Jessie sat at a table outside of a cafe. The morning sun was shining in her face and she was enjoying her dry cappuccino. Her notebook was under right hand and she was completely confused. She woke up in bed, in her pajamas, but with no recollection of how she got there. What's worse is that she found stitches in her side that were bandaged up. Her notebook was her only salvation. There were two quick sketches and a few notes, written by her last night.
Had she been drinking? She had stopped drinking years ago when it had started to become a problem. What had she done the night before?
She was wearing cuffed denim jeans and a fitted striped t-shirt. Her hair was in a bun on her head, a big barrel roll was perched at the front of her head, and a bandana with pink hearts was wrapped around her hair. A waiter brought out her order of eggs and pan-fried veggies. As soon as he left, she opened her notebook back up. There were two handsome men with the names The Captain and The Doctor underneath them, and there were two sketches of some horrible creature with big, sharp teeth. The few notes that she left herself read: "The creature took a bite out of my side. Captain Harkness fixed me up. Gave me something, making me feel weird and tired. Seingalt warehouse. North? Van."
Jessie dug into her breakfast and glanced around. There had been service vans that had passed by. Is that what she had meant? She looked at the sketches she had drawn. They weren't terribly detailed and looked akin to comic book characters. The Captain was drawn with a strong jawline, a cleft chin, short dark hair, and a smile. The Doctor was drawn with wavy hair and square jaw with a short goatee.
Jessie finished her breakfast and cappuccino before heading out to wander around the city.
By 10am, Jessie was at the harbor. She was leaning against the railing, watching the boats and the water. She had a purse-size travel bag slung over her shoulders. She looked behind her at the opera house and the fountain. A few years back, there had been some kind of explosion around this area. The papers had claimed it the act of terrorists with the focal point being the fountain. It now stood there again, but with a large memorial plaque. She had browsed through a half dozen stores, not finding anything that grabbed her fancy. She had even taken a few photos of the fountain with her phone.
"What a view" A man said. She glanced over and saw a man leaning against the railing. He was handsome and flashed her a dashing smile.
"It's a nice day to be out on the water" Jessie replied.
"Why aren't you out there?" The man asked. Jessie shrugged. The man looked familiar. "You're American."
"So are you" Jessie said. The man smiled even more and that smile triggered something in Jessie's mind. "Have we met?"
"I don't think so" The man said. Jessie fumbled with her bag and pulled out her notebook. The man's smile fell. He looked like one of her sketches. "What's that?"
"Are you Captain Harkness?" Jessie asked pointing to the sketch.
"I'm just out here picking up a few things" The man said taking a step back. The notebook was turned towards the handsome man briefly. "Not a bad likeness. I didn't realize you were an artist too."
"It is you" Jessie confirmed. She shoved the notebook back into her bag and stepped towards the man. "You are the Captain." Jack took another step back. "How do I know you? What happened last night? Did you roofie me?"
"No. Nothing happened. I just helped stitch you up" Jack replied. Jessie's brow furrowed and her fingers tapped on her lips.
"You were in the van" Jessie said. A few images drifted back into her mind. Jack smirked.
"You must have a pretty good memory" Jack said.
"Eidetic" Jessie said. Jack smiled and nodded.
"That would explain it" Jack said under his breath. "How's your side?" The woman before him simply crossed her arms. "Well...I guess I'll see you later. I have some things to get."
Jack turned and headed for a small door somewhat hidden away at the side of the pier. Jessie watched him pull a gun-shaped thing from his pocket and insert it into a deadlock. Jack disappeared inside and Jessie couldn't help but follow him.
Beyond the door was a small space full of rubble and a dull overhead light illuminated the room. Everything looked grey. Most of a counter stood opposite the door and a few tourist brochures were still in plastic holders on the wall. The captain had gone somewhere.
"Weird" Jessie said to herself. She picked up a brochure that had a train on the cover. "Captain Harkness?"
