Title : The Wanderer - Chapter 4 : From the beginning...
Summary: At the far end of the universe, Jack has an interesting encounter with a too perfect woman and finds unexpected help to keep his promise. (Spoilers for Children of Earth)
Rating: All Ages
Categories: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Original Character.
Genres: General, Introspection
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes : Not a very exciting chapter, but it says more about Glinn's motives and purposes and how she intends to see her mission through. The 5th and last chapter should come soon followed by an epilogue. Special thanks to my wonderful beta reader, thewelshscotsman.
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November 27th 1985
Glinn looked up at the dark skies over her and tried to silence the voices shouting in her head.
The Elders were angry at her. They were sad and confused. They didn't understand why she had done it and being honest, she didn't know it herself. She just knew it was the right thing to do. Since she had met the so-called Captain Jonathan Harker, she was infringing upon all the rules of her community but she had no regrets about it. The very moment she had entered the bar, she had been literally overwhelmed by his suffering. She had already met a great variety of human feelings, but this was unique. She had never experienced such a thing. Had she wanted to avoid him, she couldn't have. The man was literally radiating pain and sorrow like a beacon.
At first, it hadn't seemed to be a bad thing : Captain Jack Harkness wasn't an ordinary man and his memories deserved to be registered. The problem was she hadn't done it accurately. The memories she had "stolen" were only related to Jack's relationship with Ianto Jones. There was nothing about his former life as a Time Agent or about the centuries he had spent on Earth or his travels across time and space.
She hadn't done it because Jack's memories were interesting, but because she wanted to help him. Tough the Mengajiards were not supposed to choose the kind of memories they collected. They had to pick them randomly, the global pattern being done by their common memory. For Glinn, it had become personal and there was no place for personal stuff in the Mengajiard's world. There was no privacy and they didn't make commitments outside the community. Not being allowed to feel for people didn't mean the Wanderers were insensitive. For all that love was prohibited, liking was fully accepted as long as it didn't lead to involvement.
It was the reason why she couldn't have told him that she was a Wanderer. Of course he had already known about their existence from his experiences within the Time Agency, but, she hadn't just let him know it, she had also created a bond with him. She had made a promise which went against the Wanderer's neutrality. She knew that if she came back to them, she'd have to deal with the consequences of it.
For the moment, she had to finish what she had started and keep her promise. She had to save Ianto's memory from oblivion.
She glanced at the shop window before her and checked her clothes. Long ago, she had seen "The Thomas Crown Affair" and adored Faye Dunaway's style as Vicki Anderson. Since that time she had got into the habit of using her appearance. It was certainly too sloaney smart for Newport suburbs, but she needed to inspire confidence and experience had taught her that looking well-off was a way to achieve it.
She smoothed her coat and headed towards the area where Ianto's family was living.
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Aderyn Jones hated to go shopping in the afternoon. There were always more people at the checkout and she didn't like to queue, especially when she had the kids with her. Furthermore, if she wasn't at home when her husband came back from the factory, she could expect a scene.
Unfortunately, that day, she didn't have the choice : it had rained cats and dogs the whole morning long and it had been impossible to put their noses outside.
She glanced at her two-year-old son peacefully asleep in his pushchair. If the old biddies in front of her hurried up, perhaps she could be back at home before Ianto woke up. It was hard enough to prevent her older daughter, Rhiannon, from playing with everything within her reach.
She checked her watch and directed her attention to the queue. Only two customers were before her, then it would be her turn. The shopping basket was beginning to saw her fingers and, of course, it had to be Nettie the Chatterbox who ran the checkout.
What a drag.
A soft voice with a tiny hint of nothern accent brought her back to reality.
"Excuse me?"
The lady before her had turned around and stared at her with a wide smile. Aderyn noticed her earlier in the departments of the store. She couldn't be missed. Her hair was tied in a french plait. High-class. Very well dressed : pure leather boots and a wool and cashmere coat, which might be worth three months of her husband's salary. Not the kind of woman you used to see in suburbs. She looked like an actress or something.
"Yes?" asked Aderyn.
"Excuse me, but I can see you have a lot more than I do," she said pointing to the shampoo bottle and the dental floss on her basket. "And also two young children. You can have my place."
"I don't..."
The woman cut her short with a wave of her hand.
"Please. I'm not in a hurry."
"Thanks. Thank you."
