Title: Infanta

Fandom: Torchwood

Rating: PG-13 for difficult moral issues

Pairings: None really, mentions of all canon relationships. Team-fic.

Summary: While Jack is away the team are faced with the most difficult decision they've ever had to tackle alone. With passions running high, will they be able to do what Jack would do? Will they be able to do the unforgivable? Or will they fail to uphold all that they stand for because of their personal feelings?

A/N: I know I should be working on Tears, and I know I haven't updated Whispers in ages, but this has been at me for so long I couldn't resist anymore.

Chapter 1

It had been six weeks since Jack had vanished off the face of the planet, six weeks since Abaddon had appeared and four weeks since people had pretty much forgotten he'd ever shown up in his Godzilla-worthy glory. It was quite disconcerting how easily humankind could brush over trauma so easily. On the other hand, for people charged with keeping aliens and the like a secret, it was probably a god-send. Ianto was pretty sure Jack would roll his eyes at the suggestion, declare there was no God and no afterlife and everything was bleak. For a man with a billion-watt grin, Jack Harkness was a hell of a killjoy (or was that kill-hope?).

It had been remarkable how quickly the Torchwood Three team had adapted to no Captain. True, the first few days had included a lot of arguing between Owen and Gwen, a lot of silent grimaces from Tosh and a lot of snarky quips from Ianto to make them all shut up, not to mention all the flailing that had gone on. But now they pretty much had the whole thing sorted like a well oiled machine.

Gwen was running the show, or so the others allowed her to think. Really, they just let her do Jack's paperwork and answer the phone for people like the police. Ianto handled UNIT and Torchwood Two, along with his usual duties. Owen and Tosh were enjoying their 'specialisations' that kept most of the extra workload off of their backs, although Ianto had stopped helping them write up their reports. Owen was forced to type his after he'd written everything down, because, as is the law of Medicine, his handwriting was totally illegible to all none Medical creatures. Tosh had to remember to do that as well as the actual programming, something she'd gotten out of habit of doing since Ianto had started helping her out.

It did help that Gwen was able to get people to do things for her without pissing them off, it made dealing with the authorities so much easier. And so long as Ianto kept her supplied with coffee, she was even willing to do some extra paperwork that Ianto might miss now that he was filling in for Jack's absence on the field.

Since Jack had already been training Ianto for the field before he left, it was mostly a case of giving him actual hands on experience, so he and Owen had started handling the Weevils more often than the girls.

They worked very well, so long as they were careful not to step into deep discussions with one another, not just about Jack, but about anything very close to their hearts. Tensions rose if they tread those dark waters.

Unfortunately for them, the Rift was more than capable of digging something up that gave them no other choice but to dive in and try to swim in a storm.

~*~

"How much further Tosh?"

"Not much, about half a kilometre."

Owen huffed as he drove the SUV down a country road. The Rift had spat something out and he and Tosh had gone to investigate. It was somewhere outside the city and Owen had no intention of staying out here longer than needs be.

"Turn right here Owen."

"That's gonna take us off the road."

"Would you rather walk?"

Owen pursed his lips, and then turned the steering wheel and driving onto the open field. After a minute or two Tosh said,

"Ok, lets get out and look."

They did so, guns at the ready in case whatever they were searching for turned out not to be friendly.

"It's nearby… oh, it's moving." said Tosh quietly.

"So it's alive?"

"I'm getting lifesign readings, they look human. We could be looking at a displaced person."

"Oh brilliant."

Tosh smiled sympathetically at Owen as they plodded across the firm ground, eyes scanning the land for anyone. She knew he was thinking of Diane.

"Tosh! There." Owen gestured to some trees ahead of them. In among them stood a small figure. It looked like a child. A pale face was caught in the sunlight and it was clear the child was watching them.

Tosh and Owen both held their guns tighter, just in case, but kept them lowered so as not to appear threatening. In step with each other, they moved forward.

"Hello!" called Owen to the figure, who retreated a little, "It's ok, we're not gonna hurt you. Come out."

The figure did not move. As Tosh and Owen came closer they saw it was a girl, and she was dressed in what looked like a medieval dress, with a heavy looking headdress framing her face. Reaching her, Owen realised at once that this was not a little girl, but a teenager. A tiny teenager. She was barely reaching Tosh's chin even with her headdress. The brow of her head and the beginnings of red-gold hair peeped out from under it. She had pale skin, like Gwen and Ianto, and big blue eyes like Ianto's. Her dress was ornate, a leaf green velvet, with fur trimmed around the sleeves, and showed a tiny waist which the skirts flared from.

As Tosh and Owen reached her, the girl was clearly terrified, but looked to be trying to regain some semblance of pride and dignity, and she even managed to give them a haughty look.

"Hello there." said Tosh gently. "We're here to help you."

