Chapter Text
Jack held the test results, torn between wanting to know and wanting to forget the whole thing. All things considered, it didn't really matter what the test showed - he'd wanted the results just to satisfy his own curiosity.
Sue sat on the couch in Jack's apartment, watching him wrestle with himself but said nothing. Despite what he'd said in Toronto, she wasn't nearly as involved as he was. William was his twin regardless of the generations between them. The DNA test results would affect him more than they would her. Finally, Jack let out a breath and opened the envelope. He read the results twice before it sank in. "Jack?" she asked softly.
"A ninety nine point nine percent match," Jack said, his hands shaking a little as he handed the paper to Sue. "For all intents and purposes, William and I are the same person...even though we can't be."
"Are you okay?" Sue asked.
"I don't know," Jack said, sounding a little lost. "I knew it would be a close match but this..." He scrubbed his face, more shaken by the results than he wanted to admit. He was Jack Hudson from Wisconsin, who'd played hockey until he was ten (and was the only boy in his class who had all his teeth when he graduated), who used to eat sardines with his dad, had an on again off again relationship with Allie. He was an FBI agent in good standing, had helped a deaf woman find her place on the team...and had fallen in love with her. But according to the test results, he was also William Murdoch, detective with the Toronto Constabulary, tinkerer, inventor and married to Julia Ogden...and lived almost a century earlier.
"Do you need some time?" Sue asked. When Jack nodded, she moved to stand but Jack gripped her arm, preventing her. "I'm sorry, Jack. If I hadn't..."
"No. Not your fault, Sue," Jack said. "I was just as curious as you were. And there's no way I could have expected...this." He gestured toward the report.
"What will you do?"
"Nothing," Jack said with a somewhat humorless laugh. "I'll have to keep the whole thing to myself - the...trips to Toronto, William and Julia...everything."
"Our little secret," Sue said. She smiled a little. "There are worse secrets to keep, I suppose...and you know you can talk to me...about anything."
"At least I know I"m not crazy...unless we both are," Jack said.
"True but I don't think we'd agree on so many details if we were," Sue said. "Where we were, when we were, who we were with, what their jobs were, where they lived..."
"Your kidnapping by James Gillies..." Jack paused. "Do you know why he took you?"
"He thought William and I were involved," Sue said. "I saw him telling Julia. I knew he wanted to put William through as much...emotional distress as possible and he thought he could use me to do it." She took his hand, smiling a little. "Great shot, by the way."
Jack shrugged a little. "Not something I haven't done before," he said. "I told William I could make sure it was the last time he did anything to them."
They sat for a few minutes, the silence between them comfortable then Sue asked, "You'll be okay?"
Jack sighed. "I think so," he said. "It'll just take me a while to come to terms with how close a match I am to someone who died decades before I was born."
"You can talk to me...whenever you need to," Sue said.
"Still haven't found your handkerchief?" Julia asked, seeing William standing in the bedroom, looking thoughtful. "You didn't give it to some damsel in distress, did you?"
William sighed, his mouth quirked at Julia's teasing tone. "I would never give someone a bloody handkerchief, Julia," he said. Seeing her curiosity, he said, "I'd used it to staunch a cut I'd gotten while you were...a guest of Mr. Gillies."
Julia frowned. "You don't think they have it, do you?" she asked curiously.
"I don't see how," William said. "And why would they take it?"
"Sue mentioned something about a...DNA comparison both times they were here," Julia said. "I asked her about it and she explained they have a process that can match samples to determine paternity, identify unknown persons and even genetic disorders...and you and Jack do look remarkably alike..."
"Like twins," William said. "So your thought is if they have my handkerchief, they could use my blood and Jack's to see how alike we are using this process."
"It is," Julia said. "And I'll admit I'm more than a little curious about what the result would be. Aren't you?"
"I am," William said. "But unfortunately, we won't find out unless they visit again."
"And do you think they will?"
"They could, I suppose," William said. "I wouldn't mind if they did."
"William? Julia?"
Exchanging a puzzled frown, William and Julia emerged from the bedroom, surprised to find Jack looking a bit hesitant. "Jack?"
"Sorry to...drop in like this," Jack said.
"You should know the two of you are always welcome," Julia said. "And Sue?"
"She's...not here," Jack said. He reached into his jacket pocket, withdrawing an envelope. "Open it," he said, handing it to William.
Curiously, William opened the envelope, aware that Jack looked a bit tense. He frowned as he read the contents. "What is this?" he asked.
"The results of the DNA test I had done," Jack said. "I got yours from that handkerchief...when Julia was taken."
"But what does it mean?" Julia asked.
"Like I told Sue, it means that William and I are basically the same person," Jack said. "Only one tenth of one percent of our DNA doesn't match."
"But...that's impossible," William said.
"What about this whole situation is possible?" Jack asked, unable to keep the amusement from his voice.
"Point taken," William said.
Jack sighed. "I'll admit that I had something of an...existential crisis when I got the results," he said. "Finding out I'm such a close genetic match to someone long dead...at least from my end."
"And how are you feeling now?" Julia asked.
Jack was quiet for a moment then said, "I've accepted the impossibility of this whole...experience, I can accept the impossibility of being a genetic twin to someone I never should have met." He smiled a little. "I'll be fine, Julia," he said. "I have Sue to talk to. She's been a great help." He looked around then said, "We visited the house not too long ago. It was the same as it is now."
"Nothing was changed," William asked.
"Just one thing," Jack said. "Your cooking room was turned into a closet."
"Why?" Julia asked.
"Because microwave ovens have gotten a lot smaller," Jack said. "Small enough to sit on a countertop." He debated whether to tell them the house had stayed in their family but decided not to since Julia showed no signs of being pregnant. He and Sue had done a little research and found that Tara Newsome was their descendant through Susannah, not Harry. He let out a breath then said, "I think I hear my cue to leave. Take care."
"You as well," William said. "And please, give our regards to Sue."
Jack opened his eyes, seeing the familiar walls of his bedroom and looked beside him to see Sue.
"Where did you go?" Sue asked softly.
"Toronto," Jack said. "I told William and Julia about the test results."
"And how did they take it?"
"Okay but that could be because they don't really understand it," Jack said. "Although I think Julia might. She is a doctor after all." He laughed softly, causing Sue to look at him curiously. "I just realized we talk about them in the present tense," he said.
Sue smiled. "Maybe because we can't think of them as being gone," she said.
Jack was quiet for a minute then asked, "How did you know I was gone? Was I...not here?"
"You were here, just..." She paused, trying to think of how to explain it. "You seemed...empty..."
Though her explanation was vague, Jack knew what she meant. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm back where I want to be. Here, with you," he said.
"You know, I think Lucy suspects," Sue said. "She told me I seem...happier, more upbeat."
"And are you?"
"I am," Sue said. "I've also seen Bobby talking to Myles, commenting about how you seem more...relaxed." She leaned over and captured his mouth, sighing contentedly when she felt his arms go around her.
Jack pulled back, tracing her features with his eyes before claiming her mouth as he laid her back. Though he'd enjoyed his time in Toronto, he admitted he much preferred Washington in the here and now, with Sue.