Dimensionally Transcendent 5/11?
Story: Dimensionally Transcendent
Author: wmr
wendymr
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness
Rated: PG13
Disclaimer: Only the missing time between The Doctor Dances and Boom Town belongs to me (I wish)
Summary: The Doctor said he'd better be bigger on the inside. But is he?
With huge thanks again to
ponygirl72 and
dark_aegis for being two of the very best beta-readers around. :)
Chapter 1: Stray l Chapter 2: Tea and Sympathy l Chapter 3: Out of Time l Chapter 4: Learning to Trust
Chapter 5: Failing the Test
Over the next week or so, the Doctor says little about Jack’s memories. Once, over breakfast two days later, she asks what he plans to do. “Dunno yet,” he answers cheerfully. “Said I’d do it, though, didn’t I? Don’t you trust me?”
“Course I do. Just wondering, that’s all.”
So’s Jack, she knows, but he won’t ask. He still seems to be torn between being in awe of the Doctor and being wary of falling foul of him, which seems odd given that when they first met Jack gave as good as he got. But something about finding out what the Doctor is really seemed to get to him.
Still, they’re getting on a bit better now. A couple of times since that first afternoon, the Doctor’s asked Jack to help him with something to do with TARDIS maintenance, even trusting him to work alone once. And they’ve had conversations about planets, about the history of the universe and even about possible destinations.
With Jack in the discussions, too, she now knows why a number of planets are out of the question - non-breathable atmosphere, too hot, too cold, something about them that’s poisonous to humans, and many other reasons. While the Doctor’s been a great teacher, Jack’s better at understanding the kind of ordinary things she wants to know about - and he can explain them in a way that doesn’t involve complicated physics that goes right over her head. Though he seems to hold his own with the Doctor when it comes to scientific stuff, too.
In between trips to new destinations - a rainforest planet, Earth in the far future and a satellite Jack swore had the best shopping this side of the Winnipeg Galaxy (the Canadian city was settled by immigrants from the galaxy, the Doctor insists, though she’s sceptical) - she and Jack carry on spending up to two hours a day sparring and practising. She’s getting good; she knows it even without Jack’s praise. Or the way he flirts to try to distract her when she’s on a roll.
She is so enjoying their training sessions. Not only because she’s learning a lot, though she is, but because they’re allowing her to spend time alone with Jack, getting to know him better. When the Doctor’s around, of course the dynamic’s very different - sometimes the Doctor’s snarky, sometimes he isn’t, but both she and Jack seem to be different people around him.
Here, in the gym, she can’t help thinking that she’s getting to know the real Jack - not the conman, not the Time Agent, not the practised seducer, but the man he is underneath all the roles he plays. And that man is witty, charming, intelligent, honest - or so he seems - and rapidly becoming a genuinely good friend.
In fact, the more she gets to know him the more she’s convinced that she was right about him. He is like the Doctor. It’s not just the tech and the time-travel and the knowledge of science. It’s the hero in him. Because, even in spite of his conman career, Jack’s a born hero, even if he doesn’t see himself that way.
The difference of dating and dancing’s right too - or it would be if the Doctor hadn’t made it very clear to Jack that he’s to consider her off-limits. She almost told him to mind his own business, but some things are worth putting up with what she’s privately dubbed the Oncoming Sulk and some aren’t. This, she’s decided, isn’t - though she might be tempted to change her mind.
The trouble is, she’s finding she likes Jack. A lot. Likes him to the extent of lying awake at night sometimes and wondering what it’d be like if she took him up on what he’d so willingly be offering if it wasn’t for the Doctor’s warning - even if all Jack were willing to offer was one night in his bed. And the trouble with that is that on the nights she’s not thinking about being with Jack she’s thinking about being with... someone else. That’s so not going to happen, of course. But, in the fantasy world of her imagination where it just might possibly happen, she’s finding it bloody difficult now to decide which of them she wants more.
One day, about a week and a half after Jack’s arrival, she glances up after a move where she’s immobilised Jack, keeping him pinned to the floor on his knees with one arm twisted up his back, to see the Doctor leaning lazily in the doorway, an amused grin on his face. “Suits you, Jack. Submissive role, that is.”
“Hey, I’m not fussy. Any way you’ll have me.” Jack laughs, pulls out of her grip and jumps to his feet.
“Nice try.” Shaking his head - he really doesn’t seem to mind Jack’s outrageous flirting any more - the Doctor pushes away from the door-jamb and comes over, shrugging out of his jacket and throwing it over the treadmill. “Reckon you’re good, do you, Rose?” He halts just a few feet from her, hands on hips, expression challenging. “Go on, try it. Get past me.”
She grins back. “Easy.”
She feints to the left before dodging right. He’s there before her, catching hold of her upper arms to stop her. She hooks an ankle around his calf, trying to unbalance him, but he’s too agile for her; a graceful shuffle she would never have imagined he’s capable of given his usual loping walk gets him out of that one and almost lands her on the floor instead.
Over the Doctor’s shoulder, Jack’s gesturing to her, mimicking a movement he thinks she should use, but the way he’s rolling and thrusting his hips just succeeds in making her laugh instead. “Oi!” the Doctor protests, glancing quickly over his shoulder. “No help from the cheap seats!”
Taking advantage of his brief distraction, she moves in: a quick blow to his hips, then a hard shove to the back of his knees, and as he stumbles she follows through with a shove to the small of his back, then catches his arm to twist it up behind his back. One more push has him face-down on the floor, and she rests one knee on the back of his thighs and buttocks to hold him secure, as Jack taught her.
