Hope you're all having a great year! Enjoy the chapter!

Rose Tyler was cold. It was all she ever was now. Curling up in a tight ball, she looked around her cell in despair. When she was first taken in, she'd been filled with a fiery defiance, mixed with the lingering hope of salvation.

But eventually the fire died, and the hope of freedom that she once possessed had rapidly sunk. Now, Rose realised with sorrowful resignation, she would never be free. Not even death could help her escape. There was no way out. And for the first time since her arrival, tears began to run down her face, her will truly broken. Help she thought. Someone please help.

'Rose.' Her eyes opened and flicked up, as she stared in shock at the sight before her. A young man was stood opposite the glass, and he looked . . . human! The first human she had seen in a long time. His hands were stretched out, fingers barely touching the glass. He looked as if he wanted to reach her, a look of blind panic on his face. Then, as quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone, leaving Rose by herself once more. But she heard an echo of a voice, bouncing off the walls.

Rose is in trouble. She needs our help.

Then, nothing. Everything was back to as it was before, and with the exception of the ships hum, all was silent. In fact, Rose thought to herself sternly, you probably just imagined all that. You really have cracked. But not even her inner pep talk could crush the hope booming in her heart once more.

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Ianto poured the rest of the wine in Tosh's glass, glaring playfully at her weak protests. 'Drink!' he ordered, and Tosh complied before a round of fresh giggles set them off once more. When they had calmed down again, Ianto leaned on his hand and raised his eyebrows at Tosh. 'So?'Tosh gave him a confused look. 'So what?' she replied, making Ianto sigh in exasperation. 'Sooo, how are you and Owen doing? Honestly!' Tosh smiled, a hint of red gracing her features. 'Good.' She whispered. Then her smile widened and she looked up at Ianto, fire dancing in her eyes. 'Brilliant.'

Ianto smiled and patted his friend on her arm, pleased for her. 'I'm glad.' The two friends smiled at each other before Ianto produced another bottle of wine, an evil grin on his face. 'Shall we?' Tosh's grin matched his own.

When Jack pushed his front door open, two hours later, with Owen not far behind, he wasn't surprised to see that Tosh had Ianto had moved onto their fifth bottle of wine, and were currently huddled in the bath, talking in 'pirate speech.' Tosh had even drawn a wobbly eye patch on Ianto using her eyeliner. 'Jesus' Owen muttered, but he couldn't hide the gentle smile on his face as he watched Tosh burst into a fresh round of hysterics.

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Ianto groaned, feeling as though a ton of bricks had whacked him across the face. Stretching with a sigh, he glanced towards his right to find Tosh practically passed out on her desk, a cold cup of coffee in her hands. Deciding that it was time to move, Ianto strolled across the hub to the kitchen, collecting everyone's mugs as he went.

As he poured the fresh coffee into the mugs however, the rift alert boomed into life, and Ianto winced slightly. Tosh groaned and practically crawled under desk to get away from the noise, making Jack, who had rushed out of his office, snort in amusement. 'Just another tech retrieval. Think Owen and I have got it.' Ianto smiled in relief and quickly kissed his boyfriend goodbye, laughing softly when Jack held on for another second, unwilling to let go.

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Owen smiled to himself as his sat in the SUV, his mind absorbed with Tosh. After five minutes of comfortable silence, Jack cleared his throat and grinned the doctor. 'So', he started conversationally, pulling Owen from his thought and making him glance across towards the immortal. 'So' he said shortly. Jack rolled his eyes at this and ran a hand through his hair.

'So how are you and Tosh?' The question surprised Owen; usually he'd be the last person anyone would talk to about relationships, but he answered the question nonetheless. 'We're ….. good' he said quietly, but he couldn't hide the stupid grin threatening to take over his face. Jack smiled back, nodding slightly. Silence, then 'you love her.' It wasn't a question but Owen nodded all the same. 'Yes, I do.' The grin was back in full force, and this time the captain had his own to match.

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The cog doors wheeled back, making Gwen glance up from her desk. Jack and Owen walked in, Owen carrying a black metal box. It was covered in cogs and gears, and looked as though it had no door, hinge or anyway to get inside. Owen placed it on Ianto's desk as Jack called over his shoulder, 'Tosh and Ianto, can you look into it please? So far we have no idea what it is or what's inside, but there could be something in the archives to help you.'

Ianto nodded and began to descend the steps. He was sure he'd seen the box before, maybe in one of the files…. yes, he thought. Better take a look. Owen had retreated to the medical bay, his mind on the autopsy he needed to do, plus he that to fill in that paperwork on the incident last week… Tosh had turned her back to it, pulling out different equipment, her mind now awake enough to embrace the challenge. Jack was on the stairs, wondering if he could steal his Welshman for a little while later on.

And Gwen? Well, the whole time she had been staring at the box, a plan forming in her mind. She had wanted to show the others her worth hadn't she? Well, she should open the box, prove herself to them, that she could do it just as well as any of them could. She wondered towards Ianto's desk as the teams split off, each too lost in their own thought to notice her.

Ianto foot had reached the first step when he heard 'GWEN, NO!' and he spun around, just in time to be whacked by a blinding light. He felt a tug in his navel, and everything went dark.

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Bright lights. That was all Tosh could see for a moment. Then the world returned to normal, and her eyes blinked open to see a sterile room, which looked suspiciously like a cell, and a man. A very familiar man, with unruly hair and a lopsided grin. 'Hello again miss Sato, always a pleasure.' said the Doctor.

Ianto groaned, his body bruised and battered, opening one eye, he came face to face with the last person he expected to see, the woman who had plagued his dreams. And Rose Tyler, her mouth open in shock, stared down at the man from her vision, the last person she expected to see. Her shock was not helped by his next sentence. 'Hello Rose. Nice to meet you at last.'