And now that we have the set up, the action commences!
Chapter 7: Memory
Sherlock woke up in the bunk beds that he and John had shared for nine years. He leaned over the edge of the bed, as he always did, his dark curls hanging above his head. "John, guess what today is," he said to the still sleeping boy.
"ungh-whaaaat?" John yawned.
"John, it's been nine years today," Sherlock told him. The boy had grown much taller, still thin, and his pale skin was almost completely rid of bruises, except for the odd scrape on the knee or arm. Against all odds, the broken little boy had grown into a healthy young man.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, John looked up at his best friend. "God, it is!" he said, tumbling onto the floor as he got tangled in the sheets. "Fuck," he swore. "Must've grown again. I swear I'll get my balance back eventually." He grinned up at Sherlock. "Well, are you getting up? We might be late for school if we don't hurry."
Sherlock nodded, sitting up and swinging his long legs over the edge of the bed and hopping down, careful not to step on John. He leaned down to offer a hand. "Come on."
John grinned, taking Sherlock's hand and letting the taller boy pull him up. He gave him a quick hug, a tradition not quite lost from childhood. "Thanks."
"No problem." Sherlock said, grinning and hugging. "Now get out, I'm getting changed." He said, shoving John playfully towards the door.
John laughed, heading for the bathroom.
oOoOo
Ianto looked up from the rift activity monitor. "Jack, there's been a spike near a home in London," he said, looking up. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
Jack walked over and checked, face paling. "Fucking hell." He grabbed his coat, hollering, "GWEN! We gotta go. Ianto, you're driving."
Ianto nodded, jogging towards the exit. "What is it, Jack?" He asked.
"That's the Watson household. That's where we sent Sherlock nine years ago!"
Gwen came running in time to hear the end. "What?"
Ianto looked up. "Oh my god," he gasped, following Jack out of the Hub, Gwen running behind and locking up as they went. "I'll navigate," she said, jumping in the back of the truck. Ianto hopped in the driver's seat, waiting for Jack and Gwen before speeding off. "This is ridiculous," he said, the odds of this happening were astronomical.
Jack drummed his fingers on the door as they took off. "How long?"
"Two and a half hours if we observe the limits." Gwen frowned. "I haven't seen the rift this active since-" Since Tosh and Owen died she thought.
"He'll probably be out by the time we get there, he might miss it," Ianto said; if the boy never saw anything, his memory might not be triggered and this could be a quick job, but it didn't look that way. "Any idea what we're dealing with?" he asked.
"If he hasn't left for school, there's no way he'll miss this." Gwen flipped the screen around to show Jack.
"Fuck!"
oOoOo
Sherlock got dressed, pulling on his clothes for the day, and dragging his fingers through his hair to get out all the big knots before going downstairs to the breakfast table, saying good morning to the family who had been so kind to him, Mrs. Watson kissed him on the top of the head. "Look how big you've gotten." She said that every year.
John splashed cold water on his face to wake the rest of the way up before running a comb through his hair and starting to shave; after cleaning up his things, he dashed back to their room, threw on jeans and a jumper and grabbed his bag, heading downstairs.
Sherlock grabbed a slice of toast to take with him, since they might be late otherwise and scooped his bag up from beside the door. Suddenly heard shouting outside. Confused and curious, he opened the door, cautiously peeking out.
John came up behind Sherlock. "What's happening?"
The taller boy slammed the door shut and locked it."Don't go out there, everybody go upstairs," he commanded. "Now!" He didn't know what was going on but it was dangerous and he didn't want his family getting hurt. He ran through the house, pulling the curtains shut quickly and locking the doors.
John caught the tone of Sherlock's voice. "Mum, Dad, Harry! Our room, NOW!" he yelled.
oOoOo
Ianto cursed, putting his foot down on the pedal. This was an emergency.
"I really wish we had a teleport, or that my Vortex manipulator worked!" Jack was panicking.
"How much longer?" Ianto asked impatiently, "People could be dying"
"Hour forty five. How much faster can you go, Ianto?"
"We'll find out" Ianto said, flooring the gas pedal as he weaved in and out of traffic.
oOoOo
Sherlock waited for everybody else to get up the stairs before following, entering their room and dragging the desk in front of the door.
"Sherlock, what's going on?" Mrs. Watson asked.
"Bad things, really bad things, we have to stay here, don't look out the window, they might see you." he sank down to the floor. John shut the curtains and flipped off the lights. "What's wrong," he whispered, kneeling next to Sherlock and holding onto his friend's hand.
