Next chapter! ^_^
Unbeta'd - all mistakes my own.
“She’s not exactly the sort of doctor that would be the most help at the moment is she?” He half heartedly returned the smirk from the Captain.
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| Tenth Doctor, Torchwood | |
Never Say Never by Kimori1024 [Reviews - 58]  Chapter or Story Author's Notes: | |
“Can I see my mum yet?” Tori tried her best to peer into the room just behind Ianto Jones.
“Martha says it is best if you wait out here...” He shifted again to block the girl from getting around his body. For being about a foot shorter than him, she sure was pushy. “It may not be safe for you...” He skidded backward, closer to the doorway as the brunette darted toward him again.
“I don’t bloody care! That’s my mum in there!” She attempted to sidestep him again and failed. Her mother was just beyond that doorway in the hands of some doctor she’d never met before; she couldn’t give a damn what they thought ‘was best’.
“Tori...” Rob’s voice was weak from the shock of the night’s events as he tried to call out to the angered young woman. Everything had happened so fast. A spontaneous drive into London, which he thought had been a bad idea to begin with, had lead to some sort of incredible explosion of light and ended in his best mate’s sister — or well, mother — passing out and then them all being ushered away to this place. Describing it all as shocking was clearly an understatement.
“Rob! Tell them!” Tori turned back to the boy behind her, unable to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. “Rob! Tell them to let me in!”
“Tori... you can’t... they said it isn’t safe...” Rob tried reasoning with her as he took a step forward toward her.
“I don’t care! She’s my mum!” Tori screamed out again, this time throwing a punch at the chest of the man standing in her way, stopping just short of his tie. It was immature, it was wrong and yet she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t lose someone else; not now. “S’not fair...” Robert tried to pull her into his arms but she pushed him away coldly.
“C’mon, I’ll make you some tea... You would be surprised at the wonders of a nice cuppa,” Ianto tried to speak, but he only awkwardly managed to stumble about his words. “Well, to be honest I really don’t know what is going on here myself... I do know that your mother is in very capable hands with Doctor Jones.”
“This is Torchwood, yeah?” her eyes were suddenly strong as she spoke. A spark ignited deep inside the clean blue; a mere hint of the thoughts spinning in her mind.
“Yes,” Ianto replied hesitantly, thrown off guard by the girl’s sudden and complete composure. But her unsettling gaze demanded an answer; a storm barely held in check behind her eyes.
“But I work for Torchwood...” An equally disconcerting smile formed on her lips as she continued. “...And you lot don’t.” She cocked her head waiting for a response.
“Well, you see there are parallel realities. You are from another one...” Ianto swallowed, but despite his efforts, his eyes refused to meet hers.
“You expect me to believe that?” The icy tone of her voice cut the air, no hint of her earlier emotions left. Aside from the fading marks of her earlier tears, it was hard to believe she was the same person.
When the other man didn’t answer, Rob took the opportunity to step in. “Didn’t your sister... er... mother, mention something about parallels?”
“She’s not stable all the time...” Her grin grew, her eyes still not leaving Ianto.
“I still can’t believe she’s your mother...”
Tori sharply cut him off. “Weelllll,” Her tongue rolled over the word, tasting the sound. “There’s a lot of explaining to do, not to mention the explaining from you lot.” A tiny laugh escaped her lips, tickling the air, only serving to add to the tension. Her tongue rolled slowly across her teeth stopping to peak out of the corner of her mouth as she coked her head at Ianto. The only sound in the entire corridor was the breathing of the three people inside it.
A manic grin spread across Tori’s face “You lot got a chemical lab?” She didn’t wait for an answer and she turned on her heels, running in the opposite direction
“Oh shit....” Rob groaned, briefly running his fingers through his hair.
“What, why?” Ianto frantically turned to the boy for reassurance, but only saw his back as he dashed down the hall.
***
Jack leaned against the desk in his office, and then thinking better of it, he sat down in the chair. He thrust his head into his hands before nervously jumping up from his seat yet again, and resuming leaning upon the old wood. None of this could be good. They were never that lucky... Never. He stared solemnly at the mobile in his hands, twisting it around in his fingers. ‘Message Successfully Sent’ flashed across the small screen.
“You’re’ not in there with her?” Mickey’s voice startled Jack out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the younger man standing just in the door frame, his face plagued with worry.
“What would I say? I can’t be any help right now...” the Captain sighed, unable to look at the other man. He could only guess what his own face would look like.
“Will she be alright?” Mickey stepped inside as he continued. He received no response, so he made to change the subject.
“You know Jack, I’m still unsure as to why we found Rose in that alley way. Or, how you knew to go there.”
“I didn’t... But I figured if there was one place in the universe that Bad Wolf would have started it would be that alley in London. The Doctor told me once that Bad Wolf was a message Rose had sent herself to get back to him, what could possibly make it stronger than when for the first time she made her choice to go with him and the very first time her came back for her?” Jack smirked deciding to sit again.
“She’ll be alright won’t she?” Mickey decided to attempt his question again.
Jack took his head in his palms again. He was careful to avoid looking at his partner. “She’d just passed out when we found her. Martha will take good care of her...”
