Time Doesn't Always Run Straight
Sleeper
Part 2
So a huge thank you to my reviewers, I cannot say enough just how amazing you guys are. Same to those reading/following and favorting. The response to this story has been more than I thought. I have been asked for more Janto, I am trying, there will definitely be some in the interlude between Sleeper and Meat. There is some Towen thrown into this chapter because I do love it. Some violence, sexual reference and swearing. Again very Jestine centred.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise I don't own.
Jack storms into the interview room with Jestine following quietly behind.
He pulls the hood roughly off Beth's head and tosses it aside.
He leans over the interview table she was sitting at and demands, "Tell me everything."
Beth looks around the room terrified. It's dimly lit, giving an oppressed feel. Her hands are tied in front of her.
"Where am I? Where's my husband?" She stammers.
"He's safe." Jack replies.
"What do you mean, "safe?" What have you done with him?" Beth asks, the worry and fear clear in her voice.
"Nothing yet." Jack answers, the threat clear.
Jack places his hands flat on the table in front of him. "Tell me what happened in the flat, Beth. It had to be you or Mike, so how did you do it?"
Beth looks to Jestine for help but she just stands there and watches.
"You can't treat people like this. I've been burgled, attacked! I want a lawyer, I want a phone call. If you're charging me with something…" Beth pleads, a headache forming.
"We're not charging you with anything. We don't have to. And there'll be no lawyer, no phone calls, just us, and this room for as long as it takes. Now tell me what happened!" Jack demands.
"I told her… and the police." Beth gestures to Jestine.
"Getting anything?" Jack asks Jestine.
"No, there is something blocking." Jestine frowns. "It is tough but I should be able to get past if I push harder." The lights start to flicker but they ignore them.
Jack nods. "Show her the crime scene, it might help jolt her memory."
Jestine doesn't take her eyes off Beth as she lays down the photos she had previously been holding. She spreads them out, each showing the injuries inflicted on the burglars. Beth flinches as she takes in the details.
"The second one just died in the hospital. "Keep her away from me. The woman in the flat" Those were his dying words. Now, why would he say something like that?" Jack quotes the words Jestine had told him as the lights start to flicker more violently.
Beth shudders at the words, at being told of the man's death. "I don't know, I swear. I never touched him." She winces as her headache increases.
Suddenly the lights turn off and Jack hears a thump in the direction Jestine had been.
"Get the lights on." Jack commands his team who he knew were listening in to the interrogation.
As the lights flicker back on Jack rushes over to Jestine who was leaning against the wall.
"What happened?" He asks as he helps her up.
Jestine frowns at Jack before speaking in a language Jack couldn't understand.
Jack frowns back, worried. "English."
Jestine frowns again before opening and then closing her mouth.
Jack forces himself to stay calm as he taps his comm. "Owen get the medical bay set up, Jestine's hurt."
He pauses for a moment, glancing at Beth before helping Jestine out.
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Is she going to be ok?" Ianto asks as Jack walks over to the workstations, having just left the medial bay.
"Mild psychic shock." Jack explains. "She pushed too hard against something and got a mild shock. There won't be any long term affects."
"Why couldn't she understand you?" Tosh turns from her computer.
"Psychic shock can cause some confusion for a short period of time. Jestine doesn't seem to be used to speaking English, her mind was too jumbled to understand." Jack answers.
"So while she knows English, she was too confused to understand you." Ianto summarises.
Jack nods in conformation. "The shock wasn't too bad so shouldn't take her too long to recover."
"So how is she meant to help if she can't understand us?" Gwen grumbles. Jack had reluctantly called her in after Jestine had collapsed.
Jack sighs. Jestine and Gwen were still not getting along. A number of times during her confinement, Jestine had almost hit Gwen. And Gwen seemed to enjoy nothing better than riling Jestine up. "She does understand English. It's a bit like when you get hit in the head. Things take a little longer to make sense."
"Maybe you should just send her home considering she isn't any good to us." Gwen suggests.
"She isn't going anywhere. I've never seen anything like this and want to keep an eye on her. Anyway she's sedated at the moment." Owen answers as he joins the team.
"I still say you didn't need to sedate her." Jack tells Owen.
"She needs rest and since she refuses to sleep I'm going to make her." Owen announces.
Jack frowns. "What do you mean refusing to sleep?"
