Fic: To The Stars - Follows ‘Hand Delivered’
Title: To The Stars - Follows ‘ Hand Delivered’
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Rhiannon, Jack, Johnny, David, Mica, Martha.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2301
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: In the middle of the night, Jack shows up to take Rhiannon and her family on a trip into space to visit Ianto.
Written For: Challenge 304: Travel at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my ‘Through Time and Space’ ‘Verse.
Jack had promised when he’d visited her a few months back that he’d find a way for Rhiannon and her family to visit Ianto, somewhere other than earth, a bizarre enough concept that Rhi still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Johnny didn’t even seem willing to try, but then he’d never been very imaginative. That was one of the things she loved about him, that he was so solidly down to earth, practical, better with his hands than with his head. He wasn’t quite so down to earth right now though; none of them were. Earth was currently somewhere in their rear-view mirror, if spaceships even had such things. So much had happened in the last few hours she still hadn’t managed to catch her breath.
Just after midnight, there’d been a knock on the door of the house she and Johnny had bought with some of the money Ianto had left them. She thought he’d approve; he’d always wanted them to get off the estate, live somewhere better, and now they were, with enough money put by to pay for the kids’ education. The house was in one of the better neighbourhoods of the Cardiff suburbs, which had made it all the more suspicious that someone should be calling so late, but when Johnny had answered the door, armed with Mica’s hockey stick, he’d found Jack there, grinning that impossibly white grin of his.
“Surprise! Bet you weren’t expecting to see me!”
Rhi had pushed past her husband and glared at… her brother-in-law, she supposed.
“Do you have any idea what time it is? David and Mica are already asleep, and we were just on our way to bed!”
“I know it’s late, but it’s Friday night, so there’s no school tomorrow. Just wake the kids, throw a few essentials in a bag, and we can get going. You won’t need much.”
“Get going where?” Rhi felt as though she’d somehow blundered into the middle of a conversation and had missed all the important parts.
“To visit Ianto, of course!” Jack managed a quite creditable eye roll; he’d obviously been spending way too much time with her brother. Then what he’d just said finally registered.
“Ianto?”
“I did promise I’d find a way. He’s waiting for us on a lovely little planet about thirty or so light years from here. We’ve rented a holiday home there, plenty of room for everyone, and it’s ours for the next couple of months. It’s gonna be quite a reunion!”
“Months? We can’t just take off for two months; the kids have school on Monday, and Johnny can’t afford to lose his job!”
“No problem. When you’re ready to leave we’ll simply take our TARDIS to another planet, travel back in time, hop aboard our little spaceship, and I can have you back here by tomorrow night, Sunday at the latest.”
“What? You’re saying we can spend two months on another planet and be home the day after we left?” Johnny shook his head. “How does that even work?”
“Time travel.” Jack chuckled. “It’s best not to think about it too hard; trust me on that, it’ll just tie your brain in knots. So, are we going or not?”
“Yes, of course, we’re going!” Rhi turned towards the stairs then turned back. “Hold on a minute; what should I pack? What’s the weather like on this planet?”
Jack waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t need to bring any clothes, just anything you and the kids can’t do without.”
Rhi’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not some sort of alien nudist colony, is it? Because no way am I subjecting my kids to naked aliens! Or naked people, for that matter!”
“Nudist colony? No, although you don’t know what you’re missing. I just meant you’ll be able to get all the clothes you need from the TARDIS wardrobe; any size, any colour, any style.”
“Oh. Well, that’s alright then. You’d better come in. Johnny, go wake the kids while I pack a few things.”
The next half an hour was barely controlled chaos as the kids were woken, told to get dressed, and to pack anything they really couldn’t do without for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Rhi was grabbing make-up and toiletries, Mica’s allergy medicines, David’s acne cream, her husband’s shaving kit, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, assorted snacks and drinks, since she didn’t know how long the journey would take…
Mica grabbed a colouring book and crayons, and a double armload of dolls and soft toys. David got his iPod, his skateboard, and a couple of books to read.
“Can I bring my X-Box?” He looked up at Jack with a slightly worried frown. “Will there be anywhere to plug it in?”
“If you want computer games, I’m sure the TARDIS can come up with something,” Jack told him. “Are we all ready?”
“I just hope we haven’t forgotten anything,” Rhi said. “Once we leave the planet there’ll be no nipping back to fetch anything we’ve left behind.” She stopped dead in the hallway, shaking her head, a bemused expression on her face. “Once we leave the planet… that’s something I never thought I’d hear myself say!” When had her life become so insane? “Let me just check that everywhere’s locked up and nothing’s been left switched on. Johnny, check the windows, will you, love? Make sure they’re all shut?”
