FireOpal - Sorry it's been so long mateys, but you would not believe the amount of coursework and homework I've had to do recently. This is a slight peace offering, short though it is, until I finish the next chapter. New story coming up soon (partly written already!), probably after I finish drama this Friday. (We're doing 'The Witches').
Readers will want to read another short fic I'm posting later that may explain what I'm going to do, and what's been going on, with a little help from my favourite characters. Hey, it was a boring rehearsal!
Check out our livejournal community – Time and Chips. Posted there too… it's superb. Great people, fun topics, endless D/R.
Oh yeah, I don't own this. And it will end up as D/R. Yay!
Chapter 5, voila.
Chapter 5.
"Come on Rosie, wakey wakey!" Jack's sunny call filtered through the dark of her bedroom, accompanied by a familiar scent.
"Put down the bacon and step away slowly." Rose muttered, lifting her head from underneath the mounds of covers. His grinning face flickered into view as his free hand depressed the light switch. Rose groaned and burrowed back underneath her duvet.
"Ah-ah." Jack admonished, putting down the plate carefully near the bed and tensing. Suddenly and without warning, he pounced, throwing himself bodily onto the bed, which squealed. He grinned evilly, reached for the body within, and tickled mercilessly.
"Cheat!" Rose yelled, intermingled with her shrieks and muffled by the body on top of her and the covers,
"Having fun?" the Doctor had appeared in the doorway, a smirk on his face. Stopping short, Jack flushed despite the happy grin on his face. He climbed off the bed, just as Rose's head reappeared, her eyes fixing on the Doctor, taking in his face with a knowing eye, while she blushed.
"Jack started it!" she cried petulantly at his smirk, reaching out hopelessly for the too-far bacon sandwich-filled plate. Falling to the floor with a bump, she glared as the two men laughed.
"Sure did." Jack said unrepentantly, lifting the sandwiches further out of her reach and laughing as her scowl deepened.
"You are a cruel, cruel man, Captain Jack Harkness." She said, wagging her finger at him as she pulled herself upright.
"Just proving the temptation of bacon is beyond even the great Rose Tyler." He retorted, handing her the plate, but not without taking one for himself. The Doctor did the same, and swanned off, leaving Rose surrounded in the wreck of her bed.
Rose entered the kitchen some time later (though dressed and with an empty plate this time) to find Jack washing up. His favourite apron had come out again, proclaiming to the world "Kiss the cook."
"Hey you," he said, taking the plate from her and washing it quickly in the soap-filled bowl. Jack, Rose mused, had a rather hyperactive attitude to the strangest of things. Well, he had a hyperactive attitude to everything, but mundane things such as washing up – domestic things, seemed to really spark his imagination. Probably had something to do with the fact that in his time, all the mundane jobs were done by robots, and he approached the 'quaint' methods with unnatural enthusiasm. Once they stopped him trying wash up the food, that was.
"So," he continued, draining away the water as Rose sat down, and hanging up his apron. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Rose said neutrally, unknowingly parroting the Doctor's phrase. "How's the Doctor?" Jack turned and looked at her seriously, before nodding.
"Kinda guessed you'd see it." He sighed, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backwards. "He's really worried about you. Tried to pull off working non-stop for twenty-four hours, just working on a cure. Practically collapsed when I pulled him away."
"Idiot." Rose growled, and Jack nodded. "He's gonna kill himself doin' that."
"I looked in the library before I sent him to bed for information on the Time Lords, given the current situation." He flashed Rose a sad smile. "Apparently, the Doc was long overdue, even by Gallifreyan standards. And he refused to stay there even when I carried him there. He's really worried, we both are." He chuckled faintly, trying to hide his weakness.
"Jack, I'm really all right." Rose said, taking his hand. "And I trust you guys. Well, except for when you have to look after yourselves." He grinned.
"Oh yeah, do the words 'barrage balloon' ring a bell?" She punched him lightly on the shoulder, laughing. When she stopped, her expression turned serious again.
"So what happens now?"
"I don't know." Jack replied honestly, unable to keep his own hopelessness out of the reply. Then he grinned and braced himself again. "But the Doc'll figure it out, you'll see." He patted her hand, then frowned, touching the skin with his fingertips. "You're cold."
He looked up to her face, and reached out a hand to touch her skin, which had gone a shocking pale white in a matter of seconds. Then, just as had happened before, her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed, falling off of her chair onto the floor. Alarmed, Jack leapt off his chair and pulled her into a better position, the cool skin feeling strange underneath his fingers. Then, scooping her up in his arms, he stood and dashed into the library.
"Doctor!" Jack yelled, bursting through the door. The Timelord looked up from his papers, irritated before his eyes focused on the limp blonde figure in the soldier's arms.
"What happened?" he was immediately up and sweeping large amounts of books and paper off of a handy desk with his arms, concern etched on his features.
"No idea." Jack replied, gently laying her down on the smooth polished wood. Snatching up the leather jacket, the Doctor placed it under her head, and grabbed some diagnosis equipment he had been studying. Running his fingers to her pulse line, he frowned as he touched her skin.
"She's freezing." He said, sounding shocked.
"I know. It was all of a sudden – we were talking, she went cold, and then she was flat out on the floor." Jack said quickly, trying to keep out of the busy Timelord's way.
"Any symptoms?" The Doctor asked businesslike.
"Nope, not a thing." He watched as the other man drew back, frowning. "What's wrong, do you know?"
