Months passed since Leah last stood on a roof, looking up at the stars. It stopped after the Year when she watched everyone die. Going out to look at the Stars was dangerous- with some working as normal, but most spotted by Toclafane to serve as slaves. Leah couldn't risk being spotted- her or Garfield. She stayed underground for a good long while.

Jack kept doing it. Gwen usually went after him to chat. Leah couldn't shake off the fear of being seen.

She stayed indoors, stayed below ground. Her mom went shopping with Leah, and was confused when Leah ran so fast. Once Leah forgot to pay. Her mom understood- not judging or asking anything. Thelma just let Leah talk back at their apartment.

Tonight, Leah thought it was time for a change.

She stood on a roof. She looked up at the stars. Leah could name them, their planets, and even how long they would stay in the sky.

Leah sat down, lying back on the roof. As stars peaked between late night clouds, her mind wandered. She imagined something she often refused to think about.

And the thought was beautiful.

Just because Leah dreamt did not mean she relaxed. For every good thought she dreamt, two awful things popped up. Leah took them in, not shaking them off. If humanity taught her anything, it's to take the good with the bad.

This is all rather long winded. The long and short of it was simple. Leah felt more than saw the person spying on her.

She let herself stay in the daydream. If this person thought her a weak human girl, they were in for a surprise. And if they knew she wasn't? They would have all of Torchwood on their ass.

It took thirty minutes for that figure to come from the shadows. Leah stayed on the floor. She had closed her eyes some time ago, focusing on her own breathing and for any sounds related to this figure. She kept herself awake and alert.

The figure stood over her.

"You know, I wondered why you weren't at sparring practice." Garfield teased. He laid himself down at her side.

"I wanted to be alone." Leah reminded him.

"No you didn't." Garfield replied.

Leah shifted in her spot. She scooted aside to give Garfield more room.

"If you did, you would've stayed home." Garfield pointed out.

Leah saw no reasoning for that. She just didn't want to be at home. That was a normal thing, right? "My moms are home. It's hard to be alone there."

Garfield made a noise of agreement. "And you didn't go to Latshaw's because you knew they would talk to you."

Leah said nothing. Sometimes, Garfield's perceptions annoyed her so much. "You aren't?"

Garfield laughed. "Fair enough." He moved his arms to rest behind his head. "So. What's wrong?"

Leah stayed silent for a moment. At other times, Leah would love to talk to Garfield about her problems. She'd done it for over a year. This time it didn't feel like even a thing. Leah just wanted a night to look at stars.

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it." Leah replied.

"Maybe you think I'll judge you for it." Garfield countered.

Leah bit her lip.

"Which as we know, as another child of Torchwood, I wouldn't." Garfield reminded her. "I've seen what they're like-"

"It's not about Torchwood." Leah interrupted him quickly. If he got the wrong idea, he tended to run with it. Give him the wrong inch, he runs for a mile.

"But it is something." Garfield replied. "Tell me about it."

Leah groaned. She rubbed her hand over her face, annoyed and now uncomfortable. The thought floated back in her mind again. The little idea, burrowing deeper and deeper the more she focused on it. Or the more she tried to throw it away. It kept coming back in bigger and stronger ways.

Leah didn't want to think about this. It's just...as she looked up at the stars, Leah could only wonder and believe. A whole future was out there in front of her. It could be hers if Leah just grabbed it.

It would take time before she could really have it, Leah reminded herself. Her second and third selves already were out there. They explored the worlds out there, with the Doctor. The Time Ladies of the future could enjoy that time without consequence. Leah wished that she could. How can anyone contribute to something when it would just be erased?

Thinking about it came with complex thoughts and emotions. Things that Leah wasn't sure Garfield would understand. A human couldn't understand that fear. Leah Saw things- awful things, wonderful things, the good and the bad and the neutral of the universe. Leah wanted to run across those stars...but did it matter, because the first time she would ever regenerate would clear all those memories away? Would a human ever understand?

Leah wanted to leave an impact. An impact so big that even her future selves could see it- see and know it belonged to Leah. Leah wanted to be remembered, even if she would forget.

"Go on. Free space." Garfield encouraged. "Just you, me, and the stars."

Leah sighed, lowering her hands from her face. "It's not a big deal."

"You always say that." Garfield replied. "Its not a big deal, we just stopped an alien genocide. It's not a big deal, we just stopped an alien assassin. It's not a big deal, we stopped a planet from blowing up."

Leah laughed as her cheeks warmed. "I don't say it that often."

"No you do." Garfield replied with a laugh. "Too often, actually."

Leah paused. Did she say it often? She didn't believe so. Maybe Garfield had a better view of things from outside her head.

"Leah?" Garfield asked.

The Time Lady sighed. "It's just...we got a letter today. Well I got a letter. Mom just picked it up from the mailbox. But it's mine."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"What's in it?" Garfield asked.

Leah winced, bracing herself for the blow. "...you know ATMOS?" Leah asked.

