Author Notes: Thank you for all the kind support and feedback!

Chapter 5

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about this whole situation had been Tosh's reaction upon stepping out of the Tardis. Jack was willing to wager a rather large sum of money that she had to be one of the first people to not even flinch at the over-large inside, and by the Doctor's expression, he was probably right. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as bad if it had been anyone else, but it was Tosh for goodness sake. Jack just couldn't get his head round it. "Oh my god..." Gwen's voice shattered his thoughts into a million shards, just like the coffee cup that now decorated the Hub's floor at Gwen's feet. "Jack?" She turned to the only one she could.

Ianto emerged at the commotion, and froze in a mirror image of Gwen. The Doctor shifted awkwardly, the idea of being in another building belonging to Torchwood unsettling old memories, memories that at this moment in time he could do without dwelling on. Donna remained silent, keeping a steady grip on Toshiko's arm as she blinked bleakly around, before allowing her gaze to settle on the two people in front of her, "Hello Gwen, Ianto. How have you been?"

Combined with Jack's placid attitude, it was enough for Gwen. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she strode forwards, tearing Tosh away from Donna and gathering her unresponsive body into a bone-crushing hug. Ianto, Jack had noticed, had tried to hold her back, an aura of disquiet permeating the air around him. A subtle presence at his arm pulled him from his thoughts, telling him that the Doctor needed to get moving. Time to get it together, "Ianto, think you could make some more coffee? Tosh has had a rough time of it lately." Talk about the understatement of the universe, "Gwen, Donna, why don't you guys go with Tosh up to my office?"

Tosh's face was now completely blank, but Gwen seemed not to notice, existing in a delirious state of shock, wonder and happiness. Jack jerked his head at the Doctor, indicating that he should follow, and took the pathway down to the vaults, and the morgue. When he was sure they were alone, he allowed his fear to show to the one man he didn't need to put on a show for, "Tell me everything."

The Doctor winced, "She was on another planet – same time, different world. The Tardis found it for us. I don't...it shouldn't..." Again, the Doctor found himself at a loss, but forged forwards nonetheless, "Toshiko and another called Owen were in trouble. He asked us to take her home, to Earth, and I recognised her from a chance meeting a long time ago in London. I knew she didn't belong there. We hid just as another woman arrived. She took Owen, and I know now that I should have done more to save him, but at the time I couldn't risk changing timelines. I hadn't realised where he was from." He had tried to keep his confusion and tension from his voice, but had a nasty feeling he had failed.

The Doctor frowned, suddenly realising his old companion had stopped moving, "Jack?"

"I'm fine." Jack's voice croaked, echoing in the dank corridor.

The Doctor knew. He knew why his very being had been screaming at him not to leave the other human. He had thought this 'Owen' had been someone Toshiko had met, but that woman had proved him wrong, and here they were. He closed his eyes, "I'm so sorry. If I had known..."

Something in Jack's eyes seemed to die, before he turned away and strode into the morgue, punching in a few codes. His voice was tight when he spoke, never making eye contact, "After you dropped me off, it was back to work as usual. Go into a few tight spots, but hey, that's Torchwood for you. But then Owen was shot. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but there's this glove, and I needed to...I had to say goodbye. It was too sudden, too soon since..."

Something clicked in the Doctor's mind, and despite the situation in hand, he growled, "Jack! Have you any idea how many times that sort of technology can go wrong? Those gloves were illegalised by the Shadow Proclamation centuries ago!"

"I know!" Jack spat back, "But I'm human, so I had to try, okay? Besides, something different happened – Owen didn't die again after 30 seconds like we expected...he kinda stuck around."

The Doctor flinched at the connotations of such a situation, "Like you?"

Jack regarded the Timelord closely; he knew how much the idea of Jack's being unsettled his friend, "No. Owen once mentioned how unfair it was – I get to live forever, whereas he would live in death forever."

"What happened?" The Doctor prompted, noting how Jack's eyes immediately clouded over.

"My brother killed them. He shot Toshiko, and Owen died again trying to stop the power station from going into the nuclear meltdown he had set."

The Doctor blanched, "Over the Rift?"

"Yep." Jack snorted sardonically, "Ain't ya glad for Torchwood now?"

A light on the wall changed colour, and Jack unlocked one of the doors, pulling out a body-bag on a metal table. Gently, he unzipped the top, mind already telling him what he was going to see. "How is this possible?" The softly spoken voice came from behind them, a light lilt to the words. Jack winced, turning to face Ianto instead of looking down at Toshiko's body for another moment.

Jack could only shrug helplessly, while to Doctor leaned against the metal wall, eyes fixed on the lifeless form in front of him, mentally creating patterns, links, associations, desperately trying to find reason. And then it clicked. "The Rift took her."

