For future reference, yes, "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith" did indeed happen . . . I just completely forgot to write it. Sorry, guys. :(

201/250 comments now! Is there any way that goal total can be 300 now? ;) I know, I promised 250, but I'm a commentaholic (?). Pleeeeeease? The more comments, the more motivation I get, especially after this last week.

Anyway, children all creepily talking, the government trying to cover stuff up, and Torchwood is pretty much just being Torchwood. :) This will have everyone's POV, not just the good guys. It's just like watching the episode: everyone is heard.

Here's "Day One!"

***

"Come on, Tyler. Tyler, just stop it. I haven't got time to muck around! Tyler!" Gwen Cooper frowned and looked around from the ATM when she heard a woman complaining, then saw a mother trying to get her motionless son to move. "All right, I'll just leave you there," she turned away. "Is that what you want? If I just leave you in the middle of town?"

"We're going to be late!" a man said, and Gwen turned to see a father trying to get his daughter to move. "Suzette, stop it! You're just looking silly. Do you want other people to see you looking silly?"

***

"If he gives you any more trouble, your dad's going to punch his face in," Ianto Jones's sister, Rhiannon, said as she entered the kitchen, not seeming to notice the two children sitting at the table were frozen still. "I'll punch his bloody mother. Have you got that, David?"

***

"I've booked the car for seven thirty, but I might have to leave it on standby," John Frobisher said as he moved about his house, not noticing his two daughters were doing fantastic impressions of statues. "If Baxter starts talking, he never stops, so I can't guarantee what time. I'll tell you what, I'll send a text when I'm on the motorway."

***

"Steven if you leave the front door open, those cats are going to get in," Alice Carter rolled her eyes, walking to the front door, seeing her son standing there. "Darling, don't just stand there. You're gonna be late." She paused, seeing he wasn't responding at all. "Steven?" she crouched. "Steven?"

***

"Stop playing games!" Rhys Williams complained as he looked at the children standing still at the school crossing, blocking him from moving on. "Get out of the way! Oi! I said bloody shift, man!"

***

"David, are you listening to me?" Rhiannon asked one of the kids. "Mica! Oi, you two! Look at me!"

***

Steven suddenly blinked, then grinned at his mother. "See you, then!" he ran off.

***

"And you can shurrup an' all," David came back, glaring at his sister. "You were the one crying! You were like a baby, I seen you!"

"Was not!" Mica shot back.

"Was!"

"Was not!"

***

"You two, you're going to be late," Frobisher's wife, Anna, ushered her daughters out of the house.

"We're going, look," the younger of the two, Holly, stood up.

"I'm going round to Polly's later," Lilly added. "See you! Bye!"

***

"What?" Tyler asked as he started moving again.

"You are pushing it, you are, young man," his mother took his arm, Gwen still watching curiously. "Come on!"

Gwen shook her head and walked on, heading towards the Hub. "All right, Glyn?" she asked the water taxi man as she passed. "What's occurring?"

"I've been watching the bay," Glyn gestured. "No sea monsters."

"Ah, still early," Gwen grinned as she entered the Hub. "Anyone in?" she called.

"Morning!" Toshiko Sato called from where she was working on her computer.

"Morning!" Gwen replied, putting her stuff by her desk. "Where are the boys?"

"Owen had an appointment," Tosh answered casually. "Jack and Ianto went with him."

Which meant something was up. "Hey, can you do a search for me?" Gwen asked as she booted up her computer.

"On what?" Tosh asked, pulling up a browser.

"Children," Gwen said simply.

***

"Clear," Dr. Rupesh Patanjali called as he overlooked an operation. A defibrillator did not work, and he shook his head. "And again!"

"Charging two hundred," a nurse said, another doctor watching from the side, shaking his head.

"Clear!" Rupesh called, but the patient never revived. "I think we should call it. Everyone agree? OK, time of death, oh nine seventeen."

"Shame," Owen Harper sighed as he looked down at the body. "Poor Mr. Williams."

"I assume you'll want control of the body, Dr. Harper?" Rupesh asked.

"Into the side room, Sally," Owen gestured. The woman and Rupesh pushed the body into the side room, and Owen walked inside. "Thank you," Owen told them. "If I may have a moment alone?"

"Yes, sir," Rupesh nodded, leaving.

Owen waited until the door was locked, then kicked backwards, hitting the closet door behind him. He heard a muffled crash, then a curse. "When you two are done shagging, I'll need a hand," Owen snickered, shaking his head.

The door opened, and Captain Jack Harkness glared as he stepped out. "Was that necessary?" he demanded.

"Nah," Owen grinned as Ianto Jones was close to follow Jack. "But it was fun. He never revived. They've called it heart failure."

"Then let's get started," Jack clapped his hands as they all slipped on gloves.

Owen opened up his medical bag which did not contain the usual doctor's arsenal. "Laser saw," he held it up.

"Thank you," Jack took it, using the laser to slice open the corpse's abdomen. "Tongs?"

"Tongs," Ianto handed it over.

Owen held a light over the incision as Jack used the tongs to dig inside the corpse. "Almost got it," Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Sorry, one more - " Rupesh began as he entered, and he did a double take when he saw what was going on.

"Wait a moment, will you?" Owen asked, not even fazed. "Bit busy."

"There!" Jack pulled out a heart-sized, black mass from inside the body, holding it up. "Now, look at it. That's not human, is it? Does that look human?" he asked Rupesh, who dazedly shook his head. "No, it does not," Jack agreed. "It's just a hitchhiker he picked up. It didn't kill him."

"Some say they're positively beneficial," Ianto continued. "They release endorphins into the bloodstream. He died a happy man. And I've got Tupperware."

Jack dropped the black mass into the Tupperware container Ianto held out as Owen held up a new device. "And we're very considerate," he said. "We don't leave any mess." He sealed the laser wound up, no scar visible. "Thank you, Rupesh," he said, zipping his bag back up. "Find a new member for your medical team, will you?"

"Wait a minute!" Rupesh sputtered, heading after them as the trio walked back to the parking lot to get in their car. "Wait a minute! Whatever it was, that was mutilation. I should report you!"

"Go ahead," Owen waved a hand.

"Then why don't you?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"But that thing," Rupesh pointed at Owen's bag. "What the hell was it, that hitchhiker?"

