"So then," Jack started as they stood near the lift of the now rebuilt Torchwood Hub, "Tell me."
"My dad told me you had a base or something," Chloe stated, "It'd be better if we talked there."
"Your dad? Who is he?"
"Please, Jack. Anyone could be listening in and I promised I'd keep myself secret."
"Why? What's so special about you? You need to tell me."
"Jack, I promise I will."
Jack squinted at her. "One wrong move," he warned, "And I retcon you, alright?"
"Got it."
...
"Welcome to Torchwood Three," Jack announced as they came into the Hub.
Chloe laughed as she looked around, "Wow! It's amazing in here. Looks different to the one at home but it's still brilliant."
"Right, we're here, now explain," Jack demanded, his arms crossed. He could feel there was something odd about her. She was somehow misplaced, but he still wasn't sure.
Chloe sighed, dropped her bag on the floor and started rummaging through it. Once she stopped, she stood up, and walked to Jack with a photo frame. "Take a look," she said as she showed him the photo.
Jack frowned as he looked at it. It was a wedding photo. The bride had blonde hair with dark roots, her brown eyes sparkled and her grin stretched from ear to ear. Next to her stood a tall man, his brown hair was spiky, and a proud smirk hung on his face as well as another pair of deep brown eyes. It took a while for it to sink in for Jack; he couldn't quite comprehend.
"John and Rose Smith – my parents," Chloe explained, "Though she said I should mention her maiden name's Tyler."
"Right...Does that mean you have two hearts?"
Chloe sniggered, "What?"
"Your father, the Doctor-"
"Jack, my father's the metacrisis, I think that's what my mum told me anyway, she told me you were there when he was...sort of...created."
"Ah! That makes sense, but that means you're from a different universe. How did you get here?"
"Ooh it's a bit...wibbly."
"Right, wibbly. Where are your parents then? Did they come with you?"
The glimmer in Chloe's eyes faded, and she looked at the picture. "No, they couldn't," she replied quietly.
"Why not?"
Chloe lowered her head, to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Chloe."
She looked at him, and he could see a tear rolling down her face. "They died three years ago, Jack."
That struck Jack like the words stabbed his heart. "Both of them?"
Chloe nodded.
"How? What happened?"
"There was an alien attack. They managed to stop them and prevent the invasion but there was one left. The rest you can figure out for yourself."
"What about you?"
"Got a small scar but that's nothing compared to the emotional damage."
"I'm guessing your parents worked for UNIT or something then."
"Or something pretty much summed us up. I worked for that universe's Torchwood. In fact it was like I lived in Torchwood."
"What do you mean?"
"From when I was about eight, every day when school had finished, I'd find one of Torchwood's SUVs waiting for me. I'd be driven to where my parents were and I'd help them out."
"Well it sounds interesting."
"It was, except I didn't tend to make many friends. I got the intelligence of a Time Lord from my dad and because I was always helping at Torchwood, I didn't have much of a social life."
"There are worse ways to lead a life."
"I suppose."
"What are your plans then?"
"Could I stay here? I can make myself useful."
"Well you're not exactly the Doctor but I guess we could do with an extra pair of hands. Speaking of him, do you ever want to find him?"
"Maybe, why?"
"Because he's kind of your family if you think about it, but it's in a really messed up way."
Chloe laughed, "In a way, yes, but I don't mind." She got something out of her bag and then showed it to Jack. It was a familiar design to what he remembered. One of the trademarks of the Doctor.
"You've got a sonic screwdriver?"
"Tenth birthday present. I have quite a few. Dad tended to get bored. I know how you could upgrade your systems, want me to do it?"
"Fine by me."
Jack watched in amusement as she hopped to the computers and started working on them.
