Author's Note: In case it wasn't clear, when Jack told the entire team she was pregnant at the end of the last chapter, that was right before everyone got retconned, so the girls still don't know.
x x x
Chapter 12: It's the Jawline, Once Seen Always Yearned For
x x x
Martha Jones stepped out of the elevator, and through the large rotating cog-door into Torchwood's main headquarters. She really tried to resist the urge to stare around in fascination, but she had honestly expected a pokey little underground bunker-esque place, not... oh, she was so not going to tell Jack this place was bigger than she'd expected it would be.
Then she heard a familiar female voice call out through the room- great acoustics, too- for her to hear, "Miss Martha Jones!"
She grinned up in the direction of the voice, seeing Jack leaning on a railing, watching her with a bright smile. Last time they'd met, Jack hadn't been especially cheerful- although that might have had something to do with Martha persistently teasing her about the Master- but now she was positively... well, radiant. "Oh, you're looking good, Jack!" she replied brightly.
Jack raised one eyebrow, grinning just a bit brighter at her, "Good to see you too." she laughed, before quickly running down the three steps to the level upon which Martha stood, and hugging her. As she did so, she whispered, "One word to either the girls, I'll make sure you have to endure every second of their henpecking, too."
Martha laughed, backing away from the hug, still grinning, "Now that's just cruel." she said, all but giggling.
She wondered if this meant that the men here knew? It would be an unusual turn-about on the nature of the condition, and no mistake. She remembered when Leo's wife had been expecting, he had sulked about with all his guy-friends- and a few of his wife's male acquaintances, none too happy at being left out of her life while all the women- including Tish- fussed over the pregnancy. Martha had taken Leo's side.
But she didn't dare ask Jack, now, as the two 'girls' in question were standing right there.
Jack shrugged innocently, turning face the three other people in the room. She indicated the pretty young Asian woman, "Toshiko-" then the pasty guy, "-Owen-" then the dark-haired woman, "-Gwen-" and behind Martha, where she hadn't realised the man from the tourist office had followed her down, he had been standing there so silently, like a ghost, "-Ianto. Meet Martha."
Martha smiled, nodding to each one in turn as they were introduced, then quickly picked up her things from where she had been forced to drop them in order to accept Jack's enthusiastic greeting.
"Uh, just a casual visit or...?" Owen asked her, in a slightly flirtatious tone, as if he hoped it wasn't going to be all business.
Martha, easily recognising the medical clothing Owen wore, chose to be playfully cruel, "I'm here to complete your post-mortem." she told him brightly.
And straight down to business.
It's something the Doctor told her once. You never think to notice it when you normally work in a hospital all the time, but... follow the smell of antiseptics, and you find the medical facility. One hundred percent guarantee. Sure, Owen reeked of it too, but without even needing to be obvious about sniffing the air, she quickly crossed the main room to find the white-tiled medical bay.
Meanwhile, she heard Jack explain cheerfully behind her, "Dr Jones works for UNIT." as if this would somehow comfort Owen to know why he was being usurped. Martha hoped not, the look on Owen's face had been priceless, and she hoped to continue to rile him.
"Oh, um, sorry... sorry, I get a bit confused." one of the two 'girls' asked, "Which one's UNIT?" Martha glanced back to see that it was Gwen who had spoken, but other than that, she maintained her air of command with relative ease.
"Intelligence, military." Jack explained, as they followed Martha into the medical bay, gathering around a railing that overlooked the workspace, "Cute red caps." Martha resisted the instinct to make some comment on this, as Jack continued, "The acceptable face of intelligence-gathering on aliens. We're more ad hoc... but better looking." The slightly raised tone of voice on the last three words made it quite clear that Jack was saying this directly to Martha, but she didn't retaliate, simply raising an eyebrow as she continued to sort out her medical kit.
Pulling on gloves and a medical coat, Martha turned now to the corpse on the table. All business, in spite of Jack's remarks, "I identified a pattern from UNIT's data on sudden deaths. Toxic shock. Nothing to link the victims. Different ages, sexes, ethnic origins, occupations. But there was a statistically significant concentration in South Wales."
As she began to examine the body itself, Jack laughed lightly, "Come on, Martha, be honest. You just came all this way to see me."
"Well he did, why shouldn't I?" she asked, glancing up at Jack for a second. Jack simply smirked at this, and Martha shook her head.
"So what about this pattern, then, Dr. Jones?" Owen asked, and Martha was secretly grateful to him that this conversation was cut short. It should be private. True, she had mentioned the Doctor, but Jack had started it by prodding her about reasons to visit now.
"They were being written off as suicides or accidents." Martha explained, turning her attention to Owen, while still checking the body, looking for the tell-tale sign that this one followed the same pattern as the others. And she found it. "Look. Puncture mark. Hypodermic needle. You'll find his bloodstream was pumped full of ammonium hydroxide."
The fact that the puncture mark was in the eye, hidden by the eyelid even when the eye was open normally, showed a degree of professionalism that had made Martha's skin crawl the first time she had seen it. Now it was just disturbingly familiar. Like being able to tell the difference between a normal knife-wound and a Toclafane's blade.
"Yeah. Bloodstream." Owen muttered, taking on an overly defensive air, "That was the thing I was going to do next."
"Have you checked his medical records?" Martha asked him, trying and failing to resist the urge to smile at his discomfort.
"Uh, no." he admitted, "I was just about to."
