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aibhinn_ficsTitle: Children's Crusade (1/10?)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aibhinn
Pairing: Ten/Jack/Rose
Rating: PG-13 (may go up for later chapters)
Spoilers: For my chaptered fic Reunited. (Link goes to Teaspoon.)
Summary: Jack's past—including his missing memories—comes back for another go…but it's not quite what he expected.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Everything belongs to Auntie Beeb. I'm stuck here on the far side of the wrong continent, playing in her sandbox.
Author's note: Here we go, the sequel to Reunited! This story begins roughly a year after Reunited ended. Many thanks tomeasi, dameruth, sensiblecat, and invisible_lift for the beta-fu. I'm hoping to post once a week, probably on Tuesdays, so we avoid the six-week waits of the last story. Enjoy!
Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Jack followed Rose and the Doctor out of the TARDIS's doors, and the heat of the day hit him like a wall. He rocked back on his heels in surprise, grateful that he'd left his wool greatcoat in the ship. The Doctor still wore his ever-present trench coat, of course, but didn't look a bit affected by the weather.
"There you are," the Doctor said expansively, smiling broadly. "What d'you think?"
A steady stream of foot traffic moved past them on the unpaved dirt road towards a vast sea of colourful tents laid out in a strict grid formation. The tent city was already teeming with life, and it seemed to be swallowing the influx of people with no problem.
"The Rylonian Market!" the Doctor said for Rose's benefit; Jack knew the Market well. "It's an enormous bazaar, visited by beings from dozens of different worlds. It's a major stop on the cross-galactic travel lanes in this era, despite how primitive it looks. Or maybe because of it; maybe it's a draw, like medieval fairs in the twenty-first century."
"Everyone certainly seems happy to be going," Rose observed, watching the flow of people passing her. "Looks like everyone's on holiday."
"Well, that's better than stumbling into a riot or a revolution," Jack said dryly. He glanced up at the sky to judge the sun's height, shading his eyes with his hand. "Just past midday," he told the Doctor and Rose. "How long will the sun be up?"
"This time of year? Another seven or eight standard hours," the Doctor said. "We've got loads of time." He grinned at his partners. "The perfect day out," he announced. "No wars, no uprisings, no riots, nothing at all out of the ordinary."
"Careful," Rose said cheekily. "Every time you tell us nothing can go wrong, it always does."
"Not every time!" the Doctor protested as Jack chuckled. "We've had days where nothing bad happened at all."
"Few and far between," she pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but it'd get boring otherwise, wouldn't it?" The Doctor's smile never dimmed as he took her hand. "I promise, so far as I know, absolutely nothing bad happens here on this date. In fact, not for several days. We can spend a good week here if we want, make a holiday of it. And the best part?" He turned to Jack and took his hand too, to Jack's mild surprise. "Multi-partner and interspecies relationships are par for the course here. Nobody's going to look at us twice."
"You sure about that, Doc?" Jack asked, eyebrow raised, though he didn't pull his hand away. "Don't want to end up in jail for adultery again."
"Absolutely. Take a look." The Doctor nodded towards a threesome of people—well, beings—who were walking together arm-in-arm, and Jack turned to look. Two of them appeared to be human—a man and a woman—but the third was definitely alien; she had bright blue skin and golden eyes, and walked with a lithe grace that spoke of a predatory past for her species. The three were making no secret of their affection for each other, and he noticed matching torcs around their necks. So their partnership was official, Jack thought, at least on the neighbouring planet of Hirrauch, where that was the cultural equivalent to wedding rings.
"Oh, brilliant!" Rose said, smiling broadly. "Peace, shopping, and the ability to do this." She dropped the Doctor's hand and turned to him, taking his face between her hands and pulling him to her for a long, thorough snog. He returned the kiss with interest and every indication of self-possession, though Jack didn't miss the glazed look in his eyes when Rose pulled away. She smirked at him, then turned to Jack. "And you," she said saucily. He bent to meet her kiss, wrapping his free arm around her and placing a hand at the small of her back, tugging her flush against his body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt her go malleable against him, moulding her body to fit against his. It was a reaction that went straight to his groin, and he couldn't help the quiet groan that escaped his throat.
The Doctor was grinning wickedly when the two of them finally separated. "Sure you want to go on and explore right now?" he asked, eyes glinting. "We've got hours till sunset, and the next few days as well. We could always go back to the TARDIS now and go exploring some other time…."
