A/N--Special thanks to Dybdahl for being my one and only reviewer so far... Please, if you're reading the story, you may as well give me some feedback--love it or hate it--I'll appreciate it.

I LIKE IMPOSSIBLE
Chapter 3: An offer

Jack Harness had heard a lot of things in his day, but this was by far the most far-fetched line he'd ever been thrown. "A parallel universe?"

"Yeah." Rose said, her voice unintentionally revealing her disappointement that he didn't believe her right away, and then she started babbling an inarticulate explanation. "You see, there are all sorts of parallel worlds just like this one, but all sort of different too. Like this one has zepplins and mine doesn't. And anyway, I came into this universe through a gap between the worlds just five years ago. My mum and a friend came with me. There was a war in my universe, and it all gets sort of complicated. You see, the cybermen..."

Jack rose to his feet. "Kitten, you can just stop there. Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." He strode towards the door and grasped the handle

"Like I said, it's Rose, and, 's okay, I figured you might not believe me," she said standing as well, her features composed once again as she smoothed her skirt. Jack couldn't help but think that he'd rarely seen an expression so unguarded and beautiful. "But, before you leave, at least let me tell you why I've done my best to manipulate time and space to bring you here, cause like I said, I don't have an extrapolator for sale."

"Fine." He responded nonchalantly, hand still on the knob. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because, Jack Harkness," her brown eyes captured him with her intensity, shining so brightly in the lights of the room that they seemed almost golden, "In my world I watched you change from a con-man to an intergalatic hero. I've seen you put the good of millions before yourself, and, like I once told a friend, bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing." At this, she offerred him a slightly cheeky grin. "And, all that being the case, I'd like to offer you a job here at the Torchwood Institute."

"A job?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah, that's it. A job." She paused, then added, "A job helping to protect the planet."

And suddenly, Jack laughed, a biting and bitter laugh. "Sweatheart, you may think you know me, but if there is an alternate me in an alternate world, I doubt even he'd be stupid enough to fall for something like that." And, with that, he left the room.

Jake had been waiting outside the room, and as Jack Harkness swaggered past him still laughing contemptuously, his heart fell. Not that he thought they needed this Harkness character at Torchwood, but because he knew how much Rose had been wanting it. For some reason, she thought that this Captain Jack was some sort of hero, but for all their intel on the guy he certainly didn't seem like one. He was a con-man and a reputedly bad character. All in all, Jake was glad the man had walked away from Rose's offer, but Rose wouldn't be...

He entered the holding room prepared to start pickicg up the pieces of this disaster. After all, for her brave front, Rose was still really quite fragile about stuff from the other universe... What he found there, however, surprised him. There, still standing and looking at the door, was Rose Tyler, but, instead of looking sad and crestfallen that he "hero" had just walke out the door, she was smiling one of her brightest, most confident smiles. Jake had only seen that smile a few times, and, generally only in instances where the fate of the world was undecided. A wild, gleeful, adventurous smile.

Seeing him walk in, Rose nearly bounced for excitement. "Jake," she began, her eyes glowing, "Oh, Jake, we've got him! We've so got him!" Not understanding where her certainty or excitement came from, Jake allowed himself to be hugged by the estatic Rose. But he couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't be a good thing if they never saw the former time-agent again.

Meanwhile, Captain Jack Harkness had returned to his specially-modified Chula warship, his mood unexplicably light. As soon as he reached the ship, he called up the ships computer and searched for any and all information regarding one Rose Tyler, 21st century, Earth. He justified it as simple curiousity mixed with a bit of attraction, but, whatever the real reason, Jack soon found enough questions and half-information to keep him amazed and perplexed well into the dawning day.

TO BE CONTINUED...