Gertrude caught a cab strait to the Tourist Office, not trusting herself to run the whole way and still keep the vial safe. The vial. It had been such a long time since she had been with UNIT. Decades had passed, yet here they were, with the same codes in use. Even her age-weakened memory had provided her with enough to know the significance of the little vial. She didn't know exactly what had happened to the battered Welshman, but one thing was for certain, without this vial, he wouldn't be able to see again. As the cap reached the Plass, she quickly paid the river, hopping out with Jack's cote clutched firmly in one arm, the vial over her heart in the other. A dark skinned figure materialized from the darkness, and Gertrude strode forward, bent on safely delivering the vial,
"Who are you?" Gertrude demanded, and officers voice of command bringing power to her words.
"Martha Jones. I work for UNIT." Gertrude reeled back. She knew that UNIT had caused all this.
"What do you want, Mrs Jones?" Martha sighed, mentioning UNIT had had the opposite effect than what she had hoped.
"The vial, Mrs. Mayweather. The one for Mr. Jones?" That seemed to have cinched it. Gertrude drew herself up, and strode forcefully past Martha, strait for the Tourist Office.
"Mrs. Mayweather please, I'm only here to help." Gertrude spun around, the fury blazing in her eyes nearly illuminating the shadows of her face.
"You're people are the reason why Mr. Jones and Captain Harkness are in the state that they are in. Do you honestly believe that I'd give you something like that?" Martha sputtered, more than shocked by this elderly woman's vehemence.
"Ma'am, how on earth do you know that?" Gertrude stepped closer to Martha, examining her, evaluating her for her weakness or her lies.
"I know what you're kind do to people. Give me one good reason to trust you.: Martha chewed her lip lightly. Nothing she could say would convince the woman of her good intentions. She had a feeling not even threatening would work. Martha crumpled, throwing her hands up in submission.
"I don't have one. Not one that would mean anything to you. You would have to trust me, and that's something that I'm sure you know better than to do." Mathe drew her coat tightly around herself, and then bowed slightly to Gertrude.
:If you would like, I'll go wake Gwen and have her come up and retrieve the thing. I know you won't give it to me.: Gertude paused, surprised by the woman's casual use of the Torchwood member's name, as well as the reluctance she could here in her voice.
"Wait, Mrs. Jones., tell me, were you always UNIT?" Martha shook her head.
"No. I stated out under, well let's just say that Jack and I worked under the same Doctor. He got Torchwood, and I joined UNIT. Though after what they've done to Ianto, I don't know how much longer that's going to last." Saying out loud the nagging thought that had been plaguing her all day, Martha felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She could see, too, the way those words seemed to shift her into Gertrude's favor.
"The doctor, he didn't happen to be a strange man that traveled about in a blue box, collecting beautiful women and gallivanting about time and space, did he?" Martha did a very impressive impersonation of a fish, before shaking herself.
:How could you-" Gertrude smiled, a genuine and warm smile that seemed to thaw any animosity between the two women.
"I did some time with UNIT. Even in the good old days they talked about the Doctor, He and his recorder playing, bowtie wearing oddness. He was wa legend really, an enigma. A creature or man that we could never hope to understand. Even after I left the military and settled down-mind you that was but twenty years ago- I was kept up-to-date about the latest gossips. Like Torchwood's fall and the appearances of the blue box. It makes sense that Captain Harkness traveled with him. It would explain why he looks so young." Martha shook her head, shivering again as the wind whipped around them. She walked to towards the tourist office, becoming the elder woman to follow.
"No point in freezing out here, You aren't likely to hand me that vieal, and I'm not going to let you leave with it, so you might as well jeep warm.: Gertrude shook her head, eyeing Martha over once more, her gaze piercing , as if it were reading her inside and out.
"If I give you this, what are you going to do with it? Return it to UNIT, give it to Ianto and hope it works? It can't be very stable." Martha nodded.
"I'm going to be working with Doctor Harper in trying to stabilize it as best we can. It's our best bet to restoring Ianto back to sight. That is, if he wakes up." The worry she felt for the Welshman crept into her voice, and Gertrude knew that she could trust this woman She cared,
"He'll wake up dear, they both will. You just wait and see." She grabbed Martha's hand, carefully placing the vieal into it before curling her fingers around it.
"You fix him, and I'll handle the Captain's coat. These things need a bit of care." She patted the stained bundle in her arms, and Martha smiled.
"Ianto will be glad that you fix that. I swear he loves that thing more than the man that usually wears it." Gertrude laughed softly,
"I doubt that's possible. You should have seen them the other night. They were practically pawing at each other all through their dinner. And the fit that Captain had when Ianto got a headache." The woman smiled, and Martha looked inquisitively at the strange woman. She hadn't realized how personally close this woman was to her friends.
"Well I promise you this ma'am. By the time you get that coat mended and back to Jack, I'll have this fixed up for Ianto." Gertrude nodded, choosing to trust Martha. She took her leave, walking back to the road and hailing a cab, disappearing into the night of Cardiff.