Chapter 10

Twelve hours later, Sherlock let out a cry of triumph, startling the others who had been more or less asleep around him.

"Wuh?" John asked, quite accurately expressing what was on all of their minds.

"Look at this," Sherlock said, gesturing at the stones on the table. They had been placed together to form a square. It would be perfect, if it weren't for the fact that three pieces of differing size were missing.
"Uhm... interesting..." Ianto said hesitantly.

John rubbed his eyes and blinked at it.

"So there's an alien collecting stones that form a square. What do you make of that?" Jack asked.

Sherlock laughed. "No idea, but it is very very helpful."

"Glad to hear that," John said, looking a bit puzzled.

Sherlock looked around at them all, frowning. "Can't you see it?" he asked.

"It's a square. All we have to do is find the few stones that still fit in to make it complete. Somewhere in all the buildings of London. Yeah, should be easy," Jack said sarcastically.

"Yes," Sherlock said, shaking his head. "We now know the shape and size of the stones that will be taken. Narrows the possibilities down quite considerably I should think. Especially this one." He pointed to the smallest hole. "Can't be many buildings made with stones like that."

"Okay, fantastic," John said. "Are we allowed some sleep before we start looking for them?"

"Oh John," Sherlock said, chuckling. "We're going to be pressed for time as it is. We're talking ridiculously advanced research here. So..." He looked around at them all. "Jack... None of the remaining stones are very large, so you need to start looking at the size of Portland stone used on buildings in London. Look at specifications, pictures, anything you can find. Divide the buildings into three groups: those we can rule out, those that fit and those where you can't get the information online. John, you'll be taking those that fit and compare them to the three missing pieces, see if you can find perfect matches. As soon as the sun comes up I'll be heading out to look at the buildings from the third group. And Ianto...? We're going to need lots and lots of coffee."

With some complaining mumbling, they all got to work.

...

With five hours to go before the next expected incident, they had narrowed it down to seven possible targets. Only Sherlock had managed to stay awake for the entire time, while the others had been taking turns at distracting him enough for one of them to sneak off for a nap.
Sherlock was examining the seven pages describing the buildings likely to be hit, when he passed out.

"Sherlock?" John sighed. "Okay, this was to be expected. Jack, can you help me put him to bed?"

Jack nodded and together they lifted Sherlock.

"We should all get some rest now we still have the time," John suggested. "I told you to sleep." He turned towards Sherlock, who was regaining consciousness on the bed.

"We... have to plan..." Sherlock muttered.

"We've made our plans," John said. "It'll be fine, just sleep. I'll set our alarms, but we can't have you keel over once it's time." He settled on the bed next to Sherlock and Jack left, closing the door behind him.

"Is he alright?" Ianto whispered. "Is something wrong?"

"He just didn't sleep," Jack said, putting a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "He'll be fine. We'd better take advantage and take a nap as well, before the action starts."

Ianto nodded. "Yes." He reached up and took Jack's hand in his. "I've missed sleeping in your arms," he admitted as he led him up the stairs.

Jack smirked. "Only sleeping?"

"I may have missed other things," Ianto said, chuckling. "But for now, we're going up to sleep. Nothing else."

"Alright then," Jack said, showing an exaggerated pout.

"Okay," Ianto giggled as he kissed Jack's lower lip. "We can have a quick snog."

Jack grinned triumphantly. "You know you're not able to stop there."

Ianto cocked an eyebrow. "Maybe you're right. Better skip the snog then." He shrugged off his jacket and lay down on top of the covers. "Can you set the alarm?" he asked.

"Yes, but I want my snog," Jack protested.

"And I want my nap," Ianto said, turning over on his side, his back to Jack.

"Please?" Jack tried, shifting closer to spoon Ianto.

"Sleep, Jack," Ianto said, trying to hide his grin.

Jack kissed his neck. "Just one kiss. You know you can't resist me."

Ianto turned his head, gave Jack a quick kiss and then turned away again.

"Thank you," Jack chuckled, laying an arm around Ianto and closing his eyes.