“You cheated!”
“Nice job!” Applause from Jack cuts across the Doctor’s grunt of protest. “Your turn to be the submissive, Doctor?”
That’s when she realises their position’s just a little bit intimate, with her leg pressed into the Doctor’s backside; releasing his arm, she scrambles back just as he starts to roll over, but limbs collide and she crashes down on top of him.
His hands steady her, cool fingers against the bare skin of her waist where her singlet’s ridden up, even as he acts as if she’s knocked the breath from him. “Careful! Just cause I’ve got two hearts doesn’t mean I’m indestructible.”
Indestructible, no; but definitely all hard muscle, even more obvious without his jacket. And, somehow, though they’ve hugged many times and been just as close as this, it feels completely different being horizontal and without the thick leather of his jacket in the way. Her breasts are flattened against his rib-cage, while the bone of his hip’s pressing painfully into her thigh.
Instinctively, she shifts, only to find a different hardness against her groin.
Heat floods her; instinctively, unable to stop herself, she seeks out his face and sees a startled awareness in his rapidly-darkening eyes. Immediately, his hands tighten against her waist and he shifts her off him, jumps to his feet, tugs her up as well and retreats to pull on his jacket.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. But, as she grabs a towel and hides her embarrassment at the incident by burying her face in it, one thing is becoming absolutely clear.
He wanted her. He wanted her. It wasn’t just an automatic reaction of his body, because it was there in his eyes as well, a look of darkening passion and desire that she’s never seen from him before. Nothing like the appraising, admiring looks Jack gives her occasionally, that make his interest very obvious and tell her that, if he didn’t feel obliged to keep his distance by what she assumes is a warning from the Doctor that she’s not available for his amusement, he’d be seriously pursuing her.
“Get dressed, you two. Next stop in ten minutes.” The Doctor’s tone is gruff and he’s not looking at either of them as he stalks to the door.
Jack meets her gaze once the Doctor’s gone, and his smile is sympathetic. “That answer your question, huh? Though I could’ve told you myself if you’d asked.”
“What question?”
“Whether he’s interested.” At her startled look - how did he know she’s been wondering that for ages? - he grins. “Oh, come on. You got any idea what it’s like living with you two?”
“What?” Indignation wars with curiosity.
“Put it this way, there are times when I just want to steal his and your clothes and lock the two of you in a bedroom until you finally see what’s under your noses and jump each other.” Jack’s grin grows wider as she feels herself blushing. “Course, there’s only one problem with that scenario.”
“What’s that?”
He winks. “I’d want to be locked in there with you.”
It takes a second or two for his meaning to sink in. Not to watch - to participate. With both of them.
And that’s when it occurs to her for the first time that - in a fantasy world where the Doctor didn’t back away at any hint of interest from her and he could get past his almost animalistic jealousy any time another bloke shows interest in her - maybe she doesn’t have to choose which one she fancies more. Maybe she could have them both.
Yeah, right. In her dreams.
Jack wraps his arms around her, hugging her affectionately. “Yeah, I know. In my dreams, right?” His head dips and he kisses her, just a quick press of his lips against hers, barely chaste, though another wink tells her that he’d be only too happy to make it more if circumstances were different. “Come on. The boss has spoken - better jump to it.”
***
Stupid of him to have done that. Jack’s doing a good enough job of teaching her. He didn’t need to get involved, and definitely didn’t need to let that happen.
With any luck, she won’t have noticed her effect on him.
Anyway, things to do, places to go and important information to obtain. Also, he’s told the two of them to be here in ten minutes, so it’s time to get busy.
When Jack and Rose come hurrying into the console room precisely eleven minutes and forty-one seconds later, he glances up briefly. “You’re late.”
“You’re picky,” Jack retorts as he takes what seems to be becoming his usual place at right angles to the Doctor at the console. “Where’s our destination this time?”
“Aritrambe. You know it?”
“Yeah.” Jack nods. “Tiny planet, right on the edge of the Lucer system. Population almost got wiped out by a civil war in 23.apple.24.9.”
“That’s the one. An’ if I’ve got it right, which of course I have, cause I’m never wrong -” He ignores the snort that comes from Rose’s direction. “- we’ll be arriving a couple of weeks before the first battle of that war. So you two need to be careful.”
“What ‘bout you?” Rose asks.
“I’m always careful! No, I mean cause you’ll be on your own. Got stuff to do an’ I don’t need you two getting in the way.” Or knowing what he’s up to, or saying or doing anything to stop him getting the information he needs.
They can explore on their own for the hour or so that he needs to complete his business. And it’ll be a nice little test for the Captain, too. See if he can resist the temptation to slip back into his criminal ways - and if he can be trusted to keep Rose safe.
Rose nudges him. “Tryin’ to get rid of us, are you?”
He rolls his eyes. “An’ why would I want to do that? You don’t think I love having a couple of humans at my heels all the time, askin’ idiot questions an’ getting into trouble?” He grins to show her he’s joking, but the yeah, right look she gives him lets him know that she knew all along. He’s really not doing a great job of this keeping his distance thing that he promised himself he’d do when he asked her to come with him.
Well, a few hours apart will help with that.
They’ve barely materialised when he’s shooing them towards the door. “Come on, come on! Haven’t got all day, you know!”
“Time machine, Doctor, in case you’ve forgotten.” Rose curls her tongue around her teeth as she grins cheekily at him.
