"Your impatience surprises me…" Benton had been chasing the Brig all day, he seemed preoccupied "Is there something happening you're not telling us?"
The Brigadier was receiving pressure from all sides, the incident that left one of his best staff on leave was the exact incident that was still haunting him. The paperwork was painful, he was forced to push his team to the limit in order to clean up any traces. Now, he had a new concern that the very woman who knew the most information was the one starting to hide things from him. He couldn't help but wonder if letting her leave was the right thing.
He snapped under the stress and told her she was to reveal what she was hiding today, against Harry's suggestions. He admitted that after he had hung up, a sting of guilt came over him…perhaps he handled that badly, but he wasn't the sort of man to be gentle or soft. He also didn't see Sarah telling him before more questions arose.
He was tempted to order looking through the file of Sullivan's desk, he hated not knowing what was going on with his own people. It made his question his capabilities as a leader.
Perhaps, even he was affected by what happened.
He had been drinking a little more recently, more than usual. His wife was often telling him he could dangerously affect his health, but after everything he saw and the things he couldn't talk about…it helped ease some of the stress for a while. Blowing up the ship that hovered above London wasn't a decision to be made lightly, and he believed after all the attempts to make peace resulted in more death and destruction. He believed she made the right choice when she was at that console, she did the only thing she could in her power.
And yet, she still holds regrets…perhaps it's because he didn't know her on a more personal level he didn't understand what went through her head.
When the receptionist finally confirmed she was at the gates with her little friend, he immediately went back to his professional face. He decided to lead them in his office himself, after all it was finally a moment where he could normally take a break. Shame, he was now spending it questioning these two in whatever mischief they were doing while out of his gaze.
There was something about that man though, he wasn't sure why but despite barely knowing him the few minutes it took to welcome him into his office he felt like he had spoken with many different parts of him. With them sitting in the chairs before his desk, the incredibly energetic man was fast to speak first.
"If I may start I just want to say, you did an excellent job running all this on your own." He was practically beaming "I have no doubt the higher-ups give you a hard time, though. All those cover-ups and being the ones blamed when things go horribly wrong…I never knew how you had the patience."
Allister was curious, this man seemed to know at least a little bit about him. However, he didn't know from where, information on himself was limited and even if he did find something he had to be working for someone else. This made him a bit more cautious.
"Thank you, but can we stick to the matter at hand? Miss. Smith, who is this man?" He looked almost a little cold, perhaps she did push away the topic a little too hard.
"He's uhm…" She thought for a moment in order to find a place to begin "You see he is-:"
"I'm Gallifreyan, at least…half of me is." James interrupted almost immediately in order to save her the trouble. With the Master the high council being their first experience, it was probably best if he displayed himself to be as harmless as possible "I'm James Chesterton, I have been exiled after the Time War to a universe I am entirely unfamiliar with. You could say I stole a spaceship and ran off." He smiled as though he was passing it off as a joke, Sarah's head fell into her hands. "Also, it'll be harder for me to find a life of Gallifrey. You see, Human-Gallifreyan people are rare within their own rights, but definitely not considered acceptable by any means."
"So…" The Brigadier scanned the rather dashing man with bright eyes and sunny smiles. "Even if you weren't exiled you were planning to stay on Earth…? And at that, you have a record of misbehaving."
"Well, you would too if you were told you were going to spend the rest of your days sitting in a chair and barking orders around. Nevermind the complications of this body being the way it is." He answered, he honestly wanted the slightest glimmer of the Brig he knew, but he had to also keep in mind the chances of how different he could be. "I don't wish to cause trouble here. It wasn't even the Timelords who placed me here…" He swallowed hard "They're all gone."
It took a moment, for him it was only a little while ago they came to collect the Master. From what this man was saying, that entire pompous race was all wiped off the universe. From what he saw in their level of power, he at first couldn't quite let it sink in. "You're telling me they've almost gone extinct…?"
"I don't count." James stated "In this universe, they are extinct."
His earlier expression faded, no…that's right he didn't consider himself the last. Whoever the Doctor was in that universe was the last. In this one, he had no right to carry that title. He was some strange hybrid that was weaker and more human than him. He may share their blood and most of their organs, but he definitely wasn't fit as the last Gallifreyan in his eyes.
He almost gripped his chest where his single heart resided. The proof that he was no longer a part of that man, no wonder he had such an identity crisis…he couldn't tell who he was anymore.
There was a glimmer of sympathy in The Brigadier's eyes, whatever anger was there had faded enough for him to give a deep breath. "I see, I'm very sorry Mr. Chesterton." He responded "Since you're half-human, I believe it's safe to say you have a right to be on this planet."
Sarah never looked so relieved.
