Sorry, this has taken so long. Just needed to get it typed up and then my computer got rid of ten pages worth of typing, so i had to get the motivation to retype it. But here it is. Some nice Jack x demon going on here and Ornias's typical flirting with everyone.
The Tardis jerked and tumbled through the Vortex after a small, pill-shaped craft. Inside, Ornias was lying on the jump-seat reading as the Doctor rushed around the console and Rose held on for dear life.
"What's the emergency?"
"It's mauve!" The Doctor declared, fighting to steer the ship.
"Mauve?"
"The universally recognized color for danger."
"What happened to red?"
"That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing."
Ornias snorted. "Sounds like humans are the America's of the universe."
Rose grinned as the Doctor explained what was going on.
"It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the Tardis. Where it goes, we go."
"And that's safe, is it?"
"Totally."
"Doubt it," Ornias chirped as the ship let out a loud bang.
"Okay, reasonably," the Doctor corrected. "Should have said reasonably there." He scowled, growing more frantic. "No, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us."
"What exactly is this thing?" Rose questioned, eyeing Ornias. "And why are you so calm?"
Ornias raised a brow. "Uh, demon? Can't die, lives for chaos? I think I have every right to be calm."
Rose rolled her eyes as the Doctor answered her first question.
"I have no idea what it is."
"Then, why are we chasing it?"
"Fun?" Ornias offered.
"It's mauve and dangerous, and about thirty seconds from the center of London."
"Oh, joy," Ornias drawled as they landed and stepped out into an alleyway.
"Do you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?" The Doctor asked, making Rose eye him.
"Five days? Or is that just when we're out of milk?"
That got a chuckle out of Ornias.
"Nice."
"Thanks."
The Doctor just sighed, looking around. "Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."
"A month? We were right behind it."
"It was jumping time tracks all over the place. We're bound to be a little bit out. Do you want to drive?"
Rose gave him a look. "Yeah. How much is a little?"
"A bit."
"Is that exactly a bit?"
"Ish," the Doctor mused as Ornias stepped to the end of the alleyway to get a look around.
"I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?"
The Doctor opened the back door to a club, giving Rose's Union Jack shirt a look. "Are you sure about that t-shirt?"
"Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin."
"Come on, if you're coming," he offered as he stepped into the club with Ornias on his heels. "It won't take a minute."
Rose though, stayed behind, hearing something and leaving them to it. In the club, a jazz band played and Ornias took a deep breath with a hum of content and a smile.
"I love bars."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "People drowning their problems away with alcohol? Wonder why?"
"There's something off though," Ornias hummed, looking around. "There's usually at least one person having a good time, but everyone's hiding away fear, worry, anxiety."
"Like you said, it's a bar."
"Even the singer and the band and employees," Ornias added, challenging him.
"It's fine. I'll just ask my question and we can go."
Ornias sighed as the Doctor went onto the stage and stole the mic.
"Excuse me. Excuse me. Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo? Be very quick. Hello! Might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"
A second of silence soon turned into laughter, confusing the Doctor.
"Sorry, have I said something funny? It's just, there's this thing that I need to find. Would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago," he urged as a siren rang out and the club started to empty. "Would've landed quite near here. With a very loud…" He spotted a poster on the wall about World War II. "…bang."
"Ready to listen yet?" Ornias asked, sitting on the abandoned bar with his wings out, nursing a drink. "I thought the taste was familiar. World War II was a feast for me before. Glad I get to enjoy it again, away from the front lines this time."
"Yeah, All right. I'll try to pay more attention. Come on. Better get Rose and put those away. You'll attract attention."
Ornias sighed, wings disappearing with a flare of his yellow eyes. "Righto, boss."
"Don't call me boss," the Doctor grumbled as they stepped back outside, seeing no Rose. "You know, one day, just one day, maybe, I'm going to meet someone who gets the whole don't wander off thing. Nine hundred years of phone box travel, it's the only thing left to surprise me."
Ornias snorted. "You pick up a stubborn, independent child and expect her to stay put? What would be really surprising is us landing somewhere without ending up in some sort of trouble."
"I'm bunking with a demon. Some trouble is expected."
"You know, that's a myth. Demons don't attract trouble typically. We just always know where to find it." Ornias pet a cat nearby idly just as the Tardis began to ring, startling the Doctor.
"How can you be ringing? What's that about, ringing? What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"
"Most people answer them," Ornias chirped, giving him a look as he pulled out his sonic.
"Don't answer it," a young woman stopped the Doctor, earning a curious look from him and the demon. "It's not for you."
"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked, curious.
"Cos, I do. And I'm telling you, don't answer it."
"Well, if you know so much, tell me this. How can it be ringing? It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not—" He cut himself off, seeing she was gone and frowning at Ornias. "Why didn't you tell me she left?"
"Honestly? It's amusing to watch you talk to yourself as if someone's listening." Ornias smiled. "Though, I take it you're going to answer the phone?"
"Yup." He picked up the phone. "Hello? Hello? This is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?" He hummed only to hear a child calling out for their mother. "Who is this? Who's speaking? How did you ring here? This isn't a real phone. It's not wired up to anything."
The child hung up then and the Doctor put the phone back, giving Ornias's curious look a shrug.
"Well, what do you say we go find that girl?"
"And Rose?"
"She'll turn up or will head back here. Can you track that girl?"
"I'm not a sniffer dog," Ornias huffed, "but yeah. I can."
"Excellent."
We found the girl, Nancy, and her band of homeless kids sneaking in as they raided a house of food. A plate of meat was being passed around and when it reached the Doctor, a hint of panic went through the room.
"Back in your seats. They shouldn't be here either."
I took some food, trying it with a hum of approval as the Doctor questioned the kids until Nancy brought the main topic back around.
"Why'd you follow me? What do you want?"
"I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."
"I did you a favor. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you."
"Great, thanks. And I want to find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean a specific one. I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving. Anybody seen a girl like that?"
A few kids shook their heads before Nancy took away the Doctor's plate.
"What have I done wrong?"
