Fic: Reign of Scars; 14/15 [PG-13] TW/HL/DW crossover. Fix!it Big Bang

Apr 28, 2014 03:09

Title: Reign of Scars
Author: aeron_lanart
Beta: idontlikegravy
Artist: idontlikegravy - Art!.
Fandom(s): Highlander/Torchwood/Doctor Who (part of the Mystery Verse, my existing AU)
Characters/pairing: Gwen/Rhys, Siannon O'Niall (OFC) and Richie Ryan, with appearances from lots of other Torchwood and Doctor Who characters (both Classic and New Who).
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/teen. The only warnings are for language and angst, as it is a post Children of Earth story in the Torchwood scheme of things and the outcome of CoE is NOT the thing that's being fixed in this fic. Miracle Day is ignored in this verse. This is the direct sequel to Shattered in Aspect and includes some dialogue from that fic as part of it takes place in the same time period.
Disclaimer: The BBC/RTD own the Torchwood/Who universe and its characters. Panzer/Davis Productions own the Highlander universe and its characters. I own the OCs.
No copyright infringement intended, no profit made. Title and quote from the song of the same name by Pro-Jekt.

Summary: The Torchwood Hub is a hole in the ground, Jack Harkness has fled with no-one any the wiser as to his whereabouts and Gwen is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. However, while she still stands, there's a chance Torchwood could rise from the ashes of its destruction even though the road ahead is hidden in the shadows. This is the story of what happened to Torchwood in this verse during the 6 months at the end of Children of Earth, after the 456 and the destruction of The Hub, while Jack and Methos were wandering the world.

A/N:
Written for Fix-it Big Bang fixitstory. Please go here to see the lovely art.
Can also be read at AO3.



~ 13 ~

*

That Jack contacted Gwen was no surprise to Siannon, the surprise was that it had taken six months since their lives turned upside down for him to do so. She would not have found out except for one thing. It was a simple, uncomplicated thing and it didn't involve hush hush or alien technology, but was probably the most effective form of surveillance of Gwen that would ever be available - especially once she was effectively barred from Torchwood for the sake of the baby - as it was so unobtrusive as to be undetectable… a certain Rhys Williams. Rhys had taken Siannon's promise to protect Gwen and the baby seriously, even if Gwen didn't, and Siannon knew that in his opinion Jack Harkness was very definitely something from which they all needed to be protected.

Armed with a time and a date, though she had precious little notice, Siannon got to work. Jack would do whatever Jack thought was best but whether that actually was the best thing to do was a different story entirely and where Jack happened to be, Methos would surely be close and he was her priority; over a thousand years of friendship - and more - gave her no other option. She told no-one, least of all Gwen, of the motivation behind her preparations as she suspected that the only reason Jack was returning was to say goodbye.

She doubted that she would be gone from Torchwood long but she needed complete freedom to do what she thought was best in the situation that was going to land in her lap very soon and freedom meant no Torchwood, as she could not afford to be distracted.

Backup for the fledgling Torchwood team was the least of her problems; that was sorted by a quick phone call to Rich in Cumbria and another, somewhat longer, to Brigadier Bambera. Rich would arrive in Cardiff the next day, Bambera and her team would hopefully never be required. The rest of the time she had before she broke the news to the team was spent on frustrating phone calls to various airlines that made her want to grind her teeth and yell at people in equal measure and awkward phone calls to Seacouver; the airlines were the easiest to deal with by far.

Siannon didn't expect the team to be particularly impressed by her news, especially when she wasn't going to tell them why she needed time away at such short notice but she honestly didn't care. Much as she was proud of the team she and Gwen had built, of what they had all managed to accomplish in the last few months, there were things that transcended that, ties and loyalties they had no hope of comprehending.

*

The team piled into the area that was used for briefings, breaks and the occasional drinking session with various mutterings and grumbles that soon stilled as they sat down. It was obvious they were all wondering just what the hell was going on. Siannon wondered who would break the silence first.

"Well?" It was Johnson who asked.

Siannon looked down at her hands, noticing that her nails were ragged and uneven in places from where she'd been biting at them while she was on the phone. She sighed, and raised her head to face them; their expressions ranged from curious (Simon) to worried (Lois) though Johnson was remaining as expressionless as possible.

"I have to inform you that I will be taking a leave of absence from Torchwood for a while, but I don't know for how long. Yet," Siannon said.

"What do you mean? You're leaving? You can't leave, you're our medic," Lois protested.

"Not to mention being the person who is supposedly in charge while Gwen Cooper is… indisposed," Johnson added, then continued, "Is she aware of your proposed little jaunt?"

"I would imagine not, or she'd most likely be down here breathing fire," Simon commented. Siannon had to admit that he had a point; Gwen would not be happy if she knew that Siannon was leaving, even just for a short time, which was why Siannon was not going to tell her; she did not want to be dealing with an unhappy Gwen until after the fact.

"It is not in Torchwood's best interests for Gwen to be informed of my absence, I'm sure you'll all agree with that." Judging by the looks on their faces, the other three did.

