Welll... No idea where this came from... It's Doctor-lite, I'm sorry to say. (And I mean to the extreme.) This chapter was setting a scene of action, and... stuff... so it had to be done! *strikes heroic pose* I liked the banter in this chapter, it's a little more lighthearted than the past couple, so I hope you all enjoy! Even though it is Doctor-lite... Forgive me?
Sadly enough, I haven't magically inherited ownership of Doctor Who (or, for a couple nanoseconds in this chapter, Torchwood) due to some rich uncle who's a long-lost brother of Russel T. Davies or Steven Moffat. Sorry :P
"So… What exactly are we doing?" Rory wasn't following the Timelord speed conversation of "You mean—" "Yes." "And—" "Exactly" that was going on between River and this 'Master' bloke. Then, to make matters worse, they gave him a twin set of glares and perfectly timed eye-rolls.
"We're bringing in… a weapon from earth. But we don't think that weapon will come if the Master is the one to call."
"Why not? Who is this weapon?"
"A man named Captain Jack Harkness. Don't let him near Amy," River said a little grimly before chuckling. "Oh, this could actually be fun!"
She and the Master chuckled until the Doctor's screams from above startled them both into a sober silence.
"Anyways, I can't call him, I'm pretty sure he hates me." The Master remembered their last encounter with a smile. "I killed him so many times…" He smiled into the distance for a moment before shaking himself and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, still have slight psychopathic tendencies."
River nodded quizzically, and Amy and Rory huddled in a corner; The Master was a little frightening when he got lost down memory lane.
The Master smiled. "Ok, so who will be calling the devil?"
River looked at Rory. "Would you be a dear, Daddy? No offense, but I think you're the only one here who Jack won't be trying to flatter or kill."
"Um… No offense taken? I think…"
River smiled and handed her father her phone. She rattled off Jack's phone number like she had known it all her life. Rory warily held the phone up to his ear, warily letting his breath out when a cheerful voice answered.
"Ummm… Captain Jack Harkness?" The others heard silence as Jack answered. "We… need you. It's about the Doctor." More silence. "Difficult to explain but he's hurt. Badly. Close to death." Rory had taken on the voice he used when telling a doctor about a patient's condition; cold, detached. He took the phone away from his ear for a moment. "How is he going to get here? And where is here?"
"Tell him his vortex manipulator should do the trick. Coordinates are 874930/572/61ACB3Z/Acorn, We're on Gallifrey" answered the Master like he was trying to keep the immortal on the other end of the phone from hearing his voice.
Rory rattled off the information, nodded grimly to whatever the man on the other end had said, and hung up, passing the phone back to River. She smiled and tucked it back into an unseen pocket.
Jack entered the cogs of Torchwood Institute laughing at Ianto's reaction to trying to change Myfanwy's diet of dark chocolate to one of celery. He slapped Ianto lightly on the back.
"You know it's a joke, Yan! I wouldn't dare try to pull darling Myfanwy away from her chocolate." With that, he pulled a bar of chocolate—60% cocoa, of course—out of a shopping bag that had been hanging from his arm and threw it into the air, smiling at Ianto's smile as she caught it mid-flight.
The rest of the team was out for lunch, and Jack and Ianto had just gotten back from a quick grocery trip. The hub was freakishly empty with just the two of them, but they didn't mind.
Then the phone rang. Ianto and Jack exchanged glances; that phone didn't ring often. Jack picked up the receiver warily, but still smiling. "Hello?"
The man on the other end sounded frightened. "Ummm… Captain Jack Harkness?"
Jack smiled haughtily. "At your service. And who are you?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Ianto, who choked a little on the coffee he had been drinking.
"Sir, I hardly think that's appropriate."
Jack smiled and winked. The man on the other end had ignored Jack's question and got straight to the point of the call. "We… need you." Jack's smile fell.
"Why? What's happening? Who is this? How did you get this number?"
"It's about the Doctor."
Jack's voice was overly controlled. "What happened to him?" He did his best to keep from shouting at the man on the other end. Even so, Ianto was a bit startled by the tone of his voice.
"Difficult to explain but he's hurt. Badly. Close to death."
