Sitting quietly with the lights down low and her head in her hands, Rose waited impatiently for her head to stop throbbing, focussing on breathing slowly and not tensing up.

It took a little while, but eventually, the pain eased enough for her to pay attention to the world around her again, and it was then that she realised Owen and Gwen were having a whispered conversation on the catwalk above her.

"Just ask her," Owen demanded softly.

"I will, Owen, but give it a bit of time," Gwen responded, but the doctor had clearly gotten himself riled up.

"It's fucking sly. We should say something to her," he continued, and Rose could hear the exasperation in Gwen's answer.

"Owen, I don't know what you want me to do. She'd been through enough—"

"Look, it is really creeping me out—"

"Okay! All right," Gwen said, her voice sharp even while she continued to whisper. "Owen don't be a son of a bitch about this," the woman warned, but their conversation died as a door opened, and Rose sighed.

She'd have moved away to give them some privacy, but her head still felt tender and, she reasoned, if they didn't want to be overheard, then they shouldn't be talking in the hub.

"When did you have this... I don't know, ability?" Gwen asked, and Rose assumed that it was Tosh who had stepped through the doorway above.

A quick check of her mental map of the hub told her that she was sitting below the conference room, so Ianto must have been taking her statement for their records.

"Just a couple of days," Tosh answered softly, and Rose sighed again, already sure that Owen wasn't going to be content with such a vague answer.

"What did you hear?" The doctor demanded.

"A lot of it was noise... emotions... references I wouldn't understand..." Tosh offered, and Rose realised that the woman was trying to give her two teammates an illusion of privacy by pretending to not have heard anything of importance, and Rose winced.

While she could see the intent behind Tosh's words it was a little too close to the lying she'd been doing for the last few days for it to sit comfortably with Rose and apparently Owen too, judging by the frustration she could hear when he spoke again.

"Yeah, and the rest?" The doctor demanded, voice hard, and there was a pause before Tosh answered quietly.

"The rest was none of my business."

"No. It wasn't," Owen snarled before Rose heard his heavy footfalls move along the catwalk and away from the two women above her head.

"I don't know... where this leaves us," Tosh muttered into the silence Owen had left behind him.

"Me neither," Gwen agreed reluctantly. "We can't really take the moral high ground over this..."

There was a pause before Gwen continued, speaking quickly as though trying to get the words out before she changed her mind.

"This thing, between me and Owen, it's—"

"No, Gwen," Tosh cut her off, "what I did was an invasion. I wasn't in control, I realise that now. Even so... I-I can't... I have to live with this. Not what I heard, but what I did to you..." the woman choked out, and the pain in her voice convinced Rose that she needed to have a quiet chat with the woman who was clearly tearing herself up over the mistakes she'd made in the last few days.

"And my betrayal?" Gwen asked.

"What do you mean?"

"... I'm living with mine," Gwen said softly. "This should be my wake up call. I should stop, but I won't. What does that say about me?" Gwen asked, and Rose ran a hand across her face, carefully rising to her feet.

Whatever Gwen and Owen were up to, that wasn't any of her business, she decided and moved to leave the small room Jack had sat her down in to make her way over to Owen slowly, watching as he slammed the keys on the keyboard in his badly masked anger.

"Owen," Rose said softly, drawing his attention and his eyes glared at her for a long moment.

"What?"

"When you overhear a conversation that you're not meant to, what do you do?" she asked, and he tensed, eyes darkening further.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, when you overhear something that's obviously meant to be private, you stay silent, right? Don't say anything about it because you're not supposed to know and it's none of your business, yeah?"

"What's your point?" The doctor demanded, clearly understanding what Rose was talking about and the blonde smile as she leaned against the corner of his desk.

"My point is that, right now, you're angry. And don't get me wrong, you have a right to be, but... when that anger calms down a bit, try and forgive her, yeah? And then if you can forgive her, talk to her so she knows things are all right."

Owen glared at her a moment with his arms crossed, but his eyes flicked up to the catwalk where Gwen and Tosh were still talking softly before he growled.

"Bloody hell, Tyler, anything else you want?"

