A/N: Sorry this took so long. To be honest, the only reason you're getting it now is because when I checked my inbox, I saw a review, and when I was reading it, I thought "Shit...when did I last update?" I would like to be able to say I've been really busy, but I just didn't feel like it. This chapter feels a bit wrong too, but overall, I'm happy with it. I promise to get the next chapter out sooner.
Also, my little slash competition is still going...it's not too late to give me a suggestion, or change your suggestion for your favourite pairing and why. Don't forget, a short scene between them gets you extra points; the hotter the better. Humour is also a must. Also, grammar and spelling is important. I can't judge your work if I can't read it.
Anyone who has ever wanted a character named after them in anything should enter this competition. Not many people have, so you all have pretty good odds. Also, it's NOT a villainous character, if that helps.
Oh, just had a thought. Since SENDING me a short slash story would be a bit tricky, what with censors and all, just POST them as you would any story and notify me when they're up. That way you have an extra fic in your...collection or repertoire or whatever, and I can access it anytime I may need/want to! Everybody wins! Also, anyone who does so can garuntee a nice, long (hopefully entertaining) review from yours truly. My reviews are like rare jewels, people have gone insane in the effort to wring even the most derogatory sentence from me. Seriously.
This chapter is dedicated to Seductive Screamer, who iump-started my brain with her (his?) review. I suggst everybody give her (him?) a round of applause.
kateg123: I'm not overtly familiar with either of those shows, but that doesn't really matter. I have to admit I prefer the 'Grey's Anatomy' pairing, purely by virtue of the rhyming nicknames. And I love your reasoning; simple but effective. I would love to see how you think a scene between them would play out.
vixengreen: Blast! You figured out my one weakness! Now I have no choice but to continue writing!
muppettmadness: Does anybody really like Owen? Truth be told, I love him as a character. He's fun and easy to write. I hate his character as a person though. Does that make sense to you? Sorry it wouldn't let you review. I suppose I could just enable non-signed reviews, but I don't, for some reason. Oh well.
hotflower901: That's a pretty uniqe pairing. Although not exactly a scene, I was intrigued by your little synopsis, and would love to read such a fic.
Amelia McDermid: You will find out, I promise, but not for a while.
el-retardo69: As long as he doesn't bite anything important...
Seductive Screamer: Your name intrigues me...what does a seductive scream sound like, exactly? I was glad to hear my fic was good enough to draw you out of the shadows. I rarely ever review, but I always feel guilty when I don't. I'm sorry to hear you don't like California. I too would miss my accent. Believe it or not, my sister has been told by her Melbourne friends that she has a "Canberra accent" whatever the hell that means.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Torchwood. if I did, Gwen would not be Jack's potential love interest. She would be his fag-hag. And she'd have an annoying nasally voice, to reflect her personality. And then a piano would fall on her. Now THAT'S entertainment!
WARNING: A very vague reference to oral sex at the beginning. After that, you're out of the woods, and into Dullsville. Sorry.
TEN: PHONE A FRIEND
Alex savoured the cool breeze on his face, and the thump of each footstep on the honest-to-goodness real pavement. His jaw ached like a bitch, but it was worth it. He stretched his arms above his head and arched his back. It felt good just to be able to move again. As spacious as the Hub was, there was only so long he could stay underground without feeling claustrophobic. Maybe he really did have a touch of cabin fever.
Even though it was a Friday night, the city streets were almost deserted, giving him full run of the place. He suspected it had something to do with the 'teenage terrorist' all over the news. It was beautifully ironic, really. He hummed snippets of unremembered songs to himself, and almost felt like skipping. He just wished it had been daytime, or at least a bit warmer. He was pretty sure his jacket was somewhere behind the couch.
Kathy drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, looking forward to getting home and spending some quality time with her cats. She'd spent all day driving around Cardiff with that moron Andy, looking out for Aaron what's-his-name. The fact that she knew Torchwood already had their mitts on him was even more infuriating. At least the city had been nice and empty, which had made her job nice and easy…except for the endless games of 'I Spy'. She scowled at the memory. Tomorrow, she was going to find the man who suggested pulling partners out of a hat and throttle him with his own large intestine. And she'd enjoy it too.
Thunder boomed in the distance, and rain began to pelt down. Kathy sighed and flipped on her windscreen wipers.
Alex grinned and stuck out his tongue to catch a few drops. After two straight days inside, not even a flood like this would stop him from enjoying himself. He was soaked through, his hair plastered to his face in long, dripping spikes. He caught his reflection in a display window as he passed. He looked like a drowned rat.
Determined to make the most of his time as a free man, before facing Jack's wrath (which would more than likely culminate in some sort of erotic punishment), Alex turned and bolted towards the nearest zebra crossing.
"Are you seriously telling me you were knocked out by a blowjob?" Ianto nodded, shame-faced. Jack leaned back in his seat. "That little prick tease has been holding out on me." Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Did he do that thing with his teeth?"
"Focus!" Gwen yelled, snapping her fingers in Jack's face. "We have a wanted teenager running around the streets! At night! In the rain!"
"Yeah!" Owen added, drawing surprised looks from the rest of the team "If he catches cold, that means extra work for me!"
"Am I the only one taking this seriously?" Gwen asked "He could be in real danger."
"What if he gets arrested?" Owen asked, flailing his arms and squealing in a slightly exaggerated imitation of Gwen. "Oh wait, he can kill them with his mind! Problem solved."
