"Oi!" Gwen managed, as she found herself thrown against the side of the van, "Watch
your driving, Owen!"

Instead of repyling, Owen sent her a mischevious glance, before returning his full attention
to the rapidly approaching intersection in front of them.

"Which way?" he shouts commandingly, a look of steely determination now occupying his
face.

Tosh typed furiously on the keyboard in the back seat, never taking her eyes off
the screen in front of her, "The creature is turning left up Hollins Street!" she said quickly, "And
I would like to second Gwen's driving complaint. The roads are terrible right now."

Owen spun the steering wheel violently counterclockwise, taking the van skidding onto the slick
Hollins Street, "No one like a backseat driver, Tosh."

Gwen rolled her eyes before taking her hand catiously down from the roof of the vehicle where
it had been braced and putting it on the communicating device attached to her ear, "Ianto,
do you have anymore information about what exactly it is that we are currently risking our lives
to chase?"

Ianto's calm, smooth voice echoed into all of their ears, "Reports suggest that it came through
the rift sometime yesterday evening, leaving this lovely weather pattern in its wake."

Gwen stared at the nearly unvisible street ahead of them. The city of Cardiff had been plagued
by torrential downpours and strong gales for the past 24 hours, making the capture of this unknown
assailant especially difficult for the team of Torchwood. Not that anything had been particularly
easy since Jack had mysteriously disappeared right under her nose just a month prior.

"The creature does not seem to be following any kind of pattern, nor does he appear to have an
intended destination," Ianto continued. "It's almost as if..." his voice took on an air of uncertainty,
"It's almost as if he's trying to get our attention."

Owen let out a humorless laugh, eyes still on the road ahead, "Well, it worked. I don't know about
you guys, but if I step in one more puddle, I'm moving to London."

"Your life is so hard, Owen," Gwen chided in a sarcastic tone.

Owen snapped his focus from the road to look at Gwen and took on an offensive tone, "Well, excuse me - "

"Sorry to interrupt this little lover's spat," Tosh began, ignoring irritated looks from both Gwen and Owen,
"but the creature has seemed to have disappeared."

"What?" Gwen asked, a look of confusion mirroring the one on Owen's.

"And have you noticed anything different outside?" Ianto questioned vaguely.

Owen, Gwen, and Tosh glanced out their respective windows as Owen slowed the van almost to a halt.
Though the sky was still overcast and the night was still far from pleasant, the thundering rain had stopped
pounding on the pavement around them.

Gwen turned to the back seat, "Where was it last seen, Tosh?"

Tosh stared at her screen for a moment before looking up, past Gwen. "Down there." She raised her hand
to point at a small street tucked between two rather decrepid-looking buildings not far from where the van
was now parked.

The three colleagues got out of the car, Owen stepping out of his seat with a small splash and a muttered
curse under his breath. Both Gwen and Tosh chuckled quietly.

"Shut up," Owen demanded, obviously angry and slightly embarrassed.

Gwen gave him a pat on the shoulder as he came around to join them on the other side of the van, "Don't
worry. I'll come to visit you. I always loved the shopping in London." Owen merely answered with a glare.

They all began to move toward the dark street. Owen and Gwen both had their weapons cautiously out, while
Tosh had a small, handheld tracker which she used to direct them to the spot of the disappearance,

"It's at the end of this street," she said confidently, though still glancing down at her device every so often
for reassurance, as if the information was going to change.

As they entered the street and got closer to the brick wall of the building at the end, a dark form came into view
on the ground at the end of the street.

"What is that?" Gwen thought aloud.

Ianto's concerned voice came on over the communicators, "What is what?"

Owen clutched his gun a bit tighter as they pressed carefully forward, "Looks like our creature is the visible kind
of disappeared."

"Tosh?" Gwen questioned, not daring to take her eye off of the still form, lying on the ground, shadowed by the
dumpster beside it.

Ianto's voice was becoming increasingly frustrated, "Guys? What's going on?"

"I'm not picking up anything." Tosh responded, obviously confused. "According to this, the creature disappeared.
It doesn't read anything in that spot."

Owen smirked, stating sarcastically, "Well that's comforting. I guess we're just seeing things." He glanced at Gwen,
"You take left, I'll go right." At her nod of agreement, they parted ways, slowly approaching the silent form.

