Chapter thirty-three: Falling Apart
Jackie sniffled and reached for another tissue. Meryl looked at her. "You didn't warn me?"
"And rob you of the joy of crying?" Jackie questioned as she sniffled and dabbed her eyes. "Of course, not! Everyone deserves to cry their eyes out during an epic moment in a movie."
Meryl nodded before wiping her eyes. "You're right." Suddenly, an explosion of pain ripped throughout Jackie's body. Jackie let out a scream as she dropped her hot tea into her lap, grabbing onto her stomach. "Jackie?" Meryl questioned in fear. "What's wrong?"
Jackie felt as if her insides were being blown out! Then suddenly, when the pain became too much for her, it just stopped, then she felt nothing. She gasped and reached out for Jack, she felt nothing. She inhaled raggedly. "It's Jack. He's been murdered, shot to death."
Meryl stared at her. "I'm sorry. Ianto mentioned, the two of you have this connection." Meryl reached for her hand. "At least he doesn't die."
Jackie stood up. "I've got to go, I've got to go to him."
"No you don't." Meryl said firmly. "You're due in one month. You cannot go running around."
Jackie ignored Meryl and continued moving towards the door. "Oh, yes I can. I've got a built in protective shield."
"Which hasn't been very effective," Meryl reminded her. "since you've gotten pregnant."
Jackie frowned at Meryl. "I've been weak and tired, yes, but inefficient, no. my shield is the only source of power I have that is strong. Jack needs help and I'm going."
Meryl shook her head. "Then I'm coming with you."
Jackie shook her head. "Don't make me shoot you."
"You don't even have a gun." Meryl pointed out.
"That you can see." Jackie said, pulling her skirt up to reveal her gun that was strapped to her leg. Meryl took a small step back. "Now, I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you try to stop me and you can't go with me. You have no training whatsoever and I at least have some powers and training. I'm going and you're staying here."
Meryl shook her head. "Jackie, think of the babies."
"This whole thing is spinning out of control. Yes, I'm pregnant, but I'm not stupid." She declared. "I can't sit back and wait."
"And I can't let you walk out that door." Meryl said as she stepped forward, determination in her stride.
"And you won't have to." Jackie aimed and shot a few inches away from Meryl's foot, stopping her in her tracks. "Take another step towards me and I'll be forced to shoot you in the shoulder." Meryl wisely took a step back. "Ianto is going to get me for threatening you, but this is my life. I know…it may be coming to an end, but I need to do this. I have to. I might have some regrets, but at least they'll be the right ones."
That evening,
She wished that she had. Right now, Jackie stood on top of the roof of the Cardiff Castle her mind in a mad and delirious swirl as she tried to absorb everything that had just happened all around her. How had everything managed to go from bad to absolute Hell in what might have been a mere four hours?
She'd gone to Torchwood and had entered through the secret entrance that Jack had installed especially for her. Jack had truly thought of almost everything for her. He'd had construction workers build them a private entrance that went straight to their room. (Naturally, all of the workers were retconned afterwards.) The code that allowed her entrance into their secret entrance had an ironclad insurance that it would open for only her and him. The key to opening the tunnels, their wedding vows. As their wedding day hadn't been filmed, no one, would know their vows. Once their vows were recited, it caused the hidden entrance to be revealed. Their room had dozens of other tunnels that allowed them the ability to see into any room they wanted. No one else in Torchwood, knew of these tunnels existence.
Jack was gone and after combing through security feed, she'd found that John hart and shot John multiple times. She actually hadn't needed to look at the footage for she'd felt Jack's pain the moment she entered the base. 30 minutes later into the footage, John had taken Jack somewhere. It had taken a bit of rather clumsy tracking for her to find where they'd gone to, but she'd finally traced their location to the Cardiff castle. She'd gone after them immediately, but her fastest wasn't her best. It was now almost 6:30 and she was getting exhausted.
She was halfway up the stairs at the sound of the first explosion. Jackie gasped and braced herself, carefully making her way up the stairs as more explosions rocked the castle. She peered around the corner to see Jack standing there, staring at the city that he fought so hard to protect, blown apart before his very eyes.
"You've destroyed the city!" Jack shouted to John before demanding. "What have you done?!"
"Freeze!" Jackie shouted as she came around the corner, her gun aimed at John's head. "Don't move!"
Jack and John spun around together. "Jackie!" Jack roared at her in fury. "What the hell are you doing here?"
John's eyes went straight to her very pregnant belly. "Oh God, she's pregnant." He looked tiredly at Jack. "Did you knock her up?"
"She was raped." Jack gasped out, the lie slipping easier from his tongue than it could have off hers. However, his own words sounded like a lie to her ears.
"I'm not the problem here." She lifted her gun up and pointed it at him. "Now, get away from Jack. Now!"
Her words came too late, for John opened a rift around Jack, causing her to gasp as Jack shouted. "Get off me!"
"Jack!" She shouted at him.
Jack looked up, eyes wide and shouted. "Run!" Moreover, those were the final words he said to her before leaving their location.
Jackie had reached out desperate to find him somewhere, but she felt nothing. She searched hard and desperately, but she couldn't find him. She sank down to the ground as her gun clattered from her hand. She clutched her belly and rocked for several long moments. She hadn't felt anything like this. She'd always been able to sense Jack's presence, but not this time, he was gone. Gone out of this planet or dead. However, as the moments passed, she knew he was gone from earth now. He wasn't dead, for he couldn't die, so he was gone again.
