Jack recognizes Mickey immediately. He hadn’t spent much time with the guy, but he has a face that isn’t easy for Jack to forget. He had expected Rose or the Doctor to come for him, eventually, so it’s a surprise to see Mickey, but he’s happy. The guy Mickey’s with is pretty nice looking too.

“Jack!” the man says. His face is friendly and his hair is tousled as though perhaps he just had a good shag, but his eyes are serious and his mouth is set in a grim line.

“Hello, gentlemen,” he says, folding his arms as they approach. He’s the boss here; this is his territory. “Good to see you again, Mickey.”

“They’ve got Rose,” Mickey quickly states. “They took her, right in front of us.” He fidgets anxiously.

Jack doesn’t understand. “Took Rose? Who took Rose?”

“No time for that now,” the other man says. He looks around the room carefully, scanning for anything out of place. “I’ll explain along the way. Come on, we have to go.”

Jack defers to Mickey, because he doesn’t know this new guy, and he doesn’t like being ordered around. “Who the hell does he think he is?”

“That’s the Doctor,” Mickey explains. “New face.”

Jack raises his eyes to meet the Doctor’s gaze, and sure enough enough, beyond the fierce exterior demeanor he can see traces of the Doctor he knew. “That’s fresh,” he admits, grinning. “Good to see you again, Doctor. What’s all this about Rose being missing?”

“There was a malfunction in the temporal vortex,” the Doctor starts to explain. “Look, I really don’t have time to tell you. I just need your help.”

“You know, I needed your help too. I thought you guys were dead. You left me here.”

“We had things to attend to. It wasn’t like we were off dancing and fooling about.”

Jack crosses his arms. “I’ve got work to do here. I’m not even near finished.”

The Doctor shakes his head. Mickey’s fidgeting anxiously, carefully avoiding looking out the window, which shows the remains of earth far below them. “I’ll return you here just as soon as you leave. No one will even know you’re gone, but us.”

Jack presses his lips together, trying to decide if this is a good thing or not. “All right. I’ll do it. For Rose.”

The Doctor grins at him. It is the first pleasant expression any of them have had, since arriving. The smile is bright and cheerful, and it transforms the Doctor’s face completely. Jack is instantly fond of it. “You’ll do it for me,” the Doctor says. “I’ll make it up to you, later.”

Mickey starts back toward the TARDIS and Jack and the Doctor fall in to step together, following. “Really now?” Jack questions, growing amused. “How’s that?”

The Doctor unlocks the TARDIS, pushing the door open. Mickey hurries in, and the Doctor looks over his shoulder, still grinning, at Jack. “I’m sure you can think of something.” His face draws serious again. “But first, let’s go rescue Rose.”