Title: Feeling Colours
By: Librarian In Leather
Pairing: Ten/Jack
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: Italics indicate the Doctor or Jack speaking telepathically. Square brackets [] indicate the Traxons speaking telepathically.
Summary: The Doctor woke to a fuzz of contentment at the back of his mind. An emotion he was pretty sure wasn't his own and was, for some reason, blue.

***

The Doctor and Jack trudged across a snowy expanse, the Captain hugging his coat around him and hunching his shoulders against the cold.

"Are you sure this is Traxon 6, Doc? I don't remember it being this cold."

"Of course I'm sure, I think I know what planet I landed on, thank you very much."

Jack snorted in derision.

"Oh, come on," the Doctor protested, "my driving isn't that bad."

"Oh, yeah, what about that time you were heading for Avalon Gamma and we landed on Scart?"

"That was not my fault, there was a temporal distortion!"

"Right, and that time we were headed for Doxyhydrosecaglon and ended up in the wrong galaxy, was that a temporal distortion too?"

"Okay, okay, but I am sure this time, I even checked the system schematic, this is definitely the outer planet, "˜cos I really didn't fancy landing on Traxon 5 by mistake!"

"So if this is definitely Traxon 6, then why is it so damn cold!?" Jack shivered.

"You know, that is strange. I mean, it's not exactly a tropical planet but this is a bit extreme."

The Doctor was startled out of his musings by the barrel of a blaster being shoved in his face. He looked around to find Jack being similarly accosted and saw that they were surrounded by at least a dozen large, well built, blue humanoids dressed in black body suits.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor, this is Jack, is there something wrong?" There was no answer to his greeting but for a moment he thought he felt a faint telepathic trace that was gone before he could find it.

One of the Traxons gestured with his gun and the Doctor and Jack each felt a gun barrel in their backs.

"I think we're being arrested," the Doctor's voice was calm but Jack's reply was laced with sarcasm.

"Oh, well, that makes a change."

***

[Two strangers have been discovered on the planet's surface, a troop is bringing them in now] Tel'gar reported to his superior officer.

[On the surface? What were they doing there? And how did they get here in the first place?]

[They haven't responded to any telepathic communication and they are most definitely alien, sir, what should we do with them?]

The commander sighed inwardly, this sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen; no-one should even know this planet existed. [We've got to know how they got here, if our security's been breached,] he paused for a moment, [put them in a development cell over night and see if it does any good.]

[But sir, they're alien, we don't know what it would do to them.]

[It is necessary. Put them in development and that is an order Tel'gar.]

[Yes, sir,] Tel'gar saluted and turned on his heel already making preparations for their "˜guests'.

***

The Doctor and Jack were escorted off the planet's surface and through some sort of underground base, which Jack complained was just as cold as outside if not colder, to a cell.

They knew it was a cell because they heard the door lock behind them, but the bare walls and lack of furniture were also kind of a giveaway. Jack slumped down against the wall opposite the door, still hugging his coat around him.

"Oh, great, so we're left here to die of hypothermia, trust me, that's not a fun way to die."

The Doctor sighed. "You humans and your primitive regulatory systems, always complaining that it's too hot or too cold." He slumped down next to Jack.

"Are you saying you don't get cold, you're like, a Time Lord radiator?"

The Doctor nodded and looked suspiciously at Jack's grin.

"Care to share some of that body heat?"

The Doctor gave him a look but then sighed and lifted his arm around Jack's shoulders. "OK, but only "˜cos I don't want to have to watch you die of hypothermia. And you better behave yourself Jack Harkness or you're on your own," he said as Jack snuggled against him.

"Don't worry, Doc," Jack mumbled, "I'm too cold to try anything."

"Huh, I'll believe that when I see it." But Jack didn't reply; he'd already fallen asleep to the sound of double heart beats and the feeling of finally being warm.

It seemed to grow colder as the night progressed and Jack never stayed asleep for long. Every hour or so he would wake to snuggle closer to the Doctor's warmth. By the time the Doctor finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning Jack was practically sitting in his lap.

***

The Doctor woke to a fuzz of contentment at the back of his mind. An emotion he was pretty sure wasn't his own and was, for some reason, blue.

"That's odd."

"What is?" came the mumbled query and he felt Jack's hair tickling his throat as the Captain shifted in his lap. The warm blue contentment started to blend with green confusion and bright purple curiosity creating a strange mix of colours and emotions that he was now certain weren't his.

"Confusion, surprise." Jack shifted again so he could look into the Doctor's eyes, his arms still around his waist, huddling against the cold. "Why do I have colours in my head?"

