A/N: Set a year after the events of Strange Happenings. Our favorite team is back! ^_^ This is just an intro before the real story starts. It is highly recomended that you read Strange Happenings before reading this one, it will help explain Astra's character and Jack's relationship with her.

A Night Out

The team was gathered around a large table at a local bar. Jack was sitting with Ianto, his hand hiding under the table. The uncomfortable but pleased look on Ianto's face gave them all an idea of here Jack's hand was. Astra was sitting with Rhiley, the two having since gotten back together. His arm was wrapped protectively around her. Gwen was laughing about something with Rhys. They were waiting for Taye to show up. He apparently had something important to tell them.

Smeone came up behind them, "How about a dinking competition?"

Jack looked round, "John, what are you doing here?"

John pulled a chair from the table next to them and sat down with them, "You all go to the pub and you don't invite me?"

Astra laughed, "Seriously John, what are you doing here?"

"What's a party without me? Now, how about that drinking contest?"

Jack shook his head and everyone but John, Rhiley and Astra looked confused. Jack never turned down a drinking contest. Never. He looked at his team, "Don't look at me like that! I am never, ever taking that woman on in a drinking contest and you can't make me!" He said pointing to Astra.

John and Rhiley laughed as Astra just smiled, "Scared of losing Jack?"

"Scared? Nah! Positive that I'll lose? Yeah!"

"I remember the last drinking contest you two had!" Rhiley started. Jack shot a glare towards him, but it didn't stop him, "I don't work for you Jack, you can't stop me! Anyway, they had about, ooh, how many hyper vodkas?"

"He had four, dropped the fifth," Astra replied, "I believe I made it to six and after that, John chikened out of going next!"

John coughed, "I didn't want to exploit your already weakened state from six of them..." He said, trying to keep his tone flat, but failed miserably.

"Oh? I wasn't even tipsy!"

"How long ago was this?" Gwen asked.

"Depends who you ask," Jack said, "Me, it's been over a hundred years. Astra, John and Rhiley, what? Sixteen years?" They nodded in agreement.

"You lot are positively mad, you know that right?" Rhys asked, "You're discussing a drinking competition that happened in another place and time and you can't even decide how long it's been!"

Astra shrugged, "Well, if you want technicalities, then it hasn't even happened yet!" Rhys groaned as the others laughed.

"Did we miss something?" Taye asked them as he walked up to the table, his arm was wrapped around the waist of a young woman, with short brown hair, that fell just above her shoulders.

"Nothing at all, Taye," Ianto laughed, "That lot are just at it again with picking on each other."

Gwen looked at Astra who looked at the woman with Taye, "So..." Gwen started.

"Ah, yes," He looked at the woman beside him and smiled, "This is Kim." Astra, Gwen and Ianto looked intersted, remembering when Taye had told them about Kim. He had obviously taken Ianto's advice to heart because here he was with her again. Taye continues, "Kim, these are my team mates, Gwen, Astra, Ianto. My boss Jack, Gwen's husband Rhys, Astra's boyfriend Rhiley... and John... For some reason."

"Nice to meet you all!" Kim said as Taye found two extra chairs and placed them around the table.

"So that's a no on the drinking contest?" John asked.

"It's a no, John!" Jack repeated, earning himself a knowing smirk from Astra.

"Ok, what did we miss?" Taye asked.

"John wants a drinking contest, Jack doesnt because he's scared of Astra," Rhiley summed up.

Kim looked at Jack. He was a large handsome man, then she looked at Astra, she was a small petit, good looking woman, "He's scared of her? Umm..." She looked at Taye. They were both medics, who knew the likliness of who would win.

Taye shrugged, but Rhiley stepped in, "I was there. She can drink him under the table!"

"Yeah and taking her on was a ploy so he didn't have to pay!" John added, "She won so she had to pay, huh Jack?"

Jack leaned against Ianto, his face blushing slightly, "You figured that out huh?"

They nodded, "I believe you still owe me ninety-two credits!" Astra whispered to him.

Jack frowned, then smiled, "Next round is on me!" He stood up and moved away from the table. Those three were going to be the death of him, over and over. Ianto and Gwen were able to drag any old stories they wanted about young Jack out of Astra and Rhiley. Then John would come along an throw in the embarresing ones. He sighed and ordered a round of drinks for the table. At least conversation would be normal now. No stories of bad teleports or alien meetings. That was good.

He made his way back to the table with the tray of drinks and handed them out to the group, he smiled his charm smile at Kim, "Enchante!"

She blushed as she took her drink from him. Taye gave Jack a playful punch, "Watch it Captain!"

"You're a military man?" Kim asked, interested.

He nodded, "RAF."

"Very interesting," She replied.

Jack sat back down beside Ianto and Taye stood up before anyone could take a drink, "Umm, I'd like to make an announcement..."

All eyes turned to him, "Some of you know that Kim and I were an item, back when I was in the Corps. Well..." He looked down at his drink then at Kim, who smiled at him, "We got back together aout six months ago! And, I asked Kim to marry me today!"

