Pete had finally given in and purchased a zeppelin. Not one for personal use, or even a corporate one for Vitex. This one was for Torchwood. Mickey had acquired a license to pilot one shortly after he and Jake came back from Paris. By this time, their underground sources had informed them of Torchwood and Pete's role in it.

He was the public face for Torchwood, and was the one who had to green light all crucial missions and projects. But Mickey was the one who was highly placed. He made most of the daily decisions. His life had been changed by the Doctor, and for the better. Breaking away from Rose, and finally accepting the demise of their romantic relationship had made him into a capable, confident man. No one on this Earth would ever believe he had once knelt on the ground, clutching at Rose's legs to prevent her from leaving him.

After a few days and a bit of research, Rose and Mickey had come to a nearly undeniable conclusion: Jonathan Harris was Jack's parallel counterpart. He had no records of existence beyond the last few years. Pete had gone to great pains to create a back story for Rose and produced DNA evidence to back it up. Jonathan Harris had nothing. No birth records, no parents, no family, and no past beyond the last five years. But Rose had seen photos of him wearing that RAF greatcoat that Captain Jack Harkness had always favored, and that decided it.

So with very little fanfare, Rose and Mickey took the Torchwood zeppelin to New York City. An address had been acquired, and they merely waited for him to leave his residence.

Rose's heart turned over to see that familiar face with that heartstopping grin and dimples and had to firmly remind herself that this man didn't know her. Wasn't one of the dearest people to her heart, and hadn't been partially responsible for the relationship that resulted in her son's conception.

It was mild weather for January, and Rose and Mickey were on foot. She took a deep breath and made her planned approach.

"Jack!" As she had dared to hope, the man stopped abruptly and turned around to see where the voice had come from.

Rose and Mickey walked towards him, Rose making eye contact with a smile.

He grinned back at her, but it wasn't the familiar one she was used to. "Who's asking, sweetheart?"

Rose shook her head and smiled. "Some things stay the same." She gestured to Mickey. "This is my friend Michael Smith and I'm Rose Tyler."

"Well, in that case, that's not my name. That's too bad," he said, as he looked them both up and down appreciatively, and then proceeded to walk off.

Mickey stepped forward, over five years of field training under his belt. "Hold it, mister. You're not Captain Jack Harkness?" His voice was stern with authority.

Jack turned around once again and this time his eyes were hard, cold. "I know who both of you are. You stay out of the media, but I know both of you are Torchwood." He looked at Rose, "Hell, lady, your father is Torchwood. How do you even know about that name?"

"Nothing to lose now, yeah? Might as well lay all my cards on the table," replied Rose. "First thing's first, though. We're not really what we appear to be. And we didn't come all this way to cause you any trouble. I know that you have no history on this planet except for the past few years. I know that you're not from this planet and you're not from this time. I also know that thing on your wrist that you've been trying to hide is a vortex manipulator. That means you were a Time Agent."

"Look, there is no Time Agency. Not anymore. And since you know so much, this vortex manipulator doesn't travel anymore. That's how I got stuck here."

Mickey crossed his arms. "Look, mate. Rose isn't lying. We don't want to hurt you, and we don't want to cause you any trouble. And we don't have any alien-hunting G-men around to take you against your will. Unless you count me," he said the last part with a broad smile.

Rose smacked Mickey on the arm. "Oi, I hunted aliens long before you ever did!"

"Okay," said Jack. "Let's say I believe you. You don't want to hurt me. What do you want?"

"Just to talk, Jack. That's it for now. Even though we are Torchwood, this fact-finding mission has nothing to do with anyone here. It has to do with something very personal, and there's a lot of secrets we're willing to trust you with if you can possibly help us."

"I'm probably crazy for suggesting it, but we can go back to my place. Then we'll talk about anything you two want to." His grin was punctuated by a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

Mickey rolled his eyes. "Some things never change, regardless of what universe you're in."

"I'd serve some hypervodka," offered Jack conversationally after they settled at his apartment, "but it hasn't been invented yet."

"That and it got your arse out of more than one tight spot," grinned Rose.

