Rose Tyler was enjoying herself.
He adventures with the Doctor and their new companion were temporarily paused due to some ship malfunctions, but she had the best seat in the house to watch two very attractive and knowledgeable men as they worked up a sweat doing repairs on one of the most impressive space ships in the whole of existence.
"So, how'd you get to be so knowledgeable about ships like the TARDIS?" Rose ask the new crew member, Jack Harkness, as he was crouched on one side of the console, the Doctor underneath, feeding wires up for Jack to reattach. Rose was perched behind the railing near the door to the main hull of the ship with it's many rooms. She swung her feet as she watched, not having much else she could do, as she herself didn't have any knowledge or experience with mechanic work of any sort, let alone something this far advanced from her own time.
"Ya know, I never thought to ask that, either." The Doctor agreed, popping up from the floor grates. "I let you waltz on here and just start working on my ship, barely known you a week. You literally did know what you were talking about, I didn't even think to question it. How the hell do you know how to work on a TARDIS?"
Jack Harkness smiled at his new friends brightly.
"This isn't the first TARDIS I've been on." He replied, giving a casual shrug.
The Doctor did not seem to know how he felt about that answer, as he'd suddenly pulled himself up out of the floor, sitting on the edge of the open grate.
"What?" He demanded, his face twisted in an almost angry disbelief. "That's impossible."
"Eh, highly improbable at best." Jack shrugged again.
"Who do you know that has a TARDIS? Where did they get it?" The Doctor pressed. Jack swallowed as he looked at the other man, who was staring him down with icy blue eyes. Suddenly, he was regretting telling the truth about how he knew what he did about the TARDIS.
"I-uh," Jack paused, scratching at the back of his head. "That's complicated."
The Doctor scowled.
"I'm going to need you to do your best to explain it." He growled at the other man.
"I have this girlfriend- well..." Jack sighed, "Had. Not my girlfriend exactly anymore... I don't know what to call her other than the woman I'm in a 'situation-ship' with, who is also my daughter's mother." Jack propped on the console as he spoke.
"You have a kid?" Rose exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"We'll circle back to that." The Doctor called over to Rose. "Go on. TARDIS."
Jack took a deep breath, then huffed before sliding down until he was sitting on his rear, legs crossed like a child in grade school.
"It was grown for her." Jack replied, bracing for more questioning. "From a coral piece."
"Which came from..." The Doctor pressed again, gesturing with his hands for Jack to continue.
"Her father's TARDIS, I assume. I've never seen his. Wolvie was raised on Darillium, her stepmom helped her dad accelerate the growth. Apparently they take like a thousand years otherwise..." Jack replied, a bit more quiet now. "He is who showed me how to work on the wiring, and the pipes that run the corridors, if the need arises in this one. Hers is very much like yours, but the chameleon circuit works. Keeps hers looking like a little purple hatchback car more often that not, when on Earth at least."
"Harkness, are these people... Are they like me?" The Doctor was quiet now, there was an air about him Rose had never seen, but it made her heart hurt. She thought about the day he told her his planet and people were all gone.
"Gallifreyan?" Jack asked. The Doctor simply stared back at him. "Uh... I guess so, yeah. Well, her dad is. Louve's mom is a human. She's more like him though- you know, double ticker situation." He gestured on his chest where the Doctor's hearts were located. "Rosaline's the same, too."
"That your daughter?" Rose ask, finally jumping back in. Jack nodded.
"Yeah, I'll show you pictures in a bit. I have a feeling the Doctor here isn't done with my interrogation." He looked back toward the other man.
"Just- hang on." The Doctor furrowed his brow, tapping his chin as he thought. "Why are you just now telling us about all this?"
"It didn't come up, ya know?" Jack adjusted, pulling one knee toward his chest, straightening his other leg out. "Sorry."
"I thought all my people were dead." The Doctor breathed. "You know other time lords."
"Small universe." Rose piped in again.
"Isn't it just." The Doctor said, crossing his own arms over his chest. "Who is this girlfriend's father, Jack? What's his name?"