Martha smiled brightly, "Well, let's give it a go. You never know, Owen, you might learn something."
x x x
So the autopsy was over, the medical records checked. Shame about those, but Tosh was currently trying to find out who erased them and how. Meanwhile, Martha was left without any specific work to do, and Jack had invited her up to her office.
It was easy to relax in Martha's presence, letting down the mental shields the Doctor had trained her to use. Martha was hiding behind professionalism, too, but dropped the mask almost the second they were alone together.
"So how're you doing?" she asked Jack, idly looking around the office as she did so. She seemed... happy. In spite of working under UNIT orders to identify some strange pattern of possibly-alien-related murders, Jack could tell that she was genuinely happy.
"Never better." Jack said brightly, leaning back in her chair. But she didn't want to allow the conversation to focus on herself, so she quickly added, "How are your parents?"
"Getting better." Martha said with a nod, "They send their love."
Jack nodded, "Give them mine." she answered, automatically. Forced and idle pleasantries were better than being interrogated on her health, any day. But it had stalled, as Martha gave her a careful look, and didn't come up with any reply... harmless or otherwise. Jack was forced to try again, "So... End of the World Survivors Club."
Martha laughed nervously, sitting opposite her, "God, I am so glad to see you, Jack!"
"See, you did come all this way just to see me." Jack cheered, sitting forward and grinning, "I knew it, doesn't matter what gender I am, I'm still irresistible."
Martha raised an eyebrow, "Seemed to make a difference to someone..." she eyed Jack up, "You're looking good for almost seven months along." she added with a sly grin. Martha had been there when the Doctor had given the lecture on differences between human and Time Lord biology, and the odds of how it could affect Jack.
Jack rolled her eyes, sitting back again, this time more defensive, "Yeah, and I suppose you're gonna pull rank on me to get away with yet more insults to my taste in men?"
Martha feigned innocence, "Who, me? Wouldn't dream of it!" Jack knew damned well that Martha was thinking about a dozen things to say that would be offensive in one way or another. Sure, she couldn't read the thoughts word for word, but at least four separate emotions regarding spiteful things to say about the Master seemed perfectly clear and right at the front of Miss Jones' mind.
"Mmhm." Jack mumbled, not wanting to continue talking about that, "So you heard about the Doctor coming here?"
"UNIT picked up the TARDIS signal, but they don't usually follow up on it unless there's a disturbance of some kind." Martha said with a shrug, "They did seem to think I deserved to know about it, though."
"You miss him?" Jack asked idly.
"No. I made my choice." Martha said, just a bit too dismissively. Jack raised an eyebrow, sceptically. "Maybe sometimes." Jack grinned knowingly at that. "Tiny bit. Tiny, tiny. Then I come to my senses again."
"I think he was better as a woman, to be honest." Jack observed idly, "He made a very purposeful effort to be a bit of a jerk, when he was here."
"Yeah, she wasn't quite so insensitive." Martha agreed, nodding, "What about you, then?"
"You'd be amazed." Jack said with a grin.
"Well, tell me?"
She leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, and Martha mirrored the movement so that Jack could easily whisper to her, "I can almost read your mind." Martha's eyes widened at that, lighting up somewhere between glee and mild fear at the thought. "Almost." she repeated for emphasis.
"Wow." Martha stared.
"Yeah, there are some benefits to getting knocked up by a Time Lord." Jack said almost gleefully, sitting back again.
"Not planning on finding out for myself, thanks." Martha retorted.
Jack shrugged, "I didn't exactly plan on it, either, y'know." she observed idly, earning a half-glare from Martha. So she decided to change the subject, "So UNIT, now?"
"Oh yes." Martha said, a distinct air of smugness in her voice now.
"What is it, medical officer?" Jack asked, slightly sceptical. Martha nodded in answer. "Does this mean I have to call you ma'am?"
Martha wrinkled her nose slightly, "No. Just follow my orders to the letter."
Jack smirked faintly at that suggestion. That sounded like it could be a lot of fun... but then she turned serious and pointed out, "You should have called me if you were looking for a job."
"I wasn't." Martha said quickly, and sincerely, "This woman from UNIT rang out of the blue, said I was just what they needed, that I'd come highly recommended by an impeccable source."
Jack could only think of one person that Martha knew, who would count as 'an impeccable source' to UNIT. She couldn't help feeling a bit jealous that the Doctor had looked out for Martha like that, but completely ignored Jack for well over a century.
"He must have thought he owed you." she said, keeping her jealousy out of her voice with some effort. And once more to distract from the subject she had taken a dislike to- and at this rate Martha must think she had the Doctor's attention span!- she asked, "So, do you think you could get me one of those red caps? For personal use... I'm thinking Ianto might look good in it."
Martha pulled a face that managed to show amusement and clearly state 'Oh God! I don't want to know!' at the same time, "You want uniforms, get your own." she said bluntly, "Now, am I going to get the guided tour?"
"Yes, ma'am." Jack said cheerfully, grinning brightly. Only now did she lazily rise from her chair and offer Martha a hand to lead her out of the office.
"Watch it." Martha warned, smiling as well as she accepted the offered hand.
x x x
After giving Martha the tour of the base, Jack had casually given out orders for the team, to investigate the problem... then retreated to her office to avoid being dragged into it herself. She hated to admit it, after so many years of charging fearlessly at the front lines, but she needed to stay back where it was safe. So, as she had been doing a lot more, recently, she allowed Gwen to take charge of the main investigation.
