Welcome to Torchwood

Chapter One

Cardiff, 2012

The night was still and calm, which was a first in a long time for Cardiff Bay. The weather had been stormy as of late, which meant that something was coming in Captain Jack Harkness's eyes, and that was not good news. He'd just sent Gwen home for the night, and it was just himself and Ianto keeping an eye on things on the outside world.

"How are we doing on the front line?" Jack asked Ianto, coming out of his office to stand behind him, observing the CCTV of the Bay. "Anything?"

"Nothing yet, Sir. It's all calm and peaceful out there." Ianto confirmed, his Welsh accent drawling through. "Makes a change."

"The night's still early, give it time." Jack chuckled. As if on queue, an alarm suddenly surrounded through the Hub, red lights flashing to alert them. "And so it begins."

"Something's coming through the Rift," Ianto clarified, watching as a thunderstorm suddenly erupted along the Bay, sparks of lightning shooting from the sky and creating holes in the ground. "Something big."

All of a sudden, there was a super sonic sound of thunder, so loud that the ground shook. The screen went static for a moment due to the shaking, and a couple of seconds later they had footage again. Jack observed the minor destruction from the Rift, and then upon further inspection he saw a figure hunched over on the ground.

"Zoom in for me, Ianto." Jack said, to which Ianto complied. He zoomed in on the hunched figure, to reveal a young woman, presumably in her early thirties, with short, dirty blonde hair. "Oh my God." He ran up to the surface, and cautiously approached the person. "Rose?" Her head shot up and turned in the direction of his voice, her eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hey," he said softly, startled as he'd never seen her so … traumatised. He shuffled ever so slightly towards her, and with horror he noticed the blood seeping through her white top. She was either injured, or had been, and needed help. "Hi Rosie. Do you know who I am?"

It took her a moment to form her words, and her voice trembled when she spoke. "J … Jack."

"Yes, that's it." Jack encouraged, moving even closer. She was holding something tightly in her hands, keeping it hidden from view. "What've you got there?"

In a daze, Rose looked down at the item in her hands, revealing a hand gun. She had a smile on her face that didn't suit her, and she giggled. "I stole it."

Jack blanched, seeing the state she was in. He had to get the gun off her and take her to the Hub as soon as possible. "Can I have that, sweetheart?" He asked gently, not wanting to give her any incentive to use it. He outstretched his hand towards her, encouraging her to hand it over. To his surprise, she handed it to him, and he carefully put it in his pocket. "That's it." With her own hand reaching out for him, he quickly took it, pulling her into his arms, wrapping his own around her. "There we go. Hello again, long time no see." Keeping one arm securely around her, he used his free hand to reach into his pocket, pulling out a syringe filled with a clear liquid, a mild sedative. "It's all going to be okay, now." He slowly rocked her as he injected her with the syringe, and in less than ten minutes, Rose was out cold. "All done."

Ianto had been watching the scene on the cameras, and was prepared by the time Jack returned, carrying the unconscious woman in his arms. In the autopsy room he lay a blanket on the gurney, and a pillow, so that it looked less like a place where you would examine corpses. Jack carried her effortlessly down the steps and carefully laid her on the gurney.

It was then in the dimmed light that he took in her dishevelled appearance. Her once usually bright blonde hair had now faded to it's almost natural brown, and was half hanging out of a ponytail. Her eyes had dark circles underneath, indicating that she hadn't slept properly in weeks. Continuing down her arms there were old and fresh cuts and bruises. Her white top was covered in blood, and that was his main concern. Ianto was currently scanning her entire body, which would give him a more in-depth review of her injuries.

"Go on then," Jack sighed heavily, seeing Ianto's aghast expression. "How bad is she?"

"At first four broken ribs, bruising and cuts covering 80% of her body, a fractured wrist and a semi healing wound in her abdomen."

"Shit." Jack cursed, wondering what in the hell had happened to Rose to get her such a way. "What does semi healing mean?"

"It means that she'd had the wound for a while, more than three weeks, and it's not been properly cared for like it should have been to heal normally." Ianto placed the scanner down. "Who is she, Jack? Who is she to you?"

"Her name's Rose Tyler," Jack started to explain. "I first met her during the London Blitz, hanging from a barrage balloon," he chuckled at the memory. "This is when I first met the Doctor too. She's always been a close friend to me, I see her as a little sister, a person I should protect no matter what. We've never been more than friends, which hurts me more to think of what happened to her. When she got here, she was cradling a gun, saying that she'd 'stolen it'. I've never seen her like this before, so whatever's happened is bad. Really bad."

"What about the Doctor?" Ianto wanted to know. "Should we contact him?"

"No, not yet." Jack quickly responded. "We don't know what state Rose will be in mentally, so once we know how she'll be, then we'll contact him." He knew eventually when that time came the Doctor would be furious for not knowing sooner, but deep down Jack knew that this was what was best for Rose. "For now all we can do is help her, and find out what the hell happened."

Everything hurt. There wasn't a part of her body that didn't hurt.

Rose quickly learnt not to move too much, or too fast, as it would hurt. Even moving a muscle hurt like hell.

"I wouldn't move too much if I were you."

That voice. She knew that voice, but how? It wasn't possible. Did her plan actually work? Though it was a struggle, Rose opened her eyes, grateful that the light was dim. She didn't know where she was, but it looked like a small office, and she was laying on a small bed against the wall, a blanket draped over her. Beside her in a chair sat the formidable Captain Jack Harkness, her old and dear friend.

"Jack?"