Rose blinked, clearly pulling herself back together. "Oh, no, you don't!" she said firmly. "I'm off to the market. Of course," she added with a similar glint to her eye, "you two could always go off without me. I won't promise to show you what I buy if you do, though."
"Will we want to see it?" Jack asked.
"Oh, definitely," she purred. "I did a bit of research on this market when the Doctor told us that was where we were going. Turns out they've got some of the most skilled lingerie makers in the Consortium here. And if you're not with me, how can I ask your opinion? Or model anything for you?"
Jack met the Doctor's gaze, but it wasn't really necessary; they both knew they'd lost. "Shopping it is," the Doctor said immediately. Jack chuckled and set off with his arms around his two loves, feeling pretty damn good.
***
The sun had long since set, but the market was still bustling. They'd found a reasonably upscale tent restaurant that offered a floor show as well, so they'd paid their ten credits apiece (an outrageous sum by the standards of the planet they were on) and were shown to a table near the stage.
Jack looked over the crowd, checking for potential trouble in a move that was almost a spinal reflex. The crowd was composed of an interesting mixture of humans and non-humans, though the latter were all bipedal, he noticed, and most were humanoid in their overall shape. A Glaxian caught his eye and winked with her inner eyelid, shifting slightly so the lamplight caught the metallic shimmer of her skin, but he just smiled politely back, indicating the Doctor and Rose with a nod of his head. The Glaxian glanced at his partners, then flicked her eyes back to him and tilted her head to the side in a gesture that clearly said 'Ah, well.' Jack let his smile slide into a grin. Nice to be appreciated, even if he didn't intend to do anything about it.
The food was excellent—made for eating with your hands (or feeding to someone else)—and the floor show was quite enjoyable as well: groups of native men and women from the three major continents on this planet, each showcasing their traditional dances. Jack settled in to watch, leaned back in his chair, an arm around Rose's shoulders. She in turn was holding the Doctor's hand. Jack didn't remember the last time he'd been so relaxed or contented. At least, when he was out of bed.
Speaking of which…. "You gonna show us what you bought today at those lingerie shops you went to?" Jack murmured into her ear.
She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe," she said coyly. "Depends on how good—or bad—you are."
"I think you'll find I can be either one," he purred. "All you have to do is tell me what you want, and your wish is my command."
The Doctor, whose hearing was easily good enough to have caught the entire exchange, leaned in. "Maybe she needs some persuading," he suggested.
"Mm, good point, Doctor. Persuasion is always…entertaining." He nuzzled Rose's neck just below her ear, and felt a surge of satisfaction when her breath caught. "Is that what you want, Rose? Persuading? Because we can certainly deliver on that."
A buzzing in his pocket startled him, and he jumped. So did Rose, since the pocket had been pressed between them. He fumbled for his phone, and she laughed. "Is that a mobile in your pocket, Jack, or are you happy to see me?"
He snorted, but his attention wasn't on Rose any more. There was a text message from Gwen. He flipped the phone open to read it.
Phone asap for sit rep. Urgent.
The word urgent destroyed the mood utterly, and without a word, Jack handed the phone to Rose, who read the message along with the Doctor.
"Situation report?" she said, frowning. "I don't remember any pending cases before we left last time."
"There weren't any," Jack said. "Not once we cleared out that nest of Rallxin."
"Hm." She glanced at the Doctor, whose expression had gone as serious as Jack's and her own, then handed the phone back to Jack. "Gwen doesn't say 'urgent' without good reason. I think we'd best cut our evening short."
They rose quietly from their seats and made their way towards the entrance to the tent as unobtrusively as possible. Once they were out in the dusty path that served as the main 'street' of the market, Jack phoned Gwen.
Gwen picked up on the second ring. "Jack?" she said. "Oh, good. You got my text?"
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"We've got a bit of a situation here," she said. "But the thing is, it's not about us. It's about you."
"Me?" he repeated, startled. The Doctor and Rose exchanged a glance.
"Someone's been asking about you. Asking around, I mean. Pubs and the like, flashing a photograph of you. I've got a bad feeling about it."
So did Jack. Who would be showing a photograph of him around town, searching for him? Unless…his gut clenched. He'd quit the Time Agency and disappeared into the life of a con man without leaving a ripple behind, or so he'd thought. What if they'd tracked and followed him? "Got a name on whoever's doing the snooping?" he asked.
