After spending the whole day traveling back home here's the second part of A Different Kind of Heart. I'm thinking it's getting a bit weird... I hope it's a good thing... Anyways, enjoy I hope you like this story :)

Tobey felt very uncomfortable about the speed at which the SUV was cruising through the streets of Cardiff. Being occupied with changing the street lights helped but when he realised that despite his best efforts he was still too slow he felt his lungs trying to escape through his lips.

However, when they stopped by the first house on the list he realised that the speed stopped being a problem. He forgot about it or got used to it somewhere along the way. He smiled to himself making sure that Jack wasn't looking. He wondered if everybody had these problems. Gwen was a policewoman before but the rest? How did they get used to all the extraordinary in this line of work? Did he even want to get used to it? He tried to deny it but he loved the fear and adrenaline when he met his "first aliens".

The building they stopped before was a small two-level house, same as every other one on the streets, made from red bricks, the entrance only a few feet from the pavement and a row of cars parked in front. There were no garages, though Tobey was sure that there was a small garden behind the house.

Jack was already out before Tobey even disconnected his laptop. He waited patiently and Tobey found himself hurrying but to his surprise he felt no stress. It was a nice difference to what he had been feeling since he had begun his work for Torchwood. He noticed that Jack was calm as well. He didn't hurry him. He knew many people who would do the exact opposite. He smiled despite himself seeing the motive behind his actions. Maybe he was giving him time to adjust?

Tobey got out of the car as soon as he had packed his computer away and followed Jack who had started walking as soon as he saw that Tobey was getting out.

The door opened just as Tobey arrived, Jack having already rung the bell.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness and this here is Officer Tobey Magpie. We're conducting an investigation and we need to search your house," Jack said bluntly. Tobey noticed that his tone of voice and confidence alone was enough to gain the woman's trust. He didn't even show a fake badge (although he suspected that fakes were not needed – Torchwood could definitely get real ones without any problems).

"Is something the matter?" the woman opened the door for them. "Did we do something wrong?"

"I don't believe so. There's every reason for us to believe that you did nothing wrong. However there is a possibility that you once brought here something that could be dangerous."

"Will you be going upstairs?" the woman asked a bit concerned.

"Is there something you're hiding there, ma'am?" Jack asked and Tobey was amazed at how easily he put so much suspicion into the sentence without the woman realizing it.

"Of course not, it's just, it's not so tidy there," the woman explained. "Please come inside," she said guiding them to the living room.

It was small but the furniture was arranged so that it was quite spacious. There was only one cabinet, a sofa and an armchair, a TV and a small coffee able in between of them. There were a few family photos hanging on the cream-coloured walls but little art.

"Shall I make tea?" she asked.

"That would be nice, thank you. Nothing ever brings a man up like a cup of tea made by a lovely lady," Jack said taking a seat. "Do you mind if my colleague checks a few details on his laptop?"

"No, of course not."

Tobey reached into his bag and took out his laptop.

"Can you pinpoint the exact location of the transmission," Jack asked as soon as the computer was turned on.

"I don't know how long it will take to load but I can try." He couldn't help the smile. He kept silent for a while to make sure that the woman wasn't coming. "You were totally flirting with a married woman just then," he whispered.

Jack smiled. "There was no ring," he said cheekily.

"I think the photos speak for themselves," Tobey smiled. He wanted to add something but the woman was already returning with a tray with tea and three cups. She poured the drink into all the cups.

"So, Mrs. Paver," Jack started and Tobey barely held back the smile when hearing the tone of his voice.

"Oh please, call me Margaret, Captain," the woman said. Her cheeks were rosy and she clearly enjoyed the attention she was getting.

"Do you live alone?" he asked. Tobey quickened his typing pace trying to focus more on his work rather than Jack's flirting.

"My kids have already left for college and as for my husband, he passed away a few years ago."

"Did anything unusual happen recently, let's say in the last three hours?" Jack returned to his questioning.

"Not really, just... Well I don't think that matters really but... It suddenly became cold. I had to turn up the heater and it's still quite chilly. I talked to Mr Davies from across the road and he said everything was fine there."

Tobey glanced at Jack and met his gaze. They were both thinking the same thing. He looked back at the screen to find the loading bar now complete and the satellite map showing Cardiff. He zoomed in. The red dot was blinking on the right side of it.

"It hasn't been the same since my husband passed away but a woman has to deal with trouble on her own sometimes."

"Jack," Tobey gladly interrupted. "It's right here," he said. "Exactly... over there?" he pointed at an empty spot on the ground.

