A big thanks to my lovely beta lastincurableromantic. She has been such a great help. Especially since grammar (and apparently verb tenses, this week) and I are not friends. Hope she has an amazing time at Midnight Con next week!
I still don't own Doctor Who.
Jack slid onto the bench next to her. "I would have thought we'd be meeting at your place." It was nearly half past four in the morning. He'd rushed to meet her here soon after the Doctor had let that little piece of information slip into the conversation, 456. The Doctor had been watching for Jack's reaction more than anything. Jack had known the rise in pitch of his voice, his dilating pupils, and increased pulse rate had told the Doctor exactly what he wanted to know.
Now the Doctor knew that Jack knew something. Something Jack wasn't ready to share with the rest of the class yet.
"Right now I don't want you anywhere near there," Hannah said, handing him a cup of coffee. "Sorry, Jack, as much as I care about you, it's not safe for my family to be seen with you."
He snorted. "No, it's not, especially when the other grandmother to your grandkids just busted me out of a holding cell. I never imagined, all those years ago, when I told you stories about her and the Doctor that your daughter would marry their son. Sometimes it really is a small Universe."
It was Hannah's turn to laugh. "You really have no idea how true that statement is."
"Something you're not telling me, Han?" Jack quirked an eyebrow.
"I would if I could. You know that." She shook her head. "What took you so long to call me?"
"Well, Ianto was eager for a reunion," Jack teased and Hannah rolled her eyes. "You know how it goes when I come back from the dead. There's hovering, and comparing of notes. The Doctor accidently 'forgot' to mention the 456 until an hour ago. I think he was just waiting to see if I had the same reaction you did."
"And I'm guessing that you did."
"Kinda hard not to panic when something like the 456 comes back." Jack sagged forward. "I gave them twelve children. No questions asked."
"It's not like you really had a choice." Hannah put a hand on his arm. "The things that Torchwood would have done to make you comply… And then they just would have had someone hand them over anyway."
"That's not how he'll see it," Jack said, leaning into her.
"Well then, sod the Doctor." Hannah elbowed him in the ribs playfully. "I have the Torchwood file on the 456." She nudged her computer bag with her foot. "It's all in there."
"I thought you destroyed those files."
"I lied." She shrugged and stood up. "Sue me. At least this gives us a jumping off point. Maybe we can figure out what they want before they arrive today."
"We know what they want, more children. What else could it be?" Jack stood up and the two of them began walking towards her car. "They can't be trusted. This time I won't let them have even one child, not one."
"Good," Hannah said, sliding into the driver's seat. It was a relatively quick drive, especially with the lack of traffic this early in the day. Neither said another word until Hannah parked her car in the warehouse. "Are you ready?" she asked once they were out of the car.
"Time to face the music and solve the problem," he said with a forced smile. Hannah came over and took his hand and the two of them walked into the blue TARDIS. Despite the earliness of the day, the console room was bustling with people. Rose, the Doctor and Gwen were huddled around the view screen. Ianto and Rory were working on their own laptops. Jenny was peering over her brother's shoulder.
"So you two finally decided to join us," the Doctor said, not bothering to look up. Everyone else looked up and Ianto's gaze immediately fell on Jack and Hannah's joined hands. "So what, exactly, does 456 mean?" The Doctor looked up before stepping around the console. No one spoke as he came to stand in front of the newly arrived pair. With a squeeze, Hannah let go of Jack's hand and reached into her bag, extracting the 456 file. She handed it over to the Doctor, who tucked it under his arm and continued to glower at Jack.
"1965." Jack swallowed. "The British government was contacted by an alien race, known only by the frequency they were transmitting on, 456."
"What did they want?" Rose asked, coming to stand beside the Doctor.
"A gift," Jack replied curtly, not dropping his gaze from the Doctor.
"What kind of gift?" That was Rory.
This was the moment that Jack had been dreading. "Children, they wanted twelve children."
"Why? For what purpose?" someone asked, Jack wasn't sure who, he'd barely heard the words over the sound of blood rushing through his ears. The only person he was sure didn't ask the question was the Doctor. The Time Lord was staring straight at him and Jack wasn't going to dare look away.
"The 456 said they would live forever."
"And you just handed them over?" Anger tinged Gwen's voice. Jack just nodded.
The Doctor's jaw clenched. "In exchange for?"
"A cure for a pandemic virus that could have wiped out up to 10% of the world's population. It seemed like a good deal." Jack knew how bad those words sounded and he was ready to face their wrath.
