Title: You Just Have to go With What Feels Right
By: ninefics
Characters: Jack Harkness, 9th Incarnation, Rose Tyler
Rating: R-ish
Warnings: A bit of slash
Spoilers: If you don't already know Jack Harkness met The Doctor... oops.
Disclaimer: As with all fanfiction, this is not-for-profit, just for fun, and all the assorted other words that really mean nothing but look like an attempt.
Author's Note: I was sure I posted this before. I can't find it, though. So the whole thing is here, and not just the continuation.
Summary: Set immediately after "The Doctor Dances". Jack's first few days on board the TARDIS. Mild slash.

"The thing about the TARDIS is that it exists outside of time, so there are things that just don't happen. Like 'bed time' and 'lunch time'. You just have to go with what feels right. If you're hungry, you eat. If you're sleepy, you sleep. If you feel like playing racquetball, you go down that hall, make a sharp left, then another left, keep going until you find the elephant statue, and then turn right".

Jack watched the Doctor's hands as he explained the obvious. Except for the part about the racquetball court. Considering they were sitting in what looked like a Japanese garden (complete with flowing stream and gentle music, both coming from some unseen source), a racquetball court inside the TARDIS seemed tame. He wondered what else there was in this labyrinth of hallways.

Rose stood and stretched, her tee-shirt pulling up to reveal her flat stomach and bellybutton. Jack noticed. Jack also noticed that The Doctor noticed and Jack wondered if they... Nah.

"Sitting here is making me sleepy," she said. She walked behind The Doctor's chair, trailing her fingers along the nape of his neck as she passed. An enigmatic smile flickered across The Doctor's face. A smug grin. Mmmmaybe... Jack thought, then dismissed the notion. "I'm going to get something to eat and then watch some telly".

"You get television out here"? This did surprise Jack.

"Oh, yeah! There's this great comedy out of Canis Major Six that's just brilliant. At least I think it's a comedy. Like some sort of a sketch-comedy thing, yeah? But it could just be their evening news. D'you want to come with me"?

"Oh do I ever..." Jack leered and The Doctor pushed himself up from his chair, exhaling a short, sharp breath. Jack knew it was irritation and not exertion and his eyes darted quickly between Rose and The Doctor, looking for any sign that they were together. He found nothing and allowed himself to watch The Doctor's wordless exit from the garden. "Nice guy".

"You get used to it. He likes to get all huffy once in a while. Storm out of places in some sort of indignation. It makes him feel like he has a purpose". She linked her arm through Jack's and tugged playfully. "Come on. I'll show you around a bit more".

Jack smiled down at her -- his best, most charming grin. Her eyes brightened and he caught sight of the pink tip of her tongue as it darted out to touch her lower lip.

They chatted as they strolled through the hallways. Rose pointed out rooms and markers that helped her find her way. "I think the rooms get bored where they are and move about sometimes, because things aren't always where I left them. I'm working on some way to mark them with something that'll go with them when they shuffle around. It gets a bit irritating to be going to the library and end up standing in the middle of a lake".

"A... lake"?

"You get used to it. It's not real. I mean, it is. It's a real lake somewhere. What happens is the rooms of the TARDIS exist in different places in the universe, or at different times. The room itself is sort of a... an imprint of a place. It's not exactly real. It's like a very good virtual reality thing. It's like...," She squinted at Jack, trying to figure out the best way to explain it. "It's like a film set. It's just a... very... real... picture that you can walk about in".

"Isn't that unsafe? I mean couldn't that let anything into the TARDIS"?

"Nah, like I said, it's like a picture. It's not really the place you think it is, and the TARDIS only saves non-hostile environments. You don't have to worry that you'll step off into a place with toxic air or giant man-eating squid or anything".

"Well that's comforting". Jack opened a door at random and found himself staring down the barrel of a very large cannon.

Rose quickly shut the door, leaning against it. "Storage closet"!

"Gotcha".

Jack caught the sound of The Doctor's shoes tapping against the floor and tried not to let his head turn in the direction of the sound. "Hey, listen. I'm actually pretty tired, too. All that saving the world kind of took a lot out of me. I'm going to see if I can find my room again and maybe take a little nap. Do you mind"?

"Oh. Oh! Not at all, no. Go right ahead! Do you need me to show you where your room is? I mean, you can see how easy it is to get turned round in here".

He smiled reassuringly and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Thanks, but I'd like to get a feel for this myself. It'll make it that much more satisfying when I get there".

Rose smiled and patted his arm. "Alright, then. Just... holler if you get lost. The Doctor or I will track you down. Get you sorted out again. You know". Rose blushed a bit and slid along the wall until she was out of Jack's reach. "Well, goodnight, then. Good luck getting to your room".

