"You know…"He said, in his American drawl, slinging an arm round Rose's shoulders. "We make a good team"
The Doctor rolled his eyes and inwardly groaned at the ridiculously clichéd line. It was moments like this that he wondered why he had let Rose convince him to bring him along. Why hadn't he just took him back to the 51st century, dropped him off, told to have a nice life and sped off to some exotic location where Rose would soon forget all about 'Captain' Jack Harkness. He knew why really, though he hated to admit it. Jack made Rose happy. Wasn't that what mattered most?
He watched as the young handsome time agent leant in and whispered something apparently hilarious in Rose's ear. Why couldn't he be like that with her, why couldn't he make her eyes dance like they were doing now? Oh, they had a laugh and a joke. They could goof off, but there always seemed to be some wall between then that they never seemed to be able to break down.
"You know we could take this baby to the moons of Tynas" Jack said, motioning around to the Tardis. "There is a great nightclub there"
"We could go to the falls of Viscera" He muttered quietly, randomly pressing buttons on the console, "Where I can push you in. Wouldn't that be fun?"
"What?" The younger man said, turning to the Doctor.
"What?" He said, looking up, pretending not to know what was going on
"You said something?"
"No. I said nothing. My mouth didn't even open and as far as I am aware I cannot throw my voice, so you must be hearing things"
Jack looked at the other man questioningly. He knew that the Doctor didn't like him much. There were times when they could talk like old mates, swapping stories of adventures in time and space. Then there would be times like this when he would be sullen and annoying making snide remarks at any opportunity. He sometimes wondered why the Doctor didn't just say he didn't want him there. He looked back at Rose and smiled, the Doctor couldn't get rid of him, Rose would never allow it.
"What you say, Rose? You and me tearing up the dance floor of one of the greatest clubs in the universe"
"Don't mind me" The Doctor muttered to himself, "I'll just go play tic tac toe with myself shall I"
He looked up and caught Rose staring at him. She'd heard him, and the realisation made him visibly redden. He hated it when she looked at him like that. It made him feel like a naughty child. Oh he knew that sometimes he acted like a spoilt brat, but he was so used to getting his own way.
"Just think of it. You, me, cocktails and funky music" Jack whispered, gently playing with a few strands of her long blond hair. "What could be better than that?"
She ignored him and carried on staring at the Doctor. She wondered what his problem was. He had agreed to Jack joining them, it was fun at times to have another person round, especially when the Doctor was acting like this. She just wished that Jack would get the message and realise that she was not interested.
"Rose"
She turned back to the younger man and forced a smile. "That sound like fun, Jack…" She stopped as she heard some of the levers on the control being yanked down violently and looked back at her other companion
"Right" He muttered out loud, though not particularly for the other occupants of the control room. "We're in a holding pattern. We shouldn't go anywhere, unless we get sucked into a storm or black hole. So if it is all the same to you I'm off to bed, so you two can be alone" He swung round and headed out of the control room.
"Hey" Rose shouted at her leather clad friend, as he retreated through the door to the main corridor
Jack leaned forwards. "Forget about him. We have the whole place to ourselves"
Rose shook her head and pushed him away. "Oh Jack" She said, swinging her head back to look at him. "When will you realise that you are not god's gift to the universe"
He backed off and looked at her, hurt clouding his normally cheerful expression. "Thanks Rose. A guy is just trying to be nice. Why don't you just blow him out of the water?"
She waved the comment away with her hand. He'd get over it. He hadn't got through his whole existence without at least a couple of knock backs, it was what kept his head its normal size otherwise they'd be no room for anyone else in the universe.
Rose headed out the same door that the Doctor had gone out just minutes ago. The corridor was cool after the hotness after the control room. She always got anxious when she had to walk down this corridor, the Tardis liked to play tricks and she never knew where she was going to end up. She remembered one time when she had accidentally walked into the Doctors' bathroom when he had been in the shower. The thought made her blush and she tried to push it out of her mind as she listened intently for any sound that would tell her where the Doctor currently was.
She passed door after door. They all looked the same, but she wondered what mysteries laid behind them. She had only every explored a couple of them. She knew one of them was the Doctors' room, she had never been in it but she knew it existed. He disappeared there quite a lot at the moment and she wanted to know the reason why.
She had been walking for a couple of minutes when she heard it. The slam of wood against wood. She stopped and listened for the sound again. It was coming from the kitchen. Now where was that again?
