Torchwood fic: Hope House
Title: Hope House
Prompt: Black Narcissus
Pairing(s): Jack/Gwen/Ianto in various combinations.
Rating: 12 Warnings: A little swearing
Spoilers: For pretty much all of Black Narcissus, only passing reference to events of Torchwood and nothing past S1. Disclaimer: Neither Torchwood nor Black Narcissus belong to me.
Author's Notes: Many thanks to jooles34 for the excellent beta. Summary: When Sister Cooper is told by the Mother Superior of her Order that she must travel to the distant planet of Eirahendre to set up an outpost she is thrilled at the chance to see new stars. Arriving at Hope House, Sister Cooper must deal with a hostile caretaker, her own companions, the mysterious General and the General's frustrating agent, Captain Harkness. As a harsh wind blows through Hope House and the pains of the past threaten to tear her little community apart, Sister Cooper must fight if she is to have any future at all.
Gwen stepped down from the transport disk onto the observation deck. She didn't know why the Mother Superior always insisted on meeting here. Although, that wasn't quite true. She had a pretty strong suspicion about why the Reverend Mother insisted on meeting where Gwen could not help but see the stars above her.
"Gwen," a voice said. Gwen turned to see a red haired woman walking towards her. She tried not to grit her teeth.
"That is no longer my name, Reverend Mother."
"Of course, my mistake." The woman smiled at her. "But I still answer to the name Donna even though I gave up being the woman she was a long time ago."
"Yes, Reverend Mother." Obedience didn’t come easily to Gwen, but it was one of the many things she knew she had to work on. Besides, she had enough experience of arguing with the Reverend Mother to know she couldn’t win. "Was that what you summoned me for?" It was as close as she could get to outright insolence without saying something unforgivable. She saw the other woman's mouth twist up into a hastily suppressed smile and, not for the first time, wondered what had led such a vibrant woman to a cloistered life. That thought came a little too close to things she did not want to think about though, so she squashed it down.
"No, my child. I called you here because I have a task for you. I have been contacted by a man, a General Bilis in Eirahendre. He wants us to set up an outpost there. To educate his people."
"I am to be part of the outpost, Reverend Mother?" Gwen asked. She knew that the pulse of excitement in her stomach was unworthy of her; that this mission was not about her desires, but she couldn't help it.
"You are to lead the outpost."
"I -- I don't know what to say." And she didn't. The excitement was still there but with a counter-beat of worry now. To be responsible for an entire mission, for all the Sisters and Brothers that would be travelling with her.
"Good. It's not an easy task you are being given. I'm glad you seem to realise that. You will be the youngest Sister Superior this order has ever had."
"Who will be coming with me, Reverend Mother?" Gwen tried to sound appropriately subdued by the task that was being given to her, but even the worry she felt was not enough to squash the anticipation building inside her.
"Brother Harper, for the infirmary; Sister Sato--"
"For her kindness?" Gwen asked.
"For that, and for her intelligence, Sister." Gwen hadn't meant the comment as an insult, but she felt the sting of rebuke in the Reverend Mother's words.
"And Brother Jones."
"Ianto?" Gwen gasped, horrified.
"Yes Ianto, in as much as you are Gwen," the other woman said. Gwen found she couldn't meet those wise, old eyes in the face of a woman only barely older than herself.
"But -- why Brother Jones?" Gwen didn't try and hide her confusion over his inclusion. Most of the Order would have reacted in the same way. The young man had come to them following the massacre of his outpost. She couldn’t see him as a pioneer, she suspected the dead woman he had loved was the only reason he had attempted a frontier life. He kept himself to himself, too much in fact, and it was easy to see how damaged he was by both the massacre and the death of his lover. He had managed to rescue her, only for her to die a few days after they reached one of the Order’s sanctuaries. And if there was an added layer to her own reaction to the man, a sense of recognition, an awareness of the pain that drove someone to seek refuge in the Order, then no-one needed to know.
"Reverend Mother, surely he has joined too recently. He is still grieving and --" Gwen bit off the end of her sentence. She didn't want the troubling presence of Brother Jones with them on their mission, but neither did she want to malign his character to the Reverend Mother.
"And?" There was no choice for it, the Reverend Mother was clearly not going to let it go.
"And there are questions about how committed he is to the Order, to his vows." She looked at the Reverend Mother, hoping that her superior's skill of reading people would, for once, be useful, and allow the other woman to see her comment was not made out of malice.
"Strange. People raised the same concerns about you when you first joined us and they were wrong, weren't they?" The Reverend Mother looked at Gwen for just long enough that a cold, panicked sweat began to snake down her spine. “The General was also concerned about allowing the Order to run Hope House when he found that our vows are renewed yearly.”
“But that’s one of our strengths, Reverend Mother, the voluntary nature of our order.”
“Just so.” The woman smiled at her. "Brother Jones desperately needs to feel that he is helping, that he is important to someone," Mother Noble said. "Surely you understand that, my child?" Gwen understood all too well how that felt. She didn't want to hear anymore about the similarities between herself and Brother Jones. It created a link, an empathy that she did not -- could not -- want.
The Reverend Mother pressed a button on her wrist strap to summon the transport disk back. She helped Gwen onto it, but did not release her hand immediately. "Lend him some of your own importance, Sister Cooper. You are going to have more than enough to spare.”
* * *
When they stepped out of the shuttle, Gwen felt a little underwhelmed. During the months of preparation for their mission she had read and watched all she could about Eirahendre. It was supposed to be beautiful and mountainous in a way that gave it exceptional colour and crispness. Instead the shuttleport was -- ordinary. Much like the young man approaching them.
He smiled and held out his hand. "The Old General sent me. Please, follow me, I am to take you to your outpost." He started to lead them over to a large ground-transport. Gwen told herself that the disappointment she felt at the lack of splendour she had seen in this world so far was foolish and unworthy. Once in the transport she pulled out her holoReader and kept her head down for their journey as penance. Hiding this way she was quite unprepared for the sight that greeted her when they landed.
"Shit," she whispered, stepping out into a sea of aching blue. Unable to tear her eyes away from the expanse of sky above her, she felt like she was watching a movie; the colour too vivid and perfect to be real. It was like biting into a square of the most delicious chocolate in the world; so delicious that everything else, even the tingle from the scrap of foil you'd also bitten into, was an echo.
"Shit is right," Brother Harper said behind her. She turned to reprimand him, but stopped when she saw what he was looking at. Their driver was marching towards the building that was to house the outpost. As he flung open the door, a flock of birds burst from the empty window panes. An old woman glared at them from one of the windows. Gwen assumed she was the caretaker, Ayeh, mentioned in the General’s letter. "It's a fucking wreck."
"Nonsense, Brother Harper, it just needs work. Also, see me this evening, your language is unacceptable." She thought she heard him tut, but he held his tongue and she was grateful. It looked like life was going to be difficult enough without Brother Harper challenging her authority. She was already walking towards their new home when Brother Jones spoke, so she nearly missed his words.
"Can't you see, Brother Harper? It's beautiful."
