#wcrwed

                                        The Other Side 

“…once you embrace the screaming darkness, eventually, you kill.”  Blue Moon, an Anita Blake novel by Laurell K. Hamilton 

The young woman’s progress down the opposite side of the busy street was easy to follow from the darkened second floor window.  The watcher crouched down on the floor, raising his head from the shadows just enough to peer through the broken slats of the old blinds.  Sunlight glinted off golden highlights in her chestnut hair as she navigated through the afternoon crowds, disappearing periodically only to suddenly turn up behind two children on their way home from school or to smile at a shopkeeper chasing away lounging teenagers.  The only outward sign of her discomfort was the shopping bag clenched too tightly to her chest.

Suddenly she stopped.  Her face lifted as she hastily scanned the windows of the buildings lining the street, reminiscent of a rabbit caught in the shadow of a swooping hawk.  The watcher dropped back down into the shadows to avoid frightening her further.  When he dared to raise his head again the young woman was gone without a trace, the crowd coursing unbroken over the spot where she had just stood.

The momentary glimpse had been enough to answer all his questions.  She was frightened of something.  Even if she refused to see him long enough to tell him what was wrong, he would protect her.  No one would ever harm her again.

* 

Special Agent Ty Grady flipped miserably through the stack of printouts on his desk. There were files for a number of cold cases, some of them stretching back years, which was usually more his partner’s thing than his own. However, since profiles were involved, Zane had shoved them in his direction earlier in the day with the absolutely reasonable stance that profiles were Ty’s thing and he’d just get in the way, and then disappeared in favor of… Well, whatever the hell he was currently off doing.  Sneaking a quick peak around the office, Ty seriously considered heaving them all into the trashcan and setting it on fire. He was reasonably certain that he could make it look like an accident. Which would likely involve more paperwork. It was a vicious, never-ending cycle. To add insult to injury, no matter how many buttons he pushed, his computer absolutely refused to do him a solid and die. Or explode. There was a thought. An explosion right now would be awesome. Dropping his head on one hand, he attempted to resign himself to the inevitable, pausing only to glare accusingly at the conveniently empty desks of his work group.

 Once upon a time he’d been a Marine, and paperwork had been someone else’s problem. He was sure it had probably existed, somewhere, but rarely where he had to see it, much less spend Friday afternoon on a beautiful fall day trying to think up a new reasonable-sounding allergy to ink. His oldest friend, Nick O’Flaherty, a Boston PD detective, insisted that somewhere a poor retired and very bitter ex-cop spent his days locked in a back room dreaming up new forms as a punishment to the young and active.  Ty usually just laughed at these pronouncements, but sometimes the idea had merit.  Especially at 3:30 on Friday afternoon with no end in sight. 

Ty sighed and ran a hand through his already tousled short dark hair.  As much as he would love to just shove the paperwork back at his suspiciously absent partner, he was pretty sure that would be a bad idea. He had plans for tonight. Very well thought out plans. This was their first weekend off together in almost a month and he was not going to ruin it by side tracking Zane before sunset on the first day.  His brain almost short-circuited as his thoughts drifted, until the sound of a door slamming down the hall abruptly forced his attention back to the present. Paperwork. All he had to do was finish sorting these files and try to find patterns in the profiles, no matter how pointless that sounded, and he was out of here. It should be easy enough to finish. It’s not like he was likely to find anything linking a bank robbery from 1978 to a murder investigation from 1995 or a missing person’s report from 1999. He’d been looking over them for hours now, and had yet to find any sort of common ground. The more he studied them, the more certain he was that Mac, their Special Agent in Charge, was punishing him for something. Possibly preemptively.  

Just two and a half more hours. Keep it together, Grady.

Tapping the end of his pen absently against the desktop, his eyes wandered again from the stack to the empty desks directly across from his.  The tapping picked up in tempo as his expression slid from one of longing to a scowl of annoyance.  He knew for a fact that Zane, at the very least, was supposed to be helping him, so where was he?  Then again, knowing Zane, there was a decent chance that he’d finished whatever it was he did on his computer all day hours ago and Ty just hadn’t noticed. If that was the case, maybe he could bribe the other man into finishing this for him.

Right. And maybe the Earth was going to come to a screeching halt and reverse itself on its axis.

A hand reached over his shoulder and snatched the paper that was currently dangling loosely from his fingers.  “Jesus, Grady, you’re not done yet?”

Ty rolled his eyes, fighting down a burst of irritation.  He yanked back the paper and shot Scott Alston, another Special Agent in their work group and an old friend, a scathing look.  “I’m working on it.”

Scott smiled, mischievous laughter glinting in his blue eyes.  That was never a good sign. He leaned forward slightly, his voice a mockery of a conspiratorial whisper that could probably be heard halfway across the room.  “Daydreaming about Lone Star?” 

“What?”  The flustered question escaped before Ty could help himself. Scott’s question was close enough to Ty’s ongoing daydream that he instinctively rolled his chair back, giving himself space to think. He could feel his guts begin to roll and his breath hitch slightly with the first signs of panic. Accidently outing them was all he needed to cap off his day.

Luckily, Scott laughed and dropped down in his own chair. “Chill, Grady.” He shook his head, then cast a speculative look in Ty’s direction. “It hurts my feelings, though,” he continued, face adopting a mock pained expression. “I mean, has anyone actually met this woman? She’s approaching legendary status." 

Ty shook his head, adopting what he was reasonable sure was a saddened expression. “Not. Gonna. Happen.”

Scott snorted. “So you say. Who are you trying to protect, her or us?”

“Leave him alone, Alston.” Ty glanced up at the deep voice behind him, unable to stop himself. Over the past couple months he’d more or less suppressed the urge to watch Zane whenever they were in a room together, but he couldn’t help the occasional glances and wasn’t sure he wanted to, anyway. 

“Easy for you to say. You’ve met her.”

Zane smiled down at Ty, dark eyes turning warmer. “You could say that.”