There was a noise somewhere from beyond the walls. The brochure was dropped onto the rubble. Jessie moved to the nearest wall and tried to listen. There was definitely a noise from somewhere. It wasn't from behind the wall. A sliver of light caught her eye and Jessie stepped over some rubble to what looked to be a bookcase. She pushed on it and it gave way easier than she expected to a landing and emergency stairs. They looked fairly new and the narrow shaft resembled a very large air shaft or something.
"Captain?" Jessie called out. Her voice echoed back. She stretched her head side to side before hurrying down the stairs.
"Took you long enough" Jack said when he heard the door scrape along the floor as it opened. He turned to watch the woman as she stepped over the rubble and looked around the ill-lit room. The main room had a very high ceiling. "It used to be….well, it just used to be."
"What happened?" Jessie asked. She bent down and pulled a heavy-duty plastic case from the rubble. It had a sticker that claimed it as Torchwood property. "Torchwood?"
"Big explosion" Jack said quietly. Jessie opened the case and found a boxy instrument with an attached probe.
"This doesn't look damaged" Jessie said. Jack squatted next to her to have a quick look. It was a device that not only measured particulates in the air, but analyzed the composition of the particulates.
"We'll take it with us" Jack said. He watched Jessie shut the case and noticed the goosebumps along her arms. "Are you cold?"
"Cold, excited, anxious, intrigued…" Jessie said moving the case to a clear-ish spot. She stood up and wiped her hands on her pants. "A little of everything. What are we looking for, Mysterioso?"
"Whatever is salvageable" Jack replied. His voice was touched by sadness. He stood up with a piece of something in his hands.
"What did you give me last night? How did I forget things?" Jessie asked.
"I didn't think you would want to have your vacation ruined by last night" Jack said simply. His guest of his former workplace and home didn't looked appeased by his answer. "I gave you a pill of my own design that provides temporary amnesia."
Jessie stepped up close to Jack and poked him in the chest. "Never. Ever. Do that again." She took a breath of the musty air before continuing. "Tell me a story Captain and, before you begin, let me assure you that adventure, mystery, and intrigue are not good reasons to pass out 'amnesia pills'. I'm interested, but I want some details."
"That's a lot to ask for" Jack said softly while gently catching one of Jessie's hands. She gestured while talking and it made Jack miss those he had lost. "Remember a few years ago when no one could die? Or how about the time cybermen were all over the place? Or when some of the population found the highest nearest locations, ready to leap to their demise?"
"I don't live under a rock. I remember" Jessie said giving a little tug on her hand. Jack didn't release it and she clenched her jaw instead. "Were those incidents because of you, Captain?"
"No" Jack said. "My team, we helped stopped things, very bad things, from happening."
"Why did you bother to approach me today?" Jessie asked. Jack gave her a small smile.
"I never pass up talking to a beautiful woman" Jack replied. He loosened his grip on her hand and was amused that she let it linger. "Besides, I wanted to make sure that you really had forgotten."
"What happened to your team, Captain?" Jessie asked. She didn't look around the room; she just kept looking into his baby blue eyes.
"Some of them are still alive" Jack answered. "They would tell you that I'm dangerous. Things happen when I'm around."
"It's a shame" Jessie mused. Jack raised an eyebrow. "My time here is limited."
"Your vacation" Jack said. "That's easily changed."
Jessie smiled and stepped away from Jack, looking everywhere but at him. He made it sound easy to just change things. Jack watched as the short woman maneuvered through the main level, over towards the work stations.
"So your coat, that's like an RAF coat isn't it?" Jessie asked. She reached a computer station and looked things over. The monitors were broken, the tower dented, and various odds and ends were scattered about.
"Not like, it IS an RAF coat" Jack replied. He moved around the drainage gully, towards the old armory.
"I found something" Jessie called out. The item in hand was a handheld device that looked oddly like something from Star Trek. "I don't know what it is."
"Set it aside" Jack called out. "Find more stuff! You're doing great!"
Jessie moved around, sorting through stuff that was mostly damaged. She found a round room with medical equipment that was almost entirely intact. By the time Jack emerged from the other side of the hub, Jessie had a collection of items set aside.