* * *
When Gwen woke the next morning she expected to have a hard day of work ahead of her. She was expecting to have to face down more arguments from Brother Harper. What she was not expecting was to walk into the room they'd earmarked as the dining room to find Brother Jones smiling at a strange man, naked from the waist up, who was standing all together too close to him. She cleared her throat.
"Sister Superior," Brother Jones said in greeting. He twisted his head to meet her eyes in acknowledgment, but made no move to step away from the man, who even now was resting one arm causally on the Brother's shoulder; fingertips just brushing his neck.
"Does Sister Sato not have work for you to do, Brother?" Gwen asked. It came out harsher than she intended. If anyone was at fault here it was the man standing semi-clothed in her outpost, not the young man currently looking at her with some concern.
"Is everything alright, Sister Superior?" Ianto asked.
"Of course," she said, managing to soften her tone. She had to remember that the young man in front of her had headed for the frontier with his partner, Lisa Hallet, when he was barely an adult. He probably didn't even realise what lay behind the stranger's apparent friendliness. "It's just that we have a lot to do, Brother." He nodded at her and then at the man, who finally moved his arm, but only to allow him to take Brother Jones's hand.
"It was good to meet you, Ianto Jones." She almost didn't register the accent, American Earth Standard, in her shock at hearing the stranger use Brother Jones' birth name. Even the Brother himself seemed to realise that things had gone too far.
"Just Brother Jones please, Captain. We renounce our given forenames along with our previous lives when we enter the order."
"Shame, it's a nice name," the 'Captain' said, smiling. And maybe Brother Jones wasn't as innocent as she had thought because she could have sworn that she saw a blush creeping up from under the collar of his robes as he turned to leave. She waited until he'd gone to speak.
"Captain?"
"Captain Jack Harkness," the man replied, turning his smile on her. She really shouldn't be too hard on Brother Jones; it was -- disconcerting -- to be the focus of that smile. "And I guess you're the Sister Superior. You're not what I was expecting."
"Really?" she said, her voice frosty. She was not going to be talked down to by this man.
"Oh yeah," he replied, leaning in slightly, "you're much hotter." It was fury she could feel heating her cheeks, she was sure of it.
"Do you have business here, Captain Harkness, or is this a social call?"
"A bit of both. I'm the Old General's agent. He asked me to keep an eye on you, make sure you're okay. I guess he thought that another an Old Earth boy would be more reassuring for you than one of his people."
"Why would he think that? From what I've seen I couldn't tell the difference between one of the General's kind and a human from any city on Earth."
"Maybe that's what he thought you'd find unsettling." The man really was insufferably smug, she decided.
"Well, as you can see, Captain, we're perfectly fine." She watched him look around the room, with its broken floorboards and bare walls and wished with all her might that the roof wouldn’t choose that moment to cave in.
"Yeah, I can see," he drawled. She'd had enough of him.
"Will that be all, Captain?" she asked opening the door pointedly, but gently in case it came away in her hand.
"For now. I think I've seen what I want," he said, voice low, as he walked past her and out of the door. She shut it behind him and leant against the wood. Definitely, definitely fury, she thought as she brought her hands up to cool her burning cheeks.
* * *
Over the next month they settled into a functioning community. Gwen wouldn't say they were happy as such, but they were busy, which was more important. Sister Sato had been programming the planters and maintenance equipment for the garden. They had supplies to last them several months, and in a real emergency they could always call on Captain Harkness. Though the thought of having to beg for his help was not a happy one.
Brother Harper had managed to get the infirmary shipshape in under a week, which was a good job as they'd been deluged with patients. Her surprise when the Brother reported that there had been nothing wrong with any of the patients had been removed when Ayeh admitted that the General had been paying people to attend classes and the infirmary. Instead, it had been replaced by a sliver of unease. Why would the General be paying people to use their services?
Still, she didn't have time to worry too much. She was busy as well. Between finding out more about the General and the people, and if she was honest with herself, Captain Harkness, from Ayeh; making sure her charges were adjusting to their new lives; and taking the majority of classes, she should have been too busy to worry about anything. Strangely though, she'd been thinking more and more about her life before the order, something she had learned not to do almost a decade ago. Inwardly tutting to herself, she smiled at Brother Jones as he passed her in the corridor. That was another worry, of course. Brother Jones was splitting his time between helping with her lessons, Sister Sato's agricultural efforts and assisting Brother Harper’s doctoring. He helped all three of them diligently, but he seemed more drawn and more tired, as time went on. She still doubted that he was destined for a life in the Order, but here, at closer quarters, she could see why the Reverend Mother was so keen to keep him, at least for a little while. He still suffered too much from the wounds of his past. He needed time and peace before he would be ready to go out, back into the world with its dangers and its Captains.
She shook her head, trying to clear it before she entered the classroom. If she was going to teach a class on advance space engineering, she needed to concentrate.
* * *
"Do we have to ring that fucking bell all the time?" Brother Harper scowled down at his coffee and porridge as he spoke. Gwen and Sister Sato shared a grin. Brother Harper's complaints about the bell were nearly as regular as the chimes themselves. Gwen’s grin widened as she remembered his reaction to Ayeh informing them that the only way to communicate with the village below was to ring the great iron bell on the cliff and wait for someone to travel up to speak to them. Still, she hadn't been happy about it herself. Not only was there something odd about the mountain that made comms equipment unusable, but the bell was perched right on the edge of a sheer cliff-face. She shuddered thinking of the drop.
Brother Ianto came into the dining room, smiling. She'd had her reservations about appointing him as their bell ringer. Apart from the drop, bell ringing was hard physical work and he was still not as strong as she would have liked. She'd let herself be overruled though, both by Brother Harper's medical expertise and by Brother Jones' obvious enthusiasm. Looking at him now, happy and with some colour in his cheeks at last, she thought they may have been right after all.
* * *
Gwen sighed, sitting up in her bed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get properly warm and she couldn't fall asleep with the wind whistling through the window panes. She sat, knees drawn up to her chest, and tried not to think about all the things she wanted to forget. A soft knock on her door startled her out of her moping.
"Who is it?" she called.
"Brother Harper."
Gwen got out of bed, hopping from foot to foot in an attempt to stop the freezing cold of the floor travel all the way up her legs and make her any colder than she already was, and opened the door for him. He closed the door behind him and perched on the end of the bed facing her. He'd somehow managed to get hold of a bottle of Scotch and was offering her a glass. She should, of course, reprimand him. She downed the liquid in her glass and held it out for a refill.
"Why are you here Brother Harper?"
"Because I'm worried. Because I think we're totally screwed." Gwen snorted, but otherwise chose to ignore the second comment.
"What is worrying you?" Brother Harper looked at her.
"Are you kidding me? There've been problems with the building, problems with the crops, Ayeh hates us all and if it wasn't for the General's money no one would want us here at all." "Well, when you put it like that we're pretty screwed." She raised her glass to toast him. "There's something else too. I think Brother Jones is really ill. You should send him back, Sister. He says he's not been sleeping, but there's more to it than that. I know there is. This place is no good for him and him being here is no good for the rest of us."
