I held tightly to Alistair's arm as we descended into the Torchwood Hub, staring in awe and excitement at the underground base as it came into view. We descended slowly into the Hub just as a large pterodactyl flew past us. I gasped in alarm and jumped back, nearly falling off the cement block until Alistair pulled me into his arms.

"Sorry," he said with a smile. "Myfanwy gets excited whenever you come 'round and she hasn't seen you in a while."

"Myfanwy?" I repeated in confusion.

Alistair gestured to the pterodactyl with a nod of his head. "That would be the large, flying reptile," he teased.

From somewhere below us, a voice suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, fuck!"

Although I was no stranger to curse words, I was still taken aback by the sudden expletive. I looked over the edge of the block to see Myfanwy flying dangerously close to Owen as he walked across one of the metal walkways. From her desk across the Hub, Tosh scolded Owen's language before standing up when she noticed Alistair and I descending further into the Hub.

Alistair spared me a glance and grimaced slightly when he noticed my slightly surprised expression. "Sorry," he mumbled.

I shook my head. "No, uh, it's fine. I just… wasn't expecting that."

About a minute later, the block had finally completely lowered to the floor. Tosh and Owen had moved to stand on one of the walkways, watching us expectantly, while Ianto walked towards us from the Hub's main entrance. Alistair stepped off the block first, extending his hand to me to help me down as well. Then he turned to the others as he put an arm around my shoulders.

"This is Mum's first visit to Torchwood, so you'd better be on your best behavior, Owen," Alistair said accusingly.

Owen scoffed. "Why are you singling me out?" he demanded.

"Because one of the very first things Mum heard was you shouting expletives."

I smiled a little awkwardly at Owen, saying, "It's okay, Alistair. I really don't care. You can say all the expletives you want. I won't mind."

Owen grinned and looked proudly at Alistair, raising his eyebrows as if he was silently asking my son to say something else about his language. Tosh cleared her throat and stepped towards Alistair and I, her arms spread. I pulled away from Alistair slightly and let her embrace me with a smile.

"First visit or not," she said, "it's always good to see you. How have you been?"

I felt my smile drop slightly, but was quick to recover. "Fine," I replied. "You know, just… fine. What about you?"

Tosh shrugged. "Oh, you know, working. As usual. But now that you're here, you, Gwen, and I can have a girl's night. If you're staying long enough, that is."

"I'd like to stay for a while, actually," I said a little shyly. "If that's okay. I thought I could just stay here in the Hub. I don't want to impose on anyone-"

"You won't," Ianto interjected. "In fact, you have a room."

My eyes widened in surprise. "I do?" I asked incredulously.

Ianto smiled and nodded. "Of course. We always keep it ready for you. If you want, I could take your things there for you while you catch up with everyone."

"Oh, Ianto, you don't have to do that. I can do it."

"Nonsense," he answered. "I'll show you around later, once we've all eaten and caught up." Ianto walked over and extended his arm, taking my backpack once I had pushed it off of my shoulders. Slinging it over one shoulder, Ianto suddenly pulled me into a hug. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you, too," I said with a smile.

Once he pulled away, Ianto looked over at Alistair and gestured towards the Hub entrance with a nod of his head. "Alistair, would you mind ordering pizza for me while I take care of Diana's things?"

Alistair nodded. "Sure." He swiftly kissed me on the cheek and started towards the entrance. "I'll be right back!"

Once Ianto and Alistair had left, I turned back to Tosh and Owen and smiled awkwardly at them. "So," Owen began, "first time, then."

"Yeah."

"I was wondering why you were wandering around like a lost puppy up there."

"I didn't really know how to get in," I explained. "I was kind of hoping someone would come and help me."

Tosh smiled sweetly at me. "We'll make sure to show you the other way in," she said.

"That would be appreciated," I replied.

"So, how long are you staying?" Owen asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. As long as I can, I guess."

"Why? Did something happen?" Tosh asked slowly. "Are you okay?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," I muttered.

Tosh nodded in understanding and gently rested her hand on my arm. "That's okay. I don't want to push you. But if you ever want to talk about it, all of five of us are here whenever you need us."

I glanced around the Hub for a moment and then looked back at Tosh. "Where's Gwen, by the way?"

"Day off," Owen told me. "But someone can call her, if you like. She'll be thrilled to see you."

