A Second Chance at Happiness (8/22?)
Title: 
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Team Tardis, Team Torchwood, Lacey, Tessa, Devon, Mere, Tony, Tavish, Jack/Ianto, Master/Ten/Rose, Gwen/Rhys, Mickey/Jake, Jackie/Pete
Summary: Lacey and Owen are stuck in the their childhood again, will this time be better?
Jack smiled as he walked into the kitchen the next morning. Ianto was already there, perfectly dressed as always, preparing coffee while Gray was making a breakfast that would have made their mum proud. “Gray, you keep doing this, I’m going to keep finding excuses to keep you here at the manor,” he said, sitting down, grinning at Ianto as he handed the older immortal his morning coffee. He looked up as the kitchen door opened and Rose and her two Time Lords walked in. “What are you three doing?”
“She took one step outside, smelled breakfast, and dragged both of us out our very comfortable bed,” The Master said, a slight nod as Ianto handed him a cup of coffee.
The Doctor wandered over to where Gray was cooking, asking a few questions, and managing to get a sample before getting slapped away. He turned to Jack, “How were they?”
He shrugged. “I think it hit them how likely is they’re stuck this way. They had a hard time sleeping, but they were asleep when I checked on them around one. Not sure when they actually fell asleep though.” The Doctor nodded, sitting down next to Rose. Jack couldn’t help but see that look of being far away. Even the Master seemed a bit more subdued since they’d landed in the Hub to find her a child again.
Tessa walked into the kitchen, Elwood in her arms. Jack rolled his eyes as the teen set the snail on the table, chuckling when Ianto picked the damn thing up and put it in the extra terrarium the men had gotten because Tessa wouldn’t go anywhere without her pet. She grinned at Ianto. “Where are the pipsqueaks?”
Jack shook his head, “Don’t pick on them,” he scolded as Gray finished breakfast, “for all we know, the process reversed itself and they’re going to be their usual bright and cheerful selves.” He tried not think that would mean Owen and Lacey would be more than likely naked in bed together at the moment. He watched the Doctor get up, and expertly grab three plates of food for himself and Rose and the Master.
“They weren’t when I tried to wake them earlier. Although it does seem that neither were morning people as children either, they just ignored me and pulled the covers over their heads,” Ianto replied, putting a plate of breakfast in front of both Tessa and Jack, “I left the door open though, they should be down soon.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Since when have those two been able to resist food,” Ianto said, setting down two more plates before he and Gray sat down with their own plates. “Especially Lacey. Whenever Gray is here, she’s usually the first down for breakfast.”
Jack was beginning to wonder once again about Ianto’s psychic abilities as the two in question walked into the room, rubbing their eyes tiredly. Neither said anything, although Lacey managed to give a tired half hearted wave to everyone, otherwise their main focus was in fact on the food. He chuckled as they started tucking it away. “Hungry?” They both nodded, still looking as if they just wanted to curl back up and sleep.
Owen had finished his food first, apparently his bottomless and cast iron stomach had not changed a bit, and he was currently trying to sneak bits of Lacey’s breakfast when she would look over at the coffee pot longingly. Jack was waiting for the moment he realized you don’t steal food from a Harkness.
It didn’t take long. He was on his third swipe at her food when Lacey turned back before he was done. She growled at him, stabbing a fork down millimeters from his hand, in fact, Jack guessed from the slight hiss from the boy that she had nicked a bit of his flesh. “My food, you ate yours, not my fault you’re a fucking bottomless pit.”
“Language,” every adult in the room scolded her automatically.
She grumbled. “He steals my food, no one says a word, I drop one little eff-bomb, suddenly every adult is breathing down my neck,” She pushed back from the table, and started to stomp away.
“Where are you going, young lady?”
“To get dressed, you’re going to have Martha and Tom poke and prod me, I don’t want that on a full stomach anyways. And I meant what I said, one needle and someone’s getting stabbed.” She stormed off. The room sat in a bit of awkward silence, broken only by Tessa and Owen figuring out how to split Lacey’s unfinished breakfast between them.
Jack motioned for the Doctor to follow him. He shouldn’t have been too surprised that the Master followed him as well. He turned to the two men who knew Lacey when she was this age, and asked them, point blank, “How normal is she acting, and how much of this is still the shock of being shrunk?”
