Title: Gone Today, Here Tomorrow (Chapter 9/10)
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

Sitting in the back of the SUV, Jack silently thanked the absent Doctor for bringing Martha into his life.

UNIT had shown up, with what Jack considered its sub-grade equipment (no one could beat Torchwood on that score), and tried taking over. Jack and Martha had managed to forestall the stampede until Brigadier General Newpost arrived. Then all hell had broken loose, because the damn commanding officer had decided he knew best. Apparently being a middle-age desk jockey was all he needed to qualify.

His ineptitude had been bad enough, but then Newpost had said, "We won't be letting you make a muck of this like you did the 456."

Jack had seen red. Literally. Had it not been for Martha stepping between the two men and pushing with all her might, things would have been much, much worse. As it was, the General ended up with a black eye from Jack's sharp right jab.

And the PM had been tele-conferenced in by they – just in time to see the entire thing go down, including the General's comment. She'd taken one look at the man in question, squinted her eyes angrily, and then ordered him to stand down. Jack held no misgivings that she would push Jack out if he pissed her off, but at least he wouldn't have to go to go toe-to-toe with her at the moment.

Nearly half an hour later, and he'd barely begun to calm down, sitting under the open hatch of the SUV. His blood still hammered through his system, though, and he didn't think the insult would ever fade.

When he felt the back of the vehicle dip, Jack sat up a little straighter and let his eyes flutter open. Glancing over, he smirked at Martha, who rolled her eyes in that lovely dramatic fashion of hers.

"I know, I know," he said with a shrug. "I could've blown it."

"Yes, you could have," she replied, nudging him and scooting closer; snuggling into his side. She closed her own eyes when he wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I didn't, though," he eventually murmured, enjoying the closeness of her very feminine body.

"No, you didn't," she tiredly replied. For a few minutes, they contentedly sat side-by-side. Her heat seeped through Jack's trademark coat, and he let his eyes drift closed again.

After a bit of comforting, Martha asked, "When can we expect the next round?"

"Anytime now," Jack sighed in resignation.

X X X

Six hours after their last appearance, Lois rolled over on her chair and yelled, "They're back!"

Feeling useless, Jack simply waited and watched for the nodes and currents to appear once more. It galled him to just stand by and do nothing. Yet there was little he could accomplish. But that's precisely what he did – he and Martha stood near where the ten nodes would appear and waited.

Flipping up a large set up speaker and dialing a few knobs on her gizmos, Lois brought up the static signal and joined them. She wanted to see this up close. The UNIT brass watched from fifty feet away, looking none too happy about it.

"Johnson, Gwen!" Jack yelled, and watched as the two women – with intense looks on their faces – walked in from the street. It always struck Jack odd that Gwen – a pixie-ish, stubborn woman – could look so much like a warrior. She did though, considering she marched in with a laser rifle hoisted on her back, a pistol in one hand, and anti-Weevil spray in the other.

Oh boy, did he love her. She reminded him of the kind of woman that elicited every romantic dream he'd ever had.

"We're ready," Johnson said, dressed in a similar fashion. Although they'd only retrieved artifacts these last couple of times, they were prepared for anything and everything. If you worked for Torchwood, it was a must.

"Here they come," Lois clearly said. Considering the frown of concentration, Jack figured she was talking to herself.

The orbs appeared first, bringing charges of electrical current, like little lightning strikes from one to another. Had Jack not been terrified of the potential disaster, he would've thought it breathtaking. Simply stunning.

"W-w-w-we h-h-h-hear y-y-y-you."

"Well, I think they're finally answering us," Jack said, getting close enough to the charge to feel the charged ions on his skin. Pulling himself up straight, he asked, "What do you want?"

"W-w-we h-h-hear y-y-you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got that. Again. What do you want?" Jack asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"W-w h-hear y-you."

"This is ridiculous," Jack muttered, looking back at Lois and asking, "Are you sure this isn't a recording?"

"We will speak."

