Mature content: Compared to the last few, it's mild. ;)

Spoilers: Major Doctor Who series 4 spoiler

Hope you enjoy this; a bit longer than the last couple.

Spare Wheel

Thirty-four: Reunited

Jack rubbed his face wearily and turned to see why Dair had gotten up. Then he heard a dull boom and felt a light tremor shake the room. "Is someone firing on us?" he asked.

Without answering, Dair went to the doorway and called out to the other Reavers passing by. A minute later he pulled one inside and Jack recognized her as the woman who had joined him and Dair in the unwelcome threesome. He shut the door and bolted it. Then he and the woman crouched on the floor, holding their weapons ready.

"If it's the Doctor, he's not leaving without me," Jack said more bravely than he felt. "You'd do better to surrender."

Dair growled at him sharply.

"And if it's not him, you might want to let me free so I can help you. I don't want you to get killed, you know."

The woman uttered some unintelligible sounds and Dair responded to her. Jack wished he could understand what they were saying.

There was another explosive noise and the ship shook again.

"Dair, let me free. Please; I want to help."

Dair ignored him.

Jack licked his lips. If it is the Doctor, he didn't come alone. Attacking isn't his style. God, I hope it's him, though.

"What was that?" asked Kaylee.

Another boom and the ship rattled again, shaking the storage compartment-shaped Tardis.

"It's like the ship's under attack," the Doctor said, scanning the room with his sonic screwdriver.

"Let's not wait about," said the Master. "Let's spread out and find Jack."

"I think we'll be much safer if we stick together," said John.

"Here they come," Mal announced.

The Doctor looked up to see several Reavers entering the chamber. When they saw the intruders, the Reavers set up a roar to alert the others.

"So much for the element of surprise," said Zoe.

"Don't worry; they can't get to us while the force field is up," said the Doctor. "Gray, can you tell them we won't hurt them if they surrender?"

"No," Gray said immediately. "They wouldn't understand. And even if they could understand it, I wouldn't bother. They'd never surrender."

"I just think it's better to offer them a chance."

"This is no time for mercy," said the Master. "We've got our friend to save and a TARDIS to repossess. Take the force field down. The longer I look at this lot, the more I want to dispatch them."

"I won't have you going killer on me."

"Then what the hell did I come for? I don't hear you telling anyone else not to kill them."

"They're not my responsibility."

The Master groaned and swore under his breath in Gallifreyan.

Catching sudden movement in his peripheral vision, the Doctor turned to see Gray and River moving toward John. What are they…? Gray grabbed John's arm and flipped open his vortex manipulator.

"Gray, don't!" the Doctor shouted. He saw John struggle for just a moment; then he, Gray and River disappeared.

They reappeared a moment later behind the horde of Reavers.

"They're outside the force field," Kaylee said with concern.

"Get it down now, Doctor!" said the Master.

Slowly coming out of his surprise, the Doctor moved back toward the Tardis. He had to take the force field down. Gray might be killed and Jack would never forgive him. They would have to take their chances.

He stumbled forward as the ship shook once more. What is Gray trying to achieve? Why did he want to get away from us? And why did River go with him? He reached the controls and lowered the force field. Then he dashed outside and locked the Tardis before the Reavers had realized that the invisible barrier was gone.

John, Gray and River were disappearing down one of the side passages.

He said he thought he'd been on this ship before, the Doctor realized. Maybe he's looking for a particular Reaver to take revenge on. Or maybe he wants to find Jack first—maybe he knows where he's likely to be. But if he does find him first… what's he planning?

"'How's your VM work, John? Like this?' Too bloody clever, damn you!"

It was easy for Gray to see that John wasn't happy with him. He could also tell that he was a bit worried about being cut off from the others. But as soon as River began defending them, he forgot his fears.

"My god, who trained you?" John asked, gawking at the slim girl as she cut down one Reaver after another.

"Come on," said Gray, pulling John down the passageway as River followed them, moving backward to fend off the Reavers who tried to follow. "The prisoners will be below decks."

