"Shut up, Jack

Author's Note: Pointless, harmless piece of fluff written at 4 am on a flight to Singapore for lack of anything better to do. Consider yourselves warned…

Possible slight spoilers for casting at the end of series 4, but I reckon they're common knowledge by now.

--

Afterward, they repaired to the nearest pub, to relax and at least pretend to try and unwind from yet another frenetic day spent saving the Earth. Inevitably they began to swap stories of their travels, until:

"What, all of you?" Sarah Jane exclaimed.

Four heads nodded in unison.

"You mean to tell me he's kissed every single one of you?"

"Afraid so," Jack replied with something very like a wicked gleam in his eye.

"I still can't believe it," Donna said mournfully, staring into her empty glass.

Sarah's eyes were drawn to the man in question. The alien in question. The Doctor. It was his round and at the moment he was standing at the bar arguing with the publican over some suspicious looking coins that he was no doubt trying to argue were completely legal tender in Britain in the 23rd century.

She blinked and turned back to her compatriots. "He kissed you in a hospital," her finger stabbed out, "you – and you – on this Platform 5, and you in 1926."

"Well, technically I kissed him," Donna felt obliged to clarify. "But only cos it was an emergency."

Jack was watching Sarah cagily. "You can't be telling us he's never kissed you," he said, all innocence.

Sarah's lips set in a fine, thin line.

"Right, here we are." The Doctor plunked an assortment of glasses into the middle of the table and began to hand them around. He stopped suddenly – mid-movement – a furrow of worry creasing his brow as, uncharacteristically, he detected that the current of emotion around him had shifted in his absence.

"What? Is something wrong?" he queried anxiously. "Ten Queen Elizabeth IV pounds are more than enough to pay for a few pints and a ginger ale. Or they will be, at least."

"You tell me what's wrong," Sarah snapped at him. "Because clearly there's something wrong with me. Besides the obvious. I mean, I know I'm old now, but when we traveled together I was barely Martha's age!"

"You're not old," the Doctor contradicted automatically.

"No? Well, what, then? Too short? Too impetuous? Too nosy? Not too ugly, at least – you never did care about people's external appearances."

"Never have, never will," he agreed. "Except possibly for –" He tugged on one ear. "Sorry, what are we talking about?"

Donna and Martha exchanged amused glances.

"Why you never kissed me!" Sarah exploded.

"What?"

"You've kissed all the rest of them! Even Donna, who thinks you'd snap in a strong wind! But you've never kissed me." She'd begun the rant in righteous indignation, but it was possible that the last part came out slightly more wistfully than she intended.

Jack cleared his throat and leaned towards her with a roguish grin. "If you're looking for a volunteer –"

"Shut up, Jack." She threw him the sort of glare she normally reserved for alien invaders, power mad dictators and the Doctor at his most patronizing.

Jack shut up.

"Yeah, Doctor, tell us," Rose chimed in, backing up her friend. "How come you've snogged all of us, and never her?"

"Frankly I can't see why he didn't do it a long time ago," Donna said sotto voce, giving the Doctor a well-aimed elbow in the ribs.

"Ow, hey!" he protested.

"Come on, Doctor," Martha urged with an eager grin. "Fess up."

The Doctor rose from the table, his face stony. Without a further word he stuck his hands in his trouser pockets and started in the direction of the door.

"Oh no you don't, mister," Sarah hissed at him as he passed behind her chair. She twisted round to face him. "Not this time. You're not leaving here until –"

Without warning the Doctor's hand shot out, gripping Sarah firmly by the arm and pulling her upright. Before she could react he cupped her cheeks in his long fine hands and pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was deep, and intense, and lasted until Sarah's breath gave out.

Just as abruptly he released her, and Sarah took a quick step backwards in shock as a glowing sensation spread through her body like sunshine over a darkened plain.

Applause rang out from around the table and several nearby booths, accompanied by a loud wolf whistle from Donna. Sarah blushed.

Jack whooped. "Way to go, Doc!"

"Now that was a kiss!" Martha exclaimed, taking an appreciative swig of her pint.

"Did you see tongue?" Rose asked. "I'm sure I saw tongue."

"There was definitely tongue," Donna confirmed with relish.

Sarah turned scarlet.

"Satisfied?" the Doctor asked. His tone was lightly teasing but the look in his eyes was soft and warm.

She nodded, still speechless.

"Good. I'd best be going then," he said casually to the rest of the table, as though kissing a woman in a pub was something he did every day. "Got to finish repairing the TARDIS. See you all in the morning." He shook an admonishing finger at them. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

And with that he was gone.

Sarah stared after him, feeling her knees go weak. She reached out blindly to sit down before her legs gave way beneath her. 'Oh my god,' she thought. 'After all this time he's actually gone and done it. I've finally had my kiss.'

And what a kiss it had been.

Jack's eyes were twinkling as she slumped into the chair beside him. "So, was it worth waiting 30 years for?"

She let out a slow, deliberate breath and looked at him, unable to hide the slight smile that played at her lips. "You already know the answer to that," she said weakly.

"Yeah, I do," he replied, his gaze shifting to watch through the window as the Doctor's lanky form disappeared over the road outside. "I certainly do."

FIN