With a tongue-touched grin, Rose held her arms open for a hug and Owen froze.

"No."

"Oh, come on. You'll feel better," Rose wheedled and Owen pushed his chair away from her.

"Absolutely not. I'm not a hugger!" He snapped, and Rose's grin faded from playful to soft, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, you are," she corrected him and after a few seconds hesitation, and a quick glance around the office to make sure that they weren't being observed, Owen stood just long enough to wrap her in a crushing hug that she returned with equal force.

When they heard footsteps on the catwalks Owen released her quickly and she punched his upper arm lightly, "Go on then, it's late. Lg off and head on home," she ordered and he shook his head with a sigh, but didn't argue.

Turning her back on Owen, Rose intercepted Tosh as she was leaving the hub, and grabbing her own coat she linked arms with the technician, ignoring the woman's startled stare.

"Come on, you look like you need someone to talk to for a bit, and I doubt you're in any rush to get home right now," Rose offered, and slowly a soft, relieved smile touched Tosh's lips as Rose led her through the door and up into the night air.

For a while, Rose and Tosh just walked together side by side.

Rose bought them both a tray of chips from a hole-in-the-wall chippy, and by the time they'd eaten and made their way back to a bench in the Roald Dahl Plass, most of the tension had leaked out of Tosh's shoulders.

"Why aren't you as angry with me as everyone else?" The woman asked Rose eventually, and Rose turned to her with a smile.

"It helps that I know you never got into my head," she admitted, and Tosh blinked at her in surprise. "Plus, let's be honest, us humans have curiosity by the bucket full! Handing us something that can give us a peek into the unknown? How could you resist?" Rose asked, shrugging before she shook her head, watching Tosh flush out of the corner of her eye.

"I don't blame you," Rose reassured the woman gently, but when Tosh continued to look embarrassed Rose settled on something to distract her.

"Parallel world Torchwood," she began, "we had more instances of peaceful contact with aliens than we do here. One time we encountered this species who were telepathic, but they insisted that they would only speak with Earth representatives who could 'quiet their minds',"

She glanced at Tosh, and when she saw the woman's eyes begin to sparkle with curiosity and questions, Rose grinned and continued.

"When they realised that none of us knew how to do that they sent a representative of their own to teach us how. My team was one of the first that they taught to protect our minds, but it quickly became standard training for all Torchwood field operatives."

"I can't do what that device did for you," she added quickly. "I can't look into people's heads, I'm not telepathic. Humans aren't, typically, but I have enough understanding of telepathy to keep a telepathic being, or apparently their technology, from seeing my surface thoughts.

"To see into my head, they'd have to push past my defences, put some real effort into it, and while I wouldn't be able to stop them, I'd at least know the intrusion was happening."

"That's... amazing," Tosh breathed, "how—"

"There you two are," Jack called, interrupting Tosh as he marched towards them both, his long coat flapping as the wind caught in it and Rose raised a hand in a brief wave.

"I needed to get some air, clear my head a bit. Tosh offered to keep me company," Rose said, and Jack smiled as he reached them.

Holding out his hand to Tosh, he had the small green pendant that they now knew had been giving her access to basic telepathy in the palm of his hand, offering it to her.

Slowly, Tosh took it, and Jack moved to sit on her other side, sandwiching the woman between himself and Rose.

It looked like frosted sea glass, carved into the shape of a shell and set in silver. It was beautiful, and Tosh stared at it with a sadness in her eyes that broke Rose's heart and she glanced at Jack, only to find the same remorse for their friend's pain reflected back at her.

"It's funny," Tosh said after a long moment, her throat scratchy with emotion. "It's such a small thing... and it could be the most powerful piece of technology we've ever found."

"In the hands of humans? Absolutely," Rose agreed. "Telepathic species usually have social guidelines, like not entering a mind without permission, or not broadcasting your thoughts unless it's an emergency, that sort of thing. Humans just aren't made to know the ins and outs of each others heads."

"It could tear down governments... Wipe out armies..." Tosh whispered, her horror growing as she began to realise that the damage she'd caused in her relationships with her friends was nothing compared to what someone with real, malicious intent could accomplish.

