2 July 2010

Torchwood House

Aberdeenshire, Scotland

"I think there's something wrong with Kren," Sir Archie announced, sounding almost frantic.

Jemma looked up from her microscope, frowning. "What's going on?"

"Her bark looks almost grey, and she's lost two of her head vines. I didn't notice anything amiss yesterday when I went to see her, but today…"

Sir Archie looked distraught. But then, Kren was a friend, and Jemma could certainly understand.

"I can take a look, but I don't know a lot about her physiognomy." Jemma was a biochemist, not a horticulturalist, and from what she did know Kren was an actual tree, only one with sentience and a few extra internal organs.

Sir Archie was obviously relieved. Jemma only hoped that his faith in her wasn't misplaced. "All we have on her is in mainframe."

Jemma nodded; she'd read it all just after she'd first met Kren but she didn't have it all committed to memory. "Fitz, can you get my kit for me? I'll pull up the records on my tablet as we head to the garden."

Her lab partner nodded, digging under the bench for Jemma's equipment.

"Sir Archie," she turned to her friend, "do you have that fancy scanner that you use on Nessie handy?"

"I'll fetch it while you go and check on Kren. She's in the larger rose garden and I'll meet ye there."

Suiting action to his words, the elder Scotsman left the lab, practically running for the lift. Jemma wondered idly why he hadn't called on the comms, but dismissed it as she used her tablet to bring up the necessary information. He'd probably simply forgotten in his rush to find help.

"Perhaps we should have Oscar with us," Fitz suggested, hefting the silver case that held the things that Jemma had put together in their time with Torchwood. "He's known Kren almost as long as Uncle Archie."

"Plus, he has future knowledge," Jemma added, agreeing. "He might know something about the Cheem that isn't in the files."

That decision made, both of them left their lab and made their own way toward the lift, collecting Oscar on the way. The intelligent dromaeosaur was upset over the news, and vowed to help in whatever way he could.

The larger of the two rose gardens on the Torchwood grounds was toward the back of the property. Jemma practically jogged along the path toward the area, worry for Kren overcoming everything else. Kren was one of the gentlest beings she'd ever met, and Jemma hated thinking that something was seriously wrong with her.

How horrible would it be, to get sick away from your family and friends and with no way to get in touch with anyone you'd once known? What would it be like if Kren died in an unfamiliar timeline and place, forgotten to time itself? Tears burned her eyes, and she angrily brushed them away. It wouldn't do any good to be upset yet; Jemma had no idea what was even wrong, and it might be something easily fixable. From what Kren had once said, the Cheem had a very long lifespan, and it wasn't as if she was completely alone. She had everyone there at the manor, plus quite a few people who weren't around at the moment. Kren wasn't alone…she was just away from her own people. She'd made a home there, and was as content as she possibly could be.

Jemma would do her best to make certain that Kren was around for a long time to come.

As they approached the rose garden, Jemma could make out the Cheem, standing there, and she could tell immediately that something was very wrong. Sir Archie was correct: two of the long vines that flowed from Kren's large head were missing, and the Cheem's bark had a decidedly ashen undertone to it.

Her green eyes were a bit listless as she greeted them with a tired smile. "Sproutlings, thank you for coming."

"How are you feeling?" Jemma asked solicitously, her inner scientist coming to the fore. She might not have been a medical doctor, or the correct sort of scientist, but she wanted very much to help her friend with whatever was wrong.

"It came on so suddenly. I felt like myself last night…but, this morning, when I awoke, I noticed that one of my head vines had broken off during the night; another one fell out just before Sir Archie came out to bid me good morning."

Jemma rested her hand on Kren's bark. It was warmer than usual, which was worrying. "Any symptoms you can describe for me?"

"I feel…sluggish, as if my sap is not moving as it should. Also, my leaves seem to be drier as well."

"You're getting plenty of fluids?"

"It rained last night, so I was able to bask in it."

Jemma nodded. It had been more than a rain; it had stormed for a short time. Kren didn't look as if she'd been struck by lightning, so that was most likely out.

"I'd like to get a sample of your sap, if I may."

"Of course." Kren held out her arm.

