Chapter 9.
The entire Torchwood team were assembled around the meeting table with two extra guests. They were all sipping take out coffee and tea that Ianto had gone out and bought from a quaint little café from the other side of the bay. He was still fuming about the coffee machine that Tosh had wrecked and was now gazing at the brunette guest with barely concealed apprehension as she buzzed a strange little device with a blue light at the remnants of the machine, insisting that she could fix it.
Gwen, Owen and Tosh were still looking quite worried and uncomfortable about the sudden appearance of a 1960s police box in the middle of the hub, one of the only bases in Britain with near impenetrable defences. Owen looked to be calming down quicker than the girls. His cocky nature didn't allow him to stay perceptibly shocked for too long. Gwen was not far behind him, but Tosh was still visibly shaking. She had given up on her coffee long before from fear of shaking too much and spilling yet more boiling hot liquid for the day.
The four Torchwood team mates sat off to the side, huddled together silently while watching their boss laugh and mutter quietly to the new arrivals. The four of them were still waiting for explanations.
Jack looked as if Christmas had come early. There was a rare light in his eyes, which danced with joy and merriment. It was very unusual for the Captain to show such open happiness. He normally had a solemn haunted look in his eyes, which had now been replaced with the arrival of these two beautiful women. More shocking than anything, was that Jack wasn't even laying on the charm. It was undoubtedly still there of course. A moment would never go by without his natural charm making its presence known, but he wasn't forcing it with flirtations and innuendo like his colleagues were used to seeing.
He was happily sat at the other side of table to his employees, cornered in between the blonde and the brunette, talking quietly, laughing every so often and looking completely content. His features shone with warmth and love as he gazed at the two women who were quite obviously very good friends of his.
The two women seemed to be making themselves right at home in the Hub. They hadn't shown much curiosity towards the group of staff or their surroundings. The curvaceous blonde had been startled somewhat when the pterodactyl had screeched for attention, but the brunette had calmly taken her hand and whispered soothing encouragements in her ear. The blonde had grinned at the brunette with an expression of pure entranced love that just led to rather dirty thoughts in Owen's mind of the two mystery women together in a highly provocative manner. At that point Jack had given Owen an unrestrained glare, clearly saying 'think or do anything out of line and you have me to answer to'.
So now they were all sat around the large oval table, respectively drinking coffee, and in the case of the four Torchwood employees out of the loop, gazing curiously at the three old friends as they sat across from them.
"So, Jack, you gonna explain why the two lovely ladies from the crash site and you showed up in our office in a bloody box?" asked Owen who was just trying to distract his mind from fantasies of the two women in question so that Jack didn't castrate him when he became powerless to stop himself and he acted on his impulses.
The others of the Torchwood group let their full attention rest on their superior, as did the two mystery women. They were intrigued as to how he was going to handle the explanation.
"Well, team, this is Rose and the Doctor. Rose, Doctor, this is Gwen, Toshiko, Ianto and Owen. They're my team." He made the introductions with a distinct aura of pride.
"Well thanks Captain," Owen said sarcastically, "That just clears everything up."
Gwen made sure to hush Owen reproachfully before she cleared her throat, took the plunge and spoke up. "Well we get that they're friends of yours Jack, but what are they doing here, and what the hell is that box thing. That thing freaked the shit out of us, especially Tosh."
"I've heard it before" Tosh spoke up sounding afraid and shaky. "Last time I heard it was after that spaceship had crashed into Big Ben back in London. There was a fake alien pig thing. And a northern guy was there. After he left I heard that noise."
"Of course!" piped up the Doctor suddenly, making the Torchwood team jump and stare at him in bewilderment. "That's where I remember you from. Thought I recognised you."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah, I'm the northern guy. Or was. Couple of faces ago now!"
"Right", said Gwen in that patronising way of hers, lengthening the vowels sounds far longer than they should ever respectively be pronounced. "You're a northern guy? A northern man who just so happens to be a woman with a London accent and tits."
"Great aren't they? The Doctor asked looking down at his chest with a smug grin of appreciation. Owen burst out laughing and Jack sent him a firm scowl that made him turn his bellowing laugh into a chesty cough almost immediately. "Just getting used to them myself, but they really are quite fun!"
"Anyway" attempted Jack, who was desperately trying not to laugh himself. Wouldn't make do to encourage the behaviour of Owen in any way shape or form. That was never good. "Basically you guys are on a need to know basis." At the outraged looks of his staff he continued. "Rose and the Doctor are travellers. The Doctor is from another world and the bloody box as Owen so eloquently put it is the Doctor's spaceship. Now the Doctor never used to be female, unless there is something he isn't telling me. He's been changed on a cellular level by the weapon of a hostile. The hostile is the thing we can thank for the crash, and has since evaded detection. We need to help the Doctor get the weapon so he can analyse it and change back."
"So what do we do know?" Piped up Tosh with slowly reviving bravery.
"You guys go home, get some sleep. We can't get this thing until the proper diagnostics have been performed and it's tracked down, I think diagnostic programme Alfa twelve should be able to manage it. So the computers and the Tardis can find the thing while we all get some down time. I suggest you all get some rest because tomorrow I want you all here at 7am ready to start, I'm afraid that will only give you a few hours though."
The group mumbled their understanding that Jack was making orders rather than suggestions. Jack turned to the Doctor and Rose, lifting an eyebrow as if waiting for compliments on his staff and workforce. They could clearly see that he was proud of this bunch and wanted to show them off. He turned back to the group as they finished stating their understanding and acceptance of the instructions.
"Ianto? Are you okay? You haven't said much since we've been here."
Ianto practically ignored Jack but bent forward over the table towards the Doctor.
"Tell me truthfully Doctor. My coffee machine. Is she going to be all right?"
N.A: Thank you to all those who have reviewed so far (you know who you are). It felt good to receive so many reviews for chapter 9. For all those who have reviewed I give you doughnuts with pink icing and sprinkles and edible ball bearings, the same will be given to all those who click that little button and decide to review this chapter. To all those who haven't reviewed and still resist reviewing, I pelt you with said edible ball bearings. I will pelt you until you submit! SUBMIT goodamn!!!