Chapter Text
Jack knew to the second how quickly he could get up to the Plass at the first sound of those engines. Still, he held back, approaching the TARDIS warily when it didn't immediately blink back out again at the sight of him. "Doctor?"
No answer, no one to greet him. Jack decided to take the chance and fitted his old key into the lock. "Doctor? Anybody?"
The console room looked like there had been some sort of a struggle, torn clothing everywhere and mysterious apparatus dangling from the rafters. Jack's shoes crunched on shattered clockwork as he advanced into the ship. "Doctor?"
And there was the man himself, hair wild even for him and wrapped in what looked very much like a bedsheet. "You still have a key."
"Yeah, I -- what the hell happened here?"
The Doctor glanced around the console room as if its condition was news to him. "Ah, erm --" He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to need somewhere to park the TARDIS for a while, Jack, the Rift seemed as good as anywhere."
Jack tried not to grin stupidly. "Sure, anytime, make yourself to home. What's up?"
The Doctor took a very deep breath. "It seems our Miss Jones has done something colossally stupid --" this last shouted back over his shoulder, and Jack thought he heard a muffled giggle -- "and we're going to be grounded for ... about a year."
"A year." Was the Time Lord... blushing? Jack's Jack-sense was tingling. "Anything special wrong, or is Cardiff your weird idea of a vacation?"
The Doctor mumbled something.
Something that sounded very much like 'gestation period'.
Bright girl, our Martha... "I'm sure Torchwood can find something for you to do... Daddy."
A look of giddy misery at that. "Knew it was worth coming to an expert."
"I'll ignore that if I can be the godfather."