Jenny felt her dream slip away as she was roused back into consciousness. She couldn't remember exactly what had transpired while she was asleep, but experienced a sense of comfort and peace in its aftermath. She refused to open her eyes and relinquish the moment, clinging to her warm bed.

As her awareness of her surroundings grew, Jenny realized it wasn't the bed that she was clinging to. Rather, her arms and one of her legs were entangled with those belonging to a warm body beside her. Her eyelids fluttered open and she tilted her head up.

Smiling back at her was a very chipper Captain Jack Harkness. "Good morning."

A blush crept up her cheeks as the details of the once-forgotten dream re-emerged. With her head resting against his bare chest, it became apparent that it hadn't been a dream at all. "Morning."

"How'd you sleep?" he asked her, rubbing a hand along the length of her forearm.

"Pretty well, but I was a little cold. So, thanks for keeping me warm."

Jack chuckled heartily and she felt his body shake within her grasp. "My pleasure. Though, I guess that explains the shirt…"

Jenny looked down at the light blue linen cuffed to her elbows. "Kind of. I was a little, um, thirsty in the middle of the night," she informed him and a smirk of pride immediately flashed across his face. "So I got up to grab a bottle of water. I didn't exactly feel comfortable walking around the Hub naked… there seems to be a tendency for things to magically appear here."

"I seem to recall losing my shirt somewhere near the door…" he pointed out. The implication was pretty clear. After all, his bed and the cog door were pretty much on opposite ends of the building and separated by two floors.

"Well, what little clothing I could find was on the ladder…" She avoided his gaze in slight embarrassment. The two items had provided very little modesty. "I found your shirt on the way to the kitchen."

Jack dipped his head to place a kiss on her lips. "For the record, I think it looks good on you. And I mean really, really good."

She rotated her body over so that her arms rested flat against his chest to support her. "Better than on you?"

"I wouldn't go that far…" He noticed that her new position allowed her black bra to peek out beneath the neckline of the button-down and instantly approved of the view. "But it's close. I'll give you that."

She shook her head at him and chewed on her lower lip. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, I have it on good authority that the boss is giving us the day off."

The redhead arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really now?"

He nodded in reply. "I was thinking we could order in some breakfast first."

Jenny reached for his wrist and pulled the vortex manipulator toward him. "Think again…"

Jack studied its face. "Fair enough. Lunch then."

"Good. I'm not ready to get out of bed," she declared and brought his arm down so that she could clasp her slender fingers around his hand.

He lifted his free limb to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "And then maybe, when we feel like getting out of bed, we can take a drive out to Penarth."

Jenny was struck by the suggestion. "I didn't think you'd want to see it."

"Give me a little credit here, J2. Plus, it looks like I may be calling the town home for at least a few nights a week…" He then added with a wink, "And maybe mornings. So it only makes sense."

A bright grin spread across her features and she leaned in to kiss him. "It still needs some work, but I think you'll like it. Especially the basement."

Jack raised his eyebrows at the notion. "Oh, I already like the sound of that."

She rolled her eyes at him and slapped him playfully on the arm. "That's not what I meant!"

"Too bad."

"It's like Torchwood 2.0 in there. Or technically, 2.5 if you think about it. Either way, it's like the Hub minus the Weevils, shooting range, and vault." She paused for a second and Jack watched her with great amusement as she babbled on. "And the pterodactyl. That would probably be the hardest thing to explain to neighbors if she ever got loose."

"What about the bedroom?"

"There were four: mine and two guest rooms, plus, one I had set aside for you in the event things got better…" She quickly realized what she had referenced and glossed over the comment. "But, I think it's safe to say I can convert yours into something far more useful." Jenny dragged her teeth along her lower lip.

Jack freed his hand and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hopefully, there's a bigger bed."

"Oh, there is," Jenny replied. "But it's not like you need it," she added with a wry smile.

He grinned at her and rolled her over so that she was now underneath him, hands on either side of her shoulders supporting his body weight. "Up for a repeat performance then?"

