72 hours.

The Doctor froze when he heard the crack, but he didn't dare to believe what had happened when the breach closed down. "Systems closed," the computer announced.

He dropped down and ran for the wall, reaching Jessie's side. He looked down at her in horror, seeing where her skull had caved in, blood staining her hair. He swallowed, seeing her eyes wide open, but staring at nothing. No. But he still knew. And even then, he knelt down to check her neck. That made it seem like the floor dropped out from underneath him.

Nothing.

He took a deep breath, sitting back on his heels and looking down at Jessie. "You stubborn girl," he managed to say, shaking his head. "You just had to let go."

Of course, he didn't get an answer. And he still didn't know how to take this. Because even though he knew it was true, he kept denying it.

Jessie was dead. Dead as a doornail, to use Charles Dickens's words. He shook his head when another thought froze him.

The SHIELD team.

"I'm dead," he whispered in shock.

***

"Director?"

Jemma paid little attention to the SHIELD agent who had just entered the room. Director Fury barely looked up. "Yes?"

"There are people here who say this is an emergency."

"Tell them I'm busy."

The agent left, and Fury turned to look at Coulson. "HYDRA?"

"Mainly wiped out," Coulson replied, folding his arms. "There are still a few we haven't rooted out yet."

Jemma frowned at her phone. "I still haven't gotten a reply from Skye."

"You'd think she'd be done with her op by now," Fitz said, frowning as well.

May shrugged. "Maybe she was caught up with something else?"

Fury straightened. "When you get in contact with her, tell her to report back here ASAP. We'll need her help with - "

"Sir."

That agent was back again. Fury turned, looking annoyed. "Yes?"

The agent swallowed. "They said they believe it to be of upmost importance."

"Oh? Did they say why?"

The agent shook his head. "There was one, though, who said something about . . . Cardiff? A big green thing and an . . . extrapolator?"

Jemma straightened instantly. "Description," she ordered.

"Agent Simmons - " Fury said, turning to her.

But Fitz had straightened as well. "Their description," he demanded.

The agent nodded. "World War II style coat, dark hair, American, but his companions are Welsh."

Jemma's eyes widened, and she ran past the agent instantly. "Agent Simmons!" Fury barked, but she kept running. She made it to the waiting area, and she stopped short in surprise.

Standing there, arms folded, was one certain and very alive - "Jack?" she whispered.

He turned, a grim smile on his face. "Hey, Jemsie."

She ran at him, and he hugged her tightly. "I thought you were on that station!"

"I was," he admitted, shaking hands with Fitz as Coulson, May, and Fury joined him. "And then I came back." He turned to his two companions as they stood from their seats. "These are two other members of my team, Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper."

Jemma smiled at them and held out her hand. "Jemma Simmons."

"Leo Fitz," Fitz added, holding his hand out as well.

Jemma looked over her shoulder. "Melinda May, our boss Phil Coulson, and our Director, Nick Fury."

Jack threw up a salute. "Sirs. Ma'am."

Fury nodded. "Who are you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack replied. His gaze went to Jemma, and he gestured towards the tables. "I think you'll want to be sitting for this."

Jemma sat immediately, Jack across from her. "Why?" she asked.

Jack folded his arms, a torn look on his face. "When Jessie and the Doctor came here," he began, and Jemma's eyes widened. "Did they tell you about a werewolf in Victorian England?"

"Yeah," Fitz replied, narrowing his eyes. "Jessie swore to never see or read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban again."

Jack closed his eyes. "There was an estate there, called Torchwood."

"I've heard of them," Fury said, folding his arms. "The Torchwood Institute, started by Queen Victoria."

Jack nodded. "Since I found it, it's been rebuilt. But before I found it, it was an organization to fight." He swallowed. "Against the Doctor if he ever returned."

"Wait a minute," Coulson said, leaning forward. "Rebuilt?"

Jack looked at Gwen, who pulled something out from under her coat. "A few days ago, there was a war in London," he said, looking at them. "I'm surprised you haven't heard, but when I did, I came here as fast as I could."

"A war?" May asked in surprise.

"More like a battle," Jack said as Gwen pulled out a file folder and handed it to him. "But the casualties were large enough for a war. It was at Canary Wharf, but to those who knew, it was Torchwood Tower."

"What did they do?" Fury asked.

"All that I know is that they stuck their noses into something too far," Jack said, shrugging and opening the folder he had and picking out a few papers. "And they paid the price."

"Why are you here?" Jemma asked.

Jack swallowed. "This wasn't a social call. I wanted to give these to you myself." He looked down at the papers, then sighed and slid them across the table to her. "And I wanted to say that I wish I didn't have to."

Jemma took the papers, frowning when she saw names on them. "What is this?" she asked as the others crowded around her.

This time, Jack didn't answer, and it looked like he couldn't. Gwen was a wreck, crying. Ianto's voice cracked when he gave the answer for them all. "The casualties."

Jemma skimmed the list, not sure what she was looking for, but then her blood chilled. Torchwood Tower. Canary Wharf. London.

And she clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw the three names.

Skye.

Saleen Harper.

Jessie Nightshade.

"No," she whispered, looking up at Jack in horror, but she knew it was true when tears began forming in his eyes as well. "Tell me this isn't right!"

"So many people are missing," Gwen choked out, Ianto's arm around her as Fury took the files, staring at them hard, Fitz sitting next to her, staring at the table. "And so many reported dead. The war was with Cybermen and Daleks, all over the world. And then they just disappeared."

"Something that sounds just like the Doctor," Jack put in. "And where the Doctor is - "

"Jessie's there, too," Coulson managed to get out. "And Saleen - "

"Parallel world," May said, standing, swallowing. "There were Cybermen in that world. If they crossed over, Saleen must have, too."