Owen looks uneasily at the team. "Right, my office." Jack orders as he understands Owen's reluctance to share. "Tosh can you look through the footage from the interrogation, Gwen look up Beth and her husband, along with both the burglars. Ianto set up the autopsy bay for the test." He turns to his office with Owen following behind.
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"Right what is going on with Jestine?" Jack asks as he and Owen take a seat.
"Just so you know I'm only telling you this as you are in charge and it could be considered a risk to the operation of the team." Owen tells Jack. "Not because I care or anything."
Jack nods, not sure what was going on.
"That night we stayed at the hotel after John." Owen explains. "Jestine had a nightmare. A really bad nightmare."
Jack raises an eyebrow. "How bad?"
Owen sighs. "We all get nightmares doing this job. But I've never seen one as bad as this. She was thrashing violently. I couldn't even approach her."
"Do you know what it was about?" Jack asked worried. Nightmares came with being a Torchwood agent and being a Time Agent did not make for peaceful sleep either.
Owen shakes his head. "She wasn't speaking English and she refused to tell me when she finally snapped out of it."
Jack nods, unsurprised but doesn't interrupt, knowing there was more.
"She did admit that she has nightmares every time she sleeps. Part of the reason she doesn't sleep often. She claims they aren't as bad when she collapses from exhaustion." Owen expands. "Or from drinking too much." Owen adds bitterly. Sure he had passed out far more often than he should have but that didn't mean he condoned the behaviour, especially in someone as young as Jestine.
Jack sighs. It was one thing her having nightmares because of things she had seen while at the Time Agency or because of Torchwood but it concerned him that she had always had nightmares. They knew very little about her past but it seemed the more they did, the worse things were. And the fact that she was either pushing herself to her limit or passing out from too much alcohol was an issue.
"Did you try sleeping tablets?" Jack asks.
Owen nods. "But they don't seem to work. She claims they help her sleep a few hours and that's an improvement but it concerns me." Owen admits.
Jack agrees. "What do you think we should do?"
Owen sighs. "I honestly don't know. She seems to function ok with not much sleep but without knowing more about her I can't tell whether it is healthy for her or not."
"I doubt you are going to find out anything about her. She doesn't seem to know much and what she does she isn't sharing." Jack tells Owen.
Owen takes a deep breath, looking at Jack seriously. "I want your permission to get a DNA sample from her."
Jack is taken aback. He had asked Jestine for a DNA sample after the John Hart incident, along with other test. But she had refused, stating that she hadn't known anything about her parents for this long, she didn't need to know about them now. Owen had reluctantly agreed and none of them had said anything since. Jack thought the issue was dealt with but clearly not.
"I know she doesn't want it but we need to know more about her. Does she had the same kind of immunity as us or is she going to die from the common cold? Does she age the same rate as us or do we need to worry about people noticing she hasn't aged in 10 years? And she heals faster than the rest of us, why is that?" Owen spits out the questions.
"We can't go behind her back like that. I know we need to know but we can't do it without her permission." Jack tries to get Owen to back down.
"I won't clear her for field duty." Owen threatens. "If I can't tell what is normal for her and what isn't then there is no way I can tell if she is safe to be out chasing aliens."
Jack glares at Owen. He did not want Jestine restricted from the field again, it had been tough all on of them. But he couldn't let Owen conduct test on her without her knowing, even if it was unobtrusive. "Let me speak to her." Jack relents.
"She'll say no and then what." Owen glares back.
"Just let me speak to her first." Jack dismisses Owen who huffs out, leaving Jack with his thoughts.
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Gwen leads Beth from the interview room and through the corridor.
"What kind of test?" Beth asks as she looks around.
"Just little things to clear this all up. Blood samples…" Gwen tries to be cheery. Just because Jestine thought it was Beth didn't persuade her.
Beth looks at Gwen in alarm. "Blood samples? I haven't done anything."
"Look…I believe you, but this is our job. Something really strange happened at your flat and we've got to make sure you have nothing to do with it." Sometimes Gwen hates her job, dragging in innocent people and holding them captive. Jack hadn't even listened to her when she complained about the conditions they were keeping Beth in. All because of Jestine!
"That woman, that was in the room, is she ok?" Beth realises there is no point arguing about her treatment.
"No permanent damage." Gwen answers. "Unfortunately." She mutters after. She almost wished the shock had been more serious, at least they wouldn't have to worry about Jestine then.
"That's good then." Beth feels a little calmer, knowing she hadn't somehow hurt one of the people that were currently holding her hostage.