"Strictly speaking, it would be a repeat-repeat-repeat-repeat-repeat -" Jack pressed his lips against hers to impatiently silence her train of thought. Though, he certainly had other motivations, as well. The kiss deepened for a minute and then she pushed him a few inches off of her body. "What happened to lunch?"

"Make it dinner," he growled in reply and lowered his head to kiss her again. Then suddenly, the low sound of his mobile ringing across the room cut through the moment. He pulled back and grimaced. "Shit…"

"For the record, I have no clue where your earpiece landed."

"Thanks, Jenny," he mumbled and descended from the bed to seek out the less convenient device. He found it under a table in the corner and glanced at the screen.

Jenny propped herself up on her elbows. "Who is it?"

"Gwen," Jack replied succinctly and hit the ignore button, dropping it onto the foot of his bed. "Probably another piece of alien tech. It can wait."

In spite of her retirement, Gwen Cooper had been keeping tabs on the international black market. Since the destruction of the Hub and Miracle Day, significant efforts had been made to recover the items pilfered from Torchwood 1.0. Thanks to Gwen, they had made immense progress and had taken back an overwhelming majority of the lost technology. However, there was still a portion missing.

The arrangement was perfect: Gwen got to keep her family out of harm's way, yet still do her part at Torchwood and Jack and Jenny had one less matter to worry about.

Well, until Gwen Cooper called from her house at a rather inconvenient time.

"Jack…" Jenny wasn't convinced her call lacked importance at the moment.

But Jack had other things on his mind. "It can wait," he asserted again and climbed back under the thin blanket. Then the phone rang a second time and he was forced to pick it up once more. Sure enough, the screen read Gwen Cooper – Home. This time, he accepted the call. "Gwen, this better be good," Jack groaned into the mobile.

"Jack?" a voice crackled, one that was definitely not female. "Something's wrong with Gwen…"

Jenny had met Gwen Cooper in person only three times. Two of their meetings had been at Anwen's second and third birthday parties. Her invite to the former had been extended because of their initial encounter. While out to dinner with Rhys, Gwen had come across evidence that led her to believe Weevils were in a nearby sewer. She phoned Jack to have a look and much to her surprise, he showed up with a young redhead. It wasn't until she incurred a nasty set of talon marks to her neck and shoulder while prying one of the aliens off of Gwen that the Welsh woman offered her stamp of approval.

However, she didn't like to admit that there was still some residual jealousy. Not because of her evident bond with Jack, though that didn't exactly hurt, but because she felt like she had been replaced. And even though she liked the girl, the feeling still hung around.

By the time the black Range Rover parked in the driveway, Rhys was already sitting on the stairs. Jack climbed out of the driver's side and cut through the small front lawn. The door opened before he could step onto the porch. "Rhys, where is she?"

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "She's upstairs in bed. The mumbling has stopped, but so has everything else."

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked. She shut the door behind them and hiked the duffel bag she was carrying further up her black leather-clad shoulder.

"She was going on about some rubbish earlier. I couldn't understand it. And then she just…" He threw his hands in the air, completely befuddled by the situation as he recalled it. "Froze mid-sentence and passed out, eyes open an' everything. I had to carry her upstairs."

Before he even finished, Jack had traversed halfway to the second floor. Jenny placed a hand on the frazzled man's shoulder. "We're going to figure this out, Rhys. I promise."

He nodded silently and followed in the older man's footsteps. Moments later, they had caught up with Jack in the bedroom.

Jenny's eyes raked over Gwen curiously. Her body was rigid, though her eyes were wide open. Yet, aside from the obvious, nothing else appeared to be different.

She peeled off the jacket to reveal the fitted black tee beneath and dropped the satchel from the floor. She then pulled the medical scanner from her bag and allowed it to hover over the former Torchwood employee. "Where's Anwen?"

"Asleep in her room. She was up half the night," Rhys replied quietly and Jenny nodded. A little girl didn't need to see her mother like this.

As the device reached Gwen's neck, the Time Lord's eyebrows furrowed. The look didn't go unnoticed by Jack. "What is it?"

