Another chapter as I promised. :)


Jack leaned back in his chair and sighed. Only a few days had passed since he tried to save Rosie, but it felt like an eternity. Her daughter was safe, sleeping just a few feet from his desk, but Rosie was still trapped. He didn't even know why they took her in the first place and they were doing God only knew what to her.

He hardly slept. His mind was too focused on finding a way to save her. Violet needed her mother and he needed Rosie. Needed to know she was safe. She said she'd be fine, but he knew she was lying. He had to get her back, had to help her…but he didn't know how.

He called the Doc every day, usually more than once. Why wasn't the Doc answering? Ever since Rosie made him immortal the Doc had been edgy around him, well, a bit more than that since he left Jack on that satellite when Rosie first brought back, but he thought they settled all that.

A sound reverberated through the corridors. He sat forward so fast he nearly tumbled out of the chair. He'd know that sound anywhere. He jumped to his feet and ran down the hall, rushing into the room as the TARDIS materialized. Finally!

The door opened and a man he didn't recognize stepped out. He looked like he was in his mid to late twenties, maybe early thirties, but that was pushing it. He had a floppy mop of dark hair that hung near one of his piercing green eyes. His clothes looked more Victorian than modern, but he was pretty damn good looking.

"Hello," Jack said, extending his hand.

He figured he'd use the time to chat up this good looking bloke before the Doc came out and interrupted them.

"Don't even start, Jack," the man said.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Jack asked, a little put off by the man's snappish attitude.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I forgot…regenerated. I'm the Doctor," he said, straightening his bowtie.

The Doctor? Jack looked him up and down before giving the Time Lord a wide grin.

"Doc?"

"tor," the Doctor said.

He ignored the Doc's correction and pulled him into a hug, which the Time Lord returned. Can't be mad at me. If the Doc wasn't mad at him then what was going on? He stepped back and eyed the Time Lord.

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you? I mean, I haven't come to see you, but I haven't been avoiding you," he said, confused.

Jack folded his arms, not entirely sure he believed the Doc.

"Then why didn't you answer?"

The Time Lord looked genuinely baffled.

"What are you talking about, Jack?"

So, he really didn't know what was going on. Had he taken a vacation from his TARDIS for the past few months?

"I've been trying to get hold of you for months. Where have you been?"

"Months? That's impossible. I would've known."

"I called you nearly every day."

"Every day? Why? What happened?" he asked in a worried voice.

He really didn't know. Jack sighed. He wasn't sure how the Doc was going to take it, but Jack had to tell him. If they were going to save Rosie they needed his help.

"It's Rosie…Doc, she…she's in trouble."


The Doctor froze. She…what? How was that…? How did Jack even know? Rose was safe. She was supposed to be safe in that parallel universe. Jack knew he dropped her off. Or, as Jack put it, left her behind.

"Jack…wait, that doesn't make any sense. You know I left her in that parallel universe."

"I know, but something happened there-"

"How would you even know that?"

Jack was losing it. Had to be. There was no way he could know if something happened to her…and nothing had happened to her. She was fine. Safe. Living a life with the Meta-Crisis.

"Her dad called me."

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor asked in complete shock.

Jack smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know it sounds crazy. When my phone rang and I saw who was calling I thought I might be losing my mind, but I answered because, well, just in case. I mean, it was Rosie, but it wasn't her on the phone it was some guy named Pete. Then I remembered that she said that was her dad's name and she found him when you guys accidentally wound up in that parallel universe."

The Doctor visibly swayed. Jack hadn't lost his mind. Somehow Pete called him, but how? That shouldn't be possible.

"What did he say?"

"I…um…maybe you should sit down, Doc."

"Just tell me," the Doctor growled, completely losing his patience with Jack.

"Whoa…okay, Doc," Jack said, taking a step back. "He told me that she'd been taken by some people from the government. They were holding her somewhere and he couldn't get to her."

"The government? Why would they take her?"

His mind tried to work out any possible reason why that would happen, but beyond aliens taking over, which still didn't make any sense because those things happened because of him and he wasn't there. He was here, but then he remembered that he was there. Not him, but the Meta-Crisis. Could he have caused that?

"I don't know. Never got that far. He gave me the coordinated of where she was being held and then the line went dead."

The line went dead? Had something happened to Pete too? And Jackie and Tony…where were they?

"What? Why?"

"He was only able to call because of this crack and the crack sealed so we were cut off."

The cracks. Of course. There must have been a crack between universes and since Pete worked at Torchwood he'd know about it. So, Rose was being held by their government and being subjected to…he didn't even want to think about it. His eyes locked on Jack's.

"Why the hell didn't you call me?" the Doctor growled.

"I…I did. I told you I called you almost every day, but you didn't answer."

