The next morning, Rose woke up to a text from Jake.
Jake: Research should be downloaded to your tablet. Hope I get to meet Captain Jack soon. He sounds like my type. {winking emoji}
Rose reviewed the report and called Jake.
"Hey Rose. Reviewed the profile?"
"Hi Jake. Yep – American born in Ohio, joined the Air Force and was part of an exchange program with the RAF. Met Jason while on a tour in the Middle East. Honorably discharged. Works as a private investigator. Anything missing?"
"Nope, same story as Jason's. Normal profile for the last 12 years. Prior to that, it's all too perfect. So, whoever or whatever created their profiles a decade ago was a bit too good."
"Well, I'm meeting them both for drinks tonight at the pub. Maybe I'll be able to find a crack in their stories tonight. Jack may be an even bigger flirt when he's drunk, but he's also an honest drunk."
"Sounds like fun," Jake said. "Let me know if you need backup. I'm happy to buy a few rounds of drinks."
Rose laughed at Jake. He and Jack would make a good match, depending on how all this worked out. "I'll let you know. Talk to you later, Jake."
"Bye, Rose."
Rose got out of bed and went to get in the shower when her phone dinged.
Jason: I've got a few department meetings on campus today. Won't be able to get away until right before we're scheduled to meet Jack. Sorry we can't spend the day together.
Rose: It's okay. I'm sure I can find more of Manchester to explore.
Jason: The MOSI is a great museum.
Rose: Great idea! I'll go explore it. See you at the pub at 7.
Jason: Can't wait.
Rose got ready and headed out to the Museum of Science and Industry. She couldn't help thinking about how much John and Sam would have loved the MOSI. Well… maybe not loved, per se. They would have enjoyed laughing at the remedial understandings of physicals, geology, and paleontology. She ate lunch at the museum café and let her mind wander into happier memories of poking fun at popular science fiction movies on family movie night. Rose missed them so much in these moments, but she realized that for the first time, the memories didn't also bring a flood of tears and panic attacks. Perhaps it was time that was healing her wounds. Or perhaps it was the presence of another in her life. The man that was so much like her first true love but just different enough to be like a new love.
Love? No… not love. At least not yet. Rose was open to the idea psychologically, but her heart wasn't ready yet. There were still too many unanswered questions about Jason and now the appearance of Jack. She couldn't let herself become vulnerable to love until she knew the truth.
Rose checked her watch and decided to head toward the pub. She meandered through the streets, taking an indirect route in an effort to delay herself a bit and also see more of Manchester. She also needed to get her thoughts in order and play out some Torchwood-esque scenarios about how to get to the bottom of the question of Jason and Jack's true origins.
Rose arrived at the pub a half an hour too early. She decided to go ahead and find a seat, pull out her phone and read the emails from work that she'd successfully avoided for the last seven days. Not much of interest anyway – policy memos, updates about building maintenance, etc. Ten minutes later, the door to the pub opened with a flourish and Rose looked up to glance at the door. Rose jumped at the sight of Jack walking in the door. He looked around the mostly empty pub, obviously looking for a table he could claim for the three of them when he spotted Rose. He grinned that trademark flirtatious grin and headed over to Rose.
"Hello, beautiful," Jack greeted Rose, reaching down to kiss her chastely on the cheek. Rose couldn't help her slight blush. Even as best mates in the original universe, Jack knew all the right buttons to push.
"Hi, Jack," Rose replied.
"You're here early," he observed.
"Well, there's only so much time you can spend at the Museum of Science and Industry before you need a beer," she replied.
Jack laughed at that. "I suppose so. Where's Jason? I'm surprised he's not here with you, glaring at me with that look on his face."
"He's at the University. Said he had some department meetings and wouldn't get here until 7," Rose replied. "And what do you mean 'that look on his face'?"
"Oh you know… the look that says 'hands off the blonde, Jack. She's mine.'," Jack grinned and chuckled. Rose knew that look and was glad Jack knew it too. It would certainly make establishing boundaries easy if Jack knew where he stood. Or at least, where he was allowed to stand.
"Yes, I thought I recognized that face at the game last night when you interrupted a brilliant snog," she teased.
