Fic: Doctor Who: Fields of Gold (1/4).
Jul. 24th, 2010 01:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
x_moonshine_xTitle: Fields of Gold (1/4).
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cloudysky
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood.
Characters/Pairing: Eventual Jack/Eleven, Amy, Rory.
Spoilers: Up to 5x13 of DW and CoE of TW – so basically everything.
Rating: PG (PG-13 overall).
Word count: 2,588.
Summary: When the TARDIS gets rerouted and the Doctor, Amy and Rory end up in the middle of nowhere on Earth in 2063, the Doctor soon finds they’re not the only ones. While he works to figure out what (or who) brought them there, it quickly becomes apparent that the situation is more complicated than he first thought... and the same can be said for his volatile relationship with Jack, too.
A/N: Quick thank you toangelsab, dod_yhwh and my mother (lol) for beta-ing for me.
Other parts: Here.
‘Now close your eyes and open wide.’
‘Doctor...’
‘Don’t argue. Go on.’
Amy frowns and does as she’s asked.
With an eyebrow lifting in amusement, the Doctor leans in and places a piece of chocolate on her tongue.
‘Close.’
Again, she does as she’s told.
‘And... chew.’
Amy sighs, shaking her head, but begins to chew as instructed.
A moment later she as good as melts on the spot, a moan of ecstasy slipping from her lips and her knees buckling from beneath her. ‘Oh my God,’ she murmurs. ‘That’s--’
‘See, told you, but would you believe me, Pond? Of course not.’
She chuckles; eyes still closed as she leans up on her tiptoes and asks, ‘More? Please?’
‘Fine.’ He relents, as he always does as far as Amy’s concerned, and pops another piece of chocolate into her mouth, his own curling up into a smile at her almost instant reaction.
‘Uh... what’s going on?’
Amy is first to acknowledge the sound of Rory’s voice, jumping back and swallowing almost guiltily, her eyes widening.
Glancing over to the staircase, where Rory is currently stood, the Doctor smiles. ‘Chocolate, Rory. Amy is eating chocolate.’
‘Chocolate?’
‘Yes, from the twenty-seventh century, would you like some?’
‘No,’ Rory responds quickly, looking rather confused that he’s even been asked. ‘Weren’t we supposed to be going somewhere?’
The Doctor blinks and then pushes the chocolate wrapper he’s holding into Amy’s outstretched hands, diving for the TARDIS console instead and beginning to jab at buttons and pull levers. ‘We were! Should get on with that,’ he announces. He can feel Rory’s eyes on him, but continues on regardless, finally bringing the TARDIS to a halt with a flourish several minutes later.
Amy is the first to the doors, flinging them open with enthusiasm, the chocolate from moments before now long forgotten. ‘Where are we?’ she questions, sticking her head out, Rory right behind her.
Hopping down the stairs, the Doctor smiles, his hand sliding smoothly down the banister as he goes. ‘Fifth moon of--’
‘Doctor! We’re in the middle of nowhere!’
‘We are not in the middle of nowhere,’ the Doctor protests, pushing them both out of the way so he can get a good look. ‘We’re clearly... in the middle of nowhere...’
He feels Amy’s eyes on him immediately, but ignores it and steps out of the TARDIS, surveying the land.
‘Where are we then?’ Rory is right behind him, frowning as he looks around.
Letting a breath go, the Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, twiddles a dial or two, and then scans their surroundings. It’s obvious where they are without even asking, but he supposes it’s only obvious to him what with the current date.
‘Earth,’ he supplies eventually, slipping the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and turning to his companions.
‘Doesn’t look much like earth,’ says Amy, stepping around Rory to come face-to-face with him. ‘You’d think I’d know my own planet.’
The Doctor smiles, and then shakes his head. ‘You didn’t let me finish,’ he says. ‘This is earth in 2063.’
It takes several moments for it to sink in before her eyes light up.
‘And no, Pond, don’t even think about trying to go and meet yourself!’
‘Spoilsport.’
He casts her a sidelong glance, but she’s smiling, so he leaves it be and starts off away from the TARDIS. He’s trying to walk with a purpose even though he has no clue where he’s going. They’ve landed in the middle of a field, surrounded by yet more fields. There are a few trees, the odd bird swooping overhead, grass the colour of gold as far as the eye can see, but otherwise, nothing.
