AN: Hey guys, just a quick huge thank you to The Chibi's Are Stalking MeRommie's VoiceEmela and welcome to the lovely rosie-bec, bout time you stopped by :-p Those that are reading and haven't reviewed, if you could take just that couple extra minutes out your day to just put in a word that would be ab fab :-) Ooh and could someone let me know how to do that line across the page? And now to find out how that needle hunt is going…
"I'm starting to see why the TA avoided these places Doc," Jack said as he squelched back into the Tardis, glaring at the Doctor who was still perfectly dry.
The Doctor didn't take too much notice though as he went back over to the controls, raking a hand through his hair as he looked at the monitor. Eight hours and a few hundred planets later and they were still no closer to finding a cure.
"Doctor?" they heard her weak call from the other room.
The Doctor looked over at Jack pleadingly, he couldn't face her right now, not when nothing had changed, there was no good news.
Jack sighed, wiping a bit of the green slime from his face and flinging it at him. "You owe me," he told him making his way out the room.
"And you're cleaning that up!" the Doctor retorted as he watched the slime he'd stepped out of the way of slop against the wall and gradually ooze downwards.
"Hey sweetie, what's up?" Jack asked as he entered the infirmary.
Rose looked at him, not even bothering to suppress the laugh that escaped her. "Did you just run into Slimer or something?" she asked once her laughter had subsided.
"Ha ha," he replied as he looked in the mirror on the wall near her bed, using some of the goop as gel, much to her amusement. "Let's just say you don't want to get caught in the rain on that planet," he informed her as he contemplated taking off his jacket, deciding against it when he noticed he could see his breath.
Rose raised a brow at him. "You mean the Doctor looks like that too?" she asked, sticking her tongue between her teeth.
"Nope, he just happened to have a one person umbrella in his pocket," he scowled. "He could have at least had a golf umbrella in there," he spoke over her laughter
Finally getting her laughter under control she looked at him seriously. "We've been doing a lot of travelling." She watched as Jack busied himself with wrapping his jacket tightly around him before sitting down, not meeting her gaze. "The Tardis will only tell me you two are looking for the cure." Still he wouldn't meet her gaze, and in doing so practically confirmed her fear. "Is there a cure Jack?"
"Course," he said a bit too quickly.
"Is there a known cure?" she specified, knowing he wouldn't lie outright to her, but might evade the truth. And she was right; she knew she was as soon as he hung his head.
Jack swallowed a few times before he had the strength to speak. "We'll find one Rosie," he told her with more confidence than he felt.
"It's getting worse Jack. I've never felt hot when I can see my own breath! It's as though my insides are boiling and…" she trailed off as she watched him cringe as he stared intently at his shoe. "Is that what's going to happen? I'll get so hot my insides boil?" she asked horrified. Her eyes went wide as he continued to say nothing. "How long do I have?" she whispered, not sure she wanted to know. And yet he still didn't respond. "Tell me Jack!" she said in the sternest voice she could muster.
"We're going to find a cure Rose," he told her as he finally met her gaze, his eyes shimmering.
"How long?" she repeated, feeling an impossibly large lump form in her throat.
He hung his head for a moment again, contemplating it, in the end deciding she deserved to know. "A couple hours at best," he said softly, taking her hand in his. "But we'll find the cure."
Rose swallowed the lump in her throat, giving a small nod before wiping the tears from her eyes. Then she took a deep breath. "Doctor!" she yelled as loud as she possibly could before getting to her feet.
"Rose I don't think this is such…" he trailed off at the fury in her eyes, knowing any injustice he might have still felt about getting left behind by the Doctor would be more than paid with what was surely to come.
The Doctor came running in, his look of worry increasing when he saw Rose out of bed. "Rose," he said as he ran over to her.
The sound of her hand meeting his cheek filled the room, red imprints of each of her fingers a reminder once the sound had faded. But the stinging of his skin and the pain of his slightly dislodged jaw were nothing compared to the look she gave him when he finally turned to meet her gaze. Her hurt was evident in her shimmering eyes, as she softly shook her head sadly at him, a frown creasing her forehead.
"You should have told me," she said softly, breaking the silence that had enveloped them. "I've only got a few hours to live, why wouldn't you tell me that Doctor? Why?" she asked, a single tear trickling down her cheek.
He stepped towards her but she stepped back. "We're going to find a way Rose," he said passionately, his gaze boring into hers.
"Find a way? There isn't one! You'd have me lie here till I died!"
"You're not going to die!" he yelled back, stunning her into silence. "I won't let you Rose, I will find a way. Even if it means searching every time, every universe, I'll do it," he told her, thankful that she let him move closer now. He held her face between his hands as he met her worried gaze with one of determination. "You promised me forever remember? Don't think you're getting out of it this easily," he said softly, a smile crossing his face as she smiled at him.
