Alec Hardy was not a patient man.
He was not a particularly happy man.
Good days were rare.
And his temper was not to be tried.
This Torchwood team had come from nowhere and belittled his authority. The last time Ellie saw her boss this pissed off was when she found that her nephew Oliver had posted Danny's death on Twitter. Alec stormed into his office and went straight to his computer with Ellie not too far behind.
"Who the bloody hell do they think they are?!" he yelled.
"Sir, they are coming in a couple of hours to talk. At least they're cooperating with us." She reasoned, closing the door behind her.
"Don't defend them, Miller!"
"I'm not!" Ellie said, her voice becoming louder to compete with his "But they seem like good people."
"Who are they? What is this "special access" they have? What do they know that we don't?" Alec began pacing, his thoughts whirling in his head.
"Sir, you're doing it again." Ellie said, rolling her eyes.
Alec groaned, rubbing his head. "Find out who they are. I want to know everything about this Captain Harkness and …"
"Rose Tyler?" asked Ellie, assuming he had forgotten her name. But the truth was he hadn't forgotten, he remembered all too well.
"Yes. Criminal records, everything. Find out what Torchwood is. I want to know everything before they stroll in."
"We can't tell them everything, Jack." Rose stated, dropping a bag on the sofa.
"I'm aware of that, Miss Tyler." he shouted back.
They knew that this investigation was going to take longer than they originally anticipated, so Ianto booked a rental cottage for them near the beach. It was a quiet, two bedroomed place that would be their temporary base of operations. Jack was annoyed at Rose that she had called dibs on the master bedroom but then realised that her window was opposite the local pub, and knew that it would be noisy. So, without making any more fuss, he accepted her decision.
Rose took off her leather jacket and examined her new surroundings. The house was clean and tidy, which she was most thankful of as she had spent some time in less than adequate places when she used to travel.
Jack entered the room, looking happy. Rose frowned at him. "What?" he asked.
"What are we going to do?"
"Well, I'm take a shower."
"Jack? Be serious." She said, falling back on the sofa.
He shrugged, debating their options. "We tell them that we are an investigating team from Cardiff. We specialise in "unique" cases and that we can be of assistance."
"Since when do we work with the police?" she asked.
"Normally we don't, but this Hardy guy isn't going to drop this. He's like a dog with bone."
"So, we lie." Rose clarified.
"No, we just don't tell them the whole truth"
"That's lying!"
"I prefer to think of it as creative restructuring." he smirked.
Rose couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Okay, but they think they're looking for a human, when in fact they are chasing an alien threat who has killed two people already…" Her voice trailed off as something clicked in her mind. The pieces were coming together.
"Rose?" said Jack, puzzled.
"It doesn't make sense," she pondered out loud. "Think about it. Why kill someone in Broadchurch two nights ago and then leave for Cardiff and kill someone there and then come back?"
Jack knew in moments like this it was best to let her mind wander, allow her to follow her instincts until eventually she came up with answer. The ordinary shop girl turned into Earth's defender. A twist of fate that sent on her on the right path.
"Unless there is something here, maybe? Something important?" she continued, leaning back "Maybe something that needs protecting, so it had to come back?"
Jack smiled at her, marvelling how good she was at her job. "And you wonder why I brought you along?"
He pulled her in for a hug, and kissed the top of her head.
"Get Gwen on the phone, tell her to see if there have been any other attacks matching the one in Cardiff and to keep an eye on that energy signature". He began to turn away when another thought struck him. "Actually, research Broadchurch too. See if anything unusual has happened here in the last couple of years"
"Yes, boss" said Rose, giving him a salute.
Computer research was dull. Even on the most interesting cases, research was dull. Looking through endless files of police reports, energy statistical analysis or boxes of remnants of old spaceships that had fallen through the rift, was something that Gwen hated.
Getting out, talking to people, being involved in the investigation was what made the job fun. All the running about, feeling the wind in your hair. The thrill of the chase.
However instead of doing all the fun part of her job, Gwen was stuck in the conference room reading a stack of files on the landings in the UK from the Torchwood archives. She stretched her arms above her head, feeling the urge to yawn. Aiming for the bin, she slung the folder across the room, trying to get it to land it the box, but it missed, and landed next to it, spilling out its contents on the floor.
