Fic: Set Piece (3/5?)
Title: Set Piece
Authors: Gillian Taylor (dark_aegis)
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Jack Harkness, cameo by Jackie Tyler
Spoilers: Sequel to The Greatest of These (Link goes to the last chapter, previous chapters are linked at the top of the post)
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just having fun with them
Summary: Accidents tend to come in threes when travelling with the Doctor. Once, she met him. The second time she lost, then regained him. This time, though she's separated from him, she gains something else - a stranger, who becomes a friend.
Author's Notes: Written for wendymr and the Shadow Proclamation who won me in the September Support Stacie auction. They asked for the sequel to The Greatest of These. With many thanks to yamx and kae_nine for their invaluable betaing services and general awesomeness.
Chapter 1: Recovery | Chapter 2: A Different World
Chapter 3: Time-Locked
It'd been at least two weeks since she and Jack had ended up in Enduin, one of the largest cities on this side of Seraph. People were panicking in the streets and there'd been at least three riots while they'd been here. Jack had actually insisted that she stay at the hostel he'd found for them while he went out for supplies. She was fully aware of just how much she was relying on him. The local language was a complete mystery to her - it sounded like someone had a hacking cough and was trying to sing at the same time. She never would've been able to get as far as she had without him. It seemed silly, really. Here she was, trusting a complete stranger. Then again, she'd done it before and it had led her to the Doctor - both times. Could she truly ignore her instincts?
She sighed and sat on the bed, staring at her hands. It'd be so easy to give in to despair. The Doctor wasn't coming - couldn't come, from what Jack had said. She just had to rely on herself, again. It was that prison planet all over again; only this time she knew the Doctor was alive. What was he doing? Was he trying to get back to her? Could he? Or had he moved on without her? Two weeks was a long time. Maybe he thought she was dead.
A hot tear splashed onto her hand, quickly followed by another and another until she was sobbing. She couldn't do this again. To have him back for such a short time, and now not be able to see him ever again. What about her mum? What was the Doctor going to tell her? 'Sorry, I seem to have lost your daughter?'
She buried her face in her hands, trying to shut out the sight of the room, the planet, and everything. She missed the Doctor. She hadn't been able to sleep properly without him. She just longed to have his arms wrapped around her, listen to the beating of his hearts.
The bed sank as someone sat beside her and an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Rose?" Jack asked.
She sighed and leaned against him, accepting the comfort he was offering. It was actually rather surprising, but she'd found herself rather liking Jack Harkness. He was a flirt - okay, a big flirt - but he had a heart of gold. She thought she would've gone mad without him. Hell, she probably would've done, and wandered about lost in the wilderness since she'd no clue as to where the nearest city was. "'M all right," she mumbled, trying to stop the flood of tears.
"Liar," he replied. "If you want, I've got enough supplies for us to set off somewhere else. See if something's different in another location."
She knew what he was offering. While it sounded good in theory, she already knew that things were the same across Seraph. She'd watched the local equivalent of the news. While she couldn't understand the newscasters, she could and did understand the meaning of the circle with a slash through it over something that looked like a spaceship. She'd also understood that the riots were getting worse across the planet. "You know it isn't," she said. Her tears slowly stopped, but she didn't bother trying to extract herself from his arms. He was the only friend she had here, and she needed him.
"Yeah, it isn't," he said with a sigh.
There had to be something they could do. Something to sort this. She refused to believe that this was going to be how the rest of her life would go. Stuck on one planet, doing nothing but wait in their room while Jack went off to get supplies. It was too close to being domestic for her.
"D'you know what happened to the device?" she asked. "The one that caused all of this?"
She could feel him giving her a look, even though she didn't turn he head to look at him. "Yeah, I do. I've got it."
She frowned. "Why d'you have it?"
He sighed again and let her go so he could stand. When he started to pace, she began to get worried.
"What?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
He stopped his pacing to lean against the wall across from her, but he didn't meet her gaze, instead staring at the floor. "I've not been…entirely truthful."
Now she really was worried. "How d'you mean?"
"When you've been around people who lie for most of your life, people who would sooner rip away two years of your life than look at you or tell you what you did wrong, you don't tend to trust easily. I've done you an injustice, Rose, and I'm sorry."
"Just spit it out, would you?" She didn't want to spend a lifetime dancing around whatever he was worried about. She needed him, and she thought he might need her too.
