WIAD, 2.01 - 'Etching' (Torchwood, 1918 gen)
Written for writerinadrawer's 2.01 challenge: 'Girls' Night In.' The prompt was to use any female character(s) from the series, taking place within the Hub.
Title: Etching
Rating: PG
Warnings/Spoilers: Episode 2.03, "To the Last Man"
The Hub has fallen into silence when Harriet settles down at last with her charcoals and sketchbook. It has been a trying day; the innocent boy-soldier has been frozen, instructions have been written for future generations, and this is the last piece to go before the canister can be sealed. Though she feels herself no artist, an eidetic memory and the assistance of maths for proportions will help her to do a fair job of it.
As the lines begin to flow over the page, she reflects on the woman whose exotic face she has been charged with preserving in history. Harriet can't help but wonder if this woman is the future of Torchwood, fierce against the wind, eyes strong even through a welling of tears. She had been independent in her dress of long coat and trousers, but still effeminate in a way that Lydia does not manage to emulate.
Had she been there only for the sake of duty, or was it truly a look tender beyond professional boundaries that Harriet witnessed passing between her and the private? How many years will it be before this comes to pass, she wonders, and will they ever get to meet?
No, Harriet decides. Torchwood has its strong women now, its pioneers, but this woman is the future. Their work will be preserved, carried on in future generations after all, a complicated mission come full circle. She is comforted by the thought.