Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood in any way.


Chapter 5 - Fairies

An old woman was seen walking through a misty forest at night, speaking in a tape recorder about something she hoped to see. She reached a clearing with odd rock formations arranged in a circle and sees several glowing lights fluttering through the air. She took some pictures, expressing her satisfaction into the recorder, and turned to leave. As soon as her back was turned, the harmless-looking lights changed into monstrous looking creatures and laughed.

Jack was in his room sleeping, or at least trying to. He keeps seeing images of men on a train, suffocated by red rose petals. He got up and walked to his office. a petal was sitting in the middle of his desk. He was startled by Inato standing behind him, looking through files.

"You shouldn't be here." Jack said.

"Me neither, but we are." a female voice came from a corner. Chandra stepped out from the darkness and she walked over to them, her arms folded.

"I'm tracking some weird weather patterns lately. I dunno about her." Inato said. He lead them to a computer monitor showing funny weather patterns, with some significance to Jack.

"Not good." He heard Chandra mutter.

A group of school children were going home for the day, laughing and talking as they left with their parents. A little girl with pigtails named Jasmine exited and stood by herself on the sidewalk, waiting for someone, while a strange man watched from his car. Her step father, Roy, rushed to leave the house to pick her up, but she leaves after two girls walk past her and pull her hair. The man in the car followed.
Jasmine walked into a secluded area of a park and the man in the car pulled up next to her, saying that her mum told him to pick her up. After Jasmine refused to get in, he got out and tried to force her, but a sudden strong wind surrounds him but not Jasmine, compelling him to seek refuge in his car, while eerie voices urge Jasmine to come away. Jasmine laughs and continued, skipping, home.

Jack and Gwen went to visit an old friend of his who is giving a lecture on fairies. She is the old woman who was taking pictures in the forest, whose name is Estelle. Jack frowned and shook his head as Estelle described her fairies as friendly, loving creatures, muttering that she always gets it wrong. After the rest of the audience leaves, Jack and Gwen take a closer look at the pictures and interrogate Estelle over when and where she took them. Estelle mentions to Gwen that she knew Jack's father.

"Do you have anymore pictures?" Jack asked Estelle.

"Yes, at home." she replied.

"We need to see them." he said and she laughed. When they were walking over Jack saw Chandra in a store, talking to a teenaged boy. She glanced at Jack and turned her back to him. Jack muttered something indistinguishable. While Jack looked at more photo's of Fairies Gwen found a picture of Jack's Father, thinking it was Jack.

"This is you." Gwen said, showing him the picture.

"No that's my father. They were inseparable, until the war." Jack muttered and dazed off.

"Estelle, if you ever see these things again I want you to call me. understand?" he told her, she smiled and nodded. They walked from the house and down the street. They found Chandra on a street corner waiting for them. The man that had tried to grab Jasmine earlier was in the police station, he suffocated and the officers called in Torchwood.

"I want this area sealed off." Jack said as they walked to the room the man was in. Gwen found rose petals in the man's mouth. Chandra flinched in the corner and walked over to Jack, he put an arm around her shoulders.

"They're here." She whispered. Later Estelle called Jack about seeing a Fairy before her window exploded, Jack told her not to leave. They found her in her back yard, drowned. Jack cried over her dead body.

"t wasn't your dad that was in love with her all those years ago, was it? It was you." Gwen said.

"We'd once made a vow; that we'd be with each other until we died." Jack replied. Chandra placed a cold hand on his shoulder, telling him silently to let go. He stood up.

"I need a drink."


Everyone was in the car, heading for a school with the strange weather patterns. They parked out front and walked inside. Gwen tried walking to the playground but heard noises and ran inside, past Chandra who watched her.

"They won't hurt you." She muttered but Gwen didn't hear. Torchwood saw the strange weather in a school yard and went to investigate. They were told what happened by the teacher, who gave them Jasmine's name. They raced to her house to get to her before the creatures do.

Roy (Jasmine's step dad)and Jasmine's mother are having a party to celebrate their five year anniversary when Jasmine discovers a fence blocking her out of her Forest. She was overcome with anger and attacked Roy, biting his hand. He slapped her and it started to thunder. The creatures appear and break through the fence as Torchwood arrived. The party-goers screamed and ran as the Creatures attacked Roy. One suffocated him, leaving Red rose petals behind, Torchwood watched helpless. Chandra ran to the middle of the yard, Jack tried to grab her but missed. She let out an ear-splitting whistle. The Creatures turned to her.

"Hey!" she yelled and ran to the fence, jumping over it and into the Forest. The creatures chased after her and Jasmine, Jack, and Gwen followed. The Creatures surrounded Chandra in a circle.

"Come away, oh child." they said.

"I told you a long time ago, I'm not coming!" She screamed. Jack looked at her suspiciously. The creatures felt Jasmine behind them and they fled into the trees.

"Do you know you're walking in the forest? Well, you are. It looks like a very old forest and it's magical. I want to stay in it." Jasmine said.

"You can see this forest?" Jack asked.

"Yes." she replied.

"But it's not here. It's just an illusion, Jasmine. It is. Your friends are just playing a game with you. The real forest can never come back." Jack said.

"Oh, it can. When they take me to it." she said.

"They told you this?" Gwen asked, Jasmine nodded. "But what about your mother, don't you want to stay with her?"

Jasmine shook her head and the fairies came out of the trees.

"Come on. The child isn't sure." JAck said to the Fairies.

"I am sure!" she said, Jack grabbed her. "No!"

"Leave her alone. Find another Chosen One." Jack said to the Fairies.

"Too late. She belongs with us. We have been cheated once by her." They pointed to Chandra. "Never again."

"The child belongs here!" Jack yelled.

"No! She lives forever." They said.

"Suppose we make her stay with us." Jack asked.

"Then lots more people will die." Jasmine answered.

"They tell you that?" Gwen asked her.

"They promised."

"Come away, oh human child." The Fairies called.

"Next time, I'll kill everybody at my school, like I killed Roy. And that man. And your friend." Jasmine threatened.

"How do you know these things?" Gwen asked.

"If they want to, they can make great storms, wild seas, they can turn the world to ice, kill every living thing. Let me go!" Jasmine screamed.

"The child won't be harmed?" Jack asked the Fairies.

"Jack, you can't..." Gwen muttered.

"Answer me! She won't be harmed?" Jack asked again.

"We told you. She lives forever." The Fairies replied.

"Dead world. Is that what you want?" Jasmine asked.

"What good is that to you? There will be no more Chosen Ones." Jack said.

"They'll find us, back in time." Jasmine and the Fairies replied. There was a long pause as Jack thought it over.

"Take her" Jack said. He let her go and she ran into the forest laughing until she disappeared. Jasmine's mother ran to them, calling Jasmine's name. She blamed Jack and tried to hit him, but he stopped her and they fell to the ground crying. Jack apologized over and over again to the woman. Chandra slumped to her knees in the tall grass. Back at the Hub, Gwen was cleaning up the Control Room when the screen turns on by itself, showing a picture of the Cottingley Fairies. She stared at it for a minute, then zoomed in on one of the fairies', revealing a familiar face, as an eerie voice was heard saying come away. That night when Jack was alone he felt something behind him.

"Come out." He told the shadow. Chandra silently walked to stand beside him.

"You were a chosen once weren't you?" Jack asked her, she nodded silently.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought two things. one, you wouldn't believe me. two, you might get hurt by the Fairies." she replied.

"What do you care what happens to me?" He asked and turned to look down at her. she reached up and kissed him.

"That is what I care."