There was one for each of them. Donna thumbed through the stack of CD-like devices in her hand, glanced at the Doctor when she reached "Rose" and smiled slightly at her own name. There was none for Jenny but when she thought about it, how could there be?

Just as she hoped, there was one for Jack.

She turned to the Doctor.

"If Jack was here with you, and something terrible happened, you'd send him away, wouldn't you? You'd send him back to Torchwood and the TARDIS would take him because she knows how important it is to you that..."

Her voice wavered slightly as she registered the lack of response on his face.

"Not that Jack would go if he had anything to do with it," she continued, leaning over him, "none of us would."

The Doctor didn't reply. His face was a ghastly shade of grey and from the look in his eyes, it was obvious that he was just about managing to stay conscious. She inserted the disk where he had shown her and sat on the floor beside him to wait.

Jack and Jenny ran through the deserted street, trying to escape from what felt like a hurricane around them. It was troubling, Jack thought, that there were no people around. At first, he assumed that they had run, gone to find shelter, but the amount of ground that he and Jenny had covered had revealed...no one. That was bad.

"Let's stop here," Jenny shouted, and he was see by the way she shook, that she couldn't run much further, not that she'd ever admit it, "the wall can shelter us."

"Just a bit further, ok?"

He put an arm around her and half dragged her into the nearest building, which turned out to be a large department store. Directing her away from the high glass displays, they came to rest at a staircase in the middle of the floor.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded, and he saw the effort she made to conceal how breathless she was.

"There's nothing we can do, is there? I'm..." She stopped and started again, "I'm, well, related to the Doctor but I can't think of anything. All I can think is directions...run, retreat...the short-term, you know."

"Same here," Jack admitted, "I tend to switch off when the Doctor starts ranting about Time rules and regulations. Consequently, here we are!"

"No fairies though. Do you think you killed them?"

"No. It's not easy to do that. At best, I confused them."

"Better than nothing."

Jenny rested her head atop her hands and then into them and Jack realised that she was crying. He took a step towards her but she quickly straightened up and stood, fully composed. It was funny, he thought, how at times, you saw something so young in her. That gesture of pulling away from comfort made him think of nothing else but a child trying to conceal that a fall had frightened or hurt them.

"Did you hear something?" she asked suddenly.

"No, what?"

"Sounded like the TARDIS."

"I don't think so." Jack ran to the door and leapt back as the force of the wind swung it back violently towards him, "we're in 2007. There's no reason they'd think to find us here even if they managed to..."

He stopped and checked his Vortex Manipulator.

"Jenny, it is the TARDIS! It's somewhere around here!"

She ran up to him and he showed her the light flashing on the wrist device as he pressed down on it.

"How does that work? I thought he disabled it."

"He's always disabling it! The more he disables it, the more I learn how to hook it up again! I lost him once before and everything I've done to this thing since then has been in the name of never letting him out of my sight again."

He drew her against him and pressed the button one last time. There was a long, smooth sound and a blinding light. He thought Jenny called out, muffled against his coat, and then they were gone.

When the light faded, they were on the TARDIS and while a journey in the TARDIS was never exactly comfortable, this was way beyond anything he had ever experienced. The ship was rocking violently from side by side, a high-pitched sound emitting from the controls. Clinging to them, he made his way around to the other side and stopped at the sight in front of him.

Donna was crouched beside the Doctor, holding onto him as if for dear life.

"Donna! Jenny, Donna's here!"

"Donna!"

Jenny skidded to a halt somewhere to his left.

"What's wrong with them?"

Donna was clutching the Doctor but even though her eyes were open and her grip looked fierce, she had not responded to their voices. The Doctor looked unconscious. Jack knelt down beside them.

"Donna?" He waved his hand in front of her and eventually she moved to feebly swat it away.

"Donna, it's me. Jenny's here too. What's wrong?"

"Don't know." Donna's voice sounded exhausted.

"The TARDIS sounds like she's screaming for help," Jenny said.

Jack stood up and ran to the nearest screen. There was nothing on it but as he bent closer, he could hear other sounds amidst the peel from the TARDIS. Something light, wispy...like childrens' laughter.

"We're being attacked," he said, returning to the Doctor and Donna, "no use in asking where the weapons are kept, I guess."

"I got you here," Donna said suddenly, as if she was only just becoming aware of their presence. She held up something lying beside her and Jack could see that it was a cluster of disks.

"You used mine?"

"Thought it would get us to Torchwood. I didn't think it could find you along the way as well." She managed a small smile. "Added bonus."

"You said it!" He reached for the nearest screen and set the co-ordinates.

"Ianto!" He crossed his fingers tightly as he called, "Ianto! If you can hear me, those pockets of Rift energy we confined last week... send them to me, ok?" He turned back to Donna. "If we can give the TARDIS a bit of a boost, it might get us far enough away from them to...regroup."

"Doctor?" Donna reached for the Doctor and Jack saw her wince slightly as she moved. She shook his arm.

"He was talking before!"

"Whatever they're doing is affecting you both," Jack said, trying to sound as if he knew what he was talking about.

"I think it's the air," Jenny said, "can you feel it?"

Jack shook his head.

"You can't die, that's why," Donna said, almost sleepily.

"Neither will any of you," Jack said, "come on. You need to stand up and move around."

