Torchwood.
Outside the Government, beyond the Police.
Fighting for the future on behalf of the human race.
The 21st century is when everything changes...
and Torchwood is ready.
Hm! Cheeky bugger!
Jonah Bevan, born 15th February 1993, son of Nikki Bevan and Paul Millet, 14 Cliffs Rise, Penarth.
Disappeared walking home from football practice, been missing now for seven months and eleven days.
No body, no sightings since that night.
Disappeared right where we're standing. Uh-huh.
Which is where we found this.
He sent a text to his mum, she was looking out the window and they waved. She says everywhere was deserted.
And the investigation?
Usual procedure - searched the home, spoken to all friends and relatives, made publicity appeals, but no significant leads...
Is this beneath you now?
No! Then what's with the attitude?
You've a face like a slapped arse.
I want you to tell me where you were.
Where I was when?
At the wedding.
I rang you. I had to work.
Temple changed the rota at the last minute. I checked the duty logs.
You had three days off.
Are you spying on me now?
I thought we were mates.
And you just don't turn up!
I just thought, being as Rhys has got a problem with me...
Rhys thinks you're great!
It's you who has a problem with him!
You've always made sarky comments about his weight!
He could stand to lose a couple of pounds... Let it go! Let it go.
Yeah, well, I can't! All right? I don't want to sit there and watch you pledge your stupid life to him!
I've got better things to do of a Saturday!
Happy now?
Oh, Andy! Get off!
I thought we'd been through this.
You're a lovely fella...
It's not like a bloody tap.
I can't just switch it off.
But this was three years ago.
I mean, I didn't know...
I didn't realise you still had feelings... I don't, all right?
I just had a moment.
Don't flatter yourself.
OK!
If you want to talk about it...
I wanna talk about this kid. Jonah.
Teenagers go missing all the time.
I mean, why is this one so special?
I was the first one here.
Sat with his mum all night and all the next day.
Every time I tell her we've got nothing new, I see a bit of her die.
Anything strange about the case?
Like you don't know.
What just happened? Exactly.
The camera records one frame every six seconds.
He could've done a lot in six seconds, jumped over the side...
No, he's looking at something glowing, just out of the camera's line of sight.
Like a flare, it's not there in the previous frame...
or the next.
Could be one of the lights on the Barrage. All right, stop lying.
You know what happened here.
Why aren't you telling me? What are you talking about, Andy? Right...
45 minutes later...
What's your mate Mulder doing there?
Jack?
No recognisable rift activity around the Barrage on that date.
What about if you tried...? I ran checks for three months either side.
Then extended the radius by a mile and checked again.
Still nothing. OK.
Thanks.
When did you say this was?
About seven months back.
Were you on the Barrage that night?
They have this cute little coffee shack. I sometimes stop by there.
A boy went missing.
Just under an hour before you were there.
OK. Jonah Bevan, 15 years old.
I thought maybe you were out there because of him.
Maybe if we'd registered rift activity.
No. I just checked with Tosh.
It was all clear. Sorry. Can't help.
Do you want me to look into it for you? No, it's fine.
So it was just a coincidence then?
Guess so. Gotta go.
Weevil hunting with Ianto.
So, you're covering it up then?
Jack said it was a coincidence.
I can't help. Thanks a lot.
Should've known. Bloody Torchwood.
Fob me off, why don't you?
No. If there was something going on, I would tell you.
Do you know what's happened to you, Gwen?
You've got hard.
Yeah? Well, maybe I've had to.
You used to care. You used to be bothered about people.
Didn't matter who they were, or what they did.
And now you're talking about coincidence, like people go missing all the time.
Like it's a fact of life. The old Gwen would have been up there to see Nikki Bevan in a flash.
You're one of them now, aren't you?
Too busy to bother with one missing child.
What is it, not major enough for you?
Not spooky enough?
Sorry to bother you.
Nikki Bevan? Gwen Cooper.
I'm working with the police on Jonah's disappearance.
Andy said you might be round.
Oh, he did, did he?
Reckons you've got a different area of expertise. What is it, forensics?
I'm just a fresh eye.
Sorry about the mess.
Wow, film fan, are you? Crowds.
Sorry? It's all crowd footage.
Ever since he went. Football matches, concerts, festivals...
Anywhere there's a crowd, I record it.
Go through it, frame by frame, checking every face.
Sometimes I think it's him, but the picture's so grainy, I spend hours looking at one corner of the screen.
