Martha looked around her in astonishment.
"Where the hell am I?"
The future-Jack looked at her blankly. He shrugged and grabbed her hand to try and lead her away.
"You follow, please."
There were the manners the Doctor had mentioned. "They'll kill you, but they'll do it politely" Oh great, she had spent the last year or so travelling with Jack and the Doctor and she was going to end up with a polite death?
Once he had grabbed her, she had been taken to the middle of a nearby wood, and she could tell he was lost. He retraced their steps, still clasping her hand tightly. Martha hated how this Jack's hand felt. It was cold and clammy, and yet the Jack Harkness she had come to love had a soft and gentle but firm grip. She closed her eyes and let herself be led away, knowing there was no way the Doctor would be thinking of her. Not now he was with Rose again. She felt tears seep from under her closed eyelids as she pictured the two of them together.
----
Meanwhile, back at the hospital, the Doctor was helping Rose back into her usual clothes. The doctors had been amazed at how any sign of pain had completely vanished from her body, and had let her go home, where Jackie, Pete and little Bethany were waiting. Smiling, Rose shrugged into her jacket and clasped the Doctor's hand in hers. She wasn't letting him get away again.
"Doctor?"
"Mmm?"
"How long are you here for?"
"We'll be leaving again as soon as possible."
A silence fell between them, almost teasing both of them. The Doctor decided to settle the question.
"Do you want to come with us?"
Rose grinned and leapt into his arms. He caught her and laughed, holding her close.
"Take that as a yes, then."
Rose giggled.
"Wait, what about Mum? Mickey? Dad and Beth?"
The Doctor thought for a second.
"We could take them back to the estate. Back to the day after you left home?"
Rose smiled.
"So it's like we never left?"
The Doctor nodded and laughed again as Rose threw herself at him once more. She wouldn't let go, and they were both giggling as the Doctor carried her to the door of the hospital wing, where they came face to face with Jack. He had a puzzled look on his face.
"Anyone seen Martha?"
-----
Martha was by the Tardis. Future-Jack had led her by the hand to it, and was now pointing at it expressively. Martha understood what he wanted.
"It's rude to point" she commented in a bitter fashion, and her attacker hung his head in what appeared to be shame. Fighting back an urge to laugh, Martha hopped into the Tardis, followed closely by the new Jack.
"Please, God, help me" she murmured.
As soon as these quiet words escaped her lips, the dark and silent Tardis hummed back into life.
"I love you!" she thought – knowing full well that the Tardis would understand her. But how would it get rid of the new Jack?
-------
The Doctor froze. Martha! In all the excitement about finding Rose, he had completely forgotten about her.
"Jack, you go back to the Tardis, I'll check places I know she'd want to visit. Rose, honey, you go back to Jackie and Pete and pack! Hang on…" he stopped to plant a long kiss on Rose's lips, leaving her feeling dizzy and light-headed before running off with a wicked grin plastered on his face. Rose was finally his!
"I've always been yours, silly!" shouted Rose after him, and he turned on his heel to give her a cheeky wink before he turned his concentration back to Martha.
-----
As Jack – the normal Jack – rounded the corner, he was surprised to see that the Tardis' doors were open and somebody was inside.
"Martha?" he called.
A slight pause. Then –
"Jack!"
Jack started to sprint towards the Tardis. She sounded like she was in trouble. Through the doors, up the ramp, Jack was now at the centre of the Tardis, but he could not see Martha anywhere.
"Jack!"
Spinning on his heel, Jack found where the voice was coming from. He felt sick to the stomach once he saw the future version of himself, but shook it off quickly and started to run towards the struggling couple. He paused as he was about to start wrestling him off Martha, remembering something the Doctor had said before. If the two of them made contact…
The only thing he could do at the moment was to stall him – make sure he didn't hurt Martha. He stared at the other Jack for a moment.
"What do you want? Why are you here?"
The future Jack opened his mouth, closed it again and then started to speak.
"Doctor…travel…back to way I was. Before no death."
Jack understood and breathed a sigh of relief. So he just wanted to go back to how he was now. Well, who could blame him?
"You can't reverse this. You can never die. Remember what the Doctor said?"
The future version of Jack didn't seem to accept this. He let go of Martha and shoved her aside, before lunging at Jack, who dodged.
"No!" he yelled "You touch me and a universe collapses!"
Future Jack snarled.
"Then maybe I die…finally."
Jack finally understood the whole thing. This Jack wanted to die. Tired of living, he wanted to end it all. But…
Jack's eyes widened as he realised that that would literally be him in the future.
-----
Rose was waiting for the Doctor with Jackie, Pete and Bethany, her bags packed and her patience starting to leave her. Finally he appeared at the door, a worried look on his face.
"Took your time! Did you find her?"
The Doctor shook his head.
"I feel terrible, I was supposed to look after her."
Rose sighed.
"Did you check the Tardis?"
The Doctor's eyes widened. How could he have been so stupid? He had forgotten to check the most likely place she'd be! Rose raised an eyebrow.
"Idiot. Come on."
The others followed Rose out of the door. Mickey had chosen to stay behind with his Nan, so after a tearful goodbye, he had left.
As they rounded the corner to where the Tardis was, the Doctor broke into a sprint as he heard Jack's cries of fear and astonishment coming from within.