No intro, just straight into it...

"Captain Jack Harkness I presume," Rose spoke as the doors sealed behind her.

Jack looked up from where he was lying on the bed, a smile crossing his face as he watched her placing the champagne and food on the table. "And who might you be?" he asked as he hopped to his feet to shake her hand.

"Rose Tyler," she answered, forcing herself not to hug him. He looked even more like her Jack close up. "Shall we get down to business?" she asked, pouring two flutes of champagne and passing him one.

He eyed the glass, sniffing the contents. "This isn't business, this is champagne," he told her, raising a brow.

She smiled back. "I try to never discuss business with a clear head," she replied, downing the glass and pouring herself another. Last time it had been his looks that had made her feel calm enough to drink, this time she was drinking so she was calm enough to look at him.

He nodded appreciatively. "Me neither," he told her before following suit. "Cheers," he declared, extending his second glass to hers.

She gave a small nod before clinking glasses. After a moment, her eyes looked hungrily at the food, trying to remember the last time she'd had a proper meal. "Do you mind?" she asked indicating towards it.

"Not at all, after all you are the one who provided it," he replied as he watched her sit down and wolf down a bread roll before looking through what other food had been provided. "Geez, don't they feed you here?" he asked, eyebrows raised as she continued eating.

She eyed him, trying not to blush as her hunger consumed her. "You tell me, I've only just arrived."

"Not usually this well," he answered, sitting down and helping himself.

A few minutes later Rose sighed, feeling fuller than she had in months. She finished off her drink and placed the glass gently on the table as she leaned back in her seat, aware that Jack was watching her every move. She delved her hands into her pockets, retrieving his weapon and wrist console and placed them on the table between them. "So, what can you tell me Jack?" she asked, leaning back relaxed in her chair.

Jack glanced at the two items before eyeing her warily. "You tell me," he replied.

"Tell me something I don't know," she said almost pleadingly. Tell me Time Lords exist here, or that you really are the Jack I once knew. That you and the Doctor made it through somehow, she thought desperately.

He frowned at her, folding his arms across his still bare chest as he lent back in his seat. "How bout you tell me what you know first."

Rose sighed, not so much in exasperation as disappointment. He really was a different man. She tilted her head back taking a deep breath. "Well you're not alien, human like the rest of us. Well...like the rest of us will be in a few hundred years," she began, standing and pacing the room. "You're a conman that likes to think of himself as a criminal. You're very flexible when it comes to...dancing," she couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips, instead turning away from him to try hide it. "And now you probably think I work for another agency beginning with T that isn't Torchwood, even though I don't. Oh and you think what you're doing now is going to help you escape, but it isn't," she finished, turning back to face him, to find he'd put the wrist console back on and held the weapon as she'd expected him too. "It's just going to piss you off really," she added shrugging.

He just smiled at her charmingly. "Now that's where you're wrong. This is definitely going to help me escape," he replied.

"Wanna bet a hyper vodka on that?" she asked, raising a brow.

He just laughed as he opened the console and began pressing buttons. The smile quickly faded as he frowned at it. "What the hell!" he seethed as nothing happened. "No one knows how to operate this but me!"

"Told you it'd just piss you off," Rose teased.

"Tell me what you've done!" he yelled, pointing the weapon at her and taking a few steps forward to the centre of the room.

She just raised an amused brow at him, shaking her head softly.

"Don't think I won't hurt you just because you're a woman," he said, still glaring at her.

Rose marched forward, stopping when she was right in front of him. "You make a threat like that, you better be prepared to follow it through. See, if you don't stop pointing that at me ... I really will hurt you."

She could tell he was trying his best not to smile because she was too. It felt like a minute, but was probably a few seconds, then she shrugged and left hooked him, his weapon sent flying by the shock.

Jack returned in kind with a right hook.

"That's gonna leave a mark," she quipped before ramming her fist into his stomach, not entirely surprised when he half laughed as she stepped away. A moment later she was bent over having just received a kick to her own stomach.

Jack stuck his tongue out at her, opening his arms out invitingly before smiling cheekily.

Not one to turn down an invitation, Rose ran at him meaning to knock him over, but he was ready for her, moving and grabbing her in such a way that sent her falling to the other side of the room. Not even fully landed, she rolled onto her knees, unable to hide the evil glint in her eye.