The Doctor met his eyes with surprise. "You can feel that? Well, in that case it seems to be some kind of empathic connection, but that's impossible, especially since you're human, there shouldn't-"

He was interrupted by the door opening; two of the Traxons entered carrying blasters.

[Can you understand us now?] The voice echoed through the Doctor's head and sounded strangely emotionless.

You're telepathic, but that's brilliant, but what do you mean now? You tried to communicate with us before? the Doctor thought back.

[Yes, we tried to communicate last night but you were unresponsive. We need to know what you are doing here. So we put you in here, this is development. We thought it might help you to communicate.]

Development? Development of what? Are you responsible for the empathic connection?

[You will come with us. The commander wishes to see you.]

Will he answer my questions?

[You will answer his.]

The Doctor and Jack were escorted through the labyrinth of tunnels which made up the base. Jack could feel the Doctor's apprehension and curiosity as a mixture of red and purple at the back of his mind. Jack himself was still broadcasting his sleepy contentment but as he became more alert it was almost completely obscured by resignation. When travelling with the Doctor you got used to having to escape capture every other day.

They were shown into another, larger, bare room. This one had a window looking out over the planets surface and another Traxon was staring out of it.

[The intruders, commander.]

The commander turned to them. [Thank you, Tel'gar, I'll take it from here.] The two guards closed the door behind them as they left.

[Now, you will tell me what you are doing trespassing on Traxon 7.]

Traxon 7! The Doctor's colours morphed immediately to bright turquoise shock.

What were you saying, Doc, about being absolutely sure this was Traxon 6? It was the first time Jack had used the telepathic link and his mental voice mimicked the amusement that was flashing yellow into the back of the Doctor's mind.

The Doctor ignored Jack, but there isn't a Traxon 7, it doesn't exist, how can we be trespassing on a planet which doesn't exist?

The commander appeared to relax, [So, you are here by mistake, but that still doesn't tell me how you got through our defences.]

Oh, that would be my ship, she just, sort of, materialises, she doesn't really take any notice of security measures. And if you'll just escort us back to where you found us we'll be on our way.

[You just expect me to believe that you are here by accident, you and your materialising ship? If I let you go, how do I know you won't breach our security?]

Why would we want to? We don't even know what you're doing here, it's not like we've been let in on anything top secret, how could we? The only places we've been are here and a cell. Speaking of which, this telepathy-empathy thing, how long will it last?

The commander still looked suspicious but he allowed the change in subject. [The development room simply awakens your telepathic potential, it will allow you to communicate with telepathic species such as ours, it can be easily controlled but it cannot be turned off.]

Jack and the Doctor both felt the other's shock with a rush of turquoise.

And what about the empathic link?

The commander frowned, [I'm sorry, I don't understand, development cannot cause a link.]

But it must have, Jack and I awoke this morning with a fully formed empathic link, how else could it have happened?

[Development cannot cause links but, like I said, it awakens telepathic potential, including awakening an existing emotional link and strengthening it.> The commander frowned again, [however, it almost exclusively happens between mated pairs among our people.]

Jack had to stop himself laughing out loud at that, especially since he could sense the Doctor trying to force himself to feel irritated rather than pleased.

Well, we are not your people, obviously our neurology is different. Jack would have been pissed at that if he hadn't felt the Doctor's emotions but it seemed to satisfy the commander.

[That is true, but there is nothing I can do, we have no way of disrupting the link.]

You can let us go; there may be something I can do about it once we're back in my ship.

The commander was silent for a moment but eventually he relented. [Yes, I will release you, but you must swear not to reveal the existence or location of this planet.]

I swear.

I swear.

[And I will hold you to that. Tel'gar!] He thought the name at the door. One of the guards entered.

[Yes, sir?]

[Escort our guests back to their ship, make sure they don't see anything.]

[Yes, sir.]

As the Doctor and Jack were escorted outside, Jack started shivering again. The Doctor, feeling the grey pulse of discontentment, turned and frowned at Jack questioningly. "What's wrong?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply but grinned as an idea occurred to him. "Nothing a Time Lord hot water bottle won't cure."

The Doctor gave him a look that said he was not amused. But now Jack could feel his emotions the captain wasn't fooled, so he proceeded to insert himself inside the Doctor's coat and wrap his arm around the slim waist. The Doctor's arm in turn went around his shoulders.

By the time the Tardis came into view through the snow, both minds were broadcasting and receiving warm blue contentment.

***