Chapter Twenty-Six
*^*^*^*^*^*^*January 7th*^*^*^*^*^*
Christmas passed under a haze of depression. Two out of three of the time travellers had died; one committing suicide while the other returned through the rift which practically guaranteed death. Owen was hit the hardest out of all of them since he had gotten very close to Dianna. He had practically retreated from the team in his depression, Dianna was the first person he had willing let close to him since the death of his fiancé. Consequently, he was pushing Tosh away more than he normally would, and I was the only one who had any chance of getting through to him since I refused to put up with his shit.
On top of this depressive atmosphere, had been the panic and clean up resulting from a star shaped ship which had attacked London and the resulting drainage of the themes. This had come under UNIT authority, but Torchwood had been involved in the cover-up. Jack had also gotten his hands on everything that had been discovered, figuring out that it was the Doctor who drained the Themes. Because of this, they also discovered that there were several unoccupied Torchwood bases in London that Yvonne had hidden from them. Tosh was tasked with digging through the data bases and determining where these bases were, what they were working on and whether they were still abandoned. Once they had that information, they could begin emptying the bases and repurposing.
The team had been run ragged in the days after Christmas with the number of alien debris that had been discovered when their energy signatures were picked up by either Tosh or Jack, as well as an increase in the number of Weevils that were outside of the sewers – even if they didn't always have the opportunity to attack anyone.
More recently they had been getting reports from an old dance hall. The police had written it of since the building showed no signs of being inhabited and there was never anyone there when they responded to the disturbance call outs. Since this had been going on for two weeks, I had brought it to Jack's attention and they decided to go and give the hall a visit.
Tosh was accompanying them to see if she could pick up any readings before heading to her grandfather's party. I would have preferred that Tosh wasn't part of the group investigating it since this was the first time in four years that Tosh would be able to go and see a member of her family, and even than it was only for this one day. She wouldn't be able to visit them regularly for another year, in which her five years under watch or detention, would be over and she would be able to move about freely. The restrictions hadn't hit Tosh that hard, except for the fact that she couldn't visit her family, because she saw a lot of Wales for her work and had even been in London several times as a result of something Torchwood related.
The building Jack pulled up outside of was clearly old, the windows were all boarded up and a large majority of the wall was covered in graffiti. The front door was plastered with old and new posters, although the majority of them had been covered by 'Vote Saxon' posters. The man's campaign was everywhere you turned, and people loved him, but I didn't understand why. Even Jack – to some extend – was buying into Saxon's campaign since he wasn't supporting any of the other leaders nor was he speaking out against Saxon's policies like he did with nearly everyone else which was very odd, since Saxon didn't really have a very strong campaign.
"You realise that I can use Tosh's equipment, right? She has a party to get to." I told Jack as they climbed out of the van.
"I thought she had gotten all dressed up for me." Jack answered back with a flirty smile.
"It's my grandfather's eighty-eighth birthday. Eighty-eight is a joyous year for the Japanese. I'm off to London to watch grown men throw rice." Tosh explained with a smile. "And I don't mind helping out, I've still got five hours before I need to be heading to London. That's plenty of time."
"This shouldn't take more than thirty minutes. We're just here for a quick look around." Jack agreed, holding the doors open for me and Tosh.
"So what do we know?" Jack questioned.
"The Ritz dance hall. It's been derelict since 1989 but someone's complained about hearing music drifting out. Music from the 1940s?" Tosh finished with a question as she looked at the report on her phone since they could hear the faint music.
"Shush." Jack said suddenly. "Listen. You coming up?"
At the top of the two staircases there was a dance floor, and in the far corner a small serving bar.
"The chandelier. They don't make them like that anymore." I commented in wonder, staring up at the chandelier. There were sheets and cobwebs covering it, but the beauty and magnificent was still there. I wondered across the dance hall, taking in the small amount of graffiti on the walls – but the majority of the dance hall was just as it should be. Despite the dust, someone had been taking care of this place.
"No neon lights back then. Just dashing young soldiers and pretty young ladies." Jack grabbed Tosh in a dance hold. "And as they danced, the girls would look into their partner's eyes, smiling softly and say…"
Jack started to spin Tosh, but she stumbled back grabbing her laptop. "Mind my laptop Jack."