“Thanks for that. Would never’ve remembered.” He shakes his head at her, then ushers her out.
Outside, a hand on each of their shoulders, he spells out the rules. “Right. Don’t expect my business here will take longer than a few hours. So let’s say back here in...” He considers. Probably close to an hour to find the person he’s come to see. A while longer to persuade the bloke to speak to him. Then maybe at least an hour to get the information he’s come for. “Five hours, just to be safe. Okay?”
Rose nods. “What’re you going to be doing, Doctor?”
“Told you. Got stuff to do. Things to see to.” No point in telling them anything yet. They’d only get their hopes up, especially Jack.
With Jack on his mind, he meets the younger man’s eyes, conveying a silent message. After a moment, he gets a nod. Jack’s got the message. He’s responsible for making sure nothing happens to Rose - and he’s been warned to behave himself.
“Don’t wander off. Don’t do anything stupid. And, Jack, don’t flirt with the wrong people. I don’t want to have to break you out of jail.”
Jack grins. “I’m flattered that you wouldn’t just leave me there, Doctor.”
“Don’t think I wouldn’t be tempted,” he says, mock-growling.
Rose nudges him with her elbow. “Don’t be a git, Doctor.”
He smiles, letting them see that he’s completely relaxed about the idea of letting them go off on their own. “Go on, enjoy yourselves. And try not to get into any trouble!”
They stroll off together, seemingly perfectly happy. Good. Leaves him free to find the retired senior Time Agent he remembers running into on Aritrambe a couple of regenerations ago. The bloke wasn’t very talkative then, but he got the impression he knew a lot about the Agency and didn’t approve of at least some of its methods.
It’s possible that Peter Dejong might know something about the memory-wiping techniques in use at the Agency, and what happens to data that’s removed. It’d be a start. It’d be a lot better to be able to go into the Agency knowing what to expect or what he’s looking for.
One final check to confirm that Jack and Rose are safely out of sight, then he turns and heads in the opposite direction. With his hands buried deeply in his jacket pockets, whistling cheerfully, he looks like just another innocent tourist. And that’s the way he likes it.
***
He grins at Rose. “May I escort you to the town, Ms Tyler?”
She giggles a little. “You may, Captain Harkness.”
He extends his arm; she takes it and they stroll off towards the centre of the town. He remembers it as pretty modern, though that was post-reconstruction, of course. It’ll be interesting to see it now, in the final pre-war days.
Once the Doctor’s well and truly out of earshot, he comments, “Feels almost like being let out of school.”
She laughs, but adds, “He’s not that bad.”
“Hey, I know that. Next to you, I’m probably the guy’s biggest fan.” At her surprised look, he continues, “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’m over that. Course I knew I’m not exactly his ideal guest on the TARDIS. But he saved my life when he didn’t have to, he gave me a second chance and now he’s even starting to trust me. If I didn’t think he’d throw me into the Vortex for it, I’d hug him.”
That makes her laugh, the full, unconstrained laughter letting him see again how completely relaxed she is with him. She’s not putting on an act or using practised gestures designed to attract him, like too many people he’s met during his career as a Time Agent or as a conman - or like he’s done himself too many times. There’s nothing artificial about Rose, and it’s a refreshing change.
“So, you know about this place, right? Tell me about it,” she demands as they walk. “What’re the people like? We haven’t seen any yet,” she adds, looking around, peering down alleys as they pass.
“Humanoid,” he says and, at her look of mild disappointment, explains, “Makes sense when you think about it. Like I told you the other day, breathable atmosphere. Humanoids’ respiratory systems work pretty much like ours. Oxygen and carbon dioxide. Yeah, sure, the Doctor could take us to Ursus Framelax where the population lives underwater, but we’d drown. Or there’s Acetokrup - now, there the inhabitants about as far from humanoid as you can get. Six-footed, winged, with leathery fur. Completely different respiratory system, too. We’d die as soon as we stepped outside the TARDIS.”
“Why’s that, then?”
“No oxygen. Major component of the atmosphere’s HCN - otherwise known as cyanide.” He flashes her a grin.
She grins back. “Oops.”
“Yup. Not so much fun.”
“Right.” She pauses as they’re passed by a couple of local inhabitants; humanoid, as he’d told her, a little taller than humans tended to be, and darker-skinned, but not so different that they’d stand out like a sore thumb on Earth. Rose watches them with fairly well-disguised interest. Good. Not drawing too much attention to herself - and she’s not wearing a Union Jack T-shirt today either. She’s learning.
“So, you mentioned a civil war, yeah?” Her attention back on him, she sounds both interested and regretful. “What’s that all about?”
“Hasn’t happened yet, remember.” He lowers his voice; there aren’t too many people about where they are right now. But still, can’t be too careful. “As for what it’s about...” He drops his arm and reaches for her hand, leading her down a side-street that he remembers leads to the centre of the city. “You know, wars start for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s noble causes - slavery, political representation, independence, hunger, defending a less-powerful neighbour - and sometimes less noble, like land-grabs, money, political power.”
“Yeah, I know - American civil war, the world wars, War of Independence, right? So which was this one?”
“Well, that’s the thing. It wasn’t any of the usual causes. And nobody really knows whose fault it was. Just that one side blamed the other, and that was it. War - and devastation.”
