Hey Guys! I'm Veida and I'll be your author for this half of the story!


I'd LOVE to give a shout-out to everybody who reviewed the previous chapter!


(And apologize for the delay in updating!)


With that said, on with the story!

Forbidden Tomorrow

By

doodlegirll and Veida

***

Chapter One: Like Pieces of a Puzzle

The TARDIS arrived to it's destination in record time, as if it had sensed the Doctors urgency. It settled down on Earth with a noisy 'clunk' and caused the Doctor and several scattered items in the console room to leap up, before clattering down to the ground. Despite the situation, the Doctor paused to give the TARDIS an affectionate pat- it's console warm against his cold hand. "Good job ol' girl." He murmured, and the ship gave an appreciative 'whirr' of her engines. Then the Doctor grabbed his brown duster coat off of the console, slipped it over his slender shoulders, and stepped outside the door.

A heavy fog rolled around the streets of downtown Cardiff, and the unmistakable scent of rain was heavy in the air. "Sure smells like 21st century Cardiff, but let's make sure that those dates didn't get all mixed up along the way, shall we?"

Taking long, purposeful strides the Doctor made his way across the empty streets. 'It'd be easy to get a body lost in this fog. Fortunately for the universe, I have an impeccable sense of direction... or I'm very good at bluffing it anyway.' There was a newsstand that had been set up across the deserted walkway, hidden in the shadows of the Millennium Art Center. A heavy set, middle age man sat hunched inside, face hidden by a magazine as pages turned at a steady pace.

The Doctor lifted a thick newspaper off of one of the outside racks. His eyes drifting towards the upper left corner to the date. April 17th , 2009 just as Martha had instructed. Good. Now he could finally get to the bottom of this mystery.

A raspy, masculine voice startled him out of his thoughts. "You gonna buy somethin' or not? This ain't a library."

"Ah, sorry- I was just browsing." With that, the Doctor headed off to find Torchwood.

***

The entrance to Torchwood in Cardiff was small. Nearly unnoticeable, tucked behind wharfs and hidden underneath dark alleys. The Doctor hid a chuckle. Leave it to Jack to pick a place like this for any kind of Headquarters. He was moving quicker now, feet picking up the pace as the door drew closer to view.

It didn't look like a door that led to anything special. It looked like it needed to be cleaned, but keeping things tidy had never been one of of Jack's strong points. Besides, when had the Doctor ever judged things by their appearances anyway? Just when he was about to pull open the door handle, the Doctor noticed a newspaper article used to block out any light from coming into the room. It wasn't the paper itself that was special, rather, it was what was ON the paper that caused him to give an ironic smile. It was a picture of Blon, who at that time was the mayor of Cardiff. Sealed tight inside of a skin-suit of some poor human while she quickly covered up the lens of the camera from a full view of her face. In bold print the headline read "NEW MAYOR, NEW CARDIFF." Jack certainly had a sense of humor.

He placed a hand against the handle and pushed hard on the door. However, it didn't budge to his grip. The Doctor frowned, and after taking a quick glance around to make sure that nobody was watching, he reached into the deep pockets of his coat. For a moment his hand brushed past several objects. A set of batteries, his glasses, the smooth leather of the slightly psychic paper, a banana, and several long forgotten jelly babies. In an exaggerated flourish, he produced the sonic screwdriver. Switching on the settings, a low hum filled the air as he held it over the doorknob. Still, nothing happened.

"Jack must've put it on a deadlock seal. That's clever..." Eyes wandering, the Doctor hunted for some kind of doorbell. He didn't find a doorbell in the more traditional sense. Instead, it was more along the lines of the sort of buzzer that you'd find leading into a set of condominiums or apartment building, with a red button to press to page whoever might have been inside. For the Doctor, a big red button was far better than any invitation.

For a moment nobody answered. So the next time the Doctor decided to speak. "Yes- hello there! I'm the Doctor. I'm here to see Martha Jones?"

There was a moment 's pause before a familiar voice came over the intercom. "Long time no see Doctor! Glad you could show up."

The Doctor grinned. Mickey! He never thought he'd be quite so glad to hear the young man's voice. "Well, you know how it is. Had to make a pit-stop for the TARDIS a couple of times. Stopped at this beautiful planet around... oh, two thousand years ago? That's not why I'm here though, is it?"