Jackie's legs trembled and she sank down to the ground. Her phone rang, the stupid jaws theme signaling that it was Gwen calling her. She inhaled and picked up the phone. "Gwen?"
Jackie. Gwen sounded in control of herself, yet slightly overwhelmed due to the destruction they'd seen moments ago. Are you alright?
"Yes, but, Jack's gone again." Gwen was silent for a moment. "John took him somewhere and I don't know where. I don't know where he is Gwen." She sniffled raggedly. "He's gone. Jack is gone and I cannot sense him anywhere. He's not on earth anymore."
Jackie, please-
"I'd know better than you Gwen," her voice broke. "he left me once before. Now, he's gone again. He's gone."
Jackie, Gwen said firmly. You can't fall apart now. There is a crisis on our hands right now. You need to stay strong.
Jackie felt as if she were trapped inside the script of South Pacific. She was Nellie Forbush and Jack was Emile de Becque. He was out in danger and the only contact she had with him was what her beating heart told her. He was alive, she knew that for sure, but where? The scene where admits a vibrant and tumulus orange sky; Nellie sends a verbal demand across oceans admits the tense strings of 'some enchanted evening' to Emile that he live. That's all she could do. Send out a mental demand that Jack live and come back to her.
Jackie, Tosh's voice jostled her out of her clouded thoughts. I've got a Rift alert from inside the Hub, mirroring the pattern from earlier when Jack disappeared.
Do you think it could be him?
Jackie shook her head at Gwen's question. "No, it's not him, I can't sense his presence, I always can." She stood up. "I'll find out who it is."
Jackie, Ianto said. You've got to stay where you are.
"I'm already at the hub Ianto." John Hart came up the stairs from the cells and began a slow approach towards her. She sighed and shook her head as she muttered."I should have known. Get your damn hands up!" Jackie shouted as she pulled her gun out. "Tosh, it's not Jack, it's Captain John hart."
What! Tosh shouted.
Jackie, get out of there! Ianto proclaimed. Get out now!
"He's already seen me." she stated. "I've got him at gunpoint, everyonre relax."
I'm coming Jackie! Gwen said. Be careful, don't risk the babies.
"I won't." She sneered down at him. "Now, I'm gonna need a really good reason not to shoot you. What are you doing here?"
"I know where Jack is." he said in a controlled voice, almost persuasive enough to convince her instantly.
Jackie forced herself to remain firm, ignoring her instincts as she demanded an explanation. "Start talking and don't even bother lying to me!"
"He's buried alive, somewhere beneath this city. I came back to help you.
"You just bombed this city." She sneered in disgust. "Men, women, children and babies are dead or dying because of you!"
"It's Gray, Jack's brother, that's been doing all this." Jackie studied him intently. He appeared to be honest, but Jack himself said he was a compulsive liar. "He placed a bomb on me, molecularly bonded the detonator to my skin, I had to do what he wanted. Look." He stepped towards her and showed her the bomb attached to his wrist. Jackie lowered her gun slightly. "He forced me to bury Jack and then he freed me. He told me I could go anywhere I wanted. I could've run, but I chose to come back here."
"Why?"
He looked pointedly down at her stomach. "You're having Jack's baby, aren't you?"
"I'm not having his baby." Technically, she wasn't totally lying. Baby was a singular word and she was having twins. "Why would Gray want to hurt his brother? I know they got separated, but honestly, isn't it time for a family reunion and not a family murder scheme?"
"When I found Gray, he was chained to the ruins of a city on the Bedlam Outlands, surrounded by corpses." He exhaled in dismay and shook his head. "He was the only one left. The creatures had long since gone. Don't know how long he'd been there. He thought I was the rescuing hero. So, it took me too long to realize he'd learned terrible things watching those creatures. He let me trust him." John suddenly shouted and grabbed his wrist. He then chuckled against the pain. "The molecules are unbonding. Just like he promised." He lets out a loud laugh as he then pulls the bomb off, taking skin with it. She winces slightly as he inhales. "Oh, God. See? Free man, apparently."
"Noted."
He squared his shoulders and held her gaze. "I didn't have to come back here. I could've run."
"Agreed." She exhaled. "I don't seem to have much of a choice, I shall have to trust you." She turned and headed to the utility room find a shoulder holster for her gun. "But if you try anything, I will fill you full of lead."
"I don't doubt it." He called after her before speaking into his bracer. "Toshiko. I need you to run a trace for an etheric particle signal NME transmitting at two hundred betacycles."
Jackie Gwen questioned. Where are you?
"I'm fine," she explained. "I'm with John at Torchwood."
What's he doing? Owen demanded. Where's Jack?
It's okay, Tosh. I've got him covered. Just do as he says. The signal should tell us where Jack is.
No signals even vaguely resembling that.
No, there must be. That transmitter was guaranteed for five millennia through three ecological permalayers. It has to still be transmitting. If not, we'll never find him. He'll be buried forever."
She shook her head. "Not him." At that moment, something high pitched rang out and filled the base. Pain, like a piece of paper, or glass, felt as if it were being dragged through her brain. Jackie let out a cry as everything suddenly went white and cold around her.
Sorry about the very long delay. I've had a very hard and busy time. I'd get back from work, too tired todo any writing, but now, my work schedule seems to be slowly lightening up.