She motions for him to continue. “There’re two political factions here. Parties, you’d call them. One’s in power at the moment and the other’s in opposition. The government’s not that popular right now, which they’re not too happy about because there’s an election due in a few months and everyone expects them to lose. Anyway, the daughter of the opposition leader gets shot. Bullet straight through the head. Comes out of nowhere, nobody sees it and no-one is ever arrested.”
“Oh, god,” she says softly. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah. Anyway, the opposition blamed the government. Said they hadn’t done enough to investigate and catch whoever did it. So after a few days rumours spread. They said it was a political killing - that it was a supporter of the government who did it.”
“And was it?” She slows, turning to look up at him; the concern in her eyes surprises him. He’s heard this story a couple of times before; even told it to trainee Time Agents before. They’ve always taken it matter-of-factly: just another small planet’s history, interesting only for what it says about the predictability of people’s behaviour the universe over.
“No-one ever found out. So many rumours and outright lies were flying around that no-one knew what to believe. Anyone who might have known the truth was killed in the fighting, anyway.”
She nods. “How old was the daughter?”
He grimaces. “Twelve.”
She looks sick. “That’s awful. Shouldn’t’ve led to a war, but her parents must’ve been devastated.”
He stills, an awareness striking him for the first time. No matter how many times he’s told this story, talked about the child getting shot, this is the first time he’s actually thought about the personal loss involved. He’s always thought of it in terms of a political event, considered the consequences for the planet. Never considered the consequences for the parents who lost their only daughter.
“Yeah,” he says now, nodding slowly. “I guess they were.”
“And you never think straight when you’re grieving,” Rose adds, her hand tightening around his. “No wonder they thought there was a conspiracy. Maybe there wasn’t, but, bloody hell, they’d just lost their daughter!”
He nods again; one of this era’s political mysteries part-explained, and by a barely-adult woman from what to him is a primitive era on Earth. Amazing.
“True,” he concedes, then nods at a turning in front of them. “Through here - you’ll love this. Best part of the city right up ahead. Not that I’ve seen it - it was burned down in the war - but it’s one of those places all the guides say you’ve got to see.”
A bit of sightseeing and people-watching, and no getting into trouble: just what the Doctor ordered. And one more step on the way to proving himself.
***
Jack’s right. This is so worth seeing. It’s the centre of the city, but it’s like no city centre she’s ever seen before. And all this was destroyed in the war?
But then it’s no worse than the devastation of cities in Britain, France, Germany, Japan and elsewhere during World War Two. And other places, other wars, on Earth. People rebuild, and though it’s not the same sometimes it’s better. At least it’s a reminder: of what war can do, and of reasons to avoid war. Just like Coventry Cathedral’s a monument to peace - a world centre for reconciliation.
The buildings are all floating, appearing to be suspended two or three feet up from the ground. It looks as if they’re over water, but there’s no river-bank or canal walls or anything like that; no lake boundaries. There isn’t anything to hold them up, at least not that she can see. No stilts, no supports or anything like that.
“How...” She turns to look at Jack, almost losing the ability to verbalise. How can something like that be explained? How is it done? “How... how do people even get in?” Because there aren’t any steps, and it’s too high to jump.
Jack laughs. “Optical illusion. Like I said, I’d heard about it, but never seen it - though I’ve seen things like it on other planets. This was always supposed to be the best example of that kind of trick.”
“And is it?” She’s still staring, trying to work out how they do it.
“Absolutely.” There’s admiration in his voice, too. For all Jack’s travels, it’s good to know that he too can experience things for the first time. Makes her feel just a little less of a novice. “Come on!” He tugs on her hand, striding forward. “Let’s see if you can figure out how to get inside.”
He’s heading for a shop across the street, one that she can see sells high-tech devices - exactly the kind of place Mickey would have made for had he been here. The Doctor, too, probably. Boys and their toys. Laughing, she runs with him.
They’re coming out of the shop when she’s alerted by the sound of laughter to two young girls coming out of another shop a few doors down - selling clothes, judging by the window display. Hard to be sure how old the girls are, but if she was applying human standards she’d say they were twelve or thirteen. They’ve got shopping bags in their hands and they’re excited about their purchases; she smiles, well remembering afternoons spent shopping with Shireen and Keisha, then going back to someone’s home to try on all the stuff they bought.
The glint of sunlight reflecting off something distracts her attention, and her gaze follows the flash of light.
It’s a gun. Someone who looks like he doesn’t belong here is pointing a gun at one of the girls.
Her breath catches. At her side, Jack freezes. And she lunges forward, a cry beginning to emerge from her mouth -
- but then Jack’s got his hand hard over her lips, his other arm around her waist, and he’s yelling, “Damn it, you-” The harsh, shocking report of a gunshot drowns out the rest of his words.
As if in slow motion, she sees the girl bounce backwards, sees a splash of crimson appear, hears the sickening thud of a body hitting the ground. Someone’s screaming. Someone else is crying loudly. People are running. And Jack’s still holding her prisoner, his hand over her mouth stopping her from shouting at him, demanding to know why he stopped her. Why did he let that girl, that child, die when they could have saved her?
Why isn’t he even going after the person who did it, the one with the gun?
And then there’s another flash, the world around her shimmers and disappears, and then she’s landing unsteadily in front of the TARDIS, Jack’s arm still around her waist and his hand under hers.
Before she can ask what the hell’s going on, he’s released her and he’s staring down at her, a look of fury on his face.
“What the hell do you think you were doing back there? Are you such an amateur that you don’t even know enough not to change history? You almost stopped the fucking civil war from happening!”
