A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 37: The Homecoming

Olivia sighed, tiredly as she trudged up the short steps of her mother's house, dragging some of her luggage with her and Jack carrying some of her bags behind her.

"What're you gonna tell them?" Jack asked, stopping behind her as she lowered one of her bags and rang the doorbell.

"The truth," she muttered as they waited and she looked to him, shrugging, "What else can I tell them?"

They both looked to the door when it opened and Joyce, Olivia's mother, stared at her daughter in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Olivia!" she breathed, grinning before throwing her arms around the younger woman, tightly. "Oh, my baby! I missed you so much! We weren't expecting you till next week but I'm so glad the Doctor brought you early!"

Olivia swallowed, burying her face into her mom's shoulder before they pulled away and Joyce looked to the lawn then around the street, apparently not noticing Jack as she looked back to her daughter.

"Has he parked the TARDIS somewhere else?" she wondered. "It's about time. I was sick of having a square patch of flat grass on my lawn for days. Olivia? What's wrong?"

"The Doctor's…not here mom," Olivia replied. "I came from Cardiff on a plane. He left me there and I don't think he's coming back for a while."

"Oh, sweetheart," Joyce murmured, sympathetically and pulled her back into her arms. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure he'll be back though. He can't stay away from you."

"Is Aaron inside?" Olivia whispered.

"He's watching TV," Joyce nodded.

Olivia pulled away to step aside and introduce, "Mom, this is my…former boss, Captain Jack Harkness. Jack, this is my mom, Joyce Felton."

"Oh, the famous Jack Harkness," Joyce smirked, offering a hand and he shook it before she leaned toward Olivia to mutter out of the corner of her mouth, "You didn't say he was so handsome, Olivia."

"Oh, mom, don't start," Olivia groaned.

"You sure this is your mom?" Jack smirked, making Olivia turn a glare to him, guessing at what he was going to say next. "She looks more like your sister. If I didn't know better I would've thought that straight away."

"Oh, Captain Harkness! You flatterer!" Joyce giggled making Olivia bow her head into her hand before she turned to march toward the living room.

"I can't watch this," she announced, not stopping. "It's making me sick."

She stepped around the couch adjacent to the doorway and flopped down next to the red-headed figure staring at the TV. Aaron didn't move as she shifted next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, watching the TV as well.

"When are you gonna get a place of your own?" she muttered, lifting her head to let Aaron wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"When you finally decide to stay home," he shot back, leaving a kiss to her head as he lifted the remote to flip through the channels. "He left again, didn't he?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"He'll be back. He's been back for you before."

"Things are different now. He left me to keep me from seeing his regeneration. He may not come back this time."

"He loves you. He'll be back." He craned his neck back to look at the door and his eyes widened when he saw Jack stepping into the house behind Joyce, both carrying bags. Aaron looked to Olivia and shoved her off him, gently, making her frown at him before he ground out, "Why didn't you tell me Jack was here?!"

Olivia rolled her eyes as Aaron shot from his seat to run into the kitchen where Joyce was serving coffee, but she didn't move as she looked to the TV. She frowned when she read the banner at the bottom of the screen about an explosion in England. She grabbed the remote and turned the volume up, shifting to center herself on the couch, listening intently.

"Though the cause of the explosion is still under investigation," the reporter explained. "Police have released some video on the aftermath and witnessed a figure running out of the flames."

Olivia squinted when the image of a blurry, black figure in a running position in front of the flames was shown and she chewed on her lower lip in concentration and thought.

"Police have not identified the man, but he is the prime suspect in the case. We'll bring you more coverage as we receive it."

She sighed and switched the TV off before shoving off the couch and heading toward the kitchen.

"Want some coffee, Olivia?" Joyce asked as Olivia entered.

"Yes, please," she replied, sitting at the table where Jack and Aaron sat, facing each other. She glared at Aaron as he leaned forward on the table, his chin in his hand as he gawked at Jack who smirked back in turn, giving him a wink and Olivia kicked him under the table, making him jump and look at her with wide eyes. "Don't start, Harkness."

"I didn't do anything," Jack shot back, defensively.

"Leave him alone, Olivia," Aaron sneered as Joyce set Olivia's coffee in front of her.

