Author's Notes: I think I may have mentioned this in the past, but stories often do not go where I planned. Originally, this was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek story that would take a dark and/or angsty turn (even the original title was tongue-in-cheek, 'The Obligatory Shag-Or-Die Story.') and a one-shot. However, Jack and Natalie had ideas of their own, as they so often do, and here is the result. This story takes place about five months after 'Dite's Favor'(which I've hit a stumbling block on, along with 'The Culling,' and all my other stories), once our two injured Tregarths have healed, but the only real spoilers have to do with how Jocelyn Caroline Harkness was conceived and how Rex came to propose to Octavia. There will be three chapters … this first, which focuses on Jack and Natalie; chapter two, which will focus on Esther's reactions to everything and Rex and Octavia; and chapter three, which will feature Alice (okay, that's the other spoiler for Dite's Favor … Alice has joined them in Oklahoma and is slowly working things out with Jack. At least, as much as they can under the circumstances).
Disclaimer: Jack, Rex, Esther and Torchwood in general don't belong to me. The Tregarths do.
Part One: Burnin' For You
Tregarth Homestead, Oklahoma
March 2013
They just barely managed to make it into the new Hub before the tornado was sighted not far from the Tregarth homestead. In truth, there was never a GOOD time for tornadoes, so far as tornado survivors were concerned … however, this was quite possibly the worst time ever, at least as far as Torchwood and the Tregarth family were concerned. Jack had been recovering from a particularly nasty death (on a scale from GSW to the head and Abaddon, it was much closer to Abaddon) when Octavia and Priscilla burst into the room they'd labeled his recovery room on the first floor, babbling about a tornado bearing down on them. The two sisters literally pulled him from the bed and helped him first to the bunkhouse, and then down the ladder into the Hub. They could have stayed in the house, in the cellar, Octavia observed as they made their descent, but there was more room in the Hub. A lot more room.
Once in the Hub, he discovered that everyone was gathered in the safety of their underground lair … everyone except the Martinelli boys, Rex, and Natalie. Alice, he already knew, was in Dupres, shopping with Marie Havelock. The three Tregarths and Rex went to investigate something that came through the Rift, but they were on their way back. Sophia was absolutely certain that her future son-in-law (apparently, she knew something that Jack didn't … not that this was unusual), youngest daughter and two grandsons would be back before the tornado hit. In the base portion of the Hub, Ailsa was sitting in Esther's lap, more asleep than awake. It was right around the time for the little girl's nap, Jack realized as he caressed Esther's hair.
Carlyon was on the phone, face grim and Jack mouthed, 'everything okay?' His old friend shook his head, and replied, "I know, Jason. Just get him here, and I'll warn your mother." Oh, this didn't sound good at all. Carlyon listened, then said, "Good lad. Was Natalie affected? Hmm. Best not to take any chances. Not to worry, lad. I won't tell your mother that you locked her unofficial fiancé into the boot of the car." There was an undercurrent of laughter in Carlyon's voice … and Jack couldn't ignore the rest of it. Rex was put in the boot of the car? Did he want to hear the story behind that? Oh, who was he kidding, of course he did! His old friend continued after a moment, "We'll see you when you get here. Good. Drive safely, my boy."
He hung up his mobile and sighed, rubbing at his eyes, as he explained, "Rex took Natalie and the boys out to investigate something small-ish that came through the Rift." Yeah, Jack got that already, and Carlyon went on, "Rex had the boys stay in the car while he and Natalie checked out the item. Neither Jason nor Lucas is especially sure what happened, but the item blew up literally in their faces, and Rex took the brunt of it." Well, that answered the Rex question. And, what about Natalie? Carlyon observed, a bit reluctantly, "Rex pushed Natalie behind him, but … she's been behaving somewhat erratically as well. Not as erratically as Rex, but still erratic."
Oh. Fantastic. Jack asked, "And that's why he was shut into the bonnet?" Carlyon nodded, now looking somewhat amused. The immortal murmured, "Oh, this will be fun." That provoked a mischievous grin from Carlyon. Jack reminded his old friend, "Just to remind you, this is your daughter we're discussing …. your youngest daughter, at that." After all, they had no idea what exploded onto Rex and Natalie. It could be something as innocuous as an inhibiter-release … or something lethal. And while he was of the opinion that it was on the innocuous side (given what he heard from Carlyon), Jack knew just how unpredictable the Rift could be.
