Helloooooo, everyone, and Happy Holidays!

So sorry it's been a while. I was going to update sooner, but unfortunately around the time I was getting ready to work on this chapter, Amazon Prime took off Torchwood and Sarah Jane Smith Adventures. So . . . finding places where I can watch and gather information from the stories' has been a little hard. Soooo . . . Had to buy a bit of each show little by little. Which sucks, but at least now I have access to what I need to continue onwards.

Welp, onto the new chapter!

XxXxXxXx

Chapter 9: Welcome to Torchwood

It had only been a week and Gwen Cooper could still not believe the sort of life she had stumbled into. The life working under Torchwood, an organization dedicated in tracking down anything alien. Mostly just to prevent alien threats. Though Jack Harkness, the man in charge of the group she worked with, said there was good aliens they would help out. Not that she had seen any 'good' aliens yet. Mostly just those wanting to either eat or kill people. Still though . . . it was an exciting job to have.

She currently sat at a desk she had been provided with upon gaining her new position with Torchwood. A sort of place she could work and all that, which mostly consisted of her gaining background records on people when Jack requested her to. A sort of way to help Torchwood see people as more than just . . . 'things' to be saved. Not that she faulted for the group to be so distant from the outside world. Working in a place like this . . . she could see how people could lose themselves into the work and forget what it means to be human. She just hoped that it never happened to her.

Gwen glanced around the large underground room she sat in, watching the others of Torchwood busying themselves with whatever it was they did on a day like this. When nothing really exciting happened. There was Toshiko Sato, a woman with black, short hair, which laid very straight around her head, and deep brown eyes. She was the sort of . . . technological expert of the team who always seemed to be up to new sort of tricks on the computer at her desk, typing away at rapid pace and keeping up with outside happenings around the country. The woman really preferred to be called 'Tosh.' Then there was Owen Harper, a skinny man, with a short bit of brown hair and a smirk that never seemed to leave his face. He was the doctor or medical chief. Gwen figured he must be the one to usually do autopsies on any bodies Torchwood recovered, or figure out anything else the organization needed medically. So far, Gwen only felt irritation when being around this man. He just had the worst attitude and was always so . . . arrogant. Lastly, there was Ianto Jones, a man who was thin and tall, with such a kind demeanour. He was the sort of serving man for everyone, keeping them well feed, kept up with paperwork for them, and did sort of any other odd job that Torchwood needed. They were an odd group, Gwen would give them that. But they were not as odd as Jack Harkness himself. An immortal man (not that anyone else knew he was immortal) who seemed to be a mystery to everyone, not just her. Well, she could handle that, she supposed. As long as there were no more mysteries thrown at her while she worked here, she felt that she could handle just about anything. Alien or not.

Gwen looked over when she heard the churning of machinery and saw the lift that led to the water tower up above in the centre square in Cardiff. She remembered Jack saying how the lift was the 'backdoor' to the facility and only used for a necessary quick in and out to the place. So the fact that it was suddenly activated and coming down into the place, when everyone was already here, made her wonder for a moment if the perception filter around the square block might have been noticed and allowed some random person to come down to them below.

"Um, is there someone coming?" Gwen asked the others curiously. She saw how they too had paused in what they had been doing and staring at the lift in confusion.

"That's odd. Did it activate on its own?" Tosh wondered out loud. Owen suddenly gave a loud groan.

"Oh, no. It's her, isn't it?" he complained, sounding very much like he was whining. Like a child getting a surprise visit from a relative they did not like.

"It's been a while since she's been around," Ianto said thoughtfully, moving over towards the drink machine of his. "I'll get a cup of cocoa ready." Gwen got up from her desk, moving over to get closer to the slow moving lift.

"Who is it? Someone from another Torchwood facility?" she asked them all curiously, feeling a bit excited to meet someone else a part of the organization.

"No, it's—," Owen began to say in a grumble. But he never got a chance to explain, nor did Gwen get a chance to hear him. For at that moment, someone called from the still far up lift.

"Look out below!"

Gwen let out a startled cry, jumping back just as someone came falling down from the lift and landing with a thump onto the concrete below. The woman could only stare at the newcomer in disbelief, completely flabbergasted in someone having jumped from so high up. In front of her was a teenage girl, in a crouch from the jump and grinning at her as though they had just done something very fun and exciting. Not something that could have broken their legs or neck. Gwen took in the appearance of the girl quickly, seeing the messy brown hair that came to her shoulders, light skin with freckles, and rather skinny and short body. The next thing Gwen noticed was the blue shirt, bellbottom pants, and red converse trainers.

"What the hell?! What were you thinking jumping off the lift like that? You could have killed yourself from that height?!" Gwen immediately scolded, bypassing the thought that it was not her place in scolding this kid when they had just met. But she just felt as though she had to as the teenager could have seriously harmed themselves. The girl stood up, glancing back at the lift which was still slowly coming down to the floor beside them.

"From that height? Nah. It'd have to be a lot higher up to kill me," the girl said with a shrug, grinning as though jumping from so far up was no big deal at all. The brunette gave a lop-sided grin with a spark coming to her brown eyes. "Hey! You must be the newbie! Nice ta meet cha! I'm Aleena. Aleena Tate." The girl grabbed Gwen's hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "It's great finally meeting you, Gwen."

"You—you know who I am?" Gwen blinked, shocked that this girl she had just met knew her name already. Especially as she had never even heard about this girl until this exact moment. It was also surprising to Gwen when she heard the American accent coming from the girl.

"Yeah, I know everything that goes on around here," Aleena replied with a shrug, grinning even more now, more sly this time, even adding in a wink.

"In other words, she spies on us," Owen spoke up, shooting an annoyed glance at the girl.

"Ha! Like you lot don't spy on everyone else in the world. Or each other for that matter," Aleena countered, sticking her tongue out at the man before walking around Gwen to head towards them. The girl bounced over to Ianto as he came up to her with a steaming drink in hand. "Woo! Cocoa!" Taking the drink, the girl took a gulp and gave a sigh in happiness. "You always make the best drinks, Ianto."

"I do try," the man replied, smiling politely at the girl.

Aleena bounced up to give him a high five, beaming away as the man chuckled lightly. She then turned to Tosh, grinning even more. "How's my favorite scientist?"

"Fine as always," Tosh said, smiling in welcome. Gwen looked at the two, and then to Owen, noticing the different attitudes between the two had with the girl over what the man seemed to have. Obviously, it was only Owen that seemed to have a problem with the girl.

"I'm fine, too, thanks," Owen was heard grumbling as he looked back at his desk and typing away. Not really looking as though he were actually doing work. Just occupying himself so that he would not have to talk anymore.

"Nice to see you, too, chicken head," Aleena said, rolling her eyes lightly as she placed down her cup on a desk and pulled off the backpack that Gwen just now noticed the girl had on her. The pack seemed rather old. In fact, very much old. "Here, Tosh, I got that thing you asked me to find." Aleena handed over a strange, round metal device of some kind. Tosh immediately took it, looking excited.

