AN: This takes place after my oneshot, Crushing a Rose.

Once again, she's about two hundred feet from the Doctor when her fingers start to tingle. She looks down, and her ring is glowing. She knows she only has about twenty seconds, and that she isn't going to make it, but she tries anyway. She's ten feet from the Doctor when she jumps.

Rose is now in some back alley, definitely earth, but not one she's been to before, so far as she can tell. Over in one corner is a woman pointing a gun at her. But the woman doesn't look frightened or bewildered, and the gun seems to be thirty-fourth century, where as her clothes look to be approximately twentieth century. Rose follows these facts to a natural conclusion. "Torchwood or UNIT?"

The woman's face hardens. "What do you know about Torchwood?"

Torchwood it is. Rose slowly puts her hands up. "It's a bit complicated, but I have credentials in my back pocket. Here." Slowly she moves one of her hands to grab her psychic paper, tossing it to the Torchwood agent.

After examining it carefully, the agent lowers her gun and tosses the psychic paper back before stepping closer. "Agent Wearning," she says, offering her hand.

Rose shakes it cautiously, wondering what exactly was on the paper to get her so instantly compliant.

"It's an honor to meet you, Director Tyler. I wasn't aware we had a branch in Leadworth."

Rose grimaces. "That's the complicated part. Is your headquarters nearby? I'd like to speak to the director."

...ThRoseThRoseThRoseThRoseThRoseThRose...

Fifteen minutes later, Rose knows she's in 1972 Cardiff as she's lead to a particular piece of sidewalk that lowers her and Agent Wearning into Torchwood HQ.

Agent Wearning leads her into an office where a man with greying ginger hair and a beard is speaking to someone on the phone. He quickly finishes his call. "Agent, who is this?"

"This is Director Tyler. One of the other branches sent her over. Director Tyler, this is Director Cascus."

"Very well. Agent Wearning, you're dismissed. Director Tyler, take a seat." Director Cascus sits in the chair opposite her. "What is this visit regarding, and which branch are you with? I'm of a mind to report you for not following the proper protocol for interbranch visits."

Rose takes a deep breath, speaking quickly so he won't have time to interrupt her. "About two hundred years from now, Torchwood discovered several files pertaining to this point in time, from which we gathered that in order to preserve the time stream, one of us would have to be sent back to your time." The lie slips from her tongue like oil.

"You're telling me you come from the future."

"Yes."

"So, what exactly has to be done to 'preserve the time stream'?" he asks skeptically.

"Just type up a file about me, so they'll know to send me here. I'll be staying at the motel across the way, if you could have an agent drop off an identity for me. I'll be leaving now."

Director Cascus pulls out a gun. "No, Miss Tyler, I don't think you will.

Bugger. What is it with these people and guns? "Stand down, Cascus. You are my subordinate."

"Actually Miss Tyler, you don't exist. You're obviously stuck here for some time, or you wouldn't have need of an identity. I believe your talents would be best put to use here. Just think how much you can advance us. The alien tech we scavenge only helps so much. Sure, we can reverse engineer a small fraction of it, but you, you could explain our future advancements to us in such a way that we'd have a true, deep understanding of such things. You could catapult the human race forward, past many years of struggling to obtain such knowledge."

"Director Cascus, if I did so, it would create a paradox, ripping open the rift that exists here, and the earth would bleed into another reality, killing millions, and probably extremely painful for anyone who did survive."

She can see in his eyes that he doesn't think she's telling the truth.

"If you will not help us willingly," he mumbles in a threatening manner, "We have other, less tasteful, methods of gathering information."

"I would die before telling you anything."

"You'll talk eventually."

Time to bluff. "No, I mean I would literally die."

"You mean," he pauses for a moment, "Like spies who have a capsule of poison in one of their teeth?"

"Yes. Well, nothing so primitive as that, though the general concept is the same. Should I choose to activate it, I would be dead within 2.7 seconds."

He keeps his gun trained on her and ponders this for a few minutes. Finally, he lowers it. "I'm still going to put you to use. You could be a great asset in dealing with alien threats. From this moment on, you're an agent of Torchwood as it exists in this year. You can try to run away, but there is no where on earth we wouldn't find you eventually."

Perhaps no where on earth.

"Ma—

The door opens behind her.

"Ah, Agent Harkness, perfect timing."

Rose swivels in her chair to find Captain Jack Harkness starring at her.

"Harkness, this is Agent Rose Tyler. Tyler, this is—

"Captain Jack Harkness, at your disposal."

The Director scowls. "Agent Harkness, you are not, nor have you ever been, a captain."

Jack winks at Rose. "I think he likes being the only one with a fancy title around here."

"Back to the topic at hand, Harkness, Tyler is new here. She'll be your trainee. For the time being, I consider you directly responsible for any mishaps she may cause, and I expect her to shadow you 24/7."

Jack's flirtatious smirk gives way to a grimace.

"That will be all, you are both dismissed."

She follows Jack out the door. "So, by 24/7, he means?"

"You're moving in with me. And before you start whining about that, 24/7 means one of us has to move in with the other, and I can almost gaurantee my apartment is better than yours."

"Okay." She can see that Jack is stunned by that. He expected me to argue with him.

"We'll start your training tomorrow," he continues, "In the mean time, what's your address? If you want, I'll help you pack up your stuff."

"Oh, no thanks, I—

"Look," he interrupts, "I'm not too happy about this arrangement either, but I'm trying to be polite and make this work. Besides, if you don't accept my help, packing your stuff is gonna take forever."

"Captain Jack Harkness, I don't have an apartment, and everything I own or need is in this bag. I've had a long day, so I'd prefer it if we could go straight home and you show me where I can sleep."

...ThRoseThRoseThRoseThRoseThRoseThRose...

Thirty minutes later, a still stunned Jack Harkness was starring at the strange pink and yellow girl who'd pulled a hamock of all things out of that canvas bag of hers, and hung it in his living room, instantly falling asleep.

Review, or I will rip out your rib cage and wear it as a hat. First person to name that quote gets ethereal cereal. ;)