Chapter 1

Pete Tyler wandered between the market stalls, looking on in wonder at all the goods that were on sale. His wife Jackie, was with his ten year old son Tony, who was bartering with one of the traders over some item that had taken his eye, whilst his daughter Rose and her children were looking at toys on another stall, and his son-in-law John browsed a food stall.

It reminded Pete of the early days of Vitex, when he used to sell his health drink from a stall in Choumert Road market in Peckham. He smiled to himself as he remembered the banter he'd have with the customers.

"You've tried Vimto. You've tried Fanta. Hell, you've probably even been Tango'd. But I'm willing to bet your taste buds haven't been to heaven yet. 'Cos if they had, you wouldn't be standing there listening to me, you'd be snatching my arm off to get these four packs of Vitex for just one pound."

He would give them a thumbs up and a cheeky wink. "Yes, you heard right. Our special introductory offer, and you can trust me on this. Just one pound!"

Jackie's cousin, Mo would step forward. "Oi! Mate. Over here. I'll have two packs." She would then talk to the other mothers in the crowd. "I bought a pack yesterday, just to see if the kids would drink it, and they lapped it up. It's like the nectar of the gods."

With this apparent endorsement of Vitex, the people started finding pound coins to buy a four pack and try it themselves. And to be fair, Mo wasn't lying. Pete had got the taste just right.

In this market though, the trader his son was talking to was shorter than Tony, with pebbly blue skin and three tentacle-like features on his head, and when he looked up, he could see the pale disk of a planet his son-in-law John, had called Akhaten.

Tony was examining a pair of high tech looking Rayban sunglasses. 'So what are these buttons and the slider for?' he asked the Groske trader.

'I not know. Never got them working,' he told Tony. 'You take them to a workshop, maybe someone clever get them working.'

Tony looked over his shoulder at his brother-in-law, who was taking the lid off a jar and sticking his nose in it to sniff the contents. Tony smiled to himself and turned back to the trader. 'I know someone clever. How much do you want for them?'

'Four credits,' the little blue alien told him.

'Oi!' Jackie said. 'He's gotta pay someone to get 'em workin'. Call it two credits.'

The Groske scowled at her. 'Hmph. Call it three and we have a deal.'

'Deal,' Tony said, and handed over three of the coins that John had given him.

The coins came from the Torchwood warehouse, where they had sat for years in a seemingly unopenable container. During a stocktake, John had recognised the container as a captain's safe from a star freighter and had promptly opened it. When he told Rose that they were standard Galactic Credits, she quickly arranged a shopping trip for her family.

'So, is this what you two used to get up to when you were in your old universe?' Pete asked Rose and John.

She beamed a broad smile. 'Pretty much, yeah. I just love these alien markets.'

'Love findin' trouble more like,' Jackie said as she and Tony joined them.

'Oh come on Mum. We told you trouble was just the bits inbetween us doin' stuff like this,' Rose replied, and thought about the last time she was in this market in the old universe. 'D'ya remember that little trinket I bought for ya that was warm when the weather was dry and cold when it was wet? I bought that from here . . . sort of. What was that stuff it was made of?'

'Bazoollium alloy,' John told her.

'Yeah, that was it. What ever happened to that?'

Jackie remembered. 'It got left behind when the Cybermen and Daleks kicked off an' we got dragged into this universe.'

'Oh yeah,' Rose said with a wistful smile and a far away look in her eyes.

'Right, so, who wants to see the flying fish then?' said John, tactfully changing the subject.

'Oh yeah,' EJ, his six year old son said eagerly.

The TARDIS landed in a valley, surrounded by strange, arched rock formations, just as it had all those years ago in the other universe. The rising sun shone through the formations, casting interesting shadows across the valley. Everyone walked down the ramp and stepped through the doors.

Rose looked at the faces of her children and smiled as they looked on in wonder at the strange landscape and the sun low on the horizon. There was a low whooshing sound, as a large "Manta Ray" like animal slowly glided over their heads, followed by another, and then another. They performed a graceful, aerial ballet in front of them, and they just stood there in awe, side by side.

"How many more wonders are you goin' to show me?" she remembered asking the Doctor on that day.

