Title: Tears of the Weevil
Summary: The weevil's intentions, and Jack's part in them, are finally explained.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don't own Torchwood, the characters or anything related to the show.
Gwen stood in between Jack and the table where the weevil had laid. "Anyone ever told you it's rude to stare?" The voice was hoarse and shaky, but still unmistakable. She had watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as the weevil had transformed right in front of her and now it was talking to her, as though nothing had happened.
"O-Owen?" She finally choked out, tensing as she felt Jack behind her. "Jack what the hell is going on?" She sat down in one of the chairs as a wave of dizziness spread over her and her legs felt like giving way. Jack knelt beside her, holding her hand and giving her one of his reassuring smiles.
"I promise I'll explain everything soon Gwen. You just need to rest for a minute." He looked up at Owen still lying on the boardroom table and sighed. He had a feeling she'd need a stiff drink after he'd finished explaining what was going on.
They both looked up as a young blonde woman entered the room and went to Owen's side. Upon seeing her he sat up and threw his arms around her, pulling her in tightly. "I missed you." His voice sounded less gruff, as though it had finished adjusting to his human throat. The girl smiled warmly as she held him tightly.
"How long?" Jack queried. Owen pulled away from the blonde.
"Six months, give or take." He answered, his gaze travelling to Gwen. "Got in to Torchwood the same day Gwen arrived. Took 'Janet's' place in the hospital and waited for the right time." Jack nodded, a solemn expression replacing his usual grin.
"Smart move. You'll be happy to know it's only been three days here." As quick as a flash his smile returned. "How about you go get yourself a full physical and a psyche test and I'll update Gwen?" The younger man looked apprehensive about leaving her. "Owen, you've been in weevil form for six months straight, you need to get checked out."
"Make sure I'm still human enough?" He asked, bitterness marring his eyes. With the blonde's help he left the room on shaky legs.
Jack took a seat beside Gwen and began his explanation. "I'm not exactly going to be able to bring you up to speed in one night, but here's the basics. We used alien technology to send Owen back to your time, 2007, to get you because we need your help-"
"You sent Owen back in time? Dressed as a weevil?"
"Not dressed as. He is a weevil. That brings us on to the reason we sent him back. The weevils that fell through the rift in your time, they didn't fall through space, just time. They come from earth." Seeing she was about to interrupt again Jack continued on. "Save the questions till the end, it'll be quicker OK? To cut a long story short weevils are sort of evolved humans. There was a meteor crash to earth in early 2008. It carried some alien disease of some sort and it effected one human, the carrier, the carrier bit someone, and within a month sixty-eight percent of Britain's population were turned. If they were all like Owen and retained their humanity everything would be peachy...but only 2 percent of them stay remotely human, the rest just become the weevils you know." He waited for her questions, but she simply sat quietly taking it all in. Finally she asked the question he had been dreading.
"Where do I fit in to all of this? Why did you need me? Why can't the me from now help-" She fell silent as realisation dawned on her. "What happened to me?"
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you that." Jack answered, grimacing at the memories. "You were bit by a weevil early on. It had no effect on you. Owen was looking for a cure using your blood before you died. We had to go back and get you-"
"Why not save me? Why 2007?"
He'd been asked the same thing by Owen and Toshiko when he'd first shown them the alien technology. "It's not exactly accurate. I just had to program it for early 2008 and hope for the best. If we can find a cure, and send you back in time then we can stop millions of people from dying Gwen, not including the lives of innocent human beings that were turned to weevils. We had to take you before the meteor crash, and we have to get you back before it too."
"It's strange seeing Gwen again." Lacey, the blonde muttered as she handed Owen a fresh set of clothes to change in to. He grunted in response, she knew it had nothing to do with being a weevil for six months straight. Physically he was fine, and mentally, well he was still Owen and still predominantly human. He was one of the two percent who were lucky enough to be able to keep their rational thought and maintain their human form.
"She's not our Gwen though is she? He barked as he pulled of the purple suit he'd been wearing for too long, he'd been dying to put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt for months. "She wasn't here for the outbreak, she doesn't know what it's like to live in this world...She's not the girl I watched die a few weeks ago-" Jack cleared his throat, catching Owen and Lacy's attention. Gwen stood beside him. Shaking his head he stormed off past them, refusing to even look her.
"Hi." The blonde woman held out her hand with a cheerful smile. "I'm Lacey. You haven't met me yet." The older woman returned her smile and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you. So where's Ianto and Tosh?" She watched their faces fall. "Jack?"
"Ianto's been dead over a year now, died in '09."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry. What about Tosh?"
This time Lacey spoke, the young blonde looked barely out of her teens and yet the wisdom and burden that came from being part of Torchwood could already be seen in her pale blue eyes. How long had she been there? "Tosh wasn't so lucky."