Torchwood ficlet: Still Waters | Tosh, Jack | PG
Title: Still Waters
Author: rustydog
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Toshiko, Jack
Rating/warnings: PG, no spoilers
Words: 700
Note: Written as commentfic for the bringthehappy 2009 Happyfest.
Toshiko herself wouldn't have believed how she came to be here, alone a tiny boat in the middle of a dark loch, trying to see past the silver surface of the water into the depths. She could hardly breathe, waiting for an energy pulse that had to be coming. The mountains rising from the edges of the loch were silent grey shapes that blocked the stars; the only sound was water gently lapping against the boat.
A few bubbles rose, and finally it came: a flash of blue-white light expanding from a spot deep down, directly beneath the boat. Reaching the roots of the mountains, the light dissipated in plumes of mist that burst, glowing, from the shores all around. A moment later, the water itself seemed to rise, lifting the boat and setting it down, rocking wildly.
Tosh held on to the sides and wished she'd had Jack steal a life vest along with the boat. The small outboard motor, which had been idling before the pulse, was stopped now. She wouldn't have to bother trying to re-start it, for the same reason she hadn't bothered to bring a torch, a computer, or any other tech. The pulse would have just destroyed them.
A minute or so later, the loch was again calm and the only sign anything had happened was the mist rolling across surface of the water, white in the moonlight. And now the waiting was worse than before. What if the boat was in the wrong place? What if the mist hid her? She felt so naked without her scanning equipment, or even some simple fisherman's sonar. There were so many ways this could go wrong... but it was the only thing they could have done. Ugh. She hated not having options.
Just when she teetering on the edge of panic, the water next to the boat began to churn, and then, finally, Jack's head and shoulders broke the surface. Relief rippled through her.
It was tricky helping Jack into the boat without capsizing it on them both, but together they managed and finally he was on the seat facing her, shivering and inexplicably grinning like a loon. She ignored him while she got his coat around him and massaged his arms, hoping he would stop shaking. But when she gave up and sat down again, his perfect teeth were still shining at her.
"Stop it!" she complained. "We just need to get you somewhere warm." Suddenly a terrible thought seized her and she looked around wildly, but no, there in the bottom of the boat, under some rope, were the oars; they hadn't fallen out during the pulse-wave. She sighed with relief.
"Relax!" Jack said, a little too loud in the silence of the loch, but he was probably trying to keep his voice steady while his body shook. "We did it! We are brilliant, Tosh!"
She grunted with frustration, trying to extract one of the oars from a tangle in the rope. But she looked up at him anyway, and he was so ridiculous and beautiful-hair soaking wet and plastered down, moonlight shining on his face, his wool-wrapped shape silhouetted against the white fog. He had probably died five minutes ago, but he wouldn't quit with that stupid grin... and now he was laughing. It was a little infuriating. After what they had faced in the past three days, she couldn't shrug off the tension and trauma so easily.
Although he had a point. She was glad he was safe... and they had succeeded... and that laugh was infectious. Finally, she shook her head and smiled. She was too tired to fight it-a slightly hysterical giggle escaped.
Jack whooped in triumph, leaned forward, and kissed her enthusiastically on the forehead. "My perfect Tosh" he said, smiling much more warmly than a man with hypothermia had any right to. "Okay, let's go home." He settled back on his seat, glancing at the sky with a peaceful expression that rivaled the moon's.
Tosh was still chuckling as she set the oars in place and began to pull toward the shore.
Author: rustydog
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Toshiko, Jack
Rating/warnings: PG, no spoilers
Words: 700
Note: Written as commentfic for the bringthehappy 2009 Happyfest.
Toshiko herself wouldn't have believed how she came to be here, alone a tiny boat in the middle of a dark loch, trying to see past the silver surface of the water into the depths. She could hardly breathe, waiting for an energy pulse that had to be coming. The mountains rising from the edges of the loch were silent grey shapes that blocked the stars; the only sound was water gently lapping against the boat.
A few bubbles rose, and finally it came: a flash of blue-white light expanding from a spot deep down, directly beneath the boat. Reaching the roots of the mountains, the light dissipated in plumes of mist that burst, glowing, from the shores all around. A moment later, the water itself seemed to rise, lifting the boat and setting it down, rocking wildly.
Tosh held on to the sides and wished she'd had Jack steal a life vest along with the boat. The small outboard motor, which had been idling before the pulse, was stopped now. She wouldn't have to bother trying to re-start it, for the same reason she hadn't bothered to bring a torch, a computer, or any other tech. The pulse would have just destroyed them.
A minute or so later, the loch was again calm and the only sign anything had happened was the mist rolling across surface of the water, white in the moonlight. And now the waiting was worse than before. What if the boat was in the wrong place? What if the mist hid her? She felt so naked without her scanning equipment, or even some simple fisherman's sonar. There were so many ways this could go wrong... but it was the only thing they could have done. Ugh. She hated not having options.
Just when she teetering on the edge of panic, the water next to the boat began to churn, and then, finally, Jack's head and shoulders broke the surface. Relief rippled through her.
It was tricky helping Jack into the boat without capsizing it on them both, but together they managed and finally he was on the seat facing her, shivering and inexplicably grinning like a loon. She ignored him while she got his coat around him and massaged his arms, hoping he would stop shaking. But when she gave up and sat down again, his perfect teeth were still shining at her.
"Stop it!" she complained. "We just need to get you somewhere warm." Suddenly a terrible thought seized her and she looked around wildly, but no, there in the bottom of the boat, under some rope, were the oars; they hadn't fallen out during the pulse-wave. She sighed with relief.
"Relax!" Jack said, a little too loud in the silence of the loch, but he was probably trying to keep his voice steady while his body shook. "We did it! We are brilliant, Tosh!"
She grunted with frustration, trying to extract one of the oars from a tangle in the rope. But she looked up at him anyway, and he was so ridiculous and beautiful-hair soaking wet and plastered down, moonlight shining on his face, his wool-wrapped shape silhouetted against the white fog. He had probably died five minutes ago, but he wouldn't quit with that stupid grin... and now he was laughing. It was a little infuriating. After what they had faced in the past three days, she couldn't shrug off the tension and trauma so easily.
Although he had a point. She was glad he was safe... and they had succeeded... and that laugh was infectious. Finally, she shook her head and smiled. She was too tired to fight it-a slightly hysterical giggle escaped.
Jack whooped in triumph, leaned forward, and kissed her enthusiastically on the forehead. "My perfect Tosh" he said, smiling much more warmly than a man with hypothermia had any right to. "Okay, let's go home." He settled back on his seat, glancing at the sky with a peaceful expression that rivaled the moon's.
Tosh was still chuckling as she set the oars in place and began to pull toward the shore.