She was quite certain that Gwen was interpreting her reclusive behaviour as encouragement for Gwen herself to take a more pro-active role, and possibly even testing her leadership potential. She was happy to allow Gwen to believe this, as she did do a very good job and Jack was quite sure that she enjoyed the responsibility more now than she had when Jack had been away. At least now Gwen had someone to fall back on, if she needed to, even if she didn't choose to use that option much.
When Ianto got a report of another attack, Gwen eagerly took the initiative, and she and Martha went off to deal with it. He kept Jack up to date on vague facts. The only survivor had named a medical research place called the Pharm. Gwen was looking into it.
A few hours later, Jack finally deigned to leave her office, and casually dropped a pile of irrelevant- in her mind at least- paperwork onto Ianto's desk. Hiding away in her office had the most unfortunate side-effect of boredom strong enough even to inspire this disturbing level of productivity. At least, it did when Ianto was otherwise occupied with the investigation, and therefore unavailable to distract her.
She joined the rest of the team in the conference room, where Martha and Owen were in the process of giving a presentation on their findings.
She just caught Martha's words, "She called it Reset." before they noticed she was there.
They all turned to look at her, Owen muttering sardonically, "She is still alive." But she shrugged and sat down at the table, waving for them to continue as if she'd been there the whole time.
"So what does it do?" Ianto asked, drawing their attention back to the display on the screen. It didn't look like anything much, really... but microbiology really wasn't Jack's strong suit.
Owen shrugged, giving Jack one last sceptical look before explaining, "Well, think about when you run, you know, a virus scan through your computer, yeah? The software works its way through the files and when it finds a Trojan or a virus or whatever, identifies it and then it deletes it. That is what this stuff does to the human body. But it's not just viruses. It's harmful bacteria, toxins, even mutant cells, you name it. It's like the body's been turned back to its factory settings."
"It's the ultimate magic bullet." Martha added, "Supersedes anything and everything in the pharmacological armoury."
"But that would be the greatest medical discovery in history." Gwen said, confused as to why this was a reason to kill people.
"Exactly." Martha agreed, "Except..." she pressed a button, and the image on the screen changed to one of some kind of insect, "It comes bundled with a lethal alien parasite."
"Ah." Jack said slowly, "Not so good a discovery."
"The parasite needs a healthy body until it's incubated." Martha continued, "So the parasite egg incorporates this magic bullet, which puts everything in the system back to its factory settings."
"Reset." Jack said, with a dismally dramatic tone, and a vague wave of her hands to emphasise the point, "Cute." She leaned back in her chair, with a sigh, "So, what do we know about the Pharm?"
Ianto spoke up, now, "Well, the public image is innocent enough. Private-public partnership between the government and a consortium of the pharmaceutical companies. Researching and developing cutting-edge biotechnology."
"Their IT systems are way more cutting-edge than they need to be." Tosh pointed out, sounding quite annoyed by this fact, as if said IT systems were personally offending her on some level. Jack assumed she'd tried and failed to hack them. "Plus, they've got seemingly unrestricted security clearance."
"Which means they'd have the capability to erase medical records if they wanted to." Martha observed.
"Exactly." Tosh agreed with a nod.
"And who's in charge of this place?" Jack asked, with the sinking feeling that they were facing a much more powerful adversary than they had previously assumed.
"Institute director is a Dr. Aaron Copley." Gwen informed them reading directly from a file in her hands, while Ianto brought up a profile of the man in question on the main screen.
"Yeah, I know his work." Owen said, almost bored by it, as if this guy was entirely old news to him, "He's one of the most respected research scientists in his field."
"Harvard graduate." Ianto explained efficiently, "Did research at Cambridge. Last job, Harvard Professor of Molecular Pharmacology. Came to the UK to set up the Pharm."
Jack looked at the picture of the older man, on his profile, and smirked faintly, "Hmm, he's kinda handsome, too." she said, earning very odd looks from Gwen and Tosh. Owen didn't seem to notice, or possibly idolised the man's work too much to argue, while Martha and Ianto just rolled their eyes at her remark. "D'you think he'll like visitors?"
She had just stood to leave, when Gwen asked suddenly, "You're going there yourself?" sounding only slightly hurt that she wasn't getting to lead this stage of the investigation.
Jack stopped, turning to face her and smiling brightly as she explained the plan in two simple words, "Charm offensive."
Gwen laughed, "Never a truer word spoken."
x x x
Ianto made an appointment to meet with Mr Copley that very day, and Jack and Owen immediately headed out to the Pharm.
Security around the place was clearly far greater than should really be necessary. The guards at the gate were armed, and when Jack tried to sense their feelings she read a practically military sense of purpose from them. The perimeter appeared to have armed patrols, as well, from what she could glimpse as they drove up towards the stately manor house that had been converted into the research facility.
If it weren't for the armed guards surrounding the place- covertly enough that most might not really notice, but Jack certainly did- the building might succeed in appearing inviting. Almost warm, even. To the human eye.
As Jack stepped out of the SUV, she felt a cry of pain echo weakly through her mind, for an instant... but then it was silenced. She frowned, trying to figure out where it had come from. She was able to tell that it was neither human nor Time Lord, as those were the only two races she could specifically identify now, but she didn't know what it was. At least this time she was capable of ignoring it.
She shook off the odd feeling, and led the way into the building, past another pair of armed guards.
