Title: Armageddon

Rating: T

Warnings: Major spoilers for "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords"; violence; mild language; allusions to rape (but I promise nothing explicit or graphic)

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter at least. You guys are awesome!

Sorry that this was later than usual. Ever had those days where you've got this huge picture in your head, and you sit down to write it and you end up staring at a blank screen for hours? Yeah, that's why this took longer than I wanted. Stupid writer's block.

Hope you enjoy!

Armageddon:

Part III: The Year of Hell

Chapter Twenty-Six

It didn't take long after explaining the plan for Jenny to volunteer as bait. Gibbs was less than thrilled about that, but she was determined.

"I'm the Director of NCIS, Jethro," she told him, "I'm higher up on the list than anyone here. You know I'm right."

"It's dangerous,"

"Is that supposed to deter me? We're all at risk. If you want this plan to work, it's a better idea to use me than Agent Prentiss. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not true."

Gibbs couldn't argue with that. After a few hours, it was dark outside and the old church's busted windows and poorly insulated walls did little to keep the cool night air out. They had packed as many blankets as they could, but they were still cold and most of them were too keyed up to sleep in any case. They found themselves split up into rough little groups around the pews and against the walls, everyone facing toward the door just in case someone or something happened to try and get in.

Sam found himself sitting with Jane and McGee against the far wall underneath one of the windows. What had started as a discussion about whether or not gods were really gods – Patrick insisted that it was far more likely that they were some form of aliens that were more highly evolved than humans which made them seem superhuman – slowly turned toward their personal lives.

"Is that a wedding ring?" Sam asked, nodding toward the gold band that glittered on Jane's left ring finger. Jane held the hand up and touched the ring, his eyes going sad as he pressed his lips together. He cleared his throat and nodded.

"She's gone," McGee said somberly, watching the man.

Jane nodded, "Before the Decimation. A few years ago…" he dropped his hand, "She was murdered. Her and my daughter. That's how I got involved in the CBI, after Angela and Charlotte died." He stared off for a minute, frowning.

"You were trying to find who killed her," Sam said quietly. Jane nodded and Sam frowned, "You wanted to kill him."

"How'd you guess?" Jane's smile was a bit rueful and Sam shrugged.

"I know a few things about revenge," he said, "My – my girlfriend was killed… god, almost two years ago. She was murdered by the same demon that killed my mom. We've been hunting him for more than twenty years. I never… I never really understood my dad's obsession with finding the thing until Jess died. Sometimes it's the only thing I can think about…"

"In twenty years you never found him?" McGee asked.

"We came close," Sam shrugged, "but it seems like we just keep losing more people every time we do. First my mom, then Jess, my Dad… At the rate we're going Dean and I aren't going to have anyone left when we do find the son of a bitch."

"What about you?" Jane glanced at McGee, "Did you lose anyone?"

McGee shrugged, "Who didn't?" he asked, "…My sister, Sarah, she's gone. I'm not sure about my dad, I never heard… Not that I actually talked to him much before the Decimation."

"Tough childhood?" Sam asked.

McGee frowned for a moment, "It wasn't terrible… My dad's the kind of man who doesn't really… show emotion, I guess. He was very tough love."

"Sounds a lot like my dad…"

Across the room in the back pews, Martin was on the floor with a blanket draped over his legs and Grace and Rigsby were sitting together on the pews.

"So, you've seen monsters then," Grace was wide eyed as she watched Martin talk, "like, actual monsters?"

"Like I said," Martin nodded, "Used to take down fangs and werewolves two at a time back in the day…" he looked off for a second, "Getting old now though."

"Ever think about quitting?" Rigsby asked, "I mean, before all this mess, obviously."

Martin shrugged, "Retire and do what?" he asked, "Being a hunter doesn't come with benefits, Kid." His eyes traveled to Rufus, "Most of us die bloody and that's that."

"That's horrible," Grace whispered.