"And now they're dead," Jemma whispered, her voice choked. "Oh, my God . . . "

A hand reached for hers, and she looked up, and Jack was crying, too. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Jemma stood up, and he did, too, and he hugged her tightly as she burst into sobs, and later, Fitz joined the group hug. It was a punch in the gut.

And Jemma swore on whatever gods existed, the next time she saw the Doctor, she was going to kill him so he'd never regenerate again.

***

56 hours.

Not enough, the TARDIS thought as She danced through the Vortex, watching Her Wolf not respond to anything she did. Not enough.

She'd hoped for more time, but it wasn't enough. Not enough to fully complete what she'd been hoping to do.

But maybe . . .

She smiled. Yes, that might work.

***

49 hours.

23 hours since she'd died.

In that time, the Doctor was looking for one last small crack in time, and a power source large enough to get him through it. Neither Skye nor Saleen had returned, which meant that they had either wanted to stay, or Grant had physically forced Skye to stay.

He swallowed, looking over at Jessie's body, laying attached to various wires, because even though he knew she was dead, he wanted to take her back to SHIELD. They deserved that much.

He shook his head when the TARDIS singing increased in the back of his head. "What're you doing, old girl?" he asked out loud.

She didn't answer.

***

34 hours.

It would be enough.

The TARDIS estimated She had until the end of the third day to succeed. She promised Herself that She would. Her Wolf had warned to stay.

And stay Her Wolf would.

***

"What's going on?"

Jemma squeezed her eyes shut again when she heard the voice of Natasha Romanoff. Jack rubbed her back, looking over her shoulder. "Agent Romanoff," he greeted, his voice sounding a little dry. "Agent Barton. Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark. Dr. Banner."

"OK, how does he know who we are?" Tony asked.

Jemma peeked over her shoulder, still clinging tightly to Jack, and Natasha instantly stepped forward. "What happened?" she demanded.

Jemma swallowed. "London . . . the Doctor, he - "

"What about him?" Steve asked, looking back and forth between them all.

Jack cleared his throat. "Two of your own are dead. Three from SHIELD."

Natasha's eyes widened. "No!"

Fury handed her the casualties lists, and Natasha ripped them from his hands. The other Avengers crowded around, and Jemma buried her face into Jack's shoulder again so she couldn't see their looks of horrors.

It didn't block out Natasha's cry of horror and Steve's exclamations and the swears from Clint, but she was glad she couldn't see their faces.

From the way Jack squeezed her hard, she was sure they weren't happy.

***

20 hours.

She was getting closer.

The Vortex was spinning in Her Wolf's blood, and She manipulated her own instruments to stop Her Thief from noticing. He was in his own world, seeming to avoid her except when he came in at the same time nowadays, the same time when she hit the wall at Canary Wharf.

She bristled. How dare Torchwood try and take Her Wolf from Her Thief? But it was in good hands now. The Captain Her Wolf brought back was a leader to be proud of.

But Her Thief was getting closer to finding the supernova needed to bridge the gap between the parallel worlds. When he made it, there was nothing that She could do. But at the rate She was working, she would be done.

She left her thoughts at that and concentrated back on Her Wolf.

***

8 hours.

The TARDIS was up to something. The Doctor knew that.

He frowned up at the ceiling, reclining in the captain's chair. "What're you up to?" he asked.

The TARDIS hummed. "What?" She asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Are you close to finding the supernova?" he asked. "Or the crack?"

"I am working on it," She replied. "Patience."

The Doctor growled, leaping up from his seat. "Patience?" he asked bitterly. "Patience?! You want me to be patient while I wait for a crack in time to open up so I can appear to her best friends for who knows how long to tell them that she's dead?! How can I be patient about that?"

The TARDIS didn't answer, but he thought he sensed a bit of urgency as She left his mind.

He shook his head, looking at the clock he had running. 64 hours had gone since Canary Wharf. It was close to the end of the third day.

He shook his head. That long, and he swore he was going mad. He saw her wherever he went, a teasing grin on his face, and then she would just be gone. Her SHIELD creds were still in her room, and he hadn't had the heart to ask the TARDIS to make it go. Knowing his ship, She wouldn't let him allow it to go.

But still . . . nine hundred years had gone by in a flash. So why were three days enough to make him start to go insane?

He shook his head, putting it in his hands. "The next time I see Torchwood," he growled. "They. Are. Dead."

***

3 hours.

She would finish. She knew it as soon as she was done with Her Wolf's chest.

It wasn't enough for a full transformation, but it would keep Her Wolf with Her Thief forever. With the two types of blood and DNA that now ran in Her Wolf's veins, the Wolf would never die until Her Thief did.

And that was a very long time.

She smiled to Herself. Now, She just had to wait for the end of the day.

***

3 minutes.

The Doctor sat in a chair, staring at Jessie. He narrowed his eyes. Was it just him, or was there a little color left in her skin? And did he see a flash of white gold?

He shook his head, standing and sighing as he looked back at the wires. He really did need to get rid of them. He had to face it. She wasn't coming back.

He walked over to the sink and got a glass of water. When he took a sip, the clock struck, signaling the end of the day, the end of the hour when Jessie died.

But his eyes widened and he choked on his drink when he heard something he definitely shouldn't have.

The monitors, wires hooked up to Jessie, had begun to beep. And the heart monitor was going as well. But it wasn't just one heartbeat.

It was two.

***

As Mels says . . . penny in the air. ;) You really didn't think I was seriously going to kill her off, did you? Look at the title again: The Bad Wolf Chronicles. There's no way this stops after two books!

So, next interlude, we'll see what exactly is going on, and just what the hell the TARDIS is actually doing. Who's excited??