Fic: Frozen, PG-13, Part 6 (7/10)
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
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Forty-five minutes later, Jack delivered the contained box to Toshiko and their injured teammates to the infirmary. Toshiko helped him and Ianto get Owen and Gwen into bed, attached to warm saline IV drips and well covered with blankets. Then she ran back up to work station and started working on the box.
Toshiko was in her element. She loved a puzzle to uncover, tech to figure out, languages to translate. This one looked particularly intriguing. It appeared to be an ordinary rectangular box of metal, except the blinking lights and the scrolling alien language on the top. She set up a larger, stronger containment field and moved the box into it before setting her computer to start analyzing it.
According to one of her monitoring programs, the box emitted an ultra high frequency tone. It was something beyond the range of human hearing. The signal disappeared outside of the containment field and Jack had told her that the weather had improved when they put the box into containment. She opened a search program and set it to follow any remnants of the signal and see where it led.
Toshiko entered several keystrokes into the computer to start the translation program on the language scrolling across the screen and turned to peer at the contained box. It blinked steadily at her and she ran a handheld scanner over the front of the box. The computer beeped and she turned back to the monitor. The screen showed the inside of the box. It was full of mechanics.
Wondering if she would be able to dissect the thing, Toshiko went in search of her tools.
***
Someone was holding Gwen's hand and talking softly. The world felt fuzzy and warm, such a relief from the cold of the SUV.
"Her temp's coming up," a low, soft voice said.
"Good." A warm hand brushed against her forehead and she opened her eyes. Jack smiled at her, his blue eyes full of concern. "Hello, there beautiful."
"Hi." Her throat felt dry and scratchy. Jack held up a cup of water with a straw so she could sip it. "Thanks. Where's Owen?"
"He's over there. Sleeping." Jack indicated a bed behind him with an incline of his head. "He's going to be okay. We were more worried about you."
She had turned her head to se Owen sleeping in a bed a few feet from hers. Ianto was looking at an ear-read thermometer and nodding. She looked back at Jack. "Why?"
"You weren't doing so well in the SUV on the way here. I thought we were going to lose you." He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. "We had to run you though some scans to check you for head injury. Owen was afraid of concussion or something more serious. You do have a mild concussion, but no internal injuries, just hypothermia and some cuts and bruises."
She managed a weak smile. "Never going to leave."
Jack's smiled broadened. "Good."
Gwen let herself zone out for a few moments before remembering the artifact they'd pulled from the house with the body of the boy. "Did you get the box, Jack? Is it something important?" she rasped, her throat still dry.
Jack nodded, turning the full wattage of his smile on her. He helped her take another sip of water. "Oh, yeah. It took her almost two hours, but Tosh thinks she's figured out how it works. She's still working on translating the language on the front, though. The box is a signal to an alien ship. It's also emitting an ultra high frequency sound into the atmosphere that is, or was before we got it contained, causing the storm."
"That's why the storm got heavier when we drove away." She punctuated her sentence with a huge yawn. "Two hours? How long have we been back?"
"About four hours. Not including the hour it took us to get back." Jack brushed her fringe out of her eyes. “Go back to sleep, Gwen. I’ll wake you if we need you.” He pressed his lips against her forehead and Gwen let her eyes close.
Her eyes snapped open again. “Wait,” she called. “Rhys. He’ll be worried.”
Jack nodded. “I’ll call him.”
***
Jack lifted the receiver and slowly dialed the number. Rhys answered almost immediately.
“Gwen?” The man sounded terrified.
Jack put on his most reassuring voice. “Rhys! It’s Jack Harkness, Gwen’s boss.”
“Where is she? Is she all right? Did something happen?”
“Gwen was out on a call and there was a car accident. She’s fine,” he said quickly, “mostly bumps and bruises.”
“So why’re you calling me?” Anger crept into Rhys’s voice. “If she’s fine.”
“There was some mild hypothermia, so she’s going to stay the night here.”
“Why didn’t you take her to the A&E?” he demanded.
Jack leaned back in his chair, feet up on the desk. “The hospitals are overwhelmed right now. We’ve got adequate medical facilities here and she’s being well cared for.” He didn’t mention they’d be more than adequate if their medic hadn’t been in the same accident. “She’s fine, Rhys, I promise.”