***
tbc
Author: wmr
wendymr
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness
Rated: PG13
Disclaimer: Only the missing time between The Doctor Dances and Boom Town belongs to me (I wish)
Summary: The Doctor said he'd better be bigger on the inside. But is he?
With huge thanks again to
ponygirl72 and
dark_aegis for being two of the very best beta-readers around. :)
Chapter 1: Stray l Chapter 2: Tea and Sympathy l Chapter 3: Out of Time l Chapter 4: Learning to Trust
Chapter 5: Failing the Test
Over the next week or so, the Doctor says little about Jack’s memories. Once, over breakfast two days later, she asks what he plans to do. “Dunno yet,” he answers cheerfully. “Said I’d do it, though, didn’t I? Don’t you trust me?”
“Course I do. Just wondering, that’s all.”
So’s Jack, she knows, but he won’t ask. He still seems to be torn between being in awe of the Doctor and being wary of falling foul of him, which seems odd given that when they first met Jack gave as good as he got. But something about finding out what the Doctor is really seemed to get to him.
Still, they’re getting on a bit better now. A couple of times since that first afternoon, the Doctor’s asked Jack to help him with something to do with TARDIS maintenance, even trusting him to work alone once. And they’ve had conversations about planets, about the history of the universe and even about possible destinations.
With Jack in the discussions, too, she now knows why a number of planets are out of the question - non-breathable atmosphere, too hot, too cold, something about them that’s poisonous to humans, and many other reasons. While the Doctor’s been a great teacher, Jack’s better at understanding the kind of ordinary things she wants to know about - and he can explain them in a way that doesn’t involve complicated physics that goes right over her head. Though he seems to hold his own with the Doctor when it comes to scientific stuff, too.
In between trips to new destinations - a rainforest planet, Earth in the far future and a satellite Jack swore had the best shopping this side of the Winnipeg Galaxy (the Canadian city was settled by immigrants from the galaxy, the Doctor insists, though she’s sceptical) - she and Jack carry on spending up to two hours a day sparring and practising. She’s getting good; she knows it even without Jack’s praise. Or the way he flirts to try to distract her when she’s on a roll.
She is so enjoying their training sessions. Not only because she’s learning a lot, though she is, but because they’re allowing her to spend time alone with Jack, getting to know him better. When the Doctor’s around, of course the dynamic’s very different - sometimes the Doctor’s snarky, sometimes he isn’t, but both she and Jack seem to be different people around him.
Here, in the gym, she can’t help thinking that she’s getting to know the real Jack - not the conman, not the Time Agent, not the practised seducer, but the man he is underneath all the roles he plays. And that man is witty, charming, intelligent, honest - or so he seems - and rapidly becoming a genuinely good friend.
In fact, the more she gets to know him the more she’s convinced that she was right about him. He is like the Doctor. It’s not just the tech and the time-travel and the knowledge of science. It’s the hero in him. Because, even in spite of his conman career, Jack’s a born hero, even if he doesn’t see himself that way.
The difference of dating and dancing’s right too - or it would be if the Doctor hadn’t made it very clear to Jack that he’s to consider her off-limits. She almost told him to mind his own business, but some things are worth putting up with what she’s privately dubbed the Oncoming Sulk and some aren’t. This, she’s decided, isn’t - though she might be tempted to change her mind.
The trouble is, she’s finding she likes Jack. A lot. Likes him to the extent of lying awake at night sometimes and wondering what it’d be like if she took him up on what he’d so willingly be offering if it wasn’t for the Doctor’s warning - even if all Jack were willing to offer was one night in his bed. And the trouble with that is that on the nights she’s not thinking about being with Jack she’s thinking about being with... someone else. That’s so not going to happen, of course. But, in the fantasy world of her imagination where it just might possibly happen, she’s finding it bloody difficult now to decide which of them she wants more.
One day, about a week and a half after Jack’s arrival, she glances up after a move where she’s immobilised Jack, keeping him pinned to the floor on his knees with one arm twisted up his back, to see the Doctor leaning lazily in the doorway, an amused grin on his face. “Suits you, Jack. Submissive role, that is.”
“Hey, I’m not fussy. Any way you’ll have me.” Jack laughs, pulls out of her grip and jumps to his feet.
“Nice try.” Shaking his head - he really doesn’t seem to mind Jack’s outrageous flirting any more - the Doctor pushes away from the door-jamb and comes over, shrugging out of his jacket and throwing it over the treadmill. “Reckon you’re good, do you, Rose?” He halts just a few feet from her, hands on hips, expression challenging. “Go on, try it. Get past me.”
She grins back. “Easy.”
She feints to the left before dodging right. He’s there before her, catching hold of her upper arms to stop her. She hooks an ankle around his calf, trying to unbalance him, but he’s too agile for her; a graceful shuffle she would never have imagined he’s capable of given his usual loping walk gets him out of that one and almost lands her on the floor instead.
Over the Doctor’s shoulder, Jack’s gesturing to her, mimicking a movement he thinks she should use, but the way he’s rolling and thrusting his hips just succeeds in making her laugh instead. “Oi!” the Doctor protests, glancing quickly over his shoulder. “No help from the cheap seats!”
Taking advantage of his brief distraction, she moves in: a quick blow to his hips, then a hard shove to the back of his knees, and as he stumbles she follows through with a shove to the small of his back, then catches his arm to twist it up behind his back. One more push has him face-down on the floor, and she rests one knee on the back of his thighs and buttocks to hold him secure, as Jack taught her.
