Story disclaimer: I own none of the following. Many of the references in this story are owed to the writers and the rest of the team(s) involved in the creation and production of Torchwood and Doctor Who. Without them, this story would not be possible. My character Teya owns me. I am making no money from this or any of my other fics posted on this site.
Scene Ten – Cardiff, Present Day
Gwen was hunting madly for her keys, Rhys deliberately getting in her way, trying to snatch a rogue kiss before she bolted for work. She'd emptied out her bag at least twice, had the cushions off the sofa, and even checked that she hadn't accidentally put them in the fridge whilst putting back the milk after making a cup of tea the previous evening. They were nowhere to be found. She danced past Rhys into the bedroom where he caught her again, pushing her onto the bed and snatching a dozen, nibbling kisses to her ear and lips. Giggling into his mouth as he tried to kiss her more deeply, she pushed him off.
"Rhys, gerrof, I'm gonna be late!"
He lifted himself from the bed, a little disappointed that she wasn't in a more playful mood. As he watched, leaning on the door frame, she checked the bedside tables, and even lowered herself to the floor to check that they hadn't migrated to the no-man's land under the bed. Unable to contain it any longer, Rhys called her name softly, extracting said keys from a pocket and jangling them by his ear. Gwen screeched at him, leaping for him from her crouching position. She chased him into the lounge, diving at him so that the pair of them fell backward onto the sofa...
At the same time that Gwen was on her mad key hunt, Ianto Jones was similarly straightening his tie and jacket before moving more sedately from his flat. Hurt by Jack's constant rebuffs, he was beginning to wonder if the immortal American was tiring of their relationship, of him. The thought was terrifying to Ianto, who was only falling deeper for Jack by the day. The recent loss of Tosh and Owen had left a rift in their team as big as the one running through Cardiff itself, and it seemed to Ianto that while he was on one side, Jack was on the other and only moving further away.
Ianto was the first in, bobbing down to say hello to Jack before going back up to tidy the front office, but Jack was nowhere to be seen. Hearing the sound of settled breathing from Jack's bunk space, Ianto made his way to the computer stations. With the absence of Tosh, Ianto had taken it upon himself to run the weekly diagnostics that Jack demanded to keep Torchwood's systems at one hundred per cent efficiency. Ianto stood watching the system-checked percentage rise for several minutes, before turning to face the door as the klaxons went off, announcing the arrival of Gwen.
"Sorry I'm late." She offered Ianto a sheepish smile, blushing prettily. "Where's Jack?"
"Resting late." Ianto shrugged. "Must have been a rough night."
"You think there was trouble?" Gwen dropped her bag on her chair.
"Maybe." Ianto sighed. "Once upon a time, Jack would've called us in if there was. Now I'm not so sure."
"Oh, Ianto…" Gwen smiled at him, her gaze full of pity. "Give him time. He feels responsible for… for what happened."
Ianto nodded glumly, moving away from Gwen's compassion. It hurt more than he cared to admit, not only that he felt he was losing Jack but that Gwen still had enough in her life to pity him. He ended up ambling over to the medical bay to see if anything needed straightening there. He stopped short at the top of the steps, staring down at the state of the bay, the blooded gauze and wipes, and packaging for first aid stuff piled high on the table.
"Jack!" Fear swept through him, irrational fear for the man who could not die. "Jack!" Gwen came running over to the bay, frightened by the anxiety in Ianto's voice. She too stopped to stare at the mess.
"You yelled?" Jack emerged from the cells area, a long, insulated, silver and black mug in his hands. He looked particularly smart and spit polished, certainly not as if he'd had to patch himself up in any way, shape or form. He smiled at Gwen, making her heart flutter as always. He looked over at Ianto, his grin widening. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Ianto; I'll clear up in a bit."
"What happened in here?" Gwen put a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder as she peered down on the seeming carnage below. "Is that coffee? I could really use one..." Jack lifted the mug out of her reach, grinning as she reached for it, trying to imagine Gwen's horror if he'd let her drink its contents.
"Trust me, you really don't want this.' Jack turned away, promising Ianto once more that he would clear up and leaving Gwen feeling pushed aside. He crossed to his office and swung himself onto the ladder to his bunk area. The others looked at one another silently, following the unspoken rule that no one disturbed Jack in his private quarters unless it was an emergency.
Teya woke slowly as he ran a hand across her forehead and back through her hair, blinking against the artificial lights. Her nose twitched as she caught a warm, rich, fatty scent. A sound escaped her that was something between an eager snuffle and a territorial growl as she rose up into a crouched position almost like an animal. Jack was on one knee beside the bed, offering her the mug. "It's Weevil. Should bring you back up to strength in no time. I can get more if you need it?" She sat up, taking the mug from him and drinking from it eagerly. "Why do you drink Weevil blood, Teya, what's the attraction?" She sighed contentedly after draining the mug, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth and smearing her cheek with blood. Jack wiped it for her gently as she answered thoughtfully.
