Skeeeeewwwwl! Damn it all! I dislike homework, so very much. As per usual, let me apologize for the wait…
Ah well. Chapter two is a go!
By the way, things might seem a bit sloppy to you, for I have the plot thought up, for he most part, but chapter structure… Well, that's another story. My mind has been silently raging at how the hell I'm going to organize the chapters, and dear Lord, I still don't know! Also, the snippet at the beginning may seem totally unrelated and strange, but it isn't! Bear with me! It'll all make sense… sooner or later… Spoilers for Fragments.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN TORCHWOOD!
Robbie Montgomery stood in the street, a frown on his face. What was he supposed to do? His father lived in one of the many houses he was faced with (he'd lost the paper with his father's address on it, so he had no idea where to go). Robbie really didn't want to be here, in Cardiff. When he was a small boy, his parents split, and his dad left America for Wales. Wales! Most Americans probably didn't even know where the hell Wales was! Robbie was an admitted nerd and he hadn't even known.
Robbie's mom had just died, so he was sent to live with his father. No one else wanted the gawky, socially awkward, nearly seventeen year old boy. Robbie breathed out a melancholy sigh. Guess he'd just have to start knocking on random doors.
"OI!" a loud voice called. Before Robbie could do anything, he felt himself being tackled to the ground. A car zoomed by, the driver going way too fast and not paying attention.
Robbie looked up to see the person who'd saved him (but unfortunately, not his luggage). A slightly overweight boy with sandy blonde hair and glasses was kneeling over Robbie, trying to regain his balance.
The boy, who seemed about Robbie's age, was panting, a grin on his face. "Heya, Scott Brown," he said, sticking out his hand to Robbie.
Somewhat stunned, Robbie, still lying flat on the pavement, shook Scott's hand. "Robbie," he breathed.
The sirens blared. The lights flashed. The cog door rolled open revealing Gwen and Owen, chatting pleasantly to each other. Ianto, who was still in Jack's office, didn't wake up.
"Oi, Ianto! Ianto? You here?" Gwen called out.
"Gwen, look there," Owen said, pointing out the sleeping Welshman.
"He slept here?" Gwen scrunched her face up in confusion.
Owen nodded, grinning. "But look where he is."
Gwen's face softened, observing the younger man. "Jack's office? Ianto…" she muttered. "Should we wake him?"
"'Course!" Owen replied, already heading to the office. "Ianto! Wake up!" Owen called, shaking the other man's shoulders.
"Mmm?" Ianto mumbled, gazing up at Owen blearily. It took him two seconds to fully wake up and realize what happened. "What? It's morning?" He stood up quickly. "I fell asleep?"
"Looks like it," Gwen added, entering the office.
"Oh, no," Ianto moaned. "I'm sorry. I'll make some coffee, shall I?" he asked quickly, rushing out of the office. As he made his way to the coffee machine, Ianto attempted to straighten his rumpled suit.
Owen cackled at the Welshman, watching him go. Gwen whacked his shoulder, glaring. She followed Ianto out, leaving Owen alone for several minutes. The medic grunted finally, kicking Jack's desk. When he did, he noticed Ianto's mobile lying on the ground. He bent down, grabbing the phone and flipping it open.
"Tea-boy! You got a message from Tosh!" he yelled, waltzing out of the office.
"I do?" Ianto said, looking away from the coffee machine.
"Where is she, by the way?" Gwen mused. "She usually gets here before us."
Owen shrugged, nonchalant. He held Ianto's mobile against his ear, listening to the message. Ianto ran down to meet Owen.
"Don't listen to that!" He commanded, snatching the mobile from the medic's hand.
"Whatever."
"Why did she call me?" Ianto muttered, restarting the message.
"Hey, Ianto. It's Tosh. Sorry if this wakes you up. I know it's late. Um, well, I'm still on the road. I should be back soon… Uh, my Rift monitor picked up some energy… I'm going to check it out. It's probably nothing. I really didn't want to bother anyone… So… See you tomorrow?"
Ianto closed his eyes. Tosh. She checked it out alone? Just because she didn't want to be a bother? What if something happened to her? What if something has happened to her? Ianto got worried.
"Ianto, what was that about?" Gwen asked, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. The look on his face wasn't too comforting.
