Chapter 7

Doctor's diary.

Entry Date: Wednesday, 4th April, 2018.

'Well, who'd have thought it. Henry van Statten financing Torchwood New York. Okay, he's still an asshole, but he's not a psychopathic megalomaniac asshole. Just a kleptomaniac one instead. His early experience with aliens has given him that fascination that will keep him funding Torchwood for a long time.'

'I'm going around the labs today with Charles, looking at the installation of the analytical equipment that is being installed. I can look after EJ while I'm doing this as he's got his Teeny Tikes Tablet to play on. Rose is overseeing the selection of the Field Agents today and seemed really nervous about it...'

Rose's diary.

Entry Date: Wednesday, 4th April, 2018.

'Today is the day I give the pep talk to the applicants for the position of Field Agent. God, I'm so nervous. Dad said all the ex military and law enforcement applicants will think they have an advantage over the others. He wanted me to show them what a shop girl with an attitude could do. (He's asking for a slap) John is looking after EJ while he goes over the technical stuff with Charles….'

Torchwood South Tower.

New York.

Rose stood at a lectern in front of around 100 hopeful applicants. She swallowed nervously and cleared her throat.

"Er, hello everyone. Thank you for coming today. My name is Rose, Rose Smith, and i'm a Torchwood Special Operations Field Agent," she started with uncharacteristic hesitancy. Give her a hostage negotiation or shouting down a terrorist and she was fine, but this, this was hard.

"I think you all know why you are here. You applied for the position of Field Agent, and I think you've read the job description and know what to expect," she said with a bit more confidence, warming to the task. "However, as they said in 'Men In Black', you know 'dick'.

That got a ripple of laughter, and she started to relax. "Now, over the last couple of weeks, Torchwood psychologists and profilers have been looking over your applications and have shortlisted you for selection. Torchwood security have been running background checks on you all, and trust me, if you have any intimate tattoos or piercings, we'll not only know about them, we'll probably have photographs as well."

That got a real laugh from the prospective employees. She was starting to connect with them. "Some of you are from the military, some from law enforcement. Others are from scientific, engineering or even commerce backgrounds. It doesn't matter really, because previous experience or trainin' won't help you much."

"Let me tell you a bit about myself. I was workin' in a department store when I met an alien who saved my life." There were murmurings in the audience. "That is one of the first things you will learn when you work for Torchwood, aliens exist. I travelled the universe with one, and we saved the Earth on more than one occasion."

She looked at the faces in the audience. "Why am I tellin' you this? Because I had no education or trainin' for it, but the alien saw in me the qualities he was lookin' for in a companion, and the next part of the selection process with Captain McNab and your Captain Hunter, will try and identify those qualities in you and group you together into teams that will function as a single unit."

She clicked a remote and brought up a display of the Torchwood training regime. "Basic trainin' for successful applicants will start with military style trainin' in fitness, unarmed combat and firearms, specifically the stun gun, our favoured weapon." The images on the screen were showing Torchwood agents undertaking their training.

"Along side this, is trainin' in the high tech equipment that we use in our day to day operations, such as scanners and various surveillance devices." These were also displayed on the screen. She clicked off the display and looked out over the audience. "Any questions?"

A young man raised his hand and Rose acknowledged him.

"Has it been an easy ride for you, being the daughter of the director?"

There were gasps and Rose noticed the man getting a elbow in the ribs. "I can't believe you just said that," the young woman said who was sat next to him.

Rose raised her hands. "No. That's a very good question. What's your name?"

"Todd Hunter," the young man said.

"Todd here has demonstrated that he's done his research. He knows who I am and he's asked an awkward question that Field Agents sometimes have to ask during an investigation," Rose said.

She looked at Todd and knew why he had asked. "After I was separated from my alien friend, I didn't want to work for Torchwood, as they were partly responsible for us being separated." Rose paused as she remembered that terrible day.

"But my friends convinced me to apply, and so I did. I was judged on my performance, not my heritage. I hope that you Todd, are judged on your qualities and not on who your father is." She had guessed that his father was Eugene Hunter, ex Navy Seal and head of Special Operations at Torchwood New York.

