Author's Notes: This idea came to me shortly after Army of Ghosts and Doomsday aired. I happened to watch the mini-series Blackpool around the same time, and was captivated by the idea of Rose Tyler meeting Peter Carlisle in the alternate universe. Throw in a dose an AU Jack Harkness/Torchwood and a fic was born. *This is a repost of a fic originally published in 2006*

Rose felt as if the world as she knew it had been ripped off its axis. After being trapped in this parallel version of Earth, she had believed it would be only a matter of time before the Doctor would show up and take her back to the universe she belonged in. Jackie and Mickey had found a place in this reality, as they had essentially replaced other versions of themselves. Rose Tyler never existed on this Earth.

After about four months of waiting, the Doctor did make contact with her. Jackie and Mickey warned her not to get her hopes up, saying she had no way of knowing it really was the Doctor, but she was positive it was him. She was sure she would soon be back on the TARDIS where she belonged.

The news that it was impossible for him to return for her left her devastated. She wanted to scream that she didn't care if the two realities collapsed; she just wanted to return to her life with him. Instead she kept quiet, knowing that she'd only disappoint the Doctor by making such a demand. Trying to repress her grief, she told him of her new life, of how she would soon be joining Torchwood to continue the life she started with the Doctor. It pained her to see how proud the Doctor looked when he said, "Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth."

She knew that if this truly was the last time she would ever see him again, she needed to tell him how she felt. Even though he never said the words back to her, she knew he loved her as well, or at the very least, loved her the best way he could. She felt broken, like a shattered antique vase, able to be put back together, but never completely the same.

It took her about a week to feel like she could begin her life again. Jackie, Pete, and Mickey wisely left her alone to mourn what she had lost. In the end, it was Jackie that helped her put her life into perspective again.

"Rose, sweetheart," Jackie said, holding her tearful daughter in her arms. "When your dad died all those years ago, I felt a lot like you do now. We had our ups and downs, your dad and I, but I loved him with all my 'eart. Losing him was like losing a part of myself. If I didn't have you to look after, I don't know if I would have made it as well as I did."

"But it's different for me, mum," Rose said, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "You knew dad was dead, but the Doctor's out there in the other universe going on without me."

"Rose," Jackie said, pulling her up to look her in the eye. "Did you honestly think you would be able to travel with the Doctor forever? He didn't age like the rest of us. Sooner or later one of you would have to make the decision to leave. Or worse yet, you would have died on one of those adventures."

"But he said I could stay with him for as long as I wanted," Rose explained. "He would have let me, I know it."

"Darling," Jackie soothed, pushing a lock of Rose's hair away from her face. "I'm sure the Doctor would have allowed you to stay a lot longer with him, but he knew the reality of your situation. Rose, I know you didn't want to leave him, but at least he knows you're safe, that you have your family with you."

"But I love him, Mum!"

"And I believe he loved you, too," Jackie replied, pulling Rose into her arms. "But he wouldn't want you to be like this. He'd want you to live the best life you can, just like my Pete would have wanted for me."

"But how can I do this without him?" Rose mumbled into Jackie's shoulder, new tears running down her face.

"One day at a time, dear," Jackie said, pulling away and reaching up to wipe Rose's tear stained face. "One step at a time. Nothing more or less. One day you'll look back and remember the Doctor with fondness, not pain, because you will have made a new life for yourself."

Rose nodded weakly. "Guess I'll have too. But I don't think I'll ever be able to forget the Doctor. Right now I don't think I'll be able to love again." She sighed as she recalled another time when the Doctor said his goodbye. "You know, he once told me to do one thing for him and that was to have a fantastic life. Maybe that's what I have to figure out how to do."

The next morning, Rose went to Pete and Mickey to inquire when she could begin working at this world's version of Torchwood. Mickey and Pete looked at her in surprise, but quickly told her she could begin as soon as she wanted. The London branch of Torchwood was still in the beginning stages of planning, but her assistance and expertise would be invaluable.

Rose knew everyone was concerned about her mental state, and resolved to start living her life again. She'd just throw herself into her work until she felt ready to start up her personal life. Although she often wondered if she'd ever feel ready to explore new personal relationships.

Months later, basic operations were up and running for the London branch. Rose was adamant that this world's version of Torchwood not repeat the mistakes of the other's. She soon gained a name for herself at Torchwood, due to her unique knowledge of alien artifacts and customs. She often found herself thinking about what the Doctor might do if faced with a similar problem, and found it to be helpful in guiding her decisions at Torchwood.