"How long are you going to stay with me?" he'd asked her, and she'd naively told him "Forever."

"Then there's a whole lifetime of wonders out there just waiting for us," he'd said back then, and when he'd split himself into two and stayed with her in this universe, he'd been right.

'Wow!' Pete breathed as one of the large rays glided directly over head. He had his arm around Jackie's shoulder, and he looked down at her. 'How was she ever going to stay at home when he could give her all this?'

Jackie looked up at him, and he nodded over to Rose, who was kneeling between EJ and Juleshka with her arms around their shoulders, while John crouched down next to Jason in the pushchair.

'Yeah . . . I never understood it at the time, because all they ever seemed to do was bring trouble with 'em. But now . . . well, just look at it.'

Everyone stood quietly, enjoying the demonstration of aerial prowess until the creatures had finished feeding and flown away.

There was a gentle rattle of milk bottles from the milk float, as it hummed its way around the corner from Talbot Road, into Northumberland Place. It was a quarter to seven, on a chilly, Spring morning, and the dawn chorus was in full voice in the leafy, tree lined street.

The float came to a halt a few yards down the road, and the milkman jumped down and went to the back of the float to take the bottles out of the crate and put them into the six bottle carrier. He checked for traffic, and crossed over the road to deliver the weekly order to the Smiths.

'Mornin' Jim,' a woman's voice said from the intercom speaker, as he climbed the steps to the front door.

'Mornin' Donna. Just the usual is it this week?' He said as he picked up the empties.

'Yeah, that's lovely thanks.'

On the first floor, Donna-the-house gently beeped the alarm clock in the empty master bedroom, its purpose redundant. 'Don't know why I bother,' Donna said to the empty room.

The intended recipients of its function were in the steam filled shower cubicle in the en suite bathroom. Grunts of pleasure, groans of satisfaction, and the squeaking of a bare bottom on the glass cubicle competed with the alarm.

'Mmmmmm. I'd better get dried off and get my uniform on. Alice will be along soon to give me a lift in,' Rose said, as she gave her husband a passionate kiss.

'Yeah,' John squeaked as she uncoupled her strong, shapely legs from around his hips. 'And I'll have to get the kids ready for school.'

While they got ready to start their day, Rickey the cyber dog trotted into their eldest son's bedroom and clambered up onto his bed. He proceeded to snuffle in his ear, and lick his face.

'Okay, okay. Enough already. I'm awake,' the six year old Eyulf said, stroking his pet's head and scratching it's ear.

The mechanical pet wagged his tail in satisfaction, jumped off the bed, and trotted out of the door to find the next recipient of his friendly wake up call. He moved across the transdimensional landingof the "larger on the inside" house, and into the bedroom opposite.

The three year old Juleshka was asleep on her side, and Rickey stood on his hind legs with his front paws on the bed. He gently licked her cute, button nose, and she stirred as she wiped her damp nose. Her eyes flickered open, and a smile spread across her face as she saw the dog balancing in front of her, wagging its tail.

She grabbed his ears and kissed him on the nose. 'Morning Rickey.'

He panted excitedly, licked her nose again, and trotted out of the room. He was heading for the kitchen to announce that his programming was complete and his two charges were awake. The eighteen month old Jason, asleep in his cot, wasn't on his list of duties just yet.

'Woof!'

'Good lad Rickey,' Donna-The-Robot said, reaching into the bowl of batteries, and flipping one into the air. He caught it in his mouth and swallowed it, absorbing the energy and "pooing" the used battery when it had been drained.

'Good boy,' Rose said, as she sat at the breakfast bar in her smart, black, Torchwood uniform,eating her muesli. A few minutes later, she heard small footsteps coming down the stairs and along the hallway. A young, red headed girl entered the kitchen, the hair colour having been inherited from her grandfather.

She was wearing a grey pinafore dress, with a white polo shirt underneath, and a blue cardigan with the school crest embroidered on it. She had white socks on (one up, one down), and black shoes.

'Mornin' Sweetheart,' Rose said with a smile, as she helped her daughter up onto the stool and kissed her on the top of her head.

'Morning Mummy, morning Donna.'