"Where did you take the children from?" Ianto asked.
Jack opened his mouth to speak but Hannah answered instead. "The Holly Tree in Scotland. They were orphans."
"So they wouldn't be missed," the Doctor said dryly.
"Oh my God, Clem," Gwen said suddenly. "Clem MacDonald, he must have been one of the children. That's why he was speaking along with the children." No one paid her much attention because the Doctor spoke next.
"Children, Jack! You just handed them over willingly, with no concern as to what would happen to them." The Doctor's anger was dripping off every word. "I expected better from you."
"What else was I supposed to do? Hmm? Even if I had refused, it would have been done anyway and it would have been so much more painful for me," Jack yelled. "But you never seemed to care what happened to me, did you? The high and mighty Time Lord just left me on my own because I was 'wrong'. Do you have any idea how many times I had died by that point? How many of those deaths had been because I was tortured? So yeah, maybe I stopped caring."
The Doctor turned his hard gaze on Hannah. "And you knew about this? Yet you said nothing. What kind of game are you playing?"
Hannah didn't even flinch and was about to answer when Jack stepped in front of her. "Leave her out of this. The only reason she knows anything is because I needed a friend to talk to and she was there for me. Which is more than I can say for you, Doctor."
"Where did she get this, then?" The Doctor waved the file he had been given. "Was it just lying around somewhere?"
This time Hannah wouldn't let Jack come to her rescue. "Don't be stupid. Of course I don't keep my files lying around. Yes, I took some of the hard copies of Jack's Torchwood files after Canary Wharf. Figured they might come in handy one day and I was right. For your information, I keep them secured in a model FXL security cabinet from Juron that is encoded to specifically to my DNA and palm print. It also has the built in self-destruct option if anyone but me tries to access them. So yes, I think they are fairly secure."
The Doctor blinked in surprise. His voice momentarily lost that hard quality. "Really? Where did you get something like that?"
"A gift from a friend that needed a really big favor back in the early nineties," she replied evasively.
"Jack," Rose said softly, breaking the tension in the room. "When did you start to care again?"
"After Alice." His voice was almost a whisper as he said words meant only for her. Because Rose was the only person he had ever told about the existence of his daughter. For a moment his eyes sought the Doctor's, looking to see if he showed the slightest hint of recognition at the mention of Alice's name. He didn't. Rose must not have told the Doctor about Jack's daughter.
"I'm sorry, Jack," Rose said, pulling her friend into a hug. "I'm sorry for all the things that happened to you because of what I did."
"Aw, Rosie," his voice softened as he hugged her tightly. "It's alright, I promise. Never be sorry that you didn't want me dead."
Rose pulled back and the Doctor and Jack once again locked eyes. Neither said anything but the Doctor tilted his head to one side and held out a hand to Jack in a silent truce. Hesitantly, Jack took his hand and shook it. The Doctor smiled and spun around. "Excellent, now we are at least on an even footing, information wise, with the people in the government. At least until the 456 arrive sometime today. Now we just need to find a way into that meeting."
"I think I can help with that," Hannah volunteered. "The Colonel has requested that I stay close to him today. I can make sure that I'm in that room at Thames house."
"Again, excellent. Now what can we use to help Hannah give us eyes and ears in that room? Something undetectable…" The Doctor opened a drawer in the console and began to rummage through it.
Gwen pulled out a contact lens case. "I have these. Fit like regular contact lenses. We can send the wearer messages and it has lip reading software."
"Good, good," the Doctor said, still digging in the drawer. "Aha," he exclaimed. He pulled out a small box. "One of these will give us audio. Just leave a chip, a miniscule chip in any room and we'll hear the smallest of pins drop."
There were a few minutes of frenzy as Hannah was given the necessary tools to facilitate the viewing of today's events. Very soon the Lt. Colonel was making her way out of the TARDIS. "I'll let you know if anything goes wrong. Keep Patricia here today. It's better if she's not in the office just in case anyone gets suspicious of me. Now I really must go."
After the door had shut, the Doctor cleared his throat. "It looks like we have some preparations to make and some files to read. Rory, you're with me." Now it was the Doctor's turn to make a dramatic exit.
At the Davies household, Johnny walked through the front door, guiding a neighbor's child inside. "This is Eliza, and she's lactose intolerant, so no milk."
