. Eva, what are you looking for?”
“Source of that barry-whatever radiation?” Jack interrupted before Thorne could answer, and Allison shrugged.
“I can’t tell,” she admitted. “Definitely nothing to do with our time loop though.”
“Time is looping?” Thorne demanded, looking alarmed. “That could break down our universe.”
“Yeah, been there, got that lecture already,” Jack snarked, but it ended on a half hearted note as a loud crackling of energy high in the sky caught their attention. As Jack watched, it began to expand in their direction. Reflexively, he dove for Allison, covering her body with his, trying to protect her from the blast…
Jack came to in the shower, gasping. Nathan leaned back, looking up at Jack, and for a split second, Jack appreciated what an odd position that would be to return to every loop. “Nothing on my end,” he said instantly, slicking his hair back from his face. “No sabotage, and the clock stayed offline the entire time.”
“We found out there’s an underground facility out in that field where Henry found the weird radiation,” Jack shrugged, leaning against the wall, letting water pour over his head. “Thorne was surveying the place. But Allison checked her gear, no time looping doodads.”
“We’ve blown all our theories,” Nathan observed, sighing. “Next step, Sheriff?”
“We need to try and go through the day as close to the first time as possible,” Jack decided, thinking carefully. “Find what’s different or making us be the ones to loop or… whoa!”
Nathan had leaned in and taken Jack’s cock into his mouth, teasing him to hardness again. “Staying close to events,” he murmured, and Jack groaned, shaking his head.
“Up,” he tugged on Nathan’s shoulder, pulling the scientist into a fierce kiss, rubbing against him as he did. “Doubt changing this changes the day, and you earned it yesterday,” he mumbled, fumbling for a bottle of oil in a cubby, which he was pretty certain Nathan had left there last time they’d been at the bunker, slick oil spilling all over his fingers as Nathan rubbed against him distractingly. He managed to get a hand down to tease at Nathan’s entrance, taking control back. Nathan obligingly turned and braced his arms against the wall, letting Jack stretch him quickly, before sliding his erection home.
Nathan groaned, and Jack nipped at his shoulder warningly. “Watch the noise level, my daughter’s home,” Jack reminded him as he began thrusting into Nathan, gripping Nathan’s hips tightly.
“I turned the privacy mode on before I came in, you know, ages ago,” Nathan managed to gasp, shoving back to meet Jack’s thrusts, sounding just as desperate and needy as Jack felt. “God, Jack, harder.”
Jack felt out of control as he continued to move, Nathan making small noises of contentment which only made Jack want more. He reached around, pumping Nathan in time with the movement of his hips. “Jack!” Nathan cried out as he came, shuddering around Jack and driving him over the edge as well. Jack made sure to loop an arm around Nathan, making sure they were leaning against each other, slowly kissing and touching as they finished washing up, the earlier frenetic energy replaced with a deeper need to reassure each other they had each other’s support.
“Love you,” Jack murmured, kissing Nathan one last time as he shut off the water.
“I love you too,” Nathan replied, raising an eyebrow. “Is this your version of the panicking I did yesterday?”
“Oh yeah,” Jack admitted, smiling when Nathan cupped his face gently. “Sorry if I pushed you too hard.”
“I needed it just as badly,” Nathan admitted, sighing. “Now we have to go be awkward and explain threesome dynamics to your daughter.”
“Couldn’t we have rewound to before she caught us?” Jack complained before he headed to get dressed.
*-*
“We’re almost back to the clock,” Jack observed quietly as they headed up to the atrium, pausing as Thorne was slapped. “Isn’t there someone at GD who is the time guy? I mean, you’ve got a poop guy, an algae guy, a… what did I say?”
Nathan had an epiphany look, and shook his head, striding to the elevator. “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?” he swore, rolling his eyes. “Weinbrenner.”
“The guy we’re going to see?” Jack asked, puzzled. “I thought you said he was maintenance.”
“Yeah, time maintenance,” Nathan groaned. “Remember that odd light when we were down there the first time?”
“Probably started an unscheduled experiment when he found out he was being redacted,” Jack deduced.
They strode into the lab, and Jack nodded knowingly at the sight of a small scientist scribbling formulas on white boards. “I think we’re in the right place,” he announced, and Nathan nodded, looking amazed as he approached the white board.
“Uh, D-dr. Stark, Sheriff C-carter,” Weinbrenner stammered wide eyed as Nathan pushed past him to the white boards. “Uh, can I help you?”
“Your particle acceleration created a time loop, as I’m sure you know,” Nathan snapped at him, examining the board as he did. Jack watched as Nathan’s frown deepened. “How were you planning to undo this?” he demanded.
“Well, I hadn’t exactly figured out the way to reverse it,” Weinbrenner admitted, holding up his hands when he saw the looks on the other men’s faces. “I was going to be redacted! I needed to prove my theories, and I think I’m close to figuring out how to reverse it!”
