CHAPTER 52

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THE TWO JACKS

As Jenny followed her father into the TARDIS so that they could talk alone, she was already silently debating whether she would tell him the whole story of what had happened or not. There were several things that she was sure that the others were much better off not knowing after all and she knew her father. While he might swear never to tell anyone, it was almost an absolute certainty that Clara would eventually get the whole thing out of him sooner or later.

He had never once been able to keep a single secret from Clara in all of the time that Jenny had known her. All she had to do was start kissing him and his willpower automatically evaporated instantly.

Sometimes all it took was just seeing her in one of those tight skirts of hers.

And there were several things that Jenny really wasn't sure that the others needed to know. For one thing, Clara was much better off not knowing that her mother had been killed by the Daleks because of what she had done to them and for another, she didn't want Rory to know that the Doctor had been married to Amy. Both of them would just wind up being needlessly hurt by that information even if it had happened in another reality altogether.

For that matter, she also wasn't too sure that it was such a good idea that Lilith should find out that she was married to Jack there either. After being completely run through both a physical and emotional wringer due to everything that she had just been through, she really didn't feel like facing a fighting mad all powerful Carrion right now.

She was sure that Lilith wouldn't actually try to kill her because Susie would never forgive her, but she'd much rather be safe than sorry.

All of this was racing through her mind now as the TARDIS doors closed, and she was left alone with her father who was already giving her one of those stern, intimidating looks of his. She knew that he wanted answers, and he wanted them right away.

"Now tell me everything, Jenny, and don't leave a single thing out," The Doctor said as soon as the doors shut.

That was just great. Jenny thought to herself with a sigh.

"Everything?" Jenny said hesitantly.

"Yes, and don't hold anything back no matter how unimportant it might seem. According to the temporal readings on the sonic screwdriver, something completely altered time and space on a massive scale just now, and you're the only one who knows the details. I need to know exactly what just happened," The Doctor said in a no nonsense tone.

"It's all been dealt with though, Dad. It's really not a problem anymore," Jenny said in a reassuring tone.

"Jenny, I need to know everything that you know," The Doctor insisted.

"Please. Just trust me. I took care of it. The Daleks altered history by changing certain events in the past but I undid it all. That's all you need to know," Jenny said in a worried voice.

The Doctor sighed now as he said in a much more patient tone, "I keep forgetting how human you are after living among them for so long. I'm not saying that I don't trust you. Obviously you handled it all perfectly or we wouldn't be here having this conversation. In fact, I'm certain of it."

"Then why . . . ?" Jenny asked in confusion.

"I just need to know, Jen. I trust you so I'm asking you to please trust me now," The Doctor said with a look that told her that he was not about to back down from this.

"Alright. Well . . ." Jenny started to say after she took a deep breath.

She was immediately interrupted however when Amy suddenly entered the TARDIS and stood behind Jenny protectively.

"Yes?" The Doctor asked as he gave Amy a not so subtle look that told her to go back outside until he was finished.

"Go on, you two. Don't worry about me," Amy said as she put her arm around Jenny and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Is there something that you wanted in particular, Pond?" The Doctor asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm just here to make sure that you don't start browbeating Jen into talking about things that she might not be too comfortable about discussing with her father just yet. I'm almost sure that something happened between her and that other Jack that she might actually want a chance to get to process first before you start grilling her about it. It doesn't need to be broadcast all over the TARDIS by Shorty either who I know you'll run and tell all about it as soon as Jenny turns her back. You don't have to tell him anything that you don't want to, Jen. Okay?" Amy said as she gave the Doctor a fierce look.

"Amelia, you can't do this. Jenny might know something very important and not realize it," The Doctor insisted.

"I said no, Doctor. She tells you the basic gist of it and that's all. She doesn't have to say anything else especially if it makes her feel uncomfortable. Got it?" Amy said in a cold voice.

Thanks, Mum! Jenny said silently with a relieved smile as soon as she saw the Doctor visibly back down beneath Amy's withering gaze.

Amy smiled back at her and kissed her forehead even as the Doctor groaned and said with a deep frown, "Fine. Just tell me whatever you're 'comfortable' talking about, Jen."

