And this is the end of the joint-writing between this fic and So Much Dust, unless Saline Dreamer decides to write more. For me it's the end...because I need to get back to torturing the Torchwood group and Marius seperately, as opposed to helping Saline torture her characters with mine ;-)
Fifteen: Getting Back on Track
Marius had fallen asleep sometime after the group had left for drinks, apparently just as much in need of it as Lilith had been, especially after the news she had received in a second-hand manner. The others had gone home, except Ianto, who had crashed on the couch in Jack's office. Both Avery and Jack had given the two looks of concern, though Avery's instruments said that nothing remotely mental or otherwise was going between the two for the time being.
He looked over at where the trio were now heading back to the familiar blue box he had once longed for, and he headed down, intent on saying his goodbyes.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked casually, watching as the Doctor fished out his key for the TARDIS.
"Our work's done, and as much as I'd like to look after and baby Marius, that's now your job," Avery told Jack, handing him a small set of cards, "If you need me, call that number, I'll be here in a flash."
"Literally, I take it," Jack noted as he put the cards in his pocket.
"Of course," Avery told him with a grin as Lilith rolled her eyes.
Jack nodded to her. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
Lilith looked over at him and caused Jack to raise his right hand. "As well as I can."
A raised eyebrow said wonders, strangely enough, and Jack finally lowered the hand. "Seriously, I can take care of him, don't worry so much!"
"I do, though," Lilith muttered, glancing at where Marius now occupied an unused couch, "and with good reason."
Avery looked over at her then said, "Come on, we need to get going and send the newly-freed Doctor on his merry way. I'm sure he won't mind too much."
The answer died as the doors to the TARDIS closed and the box disappeared with the familiar sound, causing Jack to sigh. As much as he had missed that sound, as much as he wanted to join the Doctor again at times, he always felt a connection to Torchwood now. It hadn't just been over a century of service...it was this group, his group.
Damn it, Alex...I didn't need it, but you were right. Torchwood did. The others wouldn't have been able to handle Abbadon, or Saxon, or...anything.
He looked over at Marius, walking up to smile down at the young Sidra they had rescued. He was wrapped up in bandages, bruises becoming visible in places, and had the same look on his face that Ianto had at times when he might almost have a nightmare but was keeping it at bay with other thoughts, or at least trying. Jack moved some of his hair, gaining a brief turn of the head before the young man went back to sleep, not as worried.
A thought made Jack go to check on Ianto, who seemed sound asleep as well, nearly curled up and smiling when Jack brushed some of his hair back.
"Jack," he muttered, almost happily, causing Jack to smile before going to watch over for anything else that might come up.
--
Toshiko wondered if trouble always came after Torchwood like this...adding up to the mental anguish and emotional stress of most of the group. A few days after recovering Marius, they had woken up Tommy only to learn that he would have to leave. Then that he would—he would...
"You okay?"
The voice caused Tosh to start suddenly and look over to the couch, where Marius was still resting. He had been in and out of sleep, mainly for medication and check ups, though half the time earlier on he had to be woken up by one of the group. Owen had commented before they had gotten ready to wake Tommy up that maybe Sidra healed better when they slept, which Marius had never been awake long enough to confirm or deny.
"Oh, you're awake," Toshiko said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Sorry if I woke you."
"It's okay," he muttered, sitting up slowly, "I've felt worst from you all...I know you've probably got something about it from Owen and loving a time-traveler, but he was a lovely load of angst when Diana left."
Toshiko smiled a little. "I remember that."
Marius returned the smile, his first since Lilith left, and said, "Trust me, it was a headache, not that yours is. It's...different."
Toshiko looked off to the side, then back at Marius. "Is that a good thing?"
Marius gave her a smile, then patted the other side of the sofa. "Come on. Talk about it."
"I...are you sure?"
"Well, I could be invasive and just get the information out of your head...but I'd rather talk. I've been out for a while, I need to get back in touch with people."
Toshiko sighed as she moved to sit next to him. "Alright. What do you want to know?"
