Three
When they'd first picked up Jack, Rose had tried to tease the Doctor. Of course, it didn't hurt that Jack was undeniably attractive in his own right, and a little flirting never harmed anyone.
After they'd rescued him, they'd gone to visit the first off planet human colonisation -on Mars - in 2157. They were supposed to have landed twenty years later, but, as Jack said, they'd come to see the universe, who were they to be picky as to when or where? This earned him brownie points with both the Doctor and the TARDIS, but Rose just laughed at his enthusiasm.
In actual fact, there hadn't been a lot to see. The buildings were for the most part surprisingly low tech houses – or mud huts, as Rose more accurately dubbed them.
Coupled with the nearness of the sun and the bare earth (apparently they didn't succeed in cultivating the soil for another two years), the buildings - which were constructed of the planet's natural dusty red stone - made a bleak, monotonous landscape of burnt orange. Afterwards, they all agreed that they'd hate to live somewhere so bland, without any green. Even if, as the Doctor remarked, there wasn't actually much green in central London either. Rose ignored him; she was used to his jibes.
Undaunted by the landscape, they'd set out to explore. Rose had playfully linked arms with Jack, laughing coquettishly as he joked, the two of them strolling jauntily past miserable looking settlers, all of whom had a distinctly oriental look.
When she'd remarked on this, Jack had explained that Japan and China had been the first to launch their colonisation ships – "followed closely by the Americans, of course," he'd reassured her, grinning. He'd explained it to her without sarcasm, without patronising her and without any slurs on her genetic origins – she turned to smirk at the Doctor, to let him know that this was how you were supposed to answer perfectly innocent questions.
Which was where she made her mistake.
At first, his face had fallen – but only momentarily. He suddenly burst into an enormous grin, and strode forward, reaching his hand out.
For Jack's.
Despite her desperate efforts not to, she must have shown some sort of reaction on her face when their other companion took the proffered hand without question, because the Doctor had turned to her with a mischievous grin that was even wider, if that were possible.
Refusing to be outdone, Rose hugged Jack's arm close to her, snuggling up against his well defined chest. He shot her an amused glance; he was clearly enjoying this.
The three companions, hand in hand, arm in arm, sauntered along to where the Doctor claimed the 'architectural nightmare' that was the New Hanging Gardens was– or at least, where it would have been had they landed at the time they'd intended.
So occupied were they with each other, that all three of them failed to notice the cold glares that they were receiving from the locals.
Or at least, not until a group of rather intimidating men, all of whom were taller and burlier than both the Doctor and Jack, appeared and marched them to the newest building in the settlement. Which also happened to double as a prison.
----------
"As you'll see from this pass," the Doctor showed the psychic paper to their sullen guard, "we're friends of the… Er… team leader, and do have authorisation to be here…" He trailed off, as the guard raised his eyebrow, unimpressed.
Probably best not to irritate him, Rose thought sourly; chances are he can do ju-jitsu or something just as dangerous.
As the Doctor continued his attempts to talk his way out of their predicament, she was trying desperately to spot a way out. Jack, on the other hand, was sulking after failing to chat up their heavily muscled gaoler.
The room was a fairly large one; and it clearly hadn't been intended for a prison. Although there was only one entrance (currently occupied by their guard, who must have been a brick wall in another life, she decided), and no windows, it looked like it might originally have been a reception room. There were low settees scattered around the room, and the light came from soft lamps and mood lights hidden in niches along the walls. But it hadn't been used as such for a while, instead serving as a barely used storeroom, judging by the piles of crates and the thick, brown dust that lay everywhere. They'd begun to explore the contents of the crates when the guard wasn't looking, but had quickly stopped after the Doctor had come across one stuffed with a rank smelling substance which he informed her was very old cured ham, probably brought as emergency stores from Earth. After that, they'd decided it was probably best to leave well alone.
In short, she couldn't see a way out.
Sighing and closing her eyes, she lay back on one of the sofas in despair, trying to remain calm. Only when she felt the Doctor's weight sink resignedly down onto the cushions next to her, did she open them.
Which allowed her to see the skylight in the roof.
She sat up very quickly, the blood rushing to her head. She swayed slightly, feeling a little faint. Both Jack and the Doctor were instantly there, steadying her.
"Are you ok? I'm sorry." The Doctor placed his arm protectively around her shoulders.
"Does this normally happen when you decide to go out?" Jack asked, trying to make light of the situation. "Being incarcerated, I mean. Although as cells go, this is pretty luxurious."
