A little bit of a fast-forward here, from where we left off until after the events of the S3 finale. Bit darker than the rest of the fic. No explicit references to violence or torture, but Jack does make known much of what happened during the year that never was.

Time passed, neither quickly nor slowly, nor in a straight line. The repaired vortex manipulator helped keep things interesting, though they remained careful with it, giving it time between trips, trying to avoid having the device burn out again in an inconvenient time or place carrying more than its intended load.

They used Cardiff as their home base, working with Torchwood occasionally, often enough that Jack was able to find and secure the Doctor's spare hand, which Jenny studied in fascinated horror until the novelty wore off.

They continued to scan for traces of the Doctor, much more effectively with the hand to use as a point of reference, but they had no luck, not identifying any visits for which Jack hadn't already been present.

When they found out they'd just missed the Doctor at Canary Wharf, frustration was eclipsed by Jack's grief at seeing Rose Tyler's name on the list of the dead, and Jenny comforted him every way she knew how. She felt she might finally understand, too, a little more of that haunted look that had been in her father's eyes when she'd been born. When Jack again said she'd have passed for their daughter, the Doctor and Rose's, she held him tightly, her own tears of regret and loss mingling with his.

Shortly after, following an epic escape from a planet whose ruler they'd managed to piss off, they did finally damage the vortex manipulator again. Luckily, it deactivated seconds after they landed back at home; seconds before would have been lethal.

Jenny was searching for workable parts to repair the device when the Doctor landed in Cardiff, and Jack didn't have time to get her before he caught a ride.

~O~O~O~

Your father's here. Got to go. Back soon as able. xo

Jenny stared at the text. It had come through several minutes earlier; she'd figured out pretty quickly to keep her cell phone silenced when she was on covert missions.

Had he really left without her?

He had, she confirmed when she got home and found the flat empty.

It was empty for more than just the rest of that day.

Days later, the part of her that occasionally got glimpses of time, it surged suddenly, then snapped, and in an instant, everything went dark.

~O~O~O~

"Jenny? Jenny, wake up."

Jenny felt herself lifted, carried, nestled against familiar arms and chest.

"Jack?" She opened her eyes as he placed her on their bed. She held onto him for a moment, a brief hug, then let go so she could see him properly. "You found him? The Doctor?"

Jack's jaw was tight, his mouth pulled downward, his eyes troubled. He nodded. "Not exactly the best trip I've had with him."

"Worse trip than when he left you?" Jenny took his hand, watching Jack's emotional mask slip in and out of place.

"In a lot of ways," he said finally, pulling her into an embrace that made it harder to breathe. Jenny returned the hug, holding him until she felt a change in his body.

It wasn't so much that he'd relaxed, but more like he'd made up his mind about something.

"I wasn't sure." He pulled away, shifting to sit back against the pillows, and Jenny followed suit next to him. "I didn't know how much to tell you."

"It's bad, isn't it?" she asked. "Whatever you want to say." It was the only time they sat like this, really, neither looking at the other, not quite touching, but each present.

Some things were just easier to tell to the ceiling.

"It started out okay, other than the dying. Not usually my first choice of activity."

Jenny fought a smile at the fact that he could still speak in innuendo after whatever had happened. She fought the impulse to drag him into her arms again and help him forget whatever had been so bad that dying was one of the better parts of his story. She fought the desire to ask him about her father, about whether he knew she was all right, how he'd reacted.

Jack continued speaking, and Jenny didn't have to wait long for some of her answers.

"It was the version of him you met, but he hasn't met you, not yet. I dropped a couple of hints, mentioned blondes, but he didn't react. I got a little closer to telling him, later, but I couldn't…" Jenny watched the play of emotions across his face. "We weren't alone, and I didn't know how much I could say without causing more of a paradox than we were already dealing with." He paused. "I'm saying this all wrong." He ran a hand through his hair. "I caught a ride on the TARDIS, but I didn't make it inside before the Doctor left. I held on, but I didn't exactly arrive alive on the other end. Came to with the Doctor's current companion after she stopped trying to save me. Scared her half to death when I woke up. Martha Jones. She was something."

Jenny did smile some this time, remembering the woman she'd met. "It couldn't be too long before I was born, then."

"I'm not sure. Speaking of companions, though," he said, meeting her eyes for a moment, a genuine smile on his lips, "Rose is still alive. She's trapped in some parallel world, away from the Doctor, but she's alive." Before Jenny could share in his joy, Jack's face shuttered again, and he looked away once more. "We met this man who turned out to be another Time Lord."

Another Time Lord? Were there more of them, more people like her out there other than her father? Except he'd said he was the last, and he'd said that after whatever events were giving Jack such a hard time.

"He was crazy, though, the Master, and more than a little on the naughty side." Jack had slipped into a neutral tone, detached. "He took the TARDIS. Me and the Doctor and Martha, we got back to Earth, but we landed too late. The Master, he'd been here for some time, posing as a politician."

