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Chapter 23 – Jane, the Photographer
Several days passed. Legate's warning to Pepper about not fearing the worse if she wasn't able to get in touch with Tony, became apparent when all commutations from him stopped after that first day. After speaking to the Doctor about it, it was determined that a planet had moved between where they were located, and was blocking the signal. The only way she could speak to him was through the Quauhtin's telepathic connection.
There was so much do to that she didn't even have to look hard to stay busy. Not only with work, but with Soler every night. She had introduced him to the movie, Indiana Jones. The Quauhtin had helped her with anything she had asked them for and had been extremely good company while Tony was gone.
But still, her heart longed for him.
Meanwhile, the Doctor taking Genie out on stage at the Expo had been played over and over on the television so often that stocks had never been higher for all of the businesses that Tony, the Doctor and Pete Tyler were involved in. Especially the new SST Innovations, which Pepper was overseeing the hiring of all personal for.
After the death of John Lumic, Pete Tyler had taken control of all Cybus Industries Properties. He had graciously given it all to the new business venue of SST Innovations. The paperwork and rebranding was nearly overwhelming. Pete had insisted on bringing in some of his people to help. Pepper couldn't imagine what she would have done without them. Especially with Pete and the Doctor too busy to be involved. They had been in Washington for four days with President Howard Shepherd and the Joint Chiefs. The mysterious disappearance of over 52 people in the US and British government, along with 12 people from Torchwood and numerous others, had lead to an investigation.
After the end of the fourth day, Pete and the Doctor could be found in the Doctor's island home. They both sat at the bar in the kitchen speaking to Lewis, Mortimer and Jack.
The Doctor explained, "So, basically….it appears that the Bad Wolf not only stopped the kidnapping by dissolving the 'would be kidnappers' but….."
Pete finished, "She also has dissolved anyone that was involved in anything that would hurt the Tyler family."
Lewis stood with his arms crossed, shaking his head. "Nah. It's too simple. Really?"
The Doctor sipped his drink. "That's my conclusion. The Vice President that was to stand trial? Just….poof. They have it on video. It's clearly the Bad Wolf."
Lewis groaned, "And what a nightmare that has caused. What are they saying it is?"
"Exposure to some chemical warfare. An accident." Pete explained as he poured himself another drink. "Of course, we can't tell them what it really was."
"Yeah, not even Howie knows. Hell. I don't even think I can tell Rose what it really was…..although." the Doctor said as he rubbed his chin.
Jack narrowed his eyes at him, "What are you thinking, Doc'?"
"I need answers. From the Bad Wolf. If I get her angry enough, the Bad Wolf will appear. Maybe it's time I pissed off my wife."
Pete chuckled, "Really not a good idea."
"That's a horrible idea, mate. When do you want to do it?" Lewis asked.
The Doctor threw back the rest of his drink just as Pepper walked into the room with Rose. Rose looked at the men at the bar and rose her eyebrow. "You lot together, probably not a good thing."
Pepper laughed, "Pete, thank you for sending your people to help with everything. They have really been amazing."
Pete smiled at her. "It is my pleasure. Anything you need, just ask."
"Some help hiring would be nice-"
"Done! I'll have them contact you first thing in the morning, Pepper."
Pepper smiled at him. "Thank you. Wow. If everything could be that easy."
"Everything is that easy. What else do you need?" Pete asked.
She smiled, "Someone to screw Tony's head on correctly."
Pete shook his head. "Nah, he wouldn't be any fun then."
The Doctor laughed.
Pepper looked at Pete's empty glass, "First one?"
He smiled, "Yes, ma'am. First one."
Rose handed Pepper a glass of wine. The Doctor walked with them to the sitting room and sat down. "How are you Pepper?"
She nodded, "I'm alright. It's not the first time he's gone off and not called. I realize he can't. Mortimer and Exton have been giving me messages, but it's not the same."
"There are two planets that are right in our line of sight. It's just an odd time of year. Legate is with him now. He said that his level is at 3%."
She smiled, "That's really good. Is he sleeping?"
He listened for a minute. "Yes. In fact, he's sleeping a bit too well. He is averaging about 10 hours a day."
Rose grinned and sipped her wine. "That sounds lovely."
Pepper laughed, "He's probably trying to catch up with all of the time he wasn't sleeping."
The Doctor smiled, "He agrees. He says he misses you, and he will see you soon. He has a lot to tell you. You will never believe half of it."
"Tell him that I miss him."
The Doctor nodded, "And he says that he's asking again."