"It's my fault," he said.
"Your fault. What, you mean being stuck here?"
"And you losing your Doctor," he replied. "Well, I indirectly caused it, but it's about time I admitted it. Rose, I'm a conman."
She wanted to laugh at him. That wasn't possible, was it? No. He couldn't be. She couldn't've been that wrong about him. "You're a conman." The statement was coated with disbelief.
"Yes. I am. I'd brought that device here to sell it. Trying to get back at the Time Agency for what they'd done to me."
"But it backfired." She didn't want to believe it, but she could see the shame in the way he held himself and in the way he met her gaze.
Jack barked out a laugh. "You could say that. I didn't know what it was, Rose. I really didn't. I thought it was a harmless artefact from some long dead species. I never would've done it if I'd known."
She frowned. "And now? Do you regret it?" It was a stupid question. Of course he did. At least, she believed he did.
"Yes." His blue eyes were sincere. He ran a hand through his hair and, for the briefest of moments, she was reminded of the Doctor. "I wish I could take it back now."
"So what happened with this con? Exactly?"
"I offered the device to another Time Agent, a man I used to know very well. I pretended it had great power, and that I could only trust the Agency with it. He believed me, only he insisted on a trial first. He managed to trigger it and escape before the effects became, well, what you see around you," Jack explained.
"Why didn't you try triggering it again?" she asked. "See if it'd reverse itself? Or try flipping a switch or something to see if you could get rid of whatever this is?"
His eyes widened as he looked at her and she realised that must've never occurred to him. "I didn't…"
"You were too busy blamin' yourself, yeah?" she asked. She shook her head. "Jack, I know you. Sure, you might be a conman, an' I might only have known you for a few weeks, but I think I've got your measure. You're a good man. You might've done something stupid, but believe me, I've done my own share of stupid things." Like trying to save her father, for one thing. There were thousands of other examples, both big and small, but that was always the one that came to mind first. "So bring it out. Maybe we can see if we can reverse it."
He reached into his pocket and withdrew something that looked like a hardcover novel. Or would do if it weren't for the switches and knobs adorning it. When he placed it in her hands, she focused immediately on the strangely familiar swirls that adorned the device. Wait. She knew those swirls. She traced those swirls with one finger and frowned. "I recognise this. At least, I think I do."
"What?" he asked.
"Yeah. I told you the Doctor's an alien. These swirls, I've seen them on our ship. I mean, it's his language. And this one -" She tapped the symbol that looked like the infinity symbol surrounded by several circles and curls. "- I've seen it in his bedroom."
Admittedly, it was only the once that she actually slept there with him. It was rather cleverly hidden on the ceiling, and not in a place where she'd normally notice it.
"Should I be jealous?" Jack asked as sat down beside her.
She laughed. "Maybe. Thing is, I think this is Time Lord technology."
Jack gasped and she turned to look at him curiously. "What? What'd I say?"
"Time Lords. They're a myth."
A snort escaped her as she shook her head. "No, they're not. I've met one. Travelled with him for a bit, too. In his TARDIS. Through time and space. Two hearts, brilliant mind - " Great hair, great body, and dozens of other words that she didn't see fit to share with Jack.
"Your Doctor is a Time Lord." Jack shook his head in pure disbelief. "He could be a charlatan."
She laughed softly. "This coming from a conman?"
He barked out a laugh. "Touché. Still doesn't mean your Doctor wasn't lying."
He couldn't've been. She believed the Doctor. Believed him, and in him. She'd know if he was lying. Instead of dignifying that comment with a response, she returned her attention to the device. Some of these symbols were more familiar than others. One of them she was certain was above the control the Doctor had called 'the fast return switch' or something like that. "How can we know, though, Jack? What if I hit something and it makes this worse?"
Jack's expression turned grim. "I didn't tell you earlier, but the Seraphians depend on certain supplies that come from off-world. If those supplies don't come in, the Seraphians will die. Five years from now, depending on their internal stores, there won't be any Seraphians left."
Oh god. "So nothing can get much worse than this, huh?" She wanted the Doctor now more than ever. Still. This was something she could do. If there was a chance, however small it might be, she had to take it.
She looked at Jack for a moment, and bit her lip. Decided, she rested her hand on the switch just below the symbol she thought she recognised. She triggered it and a moment later, she found herself suffering through vertigo and nausea that was a thousand times worse than what she'd felt the first time.