“She’s not exactly the sort of doctor that would be the most help at the moment is she?” He half heartedly returned the smirk from the Captain.
Jack’s gaze trailed to the screen of his mobile that now lay amidst the papers and artifacts spread out before him. ‘Message Successfully Sent’. He prayed to whatever would listen that it wasn’t lying as a silence fell over the two men.
The silence was soon shattered by a very frightened looking Ianto.
“That is no ordinary child... She... she tried to set me on fire.” Both Jack and Mickey looked up at the clearly startled man. Ianto was absolutely frantic and his breathing was heavy as if he’d been running. “Why aren’t some of those chemicals locked up a bit more properly?”
“Fire? Ah... You’re already too hot, Ianto,” Jack grinned over at his friend, though the gesture was completely hallowed of the man’s usually glowing personality. A sigh escaped from his lips as the smile faded and he pushed himself up from his seat. “I’ll go talk to her; she can’t kill me at least. Anyway, sitting around here is driving me mad.”
The Captain stepped out the door, leaving the other two alone.
***
Tori’s eyes scanned the room she found herself in. It all seemed like déjà vu; everything was just as it should be at Torchwood, or well, her Torchwood. Except for the fact that she was in Cardiff instead of London, or at least that’s what she’d thought she had heard in passing. The GPS wasn’t exactly working on her mobile, in fact, the entire device was currently useless — no signal at all.
Tears stung at her eyes, but she’d already made the mistake of letting them fall once today. She was stronger than this; she had to be. Her mum was clearly ill and she’d just chased away everyone who had tried to help her. That poor man, she wasn’t actually going to set him on fire, though he probably deserved it. And now she’d just screamed at Rob again, so much so that he’d actually stormed out of the room. Typical. Every other man she’d ever trusted had left her in the end, why should he be any different?
Her head wasn’t feeling completely back to normal either. She knew she was never really herself when one of these migraines would come on. Controlling her own actions seemed out of her grasp now days. Leaving tonight was a stupid idea. This whole ordeal right now was probably her fault, though that wouldn’t be much of a change.
She fell onto the sofa in front of a rather nice plasma screen television. The technology seemed a bit outdated, but then again, maybe this world was a bit behind. She wondered when she had started referring to this place as if the talk about parallel universes was real. She grinned in a twisted amusement as she clicked on the screen.
Jack poked his head around the corner, finding the young girl sitting on the couch, blindly flipping from channel to channel. He could tell she’d been crying. He had heard the yelling when her friend had left the room in a hurry. So this is what Rose Tyler’s daughter would be like? A sad smile spread over his features. She didn’t look like she would attempt to make him burst into flames, so he crept into the small room cautiously.
“So... anything on TV?” The Captain dropped down on the sofa, nonchalantly glancing at the TV screen; a story about the return of the bees briefly featuring before the station was changed again.
“Shit.” He wasn’t sure if her response was to his presence or his question. Neither one of them turned to look at each other. Right, so it was small talk time.
“So... who was he?” Jack gestured his head towards the door, enquiring about Robert.
“A friend.”
“Just a friend?”
“Yeah,” Tori’s head spun and her eyes met his. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the best subject for small talk. “Friend, S’what I said yeah?”
“Just how jealous should I be?” He tried to laugh it off with a bit of flirting, but there was something about her eyes that he couldn’t pull away from.
The girl raised here eyebrows at his comments. “Excuse me, but how old are you?” She was good.
He grinned and retorted, “How old are you?”
She smiled sweetly, though her eyes told a different story. “Old enough to know better.” With that she turned her head back to the TV and resumed her channel surfing, ignoring his existence. Oh she was good and she knew it — deadly combination; well, with her breeding, it would be.
The Captain sighed and looked at the rapidly changing screen. “Right, made your point...” Stopping, he grinned and turned back to her, adding with a whisper, “But young enough not to care?”
The girl turned back to him, a picture perfect ‘we are not amused’ face glaring back. Jack laughed inside; it reminded him of an expression he knew all too well from a man in leather with the same bright blue eyes so long ago.
“Right, sorry, out of line.” Jack slapped his hands onto his knees, knowing when he had been defeated. He stood up to leave, his mind regretfully returning to what still lie ahead that night.
The hurried sounds of the various TV stations stopped for a brief moment when he heard a small voice behind him speak. It didn’t match the bravado of the girl he knew to be behind him. “Buy me a drink first?”
Jack turned his head around and watched a tear fall from the woman’s — no child’s, sod whatever her age — eyes. He smiled as warmly as he could at her before tapping the door frame and leaving.
Rubber soled trainers, beaten and worn from battle and time, passed the wet pavement. The rain poured down just as it had the last time he was here. Well, not here exactly, 21st century Earth... It felt like forever since he’d had the courage to return. Millennium Center towered over him. Memories of standing here, oh so long ago, washed through his infinite mind. But those times were far too long ago... He was older; so much older. He could feel a cynical smile spread across his face. Older maybe, but still waiting on wiser.
The secret entrance to the Torchwood hub beckoned just a few feet away. Water beat down and slid off his long coat down to his feet. The weight of the damp material mimicking the weight of so many worlds that rest upon his shoulders. The sodden trainers and the lonely old man who wore them stepped onto the invisible lift as it began its descent.
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