Bounty Part One

Notes: The fic I never thought I'd write, but knew I had to…inspired by many like it in the Pokemon section. I really hope you guys read this with an open mind and mot importantly, enjoy it. Reviews would be really welcome because the only way I'm going to get any better is through feedback.

This fic is dedicated to Uh.yeah! It's all for her to prove that if anyone's the stalker, it's me! (shifty eyes) Anyway, she's been a regular star as far as reviewing goes, like quite a few of you loyal regulars.

But this is for Uh.yeah…the lovely Claire from Angleterre.

The most unlikely things happen to the most unlikely people. The point is that they happen.

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"Jack, where are you?" shouted the Doctor at his phone as he wrestled with the TARDIS controls. The sound of a car engine could be heard through the phone as Jack's voice boomed out, heard on the most advanced speaker phone of the time. Only the best for the TARDIS.

And the time? 2010.

On the planet Persot.

Jack pushed the car up a gear, ramming the acceleration pedal into the floor. "I'm on his tail Doc. There's no way we're losing this one."

The Doctor heard shots being fired.

"Still with me Jack?" he yelled, pulling a lever.

"Of course. I just shot his tyres."

"Coordinates?"

"23/71/47."

"Got him."

Jack got out of the car he'd hired for the trip and prepared to chase if needs be. The car wasn't unlike Earth cars, although technically he shouldn't have been calling it a car. They had another name for the vehicles here. It was smooth and streamlined, and looked more like an advanced plane with wheels instead of wings.

He dodged the bullets the man sent his way and soon heard the throbbing hum of the TARDIS drawing nearer.

When I say that the man Jack was chasing had black skin, I mean black skin. His face and hands were so jet black than his eyes looked a pure bright white, even though they were much the same colour as Jack's. Although this man was alien, and had no coloured iris.

Jack heard the click of n empty chamber and the man flung his gun to the floor, running right into the materialising TARDIS. He went straight through the wall in its translucent state and gaped around him in wonder at the massive interior until the Doctor struck him heavily over the head.

Jack flung open the doors of the now solid TARDIS. "Yes!" he cried, punching the air.

"We got him," said the Doctor, grinning. He ripped off the guy's jacket and felt in the pockets. "And here it is."

"The Persot Maxwell Zirconia." Jack whistled as he saw the glittering, clear gem. "What a beauty."

"They're only offering a bounty for the man y'know," said the Doctor, his eyes glinting. "Sure, there's a reward for the rock too, but…" He trailed off.

"How much could we get for it?" asked Jack at once.

"Don't know yet," admitted the Doctor. "If it's more than the reward I'm flogging it."

"Good, good," said Jack, rubbing his hands together. "I'll deal with him." He retrieved a pair of handcuffs from the top of the console.

"Now nothing kinky, OK?" said the Doctor. "Just dump him in a closet and come straight back here."

"Huh," was Jack's only response as he clicked the handcuffs into place. "We'd better get a lot of money for him."

"20,000 credits Jack," said the Doctor as he set their next course. "Just repeating that sum over and over to yourself and you'll get by without your wicked ways."

"That's what you think," said Jack as he began dragging the unconscious form away. "But I know that before long you'll be begging for me to have my wicked way with you."

"Keep dreaming, Jack my lad," said the Doctor dryly.

A computer beeped merrily at him, telling him he had mail. He opened it, whistling to himself. He sat himself down and hit play.

"Hello there Doctor, Jack."

"Hello Rodger," said the Doctor, reaching under a hollow panel of the TARDIS for something alcoholic.

"We have a new target, with a fat bounty attached to it. And when I say it, I mean it. We haven't identified their sex yet, if they have one, but I can't imagine that'll hinder you two that much, particularly Jack."

The Doctor grinned. Rodger was an old friend of Jack's, a Time Agent working undercover as a member of the Earth police, someone that he could truly trust. Rodger was funnily enough, not qualified to be a policeman, although he'd been given a high position thanks to the fake resume that he'd been given. He needed to keep his job, but couldn't actually do it.

That was where they came in, the Doctor and Jack. Rodger gave them tips when he was stuck…and when the police were offering rewards for capture or information.

And as a Time Agent, he could also give tips on alien criminals to give the travellers the diversity they were accustomed to.

In short, they were bounty hunters, and Rodger was their informant.

"The pictures are too blurry. They're attached to this message. This one is a murderer, so it's not surprising really that they're offering the equivalent of 60,000 credits. I think you should concentrate on this one Doctor, it should be pretty easy."

"A murderer?"

"They didn't murder anyone particularly important before you get any crazy rescue ideas Doctor. It was Mickey something. An Earth man."

The Doctor sat up straight. "Mickey something?"

"Our killer is now on the run we presume, still on Earth. England. London. I'll send you the coordinates where they were last seen. The rest is up to you."

The message ended there just as Jack returned, dusting off his hands.

"We have a new target, an 'it' apparently," said the Doctor, lazily reaching over to open the pictures. "Take a look at these."

Jack leant over him to peer at the blurry pictures. They were obviously captured by some form of CCTV, showing a figure leaving an apartment block.

