Continuing from 'The Empty Child - Part II'

✧

WHEN LILY OPENED HER EYES SHE WAS FORCED TO SQUINT AS THE BRIGHT LIGHT STRAINED THEM. She forced her body to roll over to her side and stood, trying to find her footing. Lily looked down at the oversized brown bomber jacket that she was now wearing, confused about where it came from. When she realized she could move now without falling over she lifted herself over a step, leaving the cramped living space and now entering another cramped area.

Open wires hung from the ceiling and she had to duck to not hit her head. It was very clearly to her a spacecraft and the same man from before was sitting at the captain's chair watching her.

"Better now?" He asked her with a raised brow.

"Yeah, um-" Lily lifted the flaps of the opened jacket and gave him a look.

He shrugged. "You looked cold. Shivered in your sleep, even."

She shyly thanked him and moved closer which didn't take much to do. "And you're who, exactly?" She gave him a once over, taking a seat on a ledge.

"Captain Jack Harkness." He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a leather booklet, which he handed to Lily. "One Three Three Squadron, Royal Air Force. American volunteer."

Lily opened the booklet and giggled at what she read. "You're a liar." He furrowed his brows at her. "This is psychic paper." She held it up with a knowing smirk. "It tells me whatever you want it to tell me."

Jack narrowed his eyes in her direction. "How do you know?"

"Two things. One, my best friend uses this all the time."

"Ah."

"And two," She re-read it, casually leaning back on one hand and crossed a leg over her knee "You just handed me a piece of paper telling me you're single and you work out."

He chuckled and Lily took notice of his dimples. "Tricky thing, psychic paper."

"Yeah." She beamed and handed it back to him. "Can't let your mind wander when you're handing it over."

When he opened it a grin broke out. "Oh, and you Lily Carter," The way he said her name made her shiver. "You're very single. Actually, the word you use is extremely." He corrected himself and scooted to the edge of his seat. "You're into everyone, no matter the gender, and," Lily looked down and held back a gasp as one of his pointer fingers found its way to her thigh and was currently drawing swirling patterns. "You haven't been touched in quite some time."

When she saw his eyes she could read the truth. "It didn't say that last part."

"I know." She felt that one finger turn into three as he kept full eye contact with her. "I'm excellent at reading people."

Lily questioned if this spacecraft's air was laced with an aroma that made her insides turn into jelly. She had to get away before she didn't something completely stupid like kissing this man. A man she didn't even know if she could fully trust. All while the Doctor and Rose were god knows where.

She found it in her to stand up from the ledge and move away to look at the control panel. "This is a nice spaceship."

Jack answered and she could hear the disappointment in his voice. "Gets me around."

Lily remembers her sister as she looked at Jack. "Very Spock."

He scrunched up his nose. "Who?"

"Not local, then?"

"A cell phone," As he passed her to the other end of the spacecraft she heard him inhale through his nose. "Lavender shampoo and fabrics that won't be around for at least another two decades." He ran his eyes over her body. "Guessing you're not a local girl."

"You guess right- ouch!" She winced. After leaning against the window to look out she pulled back and looked at her hands which were red from the rope burn.

"Burn your hands on the rope?"

"Yeah." She frowned at them and moved backward to sit in the captain chair- the one Jack was in previously.

He took a silver pen item out of his pocket and nodded at her. "Can I have a look at your hands for a moment?"

She eyes him warily. "Why?"

His voice was more gentle. "Please?" Lily gave him her consent by nodding. He stepped up and knelt in front of her, taking her hands. As he switched his device on and it hummed he hovered it over her palms as he talked. "You can stop acting now. I know exactly who you are. I can spot a Time Agent a mile away. I've been expecting one of you guys to show up."

Lily blinked. "Time Agent?" After pocketing his device he unraveled a scarf from his neck. Her alarm went off when he used it to wrap both of her wrists together. "What are you doing?"

To anyone who saw them right now, they'd think what Lily thought- that Jack was about to kiss her. His lips moved closer as he reached a hand behind her. "Try to keep still." Then she heard a button click and realized how stupid she felt.

That feeling was replaced by amazement when a glowing bundle of gold dust zoomed right onto Lily's burnt palms. "Oh my gosh," She smiled as they whirled around. "It's like pixie dust."

"Nanogenes," Jack explained to her. "Sub-atomic robots. The air in here is full of them." The glow dissipated into the air and Lily's eyes grew when she saw the burn was gone. "They just repaired three layers of your skin," Jack said as he untied her wrists.

"Well," Lily rubbed her palms together and let out a laugh. "Tell them thanks."

"Shall we get down to business?"

Lily stopped examining her hands and looked at Jack. "Sorry, business?"

She saw that he looked to be holding an unopened bottle of champagne. "Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" He winked and flipped a switch, opening a hatch with steps to the top of his spaceship. He was already climbing up when he called down to her. "Bring up the glasses."