"Yeah." He heard the rustling of papers; she must be at her desk. "It's someone called Karen Delapaz. Ring any bells?"
Karen Delapaz. Jack felt for one long moment as though he'd been punched in the solar plexus. It took an effort for him to start breathing again. That was a name he'd never expected to hear—and certainly not from one of his team.
"Jack?" Rose was beside him, looking worried. "You all right?"
He managed a nod and said into the phone, "Yeah. It rings some very, very loud bells. We'll be there as soon as we can. What's the date?"
"It's ten in the morning on 23 June, 2008."
"Got it. We'll be there." He hung up and turned to face the other two, who were looking decidedly concerned. "She was right," he told them. "It's urgent, though it's not life-and-death. Still, I think we should get there as soon as possible."
"Of course." The Doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "You sure you're all right, though? You turned absolutely white there for a moment. Looked like you were going to faint."
"Sort of felt that way, too." Jack blew out a breath, pocketing his phone. "Not the kind of news I expected to hear."
"Something bad?" Rose asked quietly.
"Depends on how you look at it." A corner of his mouth quirked up involuntarily. "Seems my best friend's ex-girlfriend is looking for me."
***
A familiar sound made Gwen glance up from her desk and crane her neck around to look through the glass door to her office, eyebrows rising. They must've taken it seriously when she'd said urgent, she thought as the TARDIS began to materialise in its usual spot by the base of the water tower. It had hardly finished solidifying when the door opened and Jack came out, looking every inch the confident, highly-trained soldier he was as he strode straight towards his old office, now occupied by Gwen. His coat billowed behind him. It was his focussed, 'man-on-a-mission' stride, and it didn't falter even as he waved a greeting at the others in the Hub. The Doctor and Rose followed, their body language less determined but no less worried. Tosh pushed back her chair and went to join them, followed closely by Owen and Ianto.
Gwen came out from behind her desk as Jack pushed open the glass doors into the office, the Doctor and Rose following right behind him. Gwen wrapped him in a hug, glad to see him as always, though she could feel the tension in his shoulders. He released her, and she hugged the Doctor and Rose as well, but her attention was still on Jack. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him so tense. Whoever this Karen Delapaz was, she was someone who'd put Jack on edge.
"You certainly didn't waste any time getting here," Gwen said as she released Rose and stepped back to face Jack again.
"Time machine," Jack told her with a half-grin as Rose hugged Tosh, Ianto, and Owen in turn, then went back to stand beside the Doctor. "What have you got?"
Gwen's eyebrows rose. "No small talk, then," she said, walking around to the other side of her desk. He really was affected by this woman, whoever she was.
"Not just now, no," Jack said tersely. Rose laid a hand along his shoulder blade in silent support, and he shot her a sideways smile.
Gwen picked up a file from her desk and opened it. It held a handful of grainy, black-and-white photos that were clearly stills from a CCTV feed. She laid them down on the desk so that Jack and the others could see them. "This is the woman who's looking for you," she said.
Jack caught his breath at the first photo and held it as the rest of them were laid down. His eyes were wide and dilated; his mouth opened, then closed again.
"You know her," Owen said from his spot near the door, arms folded across his chest. It wasn't a question.
"Oh, yeah." Jack picked up a picture, looking down at it with a pensive expression. "She hasn't changed much," he said softly. "Wonder how long it's been for her. I haven't seen her since the last time I was back on the Boeshane."
His voice had an oddly heavy note to it. Gwen saw the Doctor and Rose exchange a glance; they must have heard it as well. His eyes grew distant, and Gwen knew he wasn't seeing the photo any more; he was reliving a memory.
"Dunno, but she's doing her damnedest to get back in touch with you," Owen said with a fine lack of sensitivity for the moment, and Jack's attention jerked back to the here and now. Owen moved forward, touched a photo that showed the woman who called herself Karen Delapaz talking to a tall man. "Been asking around a bit. Rather slick about it really, but Torchwood's too well known in this town for it to stay completely under the radar. People have started talking, and it's filtered back to us."
"When did this start?" Jack asked.
"About two weeks ago, as far as we've been able to find out," Gwen answered. "But it looks like she's starting to get more desperate; she's beginning to slip up, tip her hand a little more than she probably intends." She paused, watching Jack with her head cocked to the side. She shouldn't ask, she really shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. "Who is she?"
