Author's Notes: This was written for Ficlet Friday on Timepetalsprompts for the theme "separated by a blizzard". It misbehaved and didn't finish where I wanted it to, so there's more chapters coming.
"Doctor!"
He wouldn't come. He didn't know she was here; he was too far away, on the other side of the mountain. He wouldn't get back in time. Rose felt her fingers slipping, giving out slowly as the wind blew her from side to side. She was hanging on an edge of a rock cliff, having run all the way from the village. She couldn't see a thing in this blasted snow storm, that's why she fell. At least that's what she told herself. In reality she was probably too hurt, her mind too clouded to pay attention like the Doctor told her to. She didn't look where she was running. And now there she was, 600 feet high in the air, hanging onto crumbling, frosty rock for dear life while the blizzard played with her.
"Doctoooor!"
She screamed as one of her hands slipped away from the rock. Tears stung her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She would not cry. If this was how she had to go, then let it be, but by God she wouldn't cry. Rose tried to swing herself around, to find some footing on the slippery rock wall, but it was useless. Her legs dangled and her fingers ached so much she thought they might break. She had to let go. She couldn't climb up, there was no one coming, there was nothing else she could do. At least if she let go now it would be her choice and not an act forced upon her by the storm.
She squeezed her eyes shut, took a shuddering breath, and conjured up the Doctor's image in her mind's eye - closely cropped dark hair, angel-blue eyes, a slightly hawkish nose, perfectly shaped lips set in a determined albeit not unfriendly line; and two large ears sticking out on either side of his angular face. Sharp cheekbones and pale skin… She smiled and whispered a goodbye than relaxed her fingers and felt herself drop into the darkness below.
Only her descend was halted as a hand grabbed her right arm and yanked her upwards.
"Doctor?"
"Well, I can pretend for you, sweetheart, if you like."
Rose looked up into Jack's grinning face and laughed.
"Oh Jack, I'm so happy to see you!"
The man's grin widened and she hauled her up, laying her down gently in the snow.
"I thought no one would come. I thought I was gonna…" she gulped and finally let the tears stream down her face.
Jack put his arms around Rose and rubbed her arms slowly to get her circulation going again.
"Hush now. Don't even dare to think such things! We'll always come for you, me and the Doctor. Doing the impossible is kind of our specialty. You should know that!"
He meant to encourage her, make her feel safe, but instead Rose cried harder. He flinched as he realized his words probably sounded more like scolding. The Doctor was rubbing off on him - he used to be so good with words. Not that Rose couldn't see through them, but still.
She quietened after a while and lifted her head to look at him with a watery smile.
"I know, Jack. I'm sorry. It hasn't been my day."
The girl's eyes darkened and Jack wondered whether she was thinking about their row with the Doctor from earlier. Ever since the dancing they seemed to be more tense around each other - snapping and arguing about the smallest things. When Jack half-jokingly told the Doctor that maybe they should try the salsa to work off some of the tension - he winked and gestured towards Rose's bedroom - he almost got punched in the face. He never saw the Doctor that furious before or since. So he kept quiet and rolled his eyes, mostly taking Rose's side in their arguments. The Doctor could really be quite ruthless when he felt cornered - and he really seemed to feel cornered around Rose. Jack couldn't quite understand why. It was clear the two of them loved each other, so he wasn't sure why the Doctor was being so difficult about it. It gave him quite a few sleepless nights.
This morning when they landed on this godforsaken planet they've been planning to go on a sleigh ride together. "A proper sleigh ride, Rose, not those silly little wooden things you have on Earth." They ended up in a market half an hour later because Rose was hungry and the Doctor needed to buy some spare parts for the TARDIS. Jack went off to find a dancing partner for later - it really has been too long since they've been on a habitable planet - but by the time he could tear himself away from the purple-skinned mechanic (and oh, he was pretty), the Doctor and Rose were glaring daggers at each other, shouting about reindeers and sonic screwdrivers and how: "there will be no Christmas lights on my ship! And setting up a tree in the console room is absolutely out of the question!"
Rose strode off fuming in the direction of the hill that lay beyond the town and the Doctor crossed his arms and timidly refused to look at anything but the ground. Jack tried to get what was wrong out of him, but he just huffed and muttered in Gallifreyan, so he gave up after a while and jogged after Rose. At first he thought she was just hiding in one of the shops, but when he couldn't find her Jack realized she went up the hill. By that time the first warnings of a blizzard coming were circling around the village and Jack had no time to look for the Doctor if he was going to reach Rose in time.
