I know, I know, I am the worst person ever and I'm so very sorry for taking so long to update. I'm not going to make excuses because I know a lot of you will most likely not read this anyway, but I will say that I do, in fact, have a lot of this story planned out. It's all a matter of getting them to the situations I need them to be in. I have major plot points set out I just need to find a way to get from one to the other. No matter if it takes me a long time, I will not give up on this story because it was my first fic and I really love what I have planned out and I hope you will, too.
Between updates of this, I have some fourteen other stories that are being planned because once an idea comes into my head I have to write it down, and sometimes that idea becomes an obsession that I have to keep expanding upon. So, I'm going to put up a poll because not all stories are for Doctor Who. I have Once Upon a Time, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Secret Diary of a Call Girl ideas.
That said, here's the ninth chapter of The Child of Time and I hope you wonderful people are all still with me. Also, welcome to the new ones and I hope you're enjoying this as well. I have chapter ten mostly written out and so if I don't get busy it should be up in a week or so.
Here we go.
The Child of Time;
A Modern Day Casanova:
ooOoOoo
"Oh Cardiff, 2007!" The Doctor exclaimed, waltzing out of the TARDIS with Rose and Martha on his heels. He took a deep breath and reached back to take a hold of Rose's hand. She smiled and laced their fingers together, swinging their hands between them. Martha just smirked and shook her head.
"Really Doctor, all of time and space at your disposal and you bring us to Cardiff?" Martha asked. Rose and the Doctor stopped and turned around. The Doctor's smile didn't lessen at all and Rose's just got a bit wider.
"You see Martha, Cardiff was built on top of this... rift, in time and space that leaks loads of the exact energy that the TARDIS uses as fuel. Kind of like stopping for petrol when your car's running low. And the TARDIS needs a bit of a refuel after that incident with the weeping angels." Rose explained. The Doctor turned his almost manic grin on her.
"Those were definitely the worst months of my entire life. Cooped up in a small flat with you two, honestly-"
"Doctor!" A man's voice sounded from behind them. "Doctor!" It called again. Rose poked her head 'round the side of the TARDIS and saw the person she's last expected.
"Jack." She whispered. The Doctor's eyes widened at the revelation where Martha just arched one of her eyebrows.
"Come on, let's-" the Doctor started to say when Rose's head twisted back around so fast he'd thought it blurred.
"Doctor, it's Jack."
"Who's Jack?" Martha asked.
"Yes, I know it is which is why we can't-" Rose cut him off.
"We are not leavin' 'im." She said with finality and her eyes flashed gold briefly. It was fast enough that only the Doctor had caught it. He gulped and nodded his head, slumping down a bit.
"Again I ask: who's Jack?" Martha was slightly amused at the Doctor's reaction to this Jack character and wanting to run away. According to Rose's explanation of the rift, the TARDIS would at least need to bunk here for the day, soaking in the energy it needed. What, or who, could cause the Doctor to want to leave so fast?
"Doctor." The voice came again, although this time it was much closer. Martha looked and saw the origin of said voice.
Oh, she thought. That's who.
She looked aver the newly arrived man. Jack was wearing black dress pants that looked to be held up with suspenders and a tan belt. Tucked inside those, was a light-blue, button up dress shirt and over that was a navy-blue long coat. What looked to be hastily hung over his shoulder was a black backpack. On the wrist of his left arm, which was holding the backpack, was a thick black, tech-y looking wristband. His eyes were a bright blue, his jaw strong and his hair a chestnut brown.
All in all, he was quite handsome.
"I thought you'd leave." Jack stated, not breathless in the slightest from his run. The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest almost self-consciously.
"I would have." He retorted. Rose once again turned her glare on the Doctor who flinched back and let his arms fall to his sides. It was then that Jack noticed Rose.
His mouth hung open slightly more than normal and his hand fell from where it was holding the bag up, letting the pack fall with its movements. Rose heard the sound of the bag and its contents hitting the ground lightly and turned her attention to Jack.
"Rose..." Jack said almost disbelievingly.
"'lo Jack." Rose said, raising one of her hands in a short wave. Short because almost as soon as it was up, Jack batted it out of the air and grabbed Rose by her waist, pulling her in for a tight hug. He picked her up and spun her, relinquishing his hold on his bag as he did so, laughing. Rose held her arms around his neck for support and steadiness, all the while laughing along with her best friend. Behind her, her legs swung out in joy and delight at being reunited with the 51st century man.
