AN: Hey guys, first off a HUGE sorry for making y'all wait so long! Range of issues really from no time on computers at work (which is bit of an issue at the mo too, but I squeezed some time in for ya (oh for those that don't know, I've got a live-in job, so 'work' constitutes full weeks rather than 9-5)), then my poor laptop dying on me (well the screen…poor thing). And I'd love to say that part of it was for those that whinged about how hard reviewing is (you know who you are :p)…but I love you guys too much, so even a whinging about reviewing review is good enough for me really…ANYWAY, nough about why I haven't been here.

Okay normally before posting ANYTHING I re-read it a good two/three times, not so much for spelling/grammer but more for story flow etc. This one, basically has had nadda. I had a few pages written, but I've just spent the better portion of last two hours racing out the rest to get to the end (cos the next part is actually done already and this one was just iffy) so sorry if it's not totally up to scratch. I'm slightly sleep deprived so there are a couple moments where characters might be OOC or just going off on random tangents…but on an up side it means this parts a wee bit longer than the others…yay for length right?...that didn't sound as dirty in my head…

Right that explained, just also wanna say a huge …something to Rosie-Bec…soz there's a lot to be said, so I'll message you soon as I've posted this sweetie :D Just a quick let you know – you're doing fab in ALL your fics!! Can't wait to BMQA all of 'em!!...though my fingers might disagree somewhat :p Welcome to RedDwarfAddict (glad you got to read it all, just don't let me be an excuse for handing in homework late!...well actually you could try…but I doubt you'll get away with it…maybe when I'm famous?) and Blonde Dr. Who-Guru With Brains (good to see you're enjoying yourself (see I can ramble just as much in AN's as comments and BMQAs!))

And last but not least, a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed, every one just makes my day…so I've had a fair few fab days cos of you lot :D Plus you all know I love you cos…well technically not yet, but in a few minutes you'll also have a message from me ;)

Oh and in case you had ANY doubts about how much time I get these days, I started this AN at 1530 this afternoon…it's now 2038!! And before any of you even think it, no I'm not just that slow :p Anyway, on with the fic, ENJOY!!

"Hi, I'm Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said, standing in an attractive pose with an even more charming smile when Jackie opened her door a few minutes later. "I'm a friend of Rose, but not the Doctor's," he said with a grin.

"Thanks Jack," the Doctor groaned from behind him.

Jack just smiled as he looked over his shoulder at him. "Hey you know the old saying - your enemy's enemy is your friend. So if you're her enemy, you've got to be mine too for her to be my friend," he murmured.

The Doctor just glared at him. "Just get inside already," he told him, shoving him forward with his shoulder so as not to disturb Rose. He regretted being hasty a moment later when he entered the stifling hot flat, instantly realising they'd returned not long after they'd left and Jackie had the heaters on full blast to stave off the winter chill, which unfortunately was the complete opposite of what Rose needed.

As she clawed her arms around his neck, fighting for the cold outside despite still being unconscious, he tried desperately not to wonder what it looked like to Jackie nor what retribution he would inevitably be paying later.

Instead he focused all his attention on her. "Shh Rose, we're home, safe and sound…well for the moment," he added at the death stare he felt boring into his back as he carried her upstairs to her room. Placing her gently on the bed, he went and opened the window and closed the door before returning to sit beside where she lay.

"Tell you what, I'll have the hots for you and you take care of your mum for me," he joked, though the smile barely touched his lips let alone reaching his eyes. He did slap his hand to his forehead at his choice of words though. He wanted her to tease him back, pointing out all the creatures he'd faced without so much as a flinch, and yet cowering at the mere thought of a human woman. But she didn't. She just murmured softly in her sleep as he gently stroked her damp fringe from her forehead.

He sniffed, looking away quickly as he rubbed his eyes, before getting up and making his way around the clutter on the floor to the heater. Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he adjusted the setting before firing it at the heater, the hot air it was venting out turning icy in a matter of seconds.

He could hear Jackie yelling at Jack downstairs, but he tried to ignore them as he turned back to her, trying to be stronger than he was. "How can your room be such a mess? Seriously, most of your stuff is on the Tardis, well now in a pack, but still! You shouldn't have enough stuff to afford such a…a…" he was temporarily distracted by a rather tiny, lacy garment that had just caught his eye. Forcing his gaze back to her he stammered out, "such a mess. One of these days---"

She dying, can't you see that?

