DISCLAIMER: I asked for the Doctor for my birthday, but the BBC and The Moff said no. So I asked for the TARDIS… I got a cookie jar… shaped like the TARDIS. Better than nothing I guess! So no I don't own Doctor Who but I still have hopes that someone somewhere will see the massive error in this.
Regardless.
SUMMARY: The Doctor is being stalked through his own timeline. Nothing and nowhere is safe.
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Rydia. Lupus Constellation. 21st Century, Earth time.
Captain Jack Harkness was drunk. Not just drunk. But completely pissed. So pissed that he was able to forget for a moment. Forget the loss. The pain. The deaths. He raised the glass of triple-distilled hypervodka and slugged it down, feeling the smooth burn rip through him.
He was so pissed, he didn't even bother to flirt with the gorgeous blonde that pulled up the stool next to his at the bar.
Funny little place, D'Oro Dea. Hidden away, tucked behind the wolf sanctuary the humans had built on Rydia decades before. It serviced many travelers but was uncharacteristically empty tonight.
Was it still night?
Jack sighed into his drink and motioned for another.
When the bartender set down a cup of steaming hot coffee in front of Jack, the Immortal just stared at it as tears flowed unchecked and unrealized. A soft arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the warm embrace of his female neighbor.
Captain Jack Harkness broke.
His arms shot around her middle and he crumbled. It was too much. Too much for anyone to bear. And since he couldn't die, he would learn to forget as best he could. Even if it meant crawling into drugs and alcohol for the next few centuries just to make it hurt less.
"Oh, my Jack," the woman cooed to him. The sweet smell of vanilla, honey, and roses mixed with the distinct essence of time that swirled around her and brought him out of his misery long enough to pull back and focus on her face.
He felt his heart stop, and all the blood in his body pool at his feet. "Rose…"
She smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, Jack."
"Oh, god, Rose. Rose!" Now completely sober – and wasn't that a waste of perfectly good alcohol – he swept the petite blonde into his arms and twirled her around in joy. When he stopped, he cupped her face and kissed her with all the love he felt for her.
Almost a full minute later, he pulled away so both could gasp in some much needed oxygen.
"Rose. How…? I thought..? You're supposed to be in Pete's World with the human Doctor!" He grasped her upper arms tightly. "Is it happening again? The stars?"
Rose reached up and held Jack's arms, feeling his fear mounting. "No, no, no, Jack. That's over and done with. It's been much, much longer for me than you think. John – that's what he called himself – he died a long time ago."
"Oh, Rosie. I'm so sorry." He pulled her in again for another hug, this time both consoling each other.
This time Rose pulled back before reaching for his hand. "Let's sit, Jack. We have loads to talk about."
The bartender appeared at the booth with a steaming tea service for Rose and Jack telling them to just call out if they needed anything.
Rose's hold on Jack's hand tightened. "I'm so sorry about Steven and Ianto, Jack. I wish I could've been there for you."
Tears pricked his eyes but he swallowed it down as he nodded and kissed her knuckles in gratitude. "You're here now. That's all that matters." A dark eyebrow arched at her. "Does the Doctor know you're back? I imagine he wouldn't be far off if he knew. You two were so cute!" Echoes of words once spoken during a World War II air strike made both creatures smile.
"Nah. He's off gallavanting around the universe, as usual. But he'll know soon. Things have to happen first. Timelines and all that." She waved a hand, shooing away the thought.
Jack grinned, the first real smile he'd felt like plastering on his millenia-old face in what felt like lifetimes. "You sound like him now," and punctuated the thought with a pointed finger.
Rose just laughed. "I suppose I do!"
Jack sat back, absorbing this new Rose Tyler. Still the blonde-haired, brown-eyed beauty he loved so much, but clearly different. Her voice held a smoother, richer London accent than the somewhat rough, almost Cockney-accented girl he once knew. Her movements were so graceful as she lifted the tea to sip, it seemed like the air around her barely rippled.
In short, he was awe-struck.
"What happened, Rose?" His whispered words cut through her like a knife and she barely hid the wince they caused.
