Cavatina: The Ongoing Adventures of the Bonny Welshman
And there is no trade or employment but the young man following it may become a hero.
--Walt Whitman
Author's note:
First, for those who've been wondering, puppy Ianto just turned four months old, is the size of a small horse, and far more trouble than his namesake EVER imagined being, but he's every bit as smart and appealing. And still just as awkward as Kam was when first we met him.
For those new to the saga of the Bonny Welshman, this fabulous world is the creation of Helen Pattskyn who has oh, so graciously allowed me to play in it again.
Here's the story list:
Forget Not Me Helen Pattskyn
Interlude: A Tale of Kam Anders Sidlerocks
Intermezzo: Another Tale of Kam Anders Sidlerocks
Janus and Hestia Helen Pattskyn
Cavatina: The Ongoing Adventures of the Bonny Welshman Sidlerocks
And don't worry; Helen's got another story coming right after this one.
These stories are set far in the future in Helen's wonderful AU'Verse. Familiarity with the AU'Verse would definitely provide background information, but is not necessary to appreciate this story. Reading the previous Welshman chapters, on the other hand, is essential as it's really a single ongoing story.
If you want to follow the entire story chronologically, it falls more or less like this (the original skeleton of this list was built by itoshii chan, but I've since edited and amended it, with Helen's help--any mistakes here are mine):
AU'VERSE series:
PART 1: Short Stories chs. 7 – 9 42 – 44 10 – 12 45 – 1st half of 55 1 2nd half of 55 – 57
PART 2: You Keep Me Warm At Night
PART 3: Short Stories chs. 2 – 6
PART 4: A New Day
PART 5: Short Stories ch. 13
PART 6: Moving On
PART 7: More Short Stories, ch 2
PART 8: Short Stories chs. 14 – 36
PART 9: Stolen Earth AU
PART 10: Short Stories chs. 37 – 38
PART 11: Family Matters
PART 12: Short Stories chs. 39 – 41 58 – 61
PART 13: Blood Moon Rising
PART 14: Black Rose
PART 15: More Short Stories, ch. 1
PART 16: Welcome to Torchwood
PART 17: More Short Stories, ch 3
PART 18: More Short Stories ch 10
PART 19: More Short Stories ch 4-9
PART 20: Reunion
PART 21: Twelve Months
PART 22: Sam
And then, of course, the Welshman chapters.
Cavatina: The Ongoing Adventures of the Bonny Welshman
Chapter 1
Give a boy address and accomplishments and you give him the mastery of palaces and fortunes where he goes.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry Fitzroy's gaze initially brushed casually over the handsome young spacer who strode into Bessie's as he stood talking to Katy at the hostess stand. And though a niggling in his subconscious brought his attention back to the newcomer after a moment, it was another long minute before he recognized the man who was grinning hugely at him, clearly enjoying Henry's failure to know him immediately.
"Kam?!?"
Gone was the awkward, timid, ragged, starving waif, long bangs hanging in his eyes, swimming in ill-fitting clothes, doing everything he could to remain unnoticed yet eager as a puppy for any kind attention. In his place stood an unbelievably handsome man, dressed in well-fitting typical spacer's garb, utility pants, work boots, a t-shirt which subtly advertised his nicely defined body, and a sharp jacket. Gone too were the tattoos from his wrists; from a few feet away, it didn't even look as if they'd left scars. His fashionable haircut could have used a trim, but really the slight shag just made Henry want to run his fingers through it. When last Henry had seen him, Kam had been a boy. He walked back into Bessie's a man.
"Good to see you, Henry. Jack sent me ahead to get a table. And to see if you have time to join us." Despite his confident greeting, Kam's crooked grin belied the image he presented just a bit. Henry realized that outside appearances notwithstanding, there was still a bit of the boy left, and he celebrated it.
Stepping forward, he pulled Kam into a tight embrace that was eagerly returned. The boy smelled good too, not exactly like Jack, but fresh and clean, with a hint of eucalyptus and cedar. Henry's light kiss on the lips flustered the younger man though, and rather than following it with another, as he had intended, he placed his second kiss on Kam's forehead.
