A huge thank you to my beta reader for this story, especially for the cultural references (and catching some of those stupid spelling mistakes; I was the one wincing when I saw some of the goofs I'd made. :-)
Thanks to everyone for reviewing / favouriting / story-alerting this one. Hope y'all continue to enjoy!
SPECIAL THANKS to nitpickers ;-) Changes duly, humbly and gratefully made. :-)
Chapter Three: New Country, New Life
Cardiff, Wales (UK):
………………………………………………………..
"There's a good girl," Ianto crooned softly at the pterodactyl. For most of the last year he'd been working on improving their relationship. It had started with chocolate, but not wanting her to gain unnecessary weight, he'd eventually switched to mutton and beef. Mutton was definitely her favourite and it's what he was offering her now.
"There's a good girl," he repeated in a low, even tone as Myfanwy inched closer. "Now when have I ever hurt you, hmmm?" he asked when she tilted her head to one side, eyeing him suspiciously. Wearing an extra heavy work glove over top of a chain mail chef's glove, he held out a fresh cut of lamb. Jack kept telling him that one of these days he was going to lose a finger, and unlike Jack's it wouldn't grow back, but he wasn't going to give their 'guard dog' opportunity to eat one of his digits. "There we go," he encouraged when she focused in on the meat.
Slowly, the pterodactyl inched forward. She stretched out her neck as far as it would go and plucked the meat from his hand then jumped back before gulping it down.
"Well you certainly won't win any points for table manners," Ianto told her in the same even croon. "But at least I've still got all ten digits," he smiled and took a half a step forward. She stayed where she was. He took another step. And then another. And then the alarm sounded, signaling someone's arrival in the Hub.
Myfanwy squawked loudly and took to wing as Ianto cursed in two languages. It has to be Gwen, he thought. She has the absolute worse timing of anyone I've ever met. Ianto made his way towards the door telling himself that he wasn't going to snap at Gwen, it wasn't her fault, she'd probably forgotten something at her desk. "Ianto!" Jack hollered down from his office. The pterodactyl was still screeching noisily.
"I've got it!"
When the cog door rolled aside, it didn't reveal Gwen, or Liz, either. It was a disheveled man with long blond hair wearing at least a day's worth of stubble and a rumpled blue shirt. He was carrying a pair of suitcases, three garment bangs and had a duffle bag slung over one shoulder. On a better day, he might have looked like the file photo of Dr. Robert Chase. As soon as he spotted the pterodactyl diving for his head, he jumped back with a loud shriek, dropped both suitcases and ducked for cover.
"Stop it! You're only frightening her more," Ianto took a step towards the man in an attempt to convey to the pterodactyl, who was in full 'guard dog' mode, that it was all right. Unexpected though he was, the stranger wasn't unwelcome.
"I'm scaring her?" the man yelped as the pterodactyl came at him a second time.
"Bobby?" Jack emerged to find out what was spooking Myfanwy. He touched one of the controls on his wrist strap, activating the ultra sonic 'ok' signal to quiet her down. Apparently it didn't convince her, because instead of flying back up to her alcove, she took another swoop at Bobby's head.
"Shit! Jack! You could have warned me you had a bloody dinosaur here!"
"Welcome to Torchwood," Jack grinned, crossing the distance between them, heedless of the still disgruntled pterodactyl.
"Is that thing safe!"
Jack just continued laughing, while Ianto stood nearby looking peeved. Myfanwy seemed to take this as her cue that everything was actually ok and with one last turn around the Hub, she vanished back into her alcove.
"That thing could have bloody killed me!"
The more indignant he became, the more humorous Jack found the situation. He held out his hand, "Like I said, welcome to Torchwood."
Ianto pulled off the gloves and pushing away his irritation for later. He extended his hand as well. "Dr. Chase, I presume. Ianto Jones, Sir," he introduced himself with formality. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last. I'm sorry I wasn't at the airport to greet you." He felt irritated that he hadn't been given proper warning to plan for Dr. Chase's arrival, but given the man's unkempt appearance, coupled with the fact that he was alone, Ianto felt quite certain that the oversight wasn't his.
Dr. Chase accepted the hand Ianto offered and in a strained tone took full responsibility for showing up both early and unannounced.
"Isn't it a little late to still be at work?" he asked then, his tone betraying nothing but honest curiosity.
"He lives here," Jack maneuvered to stand next to Ianto. "With me."
"With you? As in with you?"
"Well you don't see anybody else here, do you?" the Captain quipped back.
"Just the bloody lizard," Robert muttered.
"She's a pterodactyl, Sir. Pterodon, to be exact."
"And you let her fly around like that?" he directed the question more towards Jack than Ianto.