Before the vertigo and nausea stole any semblance of her sanity away from her, she had a moment of fear. What if she'd made the wrong choice?
The Doctor was about ready to throw something. Hard. He didn't much care what it ended up being, so long as he could express his frustration in some way. He'd already tried flipping switches and twisting knobs hard enough that the TARDIS had protested. He'd even tried cursing in every language he knew - and it was an impressive list, considering. Nothing helped. Nothing worked.
No matter what he tried, the results remained the same. That was the problem with time-locks. They were too well designed for anyone, even a Time Lord, to break. Last time, he'd done it on purpose, sealing off the events of the Time War so he'd never be tempted to try to meddle, to change things for the metaphorical better. Rassilon knew how much he'd been tempted.
Sometimes, he still was. Only because he wanted to show Rose Gallifrey, to walk with her in the mountains and amongst the silver-leaved trees. He closed his eyes and sighed. He'd lost her, just like Gallifrey, just like everything else he'd ever…
He shook himself and returned his attention to the controls. He needed to talk to Jackie. He couldn't put it off any longer. Rose was gone.
The TARDIS's hum deepened in sorrow, echoing his own emotions. She, too, would mourn Rose's loss and he stroked the console for a long moment. He began to set the controls, deciding to arrive in London at least a week after their last visit. He wanted to let Jackie have a short amount of time secure in the knowledge that her daughter was out there, safe. Even though that was nothing more than a lie.
He blinked away a film of tears from his eyes as he reached for the dematerialisation switch. That was when the screen started flashing, a new alert written across it. According to this, the time-lock was fluctuating. He could get in.
He could get in!
"Yes!" he exclaimed and changed the coordinates as quickly as he could. He didn't know how long it'd last, but he had to try. He had to get to her.
The engines began to groan to life and he had to hold on tightly as the TARDIS shuddered around him. The time-lock was beginning to reassert itself. "Come on, come on, you can do it," he said, repeating the words in a litany of encouragement. With a particularly violent tremor, he was rocked loose from his grip, finding himself on his backside, stunned.
Hours - though he knew it was only seconds - later the TARDIS suddenly stilled. No engine sounds, not even a hum. He blinked his eyes, surprised to find that the emergency lighting had been activated. The TARDIS was still alive, thankfully, but she was hurting. He wouldn't be leaving this place - wherever it was - for some time yet.
"I'm sorry, old girl," he murmured as he shifted back to his feet. Though, in a way, he wouldn't be sorry at all if he was on Seraph.
He moved to the doors and swung them open, gaping a little at the sight before him. It was a city, but more than that, when he could hear someone speak, he knew it was Seraphian. He was on Seraph.
Ha! He was on Seraph! He grinned, stepping outside and pulling the doors shut behind him. Now the question was where would he be able to find Rose? For all he knew, he'd arrived over a hundred miles away from her. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the sonic screwdriver. Maybe he could scan for artron energy. He'd find a few other time travellers, of course. Place like Seraph tended to attract sightseers. But it was his only option at the moment.
He couldn't even use the TARDIS to narrow things down, at least not until she'd healed from their rather violent arrival. So the sonic screwdriver it was. He thumbed it on and began to scan, blinking when it registered a rather large spike in artron energy. After he determined the direction, he began to hurry that way. It might not be Rose, but it also might be her.
There were a few scuffling noises from somewhere behind him, but he ignored them in favour of focusing on the readings. This way. Large spike. Really large spike in readings. Made him think there might either be a rather large object or else several objects gathered close together for that sort of response from the sensor. Rose might be there. It'd make sense, wouldn't it? Source of artron energy. Rose. Maybe? He was good at fooling himself, after all. There was nothing he wanted more at this very moment than her, with him, in his arms. Hopefully, he'd get his wish. Soon.
Jack opened his eyes and winced as the light only made the headache that'd taken up residence in his skull worsen. Damnit. He was really getting tired of that. Well, that and the nausea. He could really do without the nausea.
Gingerly, he pushed himself back into a sitting position. He'd fallen backward, thankfully. If he hadn't, he'd be sporting a fine new set of bruises most likely. That was when he realised that Rose hadn't stirred. He shifted so he could look at her. Her face was alarmingly pale. "Rose, are you all right?" he asked, reaching out to touch her neck, relieved when he felt a strong pulse beneath his fingertips.
