Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood, both belong to the BBC and their respected writers. But I do own Gaia! :b
A/N: This chapter is a major filler, but I felt that River's and Gaia's relationship needed to get on a bit if they were going to do what I wanted them too later on in the story. The last few paragraphs were written on the sole reason that I thought this chapter needed to be a bit longer, but I ended up having a laughing them. Anyhoo, as always reviews are much appreciated and alerts or any notification that anyone I actually reading my work...
It had been a few days now since the hospital incident and since then Gaia had been able to see Owen. A theoretical conclusion was made about Gaia's inability to see Owen beforehand. The fact that Owen was, in theory, brought back by Gaia's fear, her mind and body was repelling it; Gaia's natural instinct of survival caused Owen to be invisible to her. Now though, Owen was completely visible and solid and although she still felt quite nauseated when around him, she and he had gotten on like they always had… bickering, arguing and general banter.
Martha had also departed from themselves and returned to her work at UNIT. She had given Owen a clean bill of health, well for a dead guy anyway and Jack had reinstated him as head medic of Torchwood. Gaia had given Martha her mobile number for emergencies and promised to visit Martha soon in London.
At the present Gaia was sat by the workstations on her own, it was fairly late and the silence in the hub could almost be deemed as eerie. Assuming no one, bar Jack, would be in the hub Gaia leaned back in her chair and stretched her mental boundaries. Allowing them to flow through the hub, she felt the familiar and yet different glow of Jack. He was quite use to Gaia's mental endeavours and his glow didn't waiver as he felt her presence. Gaia allowed her connection to spread around the hub, but when she reached her office she felt an unfamiliar mind and her mental capacity snapped back like an elastic band.
Gaia instantly got to her feet and in her speed caused her head to spin wildly. Swaying for a moment she allowed herself to get her bearings again, before slowly making her way forward and towards her office. Clutching the railings of the stairs, Gaia smiled faintly. After telling Jack the misfortunes of her childhood she couldn't help but feel a weight lifted off of her. Although not distinctively obvious the horrors of her childhood had plagued her memory and therefore her ever since she went through them. To finally tell someone, someone she trusted about it… relief didn't cover it.
Gaia finally reached her office door and took a deep breath; not knowing what she see on the other side of her door, she opened it very tentatively and saw the last person she was expecting, River Song.
"River?" Gaia said shocked. River turned to face her and smiled in a way only River could.
"Hello Sweetie." She purred and Gaia stood there still in shock.
"Wha… what are you doing here?" Gaia stuttered. River pouted.
"You sound like you don't want me here." River said jokingly, although Gaia could hear the underlying pain in her voice.
"No, I…" Gaia began but River cut her off.
"Sweetie I'm joking." River then pulled out a small piece of paper from her belt. "You told me to come here." She continued and walked over to hand Gaia the piece of paper. Before she handed Gaia the paper though she stopped a few centremetres away and finger pointing to her cheek. Gaia raised her eyebrows.
"Seriously?" Gaia asked incredulously and River nodded. Rolling her eyes, Gaia went in for the kiss and at the last moment River turned her head ensuring the women touched lips.
Once again Gaia's lips were blasted with the taste of bubble-gum and a taste so uniquely River. Her eyes slid shut and she couldn't help the moan that escaped her throat as her and the part time lady kissed. When they did finally broke apart Gaia did her best to keep her expression firm and unimpressed. She failed miserably and both women ended up smiling at one another.
River then finally handed Gaia the small piece of paper and Gaia opened it up to see what her older self had said. "River, 13.3.2008.14. . You'll be staying over night. Gaia X" Gaia's, present day Gaia's, eyebrows rose as she read the message. Over night! Well that should be interesting. River broke her out of her reverie by asking a very innocent, put potentially problematic question.
"So do I get the tour?" Gaia's mind went into over drive as she analysed possible problems with allowing River to look around the hub. "Please…" River said sickenly sweetly and Gaia caved.
"Let me go get rid of Jack." Gaia replied before slipping out of the room and heading for Jack's office.
Gaia didn't falter when she entered Jack office, causing her to scare the hell out of Jack. "You're up." He said shocked, he had been sure the planet keeper had hit the sack.
"Yeah and I'm kinda gonna need you to get out of the hub. I'm going to finish installing the AI into the hub and if I end up getting it wrong the hub will go into lock down, so I'm going to need you on the outside just in case." Gaia stated quite proud of herself in the fact that she thought of the total and utter lie on the spot. Jack seemed to buy it though.
"How long would I need to be out of the hub?" He asked.