Scott shrugged in defeat. “Fine, fine. I’m going for coffee. Want some?" 

“God yes.”

Ty smiled a real smile at the reverent tone in Zane’s voice and waved one hand absently at Scott. “No thanks. I’m good.”

He could see Zane’s smile twitch and kicked him surreptitiously in the shin in warning. He’d had enough in the way of close calls for one afternoon. As Scott gathered his jacket, he glanced at his stack of files and turned accusing eyes on his wayward partner. “Where the hell have you been, anyway?”

“IT.” Zane dropped down into the chair at the desk next to his and keyed in his computer password. “They have a new pattern analysis software I wanted to try.” 

“Really.” The response wasn’t very enthusiastic, but it was the best Ty could muster. It was 3:30 on a Friday, beautiful outside, and the last thing Ty wanted to think about was computer programming.

“Yeah, it’s kind of awesome,” Zane continued as he searched for something in the FBI’s online database, either oblivious to Ty’s lack of interest or ignoring it. “Beats the hell out of trying to decipher Agent…” He paused as he picked up the 30 year old case file on Ty’s desk and squinted at the top form, “…whoever’s handwriting. I swear most of these forms are useless. Who the hell writes these things? So, why not let the computer figure out what’s important? With any luck, it won’t be done analyzing until Monday.” 

The last was said in a bright voice that set Ty’s teeth on edge, considering that he’d spent the last 3 hours trying to do exactly that. He went back to work, very pointedly not answering. 

A hand suddenly wrapped firmly around his wrist and pulled, hauling him to his feet.  Zane tugged Ty into him until the line of their bodies was just barely touching. Ty cast a furtive glance around the empty room, eyes darting towards the doorways. He both hated and loved when Zane did this.  Feather soft curls of dark hair brushed Ty’s cheek as Zane leaned forward to whisper in his ear.  “Come on, baby, don’t be like that. It was that or try to decipher paperwork for the rest of the weekend. Again. And I have plans.”  He released Ty and leaned back against the desk, his smile turning into a suggestive leer.

Ty resolutely pushed away thoughts of exactly what those lips felt like brushing against his skin.  “I know.” He glanced around again, wondering where everyone was this afternoon anyway. “Or, we could always say screw it, go for coffee, and forget to come back." 

Zane’s eyes went dark and he licked his bottom lip. “I-”

Whatever he was going to say cut off as Ty’s text alert dinged. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence; friends texted him throughout the day most days. But contact in the office, especially contact verging on really inappropriate behavior, always made them jumpy. Maybe that’s why they did it, Ty thought absently as he slid his phone on.

Still coming tonight? You owe me a beer.

“Shit.”

“What?” Zane was suddenly at his side again, peering at his phone over his shoulder, the earlier teasing replaced by concern.

Ty waved one hand at his phone and scowled. “I forgot I promised Shannon I’d go with everyone to the bar after work. I still owe her a beer for Tuesday.”

Zane winced at the mention of Tuesday, but didn’t say anything as he leaned back against his own desk. Ty could read the disappointment in every line of his lover’s body. Understandably so; thoughts of going home tonight and possibly not letting Zane leave their bedroom until Sunday had been the only reason he’d yet to become homicidal this afternoon. It was frustrating, sometimes. Living together was supposed to have made it easier to spend time together around their hectic schedules, but Ty honestly couldn’t remember when they’d last spent two days alone together.

And as tempted as he was to blow it off, he really did owe Shannon. 

“Come with me?” 

Zane shot him a wry smile. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” 

“We don’t have to stay that long.” 

“Sounds ever better.”

“Hey, Garrett, can you come and take a look at this?”

Ty smiled to himself as Zane turned towards the call from across the office, dropping back down in his desk chair and picking up his phone to shoot Shannon a reply. He couldn’t help watching the long lean line of Zane’s body under his fitted suit as he turned towards the sound of his name. 

Zane shot him a last melting smile, the promise in his dark eyes making Ty’s heart skip a beat.

"Captain Nick O'Flaherty, Torchwood." The man stepped forward with an offered hand and a rakish smile. Ty was shaking it before he realized what he was doing. Nick's bright green eyes swept up and down Ty's body appreciatively, and he hadn't let go of Ty's hand. "And who are you?"

"Stop it." The Doctor poked his head out of the doorway.

"I wasn't—"

"Do not start." The Doctor vanished into the kitchen again.

"I second that opinion." A third, shorter man with dark brown hair walked in carrying a laptop. He was dressed similarly to Nick but with a vest instead of suspenders.

What the fuck was happening? Ty ran through his mental banks of government branches, even the top secret ones he wasn't technically supposed to know about. Torchwood sounded like something out of Tolkien novel.

Nick let go of Ty's hand with a final wink and stepped back. "I was being friendly seeing as how you barged in here," he called into the kitchen.

The third man snorted as he plunked the laptop down on the coffee table. "Friendly, my ass."

"Don't flirt with me in front of strangers, Kelly. It's rude." Nick grinned at Ty again and swept around the couch, his fingers brushing through Kelly's hair as he passed and disappeared into the kitchen.

Kelly rolled his eyes and looked at Ty. "Sorry about him. He's like that with…anything with a pulse."

"I heard that!" Nick hollered from the kitchen.

"Good!" Kelly shot back.

Ty finally managed to get his brain-to-mouth pathways working again. "Who the hell are you people, and why are you in my fucking house?"

Kelly didn't look up from the laptop. "Torchwood. Well, Nick and I are. Oh hey, Kelly Abbott."

"Special Agent Ty Grady, FBI," Ty answered without thinking.

Kelly's eyebrows jumped as if he were impressed then his hands flew over a few keys. "The Doctor is…well, The Doctor. He's…" Kelly paused as if trying to pick out the right word. "Different."

As if on cue, The Doctor breezed into the room again, waving his little glowing stick thingy. "And stop calling me Z. That makes no sense."

