The End Is Where We Start From (8 of ?)
The End Is Where We Start From (8 of ?)
Title: Reunions
Chapter: 8 of ?
Spoilers: Season 1 and 2 of Torchwood. Begins where season 2 ends.
Summary: Death is common among Torchwood employee's, what they don't expect is what comes next...
A/N: Comments would be gratefully received, good or bad, as this is our first fic and we'd like to know what we're doing wrong! The next chapter will be up next monday. Hopefully we will stick to this schedule :P
Alarms sounded throughout the Hub, rousing the team from their individual activities.
Ianto looked up from the towers of mouldering yellow files he was processing. Sighing, he headed to the archive computer to check the CCTV covering the upper hub.
Tosh, distracted from hacking into MOD, shook her head irritably and returned to her work.
Gwen and Leanne, who had been having a girly gossip on the sofa, met Jack by the cog door. They exchanged bemused glances with him, waiting for the door to open.
Ianto burst into the room. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at his team members, blushing when Leanne returned his gaze.
"CCTV" He gasped. trying to get his breath back. "It's *gasp*...it's..." Ianto leant over, hands on knees, and gulped down lungfuls of air. He heard the cog door begin to roll back, and willed himself to look up. To look at the man he knew would be standing there.
"Owen!"
Jack wasn't sure who had said it: Ianto, Gwen, even him. He just stared, hardly able to believe what his eyes were telling him. He started when he felt a rush of air beside him, and Owen, if it was him, backed away a step, a look of shock on his face.
*
"Owen!"
Tosh looked up from her workstation when she heard the shout. What are they talking about? Could it be... All the emotions, the hopes and fears she had tried to bottled up since she had stepped out that box were let loose once more. She stood up and took a few hesitat steps towards the group near the door. If only Jack moves slightly, I could see...
She rounded the corner and there he was. Owen.
It was as if her legs had minds of their own but she didn't care, all that mattered was that she was as near to him as humanly possible. No matter how fast she covered the distance between them it wasn't fast enough, she wasn't close enough.
Owen.
That god damn bastard, that god damn beautiful bastard.
She rushed past Jack and flung her arms around his neck. Faint tingling shivers were running down her spine. God Owen. She had waited so long for this moment, ever since he had joined Torchwood Three. She missed her chance twice and she wasn't taking any risks anymore. So, as unlike Toshiko Sato as you are ever going to get, she pressed her lips to his and sufficiently forgot about the rest of the hub gawping wide-eyed a few feet away...
The world could have been falling down around her and she wouldn't have noticed. Not when the love of her life was kissing her back. She had pressed her lips to his, revelling in the spark of electricity that had shot down her body. And, from the way Owen was responding, he had felt it too. She was the one who bit lightly on his bottom lip, explored his mouth inquisitively with her tongue. She had never felt so confident; so sexy.
Tosh
The intrusion in her mind threw her off-balance.
She dropped her arms from Owen' s neck and they fell, rather ungracefully, into a heap on the floor.
*
Ianto couldn't help but jump as Tosh appeared in front of him, her arms wrapped around Owen, their lips pressed against together. This day was just becoming ridiculous. First Owen reappears despite being dead and burnt to a cinder in a nucleur reactor, then, Tosh kisses him, infront of everyone, reappearing herself.
"Pinch me." He muttered under his breath, but let out a gasp of pain as he felt someone carry out his orders. "I didn't mean it!" At that moment Tosh and Owen collapsed onto the floor.
"What was that?" Ianto heard Tosh whisper to Owen who looked decidedly confused.
"What was what? You just appearing out of nowhere?" Coughs from around them shattered their illusion of privacy. That was when Owen's eyes flicked downwards.
Ianto rushed towards Tosh and handed her his suit jacket. Owen was still staring somewhere below Tosh's face long after she had covered up.