"Yes!" Rose replied emphatically as she recovered from the head rush, waving them away as she sat up straighter.
"Hey, that's not fair," said the Doctor defensively, "how was I supposed to know they'd think we were spies from the American settlement? At least we're only locked up, not down for execution or anything."
"Yet." Rose muttered darkly.
"I heard that. Besides, I blame Jack's accent."
"Yeah, 'cause the fact that we sound English would make a huge difference," she retorted, before lowering her voice. "Anyway, doesn't matter. I reckon we could get out of here pretty easily, but I need some help with the details."
The three of them huddled together, planning their escape.
----------
"Now!" Jack yelled as he successfully knocked the guard out with an improvised club. It was actually an elaborately carved sofa leg which the Doctor had managed to prise off, but it worked.
Rose vaulted up onto the precariously piled crates as the Doctor steadied them, hoping desperately they were strong enough to support her weight. Satisfied, she called over to Jack, who tossed her the sofa leg. Catching it with the very tips of her fingers, she shielded herself from the shards of glass with the Doctor's leather jacket and used the leg to smash the skylight.
Carefully, she climbed out, relieved to find that they had been right in thinking the building had a fairly flat roof. Swiftly behind her came Jack and the Doctor, accompanied by shouts from below alerting them that their escape had been noted.
They leapt off the roof, Rose wincing as she forgot to bend her knees enough to avoid too much jarring on landing. But there was no time to recover. The Doctor grabbed her, and they ran full pelt for the TARDIS.
Her right hand was clasped firmly in the Doctor's, but her left flailed wildly before it found Jack's outstretched arm. The three of them ran for freedom, hands joined, and it just felt right.
They made it – barely. The Doctor slammed the TARDIS door shut on their pursuers as Jack staggered in. He and Rose bent over, sides heaving, trying to catch their breath. The Doctor seemed annoyingly unaffected, leaping around the console programming her to take them somewhere less hostile. Probably because of the two heart thing, Rose thought.
"That was easier than I though it'd be," Jack said once he'd regained his breath, "nice one, Rose."
"Speak for yourself – look." The Doctor showed them his palms, which had broad friction burns on them.
"Where you wrenched the wooden leg off?" Rose asked, taking his hands in hers and examining the damage. He nodded. "We could have used the screwdriver, you know."
"And risk you damaging it?" he pointed out. "I think not. Anyway, I can heal them, but I'll need a hand with the dermal regenerator."
"I'll go," Jack leapt up before Rose could speak, "I've not seen the medical room before."
"It's nothing special." muttered Rose, dropping the Doctors hands as he moved away. The two of them walked off, leaving her alone in the console room.
"I'll just make the tea then, shall I?" she yelled to them sarcastically.
Their enthusiastic response just irritated her even more. Then again, she'd quickly realised that both Jack and the Doctor were completely immune to sarcasm unless they were the ones being sarcastic, of course.
It was odd, Rose thought, how quickly the three of them had settled down into the dynamics of their relationship. She'd half expected the Doctor to dump Jack on their next stop, but now he had irrevocably become one of the team. Even to the point, she realised, that she had made three cups of tea without thinking, each slightly different to suit their tastes. Hers – sweet and a drop of milk, the Doctors – very milky and sweet, and Jack's, with no sugar and only the tiniest smidgeon of milk. And she honestly hadn't thought about it, it had been an automatic reflex.
She almost missed the days when it had been just two cups of tea – they were easier to carry, for one thing – yet, somehow, it was better with three. As if Jack added a much needed third dimension – fourth if you counted the ship herself – to life on the TARDIS, balancing everything out.
The kettle was almost boiled, shuddering with ever more intensity as it reached one hundred degrees. She watched as the shudders grew to such a degree that she thought it might explode, growing nearer and nearer to boiling until finally it climaxed, and the water began to – wait. Climaxed? Bloody hell, she'd obviously been missing Mickey more than she'd realised.
Of course, the constant flirting with her two companions, who were noticeably of the attractive male type, wasn't helping matters. Rose smiled to herself, remembering their hands in hers as they had run together just that afternoon.
She had to force herself to stop daydreaming; the tea would get cold if she didn't hurry up, and then she'd never hear the end of it. Balancing the mugs on a tray and adding a packet of biscuits for good measure, she negotiated her way to the med lab. It was definitely nearer than it usually was, and she mentally thanked the TARDIS for making her task easier.
