A.N.: Thank you for the reviews! They make my day. I'm glad you're enjoying the story-I'm having fun writing it! I'm trying to make the plot a little different and new based on the stories I've read according to what I wish I'd find in others. If that makes sense. Please keep the reviews coming! Constructive criticism is my friend. : )

Chapter Two

Months had passed since Tori woke up. Jack had helped her regain her footing after so long. They bonded through shared experiences… or deaths, really. Tori found him refreshing. Extremely flirtatious, but refreshing. She found that Jack was a breath of fresh air after so long being alone and suffering. She laughed again, lived again. He even asked her to help him rebuild Torchwood in a new light. It was slow going and there were many brick walls they had to tear down, but between Jack's training and Tori's knack for hacking, they made quick slow work of it. Eventually, Jack brought in another to their team. Tori, due to her PTSD, didn't take to her right away. Gwen Cooper was nice, but Tori had a hard time trusting anyone. After about a year, the team grew even more, welcoming Ianto Jones.

But when the team started going on missions and dealing with real threats, Tori found she just couldn't be of any use. She was still a scared little girl… and knew that if she tried to help and froze, she could inadvertently kill one of the team members. Jack tried to convince her to stay and help at the base, but he respected her choice to not go on any missions. They remained close and she was at Torchwood often enough that Jack set up a room for her. In return, she would do some cooking for the team, knowing their habits were to eat whatever they could find or pick up a quick meal.

Tori loved Jack. He was her knight in shining armor, a ray of light in her dark life. But she still found herself waiting for the shoe to drop. He hadn't done anything to hint that he would betray her, but she couldn't help but feel he wouldn't be around for her forever. Despite both of them being cursed to outlive everyone else. And she could tell he kept things from her… which was fine, since she also kept secrets from him. Secrets from her past that replayed in her mind every night.

Tori knew Jack was working on something specific. He was always at his desk, monitoring something. He had a bag next to the computer and when she asked him about it once, he smirked and would reply, "It's just my helping hand." And left it at that, despite her inquisitive looks.

One day, Tori was reading a book at a nearby desk when Jack leapt from his chair, grabbed the backpack and sped out of the room stating he'd be back soon. Tori knew better than to run after him. She'd done that once before and along with a stitch in her side, she was nearly squished by an alien ship. Never again. So she decided to wait it out as patiently as she could. Minutes passed. Then an hour. Then a few hours. The rest of the team were in and out like normal, but Jack was gone.

Tori sighed and closed her book. "I'm heading home. Have a good night, Gwen!"

"G'night, Tor! You coming in tomorrow?" Gwen smiled from her personal computer.

"Maybe. I do need to get some work done." Tori shrugged.

Gwen gave her a look, "You mean you're going to sit at home and watch reruns?"

Tori laughed, "Yeah, probably. One of these days I'll find something that's actually productive."

"You could always reconsider Jack's offer and work here."

"You know I'm not cut out for all this… alien hunting and world-preserving." Tori gestured to the room. "If anything, I'd slow you all down. No, I'm better use either as a consultant or standing in a corner."

Gwen shook her head. "You know that's not true. But suit yourself. You're always welcome—" Gwen was cut off by a phone ringing. She held up a finger and answered it. Tori scuffed her shoe as she waited. Gwen's eyes widened and she quickly stood up, hanging up the phone simultaneously.

"Alright, team. We have a new case! Pack warm, we leave for the Himalayans in one hour!" Gwen called out to the others on the team.

"I'll get out of your hair. Take care and let me know when everyone is back and safe!" Tori waved to the team and left the base.

On her walk home, Tori hugged her arms closer to her chest as she noticed there was a slight chill in the air. She got that eerie feeling something was happening, but ignored it as she normally did, knowing her paranoia was usually wrong.

Several days passed and Tori still hadn't heard anything from the team or Jack. She decided to go back to the bunker and see if anyone had returned and not called her to let her know. As she was walking, her phone rang in her pocket.

Tori dug it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Jack. She smiled, "Well hello, stranger! Glad to see you're still ali—"

"Tori, where are you?!" Jack's frantic voice wiped the smile from Tori's face.

"On my way to Torchwood. The team is out on a case and I haven't heard from any of you, so I wanted to check on you all." She answered.

"Don't go there, Tor. Don't go there! I'm sending you an address. Meet me there and if you see anyone following you, run and hide. Doesn't matter where, just don't be seen. Come at night." Jack spat out in a rush.

Tori's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Jack, are you ok?"

"For now. But I need to know you are as well. Please trust me and meet me at the address tonight." Jack pleaded.

"…Ok, Jack. I trust you." Tori sighed, going back inside her house.

"Thanks, Tor. See you tonight. Stay safe. Oh, and bring the gun I gave you." With that, he hung up, leaving a very confused and concerned Tori staring down at her phone.

The phone dinged and she saw that Jack had indeed sent her an encrypted address. She looked at it and realized it was only just a little way from where she lived. She liked to keep to the outskirts of the city and the place Jack said to meet her was in an abandoned part of town. Tori did as Jack said and found the gun he'd given her months ago. It was empty—she didn't like guns—so she grabbed ammunition from under her sink. Tori also figured that since Jack seemed to be hiding, or in trouble, he probably didn't have much to eat. So being the designated Torchwood mum, she gathered some supplies and put them in a bag to bring with her tonight.

