Jack's Agenda Part One

Notes: Many of you lovely people asked for a Stella sequel, so I decided to be nice and give you all one. I'll tell you again: SEQUEL. If you haven't read The Ordinary One, it won't matter all that much, but you won't have a hope in heck of understanding who Stella is, why she's on the TARDIS, and why the Doctor calls her Strawberry.

So much credit for this story must be paid to Roy. Roy is a very great friend of mine and we worked on the plot line for this whilst marching along, doing our Duke of Edinburgh assessment walk. Thanks Roy! You're a star. Have some cheese!

OK, summary, summary…well, this fic is, as you may have guessed, about Jack. Anyway, I don't think I need to tell you any more than that just yet, it'll ruin it. Let's just say that it's a little detail from the show that fanfics haven't really picked up on yet.

Now read, you cabbages. Yes, I mean you. No, not your pet eyeless gherkin who's name is Brock, YOU.

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"I'm not wearing eyeliner," said the Doctor, folding his arms and scowling. Rose looked exasperated.

"It's not as if you'll know anyone there," she pointed out. "I promise I'll be careful."

"I don't care, I'm not wearing it," he said determinedly.

"Jack's wearing it," said Rose.

"Jack's…Jack!" said the Doctor feebly. "And I'm me and I don't wear eyeliner!"

"Spoilsport," called Jack from the other side of the control room. He was sat leaning back in a chair while Stella outlined his eyes and blackened his eyebrows with khol. "It's not that bad."

"That's because I'm very talented," said Stella promptly, putting down the pencil and admiring her work. "Very pretty."

"You look ridiculous," said the Doctor, who was feeling very bad tempered by this time.

"Pot calling kettle," said Stella, smirking at him. She was right, although he wasn't prepared to admit it. He was currently wearing little more than a piece of linen tied around his…yes. Let's not go there, shall we?

"Why are we even going to Egypt?" the Doctor demanded.

"Why not?"

"For goodness sake!" said Rose, fuming. "Jack, Stella, hold him down."

"I'd like to see them try," he said stubbornly. Jack grinned.

"I love a challenge," he said.

A wrestling match ensued, in which the Doctor battled bravely, but was obviously losing from the word 'go'. Eventually Stella just tackled him and sat on his legs, giving Jack the opportunity to grab his arms whilst Rose sat on his chest, khol in hand. The result? Two beautiful Eyes of Horus for the Doctor.

"Now the wigs," said Stella, retrieving them from a box in the corner. The Doctor whimpered, partially because Rose and Jack were still sitting on him.

"I don't know why you're making such a fuss about this," said Rose, as they helped him up.

"That's fine for you to say, you're wearing more than a towel," he aid grumpily. Rose grinned and twirled in her fringed dress.

"It suits me, doesn't it?" she said, preening.

"You look…" began the Doctor, then stopped, feeling awkward. "Fantastic. You look fantastic." Rose just smiled.

"Here," said Stella, interrupting their 'moment' by handing them both wigs.

"This can't be necessary," protested the Doctor, looking at the black fake hair in his hands.

"Would you prefer me to shave your head?" asked Stella, raising her eyebrows. The Doctor put on the wig.

"You do realise there's nowhere to put my sonic screwdriver in this outfit," he pointed out.

"That's what Trin-E and Zu-zannah said," said Jack mischievously.

"Right, if you complain one more time," said Rose threateningly, reaching for his neck. The Doctor swatted her away.

"Fine. But don't blame me if we get locked in a prison cell with no hope of escaping," he said, sighing.

"Sounds like fun," said Jack.

Stella adjusted her wig, slipping a gold band over the top to keep it in place, then ran to the door. She flung it open.

"Hello Egypt," she said happily, standing in the doorway. The Doctor rolled his eyes, and 'helped' her out of the door.

"Hello desert sand," she grumbled as she landed on the floor. Jack helped her up and she dusted herself off. "So where are we going?"

"Party time!" said Jack, smiling at her.

"Party?"

"Over there," he said, pointing to a mass of lights not far from where they were standing, in what appeared to be a small town or a large village.

"That's so pretty!" breathed Stella.

"We should get a better view," agreed Jack, grabbing her hand as they dashed across the sand. The Doctor and Rose gave each other knowing glances, then swiftly followed them.

Faint music could be heard above the desert wind, flutes and oboes and what was unmistakably a harp. As they approached, they could see dancing going on in a large market place, lit by candles. Jack made an instant beeline for where someone was serving drinks, whilst the rest were content to watch the dancers. The dance looked choreographed, with selected dancing girls performing complex moves and sometime acrobatics. There was a group of musicians playing some instruments they recognised, and some even the Doctor didn't. In a distant corner of the market place, two women were singing what the Doctor said was a hymn of praise to Osiris, god of vegetation and the annual flooding of the Nile.

