So...I'm alive. That's a thing. Sorry 'bout the whole four month delay, if that at all makes up for it. It probably doesn't, so you might just wanna skip this and move on to the story instead. Disclaimer- Yeah, no.

In Which the Past resurafaces, Jack is Overly Dramatic, and Tom Points Out the Obvious

~oOo~

"How'd it go?"

Owen's head turned to face the voice's source, finding Gwen.

"Meh." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders, glancing to Tosh for quick moment. "Basically we found out that he built some device that's existence shouldn't be possibly with a screwdriver that unlocks most everything so long as it's not made out of wood."

A look of confusion passed over Gwen's features as she struggled to make sense of what her co-worker had just explained.

"...Right." Was what she eventually said, still sounding unsure.

"Yeah." Owen confirmed. "Didn't do us a whole lot of good either." He paused a moment. "Oh, and make sure the idiot eats something at some point. We don't need him dying of starvation on us."

"Good point." Gwen agreed.

Silence.

"Back to Rift reports then?" Toshiko asked after a moment.

"Back to Rift reports."

~oOo~

Jack stopped just outside of a door at a small motel, training his gaze on the black painted number that read '37'.

"This the right one, Martha?" He asked, motioning to the door with a hand.

"Yeah." Martha replied, stopping next to him.

"Alright then," Said the Captain. "And remember-"

"Yeah, Tome can't talk to about Torchwood with anyone less than the British government. I know." The medical student interrupted rather impatiently. Jack studied Martha for a moment, then rapped his knuckles against the wooden door three times.

Not four times.

Never again.

Just a few seconds later the doorknob could be hear turning and the door slowly opened, revealing a tall and thin, but well built man with tan skin and spikey black hair. He glanced at Jack for a second, then evidently noticed Martha and changed his attention to her.

"Martha?" He asked. "What's happening?" There was a very confused edge to his voice that Martha felt he had every right to. She shook her head very slightly in response to his question.

"Just...Listen to what he's," She motioned to Jack. "Got to say. And for the love of God, don't go telling people what you hear."

Tom's eyebrows furrowed together and he looked back to Jack, something very much like fear making an appearance on his features as he studied the other man, taking in everything about him, dramatic blue coat and all.

Jack stuck out his arm for a hand shake that Tom, rather uneasily, accepted.

"Captain Jack Harkness," The Immortal introduced himself, pausing for a split second before continuing. "Torchwood."

~oOo~

"Where the hell is Ianto, anyways?" Gwen asked nobody in particular as she stood up from her desk, papers in hand.

"The archives." Owen called in answer.

"Right then. I'll be back in a few."

She started towards the archives, glancing at the Rift reports she held.

They were from a case a while back, easily three months ago by now, and covered what had been a string of suicides. There had been no connections between the victims, other thn the fact that the people who had known them had never noted any depressive or suicidal streaks in them. They'd had family, friends, things worth living for, but had taken their lives for no readily apparent reason. Suspecting alien involvement, believing the deaths to not even be suicides, murders instead, Jack had taken up the case, gathering all the information he could.

The team had worked it for a while, two or three weeks, but to no avail. The deaths had stopped abruptly and the trail had gone cold, no evidence or new information forthcoming. So they closed the case, believing themselves to have been mistaken over the entire thing, that there had been no alien involvement and that the deaths had merely been a coincidence.

Not a very convincing coincidence, but still.

Gwen arrived in the archives, glancing around before spotting Ianto. She walked over to him and tapped the Welshman in the shoulder, causing him to glance over from the files he was reading.

"Yeah?" Ianto asked, turning around to better face Gwen. Gwen extended the papers she was holding to Ianto, who accepted them without hesitation.

"From the case about three months back." She offered as explanation. Ianto nodded.

"Got it..." He trailed off uncertainly, fixing the files with a stare that said more to Gwen than words could convey. "...I still think we missed something..." He muttered. Gwen nodded.

"I know. Something was going on." She agreed. After a quick moment, Ianto inhaled sharply and turned on his heel.

"Still," He started. "That's all passed. Not as if we can do anything about it now."

~oOo~

Tom stared at Jack, studying him closely.

"So...what you're saying..."

Jack gave a dry smile.

"You'll get there." He said, mildly amused.

"...You're saying that you fight aliens." Tom finished, skepticism in his voice.

"Yes."

"And that this Doctor, the alien that Martha travelled with, also fights aliens."

"More or less."

"And...now you're fighting the aliens that fights other aliens while trying to fight more aliens."

"That's surprisingly accurate."

Tom arched an eyebrow and took a slight step back from Jack.

"...Okay."

"No questions?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Martha's told me enough about her time with the Doctor; this seems pretty tame by those standards."

"So no questions then."

"Right-" Tom broke off. "No, wait. One. Why, exactly, are you telling me all this?"

Jack paused a moment before answering.