"Ow," she murmured and opened her eyes.
He smiled at her, relieved beyond telling that she was all right. "Careful. That must've hit you harder than it did me."
She grimaced as she started to rise, stopped only by the arm he realised belatedly was across her chest. She coloured rather noticeably and he withdrew his arm. What was wrong with him, though? He would've offered before, maybe lingered a while longer, let her know that he was interested. He was. Badly. But he couldn't. At least not right now. She was too vulnerable for that.
"What happened?" she asked. "I know the thing seemed to work. Felt like before, only a thousand times worse." She was staring at the device. Somehow, she'd managed to keep holding on to it while it was activated.
Now that he knew she was okay, he turned his attention to his vortex manipulator. He set it to scan and his eyes widened as the results came back almost immediately. The field of whatever it was that blocked Seraph from the rest of the universe had fluctuated. There'd been enough variation that had he been able to hold onto his consciousness, he would've been able to get them off Seraph.
It would've worked. "Rose, it worked!" he exclaimed grinning at her.
"You mean we can get off this planet?" she asked.
"You'll have to do it again. Whatever it is that's blocking the coordinate recognition on my vortex manipulator's back. But when you hit that button, there was enough fluctuation in that blocking field that I would've been able to get us off world. I can get you home." He was rather proud of himself for that. He could take her back to her home in twenty-first century London, if she liked.
"Or," he added, somewhat hesitantly, "you could come with me. Might be able to find your Doctor."
The smile she graced him with was sudden and brilliant. "I could come with you? Try to find the Doctor?"
He nodded. "You could."
She threw herself into his arms, making him laugh as she dropped the device onto the bed. "Thank you, Jack. Really. Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," he warned her. "Can't guarantee that I'll find your Time Lord." That was still rather boggling to him. A Time Lord. A real Time Lord.
"Doesn't matter," she insisted. "You're going to try. Thank you, Jack."
It seemed the most natural thing in the world to lean down and narrow the gap between them. To brush his lips across hers in a brief, yet somehow rather emotional kiss. "You're welcome," he said as he pulled away, releasing her from his embrace.
There was a question in her eyes, but it wasn't one he was ready to answer. He didn't know why he had kissed her. Not with the passion he was used to both dealing and receiving in his past, but with a tentativeness that was more appropriate for a first kiss. He sighed and looked away.
"So when d'you want to try again?" she asked.
He turned back to her in shock. She wanted him to kiss her again? No. No, she wasn't asking about that. She was asking about the device. Jack considered. They could gather more supplies, but there was a limit to what they could carry with them. The vortex manipulator wasn't meant to take the place of a ship. It was meant as an emergency escape. He could take them somewhere he could get his hands onto a ship. He wasn't picky, so long as it had temporal drives.
He was about to make a suggestion when someone knocked on the door. Rose gave him a confused look as he stood and approached it. He'd paid enough to ensure that they'd be left alone here. He didn't want Rose endangered because of her lack of knowledge of the local customs or the local language.
Jack opened the door carefully, leaving barely enough gap for whoever was on the other side to see him. "Can I help you?" he asked.
The other man looked like a stiff breeze could blow him away. The suit looked good on him, the trench coat even better. The man smiled at him somewhat hesitantly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, yes. Might sound a bit strange, mind, but you wouldn't happen to have any sources of ar-"
Jack suddenly found himself shoved out of the way by a blonde blur. "Doctor!" Rose exclaimed as she slammed into the other man, wrapping arms and legs around him. Her body was shaking - tears? And there was some laughter, too, as they exchanged words in voices too low for him to hear. From what he could see of the other man's face, there was happiness there, and relief. Echoing emotions from what he could see of Rose.
So this was the Doctor.
There went his plans for himself and Rose. He didn't have to search for the bloke, the apparent Time Lord was right here. So that was it, then. It'd been obvious before that they were a couple given how Rose talked about him. He had principles. He shouldn't've gone and done it, but he had. He'd started caring for someone other than himself.
Jack sighed. He was a fool three times over. First for bringing the device here. Second for trusting John with the damned thing. Third for allowing himself to care. Slowly, he turned, leaving the two to their reunion.
Best if he got it over with anyway. He'd trigger the device and leave. He hated goodbyes.