"Try putting it into a report," Owen rolled his eyes. "Are we done?"

"You're Torchwood!" Rupesh pointed at them.

All three men stiffened. "Never heard of them," Jack shook his head.

"There are bodies going missing!" Rupesh shouted as they opened the doors to the car.

They all froze, and Jack instantly walked up to him. "What bodies?" he demanded. "Where?"

"It started two months ago," Rupesh sputtered. "Bodies, taken down to the mortuary, then the records just stop. Five of them, five in two months, and none of them white. One of West Indian descent, one African, three Chinese, all male."

Jack considered. "What was your name again?"

"Rupesh Patanjali," Owen answered for him.

"What do you think?" Jack asked Ianto.

"NHS," he answered.

"Yeah, too much red tape," Jack grimaced. "Sorry," he told Rupesh. "But good luck with it."

"Don't!" Rupesh shouted as they got into the car. "Look, wait a minute!"

Owen just waved as they drove off.

***

Frobisher entered the main office, only to stop when he saw a man in an army uniform standing next to his personal assistant, Bridget Spears. "Oh, Christ," he muttered.

"Good morning, sir," Bridget greeted as he approached.

"Morning," Frobisher nodded.

"Morning to you, too," the man in uniform nodded back.

"Colonel Oyuda for you, sir, unscheduled," Bridget said. "I'd remind you, you've got the Category Meeting at quarter past."

"You'd better come through," Frobisher held out his hand to welcome him into his office.

"Thank you," Oyuda nodded, going inside.

Bridget watched, then curled her lip as a young woman entered, looking very flustered. "I'm late," she panted. "Oh, my God, I'm really, really sorry!"

"Good morning," Bridget said politely. "Bridget Spears."

"Lois Habiba," she answered.

"Right," Bridget nodded, recognizing the name and gesturing to an empty seat. "This will be your desk."

Lois nodded and sat down.

***

"Just tell me it's something small," Frobisher told Oyuda as they walked inside. "Tell me it's a, it's a meteorite or a shadow on the moon. Just for once, tell me it's easy."

"Might be nothing, sir, but it's my job to inform the government, even if it turns out to be a false alarm," Oyuda shook his head.

"Then what is it?"

"Children, sir. It's the children."

***

"You are gonna get us killed!"

"No, you two get killed, not me. You'd die like dogs. Like, ugly dogs."

Gwen and Tosh looked up as Jack and Ianto entered, bickering like crazy, Owen behind them and snickering. "Oi, Chuckle Brothers!" Gwen called up to them. "I found something!"

"Yeah?" Jack walked over. "Well, I want you to do a check on Saint Helen's Hospital, specifically the morgue."

"In a moment, but Gwen found something else," Tosh shook her head.

"I've been getting reports this morning of seventeen traffic accidents happening right across the country, all the way from Glasgow to Saint Ives."

"Is that above average?" Jack frowned.

"Well, they all occurred between eight forty and eight forty one," Gwen shrugged. "Seventeen road traffic accidents, happening in exactly the same minute, and every single one of them involving children."

"That'll be the school run," Ianto realized.

"All of them were just standing in the road," Gwen nodded. "Not crossing the road, just standing. I saw it myself, Jack. Two kids on Market Street. Well, they just . . . stopped."

***

"But the accidents are just one part of a picture," Oyuda continued. "Because every other child stopped at the same time, and not just in Britain."

***

"Same reports from France," Ianto checked his computer, Owen logging onto his. "Fifteen road traffic accidents, all timed around nine forty. They're an hour ahead, so it was simultaneous."

"All involving children?" Gwen checked.

"Yep."

"More coming in here," Owen said, squinting as he read. "RTAs in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg . . . "

***

"Germany, India, Egypt, Guyana," Oyuda listed.

***

"Spain, Portugal, Bosnia, Tokyo," Owen's eyes grew wider as he read.

***

"Singapore," Oyuda finished. "At eight forty, GMT, most of America was asleep, but even there, we're beginning to get reports. I think we can assume it's all of them, sir. As far as we can tell, at eight forty this morning, every single child in the world stopped."

***

"Have you seen anything like this before, Jack?" Tosh asked Gwen.

"No way," he shook his head. "Kids . . . "

***

"Until we receive further information, we don't know if it's extraterrestrial in origin, though the United Nations has taken UNIT up to yellow alert, just in case," Oyuda finished.

"Bloody hell," Frobisher rubbed his head as someone knocked on the door, and a new woman walked in with cups of coffee. "And Colonel Mace, how is he getting on?"

"He's fine," Oyuda nodded ,taking one of the cups. "Wouldn't mind a post in Vancouver myself. Wonderful countryside, so they say."

"Nice for some," Frobisher muttered, eyeing the new woman oddly.

"Sorry," she apologized. "My name's Lois, Lois Habiba. Just started today. I'm helping out Miss Spears while they introduce the new computer system?"

"Thank you," Frobisher nodded, noting her name.

Lois walked back out, frowning. "All done," she told Bridget. "What's his uniform? That's not British Army, is it?"

"If you could start transferring the names and addresses," Bridget ignored the question, making Lois frown more.

***

"You have two daughters, is that right?" Oyuda asked.

"Yeah," Frobisher nodded. "Maybe I should get them home from school."

"I'd be careful, sir," Oyuda advised. "I wouldn't do anything to draw any attention. Right now, this thing's random enough to go unnoticed, and if anyone files a news report, we'll be crushing it. But, so far, we're the only ones with the software clever enough to piece this all together. Well, us and Torchwood."

"Do you want me to talk to them?" Frobisher snorted. "They're a pain in the backside, but they can be helpful."

"We're on to them right now," Oyuda said.

***

"OK, you find anything, let me know immediately," Jack said, then huffed as he hung up the phone. "Of all the times for Martha Jones to go on holiday. I get Sergeant Grunt. I'm talking to a sergeant! At least he said he'd put the request through to a commander. Commander Jennings or something?"

"Don't you dare phone her," Gwen glared at him. "She's busy trying to sort out what's his name."

"Ricky," Jack rolled his eyes. "Good luck to her."

"I thought it was Mickey," Ianto frowned.

"No, it's Ricky," Owen shook his head. "I suppose Mickey the Idiot counts, though."