“Already did that.”
“Right, ‘course you did.” Rhi vanished towards the kitchen to check the back door and the various appliances, but was back in a couple of minutes, putting her coat on, the whole family trooping outside and waiting while she locked the front door before following Jack down the path. She stopped just outside the front gate, frowning at the very ordinary car parked at the kerb.
“Well, that’s not what I was expecting.”
Jack just laughed. “It would’ve been a bit conspicuous parking a spaceship on your front lawn, and it wouldn’t have fit anyway. I landed a few miles outside Cardiff; borrowed the car from a friend. She’s waiting at the ship, and she’ll meet us at the landing site to give you a lift home when we get back. Everybody in!” Jack clicked the key fob to unlock the doors.
Johnny rode up front with Jack while Rhiannon sat in the back with the kids. Despite having just been woken up, they were far too excited to fall asleep. Mica and David chattered nonstop, asking about a million questions, which Jack did his best to answer. There wasn’t too much traffic about, due to the late hour, and about forty-five an hour later, they pulled off the road and around behind a copse of trees, and there, out of sight of the road, was the spaceship.
It was about the length of two and a half buses, maybe twice as wide, and somewhere around twelve feet high, not including the landing gear. It looked a bit like a plane, with a tapering nose and stubby wings, some sort of engine at the rear, but there were no windows, and the door was just above the wing. It opened as they approached and a pretty, dark-skinned woman came out.
“Finally! I was beginning to think I’d be here all night!”
“Sorry, Nightingale,” Jack said, smiling as she jumped down to join them. “Everybody, meet Martha Jones.”
“I remember you,” Rhi said. “You were at my brother’s memorial service, weren’t you?”
“Yes. Ianto and I were good friends; we only met in person a few times, but we often spoke on the phone. I miss him.”
“You know, you could come with us,” Jack suggested. “He’d love to see you again.”
“And what would happen to my car if I did that? I’m not just leaving it here. Maybe next time.” She kissed Jack on the cheek. “Behave yourself, and give my love to Ianto.”
“I will, I promise, and next time…” He winked. “You know you’re always welcome.”
“Maybe, if you land somewhere more accessible. Or I might have the Doctor give me a lift. Now you’d best get going; it won’t be all that long before the sun come up and then you might be a bit conspicuous.”
It didn’t take long to get baggage and passengers through the airlock and inside. Belongings were quickly stowed in lockers, then Rhiannon and her family settled into surprisingly comfortable seats. Jack of course took one of the seats in front of a complicated array of controls.
“How d’you see where you’re going?” David wanted to know, staring in confusion at the blank wall beyond the control panel.
Jack grinned back over his shoulder. “Like this.” He flicked a series of switches into the ‘ON’ position and the wall above the control panel seemed to disappear, revealing a crystal-clear view of ship’s surroundings. “Viewscreens,” Jack explained. “Much safer than windows would be out in space. I don’t have to worry too much about seeing where I’m going though; navigation is mainly handled by the computers.”
“Won’t we be seen when we take off?” Rhi asked.
Jack flicked another switch. “Not now; we’re cloaked. That basically means we’re invisible. Everybody comfortable?” He checked they were all seated. “Okay, here we go!”
A faint vibration coursed through the floor beneath their feet and through the viewscreen it was as if the world outside simply dropped away, and yet they barely felt a thing.
“Are we moving?” Mica tried to sit taller in her seat so she could see better, but there was nothing but blackness through the window now, with a few faint pinpoints of light. Then the moon drifted into view and Rhiannon realised it was gradually getting bigger.
“How fast are we going, and why does it feel like we’re not moving?”
“The ship’s equipped with inertial dampeners and artificial gravity,” Jack explained. “As for how fast we’re going… You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. We’ll be beyond the moon in a few more minutes, but it’ll be a little over an hour and a half before we’re clear of the solar system and can enter the vortex. After that, there’ll be nothing much to see for a few hours; that’ll be a good time for everyone to get some sleep.”
So here they were, on a spaceship, leaving earth far behind. Rhiannon wondered whether she might be dreaming this; it seemed so unreal. The moon loomed closer and closer, craters becoming visible, growing clearer by the second, and then they were gliding past to one side of it.
“Wow!” David breathed. “This is awesome!”
“Want to come up front and be my co-pilot?” Jack asked him. “Just don’t touch any of the controls unless I tell you to.”
“Can I, mum?”
“Well, I suppose it would be alright, as long as you do as you’re told.”
