Disclaimer: Buffy and Torchwood universes are not mine. I'm just playing with them ^^

Now, it's time for Buffy discover Torchwood.

A really big thanks for all of you who read this and reviewed. It still amazes me. Six months ago, the simple idea of writting a fic in English seemed completly unrealistic to me and yet, here I am, publishing this fic. Everytime I receive a review, a goofy smile appears on my face. So thank you so much!

Here the new chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter Seven

Of Secret Agency, Headquarter and Good Cover

After dropping her at the Hospital entrance, Jack waited for her in the car. Buffy arrived at Andy's room to find him flipping through television channels. When he spotted her, he grinned.

"Hi."

"Hi! How are you feeling?"

"I'm alive."

"That's a good thing."

He laughed at that. She sat down on the edge of the bed and immediately took his hand. He was still pale but he wasn't as tired as last time. She would have loved to spend the day with him and make sure everything was all right, but she had to be quick. Harkness was waiting for her. And she had to admit, she was eager to learn more about Torchwood.

"I can't stay long. About what I said yesterday, I can't explain everything to you here. It'll have to wait until you're back home."

Andy hadn't forgotten what she had said last time. It was hard to. And he still wasn't entirely convinced.

"About aliens and demons?" he asked with a frown.

"Yes. And speaking of aliens, Captain Jack Harkness is waiting for me outside. I have to go."

"Harkness? You're fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Yeah, I know. Bad, bad, Buffy. But bad, bad, Buffy has to go."

She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, promising to come back as soon as she could.

In the car, the head of Torchwood asked how Andy was doing and she said he was doing fine. She added that she was going to tell him the truth when he left the hospital. Her companion didn't seem happy about that. What was she supposed to tell him? That the attack traumatized him and he remembered everything wrong?

"What do you say to the victims?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing. We give them Retcon. It's a pill that causes amnesia, with a little sedative thrown in. They forget what happened and the hospital tells them they were attacked by wild animals."

"And they believe that?"

"Of course. Between being attacked by an alien and an animal, they prefer the latter."

"That's not so surprising. After all, victims of vampire attacks easily forgot their attackers weren't human. When they survive, of course."

"The beauty of the human mind!"

He parked the car and she followed him when he exited. They were on Roald Dahl Plass. Buffy didn't come here often. It was a touristy place, full of people who would be missed if they disappeared which wasn't good for vampires. They preferred places full of people who could just disappear without a trace. So they seemed to avoid this part of the city.

"So, what are we doing here?" she asked.

"You know about the Rift, right?"

"A tear in time and space. It's way beyond me, but I understand the principles. I think."

"That's it. You have it right. It can be opened everywhere in the city. But this is the epicenter. We monitor everything from here."

She looked around, frowning. It was just an empty plaza. She had been here a dozen times before. It was calm and quiet and she appreciated that. But there was nothing here except a pizzeria and a tourist office. There was nothing of importance. Jack walked away and stopped just in front of the big fountain/monument thingy.

"There's nothing here," she said.

He offered his hand to her, a mysterious smile on his lips. The one that said he knew something was going to happen but wouldn't let you know what exactly. She doubted he would try something with her so she took his hand. He pulled her against him and her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing Captain Harkness?"

"You wanted to see Torchwood. I'm showing you Torchwood."

She wanted to ask him something but didn't get the chance as the ground under her feet moved. Instinctively, she grabbed Jack's arm.

"What the Hell!"

They were going down, sinking into the ground.

"But people are going to see us!"

"They can't."

"How…"

Then she saw the huge underground headquarters of Torchwood and all thoughts flew from her mind. Just as she thought she couldn't be more surprised, a loud shriek rent the air and a pterodactyl flew just above them.

"Is that a dinosaur? That can't be a dinosaur!"

"Says the girl who believes in demons and vampires."

The lift hadn't stopped completely, so Buffy jumped off, landing gracefully and silently. Like a child, she turned this way and that, laughing, trying to look at everything.

"You have a freaking batcave with a freaking dinosaur!"

Everyone had stopped working at her arrival and watched her, amused. She looked like a child on Christmas Eve.