"Ricky the Idiot," Jack rolled his eyes. "I don't know what Rosie ever saw in him. Anyway, UNIT base in Washington is running some tests on a couple of kids. Brain scans, blood sugar, checking for radiation. Nothing."

"You're right," Ianto said suddenly. "He's back."

"Ha ha!" Jack grinned. "I said so!"

"Who's back?" Gwen asked, confused.

"What the hell's he doing?" Owen asked as he scowled at the video feed.

"Waiting, just like Jack said," Ianto shrugged. "He's been there twenty minutes."

"Persistent," Jack mused.

"Good sign."

"Dogmatic."

"Always a plus."

"Christ, it's just as bad as you two," Gwen sighed, looking at Tosh and Owen. "They talk like twins. Tell us who he is."

"Rupesh Patanjali," Owen answered. "He saw the hitchhiker, the bodies going missing man."

"Need an assistant, Dr. Harper?" Jack looked at him.

"Hell, no," Owen snorted. "I'd rather not."

"Bodies going missing?" Tosh stood up. "Got it."

"Hey!" Owen called as she headed up the stairs to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I'm the nicest of us all," she shrugged. "I was going to go have a chat."

"Hang on," Gwen scampered after her. "I'm going with you."

Tosh was already out the door and walking into the Plass, heading for Rupesh. "Hey!" she called, making him turn. "Rupesh, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Toshiko Sato, and this is Gwen Cooper," Tosh gestured to Gwen as the woman ran up. "We're Torchwood."

His eyes widened.

***

"Three of the bodies were Chinese," Gwen examined the file Rupesh brought. "Were they related?"

"No," Rupesh shook his head. "One was twenty-seven years old, and the other two were in their fifties, but not from the same family."

"Bit odd, statistically, in a city this small," Tosh mused.

"That's what I thought," Rupesh nodded. "Mind you, nothing compared to that hitchhiker."

"Freak you out?" Gwen smiled sympathetically.

"Oh, yeah."

"Yeah, me, too. Apparently, anyone could have one."

"Don't," Tosh held up a hand as Rupesh's eyes widened. "We know."

"This place," Rupesh looked around. "Ever since I moved here, it's just . . . weird."

"Where are you from, then?" Tosh tilted her head.

"Me, Im from Chesterfield," Rupesh answered. "Came down here eighteen months back."

"Enjoying it?" Gwen smiled.

"Very much, yeah."

"I bet it doesn't pay you much, though."

"Not at first," he shrugged. "Could be worse."

"Torchwood's paid by the Crown," Tosh grinned. "You should've seen Gwen's face when she saw her first paycheck. I thought she was going to fall over."

"I had to hide it from my boyfriend," Gwen rolled her eyes. "I was buying clothes, had to stash them under the bed."

"What's it like, inside Torchwood?" Rupesh asked. "I mean, what do you do?"

"Why are you so interested?" Gwen asked.

"Well, from what I've heard, it sounds . . . I don't know . . . "

"Exciting?" Tosh tried.

"I suppose."

"Glamorous?"

"No, more sort of . . . " He thought. "The thing is, we've all seen it now, the past few years. Alien life, even though half the world's still denying it. For me, OK, it's the suicides. The past few years suicide rates have doubled, and that's ever since the first alien. My first case, my first death, was a suicide. Do you know why she did it? Because she'd written all these letters. She'd been a Christian all her life, and then alien life appears. She wrote this bit." He held up a letter. "She said, 'It's like science has won.'"

"Lost her faith," Gwen cringed.

"More than that," Rupesh shook his head. "She said she saw her place in the universe, and it was tiny. She died because she thought she was nothing."

"A wise woman said something to us once," Tosh smiled, thinking of the Apocalypse. "She's never met a human before who was nothing."

"I went through that, though," Gwen recalled. "Even now, I get terrified. But at the same time, it is brilliant and beautiful and completely bloody magic. It's bigger, you know? It's like . . . like the whole world is bigger. My life is bigger."

"Oh, shit," Tosh suddenly cursed, jumping from her chair. "Gwen, call Jack!"

Gwen spun to see Tosh run towards a woman trying to get her daughter to move. A quick look around the area had Gwen seeing children frozen in place. "Shit," she agreed with Tosh, calling Jack. "Jack, get up here right now," she said. "It's happening again, the children."

"Are you all right?" Tosh asked as she met the mother.

"We're fine," she nodded. "She's just playing a game."

"OK," Tosh said dubiously.

"Now, come on, sweetheart," the mother told her daughter. "People are staring at you. Sasha, stop it."

Suddenly, all the children opened heir mouths and screamed, making Tosh clap her hands over her ears. "What's she doing?" Jack asked as he ran up, the other men with him.

"I don't know," Tosh shook her head.

"Sasha, stop it!" the mother sobbed. "Sasha!" She turned to the team. "Please, help her!"

Owen ran over, crouching down to help, Ianto filming the entire thing, Rupesh trying to help as well. Suddenly, the children stopped screaming, and spoke as one. "We," they said. "We. We. We."

"Whoa," Rupesh said, shocked, as they kept repeating.

"We are," they changed. "We are. We are. We are. We are coming. We are coming."

"Oh, my God," Gwen stared.

"We are coming. We are coming. We are coming."

***

"Who's got children?" Frobisher asked as he entered the main office, shouting and startling the workers. "Find me a kid! Find me a bloody kid, now!"

***

But there was one person that was not a kid who was repeating as well. "We are coming," Timothy White, really Clement McDonald at the Duke of York Hospital kept whimpering, eyes wide. "We are coming. We are coming. We are coming. We are coming."

***

"We are coming," the children continued.

"Sasha, please," the mother sobbed. "My God!"

"We are coming."

"Who are you?" Owen frowned, looking around. "Who's coming?"

Sasha blinked suddenly, reaching out for her mother's hand. "Come on, Mum!" she said, tugging her off as the children ran around more.

Ianto stopped recording, and the five of them raced back towards the Hub. "Gwen, I'll get on to the Home Office," Jack called. "This thing's gone public. They're gonna needs us."

"No, no, no, hang on," Owen pointed at Rupesh as he ran after them. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't know," Rupesh shook his head. "I could help."

"You're bleeping," Owen pointed to his pager.