Jack and Ianto blinked away from their eye contact, "Excuse me?" Ianto regarded the strange man with confusion.

"It took both of them." The sonic screwdriver had appeared, passed first over Toshiko's body, and then over some of the other compartments, "Jack, how many of your operatives are in here?"

"Too many," was his blunt reply.

"Then if I'm right, there were a lot more on that planet than Owen and Toshiko. Despite the deceased state of these bodies, they practically radiate Rift energy. All your people have been working in this Hub – directly over the tear. They absorbed it, enough to..." He trailed off, and Jack was not comforted by the sudden look of revulsion that crossed the Doctor's face, before he covered it over, "It's why the glove worked differently on Owen. Death takes on a whole new meaning, no wonder that place was so wrong."

"That still doesn't explain why I'm standing here, and lying there at the same time." Tosh was standing, framed by a shocked Gwen and Donna, who shrugged half-apologetically at the Doctor, "Or why all the others were. They made us new bodies but our minds were the same. How?"

"Absorption works both ways. You absorbed the Rift energy, and in turn, the Rift absorbed you, your personal genetic makeup, memories, and experiences. Although why this manifested in that place I can't begin to tell you." The Doctor looked helpless, uncharacteristic apprehension marring his normally enthusiastic features.

Toshiko nodded placidly, "That was the one thing we could never work out. We knew why we were being punished, we knew what was going on, and why it was us, but I could never work out how." She quirked a half smile as she walked past Ianto to stand near Jack, looking down at her corpse with a sick sort of interest, "Owen told me it was a stupid thing to dwell on. It was what it was, and nothing would change that."

Jack and the Doctor exchanged looks. Jack especially was disturbed by this new side of Tosh. She had never been this cold, this...blank. The Doctor was the one to break the uneasy silence, "Why were you there?"

"She told us all it was because Death was angry and wanted revenge." Jack had to hide a grimace as she absently brushed some hair out of the face of her own dead body, "There were these creatures, or aliens I suppose, who made sure we were punished – all of Torchwood Cardiff – but they always preferred to watch while she did it instead."

"What were you being punished for, Toshiko?" It seemed only the Doctor could keep his voice neutral and steady, the others only able to listen in revulsion.

"Jack. She told us it was because Death would never get Jack, so it took us to play with instead."

A sob escaped Gwen, while Jack looked like he was back on the Valiant such was his horror. The Doctor closed his eyes in an attempt to reign in his anger. He had known as soon as Rose had did what she did that the consequences would be dire, but what had he done? He had run away, just like he always did, and now so many were paying the price. Ianto regarded Tosh with all the strength he could muster, "Who is 'she'?" He had a nasty feeling he already knew the answer.

"Suzie."

"What?" That drew everyone up short, except for Ianto, who swore silently, the reality of the hell Tosh and Owen had been in coming to true light.

And then Jack snapped out of his state of mind, rolling the 'other' Toshiko out of sight and closing the door to the compartment, "Gwen, Ianto, you're in charge. If things get dire, call in Rhys to help you, but don't put him in undue danger. Toshiko, can you still remember how to shoot a gun?"

The Torchwood team seamlessly melted into habit, leaving the Donna and a very angry Doctor in their wake, "Jack! You are not taking guns with you!" Toshiko had already moved away with Ianto, but Gwen hung back uncertainly as Jack whirled around.

"You knew what would happen if you came here for answers. You heard her – this is all my fault! Now I am going to put things right, and if that means guns then I will damn well use them! Now, Toshiko knows the most about that place, so she has to come, you're too stubborn just to drop us off and I'll be damned if I'm not going, but you should leave Donna here." The firmness of Jack's voice left no room for debate as he strode off.

"I'm coming with you." Donna had appeared at the Doctor's side, an oddly comforting presence.

He shook his head, running a head through his hair, "No, no he's right, I can't take you back there. I can't be constantly worrying about you. Not there."

"I can take care of myself, sunshine, don't flatter yourself!" Donna bit back, but stopped when she saw his expression.

"Help these people if you need to, but I can't put you in a position like that. Please."

Half-heartedly, Donna gave one last protest, "What's the difference between me and those two?"

The Doctor let out a nervous sort of laugh, "Well, Jack can't die, and seeing as Tosh has died once already..." He let the sentence hang.

"Alright, fine." She huffed, and made to follow the Doctor when something hit her, "Wait, what do you mean he can't die?"

He smiled half-heartedly at his mouthy companion's comeback, but the thought of what he was about to do weighed heavily on the Doctor's mind. The very idea of going back to that place made his very being crawl, but it was his responsibility, and so to Death they would go.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So, what do you think?