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Jack kicked at an overturned desk and tried not to think on
what led this office block, this piece of prime London real estate, to be
abandoned. He tried not to think of all the lives lost in the pursuit of glory.
There was one face he kept seeing, the one face that brought him here.
"This is where she died."
"Hmm?" Jack turned to his friend, a young black woman.
"This is where she died. My cousin Adeola. It feels weird, being here.
Like there's some sort of - I dunno - aura about the place."
"Like you're trespassing somewhere sacred?" She nodded. "You get
that a lot at battlefields. It's knowing that people died where you're
standing."
She shivered. "So why here? I'd've thought you'd want to stay away from
this place."
"It's a theory I want to test." Jack looked at his watch. "You
did tell him this exact date and time?"
"'Course I did. Do you doubt me?"
Jack grinned. "You saved the world, Martha Jones. I'd never doubt
you."
"Good. I'll remind you of that later."
At that moment the familiar sweet sound of ancient grinding machinery echoed
throughout the empty room. An old-fashioned blue police box materialized with a
final thump. The door opened and out stepped the Doctor, tall and lanky like
Jack remembered, his hair maybe a bit poofier. He was wearing the brown
pinstripe with a maroon shirt.
"Jack, Martha, why are we here? You know how I feel about this
place."
"Yeah, but what is this place?" A redhead pushed her way past the
Doctor and into the room. "Looks like it's seen better days."
She's not the Doctor's usual slim and trim type. What's the current phrase?
Full-figured, that's it.
"You're in Canary Wharf," Martha told her. "Surely you
remember?" she added at the woman's blank look.
"Don't even go there," said the Doctor. He faced Martha. "You're
looking good, Dr. Jones. Working at Torchwood seems to suit you." He gave
her a quick hug. "So why are we here?"
"I have a theory I wanted to try out. As you know, Halloween is-"
"Jack-o-lanterns, kids dressed as werewolves, vampires-kind of amusing,
really, after seeing the real thing."
"That's what it is now. Originally it was thought to be the time
when the veil between worlds was able to be crossed." He paused, waiting
to see if the Doctor would see where he was going with this.
"It's a bit of a long shot, Jack, you do know that?"
"Course I do, but I'd rather try it than pass up the chance." He
pulled a sheet of notations from his pocket. "The Celts talked about stars
and planetary alignments. I think this is the time to try."
The Doctor pulled out his glasses and slipped them on before peering at Jack's
scrawl. "You're right. I think we can do it."
********************
Donna was left to her own devices as the Doctor went to talk
with the GQ cover and the black woman walked slowly about the room. She went to
the window and found herself looking out at the Thames. Her mind flashed back
to a couple of Christmases ago when it had been completely drained. She could
see the flood barrier where she and the Doctor had laughed in giddy release. It
brought a crooked smile to her lips.
Ever since refusing to travel with him that time, she had begun to look at the
"broader picture". She had also read up on those examples he had mentioned of
recent alien incursions. Now she knew what happened here. She understood.
She turned back and saw the Doctor and GQ were rattling on about something. She
couldn't see the woman-Martha, he called her. She walked deeper into the room
and saw a pair of legs sticking out from behind a desk. Donna crouched down
beside her. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. It's not that I didn't know what
you were talking about, it's just that I didn't know what to say."
Martha opened her hand to show a dangling gold earring. "This was hers."
Donna then listened as Martha talked about her cousin who had died that day.
"We could've been twins, you know? We used to milk it at the clubs." She
sniffed. "We were gonna go out a couple nights later but--" She took a deep
breath to get herself under control and wiped her eyes. "Here I am going on and
I don't even know your name."
"Donna." She sat down on the floor. "He's not one for introductions."
"No, never when there's something interesting to attract his attention."
"You traveled with him too?"
"Yeah. I left him after that whole thing with Harold Saxon."
"He does have a knack of pissing off people in charge, doesn't he?"
"People in general, I think."
After a slight pause, they both burst out laughing.
---------------------------------------
The Doctor heard the sound of women's laughter. The last time a current and
former companion got together and laughed, he had been the cause.
"I bet no one's laughed in this room since..." Jack let it drift. "It's kinda
nice. I wonder what they're laughing at."
"Let's just check those calculations." He did not want to talk about it in
front of Jack.
"Oh, ho, it's you! They're laughing because of you! I'd love to listen in on
that."
"I've been caught in the middle before."
"Martha and someone from an earlier regeneration?"
"No, it was Rose." He remembered Rose and Sarah Jane laughing so hard they were
doubled over. Oh, how he missed the sound of her laughter. It was so
contagious.
"So who's the redhead?" Jack was looking over to where Donna and Martha were
now sitting, heads together.
"Jack," he warned.
"What? I'm not saying ‘hello'. You might want to think of making introductions
yourself instead of leaving it up to me."
The Doctor sighed. "Donna Noble. She was getting married on Christmas Eve when
she was transported to the TARDIS."
"The bride who disappeared in a glowing light! I saw the video. The only
explanation I could come up with was Huon energy." The Doctor opened his mouth
to respond but Jack wasn't done. "So she was there when you defeated the
Racnoss. You knew her before Martha."
"Jack, we don't have time for this. We need to run the numbers again before
keying them into the TARDIS." He kept his eyes on the paper in front of him and
tried to block out Jack's
annoying grin.
Looking at the equations in front of him, it was possible to pull this off. He
had the technology to augment the field. The only question was duration. Would
this be permanent?
**************************
Martha had to wipe her eyes from laughing so hard. Donna
seemed to be the idea match for the Doctor. She was more likely to slap him
than become smitten. If her stories were anything to go by, she could run her
mouth off just as much. She sighed. Talking about things like this almost made
her want to go with him again but she knew she wasn't ready. Not just yet.
