He was just leaving Pete's office and Pete wished him good luck.
"Sorry it didn't work out. This place is big enough for you two to carry on avoiding each other," Pete suggested.
"I have to say no," Mickey replied. "I didn't mean for her to find who she'd be working with like that Pete."
"It's done now, it was just a bit of a shock," Pete tried to assure him. "She just took it out on you instead of us, what with Jackie almost due now. She would have found out when she got here, now Jake may find it easier?"
Rose and Jake were about to go to the tech lab when he stopped her.
"Are you sure ya wanna work here?" Jake asked her.
"Until I finish training," Rose replied. "I can handle it. Does he know?"
"Yeah, he's been told but not who ya are," Jake laughed as they arrived in the basement. "Pete thought it best not to let him know he'll be working with the boss's stepdaughter."
"Well he'd better not think I'm there to fetch and carry," Rose replied.
Jake went in first and called for Jamie Smith, who was just opening a new container for sorting that had been brought from the sub basement.
He picked up the first piece, shook it and threw it into an empty container.
"Rubbish," he said, looking disappointed. "Can't they do better than that?"
"Jamie," Jake called again. "Remember I said you were getting some help?"
"Ah, a new assistant?" he replied after he went to sit at his desk, which was covered in various articles. "Mine's coffee, no sugar."
"Excuse me, I'm not your assistant," Rose objected, making Jake laugh.
"Well what are you doing here then?" Jamie wanted to know. "Jake, I thought I had free reign down here?"
"Chill out Jamie, she's here to help ya sort this stuff out. There's things coming in all the time," Jake reminded him. "This is Rose. Say hello."
"Hmm, what does she know about alien artefacts?" Jamie asked, getting up and going to the coffee machine.
Rose went to pick something up.
"Well, what's this then?" she threw it to him, having recognised it as something she'd seen in Van Statten's museum. "Jake, where did this lot come from?"
"Hold on while I check," Jake replied, checking on his phone. "Some millionaire got caught hoarding all this stuff and we marched in and confiscated it," he grinned.
She took his arm and led him away.
"Jake, I know this stuff, it's from someone called Van Statten, right?" Jake nodded. "Jake, in my world, I went there, that's where I first saw a Dalek, he had one chained up."
"Rose, there we no Daleks, honest," Jake assured.
"Jake it was in a basement. Are agents still there? They have to check, I mean it. Tell Pete."
"Okay, I'll tell him. Geez Rose, you should tell him the rest, come on," Jake told her.
"Leaving so soon?" Jamie wondered. "Honestly, I don't mind having an assistant," he looked at Rose as he put something down.
"Jamie, don't touch any more of that stuff 'til I get back to you," Jake warned him.
"Why, what's wrong with it?" Jamie wanted to know.
"The source is questionable, that's all. Rose is an expert, she's had experience," was all Jake was willing to say.
"Oh, she's an alien expert?" Jamie laughed as he got up. "What do I do with this lot?"
"I'll send some men in to clear your desk, stay away from it," Jake reminded him. "Yes, Rose is an alien expert, thankfully, she knows where it's all come from."
"Then I thank you Rose," Jamie told her.
"That don't make up for ya thinking I was here to make drinks for ya," Rose turned on him.
Jamie put his hands up in defence.
"Come on Rose," Jake took her arm.
"Can I join you?" Jamie asked, thinking it would be interesting.
"Jake, he doesn't need to know," Rose insisted.
"Rose, he's been working on this stuff the last few days," Jake replied.
"Geez, I dread to think what else is in those containers," Rose shuddered. "Jake, ya have no idea. He collected one of everything, the only existing one of everything. He's a collector and he doesn't care where he gets things from. How did ya even overpower him?"
"Someone turned him in," Jake recalled. "He'd gone by the time we got there."
"Why didn't Pete tell me about it?" Rose wondered.
"Rose, ya were just gettin' over Norway and trying to get good grades at college," Jake reminded her.
"What happened in Norway?" Jamie wanted to know.
"It's private," Rose replied. "If ya wanna know about Van Statten's collection, I'll clear it with Pete."
They all went up to Pete's office, Pete surprised Rose hadn't freaked out at the sight of Jamie. Jake had called him on the way up that Rose knew where all the latest artefacts had come from.
"I didn't tell you because I had no idea you'd come across them before," Pete told her once they'd all settled down. "When we got there, the place was in chaos, staff were running in all directions trying to get out because the crazy collector's second in command was about to order the place to be set in concrete. Thankfully, it was stopped."
