*What's that I hear you ask? You want a chapter that involves Captain Jack shooting Daleks? Well friends, I have just the chapter for you! Still no word on the ending but I'm 18 chapters in so I'll have to think of one soon... As ever, thanks to all my followers, my reviewers, my readers and my favouriters. And I apologise in advance for the cliffhanger...but I won't leave you stewing too long, check back tomorrow peeps.*
"I must admit, Miss Oswald," Jack continued. "You're a lot more beautiful than I expected. Or would I rather I called you Clara? Can I come in?"
"Is this what you do?" she asked, biting her lip. "Seduce women and convince them to let a total stranger into their house? Who are you?" She had a sneaking suspicion that she knew the answer to that. "Are you a friend of the Doctor's?"
"Doctor? Doctor Who?" Jack grinned as if to say that it was definitely a yes. "I just happened to hear that a beautiful, young, single girl named Clara Oswald lived here. The regular TARDIS sightings, strange alien goings on and the fact that you have a Time Lord teaching at your school have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm here. I hear he's changed faces again. That must be nice, no matter how old I get, I'm still stuck with this old mug. Shame it seems he's gone for an odd face this time."
"I happen to like his new face," Clara snapped, and then bit her tongue as Jack roared with laughter at this. "I mean…"
"Don't worry about it Clara," Jack chuckled. "You're not the first and you won't be the last. Boy, that man sure knows how to make Earth girls swoon. But don't worry, he won't try anything. For all his reputation, I'm not sure the Doctor's actually gotten laid in centuries."
Clara blushed furiously and hoped that this strange man wouldn't pick up on it. Jack's jaw dropped.
"No!" he never seemed to stop smiling. "You're kidding me? The sly bastard! Please, tell me all about what he's like in the sack. I'm never going to let him live this down! Ohh boy, this is glorious. Never thought I'd see the day I'm bump into a companion that the Doctor has bumped into. Literally."
Jack was laughing even more at this point and Clara instantly felt a wave of emotion. She felt very insecure, very special, very humiliated and very smug all at the same time. She motioned to Jack to come in; he seemed friendly enough and clearly knew exactly who the Doctor was. He beamed as she showed him into the living room and sat him down on the sofa, offering him a hot drink. He refused, but Clara knew his eye was on the bottle of brandy on the table so handed him a glass.
"So how do you know the Doctor?" she asked, partially to make conversation, but also because she was painstakingly desperate to find out more about his past she didn't already know.
"Oh I met him two faces ago," Jack replied. "At least I think it was two. He was all leather jacket, serious face. Said fantastic a lot?" Clara nodded in agreement. "Good. Well he pitched up in the middle of World War II with Rose in tow, you've heard about Rose of course?" Clara pulled a face. "Thought so. I was a different man back then, hundreds of years ago. No I don't look it do I?" he winked as Clara's jaw dropped. "He picked me up and we travelled for a bit. Then, shit got complex. I became immortal, he left me behind, I spent 100 years on Earth waiting for him to come back, yadda yadda. I found him again alright but I decided to stay here, on earth. I've not seen him in a long time. Not since he was…"
"His old face. Sandshoes," Clara grinned and Jack chuckled. "I've met him. That him I mean. He seems like a tease. So what're you doing here?"
"Looking for the Doctor," Jack chuckled. "So what's your story Clara? All I know is that there have been clear signs that this address has a visiting Time Lord, so I checked out who owned it. And sure enough, Clara Oswald, here we are."
"Well," Clara blushed. "He just pitched up on my doorstep. I called him, looking for the Wi-Fi and there he was on my door. He was really…odd. So I shut the door in his face." Jack snorted with laughter. "But he saved my life. He looked after me. And then he invited me to jump in his Snogbox and fly away…" Another rambunctious laugh. "So I did. And he showed me amazing things. Worlds and creatures beyond my wildest dreams. But it turns out he'd been looking for me. Said I was impossible. His impossible girl. And I was so scared and confused. And then we went to Trenzalore. And I jumped into his time stream," Jack gasped out loud. "And I was ripped into a million pieces. I thought that was it, I was dead. But there was still one me. One tiny, little original part of me left. And he came in to save me. And he dragged me out. He rescued me. And we've been travelling together ever since. And then…"
"And then you seduced him?" Jack suggested. Clara shot him a look and he shrugged his shoulders. "The Doctor's not the seducing type."
"We fell in love," Clara admitted. "And then we slept together. And now, we're sort of living together. Here, in this house, well half the time at least. We work together, and then we jump in the Snogbox and fly away. It's the perfect life. My Doctor."
Jack was shooting her a look of pure warmth and envy. She felt guilty. Jack would probably give anything to be in her position and here she was rubbing it in his face. She must've looked guilty because Jack leaned forward and touched her shoulder lightly.
