Chapter two. Dr Who and Torchwood are not mine, but the writing sure as hell is.

"Oh, that's obscene!" the Doctor exclaimed, gaping at the severed hand in the preservative jar.

"Jack's here!" a female voice announced from another room. "Ianto, see who he brought with him."

"Do they know about this thing?" the Doctor asked quickly.

Jack shook his head. "Nah. It's how I knew you were coming, though. Handy. Ha! Get it?"

"Well… I won't say anything, then, but you and I are having a chat later."

"Promise?" Jack asked, his face the picture of childish longing.

"Shut up."

A clean-cut man in a neat suit came in then. "Hello, Jack. Who's this?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said, offering a hand to Ianto. "An acquaintance of your leader's."

"The Doctor?"

"'Fraid so. That's me. You?"

"Ianto. Sort of management. The level head of the operation here."

"I don't doubt it," the Doctor said appreciatively. He remembered Jack saying he'd asked Ianto out. "You poor soul."

Jack grinned. "Now, don't go stealing Ianto's affections—I've worked hard for the ground I've gained."

Ianto shrugged off Jack's teasing with only slight awkwardness. "The others are all inside. We ordered pizza."

"Pizza," the Doctor said excitedly as they went to another part of the base, "Oh, it's been forever!"

"Guess you'll have to have some, then," said a dark-haired woman, the owner of the voice they had heard earlier. "I'm Gwen."

Has live-in boyfriend, slept with Owen, now shakily back with boyfriend, the Doctor's memory recited to him. Jack and his bloody relationship information. Wonder if he told me anything useful in there…

"Owen here," Owen supplied.

Had a fling with Gwen before Diane, the 50s pilot, now not in a confirmed relationship. Dammit, this has got to stop.

"And I'm Toshiko—Tosh."

Had a brief affair with an alien, once fancied Owen, fell for a guy in cryogenic freeze… "Nice to meet you all. I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said. Confound you, Jack, you told me just enough so I'd feel awkward around all of them.

Jack was smiling broadly. "There's the pizza—help yourself."

The Doctor followed this advice since it was a perfect excuse not to talk.

"So, you're the doctor Jack told us about?" Gwen asked, excitement coming through in her voice.

"Gwen's our liaison with the police, our profiler, and our anchor in reality," Jack told the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded and took a large bite of pizza, wondering what exactly Jack had told them about him.

"Owen's our doctor—not like you, of course, but he's great with the forceps."

"Why does that sound like you seriously dissed me?" Owen asked with a frown.

"Tosh is our tech genius. So, there you have it: the complete team. Considering they're all ordinary humans, it's amazing that I can run this operation with just the four of them. We five can accomplish about what you and I could do if we were a team." Jack flashed the Doctor a winning smile.

"Hey, we're still in the room, you know," Gwen protested.

"Much as I hate to side with Gwen," Owen put in, "I feel like you're selling us short. You gonna fire us then, and make your doctor friend your new partner?"

"Partner. That sounds nice."

The Doctor shook his head. "Don't worry; I'm only passing through. And I'm sure you're all quite capable."

"Yeah. Besides, firing you once was enough. Tosh," Jack called across the room, "would you show the Doctor what we've been working on?"

The Doctor took his pizza with him to where he could see Tosh's computer screens. He listened with interest as she explained their latest maneuvers. "It does sound dangerous, but also like you've got things well in hand here. Well done, all of you."

"Thanks for the congratulations," Ianto said slowly, "but do you even understand it all? Who are you?"

"Just the Doctor. Passing through, as I said. Jack and I were friends a long time ago. Far away. We run into each other every now and again is all."

"Goodness knows we all have our secrets," Gwen put in, "let's not grill our guest." She stood. "Doctor, how about you come along and we'll get some tea for everyone?"

"Delighted," the Doctor replied.

Jack eyed Gwen suspiciously as she passed him. "What are you up to?"

"Jack," she scolded, "I'm not going to steal your boyfriend."

"I'm not his—" the Doctor started, but Gwen tugged him along.

"Right, so," Gwen said as soon as they were out of the others' hearing, "I'm not going to ask where you came from or any of that, since I don't think you want us to know. But I do want to know: When did you meet Jack? And how?"

The Doctor smiled slightly. "Met him during the London blitz."

Gwen stared. "But… he was in Cardiff during the blitz. He and Tosh got there by accident…"

"He was in London, too—slightly different time. I followed him there with my friend Rose. He ended up traveling with us for a bit after that."

"Because he—I know it's not my business, but was he in love with you?"

"In those days, I think he fancied Rose more."

Gwen laughed. "So, d'you like him? I mean, are you an item? He seems a bit possessive."

"No, no. Just friends."

"What made you split up?"

"Kettle's boiling."

"Hmm? Oh…" Gwen set about brewing the tea. "So, did Jack leave you to start Torchwood back up?"

The Doctor was silent for a while. "Sort of," he murmured. "That's one way of looking at it, I s'pose."

Gwen hesitated. "Did I pry too much? I'm sorry."

"No," the Doctor said, brightening. "I'm not afraid to tell someone to mind their own business if needs be."

"Well then… there is one more thing I'm dying to know. This last time. When Jack disappeared. He was right here at the base and then suddenly he was gone. When he came back he said he'd found his doctor. What happened? He won't talk about it."

The Doctor went about fixing his tea to his taste, taking his time in answering. "Well… yes, he was with me. We traveled a bit… had a couple of adventures. One that nearly killed us all and doomed the world to slavery… but other than that. Nothing much."

Gwen blinked. "All that in a couple of days?"

"To us, of course, it was more like a year… at least. It gets hard to figure how much time you're actually spending when you're traveling through it, you know?"

"And how'd you get back here?"

He shrugged. "Alas, I think it's time to mind our own business. Shall we?"

"Nice to be on the receiving end for a change," Ianto told Gwen pointedly when she handed him his tea.

"Come into my office for a minute," Jack invited the Doctor.

The Doctor scanned the others' faces. They all looked interested, but it didn't seem like going to Jack's office was a euphemism for anything dangerous, so he accepted the invitation.

"They're a really good team, and I love working with them," Jack said as he shut them in, "but I have to admit I'd leave them in a heartbeat if you asked me to join you."

"Guess I'd best make it clear that you can't, then. Because what you're doing here is important. It's good work, Jack. I'm impressed."

Jack sat back on his desk. "Thanks. I really want to kiss you now."

"Try, and I'll throw my tea in your face."

"Is that all? Sounds worth it."

"It's scalding."

"I've been through death several times. You think a little pain scares me?"

The Doctor stirred his tea slowly, smiling in spite of himself. "What does scare you, Jack?"

Jack sobered. He looked at the Doctor for a long time before answering. "Being alone," he said quietly. "If I were trapped somewhere, knowing that I'd be alone forever… I'd go completely mad." He got up and turned away, shuffling some papers around on the desk. "What about you? What are you afraid of?"

Sorry for the cliff hanger. :p Next chapter should be up soon.