"I don't know. There are these things, they're huge." Sherlock said. Claws, teeth, growling. Images flashed through his mind, and he dropped his head into his hands, clutching at his skull.
"Hey, hey," John whispered, wrapping an arm around his friend. "Breathe, it'll be fine. You'll figure something out. We'll figure something out."
"No, John, there's something, something I'm forgetting, it hurts," he whimpered; thoughts were racing through his head and pictures flashed through his mind in rapid succession, giving him a splitting headache.
"What? What's wrong? What can I do?" John was fighting panic, the look of pain on Sherlock's face almost hurting him. Sherlock shook his head. "I don't know, I don't know what's going on, John." He squeezed his eyes shut. When Sherlock cried out in pain, John jumped, but the look in his friend's eyes was...well...indescribable. It was almost the same look he had when he had figured something out, only this was far stronger
"What's happening?" Sherlock cried. His foster parents looked terrified for the boy, his vision was clouding. A man, a man in a coat, a swing. His head felt like it was going to explode.
"Sherlock," John wasn't aware of the tears until they fell on his hands. He pulled around to face Sherlock, taking his face in his hands. "Look at me."
Sherlock did his best, searching for his friend through the scenes running through his mind. He met the boy's eyes. John looked, really looked. "I'm here. Don't leave me. God, Sherlock." Emotions and powerful feelings rushed through John and he almost let go, but he almost acted on them too. He just sat there, trembling as he stared down his best friend.
oOoOo
"How much time?" Ianto asked, hoping the speed had cut some time off of their journey.
"Less than an hour. Just be careful."
Ianto continued, weaving through the traffic and making their way into London.
oOoOo
"John, what's happening to me?" Sherlock asked, his voice soft and weak. "There's a man in a coat, and a monster, and this place and I don't know what any of it means," he told him.
"Just relax. Don't fight it. It hurts because you're fighting."
"Okay," Sherlock whimpered; he closed his eyes, taking a few shaky breaths before feeling like something burst into his head. "Oh my god." He sat up, the pounding in his head slowly ebbing away as the memories washed over him."I remember."
"What is it?" John leaned in, staring into Sherlock's eyes.
"Why I came here, why they took me here. I remember," Sherlock repeated, as if it were a big revelation. He had already told his family that his father had abused him and that was why he had been taken away, but this was different.
"Sherlock, I don't understand. They who?"
"I was little. I was outside on the swing, and this thing, not the same as the ones out there, but similar, attacked me," he said, feeling almost jubilant; he had finally gotten his missing memories back. The pale boy was dragged from his reverie when heard something break the glass of the door downstairs. The smile vanished from his face. "Uh-oh."
"Is that the thing from outside?"
Sherlock nodded. "It's not good, John," he said, his voice quieting as he heard heavy steps on the stairs. John almost stopped breathing, whirling around to face the door. He could hear something
sniffing on the other side of the wood.
oOoOo
"25 minutes out."
Ianto gritted his teeth as they sped through the streets, he could tell by the amount of traffic that the emergency had already reached the authorities which was really not good. Jack checked the screen. "Just stop here, Ianto. We can cut through yards." The team piled out, grabbing what they needed and sprinting for the house, praying to anything that would listen that they wouldn't be too late.
oOoOo
Sherlock reflexively shrank towards John, leaning against the boy and holding his breath. He closed his eyes tight and just hoped they would make it through this. John wrapped his arms around Sherlock. "Whatever happens, I'll protect you," he whispered, glancing around the room for anything they could use.
Sherlock nodded, comforted by the words. He knew in the closet there might some sports equipment they could use as weapons, but he was too afraid of the noise opening the door would make. John saw where Sherlock's gaze was headed. "Your fencing gear is under the bed," he whispered.
Sherlock nodded. Slowly, he started crawling towards the bed. Halfway there, he put his hand down, and the floorboard creaked loudly under him. His eyes widened, and he dove for the bed, reaching under and grabbing the bag, tossing it to John as the monster flung itself against the door. They could both see the wood buckle, their family trembling and fighting the urge to scream or cry where they were huddled in the corner.
Sherlock ran to the desk holding the door in place and pushed himself against it, trying to keep it from budging. John yanked two foils from the bag, tossing the bag to Harry before running to help Sherlock. "We're not gonna-last long!"
