Disclaimer: I don't owwwwn x.x Sawy!
A/N: Mega thanks to Alimoey who worked as a Beta for me on this!
Title: Happy Birthday, Captain
Author: Nalana (or SoulSpinder. My name everywhere else.)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: Nine/Jack
Spoilers: If you know Jack comes onboard, you're good.
Rating: PG-13
With the gritting of metal, the panel at the TARDIS console's base slid shut. Latching the grid, Jack Harkness stood up with an accomplished look on his face. A look that was accompanied with various liquid stains and a few burnt fingers, but that was no problem. The Captain had set the task of fixing up the ship himself when she had started "coughing" since the Doctor wasn't in the room at the moment.
"There you go girl." He said, affectionately patting the operating consol. "All better!"
"The way you treat the TARDIS someone would think you're in love with her!" Rose chuckled from behind, slurping up the last of the drink in her hand as she walked up beside him. Her mischievous smirk made Jack equally as happy.
He had only been with Rose and the Doctor for a couple months but he honestly couldn't say he could remember ever being happier. He wasn't sure if it was the lifestyle or he actual vibrancy of the two around him. Whatever it was he felt completely at peace. Well, almost.
Jack had always been a little…tense. Maybe that was the reason he was constantly flirting. He could only thank the universe that Rose didn't seem to mind his commentary; he was always a little more cautious of keeping females feeling safe. He couldn't help but have a 'knight-in-shining-armor' complex.
The Doctor, on the other hand, was another story. The former con had been quick to learn when it was safe and when it wasn't to tease him. On his good days the Doctor even shot a few comments back in his direction. When the Doctor became irritated or nervous he had seemed to tack on 'insult Jack's personality' beside the 'degrading species' for calming down.
Reaching for a cloth he had placed nearby before Jack started wiping off the evidence of his work. Rose had begun speaking in the background but the Captain's mind was elsewhere. He would be lying through his teeth if he said he never had hopes of implementing stage two of his personality with either, or both, of those he traveled with. The longer he stayed, though, the longer he began to realize that Rose was simply too sweet to really lead on. She deserved someone more constant. As for the Doctor, well, it made the Captain cringe to simply think about the stone barriers that had been thrown up between them. The Doctor was too busy shielding Rose. He still wasn't completely sold that Jack had the best intensions.
Jack's thoughts were completely interrupted when he heard his name being screamed. Yelled was more like it. And not in a way he would have liked. He shuddered when he felt the anger in what could only be the Doctor's voice floating towards him. The string of furious rambling was only getting louder. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing that he had his back to the entrance the Doctor would be coming through or not.
"ROSE TYLER!" Jack heard the Doctor snap as he came into the room, making the captain slightly shocked, but apparently not as much as Rose judging by the look he saw on her face when he glanced in her direction.
"TELL me WHY AGAIN you convinced me to bring this idiot of an ape on board!" Jack flinched and turned around to face the livid man only to see that there was another reason Rose was looking so surprised.
Before him stood a sopping Doctor wrapped in only a towel. Jack did his best to keep his jaw in line with the rest of his skull, failing slightly. A glance towards Rose confirmed his suspicion that she was taking this with a similar approach.
"Doctor? Where are your clothes?" Rose squeaked.
"That's exactly what I want to know!" The Time Lord growled his eyes fixated on Jack. ìNot only do I get out of my shower to find my stuff not there, but I go to my dresser, and there's not a bloody shirt left! I've had it with YOU!"
"Why are you looking at me?" Jack inquired, the cloth in his hand dropping down as his palms flung forward as he spoke.
The Doctor's scowl grew as he came closer to the Captain. Jack unconsciously backed up towards the console he had been working on earlier. Who wouldn't be scared with the wild expression on the Doctor's face?
"Rose would have at least started laughing by the time I came in the room. You are the only one who would have the gall to do this. Oh YOU."
"I can stand that you smirk at anything sentient. I can take you staring with that smug look of yours. I can even take your relentless verbal assaults!" Every syllable brought him dangerously closer to the wide-eyed Captain. "But I will NOT have you stealing my property! Do you understand?"
Jack swallowed with trouble, not so much because of the fury in the Doctor's eyes. He could handle that. It was more of the fact that the half bare man was inches away from him that had him rather shaken up. Unconsciously he watched as a droplet of water ran from the bridge of the Doctor's nose, down his jaw, and onwards towards his neck.
"Blimey! Are you hearing a WORD I'm saying to you, Jack?" The Doctor glared, reaching out and jerking the Captain's jaw up so that he'd look him in the eye.
"Honestly, Doc! I had no part in this." He responded as a clear indication that his mind had been able to process the general concept between the blurring of words that had spewed from the Doctor.
"Maybe it was the TARDIS." Rose piped in from the side. "She was acting up while you were in the shower. Jack here patched her up jus'a moment ago. I mean she can move her rooms and the like, right? Maybe she accidentally mixed a few things up."