She frowned. "You took two slices. No blonde, no flags. Anything else before you two leave?"
"Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for. Would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb. Not the usual kind, anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Probably would have just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like this." He held up a rough sketch of the craft we'd been following, and I felt a shift, cracking a wicked smirk at the girl.
"She knows something."
Her eyes snapped to me in shock, before there was a knock on the door—a child calling out.
"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?"
The Doctor took a peek out the window to see a blond boy in a gas mask.
"Mummy?"
Nancy though was terrified. "Who was the last one in?"
As the kids argued who was to blame for leaving a door unlatched, I joined the Doctor and stepped into the hall.
"She's scared of him," I mused, catching his attention. "And she knows about the spacecraft but isn't telling."
He nodded, just as Nancy rushed past and latched the door.
"What's this then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."
"I suppose you'd know," she snipped back, earning a surprising reply.
"I do actually, yes."
She felt a hint of guilt before glancing back at the boy in the window. "It's not exactly a child."
We watched as she went to herd the others out of the house until the boy outside slipped a scarred hand through the letterbox in the door.
"Are you all right?" The Doctor asked.
"Please let me in."
The hand retracted though when Nancy threw a small glass at the door.
"You mustn't let them touch you."
The Doctor raised a brow. "What happens if he touches me?"
"He'll make you like him."
"And what's he like?"
She tried to avoid answering but soon caved. "He's empty."
A phone rang then, and she explained.
"It's him. He can make phones ring. He can. Just like with that police box you saw."
The Doctor picked up the phone, but she hung it up again as the child controlled a radio instead, and a clapping monkey toy.
"You stay if you want to," Nancy huffed as the boy stuck his hand back through the letterbox and she left.
"Mummy? Let me in please, mummy. Please let me in."
"Your mummy isn't here," the Doctor informed him with a hint of compassion and sorrow that I didn't understand.
"Are you my mummy?"
"No mummies here. Nobody here but us chickens. Well, this chicken."
"I'm scared."
"Why are those other children frightened of you?"
"Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."
The Doctor gave in to the plea. "Okay. I'm opening the door now."
Yet, the boy was gone once he had. I gave him a look then, before sighing.
"Follow the girl?"
He cracked a smile. "It's like you read my mind."
We found her a moment later and she scowled at us.
"How'd you follow me here?"
"I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it."
I gave the Doctor a look at taking the credit but got some amusement when Nancy eyed his nose.
"People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to."
"My nose has special powers."
"Yeah? That's why it's…"
"What?"
"Nothing," she stopped herself as I snorted.
"What?" The Doctor pressed.
"Nothing. Do your ears have special powers too?"
"What are you trying to say?" The Doctor turned to me as I snickered. "That's the last time I try to take credit for you."
Nancy rolled her eyes at us, making to leave. "Goodnight, sirs."
The Doctor was quick to stop her though. "Nancy, there's something buzzing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right? The thing I'm looking for, the thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
She begrudgingly gave in. "There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb," she said, taking his own words. "Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."
"Take us there."
"There's soldiers guarding it. Barbed wire. You'll never get through."
The Doctor smirked. "Try me."
The uncertainty and disbelief rolled off her in waves. "You sure you want to know what's going on in there?"
"We really went to know."
Speak for yourself.
"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."
"And who might that be?"
"The doctor."
The look on the Doctor's face sent me through a round of chuckles, earning a scowl in return as we followed the girl to the crash site.
"Oh, shut it, you," he scolded me lightly, unable to wipe the grin from my face. "Did you feel anything from that kid earlier? Or, well, taste anything?"
I thought back to the gas-masked child, humming and tapping my chin with a finger. "You know, now that you mention it, he was a little off."
"Off how?"
"Scared, like he said, confused with a dash of determination. Yet, it was all a bit artificial."
"Fake emotions?"
"Not fake, per se. Created, manufactured. Like tasting an off-brand fizzy drink. Not much difference, but enough to know it isn't the usual Cola."
He eyed me for a moment. "You know, your way of explaining things could be better."
I shrugged. "I was here long before language began. Trust me, explaining with references people understand is far easier than explaining what a mammoth is to a caveman." I shot him a look. "Humans understand better with familiar things. I've gotten used to not being understood, and a part of me is still stuck in the times of 'thee' and 'thou,' so be glad I'm adapting."
He shivered. "Don't start speaking like the Bible or I'll have to exorcise you."
I smirked. "You can try."
"Don't tempt me."
"Hello?" Rose called out into the hospital that Jack had tracked the Doctor and Ornias to.
"Hello?" Jack hummed as well, curious about the young woman's companions.
She's been a little less than forthcoming about one chap, and he wondered if her story of being a Time Agent was true. After the evening he'd had with her though, he wouldn't entirely mind if it wasn't. She was a bit young for his tastes but spunky, and he liked that. He spotted two people when they moved into the corridor and put on a pleasant smile which wasn't hard for someone like him.
"Good evening," he greeted the leather-clad man first, holding out a hand. "Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over."
Rose stepped up to explain to the confused man shaking his hand. "He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."
"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock," Jack grinned before turning to the other man. "Though, I haven't heard quite as much about you. Ornias, was it? Odd name."
Ornias smirked, both their eyes roaming over the other as they shook hands. "Perhaps," he hummed, purring almost. "You're rather pretty for a male."
Jack blinked, a little caught off guard by the compliment and his way of speaking. After all, it was usually him flirting with the other party, not the other way around. And he had to admit, Ornias had a sense of off-worldly beauty that rivaled even his own. The angles of his face, the symmetry, strong jawline, sharp cheekbones and short-cropped auburn hair that begged to have fingers run through it nearly had Jack swaying to the man's words. And his eyes… Hot damn. A large, flirty smirk lit up Jack's face.
"Right back at ya, handsome."
Ornias's smirk only grew until the Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Perhaps you two could get to know one another later? We are in a bit of a situation."
They released their hands and Ornias huffed.
"I finally find someone interesting…"
It took Jack a minute to compose himself long enough to check the patients lying in the hospital beds wearing gas masks, and what he found shocked him.