Nick followed, his grin wide and his eyes shining. "But it makes you do that little eye roll thing. Yeah, that one."

Kelly coughed something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

The Doctor ignored him and bent over the couch, frowning at Kelly's laptop. "It's not in the kitchen." He straightened without waiting for a response and looked at Ty. "Do you have a loft?"

Ty gaped at him. "A what? This is a rowhouse."

The Doctor frowned. Nick laughed. "Americans." He looked at Ty. "Do you have an attic in this place, babe?"

"Ty," Kelly muttered. "His name is Ty."

"What?" Confusion swamped Ty. A headache bloomed behind his right eye. Great, a migraine was the last thing he needed.

"An attic. Do you have one?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, dark eyes wide and impatient.

Ty thumbed over his shoulder. "There's two more levels." The Doctor brushed past him and Ty was assaulted with the faint scents of leather and sweat and metal. He swallowed hard as he watched the man disappear down the hall. After a moment, he turned slowly back to the living room. Nick was watching him with an amused, knowing expression.

Kelly swatted Nick on the hip without looking away from the laptop. "You're ogling again."

"I'm appreciating the view," Nick muttered as he leaned over to peer at the laptop. He hooked his chin on Kelly's shoulder. "Anything?"

"It's here. I just can't find it. Somewhere in that," Kelly waved a hand toward the kitchen, “general vicinity."

Ty gave up trying to figure out what they were up to and, instead, was far more concerned with the guy traipsing around doing who the hell knows what to his house. He moved through the house, following the sound of footfalls overhead, and took the stairs two at a time to the second floor. "Doctor?"

"In here!" came the call from the guest room.

Ty walked in the room and stopped short at the sight of the lanky man standing on the bed, pointing his weird flashy thingy at the ceiling. "What is that?"

"Hmm?" The Doctor looked down at him. "Oh, a sonic screwdriver."

"Of course it is," Ty muttered and raked his fingers through his hair. "What are you looking for?"

"A rift."

"A rift?"

"A fairly large one if our readings are correct. Your house is sitting right at the center of a rather large rift in the fabric between two…" he trailed off and frowned at the ceiling.

Ty waited for the end of the sentence, catching himself eyeing the guy appreciatively for the third time since he barreled his way into Ty's life.

The Doctor looked at Ty, his dark eyes going wide. "We need to leave."

"What? We? What?"

"Unless you want to be sucked into a void space and possibly ripped apart atom by atom, yes." The Doctor jumped off the bed, grabbed Ty's hand, and ran down the hallway. "Captain!"

"Yeah?"

"I would suggest you grab Kelly and run!"

Ty heard muffled curses and scrambling as they ran down the stairs. Nick and Kelly were already out of the house and running across the street when the Doctor pulled Ty out of the house. Ty tried to pull his hand away, but The Doctor tightened his grip. He glanced over his shoulder, his expression softening a little. "Trust me."

The ground under their feet began to vibrate like someone had turned up the bass way too high and it was shaking the earth. Ty and The Doctor followed Nick and Kelly down the sidewalk. Ty looked over his shoulder at his house. "But, my house."

Kelly glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah…about that…"

The vibrations increased and a low roar built over the shaking. They stumbled as the world pitched and rolled under their feet. "Get to the TARDIS!" The Doctor shouted.

"The what?" Ty yelled over the growing noises. The street directly to their right split down the middle with a vicious cracking sound. What the fuck was going on? He looked at the three men to ask and pulled up short. "What is that?"

"No time to explain." The Doctor shoved him inside the blue police box.

Ty flinched as he prepared to slam into the wooden back of a small box, but instead, stumbled down a length of catwalk….catwalk? He froze, his eyes going huge at the room in front of him. "I…"

"You might want to sit down." Nick grabbed his shoulder and gently guided him to a chair.

"We need to go now!" Kelly snapped the laptop shut as The Doctor raced to the monstrous gleaming console in the middle of the room.

This had to be a dream. Bad Chinese food and he was passed out on his couch having weird MSG-induced science fiction dreams. That had to be it. Because there was no way in hell that this was inside a fucking police box from the goddamn 1950s. And there was also no way in hell that two World War II propaganda poster rejects were watching him carefully, looking for signs of a break-down while a third guy, clearly completely off his rocker, raced around the console jabbing buttons and talking to himself.

Ty pinched his arm. Hard.

Nick snorted. "Not waking up from this one, princess."

Ty opened his mouth to demand answers when a pulsing sound filled the air. The room jerked under his feet and then he had the oddest sensation of flying. But that was impossible, right?

Says the guy to himself while standing inside a room that clearly couldn't fit inside a police box.

Even though he dreaded the answer, he looked at The Doctor. "Where's my house?"

The Doctor paused, finally looking at him for longer than half a second. He sighed, various emotions flitting over his face. "By now, probably somewhere between here and a few different dimensions. Along with, most likely, half your neighborhood." He leaned against the console and folded his arms. His expression settled on understanding and sympathy, though Ty couldn't figure out why.

Ty swallowed hard. "What?"

"You really want to know?" Kelly asked softly. He gestured to the laptop. "I can explain it."

Ty frowned and shook his head. "No, no I don't. Where are you taking me? Who are you people?" He froze. "Wait, are you even people? Like, humans?"

Nick opened his mouth then frowned and looked at Kelly. "Am I considered human?"

"Oh my god." Ty's head swam for a moment. His headache pounded harder.

"You don't want me answering that question," Kelly replied with a fond smile. He pointed to himself. "Human." He pointed to The Doctor. "Gallifreyan. Time Lord, to be specific." He pointed to Nick. "Human…ish. Immortal."

Ty caught something flash across The Doctor's face as he turned around. He tried to digest everything he'd seen in the past half hour but couldn't wrap his brain around it. "So, this is…"

"A TARDIS," The Doctor answered.

"A spaceship," Nick added.

"That can go through time," Kelly supplied, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Ty blinked at them. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Okay," he said slowly. "What happens now?"