The thought pierced through him so quickly and fiercely that is was as though someone else had spoken to cut off his sentence rather than his own mind.

"One of these days," he tried again, but another thought cut through.

Its all your fault. You are the Oncoming Storm, leaving behind a list of the dead in your wake.

"One of these days," he said more loudly, trying to talk over his own thoughts, to no avail.

She'll be dead. You'll have killed her.

"One…I can't do this," he said softly as he looked down at her, so peaceful, so beautiful. It was all his fault. "I'll find a way, I..." he trailed off, not able to make the promise now. It was as though he were at her wake rather than her death bed.

The thought snapped him out of his wallowing. He might not be able to face her right now, but by damn he was able to fight for her and he would until his dying breath!

But will that be soon enough?

He clenched his jaw firmly, feeling his eyes burn as he refused to let the tears spill over. "I'll be back," he told her before leaving the room, to find Jackie ready and waiting, though slightly restrained by Jack.

Every fibre in her body wanted to slap him so hard he'd wake up next Tuesday. Unfortunately every fibre also noticed the bruised left jaw and the fingerprints on the right cheek and knew he'd already had a fair beating, and she was sure it was nothing compared to the emotional beating he was giving himself.

The Doctor looked at her, completely broken inside, but holding it all together by the skin of his teeth. He stared at her, waiting for the inevitable beating, not even bothering to defend himself.

But instead of slapping him, she did something that surprised them both. She began to cry and lunged into his arms, wrapping her own around his waist in a fierce hug. "She's not going to die is she Doctor?" she wailed as she dampened his shirt front with her tears.

Taken completely off guard by the gesture, the Doctor found his arms wrapped protectively around her and cooing murmurs of comfort before he even had a chance to realise what was going on, much to Jack's unhidden amusement. "It's going to be okay Jackie, Jack and I will find the cure. Speaking of which," he said softly as he disentangled himself from her, "we should get going."

"She's awake then?" Jack asked, frowning as the Doctor shook his head. "She'll never forgive you if you don't at least say goodbye!"

"She needs her rest," he tried to protest, but cowered under the stern look Jackie gave him, seeming even more fierce than usual after the tenderness that had been there a moment earlier.

"Doctor if you don't get in there this very second and---"

"I'm going, I'm going," he cut her off, holding his hands up in surrender as her retreated back into the safety of Rose's room, closing the door behind him despite knowing they'd both be listening on the other side.

"Told you I'd be back," he murmured as he went back to sit beside her. "But it's only been a minute, no Tardis time snuck in I'm afraid," he added, brushing the hair that had flopped back across her face.

His hand lingered on her cheek as he fought the urge to kiss her. Where had that come from? He wondered, then gave a rueful chuckle as he remembered. "Completely obsessed with Disney," he thought aloud, shaking his head.

"What?" Rose croaked out. She'd never admit it but she'd been awake for some time. It had been extraordinarily difficult to fein sleep as he'd kept repeating 'One of these days,' but she'd managed to, letting him decide on his own whether he'd say goodbye or not, though her mum had taken that choice away just minutes later.

As she opened her eyes, the first thing to come into focus was the Doctor's huge grin which made her smile, though the turmoil in his eyes worried her a moment later.

"Just berating my previous self," he informed her, taking her hand in his. "How you feeling?"

"Hot," she replied simply. "Why were you berating your previous self?"

The Doctor blushed slightly as he looked down at their entwined hands, wondering how simply holding her hand had never been enough. "Just his obsession with Disney."

"As in the person or the movies?" she asked, knowing it was always best to clarify when it came to the Doctor.

"The movies," he replied, looking back at her, the thought that had brought it all on jumping to the forefront of his mind once again, causing his cheeks to crimson.

Rose raised a brow, an amused grin crossing her face at the blush that had crossed his cheeks. "He never mentioned them to me," she said softly. "You sure you're not the one with the obsession?" she added teasingly.

He sputtered incoherently for a minute before finally saying "If it was me, how would I have known the Lion King so well after just regenerating? Wasn't exactly time to quick nip to the video store and get a copy while you lot were bungling up saving the world now was there?"

"We were not bungling it up!" she protested, quite offended at his reference to her attempt at it.

He smiled, tracing her cheek with his hand. "True…the rest of the humans were bungling it up, you were at least attempting to make it right…talking a lot of rubish, but an attempt none the less," he added with a cheeky grin. He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "You know there's actually a good few races that would have worked on. The---"

"So that Disney obsession," Rose quickly cut him off. She knew she didn't have much time left with him and she'd be damned if her last conversation was about aliens that talking rubbish to was an effective attack for. "What made you think of it now?" She was rewarded with his cheeks going a deep crimson once again, but no real response. "Well?"