After a while, the dancers ended their orchestrated dance, and those who had been stood around watching began to join them, dancing in pairs or in small groups. It was not the dancing Rose was used to by any means. Nevertheless, as the musicians started up a lively yet distinctly minor sounding tune, she was determined to somehow get the Doctor dancing. She seized her chance when Stella wandered away to join Jack, leaving them alone. She took his hand.

"Can you remember how to do this kind of dancing?" she teased.

"What do you think?" he said, laughing. "And neither do you, so let's not make idiots of ourselves, OK?"

"Nu-uh, no way, you take me to an Egyptian party and you can flipping well dance with me," she said, dragging him into the crowd. They both felt immensely stupid as they gamely tried to copy the Egyptian style, cheered on by Jack and Stella, who were not looking completely sober. But they were pleased to find that, in contrast to the complicated moves of the dancing girls, the normal Egyptians danced in a way completely different to the English, but that was not too difficult to pick up.

Jack was watching them dance when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Jack Harkness!" said a cheerful, British voice. Jack turned around, his drink tipping precariously.

"Dan Butler," he replied, seizing the taller man's hand in delight. He had a recently shaved head and very dark eyes, almost black, and a deeply furrowed brow that suggested he was older than he sounded.

"I see you went for the wig option," he noted.

"Couldn't bear to lose such an attractive feature of mine," Jack admitted. Dan laughed.

"And you look lovely," he teased. He glanced at Stella. "Obviously having your usual effect on the females, eh Jack? Who've you snapped up this time?"

"This is Stella," Jack said promptly. "A friend," he added. Dan raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"A friend, eh?" he said. "Wonder how long that'll last…." Jack elbowed him. He grinned. "Nice to meet you Stella."

"Dan is a very good friend of mine, a Time Agent," Jack continued. Dan smiled again at Stella, then turned to Jack, halting his inroductions.

"Jack, I was wondering if I might have a word with you?"

"Sure," said Jack, putting down his drink. "You don't mind, do you Stella?" Stella shrugged.

"I'm sure I can entertain myself," she said, eyeing an Egyptian man who had been looking at her for quite a while.

"I see you've met your match Jack!" said Dan, looking delighted.

"Not by a long way," he reassured him. "See you in a sec." He followed Dan through the crowd as the candles began to burn out.

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"Morning!" said Rose cheerfully as she entered the kitchen. The Doctor glanced up from his book, smiling in greeting. Jack and Stella did not look well. Both seemed barely conscious, each with a glass of water, two Alka-Seltzers, and strong black coffee. "Oh dear…somebody partied too hard with Ani the carpenter."

"For a carpenter, he was a really great…uh, dancer," Stella ad-libbed quickly, sipping her coffee and grimacing. "I don't even like coffee."

"I'll make you some tea if you want," Rose offered, boiling the kettle.

"No thanks, I need the caffeine," she replied, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"You're a girl in need of Red Bull," Jack commented.

"Says the man looking very much like the living dead," Stella snapped. Jack went over to the sink and splashed water in his face.

"OK, that's better," he said, looking brighter. "Doctor, is it OK if I…uh…upgrade the TARDIS?" he looked extremely shifty. Not surprisingly, the Doctor looked less than happy.

"What are you planning on doing to her exactly?" he asked warily.

"Just like I said, upgrading," said Jack.

"Upgrading what?"

"The uh, radar system," he said, jamming his hands into his pockets and looking uncomfortable. The Doctor frowned. There was only one reason for Jack wanting to upgrade the radar: he was looking for something. Jack knew enough about the TARDIS not to hurt it, but the Doctor wasn't sure whether what he was planning to track down was going to greet them or kill them, and it wasn't a comforting thought.

"I trust you Jack," he said simply.

"I know."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Then upgrade," said the Doctor, going back to his book. Jack looked very pleased, and immediately dashed off to the control room.

"What's he up to?" wondered Rose aloud. The Doctor just shrugged. Stella groaned.

"Don't let me EVER drink as much as I did last night again," she said, giving up on her coffee and downing the water/Alka-Selzers. "I'm going back to bed."

"Going to be a slow day then," said Rose, as Stella disappeared down the corridor.

"I sincerely doubt it," replied the Doctor.

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Just a bit of a 'set up' chapter to get you all back into the flow…next time things will get more interesting. Make sure you all review…I leave you with some highly amusing and/or thought provoking quotes…ciao…

Buffy: Hmm, that much quality time with my mom would probably lead to some quality matricide.

Xander: I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away.

Giles: That's all he said? Fork Guy?
Buffy: That's all Cryptic Guy said: Fork Guy.
Giles: I think there are too many guys in your life.

Spike: If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock.

Spike: I was actually at Woodstock. That was a weird gig. I fed off a flowerperson, and I spent the next six hours watchin' my hand move.

See you in the next dimension…don't be late!