Story: Brian's POV

The weeks after Justin left were rough on me. It wasn't like the time he took off with the fiddler, because, as I had imagined, that romance fizzled out and he came back to me. It wasn't like the other little fights that separated us at times over our five year history. This was different. He couldn't see why two people who had different goals should stay together. I couldn't tell him why.

I definitely felt the hole in my life when he left to get his own apartment /studio a few blocks away.

But then things started looking up. I beat Brandon in our little contest for stud of Liberty Avenue, scoring with my top ten. I could have topped him, but just seeing him submit his ass to me was enough. I let him off the hook for the final payoff. We both knew that I'd won.

Another positive thing in my life was that it'd been a year since my surgery and the doctor declared me cancer-free. I decided to grab life by the balls, so to speak, and move on with my life. I was planning on hitting the Australian Mardi Gras to celebrate.

Then things started turning … well, weird.

I was at my dance club, Babylon, signing for some shipments of liquor, when two people walked into the bar. One was a woman in her early thirties, of Asian descent. The other was a tall, dark man. He was one of the finest looking men I'd ever seen, wearing a military style coat with dress pants and suspenders. Who wears suspenders anymore? The two characters peaked my interest.

"May I help you?"

The man stuck out his hand, "My name is Captain Jack Harkness and this is Toshiko Sato. We're investigators. Are you the owner or manager …?"

"I'm Brian Kinney." I shook their hands. "I'm the owner. What are you investigating?"

Toshiko looked questioningly at Jack. She looked back at me. "We want to talk to you about some trouble at your club." British accent, interesting.

"There's always trouble here of one kind or another, but we keep it under control." I finished signing the sheet and proceeded to my office and motioned for them to follow. "What exactly do you mean by trouble?"

In my office I pointed them to the couch as I sat at my desk, awaiting an answer.

Jack looked at me intently. "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound very strange, but - bear with me."

"I've heard it all, believe me."

Toshiko shook her head. "Not like this."

Jack said, "We're from a special investigative unit from the U.K. called Torchwood. We investigate strange occurrences. Things like shifts in time."

I blinked. "You mean like drinking so much you black out and lose a couple of hours?"

He smiled. "No, this is a little bit more scientific. We have a sensor here that notes shifts in space and time and there have been some here at Babylon. We think it might be dangerous."

Toshiko handed the sensor to Jack and it made a beeping noise.

I stared at them for a second, and then I had a thought about the real reason they were there. "Look, if you guys are from a local conservative group trying to shut down the nasty gay bar, I'll have to give you high marks for originality, but I'm afraid you have to leave now." I stood up as if to usher them out.

Jack stood and faced me. "You don't understand. We're not some local committee. We're international. One might even say galactic."

"Uh-huh, Mr. Galaxy. And you don't have any problem with this being an establishment frequented by homosexuals?"

His intense look changed to a suggestive one. He quirked an eyebrow. "Trust me, I don't." My readings changed from this guy being a straight military man to a fellow fag.

"Trust me, he doesn't." His female companion huffed a laugh. "Neither do I."

"OK. So you're both just really early for gay pride, then?"

Jack held up the sensor, which was beeping with various tones. "This tells us that there's a rip in time that keeps happening here. If we don't figure out what's causing it, people could die." The severity in his voice made me think that either this guy was what he said he was or he was crazy and just believed that he was some galactic hero. I decided to see what his next move would be.

"What do you want from me?"

"We want to go around and do some readings for the next day or so and gather some data. We have an office in town and we'll analyze the readings. We hope to predict when the next shift is going to be. Sometimes we can see things happening ahead of time. Maybe we can give you notice so you can evacuate."

I studied him as he spoke. He seemed sincere and I had no problem with them nosing around. Besides, he was hot and I'd enjoy the scenery. "I guess that's OK. Here's my card with my cell number." I searched my desk. "And here's the cell number for my chief of security, Ken. He has it on him all the time when the place is open. Call only for an emergency, OK?"