"My best friend's ex-girlfriend," Jack said. He set down the photo he held and picked up another one. Gwen craned her neck to see it better. The image was grainy, but the woman in the picture seemed to be in her mid-thirties, Jack's own apparent age. Her hair was long and thick, just brushing the points of her shoulder blades, and her body language was that of someone who could take care of herself, even in the stills. Her face wasn't easy to make out, but somehow the picture gave Gwen the impression this Karen was quite beautiful. "Everyone thought they were going to get married," he went on, "until they had a big row and broke up just before he and I shipped out on our first mission with the Time Agency, when we were eighteen." He was silent for a moment, then sighed and set the picture down. "I haven't seen her in ages," he said. "Can't imagine what's brought her looking for me."
There was something there: something behind his words that he wasn't talking about; something more to this story that he wasn't willing to share. The Doctor and Rose exchanged another look, and Gwen knew they'd sensed it too. Rose stepped forward and took Jack's right hand, and he glanced at her in surprise, as though he'd forgotten she was there. "Let's get hold of her so we can find out," she said.
Jack blinked, then smiled at her. "Yeah," he said. "Let's." He turned his attention back to Gwen. "Can we get a message to her?"
"Of course," she said. "What do you want it to say?"
"Get me a pad of paper. I'll tell you exactly."
Author:
aibhinnPairing: Ten/Jack/Rose
Rating: PG-13 (may go up for later chapters)
Spoilers: For my chaptered fic Reunited. (Link goes to Teaspoon.)
Summary: Jack's past—including his missing memories—comes back for another go…but it's not quite what he expected.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Everything belongs to Auntie Beeb. I'm stuck here on the far side of the wrong continent, playing in her sandbox.
Author's note: Here we go, the sequel to Reunited! This story begins roughly a year after Reunited ended. Many thanks to
measi, dameruth, sensiblecat, and invisible_lift for the beta-fu. I'm hoping to post once a week, probably on Tuesdays, so we avoid the six-week waits of the last story. Enjoy!Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Jack followed Rose and the Doctor out of the TARDIS's doors, and the heat of the day hit him like a wall. He rocked back on his heels in surprise, grateful that he'd left his wool greatcoat in the ship. The Doctor still wore his ever-present trench coat, of course, but didn't look a bit affected by the weather.
"There you are," the Doctor said expansively, smiling broadly. "What d'you think?"
A steady stream of foot traffic moved past them on the unpaved dirt road towards a vast sea of colourful tents laid out in a strict grid formation. The tent city was already teeming with life, and it seemed to be swallowing the influx of people with no problem.
"The Rylonian Market!" the Doctor said for Rose's benefit; Jack knew the Market well. "It's an enormous bazaar, visited by beings from dozens of different worlds. It's a major stop on the cross-galactic travel lanes in this era, despite how primitive it looks. Or maybe because of it; maybe it's a draw, like medieval fairs in the twenty-first century."
"Everyone certainly seems happy to be going," Rose observed, watching the flow of people passing her. "Looks like everyone's on holiday."
"Well, that's better than stumbling into a riot or a revolution," Jack said dryly. He glanced up at the sky to judge the sun's height, shading his eyes with his hand. "Just past midday," he told the Doctor and Rose. "How long will the sun be up?"
"This time of year? Another seven or eight standard hours," the Doctor said. "We've got loads of time." He grinned at his partners. "The perfect day out," he announced. "No wars, no uprisings, no riots, nothing at all out of the ordinary."
"Careful," Rose said cheekily. "Every time you tell us nothing can go wrong, it always does."
"Not every time!" the Doctor protested as Jack chuckled. "We've had days where nothing bad happened at all."
"Few and far between," she pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but it'd get boring otherwise, wouldn't it?" The Doctor's smile never dimmed as he took her hand. "I promise, so far as I know, absolutely nothing bad happens here on this date. In fact, not for several days. We can spend a good week here if we want, make a holiday of it. And the best part?" He turned to Jack and took his hand too, to Jack's mild surprise. "Multi-partner and interspecies relationships are par for the course here. Nobody's going to look at us twice."
"You sure about that, Doc?" Jack asked, eyebrow raised, though he didn't pull his hand away. "Don't want to end up in jail for adultery again."