"Think you might want to drop me off at mum's then," she told him, rolling her eyes at his look of horror. "While I'm in the Tardis my timeline keeps going. If I'm out of it you can drop me off, spend years searching and be back before I've had a chance to have a cup of tea," she told him reasonably.
His look of horror evaporated as pure joy took its place. "Rose Tyler you're a genius!" he exclaimed, kissing her on the forehead, racing out the room to the control room, though turning at the door, running back and picking her up in a tight hug, even spinning her around a couple times for good measure before placing her gently back on the bed and running out again.
Jack eyed her warily as his gut screamed at him that something was amiss.
She didn't meet his gaze though, just stared off at the door waiting for the Doctor's return.
He didn't keep them waiting, bounding into the room less than a minute later. "Shan't be long, should arrive in our usual parking space in just a few minutes," he said with his charming boyish grin, all the worry of the past few hours having evaporated by the hope Rose had just created. He even hopped onto the bed beside her bumping his shoulder against hers and giving her an even broader grin.
She smiled back, nodding slightly woozily. "Think you can manage packing some of my stuff for me? Just the basics," she added as he jumped up with just a bit too much enthusiasm. Turning to Jack she shook her head. "Can you keep an eye on him? Don't think mum would be too impressed if she found an actual kitchen sink in my pack," she said giving him a smile.
He returned it hesitantly, but nodded before following the Doctor out. He quickly decided against confiding his fears in the Doctor, seeing as he had only just recovered some of his happiness. Well not so much some as a few huge dollops more than Jack ever remembered the old Doctor ever having as he literally bounced along the passages to Rose's room as though dancing to his own little song.
Instead he watched from the doorway in amusement as the Doctor looked around the room.
"If I were a pack where would I be?" he asked, opening the closet and sending clothes cascading over him. After untangling himself from the mess he hopped back to his feet. "Right…if I were a pack in a very messy, girl's room where would I be?" he rephrased, before jumping to all fours as he poked his head under the bed.
Jack couldn't help but raise a brow and smile at the view this left him with, biting his cheek as it waggled slightly in front of him.
"Uh huh!" the Doctor's muffled exclamation came from under the bed and he wiggled a bit more. "Jack could you stop checking out my arse, it's very off putting," he called before wriggling a bit more and finally coming back out, giving Jack a stern look before falling into a fit of giggles. "You never change Harkness," he teased as he dropped the pack on the bed and looked between the pile of clothes and it. "Oh that's never going to work," he grumbled before he began hunting through his inner pockets, a broad smile crossing his face before he pulled out a pack from its depths. "Now this is a pack!" he said triumphantly as he knelt down and started piling all the clothes into it.
"Thought she said she just wanted the basics," Jack said, eyeing the almost bare floor.
The Doctor gave a soft laugh. "These are the basics for Rose!" he replied before moving into the closet and packing those clothes in too. That complete, he sat on the bed, an evil grin crossing his face. "Do you think I should put a kitchen sink in just for fun? I'm sure I've got one here somewhere," he added, taking off his coat and starting to hunt through the pockets.
Jack just shook his head in amusement. "I'll just go check on her while you find it," he told him, not surprised that he didn't get a response. As he headed back the way they'd come, a small frown crossed his face, he was sure the corridors looked different. Waving it off as his imagination on overdrive, he set off.
Fifteen minutes later as he returned to Rose's room he decided it was time he started listening to his gut more. "Doc where's the infirmary gone?" he asked as he entered the room, trying desperately not to get distracted by the Doctor quickly stashing a box of chocolates into the pack, turning crimson at being caught in the act.
"Hmm? It's just down the hall Jack, not that hard to find," the Doctor replied, pulling the pack closed.
"Doc I've been down the hall. In fact I've been down several halls. I've found two lounges, three kitchens, four women's bathrooms, only one men's, a stable, a gym, a sauna, two pools, a field, a ballroom and a room that felt like being in a dollhouse," he added, shuddering at how creepy that last one had felt, "but no infirmary and no control…what's that noise?" he stopped his rant midstream as he turned to the Doctor, who was just pulling the pack onto his back.
"It's the Tardis. She's singing," he paused for a moment, his entire face pulling into terror, his eyes wide as he met Jack's gaze, "she's singing goodbye! Rose!!" he yelled, running from the room.
In all the time Jack had known him, he'd never known the Doctor was capable of running the speeds he did. Not only was he not able to keep up, the distance between them was growing!
