On the steps of Westminster Abbey, Princess Elizabeth made her way to her Coronation with the eyes of the country upon her.

Almost 8 miles away, Dorian Smith groaned in the back of a van. His head hurt like he'd been kicked in the head by a horse, and he knew that feeling from experience. The interior of the van he was in was cream coloured, and there were electrical supplies pushed up against the sides. He was in Magpie's van, he realised.

Dorian kicked the back doors of the van hard. Someone shouted outside, but Dorian kicked again. After a third kick, the doors swung open and an outraged Police security guard, in white cap and gloves, stood before him.

'What do you think you're doing?' the man asked.

'Where am I?' Dorian asked as he flashed his ID card at him.

'Alexandra Palace, Captain,' the man said, backing off apologetically.

'Of course! A transmitter!'

'Are you here for His Majesty?' the Policeman asked.

'Who?'

'The King of Belgium! He's just gone climbing up the television tower! I told him he'd get himself killed, but you know these foreign royals,'

Dorian looked up and spotted, not one, but two people climbing the television tower. One, in his long brown coat, was easily recognisable as the Doctor. The other, Dorian assumed was Mr Magpie, but he was higher up and Dorian couldn't clearly make out his face. There were pink electrical arcs spreading from the tower across the horizon. Somehow, Magpie had been successful in transporting the Wire and connecting the portable television to the tower in order to transmit the Wire across the nation.

The Doctor almost lost his footing on the tower when a shock hit him, but he hung on. Dorian stared up with baited breath. Another shock hit Magpie and he began to fall from the tower. Dorian ran beneath as though to catch him when he hit the floor, but he hadn't even fallen a foot when he burst into ashes and was blown to the wind.

Dorian looked around for a way of helping. He spotted a coil of wire on the ground, running from the Doctor to the inside of the building. He followed the wire, hoping that he could do something that day other than be shot and knocked out.

The copper wire led him to a transmission room, where he found none other than Tommy Connolly.

'Tommy!'

'Dr Smith!'

'What are you doing here?' Dorian asked. There was a large amateur looking machine in front of Tommy.

'I'm helping the Doctor, I mean, that other doctor I was telling you about this morning,'

'Great stuff Tommy, do you need me to do anything?'

'I don't think so, the Doctor just told me to stay here and make sure this works. The only thing is, I don't know how it's meant to work,' the boy shrugged.

Dorian took a closer look at the device. 'Hmmm, by the looks of it, this is a receiver and a recording device.' The plan clicked in Dorian's mind. 'Yes! If the Doctor turns the transmitter back into a receiver then he can trap the Wire in this device and isolate it! Brilliant!'

'So do I need to do anything?' Tommy asked.

'No, just make sure you've got a couple of bulbs – that's the most likely thing to blow if there's too much power surging through it. I'll help you look,'

Together the two of them found all the bulbs in the room and next door and placed them on the bookcase in the corner.

'I'll be next door, getting the phone ready to make a call,' Dorian told Tommy, but he'd barely crossed the threshold of the next room to ring Detective Inspector Bishop back at the base when Tommy yelled for help.

'The bulbs have blown!' Tommy grabbed a bulb from the bookcase and hurried about replacing one of the blown ones. Dorian grabbed another and did the same. Once both bulbs were secured, Tommy grabbed the plug and shoved it in the socket.

The pink electricity sparked around the recording device as Dorian pulled Tommy away from it and looked out of the window. The arcs that had spread across the city had been withdrawn; the Wire had been stopped.

'Take a seat Tommy, it's okay now.' Dorian reassured him.

'What about my Gran? Will she be alright, now that it's gone?'

'I'll go and make that call, then I'll let you know,' Dorian hurried next door to make that call again.

'Bishop? Crabtree! Great, get downstairs to where the people are – get them outside, they should be fine now. Yes, faces back and everything. I'll be there in ten. Bye!'

Dorian whisked back in to see Tommy. 'Your Gran should be fine now Tommy, I'll go back to the station and make sure all the people are looked after. You wait here for the Doctor then come by Market Street, they will all be there.' Tommy grinned. 'But can you do me a favour Tommy?'

