DISCLAIMER: Not mine.
A/N: I don't speak the version of English spoken in the UK, but I will try my best.
"Good morning," Mickey whispered, turning onto his side to kiss Martha's forehead. She rolled over so she could kiss him properly on the lips and wrap her arms around him. "It's weird to have our own bed again, isn't it?"
"Just a little," Martha agreed, "So what are we supposed to do today, now that we don't have to chase rogue Sontarans?"
"You have Gwen's baby shower."
"I completely forgot," Martha sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I haven't even gotten her anything yet."
"You've got time; it's not until tonight, anyways. Did you have something else in mind for today?"
"Well," Martha sighed, running her fingers up his arm, "Maybe we could…"
There was a knock on the front door. Martha groaned and flopped against the pillows as Mickey pulled on a pair of pants and tucked a gun into the waistband. Martha got up, too, and grabbed her own gun, hiding in the closet with the door just open enough for her to see out of. He mouthed an 'I love you,' at her before throwing the door open.
A young girl with coffee colored skin stood on the other side. Her hair was done in braids like Martha's and she had a purple necklace around her neck.
"Are you Mickey Smith?"
"Depends on who's asking," Mickey said gruffly, his finger on the trigger.
"I'm Lois. Lois Habiba. I found your website, and I was wondering: Have you ever worked with the Torchwood Institute?"
"Torchwood?" Martha asked, pushing open the door, "How do you know about Torchwood?"
"I recorded the Cabinet meetings during the 456 invasion," Lois replied, "At the request of Gwen Cooper. I was wondering if you knew her and where I could find her."
"Why do you need to find Gwen?" Mickey asked.
"I want a job. Gwen said that she could give me one."
"Torchwood's over. Ianto's dead, Jack went away, and Gwen's about to have a baby."
"Then I want to rebuild it. I figured it was over, but the world needs Torchwood. The world needs people to protect it from everyone that tries to invade us."
Martha and Mickey shared a glance, and she knew that both of them wanted to say that that was the Doctor's job, but Lois wouldn't know who that was.
And she, like Gwen, would probably like to know where the hell the Doctor was when the 456 showed up, if it was his job. The Doctor was sometimes just too hard to explain, even for Torchwood operatives.
(It was all the time. The Doctor was hard to explain all the time.)
"You want to rebuild Torchwood?" Martha asked, sharing a glance with Mickey. Working for Torchwood, or for UNIT, or traveling with the Doctor meant signing up for a life of chaos and upheaval. Nothing would ever be the same for her, for anyone who rejoined.
"Yes. Yes, I do."
Gwen waddled into the kitchen, rubbing at her eyes. Being almost nine months pregnant meant no sleep, no matter how hard she tried. At least Rhys was sympathetic about it all.
"Good morning!" he chirped to her as she lowered herself onto one of the stools at the bar. She made a grunt-like noise in agreement and picked up the fork sitting next to the plate of eggs and sausage in front of her. "So, we've got the doctor's appointment at eleven, and this evening is your baby shower."
She practically groaned into her food.
It wasn't that she was upset about the fact that some of her friends were throwing her a baby shower. It was just almost upsetting that this was her life, that she was having a baby shower without Jack and Ianto and Owen and Tosh there to corrupt her child.
The phone started to ring and Rhys went over to it, but Gwen could see his frown as he stared at it.
"Rhys, who is it?"
"Mickey and Martha," he replied, and she was immediately wide awake, two hours of sleep be damned. She started to push herself out of the chair, but Rhys gave her a look that clearly meant 'Sit down and eat!' as he answered the phone, putting it on speaker so they both could hear. "There's a bit of a rift between us, isn't there?" he said into it, and Gwen grinned widely as he remembered the code that they had put in place with Martha and Mickey after their return from their honeymoon.
"Yes, there is," Martha replied, "It'll probably exist for all of space and time."
"Martha, it is so good to hear your voice," Gwen sighed, "Tell me about an alien, please, any one you want. Just make sure it's appropriate for Anwen's ears."
"I'm not here to talk aliens, as much as I want to. I actually have to talk to you about something a lot more important."
"Go on," Gwen replied, sharing a glance with Rhys.
"Do you remember a Lois Habiba?"
"Lois? What does she want?" Gwen asked in shock.
"The job you offered her eight months ago."