Marius leaned back, wincing a little at something that probably wasn't healed yet. "When did you first meet Tommy?"
Toshiko paused, sighing as she remembered. "Two weeks after I started. The 20th, we always woke him up on that day, and Jack needed help with it. By then he considered looking for a Doctor, and helped me through waking him up then...everything else. I took him out for the day, we talked, then he went back to sleep. The next year, Owen was there, and I felt...jealous. Like I should be the one to wake him, every time. So I started to be there instead, started to take him with me every time he woke up. He trusted me...and he died. I didn't want...I wanted..."
Marius nodded, giving her a smile. "I know. I'm sorry."
"Do they do that, with you? Do they make you decide on things, or--."
Marius reached over, touching her hand. "I could show you, or tell you. What do you want?"
Toshiko sucked in a breath, wondering if she could. Getting mentally pushed through time to tell Tommy what he had to do had been tough, but—that was a machine. This was a person that knew what he was doing, that was connected to all of them, so maybe--
"It's a...painful memory," Marius said, "but you would understand a little more."
Toshiko finally nodded, and closed her eyes as she felt herself dip into her mind, much like with Mary and her necklace.
A little different, I could think. No background noises, Marius voice joked lightly.
Where is this? The area around them looked a little like her apartment, but with a few things from the Hub that was part of her work and life at times.
This is where we're connected. Ianto's looks like the Hub because...well...Jack's look a lot like it too. Everyone else had their own unique rooms, though.
Ah...and the memory?
Be patient. I have to pull it out. It's not long, but it's also somewhere that I have to...well...censor some of. It's just the way it is.
Toshiko nodded, understanding what he meant until the scenery changed.
--
The two mist-forms watched as someone walked out, and their words surprised her.
"You know that better then anyone..." the voice of Lilith was mournful as the woman disappeared through the ruptured glass and into—wherever.
My first assignment without anyone to help me, besides Lilith...and all I wanted was to save her.
And you couldn't...but what about us?
I'm here, and I have no other choice now, do I? I can because I am connected to you all, because I'm given the same...well, because I have no one to speak to me about getting too close to my clients, and you all need it anyway.
Toshiko found them back in the Torchwood Hub, Marius looking a little drained as Owen walked up. "Oy! You're not exhausting yourself, are you?"
"Just showing Toshiko something interesting," Marius muttered, taking the pills and cup of water. "Thank you."
"No problem. Well, we're going to have to do something with you. Jack suggested taking you home with a few of us, but with that ankle...I dunno just yet. Few more days here, I think. You okay with that?"
Marius nodded, draining the cup. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"By the way, do you heal while you're sleeping?"
"A little...why?"
"You've been out of it for a while. Sleep deprivation aside, I had to guess it's just because that's your race. Avery also advised against drinks."
"Alcohol and drugs affect us more then any of our client races are affected, so it wouldn't be good if I had any."
"So I noticed," Owen muttered, taking the empty cup, "You going back to sleep? If not, I have to dig out the crutches for you."
Marius gave him a smile. "I'll stay on the couch, thanks. I'm fine, thank you Owen."
There was a nod before the group's medic headed off, Toshiko standing and giving Marius a mild kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
He nodded to that, with a soft, "It's my job," before slowly sinking back to sleep.
--
"So, is there a world where Earth is destroyed?" Owen asked as Marius, who had recovered a little more and was staying awake more often, speaking to most of the Torchwood personnel casually about random things.
"What?"
"I saw something, on the tele, about the ways the Earth could be destroyed. Had like the seven most possible or somethin' like that."
Marius looked over at him then said, "What were they?"
Owen stopped at that, then said, "Gamma radiation..."
Marius nodded, "I know of two that destroyed that way. They got their ozone layer burned out."
Owen paused at that before saying, "Black hole."
"Not fun."
"Really?"
Marius looked over at Owen before saying, "My mother's uncle went through a black hole once, when he was a Field Agent. He retired after that, and didn't like to talk about it either. He almost didn't get out."
