I thought it was about time to do another one of these. I don't know why, but I love the idea of companion meetings or interactions, even if the Doctor has nothing to do with it. They're all such special characters and people, it just makes sense in my head that they cross paths from time to time. So here's a Classic to New Who meeting for you all, enjoy!

Dobby's Polka-Dotted Sock

How Jack Witnessed Jo's Wedding

Jo Grant—soon to be Jones, she reminded herself with a little smile—stood fixing her hair in the little mirror that hung in the lobby of the Cardiff registrar's office. Cliff was a few feet away at the desk sorting out all the papers and making sure everything was in order, and she was quite happy to let him have at that task. She'd be more likely to knock half the papers to the floor by accidentally sweeping a hand across in an excited gesture, or getting them all mixed up while trying to hand them in. She'd never been a very good filer.

She'd been lucky that in the last few years she'd been an assistant to someone who hadn't much patience for files.

"Jo?" Cliff calling her name distractedly had her putting the smile back on her face and hurrying to join her fiancé.

"Yes, Cliff?"

"It'll be another hour before we can do the ceremony," the young professor told her, taking her hand. "That's the earliest I could make it. You know we've got to catch that boat."

"It's alright, I don't mind," she assured him brightly, not really caring that he hadn't actually apologized.

"Trouble is, Nancy's the only one who could get away to Cardiff for us," he continued with a frown.

"But we need two witnesses, don't we?" Jo asked, more than a little distressed. No one else they knew could make it up here in time, except maybe—

No, she couldn't ask. Anyway, if he even agreed he'd be more likely to end up half a galaxy away instead of the registrar's office. And really, after he'd slipped out during the celebration, Jo wasn't sure it was allowed for her to call the Doctor anymore. And that thought disheartened her more than it probably should.

"Yes," Cliff was saying in the present, and so she refocused. "We could always wait till we return. I know you wanted to do this now, love, but maybe it's for the best."

Jo's eyes narrowed slightly. Oh no he did not! Professor Cliff Jones had asked her to marry him before they went to the Amazon and he very well would, because she knew just how these things worked. They'd wind up years down the line still putting it off, and she'd still just be Jo Grant, the assistant.

Well maybe she wanted to be somebody's wife.

So she squeezed his hand and chided, "Don't be silly, Cliff. Nancy's already on her way and we've got all the papers and everything. All we need is a witness. You leave it to me."

He raised one eyebrow doubtfully. "Are you sure? I want this to be special for you, Jo. It's your wedding day."

"Our wedding day," she corrected, and then shrugged. "And we're not exactly doing much of anything like a proper wedding day." A rushed ceremony before boarding a ship headed for parts unknown, which was more to her usual than Cliff probably realized. Although the TARDIS certainly was quicker than any boat they'd be boarding.

The only presents they'd have enough cash for were a pair of rings they needed for the ceremony anyway, simple and plain. Not even her dress was up to a wedding standard, as she certainly hadn't been able to get fitted for a white gown. No, she'd pulled on her nicest dress, the pink one she'd worn for her date with Mike Yates but had ended up climbing up the side of a cliff in heels, following the Doctor.

He'd called her a princess, Princess Josephine…yes, this dress was nice enough for the apparently little matter of her wedding.

Nancy was their one witness, a pleasant women she'd known for scarcely two weeks now. So really, why couldn't she handle finding their second witness? She'd met and befriended all sorts of people and creatures all over the universe on short notice like this.

Jo leaned up on her toes and pecked her fiancé on the lips, which caught him slightly off guard, though he shared in her smile nonetheless. "Don't you worry, I'll be back in just a minute," she promised and skipped out of the office and down the steps. Now, how to find someone who'd be willing to—

But then she did something only she could and walked right into the path of another man, who staggered back a step but caught her arm to keep her from falling to the ground. He was a lot sturdier than she was!

"Oh, excuse me!" She apologized immediately, well accustomed to moments like these though still a little embarrassed.

"Not to worry, miss, it always brightens my day to see a pretty face," the man waved off her concern with a charming smile, and he had yet to release her arm. Instead, his hand trailed down to grasp hers, raising it to his lips. "Captain Jack Harkness."

Jo felt her lips curl into a smile even as she fought the urge to cross her arms. She was more than used to the advances of officers, having been one of very few females on staff at UNIT. Most of them had kept it to a minimum due to her connections with the Brigadier and the ever mercurial Doctor. This time, however, she was on her own.