"I know!" Sherlock shouted back, clenching his teeth as the beast outside the door continued to try to break in, threatening to send the boy flying. "Stay back, you'll get hurt, John!" he yelled.
oOoOo
Jack and Gwen were panting as the rounded the final corner, coming into view of the Watson house for the first time.
"Jesus Christ!" the former police woman gasped.
The door had been knocked in, and there were bodies piled in the street. Ianto pulled his gun, holding it at the ready. "Be careful, we don't know what we're up against," he said as they approached the house. Jack nodded, squeezing Ianto's shoulder before they cautiously entered the building.
oOoOo
"I'm not-leaving you-on your own!" John shoved Sherlock's foil through his belt loop, pulling the button off the end before doing the same with his.
Sherlock looked up at John, "If that thing gets in here, I'd rather only one of us get hurt," he said seriously. "I can get you enough time to get everybody out of here through the window if it gets in."
"If you play the hero, I'll kill you myself, you sod," John growled. "Give me one good reason why I should leave you behind."
Sherlock's eyes were watering. "Because I'm selfish and I can't watch you get hurt!" he shouted.
"And I can't bear to watch you die!" John blinked away angry tears when suddenly, the pressure on the door vanished.
oOoOo
Ianto heard the noise, "Upstairs."
Jack ran first but pulled up short as he came face to face with two of the ugliest creatures he'd ever seen.
"Hey, Hairless!" Gwen shouted. That got their attention.
Ianto aimed his gun, holding out on pulling the trigger. "Jack, what are they?" he asked, staying calm but out of breath.
oOoOo
Sherlock looked up at the door suddenly. "That woman's voice," he breathed, leaning his head towards the door. John yanked him back. "You don't know if they're gone," he hissed, clutching Sherlock close.
"John, that woman was there. She was in my memory, just like the man in the coat," he insisted, "They were there when that thing attacked me before I came here."
The blonde nodded. "Ok, ok, if she's out there, then let her take care of whatever monster is on the other side of that door. Don't you dare leave me."
"I won't."
"Good." And in front of his parents and sister, John kissed Sherlock, hard and quick before readjusting the dresser to buy them more time if the creatures came back. Sherlock was taken aback. "John..." he whispered, looking more than a bit confused.
"Shut up. We'll talk later." John was blushing but grinning. "Now help me brace this."
"Perfect."
Sherlock nodded, pressing his body against the desk again. "I'm not complaining," he murmured.
John shot him a look. "R-really?"
"Really, now shut up. We'll talk later." Sherlock shot him a smirk.
oOoOo
"I think they're a race called lupicarnes," Jack muttered. "Type of wolf hybrid, but no hair, clearly. Very good noses and hearing. Carnivores. Bullets are no good. Need knives or steel. Silver is best. Seems the werewolf myths have some truth in them."
"So what do we do?" Ianto asked.
"Well you boys are lucky I was practicing with my knives before we left." Gwen pulled out a small pouch with several very sharp, very deadly looking knives.
Ianto took one. "Okay," he said, gripping it firmly. Jack and Gwen took the others. "Ready, set, NOW!"
Ianto dove at one of the creatures, slashing it with the knife. The creature's flesh sizzled and burned where the blade touched it; the monster howled in pain, swinging its clawed paw at the man. Jack shoved Ianto out of the way of the claws, wincing as they grazed his own arm, but his knife sailed right into the creature's heart; Gwen's knife also sailed true, taking down the other lupicarne. The smell of burning flesh was rank as both monsters collapsed in the hall.
Ianto bolted to Jack, fussing over the wound in his arm. "Are you okay?" he asked as they stepped over the bodies to the bedroom door they had been trying to break down. The wounds were starting to turn an awful greenish color, and Jack's face was ashen. "Fuck it," he whispered as his legs gave out.
"Stay there!" Gwen called, rushing to Jack. "Not again."
"Rather me than one of you," Jack gasped, grimacing with pain. "I never get used to this," he whispered weakly, glancing at his two companions. "Gwen, go talk to them." She went to the door obediently.
"I'll see you in a minute, love," he breathed. Ianto shook his head, leaning down and kissing Jack, a tear falling from his face."I never get used to it either, see you in a minute."
Jack felt the air leave his body and he collapsed.
oOoOo
Sherlock moved the desk with John's help and opened the door. "What's going on?" he demanded before noticing the woman standing in the doorway, "You're...Gwen, I remember you," he said.