Owen was silent for a second before saying, "Super-computer...like 'Terminator'."
"There's actually a few of those."
"Super-volcanoes?"
"Those are nasty...one of the first training places I went to had one explode...it was in California."
"And?" Toshiko asked, getting into the conversation.
"Well...there was a California before it...I'll leave it at that. Afterwards there was just a major ash cloud that took out a lot of people."
"Asteroid," Owen added in.
"Hollywood isn't right, and there are a number of those that got hit and new 'great' species appeared. When I looked in, they had just found the remains of human civilization."
"What about nuclear war?"
"...do you have to ask?"
Owen shrugged, "Yes?"
Marius gave a small smile, "You know what would happen, and it has a few times. Well...more then a few times. It's not good."
Owen leaned in his chair, thinking on it before he said, "Pandemic."
Marius and Ianto both froze for a second before Marius nodded, not going further into it. Owen had to guess the two had a shared memory from Ulamo dealing with pandemics, and made a mental note to not bring it up again.
"The last one was...um..." Owen paused before clicking his fingers, "Oh yeah, climate change! Global warming and stuff."
Marius looked over at him and raised his eyebrows before saying, "More then you'd like to think about. Was that all?"
Owen nodded, leaning back in his chair. "So, is there a place where those Aliens and Predators really do come down to fight?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"And their Caretakers are creepy. Not a lot of people talk to them. Are you done?"
"Well..."
Jack walked up, his jacket billowing as he told Owen, "You are. There's been a crash, and the meat in the back is...he said 'odd'. Come on."
Marius nodded, grabbing his crutches and moving over to a vacated computer. "I need to file a report. Hopefully nothing too bad will happen, right?"
--
"That's just disgusting," Marius muttered as he looked over at the slab of...meat...the group had brought in from the wreak.
"You don't know the half of it," Owen muttered as he went about to check out a piece of the slab and the others went to check on what appeared to be Rhys' firm.
Marius frowned as he moved from the seat to stand near Ianto, accepting a cup of tea as he did so.
"There's nothing you can get on him, is there?" Jack asked as Owen ran the samples, Gwen looking worried.
"Mentally, no," Marius said.
"But what about--."
"He's not a Client and thus far isn't a threat, and on top of that, I've been ordered to 'take it easy' with my abilities," Marius reminded him, "Physically I'm better, but mentally...still a problem. I'd rather wait until we were sure he had something to hide."
The relief from Gwen was almost enough to hit Jack, he knew, though she continued to worry about it. The fact that one of Rhys' lorries appeared at a crime scene and with what appeared to be meat not native to Earth was going to task Gwen on how well she could continue to hide Torchwood and her job from him.
But Gwen's faith that it was just the driver and supplier, not Rhys, in on it filtered through anyway, making him give her a smile as Owen reported that the meat had evidence of a vertebrae, but didn't match any known animal. Also the vet stamp was 'dodgy', a good counterfeit but it would take a scan for Owen to be able to see what it was as Toshiko looked over the website for "Harwood Haulage," pausing at the song that was being played.
"Catchy," Ianto muttered while Marius hid his grin in the cup while accusation flew. Did Rhys know about the contents? Could he have?
"Marius, do you want to try and call him?"
The sudden addition of him caused Marius to look up, blinking before finally nodding, taking a seat at Toshiko's desk and, as he waited for the phone to be answered, picking up a few questions and the right wording to use.
Easy.
"Harwood Haulage, how may I help you?" a female voice came over the phone.
"Yes, I'm Marcus Berringer, with the police, calling for one," he paused, ruffling some papers nearby, "Rhys Williams, is he in?"
He saw Jack mouth 'show off' from his position, leaning against the rails while Gwen paced briefly and Toshiko stayed nearby, waiting and offering some papers with the reports on it.
There was a small pause before Rhys' voice came over the speaker. "Hello?"
"Is this Mr. Williams?"
"Yeah, speaking."
"I'm calling in regards to an accident this morning involving one of your lollies...were you aware of the accident?"
