"You better have a bloody good reason for bloody wakin' me this bloody early in the bloody morning, Micks."

"If it makes you feel any better, it's a bloody reason," Mickey's tone held more irritation than amusement, but knowing him, Rose would bet good money it was the other way around.

"Course it is," she groaned before dragging in a deep breath. "Right, c'mon, out with it."

"Get your bags to the front door, the van is makin' its rounds-"

Rose shot up like a gun, now fully awake.

"I thought we were leaving later in the morning?"

"Yeah, well, there was another murder."

"When?"

"Few hours. Two or three, maybe.. Four at the most."

The line went silent and Mickey would've thought Rose had gone back to sleep, if her steady breathing was any indication, until she finally spoke up.

"Usual pick up order?"

"No worries, you're last. Per usual request," there was a hint of a laugh in Mickey's voice, and under different circumstances, Rose may have rolled her eyes and playfully told him to shut up.

"Good, I'll see you and the boys later. Bye, Mickey."

"See ya, Rose."

Shutting her phone off, Rose sighed and rubbed at her eyes before reaching over and switching her bedside lamp on.

"Boys," Rose greeted her team as she settled herself inside the Torchwood issued van.

"Girl," they responded in almost practiced unison.

"You know, one day, you'll greet me as 'lady.' Just you watch."

"Not until you greet us as 'men' again" Jake challenged.

"Boys, you lost that respect when you referred to me as 'woman' during my last time of the month when I emrightfully told you off for joking about a dead bloke," she finalized as she shifted around into a comfortable seating position. "So what's the update on the case?"

Drew cleared his throat before reading from the file Rose failed to notice that he had pulled from the pocket of the seat in front of him. At this point in the group's working relationship, this was their normal routine. One they, despite their jobs, settled into with ease. A few years back, Rose might have thought it almost sickening or disgraceful. Over time, Rose began questioning if her routine with the Doctor had been any better than her routine now. She found that, a little less than often, she told herself that it probably wasn't. But that was then and this, no more than four years after her three with the Doctor, this is now. And now, Rose Tyler, head of her own Torchwood field team, was headed out with said team to Broadchurch for their next assignment.

Friday morning in the tiny town of Broadchurch, there had been a discovered murder. The victim was a thirty-four-year-old man named Jude Wolmer. He had a blow to the head and the crime scene photos looked anything but pretty. "Pretty brutal, maybe," Jake had commented. According to his autopsy, which was completed on Saturday, his body also contained an unknown substance. Well. Unknown to common law enforcement. Which is exactly why Torchwood was added to the case. Sort of.

Down in Broadchurch was a 'sort of,' what he referred to himself as, 'psychic.' Rose Tyler had met psychics and this man, Steve Connelly, was no psychic. But he wasn't wrong, either. However, after the famous Danny Latimer case (that took place around the time Rose and her mother, Jackie, had first arrived, and so Rose had only heard of the case but did not know much about it, other than the basics of the story. She had never seen anything on the telly, and she had never read about it in the papers. But she knew about the case and she knew about Steve.) in the small Dorset town, news of some parts of the investigation that Steve had tried to get himself into, had reached the ears of Torchwood. Looking more into Steve's "unique gift," Torchwood added him to their payroll as a "as needed" consultant. During the time of Jude Wolmer's murder, he felt the need, or more, he was to believe, that Torchwood would be interested and so, Rose Tyler's own forensics expert for her team, Drew Graham, arrived on Sunday to investigate. Monday, Torchwood spoke with the police department of Broadchurch and they came to the agreement that Rose and the rest of her team were to be sent down to work side-by-side with their DI, Alec Hardy and their DS, Ellie Benson (previously Miller, since she had divorced her now imprisoned husband).

Torchwood also agreed to do look ups on the DI and DS to see if they would be likely to accommodate clearance papers for Rose's team to inform them on the possible alien crisis. This look up was common when working with law enforcement, and while officers were occasionally allowed clearance, more times than not, it wasn't handled well at first. Torchwood was required to bring along sedatives just in case. Rose also had her stun gun.

Drew had gone back to London that night to pack and he was to leave with the rest of the team by nine, at the latest, the next morning. But now it's half four on Tuesday morning and Drew was sat in the back of the Torchwood van, informing the rest of his team on what had interrupted all of them from trying to sleep.