Pulling herself off the seat, she groaned, not noticing Ianto wheeling in.
"Found anything?" he asked.
"Nope. These are the folders from 1900 – 1950." she stated, exhausted. "Why the hell have they not been transferred to digital files yet?"
"We've been busy." Ianto replied. "I have the computers scanning and cross referencing medical records, police reports, blogs, YouTube videos and new reports from the last five years, so we can't miss anything."
"How long do you reckon it's been here?"
"Not for long, otherwise these killings would have started ages ago, I imagine." he answered. He watched Gwen pick up the folder, muttering under her breath and decided he couldn't wait any longer. She was his best friend, he wanted it to her.
Putting on a brave face he asked "Gwen, it's been six weeks since…" he pointed at his leg, his voice was shaky but determined. "Can you …?"
Gwen nodded, admiring his bravery. "You don't want to wait until Jack comes home?"
"No, I need to see what is going on."
"Okay. Meet in the medical bay."
After sawing of the plaster on Ianto leg's, Gwen gaped at what was underneath. Ianto stared at his leg, feeling stronger every day, he tried wiggling his toes, but his body didn't comply.
"These things take time, sweetheart" she said, reassuringly. Gwen read the results of his scan, absorbing the information. He had to be patient, she thought, Why do these things always happen to the good ones? Her gaze was drawn to the scar on his leg. A distinctive red bite, eight deep puncture marks that will haunt him for years to come. Ianto moved his hand, allowing himself to touch the wound for the first time since it happened. The skin was soft, but tender. The pain of memory made him angry rather than depressed.
"How much longer do I have to stay in the chair?" he asked, his voice bitter.
"Ianto, the bone in your leg is healed. But what happened to you will… I mean it take longer for the muscle in both your legs to heal. It will be worth it. To see the look on Jack's face when you can walk again." she said, trying to raise his spirits.
Ianto nodded, removing his hand from the scar. "Yeah, these things take time."
Rose pulled the zipper of her jacket up, rubbing her hands together to get warm. The cold breeze blew past. Should have brought gloves, or maybe a better coat.
She watched Jack by the car, on the phone to Ianto as they updated each other on the progress they were making. Prepared for anything the coppers could throw at them, Rose and Jack rigorously went through their story before they left.
She looked up at the daunting police building, praying that Ellie was the one to interview her. It wasn't that she disliked DI Hardy but there was something about him that, she couldn't quite place her finger on. Something that was different about him.
Come on, Jack. Hurry up. Rose moved closer to the doors, but still in Jack's eye line when the door was thrown open. She spun around to see DI Hardy standing there with his arms crossed.
"In your own time" he grumbled.
"Bit keen." Rose joked "I thought you wanted to interview me and my colleague, not just me?"
Alec looked away. "We need to talk to you both."
They gazed at each other, seeing themselves properly since the their meeting on the cliffs. Rose could feel the intensity burning through her but instead of turning away she returned the look. Something different, she thought. Alec broke the eye contact first and swallowed thickly. Rose shook her head, she bit her lip trying not to laugh at the officer. Oh, Jack and his bad influence.
Alec watched her, puzzled by her reaction. "What?"
Rose stepped towards him, still fighting the urge not to chuckle. "You're very serious, aren't you?"
He raised an eyebrow. "This is a serious case, if you haven't noticed?"
"I have, but you're…" her voice trailed off. She titled her head, trying to think of the right word. But before she could finish her sentence, she heard Jack's footsteps.
"Shall we?" Jack said. In his hands was the equipment they had earlier on the cliffs. Sharing the information would bring them closer to solving the case or so they hoped.
Alec opened the door for them both. Jack being Jack stepped past Rose and strolled in declaring "Age before beauty" Rose gave into temptation, giggling at Jack's statement. Nevertheless her laughter quickly subsided, when she saw the bemused look on Alec's face. She murmured "Sorry" before following her friend inside.
Alec stared for a second, the sound of her laugh, imprinted in his mind. His lips twitched, resisting to smile at the peculiar blonde woman in front. Nevertheless, he stepped into the station, banishing those thoughts to the back of his mind.