“Okay, first of all, how did we get stuck in this loop with you?” Jack demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose while Weinbrenner rattled off information about ultra-indigo, which was the type of light they had been exposed to, which had brought them into the time loop. The demonstration was cool, but it all meant very little to Jack, who’d lost Weinbrenner’s explanation when it started to involved light speed equations. He looked over at Nathan, unspoken question in his eyes, and Nathan nodded, obviously understanding Weinbrenner’s project.
“Okay, based on your calculations, we’ve got at least two more stable loops after this one before the universe collapses in on itself. How were you planning to fix it?” Nathan asked, marker already in hand and at the white board making notations, and Jack sat back as Weinbrenner showed him a clock and the plans for reacceleration of a particle. “This clock isn’t nearly accurate enough for what you’re proposing,” Nathan dismissed it, frowning. “Not to mention you’d have to manually control the timer and being in there with the particle would probably kill you.”
“Bad plan,” Jack burst out, shaking his head glad he finally understood something they were talking about. “So what you need is a more accurate clock?”
Nathan stared at Jack, a smile creeping up on his face. “Brilliant,” he said, before remembering to smirk. “Jack, sometimes you’re smarter than you look. Let’s go find Fargo and take the delivery of my clock.”
*-*
Fargo helped Nathan install the clock, with Weinbrenner furtively offering suggestions. That ended quickly when Nathan threatened to have Jack arrest the man for illegal experiments.
“Okay, I’ve done what I can on short notice to shore up the vacuum seal, but it’s really not meant for this kind of use,” Fargo told them, looking nervously at the clock, reading less than five minutes till 6.
“All right, Fargo, start her up,” Nathan said, standing back, tugging Jack a step further away as he did. “If the seal holds, accelerate the photon and we can end this nightmare, get time back to normal.”
“That’s what a good plan sounds like,” Jack remarked to Weinbrenner, rolling his eyes.
“Okay, here we go,” Fargo said needlessly, as Jack could hear the sound of the acceleration inside the vacuum. He watched, the clock ticking toward 6, when the seal buckled. Nathan’s head fell, looking resigned.
“We’ve lost the seal,” Fargo’s panic was clear. “We can’t sync the clock! What are we going to do?”
“We can sync it manually,” Nathan said, looking over at Jack.
“In two more loops,” Jack replied angrily. “Don’t you dare think about it, Nathan!”
“Look, Jack, we need to end this, and if—”
“No!” Jack shouted, slamming his hand down. “Not you! And not you,” he said a second time, pointing at Fargo as he opened his mouth. “We have more shots at this, and we’re not sacrificing anyone yet.”
“Jack, there’s no better solution!” Nathan objected, and Jack blocked his way, catching sight of the clock as he did—forty seconds remaining.
“Fargo, are there other ways to shore up the seal? Or a stronger vacuum seal we could use?” Jack asked, shoving Nathan back as he asked.
“Yeah, we could try the vacuum seal for dangerous microbes in section four,” Fargo replied, nodding. “It might work, it’s a little stronger.”
“And if not, you show me how to do it,” Jack continued, glaring at Nathan.
“I can’t teach you this,” Nathan shot back at him, glaring icily.
“My job to protect the town, not yours!” Jack retorted folding his arms. The clock hit 6 o’clock.
Jack shoved Nathan back away from him, surprised when the other man was on his feet rather gracefully and grabbed hold of him, shoving him into the wall of the shower. “Dammit, Jack!” he cursed, but he stopped, simply staring at Jack, wide eyed and breathing hard. He sighed, stepping back, looking shocked. Jack let him go, following him out of the shower, but neither spoke. Jack sat down on the bed, watching Nathan dress, then the scientist turned back, looking concerned.
Jack waited, but Nathan turned and left, heading down the stairs. He could hear the rumble of voices, and a few minutes later, Allison appeared at the top of the stairs. “Jack?” she asked softly, crouching down to bring herself to eye level with him.
“He almost killed himself,” Jack told her, shaking his head. “Didn’t think twice about risking himself.”
“Hard being on the other side of it, isn’t it?” Allison asked, a little sympathy in her voice. Jack looked up at her blankly. “Jack, you put yourself in danger all the time. Nathan reacted to the situation he was given, and even worse, he reacted like you would. He’s downstairs wondering what the hell is wrong with him, not thinking it through enough or having enough patience to wait another loop.”
“I don’t know what just happened,” Jack muttered, ruffling his hair in frustration.
“Your protective urges were bound to clash sooner or later,” Allison told him, sliding a hand along his face gently. “But, Jack, he may have to do this. Don’t let him walk into it with you angry at him.”
“Okay,” Jack agreed, sighing and tugging her into a hug. “God, you know you’re a saint, putting up with the pair of us.”