No one answered, and he looked up to see Kelly and Nick looking at The Doctor. All right, apparently tall, dark, and crazy was running the show. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder, his eyes taking on a mischievous gleam that made Ty's mouth dry. "Fancy a spin in a time machine on Christmas Eve?"

==

The Doctor didn't know what really prompted him to take Ty from his home and into the TARDIS. Well, other than saving his life. There was something about the indignant rage mixed with genuine curiosity across Ty's face that sparked something inside him. Now he was studiously ignoring Nick's raised eyebrow and knowing smirks.

"Where are we going?" Ty asked, the curiosity in his eyes edging out the rage in the lines of his face for a moment.

The Doctor smiled at him. "Anywhere we want."

"Or anywhen." Nick shrugged and grinned as he leaned against the railing.

Ty started to look a little pale as the gravity of his situation set in. The Doctor watched, fascinated yet with a little twinge of sympathy. He knew what it was like to lose everything you knew and be flung into a situation you didn't ask for, nor were you prepared for. He cleared his throat and turned back to the console, skimming the various readouts before tapping out a destination. The ship lurched in the new direction and everyone but Ty shifted their weight to compensate.

Ty ended up sprawled on the ground. He picked himself up with a series of grumbled curses and slouched in a chair. Nick walked over and leaned on the console next to The Doctor and folded his arms. "Where are you taking us, Z?"

"Stop calling me that." The Doctor rolled his eyes before he could stop himself.

Nick snickered. "No, seriously. Where? I have a thing to do tonight."

"Time machine," Kelly sing-songed from his chair where he'd stretched out and closed his eyes. "And what thing do you have to do tonight?"

"You," Nick said as he turned around and squinted at the monitor. "Wait are we really going there? Are you forgetting what happened last time?"

"Where?" Ty spoke up. "What happened last time?"

"You ask a lot of questions." The Doctor turned around and leaned against the console. Nick nudged his shoulder, but The Doctor ignored him.

Ty arched an eyebrow. "You busted into my house and pretty much kidnapped me. I think I'm allowed to ask questions. It's either that or I kick your ass."

Nick snorted. "I like him."

"You like everyone," Kelly sighed.

"True," Nick drew out the word and winked at Ty. "Your point?"

Kelly waved a hand. "Where are we going anyway?"

"We're there." The Doctor flipped a few switches and tilted his head at Ty. "Here's your choice. Outside that door is an adventure on an alien planet. Or I can take you back home where the place you lived is now a crater."

"Way to sell it, Z." Nick pushed off the console. He grabbed a tan trench coat from a nearby railing and tossed it at Ty. "Come on, newbie. Let's go."

"Stop calling me that," The Doctor called after them as they headed toward the door.

Kelly snickered as he got to his feet. "Give it up. He does it because it annoys you."

The Doctor huffed and followed Kelly out of the TARDIS and into a veritable winter wonderland. Snow crunched under his boots and he flipped up the collar of his coat against the slight wind. Nick and Kelly stood off to one side. Nick had his arm slung around Kelly's shoulders and was simultaneously nuzzling Kelly's hair and saying something to him that was making Kelly's cheeks turn a shade of red that had nothing to do with the ambient temperature.

Ty's arms were folded as he surveyed the landscape with a dubious expression. "Another planet, huh?"

The Doctor hummed slightly as he headed down a path barely visible in the snow. He didn't bother to check if anyone followed, but he heard the crunch of feet behind him after a long moment. They wound down a gentle slope, the temperature growing colder as they descended into a ravine. A set of footsteps sped up and Ty came alongside The Doctor.

"So where are we?"

"Not sure what this planet is called, but it's the current home of the Ood."

"The…what?"

"Not what. Who." The Doctor cut him a sideways look.

"Okay," Ty said slowly, his voice bordering on a growl. "The who?"

"The Ood."

"Are you always this forthcoming with information?" Ty asked, a tinge of exasperation in his tone.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You asked me who and I said the Ood. What else did you need?"

Ty opened his mouth then snapped it shut again. A muscle ticked on his jaw as his gaze darted around. The Doctor suppressed a smile. Ty amused him and it'd been a long time since he'd had anyone that intrigued him enough to want to explore more. He also had the most fascinating hazel eyes, which shifted from green to gold to brown depending on his mood.

Fascinating.

Not beautiful.

"Hey, Z?" Nick called from behind them. "Shouldn't we have run into someone by now?"

The Doctor squashed the flare of irritation at the completely pointless letter Nick had picked to call him and focused on their surroundings. Nick was right. Usually at least one or two Ood would have come out of the city to greet them by this point.

"Maybe they migrated somewhere warmer," Kelly grumbled.

"They aren't birds, Kels," Nick said.

"I migrate to warmer climates."

"Getting stuck in the middle of the desert for two weeks last winter doesn't count."

"Are they always like this?" Ty asked quietly.

"Yes," The Doctor answered.

Ty grunted but didn't say anything. He peered around with a frown. "So these Ood…what do they look like?"

"Like Ood."

Ty muttered something under his breath, but The Doctor didn't quite catch it. He smiled. "They're hard to describe, so it's best to wait until you meet one."

"If we meet one," Nick piped up.

"Haven't you hit on enough life forms for one day?" Kelly asked in an almost bored tone.

"No such thing."

Ty snorted, a slight smile touching his lips. It was contagious and The Doctor found himself smiling too as they walked side by side. Their arms occasionally brushed, shoulders bumping every so often.

He blamed the snow and lack of sure footing.

They rounded a corner and the ravine opened up on both sides, creating a sort of bowl-shaped depression in the canyon. The cliffs rose on both sides, curving outward before coming back in to almost meet at the top thousands of feet above their heads. The effect was sheltering from the worst of the elements. Snow gathered in little piles here and there but not nearly as high as it was outside the canyon.

"This is nice," The Doctor murmured as he looked up.

"You haven't been here before?" Ty asked sharply.