"Jason and Luc weren't concerned, more like … exasperated. And amused. Jason actually told me that Natalie was … cute … like this," Carlyon replied. Cute, hm? Not a phrase Jason often used in reference to his younger aunt. Jack, sure … but not Jason, and not Lucas. There was a rhythmic thumping over their heads, and Carlyon observed, "Ah, that would be them now. Sophia, keep me posted about the storm's progress, Jack and I will be assisting our wandering operatives down into the Hub."
Jack glowered at Carlyon … the Tregarth patriarch was not going up that ladder, dammit! … who bowed and moved away from the ladder with a small smirk, even as the hatch was flung open and everyone in the Hub could hear Rex mouthing off. And he was saying some very, very interesting things. Still, Jack climbed the rungs, carefully guiding Natalie down. As soon as her head cleared the ceiling, Lucas took one side of the ladder while Jason took the other, and together, the brothers assisted Rex down the ladder. Actually, it was more like, the brothers took turns distracting Rex from each other. Oh yeah. Very interesting things.
"Oh. My," he heard Octavia all but meep behind him, but he wasn't sure if she meant what was coming from her boyfriend's mouth (Rex's brain to mouth filter wasn't just turned off, Jack wasn't sure it even worked), or the way her sister was holding herself. As soon as they were down, Natalie was hurrying away, breathing heavily. Jack glanced after her worriedly. That did not look good. What was worse was, something didn't smell right, either. Natalie didn't smell like herself, and it worried Jack. He wasn't the only one, either. Esther was easing the sleeping Ailsa into Sophia's arms before she joined him, even as Octavia drew Rex away from her boys. Or maybe it was Rex pulling Octavia. He honestly wasn't sure … or if he wanted to know
And that was when it hit him. He knew that smell. Jack mentally replayed what Carlyon told him. Rex took the brunt of the blast … which meant that Natalie's dose … Jack swallowed hard. That meant Natalie's dose was far stronger. He swore under his breath and Sophia looked at him, but it was Esther who said softly, "Jack, I might not understand what you just said, but even I can tell that it wasn't good. What's wrong?"
"The … item … that came through the Rift. I've seen it before. More to the point, I've smelled it before. The best way I can think to describe it is a hormone bomb … it detonates and sprays hormones, or sex pollen if you like, on those unlucky enough to be nearby. That … that's one of the more dangerous ones. The initial blast is meant to knock the cannon fodder for a loop, but the most dangerous dose hits the people further away … people who aren't safely inside. If … if they don't shag, they burn from the inside out," Jack answered quietly. He'd seen it used while he was with the Time Agency … saw what happened to the people who got that heavier dose. And really, burning from the inside out was a nice way of putting it.
"Mate … you aren't talking about a literal shag-or-die situation? Are you?" Owen questioned, Adriane at his side. He sounded nervous, exhaling slowly when Jack inclined his head. Their medic went on, "What do we do, then? I mean, one of us will have to go after her, and I'd really rather not be the one to do it. I like Natalie a lot, but she's family!" Yes, and that left one person. Rex was currently drawing some very interesting noises from Octavia; Owen regarded Nat as a sister; and that only left members of Natalie's family. Except for Jack. And that meant … complications for him, for the team, for the family as a whole.
He turned his head to look at Esther, who swallowed hard, but said bravely, "Jack, if you want my blessing to go after Natalie … you have it. I mean … okay. I'll say it like this. If my choices are, you sleep with my aunt or my aunt dies and leaves her six year old daughter alone, there is no choice to be made. There isn't anything to forgive if you sleep with Natalie; if there's a hope of saving her and you not taking it …" She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to. Jack pulled her into a quick, fierce embrace, kissing the top of her head. Sophia and Carlyon were staring at him anxiously, and as his eyes met Sophia's, she nodded. Half a second later, Carlyon did the same. Jack released Esther, and then set out in the direction Natalie had taken. He didn't have that long to find her. Already, the burning was starting.
TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW
One of these days, they would learn that their 'routine' missions were anything but. At least Jason decided to play the overprotective big brother when he noticed that Lucas was tiring. She didn't want to think about how either of her nephews would be handling this. At the same time … she wished that she wasn't affected. Her love for her nephews warred with her admittedly strong sense of self-preservation. Much as it shamed her, it was true. Even though, right now, it wasn't about self-preservation. It was a matter of wanting the pain to end.
Natalie Sophia Tregarth breathed out, trying not to whimper at the fresh spasm of pain that resulted when she breathed. It was getting worse with every moment, with every second that passed. The pain … the shortness of breath … the way her heart raced, and not in a fun way. It wouldn't be long now, she knew. Little by little, the virus … or space dust … was burning through each and every one of her systems. She didn't usually say anything in the meetings, but she listened. She always listened, even when people wished that she didn't. And she heard what happened to people in her situation. And as she always did, she went over in her head (when she could think clearly), trying to work out where she went wrong, what she could have done differently. But she kept coming up with the same answer. Nothing. Nothing except not going out with the others. And that made it worse, in some ways.
Still, she once more tried to examine her options, if only to distract herself. Could she have stayed in the car? Well, that was a possibility, but she would never learn anything doing that. And she hadn't wanted to leave Rex alone. What would have happened if she … agh, God! Natalie's attempt to focus on that, rather than the agony, was an epic failure. She pushed herself further into the darkness. Her father did a lot to soundproof this place, but she could still hear the tornado howling outside, the same tornado which all but chased them home. It could almost drown out the storm now destroying her from the inside. The cold cement couldn't save her, but it could relieve some of the burning. It hurt; oh, God, it hurt so much! She told herself that it could be worse; she had only to think of Jack after that bitch put a bomb inside his gut. Yes … yes, think of Jack, and remember everything he'd endured in his painfully long life. She tried to focus on that, because if he could go through all that and still remain at least mostly sane and capable of loving people, then she could endure this. But it didn't help.
At least, she consoled herself, at least here I can't hurt anyone else. Another muscle spasm had her gasping for breath. I can't hurt anyone else, I can't hurt anyone else, I can't hurt anyone else. The words became a mantra, and she finally had something else she could actually focus on, aside from the heat that even now scorched her veins. She whimpered under her breath, but repeated again, rocking herself back and forth in spite of herself, "I can't hurt anyone else, I can't hurt anyone else, I can't hurt anyone else."
So focused was she on that mantra, that talisman, that she never heard the familiar voice, calling her name. Not until it was entirely too late, and a warm hand was settling on her shoulder, a gentle voice murmuring, "Oh, sweetheart …. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have waited." She lifted her head, whimpering a little at the touch, and then gasped outright when she was scooped into a pair of strong arms. But that voice, that warm and loving voice, kept whispering, "Everything is going to be all right, everything's going to be fine, sweet girl, I'll take care of you."
"Please … oh God. Please, go … don't want … to hurt you," she managed to choke out, before a particular brutal spasm had her arching her back and actually screaming. The world threatened to go dark, and she welcomed it. Unconsciousness, if not death. She didn't particularly want to die, but ….. oooooooh, Goddddddd, pleeeeeeease! If anything, the arms tightened around her protectively, and she repeated as the pain receded to the point she could breathe, "Don't want to … hurt you, Jack … don't want to … hurt anyone." A gentle kiss was pressed to her forehead, and curiously, the pain didn't just recede … it actually eased.
"You won't hurt me. Shhh. You've taken care of me so many times in the past. Is it so very hard to believe that I want to take care of you now?" was the gentle response. If she'd been capable of it, Natalie would have blinked in surprise. She took care of him? Since when? What was he talking about? But before any of those questions could be asked, much less answered, she was settled on something hard. It wasn't the floor … it wasn't cold. A gentle hand stroked over her hair, and he murmured, "Just wait a few minutes, sweetheart, and then you'll feel much better. You didn't really think that no one noticed that you'd gone, did you? Of course we noticed … the only reason I didn't get here sooner was I had to get my head out of my ass and listen to Esther, and then find you."
