Title: Weevils And Other Daemons
Author: Hawkeye/Katy
Betas: Nox/BJ, Onigami/Lorne and Alex/Odysseus
Fandoms: Torchwood, Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials'
Rating: FRT
Disclaimers: If I owned either franchise I would not owe the Australian Government $12,000 in HECS debt.
Warnings: Supernatural themes. Some violence. Some language.
Summary: A bizarre event, in other words, a normal day for the Torchwood team, forces Owen to come out about his private life.
Author's Note: I stole the concept of 'daemons' from Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' Trilogy, which is an excellent series, I highly recommend it. But, for those of you not familiar with it and the concept of 'daemons', this site should give you a bit more information.
http://en. shiver ran through Owen. No, no, no… He couldn't go away… Not without Helbreda. Oh God… Owen struggled weakly, pushing back at the arms that held him. He staggered, trying to get his feet under him, still beating uselessly at his captor's arms.
"Owen! Owen! Relax! Settle down, it's me!" Jack's voice in his ear did absolutely nothing to calm Owen's nerves, seeing as how the Captain was still walking backwards away from Helbreda.
Helbreda. It was as if the thought of her name brought Owen back to himself. He let out a strangled, wide-eyed gasp and threw himself forward against Jack's arms. Jack tightened his grip on Owen and kept struggling towards the SUV. He felt Owen shudder against his chest and frowned as his knees buckled slightly.
Owen bit down on a groan. Too far away. Too far… it was starting to hurt… it pulled… it hurt… He threw himself against Jack's iron hold again. Pain set fire to his nerve endings. An ache settled in his chest and spread, throbbing out over his heart and up to his head. His knees buckled again and this time, instead of shoving at Jack's iron grip, he fell on it, his weight slipping bonelessly back into the Captain's arms.
Jack blinked down at the shivering form of his team mate before hauling him up in his arms and manhandling him further away, "Come on, Owen, only a little further to the SUV."
Owen didn't bother to hold back the moan of pain at that thought and the few steps that took him even further away from his daemon, "No!" the scream was ripped from him, "Please, God… Jack… no, no, no…"
Jack stopped as Owen writhed in pain, tears rolling down his cheeks. He stared at him in shock. What in the hell?! He glanced over his shoulder at the SUV, only a few feet away, he'd be more comfortable there. Jack hefted Owen into his arms again, flinching at the sharp scream that brought. He all but ran the last few steps to the SUV, nearly dropping the doctor as Owen howled, back arching and fresh tears streaming down his face.
Jack gave up on the SUV, instead laying Owen down on the ground and looking helpless as his only medic writhed in delirious pain. Owen's hands stretched back the way they had just come, reaching towards something unseen in an exercise in futility. He sobbed, tears mixing with the dirt under his head, creating muddy tracks down his face.
Ianto dropped to his knees on the other side of Owen, having come running as soon as he'd heard Owen scream. Gwen and Tosh came out of the SUV, running over and kneeling down beside their captain and fallen team mate. Both looked a mixture of concerned and confused. Exactly the way Jack felt.
Gwen reached out a hand to him, hesitantly, "What the bloody hell is goin' on, Jack?"
Tosh looked like she didn't know what to do or where to go, "What did this to him?"
Jack growled, frustrated, "I don't know! And he's the only one who would!"
Owen screamed again, voice hitching off hoarsely halfway through. His sobs sounded harsh now, his throat raw from the screams and yells. The pain was too much… it was too hard… His hands spasmed, fingers curling into the dirt, stones and twigs cutting into his fingers, as they twitched, trying to reach out to his daemon. He was too far away… Helbreda was too far away… Owen groaned, the harsh sound of pain rising into a hoarse shriek of agony.
Owen twitched, clenching his hand around the cool stones against his palm. It wasn't Helbreda… he needed Helbreda! It was too much. He couldn't… she wasn't there… A violent shudder ran through Owen's frame. Another groan burst from him. He shuddered again, fighting the grey that had started to seep into his vision. Would he make it out of this? Would they make it out of this? A choked sob curled up his throat as he remembered all the times he'd ignored Helbreda, told her to be quiet. He sent up a silent apology to her as the grey clouded more and more of his vision.
Ianto cringed, "It's like his soul is being ripped from him…" the Welshman reached out a hand and curled it around one of Owen's, stopping him from cutting up his fingers any more.
Jack's eyes widened slightly and his head snapped up to look at Ianto, "What did you just say?"
Ianto almost recoiled from the intense look in Jack's eyes, "I… I said it's like his soul is being ripped from him, sir…"
Jack abruptly turned back to Owen, gripping his head in both hands, "Owen! Owen, I need you to listen… Owen!" Jack swore as Owen abruptly went still, hand going limp in Ianto's, "Shit! Goddamnit, shit!"
Gwen spoke up from her position next to Tosh, "What is it, Jack? What is going on?"
Jack ignored her for a moment, "The handbag! The damn handbag! Gwen! Go get that handbag Owen was carrying! It's over there by the tree line."
"What?" Gwen looked obstinate, ready to argue, "Jack, what is going on?! What will that bloody handbag do?"
