The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Fifty-Two

The Doctor takes off running down toward the control room. Jack follows right after him, and Sophie joins them, racing down to the control room as well.

The trio skid to a halt in the control room. The Doctor nods at the guard, "Lieutenant, get on board the rocket! I promise you're going to fly."

"The chamber's flooded," he protests.

"Trust me. We've found a way of tripping the system. Run!"

As the guard leaves, Jack unbuttons his shirt. He hands it to Sophie, who folds it, and the flings it over her shoulder. The Time Lord turns around, just as the Captain pulls his braces up over his undershirt. "What are you taking your clothes off for?"

"I'm going in," he states, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, by the looks of it, I'd say the stet radiation doesn't affect clothing, only flesh."

"Well, I look good though," he smacks the Doctor on the shoulder, and heads for the door of the radiation chamber. Sophie smiles, and he stops, "How long have you known?" he asks the Doctor.

"Ever since I ran away from you. Good luck."

Jack squares his shoulders, and pulls the door open. He slips inside the radiation chamber, slamming the door behind him.

Sophie leans against the door, and peers at the immortal through the window. The Doctor messes with the radio, while Jack sets to work.

"How are you feeling?" she asks him.

He turns, and winks at her, "Hot, but that's pretty much how I always feel."

She rolls her eyes at him, "I hate you sometimes, y'know."

He winks at her. The Doctor walks up, and joins her at the doors. Sophie leans against the Doctor's arm, and he smiles at her. "When did you first realise?"

He has a coupling between his hands, grimacing as he twists the metal. "Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange." He chuckles, and then frowns. "But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin. In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die." The coupling makes the connection, and the Captain glares at the Doctor through the door, "And all that time you knew."

He moves onto the next coupling, and the Doctor sighs, "That's why I left you behind. It's not easy even just looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong."

Sophie elbows him, "You're being rude again."

Jack simply chuckles, and grits his teeth, trying to turn the coupling, "Thanks."

The Time Lord shrugs, "You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to shake you out.. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you."

Jack chuckles, and the second coupling connects, "So what you're saying is that you're, er, prejudiced?"

As the Captain continues onto the next coupling, the Doctor glances down at Sophie, "I never thought of it like that."

"Wow," Sophie jokes, "Shame on you."

Jack laughs from inside the room. He once again grimaces, struggling to turn the coupling, "Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?"