‘Where are you going?’ she asks then, jogging to catch up.
Coming to a stop, the Doctor spins to face Amy (and Rory who is tailing behind after closing the TARDIS doors) and throws his hands up. ‘Looking for civilisation,’ he responds. ‘But if you’d rather stay here, feel free!’
She hesitates, just long enough for Rory to overtake, and then falls in with them both, holding onto her husband’s hand as they scramble over fences and through bushes.
‘Is this where we were supposed to be going, Doctor?’ Rory catches up with him just as they reach the edge of a road. He’s short of breath and panting slightly, but still seems quite enthusiastic all things considered.
‘Absolutely!’ he says without thinking. It isn’t, but it doesn’t hurt to sound confident in oneself.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver again, the Doctor glances up and down the road, and then proceeds to point the device in both directions a moment later. As he turns south, it squeals alarmingly and he smiles, immediately setting off where it’s now clearly leading him. He’s relieved - for a while there, he really did think they were in the middle of nowhere.
‘This is definitely where we are supposed to be. Someone wants my attention,’ he informs them shortly afterwards.
Amy is beside him in seconds, hands pushed into her jacket pockets for warmth as they walk. ‘River?’ she asks casually.
With a bright smile on his face, he shakes his head, veering off to the right. ‘No, not River,’ he replies. ‘Do you really think River would ever do anything quite this subtle?’
‘Good point.’ She laughs. ‘Do you know who it is?’
‘I can take a guess.’ The Doctor can almost sense her eyes narrowing and so glances over at her, lifting his shoulders in a shrug as he adds, ‘Old friend.’
As they continue to walk, the first signs of civilisation appearing in the distance, he can hear Amy and Rory whispering between themselves. He pretends not to listen and simply concentrates on the device in front of him, following the path that’s been mapped out for him. He doesn’t bother to take the time to look around and he knows that they’re gradually falling behind, but he has places to be and people to see and Amy and Rory are perfectly capable of taking care of each other every once in a while.
Ten minutes later he’s stumbled upon a small cluster of houses. It’s almost the England Amy and Rory grew up in, but not quite. The fronts of all the buildings are now nothing but glass and there’s barely a car in sight. He spots a bicycle propped up against a nearby gate and as he looks up the road, his gaze falls upon what looks like a wind farm. The ghost of a smile flits across his features - it’s a far cry from the future the human race liked to believe they might have had.
At the top of the hill, the Doctor comes to a standstill, finally slipping his sonic screwdriver back where it belongs. Behind him, Amy and Rory are loitering, taking everything in in their own time and for that he is thankful.
He looks to the village pub in front of him and casually reaches up to straighten his bowtie in the reflection of the windows. He’s pretty sure he knows who’s been seeking his attention and normally – well, before this last regeneration – he would have run away as fast as the TARDIS could carry him. But this time, she didn’t want to go, and neither did he actually.
Making his way inside, offering one of the locals a smile as he brushes past, the Doctor takes a deep breath and prepares himself. He’s not entirely sure what to expect, given their last meeting, but hopes for the best anyhow.
The Captain is tucked away in one of the corners nursing a glass of some sort of brown concoction, with his head bowed and eyes closed, just like he knew he’d be. He’s a shadow of the man the Doctor used to know, there is no joy there, even after all this time. Jack had lost control and there had been no one there to help him.
And it shows... boy does it show.
He observes for a moment longer before finally striding over and sliding into the chair opposite the Captain’s. ‘You look as though you could use a friend,’ he comments lightly.
Jack starts talking before he’s even looked up, abandoning the glass on the table top and shaking his head. ‘No offence, kid, but that’s the last thing I--’ he stops as his eyes fall onto the Doctor’s, the rest of the sentence forgotten. ‘It’s you.’
‘You were expecting someone else?’
‘No... no.’ Jack laughs, reaching back out for his drink again, suddenly more relaxed. ‘Jesus, you’re young! How did that happen?’