"What?"
"He said it was a warship," Rose explained. "He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."
"Ooh, a conman," Ornias purred, somehow perched on the metal railing at the foot of one of the hospital beds.
"What?" Rose questioned self Jack kind of gaped in shock at being found out already.
"Gets paid, probably flirts the buyer into a drunken stupor and bolts as the bomb destroys what he sold. Self-cleaning con," Ornias explained, settling his eyes on Jack hungrily as he dropped his chin into his hand. "I appreciate a well-thought-out plan of chaos, especially from an exceptional liar."
"Thanks?" Jack blinked, not sure why someone would like what he was doing.
The Doctor didn't care for it much though, eyes cold. "What kind of warship?"
Jack frowned at him. "Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this."
"This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?"
"An ambulance," Jack finally snapped, showing him the holographic image. "Look. That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted you to think it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle—love the retro look, by the way. Nice panels. Like he said, it was bait. I'm a conman. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you?"
Rose smiled sheepishly. "Just a couple more freelancers."
"Oh, I should have known. The way you guys are blending in with the local color. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain? At least hot-stuff over there somehow manages with the dark colors." Jack's eyes flickered to Ornias. "Love that, by the way. Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."
"What is happening here, Doctor?" Rose asked in concern.
"Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot," he snapped bitterly.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things. But why? What's the point?"
Suddenly, the patients all bolted upright, startling the group.
"What's happening?" Rose asked frantically, being pushed behind the Doctor as Ornias hopped down from his perch and eyed them.
"I don't know. Don't let them touch you."
"What happens if they touch you?"
"You're looking at it."
They were slowly being cornered and Ornias took a step forward, eyes flaring gold and a smirk playing over his features.
"My turn."
"Wait!" The Doctor stopped him, making him scowl.
"Wait? I do believe this qualifies as a life or death situation. Just let me deal with it."
"We don't know if it's life or death," the Doctor argued, mind whirring in an attempt to keep Ornias from killing the patients and scarring Rose for life. "There might be a way to reverse it!"
"And if there's not, you three are dead, gas-masked morons. Just let me do it!"
"No!" The Doctor commanded. "I'm not taking that chance when I could fix things!"
"And I'm not having my first and only source of entertainment dead because of some stupid human morales!"
"Not everything's about your entertainment!" The Doctor shouted back as Ornias took a step toward the patients.
"Do something!" Rose cried out and the Doctor finally came up with something.
"Only I can define a life or death situation!" He blurted out, the dark band on his wrist glowing with Ornias's just as the demon reached out and grabbed a patient's arm. "And this isn't one!"
Ornias suddenly let go of the patient's bruising wrist, letting out a cry of agonizing pain. He crumpled to the ground as his contract hand burned red hot, spreading through his body like an uncontrollable wildfire. The Doctor grimaced, feeling a hint of guilt for causing him such pain, but was quick to swallow it down as the patients advanced.
"Go to your room!" He ordered over the noise, making the patients pause and silencing the room. "Go to your room! I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go to your room!"
The patients slumped like scolded children and slipped back to their beds, allowing the Doctor to let out a short, relieved chuckle.
"I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been very terrible last words."
Rose frowned though, smacking his arm and nodding to Ornias. Said man was hunched over on the ground, breathing hard with quivering shoulders. That guilt from before rolled up into his throat and he attempted to clear it as he stepped forward.
"Look. Ornias, I… I am sorry but you weren't listening and if you hurt those people, and we found a way to fix what happened to them…" He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to believe he was having this conversation with a demon, of all things. "I don't want those deaths to be on me. On you. Adding a new rule was the only thing I could think of. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Ornias stood slowly, gripping his arm with a slight stagger. His eyes flashed gold as he settled a glare on the Doctor, sending a shiver down his spine.
"On your head be it," he snapped shortly before stepping out into the hall.
The Doctor sighed heavily, knowing he'd messed up but not seeing any way he could have changed what happened. This is going to be harder than I thought.
"Should I go talk to him?" Rose offered.
Leave it to her to feel worried about a demon. "No. Leave him for a while."
"So, uh, can I ask what that was all about?" Jack questioned, curious about the hold the Doctor apparently had over Ornias. "And how was he able to touch them?"
Rose leaned over. "He's a demon."
"A what?" Jack shot her a dubious look. "You're joking, right?"
"Nope," she chirped. "I didn't exactly believe it either, but he's got black wings and powers and everything."
"What's he doing being big-ear's slave?"
"He's not a slave," the Doctor grumbled, not liking the misunderstanding. "We made a deal. I take him traveling, he follows my rules, and gets free room and board, meals included."
"And that's what happens if he breaks a rule?" Jack questioned in disbelief.
"I didn't know it would hurt him," the Doctor muttered. "He set the deal up. Always bragging about how he doesn't feel pain or whatever. I thought this was the same. He just wasn't listening. I had to do something. He would have killed them."
"Better than us being dead," Jack argued, standing up for the demon just as a siren went off.
"What's that?" Rose asked.
"The all clear."
The Doctor huffed. "I wish."
I heard arguing but paid it no mind, still in the process of dealing with the lingering pain from the Doctor's impromptu rule addition. I inhaled through my nose and held it for a moment before letting it out—cringing at the sharp pain that went up my spine when I did. I'm lucky I only bruised that patient, or it'd be much worse. I frowned up at the ceiling. It's vexing but the Doctor is playing at being a good man. He's not innocent like Rose. I can sense the darkness tucked away, but he wishes to be good and will hold me to those standards. A conflict like this was bound to happen.
I glanced at the still-red band on my wrist. This is what I signed up for. I dropped my hand and sighed. No point in continuing to be bothered by it… Hm, maybe I should try less of being a demon. It's been a while since I've tried something decent. Perhaps he'll be the one to change that. This new rule will be a pain though. I'll need him to edit it properly, otherwise, my entertainment will surely die early.
