Forever Constant
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with Torchwood.
Chapter 7: 1907
"You haven't aged," he said, sitting down across the table. "You should be at least 20 by now, but you haven't aged a day."
She watched his expression carefully as he spoke. It wasn't really like he was asking a question, just making a casual observation. "You don't seem surprised," she told him when he'd finished.
"I'm not," he answered. "Actually, if it had turned out you really were as young as you look, that might have surprised me."
Tilting her head slightly to one side, she asked. "And why is that?" She remembered feeling the same, when she had first seen that he was no older after ten years. She wondered if the reason was the same.
He didn't speak for a few seconds. "Because you...you're different. You're different and I don't know why."
She smiled, satisfied. It was exactly the answer she'd expected. "You don't age, either," she pointed out. "It's more than that, though, with you. You don't age – and you can't die."
He nodded slowly, "I can't. But why not?" She didn't answer, only shaking her head. Suddenly, he leaned forward conspiratorially. "Listen. Those cards of yours – I don't think they really tell the future." She started to protest, but he quickly went on. "I think what the really do is form a psychic medium between you and whoever you're reading them for. You probably don't know what that means - " She didn't, and was slightly disturbed that he might know more about her craft than she did. " – but I'm not going to try explaining it.
"However, if I'm right, then it means you should be able to use them to look into the past as easily as you do the future. More easily, even. So here's my question: What happened to me in the past? Why can't I die?" He finished and sat back again.
Intrigued, she took out her tarot cards. She'd never thought to use them to solve the mystery of the different man before. And no one had ever asked for information about the past, either. She wasn't sure how well it would work, but was quite willing to try it.
She laid the cards on the table carefully, focusing on finding the answer to his question in them. "You first died fighting an enemy of all the universe…" she said slowly, glancing up at him for confirmation, which he gave in the form of an impatient nod. "And then…it was the Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf gave forever and took all else."
She fell silent and watched his reaction closely. "The Bad Wolf..." he mused quietly. "I might've known." After a few moments of thought, he added. "Is that all there is, then?"
She nodded.
"Well, it's something, anyway."
He left not long after that, but she stayed where she was for some time, thinking. She thought she knew, now, why he seemed so different from her. He was alive, so very much alive and always would be. The Bad Wolf had granted him eternal life – and eternal life had nothing to do with her, did it?
She wondered about this Bad Wolf. The cards had told her no more than the name. Whatever it was, though, she knew one thing for certain: it was the reason he would always be there.
A/N: So, I have a bit of a dilemma. I want them to meet about once a decade through the 20th century - no less than 10 times and no more than about 15 total. Unfortunately, I only have ideas for about 5 different meetings. So, you know what would be great? If you would leave suggestions for me in that review you're going to write! That would be really, really great. I'll give you a shout-out, if you do.
Speaking of shout-outs, thanks to IzzieJane for reviewing last chapter!
Please review!
