New Horizons 6/?

[missthingsplace]

Title: New Horizons
Author: missthingsplace
Parings/characters: Jack (Jack/Ianto Rhys/Gwen) OC's: Dafydd, Angela, Christopher, Charlie
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters ... unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: After losing Ianto and Gwen in the same attack Jack accepts a request by the queen in Washington DC
Spoilers: None
Warnings: Angst, slash ... the usual.
Rating: NC17 for series. This chapter PG.

Previous Chapters: http://missthingsplace.livejournal.com/211867.html#cutid1

The sun blinded Jack for a moment as he emerged from the perception filter, from the screaming he could hear the weevil had obviously moved closer to the reflecting pool.

Once he could see clearly again Jack could see it at the opposite end of the pool, it was on the floor struggling with something as the onlookers screamed in horror.

As Jack neared he could see it was human, a woman from what he could tell. Jack yelled at the crowd to get away to safety as he fired a warning shot into the air in the hope to distract the weevil.

It worked, the weevil released the body from the grip of both it's claws and teeth as it turned to face Jack, blood dripping from it's jaws as it let out a loud growl.

“Come on then.” Jack goaded it.

Snarling it lunged at Jack, at the last second he dodged expertly out of the way and it tumbled to the floor. Jack pounced, straddling it and pinning it to the ground, putting the bag over it's head and then he pulled the syringe from his pocket.

Jack injected the sedative into the weevils neck before it knew what was coming and quickly lapsed into unconsciousness.

Getting to his feet Jack became aware he was now surrounded by even more of a crowd, quite a few of local police officers that we pointing their weapons at him.

Now that was something that would never have happened in Cardiff he thought to himself as he grinned brightly at them.

“Afternoon gentlemen.”

“Drop your weapon Sir.”

Jack lowered it slowly to the ground. “Just reaching for ID.” He told them, sliding his hand into his trouser pocket and pulling out his wallet as the offer neared him cautiously.

“Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood.” He told him, flashing his ID.

“Torchwood?” The officer questioned.

Jack sighed. “We're new around here, but you'll come to love us.”

“I'm going to have to take you in for questioning sir, on the matter of murder.”

Jack gave a low chuckle. “This is not dead, just sedated but if I don't get it secure soon it will kill more people.” Jack replied, gesturing towards the body the weevil had mauled.

“Jack, what's happening?”

Jack looked up to see his team approaching with curious looks on their faces.

“Just a little Torchwood business, so if two of you could grab that body and carry it back to the base I'll be right behind you.” Jack replied.

“But sir ...” The officer began again, not getting any further as Jack cut him off.

“This is over, we're in charge of this now.” Jack told him, picking up the weevil and hefting it over his shoulder.

Jack walked away from the scene, following Dafydd and Christopher who were carrying the body with Angela and Charlie a few steps in front of them.

Once inside the base they carried the body to the medical bay and  Jack took the weevil to the holding cells, dumping it unceremoniously on the floor before looking the door.

“What is it?” Angela asked, startling Jack a little.

“Time to meet your first alien, we call it a weevil.”

“It came through our rift?”

“Yeah, they live in the sewers but every now and then one of them comes to the surface and attacks.”

“The sewers, yuck.”

“I'm sure I don't need to tell you what they feed on.” Jack grinned.

“Gross!”

Jack chuckled. “What shall we name it?”

“Name, you want to give that a name?”

“Sure, why now, we have to call it something.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“No idea, but it doesn't really matter, it can't understand us and vice versa.”

Angela pondered for a few minutes as he stared at the thing in the cell. “Tim.”

“Tim is is!” Jack exclaimed. “It's going to be a little while before it wakes.”

“It killed that poor woman.”

“And we need to identify her and make her death look like an accident.” Jack told her, leading her from the cells.

“Surely her relatives and friends have the right to know how she really died?”

Jack shook his head. “No, the world isn't ready for all this yet.”

“But all those people out there, they saw what happened?”

“We'll let it slip to the press that it was a madman in a mask, they won't question it believe me.”

“But had claws and huge teeth.” Angela replied as they reached the main base and headed to the medical bay.

“Don't matter, just need to plant the idea in their head and they'll take it as red.”

“Jack, this woman is ripped to shreds.” Dafydd called to him as they entered the room. “What the hell was that thing?”

Jack spent the next ten minutes explaining to them what he had just told Angela and answering almost identical questions.

“And it's called Tim.” Jack finished.

“Tim?” Christopher enquired.

“I named it.” Angela told them proudly.

“So, we have to make this woman look like she died by some other means than being ripped to shreds by an alien?” Dafydd asked, brushing a hand through his hair in a way that made Jack gulp at a memory.

“Yeah, we also need to find out who she is, she should appear on a missing persons list in the next forty eight hours so we know who she is.”

