Author Notes: This has been sitting on my 'To do list' for quite awhile so I figured I'd better at least start it before it drove me crazy. It may be awhile before I update this, since I've got other stories to do and I'm recently engaged, but hopefully my muse will takeover and this thing will wind up being the top priority on the 'to do list'.

Be Warned This Story is Not Beta Read

Pairing: Xander/Gwen, Jack/Ianto, Owen/Tosh, The Doctor/Rose, Buffy/Angel, Willow/Kennedy, Dawn/Conner, Mickey/Martha, Spike/Illyria, Andrew/Vi

Summary: Xander's life changes when he becomes involved with top secret organization that even the Council knows nothing about: Torchwood.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Doctor Who, Torchwood or their characters. (Although I do wish I owned Dawn and Gwen.)

Rating: R for strong language, some violence, and sexual situations

Season: Post "Chosen"/"Not Fade Away"in the Buffyverse; Post "The Last of the Time Lords"/"End of Days" in the Doctor Who world

Category: Action/Drama/Humor/Romance

Spoilers: Basic Knowledge of Doctor Who (2005) and Torchwood as well as all of Buffy and Angel

Xander Harris stood in front of the mirror, making sure that everything was in place. He didn't want to look stupid for the Council's big charity event, even though he thought the suit that Dawn had picked out for him looked ridiculous on him.

"Everything alright in there?"

Xander smiled at Willow's voice. "Just fine, Wills. Although I'd be much more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt."

Willow slowly cracked open the door and, upon hearing no protest from Xander, entered. "So would I, but you know how Giles is about these fund-raising thingys."

Xander sighed. "The man does like to get dolled up."

"That he does," Willow grinned in agreement.

Xander turned to face Willow. "Why don't you go downstairs? See if Andrew needs help with something? I'll be down in a minute."

Willow nodded in consent and hurried off. Xander turned his attention back to the mirror, growling in frustration slightly at the sight of his eyepatch. 'Never going to get used it,' he thought to himself. He stood in silence for a few more minutes, just listening to the sound of London down below, before Andrew appeared behind him in the mirror.

"Jesus!"

Andrew immediately looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Xander. But Willow wanted me to tell you that she and the girls are leaving."

"Then who am I catching a ride with?"

Andrew smiled. "Me."

Eyeing the grinning man before him suspiciously, Xander shook his head. "I'll walk."

"But-"

"I said I'll walk, Andrew," Xander repeated, putting a little more steel than required in his voice. Andrew pouted like a scolded child but said nothing. Xander momentarily felt bad but caught himself before reaching out to put a hand on Andrew's shoulder. 'Have to keep up pretenses.'

Grabbing his long trench coat, which had once belonged to certain brooding vampire before he'd recovered it from the ruins of the L.A. Wolfram & Hart offices, Xander headed out. Knowing his destination was only about a thirty minute walk did little to ease Xander's always alert senses. If there was one thing he'd learned from his stay in Sunnydale, it was always be prepared. He slowly reached into his pocket and fingered the stake he kept there, while simultaneously scanning the dark alleys around him for some sort of hell spawn waiting to attack.

He didn't have to wait long.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xander noticed two figures, locked in a deadly dance that Xander had affectionately come to call "ass-kickery". Not waiting for someone to die, or to think about some sort of plan, Xander rushed straight into the alley, fingers gripping the stake in his pocket.

"Oi!" Xander called out, realizing how ridiculous he sounded saying it as it came out his mouth in his American accent. "What's going on?" He tried for the flippant tone Buffy usually used but fell a few feet short.

The man, or creature as it were, who was pinning the young woman to the wall barely paid attention to him, something most demons did until it was too late. The woman, on the other hand, looked at him with his eyes full of worry. "Get out of here," she managed to choke out.

Xander shook his head. "No one appreciates a good rescuing anymore." Without another word, Xander charged and tackled the beast to the ground. That was to be the last heroic thing he did as the monster immediately sank it's large fangs into Xander's neck and began shaking it's head, like a dog with a toy. Xander tried to break free but the demon was not only stronger but he was rapidly losing blood, a sure sign that he might not make it out his latest escapade alive.

Suddenly the beast let go, running away in agony, and the woman appeared in Xander's line of sight with some sort of gun in her hand. She quickly pulled out a radio and spoke into it, her words drowned out by the throbbing pain in Xander's neck. She finally turned her attention back to him, and knelt by his side. "You're going to be alright," she told him a Welsh accent. "You'll see."