Jenny then told him the basic story of how the Daleks had taken their revenge on Clara for her humiliation of them by erasing her from time and how Jenny herself had undone it all. She didn't tell him any of the specific details of exactly what they had altered or what the timeline they had created had been like however.

The frustration of obviously not knowing all of it was clear on the Doctor's face though.

"And what about this other Jack? How does he fit into things? Can he be trusted?" The Doctor asked which caused Amy to automatically give him a warning look which he readily ignored.

"Yes, he can," Jenny said without elaborating any further which only made the Doctor even more frustrated.

"How can you be so sure of that though? He could be a plant by the Daleks for all that you know. How else do you explain his still being here after everything else was changed? That couldn't have happened naturally, Jenny. Time always corrects itself," The Doctor asked in an urgent tone.

"Doctor," Amy said in an angry tone.

"No, it's okay, Mum. I trust this Jack, Dad, and so should you. He's already proven that he would do anything to protect me over and over again. That's how I know that he'd never do anything that would harm me or anyone that I care about. He's absolutely the same Jack as the one that you know, Dad. He has no more idea about whatever left him here in this time than we do. I know he doesn't," Jenny said in a voice filled with absolute certainty.

The still anxious Doctor hesitated for a moment while he studied her face closely. Then he slowly nodded and gave her a brief smile.

"Alright then," The Doctor said as he suddenly moved to the TARDIS' console without another word and began studying something on its computer that Jenny couldn't see.

"So you're not going to tell us what you're so worked up about after you made such a big deal about Jenny telling you her story? Don't tell me that it's nothing either, Raggedy Man. I know something's going on just from the way that you're acting," Amy asked in disbelief.

"What?" The Doctor asked as he looked up from the console and gave Amy a look that clearly asked her why she was still there.

"No, you don't. You're not about to just dismiss me after all of that. What's happening, Doctor?" Amy insisted.

"You might as well tell her, Old Man. She's your partner now and it's long past time that you started treating her like one and stopped keeping secrets from her. And you'd better not even think about keeping secrets from me if you value this incarnation's continuing existence," Clara said in a stern voice as she suddenly entered the TARDIS.

The Doctor visibly shuddered even as Amy smirked at her and said, "So what were you doing, Shorty? Listening in at the keyhole?"

"Why not? Isn't that what you were doing a few minutes ago?" Clara shot back with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, but I was trying to look out for Jen. What's your excuse? Other than just plain old eavesdropping that is," Amy said with a grin.

"It's because I know like you that he's keeping something from us and I want to know what it is. And I do not spread whatever he tells me all over the TARDIS thank you very much," Clara said in a good natured tone without the smile ever once leaving her face.

"Uh, huh," Amy said in a skeptical voice.

"If I tell you what I know, will the two of you stop all of this annoying bantering?" The Doctor said with a scowl.

"I think that's his roundabout way of telling us to shut up, Red," Clara said with a chuckle.

"Yes, it is because he knows if he came right out and said it to our faces that we'd both knock him senseless," Amy replied with an evil smile.

"We've trained him well, haven't we? Now if only we can just get him to start smiling a little bit more and trim those eyebrows," Clara said with a giggle.

"I'll work on it if you will," Amy promised with a snicker.

"No more bantering. I'll tell you anything if you just stop," The Doctor pleaded.

Clara and Amy now exchanged a conspiratorial smile of triumph with one another while Jenny laughed at their antics. She loved both women more than she could ever say, and this was just one of the many reasons why.

The Doctor then gave them an extremely serious look that instantly caused them all to stop what they were doing and listen closely as he said, "Whatever Jenny did to fix our own timestreams back to normal didn't fix everything. Time is still being rewritten elsewhere and has been since even before this happened."

"What? What do you mean? Is anything important being changed?" Clara asked with concern.

The Doctor shook his head as he said, "No, at least not yet anyway. So far the TARDIS' instruments show that it's just little things here and there. The King and Queen of the planet Helios in the year 3762 suddenly have three children instead of two. The man who discovered the Infinity Spire, who never married in the previous timeline, suddenly gets married three times. The writer of the best selling novel on Rigellia V in the Forty Third Century, Blorg and the Three Kingdoms of Woe, suddenly decides to build a casino resort on Nebula Minor that becomes the new hotspot of the galaxy."