With a smile the Doctor leans back in his chair, rocking back and forth on two legs. ‘The usual,’ he muses. ‘Still getting used to it myself - very long legs, way too much hair.’
‘I wasn’t complaining...’ is the easy response.
‘You never change, do you, Jack?’
‘You change too much.’
The Doctor considers that and shrugs a shoulder, murmuring, ‘Touché.’
A moment later, silence falls over the table and he sits perfectly still, allowing his old companion to look for as long as he likes.
‘How did you find me?’ Jack asks eventually.
‘It wasn’t me, it was the TARDIS,’ he says. ‘She picked up on your signal and brought us here. Didn’t ask me, as usual, very her.’
‘Signal? What signal?’
For a second the Doctor stares at Jack, but then sits forward (the feet of his chair reconnecting with the floor with a loud clunk) and reaches out for the other man’s left arm, pulling it towards him. He pauses to pull his sonic screwdriver from his jacket and pushes up the cuff of Jack’s shirt, tapping his vortex manipulator idly. ‘You might not want the attention right now, but this does,’ he explains. ‘She could hear this screaming from ten light-years away. Interesting, isn’t it? Especially if you didn’t know.’
Jack’s eyebrows knit together and he pulls his arm free again, pressing a button or two. ‘Doesn’t look any different,’ he says.
‘Well, it wouldn’t, I just fixed it,’ the Doctor responds, flashing a smile in Jack’s direction. ‘Question is, why was it doing that in the first place?’ He stops and sits back, tilting his head and perking an eyebrow. ‘Was it you?’
‘Was what me?’ Bringing his wrist closer to his face, the Captain examines his vortex manipulator for a moment or two before shrugging it off and adding, ‘I already told you I didn’t know that it was doing anything.’
‘No, no. That’s not what I mean!’ He slaps his forehead, sending the chair scraping back an inch or so at the same time. He looks back to Jack, arms resting on the table top as he points toward him. ‘Was it you? Were you thinking about me?’ he asks bluntly.
There’s a brief silence, and then Jack says, ‘Doctor, I’m always thinking about you.’
This time the Doctor sighs in frustration, clearly not getting through and thinks for a second of how better to explain himself. A second is all it takes. ‘I did some fiddling – and no, not like that Jack, so stop thinking whatever you’re thinking before I’m forced to leave. Your vortex manipulator, been through a lot that thing, just like you have. I might have done some fiddling back in the day,’ he says, and then smiles. ‘You need me for something, don’t know what exactly. Hopefully it’s not more wallowing though, because Jack, been there, done that and I’m not doing it again. Time to move on.’
Jack stares a little longer than the Doctor’s comfortable with, but follows it up with a laugh and he quickly forgets again. ‘Talk a lot these days, don’t you?’ he comments with a smile.
‘Apparently.’ He shrugs, rocking back in his chair again. ‘You’ll get used to it. Now, we need to--’
‘DOCTOR?’ Amy’s voice cuts him off from somewhere in the pub.
‘Oh! Here they are!’
The Doctor jumps up and out of his chair straight away, spinning to greet Amy and Rory as they make their way over.
Rory’s eyeing the bar warily as they head toward the Doctor and Jack, and is the last to reach the table. ‘She thought you’d gone and left her again,’ he announces. ‘Can you try not to do that in future?’
‘Sorry.’ Smiling, he lays a hand to the other man’s shoulder and turns back to Jack. ‘Rory, Amy, I’d like you to meet Jack Harkness,’ he says. ‘He probably needs me for something, but we’re not entirely sure what yet. All in good time.’
Amy laughs and extends her hand as Jack gets to his feet and counters, ‘Captain Jack Harkness.’
‘How many times, Jack? You are not a Captain!’
‘And you’re not a doctor, but it’s never stopped you,’ says Jack, grinning. Dropping Amy’s hand and moving onto Rory, he glances in the Doctor’s direction and chuckles. ‘So, what’s the plan, Doctor?’ he asks.
He doesn’t begin to explain until they’re all sat around the table, Amy nuzzled against Rory’s side, Jack as relaxed as can be now, feet up on a spare chair. Considering they’ve only just met, everyone seems to be getting on like a house on fire.
