The Gatekeeper (part seven)
Title: The Gatekeeper (7/12)
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jack & Ianto, Gwen, Martha + original fictional characters & Classic Doctor Who characters.
Summary: In her hour of need, Gwen gets unlikely help.
A/N: Another story in the Something that Starts with "S" AU set several months after the events of Syntropy.
PART SIX
Gwen was screaming at the top of her lungs. The last contraction nearly made her pass out, but her screams had frightened poor Branwen who was now crying pitifully in her playpen while Gwen buried her face in a pillow to ride out another contraction. As she gulped oxygen, she pushed her clothes off because she knew they'd be a problem soon, 'how do I do this alone?' She was lost in her own fears and did not hear the voice quietly shushing the upset child until she felt a warm hand on her forehead. "Oh god, thank god you got in!" Gwen tried to lift herself off the bed to help Ianto get her to the medical bay, but then she noticed the door was still secured and that Ianto looked different. "What?" Gwen hardly had a word out before another contraction overcame all of her thoughts and she clung to Ianto and tried not to scream again. He lowered her onto the bed, arranging pillows to help her position and grabbed several towels from the bathroom and another sheet to help her maintain some level of modesty. He was wiping a cool moist flannel over her forehead when things started to click; the clothes were wrong, the bracelet wasn't something she'd seen before and when he looked at her and smiled. "Shit. Ianto?"
His smile displayed those bright teeth and pronounced dimples, which accentuated a lightly dimpled chin, but the same voice said, "Franklin actually, but Ianto is my middle name- you can call me that if you like." He smoothed her hair out of her face then slid down the bed to make a quick check before smiling at her again, "Not long now; you're almost ready." He held up a small metal patch to show her, "If you'd like a bit less pain, we can use this. It's sort of like an epidural without the needle or accidental chance of paralysis." She nodded and he carefully slipped it on the her lower back causing Gwen to gasp in relief. "I'm sorry Rhys can't be here; but I'll do my best," he pulled a small kit from his back pocket and started spreading the supplies; then placed a small item on her belly which evoked a few choice words. "Sorry it's a bit cold, wanted to get the monitor going." At his words, a small holographic image formed above her belly, showing her child along with two sets of vital signs. "Everything looks good Mrs. Williams, I'm just going to move my sister and her playpen in here so I can keep an eye on her better." He quickly trotted out of the room and Gwen frowned at his comment; 'sister?'
"You stupid boy; now look what you've done!" Romana's footfalls echoed on the stone floors as she walked away, "Lazlo, Biroc; we need to get this to the chamber quickly. I'll begin working with it after I've dealt with our guest." The responding growls were quiet enough that she could pretend to not hear them as she returned to where they'd dropped Ianto. She picked up a goblet and dumped the contents on his unconscious form causing him to splutter and look around in confusion. "They would have left you alone. You had nothing to offer them. But they saw you grab onto us, now they'll think you were involved." She waved to the castle-like setting surrounding them, "This is the gateway, the only way to pass from n-space into exo-space. When we're done, the gateway will close forever." Romana turned to leave Ianto lying on the floor, "Make yourself comfortable, you will be guarding this gate for a long time Mister Jones."
Lazlo was sniffing the air around the coral and frowning, "It will not work." He looked at Biroc and then at Romana as she entered the room, "This is not what we hunted." He carefully reached for the coral which withdrew into itself, "I do not smell the tides of time around it." He stepped back to allow room for Romana and she came closer and began inspecting the coral. It very slowly extended back out from its collapsed form and reached out for her, but she too frowned at the creature.
"I don't understand. This is a TARDIS pupae, but it's just the exoskeleton- the part that grows into the superstructure. There's no sentience here, the living core is missing." Romana looked at her companions and frowned, "The core must have been someplace else within the facility- it was there because I sensed it, but in our hurry to escape I didn't try to feel for it in the body." She pounded her hand on the table, "We have to go back."