"What room is in this same spot upstairs?" Jack asked standing up.

"That would be the kids room. But there's nothing there anymore. I just left that straw rabbit because they loved it so much."

Jack raised his brow suspiciously. He followed the woman upstairs while Tobey stayed downstairs packing his laptop. He was glad of being left alone, he preferred not to follow the two upstairs. Despite knowing it wasn't serious from Jack's side it still was a bit awkward for him being in the middle of all his flirting.

Jack came back down holding a straw rabbit dressed in a linen dress.

"Our job is done here, thank you for your co-operation," Jack said and left as quickly as he arrived.

"How do you know that it's the thing we're looking for?" Tobey asked. in front of the SUV. "It's just a rabbit after all..."

"Smell it," Jack said shoving the rabbit under his nose. It smelled of dust and straw.

"It's nice..." Tobey said confused, entering the vehicle.

"See? Everybody thinks they're 'nice'. Don't you think it's a bit suspicious? Look closer though..."

Tobey took the rabbit and looked into it's black, plastic eyes. "It's... a camera?" he said seeing the outlines of something inside them. "It's hot..." he added when the toy touched his

"Yes," Jack nodded. He had already started the SUV and now without paying almost any attention to the other cars was riding towards their next destination.

"Do you think they'll all be rabbits?" Tobey asked.

"I reckon so, yes."

"That's a bit silly..."

Jack didn't answer. "We'll go back to the Hub and I'll have you analyze the signal."

Tobey nodded. He smiled despite himself. The rabbit really seemed cute.

o*o*o

Gwen received the phone call when she was half way to the house with the second transmitter.

"Jack?" she said instinctively knowing it was him.

"Go back for now," Jack said. "The distorted signal is moving towards the city. We'll just stop by the Hub and leave Tobey there to analyse the transmission and then meet you where it stops. Tobey will keep you updated about its position. Gwen changed the direction and headed towards the town.

o*o*o

Jack stormed through the entrance only to meet the reprimanding gaze of Martha. She immediately pointed at the sleeping silhouette of Ianto on the couch.

"The more he sleeps, the better," she said.

Jack raised his brow. There was more to her words then simple medical advice and her eyes confirmed it.

She approached the sleeping man and gently took his arm and rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. Aside from it being a little too pale and skinny with every vein clearly visible there was nothing wrong about it. Martha pointed at the joint. There was nothing there.

"I punctured his skin there only an half hour ago and there's no mark," she concluded. "It seems that flesh wounds heal faster. A lot faster."

"What about the poison?" Jack asked.

"No sign of that either. From the blood sample it seems that aside from anaemia and serious vitamin deficiencies he's fine. I also checked his DNA, just to be sure and it is the same as the one registered for Ianto in the system. It's definitely Ianto and I think that now he just needs a good diet and some sleep and he will be fine."

Tobey entered the Hub making an awful lot of noise. Only after starting saying his stream of thoughts out loud did he realise that it wasn't the best course of action as both John and Martha were staring at him waiting for him to notice that it was time he stopped talking.

"Sorry..." he said. "The transmitter stopped at a public school in the eastern part of town. I sent the exact co-ordinates to Gwen.

"Fine, I want you to take out the transmitter and tell me what we're dealing with. Martha, are you done with your work?" Jack asked.

"I could go," a voice from behind them said. Ianto stared at them from his position on the couch.

"You're awake, great!" Jack said.

"It was hard not to wake up after hearing you all enter and rush around like that," Ianto smiled bitterly.

"OK, in that case Tobey, examine the transmitter, the top priority is to find out if it could be in any way lethal. Ianto, I want you to find out all you can about who produced these things and where they came from. Me and Martha will meet up with Gwen."

Jack stormed out of the Hub and Martha followed dashing to catch up with him.

"Can I see it for a minute?"

Tobey jumped startled. He turned around to see Ianto standing behind him with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He gave the toy to him and watched him examine it from every angle.

"What are you looking for?" Tobey asked.

"There's no tag," Ianto said not even bothering to look away from his work. "I never expected it to be as easy as that though. Tell me if you find some sort of trademark."

Tobey took the rabbit back but glanced at Ianto once more only to get a reassuring smile from him. He returned to the toy and found himself staring at it for a few minutes not even realising what he was doing.

Tobey looked around and saw Ianto already at his desk. The sight of his comrade working put a grimace on his face. He felt very awkward and bad about cutting the toy up. He knew that it had something to do with the toy itself but he couldn't bring himself to open up his textile belly and let the plush guts spill out. It was just so cute.