Jack had a right hook waiting for her when she stood, but she returned it with two of her own before he grabbed her arm and began jabbing her in the stomach.

Rose crouched low, getting in closer before flinging her head back, connecting with his chin and sending him flying backwards.

He went to kick her as she advanced, but she grabbed his leg, rotating it and sending him flying to the floor.

The fight went on, fast and furious and, as much as she hated to admit it, completely exhilarating. There was just something primal about it, something she'd never felt during another fight, and she was loving it!

It was only as she spotted the mirror after another blow that she remembered she might have an audience. She sighed knowing she was going to have to draw this to a close.

Taking advantage of her pause, Jack grabbed her from behind, one arm wrapping round her chest to shoulder, the other grabbing her gun from her leg holster, drawing it to her temple. "Never a good idea to stop for a breather in the middle of a fight," he growled into her ear, sounding disappointed that it was over so soon.

"Nor to misjudge a bluff," she purred back, grabbing the hand with the gun as she bent forward, sending him flying over her. He landed firmly on his back a moment before she landed on his hips, pistol now pointing directly at his heart.

As the frown Jack had warn from the pain dissolved into a charming grin once more, her own smile at victory turned into a frown.

"Ugh Jack!" she whinged, pulling herself off his own protruding pistol.

"What?" he asked innocently, trying to hold her down, but too late as she stood over him, pulling him up roughly.

There was a knock on the cell door and Jake poked his head in. "Sorry to interrupt," he told them with a coy smile.

Rose glared at him. "We were fighting!"

"Didn't look like fighting," Jake replied, wiggling his brows.

"Didn't feel like it either," Jack added from behind her.

She glared over her shoulder at him. "Oh go have a cold shower!" she scolded before turning back to Jake, forcing herself not to react to Jack's chuckling.

When he mumbled, "Only if you join me," in response, she decided to stop denying herself the reaction, shooting her elbow backwards into his stomach, a smile crossing her face once more at the sound of his groan. "As you were saying Jake?" she asked as though the last thirty seconds hadn't happened.

Jake on the other hand, was covering his mouth to hide his own laugher.

Rose raised a brow at him. "Don't think I won't do the same to you," she told him warily.

"Promises, promises," he replied as always, before he grew serious once more. "Looks like there's another alien down here."

Rose frowned. "Alien as in human alien or alien as in an actual alien alien?" she asked.

"Alien as in they won't even let us see it alien. Apparently they think of it as space junk 'cause they were all prepped to sell it in private auction before they sealed shut."

Rose's frown deepened.

"Can you believe that? Fifty years of being sold from one collection to the next, never even thinking what it might be capable of!"

"Show me," she replied, marching out the room.

"So guess I'll see you back here when you're ready for a rematch," Jack called after her.

Rose turned back. "You're free to go Jack, you're not an alien threat," she told him before marching back out.

"That doesn't stop me from being a threat though," he retorted, following her.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's see, you have no weapons, you have no ship, and right now you barely even have any clothes! At this point mouse spit sounds more threatening."

"Mouse spit?" Jake asked as he walked beside her.

"Not Earth mouth spit...I don't even think Earth mice can spit," she added, before shaking her head at its unimportance. "Let me guess, top dog has a problem with us seeing his prized possession?"

"Top dog who gets snippy if you call him anything but Mr Hartman, yup."

Rose frowned again. "Any relation to Yvonne Hartman?"

"I'd say so, but haven't been able to confirm," Jake replied.

"Jack why are you still following us?" Rose asked without turning.

Jack looked up surprised, not realising she'd noticed. "Oh welll umm--"

"Just stop it," she cut him off as they reached Mr Hartman and his team. "Mr Hartman, I believe you've got another alien for me to check out?" she asked, looking bored and not just a little annoyed.

"What the devil happened to you? And why's the prisoner loose?" he asked, looking incredulous.

Rose groaned. Her adrenaline was still pumping so the aches and pains of the fight hadn't settled in yet. She could only imagine what her rough and tumbled appearance would look like. "He's no longer a prisoner Mr Hartman. We have no jurisdiction to hold humans prisoner, even if they're in possession of spacecraft. The other alien?" she prompted, very much tired of his company already.