Pieces clicked together. "You mean Saxon? He had some big speech, but before I could watch it, I passed out."

"That's the guy. I'm not sure exactly what made you pass out, but I've got some guesses. He used a paradox machine to make it possible to destroy the Earth. He was planning on a lot more destruction than that, too, but we were able to stop him, reverse things back to that speech a year earlier."

He'd been gone that long? "You and Martha and the Doctor?"

"Martha, the Doctor, everyone. Martha did all the footwork while the Doctor and I were on the ship."

He'd been on the ship for a year, in the hands of an enemy?

"It was probably about as bad as you're thinking," Jack responded to her unspoken question. "He kept me tied up, mostly, left me alone unless he got bored or wanted to try to get a reaction out of the Doctor. It's over now, though, and I'm still here."

Jenny took his hand, and he squeezed hers.

"What about the Doctor?" she asked.

"He's okay, physically, at least. Didn't handle it well at first when it was all over. The Master was a nut job, but the Doctor cared about him, so when he died..." Jack shook his head. "By time we parted ways, he seemed more like himself. He was enough of his normal self to make sure I couldn't use the vortex manipulator."

"He did?" Jenny felt some of her tension unwind as Jack turned to look at her. He still seemed a bit shaken, understandably given the circumstances, but he was going to be all right. She could see it.

"He only deactivated it when we split up." Jack held up his wrist. "Repaired whatever was broken, first, so you might be able to figure out how to turn it back on."

"I'll try in the morning." Jenny shifted and put her arms around him, moving slowly in case he wasn't ready, but he once again crushed her in his embrace.

The kiss, when he pulled back enough to give her one, was desperate, needy. His hands were demanding and hungry. Jenny met his passion with her own, and they comforted each other until finally, spent, Jack drifted off to sleep.

Jenny watched him for some time. It had been days for her, probably before they'd gotten on the ship or while the Doctor was repairing the TARDIS after the events of the paradox. For him, it had been a year, and a hard year at that, one she didn't even want to imagine.

She hadn't been there to help him, hadn't been able to see her father. She'd been stuck on Earth instead, fainting like the damsel in distress that she refused to be, all because… why? Because someone had messed with time lines?

Tomorrow, she'd fix the vortex manipulator. Then, she'd find something they could do, something she could do so that when she did finally meet her dad again, she would be proud of how she'd spent her time.

~O~O~O~

Jack woke up.

The first thing that he was aware of was that he hadn't had the nightmares he'd expected.

The second was that he had a blonde in his arms, Jenny snuggled up against his chest. He could see part of her face, a face that hadn't changed in the time he'd known her. He stroked a lock of hair behind her ear, and she didn't move, her breathing still steady.

She must have stayed awake after he'd finally fallen asleep.

It was nice, waking up like this after falling asleep the way they had. The regular combination wasn't something he had experienced often with flings. His previous relationships hadn't lasted long.

With Jenny, though?

Jack could see himself spending a lifetime with her, at least.

Not that they'd likely grow old together, not in the traditional sense. The Doctor didn't seem to ever really age, so it made sense Jenny would remain similarly young, and Jack himself didn't seem to be aging at a noticeable rate.

Maybe after a few centuries they'd have deeper laugh lines, more signs of worry and of adventure.

Centuries.

Before the year that never was, Jack had known he adored her, of course. He didn't have any desire to leave her or for her to leave him. It was fun living with her, fighting the bad guys, fighting with her.

Making up afterward.

But on board that ship, the thought of Jenny had helped keep him grounded. He hadn't mentioned her, not to anyone, and he had no way of knowing how she'd spent the year.

He had a feeling, though, that she'd have ended up aboard the Valiant if she'd been alive more than a few days after the Master had made his move.

Instead of focusing on that likelihood, though, or the dozens of darker possibilities that had clearly existed, he'd thought about getting back home, about being able to see her face and the Doctor's, both, when the two were finally able to reunite.

He'd thought about things he wanted to do, options for income and for a future, decided that maybe he'd talk to her about taking a more active role in Torchwood.

Between the two of them, with how much of a mess the agency's remnants were in after Canary Wharf, they could probably take it over entirely with very little effort.

Jack ran his fingers along Jenny's arm, and she stirred, finally, searching his eyes before grinning and embracing him in a way that distracted him from his thoughts quite effectively.

Reviews! I started writing this fic because I NEEDED it, and the response has been a lot more than I was expecting. Everyone needs more Jack and Jenny!

AliciaRoseFantasy: So glad you're liking it! I appreciate your taking the time to comment on each chapter :)

KaraSalvatore: Thank you! This chapter wasn't quite as fun as the rest, but hopefully it was still good :)

LiveLaughLoveSparkle: Thanks very much! I'm looking forward to where it's heading ;) Probably just a few or four chapters left.

jackjenfan: I'll always update as soon as I'm able ;) Thanks!