Author's note: Apologies for the delay in getting this section up. It just wasn't coming easily. I'm still not entirely sure I'm happy with it. But, it is what it is and every moment can't be action packed or our heroes would die off too quickly, neh? :-D

In actuality, it was mostly Chris who managed to get them past all the bureaucratic mess. It was amazing how reports going missing and servers crashing stymied investigations in the modern world. Gwen did handle the smoothing of some of the ruffled feathers but it was mostly minor. Between the two of them, they'd managed to keep both the RAF and UNIT from seizing Tava, Jack and Dani the moment they'd gotten home.

It took two days for Stephen and Jules to rid Evan of all traces of the drug that had ravaged him. The samples Dani had carried proved to be based upon Evan's own genetic structure as Jules' initial scans in the field had shown. It seemed to indicate that whoever it was behind the abduction, they'd had access to tissue samples at some point. Stephen set Chris to searching out any record of legitimate samples being taken at any point in the child's life. It might give them leads as to who had provided the tissue at least. By the end of the second day, Evan was perched on the sofa in Jack's office, scowling.

"Jack, what if they try again?" He chewed his lower lip nervously.

"Then we'll deal with it."

He sighed. "Will I be putting the artists I rent the studio spaces to in danger if I go back to the loft?"

"I honestly don't know, Evan. It's possible."

"Obviously these people had a way to track me…." He was beginning to wonder if this was why they'd been forced to move him so much as a child.

Jack nodded. "Chris looked over the data chips Dani got a hold of. There were notations that they were tracking you by a specific energy signature. Looking at the dated notes, whatever you were doing in the park that one night and before that down in the sewers… that's what they were tracking. After that, they had eyes on us."

The chiming, thought Evan. The star's song…. "So if I don't use the abilities, they shouldn't be able to track me?"

"That's the assumption."

Evan pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them. Great. At least he still had his telepathy. He contemplated the situation. If they'd been visually tracking then they probably did know where they lived. They might even know where the entrances to The Hub were. Alex had assured them that, aside from a certain someone with a TARDIS, The Hub wasn't at risk for uninvited guests. The star inside had said that "adjustments were being made" to ensure they would not be able to subdue them so easily with the substance they'd used. His brow furrowed more deeply. He had to stop thinking of his other self as "it" or "the star" as if it had no identity or intelligence. It was very intelligent in its own ways. It just didn't quite comprehend all of the maddening things humans did. It was not, after all, human. HE, he corrected himself. HE is not human.

Jack had moved from his seat to sit beside Evan. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he startled when Jack put an arm around him. "Relax. I'm taking steps to make sure we're all safe. It's just going to take some time. In the mean time, we'll just have to be more vigilant so they don't get the drop on us again." He kissed his temple.

Evan made a face that was a blend of exasperation and disgust. "I was worse than useless. No weapon on me. I couldn't get to yours. They put me down like a rabid dog."

"Evan, you're not primarily a fighter."

"Maybe I need to learn those kinds of skills then. And start carrying a weapon full time like you do."

It troubled Jack to see this kind of change in his sweet, gentle Evan. Up until now, Evan had done a careful dance to keep his work with Torchwood a thing apart from his life outside The Hub. "If it will make you feel safer, I'll okay the order for a full time carry permit and you can test for it."

"It will. At least then I have that option available in case they find some other way to disconnect me from my abilities. I couldn't even use my telepathy other than through direct skin contact. That's never happened before."

Jack stood, stroking Evan's hair gently. "Come on. Let's go home. I had Alex do an upgrade on the security systems at the loft so it's at least a little safer. You need to be in your own bed tonight so you can rest properly."

Evan nodded. "Let's get dinner first, please? For all that I feel better, I think I'm not up to cooking tonight."

"You can have whatever you want." Jack helped him to his feet and put an arm around him as they headed out.

Alex was on night watch and he nodded to them as they left. Once they were outside, he locked The Hub down for the night.