"Blorg and the Three Kingdoms of Woe?" Clara asked with a smirk.

"What? You've never heard of it? Don't tell me you don't know Blorg either? The Hero of Elseworld? The Finder of the Wishing Stones? The greatest sorcerer in the galaxy who defeats the Dark Lord of Despair? He's famous throughout the universe. I thought everybody knew who he was. I used to read about him when I was a child. It was one of the few books I could get from outside of Gallifrey growing up," The Doctor said as he looked at her in stunned disbelief.

"Nope. I'm afraid I'm not up on my Forty Third Century popular fiction, Doctor," Clara said with a grin.

"No need to worry. I should have a spare copy of a Blorg book here somewhere," The Doctor said eagerly as he started to pull things out of his voluminous pockets.

Amy rolled her eyes and immediately said, "You can get Clara hooked on your Harry Potter clone's books later, Doctor. Right now I need you to focus and tell us what's going on. What happened because of all of these changes?"

The Doctor gave her a disapproving look as he said in a petulant tone, "He is not a Harry Potter clone! He's completely different."

"Just tell us what's happening, Doctor. I promise I'll read it later, okay?" Clara said as she smiled at him reassuringly.

The Doctor nodded and quickly calmed down as he said, "That's just it. Nothing has changed at all. Nothing major has been changed by any of these alterations in the timelines. The newest princess of Helios eventually gets married and has children, but none of them alter that planet's history in any noticeable way. The discoverer of the Infinity Spire has basically the same life he would have had anyway. The creator of Blorg still writes all of her books despite the pressures of running a casino. It's almost as if something or someone were just testing the waters to see what they could do rather than any of this being an actual serious effort at changing anything. It's what comes next that worries me though now that they know that they're been successful at actually altering history." The Doctor said.

"And you thought that whoever altered our pasts was the one who was doing all of those other things? You thought that all of that was the lead up to what happened to us?" Jenny realized.

"It certainly could be. Maybe the Daleks are up to far more than just simply getting rid of Clara. She could be just another step in their grand plan for temporal conquest. First they do some minor things here and there, and then they actually try something major. The next step might be something far worse than erasing Clara though as terrible as that is. That's why I wanted to know as much as I could about what happened this time around. All of these changes seem to be too deliberate and calculated not to be a part of some greater design," The Doctor explained.

"Well, the Daleks certainly didn't plan out what they changed too carefully. They almost destroyed all of time and space by what they altered because it created a massive paradox," Jenny explained without going into any further details.

The Doctor looked at her intently for a moment and then said, "Yes, I think you're right. They couldn't have actually wanted a paradox that big to occur. That would just as likely have wiped them out too along with everyone else. That sounds like typical Dalek behavior of their blind hatred overruling their better judgment to me. So if it's not the Daleks then who?"

Clara suddenly started to look worried and opened her mouth to speak. She just as quickly closed it though after briefly looking at Jenny.

"What is it, Shorty? Have something to add?" Amy asked as she noticed this.

"I . . . Well, it might just be nothing," Clara said hesitantly.

"Or it might not. Tell us what you were going to say, Clara. I find your instincts to be very helpful . . . occasionally," The Doctor said eagerly.

"Occasionally?!" Clara said in an insulted voice.

"Yes, sometimes you give me a little bit of helpful insight here and there. Go ahead and tell me what you're thinking, Clara," The Doctor said encouragingly.

"I'm thinking that someone's sleeping on the couch tonight and if they keep it up it's going to be even worse than that," Clara said in a cold voice.

The Doctor gave her a questioning look now as he said, "Did I say something rude again?"

"Oh, yeah. You'd better apologize quickly, Doctor, or the TARDIS might be the only one you get to show any affection to for a very long time," Amy advised.

"There's no might about it. I can practically guarantee it," Clara threatened.

The Doctor looked so lost in that moment that Jenny instantly hugged him. After everything that she had been through lately, she understand perfectly well just how much Clara meant to him and knew that he hadn't meant to insult her on purpose.