***
Chapter 4: Mob Mentality
x-posted to: time_and_chips, betterwiththree & dark_aegis
Authors: Gillian Taylor (dark_aegis)
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Jack Harkness, cameo by Jackie Tyler
Spoilers: Sequel to The Greatest of These (Link goes to the last chapter, previous chapters are linked at the top of the post)
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just having fun with them
Summary: Accidents tend to come in threes when travelling with the Doctor. Once, she met him. The second time she lost, then regained him. This time, though she's separated from him, she gains something else - a stranger, who becomes a friend.
Author's Notes: Written for wendymr and the Shadow Proclamation who won me in the September Support Stacie auction. They asked for the sequel to The Greatest of These. With many thanks to yamx and kae_nine for their invaluable betaing services and general awesomeness.
Chapter 1: Recovery | Chapter 2: A Different World
Chapter 3: Time-Locked
It'd been at least two weeks since she and Jack had ended up in Enduin, one of the largest cities on this side of Seraph. People were panicking in the streets and there'd been at least three riots while they'd been here. Jack had actually insisted that she stay at the hostel he'd found for them while he went out for supplies. She was fully aware of just how much she was relying on him. The local language was a complete mystery to her - it sounded like someone had a hacking cough and was trying to sing at the same time. She never would've been able to get as far as she had without him. It seemed silly, really. Here she was, trusting a complete stranger. Then again, she'd done it before and it had led her to the Doctor - both times. Could she truly ignore her instincts?
She sighed and sat on the bed, staring at her hands. It'd be so easy to give in to despair. The Doctor wasn't coming - couldn't come, from what Jack had said. She just had to rely on herself, again. It was that prison planet all over again; only this time she knew the Doctor was alive. What was he doing? Was he trying to get back to her? Could he? Or had he moved on without her? Two weeks was a long time. Maybe he thought she was dead.
A hot tear splashed onto her hand, quickly followed by another and another until she was sobbing. She couldn't do this again. To have him back for such a short time, and now not be able to see him ever again. What about her mum? What was the Doctor going to tell her? 'Sorry, I seem to have lost your daughter?'
She buried her face in her hands, trying to shut out the sight of the room, the planet, and everything. She missed the Doctor. She hadn't been able to sleep properly without him. She just longed to have his arms wrapped around her, listen to the beating of his hearts.
The bed sank as someone sat beside her and an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Rose?" Jack asked.
She sighed and leaned against him, accepting the comfort he was offering. It was actually rather surprising, but she'd found herself rather liking Jack Harkness. He was a flirt - okay, a big flirt - but he had a heart of gold. She thought she would've gone mad without him. Hell, she probably would've done, and wandered about lost in the wilderness since she'd no clue as to where the nearest city was. "'M all right," she mumbled, trying to stop the flood of tears.
"Liar," he replied. "If you want, I've got enough supplies for us to set off somewhere else. See if something's different in another location."
She knew what he was offering. While it sounded good in theory, she already knew that things were the same across Seraph. She'd watched the local equivalent of the news. While she couldn't understand the newscasters, she could and did understand the meaning of the circle with a slash through it over something that looked like a spaceship. She'd also understood that the riots were getting worse across the planet. "You know it isn't," she said. Her tears slowly stopped, but she didn't bother trying to extract herself from his arms. He was the only friend she had here, and she needed him.
"Yeah, it isn't," he said with a sigh.
There had to be something they could do. Something to sort this. She refused to believe that this was going to be how the rest of her life would go. Stuck on one planet, doing nothing but wait in their room while Jack went off to get supplies. It was too close to being domestic for her.
"D'you know what happened to the device?" she asked. "The one that caused all of this?"
She could feel him giving her a look, even though she didn't turn he head to look at him. "Yeah, I do. I've got it."
She frowned. "Why d'you have it?"
He sighed again and let her go so he could stand. When he started to pace, she began to get worried.
"What?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
He stopped his pacing to lean against the wall across from her, but he didn't meet her gaze, instead staring at the floor. "I've not been…entirely truthful."
Now she really was worried. "How d'you mean?"
"When you've been around people who lie for most of your life, people who would sooner rip away two years of your life than look at you or tell you what you did wrong, you don't tend to trust easily. I've done you an injustice, Rose, and I'm sorry."
"Just spit it out, would you?" She didn't want to spend a lifetime dancing around whatever he was worried about. She needed him, and she thought he might need her too.
"It's my fault," he said.