The Doctor suddenly burst from the room, coming within millimetres of bumping into me. His clear blue eyes blinked at my dark, caramel ones, noses brushing.
"Sorry."
I had a feeling the apology was for more than nearly bowling me over. "All right."
He beamed, taking a step back and ducking around me to bolt up the stairs. Jack and Rose came out too, as he called down to us.
"Have you got a blaster?"
"Sure!" Jack chimed, making to head up but stopping to spare me a look. "You okay?"
I raised a brow. "What is it with humans and compassion?" I huffed lightly, pushing off the wall to join him in heading up to the Doctor's side. "I'm a demon. I care not for your sympathy."
"So, they were telling me the truth. Huh." He grinned though, patting my back and making me wince ever so slightly. "Good to know you're not bothered."
I gave him a look. "I am frustrated, but I suppose I am not—as you said—bothered."
Jack leaned in a bit, draping an arm over my shoulders. "How do you feel about spending the night getting absolutely pissed in the back of a luxurious convertible?"
A grin slowly spread across my face, tasting the savory scent of lust absolutely pouring off the man beside me. "I can be available, so long as the vehicle is not ours."
"Never."
"What an interesting human you are," I chuckled as he released me. "Wishing for intercourse with a demon. I don't even have to hypnotize you. Almost takes all of the fun out of it."
"Well, I wouldn't want that. While I'm not entirely comfortable with you hypnotizing me, I'm open to anything else if it means we both get something interesting out of it."
"If you two are done," the Doctor grumbled as Rose turned away with flaming red cheeks. "As much as I enjoy having the two of you around, we've got work to do."
"Yes, sir," Jack purred, winking at me.
The Doctor leaned towards me. "No shagging in the Tardis."
I felt the band on my wrist tighten slightly and rolled my eyes with a sigh. "You are truly making this deal less and less enjoyable." Though even with that rule, there's a lot I can do without actually shagging. I eyed Jack's muscular form as he pulled out a blaster. Oh, yeah. A whole lot more.
Jack's gun put a small square hole where the lock of a metal door had been, allowing it to swing open easily. My mind spun at the technological advances the humans in this universe could accomplish, and the Doctor eyed Jack.
"Sonic blaster, fifty-first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?" He inquired and Jack gave him a surprised look.
"You've been to the factories?"
"Once."
"Well, they gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot."
"Like I said. Once. There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good," he hummed, stepping into the room as I raised a brow.
Really against weapons then. Good to know, though a bit obvious. He's armed with a screwdriver.
"Nice blast pattern," Rose hummed, making Jack give her a flirty smirk.
"Digital."
"Squareness gun."
"Yeah."
"I like it."
That's not the only thing she likes, I mused, my tongue running briefly over my lips. Not that he minds. He's rather flexible. We stepped into the next room and I let out a groan, catching both the Doctor's and Jack's attention—though for different reasons.
"Hell, that is just… perfection," I purred, eyeing the children's drawings scattered on the floor of the room behind an observation window. "The fear, the sorrow, the anger." My eyes flashed gold. "Can I live here? I'd never need another meal again."
"What's he talking about?" Jack questioned and Rose leaned over.
"He can taste feelings."
"Really?"
My golden eyes flickered over to him as I cracked a smirk. "I'd say keep it in your pants, but I don't know if you're capable. I can taste the lust from here."
Another grin stretched over his face. "Oh, I most definitely can't. Boxers or briefs?"
My grin doubled. "Neither."
The Doctor groaned. "Right. Either you two keep the flirting to yourselves or take it to a different room—No, different building. I get the feeling we'd still hear you in this one."
Rose agreed. "Yeah, seriously."
Jealous. I hummed. "I'm sure we can spare some time for you as well. I'm not picky."
Rose turned vibrant red, making Jack cackle as the Doctor scowled.
"Ornias."
I held up my hands in surrender. "Yes, yes. No flirting with companions. Should I make that a rule too?"
His expression shifted for a second, earning my curiosity before he turned away. "No. Just… Behave."
"Hm?" I leaned back against a table where he started up a tape machine, leaning further to try and catch what expression he was wearing. "What is that face?"
"What face?" He grumbled as the tape played.
"Do you know where you are?"
"Are you my mummy?"
"That one," I pressed, eyeing him as my eyes flickered back to caramel brown. "Not jealousy or anger. I mentioned adding a rule… Uncertainty? No…"
"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?"
"Are you my mummy?"
My eyes widened as I caught a hint of the taste on my lips. "Guilt."
"I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"
His blue eyes met mine before he turned away. "What do you think, Rose?"
Rose looked between us but answered. "I've heard this voice before."
"Me too."
"Always 'are you my mummy.' Like he doesn't know. Why doesn't he know?"
"Orphan," I supplied. "Or a street kid. We met a lot of them. Humans can be quick to turn, even on their own offspring. Mothers are not always kind."
I caught a flash of memory of an angry, brown-haired woman shouting and throwing something at small arms before it was gone and faded as though it had never been. How rare. Nothing usually reminds me of my life when I was pretending to be human. It's been far too long.
"It was a med-ship," Jack sighed, getting annoyed at the Doctor's constant blame. "It was harmless."
"Yes, you keep saying 'harmless.' Suppose one of them was attacked, altered."
"Altered how?" Rose asked, confused.
A wave of emotions suddenly flowed out—false emotions. The boy. My gaze shifted to the source and settled on the blonde gas-masked child who'd yet to move and remained unnoted by the others.
"It's afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do. It's got the power of a God, and I just sent it to its room."
Figured it out, Doctor? I wondered, eyes not leaving the boy as he watched us. Because I'm not allowed to do anything if he chooses to attack. I clenched and unclenched my hands, feeling the subtle tightening of the band on my wrist warning me of the consequences if I did anything.
"I sent it to its room," the Doctor murmured. "This is its room."
They turned to see the child and Rose grabbed my arm.
"Ornias, do something!"
I gave her a look, then turned my gaze to the Doctor, who caught it with a wince. "I'm not allowed to."
"Okay, on my signal make for the door," Jack commanded, drawing a banana. "Now!"