"Not quite what you were expecting." I laughed, returning to the pair.
"Yeah. I was thinking more along the lines of, 'and how long before you head off to war'?" Jack agreed with a laugh. "Come on. There's nothing here but memories and dust."
They had just reached the bottom of the stairs when they heard more laughter and swing music. They exchanged a glance and ran back up the stairs. The empty dance hall was suddenly full of colour, and life with soldiers dancing with their partners.
"They look so real." Tosh said in amazement.
"They're not ghosts." Jack answered, looking down at his Vortex Manipulator and back around with a wistful smile. "It's a simple temporal shift. Ha ha! And it's beautiful."
"We should get out." Tosh said quietly.
"Yeah, they'll disappear soon enough." I agreed, just as quietly.
They headed down the stairs. Even the foyer had changed, the dust was lifted and there was a man stood at the door – holding it open for them.
"Do call again." The man said.
"I would love to." Jack said with a wistful smile and I gentle pulled him out of the building.
"Come one. We'll find a place." I told Jack with a smile. He loved the older times – particularly the music of the 1940s. I didn't mind putting my searching skills to the test to find something that would make Jack happy. And there were plenty of places that did old time and decade themed dances. It wouldn't be hard to find a dance doing a 40s theme.
"It's night. Where's the SUV? Has it been stolen?" Tosh demanded incredulously, running out into the road and spinning in circles.
"Jack." I pointed first to the smoke in the distance, then to a very new poster that was stuck on the wall. All the old posters, vote Saxon posters and graffiti was gone and in its place was a Ritz advertising poster for a Goodbye Dance.
"No. We have." Jack answered Tosh.
"Is it temporary? Are our senses just caught by the temporal shift, or have we been completely displaced? Tosh see if you can't get through to the Hub." I questioned, looking around the street to see if there was any merging or blurring or if the street around them was whole.
"It's no use." Tosh said, hitting hang up on her phone in frustration. "It's dead. I can't get through to the Hub."
"Let's get back inside. That's where we were when we crossed." Jack said placing one hand on the small of my back, and the other on Tosh's arm in order to escort them back into the Ritz.
"We really are in 1941. What if we can't get back?" Tosh asked worriedly as she looked around herself.
"Flotsam and jetsam slips through all the time. We'll get back. Look on the bright side. Gives you one hell of an excuse not to go to your party." Jack answered, not looking as off put and worried about their time displacement as Tosh. Then again. He knew the time period they were in and was used to bouncing through time.
"I have a life there. And they can't help us back at the Hub because I have the latest readings here." Tosh answered, touching her laptop bag protectively. "People are staring at us."
"We need to try and blend in." Jack answered, removing his earpiece and helping Tosh with her coat.
"I'm not exactly wearing something that could help with that." I reminded Jack, motioning to the black jeans and role neck I was wearing under the long coat. "And I think a cover story would be a good idea."
"Right, so Tosh is a high-ranking intelligence agent and you're here as her protector. I'm the leader of our entourage and am meeting a contact." Jack quickly rattled off a reasonable story.
"To the bar?" Jack offered them both his arm and escorted them across the floor.
"Two waters and a brandy, please." Jack requested.
"Four and six, please, sir." The barman answered.
"Please, start I tab. It will be easier to pay you off at the end of the night." I requested before Jack realised he wasn't carrying any period appropriate cash.
"Of course. Under what name?" The Barman asked, pulling a notebook forward and writing their order.
"Raven Smith. My two companions can order under the same name." I informed the barman before leaning forward and whispering in Jack's ear. "I'll go and find us some money. Be back in forty minutes."
"Be careful. Keep your head on a swivel." Jack warned, allowing me to leave. If any of the others had dared head out into the war he wouldn't let them leave, but Raven had been a street kid. Even in a different time period he had faith that she would be able to handle herself.
I headed out into the night, keeping my head down as I headed to the seedy underside of London. Since I was in the 1940s things like online banking, credit cards and such didn't exist so I couldn't hack into an ATM machine or clone a card. And with everything on ration, carrying money around wasn't the done thing.