"It's just, when you're sleeping you can look quite pretty and peaceful, and that just got me thinking of Sleeping Beauty..." he trailed off, hoping she'd leave it at that.

She smiled at the thought of him thinking she was beautiful. "You know how that story goes right? I mean how she's saved and all," she added, looking down at their joined hands rather than meeting his gaze.

A large lump suddenly wedged itself in his throat. "Umm yes…I'm aware of the…premise of the story," he mumbled, staring at their hands.

"Were you going to?" the question slipped out before she could stop it, and she felt her own cheeks go crimson.

"No! I mean that would be…oh what's it called…statutory rape?" he asked, not able to think straight as thoughts of kissing her flooded his mind.

Rose couldn't help but giggle. "I was only asking about a kiss Doctor, not going all the way!"

"Sexual harrassment," he quickly corrected himself, fidgetting uncomfortably. He would have gotten up had she not held his hand so firmly.

"Technically that only applies if one of the parties didn't want it to happen," she said softly.

He was so flustered by his previous mistake that it took a moment for her words to sink in. "You'd want me to?" he asked, not sure he believed how lucky he could be.

Whatever her answer may have been he didn't get to find out, as Jack chose that moment to open the door. "Sorry to cut the farewells short, but we've really got to get going," he said softly, looking truly sorry to break the pair apart.

"Right," the Doctor replied, quickly jumping to his feet, missing Rose's touch the minute he'd left it. "Well…we should see you soon," he said, not quite meeting her gaze, thoughts he knew he shouldn't be having still filling his mind.

"I'll walk you to the door," she replied and she tried to force herself up.

The Doctor shook his head though, putting a restraining hand on her shoulder. "It's too hot in the rest of the house, and besides we don't want to waste time having to drag you back here again," he added, getting a glare in return.

After a moment's silence, Jack cleared his throat. "I'll leave you guys to it. Rose, always a pleasure, and we'll see you soon," he told her, going over and giving her a hug.

"Try not get slimered again, even if it's an improvement," she teased as she hugged him tightly.

He just ruffled her hair before leaving the room.

The pair stared at each other once again, neither wanting to be the first to say goodbye.

"Oh come here you big baby," she eventually sighed in exasperation, holding her arms out for him to give her a hug.

He pretended to protest being called a baby for about a second before diving into her arms, wrapping his own around her tightly. "I'm gonna miss you," he whispered into her hair.

"With Jack around? The pair of you'll be off on some beach paradise covered in beautiful people in minutes!" she replied, nuzzling into his shoulder.

He chuckled softly. "Yeah you're probably right," he replied, earning a whack on the shoulder as she pulled away from him. "Doesn't mean we'll enjoy it!" he pouted, rubbing his shoulder childishly.

Rose just raised a brow at him.

"It's true! Knowing our luck, we'd end up on one where the sunsets are an amazing orange, the sand dunes never ending, the waters perfectly swimmable day and night," he rambled on, faking a whistful look until she cleared her throat. "Oh, and you know, locals that find aliens a culinary delicacy," he added, tapping her nose affectionately.

She scrunched her nose. "There're planets like that?"

"Oh yes. It's set up to look like a complete beach paradise. Only problem is they happen to love non-locals so much they could eat them…literally."

"Way to put a girl off her pumpkin soup," Jackie chided, causing them both to jump as she entered the room carrying a tray with said soup steaming away in a bowl.

The Doctor leant forward scratching the back of his neck, hoping to avoid another Tyler seeing him blush crimson. "Right, well best be off," he said after a pause, giving Rose's hand one last squeeze before standing.

"No dilly dallying Doctor!" Jackie told him warningly, staring at him so intently he was surprised she couldn't read his thoughts.

"Mum!" Rose chided her mother.

"I mean it! You've got one hour! You turn up in one month and I'll have your guts for garters," she added, waving the spoon of all utensils in front of him ominously.

"Don't mind her, just go have fun!" Rose told him, earning a none to pleased look from Jackie. "Oh, and mind those paradise planets, don't want to be getting a call letting me know a new friend of yours has had you for lunch!"

Jackie frowned but the Doctor just rolled his eyes. "Tony did it better, though I liked the second one better."