"I'm sorry, Clara, for whatever it was that I said that made you angry," The Doctor said even as he gave Jenny a grateful look.

Clara smiled at him and kissed him as she said in a soft voice, "I know. I just like to hear you say it every once in a while."

"Can you tell me what you were going to say now?" The Doctor asked as soon as Clara pulled away from him.

Jenny saw her give her a guilty look then that instinctively let her know exactly what she was going to say.

"You think the other Jack was saved by whoever is making all of those other changes don't you? You think that he's a part of whatever they have planned," Jenny said out loud.

"Yeah, it crossed my mind. I could be wrong though. Even if I'm right, that doesn't mean that he has anything to do with it," Clara said almost apologetically.

"Not willingly, no. That doesn't mean that he isn't a part of whatever is going on though. This could be yet another test. This time to see if a person from an altered timeline can be kept alongside their proper counterpart without it altering the Web of Time. Someone is seeing just how far they can push things and apparently getting bolder and bolder each time they succeed. And all of this might be far more than tests despite how innocent it all appears. It could all have some kind of unknown purpose that I'm just not seeing yet and whatever that purpose is I'm sure it's nothing beneficial to the universe," The Doctor noted.

Jenny now gave him an almost terrified look as she said, "That doesn't mean that he has to be erased from Time though, right? I mean he's not hurting anything obviously so he can still stay no matter what the actual reason for his being here is, can't he?"

The Doctor gave her a confused look for a moment and then a sudden look of realization came over him as he said, "You were in a relationship with him in this other reality, weren't you? How serious was it?"

"You don't have to say anything, Jen," Amy reminded her.

Jenny remained silent but the truth of it was written all over her face for even the usually completely oblivious Doctor to see.

"You were married, weren't you? That fits the pattern. Whoever this is seems to like marrying people who weren't married before," The Doctor said thoughtfully.

Amy and Clara's ears perked up instantly now as they studied Jenny's reaction closely and waited for her to say something. They both exchanged a pleased look as Jenny remained silent once again.

That told them everything that they needed to know.

"Dad, please tell me that he can stay no matter what happens," Jenny said in an upset voice.

"Of course he can stay," Clara reassured her as she put a comforting arm around her.

"Yeah, the Doctor will just work his Time Lord mojo and fix everything for you. So stop worrying so much. It'll all be just fine," Amy reassured her as she lovingly stroked her daughter's hair.

"Dad?" Jenny asked in a scared voice as she noticed that the Doctor himself wasn't saying anything.

In fact, he wasn't even looking at her now. And that scared her to the very depths of her soul. That's when she knew for sure that she definitely had feelings for her Jack. Feelings that she wanted to actually be able to explore.

They just had to have an actual future ahead for that to happen in. They had to.

"You love him," The Doctor said as he continued to look away from her.

"I . . . I have feelings for him, yes. I'm not sure how far they go just yet though. I . . . Dad, please don't say he has to go," Jenny said as tears started to run freely down her face now.

A look of determination came over the Doctor's face as he finally looked at her now and said, "No, he doesn't. Of course he doesn't."

Then to both Clara and Amy's surprise he actually took Jenny in his arms and held her as he said, "Don't worry about it. I promise that he'll get to stay. I'll work it all out."

Clara couldn't fail to notice the brief expression on his face that clearly said that he had no idea how though. She was just glad that Jenny couldn't see it due to her head resting on the Doctor's shoulder.

So a hug really could be used to cover up a person's true thoughts apparently.

Jenny smiled and kissed the Doctor's cheek now as she said, "Thank you."

"I'm still not sure why you want me to save him though. You could definitely do much, much better you know?" The Doctor quickly added.

Jenny laughed then and said, "Yeah, the other you from the other reality said pretty much the same thing."

The Doctor actually smiled in approval as he said, "Yes, well not even massive changes to the timestream can alter my brilliance apparently. It's just too deeply ingrained."

"Just like your humility," Clara joked as she shook her head at him.

"Yes, I am quite humble aren't I?" The Doctor said in a seemingly serious tone of voice.