But the seedy under belly always had people carrying cash since that was the only currency that pimps and drug dealers spoke. Fortunately, London's hub hadn't really moved in seventy years so it was exactly where I thought it would be.
After a few minutes of walking in the shadows I came across what I was looking for – a cage fight. Beat the champion and win £100 which was quite a bit of money in that time. When I stepped forward to accept the challenge there was lots of catcalling and 'you wish sweetheart' from the crowd. I ignored them and stepped into the cage.
The champion was a boxer turned brawler. He relied on his strength and endurance to overwhelm his opponent. Throwing punches and trying to box in his opponent and prevent them fighting back. But this man was nothing to Jack, or even some of the gang members I had fought. I used my speed and knowledge against him, jabbing at joints until the man couldn't fight back and he simple fell over.
I accepted my money from the stunned commentator before leaving the underground and heading back to the dance hall. I found Jack and Tosh in a hall just off the main dance floor. Tosh was frowning in worry while Jack looked like a new weight had been added to his shoulders.
"What is it?" I asked joining them. "What happened?"
"We've just met a man." Tosh answered staring at Jack. "He's got Jack's name. Why does that man have your name, Jack? I'm lost enough here without you holding back on me."
"It's not my name. It's his. I took his name." Jack's face suddenly broke into a flirtatious smile. "But I didn't realise he was so hot."
"What name did you introduce yourself with?" I asked, stopping Tosh from saying something. Dissention among the ranks wasn't what they needed right now.
"Captain James Harper, volunteer of the 71st squadron." Jack rattled off like it was second nature.
"Right, I've got the money to pay the tab so we can blend a little bit better. But we can't stay here." I told them.
"How did you get any money, its 1941?" Tosh asked shocked.
"I'm good like that." I answered blandly.
"What's in here?" Jack diverted the topic and lifted Tosh's laptop bag.
"I've got half the equation in here. The other half's back at the hub. If I can find some way of getting these figures back to base, then they can combine them and open the rift and bring us back through." Tosh explained.
"Good thing we're in the past, not the future. Otherwise this would be an awful lot harder." I said with a twitch of my lips. "Let's go find an office. You can write the equations down, and we just need to seal them in something air tight."
"A photograph would last longer." Jack frowned.
"The manager. He had a camera." Tosh remembered.
"Come on, let's go." Jack grabbed Tosh's handed and pulled her into an office. I followed behind wondering who the manager was. "There's no one here. Come on, quick."
Tosh ran behind the desk and opened up her laptop. The screen lit up, which was a relief. She had been worried that it wouldn't work back in this time. Worryingly, the batty was very low.
"When did you last charge it?" I asked. Tosh normally ensured that her laptop was fully charged when she left the hub.
"Last night. I didn't charge it this morning. I was going to charge it on the train." Tosh admitted with a light blush, grabbing some paper and a fountain pen.
"Just write down everything you've got in case it dies." Jack ordered.
Tosh was scribbling away with a frown. "I'm not used to writing with these things."
"Don't press so hard." Jack advised.
"Here." I took the pen from Tosh and started copying the equation. I preferred to write with a fountain pen and my writing speed was typically quicker than Tosh's anyway because Tosh was so used to typing, not writing.
"Okay, that's everything." I declared just as the screen died.
"Do you need anything else?"
"I just want to get the exact coordinates of the dance hall, so I can integrate them into the waveform equation. Then we need to get the information back to the Hub." Tosh admitted, putting her laptop back in her back.
"What can I do for you, sir?" I asked the man who appeared in the doorway. My hand drifted towards my gun; this man gave me a weird feeling.
"This is my office." The man answered in a voice that came out in a soft breathy kind of way. "Who are you?"
"Agent Smith, Captain Harper, Intelligence Specialist Sato." I quickly introduced the three of them to the man using titles instead of our first names, making it clear we were 'on the job'. "And you are?"
"I'm Bilis, the manager. You're not in full uniform, Captain." Bilis observed.
