THE ADVENTURES OF THE DOCTOR'S AMAZING HAND

Chapter Twenty Two

After awhile, the Doctor finally felt well enough to crawl out from his tent and sit in front of it. He slowly sat down on his butt and reached over for the yellow dog dish that was filled with water. He swallowed his pride and took a sip of it knowing that the Master was probably recording him doing it so he could laugh about it later. After slaking his thirst, he set it back down and drew his knees up close to his chest while he looked around the room. One eye had been swollen shut and his face was aching from the abuse the Master heaped on him but he endured it stoically reasoning he'd had far worse in his life. His main concern was his friends especially Jack and Rose. Jack had still been chained up when the guards carted him away and he wondered if the Master was still in there killing him repeatedly. He was also worried about Rose. He hoped she was alright. In a way he was glad John was with her but he had to admit he also felt a bit envious. He thought it strange he was envious of a severed hand but the severed hand was with his lover while he was stuck, old and infirm, with the Master on his airship. He wondered if there was some way he could get him, Jack and Martha's family off the ship. At least for a little while.

He looked over to his left when the door opened and the Master came into the room holding a black velvet bag in his hand.

"Evening, mate," he said to him.

The Doctor said nothing and the Master pouted.

"Come on, is that any way to treat your old friend. We are old friends, aren't we?"

"We were once," the Doctor said. "Before you became a basket case."

"If I'm crazy, so are you," the Master said, walking up to him. "You've done a lot of barmy things in your life, same as me. You've also killed and maimed innocent people, same as me."

The Doctor said nothing.

"But of course when you kill and maim, it's because you're fighting for the safety of the universe. When I do it, I'm a nutter hellbent on destruction of the universe," he added. "Course we all know when you get right down to it we're both cut from the same cloth."

The Doctor snorted at that and the Master shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Keep on believing the lies you've told yourself over the centuries," he said. "You call me delusional but you're far more delusional than I am."

"Is this why you've come in here? To bother me like this?" the Doctor said angrily.

"I didn't think I was bothering you. I thought I was being friendly and chatting to an old friend. But oh well, I'll skip to the end then. I wanted to show you something fascinating. I don't know if you know this but Jack has some amazing regenerative properties. Observe."

He opened the bag, turned it over and the Doctor gasped when the top half of Jack's head fell out onto the floor. He stared at it in horror as Jack's one remaining eye stared blankly back. Rage clouded his mind and he nimbly leapt to his feet.

"Whoa! Nice move, Gramps. I guess you can move swiftly when you get angry enough," the Master said.

"You bastard. I'll kill you for this!" the Doctor snarled.

"Calm down. He didn't feel a thing. I just stuck him in a blast proof room with a bomb and watched the fun. But…observe the body part closely because it's fascinating. I'll be back in a minute. I should have brought you popcorn but it slipped my mind. Oh well, toodles."

The Doctor gnashed his teeth and fought to control his temper while the Master sauntered off towards the door. He knew the moment he tried to attack him the Master would signal the guards and they'd come rushing in. So he stood and fumed while the Master whistled cheerfully and went out the door. The Doctor slumped to the floor and stared numbly at the body part in front of him.

"Jack, I'm so sorry. I should have ordered you to go back home. I should have left you in London with Martha and fought the Master by myself. Old friend, I hate what's happened to you. I know Rose didn't mean to do this to you but still, I wish she hadn't come back for me that day then both you and her would be safe and…"

He trailed off and froze. For a moment he thought he was imagining things when he saw a bit of Jack's face grow back but then to his astonishment the head grew back into a full head and then his neck and torso and arms and legs. The Doctor was amazed at how Jack was growing a whole new body right in front of him. As he watched, that old time lord sensation of running away from something unnatural returned and he had to fight to keep still as Jack's body finished growing. Then with a huge gasp Jack's eyes snapped back open.

"Jack, Jack, calm down," the Doctor said, putting a hand on his shoulder when he saw how frightened his friend was. "It's alright, you're fine, you're safe."

For the moment, Jack only had hair on the side of his head that wasn't destroyed but even as he lay there, the Doctor could see his hair growing back in on the bald side and again he shook his head in wonder. Jack turned his eyes towards him.

"Doc?" he choked out. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I guess so. I was just blown to bits by the Master," Jack said in a raspy voice.

"I know. He was in here gloating about it."

By now the hair had grown completely back. Jack rose up on his elbows and checked himself. He smiled when he looked down at his penis.

"Glad that came back. Don't know what I would have done without it."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at that. He put his hand behind Jack's back and helped him sit up all the way. Jack looked his friend over.

"So…you having fun in here?" he said.

"Oh yeah, havin' the time of my life," he said.

"Me too. I've always wanted to be slaughtered repeatedly by an insane time lord and now I've got my chance," Jack said.

He turned serious.

"Think Rose is alright?" he said softly.

"Dunno, I hope so. I hope she and John are both alright," the Doctor said.