"How do we know we're going the right way?"

"We are. Trust me."

A Reaver appeared ahead of them and John reacted instantly. The Reaver hit the floor with a bullet from one of John's twin guns between its eyes.

"Nice shot," Gray commented.

At the end of the passage they reached a stairwell and Gray started down it. River waited until he and John reached the bottom; then she descended a few steps, vaulted the rail and landed on her feet beside them.

"What age are you?" John asked her. "When this is over, we need to get together for a drink…"

"Shut up, John."

They continued down a hallway. Now and then a Reaver jumped out at them from a side door and one of them would cut it down or shoot it.

"You should check those rooms for prisoners," said Gray. "I'll find Jack."

"You can't go off by yourself."

"There aren't as many of them down here—they're all topside manning the guns or fighting our party."

After a moment's hesitation, John held out his unused pistol to Gray. "Take this. And be careful."

"I will."

John pulled Gray close and kissed him. Then Gray went on alone, leaving River to protect John as he looked for hostages to free.

He'll be down here… in that little room off the side passage. It was somewhere down this way. Gray quickened his steps. It's the most out-of-the-way little corner on the ship. Best place to keep something away from other Reavers. Whoever claimed him will be sure to have him there… He came to a longer side passage and hurried down it.

There it is. That same dark gray door. Gray felt a cold shiver make its way down his spine. Images of his keepers flooded his memory along with sensations of pain and disgust. He paused by the door, breathing hard. Then he tried waving his hand in front of the door's sensor. The door clicked, but it had been bolted from the inside. Before he could decide what to do next, an angry shriek from behind the door made him jump. He struggled to calm himself. His hands were shaking.

"Jack," he called. "Are you in there?"

Then he could hear the voices of two Reavers snarling at him. He wondered if there were more. Then he thought he heard another voice—a more human-sounding one. Could that be Jack?

"Jack, stay down. I'm going to try to hit the bolt." Gray put his pistol against the door at the usual height for the bolt on a door of that sort and fired.

The door remained closed. The Reavers inside sounded more agitated than ever, but he could also hear the other voice. He strained to hear, shutting out the sound of the Reavers' shrieks.

What is he saying? High? It was too high? He lowered his gun an inch and fired again.

Then he heard another snarl, this time behind him. He turned in time to shoot his assailant in the side. The Reaver fell to the floor, but it reached out to take him by the ankle, digging in with its long nails. Gray fired again, shooting the Reaver through the skull.

He had no time to recover before a female Reaver lunged through the door at him. He ducked to the side, but her long blade cut his through his sleeve and his arm began to throb. When she came at him again he caught her wrist in its downward swing and used her momentum against her until the knife's tip was buried in her own belly. She uttered a piercing howl. He fired the gun at her chest and she dropped in front of him.

Only then did he look through the doorway and see the strange sight of another Reaver struggling to get at him, held back by none other than Jack, who had a precarious hold on its wrist.

Bellowing in frustration the Reaver fell back to slash at Jack's arm, trying to get loose. Gray aimed carefully. He knew that this gun of John's came from 19th century America, and he had only one shot left. After that he would have only his knife.

"No, Gray!" Jack shouted. His arm was bleeding profusely, but he doggedly held on to the Reaver. "Please, don't hurt him. He was taken as a child, like you. He doesn't understand. Please."

Gray hesitated. He's better off dead. I wished I was dead. If he's this far gone he probably can't get better. But even as he wondered what to do, he saw the Reaver stop fighting and let Jack pull him into his arms.

"It's okay," Jack told him. "I won't let them hurt you. I promise you'll be all right."

Gray lowered the gun marginally. "You're all right?" he asked.

Jack stared at him a moment. "Is the Doctor here?"

"Yes. And John and the Master—everyone came." Gray felt as if there were a heavy stone in his stomach. I'm probably the last person he wanted to see.

"Okay. Everything will be okay."