'Anything doc,'

'Don't tell the Doctor I was here,'

'Why?' Tommy was rightfully confused. 'Do you two know each other?'

'It's complicated, but just don't tell him, okay?'

'Okay, and thanks Dr Smith,'

Dorian patted the boy on his shoulder before running back to Market Street. As he ran, God Save the Queen rang out from all the televisions and radios and Queen Elizabeth II waved from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Crabtree, Killick and Graves had opened the cages of the Police base and were helping the older citizens out of the building when Dorian arrived there. He spoke to Tommy's gran and made sure she was okay, before moving on and checking everyone else. Rose was there too, helping out others as well.

'Sorry,' she said, as Dorian passed a pack of biscuits around. He'd found them in Bishop's desk. 'Have I met you before?'

Dorian was saved answering by Tommy's gran. 'This is Dr Smith; he's a very good doctor. Handsome too!'

Rose chuckled as Tommy's gran reached up and gave Dorian a peck on the cheek.

'I'm probably thinking of someone else, I'm sure I'd remember you if you have this impression on all the ladies,' Dorian laughed with her.

'Do you want a cup of tea?' he asked, thinking that all the people could do with a drink.

'Very British,' she said, putting on an over-the-top accent, 'yes please,'

Dorian excused himself and went up to the office in the Police base to make the tea and find as many cups as possible.

From the window, Dorian saw the Doctor and Tommy arrive. Tommy ran to meet his gran and gave her a big hug, it made Dorian smile. Then the Doctor strolled over, his eyes searching for Rose. They found each other and an equally large grin spread over both of their faces as they embraced.

Dorian stepped away from the window, his thoughts wandering. He headed back to his apartment, avoiding people, and typed up the report of his mission.

'Why didn't you let Tommy tell the Doctor about you?' Ronan asked when Dorian released him from the memory.

Dorian shrugged, 'I was just being cautious I suppose. If Tommy had told him that I'd figured out his plan then the Doctor would have wanted to meet me to find someone as smart as him, and I don't know if he's met my mother yet.'

'So how will you know when it's safe to meet him?'

'I don't really,' he admitted. 'All I have to go on is what Jack has told me, and all he's said is "the 21st Century" which spans quite a large portion of time,'

'Nothing else?' Ronan wondered how anyone could be so patient about such a massive thing, but, he guessed, when you've lived through two and a half centuries patience becomes something you need.

'There was one other thing he said to me, but I've never really understood what he meant by it,' Dorian's eyebrows creased in thought as he glanced up at his flatmate. 'He said that I won't meet the Doctor until "after the school",'

'As in after university? But we're just about to start fourth year, it's another two years until we graduate,' Ronan pointed out.

'I don't think he means uni, but I've no other ideas about it,'

'Maybe you'll just know when you get to the right time?' Ronan thought it was a really lame suggestion, but Dorian shrugged as though it was possible.

'Maybe.'

'Ah, Cardiff,' Gerard breathed, stepping off the train at Cardiff Central Station. The standard Welsh train announcement message played overhead.

'I wonder what they're saying,' Martha wondered aloud.

'The next train departing platform 3 is for Swansea,' Dorian translated immediately as he carried his and Martha's bags off the train.

'You know Welsh?' Jo asked, impressed.

'Ydw, tipyn bach,' he smiled, saying the Welsh for 'yes, a little'. Dorian decided to skirt over the fact that he'd learnt Welsh back in the 1800s when he'd lived in Cardiff.

'Don't compliment him Jo,' Ronan joked, 'you know how big his head gets with praise.'

Jo closed her mouth, about to praise Dorian's language skills.

'So D, you're our walking guide to Cardiff – where do we go now?'

'First, we get out of this station,' Dorian indicated to the stone steps leading underground from the platform. 'Oh, sorry,' he apologised hastily as he almost smacked someone in the face with his hand.

'No worries mate,' the guy replied in a strong London accent. Dorian did a double take thinking he'd seen the guy somewhere before. He was stocky, dark skinned with closely shaved black hair. Dorian shrugged the feeling off – after 200 years he got the feeling of déjà vu more than usual.