"Female," he said immediately. "Look at those hips!"

"Rodger couldn't identify it." The Doctor raised an eyebrow but Jack was unconcerned.

"Rodger's an old man Doctor!" he said. "We're after a woman."

"A woman who murdered a Mickey," said the Doctor thoughtfully, trying to zoom in on the person's face. 'Her' face was in complete shadow due to the thick coat hood pulled over her head. Jack looked at him.

"A Mickey?" He thought for a moment. "As in the Idiot?"

The Doctor sighed. "Mickey something from London. Rodger didn't go into specifics." He rubbed his head. "Didn't think it was that important."

"It isn't." Jack shrugged. "There are thousands of Mickeys. One of them was unlucky."

"Seems so. 60,000 credits."

Jack whistled, then rubbed his hands together gleefully. "So, do I get to use the charm?"

The Doctor gave a long, theatrical groan. "If you must. And then when you fail we'll think of a better plan, OK?"

"I won't fail!" cried Jack. "There's no sentient being alive that I can't woo." He threw a look the Doctor's way. "Even you, dear Doctor." The Doctor met his glance and held it, his cold blue eyes showing no emotion whatsoever. Then he looked away.

"You wish Jack," he said hoarsely.

"I know." Jack made no attempt to touch the older man, just kept his gaze trained on him. The Doctor's neck prickled uncomfortably. This was one of the negative things about travelling alone with Jack. There would always be these moments, quiet seconds of awkwardness. The Doctor had no doubt in his mind what Jack wanted from their relationship, and even less doubt that it would never happen.

He slapped his hands together roughly, breaking the moment.

"So let's get cracking!" he cried, grinning.

On a day like today
I looked at you and I
Saw something in the way
You stared into the sky

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Her heart pounded as she scrubbed at her eyes, trying to somehow wash the images away. Water gushed into her sink. She turned the tap onto full blast, trying to drown out the screaming.

She hadn't expected him to scream.

Her hands shook like they had when she'd held the gun in them. It was supposed to be quick, but the first bullet had missed, striking his thigh.

Of all the people in London, it had to be Mickey Smith that had pissed Mert off.

And of all the aliens there were in the galaxy, it had to be Mert that she owed a favour.

She should have said no.

Five years ago, she would have died herself to save Mickey, to save any human being. But that was five years ago. She'd changed a lot since then.

Rose Tyler was a murderer.

Even the TARDIS couldn't turn the clock back on that one.

She dried her face and hands and grabbed her shabby jacket. She retched. The thick coat stank of blood.

"What the hell have I done?" she wondered.

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"This is not an excuse for you to indulge," warned the Doctor in his ear.

"Yeah yeah," muttered Jack. He was wearing an earpiece and a miniscule microphone taped to his chest.

"Just have a scout around the apartment block then get back to the TARDIS. No pub crawling."

"You're no fun." Jack pouted, even though the Doctor couldn't see him. He reached a sort of courtyard, surrounded by towering concrete. "Doctor…this looks awfully familiar."

Back in the TARDIS, he checked the coordinates Rodger had given them earlier. "The coordinates don't ring a bell."

"Why don't you take a look then?" asked Jack. He got out his mobile phone and took a picture of his surroundings, sending it back to the Doctor.

"Wait a sec…" The Doctor paused. "That looks like…"

"It looks like we're in Rose's territory," completed Jack.

I saw you were sick
And tired of my wrong turns
If you only knew the way I feel
I'd really love to tell you

The Doctor had fallen silent. "Doc? You want to carry on or not?"

He sighed. "60,000 credits Jack. We can't pass on that."

Jack frowned. "I thought you did it for the adventure. For the justice. Capturing dangerous criminals…"

"I do," said the Doctor quickly. "But I can't say no to a little more spending money."

"You can get all the money you want with the screwdriver," persisted Jack. "Why are we doing this Doctor? Really?"

Another silence hung in the air.

"Just do your job Jack, and I'll do mine."

Jack sighed. The one question the Doctor would never answer: why are you doing this? It was all the same to Jack. To him, bringing criminals to justice offered exploration and a few adrenaline rushes, much like saving worlds. But for the Doctor it was the exploring, the freedom…being a bounty hunter was almost like a job.

Why did he need a job?

Jack gave up and looked around him. Deserted, except for a dark haired woman making her way along the balcony, several floors up. She had a thick coat rolled up under her arm.

It's summer, thought Jack. Why does she have…?

He ran for the stairs. He was going so fast he almost knocked the girl over. Her hair fell over her face as Jack drew his blaster.

"Don't move," he warned.

"Jack, I said no guns!" hissed the Doctor. "I don't like guns!" Jack turned the earpiece off.

The woman raised her face defiantly, staring right at the gun, and then at Jack.

His eyes met hers.

"Rose? What the hell have you done?"

But I could never seem to say the things I needed to
On a day like today no other words would do

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I know it seemed like that moved a little quickly, but there'll be flashbacks and stuff as we get into the main story. I promise it'll flesh out a bit, but my aim was not to create a lot of suspense while they try and find each other. Once they're together, the real story can begin!

Please review. Pretty please? You know you want to!