Esther? Esther knew that he was here? Esther knew that he was here and was okay with it? Something about that didn't make sense, but she was still hurting too badly to think about it. There was rustling around, and muttered cursing, and then those wonderful arms wrapped around her once again, gently lowering her to the ground … which was covered with blankets. Blankets? No … comforters. She didn't even have time to work out what she made of that when fingers curled into the waistband of her cargo pants and began to tug. She began to panic and swat at the hands as they pulled the elastic down over her hips and almost to her knees, only to find her own hands captured and held. And she didn't want to admit it, but the cool air felt so very good on her painfully hot skin, though not nearly as good as the gentle hand even now cupping the back of her right knee.
"I've never forced anyone in my life, man or woman, and I'm not about to start now. But I'm also not going to let you die. So, I'll ask it in this way. Do you want me?" Do you want me? What a silly question, she'd wanted him from the moment she'd laid eyes on him! Even so, she knew this man well enough to know that he expected an answer, and she mouthed out, 'yes.' His face softened as he touched her cheek, murmuring, "That's all I need to know. We have time. I know you're burning from the inside out, sweet girl, but we still have time, and I want your first time to be good. I can't do anything about the surroundings, but I'm going to make it good for you." With those words, he leaned down and kissed her. She couldn't help herself … she slid her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, and felt him smile against her mouth.
"Promise you'll still respect me in the morning?" Natalie Tregarth all but begged as Jack Harkness began peppering her face and neck and collarbone with kisses. She arched under his knowing touch, gasping and whimpering, because the burning that was killing her was being replaced with another burning. Promise me that you'll still respect me, promise me that my niece will still love me. Her shirt was being unbuttoned, and her mind went temporarily blank as his mouth fastened on a breast. Breast? Yes. Yes, she hadn't worn a bra this morning because she hadn't done clothes yet.
"Oh, sweet girl … only will I still respect you in the morning, but I respect you even more now," Jack whispered as his mouth released one breast, only to latch onto the other. Kisses were whispered down her ribs and along her flanks, and oh, God, it felt even better than she imagined! All of it, it felt so good. Jack murmured as he licked first one hip ridge and then the other, "And if you're afraid that Esther will hate you, you should know that she's the one who sent me after you. She told me that the only way, the only reason she would never forgive me was if I had the means to save you, and I didn't do it. She won't hate you. She'll still love you. And me." As he spoke, he brushed his lips against her sternum and began kissing his way down her gig line. She arched up against and into his mouth, weaving her fingers through his dark hair. His lips and his fingers were everywhere and nowhere, teasing and easing.
She found the breath and cheek to say, "I think one of us is wearing too many clothes. Pretty sure it's you." However, Jack had the last laugh … literally … as his lips pressed against her inner thigh, and Natalie was utterly positive that she would come undone with the sensation that rippled through her with that motion. But that was nothing compared to what she felt when Jack slid seamlessly into her body, his skin pressed against hers. She gasped aloud, clinging to him because … oh, now she understood so much!
Jack, damn him, had the presence of mind to breathe against her skin, "You'll find, sweet Natalie, that I'm very, very talented at getting out of my clothes in a hurry and with just one hand." There was an innuendo in there that was dancing just on the verge of Natalie's mind, but it (along with all capacity for rational thought) vanished as Jack began to move. And the awful, agonizing burning from only moments before? It was replaced, with a different kind of burning. In truth, Natalie was only vaguely aware of having a body. But that didn't matter, because … it just didn't matter. Nothing mattered.
When she came back to herself, when her mind was able to function once more, she shivered (she would have never thought that she could be so grateful to be cold) and unconsciously curled closer to the nearest source of warmth … which was the still unclothed body of Captain Jack Harkness. Not that he had issues with that … on the contrary, he enfolded her in his arms, drawing her head to rest against his chest, fingers slipping through her hair as she began to settle. It was then, naturally, that she asked the question she should have led off with when he first found her, "Is Ailsa okay?"
"She's fine," Jack assured her, brushing a kiss into her hairline, "Asleep in your mother's arms. I think she woke up just long enough to come out to the Hub, and then right back to sleep. Before you ask, the boys are fine, and I don't think either of us want to know what Rex and Octavia are doing. Well, you probably don't … I might be curious to see if Rex knows anything I don't." What went unsaid was that he didn't think so. Natalie snickered a little before snuggling against Jack once more, one hand moving to the small of his back and lightly caressing (which was okay with him, evidently. He didn't move away from her touch). She wasn't ready to ask about Esther. Not yet.
