Lost in the Universe

xix

Nina almost scoffed. He had just come back from being dead and he was... flirting.

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones," Captain Jack said as soon as Martha told him her name. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't start," he told the man. Now Nina did scoff. Apparently, this happened a lot.

"I was only saying hello," Jack said, his annoyance making itself clear in his voice. Martha turned to the Doctor, still on the ground next to the man.

"I don't mind," she said, obviously flustered. Nina shook her head.

"Of course you wouldn't," she said. Martha helped the man up and he saw Nina, smiling at her.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he extended his hand. Nina hesitsted, but went to shake it. Instead, Jack brougit it next to his face and kissed the back of her hand.

"Nina," she gave him her name, not falling for his flirting. She laughed a bit, finally pulling her hand away. "It's nice to meet you, Captain."

"It's very nice to meet you too," he told her. The Doctor was about to say something about it, but Nina smiled at him and took his arm. Jack stood up straight as he looked at the Doctor. "Doctor," he greeted.

"Captain," the Doctor responded with.

"Good to see you," Jack told him. For some reason, Nina felt like there was some tension between the two.

"And you," the Doctor said. "Same as ever. Although, have you had work done?" He asked the man. Jack's face scrunched in confusion.

"You can talk," he said.

"Oh, yes, the face," The Doctor agreed. "How did you know this was me?"

"The police box kind of gives it away," Jack told him. Nina laughed at the bickering between the two. "I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me." Nina inhaled sharply as the conversation took a turn.

"Okay, you see," she spoke before the Doctor could say something stupid. "I sensed some tension between you two, but I definetly didn't think it would be this." The mood kind of lightened sith her comment.

"Just gotta ask," Jack added. "The Battle of Canary Wharf." As soon as Jack mentioned this battle, the Doctor's grip on her hand tightened. She squeezed his hand back, reassuring him. For some reason, it brought back bad memories. "I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

"Oh, no, sorry, she's alive!" the Doctor exclaimed with a smile that only Nina noticed was fake.

"You're kidding," Jack said, excitement and relief all over his face.

"Parallel world, safe and sound. And Mickey. And her mother."

And suddenly, all the dots connected in her head. This Rose Tyler was trapped in a parallel world. He had lost her, probably the one he loved, and probably why he understood when Nina told him she couldn't be with him. She needed some time and she detected that he did too, and this was why. It also explained why, when Martha asked him if they could go to another universe, his face fell and his mood dropped in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, yes!" Jack exclaimed. He suddnely ran at the Doctor and threw his arms around his shoulders. Nina let go of his hand and took a step back as the men hugged. She also noticed Martha's face. It was like she was happy for the men, but at the same time she was sad.

"Good old Rose," Martha mumbled. Was she... jealous?

♧♧♧

The Doctor and Nina walked in the lead as Martha and Jack followed them close behind. Jack was explaining how he managed to survive all of those years, never dying.