"Gwen! Just get the…" Jack snarled, but Ianto was already off and running, "For fuck's sake, nevermind."
Ianto scooped up the bag, jerking slightly as he felt it move sluggishly under his hands. He turned and ran back towards Jack and the others, bag clutched to his chest. Ianto cradled the bag, slowing to a walk as he came within a few steps of the team. He dropped to his knees next to Owen, placing the bag gently on the floor.
The Welshman turned his face up to Jack, "What now? What's going on, sir…?"
Jack reached out a hand then stopped, "Ianto. Open the bag…"
Gwen grabbed Ianto's shoulder, "Jack! There could be anything in there!"
Ianto shrugged her hand off and reached for the bag. Undoing the clasp at the front he flipped the satchel open. Ianto blinked in shock at the weakly struggling ferret that lay curled, whimpering in the bottom of the satchel. He frowned, pity filling his heart as he watched the poor creature.
Startling them all, Owen, too, whimpered and stirred. Ianto's eyes swung from Owen to the ferret and back again. He frowned, utterly confused. The ferret? What was the connection with the ferret? Ianto didn't know, and at the moment, he didn't care. It was helping Owen.
Placing his hands into the bag, and ignoring Jack's startled yell, Ianto scooped the ferret into his hands. He held it close for a moment, cooing softly to it until it calmed, then placed it on Owen's chest. Owen moaned softly, one hand moving listlessly up to curl around the ferret. Ianto turned to look defiantly at Jack.
Jack was wincing and shaking his head, "He won't thank you for that, Ianto."
Ianto looked down at Owen, who was breathing easier, colour returning to his cheeks, "It seems to have helped them both, sir."
Jack nodded, conceding the point, "Yeah, proximity will help, touch is better. But he won't thank you for touching the ferret."
Gwen cut in, obviously frustrated that her questions weren't being answered, "What is going on? Why will a bloody ferret help Owen?"
Tosh gasped as realisation dawned, "Daemons. Owen's daemon-bound. That's what this is, isn't it, Jack?"
Jack nodded, "Looks that way… certainly explains a helluva lot."
Tosh cut in again as Gwen opened her mouth to ask another question, "People who are daemon-bound, like Owen, have a soul-connection to an animal. These animals, daemons, are sentient, they talk, but only to those they're connected to. Daemon-bound people can't go more than around fifteen feet from their daemons without it…" Tosh trailed off, eyes widening slightly.
Gwen looked at her, concern on her face, "Without it, what?"
Tosh looked back at her, "Without it causing them extreme pain."
Ianto looked down at Owen, the medic's hand still curled around the ferret's body, "Is that what happened to him? He was too far away..." his eyes widened, "And then we took him further away..."
Jack nodded, shaking his head slightly, "I'm gonna have to grovel for that one."
Gwen spoke up, "Well, now that he has his... daemon... why not get him back to the Hub? He'll be more comfortable than in the dirt and we won't have to explain to any campers why we have a half dead man with a ferret on his head."
Jack snorted, then nodded, carefully scooping Owen up, making certain that he in no way made contact with the ferret still curled on Owen's chest. Ianto went ahead, opening the back door of the SUV and climbing in, allowing Jack to slide Owen across the back seat, resting the medic's head on Ianto's lap. Gwen took Owen's normal place in the front seat, while Tosh squeezed into the back with the equipment.
The drive back to the Hub was almost silent, only broken by Owen's occasional groan and the sporadic snuffle from the ferret on his chest. The team hurried Owen through the tourist bureau and down into the main Hub, moving quickly til they got to the med bay. Jack placed Owen gently on the autopsy table, the only medical bed they had in the Hub. Then the team stood back, taking up various positions around the room, and waited.
Owen groaned, swimming back up through the grey fog that covered his eyes. He blinked, then winced as the fluorescent lights above the autopsy table shone directly in his eyes. Wait... autopsy table? He sat up quickly, hearing a chorus of startled gasps and curses. Owen froze, his brain suddenly registering that he wasn't in pain. It didn't hurt anymore. And that meant...
He looked down, "Helbreda," he murmured, a relieved smile crossing his face as he pulled the ferret close up under his chin.
The team watched, as Owen sat up suddenly, looked around wildly for a moment, then turned his head down, all his attention suddenly on the ferret now in his lap. They watched, slightly confused, and a little amused, as Owen smiled and pulled the ferret up under his chin, murmuring softly to it. The normally sarcastic medic looked almost cute.
Owen looked up, finally catching sight of the team standing around him, "What?" he said, breaking into his normal half-cheeky, half-filthy smile, "Haven't you ever seen a man play with his ferret before?"
He received a swipe of tiny, clawed feet across the shoulder from Helbreda for that remark. The team collectively rolled their eyes, Jack snorting a laugh as he did so. Owen carefully swung his feet round so they were hanging off the table, and he was facing the team, Helbreda still tucked up under his chin. He threw a bland look at Gwen and Tosh, who were obviously barely resisting the urge to coo and giggle at him.
Owen turned his gaze back to Jack, "I guess I have some explainin' to do then?"