Story disclaimer: I own none of the following. Many of the references in this story are owed to the writers and the rest of the team(s) involved in the creation and production of Torchwood and Doctor Who. Without them, this story would not be possible. My character Teya owns me. I am making no money from this or any of my other fics posted on this site.
Author's Note : Eugh, another chapter I have hated writing. It has been very difficult not only to get Jack's balance but Teya's as well. I can't figure out how mad she would be at Jack… and how badly she would be affected by her experiences. Hmmm….
Scene Five - Cardiff, Present Day
The bouncer of the bar was looking down lighting a cigarette when the woman who would become the most troublesome patron that night turned up. At first all he saw was a pair of scruffy black boots and slightly mudded boot cut black jeans. A harsh voice asked him for a light, which he offered as his gaze swept up to reveal a woman of average height, with an ample cleavage though it was hidden by a high-necked top, sleeveless. She lit her cigarette from his proffered lighter, head tilted to one side and eyes half closed. She turned away from him awkwardly, as if in pain, stood facing the street cursing the new anti-smoking laws. He watched her intently, eyes focusing on her slightly pointed ears and smiled. She looked like a rock-elf with her ears, spiked black hair, her black outfit and the tattoo that emblazoned the top of her arm, contrasting sharply with the whiteness of her skin. It was a T shape formed of hexagons with the number 5167 running across the top. He pondered on the significance as she flicked the stub of her cigarette away, but the somehow saddened look on her face discouraged him from asking any questions on the subject. With a grateful smile, she turned to go inside.
It was then that he caught sight of her eyes, unique in their yellow colouring. They flashed with an inner fire as she smiled her thanks at him as he opened the door for her. The bouncer watched her closely as she made her way to the bar, lithely avoiding contact with anyone. She had a certain predatory grace about her; it was like watching a lioness moving through the deep grasses of the plains of Africa. Something about her parted the crowds; she commanded the room without being the centre of attention. He lost her as the crowds merged again, but he suspected she would not have to wait long at the bar to be served.
Teya had ordered a pint of lager within moments of arriving at the bar, earning her scowls of annoyance from the women who had been waiting impatiently in the queue. The men merely appraised her, and did not begrudge the woman being served first. She drank it down in one go, earning whistles of appreciation from those around her. Back in the familiar setting of a bar, she offered a subtle wink to the male patrons nearest her. She accepted a drink from the man nearest her, a group of them moving away from the bar at the managements request to make room for other customers at the bar. Within minutes, she had drinks lined up for her, offers from various men, and she drank with the best of them. Light conversation passed between them, her dry humour making her companions laugh. The evening passed more pleasantly than she had expected… until she rose to leave.
Could her day have gone any worse? It had started out well enough, tracking a Weevil through the streets of the outskirts of Cardiff. Tracking one was challenging, but offered little risk to herself, but the damn thing had gathered company as they had approached Cardiff proper, leaving her with a gash across her lower belly stretching from bottom the right side of her rib cage to just below her belly button. She was lucky, she supposed, that it hadn't been deeper, and that she hadn't been injured further. A large, black SUV with chasing blue lights on the verticals of the windscreen had come screeching round the corner, obviously in pursuit of something, sending the Weevils scattering with low pitched yowls of fear that sent shivers through her spine. Cursing her loss, she'd made her way back to her vehicle where she'd patched herself up, changed her top and grabbed enough cash to get her good and drunk and headed here.
Unsteady on her feet, thanks to the vast quantity of alcohol she had consumed, she staggered towards the exit. One over-stretched pace caused her to trip over her own feet. Trying to right herself, her momentum carried her a little too far. She collided with a woman dressed far more gaudily and sluttish than herself, who immediately began a tirade of how she should be more careful. With a swift apology and shaking her head, the woman in black turned away, heading for the door once more. A ring-laden hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back and wrenching her stomach wound, pain shooting through her belly like red hot pokers. Hissing with her agony, she snarled a warning at her attacker, and then ducked as a right-hook flew towards her. Her yellow eyes flashed angrily, lips curling in a snarl as she retaliated, kicking out with her foot and sweeping her opponent's feet out from underneath her.
The bouncer was on her in a second, pinning her arms behind her back and turning her towards the door. She moaned again as streaks of fire lashed through her stomach right through to her toes and finger tips, crying out in agony as the bouncer threw her to the floor outside. The woman she had been fighting with landed ten metres to her right with similar force. For a moment she did not move, eyes clenched tight against the pain. Then, knowing she was about to throw up, she raised herself slowly onto her hands and knees, retching up the alcohol she had so hastily consumed. Unable to move further, she hugged herself and moaned softly in self-pity. Not much registered for several minutes, other than the pain and vaguely heard threats from the bouncers of the bar that if she didn't shift herself they'd be calling the old bill, and did she want to spend the night in a cell?
"Don't worry yourselves." A new voice entered the mix, American accent, sounding horribly smug. She opened her eyes to see to black boots stood just ahead of her, navy trousers and the hem of a long blue coat. The owner of the voice offered her a hand as he assured them "I'll take care of her now."
"Captain Jack Harkness..." The words were muttered darkly through dry lips as she raised herself to her feet, spitting away from him in disgust. She straightened herself, glaring him in the eye, even as she took a few fearful paces backwards. "If I'd have known this was still your neighbourhood..."
"Ah but you didn't." Jack smiled his most charming smile. "C'mon, Teya, let's get you cleaned up..."
"I don't need your help, Captain," she stressed the term, as if unwilling to call him by his first name, "I don't want anything to do with you."
"But you'll want my help when you see what I'm offering." He offered her an arm and a disarming grin. She stared at his arm as if she had never seen one before. Jack sighed. "Teya, I'm not gonna hurt you. Please trust me..."
"How can I?" Her voice quivered as she took yet another pace backwards, though her face lost none of its defiance.
"I can help you, Teya. I made a mistake. One day I'll ask your forgiveness, but for today, let me help you." For a moment she just looked darkly at him, but he could see the pain she was in flashing in her yellow eyes. He also saw what it cost her to clutch at him, accepting his help and support, what little pride and dignity she'd had left leeching from her as she bent forward to protect her stomach. Jack forced himself not to give in to his fear for her, ambling away from the bar at a pace that was comfortable for her and letting the bouncers think that there was nothing more wrong with her than an overdose of alcohol.
She muttered curses at him with every step; he had expected that, pleased to see that his old friend had lost none of her fire. If she could waste energy spitting obscenities at him then her wound, though painful, couldn't be too bad. When they rounded a corner, reaching the SUV, she stopped dead, glaring at him again. She turned to him, ignoring the agony that she caused herself as she wrenched herself away from him. "You bastard! It was you! You chased the Weevils off! You cost me a meal!"
"Oh yeah, coz you were gonna beat off a dozen Weevils long enough to grab a snack!" Jack lost his temper a little, sick of her ungrateful attitude. "Trust me, I'll get you a meal."
"You know you're no good to me, Jack, we've been through this before. It wasn't pleasant for either of us." Mollified, Teya hung her head a little.
"For once in your damned life will you just trust me?" He clicked the locks on the SUV with his remote, then threw the passenger door open for her before walking round to the driver's side. He opened his door and climbed in. After waiting a moment as she pondered her options, he encouraged her with a simple "Are you coming?"