Mr Copley's secretary allowed them into the office, and the man himself looked up from his desk, to face them, "Ah, yes. Torchwood, isn't it?" he said rather charmingly. This immediately put Jack on her guard. It was precisely the tone Time Agents used when they wanted people to believe they were friendly and generally harmless.
She nodded, smiling warmly, in answer, "I believe our associate informed you why we're here?" she asked, "We'd like to ask for your help in an investigation."
She placed a folder down on his desk, and then settled herself comfortably in the seat opposite Copley, without asking... and crossing her legs slightly slower than entirely necessary. She was wearing her favourite- rather tight- pants, and while the gesture was naturally more effective with a skirt, it would still serve to draw most men's attention no matter what the woman in question was wearing.
Copley did notice. He leaned forward, picked up the folder, and turned to the first page, before even taking his eyes off her. Then he frowned deeply when he saw the contents of the file.
"I'm very sorry to say you've had a wasted journey, Mrs...?" he hesitated, looking up at her and turning the dismissive greeting into a question. The appointment had been made in the name Torchwood, not any of their own names. And Jack was quite sure he was also asking if she was single.
Her smile didn't waver, even as she quickly sifted through random female names in her mind, and picked the first suitable one she could think of, "Harkness." Surprise registered on Copley's face, as the name seemed familiar to him. So he must have done his homework for this appointment. "And it's Miss, actually. But you can call me Jade." she said, with the practiced ease that came from lying about his/her name since he was fifteen.
She could literally feel Owen's surprise at the sudden and random new alias, but either he failed to show it, or Copley was paying too much attention to Jack to notice. Copley did smile faintly at the emphasis she put on the 'Miss' part, though. "An unusual surname." he commented, and she wondered just what he thought of the connection.
Did he think she'd got a job working for the infamous Captain Jack Harkness out of nepotism? Or did he think such infamous traits ran in the family? She didn't have any delusions that he would appreciate the latter, given Jack's track record, if he had gotten into the personnel files. If it was the former, however, he would be a great deal easier to manipulate.
She shrugged slightly, dismissing the question as irrelevant, and asking one of her own instead, "Why is it that you think we've wasted our time, here, Dr Copley?"
"Professor, actually." he corrected, smiling faintly.
Jack resisted the strong desire to inform him with great venom precisely how much that distinction failed in every way endear him to her. She needed his cooperation, after all. So instead she smiled, "But I can call you Aaron, right?" she asked sweetly.
He returned the smile, and she could tell that it was genuine. He liked her, but he was still wary of her, "Miss Harkness, I'm afraid I won't be of much help to your investigation."
Jack shook her head, smiling in a reassuring way, "We just need to ask you a few questions. It's standard procedure, Professor."
The particular way he blinked when she used his title told her that he had accepted her joke about using his first name, and was slightly disappointed that she hadn't been serious. She wasn't that surprised. Very few men would be unhappy about a pretty younger woman flirting with them.
"We need to know if you recognise any of these people." she gestured to the file he had been looking at, and he reopened it. She got the feeling that he was utterly unperturbed by the sight of the dead faces of the victims, but he still frowned convincingly enough for most.
"Well, Jade, I'm sorry to say none of these faces mean anything to me." he lied. It was a good lie, carefully wrapped in reassuring charm, but Jack knew the tells and picked up on it without needing to resort to telepathy, "And as the institute director, I would have met them personally, had they been our trial subjects."
Jack sat back in her chair, frowning and feigning confusion really well. Owen quickly caught on that she was playing dumb, and stepped forward now, "Uh, Professor, when I was writing my MD thesis, your published works on immunology were very helpful, so thank you."
Copley smiled at the compliment, "I'm glad to be of service."
"But the thing is." Owen continued, "One of these victims survived long enough to name your organisation before she died, and a friend of one of the other two heard him mention some unnamed clinical trial... which cured his diabetes."
Copley made a disbelieving snort, and shook his head, "But there is no cure for diabetes."
"Everyone knows that." Jack agreed brightly, "But I hope you wouldn't mind if we had a look around?" she asked, standing up, "It would help us to rule you out of our investigation."
Copley smiled at her, again. "Well, obviously our research suites are classified, so we can't grant you access to those." he pointed out, also getting up, and walking around his desk to stand right in front of her, "But we'd be delighted to give you the PR tour."
"A tour." Jack said brightly, eyes lighting up even as she tried not to think of the double-entendre John Hart had conjured for that, the first day they'd met, "That sounds wonderful. Normally, though, Torchwood tends to mean 'access all areas'."
She got a brief flash of emotion from Owen, so clear that she could almost literally translate it into words. Words that would probably go something along the lines of, 'Bet he wants to access all your areas'.
"Not here, I'm afraid." Copley said, sounding almost regretful, "But if you'd like to come with me, I would be more than happy to show you around the rest of the facility." He headed towards the door, affording Jack a moment to shoot a glare at Owen, warning him not to say a word.
Then she followed Copley, and smiled as he held the door open for her, "I'd love to."
x x x
The PR tour consisted of being shown around about a quarter of the grounds- the rest appeared to be classified- followed by a very inviting video for potential test subjects.
Jack was all smiles and sweetness around Professor Copley. It made Owen feel quite nauseous, first at the realisation that Jack was perfectly capable of playing dumb and innocent when she damned well pleased, and second at the sheer level of tooth-achingly cute she was achieving in the process. And Copley was falling for it, hook line and sinker.