Ianto dozed off with a happy little smile on his lips.

...

John grunted when the alarm started and kept himself from hiding his head under the pillow. Instead, he sat up and stopped it, before turning to Sherlock.

Sherlock was instantly wide awake. "Is it time?" he asked.

John nodded and smiled down at him. "I set it a little earlier so you still have time to eat something. And that's not a question, youare eating something."

Sherlock groaned. "Nooo... Digesting is such a distraction..."

"So is fainting," John said, getting up.

"I'm not going to faint. I was just... sleepy," Sherlock protested as he got to his feet. He twirled around and held out his arms. "See? I'm fine."

"Still eating," John smiled, stepping into his shoes.

Sherlock pouted as he went in search of the papers he had been working on when he fell asleep.

John went to the kitchen and started making him a sandwich.

"Could you make some tea while you're in there?" Sherlock called as he settled at the table, the seven papers in front of him.

"Sure," John said, putting the kettle on. "I guess Jack and Ianto will be here too in a minute."

"Or now," Ianto said brightly, as he came through the door and immediately went to help John in the kitchen.

John smiled and soon Sherlock's papers on the table were surrounded by cups of tea and plates with sandwiches.

Jack sat down next to Sherlock and started eating.

"Okay," Sherlock said, pushing his half-eaten sandwich aside. "I have chosen the four buildings that are most likely to be targeted. We will guard one each and summon the others when something happens. If it is possible to detain those responsible, do so. But our main objective today is observation and, if possible, identification."

Jack nodded. "Where do we need to go?"

Sherlock handed out the papers. "You should be there in 30 minutes, as there clearly is a certain window rather than a specific moment for these... attacks."

"Yeah, we noticed last time," John sighed.

"Okay, let's go. Ianto, we can share a cab," Jack said.

"Don't get sidetracked," Sherlock called after them.

"Good luck," John said, giving Sherlock a quick kiss while he shrugged on his jacket and checked if he had his gun with him.

"Luck has got nothing to do with it," Sherlock called after him. "Be careful."

...

John was pacing along the front of 'his' building. It was a normal house, where people actually lived, and he felt incredibly awkward standing there staring. The occupants probably thought he was some kind of creepy stalker and Sherlock would be incredibly disappointed if he were taken away by the police before anything could happen, so he was trying to act normal, although 'normal' never included gazing at a building, waiting until an alien would come to destroy part of it.

"Excuse me?" an out-of-breath voice said behind him. "Could you... tell me... the time?"

John turned and frowned. "Youagain?"

The man mimicked his frown. "Ehm... Right... Yes... " Then he shook his head and shifted nervously. "The time...? Please?" he asked, raising his almost nonexistent eyebrows.

John glanced at his watch. "12:38," he answered.

"Oh dear," the man said. Then he glanced over John's shoulder. "What on earth is that?" he shrieked, his face contorted in horror.

John looked around. "What? I don't see..."

The man made a grab for an item in his pocket and rushed towards the house. The device let out a strange hum as he pointed it at a section of the wall, that immediately began falling apart.

John could just hit himself. Had he really fallen for the oldest trick in the book? "Oy! Stop that immediately!" he called out, running towards the strange man.

The man was already at the pile of stones, batting his hands frantically at the dust slowly settling.

"Stay where you are," John said, taking out his gun.

The stranger looked up. When he saw the gun he immediately raised his hands, looking slightly alarmed. "Is that really necessary?" he asked.

"I don't know," John answered. "Is it really necessary to destroy half the buildings in London?"

"Oh dear. I hope not."

John pulled up his eyebrows. "Why are you doing this?"

"Oh. That's quite simple," he answered. "I need the stones."

"We're on our way," Jack said in John's earpiece. "Keep him busy."

"What for?" John asked the man, his gun still pointed at him.

His smile faltered. "Right... Not so simple..." He considered for a moment. "I need them so I can find a woman."

"Sure," John nodded. "What did you have in mind, build a house out of Portland stone and the women will queue to come live with you?"