"Absolutely. Take a look." The Doctor nodded towards a threesome of people—well, beings—who were walking together arm-in-arm, and Jack turned to look. Two of them appeared to be human—a man and a woman—but the third was definitely alien; she had bright blue skin and golden eyes, and walked with a lithe grace that spoke of a predatory past for her species. The three were making no secret of their affection for each other, and he noticed matching torcs around their necks. So their partnership was official, Jack thought, at least on the neighbouring planet of Hirrauch, where that was the cultural equivalent to wedding rings.
"Oh, brilliant!" Rose said, smiling broadly. "Peace, shopping, and the ability to do this." She dropped the Doctor's hand and turned to him, taking his face between her hands and pulling him to her for a long, thorough snog. He returned the kiss with interest and every indication of self-possession, though Jack didn't miss the glazed look in his eyes when Rose pulled away. She smirked at him, then turned to Jack. "And you," she said saucily. He bent to meet her kiss, wrapping his free arm around her and placing a hand at the small of her back, tugging her flush against his body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt her go malleable against him, moulding her body to fit against his. It was a reaction that went straight to his groin, and he couldn't help the quiet groan that escaped his throat.
The Doctor was grinning wickedly when the two of them finally separated. "Sure you want to go on and explore right now?" he asked, eyes glinting. "We've got hours till sunset, and the next few days as well. We could always go back to the TARDIS now and go exploring some other time…."
Rose blinked, clearly pulling herself back together. "Oh, no, you don't!" she said firmly. "I'm off to the market. Of course," she added with a similar glint to her eye, "you two could always go off without me. I won't promise to show you what I buy if you do, though."
"Will we want to see it?" Jack asked.
"Oh, definitely," she purred. "I did a bit of research on this market when the Doctor told us that was where we were going. Turns out they've got some of the most skilled lingerie makers in the Consortium here. And if you're not with me, how can I ask your opinion? Or model anything for you?"
Jack met the Doctor's gaze, but it wasn't really necessary; they both knew they'd lost. "Shopping it is," the Doctor said immediately. Jack chuckled and set off with his arms around his two loves, feeling pretty damn good.
***
The sun had long since set, but the market was still bustling. They'd found a reasonably upscale tent restaurant that offered a floor show as well, so they'd paid their ten credits apiece (an outrageous sum by the standards of the planet they were on) and were shown to a table near the stage.
Jack looked over the crowd, checking for potential trouble in a move that was almost a spinal reflex. The crowd was composed of an interesting mixture of humans and non-humans, though the latter were all bipedal, he noticed, and most were humanoid in their overall shape. A Glaxian caught his eye and winked with her inner eyelid, shifting slightly so the lamplight caught the metallic shimmer of her skin, but he just smiled politely back, indicating the Doctor and Rose with a nod of his head. The Glaxian glanced at his partners, then flicked her eyes back to him and tilted her head to the side in a gesture that clearly said 'Ah, well.' Jack let his smile slide into a grin. Nice to be appreciated, even if he didn't intend to do anything about it.
The food was excellent—made for eating with your hands (or feeding to someone else)—and the floor show was quite enjoyable as well: groups of native men and women from the three major continents on this planet, each showcasing their traditional dances. Jack settled in to watch, leaned back in his chair, an arm around Rose's shoulders. She in turn was holding the Doctor's hand. Jack didn't remember the last time he'd been so relaxed or contented. At least, when he was out of bed.
Speaking of which…. "You gonna show us what you bought today at those lingerie shops you went to?" Jack murmured into her ear.
She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe," she said coyly. "Depends on how good—or bad—you are."
"I think you'll find I can be either one," he purred. "All you have to do is tell me what you want, and your wish is my command."
The Doctor, whose hearing was easily good enough to have caught the entire exchange, leaned in. "Maybe she needs some persuading," he suggested.
"Mm, good point, Doctor. Persuasion is always…entertaining." He nuzzled Rose's neck just below her ear, and felt a surge of satisfaction when her breath caught. "Is that what you want, Rose? Persuading? Because we can certainly deliver on that."
A buzzing in his pocket startled him, and he jumped. So did Rose, since the pocket had been pressed between them. He fumbled for his phone, and she laughed. "Is that a mobile in your pocket, Jack, or are you happy to see me?"
He snorted, but his attention wasn't on Rose any more. There was a text message from Gwen. He flipped the phone open to read it.
Phone asap for sit rep. Urgent.
The word urgent destroyed the mood utterly, and without a word, Jack handed the phone to Rose, who read the message along with the Doctor.