"Not this settlement, no. They relocated after the…" The Doctor caught Nick's eye and cleared his throat. "Thing."

"Thing," Ty repeated flatly. He folded his arms—he did that a lot, The Doctor noticed—and widened his stance. He lifted his chin. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Oh it's a very long, boring story." The Doctor waved his hand and spun around on his heels, both looking for Ood and ignoring Ty.

"It involves sinkholes and a giant worm," Kelly said cheerfully.

"How did you know that?" Nick asked.

"And that's a very long, boring story?" Ty's eyes widened. "What the hell is going on?"

The Doctor shot Kelly a disapproving look. To his credit, Kelly schooled his features quickly and pretended to be interested in the twisted strap of one of Nick's suspenders. The Doctor tilted his head at Ty. "Are you always this quick to lose your temper?"

Ty chuckled. "Darlin', you haven't seen me lose my temper."

Nick's eyebrows shot up and a slow smile crept over his face. The Doctor pointed at him. "Stop it."

"What?" Nick held up his hands. His shoulders shook with laughter. He grabbed Kelly's shirt collar and pulled him away. "Come on, babe, let's go see if we can find a tentacle or two." He winked at Ty and walked off with Kelly in tow.

"Tentacles?" Ty asked.

"Not tentacles. Their faces have these…things." The Doctor looked around with a frown. The settlement was too quiet. Too still.

Too abandoned. What would have driven the Ood out this time? This canyon seemed sheltered. He heard the rushing sounds of water nearby. He spotted several large pots of grain and other food sitting in front of several darkened doorways.

"Things?" Ty pressed.

The Doctor waved his fingers in front of his mouth. "Things. Hard to describe."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that," Ty muttered. He kicked a rock and looked around critically. "This is some adventure, doc."

"Don't call me that." The Doctor moved toward one of the dwellings.

"Why not? You're a doctor, right?"

He sighed. "Not a doctor. The Doctor. It's my…name."

"Uh huh."

The Doctor poked his head in a doorway. Empty. "It's a very—"

"Long, boring story, right?" Ty's voice came over his shoulder.

The Doctor turned around to see Ty standing right there, watching him, a smirk on his handsome face. This close, he saw the flecks of gold and green mixed in with the brown in his eyes. "I get it. You have secrets. Hell, it's not like I don't, too. But I need just a little more from you other than this don't ask me questions vibe you're throwing off."

Don't ask questions? Was he really giving that impression? He'd been so consumed with figuring out why an entire settlement of Ood was missing that he hadn't stopped to think about— He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I can and will tell you pretty much all you want to know. But, right now, I need to figure out what happened to the Ood."

A faint tremor vibrated the ground under his feet. The Doctor met Ty's gaze as another rumble, this one stronger, rolled under the rock.

"Earthquake?" Ty looked around. His hand moved like he was reaching for a gun that wasn't there.

A third tremor with increased strength pitched the earth violently to one side. The Doctor and Ty stumbled and fell into the house, Ty ending up sprawled on top of him. His eyes were wide as he pushed himself up. "What was that?"

"If you get off me, we can figure that out," The Doctor managed.

Ty hesitated for a fraction of a second then rolled fluidly to a stand. He held a hand out and helped The Doctor to his feet. The world trembled again, this time accompanied by a great cracking sound. They rushed out of the house, skidding to a stop outside with wide eyes as huge sections of the canyon broke away and filled in the ravine pass they just came through.

"Nick! Kelly!" The Doctor called over the rumbling and crashing of rocks.

"Here!" Kelly's voice sounded deeper into the canyon. He and Nick rounded a corner at a flat-out run, stumbling to the side as another roll rippled through the earth. Ty's hand landed on The Doctor's arm to steady both of them as the vibrations grew stronger then ebbed out and disappeared.

The Doctor met Nick's eyes as they all froze, waiting to see if there were more or if the quake was over. Nick moved gingerly a few steps then gave a tiny nod.

"Are we trapped?" Ty asked. He was looking at the now blocked ravine opening with narrowed eyes.

"If that's the only entrance, it would seem so," The Doctor answered.

Ty rolled his eyes and sighed. "This is fun, doc. Lots of fun."

"I said—"

Ty held up a hand. "You're the one who wanted to take a spin on fucking Christmas Eve. And now look! We're stuck here in goddamned Ood country, freezing our balls off and—NO! You don't get to roll your eyes at me, Doctor. You promised me adventure, not death by frosted 'nads." He blew out a harsh breath, turned heel, and stalked off. "Chestnuts roasting, my ass."

The Doctor stared after him.

Nick laughed loudly. "He reminds me of Donna. But with a dick."

Kelly frowned. "Who?"

Nick shook his head, laughing too hard to answer. He caught The Doctor's eye and erupted again, waving his hand in the direction Ty stalked off. "You have your hands full with that one."

"What makes you think I'm taking him anywhere else?" The Doctor grumbled as he looked around.

"Because I've seen the way you look at him." Nick's voice still carried a laugh but seriousness gave it a calming touch. "You haven't looked at anyone like that since R—"

"Don't." The Doctor glared at him.

Nick pressed his lips together and tilted his head. After a moment, he nodded but the accusation still shone from his eyes. Kelly looked between the two of them with his eyebrows raised but wisely said nothing. The Doctor frowned and headed in the direction Ty had gone.

==

Nick watched The Doctor walk away, hoping he was going after Ty instead of merely focusing on a way out. Not that they didn't need a way out, too. But Nick had seen that split-second falter in The Doctor when he first met Ty. Anyone else would have missed it. But Nick, the guy who'd seen The Doctor as in love as he could possibly be, knew that look. He'd seen that look before. And he would do everything in his power to not let this Ty fellow go back to his home.

It also helped that Ty was hot. Nick had always had a thing for dark hair and eyes that shifted colors.

"I feel like I missed something," Kelly said.

Speaking of dark hair and shifting eyes… Nick smiled at Kelly. "Long story. Tell you later."

