Disclaimer: I just realised I own Romana! Yay! But other than her, absolutely nothing.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. I started to write a chapter, then decided it would work better after this one. This chapter is dedicated to Donna Dark for being the 29th reviewer (I was born on 29th June, so it's sort of my lucky number.)

She knows she's got the advantage. And she's going to make the most of it.

"Captain Jack Harkness. Born in the 51st century. Time Agent, turned freelancer after they stole two years of your memories. Sorry, you preferred the term criminal, didn't you?"

He's more than a little spooked. If she is a mercenary, she's the youngest he's ever seen.

"Accidentally nearly destroyed the human race in 1941, after you forgot to set your alarm clock for Volcano Day. Only being ever to answer back to a Dalek. Also, apparently, the only being ever to survive being exterminated."

She moves her hand to his collar and pulls out his Tardis key. It's faintly warm.

"Come on then." He's not holding her tightly any more, it's easy to twist and fall lightly to the ground. She takes his hand. "Let's go find my dad."

Stunned, Jack follows her meekly. His brain is so occupied in thinking what the hell that he's not paying any attention to his senses. Especially touch, which is shouting loudly about there being something familiar about the temperature of the skin.

xxx

"Romana! God, I was worried- didn't you hear me shouting?" The Doctor stands by the Tardis.

She hadn't heard him shouting. Her mind had been too occupied with laughing and running to hear him.

"If you're not careful, I might have to tie you to me. Got you a book though." He pulls a small, sturdy, thick book from the cloth bag over his shoulder. It's a beautiful book, deep blue velvety cover inset with chips of something similar to mother of pearl, in a pattern she can't quite make out from where she stands, with pages of fine parchment and normally, she'd be hugging him by now but Jack still holds her hand. He's staring at the Tardis in shock.

"Don't you like it?" He's crestfallen.

"Oh yes. It's lovely. It's absolutely gorgeous. Thank you, thank you so much."

She still hasn't moved. He's bewildered.

"Shall we go then? How about Ralady, meadows with giant flowers. You'd love it."

"Dadtor… I've, sort of, found someone." And she pulls Jack out of the shadows.

The Doctor gapes, then bounds forward and crushes Jack in a hug.

"Hell! Get off me!"

The Doctor backs off and smiles. "You've changed. The old Jack wouldn't mind someone throwing themselves at him."

"Well, the new Jack likes to know their name at least."

"I know! Twenty questions! I love that game. Question number one, what is a 1960's police box doing here?"

"I imagine it's a disguise for a Tardis with a faulty chameleon circuit."

"Correct-a-mundo! Oh dear, I said it again. And who travels in space and time in a Tardis that looks like a police box?" He's grinning widely.

"The Doctor."

"So…"

"So, where's the Doctor?" Jack interrupts.

The Doctor resists the urge to roll his eyes. Stupid apes. Maybe, just maybe, one day, somebody might figure it out for themselves. But now, he has to go through this scene again. He sighs in resignation.

"Hello!"

"Hello to you too. Where's the Doctor?"

"Right here."

"What!" Jack turns in a full circle. "I don't see him."

Oh please. Rose wasn't this slow.

Rose saw me regenerate. Slightly more difficult to deny.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Er, no, you're not."

"Er, yes, I am."

"Excuse me, I know what the Doctor looks like. Big nose, big ears, leather-"

The Doctor interrupts. "You know what my ninth self looked like. I'm the tenth. New new Doctor."

"What happened to him?"

"He turned into me. Regeneration."

"But that's just a myth."

"Yes Jack, and the Time Lords were a myth, Gallifrey was a myth, the Time War was a myth."

"When…"

"Just after Satellite Five. Sorry about leaving you behind, thought you were dead."

"I was," he paused. "Why? What happened?"

"Long story. But we've got time." He bounds forward, grabs Romana's hand and pulls her back next to the Tardis. Opening the door, he pauses and looks back. "You coming then?"

"Oh yes, you're not leaving me behind again."

xxx

"So how did Rose take the regeneration?"

"It could have been better. Especially considering I did it to save her life."

"But she absorbed the Time Vortex to save your life."

"I know that! Probably might have been better if I hadn't been sleeping through an alien invasion. The Sycorax- they wanted to enslave half of Earth's population. But I woke up, saved the day, then Harriet Jones goes and blows them up," he adds in response to Jack's questioning look.

"Slaver scum deserve it."