"That's the life," Martin said, like he'd said it thousands of times before. And he had. It was the only real justification any hunter really had for why they kept going after losing friends and brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers. It was the nature of the game. One way or another, they were going to die. Might as well go out fighting.

"How did you get into this stuff anyway?" Rigsby asked, frowning, "It doesn't seem like something you just decide to be when you grow up."

Martin frowned, "My wife and son were killed," he said, "Twenty-seven years ago. We were up in the mountains, in our cabin. I went into town when we ran out of formula for my boy and when I came back they were gone. Cops gave up after a couple of weeks, but I spent months searching. Turns out, a Wendigo was using those woods as a hunting ground. I found the bastard's cave and what was left of my family… Got lucky. Dropped the lantern I was carrying and set fire to it before it could kill me."

Grace looked like she wanted to reach out and hug the older man, but she didn't, instead sliding closer to Rigsby and giving him a sympathetic smile. "That's awful…"

Dean and Tony were sitting near the altar together, Dean's gun at his feet while he gestured widely with his hands, a half smile on his face.

"She's a thing of beauty," he said, a nostalgic look in her eyes, "I remember my dad teaching me how to drive when I was fourteen. I was king of the world…"

Tony smiled, "Your dad let you drive his car when you were fourteen?"

"Well…" Dean frowned, "Kinda had to. He left Sammy and me alone most of the time. He taught me how to drive her, my Uncle Bobby taught me how to hotwire cars and Bobby and me both taught Sam to drive."

"My dad never would've let me touch his cars when I was fourteen… 'Course, that didn't stop me." Tony grinned and Dean's eyes widened.

"Cars?"

Hotch, Rossi, Fornell and Henricksen were standing together in one corner of the church, discussing cases to keep their minds from wandering to other things.

"Never thought I'd miss filing paperwork," Henricksen said, sighing as he looked around the old place. "I'd give anything right now to have Reidy come in my office with a stack of files an inch thick and tell me we had 'til tomorrow to get it finished."

Hotch's lips quirked into a smile, "I never minded the paperwork," he said, "It's the politics that make the job a headache."

"Politics never bothered me," Rossi said, "I was good at political maneuvering…"

"I'm with Victor on this," Fornell said, "The paperwork is definitely the worst part. You can't ever just catch the bad guy, you've got to write a book just to make sure the charges stick."

"What always got me was the waiting," Rossi said, "I spent my entire career trying to catch some guys and a lot of 'em slipped away. It's enough to drive you crazy."

"Gotta agree there," Henricksen nodded, "Following leads until they ran dry and spending years trying to catch one or two guys… That was tedious."

Morgan was sitting with Prentiss and Henry, the three of them talking around the plans for the assassination attempt as much as possible, but not doing a very good job of staying away from the topic.

"You know, I'm surprised you volunteered so quickly," Henry was saying, "I mean, it's dangerous for all of us, but you didn't even think about it."

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to end this mess," Prentiss said, "I still think I should be there, even with Jenny here. More captives couldn't possibly hurt."

"Unless they have orders to just shoot you on sight," Morgan pointed out, frowning, "Wish there was some way for us to be sure this is going to work."

"It's not a bad plan, Morgan," Prentiss said, "Risky, yes, but any plan we try is going to carry risks…"

Lisbon was watching Jane talk with McGee and Sam, her eyes tracking the blond man's movements. She was wondering why she'd agreed to let him come; he didn't have the experience handling weapons that he needed. She kept imagining all the horrible ways he could die because she'd caved in and let him come along.

"You seem depressed," Shawn was suddenly at her side, glancing at her. She hadn't spent much time talking to the younger man, but he reminded her of Jane when he smiled and made jokes about a serious situation. It was oddly comforting.

"Am I supposed to be happy?" she asked.

"Well, you could do what everyone else is doing and pretend not to think about it," Shawn said, drawing his legs up, "Or just be horribly depressed and look around wondering who's going to die. That works if you want to drive yourself insane."

