A/N. Thank you to those of you who have reviewed, alerted and favourited the story, it is very much appreciated. On to the next chapter in which you start to get some answers. It doesn't flow quite as well as i wanted it too, but i think it turned out alright. In this chapter Gwen might not come across well, but she will make up for it in later chapters :) Please review. Kat x

Chapter 3.

Ianto hung up his phone. 'That was Jack. He's on his way back and wants us to meet in the boardroom.'

'Does he have Lexie with him?' enquired Gwen.

'I assume so, he didn't actually say.'

He's going to know we tried looking in her file,' Gwen stated.

'Yeah, well he should have given us some answers before rushing off or what does he expect?' grumbled Owen.

'Maybe he thought we could show some restraint,' answered Ianto.

Owen snorted, 'Because Harkness is a model of restraint himself.'

Ianto just rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood for a sniping match with Owen.

'We might as well go and wait for Jack in the boardroom, he'll be here soon,' said Tosh. Her joy at getting into the file had been short lived because the information in there was clearly incomplete, leaving them with more questions than answers. There was also a video file Tosh had found, but hadn't had time to fully recover. This had left her somewhat frustrated.

X

A few minutes after the team had gathered in the boardroom, the cog door alarm sounded signalling Jack's entrance. He walked into the Hub and then turned when he realised that Lexie wasn't with him, she was hovering nervously in the doorway.

'Come on, there's no one down here. They're all in the boardroom.' Jack held his hand out to her. Lexie walked across the threshold and into the Hub for the first time in sixteen years. She took the proffered hand and then glanced up in the direction of the boardroom. 'You okay?' asked Jack.

'Yeah, I just need a minute to adjust. Kind of sensitive to all the emotions at the moment.'

'Right, let me get you some antiseptic wipes to clean your cuts up with and then I'll go and talk to the team.'

'I'll come up with you.'

'No, you stay down here and rest. It's the last thing you need after everything you've been through today.'

'Look Jack I appreciate you trying to protect me, but I know exactly what you have to tell them and I might as well be part of it. Hearing it from my point of view might be beneficial. They are gonna have questions and I suppose I will have to deal with them sooner or later.'

Jack sighed, 'Fine, it's only fair I suppose. Just try not to get to…' he paused for a minute, looking for the right word, 'defensive with them.'

Lexie smiled, 'You were going to say hostile, weren't you.'

'No, that thought never crossed my mind.' He smiled and then let go of her hand so he could go down into the med bay to retrieve the antiseptic wipes. He helped her with the cuts of her face and then left her to sort out the ones on her arm. When they were sufficiently clean and Jack was convinced they weren't as bad as they looked, he led the way off to the boardroom and his awaiting team.

As soon as they walked into the room the team turned their gaze on them. They took in Lexie's appearance, she was tall, had an athletic build, long brown hair and big brown eyes that were looking decidedly blood shot. They also noticed the cuts on her face. Jack walked to his seat at the head of the table, pulling another chair up next to him so that Lexie was sat between him and Ianto. He had decided that out of everyone Ianto was probably the one Lexie would warm to quickest.

'Right before we get into anything, introductions. Lexie, this is my team, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato and Ianto Jones. Everyone this is Lexie.' Jack said pointing out who was who.

Owen had been quietly looking at Lexie since she came in to try and assess her injuries. 'Do you need me to look at those cuts?' he asked.

At his words Lexie visibly flinched, she shook her head, 'No, they really aren't as bad as they look.'

Owen was about to say something else when Jack interrupted. 'She's fine Owen.'

'So are you going to tell us what's going on?' asked Gwen.

'It's possible that whoever is responsible for the events of today had technology they shouldn't be in possession of. When the meeting's over I want you and Tosh to go over to the house to see if you can find anything.'

Gwen sighed this was not what she had meant by her question. She was surprised when Lexie spoke next.

'What was in my file? I mean it's obvious you looked at it and didn't get the answers you wanted. We might as well get it out in the open now.'

Tosh shifted a little uncomfortably before saying, 'It said that in 1994 Torchwood was called to a Rift alert in Bute Park. When they got there they found two armed soldiers who it turned out had fallen through the Rift from the 50th century. It goes on to say that you were found nearby with you mother who had been killed by the soldiers after they had come through. There was some kind of video clip too.'

Lexie turned to Jack, 'I like what you did there.'

'What really happened because that file was obviously tampered with,' said Gwen.

'Technically it's all true, Jack just edited one part out. My mother was killed by those two soldiers, except it happened before they came through the Rift, not after.'

'But that would mean…' Gwen stopped mid-sentence as the realisation hit her. From the looks on the others faces they had reached the same conclusion.

'You came through the Rift too,' said Ianto, speaking for the first time.

'What happened?' asked Tosh.

'Long story, but the short version is where I'm from, it wasn't exactly a peaceful time. My mum and I were running from the soldiers, but got too near to the Rift, there was an explosion and here I am.'

'In your time people knew about the Rift?'

''Oh yeah. I'm from a colony not too dissimilar from Earth, the Rift runs right through it. Everyone knows where to avoid. Although when you're running away from something you don't always pay a great deal of attention to where you are going. One minute I'm running, the next I'm in some strange place and the first thing I notice is Jack.'

'It took me a while to coax her into coming with me, but once I did she clung on to me and wouldn't let go,' said Jack remembering that day clearly.

'That was because I trusted you; it was the others I had a problem with.'

'This is what I don't understand,' interjected Gwen. 'It seems to me that, all things considered, you have done alright here. Torchwood seems to have played a big part in that, yet you seem to have some big grudge against the place.'

Lexie fixed Gwen with a hard stare that the others were glad they weren't on the receiving end of. Jack sighed he should have seen this coming and he wished Gwen had thought before she had spoken.

'You really have no idea do you?' At Gwen's blank look she continued. 'You have no idea of what this place was capable of. You have had the good fortune to work for Jack who has moved as far away as possible from the old Torchwood mentality. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for 1994, back then they very much adhered to the London ways. Even had the same motto.'

'If it's alien it's ours,' said Ianto.

'Subtitled, to do whatever the hell we want with.'

'They did something to you, didn't they?' whispered Tosh.

Lexie nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and shut her eyes for a moment. Jack reached out and laid his hand on her arm in comfort.

'What you have to understand is that in the future people evolve and can do things people nowadays can't. Me, I'm empathic and they couldn't wait to test my limits.'

'That means you're sensitive to emotions right?' said Owen.

'Yeah, but it's more than just knowing how a person feels. If it's a really intense emotion I feel it too.'

'You were only eight though,' said Gwen, not quite wanting to believe they would hurt an eight year old.

'Yet that didn't stop them.' Turning to Jack she said, 'I think you should show them the video clip.'

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