Kelly grunted and spun around in a slow circle, examining their surroundings. "So, while the kids deal with their spat, what do we do?"

"Find a way out of this canyon. Or some Ood. Whichever comes first." Nick checked the gun he kept in his thigh holster. The Doctor hated guns, but Nick refused to travel anywhere without one. He frowned at the blocked pass and spun 180 degrees. "Might as well check the other end of this thing. See if there's another pass." He stole a quick, yet hard, kiss from Kelly, who blinked at him in mild surprise then grinned and fell into step beside him.

They made their way through the abandoned settlement, picking over pots and other debris littering the ground after the brief quake. The dwellings gaped at them, silent and dark. Wind moaned through the canyon, making the hairs on the back of Nick's neck rise.

"Why do you think they left?" Kelly asked as he glanced at another empty dwelling.

"Quakes?" Nick suggested. "Maybe they realized the shaking would block them in here so they picked up and moved."

"So, why didn't The Doctor know about it?"

"Who knows why Z didn't know about the move. Maybe he didn't get the message. Or he may have forgotten."

Kelly shook his head with a smile. "Why do you call him that?"

"Z?" Nick laughed. "Mostly to annoy him. But, no, he looks like a guy I knew a long time ago."

"A guy?" Kelly arched an eyebrow.

"I don't kiss and tell, Kels."

Kelly laughed. "Bullshit," he sing-songed.

Nick joined the laughing. "Yeah I couldn't say it with a straight face either."

"Whore." Kelly grinned at him.

Nick gave him a mock salute and a wink.

They wound through the canyon until they hit a small river, which they followed until it dumped into a rather large lake. Nick stood on the edge of the lake and peered into the water. "Huh."

"What?"

"There's no slope. It's just a drop-off." Nick gestured to the lake.

Kelly glanced at it with a frown. "Maybe it's an impact crater."

Nick stared at him. "You're hot when you get geeky, you know that?"

"I must be hot all the time, then." Kelly winked at him and moved away, examining the shores of the lake.

Nick snorted and tipped his head back to stare at the sky. The canyon walls seemed to curve around the outer edges of the lake, but he couldn't see if the far side held an exit or if they were stuck in a giant bowl. However, this was nice and, while cold, the breeze skipping off the water was fresh and clean.

Kelly's shout of alarm broke the stillness. Nick's head snapped down, and all he registered was Kelly running toward him before something slid around his ankle and jerked him into the ice-cold water.

All sound cut off and the world washed a dark blue as Nick submerged. He yelled but nothing came out. Whatever was coiled around his leg slid higher until it also wrapped around his ribs and started squeezing. Pain shot through his thigh and waist. He looked down but couldn't make out in the dark water what it was. All he knew was it was big.

And it wanted to kill him.

He wasn't sure if he would, in fact, come back to life if he were eaten and digested or what he would look like after that. Certainly not nearly as pretty and he'd like to avoid that outcome, thank you very much.

Nick managed to free his knife and stab at the rubbery-feeling appendage wrapped around his ribs. It only squeezed harder. He felt around for his gun, but another monster appendage wrapped around his wrist and yanked his arm so hard that pain shot through his shoulder and he saw stars. His chest burned with the need for oxygen. Pain hammered through his torso. Panic clawed up his throat. This was a fucking shitty way to die.

He saw movement and Kelly swam into view. Nick tried to warn him off, but Kelly swam to Nick's leg and pried the gun loose from the holster. He aimed down along the tentacle wrapped around Nick's leg. The gunshot was muffled by the water, but the creature jerked and the limb around his ribs went slack. Kelly fired twice more for good measure then grabbed at Nick and started pulling him up. The tentacle slipped off as they moved back toward the surface.

Black dots crowded in the corners of Nick's vision and he fought to not inhale water. Just as his chest jerked and his body spasmed with the need for air, his head broke the surface. He sputtered and coughed and tried to drag air into his burning lungs. Kelly wrapped an arm around his chest and hauled them both to the shore.

Once on land, Nick lay on his back, gasping for breath.

"Are you hurt?" Kelly knelt next to him, his hands pushing up Nick's shirt. His face was tight and his lips pressed together so thin the skin had paled.

"Ribs hurt. Not broken," he managed between gasps. His teeth chattered as a chill settled deep in his bones.

Kelly helped him sit up slowly and checked his back. "Bruising but nothing looks broken." He shoved Nick hard. "Don't scare me like that again, you son of a bitch."

Before Nick could choke out a response, Kelly grabbed two fistfuls of Nick's soaking shirt and kissed him hungrily and with relieved fervor. Nick made a muffled sound of surprise, which turned into a growl and he clutched at Kelly. He didn't want to think about how close he'd come to dying…again.

It didn't matter that he'd come back. It still sucked every damn time.

"Kels…Kels…I'm okay." Nick pulled back a little and brushed Kelly's wet hair from his forehead. "I'm still in one piece."

"Barely," Kelly muttered, his changeable eyes narrowed and still skating over Nick's torso as if he'd missed some gaping wound.

"Hey." Nick turned Kelly to look him in the eye. "I'm alive thanks to you. But you really shouldn't have jumped in there. You don't come back if you die."

"Yeah, I'm not going to sit off to the side while you get eaten," Kelly protested.

"I know, but…"

"Just because you can come back to life doesn't mean I'm okay with watching you die over and over again." Kelly's voice cracked a little.

Nick's breath caught at the statement and he managed a tiny nod before he leaned forward for another kiss. And another. Each kiss grew in heat and intensity until Kelly grabbed Nick's shoulders and pushed him away firmly but with a reluctant groan. Nick frowned at him.

"As much as I would love for us to fuck on the beach, we should probably find the others." Kelly ran his fingers over his swollen lips.

Nick blew out a hard breath and tried to rein in his raging hormones. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said gruffly.

"No pouting." Kelly stood and offered Nick a hand. "I just don't want any Ood walking up on you nailing me to the sand."