"Situation report?" she said, frowning. "I don't remember any pending cases before we left last time."
"There weren't any," Jack said. "Not once we cleared out that nest of Rallxin."
"Hm." She glanced at the Doctor, whose expression had gone as serious as Jack's and her own, then handed the phone back to Jack. "Gwen doesn't say 'urgent' without good reason. I think we'd best cut our evening short."
They rose quietly from their seats and made their way towards the entrance to the tent as unobtrusively as possible. Once they were out in the dusty path that served as the main 'street' of the market, Jack phoned Gwen.
Gwen picked up on the second ring. "Jack?" she said. "Oh, good. You got my text?"
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"We've got a bit of a situation here," she said. "But the thing is, it's not about us. It's about you."
"Me?" he repeated, startled. The Doctor and Rose exchanged a glance.
"Someone's been asking about you. Asking around, I mean. Pubs and the like, flashing a photograph of you. I've got a bad feeling about it."
So did Jack. Who would be showing a photograph of him around town, searching for him? Unless…his gut clenched. He'd quit the Time Agency and disappeared into the life of a con man without leaving a ripple behind, or so he'd thought. What if they'd tracked and followed him? "Got a name on whoever's doing the snooping?" he asked.
"Yeah." He heard the rustling of papers; she must be at her desk. "It's someone called Karen Delapaz. Ring any bells?"
Karen Delapaz. Jack felt for one long moment as though he'd been punched in the solar plexus. It took an effort for him to start breathing again. That was a name he'd never expected to hear—and certainly not from one of his team.
"Jack?" Rose was beside him, looking worried. "You all right?"
He managed a nod and said into the phone, "Yeah. It rings some very, very loud bells. We'll be there as soon as we can. What's the date?"
"It's ten in the morning on 23 June, 2008."
"Got it. We'll be there." He hung up and turned to face the other two, who were looking decidedly concerned. "She was right," he told them. "It's urgent, though it's not life-and-death. Still, I think we should get there as soon as possible."
"Of course." The Doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "You sure you're all right, though? You turned absolutely white there for a moment. Looked like you were going to faint."
"Sort of felt that way, too." Jack blew out a breath, pocketing his phone. "Not the kind of news I expected to hear."
"Something bad?" Rose asked quietly.
"Depends on how you look at it." A corner of his mouth quirked up involuntarily. "Seems my best friend's ex-girlfriend is looking for me."
***
A familiar sound made Gwen glance up from her desk and crane her neck around to look through the glass door to her office, eyebrows rising. They must've taken it seriously when she'd said urgent, she thought as the TARDIS began to materialise in its usual spot by the base of the water tower. It had hardly finished solidifying when the door opened and Jack came out, looking every inch the confident, highly-trained soldier he was as he strode straight towards his old office, now occupied by Gwen. His coat billowed behind him. It was his focussed, 'man-on-a-mission' stride, and it didn't falter even as he waved a greeting at the others in the Hub. The Doctor and Rose followed, their body language less determined but no less worried. Tosh pushed back her chair and went to join them, followed closely by Owen and Ianto.
Gwen came out from behind her desk as Jack pushed open the glass doors into the office, the Doctor and Rose following right behind him. Gwen wrapped him in a hug, glad to see him as always, though she could feel the tension in his shoulders. He released her, and she hugged the Doctor and Rose as well, but her attention was still on Jack. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him so tense. Whoever this Karen Delapaz was, she was someone who'd put Jack on edge.
"You certainly didn't waste any time getting here," Gwen said as she released Rose and stepped back to face Jack again.
"Time machine," Jack told her with a half-grin as Rose hugged Tosh, Ianto, and Owen in turn, then went back to stand beside the Doctor. "What have you got?"
Gwen's eyebrows rose. "No small talk, then," she said, walking around to the other side of her desk. He really was affected by this woman, whoever she was.
"Not just now, no," Jack said tersely. Rose laid a hand along his shoulder blade in silent support, and he shot her a sideways smile.
Gwen picked up a file from her desk and opened it. It held a handful of grainy, black-and-white photos that were clearly stills from a CCTV feed. She laid them down on the desk so that Jack and the others could see them. "This is the woman who's looking for you," she said.
Jack caught his breath at the first photo and held it as the rest of them were laid down. His eyes were wide and dilated; his mouth opened, then closed again.
"You know her," Owen said from his spot near the door, arms folded across his chest. It wasn't a question.