"Your fault. What, you mean being stuck here?"
"And you losing your Doctor," he replied. "Well, I indirectly caused it, but it's about time I admitted it. Rose, I'm a conman."
She wanted to laugh at him. That wasn't possible, was it? No. He couldn't be. She couldn't've been that wrong about him. "You're a conman." The statement was coated with disbelief.
"Yes. I am. I'd brought that device here to sell it. Trying to get back at the Time Agency for what they'd done to me."
"But it backfired." She didn't want to believe it, but she could see the shame in the way he held himself and in the way he met her gaze.
Jack barked out a laugh. "You could say that. I didn't know what it was, Rose. I really didn't. I thought it was a harmless artefact from some long dead species. I never would've done it if I'd known."
She frowned. "And now? Do you regret it?" It was a stupid question. Of course he did. At least, she believed he did.
"Yes." His blue eyes were sincere. He ran a hand through his hair and, for the briefest of moments, she was reminded of the Doctor. "I wish I could take it back now."
"So what happened with this con? Exactly?"
"I offered the device to another Time Agent, a man I used to know very well. I pretended it had great power, and that I could only trust the Agency with it. He believed me, only he insisted on a trial first. He managed to trigger it and escape before the effects became, well, what you see around you," Jack explained.
"Why didn't you try triggering it again?" she asked. "See if it'd reverse itself? Or try flipping a switch or something to see if you could get rid of whatever this is?"
His eyes widened as he looked at her and she realised that must've never occurred to him. "I didn't…"
"You were too busy blamin' yourself, yeah?" she asked. She shook her head. "Jack, I know you. Sure, you might be a conman, an' I might only have known you for a few weeks, but I think I've got your measure. You're a good man. You might've done something stupid, but believe me, I've done my own share of stupid things." Like trying to save her father, for one thing. There were thousands of other examples, both big and small, but that was always the one that came to mind first. "So bring it out. Maybe we can see if we can reverse it."
He reached into his pocket and withdrew something that looked like a hardcover novel. Or would do if it weren't for the switches and knobs adorning it. When he placed it in her hands, she focused immediately on the strangely familiar swirls that adorned the device. Wait. She knew those swirls. She traced those swirls with one finger and frowned. "I recognise this. At least, I think I do."
"What?" he asked.
"Yeah. I told you the Doctor's an alien. These swirls, I've seen them on our ship. I mean, it's his language. And this one -" She tapped the symbol that looked like the infinity symbol surrounded by several circles and curls. "- I've seen it in his bedroom."
Admittedly, it was only the once that she actually slept there with him. It was rather cleverly hidden on the ceiling, and not in a place where she'd normally notice it.
"Should I be jealous?" Jack asked as sat down beside her.
She laughed. "Maybe. Thing is, I think this is Time Lord technology."
Jack gasped and she turned to look at him curiously. "What? What'd I say?"
"Time Lords. They're a myth."
A snort escaped her as she shook her head. "No, they're not. I've met one. Travelled with him for a bit, too. In his TARDIS. Through time and space. Two hearts, brilliant mind - " Great hair, great body, and dozens of other words that she didn't see fit to share with Jack.
"Your Doctor is a Time Lord." Jack shook his head in pure disbelief. "He could be a charlatan."
She laughed softly. "This coming from a conman?"
He barked out a laugh. "Touché. Still doesn't mean your Doctor wasn't lying."
He couldn't've been. She believed the Doctor. Believed him, and in him. She'd know if he was lying. Instead of dignifying that comment with a response, she returned her attention to the device. Some of these symbols were more familiar than others. One of them she was certain was above the control the Doctor had called 'the fast return switch' or something like that. "How can we know, though, Jack? What if I hit something and it makes this worse?"
Jack's expression turned grim. "I didn't tell you earlier, but the Seraphians depend on certain supplies that come from off-world. If those supplies don't come in, the Seraphians will die. Five years from now, depending on their internal stores, there won't be any Seraphians left."
Oh god. "So nothing can get much worse than this, huh?" She wanted the Doctor now more than ever. Still. This was something she could do. If there was a chance, however small it might be, she had to take it.
She looked at Jack for a moment, and bit her lip. Decided, she rested her hand on the switch just below the symbol she thought she recognised. She triggered it and a moment later, she found herself suffering through vertigo and nausea that was a thousand times worse than what she'd felt the first time.