But then the next day, I check again and it's not.
It's the hope that's killing me.
Even if you saw him, what would you do? Find someone that was with him.
If I could just let him know I saw him. He's gotta be out there somewhere.
Do you think I'm mad? No, I think you'd make a great policewoman.
His room's as he left it?
I sleep in here some nights.
Bury my head in the pillow.
It still smells of him.
Except, the more I do it, the more it smells like me.
I keep his diary for him.
I sit in here and imagine I'm him.
What do you think I did wrong?
Sorry?
SHE SIGHS Maybe I was too nosey...
or not interested enough.
Maybe he felt unloved.
All I've got is questions.
What about Jonah's dad?
We were only together about six weeks.
I thought when he first went missing and was on the telly, his dad might get in touch.
But no, still manages to disappoint.
Oh, hang on!
Andy tried to find me a support group, but there weren't any.
So I thought I'd set one up myself.
It's our first meeting.
Will you come? Oh, I dunno.
Andy'll be there.
And I'm gonna do food. Oh, come on.
I don't wanna be sat there on my own.
I'll try, I've got to go.
I'm sorry, I know, I'm late.
Three hours! It was a work thing, time just got away from me.
Ooh, wine!
We can do it another time though, yeah?
This is the fourth another time, Gwen!
You said you'd cook. Did I?
When are we gonna have this talk?
Let's do it now. Come on, now's good, I'm ready. Babies. Now.
Really? Have I changed? Eh?
Since I joined Torchwood.
Am I different?
Why? It's just something Andy said.
OK, let me just tell you this one thing, OK?
Go on. He still fancies me.
Don't laugh, Rhys. That's why he didn't come to the wedding.
Bloody hell. Poor sod. Oi!
I am a very sexy lady...
and you are a very lucky man!
Just remember that, OK?
We're not gonna talk about kids tonight, are we?
We could do some practising.
Oh-ho-ho!
Tell me you love me!
Gimme the toast. Come on, tell me you love me first!
Gimme the toast first!
Tell me you love me!
Whoa! Hey!
'Gwen.' Hi, Tosh.
I've dug up some new data on that night at the Barrage.
I think you might wanna take a look at it.
I'll be right there.
Deserting me, are you? Yep.
Ugh, crumbs. Oi!
Hey, what have you got?
It's barely a blip on the system.
So insignificant, I've been ignoring it. But when I looked closer...
This is what we recognise as standard rift activity.
But what I've discovered is a negative rift spike that occurred at the time you're querying.
Now, we've always assumed that these readings were residual rift flares.
Like an aftershock.
But, because this one coincided with Jonah's disappearance, I think we've been misinterpreting.
OK, so? So, we've always believed that things can only come through the rift one way.
What if we're wrong?
What if the rift doesn't just leave stuff behind? What if it also takes?
Who else have you told about this?
No-one. I called you as soon as I realised.
It could be a coincidence, or an anomaly. I can't be sure unless I can cross-reference it with other examples.
Can we keep this to ourselves?
There's something I have to do.
Whatever you think is best.
Thank you, you're a sweetheart.
You're looking into it, then.
Still the same old me.
Thank you.
Yeah, well, I dunno why I bother, you're so rude.
How's Rhys? Other than hungry.
Oh. It's you two. Oh, that's nice.
I thought there'd be more here by now.
It's gonna just be me, isn't it?
No, I'm sure it won't.
People will come.
Yeah, you know, "If you build it, they will come".
Field Of Dreams? No?
Just me, then.
Anyway, sit down.
It is gonna be just us, isn't it?
Hi. Um... We're looking for Nikki.
Yeah, that's me. Come in.
It's brilliant you found us.
There's food there, drinks, so help yourself.
Is this missing persons? Yeah.
Come in. Erm, do you wanna drink?
Bloody hell!
How many of them are there?
You OK?
It's getting a bit too much now.
I dunno what you mean.
I said I'd help you look for one lad.
What about all those people in there, what...
40, 50?
Am I supposed to help all them, too?
Course not. Just focus on Jonah.
The rest aren't part of this investigation.
But they are. Of course they are.
No, no, they're not!
Find a pattern. Find out what happens, we might find Jonah.
What? Brilliant. You're brilliant!
I've gotta go. Where you going?
Cross-referencing!
Cross-referencing?
You said we need more data to be sure the rift takes people.
List of all missing persons in Cardiff over the last ten years.