"He is part of this Order, Brother Harper. He will remain here with the rest of us." Gwen's tone was nearly as cold as the room, but that didn't stop Brother Harper reaching out to grab her shoulders in desperation.
"It's not about whether he'd part of the Order or not, Sister. There's something in the atmosphere, it's affecting all of us. Sister Sato's been complaining of sickness, I've got a rash on my arms; but it's not just physical. It's like everything is more intense, all our feelings, all our memories and it's affecting Brother Jones worse than the rest of us. It's the wind."
"Nonsense, Brother Harper." She ignored to part of her mind that was wailing about how much more vivid her own memories seemed to be, how keenly she felt them -- as though events from years ago had happened yesterday, with all the grief and guilt as strong as it had been at the time. "I will not hear any more of this superstitious nonsense about the wind. If Brother Jones is sick, it is your job to heal him."
Brother Harper glared at her. For a time she thought he was going to argue some more, but eventually he bowed his head and dropped his arms to his sides. "As you wish, Sister Superior."
She could tell from his tone that he thought she was making a mistake, but she said nothing as he left the room. Drawing her blankets around her it seemed that the room was colder than ever.
* * *
When she first arrived Gwen didn’t think she could ever get tired of the clear, piercing beauty of the place, but looking out of her bedroom window she thought that three months of it had sponged any appreciation of the views from her mind. If anything, she was growing to dislike the way she could see for miles, the way the colour was just a shade too comfortable for her eyes. She sighed as Ayeh burst into her room.
"Ayeh, you really must learn to knock. What if I had been changing?" The old woman scowled at her.
"Nothing I haven't seen before, Sister." She broke into a leer. "Nothing Captain Harkness hasn't seen before, either." Gwen felt the rush of blood to her cheeks.
"How dare you. I --"
"He's waiting for you." Gwen stood, shocked. What could the woman mean, what did she know? "Downstairs, Sister. He's waiting to speak to you."
Gwen swept past the other woman, down the stairs and entered the room. Sister Sato and Brother Harper were already there. Brother Jones was nowhere in sight. Maybe things were starting to look up after all.
"You're here on business, I take it?" she asked, seating herself behind the desk with Harper and Sato standing to either side of her.
"Why would I be here for anything else?" he asked in that insufferable way of his.
"No reason at all, Captain Harkness. The sooner you say what you have to say the sooner you can leave, so please begin." He grinned at her as though he could tell how much his flirtation disturbed her. Perhaps he could.
"It's about this infirmary of yours. You need to take care." She could feel Brother Harper bristling behind her. She hoped he would have the sense to keep quiet and let her handle this.
"We are always careful, Captain Harkness. Brother Harper is an excellent and conscientious doctor."
"I'm sure he is, but that's not what I meant. You need to be careful with the cases you treat. You’re outsiders here; your safety depends on keeping a low profile. If anyone comes to you who is too ill, dying, you must turn them away."
"That's obscene," Brother Harper spat.
"Obscene or not, I know this area. It's peaceful most of the time, but every so often something flares up, usually with the wind. An accident, a mistake that would be forgiven without a second thought most of the time, and suddenly people die because of it. We're in one of those times now." She hated being lectured by him as though she were a child, but even more she hated the fact the he was right. Despite her confidence in the beginning that the people would adjust to them, accept what they had to offer, they still seemed to be here on sufferance. The whole atmosphere set her teeth on edge. She'd even begun listening to the ridiculous, superstitious nonsense about the wind.
"We will be as cautious as we need to be, Captain." She didn't want to acknowledge he was right, but even less did she want him to think her a fool with no common sense of her own, too stubborn to take good advice when it was offered. She turned to Brother Harper and Sister Sato.
"You are free to go." She watched them leave the room, in part to avoid looking at the Captain. Once the door closed he walked over to her and lifted her chin so she had no choice but to meet his eyes.
"You too. It's no good if it's just the others. Promise me." She stood looking at him. There was too much in the air around them, too much unsaid. She broke away and walked over to the window, turning her back on him.
"I promise." She waited for the sound of him leaving, but instead spun round at the sound of her door slamming into the wall. Iant-- Brother Jones was standing in the door way. She took in the colour in his cheeks, the blood spattering his robes and the way he didn't seem to notice the Captain before she realised he was speaking.
"Sister, and old woman in the infirmary. Sister, I -- she was dying, Sister." Gwen crossed over to Ianto and took his hands in hers, hoping the contact would soothe him.
"One of the patients is dead, Brother?"
"No, that's what I'm saying. I saved her, Sister!" He looked so happy, but she hardened her heart.
"You saved her, Brother? Why did you not send for Brother Harper? You knew he was here."
"There wasn't time, it all happened so fast." Gwen noticed that his voice had begun to cool and a hint of anger was beginning to creep into it. She hated to do this, he'd seemed so happy and she was pleased, more please than she should be, that he had chosen to share his happiness with her and barely registered Captain Harkness's presence.
"You shouldn't have exceeded your duties like that, Brother Jones, it would only have taken a moment to summon Brother Harper. See that it does not happen again." She could see the tremors running through his body and the strange light in his eyes. For a moment she wasn't sure if he was going to lash out at her or break apart. Then Captain Harkness, who she hadn't heard come up behind her, reached around her and held out his arm. The other man grasped it and Harkness pulled him to a hug.
"It's okay, you did good," he murmured, stroking a soothing hand up and down Brother Jones’ spine. "It's okay."
Gwen could do nothing but glare at the man and was surprised to see him glaring back at her, over the head of the younger man. How dare he act like she was the one in the wrong when it had been his presence and their earlier conversation that had forced her into a confrontation with Brother Jones that she hadn't wanted. She could hear the wind outside, whipping against the walls, and suddenly this room was too close, too unbearable for her to stay another moment. She swept out of the room, heading for Sister Sato's control room and told herself it wasn't anything like running away.
* * *
Ianto was silhouetted against the sky as he pulled on the bell rope to signal that it was time for lunch. For some reason, Gwen couldn't seem to look away. Maybe it was guilt. He was still distant with her after the business with the dying woman. She smiled as she heard the chatter of the children below. One of the older boys had suggested a picnic for lunch and Brother Harper was going to spend the afternoon showing them some of the herbs that were used in modern medicine. She finally looked away from the figure at the bell and frowned. Sister Sato was also clearly viable against the skyline, in one of the crop gardens. It wasn’t where she was that made Gwen frown. No, what had made her frown was the way that Sister Sato was stood, stock still, looking out at the mountains.
Cursing, Gwen made her way outside and headed up to the top field.
"Sister Sato, what's wrong?" Gwen asked as she approached. The other woman turned slowly, as though she was waking from a dream.
"Oh Sister, I don't know what's wrong with me. I look at the programmes, and find improvements and things that need doing, but I just can't seem to see the point." Gwen reached out to the other woman as she began to cry. "It's this place, Sister. We can all see too much. I keep thinking of things from years ago, before I joined the Order. I can't stop thinking about all the things I want to forget."