"Could someone please answer me!" Ianto shouted a bit loudly, causing Owen, Gwen and Tosh to instinctively
bring their hands to their ears.

"Ianto! Do you mind?" Owen growled angrily, "We're kind of in the middle of something here."

Gwen's mind was already back on the task at hand, "Tosh, do you have the flashlight?" They had reached the creature
on the ground, but were still unable to identify it, as aggressive or otherwise. "I can't see anything over here."

Tosh moved closer to the other two as Owen nudged the form with his foot, to no response.

"Owen, are you crazy?!" Gwen scolded, "You have no idea what we're dealing with here! That thing could have bitten
your foot off."

Tosh managed to find the flashlight and clicked it on, shining a dim beam of light on the form before them. It was a young,
girl. She was unhealthily thin, her skin as pale as snow, save for the marks of abuse evident on her face. Owen, Gwen,
and Tosh stood stunned for a moment, before Owen tore his eyes up from the horrible site before them to look at Gwen,
"Oh yeah, she looks like a real beast."

Owen's comment seemed to break Gwen's trance and spur her into action. She quickly knelt down beside the girl, pushing
her hair out of her face and away from her neck so that she could check for a pulse.

"My god, she's as cold as ice," Gwen said distractedly as she moved her ear right beside her mouth. "She's not breathing!"
She cried, a look of utmost concern on her face.

"Owen, go get the AED!" Gwen spat out hurriedly before she gave the girl two rescue breaths and pushed down on her
chest forcefully.

When Owen returned 30 seconds later with the AED machine, the girl was still not breathing despite Gwen's
best efforts. He opened the AED and pushed a frantic Gwen out of the way to press the adhesive paddles to the girl's chest.

It seemed like it took a lifetime for the machine to charge. Gwen was continuing CPR, while Owen and Tosh watched rather
helplessly. All of them kept unnaturally silent as their minds raced, calculating the slim chances they had of resusciatating this
girl after god knows how long she had not been breathing. The machine finally beeped, causing Tosh to jump slightly. Owen
made sure Gwen was clear before pressing the button and sending a charge to the girl's heart.

The girl's eyes opened immediately, wide with panic. She gasped, taking as much air as possible into her deprived lungs.
The girl was terrified.

Gwen stroked her hair gently and said in a soothing voice, "It's okay. You're going to be alright."

The girl seemed unconvinced. Her eyes darting around wildly, trying to figure out where she was. Gwen moved her other
hand to the opposite side of the girl's face, attempting to get her attention,
"My name is Gwen. I'm here to help you. Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?"

The girl attempted to say something, but began to cough instead. As soon as she had stopped, she focused on Gwen for
the first time, observing her with eyes that Gwen thought seemed much too old for the young girl. When she finally spoke, her
voice was surprisingly controlled and forceful.

"My name is Rose...Rose Tyler." And then she passed out.

The first thing Rose felt when she regained consciousness was the warmth. Someone was gently holding her right hand.
She hadn't felt this safe since...well, for a long time. She slowly opened her eyes to see a dark-haired woman she recognized.
But that was impossible. The woman, who had previously gazing off pensievely into the distance, turned her head and
smiled at Rose when she realized that she was awake.

"Hey," the woman said, speaking in a soft, even tone. "How are you feeling?"

Rose furrowed her brow in recognition, "Gwenyth?" she asked apprehensively.

The woman laughed lightly, "Well, that's what my parents call me when they're particularly fed up with me, but if that means
you're remembering and haven't suffered any brain damage, then it is fine by me."

She spoke with a Welsh accent and she had the same knowing eyes, but it seemed highly improbable. This woman was
much to modern and free-spirited to be the Gwenyth Rose had met so long ago, and this was a different universe.

It was then that everything came back to her. Waking up on that dark, wet street with Gwen hovering above her. She had no
idea how she had gotten there. She remembered being at work. At Torchwood.

Gwen's big eyes looked at her with concern, "It was a little early for that brain damage comment, yeah? You can just forget
I said that." Gwen's eyes twinkled kindly and Rose immediately decided that she liked this woman just as much as her Gwenyth.

"Sorry," Rose began, trying to lift herself up to a sitting position. "I'm feeling kind of foggy." She attempted
a smile, but she raised her hand quickly to her face when her bruised cheek cried out in protest.