Donna's visual interface smiled. 'Hello Juleshka. What would you like for breakfast?'

'Cheerios please,' she declared with enthusiasm.

As Donna-The-Robot prepared a bowl of Cheerios, they heard a set of hurried footsteps coming down the stairs.

'Morning,' Eyulf said as he breezed into the kitchen and jumped up onto a stool.

'Mornin' Son,' Rose said, as she turned down the collar of his polo shirt and tucked it into the neck of his blue, school sweatshirt. She ran her fingers through his unruly hair, trying to get it into some semblance of order, before kissing him on the head.

'And what would Eyulf like for breakfast this mornin'?' Donna asked.

'Can I have some Shreddies please Donna?'

'One bowl of Shreddies comin' right up.'

'And a bowl of warm Ready Brek for this one,' John said from the doorway, as he carried Jason into the kitchen.He was wearing his usual brown, pinstriped suit, and dipped Jason down to receive a kiss from Rose, before sitting him in his high chair at the end of the counter.

There was a gentle hush in the kitchen, as breakfasts were eaten. John and Rose chatted about their day ahead, whilst Eyulf and Juleshka discussed the latest episodes of their favourite television shows.

'Alice is here,' Donna announced suddenly.

'Ooh, let her in please Donna,' Rose said.

They heard the front door open and close, and the clip-clop of heels along the hallway. There was a chorus of greetings as Alice entered the kitchen, wearing a grey trouser suit, with a purple blouse.

'How's Lillie?' Rose asked her.

'Spoilt rotten,' Alice laughed. 'What, with her dad doting over her, and your mother not letting Helen the nanny get a look in . . .'

Lillie was the three month old daughter of Alice DiMaggio, Rose's best friend, and head of psychology at Torchwood, and Alistair McKenzie, the house manager at Tyler Mansion. John and Rose were amazed at the change in Alistair since Lillie had been born. He would go about his duties at the mansion, in his usual smart suit, with his daughter slung in front of him in a baby harness. It was fair to say that he was totally besotted with her and her mother.

Rose finished her mug of tea, licked her lips, puckered up, and gave John a snog. 'See ya later, lover boy,' she said with her tongue through the teeth smile.

'Even if I see you first,' he replied, stroking her hips.

She reached her purse off the counter, and rummaged inside to find her lipstick and mirror. She applied her lippy, and pursed her lips together. 'Right, I'm ready. Be good kids and I'll see you this afternoon.'

'Bye Mum. Bye Auntie Alice,' Eyulf and Juleshka called back.

'Ma-ma-ma-ma,' Jason said, slapping his hands on the tray of his high chair.

'Bye,' Rose and Alice said as they headed down the hallway to the front door.

John and Donna would now get the children ready for their day, before doing the school run, and dropping Jason off with Jackie at the mansion. John and Rose had suggested using the very good child care facilities at Torchwood, but Jackie wouldn't hear of it. She loved her grandchildren, including Lillie, who she had adopted as an unofficial grandchild, after Alistair and then Alice had become so close to her and Pete.

So, after having taken Eyulf and Juleshka to their school, John took Jason to Tyler Mansion, where he had a quick cup of tea with Jackie.

'Oh John, would you be a love and have a look at these goggles for Tony?' Jackie handed him a pair of futuristic, reflective Ray ban glasses.

'Ooh, these are high tech. Where did he get these from?' he asked.

'It was that asteroid market you took us to last week.'

'Ah, Tiaanamat,' he said, nodding his head.

'Yeah. The little alien guy said they were vision enhancing, but he'd need someone to look at 'em to get 'em to work.'

'Well, I've not seen anything like these before, but I'll have a look. I should be able to get them working.'

'Thanks Love.'

John finished his cup of tea, kissed his son on the head, went to his car, and let Delores the DeLorian drive him to the Isle of Dogs.

In the Special Operations Unit of Torchwood Tower, Rose was overseeing the first day training of one of the new recruits who was shadowing Gwen O'Toole on the Despatch Desk. She recalled how she herself had first sat at this desk and nervously spoken to agents that she hadn't known that well at the time (except for Mickey and Jake of course).