However, the London branch of Torchwood was several years away from doing any sort of real alien hunting, after being basically decimated by the Cybermen several years ago. Rose longed for a job that involved field work and adventure. She was not suited for a simple desk job, working around scientists and researchers trying to identify and catalogue alien artifacts. And even though she wasn't completely fulfilled, at least she knew what she was doing was important and took great satisfaction in that fact.

One thing that helped put off her longing for adventure was her family. After the incident on the beach, Rose started to open up more to her mother and Pete. Once she accepted Pete Tyler would never be the father she lost, she was able to develop a more comfortable relationship with him.

She and her mother became closer than they'd ever been before. They would have long talks about losing people they loved and the best ways of coping with the pain. Rose also threw herself into the role of big sister as she watched her mum and Pete ready themselves for parenthood. She was the proudest sister ever when almost ten months after they arrived in this universe, she became a sister to little Elizabeth Roselyn Tyler.

Her life was starting to get back on track it seemed. She still missed the Doctor, but she found herself thinking about him less and less as the months went by. Rose thought she was just about to put her past behind her when she stumbled across a reference to the Doctor in the Torchwood archives.

Mickey was looking at the latest request sent to Pete by the Cardiff branch of Torchwood. The rift was starting to attract attention again, and they heard the London offices possibly had an expert who could help. Pete had brought the request to him to see if he felt sending Rose to Cardiff would be a good idea or not.

"So, what do you think of the idea, Mickey?" asked Jake. Mickey was eternally grateful to have found Jake in this world. His friendship had done more for him than he could ever explain. He felt as close to Jake as he did Rose.

"She's more than qualified to handle it," he said, looking pensive. "My only worry is the memories it'll bring back. I know she was in Cardiff a lot dealing with the rift with the Doctor."

"But that's what makes her so unique!" Jake exclaimed. "She has personal experience none of us have. Her talents are being wasted here in London, Mickey, and you know it."

"I know," Mickey sighed, shaking his head. "And that's what making this so hard. You think I haven't seen how bored she is here? How much she wants to get out there and do something? I'd send her there in a heartbeat if I thought it would make her happy."

"Then what's the problem?" Jake asked.

"She's been doing so well the past year or so. It's been weeks since I even heard her mention her old life. What if sending her to Cardiff messes all that up? Make her start missing the Doctor again?"

Jake gave him an understanding look. He, too, was very fond of Rose and didn't want her to get hurt anymore. Suddenly a commotion out in the hall grabbed both of their attentions.

"Mickey!" they heard Rose yell.

"What is it, Rose?" Mickey called out to her. She appeared in the doorway of his office a few seconds later.

"Mickey! Did you know there is a Doctor in this universe?" Rose asked with a look of hope shining in her eyes.

'Oh God, Mickey thought to himself. I thought I had hidden those files. How the hell am I going to handle this?' He looked over at Jake. Jake looked at him with an expression that said, 'Just do it.' "Uh, Rose…" Mickey replied, not quite looking Rose in the eye. "I-I did."

"What! Why didn't you say anything?" Rose cried, her face clearly showing her betrayal.

Mickey got up and steered her to sit down in one of the chairs in the office and took a seat in the chair next to hers. He took a deep breath and glanced over at Jake. Jake nodded as if to say, go on. "Rose, the Doctor in this world isn't the same man you travelled with. He never had a Rose Tyler of his own. Besides, from what we've been able to gather, he hasn't been her all that much."

"Did you check UNIT?" she asked, sounding as if she didn't want to believe what Mickey was telling her.

"Rose, everything in their files is in ours. They've only met him a few times, and it was only a few different regenerations. You said the Doctor was on his tenth body, right?"

"Yeah?" Rose replied slowly.

"You can't be sure he's the same Doctor. He could be totally different, you know," Mickey said gently, leaning forward to cover her hand with his own. "Rose, I didn't want you to get your hopes up thinking this world's Doctor would sweep in and take you away like your Doctor did. We don't know how to contact the Doctor and from what we can tell, he doesn't seem all that bothered with Earth's problems."

"But Mickey-"

"No, Rose, you need to stop this," Mickey said resolutely. "You've been doing great the past two years. I'd hate to see all your hard work go down the tubes because you're chasing after some pipe dream."