There was a beat of silence before the Doctor pulled out Jack's blaster and put a hole in the wall.
"Go now! Don't drop the banana!"
"Why not?!"
"Good source of potassium!"
I let out a cackle. "You are the only person I've met more concerned about the welfare of a fruit more than yourself."
We didn't get far though before we were surrounded by patients.
"It's keeping us here till it can get at us," the Doctor realized.
"It's controlling them?"
"It is them," he corrected Jack. "It's every living thing in this hospital."
Jack had gotten his blaster out but knew he was outnumbered. "Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?"
"I've got a sonic, uh… Oh, never mind."
I snorted as Jack urged him on.
"What?"
"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that."
"Disrupter? Cannon? What?"
"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am sonicked up!"
"A sonic what?" Jack shouted and the Doctor finally gave in as I clutched my side with suppressed laughter.
"Screwdriver!"
Seeing that none of us were really paying attention to the boy that had burst through the door, Rose stepped up.
"Going down!" She called out and used Jack's blaster to drop us through the floor.
Jack was quick to repair the hole in the ceiling before any patients could drop down with them, as the Doctor groaned from the ground.
"Doctor, are you okay?" Rose asked.
"Could've used a warning," he grumbled, spotting Ornias lightly landing on his feet—wings out and unnoticed by Jack in the dark. Cheater.
"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack complained, rounding on him as Ornias's wings disappeared, and he pushed himself up off the ground.
"I do," the Doctor grumbled, as Rose started to look for the lights.
"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'ooh, this could be a little more sonic'?"
"What, you've never been bored?"
"There's got to be a light switch," Rose muttered, ignoring the testosterone and glancing at Ornias. "Do you have night vision? Can you find it?"
Ornias sighed. "To your right, chest height."
"Never had a long night?" The Doctor continued to complain. "Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?"
The lights came on and the sleeping patients snapped upright in their beds while Rose smacked Ornias repeatedly on the chest as he laughed.
"Why didn't you say anything!"
"And miss the looks on your faces?" Ornias beamed. "Never!"
They somehow made it out and into a storeroom, the Doctor rigging the door while Rose took a seat in a wheelchair.
"Okay, that door should hold it for a bit."
Ornias scoffed. "A wall didn't hold it."
"Well, it's got to find us first," the Doctor countered. "Come on, we're not done yet. Assets, assets!"
"Well, I've got a banana, and in a pinch, you could put up some shelves," Jack mocked him.
"Window," the Doctor said, heading to it.
"Barred. Sheer drop outside. Seven stories."
"And no other exits," Rose added. "Why can't we just let Ornias get us out?"
Said demon blinked at being involved in the conversation, having let out his wings again, but just floating on his back a few feet off the ground.
"I'm not allowed to do anything without permission," he drawled, ignoring Jack's gaping mouth at the sight. "It's not deadly enough for me to attack the patients, so I am virtually useless."
Rose and Jack both shot the Doctor annoyed looks.
"He wouldn't even have to kill them, you know," Rose grumbled, but the Doctor's small glare silenced any more protests as Jack huffed.
"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?" His gaze shifted hungrily to Ornias. "Love the wings, by the way."
Ornias smirked and in order to keep them from flirting in the small space, the Doctor cut in with a grumbled complaint.
"So, where'd you pick this one up, then?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Doctor."
Jack didn't mind though. "She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance."
The Doctor turned away to hide a scowl of annoyance and jealousy. "Okay. One, we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?"
"Yeah. Jack just disappeared," Rose informed him, gesturing to the empty seat beside hers. "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?"
"I'm making an effort not to be insulted."
"I mean, men," Rose corrected.
"Okay, thanks, that really helped."
"Well, you and Ornias aren't exactly hu—"
A radio crackled to life, drawing their attention to it as Jack's voice chimed in.
"Rose? Doctor? Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship. Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there."
"Don't worry about mine," Ornias chimed in. "Technology disagrees with me. It won't work, so I'll join you myself later."
"Can't wait."
And thanks to Jack's Om-Com, they realized the child could use it to and had to rely on Jack to get them out of there—music now playing over the radio.
"So, you and Jack seem to be getting along," Rose mused, eyeing Ornias.
The Doctor let out a snort. "Understatement of the century."
Ornias shrugged. "I can appreciate a well-made human."
Rose hummed, curious. "So, you date and stuff?"
Ornias laughed. "Me? No, no. There's no need. I can hypnotize anyone into spending the evening with me. Though, it's not usually needed with most females. As a demon, my level of beauty is unrivaled. Humans tend to look at me and see everything they desire. Whether I chose to indulge them or not, is up to me. Like eating and sleeping, sex is only a luxury saved for boredom." Ornias cracked open a golden eye, smirking at Rose. "Jack, however, is a specimen worth indulging in."
"You're flexible then? Like him?"
Ornias closed his eyes. "I have little preference. I am curious about the non-humans in this universe, however."
"You didn't have any in yours?"
"No. Humans were never intelligent enough to travel out very far, and if there were non-humans, they never made themselves known." Ornias brought a hand to his chin in thought, looking at the ceiling as he lazily floated about. "I'm curious if my sense of beauty is still appeasing to them."
"We're not traveling the universe so you can shag with whomever you seem fit," the Doctor grumbled, earning a light chuckle from Rose as she turned to him.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete—loosen the bars."
"I could—" Ornias began to offer, only for the Doctor to cut him off.
"No."
"Suit yourself," he sighed, back-stroking around the room idly as Rose watched with a small smile.
"You don't think he's coming back, do you?"
"Wouldn't bet my life."
"Why don't you trust him?"
"Why do you?" The Doctor challenged.
"He saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like you. Except with dating and dancing."
"You two are so funny," Ornias hummed, somehow having snuck behind the Doctor and leaning forward on his shoulder. "If you two could taste the feelings in this room…"
The Doctor went to shove him off, but he was already lightly flying past Rose.
"Jealousy is unbecoming, Doctor."
He glared at the demon as Rose gave him a curious and slightly mischievous look.