"Well, I didn't mean to interrupt. I simply thought I'd inquire about joining, but Jason's reaction made it clear that was a party for two, not three," he smiled.
Rose and Jack both laughed at that. After a few moments of silence, Rose decided to jump in head first. She had to take advantage of this opportunity without Jason around to try to get more intel. "So, Jack, where are you from originally? I assume America?"
"Yep, grew up in a small town in Ohio."
"That's nice. I've never been to Ohio…." Rose ran scenarios in her brain like prize wheel until she landed on her next move. "You know, you remind me of someone I knew once. He was from the Boeshane Peninsula. Do you know anyone from there?"
At the name of Jack's real hometown, he froze, but quickly recovered. Anyone without Torchwood training would have missed it, but it didn't escape Rose. "Nope, never heard of it." Jack was clearly a tiny bit uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going and quickly offered "How about I go to the bar and order our first round of drinks? With any luck, we can have a nice buzz before Jason gets here."
Without waiting for a reply from Rose, Jack stood up and walked over to the bar to place the order. He glanced back at her and smiled before returning his attention to the bartender. Rose knew she had hit a nerve and spun the wheel in her head looking for her next move. She didn't have to look far. As Jack returned with two beers, he reached forward to hand one to Rose. His long sleeve pulled up slightly with the motion to reveal the edge of a vortex manipulator strapped to his wrist. Rose let him sit down and get comfy again before she made her next move.
"So, do you get to go back and visit your hometown much?" Rose was steering this conversation at full speed.
"Nah. Don't really have time to travel that far."
"Why is that? Does your vortex manipulator not work?" She glanced quickly down at his covered wrist and back up at him.
He couldn't hide the shock this time. "How do you know about those? I didn't think Torchwood had that kind of technology yet."
"They don't," Rose said sternly. "But that doesn't mean I don't know what one looks like." Jack had revealed part of his hand and Rose was all too eager to get him to reveal the rest. If this version of Jack was anything like her old universe Jack, he could be a trusted and loyal friend once he knew you could be the same. Rose decided to take a chance and share more about herself to try to get him to open up more about his origins. "Look, Jack, I wasn't kidding when I said I knew someone from the Boeshane Peninsula who you remind me of. Because that person is you… well, I think, a parallel version of you from a different universe. And that Jack was a very close friend of mine from the 51st century, a former Time Agent who joined me and my other friend, an alien, in a sentient space ship that could travel through time and space. That is until twelve years ago when I was stranded in this universe away from both of them. So, if you're anything like the man I just described, I hope you'll help me solve the mystery of how you and Jason came to be living here, in the 21st century."
Jack stared at Rose. She could see her words rolling around in Jack's head while he tried to decide what he could tell Rose. He took a few swigs of his beer, as if the amber liquid would give him the courage to tell Rose the truth. After a moment of contemplation, Jack spoke. "You're right. I'm not from this time. I'm honestly not even sure how I got here. And you're right; my vortex manipulator doesn't work anymore. Technically, it works, but not very well. I can jump back a week, maybe two, at a time and I can't change my location beyond a few hundred miles. So, returning to my time and my home is impossible."
Jack's explanation was a start. Rose and Jack both took drinks from their pints when the door to the pub opened and in walked Jason. The moment he saw Rose, his face lit up and he strode quickly over to her. He took a seat next to Rose, kissing her firmly and saying "How are my two favorite people this evening?" he asked with a smile.
"What? No kiss for me?" Jack asked with his trademark flirty grin.
"Jack…" Jason left the remainder of his warning unsaid. He then glanced back and forth between Rose, Jack, and their half-drunk pints of beer. "Am I late? Or did you decide to start without me?"
"I finished at the MOSI and decided to just come directly here and make sure we could snag a table before the rush and I think Jack had the same idea. Sorry, hope you don't mind that we got drinks before you got here. Honestly, I think Jack just wanted to get me buzzed to try and get me to spill the beans about our relationship." Rose was fairly certain that Jack would have attempted this if she hadn't had her own agenda.
"Wow, Rosie, you already know me too well," Jack winked.
"Well, looks like I made it just in time," Jason said.
"How was your day?" Rose asked Jason.