"I-you're right," Rose sighed. "It's just-"

"I understand," Mickey said gently, standing up to pull her out of her chair and into his arms. "You just wanted to have some hope. But Rose, you don't need the Doctor for that, all you need is yourself." Rose nodded as she burrowed her face into Mickey's chest.

"Hey, Rose," Jake interrupted hesitantly. "A request has come in by the Cardiff branch for one of our experts to help with some rift problems they were having. As much as we'd miss you here in London, we think you are the best person for the job. After all, you've dealt with the rift in Cardiff personally several times from what Mickey's told me."

Rose pulled away from Mickey. She moved over to the desk to glance at the folder and spent the next few minutes looking over the request.

"You know Cardiff branch does most of the field work for Torchwood," Mickey began, trying to explain why they thought it would be a good opportunity. "Both Jake and I see how bored you are sitting around in the office here in London. Even Pete's noticed you aren't as happy as you could be. This could be your chance to get back into the thick of things."

She looked up from the file and nodded at Mickey and Jake. "I'm going to miss the two of you, too," she confessed, giving them a smile that betrayed her excitement. "Send me in, boys. If Cardiff needs an expert on the rift, it's time they got one."

Mickey and Jake exchanged looks. As concerned as he was about Rose suffering a setback, Mickey could tell this was something she needed. He just hoped it would make her more content with her life in this world, not more miserable.

He was absolutely furious.

He and his team had just returned from an investigation on the Northern Coast for a suspected downed spaceship, and come back to find the office in absolute chaos. 'That's what you get when you leave the office for even a short time. The man in charge is gone and everything goes to hell,' he thought to himself.

Something was causing the rift running under Cardiff to act up, and it was starting to attract some not-so-pleasant attention by various alien species. The office had been going mad the past few days trying to contain the latest problem, and from the looks of things, not doing a very good job of it.

"People, please tell me we have a handle on this," he said, walking towards the conference table set up in the centre of the hub. Several people looked up as the small group entered the room.

"It's getting worse, sir," one of the technicians said, pulling up a map of Cardiff showing the sites where problems were occurring.

"What's being done on our end?" asked a brogue heavy voice from his left.

"We've brought in several corporal specimens," stated a statuesque brunette, from across the table. "However, we've had several reports of the non-corporeal variety."

He sighed as he looked up at the map of Cardiff. "We're going to need some help on this, I think"

"We've already contacted the main office in London," replied the woman, handing over a dossier. "Seems the London branch as acquired an expert on paranormal phenomenon. She's willing to help with the matter."

He looked at the dossier to see a photo of an attractive blonde. "Rose Tyler," he murmured.

The man looked over at his team. "Gwen, you continue looking into how to stop all these sightings. Carlisle, you, and I are going to meet this Tyler woman and bring her up to date on what's happening."

"Why do we both need to go?" Peter Carlisle questioned, looking put out at being assigned such a menial task. "Surely Gwen could use-"

"My office, Carlisle. Five minutes. Be ready to leave to pick up Ms. Tyler," Captain Jack Harkness growled. "Let's move, people. We have a rift problem to deal with."

A few minutes later, Jack walked into his office to wait for Carlisle. Sitting down in his chair behind his desk, he wondered exactly how he ended up at Torchwood. Who would have guessed a Time Agent from the fifty-first century would end up working for a secret underground agency dealing with aliens and the paranormal?

A couple of short knocks on his door frame brought him out of his musings. He looked up to see Peter Carlisle standing in the doorway, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a tin of biscuits in the other.

"Jesus, Peter, do you always need to eat?" Jack grumbled, motioning for him to enter the office. Peter ignored the question as he took a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of Jack's desk and dropped the tin on the desk.

"Biscuit?" he offered, reaching forward to open the tin and take one out.

Jack just shook his head as he took a moment to observe the man in front of him. Peter Carlisle was one of his most brilliant investigators. He was dedicated to the job to a point where Jack wasn't sure he ever left the office. Perpetually rumpled would be one good description of Peter Carlisle. Others would be sneaky, clever, and when necessary, utterly charming. Jack was glad to have him on his team, all though, more often than not, Carlisle was a huge pain in his ass.

"So, what's with the protest about meeting this Tyler woman?" Jack asked conversationally.

"Nothing. Just thought my talents could be used for other things. Doesn't really take two people to pick up someone," Peter replied in an equally bland tone, taking a sip of coffee.