Yes, that's right. He did say that. The Doctor began pacing. He had to help her, but how could he? The only way to get through was to tear a hole in the universe, but there had to be a way. There had to be.

"How long?" he asked, barely able to hold back the anger he felt.

He wasn't angry at Jack, but when he found a way to get to her, and he would find a way, he would get her back and he wouldn't let anyone stand in his way.

"I…um…I'm not sure."

"What are they doing to her? If they…" his voice broke as he thought about all the horrible things that could be happening to her.


Jack could see how worried he was. This new Doc was a lot different from the one he remembered. He was angrier, like the first one he'd met, but his emotions ran from hot to cold with a couple words. One minute he was worried and the next… Jack wondered what happened to him since they last saw each other. He'd obviously been through a lot.

"She looked okay when I saw her. It was only a couple days ago, but I'm sure she's fine. She said-"

In the next moment the Doctor closed the distance between them, surprising Jack. The Time Lord glared into his eyes, but he held his ground.

"What do you mean when you saw her?" he asked in a dangerous whisper.

"When I couldn't get in touch with you I took matters into my own hands. I mean, I couldn't wait around for you, not when she was in trouble. My team and I worked out a way to get to her."

"But you couldn't have gotten to her. Not across the Void. That's impossible."

"Nearly impossible."

The Doc stepped back, no longer focusing his anger on Jack, but looking at him as if he wasn't sure he believed him.

"How did you manage it?"

"We found a crack, a bigger one, and I used my Vortex Manipulator."

"Vortex Manipulators can't jump across parallel universes."

"I had a little help rewiring it."

"Help from who?"

"I don't know. She didn't give me her name."

"What'd she look like?"

"Curly hair, pretty good looking actually."


River. Did she know? Had she known all this time? He was torn. She'd helped Jack to get to Rose, but she hadn't said anything to him. Then again she didn't know about Rose or at least about how he felt about her. He hadn't told anyone. Not since he regenerated, but River must have known something otherwise why would she send him there?

"So, if you managed to get to Rose then where is she?" he asked, looking around, half expecting her to come running into the room with that cheeky grin of hers.

"I…I couldn't bring her."

Wait. What? He made it to her, but he didn't bring her back?

"What?" the Doctor growled. "You managed to cross the Void and you just left her there?"

His hands balled into fists. He had to use every bit of willpower he had not to break Jack's nose, which he really wanted to do.

"I tried, but she wouldn't let me. I could only take one person."

"You left Rose there and brought someone else back?"

His restraint was starting to slip. Jack backed up a couple steps as if he could sense what the Doctor was thinking.

"I brought her daughter back. Rose wouldn't leave because she wanted me to make sure her daughter was safe."

"Her…" All of the Doctor's anger seeped out of him along with most of his strength. "…daughter?"

"Doc, you really need to sit down."

Rose had a daughter. Why was that so hard for him to believe? Of course she had a daughter. He left her with the Meta-Crisis so she could have everything he couldn't give her. She could have a family. They probably got married, which is what he wanted…wasn't it?

"She's…she's safe?" the Doctor finally asked.

"Who?" Jack inquired.

"Rose's…Rose's daughter. Is she safe?"

"Yes, she's safe. She's here if you want to see her."

"She's here?"

"She's sleeping in my office right now."

Jack still had Rose's daughter? Didn't Rose have any relatives? There was Jackie, but she was in the parallel universe. Now that he thought about it he couldn't remember Rose mentioning other relatives, but there must have been…

"Jack, you realize this is no place to keep a baby."

"I couldn't very well take her anywhere else."

"But Rose must have other relatives."

"Probably, but what would I tell them?"

Something told the Doctor he wasn't talking about the child being Rose's. There was something else going on.

"What do you mean?"

"That was another reason I was trying to get in touch with you. I don't know a lot about that kind of thing and you, being the expert, but really I wasn't sure-"

"Jack," the Doctor said as calmly as he could, even though he felt anything, but calm. "What are you talking about?"

"Rose said some things when she handed her daughter to me, which made me wonder and of course I had to know in case something happened, but I'm sure you know better than I do how dangerous it could be if she got sick and I gave her something she shouldn't have, not that I'd give her aspirin, but…"

"Jack!" He didn't mean to snap, but Jack was rambling and he wanted to know exactly what was going on. He was worried about Rose and now Jack seemed to be indicating that there was something wrong with her daughter. "What are you trying to say?"

"I think it'd be better if I showed you."

Jack turned and walked out the door and down the hall. The Doctor followed him. Why couldn't Jack just tell him? It wasn't that he didn't want to see Rose's daughter, but he knew it would be painful. Something else he would never have with the woman he loved.


Standard Disclaimer.

Thank you to all my readers! You guys are brilliant! If anyone has time reviews are always welcome. :)