"What else would you suggest?" Ianto raised an eyebrow.
"Right. Torchwood. I should have figured it'd be something like this."
Jack just smiled, "So, would you like the grand tour or…?" he offered tentatively, shoving both hands in his pockets.
"Why don't I make some coffee while you show Dr. Chase around?" Ianto suggested.
"I think I need something stronger than a cup of coffee."
"You've never had his coffee," Jack's smile became a full on grin as he reached down and picked up of Bobby's suitcases. "Come on, let's get this out of the way and I'll give you the ten-cent tour while Ianto gets the coffee. Conference room," he added in Ianto's direction, before the other could even ask. Jack ignored the look Ianto gave him when he deposited the suitcases at the Welshman's station, telling Bobby to go ahead and pile the rest of his stuff there, too. "So what do you think?" he asked as he led the way through the main Hub area.
"It's big."
"Big enough for a dinosaur to fly around," Jack couldn't help himself.
"You really could have warned me."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Robert sighed. "Right. Any other surprises I should be aware of?"
"Plenty. But they wouldn't be surprises if I told you about them, now would they?" Jack led the way down into the medical bay and invited Bobby to make himself at home, since this was where he'd do most of his work.
"Small. But I guess for one person it's enough space," he seemed to intentionally break eye contact when he said that.
Jack didn't press the issue just yet. He leaned up agains thte wall and watched Bobby wander around the bay, picking up this or that, looking over equipment, getting himself familiar with the area. "I've had Liz Shaw here for the last month or so."
Bobby looked up in surprise. "Dr. Elizabeth Shaw?"
"You know her?"
"Only by reputation. I'm surprised you'd be looking for a replacement for someone like her."
Jack hesitated… but there's not much use to sugar coating it. "Torchwood isn't the safest place for a fifty year old scientist, no matter how good her credentials are."
"Right."
"Bobby…"
"I get it, Jack. Any one of us could die at any given moment, present company excluded. I read the UNIT files on the Sontarans. And Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, even the bloody Zygons."
Jack gave him a sly little smile, "Our files are better. And I still die. I just keep coming back."
"Did you ever find out how that worked?" Bobby perched himself on the edge of the cool steel table in the centre of the room.
"As a matter of fact, yes," Jack nodded his head before steering the conversation back on topic. "But what I need you to understand what we do here is dangerous; more dangerous than you can imagine. Owen – Dr. Owen Harper – died the second time, trying to shut down the Turnmill Nuclear power plant. He got stuck in the venting chamber."
"Hell of a way to go."
"Yeah," Jack came over and sat down next to him. "It was."
"Did that have something to do with the gas explosions you guys had last month?"
"We lost two people that day. Owen and Toshiko Sato. Owen had been with me four years, Tosh five. He was 27, she was 29. Her birthday was next week."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too."
"But you said this Owen died the second time…?" Bobby asked then.
"That's another long story."
"I get the feeling you're full of those."
"When you get to be my age," Jack teased with eyebrows raised. He had teased Bobby mercilessly about being a 'kid' the first time they'd met and it had since become something of a running joke between them.
"Don't even start with that shit. I'm not a kid any more."
"I'm still older than you."
Bobby seemed to be debating asking just how much older, but apparently changed his mind, "So I take it should brush up on my nuclear physics while I'm here?"
"You should brush up on a lot of things. After a cup of coffee. And if I know Ianto, he's probably fixed up some sandwiches for you. Come on," Jack pulled himself back to his feet.
Bobby followed him back up the steps, "So you and him are really…?"
"Together. But don't think that's stopped me from noticing just how cute you grew up to be," Jack flashed a lascivious grin over one shoulder. "There is always room for one more player in naked hide and seek. Or any other game you'd care to play naked."
"I think I liked it better when you were calling me too young for my own good – or was that your own good?" Bobby asked with a bit of a grin.
Jack laughed, but then continued in a more serious tone, "Look I'm not going to pry, but if you need someone to talk to, my door is always open."
"Thanks, but there's nothing to talk about. I thought she loved me. I was wrong. End of story."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. In a way it's just as well I found out when I did."
"How long were you two together?"
"We… it's a little complicated. We started officially dating almost a year ago. But, you know, new country, new life. Fresh start. Assuming your pet dinosaur doesn't decide to eat me for breakfast," he shot a dark look in Jack's direction.
The Captain just chuckled and continued leading the way up to the conference room where, as predicted, Ianto had brought the coffee and a plate of fresh sandwiches.
"I wasn't sure what you liked," Ianto gave an almost apologetic smile as the two men came in. "But I thought you might be hungry. And of course, coffee." He handed Jack and Bobby each a cup. "I wasn't sure how you took yours, Dr. Chase, so I brought up the sugar and cream. I've also milk if you prefer," he offered the young Australian doctor.