The customer moved aside to let her pass. Aderyn manoeuvred the pushchair towards the checkout and started to put her items onto it whilst Mrs Myles finished sharing the latest gossip with Nettie the Blabbermouth. Keeping an eye on her daughter, who was playing hopscotch on the bicolored tiled floor, she listened absently to Nettie telling her for the umptheenth time what a drifter her boyfriend, Gavin was.
So ditch him, she thought. What do you want me to bags are definintely getting thinner and thinner. If they carry on, they'll made them out of cigarette paper.
She finished to collect her items and thanked the lady behind her by nodding, before living the supermarket.
She had only just covered about half a mile when she felt the handle of the plastic bag tearing. She tried with great difficulty to strengthen her grip, but the bag tore as she went along. The incline of the pavement didn't allow her to let go of the handle of the pushchair. She fumbled for the break, but her foot slipped on the sodden floor and she lost her balance. As she fell backward, she felt a hand grab her elbow firmly and stop her fall, and another catch the contents of the bag.
She turned her head and found the woman who had left her place just behind her. Aderyn cringed, feeling an electric shock go through her arm as the lady helped her to recover.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Did I hurt you?" asked the lady, watching her massaging her elbow.
She shook her head.
"No, no. I could have worse from falling."
The woman tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"Take it. They gave me a big bag for nothing." she said, sliding her items in her hand bag and giving her plastic bag to Aderyn. "It'll be more useful to you."
"That's kind of you."
"Please, it's just fair," she replied, helping Anderyn to transfer the contents of her torn bag.
Aderyn's daughter came to cling to her leg and she went through the motion of stroking her head, without taking her eyes of the unknown.
"Mummy, do we go back home?" whined Rhiannon.
"Yes, sweetheart. In a minute."
The woman grinned at the little girl, who retuned her a shy smile, her face resting against her mother's thigh.
"I think it should last until you reach home, if it not too far."
She leant towards the pushchair and stroke the cheek of the child with the tip of her finger.
"Your little boy is very lovely," she said softly.
For a second, it seemed to Aderyn that she saw a veil of sadness crossing the woman's features. It looked so painful that she was suddenly afraid. Instinctively, she pulled the pushchair away. She felt immediately ashamed of her reaction. After all, the woman had only wanted to be kind.
"I'm sorry, but I'm late," mumbled Aderyn.
"Of course. I don't want to delay you," apologized the woman straightening with a sheepish smile.
"Mrs Jones! Mrs Jones!"
Aderym startled, hearing her name. She turned around towards the supermarket and saw Maggie, the young girl from the reception, running across the street and waving to her.
"Mrs Jones! You've forgotten your soap at the checkout."
She turned back but the blonde woman had vanished and for a moment, Aderyn wondered if she'd had an hallucination. It wouldn't have been the first time.
In his pushchair, Ianto was still deeply asleep and it seemed to his mother that a faint smile was ghosting on his lips.
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Glinn leant against the wall that shielded her from Aderyn's sight and took a deep breath.
Nothing in Jack's memories had warned her about the illness of Ianto's mother, so she assumed Ianto had never told him that Aderyn was bipolar and, at that time, already on the edge of psychosis. Glinn had sensed her fragility and the way she struggled to keep up appearances, but she knew from experience that all those efforts were useless. It was only a question of time before the young woman tipped over into madness, leaving her family helpless.
Glinn shoved her shaking hands into the pockets of her coat.
Forcing her way through Aderyn's mind had exhausted her. She had forgotten how excruciating it could be for a Wanderer to enter the mind of a mentally ill person. True and false memories were so tightly entwined that it was a real nightmare to separate them and it took a great amount of energy to achieve it.
Taking advantage of her temporary weakness, the voices of the Elders intensified in her head, entreating her to leave it and to come back to them but, once again, she pushed them away.
She cast her mind back on her foray into Ianto's mind. He was such an innocent and loving child. She hadn't found the tiniest hint of malice in him. Her heart sank at the thought of the ordeals in store for him, but she had also found an uncanny strength of character in him that had given her a glimpse of the man he would become. The one Jack had shown her and had loved more than anything.
A cat coming from nowhere threaded its way between two bins and came to rub against her legs. She squatted down and scratched the top of its head. The feline purred with contentment and Glinn smiled at it, taking confort in this unexpected friendly presence. But her task was unfinished and, after a moment, she stood up and started to walk straight ahead as the rain was falling again. The gloomy street was empty and no one saw her vanishing in the air.
To be continued...