Jack's view was obscured by darkness for a few seconds, but then the interior of the
TARDIS faded into sight.
He smiled.
He was back.
"Doctor?" he yelled. Jack had an image of him in his mind ... leather jacket, same old
jumper, same ol' Doctor. That grin on his face. And Rose ... her with her hair down, and
a smile as well ...
Jack looked around. Perhaps he and Rose had landed for a bit, and ended up running into
trouble again. It always followed them, didn't it? Or they followed it.
He saw the sofa and sat down. After a while the TARDIS doors swung open. Jack turned,
expectedly. However, he didn't see who he expected.
A brown haired man ran in wearing a long brown coat. The man started to work the TARDIS
controls.
He didn't appear to have noticed Jack, at all.
"Got to find her ..." he muttered.
Jack was bewildered. Not what he expected when he arrived.
"... who're you?" he asked, loudly.
The man turned. Jack couldn't help but smile, slightly. This guy was handsome - if he was
a friend of the Doctor and of Rose, he wouldn't mind being with him.
" ... Jack??" The man asked. He seemed shocked.
"Yes, that's my name, but what's yours?"
The man ran over to him. "Really? Jack?" This man was delighted.
"I asked, who are you?" He was getting angry.
"I ... I ... you don't recognise me? No, of course you don't .. I've, Jack I changed ..."
Jack looked suspiciously at the man. "Changed? What way?"
"Leather jacket? Cropped black hair? Big ears - make you think of anyone?"
He couldn't believe it. Literally. "Doctor? I don't think so - unless a plastic surgeon
helped," he muttered.
"I AM the Doctor, Jack - why else would I know your name, be in the TARDIS, know who the
Doctor WAS? Alien who picked you up from 1941 and danced -" He did a bit of a cha-cha "-
and lost you at Satellite Five and HANG ON A MINUTE ..." He frowned. "You /died/."
"I know - I came back. I can't seem to STOP." Jack looked straight at the Doctor. "I
thought you'd know why."
"Perhaps it was to do with Rose's whole 'I bring life' thing," he muttered, and winced.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I bring life? Rose?"
"She was Bad Wolf."
"Huh?"
"I'll explain later ..." he broke off and turned back to the controls of the TARDIS and
started to make it fly.
Jack had noticed strange behaviour. The Doctor winced at the mention of Rose. Perhaps she
was in danger? That was why he was flying off to get her.
"Where's Rose?"
The Doctor turned, and turned back.
"Is she in danger? Doctor, I asked, is she in danger?"
No answer. Just more metallic whirring and frantic lever-pulling.
Annoyed and scared, Jack ran up to the Doctor and looked at his face, and got a shock.
Tears were running freely down his face.
"God," He muttered softly. "Are you okay?"
The Doctor wiped at the tears and looked up at Jack. "She's not here."
"Are you going after her? Is she in danger?" He asked for the third time.
"She's in no danger. She's with her family."
Jack found this odd. "You mean, she went home?"
"Somewhere far." More tears fell down The Doctor's cheeks.
He didn't know what this meant, and he gave a confused look.
"Another universe, don't ask me to explain it. There was a void, and teleportation, and
she's with her mother and Mickey and her father ..."
"I thought her father was dead," he questioned.
"Another universe," he said again.
"Any way to her?"
"No." By now the TARDIS controls were dotted with water spots.
Jack's eyes were threatening to cry too, now.
"I love her, Jack ..." The Doctor said, hopping over to the other buttons. "... and she's
gone. What the hell am I meant to do?"
Jack was shocked - on the inside. He never knew that. He walked over to him. "I haven't a
clue. But who're you running after now?" He asked, changing the subject.
"A girl called Martha," he said.
"Well, what buttons do you need me to press?"
The Doctor smiled. "Those over there," he said, pointing to a keypad.
"Okay," he said, jumping over to the pad and pressing at it.
The TARDIS spun through space and towards Martha.