"Welcome back. It looks like life is treating you well." He pulled away a bit, opening their circle to include the curiously watching young woman who had recently found her way into his bed, and his life. "Do you remember Katy?"
Kam nodded with another smile, reading the change in their relationship, but Katy looked at him blankly, not making the connection between the self-assured young spacer and the terrified street kid who had come looking for Jack Harkness four months before. Seeing her confusion, Henry grinned wider.
"Well, he didn't look exactly like this last time you saw him, love." He glanced around the pub. "We're going to be at that back table. Why don't you bring us," he looked to Kam for guidance, then, getting little help went on, "a pitcher of—do we still have some of that Chimay?"
"I think so. I'll go look."
"Otherwise, something else good. And three mugs, four if you'd like to join us. Captain Harkness will be here shortly."
Harkness was at the table, his arm loosely encircling the youngest man's waist, when Katy returned with three frosted mugs and a large pitcher of dark, rich tripel. As she approached the trio, she wondered if she'd ever again see three such perfectly spectacularly beautiful human beings—more or less human anyway—in a single place. Henry saw the mugs and raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you'd like some time to visit alone with your friends. I may come by in a bit, if the captain and his young friend are still here," she explained matter-of-factly. "Captain, good to see you again."
He grinned at her, only mildly lasciviously. "And you, Miss Katy."
The men idly watched as she sauntered away, completely aware of the six eyes following her.
"So, Henry, I take it things have changed?"
"Hmmm. And not just with me, apparently. I didn't even recognize your young man when he walked in the door."
Jack turned his head and lovingly studied Kam for a moment.
"Not the same kid who signed on with Mr. Smeed," he agreed. But when he looked back at his oldest friend, Henry's eyes weren't on the younger man; they were on Jack.
"You found it, didn't you?" he asked softly.
Jack gazed at him curiously while Kam avidly looked back and forth between the two men.
"Henry?"
"Your crew, your—whatever it is that you've been looking for for so long. A place. A—center. Like when you ran Cardiff."
"If you're asking did I hire people on permanently, then the answer is 'yes'."
"And it looks like things are good with the two of you."
"Yes," Kam spoke for both of them, cuddling closer to Jack as he did. "They're good."
Henry gestured at the table and Kam slid into the booth, followed by Jack. Henry slid in opposite them and busied himself pouring three frosty mugs. Jack picked his mug up and took a long, deep draught, looking at Henry in surprise as he lowered the glass.
"Wow—that tastes like…"
Henry grinned at him.
"So you do remember that week we spent in Belgium."
"If I didn't know that it was on the far side of the universe, if it even still exists, I would swear this came from the Chimay monastery."
"There's a little brewery on a planet not far from here. The guy specializes in recreating specialty brews from around the galaxy. He makes this. I can get you some for the ship."
Jack turned to Kam.
"Back on Earth, almost every culture had it's own brews. But the best beer in the world came from a country called Belgium. The best beers in Belgium were made by monks—men in religious orders. And my favourite of those was an ale called Chimay Tripel. It tasted, well, just like this."
He lifted his mug and gestured with it, suggesting that Kam should give it a taste. Kam was still far from a frequent drinker, but Jack had spent some of the last four months introducing him not just wine but also fine liquors, and his palate was far more sophisticated than it had been when he signed on to the Welshman. To date, beer hadn't figured in the lessons. Kam took up his own mug and took a careful sip.
"Like it?"
"Very much. It's a lot like wine."
Henry grinned. "But much more egalitarian. The monks notwithstanding. So how long are you here for this time?"
Jack shrugged. "A few days. I gave everyone twenty-four hours leave, then we sell off our haul, get what we need for the ship refit, and head back towards some interesting looking derelicts we passed on the way in."
"Have time to come over for dinner one of those nights?"
"'Dinner'?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. Henry didn't eat.
"You know what I mean. I'm still a good cook."