Clearing his throat, the Doctor leans forward and folds his arms on the table top. ‘Firstly, we need to figure out why we’re here,’ he starts.
‘I think we’d all established that, actually,’ Rory says, interrupting him before he can say anything else.
‘Yes, thank you, Rory. I was summarising.’ Shaking his head, he laughs and turns his attention back to Jack, pointing at him. ‘You are my problem. I need to figure you out. What are you doing here, Jack?’
Jack shrugs and knocks back his drink. ‘Ended up here several days ago and got stuck. Vortex manipulator fizzled out,’ he says. ‘Thought I’d never get out of here, but now that you’ve--’
‘That’s it!’ the Doctor cuts him off abruptly, realisation dawning. ‘It’s not you. It’s not me. It’s someone else, or something else at least. Something drew us in. Could be anything.’ He shrugs. ‘Trip back to the TARDIS is in order, shouldn’t take too long to figure out what it is, or who for that matter.’
‘Back to the TARDIS?’ Amy asks, suddenly taking notice. ‘Doctor, that’s miles away.’
‘I could help out with that...’ Jack says.
Pushing Jack’s arm away as quickly as he offers it, the Doctor playfully screws his nose up and laughs. ‘Cheap, nasty, etcetera, etcetera. I saved the universe with one of those things though – well, sort of! But no, no to the vortex manipulator, I have a better idea.’
‘What’s that?’ asks Rory.
‘Bikes! Can’t go wrong with a good old bicycle.’
Amy gapes at him for a moment. ‘And where are we supposed to get bikes from?’
‘Next door, nice tandem chained to the gate. Couple of mountain bikes down the road.’ He looks to Rory and smiles. ‘Time to play Mr and Mrs with the Mrs, Rory.’
‘Doctor, I’m not riding a tandem back to the--’
‘Of course you are, Amy.’ Jumping up and patting at his jacket to find his sonic screwdriver, he looks down at his three companions. ‘Now, come on, chop chop. Things to do, worlds to save,’ he says, tilting his head. ‘Maybe.’
They all share a look before getting dutifully to their feet and heading for the door.
‘Tandem it is, then,’ mutters Rory.
Author:
cloudyskyFandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood.
Characters/Pairing: Eventual Jack/Eleven, Amy, Rory.
Spoilers: Up to 5x13 of DW and CoE of TW – so basically everything.
Rating: PG (PG-13 overall).
Word count: 2,588.
Summary: When the TARDIS gets rerouted and the Doctor, Amy and Rory end up in the middle of nowhere on Earth in 2063, the Doctor soon finds they’re not the only ones. While he works to figure out what (or who) brought them there, it quickly becomes apparent that the situation is more complicated than he first thought... and the same can be said for his volatile relationship with Jack, too.
A/N: Quick thank you to
angelsab, dod_yhwh and my mother (lol) for beta-ing for me.Other parts: Here.
Fields of Gold
1.
‘Now close your eyes and open wide.’
‘Doctor...’
‘Don’t argue. Go on.’
Amy frowns and does as she’s asked.
With an eyebrow lifting in amusement, the Doctor leans in and places a piece of chocolate on her tongue.
‘Close.’
Again, she does as she’s told.
‘And... chew.’
Amy sighs, shaking her head, but begins to chew as instructed.
A moment later she as good as melts on the spot, a moan of ecstasy slipping from her lips and her knees buckling from beneath her. ‘Oh my God,’ she murmurs. ‘That’s--’
‘See, told you, but would you believe me, Pond? Of course not.’
She chuckles; eyes still closed as she leans up on her tiptoes and asks, ‘More? Please?’
‘Fine.’ He relents, as he always does as far as Amy’s concerned, and pops another piece of chocolate into her mouth, his own curling up into a smile at her almost instant reaction.
‘Uh... what’s going on?’
Amy is first to acknowledge the sound of Rory’s voice, jumping back and swallowing almost guiltily, her eyes widening.
Glancing over to the staircase, where Rory is currently stood, the Doctor smiles. ‘Chocolate, Rory. Amy is eating chocolate.’
‘Chocolate?’
‘Yes, from the twenty-seventh century, would you like some?’