"Oh, right," Rhiannon said, smiling at the girl. "You take your coat off; you go in there and play, all right? That's it now, Johnny. No more kids! I'm full to bursting." She had taken Ianto's warning seriously and now had almost half the estate's kids in her home. She'd take more if she had to and her husband knew it.
"It's a public service! The schools are closed, people still got to work. Life goes on!" Johnny said, not having a clue what Ianto had told Rhiannon. He knew that his wife had volunteered to help everyone but didn't know that she was secretly keeping them nearby in case a Police box showed up.
"Yeah, with you making a profit." She rolled her eyes.
Johnny shrugged. "Ten quid a kid. Look, that could be our slogan, ten quid a kid!" With a laugh, he turned and headed back outside.
Alice Carter sat on her stairs and once again dialed her father's number. After a few rings the voicemail picked up. "This is Jack Harkness, leave a message and I'll get back to you."
She hung up without leaving a message. There had never been a time when she couldn't get in touch with him. Something must be very wrong and it might be time to change communication tactics.
"Stephen, I'm just going to pop over the road. I won't be a minute, OK?" Alice called towards the living room.
"Alright, Mum," he called back.
Stepping outside, Alice spotted a young lady just hanging up her mobile. "Excuse me, could I borrow your phone?" Alice called. "I just want to make a call to my sister, she's a bit worried. It's all this stuff with the kids. And my mobile's not working. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, sure." The girl smiled and handed the phone over.
"I won't be long," Alice said, taking the phone and stepping a few feet away. "Brilliant, thanks."
The phone rang and a woman answered. "'Hello, Cardiff Bay police station."
"Yeah, I'm trying to contact Captain Jack Harkness, he works for Torchwood. I know it's not your department, but..." There's a beeping sound. "I think he was might have been in that explosion, and I can't get in touch with him. He's got this private number and he always answers it but..."
At the military base Jack was rescued from, the mysterious brunette examined a screen over the shoulder of a soldier. The call from Cardiff had been redirected here. "I'll need your name and address," the soldier said gruffly.
"I just want to know where he is," Alice said quickly.
'LOCATION CONFIRMED' the computer screen in front of the soldier now displayed. "I'll need your name and address," he said again.
Alice didn't reply. She simply slid the phone shut and handed it back to the girl. "Lovely, thank you very much. Thanks." Quickly she ran back inside her house fearing that she'd just made a terrible mistake.
At the military base, the brunette stared at CCTV footage of Alice on the phone. "Can you find out who she is?" she asked.
"I'm on to it," the soldier responded as his fingers began to fly over the keyboard.
The Doctor and Rory stood alone in a small TARDIS room filled with television screens. They were currently all tuned to various newscasts from stations all around the world. A few of them switched over to the British Prime Minister.
"In light of what's happening with our children, we've temporarily closed the schools. As a further precaution, we have introduced a temporary curfew for everyone under the age of 18. Keep your children at home, where they'll be safe. The curfew takes effect immediately and will continue until further notice. But rest assured. We are doing everything in our power to find out what's going on, to safeguard our children.
"In the meantime, we are asking everyone to stay calm, and to go about your lives as normal. There's nothing to suggest we are in any danger, and as soon as we find out anything more, the public will be informed. And as always, I thank you, for your trust, and for your faith."
The screens switched back to various reporters. "Do you think this goes all the way to the top? To Prime Minister Green?" Rory asked.
"It has to," the Doctor said, slumping into a chair. "There is no way that man doesn't know everything that's going on. Oh, he'll be using others to do the dirty work, keeping his hands clean and such, but there is no way he's uninformed."
Rory nodded and his eyes continued to scan the screens. There was probably nothing useful to be gleaned from them, but the setup would be helpful for later when Hannah was inside those secret meetings. "What about Jack?"
"Captain Jack Harkness." The Doctor closed his eyes and idly swiveled the chair from side to side. "He's right; I shouldn't have just abandoned him on the Game Station. He needed me and I failed him. Turned out alright in the end but… I regret it the same."
Jack was in the kitchen when Ianto found him. "Why didn't you tell me about the 456 before?" Ianto said without even greeting his partner.
Casually Jack turned around and leaned heavily against the counter. "I didn't know it was them until earlier. It's not a story I like to tell so I figured I should tell everyone as group."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Ianto crossed his arms over his chest.
"What do you mean then?" Jack actually looked confused.
"Hannah. You told Hannah and not me. What else are you hiding?" The younger man let out a sigh. "I tell you everything."