Jack sighed to himself. Peter didn't generally work well with others. He'd tried pairing him up with other investigators, but most ended up coming to him later asking to be re-assigned. The only ones who could tolerate him for any length of time were himself and Gwen. Peter liked to give off an air of casual sloppiness, which was the complete opposite of Jack. But for Peter, his act worked well, as his casual deceptiveness often tricked people into sharing things they didn't want to share. Jack might find him to be a prick at times, but even he had to admit Peter was a brilliant prick.

"Oh no, I need you with me," Jack said, leaning back in his chair and giving Peter a smile. Peter Carlisle was not the only one who knew when to turn on the charm. "See, I'm going to assign you to work with this Rose Tyler."

"What!" Peter exclaimed, dropping his calm demeanor as he slammed his coffee cup onto Jack's desk.

"You heard me," Jack continued, not rising to Peter's bait. "Someone needs to help out Ms. Tyler and you're just the man to do it."

"Why can't Gwen-"

"I need Gwen to work with me on this," Jack interjected. "Peter, you need to learn to play nice with others."

"I play nice just fine," he said. He got up and began pacing around the room, running his hands through his already messy hair.

"Sure you do, Peter," Jack replied with grin. "Which is why you're here at Torchwood instead of Kendal working as a Detective Inspector." Peter stopped his pacing to give Jack a dirty look. "Let's face it, Peter, you'd be working your way up the ranks of the North Lake Constabulary if you hadn't fucked up on that Blackpool case. You'd still be pushing papers if I hadn't recruited you to work here."

Peter had been on a short list of names Torchwood had been watching with vested interest. Bright and ambitious, he had been making quite a name for himself in law enforcement. That is until he messed up the Blackpool investigate nearly four years ago. When Jack took over as one of the heads at Torchwood, he recognized the ruthlessness in Peter's style and realized he would be an asset to the team, despite his tarnished record.

Peter threw himself back into the chair to sulk. He never liked having people bringing up the case that lead to his disgrace in law enforcement. He began tapping his fingers against his leg impatiently. Looking up at Jack he said, "Tell me again why I need to work with her?"

"Because you're available and right now, everyone here in Cardiff thinks you're a prick," Jack replied standing up from his desk. "Meet me at the entrance in 10 minutes."

Peter stood up, knowing he was dismissed. He was just about to walk of the office when Jack called out to him one last time. "Peter, do you think you could clean yourself up a bit? You look like you slept in those clothes for the past several days. We want to make a good impression on our newest expert."

"Piss off," Jack heard Peter mumble as the other man left the office. Chuckling to himself, he hoped that the paranormal expert, Rose Tyler, had some spark in her, otherwise she'd find herself run over by Peter Carlisle.

Peter Carlisle was not a happy man at the moment. Instead of working out in the field where he excelled, he was stuck with the job of minding some expert from the London branch. He hated it when the big-wigs in London decided to pay attention to Cardiff and send someone to check up on them. Most of the time, the people they sent were no better than the people they already had and frequently got in his and other people's way.

And this Rose Tyler seemed no different. Oh, he'd read over her dossier, noting she was supposedly an expert in alien and paranormal affairs. Peter just snorted. Chances were all this so-called expertise came from books, not hands on experience like he and the others of the Cardiff team had.

He stood by the entrance to Torchwood. He had to admit it was really clever to disguise the entrance to one of the most secret organizations in the United Kingdom by having a dodgy tourist shop as its front. He took a moment to purchase a bag of toffees for later on, making sure to annoy Ianto while he was at it. It wasn't long before Jack came through the doorway, motioning for him to follow him to the carport. As they approached one of the Centre's non-descript vehicles, Jack opened the driver's side and gruffly ordered him to get in.

A short drive later, they were outside the Queen Street Train Station to wait for Rose Tyler to arrive on the 3:15 train. Peter got out of the car and prepared himself for the worst. Jack slid out of the driver's side and gave him a pointed look. "I'll make contact first. I don't want to take a chance that you'll mess up and offend her like you did the last expert we had visit."

"That expert was an idiot, Jack, and you know it," he replied, annoyed that Jack would bring up the incident. "You saw what happened the minute we took him out in the field. Passed out cold and then incorrectly identified the alien species. Nearly killed both Gwen and I..."

"Still, this one looks promising," Jack warned, frowning as he recalled the incident. "I'd like her to stick around and prove her worth, not get back on the train the minute she encounters your ever-so-charming attitude."

