Title: Blessings and Curses
Author: scgirl_317
Summary: Follow-up to Any Port in a Storm. As Methos and Phoenix settle in to life at Torchwood, it's anything but business as usual. Gwen returns from her honeymoon and has to overcome her initial distrust of the Immortals. Owen and Phoenix have different yet equally life-changing reactions to contact with an alien artifact. Methos begins a concentrated effort on Ianto's training. And throughout it all, Jack has to keep the chaos from tearing them apart.
Author's Note: I'm breaking my usual rule of not publishing a story until it's complete, but I really wanted to get this out today. As we all know, today is Ianto Jones' 30th birthday. Here is my gift to him, what we all wanted, to give him a long and (mostly) happy life. Happy birthday, Ianto.
It was late morning when Methos and Phoenix finally emerged from their temporary quarters. The first thing he wanted to do was arrange to arrange other housing and have their own things sent from where they were stored in London. Living in the Hub was all well and good for Jack, but Methos preferred to find something in Cardiff.
Tosh was working diligently, and Owen was in, if the curses drifting up from the autopsy bay were any indication. Ianto materialized before them with coffee. Jack was nowhere to be seen, and Ianto reported that he was on the phone with the Prime Minister.
Fortified with coffee, Phoenix joined Ianto in the archives. In the past week, she had easily picked up his system of organization, and with two people working, the archives were easily managed.
"You've taken to this remarkably well," Ianto commented.
"After the first half-dozen tongue lashings I received from the head librarian at Rainier, I quickly learned her peculiar system," Phoenix replied, continuing to crosscheck the list of artifacts before her. "Trust me, yours makes far more sense."
"You should have seen this place when I first came here. Complete chaos. Torchwood Three hadn't had a proper archivist in decades."
"I can imagine Jack's not the most organized person on Earth," Phoenix smirked.
"It took me forever to get him to at least file things in alphabetical order," Ianto groused, good-naturedly.
Phoenix laughed, she had no problem picturing that at all.
"May I ask a personal question?" Ianto asked cautiously.
"You may ask, but I can't guarantee I'll answer," she returned. This had become a pattern for them: Ianto would ask about Immortality, or about Phoenix, and she answered as best she could. He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and soaked up everything Phoenix and Methos taught him.
Ianto hesitated for a moment before asking, "What is your name?"
Phoenix paused and looked at him closely. It was a perceptive question for him to ask, but also a dangerous one.
"That's something you want to be very careful asking."
"Oh, is it not allowed, or something?" Ianto asked.
"It's not that it's not allowed, more that it's bad form. Kinda like asking a woman how old she is or how much she weighs. You can ask, but you may get smacked for it. Better for the other Immortal to offer their name. For those of us who change out identities every decade or so, giving our original name is often an explicit sign of trust. Same goes for age."
Ianto began to stutter out an apology, but she swiftly silenced him, "I know you meant no harm. My parents gave me the name Little Bird. After my first death, the village chieftain changed my name to Fire Bird, and I remained such until about a hundred and fifty years ago."
"Why did you change it?"
Phoenix sighed, "I was forced to leave my people. The people of my village had become accustomed to my Immortality, but when we were forced onto the reservation, I knew the soldiers posted there would begin to notice my not aging. It was a stroke of luck that the commander of the barracks was also Immortal. He made sure that none of the soldiers stayed for more than a few years so I wouldn't arouse any suspicions. Unfortunately, a young soldier got trigger-happy, one day, and I was killed in front of a large crowd. Colonel Barrington and my chief, Red Fox, secreted my body away before I revived, and the Colonel helped to create a new identity for me. I ceased to be Fire Bird and became Clara Wheeler."
They lapsed back into silence as they worked. When they emerged from the archives several hours later, Jack was still sequestered in his office. Tosh reported that Methos had gone out to inspect several viable flats while Ianto ordered lunch. Just then, the Rift alarm sounded.
"Rift spike out in Penarth," Tosh announced. "Energy readings suggest non-organic material."
"Debris, in other words," Owen piped up. "Come on, Zorro, the two of us will go pick it up. Can you send me the address, Tosh?"
Phoenix grimaced at Owen's chosen nickname for her as he got the coordinates of the rift spike. He had picked it up when he had spied her and Methos sparring, one afternoon, and he relished her annoyance at it. With a groan, she grabbed her sidearm and followed Owen to the garage.
Tosh directed them to the location of the rift spike, the third level of a parking structure. When they arrived, there was a metallic canister sitting rather inconspicuously next to a bright yellow Mini.
"That looks rather anticlimactic," Phoenix commented as she and Owen pulled on gloves.
She stepped forward to take a closer look while Owen retrieved a containment vessel from the SUV. The scanner in her hand told her almost nothing.
"There's a minimal energy reading, but other than that, nothing. Should be safe to handle as long as we don't push any buttons."
She and Owen knelt down to carefully lift the canister. However, once their hands touched it, it came to life. A golden glow began to emanate from the canister, growing to surround them. A multitude of smaller particles of light then broke off and congregated around each of them. Phoenix felt her body warm, but the particles seemed otherwise benign to her. Owen, however, was not so lucky. Pain seared across his chest as the particles closed in around him.
"Owen!" Phoenix cried out, letting go of the canister to keep Owen from falling to the ground. She had a brief thought to be thankful that he was as lean as he was, but that was quickly abandoned in favor of making sure he didn't crack his head open on the pavement.
After what felt like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds, the particles retreated, the light dimmed, and the canister appeared as harmless as it had when they arrived. Owen groaned as he felt the initial flame subside from his veins, leaving a throbbing ache.
"Okay, come on, we need to get you back to the Hub immediately, but I need your help getting to the car," Phoenix directed, pulling one of his arms across her shoulders.
It took some effort, with Owen leaning most of his weight onto Phoenix, but she managed to get him to the SUV and secured in the passenger seat. She dashed back to grab the canister and place it in the containment vessel Owen had retrieved.
As fast as she dared—Phoenix was still not used to driving on the left side of the road—she circled the bay back to Mermaid Quay and underground car park. En route, she called Tosh.
"I don't know what's happened, but Owen's in trouble," she said. "Get Ben, and have him meet us in the garage. I can't get Owen into the Hub on my own."
And we're off! This fic has been a roller coaster for me to write, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have!