There Goes The Bride

When Tosh walks down the aisle, she considers that at one point in her life, she would have wanted to be the bride if Owen was the groom. However, she's very happy for her friend, and the man who occupies her thoughts is Andy. She decides that perhaps Andy deserves to know about Torchwood. All of her co-workers were in supportive and nurturing relationships where no one had to dance around work issues, and perhaps he could be of some use when dealing with the police. Andy has already seen so much, that surely he deserves to be told more about what she does.

Tosh and Andy exchange glances. She smiles, and so does he in spite of himself. She'll tell him everything… well, almost everything. She's not sure if she's ready to talk to him about her time in a UNIT prison. Tosh worries how he'll react - if he'll even believe her.

As soon as the string quartet starts playing "Here Comes the Bride," Owen straightens himself up. Rory enters the chapel on Jack's arm, and Owen feels as though he will explode from joy. In a light airy dress with a strappy, fitted bodice and a skirt that looks like some mad pastry chef decided to pipe a dome made of frosting around her legs. She wears a white satin scarf draped over head like a glamorous movie star. Suddenly, Owen just wants to get the whole ceremony over with. He wants to be married to her now.

In that moment, Rory doesn't care about being the center of attention in the room filled with fifty or so guests. Most of them are casual business contacts that she invited only to be polite. She glances briefly at the smiles on the faces of her friends. She focuses on the feel on Jack's strong arm and the look in her groom's eyes because those are the most important people in the chapel.

Meanwhile, in the basement of his home, Reginald pinpoints Jack and Rory's exact location. He holds his breath and flips a switch.

Jack and Ianto's eyes meet a split second before the bride and her uncle disappear into thin air. The ground begins to shake and the walls begin to crack. After a few, terrifying seconds, it stops.

"Is everyone all, right?" Gwen shouts.

"Rory? Rory?" Owen yells.

Ianto clutches his mother's hand, unable to comprehend what just happened.

Andy searches Tosh's face for answers, but she tells Gwen, "I'm going for my laptop."

Andy follows her out of the chapel and to the main house.

Despite the unexplained disappearance of her friend, the structural engineer on Rory's staff has a cool head and enough foresight to examine the walls. "Listen up," Nancy announces. "Starting with the back rows, I need everyone to leave in a quick and calm manner. Front rows can exit though the door behind the altar."

"You don't think it's going to collapse do you?" Gwen whispers to Nancy.

The structural engineer replies, "Not sure, but the building is old. I don't want to take any chances."

The UNIT guards begin to evacuate the people from the chapel. They separate the civilians from their officers and Torchwood. They leave no time for Colin nor his mother to offer the groom any words.

Owen stands at the alter in a daze. "This can't be happening," he mutters. "Someone tell me that this isn't happening."

Gwen tries to put her arm around Owen and tells her, "We need to get out of here, Owen."

"Don't bloody tell me what to do!" he shouts. "Where is my bride?"

"Owen, we are going to find out what happened to them. But right now, we need to keep our heads together," Gwen says. She looks at Ianto whose body is in the chapel, but his mind might as well be in the Void.

Rhys takes his fellow Welshman's arm and whispers, "Come on, mate. Let's get out."

Ianto doesn't say a word, but he allows Rhys and his mother to take him out of the chapel.

Owen pulls himself back together when he realizes that Rory would want him to keep his wits about him. She would want him to take the pragmatic route. He storms toward the door, but the ground begins to tremble again. He and Gwen take refuge under the arch doorway into the vicar's room, and they watch as the ground splits open, allowing three harpies emerge from the floor. With deafening screeches, they tear through the ceiling.

Although the ground is still shaking, Gwen and Owen run outside as fast as they can. before the earth swallows up the building. The UNIT guards shoot at the flying harpies with pistols without success while Owen, Gwen, Rhys and Ianto run back to the main house for cover.

"In the study!" Gwen commands as UNIT officers begin to escort the civilians into another room.

Rhys sighs in relief as he slams the door shut, but he can hear the sounds of the harpies shrieking outside and the gunfire of UNIT soldiers as they try to deal with the problem. The military officers gather around a speaker phone waiting for information from the hub. On the one hand, being surrounded by a number of competent people who can sort all of this out makes Rhys breathe easier, but what breaks his heart is the sight of a shell-shocked Owen and Ianto - who try, each in their own way, to restore some semblance of strength.

"What do we know so far?" Owen asks.

"We've picked up activity at a fork in the rift that up until now has been inactive for thirty-two years," the UNIT liaison reports from the hub.

"Since July 5, 1976?" Ianto asks.

"Yes," the liaison says.

"That was the day that Bertram signed up with Torchwood to begin his research. Jack told me about it once…"

The liaison continues, "The weaker path extending from that fork was sealed on premises by a version of the rift manipulator built by Bertram Templeton to keep the rift from extending in a new direction. According to our records the machine is in the cellar."

"Can you access blue prints for us and send it over?" Ianto says. "That should be file RMTMBT751976."

"How in the hell do you remember that?" Rhys asks in amazement.

"Archiving is in my blood," Ianto replies.

"Kevin! Kevin!" Reginald shouts as he tears into the room, escorted by two UNIT soldiers.

Gwen helps the elderly man into a chair and tells him, "Kevin is in the sitting room. He's being protected by soldiers. I think it's best if you stay in here for the time being."

"One of them has gotten into the foyer," one of the soldiers says. "It's sniffing around the room and tearing things apart."

Owen snatches up the print out as soon as it's ready, "I'm going to find Tosh and head into the cellar."

"I'll keep watch to make sure the coast is clear. Accessing CCTV," Ianto says. However, he discovers that part of the feed has been deactivated. He quickly hacks into the system so he can restore all cameras.

"What about that creature?" Reginald asks.

"That isn't going to stop me," Owen replies.

He tries to take the UNIT soldier's pistol, but the soldier tells him, "This thing is useless against those beasts."

Owen moves towards Reginald's gun rack and begins arming himself.

"Someone has already been down there," Ianto says. "The cellar is disorganized, and it looks like a door has been breached."

"I'm an old man. I can't move a wine rack alone," Reginald insists.

The statement raises the Welshman's suspicions, "I didn't say anything about a wine rack being moved."

xxxx

Leaving Gwen to sort out Reginald, Owen exits the room. Tosh and Andy are racing down the stair to the foyer.

Owen shouts at her, "Tosh! Basement!"

The doctor tosses a shotgun at the computer expert who catches it and cocks it.

"You know how to use that, I hope?" Andy asks.

"Tosh, to your left!" Ianto says into the Comm.

Tosh quickly blasts the harpy as it dive bombs at her.

Andy watches it crumple to the ground. Tosh tugs at him to run away, but the PC stares at it as it recovers and gets back up.

"We're not so easy to get rid of," it screeches.

The harpy attacks Andy and shoves him against the wall. Its hands begin to burn through the fabric of Andy's suit, scalding the PC's skin. Tosh shoots the creature, giving the PC enough time to escape. Together, they head into the hallway with Owen providing cover. Yet, even though his shots are accurate, the bullets only stun the creature for a few seconds before it springs back to health.

"What the hell were they?" Andy asks once he and the others have made it to the safety of the cellar.

"No really sure, but they look like harpies," Tosh replies as they enter the secret hallway.

Andy's eyes grow wide with disbelief. "Harpies? Like Ancient Greece harpies?"

"Well, maybe not Ancient Greek harpies," Tosh replies. As they enter the Templeton's old laboratory, she quickly sets up her laptop and says, "Well, Andy. You wanted to know more about what I do. Looks like you are about to find out."

xxxx

Inside the study, Ianto gasps as he watches the three creatures bow before Bilis Manger on the CCTV. The creepy old man looks directly into the camera and politely bows before disappearing. The creatures continue to tear apart the foyer as if looking for something.

Ianto advances to Reginald Templeton and asks menacingly, "Where are they?"

"Who?" the old man asks.

"Don't play the fool with me," Ianto growls.

Gwen tries to pull him away, "Ianto, please. Let me try first."

"Get that man away from me," Reginald says.

"His lover and his friend are gone. I'd say that he has plenty reason to be angry," Gwen says. "Now if you know anything about what happened to my friends, please tell us."

"I don't know where they are," Reginald says.

"Bilis Manger. Does that name mean anything to you?" Gwen inquires.

"No."

"Old man in a cravat?" Gwen asks.

"Where is my son?" Reginald demands.

"You mean the one you put in danger?" Ianto hisses.

"Gwen," Rhys calls out, "Those things are trying to get in here."

"Give us the stone!" the creature wails on the other side of the door.

"There was something about this house," Ianto mumbles to himself as he accesses the archives. "Jack said Hector did some security work for it."

"That lunatic!" Reginald exclaims.

"Do shut up!" Ianto bellows.

Rhys jumps in fright as one of them appears at the window.

"You can make all of this very, very easy," the harpy tells him. "JUST LET US IN!"

Ianto quickly types a code into the security panel, and as the harpy tries to break through the glass, it is shocked which causes its atoms to temporarily scatter. Once it is back together again, the harpy stumbles backwards and appears visibly weakened. This time, it doesn't recover quickly and staggers underneath a tree to rest.

Ianto calls Martha who is in the sitting room with the rest of the wedding party, "How is my family?"

"We're all still here," she replies.

"I'm putting up an electric fence around the room. Do not let anyone out for any reason!"

"Will this keep everyone safe?" Martha asks.

"I think so. Would you put on my mum, please?" the Welshman requests.

As soon as she gets the phone, Lillian says timidly, "Ianto?"

"Mum, listen carefully. Find a long piece of metal. Perhaps a fireplace poker. If one of those creatures comes after you, give it a shock."

"Okay," she says, but she sounds hesitant. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm in a safe room. Tell Granddad and Gran to protect themselves."

"Yes, son."

"And Mum. Stay with Martha."

"Yes, son."

"I love you, Mum."

"I love you, too. You'll get him back. He'll find a way to you. Now, do us proud," Lillian says.

Ianto hangs up after hearing exactly what he needed.

"Reginald won't talk until he sees Kevin," Gwen informs him.

"He can see his son on the CCTV," Ianto replies. "Of course, I didn't think he knew anything about the cellar. He was out of the country when Bertram and Hector did their work in the house."

"Did Jack ever tell you anything about a stone?" Gwen asks.

Ianto shakes his head, "No, but he would have told one of us about if it had some significance."

Gwen offers him a sad smile, "How are you holding up?"

"If I keep busy, I think I may keep myself from going out of my mind," the young man replies.

xxxx

Downstairs, Tosh reads a print out of rift activity, "It's stable. No new spikes. It's like it was activated just long enough for Rory and Jack to slip through the rift and for the harpies to get through. And then, the rift shut itself up. The manipulator is recording two sets of oscillations."

"What do they mean?" Owen asks.

"Still working on that," Tosh replies. "There was more work done to the manipulator after these blueprints were filed away. Looks like Bertram did a little research outside of Torchwood."

"I'll look through some of these old journals. Maybe Bertram left behind some notes," Owen suggests.

"Where did they go, Tosh?" Andy inquires.

"They could be anywhere in time or space," she replies. "But we have to find them. I don't know what will happen to Owen if we don't."

Andy is a ball of pent-up nerves himself. "All of this, Tosh," he rants. "All of this has been going on, and it's just another day at the office for you."

"I'm just as worried about my friends as anyone else, but it's my job to figure out how to get them back," she tells him. There's a glimmer of self doubt on her face, but Andy still picks up on it.

"Is it always this dangerous?" Andy asks timidly.

Gazing blankly at the blueprints and not at the PC, Tosh nods. Then, she looks up and caresses his face, "Are you okay?"

Andy can't bring himself to say anything. He shrugs, but he is obviously very traumatized.

xxxx

Gwen allows Reginald to see his son on the CCTV, and Martha assures him that they are all safe in the sitting room.

"Tell us what you know," Gwen demands.

"I merely wanted the house back before she married that man. I didn't know that all of this would happen," Reginald explains.

"But you wanted her gone," Gwen says. "Someone came along and promised you that would happen so you went along no questions asked."

"I did it for Kevin," the old man insists. "As soon as Imogene was put into the ground, out came this insolent child who began flouting the traditions that this family stood for. It was as if she just played the part of dutiful daughter until she got her hands on what she wanted. She's not loyal to the family - not like my son."

"She's loyal to Imogene and Bertram," Ianto says. "She still misses them."

"Well, she and Bertram and their little side projects… They have never invested the time in the company that Kevin and I do. There were years that Bertram never even saw his own office, but they expect to be able to dip their hands in the coffers to -"

"Do what?" Ianto demands. "Invest in projects that save lives?"

Gwen kneels next to Reginald and tells him, "With everything you've seen today, surely you understand that your brother saw that there are things out there that we don't understand, and sometimes there are forces that want to destroy us. He knew that he had to protect his planet."

"Ah, yes the noble Bertram… that defender of Earth who was willing to exploit his own brother's weakness to obtain the deed to this house."

"He made sure that the estate didn't fall into the wrong hands," Ianto argues.

"Do I fall under the category of the wrong hands?" Reginald asks. "I know that in my lifetime I have made mistakes - yes, I admit that those mistakes may have cost me this property - but do I have to continue to pay for them for the rest of my life? And to be reminded of those transgressions every time I see that brat… that brat who never showed me one ounce of respect once she got her hands on this house."

"Respect is a mutual thing. Did you ever show her any when she was growing up?" Ianto asks.

"You have to let Rory be who she is," Gwen adds.

"It doesn't matter what I've done because I can't reverse it," Reginald says to his captors. "That man gave me the instructions for the machine and gave me the list of coordinates, but I burned that information. It doesn't matter what you do to me. I got rid of that little bitch just before she got married, and as long as she's gone, this house will belong to my son, Kevin."

"So you don't even know where they are?" Gwen asks in shock.

"Even if I did know, my dear, I'd never tell."

xxxx

Rory gasps as she breaks through the surface of the salt water. As she treads water, she looks around at the burning wreckage of a ship, searching anxiously for Jack.

"Rory?" he calls from a life boat.

She swims to it, and he pulls her up. They watch the dead bodies of the passengers float along side of them and the crowd gather at the shore. Rory takes off her jewelry and wraps it up in her scarf. Jack tosses his wristwatch in the bundle, but keeps his wrist strap on.

"And what shall I do in Illyria?" Rory jokes bitterly.

As the men, pull the boat to the shore, they turn nervously away from the bride who is revealing too much of her arms, neck, and chest. A woman drapes a blanket over her.

Puritans, Rory thinks to herself. They are literally Puritans.

She looks at Jack, and she knows that he is thinking the same thing as he stares at the Colonial American town.

As the women try to lead Rory away from him, Jack shouts, "The girl stays with me."

"What's this girl to you?" a man inquires.

"She's my charge. I brought her up and educated her," Jack says.

The man reacts in confusion, "This savage half-breed?"

"She needs proper clothing," another man insists. "I don't care if she is savage. She needn't dress like one."

The women pull her away towards one of the buildings.

"What manner of clothes are you wearing, sir?" a third man asks.

"New fashions from France," Jack says, hoping that his lie will be convincing.

"They are all wet," a young man says. He solidly built with dark hair and kind, green eyes. "My father, God rest him, was his size. I'll see to his appearance."

"Very well, Nathaniel," the minister says. He turns to Jack and says, "Follow the blacksmith."

Just like Jack expected, the young man lives in a one room home with a few pieces of furniture and a small hearth for cooking. There's a loft overhead where Nathaniel sleeps. At one time, the home could have held an entire family, but Jack guesses that the blacksmith lives alone.

The young man opens a trunk and tosses the clothes at the Captain. When Jack unzips his trousers, Nathaniel watches intently. However, his gaze is decidedly non-sexual.

"What is the manner in which you fasten your trousers?" he asks.

"It's called, Le Zee-pair," Jack replies, trying to make it sound as French as possible.

Nathaniel takes the trousers and plays with the fastening device. In Jack's experience, most people are more preoccupied with what is in the trousers instead of the trousers themselves, but Nathaniel appears to be captivated by the feat of technology. If it were Ianto... Jack closes his eyes and thinks about the Welshman back home who is worried sick. Or perhaps, in Ianto's time, Jack's found him already. All that timey-wimey stuff is so hard to figure out.

"Do you travel much?"

"I'll say."

"That girl you were with?" Nathaniel asks. There is a gleam in the boy's eyes as well as a hint of a smile. "Is she really a half-breed?"

"Does it matter?" Jack responds.

"She seems so exotic… exotic and..." Nathaniel struggles to find the right word. "Courtly," he finally says.

Jack smiles, "Well, I've tried my best to give her a solid education."

Nathaniel is blushing so he quickly changes the subject. "The town elders believe that the shipwreck was the work of witchcraft. They say that hell's fire caused the gunpowder on the ship to burn. There has been much talk of witches lately, and they even hang Sarah Good tomorrow. She was found to be one of them."

If there was anywhere an eccentric alien like Rory might not survive, they found it. Jack can feel his heart race as he realizes that they are in Salem, Massachusetts at the height of the witch trials.