Gently he helped her up and towards the console for support and returned to the Doctor.

"Doctor! Come on, time to rise and shine!"

The Doctor didn't stir.

"I think..." Donna looked all around her, "the air's getting clearer. Are we moving?"

"Come on, Doctor!" Jack took his hands. "We're going to Torchwood. I need my daily lecture on how pointless we are! Even if Ianto has just possibly saved the day!"

The Doctor murmured something and opened his eyes. His gaze was blank.

"We're moving," Jenny said behind him, "we're really moving...I think we're getting away."

She stood in front of the Doctor and planted her hands on his shoulders.

"Father! Wake up! Donna's trying to drive the TARDIS again!"

"Tell her to stop..." His voice was weak and wavering but it was a voice, at least. "Can't get any sleep..."

"Doctor! Snap out of it!" That was Donna.

Slowly, his eyes fixed on each on them in turn.

"What's going on?"

"You're under attack," Jack said, as he hauled him into an upright position.

"Torchwood...someone said something about Torchwood." His eyes, now fully alert, glared at Jack. "What have you done? You did something..."

"Yeah...well...kind of an accident but everything's gone haywire in 2007 and you've seriously pissed off those creatures outside..."

The Doctor was silent for a moment as he looked over the controls.

"Take your time," Donna sounded nervous as she spoke to him, "get your bearings first."

"Never liked seeing you trying to steer the TARDIS," he replied vaguely.

"He's still out of it," Donna whispered.

"Let him talk," Jack whispered back, "he'll get there."

Donna faced the Doctor again, this time with a slightly forced smile on her face.

"Never like seeing me steering the TARDIS? You never bloody let me!"

"That time..." He ran a hand over the controls, "when the Crucible was destroyed and we steered the Earth home, remember?"

"Actually no, I don't. For some reason, my memories of that time are a bit hazy."

The Doctor ignored her tone as he pulled a lever.

"You knew exactly what to do. There I was, showing everyone...Rose, Sarah, Martha...and when I passed you, I knew. You didn't need to be told. There you were, upright and proud and full of joy because you knew it all. You knew everything I did. It was in your voice. It was in your eyes. It broke my hearts because you knew as well as I did what had to come next."

Donna's face softened slightly.

"Best friends and equals," she whispered, "I think I said that once..."

The Doctor returned her smile with a wide, manic one of his own and returned his attentions to the controls.

"Unlike me! First time I ever did this," he pulled down hard on the lever again and jumped back as sparks flew out, "I didn't have a clue. I'd never done it, not by myself. Not for something so...essential." He pressed three buttons and stared intently into the screen.

"What are you doing?" Jenny asked nervously.

"Timelock," he replied, "it's a bit draining, this process." He fell silent and his face darkened.

"Doctor," Jack said softly, "time and a place for brooding."

The Doctor glanced swiftly at him and looked away again.

"I'm locking everything that's happened since this all started...the first mention in Torchwood, remember Jack? Ianto mentioned strange weather patterns. Right from that moment to the second we get back to Earth. No one can get in and out if they're taking the old time route! That includes me, you and our little friends out there."

"I've still crashed the spaceship," Jenny said.

Jack met Donna's eyes and saw that she'd noticed the same thing he had. The TARDIS was quiet again and her movement was less frenetic...as if she was merely awaiting further instruction.

"Jack, I need your Vortex Manipulator. This process will weaken the TARDIS even more. She may need help with this next bit."

"Is that help as in a little spark to keep the lights on or help as in a jumpstart?" Donna asked.

"Donna, think positive."

"Brace for impact, that's what I'm thinking."

The Doctor pressed the Vortex Manipulator against a large blue button and stared intently downwards, as if burning its image on to his mind.

"Doctor, are we anywhere remotely near Torchwood? Because if we are, I really think..."

"Jack," the Doctor cut in quickly, "I'd like nothing better to enjoy your hospitality in Cardiff for a while but right now, we're circling around in the middle of the universe and in about ten seconds..." He broke off, ran to the door and then turned back to Jenny. He smiled at her, placed his hands on the sides of her face and spoke softly.

"See you later."

"What?"

In a second, her body crumbled. The Doctor caught her and eased her gently to the ground.

"Best she's not around for this bit," he said and catching Donna's eye, "it's ok. She's just asleep." He ran back to the door and Jack followed. The Doctor threw it open and they looked outside.

"Ah," Jack said softly when he realised what the Doctor wanted to do.

"Here," the Doctor handed him back his wrist device, "it's programmed and ready. Just hold on, ok? Keep the line straight and don't move. Donna! Steer the TARDIS down."

"What?"

"I told you! Best way to learn! In at the deep end!" He ran back to the controls, and Jack watched as two thin lines spread from his wrist and outside into the fogged, blue air.

"I'm afraid to ask," Donna muttered.

"You don't need to be," Jack told her and he couldn't keep the exhilaration out of his voice, "you know what the Doctor just did when Jenny fell asleep? Put her on the ground? Gently?"

"Yeah..."

"That's what we're doing right now. This time, with her spaceship."

"Great. So not only am I steering. I have to steer properly."

Jack stared straight ahead and focused on standing very still. The air around him was quiet and cold, as if the whole world was holding its breath.