The Daughter of Gallifrey

11: The Immortal Man

"What?" Caroline snapped her head around sharply at the Doctor's inquiry. He gave her no answer, though, his whole body having frozen, every muscle taut and his eyes wider than saucers. He gawked at Caroline, his lips again moving, attempting to express his thoughts, but his voice was apparently unwilling to emit any coherent sound. "Doctor?"

"That-that-who...where did-how-"

"Doctor, just say it!" Caroline exclaimed, bewildered.

"I-I-but you-he's your-but then-" Caroline was getting impatient. If the Doctor had realized something, she needed to know. Now.

"Go on then!"

"Am I missing something again?" Rory's voice came from the kitchen. Both Time Lords ignored him, too caught in their own little world. "Well, wait for me! I like to be there when stuff happens, too, you-" He appeared in the doorway with a tray of assorted mugs, and his words cut short in his throat when he saw the Doctor's expression.

"Doctor, do you know him?" Caroline asked, holding up the small picture she adored so dearly. The Doctor could barely choke out an answer.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"Well, you must've met him after the War, because I didn't see him in the book."

"I did. 1941. London." The Doctor's eyes were locked on the photo. He reached for it, never looking away. "May I?" Caroline allowed him to pluck it from her grasp. He ran a hand through his floppy hair. "I haven't seen him since-" The Doctor stopped, but neither Caroline or Rory said a thing.

He seemed to have retreated to the far recesses of his mind. Besides the Captain, the Time Lord remembered Rose, Sarah Jane, Harriet Jones, Martha, Mickey, Jackie, Wilfred. And Davros. Dalek Caan. The other Doctor. Donna.

Oh, Donna Noble.

The most important woman in the universe, but would never know it. Tears burned in the corners of his eyes, which surprised him, causing him to wipe them away hastily.

Caroline put a small, comforting hand on the Doctor's arm.

"It's alright, Doctor. It's okay." She guided him back to the couch and sat him down gently.

"This man-this man in the picture- he's your father?" the Doctor asked, obviously astounded by the idea.

"Yes, he is. Jack Oliver Thomas." A shadow of sadness crept over Caroline's face. "I never got to meet him."

"Is anyone going to explain why this is important?" Rory interrupted the silence that had settled over the room. "I mean, yes, it's nice that the Doctor met your dad, but I feel like there's a bit more to this guy." Caroline glanced at Rory with a questioning expression, then turned away.

"Doctor? Has he got a point?" The Doctor took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts into a coherent string.

"Your father's name is not Jack Oliver Thomas. It's Captain Jack Harkness. He was a former Time Agent. He travelled with me for a while then...we parted. I saw him other times but not-not in a while. Not even since my regeneration to this face." The Doctor's eyes suddenly lit up with a sudden revelation. He jumped up off the couch with a giant smirk on his face. "Oh! OH!" Caroline and Rory searched his features for an explanation. "OH, OF COURSE!"

"What? What is it?" Rory inquired.

"Of course Jack is her father! HE CAN'T DIE! SHE DIDN'T-

"I'm sorry, my dad can't die? What's that supposed to mean?"

"He literally, physically cannot die. Ever. When Rose looked into the-anyways, long story, and now he can never die. He's immortal and you're his daughter! Of course you didn't die when you opened the book or when you regenerated! You've got his blood!" Caroline had never seen the Doctor so excited. His eyes were wild with ardor. "And somehow the bookshop chose you. It knew! What a clever little shop it was! Oh, this is good!"

Caroline's mind was buzzing, having tuned out the rest of the Doctor's exclamations after the fact sank in that her father could never die.

"My father is immortal?" Though her dazed question was directed toward the Doctor, it was Rory who answered her.

"I suppose he is." He shook his head with a grin spreading across his lips. "Fancy that, never dying." He stiffled a sort of chuckle. "Must be nice." The Doctor turned to his two companions, beaming like a child on Christmas. He wagged a finger at Caroline.

"And you, my dear little Thomas, you will never die."