"Bodies for Science"
Title: "Bodies for Science"
Disclaimer: Being a bloke who likes to slash pretty men doesn't make me RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: None.
Rating: Mostly Harmless.
Notes/Summary: Quick ficlet foreshadowing glove-related events in TW 1x01 & 1x08. This was my Challenge 1.01 entry for writerinadrawer.
(Speaking of which, round 1.02 voting runs from when the stories go up Saturday to 4 PM Central on Sunday. Go check it out and vote. There's some really impressive stuff going on over there!)
Jack swore quietly and rubbed his fingertips. It was unusual for him to fail quite so spectacularly in front of his team without somehow managing to make himself look good in the process. In fairness, no one else so far had managed to make the body twitch, but still. He was beginning to regret re-opening the file on this thing.
“Ianto, how long has our friend here been dead again?”
“Three weeks, two days, and approximately four and one half hours, sir.”
“Maybe three weeks is too long.” Jack thumbed through the small sheaf of papers on the instrument table. “David Green. Aged thirty-two. Died in his sleep. Apnea.” Jack sighed and passed the gauntlet to Suzie.
He watched her cup the cadaver’s skull, holding it protectively like a flame in a windstorm. It was a novel approach, seeing as they’d started out holding the gauntlet against the man’s chest like a defibrillator. Suzie’s pupils were dilated - very nearly blown - and her breathing was irregular. He made a mental note to have Owen look her over before she left tonight.
Without warning, the dead man on the table began to sputter and panic.
~ * ~
“Fifteen seconds,” Ianto whispered, checking the stopwatch.
Owen, who’d been doing his best to administer medical treatment to the terrified not-corpse on his autopsy table, closed the man’s eyes. In the Hub, Jack could hear Toshiko swearing softly in Japanese.
Suzie grinned, triumphant. “You see, Jack? It’s like I told you. Obviously this one’s just a proof of concept, but given some additional research with fresher subjects the result should be more even more dramatic.”
“Fresher subjects?”
“Human subjects. Jack, imagine the good it could do if-”
Jack shook his head. “Out of the question. I’m not bringing in another body until you can show me a concrete result.”
The glove clicked as she put her hands on her hips. “What about this wasn’t concrete enough for you? I brought that man back to life!”
“I said no, Suzie.” Jack ascended the steps and made a beeline for his office, pretending not to notice when she followed. Not noticing turned into pointedly ignoring her as she stood in his doorway and watched him pretend to start a stack of admin.
“What if we didn’t have to bring them here?”
“Meaning?” He let his pen drop onto the stack of papers as he leaned back in his chair.
“Meaning we test in the field. Accidents. Murder victims. That sort of thing.” Suzie bit her lip. She still hadn’t taken the damned glove off.
Jack sighed. “Alright. But I want to see some hard data. That includes the costing on the research, goldfish and all. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
Disclaimer: Being a bloke who likes to slash pretty men doesn't make me RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: None.
Rating: Mostly Harmless.
Notes/Summary: Quick ficlet foreshadowing glove-related events in TW 1x01 & 1x08. This was my Challenge 1.01 entry for writerinadrawer.
(Speaking of which, round 1.02 voting runs from when the stories go up Saturday to 4 PM Central on Sunday. Go check it out and vote. There's some really impressive stuff going on over there!)
Jack swore quietly and rubbed his fingertips. It was unusual for him to fail quite so spectacularly in front of his team without somehow managing to make himself look good in the process. In fairness, no one else so far had managed to make the body twitch, but still. He was beginning to regret re-opening the file on this thing.
“Ianto, how long has our friend here been dead again?”
“Three weeks, two days, and approximately four and one half hours, sir.”
“Maybe three weeks is too long.” Jack thumbed through the small sheaf of papers on the instrument table. “David Green. Aged thirty-two. Died in his sleep. Apnea.” Jack sighed and passed the gauntlet to Suzie.
He watched her cup the cadaver’s skull, holding it protectively like a flame in a windstorm. It was a novel approach, seeing as they’d started out holding the gauntlet against the man’s chest like a defibrillator. Suzie’s pupils were dilated - very nearly blown - and her breathing was irregular. He made a mental note to have Owen look her over before she left tonight.
Without warning, the dead man on the table began to sputter and panic.
~ * ~
“Fifteen seconds,” Ianto whispered, checking the stopwatch.
Owen, who’d been doing his best to administer medical treatment to the terrified not-corpse on his autopsy table, closed the man’s eyes. In the Hub, Jack could hear Toshiko swearing softly in Japanese.
Suzie grinned, triumphant. “You see, Jack? It’s like I told you. Obviously this one’s just a proof of concept, but given some additional research with fresher subjects the result should be more even more dramatic.”
“Fresher subjects?”
“Human subjects. Jack, imagine the good it could do if-”
Jack shook his head. “Out of the question. I’m not bringing in another body until you can show me a concrete result.”
The glove clicked as she put her hands on her hips. “What about this wasn’t concrete enough for you? I brought that man back to life!”
“I said no, Suzie.” Jack ascended the steps and made a beeline for his office, pretending not to notice when she followed. Not noticing turned into pointedly ignoring her as she stood in his doorway and watched him pretend to start a stack of admin.
“What if we didn’t have to bring them here?”
“Meaning?” He let his pen drop onto the stack of papers as he leaned back in his chair.
“Meaning we test in the field. Accidents. Murder victims. That sort of thing.” Suzie bit her lip. She still hadn’t taken the damned glove off.
Jack sighed. “Alright. But I want to see some hard data. That includes the costing on the research, goldfish and all. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”