Poor sod must be desperate, not to realise she was using him... or maybe Owen was just so jaded from knowing Jack for as long as he had done.
Either way, it did serve what Owen assumed to be Jack's purpose, thoroughly distracting the man from the fact that Owen was scanning for alien life forms- of which there was a great concentration in the fenced off area behind the building- and making very careful notes of everything they were allowed to see, and exactly which doors were off-limits.
He hated to admit it, but tea-boy would be better for this job. What with the photographic memory he boasted about fairly often... in that annoying way he had of somehow making it seem like it wasn't the smug gloating Owen knew it really was.
Still, he figured he did well enough, considering. And Jack was disturbingly efficient at noticing when Owen began to fall behind, and delaying Copley to allow him to make his notes and catch up. Like she'd done this sort of thing before. He didn't dare try straying from the path they were led on, though, in spite of Jack's impressive abilities at distracting... anything with a pulse, apparently.
Owen also read over the official leaflet Copley had given Jack a copy of... and she had immediately dismissed and passed on to him, much to Copley's apparent pleasure that she wasn't showing any evidence of suspicion anymore.
He deliberately failed to comment on the fact that several of the clinical trial programs listed in this leaflet seemed to skim over the animal testing phase with no detailed results at all, simply saying that the products were considered safe for human testing. However, he did circle each of these programs, guessing they were the illicit alien drugs, and wondering if they were all this Reset stuff, or if there was even more going on in this place.
The video at the end of the tour included a brief history of the building before the Pharm took it over, and a generalisation of state-of-the-art technology that may or may not really be used in this place, but certainly sounded both flashy and innocent. During the video, Owen lurked in the back of the room, far enough from Jack and Copley that, thanks to the volume of the video itself, he was able to relay his observations to Tosh, over the comms.
After Jack bade a friendly farewell to Professor Copley, it took her all of ten minutes to make the probably-shoulda-been-twenty-minute trip back to the Hub, where Tosh had reported that they already had a plan to investigate the Pharm more closely.
"I need a shower." Jack said vaguely, as soon as they stepped off the lift... and so she wandered off, leaving the rest of the team to it.
Owen snickered at this, and Ianto scowled, "Do I want to know?"
"Not really." Owen replied vaguely, "But you'll be happy to know I was there the whole time and didn't throw up."
"It can't have been that bad, then." Ianto said, seeming to relax noticeably.
Owen scowled, "If my teeth start falling out any time soon I blame her."
"Are you asking for artificial sweeteners in your coffee?" Ianto sniped.
Owen's eyes widened in terror, "No! No no, definitely not! No." he retreated a few steps, backing down from that conversation, and then turned and quickly made his way over to Tosh's workstation, "Hey, Toshie, what've we got here?"
"The Pharm are in the market for volunteers." she explained, "So Gwen figures, if we can get someone to go undercover... get a look inside these buildings over here-" she indicated a map of the basic layout of the building. From what Owen recalled, that was the fenced in area she was pointing at, now, "-or better still, get to their computer system from the inside... we can find out where this Reset drug is really coming from, and put a stop to it."
"Someone undercover?" Owen asked, sceptically, "This is the plan? Bit dangerous, isn't it? I mean, you three don't have the medical training to know what to look for... and they already know me, don't they?"
"Forgetting someone, are we?" Martha's voice asked, and he looked up to see her leaning casually against the stairs behind him. She walked over to them purposefully, "I am a fully qualified doctor as well, y'know. I've also had UNIT training, and more than my fair share of experience infiltrating unfriendly territory."
Owen considered it for a moment, scowling. He liked Martha, even if she had kind of demeaned him when she first arrived. She was hot, she was smart and after that initial bout of territoriality they'd worked really well together on this case. He didn't like the idea of her going into the lion's den alone. "It's too dangerous." he announced with finality.
Martha scoffed at this, "If you knew half the danger I've handled just fine." she looked around, and frowned prettily, "Where's Jack?"
Oh, so she was gonna go enlist the boss on her side. Brilliant.
As if saying her name was a cue, Jack emerged from the locker rooms. Her hair was slightly damp, but that was the only sign she'd apparently bathed within less than five minutes. "Jack!" Martha greeted eagerly, "Owen and I were just debating our plans to infiltrate the Pharm." it seemed almost childish, in Owen's opinion. Like the kid who goes crying to teacher because she didn't get picked to play rounders.
"And?" Jack looked around at the rest of the team.
Gwen was the one to answer, stepping forward to face Jack, "We think someone should volunteer as a test subject. Get into the medical side of things, and find out what's going on. Maybe get into the computer as well." she added with a brief nod in Tosh's direction.
Jack frowned slightly, "Let me guess... Martha volunteered."
"You know I can handle it, Jack." Martha protested, "Tosh and Gwen agreed with me, but Owen-" she trailed off, frowning. She clearly didn't get WHY Owen didn't want her to go.
"Is being a prick again." Gwen put in brightly.
'Or thinking with it... yeah.' Owen thought idly to himself.
"Nothing new there, then." Jack observed with a smile at Owen to show she didn't mean it out of malice. Or was that a knowing smile? Shit and damnation on the bloody telepathic alien that she just had to get knocked up by! Jack actually chuckled, proving she had read his mind. Buggeration.
"Come on, Jack." Martha insisted, "I've been in worse places and you know it."