I'll deal with the personal details, and I'm sending you dates, locations and times they went missing.
And you want me to check the dates they went missing, against negative rift spikes?
Yes, I do, and I'll dig out any CCTV footage.
What about Jack?
Do we tell him what we're doing?
When we're sure. Tosh, if we can prove you were right, we can start looking for the people who've been taken, maybe even try and stop it from happening.
Oh, my God!
There are really this many?
Now we tell Jack.
Cardiff has an epidemic of missing persons, totally out of kilter with any other comparable city.
It's down to the rift.
Are you sure they aren't just missing persons? People do go missing for other reasons. No.
Toshiko cross-referenced the locations with the rift spikes.
Those we identified are definitely victims of the rift.
What do we think happens to them?
Scattered through time and space, I guess. Cheery thought, thank you. This is good work.
But I don't know what you want us to do. Find a way to prevent it.
Toshiko, can we predict when the spikes are gonna happen? No.
And they're gone in a matter of seconds.
Then I don't know how we combat them. Jack, we have a duty here.
These people are victims of the rift.
If they're attacked by a Weevil...
We can catch them. If they're victims, we fix their wounds, but this, we don't know when it's gonna happen, we don't know where they end up.
Seriously, Gwen. Hm? Practically, tell me what we should do.
We help those left behind.
Why not?
It's nothing to do with us. Move on.
Jack, you should see these people...
Some things we can't fix.
So we don't even try?
Look, Jack's right.
They need counselling.
Support. That is not us.
Ah, OK, is that what you all think?
We are the only ones who know the truth.
We CAN help them. We don't have to be this hard. It's not a badge of honour...! Close this down. Jack!
I'll talk to him.
So, is that it, then?
We sweep it under the carpet?
"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change".
Oh, bollocks to serenity.
For a lovely girl, you've got a very dirty mouth.
Yes. I'm with Jack.
We did our best.
Thanks, Tosh.
On one hand, you've got blokes like Mo, who swears it's the best thing he's done in his life.
And then on the other, you've got Big Dave, who says it feels like his life has ended and now he's a second class citizen in his own house.
Although to be fair, he said his life had ended when Susy made him ditch the bike...
Will you just stop wittering!
Thank you. God...!
It's not wittering. It's talking.
We're supposed to be talking.
I've been trying to talk to you for a week and you don't want to.
Wake up, Rhys! What's the point?
We don't need a talk!
It takes two seconds' thought!
How are we supposed to have kids with my job? We don't do maternity leave!
"Jack, I'd love to help out with the aliens, but I can't get a babysitter!
"I'll sort out that bomb once I've dropped Rhys Junior off at nursery".
Stop dancing around a dead question!
You know, sometimes I fucking hate you!
I mean, look at you, caught up in your little group, like nothing else matters.
Like being a hero is an end in itself. It's not.
You save this city. Well done.
You save the world. What for?
Sorry? Why are you doing it?
What are you fighting for?
Because if I don't...
Shut up, I'm talking now, right?
You do it so people can live their lives.
And there's nothing more important than that.
Falling in love, getting married, buying flats, having kids, or not.
But real life.
That's what you're protecting.
And if you're starting to think that your shit is more important than real life...
.. then we're not gonna last very long, love.
I'm sorry.
There's this thing at work...
I don't care!
When you're with me, we deal with us, right? Our lives.
You got a problem at work, sort it at work.
Jack?
Jack, I...
Oh, God!
SHE LAUGHS I'm sorry.
Er...
Ianto, I'm sorry, I didn't realise.
It doesn't matter.
And I wouldn't have come in if I'd known... Always room for one more.
We could've used you an hour ago for naked hide-and-seek.
He cheats. He always cheats.
Was there something you wanted?
Jonah Bevan.
The missing boy. I'll make it my own special project, my responsibility, nothing to do with anyone else. I'm not letting it go.
No.
What? I don't know how I can be any clearer.
Oh, well...
Tosh has her projects, so does Ianto. Why can't I?
Leave it alone. I can't.
Coming back in? Work to do. Yup.
Jack! We're not finished!
Yes, we are.
Er...
There's a package on your desk.
'Hello?' You still working?
Sort of. Thought so.
There's a cup of tea here 'with your name on it.'
You think this will help us with the Jonah Bevan case? Just leave it, this is high tech stuff.
Sorry, no. It's GPS. What?
Global Positioning System. About as high tech as... oh, my mobile phone.
What you've got here is a glorified map.