"Err… 3/ 4 hours. I'll finish at 1 the latest." Gaia answered. The current time was 9 pm. Jack nodded and grabbed his coat.
"Better be going then." He said with a smile. Gaia smiled softly in return, she didn't like lying to him. Gaia followed him to the roll door where Jack stopped and kissed her on the forehead. "Good luck." He said honestly. Gaia nodded.
"Have fun." She replied and Jack left, leaving her and River alone. "River!" She yelled and River stuck her head out of Gaia's office.
"Yes?" She asked all too innocently.
"Did you want that tour?" Gaia replied, not able but to smile up at River. River nodded and headed down to Gaia's side.
"Lead on you sexy thing." River joked. Gaia laughed and linked hands with River, leading her into the bowels of the hub.
10 minutes later…
"This is the armoury." Gaia introduced and River's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. The room the couple found themselves in was full of racks and tables, all full to the brim with an assortment of human and alien weaponry.
"Wow." River uttered and Gaia chuckled softly behind her.
"I figured you like might this room." Gaia commented and led River to the arch way at the back. "It also has a built in shooting range." She joked. River didn't answer her eyes still wide with awe with the vast arsenal facing her.
"Can I have a go?" River asked sounding like an excited child; Gaia bit her lip in thought.
"Sure why not." She conceded. "Choose your poison." She continued gesturing at the armoury and she couldn't help but notice River flinch as she said that. River still went and chose a weapon none the less.
River had opted for the large Axon energy charger, an extremely large weapon that required the 2 of them to use. Gaia stood behind River, her chest up against River's back and her arms around the woman helping her to support the gun. "Okay, you need to aim for the middle of the range; the size of the pulse is quite large." Gaia instructed and River looked through the eye piece to line it up. "Now…" Gaia continued. "When you're ready slowly pull back the lever." River nodded and held her breath as she slowly eased back the lever on the edge of the barrel. As the lever clicked back a large circular energy blast released itself from the gun, seeming to roll down the range it destroyed everything in its path, causing them to go up in flames. Thankfully the energy dwindled into nothing before it hit the back wall. River released her breath she had been holding and smiled.
"Wow." She stated completely in awe at the destruction in front of her.
"Hm-mm." Gaia agreed and took a step back from River. Seeing River holding the gun caused Gaia's hearts to start pounding. River looked completely bad-ass with it and Gaia couldn't deny she found it extremely attractive.
"What?" River asked slightly self conscious after seeing Gaia looking at her.
"Nothing, you sexy thing." Gaia replied repeating River's own words. River beamed.
45 minutes later…
Gaia was now leading River down the corridor; they had done several floors of the inner workings of the hub and were now working their way back up. River had taken a keen interest into the hub inner workings and Gaia trusted her enough to tell her. Now though River was intrigued at where the other boss of Torchwood Cardiff had got himself too. "So what did you tell Captain Harkness for him to get out of the hub?" River asked.
"Captain Harkness?" Gaia questioned her eyebrow aloft and a smile on her face.
"That's his name isn't it?" River asked genuinely confused at Gaia's reaction.
"Well yeah, but don't call him Captain Harkness. Just Jack will do. His ego doesn't need anymore inflating." Gaia explained and River nodded in understanding.
"Bit like you then." River teased and Gaia gasped mockingly.
"River, I have no idea what you're talking about." Gaia joked and both women laughed.
Once the laughter died down River returned to her original question of which Gaia quite happily answered. "I told him I was finishing the AI system."
"Okay, but he'll know you were lying won't he? When he comes back and it's not done." River stated as the couple now stood amidst the workstations. Gaia smiled and flicked the switch on the desk behind her. All the monitors in the hub wavered for a minute before a new voice boomed itself around the hub.
"AI Online." A male computer voice said. "Processing information." It said again and all went quiet.
"It'll being doing that for a few hours now." Gaia explained and turned to River who looked shocked.
"You have an AI computer in the 21st century." She said mouth agape in shock.
"Yep." Gaia nodded. River shook her head in disbelief.
"Who built it?" Gaia gestured to herself and River walked over to her so they were face to face. "You're amazing." River stated and kissed Gaia on the lips.
2 hour later…
River and Gaia were now sitting on the couch in the hub, River leaning on Gaia's shoulder. The 2 were chatting about this and that, the mad man and his box gaining a few mentions in their conversations. It was now Gaia realised that she could ask River the question she'd wanted to ask for months, ever since the Byzantium in fact. Unfortunately she almost lost her opportune moment when River started to butterfly kiss her neck.