"Dad, we have to let Jamie in on my secret, so he knows I'm tellin' the truth. If ya don't agree, he has to leave now and everything has to be buried in a vault. There could be a lot of dangerous things," Rose explained.
"Calm down love," Pete told her. "We got word that Van Statten was becoming unhinged so we began investigating, he was nowhere to be seen. There were a lot of his collection in display cases, we were leaving them for now."
"Geez Dad, you know who nearly ended up in one of those," Rose sank back in her chair. "You're best burying it in concrete, trust me. Get some of the smaller stuff out but the large stuff?"
"Okay, take care of it Jake. Pass it on immediately that no-one is to go near any display cases. He tells me though that you're more worried about a certain enemy that might be there?" Pete asked her.
"Dad, if it is, the whole planet's in danger," Rose warned him.
"I've seen them, remember?" he reminded her.
"What are we talking about?" Jamie asked.
Pete went in his desk drawer and brought out a pad of forms.
"Rose's past is sealed, only a certain few know about it. Rose, do you want to tell him?" Pete wanted to make sure.
"Just what he needs to know," Rose insisted. "I just want that place and what's in it destroyed."
"We could use some of the things that were brought here," Jamie told her as he took the form.
"He didn't know what most of it was, he saw it and wanted it, he had to own it," Rose told him.
"You met him?" Jamie asked as he signed the form.
Rose looked over to Pete.
"Ya could say that," Rose admitted. "He almost wiped out the entire population for his amusement. No, it wasn't here," she turned to Jamie. "It was in a parallel world and he'd captured this creature called a Dalek, he was torturing it."
"You? You come from a parallel world?" Jamie sat down again. "You have no idea how long I have been trying to make people believe they exist."
"You never said anything," Pete reminded him.
"You would have thought I was crazy," Jamie admitted.
"It's what we do," Jake laughed. "Right now, we have to deal with that collection. Rose is right, it needs burying, I'll go supervise it. Want to come Rose?"
"No way Jake. I saw enough of it. You have guards on it?" she wanted to make sure.
"The same ones, they work for us now," Jake replied. "How about you Jamie?"
"Yeah, do I get to see any more?" Jamie asked.
"It's too dangerous. There's other stuff to go through besides that, I'll have some sent to you," Jake promised him.
"Then I'll stay here, if you'll join me and tell me more of where you come from, Rose?" he asked her.
"Jake, be careful," Rose warned him.
Jake went off and Rose followed Jamie down to his lab, why, she didn't know. He seemed a bit of a smart-ass to her but at least he believed where she came from.
"Well, well, well," Jamie grinned at her as he leaned on the elevator wall on the way back down. "Who would have guessed the Vitex heiress wasn't from around here?"
"You signed a confidentiality contract," Rose reminded him as she watched the floor indicator.
"So, what's with Norway then?" he still wanted to know.
"None of your business," she insisted as the lift slowed down.
"Touchy" he laughed as they got out. "Does that mean you won't tell me anything?"
"Hey, I hate to disappoint ya but there's not much to tell ya," Rose decided to put him right. "I came here because of those Cybermen, I didn't come here because I wanted to."
Jamie was not going to be satisfied with being told half the story. Pete had told Rose it was up to her how much she told him and now this world's version of Henry Van Statten may be on the loose.
"So you won't tell me about the Daleks either?" Jamie dared ask her as Rose sat opposite him.
"This is too much, I thought he'd gone," Rose admitted. "Van Statten I mean. If there's a Dalek in that place, every single living thing on this planet is in danger, if ya think the Cybermen were bad enough, think again. Daleks are completely crazy, they think only of themselves, that nothing but them should exist in the whole universe."
"Rose, I believe you," Jamie tried to assure her. "Maybe there isn't one though?"
"We can't be sure," Rose replied. "The whole of Torchwood may not be enough, unless the thing's chained up but if a time traveller touches it, it will be restored."
"Is that what happened on your world?" Jamie wanted to know.
Rose went quiet.
"Tell me Rose? I want to understand. I meant what I said, I used to wonder what it was like out there, what there was on other planets. Where did the Daleks come from? Who invented them and how did they come to Earth?"
"Whoa!" Rose told him. "Hold on. From what I know, they've never been here so I don't know how Van Statten got hold of one, if he did get one. As far as I know, a lot of things I've come across have never been here. This is crazy."
"You're not kidding," Jamie grinned. "So, will Jake just have that place buried?"
"Probably, it's the safest," Rose agreed. "That madman won't have known what he'd collected."
"So, what was that item earlier then?" Jamie grinned.
"You said I know nothing about alien artefacts," she reminded him.