“That’s just it Jack, I didn’t say anything, but she’s not just a miniaturized version of her latest incarnation. Whatever that device did, it literally reverted her back to her childhood,” The Doctor shook his head, “as for her attitude, all in all, I’d say she’s being normal for someone who really only thought she’d have to do this once her whole life. She didn’t exactly have it easy the first time around.”
The Master nodded, “It didn’t exactly help that you spent most of it absent from her life, Theta. She needed you around, and you rather run off and play the Universe’s hero.” It had always been a sore spot for the Time Lord, how easy it had always been for him to swan off without a goodbye, leaving him, and more importantly a young girl who looked up to him more than anything else. When the Doctor looked like he was going to say something, the Master stopped him, “She’s reverted, yes, but she has all seven hundred and fifty odd years of memories, many of them include hearing your Tardis leaving without a goodbye. She’s not going to be the starry eyed eight year old who looked to you to protect her when your mother died and the cruel realities of our society hit her.”
The Doctor sighed, “I know that, Koschei, I never expected to be her hero. I wasn’t exactly expecting to get stuck with my baby sister. One of my kids was already a parent of her own, and I was helping with my granddaughter at the time. I did the best I could.”
Jack shook his head, “guys, is now really a good time to be having this conversation? We can sit here for hours and talk about how we’ve let her down, but that’s not going to solve what we’re going to do about it now.” He looked back in the kitchen where Owen and Tessa were getting into some kind of argument over the food again. “And let’s not forget she’s not the only one in this mess.”
The two men followed his gaze, seeing the skinny child eating like it was going out of style. The Doctor looked back at Jack, “he seems to be taking it better.”
“Seems the operative word,” Jack said, “it’s not going to be any easier on him.” He gave the men a look that said if necessary he’ll explain, but not when the subject was twenty feet away. He could still hear the boy crying in the shower the night before, even though he tried to hide it. He looked up the stairs, knowing he should check on his daughter. “Go on and finish your breakfast before those two do it for you,” he said, heading up the stairs.
He didn’t bother knocking when he reached her door, and he found her much like he had the night before, the frog was in her arms this time though, and she was making him dance across the bed. She was still in her pajamas. “You know, for someone who came up here to get dressed, you’re certainly taking the scenic route.” She ignored him, continuing to play with the obviously loved toy. “You know, Owen and Tess divvied up your breakfast.”
“Good for them,” she said, not looking up from her game. “I hope Tess got more than he did, skinny prat.”
Jack pinched his nose, trying not to snap at her. Damn, he thought Tessa was a drama queen. “Lacey, come on, don’t be like this. You two steal each other’s food all the time. Besides, you know your uncle; there will be plenty left over. You can get dressed after you finish breakfast.”
“Not hungry,” she was tossing the frog into the air.
“Right, you expect me to believe that when you stabbed Owen for sneaking bacon and garlic potatoes off your plate?” She shrugged. “Ok, Lacey Harkness, I’ve had enough of this. I get this not exactly a happy experience, and that you’re frustrated at the thought having to start over, but you have got to cut this attitude. Now, you are going to come back downstairs, you’re going to eat a full breakfast, if I have to separate you from Owen so he doesn’t steal your food. Then you’re both coming upstairs, getting dressed, then we’ll go to the Hub for more and tests,” He waggled a finger in her face, playfully, but stern, “and no threatening to shove needles anywhere in Tom or Martha, got it?” She didn’t look at him, but at least she stopped tossing the damn frog. She was curled up with it now instead. “I’m not going anywhere, Lacey. I’m not going to suddenly walk out on you or Owen just because of this. Neither is Ianto, or anyone else. And I promise you, if your brother even thinks of getting itchy feet right now, they’ll be strung up by myself, and I think it’s safe to say Saxon and Rose as well.” When she looked up, he realized he’d hit the nail on the head with that last bit. It was exactly what she was afraid of, and it probably didn’t help that it had been nonstop lectures to her since she’d been changed into a child. “Come on,” he offered her a hand. “I’ll talk to Owen about laying off your food.”
She took his hand with a sigh. “This…”
“This sucks, I know.” He said with a smile, picking up the girl and giving her a hug, “you and Owen are both quite fond of point out how much this sucks.” He thought about putting her down and letting her walk down the stairs back to the kitchen, but instead he started walking with her in his arms. If she made any indication she wanted down, he’d place her down, but she seemed content to let him carry her. He set her down when they got to the bottom of the stairs, giving her a playful nudge, “Go on, and tell Owen I want to talk to him.”