She smiled, "And I've already told him my answer."
The Doctor looked confused and smiled. "Right. Legate says he's laughing. Okay. He wants to know how Sparky is."
"He would be very proud of him. He is wearing a fedora all of the time, and pretending he is Indiana Jones. He loves those movies."
Rose giggled, "They are the best."
The Doctor laughed, "He says that's wonderful that he's comfortable enough to relax and play. That's what he should be doing."
Pepper sipped her wine and nodded, "I agree."
He smiled at her. "He has get back to work, but he said he'll see you soon."
Pepper shook her head. "This is so strange. Tell him that this sort of communication is not normal."
The Doctor stood up and laughed, "He's laughing at you. With you. I'm not sure."
Rose pulled her feet up under her on the sofa. "We'll say 'with'. Yes?"
Jack walked over to them. "It's now 8:00 in New York, Miss Pepper. You asked me to tell you."
Pepper sighed, "I need to go. Get Soli to bed."
Mortimer walked out of the room, "I'll go get him and bring him there for you Miss Potts."
"Thank you, Mortimer." She handed Jack her empty glass. "I'll go with you, Jack."
Rose looked confused, "Jack. You've been staying over there, every night. Are you going to ever go talk to Jake?"
Jack pointed at her, "No. Not now."
The Doctor crossed his arms and leaned on the sofa. "Jack. We've been home for six days-"
"I'll go see him. He's probably busy. I need time to work up my opening line."
The Doctor glanced back at Rose.
She shrugged her shoulders. 'Let him handle it.'
"Phhh. I have my own problems." He insisted.
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The next morning was a buzz of activity inside the island home. Jane, the photographer, was there to take photos of the family. She was a lovely, young woman. She had a dark complexion and dark eyes. The Doctor couldn't help but think she would be better suited as a model.
He had Sam sitting in his high chair and was feeding him his breakfast of rice cereal and slices of bananas. Jane smiled at them as she sipped coffee at the bar.
"Do you mind if I take some pictures of you feeding him, Doctor Smith?"
He continued to play with Samuel as he fed him, "Call me John. And no, I don't mind."
She smiled and took several shots. "He is adorable. A good mix of you and Rose."
He smiled proudly, "I believe he looks more like her."
"It's the hair. It's so blond and yours' is so dark. Was Rose's hair dark when she was small?"
He smiled, "Jackie says that it was like his. Nearly white."
"So, this is you, with Rose's hair. See. He will grow into a handsome man, with lovely hair."
He laughed, "I like how you think. And thank you. Oh, and I loved the pictures you took. She gave them to me last week."
Jane smiled, "I'm glad. Lance was so worked up about those."
"Lance gets worked up about too much." Lewis complained as he walked in the kitchen, holding Arles. "John, want to feed another one?"
The Doctor leaned back. "I'll trade with you. He still just has a bottle. And this guy is more interested in playing with his food than eating it."
Samuel picked up a bit of banana and smashed it between his hands.
Lewis laughed, "Give this guy to Papa Lewis. Here, Arles. Go see Daddy John." He handed Arles to the Doctor. Lewis sat down and started feeding Samuel.
Jane smiled. Lewis looked back at her, "And who is this? Another lovely lady here? Rose will be-"
The Doctor held Arles and gave him his bottle. "Rose invited her. Jane, this is Lewis. He's one of our bodyguards."
Lewis stood up quickly and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
She smiled, "And you. I'm really trying to be cool about even being here. The home of Rose Tyler. Wow."
The men smiled at her.
Just as Lewis sat back down, the back door opened and in walked Legate, Logan, Lance and Tony. They were all laughing at something. Lewis grinned at them. "And look at what the cat drug in."
Tony, with his beard back to normal, held up his finger. "You will never believe what happened. I'll go into it later."
The Doctor laughed, "And it's frightening how often you say that."
Tony laughed as he walked to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.
Lance walked straight to the Doctor and took Arles from him, "And this guy. How I've missed you! You've gotten so big!" He leaned down and kissed the baby playfully.
Logan noticed Jane sitting at the bar, having coffee. "I'm sorry. We've not met. I'm Logan."
She smiled, "Jane."
All of the men looked at her in surprise, maybe shock at her beauty. The Doctor took over introductions. "This is Legate. Tony. And you know, Lance."
She smiled warmly. "It's so nice to meet all of you."
Tony looked impressed, "Lance, you know her?"
Lance put the bottle back into Arles' mouth and smiled, "We've met."
Lewis looked back at him. "Huh. I'm impressed, Lance."
