Fic: The Sea After a Storm (79/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 79
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just Zombie!Owen ;-)
Spoilers: Season Two thru Dead Man Walking (2x07)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Matt Jones for situations and dialogue borrowed from Dead Man Walking. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which the team decides how to deal with Owen, but something is not in favor of the plan...
Notes: Hey - posted on time! WOO! You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Seventy-Nine
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: It's clear that something has possessed Owen, but what it is and how to defeat it are still a mystery...
Gwen didn't waste any time waiting for anyone to take a seat around the conference table. She slapped copies of the wood carvings down in front of them and started explaining as soon as they were all in the room.
"Right, that wood carving dates back to the 15th century, to a small parish called St. James. When they heard about the plague, they built a wall around the town. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent a little girl from dying. So the legend goes, the priest performs a miracle, brings her back to life, but she doesn't come back alone, she brought Death with her, and he walked amongst them."
There was a pause and then Tosh turned to Jack and put her hand on her hip. "Are we seriously gonna act on something she's googled?" she asked incredulously.
Jack gave her a disapproving look and ignored her concern. "What was the name of the priest's church?" he asked Gwen.
Gwen hurried back around the table to find her folder. She scanned the papers for a moment. "Yep, St. Mary's," she said.
Jack nodded. "That's where I found the glove, which makes the parish of St. James -"
Gwen interrupted to finish his thought. "The town that five hundred years later would turn into a city called Cardiff."
"What happened to the town when Death walked amongst them?" Owen asked impatiently.
"People died," Gwen said sadly. "Twelve people. Death needed thirteen souls before it had a permanent hold on the Earth."
Owen covered his face with his hand, looking miserable.
"How did they stop it at twelve?" Jack asked.
Gwen looked through her papers again. "It just says faith," she said in a defeated voice.
Martha shook her head. "Owen is changing," she said, clearly trying to get the conversation back to the science of the issue. "Who knows what that energy is? What if it's making him a host, a gateway?"
"I've been thinking there's something in the darkness, waiting for me to finally pass over, but I've got it wrong, okay," Owen said. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, wrapped around himself for comfort. "It's the other way around. It's trying to get here through me."
The monitor around Owen's wrist suddenly glowed blue. "What's this reading now?" he asked desperately, holding up his hand.
"Um..." Martha checked the readout. "80%," she said softly.
"What happens when it completes?" he yelled. Everyone flinched. "You know, we fight monsters - what happens when we turn out to be the monsters? When I do?"
"Even if we have to fight you, you're already dead," Jack yelled back, sounding just as frustrated as Owen.
Ianto winced again. The tactlessness of Jack's response was like a physical blow.
"What do we do with the dead?"
Jack looked away, unwilling to answer Owen's question.
"Come on, what do we do?" Owen shouted. "You embalm them."
Tosh dropped into the nearest chair, almost missing the seat. Ianto put his hand on her shoulder to steady her as everyone else looked anywhere but at Owen.
"If we inject a formaldehyde solution into my veins," he continued. "It'll petrify my neural pathways and freeze dry my brain. It's the only way to be sure."
"No!" Tosh yelled.
Owen just shook his head. "It's the only way," he insisted. "I'm not gonna be responsible for anyone dying or anyone... anything using me to kill."
"You can't," Tosh said, her voice wavering. "You'll be..."
"Dead?" Owen said harshly. "Already there, darling."
Tosh bit her lip and looked down, her hair falling forward to hide her face.
"That's enough." Jack looked severely at Owen. "Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm not gonna stick around just to be some tool," Owen said firmly.
There was a moment of complete silence.
"All right," Jack said. "Martha?"
"Yeah, all right, I can do it. I just need... If you can show me where..." She had a hard time meeting anyone's eyes.
Jack rose. "Come with me," he said quietly to Martha. He ushered her out of the boardroom, pausing at the door to look back. "Owen?"
Owen swallowed audibly. "Gimme a minute," he said, his voice scratchy with emotion.
A strangled sob escaped from Tosh and she ran from the room. Jack and Ianto exchanged a long look and then Jack and Martha followed Tosh. Ianto sighed deeply and turned to look at Owen.
"Do you need anything?" he asked.
"Cuppa for the road?" Owen sneered, but his heart didn't really seem to be in it. His expression cleared and he gave Ianto a sad little half-smile. "No, but... thanks, Ianto."
With a nod, Ianto turned and walked slowly back up to the Hub. He found Martha and Jack in the medbay, gathering the supplies they would need to embalm Owen. There was no sign of Tosh. Ianto took a quick tour of the Hub and then headed down to the locker room, looking for Tosh. He found her, as he suspected he might, huddled on one of the benches, sobbing into her hands.
"Oh, Tosh," he said helplessly. He sat next to her, waiting until she leant against him to put his arm around her shoulders. "I... I don't know what to say. 'It'll be all right' sounds pretty stupid."