"Are you always this polite?" Bobby asked bluntly.
"You should see him in bed."
Ianto cleared his throat and gave him a look that told Jack he was in trouble later, but otherwise he made no comment.
For his part, Bobby seemed to be making the effort to ignore them; he sat down and took a sip of his coffee and blinked. "Wow."
"Told you," Jack took his own usual place at the head of the table, while Bobby helped himself to a sandwich.
Ianto was about to join them when every phone in the place started ringing and Ianto's pager all went off.
"We have got to find a better way of catching in coming calls," Jack groaned over the noise.
"Torchwood at your service, day or night," Ianto reminded him in a dry tone as he walked over to the phone on the conference room wall.
"Do you get a lot of calls after hours?" Bobby asked Jack.
"No such thing as after hours when your business is alien threats, Bobby. You never know when a family of aliens is going to take over the Mayor's office or somebody is going to unearth an alien space ship or some other artifact. We've gotta be ready for all of it, day or night."
"I suppose you've got a point. Do you have a rotating night shift, or is it just you two?"
"Don't start giving him ideas," Ianto said as he joined them back at the table. "I should appreciate some time to sleep, thank you, Dr. Chase."
The blond medic gave him a quizzical look.
"If we had a rotating night shift," Ianto explained, "I'd be up all night, every night, making coffee. I would much rather field incoming calls myself. This way I only miss the occasional night's sleep. To work, anyway," he added with a look in Jack's direction.
It was the Captain's turn to clear his throat. "So… Who was on the phone?"
"Detective Swanson. She wants us to have a look at something."
"Swanson? Should I know that name?" Jack asked him.
Ianto forced a smile, trying not to think about the reasons why Jack might not remember a name from what was two thousand years ago in his own private timeline, but only two years to everyone else. "Kathy Swanson. Suzie…?"
"Right. Poetry."
At Bobby's slight glance, Ianto shook his head. Please don't even ask… He turned his attention to Jack. "Shall I call Gwen and Liz?"
"Have them meet us there. Bobby, you ready to dive on in?"
"Why not?" He shoved the last of the sandwich into his mouth and washed it down with the remainder of the coffee before following the other two down to the Hub's main area.
"When was the last time you used a firearm?" Jack inquired.
"I went by the range yesterday. Didn't do too badly."
Jack nodded to Ianto to get him a weapon from the armory. "Standard procedure," Jack told him, when Ianto handed over a pair of guns. "Stun gun. Real gun. Only use the latter if you have to."
"Got it."
Jack watched Bobby check over both quickly, efficiently. Slower than he would have preferred, but some things would come with time. Besides, whatever Detective Swanson wanted, it wasn't likely going anywhere, so technically they weren't in a hurry.
"No guns in the Hub," he added as Ianto helped him on with his coat. "When you come back in, they go to Ianto to clean and put away. If you decide to carry a gun on your own time, I don't want it out or on you here. You can keep it in your desk if you want, but the rule is no guns here. Understood?"
"Perfectly."
Ianto handed him an ear piece and com. "Frequency's already set. Unlike your weapons, you should keep this on you at all times. I'll get you a new mobile tomorrow, but this will keep you in touch with us and us with you. Everything else we need is in the SUV," he added before the other man could ask. "Oh, I do suggest keeping a basic kit in your own car, once you've acquired one. Never really know when you're going to run into trouble or need, oh, I don't know, dinosaur meds, perhaps."
Jack glared at him, "Don't start."
"I'm just saying. Torchwood London would have had dinosaur meds, Jack."
He gave Ianto a look that was a mix of amusement an annoyance, and led the way out of the Hub.
Bobby fell into step just behind the other two men. "And I suppose there's really no such thing as my own time, is there?"
"Not really," said Ianto. "Like Jack said, you never know when aliens are going to overtake city hall."
………………………………………………………..
Ianto handed Bobby a large black case from behind the back seat as Jack pulled to a stop. He pulled another out for himself.
Bobby gave a quizzical look, but there wasn't time to ask or answer questions; Jack was already getting out of the vehicle.
"I'll have two more joining us," the Captain said to the uniformed officer who met them at the curb. They were in the middle of a quiet row of nearly identical homes just at the outskirts of Cardiff. It was, aside from the police cars, ambulance, and two fire engines, an idyllic little neighbourhood filled white fences, flower gardens, and neatly kept lawns; just the sort of neighbourhood that never seemed to see anything exciting happen. So when something did happen, everyone came out in droves, despite the fact that it was well past ten at night. "And if you could get some of your people to get those bystanders back away from here, I'd appreciate it," Jack added as another knot of on-lookers appeared from around a corner.