"Please don't tell any of the others about this especially not Lilith," Jenny pleaded.

She looked at Clara in particular as she said this which caused her to put her hand to her heart (the original one) and say, "I won't say a word. Promise. I don't know where I got this reputation as a gossip anyway. I never tell anyone anything."

"Uh, huh," Amy said with a smirk.

"Shut up," Clara said with a grin.

Then suddenly they all heard the sounds of shouting from outside, and the entire TARDIS shook as something slammed into it violently.

"What the? Don't tell me that the Daleks came back for Round Two," Amy asked in surprise.

The Doctor quickly turned the monitor on to see for himself, and all of them stared at what they saw there in amazement. Especially Jenny.

"It's Jack. Both of them. They're fighting," Jenny said in a stunned voice.

"What in the universe for?" The Doctor asked for a frown.

"Do you really have to ask that?" Amy said as she gave the Doctor an incredulous look.

"It can't be that though, right? It can't be over me. I mean the other Jack likes Lilith," Jenny said in an unconvinced voice.

"Speaking of Lilith, she doesn't look too happy right now. Witch Girl looks like she wants to turn someone to dust to me," Clara said as she gave Jenny a worried look.

"I – I didn't mean to cause any of this. I don't want her Jack. I never did. I . . . don't think," Jenny said in a confused voice.

"See what I mean, Jen? You need time to sort all of this out first. It's all been dumped on you at once just out of the blue so no wonder you're all mixed up. Once you do though, then you'll know exactly where things need to go next," Amy reassured her.

Jenny nodded as she said, "If Lilith doesn't kill me first that is."

"Oh, please. Witch Girl would never do that," Clara said dismissively.

"Don't tempt me," Lilith said as she suddenly appeared in the TARDIS next to Jenny.

"Lilith, I . . ." Jenny started to say but was quickly silenced by the furor in Lilith's eyes.

"They're pounding on each other mercilessly out there, Jenny, because my Jack thinks that yours is up to no good. Or at least that's what he said anyway. I can't help but wonder if it's something more though. Do you know that my Jack hasn't said a word to me or even so much as looked at me since you came back with his double?" Lilith said in a voice filled with emotion.

"Lilith," Jenny said in an emotional voice.

"Tell him to stop, Jenny. Tell him that you don't have any feelings for him and never have," Lilith demanded.

"Of course. I'll do that right now," Jenny said eagerly as she started towards the TARDIS doors.

Then she heard something (presumably a Jack) slamming into them again . . . hard.

"Yeah, better not do that right now, Jen," Clara advised as the TARDIS shook violently once more.

"This is getting ridiculous. Jack never even thought of Jenny that way before and then suddenly he has feelings out of the blue? It has to be more temporal tampering at work," The Doctor said in an aggravated voice as he headed towards the TARDIS doors.

"Not necessarily," Amy said in a low voice that earned her the instant wrath of Lilith who glared at her.

The Doctor quickly went outside to see one Jack just about to throw the other one towards the TARDIS once more. In the blink of an eye, he was standing right next to them and quickly touched both Jacks on the neck at once somehow despite the furious fighting going on between them.

They both hit the ground in an unconscious heap at the same moment as the Doctor gave them each a withering look.

"How long will they be out?" Clara asked curiously.

"I should have put them both to sleep for good for what they did to my poor Old Girl but it'll only be for a few hours. I could always change my mind though if there's been any damage to her," The Doctor said angrily as he closely inspected the doors of the TARDIS and fussed over it as if it were a shiny new car.

"Oh, come on, Old Man. The Old Cow's just fine. She's been through much worse than having a stray Jack Harkness or two flung at her," Clara said dismissively.

"That's not funny, Clara," Lilith snapped as she went to her Jack's side and lovingly stroked his head while she held it in her lap.

"Lilith, I didn't mean to cause any of this," Jenny said apologetically.

"That really doesn't help me right now does it?" Lilith said as she gave Jenny a dirty look.

"Lil, don't be like that. Whatever is going on isn't Jen's fault," Susan said as she tried to get in-between them.

