TITLE: Distantly in Love
AUTHORS: Gillian Taylor(Dark Aegis) & NNWest
DISCLAIMER: Don't own them. We just like playing with them...a lot.
Chapter Sixteen
Talons of blue tinged ice gripped the branches of the white dusted trees and the air was full of swirling powder. In the white landscape, hidden by the snow, nothing seemed to move but the wind. Then, in the distance, figures appeared. The bulky forms were indistinct in the whiteness, as if some cosmic painter had forgotten to fill in the lines. Their heads were bowed against the onslaught of the storm, trudging faithfully through the severe weather towards their night's camp.
The soft whisper of the snow was broken only by the sound of their feet crunching against the ground and the low, indistinct mumble of a woman's voice. The apparent leader of the group - indicated only by his presence in the lead of the line that snaked through the storm behind him - raised his hand in a signal to stop. He dropped to his knees and felt the knob of a tree. The tree was extraordinary in only its ordinariness, but the leader seemed to know what he was doing. The knob twisted under his hands and with a low rumble, the hillock beside the tree opened to reveal a warm haven for the travelers. Signalling again, the man led the others inside the cave, shaking his shoulders to rid himself of the snow.
The other members of the tribe shuffled inside, mimicking the leader's movements to rid themselves of the snow. The last to enter the cave seemed to be taller than the others, and she pushed back the hood of her anorak to reveal long, dark hair which cascaded off her shoulders to disappear into the white fur of her coat. Emily Harkness flashed a grin at the leader as she, too, shook herself free of the snow. "Beautiful night."
The leader, Hannas, shot her a strange look before he ushered her further into the cave. "You have an odd sense of humour, Denela." 'Denela' was Emily's tribal name. As soon as they passed far enough away, Hannas pressed a symbol on the wall. With another rumble, the stone which sheltered the cave from the storm reset into the face of the hillock - once again hiding the place of safety from the icy darkness outside.
"So I've been told. But if you think I'm bad, you should meet...nevermind."
Hannas shook his head, his shaggy hair scattering droplets of icy water with the movement. "You have done that before, Denela. You hesitate before mentioning anything of your past, though you know we would never endanger a member of the tribe. Is it not time for you to stop fearing for your safety and share the tale?"
Emily's carefree grin dropped as she faced the leader. "It's not my tale to tell, Hannas. There is more at stake than my own safety."
Hannas nodded. "Then you must do as you will, Denela. You are stubborn enough to do so as is."
Her grin returned. "I'll take that as a compliment. When will we reach your winter lands?"
"I expect us to reach the wintering lands before sundown tomorrow. The storm tonight was unexpected, or we would have reached them in the morning."
"Your homeworld's more contrary than my Aunt Macy - at least where the weather's concerned." Emily shivered reflexively as she thought of the icy world outside of the cave. Why she had decided that this world, of all of the possible venues for an anthropological study - or, rather, the pretense of a study - was the right one, she had no idea. No, she did. It had been Jack's idea. Her specialty tended to be tribes that lived either in the plains or jungles. Jack assumed that that meant it would be the last place anyone, especially the Time Agency, would look. She ran her hand through her dark hair with a sigh. She was more than ready to return to the 'real world' despite the good science she was doing on the Dinami homeworld.
Actually, it was not so much the 'real world' that she missed but her twin brother, Jack Harkness. If she closed her eyes, she could picture the flash of his grin, hear his teasing voice. Vaguely, she wondered what he was doing now. If he was in danger, if he was in love, if he was happy, or if he was sad. Emily knew, however, that he did not, indeed could not, wonder the same about her. He had told her of his intention to block his memories of her, and of the Sevateem, in hopes of protecting both her and the artifact that the Sevateem guarded. She sent a mental prayer on the winds for his safety. Jack had been on her mind far more often recently.
