Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Otherwise you'd already know this story.

Thanks to my awesome beta - Eilonwyn

The Doctor burst into speech as he rounded the console, throwing his coat over the pillar as he went. "I said so! Those ghosts have been forced into existence from one specific point. And I can track down the source!" He grinned excitedly, pushing a lever down hard to set the TARDIS in motion. "Allons-y!"

He and Rose both fell back onto the captain's chair as the TARDIS gave a wild jerk, but as soon as it steadied slightly, the Doctor was on his feet again, circling the console, babbling as he pressed buttons and turned dials.

"I like that. 'Allons-y'. I should say 'allons-y' more often. 'Allons-y'. Look sharp, Rose Tyler, allons-y! And THEN, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso. Because then I could say, 'allons-y, Alonso!' Every time!" He turned to face Rose, who had a small smile on her face, and stopped short. "You're staring at me."

"My Mum's still on board." she half-whispered.

The Doctor looked up, aghast, to where Jackie was sitting on the gantries. How had he not noticed the presence of the formidable Tyler woman? And why did she have to be on board anyway? Didn't he have enough problems without having to deal with Rose's Mum?

"If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you!" she stated, folding her arms.

The Doctor took a deep breath and turned back to the monitor as the screen changed. "Ooh. Looks like we're here then."

Jackie jumped down and came across to the console. "Where's here then?"

"Looks like a storage room." Rose and the Doctor shared a look, grinning. Hopefully landing in a storage room wouldn't cause as much trouble as it did last time.

The three watched as armed soldiers burst into the room, assembling in front of the TARDIS.

The Doctor sighed slightly. "Oh well, there goes the advantage of surprise. Still! Cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie." He strode in the direction of the doors, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he went.

Rose followed him, protesting. "I'm not looking after my Mum!"

"Well you brought her!" he retorted, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"I was kidnapped!" Jackie called indignantly, following them towards the doors.

The Doctor made to leave the TARDIS, but Rose slipped past him and blocked the doorway.

"Doctor, they've got guns." she warned.

"And I haven't, which makes me the better person, don't you think?" he replied, taking his hands out of his pockets, catching her and smoothly moving her out of the way. He paused at the door to continue. "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine." He didn't wait for them to protest, instead quickly sliding out the door he had just opened.

The guns all cocked as someone called out "Halt!", but as the Doctor slowly raised his hands a woman burst through from the back, smiling excitedly.

"Oh! Oh, how marvellous." She started clapping. "Oh, very good! Superb! Happy day!" She glanced round at the soldiers, who let go of their guns to start clapping too.

The Doctor lowered his hands tentatively, wondering what on Earth was going on. "Umm, thanks. Nice to meet you. I'm... the Doctor," he started, only to be interrupted by the woman.

"Oh I should say! Hooray!" She started clapping again, setting the soldiers off once more. She suddenly held a hand to her earpiece. "Jack, get yourself down here, now. You won't want to miss this."

"You... you've heard of me then?" he asked, slightly uneasy, but smiling all the same. It wasn't everyday he was met with such an enthusiastic reception.

"Well of course we have!" the woman said, slightly more seriously, "And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here! The Doctor and the TARDIS!" And again with the clapping. The Doctor grinned, quite enjoying the attention, and raised his hands to gesture for silence.

"And... and you are?" he asked, regaining his confidence.

"Oh plenty of time for that. But according to the records, you're not one for travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern isn't it, right?" The Doctor stared at her, eyebrow raised. Why would anybody be studying him to that extent? The woman's tone became slightly sinister as she continued.

"There's no point hiding anything, not from us. So where is she?"

The Doctor paused, stalling, before suddenly grinning. Something was seriously wrong here, but he couldn't do anything except play along…

"Yes, sorry! Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all." He reached through the open TARDIS door, and pulled Jackie out. "But here she is; Rose Tyler!" He looked her up and down, as though considering her. "Hmm, she's not the best I've ever had, bit too blonde. Not to steady on her pins. A lot of that." He mimed chatting with his hand, turning back to his 'audience'. The woman laughed. "And just last week she stared into the heart of the time vortex, and aged, 57 years. But she'll do."

"I'm forty!" Jackie protested. The Doctor opened his mouth the reply, but was cut off abruptly.

"Hello. What've I missed then?" an American voice drawled from the doorway. The woman turned to him, smiling. But the Doctor didn't hear what she said next. Because stood in the doorway was the last person he expected to see in a place like this. Especially since last time he'd checked, said person had been dead. Captain Jack Harkness.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So, Yvonne, this is the Doctor and his companion? Y'know, I thought he'd be older. But he's kinda cute."

The Doctor resisted scolding Jack, just looked at him quizzically as the woman, Yvonne, turned back to face him, shaking her head slightly. "Jack," she said sternly. "Anyway, Doctor, this is my second-in-command, Captain Jack Harkness."

The Doctor looked at her, barely listening to what she was saying. There was something weird about Jack. He was just…wrong.

His gut instinct made him ache to run away as fast as he could – in the opposite direction. But he couldn't do that to his old friend. It was Jack. Good old Jack Harkness, who helped save the universe from the Daleks.

Jack Harkness, who had somehow become a fixed point in time.

As he glanced back at him, Jack looked him in the eye and shook his head imperceptibly. The Doctor stared for a moment, before getting the message. Don't recognise me. He nodded, as though agreeing to what Yvonne was saying, but still looking at Jack. The younger man gave the smallest of smiles and walked towards them, as though just realising he was still standing in the doorway.