'The doorbell is broken again…'

At least every sign shows this. Robert Adams, the leader of the Torchwood Institute's second base was thinking about this while he was running through Glasgow's streets, hunting for an alien.

'If it would work, then these monsters wouldn't rush onto us with the door.'

Adams' life consisted of days like these since he knew his mind. He was bored, very bored of the constant frisking, the continuous danger. Although he was sure that he wasn't alive before he joined Torchwood. To be honest, he was fed up with the Institute, especially with the London base which was responsible for the control. The Londoners were responsible for notifying them before a monster like this rushes into the Scottish capital but they didn't do it. They just sat home, sipping at their tea and categorise their collection of alien objects happily. The work always remained to the others.

"That's it, I see it!" Walter Drew's wine-favoured voice clang in the headphone. "It just got through the bridge."

"Which one?"

"The Victoria. It goes straight towards you." The tool creaked.

Adams clenched his teeth as the noise went into his auditory ducts. He almost couldn't stand tearing Drew's patchwork out of his ear. Walter was the specialist of the base, the handyman. He had an incredible sense for technological things, not to mention how adeptly he handled unearthly technologies. Adams, in the World War, saw mobile phone-flouted radios which were able to allow wireless connection. Compared to those, Drew's invention was light years ahead.

Although it was evening, lots of automobiles stampeded on the streets for those who sit in them get home sooner. And all of them will be witnesses. Adams wasn't glad about this but he already experienced that when they looked for those who appeared on alien hunting places didn't remember the events. As if their memories were erased.

And because of the alien chose one of the busiest streets for the parade, there will be lots of witnesses. Robert stopped on the footpath and stared to notice the alien. Yes, it comes on Gorbals Street, luckily on the pavement. Maybe it didn't want to generate unnecessary work for itself with throwing away the vehicles. It seemed intelligent.

Firstly he only saw its silhouette in the cars' and street lamps' light, but the creature slowly started to appear in its full form. It was squab but bigger by half than a human. Judging by the sparkling, armour-sheets covered its front, its back, its limbs, in point of fact, all of its body. On its head, the armour almost ran until its flat nose, its inquiring eyes probed the Scottish city's streets from under the armour's edges.

'As if a tortoise and a gorilla were put together.'

Then the creature noticed the man watching it.

Adams also saw the creature's change of direction. He started to retreat while taking his loyal pistol from his belt. This weapon serves him for a very long time, for almost twenty years. He was using it in the World War as well.

'Yes, the World War…'

He lived through one of the most decisive experience of his life in that bloody hell. All his life, he thought himself to be a good soldier but never a good leader. He was adept in carrying out orders, not in giving them. And so if he did query one of them, still carried that one out like the one he completely agreed with. And then he got to know the Doctor. Or rather, him as well.

The more relevant thing is that he met Captain Winters. He saw the thing in the American which makes a man a leader. How the Captain cared about his men, how he didn't send them to death just because the order said hat, opened Adams' eyes. And the first time in his life, the agent didn't fulfil an order. His suspicion proved right: the Doctor isn't injurious as Torchwood's founder warrant says. So he let the Time Lord go, didn't arrest him; and no one knows about this adventure except him and his partner, Astrid Gresham.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed as a grey Aston Martin flew towards him, tooting wildly. He jumped away from the falling car which clashed into the ground with its nose, the first bumper extruded up to the windscreen. The vehicle landed on its roof and its driver immediately tripped himself to sneak out of the wreckage somehow. But Robert wasn't interested in this because the alien went towards him, throwing the cars away from its path. Surprisingly strong.

"Is the trap ready?" he asked.

"Of course, Commander!" the reply came.

"I'm heading that way!" He changed frequency. "Walter, connect me to the base!" Following a quiet click, he shouted into his microphone. "Quentin, can you hear me?"

"…you, Boss!"

"Are you sure?"

"…red perc…" The signal crackled again. "But it's better now,"

"How is Astrid?" Adams didn't try to coerce the worry in his voice.

"She's a strong woman, she sticks it!"

"Don't beguile me, Quent, tell me the truth!"