“Just don’t let him do it this loop,” Allison said darkly, giving him a knowing look. “Protect him, but if you have to next time, let him do what he has to do.”
“Okay,” Jack agreed, nodding and carefully composing himself. “Nathan talking with Zoë?”
“Yeah, explaining photon acceleration and time physics to her, while I got stuck with how three people sleep in one bed,” Allison replied dryly, and Jack chuckled.
They headed downstairs, Jack pausing and looking over at Nathan, who trailed off in his explanation to Zoë, eyes fixed on Jack. Jack stepped in closer, and Nathan reached out and pulled him the rest of the way. “I’m sorry,” Nathan whispered, stroking Jack’s hair, holding him tightly.
“Apology accepted,” Jack replied, gripping Nathan’s face between his hands. “I get it, Nathan, I do. You may have to save the town, and maybe I can’t do it this time,” he said fiercely. “But you don’t do it until you absolutely have to, even if it means some risk to me.”
“Or me,” Allison added quietly, her dark eyes flashing when Nathan gave her a pained look. “Don’t even try it, Nathan, you were out of line this time.”
“I know,” he agreed, looking over at Zoë, who was pursing her lips thoughtfully. “What’s up, kid?” he asked, and she grinned.
“I’ve got an idea about how to fix this,” she informed him, looking pleased with herself. Nathan looked over at Jack, who shrugged, looking just as amused. “You just have to get Lucas and my physics teacher to give us an A.”
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 304: I Do Over, AU
Summary: Time moves on, until it doesn’t… Thanks to
snarkyandsparky and goddessfreya_87 for the beta work!Previous Parts can be found here
Despite his apparent cheerful willingness to use the previous loops knowledge to entertain Allison and Jack, Nathan was worried. A ‘bone deep absolutely no clue what to do until he knew what was causing it’ sort of panic that resulted in him providing comfort in the one way he knew to distract them—utilizing his dark sense of humor.
“Look, Dr. Fletcher, you’re being redacted,” Nathan said, smirking. “I suggest you let all your lab animals out on your way and see how much Thorne needs you then.”
“Dr. Stark?” she asked faintly, looking blankly over at the sheriff, who was trying not to smile.
“All the lab animals?” Jack asked, giving Nathan a pained look. “I’m not going to round them up, and Jo might get violent on us if we make her do it.”
“Good point,” Nathan replied, checking his watch. “Hey, we have to get down to the atrium if we want to catch Thorne getting slapped. You should come, Dr. Fletcher.” The scientist simply stared, open mouthed in shock before following them.
He strode ahead, hearing Jack ask Allison in an undertone, “This is really bad, isn’t it?”
“He doesn’t know how to fix it,” she confided to Jack, nodding. “This is his way of coping till his brain catches up or something gives. If you’ve got any ideas, I’d toss them his way now.”
Nathan waited for them to catch up to the elevator, giving Allison a maniacal grin. “Oh come on, Allie, you know you’re dying to see Thorne get slapped.”
Allison tried to hide a smile in response, but it slid out. “He is right about that,” she admitted, and Jack hugged her around the shoulders.
“A little bit of fun, at least, before we have to start treating this as a crisis,” Jack agreed, kissing the top of her head gently. Fletcher looked faint, darting a glance in Stark’s direction as though she expected a fight to break out at any minute.
“It’s a time loop,” Nathan told her with a wink. “If there’s anyone you want to try kissing, consequence free, I say go for it. They won’t remember it tomorrow.”
“Neither will she,” Jack objected, giving Nathan a look. “And while this has been fun, what if it was just a one time phenomenon?”
“Hey, I just saw the kissing thing on an episode of Stargate once,” Nathan replied, shrugging. “But in answer to the other part, if someone screwed up time enough to cause a time loop, there’s no way they can fix it on their own. They’ll need my help.”
“Does your ego naturally fit in this building, or did you build some sort of compression device for it?” Jack shot back, but Nathan could see the relief in Jack’s eyes that Nathan was so confident in his ability to fix this. Nathan was just surprised he was playing the sheriff so well, not actually feeling confident in the slightest.
“Come now, Sheriff, you know it fit in here until I bagged both you and Allison. Landing both of you has done wonders for my ego,” Nathan replied, making Allison choke back a laugh. Fletcher was now looking dazed, nodding to herself.
“Strangest dream I’ve had in ages,” she muttered, pinching her arm lightly. “Uh, as long as I’m having it, where can I find Dr. Fargo this time of day, Dr. Stark?” she asked, glancing at Nathan as she dug in her pocket and produced a tube of lip gloss.
“Heli-pad,” he replied instantly, trying to ignore the mental image. “Delivery of the new… clock.”