‘No,’ Rory responds quickly, looking rather confused that he’s even been asked. ‘Weren’t we supposed to be going somewhere?’
The Doctor blinks and then pushes the chocolate wrapper he’s holding into Amy’s outstretched hands, diving for the TARDIS console instead and beginning to jab at buttons and pull levers. ‘We were! Should get on with that,’ he announces. He can feel Rory’s eyes on him, but continues on regardless, finally bringing the TARDIS to a halt with a flourish several minutes later.
Amy is the first to the doors, flinging them open with enthusiasm, the chocolate from moments before now long forgotten. ‘Where are we?’ she questions, sticking her head out, Rory right behind her.
Hopping down the stairs, the Doctor smiles, his hand sliding smoothly down the banister as he goes. ‘Fifth moon of--’
‘Doctor! We’re in the middle of nowhere!’
‘We are not in the middle of nowhere,’ the Doctor protests, pushing them both out of the way so he can get a good look. ‘We’re clearly... in the middle of nowhere...’
He feels Amy’s eyes on him immediately, but ignores it and steps out of the TARDIS, surveying the land.
‘Where are we then?’ Rory is right behind him, frowning as he looks around.
Letting a breath go, the Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, twiddles a dial or two, and then scans their surroundings. It’s obvious where they are without even asking, but he supposes it’s only obvious to him what with the current date.
‘Earth,’ he supplies eventually, slipping the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and turning to his companions.
‘Doesn’t look much like earth,’ says Amy, stepping around Rory to come face-to-face with him. ‘You’d think I’d know my own planet.’
The Doctor smiles, and then shakes his head. ‘You didn’t let me finish,’ he says. ‘This is earth in 2063.’
It takes several moments for it to sink in before her eyes light up.
‘And no, Pond, don’t even think about trying to go and meet yourself!’
‘Spoilsport.’
He casts her a sidelong glance, but she’s smiling, so he leaves it be and starts off away from the TARDIS. He’s trying to walk with a purpose even though he has no clue where he’s going. They’ve landed in the middle of a field, surrounded by yet more fields. There are a few trees, the odd bird swooping overhead, grass the colour of gold as far as the eye can see, but otherwise, nothing.
‘Where are you going?’ she asks then, jogging to catch up.
Coming to a stop, the Doctor spins to face Amy (and Rory who is tailing behind after closing the TARDIS doors) and throws his hands up. ‘Looking for civilisation,’ he responds. ‘But if you’d rather stay here, feel free!’
She hesitates, just long enough for Rory to overtake, and then falls in with them both, holding onto her husband’s hand as they scramble over fences and through bushes.
‘Is this where we were supposed to be going, Doctor?’ Rory catches up with him just as they reach the edge of a road. He’s short of breath and panting slightly, but still seems quite enthusiastic all things considered.
‘Absolutely!’ he says without thinking. It isn’t, but it doesn’t hurt to sound confident in oneself.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver again, the Doctor glances up and down the road, and then proceeds to point the device in both directions a moment later. As he turns south, it squeals alarmingly and he smiles, immediately setting off where it’s now clearly leading him. He’s relieved - for a while there, he really did think they were in the middle of nowhere.
‘This is definitely where we are supposed to be. Someone wants my attention,’ he informs them shortly afterwards.
Amy is beside him in seconds, hands pushed into her jacket pockets for warmth as they walk. ‘River?’ she asks casually.
With a bright smile on his face, he shakes his head, veering off to the right. ‘No, not River,’ he replies. ‘Do you really think River would ever do anything quite this subtle?’
‘Good point.’ She laughs. ‘Do you know who it is?’
‘I can take a guess.’ The Doctor can almost sense her eyes narrowing and so glances over at her, lifting his shoulders in a shrug as he adds, ‘Old friend.’
As they continue to walk, the first signs of civilisation appearing in the distance, he can hear Amy and Rory whispering between themselves. He pretends not to listen and simply concentrates on the device in front of him, following the path that’s been mapped out for him. He doesn’t bother to take the time to look around and he knows that they’re gradually falling behind, but he has places to be and people to see and Amy and Rory are perfectly capable of taking care of each other every once in a while.
