-The Present-

"Uncle Jack." Jack scrunched his nose at the nose as he thought to ignore it. He had been sleeping soundly when the small voice permeated his dream. In his dream, he had been running with the Doctor and Rose as they tried to defeat zombies on the Gamestation. It was combining two different events but that didn't matter because in his dreams he was happy. The three of them were against the universe but together they could have won. "Uncle Jack."

He opened his eyes a crack to see Emily standing in front of him. He glanced at the clock unhappy to see that it was only about three in the morning. He thought a moment about pulling her up into bed with him for a little while to cuddle while they slept but decided against it. Instead, he forced his eyes open further as he looked at her.

"It's too early to get up, sweetheart. Why don't you go crawl back into bed and try to go to sleep again?" Jack suggested to her.

"I can't," Emily replied.

"Why not?" Jack wondered.

"I wet my bed," she responded. Jack tried not to sigh as he realized he had no choice but to forfeit the warmth of the blankets. He took her hand as he walked her back to her room. Switching on the small light beside her bed, he saw the blankets were off to the side and a large puddle was in the middle. Jack helped her to change into clean clothing then got started on the bed. He pulled the sheet off followed by the absorbent pad he kept underneath. He put them in a pile to the side before going to the linen closet and retrieving fresh blankets. He put a new pad on the bed and covered it with a fresh sheet. Emily helped him take the dirty laundry down to the washer, and add the soap. She then pressed the button starting the wash cycle. With the laundry started, the two of them went back to her room. Jack lifted her to set her back on her bed but she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Can I have a story?" She asked softly.

"You already had your story," Jack answered.

"Can I have another one," Emily immediately wondered not deterred by his answer.

"One more." Jack gave in. He carried Emily over to her rocking chair taking a seat. He cuddled her as he rocked her slowly and started to tell her a story based on his dreams. He was barely into the story, though, before she was sleeping soundly once more in his arms. He rocked her for a few more minutes just enjoying holding her as he waited to make sure she was sleeping soundly. Then carefully, he stood taking her over to her bed. He tucked her back beneath her blankets, dropping a soft kiss on the top of her head. Turning off the light, he made his way out of her room closing the door tightly behind her. Entering his own room, he saw that the Doctor was now awake. He was sitting partly up in the bed leaning against his pillow.

"Emily had an accident but I changed her bed and she is sleeping soundly again," Jack explained as he made his way back to his side of the bed. He climbed underneath the blankets getting ready to settle down and hopefully get a few more hours of sleep before he had to get up again.

"Have I ever thanked you for taking such good care of her?" The Doctor wondered softly.

"You don't have to thank me for taking care of my daughter as we both know the only reason I am just her uncle Jack is because you wouldn't let me be her papa," Jack snipped angrily. The Doctor turned his head to look at Jack, his eyes unreadable in the dark room. He stared at him for a second before throwing the blankets back and standing. He didn't say anything as he picked up his jacket and overshirt pulling them on. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my TARDIS because it is obvious you don't want me here," the Doctor answered softly as he started on the many buttons.

"Of course we want you here. Don't act like," Jack started.

"Then could you at least pretend for just a moment that you were actually happy to see me," the Doctor interrupted his voice barely above a whisper. Jack's mouth snapped shut as it was his turn to stare at the Time Lord. He wanted to argue that he had been happy to see the Doctor but they both knew it wasn't true. Since his arrival several hours before he had yelled at him, ignored him, and then had shown him affection but didn't care whether or not he found enjoyment in the act as he used his body for his own release.

"Sit," Jack told him his voice soft. The Doctor didn't move as he continued to stand in one place. Jack took a deep breath. "Believe it or not, I am happy to see you, Doc. Emily has been devastated for the last couple of days because you hadn't returned and she is too little to understand why you stay away. I am angry at you for hurting her and leaving in the middle of the night without even telling her goodbye is just going to hurt her more."

"I don't want to hurt her," the Doctor whispered.

"I know. The problem is that you and I have gotten too good at hurting each other over the years. Somewhere along the line, our friendship would have ended. We're like an old married couple now who just keep trying to make it work due to the daughter we share when we should have just gone our separate ways," Jack admitted. He hadn't really thought about the words before he said them but as soon as they were out of his mouth he knew they were true. "I miss being your friend, Doc and I want to fix this if you do."

"How can we?" the Doctor asked. He wasn't saying much and his voice was so soft that Jack couldn't hear the emotion behind his words. Still, he knew that the Time Lord was hurting and probably needed to be held. the only problem was that Jack didn't feel like offering him that comfort.

"Tomorrow, you and I are going to sit down and discuss the location of the Master and how to take him down. Once the Master is dead, you are going to have to make a decision. You can run like you have done your whole life or for once you can stay. You can stay here with me and Emily and try to build a life with us while rekindling the friendship the two of us once shared. That includes swim practice and dance recitals as well as lunch with friends. Everything that it means to be a human living on Earth. Or you can run again. You can leave it all behind and we will move on without you. It's your choice what you want to do but I meant what I said yesterday that if you hurt that sweet little girl again, I will leave with her and build a life somewhere else without you," Jack informed him. He had made a life here on Earth with his coworkers, friends, and his children. He wasn't willing to give it all up to hide with Emily but he would make it harder for the Doctor to locate them.

"Would I have to give up the TARDIS?" the Doctor questioned as he thought about what Jack said.

"I would never make you give up your home. We could still travel as a family to safe locations and show Emily the universe. Hell, if you wanted to we could even have Martha babysit while you and I ran for our lives. We would just have to return home at the end of the trip rather than continuing to run," Jack explained. The room was quiet as the Doctor stood in one place still thinking about Jack's words. He felt the need to run but the thought of never seeing his daughter again made his hearts' ache.

"I want to stay," the Doctor answered finally.

"Then come back to bed," Jack told him. The Doctor listened as he took off his jacket and shirt again. He climbed back beneath the blankets lying stiffly on his own side of the bed. Jack laid down, wrapping his arm over the Doctor holding him from behind. Both of them were still hurting but the Doctor had returned to bed and at least that was a start.