“That’s gotta be it!” Jack said triumphantly, pointing at Nathan as they stepped off the elevator, leaving Fletcher to her pursuit of Nathan’s assistant. “I knew you couldn’t actually invent something that didn’t destroy the world!”
“It is not the clock!” Nathan grumbled, but Allison had folded her arms over her chest.
“Nathan, you don’t know that!” she replied. “It came online during the window you and Jack set up for when time looped. If we unplug it and it doesn’t work, you’ll be able to sync it up again when we loop.”
“There’s no way that clock caused this,” Nathan insisted, stopping along the side of the atrium, nodding to where Thorne was arguing with the red haired scientist. “It’s just not capable of it.”
“All right. Maybe the clock you invented isn’t,” Jack agreed, looking thoughtful. “But you said the Swiss were fuming. I assume that means sabotage isn’t out of the question?”
“I guess not,” Nathan agreed, suddenly distracted. Across the forum, Thorne had caught the scientist’s hand mid-flight before it could strike her, forced her arm behind her back, and brought her down to her knees before security had reached them. “Well, that’s different,” he observed, trading a look with Jack. “She saw it coming.”
“She probably caused the loop,” Jack agreed grimly, and Allison tugged at their arms, jerking her head toward the elevator.
“We need a plan and discussing it 20 feet away from a potential suspect is not the place to do it,” she said in a low tone. “My office.”
Nathan nodded, his happy façade crumbling as he began to think through the ways Thorne might have managed to create a time loop. Jack, he was surprised to see, looked relieved by his sudden 180, also looking thoughtful. “What?” he asked gruffly, and Jack smiled.
“I like it better when you start planning,” he admitted, subtly squeezing Nathan’s hand. “I even take back some of my control freak remarks.”
“Only some?” Nathan asked, earning himself a quick flash of a flirtatious grin.
“Not even that many,” Jack replied impishly.
“You will pay for that,” Nathan warned him as they entered the office, Allison carefully sealing the door behind them.
“Looking forward to it,” Jack replied cockily, sitting down and giving Allison an expectant look. “You don’t think it’s Thorne,” he guessed, and she nodded.
“I’m just not sure Eva has the scientific wherewithal to pull off something so massive,” Allison replied. “If nothing else, she had to have help. And the timing on the clock is just too close to dismiss.”
“We can’t follow up on both right now,” Nathan objected, and Jack gave him an odd look.
“Of course we can,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Both of us are stuck looping after all. One of us tails Thorne, figures out what she’s up to, the other one shuts down that clock, makes sure it isn’t connected.”
Nathan paused, eyes on his hands, idly observing a thin cut on his thumb, poking at it and producing a little jab of pain. “I don’t want to let either of you out of my sight during this,” he admitted, poking at the cut again, rather than admit how any loop could be the end of everything. Jack’s hand slid into his view, taking his injured hand and raising it out of Nathan’s view. Nathan, almost unwillingly, followed the movement up as Jack softly kissed the injured thumb. His eyes met Jack’s, and he sighed, nodding. “But I will,” he conceded, breath huffing out in a soft laugh when Allison came over to tighten the little circle, giving Nathan an excuse to pull them in close for a moment.
“Worrywart,” Allison teased, leaning up to kiss Nathan softly. “Jack and I can go shut down the clock, or we can go after Thorne. You and I have to split because one of us needs to check the clock for sabotage.”
“Good point,” Jack agreed, shrugging when Nathan gave him an expectant look. “Well, my plan involved shooting the thing.”
“Not a good idea, you could set off a reaction that would blow up most of GD,” Nathan replied dryly, giving Jack a much put upon look. “Shoot it? Really?”
“I don’t think my usual ‘outsmarting you by unplugging it’ trick will work,” Jack snarked back, rolling his eyes.
“All right, Nathan, where do you want us?” Allison asked, giving him an expectant look.
“Safety in numbers,” Nathan decided, standing. “You two tail Thorne,” he said, giving Jack a pointed look. “Do you have a light revolver, maybe a Smith and Wesson J frame?”
“Nathan, I haven’t fired a gun in a few years,” Allison objected, sighing when he simply gave her a resolute look. “Fine, hang on,” she grumbled, breaking away from them and unlocking her safe, pulling out a gun box and shoulder holster. “I’ll arm myself, thank you both very little.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Jack objected, though his eyes were trained on Allison loading the gun with expert precision. “But I can’t say it was a bad idea,” he mused, and Allison shot him a smug smile.
“Turning you on, Sheriff?”
“Oh yeah,” Jack agreed, eyes raking over her. Nathan snorted, shaking his head. “What, just cuz it’s not your cup of noodles,” Jack elbowed Nathan as he mangled the expression, and Allison laughed.
“All right, I’ll walk you two as far as the atrium,” Nathan said once Allison’s sidearm was concealed beneath her suit jacket. He tried to watch the other two out of the corner of his eye, pretending not to be worried.
