A/N: Apologizes for skipping an update last week - our internet cut out for five days with the company not really wanting to do anything about it. But I'm back now with another chapter! These are some of the scenes I enjoyed writing the most, so hopefully you'll enjoy reading them equally well. :)

"I can't do this!" Suri huffed.

"It's not so bad," the Doctor tried to calm her.

"Oh, it's easy for you to say! You can just up and go whenever you feel like it. You're a Wanderer," she seemed to spit the word, "you do not belong here!"

The Doctor let his outstretched arm fall without touching her shoulders. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned his back on her and walked to the far wall, the one that was in shadow. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and stayed silent.

Suri paced back and forth, muttering to herself, rage over their situation boiling in her blood, then finally walked up to the Doctor.

"This is all your fault!" she jabbed a finger into his chest for emphasis. He only cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well it is! I wouldn't be stuck inside a room without an escape plan if it weren't for you!"

"No, you would be lying dead on the floor of Ward 909 with a warlock cleaning up the mess you made!"

"Mess?! MESS?! I was trying to help people there. Could have done it too if I wouldn't have wanted to check on you too! Lost me precious minutes, that has! The crowd was on my side, I could have turned them!"

She was shouting, spit flying everywhere, almost frothing at the mouth and the objective part of her brain knew something was very wrong. The other part, the more dominant part however wasn't convinced she should stop.

"You, Doctor," her tone got mocking and disgusted at the mention of his title, "what are you a doctor of? Do you heal anything? As far as I can tell all you bring is destruction. You didn't do me any favours! I could be out there with the Sisterhood, running back to our Temple, to safety! Instead I'm here, stuck with you!"

A large spurt of blood gushed out from her nose and now she was certain that something was terribly wrong, but still she kept going. The Doctor perked up and seemed to realize she wasn't entirely herself because he started circling around her, coming closer very slowly, as if approaching a wild animal.

"And would you bloody stop that?! There is nothing wrong with me! Nothing… There is nothing…" Her breath came out in shallow gasps and the world was spinning.

The Doctor caught her once again, just in time before she hit the floor, hushing her and offering some water. Where he got it from, she didn't know, but she was grateful for it nonetheless. Taking large gulps of the liquid, she slowly calmed down enough to breathe normally.

The Doctor was stroking her back slowly and rocking her gently back and forth and she really wanted to tell him to just stop it, she wasn't a baby, she didn't need to be coddled and who did he think he was to just come and hug her, all uninvited? But her eyelids felt very heavy suddenly, there was cold sweat breaking out all over her body and she could do little else than let the Doctor's words lull her to sleep. He was speaking in a strange language, something Suri had never heard before, yet the words were as familiar as her own, even if she couldn't understand them. She tried to figure out where she knew them from, but the darkness claimed her too soon.

"Shhh…" Jack put his index finger on her lips and grinned at her. Rose couldn't help but grin back. Shut in a tiny storage room (well, really it was a cupboard by all definitions, except that it was made up entirely of precious gemstones); the two of them were busy trying to stay quiet and evade the guards.

"I think they're called Warlocks," whispered Rose, amusement still evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I think that was what Blackbeard over there was yelling."

Rose couldn't help the giggle that escaped, and Jack had to cover her mouth with his hand to keep them from being discovered.

He was happy to see her smiling again. The thrill of the escape, the running, the discovery of new places, the rush of the adventure - it was the best cure for heartache. The best distraction. Jack knew this just as well as the Doctor, and he wasn't disappointed when he saw the excited glimmer in Rose's eyes appear at the exact moment they started running. Five minutes after they got out of the room and decided which way to go, the guards came after them. They didn't have time to hesitate or decide which way to run; they just took off hand-in-hand, barely looking where they were going.

It was all thanks to Jack that they didn't get caught already. Just when both of them were running out of breath, he spotted the little alcove. They had just enough time to duck under it before the Warlocks swarmed into the hallway. The guards either weren't very smart, or the storage room was special in some way because they didn't even think about checking for the escaped prisoners there.

"So, the fairy tales haven't changed that much in the 51st century, I guess?" Rose mused.

Jack cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you clearly know who Blackbeard is…"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure you do too, Rosie."

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow questioningly at him.

"What do you know about Blackbeard then?" she asked.

"He was a mayor of this town called Cruiseville. He loved gambling and had eight wives at the same time. He was a chronic drinker and used to entertain his friends by chopping up his servants into pieces. He had a beard that was said to be black from all the dried blood of his victims. At the same time he was painfully slow when it came to mental exertion and couldn't count to ten by himself. So, brainless brute stereotype, really. Wasn't much of a fairy-tale. Moby Dick was way better, if you ask me."

"Right, was that a star-whale then that ate a time-travelling alien and his blond companion?" Rose snorted.

"Actually, the companion was ginger, but you've gotta ask the Doc about what he was doing in a mammal's stomach."

Rose tried to stifle her laughter, but it was too late. One of the Warlocks heard them and turned around, pointing his staff at her. Jack bolted, not leaving the guards enough time to fire their weapon. They were around the corner by the time the first bolts of lightning reached the alcove. Running at breakneck pace, Jack hooted with laughter, teasing the Warlocks behind them while Rose shook her head.

"Show off," she muttered.

"Hey, if you want to go all serious-like, you have to ask the Doctor for a dance."

Rose swatted his arm and grinned. The chase was on. It was a good thing - it meant she didn't have to think for the moment. Didn't have to worry about the Doctor, about how they were going to get out, or whether her newfound reliance on Jack would irk the Doctor when they reunited. Jack was a friend, surely they both understood that. Or did they?