Stephen insisted that Evan should take at least one more day off because he still looked ragged, so he had gone back to the loft the next morning to try and occupy himself. He tried to paint, but everything kept coming out dark and ominous, representations of pain and isolation and entirely useless for the themed show material he had been working on. At last he gave up and just cleaned the loft to a state of utter spotlessness to save his sanity from crushing boredom and his canvases from work he couldn't currently use. He'd get the dark stuff out eventually. He just didn't want to do it now. Under normal circumstances, he would have been out walking. He didn't think it would be safe to run the streets alone right now. Keri had told him that not everyone in that base had been killed and that they were bigger than the few handfuls of men they'd encountered. They'd heard a chopper lifting off and several had fled over land as well. They could still be out there.

He was taking a shower when it occurred to him that maybe he needed to just move on. He had been wandering a while before coming here. He had moved around as a child. Maybe it just wasn't safe for him to be in one place for so long. And then there was the fact that there were news stories and things about him now, too. He blew out a huff of breath. I've worked so hard for this, he thought. I have a home. I have Jack. I have Torchwood. I have my art. I don't want to leave. He rested his forehead against the glass of the shower stall. This is mine and, dammit, it's worth fighting for, isn't it? But, what about the others? Would they think he was worth defending? Surely Jack would or he wouldn't have risked so much to get him back. But Dani? Jules? Keri? Chris? Any of them? Would they feel it was worth the continual risk of being shot up… or worse… on top of the risks their jobs posed every day? He really didn't know. Even if they did think he was worth it, he wasn't so sure he would want them sacrificing themselves for him. The world needed them far more than it needed him.

You also have your place, little monkey child.

He let out a soft bark of a laugh. You… you're what's needed. It's you that's special, not me.

We are one being and so we are both special.

You make my head ache. You say WE….

Only because we are fragmented for now. It will not always be so.

Well, until then, star stuff, what should we call you?

Our songs are our identities.

Well, that would be difficult for people to say, don't you think? And we can't just call you 'hey you'.

Perhaps. So you say we need a name?

He finished washing up and stepped out to dry himself. Yes. It would be helpful.

Then choose one which you think Humans will find easy to speak.

He contemplated while he got dressed. It seemed silly to name him Bob or Mike or any other ordinary name. No, he wanted something more… significant. What about, Rigel? It's a name humans have given to the brightest star in the constellation Orion.

Will this other star mind that you steal its name to give to me?

Well, I doubt it will ever find out. Besides, it's only being borrowed until we finally figure out how to stop being a dual being in a singular form.

Rigel. It is acceptable. Can we watch television? It is useful for cultural study.

Evan had to laugh at that. He hadn't been aware that Rigel had been watching television through his eyes. Sneaky devil…. He had to wonder what else he had been studying.

Much. I study much. To merge with you, I must understand you. Though, I do not fully comprehend some of your emotions because they tie into physical aspects which are alien to me. Those would require I be fully linked to your physical aspect in order to gather full knowledge. He'd only ever been a star before things came together to place him in this body where he was half star and half human soul, so some things were nothing short of a mystery.

You can ask me questions, you know. I may not always have a good answer, but I'll try. To be honest sometimes I don't understand why I feel certain things, either.

For instance, being drawn to Jack immediately as he had been was definitely out of character. He was normally so cautious and slow when it came to that. He supposed it had to do with having been different his whole life. He didn't like to open up too much because it usually led to him being ostracized or tormented. Wisconsin had definitely not been the most accepting place to realize one was homosexual. But, at least Kaye and David hadn't run screaming when they realized it. In fact, they had been very supportive and said that all they wanted was for him to be happy. He wished he could call Kaye right now, but he was afraid it might make her a target. Maybe talking to her would help him figure out if he should stay or run.

Running… no. That would mean leaving Jack. He felt like he'd rather carve his own spleen out with a spoon. That was an entirely new and strange sensation, too. Dani had warned him that being around Jack could be like that… like being in the pull of a black hole and unable to get free if you had to. The palpable grief that had emanated from the cephalopod in that moment had almost made Evan cry. He knew that Jack had cared about Dani once. He could sense from Dani that he had perhaps felt more for Jack than that, truly loved him if he guessed correctly. But that Jack wasn't the same Jack Evan loved. No, not by a long shot. That Jack had been much more blithe and carefree because he hadn't seen nearly as much death yet. That Jack had feared getting too close to people. He hadn't wanted to be tied down with obligation. The difference now was that Jack had come to realize that, for once, someone who loved him couldn't be so easily ripped away by death. For all that Dani could time hop and would live long, he would still die. The Doctor was long-lived and Jack did love him in his way, but he belonged to Rose alone when you got right down to it. So now Jack had Evan and Evan had him and it seemed to be the way things ought to be. No, running would never be an option anymore. They would just have to figure out how to defend against his enemies.