Toshiko smiled and took the cards. Jack shook my hand. "Thanks, Mr. Kinney."

"Call me Brian."

"Brian. Thanks. Come on, Tosh. Let's go around the perimeter and work our way in."

They took off down the stairs from the office and disappeared. For the next two hours I got caught up on paperwork. Every now and then, I'd look downstairs and see them buzzing around holding up their sensor thing.

As I worked I kept thinking about Jack. He had these piercing eyes that wouldn't leave my thoughts. His chiseled good looks and tall, muscular figure had me fantasizing about him.

The club opened that night. My friend Lindsay showed up, having received a special night off from wife Melanie. We danced and I bought her a drink. She told me about the review of Justin's last show in Art Forum magazine. Having worked at a gallery, she knew how significant the review was. Linds had talked to him and tried to convince him that if he went to New York, he could make a go of it as an artist.

I remember when I thought I had a job in New York and Justin was torn up about my leaving him. Now even though we were no longer a couple, the thought of him going alone upset me.

Jack and Tosh came up to talk to me. He had removed the jacket and his shirt was unbuttoned enough to give me a better view of his chest. Hot. I introduced them to Lindsay as 'special investigators'. Jack and I danced while we talked. Linds paired off with Tosh. I could see them talking and laughing.

The hot bodies were plentiful that evening. Brandon was there and cruised a couple of guys. My friend Emmett was there, although we just nodded at each other.

Jack was getting the attention of a lot of men and I could tell that he was enjoying it. He eventually broke away and walked up to me as I leaned on the bar. "Oh, my God. So many men! They won't leave me alone."

"It's because you're hot."

He turned and flashed his pearly whites at me. He got a flirtatious look on his face. "You're not so bad, yourself, Brian."

"I'm top stud here, Jack. It's been recently proven. Scientifically, I might add." I toasted myself. "Buy you a drink?"

"Just a beer, thanks." We clinked our drinks and stood surveying the scene.

Tosh ran up to us with a panicked look on her face. "It's happening again. The alley."

She took off for the alley with Jack right behind her. I was curious about the two of them, so I followed. They burst through the fire door to the alley. By the time I got outside, Tosh was running towards Jack yelling "Get down!"

Jack saw me standing there, bewildered in the apparent insanity of the two of them. "Brian!" He tackled me like a football player and we both went down just as I heard a small explosion. He protected my body with his own.

I was on the ground wondering what the hell had just happened. Then I realized that he was on top of me, looking at me. "Are you OK, Brian?"

"What the fuck just happened?"

Tosh's feet appeared near our heads. "Time rift. It's closed now."

Jack smiled at me. "But you're OK?"

"Yeah, the hottest new guy at the bar just threw himself at me." I did not want to be in a submissive position for anyone, including him. I rolled us over so that I was on top of him. "I'm fantastic." I left him no doubt that I was attracted to him.

He raised one eyebrow again and spoke into my ear. "We'll continue this later, then."

As we got up and I pulled him to his feet, I asked. "So that … thing … came with a little bit of warning? It's possible to predict them, even if it's just a few seconds ahead?"

He said, "That's what these seem to be doing. Different rifts will have different effects, but that's what's happening this time around. I'm concerned for a bar packed with patrons to tell you the truth."

I nodded. "I'll tell the bouncers at the door that we're going to operate at less than capacity and to make sure the fire doors are open." I rubbed my head from where it'd bounced a little off of the pavement. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"That's a good idea." Tosh confirmed.

"You guys can continue to do your readings or whatever. I'll introduce you to our security staff before we open tomorrow at seven, so that they know what's going on. I'll just say there's a possibility of a gas explosion and that you're inspectors or some bullshit." I was not going to have anyone in a white suit haul me away because I started talking about time rifts or whateverthefuck these guys were talking about.

Will the events that Jack and Tosh fear cause problems for Liberty Avenue? What will happen with the sexual tension between Jack and Brian?