A/N: This chapter is, I think, the second last one. So please read it and review, and hang in there! xD

Chapter Sixteen.

Jack was in London, the bombs whistling as they fell through the sky. The explosions were incredible, the sky lighting up with orange flames. Shivering in terror, he prayed. He always prayed during an air raid. It was the only time when he'd beg for survival. No Germans were going to destroy Captain Jack Harkness, so sir! He was too good for those bloodthirsty Nazis. Well, there was one German Private who had a knee-trembling smile… No!

"Jack," a voice whispered and the captain glanced around sharply. Rose was gazing at him in concern and he realised that the explosions weren't German bombs. They were huge chunks of debris falling from the ruined planet earth, crashing murderously to the ground.

"Sorry," he apologised. "I was day dreaming…"

Rose squeezed his hand, giving him a sympathetic smile and his heart went out to her. How she could be so strong after all she'd been through… It never failed to amaze him.

----

The world was fuzzy and brown, and nothing quite made sense. There was a funny green glow over there, just a little bit. Ooh, there's a funny thing there… Oh, it's only a foot… The Doctor was regaining consciousness slowly, and his brain wasn't quite functioning properly yet. Everything appeared strange and bemusing, and he became quickly fascinated with his pockets. His hand went in and vanished… Back out, and there it was! What fun! It took him several minutes to get bored of this and actually wonder what he was doing on the floor and where he was. Ah! Of course. He was in the TARDIS and he'd just blown up the Universe. Oh, hold on. That's not right…

He painfully got to his feet and touched the tender lump that was forming on the back of his head. What had happened? He'd pulled the lever and then darkness had consumed him. Had he died? In a moment of panic the Doctor ran his hands over his body and face. Nope, still the same man; he hadn't regenerated. Can't have been too bad. Had it worked then? Had the planet been sent back into the Void? The Doctor bounded over to the door and swung it open. He grasped the sides of the doorway, frowning in confusion. The planet was there, or what was left of it anyway. It was dusty and crumbling, large chunks breaking away and hurtling through the sky before landing with a great crash, clouds of dust billowing up from the impact.

He was thoroughly disorientated now. If it hadn't worked then it should've blasted both he and the TARDIS into nothing. But glancing behind he saw that the TARDIS appeared to be perfectly fine.

"What?" he demanded and the TARDIS burbled in response. He sighed. Well, if she wasn't going to be any help then he'd have to investigate for himself. He strode over to the console, gingerly pressing a few buttons. No explosions, so she was clearly unaffected by the events. He set the coordinates and clung on, ready to make the short journey back to Pogon's surface.

----

At last the shaking and crashing stopped. Jack peered out from under the table tentatively and waited several moments before carefully extricating himself. Theta was whimpering and Rose held him close, a steely expression upon her face. Jack noticed that she looked tired and drained, and was looking a lot older from all the stress. He climbed carefully over large piles of rubble, gazing around at the mess. He sighed, before choking and spluttering.

"Rose, don't breathe in," he gasped, rubbing at his throat as he coughed. "Air's full o' dust and crap."

He bent over, gasping for breath until the choking coughs subsided. Frowning he made his way out of the remnants of their house and stepped outside. The planet of Pogon was almost unrecognisable. The beautiful blue ground was hidden by layers of brown dust, dirt, rubble and debris. The lavender sky was dark with clouds, but no sign of the planet or scarring was visible. Houses had been smashed to almost nothing, but some were relatively unharmed and mostly intact. With a weary sigh Jack began to call out.

"It's safe! Come out if you can! If anyone is injured or trapped, stay where you are."

The inhabitants of Pogon slowly emerged. They walked, limped and staggered towards Jack, gathering around him with relief etched on their features. Some had cuts and bruises on their bodies, blood drying on their pale blue bodies, but they were all smiling. Jack felt a sudden overwhelming urge to cry at all the strength, courage, bravery that he was seeing. His view on the world was changing continuously, and he was inspired.

"You survived," he started, voice cracking with emotion. "We survived. And bloody hell it feels good to be alive."

There was an approving murmur from the gathered aliens and Jack had to bite back the tears before continuing.

"There are still others who are trapped and injured, so it's our job as survivors to find them and help them. Let's get to work."

The determined individuals marched off, ready to rescue, and Jack was about the follow when he heard a wonderfully familiar sound. The grating whooshing sound filled the air and Jack could no longer contain his emotions. He fell to the ground, tears cascading down his cheeks as he revelled in the magnificent sound of love, safety, second chances. The sound of the Universe. The TARDIS.

"Doctor," the captain sobbed as he watched the Time Lord step outside. Concern was immediately apparent on the Doctor's face and he raced over to the captain's side.

"Jack, what's happened?" he demanded, placing a hand gently on Jack's shaking shoulder. "Are you alright? Is it Rose? Theta? What's happened dammit!"

"We survived," Jack choked, unable to stop the flow of tears. "We did it. We made it…"

The Doctor was speechless as Jack clung to him, crying desperately. They'd survived… They'd survived! And it really hit him then. He began to laugh and leapt to his feet, dragging the captain up with him.

"We survived!" he cried, laughing manically. "Jack, we did it! We made it! Ha!"

And then Jack was joining in with the laughter. The two men clung to each other, laughing hysterically and grinning with the pure joy of being alive. The simple things one took for granted. Air in the lungs, blood in the veins, the thudding heart beats. They were alive, and it was fantastic. And then Jack was kissing him.

"Mkuh," the Doctor said incoherently against Jack's persisting lips. He tried to protest but soon realised that nothing would put the captain off, so gave in and responded. Naturally, Rose chose this moment to step outside to see what all the fuss was. She stood there and gaped, clutching Theta to her chest in shock. The baby gurgled in protest and she quickly loosened her grasp slightly, not taking her eyes off the snogging couple in front of her.

"Doctor…" she whispered, wondering if she was perhaps delirious. Suddenly her mind was made up. "Jack!"

The angry shout made both men pull away quickly and whip around in shock. There was Rose, fury on her face, storming towards them. Jack lifted his hands in a surrendering gesture, but instead had a baby thrust at him. He quickly grabbed Theta and watched in mild amusement as Rose let loose a full Tyler slap.

"Ow!" the Doctor cried, rubbing his cheek and glaring at her. "D'you mind?"

"You…" Rose paused, trying to find the right words. "You… Oh, stuff it."

She glared at him for a moment longer before grabbing his tie and pulling him forcefully towards her, slamming her lips against his. She kissed him with such passion and force that the Doctor was almost knocked off his feet. Quickly regaining his balance he let his arms snake around the woman's waist and pulled her close against him. Jack grinned and rocked Theta, unable to stop the elation bubbling up in his chest. Life was perfect right now.

"Doctor," Rose said when at last she pulled away. "Why were you snogging Jack?"

"Ah, in actual fact he was snogging me," the Doctor said matter-of-factly. Rose shook her head before breaking into a grin.

"And you weren't resisting. Ah well, at least you didn't pull away when I snogged you. I'd really start to worry if you did that."

"Two snogs in less than five minutes," the Doctor mused. "It really is my lucky day."

TBC…

Yeah, I think it's gonna be second last, this chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought and why, and if there's anything you'd like to see in the next (last) chapter!