"What the hell is going on?" Jack demanded, striding forward. " I don't believe that even a dead man walking can survive a nucleur explosion, so who are you?" He ignored Tosh tugging his trouser leg and her murmurs of "It's Owen. He's back. He's alive." Instead he grabbed the man's arms and shook him. "Answer me!" Gwen rushed forward, placing a gentle hand on his arm. Ianto hung back, not wanting any more contact with the Captain then was necessary. Instead he helped Tosh up and wrapped her in Jack's longer coat, putting his jacket back on. She still hadn't got the hang of making clothes reappear with her.
Owen's, or the man who looked liked Owen's, voice was getting louder and louder. "Of course it's me you bloody idiots. I've been here for years, after you recruited me in that graveyard Jack. I can tell you things noone else would know. Though I don't think Gwen would want you all to know about them."
"I think it really is him."Gwen said, blushing. She pulled him into a tight hug. "You daft sod, where the hell have you been?" Tears were streaming down her face. "We thought you were dead." Gwen stopped, looking nervous. "Well...we thought you were gone forever". She let her hand fall to his wrist, and dropped it suddenly with a wary smile on her face.
" Yeah. Just something I brought back with me." Owen shrugged. "It was a bit of a shock believe me, waking up two months later with everything working again. I figure i'm a .. nuclear freak? Well.. anythings better than being king of the weevils. Though I might miss making Janet kne...."
"Owen, Gwen, what the hell are you talking about?" yelled Jack, interrupting Owen's rant.
"We- Who the hell is that?" Owen countered staring at Leanne. Ianto and Gwen exchanged glances. "Isn't she that cow who does the hospital liason thing?"
"That 'cow' has a name. Leanne Sackson. I'm your replacement."
*******************************
Once they had got Owen to stop shouting, Jack had managed to convince everyone it would be a good idea to move to the boardroom. Owen was still muttering under his breath, words like "betrayal" and "stupid cow" and "replaced, me?" just audible.
"Right, is someone going to tell me whats going on?" Started Jack. Instantly everyone started talking. Ianto rolled his eyes and resumed his obsessive contemplation of the coffee stains on the boardroom table. "Quiet! Owen tell us what happened to you.".
"I was in the nuclear power plant after the Cardiff explosions, following Tosh's instructions when there was an unpredicted power surge. The doors shut sealing me in." He glanced at Tosh who was looking down at her hands. " Tosh made the final moments of my li- existance so peaceful, I was so ready for death to finally take me. I - " Owen hurriedly looked around at the rest of the team. " Next thing I know, i'm awake with a splitting headache and by the look of those poor scientists faces, dissolved flesh or one eye or something" He laughed nervously. " I couldn't feel it really it was more of a burn. I put my hand to my face and this heat built up and the guy fainted. But i didn't realise it then. I walked out thinking i was in some sort of fucked up heaven when I felt my heartbeat." Gasps sounded around the table. " I decided to check out my theory, I made my headache disappear with just my fingers I'd already healed the cut on my hand. I - I can heal things! I'm bloody brilliant!". He smirked up at Ianto ."Take that teaboy.".
"Right, so we have Owen who can heal, Tosh who can turn invisible, what the hell is going on here?". Jack spluttered exasperated.
Owen looked at Tosh shocked. What the fuck did I miss? He thought. She jumped up from the table.
"That Owen. What was THAT?" She shrieked. The medic looked confused. "You just spoke to me, in my mind!"
"What did I say?". Owen asked nervously.
"What did I miss"
************************************************************************
Owen was petrified. He had unknowingly transmitted some of his thoughts into Tosh's head. What else can she hear?
That.
Holy shit.
Tosh coughed. " Owen! Language.".
Ianto snorted.
Jack looked at them quizzically. If his instincts were correct then Owen and Tosh had just created a telepathic bond. But it shouldn't be so strong yet. By the sounds of it, it was only established a few minutes ago.
" When did this start?" He asked Tosh.
" When Owen came back, I- He said my name in my head."
Gwen pondered the thought. " Can you send me a message Owen?"
A minute of silence passed, with Owens face screwed up with concentration and Tosh biting back timid giggles.
" I'm not getting anything."
