TORCHWOOD: Attrition
Title: Attrition
Characters/Pairing: Jack, mentions of Martha, Ianto, Owen, Gwen, Tosh and Suzie
Word Count: 272
Rating: PG
Summary: There are some things Jack never really considered, until now...
Notes: Written for the alphabet meme for Rizzy's request (I think she actually requested Doctor Who, but in my head, they are the same fandom), and for an itsproductivity prompt from... October, I think. Spoilers for Reset.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any characters from either show, and am making no money off of this.
Somehow, Jack never considered attrition. In the back of his mind, yes, in a distant way, with the knowledge that the others would all die, and he'd be left to go on. But in the specifics... it hardly crossed his mind. That they could just be doing their job, the same as always, just one more far-from-ordinary day, and all of a sudden...
He tries not to pay attention to anything but the road ahead of him, the cars passing by. His fingers tighten a little on the steering wheel. Martha's just as dead silent, in the seat beside him, and Jack glances up to the rear view mirror just to be sure Ianto's still there, he's being so quiet.
It's not like he hasn't seen it before with his team, time and time again. He knows the names of everyone in Torchwood's vaults, met most of them, cared deeply about a good number of them. He's lost more people than he cares to think about, working for Torchwood, in the worst possible ways. Suzie, twice, and both times right in front of him, her blood spattered on his face and coat. He should know to expect these things.
Jack clenches his jaw and stares straight ahead, at the dark road, at the headlights flashing in his eyes, and tries hard not to think. Tries not to think about Martha and Ianto's silence, Gwen's shaky breathing or the sobs Toshiko's trying to muffle. Tries not to think about Owen's body in the back of the SUV, or how long it's going to be before he loses the rest of them too.
Characters/Pairing: Jack, mentions of Martha, Ianto, Owen, Gwen, Tosh and Suzie
Word Count: 272
Rating: PG
Summary: There are some things Jack never really considered, until now...
Notes: Written for the alphabet meme for Rizzy's request (I think she actually requested Doctor Who, but in my head, they are the same fandom), and for an itsproductivity prompt from... October, I think. Spoilers for Reset.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any characters from either show, and am making no money off of this.
Somehow, Jack never considered attrition. In the back of his mind, yes, in a distant way, with the knowledge that the others would all die, and he'd be left to go on. But in the specifics... it hardly crossed his mind. That they could just be doing their job, the same as always, just one more far-from-ordinary day, and all of a sudden...
He tries not to pay attention to anything but the road ahead of him, the cars passing by. His fingers tighten a little on the steering wheel. Martha's just as dead silent, in the seat beside him, and Jack glances up to the rear view mirror just to be sure Ianto's still there, he's being so quiet.
It's not like he hasn't seen it before with his team, time and time again. He knows the names of everyone in Torchwood's vaults, met most of them, cared deeply about a good number of them. He's lost more people than he cares to think about, working for Torchwood, in the worst possible ways. Suzie, twice, and both times right in front of him, her blood spattered on his face and coat. He should know to expect these things.
Jack clenches his jaw and stares straight ahead, at the dark road, at the headlights flashing in his eyes, and tries hard not to think. Tries not to think about Martha and Ianto's silence, Gwen's shaky breathing or the sobs Toshiko's trying to muffle. Tries not to think about Owen's body in the back of the SUV, or how long it's going to be before he loses the rest of them too.