Exactly! I tried to write a Boom Town-era story once in which Rose would have been very telepathically ill (this was the less-trope-y part), leaving the Doctor and Jack desperately trying to save her. I abandoned it in part because I couldn't build the bridge from Jack the Flirt to Jack the [Somewhat] Selfless in a way that seemed natural. The fact that you do this so well makes me happy. :)