"Oh, thank you!" the woman said in appreciation. "I owe you one, Aleena."

"Nah, don't worry about it," said the girl, waving a hand as though it were no big deal. Placing back on her pack, she glanced around the large facility. "Now, where's Jack? In his usual hole?" She bounced away before anyone answered her, seeming to already know where to find the Captain. As the girl started to climb up the many stairs to get to where Jack would be, Gwen could only gaze at her with pure curiosity.

"So . . . who is she?" she asked the others that were still next to her.

"She's a pain in the arse, that's what she is," Owen grumbled as his tapped a pen on the desk.

"Owen, be nice," Ianto sighed, shaking his head at the doctor.

"Well, she is! Last time she was here she messed up my whole system with our body count," Owen protested.

"Actually, she made it better, I think," Tosh responded in a quiet counter.

"It was better how I had it," Owen retorted.

"It really wasn't, though," Tosh sighed with a shake of her head.

"And, whenever she's around," Owen continued, seeming to ignore Tosh's remark, "we always have to deal with Jack's attitude."

"'Attitude'?" asked Gwen.

"Jack tends to be, ah, a bit overprotective when Aleena's around," Ianto explained, looking as though he too did not enjoy Jack during these times of the girl's arrival.

"It's because she's his only family," Tosh countered, seeming to defend in how Jack acted around the girl. "I would too if I had only a niece left."

"She's his niece?" Gwen spoke up, feeling baffled as she did not imagine Jack to have any sort of family around.

"As far as we know," Owen sighed in exasperation, clearly frustrated in not knowing the mystery that was their leader. "She calls him Uncle, and he is aggressively protective when she's around. So . . ." He gave a shrug.

"Well, she's American like him, so she has to be, right?" Gwen offered.

"Yes, but we don't know anything else about her. Only that she's been around Torchwood longer than us," said Tosh.

"So, what, Jack lets a little kid run around Torchwood? That can't be safe," scoffed Gwen.

"She wasn't a kid when I met her," Tosh said, growing a thoughtful frown on her face. "In fact . . . she's looked about the same age for a while now."

"Probably because she's so short," Owen said lightly with a laugh.

"I suggest you don't say that around her again, Owen. Remember the last time?" Ianto teased the man, making Owen shoot him a sharp glare.

"Does she do anything for Torchwood, or . . .," questioned Gwen, feeling uncertain in what to think of such a young kid being a part of the organization.

"Jack sends her off to do undercover stuff, mostly," explained Tosh. "Some things that we need an insider for. Nothing dangerous or anything like that. Usually light missions."

Gwen stared up towards the girl, watching as Jack came out of his office, with a few papers in hand, the same moment the brunette came creeping up the stairs. She watched as the girl tapped Jack on the shoulder before ducking around as he turned see who had touched him. When he turned again, there was Aleena sticking her tongue at him lightly. Gwen watched as Jack let out a laugh of delight, picking up the girl in a hug and spinning her around. It was the first time Gwen had actually seen a genuine smile on the man's face. A smile that actually reached his eyes, making them light up warmly as though seeing an old friend after a long while. This only made Gwen even more curious as to who this girl was. She must be something special to make Jack look so happy. Gwen watched as Jack steered the girl into his office, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as the teenager chatted away rapidly in delight.

"So, what's my little flower child been up to lately?" Jack asked Aleena teasingly, closing the door behind them after they entered his office. Aleena hopped into a chair across from his desk, spinning around in it while kicking out her feet playfully.

"Welp, you were right to send me to that H.C. Clements," Aleena said lightly. "Though I ended up sixteen months back when travelling, so . . . had to go undercover for a while. As a temp, so don't worry, nothing too fancy to get myself noticed."

"That's good," Jack remarked, glad to keep Aleena out of any limelight that might get her noticed by . . . certain people. There were also other such organizations that were always on the lookout for potential alien threats or collections to get ahold of. Something which had happened before, and neither of them would want a repeat of. "So, what exactly happened? What had old Torchwood One done with the place?"

"Built a large tunnel straight into the Earth's center . . . apparently. Which then led to a giant alien spider nest that was going to devour the planet," Aleena said with a shrug. But her eyes lit up brightly as though excited for what she really wanted to talk about. "But that's not the exciting part. What's really exciting is I got to meet a companion of my mom and dad's! Her name is Donna Noble. Totally awesome. She actually treated me like, I don't know, an adult compared to everyone else. Even though it said I was nineteen on those fake papers you got me, no one seemed to take me seriously . . . on the count of, well, you know." Her voice trailed off into a grumble, looking frustrated with her appearance while Jack smiled in amusement.

Aleena did not think it was funny. Well, maybe a little, but it was still rather irritating. It was something she noticed after years from leaving Hooverville. No matter how old she got, she just did not age like everyone else. When she was almost thirty, she still looked about eight years old. She was ninety-eight now, finally looked like she was at least sixteen, and people still treated her like she was a damn kid. Even Jack did. Though she knew he tried his best not to. She did not really blame them all of acting this way, especially Jack. For one, it was just in human culture not to take the young seriously because of their innate belief that the older someone was the more wise and experienced they were in life. As for two, Jack just . . . saw her like his own kid at times. He had been there for her almost sixty years now. For him, she knew it was probably longer than that seeing how long he had been trapped here on Earth in the past. Though for most of it there were years apart between them meeting as he made her skip past the decades of war he had been involved in. Something which he forbid her to ever be a part of. War, that is. Suited her just fine. She never liked the more . . . gruesome side of human history.

"So, this spider nest . . . Did it have anything to do with the giant ship hovering over London on Christmas last year?" Jack asked carefully, trying to get Aleena back on track.

"Yeah, but dad and mom solved that issue. So, no more spiders around. Also, don't worry. I kept clear of the whole scene. So, no timeline troubles. Anyway, I also got a new apartment! Met Martha Jones, another companion. She's totally fab. Likes to do all sorts of book reading with me. Mostly medical seeing how she's trying to be a doctor. Best thing is, she hasn't met me yet like she will when I'm in a kid in Hooverville, plus I doubt she'll even put two and two together when we do meet up again afterwards. So score for me, I can actually chill with her later after she travels with them!" Aleena beamed away, looking as excited as ever to finally meet new people that were a part of her parents' lives. Just like she always was.

Jack stared at her, feeling his past concerns creeping up on him. Concerns that she was keeping herself locked away from really interacting with others out there in life, only focusing on her parents and those they got involved with. It was how she had found him after all. "Aleena—," he tried saying.

"So, got any new missions for me?" she asked quickly to stop him from speaking. As though she knew what he was going to say. Which, knowing her, she most likely did. Sighing, Jack picked up the papers he had been holding earlier, seeing if there was anything he could give Aleena to get her off to do something. Anything that kept her away from what horrible things they usually had to go through on a regular basis here. But nothing stood out that would be exactly . . . safe enough.

