Chapter 13

Despite the complete and utter darkness, a set of piercing blue eyes tore through me. I felt instantly shamed by the expression that these eyes gave me. I turned away, and pretended to search for the reason for the power going out.

"Jessica!" My name was hissed sharply. It seemed to slice through the air like a blade. "What were you thinking?" This came out in a duller tone, but each word was still pronounced separately, as though they were individually punctuated.

"Jack, calm down," Rose said, stepping before me. "It wasn't Jessica. I brought him."

"Rose, why would you do that? Do you know how dangerous it is to have two of me in the TARDIS? No wonder she isn't moving, younger and older me are not supposed to be in here at the same time."

"Excuse me?" Jack's younger self cut in.

A system of emergency lights came on, bathing our surroundings in a harsh red light. Our eyes were wide as we turned to face Caleb, having forgotten that he was unaware of this all. The Doctor was below the grate on the floor, attempting to fix the TARDIS.

Jack leant against the console, and ran a stray nervous hand through his already jostled hair. He attempted to explain everything to Caleb in a calm way, but the boy just looked at him like he was a complete lunatic.

The response he gave, however, contradicted his expression. "OK, so you're me?" A smile shot straight across his lips.

"Yes." Jack did a quick, jerking nod.

"I'm that hot?" Caleb asked me, a rush of excitement filled his face.

"Stop it!" The Doctor's voice called up, and scolded.

The captain slammed his hand against the console. "Can't I talk to myself, Doc?"

I started to laugh incredibly hard at the complete insanity of the entire situation. Rose joined my laughter, and the two Jacks stood beside each other, eyebrows raised at exactly the same angle.

TWTWTWTWTW

In the hub

Owen stood in the center of the hub, rubbing a hand up and down on the back of his neck in a manner to relieve his tenseness. The hub was a complete disaster, and everyone was tired.

Ianto was trying to fill in for Jack as much as he could, so his coffee making had become less frequent. There was a serious lack of caffeine, the rift was acting up, and let's face it, everyone was a little tenser with me gone. I don't mean this in a selfish way, but I had apparently brought their stress levels down quite a bit, being young and someone new.

Nervous glances were exchanged every time my room was passed. Small quips were made when someone mentioned Jack. Everyone needed us back, and we weren't on our way.

Ianto stood in Jack's office and, only after much debate with himself, dared to sit in his worn chair. He rubbed the corner of the messy desk. Papers were stacked upon it, and Ianto felt incredibly compelled to fill them out, file them, and clean the desk off. He was still weak, tired, and sore from being shot a week ago.

Tosh had been working almost non-stop, monitoring the rift, and forging Jack's signature on a significant amount of papers for unit. Gwen was in charge of most of the field work, as well as running to the café on the corner of the street to get coffee.

Needless to say, almost every night was spent at the hub. Sometimes the girls would go home late, and Ianto and Owen would collapse over a stack of papers, or even on top of an alien body, as Owen was examining it.

TWTWTWTWTW

The Doctor had managed to get the TARDIS working again, but she thudded around until she came to a stop. The floor of the machine had seemed to slam into our legs, sending our bodies in different locations.

The energetic Timelord bolted to the doors and threw one open. The four of us felt obligated to follow, jogging on our weakened legs.

A wall stood before us, and we had to awkwardly squeeze between it and the TARDIS to walk. The Doctor seemed almost to have some sort of internal radar that was telling him where to go, because he was darting around, and following hallways that led away from his beloved machine.

Jack, Rose, Caleb, and I almost ran into him as he came to a stop. His excitable reaction turned first to fear, and then grew icy with anger. Three metallic beasts stood before us. They were all a golden color, with what oddly appeared to be plungers and whisks on their bodies.

A single eyestalk protruded from each of their heads, giving them an ominous look. I was about to ask the Doctor about them, but my words were cut short.

"EXTERMINATE," was shrieked by all three creatures simultaneously.

I found myself, once again, using my speed and instinct to save another life. I knew I would regret it while feeling the pain, but I thoughtlessly shoved Caleb back and jumped before the Doctor, trying to absorb the shock from the combined beams of electricity spurting from the aliens.

I knew I would be reprimanded for this later, but I couldn't stop myself. I knew that my not being able to die would have to cause some good for others. What I didn't expect was for Jack to jump after me, blocking any excess from hitting the Timelord.

We both fell down to the ground, dead. A wry smile was plastered to my face, even though I had no control over my body.

"Quick! Get them back to the TARDIS!" Yelled the stunned Doctor, half-tossing Jack over his shoulder.

We were carried back to the box, and laid on the floor. Caleb stood over us, teary-eyed. "They… They are dead!" he yelled in agony.

"Caleb, sweetheart, relax, they're not dead, they're just unconscious," Rose cooed in order to calm the shocked boy down.

The Doctor simply stared at the console. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't sure where to go, or what to do. He stared back at his dead friends, and then back to his machine. Sighing, he clicked a button and pushed a lever, and the TARDIS slowly took off.

End of Chapter 13!

You guys have been great so far. I know this wasn't a good one, but I knew I needed to post quick, sorry! Let me know what you think, please. I think I will be bringing them home soon. Please, please review! Bye for now ~Lexi~