Turning Point - 31/64
Title: Turning Point
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Thirty-One
They blustered right through into the tented army headquarters, ignoring the immediate complaints from several officers that they shouldn’t be there and that this area is restricted.
“We’re Torchwood,” Jack said brashly, fixing the officers with a look that dared them to keep complaining. “And I think you’ll find that this will all run much more smoothly if you back off and let us through to do the real work.” Whether it was Jack’s demeanour or the word ‘Torchwood’, the officers seemed cowed and stood back to let them through onto the crash site.
When they exited the tent, they found themselves standing at the top of a steep slope. As they surveyed the site, two uniformed men scrambled up the hill, holding onto a makeshift rope banister that had been strung up along one side of the path. One was muttering quietly into a handheld radio, so they could only assume the message had been passed on and the army were, in fact, going to get out of there.
“Must’ve called back into their C.O.,” Jack said with a smirk. “He knows not to cross me when it comes to things like this.”
As the sounds of a field unit slowly beginning to pack up started to come from behind them, Jack gestured in front of him for them to make their way down. “Let’s go see what brought us out here.”
Owen and Tosh made their way cautiously down first, Gwen bringing up the rear. The ground beneath them was unstable and littered with twigs and rocks from the woods around them, so they took their time descending to the bottom of the almost crater-like hole.
As they reached the bottom, Tosh and Owen dropped their cases, flipping the tops open with practised ease and pulling out a variety of hand-held instruments.
“It just looks like a rock,” Gwen said uncertainly, letting Jack offer her a hand to jump down the last few steps.
“That might be all it is,” Jack agreed, tilting his head at the inauspicious rock in front of them. “But we won’t know until we’ve checked it out. Owen?”
Owen looked up from where he was examining the surface through a magnifying class. “Best as I can tell, bog standard space debris.” He shot a look at Gwen, who was still watching them with a little wonder. “And yeah, that’s the technical term.”
She sent a sickly smile back. “Yeah, thanks.”
Jack nodded. “So let’s get a set of standard readings taken and we can get out of here.” He smirked, thrusting his hands into his greatcoat pockets and tilting back on his heels for a second. “This floodlighting is doing nothing for my complexion.”
The remaining kits were snapped open, revealing a wide variety of equipment, some of it obvious and some of it obscure.
“Here!” Jack called, tossing a scraper and a spare stethoscope to Owen to save him clambering back around from the other side of the large rock between them. Before Jack could even bend back down to get the next instrument from the case, Owen had the ear buds in his ear and was listening intently for anything that might come from the meteorite.
Jack and Tosh nudged each other playfully as they passed each other, each circling the rock in opposite directions with a different handheld scanner.
Gwen looked on quietly, not sure if she should speak up and volunteer to do something, just join in, or remain where she was and observe.
“Hey, new girl!” Owen called over as he attempted to chisel into an edge of the rock, smiling just slightly to deflect any ill spiritedness the nickname might have implied. “Couldn’t do me a favour and hand me the bigger chisel from the tool box you’ve got over there, could you?”
Gwen nodded. “Sure.” Twisting around, she crouched down and rummaged for a second through the kit, eventually finding a large chisel at the bottom. “Here,” she called back, tossing it to him just as she’d watched Jack do earlier.
Time slowed almost to a standstill for Gwen as she watched Owen grab for the falling chisel and, finding it just out of his reach, miss. Slipping past his outstretched fingers, the chisel lodged itself into a cranny in the rock, making a worrying clanking sound as it lodged itself in further.
A second later, a plume of white smoke started to seep from the newly opened gaps around the chisel.
Gwen just stared at it in dismay, not reacting until Jack physically slapped a gas mask over her face.
They all took a step back as the white smoke was followed by a much more worrying bright purple plume.
It was all Gwen could do not to crumple to the floor as the other three stared at her. This clearly wasn’t her night.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Comments and concrit are loved!
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Thirty-One
They blustered right through into the tented army headquarters, ignoring the immediate complaints from several officers that they shouldn’t be there and that this area is restricted.
“We’re Torchwood,” Jack said brashly, fixing the officers with a look that dared them to keep complaining. “And I think you’ll find that this will all run much more smoothly if you back off and let us through to do the real work.” Whether it was Jack’s demeanour or the word ‘Torchwood’, the officers seemed cowed and stood back to let them through onto the crash site.
When they exited the tent, they found themselves standing at the top of a steep slope. As they surveyed the site, two uniformed men scrambled up the hill, holding onto a makeshift rope banister that had been strung up along one side of the path. One was muttering quietly into a handheld radio, so they could only assume the message had been passed on and the army were, in fact, going to get out of there.
“Must’ve called back into their C.O.,” Jack said with a smirk. “He knows not to cross me when it comes to things like this.”
As the sounds of a field unit slowly beginning to pack up started to come from behind them, Jack gestured in front of him for them to make their way down. “Let’s go see what brought us out here.”
Owen and Tosh made their way cautiously down first, Gwen bringing up the rear. The ground beneath them was unstable and littered with twigs and rocks from the woods around them, so they took their time descending to the bottom of the almost crater-like hole.
As they reached the bottom, Tosh and Owen dropped their cases, flipping the tops open with practised ease and pulling out a variety of hand-held instruments.
“It just looks like a rock,” Gwen said uncertainly, letting Jack offer her a hand to jump down the last few steps.
“That might be all it is,” Jack agreed, tilting his head at the inauspicious rock in front of them. “But we won’t know until we’ve checked it out. Owen?”
Owen looked up from where he was examining the surface through a magnifying class. “Best as I can tell, bog standard space debris.” He shot a look at Gwen, who was still watching them with a little wonder. “And yeah, that’s the technical term.”
She sent a sickly smile back. “Yeah, thanks.”
Jack nodded. “So let’s get a set of standard readings taken and we can get out of here.” He smirked, thrusting his hands into his greatcoat pockets and tilting back on his heels for a second. “This floodlighting is doing nothing for my complexion.”
The remaining kits were snapped open, revealing a wide variety of equipment, some of it obvious and some of it obscure.
“Here!” Jack called, tossing a scraper and a spare stethoscope to Owen to save him clambering back around from the other side of the large rock between them. Before Jack could even bend back down to get the next instrument from the case, Owen had the ear buds in his ear and was listening intently for anything that might come from the meteorite.
Jack and Tosh nudged each other playfully as they passed each other, each circling the rock in opposite directions with a different handheld scanner.
Gwen looked on quietly, not sure if she should speak up and volunteer to do something, just join in, or remain where she was and observe.
“Hey, new girl!” Owen called over as he attempted to chisel into an edge of the rock, smiling just slightly to deflect any ill spiritedness the nickname might have implied. “Couldn’t do me a favour and hand me the bigger chisel from the tool box you’ve got over there, could you?”
Gwen nodded. “Sure.” Twisting around, she crouched down and rummaged for a second through the kit, eventually finding a large chisel at the bottom. “Here,” she called back, tossing it to him just as she’d watched Jack do earlier.
Time slowed almost to a standstill for Gwen as she watched Owen grab for the falling chisel and, finding it just out of his reach, miss. Slipping past his outstretched fingers, the chisel lodged itself into a cranny in the rock, making a worrying clanking sound as it lodged itself in further.
A second later, a plume of white smoke started to seep from the newly opened gaps around the chisel.
Gwen just stared at it in dismay, not reacting until Jack physically slapped a gas mask over her face.
They all took a step back as the white smoke was followed by a much more worrying bright purple plume.
It was all Gwen could do not to crumple to the floor as the other three stared at her. This clearly wasn’t her night.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Comments and concrit are loved!