Everyone froze. Instead of a stuttering electrical chorus of voice, this one came through clearly. But that wasn't what had every heart stopping. Rather, it was the voice of the child standing near the entrance of the parking garage.

Jack felt his knees go weak, and he dropped when he saw Mica and Rhi standing there, accompanied by Rhys.

"You bastard," Jack breathed at Rhys. More forcefully he added, "I wanted them kept safe." Locked away from anyone who could hurt them. Locked away from me.

"Hey now!" Rhys responded, looking pissed himself. "It wasn't my –"

He was cut off when Mica, standing like a statue said, "We will speak and you will hear us."

Nobody moved at the monotone voice, and fear coursed through Jack like a whip, chilling him to the bone.

"We will be back," the tiny voice said. And as quickly as that, Mica was standing in her little night dress, blinking rapidly and looking around. That tiny voice that had sounded so assured before tentatively asked, "Mummy?"

X X X

Gwen and Johnson quickly dispatched the single Weevil that appeared through the rift, and headed back with Rhys in tow. Gwen, pissed as hell, had begun the tongue-lashing as they headed out; but they'd left Mica and Rhiannon behind.

Mica was currently ensconced in a conversation with Martha, who was listening attentively to the adventures of the small girl.

Grabbing Rhi by the arm, Jack marched her further into the garage, anger vibrating through him. Without preamble, he demanded, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"She can help," Rhi insisted, although Jack could see the fear in her eyes. "My Mica can help this time."

"Don't you get it?" he asked, anguish in his voice. "The last time a child helped, he died."

Images of Steven vibrating on the platform, with blood pouring out of him flashed through Jack's mind.

"I want her out of here," he seethed, with tears in his eyes, slicking down his cheeks. "I can't let it happen again."

"Shhh," she whispered, reaching a hand up to wipe away his tears, and hugging him close. "You don't understand – Ianto had wanted to take Mica with him that day. Maybe if I'd let him, things would have been different."

As misery swept through him at her confession, Jack said, "There's no way to know if she could help." Barely above a whisper, he said, "I'm afraid."

"So am I," she replied. "But I know you'll do everything in your power to keep her safe. I know it."

Her belief swept through Jack in a crippling fashion. What was a man supposed to do with such absolute faith?

Twining his hands on the back of Rhiannon's neck and tilting her head back, Jack looked into her eyes. She had to understand. She had to have the choice. Drawing in a shaky breath, he said, "When we found a way to make the 456 go away, I needed a child. I took my own grandson, ran sound waves through him knowing full well I was murdering him." Staring into her eyes, he squeezed his hands just a little and bluntly stated, "I murdered my grandson. My daughter's child."

Then he watched fear dilate Rhi's eyes. When he thought she was about to acquiesce, he saw something else flash in her eyes. Impatient irritation. The same he'd often seen in Ianto's.

She clenched her jaw when she replied, "And let me say it one more time – maybe if I'd let Ianto take Mica that day, your grandson would be alive. I can't change that, although it tears at me to know I stood by and did nothing. But I can change what happens now. And Mica has an opinion. She'll tell you herself. She wants to help. For her Uncle Ianto, she wants to help."

The stubbornness in the set of her face and look in her eyes broke through Jack's resolve, and Jack smiled tightly. Blowing out a fast breath, he hugged Rhi close and said, "Then we'll get it done. And I can only pray you forgive me for whatever it is I have to do."

"For as little as we talked, I know that Ianto trusted you, Jack. That's good enough for me."

Together, they walked back toward the others, with Rhi holding his hand the entire time. Before they parted, Jack squeezed her hand, gaining her attention. Looking down at the soft, rounded woman he said, "You tried to save a lot of children back then. You didn't just stand by."

X X X

Gwen and Johnson had barely returned from locking up the Weevil it happened again. This time, everyone was prepared to hear Mica's young voice sounding so eerily controlled.

Lois had the speakers set to low to translate the currents' waves, audible but not loud.

"We will be heard."

Standing in front of the glow, Mica spoke in clipped words, staring straight ahead.

"We. Are. Here."