"I'm on leave. Forty-eight hours." Jack answered, escorting Tosh around the table.
"That's an interesting camera." Tosh frowned.
"It takes photographs instantly."
"I didn't know they could do that yet." Tosh frowned.
The tall grandfather clock in the corner chimed, drawing Bilis' attention. "I should go back, dear. They're coming for us now."
We left the office while Bilis remained behind. "Well, he's very… suspicious."
They remained silent until they got to a staircase, where Tosh stopped looking close to terrified. "Pearl Harbour, Jack."
"Doesn't happen till the end of the year." Jack tried reassuring her.
"Granddad stayed in London but he was persecuted. If I stay stuck here, what will happen to me?" Tosh's eyes kept flicking around the area.
"I'll take care of you." Jack promised solemnly.
"We'll take care of you." I added just as sternly.
"This period." Tosh looked around. "You look like you fit in. Have you been here before?"
"Yeah. I can't explain but I served in the war in 1941. I was undercover. I needed a false identity, so I took his name." Jack answered.
"Why him?" Tosh asked confused.
"It was convenient." Jack shrugged.
"But if you chose his identity to steal, then he…"
"Dies, in battle." Jack finished sadly.
"When?" Tosh asked softly.
"Tomorrow." Jack answered before walking away.
"If you're looking for co-ordinates then I would try that group with the Captain. As fliers one of them will be a good navigator." I led Tosh to the table while Jack went to get another glass of whisky.
One of the boys was telling a story while Tosh and I approached their table. "And I say, look, love, it's raining bombs and fire, so get down that cellar. And she says, I can't, there's rats down there."
Tosh cut through the laughter of the boys. "So, who's the best navigator here?"
"Tim. He can't fly for toffee, but at least when he goes down, he'll know exactly where he is." The one who had told the story patted a thin, lanky and young solider on the shoulder causing him to blush.
"Why don't we chat over here?" Tosh motioned to an empty table, getting wolf whistles.
"I give the public schoolboy a fortnight." The chatty solider snorted.
"That boy's come a long way in five weeks. As long as you boys remember your training, you'll be all right." Captain Jack raised his glass as a toast to his boys.
"So, what's everybody's names? I guess, you're Captain Jack Harkness, right?" I asked, sitting next to the captain.
"That's right. This is part of my squadron, George," The chatty one raised his glass, "Frank, Tobias and Jimmy."
"Pleasure to meet you all. I'm Agent Raven Smith."
"Raven," Jack slid me a glass of water and sat on my other side, sandwiching me between the two captains.
"Thanks." I offered him a salute.
"Glad you came." Captain Jack welcomed him with a smile.
"An agent? What you doing here?" Tim asked curiously.
"Protection detail." I nodded towards Tosh. "The intelligence division is never off the clock. Which means, I'm also never off the clock. James invited us for some drinks, but…" I shrugged while trailing off.
"Something always comes up." Jack finished for me. "One day, I'll be able to take you out for a drink and not have you run off on me."
"Once this blasted wars over." I promised him with a wink.
"You must have seen some action," George leaned forward interestedly.
"Let's just say the enemy comes in many guises." Jack answered grimly.
"You'll see your share before the war is done." I agreed.
"Yeah, I can't wait to get up there and give Jerry what for. How many did you kill in the Battle of Britain, sir? Twenty-six, wasn't it?" George prompted the captain.
"You've heard that story countless time, George." The Captain shifted slightly uncomfortable.
"No one's as fast as him. Hasn't lost a man yet." George boasted.
"I wish we could say the same." I exchanged a look with Jack whose eyes were slightly clouded as he looked at the man whose name – whose identity – he had taken. He had been going by the name Jack for so long, that he sometimes forgot that it belonged to another man before him.
Tosh finished talking with Tim and walked back to our table, Jack and I stood so we could take a step away from the table and talk with a semblance of privacy.
"I've got what I need. Now all I have to do is find a way to leave a message for the team on something that will last cross time." Tosh whispered,
"We can borrow Bilis' camera." I suggested. It was the only thing I could think about which would last the test of time. Then they would need to find somewhere to put it where their team would find it but it wouldn't be moved in the next sixty-five years.