She stood and wiped off her slacks. "Let's go and see if we can help the Doctor
and Jack with...whatever it is they're doing."
"Don't tell me you understand him when he starts spouting off," Donna said,
rising. "I usually have to slap him to get him to stop and explain in English,"
Ha! I was right!"Most of what he goes on about, no one from here and now
would understand anyway."
"Mr. GQ doesn't seem to have a problem. This was his idea, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Jack is from the 51st century."
"Oh."
Martha smiled and approached the two men. "Anything we can do to help?"
Jack looked up and gave Donna a welcoming smile but didn't say his usual
‘hello'. Had the Doctor warned him off it already?
The Doctor blinked at them as if he had forgotten they were there. "Um...well,
ah..."
"If you and Jack have it under control, just say so. I won't feel hurt."
The Doctor had the good grace to look ashamed. "We just have to, ah, calibrate
the TARDIS to the Torchwood equipment. It's rather delicate."
"Well, let us know when you do need us." Donna took Martha by the arm. "C'mon,
it's not often I get to explore a secret organization."
When they were out of hearing, Martha stopped. "You're with the Doctor. You see
secret organizations all the time."
"Yeah, but I think they don't want us to know what they're doing. Sometimes he
doesn't tell me stuff until it's too late ‘cause he knows I'd try to stop him."
"But what do they have in common? They..." She remembered that first conversation
on Malcassario. Jack mentioned Canary Wharf and the list of the dead. Then
there was the mention of parallel worlds. The veil between worlds. "No,
it can't be!"
As she rushed back to the room, she heard Donna behind her. They were too late
to stop the experiment. The room was engulfed in a bright white light. When it
faded, there was a third person with Jack and the Doctor. A blonde. "Rose."
*****************************
Rose Tyler walked through the halls of Torchwood One on what
she called Earth Two. It had been almost two years since she had to start her
new life here but at least she wasn't alone.
She had Mum, Mickey, Pete and Jake, the four people who knew the truth. When
she needed them, they would listen to her reminiscing of her time with the
Doctor and their travels.
The times she found herself doing that were growing fewer and farther between
but she hadn't forgotten him completely. She never could.
It was at times when things were slow she found herself up in what she called
the breach room. She knew she should move on, forget what happened here, but
she couldn't help it. She still felt that her world, her Doctor, was just on
the other side of that wall. Her mobile rang and she switched it off. It was
probably just Mickey reminding her of the Halloween party tonight.
The wall in front of her seemed to flicker and ripple and she couldn't help but
reach out and touch it with her fingers. She didn't expect her hand to go
through it. She knew she should call for backup. She knew she should let
someone know where she was and what she was doing. She knew and she didn't
care. She stepped through the wall. When her eyes adjusted to the bright light,
she saw something she thought she'd never see again. "Doctor?" She
took a hesitant step. He smiled. "Doctor!" She ran and jumped into
his outstretched arms.
"Can I get some of that?"
"Jack!" She released the Doctor and rushed Jack, crushing him in a
huge bear hug. He laughed and she nearly melted again.
She stepped back and looked at the two men she loved unconditionally knowing
they felt that same. They would give their lives for each other--and had. It
was then she noticed the two women in the doorway. Are they all travelling
together? That could be a little maddening. She walked up to them and held
out her hand. "Hi, I'm Rose Tyler."
The black woman smiled a little slowly. "Martha Jones. It's a bit of a
shock meeting you."
"It's a bit of a shock being here." She turned to the redhead.
"And you are?"
"Donna Noble. No wonder he was a mess when I met him."
"What?"
"He's just lost you, and, well, it's like he had a death wish or
something. If I hadn't yelled at him, he would've let it happen."
Rose turned to look at the Doctor who was just watching her, a goofy smile on
his face.
"He mentioned your name all the time when I started travelling with
him," Martha said. "It wasn't easy following you."
"He said we'd never be able to see each other again after that last
goodbye. What happened?"
"My idea," said Jack. "I worked out that it might be possible to
open the breach if only temporarily. Martha contacted the Doctor and here we
are."
"How long is 'temporarily'?"
The Doctor looked at a dial on one of the cobbled-together bits of machinery.
"About another 15 minutes." He looked at her with those brown eyes,
asking her without saying a word.
Oh, how she wanted to be with him again, to travel the universe and wander through
time. "I can't," she answered, her heart breaking again. "I
can't leave Mum again, especially when I won't be able to get back. I've a new
life, Doctor. I like my job and my friends." She wiped her eyes. This
is almost as hard as last time. "At least I know you have people to look
after you." Rose reached up and gave him a tender kiss on the lips.
"I love you," she whispered.
He grabbed her in a tight hug like he didn't want her to walk away. "I
love you too, Rose Tyler," he said just for her.
He released her and Jack then grabbed her, swinging her about. "I'll miss
you." He set her down. "Hey, you don't have one of me in your world,
do you?"
She laughed. "If so, I haven't met him yet."
"He's probably just working his way across the planet."
"First Cybermen and now a possible Jack Harkness? That world doesn't stand
a chance."
Rose walked backwards to the wall so she could watch them for as long as
possible. Before long she was back in her own world staring at a white wall.
"Rose!"
"In here Mickey!"
"I was just here," he said as he entered the room. "It was
empty."
"You must have missed me behind a piece of furniture."
"Yeah, like what? Look around."
Rose saw there was nothing that would have hidden her from sight.
"So where were you?"
"Home." She looked him in the face. "I mean home. I was
back at our Canary Wharf with the Doctor and Jack."
"Impossible."
"C'mon, Mickey. It's Halloween. Anything's possible." She took him by
the arm and led him out of the room. "Don't we have a party to go
to?"