After explaining everything, they arrived at Liverpool. As they walked out and onto this future Earth, Ianto convinced Myfanwy to stay in the Tardis by giving her the rest of the chocolate and then closed the doors of the Tardis behind him.

"It's so strange seeing aliens here," Amy said looking around. "Look at all of them! It's amazing!"

"The buildings! They still look similar to the ones back in our time," Rory said, a bit surprised.

"Well of course! The British are quite proud of their traditional buildings. Things will look quite similar minus the many aliens and the new and improved technology," the Doctor said.

Ianto bent down slightly to look at the cars and then quickly looked upwards. "They aren't touching the ground! I feel like I'm in the second Back to the Future movie."

"Since when have you seen the Back to the Future movies?" asked Jack with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"It was on the Tele alright? There was nothing else interesting on," muttered Ianto with a slight pout to his lips.

Jack chuckled as they continued walking around. Many of the aliens were dressed in human like clothes, made slightly different to fit their different bodies. Jack suspected it was to make the humans fill better and not the other way around.

As they moved, the Doctor commented, "Currently a little over fifty percent of the prisoners in this time are aliens and most of those aliens are innocent."

"But then why are they in jail?" asked Ianto.

"Fear above all else. Certain ones have different customs and sometimes those can scare people. You should see the Darveins," the Doctor replied.

"Even in the fifty-first century they used that word," said Jack. "The real meaning behind it is probably lost to time though. People said it meant 'two-worlds' as in the person was from two different species. It was considered an honor."

"You're not far off Jack. Its original meaning was simpler though, Halfling. And in this day and age," said the Doctor, his face turning slightly sour, "it is considered one of the worst insults. Later on, yes it will be an honor, because people say you belong to two worlds. But for now, it means that you belong to none."

"So not everything is perfect," said Amy.

The Doctor nodded. "Earth is flourishing but people are still finding it hard to let go of the old ways. The governments especially are corrupt with these kinds of people. They'll be lucky to have Torchwood here."

"So I'm a Darvein? Right?" questioned Ianto. Thankfully, he didn't seem troubled by this, only curious.

Jack sighed and then finally nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are but it's doubtful anyone would figure that out about you."

The mood dampened by this, it was later lightened again as they moved through the streets. But then again, they were in the center of Liverpool. Though prejudice was high, it was less obvious than in the worse parts of the city.

After a while, Jack said, "How about you guys go have some fun. Eat out, look to see what new landmarks they have."

"And where are you going?" asked Amy.

"Just to look around some more but I think Rory's feet might be a bit tired. Enjoy some new delicacy. I'm sure there's plenty," Jack said.

"Not a bad idea," said the Doctor. "You can't come here without trying something to eat. Are you sure you don't want to stay with us Jack? Then we could all go out looking together."

"It's alright. Ianto, you can go with them or come with me."

"I'll go with you," said Ianto. "I could do with a bit more walking."

"Then it's settled. Meet back at the Tardis in say, an hour or two?" questioned the Doctor.

Jack nodded. "Sure, we'll see you later then."

As the Doctor, Amy, and Rory turned around and began walking back, Jack continued to walk forward, Ianto following behind.

"You wanted them to leave didn't you," Ianto eventually said as the distance between the two groups grew.

"Why do you say that?" asked Jack, glancing over.

"You want to see how bad it really is but you didn't want to drag any of them into it," Ianto replied.

"Yep," Jack simply said, continuing to walk forward.

Moving through the streets, the buildings slowly became dirtier and the people less well off. Every street they went down, every alley way they turned onto, it gradually became worse and worse. As they continued down, Jack noticed that they were being followed, as Ianto did as well. Ianto looked to Jack, to see what he would do. As Jack so far did nothing, neither did Ianto.

Eventually, they turned down a side street, one that was empty. They slowed their walk. They let the man catch up. He was over some other world, with pinkish skin and red hair. When he got close enough, he pulled out a knife.

"Turn around, quickly," he said, his voice shaking.

Jack slowly turned around, the knife being pointed into his back. It wasn't like a traditional knife, the blade being made of energy rather than steel.

"You too or I'll cut your friend," he said, gesturing towards Ianto.

Ianto did as well, both his and Jack's calm expressions causing the man to take a small step back.

"So what's your story then? Come here, looking for work perhaps? Or maybe you were abandoned by your crew. It's hard to say unless you tell us," said Jack.

"Hey! I'm the one who's asking the questions around here!" cried out the guy. Jack and Ianto simply raised their eyebrows. "I have a knife! Can't you see?"

