Chapter Seven: The Day the Earth Stood Still

The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.
~John F. Kennedy~

The one thing Sara would never miss about Las Vegas was the summer heat. Especially on days like this, with concrete pounding by under her shoes while her heart pounded in her ears in a rhythm to match. Up ahead the… person… teenager… male… cleared a three metre chain link fence in a single bound.

She and Mickey shot one another brief glances as they continued to chase after it. Definitely not human. Neither needed to say the words.

Mickey got to the top of the fence first and offered his a hand; she wasn't about to argue with him over not needing it. The last eight blocks she'd just sprinted after the wiry, human looking kid had winded her.

"What is it about this job and all the running?" Mickey teased, hauling her up by one hand.

She snickered and heaved herself the rest of the way over the fence and to the ground. Mickey landed next to her. The kid was nowhere to be seen.

"Gwen?" Sara spoke into her com. "Anything?"

"Ianto and Jack are on it… they caught the kid coming around the other side of the building."

"Now why didn't we think of that?" Mickey groaned.

She just smiled and shook her head at him; together, they jogged around to the front of the building just in time to see Jack and Ianto finishing the capture.

"We got lucky," the Captain assured them, as he hauled the restrained, unconscious kid over one shoulder. He looked to be no more than sixteen, well to the unattractive side of average, and dressed like a street kid. Worn jeans. Grimy blue hoodie. Ripped t-shirt… holes in his trainers.

"He literally ran into us," said Ianto, explaining further.

Jack tapped his com. "Gwen, get the locals to move these people outa here…." They seemed to have attracted a crowd and despite Ianto's assurance to the crowd in question that they were Torchwood, everything was fine, there was something sympathetic about the kid he'd just tackled to the ground and rendered unconscious with a quick injection of sedative.

Even as Gwen responded to say she was on it, several pc's came onto the scene, backing the crowd off so Torchwood could make their exit… but not without shooting a collective askance look at the Captain and his team.

No matter how many times they helped the local authorities out, no matter how many times they saved the world when nobody was looking, no one ever seemed to trust them…

Jack stifled the sourness of his mood. He didn't want recognition or even approval, but some days the scowls got to him…

……………………………………………………………………….

Back in the Hub, dripping wet with seawater, Sara peeled herself out of her jeans and tank top. Mickey had started it. They were both complaining of being hot and sticky (a comment that would have been best left unsaid in Jack's presence). Suddenly Sara found herself in the bay… Mickey wasn't far behind. Ianto, it seemed, had not only a sense of wicked humour buried beneath that prim exterior, but a sneaky streak as well. Mickey swore he never saw the Welshman coming. Jack had just laughed, something he truly needed after the way the pc's had stared them down earlier, and headed into the Hub with their prisoner.

Sara turned off the spigot; she would have preferred a longer shower, but at least she no longer smelled like fish. She towelled off and slid into a clean, dry, pair of jeans and soft cotton blouse.

Her mobile buzzed.

Slipping in the earpiece, she answered 'hello', as she sat down on the locker room bench to put on dry socks and the boots she kept in her locker. Jack had been right to suggest a full change of clothing, including shoes and underwear, although she doubted he had encounters with team mates in mind when he'd made the suggestion.

"Sara?"

Her breath caught in her throat. "Gil?"

"Did… I catch you at a bad time?"

"No. No, I… just got out of the shower."

She had been a little disappointed when he didn't call after the conference, except for a brief message on her voice mail to let her know he'd landed back in Vegas safely. (At the time he'd left it, she was in the middle of a Weevil Retrieval with Abby).

But that had been almost three months ago. Not that the phone lines didn't go both ways, of course.

Her excuse for not calling him, at least to herself, had been work. And there was the time difference between Vegas and Cardiff. It seemed like the only time she found herself with a free minute, a quick look at the clock assured her that Gil would probably be asleep. Assuming he was still working nights. She didn't know for sure… and deep down she was certain he wouldn't have minded talking to her even if she did wake him up. She still hadn't called.

She had dropped him a couple of emails. He'd responded. But it had been… Sara thought a moment… it had been almost a month since she'd heard anything from him. She wasn't even sure who owed who the next email.

Nick, on the other hand called at least once a week. They never talked about Grissom, though.

She cleared her throat. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm… clean."

He chuckled softly. "Well that is the point of a shower, I suppose. Do you have some time to talk?"

"I… I'm at work, actually. But I might be able to get away for a few minutes."

"It can wait."

"Give me a minute," she said, scooping up her wet clothing as carefully as she could, so as not to undo the shower she'd just taken. A while back, Ianto had insisted on procuring a washer and dryer for just such occasions. They were located between the two locker rooms. Sara dumped her clothes into the wash… Mickey's were already in. Of course he would have waited to let her start the wash… then again, she'd seen how he did laundry. She dumped in a half a cup of detergent, set the cycle and hit the start button. It wasn't a difficult task… and she trusted Mickey with her life. Just not her favourite jeans.

"Sara…?"

"I'm still here. I just had to throw some stuff into the wash."

"I thought you said you were at work," he sounded perplexed.

"I am. We had… a bit of an incident earlier."

"I hope everything's all right."

"Nothing a little soap won't fix," she smiled. It was a good day when the worst she needed to do was wash her clothes. "So what are you up to?" she asked, the smile still playing at the corners of her mouth. She knew she needed to get back to work…

"I'm in Cardiff," Gil's words made the world stop. "I've accepted a teaching position at the University."

"Oi! Sara!" Mickey hollered across the Hub. "Jack's looking for you!"

"Should I let you go?" asked Gil.

She wasn't sure she was breathing at all properly. "Yeah… no. Hold on. Give me another minute. Mickey… tell Jack I'm… I need a few minutes."

"He's getting ready to…" Mickey noticed she was on the phone. "Who're you talking to? You ok?" she looked pale.

"Just tell Jack something came up. It's personal."

"Sara, if I've called at a bad time…" Gil began in her ear.

"Don't you dare hang up, Gilbert." She headed for the lift to take her up to the Plass. It was the quickest, quietest, way out of the Hub. "I'll explain when I get back," she hollered down to Mickey… and now Jack who had apparently come looking for her as well. She heard Mickey explaining that she was on the phone although she suspected that the Captain could work that out for himself.

Sara took a deep breath, trying to will herself to stop shaking and stepped off the lift when she was sure no one was looking her way.

"Sara? Are you all right?"

"Am I supposed to be?" she didn't know what else to say; she didn't know what she felt.

"I… don't know," he gave her what sounded like a completely honest answer. Then, "What I asked you before, about you seeing anybody…"

She blinked. "You want to know if I'm seeing anybody? After taking a teaching job… after… moving…" because that was what he was implying, wasn't it? "You packed up and moved to Cardiff?" for me…?

"It's just for the fall semester. If things go well, the University has expressed an interest in making it a permanent position... but it's been a while since I've been in a classroom," he added with what sounded like a smile.

"How long have you been here?"

"Only a couple of days. I would have called sooner but…"

She cut him off, "What about the lab?" Why hadn't Nick mentioned… or Greg… Hell, Catherine had her phone number, why hadn't she picked up the phone and called?

"I took a leave of absence."

"Does anyone know where you are?"

"No."

A flicker of blue caught Sara's eye on the other side of the Plass. She looked up and saw Jack jogging towards her; even from a distance she could see the look of concern on his face.

"Gil, why are you here?"

"You said you weren't coming back. I decided to come to you."