A/N: My God, this arc is so much more difficult to write than I thought it would be. We start off this chapter with the Doctor getting a good talking-to from Jack, then we get into the story. Also, huge thanks to livinglittlelie, who is an awesome conversation-writer and has been helping me make my conversations more in character and deeper.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood.

Children of Earth—Day Three

"Alright, everybody off to bed. I need to talk to the Doctor, alone," Jack ordered. The Doctor frowned, uncertain. As soon as everyone had left the console room, Jack turned on the Time Lord.

"Alright, time to stop running. Answer me one question, just one: do you love Rose?"

The Doctor gaped at him. "I don't see how that is any of your business."

"You've been running from her ever since she got back. She doesn't think that you're interested in her any longer. So tell mw, Doctor, do you love Rose Tyler?"

"Her name isn't Rose Tyler."

"I don't care. Answer the question."

"Yes."

"Then why the bloody hell are you running away from her?"

"Because I'm scared. I'm afraid I'll lose her, and if I get too close—"

"No. That was the reason you never approached her when she was human, and I could understand it a bit back then, but now? You know, she doesn't think that she's good enough for you anymore."

"What?"

"She said that she fought in the Time War. Our Rose thinks that she is too dark for you to still want her."

"I didn't know…"

"I think that you and her need to have a serious discussion, Doctor. Then, bloody hell, it's about time you started shagging her. I like the new body, by the way, Doctor. Do you need any help… test-driving it?"

The Doctor froze. "I—what? No! No, no no," he kept backing up until he tripped over his own feet. "No." he said firmly.

Jack laughed. "You sure? Someone's got to make sure that this model is road-worthy," he said with a wink. The Doctor's mouth worked, but no words came out. A light, easy laugh came from the hallway.

"Jack, you can't just proposition the Doctor every time you two get left alone for a few minutes," the Dreamer said as she stepped inside the console room. She still looked tired, but there was no way she was going to try and sleep.

"Why not? Eventually he'll say yes," Jack said.

"In your dreams, Harkness," the Doctor snarked.

"Anyway. There's an old warehouse that used to be a Torchwood holding facility for Torchwood One. It was abandoned in the nineties. We can land there and make it our base of operations," Jack said. "Let's all get some sleep before we land, though. Won't do us any good if we can't think because we're so tired." With that, the Captain headed down the hallway to his bedroom. "Oh, and we need a laptop," Jack said, popping his head back out. "Also, mind fixing my manipulator?" Jack pulled the strap off his wrist and tossed it to the Doctor before turning back down the hallway.

The two Time Lords spent the time that the humans were sleeping to steal a top-of-the-line laptop, fix Jack's Vortex Manipulator, and get the warehouse wired up for electricity. By the time Amy and the Torchwood team were awake, everything was ready.

"Ianto, have you still got the Eye 5 software?" Gwen asked. Ianto nodded. She grinned. "Good, download it onto the laptop. Because these aren't just contact lenses. They're Torchwood contact lenses, and we need to get inside Whitehall."

"But who's gonna wear them?" Ianto asked.

"Well, there's only one person still talking to us."

The Dreamer grinned. "I can use the TARDIS equipment to find Lois' phone number, and the Old Girl can emit a pulse that will keep the authorities from tracking the call. Gwen and I will try and convince Lois to help us again."

XXX

"Hello?" Lois' voice came over the phone. The Dreamer grinned at Gwen.

"Can you meet us at the chippy we spoke at yesterday?"

"How did you get this number?" Lois asked.

"We've got good technology. Listen, please don't hang up. Give us five minutes, just five minutes."

"Ok."

A few moments later the three women were sitting at a table in the corner. "I've helped you once, and that's enough. If anyone finds out about this, it's treason. Literally treason. Offences like this can be tried without a jury!" Lois said accusingly, although she had the presence of mind to keep her voice low.

"I know, Lois, I know. But, listen, after this is over and we've fixed it, we'll get you cleared. If they can even press charges," the Dreamer said.

"I'm sorry, but you said they're building something in Thames House and we need to find out what it is," Gwen added.

"That's the most secure building in the whole country. How am I supposed to smuggle you in?"

"You don't have to," Gwen told her. "You just keep your eyes open, like this."

Gwen opened the laptop and turned it to face Lois. The Eye 5 software was active, and Gwen had the contact lenses in her eyes.

"But where's that coming from? That's not a webcam, that's you," Lois said, confused.

The Dreamer grinned. "Pretty cool, eh? It's called Eye 5. You just put the contact lenses in, and it transmits everything you see."

"More than that, we have lip-reading software so that we can hear everything said as long as we can see lips," Gwen continued. "And we can send messages to you. Just type on the keyboard and the message appears on the contacts."