"Her brainwave activity is well above the average for a human."

"But she's comatose," her husband insisted.

"I know," she remarked and shined a pen light over each of Gwen's irises. "That's half the problem."

The older man turned to his friend. "Rhys, were you able to make out anything she was saying?"

Rhys rubbed a hand over his face and strained in thought. "Ehm… I don't know. Something about a vortex and absorbed energy, I think."

All of a sudden, Gwen sat up with a start. Her face had returned to normal, but something in her eyes was still hollow. Almost, empty.

"Gwen…" Rhys had rushed to her side before either Torchwood agent could warn him. As soon as he placed a hand on her shoulder, Gwen drove the palm of her hand into his chest and shoved him across the room. His back connected with the mirror mounted against the wall and shards began to rain down around him.

The woman looked away from her husband's body and craned her head at Jack. The look on her face was eerily composed. "Absorption of residual vortex energy." Her voice was mechanical, yet clear as a bell.

While her gaze flickered between Jack and Gwen, a realization dawned on Jenny. "Jack, her pupils..." He narrowed in his focus, but her superior vision had his beat. "They're dilated. And they're not changing." The implication still seemed to be unknown to her partner, so she clarified further, "She's in a persisting state of inquisition."

Jack came to his own additional conclusion. "She's doing recon work."

"She can't be a sleeper," Jenny insisted, suddenly frightened. But not for herself or Jack, for Rhys and Anwen. "You don't think she's Cell 114, do you?"

"No." Jack shook his head. "Her arm would have opened up by now."

Gwen shifted her attention to Jenny. "The energy will bring life."

Jenny was completely perplexed. If this entity wanted energy from the vortex, why hadn't it gone after her or Jack yet? Certainly, Jack was flush with it and she wouldn't be that bad of a catch either. Gwen herself probably housed enough for any creature to make due with. Then again, Gwen Cooper couldn't exactly consume her own life force…

"She's just a puppet," Jenny marveled at once and the revelation caught Jack off-guard. "Something's not right here."

Rhys had finally managed to regain his bearings and was slowly rising to his feet. "You think she's possessed?" But man, did he have a bloody horrendous headache.

"More like controlled." she explained to him. "But why Gwen? Why not just take her life force right off the bat? And why hasn't she gone after us?" she wondered aloud.

This time, it was the only non-Torchwood member who had an answer. "Maybe it didn't know?"

Pain crept into Jenny's temples. The slow burn she had grown more accustomed to, but had not conquered entirely, was rearing its ugly head. And then, her mind cleared. "It can't know…" It was finally starting to come together. "Rhys, you are a genius!"

"First time I ever heard that," Rhys snorted, though it was easy to detect a hint of pride in his voice. "Probably the last, too."

Jack hadn't pieced it together yet, either. "What are you thinking?"

"Whatever this thing is, it found Gwen."

"So what you're saying is that it detected the energy in her?" Jack asked, to which she nodded. "Okay, then it needs the energy for something. Probably the usual… living forever. So that means, because she's here, Gwen isn't the endgame."

"No, her life force wouldn't be enough. It's going after the big fish," Jenny declared.

"But if it's not me and it's not you…" Jack trailed off, lines creasing his forehead. "Who does that leave?"

It was in that moment Jenny noticed Gwen's focus was no longer on anyone in the room. Rather, her attention was locked on a picture frame atop her dresser.

A gasp escaped her lips, "Anwen."

It made perfect sense. The alien had likely detected substantial amounts of energy in the little girl. It wasn't just the Time Vortex that generated this kind of pure life force; it was also the Cardiff rift. Not only had Gwen been exposed to the riff every day for nearly three years, her daughter had been exposed in utero. It was the perfect immortality cocktail.

And it wouldn't be much longer until whatever was pulling Gwen's strings made her move.

Jenny fled from the room, hearing a loud thump somewhere behind her. She trusted that Jack could handle himself and protect Rhys. The little girl's safety was the pressing issue at the moment.