The girl regarded her, frowning, then opened her mouth. Two things struck Owen. One, no girl or woman that small ought to have such a husky voice. And two, she was speaking a different language. To Owen it sounded like French.

Tosh and Owen glanced at each other and then shook their heads, trying to convey they could not understand the girl. She huffed and then spoke again, this time in what sounded like Spanish. Again, they shook their heads. Owen mentally groaned. He knew for a fact that Ianto spoke fluent Spanish and Gwen was pretty good with French. It was bloody typical that neither of them were here. Looking thoroughly disgruntled now, the girl spoke yet another language, which, for all the world, sounded like Italian or maybe even Latin.

Tosh sighed, shaking her head again, then pointed to herself and said clearly, "Toshiko." Then she pointed at Owen, saying, "Owen." in the same clear voice. Then she pointed at the girl and raised her eyebrows in a questioning gesture. The girl sighed, put her hands on her hips and said "Catalina."

"Catalina. Ok, uh… I guess we should get her to the Hub and see if Ianto or Gwen can talk to her. We need to know if we have to send her back." Tosh looked at Owen, who nodded, holstering his gun. He made a gesture at Catalina to 'come along' and pointed at the SUV. Catalina blinked at it in utter bewilderment.

Owen heaved a sigh and beckoned again, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Catalina jerked away and started speaking in rapid Spanish, sounding furious. Owen backed off at once, looking alarmed. Tosh rushed forward, and made soothing noises, forgoing any actual words, and gesturing to Catalina to calm down. Catalina glared at Owen, then lifted her chin and relaxed her shoulders. Tosh gestured again at the SUV and this time Catalina strode forwards, actually going in front of them, like she was in charge. Owen threw Tosh a wide eyed look of disbelief as they followed the tiny young woman to the SUV. There, Catalina gave Owen an expectant look then glanced at the back door.

"Oh she's got to be kidding." muttered Owen.

"Just open the door, would you. You should be glad she's taking this all so well despite having no idea what's going on." hissed Tosh as she went to the passenger side. Owen sighed, reached out and grabbed the handle and yanked it, pulling the door open. It was a little amusing to see the girl struggling into the car, especially since she wouldn't let him help. But finally, she and her big dress were inside. Owen put the seatbelt around her and then climbed in. Tosh glanced back at the girl and said,

"Do you think she'll be able to handle a car? I mean, from the looks of her, she's used to horses and carriages."

"Well unless you can magic one up with a Bibbity-Boppity-Boo, she'll just have to take it."

Tosh narrowed her eyes at him, "How do women resist your charms?" she asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Owen snorted and started the car. The girl shrieked and flailed in surprise, then flushed a dark pink and clenched her fists in her lap and bit on her lip. She didn't make a peep all the way back to the Hub, and although Tosh threw her reassuring looks every now and then, she had tears in her eyes by the time Owen pulled into the car park. Tosh was the one who helped her out while Owen ran ahead, calling,

"Oi! Ianto! We need your Spanish, mate."

Ianto glanced up curiously from a terminal. "Oh?"

"Yup, got some medieval bird who doesn't have a word of English. I think she speaks Spanish, or if not, maybe Gwen can have a go in French."

Gwen emerged from Jack's office, having heard her name. "So it's a person lost in time."

"Yup." Owen jerked his thumb behind him just as Tosh gently led the now grey-faced girl into the Hub.

"Thank God I locked Myfanwy up." muttered Ianto, before moving past Owen and saying, "Buenos Dias."

The girl looked up at Ianto, and it really was up. She was dwarfed by the tall young man who was smiling politely at her. She swallowed and responded in kind. Then as Ianto spoke to her quietly, Tosh led her to the couch, where she sat down with a plop. The girl seemed to regain something of her composure as she spoke with Ianto in fast Spanish. Ianto seemed to be gently questioning her. As Owen watched, Catalina said in response to a question,

"Catalina, la princesa de Gales."

Ianto's expression flickered. Only those who knew him recognise a silent yell of 'shit!' in that expression. But he continued to question her, while Tosh brought over a glass of water, which Catalina accepted gratefully. Finally, Ianto straightened up, gabbled some more Spanish that was undoubtedly 'stay here please', and hurried over to the team, looking extremely worried.

"Not good. Not good." he muttered, as they huddled.

"What is it Ianto? Who is she?" asked Gwen, glancing back at her.

"That is Catalina, Princess of Wales." said Ianto. The others looked at him blankly. He rolled his eyes, "You'd better know her as Queen Catherine of Aragon." When they still looked lost, he sighed and said, "The first wife of King Henry VIII, the first one to be divorced. One of the most important Queens in English history is sitting on our crappy couch."

As one they glanced at the tiny young woman, who stared back with big blue eyes. Then Owen looked at Ianto and said,

"Don't knock the couch Ianto."

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Night's Darkness