"Don't worry about me Clara, I gave up that life a long time ago and I don't regret my decisions. It's been tough, but I'm glad I got the chance to travel with him, even if it had to end. I'm happy that he's happy. That you're both so happy. I didn't think he'd ever find someone who connected with him the same way…"
"The same way that Rose did?" Clara asked, her voice harsher than she'd intended and Jack backed off.
"Sorry," he smiled. "I can understand your frustration. I've had sex with people who are now dust, so long ago that it's possible I've had sex with their grandkids. Creepy thought I know. Rose was a great girl, but she was another face, another lifetime. God knows how long…"
"300 years," Clara informed him. "Give or take. I know he has exes, I just like to think…"
"You like to think that you're special?" Jack smiled warmly. "That he doesn't compare you to them? That you're not competing with the ghosts of the Doctor's past? He's no different to any other guy Clara. Everyone has history, everyone has drama. The only difference is: his drama is decades or centuries in the past for him, rather than months and years. If he loves you, he loves you. And there's nobody that can stop that. Except you and him."
Clara smiled warmly and Jack hugged her. At which point the Doctor burst in.
"Clara!" he yelled. "I got us an annulment! We're not married anymore! I also picked up fish and chips from the year 2062, a pet goldfish for the flat that may or may not be the Queen of the fish people, and also, a friend of mine will probably pop over at some point, Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you do, don't let him say…"
"Hello," Jack said with a grin and the Doctor's face dropped.
"Oh, he's already here. He didn't try anything did he?"
"No," Clara chuckled, throwing her arms around the Doctor and kissing his cheek appreciatively. "He's been really lovely. We were just sharing stories of how we met you."
"Doctor," Jack was chuckling. "Married again are we?"
"No," he protested. "I mean, not really. Not even slightly. I got an annulment. See, it's all very fancy. Clara's just a friend." She kicked his shin. "Clara's my girlfriend. I mean, I spend some nights here, occasionally."
"Either Clara's desperately overstating your relationship Doc, or you're desperately underplaying it," Jack teased. "Well, your companions are always desperate. Remember that one who insisted on…"
"Okay, fine, she's right!" The Doctor yelled to shut up Jack. "We've been doing, young people things. In her bed. And in the TARDIS, who I don't think likes it. She's been whining at me. Although I did let the Zocci breed in there…"
"Sounds like the Zocci aren't the only one breeding," Jack teased and Clara and the Doctor both went bright red and started stammering. Jack shook his head. It finally seemed like he'd given up laughing at them. "Anyway Doctor, I have a mission for us. Top secret, super dangerous, don't bring the Missus and all that. I'd ask if you want to tag along Clara, but frankly I doubt even if he left you behind you'd let that stop you. So, I'm only going to say this once. Doctor, don't let her come."
"He's not the boss of me," Clara insisted, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. The Doctor nodded as if to agree with her.
"Daleks." Jack had only said the one word, but his voice and face had gone deadly serious. Upon him saying it, so did the Doctor's. Clara knew enough about the Daleks to know that this wasn't good. The Doctor hated the Daleks, they were the ones he'd been willing to kill his own people to destroy. They were his greatest enemies and they'd fought him in the Time War. Clara had only ever seen one when they were hiding on Gallifrey, in the painting, but she knew that one of her echoes had fought them. Had become one. She knew this was bad. The Doctor looked torn. She looked at him and he smiled at her, but he was clearly running this over in his head. Jack muttered something about giving them a minute and went off to explore Clara's bathroom.
"Clara," the Doctor said quietly. "I am not the boss of you and I never will be."
"You don't want me to go." It was a statement not a question. Clara couldn't help but sound disappointed.
"Jack can't die. I can't die. You. You're human," he put his hand on her cheek, feeling how delicate she was. Clara looked into his eyes, saw his heart breaking. "And you can't die. Not because you physically can't die, but if you do. It's my fault. And yes, we go running and it's dangerous. But this is different. This is the Daleks. And as much as I know we could end up anywhere, I never aim to take you anywhere potentially dangerous."
"You took me to Trenzalore," she pointed out. "You took me into the Time War. You know I'm by your side, all the way. To hell and back. No stupid Dalek is going to stop us from being a team. You need me. You and Jack. You claim you're both immortal but we both know that's a lie, at least on your part. So if you think I'm letting you both walk into a fight with the Daleks without backup then you're insane."
"Clara Oswald," the Doctor pulled a pained face. "Why are humans always so stubborn?"
"Because that's why you like us," Clara pointed out. "Now go get Jack, we have some Daleks to face."