He decided to give in to Rigel's request for television, but put it on actual educational programming rather than the rubbish that populated most of the daytime television schedule. He turned on the small TV in the kitchen while he rummaged for a snack and tried to decide what to cook for dinner. So far, his Torchwood earpiece had been quiet, which meant that Jack would more than likely be home for a more normal dinner time unless something untoward happened. Rigel rode very close to the surface, listening to the television while Evan pulled out what he needed and went about his mundane tasks. On occasion, he would ask Evan to clarify something he heard. Evan sometimes had to pause, go get his tablet and pull up something from the Internet to further explain. He had to be careful, though. Rigel would sometimes then fire off another dozen questions and go off on such tangents that they could easily spend all day looking things up. So Evan decided it would be best to have Rigel note what he wished to research further and then set up specific times for educational research. Otherwise, he'd never get a thing done.

So it was that he and Rigel were perched on a stool in the kitchen, munching on carrots and ranch dressing while watching the National Geographic channel when Jack came home. He came around and chuckled as he kissed Evan.

"So bored you're watching that?"

"Not exactly. I… had a talk with my other other half. He wants more time to learn things. So I put it on for him"

"I see." The thought seemed to make Jack a little uneasy. That black-eyed thing inside Evan still unnerved him. He knew that kind of unease was why The Doctor had left him behind. He wasn't going to do the same to Evan.

"He has a name now."

"Oh?"

Evan nodded. "Rigel. He's not that star, obviously. It's still there. I just thought it would be a nice name to use."

"It's a good name." He hugged him and sniffed the air. "And what's for dinner that smells so good?"

"Joint of lamb, purple potatoes and cauliflower bake." He glanced at the timer. "Should be out in twenty minutes or so."

"Enough time for you and I on the sofa, then." He grinned and scooped him from the stool, eliciting a laugh. "Sorry, Rigel, education time is over. He's mine right now."

It took a bit of convincing to make Rigel sleep again so that he and Jack could have their private time for the evening. Deep down Evan knew that, eventually, Jack would have to get more comfortable with Rigel because they would, essentially, be the same being some day. He also knew that it wasn't going to happen right away in either case.

When he went back to The Hub to be on duty again, he asked Alex to begin teaching him martial arts when he wasn't tied up doing other things.

Keri was leaning on the rail in the pit, sipping her coffee. "He might be better off with me teaching him since I'm closer to his build."

"When he can put me on the mat, you can teach him the finesse." Alex crossed his meaty arms over his chest.

She patted Evan's shoulder. "Guess you better eat your Wheaties, then."

"Yeah…." Looking at the very large man, he had no idea how he'd manage to put him on the mat aside from possibly punching him in the crotch. Considering the pain tolerance he'd seen Alex exhibit in the field, even that might not take him down.

"You learn things fairly quickly. I think you'll do well. "There was just the slightest upturn to Alex's lips that Evan took to be his version of an encouraging smile. "If you want to get your first lessons in this evening, we should be able to manage it barring any calls to the field."

Evan nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

He nodded in kind and went back to his corner of The Hub to work on something which, apparently, was a bit hush-hush since he closed his door. He rarely did that unless he was handling extremely sensitive information. Dani came stomping up from the lower levels with a grim look on his face. He'd been assessing Tava's systems over the last few days and looking none too happy about it.

"So," Keri said, "are you going to be able to get her back up to speed?"

"Maybe, if Jack can help me get in touch with some people for supplies." He didn't look pleased to have to go shut himself into Jack's office to talk about it, either.

Chris peered at him over his monitor. "If you need extra hands, see if Jack will let me or Jules help you. We're both pretty good with electronics and things."