"Still swanning in and taking over, I see, Captain Harkness," Swanson greeted him with a wry smile.
If she thought anything of the personnel changes since the last time she'd dealt with Torchwood, she kept it to herself and Jack was grateful. "Detective Swanson, just as lovely as I remember," he returned her smile with one of his own.
"You really haven't changed, have you?"
"And you'd be devastated if I had. Admit it, you just called us out here because you wanted to see me again," he winked.
Swanson rolled her eyes, "This way, please, Captain. Gentlemen," she added towards Bobby and Ianto. "I should warn you, it's a bit, well, odd for us anyway. Maybe you see this sort of thing every day." She led the way into the home.
"Does he ever let up?" Bobby asked Ianto quietly as they followed Jack inside.
His first impression was of a neatly kept home: Family photos, amateur oil paintings on the wall and a shelf with book and a few old trophies for bowling and darts.
"Never," Ianto answered with half a smile; it looked like he was making the same observations, too.
"Doesn't it bother you?"
"Why should it? I'm the one in his bed every night."
"Coming kids, or are you going to stand there gabbing all night like a pair of school girls at recess?" Jack admonished with a wry grin that gave Ianto the impression he'd overheard part of the conversation.
Ianto returned Jack's grin as Bobby blushed.
Score one for my Welshman, Jack thought to himself. He followed Detective Swanson through the living room into the kitchen; the smell of burning meat hit him even before he crossed the threshold. Only it wasn't a Sunday roast. "I have to admit, this is a little peculiar, even for us," he told the detective referring to the charred body, presumably human, body standing at the kitchen sink as if having been frozen in place in the middle of going about its regular routine. The body was the only thing that appeared to have been touched by whatever caused it to become toasted. "Any idea who this was?" he asked the detective.
"Presumably the man who lives here, Harold Miller. It was the neighbour who called it in: Selma Peterson. She's outside with one of my men. So far she's been pretty hysterical, going on about glowing light. That's why she let herself in the back and, well, you can imagine what finding something like that would do to a normal person." Swanson seemed to be evaluating him to see if he was shocked or appalled or if really, it was just all in a day's work.
"Ok, Bobby, this is your department. Ianto, search out the rest of the house, see if there's anything unusual. I'm going to see if the neighbour can tell me anything. Detective Swanson, if you would be so kind as to clear your people out of here."
"I know, I know, sensitive instruments and all that," she shook her head, but called for the police to pull back nevertheless.
Robert Chase watched the detective, Jack and Ianto each depart in separate directions, leaving him all alone with the upright, charred remains of a person who had presumably been healthy just a few hours ago. For the first time since medical school, he felt his gorge rising but was determined not to throw up on his first assignment.
He set the case Ianto had handed him on the kitchen table and opened it and saw just when he'd hoped to find. Menthol rub. He smeared a little just under his nose but he could still smell it… him, he reminded himself. Just because he was dead didn't make Harold Miller any less a person or him any less a doctor. And I knew what I was signing on for. But that didn't stop him from feeling lost.
He wandered around the kitchen, trying to figure out what he should do first, trying desperately not to ask himself what House would do. This was out of House's league and he knew it, but somehow that thought didn't bring him much satisfaction just now. Because it's out of my league, too. He gave himself a good mental shake.
"Ok," he said to himself. There was an opened tin of stew on the counter. Pots were in the cupboard over the sink. "So you were reaching for a pot and then what?"
There were no scorch marks on the floor and no singe marks on the ceiling. In fact other than the horrific odour, there was nothing to indicate that anything unusual had happened here.
"All right, start with what you know and work from there," he told himself. Gloves. Tweezers. Bags. Tissue sample. Wait – mask. Mask first, then tweezers and bags and a tissue sample… hmm… no, first mask, then digital camera, then tissue samples.
They'd probably take the body back to Torchwood, but looking at it, he was doubtful it would survive the trip. Right, you can do this. Bobby.
He didn't think he'd ever let anybody call him that again, but he suspected that getting Harkness to call him anything but Bobby was going to be a losing battle. And I'd probably better pick my battles carefully around here, stick to the things that actually matter. Besides, new country, new life, why not a new name as well?
……………………………………………….
Liz and Gwen arrived within minutes of one other. Jack gave them the situation in fifty words or less, including the suggestion that they not say anything to Bobby about his early, solo, arrival.
Both agreed and Liz went in to give him a hand with the body. Jack asked Gwen to see if Ianto needed a hand with the house.
"And watch yourself in there," he added. "We have no idea what did this or why."
Gwen just gave him a smile, "Do we ever?"