"Alright, here're the rules then," she snapped, standing from the table to glare between them as they looked to her in wonder. "Flirt all you like then, hell you can shag each other for all I care, but don't do it in front of me or under this roof. And you…" She pointed to Jack, making him frown at her as she leaned on the table to murmur so that only he could hear her. "…if you hurt Aaron in any way, at all, ever, I will kill you. And when you come back to life, I'll kill you again. I'll kill you as many times as I like until I'm satisfied and then I'll throw one more in for good measure. Am I understood, Captain?"

"I'm not like that, Olivia, and you know it," he ground out, his gaze meeting hers.

"I know an attempt at a rebound shag when I see it, Jack," she growled back. "I'm not stupid."

"Alright, you two, that's enough," Joyce called, making Olivia stand tall but she and Jack kept each other's gazes. "What are you mumbling about over there?"

"Loyalties," Olivia replied, taking her mug and turning to head toward the stairs.

"Olivia—?"

"I'm going to my room," she cut in, not stopping as she marched up the stairs. "Find a place for the randy one to sleep unless he wants to stay in a hotel."

"I got this," Jack sighed, standing to head toward the stairs.

"Jack, I wouldn't," Aaron called in warning, making Jack stop and frown at him in wonder. "She'll go postal."

"Then I'm the only one that should go up there," Jack smirked before turning to take the stairs two at a time until he reached the rooms upstairs.

He stepped toward the only closed door in the hall and didn't bother to knock as he opened it. He ducked just in time to miss the small crystal vase that came flying at his head and shattered on the door. He stood tall to see her glaring at him from where she sat on her bed, her coffee mug on her nightstand and he glanced around the room.

"Nice digs," he nodded before looking at her. "Purple. Very you."

"Get out before I throw my coffee at you," she ground out, unmoving.

"I came to tell you I'm leaving," he explained, making her frown in wonder but he continued, "When we landed I booked a flight headed for Spain in a few hours."

"Jack…I'm sorry I yelled at you down there, I just—"

"I'm not leaving because of you, Nova," he cut in. "I need a change of scenery. I have a lot of forgetting to do."

"So you're leaving me, too, huh?" she murmured, bowing her head to stare at her lap. "Seems like everybody's going somewhere but me."

"Well, you could," he replied, stepping toward her and slipping something from his coat pocket as she frowned up at him. He handed her a thick envelope which she took as she frowned up at him and he explained, "That's your compensation and retirement fund. I had it converted from pounds to dollars. There should be about…fifty thousand there. Torchwood thanks you for your services."

"Just like that?" she breathed. "No Retcon?"

"The protection policy doesn't apply to Companions," he smirked before stepping closer and leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. When he stood tall he tapped her nose lightly with a wink. "I'll see you around, Supernova. You've got my number whenever you wanna talk."

"Yeah," she smiled, breathlessly with a nod as tears began to blur her vision. "You, too. I'll…tell you where I go if I go anywhere so when you're in town…we can meet up or something."

He gave a nod and was about to leave the room but she stood and threw her arms around his neck, making him stumble back at the action but he caught her and hugged her in return.

"I'll miss you," she shuddered into his ear.

"I'll miss you, too," he whispered before he finally let her go and she sniffled, wiping her face as he turned to head out the door.

"Say goodbye to Aaron or he'll be so mad at you," she called with a slight smile.

"Oh, believe me, I will," he threw over his shoulder with a smirk and she couldn't help but laugh as a tear fell down her cheek when he disappeared.

She swallowed before the glass on the floor caught her eye and she groaned at herself before turning to her bathroom to get her trash bin and the broom. She was about to kneel down and clean it up when her cell phone rang in her pocket, making her frown at first before her eyes widened at the sound of the familiar ringtone. Dropping the bin and broom she quickly shut the door as she scrambled to pull her phone from her pocket, answering it and pressing it to her ear.

"Doctor?"

"Olivia! Where are you? Just tell me where you are, right now!" the Doctor ordered on the other side of the phone, making her frown as she heard the TARDIS noises in the background.

"I'm…at home," she replied, hesitantly. "I mean, in California…with mom and Aaron."

"Good! Good, that's brilliant! Stay there, and don't go anywhere until I get this sorted. Do you hear me?!"