"What do we do with it?" She asked them both, eyes wide and glancing between them for some sort of direction, but Rose just looked at Jack.

"It's up to you," he offered gently, and Rose smiled. It might have been a test, it could almost have been cruel, but she could see in his soft blue eyes that he simply didn't want to be the one to forcefully take the last memento of Mary from Tosh, not after the night the young woman had suffered through.

Tosh turned her dark eyes back to the pendant in her hands, staring at it in silence and Rose let her hand settle in the middle of Tosh's back, the light pressure her own silent support for whatever decision the woman came to.

Eventually, she nodded and released a shaky breath.

"It's a curse," she muttered, slowly letting it drop from her fingers to the pavement beneath them, crushing the fragile gemstone under her boot and Rose saw Jack turn his face away slightly in an attempt to hide the proud smile that had erupted across his face.

"Why couldn't I read your mind?" Tosh asked Jack. "Rose... I couldn't read hers because she's had training, but you were different."

"I don't know," Jack admitted, shifting on the bench and turning back to Tosh, shrugging slightly. "I could feel you scrabbling around in there," he added with a shudder.

"When I tried to read Rose... it hurt. Like I'd walked into something solid. But with you, I got nothing," Tosh explained. "It was like you were... I don't know, dead," she finished, laughing at the absurdity of the statement but Jack sobered, and Rose felt her blood run cold as she caught his eye.

Quickly he gave her a short shake of his head, and Rose nodded, understanding. Too many people knew about his inability to die already, she realised, and it was an ability that could be too easily turned against him.

"That list for UNIT," Jack started, and Rose straightened up and glared at him, even knowing he intended it as a distraction for Tosh.

"I did that!" She snapped, but Jack just sent her a teasing grin and ignored her.

"Rose is useless when it comes to anything that requires an ounce of organisation," he half taunted, before sobering once more. "I want it on my desk tomorrow, or I'll... What do bosses do in situations like these?" He asked suddenly, voice curious.

"You know, regular bosses. Do I get to beat people?" He asked with a laugh, and Tosh couldn't seem to stop a grin from finally creeping across her features.

"We've got rules for that," she told him and he groaned while Rose laughed at the pair of them.

"Argh! Red tape!" The Captain complained, shaking his head in feigned frustration, but Tosh's smile had faded as quickly as it had arrived, and Rose let her arm curl around the other woman's shoulders in silent support.

"Go on, ask," she offered, and Tosh let out a shaky breath.

"It's something Mary said. Probably the only honest thing she ever did say. I asked her why she gave it to me, and she said... that after a while it gets to you. It changes how you see people..." Tosh's voice broke slightly, and she slowly raised her eyes, wet with tears, to stare helplessly at Rose.

"How can I live with that?"

"There are some things we're not supposed to know. You got a snapshot, nothing more," Jack tried to reassure her, but Tosh shook her head.

"I don't mean about Gwen and Ianto and Owen... I mean, the whole world. It doesn't matter. None of it matters," she choked out, and Jack stared at her helplessly, before his eyes flicked to Rose and she could see the request for help written all over his face.

Quickly, Rose slid off the bench so that she could crouch down in front of Tosh, taking a firm hold of her hands and staring up into the woman's tear-stained face.

"Look, up there," Rose encouraged the woman, her voice gentle. "I know they're hard to see, what with all the lights from Cardiff, but it's a clear night. Do you see them? The stars?" Rose asked, and Tosh slowly followed her instructions, nodding when she could focus on the pinpricks of light above them.

"All those galaxies, all those stars, all those worlds. You'd think that makes us small and insignificant, but it's the opposite. All those planets, all those people, they're all important. Every single one of 'em, and that includes us."

Rose kept her voice soft and let Tosh continue gazing quietly into the night sky.

"It helps to stare out at them and remember that, while you and your problems are infinitely small in comparison, we're also a tiny puzzle piece in that vast, beautiful universe. We are inherently flawed, Tosh. We're not perfect. But there's a hell of a lot of good on this planet, and the universe wouldn't be quite the same kind of amazing without us," she promised gently.