Lance rolled his eyes. "They live to embarrass me, Jane. Don't think anything of it."
Jane smiled back at Lance as she sipped her coffee.
Lewis chuckled, "You should take her out to see the old flat. The guys have been busy. You wouldn't believe it now."
Lance nodded, "Would you like to go see whatever it is that Lewis is on about?"
She smiled, "Certainly."
They walked out of the kitchen together.
Tony looked back at them, "Lance? Could it be?"
Lewis shook his head. "I doubt it. Don't you, Samuel?"
Samuel smacked a bit of banana and it mushed between his fingers. "Neee!"
Tony smiled proudly, "Saying my name. That's my boy."
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
Genie walked into the sitting room wearing a lovely blue dress. She yawned and rubbed her face. Legate saw her and slowly disappeared behind the bar. The Doctor noticed and laughed at him, under his breath.
Genie climbed into the bar stool. "Daddy. I need some coffee."
"Lizard, you don't drink coffee." Tony insisted.
At the sound of his voice, her eyes opened wide in surprise. "Tony! Logan! You're back!" She jumped out of the chair and ran around to hug them both. She jumped in Tony's arms. They both kissed her cheek, except for Tony, who bit her playfully.
Legate had moved to the other side of the bar to keep from being seen.
Tony held her in his arms. Genie looked around. "But, where is Legate?"
Tony groaned, "That guy? Well, see. We decided we wanted to go someplace that he wasn't old enough to go to. So, we made him stay behind. He'll be back tomorrow."
Genie crossed her arms and stuck her lip out. "No, you didn't. You are lying to me."
Tony smiled, "Yes, I am. He's hiding from you. See if you can find him."
She hugged him again before he sat her down on the floor. She walked around the bar and Legate playfully grabbed her. She squealed and laughed as he picked her up and hugged her tightly. "And I'm so glad to see you. I have so many new games we can play."
She smiled, "Did you see all of your nephew and nieces?"
He smiled, "I did. They all send their love to you. I also have gifts for you from someone. Someone rather special."
She smiled and hugged him tightly again.
The Doctor groaned, "I never get a welcome home like this. Not even from Rose."
Rose walked in. She was wearing a lovely sundress and her hair was down. With the light coming through the windows of the home, she was stunning. "What are you complaining about?"
He smiled at her. "Nothing. You look beautiful."
"Thank you."
Genie laughed, "Mummy. The guys are back!"
Rose smiled, "I see."
Tony handed her a cup of tea. He started with his terrible, fake, British accent. "Madam. Your lovely tea. I've made it just how you prefer. With one sugar and half a bottle of cream. Would you also like a lovely biscuit with it?"
Rose closed her eyes and shook her head. "That sounds closer to how Pepper takes her coffee."
Tony looked surprised, "You know how she takes it? She won't tell me!"
She smiled, "It's odd. One and a half sugar, four creams. But, she prefers the cream with sugar in it. So, if you have that, it's only half sugar and five creams."
Tony shook from excitement. "Hell yeah! Thank you, Rose! Yes!"
The Doctor handed him a pen, "Need to write it down?"
"Yeah, I better. Thanks." He turned and wrote down the information and put it in his wallet for safe keeping. Tony tossed a bit of banana in his mouth from Samuel's tray. Samuel fussed. Tony told him, "Man, if you don't eat it, I will. Stop finger painting and eat."
Samuel picked up the banana bits he had ignored earlier and put them in his mouth.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Samuel, you are a mess. Finish eating and Daddy will clean you up."
Legate had started spinning with Genie on his shoulder.
Tony sipped his water and smiled at them.
The Doctor looked at Tony, "How did the new ship do?"
Tony smiled, "Perfect. She's exactly what I wanted. Perfect. I'll take you for a ride later. How is Pepper?"
"She's asleep. They were here last night. Man, she's busy. Pete is sending her some more help."
Tony nodded his head. "Good. Because she'll never ask for help. I'll call Pete later."
The Doctor poured himself a cup of coffee. "Are you going to be around later? I need to bring someone to see you."
Tony nodded, "Yeah. Pepper is probably going to make me sleep for a while-"
Rose pointed at him, "You need to sleep. What is it today?"
"3%. It's stuck there." Tony groaned.
"Sleep, even if for a bit. It will help. Oh, I mixed you some that won't have Quauhtin calling me in the middle of night telling me you died."
Legate rolled his eyes. "I knew he was fine."
Logan laughed, "We could all tell. From the snoring."
