Hi Folks, on a roll again, hope you are enjoying this as much as I am. Let me know if you are and happy reading.

Lunch was a strained affair in the board room. Jack was sat at the opposite end of the table to normal, to be as far away from Jenny as possible. Owen had come in ten minutes late, which he did most days now that eating wasn't a pleasure, but watching everyone else was torture. Ianto had been distracted by the extra mouth to feed and hadn't got enough chopsticks and when he came back from the kitchen he had been forced to sit next to Jack, which today was a chore and the atmosphere was so leaden you would need a machete to cut through it. Luckily Tosh was surprisingly good at inane small talk, so had stopped it becoming even worse.

So now they knew that Jenny had been through medical school three times, it being easier to get fake documents before practicing, she had been married four times in 500 years, had lived in France, Germany, a castle on the Welsh Marches, didn't want to talk about what happens when a ship sinks under you and she liked cats. Liked cats so much that she used them as a primitive timing device for how long to hang around before people started noticing that you never took a day off sick, you never put on a pound and didn't age. Get a cat when you move in, when it dies you move on.

"That will be why you were asking about the shelter then?" was the first thing Ianto said in the whole meal.

She nodded "Ginger died about a month ago, ripe old age of 15, to be honest I was beginning to outstay my welcome, people were starting to get a bit suspicious."

"But I thought you came here for the rift?" asked Owen with his normal tact.

"Call it plan B, wait around till it opened. Not sure what I thought I was going to do for a job, getting documents is so difficult these days, perhaps I could just sit back and reap the rewards of past investments."

"Well that explains the dust in the box then." Said Tosh, "I did some tests I wasn't expecting cremated cat." she looked sheepish.

"Frightened it was exploding Fairy Dust?" said Jenny breaking into a smile for the first time. "Can you remember that incident with the Artidium candy at One Jack?" She first looked at Jack who only stared without stopping shovelling the rice in his mouth and then to the rest of the team who obviously didn't have a clue what she was on about. "Oh we had a few things fall through the rift in London long before they built a building high enough to house it, we used to have a patrol went round the docks just before dawn everyday. So one day they come in, such a laugh these two Oxford educated guys with plumy accents dressed as night watchmen giving it the Gor Bilemy Govnors and such like and they produce all these little boxes with different coloured balls in and cartoons all over the box. Well could the boffins decide what they were? Decided in the end they were some sort of sweet, so they fed a few off these balls to some rats and they seemed fine."

Jack looked up, he couldn't help himself he loved telling stories.

"I remember this one, so they tipped them all into a jar and were going to do some more tests because they figured that they had found another source of revenue, sweets from the sky."

"Till someone knocked the jar and mixed the layers of different colours and the chain reaction blew up half of the lab." Finished Jenny laughing so hard she was starting to snort.

"Turns out these things where the explosives and detonators sent through by the Artidium as a precursor to a full frontal attack, only they came through the rift here and turned out to be about the size of garden gnomes!"

Jenny recovered to tell the story, "They sent an advance party through the rift but had plotted the co-ordinates wrongly and should have been taking over a moon across the other side of the galaxy. I can remember them kicking at Mr Fulsomes knees as if it was his fault their map reading was rubbish demanding to be taken to see 'your leader'."

"Problem was Torchwood had as always rushed ahead with the money making scheme and had sold 'Space Dust' to a big sweet distributor and had to start making a fizzing candy from scratch in about six days." Said Jack expanding on every comment with the chopsticks in his hand.

"Mean while the Head Gnome got wind of this and wanted royalties. Whatever happened to the Artidium Jack, I was gone not long after – did they ever get the walled garden in Bournemouth I suggested?"

Jack placed the chopsticks on top of the foil carton and pushed his chair back, his mouth still half full with the last mouthful.

"They disappeared about the same time, never saw them again." He wiped his mouth on a napkin. "We need to talk when you are ready." He swept out of the room.

"Well that's one way to kill the conversation." Said Owen "Not a fan of Chinese?" he asked looking longingly at the carton that Jenny had pushed round the table without really making any mark on the content.

"Not very hungry, I feel really sick actually which is really strange for me, now I know what all my patients have been going on about."

"After what I gave you yesterday I'm not surprised, there aren't too many people up and running round within a week of getting them let alone the next day. Have a rest – doctors orders."