"No, it's not so you can just quit giving her the stares of death right now. She had nothing whatsoever to do with how your Jack acts. His feelings are his own. Maybe you should blame yourself instead. I'd say if you can't keep his interest . . ." Amelia started to say.

"Amelia!" Amy shouted in a disapproving tone.

"No, let her finish. I'd really love to hear what she has to say," Lilith said in a voice filled with venom.

"Lilith, she's just being protective of Jenny. She doesn't really mean it," Susan said in a gentle tone.

"Oh, I think maybe she does. None of you really liked me at all did you? You just tolerated me because of Susie, didn't you?" Lilith said in a voice that was becoming more and more angry by the moment.

"Lil, that's not true," Susan said as she stared at her friend in alarm.

"Yeah, we were a little suspicious of you at first but we all saw exactly how wrong that we were later on. Amy 2.0 here is just a hot head. You can't take what she says to heart. She's liable to do or say anything just like her grandmother," Donna reassured Lilith as she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, oh," Rory said as he saw Amy's face turn red.

"Is that right?" Amy to Donna said in a furious voice.

"Now hold on a minute, Ginger. I just meant that she's very emotional like you. That's all I meant. Calm down before you start something you can't finish," Donna said with her hands held up.

"Oh, I really wouldn't bet on that if I were you," Amelia said with a mischievous grin.

"Everyone, just calm down. This won't do any of us any good to start a fight. We're all a little upset after watching the Jacks fight. Everyone just calm down and think it over," Rory said as he tried to play peacemaker.

"I don't have to think it over. I've had enough. More than enough," Lilith said in a hard voice as she gave Jenny a look filled with raw anger.

"What does that mean?" Susan said in a scared voice.

Lilith's eyes softened now as she looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, Susie. I don't think I can stay here anymore. I think Jack's first instincts were right. I should leave."

"No, don't. Amelia didn't mean it and Jen wasn't . . ." Susan pleaded.

"I know. I don't really blame her. I . . . I should just go. I don't belong on the TARDIS anymore. I'm not sure I ever did really," Lilith said as the others looked at her in shock.

Amelia now looked properly sorry as she said, "Lilith, if it's about what I said . . ."

"I know you didn't mean it. I . . . I just don't know if I can stay here if Jack doesn't . . ." Lilith said in a voice that was now cracking with emotion.

"You won't know that until you ask him. Which of course you could right now if Dumbo here hadn't just knocked him out cold just because he might have scuffed up his precious ship a little," Donna said as she gave the Doctor an angry scowl.

"They were throwing each other against my TARDIS!" The Doctor protested.

"I'm just causing trouble. I . . . I should go," Lilith said in a sad voice.

"Lilith, no. You're really going to hurt Susie if you do this. You're her only friend. She loves you," Jenny pleaded as she lightly grabbed Lilith's arm.

"It may not be forever. I might come back after I think about some things for a while. Just give me some time," Lilith said as she gave Susan a small smile.

Susan nodded but still looked completely devastated which only made Jenny feel even worse.

Then Lilith turned to Jenny and said, "When he wakes up, ask him to contact me if he's still interested in me. He'll know how. If he doesn't . . . then I guess I'll have my answer, won't I?"

"Lilith, wait!" Jenny said.

"Good bye, Jenny. I was angry at first but I can see that you didn't mean for any of this to happen. No hard feelings, alright?" Lilith said as she suddenly vanished right before Jenny's eyes.

Susan immediately began to cry and Amelia put her arms around her and apologized profusely. She was probably the only one there who might have felt even worse than Jenny at that moment.

Jenny's thoughts instantly turned to the two Jacks and she looked at them both sadly as she wondered just what in the world they had been thinking. She simply couldn't believe that everything had changed so much so quickly.

She hadn't seen anything yet though.

Suddenly she felt exactly as she had before when Time was altered and immense pain seemed to fill every cell of her body until she felt as if she might burst. This time was different however because the feeling seemed to go away much quicker this time around. That's when she suddenly found herself back on the TARDIS in the Console Room and floating through the Vortex with a now fully awake Jack at her side. She noticed that he had his arm around her and was holding her close to him just as he had in the altered reality.

Or was this now that same universe once again? What had just happened here? It was like Time had suddenly reset itself just as it had before.