"I'll ask." He knew it wouldn't happen right now. Jack wanted them trying to track down the people who had kidnapped Evan. He seemed to have them on that any time they didn't have more pressing matters to deal with. He tapped the door to Jack's office and stepped in when he was told to. "Well, guess it's a good thing you keep accounts in every time stream you cross. You're going to need them."

"That much damage, huh?" Dani handed him the scanner, the screen of which was showing the systems checks in slow progression. Jack made a face. "Ouch. We're going to have a hard time trying to get some of the materials you need…."

"I know. But it's not like we're in any great rush. I don't exactly plan to go planet jumping anytime soon."

Jack studied him quietly for a moment. "I'm glad."

Dani returned his gaze rather blandly. When Jack had moved from being with him to being with John, Dani hadn't made a fuss. He'd simply transferred to a different unit so they couldn't be sent out together anymore. He'd also changed it so Jack couldn't open the door to his quarters anymore. He never told Jack that he'd seen him going off with John that first time. Nor had he told him how it had gutted him emotionally. He'd kept his dealings with Jack light and friendly on the rare occasions their paths crossed. This time hadn't been chance. He'd purposely taken this run because he'd heard Jack was on Earth and in the same general vicinity his target was lurking in. He'd half hoped to find him between serious lovers, but his luck was never that good.

"So… how's Evan been?"

Jack sighed. "Decent considering what he's been though."

"Good." He shifted uncomfortably. "Just let me know if you can get me what I need. I'll fix what I can in the mean time." He stood and headed for the door.

"Dani… thank you. I know Tava means a lot to you. I'll do everything I can to see she's fully functional again. "

"I know you will." If only he gave that much care to me being fully functional, he thought. Or anyone else he's gone through…. He headed out before Jack could try to keep him longer.

A faint scowl touched Jack's features. He had noticed the furtive glances, the frowns and, sometimes, the sorrow in Dani's eyes when he thought no one was looking. He'd thought their paths had just diverged. Dani had still been his usual manic self, always joking and off on a tear. They'd never been serious. At least, he'd not been all that serious at the time. He'd cared about him, yes. Just not in that one true love kind of way. Maybe he'd been wrong. At that point in his life he hadn't given a lot of thought about serious relationships. It was all about fun then. He absently ran a thumb over his lips as he wondered if, somewhere along the line he owed Dani an apology. He'd never acted angry or upset over their parting of ways. He'd let Jack hug him when they ran across each other again. But it seemed like the longer he was around, the more tense he became. He'd thought being with Keri would improve the mood, but it seemed to make some aspects of it worse. He was pulled from his thoughts by another tap on his door.

"Come in."

Evan stepped in. "We just got communication from a Judoon transport. They'll be passing close enough to take some Weevils off our hands if you want to set it up."

"Not my favorite way to clear the cell block, but effective." He ran a hand through his hair.

Rigel's interest was piqued. Weevils are considered vermin, yes?

Yes, well, sort of. Why?

We need to practice using our rifts on living beings safely. There are better uses for a rift than a hole to push enemies through to be rid of them. They would make good trial subjects.

"Um, no!" Evan looked almost ill.

Jack looked concerned. "Evan?"

"Nothing… Rigel was saying we could use Weevils as test subjects to see if we could make the rifts safe for gating living beings."

Jack made a face. "Tempting, but no. I can't okay the use of even mildly sentient beings for experimental purposes. Besides, they're sensitive to that kind of thing."

The voice that issued forth from Evan's mouth was not his own. It was the strange almost chiming lilt of Rigel. "Judoon kill them, do they not? The archives say Torchwood used to shoot them."

"The ones who've killed humans…."

"Then what harm is there in using them as test subjects?"

It's an ethics, thing, Rigel. Evan was a little peeved that he had just shoved forward and taken over.

Evan's head cocked to the side slightly, a posture that happened often when Rigel was riding close and considering information. "Your objection is ethical in nature?"

Jack sighed. Trying to explain things to Rigel, Evan had said, could be daunting. He was beginning to see why. Apparently Rigel had a knack for stripping away fluff and asking difficult questions. "Yes, it is."

