Pete stood in the office at his house with the only five people who still trusted him, besides Jacks and Tony. His wife never lost faith in him, but she knew the truth. Knew where Rose was from and who James really was, or had been, since he was now dead.

It'd been two weeks since Rose vanished. He searched for two days before the order came down from the Vice President herself to take him off the case. He was put on leave pending a formal hearing. He put up a fight, but when he read the charges he was floored. He was being charged, not only in his daughter's disappearance, but with forging documents about her and James. It seemed someone up top got wind that she wasn't his daughter and James wasn't human. He was glad he'd had the foresight to cremate James' remains, keeping them from proving that bit.

Jacks volunteered to testify to his whereabouts at the time of the incident, but he knew there was something else going on. Someone wanted him away from Torchwood so the search would stop, which it did. Jacks wanted him to go to the Vice President. Find out what was going on, but he knew that would be futile. Whoever set the events in motion to bar him from Torchwood had a far reach, clear up to the top of the government. He couldn't fight them out in the open.

So, with Ted, who helped Rose with the Dimension Cannon, Walter, who'd been working with Pete since they got Torchwood up and running after the Cybermen, Ellie, Ted's wife and one of their best physicists, Mike, one of their scouts, and Andy, who had worked with James, they'd been trying to track down where Rose was being kept.

Just before Pete had been sacked Ted managed to get a picture of the man who took Rose. Not from any of the cameras in the building since he'd used some electrical device to fry the circuits, but there was a traffic cam outside that took a picture every ten seconds. Only one of them was clear enough to make out part of the license plate of the truck he loaded Rose into.

By the time they traced it he was dead, but they'd gotten pretty far through his bank account that had deposits from an offshore account. Walter took over from there and traced the offshore account to Anna Michaelson. Only, Anna was living in a retirement home and couldn't even remember what year it was, but her bill was being paid by the woman who ordered Pete's hearing. Vice President Drexler.

"Found something," Walter said, from where he was sitting at the desk.

Pete leaned over his shoulder and gazed at the computer screen. It was an aerial shot of a building in the country that looked like a warehouse.

"What is it?" Pete asked.

"I found a few references to it. Mainly electric bills and they're pretty high, especially for a warehouse, which is what it looks like on the surface, but check this out."

He typed at few keys and the aerial shot was replaced by blueprints. It looked like a parking garage from the top, but a side view showed underground levels. Labs, living quarters, interrogation rooms, a cafeteria. Definitely not a warehouse.

"Where is it?"

Pete was already making plans. Trying to discern the best point of entrance from the blue prints and counting off how many weapons they would need.

"I know you want to get her back, but you have to slow down, Pete," Walter said.

Slow down? He'd been trying to find her for two weeks and during that time Jacks hounded him constantly, which he couldn't blame her for. Rose was her only daughter after all, but it didn't make things easier on him. Every time she saw him she asked if he'd made any progress.

"We know where she is. All we have to do is go get her," Pete insisted.

"We don't even know if she's in there. Look, at least let me see if I can get into their database. If she's there then I should be able to find some trace of her," Walter said.

"Fine," Pete replied.

She was there. He could feel it. He didn't need proof. He needed a team. He needed Torchwood. If he had them at his disposal he'd send everyone into that place and whoever was holding her would be sorry, but he didn't have Torchwood anymore. He had a team of five and with a pace maker Walter wasn't really up to fighting. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't care if he was the only one going in, as soon as Walter found his proof he'd be headed for that compound.

"You will sleep," the creature said as its grey, mouth-less face leaned closer.

She didn't want to sleep. She wanted a gun and her arms free so she could shoot it. She tried to struggle, but her eyelids were growing heavier and she knew there was nothing she could do.

"You will sleep," the creature repeated.

Her eyelids became too heavy to lift and a moment later she was standing next to the river on New Earth. At least here she could escape.

"Yes, you know you're safe here," Marion said.

She looked at her TARDIS self as tears burning the corners of her eyes.

"I'm breaking. I can feel it and there's nothing I can do," Rose sobbed.

"I wish I could tell you that it's going to be alright, but I won't lie to myself like that. There are days ahead for you. Awful, horrible days, but you're strong. Stronger than you realize."

"I don't feel very strong. Especially now, remembering the Master giving me orders while I was looking at that creature and then when it walked away I did exactly what he asked."

"Not every time," Marion reminded.

"That was mostly you," Rose said, remembering how the Master tried to get her to let him look at her memories, but he received another nasty shock of time energy when he touched her head.

"It wasn't just me."

"But it's only been two weeks. If this keeps up I'm going to break. I know I am."

Marion put her hand on Rose's shoulder, comfortingly.

"I'll help you as much as I can and with you able to come here while you sleep it's going to take a lot longer and by then we should be merged."

She'd been afraid of merging with her TARDIS self, but now she wanted it more than anything.

"When is that going to happen?"

"I can't tell you exactly when because if I do it could change things."

"How's it going to change anything if I can't remember?"

"Trust me."

Trust wasn't something she had a large commodity of at the moment, but Marion was her. They were the same and if she was going to trust anyone it would be herself.

"You're the only one I trust right now." She sighed. "I hate him, you know?"

"I know."

"I've never wanted to kill someone before, but if I had the chance-"

"Don't let him change you. Don't let him take that part of you that sees good in everyone."

She laughed. "I'm not a nineteen year old shop girl anymore."

"No, but you're still you."

Yes, but she was changing. He was changing her. Maybe if there was something good in him, something to give her a reason to hope that he wouldn't follow through with his plan in the end. Wouldn't turn her into a weapon to kill the man she loved, but there wasn't any good in him. Not that she could see.

The Master glared at Rose. How was she still holding out? She should have broken by now. She should be his by now. To do with as he wanted. He could get her to do basic things. Turn her head, let him read her mind, which didn't turn out the way he wanted because when he tried to form a connection with her mind he'd been jolted out of it, shocked out of it actually, but she didn't trust him. She fought with him every step of the way.

"What are you hiding?" he demanded.

"I'm not hiding anything," she snapped.

"You are! I know you are. Don't lie to me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she yelled back.

He growled in frustration as he crossed the room and grabbed her arms, lifting her off the bed. She was hiding something. Something that kept her from breaking. He shook her.

"Tell me!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but even if I did I wouldn't tell you!"

He glared into her hazel eyes. There was something…something inside of her. Some part of her that still defied him. He would find it…find it and kill it. Then and only then would she truly be his and he would have her and that time energy inside of her.

"I will find out how you're resisting and when I do you'll break."

He watched her eyes closely, but instead of looking at him in fear, as he expected, she shot him with hatred. Well, that was something at least.

"Good luck that," she snapped.

He tossed her back on the bed. Why wasn't she afraid of him? She should be afraid of him by now, but instead she'd become more insolent.

"I don't need luck. We've already made some progress. I think upping your sessions will help. So, let's find out what you're hiding, shall we?" he asked.

The door opened and the Silent entered the room. He watched, gleefully, as fear crept into her eyes. Fear, that was much better. He liked fear.

Standard Disclaimer.

Thank you to all my readers! You guys are brilliant! If anyone has time reviews are always welcome. :)