"Who are you?" Jack asked, kneeling between Mica and the glow of the energy.

"You. Know. Us."

"I don't understand, how do we know you?"

"NO!" Mica yelled. Then, unlike anything before, her eyes shifted and connected with Jack, making him falter and nearly tip backward with the force of the stare. "YOU. Know. Us."

Everything came together in his mind at once, leaving him breathless. Ten. There were ten.

"Oh my God," he whispered. "Twelve were sacrificed. Eleven taken. One died over with the 456. Ten of you remain."

"YES!" she loudly hissed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, tears pooling in his red-rimmed eyes, speaking not to Mica but the children he'd been responsible for sacrificing – the children he'd handed over to the monsters. "I am so very sorry."

"It. Is. Too. Late."

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"We. Have. A. Message. For. You."

He could only wait, and so he knelt, staring unblinkingly into Mica's eyes. Into the eyes of a child, who spoke with a hard voice.

Her eyes softened slightly as she stared, as did the voice. The words – although clipped – flowed together more clearly.

"We can kill. We did kill. We killed them all."

The child's words had Jack's breath hitching. He asked, "You killed the 456?"

"YES!" she hissed, impatiently, before her eyes softened again.

"We are not alone. We will be LEFT alone," she added.

"I don't understand," Jack responded. They didn't even know where the home world of the 456 was.

"We will be left alone. Or we will kill you all."

Then the full impact of the statement hit Jack, and he was compelled to ask – his voice a hushed whisper. "How many are there? How many worlds had children taken away?"

Mica's eyes flashed forward to the energy that suddenly grew in power, the arcs of currently blending and flashing wildly. Blinding.

This time, when Mica spoke, it was in unison to the vocal patterns coming from the energy in the rift. The sound boomed from the speakers, nearly drowning out every other sound in the universe. Mica could barely be heard in the chorus of voices.

"We are LEGION!"

The humming of power surged and grew exponentially higher and higher, until light burst from the ten, leaving something beautiful in its place. Because within the light, ten small children stood – ghosts of themselves in their current form. They wore no gas masks; but they were bald and too thin. Their features were the same, though.

Stepping as close as possible, jack studied those faces – each nose, each pair of lips, each set of wide-open eyes that showed so much life. They were so very alive, casting images of themselves through the rift. And they had no family to look at them – to really see them.

"Rhi," Jack called, startling the woman who had been staring at her daughter. "Rhiannon, come here."

Holding out his hand, he waited until she grasped his fingers with her trembling palm and he said, "There is no one to see them. We need to see them."

Together, they studied each face, noting every feature that made them each so unique. Hand-in-hand, they circled, with the children turning with every step so they always faced the man and woman as they walked from child to child.

"You're lovely," Rhi said, as they came to the last child who attempted a smile that looked more feral than happy.

Looking over, Jack watched the tears flow freely and rapidly down Rhi's blotchy cheeks, and he squeezed her hand. Stepping back, he said, "I wish I'd known you before."

What happened next felt like a cosmic sigh. When Mica spoke once again, he and Rhi shifted to face her.

"We will not be forgotten," she said, before letting out a long breath. And as quickly as that, the light flashed brilliant – spreading out through the dark, illuminating everything in the purest white Jack had ever seen; enveloping everything within blocks.

They were gone, leaving Mica standing alone and bewildered.

Turning, the girl looked up at her mother and asked, "Did I do all right?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Rhi said, stepping forward and kneeling in front of her child. Hugging her close, her voice hitched when she added, "You did brilliant."

"They've sent coordinates," Lois said, stepping out of her work area to slowly join Jack. "They've sent their location."

They'd have to erect a massive "Keep Out" sign, Jack thought. Word would have to be spread through time and space – something with which the Doctor could assist. Because the children of that place had suffered enough.

The Planet of Children would be left in peace.

"Hey Jack!" Gwen called, pointing to a pylon nearby, pulling him from his thoughts. "I've found what came through the rift."

Sitting near the cement support column lay what looked like ten gas masks.