Gwen felt her stomach lurch at Sister Sato's words. She was right, of course. They could all see far too much, as though the light here was illuminating their pasts with the same merciless brightness that gave the mountains their uncanny appearance. "Sister, you must keep busy. Keep so busy that there is no time for such thoughts. And speak to me. I will help you." Even as Gwen made the promise and led the way back to Hope House she wondered at it. She couldn't even help herself, how could she help anyone else?
* * *
"What's going on now?" Brother Harper asked, sounding annoyed as usual. Gwen shared a smile with Brother Jones. They had been doing the inventory for the infirmary with Brother Harper stomping around then, alternating between complaining about them being in his way and ordering them to fetch and carry for him. Their shared annoyance seemed to have fixed things between them, Gwen thought they were getting on better this morning than they had for many months.
She rose and went to the window. She was as curious as Brother Harper about what was causing such a disturbance. She needn't have bothered moving, though. Before she could work out what was happening Ayeh burst into the room.
"Sister Superior, the General is here."
"Show him up then, Ayeh." Ideally, Gwen would have liked to stall the General for a little while at least, but she wasn't going to admit that to Ayeh. Brother Jones was sweeping the last lot of supplies into a cupboard when Ayeh led the General in. He was accompanied by a young man in his early twenties at her guess. He had a golden tan and sun-lightened bronze hair that suggested an outdoors life, but when Gwen shook the hand he extended to her, it was smooth and callus free.
"My nephew," General Bilis said, smiling a proprietary smile at the young man. "People call him the young General, and when they think they I can't hear, they call me the old General. You may call him Luke."
"Nephew my arse," Brother Harper muttered. She hoped it was too quiet for the General to hear.
"We're honoured by your presence," Gwen said. She did not add that they were also extremely put out by it, but perhaps the General caught something of it anyway.
"I understand that your school is thriving?" he asked, then continued without pausing for a response. "My nephew is to be your newest student. Of course it is impossible for him to stay in the village. He will stay here, with you."
"Stay here?" Gwen gasped. She knew she should try harder to hide her dismay, but she was horrified. Having such a high ranking houseguest was going to be a nightmare. The General said nothing and she rallied. It was a setback, nothing more. "Of course, if you think it's for the best. Brother Jones, please take the young General up to one of the guest rooms." She hoped there was at least one that was habitable.
She turned to the General as the two young men left the room. "We are honoured to have your nephew with us."
"Indeed." Gwen moved to lead the General back to his car, but he stopped her. "Please, don't concern yourself. I can find my own way back." She watched him go, then turned to Brother Harper, who had apparently managed to hide a bottle of Scotch in the medical bay and was now offering her a glass. She should, of course, reprimand him.
"Sister Superior!" Given that he hadn't appeared at all perturbed by Harkness' flirting she thought it was a little rich that Brother Jones seemed so scandalised by her having a drink. She set the glass down on the table.
"Brother Jones?" He did recover quickly, she had to give him that.
"The young General is settling into his room. I thought you would want to know."
"Thank you, Brother Jones." She nodded at him as he withdrew from the room. "I suppose I'd better go and see the young General and work out what we're going to do with him." She was tempted to pick up her glass and drain it before she left, but she didn't. It looked like she was going to need all her wits about her to deal with the young General and his ‘Uncle’.
* * *
Gwen felt her heart sink, or at least do something when she saw Captain Harkness approach. It had been several weeks since the General's visit and, despite her worries, the young General seemed to be content and everything else was running well. She had been hoping that she could avoid -- that they could all avoid -- Harkness. With the worst possible timing, at least from her point of view, Brother Jones appeared to check on the irrigation system in the planting patch that Harkness was, typically, walking straight through. It was only after she'd seen a smile that set her teeth on edge pass between them that she noticed the girl following Harkness. The Captain walked over to Gwen, once again showing no concern for personal space as he stood close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from his body.
"I need a favour, Sister."
"Really, Captain Harkness?" She hoped her voice didn't betray the awful, fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach. He gestured for the girl to come forward. Gwen guessed she was about twenty. She had large brown eyes and brown hair almost completely obscured by the red cloak she was wearing.
"This is Faith, she needs somewhere to stay for a while."
"Why does she need somewhere to stay?" Gwen asked, a number of possibilities crossing her mind. Harkness took her arm and led her a short distance away. They stopped; his hand stayed on her arm.
"There's been some sort of misunderstanding. The girl, Faith, keeps following me around. Her family won't have her back until she straightens out." Gwen glared at him.
"So after ruining her you're just going to dump her on us? Of all the --"
"Simmer down sister. I haven't 'ruined her' as you so quaintly put it. I haven't laid a finger on her."
"She's just following you around with no encouragement and for no reason?" Gwen said. She wasn't sure why she was asking, it wasn't as though she could trust a single word the man said.
"What can I say, I'm a charming man." He looked at her and his grin faded.
"Look, I know that, for whatever reason, you'd rather I stayed away, but I'm not asking for my sake. She has nowhere else to go." Gwen turned to look back at the red-robed woman.
"Very well. We'll take her in." She turned and walked with him back to the girl. Harkness kept walking past Faith though until he was standing with Brother Jones. Gwen clenched her teeth, realising how well he'd played the situation. She could hardly leave the poor girl standing out here while she watched over them, and Brother Jones had done nothing -- yet -- to deserve her calling Sato or Harper out to chaperone him as though he couldn't be trusted. Forcing herself to relax she turned to the girl.
"Follow me, my dear. Let's see what we can do for you."
* * *
"All this land?" Gwen asked the Captain, brushing a tree branch aside as she turned back to see Hope House, a distant blob on the horizon.
"All this. Almost makes you wonder what the General wants from you, giving you all this for your Order." Gwen looked up, sharply. Recently she'd been worrying about the same thing. Why was the General so keen for there to be people in Hope House? It was a terrible spot, despite its beauty. It was too exposed, too open to the air, too close to the mountains.
"What do you know?"
"Know? Very little. I know that other people have tried to live in Hope House before; I know that no-one has stayed more than six months; and I know that the General isn't the kind of man you can trust."
"And yet you’re perfectly willing to take his money?" Gwen goaded.
"Would you expect anything else from me?" The words were clearly meant to be mocking, but there was something in them that made her stop before she answered. She looked at him and whatever he saw in her face clearly made him regret his candour. He looked away. "I know something else too -- I know that the wind has never been as bad, not in all the time I've been here."
She was sick of hearing about the bloody wind as though it were some malevolent being waiting to devour them. She turned to go back the house, but lost her footing among the tree roots. Before she hit the floor Captain Harkness grabbed her. She could feel heat of his body against her back and the way the muscles in his arms tensed as he set her back on her feet. She twisted in his grasp, turning to face him. She told herself that she expected him to stand back. Wanted him to stand back. Instead, he changed his grip on her arms, making it more like an embrace now.
"You should be careful, Gwen Cooper." She looked up at him, feelings she'd hoped had been buried when she joined the order bubbling through her veins.
"I always am careful-- cautious-- now." The moment stretched between them, but at last it broke. She pushed him away. "And my name is Sister Cooper. Sister Superior to you. How dare you address me any other way." She marched back to the House, not turning once to see if he was following.
