Prompt from scullywolf: I'd like to see you write some more S1 Team TARDIS, maybe when they went to Woman Wept?

At first, he'd thought that having Jack along might be a fantastic idea. He could use a distraction to keep his mind away from inappropriate thoughts of Rose Tyler, and Jack was certainly capable of making himself known.

However, the Doctor quickly realized his plan had backfired.

It wasn't that he was jealous of the attention Rose gave the questionable Captain, of course; he was a Time Lord, above such emotions, better than some stupid ape who got all possessive when another male showed interest in his woman. Which was not to say that Rose Tyler was the Doctor's woman. Quite the opposite, in fact, which was yet another reason the Doctor wasn't jealous.

He was, though, worried. Yes, worried was the appropriate word.

Rose was young, so much younger than the Doctor himself. He knew well she could handle herself when it came to the sorts of people they encountered on their travels. Honestly, he quite enjoyed watching her handle herself in those situations. He worried, though, about whether she was experienced enough to handle an intergalactic flirt of Jack Harkness's caliber.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he studied the duo's body language when they returned to the console room.

"That's pretty much it for now," Rose was saying to an attentive Jack. "I mean, we didn't see everything, but things go away an' come back and move all the time, so if I showed you around again tomorrow, it might be completely different."

The Doctor watched her eyes sparkle at the other human and saw the tilt of her head, then huffed and slid under the console for repair work, missing the longing look Rose shot the Time Lord when he'd turned away.

"Thanks for showing me around, Rosie," said Jack. He raised his voice some to continue when the Doctor banged and clanked a little more loudly, the TARDIS sending a retaliatory spark. "So, whaddaya usually do around here for fun?"

"Not what you're implying with that look," responded Rose, hands on her hips and a tongue-touched smile on her face.

Not that the Doctor knew what expression she was making just by how she sounded. Genius, him, but that didn't mean he spent all his time studying a human woman, no matter how wonderful she might be.

"Why don't you lot go get dressed for our next stop," said the Doctor, sliding back out from under the console. "And dress warmly. We're going somewhere cold."

"All right, Doctor. Be back in a mo'," said Rose starting into the corridor. She turned back and looked at Jack, who hadn't moved. "You coming, Jack?"

"I think I can find my way back to my room on my own thanks to your tour, Rosie," he told her. "I just need a sec first."

Rose nodded and smiled, then made her way towards her room.

"Not gonna wait for you if you aren't ready," said the Doctor, turning his attention to the console and away from the ex-Time Agent.

"You don't have to worry about her, Doc," said Jack, moving to stand next to him so he could speak in a low voice. "At least, you don't have to worry about her where I'm concerned. We talked while she was showin' me around, and she made it clear she isn't interested. We might flirt, Doc, but I'm not going to try to make her interested in me. Don't think I could even if I wanted to," he said with a chuckle.

"Rose likes pretty boys," the Doctor said, moving to another part of the console.

"You sayin' I'm not pretty?" ask Jack, pretending offense.

The Doctor turned towards the other man, crossing his arms.

"I'm saying that it's good you're leaving her alone," he warned, fixing Jack with an icy stare.

Jack laughed again.

"You two are just so cute," he said. "Neither one of you has eyes for anyone else, and yet you still can't see each other."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked the Doctor, still staring.

"It means, Doc, that Rose will never be interested in a human on this ship," said Jack, taking a step closer to the Doctor again. "She's head over heels for you."

"Don't be stupid," said the Doctor, turning to fiddle with equipment on the console.

"C'mon, Doctor," pressed Jack, "I may have just got here, but I'm not an idiot. Thought you two were pulling my leg at first when you said you weren't together. The way you look at each other… And that dance! You've got to admit, people who aren't interested in each other don't usually get caught up enough to miss a teleport."

"I don't have to admit anything of the sort," the Doctor retorted, flipping a lever and making the TARDIS shake as she arrived at their location.

"Okay, Doc, whatever you say," said Jack, and the Doctor could imagine the eye roll that was aimed at his back. "Just wanted to let you know that you don't need to be jealous of me. I'm not trying to get in the way."

The Doctor turned towards Jack to argue, but he was distracted by Rose's return. She wore a warm winter jacket, a scarf with various shades of pink, a matching knitted hat pulled down over her ears, and a flush on her cheeks from all the warm clothing. He stared for a moment, wondering how she could make even ordinary clothing look so beautiful. For a human, that is.

"Ready, Doctor," she said happily as she walked over to the console. She looked at Jack questioningly. "You not changing?"

Jack glanced at the coordinates on the Doctor's screen, which were displaying in standard digits rather than in Gallifreyan. The Doctor frowned and gave the TARDIS a mental nudge. The TARDIS, in return, gave him the equivalent of a smirk.

"Nah," Jack answered Rose. "I've been here before. Besides, I'm beat, could use a day to just relax, ya know? I'll catch the next trip, though." He looked at the Doctor mischievously before starting toward the corridor. "This planet's a good date spot, anyway, and I don't want to be the third wheel," he added, timing it so Rose wouldn't be able to question him.

"What did he mean by that, Doctor?" asked Rose, looking up at him quizzically, a hint of challenge hiding behind an innocent facade.

"No clue," the Doctor replied cheerfully.

No, the Doctor thought. Bringing Jack along had certainly not been the best way to ignore his growing feelings for Rose. At least the Doctor had enough restraint to avoid acting on those feelings. He hoped. She looked at him so trustingly, so admiringly, and yet she was still unafraid to call him on it when he was being an idiot.

"Doctor," she said now. "You're staring at me. Is something wrong?"

Speaking of idiots, he scolded himself.

"Nope," he said, pasting on a grin and moving quickly towards the door, Rose following. "Welcome to Woman Wept," he told her as he opened the doors, leaning against a doorframe and crossing his arms, waiting to see her reaction.

He wasn't disappointed. She stepped out of the TARDIS and her eyes grew wider, her jaw dropping slightly. They were on a deserted beach that went farther than they could see in either direction. Directly in front of them was the ocean.

The wind caught Rose's hair as she took a few steps away from the TARDIS. The Doctor uncrossed his arms and followed. Rose's gaze moved upward, taking in the hundred-foot waves, frozen solid and sparkling in the cool sun, reflecting light and shifting colors.

"It's beautiful, Doctor," breathed Rose, watching the play of light for another minute before turning toward him and grinning, one of the biggest smiles he'd seen yet. Not that he kept track. "It's brilliant."

She turned back towards the waves, reaching for his hand unconsciously, surprising him. He let her take it, especially when he realized it made it easier for him to avoid putting an arm around her. Not that it would be for any reason other than ensuring her warmth, of course.

"Why's it called Woman Wept?" she asked.

"From orbit, if you're in just the right spot, the continent looks like a woman weeping," he said. "We'll make a stop when we leave."

"They look like they're still moving," she told him. "Like the waves could start moving again at any second."

She squeezed his hand, then seemed to realize she'd taken it without them running for their lives. She blushed, turning ever-so-slightly pinker than she already was from the wind and the cold, and let go. His hand twitched once, as if in protest, before he crossed his arms again and looked out at the ice.

"Does look like that, doesn't it?" he said. "Won't move again, though. Some things, once changed, they don't change back to how they used to be."

"That's a good thing, I think," said Rose. From the look on her face when he glanced at it, he'd wager she was remembering the standstill her life had reached before they'd met.

"Yeah," he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. As he looked back down at the small human smiling next to him, he had a feeling that his need for Rose Tyler was one of those things that was never going to change back, even if he'd wanted it to.