"What are you doing?" Phoenix finally broke the silence that had spanned about half an hour while Rose slept off the effects of the tractor beam. Jack had been fiddling with controls at the front of the ship since. Kind of like the Doctor did with the TARDIS.

He shot her a look she couldn't quite decipher before turning the captain's chair around and focusing his attention on her. "Just some standard procedure stuff. Making sure no one spotted the tractor beam. We are in the middle of a war, after all."

"Right." Phoenix murmured, glancing over at Rose before making her way closer to Jack. She needed to figure out where he was in his timeline without giving too much away. "It doesn't take a genius to realize that you aren't from around here."

"No. I'm not." He agreed, smirking at her. "Though you aren't from around here yourself." He stood and made his way over to her, leaning against the wall. A bit too close in her opinion, but she figured she might get more information if she went with it. "Got a name?"

So he didn't know her then, Phoenix surmised, searching his blue eyes. Or he could just be pretending, like she was. She didn't know him well enough in any timeline to know for sure. She opened her mouth to answer when she heard noise from behind her. Her mouth snapped shut and she turned to see Rose climbing out of the bed, peering around in confusion.

"Better now?" Jack questioned and Phoenix turned to see that he'd backed away a little, though he was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The brunette had been hoping that Rose would stay asleep a little bit longer while she figured out what to tell her. She knew Rose had met Jack at one point and didn't want to mess the timeline up by Rose letting that information slip to a Jack she hadn't met. All this timeline stuff was beginning to give Phoenix a headache.

"Have you got lights in here?" Rose wondered, causing Phoenix to frown. It wasn't that dark in the ship. Granted, her eyes had been able to adjust longer than Rose's had, but Jack didn't seem to be having any issues. "Can barely see anything."

Jack sat back down in the captain's chair and flicked the lights on, watching Phoenix curiously. Phoenix frowned at the attention, grateful when he turned back to Rose. "Hello."

"Hello," Rose murmured, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Phoenix just leaned against the wall, watching the two of them carefully. She wasn't even sure if Rose remembered meeting Jack, but she didn't really want to risk anything at this point.

"Hello," Jack repeated with a grin.

"Let's not start that again," Rose responded, the two laughing together.

"Okay," Jack agreed, nodding. Rose glanced at Phoenix and joined the two closer to the front of the ship, if that were a fair conclusion. It was all just one room, really.

"So, who are you?" Phoenix asked, trying to be proactive and fix any potential problems before they happened. She did her best to ignore Rose's confused frown.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced, shifting a little to pull out a small flap book like the Doctor carried. "133 Squadron, Royal Airforce. American volunteer."

Rose took the paper and studied it. Phoenix briefly glanced at it, finding this one to be just as blank as the Doctor's. She still wasn't sure why that was. Rose seemed to have no trouble reading the paper. So why couldn't she? Was it because of her genes making the switch from human to Umaru? Was her brain changing too? How was that going to change her?

"Liar." Rose accused with a grin, pulling the brunette from her inner spiral. Jack just stared at the blonde, seeming affronted by her directness. "This is psychic paper. It tells me whatever you want it to tell me."

"How do you know?" Jack asked, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Two things. One, I have a friend who uses this all the time," She answered, matter-of-factly. "And two, you just handed me a piece of paper telling me you're single and you work out."

"Tricky thing, psychic paper." Jack commented, not seeming too let down that they'd known about it.

"Yeah," Rose agreed with a grin, handing him back the paper. "Can't let your mind wander when you're handing it over."

Jack studied the paper after she handed it back. "Oh, you sort of have a boyfriend called Mickey Smith, but you consider yourself to be footloose and fancy free."

Phoenix turned sharply to the blonde at those words. Admittedly, Rose's relationship with Mickey wasn't really her business and the blonde had been flirting with the Doctor at the beginning of their travels, but Mickey was also her friend. If Rose wanted to see other people, she needed to figure things out with Mickey first. One way or the other.

Seeing Phoenix's look, Rose gave a small chuckle, turning to Jack and clearing her throat. "What?"

"Actually, the word you use is available," Jack continued, glancing between the two girls.