“Cool!” David slid out of his seat and went forward, settling into the co-pilot’s chair and Rhiannon smiled; it had been a while since she’d last seen her son so excited. He hadn’t been happy about the move, leaving all his friends behind in Newport and having to change schools. This trip was already doing him good.
Mica sighed.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Rhi asked.
“This is boring. There’s only one window to look out of! How come David gets to sit up front?”
“Because he’s the oldest. Perhaps if you’re good you can have a turn later. Why don’t you do some colouring?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Rhi left her seat and went to the lockers where Jack had stowed their things; this was nothing like flying at all, more like being in a sort of futuristic caravan. Jack had told them the seats reclined for sleeping, there was a bathroom at the rear of the main cabin, and a galley further back, along with a built-in table and benches for mealtimes. She settled Mica there with her colouring book and crayons, wishing she’d thought to bring a magazine or something for herself.
“Can I help?” she asked her daughter after a few minutes.
“Uh huh, you can colour that one.” Mica pointed at a picture of flowers.
Rhiannon reached for a yellow crayon. Travelling through space, colouring with her daughter, it was so bizarre she couldn’t help but laugh.
Mica looked up. “Mum, are we really going to another planet to see Uncle Ianto?”
“That’s what your Uncle Jack says.”
“No one would ever believe us.” Mica rested her chin on her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face that reminded Rhi of Ianto when he was a boy. “Maybe it’s best if we don’t tell anyone, but I could still write about it, like it’s a made-up story, couldn’t I?”
“I think that sounds like a very good idea.” Rhi turned her attention to colouring the flowers.
A while later, Jack called from the front of the ship, “Who wants to see Jupiter and Saturn?”
“Me!” shouted Mica, scrambling off the bench and hurrying forward. Rhiannon followed and even Johnny got up to stand behind David’s seat as the first of the gas giants came into view, massive and strange.
‘Nobody else on earth gets to see this,’ Rhiannon thought as she stared at it. ‘They only see pictures taken through telescopes, or images sent back by probes, but we’re out here, flying through space, heading for another planet God knows how far from earth!’ The thought made her feel a little giddy and she gripped the back of the pilot’s seat with both hands.
Mica was right; they could never tell anyone else about any of this, they’d never be believed. She still wasn’t entirely sure she believed it herself, but even if it did turn out to be nothing more than a dream, it was the most amazing adventure she’d ever had.
The End (for now)
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Rhiannon, Jack, Johnny, David, Mica, Martha.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2301
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: In the middle of the night, Jack shows up to take Rhiannon and her family on a trip into space to visit Ianto.
Written For: Challenge 304: Travel at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my ‘Through Time and Space’ ‘Verse.
Jack had promised when he’d visited her a few months back that he’d find a way for Rhiannon and her family to visit Ianto, somewhere other than earth, a bizarre enough concept that Rhi still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Johnny didn’t even seem willing to try, but then he’d never been very imaginative. That was one of the things she loved about him, that he was so solidly down to earth, practical, better with his hands than with his head. He wasn’t quite so down to earth right now though; none of them were. Earth was currently somewhere in their rear-view mirror, if spaceships even had such things. So much had happened in the last few hours she still hadn’t managed to catch her breath.
Just after midnight, there’d been a knock on the door of the house she and Johnny had bought with some of the money Ianto had left them. She thought he’d approve; he’d always wanted them to get off the estate, live somewhere better, and now they were, with enough money put by to pay for the kids’ education. The house was in one of the better neighbourhoods of the Cardiff suburbs, which had made it all the more suspicious that someone should be calling so late, but when Johnny had answered the door, armed with Mica’s hockey stick, he’d found Jack there, grinning that impossibly white grin of his.
“Surprise! Bet you weren’t expecting to see me!”
Rhi had pushed past her husband and glared at… her brother-in-law, she supposed.
“Do you have any idea what time it is? David and Mica are already asleep, and we were just on our way to bed!”
“I know it’s late, but it’s Friday night, so there’s no school tomorrow. Just wake the kids, throw a few essentials in a bag, and we can get going. You won’t need much.”
“Get going where?” Rhi felt as though she’d somehow blundered into the middle of a conversation and had missed all the important parts.
“To visit Ianto, of course!” Jack managed a quite creditable eye roll; he’d obviously been spending way too much time with her brother. Then what he’d just said finally registered.
“Ianto?”
“I did promise I’d find a way. He’s waiting for us on a lovely little planet about thirty or so light years from here. We’ve rented a holiday home there, plenty of room for everyone, and it’s ours for the next couple of months. It’s gonna be quite a reunion!”
