We Can Never Die (2/?)
Title: We Can Never Die (2/?)
Rating: PG for use of the word 'twat'.
Word Count: 1,065
Author’s Notes: I had so much fun writing the first chapter to this saga, that I had to crank out this second chapter.
Chapters: Chapter 1: Recent Additons
Jack leaned back in his chair as he listened to the girl on the other line introduce herself, but raised an eyebrow slightly as she said they had something in common.
"What do you mean 'have something in common'?" Jack questioned as he leaned forward, propping his elbows up on the long wooden desk in his office. "I don't seem to follow."
Claire sighed inwardly to herself, half-wondering if all Welsh people were always this dense when it came to Americans.
"You and me, we share an ability. We can walk through fire and not be burned. We can break every bone in our body and heal within seconds. We can die, and come back within a matter of moments. We're immortal, Jack. You and me," the blonde responded, spelling it out for Jack as she flipped the page over to reveal a picture of the man she was on the phone with.
Blue eyes widened half a world away. It was unusual for Jack to be caught off guard like this, and for Claire to be bringing it up made it all the weirder. After all, who else would go off, chasing aliens throughout Cardiff and Wales, have a severed hand in a portable hyperbaric chamber, and know the Doctor?
"How do you know about that?" the man asked. "Nobody except my team knows about my ability."
"My dad, Noah Bennett, works for the Company," she answered, having a feeling of déjà vu. "He works with an African American man called the Haitian. I went through the files on his computer half an hour ago, and you were there, in a folder titled 'Recent Additions'. I printed your file from there and called. A man by the name of Ianto Jones answered at Cardiff Tourist Information and connected me to you."
Jack ran a hand over his face, but nodded as Claire explained herself and how she knew about the bond that they now apparently shared. He felt some relief, knowing that there was another person out there now that knew what he went through with this ability.
"So where are you from, Claire?" Jack asked, trying not to use a pick up line on a teenage girl - and one that he had just started talking to, at that.
"America. Texas, to be more specific," Claire responded. "And yourself?"
A slight chuckle escaped Jack’s lips. Oh, the things that he could tell her. The 1940's? Too complicated to explain how he kept his handsome face.
"The fifty-first century from the Boshane Peninsula," he answered, the tone of his voice sounding a bit sad. "Or that’s where I was from, until..."
"Until what, Jack?" the cheerleader asked, pending a question for her new-found acquaintance.
"It's a long and complicated story, one that I'll tell you later. Hang on one sec, Claire," Jack reciprocated. "Have to go yell at Owen."
With that, the man put the phone down, and within a matter of moments, returned to continue the conversation he was having with the teenager.
"Sorry about that. Owen was being a twat. Not like that's anything unusual there," Jack said, sitting down at the desk once more, and leaned back in the chair.
"Who's Owen?" Claire asked. The only two people she knew that worked for this...Torchwood thing were Ianto and now Jack.
Another slight laugh escaped from the man’s lips as Claire pondered the question for him.
"Owen Harper. Has a big ego that needs to be deflated a bit, and a tad of a big mouth, but is a brilliant doctor none the less. He’s part of my team here, at Torchwood," Jack explained.
"Not to be rude, Jack, but...what exactly is Torchwood? Your file doesn't say much. Only your name, age, height and weight, occupation, and power," Claire mentioned.
He hesitated for a moment. Was he supposed to tell her that it was an agency that hunted down aliens and their technology? Jack wasn't quite sure how to handle a delicate question such as this.
"You know how we're both people with abilities, Claire?" the man started. "We...track down aliens. Not people from other countries. More like things from other planets. There's a rift here in Cardiff, where humans and aliens alike fall through. This particular branch is comprised of Ianto, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and I. Torchwood is outside of the government and beyond the police." There. He'd said it, and it was up to Claire to believe him or not.
An eyebrow rose on Claire's forehead, leaving her with an expression that could only be described as 'what?'.
"You can't be serious. Aliens. Like with green skin, black eyes, and that say 'Take me to your leader.'." While Claire half-believed him, there were always the movies that she watched. Bad science-fiction films.
"I am very serious, Claire. They may not have and say what you mentioned, but you need to believe me. If you believe me this one time, I'll believe you with everything. It's an extremely classified agency, and needs to stay that way. I trust you enough to not go telling your friends and family about this."
She nodded to the agreement that Jack had posed to her.
"Alright, then believe me when I say this. You need to get out of there, Jack. Dad and the Haitian could be coming for you soon because they just left to go on a trip earlier today. Come to Texas. I know someplace safe we can go," Claire said rather urgently as she dug out a rather large duffel bag from the back of her closet and started throwing clothes into it.
"Oh yeah? Where to, sweet Claire Bear?" Jack inquired.
"New York City. Get on the first flight to Houston, and I'll meet you at the airport. We can leave on the next flight to New York," Claire said, slightly cringing at another man using her nickname that Noah usually called her by.
He sighed and nodded. He'd leave Gwen in charge of the team, after all, he trusted her.
"Alright, sweetie, you got it," Jack agreed, making a mental note to call Ianto and arrange for him to be on the first flight out to the mid-western state.
"Good. Oh, and Jack?" the cheerleader questioned before they parted ways for the next eighteen hours.
"Yeah?"