"No way." Rose denied and Phoenix pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and counting to ten. Keeping her friends out of trouble and happy was proving to be more work than she'd anticipated.

"Another one. Very."

"Shall we try and get along without the psychic paper?" Rose asked, standing and glancing over at Phoenix. Phoenix forced a smile at the two.

"That would be better, wouldn't it?" Jack pushed himself out of his seat and followed Rose towards the back of his ship. There was barely enough room for all of them, or at least that was how it felt to Phoenix.

"I agree." The brunette responded, making her way over to Rose. "I'm Phoenix and this is my friend, Rose." Rose shot her another confused frown at the introductions, but luckily went along with what she was doing.

"Unique name for a unique girl," Jack murmured, tilting his head to the side with another smile. After a long moment, he turned his smile onto Rose who was nearly swooning under the attention, much to Phoenix's surprise. Usually, the blonde was better collected than this, even when there were cute guys in the room. "And a flower that's delicate, yet sharp. Sounds like my idea of fun."

Rose gaped for a moment before clearing her throat with a grin that she tried to hide. "N-Nice spaceship."

"Gets me around."

"Very…" Rose murmured, letting her fingers trail across the ceiling as she drew the word out. "Spock."

"Who?" Jack asked, frowning as he messed with something on his wrist. It seemed genuine. So then he hadn't been to her present day. Or was he just that good at pretending? But if he did know her then why pretend with her? He would know that she knew about the code he'd told her to use, so why would he pretend otherwise? Maybe she should just go with it, she decided. If he didn't know her, she didn't want to let anything slip and if he did but was pretending not to, then perhaps he had a reason. And if not, she'd just let him take initiative on it. There, that sounded like a plan.

"Guessing you're not a local boy, then." Rose told him, climbing up to stand on the captain's chair and stare out the small windows. Phoenix could still hear bombs going off outside.

"Cell phones, a liquid crystal watch, and fabrics that won't be around for at least another two decades." Jack read off and Phoenix straightened as she recognized what was around his wrist. It was the same device that the Face of Boe had given her, the one that had taken her to Jack the first time. "Guessing you're not local girls."

"Guessing right." Rose agreed, leaning forward to see outside better. She braced her hands against the window sill, only to pull back with a hiss of pain.

"Burn your hands on the rope?" Jack asked calmly. Phoenix glanced down at her own hands to see similar burns. She hadn't even noticed. Though now that it was brought to her attention, she was very much aware of them and the slight soreness in her shoulders. It wasn't too horrible though, she thought, rolling her shoulders a bit. It would probably be worse later.

"Yeah." Rose breathed, managing to get close enough to the window to peer out. "We're parked in midair! Can't anyone down there see us?"

"No." Jack answered simply. "Can I have a look at your hands for a moment?"

Rose sat back in the chair and turned her full attention to Jack. "Why?"

"Please?" He pressed, eyebrows shooting up. He walked over to her and knelt down, pulling out some sort of scanning device while she held her hands out. Phoenix leaned against the wall beside the two. He glanced at her, his gaze flicking down to her hands. "You can stop acting now. I know exactly who you are."

"You do?" Phoenix checked, straightening. She'd thought she'd been doing so well.

"I can spot a Time Agent a mile away," he elaborated. The brunette relaxed at his words.

"Time Agent?" Rose asked as he finished scanning her hands.

"I've been expecting one of you guys to show up." He told them, motioning Phoenix over. "Though, not I must say, by barrage balloon. You guys often travel that way?"

"Sometimes I get swept off my feet," Rose said with a smile. Phoenix blinked at her friend. She knew the blonde liked to flirt, but she didn't usually come on this strong. "By balloons." The blonde stammered out. Phoenix frowned as Jack removed his scarf and began wrapping it around Rose's wrists.

"What are you doing?" Phoenix demanded, walking forward to stand beside the captain's chair and frown down at him. Rose only just seemed to notice the action and Phoenix was instantly on edge.

"Try to keep still." He told Rose, ignoring Phoenix's question. He positioned her arms the way he wanted them before leaning over her and taking his time to flip a switch. A cloud of what looked like tiny golden lights shimmered above Rose's palms. Phoenix could only see the glow, but they seemed to be alive.

