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Description
int. the house - later

Stephan creeps into the house, trying to be as quiet as possible. The door creaks and he winces. It closes and he hangs up his coat and hat. He walks down the hall, the floorboards creak.

NANCY o.c.

Captain?

STEPHAN

(chagrined)

Yes, it's me.

He rounds the corner and enters the living room. Nancy is lying on the couch, raised up on one arm, groggily rubbing her eyes. The fire has burned down to red embers and the room is cool. Stephan grabs another piece of wood and puts it on the fire. He grabs a crate and sits on it before the fire. Nancy comes to stand behind him, arms crossed for warmth.

NANCY

How'd it go?

STEPHAN

I was fired.

NANCY

Fired? What will you do now?

STEPHAN

Work somewhere else.

He hefts the envelope and looks at it in the dim light. He puts it on the floor between his feet and ignores it. He takes a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it.

NANCY

(motioning)

Can I, uh...

STEPHAN

(handing her the cigarette)

It's my last one.

She sits on the floor beside him and takes a drag, which makes her cough.

STEPHAN

You're not used to it, are you?

NANCY

(coughing)

No. It burns.

STEPHAN

It gets easier. I took it up during my first tour. Cigarettes are dependable. They taste the same every time. That's just enough to keep a man sane, sometimes.

NANCY

I think I'll just leave it to you, then. Don't want to take your last one and have you go insane on me.

She hands it back to him, still choking a little. He smiles to himself and takes a drag.

STEPHAN

The children all in bed?

NANCY

Yes. Jaime fell asleep in my arms. I had to carry him up.

STEPHAN

Big day. Lots of excitement.

NANCY

Can I ask you something?

STEPHAN

As long as it's not how I like to kiss.

Nancy looks at him, astonished. She composes herself.

NANCY

How do you know Rose and the Doctor?

STEPHAN

We met just before I was deployed. I helped him out of a jam, you might say. What about you?

NANCY

He saved Jaime. He did a lot of saving.

STEPHAN

That seems to be what he does.

NANCY

How did you help them?

Stephan takes a long drag, not answering. It's obvious that he won't answer. She let's it go, abashed.

NANCY

(rising)

Anyway, we should probably get some rest.

STEPHAN

Good night, Nancy.

NANCY

Aren't you going to bed?

STEPHAN

No.

NANCY

Oh. Well, good night.

He doesn't answer. She goes upstairs alone.

Stephan waits until she's gone to pick up the Torchwood envelope. He looks at it for a moment, then rips the top open. The key ring falls off. He picks it up and looks at it. It's not special. He puts it in his pocket. He takes two pieces of paper from the envelope. One has an address on it. The other is a letter.

Captain Stephan Broom,

It is my terrible duty to welcome you into Torchwood. This is not an assignment I would wish on anyone. You have my sympathies.

You are being put in charge of our facility in London, Torchwood One. This is our home office, or it was until the bombings started. While the office remains intact, many of our operatives have been killed. Only a few remain to help you rebuild. They are all well qualified and reliable.

I do not have time to tell you all you'll need to know. My work here is pressing and key to our success. I am sure that you will be able to pick everything up quickly. A mind that can understand computer programming languages will no doubt thrive in this environment.

Good luck, Captain. You will need every bit of it.

Archibald

cut to

int. stephan's house - kitchen - morning

8:24 am. Nancy comes into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Stephan is sitting on a stool at the island, drinking a cup of coffee, a plate of nothing but crumbs in front of him. He's reading yesterday's paper.

STEPHAN

Coffee?

NANCY

No, thanks.

STEPHAN

You prefer tea?

NANCY

Yeah.

STEPHAN

Pot's on the stove, nice and warm.

NANCY

(appreciative)

Thanks. It's nice of you to fix it.

STEPHAN

No problem. I needed the water for my coffee anyway.

NANCY

What can we make for breakfast, then?

STEPHAN

There is no we fixing breakfast. I will fix breakfast. You will watch and take notes.

NANCY

Why am I taking noes?

STEPHAN

(bluntly)

You can't cook. You burnt the toast last night and you scalded the soup. Which is why we had left overs in the ice box.

NANCY

We can have that for lunch.

STEPHAN

No, we can't. I tossed it.

NANCY

(outraged)

Tossed it, why?

STEPHAN

Because it's criminal to feed that to children. Besides, I think they'd revolt if they had to eat it twice. No, we'll just have to teach you how to cook. In the meantime, you can have sandwiches for lunch. I don't think you can mess that up, at least.

NANCY

Oh, thanks.

STEPHAN

(tying on the apron)

You're welcome. So, the first thing to learn is breakfast.

NANCY

You cook?

STEPHAN

I do. I call this dish Poor Man's French Toast. You take the eggs with a little bit of milk, just like this. Then you put the bread in the pan, like this. And put it in the oven for ten minutes. It's easy and it uses only the ingredients that poor people can afford. Got all that?

NANCY

I think I can manage.

STEPHAN

Excellent. And there's enough for ten, if you cut it right.

Stephan finishes his coffee and puts his dishes in the sink. He heads for the front door. Nancy follows him into the hall. He's putting on his hat and coat.

NANCY

Where are you going?

STEPHAN

Work. I start my new job today.

NANCY

But, you're leaving now?

STEPHAN

I want to make a good impression. You'll be fine without me, I promise.

NANCY

When will you be back?

STEPHAN

I don't actually know. I'll try to be home for dinner.

NANCY

What should I fix?

STEPHAN

Let me rephrase that, I'll try to be home in time to make dinner.

Nancy gives him a look.

STEPHAN

(tipping his hat)

Have a good day, Nancy.