There was a brief mental flash that Marius quickly dispelled as Rhys answered he was aware of the accident before saying, "They're a group called Harris and Harris, they came to us about two months back...it's a weekly account."
"Are they licensed?"
"Yeah, of course they're licensed!"
Marius flinched at the obvious annoyance. "Could you give me their address?"
There was a muffled conversation from the other side as Marius picked up on the emotions and annoyance. Before Rhys got back on he wrote down a few quick notes before Rhys came back on, saying there wasn't an address but there was a pick-up point and rattled off the address.
"Do you have their contact number?"
Another check and more annoyance, this time covering more of it and not one that was guilty, but angry because something would possibly damage his company before it had gotten off the ground.
"Can you tell me where your driver took the meat?"
Rhys answered quickly, rattling off another supplier before Marius asked for the time.
"Can I ask what this is all about?"
"I'm sorry, sir, I can't release that information." Marius hit the 'end' button just as Rhys started to protest.
The group looked over when Ianto found him on screen, able to identify the truck and that it would be within a ten-mile radius of that part. Owen, in the meantime, called in the group to show that it was alien, and while it did have animal sedatives within, it was good to eat anyway.
"Would you eat it?" Gwen questioned as Ianto announced the arrival of pizza.
"What'd you get me?" Owen asked.
"The usual...Meat Feast."
"Lovely..." Owen muttered, looking over at the slab before heading over with the rest of the group.
Of course, at the brainstorming and research part while eating, Owen was the only one to ensure his own pizza was devoid of the meat, the others only picking off what they decided might be 'not good' or what they normally took off. After another moment, Gwen got a call and walked off, going home to check on Rhys.
Marius looked over at Jack as Gwen left before he asked, "So?"
Marius sighed, finishing off his own slice before saying, "He's not in on it. He's angry that something like that got through and how it might affect his business, but not about getting caught. He might come across as an idiot sometimes but he also doesn't like doing things illegal or harmful to anything. I'm a little worried...if his company is involved, and if he saw Gwen there, he might get suspicious. It could turn out bad."
"A lot of things could," Jack muttered.
"Last time I said 'bad things' on anything, it turned out bad, and I'm not a descendant of Vensha."
"Who?" Owen asked.
"An Elder who was renowned for his foresight. Lilith and Avery are related to him. I'm not, so predictions that come true like that for me sometimes mean there will be bad things."
Jack gave him a smile as he grabbed another piece of pizza. "Well, then let's hope this time you're wrong."
--
Marius typed up the ending report to the earlier incident with Tommy and the 1918 incident, waiting as the group went to investigate the warehouse before he felt it.
Suspicion...but it couldn't be Rhys.
Anger at Rhys for messing it up and making Gwen nearly show where they were.
Neutral, just waiting on orders from Jack and Gwen.
"I hate it when I'm right," he mentioned as Toshiko looked over at him.
"What?"
"You'll find out—" Jack called it in and Toshiko looked over at him. "Let me guess, bad things?"
Marius nodded as they waited to see what would happen.
--
"Oh, headache," Marius winced as Jack looked over at him.
"Gwen?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"And this is going to be interesting when she brings Rhys in to see this all."
"WHAT?"
--
It was late night when Gwen brought Rhys in via the 'invisible lift', Gwen happy at the excitement Rhys showed at the whole thing, the group waiting a few feet away, possibly in case of explosive reactions. Marius smiled at him when introduced and watching as Rhys somewhat adjusted, getting off the lift and speaking about the alien he had seen, the others adding in what they knew as well.
The fact that it was alive didn't help, and then suddenly the explosive situation happened, Marius looking upward as Rhys defended what he had done while Jack attacked it, ignoring Gwen's attempt to stop it, and Jack apparently realizing that Rhys could hold his own despite it when he accused Jack of showing off then told him that he had a job for the group now and could help.
"This is quite homo-erotic..."
"Nonononono..." Gwen started, moving in to get between the two main men in her life, "Jack, he is not getting us in."
"Team meeting!" Jack said, pointing to Rhys, "you too."