Tosh gave a watery laugh at that, her tears starting to subside. After a full minute of silence, she hiccupped slightly and said, "It's like he's dying in slow motion, like it'll never be over, but then... do I really want it to be over? Because when it is he'll really be... gone." Her voice sank to a whisper. "I don't know if I can watch him die again."
Ianto tightened his arm. "You don't have to. Martha and Jack can handle this part, you don't need to be there."
Tosh didn't reply for another long minute, then she gave a sniff and wiped her face. "I do," she said softly. "I need to be there for Owen. He's... if he's brave enough to do this, then I can be brave enough to be there." She gave Ianto a determined smile. "How do I look?"
Ianto took in her puffy, red-rimmed eyes, her pale, tear-streaked face and her sad, false smile. "Beautiful," he said.
She snorted, the smile morphing into a real one. "Git," she said, her tone grateful.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Owen stepped out into the Hub, dressed in the white scrubs they used for the cyro-freeze. He walked slowly across the bridge in the centre looking around as he moved as if committing everything to memory. Words jumped unbidden into Ianto's mind as he watched from the stop of the stairs: Dead Man Walking. Gwen followed behind Owen like the chief mourner at a funeral, her measured steps matching Owen's pace.
When Owen reached the steps, his eyes met Ianto's but neither of them spoke. The moment was beyond the need for words. Owen rested his hand on Ianto's for a moment as he walked by, the touch saying more than either would ever allow themselves to utter aloud. Ianto joined the small procession, taking position on Owen's left side as if helping Gwen guard him from whatever was waiting in the darkness.
"Owen's at 95%," they heard Martha say from the lower level of the medbay.
Owen gave Ianto and Gwen a thankful smile and stepped forward to the railing alone. "Then let's not waste anymore time," he said to Martha. "No goodbyes."
Owen continued his slow walk down the steps and arranged himself in the chair, allowing Martha and Jack to strap him down.
"Are you ready for the first injection," Jack asked quietly.
Owen nodded.
Martha turned to get the first hypodermic from the instrument tray, only to find the resurrection glove sitting atop the needles. It jumped on its own, startling her into a yelp of fright. Ianto, who had come down the stairs to join them on the lower level of the medbay, jumped as well, giving the glove a look of intense dislike as it gathered the hypodermics under its metal palm.
How the hell did that get down here? Ianto thought. He'd seen the glove at Tosh's workstation just before he'd gone to the locker room to find her.
"Someone really doesn't like needles," Jack observed.
Suddenly, the glove flew off the tray - right at Martha.
"Lockdown!" Jack ordered as Martha screamed.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/111368.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just Zombie!Owen ;-)
Spoilers: Season Two thru Dead Man Walking (2x07)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Matt Jones for situations and dialogue borrowed from Dead Man Walking. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which the team decides how to deal with Owen, but something is not in favor of the plan...
Notes: Hey - posted on time! WOO! You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Seventy-Nine
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: It's clear that something has possessed Owen, but what it is and how to defeat it are still a mystery...
Gwen didn't waste any time waiting for anyone to take a seat around the conference table. She slapped copies of the wood carvings down in front of them and started explaining as soon as they were all in the room.
"Right, that wood carving dates back to the 15th century, to a small parish called St. James. When they heard about the plague, they built a wall around the town. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent a little girl from dying. So the legend goes, the priest performs a miracle, brings her back to life, but she doesn't come back alone, she brought Death with her, and he walked amongst them."
There was a pause and then Tosh turned to Jack and put her hand on her hip. "Are we seriously gonna act on something she's googled?" she asked incredulously.
Jack gave her a disapproving look and ignored her concern. "What was the name of the priest's church?" he asked Gwen.
Gwen hurried back around the table to find her folder. She scanned the papers for a moment. "Yep, St. Mary's," she said.
Jack nodded. "That's where I found the glove, which makes the parish of St. James -"
Gwen interrupted to finish his thought. "The town that five hundred years later would turn into a city called Cardiff."
"What happened to the town when Death walked amongst them?" Owen asked impatiently.
"People died," Gwen said sadly. "Twelve people. Death needed thirteen souls before it had a permanent hold on the Earth."
Owen covered his face with his hand, looking miserable.
"How did they stop it at twelve?" Jack asked.
Gwen looked through her papers again. "It just says faith," she said in a defeated voice.
Martha shook her head. "Owen is changing," she said, clearly trying to get the conversation back to the science of the issue. "Who knows what that energy is? What if it's making him a host, a gateway?"
"I've been thinking there's something in the darkness, waiting for me to finally pass over, but I've got it wrong, okay," Owen said. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, wrapped around himself for comfort. "It's the other way around. It's trying to get here through me."
The monitor around Owen's wrist suddenly glowed blue. "What's this reading now?" he asked desperately, holding up his hand.
"Um..." Martha checked the readout. "80%," she said softly.
"What happens when it completes?" he yelled. Everyone flinched. "You know, we fight monsters - what happens when we turn out to be the monsters? When I do?"
"Even if we have to fight you, you're already dead," Jack yelled back, sounding just as frustrated as Owen.