Eventually though, Jack set her down on the ground and dropped his head into her shoulder. Rose's laughs stopped as she just held him as he did with her. And then her shoulder felt warm and she realized that Jack Harkness was crying.
"Jack." She said soothingly. Her hands played with his hair and his grip on her waist tightened.
"You're alive. Oh gods, Rosie you're alive!" He laughed again in joy.
"So are you, Jack. And what, do you think some measly Daleks are enough to pick me off? Jack, I'm hurt by your lack of faith in me." Jack pulled back and surrendered his hold on her waist, opting instead to hold both sides of her face between his hands. Ignoring the Doctor again, or still, depending on how you look at it, he bent his head down and kissed Rose.
It was a loving kiss, but one reserved for the best of friends; the kinds that have no reservations between them, especially when the friend you were kissing in elation had only recently been believed dead. It lasted but a second before they both pulled back, faces beaming.
Martha only looked on in shock as the – new to her – man kissed Rose.
The Doctor, though slightly angry, jealous and nervous, was happy that Rose was happy. He was angry and jealous that Jack was even kissing her in the first place but nervous because of Jack's being. He felt... wrong, like he shouldn't exist. Though apparently Rose didn't have those reservations. Or she did and was simply ignoring them in favour of greeting a lost friend she hadn't seen. Which was exactly what he, himself should be doing. The Doctor silently berated himself for letting his instinct carry him without thinking them over, especially when what they were warning him of was Jack... and he already knew why Jack felt that way. So, the Doctor pushed those feelings aside and walked over to the two.
The Doctor put his hand on Jack's shoulder and turned the man towards him. He then pulled Jack into a strong, manly hug... that lasted around a half a minute.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor started. "I shouldn't have left. At the very least I should have come back for you or searched for you. But Jack, I hope you understand why I did it. You're entire being is – is..." the Doctor frowned slightly. "You're a fixed point. Even being this close to you goes against every single one of my instincts-" Jack pulled back from the Doctor's embrace and copied his earlier action of cupping the Doctor's face between his hands and then kissed him to shut him up.
He pulled back after a short time. The Doctor and Jack both flushed slightly. One look at Rose and they would have seen her hand cupped over her mouth trying to reign in her laughter.
"It's alright Doctor. Just 'I'm sorry' would have done." The Doctor disentangled himself from Jack and straightened his tie before moving back a step towards Rose and tugging on his earlobe.
"Well." He said and cleared his throat. Martha then did the same, reminding the group that she was still there. The Doctor looked towards her and then his eyes widened slightly. "Ahem, yes, well Jack, this is Martha Jones. Martha, this is-"
"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack said, stepping towards Martha with a hand extended. The Doctor grimaced slightly though his eyes held a faint amusement.
"Stop it." He warned. Jack only turned his back towards the Doctor and smiled.
"I was just saying hello." Martha laughed and stepped up to Jack, taking the proffered hand. She let out a surprised squeak when Jack tugged her arm, catching her off balance, causing her to land in his embrace.
When Jack pulled back, he saw the raised eyebrow on Rose's face. "What?" He asked.
"You're being just a tad bit friendlier than usual." Rose remarked. Jack just smiled wider than he already was.
"I'm just happy, Rose. I thought you were dead and the Doctor abandoned me. I never ever thought I'd really see either of you again. And now, well here you both are, in Cardiff, where I work." He hugged Martha again, mirroring again his earlier motions of swinging the woman around and laughing.
"Never say never ever." Rose told Jack and then stepped up beside the Doctor, taking his hand. "I'm glad that you decided to ignore yourself as well. Did you not think I felt it? Mind you, I made him what he is so I guess my instinct is slightly less than yours." The Doctor nodded and looked down his left arm at Rose. He brought up his right hand to encase her cheek and pulled her up to meet his lips.
Rose smiled into the kiss and moved her own left hand to hold his forearm. The Doctor's hand moved from her cheek then to her hair and his fingers got lost in the golden locks.
A cry of, "Finally!" from Jack had them breaking from their embrace, slightly flushed. Martha stood beside Jack, smirking and the aforementioned man had a smirk on his face.
"Get rid of that look Harkness; this had nothing to do with you kissing either of us." Rose said. Jack's smile went from being bright to confused.