She went on talking, "I want a batcave too! Why did I never have one? I'm the Slayer and my base was the library of my high school. That's so lame!"

Her eyes went suddenly wide with horror.

"Oh my God, I'm so uncool."

She put her hands on hips and turned towards Jack:

"How did you get a batcave? Did all Torchwood teams have one? Are there other teams? Maybe you're the only one. Is everything here? Do you have more floors? Hoo! Do you have weapons? I mean, of course you have weapons. What kind do you use for hunting aliens? Do you have alien weapons? Can I see your weapons room? I love weapons!"

"Okay, okay, slow down!" Jack laughed.

Owen mumbled to Gwen beside him, "I told you she's bloody crazy."

They were across the room and didn't mean for her to hear. However, she was no ordinary girl. She turned toward them and asked, "Did I tell you that I have supernaturally good hearing?"

To Gwen's benefit, she looked embarrassed. Not Owen however. He glared at her and she glared right back.

"Have you finished the death glare contest?" Jack asked, amusement in his voice.

"I don't know. Have we, Rude Guy?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"What? Rude Guy? You're rude and you're a guy. So, where's the problem?"

"And you're a bloody crazy woman!"

"I heard worse. In fact, that's kind of a compliment. My craziness has kept me alive so far. So thanks Rude Guy."

"ARGH!"

"I think we should separate them before they start pulling at each other's hair," Ianto said with a small smile.

Jack found the entire situation extremely funny. He understood Owen's frustration and exasperation but the doctor was so full of himself sometimes that it was amusing to see him having a rough time. And this time, Owen seemed to have met his match. He put himself in front of Buffy, blocking her view of his doctor.

"To answer your questions, and to save my doctor, you are at Torchwood Three. Torchwood one was in London. Torchwood Two is run by a strange man in Glasgow. As for Torchwood Four, we lost it but we'll find it again someday."

"How can you lose something like that?"

"Long story. Now, follow me."

He didn't wait for her response and walked away without looking at her. She felt a little irritated at that. He could at least make sure she was following! She resisted the urge to stomp her foot and followed him. He pointed out the different elements of the place. His office, the conference room, the infirmary, the bank of computers where they monitored everything. She found herself listening intently. It wasn't so much what he was saying that was interesting. It was more the way he was saying it and the way he acted. There was so much authority and confidence that it was hard not to follow him. He had the natural charisma of a leader.

After they ended the tour, he took her to the cells. On the way, he explained to her that they didn't kill Weevils but locked the up. She learnt that Owen was studying them, trying to understand the way they worked. She met Janet, one of their Weevils. It roared at them when they came near. Unimpressed and curious, Buffy moved closer and stared at the alien. She wanted to check something. She breathed deeply and let the Slayer essence brush the surface of her mind. The alien felt so off, like she didn't belong here. However, she didn't feel like an enemy, just something that could be dangerous. Meanwhile, Janet didn't seem to feel the same way because she roared some more and took refuge in the back of her cell, putting as much distance as she could between her and the Slayer.

"That's strange. She's never acted like that before."

The Slayer was still near the surface and she could feel something off behind her. She quickly turned towards the feeling and found Jack. He was the one feeling off. It confused her. He was human, but not human. There was some kind of energy coming from him. She shook her head to clear her mind.

"What are you?"

"What?"

He was surprised. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he asked, "What makes you ask that?"

"You're human, but I don't know, there's something off."

She was embarrassing him, she could see it in his eyes and body language. He shrugged her question off.

"I've lived a long and complicated life, Miss Summers. I don't know you well enough to share my darkest secrets with you. I'm one of the good guys; you'll have to settle for that."

It was honest and fair. Buffy decided it was a good time to clear up a point:

"I told you about my organization and you told me about yours. But I don't know you and I don't trust easily. I'm a nice person and I try to avoid making new enemies. Believe me, I have enough already. So, I agree to have some kind of partnership with you. To be honest, that doesn't mean I trust you. Mess with me and I'll come after you and destroy you."