"You should take it easy," Gwen advised. "You're pretty bruised up."

Gwen seemed as if she wanted to ask Rose more, but at that moment three other people chose to walk down the stairs to what
Rose supposed must have been an infirmary of sorts. The first one, a skinny man with dark eyes and a thin smile spoke first,
"I see Sleeping Beauty's awake. You gave us a right good scare. You've been out for two days."

Rose frowned slightly at this. She didn't like to lose time like that, especially when she was among strangers. She was just lucky
that this strangers appeared to be the friendly kind.

Gwen stood up, realizing Rose's discomfort and assuming it had something to do with the new people in the room,
"Rose, these are the other people who found you." She went to stand by them. "This is Owen," she said, putting her hand
on the first man's shoulder. "Tosh," she moved to a petite Asian woman with glasses and kind eyes. "And Ianto," moving to a young,
good-looking man with a haunted look about him, the look of loss. Rose supposed she recognized it so well because she saw
it staring back at her whenever she looked in the mirror.

"Hello. Nice to meet you all," Rose said, with a large smile, "but I really should be going." She moved to sit up on the hospital cot."People will be worried."

The three exchanged a look before Gwen stepped forward, "You're in no condition to leave. You've been unconscious for 48 hours.
You nearly died," she put a hand gently on her shoulder, "And we would like you to answer some questions."

Rose's eyes narrowed slightly. She shrugged Gwen's hand off her shoulder. "You'd like me to answer some questions or you need
me to answer some questions," Rose questioned with an accusatory tone in her voice, taking all of them by surprise.

They all were a bit shocked that the seemingly innocuous girl had seen right through them, but Gwen continued anyway.
"We just want to figure out what happened to you so that it doesn't happen to anyone else," she managed.

Ianto stepped forward to join Gwen. "According to your records, you died during the Battle of Canary Wharf," his
smooth voice caught a bit at the name. He regained his composure and continued, "That was almost 9 months ago."

Rose's mind was racing. The Battle of Canary Wharf? Records of her death? That would mean...she was in her universe. Her
eyes filled with tears at the mere possibility of it all. Was she home? It seemed to good to be true. And too much to think about at the
moment. She turned her attention back to the people standing around her.

Gwen, mistaking Rose's emotional reaction to ignorance of her "death", said sympathetically to Rose, "Do you remember what
happened after Canary Wharf? Do you remember how you got to Cardiff?"

Rose's mind was still reeling, but she managed to look impressively fierce when she addressed them, "Before I answer any of
your questions, I would like you to answer some of mine." She waited for any protests and upon receiving none, continued,
"First of all, where am I?"

Owen answered quickly, looking somewhat relieved that Rose was handling things rationally, rather than emotionally, "You're
at a place called Torchwood. It's an underground facility in Cardiff." He glanced around at the others before continuing,
"We're a sort of...government agency."

Surprise and recognition flickered across Rose's face before she managed to hide them. Generally speaking, she had never
been very good at hiding her emotions. Government agency, huh? Wasn't exactly the best description, but still Owen was revealing
more to her than she was to them. She supposed they were planning on just giving her a Retcon and making her forget everything
afterwards anyway, so what was the use in lying?

Owen took Rose's silence for acceptance, "Any other questions to ask us?"
Rose searched for questions she wanted to ask them, but realized that most of the questions she had could not be answered by
the people standing before her. She couldn't exactly ask if she was in the "right" universe? She doubted that would go over well.
"Umm...no. I'm good." Rose exclaimed dramatically, fueled by the feeling of guaranteed danger and adventure that she seemed to thrive on.
"Ask away," she said brightly.

Surprised by her apparent candor and sudden enthusiasm, the questions that the Torchwood team had seemed so eager to ask
were slow coming.

Tosh stepped forward and spoke for the first time, "What do you remember after the Battle of Canary Wharf?" She seemed
genuinely interested in what Rose had to say.

Rose's eyes clouded with memories and pain briefly before she settled on a reply to the question. She couldn't tell them what
she really remembered. Her only experience with the Torchwood in this universe had been significantly negative. Even before
the whole thing turned apocalyptic, they had threatened to shoot her. She wasn't going to risk becoming a lab rat to be poked
and prodded, or worse yet, a prisoner to be forgotten in a cage somewhere until she was old and grey.