“You cheated!”
“Nice job!” Applause from Jack cuts across the Doctor’s grunt of protest. “Your turn to be the submissive, Doctor?”
That’s when she realises their position’s just a little bit intimate, with her leg pressed into the Doctor’s backside; releasing his arm, she scrambles back just as he starts to roll over, but limbs collide and she crashes down on top of him.
His hands steady her, cool fingers against the bare skin of her waist where her singlet’s ridden up, even as he acts as if she’s knocked the breath from him. “Careful! Just cause I’ve got two hearts doesn’t mean I’m indestructible.”
Indestructible, no; but definitely all hard muscle, even more obvious without his jacket. And, somehow, though they’ve hugged many times and been just as close as this, it feels completely different being horizontal and without the thick leather of his jacket in the way. Her breasts are flattened against his rib-cage, while the bone of his hip’s pressing painfully into her thigh.
Instinctively, she shifts, only to find a different hardness against her groin.
Heat floods her; instinctively, unable to stop herself, she seeks out his face and sees a startled awareness in his rapidly-darkening eyes. Immediately, his hands tighten against her waist and he shifts her off him, jumps to his feet, tugs her up as well and retreats to pull on his jacket.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. But, as she grabs a towel and hides her embarrassment at the incident by burying her face in it, one thing is becoming absolutely clear.
He wanted her. He wanted her. It wasn’t just an automatic reaction of his body, because it was there in his eyes as well, a look of darkening passion and desire that she’s never seen from him before. Nothing like the appraising, admiring looks Jack gives her occasionally, that make his interest very obvious and tell her that, if he didn’t feel obliged to keep his distance by what she assumes is a warning from the Doctor that she’s not available for his amusement, he’d be seriously pursuing her.
“Get dressed, you two. Next stop in ten minutes.” The Doctor’s tone is gruff and he’s not looking at either of them as he stalks to the door.
Jack meets her gaze once the Doctor’s gone, and his smile is sympathetic. “That answer your question, huh? Though I could’ve told you myself if you’d asked.”
“What question?”
“Whether he’s interested.” At her startled look - how did he know she’s been wondering that for ages? - he grins. “Oh, come on. You got any idea what it’s like living with you two?”
“What?” Indignation wars with curiosity.
“Put it this way, there are times when I just want to steal his and your clothes and lock the two of you in a bedroom until you finally see what’s under your noses and jump each other.” Jack’s grin grows wider as she feels herself blushing. “Course, there’s only one problem with that scenario.”
“What’s that?”
He winks. “I’d want to be locked in there with you.”
It takes a second or two for his meaning to sink in. Not to watch - to participate. With both of them.
And that’s when it occurs to her for the first time that - in a fantasy world where the Doctor didn’t back away at any hint of interest from her and he could get past his almost animalistic jealousy any time another bloke shows interest in her - maybe she doesn’t have to choose which one she fancies more. Maybe she could have them both.
Yeah, right. In her dreams.
Jack wraps his arms around her, hugging her affectionately. “Yeah, I know. In my dreams, right?” His head dips and he kisses her, just a quick press of his lips against hers, barely chaste, though another wink tells her that he’d be only too happy to make it more if circumstances were different. “Come on. The boss has spoken - better jump to it.”
***
Stupid of him to have done that. Jack’s doing a good enough job of teaching her. He didn’t need to get involved, and definitely didn’t need to let that happen.
With any luck, she won’t have noticed her effect on him.
Anyway, things to do, places to go and important information to obtain. Also, he’s told the two of them to be here in ten minutes, so it’s time to get busy.
When Jack and Rose come hurrying into the console room precisely eleven minutes and forty-one seconds later, he glances up briefly. “You’re late.”
“You’re picky,” Jack retorts as he takes what seems to be becoming his usual place at right angles to the Doctor at the console. “Where’s our destination this time?”
“Aritrambe. You know it?”
“Yeah.” Jack nods. “Tiny planet, right on the edge of the Lucer system. Population almost got wiped out by a civil war in 23.apple.24.9.”
“That’s the one. An’ if I’ve got it right, which of course I have, cause I’m never wrong -” He ignores the snort that comes from Rose’s direction. “- we’ll be arriving a couple of weeks before the first battle of that war. So you two need to be careful.”
“What ‘bout you?” Rose asks.
“I’m always careful! No, I mean cause you’ll be on your own. Got stuff to do an’ I don’t need you two getting in the way.” Or knowing what he’s up to, or saying or doing anything to stop him getting the information he needs.
They can explore on their own for the hour or so that he needs to complete his business. And it’ll be a nice little test for the Captain, too. See if he can resist the temptation to slip back into his criminal ways - and if he can be trusted to keep Rose safe.
Rose nudges him. “Tryin’ to get rid of us, are you?”
He rolls his eyes. “An’ why would I want to do that? You don’t think I love having a couple of humans at my heels all the time, askin’ idiot questions an’ getting into trouble?” He grins to show her he’s joking, but the yeah, right look she gives him lets him know that she knew all along. He’s really not doing a great job of this keeping his distance thing that he promised himself he’d do when he asked her to come with him.
Well, a few hours apart will help with that.
They’ve barely materialised when he’s shooing them towards the door. “Come on, come on! Haven’t got all day, you know!”
“Time machine, Doctor, in case you’ve forgotten.” Rose curls her tongue around her teeth as she grins cheekily at him.
