Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. I had holidays and went to Budapest, which is a really lovely city.

Anyway, since I am having some trouble writing the next chapter, I decided to try and do something a little different: …. FLASHBACK CHAPTERS! I don't know if they fit in perfectly with the story, but I think they add a complete different element. If you STILL haven't read Rose Tyler at Torchwood, I recommend you do so immediately.

Enjoy x

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Max sighed as he walked to the Sector I lab on one of the higher floors of the Torchwood building. He had had quite a long day, trying to track down several deadly aliens that had come through the rift. Rose's new team had been on red alert throughout the whole day and ready in case they were ordered to go and look for the aliens personally. Although the call never came and the aliens had been sucked back through the rift again, Max was still tired. It was about ten pm but he still had to collect several lab results and write a report.

He walked along the spotless white floor, his shoes making a loud tapping sound. Although agents often worked at Torchwood overnight, today there was an eerie silence and stillness in the air. Max turned left and then right, seeing his reflection reflected on the shiny floor by the lights overhead. He passed the white room that had remained mostly closed off ever since Pete, Jake and Mickey had gone to deal with the cybermen in that parallel universe. The room was bare and empty and had since remained unused. Now however, Max was sure that he heard a noise as he passed it. A sort of sniffing sound. He went over to the door but it was locked. The lock was strange too. Torchwood used very specific locks on all their doors, electronic locks that automatically scanned the person entering to check their identity and clearance level. But this lock was clearly fitted for a Yale key. He leaned closer but hurriedly straightened up as he heard footsteps coming his way. A man with dark skin and brown hair rounded the corner.

Mickey Smith.

Max had to admit that he didn't like Mickey Smith very much. He firmly believed that one had to have good qualifications and at least one university certificate when joining Torchwood (although Rose Tyler had proven him wrong on that point, but she was an exception) but Mickey Smith was somehow…different. He and Jake Simmonds were indirectly Pete Tyler's second in command, although Max neither understood nor knew why. Sure, Mickey Smith was good with computers, in the field and could identify certain aliens, but other than that…

There was something almost strange about this man. Not to mention that Max couldn't fully understand his relationship with Rose. Max had thought they didn't know each other that well, but they seemed to have a very strong bond and acted like they had known each other since kindergarten…their intimacy suggested an excellent friendship, or possibly something even beyond that. They constantly held each other's hands, hugged and were always together. Max saw him as a bit of a rival. Ever since Rose Tyler had proven just how excellent she was with aliens and how worthy of her rank and title, Max had fallen for her. It had been almost two years since his girlfriend, Naticia, died at the hands of the cybermen, and he had finally moved on and was ready for a new relationship.

Mickey Smith's footsteps got louder until the man was standing almost directly in front of Max.

"What's going on?" he asked, slight suspicion colouring his voice.

Max frowned slightly, but answered anyway. "I heard a noise coming from the room. But the room is meant to be closed off".

Mickey looked at the door with a new, sad but understanding expression on his face. "I'll take care of it" he said immediately and looked pointedly at Max who hadn't moved. "You can go now".

Max fumed and let his anger show, but didn't complain. Although Mickey Smith wasn't a Commander, he held almost as much power and was the head of the tech department. Max, who had just been promoted to a lieutenant a few weeks ago, didn't want to lose the power his new rank gave him. So he nodded and walked away, but quickly hid behind a corner and watched Mickey take a small key out of his pocket and slip it in the lock. The door swung open but he immediately closed it behind him.

Max hurried to the adjacent corridor, where there was a tinted window belonging to the white room. He could look inside the room, without Mickey properly noticing him. Most extra rooms at Torchwood had windows like this, with special settings to tint them either from the inside or outside. Right now he could see what was going on in the room but not be seen. He punched in the audio settings and put the connecting headphones on. He could hear everything.

The sight shocked him.

Rose was curled up against the wall, with her check pressed up against it and tears running down her face. She was shaking with silent sobs. Max saw the pained look on Mickeys face. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. "Rose" he said gently, but she didn't react. He sighed and stroked her hair, waiting for her to speak.

"he's gone Mickey" Rose choked out after a while. "I can't feel him anymore. He's never going to hold my hand again, he's hug me again, comfort me again, comfort me again, make me laugh. We're never going to run for our lives again, he'll never jump in last minute and save me again. Ever."

"I know, babe, I know" Mickey said soothingly. "But life goes on".

"But I can't!" Rose told him, finally turning to face him. "I've seen so much and I can't live on knowing he's alone with no one to stop him. He had me Mickey, but now we're both alone."

Mickey didn't know what to say to that, so he just hugged Rose closer. Her head dropped against his shoulder. She looked completely exhausted.