"Don't call me sweetie," Claire said, before hanging up the phone.
Rating: PG for use of the word 'twat'.
Word Count: 1,065
Author’s Notes: I had so much fun writing the first chapter to this saga, that I had to crank out this second chapter.
Chapters: Chapter 1: Recent Additons
Jack leaned back in his chair as he listened to the girl on the other line introduce herself, but raised an eyebrow slightly as she said they had something in common.
"What do you mean 'have something in common'?" Jack questioned as he leaned forward, propping his elbows up on the long wooden desk in his office. "I don't seem to follow."
Claire sighed inwardly to herself, half-wondering if all Welsh people were always this dense when it came to Americans.
"You and me, we share an ability. We can walk through fire and not be burned. We can break every bone in our body and heal within seconds. We can die, and come back within a matter of moments. We're immortal, Jack. You and me," the blonde responded, spelling it out for Jack as she flipped the page over to reveal a picture of the man she was on the phone with.
Blue eyes widened half a world away. It was unusual for Jack to be caught off guard like this, and for Claire to be bringing it up made it all the weirder. After all, who else would go off, chasing aliens throughout Cardiff and Wales, have a severed hand in a portable hyperbaric chamber, and know the Doctor?
"How do you know about that?" the man asked. "Nobody except my team knows about my ability."
"My dad, Noah Bennett, works for the Company," she answered, having a feeling of déjà vu. "He works with an African American man called the Haitian. I went through the files on his computer half an hour ago, and you were there, in a folder titled 'Recent Additions'. I printed your file from there and called. A man by the name of Ianto Jones answered at Cardiff Tourist Information and connected me to you."
Jack ran a hand over his face, but nodded as Claire explained herself and how she knew about the bond that they now apparently shared. He felt some relief, knowing that there was another person out there now that knew what he went through with this ability.
"So where are you from, Claire?" Jack asked, trying not to use a pick up line on a teenage girl - and one that he had just started talking to, at that.
"America. Texas, to be more specific," Claire responded. "And yourself?"
A slight chuckle escaped Jack’s lips. Oh, the things that he could tell her. The 1940's? Too complicated to explain how he kept his handsome face.
"The fifty-first century from the Boshane Peninsula," he answered, the tone of his voice sounding a bit sad. "Or that’s where I was from, until..."
"Until what, Jack?" the cheerleader asked, pending a question for her new-found acquaintance.
"It's a long and complicated story, one that I'll tell you later. Hang on one sec, Claire," Jack reciprocated. "Have to go yell at Owen."
With that, the man put the phone down, and within a matter of moments, returned to continue the conversation he was having with the teenager.
"Sorry about that. Owen was being a twat. Not like that's anything unusual there," Jack said, sitting down at the desk once more, and leaned back in the chair.
"Who's Owen?" Claire asked. The only two people she knew that worked for this...Torchwood thing were Ianto and now Jack.
Another slight laugh escaped from the man’s lips as Claire pondered the question for him.
"Owen Harper. Has a big ego that needs to be deflated a bit, and a tad of a big mouth, but is a brilliant doctor none the less. He’s part of my team here, at Torchwood," Jack explained.
"Not to be rude, Jack, but...what exactly is Torchwood? Your file doesn't say much. Only your name, age, height and weight, occupation, and power," Claire mentioned.
He hesitated for a moment. Was he supposed to tell her that it was an agency that hunted down aliens and their technology? Jack wasn't quite sure how to handle a delicate question such as this.
"You know how we're both people with abilities, Claire?" the man started. "We...track down aliens. Not people from other countries. More like things from other planets. There's a rift here in Cardiff, where humans and aliens alike fall through. This particular branch is comprised of Ianto, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and I. Torchwood is outside of the government and beyond the police." There. He'd said it, and it was up to Claire to believe him or not.
An eyebrow rose on Claire's forehead, leaving her with an expression that could only be described as 'what?'.
"You can't be serious. Aliens. Like with green skin, black eyes, and that say 'Take me to your leader.'." While Claire half-believed him, there were always the movies that she watched. Bad science-fiction films.
"I am very serious, Claire. They may not have and say what you mentioned, but you need to believe me. If you believe me this one time, I'll believe you with everything. It's an extremely classified agency, and needs to stay that way. I trust you enough to not go telling your friends and family about this."
She nodded to the agreement that Jack had posed to her.
"Alright, then believe me when I say this. You need to get out of there, Jack. Dad and the Haitian could be coming for you soon because they just left to go on a trip earlier today. Come to Texas. I know someplace safe we can go," Claire said rather urgently as she dug out a rather large duffel bag from the back of her closet and started throwing clothes into it.
"Oh yeah? Where to, sweet Claire Bear?" Jack inquired.
"New York City. Get on the first flight to Houston, and I'll meet you at the airport. We can leave on the next flight to New York," Claire said, slightly cringing at another man using her nickname that Noah usually called her by.
He sighed and nodded. He'd leave Gwen in charge of the team, after all, he trusted her.
"Alright, sweetie, you got it," Jack agreed, making a mental note to call Ianto and arrange for him to be on the first flight out to the mid-western state.
"Good. Oh, and Jack?" the cheerleader questioned before they parted ways for the next eighteen hours.
"Yeah?"
"Don't call me sweetie," Claire said, before hanging up the phone.