"Shit, yeah," Rupesh turned it off. "Sorry."

"The city's coming to a standstill. They'll need you back in A&E."

"We'll get back to you, promise," Tosh assured him.

"What's in there?" Rupesh peered over their shoulders, Jack, Gwen, and Ianto poking around the door to the Hub.

"Big science fiction superbase," Owen shrugged, jogging off.

"Honestly," Tosh grinned, waving. "See you!"

She ran off, taking Owen's hand, leaving Rupesh staring after them.

***

"I'm sorry, we've got no comment," Bridget fussed over telephone calls. "Can we leave it for now?"

"I'm sorry, he's not seeing anyone at the moment," Lois said on hers. "No, I'm sorry, I don't know who that is. I'm new."

"Anyone else, just tell them no, Bridget," Frobisher ordered. "No more calls."

"I'll have to abandon the press list," Bridget told Lois, handing her a Post-It note. "Can you set up an autoreply? You'll have to get into my account. That's the username, Spears. Password Hastings, capital H, rest of it lowercase."

"Right," Lois nodded.

"Bridget," a middle-aged man said as he walked up, a stern look on his face. "I want to see Mr. Frobisher."

Bridget swallowed. "Excuse me," she told Lois, heading for Frobisher's office and knocking on the door. "Sir?"

"I said no one!" Frobisher snapped.

"Mr. Dekker, sir," Bridget said, flustered.

Frobisher stiffened as the MI5 technology director entered. "456," he said. "I warned you."

***

"Just tell him it's Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said impatiently, talking to the flustered woman on the other side. "He'll take the call."

"I'm sorry, I can't," she apologized. "If you could just leave a number or - "

"Tell him it's Torchwood."

"Right, and how do you spell that?"

Jack did a double take. "You're working for the Home Office, and you've never heard of Torchwood?"

"I'm new, started today."

Jack groaned. "Just what I need. Sorry, not your fault," he told her. "You picked a hell of a day. Listen, just tell him Torchwood. W O O D. We might be able to help, OK? What was your name?"

"Lois," she answered. "Lois Habiba."

"Good luck to you, Lois Habiba."

***

"Been a while since we had visitors down here," Dekker gestured Frobisher to sit in his office. "Thought you'd forgotten about us. It's hardly the glamorous side of Thames House, my little domain. We converted the readings onto digital years ago, but I kept the original equipment. Call it nostalgia. Then this morning, it woke up. Eight forty, and again at ten thirty, transmitting on the 456." He played back a strange noise on his equipment. "Just five seconds in duration, but that's enough."

"What's it saying?" Frobisher asked.

"Well, I think it's a burst of compressed information. I'm running it through the translators. It might take a while. But the point is, the 456 was open."

"But why would they change?"

"That's your job to find out."

"I'll have to tell the Prime Minister," Frobisher warned.

"Elected officials?" Dekker snorted. "They just come and go. The 456 was here before him, it'll be here long after he's gone, and so will we." The Civil Service, John. The cockroaches of the government."

Frobisher stared at him. "Have you got kids?"

"Too busy working," he shook his head. "Turns out to be a godsend."

***

"I think it's a transmission," Tosh said. "A pulse, a broadcast."

"Like the Mosquito alarm, the one that only kids can hear," Owen nodded.

"Something unique to prepubescence," Jack nodded.

"Maybe testosterone interferes with the signal, and oestrogen - " Ianto began.

"Oh, no, no, no," Gwen hit her forehead with her palm, making them all turn to her. "Hold on. We're being dumbos. We're missing the bleeding obvious here! Look," she pulled up a video. "Recorded in Taiwan. The point being, anyone?"

"We are coming," the girl said. "We are coming."

"English," Owen realized.

"Exactly," Gwen nodded. "And all the footage is the same. So every single child in the whole wide world is speaking English. So why's that?"

"I guess if you scanned the Earth from the outside, you'd register English as the dominant language," Jack admitted.

"Actually, that would be Chinese," Ianto raised a hand.

"Mandarin," Tosh corrected. "There's about a billion people speaking Mandarin. That's three times more than English."

"Oh, my God," Gwen rubbed her temples.

"What?" Tosh protested.

"OK, ready?" Gwen asked. "So every singe child in the world is talking in unison, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded.

"Every single child . . . and one man."

"We are coming," the video a nurse had taken of Clem played on Gwen's computer. "We are coming."

"What the hell?" Jack stared. "Who's he?"

"Name's Timothy White," Gwen answered. "He's a patient in a psychiatric ward at the Duke of York Hospital, East Grinstead."

"How did you get this footage?"

"Staff emailed it to the police. But every police force is swamped with mums and dads going absolutely mental, so it's just waiting in line. I reckon no one else has noticed him yet."

"East Grinstead," Jack hummed. "That's what, two hours?"

"We're on it," Gwen nodded, heading for the stairs.

"Owen?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Right behind her," Owen ran off on her tail.

***

"I know I promised," Gwen sighed later as Owen drove, Gwen talking on her phone to her husband. "Shut up. Change of plan."

"Oh, it's all right, I thought you'd be busy," Rhys answered from where he was checking out a house. "We are coming."

"Eh, but what's it like?"

"The estate agent hasn't turned up. Ah, fair dos, though. She's probably got kids. So what do you think's causing it?"

"I can't say. Top secret."

"You haven't got a clue, do you?"

Gwen sighed, Owen snickering. "No idea."

"Tell you what, it looks nice from the outside. I reckon we could knock ten grand off the asking price. Three bedrooms, one could be a nursery."

"Oh, stop it," Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Well, one day!"

"You can adopt a Filipino and get her to clean the chimneys."

"Really?" Owen stared at her, surprised.

"Thing is, I was thinking though, right?" Rhys ignored Gwen. "Those kids went off at eight forty, when everyone's on their way to school, then at ten thirty. That's break time. It's like it was timed, you know? So you'd get maximum kids out in the open, visible to everyone."

Gwen thought it over. "I suppose."

"Yeah, but that means it's timed around Britain. Specific British hours, yeah? It might be worldwide, but I reckon someone's looking right at us."

Gwen stared at her phone, stunned. "That's brilliant!" she cheered. "That is brilliant! You're not bad, you, are you?"

"I'm bloody superb," Rhys said smugly.