Before the vertigo and nausea stole any semblance of her sanity away from her, she had a moment of fear. What if she'd made the wrong choice?
The Doctor was about ready to throw something. Hard. He didn't much care what it ended up being, so long as he could express his frustration in some way. He'd already tried flipping switches and twisting knobs hard enough that the TARDIS had protested. He'd even tried cursing in every language he knew - and it was an impressive list, considering. Nothing helped. Nothing worked.
No matter what he tried, the results remained the same. That was the problem with time-locks. They were too well designed for anyone, even a Time Lord, to break. Last time, he'd done it on purpose, sealing off the events of the Time War so he'd never be tempted to try to meddle, to change things for the metaphorical better. Rassilon knew how much he'd been tempted.
Sometimes, he still was. Only because he wanted to show Rose Gallifrey, to walk with her in the mountains and amongst the silver-leaved trees. He closed his eyes and sighed. He'd lost her, just like Gallifrey, just like everything else he'd ever…
He shook himself and returned his attention to the controls. He needed to talk to Jackie. He couldn't put it off any longer. Rose was gone.
The TARDIS's hum deepened in sorrow, echoing his own emotions. She, too, would mourn Rose's loss and he stroked the console for a long moment. He began to set the controls, deciding to arrive in London at least a week after their last visit. He wanted to let Jackie have a short amount of time secure in the knowledge that her daughter was out there, safe. Even though that was nothing more than a lie.
He blinked away a film of tears from his eyes as he reached for the dematerialisation switch. That was when the screen started flashing, a new alert written across it. According to this, the time-lock was fluctuating. He could get in.
He could get in!
"Yes!" he exclaimed and changed the coordinates as quickly as he could. He didn't know how long it'd last, but he had to try. He had to get to her.
The engines began to groan to life and he had to hold on tightly as the TARDIS shuddered around him. The time-lock was beginning to reassert itself. "Come on, come on, you can do it," he said, repeating the words in a litany of encouragement. With a particularly violent tremor, he was rocked loose from his grip, finding himself on his backside, stunned.
Hours - though he knew it was only seconds - later the TARDIS suddenly stilled. No engine sounds, not even a hum. He blinked his eyes, surprised to find that the emergency lighting had been activated. The TARDIS was still alive, thankfully, but she was hurting. He wouldn't be leaving this place - wherever it was - for some time yet.
"I'm sorry, old girl," he murmured as he shifted back to his feet. Though, in a way, he wouldn't be sorry at all if he was on Seraph.
He moved to the doors and swung them open, gaping a little at the sight before him. It was a city, but more than that, when he could hear someone speak, he knew it was Seraphian. He was on Seraph.
Ha! He was on Seraph! He grinned, stepping outside and pulling the doors shut behind him. Now the question was where would he be able to find Rose? For all he knew, he'd arrived over a hundred miles away from her. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the sonic screwdriver. Maybe he could scan for artron energy. He'd find a few other time travellers, of course. Place like Seraph tended to attract sightseers. But it was his only option at the moment.
He couldn't even use the TARDIS to narrow things down, at least not until she'd healed from their rather violent arrival. So the sonic screwdriver it was. He thumbed it on and began to scan, blinking when it registered a rather large spike in artron energy. After he determined the direction, he began to hurry that way. It might not be Rose, but it also might be her.
There were a few scuffling noises from somewhere behind him, but he ignored them in favour of focusing on the readings. This way. Large spike. Really large spike in readings. Made him think there might either be a rather large object or else several objects gathered close together for that sort of response from the sensor. Rose might be there. It'd make sense, wouldn't it? Source of artron energy. Rose. Maybe? He was good at fooling himself, after all. There was nothing he wanted more at this very moment than her, with him, in his arms. Hopefully, he'd get his wish. Soon.
Jack opened his eyes and winced as the light only made the headache that'd taken up residence in his skull worsen. Damnit. He was really getting tired of that. Well, that and the nausea. He could really do without the nausea.
Gingerly, he pushed himself back into a sitting position. He'd fallen backward, thankfully. If he hadn't, he'd be sporting a fine new set of bruises most likely. That was when he realised that Rose hadn't stirred. He shifted so he could look at her. Her face was alarmingly pale. "Rose, are you all right?" he asked, reaching out to touch her neck, relieved when he felt a strong pulse beneath his fingertips.
