A/N: So this is just pure wish fullfillment as I'd trade in a few non-vital organs to have a DW series of Ten/Tentoo and Jackie adventures. It should end up 3 chapters long but I'm not sure how long that'll take because life is lifey and technology hates me. I'm back to typing fics up on my phone and missing Game of Thrones. All highly traumatic as you'd imagine. Anyway, on with the fun!

Disclaimer: if I had any claim over Jackie Tyler then she'd have her own spin off by now.

The Game is a Hand in a Jar

"So have you proposed yet?"

The Doctor closed the fridge door, bottle of wine in hand and rested his forehead against it. Spending time with Jackie was bad enough on a normal day, but tonight she would be in his flat all evening. With Pete away on business and Tony at a sleepover, Rose had invited her over for dinner. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence since they had started their life together in Pete's World nearly a year ago and the Doctor was learning to deal with being around Jackie, providing Rose was around to use as a buffer.

So, of course, it was tonight she chose to be late home from work.

He opened his eyes and looked at the pixelated image of a smiling Rose in front of him. Maybe if he pressed his head against the fridge really, really hard he'd melt into the photo with her?

"Oi! You listening to me?"

Sighing, the Doctor pushed off the fridge to stand up straight. "Yes."

There was a squawking noise, followed by the sound of rustling clothes and the kitchen door bursting open. "What did she say?"

"Who?"

"Rose, you idiot!"

"About what?"

Jackie gave him a look so scathing he was sure even a Dalek would squirm. "Are you deliberately trying to send me into an early grave?"

"No!" he protested. "Sheltered accommodation, perhaps..."

Thankfully he'd known Jackie long enough to anticipate her throwing the apple in the fruit bowl at him so he was able to catch it. He winked and took a bite of it as she continued to fume about whatever it was she was annoyed about this time.

"You said you'd proposed to my daughter, Doctor," she growled in an uncanny impression of Rose the Dog who was currently busy with a bowl of food at the Doctor's feet.

"I- what?"

"Well?"

"Of course I haven't! Not that - that I wouldn't want to," he added hastily when Jackie's glare intensified. "But it's only been - what? - six months? Bit soon, don't you think?"

Jackie folded her arms and the Doctor glanced at the door, hoping to see Rose coming home to save him. Folded arms never meant anything positive.

"It's been ten months," she corrected, "and you knew her years before that anyway. So?"

Pouring the wine out into two glasses provided the Doctor with a much needed excuse not to make eye contact and time to work out a response. The truth was that he had proposed. Twice. It appeared that one of the many Donna quirks he had inherited was the desire to get married. It had been a bit disconcerting when he first found himself flicking through bridal magazines but it didn't seem so bad once he pictured Rose in one of the dresses. She was the perfect candidate for marriage after all, seeing as she lived with him, bought him bananas every so often and seemed to enjoy kissing him.

He'd kept his own opinion on the whole settling down thing though; as soon as the TARDIS coral was fully grown and functional he was going to be out of a permenant address quicker than you could say "monthly mortgage repayments." The only difference was that this time he wanted to run away with Rose.

However, Rose, while she agreed with the whole running away together thing, had turned him down. It had been done with many reassurances that she would eventually say yes and it didn't change anything, not really, but it still made him worry. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing he ever wanted to talk to Jackie about either, even if she could shed some light on the whole issue. Rose had said that it was because he needed to work out if that was what he really wanted or if he was just asking because he thought he should and, if the Doctor was honest with himself, she probably had a point. Suddenly changing species and inheriting half your best friend's DNA was a confusing process, after all.

Still, he wondered glumly, as the second wine glass was filled to exact same level as the other, he'd as good as proposed that day on the beach and she seemed on board then.

"Maybe one day, Jackie," he sighed, handing her a glass. "And we'll be sure to let you know the second it happens so you can cry and plan and do that weird squealing thing as soon as possible."

Oddly enough, Jackie was happy enough with this response to accept the drink with a small sniff. "'Spose that will do. For now." She gave him a final glare, as though he'd reveal he had his fingers crossed the whole time, and went back into the living room.

A long exhale and swig of wine later, the Doctor followed.