"Severn Bridge," Owen announced. "Welcome to hell."

"Farewell forever," Gwen smirked. "We're going into England."

"Good luck," Rhys said. "Have you got currency?"

"Yes, and Owen made sure we had our injections," Gwen joked, making the man laugh fondly. "See you."

***

"Lunch time," Jack said as they sat at a table in the Plass. "This place should be buzzing with kids."

"Everyone's taken them home," Ianto shook his head.

"We need a child," Jack said out of the blue.

Tosh nearly choked on her drink. "Sorry?"

"Because we need to test those frequencies," Jack explained quickly as Ianto clapped Tosh on the back. "Find the right frequency, and we can find out who's transmitting."

"Where do you get a child, though?" Ianto asked. "I can find you lasers and Weevils and hitchhikers, but kids?"

Jack stood up. "See you later."

"Where are you going?" Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"Now who's a couple?" Jack asked as he went off.

***

"When I was a kid, it was the bomb," Prime Minister Green said as he read Frobisher's file. "Iron Curtain. Reds under the bed. It was all so bloody simple. Now it comes raining down from the skies, made of metal, stinking green and God knows what. I find myself running a country under siege from above."

"What do you recommend that we do?" Frobisher asked.

"You tell me."

He thought. "Given that this is now worldwide, Prime Minister, it might be best if certain historical events were taken off the record."

"So Britain gets a clean sheet?"

"Yes, sir."

"How do we know if these . . . what do we call them?"

"The 456. They never gave a name. We just called them the 456 after the frequency allocation."

"Then how do we know that the 456 will keep quiet?"

"We don't," Frobisher quipped. "All we can do is hope to cover ourselves. You'll have to issue a Blank Page."

"No," Green said bluntly.

"Then what do we do?"

"I'm not having my name on this. You never told me. I was never a part of it. I never knew. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Frobisher stood. "Then I take it that that leaves the Blank Page with me?"

"Just don't tell me about it," Green raised his hands.

***

"Darling, it's in the bottom drawer," Alice called to her son as she headed for the door. "I put them there yesterday, yeah?" She opened the door, only to stop. "Ah. I thought so."

"Good to see you," Jack smiled tensely at her. "How's things?"

"Terrifying," she admitted.

"Uncle Jack!" Steven cheered, running towards him.

"Steven!" Jack grinned, dropping down to hug him. "Hey, solider! How you doing?"

"I was talking like an alien!" he said excitedly. "Everyone was! It was brilliant!"

"You'd better come in," Alice sighed.

***

Ianto held up his hands as he entered his sister's home, seeing her jump, startled. "Only me," he said. "And a coworker."

"Oh, bloody hell," Rhiannon rolled her eyes, standing up straight. "We must be in trouble. Or is it Christmas?"

"Hello," Tosh smiled kindly, holding out a hand. "Toshiko Sato. Just Tosh."

"Rhiannon Davies," Rhiannon shook her hand.

"How are they?" Ianto looked at his niece over by the television.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a scare," Rhiannon admitted. "I brought them home, just in case, but I reckon it's that group hysteria thing, like when lots of girls all faint at the same time."

"That'd be nice," Tosh admitted.

Rhiannon watched with an eagle eye as Ianto gave Mica a five-pound note. "Did you say thanks to your uncle?" she asked.

"I did!" Mica protested.

"David, your Uncle Ianto's here!" Rhiannon shouted.

"I was thinking, I missed Mica's birthday," Ianto said, nodding to David as he ran down the stairs, holding up a ten-pound note for him. "I thought I could take her to McDonald's or something."

"That's all of three ninety five, you big spender," Rhiannon scowled.

"All right, cinema."

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Rhiannon nodded. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, Mica?"

"I thought maybe this afternoon," Ianto said as she nodded excitedly.

"No chance," Rhiannon shook her head. "What about Saturday?"

"I'm kind of busy on Saturday."

"You're a civil servant! They don't work weekends! They invented weekends. And I"m not having her going out. Not today, not with all that voice thing. I want 'em where I can see them."

"She'll be with me!"

"She's staying put!"

Ianto sighed. "Right. Fine. Just an idea. I won't bother you. Tosh?"

"Oh, that's it, is it?" Rhiannon scowled as they turned to leave. "You're just gonna go now? Oh, sit down, you daft sod, and your friend, too. I've got some of that spinach dip. And maybe she can help me interrogate you."

"About what?" Ianto asked, frowning as he sat down with Tosh.

Rhiannon grinned. "You've been seen."

Ianto blinked, wondering what she meant.

***

"They said on the news that we should send them back to school tomorrow," Alice told Jack as she poured him a cup of coffee. "Do you think it's safe?"

"Well, I don't know any more than you," Jack shrugged.

"Oh, come on!" she huffed.

"I don't! Any word from Joe?"

"In Italy, with her," she sighed. "They finally got married. But he, er . . . he phones every now and then, and sends Steven postcards, remembers his birthday. There are worse fathers."

"How are you off for money?"

"Don't worry about that, you give me enough," Alice waved a hand. "Kind of easy writing checks, huh?"

"Alice, you're the one who asked me to stay away," Jack reminded her. "I'd come round here every week if you wanted me to, every day."

"Yeah," Alice fiddled with her hands. "I just can't stand it, Dad. I look older than you do, and it's never gonna stop. I get older and older, and you stay the same. One day, you're gonna be standing at my funeral looking just like you did when you were standing at Mum's. No wonder she was so furious. You make us feel old."

"Actually, I found a grey hair," Jack smirked.

"Oh," Alice rolled her eyes. "Well, that is the end of the world."

"You ever gonna tell him?"

"What do I say, that you're his grandfather?"

"He's too young to notice right now that I don't age, but one day, he's gonna realize."

"And that's another reason for you to stay away."

"I suppose," he sighed. "I could make the most of it while he's still young. Take him out, buy him stuff. Me and him, sort of thing."

"You mean today?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"While I'm here, may as well."

"Oh, you bastard," Alice snarled, making him wince slightly. "Something happens to kids, and you want to spend time with him on the same day. You are not experimenting on that boy, Dad, not ever! That's why I want you to stay away. Because you're dangerous."

***

Later, as Jack left the house, he dialed a number he had found. "Dr. Patanjali," Rupesh said as he picked up. "You were paging me?"