She gave Owen a mock salute and got up slowly, hanging onto the table for balance. She took a deep breath.

"Will he want me to go to his office?"

"I'll take you" said Ianto, pushing another half full tin away.

"God you lot really don't know when you are on to a good thing." He looked at Jenny again "Seriously take a rest, if not come and see me when you are done, I can't promise you Space Rocks but you would be surprised what other sweeties I have."

"Physician Heal thyself." Said Jenny with a smile as she followed Ianto.

Jack was messing about writing something on a whiteboard in the corner of his office, he didn't need to but he was trying to play a psychological game with her. Ianto knocked lightly and Jack turned round as if he had been disturbed he wanted this meeting to be quick, as if he was being interrupted.

"You haven't done much with the place, I could still find my way round here quite easily – not like most government buildings ripped out the original features in the 60s then spend millions putting them back in the 90s."

"We're beyond the government." Said Jack facing her but not going to sit down.

"Do we still bankroll the Government though?" she asked as Ianto bowed out, his coffee service obviously not required.

Jack sighed and moved closer to the desk, "There is no we and that information would be classified."

"I forgot I stopped working here the day they discovered that the 13 years of loyal service were from an untrustworthy alien, I became property instead, do you still own me then?"

Jack realised this couldn't be a quick brush off so he sat down and as an after thought motioned at the other chair. She twitched as she sat down and then scratched at her leg.

"Do you make these to be uncomfortable?" she asked of the overalls.

"I'll get Ianto to get you something more suitable, he has a good eye you know."

"I could tell." She said looking directly at him. The silence hung in the still air as both of them played the waiting game. Jack finally cracked.

"I think I have an apology to make." He said slowly tapping on the files, she looked down and then back at Jack.

"Who for Jack?"

"Well I suppose I am trying to say that what Torchwood did isn't what Torchwood is now." He said pushing the black bound book into the open.

"You can't speak for an institution Jack, you can't change the past, it happened – get over it, move on, I have."

"Well we can change the past but it isn't advisable." Said Jack flashing a smile, he was relaxing a bit as he realised it was going ok.

"Look to the future, it's all we have. I think someone mooted that as a mission statement once, till it was shot down in flames for being untrue, do you ever think they imagined that their meddling would get them all killed? Were you there Jack?"

Jack sat back then opened his desk drawer pulling out a bottle and two glasses, this could take a long time.

Down in the hub work was going on as normal, Gwen was rubber necking to see what she could see in Jacks office but it was difficult without making look obvious. Tosh was working on the algorithm again, until Ianto slipped her a note under her coffee mug. It was an efficient way of passing information that couldn't be traced even in this world of flash monitoring equipment. Put the mug down with the handle to the back of her desk and she knew to slide the mug forward till it was next to the keyboard where there was a white mouse mat, then add a pile of papers above it and a few minutes later sort the pile and make it look like a normal report. She had found out a lot of Owens movements like that plus the gossip she walked in half way through and no one thought she would be interested in.

Gwen gave up and started on the report for UNIT Jack had tasked her with just after Martha had left, it just seemed like work for work sake and her mind wandered to her impending nuptials. She started chatting to Tosh who didn't turn to look at her but carried on working and conversing at the same time, mark of a genius Owen had once commented when Gwen had challenged the fact no one was listening to her.

"So what do you think is happening up there?" asked Gwen generally.

"I don't know, you know Jack he will tell us if we need to know." Replied Tosh even though she was holding a pencil in her mouth.

"It's great this place, you would think that just five people working together for 12 hours a day, occasionally getting shot at, generally watching the world collapse round us would at least know a little about each other."

"Well you found out more about Jack in your first two days than I did in three years, and we still don't know that much, I mean think about it Captain John Hart mentioned a Time Agency but would he tell us anymore?" Secrecy was Toshs pet hobby horse, it even took her gaze away from the screen for a few seconds.

"Do you think we should take her out for a drink, you get to know her a bit more, see what else she remembers apart from exploding gnomes, might give us a clue."

"I don't think the Gnomes exploded, just their sweeties." Said Ianto appearing from no where. He held up a top and jeans for the ladies to approve of before giving them to Jenny.