By the time she got there, the Doctor was fully healed. The three of them sat in companionable silence, savouring their hot drinks.
"You know, I think my time in England had a negative effect on me. Either that, or you two have corrupted me." Jack remarked a few minutes later.
"I refuse to believe you acted any different before we met you!" Rose laughed, to which Jack grinned and saluted her with his mug.
"Actually, I meant my sudden fondness for tea, and the fact that I seem to be getting scarily unfit. But, now that you mention it…"
The Doctor interrupted him. "Maybe you can blame us for the tea, but you've no excuse on the exercise front."
"Yeah, we do plenty of running – away from things!" Rose quipped.
"And whose fault's that, Miss Peril-friendly? But we've got a gym on here somewhere, you know." He gestured broadly towards the door.
"We do? You never told me!" Rose said, a little put out.
"You don't need to worry – you seem in pretty good shape to me," Jack said, his eyebrow raised suggestively. As if to prove his point, he slowly admired her figure, making Rose's cheeks burn. She turned to the Doctor to say something, only to find him nodding in agreement.
To try and curb her embarrassment, she tutted loudly. "When you've quite finished eyeing up my boobs-" The two of them jerked back to their senses, Jack grinning cheekily and the Doctor suddenly awkward. Rose looked from Jack's face to the Doctor's, unable to stop herself from laughing at their very different expressions.
She took the now empty mugs from them, placing them on a nearby work surface. "Come on then Doctor," she reached out her hands, "let's see this gym then."
Again, she had one hand entwined with the Doctor's, the other clasped firmly in Jack's. And again, it felt like they were meant to be like that.
----------
Most of the gym equipment, it turned out, was completely unrecognisable to Rose. This might've have something to do with the fact that she'd never been to a gym in her life, and couldn't have identified which machines might've been at home in her own timeline, let alone anything from any time after.
Jack, however, was impressed. That much was clear from the fact that he stood gaping for thirty seconds before feeling the need to show off, stripping himself of his shirt and then lifting weights and stretching muscles that Rose wasn't even aware existed. Although she had to admit, he did have a fair bit to show off, watching his exertions thoughtfully.
"Rose," she jumped, having almost forgotten the Doctor was there. "Not really your thing, is it? Come here – you'll like this." He beckoned her to a door in the far wall.
"What – oh!" she grinned, seeing what he was referring to, "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this!"
He shrugged. "I forgot. The TARDIS has a lot of secrets; I sometimes lose track."
Jack joined them at the doorway, his shirt draped round his shoulders, skin glistening with exertion. He whistled in amazement when he saw the huge swimming pool in the next room.
"Nice. You know what this calls for?" he didn't wait for an answer. "Skinny dipping!"
Rose instantly backed off, suddenly aware of how close the three of them were standing. Although the idea definitely attracted her, she wasn't entirely sure that it would be a good idea if she jumped on both of her companions whilst they were swimming. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought.
The Doctor was watching her, she realised.
"I don't think Rose is comfortable with the idea. And it just wouldn't be the same with only us two, would it?"
Jack hesitated a moment before responding. "No. Definitely better with three of us."
"You sure? I don't mind-" Rose started guiltily, although she regretted it instantly.
"I'm sure."
"Definitely."
The room had taken on a serious atmosphere, and it suddenly seemed to Rose that what they were answering was a far more important question. She smiled shyly at them, hesitating a second before dragging them both into a fierce hug.
"Thanks." She said as she let them go, self conscious once more. She wasn't even sure what she was thanking them for, only that she needed to let them know she appreciated it. She didn't think they were entirely sure either, but it didn't matter. They understood.
Solemnly they stood in silence for a few seconds, not knowing what to say next. It was the Doctor who spoke first, grinning with sudden enthusiasm.
"So, how about we go somewhere exciting next?"
Rose and Jack couldn't help but return his grin.
My beta, Helen (aka Jezzrian) pointed out that apparently kettles don't actually boil at 100 degrees as it risks melting the plastic, which is why it takes so long for water from a kettle to boil on a stove. This isn't really important, but I thought we all ought to benefit from her knowledge of fairly useless trivia!
I'd love some feedback on this story - it's been something of a labour of love, which is why I had Jezzrian and Doylefan22 beta it for me (hugs Thank you guys!), but I'm really interested in what people thought of it. And at Doylefan22's urging, I am considering writing a sequel with skinny dipping. Only considering, mind, but it may yet happen!