A/N I'm just going to apologise for the long wait and any future ones now. I wish I could promise that it will never happen again but I don't lie. But here is the chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I will try to update sooner next time, but it definitely won't be less than a week!
"We're getting something!" Tosh cried out, her eyes expertly looking over the screen. "It's a transmission," she confirmed. All of the Torchwood team had gathered around her at the first sign of a signal from the rift, leaving a slumbering Doctor next to door.
"Wait a sec…" Tosh bit her lip, frantically clicking things until a small window appeared. The mouse hovered over the play button.
"We want the Doctor," a low gravelly voice hissed out. The team were silent for a few seconds to see if anything else was added to the message. Then Jack jumped up and ran out. He came back in a moment later, a relieved expression on his face.
"He's fine," Jack said. He didn't need to specify who. "Just sleeping," His face hardened. "They may think the Doctor's vulnerable right now, but they thought without me." With that statement he brusquely strode up to Tosh and sat down next to her.
"Trace that signal. We need to know what we're dealing with,"
"On it," Tosh replied, her fingers dancing out experience patterns on the keyboard.
"Tell me when you find something," Jack answered. He looked over at Ianto, Gwen and Owen. "We want the hub in total lockdown from now." He ordered. "Nothing goes in; nothing goes out until we find out who wants the Doctor and why. And they've been… disposed of."
"Jack… Don't you think you're taking this a little seriously?" Gwen asked, and her expression mirrored Ianto's.
"No!" Jack snapped, glaring at her, though a small part of him acknowledged that the anger was irrational. "You don't know how many things out there want to kill him! And he keeps on doing what he does, without a thank you, he's-" Jack broke off and stormed out of the room, trying to keep calm.
"We'll do it Jack, of course we will, it's just that sometimes we want you to explain things…" Gwen's voice called from behind the door. Jack ignored her and sat down beside the Doctor.
"Oh, Doctor. Why do people have to choose this time to try and kidnap you or god knows what? You need rest, and care, and not… not some other probably alien invasion you have to fight off!" Jack drew lazy circles over the unresponsive man's hand. "Don't worry, Doc. I'll deal with whatever's happening at the moment, O.K?" Jack sighed. The Doctor's eyebrows knitted a little but otherwise there was no signal that he had heard anything.
"Get some sleep," Owen was standing in the doorway. Jack was about to protest, but instead stood up. This was the second time people had relieved him from Doctor – watching. The time lord was unconscious anyway, and he did need some sleep. He cringed in horror at the thought of someone trying to steal the Doctor away and himself being too tired to defend his friend.
Jack opened bleary eyes and panicked for a second before remembering that the Doctor was safe and sound next door. He stood up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants with a white t shirt, barely pausing to check his reflection in the mirror before hurrying off. What awaited him next door was not what he had expected.
The Doctor was once again huddled in the corner, like he had been when he first came to Torchwood. The fear in his eyes hurt to look at. And Owen was standing in the middle of the room, innocently holding a black tape recorder.
"Owen?" Jack asked, determined not to make any judgements before he actually knew what had happened.
The medic looked at Jack unashamedly. "I found it a bit odd that after an injured man turns up on our doorstep some aliens-"
"We don't know for sure that the voice was an alien, Owen," Jack reminded him, and then motioned for him to continue.
"Anyway I thought it might be linked. So I played back the recording to the… Doctor. It had a pretty big effect," Owen had the nerve to smile broadly with this last comment.
Jack didn't know whether to be angry or happy that they had found out some more information. He was a mixture of both. Owen's crude way of finding things out was certainly… Successful. Jack decided not to say anything. Instead he turned to the Doctor.
"Did the people on the recording do this to you?" Jack asked the time lord. It was like speaking to a frightened trembling brick wall. Jack felt an unexpected surge of anger. He moved forward and grabbed the Doctor by the shoulders, shaking him a little bit.
"Did they do this?" He shouted in the Doctor's face. The Doctor helplessly writhed in Jack's grip before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
"Shit, I'm so sorry Doc," the reality of what he had done overthrew him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"
A/N Evil little cliffhanger there! Sorry about the short chapter, but if I hadn't ended it there it would have been too long! But since I did that I can confidently say that the next update will actually not be too long away. I can't speak for any after that…
Please review! Thoughts, ideas and corrections will be very appreciated by moi.