"It might not be in Torchwood's best interests for her to know, but you are leaving us without another experienced person when we are already one down. I don't think she would approve. I certainly don't," Johnson said.

"Johnson, I'm not asking you to approve. I'm going, no matter what. You may or may not be relieved to know that Richard Ryan will be arriving in Cardiff tomorrow; he will at least keep the numbers up to a safe level for day to day matters. If anything does become unmanageable Brigadier Bambera will lend us some of her team for the interim."

"Mr Ryan's presence will be a welcome addition. It would appear that you have put some thought into this… escapade," Johnson said.

"Of course I bloody well have, we're a team. Just because an upcoming situation demands I go elsewhere - and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is - it doesn't mean I don't care what is happening back here; I do."

"Family?" Asked Lois, worry clouding her expression. It was an astute assumption and as close to the truth as Siannon would let them get.

"Yeah," Siannon replied. "Family."

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure Cardiff behaves itself, won't we," Lois said with forced brightness. Siannon could have hugged her, but didn't; if Lois gave her approval the others would back off, they always did.

"I'm sure we'll manage," said Simon. "If nothing else it'll be good to have another guy around the place for a bit, even if we can't talk football."

Lois giggled at that while Johnson gave a long suffering sigh, which seemed to signal the end of the meeting. Siannon breathed a sigh of relief as they trooped back out again; it could have been a whole heap nastier. She'd had hopes that Rich's presence would be a mitigating factor as he'd got on well with the whole team last time he'd been in Cardiff and she was glad to have been proved right.

*

By early afternoon of the next day, Simon and Johnson had given up trying to communicate with her and left it to Lois to chase her out. If Siannon hadn't been so preoccupied, she would have found it funny but as it was she grunted a half-hearted 'why?' at Lois when the suggestion was made that Siannon should leave to await the arrival of Mr Ryan elsewhere.

"I would have thought that was obvious," replied Lois.

"Indulge me," Siannon said. Lois sighed and shook her head.

"To be honest, you're no use here so you might as well get out from under our feet. Then you can send Richie in when he's ready while you do whatever it is you need to do before you leave Cardiff." Siannon couldn't argue with that logic and made herself scarce, probably much to everyone's relief.

The roar of a powerful motorbike heralded the arrival of Rich before Siannon actually saw him. She gave up on her job of half-heartedly sorting out the inside of the car and stepped up onto the kerb to wait, forgotten bin bag still loosely clasped in her hand.

The sight of his smile as he pulled off his helmet never failed to lift her spirits, it was infectious and a weapon he wielded with great skill, something he had in common with Jack. The blue eyes lost some of their sparkle as he took a good look at her and part of her felt guilty for that but mostly she just felt relief that he had arrived. He tucked his helmet under one arm and her hand round his other and led her back into the house; she allowed herself to be led.

"Need to tell me about it?" He asked as he hung up his helmet in the hall and took the bin bag from her nerveless fingers. Siannon had intentionally told him as little as possible over the phone.

"Probably, but I can't, not right now. Call it delayed fall out and be done with it."

"Hmm." His tone of voice told her exactly what he thought of that and then she found herself deftly moved into the kitchen and pushed onto a stool while Rich puttered around the kitchen to make them drinks. A mug of tea was placed in front of her and she thanked him with a wan smile. "Anyone I know?"

"Maybe," she said. It wasn't really an untruth; no-one really knew Methos except for Methos and Rich really didn't need to be aware of the details. He took the seat next to her, his own mug in hand.

"When?"

"Tonight I think; I'm waiting for confirmation." What she really meant was that she was waiting for Rhys to ring her and tell her he and Gwen were leaving to meet Jack; that would be her cue to leave too, though she wasn't interested in Jack.

"Are you ready?"

"Pretty much," she said. They drank in the comfortable silence of friendship, Siannon aware of everything Rich wanted to do and say but didn't out of respect for her; it warmed her heart like the tea warmed her hands.

"Want to be on your own?"

"Please," she replied.

"Then give me a couple of minutes to grab my stuff and I'll be outta your hair. I'm sure Simon will appreciate the company." She sipped her tea as Rich made good his promise and hauled in the packs from his bike. It wasn't long until he came back into the kitchen, helmet once more in hand. "I'm done, so I'll be heading out."

"Thanks, Rich."

"Anytime. And I mean that."

"I know." She tried to give him a smile, but it seemed her face just didn't want to work that way. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, before turning to leave. At the door, he stopped and Siannon looked up as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Take care, Siannon, and take care of the Old Man - he's my friend too." Before she gathered her head together enough to say anything Rich had left the house and the sound of his bike was fading into the distance. She should have realised that Rich would know that there were precious few people who would cause her to drop everything and run, particularly when she'd spent the last few months building a life in Cardiff, and fewer still who had been incommunicado for that same period of time. Despite her heart knowing Rich was not the kid he had been a decade before, her head sometimes conveniently forgot that fact. Stupid.