Marius sighed, knowing a headache was about to come and staying silent at it all, not sure what to say and waiting as the group left until it was only he, Rhys and Gwen. Rhys looked over at him, Marius shrugging. "It's a good idea...and I somewhat understand, I guess."
"What?" Gwen asked.
Marius took a breath. "Everything. I'm not exactly the model person to ask, but I can try to help."
"What are you, a psychiatrist?"
"Alien, but I'm psychic, does that count?"
Rhys gave him an odd look while Gwen said, "It's fine. Marius is...well, Marius."
"Thanks."
Gwen sighed. "I need to check on something. You okay here?"
Rhys nodded, waiting until Gwen was gone before he looked over at Marius. "Alien?"
"Yes."
"But you--."
Marius gave him a small smile. "I know. I like it, I guess. For all the flaws, humans are very interesting and fun to be, at times."
"What do you look like, normally?"
"A ball of energy. Our race can take on the forms we want. I chose human."
"How well do you—I mean how long..."
Marius paused then said, "I only recently came in, but my race does...well...paperwork. Like when you rent out your trucks you have paperwork on the companies and stuff. I kept paperwork on Gwen and the others, and on what they've done."
"Could I--."
"You can't see them."
"What about a small version?"
"...she's right, it's dangerous. Anything you do has an amount of danger, but this is...it involves a lot of dangerous that most humans try to avoid. Those that don't normally are odd or insane or too used to it. None of them are 'used' to it, thankfully, and they will do what they can to protect each other." Marius paused, "They'll also do what they can to protect others as well. I...I wasn't supposed to be here, but something came up." Marius felt himself rub the band that still clung to his upper arm. "Of course, now I'm stuck here, and with a healing ankle. Still, I know they'll do what they can to make sure you're fine. Just don't give Gwen a reason to lecture you. She's good a that."
Rhys laughed. "Yeah, I know." He looked at Marius, then asked, "Do you stay here, or have a flat?"
"Here. Why?"
"Oh, just...well...I was going to have some time off, going to take Gwen on a vacation. Needed someone to watch over the flat, and you seemed, well...nice."
Marius smiled. "Well, I am chair-bound for a few more weeks...I heal faster then humans, so sure, I'd love to."
Rhys nodded. "Okay then. I just...dunno why, you seem easy to talk to."
Marius shrugged. "I'm not supposed to be here either, so that's probably why." Marius looked up then motioned. "Go talk to Gwen. Get ready. I'm stuck here, so good luck to you."
Rhys nodded, putting his cup down and heading out. Marius leaned back and let out a breath before closing his eyes, mentally preparing for the upcoming mission.
--
Marius played the role Toshiko or Ianto sometimes did, checking on things from the Hub as the rest went to their jobs, heading into the place to find what they could.
Marius typed what he could of the report, making notes on Rhys and what he knew from Gwen's mind to add in his biography for it, as well as after a second asking for the image from Jack, risking only a brief contact before jumping back, shivering from what he had seen.
Marius muttered curses, wanting the group to have more then stun-guns, to--
The humans who used this...they wanted to exploit it, no matter what, and would do that if they could. Not so much because they were who they were but because—because...
Calm down, he heard Ianto mutter, you're making me jumpy.
Sorry. Just...
I know.
Thank you. I'm sorry. Get to work again, take them down, save it.
Marius started to type again when he felt the worry, then the change.
"Oh bloody hell..."
--
Ianto felt Marius' anger still, and sadly, after seeing the 'space whale', as Marius put it (better then 'cash cow' like that man said, the ass-hole he is) , he felt the same. What did this man think, saying this was only 'meat'. Did he not hear it, see it?
Ianto was grateful to go after them as the others dealt with the space whale, hopefully saving it, while he tracked down the others.
It wasn't just what had happened with Ulamo...it was more then that. It was the gaping wound in the poor thing's side and the creature's cry, then everything else.