She walked into the kitchen, calling out in typical bratty fashion, “Owen, Dad’s gonna kick your butt for stealing my breakfast!” Jack pinched his nose again with an exasperated chuckle. He was really hoping they could fix this. Raising these two to adult was going to give him those gray hairs he was complaining he never got.
Owen shuffled his way out of the kitchen, hands behind his back and head down, and Jack visibly flinched. Lace and Owen were gonna have to learn fast that some things they used to say to each other as adults might be worse as kids. “Owen, I’m not going to hit you, or kick you. Come here,” he pulled the boy into a hug. “You guys are seriously going to have to rephrase some of things you say to each other.” He got a muffled chuckle from Owen, so at least that worked. “Speaking of things that should stop, leave her food be. It’s a bad idea to steal her breakfast when she was an adult. Apparently her self control on the violence is shot through. Did she actually get you with the fork?”
Owen shrugged, pulling back. “Not really, besides, I get worse from her in her sleep. She’s a bit kicky when she’s dreaming, kinda like a beagle.”
“I heard that Harper!”
“Bite me, Harkness!”
“Lacey, don’t talk with your mouth full. Owen,” Jack shook his head, “oh never mind, are you done eating?” The boy nodded. “Good, go get dressed.” He gave the boy a gentle shove up the stairs, watching as he headed for his room. Jack walked back into the kitchen. Rose and her two Time Lords must have left to the Tardis as they weren’t there anymore. Ianto was on the phone with someone, probably Martha, and Gray was watching with an amused smile as Lacey and Tessa argued over the last piece of bacon. So he settled the argument the way any father would. He snatched off the plate and ate himself, with a smirk on his face.
“Daad!” Both girls whined in an equally annoying pitch. “That’s not fair.”
“No, it really isn’t. Go get dressed, both of you.” He watched as the two girls started up the stairs. “Oi! No running. You don’t need to fall and break your necks.” Not that it did any good. Those two never listened to him. Five minutes later the three were dressed and downstairs, pushing at each other. “Stop trying to push each other down the stairs and get in the car.” It was bad enough when it was just Tessa and Lacey, but throw an prepubescent Owen into the mix, and he had a feeling things were going to be turned upside down.
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Team Tardis, Team Torchwood, Lacey, Tessa, Devon, Mere, Tony, Tavish, Jack/Ianto, Master/Ten/Rose, Gwen/Rhys, Mickey/Jake, Jackie/Pete
Summary: Lacey and Owen are stuck in the their childhood again, will this time be better?
Jack smiled as he walked into the kitchen the next morning. Ianto was already there, perfectly dressed as always, preparing coffee while Gray was making a breakfast that would have made their mum proud. “Gray, you keep doing this, I’m going to keep finding excuses to keep you here at the manor,” he said, sitting down, grinning at Ianto as he handed the older immortal his morning coffee. He looked up as the kitchen door opened and Rose and her two Time Lords walked in. “What are you three doing?”
“She took one step outside, smelled breakfast, and dragged both of us out our very comfortable bed,” The Master said, a slight nod as Ianto handed him a cup of coffee.
The Doctor wandered over to where Gray was cooking, asking a few questions, and managing to get a sample before getting slapped away. He turned to Jack, “How were they?”
He shrugged. “I think it hit them how likely is they’re stuck this way. They had a hard time sleeping, but they were asleep when I checked on them around one. Not sure when they actually fell asleep though.” The Doctor nodded, sitting down next to Rose. Jack couldn’t help but see that look of being far away. Even the Master seemed a bit more subdued since they’d landed in the Hub to find her a child again.
Tessa walked into the kitchen, Elwood in her arms. Jack rolled his eyes as the teen set the snail on the table, chuckling when Ianto picked the damn thing up and put it in the extra terrarium the men had gotten because Tessa wouldn’t go anywhere without her pet. She grinned at Ianto. “Where are the pipsqueaks?”
Jack shook his head, “Don’t pick on them,” he scolded as Gray finished breakfast, “for all we know, the process reversed itself and they’re going to be their usual bright and cheerful selves.” He tried not think that would mean Owen and Lacey would be more than likely naked in bed together at the moment. He watched the Doctor get up, and expertly grab three plates of food for himself and Rose and the Master.