"Jealous?"
"Shut up," the Doctor grumbled. "I'm not jealous. And you're just assuming that I don't dance."
"What, are you telling me you do?" Rose countered.
"Nine hundred years old, me. I've been around a bit. I think you can assume at some point I've danced."
"You?"
"Problem?"
"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?" She teased.
"Well, I've got the moves, but I wouldn't want to boast."
Rose smirked as Ornias turned up the volume and she headed over to the Doctor.
"You've got the moves? Show me your moves."
"Rose, I'm trying to resonate concrete," he muttered, only for Ornias to chime in.
"Stay embarrassed in your life for too long, and Jack will return and sweep Rose off her feet instead."
The Doctor glared. "Oh, nobody asked you."
Rose smiled, appreciating Ornias playing her wingman. "Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. So, come on. The world doesn't end because the Doctor dances."
The Doctor headed over, towering over her as she offered her hands. He took them, doing his utmost best to not pay attention to Ornias's ever-widening smile, only to realize something.
"Barrage balloon?"
"What?" Rose questioned, more than a little confused.
"You were hanging from a barrage balloon."
"Oh, yeah. About two minutes after you left me. Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air-raid, Union Jack all over my chest."
The Doctor raised a brow. "I've traveled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly."
Ornias poked his head between them. "You know, dancing usually requires moving."
He was ignored.
"Hanging from a rope thousands of feet above London. Not a cut, not a bruise."
"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up," Rose said.
"Oh, we're calling him Captain Jack now, are we?"
"Doctor, your jealousy's showing," Ornias chimed in.
"Well, his name's Jack and he's a Captain," Rose argued.
"He's not really a Captain, Rose."
"Do you know what I think?" Rose smirked, leaning in. "I think you're experiencing Captain envy." She started to lightly sway. "You'll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them."
The Doctor huffed but swayed a little himself. "If ever he was a Captain, he's been defrocked."
"Yeah? Shame I missed that," Rose smirked, the two of them close enough that one small step forward could very well make their lips meet.
"Actually, I quit," Jack said, making them jolt away from each other and notice the lack of the storage room and Ornias. "Nobody takes my frock."
The Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly, dropping Rose's hands, much to her disappointment.
"Most people notice when they've been teleported," Jack hummed. "You guys are so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security. Tried to snag Ornias too but as he said, technology doesn't like him."
"He'll be fine," the Doctor grumbled. "Wherever he is."
"Hm, what to do, what to do," I hummed, having flown to the top of the hospital and idly kicking my feet back and forth over the side of the roof. I could go to the bomb site. Undoubtedly, that's the first place the Doctor would be headed.
I sighed, standing up and stretching my arms above my head with a groan of satisfaction. I turned my gaze to the bomb site not far away and tipped my head. How curious. For someone who wanted nothing to do with us or that empty child, she sure is sticking her nose in all the wrong places. I smirked. I think I'll play with her for a bit.
My wings stretched out and I swooped down toward the bomb site where Nancy was trying to break in. I landed silently a few paces behind her, tucking my wings away and letting my golden eyes return to caramel brown, struggling to hold in a laugh as I crept up behind her.
"Hello, again," I purred right next to her ear, making her jump and turn around, wielding the wire cutters like a weapon.
She didn't see me though since I had already flickered over to the hole in the fence that she'd made.
"For someone so adamant about us not being here, it's curious that you're attempting to break in."
Nancy whipped back around, unnerved as I idly played with the sharp end of the hole she'd cut through.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed, looking around warily for soldiers who might spot us. "Leave. You'll get us caught."
I snorted. "I was stealthy enough to sneak up on you without a sound. Who exactly is it who will get you caught?"
She bristled but didn't retort, ducking carefully through the hole in the fence and pinning me with a glare. "Don't follow me."
I grinned cheekily. "Is that an invitation?"
She stormed off and I gave it a few seconds before phasing through the fence and following. She didn't hear me, of course, and I raised a brow as she approached the pod we'd been chasing through the Time Vortex—the bomb that wasn't a bomb. She reached out to pull away the tarp covering it, not noticing the soldier out doing his rounds who spotted her.
"Halt! Don't move!"
Nancy lifted her hands in surrender, not wanting to cause any trouble but her eyes widened when she spotted me. I brought a finger to my smirking lips, keeping her quiet despite the fact that the soldier walked right past me to apprehend her. The confusion I tasted in the air was delightful as I trailed after her and the soldier. She was brought into a tent where another soldier sat on a chair, looking ill. Curious, I followed her gaze, wandering over towards the ill man as she was led to a chair across from him.
"Chain her up where Jenkins can keep an eye on her," a soldier ordered the man holding Nancy, who began to squirm.
"No, not in here. Not with him."
I smirked, spotting what had troubled her so much. "Oh, how curious. He's going to change too, isn't he?"
None of the men noticed me except Nancy.
"You don't understand. Not with him," she tried to tell the ignorant men, but they didn't listen. "Please, anywhere but here!" She begged as they all left, leaving her with the ill Jenkins. "Please, let me go."
"Why would I do that?" Jenkins questioned as I roamed around the tent uninterested.
"Because you've got a scar on the back of your hand," Nancy tried to explain.
"Well, yes," Jenkins replied, eyeing said scar with a hint of confusion. "But I don't see what that's got to do with anything."
"And you feel like you're going to be sick," she went on. "Like something's forcing its way up your throat. I know because I've seen it before."
Jenkins was starting to look worried now, after her accurate description. "What's happening to me?"
"In a minute, you won't be you anymore. You won't even remember you. And unless you let me go, it's going to happen to me too. Please."
"What are you talking about?" He frowned as I hummed, tasting the air.
"He's getting defensive," I informed her idly, not wanting my entertainment to be over so soon.
"What's your mother's name?" She asked him, starting up a round of questions until he stopped answering him. "Please, let me go. It's too late for you. I'm sorry but please let me go."
"What do you m—" Jenkins grimaced. "Mummy?"