Jack explained the situation. A Dalek ship had been picked up on radar just the other side of Jupiter and the aim was to shut it down. Jack himself was currently running solo, no team, no back up, and no friends. He'd been hacking into U.N.I.T channels for a while, however, which is how he'd been able to pick up the Doctor and also how he'd realised what the ship was. U.N.I.T had no clue and thought it was an asteroid or something, but Jack had been able to extrapolate it and get a better look. The Doctor stayed silent as Jack spoke, occasionally nodding and muttering things. He was clearly deep in thought and he never took his eye off of Clara for more than half a second.
"You won't be able to land the TARDIS," Jack was explaining. "I hijacked a satellite and ran a full diagnostic scan. Here," he showed them his laptop. "The ship has serious shielding and TARDIS sensors that'll spot you trying to materialise a mile away. No point even trying unless we can get those shields down. A two man team should be able to sneak in and with the right weaponry; they can hold off the Daleks and get those shields lowered."
"Why do we need to land the TARDIS?" Clara asked. "If we need another way onto the ship anyway, what does it matter?"
"Because," the Doctor replied. "If we can land the TARDIS, we can plug her into the Dalek mainframe and upload all their information. Find out what they're up to. And make sure they've still forgotten about me. Plus, we can remotely control the messages the ship sends back, wipe out all the Daleks and make it seem like everything's normal."
"That's the plan in a nutshell," Jack grinned. "So all I need from you Doctor, is a gun and my vortex manipulator and we'll be on that ship lickety-split."
"You said a two-man team," Clara mused. "Why not just you?"
"I need one person to hold off the Daleks whilst I disable their shielding," Jack said. "I can do it from anywhere in the ship, when it's wired up to this or his sonic."
"I'll sonic, you shoot," the Doctor instructed. "Same as old times."
"Which leaves me to fly the TARDIS in," Clara pointed out. "And you know how well that would go. No, I'll have to go with Jack."
"Absolutely no way, out of the question," the Doctor crossed his arms. "Okay, fine but Jack does all the shooting. You hide behind him and if he dies, hide behind his corpse until he gets back up, which should only take a few seconds. Take this," he handed her the sonic. "Jack can talk you through it. Jack, if anything happens to her…"
"I know, I know, you'll throw me into a supernova or something, I got it. She'll be fine with me Doctor, you know that. So are we going to break into the Black Archive to get that vortex manipulator back or what?"
"We don't have to," the Doctor grinned proudly and nodded at Clara. "Clara acquired it a few months ago. It's on board the TARDIS. And I'm sure there'll be some old anti-Dalek weapons around somewhere. I never clean up," he explained as Clara shot him a look. "Clara, you don't have to do this. I could never ask you to do this."
"Doctor, we've been over this. I can manage."
Clinging awkwardly to Jack's arm, Clara took a deep breath as the vortex manipulator whirred into life and they appeared on board the Dalek ship. They hid from sight around a corner, but could see two Daleks just around it, monitoring some screens. They were at an L-junction, and the corridor the Daleks were down had no door at the end, so the Daleks could only come in from directly behind their current position.
"That right there," Jack pointed to behind one of the Daleks. "That's the access panel. You can open it with the sonic. Once I've shot these two, the Daleks will be alerted but they can only come from where we are now. So I'll shoot and talk you through taking down the shields. Then the TARDIS will materialise onto us and we'll be safe. Understood?"
Clara nodded, but she was shaking slightly. She hadn't realised quite how terrifying this would be. Jack put a hand on her arm and smiled warmly. He then stood up and whipped round the corner, blasting the first Dalek to smithereens with his gun.
"Intruders detected, exterminate!" screeched the second but the time it had wheeled round to fire, Jack had already blasted it. Clara scrambled to her feet and nervously followed Jack around the corner. Jack nodded at her as he examined the screens and she soniced the panel, so it opened. Clara shoved the sonic inside and Jack turned around to look, thoroughly confused by what he saw inside the panel.
"But that's impossible," he muttered, as the sound of Daleks filled the room.
"What is?" Clara yelled, panicked. "What do I do?"
"Nothing, the shield's already down," Jack muttered. "Doctor! Get in here now!" he shouted into the device and Clara hit the floor, trying hard not let her fear get the best of her as four Daleks rounded on Jack.
"Exterminate!"
Jack got a couple of shots off, taking two of the Daleks with him before they shot back and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. The Daleks converged on Clara. She could just about hear the faint whining of the TARDIS and wouldn't let the Daleks see her cry. The Doctor was coming. Her Doctor. He'd save her.
"Exterminate!"
Clara heard the TARDIS but it was too late. She saw the blue ray leave the Dalek, she felt it crash into her chest. She plummeted backwards, a scream escaping her lips as she endured a second or so of unbearable agony, pain beyond anything she could have imagined. And then, only darkness…