Title: Familiar
Summary: Jack muses on his place and whether he really fits in.
Author's Notes: Yet another one to file into the 'pointless' category, I'm afraid. Not entirely sure what I was trying to accomplish with this.
It wasn't as if they were crowding him out, per se. He'd wager they didn't even realise how gooseberry-like they made him feel. But that didn't mean that he felt it any less acutely; on the contrary, it was just another example of how wrapped up in each other they were.
Take breakfast, for instance. He'd wander in, fluffy-haired and sleepy-eyed, and find them making toast or whatever. Rose, when she'd buttered hers, wiped the knife before passing it to the Doctor, who in turn when making Rose's tea would put the teabag in, poke it for a bit and then take it out and add the milk.
Jack hadn't even noticed these mannerisms initially, but on his first attempt at participating in the breakfast ritual, he'd been alternately scolded by the Doctor for not wiping the knife and thus getting crumbs in the butter, and clucked at by Rose, who couldn't explain why she liked her tea a particular way, she only knew that she did.
And neither of them questioned the other's habits or reasons – they just accepted them as a matter of course.
Then there was the time Jack had been passing a bathroom and had heard both the Doctor and Rose's voices coming from inside.
'A-ha,' he'd thought, 'so maybe they are involved.'
He'd heard splashing, and guessed that they were in the bath. "You know," Rose said, "I don't think this Ataxian bath goo is as bubbly as the old Betazoid stuff. What do you think?"
A rustling of paper. "Can't tell," said the Doctor neutrally. "Listen to this: 'Scientists have uncovered possible links between time travel and acne.'"
Rose gasped. "What?"
The Doctor laughed. "Joking – honestly, you're so gullible."
"I am not!" He heard a splash.
"Don't flick water at me," said the Doctor, not sounding remotely annoyed. "Or I'll dump some of those Mi'icron bath salts in there, and see how you like that."
"It's not fair," Rose complained. "You've got an advantage over me… just sitting on the bloody floor and reading, you could leg it easily if you wanted to. I'd have to at least get a towel if I wanted to run anywhere, and the TARDIS is a death trap if you've got wet feet."
"Get out, then."
"Oh, but it's so nice and warm and bubbly… Have you got porn hidden behind that magazine, or something?"
The Doctor made a choking noise. "No. Why d'you say that?"
"Cos you haven't turned the page for ages."
Jack heard a faint rustle. "There. Satisfied?"
And Jack knew what sexual relationships were – he could smell them a mile off. This wasn't sexual… and yet on some level, it was. Maybe a level that they weren't quite aware of yet.
They were aware of something, though.
He remembered some visit they'd paid to Hough, an out-of-the-way planet with its various conflicts and secrets. They'd been in a government bunker, investigating, and the Doctor had turned to Rose and said, "Take that passage."
She'd just nodded. She'd taken a few steps when Jack grabbed her arm to stop her. "Aren't you even going to ask why?" he'd said, looking from her to the Doctor. "It could go anywhere."
She'd shrugged. "I know. But… I trust him."
And the Doctor had given her an inscrutable look, and she'd stared right back at him…
Then they'd gone their separate ways, only to be reunited later.
Jack was used to observing, so he noticed these things. He noticed the way that the Doctor wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest by Rose wandering in while he was getting dressed in the morning, and vice versa. He noticed the way the Doctor stroked Rose's hair and held her hand, and the way she would put a hand on his back if she sensed him getting too uptight.
He could hardly miss the glares sent his way by the Doctor when he flirted just a bit too much with Rose.
The phrase 'three's a crowd' kept springing to mind, and yet strangely, he didn't feel totally excluded. They had a certain… dynamic, the three of them. Individually, they were strong, but together they were stronger, and they knew each other inside out.
He'd never experienced that before.
So he figured he'd stick around, watch the Doctor and Rose circle each other cautiously for a while, and one day… maybe, one day, he'd lock 'em in a darkened room or something.
Better yet, seduce them both – stir up some jealousy and have fun into the bargain.
Jack grinned to himself as the Doctor and Rose came into the control room bickering about Rose's First Aid technique.
"… don't drown it in bloody antiseptic is all I'm saying," said the Doctor, inspecting a cut on the back of his hand. "Hurts like hell."
"Well, if you want it to get infected…"
"A sterile bandage would have done nicely, and anyway, I rarely get infected – I'm super resistant, me."
"Right. Which is why I remember dosing you up with painkillers a few months ago cos you'd got the flu."
The Doctor glared at her. "That was much worse than the flu." His glare changed to a leer. "And you loved playing nurse."
Rose whacked him in the arm. "Shut up. Hi, Jack."
"Hey, Rose." Jack winked at her. "I'm feeling a little sick myself – you want to play nurse with me, too?"
She grinned. "Depends. Where does it hurt?"
"All over."
Jack laughed inwardly as the Doctor yanked a lever with a bit more force than necessary, casting dark glances over at them.
These two he could definitely have fun with.