Ooh, X marks the spot, eh?
X being the middle of the Bristol Channel.
Oh, no, hang on, sorry, no.
Flat Holm Island.
Who's sending you out there?
That's just deserted scrubland.
Could you get us a refill?
While you bask in my technical brilliance?
Hello? You left me that package, didn't you?
Ianto? I dunno what you mean.
What's going on?
IANTO! Night, Gwen.
'Don't...'
Right, so first thing in the morning, we hire a boat.
I know a couple of boat skippers who owe me a favour.
We'll head to Flat Holm, see if we can't sort this out.
Or, you get me the boat and I'll tell you what I find. No boat trip, no boat. I'm part of this.
OK. Brilliant! But you do as I say.
Yeah, course.
Listen, I was going to ask -
promise me you won't laugh - have you got any vacancies coming up?
You know, with Torchwood.
Cos I was thinking, I'm great to work with.
You know you could tip them the wink. Maybe. Yeah.
What can I get you, lads?
Two burgers and two cheeseburgers...
Fifty quid.
That's a bit steep, innit?
Offer him 35.
Gwen, I'm not being funny, if you wanna haggle, go to Morocco.
All right, 50 quid.
Open waves, here we come.
Get us a couple of teas before we go.
You're kidding?
You're not kidding. I dunno...
Do this for me and I'll give you 100 quid.
Oi!
I'm sorry, Andy!
Yeah, right!
I'm sorry!
'All right!
'Who are you?'
Torchwood, access code 474317432.
I'm with Jack Harkness. 'He's supposed to warn us about visitors.'
Law unto himself, isn't he?
And he knows we'll always forgive him.
'In the bush, those that stand out can become immediate targets for predators, 'At late February the population has reached its former strength...'
This your first time?
We all find it difficult at first.
Are you looking for anyone in particular?
Yes.
How many people are down here?
Didn't he tell you?
What's that?
Is he OK? We do our best to help him.
Caroline...
Sorry, but why are they...?
Are you all right? Oh, my God...
They're here.
What are you doing to them?
What's going on here? Tell me!
I'll take it from here, Helen.
It was Ianto, wasn't it?
What are you doing?
I can explain. No, no, no, no, no, no. You stay away from me!
Let's go outside... These are the people taken by the rift!
What are they doing here? What have you done? Gwen, listen to me.
He's here.
He's been here all along.
It's not that simple.
Open it! Gwen, before I... Now!
Hello?
Jonah?
HE BREATHES HEAVILY I'm looking for Jonah.
Why?
Am I in the right room?
Yes.
I'm Jonah.
Erm... I'm sorry.
I must be in the wrong room.
The Jonah Bevan I'm looking for is 15 years old and he went missing from the Barrage. That was me.
Who are you?
My name is Gwen Cooper...
and I'm with Torchwood.
What... What's happened to you?
I was walking home.
There was a light.
I woke up and the land was on fire, there were flames, for miles on end.
A man pulled me from the flames.
Took me to a building, where they tried to work on the burns.
I thought I was going to die.
I don't remember when the ground started shaking, and then I realised it wasn't a building after all.
It was a rescue craft.
The last off a burning planet.
We watched the Solar System burn.
It was so beautiful.
I am so sorry for what's happened to you.
Can I trust you to tell the truth?
Of course. Am I really home?
Yes. You're home. Thank you.
Jonah, I've come because your mother is still looking for you.
She's still alive? You've only been gone for seven months.
She never stopped looking.
I tried so hard to come home.
I was lost so long.
You're safe now, you are safe.
Can I see her?
Can you bring her here?
Is that what you want?
When I took over Torchwood, there were two, just like Jonah.
Ravaged from falling through the rift.
Being kept in the vaults, neglected.
I wanted them looked after.
I set this place up.
Told the staff these were experiments gone wrong.
How many are there?
Seventeen, last count.
It's increased over the last year.
Like the rift is trying to correct its mistakes.
But not all the missing return.
No. You can't keep them hidden.
They have families who deserve to know...
Gwen, they're sick.
In ways you could never imagine.
We can't fix them.
We just care for them.
Jonah's asked me to bring Nikki here.
No. She has a right to know. No way.
She said not knowing is the worst part.
How are you going to tell her her child has aged 40 years in seven months?
That he's scarred, that he can't look after himself... We don't have the right to hide it from her!
If you tell her, you have to tell her about the rift and Torchwood.
Then I will.