They were interrupted by a woman who came over with a scrawl on their face. "I haven't seen you two here before." the women commented staring Jack and Tosh up and down, dismissing my presence. "Is she with you?" she asked George.
"Nah, she's after Tim. Why else would she let him bore her to death about navigation?" George joked, trying to diffuse the tension that the women was creating.
"Maybe she's a spy." The women narrowed her eyes on Tosh. I stepped forward, and placed myself protectively in front of Tosh. If I was going to play the role as an agent on protection duty, then I was going to take it seriously. Jack let me take the protective position since he knew the importance of maintaining character.
"The Chinese are on our side, aren't they?" Tim said hesitantly, trying to defuse the tension. He was aware that I was armed and he didn't want this turning into a mob – especially since a lot of attention was being drawn to their group.
"I'm Japanese." Tosh said affronted.
"You're hardly an ally, then." The women snorted.
"Leave it, Audrey." Tim cautioned.
"I would think carefully about what you say next." I spoke coldly before Aubrey opened her mouth. "I'm authorised to protect Intelligence Specialised Sato from axis powers, and any ignorant civilians who attempt to attack her. Now, if you're finished creating a scene and making a fool of yourself, IS Sato needs to do something. Without her, and others like her, the defence of this country wouldn't be as solid as it is."
"Agent Smith is correct. Without ladies like Tosh, we'd have no way of defending the country. To Toshiko." Captain Jack raised his drink in a toast.
"Toshiko." The captains' men raised their glasses.
"Come on Tosh." I placed a hand on Tosh's elbow to escort her from the room.
"You want me to come with you?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh you can't run out on me. You've still got your drink." Captain Jack interfered.
"It's alright, James. I've got her." I promised. "You stay with the Captain."
Jack locked eyes with me for a moment as we silently communicated. Jack lived with so much regret, and to suddenly come face to face with the man with his name... A man whose bio he had read, memorised, so that he could fulfil the role he had chosen. He thought he knew the man, but seeing him in the flesh, made him realise that he didn't know him. And this was the night before he died, the last moment of true happiness this man would experience. Jack needed to come to terms with that, and he wasn't going to do that avoiding the captain.
"Keep your eyes peeled." Jack requested.
"And your head on a swivel." I finished the little quote. They had been using these words to warn each other of danger for a long time. But in more recent weeks, they had used the complete saying when they separated. This was the first time Jack had said it with another member of the team present.
"You alright Tosh?" I asked softly once we were away from the people.
"Yeah. Thanks, for standing up for me." Tosh muttered.
"Any time. Us girls have got to stick together." I smiled at her.
"How can you be so… so… okay with being stuck in the past?" Tosh demanded entering Bilis' office. He had left his camera on the desk.
"Because I'm not alone." I shrugged.
"You know… you don't look your age. When I saw you this morning, I realised that you don't look eighteen. You look older." Tosh held the camera steady and took the picture.
"I've never looked my age." I smiled cynically. So many times, I had been mistaken for an age higher than what I actually was. In the last three years, it had been very odd when someone actually called me a teenager instead of a young adult.
"You got it?" I asked when Tosh ripped of the negative.
"Yeah," Tosh put the paper and the picture in her bag.
"Starting to be a habit." Bilis appeared in the doorway.
"We needed somewhere isolated, and we also borrowed your camera. Pictures are harder to destroy then ink paper." I informed Bilis, not remotely worried about being caught. The best way to abate suspicion was to act like you belong.
"Come on, I saw used tins. The sealed tin will protect the photograph from the passage of time. Then we need to find somewhere to put it." I led Tosh outside.
"Where can we put it?" Tosh asked, holding the tin with the equations close to her chest.
"Well, something that's not going to be changed or touched in the next sixty years." I muttered, looking around the street.
"The meter box." Tosh ran over to it. "I remember seeing it when we arrived."
I stood watch over Tosh while she hid the photo.
"No." I heard Tosh whisper mournfully.
"Tosh, what is it?" I turned slightly so I could see her out the corner of my eye but I kept the streets and the sky in my sight. This was a war after all.
