Ok, this was inspired by a recent visit to Tintern Abbey and a random pondering on where those Monk-like figures in Exit Wounds came from. I'm really really sorry but because of that random pondering this became a post Exit Wounds story, so no Owen and Tosh... but they will feature in some way I promise (no they aren't going to be haunting the Hub... at least I don't think they are!) Don't own a single thing as usual, it's all RTD's. Many thanks and cookies to the lovely Juicy Lucy for beta'ing for me, enjoy and r&r cos it's just nice :) c xx
Jack strode into the Hub at 9.30, quite late for him, the insomniac who lived in the Hub. He hoped that no one would notice neither this fact nor the fact that he had only just been preceded by Ianto. They all knew of course, but he preferred not to make it blatantly obvious. He seemed to be in luck, he could see from the CCTV that Gwen was trying her Weevil kindness act with Janet, probably with no luck again. There were indistinct noises coming from the Autopsy Bay so he guessed that Owen was down there, dissecting some poor alien or another Weevil found dead on the street. Ianto was in the kitchenette, he could tell from the scent of coffee filling the Hub, and he was talking to someone so that was where Tosh must be. He nodded, no one around to notice his walk of shame. With a grin he made for the stairs to the Mezzanine and his office, then stopped, his grin dissolving as he realised his mistake.
The person dissecting the corpse wasn't Owen, and Ianto couldn't be talking to Tosh. They were both gone, Tosh was lying in the Hub's morgue, Owen's few remains resided in an abandoned Power Station. Gwen was spending all her time with Janet because it meant she was at work but didn't have to face the fact that her closest friend and her former lover were gone. Never to return.
The grunts in the Autopsy room stopped and footsteps sounded on the metal steps. Their owner appeared moments later, and paused on the top step, their eyes registering the pain in Jack's. He nodded thoughtfully to himself and came forward with resolve in his step. Jack knew that he was finding it hard to adjust to life in the Hub. Myfanwy et al, and Jack's immortality were difficult to take in, leaving aside the ever-constant alien presence.
"Good morning Jack. I finished that Autopsy, I was about to write it up for you. Is there anything I can do for you?" Mark Reimmes was a Unit doctor who came highly recommended by Martha. Martha had, of course, wanted to come and help them out 'in their hour of need' as she had put it, but at the moment had her hands full with trying to find the Doctor and at the same time as dealing with people-killing cars. She wouldn't say anything more, but he knew that if she needed him she'd call. He suspected that she wouldn't though. If you've got the Doctor, you didn't really need Jack Harkness. "Jack?" Mark was closer now, "Is everything alright?" those eyes, so much more compassionate than Owen could ever manage, peered at him through narrow Ted Baker glasses, under the white lab coat a Ben Sherman shirt covered the obviously well toned stomach. Stopthat Jack thought to himself furiously.
"Yes Mark, everything's fine, I was just half asleep, forgot a couple of things that's all." Mark nodded sagely and moved to his desk.
"John's back." He said as he settled down to write the report. "He's harassing 'Eye Candy' for a cup of coffee." He glanced at the CCTV "and Gwen won't come up." His voice took on a regretful tone at that. Jack nodded and ran up the stairs to change his clothes at least. He had no time for a second shower this morning, the one he'd had with Ianto would have to suffice. It was time he took charge of his team again.
"So, John, you're back? Didn't take you long. Did you miss me too much?" Jack quipped in his American drawl, a slightly lascivious grin on his face.
"I found something you need to look at." John scowled. "There's something going on near Chepstow."
"Chepstow?" Mark asked in a mildly surprised tone with a hint of scepticism hidden in its depths.
"Yes, Chepstow, you know, it's a town built over the border of England and Wales, on the Severn Estuary and the River Wye." John replied scathingly, narrowing his eyes slightly at the doctor
"Yes, I know that. But when you left it was 'for good' and you were 'never coming back.' You didn't get very far did you?"
"Well, I got there, I heard about the weirdness, I looked into the weirdness, and thought you should know about the weirdness. I can leave again if you'd like, though I would prefer to see how this pans out first." Ianto sighed, Jack and John being at each other's throats had been bad enough, then Mark had arrived and the testosterone levels had gone up tenfold.