Part 2
Prompt: Black Narcissus
Pairing(s): Jack/Gwen/Ianto in various combinations.
Rating: 12 Warnings: A little swearing
Spoilers: For pretty much all of Black Narcissus, only passing reference to events of Torchwood and nothing past S1. Disclaimer: Neither Torchwood nor Black Narcissus belong to me.
Author's Notes: Many thanks to jooles34 for the excellent beta. Summary: When Sister Cooper is told by the Mother Superior of her Order that she must travel to the distant planet of Eirahendre to set up an outpost she is thrilled at the chance to see new stars. Arriving at Hope House, Sister Cooper must deal with a hostile caretaker, her own companions, the mysterious General and the General's frustrating agent, Captain Harkness. As a harsh wind blows through Hope House and the pains of the past threaten to tear her little community apart, Sister Cooper must fight if she is to have any future at all.
Gwen stepped down from the transport disk onto the observation deck. She didn't know why the Mother Superior always insisted on meeting here. Although, that wasn't quite true. She had a pretty strong suspicion about why the Reverend Mother insisted on meeting where Gwen could not help but see the stars above her.
"Gwen," a voice said. Gwen turned to see a red haired woman walking towards her. She tried not to grit her teeth.
"That is no longer my name, Reverend Mother."
"Of course, my mistake." The woman smiled at her. "But I still answer to the name Donna even though I gave up being the woman she was a long time ago."
"Yes, Reverend Mother." Obedience didn’t come easily to Gwen, but it was one of the many things she knew she had to work on. Besides, she had enough experience of arguing with the Reverend Mother to know she couldn’t win. "Was that what you summoned me for?" It was as close as she could get to outright insolence without saying something unforgivable. She saw the other woman's mouth twist up into a hastily suppressed smile and, not for the first time, wondered what had led such a vibrant woman to a cloistered life. That thought came a little too close to things she did not want to think about though, so she squashed it down.
"No, my child. I called you here because I have a task for you. I have been contacted by a man, a General Bilis in Eirahendre. He wants us to set up an outpost there. To educate his people."
"I am to be part of the outpost, Reverend Mother?" Gwen asked. She knew that the pulse of excitement in her stomach was unworthy of her; that this mission was not about her desires, but she couldn't help it.
"You are to lead the outpost."
"I -- I don't know what to say." And she didn't. The excitement was still there but with a counter-beat of worry now. To be responsible for an entire mission, for all the Sisters and Brothers that would be travelling with her.
"Good. It's not an easy task you are being given. I'm glad you seem to realise that. You will be the youngest Sister Superior this order has ever had."
"Who will be coming with me, Reverend Mother?" Gwen tried to sound appropriately subdued by the task that was being given to her, but even the worry she felt was not enough to squash the anticipation building inside her.
"Brother Harper, for the infirmary; Sister Sato--"
"For her kindness?" Gwen asked.
"For that, and for her intelligence, Sister." Gwen hadn't meant the comment as an insult, but she felt the sting of rebuke in the Reverend Mother's words.
"And Brother Jones."
"Ianto?" Gwen gasped, horrified.
"Yes Ianto, in as much as you are Gwen," the other woman said. Gwen found she couldn't meet those wise, old eyes in the face of a woman only barely older than herself.
"But -- why Brother Jones?" Gwen didn't try and hide her confusion over his inclusion. Most of the Order would have reacted in the same way. The young man had come to them following the massacre of his outpost. She couldn’t see him as a pioneer, she suspected the dead woman he had loved was the only reason he had attempted a frontier life. He kept himself to himself, too much in fact, and it was easy to see how damaged he was by both the massacre and the death of his lover. He had managed to rescue her, only for her to die a few days after they reached one of the Order’s sanctuaries. And if there was an added layer to her own reaction to the man, a sense of recognition, an awareness of the pain that drove someone to seek refuge in the Order, then no-one needed to know.
"Reverend Mother, surely he has joined too recently. He is still grieving and --" Gwen bit off the end of her sentence. She didn't want the troubling presence of Brother Jones with them on their mission, but neither did she want to malign his character to the Reverend Mother.
"And?" There was no choice for it, the Reverend Mother was clearly not going to let it go.
"And there are questions about how committed he is to the Order, to his vows." She looked at the Reverend Mother, hoping that her superior's skill of reading people would, for once, be useful, and allow the other woman to see her comment was not made out of malice.
"Strange. People raised the same concerns about you when you first joined us and they were wrong, weren't they?" The Reverend Mother looked at Gwen for just long enough that a cold, panicked sweat began to snake down her spine. “The General was also concerned about allowing the Order to run Hope House when he found that our vows are renewed yearly.”
“But that’s one of our strengths, Reverend Mother, the voluntary nature of our order.”
“Just so.” The woman smiled at her. "Brother Jones desperately needs to feel that he is helping, that he is important to someone," Mother Noble said. "Surely you understand that, my child?" Gwen understood all too well how that felt. She didn't want to hear anymore about the similarities between herself and Brother Jones. It created a link, an empathy that she did not -- could not -- want.
The Reverend Mother pressed a button on her wrist strap to summon the transport disk back. She helped Gwen onto it, but did not release her hand immediately. "Lend him some of your own importance, Sister Cooper. You are going to have more than enough to spare.”
* * *
When they stepped out of the shuttle, Gwen felt a little underwhelmed. During the months of preparation for their mission she had read and watched all she could about Eirahendre. It was supposed to be beautiful and mountainous in a way that gave it exceptional colour and crispness. Instead the shuttleport was -- ordinary. Much like the young man approaching them.
He smiled and held out his hand. "The Old General sent me. Please, follow me, I am to take you to your outpost." He started to lead them over to a large ground-transport. Gwen told herself that the disappointment she felt at the lack of splendour she had seen in this world so far was foolish and unworthy. Once in the transport she pulled out her holoReader and kept her head down for their journey as penance. Hiding this way she was quite unprepared for the sight that greeted her when they landed.
"Shit," she whispered, stepping out into a sea of aching blue. Unable to tear her eyes away from the expanse of sky above her, she felt like she was watching a movie; the colour too vivid and perfect to be real. It was like biting into a square of the most delicious chocolate in the world; so delicious that everything else, even the tingle from the scrap of foil you'd also bitten into, was an echo.
"Shit is right," Brother Harper said behind her. She turned to reprimand him, but stopped when she saw what he was looking at. Their driver was marching towards the building that was to house the outpost. As he flung open the door, a flock of birds burst from the empty window panes. An old woman glared at them from one of the windows. Gwen assumed she was the caretaker, Ayeh, mentioned in the General’s letter. "It's a fucking wreck."
"Nonsense, Brother Harper, it just needs work. Also, see me this evening, your language is unacceptable." She thought she heard him tut, but he held his tongue and she was grateful. It looked like life was going to be difficult enough without Brother Harper challenging her authority. She was already walking towards their new home when Brother Jones spoke, so she nearly missed his words.
"Can't you see, Brother Harper? It's beautiful."