It took him another few minutes of mindless staring to make himself reach for the scissors and even after that he didn't start at once. He looked once back at Ianto but he was already gone, probably searching the archives. He made himself some tea and then, with new determination returned to work.

The charm broke when he saw what was inside the toy. A set of wires, chips and microcomputers almost like real organs and veins. Tobey's face twisted with disgust. It wasn't ugly, in fact it created a beautiful harmony, but somehow he felt that just the idea of it was wrong. He couldn't put his thought into words.

He ignored his urge to leave it alone and tinkered with the wires and chips. With every move his eyebrows furrowed some more in confusion. There was something seriously illogical about this technology.

o*o*o

Martha and Jack left the car simultaneously. They saw Gwen approaching them with the same expression on her face as they had.

"How is a school involved in all this?" Martha asked although she already knew the answer. It was the same everywhere they went. Somehow whatever they did to protect them innocent people were always in danger.

"We'll just have to find out," Jack said and approached the door.

As soon as the three of them entered a receptionist lady stopped doing her work and stared at them with suspicion.

"Are you parents?" she asked although the answer was more than obvious just by looking at their clothing and posture.

"Torchwood," Jack said hoping the magic word would work.

It didn't. Torchwood was indeed known Cardiff-wide but most of the time just by the name and not the meaning.

"I'm afraid you can't go inside the building."

"What is your name again?" Jack asked giving her his most flirty smile. He leaned over her table and his face was suddenly very close to hers.

"Agnes," the woman said with a slight blush on her high cheeks.

"Right, Agnes. I'm afraid you will have to let me and my two friends pass as this is a matter of utmost security. One of the children inside is unaware that he or she has a very dangerous object. We just need to intercept it and we will be on our way."

"Should I sound the alarm?" the lady blinked twice confused by the situation. Her hand was already reaching for the phone probably to call the police.

"That won't be necessary. We have everything under control."

With that he went forward not awaiting a reply. Martha and Gwen followed him confidently.

"You could've just lied," Gwen noticed. "Although I suppose we don't know if there is a threat or not."

"We can never be sure if something is dangerous or not," Jack said philosophically.

Gwen smirked slightly, as always not expecting the answer Jack would give her.

Their footfalls echoed in the corridor but only when Jack started speaking loudly through the intercom that some of the classrooms fell quiet.

"Tobey, I need you to tell me where exactly is the transmitter," he said raising his voice automatically.

"It should be... third on the left on the second floor after you climb the stairs in the west wing," Tobey answered after a short break during which the only thing that could be heard was the sound of keys being typed. "If not you can try on a lower level but I'm fairly certain that it's there."

"Why is that?"

"I found the spot where the transmission started and it's in a house belonging to a certain Jeremy Anderson and his daughter attends the school. She should have her second period in the classroom on the second floor."

"Good work," Jack concluded disconnecting. He heard Tobey trying to say something more but decided to ignore it for now and contact him afterwards. If it were something important he would've told them in the beginning.

They reached the classroom quickly. Jack leaded but Gwen stopped him before opening the door.

"Let us handle it," she said and received an agreeing nod from Martha.

"What's wrong with me coming as well?" Jack asked a bit surprised.

"I just don't think that would be a good idea with your clothes and that..." she pointed at his holster.

"Fine."

Martha pressed the handle and gently pushed the door open.

o*o*o

"Damn it!" Tobey rested his head on his hands and hid his face in his palms.

"Is something wrong?" Ianto asked from behind of him.

Tobey turned around to see him wearing a white coat over his suit.

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked.

"I need to find out where those toys came from. There's nothing about this sort of thing in the archives or in any database. So I'm going to ask around. And somebody has to help intercept all of them. What about you? Did you find out anything?"

"Plenty to be honest," Tobey said but his voice didn't convey any pride or satisfaction. "Turns out there's a tiny bomb attached to each one. It can't be triggered from the outside but I thought Jack should know anyways. But he hung up on me! And that's not all. The huge transmission is just white noise. It's a decoy. There's another signal but it's being rerouted and it will take me some time to find the source. But I reckon it's in Cardiff."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Somehow it just seemed that all this is centred here. I searched other satellite information but it seems that these sort of spikes only appear in Cardiff. Not even near the borders of the city."

"Well this whole thing seems a bit suspicious," Ianto concluded. "I don't know why but it just seems too easy for some reason. Anyways, let me know when you're sure that it doesn't pose a threat. I'll get the police to handle the rest of them. Or is the transmission triggered from the outside?"