"What are those?" Phoenix asked, kneeling down to examine them a bit closer. She glanced at Rose. "Do they hurt?"

The blonde shook her head. "No. It just…tingles."

"Nanogenes." Jack told them, drawing Phoenix's gaze. "Sub-atomic robots. The air in here's full of them." The two girls watched in awe as Rose's burns just seemed to fade, the cloud of light pulsing above her palms. Jack flipped the switch again and the nanogenes disappeared. "They just repaired three layers of your skin." He took his scarf back while Phoenix took Rose's hands to inspect. She mostly trusted Jack by this point, but she had no idea who he was in the past and she got the feeling he'd been through some dark stuff in his life.

"Well, tell 'em thanks!" Rose chuckled, pulling her hands from Phoenix to inspect them herself.

"And now for you, firebird." Jack murmured, holding the scarf out with anticipation.

"That's necessary, is it?" She nodded at the scarf. "Not just your idea of fun?"

"Well, if you had other plans, we can get to those later, but this helps the nanogenes center on a target." He smirked. Phoenix frowned, unable to stop the blush that dusted her cheeks. "That's more like it."

"Yes, we've gathered that you like to flirt, now could you please just…?" She trailed off with a huff as she lifted her hands up. He tied the scarf around her wrists, his hands lingering for a moment before he reached past Rose and flipped the switch again.

Phoenix couldn't help the soft gasp that escaped her lips as the little robots appeared over her palms. They were incredibly warm and Rose was right, they didn't hurt. It was just a light warm tingle. It wasn't even uncomfortable. The brunette watched in awe as her burns faded. Well, she had something else to add to her study later list. All too soon, Jack flicked the switch to send them back to wherever they lived, taking his scarf back a moment later.

"Thanks," she murmured softly, rubbing her palms together.

Jack nodded and climbed out of the cockpit, heading back into the ship. "Shall we get down to business?"

"Business?" Rose wondered after a moment of silence, both girls turning to stare at Jack.

"Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" He asked them, pressing a button over the makeshift door to the pilot's area. A ramp began to lower behind him and Phoenix stood up, on guard again. She hadn't even thought about where the door was. It was reckless. He grabbed a bottle of champagne and headed on up. "Bring up the glasses."

Rose didn't seem to think on it too long before she was out of her seat and grabbing the glasses that were resting near where he'd pulled the bottle from. Phoenix gaped as her friend hurried up the ramp, slowing near the top. After everything they'd been through, she was just going to follow him? Granted, Phoenix wasn't sure how else they were going to get back onto the ground and find the Doctor.

The brunette bit her lip as her nerves about the Time lord being out on his own returned. The sooner they got back the better, she decided, sighing and following the two up. She found herself standing in the brisk night air, just in time to see the ship shimmer into existence.

"Okay, you have an invisible spaceship," Rose murmured, looking around.

"Yeah." Jack confirmed.

Phoenix tuned the two of them out while she looked around. There were still barrage balloons floating through the night air and bombs bursting every now and then. The sound of the champagne bottle opening had her jumping and she glanced over to see Rose laughing with Jack while they filled their glasses.

"Want some?" Jack called over and Phoenix backed away from the edge where she'd been peering over at the city below.

"No thanks." She answered, tucking her hands into her pockets. She couldn't bare the idea of sitting there, drinking champagne, talking about whatever business Jack thought they were there for while the Doctor was out on the streets in the London Blitz - hopefully wondering where they were by now - and likely in danger. For all she knew, a bomb was going to land on him and he would regenerate right there. The thought had her eyes scanning the London streets again, though logically she knew it would do her no good. "Actually, I'm going to go back inside and try to contact our…partner. You guys talk business."

And before Rose could protest, she was hurrying back inside the ship and fishing in her pocket for her phone. She knew that the chances of her actually managing to contact the Doctor were slim, but she had to try. She dialed his number and waited with held breath, the phone pressed up against her ear.

"Obviously, I'm busy and can't reach the phone. Don't call back-"

Phoenix hung up before the voicemail could finish, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She hated this feeling. She hated worrying about one person so much, but she knew it was far too late to do anything about it. She loved him and she couldn't handle the idea that someone close to her might die again. She didn't think she would survive it a second time.