"Sorry, doesn't look like we have anything you can do at the moment, so you'll just have to stick around base for the time being," he told her, setting down his papers.

"Or, you know, you could finally send me out there with the rest of you," Aleena countered casually, giving Jack a hopeful look.

"No," he answered immediately, not even thinking twice about it.

"Aww, come on! I could be tons of help out there!"

"Oh? Like you were tons of help at that school in Ealing?" He raised a sharp brow at her, giving her his usual stern look.

Aleena slumped in her chair very slowly with a dark blush coming over her face. "Ah . . . you know about that, then?"

"Yeah. I know. Got an ear full from the one and only Sarah Jane Smith about sending people around her parts. She didn't take too kindly."

Aleena felt her face heat up. She slumped down in her chair, feeling both humiliated . . . and regretful by what happened there with Sarah Jane. Especially with what happened with Luke. ". . . I didn't mean—."

"I told you about going around Sarah Jane. Out of all of the Doctor's companions, that's the one he actually visits now and then. We cannot let him find out about you before it's your time. Not only that, but Sarah Jane has her own base of operations in London that we've promised to stay out of. I've told you this how many times?"

". . . I didn't realize that was where she lived."

"Now I'm not buying that. Wanna try again?"

". . . I forgot?" Aleena gave him the most sheepish smile she could muster.

Jack looked as though he were about to dispute this but ended up humming in agreement instead. "Actually, I can believe that knowing how you are." His expression turned stern again. "You remember the last time you ran into Sarah Jane under the authority of Torchwood. It didn't go well then. What made you think it would go well now? You're just lucky that it's been so long that she didn't recognize you."

Aleena let out a loud sigh, slumping even more into her seat. "Look, I wasn't lying when I didn't realize Sarah Jane would be involved. I knew she lived around that area, it was just . . . the stars asked for help and—." She frowned when Jack gave his usual sigh when it came to the stars. "Look, I stopped the Earth from dying by the Slitheen because of the stars letting me know about their plans. Can't you be a little happy about that?"

Jack shook his head, shuffling through a few papers on his desk. "We were about to step in already when Sarah Jane began her investigation. We would have come into help if we felt she couldn't have handled it. It was you that made the thing almost have a meltdown."

"I forgot to factor that in," Aleena grumbled, crossing her arms.

"—and that kid Luke was smart enough to fix your error," Jack continued as though she had not said anything at all. He gave her the usual eye of disapproval. "You're to remain here for the time being. No more missions for you. Help around Tosh with her usual work and file any paperwork we might need."

"So, in other words, I'm grounded." Standing up, she sent him a sharp glare. "You know, I could just travel away for another decade. You can't really stop me."

"Aww, and then leave me all by myself?" Jack gave her a big pout, making her roll her eyes. He gave her a sympathetic smile, standing up and patting her on the shoulder. "Look, I know you were trying to help. And I do appreciate that you were actually trying to make friends your age for once. But keeping your head down is the only thing that's kept you safe all these years. Step too far over that line, and—."

"—and I might make the universe explode. I know. I know." Aleena let out a sigh, crossing her arms and staring down at the floor in disgruntlement.

The same feeling of ridicule and dejection went through her as she walked out of his office after he dismissed her for the day. It was always the same. She would always be nothing more than a 'kid' to all these people. Even Jack and Bad Wolf treated her that way. She tried to understand why they acted this way. Because of their fears of the timelines being corrupted, or of her getting hurt in anyway. She appreciated that they cared so much. It was just . . . she lived through so many decades, had done many great things, and still she felt like she was going no where in life. They always said she had to wait until her time came to meet her dad and mom and finally find her place in the universe. But when would that be? Another ninety-something years? She was beginning to feel restless everyday just waiting around Earth, doing nothing. She just wished that . . . something would happen finally. Something that finally gave her true purpose.

So far, the stars were the only things that actually made her feel like she meant something to this universe. It started almost right after she left Hooverville all those years ago. She was on the road, living with the homeless during the late 60s when a star came to her. Not the white star that always followed her. This star had been a mother who had died, leaving their child left behind. An orphanage had taken in the child, mistreating them. However, the child had family out there, searching for the lost one. The mother star begged for Aleena to help get her son back to her family. Well, begged in the only way a star could by showing her all the different emotions and memories of what the star had. And so, Aleena did just that, finding the boy and getting him back to his family. It had taken quite a lot as the orphanage he lived in was corrupt and used the children as slave labor. But not only had she managed to get the boy home, she managed to shut down the place and get the children all to wonderful homes.

After that, she helped any star that would come to her. Most were just simple things, like telling of loved ones the stars' last message as a way to have the family feel at peace. Other times were more . . . crazy. Like with the Slitheen at that school. She had run into the star of Carl, the boy who had been killed by that child Korst Gogg Thek Lutiven-Day Slitheen for a bodysuit. The star of Carl had bumped into her while she had been going to work at H.C. Clements with Donna one morning. It had been easy to get a few days off for 'leave' and sneak into the school. It had also been easy enough to blend in with all the students as Aleena mostly looked about the same age as them. Kids these days sure were a lot taller and older looking than they used to be. Must be the steroids in the food. Anyway, people tended not to ask questions if one looked like everyone else. Especially in uniform. It had been a challenge getting herself a hold of a uniform, but luckily most of it had been thrown out by a family who had a girl the same size as her.

She just wished that she had realized that Sarah Jane would have gotten involved. Truly she did have it in control . . . and she did have fun for the first time in a long time at school just . . . kicking it. Luke had been fab, a real groovy guy. But then she had to go and muck things up forgetting to factor in that backfire in the capacitors. Damn it all for her forgetting there was two negatives in that equation. Not just one. And she just had to have ruined her first meeting with Sarah Jane all those years ago by getting Torchwood involved in that alien illegal channel the journalist had been investigating. How had Aleena to know that Torchwood would have killed all those aliens . . . No, she should have known. She had just been too stupid to work it out. Just like she always was.

"So, Jack is your uncle?"

"Huh?" Aleena blinked out of her stupor, seeing that she had wandered back down the stairs. Gwen stood in front of her, staring at her in interest while the others kept on busing themselves with work and such. Blinking again, Aleena tore herself away from glancing at Gwen's timeline. It was considered rude, by her own set of rules, to always look at someone's timeline without their permission. Not that they ever knew to give her permission in the first place. Plus, it took the fun out of getting to know them the old-fashioned way.

"Uh, yeah, he's my uncle," Aleena replied with a shrug, walking around Gwen to continue moving on. Gwen followed her of course. Curiosity in humans was always so predictable. They always just had to know more about the new thing that showed up out of nowhere. Which was always Aleena in the end. She was always the new, weird, freak to ogle at.

