A/N: Apologizes for skipping an update last week. It seems like keeping a schedule is proving to be harder than I thought. The good news is that there's a new chapter this week - one of my favourites actually. The bad news is that there probably won't be an update in the next few weeks. It's exam time where I live and studying has to take first priority. I'm not abandoning the story, never fear! But I do have to go on a bit of hiatus with it until my exams are done. Thank you for your patience and I hope you'll enjoy the latest installment.

"What do you think it is?" Rose breathed, her eyes reflecting the sharp light emitted by the object she held in her hands.

"Well, to me it looks like a rose," Jack replied nonchalantly. The effect the flower had on his friend was quite strange. If he didn't know better, he'd say she'd been hypnotized. Did he actually know better though?

Rose rolled her eyes and put the flower back gently into its holder.

"I can see that! I meant what do you think it's for?"

Jack shrugged and stepped closer to the strange sculpture that was holding the rose. The craftsmanship on the flower itself was quite astonishing. The petals were paper thin and made up entirely of gemstones. Rubies, garnets, quartz crystal, beryl, chalcedony, spinel, tourmaline… When Jack told Rose as much she cocked an eyebrow and remarked that the Time Agent forgot to tell her he was practiced in witchcraft.

"I'm not Rose! I only know because the Doctor upgraded my Vortex Manipulator and now it can do scans for alien tech. Besides, these are precious stones. Doesn't hurt to know a bit about things that are worth an awful lot of money."

"Right. The 'Captain' part of your name comes from having pirates for parents then?" she teased.

Rose shook her head and tried to keep the joyful smirk off her face when she realized the Doctor was quite possibly following her previous request for a bit more 'Spock' by upgrading equipment. Then the full meaning of Jack's words hit her.

"Wait. What do you mean alien tech? These are just gemstones, aren't they? They aren't alien. I mean… I guess if you consider it from the natives' point of view they could be. But…"

"No, you're right," Jack was still fidgeting with his Vortex Manipulator, "these are not supposed to be alien. But I'm picking up very strange readings. High levels of artron and chronon. And the Silverberg is off the charts."

"And what does that mean?" Rose gave him her best clueless look to illustrate just what she thought of the techno-babble.

"I don't know. We'd need the Doc to tell us exactly what's going on, but these are no ordinary gemstones, Rose. Or if they ever were, they've been transformed into something very different."

"By whom?"

"Good question. An even better one would be: why?"

"Don't you think we should leave?" asked Rose when he walked up to the sculpture formation and began to examine it.

"Oh, we absolutely should. And that's why we're sticking around," he grinned at her.

"You're just like the Doctor!" laughed Rose.

"So, any ideas about what the sculptor wanted to tell us?"

"Hm… The girl loved the man who's clutching at her legs, but she was forced to be with the other one who's whispering into her ear. He threatened to kill her true love unless she marries him. Her true love can't bear the thought of losing her, so he begs her to do something - anything - but marry the tyrant. She is a fairy, so her only choice left is to turn all three of them into stone, stopping time. The rose is there so that when the right person finds this sculpture, they'll know what to do and how to break the curse."
Jack whistled.

"That is a neat story, I have to admit. Not very likely though."

Rose pouted.

"You are just as bad as the Doctor!"

"Oi! I'm trying to be two people at the same time Rosie, give me a little credit here!"

Rose's smile faded and she walked over to Jack who enveloped her in an embrace.

"I know you miss the Doctor, sweetheart, I do too. We just got to get out of here and then we'll see him again. Alright?"

She nodded and hugged him tighter. They stood in the faint glow of the flower in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"How did you know?" Rose asked suddenly.

"Know what?"

"That the Doctor can be comforting too."

"Oh…." He trailed off.

Releasing Rose, he sat down heavily at the foot of the sculpture. He ran a finger through his hair and sighed, opening his mouth several times before finally being able to say something.

"You know how I told you that the Agency stole two years of my memories?"

"Yeah, I remember. We were on that Chula ship you stole…"

"Borrowed," Jack corrected her automatically. He was too lost in thought to notice Rose's smile.

"Borrowed. When you told us you weren't doing the whole conning thing just for the money. I understand leaving the Agency, but I still don't get how the cons were supposed to help."

"Well, Time Agents can be found pretty much everywhere. Remember those spy movies you showed me? What was it?"

"James Bond?"

"Yeah! Those. Well, being a Time Agent is a little like being a spy." Normally Rose would have interrupted and accused Jack of boasting, but she sensed that the topic was too serious to make fun of. "You never know exactly who you are dealing with. It can be extremely dangerous even when you do, but when you're only guessing who the other party might be, it's deadly. Two years of my memories are gone, Rose. Just disappeared. I don't know who I met in that fourteen months, I don't know what I did and I have no idea of the friends and enemies I've gained. Being a conman, drawing people into different timelines, to different corners of the universe… I'm doing it because I'm hoping I can find answers along the way. That I can find people who'll provide answers, who'll jog my memory, who I can provoke into telling me the truth."