Well, then. She just needed to get back to him as quickly as possible. With renewed purpose, she made her way back up to the two lovebirds, tucking her phone away. She stalled in her tracks when she found the two of them lounging on the roof of the ship, drinking champagne and giggling together.

Huffing out a sigh, Phoenix made her way over. "It's getting kind of late and this doesn't look like business to me."

Rose startled and sheepishly bit her lip, carefully getting to her feet with the help of the brunette. They were still hovering in a war zone after all.

"I try never to discuss business with a clear head," Jack supplied for an answer, downing the rest of his glass before setting it down. "Feeling left out? There's plenty more."

"Hardly. If you have business to discuss, let's discuss it and if not, we need to be on our way." Phoenix prompted, crossing her arms. Jack sighed and got to his feet, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Are you traveling alone?" He asked, becoming a little more serious. Rose still looked a little love struck. "Are you authorized to negotiate with me?"

"What would we be negotiating?" Rose asked, grinning a little and definitely still trying to be flirty.

"I have something for the Time Agency." He told the two of them, though he seemed to be focusing more on Rose. "Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment?"

"Well, I..I should talk to my companions," Rose responded and Phoenix's eyes slid over to the blonde.

"Companions?" Jack wondered, glancing between the two girls. "There's more of you?"

"We have a friend," Phoenix answered before Rose could, emphasizing the last word. She had no idea why Rose was playing leader here, the girl seemed to be thinking more with her hormones than her brain at the moment. "We should be getting back to him."

"Him?"

"Do you have the time?" Rose asked, scratching the back of her neck and ducking her head.

Jack and Phoenix both looked at Rose, both of their faces displaying the same expression. Jack pulled a small device from his pocket and pointed it to the side, making the giant clock light up and begin chiming.

Phoenix slapped his hand down with a glare. "What do you think you're doing? We're literally standing under a German air raid and you're lighting the place up for them?"

"Relax. My ship has shielding." Jack assured her, smirking at the feisty brunette. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of her, but was definitely intrigued. She noticed things most of the people he conned didn't. Granted, he was usually distraction enough that they didn't notice those tiny details, but for some reason she was different. Or maybe he wasn't trying hard enough.

"And what about all of the people down there? Where's their shielding, O Smart one?" Phoenix countered, gesturing towards the building and the streets. "This may not be our time and place, but you should treat it as if it is. We can still die here and get people killed here."

"Right. But when you say your companion," he suddenly drew the brunette into his arms, hoping the closer proximity would make a greater impact on the girl. "…how disappointed should I be?"

Phoenix froze in Jack's arms, not having expected this behavior from him. Sure, he was a giant flirt, but she'd never gotten the impression of him actually having feelings for her. She didn't think that was their dynamic. So why was he acting this way now? Or did they just grow out of that stage? What should she do? She knew she didn't feel like that towards him and she certainly wasn't up for anything casual - she'd yet to have a single relationship, so she definitely wasn't going to play around with anyone. And just being in his arms this close with the intention in his eyes, Phoenix felt that it was wrong. He wasn't the Doctor.

But she also had no idea what to do in this situation. Did she pull away? Did she get angry? Did she tell him that she cared about someone else? Glancing over at Rose, she decided that wasn't the right course of action. There was no need to rub it in the blonde's face. On the other hand, she could potentially use it to her advantage, though she didn't really want to lie to him either.

"We're standing in midair," Rose cut in, watching the two of them and the growing panic on Phoenix's face. "On a spaceship, during a German air raid, do you really think now is a good time to be comin' on to us?"

"Perhaps not," Jack murmured, frowning at Phoenix who was still tense in his arms and looking a little scared. That hadn't been his intention. He released her and stepped back, not missing the sigh of relief that escaped her.

"It was just a suggestion," Rose hurried to say before her mind caught up to what she was saying. She wasn't really sure why she was reacting to him this way, but also hadn't decided if she minded or not. She hadn't even felt jealous when he'd pulled Phoenix into his arms, just a little disappointed.