"And he lets you work with Torchwood? Aren't you a little young?" Gwen continued to ask, giving Aleena that usual skeptical eye that every new Torchwood member did.

"Ha. That's a laugh. Anyone past the age of thirty in this organization is a veteran." Aleena winked at Gwen and bounced up a small set of stairs which led to a steel door that seemed heavily locked up with a keypad on the side of the wall. She looked over her shoulder at Gwen, seeing the puzzled expression on her face. Just like all other newcomers to Torchwood, they would always wonder about her and ask so many questions. She just wished that she could answer their questions . . . or get to know them the normal way without always resorting to looking at their timelines. But it was never a good to get attached to people. Especially in this organization. It was something Jack always reminded her of. Even if somedays she just hoped that one person in this damn place could know the truth about her and actually accept her as she was. Unfortunately, she was too fearful of any repeats of what happened the last time she opened up about what she was and what she could do. One disaster of a friendship attempt was just too many in her book.

"Welp . . . this is where I take my leave," Aleena said, rubbing at the back of her head and feeling a bit awkward. "Welcome to the group." With a wave in goodbye, she quickly typed in the number code on the keypad and stepped into the room as the metal door slide open. The door promptly closed before Gwen had the chance to see what was inside the room. Not that the woman could have seen anything as the room stayed dark until Aleena turned on the lights.

With a sigh she walked over to her main desk that had multiple papers scattered around the surface, a sleek computer sitting in the middle of the desk, and a large stack of books on the corner. She flopped down onto her rolling chair, sitting back to relax. She briefly glanced around to the many workbenches and lab tables she had in the room, wondering what new thing she should tinker with. Or she could always check over her small plant area in the corner of the room. The one spot that looked so out of place with it having so much green and bright colours in contrast of the dull greys of all the electronics around. Just a small hobby of hers besides the tinkering of different electronics and gadgets. She found she really loved plants and flowers. That, and they were good practice with her powers. She could always tinker some on the hydroponic system she had set up for her growing vegetation.

Not that she really felt up to messing around, but . . . what else could she do since she was grounded? . . . Talking to people would be nice for a change. Well, people besides those from her mom and dad's timeline. Aleena let out a heavy sigh again, leaning back as she stared at the ceiling. A few stray stars danced around the place. Not many came down here in Torchwood. Only those that noticed her and followed her in. She wished she could talk more to Gwen . . . or any of the others. The only company she really had was the stars which is why she had this room made just for her. Keep people from looking at her weird when she had conversations with the stars. It always freaked people out when it looked like she was talking to herself. Aleena snickered a bit thinking about that, but her smile dropped again as she let out another sigh. The stars were never much company though. They never really . . . communicated a whole lot.

Sighing, she leaned forward, tapping her fingers on the desk and feeling a bit glum. She glanced over when seeing the white star coming over to her, nudging her a bit in the cheek. She gave it a small glare, grumbling under her breath, "You know, you're the reason I'm grounded. If you hadn't brought that Carl star to me . . ." The star zoomed around her head, looking as though it were saying nothing was its fault. Out of all the stars, this one was the least helpful with conversations. By this point, she mostly just knew what it meant but how it reacted to her words. But in the past, it was a pain trying to understand it.

"Look, no more bringing stray in for me to help," Aleena said sternly, waving a finger at the white star. "I don't need any trouble." It flashed a bit at her, making her roll her eyes in response. "Yes, I know that I'm the only one who can help, but I'm tired that being the only thing I'm doing with my life. I've got more to my life than just . . ." She looked over, seeing a greenish coloured star coming over to her. It looked meek, scared even. It hesitated coming over to her. The white star went over to it, nudging it forward in encouragement. It then came over to hover beside her head while the green star scooted forward just a bit more. Aleena let out an exasperated sigh.

"Again with the strays," she grumbled, glancing over at the white star in annoyance. It gave no sign of noticing her. Again, she looked to the new star. "Look, I'm very sorry, but I can't help . . . You see it's just . . ." She noticed the image on the star changed to that of a blonde woman wearing a pink raincoat, white dress with pink designs, and hair up with a pink bow on top. Aleena recognized the outfit and hairdo of that being from the 1960s. The woman in the star's image was crying down a dark alley, shivering in the night. Slowly, Aleena let out a sigh, feeling her hearts torn.

"Okay, tell me what you need. I'm here for you," Aleena said softly, sitting at attention and ready to hear what the star needed from her.

XxXxXxXxXx

"So, you need me to get closure of your murder? That's going to be kind of hard to do being how long it's been since you were killed," Aleena told the star as it hovered in front of her and she wrote down notes of what the star told (showed) her. It lowered a bit to the desk, looking glum as the light from it dimmed a bit. "B-but don't worry! I got connections, so I'll try my best." Aleena smiled and gave the star a thumbs up. It gave a response of comfort before drifting out alongside of the white star. The white star issued the green star out of the room as they both just fazed through the door. Something all stars could do really as they could never truly interact with physical objects. Not without a lot of power issued out, but that was a draining task for stars.

Aleena let out a long sigh, tapping her pencil on the desk as she looked over her notes. The green star was Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Lewis, born 1946 and died 1963. She had been raped and murdered by Edwin 'Ed' Morgan, who dumped her body and got away scott-free for forty-five years. Lizzie had only been seventeen years old. Aleena let out another sigh. It was not the first time she had to deal with a murder case. But none ever came out too well when she tried to solve them. Or rather, tried to gain justice for the requesting stars. Most cases the murderer still got away with it and the star stayed glum in knowing they never got the justice their families deserved for their death.

"You know these never work out," Aleena grumbled as she shot the reappearing white star a look. It just came over to her, bumping her lightly in the shoulder for moral support. "You look on the bright side too much." Tossing her pencil down onto the desk, she rubbed a hand through her hair as she knew the first thing she would have to do was ask Tosh for a background check on this Ed guy. But if Jack got wind of her asking for something like that, he would know right away that she was doing something for a star. Not something she would be allowed to do being as she was 'grounded.' Wonder if maybe she could sneak in later when the others went on home and look up the guy herself. In fact . . . Aleena glanced at her watch, seeing how late it was. Well, the lot of them should be heading home already. Maybe she could sneak out and do some of her own research once Jack went into his hidey hole for the night.

She let out the millionth sigh for the night. Or rather early morning by this point. It was so . . . draining always doing this kind of work all by herself. Just once she wished . . . she wished she could finally have a friend. A real, true friend, who understood her and her powers. Maybe even helped her along. Just once . . . Yeah, right, she had to be real with herself. Like anyone would ever understand what it was like . . .

Getting up from her chair, she glanced out her door to see Tosh at her desk, typing away quickly at her keyboard and talking fast into the mic at her computer. Darn. It looked like something came up and now the team was at work. Well, dang, that means they will be up all night. Just groovy. Aleena let out a gush of breath and walked out of her hideaway. Might as well see what was up. Maybe she could help them move things along faster so she could work on her own thing.