PART EIGHT
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jack & Ianto, Gwen, Martha + original fictional characters & Classic Doctor Who characters.
Summary: In her hour of need, Gwen gets unlikely help.
A/N: Another story in the Something that Starts with "S" AU set several months after the events of Syntropy.
PART SIX
Gwen was screaming at the top of her lungs. The last contraction nearly made her pass out, but her screams had frightened poor Branwen who was now crying pitifully in her playpen while Gwen buried her face in a pillow to ride out another contraction. As she gulped oxygen, she pushed her clothes off because she knew they'd be a problem soon, 'how do I do this alone?' She was lost in her own fears and did not hear the voice quietly shushing the upset child until she felt a warm hand on her forehead. "Oh god, thank god you got in!" Gwen tried to lift herself off the bed to help Ianto get her to the medical bay, but then she noticed the door was still secured and that Ianto looked different. "What?" Gwen hardly had a word out before another contraction overcame all of her thoughts and she clung to Ianto and tried not to scream again. He lowered her onto the bed, arranging pillows to help her position and grabbed several towels from the bathroom and another sheet to help her maintain some level of modesty. He was wiping a cool moist flannel over her forehead when things started to click; the clothes were wrong, the bracelet wasn't something she'd seen before and when he looked at her and smiled. "Shit. Ianto?"
His smile displayed those bright teeth and pronounced dimples, which accentuated a lightly dimpled chin, but the same voice said, "Franklin actually, but Ianto is my middle name- you can call me that if you like." He smoothed her hair out of her face then slid down the bed to make a quick check before smiling at her again, "Not long now; you're almost ready." He held up a small metal patch to show her, "If you'd like a bit less pain, we can use this. It's sort of like an epidural without the needle or accidental chance of paralysis." She nodded and he carefully slipped it on the her lower back causing Gwen to gasp in relief. "I'm sorry Rhys can't be here; but I'll do my best," he pulled a small kit from his back pocket and started spreading the supplies; then placed a small item on her belly which evoked a few choice words. "Sorry it's a bit cold, wanted to get the monitor going." At his words, a small holographic image formed above her belly, showing her child along with two sets of vital signs. "Everything looks good Mrs. Williams, I'm just going to move my sister and her playpen in here so I can keep an eye on her better." He quickly trotted out of the room and Gwen frowned at his comment; 'sister?'
"You stupid boy; now look what you've done!" Romana's footfalls echoed on the stone floors as she walked away, "Lazlo, Biroc; we need to get this to the chamber quickly. I'll begin working with it after I've dealt with our guest." The responding growls were quiet enough that she could pretend to not hear them as she returned to where they'd dropped Ianto. She picked up a goblet and dumped the contents on his unconscious form causing him to splutter and look around in confusion. "They would have left you alone. You had nothing to offer them. But they saw you grab onto us, now they'll think you were involved." She waved to the castle-like setting surrounding them, "This is the gateway, the only way to pass from n-space into exo-space. When we're done, the gateway will close forever." Romana turned to leave Ianto lying on the floor, "Make yourself comfortable, you will be guarding this gate for a long time Mister Jones."
Lazlo was sniffing the air around the coral and frowning, "It will not work." He looked at Biroc and then at Romana as she entered the room, "This is not what we hunted." He carefully reached for the coral which withdrew into itself, "I do not smell the tides of time around it." He stepped back to allow room for Romana and she came closer and began inspecting the coral. It very slowly extended back out from its collapsed form and reached out for her, but she too frowned at the creature.
"I don't understand. This is a TARDIS pupae, but it's just the exoskeleton- the part that grows into the superstructure. There's no sentience here, the living core is missing." Romana looked at her companions and frowned, "The core must have been someplace else within the facility- it was there because I sensed it, but in our hurry to escape I didn't try to feel for it in the body." She pounded her hand on the table, "We have to go back."
PART EIGHT