"Tosh… Gwen, see if you can trace Tosh's PDA, phone, anything!" Gwen was surprised, but she obeyed.
"What's the matter? Has something happened to Tosh?" Concern laced the woman's voice.
"I don't know." Ianto followed her to the computer. "In her message, she said she found a source of Rift energy. She went to check it out alone. She hasn't called back or anything." He and Owen gathered behind Gwen, who began to type furiously.
"D'ya think it was something bad?" Owen asked, a twinge of worry hidden in his words.
"I don't know," Ianto replied guiltily. It was his fault, he knew it. If he hadn't stayed at the Hub, he'd've been at his flat. His mobile wouldn't have been knocked to the floor, and he would've answered it. He would've told Tosh to wait for someone… If she was hurt…
"Got it!" Gwen cried. "I tracked her Bluetooth. Wait, what's she doing there?"
"Where is that?" Owen squinted at the map on the screen.
"She said she was still on the road. Maybe that's where she stopped…" Ianto grimaced. That means she was probably… No, he didn't want to think about the possibilities.
"Call her," Owen suggested. "She probably just fell asleep in her car or something."
Ianto nodded, bringing out his mobile. He dialed her number quickly, waiting for the Japanese woman to answer. Gwen and Owen stared, waiting intently. Ianto's face paled, and he slowly closed the phone.
"Her phone is no longer in service," he whispered.
"Do you think she's alright?" Gwen said.
"I… I don't know," Ianto answered honestly. He turned and briskly returned to the coffee machine.
God, it was his fault. Despite the voice in his head telling him there was nothing he could've done about it, Ianto could feel the overwhelming guilt. Silently, he prepared coffee for Gwen, Owen, and himself. What where they going to do? Go after her, guns blazing? What if she was fine? What if she wasn't? What were they up against? Ianto groaned inwardly. Fuck. That basically summed up the situation.
Ianto gathered the mugs, taking them down to his colleagues, both of whom were both in deep thought. "What's our plan of action?" he asked, setting down the coffees.
"Damn it all! I can not believe they found us!"
"Calm down, love. They will be doing nothing to us. We have one of theirs."
"I am aware of that, but I never agreed to lower myself to their level. And look at her!"
"Yes, but you must remember how dangerous they are. They have shown us enough what they are capable, and willing, to do to us."
"…She did have the weapon with her."
"Exactly. We can not be entirely sure what her intentions were with it, but I can assure you, they were not friendly."
"What will we do with her?"
"I am not entirely sure. As they say, only time will tell."
Toshiko moaned, holding her throbbing head. A fiery pain spread throughout it, originating from the back. Her head was foggy, and she couldn't concentrate. Her vision was blurry, but improving. Tosh noticed, though, that she was missing a shoe.
"Wonderful. I'm thinking about shoes now," she muttered, trying to pull herself up.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, Tosh took in her surroundings.
"God, no!" she whispered.
Tosh appeared to be in some sort of dreary cell, somewhat like the Torchwood ones. There was a metal bench hanging from one of the similarly metal walls. She supposed it was a bed of some sort. Tosh spun around, surprised to face a wide opening. It seemed as if there was supposed to be a door there. She could see the rest of… wherever she was. There were several corridors and doors, all of the same kind of metal as the door. Tentatively, Tosh stepped up to the space. There was absolutely no way that someone would kidnap her, only to let her escape. The notion that this was some game for someone struck her, but she opted to ignore it. The Japanese woman held up her hand, holding it to the opening. She was only half surprised to feel a small shock.
"Electric force field?" Tosh asked herself, nursing her hand. "Damn."
There was no way to escape… that was for sure. Tosh could feel a familiar despair creeping up to her. Tosh hated cells. That was perfectly reasonable, taking into account her time at UNIT. Toshiko shivered. This cell was slowly bringing back those memories. Forcing herself to stay calm, she searched herself to see if she had anything to help her. Nothing. They'd taken everything, whoever "they" were.
Defeated, Toshiko sat herself on the bench, bringing her knees up to her chin. Why had she been so stupid? Don't go off alone… isn't that the first rule of… of life? Now she was taken and stuck in a cell. Just like all those years ago. She did not want to relive that! But there was nothing that she could do…
Tosh let a single tear slip down her cheek.
And I'm done… for now.
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