The Doctor's eyes darken. "It was murder."

"What did the Sycorax look like?" Romana perches on the worktop. She's heard most of it before but that doesn't stop her listening avidly.

"Basic humanoid shape, sharp teeth, exoskeleton…why?"

She tries her best shrug. "Don't know, just wondered."

He's not convinced and is about to ask some awkward questions when Jack breaks in.

"Excuse me, but who actually are you? And where is Rose?"

"Umm," the Doctor glances at Romana, "well…"

Taking pity on him, Romana jumps down. "Alright, greetings lesson. When, where, who?"

"Maid, nineteenth century, England, Europe, Earth."

"Thanks a lot." She glares at the Doctor then bobs a curtsey to Jack.

"Romanadvoratrelundar Rose Delta Jacqueline Tyler, at your service."

"Okay?" She jumps back up onto the worktop.

"Full marks," the Doctor smiles approvingly.

"I hate curtseying. It's so…so simpering."

"Next stop, 1897."

"Romanawhat?" Jack exclaims belatedly.

"Romanadvoratrelundar Rose Delta Jacqueline Tyler."

"Sorry, didn't catch that. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"What is wrong with you? Was he this dense before?"

"No, Jack was always very quick-witted apart from when…" the Doctor suddenly bursts out laughing, "I know what's wrong with you."

"Do not."

"I do so! You're hungover! On Pitrainian vodka! You have no taste," he crows.

Romana's puzzled, so he explains. "Pitrainian vodka won't give you a normal hangover. You can drink as many bottles as you want, and the effects take a while to hit, but it severely impairs your mental processes until it passes out of your system. It's a bit like sleep-walking."

"Can't you just give him a tablet and then we can explain?"

"Nah, that wouldn't work. It's not a normal hangover, remember. There's only one way to cure a Pitrainian hangover and it's much more fun." He leaves the room and returns a minute later with a full bucket of water. She giggles excitedly and he flashes her a mischievous grin before dumping the icy contents over Jack's head.

A minute later, after much incomprehensible shouting, Jack is back.

"Blurrgh… what did you say your name was?"

"Romanadvoratrelundar Rose Delta Jacqueline Tyler."

"What?"

"Ro-"

"No, no, not the name. Did you say Tyler? Romana Rose Tyler? And…" He flattens the palms of his hands against her chest. "Two hearts! This Doctor's your dad?"

He suddenly appears to go inexplicably crazy, jumping up in the air and whooping loudly. "That is…fantastic! Oh, that is brilliant! You two finally stopped messing around. Congratulations! Where's Rose?"

The Doctor, who has been watching Jack's fit of insanity with a wide grin, suddenly seems to close up, darkening the room.

"I don't know."

"What-"

"I lost her, Jack. They were swallowed by a time storm. And I've only hope that they're still alive. The whole of time and space, I could search for a million years and not find them. It was my fault, my curiosity. Romana was only four months old when her family was ripped in half."

Just like Jackie five years ago, Jack picks up on the plural. "They?"

"Rose and Matthew. My wife and our son. Theta Matthew Jack Tyler. Romana's twin."

"Jack?"

"Yes, Jack, Jack. We named him after you."

"Where did you get all the names? I mean, Romana…thingy, that's a mouthful."

"Romanadvoratrelundar was a Time Lady who travelled with me. Don't look like that, it wasn't like that. Maybe, if she had stayed…but she got summoned back to Gallifrey. Died in the Time War with the rest of them. Only on her third. Rose, obviously after Rose. Delta. That's a Time Lord name as well. Alpha, Omega, Sigma. Where do you think the Greeks got the names from? And Jacqueline, after Rose's mother."

"Nice names. You lucky girl."

"Matthew is or was younger. Theta, another Time Lord name, also my name. Matt-"

"You have a name?" Jack is incredulous.

"Yes, even Gallifreyians found pronouncing my full name difficult. You wouldn't have a chance. Theta Sigma, but I prefer the Doctor, thank you, Jack."

Noting with trepidation the look in Jack's eyes, the Doctor continues, "Matthew, because Rose said she'd always loved the name, and Jack after you."

"How many times did you get slapped?"

"Only twice. And I actually asked for it."

"You what? That's just…" Jack shakes his head in disbelief, then really wishes he hadn't.

"You need to get to bed."

"I need… what about her! I must be at least thirty years older."

"Yes, but I'm not hungover on Pitrainian vodka."

