"J-jack?"
He smiled at her. Rose stared at him, refusing to believe this was real.
She hadn't seen Jack in five years, Rose had grown used to life without the enigmatic captain. She bit her lip, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
Rose grinned back.
Jack turned to the little girl-Cynthia- and asked her a question Rose couldn't hear. Cynthia smiled and nodded at him. Jack turned back to Rose.
"Cynthia says you can be released, your checkup was fine."
The little girl moved to undo Rose's straps, apologizing when she accidentally hurt her. However, as soon as she was free, Rose moved to hug Jack, and neatly fell over.
"Hey, hey." Jack helped her up, looking concerned. "You okay? Your muscles are probably tired, we've had you here for a while."
"What? No, I'm fine." Rose said, still leaning heavily on him. She looked at Jack again, smile back on her face. Both of them promptly burst into laughter.
Cynthia looked taken aback, but smiled along with them. She excused herself and backed out of the room.
Once the two controlled their laughter, he had her sit down, and offered a cup of tea. Rose accepted, and when they were finally settled, she thought it time to ask a few questions.
"Alright, Jack. First off, where am I?"
He sobered instantly. "Torchwood."
Seeing her stiffen, he automatically added, "Torchwood 3." But Rose wasn't going to let this slide.
"You work for Torchwood?"
Her face was hard, the same expression the Doctor had when he found out.
"No, Rose, it isn't like that. After the Battle of Canary Wharf, Torchwood One was brought down. I restarted it, here, in Cardiff."
Rose's expression didn't change.
Jack sighed. "I did it for the Doctor. In his honor."
Rose looked down. "Alright," she said quietly, then looked back up. "We're in Cardiff?"
He laughed. Rose smiled with him. "That's great, love Cardiff. I was just there in..."
Her eyes widened as the full realization hit her. "T-this is my world?"
"Yes."
Now she was really crying. Rose had missed this place so much, so much! It was the little things, the Prime Minister, the chips-
"Chips?"
Apparently she had voiced that aloud.
"Yeah." Rose said, completely serious. "The chips are rubbish in the other universe. Absolute rubbish. I have needed a new snack some time now."
Jack was laughing again when his cell phone rang. Rose jumped at the unexpected noise. He flipped it open.
"Gwen?"
Jack listened intently before hanging up and looking at Rose. "I have to go."
She stood up. "Where?"
"Escaped alien. I'll be back soon."
"Yeah, I bet you will. Doesn't matter, I'm coming with you."
"No, Rose, it's too dangerous."
But she was wearing that face, the one he had seen on the Game Station, before he died for the first time. Jack sighed.
"Can you fire a gun?"
Rose looked appalled. "No, Jack, I've been a Torchwood Operative for five years and I haven't learned how to shoot." she said as she scooped up a pistol and checked it expertly.
Jack grinned. "Well, come on, then."
. . .
. . .
"Her eyes were gold?" John asked. "Jenny, are you sure?"
Jenny nodded. The Doctor was shaking his head, however.
"Impossible." he declared. "I took all the huon energy out of her. This is impossible."
"Since when has that ever stopped you before?" River said fiercely.
John nodded. "it could have just stayed, dormant. NOt enough to kill her, but enough to give her a little of that power."
The Doctor's eyes had widened. "Oh, no." he breathed. "No, no, no, no. Oh, Rose, what did this to you?"
"Doctor, what happened?"
"I think I've figured it out now." he said. "Let's start at the beginning. We didn't fall through a crack in the vortex, there is no probability that we would even land here. The crack was created for us to fall through. A specific time, a certain part of time and space has been altered, and whoever did it needs Rose."
"Why? What for?"
"Bad Wolf! She's practically a goddess now, all the power, lying dormant, until something woke it up."
"What did?"
"The Doppelganger. It was nothing but Flesh, not a very powerful substance. The Ganger couldn't take even dormant parts of Rose's huon particles. That's why it started screaming. And that's what woke Rose up, agave her the power to send Jenny back and-"
He stopped, again on the brink of another huge discovery. "Oh. It was the TARDIS."
"The TARDIS brought us here, not the enemy. But it was the TARDIS itself that alerted them, the huon particles were no longer dormant. The energy from the TARDIS is the same as in her mind. She didn't awaken before, in the other universe, because she was used to the TARDIS. But now, they have been separated for years, all that energy to come rushing back? No one can take that."
"And that's why it disappeared. She was sending out a distress call, wherever Rose is, the TARDIS is with her as well."
Jenny tried to interrupt. "But my ship-"
"We made a mistake. That was the enemy. But the TARDIS, that was Rose."
"Okay." Amy said. "What enemy?"
He closed his eyes. "River?"
The woman looked at him. "Cybermen."
. . .
. . .
Gwen Cooper ran through the abandoned storage building, chasing a Weevil.
Her gun was out, all she needed was to find the bloody thing.
Jack skidded around a corner with an unfamiliar blond girl.
"He went that way!" He yelled, pointing. The girl pulled out a gun and fired once. It obviously hit, as Gwen could hear the dull thunk of a falling body.
Jack looked at her, surprised. The girl smirked.
"Picked up a few tricks over the years." she said.
Gwen stepped forward. "Er, hello. I don't think we've met."
The girl's smile brightened, nearly blinding her. "Gwen Cooper, is it? No, we've met, just once."
"When would this be?"
"I...don't know. What year is it?"
Yes, Gwen decided. Jack really looked for dates in a mental hospital.
"It's 2011." he said. She nodded.
"Then it would be about a year ago. Maybe two. Planets in the sky?"
Boom.
"Y-you're Rose Tyler?"
AN: Torchwood Theme plays...oh, I wish. Imagine it for now, will you? Thank you, reviewers, my poll was kinda useless. Here's Jack!
DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. ONE WEEK. I AM GOING TO DIE.