She opened Anwen's door, barely stopping to notice her sunny yellow walls as she crossed the room to her bed. The three and a half year old had grown so much since she'd last seen her. Her copper hair was slightly longer and curly at the ends. Even in a lavender dress, she was a complete combination of both Cooper and Williams lineage.

Jenny stooped down and scooped up the child in her arms. Anwen's bright green eyes fluttered open. "Aunt Jenny?"

Jenny smiled down at her in an attempt to reassure the girl. "Hi, Anwen." However, it was getting harder to put up a brave face as the loud noises and indecipherable yelling was growing stronger.

"Where Mummy?" She rubbed at her sleepy face.

"She's busy with Daddy and Uncle Jack right now," the older woman told her as she hurried down the stairs. "You and I are going to have an adventure."

"Like Dora?" Anwen suggested. "And Diego?"

Jenny leaned down to get one of her occupied hands close enough to the door handle to turn it. When it opened, she made a beeline for the SUV. "Exactly like Dora and Diego." She climbed into the passenger's side and plopped Anwen onto the driver's seat. "I'll tell you what," she added after locking the door and began fiddling with the mainframe computer. "While we wait until it's okay to go, you can watch Dora on the telly, alright?"

Finally, Jenny managed to bring up the video feed and the little girl grinned brightly. "Backpack, backpack!"

"Good girl, Anwen." Jenny smiled at her and turned her attention back toward the house. Her mouth slid back into a thin line and she popped open the glove compartment. The concealed pistol had served her well before. She just hoped she didn't need it today.

The decision to remain with Anwen in the Range Rover wasn't an easy one. In reality, she wanted to get the girl as far away from her mother as she could. However, the vehicle was reinforced with material that went far beyond the bulletproof nature of Army tanks. Not even U.N.I.T. possessed this stuff.

And a moving car meant obstacles, including commandeered vehicles. Jenny wasn't willing to take the chance. She was only sorry she didn't have a pair of noise-suppressing earmuffs for her.

Jenny rubbed her temples as she tried to put the last piece of the puzzle in its place. The alien was controlling Gwen… but how? It couldn't be a blood bond; she would have noticed a change in her heart rate or a trace on her body. There was no presence of a second subconscious, so it couldn't be a temporal mental transfer.

Something had to be different, had to have changed. She just had to figure out what.

But then a bang erupted from inside the house, a noise that could only be associated with one thing.

Now, Jenny had a difficult decision to make. Did she stay with Anwen, regardless of the outcome? Or did she go back into the house? If it was Jack that had been shot, he would be rendered useless and Rhys would likely die before he let anything happen to his daughter, so she'd encounter Gwen in one way or another.

The redhead disengaged the steering column and overrode navigation. No one would be able to open the door, let alone drive the vehicle without her bioprint now, which they would never get. If she died and regenerated, her bioprint would change. She could get around the system with Jack's vortex manipulator if it came to it, but the alien controlling her had no reason to know that.

She decided it was better to fight Gwen on her own terms and turned to the three and a half year old. "Anwen, listen to me…" The girl obeyed the woman. "I'm going to go inside to check on your parents and Uncle Jack. I'm locking the doors. Don't let anyone in, even if it's Mummy, alright?"

"Okay," she grinned back at her and then looked back to the screen. Oh, go be young and innocent.

Jenny took one last look at the copper-haired child and made her way back into the house. Hopefully, she'd be able to recognize her adopted aunt when she returned.

She hesitantly opened the door and found the downstairs was in complete disarray. The railing of the stairs was completely splintered and artwork littered the floor. She heard a creaking noise down the hallway. Gwen was waiting her out.

Jenny reached for the gun in her waistband, but then stopped. If it came to it, could she really shoot Gwen? The truth came easily: she would never leave Anwen without her mother.

Slowly, she crept a down the hall. Judging by the movement and light breathing, the Welshwoman was in the kitchen. Internally, Jenny groaned. Too many knives.

She halted just before the wall came to an end. This was it.