"And she's a Time Lady. You know we don't need much sleep. You apes sleep about a third of your lives away."

"Oh, please tell me I'm not going to have two of you tinkering with the Tardis."

"Nope, I do that when Romana goes to bed."

"We watch films!"

"And Romana has much better taste than Rose. Goodbye, chick flicks and hello, Disney!"

"Disney? Isn't that worse?"

"Nope. I like Disney. When I was saving the world from the Sycorax, I found myself quoting the Lion King. Although Pixar is good."

Jack resists the urge to shake his head again. This was a completely different Doctor, in a completely different situation. But he can live with that, already warming to this Doctor and his daughter.

"So you get to bed. Sleep off the rest of that hangover. And we'll go watch something." He turns to his daughter. "What do you think? Early 21st century? How about Monsters Inc.?"

Romana stares at him. She can feel the rational part of her brain shutting down, making way for that tiny part. And she is helpless, feeling the laughter rise up and overwhelm her.

"Romana?"

"The lizard-thing!" she gasps, breathless with laughter.

And in between bouts of laughter, the Doctor extracts the whole story from Romana. The laughter stops when she sees how angry he is. But she doesn't see his reaction to her tale of the woman with orange hair; a flicker of an eyelid and a quickly smothered expression. When she's finished, he storms out of the kitchen. Running behind, Romana and Jack follow him into the console room, where he's already yanking controls. As the Tardis settles, he snaps "Stay here" and is gone.

Jack tries to restrain her; withstanding elbows in his stomach, kicks at his ankles and scratches on the back of his hands, but when she kicks her leg up behind her, the pain is excruciating. His grip loosens for a second but that's all she needs, throwing across the room at the door. It rattles slightly but otherwise doesn't move. She pounds on it several times before sinking to the floor, sobbing hopelessly. He's locked it from the outside. She offers no resistance as he scoops her up and carries her out of the room. The Tardis is most helpful and positions a room which he assumes is hers just outside the control room. He lays her down on the bed and sits down next to her as she continues crying into the wall. Slowly her sobs fade and her breathing slows. She's cried herself to sleep. He takes the opportunity to study the room. It looks a lot like Rose's did. Pretty coverlet on the bed, but purple instead of pink. Alien oddments displayed on every surface. Bedside table, lamp, photo. He studies the photograph. This new Doctor and Romana, standing by an ornate sandcastle made from sparkling purple sand. Judging from the amount of sand they were covered in, they'd built it themselves. He wondered who had taken the photo. Looking round the room, he spots two more photo frames. He crosses the room to study them. One of her with Jackie, and one of Rose holding a baby, who stares at the camera deadpan. She looks so happy. He studies the child, dressed in a white unisex stretchsuit. Big ears. This must be Romana's missing brother. He thinks he recognises the background. Kallimonteg. Judging by the crowds, the annual Festival. Abandoned soon after the economic collapse caused by the massacre of the photographers. Their economy was based on an almost religious sect of photographers, who treated photography as a revered art. Problem was, no one recognised that until the photographers were gone. Paranoia. It's wiped out hundreds, if not thousands of civilisations. He's roused from his thoughts by the sound of the Tardis engines.

He runs through the corridors; the Tardis has moved the bedroom away from the console room and stops in the doorway to the console room. The Doctor is bent over the railing, retching.

"What did you do?" He hates the sound of his own voice, intruding.

The Doctor straightens up. "Nothing permanent. But he won't be kidnapping any more children."

"You frightened her," Jack is expressionless. "She was frightened…not of you, but for you. She didn't know what you were going to do, anything could have happened."

The Doctor doesn't appear to have heard. He draws a long shuddering breath. "A cellar full of small girls. An underground slave market. All the girls that weren't educated enough, or pretty enough, or passive enough. All the girls that weren't wanted. Knockdown prices, but the product wasn't guaranteed good condition. And they all looked like Romana."

"She's asleep. She cried herself to sleep. She's in her bedroom."

The Doctor brushed past him. Jack knew without turning round that he'd gone to Romana's room.

xxx

(Two hours later)

She stirred, slowly returning to consciousness. He tightened his arms round her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm here. Don't worry, I'm here. I'm so sorry, Romana, I'll never leave you again." Smiling, warm and safe, she drifted back to sleep.

A/N: Wow, I managed to write a long chapter. Next chapter should be up soon because I've already written some of it. But I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter, so please review.