"Where is Rose, anyway?" Jackie asked as she sat down on the sofa. The Doctor reached for the TV remote but she too quick for him and switched the channel to Big Brother. Outwardly, he sulked and threw himself into the armchair, but inside he was glad. It was an eviction tonight and he'd been desperate to watch it without anyone realising he wanted to watch it. Reality TV was below Time Lords, after all. He was only watching because that Diane bitch was playing such a clever game that she was clearly a potential threat to the nation. There was no actual enjoyment from watching all the highlights, the companion shows and reading all the relevant interviews.

"The kitchen last time I saw her," the Doctor replied, his attention on the a group of twenty-somethings who were dressed as ketchup bottles for some reason.

"No, Rose the Person."

"Oh, her. Still at work." The Doctor frowned and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Normally she lets me know if she'd going to be this late." He didn't add that she had promised on her life that she would not be staying late tonight because there was a very real chance he would lose his if she did.

"You don't think she's in trouble, do you?" worried Jackie. "Bloody Torchwood-"

"I'm sure she's fine," the Doctor reassured her as Rose the Dog bounded into the room and settled on his lap. He stroked her absentmindedly with one hand as the other fished his mobile out of his trouser pocket.

Jackie shot him a scepticle look. "I've heard about the nonsense you get up to at that place. Aliens and whatnot-"

"Sat right here, Jackie."

"-and none of it sounds safe! I swear, none of you lot are happy unless some freaky thing from up there is trying to kill you. Do you even get payed for it?"

He shrugged. Pete had offered him a full-time job at Torchwood, providing he attended all the relevant training. Of course, the idea of a proper job made his teeth itch and the Doctor had only gone to the training sessions that sounded fun (he'd been in the front row for advanced theoretical temporal physics, but had given health and safety a wide berth) or he knew Rose would be running. As a result he wasn't sure if he was an offical Torchwood employee, but everyone there knew who he was and let him in to tinker in their labs or join them on field missions on the days he decided to show up. Her should probably check to see if he was on the payroll or not...

"Yeah, well, you won't be getting payed enough for all the risk! It ain't safe."

The Doctor nodded along though his attention was squarly focussed on whether Benjy knew what Diane had been saying about him to the other housemates. Inner-house politics hadn't been this fascinating when he had been in the house himself.

"I was saying to Pete the other day, I was. I was saying "Pete, you can't seriously be letting Rose do this stuff. It isn't safe!""

Why hadn't he been more involved? Personality like his, he could have won the public over in no time. Or at least worked out a way to escape when he got bored.

"He reckons she probably enjoys it, thanks to all that time with you. Ruined her, you have."

The cameras could be broken up and fashioned into some kind of explosive, surely... Just as his plan was coming together, Rose the Dog softly bit his hand and he remembered why he hadn't been a very good housemate. After giving the dog a grateful scratch behind the ears, he went back to checking his phone and saw it was switched off. Rose always bugged him to keep it on, but after 900 years of not bothering with such primative technology, it was difficult to remember.

"Saying that, I remember that time at school when she talked her way out of PE by saying it was against her human rights to play netball. Half the class walked out. That was another meeting up the school with her form tutor," muttered Jackie. It was a talent, the Doctor thought, that even this pre-Auton story was still told in the same accusatory tone, as though he had had an influence on Rose's school days. If you gave her the chance, Jackie Tyler could convince someone that he was to blame for the fall of Rome.

He partly was, but she didn't know that and he had no plans of telling her.

Jackie sighed as the Doctor's phone buzzed into life. "The whole choir thing happened the week after. Did she ever-"

The Doctor was saved from having to become an active part of the conversation when a text came through. "It's Rose!" he exclaimed, causing Rose the Dog to yelp.

"Who did you think was licking your hand?" Jackie asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, not- nevermind."

He waited for the message to open, hoping against hope that it announced her immediate arrival, preferably with some kind of apology cake for being so late and leaving him to the mercy of her mother.

Instead, what he read, caused all the colour to drain from his face.

code 63 tried 2 get out of it stuck with the killer ilyx

He clung to the phone with a shaking hand, as though he could somehow drag Rose herself to him and safety.

"So?" Jackie pestered, taking a healthy glug of wine. "Where is she?"

Eyes still locked on the screen, the Doctor tried to explain what was happening but it was made slightly difficult, owing to his heart being in his throat. Of all the days he could have chosen to not go into work...

"Doctor? Is she all right?"

Finally he looked up to see Jackie's concern. Something about it started his brain working again. "Code sixty-three..." he breathed.

"What?" She shook her head impatiently. "What's that when it's at home?"

"It's kidnap," the Doctor replied. "Rose has been kidnapped."