"Judoon will execute for certain those who murder. Those who murder may live if we use them to test our gating capabilities."

Jack rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Okay. I need Evan back. We have work to do. We'll discuss this later. Right now it's a moot point since you can't safely do… whatever it is you do right now."

"But it may be possible to…."

Not now, Rigel. We have set times for research and study and questions. Remember? Now is not the time. Now is the time for Jack and I to work. Evan could see Jack beginning to tense in his chair. Slip down and go think about the points you wish to discuss when it's time for it.

The sensation of Rigel letting him take control again was very much like a petulant child stomping off to their room to sulk. For all of his power, Rigel was young and could definitely be very much like a child, though more like a teenager in his mannerisms.

When Jack saw that Evan's eyes were no longer star-strewn black, Jack leaned back in his chair with a huff. "You really need to learn to control that. Having him take over whenever he wants could prove dangerous."

"I know." He sighed heavily. "So…Judoon. Shall I have them send us a crate of retaining crystals to the retrieval point so we can offload some Weevils?"

"Yes." He hesitated a moment, obviously considering something. "Don't give them any of the known human killers."

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Okay…. Jack, um, honestly the Judoon energy weapons are probably kinder than what might happen to them if Rigel and I can't gate living things safely."

"Think so?"

"Rigel says the rifts feed into the void. He says that until we can control flow of matter across them that you shouldn't be close to them when they open. The energies in you might cause you to be pulled in accidentally. He says the only reason we don't get pulled in is probably because his energy is bonded fully to the human energy naturally. But what you are…."

"I'm unnatural."

Evan rubbed at the back of his neck self-consciously, a little flustered. "Yeah. Sorry…. But I can't imagine getting stuck in the void alive would be pleasant."

Jack's jaw twitched a little. He'd considered that jumping through a rift into the void might actually be a way to end his own suffering more than once. Maybe it was a good thing he'd never gotten the chance to try it. "It's a moot point for now anyway. You're not going to be experimenting with your abilities until we have a safe place for you to do it and you can do it without being tracked through it. Am I clear on that?"

Evan sighed. "Yes. But then why are you keeping the Weevils who have killed humans?"

"Maybe we'll have a use for them later," he said enigmatically.

"Okay. I'll have Chris send the message to the transport." He stepped around Jack's desk and cupped his cheek as he leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. "Now, no more scowling."

Jack scoffed. "Oh that's not likely to happen in this line of work…."

"Try. Or I'll come in once an hour and tickle you to make you laugh."

He gave a full fledged laugh. "We'd never get anything done."

"But I already have. I made you laugh." Evan winked at him as he left the office.

Jack shook his head ruefully. What in all the worlds had he gotten himself into? He had to admit; with Evan around he didn't brood nearly as much as he had before. Some part of him thought it was a bad thing, that maybe he wasn't taking things seriously enough. Put he also acknowledged that there were times when that respite from brooding and worrying over a problem allowed him to step back and find a better way to deal with a situation. Sometimes it meant a safer and more expedient solution. Those kinds of solutions meant people weren't at risk of death so much. That alone was worth more than anything to Jack. Leading up to Ianto's death he'd heard often enough that he got people killed. The notion just slapped him with more force when Ianto died. Maybe that was precisely why Evan had been drawn to him. He needed a lover who wasn't so fragile if he wanted to keep him. And he did want to keep him. Evan made him feel things he'd long thought were beyond his ability to feel anymore after all his centuries of wandering, especially after losing Ianto. He was amazed at his willingness to try again so soon. But Evan, at least when Rigel wasn't skin riding, put him at ease and made him happy. It wasn't quite the same as he'd felt with Ianto; it was similar in flavor but more intense perhaps, more varied.

Psychoanalyzing yourself is a stupid idea, Jack, he thought. He chuckled softly and pulled up the communications feeds to see if there was anything they needed their noses in that the government might be hiding.

Once Evan had done everything he needed to do, he tapped on Alex's door. "Okay, I think I'm ready to get my ass beat."

Alex gave him a stern look. "If you go in with an attitude like that, you'll never achieve any goal I set for you."

A rather diffident look crossed his face and was then forced off. "Sorry. I've just never done this kind of thing before."