Jenny turned the corner and came face to face with Gwen's fist. She was momentarily stunned by the contact, but regained her awareness quick enough to bat away Gwen's attempt to kick her in the solarplexes. She swung at the older woman's face, hoping more to subdue her than cause real damage. Her punch landed, but her second swing was blocked and Gwen launched her into a floor length cabinet that fractured under the force. She immediately felt the slivers of wood piercing her skin through the black cotton as she crumpled to the floor.

Gwen brought down her leg sharply, but Jenny was able to get her palms between the heel of her boot and her own neck. She kicked up and managed to connect with the woman's ribs hard enough to stun her and then landed another to her head.

By some miracle, Gwen remained conscious as she stumbled back into the living room and onto the hardwood panels below. The Time Lord got to her feet and rushed through the doorway, only to be met with a candlestick to the knee. Jenny yelped in pain and dropped to the ground as Gwen swung it at her again. She fell to her knees and loomed over her, moving to strike her in the face. But the redhead grabbed at her wrists and steadied her foot against the brunette's midsection, propelling her over her body and backwards.

Time. She needed so much time. Yet, at the rate this was escalating, there wasn't much left. Her only option was to buy just a little bit more. With the upper hand, Jenny righted herself and locked an arm around Gwen's neck, putting pressure on her windpipe. The woman's hand came up to clutch Jenny's wrist as she clawed at her, but it was to no avail. Gwen was slipping away into unconsciousness.

Jenny looked over the top of her head sadly, thankful there wasn't a mirror in sight. She had no desire to see herself right now. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a refraction of light coming from Gwen's finger. She eyed the item carefully.

It was definitely a ring with a medium-sized stone in the center and smaller baguettes encircling the band. Yet, it was on her left hand, so it had to be new. Her engagement ring had looked nothing like that. Then suddenly, she realized Rhys and Gwen's fifth wedding anniversary had just passed. It must have been a gift from her husband.

No sooner did she finish the thought that lavender light flashed from the setting. "No…" Jenny gaped, struggling to maintain her grip on Gwen. "It can't be…" The purple hue showed itself again and her suspicions were confirmed.

She now knew how the alien was controlling Gwen and how to fracture its hold over her. The problem was that one of her hands was a little tied up at the moment.

Her emerald orbs darted around the room and finally landed on the heavy candlestick lying next to her ankle. "Gwen," she whispered to the human woman in the event her subconscious was still active. "I'm so sorry… but it it's the only way."

Jenny removed her right hand from her wrist and snatched the silver item from the floor. As Gwen continued to futilely wriggle in her grasp, she pressed the holder into the other hand.

The redhead took a deep breath and then wrenched Gwen's fingers from her flesh, pulling them until they were flat against the hardwood floor. The candlestick sliced through the air and connected with her fingers. The crunching of bone echoed around the room.

Gwen screamed in agony, but Jenny tried her best to push it out of her brain and slipped the ring from her digit. The former Torchwood agent immediately went limp.

Jenny sighed as she laid her down gently onto the floor. It was finally over.

Now that the dust had settled, she could hear noises coming from upstairs. Someone was in a lot of pain.

She rushed up to the second floor and came to stop in the master bedroom first. Rhys was slowly gathering himself to his feet. "You're okay."

His breathing was labored and he had a nasty gash on his cheek. "Anwen?"

"She's fine," Jenny assured him calmly. "I secured her in the car and disabled the navigation. She's watching Dora the Explorer."

Had the situation been different, Rhys would have been in hysterics. "And Gwen?"

She exhaled a breath. "She's unconscious downstairs, but she's going to be okay. It was the ring you bought her… biotemporal cloud mechanism." At his blank stare, she clarified, "It was the link between Gwen and whatever was controlling her."

He nodded and made his way toward her. "Thank you."

She dipped her head in acknowledgment. "Where's Jack?"

"Last I remember, he and Gwen had gotten to Anwen's room," he told her. "I think she shot him." Jenny exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in and her features darkened. "Go. I'll go wait by the car."

She smiled at him half-heartedly and took off down the hall. The door was ripped off the hinges and blood was smeared along the mahogany surface. She hadn't seen this much blood in a while.