* * *
When Gwen woke the next morning she expected to have a hard day of work ahead of her. She was expecting to have to face down more arguments from Brother Harper. What she was not expecting was to walk into the room they'd earmarked as the dining room to find Brother Jones smiling at a strange man, naked from the waist up, who was standing all together too close to him. She cleared her throat.
"Sister Superior," Brother Jones said in greeting. He twisted his head to meet her eyes in acknowledgment, but made no move to step away from the man, who even now was resting one arm causally on the Brother's shoulder; fingertips just brushing his neck.
"Does Sister Sato not have work for you to do, Brother?" Gwen asked. It came out harsher than she intended. If anyone was at fault here it was the man standing semi-clothed in her outpost, not the young man currently looking at her with some concern.
"Is everything alright, Sister Superior?" Ianto asked.
"Of course," she said, managing to soften her tone. She had to remember that the young man in front of her had headed for the frontier with his partner, Lisa Hallet, when he was barely an adult. He probably didn't even realise what lay behind the stranger's apparent friendliness. "It's just that we have a lot to do, Brother." He nodded at her and then at the man, who finally moved his arm, but only to allow him to take Brother Jones's hand.
"It was good to meet you, Ianto Jones." She almost didn't register the accent, American Earth Standard, in her shock at hearing the stranger use Brother Jones' birth name. Even the Brother himself seemed to realise that things had gone too far.
"Just Brother Jones please, Captain. We renounce our given forenames along with our previous lives when we enter the order."
"Shame, it's a nice name," the 'Captain' said, smiling. And maybe Brother Jones wasn't as innocent as she had thought because she could have sworn that she saw a blush creeping up from under the collar of his robes as he turned to leave. She waited until he'd gone to speak.
"Captain?"
"Captain Jack Harkness," the man replied, turning his smile on her. She really shouldn't be too hard on Brother Jones; it was -- disconcerting -- to be the focus of that smile. "And I guess you're the Sister Superior. You're not what I was expecting."
"Really?" she said, her voice frosty. She was not going to be talked down to by this man.
"Oh yeah," he replied, leaning in slightly, "you're much hotter." It was fury she could feel heating her cheeks, she was sure of it.
"Do you have business here, Captain Harkness, or is this a social call?"
"A bit of both. I'm the Old General's agent. He asked me to keep an eye on you, make sure you're okay. I guess he thought that another an Old Earth boy would be more reassuring for you than one of his people."
"Why would he think that? From what I've seen I couldn't tell the difference between one of the General's kind and a human from any city on Earth."
"Maybe that's what he thought you'd find unsettling." The man really was insufferably smug, she decided.
"Well, as you can see, Captain, we're perfectly fine." She watched him look around the room, with its broken floorboards and bare walls and wished with all her might that the roof wouldn’t choose that moment to cave in.
"Yeah, I can see," he drawled. She'd had enough of him.
"Will that be all, Captain?" she asked opening the door pointedly, but gently in case it came away in her hand.
"For now. I think I've seen what I want," he said, voice low, as he walked past her and out of the door. She shut it behind him and leant against the wood. Definitely, definitely fury, she thought as she brought her hands up to cool her burning cheeks.
* * *
Over the next month they settled into a functioning community. Gwen wouldn't say they were happy as such, but they were busy, which was more important. Sister Sato had been programming the planters and maintenance equipment for the garden. They had supplies to last them several months, and in a real emergency they could always call on Captain Harkness. Though the thought of having to beg for his help was not a happy one.
Brother Harper had managed to get the infirmary shipshape in under a week, which was a good job as they'd been deluged with patients. Her surprise when the Brother reported that there had been nothing wrong with any of the patients had been removed when Ayeh admitted that the General had been paying people to attend classes and the infirmary. Instead, it had been replaced by a sliver of unease. Why would the General be paying people to use their services?
Still, she didn't have time to worry too much. She was busy as well. Between finding out more about the General and the people, and if she was honest with herself, Captain Harkness, from Ayeh; making sure her charges were adjusting to their new lives; and taking the majority of classes, she should have been too busy to worry about anything. Strangely though, she'd been thinking more and more about her life before the order, something she had learned not to do almost a decade ago. Inwardly tutting to herself, she smiled at Brother Jones as he passed her in the corridor. That was another worry, of course. Brother Jones was splitting his time between helping with her lessons, Sister Sato's agricultural efforts and assisting Brother Harper’s doctoring. He helped all three of them diligently, but he seemed more drawn and more tired, as time went on. She still doubted that he was destined for a life in the Order, but here, at closer quarters, she could see why the Reverend Mother was so keen to keep him, at least for a little while. He still suffered too much from the wounds of his past. He needed time and peace before he would be ready to go out, back into the world with its dangers and its Captains.
She shook her head, trying to clear it before she entered the classroom. If she was going to teach a class on advance space engineering, she needed to concentrate.
* * *
"Do we have to ring that fucking bell all the time?" Brother Harper scowled down at his coffee and porridge as he spoke. Gwen and Sister Sato shared a grin. Brother Harper's complaints about the bell were nearly as regular as the chimes themselves. Gwen’s grin widened as she remembered his reaction to Ayeh informing them that the only way to communicate with the village below was to ring the great iron bell on the cliff and wait for someone to travel up to speak to them. Still, she hadn't been happy about it herself. Not only was there something odd about the mountain that made comms equipment unusable, but the bell was perched right on the edge of a sheer cliff-face. She shuddered thinking of the drop.
Brother Ianto came into the dining room, smiling. She'd had her reservations about appointing him as their bell ringer. Apart from the drop, bell ringing was hard physical work and he was still not as strong as she would have liked. She'd let herself be overruled though, both by Brother Harper's medical expertise and by Brother Jones' obvious enthusiasm. Looking at him now, happy and with some colour in his cheeks at last, she thought they may have been right after all.
* * *
Gwen sighed, sitting up in her bed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get properly warm and she couldn't fall asleep with the wind whistling through the window panes. She sat, knees drawn up to her chest, and tried not to think about all the things she wanted to forget. A soft knock on her door startled her out of her moping.
"Who is it?" she called.
"Brother Harper."
Gwen got out of bed, hopping from foot to foot in an attempt to stop the freezing cold of the floor travel all the way up her legs and make her any colder than she already was, and opened the door for him. He closed the door behind him and perched on the end of the bed facing her. He'd somehow managed to get hold of a bottle of Scotch and was offering her a glass. She should, of course, reprimand him. She downed the liquid in her glass and held it out for a refill.
"Why are you here Brother Harper?"
"Because I'm worried. Because I think we're totally screwed." Gwen snorted, but otherwise chose to ignore the second comment.
"What is worrying you?" Brother Harper looked at her.
"Are you kidding me? There've been problems with the building, problems with the crops, Ayeh hates us all and if it wasn't for the General's money no one would want us here at all." "Well, when you put it like that we're pretty screwed." She raised her glass to toast him. "There's something else too. I think Brother Jones is really ill. You should send him back, Sister. He says he's not been sleeping, but there's more to it than that. I know there is. This place is no good for him and him being here is no good for the rest of us."