The man began to retch, and Nancy's frantic gaze turned to me.
"Please! You have to help me! I-I don't know who or what you are, but please!"
"Hm?" I hummed, bringing a hand to my chin in thought. "Well, normally I wouldn't care but the Doctor would probably be upset with me if I let you get caught. And you are kind of fun to mess with."
Jenkins groaned, slumped over and a gas mask now covering his face.
"Just do something!" Nancy wailed as I pouted.
"Rude. Besides, I'm not allowed to hurt them, as much as I would like to."
"Then, get me out of these restraints!"
"But you'll run."
"I won't!" She argued, making me roll my eyes.
"You humans. I can taste lies, you know."
She jerked against the cuffs as Jenkins raised his head, calling for his mummy. "I swear on my brother! I-I will stay with you! I swear!"
Jenkins reached for her and her eyes clenched shut.
"Well now, that's better," I purred, having caught Jenkins' shirt collar and holding him just out of reach of her. "Cuffs please."
"W-Wha—" She looked in surprise to find her hands free and the cuffs lying harmlessly on the ground. "How did you—"
"Save the gawking for later," I replied as Jenkins jerked and growled in my grip, and I held out my free hand. "Cuffs."
She handed them over and I cuffed Jenkins to the table, allowing us to make for the entrance of the tent unhindered.
"What about the other soldiers?" She asked.
I shrugged, slipping out into the cold night without a care. "They're like him so I suppose I'm stuck keeping you safe." I paused. "Huh. Haven't tried babysitting before. You don't require constant grooming and exercising, do you?"
"What? No, I—"
"Good," I cut her off, having caught a scent on the breeze that made me grin. "Oh, perfect! Come, child! I've found them."
"Found who? Hold on, what are you—Hey!"
I scooped her up under an arm and bounded away towards the scent as she struggled in my grip.
"Let me go! I can walk, you know."
"Far too slowly for my liking," I commented, before spotting the Doctor, Rose, and Jack. "Doctor!"
Said man stopped, blinking in surprise as I lifted Nancy up by her underarms in a proud display.
"I found a human child!"
Rose and Jack were still snickering once Ornias had been told to release a very disgruntled Nancy—the group gathering at the bomb site.
"So, let me get this straight," the Doctor grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "You were going to come here and meet us, spotted Nancy, then snuck into a military area and somehow got convinced to save her from a soldier who changed into a gas-masked person."
"Then, I caught your scent, brought her with me and ta-da! Here we are. Pretty good, huh?" Ornias chirped, chest puffed out proudly. "I haven't done a good thing in ages. It's usually so boring."
"He's insane," Nancy muttered, shooting the Doctor a look as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well… probably. Just a bit."
Though, he sure is acting like a child. Or a dog, the Doctor thought. A dog who was sent fetching after a stick but returns with a large tree branch as if he did something amazing. The Doctor's lip twitched up at the thought and he clapped Ornias on the shoulder.
"I guess you did pretty good. Yeah."
Ornias seemed to grow even prouder of his supposed good deed as the Doctor turned to the pod.
"Let's see what we've got then, shall we?" He pulled the tarp off the pod and eyed it.
"You see?" Jack said. "Just an ambulance."
Nancy gave him a look. "That's an ambulance?"
"It's hard to explain," Rose replied. "It's from another world."
Nancy was beginning to think the group was a little mad as they examined the ambulance pod. And when Jack went to try and prove his innocence, he ended up setting off an alarm.
"Didn't happen last time," Jack frowned as the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"It hadn't crashed last time. There'll be emergency protocols."
Rose though, had noticed something else—the distant pounding against the hospital doors. The gas-masked patients were coming, drawn by the ambulance's alarm.
"Captain, secure those gates!" He ordered, taking over for Jack in trying to hack the ambulance's panel. "Nancy, how'd you get in here?"
"I cut the wire," she mumbled, looking worried.
"Show Rose." He handed Rose the sonic. "Setting 2428D."
"What?" The blonde blinked in confusion.
"Reattaches barbed wire. Go!" He shooed them off as Ornias slid to his side. "Ornias."
"Yes?"
The Doctor sighed. "Touch the pod. Get it open."
The demon smirked. "My pleasure."
Jack gaped in shock as Ornias' eyes flashed yellow and with a touch of a finger, the pod sparked—alarm cutting off as it opened with ease.
"You said technology doesn't like you, but… wow."
Ornias wiggled his fingers. "Magic."
Jack's grinned doubled. "Wonder what other kinds of magic you can do with those fingers."
"Can we focus?" The Doctor jumped in as Ornias rolled his eyes.
"What for? It's empty, as he said."
Rose and Nancy returned as the Doctor raised a brow looking at Jack.
"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?"
Rose blinked, surprised at being addressed. "I don't know."
"Yes, you do," he countered, holding up a hand as it clicked.
"Nanogenes!"
Jack's face fell.
"It wasn't empty, Captain," the Doctor explained, voice cold. "There were enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."
"Oh, God."
"Ugh, you believe in Him?" Ornias groaned. "What a turn-off."
"Getting it now, are we?" The Doctor questioned Jack, ignoring Ornias's comment. "When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night, and wearing a gas mask."
"And they brought him back to life?" Rose questioned as Ornias perked up in interest at the situation. "They can do that?"
"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on.
"They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gas mask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"
"I didn't know," Jack muttered in the wake of the Doctor's anger.
Said man went back to the ambulance to try and come up with some way to fix things, but the patients were getting closer.
"It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?" Rose asked, worried.
"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops Standard protocol."
"But the gas mask people aren't troops."
"They are now. This is a battlefield ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, program you."
"That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing," Rose concluded.
"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."
"Then, why don't we just give her to him?" Ornias mused, lounging on the pod and drawing their attention to him.
"What?"
"Boy's looking for his mum. Give her to him, maybe it'll stop."
"We don't even know who his mum is, and won't they just turn her into him?"
The Doctor though looked hopeful. "No. If we can find his mother, the nanogenes should recognize the same DNA, maybe change him back."