"Hey, Tosh, what's happening?" she asked as she bounced over to Tosh at her desk. The woman glanced at her briefly before gluing her eyes back onto the screen.

"Chasing some energy readings," the woman muttered before getting back to work in tracking the running figure on her screens. Obviously, she was tracking down whoever the others were running after through the CCTV feed from around the city. Again, always with the spying these lot were doing. "Jack, sharp right, twenty metres."

Aleena sat herself onto a chair, watching and listening to the team chasing down whoever they were after. They got closer and closer with Gwen the one being right on the guy's arse. Apparently, he had some alien tech on him. Or he was the alien tech. Either way, it looked like Gwen was going to get him. Aleena watched with interest. Soon, it looked like Gwen had managed to catch the man, but instead it seemed she only managed to get the dude's jacket with the alien tech inside it instead. She let out a sigh, beginning to walk away as she found it all boring. She began to wonder if maybe she should just go back to her apartment for the night and get some rest. It had been about a week since she had slept. But when Gwen's frantic words came over the computer, Aleena stopped in her tracks.

"I swear, there was a little boy! Just here! It—it had to be a ghost, or something. I don't know!" came Gwen's frantic words as it seemed she were talking with Jack and Owen. Aleena walked back over, staring at the CCTV feed on the screen over Tosh's shoulder.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know. It sounds like something happened to Gwen when she touched the device," Tosh muttered, frowning as she typed away at her keyboard, focusing on something else entirely. It seemed she was still trying to find where that male had run off to. Frowning, Aleena stared at the screen where the others were still seen. The look on Gwen's face was clear, even over the fuzzy screen from the CCTV feed. It looked as though the woman really had seen a ghost, shaking from head to toe. She walked over a spare chair, sitting and waiting for the team's return. Once they got back, Aleena immediately saw how Gwen really was shaken by whatever she had seen. Gwen's eyes were red from tears and her face pale.

"So, what did you see?" she asked quickly, her curiosity running wild.

"Gwen here got spooked by a ghost," Owen said, mocking the woman by making a scary voice when saying 'ghost.' He snickered for a moment when Gwen shot him a look. But shut up quickly when receiving same look from Jack.

"I swear, there was a little boy there," Gwen said firmly, turning to Tosh. "Run the CCTV feed back when I got the jacket." She went quickly into the viewing room where Tosh could show an enlarged projection of the camera's feed. Tosh nodded, pulling back up the feed.

"Where did you see a ghost?" Aleena asked curiously. She had never run into a ghost before. Well, the stars could technically count as 'ghosts' she supposed. But a ghost like from the movies or from stories like the A Christmas Carol, now that would be something neat.

"When she pushed the button on this," Jack said, holding up a strange metallic device. It was curved, shaped like that of some kind of game controller. A large silver button was on top of it. When Jack set it down and moved to stand next to Gwen to watch the video feed, Aleena scooted over to grab the device from the table, taking a closer look at it. Nothing special really seemed from it. She wondered what exactly Gwen saw and how the device worked.

"This is the feed from the station camera," Tosh explained of what she had pulled up. Aleena looked over, watching the video projection that Gwen, Owen, and Jack were watching. "Gwen grabs the kid. She's got his jacket and he just slips out."

"Slippery little bugger," Aleena muttered as she looked away, glancing back down at the device in hand.

"And then?" she heard Gwen ask Tosh, clearly wanting to push for answers to whatever she had seen.

"Jack and Owen arrive," Tosh continued. "And then nothing. Sorry."

"No, it . . . it was as real as this is. More real," Gwen began to explain rapidly, looking frantic for anyone to believe her. "I didn't just see that little boy. I could . . . I could hear what he was thinking. I could feel it. Like I was lost." Very slowly, Aleena looked up from the device, staring at Gwen with wide eyes. She felt her hearts picking up in speed as her mind raced to process what Gwen had just said. Had she . . . did she . . . No, way. It could not be . . . could it?

"Intense emotion can be part of a neurological event," Owen said with a shrug, sounding bored. "Hallucinations, dementia."

"Shut up, chicken head," Aleena said strictly, stopping Gwen from throwing an angry retort at the mocking man. She went over to the woman quickly, staring at her with keen interest. "What you saw . . . was it like you were there? There with him where he had been? Like the time you were in was different?" Gwen blinked, taken back by Aleena's urgent questions and demeanour.

"Yeah. It was exactly like that," Gwen confirmed, nodding to Aleena's questions. The woman stared at the girl as the brunette looked over the device with wide, excited, eyes. "Why? Have you seen something like that before?"

"Few times, yeah," Aleena muttered quietly as she gazed at the device. Could it be? Had an alien species out there tapped into the timelines of those around them? Was it a device from her parents' home world? Nah, it could not be that. Her mom and dad's species already had powers like that. Why make a device when they already had those abilities? So, maybe, there was just another species out there who realized the potential of the universe around them and decided to make something to show others of how the universe worked. Oh, man, this could be perfect. She could finally have something to maybe show others in how she viewed the world, the universe, and finally have people understand her. Maybe even make a few friends along the way?

"No," Jack spoke up sternly, yanking the device out of Aleena's hands and out of her thoughts. She scoffed, looking at him angrily.

"I wasn't even doing anything," she said, frowning as he walked away with the device.

"Yeah, but I know what you were thinking," Jack responded, setting the device down at Tosh's desk. "And the answer's "no", you can't go experimenting on this thing. Not until we know what exactly it does."

"Well, obviously, it taps into a moment of someone's past, showing the holder of that past version of a person's thoughts, feelings, and what happened to them," Aleena spoke quickly, already thinking of a way to get her hands on that device again. "And so what if I do some experiments on it? It's not like it's dangerous."

"We don't know that yet," Tosh said, nodding in agreement to Jack's logic. "Until I can run some tests on it, we really shouldn't mess with it." Aleena crossed her arms with a huff, letting their words tune out as they seemed to be focusing on finding out more about the kid Gwen saw in her vision. This Tom Erasmus Flanagan. Sounds like it should be easy enough to track him down. If anything she could help out later to track him down . . . Oh, well, it looked like Owen already found him. Great. Now Aleena could just focus on finding more on this Lizzie Lewis and figuring out how to solve her murder.

Aleena glanced around, seeing how Jack had already sent Gwen and Owen off to investigate on the Tom kid. Ianto was off doing his own thing back in the front office area. Tosh was at her desk typing away with eyes of full concentration set on her computer screens. The only one she did not see around was Jack, but most likely he went back into his hiding hole in his office. Okay . . . waiting for everyone to clear out would be the more logical option . . . but damn if she hated waiting. She never was a very patient person. One of her many flaws she supposed.