Gwen was wary, but she held out her hand. "Yes, yes, Sherlock. God, you've grown up. And is this the Watson family?"
The dark haired boy nodded, "This is John," he said, taking John's hand at his side. "And that's Harry, and this is Mr. and Mrs. Watson."
Gwen noticed the closeness of the boys but said nothing. "Nice to meet you John," she said, stepping into the room. "Are you all right?" she asked John's parents and sister.
The Watsons nodded. "We all made it up before they got here," Sherlock told her.
"Good. No injuries? You all are fine?" She noticed the foils at the boys' sides. "Very smart. Whose idea was it to get the foils?"
"Mine," said John.
"Where's Jack?" Sherlock asked. He wanted desperately to speak with the man.
"In the hall-" Gwen started but Sherlock pushed past her, pulling John with him. She smiled apologetically at the Watsons before following the boys.
oOoOo
Ianto held Jack's head in his lap, waiting for him to wake up. This was always the hardest part, waiting for him to come back. With a loud gasp, Jack woke, struggling and flailing for a moment before settling back in Ianto's arms, his injury healing itself. Ianto held him tight. "Shh, it's okay, I'm here," he said, stroking the man's hair.
Jack nodded, getting his breath back before leaning up and kissing Ianto like he was the one who had died. Ianto smiled. After he broke the kiss, he helped Jack stand. "You should go talk to the boy," he said.
"Looks like he's coming to me. Hello, Sherlock."
Sherlock stood there, staring at the man for a moment before dropping John's hand, walking up to Jack, and hugging him. It wasn't like him to do so, but he did it anyway. Ianto smiled at them, looking at how very tall the boy had gotten since he'd last seen him sleeping in Jack's arms nine years ago. Jack wrapped his arms around Sherlock, holding him tight. "God, you got tall," he chuckled. "I'm so glad you're safe."
"It was because of you wasn't it? That's why they brought me here?" he asked.
"Sherlock-I" The time for lying was long past. "Yes. Yes, I orchestrated it to get you away from your father, to give you another chance. You really won us over that night."
"Thank you," he whispered, he looked over his shoulder at John. "Really, thank you." He knew he should be angry at Jack, but right now he couldn't help being happy to see him. Jack chuckled, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. "You should tell him how you feel." He winked at Sherlock. "And you're welcome."
"I know, we kind of just did that, a bit," he said awkwardly. "But I'll be sure to do that."
"Don't leave it too long." Giving a final squeeze, Jack released him. "So what triggered the memories?"
"Those things." Sherlock said, pointing to the dead lupicarnes on the ground. "Now that brings me to a good point. What the hell did you do to my memory?" he demanded, becoming serious; his voice had an edge to it. Ianto frowned...fun time was definitely over.
Jack's stomach twisted, knowing he'd have to do the same to Sherlock's new family. He nodded once at Gwen who led Mr. Watson, Mrs. Watson, and Harry down to the kitchen.
"No, John, you can stay." Ianto remained as well.
"We couldn't let you remember, Sherlock. You were too young, and I didn't want anything to happen to you. With us, it's more dangerous to be in the know. I gave you a pill in your can of Coke that made you sleep and forget."
"I was a child. I wasn't going to tell anybody! Do you know how scared I was, waking up with a whole day missing from my memory?" he asked, venom in his voice.
Jack stood very still, watching the boy carefully. "It didn't matter your age. Believe me, and Ianto will tell you that I didn't want to, but the thought of something like these things killing you was enough to make me make sure I took care of you. And I did. We took care of your father and sent you here so you could grow up with a fresh start, a new life."
"You took me away from my mother," he whispered. "I wasn't there when she died."
Jack felt the tears prick his eyes, and at almost the same moment, Ianto rested his hand on Jack's shoulder and John did the same for Sherlock.
"She had cancer. We kept tabs on her, but she-Sherlock she was delirious at the end. She didn't know who she was or where she was. She didn't remember she had children."
Sherlock closed his eyes, trying to bite back the tears. "She didn't remember me," he confirmed; the boy remembered that hospital visit all too well. "But I wanted to be there."
"I'm sorry. You-" Out with it, "You reminded me too much of my younger brother. I wanted to do anything to keep you safe."
"That's not your job!" Sherlock shouted, tears falling down his cheeks "I had people to take care of me."
John pulled Sherlock into an embrace, comforting him. He shot Jack a look, confused and hurt. "You have people caring for you right now."