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Gwen and Beth enter the hub through the back near the armoury. Beth looks around, her eyes wide in surprise.
"This is where you work?" Beth asks amazed.
Gwen smiles warmly. "Yep. Cosy isn't it?"
"Who are you people? Don't you have any windows?" Beth asks as she starts up the steps to the workstation area. Her hands are still tied in front of her so she is uneasy.
"It wouldn't really be in keeping with the whole secrecy thing, people looking in, you know?" Gwen jokes.
Gwen watches Beth as she stops and smells a piece of machinery near the steps. Ianto pops his head out from behind her.
"We don't sniff the subetheric resonator." Ianto tries to keep a straight face as he explains.
"Sorry." Beth mumbles, embarrassed.
She stares at the strange machinery as Gwen leads her through. The concrete central column is wide open and shows the rift manipulator hidden inside.
"It's so big. This is crazy." Beth exclaims as she takes it all in.
Gwen grins smugly. This was her world. "Yep."
"Let's just get these test done." Gwen encourages Beth on. "Then you get to go home, ok?"
Beth allows herself to be lead to the autopsy bay.
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Jack and Gwen watch from the rails while Owen gets out a syringe. Beth is strapped sitting on the table.
"We'll start with a few blood test, nothing to worry about, just a little needle." Owen explains as he uncaps the syringe. Beth gasps as she sees it.
Owen ignores the reaction being used to it and tries to inject her arm. He frowns when it breaks.
"What?" Jack asks frustrated at the delay.
Owen shrugs. "Needle snapped."
Beth looks at Owen nervously as he grabs a second syringe. "Haven't you got a nurse to do this?"
"He's a doctor. It's okay." Gwen tries to comfort Beth.
Owen grimaces when the needle breaks for a second time.
Beth flinches back and glares at him. "Ah, okay, Look I'm not going to do this if you can't even.." She trails off as Owen turns around with a scalpel in his hand. "What are you doing?" She asks nervously.
"Bear with me." Owen tells her as he approaches her.
He tries slicing the scalpel along her arm but the tip snaps off without making her at all.
"When was the last time you were in hospital, Beth?" Owen asks as he starts at the broken scalpel.
"I… I don't remember. I don't think I ever have. Why, what's wrong with me?" Beth stammers as she too looks at the scalpel.
"Well, any operations? Check-ups?" Owen asks.
Beth shakes her head. "No, nothing."
Owen frowns. "When was the last time you felt ill? You had a cold? Anything?"
"I don't think I ever have. I take a lot of vitamin C." Beth answers confused.
"Mm, hell of a lot I reckon." Owen grumbles as he drops the broken scalpel onto the tray.
Jack moves down to the autopsy bay. "Okay, Beth. You make light bulbs blow, we can't break your skin and you gave one of my team psychic shock. What planet are you from?" Jack demands from Beth.
"Earth." Beth answers.
"Stop wasting our time! We know you're an alien!" Jack yells at her.
"There's no such thing as aliens." Beth stutters.
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Owen watches as Jack marches Beth to the Weevil enclosures before going back to the main level.
"How you feeling?" He asks Jestine who was resting on the couch, the sedative having worn off far quicker than Owen would have liked.
"Better. Head still a little sore but otherwise normal." Jestine responds.
"Let me know if the pain gets any worse." Owen orders her. He didn't have much experience but she seemed to be less confused which he took as a good sign.
He gives her a visual once over and notes nothing wrong before turning back to the work stations.
"Any luck?" He asks Tosh.
She shakes her head. "There isn't anything in the archives that could explain Beth. If Jestine wasn't hurt we could ask her." Tosh sighs. "She is going to be ok isn't she?"
Owen shrugs. "Jack thinks so. She seems back to normal, just a slight headache."
"I forget how different her past is to ours." Tosh murmurs sadly. "She seems so normal and then she says something and I remember that she wasn't born here. That she never had someone looking out for her."
Owen puts his arms around Tosh's shoulders, hugging her from behind. "I know you worry about her but don't. She can take care of herself. Now I was thinking…"
"Should I be worry?" Tosh giggles.
Owen pokes his tongue out at her. "If you don't want to hear my brilliant idea I'll just leave then." He turns to leave.
"Let me hear it." Tosh grabs Owen's arm, still giggling.
Owen dramatically sighs. "Well I was thinking once this is all done with, you and I both deserve a holiday. I was going to see Jack about letting us get a week or so off. What do you think?"