“We’ll be careful,” Jack promised, giving Nathan a solemn look as they walked into the entrance, obviously not fooled. “Stop worrying so much, Nathan.”
“Just have one more thing to do for this time loop,” Nathan smirked, a hand darting out and catching Jack’s uniform before he could back away. Jack swallowed, looking around warily, and Nathan gave him a moment to panic, as well as to attract the attention of every scientist in the forum.
“What are you…?” Jack hissed, his words trailing off when Nathan gave him a heated look, only a second’s warning before tugging the sheriff into a bruising kiss. To Jack’s credit, the hands on Nathan’s shoulders curled inward, forcing Nathan closer and giving as good as he got. It was reckless, Nathan supposed, when one of them might mange to keep time linear, but he doubted it enough to take the risk.
“Holy hell that’s hot,” Nathan heard a woman mutter and finally broke the kiss, leaving a rather dumbfounded Jack staring at him.
“I think you broke him,” Allison observed wryly, sliding up before Nathan could treat her to the same reeling in and kissing him softly though no less passionately. Nathan, still feeling an inkling to play a little, wrapped an arm around her and dipped her back, making her laugh into the kiss, shaking her head as she stood back up straight. A moment later, she looked solemn again. “You be careful too, Nathan.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Nathan replied smartly, giving them a wink before he strode out, counting the number of open mouthed stares as he went. Reaching double digits before he reached the elevator, he considered his mission a success.
He reached the lab and came to a sudden crashing halt, shaking his head and silently making a mental note to work on a brain bleaching chemical for occasions like this, clearing his throat pointedly. Fargo sprang back from the young veterinarian, flushing bright red. “Uh, Dr. Stark,” he stammered, adjusting his glasses. “Uh, Dr. Fletcher mentioned something about a time loop.”
“Yes?” Nathan asked shortly, lifting an eyebrow expectantly.
“Well, so the clock probably can’t be turned on, just in case?” Fargo guessed, voice growing thinner and more nervous.
“No, it can’t,” Nathan ground out, looking at Fargo darkly.
“Can I…” Fargo hooked a thumb toward the door, and Nathan rolled his eyes upward, counting to five.
“You and your girlfriend get lost,” he growled, sitting down to begin dismantling his project to look for signs of sabotage. “Come back at 8,” he added, knowing it was well outside the time loop and enjoying the little irony in ordering Fargo away for that long.
“Yes sir,” Fargo agreed eagerly, dropping his work and practically fleeing with Dr. Fletcher.
“Idiot hormonal teens,” Nathan sniffed, choosing to ignore his own display of affection down in the forum. He sealed off the lab, adding extra protection to keep it in total lockdown till 8pm, then began dismantling the clock.
*-*
“Need a minute?” Allison teased Jack, who nodded emphatically, making her laugh. “You know, we could put on our own show, Sheriff,” she teased, raking her nails down his arm, which spurred Jack back into movement, taking her hand and tugging her out of the atrium where scientists were starting to whisper suspiciously.
“We’re supposed to keep a low profile if we’re going to be tailing someone,” Jack remarked, rolling his eyes.
“And I know where we can do it,” Allison replied, leading Jack down a small side corridor, a few quick taps on a keypad admitting them to the security room. “Pull up a feed of Director Thorne,” she ordered the GD officer on duty, and Jack nodded when the man looked at him for confirmation.
“I believe she’s on her way out for the evening, Dr. Blake,” the man said, showing her the feed. Thorne was in the garage elevator, which earned a grin from Jack.
“Excellent, your car is still surface level,” Jack told her. “We can catch her at the gate and tail her from there.”
“Sheriff, may I inquire…” the security officer started to ask, and Jack nodded.
“Uh, listen, if we’re not back by 8pm, you need to contact the General, tell him there was a security breach,” Jack told him, and Allison lifted an eyebrow, looking impressed at the quick lie.
“All right, why 8pm?” she asked as they headed back to the exit.
“Well, we know time looped well before then,” Jack explained, grinning. “Figured it was safe to tell him to call at 8, since it doesn’t seem likely there will be an 8pm.”
“Sounds like something Nathan would have come up with,” Allison remarked dryly. “I can only live with one of each of you, so don’t start turning into him.”
“God, there’s an awful idea,” Jack replied dryly. Allison unlocked the car, handing the keys to him, shrugging.
“You probably know more about tailing than I do, but put so much as a scratch on her…” Allison threatened.
“Got it,” Jack replied. He let the car idle, holding in place till Thorne passed through the gate, then followed. He kept his distance, fairly certain Thorne wouldn’t spot them, frowning as she headed out toward an empty stretch of fields. “Where is she going?”