Ten minutes later he’s stumbled upon a small cluster of houses. It’s almost the England Amy and Rory grew up in, but not quite. The fronts of all the buildings are now nothing but glass and there’s barely a car in sight. He spots a bicycle propped up against a nearby gate and as he looks up the road, his gaze falls upon what looks like a wind farm. The ghost of a smile flits across his features - it’s a far cry from the future the human race liked to believe they might have had.
At the top of the hill, the Doctor comes to a standstill, finally slipping his sonic screwdriver back where it belongs. Behind him, Amy and Rory are loitering, taking everything in in their own time and for that he is thankful.
He looks to the village pub in front of him and casually reaches up to straighten his bowtie in the reflection of the windows. He’s pretty sure he knows who’s been seeking his attention and normally – well, before this last regeneration – he would have run away as fast as the TARDIS could carry him. But this time, she didn’t want to go, and neither did he actually.
Making his way inside, offering one of the locals a smile as he brushes past, the Doctor takes a deep breath and prepares himself. He’s not entirely sure what to expect, given their last meeting, but hopes for the best anyhow.
The Captain is tucked away in one of the corners nursing a glass of some sort of brown concoction, with his head bowed and eyes closed, just like he knew he’d be. He’s a shadow of the man the Doctor used to know, there is no joy there, even after all this time. Jack had lost control and there had been no one there to help him.
And it shows... boy does it show.
He observes for a moment longer before finally striding over and sliding into the chair opposite the Captain’s. ‘You look as though you could use a friend,’ he comments lightly.
Jack starts talking before he’s even looked up, abandoning the glass on the table top and shaking his head. ‘No offence, kid, but that’s the last thing I--’ he stops as his eyes fall onto the Doctor’s, the rest of the sentence forgotten. ‘It’s you.’
‘You were expecting someone else?’
‘No... no.’ Jack laughs, reaching back out for his drink again, suddenly more relaxed. ‘Jesus, you’re young! How did that happen?’
With a smile the Doctor leans back in his chair, rocking back and forth on two legs. ‘The usual,’ he muses. ‘Still getting used to it myself - very long legs, way too much hair.’
‘I wasn’t complaining...’ is the easy response.
‘You never change, do you, Jack?’
‘You change too much.’
The Doctor considers that and shrugs a shoulder, murmuring, ‘Touché.’
A moment later, silence falls over the table and he sits perfectly still, allowing his old companion to look for as long as he likes.
‘How did you find me?’ Jack asks eventually.
‘It wasn’t me, it was the TARDIS,’ he says. ‘She picked up on your signal and brought us here. Didn’t ask me, as usual, very her.’
‘Signal? What signal?’
For a second the Doctor stares at Jack, but then sits forward (the feet of his chair reconnecting with the floor with a loud clunk) and reaches out for the other man’s left arm, pulling it towards him. He pauses to pull his sonic screwdriver from his jacket and pushes up the cuff of Jack’s shirt, tapping his vortex manipulator idly. ‘You might not want the attention right now, but this does,’ he explains. ‘She could hear this screaming from ten light-years away. Interesting, isn’t it? Especially if you didn’t know.’
Jack’s eyebrows knit together and he pulls his arm free again, pressing a button or two. ‘Doesn’t look any different,’ he says.
‘Well, it wouldn’t, I just fixed it,’ the Doctor responds, flashing a smile in Jack’s direction. ‘Question is, why was it doing that in the first place?’ He stops and sits back, tilting his head and perking an eyebrow. ‘Was it you?’
‘Was what me?’ Bringing his wrist closer to his face, the Captain examines his vortex manipulator for a moment or two before shrugging it off and adding, ‘I already told you I didn’t know that it was doing anything.’
‘No, no. That’s not what I mean!’ He slaps his forehead, sending the chair scraping back an inch or so at the same time. He looks back to Jack, arms resting on the table top as he points toward him. ‘Was it you? Were you thinking about me?’ he asks bluntly.
There’s a brief silence, and then Jack says, ‘Doctor, I’m always thinking about you.’
