Captain Jack Harkness stared his ship's console, ticking and glowing before him, a look of amazement etched in his features.
"It's a match…" He said quietly, before doubling back as quick as lightning and checking his instruments again. "It's a match!" he whooped and punched the air, grinning madly. "I've finally found them!"
Trying to find the TARDIS and its residents in all of time and space had turned out to be like playing an intergalactic version of whack-a-mole. Jack had only been searching for two months, and twice already had he picked up the TARDIS' signature time and spatial distortion, only to have it suddenly disappear before he had even gotten close. He had made the decision to stick close to Earth, as he knew it was somewhere that the Doctor frequented. Upon hacking into several classified earth records, the Captain had discovered an abundance of information on the mystery Time Lord dated to the nineteen seventies in England. It was because of this that he had been hanging around that time and area in the hope that the TARDIS would turn up and he'd be able to return to the people he had begun to think of as his crew.
London, England, Earth: December 12, 1976. Some time around the vicinity of, but not quite, getting on to tea time.
The Doctor pressed a few buttons on the TARDIS' console and smiled apologetically as the ship groaned.
"Sorry girl, I'm just stopping off for a bit. I'll be back before you even notice."
The TARDIS made a forgiving sort of sigh, and the Doctor smiled, pulled the door lever up, grabbed his hat and coat, and strolled out the door.
Outside, a sleek, heavily modified and recently commandeered Conglurian time-tourist ship landed invisibly and silently. A young and dashing male head stuck itself up out of the top and smiled widely upon catching sight of a blue police box standing very nearby in the London alley. Captain Jack hoisted himself out and landed smoothly on the concrete, hastening towards the TARDIS. He silently feared that it would dematerialise just as he reached it, as it had done on the Game Station.
He bounded towards the blue box and, upon reaching out to push the door open, realised that it had suddenly been opened from the inside. Out stepped a young and rather ingenuous man with blonde hair. Jack noted with mild interest that he wore a beige Victorian cricketing outfit, but this was quickly brushed aside as he smiled and noted some other things. The man stared at him in slight surprise.
"Hello there." he said amiably, oblivious to Jack's appreciative gaze. There was a moment of silence. "Would you like something?" he added.
"I've been replaced already, have I?" Jack suddenly laughed. "I would complain, but I don't think that I could with someone like you as my substitute."
"I beg your pardon?" the Doctor's forehead furrowed in confusion.
"Captain Jack Harkness, though you've probably already been told about me." Jack extended his hand and gave the blonde man a hearty handshake.
"Oh…uh, yes." The Doctor returned the grip and smiled good-naturedly, if also slightly concernedly. "I'm the uhh…I'm sorry, but am I supposed to know who you are?"
"Not yet, but you will soon. I'm sure we'll get to know each other very well." Jack grinned. "Moving on to only slightly more pressing matters. Is the Doctor or Rose in there?"
"I'm not sure about who this Rose person is, but the Doctor isn't in there. He's out here."
"Out here? Where?" Jack cast his gaze up and down the alley. The Doctor gave Jack a rather concerned look.
"He's right here." He said uncertainly. Jack turned to stare at him in puzzlement. "I'm the Doctor." he clarified with an affable smile, which faltered slightly when Jack's gaze became ten times more baffled. "You are looking for me…aren't you?" Jack continued to stare.
"I'm not…exactly sure…" the Captain frowned and rubbed his forehead. "There can't be more than one 'the Doctor', can there?"
"As far as I know I'm the only one using that handle. Unless…" the Doctor looked up intently. "What does the Doctor you know look like?" Jack frowned pensively.
"He has dark close-cropped hair, almost military. Big nose, bigger ears, though not unattractive at all. He also has beautiful blue eyes, wears black with a leather jacket, has two hearts and travels around in a TARDIS that looks just like this one."
"That's definitely me, but no…" the Doctor frowned. "No, I haven't been him yet. Dare say I would remember such an unpleasant sounding regeneration. Though I'm presuming he's my future. A not too close future if I have any luck."
"What?" was all that Jack could say.
"I assume that this future me hasn't told you about regeneration?"
"Regeneration?" Jack gave a blank stare. The Doctor smiled understandingly and turned back to the TARDIS.
"Listen, you had better come inside. This may take a bit of explaining."