"It's true. Almost the whole time we were in the sixties they were all over each other."
"Why were you in the sixties for so long? And when did this happen?" Jack asked, motioning with his hand at the couple.
The Doctor gazed at Rose. With a look, they decided that here was not the place to talk. "Chips?" The Doctor asked. Rose beamed at him.
"You paying?" She asked, knowing that he only had credits and other alien currency. The earth money he'd need to go to the bank for and he gave her a look that said as much. "Right." She looked at Jack. "Jack's paying." Jack was about to refuse but the look on Rose's face wouldn't let him. He sighed.
"Fine."
The four of them walk to the nearest chip shop and bought their food, courtesy of Jack who had flirted with the cashier and had ended up getting them a discount.
Typical.
The group took a table, reminiscent of the last time they'd been to earth for a meal together. 'They' being Jack, Rose and the Doctor, back when the Slitheen had taken Prime Ministerial position. Martha took the place of Mickey this time but couldn't honestly be classified at the Tin Dog of the group.
First the Doctor told Jack when the two of them had gotten together and explained what exactly had happened at Canary Wharf and how Rose had come back. This was Martha's first time hearing it in full as well so she listened intently.
They then discussed the TARDIS trio's time in the sixties and the situation with the weeping angels. The Doctor talked about getting the Easter eggs on the DVD's that sally sparrow had given him.
"The best part though was how the Doctor explained time to her," Rose inputted. "'People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect. But actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective point of view, it's more like a big ball of-" Rose got cut off when the Doctor and Martha decided to continue for her.
"Wibbly-wobbly-" Martha said smirking.
"Timey-wimey-" The Doctor gave a dismissing wave of his hand but smirked as well.
"Stuff." Rose finished. Jack laughed at that.
"But Jack, you need to be so careful if you ever run into the weeping angels. You'd be like a source of perpetual energy for them. So don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink you're... well, you wouldn't be dead but I'd gather that it would get confusing. Anyways, don't turn your back, don't look away and do. Not. Blink." The Doctor accentuated and Rose laughed. Jack looked at her, brow cocked.
"He said almost the exact same thing to Sally before wishing her luck." Jack gave a snort as well.
"Don't worry Doc, I'll be careful." The Doctor nodded and asked about Jack's job; why he was in Cardiff. Jack's face lost its jovial smile.
"Well," He started somewhat nervously. "I've been working for – well it's... you see the thing is-"
"Jack." He looked at Rose. "It's fine, don't worry." He could see in her eyes that she knew.
"How do you know?" He asked.
"I was... told." Rose settled on. Jack nodded.
"Torchwood." He said. "I work for Torchwood here in Cardiff. But Doctor," he said, noting that the man looked about to berate him. "It's changed. They're under new management and I, myself manage the one here." The Doctor still looked angry but nodded in acquiescence.
"So what've you been up to lately?" Rose asked and Jack smirked.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Catching rogue Weevils, fighting off the occasional invasion attempt, keeping the human race safe. Killed Abbadon and died myself for several days. In fact, I just woke up from that toll and was getting suited up when I heard the TARDIS materialising." All three of them gaped at the man.
"A-abbadon as in-"
"The Destroying Angel, Apollyon, the Devil. Evil incarnate." Jack nodded at Martha who slumped back in her chair.
Half an hour later the four of them were talked out. They chucked their now empty plates and made their way out of the shop. As they were leaving, all four of them saw the cashier who'd served them send a wink towards Jack who turned away giving a slight laugh.
"Well, aren't you a modern day Casanova." Martha said as they walked through the door.
As they started their trek back to the TARDIS, Rose lagged slightly behind for a minute or two. The Doctor soon noticed that they were short a member and turned back.
"Are you okay Rose?" He asked. He saw her smile at him and nod.
"Come on, blondie! Places to go, people to meet!" Jack said to the pair. Rose scowled at him playfully but only the Doctor could see before quickening her pace the few steps it took to catch up to the group.
ooOoOoo
I know, I know, it's short. But chapter ten should be a lot longer because there are two or three of the major plot points I mentioned at the top within it. I'm only posting this now and not already when I have ten typed because I wanted you to know that I'm not giving up on this story.
As I also mentioned, I will be posting a poll. If you would be so kind as to review and then maybe visit my profile and give me your input, I would be ecstatic.
Thanks to those of you who read my work.
Ciao bellas.
-BadWolf