Gray wasn't sure if Jack was talking to him or to the Reaver or to himself. "I… want you to know that I'm sorry," he said, looking Jack over. He hadn't really looked at Jack until now, hadn't taken in all the changes since they were young. Jack had two weeks' growth of beard on his face and he looked tired and dirty. Strangely enough, he was wearing his pants. Gray hadn't expected the Reavers to allow him that luxury.

Tears were running down Jack's face and into the hair of the Reaver he was holding. "It's okay," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, too."

"It wasn't your fault. I just didn't understand." Gray's throat was tightening. Got to end this. "You'll be okay now. The others are coming. Just hold on." He lifted the gun to his temple.

"No! Gray, don't!"

Gray felt something hit the back of his arm and his wrist snapped forward. The gun went off before it left his hand and fell to the floor. He felt his arm being pulled up behind his back as Jack cradled the Reaver in his arms.

"Dair, I've got you. Just lie still. It'll be okay." Jack pressed his hands against the Reaver's bleeding shoulder where the shot had hit him.

Dair? Oh, my god… Gray sank to his knees, barely aware of River's strong grip on him. That can't be Dair. And now I've shot him. Should have killed him. Should have killed myself. "Jack, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," he heard himself saying.

"I know. Please, Gray… please, don't leave me."

John came to the doorway and took in the scene. "Well. Hullo, everyone. Sorry I'm late. Recap?"

They were holding their own, but there were still dozens of Reavers facing them. The Doctor hung back and tried not to watch the fighting. The Master was proving uncommonly skilled in battle, blinding Reavers with the laser fob and knocking them senseless with his quarterstaff. When it finally snapped under a particularly hard blow from a Reaver blade, he swung both pieces of the staff around with astonishing speed and deadly accuracy.

The Doctor remembered a naïve time in his youth when he had once told someone, "I never kill anything! Neither do my friends." He had been less than 500 years old then.

The ship continued to shake periodically until the whole thing rocked suddenly, throwing off the artificial gravity for a moment. Nearly everyone lost their footing. Then the Doctor heard a hiss behind him and he turned to see the ship's airlock opening. The ship was being boarded. A troop of human-looking people rushed in, led by a blonde woman.

The Doctor stared, trying to make sense of what was going on. He was relieved that the newcomers seemed to be on their side. The woman hesitated only a moment.

"Stop in the name of the Alliance!" Neither side heeded her, so she shouted, "Fire on the Reavers!"

After that the battle didn't last long. The Reavers fought to the last man—and woman—until they were all lying dead on the floor.

"Thanks for the help," Mal told the woman, grudgingly, the Doctor thought. He knew Mal wasn't fond of the Alliance or its representatives.

"No trouble. All in the line of duty…" the woman stopped when her eyes fell on the Doctor. "You. It is you! Oh, sweet rutabaga, it's you!"

The Doctor gaped as the young woman ran toward him. He opened his arms to receive her. "Jenny! My word, Jenny—how are you alive?" He completely forgot his decorum and squeezed Jenny nearly to death as a human would have. "You didn't regenerate… and how did you get here? To this time?"

Jenny squealed in excitement and picked up her feet so the Doctor was holding her off the ground. "New planet, life force floating round woke me up—I took their rocket and -WHOOSH!- and then I traveled round a lot and did a lot of running and then I got sucked into a time-thingy and ended up here and got a job for the Alliance and I can't believe it's really you!"

The Doctor set her down carefully, feeling weak with happiness. He kissed her neck and squeezed her again.

"Um… care to enlighten us?" the Master asked.

"Yes. Sorry." The Doctor turned to the others, wiping away a tear of joy. "Jenny, that's the Master. He's another of my kind. And so's the Meddler there. That's Captain Reynolds of the Serenity, and his crew is Wash, Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee and Simon." He pointed everyone out in turn. "Everyone, this is Jenny. My daughter."

Everyone stared blankly except the Master, whose eyes bugged widely.

"Your daughter? What the hell?"

"Oi, don't talk like that in front of her."

"Oh, I'm a lieutenant in the Alliance—I've heard much worse," Jenny protested.