Tony smiled, "You know guys, I always think before I act. So when I kick the shit out of you, rest assured, I've given it some thought."
Logan smiled and made a loud snoring noise. Tony smiled and threw a towel at him.
Legate laughed, "You guys missed it. Tony and Lenox sparred."
Lewis looked up from feeding Samuel and looked impressed, "You went head to head with Lenox? How did you do?"
Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Not terrible. I lost, but….the one I'm the most impressed with was-"
Legate smiled, "Lartius. I couldn't believe he did it."
The Doctor and Lewis became extremely interested. Lewis shook his head in disbelief. "You are fucking with me."
The Doctor laughed, "Please tell me someone got video of this."
Legate smiled, "I did. I'll show you later. My phone is on the ship charging. But, that's not the half of it. Tony won. Well, one match."
Rose looked impressed. "I have no idea who this is, but how many did you go with him?"
Tony held up his fingers, "Four. And he kicked my ass hard. I think I have a permanent boot print right there."
Lewis shook his head. "I can't even believe that shit. Lartius?"
Legate smiled proudly, "Yes. Logan did amazing. He was like a spider. He just….climbed all over him. Lartius has a fat lip from my friend here."
The Doctor smiled proudly, "You gave Lartius a fat lip?"
Rose looked back at them, "Who is this Lartius?"
The Doctor explained. "The leader of the Quauhtin people. The Commander in Chief. The King of the Quauhtin. The only man that outranks a Primus. Wow."
Tony sipped his water, "Is it just me, or is he younger than Poltious? I've been meaning to ask that since we met."
Legate sat Genie down. "He's younger than Poltious. I'm not sure how much though. Lartius was Poltious' Primary charge when he was a boy. Years past, and….well…."
Rose covered her mouth and laughed, "You gave a King a fat lip?"
Logan smiled proudly. "I did. You should see what the hell he did to me!"
They all laughed.
Meanwhile outside, Lance walked with Jane on the sandy path. He still held Arles in his arms. The rows of flats outside looked picturesque. Legate and Logan's surfboards lay propped against their flats. The small tree that Logan had planted for Ashena bloomed large pink flowers.
She looked around in awe. "This is beautiful. Do you think John would mind if I take some pictures?"
Lance shook his head. "Isn't that what you do?"
She smiled and took a picture of the large flower that bloomed. "That is just beautiful."
Adriano and Varro, out for their morning run, spotted them. Both sweaty and shirtless, they joined them.
"Hey, Lance! Just getting back?" Adriano asked.
Lance smiled, "Yes. Logan is with us. He's staying for a few days."
Varro nodded and looked at the photographer, "Hi, I'm Varro. Friend of Lance's."
She held out her hand, which Varro kissed. He looked back at Lance as Adriano introduced himself, and made a face of surprised. 'Damn. She's hot, Lance! Where did she come from?' Lance heard him say in his head.
Lance rolled his eyes. "Jane is a photographer that Rose has hired."
Varro nodded, "Photographer, huh? Will you take our picture? This is our third round."
She looked confused, "Third round of what?"
Lance groaned, "He means second round. We all run around the island several times as part of a morning work-out."
They stood next to one another and posed as she took their picture.
Then, Adriano put his hands on his hips. "We usually do about five rounds. Lance usually does…what? Eight?"
Lance chuckled, "Only when I need to think."
Jane looked impressed. "Wow."
Varro spoke in Lance's head, 'Trying to make you look good, mate. What else should we say?'
Lance groaned and looked back at him, "I don't need any help, thank you. Anyway. John said we needed to see what you lot have been up to-"
Adriano clapped his hands, "Yes! It's ready. Well, we just need a good card game to break it in-"
Varro pointed at Lance and bragged to Jane. "We call Lance, 'The GOAT'."
Lance shut his eyes, shook his head and mumbled something in Quauthin.
Jane laughed, "Why?"
Varro explained, "It stands for the 'Greatest of all Time.' Lance is an amazing card player. Don't play cards with him unless you are prepared to lose."
Lance shook his head, "Goat. That's the maddest thing I've ever heard."
Jane looked back at Lance and smiled, "Cards, huh? I'm not bad myself."
Lance waved his hand, "Wasn't you guys running?"
Adriano tickled Arles cheek. Lance smacked his hand away. They both laughed as Adriano and Varro ran off.
"Bye, Jane!" Varro called as they disappeared back down the path.
Jane looked back at Lance and smiled. "They are friendly."
He rolled his eyes. "They are …..yes. Friendly." He picked one of the large flowers that she had taken a picture of. He smiled at her, "May I?"