Rhys sighed. “She’d better be, Harkness,” he growled and hung up. The unspoken threat made Jack feel a little better about Rhys. He hung up the phone and went to see what he could do about helping his team.
***
Gwen woke feeling much better. She glanced at the other bed, saw it was empty and wondered what time it was.
“It’s almost five in the morning.” She turned to the doorway. Ianto came in with a smile, holding a tray. “Hungry?”
“Yeah.” She pushed herself up, pulling the pillows behind her to prop herself up. “Where’s Owen?”
“He started complaining he was feeling better a couple hours ago and Jack was afraid he’d wake you up.” He set the tray on her lap. “He’s doing the autopsy on the boy.”
Ianto had brought her scrambled eggs, toast and a mug of tea. She tucked in with gusto, not realizing how hungry she was. “ ‘S good. Thanks.”
He nodded in acknowledgement. “I’m glad you’re all right. You had us scared.” He touched her hand.
“Thank you for rescuing us.” She offered him a piece of toast. “How’s Cardiff?”
“Slowly cleaning up.” He took it. “How’re you feeling?”
“Much better. When can I get out of here?” Gwen picked up her tea and took a sip.
Ianto picked up the tray. “I’ll send Owen in to take out your IV.”
“Thanks Ianto.” She leaned back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.
Owen came in a few minutes later, dressed in jeans and a light blue striped jumper. His face looked pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. “How’re you feelin’, Gwen?”
“Tired, but much better.” She glanced at her IV meaningfully. “Like to be out of here though.”
Owen busied himself, checking her pupil reaction, listening to her breathing and heart before removing her IV. He made her wiggle her fingers and toes at him, before proclaiming, “You’re going to be fine. No damage from the head wound or the cold.”
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Owen put a hand under her elbow to help her up. “Thanks,” she said. He smiled wryly. Gwen put her arms around him. “I’m glad you’re all right.” He hugged her back.
“Me too.” He pressed a quick kiss against her forehead and pushed her gently away. “Go get changed. Jack found a couple of wooly jumpers for us. He put one in your locker.” He made a face and plucked the front of his jumper.
She laughed. “Hmm, just your style.”
“Yeah, wait until you see yours.”
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
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Forty-five minutes later, Jack delivered the contained box to Toshiko and their injured teammates to the infirmary. Toshiko helped him and Ianto get Owen and Gwen into bed, attached to warm saline IV drips and well covered with blankets. Then she ran back up to work station and started working on the box.
Toshiko was in her element. She loved a puzzle to uncover, tech to figure out, languages to translate. This one looked particularly intriguing. It appeared to be an ordinary rectangular box of metal, except the blinking lights and the scrolling alien language on the top. She set up a larger, stronger containment field and moved the box into it before setting her computer to start analyzing it.
According to one of her monitoring programs, the box emitted an ultra high frequency tone. It was something beyond the range of human hearing. The signal disappeared outside of the containment field and Jack had told her that the weather had improved when they put the box into containment. She opened a search program and set it to follow any remnants of the signal and see where it led.
Toshiko entered several keystrokes into the computer to start the translation program on the language scrolling across the screen and turned to peer at the contained box. It blinked steadily at her and she ran a handheld scanner over the front of the box. The computer beeped and she turned back to the monitor. The screen showed the inside of the box. It was full of mechanics.
Wondering if she would be able to dissect the thing, Toshiko went in search of her tools.
***
Someone was holding Gwen's hand and talking softly. The world felt fuzzy and warm, such a relief from the cold of the SUV.
"Her temp's coming up," a low, soft voice said.
"Good." A warm hand brushed against her forehead and she opened her eyes. Jack smiled at her, his blue eyes full of concern. "Hello, there beautiful."
"Hi." Her throat felt dry and scratchy. Jack held up a cup of water with a straw so she could sip it. "Thanks. Where's Owen?"
"He's over there. Sleeping." Jack indicated a bed behind him with an incline of his head. "He's going to be okay. We were more worried about you."
She had turned her head to se Owen sleeping in a bed a few feet from hers. Ianto was looking at an ear-read thermometer and nodding. She looked back at Jack. "Why?"
"You weren't doing so well in the SUV on the way here. I thought we were going to lose you." He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. "We had to run you though some scans to check you for head injury. Owen was afraid of concussion or something more serious. You do have a mild concussion, but no internal injuries, just hypothermia and some cuts and bruises."