“They weren’t when I tried to wake them earlier. Although it does seem that neither were morning people as children either, they just ignored me and pulled the covers over their heads,” Ianto replied, putting a plate of breakfast in front of both Tessa and Jack, “I left the door open though, they should be down soon.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Since when have those two been able to resist food,” Ianto said, setting down two more plates before he and Gray sat down with their own plates. “Especially Lacey. Whenever Gray is here, she’s usually the first down for breakfast.”
Jack was beginning to wonder once again about Ianto’s psychic abilities as the two in question walked into the room, rubbing their eyes tiredly. Neither said anything, although Lacey managed to give a tired half hearted wave to everyone, otherwise their main focus was in fact on the food. He chuckled as they started tucking it away. “Hungry?” They both nodded, still looking as if they just wanted to curl back up and sleep.
Owen had finished his food first, apparently his bottomless and cast iron stomach had not changed a bit, and he was currently trying to sneak bits of Lacey’s breakfast when she would look over at the coffee pot longingly. Jack was waiting for the moment he realized you don’t steal food from a Harkness.
It didn’t take long. He was on his third swipe at her food when Lacey turned back before he was done. She growled at him, stabbing a fork down millimeters from his hand, in fact, Jack guessed from the slight hiss from the boy that she had nicked a bit of his flesh. “My food, you ate yours, not my fault you’re a fucking bottomless pit.”
“Language,” every adult in the room scolded her automatically.
She grumbled. “He steals my food, no one says a word, I drop one little eff-bomb, suddenly every adult is breathing down my neck,” She pushed back from the table, and started to stomp away.
“Where are you going, young lady?”
“To get dressed, you’re going to have Martha and Tom poke and prod me, I don’t want that on a full stomach anyways. And I meant what I said, one needle and someone’s getting stabbed.” She stormed off. The room sat in a bit of awkward silence, broken only by Tessa and Owen figuring out how to split Lacey’s unfinished breakfast between them.
Jack motioned for the Doctor to follow him. He shouldn’t have been too surprised that the Master followed him as well. He turned to the two men who knew Lacey when she was this age, and asked them, point blank, “How normal is she acting, and how much of this is still the shock of being shrunk?”
“That’s just it Jack, I didn’t say anything, but she’s not just a miniaturized version of her latest incarnation. Whatever that device did, it literally reverted her back to her childhood,” The Doctor shook his head, “as for her attitude, all in all, I’d say she’s being normal for someone who really only thought she’d have to do this once her whole life. She didn’t exactly have it easy the first time around.”
The Master nodded, “It didn’t exactly help that you spent most of it absent from her life, Theta. She needed you around, and you rather run off and play the Universe’s hero.” It had always been a sore spot for the Time Lord, how easy it had always been for him to swan off without a goodbye, leaving him, and more importantly a young girl who looked up to him more than anything else. When the Doctor looked like he was going to say something, the Master stopped him, “She’s reverted, yes, but she has all seven hundred and fifty odd years of memories, many of them include hearing your Tardis leaving without a goodbye. She’s not going to be the starry eyed eight year old who looked to you to protect her when your mother died and the cruel realities of our society hit her.”
The Doctor sighed, “I know that, Koschei, I never expected to be her hero. I wasn’t exactly expecting to get stuck with my baby sister. One of my kids was already a parent of her own, and I was helping with my granddaughter at the time. I did the best I could.”
Jack shook his head, “guys, is now really a good time to be having this conversation? We can sit here for hours and talk about how we’ve let her down, but that’s not going to solve what we’re going to do about it now.” He looked back in the kitchen where Owen and Tessa were getting into some kind of argument over the food again. “And let’s not forget she’s not the only one in this mess.”
The two men followed his gaze, seeing the skinny child eating like it was going out of style. The Doctor looked back at Jack, “he seems to be taking it better.”
“Seems the operative word,” Jack said, “it’s not going to be any easier on him.” He gave the men a look that said if necessary he’ll explain, but not when the subject was twenty feet away. He could still hear the boy crying in the shower the night before, even though he tried to hide it. He looked up the stairs, knowing he should check on his daughter. “Go on and finish your breakfast before those two do it for you,” he said, heading up the stairs.
He didn’t bother knocking when he reached her door, and he found her much like he had the night before, the frog was in her arms this time though, and she was making him dance across the bed. She was still in her pajamas. “You know, for someone who came up here to get dressed, you’re certainly taking the scenic route.” She ignored him, continuing to play with the obviously loved toy. “You know, Owen and Tess divvied up your breakfast.”