Dorian saw the guy again on the BayCar bus to Cardiff Bay. He couldn't shake the feeling that the guy was important.

After dumping their bags at the hotel, Dorian gave his four friends the guide to Cardiff Bay. It was a lovely day, just the right weather for their week's getaway from London life before launching into their fourth year of medical school.

'Cardiff!' He began, launching into everything he knew about the city for his friends' benefit. Ronan rolled his eyes. 'Meaning: "fort on the Taff", birthplace of children's author Roald Dahl – hence the renaming of this area as the Roald Dahl Plass. Cardiff Bay, in fact, was once one of the richest cities in the world; this was due to the docks and the coal industry which Wales is pretty famous for.'

'Thank you Wikipedia!' Ronan interrupted before Dorian got too excited in his tour guide role. 'Anything relevant to where we can get lunch?'

Dorian looked around him. The Wales Millennium Centre was curled up in the middle of the plaza, just in front of it was the tall, silver water tower which Dorian knew stood above the hidden base of Torchwood Three. The sun glinted off the sea with Penarth in the distance, but Dorian was majorly distracted by the little blue Police box parked right above the Torchwood base.

'Dorian?' Martha nudged his arm, snapping him out of his thoughts 'Where can we get food?'

'Uh,' he looked around again, 'wind's coming from the east, so let's go this way,' he led the gang off towards the wharf.

'What's the wind got to do with anything?' Jo asked Gerard quietly.

'No idea, just go with it.'

First, they tried the café on the pier, but as soon as Dorian stepped into the building he saw a big-eared man in a black leather jacket and recognised him as the Doctor. He also saw that the Doctor was sitting and laughing with Jack Harkness, who looked just the same as when Dorian first met Jack on a snowy Christmas Eve in the same city in 1869 - right down to the slightly too-tight white t-shirt.

'No, not here,' he said, turning around and forcing Martha, Ronan, Gerard and Jo back out of the café.

'What's wrong with in there?' Martha asked, looking back. Dorian heard the Doctor and his friends laughing loudly.

'Too crowded,' Dorian answered dismissively.

'But there was loads of space.'

Instead they went to a more crowded café bar further down the waterfront.

'Table for five?' asked a waitress before leading the group over to a table in the corner. They perused the menu before settling on their orders.

'Let's see what's going on in Welsh news shall we?' Gerard asked, filching a copy of the Western Mail from a nearby table. He flicked straight to the sports pages at the back.

'Wait, Ger! What's the front page story?' Dorian had just caught a glimpse of a woman's face that he recognised from the alien "hoax" of last March. The headline beneath the woman read 'New Mayor, new Cardiff'.

'Uh, something about the new Mayor of Cardiff being elected. Margaret Blaine her name is. Ooh, she's planning on building a nuclear power plant,' Gerard flicked through to the continuation of the story further on in the paper. 'Cardiff castle will be demolished… Blade Drug project? I've no idea how you pronounce Welsh, D, you have a look,'

Dorian scanned where Gerard was pointing, 'The Blaidd Drwg Project, it means Bad Wolf in Welsh,'

'Yeah, so she says the Blind Dude project will be a "monument to Welsh industry" and all that stuff. Ooh, apparently there's talk of a curse! "An entire team of European safety inspectors" assessed the plans but, oh wow, they blew up… Blaine regrettably says that it was unfortunate that "danger, explosives!" was only written in Welsh, not French. The Cardiff Heritage Committee were electrocuted in a swimming pool, the fault has been put down to "natural wear and tear"… Blaine herself ran over an architect of the project, blaming the low visibility on Welsh rain… Oh my God, the government's nuclear advisor was decapitated after slipping on an icy patch!' Gerard looked to Dorian, 'I thought you said Cardiff was a safe place to be!'

Dorian looked his friend seriously in the eye. 'I would never say that about Cardiff.'

'Hey, you guys,' Dorian piped up as they walked along the waterfront of Cardiff Bay. 'I've just got to go and check on something, I'll catch up with you later, okay?'

They all murmured their assent, but before Dorian could walk off Ronan caught his arm.