"Until you get what sorted?" she frowned in utter confusion. "Theta, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Liv. Ah! I've gotta go! I'll call you back soon, just stay there!"

"Theta—?" She was cut off by a click and silence on the other end, making her frown and call again, "Doctor! Doctor!"

She pulled her phone from her ear to look at the screen and growled when she read 'Call Ended.' She slapped the phone to her thigh, her other hand coming to her face to rub her eyes. Her phone went off again, the ringtone indicating it was a text message and she yanked it back up to open the message.

I love you Liv

Olivia smiled, unable to help it as she took in a breath to keep herself from crying any more and she closed her phone to put it away.

"Olivia?" Aaron called from her doorway, making her whirl around to look at him with wide eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she nodded shortly, sniffing as she nodded again, "I'm fine."

"What's with the glass?" he frowned, lifting the broom and bin to start cleaning.

"I dropped it," she lied, wiping her face to be sure there were no more tears visible. "I'll take care of it."

"Too late," Aaron smiled up at her as he stood. "All done. Did I hear you talking to the Doctor? I heard you call to him. Did he call you?"

"Yeah," she breathed with a nod as he stared at her with wide eyes. "But…But he didn't say much. He was busy."

"Well, at least he's doing more than he did last time he left," he smiled, setting the broom and bin down to hurry toward her and hug her close. "See? He can't stay away."

"Yeah," she murmured before pulling away and he frowned at her tone before she said, "Hey, do me a favor and stay here…in the house. Don't go anywhere."

"You kidding me?" he smirked. "For how long?"

"Till I tell you," she shot back in all seriousness, making his smirk fall as they stared at each other.

"But…I have work—"

"Call in sick," she cut in, making him step back to cross his arms over his chest.

"Is this a Torchwood thing or a Doctor thing?" he questioned.

"Look, the Doctor told me to stay here, so that means you, mom and Faye are all staying locked up in this house with me till I get a call from him saying everything's fine, got it?"

"Olivia…Faye's—" He choked as she frowned in wonder at him before he tried again. "Faye…died about a week ago. She was run over by a drunk driver. She got out…somehow. Probably learned how to get out from watching us go in and out all the time. We were gonna call you, but…we didn't wanna spoil your time with the Doctor."

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief then nodded in understanding before throwing her arms around him to hug him.

"Everything's falling apart," she shuddered. "It's not fair. First the Doctor, then Jack…now Faye."

"I know," he sighed, hugging her close for a moment before he asked, "Did he say why we have to stay here?"

"He said he had to get something sorted," she replied as they pulled away and he frowned at her but she waved it off. "Don't ask me. He's always leaving me in the dark."

Aaron nodded before saying, "Come on. Your mom's worried about you."

The Next Morning...

"It's a good thing I stocked up on groceries yesterday," Joyce smiled, milling around the kitchen as Aaron slouched at the table, rubbing his face, tiredly. Joyce glanced at him then made a double take with a frown of wonder before asking, "Are you alright, Aaron?"

"Yeah," he sighed just as Olivia came down the stairs and rounded into the kitchen. "Had weird dreams last night."

"Dreams about what?" Olivia wondered, catching his attention and he looked up at her as she headed toward the coffee pot next to the sink where her mother was rinsing out a pan to make breakfast.

"I don't…remember," he frowned, rubbing his face. "But they were weird. That's all I remember."

"I've been having dreams like that too," Joyce frowned as Olivia served herself some coffee and turned to lean back on the counter, glancing between them.

"How long has this been going on?" she wondered, taking a sip of coffee.

"A week or so for me, maybe," Aaron shrugged, leaning his chin in his hand.

"Same for me," Joyce replied, turning to lean on the counter.

Olivia chewed on her lower lip in thought before asking, "Has anything strange been happening? Besides the dreams?"

"Nothing," Aaron shrugged. "Although, I've been reading up on some stuff on the internet. There's a conspiracy theory going around that somebody big in Britain is building…a gate or something. I dunno. Government lackeys trying to score points with the people, probably."

"Get this sorted," she murmured, drawing Joyce's attention to her daughter. "He said he had to get something sorted."

"Who did?" Joyce wondered.

"The Doctor?" Aaron answered for her in a question and she nodded to him. "You think this is why he told you not to leave the house?"