Nick bit his bottom lip at the images that induced and waved a finger at Kelly. "That was not nice, Kels."

Kelly laughed. His laugh died off as he looked at the water. "What do you think that was?"

Nick shook his head. "No fucking clue, but I'd rather not run into another one."

"Do you think that's what happened to the Ood?"

"All of them? No way. Even if a few got picked off by that thing, the others would have raised an alarm."

They turned away from the lake and started heading back into the settlement.

"But it could be why they left," Kelly said.

Nick nodded. "I'd say it's a good guess. I haven't seen anything else that would explain it."

Kelly blew out a breath and raked his fingers through his hair. "Wherever they are, they're long gone. And we're still stuck in a canyon."

Nick slung his arm around Kelly's shoulders and nuzzled his temple. "We'll find a way out. Let's find Z and his new boyfriend and see if they've kissed and made up yet."

==

Ty stood at the edge of what he'd probably term a short cliff and stared out over the rest of the canyon. A forest cluttered the canyon floor between him and the smooth walls. The trees were green and lush, despite the snow everywhere, which threw him off kilter. So far, he'd counted at least six different types of animals he'd never seen before. All of them both piqued his curiosity and made him twitchy at the same time. The moths as large as small birds nearly made him nope the fuck out, but he'd held his own, eyeing them with suspicion.

Alien planet.

Time machine.

He rolled his neck, trying to crack some of the nervous tension out of his bones.

"This isn't quite the adventure I had planned for you."

Ty turned his head slightly at The Doctor's voice. He shrugged. "You probably didn't plan to take me with you when you broke into my house."

The Doctor laughed quietly as he joined Ty. "Actually, I did. When you yelled at me."

Ty arched an eyebrow. "You took me with you because I yelled at you?"

"That and saving your life." The Doctor folded his arms and looked out over the forest.

"You have some odd kinks," Ty muttered. He sighed. "So what now?"

"We find a way out, and then I either take you home or somewhere new. It's completely up to you."

Ty frowned. "Why up to me?"

"I'm not a kidnapper, in spite of what you think. I got you out of the house and then wanted to show you something. Unfortunately, that fell flat and here we are." The Doctor's voice grew a touch wistful. "But there are things I could show you."

A shiver rolled down Ty's spine at those words. They sounded ominous and enticing all at once. "How dangerous is it?"

"Extremely," he answered without hesitation. "But it's fascinating. The things I've seen, Ty Grady. The people I've met. The planets I've visited. Good, bad, beautiful, ugly, war, and peace. I've seen the ends of worlds and the beginnings of new ones."

"Your pitch is getting better." Ty felt a grin tug at his mouth.

The Doctor returned the smile, his eyes warm and soft.

"Why me?" Ty asked softly.

The Doctor tilted his head. "I don't know. You intrigue me."

"Like science experiment intrigue?"

The Doctor laughed. "Definitely not. No, something about you. You're a firecracker. But you're curious. I can see it in your eyes. And curiosity is key here. The desire to figure it out. To find it all."

Ty had to admit it was sounding better and better by the moment. Why go back to a job where he had to do more paperwork than actual catching of bad guys when he could travel in a time machine all over the universe with a—let's face it—really hot guy?

"What's the catch?" he asked.

"Catch?"

Ty snorted. "There's always a catch."

"You may never see your family again. You might die and they'll never know what happened to you. You might get stuck on another planet or in another time with no way home."

"Yeah, I heard the first two when I joined Recon," Ty said. He rubbed a palm across his jaw.

The Doctor rested a warm hand on Ty's shoulder and squeezed. "Think about it."

Ty nodded, trying to ignore how nice the weight of The Doctor's hand felt. Yeah, fall for an alien. Great idea, Tyler.

The sounds of foliage breaking behind them had Ty whipping around and stepping slightly in front of The Doctor, his muscles tense and ready for a confrontation. A soaking wet Nick and Kelly burst out of the underbrush with grins on their faces.

"Why are you wet?" The Doctor asked.

Nick shrugged. "We found a lake."

"And went swimming in your clothes? That seems rather unlike you."

Nick laughed. "You're right. I do prefer swimming naked." He winked at Ty before continuing. "No, actually I was forced. Giant squid…thing. Dragged me under. Kelly shot it. It's all good."

Ty blinked at him. "Giant squid?"

Kelly frowned. "No idea. Maybe. Didn't get a look at it other than the tentacles that were trying to choke Nick. But we think it might be why the Ood left."

"Relocation away from a predator," The Doctor said in a thoughtful tone.

Kelly nodded. "Yeah if your fresh water supply is guarded by a giant beast, that makes things a little harder."

Nick nodded in agreement.

"Did you find a way out?" Ty asked.

"Nope, got attacked, survived, and came to ask you that very same question," Nick said.

"So you didn't actually die this time?" The Doctor asked as he turned and started walking along the cliff edge.

The others followed. Nick laughed. "Almost drowned. Kels grabbed me in time."

"You…come back to life?" Ty asked carefully, pretty certain he was hearing wrong.

Nick waved a hand dismissively. "After about four minutes, yeah. Dying still really sucks though. I don't recommend it."

Kelly laughed.

Ty frowned but figured it was probably safer not to ask. His brain was already overwhelmed with too much already. Adding a reanimating human to the list was coming dangerously close to tipping it into nervous breakdown territory. He followed The Doctor down a gentle slope to the base of the cliff they'd been standing on. He picked up a faint trail of melted snow winding through the trees and was momentarily impressed that The Doctor had seen it as well. The trail had been recently traveled by a fair number of…something…not too long ago who walked in single file. To the untrained eye, it simply looked melted away and possibly disturbed by a few animals here and there.

"Ood trail?" he ventured.

The Doctor smiled at him over his shoulder. "That's the assumption. Or it could lead us to a cave of a vicious beast."

"I've had enough vicious beasts for one day," Nick muttered.