Shaking off her thoughts, she followed Hannas into the wide cavern that would be their shelter for the night. The earth and the seclusion from the biting wind brought sweat to her brow, but she knew that the heat was but an illusion. Smiling briefly at Hannas, she headed to a corner of the room to set up her bedroll. One of the women rested a comforting hand on her shoulder before they moved away and Emily released a jaw cracking yawn, much to her surprise. She had not realised that she was that tired. However, she could not go to sleep yet. She needed to eat, and then she would be expected to listen to the Shaman's nightly tale. Yawning again, she braced herself against the wall and waited for the meal of dried meat and fruit to be passed to her.
Chewing thoughtfully, she watched the tribe that had become her family over the past three years. Her dark locks stood out amongst the blonde haired people, and she smiled as she recalled how she had earned her name in the tribe. When she had first arrived on Verata, she had pushed off the hood of her anorak - unthinking of any reactions from the people. They had gasped in shock, while one of them started to call her Denela, or 'shadow hair.' That one had turned out to be the Shaman of the tribe. With his acceptance of her, and her apparently fulfilling a vision of his, she had been brought into the tribe. She had been there ever since.
An aged hand touched her shoulder and Emily looked up at the wizened face of Gaelan, the tribe's Shaman. Offering her a small smile, the old man settled himself at her side. "You look troubled, Denela."
"I'm not, Gaelan, at least not really. I'm just thinking of the past."
Gaelan grinned toothlessly at her. "Ah, the past. Weighty thoughts for one so young."
"Perhaps." Emily stared sightlessly across the cave, but she could hear Gaelan shift beside her.
"No 'perhaps' about it. Why does the past trouble you?"
"I'm finding myself thinking more about the people I left behind the closer we get to the wintering lands. I'm not sure why."
Gaelan hummed thoughtfully to himself. "I think I can tell you why, Denela. The wintering lands are the home of some of our most potent spirits. Is it not possible that you are being warned?" His voice seemed to deepen on the last word almost ominously.
A shiver began to run up her side as she turned to face the aged man more fully. She knew the look in his eyes, for she had seen it before. "Gaelan?"
Gaelan's once clear blue eyes were now white. "Danger comes to you, Denela of the Dinami tribe. It follows on the tail of three. Blue can be trusted. Do not linger here, Emily of the Sevateem."
Emily's eyes widened in shock as Gaelan uttered both her real name and the name of the Sevateem. "Gaelan?" she asked again, and the man suddenly blinked and collapsed against her. "Gaelan!"
He waved off her concern as he shifted to an upright position. "The spirits are demanding tonight, Denela. Did you learn what you needed?"
Emily's face hardened. "I learned that it's time for me to go. The past won't wait forever."
"It never does," Gaelan said sagely. "We will hold the farewell celebration, tonight. You should leave with the dawn."
"Agreed. Gaelan..."
He smiled. "You are welcome, Denela. I will leave you for the moment. I have to arrange your celebration."
Emily watched him leave with a thoughtful frown on her face. If danger was coming her way, it meant that Jack was in trouble. "Please be okay, Jack," she whispered. As expected, nothing answered.
Chapter Seventeen
As Danninger strode into Klein's office, the German greeted him with a salute and a feral grin. "Herr Danninger, I have been informed that Harkness' time ship has been located. I was about to give the order to have it brought here."
"That is good news, Director," he spoke as a plan was forming in his mind. "But, don't have it brought here just yet. Tag it with a beacon. In the event our current approaches fail, it may prove to be a way to find Emily Harkness."
Klein nodded in understanding. "An engineered escape for Harkness and his associates," he said thoughtfully. "Her concerned brother leads us straight to her."
Danninger smiled. "Also, I want to review the memory disks from Harkness' associates." He paused briefly as he called to mind their names, "The Doctor and Rose Tyler. They may provide some useful information."
"Yes, Herr Danninger. I will retrieve them personally."
In the complex's control room, Janette Fischer watched as one of the surveillance monitors showed Danninger leaving the room where they were holding Jack Harkness. She knew she probably only had a few minutes, so she moved quickly. Glancing over her shoulder at the preoccupied technician, she covertly switched the monitor feed from 'live' to 'playback'. She didn't know yet what she was planning, but she had to do something - even if it was only to see him and beg his forgiveness.
