Jack meets some team members...
Who?
Chapter One
The mobile rang at all hours of the day and night since his girlfriend had joined Special Ops. Rhys Williams objected to being pulled from sleep to answer the irritating thing while she was singing in the shower oblivious. It was his day off and he'd been looking forward to a lie-in, fat chance now. He picked up the mobile and read the display: Andy.
"Hello?" he said gruffly.
"Gwen?"
"Hardly. She's in the shower. What do you want, Andy, she doesn't work with you any more." Rhys lay back on the bed, on Gwen's side, and smelt her flowery perfume on the pillow.
"I need to speak to her, Rhys. It's urgent."
"Hold on." Reluctantly, Rhys got out of bed and padded to the bathroom where the shower had just been turned off. "Gwen," he said, opening the door of the cubicle, "it's that twat Andy Davidson for you. Says it's urgent, which it bloody better be, this time in the morning." He thrust the mobile at her, aware the man on the other end of the line would have heard him, and walked back to bed.
"Thanks, love," called Gwen, stepping out of the shower cubicle. She stood naked, dripping water onto the bathroom floor. "Andy, what's up?" She grabbed a towel and tried to wrap it round her one handed.
"Found your mate Mulder at the scene of an explosion. House gone up, three killed."
"Is he all right?" She had asked the question without thinking. Of course he was all right, he couldn't die.
"Not a scratch on him, which is bloody strange in itself. Thing is, he doesn't know who he is."
Gwen missed a beat. "What?" The towel dropped unnoticed to the floor.
"Lost his memory or so he claims. He's going to be taken in for questioning if you don't get here pretty fast and claim him."
"I'm on my way. Where is he now?" Her mind was racing even as she reached for the towel again and began drying herself.
"In the back of my police car outside 43 Bishopston Road, out in Ely."
"Thanks, Andy. I'll be twenty minutes."
She ended the call and quickly got dried and dressed. She shoved her wet hair into a bunch and prayed she wouldn't get pneumonia as a result. Grabbing her bag and her keys she was out of the flat in less than five minutes. It was only when she was in the car that she remembered she had not said goodbye to Rhys; she'd call him later. With her comms earpiece in, she called Owen as she drove through the early morning traffic.
"This better be good, Cooper," came over the comms in Owen's acerbic cockney voice.
"It's Jack. Apparently he's lost his memory. I don't know all the details but I want you in the Hub ASAP to check him over when I get him there."
"Lost his memory!?"
"That's what I've been told. Look, call the others in, we may need them." She cut the connection and concentrated on her driving.
She arrived at Bishopston Road within the promised twenty minutes and saw the burnt out house immediately. She slowed and found a parking place then jogged to the scene. Three police cars were parked haphazardly and she spied the coroner's wagon behind them. Andy was talking with a colleague and did not see her approach so she took a moment to survey the damaged building. It certainly looked like an explosion had occurred with resulting fire. The water pooling in the remains was evidence the fire brigade had been here.
Turning she looked into the parked police cars and spotted Jack immediately. He was sitting quietly in the back of one of them, looking round idly. His gaze rested on her and moved on before coming back and staying there. As she watched, he started to smile and she smiled back.
"Gwen, you made it then."
She jumped as Andy came up behind her. "God, don't do that!" Gwen put a hand to her breast and waited as her heart rate returned to normal. "I think Jack recognised me," she said, looking back at her boss.
"Let's go and see." They walked to the car and Jack, who was still looking their way, smiled more broadly but stayed in the vehicle. Andy opened the car door. "Here's someone to see you," Andy said to Jack. He stood with forearms resting on the top of the open door.
"Well, hello," said Jack, still beaming at her. He made to get out of the car, glancing at Andy for permission; he had been told to stay inside. Seeing Andy nod, Jack continued the movement and stood up. He was dressed in shirt and trousers, a smear of blood and some dust on the shirt the only sign he'd been at the scene of an explosion. His greatcoat was folded neatly on the back seat of the car. "And who are you?" he asked.
"What?" Gwen's face fell. She had been so sure Jack had recognised her. "Don't you know me?"
"No but I'd like to." He moved closer, the grin remaining. "I'm Jack … apparently."
"You are. You're Captain Jack Harkness. My boss." Gwen watched but it seemed none of this made any impact on Jack who stood close to her, eyeing her up and down. "Jack!" she protested, feeling him undress her with his eyes. He did not stop. Taking a step back, she tried again. "I'm Gwen, Gwen Cooper. We work for Torchwood." Still nothing.