Fitz had her kit open, so Jemma reached inside and pulled out a large bore syringe, hoping it would be enough. She carefully ran her fingers along Kren's bark-like skin, hoping she would be able to tell where a vein was simply by touch. If not, she'd have to wait until Sir Archie got back with the Bekaran scanner.

"Here." Kren gently took Jemma's questing hand in hers, guiding her to a place just under the Cheem's elbow. "You should be able to find something."

Jemma gave her a grateful smile. "Please let me know if I hurt you."

As gently as she could, Jemma inserted the needle between two sections of bark. Kren shuddered, her leaves rattling, but she remained quiet. Jemma drew the sap as quickly as possible; it was a clear, greenish shade not at all like blood. She handed it to Oscar, who took the vial carefully in his well-trimmed talons.

"How long have you had this?" Fitz spoke up. He'd rounded Kren, Jemma knowing he would be looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"What do you mean?" Kren enquired as Jemma carefully bandaged the needle site.

"Jemma, can you come round and take a look at this?"

She didn't like the tone of his voice.

Jemma circled Kren to see what Fitz wanted to show her, knowing that Oscar was following. She gasped, unable to keep the sound in, at the sight that caught her eye.

Kren was wearing one of her ubiquitous sundresses, this one in sky blue, so her shoulders were bare. On the left shoulder, just to the side of the dress' spaghetti strap, was a lesion about the size of Jemma's palm. It was oozing some sort of black puss, and looked very painful.

"What is it?" Kren asked.

"Are you having any pain in your shoulder?" Jemma wanted to know.

"What is it?" Ianto's voice said. He was then beside them, actually hissing at the sight of that wound.

"I…have," Kren admitted. "I did not think it was anything serious."

"I'll need to get a sample. Fitz, can you please get me what I need?"

"Right away." Her friend bustled over to the kit.

By the time he'd returned and handed Jemma a sterile pipette and a petri dish, Sir Archie had also joined them. "Ah, lass," he whispered.

"Does anyone have a camera in their phone?" Jemma asked.

Ianto nodded, pulling his phone from his pocket.

"Can you get me several views of this please?"

Ianto went to work with his phone, the click of the shutter audible over the sound of birdsong.

"What is it?" Kren demanded again.

"You have some sort of sore back here," Jemma explained as she carefully scraped a little of the secretion away and into her sample dish. This time, the flinch Kren made was even worse. "I'll want to clean it and get a dressing on it, to protect it. And, to do that, I'd like for us to be back at the House and under somewhat sterile conditions."

While Kren spent most of her time on the grounds, Jemma knew that she did, indeed, have a room up at the manor; she just didn't stay there for days at a time. Being an evolved tree, Kren much preferred being outside, under the wind and rain and sky.

But something like this… "The risk of infection is greater if you stay outside," she went on, coming to stand in front of Kren. "The last thing we need is for insects and such to get into the open wound. Besides," Jemma gave her friend a smile that felt just a little forced, "this will allow us to keep a closer eye on you, to make certain nothing else happens while we try to figure this out."

"Alright," Kren acquiesced. "But you know I don't like staying indoors too long."

"Hopefully we'll figure this out quickly."

Honestly, Jemma didn't know if she was up to the task.

She stood aside as Sir Archie began escorting Kren toward Torchwood House. She stifled a worried sigh. Botany certainly wasn't her strong suit; she'd had the bare minimum needed for her Biology PhD, but that was it.

"Jemma," Fitz said, touching her elbow and making her jump a little, "we can do this."

She appreciated his faith in her, but wasn't certain if it wasn't misplaced. Still, she would do her best, and having her best friend at her side would help.

"Oscar," she called out to the alien dromaeosaur, "can you take the samples back to the lab and get started? I want to see to that wound before anything else."

"Of course," he answered. He accepted the petri dish with the secretions in it and, along with the vial of sap, headed toward the manor house.

"What do you think?" Ianto murmured.

"I'll be honest," she sighed, "I don't know much about plant biology, and Kren is an alien plant to boot. It might be something her people have experience with, although from her reaction I kind of doubt that. It could also be something she picked up here on Earth, and if it is…hopefully, the tests Oscar will start on those samples will give us a clue."

"If it is something from Earth," Ianto said, "perhaps if we can consult some sort of specialist, one that won't need to see Kren directly, and they can pinpoint it without going into too much detail. Why don't you give Penelope the symptoms and see if she can pull something either out of the Archives or off the internet as well?"

