Casino TARDIS Part Six
Notes: Well, well, what do we have here then? Oh my! It looks like a chapter entirely made up of…the Doctor and Jack! How extraordinary! Who would have expected that to happen?
Immi-in-the-TARDIS: Still number one Immi! OK, OK, I'll update. Here we go.
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It was called 'Fishsticks.' Evidently, someone had realised the river Thames was nearby and wanted to be funny.
It didn't seem funny to Jack.
Why the Doctor had wanted to meet here of all places was beyond him. It was one of the most neglected and horrible streets he'd ever walked down, topped off by Fishsticks itself, which looked dodgy and trashy. A bit like the people who worked there.
Correspondence. That's what him and the Doctor did now. The odd letter, maybe a postcard, a telephone call. They never visited each other. Well, they had to begin with but not after last time. The Doctor had crumbled completely into a pile of scrap, and losing everything had rebuilt him into a completely different person.
Jack wasn't doing much better himself. After everything they'd been through together, when all was said and done, Rose was the glue that kept their friendships together. When she was gone, they'd just drifted apart.
Friends do that all the time.
And now he wanted to meet. Out of the blue. Just like that.
Jack strolled into the bar. The smell of sweat and alcohol hit him like it never had before. He supposed that once upon a time he'd have found it somewhat arousing. Now he wanted to throw up.
And there he was. The young, handsome man he had been when they parted had aged before his time. He looked tired, gaunt and dreadful. Which was OK, because Jack suspected he looked much the same.
The Doctor looked up. Jack sat on the stool next to him. For a moment they were silent.
"Doctor," said Jack in greeting. The Doctor didn't respond straight away, staring into the cheap, nasty glass of beer. He set it down with a clank.
"Her 18th birthday Jack," he said suddenly. Jack wondered how much beer he'd drunk.
"Excuse me?"
"It's Amy's 18th birthday today," repeated the Doctor. Jack's face softened.
"Amy," he said. "I haven't heard you say her name for a long time. I thought you'd forgotten."
"How could I forget about my own daughter Jack?" the Doctor snapped. "My flesh and blood? Do you think I'm that negligent?" He took another gulp of his beer while Jack tried to get over the shock of him begin so…angry. He was angry at everything for what had happened to his family. Jack needed to be more careful.
"Is that was this is about then?" asked Jack. "You want to organise another search for her?"
"Yes," said the Doctor coldly.
"Doctor…" Jack really didn't want to say it, but felt he needed to. "Doctor, you do realise she could be dead?" The Doctor turned to him. His eyes were completely cold.
"She's not dead," he said. "Don't even suggest it." Another swig of beer. "If she was dead, I'd know."
"Yeah well I'm not so sure," said Jack bluntly, ordering himself a beer. The barman glared at him as if he had no right to, then got a glass.
"How could you…you think I'm lying?" hissed the Doctor.
"I don't think you're lying," said Jack. "What I think is that you're so twisted by grief that you're not thinking. Your daughter has been missing for thirteen years. Thirteen. Most people would give up after a decade. But oh no, the Doctor is special, he has to keep digging up the past and trying to find someone who may not even exist!" Jack stopped, suddenly realising that he was yelling. The bar fell silent. All eyes were on the American. He took a drink of his beer. The Doctor stared at the bar.
"I'm sorry," said Jack, as the light chatter started up again around them. The Doctor lifted his tired head and gazed at him, giving a hint of a smile.
"I don't blame you," he said. "It must be frustrating. And I want…would like to move on too. But she's not dead Jack. I know she's not."
"But there's nothing more we can do," insisted Jack. "We can't search the world Doctor."
"But we can search London again," he suggested. "I sure she must be here somewhere, how far could she go?"
"Uhhh, anywhere in space and time? She's got the TARDIS," said Jack.
"Yes, but she won't be able to fly it," the Doctor reminded him. "She was only a little girl. But…if you don't want to help me this time…I'd understand."
"Of course I'll help you," said Jack. There was a pause as both men drained their glasses. The Doctor sighed.
"I tried…I tried so hard to find her Jack," he said.
"Yeah. Me too."
"But you don't understand," said the Doctor. "Amy…my daughter…she was my last link to Rose."
I've got your rainbows
Seen your sunbeams
I know a place where heaven breathes
And it's through her window
Your baby girl's window
"She was my link too," said Jack. "Everything you've gone through, I've been through as well. And I'll help you until you feel you want to give up."
"That's good to know," said the Doctor, smiling properly. "It's so good to see you again Jack."
"You too."
"Do you miss it?" asked the Doctor after a pause. "Do you miss the adventures we had?"
"Miss it?" Jack laughed bitterly. "I miss it so much it hurts. But unless we find her…"
"We can't find the TARDIS, I know," said the Doctor.
I know you're happy where you are
Singing to the moon
Talking to the stars
Through her window
Your baby girl's window
"We should start at Jackie's," suggested the Doctor. "See if she's got in contact."
"Right." Jack ordered two more beers. "And…the warehouse? Where Flint…"
"I know where you mean," said the Doctor. "It's a casino now you know. It got renovated. So, if the TARDIS was there…it probably got moved."
