Oh don&#39;t start!

"Right up there with United winning," the Doctor replied, taking a sip of his banana daiquiri as soon as the waitress brought it to him. This could've been the most awkward situation ever. Then again, there was that situation where he wound up nude and chased by giant banana-shaped birds only to then run into his childhood sweetheart, but that situation always trumped all other awkward situations.

From:

Reinette claimed her own glass of brandy. Life in the modern world had left her overly critical of wine and many other spirits from her own country as she found the quality sadly lacking. Perhaps here, in England, she might be surprised.

The first sip was oddly pleasurable. Reinette smiled.

"I am pleased to finally be able to meet you in person."

From:

Jack took the Doctor's comment in stride and trying to ignore the moment of a clearly off in his own mind expression and resettled into his position and took a sip of his Manhattan. Considering how awkward the Doctor could have made this he had a feeling deep down that he was trying to be a chaperon rather than a willing participant but he was also pretty sure the Doctor hadn't been drinking in a long while.

"Banana Daiquiri Doctor?" Jack asked over the rim of his glass, not that he could talk with his own drink pretending to be something that it clearly wasn't. He should have gone for the bourbon but thought he'd pace himself at least.

"When was the last time you've been drinking?" Jack asked the Doctor hoping that he at least refer to the time passing in some linear sense.

From:

"I like bananas," the Doctor said, a bit overly defensively, "Bananas are good!"

He took a sip of the sweet drink, then gave the back of his neck a rub.

"Not since..." he gestured to Reinette, "France, actually. Had banana daiquiris there, too."

From:

"Yes," Reinette laughed rather briskly, a new acquired ease to her posture. Certain formalities would never leave her, but she managed well enough.

"The Doctor quite upstaged the Dauphin's engagement. But then, he does seem to have that ability perfected. Which we have not even mentioned him crashing through the Hall of Mirror's on a white steed." Reinette nodded to Jack. "You would have been impressed."

From:

Oh this was interesting indeed, Jack had missed out on all of this shenanigans and was stuck living his life... for what felt like the fourth time waiting for his path to line up with the Doctors once more. So while he was off drinking with Reinette Jack was off... well maybe Jack was having a good time too.

"Oh it sounds impressive, White Knight... valiant steed, all very much the status quo for the Doctor." Jack nodded in agreement then lowering his voice a bit, "Makes us all fall for him that much easier when he does that sort of stuff."

And cue the trademark Jack Harkness grin right before he finishes his drink finally deciding that when the waitress comes by again he'll go with something a bit more abrasive.

From:

The Doctor preened.

"I was rather valiant, wasn't I?" He took another drink of his frozen beverage and smiled.

"Though, really, it wasn't anything entirely impressive. Talking these rather mental alien robots into staying still. That, Jack, was rather impressive of our Madame de Pompadour, here."

And wait...had Jack just admitted to falling for the Doctor? Maybe he'd heard him wrong.

From:

Another server returned with Jack's drink, as well as refills for both Reinette and the Doctor. She was quite sure they were all looking for an excuse to make eye contact with their host, and she was willing to watch, and be amused. Until they automatically placed the 'fruit' drink in front of her.

"I beg your pardon," Reinette offered, sliding the glass over. "But that is his."

Her next gaze, direct and warm, was for Jack. Reinette smiled.

"I notice your use of collective pronouns. Are you so sure of my feelings?"

From:

Jack took hold of his new drink and sipped at it through the discussion of just how valiant or not valiant the Doctor had been along with the musical chairs for the drinks, which of course seeing a woman in charge did something to most men. Jack wasn't most men, but it still was a pleasant sight.

"Oh those collective pronouns are a bit too generous, I'd hope that your affections came a bit over more my direction, but he is quite a charmer. It's that way he rambles for hours about nothing. Pretty much sells you despite not knowing a thing he says."

Jack smirks and glances to the Doctor, "Just hours upon hours of whatever comes out of that mouth and most of us would listen intently." Yeah Jack is... well Jack, so no excusing his behavior on alcohol for him.

From:

The Doctor couldn't possibly stop Jack from giving his ego a good stroking. Which, in his mind, came out to something ridiculously dirty. Perhaps he was a bit lighter on alcohol than he thought he was. And the drinks tasted a little heavy on the rum.