"Gwen, what a pretty name and what a pretty accent." Jack stepped forward, closing the gap she had created. "And I'm your boss? Does that give me privileges?" he leered.
She slapped his face. "No, it does not!" She turned to Andy, "Okay if I take him?"
"Sure you want to?" He had straightened and prepared to intervene if Jack tried anything on. Andy had loved Gwen for years but it was not reciprocated. She had preferred that fat lummox Rhys and while Andy accepted her choice, his feelings hadn't changed.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be okay." She put a hand on Andy's arm and smiled her reassurance too. "We may need to take over here," she gestured to the house, "can you do the necessary?"
"I suppose. Okay if the fire investigator carries on?"
"Yep, good idea. Thanks, Andy." Facing Jack again she said, "You're coming with me."
"Wherever you lead, I shall follow, sweet Gwen." Jack was still grinning, standing in familiar pose with his hands in his pockets. The slap had not deterred him one little bit.
Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Come on then." She took a few paces and he followed.
"Hang on," called Andy, "don't you want this?" He held up the abandoned greatcoat.
It was at that moment that Gwen truly believed Jack had lost his memory. That coat was a part of him, he wore it everywhere and she would not have been surprised to find he slept in it. If he had left it behind then he genuinely did not know who he was. She looked at him now and he was totally disinterested in the coat, looking from Gwen to Andy in detached confusion.
"Yes, thanks," said Gwen, taking the coat and hanging it over her arm. "Come on," she said to Jack and the pair walked to her car.
The ride to the Hub was one of the strangest she had ever had, which after over a year with Torchwood said a lot. Jack sat beside her, looking at the streets as they crawled through the rush hour traffic. He was quiet now following a few more put downs from Gwen when he had tried his cheesy chat up lines on her.
"Do you know where you are?" she asked, glancing over at him. They were stuck at traffic lights and not going anywhere for a while.
"In a car with you, sweet Gwen." He smiled at her. "Other than that, no idea." He seemed cheerful but inside he was not. The policeman and this woman seemed to know him and he really had no choice but to go along with whatever they said - for now. If he didn't like what this Gwen had to say, well, he could always move on.
"You're in Cardiff, capital of Wales. That's in the UK which is .."
"In Europe. I know that! And this little ball of dust is Earth, crummy planet full of humans who are totally unaware of what is coming for them." He threw her a dirty look then stopped.
"You remember that then." She inched the car forward as the queue of traffic moved but the lights changed back to red before she got to the front.
"Yeah." He looked out of the windscreen, not seeing the florists' van in front of them. He did remember things, weird things. Things that couldn't be true. Spaceships? Other planets? That just couldn't be true.
"What's the last thing you do remember?" she pressed, at the same time wondering if she should leave this for Owen. He had more idea of how memory worked than she did and might pick up something she missed.
He began slowly. "I remember standing outside that house, the one that blew up. I was in the garden." Pause. "That's it, " he turned to her, "I don't remember anything else. Did I live there? Do I know those people that died?" His tone was concerned.
"You don't live there and I don't think you know – knew, the people." They were moving again, down Lloyd-George Avenue towards Mermaid Quay. "We're nearly there. Don't worry about it for now." She concentrated on her driving and beside her Jack fell silent, a small frown on his handsome features.
After parking, Gwen led Jack across the Plass to the Tourist Office. She had had to remind him to take his coat and he now held it over his arm obediently. He looked so wrong not wearing it that she almost asked him to put it on. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his head turn as he took in his surroundings. He was not overtly anxious but who knew what was going on in that convoluted mind. She opened the Tourist Office door and they went inside, Jack carefully closing the door after them.
"Gwen," nodded Ianto from behind the counter. He was watching Jack, obviously briefed by Owen.
Gwen watched the two men. If Jack knew any of his team, it would be Ianto. They had resumed their relationship after the hiccup caused by Jack's unexplained absence, she knew that much. Jack was looking round the Office, taking it all in but ignoring Ianto. It didn't look good.
"Jack," she said, getting his attention. "You know who this is?"
Jack looked over at her and then at the young man standing looking at him steadily. He was good looking, in a clean cut way, and he wore his suit well. "No. Who is he?"
Oh no, he doesn't remember Ianto! Will he remember the others?