They looked to Kim expetantly, who held up her hand. A ring occupied her ring finger, with a small diamond, so that she could still wear it at work, but it was decorated with small emeralds and saphires, "I said yes!"

Gwen, Ianto and Astra, who knew the story of the two, got up and hugged the happy couple.

"You're alright not knowing what we do?" Jack asked Kim, once they'd all sat down again.

She nodded, "I grew up in a military family Captain-"

"Please, Jack."

She nodded, "Jack, my father was always apart of missions he couldn't tell myself and my mother about and as long as Taye comes home to me at night, then we're fine."

"You've got yourself one fine woman there Taye," Jack said with a smile.

Rhiley was fingering something in his jacket. He'd meant to ask years ago, the day he'd lost her to be precise. But when he'd found her she'd been under attack and then she'd been hurt and scared. He never got the chance. He'd carried the ring with him always. Several times he'd needed money to get by, but he never once thought of pawning the ring. Never. She'd promised that she'd come back to him. Since meeting with her again, he hadn't had the nerve to ask. She was different from Romi. He knew that they were the same person, but her mannerisms were different, the things she liked were different. He watched her with the Torchwood group. She fitted in there and with Jack. They had something in common. They'd both live forever... He often woundered about the Doctor. The only other of her kind. She was the only female and he was the only male. Was he doing something wrong taking her away from him?

His thoughts were interupted by Astra though, "Dance with me!" She said, taking his hand and dragging him to the floor. He glanced back to the table, almost everyone had someone to dance with. Taye, with his fiance Kim. Jack with Ianto. Gwen with Rhys. The only one left alone was John, but if he knew John and he was pretty sure he did. He'd soon find some hot twins or something to dance with.

John watched Team Torchwood for a while. He didn't mind them anymore. And he rather regretted the incident when he'd first met Astra, how he'd pointed a gun at her. She'd taken care of him swiftly there and that was without remembering that she could fight. He'd been lucky, really. He looked away from them and spotted a pair of girls by the bar, "Oh my lucky day!" He said to himself, then went to sweep the twins off their feet and into his arms. As he started to walk away from the table though, something beeped. He paused but it beeped again. It was coming from Astra's jacket.

"Astra?" He called.

She looked to him, "Yeah John?"

"Something's beeping."

She groaned into Rhiley's shoulder, then pulled away from him, "I'll be right back," She said. She went to the table and grabbed her PDA. She groaned again.

Rhiley, who'd followed her looked at her confused, "What is it?"

"Rift activity," She muttered. She rounded up Jack, Ianto and Gwen. They decided to leave Taye with his new fiance for the evening. Gwen kissed Rhys quickly, apologising to him. She also asked him to tell Taye when he came back to the table. John went off on his seduce the twins mission and Rhiley hugged Astra close. She looked up at him and smiled. He knew that smile. It wasn't the same smile as he'd fallen in love with originally, but he had fallen in love with that smile over the past year. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Be careful," He whispered to her.

-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-

Jack jumped into the drivers seat of the SUV, Gwen beside him riding shotgun. Astra got in behind the computers and Ianto beside her. He took started the engine, "Directions Astra?"

"Hang on a minute!" She typed away at the computer in the back seat. Jack started to speak again, but she snapped at him, "Wait!" Gwen tried not to laugh as Jack shut his mouth again, alomst like a fish, "North Cardiff. I'm narrowing it down now."

Jack drove towards North Cardiff and as the drove Ianto asked, "Did anyone know that Taye got back together with Kim?"

"I never knew that he had been together with Kim," Jack said

"No, that's because you didn't come with us to the pub that night," Astra retorted, "And no Ianto, I didn't know, you Gwen?"

Gwen shook her head, "No. I mean, sure he's been happier recently, but I never figured he was dating Kim... Again..."

"What's the deal with Kim anyway?" Jack asked.

"They dated while he was in the Corps, but they broke it off when they got assigned to the same ship," Ianto explained.

"There's an exceptinon to the rule though," Jack started.

"She said no," Astra cut in.

"Oh..." Jack replied.

-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-

When they reached North Cardiff Jack didn't even have to ask where to go. The alien ship could be seen as plain as day. It was sitting there in plain sight. Astra and Jack groaned, "Sycorax!"

"What?" Gwen asked.

"Who?" Ianto seconded.

"Only the stupidest looking race in the universe!" Jack muttered.

"I don't think I've ever seen one..." Gwen said as Jack slowed the SUV.

"I might of seen a picture in the archives..." Ianto pondered.

Astra laughed, "Pictures don't do these things justice, Ianto."

"This thing is bloody big!" Gwen said, "How are we going to deal with it?"

"We won't," Jack said. He pointed to three army jeeps that were already surrounding the area, "UNIT will."

Astra scoffed and everyone looked at her, "What?" She asked.

"Don't like UNIT?" Jack asked.

"You could say that," She replied, eyeing the UNIT jeeps. The men with their red caps were searching the area already, "You know how Torchwood was the wayward group here?" Jack and Ianto nodded, "In my world it was UNIT. Torchwood fought UNIT. They were always doing something stupid..."

"Not like that here," Jack assured her, "Let them have it."