2001

Date: January 3

"Jenny, meet my new friend!"

Jenny glanced up from her Torchwood case file as Mara ran up to her while hand-in-hand with another little girl.

She shut her file and smiled widely. "Nice to meet you, Mara's new friend. Do you have a name of your own?"

"Sierra," the little girl said proudly. "Sierra Redford. Mara and I want to be best friends!"

"Best friends, huh? Shouldn't Mara and I meet your mum first?" Jenny glanced beyond the two girls. "Is your mum nearby?"

Sierra bobbed her head and pointed towards a woman across the playground who was taking care of another infant. "That's her with my little brother, Jamie."

"Well, can I meet your mum, Sierra?" Jenny asked.

The little girl nodded again and got a better grip on Mara's hand. "C'mon Mara, let's go get her!"

"Okay!" Mara squealed happily and ran alongside Sierra.

Jenny stood up from her bench and followed the excited pair as they got Sierra's mum's attention. "Mummy, this is Mara!" Sierra cried out happily. "And that's her mum Jenny!"

Jenny's chest tightened over Sierra's mistake, but she didn't correct the little girl as she continued to walk in Mrs. Redford's direction.

Mrs. Redford smiled at Mara. "Hello, Mara." She glanced up at Jenny. "Hello."

Jenny smiled back. "Nice to meet you." She held out her hand and Mrs. Redford shook it. "My name is Jenny Tyler. I'm actually Mara's older sister."

"Pleasure," Mrs. Redford said, and turned back to her baby when he let out a distressed cry. "Sorry," she said. "He's just getting over a cold." She glanced back up at Jenny as she cradled her baby. "I'm Sue Redford, by the way."

"Mummy! Mummy!"

Sue's attention returned to Sierra. "Yes, sweet girl?"

Sierra held up her and Mara's still clasped hands. "Mara and I want to be best friends! Can we?"

Both Sue and Jenny smiled. "Well, I don't see why not."

"Yay!" both girls squealed before they turned and ran back for the play structure.

Sue's eyes returned to Jenny. "I'm impressed. Sierra doesn't usually take to other children like she has to Mara."

Jenny smiled, and glanced at the remaining bench beside Sue. "May I?"

Sue nodded. "Of course." She moved over so Jenny had enough room to sit beside her. "So how old is your little sister?"

"She's just turned six," Jenny answered with a sigh. "I can't believe how much she's grown."

Sue chuckled. "I know what you mean. My Sierra is the same age, and this little one is approaching his 5 month mark."

Jenny smiled down at the baby that had finally settled into Sue's arms. "He's lovely."

"Thank you," Sue said. "So, did I hear you say you're Mara's older sister?"

Jenny nodded. "That's correct. Our parents went missing when she was still just a baby and I ended up with custody."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

She waved off Sue's apology. "It's alright."

Sierra's mum glanced towards where their girls were playing. "So it's just the two of you?"

"It was for a while," Jenny said, "but recently Mara's uncle Jack has been able to help out some. He's her Godfather."

Sue smiled. "That must be nice."

Jenny nodded. "What about you? I take it by the ring on your finger that you're married."

She nodded. "Going on eight years now. His name is Geoffrey. We met in university."

"Lovely," Jenny commented.

It was in this moment that their girls decided to run back towards them. "Jenny, Jenny! Can Sierra come to our house to play with me?"

"Yeah, Miss Tyler, can we play at your house?" Sierra asked with wide, pleading eyes.

Jenny smiled. "Well not today because we have plans, remember Mara? But if it's okay with Mrs. Redford, we can arrange something later."

"Thank you, Jenny!" Mara shouted and ran forward to give Jenny a hug. "C'mon Sierra!"

Sue chuckled as the two of them ran back towards the playground. "I guess we'll have to arrange a playdate for the two best friends soon."

Jenny laughed with her. "I suppose we will."


Date: September 18

"Mara, have you finished that English assignment yet?" Jenny asked as she knocked on her little sister's door. "I told you that you could only do your studies in your room if you didn't get distracted."

She opened the door to find Mara sitting at the little desk Jenny had bought her for her homeschooling. Her little sister had a downhearted expression on her face.

"Mara? Are you alright?" Jenny asked as she approached her.

Her little sister wouldn't meet her eyes. "Jenny, why can't I go to school like all of the other kids do?"