Jack shook his head.

"All this time and that little bugger was alive. He never came alive for me. If he had I wouldn't have kept him imprisoned in the jar like that."

"Maybe he thought you'd do something kinky with him."

"I'd never…" Jack said. "Doc, I like you, alright? I really do like you but I do know when to control myself, you know? I did stop with that one kiss."

"Good thing."

"Oh come on, you didn't protest when I did it."

"I was too shocked to say anything, Harkness. I didn't know you were gonna kiss me after you laid your lips on Rose."

"I'm sorry, was that a jealous outburst just then?"

"Yes..no, I mean. I'm not jealous. I just…you think you're some kind of intergalactic playboy or something and think anyone you come across falls hopelessly in love with you."

"I never said that and believe me, I've had plenty of people turn me down," Jack said. "I think you've just a bit defensive especially when it comes to Rose."

"Rose and I have a special relationship."

"And I respect that," Jack said calmly. "But what I did that night was nothing more than a friendly peck on the lips, same with you. I didn't think I would see either of you again. Now can we drop this and move on?"

"Yes, because I don't wanna argue about it. I have more important things to do with my time."

"Yeah, like find some incontinence pads."

Jack held up his hands when the Doctor gave him a look of death.

"Kidding, just kidding, geez," he said. "Just trying to keep the mood light. I've been killed numerous times since I've gotten here and I'm trying to keep my sanity."

The Doctor nodded. They looked over when the door opened and the Master returned with two guards.

"There you are!" he said, hurrying over to them. "See, he grew back. Isn't that just neeeeeeeeeeat?"

Both the Doctor and Jack glared at him. The Master shrugged.

"Well, I for one was impressed," he said. But now, show's over. Gotta give Grampy-poo his shutty eye so he can get up bright and early and sleep in the chair by the telly while he wets himself."

The Doctor and Jack shared a look as the Master snickered at that.

"Up and on your feet, Harkness. Gotta get you back in your chains so you can get a good night's rest. I'm sure you're exhausted after regrowing everything, eh?"

"See ya later, Doc."

The Doctor nodded and watched as Jack stood up. The guards grabbed him on either side and Jack winked at the Doctor as they led him away.

"Fascinating what your friend can do," the Master said. "Makes me wanna step up my efforts to find your girlfriend so I can question your little Fairycake about how she accomplished that. I was thinking if I could tap into that and bring that power back long enough to make an immortal army…but I'm divulging too much right now, you need your shut-eye and when I say shut-eye, I mean sleep, not the shut eye you have from me hitting you repeatedly. But anyway, cheers as those wacky British humans say. Have fun being old."

The Doctor glared silently at the Master as he whistled and strode back out the door.

After resting for a few hours, Rose resumed her pace through the city. John rode on her shoulder keeping an eye out for her. By now, no one was around and the few people they did see were sleeping in doorways and in the alleys and didn't disturb her. Rose was desperately looking around for a means of transportation since now her feet were aching and screaming for relief. She thought she could feel the beginning of blisters on her toes and she knew pretty soon they would be so big she would be hobbling along. She passed by a bus and paused to look at it. It looked deserted so Rose quickly hurried over to it. The door was open so she stepped up and into it. She froze when she saw a man, woman and three kids sleeping in the back seats. Cursing under her breath, she walked back down to the pavement.

"I s'pose even if we could drive it, those Toclafane things would stop us eventually," Rose muttered to John.

John slid down into her jacket as she walked over to a nearby bench, shrugged her rucksack off, set it down beside the bench and slumped down onto it. She glanced at a homeless man who was sitting beside her. He was emaciated with short brown hair and a brown beard. He was dressed in gray sweat pants, socks, trainers and a heavy black jacket. He glanced at her and nodded hello before he turned his attention back to the stars in the sky.

"Ugh, I'm tired," Rose muttered.

"Lie down," the man said with a Welsh accent as he patted the bench.

"Can't lie down. Been lying down all day. I need to get out of the city," Rose said to him.

"What for?" the man asked.

"I need to rescue some friends of mine that are being held prisoner by the Master," Rose said. "I'm on foot and I've been walking since I escaped but it's tiring. My feet are killing me and I don't think I can make it much longer on foot."

"How far are you going?" the man asked.

"Around the world."

"What? Why?"

"I have to help my friend. His name is the Doctor, have you ever heard of him?"

"Yes."

"Martha's spoken to you then?"

"No, who's Martha?"

"Friend of the Doctor. She's out walking the world too. I'm going to try to find her."

"So the Doctor, he's the one who's a captive?"

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, along with Martha's family and a man named Jack Harkness."

The man stood up and Rose flinched when he drew near to her, thinking he was going to do something to her. Instead, the man knelt down beside her.

"I might be able to help you. I know Jack Harkness as well."

Rose frowned.

"How'd ya know him?"

"I work with him at Torchwood. My name's Ianto Jones."

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