"Do you even know the probability of that?" the Doctor said as calmly as he could while he glared at Jack, his other hand snagging the man's collar.
The Captain had resorted to biting his lip and concentrating on trying to keep his head clear. Given the state of his mind just prior to the Doctor's grand entrance he was finding his task increasingly difficult. He felt his pulse increasing slightly the longer the Time Lord kept hold of him.
"Look as much as I'd love to entertain the thought of you pinning me against this ship, you might want to think of letting me go or throttle me sometime soon." The growl from the Doctor's throat made the Captain realize that he had just said something at the worse possible time. It also didn't help the Captain's temperature.
"Sorry. That was stupid, but it's exactly my point. I'm trying to be a good. You got to give me a little slack, I'm not exactly holdin' up well with you here like this."
A loud snort to the two male's left made Jack want to hit himself. Him and his word choice were apparently not going well at the moment. Sighing he gave the doctor a rather pleading look which only set the female companion into a muffled set of giggles.
"Rose, please!" The Doctor spat, turning his gaze to her for a moment. "Don't encourage him."
"Don't get me wrong, I understand what your telling her, but I think you've done enough all on your own." Jack voice was notably lower, leaving the Doctor slightly stunned when he turned his focus back.
"… Can you please be mature for a moment and just tell me where you put all of it?" The annoyance was brimming on top of the anger. "Jack. Jack?"
The Captain himself was getting slightly annoyed. Why wouldn't the Doctor believe him? Well, he could see why initially, but at least he could realize that he was dead serious about backing up. He was just trying to spare the Doctor of realizing things that would simply make him more furious. He would have none of this!
"JACK!" the addressed had grabbed the older man's arms and yanked him forward, causing the doctor to exclaim.
"Don't say I didn't warn you Doctor." Jack slipped one of those arms around the Time Lord's waist to pull the Doctor flat against him when he tried to shove himself away.
In that moment the Time Lord almost seemed afraid. Jack smirked realizing that he could feel the man's hearts beating at a slightly quicker tempo as the control of the situation was reversed. Jack suddenly realized that the Doctor still hadn't moved his hand from his face. He might have not been the one responsible for the missing clothing, but he was suddenly thankful to whatever had done the trick.
"Let me go, Jack." The Doctor's voice was firm.
"No."
The hand that remained on the Doctor's arm slid up slowly to the back the Doctor's neck. With a sudden motion he used force behind that hand to yank the man's resisting head towards him while his own head lunged with the intention of capturing the other's mouth. Jack's target was met. The con waited through the initial struggle before he continued his assault.
After a few moments of struggle the victim relaxed slightly allowing Jack's begging tongue entrance to where it sought. With a little more coaxing the prisoner even began to respond to the advance. Jack was almost completely thrown off guard when he felt the Doctor's hands fall from their position and snake their way up his back.
The anxiety that Jack had built up within him rushed out in a flood, fueling his hunger for the flavor he was tasting. Jack's fingers drew into the thin cut of the Doctor's hair, using every fiber of what little control that he had left not to forget that there was another being in the room. A slight moan escaped him as the Doctor's hands moved slightly lower, fingernails dragging. He was complete putty.
As suddenly as it began, it stopped. Using Jack's daze the Doctor had pushed himself away. He backed away a meter or so breathing a little harder as his lungs tried to make up for the oxygen that had been lost. Jack himself was only being held up by the TARDIS. Of all the possibilities of how that could have ended up, he certainly hadn't expected that.
"To hell with it. I'll go find them on my own!" The Doctor resolved, trying to regain the anger in his tone. With that he stormed out of the room in a huff. Jack wasn't so sure if his attitude was maintained due to its original accelerant.
Jack remained where he was half seated staring in the direction the Doctor had disappeared for a few minutes, completely bemused. What was wrong with him? He buried his face in his hands, realizing that his shirt was now dampened from the water on the body of the one that had been against him. The thought only made him shiver.
"Well, I suppose I should put his things back." Rose's words caused Jack's head to shoot up instantly.
"W-What did you say?!" The shock made his voice quiver.
"You heard it for yourself. He would never expect me." Her grin was absolutely devilish.
"Are you telling me you planned for him to come after me like I had just bashed the TARDIS to pieces?" The emotion from his voice dropped completely as he attempted not to twitch.
"Yes." She beamed strutting closer with a sway. "Though, it turned out far better than I thought it would."
Jack stood up straight and turned to her. He folded his arms across his chest. He had been completely prepared to start chewing her out for what she had done. That is, until she planted a chaste kiss on his cheek with a giggle.
"Happy Birthday, Captain Jack." Jack's eyes widened as she backed up towards the entrance to the rest of the TARDIS.
"How did you…"
"Find out?" She asked, wagging her finger at him. "That's my little secret. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go clean up my mess. By the looks of you, you might want to think about a nice cold shower while I'm at that." Rose winked at him before half skipping out of the consol room leaving Jack to contemplate her proposal.