"Oooh." Jack grimaced. "Yeah, see... That I don't know. He's not exactly my biggest fan, he told me I can just call him 'Sir', and he's a very angry Scottish fella, so I've tried very hard to keep on his good side. When Wolvie first introduced me to him, she was already pregnant- you know how the funny thing about time travel is sometimes people meet out of order? He knew me, and has for a while... I don't know him, yet. Said my reputation proceeded me, and eventually explained that he knew one day I'd be 'almost' worthy of Wolvie and Lanie, but he knew I wasn't that man yet. He told me until such a time, it was best that I stick to calling him 'Sir'. I just assumed when I met you that was something you guys did... taking a nickname like that, since your language is so complex for most tongues. Most everyone calls Louve 'Wolvie', so..."
"Yeah, but Louve isn't Gallifreyan." The Doctor said.
"Right, 's old English." Rose agreed. "Makes sense, it's she-wolf, so Wolvie is good one."
The Doctor looked as if he was deep in thought about everything he'd just been told. It was like something was sitting right in front of him, but he couldn't quite reach it, couldn't see it. He blinked several times, trying to make the solution come up, but nothing did.
Rose took the dip in the Doctor's questioning as a good time for her to jump in.
"Can we see her?" Rose ask, sliding down onto the console main floor.
Jack reached across from where he sat and rummaged around in his old leather messenger bag, taking out what looked to Rose to be a large iPod, but it was almost all screen. Jack held a button on the side down and the device powered up, showing the same logo from her iPod.
"Its an iPhone, a few years ahead of where cellphones in your time are." Jack said, seeing the look on her face. He clicked a few of the icons and then handed the device to Rose. "Just swipe the screen like..." He showed her how to move the images from one to the next "Like that. There."
Rose looked at a couple of pictures before the Doctor came over and looked over her shoulder. The little girl on the screen was absolutely adorable. She had long, dirty blonde curls which gave her a wild halo, and icy blue eyes. She had a bright smile, and even had the tip of her tongue sticking through her teeth as she grinned in several pictures. There were pictures of the little girl, who appeared to be about three, by herself, others with Jack, but also with a similar looking woman Rose assumed was her mother, which Jack confirmed as he gave information here or there about different pictures as they looked, Rose cooing and complimenting as they went.
Wolvie, the girl's mother, was also blonde, with slightly darker roots than the length of her hair, and she also had the crystal blue eyes. Rose assumed that color blue was a Gallifreyan trait, as they resembled the Doctor's. Rose looked from the phone to Jack, then to the Doctor, then back to the phone.
"She looks just a little like... me." Rose pondered aloud. Jack swallowed but said nothing, his eyes on the Doctor.
"Kinda, I suppose." The Doctor dismissed. "You're much prettier."
"Whatever, this girl is gorgeous." Rose scoffed, swatting the Doctor's arm. "Whatever you did, Jack. Fix it. She's so pretty, and you obviously make beautiful children."
"Whatever he did my ass..." The Doctor rolled his eyes... "You cheat on this girl, Harkness?"
Jack looked surprisingly hurt by the question.
"No." He replied firmly. "I'm a terrible pansexual flirt, but I am faithful when I have someone who wants to be exclusive. Its more the... Crime... She has an issue with. But I have debts that have to be paid, and they're safer away from all that. Its better we're not together right now. Eventually I'll get it sorted."
"Sorry my question got so deep and personal." Rose apologized, seeing how upset Jack looked, especially after the Doctor's accusation.
"No worries." Jack smiled again. "I like you two, and I don't get to just talk like this much. Plus I get to show off my little Noodle, and I love that."
Suddenly, Rose's stomach rumbled loudly.
"My lord, you two have worked through lunchtime. I'm going to the galley to make something for us. You two clean up and come on down." She said, springing up the steps toward the corridor. Both men watched as the blonde walked away, and when she was out of site the Doctor looked back to Jack.
"I'd very much like to meet these other Timelords, Jack." The Doctor said seriously.
"I can probably arrange that for Wolvie and Rosaline, but not so sure about her father. He's kind of... flighty." Jack replied.
"That's fine." The Doctor nodded. "We can compare ships."
Jack picked the phone back up and began to type into it. "Intergalactic roaming." He said, holding it up.
"I upgraded Rose's the same." The Doctor nodded.
The message sent and within two or three minutes, the sound of an incoming return text rang out.
"Earth date June 17, 2012. There's a musical she's taking Rosaline to, and they'll be in New York to catch it on Broadway. We can meet her at a place called "Herb and Butter" for lunch." Jack said, handing the phone to the Doctor.
"Sure." The Doctor nodded. "We can do that."
Back on my Doctor Who era. Please be sure to follow for updates, and please please review!
Thanks for reading!