Phoenix shot the blonde a look, even as she stepped back from the situation. Something was off about this whole thing and she was just getting more and more confused. Why was Rose reacting to him like that? Also, why did Jack feel like he needed to manipulate them? She was fairly certain that was what he was doing as he kept switching between them, almost like he was working to play them against each other. But why would he do that?

"Do you like Glen Miller?" Jack wondered, whirling back around to face the girls. He pressed another button on his remote device. Phoenix frowned as music began playing around them. Jack pulled Rose into a dance, winking at Phoenix over the blonde's shoulder.

Strangely, that was what began to make the brunette upset. She had no way of knowing if this was normal for Jack, she really didn't know much about the man, but normal or not, it wasn't alright.

"Okay, look. This is all great and whatever, but I'm running out of patience," she moved forward and pushed the two apart before turning to Jack. "Do you have business for us or not? Should I be worried about your intentions here? From what I can tell, you're trying to manipulate us. I'm not really sure why, but you better start talking. And fast."

"Look, I'm just trying to make a deal. It's not my fault you two are so lovely," Jack tried to appease with a grin. "Is it really so wrong to mix business with pleasure?"

"It doesn't work that way for me, no." Phoenix answered, her eyes narrowing. "And certainly not with my best friend, sorry."

"Shame. A threesome with the two of you sounds delightful," Jack murmured with a smirk, appreciating the blush that crept across the brunette's cheeks as she glanced away.

"Relax, Phoenix," Rose tried, settling a hand on the brunette's arm. "It was just a dance. 'Sides, a little flirting never hurt."

"And what about Mickey?" Phoenix shot back to the blonde quietly, using the anger as a release for her sudden embarrassment. "It would most definitely hurt him."

"Me and Mickey are none of your business." Rose snapped in a whisper, the two girls turning away from Jack.

"He's my friend too," Phoenix told her. "Besides, we aren't here for that. We're here to find whatever we were following."

"I may be able to help you there," Jack cut in, all flirting gone from his tone as he shoved his hands in his pockets again. "Something else has fallen on London, something that isn't a bomb. It's a fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence and it's armed to the teeth." He slowly made his way closer to them as he spoke, his eyes flicking between them both. "I know where it is, because I'm the one who parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I'll get it for you. No finding required. But…in two hours a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever. That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now…shall we discuss payment?"

By this point, he was very close to the two girls, hoping that he was being subtle enough but that it would be effective. He couldn't really control his 51st century pheromones, but just knowing they were there tended to be helpful in most of his cons.

"Do you know what I think?" Rose murmured, drawing his attention to her.

"What?"

"I think you were talking just then."

Phoenix groaned at the girl's words as Jack fought not to roll his eyes. Maybe he was being too effective. He didn't want her brain to shut off on him, he needed some thinking to go on there. He took the smallest of breaths to steady himself.

"Two hours," he repeated, glancing up at the German planes above them. Despite his trick with Big Ben, he was all too aware they were in the middle of what could potentially become a very dangerous situation. "The bomb falls. There's nothing left but dust and a crater."

"Promises, promises," Rose muttered with a smile. Phoenix frowned at the girl, not really sure what she even meant by that.

"Are you listening to any of this?" Jack asked, debating whether or not he should back up. Phoenix glanced between the two of them, concern growing for her friend. This was definitely out of the norm for the girl. Her eyes zeroed in on the champagne glasses. Had he done something when she'd gone inside to try the Doctor's mobile?

"You used to be a time agent, now you're some kind of freelancer," Rose managed after a moment.

"Well, that's a little harsh," Jack told her, pulling the blonde into his arms and disregarding Phoenix for the moment. She wasn't as pliable as her friend. "I like to think of myself as a criminal."

"I'll bet you do," Rose laughed, unable to help the huge grin.

Jack took a moment to study the girl's starstruck face, realizing she wasn't going to say anything to move his plan along, he sighed. "So, this companion of yours, does he handle the business?"

"Well," Rose started, looking around and playing with the lapels on Jack's coat. "I delegate a lot of that, yeah."