Ty rubbed his arms as they walked, the cold finally burrowing through the coat and his button-down. He picked up his pace and drew closer to The Doctor. "Hey, sorry about jumping down your throat back there. Irritated."

"It's all right. It's not like I haven't been yelled at before."

Ty laughed. "It's a thing with you, isn't it?"

"Feisty companions?" The Doctor nodded with a melancholy sort of a smile. "I suppose so."

"What happens to them? Your…companions."

The Doctor didn't answer for a long while. "They leave usually. Go home. Go elsewhere."

Ty wanted to ask more, but the pain that flitted through The Doctor's dark eyes made him keep his mouth shut. He'd get his answers one day, maybe.

They wound through the forest and neared the canyon wall. The trail led them along the wall for about half a mile until it vanished into a wall of vines. The Doctor paused outside the vines and smiled. "Ah, clever." He parted them like a curtain and gestured inside. "After you, gentlemen."

The vines gave way to another pass similar to the one now blocked on the other side of the canyon. It wound up and up and up until Ty felt the strain in his calves and he was in great shape. The Doctor hit the top of the trail first and his face split into a huge grin at something. "Here you are! Did you know we were down there?"

"We did and we awaited your arrival up here," came a melodic voice.

Ty was completely unprepared for the being that stood at the top of the trail with The Doctor. Dome head, sharply slanted eyes deep-set in a wrinkled face, pointed ears that curled outward slightly, and what looked like hundreds of miniature worm-like tentacles spilling out of where its mouth should have been. It was dressed in a smart, nondescript gray tunic and pants. The oddest thing, if Ty were to pick one thing, was the glowing white orb it carried in one hand. A long, thin white tube connected from the orb to somewhere under the tentacles.

He schooled his features and looked at The Doctor. "Ood?"

The Doctor nodded. "Ood."

Ty kept his expression perfectly neutral, if a bit on the pleasant side, and inclined his head. "Nice to meet you."

The Doctor's smile softened and he looked relieved as if Ty had passed some sort of test. In a way, Ty supposed he had. Why would The Doctor take someone with him who would lose his shit when meeting strange-looking aliens?

They weren't going to discuss the giant moths, though.

Nick and Kelly reached the top of the trail and nodded their hellos. Ty waited for the flirty comment from Nick but none came. As if knowing what Ty was thinking, Nick grinned at him before sliding an arm around Kelly's shoulders and heading toward the settlement.

Ty followed the group into the settlement. They were served food, and Nick and Kelly were given dry clothes. A group of Ood sat off to one side of a large fire, singing some sort of strange, yet lovely, melody. Ty caught himself picking up the harmonies and humming along after a while. After a few rounds, he managed to look away from the hypnotic fire and saw The Doctor sitting nearby, watching him with a soft smile on his face. Ty ducked his head and blushed. Thankfully, The Doctor didn't say anything, but the expression on his face made Ty's heart lurch and warmth bloom in his chest. He fidgeted with the edge of his shirt sleeve as he looked around the fire. Kelly had curled into Nick's side and was asleep with his head on Nick's shoulder. Nick met Ty's gaze and smiled, seeming happy and content.

"You may rest here or we can show you back to your box," one of the Ood said.

Nick snorted but said nothing.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Ty. "Want to stay for a bit longer or go somewhere warmer?"

"I vote warmer," Nick said. "Like home and my bed."

Kelly mumbled something that sounded like agreement.

Ty nodded. "Warmer is good."

The Doctor stood and offered his hand to Ty. Ty took it, holding on probably a little too long and a little too tight before he let go. They bade their farewells and followed a pair of Ood away from the settlement to a natural bridge that traversed the canyon.

Nick shook his head with a laugh. "So if we'd gone right instead of left, we would've found this and all of that," he waved a hand at the canyon, "would've been avoided."

The Doctor hummed. "Appears that way."

"I thought you knew what was going to happen all the time," Kelly mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Time Lord. Not psychic." The Doctor followed the Ood over the bridge.

They reached the other side, thanked the Ood, and trekked through the snow back to the TARDIS, which was, thankfully, exactly where they left it. The Doctor seemed visibly relieved at that fact which sent a brief spike of alarm through Ty, but he was too tired and his brain was too full of new things to really think about it.

Ty watched The Doctor as he moved around the console of the ship. After a short, albeit jerky, flight, they landed with a gentle thump.

"Where are we?" Ty asked.

"Cardiff," The Doctor answered.

They trooped outside into the cold night and Ty looked around with interest.

"Visit anytime you want," Nick said as he held out his hand.

Ty shook it and nodded. "I will."

Nick pulled him in for a quick hug. "Stick with him," he whispered in Ty's ear. "He needs someone right now." He pulled away with a broad smile and stepped back.

Kelly shook Ty's hand, smiled tiredly at him, and followed Nick into the darkness of the quiet city.

Ty looked up at the stars, his brain churning. "We're really back on Earth?"

The Doctor hummed a yes.

"Same year?" Ty turned around.

The Doctor leaned on the TARDIS with his arms folded across his chest. He nodded, his lips twitching with the beginnings of a smile. "Were you expecting a different year?"

"Well, I just thought with how those two dressed…"

The Doctor laughed. "Nick loves that coat. He nicked it from an officer in London during the second world war and hasn't taken it off since. He's actually from the 51st century and used to be a con man before a lot of things happened. Now he runs Torchwood, chases aliens, and has himself a Kelly."

Ty chuckled. "Nice."

"So." The Doctor tilted his head. "Home or…?"

Ty licked his lips. "I'm probably presumed dead back home."

The Doctor nodded.

"And it's not like you couldn't take me back to right after it happened and I can clear it up any time, right?"

Another nod.

Ty glanced at the stars again. "We can go anywhere?"

"Anywhere. Any time."

Ty looked at The Doctor again. The Doctor extended his hand to Ty, his dark eyes soft and his smile even softer. "Come with me. Let me show you the Universe. Well, this universe, for starters."