Jack was a bit confused
Jack was a bit confused. One moment he had been walking down the TARDIS corridor, and the next he was on the floor with no clear memory of how he'd gotten there. Then he heard a low chuckle from somewhere beyond his sight and a voice said "Got you again, Skipper." Jack sighed. That explained it. Ace had sneaked up on him again. She'd been doing that quite regularly the last few days, saying that she was just practicing her newfound skills, especially the 'silent motion' part. He supposed the tackling was an improvement- at least she let him near her now. Although she still obviously didn't trust him, she was willing to tolerate him. And get some fun out of him, as well. She was giving him a chance; that was all he needed. He was determined to win her over.
He wasn't sure about the whole 'Skipper' thing, though. She'd just started calling him that right after they met. When asked about it, the Doctor assured him that the nickname was going to become permanent- she'd done the same thing with him, labeling him 'Professor' within minutes of first meeting him. She still called him that. Mysteriously, the Doctor had also added "At least it's better than Bilgebag." He had then refused to explain further. So Jack thought he might as well get used to Skipper. He twisted his head up to see Ace standing behind him, grinning.
"Morning, gorgeous," he said, before he even thought about it. Bad idea- her smile disappeared, and he could see her jaw tighten with anger or unease. Not for the first time, he wondered what had happened to her that made her so allergic to flirting. "I meant Ace. Morning, Ace." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She nodded to him. Well, she was acknowledging him. This was good.
Ace nodded to Jack, whom she had decided to christen Skipper, which was sort of like Captain but fit him better. It seemed that the flirting truly wasn't his fault- he just couldn't help it. Still, she wasn't ready to let him off the hook just yet. She offered him a hand, which he took gratefully, and hauled him to his feet.
"So, Skipper," she asked, "Where's the Professor?" She assumed Jack would know where he was- he always seemed to. Jack flashed her a quick grin, which let her know he badly wanted to say something flirty but was holding back. She appreciated that more than she was willing to let on. It was really genuinely hard to dislike Jack- he was just a nice guy. In fact, she didn't dislike him; she just couldn't bring herself to trust him, or relax around him. Still, she returned his smile willingly enough.
"He's in the control room. He told me to tell you-" Jack broke off as the whole TARDIS lurched alarmingly and sent them both into the wall. The Captain fell heavily, but Ace twisted, catlike, in the air and landed lightly on her feet. Once more, she found herself looking down on Skipper lying on the floor, and once again she helped him up. He laughed. "I was going to say the Doctor sent me to tell you we were about to leave, but I think you already got that part."
Ace laughed, too. "Yeah, I figured that out," she said dryly. "Do you know where we're headed?" Jack shook his head. "The Doctor wouldn't tell me," he said. "He told me we'd like it, though. Which probably means we're headed for trouble."
Ace laughed again, because it was so true. "Excellent," she said, grinning in a way that showed off all her teeth.
Short chapter, I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just not sure where this story is going. The Doctor won't tell me. So I decided to give you what I have and wait for more info.