"I don't think it would take much to get this place back up and running" Jessie said. Her face had a dirt smudge on it and her pants had dust imprints where she had leaned up against something. Jack was carrying a bag long enough to hold hockey sticks. "Find what you were looking for?"
"There is a lot I've been looking for" Jack replied. He looked at what she had collected. "This was all undamaged?"
"Yep" Jessie replied. "From what I can gather, whatever exploded-"
"Me" Jack said quietly.
"-Yeah. It happened here in the center of the room" Jessie said. She pointed to the round medical area. "That medical area is singed, but pretty much intact. I think there is probably a lot that I've missed, but it's only been what? 10, maybe 15 minutes?"
"I have that new facility to fill now" Jack said. He picked up as much as he could carry and looked at Jessie, who followed his example.
The sun seemed harsh and overly bright after their stint in the cavernous underground lair. It was strange that nobody even really paid much attention to them, at least Jessie thought so. They loaded up the white van. It felt like deja vu to Jessie and she wondered what they have done last night to warrant the feeling. She handed the last few things to Jack and let him load them into the van.
"Isn't this an unnecessary risk for you?" Jack asked when he got into the van. Jessie was strapped into the passenger side. She replied by hitting the door lock and he chuckled. "I have a feeling that you're going to be a pain in my ass, Butler."
They unloaded the van at the Seingalt warehouse, dumping all the items in one of the many empty offices. Jack opened things up and sorted through them, the majority being medical.
"What is this thing?" Jessie asked holding up a strange rectangle device. Jack glanced at it.
"One of Tosh's favorites" Jack said. "You can hold it to just about anything and it instantly scans it, wireless information transfer to most computers. There's more to it, but that's it in a nutshell."
"Where did you get it?" Jessie asked.
"It fell through the rift" Jack replied. "There is a rift in time and space that happens to fall in Cardiff."
"Okay" Jessie said accepting his answer without question. Jack put down the cylindrical item he had in his hands and moved over to Jessie, positioned so he was half-perched on the table.
"You know, you're taking this exceptionally well" Jack stated. "Most people would be running for the hills."
"I'm not most people" Jessie said with a smile. "I'm a writer."
"How much do you know about aliens and alien technology?" Jack asked.
"Not much" Jessie replied. "I mean, I read books, I read comics." Jack laughed. "You know, maybe you should back up a little, Captain Conundrum. What's your name? Do I just call you Captain?"
"Captain Jack Harkness, you had it right earlier" Jack said with his usual grin. "You can call me Jack, or Captain if you prefer it."
"Well, Jack, I found something else that is not on the table here" Jessie said plunging a hand into her denim pocket. She touched his hand with her free hand and put the small object from her pocket onto his palm. It was a small flash drive labeled 'Database 1'. "I found it in a storage box. I thought it might be important."
Jack's face fell to a blank look and he stilled for a moment. Database 1. He thought he had lost everything. Without warning, he scooped up the petite woman into a bear hug.
"This is a sign" Jack announced, letting her go. "You don't know how much this means to me." He moved towards the door. "We will get your paperwork in order. You're on the team."
"Paperwork?" Jessie asked. She followed him out the door. "What team?"
"The new Torchwood" Jack said hurrying down the hall. "Brian!"
Jack was almost in a run as he wove through the hallways to a large concrete open space. He approached a dwarf who was in the middle of soldering something together. Classic rock was playing lightly over his computer speakers.
"Brian!" Jack called out. He presented the dwarf with the flash drive. "She found 'Database 1' from the Hub."
The dwarf, Brian, looked at Jessie, then at Jack, and then took the flash drive. "I thought you retconned her."
"I did, but it didn't quite work" Jack said. "What do you think? It doesn't look damaged to me."
"I'll get it uploaded to the system" Brian said. "Nice to see you again, Miss Butler."
"You're the doctor" Jessie said. Brian gave her a smile.
"I am a doctor" Brian replied. He waited a moment, seeing if she remembered his name. "Dr. Brian March. Before you ask, my doctorate is in physics."
He scooted his chair back and plugged the flash drive into his computer. He touched his tie knot absently and opened the drive, then saved the information to his computer.
"I think everything on here is good" Brian replied. "I'll go through it."
"Yes!" Jack said with a smile. "It has files on equipment and people, right?"
"I'm not sure" Brian replied.
"I think there was more" Jessie said. "We should go back and look around."
"It will have to wait" Jack replied. Brian started opening the files from the flash drive. Jack placed a hand on Jessie's shoulder and started leading her back towards the offices. "Come with me, Butler. I want to introduce you to the rest of the team."
Before Jessie stood a green-skinned reptilian woman in jeans and a t-shirt, and a tall man with long dark hair. Jack had introduced them as Ritha and Dr. Cole Young.
"Ritha handles most of the tech around here" Jack said. "Cole here is the medical doctor."
"Did you fix me up last night?" Jessie asked. Cole looked at Jack questioningly.
"No. You were here?" Cole asked. He had the look and voice of a gothy vampire, black clothes and off-putting jewelry included.
"I tended to you" Jack replied. "Cole and Ritha were busy last night."
"How did you land this job?" Ritha asked. Jessie looked up at Jack, who just smiled.
"I found her taking on a weevil, barehanded" Jack said. He slid a hand around her waist. "She's not remembering everything yet."
"Does she know how much of a flirt you are, Jack?" Ritha asked with a smirk.
"No spoilers, Ritha" Jack said with a chuckle. He pulled his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Did he mention the dangers of the job?" Cole asked. He flick his hair back.
"Job. You keep saying that" Jessie said with an unsure smile.
"Oh my god" Ritha said getting up from the chair she was in. She shuffled through some papers and shook her shiny scaly head. She was beautifully green.
"We still haven't hammered out the details yet" Jack replied.
"Well let us know when you're done 'hammering', Jack" Cole quipped. Jack rolled his eyes and ushered Jessie out of Ritha's office.
"Don't mind them" Jack said once they were out of earshot. "They're just antsy. We are between work right now."
"Is this supposed to be a job? I haven't agreed to anything yet" Jessie said. Jack opened a door and led Jessie to a sub-basement. "How many levels are there?"
"I want you" Jack said once they entered his office, which seemed to be the majority of the sub-basement. "I think you would make a great addition to the team. You took on a weevil barehanded, without an ounce of fear. You're smart. You have a good vibe."
"I-You're offering me a-a job?" Jessie asked. Jack tossed his coat onto a coat rack and leaned against his desk.
"If you want it, it's yours" Jack said.
"But?" Jessie asked. Jack smiled and gripped his desk.
"I can't let you leave until you make a decision" Jack replied. He watched the woman sit down in one of the office chairs and stare at a stack of files on his desk. She reached up and undid the heart-covered bandana on her head, then the bun her hair was in. Her hair fell down past her shoulders and she massaged her scalp before resting her hands in her lap. "Are you alright?"
"What are we talking about here? Give me a rundown. Sell it to me, Jack" Jessie said softly. Jack gave her a look that said it was beneath him, but he understood.
"We save the world. We have some anonymous sponsors that will ensure that we all get paid handsomely" Jack said. "You can still write your books." He paused, watching her for a reaction. Her left eye twitched and her lips went flat. "I can take care of any paperwork so you're legal to work here, AND you get to see this handsome face every day." Her brows flicked upwards in amusement. "Is there something else that would sweeten the pot?"
Jessie's eye went from the stack of files on the desk up to the smiling man's face. She shook her head 'no'.
"I suppose I should look for housing" Jessie finally said. Jack's smile widened and he moved around his desk. He opened a drawer and fingered through some files until he pulled out an information packet.
"Fill it out and get it back to me" Jack said. The packet was thick.
"You're lucky I'm single" Jessie mused flipping through the pages.
"Why is that?" Jack asked.
"Moving and taking on a job at a whim? That's not something most people would do" Jessie replied. She pulled a pen from her bag and started filling out the packet.