"Jenny…" Her head whipped in the direction of the quiet voice. Her name sounded so foreign coming from his lips, but it felt so right, too.

Jack was slumped against the wall with a hand pressed to the midsection of his shirt, red oozing out around his flesh and coating his skin. She crossed the room in a hurry and the smell of blood overwhelmed her.

His trademark grin faltered for a moment and he grimaced. "Are they…?"

"They're fine," she answered softly and crouched down in front of him. "Rhys bought her a new ring for their anniversary. Turns out the big oaf got her a Barzillian Moonstone."

He let out a pained laugh. "Biotemporal cloud mechanism." The laughter drifted off into the silence.

"Yeah." She let her focus drift away from his face to the wound. Shots to the abdomen inflicted the most damage and caused the most pain, but they also took the longest to bleed out. He had to have been bleeding for at least thirty minutes by now.

"You should probably call Martha and make arrangements," Jack instructed her. He leaned the back of his head against the wall as dizziness came over him. "Until we can track it down…"

"I will."

"It shouldn't be long now," he grimaced and let his bloodied hand fall away to the side.

She sunk down to sit on the ground beside him, ignoring the sharp pains from the lacerations in her back. "I know." She swallowed hard.

It had been nearly six months since the last time she'd seen him die and come back from the dead. Then, he had been shot straight through the heart and died within seconds. It had been a virtually painless death.

But this… this was akin to torture. He was bleeding out slowly, agonizingly. It tore at her hearts.

His breathing began to slow. "I didn't miss this…"

Jenny reached over and clasped his left hand between her own. Jack closed his eyes, vision too blurred to keep them open any longer. "I'll be here when you wake up."

She wiped at her eyes, ignoring the scrapes and cuts marring her features, and then pushed up his sleeve. With a few taps on the buttons of Jack's vortex manipulator, she overrode her own controls and was met with the faint sound of a car door opening outside the window.

Another few minutes passed before the Time Lord felt her partner's hand go limp. Jack was gone.

By the time a car arrived an hour later, Jack still hadn't revived. She had spoken to the soldiers Martha had sent to collect the Cooper-Williams family, but had refused to move.

Rhys had bid her farewell first while Gwen got Anwen settled in the SUV. She empathized with him. It was hard to deal with the fact that danger would always follow the three of them around. But at the least, they were well equipped to handle it. Had Gwen been anybody else, someone who had maybe been retconned, none of them would have made it out of the house alive. The suggestion brought a hint of comfort to Rhys. Not a lot, but enough.

"I came to say goodbye before we ship off." Jenny looked up from the clock on the vortex manipulator to find a battered and bruised Gwen leaning against what was left of the doorframe. "And thank you."

"You don't have to…"

A horn sounded and Gwen rolled her eyes. "They give Rhys twenty minutes and they can't even give me five? Bloody hell!"

She couldn't help but chuckle at her Welsh temper. "Don't worry. Cleaners are on their way. By the time you get back, everything will be as it was. Well, as close as possible."

"Thanks, Jenny. You may have to retcon the neighbors, though," the brunette added with a laugh.

"Already taken care off. Did the whole neighborhood for good measure."

"Oh, I don't miss that!" she replied and swiveled her body to leave. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will… you too, alright?" As Gwen was retreating, the redhead noticed her heavily bandaged arm. "How's the hand?"

Gwen held it up before her and twisted her forearm back and forth. "I'll live. You did a hell of a number on it, though."

Jenny frowned guiltily. "Sorry about that."

"You saved my daughter, Jenny. You have nothing to be sorry for." Gwen held her gaze, a little longer than Jenny felt was necessary. She could have sworn, for a fleeting moment, her chocolate brown eyes flickered to her and Jack's laced fingers. "Nothing." And with her parting word, Gwen Cooper disappeared down the hall.

The turning over of an ignition cut through the quiet, followed by a loud gasp to her right. As her partner hunched over, inhaling large gulps of air, she squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Come on, Jack." She hooked her arm around his back and helped him to his feet. "Let's go home."