Letting out a groan of frustration, Jack crossed the room to where Ianto was standing. "I've lived for over a thousand years…And I've done things that I'm not proud of, things that maybe I'm trying to protect you from. Hannah is a friend that's seen me through some rough times. That's all she is a friend, and the things I've told her could get her killed. I don't want that for you."
"You can tell me anything, Jack. You should know that." Ianto took a step towards him.
"I do." Jack raised a palm to the other man's cheek. "But not at the expense of your life, Yan. Our lives are already dangerous and I want to see you grow old. Not be cut down in your prime."
"Do you think that one day your luck will run out? And that you'll die and not come back?"
"No, I don't." Jack paused. "I'm a fact. That's what the Doctor says." Jack dropped his hand to Ianto's shoulder.
"So... one day, you'll see me die of old age. And just keep going."
Nodding, Jack said, "Yes. I'm sorry."
Ianto gave him a sly smile. "We had better make the most of it, then."
"I suppose," Jack said with a grin.
The Welshman's gaze trailed up and down Jack's body. "Like right now?"
"Ianto," Jack smiled. "The world could be ending."
Giving a small laugh, Ianto said, "The world's always ending."
"Well, in that case…" Jack pulled Ianto towards the door to the kitchen. "We'd better find a room."
At a pub in Camden, Clem MacDonald was unpacking a purse that obviously wasn't his. The barmaid eyed him suspiciously when an ID fell open. "Such a long time ago," Clem began to ramble. "But it's all coming back. Isn't it? Cos of that smell... Closer and closer. Happens today, well, it's always today, isn't it? Same as yesterday. Today and yesterday. I knew they'd come back. Bastards always come back."
Clem loudly sniffed the air. "I can smell them. Just like last time, isn't it?" He shut his eyes tightly as a series of flashbacks hit him. A group of children being told to walk into a light. "Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! STOP! STOP!"
Two uniformed police officer stepped inside the pub. "That's him..." The barmaid said, pointing at Clem.
"No. Oh, no, don't take me, they'll get me," Clem cried as he tried to flee. But it was to no avail as the officers soon were leading him away on handcuffs.
A few hours later Trisha, Gwen and Rose were sitting in the kitchen monitoring the goings on of UNIT, the Home Office and various police agencies.
A picture of Clem popped up on the screen, alerting them to results from a search Trisha had been running. "Whoa, what's that?" Gwen said, pointing at the screen.
"Ah, facial recognition software," Trisha said, typing a few things quickly. "And... arrested two hours ago in London. He wouldn't give his name, but that is Clement MacDonald."
"I'll go get him," Gwen volunteered.
"Um, no," Rose said, shaking her head. "I'm not sure that you should be out and about right now."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Look, Rose, I know that you're just trying to 'keep me safe', but really, I'm more than capable of looking after myself. Plus I may just be the only one that man would trust."
Rose smiled. "Fine, but take Trisha. She can use her authority to spring him from jail and make sure when you get him back here to keep him away from Jack. It may be too much for the poor man to take."
"Aye-aye," Gwen said with a salute before she and Trisha left. They almost knocked the Doctor over on the way out.
"Find anything useful?" the Doctor said as he sidled up next to Rose.
"Clem MacDonald," Rose said, turning into his arms. "He was arrested a few hours ago. It's probably safer for him to be here with us. I'm not sure that we'd be able to actually get him inside the TARDIS' protection, but we can try."
"Sounds like a plan." The Doctor pressed a kiss into her hair. "When this is over and we've found Amy and the baby, I'm taking you on a two month holiday, my beautiful Rose. We've had so very little time alone lately."
"Comes with the territory, I guess. No time for shagging when we have to save the world." She caught her tongue in her teeth as she smiled. He was leaning over to kiss her properly when there was another beep from one of the laptops. They both turned and saw a picture of a middle-aged brunette pop up. "Damn," Rose said, coming over to the screen. "They've found her."
"Who's found who?" the Doctor asked as he read the name Alice Carter across the bottom of the screen. "Jack mentioned an Alice earlier. Any connection?"
"Yep, same one, and now the people after Jack know where she is. I have to get to her fast. Sorry, I can't explain," Rose said as she started adjusting the manipulator still on her wrist. The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly through to the main console room and to the TARDIS doors.
"Go," he said, half pushing her out the door. He touched her temple. "Call if you get in trouble."
"Love you," Rose said and she pressed a soft kiss onto his lips.
The Doctor smiled. "I love you too, Rose Tyler." She stepped back and activated the vortex manipulator.