"How do I get there? Where is there, by the way?"
The voice grew fainter for a moment before returning. "Planet called Gallifrey—" Jack flinched a bit. He knew the stories of the end. "—Coordinates are 874930/572/61ACB3Z/Acorn, he said use your Vortex Manipulator."
Jack nodded grimly. "I'm on my way."
"Are you leaving us again, Sir?" Ianto frowned at him; there's been too much of him leaving because of this mysterious Doctor.
"Afraid so, Yan," answered Jack quietly. "I will be back, though. I promise."
"You've made promises before, Jack." Ianto's hesitant use of his name broke Jack's heart.
"I plan on keeping this one. Pinkie swear, if you like." The Captain held out his pinkie, grinning childishly despite everything that was happening. Ianto shook his head and linked pinkies with Jack, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world when a dorky grin spread across his face. "Could you pack the regular weapons? And the Gun?"
Ianto dropped Jack's pinkie, and his eyes grew wide. "Are you sure, Sir? Why the devil would you need that?"
"I'm not sure, yet. He said they were on Gallifrey, so I feel like it's important."
Ianto nodded shortly and went to fetch the required weapons. Jack started suiting up in usual Harkness fashion; his military-issue coat, a few guns in unusual places, and a trusty sonic disrupter he hasn't used since the first time he met the Doctor. Ianto came back and handed the pack of weapons to Jack. Jack slung the pack over his shoulder and strode over to Ianto and lightly caressed his cheek.
"I promise you, I will come back if it's the last thing I do."
Ianto blushed and grumbled a little about professionalism, his blush growing when Jack leaned over and kissed his cheek. Ianto pulled the other man into a tight embrace. Jack spun out of Ianto's grip, saluted him, and punched the coordinates the terrified man on the phone had told him. Jack disappeared in a flash of white light, and Ianto was left to clean up the scattered papers.
Jack materialized in the dank prison and shook himself like a dog. Standing in front of him was a woman about 40 years old with unruly, honey-tinted hair. He smirked his trademark smirk and held out his hand.
"Captain Jack Harkness. And you are?"
River took his hand primly. "Doctor River Song."
"Oh, another Doctor." His smirk grew wider.
River leaned in, her lips almost brushing his ear. "Wife of the Doctor, so I wouldn't be getting any ideas if I were you." She leaned back and smiled at the color draining out of the Captain's face.
He took a rigid step back and stiffly saluted her. She saluted casually back, and Jack's smile returned, albeit less suggestive than it had been originally. That is, until he saw Amy. Then, the suggestive smile was back, and he captured one of Amy's hands in his own.
"And you are?"
"A-Amy Pond," she stuttered, blushing when Jack brushed his lips across the back of her hand.
Rory drew himself up to his fullest height and tapped Jack on the shoulder. "Rory Williams," he said coldly. "Husband."
Jack turned his smirk on poor, innocent Rory. "Well, you know what they say. Three's a party." He winked at Rory, who suddenly felt very sick.
He decided—wisely—to change the subject. "We did call you here for a reason, Captain."
Jack cleared his throat, mind taken away from flirting for a moment. "Right. What exactly is going on here? You," he pointed at Rory. "You sounded scared out of your skin on the phone."
A man in a separate cell slowly raised his head. "Rassilon and the Rani are planning on killing the Doctor. Is that difficult to wrap your tiny, human mind around, Captain?"
Jack turned around almost in slow motion. "Long time no see. In fact, you could even say it's like we never met, Master."
The Master shrugged, regaining some of his old self in the face of Jack's cutting tone. "bad year," he sneered.
"Oi," Amy cut in. "You boys can argue later. We do have an actual problem that needs taking care of, in case you've forgotten. So if you two could shut it, and listen to River, because she's the one who actually has a plan."
Ok, so the stage is set! I can only promise one or two more chapters of this, and then I'll be bringing to a close. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing (particularly those of you who review every single chapter. I can't tell you how happy that makes me!).
So, please to review this chapter? Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase? I'm not against begging. Or bribery. I can give you some fudge (Virtual). Or cookies (also virtual). or... or... Oh, I don't know! Review, por favor! (Spanglish will get a review, right?)