“Thanks for that. Would never’ve remembered.” He shakes his head at her, then ushers her out.
Outside, a hand on each of their shoulders, he spells out the rules. “Right. Don’t expect my business here will take longer than a few hours. So let’s say back here in...” He considers. Probably close to an hour to find the person he’s come to see. A while longer to persuade the bloke to speak to him. Then maybe at least an hour to get the information he’s come for. “Five hours, just to be safe. Okay?”
Rose nods. “What’re you going to be doing, Doctor?”
“Told you. Got stuff to do. Things to see to.” No point in telling them anything yet. They’d only get their hopes up, especially Jack.
With Jack on his mind, he meets the younger man’s eyes, conveying a silent message. After a moment, he gets a nod. Jack’s got the message. He’s responsible for making sure nothing happens to Rose - and he’s been warned to behave himself.
“Don’t wander off. Don’t do anything stupid. And, Jack, don’t flirt with the wrong people. I don’t want to have to break you out of jail.”
Jack grins. “I’m flattered that you wouldn’t just leave me there, Doctor.”
“Don’t think I wouldn’t be tempted,” he says, mock-growling.
Rose nudges him with her elbow. “Don’t be a git, Doctor.”
He smiles, letting them see that he’s completely relaxed about the idea of letting them go off on their own. “Go on, enjoy yourselves. And try not to get into any trouble!”
They stroll off together, seemingly perfectly happy. Good. Leaves him free to find the retired senior Time Agent he remembers running into on Aritrambe a couple of regenerations ago. The bloke wasn’t very talkative then, but he got the impression he knew a lot about the Agency and didn’t approve of at least some of its methods.
It’s possible that Peter Dejong might know something about the memory-wiping techniques in use at the Agency, and what happens to data that’s removed. It’d be a start. It’d be a lot better to be able to go into the Agency knowing what to expect or what he’s looking for.
One final check to confirm that Jack and Rose are safely out of sight, then he turns and heads in the opposite direction. With his hands buried deeply in his jacket pockets, whistling cheerfully, he looks like just another innocent tourist. And that’s the way he likes it.
***
He grins at Rose. “May I escort you to the town, Ms Tyler?”
She giggles a little. “You may, Captain Harkness.”
He extends his arm; she takes it and they stroll off towards the centre of the town. He remembers it as pretty modern, though that was post-reconstruction, of course. It’ll be interesting to see it now, in the final pre-war days.
Once the Doctor’s well and truly out of earshot, he comments, “Feels almost like being let out of school.”
She laughs, but adds, “He’s not that bad.”
“Hey, I know that. Next to you, I’m probably the guy’s biggest fan.” At her surprised look, he continues, “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’m over that. Course I knew I’m not exactly his ideal guest on the TARDIS. But he saved my life when he didn’t have to, he gave me a second chance and now he’s even starting to trust me. If I didn’t think he’d throw me into the Vortex for it, I’d hug him.”
That makes her laugh, the full, unconstrained laughter letting him see again how completely relaxed she is with him. She’s not putting on an act or using practised gestures designed to attract him, like too many people he’s met during his career as a Time Agent or as a conman - or like he’s done himself too many times. There’s nothing artificial about Rose, and it’s a refreshing change.
“So, you know about this place, right? Tell me about it,” she demands as they walk. “What’re the people like? We haven’t seen any yet,” she adds, looking around, peering down alleys as they pass.
“Humanoid,” he says and, at her look of mild disappointment, explains, “Makes sense when you think about it. Like I told you the other day, breathable atmosphere. Humanoids’ respiratory systems work pretty much like ours. Oxygen and carbon dioxide. Yeah, sure, the Doctor could take us to Ursus Framelax where the population lives underwater, but we’d drown. Or there’s Acetokrup - now, there the inhabitants about as far from humanoid as you can get. Six-footed, winged, with leathery fur. Completely different respiratory system, too. We’d die as soon as we stepped outside the TARDIS.”
“Why’s that, then?”
“No oxygen. Major component of the atmosphere’s HCN - otherwise known as cyanide.” He flashes her a grin.
She grins back. “Oops.”
“Yup. Not so much fun.”
“Right.” She pauses as they’re passed by a couple of local inhabitants; humanoid, as he’d told her, a little taller than humans tended to be, and darker-skinned, but not so different that they’d stand out like a sore thumb on Earth. Rose watches them with fairly well-disguised interest. Good. Not drawing too much attention to herself - and she’s not wearing a Union Jack T-shirt today either. She’s learning.
“So, you mentioned a civil war, yeah?” Her attention back on him, she sounds both interested and regretful. “What’s that all about?”
“Hasn’t happened yet, remember.” He lowers his voice; there aren’t too many people about where they are right now. But still, can’t be too careful. “As for what it’s about...” He drops his arm and reaches for her hand, leading her down a side-street that he remembers leads to the centre of the city. “You know, wars start for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s noble causes - slavery, political representation, independence, hunger, defending a less-powerful neighbour - and sometimes less noble, like land-grabs, money, political power.”
“Yeah, I know - American civil war, the world wars, War of Independence, right? So which was this one?”
“Well, that’s the thing. It wasn’t any of the usual causes. And nobody really knows whose fault it was. Just that one side blamed the other, and that was it. War - and devastation.”