"I didn't capture all the numbers in the photo." Tosh admitted.
"Well hide what you've got. We'll find another way to leave the rest of the numbers." I ordered just as the air raid sirens started, and the sky started lighting up with the bombs falling on the city.
"Come on," I grabbed Tosh's arm and escorted her back into the Ritz. An establishment like this would have a bomb shelter in the basement instead of in a secondary location.
"Toshiko? Raven?" Jack was calling for them over the heads of the panicking women who were being escorted by the soldiers into the basement.
"We're here." I called waving an arm over the crowd.
"This way." Jack said, leading us down into the basement.
"I didn't get the first part of the equation in the photo. The rest is outside. If they find it, they'll keep looking, won't they?" Tosh asked Jack worriedly.
"Yeah." Jack agreed.
Once they got into the basement, I made a decision. "Tosh, give me the paper, I'll go find somewhere safe for the first part of the equation."
"You sure?" Tosh asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, you stay here. We don't need to draw more suspicion then we already have." I accepted the paper, kissed Jack lightly on the cheek, before disappearing among the crowd in the basement trying to find a quiet, out of the way spot.
Fortunately, they had gotten to a point in the night where the dance hall hadn't been packed, which meant that there was plenty of room in the basement. Everyone was grouped together, those which wanted some privacy had simple moved to a shadowy corner in the main part of the basement. The basement, which had several rooms.
In one of these rooms, I found a coffee tin, which I ensured was empty before crouching on the floor. I pulled Tosh's equations out. I couldn't leave the paper with just ink, since it would fade through time and Owen and Ianto wouldn't know how to digitally enhance the paper. Which meant I needed to use something which would last through the ages – the only thing I had to hand which fit that criteria was blood.
I pulled a small pocket knife from a clip on my belt before cutting the back of my arm enough to draw blood. I then used the blood to go over the equations. I didn't just copy a small part of the equation, instead I went through the entire sheet to ensure that the team got everything. If they found this instead of the photo, it meant that they wouldn't have to continue looking.
Once I had finished writing everything, I pulled a hankie from my pocket and tied it around my arm to stop the blood. Having cut the back of my arm meant that it wouldn't continue bleeding for long cause there weren't any veins running along the back. It was just blood vessels which wouldn't continue bleeding for long. I rolled my sleeve down to hide the injury before turning to the paper. Since I had only used a thin layer of blood it had dried by the time I had finished tending my self-inflicted injury. This meant I could roll it up and place it in the tin without fear of smudging.
Once I had the message secured, I looked for someplace safe to store it. It couldn't be too well hidden that the team couldn't find it, nor could it be left in plain sight encase someone opened the tin or binned it. Eventually, I settled on placing it behind one of the legs of the shelving unit. Hopefully no one would move it.
I re-joined the group just as the all clear sounded. I caught first Jack's eye and then Tosh's, giving them a nod to let them know I had hidden the equations.
Everyone left the basement, Tosh was with George and the boys, while Jack went up on the gallery with the Captain. I followed Jack up to the Gallery, but I stood at the banister. This meant I could watch Tosh to make sure she was okay, while also being close enough to Jack that if he needed me, I was close enough to help. And yet, I was outside of ear shot, I couldn't hear what he was saying.
"Why did you make me kiss her goodbye?" the Captain asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees while he looked to Jack.
"I just think you should live every night like it's your last." Jack answered, his gaze heavy as he watched the captain. "Make tonight the best night of your life. You're alive, right here, right now. Your men are fine."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Go to her." Jack encouraged. "Go to your woman and lose yourself in her."
"Maybe I should." The Captain swallowed.
"Yeah." Jack agreed.
"Is Toshiko your woman?"
"No," Jack smiled his eyes drifting to Raven who was stood guard.
"Agent Smith?" the Captain asked surprised.
"When your life is fall of darkness and death, you find something bright. Something full of light, and you hold tight. Raven… Raven is my light. She keeps me grounded." Jack turned his eyes to the Captain. "Before her, I simple slept my way through my leaves, trying to forget all the death. All the screams. But now… now I find I have something to live for."