"No, River. I want to ask you something." Gaia stated and reluctantly River lifted her head. "How does this work, I mean you, the Doctor and I? Yours and his timelines are backwards and mine are all over the place." Gaia asked looking at River. River rolled her eyes and presumed to kiss at Gaia's neck. "No Riv-" Gaia began but was quickly cut off when River nipped at her pulse point on her neck, causing Gaia to groan in pleasure. River chuckled at Gaia's reaction and brought her lips close to Gaia's ear.
"Spoilers, sweetie." River whispered huskily and Gaia shivered.
When Jack returned to the hub at 1, he was very surprised to see 2 sets of women's clothing strewn across the hub. Glancing up at Gaia's office, his eye brows rose at the sight of her blinds closed. Gaia never closed her blinds. Chuckling softly to himself he started to collect the items of clothing from around the hub.
On his way up to his office, he deposited the clothing outside Gaia's office door. Then, bearing in mind he considered Gaia to be family, he very quickly made his way to his office and his soundproofed bunker. Lying in his bed a little later on Jack couldn't help but smile- he'd have some serious blackmail material in the morning.
When Gaia awoke the next morning she couldn't help but notice that the other side of her bed was empty. She could help but feel her hearts drop a little at River's sudden departure. Keeping her eyes shut, she rolled over and started to pout.
"You always looked cute when you pouted." A familiar voice said. Gaia opened her eyes in an instant and was very pleased to see that River was still there, albeit getting dressed.
"You haven't left yet." Gaia said happily.
"Mm-hmm." River started as she finished tying up her shoes lace. "I have to be going in a minute though." River stated as she put on her holster and did a quick check everything was still there.
"Oh." Gaia replied, sounding somewhat like a disappointed child. She then shuffled her way to the edge of the bed and stood up; the blanket they were sleeping under fastened on her like a dress. "When will I see you again River?" Gaia asked, desperately trying not to sound like a love-struck teenager although she figured she must have failed spectacularly. River chuckled softly at the question and went to stand in front of the other woman.
"Very soon I suspect." River replied. "You always did pop up when I least expected it and it seems I now do the same to you." River added and both women chuckled, although Gaia's seemed to be some what half heartedly.
River rolled her eyes at the other woman's reluctancy and then promptly pushed her back onto the bed. "River!" Gaia squealed in shock, now lying on her back, her hair spraying out around her head. River then pounced onto of Gaia, causing her to squeal again and River to laugh. River straddled Gaia and pinned her hands above her head. Then with the most passion, devotion and love River could muster, she kissed the planet keeper deeply. At first it seemed Gaia was slightly shocked at the intensity of River's kiss, although she quickly got use to it. She tried to kiss River with the same passion River was giving her, although she couldn't seem to be able to muster it up and River continued to remain the dominant one in the kiss.
At some point, Gaia didn't know when, her eyes had shut as they kissed and hence she didn't see the white crack of light signifying River's departure. All she felt was the River suddenly disappearing off of her chest and lips, leaving her lying on the bed, semi-naked and panting for breath. "Wow." She managed to mutter and a smile graced her River coated lips.
When Gaia finally got herself up and dressed, she slowly made her way out of her office. She was surprised to see her clothes from the previous night in a pile by her door. Mentally thanking Jack she nudged the pile into her office and closed the door behind her. Unfortunately she did it a little too loudly and caught Jack's attention.
"Good Morning sleeping beauty." Jack announced as Gaia walked down the stairs. Gaia at this point was smiling, trying her best to act normal.
"Morning." She replied cheerfully.
"Have a good night last night?" Jack asked with an eyebrow raised. Gaia tried her hardest not to blush.
"Yes thank you. Was yours good?" Gaia asked her poker face on snug.
"Yeah…" Jack said coyly, amazed that Gaia hadn't either blushed or burst out giggling. "Did you finish the AI?" He asked quickly, now he had her. Gaia chuckled.
"Yep." She replied and walked over to one of the monitors. "Statistic report." Gaia commanded the thin air and there was a moment of silence. Jack began to snigger, but was shocked when he heard a response.
"Processing complete, please state name for system." The AI boomed and Gaia turned to Jack with a smile on her face. Jack, to say the least, looked shocked.
"So what should we call it? We only have one shot." Gaia stated and Jack grinned mischievously.
"Does it have to be male or female?" He asked seemingly innocent.
"Either, I can change the pitch and tone of the voice to suit the name." Jack grinned and then loud enough for the AI to hear he shouted it's chosen name.
"River!" Gaia's eyes widened.