"Ladies, do you think we could have a briefing without jumping down each others throats? Just once maybe?" The two fell silent and looked at Ianto who nodded satisfied. "Thank you. Now, John, you went to Chepstow?" Jack silently marvelled at his lover, the Coffee God, he had grown so much in the weeks since Owen and Tosh's deaths. He had filled the gap as much as he could, helping to find replacements for them. He was still struggling with a replacement for Tosh, no one he found was quite good enough, and he couldn't exactly give anyone a trial. That would involve telling them all about Torchwood, and whilst they still had a fairly big supply of Retcon Jack didn't like to use it as much after the Suzie incident. Whilst he searched for a suitable candidate he filled the position to the best of his abilities, having paid attention to Tosh whenever he had the opportunity. John had surprisingly shown himself apt at understanding the massive computer that ran the entirety of the Hub, and therefore took control from Ianto when he was available. Ianto's cough bought Jack back to the present, John was speaking, leaning back in his chair, his feet on the table grinning slightly as he recounted the tale.
"I was in Chepstow when I heard of it. 'Tintern is stirring' was the headline in the local papers, and were the words on everyone's lips. 'Tintern is stirring'" he frowned. "I didn't have a clue what Tintern was so I called Eye Candy and he filled me in." he gestured to Ianto who grinned and stood up again, this was his favourite bit.
"Tintern Abbey, founded in 1131 by a Walter fitz Richard of Clare, Lord of Chepstow. A Cistercian Abbey, it had the patronage of many great lords, including William Marshal and, after the deaths of his male heirs, the Bigod's, who inherited the land through Marshal's eldest daughter. Under Marshal's rule a daughter house was founded in Ireland, Tintern Parva, upon his safe arrival in Ireland after a stormy crossing. Tintern itself thrived for 400 years, until the Suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the 1530's, it finally fell to the King's visitors in September 1536. It spent the next few years being taken to pieces for its lead until it was finally left to ruin. Conservation began in the early 1900's, with Cadw taking possession in 1982."
"Yes, so that's what Tintern is. Thank you Eye Candy." John looked at him askance, he obviously wasn't expecting all that info. "I looked into what the people meant by 'Tintern's stirring' and there are monks there. Old fashioned monks. 11th century monks."
"Ok, we get the point John, there are monks at Tintern, there are still monks in the world you know."
"Monks dressed in traditional robes, and who've built the entire Abbey up as it was, over night, destroying everything new in the vicinity."
"The Abbey is exactly how it was in the 13th Century?" Ianto asked puzzled.
"As far as the experts can tell, although they've been unable to get very close due to the monks."
"The monks are refusing people entry? But aren't monks supposed to be welcoming and offer sanctuary?" Mark interjected.
"Not these ones, these ones seem to be Warrior Monks. They've put a local man in hospital with broken ribs. It's got to be rift related. I want to run a program to see if there was any rift activity on the night they appeared."
"Chepstow doesn't usually get any rift activity, but go for it. Ianto you help him. Mark, stay away from John, go find those Monks that Tosh and Ianto shot." He paused. "That night.They're somewhere in the morgue. Not quite sure where, Ianto should know." He started to wander off, pausing in the centre of the Hub, "I'm going to find Gwen. Check she's alright. This is the kind of case that she can try to get her game back on. If not…" he shrugged and Ianto, always so attuned to his moods and feelings, looked at him worriedly. He felt John and Ianto's gazes on him all the way across the Hub and as he went down the stairs. They were still worried about what he might do. Ianto had grieved, had cried like a baby in Jack's arms after he had logged Tosh and Owen out of the computer for the last time. Gwen was still grieving, but it was a grief on plain view, everyone knew it. But Jack, Jack had flung himself into work, trying to ignore it as best he could. It was how he had dealt with the deaths of his team-mates throughout all his time here; he didn't think he would ever change. When you had lived as long as he had death became just another daily occurrence. Ianto was a worrier at heart, he saw things to worry about everywhere, even though outwardly he seemed calm and composed; for the time being Ianto's pet worry was Jack.