Notes: For those of you who were reading Invisible Influence, I've totally no clue at all how to end that last bit, but this idea was screaming at me, so I'm writing it. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for all the reviews for my other stuff!
Faith leanded against the side of the SUV rubbing her temples, trying to ease the pain at least some.
"I told you this was a bad idea." Owen was saying to Jack as they approached.
"We both tried to tell you." Tosh put in.
"Okay, yes, I know." Jack said as he stopped and turned to look at them both. "I should have listened to you, I'm sorry."
"Tell that to Faith." Ianto said as he walked past them and tossed the bag he was carrying into the back of the vehicle.
Jack groaned and rolled his eyes. He was sure that the building U.N.I.T had chosen for their little meeting would be safe. He'd wanted in on talking to the guy they'd pulled in because of a possible connection to some things dealing with Torchwood. He'd been wrong and now he was going to have to listen to them complain about it for god only knew how long.
"All of this, and it turns out the guy was just trying to fleece people the whole time." Faith said as she buried her pounding head in her hands.
"I'm sorry." Jack said. "I thought it would be safe."
"Well, now we know better." Gwen said as she went to open the front door of the passenger side.
"Excuse me." Faith said as she looked up. "My head is killing me, and I'm not going to sit in the back with four other people to be bounced around and squashed." she walked over and sat down in the front seat. "If you don't mind too much."
"Of course not." Gwen said with a sigh as she slammed the door and crawled into the back.
"Owen, you can drive this time." Jack said, throwing the keys to him.
"Fine by me." Owen said as he took the keys and climbed in.
"Getting dark early." Tosh said as she waited for Ianto to climb in before her. "You can see all right in the dark, right, Owen?"
"Yes, I can." he said, sounding slightly annoyed by the question. "We all ready?" he asked as he started the engine.
"Let's roll." Jack said as the last of them clambered in and shut the door. "I think getting back to Cardiff and home sounds rather nice right about now."
"Yes, home, please." Faith said as she folded her jacket up and used it for a pillow.
"Home it is." Owen said as he put the SUV in gear and took off.
They were about three hours drive outside Cardiff and had already gone about an hour. Each of them was gazing out the windows as they drove along the long stretch of empty country road.
"Odd place for a hotel." Tosh said as they passed a large Victorican fortress-like house.
"Add some lightning and it'd make a great haunted house." Faith replied as she watched the old weathered sign for the place disappear. "Greenlee Manor Hotel." she said. "Quite a pretty name though."
"Doesn't seem like they'd get many customers way out here though." Gwen sad as she laid her head back against the seat.
She moved her hips a bit to make sure her legs didn't fall asleep. It didn't help that Jack had something very hard in his pocket that kept digging into her.
"Almost finished?" Ianto asked.
"Sorry, not very comfy back here." she said.
"I'm aware of that." he replied as he tried to stretch his legs out.
"Listen to them whine." Owen said to Faith with a laugh.
"Big babies." she answered with a smile.
"You want to switch with one of us?" Jack asked. "Don't want you passing out at the wheel."
"I'll manage." Owen answered as everyone settled back into silence.
And manage he did, but only for the next fifteen minutes. He watched the dark road ahead of him carefully, hoping to avoid hitting any animals that might run out in front of him. Last time he'd done that, Faith had been with him and cried for an hour when he'd accidentally hit a rabbit that darted out. She insisted they move it so that others wouldn't hit him. He was dead, wouldn't really matter to him, but she got a look in her eye that made him decide not to argue. She could be quite frightening when she felt like it.
He looked down for a second to grab the bottle of water Ianto had handed him and when he looked up, there was a man standing in the road. Slamming on the brakes, he threw his left arm out, without even thinking about it, to stop Faith from flying forward.
"What the hell?" Jack asked as his head bounced off the back of Owen's seat.
"There was someone in the road." Owen said as he put the SUV in park and unfastned his seatbelt.
"There's no one there." Gwen said, leaning forward and looking around.
"I didn't see anyone." Faith whispered.
"There was a man there." Owen insisted as he opened his door.
"Well, there's no one here now." Jack said as he got out as well, the others in the back using the chance to stretch their cramped muscles.
"I saw him." Owen muttered, running his hand through his hair. "I know I did."
"It's been a long day." Ianto said, stretching his arms over his head. "Maybe you should take a break and let one of us take over at the wheel for a bit."
"Yeah, maybe.." Owen agreed. "Everyone okay?" he asked.
"Fine." they all said, nodding.
"Back in." Jack said as he took a deep breath, trying to get as much fresh air into his lungs before getting back into the cramped backseat as Ianto climbed in front behind the wheel.
"Feeling better?" Ianto asked Faith, who'd stayed in the car the whole time.
"Tiny bit." she muttered as she buried her head in her coat again.
"Go to sleep and we should be back home before too long." he said as the others reluctantly climbed back in.
"Okay." she said as she nuzzled the coat and closed her eyes.
Ianto put the SUV in gear, started to move forward, and suddenly stopped.
"What now?" Tosh groaned as she heard the grinding and rattling noise before the engine died all together.
"I don't know." Ianto said as he tried to start it back up. The more he cranked, the weaker the engine's attempts at starting became.