"Thats probally a good thing" Laughed Tosh " You really don't want to know what he was thinking".
"Whats happening Jack?" Gwen pushed.
" I think that Tosh and Owen have got a strong telepathic bond. But i don't know how it happened or why? In the 51st century, it was common for humans to have weak telepathic links with partners or family members but it was rarely anything of this calibar and almost impossible to happen between someone that your not intimatly involved with" Gwen gave him a disgusted look.
"Or related too" He added with a wink.
" if it was rare how come you know so much about it?" Owen muttered.
" I said it was rarely strong amongst human life forms. Remember that humans were spread across twelve hundred galaxies by this point. Other species had evolved with this talent like I have evolved from you with pheromones and a bigger brain". Jack smirked. "Among other things"
Leanne chuckled "Evolved from us, god imagine if your my great-great-great-gre-"
Ianto coughed loudly and looked to Tosh " Back to the subject at hand, maybe the bond is linked to your abilities. You both have died and come back with 'powers'".
Noone noticed the angered glare that Owen shot in Tosh's direction.
Both died? What is he on about?
It doesn't matter
Of course it matters! What happened to you? Whe- How?
I was shot.
Who- wha-Why?
Gray. I don't know why. It was bad enough that you were dying Owen, I don't want to think about it.
Why didn't you tell me? Owen sounded resigned Why did you let me rant on when you wher- oh god Tosh. I'm so sorry. I didn't even think. I'm such a prick.
It's alright. We are here now.
Yeah, we're here; new and improved.
*
Jack sighed. "I think I'm in a bit far over my head here. There's only one man I can think of who might be able to help us." He shot an apologetic look at Ianto, ignoring Leanne's curious glance. "I think I need to call the Doctor."
Leanne gasped. Everyone turned to stare at her, confused. "I'm sorry," she grinned sheepishly. "It's just you sounded so dramatic. It seemed to fit the mood." The tension in the room dissolved immediately as everyone laughed. Except Owen. He glared at Leanne and only Tosh knew exactly what he was thinking.
***********
Soon, Jack was back in his leadership role distributing tasks to his team.
"Leanne give Owen and Tosh a full body examination, try to isolate any common factors that could be the source of these..er... powers."
Leanne smiled impishly "Do you want one too Jack or shall i save that for later?"
Jack just laughed nervously rubbing his neck. He glanced at Ianto who was glarring daggers at the floor.
God he's got a problem with jealousy.
Tosh glanced up at Jack inquisitively before resuming her conversation with Gwen.
*****************************
"Shirt off!"
Owen just sat there glaring at Leanne. She gave him a look. "Are you going to be a baby about this?"
"Don't think your replacing me." Owen growled. " Now I'm back things are going to change. You'll be out for a start, retconned and back in your poncy hospital."
Leanne wasn't phased. "I know you're not mad at me. Now just get on with this physical like a good little boy"
Owen leapt up and stood nose to nose with her. "You say that again and I'll punch you. I don't care if you are a woman-" he looked he up and down derogatorily "- even though your looks seem to suggest otherwise."
Leanne gasped. "Okay that was too far. I wasn't going to say it but it speaks for itself that they replaced you so quickly. Not up to scratch were we?" Owen lost control of his temper and shoved Leanne, pushing her into the wall.
All Owen could remember thinking before he blacked out was that Leanne Sackson had a mean left hook.
Title: Reunions
Chapter: 8 of ?
Spoilers: Season 1 and 2 of Torchwood. Begins where season 2 ends.
Summary: Death is common among Torchwood employee's, what they don't expect is what comes next...
A/N: Comments would be gratefully received, good or bad, as this is our first fic and we'd like to know what we're doing wrong! The next chapter will be up next monday. Hopefully we will stick to this schedule :P
Alarms sounded throughout the Hub, rousing the team from their individual activities.
Ianto looked up from the towers of mouldering yellow files he was processing. Sighing, he headed to the archive computer to check the CCTV covering the upper hub.