But he didn't hear the answer; the alien arrived in front of him. It smote towards him with its clawed paw; Adams could barely bend but one of the claws stuck into the earphone's string which connected it to the battery and took them with it. Almost along with Adams' ear.

Robert, while straightening up, pointed his pistol towards the creature and fired. The bluishly glittering missiles hit the alien on its chin but didn't finish it off. He didn't expect anything else. But it gave him enough time to get to the brown scooter which rested in one of the alleys. He jumped onto the saddle, ignited and opened out the throttle. The creature noticed the ear-splitting roaring and the cloud of smoke. As he hoped, the enraged alien followed him. And he also hoped that if someone still walks this late, that person can jump away as well!

'I hate to be the bait.'

He was speeding opposite the circulation, the lamp lights seemed to be lines. He tried to stay on the pavement for the creature not to scathe other cars. He tried to concentrate to the creature chasing him but his mind was all abroad. He was thinking about Astrid. Since he got to know her, loved her but he didn't admit this to her, not even himself. He didn't believe in love, not like that he slowly realised that the woman would love him back if he would admit his feelings. And Astrid almost had to die for them to find each other. He didn't want to believe that they were together for this much time, not to mention, next to this job. It's a miracle that they stayed alive so far but both of them were survivors. Torchwood 2's only permanent members.

But he could only trust Quentin Collins' proficiency now. The eccentric, sarcastic Irish doctor worked with them for four years as a medical officer and anatomist. He gave the 'doorbell' name to the London group because a same model was tied to his parents' house: didn't ring when it was needed.

A park appeared on the other side of the road. The trap was waiting them there. He saw a rarefaction in the line of cars so he turned to the right with the motor to cut through the avenue. A driver pushed the horn nervously as the motor sped away in front of him but changed reverse as he saw the alien as well. Not a car was harmed.

Adams glimpsed the armoured jeep parking in the middle of the park. The vehicle was from the Glasgow's plant but the huge weapon which adorned its roof and stared straight at him was from the third base. Just like its operator.

The alien came to Earth through Cardiff's space-time rift but the third base couldn't restrain the newcomer and it started towards Glasgow. The Cardiff team didn't know where it treads because they didn't have the equipment to follow the creature yet, they could only locate the destination. And that was in Glasgow, to be exact hung from Robert's side. This creature, the report from Cardiff named it Litt, lives with the Zhitter species on the same planet and their relation is malignant. This conflict is so old between them that these beasts learnt to sense the energy-imprints of their rivals. Which were still on the weapons.

However, the people on the third base realised this much later so only this weapon and its operator arrived in the last moments through that teleportation pad which is developed on the second base for two decades now. Dangerous for human life, it can only teleport objects safely. But the guy overtook that he comes through with it. And there wasn't time for setting up a trap outside the city.

He waved to the man who started to aim with the enormous firearm. But the motor suddenly came to a halt. The beast caught it from the back.

Adams swung his leg over the scooter and jumped off of it when the Litt lifted it. He started to run towards the jeep when the scooter, still spitting smoke, flew away above his head and crashed into the armoured vehicle's nose, flinging the car. The guy from Cardiff lost his balance; the weapon pointed at the ground.

Adams got to the car and climbed onto the bonnet. The Litt neared him from the direction of the boot. The guy from Cardiff stood up, grinning but the Litt's clawed palm locked onto his head and pulled him out through the open roof then floored him. The sound of breaking bones and vertebrae echoed in Adams' mind.

'This could hurt!'

Robert jumped to the weapon, knowing that he has a couple of seconds to realise how it works. The riffle moved easily on the sole, so he turned it towards the Litt. He found the button at last which, according to his theory, unchains the devastating force. He pushed it while gazing into the Litt's bloodshot eyes.

And he saw as the greenish ray coming out of the weapon pecked a hole between the creature's eyes. As the lifeless heavy weight dove onto the car, the vehicle shook. A wave of relief ran through Adams; he's through the easier part of the night.

He jumped from the car and stepped next to the guy from Cardiff.

The chap's long military coat fell onto his head, a Webley hung from his belt and his military boots sparkled brightly as if they were cleaned just now.