"Jack, did you feel that?" Jenny asked as she decided to test her theory out.

"Feel what, honey?" Jack asked as he gave her a smile filled with love.

Jenny's hearts fell as she said, "Jack, have you ever heard of a woman named Lilith?"

Jack looked at her oddly as he said, "Of course I have, Jen. She did travel with us you know?"

"Did?" Jenny asked.

"Are you feeling okay?" Jack asked as he began to feel her forehead for signs of a fever.

"I honestly don't know right now. Just tell me what happened to her," Jenny insisted.

"You should know. You were there. She decided to leave after I broke up with her after I realized that I had feelings for you. Don't tell me that you've forgotten it all somehow. I thought I was the only one with memory problems in this relationship," Jack said as he began to look extremely worried now.

"Jack, I think our pasts have just been altered . . . again. Just like they were before when that second Jack appeared on the ship . . . or was that you? Are you the Jack I was married to in the other reality?" Jenny asked as she struggled to make sense out of what was going on.

"Whoa! Now hang on a minute. I do love you but it's still a bit early yet to be talking about marriage. I mean sure someday if it all works out. As for another Jack, I'm the one and only Jack Harkness that's ever been on this ship, Jen. I really think I should call the Doc. He needs to take a look at you," Jack said as he gave her a look that was beyond worried now.

"So you never got into a fight with another Jack over me?" Jenny asked as her head started spinning with the insanity of it all.

"I could definitely see that happening if another me was around but no that didn't happen. You'd be worth beating my own brains out though," Jack said with a worried smile.

"Jack, this isn't funny. I'm . . . I don't know whats going on," Jenny said in a frantic voice.

"I know, honey. We'll find out though, okay?" Jack reassured her as he gave her a tender kiss.

Jenny eagerly returned his kiss even as her mind raced to figure out what was happening here. Why had Time altered again and why was she always the only one who seemed to remember it?

Why?

The one who had all of the answers to her questions silently watched her from within the Vortex and smiled to himself. Or at least he would have smiled anyway if he had had a mouth.

His experiments with the temporal reshaping of the timelines had been a complete success so far. Now not only had he successfully brought the Jack Harkness who was in love with Jenny in the universe the Dalek Emperor had created to the correct timeline, but he had also used him to replace the correct version with no damage at all to the Web of Time. His Jack had no idea now that he didn't truly belong in this reality. All he knew was that he loved Jenny and that was just as it should be.

His plan to drive the Carrionite away had worked perfectly. She had been the only one on the Doctor's crew who could have stopped his plans so she simply had to go.

It had been a quite simple plan to get rid of her really. All he had to do was rescue the alternate Jack and bring him to this reality and the other Jack did all of his work for him. His friendship (or maybe even latent feelings) for Jenny immediately caused him to be suspicious of his doppleganger and this quickly led to a fight that drove the witch away.

Just as he had wanted. Humans were such easily controlled playthings for a being with power such as his.

Now his Jack (the one who he wanted in this reality) had replaced the original and was well on his way to marrying Jenny in the one, true reality. Jenny still seemed to remember the alterations to time thanks to the Doctor's meddling TARDIS (which was very protective of her for some reason) interfering once more but it was no matter really. She was already in love with Jack and would no doubt willingly go along with her part of the plan no matter what. Yet again he had altered history on a whim and the whole thing had been inspired by the mad Dalek Emperor's tinkering with Time.

And now he would watch and plan and make certain that this latest, final test was carried through to a successful conclusion. The other alterations of Time had all been trial runs, just as the Doctor had suspected, to see whether he could alter things without damaging the fragile ebb and flow of the cosmos. Now that he knew that he could, his true plan could finally be set into motion at last.

Soon thanks to his efforts the child of the Doctor and the immortal man who could not die would marry and have a child of their own. A child of two warrior races who was destined to be more powerful than both combined.

A Hybrid.

And he or she would one day be the perfect general to lead the Daleks of his own reality against the Time Lords of this and every other reality in an all out conquest of Time and Space. The Time Lords' very own prophecy said that the Hybrid would stand in Gallifrey's ruins one day after all.

