IDChapter21

Jack jumped ahead one week for a reason - that was how long it took most ships to travel from the Shadow Proclamation to Karn. He didn't realise he'd be delivering live cargo, however, or he might have arrived sooner, giving himself more time to have one of his very all-time favorite people all to himself. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't, so it was time to look for Rose's family.

He'd landed in the largest city on Karn, appropriately named Karn City. The underground railroad was based there for good reason, it was a big, busy place and a good one in which to hide in plain sight. First order of business was to make sure no one was looking for them there, unfortunately logic dictated someone probably was. The theft of Rose's body would not have gone undiscovered for very long, and security devices would have picked up that it was he who had stolen her. While the Shadows would have little, if anything, on him to track him by, he knew they would be watching the Doctor like a hawk.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her.

She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Of course I do! Why would you even ask?"

He smiled at her. "We're going underground. C'm'ere." He opened his arms.

Rose dutifully walked into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling her cheek into his chest. For a brief moment Jack wished the Doctor never existed, then he sighed, and as he wrapped his arms around her he punched the coordinates into the vortex manipulator on his wrist and they vanished...

... to reappear in a dark. moist, cool cavern. "IT'S ONLY ME...!" Jack announced, seemingly to no one in particular, until suddenly they were surrounded by a rag-tag group with weapons. One of them, a female, stepped forward and scanned them both, then stepped back and gestured for weapons to be dropped.

"Welcome home, Jack," she greeted him, pushing up her visor and revealing a pretty but scarred face. "Who is she? I wasn't expecting any more guests," gesturing at Rose.

"Isanatrubella, this is Rose Tyler, wife of my best friend, and they need our help. Rose Tyler, this is Isanatrubella, leader of the Underground Railroad."

"Best friend? I didn't know you had any friends, Jack." A male stepped forward, a crooked, sarcastic smile showing under his visor.

"I do, but unlike some loud-mouthed fools I don't talk about them, they stay alive longer that way. "

Rose could feel the tension in Jack as he barked at the man. There was definitely a story behind this confrontation, she'd have to ask him about it later. Meanwhile, Isanatrubella had approached her with arms wide open.

"Welcome to our base. Any friend of Jack's is a friend of ours. Please call me Isana." Her smile was genuine, and she embraced Rose. She looked over at the man Jack was glowering at.

"Koschei, why don't you go and have a room prepared for our guest? Make it one of the larger rooms, I expect her husband will be joing us?" She looked at Jack for confirmation.

Jack nodded. "Her husband and child will be joining us as soon as I find them."

"Very well." Koschei nodded and left, but not before shooting Jack a dirty look.

"Really, will you two get over it already?" Isana sighed heavily. She had fallen head over heels for Jack after he rescued her, and Koschei would never forgive either of them for it. Not that Koschei had ever seriously stood a chance with her, but being her father's best friend's son, Koschei had always assumed they would marry, as was the tradition on Karn. Isana had never been able to convince him otherwise, even though she had repeatedly told him over the years that she saw him only as a good friend.

Rose stared at Koschei's retreating back. Koschei. She knew that name from the memories that Jon had shared with her. But the face did not match any of the Master's incarnations that the Doctor knew of. It had to be purely coincidental. Isana noticed the look.

"You look confused."

Rose shook her head. "S'nothing. Just seemed like I'd met him before, but I know I couldn't have."

"Déjà vu?" Jack asked.

"I guess." She shrugged.

"Well, I've got things to attend to." Isana walked over and embraced Jack, who kissed her tenderly.

"I'll see you later," he promised, and Isana smiled and left.

"Love triangle?" Rose asked, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

"Nope." Jack stated firmly, "Much as that arrogant jerk would like to make it out to be. He thinks he owns her - hell, he thinks he owns pretty much everyone and everything here."

"And of course that can't be, 'cause you do." Rose quipped.

"Enough of that, Brat." Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down a passageway. "Let's get you situated and then we'll find your family. Meanwhile, why don't you tell me what you and Doc are doing in this universe. What happened to the other Doctor?"

Rose took a deep breath. "That's a long story..." she began.

Rose started telling Jack everything that had happened since they left him in the other universe. By the time they got to the room prepared for her, she had finshed telling him about being dropped off in this universe.

"That bastard!" Jack growled. "It's so typical of him, throwing away the inconvenient people no matter how important they are to him!"

Rose placed a soothing hand on his arm. "That's what I thought too, at first. But Jack, he had to do it that way. He loves me, and I would have eventually chosen Jon. He couldn't bear to watch that happen, and watch us age and eventually leave him. So he did what he had to do. I know that now."

Jack looked contrite. "I suppose that's true," he admitted.

"But wait," Rose winked, "there's more!"

Jack grinned at her infomercial parody and guided her over to a sofa. Getting comfortable, he motioned for her to continue. She went on with the rest of her story. Jack's eyes went wide and his jaw nearly hit the ground several times during the tale, and he leered a bit when she related her dream-state encounter with the original Doctor. Eventually she got to the part where they used the Krillitane oil to alter their DNA.

"Amazing! I don't know what astounds me more, the fact that you're a Time Lord, or that the three of you killed of some of the most wanted criminals in the galaxy. There's a reward out for them, you know. You could be rich!" Jack shook his head in wonder.

"Not that we could collect it. We didn't leave much behind."

"Oh, they know someone killed them. They just don't know who or how." At Rose's look of skepticism, he added, "I happen to have an understanding with the Krillitane Esteemed Father." He winked.

Rose shook her head. "Only you." She held up her hand, laughing. "I don't want to know any more!" She finished her story up to the point where they arrived at the Shadow Proclamation, concluding with "... and the rest you know."

"So now we find your family. Do they know you're alive?"

"They should by now, although I'm sure Jon is worried. Afterall, I've never regenerated before." With this, Rose closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, searching. She felt a faint glimmer, and the brilliant smile that lit her face told Jack everything he needed to know, except...

"So, where are they then?"