"Once upon a time I hadn't, either. Now I'm a sensei and teach others. Let's go get suited up." He clapped him gently on the shoulder and gestured for him to precede him down into the lower levels.

A short time later, Alex had him on the mats, mirroring his moves as he slowly showed him blocking techniques. Evan had thought he'd just start wailing on him to toughen him up, so it was something of a surprise to be doing this instead.

"You need to teach your body the flow of the movements and how they link together." Alex's voice was an odd mix of soothing and commanding that made the instructions easy to follow and impossible to ignore. "If you build the muscle memory, you don't have to consciously think about your next move so much. It gives you an edge over your opponent if you move reflexively. It reduces minute tells which can give them foresight into what you're about to do."

Evan nodded slightly as he moved. It reminded him a little of the Tai Chi movements he'd seen people doing in one of the parks in San Francisco when he'd been there. It had fascinated him and he'd done several sketches that day. He blushed as Alex had to tell him to focus on what he was doing so he could learn. When he felt he had the moves memorized enough, they began what was essentially a slow dance. Alex would slow down a strike or kick and Evan was expected to respond with the appropriate block. Every time he got it right, Alex sped the routine up a little. When he could repeat the actions fairly quickly, Alex began delivering them in orders other than the one he'd taught them in. That proved to be more challenging and Evan ended up on the mats repeatedly. When he started to show signs of fatigue, Alex nodded.

"I think that's enough for today." He bowed to him. "When you don't have to be sitting, you can practice the moves. The more you repeat them, the better you'll be."

He had to admit, Evan had a grace to him that would likely be close to stunning if he could master the martial arts. In time, maybe he'd fly like Bruce Lee. Or not. Evan was also a little flighty at times from what he could tell. Then again, for all the brilliance in their fields, everyone here had some sort of quirk to them. Some days it seemed that only he and Stephen were sane and stable. Though, if you asked Keri or Jules, they would say Alex was as quirky as a space mad alien simply because he was so… bland for a security man. That made him chuckle softly to himself as he headed into the little locker room to get a shower. Evan had gone up to use Jack's facilities, preferring the privacy.

Evan stepped through the open door to Jack's section of The Hub, wincing a little after the climb up from the lower levels. He was a little sore after tumbling to the floor so much despite the mats. He was thankful he wouldn't stay battered long. Little things like bruises and sore muscles didn't last long on him.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sore, huh?"

He rubbed his right hip gently. He'd fallen fairly hard on it trying to block one of Alex's kicks. "A little. Nothing that'll keep me from romping after dinner." He gave him a lop-sided grin and leaned in to kiss him as he passed.

"Good."

Jack grinned wolfishly, watching the view as he made his way into the small areas they'd used for quarters before moving to the loft. Now they were just a convenient place to clean up and rest when they were pulling long shifts in The Hub. Jack had designed this new place with an eye toward being able to hole up for long periods if need be. It went deeper than the old Hub had. It also had more secure ways in and out so it was possible to avoid blasts in the upper levels by going down to the docking bay, for example, and still have a way out after. And some areas were designed to withstand most explosives. Being blown up… definitely not his favorite way to die… if he had one. He leaned back and smiled, hearing Evan humming to himself in the shower. He wondered how he was so energetic all the time. The super powers of youth, he supposed.

He snorted at himself. Well, he had been finding more grey hairs, hadn't he? But at least the process was slow. He sometimes wondered if it sped up the more he died. He'd not been able to find any real way to tell other than possibly scanning himself all the time and comparing the readings. It would have been more effective if he'd been doing it the whole time since Rose had resurrected him, though. He wondered sometimes if she was different after all of that, too. As far as he knew, she'd never actually been killed after that; not for lack of trying, of course. For all he knew, holding that Time Vortex inside her might have made her "wrong", too. And maybe that had been the real reason The Doctor had left her with that part-human Doctor. Who knew why The Doctor did so many of the things he did? His annoying tendency toward being mysterious made getting him to tell you things problematic to say the least. Evan roused him from his musings by stepping out in clean clothes. He was fluffing his damp curls with a towel and it was just a little distracting. Cute, but not like a puppy, and enticing.