“Good for them,” she said, not looking up from her game. “I hope Tess got more than he did, skinny prat.”
Jack pinched his nose, trying not to snap at her. Damn, he thought Tessa was a drama queen. “Lacey, come on, don’t be like this. You two steal each other’s food all the time. Besides, you know your uncle; there will be plenty left over. You can get dressed after you finish breakfast.”
“Not hungry,” she was tossing the frog into the air.
“Right, you expect me to believe that when you stabbed Owen for sneaking bacon and garlic potatoes off your plate?” She shrugged. “Ok, Lacey Harkness, I’ve had enough of this. I get this not exactly a happy experience, and that you’re frustrated at the thought having to start over, but you have got to cut this attitude. Now, you are going to come back downstairs, you’re going to eat a full breakfast, if I have to separate you from Owen so he doesn’t steal your food. Then you’re both coming upstairs, getting dressed, then we’ll go to the Hub for more and tests,” He waggled a finger in her face, playfully, but stern, “and no threatening to shove needles anywhere in Tom or Martha, got it?” She didn’t look at him, but at least she stopped tossing the damn frog. She was curled up with it now instead. “I’m not going anywhere, Lacey. I’m not going to suddenly walk out on you or Owen just because of this. Neither is Ianto, or anyone else. And I promise you, if your brother even thinks of getting itchy feet right now, they’ll be strung up by myself, and I think it’s safe to say Saxon and Rose as well.” When she looked up, he realized he’d hit the nail on the head with that last bit. It was exactly what she was afraid of, and it probably didn’t help that it had been nonstop lectures to her since she’d been changed into a child. “Come on,” he offered her a hand. “I’ll talk to Owen about laying off your food.”
She took his hand with a sigh. “This…”
“This sucks, I know.” He said with a smile, picking up the girl and giving her a hug, “you and Owen are both quite fond of point out how much this sucks.” He thought about putting her down and letting her walk down the stairs back to the kitchen, but instead he started walking with her in his arms. If she made any indication she wanted down, he’d place her down, but she seemed content to let him carry her. He set her down when they got to the bottom of the stairs, giving her a playful nudge, “Go on, and tell Owen I want to talk to him.”
She walked into the kitchen, calling out in typical bratty fashion, “Owen, Dad’s gonna kick your butt for stealing my breakfast!” Jack pinched his nose again with an exasperated chuckle. He was really hoping they could fix this. Raising these two to adult was going to give him those gray hairs he was complaining he never got.
Owen shuffled his way out of the kitchen, hands behind his back and head down, and Jack visibly flinched. Lace and Owen were gonna have to learn fast that some things they used to say to each other as adults might be worse as kids. “Owen, I’m not going to hit you, or kick you. Come here,” he pulled the boy into a hug. “You guys are seriously going to have to rephrase some of things you say to each other.” He got a muffled chuckle from Owen, so at least that worked. “Speaking of things that should stop, leave her food be. It’s a bad idea to steal her breakfast when she was an adult. Apparently her self control on the violence is shot through. Did she actually get you with the fork?”
Owen shrugged, pulling back. “Not really, besides, I get worse from her in her sleep. She’s a bit kicky when she’s dreaming, kinda like a beagle.”
“I heard that Harper!”
“Bite me, Harkness!”
“Lacey, don’t talk with your mouth full. Owen,” Jack shook his head, “oh never mind, are you done eating?” The boy nodded. “Good, go get dressed.” He gave the boy a gentle shove up the stairs, watching as he headed for his room. Jack walked back into the kitchen. Rose and her two Time Lords must have left to the Tardis as they weren’t there anymore. Ianto was on the phone with someone, probably Martha, and Gray was watching with an amused smile as Lacey and Tessa argued over the last piece of bacon. So he settled the argument the way any father would. He snatched off the plate and ate himself, with a smirk on his face.
“Daad!” Both girls whined in an equally annoying pitch. “That’s not fair.”
“No, it really isn’t. Go get dressed, both of you.” He watched as the two girls started up the stairs. “Oi! No running. You don’t need to fall and break your necks.” Not that it did any good. Those two never listened to him. Five minutes later the three were dressed and downstairs, pushing at each other. “Stop trying to push each other down the stairs and get in the car.” It was bad enough when it was just Tessa and Lacey, but throw an prepubescent Owen into the mix, and he had a feeling things were going to be turned upside down.