Jack stood silently from his place on the bench, his hand resting on Rose's shoulder lightly in thanks, and she smiled, but she didn't take her eyes from Tosh as he left them alone.

Slowly, Tosh's tears slowed, and a quiet calm overtook them both, but Rose stayed crouched before her, both of them gazing up at the universe, for as long as Tosh needed.

Even though Jack had promised Rose that, come the next case, he wouldn't stop her from taking part in the fieldwork, it seemed like the aliens were conspiring to drive her insane.

The next week, Torchwood had nothing.

No UFO's, no prank sightings, no genuine aliens. Not even a weevil and Rose was beginning to go stir crazy.

To top it all off, Tosh was taking some holiday time, and Rose's computer wouldn't let her log in, which was how the blonde found herself tangled in wires, crawling around the floor underneath her desk, and wishing for the Doctor's sonic screwdriver in between frustrated curses, first thing on a Saturday morning.

Before her first cup of tea.

"Rosie!" Jack shouted for her, and she jumped, startled, and cracked her head sharply on the underside of her desk drawing a dark growl from her throat.

"This had better be good, Harkness!" She shouted back carefully crawling out from under her desk and glaring up at the immortal as she attempted to untangle her limbs from the multitude of wires that were clinging to her.

Jack didn't seem bothered by her black mood and just grinned down at her with sparkling blue eyes. Somehow, that just managed to annoy her further.

"I've spent the last hour fighting with your computer system because, once again, the retinal scan isn't recognising me as me. To make things worse, the kettle broke this morning, so I've not even had so much as a cup of tea yet, but I can't order a new one because my computer won't let me in!" She snarled at him, throwing the non-sonic screwdriver she'd had in her hand back to the floor as she staggered to her feet.

"Rose, look," Jack said simply, ignoring her frustration fuelled rant, and turning on the television in her small office.

Brushing the dust and dirt from her hands, Rose sighed and leant her hip against her desk, arms crossed with a reluctant air of impatience.

A hint of curiosity began to build as she listened to the news report Jack had flicked the channel to, some sort of press conference on the BBC news.

There was a wizened, elderly looking man speaking, and she flicked her eyes down to the bright red info-bar at the bottom of the screen that named him as Professor Lazarus, world-renowned geneticist and Rose frowned, finally beginning to listen to what the man was announcing.

"...will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world. With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human. Thank you."

"And that was the words of world renowned geneticist, Professor Richard Lazarus. His PR representative went on to say that they will be hosting an invitation only black tie event at the Professors labs later tonight, and hopefully we'll be able to discover more about the Professor's invention then. That's all for the eight am news, and now for the weather—"

"Change what it means to be human?" Rose asked, her eyes narrowed, and Jack grinned at her as he switched the TV off again.

"Feel like investigating, Rosie?" Jack teased, "Someone should really be on site tonight. Keep an eye on the Professor, make sure this amazing new invention is purely earth technology..." he tempted, and Rose groaned.

"Anything's better than fighting this stupid computer any longer," she told him, but the venom from her earlier ranting had left her voice.

She saw Jack's grin soften to a gentle smile and knew he'd spotted her relief at having something to do, so she rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm playfully.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, and Jack released a sharp bark of laughter.

"It's black tie, Rosie. You'll need a dress, shoes, the works," he warned, and Rose nodded with a grin.

"I was an heiress in the parallel world. I do know how to dress for a party, Jack," she teased, and he nodded, sobering as he switched from teasing her to all business.

"You'll have to go in alone. I only managed to wrestle one invitation out of my contacts," he explained, frowning. "Normally I'd go myself, not being able to die an' all, but I did promise that if anything cropped up..."

"Thank you," Rose told him quickly, "I need to get out of here. To do something other than stare at a screen," she told him, rubbing at her tired eyes for a moment before sighing, and offering Jack an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Don't worry about it, Rosie," he brushed off her apology with a wave of his hand. "I understand."

He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, and handed over the Torchwood credit card, before ordering her to go shopping, but not before instructing her to find something that would 'knock 'em dead'.