Summary: "What if we got all the Doctor's old companions back together for one day, as a way to thank him for all the good he's done?" Jack, Martha and River Song band together to give the Doctor the biggest thank you in history. Will feature numerous companions, from new and classic Who.

Rating: K+ (though I'm not too sure with Jack being Jack and all ;)), but the sequel is a darker and grittier T.

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Drama

Pairings: Eleven/Rose, Martha/Mickey, Amy/Rory, Jack/?, River/?

Cover image made by me: Kathryn Hart :)

A/N: Hi guys! Another new fic! This one I got from a picture I saw in my head of Jack, Martha and River sitting together at a table in a bar. I don't really want this to look like a fix-it fic, but it does kind of give off that feeling at times. This story is six chapters long and the sequel "Starlight in Our Souls" is seven. I put a lot of my heart into Starlight so I actually adore that one more than this one. Starlight is my baby, and that'll probably be clear once we get to it. For now, I hope you enjoy The Companion Project! :D

Prologue: The Meeting

"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted." ~Mother Teresa

The pub was dark and gloomy. A few patrons sat in the shadows, awaiting their drinks from the waitress with the pale skin and short skirt. The smell of booze and cigarette smoke permeated into the very walls.

Slowly the door creaked open and sunlight filtered in. A man in a long blue trench coat circa 1940s strode in with confidence in his step. He nodded to the waitress who obviously knew him and showed him to a table near the front window. The window was so covered in dirt that barely any light came through. The man sat down and awaited the rest of his party.

After a few minutes a dark-skinned woman came in, looking wary of the seedy surroundings. As soon as the man saw her he jumped up, his face breaking into a grin.

"Martha Jones! Good to see you, still looking beautiful as ever."

"And you're still flirtatious as ever, Jack Harkness." Jack merely winked at her as he pulled a chair out for her to sit down. "Are we waiting for anyone else?"

"One more person." At his silence, Martha leaned back in her chair and tried not to let a look of disgust appear on her face. Couldn't they have met somewhere a bit cleaner? Finally she spoke, just to break the silence.

"Why are we here?"

"In this bar? Well, it's one of my favorites. Lots of good memories were made here." He looked at the dank and dirty little pub fondly, and Martha could see the distant memories in his eyes. "For the specific reason, I'll tell you when our other guest gets here. No need to repeat it." The waitress brought over a large tankard of ale and Jack took a big gulp gratefully.

"No thanks." Martha waved her off. They continued to sit quietly and chat for a few more minutes while they waited. After ten minutes the door opened again. The regulars shied away, tired of the continual interruptions to their drink and conversation. This time it was a tall woman with lustrous, curly, blonde hair. Her walk was just as confident as Jack's as she spotted the ones she was looking for and came up to their table. Martha and Jack stood up to greet her.

"Captain Jack Harkness I presume? The one I talked to earlier?" She asked.

"The one and only. This is Doctor Martha Jones, formerly of UNIT, and Martha, this is Professor River Song, of whatever the hell she pleases." The two women shook hands, Martha suddenly curious about this strange woman's background.

"A Professor, a Doctor, and a Captain walk into a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke." Jack grinned at River, clearly approving of her humour.

"Now ladies, for the reason we are here." They all sat down and he looked between them. "It is known that the one thing the three of us have in common is that, at one point or another, we have traveled with the Doctor. Some of us wouldn't even have been born the way we were without him." Jack looked pointedly at River but she only pursed her lips. Martha took note to ask Jack about that later. "We have all been changed because of what the Doctor did for us. I can't say for you two but I'm definitely a better person because of him."

"I'd agree with that." Martha chimed in.

"Yes, me too. Of course." River added. Jack merely nodded.

"Not only has the Doctor made us better people, he has saved this planet and others, universes even, more times than anyone can count. There is no way we could possibly thank him or repay him for what he's done for us, how many lives he's saved. That is, until I came up with this." He pulled three manila folders out of his jacket and set them on the table. "Introducing, the Companion Project." The women looked at him in confusion. "What if we were to get together as many people as we could, bring them here, and surprise the Doctor? He would never expect something this big."