Xander tried to make some kind of quip, but the ragged holes in his throat prevented him from speaking. The woman seemed to sense his growing duress and grabbed his hand. "It's alright," she spoke gently. "My friends will help. You'll see." She smiled, revealing a little gap in her front teeth that Xander found hopelessly cute. "We're good at this sort of thing."

'That's my line,' Xander thought uselessly as the pain finally won out and unconsciousness enveloped him.

88

As soon as awoke, Xander knew something was off. Firstly, the holes in his neck, which should have killed him by now, were gone. Secondly, he was in different clothes. Clothes that appeared to be from the 1940's by the looks of them. And lastly, he wasn't home in his own bed. Or anywhere near where home was. He was lying in what appeared to an infirmary, located in some weird underground station. This last part was purely a guess on Xander's behalf as he could only see the room around him, but his history with the Initiative and the look of the stone walls surrounding him told him that he was somewhere underground.

A door opened and a man about Xander's age, dressed in an immaculate suit, walked in. "How are you feeling?" the man asked.

"Since I should be dead, quite well," Xander replied, deciding on the charming approach. He could switch tactics later on if he needed to.

"I hope you're not to troubled by your surroundings," the man continued. "We had to get some medical help right away and Dr. Harper thought here would be the best place to do it."

"No problem, Suit," Xander said, giving the man a name in lieu of knowing his real one. "This Harper guy has to be one hell of a doc though to fix me up like he did."

"Oh, he is," the man smiled, but something about the smile seemed to say, 'It wasn't all Harper.'

"So...am I good to go?"

"Go?" The man looked to genuinely shocked by the idea of Xander leaving. "I'm afraid that you can't leave just yet."

Although he was technically being held prisoner now, Xander remained in 'charm' mode as he felt no immediate threat yet. "And why is that?"

"Well, the Captain would like a word with you."

"Would he now?"

"Yes," a new, American, voice responded. A second man entered the room. He appeared to shop at the same vintage store that the clothes Xander was wearing were bought at, as he too looked as if he stepped out of the forties and into the modern world. He looked to be in his late thirties and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief and untold secrets. Truth be told, although he'd never swung that way in his life, Xander thought that this man was damn attractive.

"Ianto, you can leave," he spoke to the suited man who did as he was told. He then turned his attention back to Xander. "You're a lucky man, Mr. Harris. Not many people can say that they were attacked by a Weevil and lived."

"Yay?"

The Captain smiled. "Good. You have a sense of humor. I didn't want to have saved the life of someone who was a bore."

"Nope," Xander replied, "life of the party; that's me." As he stared at the Captain, Xander finally realized just what the man had said. "How'd you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you," The Captain said enigmatically. "Like how you managed to survive the collapse of an entire town with nothing but a lost eye."

Xander suddenly felt uneasy. "How?"

"Records. My people have access to them all." The Captain walked over to the gurney where Xander sat and pulled up a chair. "I've always wondered about Sunnydale," he said, excitement flush on his face. "What really happened?"

Xander shook his head. "Quid pro quo," he said, glad that he had watched the Silence of the Lambs recently. "You know my name, I want yours."

The Captain smiled. "Okay. Jack Harkness."

Xander arched an eyebrow. "Captain Jack?"

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "I was a Captain way before Johnny Depp was." His face quickly returned to it's previous, slightly excited, state. "What were you going to do with this?" he asked, producing Xander's stake.

"Making a tiny fence?"

Jack frowned slightly. "Alexander, the truth please."

Xander sighed and decided that since these people knew about 'Weevils', whatever the hell those were, he might as well break the news about vampires. "I was going to use it to stake any vampires I might've meet up with."

Jack gave him a disbelieving look. "Vampires?"

"Yep."

"Alexander," Jack said, as if talking to a small child, "there are no such things as vampires."

"You believe in demons but you don't believe in vampires?" Xander asked, finding that hard to believe.

"Who said anything about demons?"

"Those Weevil things," Xander said, getting somewhat frustrated with the 'Poor Man' look Jack was giving him. "Aren't they demons?"

Jack smiled. "No. They're aliens."

Xander paused for a second, trying to determine if Jack was kidding or not. When he realized that Jack was telling the truth, Xander found himself at a loss for words; something that didn't happen very often.

"Speechless?" Jack questioned, a proud look on his face. "Most people are when they find out."

Xander shook his head. "I always kinda figured that there were aliens out there," he said. "I'm just trying to think of a way to break the whole 'demons are real' thing to you."

Jack seemed to be amused by Xander's reaction. "You're telling me that you're serious? Vampires and demons are real?"

