[Doctor Who] "No One Deserves That" (PG)
Author's Note: Written for 
fic_promptly's Doctor Who, Ten/Rose with or without Jack, He figured they would never see him again, so the Doctor felt justified in never telling Rose what happened to Jack.
Tinkering with the TARDIS console before she set off again, and Rose had a million questions: having Jack in their midst -- along with a whole slew of people, the rest of the Family of Time -- had made her curious. And after seeing the cheeky rascal come back from being zapped by a Dalek only inflamed that curiosity.
"What is he, Doctor? It's just..." Rose stopped herself from saying "wrong" or "unnatural" or "weird". "Normal" only applied to the settings on the TARDIS washing machine on the best of days, when Jack got involved.
"Not right?" the Doctor asked, completing the sentence. "Well, not 'not right' in the moral sense, but in the physical -- and I mean *physics*-physical -- sense, something's happened to our Jack that shouldn't happen to anyone."
"No arguing that: can't begin to imagine how hard it must be, dying and coming back over and over again," Rose said.
The Doctor looked past her, his brown eyes thoughtful. "Not just that: it's not something that should happen to a sentient mind. No one's meant to become a fact, a fixed point in the fabric of space and time. We're all like... painting on cloth: we can fade or be washed away. Jack's embroidered into the fabric."
"Pretty fine embroidery," Rose noted, but she could not help feeling her heart sink a bit. "How did you know?"
"I knew it since we left the Games Station," the Doctor replied. "The TARDIS knew it: wouldn't let me go and fetch him, otherwise I'd've brought him with us."
"If the TARDIS knew it, why couldn't you bring him?" she asked.
The Doctor drew in a breath. "She's not fond of him: goes back to that 'not right'-ness. Met up with him once and she ran all the way to the end of the time and the universe trying to shake him off her back."
"Well, that was rude of her: she could've killed him, not that it'd stick, but still," Rose said, glaring at the console. Then she looked up to the Doctor. "So why didn't you tell me?" she asked.
"Didn't think I'd need to," the Doctor admitted. "I didn't think we'd ever see him again, the way she ran from him that very first time. Couldn't get her to turn back and fetch him: she wanted to take you home to your mother."
"Should've convinced her to turn back for him," Rose said.
"Figured he could take care've himself, or we'd find him again, eventually," the Doctor replied.
"Could've tried a little harder findin' me," Jack's voice called from the catwalk. "Though considering how Torchwood used to be, I don't blame you for being shy."
The Doctor popped up, giving Jack an innocent look. "Jack, hoped you could join us."
"Used to be?" Rose asked, looking up at Jack.
"The Torchwood you know is a bit different from the one I worked with from nearly Day One," Jack replied, coming down to join them. "Your Torchwood got started to study unusual phenomena and track extraterrestrial visits. Mine got started to keep an eye out for our mutual friend with the two hearts. And they didn't exactly plan to invite him to meet the Queen for tea and crumpets."
"That's just wrong," Rose said. "So why didn't it happen sooner?"
"Had a little talk with a mutual friend of ours, namely Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart," Jack said with a hint of pride.
The Doctor grinned. "I knew he'd a hand in that."
"Who's this Brigadier bloke?" Rose asked.
"Leader of UNIT: I met him back when he was a cadet," Jack said. "You might say I had a hand in teaching him a few things about people who travel about through space and time in a blue box."
"Known him for a long time: met him in the 'Sixties; I was a much different man then," the Doctor said.
"A silver fox in a ruffled shirt, who had a few combat skills slipped up his lace-trimmed sleeves," Jack said, gleefully. "Venusian aikido, I believe?"
"Now that's a sight I'd love to've seen," Rose said, smirking, trying to imagine the Doctor in that form.
fic_promptly's Doctor Who, Ten/Rose with or without Jack, He figured they would never see him again, so the Doctor felt justified in never telling Rose what happened to Jack.
Tinkering with the TARDIS console before she set off again, and Rose had a million questions: having Jack in their midst -- along with a whole slew of people, the rest of the Family of Time -- had made her curious. And after seeing the cheeky rascal come back from being zapped by a Dalek only inflamed that curiosity.
"What is he, Doctor? It's just..." Rose stopped herself from saying "wrong" or "unnatural" or "weird". "Normal" only applied to the settings on the TARDIS washing machine on the best of days, when Jack got involved.
"Not right?" the Doctor asked, completing the sentence. "Well, not 'not right' in the moral sense, but in the physical -- and I mean *physics*-physical -- sense, something's happened to our Jack that shouldn't happen to anyone."
"No arguing that: can't begin to imagine how hard it must be, dying and coming back over and over again," Rose said.
The Doctor looked past her, his brown eyes thoughtful. "Not just that: it's not something that should happen to a sentient mind. No one's meant to become a fact, a fixed point in the fabric of space and time. We're all like... painting on cloth: we can fade or be washed away. Jack's embroidered into the fabric."
"Pretty fine embroidery," Rose noted, but she could not help feeling her heart sink a bit. "How did you know?"
"I knew it since we left the Games Station," the Doctor replied. "The TARDIS knew it: wouldn't let me go and fetch him, otherwise I'd've brought him with us."
"If the TARDIS knew it, why couldn't you bring him?" she asked.
The Doctor drew in a breath. "She's not fond of him: goes back to that 'not right'-ness. Met up with him once and she ran all the way to the end of the time and the universe trying to shake him off her back."
"Well, that was rude of her: she could've killed him, not that it'd stick, but still," Rose said, glaring at the console. Then she looked up to the Doctor. "So why didn't you tell me?" she asked.
"Didn't think I'd need to," the Doctor admitted. "I didn't think we'd ever see him again, the way she ran from him that very first time. Couldn't get her to turn back and fetch him: she wanted to take you home to your mother."
"Should've convinced her to turn back for him," Rose said.
"Figured he could take care've himself, or we'd find him again, eventually," the Doctor replied.
"Could've tried a little harder findin' me," Jack's voice called from the catwalk. "Though considering how Torchwood used to be, I don't blame you for being shy."
The Doctor popped up, giving Jack an innocent look. "Jack, hoped you could join us."
"Used to be?" Rose asked, looking up at Jack.
"The Torchwood you know is a bit different from the one I worked with from nearly Day One," Jack replied, coming down to join them. "Your Torchwood got started to study unusual phenomena and track extraterrestrial visits. Mine got started to keep an eye out for our mutual friend with the two hearts. And they didn't exactly plan to invite him to meet the Queen for tea and crumpets."
"That's just wrong," Rose said. "So why didn't it happen sooner?"
"Had a little talk with a mutual friend of ours, namely Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart," Jack said with a hint of pride.
The Doctor grinned. "I knew he'd a hand in that."
"Who's this Brigadier bloke?" Rose asked.
"Leader of UNIT: I met him back when he was a cadet," Jack said. "You might say I had a hand in teaching him a few things about people who travel about through space and time in a blue box."
"Known him for a long time: met him in the 'Sixties; I was a much different man then," the Doctor said.
"A silver fox in a ruffled shirt, who had a few combat skills slipped up his lace-trimmed sleeves," Jack said, gleefully. "Venusian aikido, I believe?"
"Now that's a sight I'd love to've seen," Rose said, smirking, trying to imagine the Doctor in that form.