The Orphan in the TARDIS

Chapter Thirty-Seven

A half an hour later a cheer can be heard from the main area of the Hub. Sophie exits the office, gazing at the Doctor as she hugs Yaz, leaping up and down. "I take it it's done?" Sophie calls down.

"Yep," she responds, looking around the Hub, "Where'd everyone go?"

Jack comes to join Sophie at the railing, "They went home, it's getting pretty late. Your companions are down in the bunks, they seemed pretty knackered so I offered them a place to sleep. You should get some sleep, too."

The Time Lady rolls her eyes, "I don't need that much sleep." She turns to Yaz, "You should get some sleep though."

The policewoman nods, and Jack points her in the right direction. The Time Lady heads for the archives again, and Jack doesn't even try to stop her. "Y'know, you should get some sleep."

"'M not tired."

Jack watches as she turns back to his office, moving back to organising his paperwork. "You should tell her."

He moves back to his chair, wheeling it up to his desk. "What, and risk her hating me? Risk losing my best friend. Yeah, fat chance."

"Kid, this is eating you up inside. You barely ate dinner, you're not sleeping, and your cleaning my desk. This isn't good for you."

"It's better than losing my friend," her hand is shaking as she moves another styrofoam cup off his desk.

Jack stands from his chair, striding around the desk. He takes Sophie's hands in his own, looking into her eyes, "Kid, nothing you could do, nothing at all, could make the Doc hate you. If he was willing to forgive me for my mistakes, then she would forgive you."

Her eyes are wide as she gazes into his eyes. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. Jack releases her wrists, and she wraps her arms around him. He doesn't hesitate to return her embrace.

***

Sophie exits the Captains office, finding the Doctor sitting in one of the wheelie chairs, seemingly brooding. "Hey, Doc?"

She jumps, turning to see Sophie leaning against the TARDIS, "Jackie Lyn! I thought you were sleeping like everyone else, or maybe that Jack had..."

"Jack was, uh, he gave me some good advice." Sophie grabs another wheel chair, moving it so that she's sitting opposite the Gallifreyan. "I, uh, I have something really important to tell you. I know it may change our relationship. H*ll you may even hate me."

"Hate you? No way."

"Don't make promises until you hear the whole story, Doc." The Time Lady rests her elbows on her knees, her head in the palms of her hands. She looks at Sophie with rapt attention, and the woman takes a deep breath. "I know that you know there are lives that you don't remember, faces you can't remember wearing, but I do. I remember every face you've had. I know you, and I've known all of you. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you." She looks up, meeting the Doctor's eyes, seeing the tears forming in the corners, "I-I wanted to tell you, but-but I couldn't. I-I had to-to keep it a secret, to-to protect you. I- I am so, so sorry, Doctor, Theta. I," she looks back down at her lap, blinking furiously to hold the tears back, "I really wish, I wanted, I'm sorry."

The Time Lady's eyebrows knit together, and she takes one of Sophie's hands in her own, pulling her wheelie chair closer. "Sophia Jaclyn McCoy, how could you think I would hate you? You are my best friend. I knew you must've known. No matter what face I have, or what I look like, one thing is for sure, you are there. I understand that you had to keep it a secret, heck, I probably told you to. Jackie Lyn, I love you, and I will always love you." She stands up, pulling the human to her feet. She pulls her into a hug, holding tight.

"See, I told ya there was nothing to worry about," Jack says, walking down the stairs.

The Doctor grins widely at him. Sophie pulls away from the Time Lady, "I think I'm gonna go see Myfanwy. I'm not really tired, spent all day sleeping."

"Have fun," Jack says as she walks past. He reaches into his coat pocket, pulling out a large chocolate bar, and a can of sardines. "She loves chocolate, and it's about time she eats. Be careful alright."

Sophie smiles and nods, sprinting up the staircase. Jack moves to stand next to the Doctor watching her leave. "You know, you two were up in your office for a long time, I thought that maybe, what with you being you..." she trails off.

Jack makes a face of disgust, "No, no f*cking way. Sophie is a kid. She's like my sister, or my daughter or something. No way would I even think about that."

"Yeah, that's what I told myself. You're a lot of things, Jack Harkness, but I couldn't see that being something you could do. Sophie may be amazing, but she's like a sister to me too, or maybe a child."

"Does that mean we're co-parenting?" the immortal asks, raising his eyebrows.

The Doctor laughs but the smile falls off her face a few moments later. "This is it, Jack."

"What?" he asks, turning to look at her face.

"Oh, I know Sophie filled you in on my life right now. Graham and Ryan, this is it. This is our last trip together. They want to leave. I understand, really I do. And I'll still have Yaz, but it's just..."

"It's hard," Jack supplies, "I get it Doc. But at least you're not alone, right? And you're always welcome here."

"Great, nice to know the sewer is an option."

"Oi, I can revoke the invite!"

"I'm joking, and you know it."

"Yeah."