"Jo Grant," she introduced herself as such for perhaps the last time, and that set a whole new flock of butterflies flapping in her stomach. At that thought she remembered her task, and decided to give this American-sounding Captain a shot. It'd be a rather interesting way of shutting him down, at the least. "Say, would you like to be in a wedding?"

He grinned and it was practically wicked. "Just tell me when to say 'I do'."

Jo couldn't stop a giggle from bubbling out of her at that. If this man had worked at UNIT, she'd have been interested to see the Brig's reaction to such open flirting! "No, not like that. My fiancé and I are getting married in the registrar's office in an hour, but one of our witnesses can't make it. So I said to myself wouldn't it be wild if I just went out and found someone? I mean, Cliff's already busy getting things together for the boat—"

"He's the fiancé?" Captain Harkness guessed, seeming to have decided it was fine to interject, probably for the best as she could've gone on all day. She nodded. His expression turned considering and he finally said, "How about I buy you lunch and you can tell me all the details? I ought to know what I'm witnessing."

She hadn't put much thought into lunch, but her stomach suddenly felt empty at the mention of it. And there certainly wasn't any harm in accepting the offer now that he knew she was a soon-to-be married woman. "Alright, it's a deal," she decided and stuck out her hand, which he shook, then looped her arm through his and escorted her to the nearest café.

Once they'd sat, him with a sandwich and her with a salad, he gestured for her to begin. "Go on, nothing like a good love story."

"Well, I don't know if it'll beat anything else you've heard," she cautioned with another indulgent smile. "Cliff and I are environmentalists. He's a professor, Professor Cliff Jones, you might have heard of him."

"Think I read something a while back in the paper," he acknowledged, a hand to his chin, and she felt a swell of pride for her fiancé.

"Yes, well, I met him a little over two weeks ago at this protest against Global Chemicals—"

"The one that blew up?" He questioned incredulously around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Yes, but that's not the important part," she waved a dismissive hand. She didn't really want to focus on the explosion or Global Chemicals because then she'd have to dodge around the whole matter of what had really been behind the evils of the company, and that would get into the issue of UNIT and the Doctor, and she didn't need more reasons to tie the Time Lord into the story of her quite literally whirlwind romance with Cliff. "Anyway, we met and really hit it off, and there was sort of this bit where our lives were in danger, but he got to telling me about this trip he was planning to the Amazon. I thought it sounded really neat and asked to come along. I thought I'd just be going as his assistant, but then he said we ought to get married. So that's what we're doing first, and then we're off for the expedition."

"A honeymoon in the Amazon, then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's wrong with that?" She demanded hotly, not needing him to point out that it was perhaps the least romantic location she'd ever heard of. She'd certainly been to less romantic locations, though.

"Nothing, I love nature," he defended smoothly, and Jo sat back with a smirk.

"Is there anything you don't love, Captain Harkness?"

"Boy, you figured me out fast," he admitted with a shameless grin. "And please, it's Jack."

"Well, Jack, I may not be a proper scientist, but if there's one thing I know it's people," she declared, stabbing a tomato with her fork and popping it into her mouth.

"Is that why you thought you'd be the assistant? Cause you're not a scientist?" He guessed, and she looked away for a moment. "I hope he at least asked you to marry him."

"Of course he did!" Her eyes snapped back to his face to meet his gaze head-on for a moment. Then a sigh escaped her. "After he said we were going to. But that's alright," she continued brazenly, "he's just a bit scatter-brained is all, probably thought he'd already asked—"

"You sure know him pretty well for two weeks," Jack pointed out shrewdly.

"Oh, sure I've only known him for two weeks, but I've read all his works and all the articles about him for months," she reasoned. "And anyway, he's really quite an awful lot like someone else I know, back at my old job." And she hated herself for having to say that truth, because even though she'd avoided naming him aloud she still knew who she meant and that did not help her one bit.

"Uh-huh," her current lunch companion replied, and Jo found herself frowning.

"Really, Jack, it's not so bad as it sounds. I know I'll love being with Cliff and helping him with his research. I mean we're going to end world hunger someday!" And when she threw out her arms expressively she did in fact knock over her glass of water, causing it to spill over the table. "Oh!"

"Hey, it's alright, let me help," Jack was up in an instant mopping the table with some napkins. She was a bit more worried about the water that had spilled onto her dress.