"But…" He raised a finger "I can't have you running around and risking causing a ruckus with your alien anatomy. You will have to come here for medical attention and any needs that involve keeping you as hidden as possible. I cannot guarantee I can protect you otherwise." His gaze turned on Sarah, he didn't understand…why didn't she just come out with this before? This was really that simple, with Harry's records he did have a right to stay on this planet. She did both confuse and irritate him. "Miss. Smith…" He started, he could almost see the distrust "I'll leave him in your hands. Please report back anything strange this time."
It surprised her, with how distant they had become she didn't think he would outright decide to leave it all to her. She wondered if she was dreaming some sort of insanely successful scenario where they didn't have to argue, but right here…she was being trusted with him. She honestly thought after everything that happened he might be far warier.
"Yes sir…" She replied with some slight confusion in her tone. "Anything else?"
"Oh no…" He replied "That's enough, I think if you've had a handle on him now you'll be just fine." He wanted her to trust her boss, he wanted her to report to him more often. It was hard enough to work with her as it is, and yet she was such an excellent asset he was reluctant to fire her as quickly as he would others. She would only go off and work on her own anyway, and that was far more dangerous and frustrating…they already had to fight with Torchwood he didn't need a particularly determined journalist and now half-Gallifreyan companion joining the chase.
"Thank you, I'll keep up the good work." She was sincere, no sarcasm, it was completely sincere. Maybe Harry was right, he could get somewhere by just trusting her on her own a little bit sometimes.
He gave a nod signalling them to leave, he said he goodbyes and was left alone again in his office. This was a strange turn of events, that was for sure. He didn't completely want to trust James but at the same time…there was this feeling.
That he had met him somewhere before.
"That went well…" James said on their journey back, it was pretty quiet apart from the sound of her car. He missed driving, though he didn't entirely remember how to do it, he had to admit he enjoyed those long drives in Bessy with the wind in this hair and the sun in the skies. It had been an incredibly long time and couldn't help but to feel nostalgic.
"Yes, it did." Her response was a little quiet "I was expecting a bit more of a fight there, you're right he was softer with you."
"Yes…he was." His reply was also quiet, he wondered if they were both tired. "That's one less stress for you."
He was right, that was one less stress. She suddenly felt so tired when the tense emotions finally dropped. Her feelings however, tensed up again when she thought of what might be waiting on the computer at home, she could ignore the work emails for now but the message from her best friend? Why was she so afraid of reading that message?
She shouldn't really be feeling this way, at least not about someone she supposedly cared about.
It was when she decided as they arrived home to just rip off the band-aid, she let James get to work of fixing her still broken TV before heading upstairs. Waiting for the damn thing to load became irritating, but mostly because it gave her too much of a chance to back out. Once computers get faster, it would be easier to do such a thing. When she went online she almost backed out again, then she felt guilty for pushing away her friend like this…she growled at herself for being so weak and just opened the new message she got near lunch.
It was…an apology.
She apologized for upsetting her, apologized for everything…that perhaps she misplaced her worry a bit. She said she had thought it out long and hard and that all her difficult times, she said she should have been a better best friend. Sarah was relieved, the tense feelings finally let go. She even smiled a bit before all her negative thoughts about Andrea had finally been slightly forgotten, she wrote back saying she might be free, they could talk for a little bit since her new roommate might be busy with his new 'gig' in the afternoon anyway.
It was then they finally started talking, writing to each other a little more. Sarah opened up a little bit, she did reveal that the military work was hard enough, that she was on leave because she had to deal with something that lead to a few difficult decisions. Though she had to lie about James, saying that he was only there to help pay rent and keep an eye on her helped. She even went on to say that working to together made it easier for him who didn't drive either. He was a musician who liked to do commissions for restaurants or occasions, he also knew how to tinker with the electronics and she even laughed writing about her busted her TV was right now.
It was only until half way they moved it to a chat client, and she read over her message and realized something, yes…this was why people thought they were together. She talked about him until her messages became several paragraphs. She simply thought it was because, well she didn't have too much happening right now. She didn't stay there long and even if they worked together, she lied that driving him there and back prevented her from becoming stir-crazy.
It had been so long since they spoke like this, she felt like a teenager again…telling her confident, extroverted friend about a boy and then they'd move onto complaints about their daily life. It finally felt like things were getting better, it finally felt like her life was finally something she had some control over.
She then had to leave, she told Andrea to come over tomorrow…but she had to remember that James would be back by evening and he would be tired, she joked about Sarah being affectionate towards him, even trying to edge her towards admitting that may have liked him at least a little.
Sarah didn't honestly know.
She had never felt it in so long that she didn't entirely notice, and right now she didn't want to confuse herself. So, she said she really had to go and make sure he didn't do anything else, she finally got to leave her room.
Somehow, he seemed brighter to her today…
Harry couldn't stand but to look at any more paperwork, neither could he stare at a computer screen. It had been an incredibly long day, he appreciated the current peace but at the same time it could make things drag. He almost signed off for the evening before his phone started ringing, it was strange…nobody should be calling right now. He answered with slight caution, it wouldn't be the first time someone tried anything over the phone.