"If you wear these, we can find out what's going on, then we can help," the Dreamer said. "And don't worry about scanning for bugs. The lenses don't register. Not on the primitive scanners that you'll be subjected to."

"Giving you information's one thing, but you're putting me right on the front line," Lois said. The Dreamer could see the fear in her eyes.

"You're the only friend we've got left, Lois," Gwen said.

"I can't get into floor thirteen. That's where they're building whatever it is."

"You have to find a way. Please, Lois."

"If I'm caught, they can do anything to me," Lois said as Gwen pulled out the contact lenses and placed them in the case.

"Lois, if they still want to press charges against you after we save the world, the Doctor and I have friends that can help. Torchwood or UNIT would probably be willing to shelter you, and we have the tech to be able to hack into your records and wipe them if necessary. If all else fails, we can take you on the TARDIS and find somewhere for you," the Dreamer said. Lois took a deep breath. "We can't do this without you. Right now, you, Lois, are the most important person in the world. It's all on you."

Lois lifted her head and straightened her shoulders. "All right," she said determinedly. "Give me the contacts before I change my mind." Gwen grinned and handed the case over.

"Thank you so much, Lois," she said. The Dreamer rose and Gwen followed her out of the chippy.

Gwen's phone rang. "Hello?" She paused for a moment, listening. "We gave her the contacts, and she's agreed to do it. Although, if the Dreamer hadn't been here I don't think she would've." She listened another moment. "Bloody hell. Anything else you want while we're out?" A moment later, she hung up the phone. "That was Jack. He's got a new mission for us. We need to go to the Camden police station. Clem's been arrested for theft and minor affray."

"Clem, that's Clement MacDonald, the adult that was talking with the children?" the Dreamer confirmed.

"Yeah," Gwen said. "Jack said that between me having once been a policewoman, and you being a big, bad wolf—not sure what he meant by that, exactly—we should be able to get him out."

The Dreamer snorted. "He's probably right, although my way may not be the best way if we're trying to keep quiet. I'll get some money for the bus fare."

XXX

Back at the Hub, Jack, Ianto, and the Doctor were gathered around the TARDIS computer. "Jack," the Doctor began, "there were three other people killed on the same day as you. Andrew Staines, Ellen Hunt, and Michael Sanders. Arkytior said that it looked like some sort of a cover-up, especially since the children said 'We are coming back'." He took a deep breath and his hands tightened on the screen.

Jack recognized the ticks for what they were—worry. He'd used his old nickname for Rose when she wasn't even around, and he was clenching his teeth and shifting from foot to foot. "She'll be alright, Doc," Jack reassured. "So what's Clem's story?"

Ianto sighed. "Ah, well, according to Gwen, it was your basic alien abduction, back when he was a kid. 1965. He was living about ten miles outside Arbroath, the Holly Tree Lodge, it was an orphanage. The kids were taken away in November 1965. The lodge was closing down, and the kids were supposed to be taken to a secondary care home. These twelve kids were going to Harbouring Heights, in Plymouth, but they never got there. The paperwork trail just stops."

Jack was pale. "Twelve children, in November 1965? Show me those people, the ones killed at the same time as me. Their history. Show me them forty years ago."

The Doctor complied. Jack stared at their faces. "I never knew their names," he whispered.

"How do you know them, Jack?" Ianto asked. Jack didn't answer, just grabbed his greatcoat off of a coral strut and ran out of the TARDIS. "Jack?"

XXX

The Dreamer gasped as she felt the telepathic broadcast hit her mind. She closed her eyes, feeling a sudden, overwhelming need to point towards the Thames House. Her shielding was strong, but this broadcast was immensely powerful. Instinctively, she reached to the part of her mind where the Time Lords had resided. The Doctor was the only presence there, and she seized ahold of his mind.

Help me, please.

Arkytior?

It's them. They want to point, at the Thames House. Rassilon, that's powerful.

The Doctor cursed colorfully in Gallifreyan. Ianto looked at him questioningly. "They're back. Pointing at the Thames House, where the lovely Lois Habiba informed us that something is being built." The two men, followed by Rhys, ran to the roof of the warehouse to see a pillar of fire over the Thames.

We are here. Theta, they're here.

Abruptly, the Dreamer' mental presence vanished from the Doctor's mind. He ran a hand through his hair worriedly, then turned to hurry back to the TARDIS.

Back on the streets of London, the Dreamer looked around. "We'll never get anywhere like this. Rassilon, I'm taking the manipulator next time. Alright, both of you, grab my arms. This is probably not going to be comfortable." She sighed, closing her eyes, and the three vanished in swirls of gold light, taken into the Time Vortex.