"Boring – department meetings, students wanting extra help with the material from class… nothing too exciting. How was the MOSI?"
"It was fun! John and Sam would have loved that place," Rose answered with a bit of melancholy. Jason reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. It was the first time Rose had mentioned her husband and daughter without getting upset or shutting down.
"What about you, Jack? How's your current case going?"
"I should have it solved by the end of the week. It's your typical business partner relationship gone bad. The things people will do for a profit!" Jack didn't go into further details. He kept his clients and their troubles in confidence and never shared details that might identify them.
"I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. What do we want to eat and I'll go place our order when I get my drink?" Jason offered. They selected a variety of pub fare, especially chips, and Jason left the table to go place their order at the bar.
When he was a safe distance away, Jack leaned forward to speak softly to Rose. "You said your alien friend had a sentient space ship that could travel through time and space?"
"Yes," Rose answered. "It was called the TARDIS – Time And Relative Dimensions in Space."
"When I arrived here ten years ago, I appeared inside Jason's ship. It was badly damaged. It had crashed in the woods outside of Shrewsbury. I can take you there tomorrow and maybe we can both get some answers."
Rose tried to calm her racing heart. Jack knew where there was a ship that was most likely the reason for their being stranded in this century. Maybe tomorrow she would final solve the mystery of Jason and his origins. "I think Jason teaches all day tomorrow, so we should have plenty of time to go and come back." Rose felt a bit guilty about sneaking around with Jack, but if it meant helping them both, not to mention her own dilemma of how to feel about Jason, it was worth it.
"Ok. Here's my card with my cellular number on it. Text me when you're ready to go in the morning and I'll come pick you up." Jack handed his business card to Rose, which she quickly stuffed in her bag.
Jason arrived back at the table and the trio began exchanging stories about Torchwood missions and client jobs Jack has done. The number of investigations where Jack ended up naked was impressive, Rose giggled. She'd expect nothing less from him.
After a couple of hours of eating greasy pub food and drinking, Jack stood up. "Well, I think it's time I left you two love birds alone. I've got my eyes on an attractive brunette at the bar who looks lonely." He waggled his eyebrows at them. Rose and Jason both turned to the bar and noticed two brunettes alone at opposite ends of the bar - a man and woman. The question was, which one was Jack referring to? Probably both, Rose thought with a smile.
As Jack sauntered away from the table, he turned back to look at Jason, "Jason, can I borrow your car tomorrow? I've got to make a quick trip south and you know how much I love your roadster."
"Sure, Jack," Jason agreed. "Come by my flat in the morning for the keys. And Jack, - no sex in the roadster."
Jack put his hand over his heart in a mock offense "I would never!" With a wink, he turned back to his mission of attracting a lonely brunette, or two.
It didn't take long for Jack to leave the bar with a brunette on each arm. He turned back to wink at Rose and Jason as he left. Jason shook his head at his friend and Rose just giggled.
Jason turned his attention back to Rose. "How about we head someplace else with a bit more privacy?"
"Sounds great," Rose answered.
Jason offered his arm to Rose and they walked out the pub towards his car. Before he bent down to open the door for Rose, Jason took her hand and turned her to look at him. "Rose," he breathed. "I have something I need to tell you." Jason took a deep breath to build his courage for what he was about to say. He looked into her eyes and confessed "I think I'm falling in love with you."
Rose's breathing hitched and she stared into his deep blue eyes. Rose wanted to return the sentiment, but she was still so confused internally about her feelings for Jason and whether she was just superimposing her love for the Doctor onto this man who was his twin in appearance. Before she could formulate a reply, Jason placed a finger over Rose's lips and continued. "You don't have to reply right now. I know it's probably too fast and I'm crazy for telling you already, but it just didn't seem right to keep it a secret."
Rose decided the best reply would be to show Jason how she felt. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her to kiss him passionately. Jason gripped Rose's hips and pulled her firmly into him. They fell backwards slightly, pressing Rose's thighs and buttocks against Jason's car. Rose could feel Jason begin to harden through their layers of clothing. When they finally separated to breathe, Jason rested his forehead on Rose's and they gazed into each other's eyes. Before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth, Rose said breathlessly, "Stay with me tonight."