So he did what he could to track the two brothers down, easily taking down one and his anger fueling him as he kicked away the gun, marching up and holding up his stun gun. "Pray that you live," he muttered, placing the stun gun against the man's temple as it went off.
Ianto stalked away, hearing a sudden dull thud that shook the building momentarily before he started to hurry back towards the bay where the whale was kept.
It's dead.
...did you...
No, but I know it. I wish it wasn't. There was a pause, Go make sure Rhys is okay.
He's rather nice...for being himself, I guess.
That earned what sounded like a laugh. He is. Go help Jack too. He'll need it.
Ianto headed towards the bay, hoping nothing had gone wrong and grateful for the small presence in his mind. Despite all that they had been warned about, Marius and he still felt that connection that almost instinctively forced them to reach out and speak to the other, to help comfort the other. At times Ianto had been hard pressed to keep it closed (like a few nights ago when he had been with Jack and—well...) but it still helped at times.
Ianto headed into the room, sighing at what he found and doing what he could to help.
--
Marius waited with the rest as Rhys woke up, giving him the bad news of the poor creature and when Jack started to motion for Gwen to follow him, Marius said, "Jack, could I talk to you for a moment?"
Jack looked at him oddly before nodding, waiting as Marius went out, his crutches clinking on the metal before they reached Jack's office.
"He has to forget too, you know," Jack muttered, reaching for the box of Retcon.
"If you do that, she'll leave too, though." Jack looked over at Marius as he sat, letting out a breath. "Rhys should remember because it will help Gwen out."
"It won't," Jack muttered.
"Yes, it will," Marius countered, "Her main concern for last year was what to tell Rhys, was the lies she's had to tell him. After a while she couldn't talk to anyone here, you included, and not me. I might have that connection but that doesn't always work. If you make her Retcon Rhys she'll fight you, and if you do Retcon him you'll regret it." Marius shifted in his seat, "Rhys knowing will help to keep Gwen stable. If you do this, she'll walk the same path Suzie did, and I don't need Rhys to go insane on us." Marius looked over at Jack, then added in, "You can't lose both, and if you give Gwen this, she'll be good. If you let Rhys remember, he can be of help somehow. I don't know where, but I know that he'll help Gwen, and if you give him a chance he'll help you." Marius paused on that, then slowly stood. "You have to think about it, Jack. Let Gwen and Rhys go out, talk a little. Tell Gwen it's up in the air, ask for her opinion and maybe watch them. If Rhys seems like he can't keep the secret, if Gwen notices he's not taking it well, then give him Retcon. If he does, or if Gwen says he'll be helpful in any way, then let him remember. It won't hurt you, Jack, and it won't hurt him either."
Jack looked over at Marius then finally nodded. "Okay then. But, you get to tell her."
Marius gave a small smile. "Give me the tough job, why don't you? Alright."
--
Gwen had been grateful for Marius pulling her aside to speak, and for him speaking to Rhys, mentioning that they should go out and take a breather. Rhys had walked out with Gwen, Jack monitoring on the CCTV as they went to get a drink then an ice cream, Rhys showing his excitement for this new eye-opening experience, not speaking on the dangers so much as the fact that he had just seen a real alien, had helped, had seen that Gwen was in danger but knew what she doing and--
"Wipe that grin off your face," Jack muttered, hearing Marius walk up to the door and look in.
"Then stop giving me a headache," Marius muttered back, "she's not yours, as much as you'd like her to be and as much as she might want to give herself over to you, but both of you know that can't happen. I understand she reminds you of...someone...but you have Ianto. You have her as a second-in-command. Let Rhys have her as a wife. Don't be such a stick in the mud."
"What else was there, other then you telling me things I should already know?"
"Rhys offered to have me stay over at their flat for a few weeks, until my ankle and his shoulder healed. I guess he'd rather have two people with problems then just one."
Jack gave a small smile at that. "Fine then. Go on, I don't mind, as long as you stop complaining."
Marius shook his head, heading over to where Gwen was arriving again to collect him and a few things he would need before the duo left, leaving Jack to wonder about Marius and if what he said would come true or not.