A/N - Wow. I know it's been forever. Excuse time: I had a bunch of 'college problems' to take care of over the summer and then this whole semester was full of lab reports and tests for physics (which sucked because we had a really horrible teacher that didn't actually teach us anything), about 6 speeches, and 4 history essays to write. I was going to write over Thanksgiving, but we ended up visiting family. But at least I'm back now, right? Also, I can't believe it's taken me two years to write 20 chapters. But, what can I say other than: college? Anyway, getting back to the story, sorry if it's not the best thing I've written. It can be hard to just jump back in, ya know? Anyway, (if you haven't already skipped this paragraph) enjoy!

Chapter Twenty

One Week Later…

Jack rushed out of his office carrying a locked Torchwood box and set it down on the table. "Unlabeled Class D artifacts. Tosh, I need you to run a full check," he asked her as she passed by.

The small Japanese woman replied, "Sure."

"Owen, you can help," the Captain added.

"Happy to."

Turning to another man, Jack said, "Adam, I know how much you love audits," to which he replied, "Ah, it's gotta be done."

"If you could," Jack started to say before Adam cut in, "go through the reports, find out when they came through the rift."

As Adam sat down, his leader asked if it was okay.

Meanwhile, Gwen entered the Hub, back from vacation.

"You're late," was the first thing the Captain said to her.

Grinning, the Welshwoman replied that Paris was lovely before she spotted Adam.

"Who the hell is this?" she asked the group incredulously.

Smiling, Adam got up and walked over to her. "Just because that's what I said to you on your first day," the man put his hand on Gwen's shoulder, "Remember?"

She suddenly saw flashbacks of laughing at her workstation with Adam, making coffee at the espresso machine, and playing basketball together.

Grinning back, she replied, "Sorry, couldn't resist. Come here, you!" and pulled him into a hug, "Good to see you."

Looking around the open space, the woman took in her grinning coworkers: Jack, in his usual outfit, Tosh, looking confident, Owen, wearing a conservative sweater and glasses, and Ianto making coffee.

"Where's-" she started to ask before Trace came out of the kitchen.

The teenager, dressed in a black skirt, white blouse, and conservative shoes, lit up upon seeing Gwen.

She quickly moved to hug the woman, saying, "Gwen! Welcome back! Did you have fun? I bet you did."

The Welshwoman merely laughed and shook her head, thinking same old Trace.

The two were interrupted, however, when Jack cleared his throat and pointed to his watch.

"Oh, right!" Trace grinned sheepishly before picking up her bag from the couch and walking over to her father, whom she gave a quick hug. He responded with a peck on her cheek and wishing her a good day at school before the girl bounded out of the Hub.

Adam sat at his computer with his personnel file on the screen and quickly typed in:

NAME: ADAM SMITH

D.O.B.: 16/11/82

RECRUITED: 05/07/050 – 0000

He had just hit 'enter' when he heard Toshiko ask what he was doing. Clearing the screen, he answered, "Nothing. Just finished updating details of rift activity.

Shrugging it off, the woman showed him a box with intricate patterns on the side, asking, "Any idea when this came through? It's got a low meson energy reading."

Taking the box and setting it aside, he casually said that he'd keep looking before placing his hand on her neck.

She suddenly saw flashbacks of smiling at Adam, who returned the smile, and kissing him before, coming back to the present, pulling him into a passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Adam spoke.

"A year ago today."

"Our first kiss."

"You remembered." Tosh then hummed before the two resumed kissing.

Later, at lunch, Trace sat chattering away about this and that while Todd stared at her in shock.

"Trace?" he finally interrupted her. When she stopped talking, he figured that was permission to go on. "Have you been feeling okay?"

The girl smiled and chuckled before replying, "Of course I do. Why would you ask suck a silly thing?"

"Um, well, you're acting kinda weird." Trace went to speak, but he continued anyway. "It's just that, well, you uh- you never- ah, huh, I mean, I've ne-never seen you wear anything other than jeans and boots. But you're wearing a skirt."

Giving him a weird look, she said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I've always dressed like this."

Gaining confidence, Todd replied, "No. No, you don't. And it's not just your clothes. You're never that friendly to anyone, me included, unless you want something. You're behaving in class, which is totally weird. Not to mention that you're not complaining about your 'so-called father'."

