The TARDIS slowly swirled through the great expanse of space. After the long day the trio had just had, the Doctor had chosen a slow, almost meandering course to take Blon the Slitheen back to Raxacoricofallapatorious.
Jack was fine with that. As much as he loved the fast-paced action of a good fight, he sometimes enjoyed taking things slow. Of course, some top-shelf alcohol and an eager partner often helped, but at that moment he was stuck with the options before him: a big-eared alien with more baggage than a freight train and a girl currently moping over her we’re-dating-but-we’re-not-dating boyfriend.
So yeah. Jack wasn’t getting shagged tonight.
Not that he’d often gotten shagged once he joined the TARDIS crew, anyway. His two other travelling companions were so obviously smitten with each other that it was hilarious they weren’t together and shagging across time and space already. Or at least that neither had even noticed the others feelings. Basically, Jack was feeling a mite under-sexed.
But, on the other hand, he had some delectable fizzy wine from the planet Ariel that left him feeling pleasantly warm and buzzed. Everything seemed to have a soft yellow aura around it—a sharp contrast to the current atmosphere of the TARDIS.
If there was one thing Jack had learned while travelling in the TARDIS, it was that one person’s mood often affected all the others. It was amazing how cramped and cloistered the vast ship could seem when someone was pissed. And currently Rose was sitting on the bench by the console with her knees pulled up and her chin resting atop them. The far-off look in her eyes only gave a slight hint to her tumbling feelings over Mickey’s departure. From what Jack could deduce, it hadn’t been a peaceful farewell.
Jack honestly felt a bit of pity for Mickey. He was clearly still infatuated with Rose, and he was blind to see that she no longer felt that way about him—if she ever really did. And the Doctor was pretty heavy competition for a normal guy to match. Jack had tossed out his chances with Rose once he’d seen the two of them together dancing on the TARDIS.
The Doctor himself was obviously bothered by Rose being upset. He kept moving aimlessly around the console, flipping switches and toggling dials, his mind mile away from his body. Finally, after ages of bustling, he paused for a second, smiled his goofy smile, and flipped a single switch.
Suddenly, peppy African-sounding music filled the room.
Hakuna Matata—what a wonderful phrase!
Rose let out a short, sharp laugh as the Doctor began goofily dancing over to her, snapping his fingers in time. “I told you I could dance, Rose,” he said playfully. “Now let’s dance.” He reached his hand out towards the blonde girl, and she cautiously took it. The Doctor tugged her off the chair and started spinning her dramatically around the room. Soon peals of laughter echoed off the walls, and the buzzed atmosphere created by Jack’s drink became the reality.
“I wouldn’t have pinned you as a Disney guy, Doc!” Jack called over the music. “I would have guessed more…tortured rock ballads.”
“Oh, fantastic films they are though, Jack,” The Doctor responded, twirling Rose around. “And Disney himself wasn’t half-bad either.”
“Bet he came up with Dumbo after meeting you!” Jack teased. “All big ears and leather jacket—perfect flying elephant!”
“I should’ve seen that comin’,” the Doctor said wryly to the girl in his arms, shaking his head. He twirled Rose once more and caught her so she was facing him just as the music changed. The soft strains of a ballad and the quiet sounds of the jungle echoed about.