“I'm sure I can do something.” Dafydd replied frowning, looking less sure than he sounded.

“Brilliant! Now, how about a cuppa tea?”

“Sure I can't persuade you to have coffee, that machine makes great coffee.” Christopher replied.

“No, teas fine.” Jack replied, heading off to his office.

“There's more to him that he's telling us.” Angela stated.

“And he'll tell us in his own good time, I'm sure.” Dafydd told her, looking at the corpse before him and wondering where to start.

“I guess I'm making the tea then?” Christopher asked.

“Well you were the one to suggest it.” Angela grinned.

Jack watched Christopher cross the hub towards the kitchen, it was nothing like the small kitchenette they had at the hub, there was even a couple of comfy chairs there like a staff room.

He was missing coffee almost as much as he was missing Ianto but he just couldn't bring himself to drink it, it somehow seemed like he would be betraying Ianto if he did.

Moving to the wall of his office Jack watched Dafydd moving around the medical bay, it wasn't just his eyes that reminded him of Ianto, there were little gestures too, like when he ran his hand through his hair.

And those he couldn't help but think about when Dafydd switched his accent from American to Welsh, it almost broke his heart again to hear the Welsh vowels he thought he had escaped.

Dafydd had made it perfectly clear that he was straight and not interested which comforted Jack a little, his pheromones would have no effect on the young man and so there would be no temptation on Jack's part.

Not that he intended to flirt with him, but if Dafydd had flirted with him he wasn't sure if he would be able to resist those eyes.

Jack glanced over at the light tap on his door.

“Tea?” Christopher asked, walking in and handing him a mug.

“Thank you.”

“You looked like you were somewhere else?”

“Maybe, just for a minute.” Jack replied, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.

“So, not all aliens are little grey men then?” Christopher asked, feeling the need to change the subject.

“Little grey men?”

“You must have heard of the x files?”

“No, what's that?” Jack asked curiously.

Christopher laughed. “Programme on the TV, finished a few years ago now but it was about a conspiracy within the FBI to hide evidence of aliens and a man who spent his life trying to prove their existence because he believed his sister was taken by them when they were kids.”

“Never seen it, but then I don't watch much TV.”

“Really? Anyway, in the programme the aliens were always little grey men.”

It was Jack's turn to laugh. “I don't think I've ever met an alien that I could described as small and grey.”

“Well, that's good to know, it would be boring if they all looked the same.”

“There are so many species out there I couldn't even start to list them all and not all of them are like that weevil down there, most of them are beautiful, peaceful and friendly.”

“So the weevils, where to they come from?”

“No idea, never been to wherever they originate from but they seem to make a habit of falling through the rift.”

Christopher looked at Jack thoughtfully for a few moments. “There's a lot more to you than your telling us, isn't there?”

“In what way?” Jack asked.

“I can't put my finger in it, just little things like the way you talk about aliens, like you've not just encountered them from them falling through the rift as you put it, like you've been to other planets. There's something about the way you react to Dafydd like he reminds you of something and your eyes, behind the sadness there's a tiredness that belongs to someone of a greater age than you appear to be.”

“Maybe you're just trying to give me an interesting back story?”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Thanks for the tea.” Jack replied, effectively ending the conversation and dismissing Christopher.

“You're welcome.” He replied, giving Jack one last glance before leaving his office.

Jack moved back across the room and sank down onto his chair, taking a long sip of his tea. He really did miss coffee but he wasn't ready to allow himself the luxury of enjoying it again yet.

He wasn't ready to tell his new team his secrets, he still barely knew them and he didn't give them up easily even to people he knew and loved. Gwen had found out by accident that he couldn't die and that was before any of the other team members knew.

Jack knew he would have to tell them at some point, getting killed would probably happen whether he liked it or not and he wouldn't wish the shock of him coming back to life without warning on anyone. He had learnt that lesson a long time ago.

As for the rest of his life, that could wait even longer. They didn't need to know he was from the future, as far as he knew they didn't know anything about the existence of the Doctor or Time Lords and he wanted to keep it that way for now.

First he needed to train them how he needed them to be, he knew they would all probably be proficient in the use of firearms having been employees of the FBI but he still felt he needed to test them.

Taking his wallet from his pocket Jack took the photo of him and Ianto out, brushing his thumb slowly over the image of Ianto he felt a tear fall down his face.

“I miss you so much.” Jack whispered. “I miss you just being with me, I miss your smile, hell I miss your sarcasm but most of all I miss having you in my arms. Some days I think I can still sense you around me, your unique scent hanging in the air but I look around and your not there.”

Jack wiped away the tear and put the photo back safely in his wallet. “I'll never love anyone else like I love you Ianto Jones.” He whispered into the stillness of his office before getting to his feet and going back to join his new team.

TBC