She left control room and approached the interrogation room. "I have Danninger's authorisation to see the prisoner," she barked to the guard on the door. She didn't of course, but enough people around the base had seen her in his company that they believed it. She was admitted to the bleak, grey interrogation room, the door pulled shut behind her.
Maria Alvarez looked up from where she crouched beside Jack as Janette entered. Coldly, she addressed the newcomer, "You will have to wait to recommence your torture." Her lip turned up in a sneer on the last word. "He is still unconscious."
Janette caught sight of her old partner and her composure slipped away, her hand flying to cover her mouth in an anguished gesture as she gasped. "Oh God, Jack," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Maria stood, studying the woman in the captain's uniform in front of her. "You are not with Danninger and Klein." It was a statement and for a fleeting moment Janette was sure she was going to call for the guard.
Not seeing the point in denying the obvious, Janette said, "No, I'm the one who got him into this mess." Her eyes shone with impending tears. "I must find a way. I'm must get him out."
Maria nodded. "And soon. Señor Danninger will kill him."
"No, Klein would kill him." Her voice hard-edged as her anger welled up inside her. "From what I've seen of Danninger's methods, he is patient, meticulous. He will wait however long it takes to extract the information he seeks, even if that means waiting for Jack to heal before starting in again."
"He won't have to wait that long." Jack's voice cracked with the pain that lanced through his body as he tried to move.
"Jack!" Janette was at his side instantly, tugging at his restraining straps.
"Hey, Jan. Long time no see." His voice was too weak and the attempt at banter failed to relieve her in the way he'd hoped.
Alvarez pressed a dermal infuser to his arm. Jack tried without success to crawl away from it as its contents hissed into his body. "Be at peace, señor. It is only something to help clear your head, to ease some of the pain," she soothed.
Jack nodded and had to admit the painful fog in his brain was lifting some. "I've already given them enough." He sounded a bit stronger. "It's only a matter of time before they find Emily."
Janette broke and words started tumbling out of her. "This is all my fault, Jack. I didn't want to help Danninger. He, he..." She faltered, her tears now falling freely.
His hand shook as he shushed her. "It's okay. I know what the Agency did to you. You had no choice. I should never have involved you in any of this." She nodded mutely and Jack hoped she really had accepted his absolution. "Now, get me out of the rest of these." He indicated the remaining restraints. "Then you get out of here. You can't be involved in my escape. If they find out you had something to do with it, all of this will have been for nothing." Finally free of the bonds holding him to the chair, he slumped forward in it, gathering the strength to stand. "One good thing has come from this. At least I know I wasn't the Agency's butcher and enforcer for those two years." It had been his greatest fear. Now that his memory had returned, he found a new, greater fear had replaced that one: the fear for his sister's safety. "You could never have been like Danninger!" Janette cried.
"You have no idea." Though Janette could not believe it, Jack knew he had darkness in him; he could not deny it to himself. He'd seen it swim at the edges of his vision when either Rose or the Doctor were in danger. If anything ever happened to either of them, he had no doubts that he would go to any lengths to avenge them. He'd have done the same, and still might, to keep Emmy safe.
It would have been his greatest pleasure to take down the Time Agency brick by brick those years ago when they had threatened his sister. But he'd seen that they were too powerful for him to face alone, that they would have destroyed him and taken what they wanted in any case. Faced with those insurmountable odds he had taken the only option available to him. He had hidden Emmy and made sure the Agency couldn't use him as an avenue to get to her. An option that had now failed.
Chapter Eighteen
The Doctor worked in silence, his very being intent upon the stubborn locking mechanism. Only the loud hum of the sonic screwdriver echoed through the room, and Rose contented herself in watching him in return. Her fingers ached from the need to reach out to him, to touch him, to do far more than just hold his hand chastely within her own. Every movement he made from the placement of his hands on the screwdriver to the rise and fall of his chest with each breath caused her heart to race in reaction. Rose pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to quell the thoughts tumbling through her mind. She wanted him. That one taste, that one kiss, was not enough for her. The feel of his hand brushing against her chest, no matter how accidental that touch was, was something that she longed to feel again.