This time the Doctor sighs in frustration, clearly not getting through and thinks for a second of how better to explain himself. A second is all it takes. ‘I did some fiddling – and no, not like that Jack, so stop thinking whatever you’re thinking before I’m forced to leave. Your vortex manipulator, been through a lot that thing, just like you have. I might have done some fiddling back in the day,’ he says, and then smiles. ‘You need me for something, don’t know what exactly. Hopefully it’s not more wallowing though, because Jack, been there, done that and I’m not doing it again. Time to move on.’
Jack stares a little longer than the Doctor’s comfortable with, but follows it up with a laugh and he quickly forgets again. ‘Talk a lot these days, don’t you?’ he comments with a smile.
‘Apparently.’ He shrugs, rocking back in his chair again. ‘You’ll get used to it. Now, we need to--’
‘DOCTOR?’ Amy’s voice cuts him off from somewhere in the pub.
‘Oh! Here they are!’
The Doctor jumps up and out of his chair straight away, spinning to greet Amy and Rory as they make their way over.
Rory’s eyeing the bar warily as they head toward the Doctor and Jack, and is the last to reach the table. ‘She thought you’d gone and left her again,’ he announces. ‘Can you try not to do that in future?’
‘Sorry.’ Smiling, he lays a hand to the other man’s shoulder and turns back to Jack. ‘Rory, Amy, I’d like you to meet Jack Harkness,’ he says. ‘He probably needs me for something, but we’re not entirely sure what yet. All in good time.’
Amy laughs and extends her hand as Jack gets to his feet and counters, ‘Captain Jack Harkness.’
‘How many times, Jack? You are not a Captain!’
‘And you’re not a doctor, but it’s never stopped you,’ says Jack, grinning. Dropping Amy’s hand and moving onto Rory, he glances in the Doctor’s direction and chuckles. ‘So, what’s the plan, Doctor?’ he asks.
He doesn’t begin to explain until they’re all sat around the table, Amy nuzzled against Rory’s side, Jack as relaxed as can be now, feet up on a spare chair. Considering they’ve only just met, everyone seems to be getting on like a house on fire.
Clearing his throat, the Doctor leans forward and folds his arms on the table top. ‘Firstly, we need to figure out why we’re here,’ he starts.
‘I think we’d all established that, actually,’ Rory says, interrupting him before he can say anything else.
‘Yes, thank you, Rory. I was summarising.’ Shaking his head, he laughs and turns his attention back to Jack, pointing at him. ‘You are my problem. I need to figure you out. What are you doing here, Jack?’
Jack shrugs and knocks back his drink. ‘Ended up here several days ago and got stuck. Vortex manipulator fizzled out,’ he says. ‘Thought I’d never get out of here, but now that you’ve--’
‘That’s it!’ the Doctor cuts him off abruptly, realisation dawning. ‘It’s not you. It’s not me. It’s someone else, or something else at least. Something drew us in. Could be anything.’ He shrugs. ‘Trip back to the TARDIS is in order, shouldn’t take too long to figure out what it is, or who for that matter.’
‘Back to the TARDIS?’ Amy asks, suddenly taking notice. ‘Doctor, that’s miles away.’
‘I could help out with that...’ Jack says.
Pushing Jack’s arm away as quickly as he offers it, the Doctor playfully screws his nose up and laughs. ‘Cheap, nasty, etcetera, etcetera. I saved the universe with one of those things though – well, sort of! But no, no to the vortex manipulator, I have a better idea.’
‘What’s that?’ asks Rory.
‘Bikes! Can’t go wrong with a good old bicycle.’
Amy gapes at him for a moment. ‘And where are we supposed to get bikes from?’
‘Next door, nice tandem chained to the gate. Couple of mountain bikes down the road.’ He looks to Rory and smiles. ‘Time to play Mr and Mrs with the Mrs, Rory.’
‘Doctor, I’m not riding a tandem back to the--’
‘Of course you are, Amy.’ Jumping up and patting at his jacket to find his sonic screwdriver, he looks down at his three companions. ‘Now, come on, chop chop. Things to do, worlds to save,’ he says, tilting his head. ‘Maybe.’
They all share a look before getting dutifully to their feet and heading for the door.
‘Tandem it is, then,’ mutters Rory.