"Rupesh?" Jack asked. "Captain Jack Harkness. You've got a children's ward, haven't you? I need a kid."

***

"Susan on the corner was in town, and it was her anniversary, so they went to that posh French place in town by the memorial, and there was you," Rhiannon smirked.

"So?" Ianto frowned, not getting where this was going.

"There was you, having dinner with a man."

Ianto shifted uneasily, looking at Tosh, who was trying not to smile over her cup of coffee. "So?"

"Having dinner with a man in a restaurant."

"So? You have dinner with Tina."

"Not in town! Susan said he was gorgeous! Like a film star, like an escort."

Tosh choked on her drink, finally laughing, and Ianto scowled. "He's our boss."

"She said it was intimate," Rhiannon shrugged, ignoring he said anything. "I said, 'well, he's had girlfriends,' and she said, 'well, no girl was getting her feet round that table.' No chance. Have you gone bender?"

"Mica's hearing this!" Ianto hissed.

"She's not bothered," Rhiannon shrugged. "Her friend Sian's got two mothers. Go on. You never tell me anything these days. Dad died, that was it. You were off. You couldn't wait, like I did something wrong. I didn't, did I?"

Tosh cleared her throat. "Maybe I should," she pointed towards the living room, then hurried over to Mica.

Ianto sighed, shaking his head. "It's not that. It's my job. It's difficult. It's . . . " He sighed. "He is very handsome," he admitted.

"No," Rhiannon grinned.

"Now, stop it," he pointed at her.

"You're kidding me!" Rhiannon laughed. "Really, though? Really? Christ almighty! He's nice, though, isn't he? Is he? Oh, my God, I mean, since when?"

"It's weird," Ianto sighed. "It's just different. It's not men, it's just him. It's only him, and I don't even know what it is, really, so . . . so I'm not broadcasting it."

"Oh, no, honest, I won't say," Rhiannon crossed her heart. "If you want it kept quiet, I swear, I won't say a word. I promise."

"Aye aye, gay boy!" a voice laughed, and Ianto groaned, putting his head in his hand as Rhiannon's husband, Johnny, walked inside. "She says you're taking it up the arse. Mica, will you get off that thing?"

"Thanks," Ianto stood up.

"How've you been, then, you smart bastard?" Johnny hugged Ianto, then frowned as a car alarm wailed. "Eh, whose car is that outside? Is that you? Black thing?"

"That's the company car," Ianto frowned, looking at Tosh.

"You want to watch it on this estate, boy."

"It's top of the range," Tosh headed for the door. "It's got a triple deadlock."

Tire squeals rang in the air, and Johnny smirked. "Oh, aye. Sounds like it."

Tosh ran out the door, Ianto behind her, only to see the car drive off. "Oh, but it's got a triple deadlock!" Ianto looked at Tosh, surprised.

"They can't have!" Tosh agreed.

"No, because what they do is, see, they drive round the block, then they come back for a lap of honor," Johnny said, picking up a few bricks. "The victory parade, we get them."

"I'll phone the police," Tosh got out her phone.

"Nah, it's more fun this way," Johnny smirked, hefting a brick as the joyriders drove back their way. "Right, here they come. Get ready!"

Johnny threw his brick at the car as they drove past. "Yay!" David grinned from the doorway.

"David!" Rhiannon grabbed his arm. "Get inside, now!"

"That's our car!" Ianto stared after the Rover.

"I'm not telling you again, get inside!" Rhiannon pushed David inside. "I'll take your computer off you, get in."

"I'm not telling Jack," Tosh looked at Ianto quickly.

"That's our car," he mumbled, almost like he was pouting.

***

"Timothy White, fifty two years old," the nurse said as Gwen and Owen walked down the hall. "He's been with us three months, but he's got a history of being in and out of care all his life."

"Timothy White's," Gwen mused as they watched him on the monitor. "My mum used to shop there."

"Well, if he's got a different name, he's never said. He spent forty years living in Leeds. That's where he first came on record. Found homeless, living on the streets at the age of eleven."

"Eleven?" Gwen repeated, surprised.

"Bloody hell," Owen shook his head.

"No one ever reported him missing," the nurse added. "Apparently, though, he did have a Scottish accent back then. Gone now, but he was a long way lost."

***

Owen sat leaning back in his chair, watching Timothy rock in his chair. Gwen took a more kindly approach, speaking softly to him. "Can you remember the voice?" she asked. "You said 'we are coming.' Can you remember why?" He didn't say anything. "Do you know what I think it was?" she asked, grinning. "Aliens."

"There's no such thing," Timothy shook his head.

"That's what they all still say," Owen rolled his eyes.

Gwen swatted him without looking at him. "Those days are gone," she told Timothy. "I don't mean to scare you because you're perfectly safe, but I think aliens are using you to speak. What do you think?"

"No such thing," he shook his head nervously. "Isn't it. Isn't it."

"We've met aliens," Owen gestured to Gwen. "It's part of our job. But we're not the authorities or the police or the army, so anything you say is between us and you, and I guarantee we'll believe you."

Timothy frowned before looking at Gwen. "Give me your hands." Gwen frowned, then held hers out. Timothy snatched it and gave it a sniff, then did the same to Owen, though the man seemed a bit taken aback. "You're telling the truth," he said, surprised.

"How can you tell?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"I can smell it."

"That shouldn't surprise me," Owen rubbed his forehead.

"You've met them?" Timothy asked.

"Dozens of them," Gwen nodded.

"Still not safe," Timothy muttered, looking at a camera in the corner. "Isn't it, isn't it? They're watching."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Well, I reckon we can do something about that."

"Shush shush," Gwen winked, holding up a pen-like device, clicking it, and the camera shut off. "What's that thing?" Timothy stared.

"I believe our consultant called it a gizmo," Owen grinned, remembering the Apocalypse.

Timothy laughed. "Isn't it?"

"I think you've seen aliens, too," Gwen said. "What's your name? What's your real name?" Timothy froze. "When did you last say your name?"

"Never," he mumbled.

"Then tell me."

"I was a kid."

"What happened?" Owen tilted his head.

"They took us out," he whispered. "In the night, in the dark, isn't it, isn't it? They told us, they said we were going to a new home."

"Who did? Who said?"

"The staff."