"I see it quite well but it's your only weapon. Two of us, one of you, you must be quite desperate," Ianto said. "So tell us, why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean? Everyone knows that unless you're already well off you get stuck in these ends. You gotta fend for yourself and the only jobs you can get are the worst of the worst!" The man looked at them again. "Where are you from anyway? It must be the same as it is here."

"I'm sure it is but we're from . . . quite a ways away," Jack replied with a shrug.

The man was confused, frantic, and Jack was prepared when he lunched forward. Grabbing the man's forearm and locking his position, Ianto reached over and easily plucked the knife away.

"I would suggest attacking people one on one and keeping more weapons," said Ianto.

Jack grabbed the shirt and pulled it down around where the arm was. An intricate tattoo was found. "This most certainly was made here, on Earth. What does it mean?" asked Jack.

"You don't know? You honestly don't know?" asked the man.

"Enlighten us," Ianto replied.

"You can't be serious! No one works alone here. Whatever you bring in you bring to your family and everyone gets equal shares."

"You mean a gang?" asked Jack.

"Our gangs are our families! There's no one else," he said.

"Interesting," murmured Jack. He threw the man off of him, letting him stumble. "Go on then. Run to your family."

"You're just letting me go? Just like—"

"I would leave before he changes his mind," Ianto interrupted.

The man stumbled again before he ran away, Jack and Ianto watching after him. Ianto toyed with the knife, turning it on and off curiously. Glancing over towards Jack, he asked, "So why did you let him go?"

"He's harmless. Besides, he might be telling the truth. It'll take a while to get fully accustomed to this century and we really don't know how bad it is. Stealing might be a crime but sometimes that's the only way to stay alive," said Jack.

"You said he was harmless. Why?"

"I could see it in his eyes. Yes, he was desperate but he didn't want to kill anyone. Those eyes were quite kind . . . and sad. He just didn't want to starve. If I had anything on me I would've given it to him all the same," Jack replied. "Come on now, let's start heading back to the others. I just wanted to get a taste of what it was like out here."

Ianto didn't follow however as Jack began to walk away. When Jack turned around a smirk was clear on his lips as he asked, "Would you like to stay in this deserted alleyway or would you prefer joining the Doctor and his companions for some food?"

"Food sounds nice," Ianto replied with a simple smile. "I just want to know what it is that's eating away at you."

"I don't know what you mean," Jack said smoothly.

Ianto rolled his eyes at that, walking up to Jack and slipping his hands into his pockets. "You know exactly what I mean. You're good, you've always been good, but I've had time to figure out how to see through it all. That and when you thought no one was looking I was."

"I still don't get what you mean."

"Jack, ever since you got Myfanwy, you keep giving me these glances like I'm going to drop dead," Ianto replied. "I'm fine Jack. I really am."

"I know you are but it's just . . . it's just that you said forever."

Now Ianto was frowning. "I did. What of it?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't make promises you couldn't keep," Jack simply replied, his mouth set into a thin line.

"But I haven't."

"What?"

"I said what I meant. I'd rather not spend eternity alone anyway," Ianto replied.

"But Tardises die! And what if—"

"If you completely obliterate them, yes," Ianto said with a small chuckle. "Of course, now that I know what I am maybe I can learn to defend myself, my own personal shield. Besides as long as my body is intact I can always return to it. That and I can survive even without the body. My conscience can live on."

"But what if—"

"No what ifs. We'll get to that when we have to," Ianto said. When he still saw the doubt in Jack's eyes, Ianto continued. "Mother told me that you'll never be alone. Never because I'll always be here for you. When I said forever I meant forever."

Jack blinked several times before he finally said, "Are you serious?"

"Why would I be lying to you?" questioned Ianto with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly, Jack let out a huge breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and a small smile began to bloom on his face.

"See, I would never lie to you about something like this. You will never be alone again. I'll make sure of that," Ianto replied. He gave Jack a quick kiss and then quickly began walking back down the street. "Come on Jack. Let's see what the Doctor's been up to."

Now Jack followed and he couldn't help but smile, the worry now gone. If Ianto hadn't spotted him looking, then Jack didn't know how long he would've been worrying about this whole incident. This new information helped wipe away the pain that had been eating at Jack's heart.

"So you really won't leave?" asked Jack as they continued to walk.

Ianto couldn't help but smile more. "How many times must you ask? I will give you the same answer as always. Forever."

They met with up with the Doctor, Amy, and Rory before they got back to the Tardis. Jack and Ianto let Amy and Rory, though really just Amy, do all the talking. She talked about a little carnival they'd come across and the food they'd tried and the accessories they'd seen. Jack nor Ianto mentioned their little excursion or conversation and no one asked.