'The woman on the front page – the Mayor – she was at Downing Street when the aliens were wasn't she?'

Dorian nodded.

'And you think she's an alien?'

Dorian nodded again.

'And you're going after her?'

Dorian nodded for a third time.

'Be careful mate,' Ronan sighed, clapping his best friend on the back.

Dorian headed off to the Mayor's office, his mind clouded with thoughts. The Doctor and an alien in Cardiff? After 200 years Dorian didn't much believe in coincidence. But what could bring the two together? Dorian glanced at the TARDIS parked above the Torchwood Hub and the answer hit him – the Rift! The source of many of the weird goings on around the city, a break in the fabric of time and space. As well as something that attracts a great deal of extra-terrestrial interest.

Jack had been the one to tell Dorian about the existence of the Cardiff Rift after he'd popped out of thin air that snowy night in 1869. Dorian pulled out his mobile and dialled Jack's number. The dial tone rang and rang and rang until finally,

'Hello, Captain Jack Harkness here, I'm not available right now so leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you at some point,' Dorian waited until Jack's American accent was cut off by the beep.

'Hi Jack, it's Dorian. Listen, I'm not really sure what's going on, but the Doctor's in Cardiff and it looks like he's with you, but before I ever met you. So give me a call back when you can.'

With a sigh, Dorian hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He had reached the Mayor's office in no time and stopped in the doorway.

'Excuse me,' he asked a cleaner. He instantly regretted asking because she looked in no mood to be answering any questions.

'Uh, which was is the Mayor's office?' The woman scowled at him and pointed him in the right direction.

'No running!' She barked at Dorian's back. He glanced behind him, confused – he had been walking normally.

'Hello,' Dorian smiled politely at the young male secretary. He was dressed in a smart black suit, obviously new to the job and still trying to make a good impression. 'I'm here to see the Mayor.'

The secretary regarded Dorian cautiously. 'Do you have an appointment sir?' he asked, his North Walian accent coming through in his clipped tone.

'No, I just fancied a chat actually.'

'I'm afraid the Mayor's busy at the moment, sir. If you could make an appointment and come back another time?'

'I'm only around for tonight and I just thought I'd pop by, if it's not too much trouble,' Dorian pushed, moving towards the office door.

The secretary stood up just a little bit too quickly. 'I told you, the Mayor is busy.'

'Well what's she doing then?'

'Very important planning for the Blaidd Drwg project,' The secretary moved to block the door, 'it's best not to disturb her.'

'I'll just pop my head in to say hi,' Dorian reached around the secretary and put his hand on the door handle. The secretary looked like he was about to cry.

'No!' he yelled when Dorian quickly forced the door handle. The office door swung open revealing… an empty room.

'Where is she?' Dorian demanded as the secretary slumped against the door frame.

'I don't know!' the secretary put his head in his hands. Dorian surveyed the room. There was a broken teacup near the desk, a dried brown stain spread in a pool around the shards. But the most noticeable feature of the room was the broken window behind the desk. Dorian marched over to the smashed window and looked down. It wasn't hard to reach the ground from the window, so he guessed that the Mayor had escaped from there. But why?

The secretary was still talking to himself by the door.

'Why does everyone want to see the Mayor today?' he moaned, 'First that Doctor and now you, both of you just barge in when I say she's busy, and now she's run off and I can't get hold of her!'

'What did you just say?' Dorian asked, crouching down beside the grumbling man.

'She's run off and I can't get hold of her,' he pouted.

'No, before that, you mentioned a doctor?'

'Not a doctor, the Doctor. That's what he told me to tell the Mayor any way. And then she escaped out of the window!'

'How long ago was this?' Dorian asked, checking his watch.

'About an hour and a half, maybe?'

That meant that the Doctor had come after the Mayor not long after Dorian had seen him in the café.

'Thank you very much Mr…' Dorian hesitated; he didn't know the secretary's name.

'Hopper, Idris Hopper,' the man sniffed.

'Thank you very much, Idris Hopper,' Dorian said as he left the office.

He rejoined his friends along the waterfront feeling relaxed and reassured that the alien Mayor of Cardiff was safely secured in the Doctor's care.