Fic: Frozen, PG-13, Part 2 (3/10)
Title: Frozen
Pairing: Only what's seen in canon
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The team must discover the cause of the snowstorm burying Cardiff before it becomes a frozen wasteland.
Spoilers: Up to and including "Combat".
Author's Notes: Betaed, as always, by the amazing lon_dubh. This is an experiment for me. I usually write character study-type pieces, but I wanted this to be more like one of the Torchwood novels.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. If I did, let's just say that "Exit Wounds" would have ended very differently.
Prologue
Part 1
Owen burst into Cardiff A&E. Utter chaos had consumed the department as more and more casualties from accidents poured in. He found a doctor who looked like she was in charge and flashed his Torchwood ID. "Dr. Owen Harper. You called for help?"
The frazzled woman looked at him with obvious relief. "Oh, thank goodness. We're swamped. This snow is wreaking havoc on our department."
"What do you want us to do about it?" Owen asked in annoyance. He couldn't see any reason why Torchwood had been called in.
"Grab a chart and start seeing patients." The doctor held out a patient's chart to Owen.
He didn't take it. "Why did you call in Torchwood?"
She looked at him as though he'd grown an extra head. "Did you not hear me? We can't handle the volume of cases."
Owen rolled his eyes. "So call in some extra doctors. This isn't an issue for us," he growled and stomped away, ignoring the doctor's shouts.
On his way out, he activated his comms. "Jack, there's nothing alien here."
"Just overburdened?"
"Yeah. They just need to call in a few more staff and they'll be fine." He pulled the collar up on his jacket to keep out the snow. He shivered and jogged over to Ianto's Jeep, yanking open the door and sliding inside.
"Are you going to stay?" Jack asked.
Owen leaned his head back against the headrest. He didn't want to. He knew there were things he could be doing back at the Hub, but the doctor part of him that had promised to do no harm told him he should stay. He sighed. "I think I should. They really do need the help."
"All right. I think we can spare you for a bit. We'll call if-" Jack cut off suddenly and Owen could hear shouts in the background. "Hold on, Owen.”
"What's going on?" Owen started up the Jeep. It looked like he wasn't going to be helping out in the A&E after all.
”Tosh found the center of the storm. Get back here. I want you and Gwen to go check it out."
He put the Jeep in gear, ignoring the twinge of guilt gnawing at his gut and pulled out of the car park. "I'm on my way."
***
Jack stood in the doorway of the holding area. Gwen and Ianto had just put the second Weevil in a cell. The door slid shut and Ianto said something low in Gwen's ear. She laughed, taking his arm. They smiled when they saw him.
"When Owen gets back, we'll meet in the conference room." He stepped into the cells area to let them go up the stairs before him.
Gwen nodded. "Tosh found something?" she asked, turning at the top of the stairs.
"Yup. She's doing a little more research to see if anything else strange comes up in connection with the village." He held out his arm to her and she slipped her free arm into his. "Owen should be back soon. Ianto, why don’t you get some coffee going for everyone? Gwen, let's go get you a heavier coat and some gloves. I think you're going to need something warmer than what you've got now."
Ianto nodded and headed for the kitchen. Jack turned and led her into one of the lower storage areas.
***
When Owen returned, the team met in the conference room. Ianto passed around coffee and they settled in so Tosh could give her report.
"When the snow first started, I began running the weather patterns. The storm just didn't seem to be acting right to me. I discovered it's centered in a small village called Efail Isaf, here." She put a map of the area on the screen and centered in on the village. "I did some more research to see if any other odd things have happened there recently and I found a missing person's report was filed two days ago on a ten year old boy, Geraint Jeffrys. His mother said he'd probably been playing at an abandoned house on the edge of the village the day the storm started."
Gwen spoke up. "Did the police search the house?"
"Not according to the report. There's no mention of them going anywhere near the house. All it says is that they searched the area as best they could, but the storm's making things difficult."
"That's odd. I mean, one of the first things they should have done was go to the house," Gwen pointed out.
Tosh continued. "There's also distinctive spikes of alien energy radiating from here." She recentered the map on a spot near the edge of the village. "This storm is no longer just a meteorological event. There's an electromagnetic field building up that's starting to cause interference with communication devices."
"Go see Mrs. Jeffrys," Jack ordered Gwen and Owen. "Get the address of where her son played. Talk to his mates if you have to. This can't be a coincidence. Find that house and I think we'll find what's causing this storm."
Gwen nodded, sliding into her borrowed heavy down jacket. She pushed her chair away from the conference table and stood up. Owen followed her.
"Drive carefully," Jack called after them. Gwen saw Owen wave in acknowledgement as they entered the hallway leading to the garage.