"Could be," she nodded as Joyce just stared at her. "I'd call him…but he might be…busy."

She stared ahead in deep thought, chewing on her lower lip again before she took in a breath and glanced at her mom before frowning wonder, "What?"

"I've never seen you at work like that," Joyce breathed. "You look…like the Doctor when you're asking questions like that."

Olivia couldn't help but give a sly smirk before sipping at her coffee then replying, "Well, maybe I've picked up a habit or two? From him and from Jack."

Evening...

"Still have a headache?" Aaron frowned at Olivia as she sat on the couch with him and Joyce, watching TV. She nodded and shifted to lay down, her head on his knee and he stroked her hair, asking, "Did you take something for it?"

"Hours ago," she grumbled, seeing what was about to come on the TV and groaned, "Oh, do we have to watch the President's speech?"

"He's gonna talk about the economy, so yes," Joyce replied, making Olivia sneer as Joyce suddenly frowned, and so did Aaron as she said, "What's that noise?"

"What noise?" Olivia frowned, lifting her head to look at her mother.

"Like…drums," Aaron murmured, making Olivia sit straight up and glance between the two of them. "I…remember."

"Remember what?" Olivia questioned, standing on her knees to face Aaron as he only stared at the TV.

"I can see his face," Joyce breathed, making Olivia whirl around but she had to get to her feet to glance between them.

"Aaron?" she called before looking to her mother and stepping toward her to take her shoulders, but they both still stared ahead, blankly. "Mom? Mom what's wrong?"

Olivia suddenly felt a stab at her mind, her head flaring in pain so badly that she cried out in pain and knelt to the floor in front of her mother. She held a hand to her head and panted in pain, doubling over on the floor for a moment before looking up at Joyce and her eyes widened in disbelief and terror at what she saw.

Her mother's head was whipping back and forth at such a rate that it blurred her face. She looked to Aaron and found that he was doing the same thing. She slowly stood, trembling all over as she glanced between them then turned to look at the TV and gasped. The camera on the President was still on him, and he was doing the exact same thing Aaron and Joyce were doing.

She kept her eyes on the TV and panted in panic when the President's head finally stopped enough to let her have a look at the face that now replaced it and her face fell in horror.

"Oh…God," she breathed, watching the Master rejoice on the television before she swallowed and slowly turned to see what had become of her friend and mother. She screamed when she saw two Masters grinning at her as she backed herself against the entertainment center where the TV sat, shuddering uncontrollably as she breathed, "No…"

"I'm so hungry!" they said together, making her glance between them in confusion before she straightened when they stood to head toward her.

She turned enough to reach behind the TV, groping at the air until her hand landed on the thing she was looking for. She growled as she pulled as hard as she could as the Masters got closer and closer, but before they could reach out to her she pulled her hand from behind the TV and aimed the Stun Gun she'd taped behind it at them.

"One thing you should know about me, boys," she ground out, moving her arm to aim it at one, then the other. "I'm always prepared."

Her heart clenched as she aimed the Stun Gun at the Master in Aaron's clothes and rammed it into his shoulder, making him seize before she shoved him into his twin, sending them tumbling to the floor then dashed for the front door. As soon as she stepped outside she gasped in terror at the faces of the people outside.

All of them were Masters.

She had to get away before she was seen. She glanced around before hurrying around to the side of the house, running and not looking back before she quickly found the door to the cellar and heaved the heavy door open to hurry inside, careful to not fall through the dark. She groped around in the dark with one hand to latch it shut and sighed in relief before searching for a light.

Olivia felt at the walls, looking for the light switch she knew was there and smiled when she found it, flipping it before turning on the stairs she was standing on. She looked around at the dingy cellar and felt a twinge of guilt at hiding. She'd faced stranger things, she supposed, with the Doctor and Torchwood. But she'd always had Jack and the team or the Doctor there to help her. She realized now that on her own, she was useless.

"Well," she sighed, stepping down the stairs. "I suppose this is what Theta needs to fix. There's nothing really for me to do then except…wait."

She stepped all the way to the back wall of the cellar and sat to lean back against the wall, bringing her knees up to her chest to lean her forehead against them, sighing, "Some homecoming."

A/N: reviews?