"I don't remember very much," she thought of Canary Wharf and called on the fear she had felt that day to make her lie convincing,
"There were Cybermen everywhere. I just wanted to escape. The next thing I remember is waking up in that street with you lot." It wasn't hard
to convey genuine emotion, all the feelings she had of that day were still fresh in her mind, even months afterwards. She doubted
she could ever forget the worst day of her life.

Gwen saw her pain and sat down next to her on the cot, "Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything at all?"Rose looked into Gwen's eyes and almost considered telling her everything. "No." It was unsettling how Rose had become so good at lying. She supposed it had come from lying everyday to Pete, to Mickey, to her mother. Pretending that she way happy, or atleast that she was okay. "I'm sorry I can't be more help."

Gwen ran her hand comfortingly up and down Rose's back, "That's okay." She shared a glance with the others, "Why don't you get some
more rest."

"No." Rose stood up slowly in protest. "I've rested enough. I want to help."

The other shared another significant glance before Gwen stood up next to Rose, "Of course. Why don't you change into these clothes
I found for you and get washed up. There's a washroom right over there. And then you can come up to get better acquainted."

Gwen smiled at her and Rose smiled back. Finally, she would be able to start putting together the jigsaw puzzle that was her life.

While Rose was busy changing, the Torchwood crew was busy discussing the series of events that had occurred over the past couple of days.
"
"Well, I think she knows more than she's letting on," Owen said exasperatingly, as soon as they reached the consoles and were safely
out of Rose's ear reach.

Gwen glared at him, "You would, Owen. You don't trust anyone. She's just a scared girl who wants to figure out what happened to her."

"You'll buy any sob story that's thrown at you, won't you. Gwen Cooper - protector of the innocent. When are you going to stop

assuming everyone is a victim?" Owen asked frustratingly.

Gwen looked Owen in the eye, "The day you stop assuming everyone has alterior motives."

Tosh stepped in between the glaring Gwen and Owen, "We need to regroup here and start acting like a team. I'm sick of
everyone has been worrying about their own problems and not the problems we are supposed to be here to solve."
Realizing thatshe had everyone's attention, Tosh continued, "Now, we have a girl down there, whether she's telling us the truth or not, who is our
best lead in figuring out how to capture this beast. She doesn't remember anything now, but that doesn't mean she won't eventually.
Let's give her some time. Now, what are we going to do to solve this problem?"

Owen, Gwen, and Ianto were all looking at Tosh, somewhat surprised at her audacity and command.

Owen pulled on his lab coat and started for the infirmary. "I'm going to go check those fibers we got off of Rose's jacket," he said
without a backward glance their way.

Ianto moved to the exit, "I think I'll go get some Chinese food before I get started on checking those CCTV cameras from last night.
I think everyone could use a little food right about now."

Gwen smiled at Tosh, "That was really great, Tosh. I think it was just what we needed." Gwen stole a glance at Jack's office before
continuing, "Jack would be proud." This earned a smile from Tosh.

Gwen continued, "I'm going to go through the files and see if I can
find anything about Rose. Anything that may tell us why she was chosen as a victim for this attack."

Rose splashed water on her face. Her head ached and she couldn't tell if it was from the physical abuse she had endured for the
past couple of days or the fact that she was potentially and impossibly back in her own universe. She looked at her reflection in
the mirror. Her face was thin, too thin. She hadn't noticed it before, even after the constant nagging of her mom. After Canary Wharf,
she seemed to have lost her appetite and she hadn't really cared what she looked like. If she were healthy. Now she did. What if
he didn't recognize her? What if he thought she had changed? What if she had changed?
She couldn't do this to herself. Rose had spent the past 9 months slowly losing all hope that she would never see the Doctor again.
She couldn't start to hope again. She didn't even know if she was in the right universe for sure and, even if she was, what were the
chances of the Doctor actually finding her? He didn't know she was here. He had probably already moved on. She was just another companion
to be put on a shelf and forgotten with all of the rest, only to be picked up and dusted off when the Doctor needed. Hope was the cruelest
of emotions.

