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[neverginger]

[A device clicks on, and a face appears on the network: a thin one with a large nose and brown messy hair. And glasses. Needs the glasses to see, you know. He grins, all teeth.]

Alright, then, this is neat, isn't it!

[He's not really saying that to anyone in particular. Don't worry, happens all the time. You'll know if he's speaking to you directly. Most likely.]

Never seen this before. Well, seen things like it, but nothing's ever quite the same in two places, yeah? Bit rubbish that everything in here's made of wood, makes my screwdriver a bit obsolete, but still...

[He laughs, and steps back from the device, standing with his hands on his hips. He's in his suite in the Wood Sector. Pretty nice place, if you ignore the lack of sonic-ing abilities.]

Right. So. I'm the Doctor, just the Doctor, thank you, and I suppose I was brought here, same as all of you. Now who's got something interesting to tell me about their time here?

[A pause, and time to ruminate over a question that's been in his mind since he got here.]

And does anyone know what this planet's base is? Doesn't seem like most other ones. A bit harder, strange in places. What's it made from?

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[faceofbeau]

Have you thought about fixing the 'doesn't do wood' thing? [Doctor, there's a smirking Jack Harkness on your screen. Who seems to be taking your current look in stride, as if he's seen this face before. And is rather amused at your frustration.]

[neverginger]

[Oh, oh, brilliant, just brilliant. How did Jack end up here?]

Can't fix it, just the way it is. What're you doing here, then?

[faceofbeau]

[He's wounded, Doctor. At least staring at Jack over a screen shouldn't trigger Time senses?]

I'll bet you could figure out a way, as brilliant as you are. [His smirk doesn't abate.] I just arrived, same as you, it seems. Thought I'd take a look over the network, do a little research, and then I saw your post.

[neverginger]

Hah! [What a cruel twist of fate that they'd both end up here at the same time....

Well, not entirely cruel. He doesn't mind Jack, really, it's just the flirting. It can be a bit much.]

Have you done any other researching?

[faceofbeau]

Not much yet, although I haven't had long to look. I grilled the natives on the way into the city, but- [He shrugs a bit. He's sure the Doctor tried the same thing, and probably received the same response.] All they would say is this is some place 'in between.' Which, I don't know about you, but I'm not buying it.

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[refusing]

[To say that Rose is in a state of shock when she sees this would be a great and terrible understatement. She recognizes the hair before anything, and then there's the glasses, and his smile, and then his voice. It's all so overwhelming to her that she's entirely caught up in the moment, and her hands reach out to touch at her screen as if she'll be able to actually feel him.]

Doctor?

[Her voice cracks, as reality sets in. The Doctor's here. Her Doctor, looking exactly like the one she left behind, not bowtied or in tweed or looking at her like she's a ghost being revisited. Instantly, disbelief that this is real sets in, and tears form in her eyes. After her dream she had a handful of weeks ago though, she can't take this for granted. ]

It's me, I'm here! Just -

I'm on my way, yeah?

[Tears spill forth and she laughs, now giddy as she cycles rapidly through all kinds of emotions. She knew he'd find her eventually, she knew it. And here he is! Mentioning being someplace that's made of wood, a place his screwdriver can't work.

The wood district!

Rose leaves the console at the cafe running as she takes off as fast as she can, stumbling around corners and skidding past people as she blurs past. She makes her way to the Wood district within a matter of minutes, and wastes no time in shouting out for the Doctor repeatedly as she keeps moving. He's going to hear her, she knows he will. So she doesn't stop, won't stop, can't stop. Not until she finds him and has him in her arms again. It's been entirely too long for her.]

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[philosophe]

Oh, hello, monsieur. I do not think this planet has a base, it is not precisely a planet, but a large turtle, called Asti. [He squints a little at the camera and gives the Doctor a grin.]

Interesting things, though, there are certainly plenty of those. Dragons that speak and doctors from other planets and all sorts of things.

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[neverginger]

[He's scrolling through other bits of the network when her reply pops up, and he almost denies it for an interesting bit about-- wait a minute.]

Rose?

[His voice comes out hushed, breathless, a vise on his chest because that's Rose Tyler. He can't hear anything she's saying over the pounding of blood in his ears. Wait, she's gone, she's just run out of the frame, what's-- No, okay, she looked she was in a cafe, people behind her, plates and cups and right, all right.

He pushes back from his desk and stands so quickly that his chair topples over, but he just jumps over it and makes his way to his door, out into the wood district. The last time he saw Rose, it was because of a supernova on the edge of space. He only saw the image of her on that damned beach, and it hadn't been long ago at all. A few hours, he supposed, though he didn't know how long he'd been unconscious in the temple. But still, he thought he'd never see her again. He thought he'd just left her to rot in a parallel universe.

And this wasn't their universe, but it was better than nothing.]

Rose? Rose!