A/N: Hello again, everyone! Sorry this one took a little over a week to get out there. I didn't want to publish it without doing a few read-throughs and edits and I'm approaching my last week of classes. So here you are! I hope you like how this one picked up from the big moment in the last chapter. It was a struggle to not go overboard with Jack/Jenny fluff, no matter how much I wanted to. It went in a completely different direction from how I initially started and I'm glad I re-routed my path. But I'm happy to finally be able to write Jack and Jenny as a couple. I hope I didn't make you all wait TOO long and that you feel the time invested was worth it.

For the record, I love the direction they're taking 11 in the Christmas trailer. And if you watch Arrow and saw the fencing scene, I knew it was Barrowman in one of the suits from the moment it started. I literally said "There's Barrowman. I'd know that ass anywhere." Yep. That's my life. Though, I suspect, it's a lot of yours too!

By the way, my TARDIS trash can has arrived and is scaring the crap out of my little black Labrador because it's REALLY, REALLY loud. Seriously. Unfortunately, my 10 Sonic Screwdriver, Vortex Manipulator, and a few other goodies are currently being held hostage by UPS. Damn then.

Lastly, I just finished up John Barrowman's "Anything Goes" autobiography and am about 30 pages into "I Am What I Am." I read recreationally on my two hour bus ride home from class to help me unwind and have recently come into possession of a Nook, so his books have let the Jack muse run wild in my head. Plus, it doesn't hurt that my iPhone has been constantly buzzing the last hour with John's tweet notifications. I feel like we're texting back and forth and it's kind of awesome.

On the subject of twitter, be sure to check out my Twitter page with the handle Jewelgirl04. I post updates on when new chapters are coming and sneak peeks of content. Plus, I love hearing from you guys over there, as well.

Here are the review replies!

Pebbles – You did. But that doesn't mean I ever tire of hearing it!

10sladydoctor – Oh, if anything is certain and pretty obvious to the point I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything for anyone it's that Ten is SO not going to be happy about this.

Winchester Lover – Hehe. I did!

Snaptastic34 – Thank you. I know some people will be disappointed that it didn't go further, but I think sometimes less is more. I'm glad to have your support!

VivaWho – Adorableness and awesomeness? Haha. That's fantastic.

Geekchic20 – That's interesting. I actually didn't think of that, so that's absolutely something I'm going to consider now. Obviously, beyond what Ten thinks!

Madame Harkness – The Hub 2.0 is similar to the Hub 1.0 with some modifications, like Jenny's lab and room. But for all intents and purposes, you can picture the original Hub when you read. And I thought of the ladder… oh did I. I'm not sure they made it down the ladder before the first time, but they obviously did at some point. Hehe.

WhoviansUnite – I just keep picturing how impossible River and Jack would be in the same room. I just feel like that might be worth the return of Jack. I don't even have to wait until the 50th anniversary. Let's get on that now.

Guest – I'm so glad that you liked what you've read thus far. And I certainly appreciate your constructive criticism. I'm definitely not a martial artist, though I considered studying videos of choreographed fight scenes before writing this. Ultimately, I decided this wasn't so much sparring as much as Jack knowing Jenny was angry and needing to let it all out. Jack's a smart guy and I think he knew the only way he could get through to her was to allow her to work through it physically after she spent so much time in the range. So that's part of the reason why the targets were impractical on both ends. Her strategy went out the window out of frustration and anger. She just wanted to inflict pain and let's be honest, when you're really pissed at someone, sometimes you just want to deck them. He just wanted to egg her on and the hits he was getting in were just needling her forward. As far as them falling, I also thought about the fact that Jenny has a respiratory bypass system. So I took a little license with that to ensure it's not entirely the same as you and I for the purposes of moving the plot forward. You bring up a GREAT point about Jenny's accent versus the narration and some of her vocabulary. One thing I'm trying to get across is the fact that while Jenny explains that her regenerative energy rebounded off of her father, it also rebounded off Jack. So she has some of his vocabulary that is very Americanized, but doesn't entirely realize it. She's something like 80:20 Ten to Jack. Because the omniscient narrator is essentially me, you'll see American vocabulary used like the chip vs. French fry thing you brought up. But Jenny won't actually SAY the word French fry. She would call it a chip. I hope that makes sense to you. I'm trying to be deliberate with that, but I'm sure I've overlooked a few things. I really appreciate when things I write spark debate over aspects like you've mentioned because I feel like I get to develop more of a rapport with my readers and talk more about my motivations rather than what is merely black letter on the screen. So THANK you. And I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Sincerely and truly, I am.