"A care home?" Gwen desperately hoped.

"They drove us away for miles and miles," Timothy whimpered. "They were there in the sky."

"What did they look like?"

"Light. The light took them."

"Took who?"

"My friends."

"But not you?" Owen asked, surprised. Aliens usually didn't miss anyone.

"I ran," Timothy recalled. "There was something, there was people, there was . . . isn't it, isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?"

"Shush," Gwen put her hands over his. "You're all right. You're safe, OK? You're safe now."

"But they're coming back," Timothy whimpered. "I've been smelling them for months, in the air. Long time coming."

"Tim, we can help," Gwen soothed. "Look at me. We can help. If kids went missing, something's got to be written down, and we will find it. But to do that, we need to know your name."

He sniffed. "I was Clem. Clement MacDonald."

"Hi, Clem," Gwen grinned.

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Nice to meet you," Owen waved at him.

"Where were you from?" Gwen asked. "It was somewhere in Scotland. Do you remember?"

"Holly Tree," Clem said.

"Holly Tree. Now, then, is that a town, or a place, or - ?"

"The Holly Tree."

"The Holly Tree? Is that where it happened?" She frowned, seeing his eyes glaze. "Clem? What was the Holly Tree? What was the Holly Tree?"

Clem sniffed, then looked at her. "You're pregnant."

Owen's jaw dropped. "Sorry?" Gwen sputtered, eyes wide.

"Yes, you are," Clem nodded.

"No way!" Owen looked at Gwen, stunned.

"No, I don't think so," Gwen shook her head.

"Yes, I can smell it," Clem nodded. "Three weeks."

The door suddenly opened, and Clem let go of Gwen as the nurse staggered in. "Oh, bloody hell, I've been running," she panted. "That camera's gone off. It just went dead. Still, no harm done, eh?" She looked at them. "Everything all right?"

"Yes," Owen nodded, looking at a still stunned Gwen. "We're fine, thanks."

"Right, well, I think you've had long enough," the nurse nodded. "Time for your meds, isn't it, Tim? If you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Gwen shook her head, standing.

"Congratulations," Clem whispered.

***

Ianto picked up the phone when it rang, and Gwen instantly started talking. "Ianto, I need a search on Clement MacDonald. Could be Mc or Mac, and try the words Holly Tree and Scotland. We're looking at the 1960s, got that?"

"Yep," Ianto looked at Tosh, who wrote it down.

"Then try the words Timothy White, with the option of Timothy White's apostrophe S, like the shop."

"We lost the car," Ianto told her.

"Yeah, and if you find anything, let me know straight away. Don't wait for me to get back."

"These kids nicked it," she tried again.

"Yeah, we'll see you later."

***

"You'll find the names under 456."

"And what do you want me to do?"

Lois looked up when she heard Frobisher and Bridget talking, then watched Bridget work at her computer for a while. When she left, Lois quickly worked on her computer, logging in under Bridget. She checked the last email sent, seeing there was no email in the "To" location, and the subject said Blank Page.

Her eyes widened when she saw what the attachment was: a list of people to kill. She quickly did a scan of the document, then gasped when she recognized a name.

Captain Jack Harkness, a member of Torchwood.

***

Jack walked up to Rupesh, exiting his blue convertible. "I promise, we can zap these kid's memories so they won't remember a thing," he said as he walked up. "No side effects."

"Look, there's been another death," Rupesh said.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

***

"Mister Chow Lee Jee, Chinese again," Rupesh said, showing Jack the body. "He came in with a nosebleed that wouldn't stop. Next thing you know, it's been diagnosed as a brain hemorrhage. He died at sixteen twenty five. Sorry, he's with me," he held up his badge to someone inside. "Doctor Patanjali, A&E." Jack smirked, recalling Harriet Jones. "We just need to check Mr. Chow Lee Jee."

"Well, he hasn't gone missing," Jack noted.

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Need to run a toxicology scan," Jack walked over to inspect the corpse. "Not on the NHS, we've got much better equipment. Pupil's blown. That corresponds with a brain hemorrhage, though it could be induced artificially. No sign of trauma to the skin, apart from bruising, but that's - "

BANG!

Jack fell to the floor, dead, Rupesh standing over him with a gun. "Get them in," he ordered as a block ops team ran in. "Seal off the area."

***

"The name Clement MacDonald hasn't been active for forty four years, but here he is. Torchwood found him under the name of Timothy White."

"That's way beyond coincidence," Agent Johnson answered the report in her ear as she walked down the hall to the morgue. "Bring him in."

"Who changed the plan?" Rupesh asked as she entered. "I spent months researching that, and they believed me! Perfect infiltration. I thought you wanted me inside Torchwood to see what they've got in there."

"Who killed the Chinese man?" Johnson looked at the body.

"I did. I had to. It was perfect timing. He just fitted the story."

"Then get off your high horse, yeah? Any sign yet?"

"Not so far. Do you think it's true? What they say about him?" Jack gasped for breath suddenly, sitting up, but Johnson simply shot him, and he flopped down, dead again. "He was dead!" Rupesh stared.

"Now he's dead again," Johnson sneered. "And we'll keep killing him till he's ready. get him prepared."

"Yes, ma'am," an orderly nodded.

"How the hell does he do it?" Rupesh wondered.

"No one knows," Johnson shook her head. "Theory would suggest it's connected to the Torchwood Hub, that Rift thing, which makes the whole place a target."

"What changed the orders?"

"The children." Johnson watched the orderly operate on Jack, opening up his abdomen and putting something inside. "Seal him up. Closing down. Everybody out. Put him back where he was."

"He's going to wonder where I've gone," Rupesh said as he watched. "How are we going to cover that?"

"How do you mean?" Johnson looked at him.

"Well, he's gonna try and trace me."

"You're not disappearing."

"Yeah, but I've got to. He's gonna - " His eyes widened in realization, and he sped off.

"Sides!" Johnson ordered, stepping into the hall. Her men stepped to the side, and she took a clean shot down the corridor, striking Rupesh dead.

***

When Jack woke up, he saw a place clear of tape, and Rupesh dead next to him. "Oh, no," he said.