[He rounds a corner and spots her. He grins and wants to run over to her, but he can't, he's frozen in space. What if it's not real?]

[neverginger]

In between....in between... See, the main problem with that is that "in between" can mean any number of things. In between isn't always the safest place to be.

[A pause.]

But this place seems pretty safe, I suppose.

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[neverginger]

[The Doctor regards him through the feed. French, early to mid 19th-century or so. Interesting.

Wait, did he just--]

A turtle? Brilliant! Is it sentient, or just the corpse of one?

[He'll get to the dragons in a moment, don't worry.]

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[philosophe]

Of course it is sentient. [As if there would be any other sort, he says, like he's been here ages. But it makes sense to him, anyway.]

He is rather -- well, quite ill at the moment, however, and we are trying to see what can be done for him.

[faceofbeau]

[There's a visible change in expression as Jack considers another explanation for "In Between;" he'd focused so thoroughly on 'in between life and death,' that he hadn't thought about 'in between universes.' But of course the Doctor, having lived through the destruction of Torchwood One and almost losing Rose forever to that 'in between' space... Even knowing Rose is safe, Jack's expression softens a bit.]

Yeah. [He pauses, then pushes past the thought.] I wondered if it might have anything to do with the Rift. One of the outlets for it, like Cardiff is.

[refusing]

[The fact that he hesitates registers with her, but it doesn't slow her down a bit. If anything, she moves faster and faster, and then she's crashing right into him. Her arms instantly move up to wrap around him, clinging hold tighter than she's ever allowed herself to before. She doesn't care if it's improper or too forward, she's going to cling to him until he pries her off. She's crying, a mess of tears and trying so hard to get his name out, but it's near impossible with how worked up she is.

Finally, at long last, his name sputters out. She takes in a deep breath, more or less just taking in the familiar scent of him and the TARDIS disguised as a need to get air. Without really composing herself at all, she lifts her head to look up at him.]

I knew you'd get here eventually. Knew it!

[And really, she had nothing but faith in the fact that he would, she trusts him entirely.]

Took you long enough, though.

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[heartofgraces]

It's a turtle, not a planet.

[Asbel's still pretty tired but he's in his apartment and hey, he knows the answer to this one! He's here to help, Doctor.]

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[takeittothemax]

Perfect timing, we could use a pharmacy around here.

[Wait, are you not the medical kind of doctor?

Too late.]

[bonvivant]

I'm Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and I'm afraid I too have just arrived, so I've got nothing interesting to tell you.

But, I must say, you're the first doctor I've seen cite a screwdriver as his primary tool. Not a conventional doctor, I assume?

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[neverginger]

Brilliant. [He still wants to know if you can speak to it.]

That's not so brilliant. What have you found out so far?

[neverginger]

[The Rift's been on his mind since he woke up. Just got through stuffing a whole army of Cybermen and Daleks into it, didn't he? Not to keen on being reunited with them.]

Been wondering that myself, but I don't think so. This place seems different some how. Better than Cardiff, but what isn't?

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[neverginger]

So someone told me. You know if we can speak to it?

[How helpful ARE you? Let's test it.]

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[neverginger]

Ehh... [The Doctor makes a bit of a face at that.]

Not really that kind of doctor.

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[heartofgraces]

I don't think so right now. Tu Vishan's pretty sick...I've only been here a few weeks, though, so someone who's been here longer might know more, sorry.

[NOT VERY but he tries.]

[neverginger]

Hannibal? Like the conqueror? Your parents sure knew how to name you, didn't they.

[He smiles. It's a joke, promise! Unless you're not into Carthaginians, in which case ...awkward.]

And no, not as such, I'd say. More of a doctor of time and space.

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[neverginger]

[It's alright, don't worry about it, you were helpful....kind of. The thought that counts, really.]

Do you know anything about the illness? [He's not really hoping for an answer on this one. He doesn't know how open the leaders of this place are with their citizens about things as serious as that.]

[faceofbeau]

You're telling me? [The Doctor isn't the one who's been living in Cardiff for- well, longer than Jack wants to think about. He shakes his head, a wry look on his face.] It does feel different- the energy's not the same. Of course, that could just be the fact that it's been awhile since I've left Earth, it's hard to tell.

[neverginger]

[He'd like to say that there's usually a certain amount of distance between them at any given time, but that's mostly a lie. There's constant hugs, and standing too close to one another for it to be considered in the "just friends" territory. But, he won't talk about it if she won't, so nothing's been said.

But when she hugs him, he can't help but hug back, letting his arms wrap around her and his head fall on top of hers. He never thought he'd be able to do this again. Ever. He holds her tightly until she pulls away, but he doesn't really let her get that far.]

Excuse you, s'not like I knew you were here! [He'd like to mention that she was most definitely in a different place the last time he saw her, but he'll save that for when they're somewhere more...private.]

Besides, last time I saw you must've been a few hours ago.