The captain left while Jack covered the few steps needed to lean next to Raven at the banister.
"Dance with me?" Jack asked, offering his hand.
Raven smiled and allowed him to pull her into a close hold.
I was only slightly surprised when the Captain returned.
"I thought you'd left." Jack observed. "This could be your last chance."
"That's why I came back." The Captain answered.
"I'll leave you two be." I smiled at Jack, before stepping forward. I paused at the Captain's side and whispered in his ear, "Never let society's expectations hold you back."
I knew that Jack didn't normally do monogamous relationships, it just wasn't within his personality or upbringing. I also knew that Jack regularly used sex as a way of letting go for a short amount of time, or as a grounding tool. It didn't bother me to see him flirt with others, because that was quite normal within his personality. He probably wouldn't do more than kiss the Captain, making the last night of the Captain's life something he would always remember. But for Jack, it wouldn't be more than saying goodbye and thank you to the Captain, even if he was attracted to the man.
I raised an eyebrow when Jack joined me at the bar. He was staring across the dance floor at the Captain who was stood with his man, who were laughing and enjoying themselves.
"Tomorrow's their last training exercise," Jack said with a heavy heart. "Just another day. They go out on a sortie and are surprised by two formations of Messerscmitts. He destroys three of the enemy. His men listen to his whoops of joy over the radio. Then it all goes quiet. He can't bail out because his whole plane is on fire. But his men all make it back to safety."
"The Captain who never lost a single man." I whispered softly. "A legacy worthy of carrying on. I think he would be honoured."
We listened in silence to the singing and the laughing around them, Tosh coming to join them at the bar.
"…that certain night, the night we met, there was magic in the air. There were angels dancing at the ritz, and a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square. I may be right, I may be wrong…"
Captain Jack came over and took Jack's hand. I gave him a smile of permission, allowing him to lead Jack to the dance floor. The other couples stopped and stared as they watched the Captain and Jack dance together. They were just about to kiss when a light suddenly appeared.
Tosh ran towards the light, only pausing when she realised Jack and I weren't right behind her. I'd stepped at the Captain's, and Jack's side.
"Jack. Jack, we need to get out. Jack, you have to. We need you." Tosh pleaded.
"I have to go." Jack released the Captain's hands. "It's my duty." He went to take a step before he paused, spinning back around and pulling the captain into a searing kiss.
I grabbed Jack's hand and we walked to the light together, pausing just before we entered it to turn and salute the Captain, the man returning the salute just as we stepped into the rift and were returned to our own time.
"Gwen should be somewhere around here." I told them, keeping a hold of Jack's hand as I led them out the abandoned building. They found Gwen stood by the SUV.
"Oh you made it." Gwen grabbed Jack in a hug. "You made it. You made it." Gwen released Jack and turned to Tosh. "Oh, Tosh, come here, come here, come here."
"I'm fine." Tosh muttered, returning the hug.
Getting back to the hub, Jack frowned when he discovered that they had used the rift to bring them back with incomplete calculations. Ianto had tried stopping Owen from doing so by shooting him in the shoulder. Since Owen was trying to get the bullet out by himself, I went to help him.
"Opening the rift without the complete calculations was a stupid move. You don't know what you've done." And with these ominous words Jack disappeared to his office.
I finished patching up Owen before ordering the rest of the team to head home.
"Get some rest. I have a feeling that we're going to be very busy soon." I told them.
"What about the research into Bilis Manger? I haven't found anything yet. We also need to clean up." Ianto protested.
"I'll deal with it." I promised. "Go. Get out of here."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Owen grabbed his jacket with his good arm and left.
"I'll see you in the morning." Gwen waved and headed out. She had been looking forward to the date night she had set up with Rhys all day. She wasn't going to argue when being sent home early, especially since Jack had locked himself away in his office.
"Thank you." Tosh said softly. "For everything you did for me today." and with those words Tosh followed Owen from the hub.
"You sure? We are the ones who made the mess." Ianto frowned.
"I'm sure. Go, see you sister. Or read a book. Watch a Bond movie. Something. Just get out of here."