"Oh, yeah." Jack picked up a picture, looking down at it with a pensive expression. "She hasn't changed much," he said softly. "Wonder how long it's been for her. I haven't seen her since the last time I was back on the Boeshane."
His voice had an oddly heavy note to it. Gwen saw the Doctor and Rose exchange a glance; they must have heard it as well. His eyes grew distant, and Gwen knew he wasn't seeing the photo any more; he was reliving a memory.
"Dunno, but she's doing her damnedest to get back in touch with you," Owen said with a fine lack of sensitivity for the moment, and Jack's attention jerked back to the here and now. Owen moved forward, touched a photo that showed the woman who called herself Karen Delapaz talking to a tall man. "Been asking around a bit. Rather slick about it really, but Torchwood's too well known in this town for it to stay completely under the radar. People have started talking, and it's filtered back to us."
"When did this start?" Jack asked.
"About two weeks ago, as far as we've been able to find out," Gwen answered. "But it looks like she's starting to get more desperate; she's beginning to slip up, tip her hand a little more than she probably intends." She paused, watching Jack with her head cocked to the side. She shouldn't ask, she really shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. "Who is she?"
"My best friend's ex-girlfriend," Jack said. He set down the photo he held and picked up another one. Gwen craned her neck to see it better. The image was grainy, but the woman in the picture seemed to be in her mid-thirties, Jack's own apparent age. Her hair was long and thick, just brushing the points of her shoulder blades, and her body language was that of someone who could take care of herself, even in the stills. Her face wasn't easy to make out, but somehow the picture gave Gwen the impression this Karen was quite beautiful. "Everyone thought they were going to get married," he went on, "until they had a big row and broke up just before he and I shipped out on our first mission with the Time Agency, when we were eighteen." He was silent for a moment, then sighed and set the picture down. "I haven't seen her in ages," he said. "Can't imagine what's brought her looking for me."
There was something there: something behind his words that he wasn't talking about; something more to this story that he wasn't willing to share. The Doctor and Rose exchanged another look, and Gwen knew they'd sensed it too. Rose stepped forward and took Jack's right hand, and he glanced at her in surprise, as though he'd forgotten she was there. "Let's get hold of her so we can find out," she said.
Jack blinked, then smiled at her. "Yeah," he said. "Let's." He turned his attention back to Gwen. "Can we get a message to her?"
"Of course," she said. "What do you want it to say?"
"Get me a pad of paper. I'll tell you exactly."
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:13 pm (UTC)This is an incoherant comment.
Date: 2008-05-27 03:49 pm (UTC)YAY!!!!!!!!!!
I can hardly be coherant, can I? I'd despaired of ever seeing this, and when I saw this pop up on my flist? EEEEE!!! I'm really curious as to what (if anything) has changed between what you'd originally imagined back at the end of Reunited, and what is going to play out for us now.
EEEE, I'm so excited! :D (Love Jack flirting with the Glaxian but being committed to his partners <3)
Re: This is an incoherant comment.
Date: 2008-06-01 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 04:22 pm (UTC)So excited to see more of this!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:14 pm (UTC)I'm so pleased you're excited. Woot!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 04:23 pm (UTC)This is going to be amazing. In fact, this is already amazing. I'm intruiged by this Karen character...
And, of course, Rose being coy is simply win! :D
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 06:53 pm (UTC)By the way, did I read that you teach 7th grade? I currently teach 5th but will be making the jump to 7th Social Studies next year. Hurrah for hormones with sneakers!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:15 pm (UTC)And yes, I do teach 7th grade. "Hormones with sneakers" is about right, especially this time of year. Two more weeks til summer. Two more weeks.....
no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 10:32 pm (UTC)At least they acknowledge it!
I loved Reunited and I'm delighted to see a sequel. This is brilliant so far and you always write Ten/Rose/Jack so beautifully. Can't wait for more!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 03:23 am (UTC)I just love how you capture the relationship between these three!
Can't wait for more!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 11:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 02:28 pm (UTC)One thing though- does she know that he goes by the name Jack Harkness now, and if so how? If she doesn't know his name it's kinda hard to ask about a 'tall dark haired, blue eyed guy who likes to flirt'.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:17 pm (UTC)So glad you're enjoying it!
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Date: 2008-05-31 02:40 pm (UTC)I adore it, can't wait to read more!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:19 pm (UTC)