Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all, I am merely borrowing.
Spoilers: Through Season Three.
The Doctor hadn't bothered to spend any more time than was absolutely necessary in the bathroom and was soon stalking down the hallway. Still damp, his hair felt oddly flat against his forehead which only increased how awkward he felt in the ill-fitting clothing. Jack might be of a similar height, but he was of a substantially broader build. Shoving his hands in the pockets of the trousers, the Doctor wished he had his overcoat to hide in. Despite what Jack said, he didn't want to wait any longer to apologize to Rose. But when he entered the hub, he found it entirely empty except for Jack, who was seated at one of the desks, feet propped up on the surface as he stared at a group of monitors.
"I sent her shopping with Gwen," Jack explained, continuing to watch the monitor.
"Ah. Retail therapy." The Doctor felt the tension in his shoulders release as he realized he wouldn't have to face Rose quite yet. "Doesn't that count as wandering off?"
Jack shrugged. "Would you have preferred I let her kill you?"
The Doctor winced. "I meant to tell her. Before we came to see you."
"I really don't think that would have helped." Jack lowered his legs and spun in the chair to face the Doctor. "Now, as much as I'm enjoying being the cause of your lovers' spat, that's not why you dropped by."
"I need to borrow some equipment."
"To find the TARDIS and her precious cargo," Jack clarified, nodding to himself. "Rose filled me in. Seriously, all that time I spent crafting ways to push the two of you together and all I had to do was stick you in a room and lock..."
"Jack..."
"Puts my creative scenarios to shame," he continued, sounding insulted. "But if you want some pointers the console room has obvious potential."
There was a definite pink tinge to the Doctor's face as he sputtered, "I don't...I don't want...I don't need pointers, Jack!"
"Have you tried the console room?" Jack pressed, determined to get details. "I bet Rose would approve. You might even be able to solve this whole argument if you..."
"The TARDIS isn't here," the Doctor pointed out, studying the ceiling in an attempt at nonchalance.
"I'll lend you the garden room upstairs if you ask nicely."
The Doctor's expression shifted from uncomfortable to dangerous and Jack decided it would be wise to halt his pursuit until later.
"We'd better hurry and find the TARDIS then." Jack gestured at an empty chair and the Doctor sat down heavily. "Now, what exactly happened?"
The Doctor took a deep breath and ran his hands through his damp hair, before settling them behind his head. "Ran into a lot of trouble in the other universe. Suffice to say, I ended up a Torchwood specimen and Hope and the TARDIS were taken by Guardians."
"Guardians?"
"Alien species I haven't run into before. I assumed they were native to the other universe, but they knew about me. They must have followed the TARDIS when I traveled through the void." He pursed his lips. "Not terribly pleased with that notion."
"Rose get you out of Torchwood?"
"With Mickey the Idiot," the Doctor confirmed, nodding. "But I've been out of sorts for...actually I'm not sure how long exactly. All the fault of a Delrinean Mind Pattern Sift."
Startled, Jack sat upright, exclaiming, "And you survived?" He narrowed his eyes at the perfectly calm Time Lord. "Rose doesn't know what a close call that was, does she?"
"No. And I'd really really like to keep it that way." The Doctor leaned forward, placing his forearms on his knees. "Thing is, these Guardians not only stole my ship, but managed to utilize her new capabilities. Their ship is...well, it's considerably larger. Could have caused a lot of damage when it punched through. Probably did." He sighed. "We should have been able to travel once a year, safely. Now it might be years before it's stable enough to make the trip again." He grimaced as he rested his chin on his hands. "And in the meantime, the other Torchwood has a considerable pile of new information at their disposal. There's nothing I can do about it."
"How do you know for sure they're in this universe?"
The Doctor tapped the side of his head with one long finger. "Time Lord, Jack. I can tell Hope's here, that she exists, but not where exactly. I can't feel the TARDIS. They're both too far away."
"So...we've got to locate them."
"Yep."
"How exactly?"
"Well...Hope has this tracking device, I entirely intended to remove it, but it looks like it'll be useful. If that fails I can try and reach the TARDIS. But if they can hack into her navigation systems, they've probably blocked her signal."
"Right."
"Sir?"
Both men looked up to find Ianto standing in front of them with a tray holding two mugs.
"Coffee," Ianto explained unnecessarily, lowering the tray so they could reach. "And tea for our guest. Shall I ring Tosh?"
"Yeah, do that." Jack picked up the mug of black coffee and took an appreciative sip. "She might be able to help."
The Doctor took the other mug and sniffed the brew. His eyebrows raised at the perfect ratio of tea and sugar. "That's...how did you know?"
"I know everything," Ianto replied simply. "And I couldn't help overhearing..." He set the tray down on one of the desks. "Are you...Sir Doctor of Tardis?"
"Well...I don't like to brag."
Ianto shakily pulled out a gun which the Doctor glared at before sipping his tea.
"Ianto, put the gun down," Jack demanded, slowly standing.
"But he's the reason we were founded!"
"Run in with Queen Victoria," the Doctor commented. "She wasn't amused."
"Ianto, it's fine." Jack reached out and eased Ianto's fingers from the gun. "Really." He placed the gun on a desk and squeezed the other man's shoulders reassuringly. "Now, go call Tosh."