Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Torchwood or it's characters
Note : I've made it to chapter 10 and this is the final chapter. Please enjoy and review! ^^
Chapter 10 – The Goodbye?
After the sound of the bullet firing from the gun had died away, Claudia slowly allowed her eyes to open. There was a loud thud and the girl could only watch as the creature staggered to the side before collapsing in a heap on the ground. The bullet, however badly aimed, had ripped through the skull of the creature's good head and killed it at once.
For a while silence was the only sound to fill the room as no one dared to move from their spots. But it had fallen to Jack to make the first move towards Claudia. By this time he had slipped his gun away and with his hands raised up in a defensive position, edged towards the shaking girl.
"Claudia, put the gun down." Jack drew out his words, keeping a low tone in order to sound harmless. He eyed the gun in her hand before shifting his gaze over to the body of the being. It was twitching where it lay, but he was sure that it wasn't about to jump up and attack anyone and so turned back to the girl. She was staring straight ahead with the gun in her hands shaking violently, colour being drained from her skin.
The Captain opened his mouth to speak again, but decided that the girl wasn't going to be talked around and so he edged his way closer to her. Claudia flinched slightly as Jack slipped his arm around her middle and used his other hand in order to pull the gun out of her grip. It was at this point that her body seemed to give in and she fell against Jack, leaving him to suddenly support the weight of her body as he dropped the gun down onto the floor. He knew that it belonged to Gwen, but he thought it was best not to bring up the fact that she shouldn't of allowed it out of her hands. Turning back towards the other members of the Torchwood team, Jack smiled lightly.
"Time to leave?" His voice was upbeat as he looked from Gwen to Ianto. Neither looked in a good way, but the fact that the two were still standing made Jack happy. He couldn't bear the idea of losing anyone else in his life and so as he lifted Claudia into his arms, the smile which spread across his face wasn't forced as he headed out of the building.
Like any clean-up operation which Torchwood had to undertake, it took hours. The public were never meant to know of the things which Jack and his team had to face, and so every move they made had to be done so carefully. But by the time the sun was starting to light up the sky, they were finished. Jack hummed to himself as he pulled the SUV around the corner and towards a parking spot outside the Millennium Centre.
Staring out across the bay, Claudia could still feel her whole body shaking. The cold air of the morning was blowing hard against her face and it was a relief to finally be away from the smell of the St Mark Shipping building. The shock from the night's events still hadn't fully sunk in for the girl, and so her mind replayed clips of what had taken place. It all didn't seem real, but Claudia knew it wasn't one of her daydreams about the end of her search. The fact was, she had finally come face to face with the creature which had killed her parents and had taken a stand.
In the distance she could hear the tap of feet slowly coming towards her, however the girl didn't turn around. She knew all too well who the foot-steps belonged to and a sigh left her lips as a pair of shoes came into her line of sight as she stared down at the ground.
"You know, you don't need to find me any more. It's over now." Her voice was low as she spoke and the wind was quick to carry her words away, but Jack had heard them all the same. He gave a slight laugh before pushing his hands into his pockets and rocking on his heels slightly. His jacket blew out behind him as they stood facing into the wind and for once a sense of peace rushed through him. At last he didn't have to fear turning on the radio or feel as if he was no longer able to do his job, all because of the girl next to him.
"Claudia?" Jack waited to see if the girl was going to look up at him before he carried on speaking. And just as he thought, her eyes turned up to stare into his face with a puzzled expression glued to her features.
"Yes Captain Jack Harkness?" When Claudia spoke his name, it no longer had an edge of bitterness to it. But the Captain couldn't help feeling a shiver run up his spine at the use of his full name.
"Do you understand what that creature was?" It was a stupid question, but Jack felt he had to ask all the same. He was the only one who had such a vast knowledge on the aliens they found but sometimes normal people surprised him with their interpretation of the things they meet. He watched as Claudia seemed to chew over something in her mind, before she started to shake her head and turn her eyes back out to the sea. She had guessed he was going to tell her all the same and so kept her mouth shut as she listened.
"In a way Ianto was right about it being a three headed dog, but to the race it belongs to, that creature was so much more then just a pet. Before they invade a planet, they send them ahead in order to find out what they can about the life-forms. They hunt, track and search for anything that their masters can use before hiding away and waiting for the invasion to begin."
Claudia felt nothing as she listened to what Jack had to say. The emotion of guilt which she thought might have appeared never did and so she stood stoney faced into the gusts of wind which whipped up from the waves.
"I guess the creature had gone wild or something, because it wasn't meant to be here. That's part of the future yet." Jack felt the smile fade from his face now as he thought about what was to come. There had been so much he had wanted to ask the creature, but now that chance has gone and so he was left believing that there was something he wasn't getting right. He knew how things were meant to end up for the planet Earth, but he had already learnt that the future had a way of changing when you least expect it.
"So what happens now then Captain? I know what you normally do to the people who find out about Torchwood. They get retconned. Even your own friends do. So is that what happens now Jack?" Her tone had become mocking as Claudia looked up at Jack, her eyes wide. There was a tear running it's way down her cheek and a lump was forming in her throat. She watched as Jack sighed before turning his body towards her. She didn't react as his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close, crushing her face into his chest.
"I'm sorry Claudia." These three words sparked a fear within the girl which had been building. She knew that Jack was clever, but she had hoped that he wouldn't take her memories away of what had happened. She finally felt at peace over the death of her parents and ready to move on, but the Captain would wipe that all from her mind in a single action.
The lids of her eyes started to become heavy, and sleep brushed through the mind of the girl. She gripped onto the jacket of Jack as she felt herself cry, trying to shake herself to keep awake. But she was unable to fight the sleep which gripped her body and soon the world became black.
OOC: The End (Please review!) Sequel - Coming To Find Me (Search or look under profile)