Tosh beams. "That would be wonderful." She frowns. "But would they be ok with both of us gone?"
"We'll have to wait to make sure Jestine is ok but they can manage with the four. There were only four of us when Jack first left, they should have no issue." Owen reassures her.
Tosh grins. "Well you better get back to work. You can't ask Jack for time off if you have work outstanding."
"Yes boss." Owen mock salutes her.
"Just get on with it." Tosh gives him a smack on the arse to encourage him on his way.
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Tosh and Jestine watch as Ianto rolls out a wheelchair with Jack carrying a box out of his office. Ianto starts moving thick wires, setting up.
Jack puts down the box in front of them. He opens it and removes a metal helmet.
Tosh's eyes narrow in recognition. "You said we weren't allowed to use that again."
"It's just a mind probe." Jack sighs.
"Remember what happened last time you used it?" Ianto adds as Jestine starts helping them put the chair together without instruction.
"That was different. That species has extremely high blood pressure. You know what you are doing?" Jack asks Jestine with some concern.
"Oh, right, their heads must explode all the time." Ianto mutters, causing Jack to glare.
"Used to use them all the time." Jestine responds.
As she listens, Gwen's eyes get wider and wider.
"You can't do this. What if you're wrong? If she is human, it'll kill her." Gwen looks at Jack in outrage.
"It won't. Perfectly safe for humans." Jestine answers as Ianto sits in the metal chair and grabs the metal armrest, the straps over his wrist.
"We'll take it easy, stop at the first sign of trouble." Tosh tries to reassure Gwen.
"Or the first sign of exploding." Ianto adds deadpanned.
Jack ignores Ianto, instead instructing Gwen to collect Beth. Gwen gives the chair one last look before leaving. Ianto shudders, imitating being electrocuted with sound effects.
"Hey!" Jack glares. Owen shakes his head as Ianto gets off the chair. Tosh gives a small smile but Jestine's face is tense.
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"Not too tight, is it?" Tosh asks as she straps Beth into the seat.
"It's fine." Beth stammers. "Are you sure this is safe?" She asks them as Tosh and Owen attach the helmet to the wires.
Gwen nods and smiles, although stiffly. "Yep." She tries to reassure her.
"Just try not to, you know, kill me or anything, okay?" Beth tries to joke as Ianto approaches her with a bottle of water and straw.
"You'll probably get dehydrated… during the probing." Ianto explains as he offers her the water.
"Thank you." Beth answers after taking a drink.
Once everything is done, Owen looks over to Jack for approval as he holds the helmet over Beth's head. Jack nods, Owen lowers the helmet onto Beth's head. It lights up and hums.
Tosh types on her keyboard before looking to Jack for final confirmation. He nods and they stat.
Jack steps forward and explains the procedure to Beth. "The probe drills down through your consciousness, so if there's anything hidden, it'll pop to the surface."
"Will it hurt?" Beth asks worried.
"Yeah." Jack admits.
"Your bedside manner's rubbish." Beth nervously jokes.
Jestine chuckles. "He's worst in bed. So I've heard." She adds at the looks from the team.
Jack knows he shouldn't be surprised at the implication. He remembers what they were like at the Time Agency but now looking at Jestine, the thought seemed strange.
Ianto knows he shouldn't say anything but always gets on edge when someone mentions their past with Jack. "Oh, they are. I remember this one…" Ianto tries to cover his feelings. He knew Jack had been alive for over a hundred years so of course he would have lots of previous lovers, he just wished they would stay in the past. Not that he had a problem with Jestine. He just couldn't help but be reminded of just how little he would be in Jack's life, little more than a blip in time.
Jack clears his throat loudly, interrupting Ianto.
"We'll do this slowly." Jack explains. He was sure Beth was hiding something but he still had some sympathy for her. "Tosh will control the probe, Owen will make sure you're not in danger, Ianto will have more water when you need it, and Gwen will be there for you."
"What about you two?" Beth gestures to Jack and Jestine.
"Supervising." Jack replies.
Owen types on the keyboard as Gwen takes a step back towards Jack and Jestine.
She was pissed at Jestine's revelation. From previous actions and conversations it was obvious Jestine had very few morals, if any, but Gwen felt this was a step too far. She was sure Jestine was lying, there was no way Jack would stoop so low as to have anything to do with someone like Jestine. She was getting angry that Jestine felt the need to constantly bring up her supposed links to Jack.