"Now, Jack. I'm fairly certain you've told me to shut up on more than one occasion, as has Reinette. So don't try meaningless praise on me."

From:

"It is perfectly all right Doctor." Reinette smiled and it was almost wicked. Until it became perfectly innocent again in a blink of an eye.

"It is not that we are enjoying watching you speak -- which, I do find pleasure in, mind you. It is that we are wondering what else that mouth is capable of."

From:

This folks is exactly why Jack was so endeared to Reinette. Because beneath that proper lady was an actual woman that could say exactly what was on her mind and make it sound actually appropriate. If Jack could have he would have just reached across the table and kissed her, but really he had asked the Doctor first and then Reinette to join them. If there was going to be any kissing going on... well perhaps it should involve everyone... in the effort of fairness.

Still raised eyebrow Jack grinned, "She does have a point. I for one can think of a few occasions where asking you to shut up was only Phase one of my plan. Which I'd be happy to cite an example of, but well... Reinette here is thankfully extremely distracting and my mind along with all my good intended thoughts? We can pretty much count them at a loss."

From:

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Reinette, then turned the eyebrow on Jack.

"You two have positively filthy minds, you know that?" The words were said with more than a little amount of endearment. After all, they were Reinette and Jack. And Reinette and Jack...well. Reinette and Jack.

From:

"For shame Jack," Reinette teased, sipping more of her brandy. It had well coated the corners of her mouth. "I thought you were a man of more skill than that. You should know that with the Doctor you kiss first, and talk later."

She studied the muted light through her glass.

"It is the most effective form of attack."

From:

Jack laughed at the truth from the Doctor, but made sure that even with his laughter he was still paying as much attention to Reinette as possible as she was still quite captivating.

"Well I'd love to test your theory my dear, but it seems that the Doctor has evaded most of my attacks since I first met him... well almost all of them."

Taking another swallow of his drink he let it burn on the way down until it hit his stomach and forced a sigh of comfortable bliss from him, "So Doctor do you agree with the lady? I mean if it's something we can all agree on then well we might have a starting point to make this evening a bit more entertaining."

Oh Jack, always up for suggestion... or at least suggestiveness.

From:

The Doctor had been distracted by the lowered amount of liquid in his glass. Rum wasn't particularly strong, but he'd let himself feel its effects, and they seemed to be hitting him rather, uh, strongly.

"Hmmm?"

From:

Reinette could only laugh as she offered the Doctor some of her own drink.

"I was actually referring to how we met. For the second time."

From:

Jack eased back in the booth letting his arm rest atop the back of the seat taking his drink in his other hand and smiling with that trademark flirty smirk every so often as Reinette tried to pull the Doctor back out of Banana Daiquiri land and into the conversation at hand.

"See she's talking about kissing which is something I love talking about, and you're watching your drink line falter," to which of course Jack waved over the waitress and gestured for another round. Such a good host of the drinking party he was.

From:

"Kissing! Yes! I like kissing."

He had a feeling that was probably not what he needed to say. They were being troublemakers, and he knew it.

"Yes, yes, yes, you pushed me up against a fireplace, if I remember correctly," he grinned at Reinette before tasting her brandy. He shook his head and handed it back to her.

From:

"It takes him some time to warm up to his alcohol, " Reinette observed wryly as the Doctor refused her stronger drink. Her smile met Jack's own.

"He is much the same with his kisses." This look was shared with the Doctor. "How long did I have you there, and your hand could never even make it to my hip?"

From:

Oh Jack was interested in this story that was for certain. Shifting to lean forward in the booth and rest his elbow to the counter he just grinned at the two of them as they tried to relive the good old days.

"Always the gentleman, but he's focused that's for sure. Rose and you had been dancing in my ship for a few moments before I ever opted to interrupt, and you'd been through transport. Most people notice that sort of thing."

Then his smile shifted toward Reinette who in the dim and tungsten lit room had an almost ethereal glow about her... or maybe his vision was hazing up a bit from the booze... either way she was still gorgeous.

"Of course I'm sure with you my dear it was hard not to notice more than a few things worth noticing," of course this snapped his attention back to the Doctor, "Wait... you didn't even? You noticed her right? And still? Was this before or after the horse thing?"