“There aren’t any labs out here as far as I know,” Allison replied, and Jack slowed behind a ridge, seeing that Thorne had stopped her car. He looked at her skeptically, then out at the muddy field. “Hang on,” she muttered, pulling a bag from the back seat. “Gym clothes,” she said triumphantly.
She gave Jack a look, and he laughed. “What, you want me to turn my back?” he asked, and she flushed, dropping her head.
“No, I just find it distracting,” she replied, smiling up at him. “Stripping in front of you.”
“Okay, when you put it that way,” Jack felt his own face heat and turned his head. “This, uh, probably shouldn’t be turning us on you know.”
“Far too late to stop that,” she joked, laughing. “Nathan freaks out when we head into danger, and it turns us on. There’s a problem.”
“If you hadn’t noticed, everything about you turns me on,” Jack replied dryly.
“Hmm, remind me to take you up on that innuendo later,” Allison said tugging Jack into a kiss, lingering for a moment, then nodding that she was ready to go.
“Stay behind me, just in case,” Jack told her, as they crept down the hill, sliding into the tree cover, taking a moment to watch Thorne spread out some diagrams and pull a black metal device from her bag. “Think that’s how she’s doing it?” Jack whispered in Allison’s ear, and she shrugged.
“It doesn’t look sophisticated enough for that, but she’s definitely up to something shady,” Allison hissed back. “This is where Henry found those traces of baryogenic radiation.”
“All right, it’s a time loop, let’s get info,” Jack suggested, unholstering his gun. Allison smiled, and pulled hers as well, nodding when he signaled that he would approach, while she stayed back further and covered him.
“Ms. Thorne,” Jack said in a warning tone, motioning for her to back away. She looked like she might argue, but Allison stepped up, leveling her weapon as she did.
“Quite the hunting party,” Thorne remarked, setting the device down on the table. “It’s perfectly harmless, Sheriff, I assure you.”
Jack backed Thorne up a little further, nodding to Allison, who quickly holstered her gun and inspected it, activating it easily. “She’s running a survey of the terrain,” Allison said, bewildered. “There’s some sort of facility underground here. Eva, what are you looking for?”
“Source of that barry-whatever radiation?” Jack interrupted before Thorne could answer, and Allison shrugged.
“I can’t tell,” she admitted. “Definitely nothing to do with our time loop though.”
“Time is looping?” Thorne demanded, looking alarmed. “That could break down our universe.”
“Yeah, been there, got that lecture already,” Jack snarked, but it ended on a half hearted note as a loud crackling of energy high in the sky caught their attention. As Jack watched, it began to expand in their direction. Reflexively, he dove for Allison, covering her body with his, trying to protect her from the blast…
Jack came to in the shower, gasping. Nathan leaned back, looking up at Jack, and for a split second, Jack appreciated what an odd position that would be to return to every loop. “Nothing on my end,” he said instantly, slicking his hair back from his face. “No sabotage, and the clock stayed offline the entire time.”
“We found out there’s an underground facility out in that field where Henry found the weird radiation,” Jack shrugged, leaning against the wall, letting water pour over his head. “Thorne was surveying the place. But Allison checked her gear, no time looping doodads.”
“We’ve blown all our theories,” Nathan observed, sighing. “Next step, Sheriff?”
“We need to try and go through the day as close to the first time as possible,” Jack decided, thinking carefully. “Find what’s different or making us be the ones to loop or… whoa!”
Nathan had leaned in and taken Jack’s cock into his mouth, teasing him to hardness again. “Staying close to events,” he murmured, and Jack groaned, shaking his head.
“Up,” he tugged on Nathan’s shoulder, pulling the scientist into a fierce kiss, rubbing against him as he did. “Doubt changing this changes the day, and you earned it yesterday,” he mumbled, fumbling for a bottle of oil in a cubby, which he was pretty certain Nathan had left there last time they’d been at the bunker, slick oil spilling all over his fingers as Nathan rubbed against him distractingly. He managed to get a hand down to tease at Nathan’s entrance, taking control back. Nathan obligingly turned and braced his arms against the wall, letting Jack stretch him quickly, before sliding his erection home.
Nathan groaned, and Jack nipped at his shoulder warningly. “Watch the noise level, my daughter’s home,” Jack reminded him as he began thrusting into Nathan, gripping Nathan’s hips tightly.
“I turned the privacy mode on before I came in, you know, ages ago,” Nathan managed to gasp, shoving back to meet Jack’s thrusts, sounding just as desperate and needy as Jack felt. “God, Jack, harder.”
Jack felt out of control as he continued to move, Nathan making small noises of contentment which only made Jack want more. He reached around, pumping Nathan in time with the movement of his hips. “Jack!” Nathan cried out as he came, shuddering around Jack and driving him over the edge as well. Jack made sure to loop an arm around Nathan, making sure they were leaning against each other, slowly kissing and touching as they finished washing up, the earlier frenetic energy replaced with a deeper need to reassure each other they had each other’s support.