"If she's your daughter," said the Master, "is she a…?"

"Are Martha and Donna with you?" asked Jenny.

"No. No, they…" the Doctor paused. "Oh, god, Jack! Come on!"

"Now who's swearing?" the Master snapped.

They all rushed in the direction Gray had taken John and River.

"More running!" Jenny said, grinning at the Doctor.

"Right you are, more running!" he replied. His joy at recovering Jenny was somewhat eclipsed by his worry for Jack. Is he okay? Is he even here? What's Gray doing?

"This is why the Tardis landed us here after two weeks," the Master said, cutting into his thoughts. "To get us here in time to meet her."

"Oh… lord, I think you're right." Why didn't I think of that?

"Course, I'm right. I'm bloody brilliant."

"You were right, Dad," Jenny exclaimed. "He is 'one of your kind.'"

"Oh, stop it," the Doctor scolded. "Cheeky."

In another minute they found the smaller room where John and Jack were working to stop Dair's wound from bleeding and River was keeping careful watch to make sure Gray didn't try again to kill himself. Everyone crowded around, everyone wanting to touch Jack, but everyone afraid of frightening him.

"Give him room," Gray said suddenly. "Everybody clear out and let him talk to the Doctor."

Two of Jenny's men helped John lift Dair and carry him out the door.

"I've sedated him," John told them. "He needs that wound treated immediately."

"We'll take care of him," one of the men answered.

Everyone else filtered away from the room and Gray shut the door halfway behind them. Their voices died away in the hall.

"Jack," the Doctor said, approaching his friend slowly and kneeling beside him. "Jack, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Jack was trembling. "They won't hurt Dair, will they? I promised him." His chest heaved and his eyes glazed over. "I promised him and he got hurt… It's my fault."

"Jack, come on—we've got to get you out of here. I wanted to find you myself but Gray had his own plans… I'm sorry I took so long." He held his hand out.

Jack stared at the Doctor's hand and then reached up slowly to take it. His hand felt cold in the Doctor's. "Doctor… it's really you?"

"I'm here, Jack."

Jack sighed heavily and leaned over to rest his head against the Doctor's chest. "I knew you'd come."

The Doctor put his arms around Jack, taking care not to move suddenly or grip him too tightly. He kissed Jack's head and closed his eyes. "Jack. My Jack."

Jack squirmed suddenly, pulling away.

"Hey, it's all right," the Doctor said, holding his arms open again. "Have I done something wrong?"

Jack was shaking harder than ever. "N-no… just… please don't say that."

"Okay. I'm sorry. Here, let's get that chain off you, shall we?"

The chain was no longer attached to the wall—John had most likely cut it or shot it. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to unclasp the manacle. "There. Better?"

Jack rubbed his wrist briefly before embracing the Doctor again. "Thanks."

"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry. How can I help?"

"Just stay here. Don't move."

The Doctor obliged. "I swore I'd never abandon you again," he said sadly. "And I left you to this."

"You did what I asked you to do. You kept Gray safe. He's okay, right? They won't let him hurt himself? Doctor, he was going to—" Jack's voice broke and he sobbed.

"Shh, it's all right now. River's with him; he'll be all right." The Doctor rubbed Jack's back lightly. "Tell me about this other fellow—is he a friend?"

"He was my keeper."

The Doctor remembered the Reaver Gray had mutilated, saying he was his keeper. The one he had hated so much. "Your keeper? But… didn't he hurt you, then? Didn't he torture you?"

"Yes." Jack kissed the Doctor's neck. "He's not like them, though. He's a convert. He can get better."

"Are you sure of that? Maybe you've got a case of Stockholm."

"I'm sure because he's already gotten better. At first he wouldn't speak to me, but then he told me his name." Jack's voice was tight. The shaking didn't seem to be subsiding. "And he knows my name and he's said lots of stuff now…. He's remembering. Please, we have to take him with us. We can't leave him here."