So off he went, without telling the Doc, hoping that he will be able get to his friend in time. All this for a stupid argument! For all the Doctor's complaints about how silly humans could be, he could be a royal asshole for a Time Lord too. Jack rolled his eyes, worry gnawing at his insides and swore to tell him that when they got back to the TARDIS. Maybe they'd avoid scenarios like that if someone smacked him with the truth a couple of times.
Now getting back would be a problem. He didn't even reach the foot of the hill yet when the storm hit and suddenly he was barely able to keep moving, not to mention seeing much further than his nose. But Rose would be out here somewhere and he had to reach her before she froze to death. She was only wearing a thin jacket that would be no use to her in this weather. He struggled, but ploughed on - stumbling and falling, taking longer and longer to get up, but he finally reached the top.
Jack could see nothing but white and hear naught but the insane howling of the wind. He tried shouting Rose's name, but his voice was carried away by the wind when the words barely even left his lips. He gave up after the fourth try and decided to listen instead. He staggered a few feet towards the other side of the hill and then he heard it. Barely audible high pitched sounds that could have come from Rose. His legs acted on their own will and took him towards the voice, going so fast he barely touched the ground. As he got closer he could finally make out the words. She was shouting for the Doctor. A slight pang of sadness and anger flared up in his chest, but he pushed it back down, filing it for later to be examined thoroughly. Either that or drowned in a bottle of scotch. Jack wasn't particularly picky when it came to facing his emotions.
He reached for her just in time - she was falling, he was barely able to catch her arm - he had to duck and lay sprawled in the snow. But he got her. Rose was alright.
Or almost alright. Seeing her eyes sadden as she was no doubt thinking back to the same events that occupied Jack's thoughts, he felt that slight pang of anger and sadness take over him again.
"It's okay, Rosie. I've got you now."
She sniffed and snuggled into his arms, hiding from both the cold and the hurt feelings. Jack sighed at the thought of having to make her get up, but they'd freeze to death up here.
"Come on, sweetie, we have to get going if we don't want the Doc to amputate our limbs when we get back to the TARDIS." It was a weak attempt at cheering her up, and he knew it, but Rose still rewarded him with a small smile - which brought his own grin back.
They stood to leave the hilltop when they heard a shout to their left. Jack spun them around and took out the gun he always carried with him (despite the Doctor's protests). Pointing it at his unknown target he said in a clear voice: "Halt!"
But he was soon grinning again as a man in a battered leather jacket came into view - with a deep frown on his face.
"Doctor!" Rose shouted and practically threw herself at him. The Doctor looked surprised and staggered a little under the sudden weight in his arms, but he was soon smiling too. That is, until he saw Jack's scowl. He let go of Rose quickly and handed both of them a thick wool coat.
"What about you?" Rose sniffed and hid her face in the fur lining of her newly acquired coat.
"Superior Time Lord physi…"
"Yeah, yeah. Superior Time Lord, that's you." Rose cut him off and started walking down the hill.
The Doctor looked at Jack, confused and a little hurt. Truth to be told, the ex-Time Agent would have liked nothing better than to hit him on the head with something heavy, but he just sighed and rolled his eyes instead.
"You know Doc, for all your superior Time Lord DNA, maybe you could take a page out of the stupid apes' book about how to behave in social situations."
"You think I should apologize."
"I don't think, I know you should!"
"But… She was…"
"Doctor," Jack took him by the shoulder and stared hard into his blue eyes, "do you love this woman?"
The Doctor opened his mouth, then closed it. He repeated this a few times, giving the impression of a grumpy fish who couldn't decide whether he wanted the spot by the water lilies or the one in the shade. Then his eyes changed as suddenly as a summer storm: he had a deep, desperate glimmer to them that spoke of unspeakable things and held the beauty of the universe, and yet - Jack realized with a start - there was a huge amount of fear in them too.
The Doctor finally nodded and looked at the ground. Jack shook his head, but did not say anymore, releasing the Doctor's shoulders with a gentle squeeze and a small nod. He didn't want to examine why the sadness came back to him again, so he just shoved his hands in his pocket and motioned for the Doctor that they should get going.
The two men started walking down the hill side by side, each engrossed in their own thoughts. When they were almost at the bottom, Jack said very quietly, "You know, if you love her this much, you should just tell her you're sorry. I mean, it's Rose. Our Rose. She's going to forgive you if you ask."
The Doctor looked up at him again, and something told Jack that this is exactly what his friend has been afraid of.
Author's Notes: I know it was supposed to be a NinexRose story and the Doctor barely showed up, but bare with me, he's gonna get a bigger role in the coming chapter(s). (Besides, Jack rarely gets the spotlight he deserves in Nine fics, so I'm giving him some. He's enjoying it greatly.)