Although unaware of the 'why' to the murder of Jude Wolmer and now Alfie Lamb, as well, as of a few hours ago (he was discovered in an empty lot at a far, mostly unoccupied, part of town, and was the reason the Torchwood team was on the road), Drew had discovered traces of alien substances in the body, home, and abandoned boat house Jude was found in. The autopsy said he must have died from the blow to the head, having bled out, late Thursday night. With the results from Drew's lab results, he might debate otherwise.

There's a reason the Leekodones have 'leek' in their name and that reason is because when they are in their natural form, they leak poison. Technically, for them, it's only sweat. But only to them and their few sister planets. Otherwise, their leaking sweat is deadly to all other species, or as far as Torchwood knows. But at least they have the poison in their data systems, otherwise they would have a harder time knowing what they're up against.

"Not like what we're up against isn't hard enough if they're pullin' us outta bed at this hour," Mickey murmured from the driver's seat. "I mean," his voice began to rise,"for all we know, it could be for nothin. I get a call from their DS sayin' there's another murder and they needed us down there to see if the 'unknown substance' is the same and then some growl in the background and the call just ended."

"That would be the DI. Right proper bastard, he is. Sorry she had to call you, I would have answered my phone but it still charging."

"Not a problem."

"I'm surprised Torchwood even gave you the case," Drew says, directing his attention to Rose.

Rose's brows furrow. "Why's that? You do realize I work with the ever so uncharming male gender just about every day, yeah?"

"I'm going to choose to ignore that. But Pete didn't talk to you?"

"No?" She stretches out the word. "Should he have?"

"Dunno. Probably. He didn't say anything when I went to pick up the clearance files."

"So they did get cleared, then?" Jake asks from the front.

"Yeah, but Rose, you really don't know?"

"Know what, Drew?" She can't tell if she sounds like she's groaning or pleading, but it feels like both as her agitation grows.

Drew stays quiet for a few moments as he considers the woman next to him, "You've heard of the Latimer case, right?"

"Yeah, and the DI and DS for this case were DI and DS for that case. It was the DS's husband if I remember correctly."

"Yeah. It was. Do you know what they look like?"

"You're gonna have to be a little more clear, Drew." It's too bloody early to be playing these games and Rose just wants the update to finish so she can try to get a good hour or two of sleep before they reach the hotel, which was reserved to house them at ten, but was called to have rooms waiting right away.

"You know how when you first told me about the Doctor and parallel worlds and how when you first came here, there was a parallel Mickey, Pete, and Jackie?"

"Yes, Drew. I know," she gives an exasperated sigh.

"And then you found other parallels like old friends of yours and Jackie's? Even your friend Jack? And even different types of aliens?"

Rose's face softens at the mention of the parallel of her old friend, but then she stills, her face shifting into an emotionless mask as she fears who or what could have Drew so concerned that he thinks even her own step-father might need to be involved.

Drew stares at Rose for a second, before pulling out another file. He looks down at it, breathing heavily through his nose as if he were unsure. "If Pete kills me for this, it's his fault, not mine. But just know, Rose.. emthis isn't him." With that said, he offers Rose the manilla folder. She takes it, noting the "Hardy, Alec DI" written on the small flap at the top.

Rose opens the folder and stares at the picture held to the small pile of papers that contains everything Rose Tyler and her team might need to know about Alec Hardy. She ignores it because she tells herself she'll listen to the boys review it aloud as they always do. Really, she knows she couldn't bring herself to read it herself for the life or death or her. Right now she doesn't care about the stupid pile of papers. All Rose Tyler cares about right now is that Drew is right. This is not him.

She's seen him with scruff, she's seen him with flat, fluffy hair. She's seen him gruff and snarky, disapproving and challenging, even. Rose Tyler's seen the Doctor with many different looks, but not this one. Never this one. Because this is not the Doctor. This is Alec Hardy, or Alec Hardarse, if the flaring nostrils, hard, dark, but young eyes, and what looks like a forcefully contained snarl are anything to go by. "Not much of a smiler then," she says. It's the only and last thing she says before handing Drew the file to read aloud to the team and shuts her eyes after to will herself to sleep until they get to bloody Broadchurch.