What if she doesn't believe you?
I have to try. We owe her the truth.
Jack, if you'd lost someone, wouldn't you want to know?
Let me try. Please.
We've got another meeting on Tuesday. Will you come to that, or..?
You're not here for small talk.
I've found Jonah.
Is he dead? No. Is he hurt?
We're looking after him. Where?
Can I see him?
SHE SOBS Yes.
Sorry.
There are things I have to tell you first.
And all I'm asking is you trust me.
PHONE RINGS 'Andy, I know you hate me right now.'
I'm hanging up.
No, please don't.
It's about Nikki. I found Jonah.
Where? 'I can't tell you that.'
Oh, here we go again!
Piss off, why don't you?
I've got Nikki with me. I've told her about Torchwood and about what we do.
I need you to confirm to her that I'm not mad or dangerous or a liar.
You used me, Gwen.
I'm sorry.
'That's how you see me, isn't it?'
Occasionally useful. Worth stringing along, in case I can ever help you.
'Andy...'
You'd never recommend for me to join Torchwood, would you? No.
Thank you.
I want to take Nikki to see Jonah.
But you've got to tell her she can trust me. We can fix this, Andy.
'We can make it right.'
Put her on.
Nikki...
Andy?
OK...
.. where is he?
Remember what I said. You won't recognise him at first. I know.
He's aged. He's been injured...
I just want to see him.
You understand what I've told you now, Nikki. He's not a child any more. It doesn't matter.
I have to see him.
Let me see him.
OK.
Hello?
Jonah?
Yes?
I can't see you.
Jonah?
Mum? No.
No! It's OK, Mum, it's me, it's OK. Stay away!
I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry.
What're you doing?
What have you done to me?
Nikki, I promise, this is Jonah.
That is not my son!
Get me out, I want to get out of here. Will you listen? This is him.
You are sick!
Listen... All of you!
Did you fix my wardrobe door?
We bought it flat-pack, made it together.
The bottom hinge comes loose.
You said you'd sort it.
No. Every evening you buy a bottle of beer.
You let me sneak one sip. Stop it!
You've two alarms cos you sleep through the first. Make him stop!
You talk about when you can earn decent money and afford some decent make-up.
I'm not hearing this! You won't buy me a double bed cos you don't understand what I need it for.
Shut up! When I ask why you haven't got married, you say, "I'll never be lonely, cos I've always got you."
It's me, Mum. It's me.
Jonah?
I feel so lost.
I've walked for years, trying to get home.
I'm sorry. Why? That night.
I was late. I'm sorry.
The sights I've seen, Mum.
It's fine!
It'll take time.
Look... It'll be OK.
You have to leave Jonah now.
What? Helen, I'm fine.
It's for your own benefit.
No. I'm taking him home now.
Nikki, stop for a second.
You can't just take him out.
I know how to look after my child.
I'll tell them he's my father.
I can take care of him...!
We can't allow that. He's my son, I say what's allowed! Jonah?
It's started again.
What's happening?
He's starting the downswing.
What's a downswing?
What is it? Jonah?
You've seen him in the good phase.
It gets briefer every day.
It really might be best if you leave. Helen...!
Oh, it's all right, sweetheart, I'm here. Make it stop!
I ever wish I could. Please, it would be better if you didn't stay. I'm not leaving.
I'm not leaving him. OK.
Then you should move away. Why?
Will you tell me why?
Oh...!
'I'd never heard a sound like it.
'This primal howl.
'The scream lasts 20 hours every day.
'Before the rift returned him, Jonah had looked into the heart of a dark star.
'What he'd seen had driven him mad.'
They say you can visit...
whenever you like.
When he's in a good phase. Promise me you won't do this to anyone else.
Before, I had the memory.
Whenever I thought of him, I'd see him laughing with his mates, playing football, scoffing his breakfast.
And now I just hear that...
that terrible noise.
I thought you wanted to know what happened to him. I did.
I was wrong.
It was better when I didn't know.
Before you...
I had hope.
Apology, is it?
Tonight, we talk about what YOU want.
Kids...
.. the future, anything you want.
Are you all right?
Hey, come here.
SHE SOBS I'm sorry...!
Do you want to sit down?
OK.
Now then...
you tell me everything.
From the beginning.
There's this woman, Nikki.
She had a son...
.. Jonah.
He went missing seven months ago...
Some people believe that in the moments before your death, your life flashes before your eyes.
Explosive devices.
Snap!