"All those years ago, Jack – well, for me at least – they've gone by so slowly sometimes. Others? I could've sworn they passed in a blink." She set her cup down and toyed with the rim and handle. "After the Doctor left us in Pete's World again, I was so angry for such a long time. John had done nothing wrong, but he was there, looking the same, acting so much like him. Even the memories of everything we did and saw seemed like they were mocking me from the past."
She sighed and looked away, losing herself in the memories. "We both worked at Torchwood in Pete's World, and we did a lot of good, Jack. A lot of good. Then, about two years after we'd been dropped off, there was an accident in John's lab. Some little idiot was playing around when he shouldn't have been and there was an explosion. Thankfully, no one was killed, but John was hurt. Badly."
She raised her gaze to his and Jack saw the tears she held at bay. "He'd been thrown into one of the lab tables so hard it broke his back. No more running for the Doctor, Jack. Can you imagine?" Her mirthless chuckle prompted him to reach for her and draw her close. He placed his arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head leaned into his chest. They looked every bit the loving young couple to anyone that didn't know them.
"He refused to believe it for a long time. And, god, the arguments he and the medical doctors got into! Like World War Three it was. I swear mum had nothing on John when it came to these blokes!" Jack chuckled just at the thought.
"After a while, depression really kicked in. He tried to push me away for a long time, Jack. He thought I wanted nothing to do with him since he couldn't walk anymore, let alone run. But I fixed that really quickly." Rose smirked to herself, remembering.
Intrigued, Jack pulled away enough that he could look down at her. "And how, pray tell, did you manage that?"
Wide-eyed and innocent, she answered, "Why, Jack, I seduced him!" She grinned and patted his leg as he roared in laughter. "You would've been proud!"
When laughter died to chuckles, he managed to wipe the tears from his cheeks, and gasp in breaths he deparately needed if the light-headedness was any indication.
"Oh, to have been a fly on the wall!" Jack tittered for a moment. "I'm guessing you were successful?"
"Oh, of course, darling! As if he stood a chance." She pshawed the idea away as if offensive before brightening. "It didn't take long for him to see I wasn't leaving him, nor was I staying with him just because he looked like the Doctor. John was… different. That little bit of Donna in him gave him more attitude than he really needed, but in a good way."
Her face softened at memories she'd kept locked away for so long as she gazed down at her bare left hand, stroking the ring finger. "We were married six months later, and two years after that, Lydia was born."
Jack was amazed. "You're a mother?"
Rose nodded, smiling, and pulled a slim, black leather, bigger-on-the-inside card case from her pocket. "Mum of three, actually. Wanna see?"
Jack could only nod and accept the pictures she handed him.
The first was of a beautiful brown-haired and blue-eyed little girl, about eight years old, with her hair pulled into two low pigtails. She was riding on her father's lap as they wheeled around on a basketball court. Both faces were wide with smiles and laughter, and Lydia's arms were thrown in the air in glee. Jack could very easily see both John and Rose in the girl.
Next, an obviously exhausted Rose held a small bundle while John sat beside her holding another. Both had ecstatic, glowing grins. The picture had obviously been taken from the hospital doorway and showed Lydia crouched on the bed looking down at the babies and holding one twins hand in each of her own.
Rose pointed to the child she held, "That's Alex," then to the other twin, "and that's Ian. Lydia was nine when they were born. Identical twins." She stroked her finger down the picture and handed Jack the final snapshot.
This one showed a much-aged John in his wheelchair, parked next to the control panel of a TARDIS with a still-young Rose perched on his lap. Their children all leaned against the console in various poses: Alex, crazy blond hair and green eyes, heavily-muscled arms crossed over his chest and dressed very much like Rose and Jack's first Doctor. Ian's own blond hair was styled closely to Jack's own hairstyle, but the jeans, button-up shirt, and blazer completed his own emsemble, while he kept his arm around his sister.
Lydia took Jack's breath away. He knew she was going to be beautiful, but wow! She perched on the edge of the console in a bright purple sundress, legs crossed at the knee and one kid slipper dangling from her toes. She'd propped her arms on her brothers shoulders and was leaning into Alex's back.
Every single one of the people in this picture were the epitome of the happy family.