Sherlock put his head in John's shoulder. "I know." He said.
Ianto rubbed Jack's shoulder with his hand. He knew the immortal had meant the best for the boy, but he hadn't realized it had stayed with him for so long. John wrapped his arms tighter around Sherlock, holding him and leaning gently against the wall. He was taking everything in, not understanding some things, but he knew Sherlock would explain later.
Jack caught Ianto's hand, squeezing it. "Thanks." Then "I'm really, really sorry Sherlock," he murmured.
Sherlock didn't say anything. He knew that he didn't need to be angry, that he had gotten it out, but right now he just wanted to be held. Jack turned back to the disgusting bodies on the floor. "We need to deal with these, Ianto. Gwen's probably done with the family," he whispered.
Sherlock looked up quickly. "What?"
Jack winced. Shit. "We just gave them a little something to help them forget..." he trailed off as he saw the look on Sherlock's face.
"You bastard," he spat, walking over to the man and grabbing him by the front of the shirt.
"Now, Sherlock-"
"No. That is my family. You already took away my memory from me and I am not letting you get away with taking theirs," he hissed, shaking Jack a bit as he spoke.
"I can't let them remember, Sherlock. I'm letting John keep his. You really should be grateful for that. And you can keep yours this time as well."
"I'm not going to be grateful for anything," he snarled. "Don't you understand what you're doing?"
"Enlighten me then since you're clearly quite keen to." This is why we stay away from children, Jack thought bitterly
"You are taking away memories. In a few hours, my family is going to wake up, scared, not able to remember anything that happened today, and I'm going to have to pretend that I don't know because if I told them, and the memories started coming back, it would hurt, and they would scream, and I can't bear that. Did you know that it hurts? Did you know how frightening it is to lose a whole day?" he asked, shoving Jack against the wall.
The anger and power in the boy's eyes was truly something to behold. "Then how would you like a position with us?" Jack asked. "John too."
Sherlock stepped back. "You didn't answer me," he said.
"Sherlock, what I do-what we do is a very secret line of work. Civilians can't know about it. And believe me when I say it hurts me every time I have to retcon another person; it very nearly broke me to do it to you."
Sherlock sighed. "Fine," he said, willing to drop the subject. "So you're asking two teenagers to join you in fighting aliens? How do you feel about this, John?" Sherlock asked, walking back over to the blonde. John looked at him and then back at Jack. "Is it dangerous?"
"Yes." Jack felt Ianto's hand again. "Very."
"Would I be able to protect him?"
The question caught Jack off guard. "For the most part, yes."
John looked back at Sherlock. "What do you think?"
"What about school?" Sherlock asked. He would gladly skip, but he wasn't sure the adults would take very kindly to it.
"We can make your excuses," Jack said. "You'll find we are good at securing transfers or getting authorities to look the other way."
Sherlock grinned. "Sound interesting, I'll do it if you're willing to, John," he said. He wouldn't dream of doing this kind of thing without him. John looked from Sherlock to Jack and then slowly nodded. "Just keep our family safe."
"I will do everything I can."
"Okay. John, you're going to love the place when you see it. By the way, what happened to the others?" Sherlock suddenly asked, remembering another man and woman from before. Jack and Ianto glanced at each other. "There was an-incident a few years ago and they...they didn't make it." Jack felt his eyes burn at the memory, the loss of Owen and Tosh as raw as it had been that day.
"Oh. I'm sorry," Sherlock said. "I didn't realize."
Jack nodded, shaking the memories away. "Let's go find Gwen. Ianto, you know what to do about these."
Ianto nodded, kneeling down to take care of the dead bodies at his feet. Sherlock took John's hand again and followed Jack downstairs. He looked pained as they walked into the kitchen to find his family asleep at the table. Gwen turned as they entered, registering the look on Sherlock's face. "They'll be fine. They won't remember this; they'll think they just sent you off to school as usual."
"I know," he said curtly, "Let's go." He didn't want to sit around and watch any longer.
Jack rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Grab anything you'll need before we go."
Sherlock nodded, walking over to the coat rack and pulling off the Black peacoat he had received for Christmas, and the blue scarf he had been given nine years ago that day.
John dashed upstairs and grabbed the fencing bag and pocketing the arrowhead, his first treasure before grabbing has favorite jumper and running back downstairs. Sherlock put on the coat and scarf before heading out the door, following the Torchwood team to their new life.