"Thinking about Rose and The Doctor, hmm?"

"Peeking is rude." Jack half smirked.

Evan tweaked his nose. "I didn't have to peek. The look on your face told me."

"Oh. It's that obvious?" He looked mildly chagrined.

"Sometimes. When you think no one is looking." He gave Jack a gentle and understanding smile. "I wish I could have met her. From what I've seen in your memories, she's a good person."

"She is. I just hope she's okay wherever she is." The Doctor had told him once that he'd given his other self the means to grow a TARDIS before stranding them in Pete's World. He wondered if they had and were zooming about their own reality together.

"Well, she is with that other Doctor. If he's really like him, you know she's safe. He loves her and that one is mortal so he may not be as prone to taking risks." He sat in one of the chairs in front of Jack's desk. "I've wondered, though. How come she's not like you? She had the TARDIS' energy inside her, too."

Jack blinked in surprise since he'd just been wondering the same thing. "Actually, I don't know that she's not. And we have no way of finding out either. But The Doctor said the energy was killing her. That's why he took it from her."

"But not you. It didn't hurt you." He chewed at his lower lip a little as he thought. Once again, he felt Rigel stirring. No taking over….

Very well….He sounded only mildly perturbed. Your Jack is not the same sort of Human as people from this general time. He is… evolved, more advanced. One would assume the energy would not be the same in his body as in hers. Perhaps even gender body chemistry could be a factor. Environment influences the ways in which matter and energy behave.

"Evan?" Jack had leaned forward to touch his shoulder.

He hadn't realized he'd become so engrossed in what Rigel was telling him that he'd frozen and was staring into space. "Sorry. Rigel was saying it might have been different for you since you're 51st century human and Rose isn't."

"Ah." He noted Evan's irises were their normal warm brown, but his pupils were wide and showed faintly shot with stars, glimmering strangely. "You're in control?"

"Yes. He's just right below the surface is all."

"Tell him to go back down."

I hear him. I hear what you hear.

"He hears what I hear." And that was a lot, actually. Growing up he'd realized that his senses were exceptionally keen. He'd had to learn to tune a lot of sound out to keep from being overwhelmed. In some circumstances, such as the echoing enclosures of the sewers, it was a detriment. But sometimes, in quiet places, he could hear the heartbeats of vermin or the scuttling of insects living in the walls.

"Good. Then please go back to sleep or whatever it is you do, Rigel."

He does not control us…. A wave of what might have been resentment flared from the star. It was hard to tell sometimes because, strictly speaking, the more complex emotions came from Evan's part of their joint being and he was still learning what all of that was about.

No, but this form is my form, too. And in order for us to not panic people, I need to be in control of it most of the time, okay? You make people nervous because you don't act much like a human, Rigel.

Then perhaps humans should learn to not fear what is different. His retort was basically tossed upward as he sank back down.

"Jack, please don't try to tell him what to do. It makes him rebel."

"Great…. That's going to make integrating him into the team a lot more difficult."

"Well… maybe not once we start to merge more. We're… kind of like a coat with its liner only attached at the bottom of the zipper. One thing but not put together for proper functionality sort of." He rubbed at his temples. "Trying to explain it gives me a headache. Even I don't really understand most of it so how am I supposed to explain it?"

Jack stood and came around the desk to hug him. "Hmmm. Strangely I know that sensation." He tilted Evan's face up and gave him a wry smile.

Evan's tension melted away with the touch and the smile. "I suppose you do." He chuckled.

Jack checked the time. "Dinner time. Let's go to the loft, shall we? "

They were trying to alternate day and night shifts as they could. Sometimes they wouldn't have Jules or Stephen in for days if nothing much was happening. But everyone was always on call. It could make having a life challenging at times, but it gave everyone equal opportunity to try, at least.

"Yes. Leftover lasagna is calling." His stomach rumbled agreement. "I need the carbs after all the martial arts practice." He leaned into Jack a little as they headed out.

"We'll be back, Chris."