"Hey, just because I don't chase after everything warm-blooded doesn't mean I can't be charming," Peter sniffed, trying hard not to recall how being charming had lead to his downfall as a Detective Inspector. "But if you're so worried I'll make a mess of things, I'll hang back and let you chat her up."

Actually, that was what he was hoping Jack would want anyway. He didn't like jumping head first when beginning an investigation, preferring to do some casual surveillance first. He fell back behind Jack at a more sedate pace and stopped to lean against a wall, waiting for Ms. Rose Tyler to arrive.

It didn't take long for the train to pull in to the station. Jack was standing on the platform, ready to greet her as she exited. Streams of passengers left the train, until an attractive blonde with a brief case stepped out onto the platform. She looked around as if she was looking for someone.

Peter watched intently as he pulled out his bag of sweets, unwrapping one and popping it into his mouth. Jack must have spotted her too, because he heard him call out, "Rose Tyler?"

"Yes?" Rose replied, as she turned around to greet the agent. Peter could see her face first turn white with shock. A few seconds later the color returned as she dropped her brief case, throwing her arms around Jack.

"Oh my God," she cried, hugging a bewildered Jack. "You're alive! I thought you died on that Game Station. The Doctor said you were rebuilding earth, but I didn't believe him. I thought he just said that to make me feel better when we never went back for you. Oh God, it's really you!"

"Ah—" Jack stammered, shock clearly written on his face as he wrapped his arms around the sobbing female.

"How did you get to this universe, Jack?" She cried, pulling away to look Jack in the eyes. "I was sure Mum, Mickey and I were the only ones brought through the void." She pulled away from his embrace to peer closer. Then a look of disappointment crossed her face. "You're not my Jack, are you?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Jack replied, obviously torn by what he just witnessed. He picked up her brief case and motioned to Peter that they were about to leave. "And as much as I'd love an explanation, I'm afraid it's going to have to wait for another time."

"Yeah," Rose nodded, still looking shaken. "Let's go."

Peter realized he needed to make his presence known. Stepping away from the wall and sticking the sweets into his trench pocket, he began walking towards Jack. He was only a few meters away when he heard Rose gasp, "Doctor?"

Rose wasn't sure how much more she could take. After accepting the assignment, she became somewhat conflicted about working in Cardiff, knowing even this world's version would be filled with reminders of the Doctor. Memories or not, she was the best person to handle this problem.

When she stepped off the train and heard her name called, for a moment she thought she'd heard a ghost. Dismissing the thought as a flight of fancy, she turned around to see someone she never thought she'd encounter again, Captain Jack Harkness.

Thrilled beyond belief, she threw herself into his arms, burying her face into chest. Jack looked just as she remembered: short, dark hair dressed in a casual jacket and olive jumper matched with a pair of khaki trousers. Automatically his arms closed around her and she just reveled in the embrace of a man she once lost.

Without thinking, she started babbling nonsense to him and when she didn't get the response she expected, she pulled away to look closer at him. Seeing the look of confusion and discomfort on his face, Rose realized her mistake. This man wasn't her Jack, but the alternate world's Jack Harkness. Still, finding Jack, even though he wasn't the Jack she once knew, was a comfort of sorts.

Sensing someone approaching the two of them, Rose turned to see who this new person might be. If she thought her the bottom had fallen out of her world from seeing Jack, she nearly fainted when she saw that beloved face walking towards her.

"Doctor?" she asked faintly, taking in the familiar thin face with messy brown-not ginger-hair. Clearly she had just found this world's version of the Doctor. Not quite as dapper as her Doctor, this version wore a rumpled navy suit that looked almost too big for his lanky frame and instead of the long overcoat he favored, a dark navy trench coat was in its place.

"Are you the Doctor?" she asked again, moving closer to him. She could see the confusion written over his face. "I knew you in a different world, you, and Jack. I travelled with you for nearly two years."

He looked over at Jack, who shook his head as if to say, 'I have no idea.' He opened his mouth to speak, but instead of the familiar London accent she was used to, a Scottish brogue met her ears.

"I'm sorry," he said, giving her an odd look. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Who's this Doctor you speak of? My name's Peter Carlisle and I work with Jack here at Torchwood."

Rose couldn't take any more surprises. She had just seen two faces she'd thought she'd never see again, and yet neither were the men she hoped for the most. Swaying a bit, she said faintly, "I think I need to sit down."