Garfield lifted his head, turning to look at her. "The car system, made up by that really smart guy, right?"

"Right." Leah pushed herself against the floor, hoping it would swallow her whole. "He has this Academy- Rattigan Academy, cause of course he would name it after himself. Like, even Queen Victoria named Torchwood after a lord and not herself. Like come on-"

"Leah. You're rambling." Garfield told her.

"Got it." Leah swallowed, nervously shifting again on the roof. "It was a letter asking me to join."

Garfield was silent.

"Join the Rattigan Academy." Leah clarified. "They- they have a think tank program. My research shows it focuses on space exploration. The few members that replied to me said that they were building things to help make Earth's ecosystem handle the influx of carbon emissions from the ATMOS. That's been a point of contention with me about those. If Mom actually got that car she wanted I would've insisted-"

"Are you considering signing up for it?" Garfield asked. No His voice lowered. A low like he wanted to yell and scream but didn't want to disturb the quiet of the night. Or maybe like he had his own reservations but wanted to hear from Leah first.

Leah had no answer to give. Not yet.

Garfield sat up. He stared down at Leah, dark brown eyes sharp. "You can consider it. It's alright."

It didn't feel alright, not to Leah and Garfield's friendship. To Leah and Jack's friendship.

"Just tell me what you're thinking." Garfield replied. His tone came out forcefully soft and trying so hard to be considerate.

Sometimes that was hard for Garfield. Leah understood- losing your parents and home would make anyone possessive of the few things left. Leah remembered holding really tight to Thelma and Leanna those first few weeks with them. Leah didn't even like it when Leanna went to work, or Thelma leaving for the art supply store without Leah. Sure her visions never showed anything happening, but Leah couldn't help but worry.

Garfield had that problem too sometimes. During the Year it made sense. So many people wiped out so fast, their Lord and Master unafraid to do it again. Garfield's concern made sense. Leah was the same after watching her mothers die under a Toclafane laser. Now? Leah took it to mean that Garfield still worried and cared, no matter the timeline.

(Or at least Leah wanted to believe that.)

"I'll support it." Garfield replied.

Leah shook her head. "I did. It just...didn't feel right."

Garfield sighed, lying back down on the roof. His expression could only be described as relief. "Oh. Oh that's a shame."

Leah understood, though. Garfield couldn't be happier that Leah wanted to stay.

She's glad he didn't ask more. If he did, Leah wouldn't be able to hide how she came to that conclusion.

Cars driving themselves into rivers

Large clouds of smog

Sontar-Ha!

Sontar-Ha!

A face- someone's familiar face but an obvious fake

Even after all their friendship had been through, Leah wasn't ready to talk about her visions to Garfield. Some things just shouldn't be shared.

The decision to deny Rattigan Academy should make Leah at ease. Yes it was an amazing opportunity but Leah saw too much of the bad to believe in it. Worse yet, that didn't stop Leah from wanting it. She wanted it so badly.

That kind of change in the world? Leah would love to be a part of that. Something out there would be unarguably hers. Her future selves could look at it and learn what she was like. They would have a memory to hold onto.

Leah wanted to give them that.

Leah wanted that for herself. A thing on Earth she could point at, belonging to her future. To know that her life moved on even after her death. All Leah had now was Toclafane and Saxon's 'reclusive cousin'.

(Also Latshaw, and Anthony, and Captain Jack Harkness. Leah actually forgot about them for a few minutes.)

"You'll be fine." Garfield assured her. "You've got Torchwood, and all of us at the training room. We'll always be here for you."

Leah smiled. "Thank you."

Garfield patted her arm, squeezing her hand. Leah squeezed back, trying to untangle her fingers. She wasn't quite in the mood for hand holding just now.

"See? I knew you didn't want to be alone." Garfield replied. "Or else you would've really tried keeping away from me."

Leah thought she had.

Maybe coming to her old spot wasn't the best move. Next time, Leah would put in more effort.

It wasn't so strange to want to hide from your closest friend, was it? Leah saw no issue. Sometimes she best collected her thoughts when on her own.

Or- or maybe Garfield was right? That he was better suited to help Leah adjust? Leah was a Time Lady but Garfield was very perceptive of her. Did Leah really come up with her best ideas alone? She thought she knew but now she was unsure.

"But if I asked..." Leah began. "...would you give me space?"

Garfield snorted. "Well yes. Obviously. You can be honest with me, Leah. We agreed that from the start. You can tell me anything- even if it's that you need space."

Leah smiled, soft and thankful. "You're a good friend."

"Excuse you. I am a great friend." Garfield countered.

The two laughed together. They sat on that roof for another half hour. Not always silent, not always talking. They broke apart to visit a local cafe for a late night snack.

The next morning, Leah came up to her moms to tell them that Leah declined the offer from Rattigan Academy. She told Jack the same thing later. There was more work to be done at Torchwood. Leah had no time to leave these idiot humans of her's on their own.