After a long pause, glancing at each of the other team members, Jack nodded, "Okay."
Owen sulked.
x x x
It was late, and while Martha had already applied as a test subject for the Pharm, she wouldn't be seen until tomorrow afternoon. Ianto had spent the early evening sorting out fake IDs, and other information for her. She was now known as Samantha Jones. Rule number one of fake names; pick one that you'll be able to answer to automatically.
The endings of Samantha and Martha were both similar enough that he hoped she could do that... should be fine as long as people didn't try to call her Sam.
On Jack's orders, Tosh had spent the evening setting up the appropriate tech for Martha to communicate with the rest of the team. Torchwood contact lenses. Brilliant devices, reverse-engineered for human use, from alien technology. Cameras, literally in the eyes... way better than planting a microphone on an agent, any day.
After that, everyone had gone home early, so as to be properly rested for tomorrow. Everyone except Jack and Ianto.
Ianto wasn't tired, but felt quite drained by the events of the day, and right now he wanted little more than to forget all about the entire thing. Unfortunately, his own mind conspired against this desire.
"Do you really think Martha will be okay?" he asked Jack.
"Copley's nothing to the sort of danger she's dealt with before, Ianto." Jack said with certainty. It wasn't entirely reassuring, but Ianto could always tell when Jack was putting on a brave face in spite of the odds- even when he pretended he was comforted by the attitude- and right now she did seem to believe what she was saying.
Ianto sighed, "It just seems like a big risk... sending her in there, on her own."
"Well he already knows Owen and me." Jack shrugged, "You're good at deception, Ianto, but Martha has the medical training we need on the inside, and trust me, she's good at avoiding danger, even when it's in the same room as her."
Ianto took her at her word, on this, but still had to ask, "About Copley..."
"You have some moral objection to flirting with the man who runs an organisation you want to infiltrate, Ianto?" she challenged, grinning at him.
He had to admit, she made a good point. Ianto had done precisely that to Jack, in order to get Lisa into the Hub. Although that incident had led to their current relationship, and he opened his mouth to point out that fact.
But before he could speak, she continued, "It's amazing what people can ignore when there's a pretty face to look at instead. Owen got all that information because Copley was looking." she smiled, and placed a reassuring hand on Ianto's shoulder, "Not touching. Promise."
"Then why'd you need a shower?" Ianto insisted.
"I hate the smell of medical facilities." she said with a shrug, "My hair stank of antiseptic." He believed her. Her expression was open and honest, and she had no reason to lie... had admitted to worse before than Owen had implied about this time. "Come on, Ianto." she said gently, taking his hand, "My office... now."
He put up no resistance as she led him up the stairs to her office. He had no objection to following Jack if she wanted him to. He knew that she wanted sex... in fact, finding a time when Jack Harkness wasn't in the mood was something Ianto didn't think was possible, but it did always seem to help when Jack was tense or worried.
Locking the door behind him, Ianto turned to see that Jack was already sitting in her chair, and when he hesitated, wondering for a moment if he had misread her and she actually needed to talk about something important, she beckoned him closer with one finger. It was impossible to resist that inviting smile she wore, and before he really thought about what he was doing, he found himself leaning over her and kissing her hungrily.
Jack arched up towards him, moaning softly into the kiss... begging him for more, as she began to unfasten his belt.
Not for the first time, Ianto considered that Jack must give off intoxicating pheromones of some kind. Before he knew what was happening he had unbuttoned her shirt... while she had already succeeded in unfastening his pants, stood up and pushed him back against the desk, pressing her whole body against his, one knee up on the desk next to him.
His hands ran up her back to try to unfasten her bra, when he felt something... else.
Jack froze, half-way through trying to give him a love-bite on his neck- at least she had the consideration to do so where his shirt collar would hide it- and slowly looked up at him, "Did you feel that?" she asked slowly.
He nodded, mind catching up with what had just happened. Entirely aside from the fact that it was just about the ultimate turn-off- with the possible exception of either Owen, or John Hart offering to join in- it was also a complete shock. He hadn't expected it at all, in spite of the fact that... yes, it probably had been long enough that it could happen.
She fell back into her chair, one hand moving to her abdomen, "The baby kicked." she sounded just as stunned as he felt.
Several seconds passed in deafening silence, then Ianto managed to get a grip on reality again and quickly rushed to her side, fastening his pants and trying not to feel too embarrassed as he did so. "I hadn't thought..."
"Neither had I." Jack said, slightly shaken, "Probably should have, but... since I don't look like it should be possible..."
Ianto really wasn't sure what to say to that, so he remained silent, crouching down next to her chair in a way that he hoped was comforting to her.
Jack slowly turned to look at him and sighed, "I'm not gonna get any, now, am I?" she laughed weakly. Ianto just gave her a 'you've got to be kidding me' look, and she shook her head, "Doesn't really matter." she said quietly, "All I-" she gasped, and then sounded indignantly outraged as she declared, "It did it again!"
Ianto snorted, in a failed attempt to hide his amusement, "You sound like this is a bad thing."
"Well..." she trailed off, staring at a blank wall across the office.
Ianto's eyes widened in shock when he realised that she was seriously considering his words, rather than taking them as the joke he had intended, "Jack?!" he asked, shocked and a bit afraid at her reaction, and putting a hand gently on her arm to both get her attention and try to reassure her.
