Gwen noticed the difference right off. It was the strangest thing. Since Jack's mysterious disappearance, he acted was as if a weight was lifted off of him. It made her nervous really. Jack once said something about friends start acting strangely so Gwen decided it was a good idea to be watchful.

So she could not help but be even more concerned. Captain Jack Harkness looked positively giddy. He paced back and forth in front of the circular entrance of the hub after rushing down from his office. When a tall, lanky stranger in a suit covered by a trench coat appeared in the door, his face lit up with utter delight. He clasped the man in his arms with a laugh. As they walked up to the conference room, Gwen noticed he was wearing trainers with his pinstripes and coat.

Tosh moved next to Gwen. Keeping her voice low, she asked, "Who's that?"

"Dunno..." Gwen squinted up at the pair. "But Jack seemed terribly glad to see him."

"Well, he might think we're talking about him, the three of us gathered 'round like this," whispered Owen from behind them.

Gwen elbowed before turning towards the entrance. "Ianto!" Gwen called out. "Who is that?"

"I'm not really sure. He calls himself 'The Doctor.' And said Jack would want to see him. Seems to be a correct assumption."

"The Doctor?" Tosh mused. "I knew someone who called himself the Doctor." She squinted at the man conferring with Jack in the conference room. "That's not him. Can't be." Her eyes grew wide as she noticed the newcomer staring down at her, his eyebrow raised. "Surely not."

"You know, I have a reputation to uphold here," Jack said dryly as they entered the conference room.

"What kind of reputation?" the Doctor asked. He walked towards the glass wall to study the rest of the staff of Torchwood. "Do they think you're a mysterious brooding anti-hero?" the Doctor laughed. He looked at Jack questioningly when he remained silent. "Ah, well. You can't be that way all the time, Jack." He stared down at the rest of the Torchwood members who stared up at him. "It was a bit rude of us to just scurry up here, wasn't it. And here I've met Doctor Toshiko Sato before. She probably won't recognize me."

"The pig-alien incident. After which, Torchwood recruited her. By the way, she's even more brilliant with computers." Jack gestured towards the chairs. He sat. "You can't have come just to chat and some tea. So spill it. There's been a disturbance in the force, right?" Jack asked with a small smile as he leaned towards the Doctor.

"Has the Rift been affected?" He watched the large screen as Jack pulled up information with lightning speed. Charts and graphs appeared and disappeared until Jack reached a map spotted with dots.

"Well, we've noticed a spike in activity. Nothing disastrous. Just irritating, really." Jack moved next to the map, studying it carefully. "And the most activity has been centered here," he said pointing to a cluster of red dots centered in Bute Park. "All sorts of things keep coming through lately. And by things, I mean creatures. We're trying to figure it out. But I don't think you're here just for that."

"Actually, I'm here because I've had a message from beyond," the Doctor replied with a grin.

"The grave?"

"No, the void. Well, at least she was able to speak with me--Rose, that is. She ran afoul of a bit of technology. Have you heard of a Lenux Protocol Center?"

Jack sat down, cocking his head in thought. "Yes, the Malorix use them to communicate, right?"

The Doctor nodded. "Have you ever seen a human try to use one?"

"No." Jack sat up straighter. "From the look on your face, it isn't a good thing."

"No. The psychic energy that it releases can burn a human alive. Mentally and physically," he sighed. "It's not meant for human bodies."

"And Rose got hold of one?"

"She works for Torchwood there. A ship that contained several tankers of Krillitane oil and other artifacts crashed in Devon--Dartmoor to be more specific. She touched the contraption and it basically--"

"She touched it?" Alien technology was a crap shoot at best. At least Jack knew enough from growing up in the 51st century to recognize an object or two, but his immortality had come in handy more than once.

"She died," he said quietly. "It uses the body as a conduit to focus the psychic energy and the Malorix are not exactly humanoid." He leaned back in his chair and stared hard at the exposed piping above them. "Anyway, Rose discovered that she isn't quite normal anymore."

"She's not amongst the dead any longer. The time vortex?"

"Well, I think it's been affecting her for years." And she had to deal with it alone.

"So like a phoenix, she rose from the fire--and what? She got a message to you?"

"You can use a Lenux Protocol Center in different ways. And she basically focused enough power generated for Dream Fusion."

Jack frowned in thought. "Dream Fusion, hm? And you know that it's really her?" The Doctor nodded, but didn't elaborate. "Strange but no such ship has landed here."

The Doctor stood up and began to pace. "That makes me wonder... Was it just a quirk of that other universe? Or is someone baiting Rose. And well, Rose has attracted the attention of that universe's doctor." the Doctor grinned. "I'm sure the other version of me can handle it. Maybe. Probably."