Jenny let out a slow, heavy breath and sat down across from Mara. She knew this day would come eventually. "Because Mum and Dad wanted to homeschool you."

"Why?"

Jenny bit her lip and then reached for Mara with open arms. "Come here." Mara slid out of her seat and let Jenny pull her into her lap. Jenny wrapped her arms around her little sister and sighed as she gathered her thoughts. "Mara, you know that you and I aren't like other people, yeah?"

Her little sister nodded. "Sierra doesn't have two hearts like me, and she doesn't hear thoughts."

"That's right," Jenny said. "And do you remember what I said about why you and I are not like Sierra or her mum?"

"Because our parents aren't human," Mara said.

Jenny nodded. "And do you remember what I said about why we can't tell anyone we're not human?"

"Because we would be separated," she said quietly.

Jenny nodded. "That's right. We would get separated, and then bad people would do very bad things to us."

She felt Mara respond the way she had hoped she would, and tried to stamp down her guilt. She hated scaring her little sister, but it was the only way to protect her.

"Is that why I have to wear this all the time?" Mara held up the rope bracelet that Jenny had made into a perception filter.

Jenny nodded. "Do you remember why?"

Her little sister nodded. "Because you made it so no one could tell I have two hearts."

Jenny smiled. Despite the fact that her baby sister was only six years old, she was years beyond her peers in intellectual capacity. She was already reading at the college level, and studying complex equations. For a Time Tot, she was right on track.

"Jenny?"

"Hm?"

Mara glanced towards her desk. "I finished the assignment."

"Well then, let's take a look."


Date: December 27

"Did Mara like her Christmas gift?" Jack asked as Jenny stepped into the hub.

Jenny grinned as she set her bag down at her terminal. "She loved it. Thank you, Jack."

He smiled back at her. "Glad she liked it. What about Santa's gifts?"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "If you mean what Father Christmas, brought her, she loved the puzzle books."

Jack chuckled over her reaction. "You British are so sweet."

Jenny snorted. "You Americans are so annoying."

He laughed at her and kissed her cheek as he passed by on his way to their coffee machine. "So! Down to business—any rift activity?"

She shook her head at him and turned to the computer that was already booted up. She tapped a few keys and narrowed her eyes. "There's a small tear in the time vortex, but it looks like it's just my mum and dad's doing. Should be nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I saw that earlier. Anything we should be worried about?"

Jenny turned back to her screen and squinted. "It looks like there's a series of events massing around the year 2013, but it doesn't look like the shock waves are going to be powerful enough to reach us. Other than that I just see the usual readings coming through."

Jack stuck his head out from his office. "So everything's quiet?"

She tapped a couple more keys. "That's what it looks like."

He was suddenly by her side with one cup of coffee and one cup of tea. He handed her the tea. "Well that can't be a good sign."

Jenny let out a huff as she accepted the mug. "Only people like you or I would think that nothing coming out of an open rift of space and time hanging over Cardiff is a bad thing."

Jack smirked. "Well that's the beauty of the thing, isn't it? How many Time Lord plus Immortal duos do you know?"

She snorted. "Fair point."

"What about the Angels, have you heard anything from your parents?"

She swallowed, and shook her head. "Mum is completely cut off from me, and Dad…he hasn't been nearby lately. I think he was worried they were getting too close."

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up at Jack as he gave it a squeeze. "This won't be forever."

She gave him a half smile. "I know."

Jack gave her shoulder another squeeze before he went over to one of the other terminals on the platform. "So! Any plans for the New Year?"

Jenny shrugged. "The mother of Mara's friend Sierra invited us over to her house for the evening, but I don't know if we'll go." She glanced up from her computer screen. "She invited you, too."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Moi?"

"Oh, don't even start," Jenny scolded.

He chuckled. "You're just as untrusting as your father, I see."

"With good reason! Do you remember that female Choeb you flirted with? She was barely legal age!"

"Legal age by human standards," Jack reminded her. "By her people's standards she was an old maid."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. You can come if you want to—just don't hit on either of Sierra's parents. Or anyone who isn't obviously single."

Jack sighed. "Fine, I'll behave. But only because you asked."

"Thank you," she said before she returned to her work.

"Although," Jack said, "If they flirt with me first—"

"No!"