Okay! Howdy all! This is the first chapter that I'm really anxious about posting... I hope no-one thinks this is a bad turn for the story...
Anyway, enjoy this chapter!, even if it's a little short...

Chapter 20: Honesty

The TARDIS ground to a halt abruptly. The Doctor had flown her the whole time and had typically, much to River's dismay, left the brakes on. Again. River placed her hand on a wall, attempting to sooth her. Her husband's 'landing' was anything but peaceful for the old girl.

The Doctor looked up from where he was wrestling with the controls. "We're here." His voice sounded ominous to Jack, but River found it fitting. When the door opened, she knew what she would face. She didn't want to go through that again.

Jack stood by the door, prepared to go first. "After all," he'd rationalized, "I'm immortal. If they've laid a trap, I'll just spring it and then you guys can take over. I'll catch up later if I'm... Detained for whatever reason."

The Doctor found River's hand and gave it a squeeze - as much for her comfort as for his own. Shoulder to shoulder, they nodded at Jack, who swung open the doors. The memories that seized them were almost too much to bear, but River and the Doctor struggled to overcome them. After what felt like an age of anxiety, they moved and stood beside Jack beyond the TARDIS' walls.

There was a small planet at the centre of the universe - this was where they had landed. White in appearance, it was made of a substance that looked like a cross between glass and marble with great, swirling trails of something like Tiger's Eye running through it.

The Doctor flicked his wrist and glanced at his watch. "I've overshot a little..." He admitted sheepishly to an impatient crew.

"By how much?" River asked indulgently. Jack huffed and crouched down, examining the planet's surface.

The Doctor grinned. "An hour. Pretty good really." River looked impressed, then strode back towards the TARDIS. "Well," she called back. "You coming? I'm not going to wait out here." The Doctor began to follow her, but Jack shouted back. "Should I give you some alone time?"

River and the Doctor laughed. "Lovely though that'd be," River replied, "I don't believe that will be necessary. Come along Harkness!" Jack stood and followed the pair back in to the Time Machine.

The moment the doors closed, Jack spoke. "Okay - we may not be taking the long path out there, but I need a serious word with you two. We're about to go into a situation which we do not yet understand fully - potentially a risky situation to be in. So I propose that you share with me whatever it is that's going on here. I mean, sure - if I die as a result of not knowing it's not a huge issue, but I wanna know." He crossed his arms and leant against the interior TARDIS wall, waiting.

River and the Doctor exchanged a glance, then the Doctor beckoned to them both. "So be it." He said. "Come with me, we'll discuss this in the library." They set off down the maze of corridors.

The TARDIS library was huge. Containing millions of books, all translated by the TARDIS so as that you could read them no matter what you were fluent in, it was one of the most awe-inspiring places that Jack had ever been in. The Doctor and River sat down on a small leather couch, beckoning for Jack to take the matching armchair in front of them. He sat, and was pleasantly surprised when a drink appeared on the coffee table before him. "You might not like me, but you sure know what I'm like! Thanks!" He addressed the ship kindly. She hummed in agreement.

Taking a sip of his cocktail, Jack waited for the story to begin. It took a few minutes for the Doctor to gather his thoughts before he began.

"You know of the Time that Almost Was, The Would-Be End. We were there. And it was terrible. The horrors you could see dance upon this very planet - they're impossible to describe. And we suffered a great loss during that period. You see, we were out there, trying to send back these monstrosities, when they took her. Something, someone - we don't know. And we don't know where either. But you see, what we do know, Jack, is this; whatever or whoever it was - it took our daughter."