“Months? We can’t just take off for two months; the kids have school on Monday, and Johnny can’t afford to lose his job!”
“No problem. When you’re ready to leave we’ll simply take our TARDIS to another planet, travel back in time, hop aboard our little spaceship, and I can have you back here by tomorrow night, Sunday at the latest.”
“What? You’re saying we can spend two months on another planet and be home the day after we left?” Johnny shook his head. “How does that even work?”
“Time travel.” Jack chuckled. “It’s best not to think about it too hard; trust me on that, it’ll just tie your brain in knots. So, are we going or not?”
“Yes, of course, we’re going!” Rhi turned towards the stairs then turned back. “Hold on a minute; what should I pack? What’s the weather like on this planet?”
Jack waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t need to bring any clothes, just anything you and the kids can’t do without.”
Rhi’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not some sort of alien nudist colony, is it? Because no way am I subjecting my kids to naked aliens! Or naked people, for that matter!”
“Nudist colony? No, although you don’t know what you’re missing. I just meant you’ll be able to get all the clothes you need from the TARDIS wardrobe; any size, any colour, any style.”
“Oh. Well, that’s alright then. You’d better come in. Johnny, go wake the kids while I pack a few things.”
The next half an hour was barely controlled chaos as the kids were woken, told to get dressed, and to pack anything they really couldn’t do without for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Rhi was grabbing make-up and toiletries, Mica’s allergy medicines, David’s acne cream, her husband’s shaving kit, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, assorted snacks and drinks, since she didn’t know how long the journey would take…
Mica grabbed a colouring book and crayons, and a double armload of dolls and soft toys. David got his iPod, his skateboard, and a couple of books to read.
“Can I bring my X-Box?” He looked up at Jack with a slightly worried frown. “Will there be anywhere to plug it in?”
“If you want computer games, I’m sure the TARDIS can come up with something,” Jack told him. “Are we all ready?”
“I just hope we haven’t forgotten anything,” Rhi said. “Once we leave the planet there’ll be no nipping back to fetch anything we’ve left behind.” She stopped dead in the hallway, shaking her head, a bemused expression on her face. “Once we leave the planet… that’s something I never thought I’d hear myself say!” When had her life become so insane? “Let me just check that everywhere’s locked up and nothing’s been left switched on. Johnny, check the windows, will you, love? Make sure they’re all shut?”
“Already did that.”
“Right, ‘course you did.” Rhi vanished towards the kitchen to check the back door and the various appliances, but was back in a couple of minutes, putting her coat on, the whole family trooping outside and waiting while she locked the front door before following Jack down the path. She stopped just outside the front gate, frowning at the very ordinary car parked at the kerb.
“Well, that’s not what I was expecting.”
Jack just laughed. “It would’ve been a bit conspicuous parking a spaceship on your front lawn, and it wouldn’t have fit anyway. I landed a few miles outside Cardiff; borrowed the car from a friend. She’s waiting at the ship, and she’ll meet us at the landing site to give you a lift home when we get back. Everybody in!” Jack clicked the key fob to unlock the doors.
Johnny rode up front with Jack while Rhiannon sat in the back with the kids. Despite having just been woken up, they were far too excited to fall asleep. Mica and David chattered nonstop, asking about a million questions, which Jack did his best to answer. There wasn’t too much traffic about, due to the late hour, and about forty-five an hour later, they pulled off the road and around behind a copse of trees, and there, out of sight of the road, was the spaceship.
It was about the length of two and a half buses, maybe twice as wide, and somewhere around twelve feet high, not including the landing gear. It looked a bit like a plane, with a tapering nose and stubby wings, some sort of engine at the rear, but there were no windows, and the door was just above the wing. It opened as they approached and a pretty, dark-skinned woman came out.
“Finally! I was beginning to think I’d be here all night!”
“Sorry, Nightingale,” Jack said, smiling as she jumped down to join them. “Everybody, meet Martha Jones.”
“I remember you,” Rhi said. “You were at my brother’s memorial service, weren’t you?”
“Yes. Ianto and I were good friends; we only met in person a few times, but we often spoke on the phone. I miss him.”
“You know, you could come with us,” Jack suggested. “He’d love to see you again.”
“And what would happen to my car if I did that? I’m not just leaving it here. Maybe next time.” She kissed Jack on the cheek. “Behave yourself, and give my love to Ianto.”
“I will, I promise, and next time…” He winked. “You know you’re always welcome.”
“Maybe, if you land somewhere more accessible. Or I might have the Doctor give me a lift. Now you’d best get going; it won’t be all that long before the sun come up and then you might be a bit conspicuous.”