She smiled faintly, "It's not that easy to turn it off," she said.

Lassiter was talking with Gordon, the two men discussing guns as they had before, each carefully avoiding talking about anything personal or anything to do with the assassination. They conveniently decided to forget that normally Gordon would have nothing to do with a cop and Lassiter would certainly never have anything to do with a man who frequently broke federal laws.

Gibbs sat with Jenny, Mike and Paula not far from where Hotch and the other FBI agents were. Paula didn't say much, aside from asking how everyone was holding up. Her eyes wandered to Tony and Dean and she seemed to want to say something, but she never did.

Mike only wanted to discuss the assassination plans, but they were all waiting 'til morning for that. Jenny kept the conversation away from it every time Gibbs or Mike tried to bring something up, telling them that there was no sense worrying about it until they were rested and ready to actually have the conversation. Instead, Mike seemed to decide to be sexist if he couldn't talk strategy.

"I still don't know about this whole female director thing," Mike said, "but I gotta give you points for your nerve. Deciding to be bait without a second thought… Pretty gutsy for a woman."

"Pretty gutsy for anyone," Jenny said, "I'm perfectly capable of risking my life for this, no matter what my gender."

Gibbs might have stepped in, but Jenny was smiling and Mike had a light in his eyes and a twisted sort of grin.

Rufus sat alone, as he usually did, and said nothing to no one. He was the first one asleep, sitting with his back firmly against the far wall, with his rifle in his hand, finger on the trigger. It was hours before anyone else slept.

~/.\~

It was early morning when Ianto found Jake sitting up in the dining-slash-communications area of their small little safe house. The other man looked exhausted and his hands were shaking around the empty bottle of water.

"Jake?" Ianto frowned, "are you alright?"

Jake blinked up at him, noticing him for the first time, "I'm fine," he said, his voice a bit hoarse, "just.. headache, you know?" He grimaced and put a hand to his temple, "Nightmares."

Nightmares Ianto understood. They all had them and generally pretended that they didn't. Well, except Sherlock. Either Sherlock had no nightmares or he was exceedingly gifted in hiding them. Ianto wasn't even sure which possibility was more likely.

"It was weird…" Jake said, "I mean, usually my nightmares are about my family. My mom, my sister…." He trailed off and Ianto sat down across him, watching his face carefully. Jake rarely talked about his family. He had no idea if they were alive or not. They'd been in the States when he'd spoken to them last, before the Decimation.

"This was… I think it was about the assassination attempt they're planning."

"That's not really so surprising," Ianto said, "We've been worried about that for a while now."

"Maybe…" Jake seemed uncertain, "but this didn't feel the same. It felt real. Like it was really happening. And it didn't make sense, I mean… people were dying and there were guns going off and bullets flying everywhere, but I kept seeing that Winchester boy… the younger one?" He frowned, trying to recall the name, "Sam, I think. I don't know why I was seeing him."

"That's a bit weird," Ianto nodded.

Jake barely seemed to hear him though, "It's not the first dream I've had like that. Before the Decimation I had those nightmares. But they haven't happened in months. This is the first one since the Toclafane attacked."

"What do you mean 'those nightmares'? You've dreamt about Sam before?"

"No," Jake shook his head, "it was never really anything specific. They were weird dreams… I would see things. People killing each other and I didn't know who they were or anything about 'em, but it always felt so real. Like I was right there when it was happening. They stopped though, but my headaches got worse."

He winced, twitching his finger and feeling the muscles bunch up in his hands. He looked up at Ianto and frowned, "I dunno what it is, but I just feel like something's… like there something really wrong going on."

Ianto didn't want to be worried; it was just a nightmare. Nightmares happened all the time. How could that possibly mean something bad was going to happen? Besides, something bad was already happening. But Jake's eyes were wide and half-terrified and he had to fight back a shudder.