His voice was becoming more and more distressed with each sentence and all Rose wanted to do was to hug him. Something stopped her.

"I realize I'm exposing myself too," he laughed bitterly. "If I meet an enemy, they're free to kill me as they please and I might never even know they wish me ill before I am already dead." He shook his head and looked into Rose's eyes finally. Seeing the distress there, he opened his arms, inviting her in.

"Hey. I'm not gone just yet. Besides, if your good Doctor doesn't throw me out than it won't be an issue for a while yet."

Rose smacked his arm. "He's not my Doctor, Jack. Besides, he won't throw you out because I won't let him! You'll never have to get back to being a conman ever again."

The determination and assurance in her eyes warmed his heart. Even if he did nothing horrible during the two years he couldn't remember, he was quite sure he didn't deserve Rose.

"He is your Doctor, believe me Rosie… And he couldn't have picked better."

Rose blushed and turned her head away, leaning away from his embrace a little.

Jack cleared his throat and patted the knee of the stone man who was clutching at the woman's feet. Rose sat down onto it and lifted her eyes to his, listening intently.

"I didn't answer your question though. About how I know the Doctor can be comforting too." He paused again, seemingly gathering his thoughts and Rose watched as lines that weren't on his face before suddenly appeared, his forehead creasing and his jaw clenched. Whatever he was going to tell her wasn't easy. He seemed to be battling with himself. She reached out and took his hand.

"You know you can trust me."

He smiled apologetically.

"I know Rose. I know."

Staring into the distance again, he started massaging her palm, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"Remember when you spent the night at Jackie's last time?"

"And she invited you up for tea."

"Yeah, she did."

Both of them laughed as they remembered the blatant flirting and the rum that got mixed into the tea. Rose was trying to avoid getting drunk, lest she starts blubbering about the Doctor and says too much, but neither Jackie nor the Captain were that careful.

Jackie ended up sliding from the sofa to the floor in a dishevelled heap as her laughter died down and she started snoring. The Captain was in a slightly better shape, thanks to his more generous drinking habits, no doubt.

"I'm used to hypervodka, Rosie, this is nothin'."

"Right, that's why you suddenly have a northern accent, is it?"

"What? I do not. That's not… Do you think it will annoy the Doctor? I bet it will!"

He emitted a giggle and Rose had to hold in her laughter as she tried to steer him towards the Tardis. The Doctor was luckily nowhere to be seen when they entered. Jack chose that moment to start singing and Rose cursed loudly.

She didn't want to draw attention to their entrance - the Doctor thought it was a bit too domestic anyway that she spent the whole weekend at her mom's. She didn't need him to think Jack getting drunk would be a part of their Sunday ritual too. He was fairly good-humoured about the flirting when Jack was kept in line, but no telling how he'd take a drunk Time Agent wanting to get it on with him. The ship was in a helpful mood, thankfully, and put Jack's room right next to the console room.

"Yeah, I remember. You were totally wasted. I had to put you to bed and you told me…"
"Told you that you should come and help me get changed," grinned Jack.

"And then you asked me whether I was your mommy."

They burst out laughing once again, overtaken by the memory.

The Doctor turned up the next morning and only sneered slightly as Jack grumbled about his head. He had to good grace to stage whisper to Rose that they aren't letting the cat out of the house any time soon. Jack would have started arguing (or coming up with innuendo fuelled by being called a cat), but his head was really hurting too much to do anything but groan pitifully.

"So… How does you getting drunk relate to the Doctor's skills in comforting people?"

"Well, it doesn't. Not really. But… That night… after we came back to the Tardis…"
"You better not tell me you two had sex because I won't believe you!" Rose's voice rose to a higher pitch and she pointed her index finger at him accusingly.

"Jealous, are we, Rosie?" he grinned. "I wish! No, but he did come into my room later."

Rose lifted an eyebrow and waited for him to continue, obviously not believing him just yet.

"I was… I do have certain dreams. Well, nightmares," he scoffed.

She reached for his hand again and shuffled closer, leaning into his side softly.

"They don't come usually when we had a long day and I'm exhausted or when we relax and fall asleep on the couch in the media room." (Of which they were both guilty on more than one occasion.)

"But on nights when I'm restless, when we're just drifting, when I don't have anything to do…" he swallowed hard and looked at their intertwined fingers. He seemed to gain strength from it.

"I told you I don't remember what happened in the two years that the Agency stole from me. And I don't. But when I dream… Sometimes in dreams the memories seem to surface. Not enough for me to understand them, or even to retain them later, but they do return for a bit."

His eyes grew distant and a bit glassy - something Rose had only seen with the Doctor, when he was talking about his past.

"I always wake up screaming. And I never know what about when someone asks me. I can't even remember what I can't remember." His eyes shined ominously and Rose realized he was just about to cry. She took her hand away from his and embraced him instead, running her hands up and down his back. He was shivering slightly, even though he still had his military coat on him.

"That night… it was different," he whispered. "I woke up screaming alright. But I also recalled flashes of the memories. Scenes of a war. Of bloodshed like I've never seen before. Of children screaming. Everyone running. Chaos. Total war."