Jack glanced back over at the hostess stand.
"Think you can get Katy to join us then?"
"Probably. As long as you're just talking about dinner." He glanced over at Kam. "Hey, Kam, mind giving us just a minute?"
The young man started to move away, but Jack stilled him with a hand on his arm.
"You can say whatever it is in front of him, Henry."
"You might want…"
"Whatever it is."
"Okay, then. I ran into an old friend of yours here on Omega a few weeks ago. He's been asking around about you."
"An old friend?"
"Jack, it was Julian. Julian Kyle."
Chapter 2
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do,
something to love, and something to hope for.
--Joseph Addison
The first thing Lachlan McLean did upon disembarking from the Bonny Welshman, after giving Kai Jennings a quick kiss and arranging to meet him shortly in one of the station bars, was head for the Quartermaster's Office. He figured he owed Pete Davies a debt of gratitude and wanted to say "thank you" in person.
"What a difference four months makes!" he thought as he trod the familiar passages of the space station. Four months ago he'd been alone, still smarting from an actually not that recent break-up: broke, burned, and burned out. He'd had some friendly acquaintances, but very few he'd be willing to turn his back to when push came to shove (and come to think of it, both of those, Anna and Buddy, had joined him on the Welshman), certainly no one who would have given it a second thought if he'd dropped off the face of the earth. And he'd been exhausted down to his bones.
Since signing on with the Welshman, he'd probably gotten less actual sleep, but the spring which had been absent from his step for so long—years, probably—was back. He no longer went to bed aching every night, dreading waking in the morning, pulling himself up and to work only because he saw no alternative. These days he loved going into work. The autonomy Jack Harkness allowed him, and the clear appreciation of his efforts from both the captain and crew inspired him to do his best to provide them all with a variety of healthy and delicious meals. He had friends, people with whom to spend his leisure time—he had leisure time!--who ever would have thought that on a beat up old salvage ship like the Welshman they'd have leisure time?—and he was well on his way to falling in love.
As he walked, he thought back to the conversation he'd had with the Captain a few days out from Omega. He and Kai had hesitantly tracked Harkness down in his office.
"Captain?"
He'd looked up from the reports he'd been reviewing.
"Mr. McLean, Mr. Jennings. What can I do for you?"
Kai had taken the lead.
"Sir, we wanted to talk to you about crew quarters."
Harkness had raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue.
"Mr. Smeed mentioned that, with people signing on for long term contracts, he was planning on turning some of the storage rooms back into living quarters. So people could have their own cabins."
"That's the plan, yes."
"Well, we were wondering, that is, we thought… Mr. McLean and I, well, if it's all the same to you, we'd be happy to share quarters."
"Surely you needn't come to me to discuss sharing a cabin, gentlemen."
"No," Lach had picked up the conversation, "but then we were thinking... I was thinking—" he amended, "Well, preserved fruits and vegetables are adequate for food preparation on short missions. But if we're really going to be a real crew, a permanent crew, maybe we don't want to be so dependent on having to restock food stores all the time. And people get tired of not having truly fresh produce. We're a long way out in space, and some fresh vegetables might make a big difference."
"Your point being?"
"So, I was thinking, if I wasn't going to be using that cabin to live in, maybe you'd let me turn it into a hydroponics garden. So I could grow a lot of our food. I know we can't afford to get the real equipment, but I'm really handy. You'd be surprised what I can do with some vats, racks and a couple of grow lights. And no matter what people try, there's no way to preserve or reproduce a tomato so that it tastes like it came off of the vine. Besides, with our meat synthesizer and a garden, we could basically feed ourselves indefinitely. Not that we won't still want supplies, but we could survive, if we needed to."
Jack had looked at him speculatively.
