The Rebuild
Chapter 1
Deep in the depths of the ruined Torchwood Hub, something moved. Instinct guided it to a space in the debris big enough for its requirements. Once there it waited
And waited
And waited
Until it was joined by another, and the pair united… and waited
Over the next week they had been augmented by other parts.
The thing they formed howled. By now it was human in form, though there was little sign of skin, there was blood and innards, which tried to form themselves into a complete being.
Another long wait then a pair of eyes opened. Captain Jack Harkness looked at darkness. Blearily he remembered the explosion, and soon realised that he was buried in the wreckage of the hub, and that he was going to have to dig himself free somehow.
It took more than a day, and many bruises and cuts before Jack reached the dockside of Cardiff Bay. It was raining, which was uncomfortable on his bare skin, but also kept tourists away from the bay as he rushed to a less conspicuous spot. It was not difficult to work out where to go – the only place away from the hub where he could feel warm and safe.
Jack let himself into Ianto's flat. At one time the boy had resented his ability to do this, and worried about security, but he had never changed the locks, and Jack knew that the resentment had died as they grew closer. Ever since an experiment with BDSM which had ruined Jack's clothes, he had kept spares at Ianto's flat. Disappointed to find the flat empty, he hurried into the shower to wash off the dust and dirt from the hub that the rain hadn't reached, before curling up naked on the bed and falling into a deep, recovering sleep.
He woke hungry, and headed for the fridge. That was when he started to worry. The milk was out of date. If it had been his fridge it would not have been surprising, but this was Ianto's fridge. Mr. Organised! Looking around he realised that Ianto had not been back to the flat since they had left it together. They had stopped there for a quick shag on the way back to the hub from the hospital. As usual, Ianto had taken his time dressing, and Jack had thumbed through a magazine. The magazine was still on the floor where he had left it, not tidied away. Jack realised that he had no idea how long his recovery had taken this time. He remembered the pain of the explosion and knew that the damage caused would have taken quite a while to repair itself. He remembered sending Ianto and Gwen away, hoping that they had time to get clear, now he was concerned that they hadn't.
Jack picked up Ianto's phone, thankful that he had a landline, and punched in his lover's mobile number. He got an answer message, and worried more. He got the same response from Gwen's machine. Needing to take action he scooped up some change from the leather box that Ianto used to keep it in (to avoid spoiling his suits), he hurried out for a toast and coffee, taking the opportunity to pick up a paper. The paper showed that it had been more than a week since his 'death' and he worried about his colleagues.
On his way back to the flat he picked up a local paper, and leafed through it – looking for news about the explosion. He found it on one of the inside pages. Politicians had started to worry about what to with the remains littering their smart plaza, but there was no news on any deaths or injuries, which would by then have been no longer news.
He tried Ianto's phone twice more, leaving a message letting Ianto know where he was, then phoned Gwen. This time it was picked up, and he sighed with relief to hear Gwen's voice.