From:

"Before," the Doctor said, as if that was the most obvious thing. "And of course I did. I'm not blind, you know."

He was, however, finished his drink and oh look there was that lovely waitress refilling it for him. How kind of her!

"As for the dancing, we had a bit on our minds, you know."

From:

"Though your vision was significantly more impaired when you removed your glasses," Reinette could not help but tease, something in her own alcohol bringing a lighter humor to her wit. "Not the the action itself was not endearing."

As for Jack? Reinette raised her glass in brief salute. "Of course you would know about dancing. Does this not mean I get to hear the tale of how both of you met?"

From:

Jack grinned back to Reinette over his own glass and set it down when she asked how he had met the Doctor all those years ago... the first time he had to go through that war.

"Oh I was just a lowly Ex-Time Agent trying to con his companion Rose into purchasing a Chula vessel that inadvertently released a little snag of trouble. Little dancing beside Big Ben, some whispered promises... then the truth and a big reveal all in time for the Doctor to be a true hero and impress the lady."

Jack took a sip of his drink and held the glass for a moment, "I was looking for two lost years of my life, and found a greater man within me... plus I got to hop on board with him and Rose for a while, which was well worth it... well until he left me for dead on Satellite Five."

From:

"You were wrong," the Doctor replied, perhaps a bit too emphatically. "W-roooooong. I couldn't help it, it was instinct. And I was about to regenerate, and Rose...well, she wasn't in the mindset to handle anything she'd done and are those nibbles on that table over there? How do we get nibbles over here?"

From:

For a moment Reinette was quiet, and then --

"And yet that is the Doctor," she surmised of his comings and goings, somehow not to far gone despite her drinking. But then the French did love their wine, and she was accustomed to daily consumption. She nodded at Jack. "And you would not be half the man I give you credit for if you pretended you did not know otherwise, from the very beginning."

The mood shifted yet again at the Doctor's words, and she actually choked on her most recent sip of alcohol. It burned a new path down her throat.

"Do you ever listen to yourself," she teased. "Honestly. Nibbles? Did you truly ask that question in your current company? You are more intelligent than that."

From:

Jack nearly choked back that last sip of his own drink as not only did the Doctor make that specific comment, but that Reinette had replied as she did because it was in all truth the exact same thing that Jack was thinking.

"I think we just keep getting you more of those banana drinks," Jack replied honestly then winked at Reinette playfully.

Of course he had a feeling it was all lost on the Doctor so he waved the waitress over and she nodded when he gestured to the lack of snacks and Jack assumed she'd bring something that would keep the Doctor satiated... food wise at least.

From:

The comments on nibbles was completely lost on the Doctor, and he proceeded to start stacking some of his silverware and balancing it.. Alcoholic intake + Overactive mind = This sort of thing.

"Right, so! We've talked about how I met you and I met you, but the real conversation lies in what exactly we are all doing here, hmm?" It made a LOT of sense to the Doctor.

From:

"I would think a far better question would be what we are all doing later. For a Timelord you are on occasion remarkedly shortsighted," Reinette suggested.

The waitress reappeared with fresh glasses and food. For a bar it offered oddly healthy choices, included the granola and peanut mix placed before them. Mixed in were dried banana and pineapple chips. She wondered how long it would take the Doctor to notice.

From:

Jack took a small handful of the mix and popped it into his mouth grinning at how oblivious the Doctor was to it all, just sitting there entertaining himself with the stacking of his silverware. However thankful that they had chosen a booth he didn't have to worry about the drunken Doctor starting to stack their chairs, or fall out of them.

In fact being that they were in a booth Jack opts to slide himself a bit closer to Reinette, letting his arm drape casually over her shoulder hoping he wasn't overstepping any boundaries... of course this was Reinette and she seemed to get along famously with Jack.

"The lady has a fine point Doctor," Jack directed to the Doctor, "Because while it's highly entertaining watching you and your silverware play, I'd have to wonder if you really are blind to what my intentions were with this venture."

Which Jack of course knows that he is. It's the Doctor after all.

From:

"All this talk about true intentions and looking to the future make me think someone's about to ask me to marry them," the Doctor smirked at his companions.

