Esther gulped in the thankfully cool night air. She'd been choking in their little hideaway, the pressure of Torchwood and the Miracle all becoming too much for her. She stared up at the golden glow of a streetlight and watched it blur over into a glossy splodge as her eyes filled with tears. She missed her sister and nieces. She missed being at home and sitting at her desk at work. Most of all, she missed feeling like she was part of the busy world around her. Now she was segregated and cut off from it all. She was Torchwood, and she hated it.

Esther jumped as a warm hand sneaked its way around hers and she whisked around quickly, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders.

"Oh, it's you." She smiled and quickly brushed away the tears on her cheeks with her other hand. She sniffed softly before fresh tears spilled from her chocolatey brown eyes, each tear gratefully escaping from a body filled with fear.

"Oh sweetheart." Gwen whispered in her soothing Welsh accent and folded Esther into her arms stroking her soft hair with one hand and gripping her securely in the other. Esther held onto her thankfully, realising that this was the reassuring hug only a mother knew how to perform. "What's wrong?"

"I just miss the old world." Esther mumbled, blinking into Gwen's pretty hazel eyes. Gwen nodded, understanding completely. She should be at home with her husband and her daughter. The smells of baby powder and fresh lavender scented linen engulfing her in a daydream worthy haze. Her worries should be about what colours Anwen's walls should be painted and what to buy Rhys for his next birthday. Instead here she was once again, saving the world from the unknown. Not able to sit and panic with the rest of the human race because she was different. She had been chosen by Jack Harkness, and that was when everything changed.

"I just want to go home." Esther announced shakily.

"We need you here." Gwen said, touching her arm gingerly.

"I'm useless, I don't know what I'm doing. Everyone just…looks down on me."

"I don't." Gwen edged in closer to Esther, erasing the hindering gap from between them. She then stroked a curl from Esther's face and looped it around her ear. "You're smart, you're sweet and you're beautiful. Nowhere near useless." Gwen breathed, her wisps of Welsh accent tickling Esther's cheeks.

Both women stared soundlessly at one another for a few seconds before colliding in a skull-shattering kiss. Gwen tangled her hands in Esther's hair as Esther's hands found Gwen's hips and gripped her tight. Esther pulled away, rosy cheeked and breathless, staring incredulously at her friend. She paused before smiling happily.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Pleasure." grinned Gwen.

Both of them linked arms and walked back into their hideaway. They curled up into bed next to each other, their limbs in a tangled heap and Esther's face buried deep into Gwen's silky hair. Of course, when Jack found them this way the next morning, he didn't hesitate to take pictures.