"We'd like some help, Tom Just in the Hub. We think these things are going to come back soon and it would be helpful to have an extra pair of hands around. That, and Martha just wouldn't stand for you being left out."

Tom smirked slightly at this, casting an affectionate glance to Martha.

"Alright then."

"What, that quick?" Jack questioned.

"Well, considering that, A, you want me, and, B, it's this or being stuck in Cardiff of all places for who knows how long, yeah, that quick."

Jack considered a moment.

"Fair point." He recognized. The corners of his mouth turned up somewhat. "Tom Milliger. Welcome to Torchwood."

~oOo~

Jack stopped walking abruptly, standing instead on what appeared to be a random section of sidewalk near the Plass. He turned around to face Tom and Martha, who had been walking behind him, talking, and beckoned them over to where he stood.

"Come on, get over here."

The pair sped up their pace, stopping once they were close to Jack. Tom glanced around for a short time before speaking.

"...We're standing in the middle of a sidewalk." He noted mildly.

"It's not a sidewalk." Jack countered.

Tom cocked his head.

"I'm sorry?" He asked, disbelieving.

"It's an invisible elevator." Jack explained.

"Lift." Said Martha. "He means lift."

Jack shrugged and took a step to his left onto a different section of the sidewalk, motioning for Martha and Tom to join him. They, too, stepped over to Jack, who tapped at the sidewalk with his foot, then glanced at his companions.

"And down we go."

The section of sidewalk they stood on began to descend and Tom gave a start at the sudden movement. He muttered something under his breath, then turned his attention to Jack.

"Why isn't anyone looking?" He asked, voice laden with confusion. Jack opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off before he could say anything by Tom.

"Is this normal? 'Cause there's like thirty people out there. Are they used to this-"

"They can't see us." Jack interrupted. "There's a perception filter around this spot. Nobody notices us unless we want them to."

"...A perception filter." Tom repeated.

"Yes. Otherwise people would be getting into Torchwood all the time."

"Well thank God that doesn't happen." Martha quipped. Tom chuckled a bit, but was promptly silenced by the withering glance Jack shot him.

The lift continued to travel down, revealing to the trio a large cement room, filled with desks, papers, computers, and a massive, enigmatic, column in the center. From their vantage point, Tom could make out several people; a black haired woman who was currently typing commands into a keyboard, and another woman with brown hair who was currently sorting through a large (formidable was a better word, really) stack of papers, some of which were grouped in manila folders.

The lift finished its decent and came to a halt at ground level, giving a small clunk as it touched down. Both people in the immediate vicinity turned to see the three people on the lift, and yet another voice sounded from somewhere across the room.

"Are they back?"

"Yeah." The brown haired woman replied. She turned to face Jack. "Who's this then?" She asked, pointing to Tom.

"That would be Tom."

"Hello." Tom interjected.

"Tom, Gwen. Gwen, Tom." The Captain introduced, motioning to both Tom and the woman -now named as Gwen- as he did so.

"Why's he here?" Gwen inquired.

"To help us." Jack replied. "I think, that right about now, we could use all the help we can get."

Gwen nodded at this.

"Good point. But, for now, nothing's really happening, Jack." She pointed out.

"When something does happen, though." Jack retorted. "We might need more than the five of us.:

"You might be right."

"Aren't I always?" Jask asked, flashing a grin. Gwen rolled her eyes and turned away from Jack, clearly all too familiar with his antics.

"Alright, just go ahead and do your thing with him. Ianto's in the archives if you need him." She supplied, working her way back to a desk.

"Right." Jack turned back to Martha and Tom. "Follow me." He said, starting towards a staircase that led up to a balcony. Tom followed and soon found himself before a door that Jack pushed open, leading into an office. He turned to face the pair behind, studying Tom in particular.

"Anything you want to say, Tom?" The Captain asked.

"There's a police telephone box in the middle of the room down there?" Tom answered, statement sounding more like a question than he'd meant it to. At this, Jack visibly flinched. Less than a second later, all tension was gone from his body.

"Yes. There is. " He confirmed, words clipped. "Anything else?"

"Alien stuff?"

"Yeah."

"...Think I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

Beat.

"Close enough. It'll have to do for now." Said Jack, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.

"Who were those people down there?" Tom asked.

"You met Gwen. The other one is Toshiko. Genius with technology, Genius in general. The other one you heard was Owen. He's our doctor." Explained Jack.

"And who was Ianto?"

A mischievous smile played on Jack's lips.

"Ianto...Ianto is mine."

A look of realization passed over Tom's features as he put the pieces together.

"Ah."

"Moving on from that, Jack." Martha pressed.

"Fine." Jack agreed, if somewhat grudgingly. "Come on, Tom. Let me show you around."

So the chapter wasn't super great. Sorry. It gets better, I swear. Anywho, I'm going to actually make a conscious effort to get the next installment posted in a somewhat timely manner. Thanks for reading, have a fantastic day, and DFTBA!