Her musings were turning down a far more carnal thread; however before she could do more than mentally take off the Doctor's blue t-shirt, his exclamation of triumph caused her mental train to spectacularly derail. "Doctor?"
He stood and turned towards her, his manic grin faltering slightly at the look of desire in her eyes. Swallowing firmly, his Adam's apple bobbing under his skin, the Doctor pushed open the door. "Your escape is ready, Madame Tyler."
Rose kept her eyes locked on his as she walked slowly to his position near the door. Lifting a hand, she trailed it down his side before entwining her fingers between his own. The dark look in his eyes caused a smile to appear on her face as she informed him, "Remind me to tip my rescuer." She pointedly licked her lips as she gazed at him before breaking away. If she gave into temptation, they would never leave the room. Giving his hand a tug, she led him out into the thankfully empty hallway. "Which way?"
"Hmmm?" The Doctor blinked at the question having been far too distracted by the catch of light in Rose's hair. "Ah, which way. I'd say, right. Definitely right."
She looked at him skeptically for a moment before nodding. Hand-in-hand, the two headed down the hallway. Each fought against the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm them; somehow the mere proximity of the other was exquisite torture.
Suddenly, the Doctor pulled her into a darkened doorway, his hand pressed against her lips in an unspoken encouragement to remain silent. Her eyes wide, Rose watched as a strangely familiar looking brunette walked past them. The other woman's expression was guilt-ridden and she felt herself feel strangely sympathetic to the one whom she identified as having been in the bar when they had been captured. The woman turned the corner without noticing them and, breathing a silent sigh of relief, she relaxed against the Doctor's body.
"Let's follow her," the Doctor whispered and a shiver ran down her spine in reaction to his warm breath. Loosening his grip on her body, he grabbed Rose's hand again and together they trailed behind the brunette.
The woman was admitted to a guarded room and the Doctor exchanged a triumphant glance with Rose. "He's there."
"How're we going to get past that guard?"
The Doctor's manic grin impossibly widened. "With a distraction of course - me."
Rose was tempted to point out that he was distracting enough as it was, but she restrained herself. "How're you going to stop 'im from calling for help?"
His grin faltered. "Ah, that would be a problem."
"No it wouldn't," Rose said, "I will distract him."
"Rose, no."
"It's the only way. Don't worry," she pressed another kiss against his lips, lingering for a moment before pulling away. "You can come up behind 'im and knock 'im out before anything happens."
With a reluctant nod, the Doctor let her go. Rose mussed her hair with one hand and stepped out into the hallway, affecting a frightened expression as she hurried down the hall towards the guard. She cast terrified glances behind her before she reached the guard, putting her hands on his shoulders before he could protest. "Please! You have to help me!"
Private Mike Greene had been thinking that guard duty was boring. Now, with the frightened girl before him, he silently cursed the thought. "Whoa, calm down and I'll see what I can do. Who are you?"
She sniffed delicately, appearing for all the world to be nothing more than a girl caught in a situation beyond her control. "A...a new recruit. They, they told me that they were going to take my little sister and..."
That explained it. He had been tempted to do the same when he had first been recruited by the Agency, but he knew that there was nothing that could be done. Soon, she would realise that as well. "I'm sorry. There's nothing that I can do." His eyes were intent on hers as she began to tell him what they had planned to do to her 'sister' in an attempt to sway his resolve.
He never noticed the Doctor stealthily moving down the hallway, nor did he notice the shadow that grew on the floor indicating that someone was behind him. He did notice, however, the sharp pain at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The world spun dizzily before him and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Rose and the Doctor shared a grin before he stepped to the door. Pulling in a deep breath, he turned towards Rose with a silent question in his eyes. She nodded, and he slammed open the door brandishing his sonic screwdriver like a weapon.