"That's not a good thing!" Gwen cried, exasperated.
"Alright, let's get to work." Jack stood up and held out a hand "Ianto, my whip."
Kathy screamed in surprise as a body flew out of nowhere, striking her windscreen and rolling up, over the roof of her car. She slammed on the brakes and scrambled out, nearly falling flat on her face. She approached the still body, sweeping hair and water out of her face.
At first she thought she'd hit a girl, but as she got closer she realised that the build, though slender, was decidedly masculine. She reached forward slowly. She had no problem poking any number of dead bodies; it was part of the job. It was the ones that might still be alive that gave her the creeps.
The young man grunted and rolled over. Kathy pulled back sharply, with only the slightest hint of a squeal. The young man sat up. She quickly regained her composure and helped him to his feet.
"Are you injured?" She asked. He turned to her with a small smile. Recognition hit her like a punch in the gut. "You're him!" She exclaimed.
"Him who?"
"Aaron."
"No I'm not!" Panic alarms flashed in his green eyes "I can't be Aaron. If I were Aaron, why would I be out here? Aaron is probably nice and dry and…clean…" he trailed off as he noticed mud on his jeans. He bent over to brush it off. All it took was a glance at his denim-clad derriere for Kathy to instantly remember where else she knew him from.
"Oh my god!" Alex looked up as the vaguely familiar woman (Stanton, Swinton, something beginning with 'S') started laughing. "You're him!"
"I thought we went through this already."
"The wonder from Down Under!"
"Excuse me?" Alex raised an eyebrow. She reached forward and flicked him on the shoulder, still giggling.
"What happened to your construction worker outfit?"
"Oh fuck." Alex covered his face with both hands, suddenly realising what the woman was talking about. He looked up "Listen, it was just the one time, and I really needed the money!"
Kathy wound an arm around the young man's shoulders.
"Don't be so embarrassed, you were really good! Had the whole joint in an uproar…" She paused, suddenly serious "But…that was three months ago…"
"So?" Alex asked, cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.
"So how come we only heard about you a couple days ago?" She pursed her lips, thinking hard. "Come on," she said, dragging him to her car.
"Where are we going?" Alex asked, curiosity outweighing the fear of getting caught. Detective Who's-it's face was grim.
"The station." Alex struggled against her iron grip, forgetting that he could easily dispose of her in any number of swift and painless ways.
"Do we have to?"
"Toshiko!" Jack called from the landing of his office, surveying his domain. "Have you found anything on the cctv?" Toshiko was busily tapping away while the others, all waiting on further orders, sat together on the couch
"The rain's so heavy, it's impossible to get a decent picture!" she stopped "Oh, here's something. Let's see...he got hit by a car."
"What?" Gwen looked up, shocked. Ianto continued to clean his nails. Owen snored gently.
"He's fine though." Toshiko finished.
"Oh, right," Gwen remembered "the healing thing." She went back to her crossword puzzle.
"And now he's being given a lift by…some woman." Toshiko looked up at Jack, apologetic. "Sorry, but that's the best I can do."
"Cupcakes…" Owen mumbled in his sleep, drooling on Gwen's shoulder.
"Why are we here?" Alex whispered, as he followed Kathy through the near-empty police station, stooping below the cubicle walls. "No offence, but when you're being chased by pigs, the sty is the last place you want to be."
"Finding you is the highest thing on the list of our priorities. The vast majority of the night shift is out looking for you, only a handful of officers are staying behind, to do all the boring stuff."
"So I'm less likely to be caught here than anywhere else in the city?"
"Exactly."
"Neat."
Kathy sprinted the last few feet to the staircase. Alex ducked behind a water cooler as a fat, red police officer with a donut passed by. As soon as the behemoth behind was out of sight, he followed her. They dashed up the stairs, around the corner and through a door. Once it was slammed shut behind them, Alex leaned against it with a sigh of relief.
There was a cubicle on either side of the room, blocking the entire floor from view. Kathy crawled forward and peered around each one.
"Coast is clear." She stood up and walked over to the largest desk. Alex followed her, noting a few touches of personalisation. There was a photo of two Siamese cats, and a mug declaring her "World's Greatest Aunt". He looked up as Detective Swanson reached for the phone that lay to one side.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling Captain Harkness," she said, pressing the receiver to her ear and dialling as she spoke "he's going to get his American arse over here, and you two," she glanced pointedly in Alex's direction "are going to tell me exactly what this is all about."
"Not going to happen, I'm afraid."
"Hey!" Alex turned to the newcomer "That's just what I was about to- fuck."
A/N: It has recently become a habit of mine to end things on a line of dialogue, and usually some sort of cliffhanger. I don't know if that's really annoying or what, but if it keeps you coming back, then it works for me.
I was going to think up a review metaphor, but the only thing I could come up with was something kinda gross about lubricant.
Basically, I am a review whore. Always have been, always will be. Whether it be from friends, family, or the male teacher I'm currently crushing on like a pathetic teenage girl in that show about pathetic teenage girls (you know the one I mean), I have always craved feedback. The anticipation, the sweat-inducing nervousness, the thrill of finally receiving those first few words (kinda like when you take off in an aeroplane and you slam back in your seat), the orgasm like high of actually getting the feedback, and then basking in the afterglow, knowing I have done something right.
...What the hell was I talking about again? Oh right, reviews! I want them, I need them, oh baby, oh baby!