Title: Weekend With A Weevil
Author: Caz251
Summary: Jack and Ianto learn more about weevil culture from Blossom and Janet with Pugsley acting as a translator.
Characters: Pugsley, Jack, Ianto(Tharmus), Owen, Janet and Blossom.
Spoilers: Spoilers for Torchwood and The Addams Family
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: I don't own either the Addams Family or Torchwood, no matter how hard I wish it were so.
AN: Another short story in my Addams Family/Torchwood universe, this is set after Little and Large, but before The Servant of Death and The Sadist. Criticism is welcomed, be it constructive or not.
AN2: Happy Easter everyone.
"Why are we speaking with these people?" Janet growled. "They don't understand us, I've been trying for months to get them to understand what I say."
"Pugsley speaks our language." Blossom growled back. "And from what I have seen the others could learn, well not the pathetic one."
"Cow eyes." Janet questioned, thinking of all the people who had visited her in her cell.
Blossom snorted in reply, she had never before met such a pathetic human being.
"When does this Pugsley arrive then?" Janet asked the weevil in the next cell.
"In six moons time." Blossom replied, "And then we will share our history and culture with the humans for the first time."
Blossom practically buzzed with anticipation, in six moons they would hopefully put in motion the start of a better life for their species.
Janet let out a soft whine at the thought of the questioning in six moons time. She just hoped that it wasn't cow eyes who would be doing the questioning. There was just something about cow eyes that made Janet want to bite her.
Pugsley was standing at the gates of the Addams Estate when Jack and Ianto arrived to pick him up. He had been ready for hours, and was almost giddy, if he could be giddy, at the prospect of seeing the secret base that Cousin Tharmus worked in. Wednesday hadn't been yet, in fact none of his immediate family had seen Jack's Torchwood yet, he would be the first. He also wanted to see Blossom again, he could see them being really good friends. With society as judgemental as it is it was hard for an Addams, or some of them, to make friends outside of the family.
He didn't see Blossom not speaking to him as a result of his family being The Addams'. She was someone who would look past his familial associations. She was someone he thought was amazing, and the approval of an Addams was hard to gain, especially instant approval. He supposed it was because she had the same sort of outlook as he had.
In the SUV Pugsley sat sombrely, trying to work out where it was that they were going. Cousin It had told him that they had met Jack and Tharmus at the bay. He doubted that their base was there, it wasn't exactly an area that screamed secret base. He was proven wrong though when Tharmus dropped him and Jack off.
"This way then." Jack called as he walked towards the door of what was said to be a tourist office.
Pugsley jogged after him, wondering about the fact that Torchwood were hiding behind the face of the Welsh tourist board. He was absolutely amazed with what he found inside though, behind the tourist office was a great secret base. He was led to a conference room and the two weevils, Blossom and Janet were brought to him.
Pugsley introduced himself and Jack, Ianto and Owen to the weevils, before settling down to ask them more about their species and their lifestyles. It was a rather informative discussion with Owen asking questions to be translated quite often, mostly about their physiology and the connection they held with him. It turned out that due to the biological imperative they seemed to possess to fear Owen, he had become a figure of high power within their hierarchy. While weevil society was matriarchal they saw him as a sovereign of sorts, he was as he had been jokingly referred to in the past as King of the Weevils. To say that Owen was shocked was an understatement, but he quickly seemed to accept the title, either that or he was ignoring it. Pugsley didn't know him well enough to decide which it was.
Pugsley was aware almost instantly that Janet was not sure of him, or the others really; although she did seem to hold a fondness for Tharmus, probably because he feeds her. It was just as obvious however that Blossom was of a higher rank within Weevil society as Janet often deferred to her, and never interrupted the other Weevil. She did however let out a growl at Jack when Pugsley asked why they were coming aboveground and attacking humans so often.
"There is no other option." Blossom whined in despair. "We have to come aboveground, and the human's fear us and attack. The younger of our species have learnt that human aggression is a norm for your society and try to assimilate while aboveground."
Tharmus' eyes snapped to the Weevil as Pugsley finished translating her speech. "You have no option? Why?" Pugsley translated the questions back, Blossom already answering, having understood the tone of the words his cousin spoke.
"The underground is not suitable for living in all seasons. For one season, it is okay, the coldest season of your planet, but our people need to see Mother Moon often. The underground has no sun or moon, we miss Mother, and often miss her by mixing up sun and moon, we came to see Mother and met the sun instead." Blossom stated.
"Mother misses us." Janet let out a cry. "We saw mother all year round before we were snatched, now we hardly see her at all."