Siannon scrubbed at her face with hands that shouldn't be as shaky as they were and tried to decide what was the best thing to while she waited. She'd always hated waiting and what she really wanted to do was talk, but to someone who would understand everything without being told. Unfortunately there was no-one living in Cardiff who could help. The thought startled her and she let out an almost hysterical giggle as she examined it again. No, there was no-one living in Cardiff who could help but maybe in this case the dead were a safer bet anyway; Ianto had always known when she needed to talk and it almost seemed as if he was reminding her of that. She finished her preparations as quickly as she could and headed off for the cemetery, thermos of coffee in hand.

As dusk fell, so did the rain, but it fell softly, like tears.

Siannon was already back in the Citroën and in a much calmer frame of mind by the time she received her expected phone call. Rhys sounded worried and she couldn't fault him for that; she was worried too, but not for Gwen, not at the moment. Carefully she made her way through the worsening rain, the headlights piercing the orange-lit gloom until she reached the correct turnoff and there she pulled over. She had no intention of intruding on Gwen and Jack's farewell and she didn't want to draw too close, too soon and risk sending Methos running from her as well as everything else; she knew that he would be there watching Jack and saying his own goodbyes. She settled into the shadows to wait, knowing that the passage of Rhys' car would give her plenty of warning.

*

By the time the tail lights of Rhys' car disappeared round the corner, Siannon was already out of the Citroën and heading in the direction from which Rhys had come. She wasn't sure how far behind them Methos would be, Rhys hadn't exactly been driving like The Stig after all.

She felt him just before she heard him, his quickening coursing along her nerves with the tingle of long familiarity, though it felt wrong somehow. Judging by the sound of his stumbling footsteps he hadn't sensed her in return, which was a concern. She picked up her pace and breathed a sigh of relief when the footsteps halted to be replaced by the sound of a sword being drawn. That he apparently hadn't recognised her quickening was easily dealt with; she drew a deep breath, and called out to him.

"Put the damn sword away, I’m not here to fight you!" She stepped further into the light cast by one of the few street lamps along that stretch of road, giving him time to register who she was and what he wanted to do about it.

"Siannon," he acknowledged and seemed to collapse in on himself as his sword disappeared back inside his coat, his shoulders tense, but sagging with weariness. She didn’t stop walking toward him until she was close enough to touch, then she reached out and wrapped her arms around him, surprised at how fragile he felt; the last six months had obviously not been easy ones for him. She was relieved when he finally relaxed into her embrace and she tightened her arms around him as his tears began to fall.

"You are nine types of idiot if you thought I would leave you to walk alone in the darkness after this," she said, as she gently stroked the back of his head.

"I’ve always walked alone at the end of things," he mumbled into her coat. That was true as far as it went and was usually his choice in the first place but he had to be reminded that it was not the only option, which was the whole point of her being there.

"But sometimes you don’t have to. I loved him too, remember. Now let’s get in, out of the rain." Luckily, her car wasn't that far away and she guided him in the right direction with an arm around his waist, anchoring him in the present, though getting him into the Citroën was done with much less grace. His hair was soaked and she shoved one of the towels off the back seat into his hands before she shut the door on him.

She walked around the car and slid into the drivers seat, but didn't start the engine immediately. Methos had dried his face and was rubbing at his hair with the oversized towel but she gained the impression he was only bothering because she expected it and he was too polite to remain soggy in her car - this car, that had been Ianto's and was probably full of memories. She mentally kicked herself for not digging out her old Renault instead, but she hadn't used it in ages; she'd found driving the C6 comforting. Maybe Methos would feel the same. She watched him, deciding that, yes, she had made the right decision. Of course, he caught her staring as he raised his head.

"What?" He demanded. She didn’t answer straight away, just gave him a sad smile and reached out to brush her knuckles over his cheek.

"I’m taking you home," she said.

"Home?" Methos queried. "Cumbria or Ireland?"

"Neither. I’m taking you home. To Seacouver."

"But you don’t..." She waved a hand at Methos to interrupt; she'd already been through all this in her own head, maybe it was time to say what she thought to him.

"This isn’t about me. It’s about you, and what you’ve been denying yourself for the last six months while you tried to hold Jack together. You know you need to be around people who know you and someplace where every waking moment won’t remind you of what you’ve lost. Joe is almost family so I can’t think of anywhere better to lay some of your ghosts to rest, never mind who else will be there. And when you want to talk about Ianto and Jack and Torchwood..." she shrugged. "I’ll be there. Whenever and wherever you need me."

"And in the meantime?" His voice was surprisingly gentle.

"I’ll be here, in Cardiff." She tapped the steering wheel for emphasis. "I made a promise and I’m going to do my damnedest to keep it. I have to."

Methos nodded; he understood all about keeping promises and she would never need to give him more of an explanation than that unless she felt it necessary.

"Seacouver it is then," he agreed and settled deeper into the seat. Siannon gave him one last glance before she started the car, but said nothing else; there was nothing more to be said even if much of it had been done without words.

Epilogue

highlander, big bang, doctorwho, crossover, mystery_verse, fic, torchwood

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