After the Despatch Desk, she had moved on the the Communications Hub, known by everyone as just "Comms". There, she had learnt to collate incoming information from phone calls, news feeds and satellite data, and feed it to the people who needed it. At the moment, Chrissie Anderson was putting the other "rookie" through her paces on Comms.

Every so often, the Watches would have a reorganisation as people moved on from Special Operations, or with a promotion changed their role. When Mickey Smith remained in the "old" universe, Jake Simmonds had paired up with Julia De Graff. And when Jack became Director of Torchwood, his partner Gwen O'Toole paired up with Craig Rimmer.

And the new recruits were needed of course, because Rose and John had left their Field Agent positions. She was now Shift Supervisor for Blue Watch, and her husband was Scientific Lead for Torchwood.

Chrissie's trainee was a feisty young Scottish girl with red hair called Amy Pond. She had come to Torchwood's attention when an escaped alien convict had hidden in her family home in a Gloucestershire village. John had taken a team to apprehend the convict, and Amy had shown she had the right stuff when she helped them trap the alien.

"A kissogram?" Andy had said in astonishment when John had told him about her. "You want me to interview a kissogram for the position of Field Agent?"

But there was something about Amy Pond that resonated with John. She reminded him of Rose when he had first met her, and he felt that she would have made a brilliant travelling companion in the TARDIS. "Humour me," John had told him.

So Andy did humour him and his astonishment turned to admiration as he interviewed her. She was smart, sassy and nobody's fool. She passed the physical and aptitude tests, and was offered a training position. Her fiancé Rory wasn't sure about her taking the job, or about moving to London from the sleepy Cotswold village. But when he was offered a job as a trauma nurse in the Torchwood hospital wing, he finally came around to the idea.

Rose's trainee on the other hand, was a whole different kettle of fish. Craig Owens had worked in a call centre in Colchester, with no aspirations of being a secret agent that investigated aliens. He had considered himself and ordinary bloke, who was overweight but kept fit by playing football. He'd had a friend Sophie, who was a girl, who he didn't think would want to be his girl-friend.

The fact that an alien could land on the roof of his flat and disguise itself as an upstairs flat had never occurred to him. And the idea that the emergency crash program could entice people into the ship and burn out their minds as it tried to use them to fly away, would never have crossed his mind. But when Torchwood turned up to investigate the disappearances, his whole world had turned upside down.

"Good work up there," John had told him, as he had declared his love for Sophie to stop them from wanting to fly away, which imploded the ship's emergency crash program. "You should think about a change of career . . . try applying to Torchwood."

"What?!" Craig had exclaimed. "No . . . Really . . ? No! It's mental . . . I mean, it's just plain weird!"

"So was being in love with a girl and not telling her," John retorted.

"I . . . I . . ." Craig had tried to thing of a response, but he couldn't.

Andy had laughed when John introduced Craig, but let him try out for the team while he was there. Craig's competitive spirit from his football had kicked in when Andy had laughed at him, and he was going to show him. And to be fair, he had given quite a good account of himself. He had passed the aptitude tests, but had failed on the fitness. He had been too overweight.

He had been on his hands and knees, gasping for breath when Andy had walked over to him at the end of the assault course. "I'm sorry son," Andy had said kindly. "It was a spirited effort, but I'm afraid it wasn't quite good enough."

Craig had tried to speak, but had then ejected the contents of his stomach over the floor. Andy had seen this in the SAS selection process, where soldiers pushed themselves so hard that it made them vomit. Maybe he had underestimated this young man.

"One month," Craig had gasped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What was that?" Andy had asked.

"Give me one month and let me try again. I'll nail this sucker."

Andy had a stern expression on his face, which had softened as a smile had formed in the corner of his lips. "Y'know kid, I think you just might . . . Okay. One month, back here, and show me if I'm right about you."

And so it was, after one month, a gym membership, and seven kilos of weight loss, Craig had returned. And although he hadn't "nailed the sucker", he had managed to finish the assault course in the designated time.

"Well, you did it son," Andy had told him. "What do you think of that?"

"I think I did the best that I could for now . . . but I'm gonna do it better," Craig had replied.

Andy had laughed and slapped him on the back, which had very nearly knocked him over. "Welcome to Torchwood."