It was about seven o'clock when Tori heard a knock on her door. Her body froze. Only Jack and Torchwood knew she lived here. Well, and the odd salesman. The knock sounded again. Tori slowly stood, grabbed the bag of supplies and her gun, and inched as quietly as possible to her back door. The knock came again. Tori opened and closed the back door as quickly and quietly as she could. Suddenly, the front door was bashed in. She could hear it from her back garden. She stayed by the bay window and listened for several minutes before a voice was heard.

"No one's here. All the lights are off." A woman's voice spoke from inside. "No, I know… but I'm telling you, she's not here. Should I tell him I shot her as she tried to run?" the woman scoffed. Tori figured she was on the phone. "Alright. I'm heading back. I'll try again in the morning before reporting to him. You. Know how bad his temper is." The woman's voice started fading away. Tori waited again until she was sure she was safe before bolting in the direction she knew Jack would be.

She was running for a while, never stopping for breath and constantly looking over her shoulder. Finally, after what felt like an hour of running (but was probably only half), she slowed down to a job as she approached the address. Tori stuck to the shadows and slowly walked to the side entrance of the abandoned building the address led her to.

"…don't know. She's smart, though. If anyone can figure out how to get here undetected, it's her." Tori heard Jack's voice and she felt some of the tension in her shoulders lessen.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Another man's voice asked. The room was silent, save for Tori's frantic heart.

"…Tor?" Jack called hesitantly.

Tori stepped from the shadows and gave a nervous smile. "Er… hi?" she offered.

Jack deflated instantly and came towards her, grabbing her shoulders to look at her. "Are you ok? Did you have any trouble on the way?"

"I'm fine, I'm more worried about you!" Tori shook her head in disbelief. "I wasn't followed, if that's what you mean. There was someone at my house, but I was in the garden when they got in."

"You're sure no one saw you come here?" The unknown man with rather wild hair asked seriously from across the room.

"…Positive." Tori tried to not sound insulted at his doubt.

Jack smirked and stepped back from her. "I told you Doc, no one knows stealth like Tori."

"Doc" nodded as he considered her presence. "How did you manage to stay hidden for so long?" he asked her.

Tori frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean. I wasn't… trying to hide. I didn't know I should have been. What's going on?"

"How about you come warm up and we'll fill you in. Did you bring your gun like I asked?" Jack led her to a makeshift seat by the two other people and a small fire.

"Of course I did, I'm not completely useless." Tori quietly muttered the last part. "But I still don't know why you wanted me to bring it. You know I'm rubbish with the thing. You owe me an explanation, dear Captain."

Jack smirked again. "Alright, Duchess. Calm your horses." And together, the three people, including the man who called himself the Doctor and Martha Jones, began telling the story of how they came to be refugees in the abandoned building.

"I'm… following. Mostly. Let me get this straight. Jack somehow stowed away on your ship, you somehow ended up at the end of time itself, and now somehow, there's a crazy man running the country with plans to run the world?" Tori summarized.

"Yeah, pretty much." Jack leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on a crate in front of him.

"Well," the Doctor started. "He didn't stow away, he literally clung to the outside as we flew."

Tori blinked. "Well that's a new one." She started. "How did you manage that, Jack?"

Jack suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I just held on for dear life."

"To a spaceship…" Tori drawled.

"More than a spaceship, really. Can travel space and time." Martha added, not noticing Jack's worried look or Tori's face that was slowly starting to morph into a look of suspicion.

"This ship… what do you call it?" Tori asked.

"The TARDIS." The Doctor answered simply. "Stands for Time—"

"And relative dimensions in space…" he and Tori finished together. His eyes snapped to her as he realized what she said. Her face was pale and her eyes held an intense fear.

"How did you know that?" He demanded.

Tori swallowed and looked at Jack for help. He sighed and nodded in encouragement.

"I guess it's my turn to tell a story…" she whispered. She then told the same story she remembered telling Jack a little over a year prior. She made sure to give the same facts as before and not add anything that would lead to more questions. She also added some facts about her stay at the pre-Jack Torchwood. By the time she was finished, the Doctor's face was dark. Though his anger wasn't directed at her, she could tell. He was staring into the fire and not saying anything.

Marth looked at her with such genuine pity and concern it made Tori want to comfort her. Reassure her she was ok now.

"And now here I am." She finished lamely.

"And you're sure you were the only one to survive the process?" The Doctor finally asked, looking straight into Tori's eyes.

Tori nodded. "None of the other humans survived. The only other to show any signs of survival only lived a few moments. I was told the others were dead before the process even stopped. Their bodies were incinerated…" Tori breathed out her nose in sadness for the fallen others.

"What's your last name, Tori?" The Doctor asked seemingly randomly.

"Er… Renata. My full name is Victoria Renata." She answered.

The Doctor gave a small smile her way. "Brilliant name."

Tori blinked and mirrored his smile, albeit slightly more confused. "Thanks. My mum used to tell me it means—"

"Victory Reborn." The Doctor filled in. "Aptly named, ironically."

Jack barked out a laugh. "Figures you'd be destined for this. After everything I've seen, it doesn't even surprise me anymore."

Tori found herself laughing slightly at the irony. "Yeah, I supposed my mum picked well. She always said she wanted to give me a name that would transcend time."

Tori then became quiet.

"Doctor?" she asked. "Why… why is your ship called the TARDIS?"

The Doctor seemed to know what she was really asking. "Because I'm a Time Lord."

Tori sat back with a small gust of air leaving her lungs. After so long of being haunted by memories of the monster who was also a Time Lord, here she sat… sharing a comfortable fire with one of the very same race. Eating marshmallows, at that.

"And the bloke we're hiding from?" she whispered, already knowing the answer.

"Time Lord." The Doctor confirmed.

"Great." Tori gulped.