"Excellent idea. I'll also want to use the Bekaran scanner to see if there's something internal that can be linked to the physical symptoms." She'd noticed that Sir Archie had, indeed, gotten the scanner from wherever it was he stored it when he wasn't up at Loch Ness. She'd watched him use it then, and hopefully between her and Fitz they would figure it out.

Jemma touched the comm in her ear to activate it. "Penelope?"

Not even a second later, the American's voice said in her ear, "What can I do for you, Ms Genius?"

Jemma couldn't help the smile. Penelope Garcia had immediately nicknamed each of them, and some of them were hilarious…all of them on point.

So, she explained what she needed. When Penelope heard that it had to do with Kren, she immediately turned serious. "I'll let you know as soon as I get something."

In a lot of people, that certainty that she would, indeed, find something could have been considered hubris, but in Penelope she was simply stating a fact. Jemma had heard Toshiko say that Penelope was just as good as she was when it came to research, which was saying something.

"Thank you," Jemma said gratefully.

"Let me know how she's doing, okay?"

"You know I will."

"Let's get back to the house," Ianto suggested. "I'll upload the photos to mainframe while you take care of Kren."

"And I'll get out those drones we've been working on," Fitz added. "Maybe I can find something in the area that might have been a sort of stimulus for this."

Ianto clapped him on the shoulder. "If they work half as well in the field as they do in the lab, you should be able to find it…if it's there to be found."

Fitz had, with permission, been working on a set of drones in his spare time, using various pieces of alien tech that Ianto approved to make them smaller and more compact, as well as giving them the ability to fly. There were seven of them, each with a different function, and Fitz had taken to calling them his 'seven dwarves'. There'd been some concern that Torchwood might retain them after their assignment was complete, but Ianto had assured them that this would not be the case, that this was Fitz's intellectual property and, despite the alien tech built into them, that Torchwood's Second trusted them with it. He'd also asked if Fitz wouldn't mind sharing the plans with them, so that they could possibly build their own set of drones, and Fitz had agreed. They both had also reassured Ianto that no one would get their hands on the dwarves, and that they would stay proprietary to Fitz…and Jemma as well, since she'd helped with some of the calibrations. It hadn't been necessary, but Fitz had insisted that Jemma was as important to the project as Fitz himself was, and that she deserved credit as well.

Jemma didn't argue, although she knew that Oscar had helped out as well, and yet Fitz wasn't making a big deal out of the alien getting an equal amount of credit. When he'd heard, Oscar had simply given Jemma a knowing smirk and hadn't said anything.

She had to wonder what that was all about.

"Well," she said, "let me get back to my patient. Let's see what we can do for her."

The bark under the open sore was discoloured and Jemma thought necrotic, but there was no way to really tell. Perhaps, if Kren had been a proper tree, it would have been obvious; however, her alien physiognomy meant that she couldn't exactly trust the very little knowledge she had on the subject.

Kren had laid down on the bed that had been assigned to her, on the guest floor and down from Jemma's own room. The Cheem tried to keep still as Jemma cleaned the area, but it was obvious that it was painful, and Jemma was as careful as she could be, using sterile saline and several wipes to get the awful black secretions cleared away.

Sir Archie sat beside them, holding Kren's delicate-looking hand in his, doing his best to soothe her as Jemma worked. Ianto stood near the door, leaving Jemma to it; he told her she was taking point on this, giving her the responsibility of taking care of their resident alien. Jemma didn't know if she was up to the task, and she was unbelievably nervous about making a mistake, but she also knew she had help from the main Torchwood team whenever she needed it.

The scanner had shown her Kren's inner biology, but it was as alien as she was and matched what her files showed. The thing was, she was very obviously tree-like, but there were enough internal organs that were completely un-tree-like. It was amazing and confusing at the same time.

Oscar was still down in the lab, but Jemma hoped to hear from him soon. She'd told him to go ahead and send his results on to Dr Harper in Cardiff and Martha in London, so she was also expecting to get their feedback as well. But, as the most qualified on site – still, not with any botany or horticultural experience – it was Jemma's duty to do the best job she could.

