The last part! I hope it measures up, but don't worry, it's not the last of my writing for these two, just the end of this little story. I'll definitely be delving into some of the things that happen after this at a later date.

The third time they meet is on a battlefield. It's the end of the 21st century and they're on opposite sides, Ashildr relishing how she doesn't need to be dressed like a man to fight this time. She cropped her hair short a few decades back and has been wearing it that way since, but she faces this battle with a shade of red lipstick that strikes the fear of God into the heart of man.

Both immortals are champions for their causes, more resilient and skilled than all their counterparts, so it makes sense that it doesn't take long for them to find themselves facing each other once the battle is underway. It takes mere seconds for them to recognise who is staring back at them.

"Jack?" Ashildr asks, genuinely surprised. They've both frozen.

"...Ash?"

It's been a long time since she's thought about him - she's been busy, wonderfully so, not needing to dwell on the past even in the slightest.

Now his eyes are familiar, old and wary but still not without some spark of life still simmering in there. It's only been a bit over two hundred years for him since he became immortal, she thinks, provided he's been on Earth this whole time and not been time travelling, but he's managed to live through more than enough to bring him almost to where she had been in 1651.

He's ready. It means he has suffered, and that isn't really a good thing, but there is something so soothing about seeing a part of herself reflected in him. A part of herself she's never seen in anyone, not even the Doctor, whose foreign nature and condescending attitude overshadowed any similarities they might have shared.

She finds herself grinning.

"It's good to see you."

He blinks, and then grins back. "You too." His eyes take in the barren wasteland around them, the dead land filled with fighting and bloodshed, truly seeing it now. "Wanna get out of here?"

She's been in the war too long, and nothing has ever sounded better than the chance to escape it with him.

When she nods, Jack stretches out his hand. Upon her taking it, he pulls them both so that their hands are on his wrist, which confuses her until they are abruptly somewhere entirely different. Her stomach turns and she has to jump back from him before emptying its contents all over the ground, but he pats her back and gives her a sympathetic look when she straightens up.

"Sorry," he says, with another grin, "Cheap and nasty time travel. Not great on the constitution."

"Have we travelled in time?"

The thought is too wonderful for her to accept immediately. But he nods and she throws her head back and lets out the most genuine laugh of delight she can even remember.

"Where are we?" The question escapes her quickly, with a childish glee that she hasn't known in centuries. The landscape around them is red and rocky and utterly alien, with buildings in the distance not quite like anything she's ever seen.

"Rojen, little moon on the other side of the galaxy with some of the best beer around. And it's the year 3241."

Actual physical tears spring to her eyes and she's so shocked upon recognising the sensation that she just stares at the wetness on her fingers with wonder. She can't remember the last time she cried. But she's missed it. It's not exactly happy crying, this time, but it's not entirely sad crying either.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jack asks, staring down at her with concern and putting a hand on her shoulder.

She blinks at him, too awed to do much else. "I did it. I got away. Thank you."

Protecting Earth and its people from the Doctor is a job she has taken seriously and it holds a special place in her heart. It will always be home. But the urge to at least briefly be able to get away and not be stuck in the same straight line on the same singular planet has never left her. And now here she is, standing on an alien moon, in a future she has not had to live every day to see.

Jack doesn't seem to quite understand, of course, but he will soon.

She sticks her hand out like he had done to her when they first met and gives him a large, genuine grin. "My name's Ashildr. And I've been waiting for you for a long time, Jack."

"Ashildr," he repeats slowly, smiling at her, "Beautiful name. But, we've met before and you just left both times. What's different now?"

She lets her hand come to rest on top of where his is still on her shoulder, and she looks at him with a softness she hasn't offered anyone in a long time. "You are," she says simply, "You're ready. You're like me."

He hesitates, searching her face, and something clicks in him, like he's seeing her properly for the first time. "Perpetual rapid healing of injuries." His eyes are wide as he repeats her words from so long ago. "You're immortal."

Ashildr smiles at him. "Yes, I am. And I was hoping you might be in need of a friend. As I am."

He seems lost for words, too busy staring at her like she's some kind of dream. It's somehow bizarre, annoying, and flattering all at once. Still, she knows he'll get used to it eventually.

Ashildr puts her hands on her hips. "Now, will you buy me a drink? We have a lot to talk about. If you want. But I'm thinking that if I'm interested in hearing your story, you might be interested in hearing mine."

Jack finally shakes his head to clear it, and when he looks at her some of his overly cheerful demeanour is gone, replaced by something more genuine. He's realised he doesn't need to lie to her.

"I'd like that," he says, a small smile on his lips and a tired sort of relief in his eyes, "And I feel like we're gonna bring a whole new meaning to the phrase it's a long story." She laughs slightly and holds out her hand to him in invitation, and he takes it as they begin to walk across the red dirt towards the city in the distance.

"I imagine we will."

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to know what you thought! (Also, if you have anything in particular between these two you might want to see, feel free to mention it to me, since I might love the idea and write it at some point.)

-MayFairy :)