infinitum tenens (The Sentry Reports Book 2)

Tooth and Claw

"Hey."

The Doctor was down on the lower level of the console room, looking for a cd he swore he'd left there. He turned when he heard the Emissary's footsteps on the stairs.

"You go by John Smith when you need to pretend to be human, don't you?" she asked. He nodded. "I was thinking, if we have to give out fake names, call me Emily Harkness."

"Harkness?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a seat on the stairs. "After all, Jack was like my brother." The feeling of her eyes was nearly tangible as they settled on him, and he turned around to face the shelves again. "I didn't get the chance to ask before, but he wasn't with you and Rose when you came back." He flinched almost imperceptibly, pretending to be wrapped up in his search. "You never told me what happened to him."

"Oh, he had a lot to do," the Doctor brushed off. "You know, rebuilding the earth, and all that."

"You're a terrible liar," the Emissary said flatly. "He's dead, isn't he?" The Doctor didn't respond. "If he was alive, why would you leave him behind?"

"He's not dead," the Doctor answered after a moment. The Emissary was silent. "He'll never be dead again."

He turned around to face her when she didn't answer. Her head was tilted, expression pensive.

"Rose used the Vortex?" she asked. The Doctor nodded. The Emissary hummed. "Okay, I suppose I understand."

"You do?"

"Doctor, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but Jack is not the first person to be a fixed point," the Emissary told him. "It happened several times in the Sentry Division." She tilted her head. "Of course, that was usually solved by..." she trailed off at the raised eyebrows the Doctor was giving her. "Anyway, I get why you left him. I'm not saying that you were right — I mean, really? You just left him? — but I get it." The Doctor smiled tightly at her and turned back to the shelf. She stood and came up next to him. To his relief, when she spoke, she changed the subject. "What are you looking for down here anyway?"

"A cd," the Doctor answered. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads."

"70's rock?" she asked in amusement. "Wouldn't have pegged you as the type."

He threw a grin at her. "I was thinking we could go see him in concert, have an easy, fun adventure after New New York." He hit the shelf. "Only I can't find the cd."

She smirked as she caught sight of a plastic cd case, hidden under papers the Doctor had strewn around. She picked it up. "This cd?"

He grinned widely at her. "You're amazing," he said, taking her face in both hands and kissing her forehead, before grabbing the cd and bounding back up the stairs.

She laughed as she followed him. "All I did was find a cd, but okay, I'll take it."
~~~
"What do you think of this?" Rose asked as she entered the console room. The Time Lords looked up and she did a little twirl, showing off her pink tee, black tights, and denim jumper. "Will it do?"

"In the late 1970s?" the Doctor asked. "You'd be better off in a bin bag."

The Emissary smacked the back of his head as she passed him. "Be nice," she scolded, then smiled at Rose. "You look great."

Rose laughed at the Doctor's pout as she leaned against a column. The Doctor recovered quickly, and held up a cd.

"Hold on," he said, putting the cd into a player. "Listen to this." Upbeat music started playing loudly. The Doctor raised his voice. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number one in 1979."

He danced around the console, pulling the Emissary into it as well. Rose laughed as she watched them. "You're a punk," she told the Doctor.

He smirked, singing along with the music, "It's nice to be a lunatic."