"Right...right," he said frowning, apparently having given up on not letting them see it. He opened a large sealed door and escorted her in. "It's really quite harmless. Other than occasional screams it's been quite dormant," he spoke almost proudly.

"Screams?" Rose asked almost horrified. But as he flicked the lights, she felt a terror and loss like she never had before, or at least not in the last ten years. There, in the middle of the room, just like in Utah, was a chained up Dalek. She backed to the wall behind without thinking, one hand's fingers clawing at it as though trying to scrape her way out while the other went instinctively to the pendant around her neck, her eyes remaining transfixed on the alien.

"Can you identify it Miss Tyler?" Mr Hartman asked, seemingly amused by her sudden turn in confidence.

"Rose, that thing, it's..." Jake trailed off as he went to her. "It can't be, can it?" he asked, looking back over his shoulder at it once more.

Rose swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing herself to get a grip, even if it was only by the skin of her teeth. "Jake get everyone out of here. If you don't hear back from me within half an hour, seal the base completely," she told him, her eyes never leaving the Dalek.

"But Rose--"

"JUST DO IT!" she yelled at him, her eyes blazing.

"You heard her! Out!" Jake yelled, getting back in action, forcing everyone out.

"And Jake," she said softly as he hustled them all through the door.

He turned, giving her a smile that let her know he knew she hadn't meant it.

"If I umm don't make it, tell--"

"Tell them yourself," he cut her off. "I've seen what you can do Rose Tyler. One of them isn't about to stop you," he told her grinning as he squeezed her shoulder before turning back to the crowd. "Didn't you hear me? I said MOVE!!"

Rose couldn't help but laugh, wanting to point out to him he'd said 'out' but deciding against it, instead telling him to radio her when the base was empty. Then her eyes fell on Jack, who was staring at her. "That includes you Jack."

"I'm not going anywhere. Those things aren't meant to exist!" he told her, pointing at the Dalek.

"Yeah well, I've seen a lot of the impossible in my time," she replied walking slowly towards the creature that had haunted her nightmares for so many years. She made her way around it slowly watching for any sort of response, though none came.

She made her way back to the computer she spotted in the opposite corner to the door. It didn't take long to find the surveillance and she watched as different areas of the base were evacuated. Seeing the last few making their way to the reception, she turned back to face him. "This is your last chance Jack. If you don't leave now I can't guarantee your safety."

"I'm not going anywhere," he repeated firmly, folding his arms to prove his point.

Rose sighed, but nodded her acceptance.

"Rose, they're all out, I'm about to hop in the lift, over," Jake's voice came over her radio.

Rose pulled it out. "Roger that. Next time don't take so long," she quipped.

"Like to see you do it faster. Good luck. Out."

She watched the lift doors close before heading back to the Dalek. "Hello?" she asked tentively. "Dalek, are you still alive? I'm here to sort this out…hopefully for the last time."

"Yes," it stated simply.

"Right, still alive, there goes that hope," she mumbled, before speaking up once more. "How did you get here?"

"What is the meaning of this question?" it replied.

"How are you in this universe?" she clarified. "Daleks don't exist in this universe, how did you get here?"

"What is the meaning of this question?" it repeated.

Rose sighed exasperated. "Okay, in a parallel universe to this one Daleks existed yeah? But they don't in this one. How did you get from that one to this one?"

"You lie! Daleks are supreme, we exist in all universes!" it screeched at her.

Balling her hands into fists, she gritted her teeth. "No, you don't. Look, I'm going to charge you back up so you can see alright?"

"Rose no!! You can't, those things--"

"I know what I'm doing Jack," she cut him off. "You had your chance to leave, now let me do what I have to." Turning to face the Dalek once more, she slowly reached out a hand, touching it for only a moment, her hand still burnt.

"Genetic material extrapolated – initiate cellular reconstruction!" it screeched, and they watched as it broke the chains that bound it.

Rose bit her lip, hoping she was doing the right thing. "Okay, now plug yourself into the computer, it'll show you everything," she instructed.

The Dalek eyed her before doing as told, ramming into the screen. Electricity coursed through it and it wailed as the peeling metal bent back into shape, the rust fading away, leaving what looked like a brand new Dalek in its place. After a few long minutes it withdrew. "I have been searching for the Daleks," it told them.

"Yeah? And what did you find?" Rose asked as though she didn't already know.

