The Parvulus Effect, 6/11
Title: The Parvulus Effect
Part: 6/11
Characters/Paring: Torchwood team, focusing on Owen, Ianto and Jack.
Warnings: None as of yet. Will contain descriptions of abuse. (All three types.)
When: Six months after Adam. Ignores everything after this. (Owen and Tosh are firmly in the realm of the living!)
Summary: Owen has been working on a cure. Not a cure for a disease, but a cure for his childhood. When Ianto finds a file addressed to Jack and himself - and, consequently, gets the power to reshape the man he once loathed - how will he react?
This Part: Torchwood gets a new medic.
A/N: I think I'm doing quite well on this so far. If you disagree - feel free to tell me. I also don't mind being told if something is good, either...
Part One: http://ravencostello.livejournal.com/5651.html#cutid1
Part Two: http://ravencostello.livejournal.com/6000.html#cutid1
Part Three: http://ravencostello.livejournal.com/6349.html#cutid1
Part Four: http://ravencostello.livejournal.com/6478.html#cutid1
Part Five: http://ravencostello.livejournal.com/6786.html
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3.28pm, Toshiko’s Workstation, Toshiko’s P.O.V.
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Tosh idly glanced at the clock in the corner of her screen. Nearly 3.30... Bloody hell… Owen, I hope you know how much I love you. Pillock.
She hadn’t had a coffee in nearly three hours, and it was beginning to show. She didn’t dare ask Ianto to make a cup. He’d all but growled at her when she’d asked about the boy she now knew to be Owen.
Only Tosh’s knowledge of the death of Ianto’s little brother - due to the neglect of their parents, and of the care system they’d been left to - had stopped Tosh being offended by this. Of course he was protective of Owen. He knew what abuse was like, and he didn’t want anyone else to suffer.
So she’d started looking over Owen’s research notes the moment she’d found them, making herself comfortable - which meant taking her shoes off and putting an old top on - as she settled into a long read. So far, she’d only read the first quarter of Owen’s notes, despite having been reading for almost two hours.
She got to her feet, kicking her leg out to stop it being numb. She slipped into her shoes, and walked over to Ianto, who lay cuddling a sleeping Owen.
‘Is it okay if I nip to Starbucks?’ She asked, quietly.
For a moment, Tosh thought Ianto was just ignoring her. Then she noticed that Ianto was asleep.
‘Jack?’ She called on the intercom. ‘I’m going to Starbucks, and Ianto’s asleep. You seen Gwen?’
‘Yeah,’ Jack’s voice came over the coms. ‘She’s looking into hiring a new medic. Apparently, Owen left a list of suitable candidates, so Gwen’s going to see this guy called Xander something-or-other now. How’s the reading?’
‘Fine,’ Tosh said, making her way to the lift. ‘Found out some interesting things already. Apparently, whatever Owen took should keep him as a child for about a month, and should allow him full access to all of his memories. I’m only a quarter of the way through, though, so I’m sure he’s changed things around before getting to the finished stage.’
‘Okay,’ Jack said. ‘Well I’ll let you get your coffee. Whilst you’re out, could you get me a latte, please?’
‘Sure,’ Tosh said. ‘See you later.’
*** ***
3.30pm, Medical Research Labs, Gwen’s P.O.V.
*** ***
Damn. He’s hot.
Gwen knew, from her first sighting of Xander Teabkean, that she was about to get into serious trouble.
‘Hi, Gwen Cooper, I’m with Torchwood,’ Gwen flashed him a smile. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘I’ll bet you are, beauty,’ Xander replied. Gwen felt her insides shiver. ‘Xander Teabkean - that’s Tea. Bek. Een, by the way - head Medic, if you’re interested.’
‘Very,’ Gwen tried to separate her mind into professional and horny, in an attempt to lock her attraction away. She had Rhys at home, and she loved him to bits - more than she could say, most of the time - so when it came to finding other men attractive it was normally a battle of will. ‘In… From Torchwood, I mean. Er… I work with a bloke called Owen Harper, and he wants you to fill his position whilst he… sorts himself out.’
Gwen didn’t know what to make of the dark flash behind Xander’s eyes as she mentioned Owen’s name, so she decided to push the thought away.
‘And what can Torchwood offer me?’ Xander asked.
‘Double salary for all the time you work with us and access to files and medical research you’ll never have seen before.’
‘I doubt any small time research facility I’ve never even heard of could have anything I’ve never seen before.’
‘Torchwood isn’t a research facility.’
‘I’m not interested.’
‘Its special ops,’ Gwen tried.
‘Double pay, you say?’
‘And bonuses. Triple pay when you work over time. We have the money. You just need to work for us.’
‘Done.’
Gwen smiled. ‘Okay, so I’ll see you at work tomorrow, 8.30am. Be at the Tourist Information Centre in Cardiff, near the water tower.’
‘Okay,’ Xander said. ‘And Gwen?’
‘Yeah?’ Gwen paused at the door, about to head back to the hub. ‘Maybe we can go for drinks after?’
‘M-maybe.’
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Part Seven: http://ravencostello.livejournal.com/7335.html
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