Pairing: Only what's seen in canon
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The team must discover the cause of the snowstorm burying Cardiff before it becomes a frozen wasteland.
Spoilers: Up to and including "Combat".
Author's Notes: Betaed, as always, by the amazing lon_dubh. This is an experiment for me. I usually write character study-type pieces, but I wanted this to be more like one of the Torchwood novels.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. If I did, let's just say that "Exit Wounds" would have ended very differently.
Prologue
Part 1
Owen burst into Cardiff A&E. Utter chaos had consumed the department as more and more casualties from accidents poured in. He found a doctor who looked like she was in charge and flashed his Torchwood ID. "Dr. Owen Harper. You called for help?"
The frazzled woman looked at him with obvious relief. "Oh, thank goodness. We're swamped. This snow is wreaking havoc on our department."
"What do you want us to do about it?" Owen asked in annoyance. He couldn't see any reason why Torchwood had been called in.
"Grab a chart and start seeing patients." The doctor held out a patient's chart to Owen.
He didn't take it. "Why did you call in Torchwood?"
She looked at him as though he'd grown an extra head. "Did you not hear me? We can't handle the volume of cases."
Owen rolled his eyes. "So call in some extra doctors. This isn't an issue for us," he growled and stomped away, ignoring the doctor's shouts.
On his way out, he activated his comms. "Jack, there's nothing alien here."
"Just overburdened?"
"Yeah. They just need to call in a few more staff and they'll be fine." He pulled the collar up on his jacket to keep out the snow. He shivered and jogged over to Ianto's Jeep, yanking open the door and sliding inside.
"Are you going to stay?" Jack asked.
Owen leaned his head back against the headrest. He didn't want to. He knew there were things he could be doing back at the Hub, but the doctor part of him that had promised to do no harm told him he should stay. He sighed. "I think I should. They really do need the help."
"All right. I think we can spare you for a bit. We'll call if-" Jack cut off suddenly and Owen could hear shouts in the background. "Hold on, Owen.”
"What's going on?" Owen started up the Jeep. It looked like he wasn't going to be helping out in the A&E after all.
”Tosh found the center of the storm. Get back here. I want you and Gwen to go check it out."
He put the Jeep in gear, ignoring the twinge of guilt gnawing at his gut and pulled out of the car park. "I'm on my way."
***
Jack stood in the doorway of the holding area. Gwen and Ianto had just put the second Weevil in a cell. The door slid shut and Ianto said something low in Gwen's ear. She laughed, taking his arm. They smiled when they saw him.
"When Owen gets back, we'll meet in the conference room." He stepped into the cells area to let them go up the stairs before him.
Gwen nodded. "Tosh found something?" she asked, turning at the top of the stairs.
"Yup. She's doing a little more research to see if anything else strange comes up in connection with the village." He held out his arm to her and she slipped her free arm into his. "Owen should be back soon. Ianto, why don’t you get some coffee going for everyone? Gwen, let's go get you a heavier coat and some gloves. I think you're going to need something warmer than what you've got now."
Ianto nodded and headed for the kitchen. Jack turned and led her into one of the lower storage areas.
***
When Owen returned, the team met in the conference room. Ianto passed around coffee and they settled in so Tosh could give her report.
"When the snow first started, I began running the weather patterns. The storm just didn't seem to be acting right to me. I discovered it's centered in a small village called Efail Isaf, here." She put a map of the area on the screen and centered in on the village. "I did some more research to see if any other odd things have happened there recently and I found a missing person's report was filed two days ago on a ten year old boy, Geraint Jeffrys. His mother said he'd probably been playing at an abandoned house on the edge of the village the day the storm started."
Gwen spoke up. "Did the police search the house?"
"Not according to the report. There's no mention of them going anywhere near the house. All it says is that they searched the area as best they could, but the storm's making things difficult."
"That's odd. I mean, one of the first things they should have done was go to the house," Gwen pointed out.
Tosh continued. "There's also distinctive spikes of alien energy radiating from here." She recentered the map on a spot near the edge of the village. "This storm is no longer just a meteorological event. There's an electromagnetic field building up that's starting to cause interference with communication devices."
"Go see Mrs. Jeffrys," Jack ordered Gwen and Owen. "Get the address of where her son played. Talk to his mates if you have to. This can't be a coincidence. Find that house and I think we'll find what's causing this storm."
Gwen nodded, sliding into her borrowed heavy down jacket. She pushed her chair away from the conference table and stood up. Owen followed her.
"Drive carefully," Jack called after them. Gwen saw Owen wave in acknowledgement as they entered the hallway leading to the garage.