"It just had a tune-up." Jack said.
"We have more than half a tank." Owen added.
"Sounds like the battery's dead." Ianto said as he tried once more to start it.
"Can we call for a tow?" Faith asked.
"I have no signal on my phone." Gwen said as she moved her phone around trying in vain to pick one up.
"Same with mine." Tosh said.
"Same here." Owen said, having gotten out of the car again and moved around.
"Ditto." Jack added.
"What do we do now?" Gwen asked as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket.
"The Greenlee Manor Hotel." Jack said with a shrug. "Not too far, they should have a phone."
"It'll give you all a chance to stretch your muscles." Faith said as she stifled a yawn. Looking at her watch she saw that it was just after eight. "How long will it take us to get there?"
"It was what, a fifteen minute drive?" Jack asked, Owen nodding in repsonse. "Say, half an hour."
"Oh joy." Faith said as she climbed out and put her coat on.
"Here, take these." Owen said, handing her two white pills.
"Thanks." she said swallowing them down with the bottle of water she'd been cradling on the drive.
"Forward march!" Jack called as he led the group down the road back towards the hotel.
Almost half an hour exactly, the tired group dragged themselves up the steps and to the large oaken front doors of the large old house.
"It's quite lovely close up." Faith commented as they walked into a large foyer. Old oil paintings hung from the walls, lights shone down on them to showcase them better. In the middle of the foyer stood a large mohogany table with a crystal vase, orchids overflowing the fluted top.
"Not too shabby." Jack said as he looked around in admiration.
"All this for some place tucked out in the middle of nowhere?" Owen asked. "Seems rather a waste."
"We are very house-proud." a warm voice said from behind them. "It's been in the family for years, so we like to keep it up as they did back then."
They turned to see a woman, probably in her eighties standing there. Small and frail looking, she wore a gray tweed skirt, a white blouse and a pale blue cardigan over top.
"It's lovely." Jack said with a smile.
"Thank you." she said. "You lot look so tired. I didn't hear anyone pull up."
"We've had a very long day." Faith said yawning. "Our car broke down."
"We were hoping you would let us use your phone." Gwen put in with a smile.
"Of course." the woman said.
"Thank you." Gwen said.
"But the phone's been out all day." the woman finished. "I'm sorry, I've been onto the company all day, but they can't get it up again until tomorrow."
"Oh." Gwen muttered.
"Well then." Jack said. "I don't suppose you have any rooms available, do you?"
"Yes we do." she answered. "It's a bit slow at the moment, so all the rooms are available, actually."
"Great." Faith said.
"I have three rooms." she said as she moved ahead of them. "Only three ready for anyone to stay in. We have ten all together."
"I thought you said they were all available." Tosh said.
"Well, by that, I meant three." the woman said as she moved behind a large desk that closely resembled the table in the center of the foyer. "They're all very nice. En suite and everything." she added as she opened a large book. "It will be two hundred pounds for all three for the night."
"We'll take them." Owen said as he pulled out his walled and handed her a credit card.
"Oh dear." the woman said. "This is rather embarassing. We don't accept credit cards." she said. "No equipment for that."
"A check?" Gwen asked.
"No sorry." the woman shook her head.
"I've got money." Faith said as she moved up to the desk.
"You have two hundred pounds in cash?" Owen asked as he watched her count out the money.
"A friend from work borrowed some money and she paid me back today before you came to pick me up." she explained. "With a little extra for having taken so long to pay me back."
"Here are your keys." the woman said. "If you'll all just sign the book." she added as she turned it around and handed Faith a pen.
"There we are then." she said as she closed the book once they'd all signed it. "I hope you enjoy your stay." she added with a smile. "If you need anything, just let me know."
"Thank you very much." Jack said. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, where are my manners?" she laughed. "I'm Georgette Milner." she said. "You'll probably come across my husband and son while you're here too. My husband is Stanley and our son is Christopher."
"We'll keep an eye out for them, Georgette." Gwen said. "Good night."
"So, who sleeps where?" Owen asked as he held out the keys.
"I'll bunk with Tosh." Gwen piped in.
"Ianto and I can share." Jack said with a smile, causing Ianto to blush.
"Guess that leaves you and I then." Owen said to Faith. "Hope you don't mind."
"No, of course not." she said quickly as she took the key he held. "Good night." she said to the others, and turned on her heel and headed off.
Faith threw her coat down on the bed when she got into the room.
"Of course you'll share a room." she muttered to herself as she took of her shoes. "Rotten..." she went on and on as she went into the bathroom to wash her face.
Straightening up, she dried her face. Looking into the mirror, she jumped when she saw a man standing behind her. Turning around quickly, she found no one there.
"Owen?" she called, thinking he was trying to play his idea of a joke on her. "That's not funny." she said throwing the towel down on the counter.
She heard the sound of the door opening and went out. The door stood open, but no one was there. Going to the door, she poked her head around the door expecting Owen to jump out to scare her. Still, she found nothing, no one, not him or anyone else.
"Soo Jin." she heard someone whisper behind her. Turning around, she found she was still alone. She found herself wishing desperately that Owen would hurry up and get to the room.