"John died not long after that." Rose's soft declaration jerked his eyes to her face. Tears ran unheeded as she stared at the picture. "He and Ian were on the way to Torchwood to pick up something for the TARDIS and were hit by a drunk driver. John died instantly. Ian…" She sucked in a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "I almost lost my baby, Jack."
Jack pulled her in close again and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Ian regenerated."
Jack froze as she pulled the picture from his hand and put them away, wiped her face and sipped her tea.
"He was angry for a long time, but not because he regenerated. We knew it was extremely likely and had prepared the kids years before. No, he was mad at John because John insisted on driving that day. Ian was convinced for a long time that, had he been driving, his father would have lived." She sipped her tea again. "It took a long long time, but he accepted it. Especially when Alex kept pestering him saying how it wasn't fair Ian got to regenerate first." Rose chuckled. "They loved being twins!"
"Where are they now?" Jack almost feared her answer. He hoped Rose hadn't been alone all the time she'd been back in her original universe, but her smile settled him.
"They out running around here somewhere. Alex regenerated not long ago, and now they're off looking for something or another." She checked her wrist unit and frowned. "They should be here any…"
The door to the bar burst open and a young man that looked strikingly like the Doctor Jack remembered came dashing in, Lydia hot on his heels. "Mum! We gotta go! Now!" He waved frantically in her direction, white t-shirt ripped and burned where it met black leather trousers.
Rose shot up from her seat. "Where's Ian?"
Lydia, wearing black trousers similar to her brother's, had what looked like a utility belt/gun holster loose on her hips. A black leather jacket zipped to her throat and matching high-heeled boots both strained under the pressure of holding the bar door closed. "Guards got him, mum. He's unconscious last I saw him."
Rose rushed to her children. "Time to go then!"
Jack watched, intrigued, and – yes – a little jealous as Rose punched in commands on what he now realized was a smaller version of his own vortex manipulator. So, when she turned to him with a brow arched and a quick "Coming?", a grin exploded on his face and he jumped across the table.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!"
She grinned up at him, finished entering coordinates, and linked her arm with his, then called out to Lydia. "Let's go, Lyds!"
A split second later, Lydia's hand was in Alex's, Alex had grabbed Rose's shoulder, and Rose mashed the control button that transported the group away.
Hours later, Jack and Rose sat in the library of her TARDIS. Both slept curled into each other on the couch where they'd spent hours catching up.
They'd rescued Ian quickly and gotten him back to the TARDIS without a shot being fired. Of course, the fact that Rose had started glowing as the TARDIS doors opened – all on their own – then frozen everyone else in the building in place? It made things so much easier. They walked right past each gun barrel and crouched guard until Rose had found Ian in a cell, strapped to a table, and still unconscious.
She'd dissolved the door to the cell, then done the same to the straps holding her son down. Jack had picked the boy up and followed Rose back to her TARDIS.
As she stood in the doorway, she raised her hand and turned the gun in each guard's hand to golden dust before allowing them the opportunity to move again. But no one dared.
"You took my child. You would have killed him." Her voice growled in her chest and the golden tendrils of light streamed from her eyes as she bared her teeth. "You will never touch my children again."
Rose turned to enter the TARDIS and Jack watched as the walls of the building turned to dust around its inhabitants. The light faded from her eyes as she closed the doors and walked to where Jack held Ian, then kissed her son's head and transported him to his room.
"He'll be fine. He just needs to rest," and jumped the TARDIS into the Time Vortex without touching the control console.
Jack just stood there in shock, mouth agape. Alex took advantage of the moment and, grinning, walked up to Jack, and shook his hand. "Hiya! My name's Alex. Alex Noble. Nice to finally meet you, Uncle Jack! Well, goodnight all!" Turned, pressed a kiss to his mother's cheek, and sauntered from the room.
Lydia just shook her head at her brother, hugged her mother and called out, "Night, mum! Night, Uncle Jack!", before following Alex to their respective quarters.
Jack still stood there, occasionally blinking slowly.
Rose, in a move similar to Lydia's, rolled her eyes and dragged Jack away for a – very likely – much needed drink. "C'mon, Jack. My treat."