***

"Result!" Tosh cheered as Gwen walked inside with Owen, Ianto watching over her shoulder. "There was a Holly Tree Lodge just outside Arbroath. It's a hotel now, but up until 1965, it was a state-run orphanage, and they had a Clement MacDonald. He was taken into care April 1965, after his mother died. No father on record. November 1965, he was transferred, along with - " She paused, frowning. "Where'd they go?"

***

"Five to Control. Harkness now approaching door one, over."

"He's inside," Johnson said as she watched. "We don't know how deep that place goes. Give it five. Over."

***

"We need damage control at St. Helen's," Jack told Ianto as he walked inside. "One body, Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, shot in the back."

"What happened?" Ianto's eyes widened as Tosh looked up.

"I don't know," Jack shook his head. "He was just left there, right beside me, like someone's gloating."

"Jack," Tosh frowned. "Did they kill you?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Maybe we're being targeted. Whether it was him or me, we should be careful. Better tell Gwen and Owen."

"They're back," Ianto said. "They're in the lab."

Jack nodded, heading that way. "Gwen? Owen?" he called.

***

"Just like this," Owen laid Gwen's hand down on the scanner, then grinned when the projection on the wall showed a little pink dot inside Gwen. "Well, looks like our friend was right."

"Oh, my God," Gwen stared, stunned.

"Boy, have I had a day," Jack said loudly as he walked inside, then froze, seeing what they saw. "Oh, my God, is that?"

"Oh, yes," Owen grinned.

"How long?" Jack walked up, grinning widely.

"Three weeks," Owen recalled Clem saying, double checking. "Yeah, three weeks."

"That's good, isn't it?" Jack asked them. "From where I'm standing, it looks good to me."

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "Bloody hell . . . it's brilliant!"

"Oi! Tosh! Ianto!" Owen called. "We're having a baby!"

"What?" Tosh ran inside, then squealed when she saw the projection, running over to hug Gwen. "Oh, my God, that's brilliant!"

"Have you told Rhys?" Ianto asked as he, too, walked up, putting a hand on Gwen's shoulder.

"I've only just found out myself," Gwen said meekly.

"Oh, you told me before you told him?" Jack grinned. "He is gonna love that."

"I'll dial the police," Owen smirked.

"Congratulations," Ianto grinned. "Would now be a good time to tell you we lost the car?"

Jack stared at him. "You did what?!"

Gwen frowned, hearing the sound of wheezing. "Guys?"

"It wasn't our fault!" Tosh defended. "Joyriders! It's a bad neighborhood!"

"And what were you doing in a bad neighborhood, Toshiko Sato?" a familiar voice asked.

"Calsie!" the entire Torchwood team greeted as the woman leaned on the staircase railing, grinning, though she looked extremely tired, with Rose and Jenny close by.

"Oh, my God!" Rose stared at the screen. "Gwen?"

"Yeah," she grinned. "I'm having a baby."

"Congratulations!" the Apocalypse ran down the stairs to take a look and hug her. "That's wonderful!"

"It's bloody spectacular!" Gwen agreed as the Apocalypse hugged Jack, her sister and daughter making the rounds to say hi to everyone as well. "But what about this place, and my job?"

"We'll manage," Jack promised, putting his hand on top of hers. "We always do."

Gwen smiled - and it slipped from her face when an alarm blared. "Oi!" Jenny clapped her hands over her ears. "What's that?"

"A better question," Rose pointed to a blinking red thing that appeared in Jack's stomach. "What is that?"

"Oh, my God," Owen checked the readings. "That's a bomb!"

"There's a bomb in your stomach!" Ianto stared at Jack.

"How the hell did that happen?" the Apocalypse looked at him.

"The morgue at the hospital!" Jack guessed, shoving Gwen and Tosh out. "Get out, all of you!"

"No!" Gwen shook her head.

"Blast radius, reading one mile," Owen blanched.

"Right now, Calypsie can take you out," Jack said. "Get out!"

"There must be something we can do!" Tosh look at him.

"Trust me," the Apocalypse said, making them turn to her. "There is."

"Will I like this?" Jack looked at her.

"Won't hurt a bit," she promised.

***

"We are coming," the girls at the Frobisher home suddenly said, making Anna jump. "We are coming."

"John!" Anna wailed, calling for her husband. "John!"

"We are coming. We are coming."

***

"We are coming," Steven recited. "We are coming."

"Stop it!" Alice shook him.

***

"We are coming," David said, making Rhiannon and Johnny turn to him. "We are coming. We are coming. We are coming."

***

"Zoom in on it," the Apocalypse ordered, and Owen spun the scan around, the Apocalypse raising her hands, eyes glowing gold as she stood in front of Jack, the Vortex rippling in her hands. "I'll need to see exactly how to do this."

"You're not going to dismantle that while it's still inside him, are you?" Gwen stared.

"No, I'm going to kill him and rip it out to do it," the Apocalypse rolled her eyes. "That's exactly what I'm doing, Gwen."

"Here we go," Owen finished zooming in.

"Fantastic." The Vortex increased as the Apocalypse aimed it at Jack's stomach. "Allons-y!"

***

"Stop it, Stephen!" Alice sobbed. "Stop it!"

"We are coming," he said.

***

"Stop it!" Frobisher ran down to look at his girls.

"We are coming," they said.

"Stop it!" he begged, Anna sobbing. "Stop it!"

"We are coming. We are coming."

***

"Here we go," the Apocalypse narrowed her eyes. "And . . . " The blinking dot disappeared, and the alarm faded, making everyone sigh in relief. "There we go," she grinned, brushing her hands off. "One of the few times I'm glad the Experiments were trained to deal with suicide bombers."

"Um, Mum? Uncle Jack?" Jenny pointed to a screen. "Why are the kids all saying the same thing?"

"What?!" Tosh ran over to check, eyes wide. "Jack! It's happening again!"

"What is?" Rose asked, confused. "What's happening again?"

"It's the children," Jack answered. "They've been acting like this all day."

"Acting like what?" the Apocalypse narrowed her eyes.

***

All around the world, the children finished their message. "We are coming . . . back."

***

Next time I do this, I'm starting from when Jack returns. That entire thing was . . . long.

But hey, one down, four to go! :D Hope you liked the rewrite. It's about to get majorly AU from here on.

Oh, also, earlier when I said everyone was going to be saved . . . someone is still gonna die. }:) Who is it, though? Guess!