The Doctor felt sick at the thought of taking one of Jack's torturers, someone who had killed, raped and cannibalized him, onboard the Tardis. "Jack, he's not safe."

"I'm not leaving without him."

There was a finality in Jack's voice that the Doctor knew would not be dissuaded. "All right… we'll talk it over more in a little bit when you're feeling better." He stroked Jack's rough face. "I've got someone for you to meet when you're up to it."

"I can't meet anyone like this," Jack protested. "Give me a chance to clean up, for god's sake."

The Doctor smiled. It's still Jack. No one can keep you down. "All right, I'll try to smuggle you back to the Tardis before she gets a proper look at you. Tell you what: I'll take her and the Meddler to find his TARDIS—that's what the time travel device was, by the way… there's so much to tell you. Anyway, while I'm doing that, John and the Master can get you back to the Tardis, okay?"

"I… I don't know. Can't you stay with me?"

"If you need me to."

"I don't want to be with him."

"What? Who?"

"The Master," Jack said, sounding to the Doctor a little like a frightened child.

"Oh…" Of course. The Master tortured him. He killed him and laughed about getting to kill him again. No, I suppose I wouldn't want to see him either. "All right. I'll send the Master to look for the Meddler's TARDIS then, and I'll go with you. How's that?"

"Okay. That's good."

"All right then. I'll go and let them know. I'll be right back." Don't panic. I'm not leaving you for long this time. The Doctor wished he could make his friend feel safe. He eased away from Jack, kissing his head one more time. "I love you, Jack."

It took Jack a moment to respond. "I love you, too."

"You can be rather commanding when you choose," John commented to Gray as they watched Simon and Jenny's medical team working on Dair.

"Sure. I've always known how to clear a room. If people were paying too much attention to Jack I'd just say I thought I was going to throw up and suddenly I'd have my parents all to myself."

John laughed. "That's not quite what I meant…. Are you sure he wants to be alone with the Doctor? Won't he want to see the Master and the rest of us?"

"Not yet," Gray said firmly. "When someone goes through this kind of torture, he wants to be with the one person he knows will never hurt him. For me, that was you. For Jack, it's the Doctor."

River took Gray's hand and rubbed his arm. "Simon will take care of this," she said, running her fingers around the cut he had received.

"It doesn't matter."

"No," River said firmly. She put her hand on the side of his face and turned him toward her. "Jack doesn't want you to die."

"Gray…" He's planning to kill himself? John took Gray's other hand. "She's right. Jack loves you more than anything. And he can't die. If you do away with yourself it will make him impossibly frustrated that he can't follow you. He needs you right now more than ever, to help him get through this."

"How can I help him? When he looks at me he remembers what I did to him. If he thinks he loves me, he's lying to himself. I'm the reason he stayed here—if he's honest with himself, he'll want me dead."

"He was here just two weeks. He's bad off, but he's still got his wits and he still loves you. I know he does." John put his arms around Gray. "And I love you, too. Please, don't think of killing yourself anymore. It will be hard, but you've got to decide you're going to live and face this. Help Jack understand that you don't hate him anymore. It will do him so much good to be able to just talk with you again. Please, try."

Gray lost his rigidity and hugged John in return. After a moment he whispered, "I'll try. I don't know how I can help, but I'll try."

"That's all I'm asking." John kissed Gray's temple. "Good man." He looked up. "Say, who is that girl, anyway? I love a blonde. I need blonde."

"She's the Doctor's daughter," said River.

"His daughter? How d'you know that?"

"It's all she's thinking about."

John felt slightly uneasy. He wondered how accurate River's mind-reading ability was. Wonder if she's read my thoughts. Wonder if she knows the way I think about some people… including her. And her brother… Oh, cripes, I'm doing it now. He glanced at River and saw her giving him a piercing stare. "Sorry," he muttered.

River gave a small laugh. Then she walked away to where a handful of hostages were having their injuries treated.

What was that laugh for? John shook his head. She probably hadn't been reading his thoughts at all.

Reunited at last-Jack and his friends, Jenny and her dad. xD Comment away.