“Love you,” Jack murmured, kissing Nathan one last time as he shut off the water.
“I love you too,” Nathan replied, raising an eyebrow. “Is this your version of the panicking I did yesterday?”
“Oh yeah,” Jack admitted, smiling when Nathan cupped his face gently. “Sorry if I pushed you too hard.”
“I needed it just as badly,” Nathan admitted, sighing. “Now we have to go be awkward and explain threesome dynamics to your daughter.”
“Couldn’t we have rewound to before she caught us?” Jack complained before he headed to get dressed.
*-*
“We’re almost back to the clock,” Jack observed quietly as they headed up to the atrium, pausing as Thorne was slapped. “Isn’t there someone at GD who is the time guy? I mean, you’ve got a poop guy, an algae guy, a… what did I say?”
Nathan had an epiphany look, and shook his head, striding to the elevator. “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?” he swore, rolling his eyes. “Weinbrenner.”
“The guy we’re going to see?” Jack asked, puzzled. “I thought you said he was maintenance.”
“Yeah, time maintenance,” Nathan groaned. “Remember that odd light when we were down there the first time?”
“Probably started an unscheduled experiment when he found out he was being redacted,” Jack deduced.
They strode into the lab, and Jack nodded knowingly at the sight of a small scientist scribbling formulas on white boards. “I think we’re in the right place,” he announced, and Nathan nodded, looking amazed as he approached the white board.
“Uh, D-dr. Stark, Sheriff C-carter,” Weinbrenner stammered wide eyed as Nathan pushed past him to the white boards. “Uh, can I help you?”
“Your particle acceleration created a time loop, as I’m sure you know,” Nathan snapped at him, examining the board as he did. Jack watched as Nathan’s frown deepened. “How were you planning to undo this?” he demanded.
“Well, I hadn’t exactly figured out the way to reverse it,” Weinbrenner admitted, holding up his hands when he saw the looks on the other men’s faces. “I was going to be redacted! I needed to prove my theories, and I think I’m close to figuring out how to reverse it!”
“Okay, first of all, how did we get stuck in this loop with you?” Jack demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose while Weinbrenner rattled off information about ultra-indigo, which was the type of light they had been exposed to, which had brought them into the time loop. The demonstration was cool, but it all meant very little to Jack, who’d lost Weinbrenner’s explanation when it started to involved light speed equations. He looked over at Nathan, unspoken question in his eyes, and Nathan nodded, obviously understanding Weinbrenner’s project.
“Okay, based on your calculations, we’ve got at least two more stable loops after this one before the universe collapses in on itself. How were you planning to fix it?” Nathan asked, marker already in hand and at the white board making notations, and Jack sat back as Weinbrenner showed him a clock and the plans for reacceleration of a particle. “This clock isn’t nearly accurate enough for what you’re proposing,” Nathan dismissed it, frowning. “Not to mention you’d have to manually control the timer and being in there with the particle would probably kill you.”
“Bad plan,” Jack burst out, shaking his head glad he finally understood something they were talking about. “So what you need is a more accurate clock?”
Nathan stared at Jack, a smile creeping up on his face. “Brilliant,” he said, before remembering to smirk. “Jack, sometimes you’re smarter than you look. Let’s go find Fargo and take the delivery of my clock.”
*-*
Fargo helped Nathan install the clock, with Weinbrenner furtively offering suggestions. That ended quickly when Nathan threatened to have Jack arrest the man for illegal experiments.
“Okay, I’ve done what I can on short notice to shore up the vacuum seal, but it’s really not meant for this kind of use,” Fargo told them, looking nervously at the clock, reading less than five minutes till 6.
“All right, Fargo, start her up,” Nathan said, standing back, tugging Jack a step further away as he did. “If the seal holds, accelerate the photon and we can end this nightmare, get time back to normal.”
“That’s what a good plan sounds like,” Jack remarked to Weinbrenner, rolling his eyes.
“Okay, here we go,” Fargo said needlessly, as Jack could hear the sound of the acceleration inside the vacuum. He watched, the clock ticking toward 6, when the seal buckled. Nathan’s head fell, looking resigned.
“We’ve lost the seal,” Fargo’s panic was clear. “We can’t sync the clock! What are we going to do?”
“We can sync it manually,” Nathan said, looking over at Jack.
“In two more loops,” Jack replied angrily. “Don’t you dare think about it, Nathan!”
“Look, Jack, we need to end this, and if—”
“No!” Jack shouted, slamming his hand down. “Not you! And not you,” he said a second time, pointing at Fargo as he opened his mouth. “We have more shots at this, and we’re not sacrificing anyone yet.”
“Jack, there’s no better solution!” Nathan objected, and Jack blocked his way, catching sight of the clock as he did—forty seconds remaining.