"You're only saying that 'cause you're only his second favourite person," Rose teased.

"Are you two still fighting about who Hopkins liked better?" Jack asked as he entered the room. "Honestly, what was that? Like a year ago?"

"And four months," Rose added.

"And twelve days," the Doctor added after her.

"Give or take."

"Not that we're counting."

"Not like he promised to call or anything."

"I was just waiting for the autographed picture."

The trio would have burst into laughter had Jackie not given them each her death stare in turn.

"Right, times a wasting!" the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. "We'll see you in 57 minutes," he told Rose, kissing the top of her head.

She smiled up at him before turning to Jack. "Take care of him," she implored, giving Jack a look that earned her a glare from the Doctor. "But don't do anything I haven't," she added glaring slightly.

"Scared I'll win that bet?" Jack asked as he ruffled her hair once more.

"Oh I've won that twice over already," she replied with a cheeky grin.

"Liar," he replied glaring, a look of shock crossing his face when she just raised her brows at him. "You little hussy! Holding out juicy gossip on me!" He was about to sit down beside her to hear it all when Jackie grabbed him by the ear, literally dragging him out the room.

"Maybe another time," she called, waving after him. "Go rescue him," she added to the Doctor once they'd both stopped laughing.

"And you think I need taking care of," he replied making his way out the room. "I'll see you soon."

"Doctor," she called out, waiting for him to turn around in the doorway. "I…I l…" she trailed off, fighting back tears. "I'll miss you," she finally forced out.

He couldn't help the emotions that flowed through him with those few words - his heart soaring that she would miss him even though he'd only be gone such a short time, and yet feeling horrible seeing her like this, and a large range in between. Fighting control over all of them, he shrugged it off. "You won't have a chance, I'll be back in a minute," he told her with a wink and his usual charming smile before leaving the room.

After saving Jack from Jackie, who'd gone from forcefully removing him out of the room to almost more forcefully trying to extract information on the bet out of him, he led them through a maze of corridors to the back stairwell.

"Uh Doc, isn't time of the essence and all?" Jack asked as they raced down the stairs and down a back ally he hadn't even known existed to arrive behind the Tardis.

"Yes Jack, that's why I'm giving our future selves the easiest way in," the Doctor replied as he unlocked the door, giving a weak smile as he held it open for Jack.

Jack gave his best encouraging smile before bounding inside.

The Doctor however, paused a moment to look back at the apartment building. He hadn't heard the future Tardis land, but then his hearts were bounding slightly louder than normal. He just hoped he was already back inside there, giving Rose the cure. With one last longing look, he stepped inside.

As the door closed behind him, the Tardis sprang into life. "What?" the Doctor asked, frowning at Jack who stood at the control panel.

"Don't look at me, I didn't touch anything!" Jack said raising his hands to emphasise his point.

The Doctor turned back to the doors, trying to open them but they wouldn't budge. "What," he growled, giving a soft grunt as he pulled on them with all his might.

"Emergency Programme One," a voice said from behind him.

Spinning around, the word was barely audible, "What?"

There you have it folks, another part down. I wasn't a particular fan of the 'What' ending for S2, but I loved DT's more distinctly different ways of saying it at end of S3…so I kinda had to steal it for my big cliffhanger ;)

Soz , that's why the Next Time and Coming Soon for last chapter were particularly evil…but if I let you know the Coming Soon was next it would have given a bit too much away now wouldn't it? Speaking of which:

Next Time:

"Where are we going?" Jack asked softly, not sure he really wanted to know, stepping back at the truly evil smile the Doctor gave him as he met his gaze.

"Mars."

Coming Soon:

"Doc you can't just destroy an entire planet," Jack protested as they hovered above Mars.

The Doctor glanced sideways at him as he looked out the doors at the red planet. "And why not?"

Now you all know what I'd love you to do, so please just do it, you know you want to…somewhere…deep down…really deep…possibly…maybe…give or take four days? Come on, R&R doesn't just stand for Relax and…wait Rest and Relaxation…that's what it usually stands for right? Yeah waaay too little sleep lately…

Oh and yes next part is written, but it won't be going up till I've caught up on BMQAs. It's only fair, poor Becs been waiting aaages for 'em! (Don't worry, you'll have a few emails tonight too! Oh and did you like the sneaky sneak peak I slotted in for Baby Blues? Hehe couldn't resist (you do know what I'm talking bout right?))

And with that…I'm done!