Growing up, Alice Carter knew her family was different to her friends. She was only nine but Alice knew why her dad wasn't around too much. His work was really demanding. He would tell her that he fought aliens and monsters but she was too old to believe in such stupid stories. In the playground or at their houses Alice would try and not compare her home life to that of her three best friends but it was hard not to. Catherine's parents were married. Holly's dad talked to her every day. Admittedly Melanie's dad was a soldier and was based in Northern Ireland but even she saw him more than Alice saw her dad.
Once they were sitting on the sofa watching her favourite movie 'Alice in Wonderland' and singing along to the random songs in it. One of Alice's favourite scenes was when Alice met the cards who were painting the white roses red so the Queen of Hearts wouldn't cut their heads off. One time when her dad came to visit he brought a big bunch of white roses and some red paint and set it down on the kitchen table. Her mum fussed a bit but her dad would just smile and cover the wood with newspaper and they all sat painting the petals bright red. All too soon the smile would drop from her dad's face and he'd put his hand to his ear before heading to the door putting on his special blue coat and hugging Alice goodbye as his work yet again called him away. Alice would nod and tell him she loved him before hurrying up the stairs claiming the paint fumes stung her eyes.
Alice loved her dad. She really did. It just seemed to her that he loved his job more. They were more like friends instead of father and daughter and that's not what a nine year old girl needs. A nine year old girl needs a dad who is able to get rid of any spiders in her room. A nine year old girl needs a dad who goes to parent-teacher meetings at school. A nine year old girl needs a dad who's always there when she needs to talk to him. Her mother seemed to share those thoughts too. One night just a few weeks before her tenth birthday, Alice woke up to the sound of raised voices in the kitchen and crept down the stairs to listen in.
"Jack you can't keep doing this to Alice. Whenever they call something about Weevils or that dumb rift you can't get out of here fast enough. It always upsets Alice but you don't even care do you?" her mum was yelling.
"I do care. Lucia you know damn well what Torchwood is like and what happens if we don't do what we do. I'm doing this for Alice. Alice and every other kid on the planet!" her dad shouted back before storming out of the kitchen and out the door. Alice hurried back up the stairs, unable to get back to sleep. It was all real. The aliens, the rift, Torchwood; all of it was true. Alice was glad her mum stood up to her dad for her.
When she grew up and held her new-born son in her arms she knew she would be able to do the same for Steven. No matter what.