"How...how do you know that?"

"Good guess, I suppose. That and some things stay the same no matter what universe you're in."

"That's the second time the two of you have said that, 'what universe', as though there's more than one."

"That because there is, mate," replied Mickey with a smug smirk. "What did the Time Agency tell you about them?"

"Nothing more than theory."

"They're not theory, Jack. They're real," asserted Rose. "Just imagine there are worlds, parallel worlds. The same, and yet not. Imagine a world where Peter and Jackie Tyler were married and weren't rich at all. Imagine they had a daughter, but Pete was killed when she was just a baby." She raised an eyebrow at Jack and then continued. "Now imagine a world where Peter and Jackie Tyler are married. Pete makes his fortune, but they never have any children. Jackie's life is tragically cut short by the first Cybermen Invasion. Or so it seems, until she miraculously reappears three years later, complete with a grown daughter they thought had been stillborn." At Jack's incredulous stare, she added, "And I can prove it. Mickey and I are from a parallel universe. So is my Mum."

"I think you're crazy," replied Jack, shaking his head in disbelief, "but go ahead. Prove it."

Rose pulled a pair of old-fashioned 3-D glasses out of the pocket of her jacket. "Put these on, Captain. Go to your window and look at the people outside on the street. Then look at Mickey and me."

Jack strode over to the window and slipped on the glasses. "I don't see anything. This is nuts-". His words were cut off abruptly when he turned to look at Rose and Mickey. "What is that?"

"For lack of a better word, we call it Void Matter. You can't travel from one universe to another without crossing the Void. You aren't covered in it. But Rose and I are. Pete crossed over briefly and he is, too. So is Jackie."

"What do I have to do with any of this?"

"That's easy, Jack. Rose knows all of those things about you because we knew you in our universe. You're not one of a kind after all," smirked Mickey.

"I'm trying to get home. My son's father is on the other side of the Void. We're working on a dimension cannon, in the hopes that I can cross back to my universe. By the way, if you need a final piece of proof, I'm happy to offer it." She passed a photograph to the former Time Agent.

"That's parallel me?"

"That's parallel you."

"Who's the guy in leather?"

"My son's father," said Rose softly. "Being from the 51st century, the Jack I knew had a lot of scientific knowledge. We came in hopes you could help us with the dimension cannon."

"And you just told me your deepest secrets."

"Risk I was willing to take. What did happen to the Time Agency in this universe, anyway? You said it didn't exist anymore."

"Yeah, that's because I screwed them before they could screw me. And not in the fun way I'm usually referring to either." Jack winked at Rose cheekily. Mickey just huffed and rolled his eyes. "I found out that higher-ups were taking advantage of fixed points to funnel money into the Agency. So I brought them down."

Rose snorted. "You mean they were making self-cleaning cons?"

"That's right."

"Looks like I got it one," Rose muttered. "The Time Agency wiped two years of my friend's memories. I met him because he was trying to pull a con with a Chula ambulance. Subconsciously he must have known what they were doing and so that's why he was trying to use their methods to track them down."

Jack nodded in agreement. "That was their way of handling people who did things they shouldn't do, or in my case, found out things they shouldn't find out. I'm no hero, but I just didn't have the stomach for it. In the end, it was either me or them. I spent two years making sure all the rats went down with the ship. But all of this doesn't answer my big question. How did you guys wind up here in the first place?"

Mickey chuckled. "That's the best part. It's really Rose's story. I just tagged along for some of it." He looked at his friend fondly.

Rose leaned her head back against the back of the sofa. "This is gonna take awhile."

"I invited you in," replied Jack. "I'm probably even gonna go to jolly old England with you guys and see if I can help you. I'm tired of performing."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she laughed weakly. "It's about my son's father and how we met. For the first nineteen years of my life, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever. And then I met a man called the Doctor."

Three days later, Rose and Mickey landed on the tarmac at Torchwood, and Jack exited the zeppelin with them. It was late at night by the time they arrived back at the Tyler Estate. Pete and Jackie had a room waiting for Jack in the guest wing. No one noticed a single star in the night sky that winked out as though it never existed.