However, the Doctor could tell that Jack was certainly much lighter than he had last seen him. He was of course curious as to how Ianto could be immortal, because what else could cheer up Jack and drive out his pain? Nevertheless, the Doctor kept this to himself, deciding that letting it all rest would be for the best.

They all stopped by the Tardis to check on Myfanwy who seemed to be doing well, just a bit bored. After going back out to get a quick fish for her to cheer her up, they went out to dinner. The Doctor had simply messed with an ATM, the machine looking quite different but utterly quite similar to ones in the past.

It was during that dinner that Jack asked something.

"Do you mind if you drop me off over in London?" asked Jack. "You all can stay here and enjoy the nightlife. I just need to talk to someone."

"I will as long as you don't cause any trouble," the Doctor replied.

"Me? Trouble? I have absolutely no idea what you mean Doctor," Jack said with a wolfish grin.

Later that night, it really wasn't to hard to figure out if the Prime Minister or any other important leader was meeting tonight. You just had to follow the noise protestors and camera men. Jack had realized that rebuilding Torchwood wouldn't be the biggest challenge. Trying to make the government accept it would be.

Torchwood had originally been established by Queen Victoria but when it was destroyed, Jack doubted that the government really thought that much of it nowadays.

When Jack got to Westminster, he slipped out the information that he needed to get past all the security. He didn't know what that information was. He just knew he was thankful for psychic paper. Jack had slipped it from the Doctor before he'd left but he'd return it of course.

Whoever he was pretending to be at the moment must've been important as they kept saying sir and pointed him in different directions. Despite so many years, Westminster still looked the same. Jack made his way to a building and walked in, quickly going through where everything was in his head. He hadn't been here in a long time.

As he got closer to the area where the Prime Minister was currently in a meeting, someone finally walked in front of him and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

"No one important," replied Jack, easily slipping past him and towards the doors that held the meeting.

As he walked in, he wasn't sure exactly what expression he was expecting but he certainly wasn't expecting a man to stand up and say, "Captain Jack Harkness, this is a surprise."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because it sounds as if you were expecting me."

"We simply saw you in the security cameras and then did an ID by your face. Believe us, it was surprising seeing you walk in," the man replied, no emotion in his voice whatsoever.

"Funny way of showing it," muttered Jack, grabbing an empty chair and sitting down without invitation. "Are you the Prime Minister?"

The man from before sat down, brushing off his suit. "That would be me."

"Good. Now have you actually read up on the history of this nation you run or no?" asked Jack.

"If you're wondering if I know about Torchwood, that would be a yes," the Prime Minister said. "You know, you're supposed to be dead."

"It's almost funny how many times I've heard people say that," muttered Jack. "Anyway, I'm showing up again because you need help."

"Who says we need help?" a woman asked, her lips pursing as she looked Jack up and down.

"I do. Only recently aliens have been free to come here. How many crimes have already happened? How many riots? How many experts that you've found out don't really know that much? Trust me, you need some help," Jack replied.

That seemed to put everyone in a bad mood and the Prime Minister said, "Well what if we don't want your help? Besides, I could throw your ass in jail right now."

"Well you could but I know someone who's good at getting past a few guards and security," Jack said with a small shrug. "And I'm not asking for your permission."

"Then why have you even come?" asked the man.

"To inform you that Torchwood will be reborn and also that I would like to work with you."

"With us?"

"Face it, if you've really looked you'll know I'll help all I can but the moment you try to take control you'll get nothing," said Jack.

"This is a different age Captain—"

"Yes, one in which I have experience and can help. But only if you allow me," Jack replied.

For a moment, the entire room was silent until finally someone else asked, "What if we said no?"

"Then I guess I'll go somewhere else. Maybe they'll be more appreciative of our help," said Jack. "Maybe Germany, France . . . America—"

"Those bloody yanks don't need you," the Prime Minister suddenly interrupted.

"So you do admit you need me," Jack said.

"No," the Prime Minster replied stiffly and smoothly. "I simply think your talents would be wasted over there."

"Then we're in agreement. You leave us alone, we'll leave you alone, and we'll help when you need it," said Jack.

"How do we know you can trust you?" some else asked. "If you really have some much knowledge, how do we know we can trust you?"

"Because I have no reason to," Jack simply replied. "For now, you might not believe me but certainly in time you shall. Good bye gentlemen."

Once again, the Prime Minister stood up. "That's it? Just waltz in here, say a few words, and leave?"

"I told you, to inform you of Torchwood's rebuilding and that I'd like to work with you. Don't worry, I'll be in touch," Jack said, turning and leaving the room.

"Should I have someone go after him?"

The Prime Minister slowly shook his head. "No because as much as I hate to admit it, Torchwood is exactly something we need now."