"Thank you. Really, though, I should get myself cleaned up. And I ought to let Cliff know I've found a witness. Do you mind if I go ahead? The wedding's in half an hour, at the registrar's office."

"Not a problem, I'll be there. Trust me, I've had plenty of time to get well-acquainted with this city. See you in a bit!" And so Jo clomped away in her heels, not knowing there were actually two pairs of eyes following her departure.

Once she was out of sight, the two pairs of eyes then locked gazes with each other. After a minute of staring, Jack Harkness squared his shoulders, left the dripping table, and walked across the café to join the so-far silent observer.

OoO

When Jack approached the table, the stranger gestured for him to take the empty chair across from him, and he did so. "So," he began, keeping his tone casual enough, though he doubted the other would buy it, "any reason you've been sitting here having a cup of tea?"

"Any reason you've been sitting there having lunch with an affianced woman?" The older gentleman returned just as critically, for that was what Jack had pegged him as when he had noticed him. Only a rich eccentric would dress in a ruffled shirt and green velvet jacket without a hint of self-consciousness. But that wasn't what had Jack bothered.

"Hey, it was a friendly offer. As you should know since, by my estimates, you've been following her since she left the registrar's office." He'd noticed the older man and his shock of gray hair as they'd headed down the street, and had been waiting for a good moment to question him alone. No need to upset his new pretty blonde friend on her wedding day, much as it seemed a rushed affair already.

His current table partner seemed somewhat confused by the way Jack had leaned forward and began radiating disapproval, until he blinked and then his eyes widened. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, my dear chap, but you're greatly mistaken," he started to excuse with something of a laugh. "I wasn't following Jo."

Jo? Jack raised an eyebrow at the familiarity, and commented dryly, "Right, you were just making sure she didn't get into any trouble on her own in Cardiff."

"That's precisely it. There we are," the man said with a friendly smile, raising the teacup to his lips and giving him a nod.

"And why do you need to do that? Unless," Jack looked him up and down again, "you're not Cliff, are you?"

Too late he realized the bad timing, but didn't expect the older man to practically choke on his beverage. As it was, he watched for a minute as the man coughed and spluttered, retrieving a rather frilly napkin out of his pocket to hack into and wipe at his face with.

"No, no, what a ridiculous idea," the man dismissed somewhat hoarsely, swallowing once and adding a bit bitterly, "Professor Jones is a younger me—ah, that is, a young man, very promising scientist," he corrected, rubbing at his nose at the gaffe.

"Ok," Jack said, feeling as though he'd stumbled upon a sore subject. Never being able to resist those, and sensing a rather juicy story here, he asked, "So how do you know the happy couple?"

"Well isn't that obvious?" The older man replied, recovering somewhat as he added, "Jo was my assistant. Before all this," he waved a hand, "marriage business."

"Uh-huh," Jack said, undeniably amused. This was looking to be a very interesting day. He hadn't had this much bizarre entertainment in, well, a good many years. Too many, really. "You the other witness, then?" The young woman had mentioned they had one already.

"Oh no, no I couldn't," the other man blustered, a frown on his face.

"Wait, but then why would she need to ask me—she really doesn't know you're here," Jack determined, and with a slightly chagrined expression the other nodded. "You're not going to the wedding? You came all the way out here and you're not even going to go?"

"It wasn't awfully out of my way," the man muttered, then more loudly, "No, I rather wouldn't attend, thank you."

"Then why are you here?" He demanded a little exasperatedly.

The older man blinked again, clearly not expecting this sort of interrogation today. "Well I- I mean Jo- well, well, you saw her." Seemingly frustrated by his own stammering, his troubled frown turned to more of a dismissive scowl, his tone becoming patronizing. "Rushing about without a clue, the poor girl, trying to get everything organized in the blink of an eye. Why, I doubt she has half of what she needs to get married."

"A fiancé, a ring, and she's wrangled herself two witnesses by hook and crook, whether or not she actually needed to. I'd say she's good," Jack rattled off. "Look, are you going to step in for me and be the hero or not?"

A defeated sigh escaped the other. "You don't understand. I can't be the hero anymore, it's got to be him." Jack certainly felt he didn't understand, and so the older man gave something more of a huff this time and reached into his jacket pocket again. "Look, would you just give her this? A proper bride ought to have a bouquet, after all." And that's what he withdrew from his pocket, a big bright blue bouquet, all tied together with a ribbon and not a stalk bent. It was Jack's turn to blink in surprise.