She motions for him to continue. “There’re two political factions here. Parties, you’d call them. One’s in power at the moment and the other’s in opposition. The government’s not that popular right now, which they’re not too happy about because there’s an election due in a few months and everyone expects them to lose. Anyway, the daughter of the opposition leader gets shot. Bullet straight through the head. Comes out of nowhere, nobody sees it and no-one is ever arrested.”
“Oh, god,” she says softly. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah. Anyway, the opposition blamed the government. Said they hadn’t done enough to investigate and catch whoever did it. So after a few days rumours spread. They said it was a political killing - that it was a supporter of the government who did it.”
“And was it?” She slows, turning to look up at him; the concern in her eyes surprises him. He’s heard this story a couple of times before; even told it to trainee Time Agents before. They’ve always taken it matter-of-factly: just another small planet’s history, interesting only for what it says about the predictability of people’s behaviour the universe over.
“No-one ever found out. So many rumours and outright lies were flying around that no-one knew what to believe. Anyone who might have known the truth was killed in the fighting, anyway.”
She nods. “How old was the daughter?”
He grimaces. “Twelve.”
She looks sick. “That’s awful. Shouldn’t’ve led to a war, but her parents must’ve been devastated.”
He stills, an awareness striking him for the first time. No matter how many times he’s told this story, talked about the child getting shot, this is the first time he’s actually thought about the personal loss involved. He’s always thought of it in terms of a political event, considered the consequences for the planet. Never considered the consequences for the parents who lost their only daughter.
“Yeah,” he says now, nodding slowly. “I guess they were.”
“And you never think straight when you’re grieving,” Rose adds, her hand tightening around his. “No wonder they thought there was a conspiracy. Maybe there wasn’t, but, bloody hell, they’d just lost their daughter!”
He nods again; one of this era’s political mysteries part-explained, and by a barely-adult woman from what to him is a primitive era on Earth. Amazing.
“True,” he concedes, then nods at a turning in front of them. “Through here - you’ll love this. Best part of the city right up ahead. Not that I’ve seen it - it was burned down in the war - but it’s one of those places all the guides say you’ve got to see.”
A bit of sightseeing and people-watching, and no getting into trouble: just what the Doctor ordered. And one more step on the way to proving himself.
***
Jack’s right. This is so worth seeing. It’s the centre of the city, but it’s like no city centre she’s ever seen before. And all this was destroyed in the war?
But then it’s no worse than the devastation of cities in Britain, France, Germany, Japan and elsewhere during World War Two. And other places, other wars, on Earth. People rebuild, and though it’s not the same sometimes it’s better. At least it’s a reminder: of what war can do, and of reasons to avoid war. Just like Coventry Cathedral’s a monument to peace - a world centre for reconciliation.
The buildings are all floating, appearing to be suspended two or three feet up from the ground. It looks as if they’re over water, but there’s no river-bank or canal walls or anything like that; no lake boundaries. There isn’t anything to hold them up, at least not that she can see. No stilts, no supports or anything like that.
“How...” She turns to look at Jack, almost losing the ability to verbalise. How can something like that be explained? How is it done? “How... how do people even get in?” Because there aren’t any steps, and it’s too high to jump.
Jack laughs. “Optical illusion. Like I said, I’d heard about it, but never seen it - though I’ve seen things like it on other planets. This was always supposed to be the best example of that kind of trick.”
“And is it?” She’s still staring, trying to work out how they do it.
“Absolutely.” There’s admiration in his voice, too. For all Jack’s travels, it’s good to know that he too can experience things for the first time. Makes her feel just a little less of a novice. “Come on!” He tugs on her hand, striding forward. “Let’s see if you can figure out how to get inside.”
He’s heading for a shop across the street, one that she can see sells high-tech devices - exactly the kind of place Mickey would have made for had he been here. The Doctor, too, probably. Boys and their toys. Laughing, she runs with him.
They’re coming out of the shop when she’s alerted by the sound of laughter to two young girls coming out of another shop a few doors down - selling clothes, judging by the window display. Hard to be sure how old the girls are, but if she was applying human standards she’d say they were twelve or thirteen. They’ve got shopping bags in their hands and they’re excited about their purchases; she smiles, well remembering afternoons spent shopping with Shireen and Keisha, then going back to someone’s home to try on all the stuff they bought.
The glint of sunlight reflecting off something distracts her attention, and her gaze follows the flash of light.
It’s a gun. Someone who looks like he doesn’t belong here is pointing a gun at one of the girls.
Her breath catches. At her side, Jack freezes. And she lunges forward, a cry beginning to emerge from her mouth -
- but then Jack’s got his hand hard over her lips, his other arm around her waist, and he’s yelling, “Damn it, you-” The harsh, shocking report of a gunshot drowns out the rest of his words.
As if in slow motion, she sees the girl bounce backwards, sees a splash of crimson appear, hears the sickening thud of a body hitting the ground. Someone’s screaming. Someone else is crying loudly. People are running. And Jack’s still holding her prisoner, his hand over her mouth stopping her from shouting at him, demanding to know why he stopped her. Why did he let that girl, that child, die when they could have saved her?
Why isn’t he even going after the person who did it, the one with the gun?
And then there’s another flash, the world around her shimmers and disappears, and then she’s landing unsteadily in front of the TARDIS, Jack’s arm still around her waist and his hand under hers.
Before she can ask what the hell’s going on, he’s released her and he’s staring down at her, a look of fury on his face.
“What the hell do you think you were doing back there? Are you such an amateur that you don’t even know enough not to change history? You almost stopped the fucking civil war from happening!”
***
tbc