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes," it continued.

"And?" she asked again, shoving her hands deep in her pockets.

"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?"

Rose could feel Jack's eyes on her, but she kept her gaze on the Dalek. "I told you, there aren't any Daleks here."

"Where are they?" it asked.

She swallowed hard once more. "Dead."

"You lie!" it screeched once more, aiming its laser at her. "Exterminate!"

"Rose!"

"Stay back Jack!" Rose yelled, her gaze focused on him as the Dalek fired three shots, not one hitting her. Knowing he was going to stay put, she turned back to the Dalek. "You can't kill me can you?"

"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose!!" It fired off a few more shots, all as effective as the first three.

"What're you waiting for then?"

"I feel your loss," it replied, as surprised as you'd ever hear a Dalek sound.

"Daleks tend to bring it up yeah," she choked out, feeling her eyes burning.

"Daleks do not feel! Must not feel!" It fired off another set of beams. "You gave me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't just regenerate you. You absorbed my DNA. You're mutating."

"Into what?"

"Something new...I'm sorry, it was the only way." At that moment Rose hated herself. Not for bringing the Dalek back, not for helping it, but for actually feeling truly sorry for being the one to kill it. Despite everything they'd done, all the pain and loss they'd caused her, she still hated to be the one to kill this one.

"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness...Rose...give me orders! Order me to die!!"

Rose gulped. She'd ordered the first Dalek she'd met to die. The next half a million and one, including the Emperor, she turned to dust with the Time Vortex. And then there were the millions that she helped send back into the void. So really she'd killed a fair few Daleks in her time. And yet she still wanted to show this one mercy, to let it live.

"I shall not be like you!! Order my destruction!! Obey! Obey! Obey!" it yelled, sick of waiting for her to do as told.

"Do it," she mumbled at last.

"Do you grieve, Rose?" it asked suddenly.

Rose nodded before choking out, "Yeah."

"So do I," it replied, before it gave one last feeble, "Exterminate."

Rose took a few steps back as it elevated into the air and the golden knobs detached themselves, surrounding the Dalek in a perfect sphere. The Dalek glowed briefly, and then exploded inside the sphere, vanishing into nothing.

Jack stared at the place where it disappeared, stunned, not noticing the single tear that ran down Rose's cheek, though he did notice her marching out the room.

"Where are you going?" he called as he hurried after her.

"Home...well not home, just away from here. I suggest you do the same," she replied, tossing an item back at him.

"What the?" he frowned looking at it.

"Battery of your wrist console, I trust you remember how to put it back," she stopped turning to face him once more. "Good bye Captain Jack Harkness," she spoke confidently, forcing a smile, before turning on her heal once more and continuing to the lifts, pulling her radio out as she did. "Jake, it's all clear. Sorry but I'm leaving you with the clean up again."

"Roger that. Told you you could do it," came the reply, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "You gonna be around long enough for farewells?"

"Sorry, I'm already gone. Out." She finished as she stepped into the lift, glaring as Jack stepped in after her. "I believe I said good bye Jack."

"Yeah well, I didn't," he replied with a charming grin.

"Are you following me?" she asked, raising a brow.

His smile grew as he nodded, "Yeah."

She sighed deeply. "Just go back to your ship and go home Jack," she told him firmly.

"Can't. Don't know where the valet parked it." His smile was becoming infuriating as she held her emotions in check by a thread.

"There's an emergency teleport on your wrist console," she told him slowly, as though he wasn't smart enough to have figured it out himself. "Now are you gonna stop following me?" she asked as they stepped out onto the roof.

"I don't think so, no," he replied, looking out at the view of the city.

"Well I do," Rose retorted, grabbing his arm and pressing the combination that initiated the teleport.

"Hey!" the word was barely out before he disappeared.

Sighing, Rose sat on the ledge, letting her head flop forward. It was for the best. If today had shown her anything it was that despite all the time that had passed, memories still tore through her like steel blades.

As the first sob racked through her, she longed for the man that had consoled her last time she'd ordered a Dalek to die.

Hope you enjoyed it. The fight scene was from the lovely Captain John/Jack fight, which I'd only just seen before writing this (shows how long this has been waiting to be posted!) and mouse spit is all Beck's fault! Please review, they make my inbox happy ;)