"Yeah but…a casino." Jack grinned. "There's nothing that takes your mind off things like gambling."
"There's nothing that wastes your money like gambling," said the Doctor.
"You need it," said Jack. "You need to have some fun. We both do."
"We need to find my daughter."
"Both are possible." Jack lifted his beer. "To Rose and Amy."
"Yeah," said the Doctor. "Rose and Amy…"
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They walked to Jackie Tyler's flat the next evening, around seven. They'd spent the day wandering around London. Catching up. Trying to build up enough courage to confront Jackie again, and ultimately, their past.
As they stood outside the flat, it amazed the Doctor that she could still live there without Rose. But I guess she got used to that, he thought.
He knocked on the door.
"Prepare the charm Jack," he muttered.
"Don't know if I've got it any more," said Jack honestly. A woman in her late fifties, early sixties opened the door. Grey hair and age had done nothing to change Jackie's feelings towards the Doctor.
"Oh, it's you is it?" she asked aggressively. "Come to see if I've any more daughters for you to take away from me?"
"Jackie, I'd like to ask you about Amy," said the Doctor politely. "Can we come in?"
"You can ask from out there," said Jackie stubbornly, not budging from the doorway. "That's another of my girls I hardly ever see. When are you gonna let her stay over, eh? She needs a grandma."
"There's a reason that we haven't," said Jack suddenly, turning on his smile. "Please Mrs Tyler…" It worked like a charm.
"Ten minutes," she growled. "Then I throw you out."
"Ten minutes to explain thirteen years," muttered the Doctor to Jack. He shrugged. "I've done worse."
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"Right. Explain." The Doctor took one look at Jackie Tyler's cross, wrinkled face and proceeded to do just that.
"Before Rose was killed, Jack had taken Amy back to the TARDIS so she would be safe in case Flint came looking for us," said the Doctor.
"Flint?" Jackie sucked her teeth. "Oo's 'e?"
"The owner of an illegal business we shut down," explained Jack. "It was for the best. He was selling alien drugs and artefacts to humans."
"When we'd done that, we decided to stay in London for a while," said the Doctor.
"I remember," said Jackie. "You brought Amy here. Lovely child she was. But then you had the nerve to propose to my daughter."
"For all intents and purposes, we were already married." The Doctor struggled to keep polite. "We had a daughter and she was the only woman in my life. The ceremony just made it official. It's what Rose wanted."
"You didn't even invite me!" Jackie looked very angry. "My own daughter's wedding and I don't get an invite. Where as this American who has nothing to do with her was the best man!" The Doctor sighed.
"It was Rose's…she wanted to keep it simple," he said.
"You practically eloped!"
"Mrs Tyler!" Jack cut in before the Doctor lost his temper. "Mrs Tyler, what the Doctor's trying to explain is that after Rose was killed, he sent Amy and the TARDIS here, to you."
"What do you mean, he sent it here!" asked Jackie. "D'you think I'm blind? I would've seen it if he'd sent it here."
"The coordinates had been changed," said the Doctor quietly. "In an emergency the TARDIS was programmed to go to you. It's possible Rose or Amy, without realising it, somehow changed them—"
"Don't you dare pin this on them!" screamed Jackie. "My daughter was sensible and brave. She would never have sent away her little girl, NEVER!"
"I did it for Amy," said the Doctor.
"Yeah well, where is she now, hmm? God knows where, and who's fault? Yours," said Jackie.
"So she hasn't contacted you," said Jack.
"No she bloody well hasn't, and if she ever does, it'll be so she can find me, not an incompetent lazy negligent father like you!"
The Doctor and Jack got up.
"I'm sorry for wasting your time Mrs Tyler," said Jack stiffly. The Doctor waited until he'd gone.
"Jackie," he said. "I'm really sorry."
"Sorry for what?" she demanded.
"For the last seven years of her life, Rose spent most of her time with me," said the Doctor humbly.
"That's why I hate you the most," said Jackie, but with no real venom. The Doctor nodded, and walked out.
"Jack, what are we doing?" asked the Doctor wearily once he was outside. "This is so stupid."
"Don't give up on me now Doctor," said Jack. "We'll find her, just…not here."
"It was stupid of me to think it would be so easy," he said. "I'm such an idiot."
"You're not an idiot, you're an optimist," insisted Jack.
"Yeah, and where has optimism got me?"
"You just need to relax, forget for an evening," said Jack. "Come on Doctor, you're not too old to have a little fun are you? Let's go to that casino we were talking about."
"I can't go back there Jack, not—"
"Flint's long gone, you ass," said Jack fondly. "He left the country a decade ago, I kept tabs on him, I promise. He's in Brazil at the moment." The Doctor didn't look like he could believe him. "Look, he wouldn't come back here, even Flint's not that stupid. He's a wanted criminal. Besides, he didn't see me and he thinks you're dead."
"You're right, I know you're right," said the Doctor. He sighed. "Look, maybe another night—?"
"No way," insisted Jack. "Queen Casino is one of the best in London, you'll love it."
The Doctor sighed again. "If you say so Jack."
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OOooooh, getting close! What next, what next! Believe me, I shall be the last to know.