"Oh, no," I answered with a firm shake of my head. "I don't want to bother her. Especially on her day off."

"I'll just text her and tell her you're here," Tosh said as she reached for her back pocket. "She can decide whether or not she wants to come."

"She's with Rhys, so she definitely won't be coming," Owen said, laughing at his own joke.

Tosh immediately slapped her coworker on the arm and narrowed her eyes at him. "Watch it," she scolded. "You're supposed to mind your language."

"Oh, come off it, Tosh. Diana doesn't mind."

"Still," Tosh grumbled as she typed out a quick message on her phone. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and smiled at me. "Once the pizza's here, is there anything you'd like to do?"

"Like what?" I wondered.

Owen crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't you have some paperwork you need to finish?"

"I can do it later," Tosh said dismissively. "I'm not going to just ignore Diana because of some paperwork. So," she continued as she looked back at me, "any ideas?"

I shook my head. "I don't really know what there is to do around here."

"Well, we could always go shopping," Tosh suggested. "I know I still have to get a gift for Alistair."

"Gift?" I echoed.

"Christmas gift," the woman clarified.

I gasped in realization. "Oh. That's right, the Doctor said it was December. What is it, the sixteenth?"

Tosh and Owen nodded in confirmation. "You're staying for Christmas, aren't you?" Owen asked.

"I hope so. I mean, I haven't been doing a lot of time jumping lately, so maybe I'll even be able to stay for my birthday." I looked happily at Tosh as I entertained the idea of Christmas shopping with her and Gwen, but my smile quickly fell when I realized something. "I don't have any money," I said sadly.

Owen laughed at my dismay. "Well, you're not getting any from me. Go leech some off your kid," he joked.

"I would never!" I exclaimed.

"Don't worry about money," Tosh said, smiling reassuringly at me. "I'll lend you some."

"But-"

"I said don't worry. And it's not a problem. This job pays well enough." Tosh looked seriously at me when I started to protest a second time, her eyebrows raised. "I mean it, Diana."

Alistair came bounding into the room then before I could say anything else. He grinned at us from the Hub entrance and said happily, "Pizza's on its way!"

I had barely taken a bite of my first slice of pizza when a blur of blue, black, and red came streaking towards me. Gwen had run across the Hub to engulf me in a tight hug while she pinned me down to the couch. I squeaked in surprise, my slice of pizza being taken out of my hand by someone while Gwen rocked me back and forth excitedly.

"Oh my God," she breathed, "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Told you she'd be thrilled," Owen laughed.

Gwen finally pulled away, grinning at me as she pulled Owen off the couch to sit next to me. Owen grumbled under his breath in annoyance, but didn't do anything to stop her. Tosh leaned back against the couch and watched us with a tiny smile as she ate her single slice of pepperoni pizza.

"It's been so long," Gwen sighed. "Nearly a year. I was wondering if we'd ever see you again."

I smiled a little awkwardly at the other woman. "Well, here I am," I said.

"And just in time for Christmas!" she exclaimed. "And your birthday, hopefully."

"Hopefully," I replied with a nod. I looked around for my pizza and saw that Tosh had put it on her plate. She placed it back on my plate and I took a small bite. "I'm hoping to stay for a little while, actually."

"Well, I'm not complaining," Gwen said.

"I told her that the three of us should have a girl's night sometime," Tosh interjected. "Thought it would be fun."

Gwen nodded eagerly. "Absolutely! We could do it tomorrow. I know Rhys is going to be busy at work. He's been a bit busy the whole week."

"Right, well if you three are just going to go on about doing your hair and nails," Owen groaned, "then I'm leaving."

"Oh come on, Owen. Stop whining," Gwen teased. "We won't talk about anything damaging to your sensitive ears when you're around."

Alistair smirked and Ianto snorted into his cup of coffee, while Tosh and I laughed and Owen grumpily crossed his arms over his chest. Obviously pleased with herself, Gwen turned towards me again as she grabbed a pizza slice from the open box on the coffee table.

"So where's the Doctor?" she asked. "He usually comes with you, doesn't he?"

I glanced down at my lap and shrugged. "I don't know. This is my first time visiting Torchwood," I said softly.