Glancing around carefully to make certain no one was looking at her, Aleena scooted over to Owen's desk. She sat very slowly at the chair, giving Tosh one last look before beginning to type away at the doctor's desk. It would have been better to work with Tosh's computer seeing how good Tosh kept up with it. But any computer in Torchwood could look up simple information. Aleena had made certain of that when she helped Jack establish this place from the very beginning. She smiled as the screen popped up for her use. The only thing she would have to be careful about was to . . . Damn. Aleena glared at the screen when seeing her access had been denied. Apparently Jack had already thought ahead and blocked off all access to her from Torchwood. Looks like he learned his lesson from the last time he 'grounded' her. Oh, hell. Looks like she would actually have to resort to asking for help for once.

With a sigh, she turned off Owen's computer. Though not before adding a fun little virus to his computer. Just something that would make a farting sound every time he tried to type on the keyboard. Aleena snickered as she turned off the computer and walked carefully over to Tosh. She began to tug on her earlobe, feeling a bit flustered. She never really liked asking people for help. Mostly everything was just easier to do on her own . . . Plus she always just felt like she was bothering people by asking for help. But . . .

"Um, hey, Tosh . . ." she said quietly, shuffling her feet as the woman turned around to look at her in interest. "Can you do me a favor and run a background check for me?"

"Sure. What's the name?" Tosh responded, turning around and already typing away at her computer.

"Elizabeth Lewis," Aleena said quickly, wanting to hurry along before Jack came out and asked what she was up to. She just knew he would put a stop to her trying to help a star out if he found out. "She was born in 1946 and died 1963."

"Only child of Mabel Ann Lewis of Hatford Street," Tosh responded, already having the records up and running for them both to see. "Raped and murdered on Penfro Street, under the bridge. Seventeen years old." Tosh frowned as a saddened expression crossed her face. "No one was ever brought to trial." She glanced at Aleena as a thoughtful look was given to the girl. "Why do you want to look this up?"

"I need to know if her mother is still alive." Aleena leaned closer to the computer as Tosh typed away and looked up the information.

"Looks like Mabel Lewis is already dead a few years back."

Aleena let out a puff of air. "Great." She sat there thinking, wondering what else she could do. "Have anything on friends or other relatives?" She smiled as she saw Tosh was already on it, the paper coming out of the printer before she had even asked. Aleena gave a happy kiss on the woman's cheek. "Thanks! You're so boss!" Tosh chortled lightly with a smile while Aleena bounced over and grabbed the paper off the printer.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Aleena halted just as she was about to exit through the front door of the facility. She looked over slowly, seeing Jack standing above on a walkway, leaning on the railing and staring very stern towards her direction.

"She's looking into Elizabeth Lewis's case," Tosh said before Aleena had time to make up an excuse. "I already looked up all the background for her." Slowly, Tosh frowned when seeing the strict look Jack gave Aleena and the sheepish expression on the brunette. "Was this not a mission you gave her?"

"No, it's not. She's off any work for a while," Jack grounded out strictly. Tosh made a small sound of understanding, realizing this meant Aleena was 'grounded.' She gave the girl a look of pity before turning back around and pretending she was busy and could not hear them at all.

"Jack, please, I'm just looking into something. Not getting involved with any kind of alien activities whatsoever. I swear," Aleena said hurriedly, holding up her hand to her swear.

"This 'something' have anything to do with your little friends by any chance?" he asked her carefully. When seeing her small frown, he shook his head with a sigh. "Grounded means no little friends, either."

"Oh, come on!" Aleena retorted, stomping up the stairs towards him. She met in on the walkway, crossing her arms with a large pout. "I'm not getting into any trouble this time! It's just looking into . . . getting some justice for this 'friend' okay?"

"No." Jack crossed his own arms and kept to his strict demeanour.

"But . . . please?" Aleena slumped her shoulders when seeing his unwavering expression. "I'm the only one who can help them."

"They've been fine for a long while on their own. They can deal without you this one time."

Aleena felt her spirits fall as she looked away. "But it's the only thing I'm good at though," she mumbled quietly, turning around in defeat and heading back down the stairs. Jack stared at her for a moment longer before his stern expression melted. He gave a heavy sigh.

"Okay," he sighed. Aleena turned, eyes lighting up with glee. He smiled, finding it always heartening to see her happy. He laughed internally though when her smiled dropped at his next statement. "But I'm coming with you."

XxXxXxXxXx

Aleena sat in her special room in Torchwood, bored out of her mind. The whole time looking into Lizzie's past had been a bust. Apparently, no one was still alive or around that knew of Lizzie Lewis. Or, well, there was Ed Morgan, but Aleena did not want to go down that route yet. At least it had been fun hanging out with Jack through the day. Until he had to go check and see how the others were coming along finding the dude who had taken that sort of 'ghost machine.' It was something the lot were wanting to call that device. Aleena thought it funny. Mostly because she never really saw the past moment's of a person's timeline to be 'ghosts' before. Though, really, now that she thought about it . . . it kind of was like that.

Aleena happened to glance over to her computer monitor from her main desk while she sat tinkering at another workbench of hers. On screen she could see Jack, Gwen, Tosh, and Owen coming into the facility from the security cameras she had monitoring the place. From the looks of it, they had not been successful in getting that one dude. Oh, well. She let out a sigh, about to continue on in her tinkering when she looked back with a frown, realizing that something was not right. There was tension between the group. What happened now? She placed down her tools on the bench and went quickly out of her room.

"So, no luck in finding Bernie?" she asked them all casually, not really wanting them to know that she already could tell of their unlucky day. She bounced down the set of stairs from her hideaway, coming down to the main floor with the others. She glanced around, seeing the grim look on Jack's face, unease expressions shared between Tosh and Gwen, and the visibly shaken demeanour on Owen. "What happened? Is everything all right?" Owen threw his jacket onto a nearby chair and stormed off into the file room, apparently searching through for a certain file. Aleena glanced back at the others, seeing Tosh already at her desk and typing away at her computer with Jack standing there with his arms crossed. Gwen bit her lip, looking uncertain in what to do. Aleena frowned and crossed her arms. "Right, I'm just talking to myself, then."

"Owen saw a vision from the ghost machine," Tosh finally said quietly, glancing at Owen and seeing him sitting on a near sofa with file in hand. He refused to look at anyone, clearly wanting to just keep his mind focused on things elsewhere.

"Of what?" Aleena glanced at him in concern. From the way he was acting . . . it must not been a good moment from whatever timeline he had seen.

"A girl . . . Lizzie," muttered Owen, still refusing to look anyone in the eye as he kept his gaze locked on the pages from the file in his hand. Aleena tensed. No . . . it could not be the same girl . . . could it? The coincidence of it would be one in a million.

"The first time it happens to Gwen. A boy at the railway station," Jack thought aloud.