TheTimeLadyNeverFound – Thanks so much! I hope this chapter was one you liked too!

Trouble in the Night – Well, I said BY Chapter 20. Take that as you will. As for Ben, don't worry… you'll see him again down the road. He's a lot of fun to write. What is the human perspective on an alien living amongst us? Well, that's Ben! I'm toying around in my head with a particular plot point for him down the road, but I'm not sure I want to alter that particular aspect of canon. Though, the ultimate plan for him is the same regardless. Oh, I hate being cryptic! And since you like Cardozo so much, I have to tell you who my muse is for him! It's actually a pro-wrestler named Randy Orton. Google him. Find pictures of him while he was filming the 12 Rounds sequel. Drool. Then get back to me. Deal? Deal.

DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympian s – That legitimately could be a gif right there. If you can make gifs and do that with Jack and/or Ten, I would bow down to you. It's so funny. So so funny.

Me – Yes, I shall join you in that dance! You have NO idea how much I wanted to pull the trigger on their relationship, but I wanted to build tension and make it a little more believable. Also, based on the fact that shirtless Jack is ridiculously sexy, I had to throw that into the mix once more. And for your guess, you alone get a cookie!

Web of Obsidian – I've gone a few times, but there was nothing worth leaving my house for so early to get. I think it's gotten TOO early for openings. If you open at 9pm, I can't exactly leave dinner to get on a line, now can I? I prefer to make obscene amounts of purchases from the comfort of my warm bed! Oh, you compared me to the Moff! I'm honored! So glad you liked it!

TheRiverRose – To answer your question, yes and no. She will, in terms of chapter wise, but a lot more time will have passed than thus far. He won't… on both levels. To describe Brig… hmm. Well, he's certainly your typical military man. Very rigid in posture and in temperament, but he's a very intelligent and witty man that isn't afraid to voice his opinion on the matter. The thing about Brig is that he's very dynamic and much different from the strictly military-minded man he started out as way back when. He's more accepting of the science and logic in relying on it rather than brute force. I suggest, actually, to get a better handle on his character, you try and watch a home release from 1995 called Downtime. I think it gives you a better look at his evolution, while maintaining the integrity of the man from the 60's and 70's. Hope that helps!

TurtletheWriter – To me, I can't imagine him (post-Ianto, of course) belonging with anyone else but her. Torchwood Jack and Doctor Who Jack are so different in terms of grittiness and angst as opposed to humor and innuendo. Harkness isn't as lighthearted in Cardiff, so I wanted to blend the two aspects of him together because unlike Gwen, Ianto, Tosh, and Owen, Jenny's also a blend of those two individual canons. So he doesn't have to keep that side from her to maintain his leadership role. I hope you understand what I mean by that. But nonetheless, am glad that is coming through to you! Also, props for finding my Supernatural story. Whether Jack or Dean is my fictional boyfriend generally depends on the day of the week. That story is on hiatus for a bit, but I'm glad you're enjoying that one, as well. The two fandoms seem to get along rather nicely. SuperWho for the win!

Mylia11 – Thank you! I wanted to surprise you all with it, so I'm glad it had that effect! And don't worry… not much longer now!

Well, that's it for now. I'm sorry that my author's notes seem to be getting longer and longer now. I feel like I always have so much I want to say to you guys and even the 140 characters on Twitter isn't enough! So thanks for putting up with me. You're the bestest!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Danielle