-Present day-
The Doctor forced his mind back to the present and away from that first night. The night that Jack had taken his body as the men had making him feel as if his body was just something to be used rather than loved. It had taken years of heartache but they were finally starting to move past that. Their bodies had moved as one again as Jack made sure he received pleasure from the act as well but it still didn't change his mind that his body was just something to be used. Years of sex as he faced away from the man taking him had taught him that and one night wasn't going to change it. He had no desire to initiate sex again with Jack but he wasn't going to stop him if he wanted it. He didn't voice this opinion to Jack as they continued to sit in the TARDIS making plans.
Jack had a few contacts from his old days in the Time Agency that he thought might be able to help but he wasn't sure how many of them were still alive or out of prison as the work they were involved in was highly dangerous. While the Doctor had no problem recruiting help from criminals he was wary about asking them for help. The Master was easily able to manipulate people and could turn the men against them with offers of higher pay. It wasn't a risk the Doctor was willing to take when it came to his fellow Time Lord because he knew how manipulative the Master could be and he didn't want to spend another year in his clutches because he made a mistake about who he could trust.
"You've lived a long time, Doc, isn't there anybody out there that you would trust to help you take down the Master?" Jack questioned after a long moment of silence between the two friends.
"You know I don't like to look back," the Doctor answered dismissively.
"Still, there has to be someone that you stayed in contact with over the years. You have been chasing the Master for several years now and I am positive that you aren't doing it on your own. There have been too many times that you have up and left in the middle of the day claiming that you had a new lead that you couldn't have possibly found on your own for you to have been completely on your own while searching for him. What I don't know is if it is a network of people who have been helping you or if there is only one person you trust because you have refused to talk to me during these years despite trusting me enough to raise your daughter for you," Jack had started off calm but his voice was rising as he spoke until he was almost yelling at the Doctor again. He paused as he took a deep breath as he realized how loud he had gotten. They had promised to try and yelling at the Time Lord wasn't going to accomplish anything except to scare him off again.
"What I am trying to ask is if there is anyone currently helping you now that you would trust with helping you take down the Master," Jack finished.
"You," the Doctor answered. Jack couldn't help but smile at him and the Doctor gave a half-hearted smile back.
"Besides me," Jack responded. The Doctor looked up and Jack could tell he was thinking about it. He didn't push him as he let the Doctor consider his options. It was possible that the people helping the Doctor were just as likely to turn on him as the people who had helped Jack and he had to figure out who he could actually trust.
"River Song," the Doctor answered finally. Jack's forehead furrowed as he tried to figure out if he had ever heard that name before now. "She is someone who is from my future, though I haven't been able to figure out how. Still, she has been able to provide me information when I need it as long as it doesn't interfere with a future event."
"Then tomorrow we should go see if we can find her," Jack told him. The Doctor nodded as Jack looked at his watch. He didn't need a watch, though, to know it was already almost two in the afternoon. They could have made the trip but Emily was waiting for them to pick her up at five and would take any delay as proof the Doctor had broken his promise to her again. Rather than risk losing his daughter's trust, he agreed it would be better to wait. Tomorrow they could plan for Martha to pick her up from daycare and she could spend the evening with Martha, Mickey, and August while the two of them went out to start the process of stopping the Master.
"I am going to work on the TARDIS for a few hours until it is time to go collect Emily," the Doctor informed Jack. He had a few repairs that he needed to make that he had been putting off and he needed to think. Working on the circuits would allow his mind to process the problem without it being his sole focus.
"I will come to collect you when it is time to leave," Jack agreed getting to his feet and stretching. He watched as the Doctor pulled off one of the panels, his head disappearing beneath it as his feet stuck out. Despite him claiming he was going to work there was a good chance that he would take a kip instead. When Jack first met the Doctor, he thought that Time Lord didn't sleep until he realized that he would fall asleep under the panels listening to the hum of the TARDIS. Jack never called him out on it letting him continue that illusion.
At the end of the workday, Jack found he was right and he gently woke the Doctor informing him it was almost time to go. The Doctor immediately denied that he had been sleeping and Jack didn't argue, nor did he point out that he had never claimed the Doctor was sleeping and he was arguing with himself. He helped the Time Lord to his feet and together the two of them left the TARDIS and the hub behind getting into the SUV to collect their daughter. Upon arriving at the daycare, the Doctor got out of the SUV following Jack into the small building.
"Daddy," Emily screamed happily upon seeing him. She ran across the room only having to stop long enough to be let out of the play area before flinging herself into his arms. "You came back."
"Of course I came back. I will also come back for you," the Doctor reassured her. He carried her in his arms as together the three of them left the daycare. Together they went back to the home they shared and the evening progressed as normal. The Doctor read Emily's stories before they ate a light dinner. Later they rested on the sofa with Jack beside the Doctor as Emily sat curled up against the Doctor's side just wanting to be near him. As the first movie ended, Jack turned off the telly so that he could kneel down in front of her. He glanced up at the Doctor who nodded knowing what Jack was about to do.
"Emily, sweetheart, there is something important your daddy and I wanted to ask you," Jack told her softly. Emily's blue eyes showed her confusion as she stared back at him.
"Yes, Uncle Jack?" Emily wondered.
"Your Daddy and I have been talking and we were wondering if instead of Uncle Jack you wanted to call me papa instead?" Jack questioned her. Jack wasn't quite sure of what her reaction would be but he didn't except her lower lip to start quivering as she burst into tears. She turned to the Doctor climbing up on his lap and the Doctor wrapped his arms around her as she wrapped her own arms tightly around him holding him close. The Doctor's face now mirrored the confusion Emily had shown only moments before.
"What is it Kui'la?" the Doctor asked her softly as he held her.
"I don't want you to go," Emily sobbed.
"Oh, Kui'la, I promise you that I am not going anywhere. I am going to stay here like I promised and help your Uncle Jack to raise you. Only, we would both like it if you called him Papa instead as he has been your Papa since before you were born," the Doctor cooed at her softly. Jack climbed up on the couch wrapping his own arm across his daughter's back.
"I promise you that no matter what you call me, we will both be here for you because you are and always will be our daughter. No matter what I love you just the same Emily and that love won't change regardless of whether or not you call me Uncle Jack or Papa," Jack informed her. He kissed her softly on the side of the head.
"And I will always be your daddy," the Doctor informed her.
"Promise," Emily asked him through sobs.
"I promise, I love you too much to ever leave you," the Doctor reassured her. There was one time that he thought that he didn't want her but she would never know how close he had come to walking away.
"I love you too, Daddy," Emily sobbed. The Doctor kissed her on the back of the head as he continued to cuddle her close. Her eyes focused on Jack, the whites red from crying making the blue stand out even more brightly. "I love you, Papa."
"And I love you," Jack answered. He didn't try to take her from her daddy as he moved his arm slightly so that he could rub her back comforting her as the Doctor held her. The Doctor's eyes met his and he mouthed the words *Thank you,* at the Time Lord. The Doctor barely nodded showing that he understood. Tomorrow they would put themselves in danger to keep the universe safe but tonight the only thing that mattered to the two men was keeping together the small family they had finally managed to find.