"He is part of this Order, Brother Harper. He will remain here with the rest of us." Gwen's tone was nearly as cold as the room, but that didn't stop Brother Harper reaching out to grab her shoulders in desperation.
"It's not about whether he'd part of the Order or not, Sister. There's something in the atmosphere, it's affecting all of us. Sister Sato's been complaining of sickness, I've got a rash on my arms; but it's not just physical. It's like everything is more intense, all our feelings, all our memories and it's affecting Brother Jones worse than the rest of us. It's the wind."
"Nonsense, Brother Harper." She ignored to part of her mind that was wailing about how much more vivid her own memories seemed to be, how keenly she felt them -- as though events from years ago had happened yesterday, with all the grief and guilt as strong as it had been at the time. "I will not hear any more of this superstitious nonsense about the wind. If Brother Jones is sick, it is your job to heal him."
Brother Harper glared at her. For a time she thought he was going to argue some more, but eventually he bowed his head and dropped his arms to his sides. "As you wish, Sister Superior."
She could tell from his tone that he thought she was making a mistake, but she said nothing as he left the room. Drawing her blankets around her it seemed that the room was colder than ever.
* * *
When she first arrived Gwen didn’t think she could ever get tired of the clear, piercing beauty of the place, but looking out of her bedroom window she thought that three months of it had sponged any appreciation of the views from her mind. If anything, she was growing to dislike the way she could see for miles, the way the colour was just a shade too comfortable for her eyes. She sighed as Ayeh burst into her room.
"Ayeh, you really must learn to knock. What if I had been changing?" The old woman scowled at her.
"Nothing I haven't seen before, Sister." She broke into a leer. "Nothing Captain Harkness hasn't seen before, either." Gwen felt the rush of blood to her cheeks.
"How dare you. I --"
"He's waiting for you." Gwen stood, shocked. What could the woman mean, what did she know? "Downstairs, Sister. He's waiting to speak to you."
Gwen swept past the other woman, down the stairs and entered the room. Sister Sato and Brother Harper were already there. Brother Jones was nowhere in sight. Maybe things were starting to look up after all.
"You're here on business, I take it?" she asked, seating herself behind the desk with Harper and Sato standing to either side of her.
"Why would I be here for anything else?" he asked in that insufferable way of his.
"No reason at all, Captain Harkness. The sooner you say what you have to say the sooner you can leave, so please begin." He grinned at her as though he could tell how much his flirtation disturbed her. Perhaps he could.
"It's about this infirmary of yours. You need to take care." She could feel Brother Harper bristling behind her. She hoped he would have the sense to keep quiet and let her handle this.
"We are always careful, Captain Harkness. Brother Harper is an excellent and conscientious doctor."
"I'm sure he is, but that's not what I meant. You need to be careful with the cases you treat. You’re outsiders here; your safety depends on keeping a low profile. If anyone comes to you who is too ill, dying, you must turn them away."
"That's obscene," Brother Harper spat.
"Obscene or not, I know this area. It's peaceful most of the time, but every so often something flares up, usually with the wind. An accident, a mistake that would be forgiven without a second thought most of the time, and suddenly people die because of it. We're in one of those times now." She hated being lectured by him as though she were a child, but even more she hated the fact the he was right. Despite her confidence in the beginning that the people would adjust to them, accept what they had to offer, they still seemed to be here on sufferance. The whole atmosphere set her teeth on edge. She'd even begun listening to the ridiculous, superstitious nonsense about the wind.
"We will be as cautious as we need to be, Captain." She didn't want to acknowledge he was right, but even less did she want him to think her a fool with no common sense of her own, too stubborn to take good advice when it was offered. She turned to Brother Harper and Sister Sato.
"You are free to go." She watched them leave the room, in part to avoid looking at the Captain. Once the door closed he walked over to her and lifted her chin so she had no choice but to meet his eyes.
"You too. It's no good if it's just the others. Promise me." She stood looking at him. There was too much in the air around them, too much unsaid. She broke away and walked over to the window, turning her back on him.
"I promise." She waited for the sound of him leaving, but instead spun round at the sound of her door slamming into the wall. Iant-- Brother Jones was standing in the door way. She took in the colour in his cheeks, the blood spattering his robes and the way he didn't seem to notice the Captain before she realised he was speaking.
"Sister, and old woman in the infirmary. Sister, I -- she was dying, Sister." Gwen crossed over to Ianto and took his hands in hers, hoping the contact would soothe him.
"One of the patients is dead, Brother?"
"No, that's what I'm saying. I saved her, Sister!" He looked so happy, but she hardened her heart.
"You saved her, Brother? Why did you not send for Brother Harper? You knew he was here."
"There wasn't time, it all happened so fast." Gwen noticed that his voice had begun to cool and a hint of anger was beginning to creep into it. She hated to do this, he'd seemed so happy and she was pleased, more please than she should be, that he had chosen to share his happiness with her and barely registered Captain Harkness's presence.
"You shouldn't have exceeded your duties like that, Brother Jones, it would only have taken a moment to summon Brother Harper. See that it does not happen again." She could see the tremors running through his body and the strange light in his eyes. For a moment she wasn't sure if he was going to lash out at her or break apart. Then Captain Harkness, who she hadn't heard come up behind her, reached around her and held out his arm. The other man grasped it and Harkness pulled him to a hug.
"It's okay, you did good," he murmured, stroking a soothing hand up and down Brother Jones’ spine. "It's okay."
Gwen could do nothing but glare at the man and was surprised to see him glaring back at her, over the head of the younger man. How dare he act like she was the one in the wrong when it had been his presence and their earlier conversation that had forced her into a confrontation with Brother Jones that she hadn't wanted. She could hear the wind outside, whipping against the walls, and suddenly this room was too close, too unbearable for her to stay another moment. She swept out of the room, heading for Sister Sato's control room and told herself it wasn't anything like running away.
* * *
Ianto was silhouetted against the sky as he pulled on the bell rope to signal that it was time for lunch. For some reason, Gwen couldn't seem to look away. Maybe it was guilt. He was still distant with her after the business with the dying woman. She smiled as she heard the chatter of the children below. One of the older boys had suggested a picnic for lunch and Brother Harper was going to spend the afternoon showing them some of the herbs that were used in modern medicine. She finally looked away from the figure at the bell and frowned. Sister Sato was also clearly viable against the skyline, in one of the crop gardens. It wasn’t where she was that made Gwen frown. No, what had made her frown was the way that Sister Sato was stood, stock still, looking out at the mountains.
Cursing, Gwen made her way outside and headed up to the top field.
"Sister Sato, what's wrong?" Gwen asked as she approached. The other woman turned slowly, as though she was waking from a dream.
"Oh Sister, I don't know what's wrong with me. I look at the programmes, and find improvements and things that need doing, but I just can't seem to see the point." Gwen reached out to the other woman as she began to cry. "It's this place, Sister. We can all see too much. I keep thinking of things from years ago, before I joined the Order. I can't stop thinking about all the things I want to forget."