"Ow," she murmured and opened her eyes.
He smiled at her, relieved beyond telling that she was all right. "Careful. That must've hit you harder than it did me."
She grimaced as she started to rise, stopped only by the arm he realised belatedly was across her chest. She coloured rather noticeably and he withdrew his arm. What was wrong with him, though? He would've offered before, maybe lingered a while longer, let her know that he was interested. He was. Badly. But he couldn't. At least not right now. She was too vulnerable for that.
"What happened?" she asked. "I know the thing seemed to work. Felt like before, only a thousand times worse." She was staring at the device. Somehow, she'd managed to keep holding on to it while it was activated.
Now that he knew she was okay, he turned his attention to his vortex manipulator. He set it to scan and his eyes widened as the results came back almost immediately. The field of whatever it was that blocked Seraph from the rest of the universe had fluctuated. There'd been enough variation that had he been able to hold onto his consciousness, he would've been able to get them off Seraph.
It would've worked. "Rose, it worked!" he exclaimed grinning at her.
"You mean we can get off this planet?" she asked.
"You'll have to do it again. Whatever it is that's blocking the coordinate recognition on my vortex manipulator's back. But when you hit that button, there was enough fluctuation in that blocking field that I would've been able to get us off world. I can get you home." He was rather proud of himself for that. He could take her back to her home in twenty-first century London, if she liked.
"Or," he added, somewhat hesitantly, "you could come with me. Might be able to find your Doctor."
The smile she graced him with was sudden and brilliant. "I could come with you? Try to find the Doctor?"
He nodded. "You could."
She threw herself into his arms, making him laugh as she dropped the device onto the bed. "Thank you, Jack. Really. Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," he warned her. "Can't guarantee that I'll find your Time Lord." That was still rather boggling to him. A Time Lord. A real Time Lord.
"Doesn't matter," she insisted. "You're going to try. Thank you, Jack."
It seemed the most natural thing in the world to lean down and narrow the gap between them. To brush his lips across hers in a brief, yet somehow rather emotional kiss. "You're welcome," he said as he pulled away, releasing her from his embrace.
There was a question in her eyes, but it wasn't one he was ready to answer. He didn't know why he had kissed her. Not with the passion he was used to both dealing and receiving in his past, but with a tentativeness that was more appropriate for a first kiss. He sighed and looked away.
"So when d'you want to try again?" she asked.
He turned back to her in shock. She wanted him to kiss her again? No. No, she wasn't asking about that. She was asking about the device. Jack considered. They could gather more supplies, but there was a limit to what they could carry with them. The vortex manipulator wasn't meant to take the place of a ship. It was meant as an emergency escape. He could take them somewhere he could get his hands onto a ship. He wasn't picky, so long as it had temporal drives.
He was about to make a suggestion when someone knocked on the door. Rose gave him a confused look as he stood and approached it. He'd paid enough to ensure that they'd be left alone here. He didn't want Rose endangered because of her lack of knowledge of the local customs or the local language.
Jack opened the door carefully, leaving barely enough gap for whoever was on the other side to see him. "Can I help you?" he asked.
The other man looked like a stiff breeze could blow him away. The suit looked good on him, the trench coat even better. The man smiled at him somewhat hesitantly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, yes. Might sound a bit strange, mind, but you wouldn't happen to have any sources of ar-"
Jack suddenly found himself shoved out of the way by a blonde blur. "Doctor!" Rose exclaimed as she slammed into the other man, wrapping arms and legs around him. Her body was shaking - tears? And there was some laughter, too, as they exchanged words in voices too low for him to hear. From what he could see of the other man's face, there was happiness there, and relief. Echoing emotions from what he could see of Rose.
So this was the Doctor.
There went his plans for himself and Rose. He didn't have to search for the bloke, the apparent Time Lord was right here. So that was it, then. It'd been obvious before that they were a couple given how Rose talked about him. He had principles. He shouldn't've gone and done it, but he had. He'd started caring for someone other than himself.
Jack sighed. He was a fool three times over. First for bringing the device here. Second for trusting John with the damned thing. Third for allowing himself to care. Slowly, he turned, leaving the two to their reunion.
Best if he got it over with anyway. He'd trigger the device and leave. He hated goodbyes.
***
Chapter 4: Mob Mentality
x-posted to: time_and_chips, betterwiththree & dark_aegis