"Hey, guys," Penelope's voice came through the comms, "I think I have something."

"What did you find?" Ianto enquired.

"I used the photos that Ianto uploaded, as well as the description you gave of the symptoms, Jemma, and came up with Phytophthora ramorum."

"Can you send it to my tablet please?" Jemma asked, reaching for the small computer, where she'd set it on the bedside table.

"Already done. And, for those who aren't within Ms Genius' tablet range, it's a relatively new tree infection that's only been around for about a year. It primarily affects larch trees, but can also infect certain types of flowering plants, like camellias and rhododendrons."

"We have rhododendrons in the gardens here," Sir Archie replied.

"Checking now," Fitz chimed in, from where he was using the dwarves out in the grounds.

"I was in that area three days ago," Kren spoke up. "I noticed there were many plants whose leaves were blackened and withered. I reported it to Sir Archie."

"Ye did, lass, and I called for someone to come out and check. They're due to be out tomorrow."

Jemma was busily reading the information that Penelope had discovered. It seemed that P. ramorum was a fungus, which explained some of what she was seeing within the wound on Kren's shoulder.

"I am going to chime in," Oscar came on the line. There was no way he could wear one of the communicators: for one reason, it didn't fit within his ear canal. For another, it wouldn't work with his translator. So he was reliant on a larger unit that had been set up for him in the lab. "I performed the preliminary analysis of Kren's sap, and there does appear to be some sort of fungal infection. Her immune system is attempting to fight, but it is not very successful at this time."

"Kren isn't an Earth species, though," Ianto commented.

"No," Jemma said, "but she is evolved from Earth trees. This particular fungus may be latching onto whatever part of Kren's genome that still carries that Earth DNA." She shook her head. "If she was human, I'd prescribe a course of anti-fungal medication as a treatment. However, we don't know if they'll work with her, since she's a plant-based lifeform."

"But what about plant anti-fungal treatment?" Sir Archie asked.

"There are certain fungicides, yes. But those might not work, because of Kren's alien physiognomy. And, for complete transparency here, according to what Penelope was able to find, there is no cure for P. ramorum. Fungicides will only halt progression of the fungus…not kill it completely."

"But as you said," Ianto replied, "Kren is an alien. That might be for Earth plants' however, there are enough differences in her DNA that the fungicides might get rid of the infection totally."

"True," Jemma conceded, "but I'd want to do some tests first, to make certain that our Earth-based products won't do even worse damage than just ameliorating the symptoms."

"I can confirm that it's that whatever Penelope said," Fitz spoke. "I've found evidence of it in the rhododendron bed."

"Alright then." Ianto's face turned implacable. "Jemma, I want you, Oscar, and Fitz to work on this problem. If you need help from anyone, co-opt them from their own duties and tell them what you need."

Jemma considered. Really, none of the others at Torchwood House had the necessary background to get involved…not that she did, as well, but at least she had enough of a biology background to recognise something in the tests that might help. Malcolm and Osgood were different sorts of scientists, and Cameron and Penelope mainly worked with computers…namely, mainframe. She might need either one of them to help out online, but for the actual testing…no, the best ones for that job was herself and Oscar, and Fitz was an admirable lab partner.

"We'll do the best we can," she said, although she wasn't sure exactly what that was.

"Your best is good enough," Ianto replied. "I'm going to consult the Archives and see if we have anything that might be of use."

"Jemma," Kren murmured.

She met her friend's eyes. They were cloudy with pain, but fully engaged. Jemma took off her sterile gloves and reached out, holding Kren's cool hand. "We'll take care of you."

"I trust you," the Cheem whispered. "I know you will do whatever you can." She sighed. "I'd like to speak to Ianto…alone, if you don't mind."

Sir Archie looked as if he was about to argue, but Ianto rested a hand on his shoulder, and the Scotsman rose from his seat. "Alright, love, I'll leave you with Ianto. Call if you need anything, alright?"

"I shall." Kren gave him a tiny smile.

"I'll be in the lab," Jemma told her. "If you start feeling worse, or the pain gets stronger, you need to let me know."

Kren nodded.

Jemma squeezed her hand once more, then left the room, her heart breaking a little but, at the same time, she was determined to find something to help Kren. She wasn't about to accept defeat.