"No, no, no." She said frantically, now furiously typing on the keyboard, but it was too late.
"Name: River, accepted." The AI, now named River, stated. Jack laughed and Gaia growled in annoyance.
(A/N: The AI River will be in bold.)
Sighing Gaia conceded that the AI system would now have to be called River… until she managed to find a way to recode it. "River." Gaia called hoping by some miracle her programming on the AI system had been faulty.
"Yes ma'am." The AI replied. Apparently not.
"Recalibrate vocal tone and pitch to human female." Gaia told the currently male AI.
"Yes ma'am." The male voice said and started to make bleeping noises as it recalibrated.
"Complete, ma'am. Will that be all?" The now female AI asked.
"Yes thank you… River." Gaia finished with gritted teeth. Gaia then turned to a very impressed Jack. "You got me." Jack admitted with his hands up. "I'm impressed." He finished and Gaia laughed. "Now you've just got to explain to the others." Gaia stopped laughing.
"Miss Sato and Mr Brockless have just entered the Tourist board, ma'am and sir." River announced just to add to Gaia's growing worries.
2 hours later…
The Torchwood team were currently gathered around in the board room, all trying to process the information Gaia had told them. "So we have a talking computer running the majority of Torchwood now." Owen stated with disbelief.
"Well yeah to put in short. A computer with Artificial intelligence that won't be seen for another 50 years on Earth and can be manually overwritten if need be," Gaia explained, although it didn't seem to sink in for anyone.
"I'm happy with that." Tosh stated, god knows with an AI program her job would be made a lot easier. Tommy nodded slowly at Tosh's side, he was still trying to get his head around computers, never mind ones that could talk and seemingly had a mind of their own. Gwen wasn't overly sure how she felt about it; it was still all a bit surreal. Talking computers that had the ability to control everything, it was either a futuristic fantasy or a horror movie waiting to happen. Ianto was intrigued; akin to Tosh he figured that the AI would become very handy for his work. Owen was gobsmacked, he knew Gaia was smart and all that but to create this… even he had to admit he was impressed.
"So everyone's got the heads up. I have no doubt it'll take some time to get use to, but we'll learn like we always do." Jack stated and everyone nodded. "Dismissed." He said with a wave of his hand and everyone filled out. Jack remained in the board room, now the only one left. Turning to face the large monitor he had an ingenious idea. "River, show me the CCTV footage of last night." Jack ordered.
"Yes sir." River replied and the footage started to show on the screen.
"Now let's find out who River is then." Jack said to himself and watched the footage with a devious smile.
Gaia sat back in her office and let her eyes drift shut. Taking a deep breath, she felt extremely relaxed… until River decided to interrupt her. "Ma'am, Captain Harkness has requested to view the CCTV footage of last night, shall I allow him?" River asked. Gaia was slightly amused by the fact that Jack thought he'd get away with that.
"River could you be a dear a swap last night's footage for that exactly 2 weeks ago?" Gaia asked.
"Certainly ma'am. Is there anything else ma'am?"
"Yes, can you alert Gwen that Jack wants to see her. Put it on delay though, for in 15 minutes." Gaia requested.
"Alert set ma'am. Is that all?"
"Yes thank you River." Gaia finished and smiled deviously. Revenge was sweet.
Jack knew for a fact that this footage wasn't of last night, it was of him and Ianto doing things River and Gaia no doubt got up to last night. But, even though he was eager to see who this River really was, he couldn't bring himself to turn off the other footage. The discomfort he felt downstairs also proved that he really didn't want to turn the footage off. Hence he jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock from behind him. "Jack!" Gwen called from outside the door and Jack's eyes widened.
"Err… River turn off the footage." He whispered not wanting Gwen to hear him, but at the same time River didn't hear him either.
"Jack I'm coming in." Gwen stated from outside and the door handle began to turn. Jack in frantic worry grabbed the file of the desk and placed it on his lap, opening it up at an angle to make it look like he was reading it.
Gwen walked into the boardroom and was surprised to see Jack reading a file… upside down. "Everything alright Jack?" She asked cautiously.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Jack replied. Gwen shook her head in disbelief.
"Did you want me?" She asked and Jack looked confused.
"No…" He dragged. Gwen raised her eyebrows.
"But River said… never mind. I'll leave you to get back to what you were doing." Gwen said trying to keep a straight face. Jack had left the CCTV footage on behind him and Gwen was currently getting a nice view of their arses. She promptly left the board room before the footage could escalate.
Jack sighed in relief when Gwen left and chucked the file back onto the table. He knew Gaia was behind this and he would get his revenge… some how.