"Okay everyone, I'm just going to set up the video

conference and then you will be called through one by one,"

Rose announced as she headed for the door.

In the media room she logged into the computer and

initiated the call to Torchwood London. After a short while,

Andy McNab's face appeared on the large plasma screen,

along with Eugene Hunter, who had been working with Andy to

get a feel for the way Torchwood operates. He had been very

impressed with the way the technology made the Field Agents

seem as though they were highly trained special forces

military soldiers.

"Hello Andy, Gene. I've given them the talk, so they're

under no illusions that they know anythin' about chasin'

aliens," she said with a smile.

"Hi Rose. Good work. So we're ready this end, do you want to

bring the first one in?" Andy said.

"Okay." She went through to the lecture theatre and called through the first applicant on the list.

"This is Steven Adams," Rose said. "Steven, this is Captain McNab and Captain Hunter." She could see Steven was nervous. "Don't worry, it's not that bad, honestly. It's just one question that has no right or wrong answer, just your answer."

Andy smiled from the screen. "Hi Steven. My name's Andy and I'm just going to give you a scenario and I'd like you to tell me what you think. Okay?"

"Er, yeah, sure."

"Good. So you're in an alley and it's dark. Your partner is around the corner and you hear a noise..." Andy asked a question that would tell him how that person would respond in a stressful situation. The questions were different for each person, depending on their background, because a soldier would react differently to a police officer or a delivery driver.

When Steven had given his answer, Rose led him outside. "Well done Steven, how'dya feel?"

"Relieved. It was nothing like what I was expecting."

Rose laughed and gave him a goofy smile. "That's Torchwood for ya. Anyway, that's it for today. Down the corridor and turn left for the lifts. Hand in your pass at reception and make sure they have your correct contact details, we'll be in touch in the next couple of days."

"Okay, thanks Rose…. And thanks for that little talk at the beginning, it made me realise that I could do this, even if I wasn't a soldier or a policeman."

"What's your job at the moment?" Rose asked.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm a mailman. I only applied as a sort of joke, and I half heartedly answered that IQ test thing."

"The psychometry test? Well, your half hearted answers were exactly what we were looking for, so good luck."

It was after six when Rose found John and EJ in the Torchwood restaurant. They had a burger with fries, (Jack was right, they were nothing like chips) while they chatted about their day.

"You look done in," John said.

"I don't seem to have done a lot. I gave that little talk at the start and then shepherded the hopefuls in and out of the Media Room."

"How did your talk go?"

"Good actually. I got a laugh out out of 'em anyway."

"There you are, I told you you'd 'wow' them. My brilliant Rose," he said with pride.

"And how did your day go?" she asked, nodding at EJ who was munching his burger.

"We had a great day didn't we son? He's been chatting up all the female members of staff while I helped Charles finalised the Forensic Laboratories."

"What's a 'charmer' Mummy? Cos Daddy says that's what I am."

"And your Daddy should know. He charmed your Mummy," Jack said from behind them.

"Oh hi Jack," Rose said as he kissed her on the cheek. "How was your day?"

"Tedious. Sorting out filing systems, reporting systems, all that office stuff that goes on in the background that makes Torchwood work."

"Jack, you're a hero," John said with a laugh as he finished his burger. "I think we're going to get a car and head back to the apartment for an early night."

"Ooh, lucky you," he said with a wink.

"For a hot bath and sleep," Rose said.

"Well I'm taking the office staff down to the local bar for a bit of departmental bonding. I'll grab a cab and make my own way back. I'll see you in the morning."

Rose was sitting on the beach in front of their tree house on Beta Pegasi II. John was by the side of her with his arms around her shoulders and EJ was delighted when his baby sister grabbed his finger while she was suckling on her mothers breast. The feeling of love emanating from this tiny person penetrated to their core and gave them a warm glow.

Tiny feet padded across the carpeted floor of the Upper East Side apartment and climbed on to the bed. The sleepy child commando continued his stealth mission to infiltrate the bed and snuggle between the warm bodies of his parents. Without waking, Rose instinctively placed a comforting hand on her son's chest.

Be-be-be-be-beep.

It was 07:00 and the alarm called for attention. 'Hurry up and turn me off. I've got better things to do than beep at you all day', it's insistent beeping was saying.