That Master and his telepathy caused quite the chaos.
"Harry!" The voice was the man Sarah called Jamie, at the very least it wasn't a threatening call "Do you know if the Brig is still hiring?"
He blinked a few times, he hadn't fallen asleep at his desk and started dreaming, had he? "N-no, not as far as I'm aware…why do you ask?"
"I was just thinking of sending in my application, that's all." He answered, his bright tone not at all faltering "Commissions are nice but being paid decently is pretty tough, I also found some people were pretty rude and asked me to play for 'exposure'. In all my travels through space I have never once seen 'exposure dollars' used in any form to keep a roof over one's head."
"I'll see what I can do…?" He was too tired to truly question his intentions, not that there were any bad ones from this man to begin with. He hated to seem insulting to him, but from the way Sarah described him he would have forgotten any malicious intent before he actually went through with it all.
"Thanks, Harry!" He cheerfully responded with a chirp in his voice "If he has any doubts, tell him that unlike the humans here; I have knowledge far beyond what you have all currently collected. I'm offering my services."
That would cause a bit less of a headache, Harry had to admit. No more guessing, they have someone here who could explain what was going on far more quickly than they could with their limit human resources. That, and they already suspected Torchwood had their own alien mind contributing, they knew almost a little too much about the aliens that show up with bad intentions than they did within the first day. Perhaps the Brigadier would merely take it as an advantage.
Despite what happened last time, they still kept their belief that guns should be a last resort at least. Even if they carried them and even pointed them towards those they were attempting to arrest, if the person is sentient and attempting to talk them out of killing doesn't work, it would be then they would shoot.
It was partly Sarah's influence, despite the way she may act she didn't seem to be a fan of all the guns. Which was funny really, the one time she had to use one she was quite the sharpshooter.
"Now, if you don't mind I need to pack up now and head home. I'll bother him tomorrow morning when he hasn't locked himself up in his office." He sighed as he gathered up his things, the cheerful voice on the other end gave his goodbyes before finally hanging up. He guessed things went perfectly fine today then if he actually wanted to come back. Wasn't Sarah coming back within the next week anyway? That would be interesting…
Too bad the last hiring spot was taken by someone else, though he could probably make room for a new scientist. They were actually scarce in UNIT, he tried to ask why but nobody had any answers on the matter. Perhaps there weren't enough that could take on a job where everything they knew would literally be turned upside down, it was a shame Dr. Shaw left but she had to go and do far more brilliant things for the world that didn't involve being stuck in these labs being underappreciated all day.
He took of his lab coat, put on his bag and finally let go of his workface as he left the building. No more Dr. Sullivan, just…Harry. Normal human who knows nothing about aliens Harry.
It was a relief, and yet he ended up drinking the same people he worked with. He believed this happened as it was easier to speak with the people who knew what you were going through. Tonight however, he was planning just to stay home. He could only hope that he won't get called in again tonight.
The Brigadier remained in his office far longer than intended. He should have been home hours ago, his wife would most definitely have his head when he finally returns.
However, since what happened he hadn't entirely been able to bounce back. He had been drinking more than normal, the guilt had been ripping him apart as he felt he had failed as a leader. He couldn't even comfort one of his own comrades after such a traumatizing situation. It was shameful of him, to say the least.
He had finished his brandy on a sour note, that if he had been there just a second in time he could have pushed the button himself. Nobody would be blamed but him, he could take another heavy burden…he thought. Now the government was on their backs and there were questions being thrown all about the place. Their go-to journalist wasn't there to create a story as she was at the heart of the storm, so he had come up with their own excuses.
He was still talking to officials, being asked why it wasn't handled differently. He wasn't exactly a tyrant, he couldn't go forcing people in the centre of the situation to clean it up on top of it all. Besides, he made sure all the evidence was gone, Benton was swift in repeating his order and thus had gotten a promotion to sergeant for the way he handled the situation. He deserved it, not many men could pull off what he did when most of the other leaders were scurrying about.
Then there was Torchwood…fucking Torchwood. Their little policy of 'if it's alien it's ours' always felt off to him. But he feared they were starting to favour them now with the way things are heading.
Of course, there was this little group he liked better. By some captain that liked toe flirt with anything that had a pulse. He tried not to judge but…could he at least be professional? Allister was starting to become rather jaded with these groups strolling their way into the alien defence scene after all.
He was disturbed by someone swinging open his door, if it wasn't an emergency he often found that quite rude. Especially when he was busy trying to clear his head.
"Sir, we have a problem." A familiar voice rang through his ears…Benton? Shouldn't he be home by now? "Several men have gone mad! They just started shooting at us as we began to leave base." He then explained, alright The Brigadier was back to being in his usual mindset.
He immediately got out of his seat, this was exactly what they needed when they were already being judged from every corner…