XXX

It was evening before Jack came back. Clem was terrified and ran, but Gwen went after him and managed to convince the poor man to come back. The eight people stepped inside the TARDIS and sat around the table in the galley, nursing mugs of tea.

"Where'd you run off to?" the Dreamer asked. After berating her for using the Time Vortex for travel, the Doctor had brought her up to speed. "Jack, what are you hiding?"

The immortal ex-con looked sadly at her. "They're called the 456. The aliens. They were here in 1965." He was about to say more, but there was an alert from Gwen's stolen laptop.

"Lenses active! Good girl, Lois," she exclaimed. The group huddled around the computer, watching. Gwen typed 'thank you' on the screen, and Lois smiled at the mirror.

Lois got in the lift with Frobisher, then followed him into the room. She grabbed a notebook and a pen. In the front of the room was a large tank filled with some sort of gas. Frobisher stepped to the front of the room and began to talk.

'Need his mouth' Gwen typed. Lois slowly began to move around the room.

"And according to the rules of protocol as established by 1968, that which we established by the United Nations—"

His voice was lost as Rhys teased Gwen about sending a smiley face. "Hush," the Dreamer snapped, concentrating.

"I must ask whether these greetings are accepted." Frobisher was silent for a long moment, then: "Do you understand me?"

"I repeat," he continued, "according to the rules of protocol as established by the United Nations—"

"Then I thank you on behalf of the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Australia, the provinces and territories of Canada, Japan, and the Hellenic Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Iran—"

"Did it speak?" Rhys asked.

"It doesn't have a mouth," Amy interjected. "The lip reading software doesn't work on speakers."

At that moment, Lois drew a strange symbol on the notepad. "What is that?" the Dreamer asked.

"It's shorthand," Ianto said. "I can read it. It says, 'Yes'."

The 456 thrashed and splattered against the glass. "What's it doing?" Ianto said, reading the notepad.

'I don't know,' Gwen typed.

"I'm sorry, I can't help being concerned, is there a problem?" Frobisher asked. "Would you like me to continue?"

"Yes," Ianto said.

"Right, then, in the spirit of co-operation, we have a formal request to make. We ask that you do not use our children for communication, in case certain parties or territories see that as a violation. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes," Ianto read.

"Thank you," Frobisher said. "And as a gift, as a welcome to this world, we have prepared a document summarizing our culture and history. This document can be made available to you immediately, though the format remains undecided. Said format remains of your choosing, though this does not constitute a request for information on, or access to, specific 456 technology." An aide stepped forward and handed Frobisher a note. "I have been given a request for specific information. It has been asked why the 456 chose Great Britain as their specific point of embarkation."

"We came here," Ianto read.

"Because?" Amy asked.

"That's all it said," Ianto told her.

"You have no significance. You are middle men," Ianto read off the paper.

"That's a lie, because it's been here before," Gwen stated. "That's why it's here now."

"It's Frobisher. He's got that thing to lie. Whatever happened in the past, they're hiding it," Ianto said. Writing on the paper caught his attention and he frowned. "We have a request," he read off. The people gathered around the laptop looked around nervously. The Dreamer noticed that Jack was standing off to the side, his head bowed.

"By all means," Frobisher said.

"We want a gift," Ianto read. "That can't be good."

"Of course. But what nature of gift exactly?" Frobisher asked. He looked slightly pale. "A gift? Gladly. But what do you want?"

Ianto sucked in a harsh, jagged breath. "We want your children," he said in a hoarse whisper. "We will take your children."

The Doctor's head whipped up and he stared at Ianto. "What do they want with children?" he asked. "That can't be right."

Frobisher apparently thought the same. "I'm sorry, there appears to be a problem with the translation. By children you mean—"

"Your descendants," Ianto read. Lois' hand was shaking as she drew. "The offspring of the human race."

"How many?" John Frobisher asked.

"Ten percent. We want ten percent. We want ten percent of the children of this world."

Jack lifted his head. "Try covering that up, you bastards," he snarled at the screen.

"Jack!" the Dreamer exclaimed. A thought occurred to her. "Rassilon, Jack, what happened last time they were here?"

"I gave them twelve children. As a gift. And so you all know, I have a daughter and a grandson and Frobisher had them taken into custody."

The TARDIS was silent. "They are not going to get a single child," the Doctor said suddenly. His voice was cold and dark. "Not even if I have to stop them myself. The children of Earth are sacred." He looked as though he was trying to deliver an ultimatum to the 456 himself. "You give them one single, solitary child, and you will be facing the wrath of the Oncoming Storm."

Sorry for the slightly awkward ending, but I didn't know where to cut it. I haven't changed too much at this point, but I will be making it more AU in the next chapters. Thanks to all reviewers, favoriters, and followers! Until next time.