She managed a weak smile. "Never going to leave."
Jack's smiled broadened. "Good."
Gwen let herself zone out for a few moments before remembering the artifact they'd pulled from the house with the body of the boy. "Did you get the box, Jack? Is it something important?" she rasped, her throat still dry.
Jack nodded, turning the full wattage of his smile on her. He helped her take another sip of water. "Oh, yeah. It took her almost two hours, but Tosh thinks she's figured out how it works. She's still working on translating the language on the front, though. The box is a signal to an alien ship. It's also emitting an ultra high frequency sound into the atmosphere that is, or was before we got it contained, causing the storm."
"That's why the storm got heavier when we drove away." She punctuated her sentence with a huge yawn. "Two hours? How long have we been back?"
"About four hours. Not including the hour it took us to get back." Jack brushed her fringe out of her eyes. “Go back to sleep, Gwen. I’ll wake you if we need you.” He pressed his lips against her forehead and Gwen let her eyes close.
Her eyes snapped open again. “Wait,” she called. “Rhys. He’ll be worried.”
Jack nodded. “I’ll call him.”
***
Jack lifted the receiver and slowly dialed the number. Rhys answered almost immediately.
“Gwen?” The man sounded terrified.
Jack put on his most reassuring voice. “Rhys! It’s Jack Harkness, Gwen’s boss.”
“Where is she? Is she all right? Did something happen?”
“Gwen was out on a call and there was a car accident. She’s fine,” he said quickly, “mostly bumps and bruises.”
“So why’re you calling me?” Anger crept into Rhys’s voice. “If she’s fine.”
“There was some mild hypothermia, so she’s going to stay the night here.”
“Why didn’t you take her to the A&E?” he demanded.
Jack leaned back in his chair, feet up on the desk. “The hospitals are overwhelmed right now. We’ve got adequate medical facilities here and she’s being well cared for.” He didn’t mention they’d be more than adequate if their medic hadn’t been in the same accident. “She’s fine, Rhys, I promise.”
Rhys sighed. “She’d better be, Harkness,” he growled and hung up. The unspoken threat made Jack feel a little better about Rhys. He hung up the phone and went to see what he could do about helping his team.
***
Gwen woke feeling much better. She glanced at the other bed, saw it was empty and wondered what time it was.
“It’s almost five in the morning.” She turned to the doorway. Ianto came in with a smile, holding a tray. “Hungry?”
“Yeah.” She pushed herself up, pulling the pillows behind her to prop herself up. “Where’s Owen?”
“He started complaining he was feeling better a couple hours ago and Jack was afraid he’d wake you up.” He set the tray on her lap. “He’s doing the autopsy on the boy.”
Ianto had brought her scrambled eggs, toast and a mug of tea. She tucked in with gusto, not realizing how hungry she was. “ ‘S good. Thanks.”
He nodded in acknowledgement. “I’m glad you’re all right. You had us scared.” He touched her hand.
“Thank you for rescuing us.” She offered him a piece of toast. “How’s Cardiff?”
“Slowly cleaning up.” He took it. “How’re you feeling?”
“Much better. When can I get out of here?” Gwen picked up her tea and took a sip.
Ianto picked up the tray. “I’ll send Owen in to take out your IV.”
“Thanks Ianto.” She leaned back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.
Owen came in a few minutes later, dressed in jeans and a light blue striped jumper. His face looked pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. “How’re you feelin’, Gwen?”
“Tired, but much better.” She glanced at her IV meaningfully. “Like to be out of here though.”
Owen busied himself, checking her pupil reaction, listening to her breathing and heart before removing her IV. He made her wiggle her fingers and toes at him, before proclaiming, “You’re going to be fine. No damage from the head wound or the cold.”
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Owen put a hand under her elbow to help her up. “Thanks,” she said. He smiled wryly. Gwen put her arms around him. “I’m glad you’re all right.” He hugged her back.
“Me too.” He pressed a quick kiss against her forehead and pushed her gently away. “Go get changed. Jack found a couple of wooly jumpers for us. He put one in your locker.” He made a face and plucked the front of his jumper.
She laughed. “Hmm, just your style.”
“Yeah, wait until you see yours.”