"More iron, more fat... and more of an adventure claiming a meal. When you've come so close to death, and death still means something, simply living isn't enough. Also, humans don't seem to care if you hunt Weevils, but they take offence to me hunting their own. Huh... I'll take a little more if you've got it." She glanced up the ladder, her tone hardening as she looked sharply at him. "Are your damned Torchwood cronies upstairs?"
"My team is in, yes." Jack nodded; knowing what was coming and dreading it.
"Got a cell all laid out for me, have they? I'm surprised you didn't lock me away last night." She rose defiantly, trying not to wince with the pain though her body was already healing thanks to the Weevil blood, and made to climb up the ladder, but he blocked her way by leaning on it. Her yellow eyes flashed at him angrily. "Thanks for your hospitality Jack, but I'm not that eager to spend eternity with you. Once upon a time, I might have done, but not now. Not after what you did."
"Would you stop?" Jack touched her cheek with a gentleness that shouldn't have surprised her. "Can't a guy admit that he made a mistake?"
"Not you, Jack Harkness." She pushed both his hands aside and climbed the short ladder up into the Hub.
Teya very much doubted that Jack and the rest of the Torchwood Cardiff team would allow her to simply walk from their headquarters. Indeed, when she emerged from Jack's quarters, the two strangers stopped what they were doing to study her. Ianto had finished cleaning up the medical bay and had returned to the computer stations – he hated thinking of it as Tosh's station – to check the messages and his diagnostics. He looked up from the screen in surprise at their guest, saw where she had come from and scowled. Jealously flashed across his face before he could smooth it away, had Jack replaced him already?
Gwen too felt a moment of jealously, staring at the woman unabashedly. She was floored by the woman's appearance, for though she knew Jack lived in the Hub, she'd never known him bring anyone back after a night out. And he'd been on call too. Gwen had never thought Jack possible of such dereliction of duty. They almost never brought people into the Hub unless they were directly linked to a case. Was Jack working on something here? But it was the look on Ianto's face that hurt her most, that crestfallen acceptance that Jack had found someone else…
"Jack?" Her welsh lilt broke the stunned silence. "What's… what's going on?"
"Gwen, Ianto," Jack stepped forward to put a protective arm around Teya, who stepped purposefully out of his reach. She didn't trust him, not after everything he'd done, not even after he'd brought her here, fixed her up and fed her, "I'd like you to meet Teya. Teya, this is Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones."
"Hi." Gwen's greeting was stiff and almost formal. Teya nodded to the pair. Anything and anyone Torchwood was danger in her eyes, and she kept a wary, watchful eye on both Gwen and Ianto. Jack… suffice to say she often knew what Jack would do before he knew it himself. She kept that thread of her mind fixed firmly on him.
"Hi."
"So Jack, you want to explain why she's here?" Gwen shot an apologetic glance at Teya but Gwen was still confused by Jack's behavior. She wanted an explanation.
"Teya's a friend of mine from a while back. She was hurt and needed help. It's safe, she knows Torchwood… soft of…"
"Knows Torchwood?" Gwen said loudly, before Ianto could speak but voicing what he was thinking. "I thought you said this was the one job we couldn't quit? How is it that she wasn't ret-conned?"
"I wasn't exactly employed by Torchwood." Teya turned her sharp, yellow eyes on Gwen, disliking the fact that she was being spoken about in the third person. She turned towards Gwen to show her the tattoo of the T made up of hexagons that was Torchwood's logo. Across the top it showed the number 5167. The mark of prisoners of the days before Torchwood London had been destroyed.
Gwen was horrified as it dawned on her what Teya was showing her. The news that Teya had been held by Torchwood went someway to explaining the way Teya was now standing, ready to bolt at the first opportunity, and the aggression that flashed through her eyes on occasion. Yet still something between Jack and Teya was being left unsaid, a deep rooted fear in the way she glared angrily at Jack with every look she sent him. And Jack was looking at Teya with what could only be described as regret tinged with pity. Gwen glanced at Ianto, taking in his reaction, and was surprised to see recognition in his eyes. He knew this woman? He'd gone pale, glancing down at some sheets of paper in his hand and then looking at Jack with some concern, almost fear, wrought across his face.
"Jack, can I have a word?"
"Sure Ianto." Jack touched Teya's arm hesitantly, as if afraid that she would lash out at him. She turned towards him slightly, always keeping one wary eye on the rest of the team. "Teya, will you at least me take a look at that wound before you go?"
"Go?" It was little more than an echo of his question. She studied him closely, not daring to believe that he truly intended to let her go. She had spent too long in a Torchwood cell, running the moment when Jack had betrayed her and given her up to them in her mind, too long plotting her revenge, too long hating him... Yet he was looking at her steadily now with nothing but truth in his pale blue eyes as he answered her.
"Yes, Teya, you're free to go where you will. Torchwood's changed... and so have I." He gripped the top of her arm gently, as if pleading for her understanding, but his eyes had risen to look at Ianto. "I'll meet you in the boardroom in a few minutes?"