Jack beamed, enjoying her combination of flirty and shy behaviour. She was a lovely one! "Goodnight, Rose. I will certainly call you when I need you".

"Right. Bye"! She backed up a few paces and turned, looking back over her shoulder, laughing and shaking her head, amused by her own reaction to Captain Jack. He raised one hand in a wave and watched until she disappeared around a corner.

Jack slipped a small device from his pocket and made a few adjustments. "Two heartbeats... that way". He set off in the direction of The Doctor.



The Doctor was stretched out on his bed, his face turned to the wall. He drew a deep breath and held it when he heard the click that meant his door had been opened and let it out again in a soft sigh when he felt the mattress dip with additional weight.

"Not now, Rose". He was aware of a warm hand sliding around to press against his stomach. "Oh, it's you".

Jack stretched out next to The Doctor and pressed close against his back. "Disappointed"?

"Yes. I mean no. I mean what are you doing in here in the first place"?

"What does it feel like I'm doing"?

"It feels like you're doing something you ought to stop"!

"I'm just a curious guy, Doc. It's in my nature".

"I don't think you're curious at all".

"Ah, but I am". Jack whispered in The Doctor's ear. "I've never met a Time Lord before, and I was wondering... yes, you do have a belly button"!

"I was born, you know! My mother was from Earth".

"Interesting. Very interesting". Jack's hand slid lower, skimming over the waistband of whatever it was The Doctor was wearing. Thin, soft like cotton, thigh covered, knee covered... pyjamas he decided. Pyjama bottoms and a tee shirt. How... boring. "So you can ...breed with humans".

"Yes. Can you"? Irritation was in The Doctor's voice, but he did nothing to stop Jack's roaming hand.

"Oh, Doc, you wound me"!

"I will if you don't... Stop touching that"!

Jack laughed - a chuckle against the back of The Doctor's neck. "Don't stop touching that? Why, Doctor. I thought you'd never ask".

The Doctor wasn't the most "impressive" being he'd encountered, but the fact that he wanted it and fought against it at the same time were exactly Jack's cup of tea. A conquest without some resistance was hardly a conquest at all, and a conquest with too much resistance was likely to earn him another death sentence and somehow Jack had neglected to put "die" anywhere on his to-do list.

The Doctor, on the other hand, had just moved up to the number one position on his list of things to do.
Jack's grip was strong and his movements were sure. The Doctor closed his eyes and bit his lip, wishing he could find the ability to just reach down and grab Jack's wrist. Make him stop this. Make him stop, then chuck him out the doors of the TARDIS and into unknown space. Make him stop, chuck him out and then... and then... and...

The Doctor uttered something Jack couldn't hear, but the meaning was evident. Chuckling again, Jack pressed a kiss against The Doctor's cheek and wiped his sticky hand down The Doctor's clothed leg.

"Get out of m'room, Jack".

Jack rolled over and out of the tiny bed. He stood in the middle of the room and grinned, staring at The Doctor who still hadn't turned from the wall. "That's all I get? 'Get out of my room Jack'? Not even a thank you"?

"I'd thank you to get out of my room," The Doctor said to the wall. "Please".

"At least you said please". Jack sounded more irritated than he actually felt. If this was how The Doctor wanted to play it, then this was how Jack would play. It would hardly work if they were both using different sets of rules. He left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

The Doctor stared blankly at the wall. He counted to thirty before letting a slight smile creep across his face.



The brilliant white star hung low in the sky. The purple sky. Rose stared up at it, her mouth agape. The Doctor placed his thumb and index finger on her chin and gently shut her mouth.

"You look like a stunned fish," he said kindly. She swatted his hand away, but laughed.

The Doctor and Rose linked hands. "You coming?" The Doctor called back to Jack. Jack bit back the comment that was on the tip of his tongue and stepped closer, reaching for The Doctor's free hand and finding Rose's instead.

They walked across the cracked surface of the planet. The ground was dry, hard, and the colour of bricks.

"That's why the sky is purple," The Doctor said in answer to an unspoken question. "The sky's blue, but we're seeing it filtered through red dust, so it looks purple."

Rose dropped The Doctor's hand and pulled the neck of her teeshirt over her mouth and nose. "Are we breathing dust? Alien dust? Is this safe?"

"Absolutely. We're not breathing in anything more than you would on Earth. Less, actually. No pollution."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." He put his hands in his pockets, leaving Rose to walk hand-in-hand with Jack.

Jack figured he should keep on his best behaviour. The Doctor hadn't said much to Jack today. His responses had been kept to one or two words, clipped and irritable (packaged with assurance from Rose that this was "normal").

Twice he caught The Doctor giving him a strange look.

They walked until the ground changed to a shimmering and. Rose ran forward, laughing and chanting.