"Got it in one Doctor, hang on and I'll get the Door again. Sorry 'bout the deadlock."

"Totally understandable. Only secure lock in the galaxy!"

Within moments the door swung open and Mickey ushered the Doctor quickly inside. The difference was noticeable as soon as the door swung shut behind them. Torchwood Cardiff wasn't as well-lit as Torchwood One, and it was like stepping into the figurative Twilight Zone. Night or day didn't seem to exist amongst the hum of computers and myriads of alien tech.

"Welcome to the Hub, Doctor!" Mickey announced, gesturing his arms out so that they encompassed the entire room. The computers WERE impressive, although- the Doctor was positive they couldn't hold a candle to Sarah-Jane's Mister Smith. The rest of the room was a chaotic blend of the ordinary and the 'extra terrestrial'. Pieces from different eras, planets, and galaxies all blended together in one room. If it had been anybody but Jack, the Doctor would have done something about that. However, Jack had earned his trust, and he owed him that much.

"You must love this Rickey." The Doctor teased.

"It's Mickey- and yeah, I do. After Toshiko died, Torchwood needed another techie. And that's where I came in." There was a pause. "You'd have liked her Doctor. She was a technical Wizard from what I can see. These computers are works of art."

"I did meet her, once. She was working undercover- you know, that time the Slitheen 'spaceship' crashed?"

"How could I forget?"

"She was brilliant. She must have just joined Torchwood though- she didn't seem like she'd seen too many aliens at that point. But that's not why I'm hear. Martha told me their had been a death- but I know full well that Tosh died several months ago."

Mickey's face grew somber, and it was just then that the Doctor realized how tired he looked. "It's not something I can just tell ya. You've got to see for yourself."

A horrifying thought sped into the Doctor's mind. "It isn't Donna, is it?!"

"No. She's safe at home. We have somebody checking in on her once in a while to make sure that she's all right."

"Good. But then... who."

"They're in the conference room, c'mon."

The conference room to the Hub was like something you'd have expected to see in any office building or school. There were wide glass windows all around, probably sound proof, but the Doctor couldn't have been sure from the outside. Office chairs were placed strategically around it while a large LED screen was shoved against the back wall. A map of Cardiff sprawling out across the screen. It wasn't the room itself that made it stand out, and it wasn't the eerie underworld around it either. It was the people, or rather- persons inside the room that nearly made both of his hearts stop.

Martha Jones sat in one of the chairs, dark brown hair pulled upwards into a messy bun, and her arms were wrapped consolingly around a young woman sitting in one of the office chairs, two forgotten cups of coffee sitting between them. The young woman had her face down, her hair spilled down several extra inches past her shoulders and shielded her features from view, brown roots just visible on the top of her head. That didn't matter, he could recognize her even without seeing her face. Rose.

That was impossible. She was safe in the parallel universe with the Human Doctor. Or she should be, he hoped above all hopes that this was some cruel cosmic joke.

There were two other occupants in the room. One he recognized as Gwen Cooper, a surviving member of Jack's team, trying to engage a little girl into playing several finger-games. The little girl was somewhere around three years old. Honey-blond hair done up in two curly pigtails, spilling out around her face, while she stubbornly clutched at a brown-paper bag. The Doctor frowned, there was a niggling sense of familiarity about the little girl, but the Doctor was certain that he'd never seen her before in any of his lives.

Then, in a split second her eyes traveled to the window. Widening as she saw him as a childish grin lit up her face. The room certainly was soundproof, because while the Doctor couldn't hear the actual words he could clearly read the child's lips as she mouthed out the words; 'Daddy!'

The final piece of the puzzle slid into place. He knew who she was now, there wasn't any mistake about it. She, was River Song- at three years old, and presumably the daughter of one Rose Tyler.

At that moment, he heard several footsteps behind him as Ianto Jones picked that moment to step into the room and spoke in a strong Welsh accent "Mickey, I brought those..." his voice trailed off- and he glanced between the Doctor, staring in shock at the conference room, and Mickey.

"Maybe I should have brought another sandwich."