"What about Alice? Have you heard from her?" she asked instead as Jack's hand lightly stroked down her spine. Natalie still wasn't sure what to think about Jack's daughter, and in truth, Alice seemed to feel the same way about her. Or maybe it was Natalie's father she had issues with. Regardless, the daughters of the two Torchwood directors weren't especially comfortable with each other, despite Esther's repeated attempts to act as an agent of reconciliation between them.
Jack kissed her forehead, murmuring, "She's safe. She'd never been through a tornado before, so as soon as the warnings were issued, she found safety. Wasn't willing to risk her life on the off-chance that it skipped over the town." Smart move. Natalie said as much and Jack nodded. It was … odd. Shouldn't she have felt awkward? After all, when all was said and done, wasn't Jack (at the very least) her niece's boyfriend? She should … this was very strange. Jack kissed her temple, telling her, "I can hear you thinking, you know. I told you. Esther is fine with this. She actually told me that she would have a harder time forgiving me if I let you die than if I slept with you. So stop worrying."
Natalie rolled her eyes and poked Jack in the side, drawing a rather undignified yelp from him, which was quickly smothered. She retorted, "I'm not worrying about Esther, you dolt. I'm thinking about how strange it is that I don't feel awkward about this. I don't know if it's because I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you … I don't feel awkward, and that makes me feel weird." And she wasn't even sure if 'guilty' was the right word. She knew that she should feel guilty, since Jack was (nominally) with Esther. But she didn't.
Jack sighed and tightened his arms around her, murmuring, "I have a feeling that you'll hurt me if I say something about twenty-first century people and their hang-ups about sex." She raised her eyebrows at him … oh really? What was his first clue? Jack rolled his eyes at her and went on, "You don't have anything to feel weird about. You were a victim here. You, and Rex, didn't choose to be infected with those spores. You were doing your jobs, protecting other people, because can you imagine what would have happened if that went off in town?" Both shuddered at that notion (and damn if that didn't feel good as well). Jack explained, "You didn't seek this out. And really, you have a lot to be proud of."
Proud of? How in the hell did he figure that? What had she done that she could be proud of? He explained, "Nat, when I found you, you just kept saying one thing, 'I don't want to hurt anyone.' You held onto your self-control long enough to get to a place where you couldn't jump anyone." Well, yeah … considering that most of the people in the Hub were members of her family. She pointed that out to Jack, who shook his head, saying, "No, sweetheart. It doesn't matter. If someone had stopped you, you would have jumped them. Whether they were family or not … whether they were of age or not. I've seen this before. Trust me when I say that action protected a lot of people today. Including … no, especially Ailsa."
That silenced Natalie, at least for a few moments. The idea that she could have been so far gone that she didn't even … no, it didn't bear thinking about. And if Jack said he'd seen it happen before, Natalie was inclined to take him at his word (he did have more experience with these things, after all). She wasn't anything special, she knew. Even so, she wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. Or the strange feelings she still had. At least, they were strange for her. Maybe these odd feelings were normal in a situation like this, which was anything but normal. In the end, she said softly, "I suppose I have to take your word for it. I … I'm glad it was you, though. If I had to lose my virginity in a situation like this, I'm glad it was with you. You or Clint. So, thank you … thank you for taking care of me during my first time."
She pulled back as she spoke, so she could look at Jack properly, and was glad she did. His blue eyes softened as he answered softly, a mischievous grin lighting his face, "Oh, sweetheart … believe me when I say that it was entirely my pleasure." She gaped at him for a moment … did he really just say that? … before collapsing against him in a fit of giggles. Jack's arms tightened around her again and his chest rumbled with barely suppressed laughter under her head. And that, of course, made her laugh even more. But that was Jack for you.
"You … you are … you're one of a kind, Jack. And take that how you will!" she snickered. Soon enough, as strength slowly returned to her limbs, they would return to the rest of the team, to the rest of the family. She needed to hold her daughter, to reassure her mother and her oldest sister, to check on her middle sister, and to make sure she and Esther could meet each other's eyes. Natalie knew that most people wouldn't regard what Esther did as a sacrifice, but it was. And it was a sacrifice that Natalie would always hold dear. But for now, she would lay here in the protective circle of Jack's arms and wait for the storm and its aftermath to pass.
TBC