Small Worlds ( TV story ) Small Worlds was the fifth episode of the first series of " Torchwood " . It was the first story to explore Jack ' s past in any detail . In particular , it revealed that Jack had been in a relationship with a British woman in the mid - 20th century . It also established a storytelling convention used in every subsequent series of " Torchwood " . From here forward , Jack ' s past would occasionally be teased through the use of extended flashbacks that demonstrated how his history tied in to a present - day problem that Torchwood was fighting . Synopsis . Jack encounters monsters from his past : fairies , with the ability to choke people and change the weather , make a series of kill ings centred around a little girl , the Chosen One . He also reunites with an old friend , but will Estelle Cole be safe when she starts to get a little too close to these fairies ? And how can Torchwood stop a force from the dawn of time , masters of Earth , their domain ? More importantly , what is so crucial about a little girl named Jasmine , for whom these creatures will gladly tear the world apart ? Plot . At the Torchwood Hub , Jack wakes from a nightmare of dead soldier s in a train carriage with rose petals spilling out of their mouths . He finds a single rose petal atop his desk . Ianto , still in - office , informs Jack about strange weather patterns in the area . The next day , Jack takes Gwen to visit an old friend of his , Estelle Cole , give a talk on fairies . Estelle shows them the Cottingley fairy photos , then compares them to photograph s she had taken the day before . She claims to have found proof of the fairies ' existence . After her presentation , Jack and Estelle discuss the photographs and the nature of fairies at her home . Gwen asks Estelle and Jack about an old photograph she found of Jack . They both claim it is of Jack ' s father , and say that he had a relationship with Estelle during World War II . Estelle mentions that Jack looks and walks just like his father . Jack interrupts that thought , and asks Estelle to let him know if she encounters any more fairies . On the way back to Torchwood , Jack explains to Gwen that the fairies are creatures from the dawn of time and are not bound by linear time . He says that the fairies can be very dangerous . Jack instructs Toshiko to watch for strange weather patterns in the area in order to locate the creatures . Meanwhile , a young girl , Jasmine Pierce , decides to walk home from school alone as her mother ' s boyfriend , Roy , did not arrive on time to pick her up . She encounters a man , Mark Goodson , who tries to lure her into his car . When Goodson makes a grab for Jasmine , a strong wind kicks up , accompanied by strange , ethereal voices . Goodson retreats into his car while Jasmine continues to skip home to play with her fairy friends in the nearby woods . Later , a tense Goodson , still hearing the voices , stumbles through the Cardiff market , attacked by something unseen by the other shoppers . He starts to cough up rose petals . He gets himself arrested to seek the safety of a jail cell , but continues to be attacked by unknown forces . He is found the next day , dead by asphyxiation . Torchwood arrives and find Goodson ' s mouth filled with rose petals . Jack confirms that Goodson was killed by the fairies as part of their protection of a " Chosen One " , a child who will soon become the fairies ' if Torchwood cannot find her in time . Late at night , Estelle hears the strange voices . She calls Jack to alert him . However , before Torchwood can arrive , she drown s in a rain storm although everything around her is completely dry . Jack mourns her loss , and Gwen makes him admit that it was he who had a relationship with Estelle long ago . Jack explains that he has seen the rose petals before , on a train in Lahore in 1909 . Some of his troops had drunkenly run over a little girl . A week later , all of his men died , their mouths stuffed with petals , and he realised that the young girl had been a Chosen One . Gwen returns home to find her own flat in disarray , with leaves and rock patterns on the floor . The team understand that the fairies are becoming more protective and aggressive . At her school the next day , Jasmine is bullied by two girls and the fairies make a gale sweep over the area . Torchwood arrives . Jasmine ' s teacher says that no - one was harmed , but the only one not affected by the storm was Jasmine . Meanwhile , Jasmine ' s mother Lynn and Roy are celebrating five years together with a backyard barbecue party . Jasmine helps her mother with the food , and gives disturbing answers to her mother ' s questions . When Jasmine goes outside , she finds that the backyard has been fenced off by Roy to prevent her from going to the woods . Angry , she bites him . He slaps her and calls her a bitch . A sudden wind rushes up and the fairies make themselves visible to everyone , attacking and killing Roy . Torchwood arrives in time to prevent harm to other guests , but Jasmine and the fairies race off to the woods . Jack catches up with her and demands that the fairies not take her away . They refuse , stating that she is their Chosen One and if she is prevented from going , many more people will die . Admitting he has no other choice , Jack requests a promise that Jasmine will not be harmed . The fairies respond that she will live forever . Jack lets Jasmine go , and she skips away , surrounded by glowing fairies . Lynn , seeing this , cries angrily and hits Jack over and over . The only thing Jack can do is apologise . Lynn has lost both her boyfriend and her only daughter in one afternoon . The Torchwood Three crew return to their transport vehicle with tension in the air . Gwen , Owen , and Toshiko are evidently disturbed by Jack ' s concession to the fairies ' demands , but all proceed silently . None of them speak a word about what just transpired , afraid to set off a powder keg , but they make little effort to hide their disapproval . Jack notices a few dirty looks from his peers , leaving him to defensively respond , " What else could I do ? " Back at the Hub , Gwen sorts through the pictures in the case . A Cottingley Fairies photograph from 1917 appears on the board room monitor screen . Spotting something , she zooms in on the photograph until the face on one of the fairies becomes clear . It is Jasmine , frozen in mid - dance , smiling . A fairy voice whispers : " Come away , O human child ! To the waters and the wild With a faery , hand in hand , For the world ' s more full of weeping than you can understand . " ( " The Stolen Child " , by ) Story notes . Filming locations . " to be added "