"Not women," the man said, smiling. "A woman." He glanced down. "Ah, there it is." He looked at John, his hands still up. "Do you mind? I can show you..." Then he got distracted by the sound of a quickly approaching vehicle.
The moment the cab stopped, Ianto jumped out and rushed to John's side. "Is it him?" he asked incredulously. "The one who's been knocking holes in all those buildings?"
"Not 'knocking'," the man said exasperatedly. "Sonicing."

"Yes, it's him," John nodded. "Show us," he demanded, giving the man a nod.

The man bent down and picked up a stone, holding it up to show them the letter 'H' carved into the side of it. "See?" he said.
"John?" Sherlock called as he rounded the corner at a sprint. "Did you get them?"

"He's here," John nodded, never taking his eyes off the man, in case he would make a wrong move. "What does that 'H' mean?" he asked the man.

"Well," the man turned as if trying to look them all in the eyes as he spoke, "it is the eighth letter of the ISO basic Latin alphabet and can represent two different sounds, namely the voiceless glottal fricative as well as the voiceless epiglottal..."
"No," Sherlock interrupted, a little out of breath. "Not what the letter means, but what the meaning is of the letter being on this stone."
"Oh..." The stranger smiled. "She put it there, obviously..."

Another car stopped and Jack almost flew out of it, looking excited. "God, it's him! I saw the box, he's here!"

"What box?" Sherlock asked.
Ianto tensed. "Him? Here? Are you sure?"
The stranger looked up and smiled at Jack. "Hello there," he said.

Jack frowned. "Hello. Who are you? Where's the Doctor? I saw the Tardis, so I know he must be around."

The man took Jack by the shoulders and pulled him closer pressing a wet kiss to his cheek. "It's so good to see you, Jack" he said. "How have you been?"

"But..." Jack stammered, staring at the man.

"You two know each other?" John asked, confused, while lowering his gun.

"He... He's the Doctor," Ianto muttered, turning quite pale as he stared at the two men.

John looked at Sherlock in confusion.

"Doctor," Jack said quietly, and then he pulled the man into a crushing hug.

"Yes... Well... Umph..." The Doctor tried to return the hug, but his arms were more or less pinned to his sides.
Ianto stared in wonder and Sherlock looked from one to the other, trying to catch up.

Eventually, Jack pulled back with a grin that almost split his face. "What brought you here?" he asked the Doctor.

"River," he answered then laughed. "Oh, right. You two haven't met yet." He looked around. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Ianto Jones. He also works for Torchwood. Sherlock Holmes, the only consulting detective in the world, and Captain John Watson," Jack introduced them, waving at each of his friends in turn.

"We sort of... met," John said, blushing.

The Doctor cocked his head and studied him for a moment, frowning. Then he brightened and looked from John to Sherlock and back again. "Right. You two were..." He covered his mouth and giggled.
Ianto frowned and looked at John as Sherlock cleared his throat and stepped forward offering his hand.

John performed an intent study of his shoes, while Jack was just beaming at the Doctor.

The Doctor shook Sherlock's hand eagerly, a strange gleam in his eyes. Then he turned to Ianto. "Oh dear boy," he said. "I've heard all about you of course." He pulled the flustered Welshman in for a hug.

Jack chuckled. "Can we help you, Doctor?"

The Doctor let go of Ianto. "Oh, thank you Jack, but I'm doing just splendid. If this fellow here would just refrain from pointing weapons at me, that is." He glared at John for a second before smiling again. He held up the stone. "I got another one. See?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, but what are they for?"

John put his gun away. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"As I've already explained to this young man, John was it? I need the stones to get a woman."
"A woman?" Sherlock frowned. "What woman?"

"River." The Doctor looked around at all of them and then sighed. "Right," he said. "You don't know."
He considered for a moment."This is probably not the best place to chat, since it will be swarming with policemen and other officials within a few minutes. Good thing I made sure the people living here weren't home, or they'd already have seen us. So what say you we move the briefing to my ship... Well... I say ship... It's more like a... box."

Jack grinned. "Sure."
"This way, please." The Doctor indicated for them to follow and then walked down the road at a brisk pace.