'He got stuck in the War.'

Adams crouched next to him, waiting to happen the thing he heard that much about. The body moved.

'Unbelievable.'

Adams reached to take the trench coat off the man's head who tried to push himself into a sitting position.

"Are you alright, Harkness?"

"Of course, never better," the man spoke, crunching his neck and still grinning. "But it hurts desperately!"

"That grin can't be wiped off your face, can it?"

"Try it!" Harkness stood up, dusted himself off like a popinjay and fixed the coat. "I'll drive."

Twenty minutes later Robert hurried over the base's corridors; he almost jumped out of the car on the way but left Harkness to park the vehicle. He ran past Walter's workbench but he wasn't interested in the chaos on it. He wasn't interested in anything now. Except Astrid.

He stopped opposite the operating theatre's door but didn't sit down. He was walking to and fro, letting off his nervousness. Then his eyes fell onto the mirror hanging from the wall. He never understood why Quentin held onto it. But he looked into it now and he was surprised by the face looking back at him.

He grew much older since he admitted his feeling to Astrid. More wrinkles, darker eyes and some grey hairs appeared in his hair. He was wearing newgate frill but the woman didn't mind it at all. He stroked his beard now while he quoted his last talk with Astrid.

'I will always love you.'

He told her this back then. This was what he confesses even today. His nervousness grew and grew until he heard he door's creak. Quentin's burning red hair appeared and the man stared at Adams through his thick-framed glasses.

"It's over," he said while he took the medical gloves off his hands.

Robert felt as his eyes fills up with tears. He put his hands in front of his face and slowly rubbed his face over with them.

'This can't be.'

Quentin stepped out of the way for Adams to step in. The medical tools lay on a carriage in there. A bloody apron was pushed on top of them. But he didn't care about any of it, just went forward. He pulled away the curtain which separated him from Astrid.

And there she was. She was lying peacefully on the hospital bed; unearthly calmness rushed over her face. How lovely she looked like this. Beautiful.

'This can't be. But it did happen!'

Astrid looked at him, her smile becoming even wider. She looked blissfully happy.

"Hi!" she whispered.

"Hi!" Robert leant close to her and kissed her forehead then her lips.

Robert's eyes slipped lower, down onto the swaddle held in the woman's arms. The cloth almost hid it but he caught a glimpse of the tiny, pink head and eyes closed for sleeping.

"This can't be!" he repeated the sentence which was rang in his thoughts for a hundred times. "It's so beautiful!"

"Yes, it is." Astrid gave a loving look to the baby. Their baby. "And it did happen!"

"Oh, it comes to my mind!" Quentin's grinning face appeared at the door. "It's a boy!"

Robert looked down at the infant. He never hoped that he can get a part in this happiness. The family is whole at last.

Astrid's modified cell structure always forestalled this so far but the providence was gracious to them at last.

Next to Quentin, Walter and Harkness also appeared. The guy held a tiny plush bear in his hand. He stepped to Robert, shook his hand and lay the teddy bear next to Astrid onto the bed.

"Drew wanted to give it to you but I couldn't leave this out," he explained. "May I?" He looked at Astrid.

"If you insist…" Robert shook his head waggishly.

Harkness kissed Astrid's face.

"Congratulations, mummy!" he spoke as he stepped back.

"Thank you!" Astrid blushed. Yes, she became a mother at last.

"I also congratulate you, Commander!" Harkness raised his hand to salute. "Let me be the last who calls you like this!"

"Thank you, Harkness!" Robert returned the salute. "I mean, Captain. I heard that you stick to it."

"It can be Jack for you," the guy grinned.

"Well, Robert, I will miss you!" Quentin stepped to him.

The medic was followed by Walter.

"It was a pleasure, Robert. It will be different without you. You two."

"I think so," Robert nodded. "Thank you, boys! Jump in sometimes!"

"You know, Robert, it doesn't happen to everyone," Jack spoke. "Thereupon, remember this!" He reached his hand for a handshake once again.

'I became a father. A father! Only Astrid, my son and me. No more Torchwood. Is there anything better? No. This is how the last day can end!'