"Sounds good." River said, already liking it.

"I've already contacted Ian and Barbara Chesterton, Dorothy aka Ace McShane, Doctor Grace Holloway and Craig Owens. There are numerous more, and it's been hard tracking them down, the ones that we even know of."

"I can give you a few more names probably." River said.

"Thanks. Some of them have already passed away, or most likely are on other planets. Those that we know of you could use your vortex manipulator for?" River nodded. Martha frowned, feeling slightly left out.

"What am I here for then? I only traveled with him for a few months and I can't help you like River can." Jack smiled.

"Ah, this is where The Companion Project comes in." He picked up the folders to demonstrate. "Three cases of companions where both your help is needed." He handed one folder to Martha. "I need you to take this to UNIT, get as many men as you can working on this." She opened it up and scanned the file of a ginger woman and a blonde man.

"Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Died in 1987 at the ages of 87 and 82." She had initial questions but waited until she finished reading the file.

"Hold on!" River shouted, jumping up. "I should be the one to help get my parents back." Jack put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're right, you should. But I need your Time Lady expertise for this one." He handed her the second file and she flipped it open.

"Donna Noble." She read out loud, recognizing the name. Her eyes widened as she read the first few paragraphs. "Time Lord human Metacrisis." She whistled in wonder. "No wonder he hardly mentions her. This will be difficult."

"Maybe, but I think I kept the hardest one for myself." Martha and River looked at the file as Jack slapped it open on the table. A young blonde woman smiled back from the picture in the file.

Rose Tyler.

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds. Then River straightened up, a mixed expression on her face.

"I don't want to sound petty but, her file says she's with a clone of the Doctor, in a parallel universe, shouldn't we leave them alone? They may not want to come."

"Why, are you threatened by her?" Jack asked.

"I'm not threatened!" She cried back.

"Sounds to me like you're threatened." Martha added.

"Stay out of this." River pointed a finger at her. "You have no idea about what's going on, what I have to lose. He told me about you, the Doctor did. He told me things you wouldn't want to hear, so why don't you sit there quietly instead of commenting on something you wouldn't under-"

"Hold up!" Jack interrupted River when he saw Martha stand up angrily, a blistering retort ready on her lips. He put his hands between the two of them to get them to calm down. "This isn't about us." He looked between the two ladies, his expression firm. "This is about the Doctor. I'm only sending a message to Rose and the clone Doctor. If they don't want to come, so be it. If they do, I will do my absolute best to get them here. And no one's going to stop me, correct?"

"Correct." Martha answered immediately. Jack looked at River expectantly.

"Correct." She said after a slight pause.

"Okay, so we all good then?" Jack asked. Martha grabbed her jacket that she had taken off earlier and picked up Amy and Rory's file. River's file on Donna was tucked securely beneath her arm. They both nodded. Jack smiled in satisfaction. "Fantastic, as a friend of mine used to say." He looked at Martha. "I'll stop by UNIT in three weeks. Will that be enough time to get something together?" Martha opened the file and looked at the first page again.

"Yeah. Should be."

"River, four weeks, come to Torchwood." River acknowledged him, still a bit miffed at what had happened earlier. Without another word she activated her vortex manipulator and was gone in a flash of blue light. Martha blinked twice, lights dancing in front of her eyes.

"She'll get used to the idea." She told Jack as her vision cleared. "Contrary to what she said, I do know how it feels. I nearly let Rose destroy my friendship with the Doctor, with no fault of her own. She's special to him, but nobody can know for sure what's going to happen if and when she comes." Jack merely nodded, contemplating.

"He really does love her. I hope I'm doing the right thing in bringing Rose and the clone back."

"You're letting Rose decide, remember? She knows more than both of us put together what's best for him."

"That is very true." The pair walked over to the door and Jack held it open for her. "So, you think UNIT will help you with this?"

"Well, Mickey and I are independent of them now, but I'm sure they would if I pulled a few strings." Jack laughed.

"Martha Jones, where would this world be without you here to save it?" Martha just smiled back, allowing herself just a bit of pride. Just a little.

Please review, I love to hear your initial reactions! :)