"Doctor, the bomb," Jack warned, eyeing the sky. "We've got seconds."
"You can teleport us out," Rose said, hopefully.
"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols."
"So, it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do," the Doctor said, making Rose look to Jack in concern.
"Jack?"
But Jack teleported himself away, leaving the others on their own. Ornias eyed the spot where he'd been though, running his tongue over his lips with a small frown.
"You really are a fun-killer if you've managed to change him too."
The Doctor waved him off. "Yes, yes. The way you were talking though, about the boy's mother. Do you know who it is?"
Ornias shot him a look. "Isn't it obvious?"
When the others just stared though, he groaned.
"Oh, you lot with your boring olfactories. I can smell it from here! I've been smelling it all bloody day and I could really do with some misery right now."
"Ornias, who is it?" The Doctor grumbled.
Ornias's gaze shifted to Nancy. "She should honestly tell you herself since she's been too scared to share this whole time."
"I-It's me," Nancy muttered, taking a hesitant step forward. "I'm Jamie's mother, not his sister."
"A teenage single mother in 1941," the Doctor breathed out in understanding. "So, you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."
The boy himself had made it through the gates now and stood before the group.
"Mummy? Are you my mummy?"
"He's going to keep asking, Nancy. He's never going to stop. Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me and tell him." The Doctor gave her a light nudge and she approached Jamie before giving in.
"Are you my mummy?"
"Yes. Yes, I am your mummy."
"Mummy?"
"I'm here."
But the child kept asking, making the Doctor's hope falter.
"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left."
Nancy didn't care though, reaching out and hugging him close with tears in her eyes. "I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry."
Then, glowing gold orbs began to appear.
"What's happening?" Rose asked, worried. "Doctor, it's going to change her. We should—"
He held out an arm, stopping her. "Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out."
"What's happening?"
"See? Recognizing the same DNA." The Doctor rushed over and scooped up the boy, leaving Ornias to stiffen in almost concern for his welfare. "Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one." He pulled off the gas mask, revealing a confused little boy. "Ha-ha! Welcome back!" He cheered. "Twenty years till pop music. You're going to love it. Ha-ha! Mother knows best!"
"Doctor, that bomb," Rose reminded him as Ornias sighed.
"He took care of it."
"How?"
"Psychology."
The bomb hurtling towards them suddenly stopped, caught in a beam of light with Jack sitting astride it.
"Good lad," the Doctor smiled.
"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis, but it won't last long."
"Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"
Jack nodded but gave one last look down at them. "Rose, Ornias… Goodbye." He disappeared only to pop back up again. "By the way, love the t-shirt and the whole glowing eye thing."
Ornias snorted as he vanished. "Humans."
I yawned as we returned to the Tardis, having saved all the gas-masked patients, much to the Doctor's joy. He hasn't stopped smiling since.
"Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas," Rose voiced my thoughts out loud as I spread my wings and began searching for the book I'd been reading.
"Who says I'm not. Red bicycle when you were twelve?" The Doctor hummed, startling her.
"What?"
He ignored her surprise. "And everybody lives, Rose, Ornias! Everybody lives! I need more days like this."
"Oh, joy," I grumbled, though not making a dent in his happiness.
"Hey, come on now," he chided me. "You were having fun too. You even saved Nancy! It's just a matter of getting you to understand the value of human life, is all."
"Doctor?" Rose called out.
"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire," he hummed.
"What about Jack? Why'd he say goodbye?"
"Because he's going to die," I replied.
"What!"
The Doctor waved her off. "No, no. I'm not about to leave him like that. Everybody lives… Even if I don't care for the flirting." He landed the ship and turned on the radio, scooping up a surprised Rose and trying to dance again. "Ornias, why don't you fetch him? I feel like dancing."
I shrugged, strolling to the doors and opening them, allowing the song to flood into Jack's ship as I stepped through with a hum.
"Bit cramp," I commented as he turned in surprise, holding a martini. "And bleak." I smirked. "I like it."
"Wha—"
"Unless you enjoy dying, might I suggest you joining us?" I cut him off, making him bolt up and hurry after me as we walked into the blue box where Rose was instructing the Doctor.
"Okay. And right and turn. Okay, okay, try and spin me again, but this time don't get my arm up my back. No extra points for a half-nelson."
"I'm sure I used to know this stuff," the Doctor grumbled as I closed the doors behind a gapping Jack, shifting by him.
"Nine hundred years, you said?" I mused, sliding over and nudging Rose away to try my hand at teaching him. "I'm sure they all get a little mixed up."
"You know how to dance?" Rose gaped and I shot her a look.
"In every sense of the term." I smirked, enjoying the flush that overcame her face, only for the Doctor to step on my foot. "Yes, yes. Unintentional flirting. It was meant for Jack."
"I don't mind," Rose argued, and I rolled my eyes as the Doctor deliberately did it again.
"Yes, but he does, and slow dancing really doesn't suit you."
My eyes flashed yellow and the song changed from the slow waltz to a more modern swing, widening the Doctor's eyes as his foot began to tap.
"You're right! I've just remembered! I can dance! I can dance!" He grinned as he swung me out and back in, the moves easily coming back to me as we spun, and he dipped me.
He blinked then, nose brushing mine with how close we were. A smirk began to spread over my face as a red tint moved up his neck to his ears.
"What's wrong, Doctor? Never dipped a man before?"
"Hey, now you two," Jack interrupted, grinning away. "Save some for the rest of us."
The Doctor hastily pulled me back up and dropped my hands as he cleared his throat awkwardly. I couldn't help but chuckle at his embarrassment though, unperturbed.
"Seems Jack and I have something in common," I laughed for the first time in a long time. "We can make anyone speechless."
"Why don't you bring those dance moves over here," Jack purred. "I've seen you play the woman's role, but I'm curious about you taking the lead."
I switched out with Rose, smirking dangerously as I paired up with him. "I'll be sure to satisfy your curiosity then, Captain."
A low groan escaped him, just as the Doctor called out from across the room.
"No shagging!"