It didn’t take long to get baggage and passengers through the airlock and inside. Belongings were quickly stowed in lockers, then Rhiannon and her family settled into surprisingly comfortable seats. Jack of course took one of the seats in front of a complicated array of controls.
“How d’you see where you’re going?” David wanted to know, staring in confusion at the blank wall beyond the control panel.
Jack grinned back over his shoulder. “Like this.” He flicked a series of switches into the ‘ON’ position and the wall above the control panel seemed to disappear, revealing a crystal-clear view of ship’s surroundings. “Viewscreens,” Jack explained. “Much safer than windows would be out in space. I don’t have to worry too much about seeing where I’m going though; navigation is mainly handled by the computers.”
“Won’t we be seen when we take off?” Rhi asked.
Jack flicked another switch. “Not now; we’re cloaked. That basically means we’re invisible. Everybody comfortable?” He checked they were all seated. “Okay, here we go!”
A faint vibration coursed through the floor beneath their feet and through the viewscreen it was as if the world outside simply dropped away, and yet they barely felt a thing.
“Are we moving?” Mica tried to sit taller in her seat so she could see better, but there was nothing but blackness through the window now, with a few faint pinpoints of light. Then the moon drifted into view and Rhiannon realised it was gradually getting bigger.
“How fast are we going, and why does it feel like we’re not moving?”
“The ship’s equipped with inertial dampeners and artificial gravity,” Jack explained. “As for how fast we’re going… You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. We’ll be beyond the moon in a few more minutes, but it’ll be a little over an hour and a half before we’re clear of the solar system and can enter the vortex. After that, there’ll be nothing much to see for a few hours; that’ll be a good time for everyone to get some sleep.”
So here they were, on a spaceship, leaving earth far behind. Rhiannon wondered whether she might be dreaming this; it seemed so unreal. The moon loomed closer and closer, craters becoming visible, growing clearer by the second, and then they were gliding past to one side of it.
“Wow!” David breathed. “This is awesome!”
“Want to come up front and be my co-pilot?” Jack asked him. “Just don’t touch any of the controls unless I tell you to.”
“Can I, mum?”
“Well, I suppose it would be alright, as long as you do as you’re told.”
“Cool!” David slid out of his seat and went forward, settling into the co-pilot’s chair and Rhiannon smiled; it had been a while since she’d last seen her son so excited. He hadn’t been happy about the move, leaving all his friends behind in Newport and having to change schools. This trip was already doing him good.
Mica sighed.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Rhi asked.
“This is boring. There’s only one window to look out of! How come David gets to sit up front?”
“Because he’s the oldest. Perhaps if you’re good you can have a turn later. Why don’t you do some colouring?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Rhi left her seat and went to the lockers where Jack had stowed their things; this was nothing like flying at all, more like being in a sort of futuristic caravan. Jack had told them the seats reclined for sleeping, there was a bathroom at the rear of the main cabin, and a galley further back, along with a built-in table and benches for mealtimes. She settled Mica there with her colouring book and crayons, wishing she’d thought to bring a magazine or something for herself.
“Can I help?” she asked her daughter after a few minutes.
“Uh huh, you can colour that one.” Mica pointed at a picture of flowers.
Rhiannon reached for a yellow crayon. Travelling through space, colouring with her daughter, it was so bizarre she couldn’t help but laugh.
Mica looked up. “Mum, are we really going to another planet to see Uncle Ianto?”
“That’s what your Uncle Jack says.”
“No one would ever believe us.” Mica rested her chin on her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face that reminded Rhi of Ianto when he was a boy. “Maybe it’s best if we don’t tell anyone, but I could still write about it, like it’s a made-up story, couldn’t I?”
“I think that sounds like a very good idea.” Rhi turned her attention to colouring the flowers.
A while later, Jack called from the front of the ship, “Who wants to see Jupiter and Saturn?”
“Me!” shouted Mica, scrambling off the bench and hurrying forward. Rhiannon followed and even Johnny got up to stand behind David’s seat as the first of the gas giants came into view, massive and strange.
‘Nobody else on earth gets to see this,’ Rhiannon thought as she stared at it. ‘They only see pictures taken through telescopes, or images sent back by probes, but we’re out here, flying through space, heading for another planet God knows how far from earth!’ The thought made her feel a little giddy and she gripped the back of the pilot’s seat with both hands.
Mica was right; they could never tell anyone else about any of this, they’d never be believed. She still wasn’t entirely sure she believed it herself, but even if it did turn out to be nothing more than a dream, it was the most amazing adventure she’d ever had.
The End (for now)