Gwen felt her stomach lurch at Sister Sato's words. She was right, of course. They could all see far too much, as though the light here was illuminating their pasts with the same merciless brightness that gave the mountains their uncanny appearance. "Sister, you must keep busy. Keep so busy that there is no time for such thoughts. And speak to me. I will help you." Even as Gwen made the promise and led the way back to Hope House she wondered at it. She couldn't even help herself, how could she help anyone else?
* * *
"What's going on now?" Brother Harper asked, sounding annoyed as usual. Gwen shared a smile with Brother Jones. They had been doing the inventory for the infirmary with Brother Harper stomping around then, alternating between complaining about them being in his way and ordering them to fetch and carry for him. Their shared annoyance seemed to have fixed things between them, Gwen thought they were getting on better this morning than they had for many months.
She rose and went to the window. She was as curious as Brother Harper about what was causing such a disturbance. She needn't have bothered moving, though. Before she could work out what was happening Ayeh burst into the room.
"Sister Superior, the General is here."
"Show him up then, Ayeh." Ideally, Gwen would have liked to stall the General for a little while at least, but she wasn't going to admit that to Ayeh. Brother Jones was sweeping the last lot of supplies into a cupboard when Ayeh led the General in. He was accompanied by a young man in his early twenties at her guess. He had a golden tan and sun-lightened bronze hair that suggested an outdoors life, but when Gwen shook the hand he extended to her, it was smooth and callus free.
"My nephew," General Bilis said, smiling a proprietary smile at the young man. "People call him the young General, and when they think they I can't hear, they call me the old General. You may call him Luke."
"Nephew my arse," Brother Harper muttered. She hoped it was too quiet for the General to hear.
"We're honoured by your presence," Gwen said. She did not add that they were also extremely put out by it, but perhaps the General caught something of it anyway.
"I understand that your school is thriving?" he asked, then continued without pausing for a response. "My nephew is to be your newest student. Of course it is impossible for him to stay in the village. He will stay here, with you."
"Stay here?" Gwen gasped. She knew she should try harder to hide her dismay, but she was horrified. Having such a high ranking houseguest was going to be a nightmare. The General said nothing and she rallied. It was a setback, nothing more. "Of course, if you think it's for the best. Brother Jones, please take the young General up to one of the guest rooms." She hoped there was at least one that was habitable.
She turned to the General as the two young men left the room. "We are honoured to have your nephew with us."
"Indeed." Gwen moved to lead the General back to his car, but he stopped her. "Please, don't concern yourself. I can find my own way back." She watched him go, then turned to Brother Harper, who had apparently managed to hide a bottle of Scotch in the medical bay and was now offering her a glass. She should, of course, reprimand him.
"Sister Superior!" Given that he hadn't appeared at all perturbed by Harkness' flirting she thought it was a little rich that Brother Jones seemed so scandalised by her having a drink. She set the glass down on the table.
"Brother Jones?" He did recover quickly, she had to give him that.
"The young General is settling into his room. I thought you would want to know."
"Thank you, Brother Jones." She nodded at him as he withdrew from the room. "I suppose I'd better go and see the young General and work out what we're going to do with him." She was tempted to pick up her glass and drain it before she left, but she didn't. It looked like she was going to need all her wits about her to deal with the young General and his ‘Uncle’.
* * *
Gwen felt her heart sink, or at least do something when she saw Captain Harkness approach. It had been several weeks since the General's visit and, despite her worries, the young General seemed to be content and everything else was running well. She had been hoping that she could avoid -- that they could all avoid -- Harkness. With the worst possible timing, at least from her point of view, Brother Jones appeared to check on the irrigation system in the planting patch that Harkness was, typically, walking straight through. It was only after she'd seen a smile that set her teeth on edge pass between them that she noticed the girl following Harkness. The Captain walked over to Gwen, once again showing no concern for personal space as he stood close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from his body.
"I need a favour, Sister."
"Really, Captain Harkness?" She hoped her voice didn't betray the awful, fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach. He gestured for the girl to come forward. Gwen guessed she was about twenty. She had large brown eyes and brown hair almost completely obscured by the red cloak she was wearing.
"This is Faith, she needs somewhere to stay for a while."
"Why does she need somewhere to stay?" Gwen asked, a number of possibilities crossing her mind. Harkness took her arm and led her a short distance away. They stopped; his hand stayed on her arm.
"There's been some sort of misunderstanding. The girl, Faith, keeps following me around. Her family won't have her back until she straightens out." Gwen glared at him.
"So after ruining her you're just going to dump her on us? Of all the --"
"Simmer down sister. I haven't 'ruined her' as you so quaintly put it. I haven't laid a finger on her."
"She's just following you around with no encouragement and for no reason?" Gwen said. She wasn't sure why she was asking, it wasn't as though she could trust a single word the man said.
"What can I say, I'm a charming man." He looked at her and his grin faded.
"Look, I know that, for whatever reason, you'd rather I stayed away, but I'm not asking for my sake. She has nowhere else to go." Gwen turned to look back at the red-robed woman.
"Very well. We'll take her in." She turned and walked with him back to the girl. Harkness kept walking past Faith though until he was standing with Brother Jones. Gwen clenched her teeth, realising how well he'd played the situation. She could hardly leave the poor girl standing out here while she watched over them, and Brother Jones had done nothing -- yet -- to deserve her calling Sato or Harper out to chaperone him as though he couldn't be trusted. Forcing herself to relax she turned to the girl.
"Follow me, my dear. Let's see what we can do for you."
* * *
"All this land?" Gwen asked the Captain, brushing a tree branch aside as she turned back to see Hope House, a distant blob on the horizon.
"All this. Almost makes you wonder what the General wants from you, giving you all this for your Order." Gwen looked up, sharply. Recently she'd been worrying about the same thing. Why was the General so keen for there to be people in Hope House? It was a terrible spot, despite its beauty. It was too exposed, too open to the air, too close to the mountains.
"What do you know?"
"Know? Very little. I know that other people have tried to live in Hope House before; I know that no-one has stayed more than six months; and I know that the General isn't the kind of man you can trust."
"And yet you’re perfectly willing to take his money?" Gwen goaded.
"Would you expect anything else from me?" The words were clearly meant to be mocking, but there was something in them that made her stop before she answered. She looked at him and whatever he saw in her face clearly made him regret his candour. He looked away. "I know something else too -- I know that the wind has never been as bad, not in all the time I've been here."
She was sick of hearing about the bloody wind as though it were some malevolent being waiting to devour them. She turned to go back the house, but lost her footing among the tree roots. Before she hit the floor Captain Harkness grabbed her. She could feel heat of his body against her back and the way the muscles in his arms tensed as he set her back on her feet. She twisted in his grasp, turning to face him. She told herself that she expected him to stand back. Wanted him to stand back. Instead, he changed his grip on her arms, making it more like an embrace now.
"You should be careful, Gwen Cooper." She looked up at him, feelings she'd hoped had been buried when she joined the order bubbling through her veins.
"I always am careful-- cautious-- now." The moment stretched between them, but at last it broke. She pushed him away. "And my name is Sister Cooper. Sister Superior to you. How dare you address me any other way." She marched back to the House, not turning once to see if he was following.
Part 2