"Who's now in his seventies, alive and well, and living in Butetown," Gwen added, nodding along with Jack's thoughts. She went over to one of the clear boards, looking through the papers she had placed up to keep track of what they had been looking into. She then walked back over to join the group once she had placed up a few new photos to their board, standing closure to Owen now. "Second time, it happens to Owen. Like me, you didn't just see it. You felt emotions that weren't yours." They all stared at him, seeing how he gazed back very slowly with an unreadable expression.

"She was terrified," he spoke quietly, nodding as he stared off with haunted eyes. Aleena stared at him, giving him a look of empathy. She understood how he felt. The first time she had come across a terrifying moment like that in someone's timeline . . . it had taken her a while to recover from it as well. The worse the moment in someone's timeline, the worse effects it would have on oneself. She wished she could have eased Owen the same way Bad Wolf had helped her cope through the process of learning how to handle her gifts. There was a breathing treatment that worked the best, and the calming of one's hearts beating that helped separate the emotions from the timeline a little more . . .

"But I don't understand," she heard Tosh speaking up, "this girl is the same one Aleena was looking into."

"What?" Aleena blinked out of her thoughts, looking over to see Tosh, Owen, and Gwen staring at her curiously. Or, well, the two women were. Owen looked more suspicious at her more than anything. Thinking quickly, Aleena kept a confused expression on. "Seriously? My Lizzie is the same as Owen saw? That can't be, can it?"

"But it is," Tosh said, shaking her head in disbelief as she stared back at the computer screen and looking over the records of the girl's past.

"Why were you looking into Lizzie Lewis?" Owen questioned Aleena, his voice tense as his eyes gazed at her sharply.

"I like to look into old cases every once and a while. She just happened to be one on my list," Aleena explained with a shrug. She made certain to keep her face straight. Though she never liked lying, she learned over the years how to do so very convincingly. The only one who she never truly lied to (not that she could get away with lying to him) was Jack. If she had other friends she might stick from lying to them as well . . .

"I call that one hell of a coincidence," Gwen commented, a small scoff heard in her voice as she too looked at Aleena with a questioning gaze. The girl merely shrugged, deciding it was best she did not say anything else on the matter.

"Did you find Ed Morgan, then?" Owen asked her, sitting forward with tensely.

"Sorry, still looking into that," Aleena lied. She saw the frustrated and disappointed expression on his face, but it was not as though she could tell him how she knew exactly where Ed Morgan was. Besides that, she very much doubted that he would go to the man for a pleasant visit. In the corner of her eye, she saw Jack give her that look. She glanced at him, seeing the jerk of his head for her to leave the room. Getting the hint, she turned and left the room while the rest of the continued to discuss what Owen had seen of poor Lizzie's life and what to do about it. Not that Jack would ever let Owen do anything about it anyway. He had already shot her down from doing anything about the old cold case on Lizzie's death. Not that she already knew there was nothing she could do about bringing the case back for solving. Not without any new evidence. The most she wanted to do was figure out a way to bring Lizzie's star some peace, able to move onto the 'afterlife' with the other stars. It was never good for a star to remain gloomy. Never. Jack knew that just as well, though not that he ever took it seriously. He could never see the Dark Ones, after all.

As Aleena was walking through the lower hallways of Torchwood, wanting to go into one of the labs that had the equipment she might need for her own experiments, she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Turning around, she saw a nervous looking Gwen following behind a tense Jack.

"Ah, good, glad I found you," Jack sighed, letting his shoulders slump as he looked exhausted. "Gwen here needs to learn how to shoot. Take her down to the firing range and teach her how."

"Um, sure thing," Aleena replied, frowning a bit as she was not sure why he did not wish to do it himself. Usually he always wanted to teach the newbies how to shoot. But maybe he had other things to do. Giving the two of them a nod, he turned and left. Aleena gave Gwen a smile when seeing how nervous the woman looked. "So, I get to show you the ropes of shooting? Awesome. Not everyday I get to show off my skills."

"Jack lets you handle guns?" Gwen asked, appearing alarmed. "You're just a child!"

"I'm a lot older than I look, you know," Aleena said in a grumble, opening the door for them to enter the firing range. It was a massive room, with many targets placed in varying distances from the table where the weapons were lying on. First thing she grabbed was the revolver. It was always her favorite. Though it was not the best weapon for use, she just liked the feel of the older weapons versus the new ones.

"So, Jack lets his niece join a dangerous alien organization, do god knows what missions, and carry weapons around?" Gwen questioned, crossing her arms tightly in disapproval.

"I don't carry guns around . . . all the time. I mostly just know how to use them in case of emergencies," Aleena corrected her, setting the revolver down. "I don't even like guns that much, but when push comes to shove I'll use one in a heart beat to protect myself and others. Just like Jack wants you to learn, too. Gotta learn to hang tough."

Gwen blinked. "'Hang tough'?"

"To persevere and endure. That's our motto here." Aleena gave her a wink, picking up a set of ear protectors. "Here. Put these on. It can get kinda loud in here."

Gwen took the large ear defenders, then the pair of safety glasses Aleena also handed over. "But I don't understand. Why does Jack let you around all of this? You're his niece. If I had a niece your age—."

"I'm not his niece. Not really." Aleena shifted the ear defenders on her head after placing them on. She glanced at Gwen as she also put on a pair of glasses. "But he and I . . . we're the only family we got. So, I guess he might as well be my uncle."

The woman sent the girl a curious gaze. "So, does that mean you don't have parents?"

Aleena stared off towards the distant tunnel in front of them. Her eyes growing soft. "I do . . . somewhere. I just gotta find them first." Shaking herself out of her stupor, she grinned back at Gwen. "Now, I suggest using the pistol since it's your first time. It's a be easier on the recoil." Handing the pistol over once she loaded it, she smiled at Gwen, hoping the ease the woman from her tension in firing a weapon. Gwen swung the pistol up as if to ask if she were holding it right. Aleena quickly ducked and scooted back, giving a nervous chuckle. "Um, rule number one in gun practice: Don't point the weapon at someone unless you plan on shooting them."

"Oh, sorry," Gwen apologized quickly, pointing the gun back at the ground. She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, it's just . . . I don't even kill spiders in the bath."

"Ha! Knew I would like you," Aleena laughed, winking at the woman. "Never trust a person who'd kill an innocent spider. I mean, what did a spider ever do besides keep your house safe from pests?" Going over to the woman, Aleena had her turn sideways. "Now, since this is your first time shooting, you can use your arm as way to aim your shot. As you get more practice, it'll be easier to aim to the point where you won't even have to think about it and can do it from any stance."

Gwen blinked in confusion. "Don't I need both hands?"

"For bigger guns, yes. For handheld weapons, no. Too much tension if you hold with both hands, makes your aim rigid and off. In fact, that's one of the biggest mistakes people can make when it comes to handling a gun. They're too tense, which leads to big mistakes. Tension isn't what you want. You gotta be calm, collected, and relaxed." Aleena gave her a smile. "I actually like to loosen up before I even grab a gun." She showed Gwen her rolling her shoulders and giving a few arm stretches.