The tech barely looked up from the circuitry he was repairing for Dani while his information searches ran. "Not like much is going on anyway. And Dani says he'll be in-house most of the time until Tava is to at least fifty percent functional. And that means Keri will most likely be here, too. You might as well relax at the loft. We're up to speed and you're close enough for Dani to nab with the 'porter if we need you faster than you can run or drive."

"Eh, it's not fair to the rest of you. We'll be back."

Jules came up from the medical bay, yawning. "Fair, shmair.," she said. "I say anyone who is within 3 miles should go home." And that would include her. Her little flat was nearby.

"Uh-huh, and you're all for twenty minute naps at lunchtime, too, Jules." Jack snickered.

"Hey, it works for the Japanese." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't stick that thing out at me unless you intend to use it." He gave her a brazenly cheeky look.

Evan elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "Hey, you are MINE."

That just made Jules giggle and Chris hid a look of consternation behind his monitor. They weren't exactly officially a couple, but he and Jules had started going to geeky events together and playing massively multi-player online games together. They even had their own coalition in their favorite post-apocalyptic game, Codec Force. But they hadn't said they were boyfriend and girlfriend. They just sort of… hung out. But it still bugged him when the sexual innuendo started flying, which it inevitably did around Jack, and it got Jules in the mix.

"Oh, go on, you two." Jules waved a hand at them. "Shoo! Or I'll start timing and interrupting your ride by ringing your home line every two minutes when you're late getting back." She gave them a humorously snarky look that made them both laugh.

Chris just didn't get it. Jules had just entirely given Jack a clean slate in spite of the way he'd talked to her and the fact that he'd not bothered to apologize. It rankled him. He supposed she just tried not to ruin her own bliss by dwelling on things too much. He hadn't realized he'd let out a huff of breath until she came over and playfully ruffled his hair.

"Oi, what's eating you, Commander?" She'd taken to calling him that since they'd formed their coalition.

He blushed. "Nothing," he lied. "I just hate circuit board work. The solder stinks."

"Mmm. So it does." She gave him a skeptical look, but didn't press. She knew he'd talk in his own good time. "I'd best get back to my work."

He watched her intently as she headed for the gangway that led to the lower levels.

Months of surveillance time wasted and hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair and lost work to his organization hadn't made Ezekiel Cross happy. The contract hadn't been completed and their client was dogging them, threatening to see to it that they all ended up dead. To prove his point, the creepy little shit had taken out one of their way station houses out in D.C. Gas line accident, my ass, he fumed silently as he went over the reports on his desk. He didn't even realize that his meaty fist was bouncing on his desk top in agitation. They way he saw it, he had three choices: finish this contract and deliver Smith, kill the client or vanish off the face of the Earth. He wasn't one for dropping a contract just because it got difficult. But this client busting his balls was on his last nerve. His computer played a sound that indicated he had an incoming voice chat request from the client in question.

"Speak of the Devil," he muttered. He accepted the request. "Cross."

"Mister Cross, I do hope you're in the process of resuming work on our contract?" The distorted voice had a decidedly aristocratic clip to it that sounded almost, but not quite, western European of some sort.

He took in and let out a long, slow breath. When he spoke, his voice held a dangerous edge. "It's in process. However, recovery after the loss of two of our bases is slowing the process."

The man let loose an annoyingly smug chuckle. "Well, sometimes the best way to get stunning action is a burr under the saddle, Mr. Cross. I want a plan of action before month's end or there will be consequences. Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear."

"Excellent. Do have a pleasant evening, Mr. Cross. I'm sure Janice would appreciate you being home in time for dinner."

His eyes widened. How the hell does he know her name?! "Don't you dare…," he breathed.

"Don't give me a reason, Ezekiel." The way he said the name made it all too clear he knew it was an alias. "Your wife is lovely and your daughter is very cute. I'm sure they would be charming house guests…." The chat disconnected as he chuckled vilely.

Travis jumped at the sound of crashing and roaring coming from the administration wing. "Some days I wish I had taken that boring ass job with Micro Sloth…," he muttered and shook his head ruefully as he soldered away at a small green circuit board on his work bench. Nah, not really. He wouldn't get to play with such interesting toys in corporate America. Too many rules to follow. He fondly patted the collar-like device casing he was working on. Far too many rules…..