"Well, maybe we should go find him," Jack suggested and Phoenix glanced over at that, having moved to examine the champagne glasses. She didn't think she'd find anything but she'd checked anyway on the off chance. Maybe she should learn some field forensics, she mused, frowning over at Jack. Anyways, the Doctor would be able to help her with whatever Jack had done or was doing to Rose. If she knew how to get off of his ship and where the Doctor was, Phoenix probably would've confronted Jack then and there, but seeing as the situation was still so uncertain, she was hesitant to rock the boat at the moment. Rose seemed okay, just not really thinking too well.

"And, how're you gonna do that?" Rose wondered, not even noticing as Phoenix made her way over to stand beside the blonde.

"Easy." Jack muttered, moving away from the blonde who took a deep breath to steady herself. Jack busied himself with his watch strap thing. "I'll do a scan for alien tech."

Rose grinned and turned to Phoenix, speaking nearly too quietly for the brunette to hear. "Finally. A professional."

"Well, he's a professional something," Phoenix muttered, brushing her hair out of her face. Honestly, it was probably a mess from the events of the night. Pulling a hair tie from around her wrist, she quickly yanked her hair up into a messy ponytail. That would have to do, she decided as Jack's device began beeping.

"Alright, girls, let's go find this companion of yours."

Hey, guys! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated this! My computer's fixed now though, but a lot of craziness has been happening and I've just been pretty busy! Not too much happened in this chapter, though I also feel like a fair amount has, so not sure how this one is, but hopefully it's still good and you guys like it! Also, I hope everyone's doing okay and staying healthy. Lots of reviews since the last time I posted, so just going to jump into them now. :)

bored411: Yeah, I think the Doctor's going to have a lot that he's not thrilled about, but that's okay. :) I'm glad you like her inner conflict and that it makes sense!

lautaro94: No, that is not all that there will be to piloting a TARDIS. That's pretty much the basics part that the Doctor can teach her, what buttons do what and all of that, but no there is definitely a lot of advanced knowledge and such. It's going to be a long endeavor and she'll never really be able to do it on her own. I feel like the TARDIS is a more complex character then that. Glad you liked the previous chapter! :)

DannieLawman1995: Sorry you felt that way. A lot of that will be explained a little more, there's a deeper reason as to why she was able to "overlook" all of that. Yes, part of it is because she cares about Rose, but there's also just she's not willing to pass up a once in a lifetime opportunity just because she might not like the behavior of the people that are also going. I feel like it is realistic in that way. You wouldn't not go on a trip around the world because there might be someone you don't get along with. Or at least I wouldn't. But thanks for the alternative perspective if you're still reading this. I'm trying to have it be different and not cliche.

puppy24610: I'm glad you like the story and I'm sorry you had to wait so long! :( Hope it was worth the wait.

Ririn: Wow! That's a lot to reread, but I'm glad you like it so much! I always worry about how the emotions are going to come across and it's nice to hear that it's working! And that adventure will be revisited in the future! Probably far in the future - sorry about that - but I will try to have his perspective of that moment in there. There are several reasons why he was a little sad, but can't really tell you much more than that! And yes, there will be some shenanigans with Jack as you've already seen, but in this chapter they're still getting a feel of the other. :) Hope you like how this played out!

Abigailstars: Thank you so much! It means a lot to hear that and actually your review is part of what made me finally find the time and get this written, though it still took a while. Hope it was worth the wait and I'm glad you love the story!

savethemadscientist: So, haven't gotten the Doctor's reaction yet, but I think it'll be interesting! :) I'm super happy to hear that you love the story so much. Sorry it took so long to update and I'm excited to get to the part where the two can confess the way they feel to the other, not entirely sure when that's going to happen yet though. Soon, though probably.

KLG868814: Hey, glad you like the story and welcome back! Sorry it took me so long, but I hope this was worth the wait!

Guest: Hey, so from Jackie's perspective yes it would be 18 months, but from Rose and Phoenix's perspective it's still only been 6 months, because they kind of skipped over a year. Hope that clears that up. Thanks for leaving a review and hope you continue to follow this story!

And that's it for reviews guys! Thank you for all of your feedback and just taking the time to read this! I immensely appreciate that you guys are so patient with me. I am going to try to update more often, hopefully things don't get too crazy, though my classes are all going online so will see how that goes. If anything I will try to do more updating this summer. Going to try really hard to be more consistent though. Love you guys! Let me know what you think!