Gwen laughed lightly. "I'm not doing that."

"Well, breathing exercises work, too, I guess." With a shrug of her shoulders, Aleena nodded her head towards the targets. "Now, lift your arm calmly and aim." She watched as Gwen breathed out evenly and did as she was told. Aleena scooted closer, peaking over the woman's shoulder to see how her aim was. With a quick adjustment of her arm and grip on the weapon, Aleena then back away from Gwen. "All right, now breath in and then slowly exhale and fire."

She watched as Gwen carefully let out a breath and then made the shot. The sound of the gun firing reverberated around the room, though the sound was muffled for the two females with their ear defenders. They saw the hole appear in the paper target of a Weevil. Not very closer to the centre, but not bad for a first shot by Aleena's opinion. She gave Gwen a bright smile.

"Very nice first try!" she congratulated the woman. "But your grip is still a little tight. Give it another try." It was two more tries from Gwen. Still about the same results. Aleena hummed for a moment. "Nope, still too tense. How about you—."

"Look, can't you just go get Jack," Gwen sighed, clearly frustrated with this training already. "No offense, but I'd rather someone with more experience teach me on this."

Gwen's mouth snapped shut when seeing the look Aleena gave her. The girl arched a brow at her before grabbing the revolver off the table. Opening the chamber up, she checked the bullets within before giving the chamber a spin and clicking it back into place. Then, without so much as a pause, she whipped it up and shot all six rounds. Once done, she opened the gun up again and placed it down on the table for reloading if needed. Gwen blinked as she stared at the targets Aleena hit. All right in the centre. Not a single miss. She looked back at Aleena with a great admiration.

"I'm sorry," was all she could think to say. Rather lamely at that.

"It's fine. I'm used to it. People always go based on how I look on my experience in life," Aleena replied with a shrug, even smiling a bit to show the woman she truly had no hard feelings. "But don't get me wrong. I was a total ditz when it came to this stuff at first. Being trained by the very best helped get me up to speed at least a little bit."

"Jack's that good?"

"Ha! Nah. I was trained by someone even better."

Gwen blinked. "Who was that?"

"Annie Oakley." Aleena smirked lightly when seeing the confused expression on Gwen's face. The girl continued on, picking up a small automatic handgun and handed it to Gwen. "Let's move on to something else. See if you do better this time."

Training went on for some time. Aleena taught Gwen everything she knew about guns and such. By the end, she was happy to see the woman had almost perfect aim. At this rate, the woman might even be competition for Jack and her. Might even be fun to have a competition to see who was better. Anyway, Aleena eventually told Gwen she was done. Mostly because they were out of ammo for the night.

"Now it's just down to teaching you how to clean a gun," Aleena said after they pulled off their ear defenders and safety glasses. "Best you clean your gun after every use. Or even if you haven't used it in a while. Remember: A clean gun is a happy gun." The girl snickered at her own lame joke, grinning lightly as she started to clean the revolver. She was content with humming lightly, going into the routine of cleaning her favorite gun. After a moment she realized Gwen was not cleaning as well. She glanced over, seeing the woman just staring at her. "Everything all right there, Gwen?"

"It's nothing, it's just . . ." Gwen stared at the guns, a pondering expression crossing her face. "How is it you knew what that device did before Tosh had it scanned?"

Uncertainty crept through Aleena. She shifted on her feet, but kept her expression calm and even as she focused on cleaning the gun in front of her. "Well, you know, when you've worked at Torchwood as long as I have, you get around with the alien tech and such—."

"And you knew about Lizzie even before we did," Gwen went on, not giving Aleena a chance to really explain herself. The girl snapped her mouth shut, feeling the unease squirm in her stomach. The woman looked at the girl, staring curiously at her. "Owen mentioned . . . well, it's not really important. It's just, how is it you're like this? It's not really . . . normal. I mean it's so strange how—."

"—how I seem to always know things before they happen. That I'm just always coincidentally a step ahead of everyone else. Is that what Owen mentioned? He mention that he and all the others think I'm a freak as well?" Aleena sighed before setting down her gun and cleaning rag.

Aleena looked at Gwen as the woman stared back, eyes still full of so many questions that were obviously on the woman's mind. Tugging on her earlobe, Aleena knew that she should not be contemplating answering all of the woman's questions . . . Jack would be furious if he found out. It had been a disaster in the past when Jack and she had thought to trust another person in Torchwood with the knowledge of her being not so human and her abilities. It went horribly then . . . but what if things were different now? Gwen seemed to be more understanding than most. Mostly because she did not have many run-ins with the horrid side of the universe just yet like the others had. Though it could also stem from Gwen being slightly empathic. She only had low level empathic abilities, but they were still there. And if Aleena could possibly open up to Gwen, then maybe she could teach the woman about her abilities. Ah, hell, Aleena knew she might regret this, but . . . she was tired of being alone. She wanted a—a friend. Just one friend to talk about all this stuff. Sure she had Jack . . . but he was more of a parent figure than friend. She wanted an actual real friend. Like the kind other people have. Was that so bad to wish for?

In the end . . . Aleena could not do it.

"Look, Gwen," Aleena breathed, shaking her head as she lowered her gaze from the woman's, "if there's one thing you have to understand about this place is that we all got our secrets here. Me and Jack especially." She looked back up, feeling that urge to just open up and tell this kind woman everything. But fear kept it all at bay. Aleena gave her a strained smile. "And I don't think you can handle the truth of it all."

"I can handle a lot of things," Gwen countered crossly, frowning at as set her expression to that of stern.

"Can you? Really?" Aleena saw the uncertain expression slowly creep over Gwen's face, knowing the answer to that. "Maybe in time . . . but for now—," Aleena glanced at her watch, "it's getting ridiculously late and I'm sure your boyfriend is still waiting for you to help him with that laundry."

"H-how—how did you know about that?" Gwen uttered in astonishment, blinking as she was taken back. Was Owen right and Aleena actually spy on them all?

Aleena smiled sheepishly, realizing she had glanced at Gwen's timeline again. "Just go get some sleep. We'll work on your shooting again tomorrow if we got time." She looked away, showing Gwen that she was done talking for the night as the girl started to clean more of the weapons. She felt Gwen's tense gaze on her for a moment longer before the woman finally decided to leave. Sighing, Aleena placed down the weapon and rag onto the table, staring at the white surface with a mixture of emotions. Feeling the light nudge on her head, she looked up to see the white star bobbing there in front of her. It nudged her again in affection. She smiled, patting it lightly.

"I know. At least I've always got you, eh?"

XxXxXxXx

Welp, that's the end of that. Hope everyone liked it. Please let me know in a review of what you think. It always helps to see where you guys would like to see the story to go. :) I have most of the details in place of where the story might flow, but I'm open to any ideas! Can't wait to see you all in the future! Take care, and be safe this holiday season.

~Tinker~