Hey folks, so it's a brand spanking new Jooper fic for y'all. And I am now on holiday for the next three weeks so there is oh so much ficcage writing time to be had! Enjoy...
Also I know I said this was Humour/Romance but I couldn't really decide on just two genres, it's really got a bit of everything in there and hopefully will get funnier later on...
Owen turned the steering wheel of the SUV sharply causing Gwen to slam her shoulder into the window.
"Hey watch it," she grumbled rubbing the sore spot.
"Don't start telling me off," Owen replied snarkily, "I'm the only one who actually gets us to the crime scenes in time!"
Gwen mumbled something unintelligible to herself but allowed herself to be tossed about as far as her seatbelt would allow as Owen screeched around corners at breakneck speed.
"Gwen?" Tosh's voice crackled through into her com.
"What have you got for me Tosh?"
"There was a disturbance at the given address in the early hours of this morning, the police were called but since there were no fatalities they left. About twenty minutes ago massive rift activity was detected at the same residence," Tosh rattled off.
"Alright thanks Tosh, we've got it from here," Gwen said reaching up to turn her com off when another voice broke into their conversation.
"Gwen," Jack said his normally controlled voice betraying his worry, "be careful."
She whispered something into her com and turned to face out of the window hoping the blush suffusing into her cheeks wasn't that obvious.
Owen, however, had chosen this particularly unfortunate time to decide to be observant for once and said, "God even the sound of his voice gets you going doesn't it?"
Deciding to ignore this comment she replied, "Turn left here."
Owen, unusually for him, got the hint and shut up banking sharply into the next side street and screeching to a halt outside a dilapidated house.
"Is this it?" He asked surveying the street through disdainful eyes.
Gwen undid her seatbelt which had gradually gotten tighter and tighter each time Owen had to come to a sudden stop…which was a lot and said, "Yep, it should be this house right here."
She carefully swung the gate open, which promptly squealed loudly and then fell over as its hinges broke. Gwen snatched her hand away quickly turning to see if anyone had noticed.
"I didn't do anything," she said guiltily to Owen who was watching her in amusement.
"Sure," he said sarcastically pushing past her and walking confidently up to the front door.
Gwen followed muttering to herself about fragile gates and that they should have warning signs on them…
Owen knocked on the door and was taken aback when it swung open gently.
"Hello?" He called inside, "Bloody hell this place is a mess," he said to Gwen as he stepped inside.
Gwen cautiously unholstered her gun and followed him stepping carefully over picture frames, books and pieces of plaster which had fallen from the ceiling that were strewn all over the floor.
"What happened here?" She asked nobody in particular.
The house was silent, as far as they could tell there was no one there. So where had the rift activity come from?
"Did Tosh say the rift activity was detected inside the actual house?" Owen asked
Gwen nodded as she kicked open a door leading into what looked like the kitchen, "Yeah she said it was in this house and I'm willing to bed this place didn't look like this before the rift activity happened."
What had presumably once been the table was lying broken on its side and jars were dripping various sauces and liquids onto counters and the floor.
An uneasy feeling started to grow in Gwen's stomach and she turned around swiftly half thinking she would find someone standing right behind her.
Instead she was greeted with an empty hallway with only the wind blowing through the broken door softly.
"Owen?" She whispered, almost afraid to talk at a normal volume.
It was such a cliché, the abandoned house and the whistling wind blowing through and disturbing papers and the curtains so it looked like someone had passed by seconds before.
A hand clamping down on her shoulder caused her to jump violently and whirl around with her gun aimed at whoever was touching her.
"Shit, Owen you scared me!" She cried as she caught sight of her co-worker.
"Sorry," he replied absently with a strange look in his eyes.
Gwen gave him an odd look and asked, "Did you check upstairs?"
Owen nodded, his eyes still having that glazed look in them and replied, "Yeah all I found was this"
He held up a small vial about the size of a test tube which appeared empty.
"What is it?" Gwen asked reaching out to take it from him.
Owen moved his hand slightly, ever so subtly, so she couldn't reach it and said, "I dunno, but it's where the rift radiation is coming from. I scanned it."
"Owen? Are you feeling alright?" Gwen asked, concern lacing her voice.
His eyes darted from left to right, not focusing on hers and he still looked slightly dazed, "Yeah I'm fine, why?"
"I think you'd better let me see the readings you got off the vial," Gwen said holding out her hand for the scanner.
Owen hesitated for all of a few seconds but that was enough time for Gwen to tell that something was wrong. Owen never hesitated.
It was only when he collapsed in a heap on the floor that she called Jack.
"Gwen? What's wrong?" The familiar accent calmed her slightly.
"Something's happened to Owen," she said trying to keep her voice steady, "We're in the house and he went upstairs to look around and when he came back down he was acting strange and he said he found a vial which was emitting the radiation and how he's collapsed."
There was silence and then Jack said, "Gwen can you get him into the SUV, you need to get him back here as fast as you can."
"Sure…" She trailed off not sure whether she should say what was on her mind.
Jack must have detected the note of nervousness in her voice though because he immediately asked, "What's wrong Gwen?"
"There's just…something wrong about this house. It's deserted, yes, but only recently so…and why did this vial end up here of all places?" The words rushed out, having been built up in her mind over the past few minutes.
This house was giving her the creeps.
Jack's reassuring voice spilt through the com into her ear calming her jittering heart, "That's what we're going to work out Gwen but just get back here now, and make sure you don't open that vial!"
Gwen sighed to herself as she looked down at Owen's body; she hoped he was 'wiry' like he had described himself. Placing her arms under his armpits she managed to heave him up onto his feet so he was leaning against her and in this way along with a few other squirming movements she got him out of the front door, having already safely pocketed the vial.
She breathed freely once they were out of the oppressive house and quickly managed to get Owen buckled into the back seat of the SUV.
Starting up the engine she failed to notice how the sitting down action had slipped the stopper in the vial up slightly so it shuddered in the opening, not quite loose, but not quite stuck either.
Alright so hope you liked the first chapter - for those of you who have read my other Jooper fics you may notice I don't actually get to the Jack/Gwen stuff until a few chapters in but I am hoping to get to it quicker this time so no worries!
Please review - it is a proven fact on my part that I update quicker if I get more reviews.