"I'm sure it was nothing," he said, "Just a bad dream, that's all…"

"Hope you're right…"

~/.\~

Lestrade barely blinked when Michelle Lee pressed a key into his hand as they passed each other in the hall. His lips twitched slightly and he slid it into his pocket, glancing around to make sure that no one had seen. Michelle had gotten the key from Sally, who'd gotten it from the girl who had cleaned the Master's bedroom the night before.

His fingers pressed against the key and he felt his skin tingle a bit. They would have to move quickly if they wanted to get them out before the Master noticed anything out of place. He did a quick sweep of the area and turned to follow Michelle in the direction that she had been headed. Technically, he hadn't finished his usual rounds for the night, but the Master was a bit busy in his room at the moment so there was little danger of him catching anything.

"Are we ready to move them out?" he whispered to Michelle as he passed, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

She shook her head, just slightly, "Not tonight," she whispered, "Tomorrow night. Midnight. Andy's going to be near the docking bay and Sally is supposed to be in the basement. Get the key to her."

She said it all barely moving her lips, the words quick and quiet. They matched their stride until they reached the empty guards' quarters and Lestrade finally turned to face her, "And the Doctor?"

"He and Spencer are still in the conference room," she said, "I'll get Spencer out and lead them around the back to meet the Joneses."

"I'll be near the servants' quarters," Lestrade said, "If I see anything out of place I'll signal you and you get to Sally quick as you can."

Michelle took a deep breath and nodded, "Alright. You should get back out there; someone'll notice if you're off schedule."

Lestrade smiled just slightly and hurried left, half-jogging back down the corridor to make up for the lost time. His entire body felt jittery as his thoughts raced. Tomorrow night they could very well all be dead. He sucked in a sharp breath. Tomorrow night they were going to actually do something about the horrors they saw on this ship daily. He could hardly stand the waiting.

~/.\~

Martha smiled as she sat back and watched the small kids tear into the candy bars – and a few of the adults. It had been so long since any of them had eaten anything sweet. The kids, especially, were enjoying themselves and the adults were still thanking Martha. She had tried to tell them they were a gift from someone else, but it was difficult to explain how she'd gotten them. Most of them seemed to be willing to just accept one small nice thing after so many months of bad things though and she was grateful for that.

She thought about what Gabriel had said and wondered how his talk with the Doctor had gone. She wondered how the assassination plans were going too, and whether or not Kate and Sarah Jane had been able to convince them to put it on hold at least. She hated not being able to connect with them at all times, but the constant travelling came with more disadvantages than upsides.

She considered asking Gabriel about that the next time she saw him. If she saw him, that is. She hoped that whatever he and the Doctor had talked about, they'd come to some sort of agreement.

Her fingers tapped against her leg as she watched the kids. She was going to have to leave in the morning. She felt a pang in her chest, the same as she usually did when she left a place. In a short amount of time she got close to people and every time she left she felt a heavy weight, a reminder that these people were going to continue suffering and likely die if she didn't come through.

She glanced up at the ceiling and sighed, "Whatever happens," she whispered, clutching the TARDIS key around her neck, "I know you'll come through for us, Doctor. We just have to hold out until then."

~/.\~

A/N: Argh. This chapter. It was such a pain. I can't even tell you… I tried so hard to get this thing written and it just refused. I was going to have the assassination attempt this chapter (just like for the past couple of chapters…) but it was no happening. My muse seems to enjoy putting it off so you got this mostly filler chapter before it happens. Stuff did happen (the escape attempt is a go! Finally…) but not much. *sigh* It can't be put off any longer though. I'm sorry guys, it's just… my brain refused to work every single time I sat down to write this.

I'm going to GA tomorrow and I'll be gone for a few days so it may take a little while to get the next chapter up, but I am definitely going to write the assassination attempt in it so except lots of death and actions. Lots of death. I'm serious. I've got a looooong list of people set to die…

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed! Please don't forget to review!