"So when Time Lord's die, they don't die. They…grow a new body." Jack asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously at the blonde and youthful Time Lord.

"Something like that, yes." The Doctor confirmed.

"And the Doctor that I know used to be you."

"Unless he's an impostor or I'm an impostor, yes." The Doctor smiled at the alarmed look Jack gave him. "Don't worry, I'm not an impostor."

"How do I know that? You're nothing like him," Jack took a moment to look around at the stark white console room, "and this is nothing like the TARDIS!"

"With each regeneration my personality changes slightly. As for this old girl," he patted the console appreciatively. "I sometimes get the urge to redecorate her." Jack looked concernedly around and fretfully ran his fingers through his hair.

"Let's just suppose for the moment that I do accept that you're the Doctor…and I'm not saying that I do!" he clarified with a glare. "But if I did…would you be able to get me back to my Doctor?" The Doctor met Jacks gaze before sighing and leaning against the console.

"Well it would involve bending a fair few Laws of Time," He paused for a moment before giving Jack an assured smile. "but none that I haven't completely broken in the past. We'll just be careful, shall we?" he concluded and started up the time rotor.

"Thanks Doc." Jack said, feeling slightly more at ease.

"So you believe I'm me now, do you?" the Doctor said with a mildly amused look.

"Well it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice. And anyway, it isn't like there are any other good looking Timelords traipsing around the universe." Jack gave the Doctor an affectionate slap on the back. The Doctor was rather taken aback by this breech of personal space and made his way to the other side of the console, switching switches and pressing buttons.

"Well there are a few others, but generally they aren't the sort you'd want to casually run in to." the Doctor frowned while poking a small screen. "Then again, neither are the ones on Gallifrey…bunch of stuffy shirts…"

Jack gave the Doctor a look of sudden alarm. It had just occurred to him that this Doctor must be one from a point in time before the Time War that destroyed his people and his planet.

Part of him realised that it probably wasn't right to probe this part of the Time Lord's history. Another part of him was intolerably curious. He would never dare ask his Doctor about Gallifrey, but this one…

"So, you never really told me. Why did you leave Gallifrey?" Jack asked innocuously, leaning on the console while making sure he didn't hit any switches accidentally.

The Doctor looked up and gave the ex-Time Agent a mildly surprised look. "What brings that question on?"

"It's just that you seem to not like the place very much." Jack grinned casually as the Doctor gave a small chuckle.

"Whatever would give you that idea?" After a long pause, Jack persisted.

"Well go on; don't hold me in suspense like this!"

"What?" the Doctor muttered distractedly, still staring at the console screen.

"Why did you leave Gallifrey?"

"Oh well, you know how it is…thousands of years of politics make a planet very stagnant and hypocritical. I could hardly stay there…" the Doctor seemed to be only half paying attention to the conversation.

"So you just took your TARDIS and left one day?"

"Something like that. Only the TARDIS wasn't really mine as such…"

"You stole it?" Jack gave the Doctor an amazed look. He knew that the Time Lord was a bit of a law unto himself, but he wouldn't pin him as an out right lawbreaker.

"Well, in my defence she was on the scrap heap…no one would have missed her. I was also very young; barely into my third century. Listen, does all this really matter? I need some information before I can find your me."

"Sorry, of course. What do you need to know?" Jack said, coming around to the Doctor's side of the console and staring over his shoulder at the screen.

"Well, for starters was there any time or place that I visited regularly? It would make it a lot easier to search if I can start somewhere." Jack stepped back from the console and his face clouded in thought. After a few moments, he replied.

"I'm not sure if it was by choice or coincidence, but you seemed to end up in Cardiff more than the average Time Travelling alien would." The Doctor gave Jack a rather surprised look before shrugging it off.

"All right, that's somewhere to start I suppose."