“Fargo, are there other ways to shore up the seal? Or a stronger vacuum seal we could use?” Jack asked, shoving Nathan back as he asked.
“Yeah, we could try the vacuum seal for dangerous microbes in section four,” Fargo replied, nodding. “It might work, it’s a little stronger.”
“And if not, you show me how to do it,” Jack continued, glaring at Nathan.
“I can’t teach you this,” Nathan shot back at him, glaring icily.
“My job to protect the town, not yours!” Jack retorted folding his arms. The clock hit 6 o’clock.
Jack shoved Nathan back away from him, surprised when the other man was on his feet rather gracefully and grabbed hold of him, shoving him into the wall of the shower. “Dammit, Jack!” he cursed, but he stopped, simply staring at Jack, wide eyed and breathing hard. He sighed, stepping back, looking shocked. Jack let him go, following him out of the shower, but neither spoke. Jack sat down on the bed, watching Nathan dress, then the scientist turned back, looking concerned.
Jack waited, but Nathan turned and left, heading down the stairs. He could hear the rumble of voices, and a few minutes later, Allison appeared at the top of the stairs. “Jack?” she asked softly, crouching down to bring herself to eye level with him.
“He almost killed himself,” Jack told her, shaking his head. “Didn’t think twice about risking himself.”
“Hard being on the other side of it, isn’t it?” Allison asked, a little sympathy in her voice. Jack looked up at her blankly. “Jack, you put yourself in danger all the time. Nathan reacted to the situation he was given, and even worse, he reacted like you would. He’s downstairs wondering what the hell is wrong with him, not thinking it through enough or having enough patience to wait another loop.”
“I don’t know what just happened,” Jack muttered, ruffling his hair in frustration.
“Your protective urges were bound to clash sooner or later,” Allison told him, sliding a hand along his face gently. “But, Jack, he may have to do this. Don’t let him walk into it with you angry at him.”
“Okay,” Jack agreed, sighing and tugging her into a hug. “God, you know you’re a saint, putting up with the pair of us.”
“Just don’t let him do it this loop,” Allison said darkly, giving him a knowing look. “Protect him, but if you have to next time, let him do what he has to do.”
“Okay,” Jack agreed, nodding and carefully composing himself. “Nathan talking with Zoë?”
“Yeah, explaining photon acceleration and time physics to her, while I got stuck with how three people sleep in one bed,” Allison replied dryly, and Jack chuckled.
They headed downstairs, Jack pausing and looking over at Nathan, who trailed off in his explanation to Zoë, eyes fixed on Jack. Jack stepped in closer, and Nathan reached out and pulled him the rest of the way. “I’m sorry,” Nathan whispered, stroking Jack’s hair, holding him tightly.
“Apology accepted,” Jack replied, gripping Nathan’s face between his hands. “I get it, Nathan, I do. You may have to save the town, and maybe I can’t do it this time,” he said fiercely. “But you don’t do it until you absolutely have to, even if it means some risk to me.”
“Or me,” Allison added quietly, her dark eyes flashing when Nathan gave her a pained look. “Don’t even try it, Nathan, you were out of line this time.”
“I know,” he agreed, looking over at Zoë, who was pursing her lips thoughtfully. “What’s up, kid?” he asked, and she grinned.
“I’ve got an idea about how to fix this,” she informed him, looking pleased with herself. Nathan looked over at Jack, who shrugged, looking just as amused. “You just have to get Lucas and my physics teacher to give us an A.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 06:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 06:56 am (UTC)Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading/reviewing!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 07:57 am (UTC)Let's hope you get over the block and get the next chapter out soon. You've got me on the edge of my seat! ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 06:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 12:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 06:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-07 10:40 pm (UTC)Looking forward to more and good luck with the writer's block.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 06:46 pm (UTC)Glad you enjoyed it, and hopefully will be more before too long!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-08 03:27 am (UTC)Sorry that Thorne didn't get her slap-with-an-audience, though....
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 06:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 04:30 pm (UTC)Also, you'd better not end this like TPTB did. If you do, there will be trouble.
Threats aside, this was love. Update soon, s'il vous plait!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 06:51 pm (UTC)*whistles innocently* Hey, I stand by the fact that people will die. Permanently? No comment. Nathan? No comment? One of the five from that promo we all angsted over for a week? Yeah. *ducks flying objects*
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading/reviewing!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-09 07:01 pm (UTC)*throttles air*
I won't kill you 'cause you write good fic. But you can't leave me hanging like that! Pleeeease?
Damnit. *pouts*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-11 11:01 am (UTC)*coughs* sorry, it's just I've been hunting high and low for a story where Jack takes Nathan.
I'm so happy ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-11 05:34 pm (UTC)Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading & reviewing!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-25 12:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-25 02:33 am (UTC)