"Snatched" Owen growled, looking annoyed at the thought, Pugsley wondered what had happened in the past that made such a look appear on Owen's face at the thought that the Weevils had been snatched from somewhere. He knew that the Doctor was a decent man, even for a corpse he was a good one; his sister would not be interested in him otherwise, not that she had really admitted to it, yet at least, but he didn't understand the way that he was so suddenly angry. Maybe it was something to do with having been declared the King of the Weevils, maybe he felt responsible for their safety.
"We followed our young." Blossom answered Pugsley, "They followed the light, believing it was Mother taking us somewhere safe. Our planet was dying. Our youth were foolish, but the light led us here. We were only in the light a short time, not even a moon, when we found ourselves in the underground."
"After a while we began to search, to look for Mother Moon, but we couldn't find her in the underground, so we started to come to the surface." Janet added.
Tharmus had turned to Jack and Owen, a hard look in his eyes daring them to try and deny him what he wanted, a plan already forming in his mind. "Flat Holm." He bit out, confusing Pugsley entirely, whatever or wherever Flat Holm was Pugsley was unsure of how it was pertinent to the current conversation. "They are victims too."
Jack sat quietly, it was obvious to Pugsley that he was thinking about what Ianto had said, and formulating plans. After a few moments of silence he spoke directly to Ianto. "You're right. Tomorrow we will take them to the island, if they like it we can set something up for them there." Turning to Pugsley he indicated that he should translate for him. "Tell them that we will take them somewhere tomorrow that they can meet with their mother."
Pugsley did as Jack indicated, relaying the message to the two females at the table. Watching in shock as Janet launched herself from the seat in which she had been sat and threw herself at Jack. Owen reacted almost immediately standing and moving closer to Jack, Janet backing away growling in deference to the growl that Owen let out.
"Thank you. Thank you." Janet and Blossom growled out in unison. Pugsley informed the others of what they were saying and Owen realised his mistake, the weevil hadn't wanted to hurt him, just thank him.
Pugsley watched in amusement as Janet got closer to Tharmus' hand and began to nuzzle it, he looked to Blossom for an explanation, then let out a laugh when she explained. Janet was apologising to Tharmus for the confusion about trying to hurt his mate.
Ianto watched as Owen bounced around the autopsy bay, this was the most animated he had seen him since he died. Having found out more about the weevils had seemed to propel him back into his work and research like nothing on Earth. He had still turned up day after day, but nothing had really held the appeal that it once had. The work he was doing with the weevils though was different, it was research and while Owen was a Doctor he had always liked the developmental side of medicine more than treating patients. The chance to figure out more about the creatures that he had been studying for years was like a new drive in Owen, pushing him once more back to how he used to be; except for the fact that he was still a zombie.
Ianto couldn't help but wonder if his cousin also had something to do with it; he had seen the way that Owen had looked at her at the party the previous week. Ianto wondered if something would become of them, Owen was pretty perfect for Wednesday in a way; he had a darkness that matched hers, even without the veil of death that cloaked him.
Ianto smiled at Jack and Pugsley as they came into the main area of the Hub, both ready to get the resident weevils and leave. Jack had been so cooperative with Ianto's wishes and he knew that he would have to reward the other man for it. Jack could have said no after all, allowing the weevils to take up residence on Flat Holm wasn't something he had to agree with. Ianto knew that it would take a lot of work for them to make the weevil society thrive on the island, as well as making it safe for Helen and the others to leave the island when they needed to, but he also knew that it would be worth it.
They would take Janet and Blossom with them today, but then bring them back to Cardiff and release them. They would tell the others, and if Ianto was right Blossom would order them to follow them back to the Island. It had been decided that they would hire a boat and take as many weevils that arrive to the island as soon as possible, transporting the rest whenever they came upon them.
Today at least they weren't taking a boat; they were teleporting, something that Ianto was eternally grateful for; he had never really liked the boat trip out to Flat Holm in the past. Jack had said something about him hoping that he did not get teleportation sickness instead, but Ianto wasn't worried, he had teleported before. It was his Uncle Fester who had fixed Jack's vortex manipulator for teleportation, although the features for time travel were still broken.
Jack teleported him and Owen out to the island first before going back for Pugsley and the two weevils; he and Owen were going to go down to the facility first, Owen to check on the patients, and Ianto to catch up with the staff, before they met back up with the others. They intended to show the two weevils the island and let them decide whether or not the plan they had come up with was feasible.
Watching the full moon rise on Flat Holm was an experience like he had never been party to before, with Blossom and Janet letting out a string of growls, whimpers and whines as they communicated with their mother. Ianto stood back in Jack's embrace as Pugsley nodded along with whatever it was the two weevils were saying and Owen looked upon them all with a bemused expression on his face; the corpse had been trying to keep him and Jack in line all day, insisting that they not scare the weevils, but it appears that he'd given up, deeming it a lost cause.