Author's note: So, this is following the events of my series "The Tales of Bella Lumic" and is set after Torchwood series two but before Torchwood: Children of Earth. It is rated M because of some swearing and adult-ish thems later on in the story. I hope you enjoy, it is a little more like Torchwood in terms of mood and stuff as apposed to Doctor Who, but the swaring and everything isn't as bad as it could have been. But this is the warning right here :P

Let me know what you think!

TW the Ghostly threat CH1

Captain Jack Harkness sat in his office reading a pile of papers on his desk. He sighed, smiling slyly. The Doctor had once again muddled up the time of their arrival, as he'd thought he'd landed them back at Torchwood with ten minutes having passed after they had gone to revisit the site of the car crash Bella had been in when she was just five years old.

He shivered, remembering how close she had actually been from dying.

So, instead of landing the TARDIS ten minutes after they had left, he had landed the TARDIS two weeks later. Poor Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones had been left alone for the entire time and had no choice but to let the paperwork for Jack pile up on his desk.

He shook his head and put U.N.I.T's explanation of what happened when the Daleks invaded Earth a year ago down. U.N.I.T wanted to know whether Torchwood had anything to contribute to the report and Jack thought that even they wouldn't believe what had really happened.

He looked to his left out his office's glass wall. Below the conference room was a blue police box that had been in that same place for an unusually long time; a full week. Seven days. Approximately one hundred and sixty-eight hours. In all of Jack's time travelling with the wondrous man known as the Doctor, he could never recall ever seeing the TARDIS in the same place for longer than was absolutely necessary. It just seemed odd to him and it even shocked him a bit every time he looked up and saw it, because he knew that the Doctor normally wouldn't have allowed the TARDIS to stay in one place for so long.

There was a knock on Jack's office door, making him look around to find Ianto walking in carrying a tray with five steaming cups on it.

"Morning sir," Ianto smiled, handing Jack one of the hot mugs. "Where's Gwen?"

"She came in early," Jack said as he nodded in appreciation as he took a sip of coffee. "She decided to take a rather reluctant Bella shopping."

Ianto smiled as he imagined Gwen dragging Bella around Cardiff before glancing down to the blue police box.

"He won't bite," Jack said seriously.

"Yeah, I know," Ianto said, looking back to Jack. "I just don't want to have to go looking for him in his box." He added seriously.

Jack laughed loudly as Ianto turned and left Jack's office, placing the tray of the four remaining cups on the coffee table just outside Jack's door. He moved over to Toshiko Sato's computer where he kissed his fingertips before pressing them softly to a picture of a smiling Tosh and Owen Harper. That was a tradition that Gwen had started.

Jack, after watching Ianto do this, looked back down to U.N.I.T's so called logical report and shook his head.

Gwen walked happily out of a clothes shop carrying three bright red shopping bags full of new jeans, sweaters and t-shirts. Bella Lumic followed her, carrying a red bag of her own less enthusiastically.

"Gwen," Bella said quietly. "You don't have to do this."

Gwen looked back to her and smiled. "I know, but I want too. Besides, I haven't had a girly day out in ages."

"I don't really think I am the best person to help you out with that one." Bella told her seriously.

"You're doing just fine." Gwen told her, laughing slightly.

Bella frowned at her as she caught up to her. "But this," she said, holding up her red bag, "Is completely unnecessary!"

"Bella, don't worry about it." Gwen insisted. "I'm not paying for your stuff, Torchwood is!"

"Won't Jack mind if you're spending Torchwood's money?" Bella asked, "Especially on clothes."

Gwen smiled and shook her head. "He doesn't mind because the money is being spent on you."

Bella looked up to her feeling slightly confused.

"He cares a lot about you Bella." She explained quietly as they walked. "Like you really mean something, like you're family to him. I don't know everything that you guys have gone through together, but I do know that he acts differently when he's around you. I mean, he's still Jack, but there's just something that has changed in him since he's met you."

She stopped walking and turned to Bella. "I think you've made him a better person." She said seriously before grinning at her, "New shoes?"

Bella groaned inwardly as she rolled her eyes and Gwen grabbed her spare hand and led her into the shoe shop beside them. All she wanted to do was to go back to the TARDIS, where she had left the Doctor in the library asleep on one of the lounges. His head had been rolled to one side, his mouth was hanging slightly open and his brainy specs were sliding down his nose. Bella smiled at that memory.

She had enjoyed the past week, even when they hadn't really been doing anything apart from lounging around in the TARDIS reading and playing chess. She had however had had the chance to explore the TARDIS properly for the first time since travelling with the Doctor. She had found a rather large swimming pool (that was complete with a diving board and a small slide), a room full of famous artworks, and a room that looked suspiciously like a science lab and a room full of musical instruments. She had also managed at one point to get herself completely lost and she had to ring Jack and tell him to get the Doctor to come and find her, which he did, absolutely roaring with laughter.

It had been real quality time with the Doctor, just the two of them together practically the whole time. She'd hardly even slept in her own bed, as most nights (like the night before) they had both fallen asleep in the library with the Doctor's arms around her. She had decided when she had woken up that morning that this was the last day they should stay at Torchwood. She wanted the Doctor to be happy and she knew that he was trying to keep her happy and safe here, but if truth be told, she knew that she wouldn't be truly happy until he was, and that meant chasing aliens.