"Now what kind of trouble are we trying to get into?"

"The kind where Rose crosses over the hopefully-stable-by-then rift and into my life forever," he smiled.

"Ah. The best kind of trouble."

"Yup. And I figured that since Torchwood Cardiff is the guardian of this particular gate, you should be in on the plan."

Jack grinned. "Let it not be said that I stood in the way of true love. As long as we don't destroy the world in the process."

"Absolutely. Rule one of Time Lordship - don't destroy planets simply because of your selfish desires."

"Sounds like a rule to live by."

The air was oddly still as they hiked towards the landing site. "Most things were taken to Torchwood in Cardiff. It's the closest location. But they sent up the black box to London because of my research with intergalactic messaging devices. It has the embossed star symbol, so they sent it up to me."

"Good thing no one touched it before you did." The Doctor scrambled down the hillside into the scar that surrounded the remains of the ship.

"Oh, usually no one handles things directly until it goes though several tests to make sure that humans can handle it."

"Hold on... You said you've been researching communication devices. Since you arrived here?" the Doctor asked. Rose blushed and looked down to secure her footing.

"I'll have you know, I find it fascinating," Rose replied. "And if I could find a way to talk to him, then it would be a bonus. And by the way, why haven't I seen you on Earth before? Have you been avoiding this century in general and London in particular?"

He conjured a hurt look. "I'll have you know I care a lot about what happens to the Earth."

"I know, Doctor. You love humanity. So spill it. Why haven't you been back here?"

"After the war... I think I just needed to stay a way for a while. My mother was human. And my granddaughter married a human. Of course, they're gone now. Susan never chose the path of Time Ladyship. She just passed on. Like everyone does."

She stopped in her tracks. "You're half-human...," Rose asked.

Of course, he continued to walk. "Didn't come up?"

"Well, no." Rose moved away. "After the Time War, I think he shut down so much."

"Yes, well. I had some time away. Maybe too much time. I think that about the time when the Cybermen were causing trouble, I was a bit busy on a small planet with run by some Cats." And truthfully the TARDIS had a habit of dropping him off in specific times of trouble, he wondered if the alternate version of him was supposed to have handled everything.

"And when did you die?" Rose asked quietly from behind him.

"Hm?"

"When I first met my Doctor, he looked different. Northern accent, enjoyed leather. That kind of thing. And that version of my Doctor died after saving me. A bit of a surprise that. So how did that happen with you?"

"This is my tenth form, Rose Tyler. You know we have 13 forms all together. Tricky business, regeneration. Of course, if one is truly desperate, Gallifrey science includes cloning. But that is sticky wicket. Regeneration is unpredictable. Here we are!" The Doctor knelt to examine the site and perhaps to dodge the question.

"It's been a few days, but we found no sign of life on the vessel." Rose tucked her hair behind her ear as she peered down at the craft. "We haven't moved it yet, but Cardiff will be handling transport tomorrow. I thought you might want to see it au natural. We'll come back to our conversation later."

"Interrogation? Anyway, it's not a Malorix ship. The Malorix created that device that fried you. And not Krillitane, either." He licked a bit of metal from the hull. "Adimonium alloy with..." He paused to consider the flavor. "Ion field enhancing psudobichloriate phosphate."

"You know who makes ships like that?"

"Well, many species do, actually. Well, lots the alloy. And I'm leaning towards this being a special case with one party coming here to Earth with perhaps one reason for doing so."

"Why do you say that?" Rose asked then paused. "It's here, isn't it?"

"Yup. Hello," he said with a wave and a tight smile. He grasped her hand and said one word. "Run."

Torchwood. It was hard to trust the organization's intentions, even if Jack Harkness virtually ran it. But Jack had been adamant that he had made changes. And the Doctor believed in Jack.

Jack looked very much at home as his team settled into the conference room. "Everybody, this is the Doctor. Please introduce yourselves." They all did so swiftly.

The Doctor began, "Ah, you might be wondering why I'm here."

Tosh took a breath. "Actually Doctor, I was wondering...," Tosh began.

"Answer is yes, same Doctor. And I have a new face. Sorry about running out on you that day. Work to be done at Number 10. But you knew that." Tosh whispered, "Impossible..." as she stared at him.

"And you're the Doctor that the archives went on and on about?" Owen asked. "I thought Queen Victoria was a bit nutty, but now I have to reevaluate."

"Saved her life and she repays us by banishing us! Old news."

"Yes, over a hundred years old. Who are you?" Gwen asked. "Are you an alien?"

"Well, I travel. And I--"

"Get into messes," Jack interrupted. "But the Doctor is there to help us when we need it. The archive will tell you that clear enough. He's here because he needs our help and we're going to give it to him."