Title: We All Fall Down
Author: Erin Giles
Fandom(s): Torchwood, Doctor Who
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Owen, Tosh, Rhiannon/Johnny, Mica, David, Alice, Steven, PC Andy, Yvonne Hartman, Ianto/Lisa Hallett, The Tenth Doctor
Rating: R
Warnings: Character Death
Summary: Torchwood is separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the United Nations and detached from family. When someone comes at Torchwood through their families they have to make a choice between what they love and what they protect. With the threat on a personal level emotions are running high, and when secrets from the past are unearthed the team come close to splitting forever. But there's one last secret Torchwood is keeping that none of the team, not even Jack, knew about.
A/N: How I wrote this while writing my final year dissertation for my degree and moving house I shall never know (and not forgetting the complete lack of internet). All I know is that I wouldn't have done it without my cheerleaders and my wonderful betas who are always on hand with wacky ideas and much needed inspiration when word drought strikes.
PROLOGUE
The smoke was curling up into the dappled grey sky, blue light reflecting off the underside of it from all the emergency services vehicles present. The blue lights of the SUV were strobing against the cracked glass doors that led into the main atrium of the building. They'd long since run out of body bags, and smoke-blackened corpses were being laid beneath anything they could source.
Owen Harper, Medical Officer at Torchwood Cardiff, was standing vigil over the rows of corpses having just emerged from the building carrying a box full of alien technology. He forced himself to take more faltering steps towards the van that was parked next to the SUV, shoving the box inside. The van was nearly full now, odd-shaped pieces of alien technology, blackened by smoke and fire. He turned to watch as a soot-covered face let out a wail of sorrow and collapsed to their knees beside a blanketed mound of charred remains. He stood frozen, watching this woman's display of grief-filled horror, paramedics, police and firemen rushing by without giving her a second glance as she lay herself over the body that had no doubt once been her friend, boyfriend, possibly even more.
'That the last of it?'
Owen turned round to find Jack stood behind him. He remained untouched in a sea of carnage. There wasn't a hair out of place as Captain Jack Harkness stood there with his RAF greatcoat slung out behind him, hands in his trouser pockets as he looked straight at Owen, drowning out everything around him with his intense blue stare.
'Tosh is just bringing the last box.'
Jack nodded and turned away to speak to someone in black military garb. The woman was gone from her mourning place and Owen glanced round for a sign of any more survivors. All he could see were more bodies. He turned back towards Jack and his conversation.
'Any sign of her yet?' Jack asked.
'Preliminary reports indicate that she was one of the first compromised, Sir,' said the Soldier.
'Survivors?'
'Nineteen, Sir. We're still searching the building, though.'
'Any sign of him?' Jack asked. Owen didn't like it when Jack dealt in pronouns. There were already enough secrets at Torchwood without talking in pronouns.
'We know he was here, Sir, but if past events are anything to go on we believe he's long gone,' the soldier said. Jack sighed, dismissing the soldier with a nod and turning back to face Owen.
'Who's him?' Owen asked.
Jack wasn't paying attention; he was looking past Owen to Toshiko Sato picking her way through the debris, trying valiantly to ignore the dead bodies littering the entrance. She had a briefcase in one hand that she hadn't gone in with.
'That us?' Jack called to Toshiko.
'There's a lower-level secure archive that we can't get into. It's built tighter than a bomb shelter and has access codes that even I can't break,' said Toshiko.
'Don't worry. It'll be buried when they tear down this place,' Jack said. 'Come on, let's get back to Cardiff.' Jack slammed shut the backdoor of the van before moving around to get behind the wheel. Owen climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV, Toshiko folding herself into the passenger seat. The truck rumbled into life and Owen pulled in behind it as they drove through the road block set up, leaving the Isle of Dogs, heading back towards the M4 and leaving the fall of Torchwood One and disaster of Canary Wharf behind them.