Rose dried off her face with a towel and walked out the door, determined to figure out what exactly had happened to her.
Rose smiled to Owen as she walked by him. He was absorbed in work, as was everyone else she noticed as she ascended the stairs
to what seemed to be the main room. She moved to Tosh, who was closest to her and flashing her nicest smile asked, "What are you
working on?"

Tosh looked up, a bit flustered at the interruption. "The creature we're tracking seems to be linked to a very distinct weather pattern.
I'm writing a program to recognize this weather pattern in case it appears again, as well as cross-referencing the data we gathered
from the storm with storms in the past to attempt to identify if the creature has made any prior appearances," Tosh spewed off
passionately.

"You seem so dedicated to your work. All of you," Rose began, looking around at the others all furiously at work. "Do you always
have this much passion?"

Tosh smiled warmly, "I guess we all tend to let Torchwood become our life. A bad habit, I know, but it's hard not to. It's a little crazy,
but this place is like home and all these people are like family."

Rose smiled knowingly, though Tosh noted the smile did not seem to reach her haunted eyes, "I can understand that." She stared off
longingly into space, before snapping out of her trance and focusing on Tosh, "So, don't think I would be too good at the computer
program-writing stuff, but I would love to help with something."

"Why don't you go ask Gwen if she needs some help. She's trying to piece together why the creature would have wanted to take you."
Rose nodded and thanked Tosh before wandering over to Gwen's desk, a bit worried about what problematic questions may
arise with Gwen burying around in her past.

"Hi, Gwen." Rose said, smiling, "Tosh said I might be able to help you with - " Rose stopped distractedly, "Is that lo mein?" she
questioned aggressively, not taking her eyes off of the paper carton.
Gwen laughed, "Yeah. You can have it." She gestured to the stool next to her, "Sit."

Rose reached for the food slowly while lowering herself onto the stool, "Are you sure?"

"Of course. It makes my keyboard all greasy anyway," Gwen said, waving her hands over the keys in front of her. "I'm sorry we
didn't offer anything to you sooner. You must be starving, poor thing."

Rose dove into the lo mein hungrily, "Only a little bit," she managed after her first gigantic bite. "It feels as if I haven't eaten for
ages."

Gwen smiled at her, "You have been a bit out of it for the past couple of days."

Rose finished another bite, muttering under her breath, "You have no idea."

Gwen looked up from her work, "What was that?"

"I was wondering what I could do to help," Rose asked, changing the subject quickly.

Gwen turned in her stool to face Rose, "I do have a few more questions for you, if you're up to it."

Here it comes, Rose thought. Well, she had to answer these questions sooner or later and would be better to atleast appear like
she had nothing to hide when she did so. "Shoot."

"Well, first of all," Gwen began, "I'm a little unclear as to what you were doing in the months prior to your alleged death. You worked
at a shop in London up until a year and a half before and then you just sort of drop off the planet. No job. No movie rentals. Nothing."
Rose smiled in what she hoped was a charming and innocent way. "It's a little embarrassing really. After the shop you're working
at gets blown up right in front of you, it's a bit of a put off from the work force. From the world, really." She laughed slightly, "I guess
I became a bit of a recluse. Still living at home, so I didn't really have to pay for groceries or nothing like that. Sure, my mother nagged
me a bit, but she was just happy I was safe and not growing up too quickly."

Gwen wasn't sure if she believed this story. Rose did not seem like the type to give up on life or to laze about her mother's flat, nor did
it seem likely that the girl could live in London for year and a half without so much as an overdue library book, but she didn't want to
push it. Not so soon after she had met Rose and before she was given the chance to earn her trust.

"Rose, there's something else I need to tell you." Gwen's face got deathly serious. Rose throat tightened a bit. Did they know more
about her than they let on? "I looked up your mother yesterday while you were still sleeping. She died that day, too. When the
Cyberman attacked." Gwen looked at Rose sadly, waiting for her to react.

Rose put down the Chinese food slowly and looked down at the floor. It would make sense that her mother was assumed dead that
day too. She had never really thought about it before. She had to lie to Gwen. Again. Rose looked back up, her eyes filled with
tears, trying to remember how she had felt when the Jackie Tyler in the other universe had been turned into a Cyberman. "I know.
I remember. The Cybermen were everywhere. My mother always thought she could win an argument with anybody. I guess she didn't
realize that the Cybermen aren't people."