"Uh, sure," he agreed as the flowers were held out to him. He took them, studying the vibrant color to the petals. How…?

"There's a good chap. Now, I do believe you're due at the registrar's office, are you not?" The older man was favoring him with a satisfied look now, arms folded and just the hint of a smirk in his smile. And despite the camaraderie being directed his way even after his invasive questioning, Jack felt that the man was more closed off now than when he'd been frowning at him. But a glance at his watch told him the relative stranger was correct, and that he needed to be going.

So he stood and reached out a hand. "Nice chatting with you—"

"You as well," the man cut across, shaking his hand with a strong grip, and not even leaving room for Jack to ask his name.

And so, feeling rather bested for the first time in ages, he made his way back to the registrar's office. Jo was pacing in the lobby, but her face lit up when she caught sight of him and she hurried over.

"There you are! And oh!—you got me flowers. Why Jack, you didn't have to," she shook her head with a sunny smile, but took the bouquet easily. The blue hardly matched the pink of her dress, yet she cradled them to her chest.

"Yeah, well, it's your wedding," he excused. The man had never said he couldn't tell her who they were really from, and yet something had made him pause.

"And anyway, he's really quite an awful lot like someone else I know, back at my old job."

Oh. Oh.

In the present, Jo was beaming up at him and exclaiming, "This is perfect! I'm wearing my old dress, I've got a new adventure in the Amazon ahead of me, I've borrowed you for the day, and now I've got the blue—everything I need to get married! I didn't think I was half ready, thank you so much, Jack." She looked down at the flowers again. "I've no idea where you could've found these, they're so blue…just like my crystal."

Her expression had turned thoughtful and just a little bit uncertain, and so Jack offered with honest humor, "I always compare my blues to police boxes."

But his stomach lurched when her eyes, wide and searching, locked with his. "Why yes," she breathed, and then her lips spread into the biggest smile he'd yet to see on her happy face, and she laughed. "Yes of course!"

Jo Grant then threw her arms around him and gave him one of the tightest hugs he'd ever gotten in his incredibly long life. But all Jack could do was absently put his own arms around and pat her on the back, eyes blank and staring at the opposite wall, struck dumb. Because how, how—

"Well come on, then," Jo pulled back and grasped his hand. "I've got to get married."

He shook hands with Professor Cliff Jones, stood by as the pair recited their vows, didn't get very far with their other witness Nancy, signed where he was supposed to, and clapped when the newlyweds kissed, all the while his mind racing. Jo gave a last cheerful wave and let her husband lead her off, presumably for the ship he was determined to catch. With one hand in his and another wrapped around the blue bouquet, Jo Jones left for the Amazon.

Jack headed in the opposite direction, doing his best to keep from running, even though he knew what he'd find: the stranger gone from the café, his table empty. Jack resumed the seat he'd previously taken with slumped shoulders.

How had he not realized? It all made so much sense, now that he had all the pieces of the puzzle he'd been presented with today. But the fact was the Doctor had come and gone, and Jack had missed him again.

He probably was supposed to miss him. No one's poker face was that good; clearly, this had been an earlier version of the Time Lord who'd yet to meet a conman in the 1940s. But still, it was so frustrating. He'd been so close and he hadn't known it!

At the least, he'd managed to help the newly married Jo Jones in moving on with her life. That he certainly didn't regret.

He just wished someone could help him do the same.

Aww, poor Jack. It's ok, he's just got to wait a few more decades. Alright, that's pretty tough. But anyway, back when I was watching "The Green Death" I heard Cliff give that line about going to Cardiff to get married, and thought to myself "Who's in Cardiff? Jack." Thus this little idea was born and wouldn't leave me alone.

As for the Doctor/Jo undertones, I'm not saying I ship them, but the subtext is pretty clear in Jo's episodes that she at least fancies him and I'd be lying if I said he wasn't clearly fond of her. In the very same episode, Jo essentially admits to the Doctor that she's so fascinated with Professor Jones because "He's like a younger you!" It's actually a rather painful scene, because Jon Pertwee's face when she says that just…I digress. You'll notice I referenced that bit of dialogue in the fic itself.

Other than that, not much else to say, so thanks for giving this a read and please review!