He eyed Jack's arm over Reinette's shoulder. They were comfortable and friendly with each other and...well, that was nice. That was good! How was it Jack did that without looking like a fool like the Doctor?

From:

Perhaps Reinette should have been offended by Jack's forward nature, but she found she could not be. After all, she was known to be rather forward herself. It was something one seemed to recognize in the other.

"Intentions never need be so -- formal -- Doctor," Reinette laughed, taking another sip of her wine. Nor had she never seen anything to favor wedded bliss.

From:

Oh if Jack were the marrying type he'd actually ask Reinette first, which would be quite the accomplishment he figured, though he knew somewhere deep down in an odd way that if she were to ever consider an offer like that from him, he'd make sure to remain true to her. Which somehow felt oddly... right to him.

"We're just friends here... being friendly," grinned Jack at the Doctor tossing in a small wink for good measure. "She's a lovely lady Doctor, and I happen to fancy her quite a bit. Which isn't too hard to do," he commented.

"Besides Doctor, I'd never think you for the marrying type. I mean... given all the regenerations and companions? I'm sure there have been plenty that would have offered up marital status to you. Is there some sort of TimeLord Tax break?"

From:

"The Time Lords? Give anyone a break?" The Doctor gave Jack a look that clearly read 'Oh please.'

He took another long drink and looked from Reinette to Jack. A look of realization hit his face.

"You mean you two...are planning on doing something of a notorious nature involving me?"

From:

"Perhaps," Reinette smiled over her wine, growing more accustomed to the feel of Jack's arm about her shoulders. It was not at all unwelcome.

Her smile grew.

"That if that distresses you, I am sure that he and I would have no trouble entertaining ourselves. We could always allow you to retire for the evening."

Edited Date: 2007-12-07 04:23 am (UTC)

From:

Jack grinned at the Doctor, "Of a notorious nature is all I'm really known for... well that and my charismatic smile, which Reinette here seems to be rather fond of."

He was teasing, and maybe it was because it seemed to get the Doctor a bit flustered, but it was still just as entertaining as ever.

"So are you heading in then Doctor? No more fun for you? Because by my calculations," Jack idly glanced to his watch, "You've got all the time in the world."

From:

The Doctor pouted, slightly. "You all were planning notoriousnessesess and now you want me to leave?"

And no, he wasn't jealous of Reinette and Jack's closeness, thank-you-very-much. Not that he could be threatened in that sort of way by either of them or be 'grr'ing inside about it all.

The waitress returned, this time bringing another of everyone's drinks. The Doctor could've kissed her with glee.

From:

Reinette fell silent as she she listened to both men banter, eyes drinking in both of their profiles even as she continued to drink the alcohol presented afresh by the waitress.

Something entirely dangerous sparked in her eyes. If the Doctor thought on it, he might even recognize the expression.

"You could always provide a demonstration of just how eager you are to remain," Reinette suggested to the Doctor. "Then Jack could decide if you are allowed to stay."

From:

"Oh the lady has a suggestion, and I get to be the deciding vote?" Jack grinned at the Doctor, "See why I like her so much?"

When the waitress returned with drinks though Jack removed his arm from around Reinette to take his drink and remove the stirrer that obviously was to keep his drink separate from... the other overly obvious drinks. Shaking his head at the stirrer he dropped it onto the napkin and took a sip of his drink glancing to the Doctor, "I think he's thinking too much on it, or he's already forgotten the question."

From:

"I haven't forgotten the question!" the Doctor looked offended at first, but he was quickly distracted by Reinette's suggestion.

He nodded, "Well, I don't really want to leave, not with nibbles and drinks and fantastic company. What do I do to prove I want to stay?"

From:

Reinette leaned across the table, not caring what might or might not be seen by those sitting at nearby tables. After all, they were not the objects of her attentions. It seemed, to the casual observer, her only intent was to reach a location close to the Doctor's ear.

"If I have to tell you what to do," she whispered into the Doctor's ear, keeping her voice low as if to spare embarrassment. She found personal enjoyment in his closeness. "Then it is not worth it. Is that not what you look for in your own companions? A certain -- natural instinct?"

From: