Title: Gone Today, Here Tomorrow (Chapter 4/?)
Author: CSIGeekFan
Rating: Teen for language
Disclaimer: BBC owns Torchwood.
Spoilers: Through CoE (Series 3)
Summary: Jack returns to Torchwood two years after the events of CoE.
Author's Notes: I always appreciate feedback. I hope you enjoy.

X X X

"It seems I've missed out on a few chases these last weeks," Gwen said, taking a sip of her coffee and leaning back in the boardroom chair. "You should have called me on more than one occasion, but do you?" As Jack attempted to look innocent, she frowned and sarcastically, "Nooooooo. Of course not!"

"You know, you'd be more involved in everything going on around here if you showed up at four in the morning," Jack said with a grin as he popped a piece of muffin in his mouth. "That's when all the action occurs."

Gwen rolled her eyes, chuckled, and winked. "Oh, but I get action of m'own, Jack."

"Then maybe I'll join you, huh?" Jack asked, waggling his brows. "Think Rhys would like that?"

The incredulous look on her face had him laughing, but the banter was interrupted by the sound of an alarm, garnering their attention. In an instant, they raced toward the central work stations.

"Jack!" Lois shouted, "come here." As he and Gwen approached, Lois tapped on a few keys and said, "Remember those signals from a few weeks ago? They're back. Same place, too."

"Let's go hunt," Jack said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Let's see what we find."

"I'll notify Johnson," Lois said, tapping on keys and staring at the monitor. The woman could multi-task almost as well as Tosh. And the level of faith she put in the team damn near humbled Jack. Sure, he'd seen her hesitate from time to time, but then she'd charge straight into the fray.

When she turned and yelled, "Jack?" he paused in his typically grand exit.

She didn't smile when she said, "Be careful."

Then he and Gwen were running to the SUV. It wasn't like the first time the energy signs had come through the rift; it wasn't the pre-dawn hours of the day. For days Lois had been dedicating herself to tracking the source of those ten signals. The artifact she'd been so intent on and moaning about of late had been put aside, because something came through the rift, only to disappear. Apparently, Lois found that more intriguing than figuring out the heritage for some piece of metal.

Once on their way, Jack flicked on the blue flashing light, speeding past cars. At ten o'clock, he didn't even want to think how crowded the parking garage would be – probably full to capacity.

And Jack didn't believe in coincidence. If something was showing up at the same place, the consequences could be disastrous.

"Johnson!" he barked into the comm. "You're at UNIT headquarters, right?"

"Yeah," she replied, "but I'm heading your way now."

Jack felt Gwen's eyes land on him, and squirmed a bit. Then he sucked in a deep breath, glanced at the curious look on her face, and ground his teeth. He really, really hated having to ask for it. "Tell UNIT I need them to shut the area down."

"Will do. Out," Johnson replied, sounding a little weary. Jack didn't envy her the task, and for once was semi-glad Torchwood had an 'in' at UNIT. They could take care of some things a lot faster – and with a little more patience.

Still feeling Gwen's gaze on him, he sighed, gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white and swiftly scowled at her.

"Wow," Gwen said with a grin on her face, "it's unseasonably warm, considering hell just froze over."

"Shut up, Gwen."

X X X

They arrived fifteen minutes before UNIT, and once again they were too late.

"The ten are gone," Lois said from her position within the confines of the hub. "One strong signal is coming through, though."

"What's going on?" Gwen murmured, holding onto the rift energy detector. "I'm picking up traces of activity all over the place."

"I know," Jack said, spinning in a circle and taking in the concrete around him. The smell of exhaust tickled his nose and he grimaced.

"Wait!" Striding quickly, she held out the device, staring at it as she moved. "I think I've found it!"

There, on the other side of a concrete column, she bent down and picked up a ring. The slight glow given off gave her pause and she contemplated slipping the ruby-encrusted object on her little finger…

"Stop!" Jack said, fisting his hand around hers. "Give it to me."

Dropping it in a bag, he looked around once again. Nothing seemed out of place. Methodically, he began to look from car to car until the UNIT agents filed in, led by Johnson.

"Captain Jack Harkness, this is Colonel Wellman," Johnson said by way of introduction.

Addressing the middle-aged man in UNIT garb, Jack said, "Colonel, I want this whole area shut down within a block radius."

"Captain, that's not possible," Wellman replied. "There are a lot of businesses around here. We can't just shut people down for the day."

"I wasn't talking for the day," Jack replied. "It's closed until we figure out what's going on."

"Captain, you don't have the authority…"

"Yes, actually, I do," Jack said, stepping toe-to-toe with the man. Looking down into glaring brown eyes, he watched the colonel frown and his roundish face turn red. "If you have a problem with that, then I'll clear it myself."

"Fine," Wellman sputtered. "But expect a call from my superior."

X X X

Once back in the hub, Jack sat spinning in a chair, while Lois, Gwen and Johnson looked over the ring. Lois, used to having space to roam, mutter, and analyze finally turned her head to the right. The sarcasm in her voice made Jack laugh when she finally asked, "Would you like to get a little closer?"

Grinning from ear to ear, he watched Johnson and Gwen both sheepishly back away a little. That pretty creature sure had a backbone.

"Got anything on it?" Jack asked, continuing to spin and spin in the chair.

"If you lot would bugger off, I might be able to work," she muttered under her breath. "You're nothing but a right nuisance."

"That, my dear, is because you're cranky," he replied, standing up and wobbling a bit. Immortal or not, he still got dizzy when he spun. Shooing the other two away, he slung an arm over her shoulder, gave her a wink, and kissed her full on the lips – leaving her blinking rapidly. "I think you'd be less cranky if you spent more time out with boys your own age, and less time locking your brain into the computer."

"Yeah, well, stop bringing me all this damn stuff and I might," she muttered, although the small smile on her lips and the flush of her cheeks belied any real gruffness. "Let me do my job. Then maybe I'll have time to go find a boyfriend."

Heaving a purposely loud sigh, he backed away, and said, "All right. We'll leave you for a bit. But in a few hours go find a boy, have a nice shag, and get some sleep."

Jack, Johnson, and Gwen walked away to the sound of Lois laughing.

X X X

She'd taken his advice to heart, Jack noted days later. For the past few mornings she'd arrived at work promptly on time – for her that would be seven o'clock, while the Johnson and Gwen tended to roll in closer to eight. Sitting back and just watching, he knew she was aware of his presence, although he didn't feel the need to nag. He certainly did when he could get a reaction out of her, but that was for fun.

Propelling himself off the wall against which he'd been leaning, Jack wandered down a couple flights of steps. He'd been avoiding the archives – not so much because it had been Ianto's domain but because he was afraid to see the disaster created in the younger man's stead. Ianto had been fastidious to say the least. Smirking, Jack thought, More like anal retentive.

Stepping into the storage area, he noted boxes shoved against walls with Gwen's scribbles on them. Nothing seemed in order. He really needed to find someone to start tracking all of this. And he needed a medic on the team.

"It's a bloody mess," he muttered at the sound of Johnsons' boots on the concrete floor. "Care to help me clean?"

Johnson, standing in the doorway, purposefully stepped inside.

"Well, it could be worse," she said, frowning at the mess. There was a reason she didn't frequent the rooms in archives.

Picking up a box, she popped off the top and stared at the paperwork inside. All of it was jumbled, and she recognized her own handwriting. A case of two dozen Weevils a year ago had resulted in one unfortunate death, six serious injuries, and a scare for the suburban family where the creatures had hidden. Basements could be wonderful things – but for a family of five, the basement had become a place of nightmares.

Crouched down, she looked up at Jack and stared for a moment. Eventually, she said, "I had ambitions. I wanted to have an influence, and the only way to accomplish that was to be on the inside."

"I can admire ambition, but not at the cost of the principles we're here to protect," he replied. "You're a good fighter – well trained. But we're not the bloody military here, and I expect you to use your brains."

Silence reigned as he studied her. She could handle herself in a fight; while he'd seen her hesitate – struggling to decide on a course of action – he wondered just how different he'd been fifty years ago. A hundred years ago.

Grudgingly he said, "You have potential."

He might not trust her, but she'd proven herself capable. Maybe in time…

The sound of his comm coming to life brought him up straight.

"I need everyone in the board room. NOW!" Lois yelled. In his ear, he could hear her whispering, "Oh my God," over and over.

Launching himself up a series of staircases and down the corridor, he violently shoved open the doors, bursting into the room. His heart hammered at the panic in Lois's voice; and the sight of Gwen, ghostly pale and sinking into a chair, brought him to a dead stop.

"I found something," Lois said, her voice sounding strangled. Tapping a few keys, she brought up an energy source reading. "I spliced the two incidents of the ten energy signals together. I found a code – morse code – hidden deep."

Her hands shook when she pressed a button.

An electronic voice began to read.

We.

We.

We.

Sinking down into the chair at the head of the table, Jack felt every ounce of blood drain away. In its place, his nerves shook violently, leaving him breathless. The image of Steven shaking and dripping with blood flashed in front of him, only to be followed by Ianto in his arms, dying.

"No," he whispered, anguish and fear coursing through him. "Not again."

Then the ominous voice echoed through the room one last time.

We Are.