And now the Dalek Time Controller would make sure of it as his loyal soldier stood triumphant in every Gallifrey everywhere!

At that very moment back in the President's Office on Gallifrey, Rayna felt cold as if someone were walking over her grave. Then the feeling passed just as soon as it came, and she laughed at herself for it.

"What is it, Ushas? Are you alright?" The Master asked as he watched her closely.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just felt odd for a moment. The feeling's gone now though. I think it's just all of these changes that have happened recently, Koschei. I still can't believe how quickly it's all come about. It's almost like Time just sped on by somehow when we weren't looking. I mean not only did we get married just a few months ago but now I'm pregnant. It seems like just yesterday when we were only dating. I always wanted this day to come even then though," Rayna said with a huge smile filled with joy.

"I've been waiting far longer personally. I've dreamed of this for centuries," The Master admitted as he wrapped his arms around her.

Rayna looked at him sadly as she said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I was so stupid for far too long."

The Master smiled as he said, "No more than I was. It was well worth the wait anyway, Ushas. The best things in life always are."

Rayna smiled and kissed him as she said, "Since when did you become such a philosopher?"

"Oh, I've always been filled to the brim with unmatched pearls of wisdom. I was just never fully appreciated for them until now," The Master said with a wicked grin.

"You were always full of something alright," Rayna joked as she kissed him once more.

"I really hope you won't use that sort of language around the baby. I'm already going to be a bad enough influence on them as it is," The Master joked as he returned her kiss.

"That I can believe. It looks like it's up to me to provide a good influence for them then," The Doctor said as he suddenly appeared on the monitor nearby.

"Yes, I'm sure the baby will love Clara," The Master said with an evil smile.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at him and said to Rayna, "And when were you going to tell me, Ushas?"

"I only just found out about it myself yesterday. I was busy telling my family first, Doctor," Rayna said even as she gave him an apologetic look.

"Yes, I suppose they probably should have been informed first. I thought I might be a little higher up than some of them though or definitely higher up than Oswin. To find out through her when she called to tell Clara was not exactly how I pictured things going," The Doctor said in what might almost have been a hurt voice.

Rayna groaned as she said, "No version of Clara can keep a secret for long it seems. I was going to tell you, Doctor. I just haven't had the time. My family decided to throw a huge celebration when they found out the news and it only ended about half an hour ago. Then I came here to check on the Web of Time to see if there had been any further changes in it recently. I really am sorry."

The Doctor briefly smiled and said, "It's alright. I understand perfectly, Ushas."

Then he became deadly serious once more as he said, "That's not the only reason that I called though."

"Ah, here comes trouble. I knew it. That's the only reason he ever calls," The Master said with a smirk.

The Doctor pointedly ignored him as he said to Ushas, "You said you had checked on the Web. You didn't notice anything different about it?"

"No, should I have?" Rayna asked curiously.

The Doctor looked troubled now as he said, "Yes, because in case I'm mistaken the entire universe has just jumped forward several months into the future in the blink of an eye."

"What? Why didn't we feel it or detect it in some way then?" Rayna asked.

"I'm not sure. Whoever is altering Time seems to be very skilled at what they're doing. So skilled that not even Gallifrey seems able to see their handiwork. Whoever they are, they're very, very good," The Doctor said with a look of appreciation on his face.

"So you think that this is the same person or being who has been slowly altering things before that you told me about?" Rayna asked.

"I don't just think it. I know it. It's definitely them and they've just altered history yet again only this time they've robbed us all of part of our future. This time I remember somehow though. I think maybe the TARDIS has protected my memory just as she did Jenny's before so that I could stop them before it's too late. And that's just what I intend to do. This has to stop now before they take our entire future away next which I fear is their main goal. We have to meet somewhere, Ushas. I have to find out what's happening once and for all before it's too late," The Doctor said in a grave voice.

Next: The Doctor meets with Rayna and the Master as he does his best to find out what's going on before it's too late. Will even the Doctor be able to figure out the Time Controller's plan in time to stop him from speeding up time yet again however? Or will time continue to quickly flow by until Jenny becomes pregnant with the possible future Hybrid that will destroy them all?