Eager to learn more about who this guy was Lily took the two glasses she saw and started ascending the steps. At first, she saw the fires of London burning and searchlights scanning through the sky. But when she looked down, her steps slowed when she noticed nothing was there. "Okay." She nervously giggled. "I know I'm standing on something."

Jack grinned and used the remote control in his hand. Soon after his ship appears underneath them.

"Invisible spaceship." He tossed the remote control away on the roof. "I know it's ingenious."

Lily nodded at the monument they were next to. "And it's tethered to Big Ben for what reason exactly?"

"First rule of active camouflage." He stepped up closer to her and started tearing off the gold foil wrapping. "Park somewhere you'll remember." Popping the cork off they both laughed as it flew away. He quickly filled their glasses right after.

✧

It wasn't hard for the duo the track down Nancy, pass the abandoned train tracks, and into a small shack in which she was currently inside. She was storing food she had to have smuggled or stolen. They watched from the open window- Rose being the first to speak. "Nancy?"

She was startled at first when she saw them, but that quickly shifted into annoyance. "How'd you two follow me here?"

"He's good at following. Like a bloodhound."

"Yep!" He grinned, putting his arms behind his back. "Got the nose for it." He twitched it.

"Yeah?" Nancy snorted. "That's why it's-"

When she stopped abruptly, the Doctor tilted his head. "What?"

Nancy was trying hard not to smile. "Nothing."

"What?" Rose thought he was utterly hopeless as he looked between both girls with mirroring smiles. "What are you trying to say?"

Nancy shook her head. "Goodnight Mister."

She went to leave but the Doctor kept talking to her back. "Nancy, there's something you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right?" She turned and by the look on her face, Rose knew what the Doctor said was true. "The thing I'm looking for, the thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Nancy nodded slowly. "There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Can you bring us there," Rose asked

"There are soldiers guarding it." She shook her head profusely. "Barbed wire. You'll never get through." Nancy exclaimed.

The Doctor shrugged. "Try me."

Nancy narrowed her eyes. "You sure you want to know what's going on in there?"

"I really want to know."

"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."

"Who's that?" Rose asked.

"The Doctor."

✧

Time passed, and the minute hand of Big Ben's clock moved a good ways since the time they sat down to indulge in their champagne. Lily made the smart choice to abandon her glass and stand. "You know, it's getting pretty late." She told Jack. "I should be getting back."

Jack looked up at her. "We're discussing business."

"Uh-huh. Champagne is business to you then?"

"I try never to discuss business with a clear head." He downed the rest of his glass with a single gulp and then got to his feet. "Are you traveling alone?" He asked. "Are you authorized to negotiate with me?"

Lily raised a brow. "What would we be negotiating?"

He had one hand in his pocket and the other he moved around as he talked. "I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment?"

She thought of the Doctor. "I should talk to my companion."

"Companion?"

"I should really be getting back to him."

His interest seemed to spike. "Him?"

"Yeah, he and my sister." She rubbed the back of her neck. "They're probably freaking out by now."

He clicked a button on the device he was now holding and Lily looked to the side, watching Big Ben light up- the clock striking nine-thirty. "Wow," She was at a loss for words. "That's stunning. If never been so close."

Lily and Jack both realized he had her right where he wanted her. Hand now free he put them on either side of her waist, pulling her closer. "So when you say your companion, just how disappointed should I be?"

"Do you really think us, standing on a spaceship, midair during a German air raid," Jack's fingertips traveled up her body to take her hand, bringing it to his lips. "Is the best time to make a move on me?

He smirked against her hand. "If you think I'm just now coming on to you then I'm losing my touch." His lips left her hand and he stepped away. "But you're right." He then held up his remote with a wild look in his eyes. "Do you like Glenn Miller?"

A click sounded and a song, Lily recognized to be 'Moonlight Serenade,' played through the ship's outer speakers. He tugged her towards him again via her waist and they started dancing. "It's 1941," He spoke closely in her ear. "The height of the London Blitz, the height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth." Lily was happy he didn't see her face cause it twisted when she remembered the ship the TARDIS was chasing. "And I know where it is," He squeezed her tighter to him. "Because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever." When she heard him say that she pulled back enough to look in his face. "That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now," He looked her in and down. "Shall we discuss payment?"

"Let me get this straight. You used to be a Time Agent and now you're a sorta freelancer."

Jack looked offended. "Well, that's a little harsh. I like to think of myself as a criminal." He added with a slight growl and Lily hoped she wasn't blushing. "This companion of yours, does he handle the business?"

"Ehh," She made a so and so motion with her hand. "Depends on who you ask. But I delegate a lot."

"Well, maybe we should go find him." He let her go and started to reopen the hatch. "Do a scanning for alien tech."

When he disappeared inside Lily smiled and followed behind. "God, Rose is gonna love you."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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- Kayleigh