"You have good taste Ianto, you should come and advise me on shoes for the wedding" said Gwen, Ianto pulled a face, hours sitting in a shop full of white dresses looking at pointy toes or open toes was not a good use of a Saturday, ties on the other hand…

"One of you will need to go out and get some underwear, trawling through racks of undergarments is not my style, what do you need so many different styles for anyway?"

"In my experience most of the styling is done to please men anyway." Said Tosh with the sort of edge to her voice that brooked no argument.

"Should have said Ianto – I would have had some serious fun with that task." Said Owen coming back into the Hub.

Both the girls just rolled their eyes and went back to work.

The conversation in the office had skirted round what had happened in Torchwoods past and been more about the different experiences they had gone through in an ever changing world.

"So you are telling me you have worked for Torchwood for 109 years? Did you never want to move on?" asked Jenny incredulously.

"Well I knew if I hung around long enough I would met the Doctor again, I mean I'd been here with him some time after they built the Millennium Centre and boy what fun that was not to run into myself, so I reasoned that the TARDIS would have to refuel sometime. I just didn't figure the next time would be the time I was here post millenium."

"So you have stayed in Cardiff, with the odd jaunt to fight a war for nearly 150 years, Jesus Jack what a waste."

"Well I feel comfortable here, people don't ask questions I could hide in the shadows and I never had to explain."

Jenny sat shaking her head, the glass of brandy hardly touched as Jack swigged back another glass.

"I would say life is passing you by Jack but it never will. Go out seize the day, live a little. Do all the stupid things that make life a little exciting – meet all the people out there and be amazed at what they can do, don't just sit in this bloody hole. The world will survive without you and we have class one evidence to support that fact." She said raising an eyebrow at the 51st century man.

Jack sat back and contemplated what she was suggesting and looked at the differences in their lives. She had tried to blend in and paid for it by constantly having to move on from people, he on the other hand let people move on from him. Either way the planet and its inhabitants had trouble dealing with them.

"You should give my life a try, you might like it I can always use another team member able to take a bullet with grace."

"Never look back, keep moving forward and Torchwood is so far back I can't even see it." She said going to stand up. Jack motioned for her to sit down, the more he thought about it the better it sounded.

"Look with our combined knowledge and skills we could turn this planet around, I changed all the bad stuff, I made it all in his image." He said sheepishly.

"Look Jack I'll think about it, as I said at lunch it is getting harder to just appear but I have someone waiting on me to see if we can do just that. If I am free to go of course."

Jack swigged back the last of the brandy in his glass and called for Ianto who arrived just a little too quickly with the clothes, she hurried off to change while Ianto cleared away the glasses Jack stared into space.

"Coffee" said Ianto, it was more of a statement than a question.

Jenny took half an hour with Owen before she announced she was leaving and Ianto presented her with her bag, not that it contained very much. Tosh had ceremonially presented the ashes of Tom, her last cat, and she had placed them in her bag before giving her a big hug. Gwen had just hollered at Jacks office.

"Jenny's going Jack and I am taking the Torchwood credit card to buy her some new clothes, call it compensation."

Jack nearly ran down the stairs before nonchalantly putting his hands in his pockets and leaning back.

"You got somewhere to stay tonight know a nice little hotel I can put you up in."

"If it is the same flea pit Torchwood used in the 50s I would rather sleep in a door way, many thanks all the same. Move onwards Jack, I'll be fine."

Jack looked a little sad and Gwen took the cue to go and find her coat.

"Now you know where we are again you can pop in for coffee, I'll be here and the offer still stands if things don't work out."

She reached up and pecked Jack on the cheek, and he hugged her for just a little longer than was socially polite, which didn't go unnoticed by Ianto.

Gwen came back just in time to save Iantos feelings and slipped her arm though Jennys.

"You said your good byes, ready to hit Cardiff with a platinum card?"

Jenny nodded and looked Jack in the eye.

"Have a good life Jack, who knows when our paths will cross again." Jack nodded and smiled.

"Gwen, make sure you come back with some shoes, I think it will cost less if you just buy them rather than waste time I'm paying for looking at them on the internet."

Gwen laughed as the lift started, Jenny had wanted one last overview before she left again and waved at the rest of the team as they watched her go. A blast from the past was good every now and then, it reminded you of the future that waited if you only wanted it.