"It is?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Gwen seemed to realize that I was hesitant to talk about the Doctor. She finished her bite of pizza and then cleared her throat. "Well, Doctor or no Doctor, you're going to have a wonderful Christmas. I promise."

I smiled. "Thanks, Gwen."

An alarm coming from all of the computers suddenly went off. Gwen jumped off of the sofa and raced towards the nearest computer with Tosh right on her heels. Alistair lowered his plate onto the coffee table with Ianto worriedly grasped his coffee mug.

"What is it?" Owen asked.

"There's been a spike in local rift activity," Tosh said as she looked over Gwen's shoulder. "Seems like there's something going on about a half mile away, some kind of after effect of the rift activity."

"We'll need to go make sure nothing got through," Gwen said. She turned back around and pointed to her teammates as she said their names. "Tosh, Alistair, you come with me. We shouldn't need more than three of us. Owen, Ianto, you two stay here. We'll radio if we need anything, yeah?"

Alistair awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, not unlike the way his father's third incarnation used to do. "Actually, could I stay with Mum and Ianto?" he asked.

Gwen glanced at me and nodded after a moment. "Alright. Owen, with me," she ordered as she started for the Hub entrance.

Tosh, Owen, and Gwen were gone in a matter of seconds, leaving me with Alistair and Ianto. The two men glanced at each other and then looked at me. Ianto set his coffee mug on the table and readjusted his waistcoat.

Flashing me a smile, Ianto said, "Well, how about Alistair and I show you around the Hub?"

First, the pair properly showed me around the main room where Myfanwy tended to spend her time as well as where everyone's desks were placed. After the brief walk around of the six desks, Ianto guided Alistair and I to an open doorway in the wall nearby Jack's empty office. Just though the doorway was a concrete corridor. There were four doors along the corridor, two on each wall, and each door was made of thick slabs of metal.

Ianto guided me to the door on the right hand side and at the far end of the corridor. "This is your room," he said as he pulled a key ring from his pocket. "We like to keep it locked when you're not here just to protect your things."

"We promise not to lock you in," Alistair said with a laugh.

I smiled. "That would be appreciated."

Ianto pushed the door opened and stepped aside, gesturing for me to go in first. My breath caught in my throat the moment I walked inside. The room was altogether ordinary, with a simple bed, a bookcase, a desk, and some pictures and posters scattered along the walls. But what made the room so breathtaking was the fact that there were strands of white Christmas lights pinned to the ceiling and the walls.

I turned to Ianto with wide eyes and a shocked smile. "Did you do this?" I asked.

He nodded. "I thought you'd like it," he said with a grin. "Everyone knows how much you love Christmas."

I immediately threw my arms around Ianto's waist and pulled him into a hug, my cheek resting against his chest. "Thank you. Thank you so much," I said. "I love it."

"Of course," Ianto replied as he returned the hug. He pulled away then and smiled down at me. "Normally we would have decorated the rest of the Hub, but without you or Jack here we weren't really in the mood."

"That's okay. I mean, I did kind of show up without any warning. I'm not expecting anything from anyone," I told the Welshman. "Just this is enough. Christmas with my friends and a little bit of lighting. And as long as I don't get in anyone's way, that's fine."

"Mum, you're not going to be in anyone's way," Alistair assured me.

Glancing out of the doorway, I pointed to the other doors. "Whose rooms are those?" I wondered. "Are they yours?"

"The room right next to yours is Jack's," Alistair explained. "The others are mostly just spares in case you and Dad visit and bring a friend with you."

Ianto awkwardly cleared his throat. "I've actually been staying in Jack's room lately. So you won't be sleeping in a big, empty Hub all alone. And if you ever need anything, you can always come talk to me."

"Us," Alistair corrected.

I looked at my son in confusion. "What?"

"Us," he repeated. "Ianto and I share Jack's room."

"Why…?"

Alistair glanced at Ianto. "We're together," he said simply.

I raised my eyebrows, not in disapproval but in surprise. "I… thought you were with Jack?"

Alistair shook his head. "No. I barely knew Jack before he left."

They must not be together yet then, I thought. Whoops. "Oh," I said out loud.

"I hope that's… alright," Ianto said slowly.

"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be? As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters."

Ianto and Alistair shared a look and smiled at each other. "We are," Ianto assured me. He quickly glanced away from Alistair and looked at me instead. "Er, your bag's on the bed, in case you didn't see. And I didn't touch anything. I didn't want to be rude."

