Jack was unsure of what to expect; he'd never attended a Time Lord ceremony, but the call from Donna and the threat of what she would do to him if he missed it was enough to make him early, which for him was a first.
He fidgeted and ran a finger round the gap between the stiff collar of the robes Donna had shoved at him when he'd arrived.
His ears were still ringing from the lecture she'd given him. "No smirking, no innuendos and definitely no wolf-whistle or I'll deck you."
That was an hour ago and it was getting cold now that the sun in the TARDIS garden was starting to dip below the trees.
He was about to take the annoying cloak off when the music started. He'd been expecting drums and cymbals and pompous choral song, but instead the gentle timbre of what sounded like chimes and flutes filled the air.
He turned when he heard the Doctor's voice on the breeze, speaking in his own beautiful lilting language.
He forced a smirk of his face when he appeared followed by Donna, who was dressed in clothes similar to his.
The Doctor's clothes were more than a little revealing as the tunic he was wearing was slashed to his navel, showing a very tempting treasure trail and the sweat was trickling down that oh so out of reach skin.
He forced his eyes to move back up to the Doctor's face and found Donna glaring at him.
The Doctor changed from Gallifreyan to human as he stopped by the river that ran through the garden.
He held an urn in his hand that was decorated with swirls and symbols of his people and he held aloft.
"By the right of lineage I call to the gods of the sky to witness this act. "
He turned and placed the urn on the ground. "By the right of lineage I call to the gods of the earth to witness this act."
He picked up the urn and turned not once but three times before speaking. "By the right of lineage I call to the gods of the winds to witness this act."
He turned to Donna who walked over to the river and scooped out a bowlful of water and poured it out on the ground.
"By right of lineage I call to the gods of the water to witness this act."
The Doctor then moved over to the river and opened the urn and started pouring out what looked like ash into the river.
"By right of lineage I call upon all the gods to witness this act. I call upon all the gods of our past to witness this act of remembrance, for the souls of those that were lost and for those that we will lose and those that never live."
His finished pouring the ash and replaced the lid of the urn and then let the urn drop to ground and smash into three large pieces. He picked them up and handed one to Donna and murmured something to her and kissed her.
Donna said something back and hugged the Doctor before stepping back.
The Doctor walked over to Jack and placed a piece of the urn in his hand and said.
"This is in remembrance of all of those we have lost and those we have loved whether they are Gallifreyan or human. Keep this as a reminder Jack for the pain of past grief and for the pain of future grief."
He then kissed Jack tenderly on the lips and embraced him in a hug.
"Thank you Jack," he said in his ear and moved away and back to the river.
Donna moved over and grabbed his hand. "C'mon Jack, let's leave him, he needs some time."
Jack took one more look at the Doctor who was now staring at the disappearing sun.
"Was that what I think it was?" he asked as they walked towards the door of the garden.
"Yeah," Donna said. "Funny ain't it. No matter how you dress it up, remembering the dead is the same all over."