"Oh come on Rose," he laughed.
"Oh, okay then. It was a musical instrument. You have to run your hands over it, very gently. It sounds beautiful."
"Really? Well no-one will ever hear it, lucky you," Jamie told her.
"Think what would happen if it was introduced to the public?" she asked him. "Who do we choose to give it to, so they can learn to play it?"
"You?" he suggested.
"Be serious," Rose warned him.
"Think about it? You would be world famous," he teased her.
"Stop it, smart-ass. What am I even doing here?' she questioned him.
"I thought you were going to come and work with me?" he grinned.
"Seriously?" Rose tried not to smile.
"You know you want to," he teased her. "There are other places other than that museum you know?"
"Yeah? Such as?" Rose tried not to sound like she was even remotely interested in going to find alien artefacts, especially with him.
"Could be fun?" he wondered what it would be like. "You might even know what some of it is? All this lot will be taken away then?"
"Nothing's to be touched," Rose confirmed. "We don't have a clue what that maniac collected. I only saw a few of the things the other one had."
"You could keep me out of trouble," Jamie suggested, waggling his eyebrows.
Rose did start laughing.
"Seriously? You got a girlfriend then?" she tried not to blush.
"Oh, why would you want to know?" he replied. "Not got enough boyfriends?"
"Do ya believe all that rubbish in the gossip columns?" she asked him.
"Mmm, should I? No, no girlfriend. She said I preferred artefacts to her so she went back to Paris. France – different planet," he laughed.
Rose knew that was something The Doctor had said one time. Why was Jamie reminding her so much of him? He got up and sat on the corner of the desk, holding his hand out.
"What do you say then? We'd make a good team, Rose Tyler."
"Do I have a choice?" Rose wondered. "I'll think about it. I'm gonna see all this stuff gets moved to a secure vault, it's dangerous. Wanna help?"
She called Jake's deputy and got half a dozen men down with trolleys to move all the artefacts on various tables and on the floor, one armed man on the door and one escorting the others. Jake had left word they were to follow Rose's instructions.
Jamie then sat back, his arms behind his head.
"Nearly lunchtime," he declared. "Care to join me?" he then grinned.
"You're so full of it, Jamie Smith," Rose laughed as he got up and offered his hand.
"Me?" he asked innocently. "I was trying to impress you. Is it working?"
"I'm not saying," she tried not to laugh, accepting his hand.
After lunch, Jamie looked on the internet for any signs of unusual activity.
"Ya should be looking on the Torchwood database," Rose decided to tell him, looking at her nails.
"I was never given access," Jamie admitted. "Then, they brought all that lot in. Do you know how long I worked on it and no-one knew about it?"
"Well, I've got full clearance, I'm senior management," Rose bragged.
"Well, you would be," Jamie replied, pulling a face. "I thought I was senior management. Seems not?"
"Ah, don't worry, that'll change if I come and work with ya," Rose then smiled.
"Was that the idea all along?" Jamie asked.
"I had to go through all kinds of training," Rose admitted. "Get one thing clear though, if I come and work with you, we'll be equals, neither of us will be boss. Got it?"
Jamie thought about it.
"Got it," he did a mock salute.
Rose thought at this rate, if he kept doing stuff like that, she'd start to call him 'Doctor' all the time, then he would start asking a load of questions. Then she did get a shock, like he could read her mind.
"Well, I don't really like being called Jamie. It's Doctor Jamie Smith actually, I prefer to be called just 'Doctor'", he declared.
"Geez, I can't call ya that, really I can't," Rose got up and crossed to the window.
He got up and stood behind her.
"Care to explain?" he dared ask. "Anything to do with Norway?"
"Stop it. I had this friend, everyone called him that and I lost him, when the Cybermen were leaving. I can't talk about it," Rose replied, thinking she'd said too much already.
"Was he made into one?" Jamie asked, wondering if he should pat her shoulder or put his arm around her.
"No. He was in the other world, with me. Pete and a team went there, he brought me and my mum here, The Doctor remained, to close the gap. I got stuck here. You have to swear you will never tell another living soul or I'll get Jake to wipe your mind."
He believed she would as well.
"You can trust me," Jamie grinned, using Pete's slogan. "So, what's Norway got to do with it?"
"Stop going on about Norway will ya?" Rose insisted. "If ya must know, there was a tiny gap left and he got a message to me. I told him I loved him but the gap closed before he could answer."
"Oh. Yeah, I can see that would be upsetting then?" Jamie agreed. "Well, you can still call me Jamie then," he grinned. "So, are you going to get me into the database?"
