DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Doctor Who. Still don't make any money from this. But if he doesn't stop leaving TARDIS prints in my flower bed, we're gonna have words…
SUMMARY: Something goes horribly, horribly wrong in the Parallel Universe and the Doctor's not there to save the day.
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"December 20, 1522!" The Doctor whirled around the console flipping levers and switches, twisting dials, tapping away at the typewriter, and, for all Amy knew, doing absolutely nothing. "Suleiman the Magnificent has accepted the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes. These knights are allowed to evacuate, but they eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta…"
The Doctor's spiel is cut short by the ringing of the phone.
"Get that, would you, Amy?" The Doctor dove under the console to look for something.
Amy, rolling her eyes, bounced from her perch against the railing to the console. "Thank you for calling TARDIS Universal. This is Amy. How may I help you?" She smiled at her own wit.
Silence on the line almost crackles and she tried again. "Hello? Anyone there? River, if this is you…"
"I need to speak to the Doctor, please." A deep, sexy, very male voice drawls down the line with an obviously American accent.
The Doctor, meanwhile, had heard River's name and immediately popped his head up, looking around nervously, quite frankly, a bit scared. "River…?"
Amy cocked an eyerow and looked to her friend. "And who is this?"
"Just tell him it's Jack"
"Oookaay... Hang on a sec," she says and pressesd'Hold' before handing the phone to the Time Lord. "Not River. Says it's 'Jack'."
The Doctor looked at the phone quickly and Amy saw him gulp, now both eyebrows up in astonishment.
He took the phone - breathe old man - gulped again and pressed the phone to his ear before releasing the 'Hold'.
"Captain. How are you? Been playing nice?" The Doctor smirked to himself and was not altogether surprised at the shocked silence that filled the air again.
A quick huff of air signalled Jack was still there before the Doctor remembered he'd not seen any of his old companions in this body.
"Yeah, Doc. You could say that. It's been a while."
The Doctor shrugged, again to himself, "Time is relative, Jack. You of all people should know this." He turned to lean back against the console.
A low, dark laugh, then, "Yeah. You're right as usual."
The Doctor gaped then, making a surprisingly good impression of a shocked guppy, but Jack continued before he could say more.
"You're needed. Now. You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but I'm not asking this time. I'm telling. 28th May, 2012, please. It's 19:39, my time. Land in the Hub, please, soon as you can."
A sharp click prompted the frozen Time Lord to pull the phone away to stare at it as if it were a poisonous snake.
Amy watched her friend and began to worry when he say said nothing. That's never good. "Doctor? Who was that? What did he want?"
"Hmm?" He finally looked up, saw Amy and Rory. "Right. Jack. Well, Jack traveled with me and… with me years back. Lifetimes ago. Says he needs me to come by."
Rory stepped up, "Then let's go." Ever the centurion - loyal and brave, no matter how much the Doctor ribbed him. Amy nodded in agreement.
The Doctor hung up the phone, then started making his way around the console to adjust their coordinates to the ones Jack specified. When he reached the monitor, he was a bit surprised to see the TARDIS has already done so.
He frowned a bit when he realized he'd felt nothing in the way of course change but just patted the rotor, knowing his sexy girl would take them where he needed to be.
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"Alright everyone. Prep for incoming TARDIS," Jack called out from his office before he made his way to the computer banks to adjust the Hub's shielding for the TARDIS landing. He sighed and glanced toward the medical bay, saying absently, "Now, we wait."
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