"I wouldn't have minded if you did," I told him, "but thanks."

Ianto simply nodded. "Right. Well, I do need to clean up and I really should be checking the monitors for more rift activity. I'll take care of everything so you and Alistair can catch up."

"I can clean up my mess," I offered.

But Ianto shook his head firmly. "No. You're a guest here and I won't make you do chores," he laughed. Sparing Alistair a glance, Ianto said, "Phone me if you need anything."

With an answering nod from Alistair, Ianto said goodbye to both of us and headed back into the main room. Alistair looked back at me and awkwardly stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. He gestured to my bedroom with a nod of his head and asked, "Did you want to talk in there?"

"Sure," I replied with a shrug. Shuffling through the doorway, I moved to sit down on my bed while Alistair sat down at my desk. "What did you want to talk about?"

Alistair sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Why did Dad leave?" he said suddenly. "The others have told me that he usually stays with you when you visit."

"Alistair, I really don't-"

"I just want to make sure you're okay, Mum. If he said or did something, you know you can always talk to me about it, right?"

"I can't tell you. It still hasn't happened for you."

"Can't you make an exception?"

I shook my head. "No. And besides, I really don't want to talk about it. It'll just make me upset and sad and I don't want to do that right now." I sighed and forced a smile onto my face. "It's Christmastime. I'm not gonna ruin that by sulking over your father."

"Is there anything I can do?" my son wondered.

"You don't have to do anything, sweetie. But… if I ever do feel like talking, I promise you'll be the first person to know," I assured him.

Alistair gazed worriedly at me and sighed again. "As long as you're okay," he said slowly. "I worry about you sometimes."

"Alistair, you don't need to worry. It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around. You don't need to look after me."

"But I want to. Sometimes Dad can be… Well, you know how he can be."

I nodded. "Yeah. I know," I answered with a partial smile.

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. Really. Your Dad and I just need a break," I told him. "I've been through a lot lately and I think this is best for both of us." Upon seeing the slightly panicked expression on Alistair's face, I hastily added, "It won't be forever. Just until I can get over a few things. I'll go back to him. But when I'm ready."

After sitting in silence for a few moments, Alistair suddenly stood up and walked over to the bed. He wrapped me in a gentle, yet firm embrace and buried his head in the crook of my neck. I was momentarily taken aback by the hug, but didn't hesitate to return it.

"I missed you," he whispered. "It hasn't even been that long, but it feels like forever."

"Well I'm here now," I said gently. "And I'm not leaving anytime soon."

Alistair's phone suddenly began ringing and he pulled away, fumbling with his phone as he too it out of his trouser pocket. "Hello?" There was a pause and then Alistair suddenly stood at attention. "One minute. On my way." Pocketing his phone again, Alistair looked a little sadly at me. "Ianto needs me. Something about the rift spikes."

I nodded in understanding. "Okay. You go ahead," I told him.

"Do you want to come with me?"

"No, it's fine. I wouldn't know what to do anyway."

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Alistair assured me before running out of the room.

I got up after he left and gently shut the door, then sat down on my bed again. Not knowing what else to do, I began unpacking my things from my backpack. I had stuffed two spare outfits and some undergarments into the bag, as well as my diary and my phone. I placed the journal on top of the desk with a yawn and then started putting my clothes into the small closet cut into one of the bedroom walls.

Once I had organized my things, I toed off my shoes and sat back down on my bed. I glanced at the desk where my diary was placed and considered writing for a while until Alistair or Ianto came back. I moved to the desk and, after searching the drawers for a pen or pencil, began writing a minute later. So much had happened to me since I had last been able to write in my diary and it was important to me that I write down as much as possible. However, as I wrote I began to grow increasingly tired. I managed to write down most of what had occurred while I was on Gallifrey before my eyes began to droop. I was still writing about my time in 1969 with Martha, Sarah, and the Doctor when it became a struggle to stay sitting upright. And then, while I was still writing, my eyes fluttered shut and I passed out on the table.

A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I've been working a lot lately, so it gives me less writing time. As a result, the Christmas chapter(s) will be delayed by a few days but will still be published as soon as possible. Please don't forget to review and have a wonderful New Year's!