Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but wizards have lazers. CHAPTER TWO: INTERFERENCE
When his vision cleared, Jack's first thought was that he was going to throw up. Once he suppressed that urge, his second thought ran something along the lines of 'where the hell am I?' He voiced this concern out loud, but the tree that he was hanging upside down in by his feet didn't provide him with an answer. It took him a couple of moments to realise that he was actually upside down, and once he did, his third thought consisted of a number of unprintable swearwords from various cultures and time periods. It turned out that he had quite a wide repertoire, and it took him several minutes to finish voicing his feelings. Of course, once he had, he unhooked his feet from the tree and fell to the forest floor with a loud thump.
Staggering to his feet and standing the right way up had improved his sense of direction, but he had still not had his second thought answered. He was obviously in a forest somewhere, hence the trees, but where that forest was, he had no idea. The stars that were visible through the canopy were familiar to Jack, so he was still close to Cardiff. Also, the trees in the forest were varieties normally found in the United Kingdom, so he wasn't that far from home. He checked his wristwatch. 1:30 am. Great. He was stuck out in the middle of a forest somewhere, in the middle of the night and, just to put the icing on the cake, it was pouring down with rain. The captain was completely saturated.
A quick check revealed that his wristband had returned to its normal colour, but its time travelling and teleporting abilities had been disabled. And he's left his mobile phone back in Cardiff. So, that left him stranded in the middle of a forest until whatever had transported him here decided to transport him back. Well, wherever he was, exploring the countryside seemed like a good a plan as any.
The Doctor stepped out into the rain, squinting at the pieces of starry sky visible between the tree branches. Brittany followed him, quietly closing the doors behind her.
"This doesn't look like the New New York you've told me so much about," she commented, wrapping her coat tighter over her shoulders. "It's bucketing down with rain. And the TARDIS isn't meant to glow like that, is it?"
The Doctor didn't look at her. As soon as he'd punched in a destination and hit the handbrake, the TARDIS had starting glowing gold. "Nup."
"So, have you got any idea where we've landed."
"Not really." The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "It's Earth, that much is obvious, but where?"
Brittany groaned. "Earth, again?"
"Yeah," the Doctor replied. "That much is obvious. The only question now is where? And how? And why? And who? And possibly what."
"Why what?"
"What?"
"Why did you say what?"
The Doctor scratched his head. "Uh, what as in – "
"What the hell is going on here?"
He turned to face the direction the irritated voice had come from, and gave the approaching figure a curt nod. "Captain."
"Doctor."
Jack embraced the skinny Time Lord in a bone-breaking hug. "Look, I understand you are just dying to see me, but you could just come to Cardiff. There is no reason to drag me out into the middle of nowhere for a reunion."
"You too huh?" The Doctor glanced at the TARDIS. "Whatever brought us here, it wasn't me."
"Where is here anyway?"
The Doctor checked the stars again. "Judging by that constellation there, I'd have to say England or Wales." He grinned at Jack. "If there's a problem, it's going to be here."
Brittany cleared her throat and gave Jack a little wave. "Hello? It's unlike Jacky-boy not to want to give me a hug."
"Brittany?" Jack said, startled when she grabbed him around the middle. He wrapped his arms around her, and shot the Doctor a questioning glance. The Time Lord shrugged, and mouthed, 'it's been four years.'
Jack grimaced and released Brittany. "I think you might have cracked a rib," he complained, massaging his chest.
She punched him in the shoulder playfully. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be alright."
The Doctor frowned. "Are you done? Because I'd really like to find out why we're here, and reverse it, so I can get back to what I was doing."
Jack smiled at him. "Yeah, sure. All done." Brittany shrugged.
"Good," the Doctor said, folding his arms. "The way I see it, we have three options. One, we can stand out here in the pouring rain and argue. Personally, I think that is a stupid idea, 'cause I'll end up catching a cold, and be bedridden for a week. The second option is that we go back to the TARDIS and discuss what happened over a nice cup of tea."
"Or coffee," Jack added.
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Yes, or coffee, depending on your tastes. Actually, I have some first grade hot chocolate from New Brazil. Delightful place. I met some rather lovely jungle cats."
"But what about option three?"
Jack turned to look at Brittany. "What about it? I'm all for that cup of coffee."
Brittany ignored him, and instead rounded on the Doctor. "You better start explaining option three mister, and it better not involve slogging through the mud looking for trouble."
The Time Lord pulled nervously at his ear lobe. "I should probably keep quiet then."
Jack sighed. "What is option three?"
"Um, it involves slogging through the mud, looking for trouble."
The two humans looked at each other, and groaned in unison. "Great. That is just great."