"Well, her inner core temperature has dropped drastically – made obvious by the coolness of her skin. I think the Nanogenes must be tampering with her blood. Blood temperature is all regulated by the homeostatic system, so that there's enough oxygen. But her blood formula's changing, is able to carry more oxygen, so it's putting the system out of wack."
Jack nodded, even though the biology was slightly beyond him. His time and dimension astrophysics was fine, but his basic human biology was a bit lacking. Well, what could he say? The word 'biology' had always put him in a certain frame of mind. A certain, distracting, frame of mind.
"So what do we do?"
"I think at the moment all we can do is try to keep her warm. It isn't directly affecting anything else at the moment, and it was the sudden shock that made her faint." He thought hard for a moment. "I'll turn up the heating regulators in her room, and we can keep her in there until she seems to be back to normal I guess. The TARDIS has plenty of thick duvets, sleeping bags, everything, so we can get some of those."
Now he had a purpose, Jack relaxed slightly, and nodded. "I'll deal with that if you sort out the TARDIS. I don't want to hurt the old girl in any way." He said with a crooked grin. The Doctor nodded, and lifted Rose from the table before Jack could make a move. There wasn't a hint of any other emotion but concern and worry on his face, but Jack could feel the protectiveness coming off the man in waves, and silently backed down. Ever since he had first entered the TARDIS after being saved from certain death, he had seen the look the Doctor had shot him. Not angry, not violent or anything, just firm. A look that clearly said 'You've got no chance mate.' Or, in other words, 'Mine.'
After they had made Rose as comfortable as possible, the Doctor reluctantly went off to continue his work, leaving Jack to look after her. Sweating slightly in the excessive heat despite his thin t-shirt and rarely used shorts, he sat and fanned himself in a chair, whilst keeping a wary eye on the sleeping woman. He couldn't help but feel at least slightly responsible. After all, if Rose hadn't been subjected to the Nanogenes he had released in the first place, this wouldn't be happening.
Resolutely pushing away his guilty feelings, his mind strayed onto other topics. As usual at times when he wasn't in action or sleeping or otherwise distracted, his thoughts drifted to the aching expanse that was missing from his memory. Two years, two whole years of memory. Rich experiences, monotonous continuality, everything gone. Frustrated, he turned his thoughts away yet again, and just stared into the middle distance, clearing his mind of all thought.
It was some time later when he came to himself, just as Rose was stirring. He got up slowly, stretching unused muscles with a satisfying pop, and crossed to the bed, laying his hand on her cheek. Her temperature was much better, but still felt colder than usual body temperature, so he pulled the covers up round her further, smiling gently to himself.
"Doctor?" Rose mumbled as he withdrew his hand.
"Nope, sorry Rosie. It's only me." He said teasingly. Her eyes opened slowly, and focused on his face.
"Oh, sorry Jack," she flushed. "I don't know what came over me. What happened?"
"Just those pesky critters again." Jack replied lightly, sitting carefully on the side of the bed.
"So it's getting worse?"
"Yes." Jack sighed. "I'm sorry Rosie." Rose nodded, feeling sparks of panic flutter down her spine. Taking a calming breath, she tried to force herself to relax. Noticing her predicament, Jack stroked a few strands of her hair tenderly whilst he thought of the most appropriate words.
"You know, Rose, if you ever wanted to talk, you know I'm always here for you. About anything." Rose smiled at him slightly, and, throwing off the covers, embraced him sisterly.
"Thanks Jack." She replied, her voice slightly muffled. She leant against his shoulder, feeling slightly comforted. "It's just so weird. And scary. I mean, there's these tiny little robots that are changing who I am, and I can barely believe it but they're doing it. And I can't stop it." She hesitated. "I'm not even sure I want to." She whispered.
Unfortunately for Jack, he just missed her last words, or he might have been even more worried than he was already. Rubbing her arms comfortingly, he tried to allay her fears.
"I can't imagine how weird this is for you, but I know that the Doc will be able to figure it out. He'll have you back to saving the day in no time. No matter what happens to you, we'll be here, and no matter what it takes, we'll be here." She grinned weakly back at his reassuring smile, pushing aside her earlier thought.
"Thanks Jack."
"Any time Rosie, any time. Now, you get back under these covers and get some more sleep. Hopefully those nano's will stop mucking around soon and we can have you out of bed again." Rose nodded, and snuggled down into the warmer duvet, eventually falling into a light doze.
Review Responses
amefinch – Finally, a chapter for you! Hope you enjoyed it.
bookz – Thank you, and your writing is most definitely not rubbish! Keep going, and everyone, read this person's stories!
Akisame15 – Sorry for the wait!
Kazzy – Took my time I know, but hope you enjoyed it!
Dr Azaria – Just b wink . I wish the Doctor'd get his act together too, but hey. He's being bloody stubborn! After this chapter, it's only him to go…
Laseri – Some explanation for you, I hope that helped. Jack's amazing isn't he? He's a great intermediate… match maker Plus, the Doc loves Rose so much he's really worried, combined with his own painful past… hey, I'm good at angst!
LilCosette – Lovely cookies, but you'll make me fat! I know I rather take my time with updating, but I don't do it on purpose, and I feel really guilty about it. blush Here's more chapter for you.
Morph - salute Will do!
BrunetteJedi – Glad you're enjoying it. And aren't they great? I love writing Jack/Doc banter… and Doc/Rose banter. And all of it.
Becsy Lexi – Hope this chapter lived up to expectations! See you in the community.