He withstood her gaze. Her aura was impressive for such a small and lithe woman. But he had seen what she could do. It could be good to have her on his team. She could be a great asset. He stepped closer, invading her personal space to test her. Her body tightened but she didn't move. Even her face stayed emotionless. She just raised her head higher to keep eye contact.

"That's fair enough," he said. "Maybe one day, we can trust each other. But until then, what about learning about each other? I'm kind of curious about the supernatural life and I could let you work with us on alien cases. What do you say?"

"That's a great idea. Do we have a deal Captain Harkness?"

"I guess we do Miss Summers."

They shook hands to seal the deal and then rejoined the others. Jack explained to Owen what had happened with Janet and the reaction interested the doctor. He frowned and tried to think of what could have caused such a reaction in the Weevil. He even asked Buffy if she would agree to participate in some tests later. Asking her politely was difficult for him, judging by the tension in his jaw, but the Californian agreed. Then, the Captain showed her how they monitored the Rift, measuring the vibes. They were leaning on the computers when Buffy was distracted by a strange feeling. She had felt the strange energy for a while but it was so low that she had shrugged it off. But it was more and more annoying.

The energy was coming from the center of the room where a big strange column was located. She went closer and reached out a hand. It was almost nothing, just a warm sensation. It was neutral. Just there. She could feel it the same way she could sense the air charge with electricity before a storm.

"That's the Rift manipulator," Toshiko said to her.

"The Rift is right here?"

"The epicenter, yes."

"I can feel it."

Again, she surprised the Torchwood team. She seemed to be good at that. Sometime during the afternoon, Ianto made coffee for everyone and Buffy felt like she was drinking a little bit of Heaven. She silently renamed him God of Coffee. Jack and she stayed locked in his office for awhile. He explained to her how Torchwood was created in 1879 by Queen Victoria herself after an encounter with an alien and what had happened up until then.

It was near seven pm when Jack asked Ianto to show her the way outside. She said her goodbyes to the rest of the team and thanked them for letting her in, before following the youngest member out. He didn't lead her through the strange lift they had used to arrive but though a rolling door and a long corridor. In fact, after a minute, they emerged in an office. Looking around, her eyes went wide when she realized where she was.

"The tourist office!"

"Every secret organization needs a good cover," Ianto said.

She smiled at him and leaned against the counter.

"So, Ianto Jones, how did you end up in Torchwood?"

The question surprised him. He recovered from his surprise and tried cleaning the already tidy counter.

"I worked at Torchwood One. When it closed, Captain Harkness offered me a job here."

"Were you at the Canary Wharf battle then?"

The hurt that clouded his eyes was answer enough. He responded with a curt, "Yes." His hand straightened his already straight tie. He was looking elsewhere.

"You're a silent one," she said.

"I suppose."

Buffy decided to try something. She looked at the door that led to the Hub as they called it and smiled.

"So, Captain Harkness seems to be a good man."

"He is."

She wanted to groan but restricted herself. She didn't know if he was always that silent or if it was because he didn't trust her.

"And he's a flirty man."

This time, the young man smiled and she nearly jumped for joy. She went on before he said something.

"Is he just flirting? I mean is he available?"

Suit-Man's smile froze and she continued.

"I mean, you work with him. And he said you were making sure they work. In fact, he was quite eloquent when describing your roll. So, I suppose you should know about that."

"I don't meddle in their personal lives. If you have questions, you should ask them directly."

Curiosity was killing her now. She was sure something was going on. She had studied Ianto and Jack all day. She had caught the glances when they thought nobody was watching. And the best: she had watched their fingers touching when Suit-Man handed him his cup of coffee and the look they exchanged. She would have to ask someone else what was going on with these two. They couldn't be together, right? That would be such a waste for the women. Two handsome men like them…

She thanked Ianto for his help and finally left Torchwood. On the Plass, she watched the fountain and the rock where the lift was. She laughed when she thought of the secret headquarters just beneath her feet. They were hiding in one of the most tourist filled areas of Cardiff. Somehow, Buffy didn't know to what extent this new turn of events would do to simplify or complicate her life.

¤ ¤ tbc ¤ ¤