"The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things!" She cried as she disappeared over the top of a hill.

The Doctor strolled casually over the same hill. "Of shoes and ships and sealing wax. Of cabbages and kings."

They shouted in unison, their voices drifting to Jack. "And why the sea is boiling hot!"

Jack crested the hill in time to see the ocean, boiling and hissing as it hit the sand. Rose threw her arms around The Doctor, hugging him tightly.

"And whether pigs have wings," she whispered.

"Now you know where he got the idea."

"You never!"

"I did!" The Doctor grinned, showing too many teeth. "Just for a day."

"And pigs with wings?"

"Starships. And they weren't pigs exactly. Sort of really ugly dogs." He shrugged. "Still. Good enough to leave an impression."

"So where are they now? The pigs with wings that aren't really pigs?"

"Dunno. Home I suppose. This was sort of a holiday spot for them. They'd come and catch fish that were already cooked." He looked up and caught sight of Jack standing with his hands on his hips. The Doctor raised his arm and waved. "Come on in! The water's fine."

"Tide's coming in," Jack replied, indicating the rising water with a nod of his head. "You might want to take the high ground."

"Always do," The Doctor said as he walked past Jack. Rose caught the rather threatening look that passed between them.



Back on board the TARDIS, Rose declared herself unfit for company. "I need something to eat and a shower," she said. "I've got red alien dust all over me. You two," she waggled her finger between Jack and The Doctor, "behave yourselves. Otherwise when I come back, I'll put you on opposite sides of the TARDIS."

Jack bowed low and kissed her hand. The Doctor mumbled something inaudible and busied himself with switches and dials.

Jack sidled up next to him until his shoulder touched The Doctor's. "I'm sorry if I was out of line," he said.

The Doctor handed the sonic screwdriver to him and pointed at a panel on the floor. "Get that open. There's a bundle of wires that are held with a purple band. Check them all and see if any of them are broken or disconnected."

Jack crouched down next to the panel and used the sonic screwdriver to open it.

"Oh, and Jack?"

"Yeah, Doctor?"

"You weren't out of line."

Later, after everyone agreed it was "bed time," Jack quietly opened the door to The Doctor's room. It was lit with a pale blue fluorescent glow that seemed to filter down from the tops of the walls.

Jack could see The Doctor's bed through the narrow opening. He could just make out that he had his back to the wall. Rose was cuddled close to him, her face pressed against his chest. The Doctor's arms were wrapped around her and he was stroking her hair and murmuring softly in her ear. Jack moved away from the door.

The Doctor caught the movement and then caught Jack's eye. He pressed his finger to his lips in a shushing motion. Rose was obviously upset about something. Jack raised an eyebrow, telegraphing the question "anything I can do?" The Doctor flashed a smile and shook his head. Jack nodded in understanding and went to his room.



The next "day," The Doctor and Jack found themselves in a long stretch of curiously straight hallway. They had panels off the wall and one tile out of the floor. The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the exposed wiring in the wall. Jack, a voltmeter in hand, knelt next to the open floor.

"Red wire... now," The Doctor touched the screwdriver to the wire.

"Normal. Try the green."

"Green.... now."

"Normal. Blue?"

"Blue... now."

"Normal. Black and yellow."

"Black and yellow. Jack."

"Normal. Doctor. White and red."

"White and red. Rose had a nightmare last night."

"Normal. Green and yellow. It's no business of mine what you two do in private."

"Green and yellow."

"Normal. Blue and white. Unless you want the extra company."

"Jack!"

"Calm down! I was kidding. Sort of. Although if you were interested...."

"I mean it's that wire!" The Doctor was sucking the index finger of his right hand. "It fed back on me. Does that ever sting. What's the reading?"

"Null. So the short is somewhere between that panel and this tile."

The Doctor knelt down to loosen the lower wall panel and the remaining floor tiles. Jack leaned in closer. "So, are you?"

"Am I what?" The Doctor said brusquely. "We've got work to do, Jack. Save your flirting for another day."

"But I should save it, right?" Jack flashed his most winning smile.

"Another time, another place, another whatever." The Doctor tried to follow the wire by sight and lost it in a bundle of neon-coloured cables. "Now where do these go" he asked no one.

"Doc."

The Doctor looked up, glaring. "What, Jack. What?"

Jack grabbed The Doctor's face. "We're on a machine that goes through time and space. Everything is another time and place all the time."

The Doctor started to mock Jack for his purple prose. "I'm not some vacuum-headed alien" or "I bet you say that to all the Time Lords" or maybe he was just going to laugh in Jack's face, but the fact that Jack was kissing him made speaking difficult.

He managed a chuckle seconds before Jack overbalanced and fell face-first into the open floor.

"Found the short," Jack said.

 

Possibly TBC