"All right, Mr. McLean," he'd answered finally. "We've had a good haul this trip, and while I haven't heard from everyone yet, most of you have opted for a lower cut and long term contract. You write up a list of all the equipment you want. Not just your vats and grow lights, but the real thing. A wish list. What it would take for the set up you'd like to have. I can't guarantee we'll be able to get everything, but Mr. Smeed is a resourceful man, and there isn't much that can't be found in one form or another on Omega. Maybe you can find time to go with him on his scouting mission, help him look. And come see me before you head out—I'll give you money for seeds or plants or whatever you want to start the garden. As well as for food supplies. I'm handing responsibility for stocking the larder over to you. Mr. Smeed will provide you with the records of what he usually gets, but you have free rein. Just make sure you get plenty of decent coffee beans. And pineapple." He paused. "We'll be on Omega for a few days. The first twenty-four hours I'm giving everyone liberty. Enjoy yourselves. You'll have plenty of time to do the ship's shopping before we head out again."
So it was with a light step that Lach entered Pete Davies office. The older man glanced up and frowned when he saw who had stepped through the door.
"Lach. Is everything all right? I didn't expect to see you back for another two months."
Pete held his breath, awaiting the answer. He'd taken a real leap of faith in recommending that people sign on with the Welshman, and was hoping against hope that he'd not misled them.
"Oh, no," McLean reassured him quickly, accurately interpreting the trepidation in Davies' eyes, if not the underlying reason for his worry. "Everything's fine. We had a big haul, filled the cargo holds early, so we came back to sell off the scrap and refill our stores. I just came by to thank you for recommending me to Captain Harkness. And to ask if you know where I might find a good selection of vegetable seeds and seedlings." He held out his hand, and Pete shook it, the wariness still not completely gone from his expression.
"So, things are good aboard the Welshman?"
"Yeah. In fact, the captain offered us all long-term contracts. And we're refitting the ship to give everyone who wants them private quarters. As far as I know, everyone's signing on."
"Including Anna?" Davies knew that her long-term plans had not involved life on a salvage ship. She'd signed on to the Welshman in order to earn a big enough stake to set up somewhere on a backwater planet. He'd been most hesitant about suggesting her to Smeed. Her, and An Cho.
"Yeah, sure, including Anna. I'm sure she'll be by sometime while we're here. I know she wants to see you. You should see—she's turned the infirmary into a real clinic. Not that anyone's been really hurt or sick, thank goodness, at least not yet, but we're pretty well stocked, everyone's had a complete physical, and she keeps an eye out—makes sure everyone is eating right, getting enough exercise. She's a great doctor, Pete. Plus," he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "I think she has a thing for Jim Smeed."
Chapter 3
Don't you stay at home of evenings? Don't you love a cushioned seat in a corner, by the fireside, with your slippers on your feet?
--Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Tom," Leah Ali asked at breakfast, "what do you want to do on Omega during liberty?"
His coffee mug had frozen in midair, halfway to his lips.
"Why? Do you have a proposal?" He paused, then grinned suggestively, lowering his voice, "or a proposition?" She punched his arm gently.
"You've been spending too much time around Captain Harkness, Tom Chibnall! I just thought, I mean, I wanted to know…" She stopped, then met his eyes seriously. "I don't know much about Omega Station, but after what happened to Kam last time… If that's any part of what passes for entertainment there… And it's not like we know anyone here. Not like most of the crew. No friends to catch up with…"
"It's a huge space station, Leah. Lots to do. Restaurants, stores. We could go shopping. I could buy you something."
"We don't have our split yet," she reminded him. "I don't know about you, but I'm broke." His rueful expression acknowledged his similar economic state.
"So what were you thinking?"
"I thought—well, maybe we could mostly stay on the Welshman. We'd probably have the ship to ourselves. Might be kind of nice…"
"You want to go out to eat at least, don't you? Carsten can tell us a good place to get dinner, or Buddy. It would be nice to have one meal that wasn't prepared out of ship's stores, no matter what miracles Lach produces."
"You think space station stores are any better?"
"At least it'll be different. And who knows how long it will be before we have a chance to get off the Welshman again. I don't mind if we spend the rest of the time on the ship, but I would like to take you out to eat, at least once."
"Okay, I guess that sounds nice. Do you want to ask Carsten where we should go, or should I?"