Now thoroughly confused, she spoke up. "Why would I act up or complain about my dad? I love him. You're acting as if I'm normally mean and act out-of-control."

They were interrupted by the bell ringing, signifying the end of lunch. Standing up, Todd said one last thing. "I don't mean to be mean, or rude, or whatever, so no offense, but you are."

Trace sat there, watching him walk away, wondering if he'd lost his mind…or if she had.

Meanwhile, back at the Hub, Jack was down in the vaults. As he walked by the first cell, a weevil slammed against the glass and growled, to which he said, "Save it!" and continued on his way.

However, as he was going by the next cell, he saw a little boy in there. Stopping and turning to look, he saw a flash of an image of a child's hand slipping out of another's.

"Jack?"

Spooked, the immortal turned to see Gwen in the doorway before glancing back to see an empty cell. Making his way towards her, she asked if he was okay.

"Yeah, fine," he responded before giving a nervous laugh and glancing back again. But his attention was drawn back to the Welshwoman when she slapped him on his behind.

"Did you miss me?" she asked teasingly.

Grinning, Jack asked if she was gone before reaching for her. Gwen ran out, laughing, and he followed behind her, pausing to take one last look back.

A few hours later, Trace entered the Hub hugging her bag to her chest, looking deep in thought. Everyone looked up and greeted her while Jack approached for a welcome-home hug.

He stopped short, though, upon seeing the look on her face. Becoming concerned, the man asked her what was wrong, but the teen simply shook her head and headed to her room.

Not about to let this, or anything to do with his baby girl, go, he followed her.

Once the two were out of sight, Tosh and Adam returned to their own respective work, while Gwen and Ianto sat on the couch, one flipping through a file and the other toying with some device.

"Just doing a quick check," Toshiko broke the silence, "We had rift activity two days ago, but nothing seems to have come through."

Suddenly, a stuffed rodent appeared behind the woman's monitor. "Apart from me!" Owen said in a squeaky little voice.

Laughing, the medic squeezed the toy to make it squeak and Tosh asked what it was.

"It's a screen-cleaner," he answered, "I thought you might like it, um…do you…do you like it?"

"Just what I need. A small rodent looking at me while I work. Think I'll call it Owen."

Gwen chuckled as everyone watched the rejected man head back to the autopsy bay clutching a folder.

"He's like a little puppy, bringing her sticks. When's he gonna realize he's got no chance?" the Welshwoman thought out loud.

Ianto threw in that love is blind before commenting on how Owen had been following Tosh around for years.

"Oh, leave him alone," Adam interjected, "I think it's sweet. He's happy."

Changing the topic, Ianto wondered out loud what Trace and Jack could be talking about.

Trace knew her father was following her, but she was fine with it. She had been planning on discussing this with her father anyway. They never kept anything from each other. However, that didn't make it any easier once they were seated on her bed and he was waiting for her to speak.

"Alright, it's like this, Dad: Todd said some things today," the teen started uneasily.

"What kind of things?" Jack asked, waiting patiently for her to answer.

"Well, at lunch he told me that I'm acting weird. He said that I always wear jeans and boots and that I'm basically mean and act up unless I want something."

"Are the two of you having problems, or had a fight, or something?" the Captain questioned.

Shaking her head, Trace went on. "No, but after school, when I went to kiss him good-bye, he looked at me, shocked. And he's been acting weird for the last two days or so."

Mulling it over for a minute, Jack said that maybe Todd was distancing himself to prepare for a break-up.

"I don't think so, Dad. And here's the really weird thing: I've noticed that the teachers and other kids are always giving me these looks, like they are just waiting for me to do something, ya know?"

"I'm sure it's just your imagination, sweetheart," he patted his daughter's knee.

The girl gave a frustrated sigh before saying, a bit hotly, "I really don't think so, Dad! I just get this feeling, like maybe Todd's right. Something's wrong, at least. I don't know what, but Todd swears on his mother's life that we're not dating and that I'm not like this."

Jack raised his hands as if to say that he surrenders before speaking again. "Alright, alright. I believe you. If you figure out what's 'wrong', let me know, okay?"

He then stood up and kissed Trace's head before leaving.

Feeling extremely frustrated and confused, the teen put her pillow to her face and let out a scream.