She gave him an offended look, clearly recognising his emotions, but then she shook her head, "I just... didn't think about all the... side-effects. I wasn't expecting it. That's all." she sighed, leaning her head back... but then she looked down sharply and snapped, "Oh go to sleep!" Ianto smiled faintly at that, but then she laughed, "Wow, that actually worked!"
"Telepathy?"
"Maybe..." she said distantly, still looking down, and running her hand lightly over her flat belly with an odd sort of fascination, "You should probably go home, get some rest."
The sudden dismissal and eerie quiet she was displaying were not things Ianto would ever interpret as good signs. "I want to know you're okay." he said gently, but insistently.
She looked at him, feigning confusion, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I've been depressed before, Jack... I know the signs." She frowned, and opened her mouth to deny it, but his grip on her arm tightened slightly, "Jack, please, don't lie to me."
She blinked several times, and turned her head away, "You don't want to know what I'm thinking." she said, almost bitterly, "But it has nothing to do with second thoughts. I'd never have turned this opportunity down, even if he hadn't wanted it."
"He... the alien...?"
"Yeah." she looked back down at where her fingertips were drawing odd circles of their own accord, on her abdomen, "I was actually surprised he seemed to consider it a good thing. Never thought he'd be the fatherly type."
"Honestly find it difficult to see you as the motherly type." Ianto said with a weak smile, and her saw her smile slightly in return, "So why did you decide to keep it? I mean... we lead very dangerous lives here, it's a huge risk you're running just being here in your condition..." he stopped talking rather abruptly, realising that he wasn't really helping by trying to explain why he asked. He certainly wasn't trying to make her change her mind, but he realised it could sound like that.
"You'd not believe anything I'm willing to tell you." she said softly, "That's why I asked you to leave."
Ianto frowned, "Jack... please..." he tried to focus on his positive feelings for her. She had caved in before when he'd allowed her to read these emotions, and he hoped she would trust him again. He couldn't stand to see her upset like this.
But then he saw the last thing he had expected from Jack... ever, really. Tears began to run down the side of her face. "You'll hate me if I tell you."
"How could I ever-?" he started, but cut himself short. He had once hated Jack, for Lisa, but things were different now. "Why would I hate you for wanting to keep your own child?" he asked, stunned at the very idea.
"I told the father- I told Owen- I even told John fucking Hart- I was doing this for the good of the species. They're nearly extinct, only two of them left. Even if it's a hybrid it's better than letting them die out, right?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch until she started to sound practically hysterical.
It was like a dam had broken, letting out all her pent up emotions in one go. Ianto put an arm around her shoulders in a calming gesture, letting her lean against him, but when he opened his mouth to agree with her words and try to soothe her, she kept talking.
"But... but I honestly don't care about them. There's only one decent member of that species. The rest were apparently a bunch of arrogant jerks who like to play god by not intervening when they could, and the father of my child is a fucking monster! If it weren't for the telepathy, that I know it's in the best interests of the child, I'd never let that psychopath anywhere near me again."
Ianto felt slightly stunned, and really wasn't sure what to say to this. He'd known that Jack had felt no emotional attachment to the father of this child... but he hadn't thought that she would have allowed this to happen with someone that bad. "Why? What did he do?"
Jack shook her head, "Only one good thing..." she said, distractedly looking down at where her hand now rested over her abdomen... making it clear that she thought this child may well be the only good thing that man had done in his life, let alone just to her. Ianto wondered why she had ever had sex with him in the first place, if he was so terrible... but then he thought of John Hart and considered that Jack probably didn't see being a psychopathic bastard as that much of a turn-off.
Then a truly horrible thought occurred to him... when the Doctor had been here Jack had mentioned someone torturing and murdering her, before. Someone who had done... unspeakable things to her. She had just said the father of her child was a monster... had referred to the father and her torturer both by the word 'psychopath'. He tried not to acknowledge the connection, even as it formed quite solidly in his mind. The two were the same person.
He shivered slightly, and didn't dare ask if he was right.
"So you don't care about preserving the species." he said quietly. He could think of a few species he'd met, while working for Torchwood, that he figured the universe could do without... and he trusted Jack's opinion enough not to be particularly bothered by her disregard for an entire race, "What is your reason, then?" he asked quietly.
"For myself." she answered, sounding bitterly sardonic, as if this was a bad thing.
"I still don't understand. Why do you think I'd hate you for that?"
She shook her head, "I don't think you'll ever understand, Ianto. Best you leave now before I explain."
"I'm not going anywhere, Jack." he said, determined to know the truth... and to accept her for it. He'd already dismissed her past relationship with Hart, and so many others, including the real Captain Jack Harkness. Even accepted her current condition in spite of the fact it meant she had slept with someone else while she'd been away. He knew she had a dark past, and he didn't care. He wouldn't turn on her now for one more secret revealed.
Fresh tears ran down her face now, and she started to speak very quietly, "I just want someone to love and care for." As she said it, Ianto took her hand gently, trying to reassure her. "Someone who isn't going to grow old and die on me in less than a century, and leave me alone again."
That hit Ianto like a sucker-punch to the gut. He gasped in surprise at it... never having realised she thought that way. For a moment it was perfectly clear... Jack was immortal, in the most literal and eternal sense.
Torchwood records showed Jack was over a century old already- that they knew of- and showing no signs of staying dead anytime soon. Of course mortal human lives must seem so insignificant in that span of time. Jack had forever... And even discounting the most likely Death By Torchwood, Ianto would be lucky to get another sixty or seventy years at most.