Xander matched Jack's look as he said, "Are you telling me aliens are real?"

The two men sat in a contemplative silence for a few moments before Jack spoke. "Let's get a drink."

88

Xander sat in the back of a pub feeling slightly self-conscious at his and Jack's matching 40's garb. The fact that this was the only thing bothering him impressed Jack greatly. The younger man had not only taken Jack's "21st Century" speech well but he'd also taken the 'invisible lift' and the Hub in stride as well. "You get used to this kind of stuff," he'd explained.

Jack took another swig of his beer and noticed that Xander hadn't touched his. "Something wrong?" Jack asked, nodding toward the glass.

Xander shrugged his shoulders. "I don't feel like forgetting everything you're telling me," he answered, taking great pride in the shocked look that went across Jack's face. His own memories from his brief experience being possessed and his encounters with the Initiative had left Xander with enough knowledge to know better than to trust shady government groups. Especially ones that didn't answer to anyone.

"You're good," Jack said, his face betraying nothing.

"I try."

Jack eyed Xander a moment longer then said, "Your turn. Give me the skinny on demons."

Xander took a deep breath and tried to recall the spiel Giles was so fond of giving to the young Slayers. "Well, okay...um, the earth is a lot older than most people realize. And unlike what the general consensus is, it didn't start off as a paradise." Jack leaned back but Xander could tell he was interested. "It was over run by demons. Huge, monstrous creatures that were the epitome of evil." 'Thank god, Giles got me the word of the day calendar.'

"Abaddon," Jack muttered.

"What?" Xander asked, leaning forward.

Jack shook his head. "Nothing. Continue."

Xander returned to normal but decided to keep a closer watch on Jack. "Anyway, one day the demons were banished to hell. Before they left one mixed his blood with a human and before you know it..."

"Vampires," Jack finished.

"And all sorts of other nasties," Xander added. "Not pure demon like the originals but still not something you wanna come across."

Jack appeared to be deep in thought for a few seconds. "That's why you rushed in to save Gwen? You thought the Weevil was a demon?" Xander nodded and Jack digested this. "You know how to fight demons then?"

Xander struggled to answer the question. "Kinda." Off of Jack's look he added, "I mean, I can handle myself in a fight but I'm not like...super strong or good with weapons. Except for the occasional axe."

Jack's face lit up at this. "An axe? You use axes?"

"And swords."

"That's excellent!" Jack hesitated for a second and doubt clouded his face but he quickly displaced it and smiled again. "Xander, I don't normally do this but I want to make you an offer."

"What kind of offer?" Xander asked, although he had the sinking suspicion that he knew what was about to be said.

"You seem like a decent fellow," Jack began, "and you did save Gwen tonight, for which I think I can speak for her and myself when I say 'Thank you'. Not to mention you're easy on the eyes and have knowledge of a world that my group hasn't even dreamt about." Xander felt a little uncomfortable after Jack's 'easy on the eyes' comment but held his tongue. "Torchwood has vast and unlimited resources Xander; I want you to join up and help us."

"But I don't know anything about aliens," Xander protested.

Jack shook his head. "You can learn that stuff." The man was suddenly much more animated then Xander had ever seen him. "Look, if you're right and there's a whole other battle going and Torchwood doesn't help...then I won't feel good about myself in the morning. And I like to feel good."

Xander sat, trying to sort out what Jack was saying. "So you want me to be your...what? Demonology expert?"

"Exactly!" Jack practically yelled triumphantly. "Torchwood has a chance to save the world from a whole other threat. Just think about it; you could be saving the world."

Xander tried to look as if he hadn't done that literally a half-dozen times already and if Jack hadn't been so excited he would've been busted. "Tell you what," Xander said, trying to find the best possible way to let Jack down. "I'll get back to you."

Jack looked crestfallen. "What?"

Xander, who'd already been sliding out of the booth, stopped and sighed. "I have life, Jack. Friends and family and a really important job."

"You can do both," Jack replied.

Xander smiled. "Not my job." Jack looked somewhat sullen and Xander patted the man on the back. "No hard feelings?"

Jack shrugged, pouting slightly. "I guess not."

"See you around, Jack," Xander said, walking out of the bar. He almost glanced back but thought better. 'This was a weird, one night misadventure,' he told himself. 'Never going to see these people or think about them again. Like that night in high school with all the zombies. Which also, featured a Jack.' But then the imagine of the woman in the alley, Gwen, came to mind and Xander's long dormant stomach-dwelling butterflies woke up.

'Oh, Hell.'