Gwen pulled Rose into a hug, "I'm so sorry, Rose." Rose felt guilt like she never had in her life. Lying to Gwen when all she wanted to do
was help. But, as Gwen pulled her tighter, Rose felt a little less guilty as she thought of her mom, her Jackie Tyler, off in that other universe
where she may never see her again and real tears began to run down her cheeks.

It was hours later before the team decided to take a break from their work. They gathered together in the conference room to discuss
any progress they had made on the case.

"Tell me again why we needed pizza when we ordered Chinese food just two hours ago?" Gwen asked Ianto teasingly.

Ianto put the two pizza boxes in the middle of the table, "You'll have to ask the man with the incredibly picky taste."

Owen grabbed a piece of cheese from the top box, "I just said that the Chinese food at that place tastes like uncooked worms. I didn't
say you had to order a whole other meal," Owen said defensively.

Rose reached across the table from her seat at the end to grab a piece, "I'm not complaining."

"Yes," Owen said, "Our little patient seems to be doing much better. What can we thank for the fast recovery?"

"Uncooked worms," Rose said devishly through a bite of her pizza. "So, what do you got for me?" she continued, gesturing to the
papers of findings found in front of the various Torchwood members.

Owen started first, "From what I can tell the fibers found on Rose are from a material I've never seen before. The fabric has some
traces of cotton in it, but other than that, none of the components could be identified by the computer."

"So what you're saying is that it's from the future?" Gwen asked.

Owen pointed at Gwen, "Now that's what I thought, until I analyzed the final fiber we found. It turns out it is a fabric found generally in
the clothing of the ancient Egyptians."

Ianto looked around at everyone seated at the table, "So what exactly does that mean?"

They all remained silent, until Rose, staring off into the distance mumbled to no one in particular, "It means it's a time traveler." Everyone
looked surprisedly at her.

"Like the Doctor." Tosh stated.

Rose suddenly came alive, "What do you know about the Doctor?!" Rose demanded harshly, rushing over to Tosh and taking her by the shoulders.

Tosh, feeling rather threatened by Rose's rough tone and aggressive actions, managed to sputter out, "Only what the Torchwood document states:
an alien time traveler, knowledgable in all things extra-terrestrial, enemy to the empire."

"It's that kind of talk that got people killed at the London Torchwood!" Rose hurled accusingly. And with that, she stormed out, leaving the room in a state
of utter shock.

There was an uneasy silence before Owen spoke up,"Umm...are we going to talk about that?"

Gwen looked concernedly at the door, "Shouldn't someone go after her?"

"In case she escapes?" Owen asked.

"In case she's upset, you moron." Gwen said, moving to go.

Ianto put a hand up to stop her. I'll go after her. You stay here. Discuss." And with that, Ianto grabbed a pizza box and left the room in pursuit of
Rose, leaving the room in surprise for the second time in a matter of minutes.

Ianto found Rose sitting upstairs in Jack's office. This almost made him turn back. It had been hard to go in there ever since Jack
had disappeared. But the thought of Jack made him even more sure that he should try to help Rose. He pushed open the door slowly,
causing Rose to look up from the chair she was seated in behind Jack's desk.

He put the pizza box in the door ahead of him like a white flag, "I've brought a piece offering."

Rose neither smiled, nor threw him out, which Ianto took as an invitation to come in. He walked in, placed the pizza on the table and brought
a chair up to the otherside of the desk, sitting down in it.

Before Ianto had time to attempt to think of something comforting to say, Rose spoke. "I'm sorry I acted like that. I know you guys are trying to help."

"You should never feel sorry for showing people how you feel, " Ianto advised. "Just make sure you're not controlled by your emotions."

Rose sighed, "I've never been very good at that part."

There was a friendly silence before Ianto said quietly, "You lost someone, didn't you?"

Rose's eyes darted up at this, blurring instantly. "I know because I lost someone, too. That day in London. I see the same look in your eyes."

A single tear rolled down Rose's fair cheek. "What do you do? How do you get through it?" she asked, her voice small and pleading.

Ianto looked at her as if he could see right into her soul, "You hurt. Because there is nothing else you can do. Because...the only thing worse than
hurting, is not hurting. Because that means you have forgotten."