I have managed to convince my whole family to come to Arches for Thanksgiving. Told them it was sort of like a soup kitchen, sort of like a community dinner.

The selling point: No dishes to clean afterward.

No offense to my former self or any of the females I currently know but wow, am I glad to be male again.

( Kevin )


( Zach )

You know, avoiding my family is getting a lot more difficult. I don't suppose anyone has got a spare couch I could sleep on until this goes away?

OK, I didn't even borrow anything from my sister's closet for Halloween. This is just over the top Tampa!

Tommy was insistent that he go with Fernando to the complex. Insistent that he could help. But there was something off about it all that had Fernando suspicious and on edge. While he was grabbing his coat he stealthily grabbed his salt shaker off the table too; it wasn't much but it was all he had to hand that he could easily hide. He'd seen Geoff's post but since Tommy had been behaving, he hadn't figured he'd need to act. He'd also been confused by Geoff's statement that all of Torchwood was there -- after all, he felt perfectly normal, Tosh's memories still with him.

"Right," he said brightly as Tommy urged him to hurry. "Off we go."

Fernando was drawn out of his contemplation of the computer screen by a soft, nervous cough. He looked up and froze, staring at the man standing in front of him.

"Tommy?!" he finally managed to squeak out, sounding much more like Tosh than himself.

"Hello," Tommy answered. He twisted his hat in his hands. "You ... look different."

"You look great," Fernando answered. "I mean. That is. I. What are you doing here?" He looked around for a calendar. What day was it? It couldn't be. It wasn't.

"Don't you know? I thought you would," Tommy said. He looked around the empty computer room. "Where are the others? Don't we have to do the tests?"

Fernando finally stood, used the desk to support himself so he wouldn't wobble and held out a hand to Tommy. "They're here. But we don't have to do any tests today. Come on, let's go for a walk and I'll explain things."

( Lissa )

( Torchwood )

I've edited this 16.34 times and yes I know I'm a geek and I know you think it too but crap.

I've edited this 17.34 times and it's really hard to take out my thoughts which I know you don't want to know, really, because some of them are pretty out there but I bet everyone's are especially since we're reincarnates and no one wants to hear you blather 'Nando and crap.

I've edited this 18.34 times and it's really not a good time to be looking over my shoulder at my screen Zeke and would you please learn to knock first because it's really getting annoying and crap.

I've edited this 19.34 times and really at this point I don't even remember what I was going to say which is pretty much par for the course today because it was loud and confusing and my brain couldn't keep up with it. Hell, Tosh's brain couldn't keep up with and don't give me that attitude about how you. Crap.

Crap.

I don't think this was covered in the Torchwood manual.

OK, is it just me or does anyone still find it vaguely freaky to see commercials for the DVDs of their show?

Fernando was the first one in class, as usual. He walked around the lab as he waited for the others to show up, letting Tosh out a bit more than usual. He didn't notice when he started quietly singing.

I'm a science genius girl
I won the science fair
I wear a white lab coat
DNA strands in my hair

When I clone a human being
It will want to hold my hand
when I clone a human being
It will be a member of my band
It will be a member of my band
It will be a member of my band

Scientific method girl
The theorems speak to me
Microscope is in my hand
X1, X2, X3

When I clone a human being
It will want to hold my hand ...



Freezepop, "Girl Genius"

As dreams went, it was actually pretty pleasant. Nice meadow, blue sky, picnic. Of course, the talking ant was a little odd but it was a dream after all.

"This is no ordinary dream," the ant informed Fernando.

"This ... isn't like the angel thing, is it?"

"Not quite. My name is Yori and I'm your daemon."

"My what?"

If an ant could sigh, Yori did. She settled more comfortably on her flower and prepared to explained the facts to the human.

"You know, for someone so smart, you can be quite dense."

"You know, for such a small creature, you've got some attitude."

"It comes with the territory," Yori said. "Now. Listen..."

Now that I don't work at the warehouse anymore, I think I might actually have to go to the gym so I don't get the stereotypical computer geek physique.

( Chase )

OK, I get it. Yes, yes. "Latin lover". Ha ha. Nice stereotype there, Tampa. Really. Can I please have my regular clothes back now? Seriously, these polyster pants are cutting off my circulation and how am I supposed to walk in these boots? I think the heels are higher than the ones on my sisters' shoes!

And why, when I try to button the shirt (Nice pattern, by the way. Really.) do they refuse to close and leave the shirt open the whole way to my belly button?

I am not leaving the house today.

( Ben )

( Torchwood )

If ever there were a guardian angel that would have worn a pocket protector, he was it. He had a PowerPoint presentation. And charts. And a folder of papers with the detailed financial reports. And a laser pointer.

"So that's the basic summary," he said after speaking for an hour. Fernando looked dazed.

"That was basic?" Fernando asked; the angel had the grace to look sheepish.

"OK, let me try to put it into one sentence: Your paperwork was lost more than four years ago. You should have gotten a... OK, that's already two sentences..."

"You're telling me that they're going to give me all the money, despite the fact that I only have a year left?"

"Yep!"

"And that it's enough that I can quit the job at the warehouse and my family won't suffer monetarily?"

"Yep."

"And that I don't really have to do anything to make this all happen?"

"Yep."

"And there aren't any provisos or fine print or anything that's going to turn around and bite me or my family in the butt?"

"Check, check and double check."

His love for geeky guardian angels knew no bounds.

( Geoff )

( Torchwood )

So have I missed something, or is today a super-quiet seven?

( He didn't lie to his father. )

I think I'm glad I didn't see my billboard. If I didn't, it means my family didn't either.

( Torchwood )

He'd picked up more hours at the internship since he wasn't taking classes for the summer. He could cover vacations, sneak in on weekends to work the helpdesk. It was a win-win. He got more money and his bosses were grateful for his diligence.

He'd been working for almost seven hours to get rid of bugs in a certain program when he finally took a break. He was planning on going in search of caffeine when he realized he already felt buzzed, like every neuron in his brain was firing in exactly the right way.

It had happened once or twice in the past few weeks but he'd never paid much attention to it. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. He grabbed a Coke out of the fridge and headed back to his station with a bounce to his step.

He could work through the evening with no problem at this rate.

It's funny. The house always seems so much smaller when the school year is over. I think it's because I keep having to step over sprawled teenagers.

Wow, this never happens. Well, hardly ever. But still... I have the whole weekend off. And dad's taking the kids to the beach and then a movie and the house is absolutely quiet. I have no homework, no work projects.

I have absolutely nothing to do.

I. I think I'm going to take a nap.

( Torchwood )

( Lissa )

( Private )

( Kiko )

Actually, this is sort of OK. Very ... Cuba in the late 1940s or early 50s. Perfect for the weather. The shoes without the socks is sort of odd, but I'll live.

Thanks Tampa.

( Torchwood )

He was supposed to be finishing an assignment but he was sitting in front of the computer, staring blankly at the program he'd written. He didn't remember writing it. He wasn't sure he could have written it; it was fairly advanced. He was good, but he wasn't that good.

But Tosh was.

Fernando pushed his glasses on to his forehead and rubbed at his eyes. He'd tried ignoring the pressure on his brain for the past hour, somehow aware once he acknowledged it, he'd be opening a floodgate.

Zach. Geoff. Jack. Even Julien. Kiko. He didn't even know who Kiko was but her name and a face popped into his brain.

And then other names and other faces.

Gwen. Ianto. Jack. Owen. Torchwood.

And she was Toshiko. Toshiko Sato.

And she was back.