Brushing those thought aside, Rose concentrated on the man running in front of her. He was certainly a catch, if she would have been so inclined. Only she wasn't. Their first meeting unsettled her a bit, true. And Jack certainly was very charming when he wanted to be. But if Rose was entirely honest with herself, she did the whole thing - the flirting, the teasing, the showing her trust more than she felt it - because she wanted to make the Doctor just a little bit jealous. It never seemed to work before, but something was different about Jack. He wasn't just a pretty boy; he could stand his ground against even the Doctor's worst enemies. And that certainly annoyed the Doctor, whether he'd admit it aloud or not. And then there was the dancing. Those sweet few minutes in the console room were etched onto Rose's heart. It probably didn't mean anything to him though. Stupid little ape she was for thinking she might count.

Sighing, she increased her pace to catch up to Jack and toppled them both over when the Time Agent stopped suddenly. With a loud scream, they both fell face-first into a seemingly endless pit. Dazzling colours swirled all around them: ruby and sapphire, emerald and citrine, garnet, obsidian, malachite, tiger's eye… Rose closed her eyes and hung onto Jack for dear life, who seemed to be laughing for some reason.

"Are you mad?" she shouted.

"Open your eyes Rose," the laughter was still evident in his voice.

"I can't!"

"Sure you can." He peeled her fingers off his coat gently and touched their foreheads together.

"Look into my eyes."

Honey-brown met blue as Rose tentatively opened her eyes and the world seemed to stop for a second. It wasn't the endless ocean she always saw when she looked at the Doctor. It was the lightness of the sky, the clouds that skim overhead, the wind that sweeps you off and puts you down somewhere else. And she had to smile. A carefree laugh followed. Gripping Jack's hands tightly in her own, she realized she was going to be just fine. He spoke the truth when he said he wouldn't leave, but it took Rose a while to give herself permission to believe it.

"See? Not so hard," Jack grinned back at her.

She shook her head and gave him a tongue touched smile.

"No, I suppose not."

Their descent from that moment was slow and steady. Rose didn't understand why or indeed how they stopped falling, but right at that moment she didn't care.

Their feet touched the ground at last and she managed to stay standing despite her legs feeling like jelly.

"Well, that was fun," she exclaimed somewhat breathlessly.

Jack just stared at her with an expression on his face that Rose never saw before. She started fidgeting when he refused to look away.

"What?"

"Nothing," he smiled.

"What?"

"I just…" he ran a hand through his hair, than took Rose's arm. "Do you know how magnificent you are, Rose? Because sometimes I think you don't."

She blushed and looked away.

"Jack, I don't…"

"No, listen to me. I know you chose the Doctor; I'm not blind, for all I pretend to be. I can see what you two can't. Not exactly happy about being a third-wheel," he laughed at himself quietly, "I'd much prefer to be a third participant." He winked at Rose. "But I'm not stupid. I know this," he motioned vaguely between the two of them, "will never work. And I accepted it. But being my friend means I'm going to tell you these things. I might tease you about not letting me get in bed with you two lovebirds," Rose grinned and rolled her eyes, "but I'm also going to be there for you. The both of you."

She nodded gratefully and buried her face in his chest. He let her stay there for a while, but eventually disentangled himself from her embrace, holding out his hand for her to take it. When she did he grinned at her and pointed towards the ceiling. Or lack thereof.

"Well, we aren't getting out through there, so I suppose we just have to try and find another exit. Which way?"

He turned them in a circle - everywhere Rose looked all she could see was purple gemstones covering every inch of the walls of the chamber.

"Amethysts…" she breathed.

"Yup. Certainly looks like they are. We would be rich with just half of those stones in 21st century Earth."

"Tsk, tsk, Captain. Always thinking about the profit."

"Well, no harm done in gaining something out of it! Besides, it's hardly a practical solution: we can't carry any of the stones with us." He sighed dramatically. "I guess I'm just going to have to sell you on the slave market."

Rose squealed as Jack picked her up and ran towards a tunnel to their left. "Oi, put me down!" she laughed.

"No, I better carry you. For all I know you'll break your ankle down here and then I'll only get half price for you."

Rose shook her head and let herself relax in the Captain's arms. He walked on in silence for a while, seemingly not perturbed by her added weight. It was Rose who spoke up first.

"Do you think he's alright?"

"The Doc? He's fine, Rosie. Whatever trouble he gets into, he can always get out of."

Rose snorted.

"Didn't work so well with the Nestene Consciousness."

"I didn't say he gets out of trouble without help. But help has a way of always finding him at the right moment. He's very good at finding companions, you have to give him that."

Jack flashed her another grin and she shook her head. Then a shadow crossed her face and she seemed lost in thought for a few minutes. Finally, she looked up and asked, "Did he tell you anything about the people he travelled with before?"

Jack looked down at her in surprise, drawing her a bit nearer to himself. Rose thought he really ought to put her down and preserve his strength, in case they needed to make a sudden escape. She knew he'd never agree if she called him out on needing rest though.

"No, we never talked about previous companions. Why?"

"Don't know. I just realized I never asked him. I wonder what they've been like. The Doctor told me I'm the most jeopardy friendly yet." She giggled.

"I don't need to know about his other companions to attest to that!" countered Jack.

"Hey! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! And you really can't blame me for caring about people."

"No, I can't," that strange look was back in his eyes. "That's one of the things I like the most about you," he added and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She sighed happily and rested her head on his shoulders. Before long she fell asleep without meaning to, the gentle rhythm of the Captain's footsteps and his heartbeat under her hand lulling her to sleep.

A/N: Thank you for reading and sticking with my not-so-regular updates (although I'm trying to remedy that). Reviews, follows and favs make my world go round, so please consider leaving one if you liked this story.