John hit the snooze button and rolled over to wake Rose, only to see the peacefully sleeping face of his son.

"Hello," Rose said with a smile.

"Hello. When did this one sneak in?"

"No idea," she said as she gently rubbed her son's chest. "Wakey wakey sleepy head."

Eyulf yawned and stretched his arms out and arched his back. His eyes flicked open, first in confusion at being in the wrong bed and then a smile spread across his face. "When will my sister be coming?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

Both John and Rose looked at their son in stunned amazement as they remembered a dream.

"We were on a beach," John said.

"And I was nursing…. Our daughter," Rose whispered.

"It was a shared dream. It was like when Eyulf had his first thought, except this time we were asleep. EJ, being so young must have felt it and visualized it in a dream."

"But that means…."

"You're pregnant, with our daughter," John said with an enormous grin.

Rose squealed and hugged them both, EJ laughing as he picked up on their excitement. "So when is she coming Mummy?"

"Oh not for a long while, you'll have to be very patient," she told him, his young face showing the disappointment of this news. "But you'll know that she's there." She pointed to her belly. "And she'll tell you when she's ready to come out."

He took on an air of responsibility. "I will let you know when she tells me, so that you will be ready."

"Thank you son," John said with a laugh. "That would be most helpful.

"There's something about you lot this morning," Jack said. "Like cats that have got the cream. What is it?"

"Nothing," Rose said a bit too quickly.

Jack zoned in on his co-conspirator. "EJ, what are they up to," he whispered.

EJ leaned towards his Uncle Jack and whispered back. "It's a secret. Can't tell."

John and Rose exchanged proud looks. "So Jack, what have you got in store for today then?" John asked.

"Internal security systems, CCTV, scanners, biometric sensors, all that sort of stuff. How about you two?"

"Agent's uniforms and field equipment," Rose said.

"Interviews for laboratory staff with Charles," John said as the car travelled south along Franklin East River Drive.

"Lunch in the restaurant again?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. Actually the food is really good there," Jack said with a grin.

And so the rest of the week unfolded with each of them overseeing some aspect of the set up. They had the weekend off and took a flight over to Los Angeles on Saturday, followed by a flight up to Washington on Sunday, before heading back to New York Sunday evening for another week of consultations.

They met John Weston, the Special Operations Technical Support specialist, the equivalent of Chrissie Anderson in London, where in fact he'd been having his induction. Charles had recommended him from M.I.T, where he had been a research fellow in digital electronics and micro engineering.

"Chrissie says hello," he told them when they had been introduced.

Rose greeted the successful Field Agents when they arrived and gave them an induction tour of the Tower, before leaving them with H.R to register and pick up their uniforms. She saw Steven Adams again, the first applicant to undergo the selection scenario.

"I can't believe I'm really here doing this," he told her. "And aliens! Real, honest to goodness aliens."

"Yeah, I know," Rose laughed. "12 years on since I first met one and I still have to pinch myself sometimes."

She also saw Todd Hunter when she was talking with John. "Todd! How's it going."

He strolled over and grinned. He looked every part the son of a Special Forces soldier, tall, muscular and 'sharp' haircut. "Good thanks. I'm sorry if you took any offence at my question when we last met. I was a bit on edge, what with my Dad being in on the interview."

"None taken. I knew exactly where you were coming from. Oh, this is my husband John and my son Eyulf." She saw John's questioning look.

"This is Todd Hunter…. Gene's son."

John's eyebrows rose when he realised who he was. "Oh, right. Congratulations on being selected. I'm sure you'll prove yourself to be worthy of the uniform, just like Rose did."

"Thank you sir. That means a lot coming from the legend that is Dr. John Smith." He crouched down and held his hand out to Eyulf. "Hello young man. Eyulf eh? What a great name."

"Hello," EJ said, shaking his hand.

When Captain Hunter returned tomorrow, they would be sorted into teams and then shipped out to Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina for their basic training. After that, John Weston would take them through all the complex equipment that they would be expected to use on a day-to-day basis.

John, Rose and Jack were really pleased with the way things were shaping up. This Torchwood would be as good as the one in London, and maintain the high standards, expectations and reputation of the Institute.