Jack nods for Tosh to start the probe. She types on the keyboard and the probe starts. Beth gasps and cries out in pain. Owen types away on the keyboard.
"Human" Beth calls out before crying in pain again.
Jack looks to Owen. He nods, "Safe."
He turns back to Beth.
"Who killed the burglars, Beth?" Jack asks.
Beth grimaces before answering. "I don't know! I…Oh, my…Ah!"
Owen continues monitoring her and gives Jack the go ahead.
"What planet are you from?"
Beth starts to hyperventilate. "I'm human! Oh God, it hurts! Please, please, st-stop!"
"Go deeper." Jack orders.
Tosh looks at Jack hesitantly. "Are you sure?"
"Do it!" Jack shouts.
Beth cries out as Tosh pushes the probe deeper.
"Vital signs are all over the place, but still safe." Owen updates.
"Getting electromagnetic build-up again." Tosh adds.
Jack nods but continues to interrogate Beth. "Who killed those men?!"
"I don't know! Make it stop!" Beth begs.
"For God's sake! Come on!" Gwen looks like she is about to force the probe to stop.
Jack glances at her annoyed at her outburst as he orders them to go deeper.
As they go deeper, Beth cries become more painful. Owen flinches at her latest cry while Tosh is having a hard time concentrating. Gwen looks like she is about to cry, Ianto is worried and even Jack looks a little hesitant. The only person that seems unaffected is Jestine who is standing watching Beth intently, her face blank of emotion.
The lights start flickering as an alarm goes off somewhere. The team look around at the effects, aside from Jestine who keeps watching Beth.
"Something's happening to the lights!" Ianto points out.
"The electro-magnetic pulse is off the scale." Tosh adds.
"I don't know how much more she can take!" Owen tells Jack worried.
"Jack, we've got to stop this!" Gwen demands as Tosh types away on her computer.
Suddenly Beth exhales and passes out. She slumps forward as the lights stop flickering. The team turn to look at Jack, except Jestine who still has not taken her eyes off Beth.
The team are startled when Beth sits back up in the metal chair. But this time coldly and efficiently. Her right arm is turned palm up. Suddenly the skin on her forearm morphs into something horrid. It looks puckered, the layer underneath glowing red.
Jestine curses as Jack's eyes narrow. They both know what it is.
"Oh, my God!" Gwen exclaims as she makes to move forward. Jestine swings her arm out and stops her. "Don't get close." Jestine warns as Gwen goes to struggle but stops at Jack's glare.
"Toshiko, what happened?"
"Hit a buried compartment. It was what showed up during the interrogation. But she couldn't have been aware of it." Tosh answers.
Jestine approaches Beth. Jack watches her warily, ready to jump in if need be, while Gwen glares.
"Who are you?" Jestine asks Beth, not even glancing at strange contraption that was now Beth's arm.
"Kayehla janees, putaak graszh, ish nin fas du hap vac nal." Beth replies, her voice different. Jestine raises an eyebrow.
"What is your planet of origin?" Jestine asks.
Beth repeats the same words.
Jestine looks at Jack before asking the next question. "How do you like my boots?"
Beth briefly glances down at Jestine's boots before her eyes are back straight and forward, repeating the same words.
Jack grabs a hand-held scanner and uses it on Beth's alien arm as Jestine steps back.
"Jack, what is it, what is she saying?"
"Name, rank, serial number." Jestine replies.
"And that's all she's gonna say." Jack adds.
"How do you know?" Tosh asks shakily.
"Cause I know who she is and why she's here." Jack answers as he tosses the scanner to Ianto.
"Switch it off. It won't tell us anything else." Jestine tells them.
Tosh happily types the commands to stop the probe.
Beth's arm morphs back to normal. She breaths in deeply. Owen steps forward and removes the probe off Beth's head. Gwen stays away from Beth, scared by what they had just witness, instead Jestine goes to her as she gives a shudder.
"Oh, you weren't lying, that really hurt!" She exclaims as Jestine helps her up. "Did you find anything?" She asks Jack as she leans against Jestine.
The team avoid looking at her.
Jestine looks at Beth, emotions flickering across her eyes too quickly for Beth to tell what they were. "We need to analyses the data first. But you need rest." Jestine tells her as she starts to lead her back to the cell.
The team look at Jestine with various levels of surprise and suspicion at her show of compassion.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read. Please let me know what you think, reviews make my day.