Torchwood London; London, England
Jack Harkness entered the observation room adjacent to the cell designed for dangerous aliens. Rex sat at a computer workstation documenting his experience. It offered insight they needed into the parasites. Knowing it was temporary didn't make it easier. Jack's experience with Bacchus meant he understood. At least Rex's situation was easier to resolve.
Rex stood and walked over to the transparent barrier. "Did Owen tell you?"
"Yeah." Jack didn't think much about the immortality or the price. "You volunteered for parasite treatments." Even if it killed Rex, it wasn't permanent.
"It could take awhile. With the Prime Minister's attitude, the quarantine patients need to be moved. Adding to the time it takes."
Jack offered the best smile he could fake under the circumstances. "You wanted a vacation."
"With Davy on a tropical beach."
That was another problem. "Keara overheard a conversation between Muriel Grace and Langley. MI6 is trying to turn Davy into an asset." With her family connections to Whitehall, it was impossible to resolve the security threat she posed.
Rex nodded. "She warned me." Pause. "Tosh helped with a recorded message telling Davy I was injured and it wasn't safe for her to visit because of the quarantine."
Which was unfortunately true. "I'm sorry."
Rex looked and sounded resigned. "The consequence of dating someone outside the network."
Networking was another conversation they needed to have. Just a very different kind. "The parasite offers another opportunity." Jack explained what he suspected about parasites allowing communication with the plant creatures.
"There are indications of a hive mind. The medical scans show unusual brain activity while I'm hearing sounds." Rex hesitated. "I'm documenting my symptoms and experiences prior to meeting Dr. Stone. To see if I'm influenced."
"If it's subtle, we might not be able to tell."
Rex nodded. "It's already assumed my judgment can't be trusted. If I start demanding to be released from the testing or whatever, Owen's instructed to kill the parasite."
Which probably meant killing Rex. Jack understood what others couldn't. Being dragged back to life by the universe wasn't a pleasant experience. No matter how many times it happened, it didn't get easier. As much as Jack hated losing the people he loved, it wasn't something he would wish on anyone.
"We will figure it out."
Rex hesitated. "Coordinate director duties with your son. Don't let it affect your marriage."
That reminded Jack of advice he gave Gwen in the beginning. "Ianto understands." But his anxiety wouldn't. Phone sex jokes wouldn't work for long.
"When the media finds out you're in London, rumors about your relationship will start. The tabloids will likely accuse you of having an affair with anyone they can take a picture of you taking to. It sells better than faithful family man." Rex knew from experience.
Jack needed to talk to Ianto before that happened. It wasn't an easy topic. His PTSD associated with the 456 involved their relationship. "Trefor and I will figure it out." Calling the general by his first name felt weird. It made Jack think of the child rather than the adult. Rationally, he understood they were two versions of the same person.
"Keep an eye on Davy."
That needed to be delegated. Jack knew if he was seen with Rex's girlfriend, the tabloids would find it irresistible.
The ear com clicked. "Jack," Gwen said. "The UN wants to talk to you."
"Understood. Give me a few minutes."
"Go." Rex walked back to his workstation.
Jack thought about sacrifice as he took the lift to the top floor. All of them had lost friends and lovers. The stress level was escalating even during downtown. It varied by office, but there were issued in every one. They needed more people. Except it required asking others to sacrifice everything to an often thankless job that guaranteed endless stress.
The only way to fix it was to completely recreate Torchwood's image globally. That would take significant time, effort and stress. From what the general said about the original time line, it wouldn't happen for decades. Everyone would be burned out long before that. The more he thought about it, the less Anwen's transformation surprised him. She gave her life for a world that destroyed itself.
Jack entered Rex office. Gwen sat behind the desk leaning on her hands. It had been that kind of day.
"Go back to Cardiff."
Gwen sat back. "Bobby and Celeste are at the hub. John brought them." Pause. "How are we supposed to deal with two more kids? Anwen…" She shook her head.
"Even Trefor is acting out."
"Give him the flight simulator."
She groaned. "He won't do anything else."
Because he's bored, Jack thought. "Bribe him."
She doesn't like that idea.
"Bobby can hack Internet nannies and program the replicator at Four. How long before he overrides the block you have on the simulator?" Jack wondered why Anwen hadn't done it.
Gwen set a hand over her face. "The general's lucky I can't ground him."
"Spanking him is Nessa's job. And Liam's." Jack laughed as Gwen grimaced.
Reluctantly, she stood. Then hesitated. "Have you talked to the general about his childhood? Anwen was more mother than…" Pause. "At some point, I stop caring about my kids?"
"Imagine a world where we were Torchwood. No hub. No network. No Ianto. Just us."
Gwen shook her head. "I can't."
"Anwen and Trefor won't see that world. She will always be his older sister. But she won't have to be his mother." Jack needed to figure out how to fix it so Gwen had more time to spend with them. The three of them deserved a better life.
The computer clicked. "Incoming call from UN headquarters."
She walked toward the door. "I don't know how to do this alone."
"You're not," Jack assured.
"It's easy for you. Your husband accepts your son."
Jack waited until she left. "Accept call." It clicked. "This is Captain Harkness. I will be handling Matheson's duties while he recuperates."
"This is the Secretary-General," Aleksander Dabrowski said. "US Ambassador to the UN Sara Reilly is here with me." Pause. "Your claims about what you found in the US are…"
Reilly injected, "Ridiculous."
"Since the plant creatures don't exist, you won't object to Torchwood removing them?" Jack gave it a moment. "There is a large mass of poisoned plants in Winthrop Harbor. It's the source of the parasites making people crazy and is actively contaminating Lake Michigan. Three cases in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea prove that it can be transferred between locations by exposed boats. That exposure contributed to plane crashes, contagious illnesses, injuries and death."
Predictably, she replied. "Our scientists disagree."
"Secretary-General," Jack said, "The US approach to inconvenient science endangers lives." The government's view of climate change proved that.