"Rose?" he called again as he swerved into the infirmary, cursing under his breath at the empty room. He dumped the pack before running across to the control room, both hearts pounding as she finally came into view. "What have I told you about my poor old hearts?" he asked concern evident on his face, though the relief at her still being alive was intense.
"I was only coming to talk to the Tardis, done that a million times without you getting your knickers in a twist about it," she told him teasingly with a smile.
He glared at her playfully for a moment before crossing the room and pulling her into a hug. "Well excuse me for getting worried when Tardis is singing goodbyes and you're not where you meant to be," he said as he held her tightly.
Rose clung to him just as fiercely, not saying anything.
As they pulled apart he stepped back, stepping on something. Looking down he found a remote that was indicating a device was on. "What's this doing here?" he asked as he looked down at it. He shrugged, deciding it had probably been something Jack had been playing with and pressed the off button before turning back to Rose. "You okay?"
She couldn't help but laugh as she sat on the edge of the control panel before giving him a stern look. "Not really, so you can stop asking," she told him cheekily, sticking her tongue between her teeth so he'd know she didn't mean any harm by it. "Got my bag packed for me?" she asked in return.
"Well, not really your bag…but I got a bag packed for you," he said with an evil smile.
Her smile grew as she raised a brow. "Like a Tardis bag?" she asked excitedly.
"A bag can't travel through time and space Rose," he told her, holding his straight face for a moment before cracking a smile. "Ooh you mean is it bigger on the inside?" he asked teasingly. "Just a bit."
"Just a smidge?" she asked indicating a couple of millimetres between her thumb and index.
"Not even that, you'll hardly notice it," he replied, pulling his nose in a way she found completely adorable.
"So more of a smid then?"
Any response he might have had for this was cut off by the large groan from the doorway. "Did you pack lead weights in here or something?" Jack asked as he stumbled in with the pack on his back.
As if in response a soft neighing sound came from its depths.
"Oh and Arthur will need fresh hey in a couple hours," the Doctor added.
The smile dropped from Rose's face. "You kept the horse?" she asked indignantly.
"What? I let you keep Mickey around as long as he wanted to. If anything Arthur's easier to look after!" the Doctor replied sulkily.
Rose just raised a brow at him.
He sighed. "Fine, no Arthur isn't in there," he said pouting and crossing his arms.
"But he's on the Tardis?" she asked, folding her own arms, struggling to keep the smile from her face.
"He's not in your bag," the Doctor repeated, his lips twitching as he held in his own smile.
"Uh guys, guy with a ten tonne bag on his back here, can we discuss where Arthur is or isn't later?" Jack asked as he used the railings for support while heading towards the door.
"Right, you should probably go first Jack, Jackie will love you," the Doctor said, looking over at him.
Jack looked from the Doctor to Rose and back again. "Should I be scared?"
"Of course not, you're cute and flirtatious and haven't kidnapped her daughter for a year, you'll be fine," the Doctor smiled back. "You'll be a great human shield for the one that needs to be scared," he added, watching his foot as he scuffed it on the grating.
Rose rolled her eyes at him. "That's all in the past, she likes you now so stop being a baby," she told him sternly.
"You know you're right, she's bound to forget about that whole year when she finds out I gave you an incurable disease!" he replied pouting further and folding his arms protectively.
"I don't think you're giving your new face enough credit, it made a lot better first impression than the old one," Rose told him, the corners of her lips twitching.
The Doctor glared at her. "How is telling her 'Merry Christmas' then passing out a good first impression?" he asked raising a brow.
"Well, you were cheerful, you weren't rude and then you didn't mouth off like you usually do. It was a fantastic job all round," she told him, breaking into a grin as Jack laughed in the background.
"You just think you're so funny don't you?" he asked, looking just slightly offended.
"Oh I don't think," she said getting to her feet, "I…I…oh dear," she said before fainting, saved from falling to the floor by the Doctor's quick reflexes.
"Yeah, Jackie's really going to love me now," he grumbled as he picked her up and settled her comfortably in his arms once again. He looked over at Jack, "If she plans on slapping someone, it's not going to be me!" he warned before heading out the Tardis.
So now Rose knows how deathly a sneeze can be! Who would have thought it? So is the Doctor in for another Jackie bashing? Hmm…
Next Time:
Every fibre in Jackie's body wanted to slap him so hard he'd wake up next Tuesday. Unfortunately every fibre also noticed the bruise on the left jaw and the fingerprints on the right and knew he'd already had a fair beating, and she was sure his jaw was nothing compared to the emotional beating he was giving himself.
Coming Soon:
"Emergency Programme One," a voice said from behind him.
Thanks for reading, and now if you can do that reviewing I'll love you forever and ever :-)