Max's eyes were wide as he took in the scene. He had been assigned to Rose's team for about two weeks now, but Rose had already been at Torchwood for over two months. He had never seen her lose control like this. She was a good Commander, nice and fair, but reserved. She didn't really show that much emotion, but that didn't really matter anymore, seeing she had already proven herself to the whole of Torchwood.

But this scene…Rose, with no self-control, her body raked with sobs, tears flowing at an uncontrollable pace and make up smeared- it was not the silent and strict Commander he knew. In her place was a young, pained and vulnerable girl.

Max watched mickey hug Rose closer and stroke her back, until the exhausted girl eventually fell asleep against him. Max watched mickey quickly speak into his Bluetooth earpiece.

"Pete – yeah it's Mickey. Rose fell asleep-"

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"We're in the top room at the moment-"

….

"No, you don't need to come-"

…

"Okay". He pressed the button and didn't jump when the door swung open. Pete Tyler stepped into the room.

"How is she?" he said worriedly, immediately hurrying over to Rose's side and sitting next to her. Mickey sighed sadly.

"I don't know how long she's been here" he admitted. "Lieutenant Rogers was passing this room and I think he heard her. I sent him away." Pete nodded.

"I think you should take Rose off field work" Mickey said suddenly. At Pete's quizzical expression he continued: "She's depressed. She promised Jackie she wouldn't do anything intentionally, but is she dies when she's working for Torchwood…"

"Are you saying this job is too dangerous for her?"

"No, I am saying that she isn't being careful. If she could offer her life in exchange for the earth's safety, then she wouldn't hesitate." Pete nodded understandingly.

"I noticed" he said, pain evident in his voice.

"You know about the aliens that came through the rift today?" Pete nodded in reply.

"She went after them herself. She didn't ask her team. They were all on red alert, completely ready in case she needed them, for the whole day, but nothing. One of the reasons she has a team is to help her out and prevent her from doing something like that. I saw her and I followed. These aliens weren't primitive, they could have destroyed the earth in two hours flat-and they were planning to."

Pete wasn't happy. He loved Rose as a daughter and he hated seeing her so unhappy. But he couldn't take away her pain, however hard he tried. "What happened?" he asked.

"She found out their plan and was demanding they kill her but leave the earth and its people in peace." Mickey snorted lightly. "I suppose they were going to kill her first and then the rest of the earth. I got there and dismantled their weapon technology just before they shot Rose". He paused and took a deep breath. "You should have seen the way she looked at me. She looked almost…angry. And disappointed…She was disappointed that she was still alive." He finished. Pete looked heartbroken.

"I don't blame him" Mickey added. "You should have seen her with him, vibrant, happy and so very full of life. She's had a lot of hardship in her life and as much as much as I think that I helped her get over that, it was the Doctor that ensured the full recovery. I know right now he's the same as Rose, if not worse. Rose has us-he has nobody He loved Rose and he definitely blames himself for what happened. "

"I can't blame him either" Pete said, although his voice didn't hold the same certainty and conviction as Mickey's.

"I'll take her home" Mickey said, lifting Rose up effortlessly and carrying her over to the door. Pete nodded.

"Thank you Mickey", he said, watching him leave the room with Rose in his arms. He sighed to himself. He looked at the pot Rose had been pressed up against. The wall was still rock solid. He sighed again and left the room.

Max took the headphones off slowly, shocked at what he had just heard and witnessed. The name 'Doctor' was familiar, most of Torchwood knew who he was. Pete had mentioned him, he was the man who had discovered Lumic's plan and helped get rid of the Cybermen-without him it wouldn't apparently have been possible.

'Well he wasn't fast enough' Max had thought as the Director had described the Doctor., thinking of his family, who had been murdered by the cybermen.

Rose also talked about the Doctor sometimes. 'The Doctor would know' was her favourite phrase to use when she didn't know what to do during an invasion or when she didn't know what type of aliens she was dealing with. He was the man with whom Rose had travelled with and who had apparently taught her everything she knew. It was clear that Rose loved him, though Max wasn't sure if it was in a friendship or romantic way. From the beginning of the conversation he had just heard, he would have guessed that the love wasn't romantic, but towards the end it sounded like it was.

But it didn't matter much. This man had caused Rose this extreme pain. He hadn't acted fast enough to prevent Max's family and girlfriend from getting murdered. Max hated him. He decided to be there for Rose, in case she ever needed someone to talk to. The only way for her pain to subside was for Rose to get over this man-the same way Max had gotten over Naticia. They had each other now.

With this in mind, Max set off back down the corridor.

Thank you for reading.

Do you like these flashback chapters? I already wrote another one, but not from Max's point of view. Instead I picked Owen, for a reason you'll see in future chapters. Please tell me what you think in a pm or in a review.

Please review guys! Like I said, I have writers block, so reviews are a great help.

Laura x