Title: A Happy Accident
Author: Shen
Rating: PG
Summary: What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

Chapter One: Collisions

"Doctor!" The huffing of ragged breath is overtaken by clopping of heavy shoes on pavement. "DOCTOR!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Doctor glances at the screen and felt his eyes widen. Seeing the figure racing towards his ship puts both of his hearts into a syncopated rhythm. Somewhere between guilt at past deeds and instinctual fear, his flight or flight instinct muscles its way to the fore. And, well, he was rarely a fighter.

As he throws the TARDIS into gear, it lurches and sparks, throwing his companion and him to the side.

Martha asks, "What's that?" The Doctor is already squinting at readouts.

"We're accelerating? In... time? Space? I don't know; these readings don't make any sense!" A renewed sense of panic floods his system. Had his fear of ... of personal awkwardness sent his ship spiraling into untested depths of the Vortex? What if they were torn apart? He has enough time to ponder well over a dozen horrible possible outcomes of this debacle before the ship shudders and lands.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rose crouches behind a lead-lined barrier, one of the many encircling the field. Odd readings had been coming from this location for roughly a day, including bits of Void stuff. In the last few hours, Torchwood had pinpointed the space where readings were spiking the most and formed a perimeter. Was it Daleks? Cybermen? Some unknown terror of the Void? There was no way of knowing, but she had made sure all teams were briefed on the nature of Daleks, even as most knew all too well how to deal with Cybermen. Other than that, all they could do is wait behind the radiation shielding.

A noise slowly rises above the muttering of soldiers. To a man, they tense into a crouch, anxiously anticipating the unknown danger. All except Rose.

"Ma'am?" asks her second-in-command, alarmed. She ignores him, slowly walking out from behind the barrier and approaching the center of their perimeter. That sound! People were shouting for her to get back, but she waved them quiet.

VWOORP. VWOORP.

A 1950'S Police Box materializes before her... and a grey-clad figure falls off of its side.

"What?" she whispers to herself, staring in disbelief at the body on the ground. Even from here, she can see he isn't breathing. She runs towards him, sliding to her knees at his side and checking his vitals.

"Oh my god- Jack," she exclaims in pure shock... then sobs, heartbroken. Jack was alive? But to find out now, moments too late! Outraged by her fortune, she wails her confusion to his corpse, "What the bleeding hell were you doing on the outside of the TARDIS?"

A loud gasp comes from his form, causing Rose to flail backwards even as his hands grip her upper arms.

"AAAH!" He looks at her yelping face in alarm, then splits his own visage with a grin.

"AAHAHA!" He hugs her – which, from his position, is more like hauling her to the ground on top of him. Suddenly, she hears the clicking of dozens of guns being placed into position and prepared to fire. She had a decision to make. Was this really-

He playfully bit her ear, then kissed her temple. Yep, this was Jack.

"Don't shoot! He's a friend; it's okay," she called over her shoulder before turning to nuzzle his neck back. She must've been panicked and misconstrued his unconsciousness as death. Silly mistake for a pro, but she'd never been so happy to be wrong.

Finally, Jack let Rose go, and they both stood up. Beaming, he exclaimed, "Rose, you're alive!" She barked a laugh.

"You're one to talk!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile inside the TARDIS, Ten helps Martha up from the floor.

"Well, we've landed."

"So what's out there?" The Doctor took a breath.

"I don't know." Martha's eyes widen.

"Say that again. That's rare." She's amused! Titillated, even!

Annoyed at his lack of information, the Doctor answers shortly, "I told you, the readings didn't make any sense. Absolutely anything could be out there."