Captain Jack Harkness engulfed the Doctor in a rough bear hug. "Looking good, Doc! Different, but good."

"And you. The same as ever. I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

"And who is this?" Jack asked, with his patented 'Jack sees a pretty face' mega-watt grin.

Clara smiled warmly and extended her hand. "It's good to see you again, Jack," she said, remembering only her own memories of him - images of the handsome, flirting adventurer - and not thinking that his recollections might not be so pleasant.

"Have we met?" he asked, slightly puzzled. Jack stared intently into Clara's eyes, still holding onto her hand. "We have met before," he said slowly. "But it was on the Gamestation and you- No. That's-"

"I believe the word you're looking for, Jack, is 'impossible.'"

"I'm sorry," Clara mumbled, glancing up at the Doctor in a mute appeal for support as she finally realized her mistake.

"You've nothing to apologize for, Clara," the Doctor replied firmly, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Jack's gaze flickered from Clara's face to the Doctor's. "She was on the Gamestation. How was she on the Gamestation? And she died. She was one of the people who helped me with the defense, so you could set up the Delta Wave. That damned gun musta weighed more than she did, but she was so brave. And she died."

"So did you, if you recall," the Doctor reminded him gently.

"Did Rose bring her back, too? Is she like me?"

"No, Jack, Clara is completely different from you."

"I can see that," Jack replied, with a look that would be considered outrageously suggestive on anyone else. On him, it was just, well…Jack.

"Down boy!" Clara laughed.

"I don't understand," Jack said, studying the two of them. He excelled at reading body language, and they were obviously close, maybe as close as the Doctor and Rose when he first met them. He doesn't judge; he's lived for centuries, too, and seen the passing of spouses and lovers, and seen the madness of others who tried to close off their hearts and live without love. He's envious of what they have but doesn't begrudge it. "Why didn't you save her? You sent Rose home, why not Clara, too?"

"He didn't know me then, didn't even know I was there" Clara explained gently. "And I was there to save him, not the other way 'round."

"It's complicated, Jack."

"Isn't it always?"

"It's all right, Jack, truly," Clara reassured him. She glanced up at the Doctor again and he hastened to explain.

"Shortest possible version of a story that's been going on for over a thousand years: an old adversary of mine managed to find my tomb and entered my timeline, contaminating it, overturning all my victories, undoing any good thing I'd ever achieved. Clara followed him in and saved me."

Jack's brow furrowed in consternation. "I wanna say that's impossible, but it is you we're talking about. But how is she still alive? I saw her die."

"You saw one of me die," Clara corrected gently. "I was…shattered into a million different echoes, all along the Doctor's lifetime. Alot of it wasn't very pleasant." Her hand twitched ever so slightly in the Doctor's direction and he instantly engulfed it in both his own.

Jack's lips twisted into a wry grin. "So you are like me…another impossible thing. How do you manage to travel in the TARDIS? She doesn't much like me since Rose changed me."

Clara laughed at that. "She didn't like me at all, at first, but now she's remembered that I introduced them."

"I think I'd like to hear that story someday," Jack replied.

"Anyway, Jack, why did you contact me?" the Doctor asked.

"I need a favor."

"I'm listening," the Doctor said neutrally.

"Since the Hub was destroyed, there's been no one monitoring the rift. Can you run a few scans with the TARDIS? Make sure everything's all right?"

"Certainly. UNIT has the proper resources to keep tabs on the rift. I can put you in touch with someone I trust." The Doctor glanced down at his and Clara's intertwined hands, flushing with just a hint of guilt. "Jack," he said slowly, "I know you and Rose were quite close…"

"Rose loved you more than anything in the entire universe, Doctor," Jack reminded him. "She'd want you to be happy. Just like you tried to make her happy, the only way you could, in the end." He met Clara's eyes, and she nodded slightly. "And besides…people like us…we can't just keep living for centuries on our own. That much time, it makes monsters of us. I've seen it happen to others, and I'm not gonna let it happen to me. Ianto wouldn't want that."

"No, he wouldn't," the Doctor agreed. He shut his eyes momentarily against the ghostly images of the past. Clara noticed and squeezed his hand. "All right then, let's go check on this rift of yours."

"I'll wait here, if you don't mind. Your ship doesn't like me, remember?" Jack held out his hands to Clara and pulled her in close. "Thanks for helping me, back on the Gamestation," he said, kissing her left cheek. "And thanks for saving him," he added, kissing her right cheek.

"I hope you find someone to save you," she whispered.

"Oh, I will…or they'll find me. Someday," Jack told her, with a bittersweet smile, "I'll just look up, and see someone, see that something in their eyes…"

"I hope you find him soon."

"Or her. I'm-"

"-flexible," Clara finished in unison with him.

"You know," Jack mused, "If you ever get tired of traveling with this guy…"

"Never," Clara replied. "Not in a thousand years."

"And counting," the Doctor added, gently reclaiming her hand to lead her back to the TARDIS.