That must seem like nothing to an immortal. Like the blink of an eye in the countless millennia Jack had to... 'look forward' to. He figured it deserved the sarcastic tone as he thought it, and shivered slightly as he tried to process the very thought of being alone for so long.
"I- I'm guessing, then..." he said, still stunned by that metaphorical kick to the face, "That... his species has a, ah... longer life-span than humans?"
Jack nodded slowly, looking almost as shaken as he felt. Maybe from sensing his emotions... he wasn't sure. "Eight hundred years, average... plus a kind of genetically engineered cheat, that lets them increase their life-span exponentially... theoretically... barring accidents." That was it, in a nutshell. The odds were relatively good that this child would live as long as Jack was able to protect it.
The silence between them grew tense for a few seconds, before Ianto could find the will to speak, "I... think I understand." he said finally. It hurt to admit it, but no matter what Jack felt for him now, he would still end up meaning next to nothing to her, in the long run. The best analogy he could think of was keeping a beloved pet, but then when it dies you get over it and move on... maybe get a new cat.
"I wish you didn't." she said quietly... not bothering to disillusion him.
Or worse still, maybe she was trying to push him away, so it wouldn't hurt more when he did die. He knew how it felt to lose a loved one, and couldn't imagine what it must be like to know with certainty before you even meet them that they will die before you, and you will have to live with it. He idly wondered if she even did care for him, or if it was all just a happy illusion, to pass the time until something more interesting came along... but he quickly dismissed that thought as far too jaded. Maybe if she was already thousands of years old... but he really hoped not.
Once again, there was near deafening silence, as they both thought about what had been said... but finally, Ianto couldn't take the tension, and spoke slowly, "So Owen was right..." he said, shocked and horrified at the very idea that such a thing might be possible.
"About what?" Jack asked, looking at him with confusion, as if she also believed Owen being right was a rare event indeed.
"He said I was just your part-time shag." Ianto said quietly, frowning at the floor in front of him, rather than looking at her. The silence that followed this statement hurt more than words could have... she wasn't trying to deny this, either.
When she did eventually speak, it was in an odd too-casual tone, as if she was refusing to think about what she felt as she said it, "Depends how you look at it, I suppose." She didn't wait for him to ask what she meant by that, continuing to talk a bit too quickly, "In theory, a lifetime for you could still be perceived as a brief fling for an immortal."
"And which way do you look at it?" Ianto asked, warily.
Jack frowned, "I... think I'm still too young to see it that way..."
"Then what do you see it as?" Ianto asked, swallowing down a wave of bitterness that threatened to overwhelm him. He hated that she was being so evasive, with an issue that affected him so deeply. Did she even know how he felt about her? Really?
Jack seemed unsure how to react to his tone, hesitating and looking almost afraid before admitting, "I try not to think too much about that..."
"I'm not sure how to take that." Ianto admitted. He hated feeling unsure about where he stood with Jack. The only thing worse than that was being unsure if he would live or die. Actually, they seemed to have become just about equal in his mind.
Jack closed her eyes, her earlier tears had dried now, but left visible trails down her face, "What we have is... a very good thing. I don't want to lose it." she admitted, sadly... her tone acknowledging the inevitability of that loss, one way or another.
Some of the hurt dulled and Ianto unthinkingly relaxed, "Neither do I." he said. He felt a sudden urge to reassure her that he would never leave her, but he couldn't lie. He would leave her, no matter how hard he tried not to. Instead, he said, "Having the child for that reason... isn't selfish."
When Jack turned to look at him, there were fresh, unshed tears in her eyes, "Isn't it?" she asked darkly.
"No." Ianto replied honestly, "It's human."
Jack actually laughed, a pained and practically soulless laugh, "I wonder how long that word will apply to me." she said bitterly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, concern slipping into his voice.
"Give me a few thousand years... will I be as bad as them? As him? Not care about anyone but myself? I've wondered this before, you know. You can only lose so much before you start to shut it all out." She smiled faintly at him, but it was a twisted and self-depreciating smile, "I'm already trying, even if I've failed miserably at keeping some people at a safe distance from me."
"You'll never be like that." Ianto whispered. He couldn't imagine Jack as she had described. It was just wrong. Jack was... Jack. "I know you won't be." he said firmly, reaching out a hand, as if to touch her stomach but pausing a few inches away. "You'll love this child, Jack. What you're doing is in no way selfish." he repeated.
Jack took Ianto's hand, smiling a real smile this time, even if it was accompanied by tears. "It's not fair." she whispered, "There's so many people I wanted to keep with me... I'd rather grow old and die than live with the loss of another person I..." the word didn't pass her lips- she stopped herself abruptly, swallowing back the evident pain of even thinking it- but he knew she had been about to say 'love'.
Ianto smiled sadly, "I'm sorry for everyone you've lost." He didn't know what else to say. Was terrified of interpreting what she had just not-said the way it really sounded.
Jack gently pulled on Ianto's hand, encouraging him move closer, until they had their arms wrapped around each other, in spite of the arm of her chair between them, "I'm sorry... I should never have told you any of this. All I did was hurt you."
Ianto shook his head, wrapping his arms around her with a sigh, "Don't be sorry. It isn't fair that you can't talk to someone about this. I don't mind being that person." And he really meant that. He'd do anything for Jack.
x x x