She wasn't sure what to expect. "Sure."
He used his free hand to tuck her dark hair behind her ear, then he put the flower in her hair. Arles whimpered and Lance put him to his shoulder and pat his back. Jane smiled up at him, "Thank you, Lance."
He smiled warmly at her. "Come on, we'll go see this."
They continued down the pathway.
She giggled, "This baby is adorable. Is he yours?"
Lance smiled, "No. He's my nephew. Lewis is his father."
"I thought you two looked alike. You are brothers."
He smiled, "Yes. We were born at the same time."
"Twins."
He nodded, "Yes. Well. Yes. Let's go with that for now."
They reached Lewis' old flat and Lance opened the door for her. She walked in and her mouth dropped opened. "This is incredible."
Lance held Arles a bit tighter to keep from dropping him in his surprise. "Wow. This doesn't even look the same."
The walls and ceiling had been painted dark blue. Lights made the ceiling glow and reflect off of the new carpets on the floor. It looked like a Las Vegas Casino, complete with a card table and bar that wrapped around the corner. Lance correctly suspected it was copied from there. Video games blinked upstairs and a large, children's slide twisted from the second story, back to the first floor. A craps table sat to the side with bright a spotlight that shown down on it.
Lance shook his head. "We're never going to get Stark back to New York when he sees this."
Jane giggled at his grumbling. "I thought that is who that was."
He looked back at her and nodded his head. "Yes. He's here a lot."
"Hey! Is that Lance?" Jack walked around the corner and shook his hand. "Nice to see you!"
Lance smiled and pointed at her, "Jane. Jack."
Jack smiled, "That's right, we've not met. Captain Jack Harkness. What do you think of Lewis' old place?"
Lance looked around. "It doesn't look anything like it did. What does he think?"
Jack smiled, "He said it was brilliant. When we put in the craps table, he said the same thing about Stark."
Lance laughed. "My brother knows him well."
Jack pointed at the camera Jane held. "Oh! Could you please take my picture? I know you always ask."
She smiled, "I have a reputation I'm not aware of."
Jack leaned on the bar and smiled at her as she took the picture. "It's just that you always ask permission before you take someone's picture."
She smiled, "Well, of course. Rose and John always have a camera in their face. I would find that rather rude. I love photography, but don't want to be annoying about it."
Jack pointed at her. "And that's why Rose hired you. I'm sure of it. You see them as …..normal. Not the celebrities."
"They are just like everyone else. They just have ended up having a very public life. I imagine it's hard. Not having any privacy. People thinking you are something you're not. Did you know that some people believe that they are aliens?"
Jack smiled, "What if they are?"
Jane shook her head, "Oh please, as if. And even if they were, whose business is it but their own?"
"So, you don't believe in aliens?" Jack asked.
She looked surprised at him. "What a strange conversation for someone I've just met."
Jack smiled back at Lance. "She's a keeper."
Lance pointed at Jack warningly.
Jack laughed, "Jane, would you like a drink? Wine? Anything?"
"Oh, no. I'm fine. Thank you."
Lance looked back at Jack. "I think we'll walk down to the beach. There's some things there she might want to get a few shots of."
Jack leaned against the bar and laughed. "Right."
They walked out and closed the door.
Jack chuckled, "Holy shit. Jane."
Lance groaned and shook his head. "Sorry about Jack. He's….a pain."
She giggled, "He's fine. Don't worry about it. So, that's your brother's place?"
"Yes. Well, it was. We have moved into the house with Rose and John. That's the flat he used to live in."
She nodded as she looked around the island. "This is so beautiful. Just, breathtaking. What an amazing place to live."
They walked down the path to towards the beach. "So, you. Do you have any brothers? Sisters?"
She smiled at him. "I have one brother, but not a twin. He's older. He lives in South America with his family. He has two small children. He will send me photos every so often of them. But, I rarely see them."
Lance nodded as they continued to walk towards the beach. "Yeah, I didn't want that. Lewis' wife died as Arles was born. He doesn't talk about her. I wanted to stay and help him with Arles, but also see him grow up."
She smiled, "Your brother or your nephew?"
He looked back at her and smiled.
"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that. I don't even know your broth-"
"Both." Lance laughed at her. "It's alright. I really guess it was both."
She smiled at him, "Lance, you are really a nice man. Do you mind if I take your picture with your nephew?"
He chuckled, "I really don't mind."
She smiled at him, "Let's go over here to palm trees, then. The light is better."
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