"No, it's all automatic. It's best if we just gather all of them shut them off and bury in the archives."

Ianto left not turning around. Once outside he took out a piece of paper with a telephone number and approached a phone booth. He hesitated for a few moments and in the end squeezed the note back into his pocket. He tried to get himself to call his sister after seeing her that one time but he didn't have the courage to face her again.

Instead he turned around to the nearest parking and found the Torchwood grey Honda. It wasn't the SUV but considering he was alone and didn't need any gadgets besides a GPS it was enough. He turned the engine on and heard the familiar jazz record playing. He smiled. He was probably the only one ever using this car.

o*o*o

Alice glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, right beside the door. Another thirty seven minutes until the end of the lesson. She sighed and looked back at the teacher. Her whole body stiffened as she realised that Mrs. Brown was looking at her. She quickly looked down at her notes avoiding the teacher's look. She jotted down a few words to convince her that she was paying attention.

After another moment she looked back up and with relief saw that the teacher was facing another direction. She glanced down at her backpack, now open and revealing a reassuring straw bunny's head. The rest of her toy was hidden in between her books and notebooks.

Alice looked back at the clock and saw movement behind the window of the door. Her eyes widened in fear. She heard voices which she didn't recognise as any of the teachers'. She couldn't understand what they were saying but something told her she was in trouble. She had no idea what she might've done wrong but that something inside of her alerted her.

"Alice?" she heard her teacher's voice. "Could you repeat what I just said?" she asked her.

Alice gulped. She knew didn't know. But that didn't seem like a problem compared to the figures outside the door.

"But Mrs. Brown," she said, her voice in high pitch from fear. She pointed at the door the exact moment it opened. She couldn't tell whether she was saved or doomed.

Two women entered. One was a tall black women, her hair tied behind her head. She had a red leather jacket on and jeans. The other one was shorter with loose black hair.

"We're sorry to interrupt but we just wanted to borrow miss Anderson for a second," the taller one said.

"We're from the police," the dark-haired woman added. "I can assure you that this is not a serious matter but I'm afraid that no delay is acceptable."

Alice glanced at the teacher and was immediately certain that this was going to get her in trouble.

"Of course," Mrs Brown said. "Alice."

Alice stepped outside the classroom with the two women. The taller one closed the door on kneeled in front of her, her hands on Alice's shoulders making the girl feel very uncomfortable.

"I didn't do anything," Alice said immediately.

"I'm not saying you did," the woman's voice was quiet. She probably didn't want the class to hear it. From the sounds coming from the classroom one could easily deduce that everybody tried to get even a tiny bit of the conversation. "My name is Martha, this is Gwen and that man over there is Captain Jack. This may sound silly but do you have some kind of a toy with you?"

Alice's face went pale. "James did nothing wrong," she said. She blushed immediately realising how daft she must be sounding. Bringing toys to school at her age and naming moreover naming them. But James was somehow special. Although he was just a toy Alice often felt as if he was listening to everything she said. And she knew that he really did have a soul.

"I know but we just need to borrow him for a while," Martha insisted. "We will give him back as soon as we can."

She glanced briefly at the Captain. He gave her and mostly the girl a reassuring smile.

Alice swallowed her pride and went back into the classroom. Everyone fell suddenly silent despite whispering not minutes ago. Alice shuffled her feet towards her desk and took out her toy. Her face showed signs of misery and fear. She glanced at her teacher. She saw that slight twitch of the index finger that indicated she was angry.

Alice went back outside and gave the toy to Martha. Her face filled with hope. "Can you take me with you?" she asked desperate. "I don't want to leave him alone..." Somehow anything felt better than spending another thirty minutes with Mrs Brown who although most of the time was nice like all people had bad days. And she hated troublemakers beyond reason.

"No," Jack's voice was firm and met no denial. He started walking away not even glancing at his comrades certain that they would follow him.

"Goodbye Alice," Martha said patting her shoulder again. "James will be back with you safe and sound soon."

The girl watched the three figures disappear behind a corner and hesitated before going back to class. It was the teacher calling her that finally made her return to her seat.

So... weird/evil bunnies conquer the world? Not exactly but quite close. There's a story behind this one. Actually I have a straw bunny like that and he's called James and yes he wears a dress. He originally wore one I just named him James. If anybody's interested it's after Smashing Pumpkin's guitarist James Iha after he wore a dress in the video for Today :)

Part 3 soonish. Have to work on it a bit... Got a few bits and pieces to adjust.