Disclaimer: Still don't own. Please don't kill me.
A/N: I already had it typed up, so I figured why not add another chapter?
Something Old and Something New
Estelle Colton, barely 18 and in possession of Jack's stubbornly-functioning heart. They had met the previous year a few weeks before Christmas at a party in London. The Estoria Ballroom, he would never forget. He had at once made a fool of himself, something Captain Jack Harkness would never do under normal circumstances, by comparing the deep green of her dress to that of an Amazonian toad. He'd meant to say "forgotten meadow grass of June passed," but he'd been thinking of an article he'd read earlier and "Amazonian toad" had slipped out instead after much stumbling over his own words. To his great surprise, this endeared her to him much more quickly than any of his usual suave pickups would have. After he'd regained his composure, they'd talked and danced the night away, only to have it end with a quiet threat in a private corner from Estelle's brother and father.
Jack had been able to control himself and respect their wishes for a grand total of half a week. Once the men of the house had been shipped off to war, he was around almost every night to see her. Of course, being a gentleman, he'd made sure that nothing honor-compromising had happened, just a kiss or two exchanged during the course of the evening; but her room was the only place they could meet privately without her mother's friend Mrs. So-And-So spotting them and telling Mrs. Colton. Indecorous as he knew the whole thing was, Jack couldn't stay away: The moment he'd seen her, he knew he was in love with her.
Estelle re-entered the room, supplies and a wet cloth in hand and her long dark hair tied back with a yellow ribbon. Jack raised his eyebrow. Estelle returned the gesture.
"What?"
"You think you're going to do it?"
"Why not?"
"Are you a doctor?"
"Are you?" Jack had nothing to say to this. He sat back and grumbled. "I thought not. Now, take off your coat and put it on the bed."
"What? Why?"
"So that you don't get blood all over the bed spread!"
Concerned for him though she was, since he clearly wasn't dying, Estelle was first and foremost a neat-freak. Jack rolled his eyes and did what he was told, laying flat out on his back. She knelt down beside the bed, reached out her hand, then drew it back, turning incredibly pink.
"What?"
"You'll...you'll have to remove your suspenders."
Jack tried to hide a grin at her modesty and slipped them over his shoulders, then laid back down. She blushed even more as he un-tucked his shirt and undid the bottom few buttons. If Estelle could've removed the bullet while averting her eyes, she would've. Gingerly she wiped off the blood around the wound with the cloth.
"Have you ever done this before?" Jack asked.
"No."
Great, he thought. He tried not to let his nervousness show on his face. Sure, he couldn't die, but he still wasn't too keen on the pain of having an amateur removing a bullet from his stomach.
Estelle took a deep breath and waited for her hand to stop shaking before leaning over Jack's stomach and carefully plucking at the bullet with the long tweezers. Jack's fists clenched the jacket beneath him and she heard him breathe in sharply.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly.
"No, no, it's okay...I've had worse..." And he had, but it still didn't exactly tickle.
"You're lucky. A few more inches and that bullet probably would've killed you." She made another effort at it, actually managing to grab the bullet this time. Jack realized vaguely through the pain that his body must've been rejecting the bullet. Rather handy...
"Jesus H. Christ!"
"Don't swear, Jack."
"Well, it hurts!!" He no longer felt anything in the wound, and all that was left was an intense stinging, burning sensation.
"All done. That wasn't too hard, was it?" Estelle wrapped the bullet in the cloth and set it beside her and began dressing the wound.
"Yeah, easy for you to say. You didn't just have a bullet removed with non-sterile tweezers!" Estelle looked sharply up at him, offended.
"I sterilized them!"
"Sorry." Too late. She pursed her lips and concentrated on dressing the wound, seeming to take more pleasure than was necessary in dropping iodine into the bullet hole. Jack bit his tongue and tried not to swear.
"There." After the gauze was applied, the burning began to fade a little. Estelle re-buttoned his shirt for him and stood up. She still had a hard look in her eyes.
"Estelle, I'm sorry. I didn't think you had-"
"You thought I was so bubble-headed as to not sterilize equipment? My mother is a nurse, Jack. She has taught me a few things, you know."
"Like not to hang around with a good-for-nothing Casanova soldier like me?" He grinned as he saw her eyes soften and her mouth contort weirdly to hide a smile. "Come on." He motioned to the end of the bed as he pushed himself up.
"No." She may have been able to sort-of hide a smile on her face, but the smile in her voice was undeniable.
"Estelle?" he called in a sing-songy voice. "'Stella Blue Eyes?"
"No." He leaned forward and she jumped as he goosed her. "No!"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm angry!"
"No you aren't."
"Yes I am!" He grabbed her waist and pulled her back onto the bed with him.
"What about now?" She turned away from him and crossed her arms. He leaned around and kissed her cheek. "Now?" She just pursed her lips and went to stand back up, but Jack held on tight. "Oh no you don't!" With his free hand, he poked her in the ribs. She bent sideways, but it was no use; this time he poked her in the belly.
"Sto-o-o-op!"
"Say you love me."
"No!" She squealed as he poked her other side.
"Say you love me!"
"No!" Estelle curled her knees into her chest and tried to keep herself from laughing as Jack tickled her belly.
"Say you love me!" he insisted again.
"Alright, alright, I love you! I love you!" She turned to face him when he stopped tickling her. "I. Love. You. Captain Jack Harkness." The grin had faded from his face, but was still in his eyes.
"And I love you, Miss Estelle Colton." He put a hand on her cheek and kissed her. Once the kiss was finally broken, Estelle leaned back into Jack's chest and let her head fall back onto his shoulder.
"I really do love you, Jack." She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes.
"Marry me." Her eyes flew open again.
"Is that a question or a command?" She wondered if he was just joking...
"Will you marry me, Estelle?" Her heart suddenly beat double-time.
"You shouldn't joke like that, Jack." He sat up and turned her face to him, capturing her eyes with his.
"It's not a joke. I know I haven't got a diamond ring for you, I haven't got any prospects other than being a soldier, no money, no real home...But I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life." As though that would happen... "I've never loved any other woman like I love you."
He slid out from behind her and knelt down on the floor in front of the bed. Suddenly, he experienced an emotion he never had before: he was nervous. A lump had appeared in his throat that he found hard to swallow. He took her hand and looked at her.
"Estelle Colton, will you marry me?"
Estelle bit her lip and tried to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling out onto her cheeks. No such luck. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so she merely nodded.
Patience, the Doctor comes in soon!