"Bloody, smarmy know-it-all" the Doctor muttered, as he roughly grabbed a plate out of the cabinet and then slammed the door shut. He plonked it on the worktop and slapped the sandwich that he had just made on top of it, the contents spilling out over its surface. "Bloody idiot"
He shoved the filling back inside the two slices of bread and then took a big bite.
He jumped as she cleared her throat and spun round.
"Why don't you give a guy a heart attack" He said, as he chewed his meal, some of the contents escaping from his mouth and spilling on to the white-tiled floor.
"Oh you do have one do you" She said, pushing herself off the door jam where she had been leaning and crossing the floor. She grabbed the roll of kitchen paper off the side and knelt down to clear up the mess he had made.
He pulled a face, "I have two thank you. Both work perfectly"
"You could have fooled me"
"What that supposed to mean?" He snarled, He instantly regretted his tone of voice when she looked up sharply at him. "I wish you wouldn't do that"
"What?"
"Look at me like you are chastising a naughty child"
"Well, some times you act like one" She said, screwing up the used kitchen towel and getting up off the floor. "You know between you and Jack I'm surprised the Tardis doesn't explode from all the male hormones you are both exuding. Why don't you both have a pissing contest? See who can make it fly the furthest.
He dropped the plate back on to the worktop angrily. The sandwich discarded. He was too pissed off to eat now.
"Hey" She yelled, "It has feelings you know"
The Doctor spread his arms out and gestured around. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" He looked back at her. "I'm sorry okay"
Rose placed the tissue on the table, "What's the matter with you?" She asked
"Nothing. Nothing is the matter with me. I'm absolutely fucking fantastic"
She sighed. She hated it when he got like this. Hated when he shut her out. They were supposed to be friends, supposed to be able to talk, but whilst she would bare her soul to him he would only tell her what he wanted her to know.
"I am off to bed" He muttered, heading towards the door
She blocked his path, "No, you are going to talk to me and tell me what is wrong"
"Rose" He tried to gently move her out of his way
Rose straightened herself up. "No" She said, prodding him gently in the chest, "You are going to tell me what your problem is"
He saw the look of steely determination on her face and knew he wasn't going to get out of this one.
"So?"
"What?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest defensively
"Talk"
He sighed and dropped his arms
"I have no problem with you, Rose" He said gently, "Apart from you're always tiding up"
"Well someone has to do it" She replied, "Anyway I know you problem isn't with me. Your problem is with Jack"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well it doesn't take Einstein to work it out. Why don't you just say that you don't like him?"
"Who said that I didn't like him?"
"Well you have a very funny way of showing it"
"I'm Alien. I have funny way of doing things" he said
She cocked her head slightly and lightly tapped her foot against the floor
"It's not that I don't like him. I just don't like having him around all the time"
"Ok this is good" Rose said teasingly, "this is you sharing your feelings"
"He makes me feel old" He said, crossing his arms again
"Old?"
"Yes, old. Are you happy now?"
"You're nine hundred years old"
"Doesn't mean that I feel that old. He also makes me feel unwanted"
"So you want him to want you? Are you trying to tell me something, Doctor?"
He frowned and looked at her, wondering what she meant. "Ugh" He said, realising what she was getting at. "I mean he makes me feel obsolete"
She laughed at his discomfort, her eyes dancing the way he loved. He put a hand on her shoulder and used the other to gently touch her cheek.
"And I don't think he is right for you"
Rose sighed and rolled her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend"
"I can understand why you would though. He is a good-looking chap and it must lonely on here stuck with just sad, old me"
"Are you not listening?" She said, "And you are not sad"
"No?"
"No"
"Well thanks" he said, giving her one of the grins that she loved about him.
She stared into his eyes, those eyes that you could get lost and drown in and you wouldn't care. "Thank you"
"For what?" he asked, returning her gaze
"For opening up to me for once. I have missed this. I have missed talking to you, but I always have seemed to be the one who has bared their soul"
"Don't you like me being a mystery? Don't you sometimes think you end up drowning in other peoples' emotions and baggage if you know too much"
"There are mysteries and there are mysteries. The Tardis is a mystery to me. Sometimes just knowing a little of person means you get to know them a lot"
He smiled and turned away.
"Doctor"
He looked back at her.
"Thank you for caring"
"My pleasure" He said, "So come on" He took her hand" Where was this nightclub that Jack was talking about"
Slowly they wandered back towards the control room and Jack, who was still sulking over Rose's rebuff. They knew now, it was fact, unspoken but a fact, that no matter where they went and who joined them on their travels, they were friends and no one can come between them.