His voice trailed off, too raw to continue.

"The Doctor… um… he came into the room. Well, kicked down the door. He ran to me and took one look at my face before he was cradling me in his arms, whispering soothing words in a strange language I didn't understand. He must have held me for a good half an hour before I drew back and stared at him, astonished. I whispered a thank you and he nodded. He stood up and I thought he was about to leave, but instead he took off his jacket and sat on the bed until I started to talk."

Jack swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair, squeezing Rose's fingers with the other.

"He didn't try to comfort me, he just listened. You know he has that look: that really intense one where his eyes seem to glow and you swear he can see right through you, right into the deepest part of your soul and somehow you don't even mind because you just know… you just know deep down that he won't judge."

Rose smiled and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to overflow at any moment.

"Yeah, I know exactly which look you're talking about."

"I must have talked for hours. But he never said one word. Never interrupted. Just let me finish and never took his eyes off my face. Then he got up, asked me if I wanted some tea and when I said no he nodded, pulled up a chair and told me to go back to sleep. He was gone in the morning and acted like nothing happened, but I know - Rose, I just know - that he was sitting there all night, watching over me until right before I woke up."

Rose didn't look at him, but the look on her face told Jack she never doubted it.

"That just what he does," she said quietly, squeezing his hand. "No fuss. No big words. No grand demonstrations of emotion. No expectations for thanks. He just comes in, fixes things, then leaves. You know him, Jack. That's what he does for everyone else. Why wouldn't he do it for us?"

"Yeah…" he still seemed lost in thought and she didn't want to interrupt him, but her stomach was growling and she knew they had to get out of the caves soon if they wanted to survive. They had a bit of water in one of Jack's flasks, but they haven't eaten anything since they escaped their room, and that must have been well over a day ago.

"Jack."

"Hmm?"

"We need to go."

"Of course."

He jumped up, stretched and smiled at her. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What about the rose?"

"I think we should take it. Never know when it might come in handy. Could be an old relic they've searched for for millennia. We might get knighted!" He was almost back to his usual self and Rose couldn't help but smile brightly at the sudden change. Trust Jack to get a mission and cheer up! She shook her head.

"A rose for a Rose?" he bowed theatrically and offered her the crystal flower.

"Why thank you!" she curtsied and pretended to smell it.

Taking his hand, she walked towards the path opposite to where they came in.

"This seems to be leading towards the surface. Smell the air, it's fresher."

"Oh. Didn't know you had a nose for that type of thing!" exclaimed Jack.

"I'm not useless, you know!"

"No one said you were. In fact, I think you're fantastic."

He winked at her and they took off at a run, their laughter echoing in the chamber behind them. The sculpture in the middle remained motionless, despite Rose's quip about the curse being broken with the flower. Golden tears seemed to trickle slowly down the woman's cheek. The man at her feet bled from his left palm - the drops of blood turned to rubies as soon as they touched the floor. The other man's chest seemed to glow with a faint orange light and as Jack and Rose's footsteps faded, heat started to blossom from his ribs. The faces of the three figures changed from motionless stone-sadness to something else. Something entirely more alive.

"Mother! Mother! It's happening! It's here! Finally, the stone is moving!" a girl wearing a kingfisher blue dress ran towards the Sacred Chamber.

"Hush Clara, I'm thinking."

The girl stopped and looked down at her feet, trying to keep quiet. She stole quick glances at the other woman - she was sitting on her knees on the floor, swirling green and golden liquid in a silver bowl. She was older than her by a number of years, but it wasn't her age that allowed her the title of 'Mother'. She was the first one to be brought to the Temple thirty years ago - the first Sister to be found since the great Cleansing. She had visions and dreams from a very early age. Of a Blue Goddess and the Storm that it will bring. No one understood them, but they were made into prophecies.

Clara often thought about the absurdity of taking the word of a child (for the Mother was only a child when she arrived here) and basing their whole future on it. But the words of the Sisters were sacred. Clara learned that the hard way when people started to come to her for advice and she couldn't give it. When her words became twisted in other people's mouth. When her hands clutched at freedom, but found none.

Hopping from foot to foot, she tried to keep still, but found her heart was pounding too loudly and her breath was quivering too much in her chest to be able to achieve peace. The other woman sighed and stopped swirling the shining liquid. Standing up slowly, she fixed her with a reprimanding look that turned into a smile as Clara threw herself into her arms.

"What is it then? Can't you wait for a few minutes until people finish what they're doing?" she chided.

Clara grinned back and shook her head.

"It's happening, Donna! It really is. This time I'm not mistaken. The tears started to flow on her face."

The other woman's eyes widened and she took Clara's face gently into her hands, putting a finger on her temple. "Indeed. The blood is flowing, the fire is kindling, the tears are being born. It's time."

They walked together to the giant bell that lay at the far end of the chamber and grasped the rope tightly.

A/N: Reviews, favorites and follows make my world go round, so please leave one if you like this story. Thank you, you're a star for reading!