Ianto winced again. The tactlessness of Jack's response was like a physical blow.
"What do we do with the dead?"
Jack looked away, unwilling to answer Owen's question.
"Come on, what do we do?" Owen shouted. "You embalm them."
Tosh dropped into the nearest chair, almost missing the seat. Ianto put his hand on her shoulder to steady her as everyone else looked anywhere but at Owen.
"If we inject a formaldehyde solution into my veins," he continued. "It'll petrify my neural pathways and freeze dry my brain. It's the only way to be sure."
"No!" Tosh yelled.
Owen just shook his head. "It's the only way," he insisted. "I'm not gonna be responsible for anyone dying or anyone... anything using me to kill."
"You can't," Tosh said, her voice wavering. "You'll be..."
"Dead?" Owen said harshly. "Already there, darling."
Tosh bit her lip and looked down, her hair falling forward to hide her face.
"That's enough." Jack looked severely at Owen. "Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm not gonna stick around just to be some tool," Owen said firmly.
There was a moment of complete silence.
"All right," Jack said. "Martha?"
"Yeah, all right, I can do it. I just need... If you can show me where..." She had a hard time meeting anyone's eyes.
Jack rose. "Come with me," he said quietly to Martha. He ushered her out of the boardroom, pausing at the door to look back. "Owen?"
Owen swallowed audibly. "Gimme a minute," he said, his voice scratchy with emotion.
A strangled sob escaped from Tosh and she ran from the room. Jack and Ianto exchanged a long look and then Jack and Martha followed Tosh. Ianto sighed deeply and turned to look at Owen.
"Do you need anything?" he asked.
"Cuppa for the road?" Owen sneered, but his heart didn't really seem to be in it. His expression cleared and he gave Ianto a sad little half-smile. "No, but... thanks, Ianto."
With a nod, Ianto turned and walked slowly back up to the Hub. He found Martha and Jack in the medbay, gathering the supplies they would need to embalm Owen. There was no sign of Tosh. Ianto took a quick tour of the Hub and then headed down to the locker room, looking for Tosh. He found her, as he suspected he might, huddled on one of the benches, sobbing into her hands.
"Oh, Tosh," he said helplessly. He sat next to her, waiting until she leant against him to put his arm around her shoulders. "I... I don't know what to say. 'It'll be all right' sounds pretty stupid."
Tosh gave a watery laugh at that, her tears starting to subside. After a full minute of silence, she hiccupped slightly and said, "It's like he's dying in slow motion, like it'll never be over, but then... do I really want it to be over? Because when it is he'll really be... gone." Her voice sank to a whisper. "I don't know if I can watch him die again."
Ianto tightened his arm. "You don't have to. Martha and Jack can handle this part, you don't need to be there."
Tosh didn't reply for another long minute, then she gave a sniff and wiped her face. "I do," she said softly. "I need to be there for Owen. He's... if he's brave enough to do this, then I can be brave enough to be there." She gave Ianto a determined smile. "How do I look?"
Ianto took in her puffy, red-rimmed eyes, her pale, tear-streaked face and her sad, false smile. "Beautiful," he said.
She snorted, the smile morphing into a real one. "Git," she said, her tone grateful.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Owen stepped out into the Hub, dressed in the white scrubs they used for the cyro-freeze. He walked slowly across the bridge in the centre looking around as he moved as if committing everything to memory. Words jumped unbidden into Ianto's mind as he watched from the stop of the stairs: Dead Man Walking. Gwen followed behind Owen like the chief mourner at a funeral, her measured steps matching Owen's pace.
When Owen reached the steps, his eyes met Ianto's but neither of them spoke. The moment was beyond the need for words. Owen rested his hand on Ianto's for a moment as he walked by, the touch saying more than either would ever allow themselves to utter aloud. Ianto joined the small procession, taking position on Owen's left side as if helping Gwen guard him from whatever was waiting in the darkness.
"Owen's at 95%," they heard Martha say from the lower level of the medbay.
Owen gave Ianto and Gwen a thankful smile and stepped forward to the railing alone. "Then let's not waste anymore time," he said to Martha. "No goodbyes."
Owen continued his slow walk down the steps and arranged himself in the chair, allowing Martha and Jack to strap him down.
"Are you ready for the first injection," Jack asked quietly.
Owen nodded.
Martha turned to get the first hypodermic from the instrument tray, only to find the resurrection glove sitting atop the needles. It jumped on its own, startling her into a yelp of fright. Ianto, who had come down the stairs to join them on the lower level of the medbay, jumped as well, giving the glove a look of intense dislike as it gathered the hypodermics under its metal palm.
How the hell did that get down here? Ianto thought. He'd seen the glove at Tosh's workstation just before he'd gone to the locker room to find her.
"Someone really doesn't like needles," Jack observed.
Suddenly, the glove flew off the tray - right at Martha.
"Lockdown!" Jack ordered as Martha screamed.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/111368.html. Please comment there using OpenID.