Rose got up and went to his computer, Jamie moving to one side while she typed in the password.
"I'll get the IT department to get you authorised," she promised. "Hey, you thought I was your assistant and I know more than you do. Ha!"
"Very amusing Rose," he replied. "Well, let's find our first project together?" he suggested as Rose moved.
Rose knew this was going to be a big mistake. A few weeks later, they had been on a couple of dates after work, Jamie had been introduced to Jackie, although Pete had told her about him looking like a certain Timelord just in case Rose couldn't cope with it. Jackie was quite please Rose seemed okay with it and he'd been invited to stay one weekend, arriving with Rose on the Friday night.
Jackie had given birth to a baby boy and a nanny had been employed to help her during the day, with Rose helping at night but now, Jackie had decided the nanny should live in, since Rose seemed to have got herself a boyfriend.
"Are you Rose's boyfriend now?" Jackie decided to ask.
"Mum, he's just a friend," Rose corrected her.
"Oh, well, that remains to be seen," Jamie grinned, looking across the table at Rose. "She may consider being my girlfriend, one day?"
"Yeah?" Rose questioned him. "I haven't said I would be yet though, have I?" she corrected him.
"What do I have to do?" Jamie then asked.
"Oi, you two, talk about it later," Jackie reminded them, making Pete smile as Jamie made a face.
"There's not much to discuss yet," Rose replied.
"I'm disappointed Rose," Jamie admitted. "We do have something to talk about then? Will you excuse us? Rose, where can we talk?"
"The conservatory," Rose suggested.
Jamie followed her, reaching for her hand. He was reminding Rose of The Doctor in so many ways but Jamie had a lot less patience, as she was discovering.
"Come on Rose, haven't I made it clear I want you to be my girlfriend?" he asked her once they reached the large conservatory, which was all lit up with tiny blue and white lights around the edges. "You like to come here a lot?" he noticed as she sat on one of the blue and white wicker chairs.
"Yeah, so I can look up at the stars and wonder exactly where my old world is out there. I expect all the stars are in different positions though," she replied.
"You still miss your old world then?" he guessed. "Rose, I thought you'd accepted being here?"
"I have, sort of. Doesn't mean I don't miss my home," she told him sadly.
He went to sit on the corner unit beside her and put his arm around her, prompting her to lean on him.
"I'm sorry Rose. Would it help, if I asked you properly?"
"Jamie, it's not a good idea, we work together," she reminded him.
"So? It could make it more fun. I mean when we eventually start going out looking for alien stuff?" he reminded her. "What do you think? Take your time, over the weekend eh? Let's go out tomorrow night, see a film or a show and maybe even stay out. See how we get on?"
"Separate rooms?" she managed to smile and nudge him.
"Now you're tormenting me," he laughed. "How do we get to know each other properly if we don't share? Tell you what. I promise to be on my best behaviour and if I'm not, you can either throw me out or I'll sleep on the chair? Can't say fairer than that."
"Well, okay then. I pick the show, you pay for the hotel and tickets and don't tell my mum we're sharing or it'll be a short date," Rose relented. "I'll get someone to drop us off if we find a hotel near the theatre, oh and somewhere to dine."
"Blimey, you're an expensive date, Rose Tyler," Jamie laughed. "Not that you're not worth it, you are. Mind you, I'll need to ask for a pay rise!"
Rose looked at him and tried not to laugh and patted his shoulder instead.
"You've been avoiding kissing me properly," he changed the subject.
"Have I?" she tried to deny it.
"You know you have. The moon is out, just those little twinkling lights. What's bothering you Rose?" he asked, touching her cheek gently.
"Nothing. It's just with us working together," she tried to bluff, knowing it wasn't just that and he'd want to know exactly what was holding her back.
The few dates they'd had, Jamie had thought had gone well but Rose had always shied away when he'd tried to kiss her, resulting in just short, sweet kisses. They had made him want more. Rose had loved The Doctor but the only kiss they'd shared was when she'd not even been herself so she didn't know why she was backing away from Jamie.
"Rose, we can still work together, can't we? Lots of couples work together, there's Rita and Steve in accounts who are always snogging in the cafeteria. Then there's Rick and James in IT, the ones who came to reset my computer. I saw the way they looked at each other," he grinned.
He slowly pulled her towards him, to see if she'd back away again but she didn't. Rose knew she'd have to trust someone at some point to feel the same as she did.
"Well?" he asked, stroking her hair back away from her face.
He kissed her cheek gently, then put his finger on her chin and got her to face him.
"Don't back away Rose, please," he whispered.