Tosh, distracted from hacking into MOD, shook her head irritably and returned to her work.
Gwen and Leanne, who had been having a girly gossip on the sofa, met Jack by the cog door. They exchanged bemused glances with him, waiting for the door to open.
Ianto burst into the room. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at his team members, blushing when Leanne returned his gaze.
"CCTV" He gasped. trying to get his breath back. "It's *gasp*...it's..." Ianto leant over, hands on knees, and gulped down lungfuls of air. He heard the cog door begin to roll back, and willed himself to look up. To look at the man he knew would be standing there.
"Owen!"
Jack wasn't sure who had said it: Ianto, Gwen, even him. He just stared, hardly able to believe what his eyes were telling him. He started when he felt a rush of air beside him, and Owen, if it was him, backed away a step, a look of shock on his face.
*
"Owen!"
Tosh looked up from her workstation when she heard the shout. What are they talking about? Could it be... All the emotions, the hopes and fears she had tried to bottled up since she had stepped out that box were let loose once more. She stood up and took a few hesitat steps towards the group near the door. If only Jack moves slightly, I could see...
She rounded the corner and there he was. Owen.
It was as if her legs had minds of their own but she didn't care, all that mattered was that she was as near to him as humanly possible. No matter how fast she covered the distance between them it wasn't fast enough, she wasn't close enough.
Owen.
That god damn bastard, that god damn beautiful bastard.
She rushed past Jack and flung her arms around his neck. Faint tingling shivers were running down her spine. God Owen. She had waited so long for this moment, ever since he had joined Torchwood Three. She missed her chance twice and she wasn't taking any risks anymore. So, as unlike Toshiko Sato as you are ever going to get, she pressed her lips to his and sufficiently forgot about the rest of the hub gawping wide-eyed a few feet away...
The world could have been falling down around her and she wouldn't have noticed. Not when the love of her life was kissing her back. She had pressed her lips to his, revelling in the spark of electricity that had shot down her body. And, from the way Owen was responding, he had felt it too. She was the one who bit lightly on his bottom lip, explored his mouth inquisitively with her tongue. She had never felt so confident; so sexy.
Tosh
The intrusion in her mind threw her off-balance.
She dropped her arms from Owen' s neck and they fell, rather ungracefully, into a heap on the floor.
*
Ianto couldn't help but jump as Tosh appeared in front of him, her arms wrapped around Owen, their lips pressed against together. This day was just becoming ridiculous. First Owen reappears despite being dead and burnt to a cinder in a nucleur reactor, then, Tosh kisses him, infront of everyone, reappearing herself.
"Pinch me." He muttered under his breath, but let out a gasp of pain as he felt someone carry out his orders. "I didn't mean it!" At that moment Tosh and Owen collapsed onto the floor.
"What was that?" Ianto heard Tosh whisper to Owen who looked decidedly confused.
"What was what? You just appearing out of nowhere?" Coughs from around them shattered their illusion of privacy. That was when Owen's eyes flicked downwards.
Ianto rushed towards Tosh and handed her his suit jacket. Owen was still staring somewhere below Tosh's face long after she had covered up.
"What the hell is going on?" Jack demanded, striding forward. " I don't believe that even a dead man walking can survive a nucleur explosion, so who are you?" He ignored Tosh tugging his trouser leg and her murmurs of "It's Owen. He's back. He's alive." Instead he grabbed the man's arms and shook him. "Answer me!" Gwen rushed forward, placing a gentle hand on his arm. Ianto hung back, not wanting any more contact with the Captain then was necessary. Instead he helped Tosh up and wrapped her in Jack's longer coat, putting his jacket back on. She still hadn't got the hang of making clothes reappear with her.
Owen's, or the man who looked liked Owen's, voice was getting louder and louder. "Of course it's me you bloody idiots. I've been here for years, after you recruited me in that graveyard Jack. I can tell you things noone else would know. Though I don't think Gwen would want you all to know about them."
"I think it really is him."Gwen said, blushing. She pulled him into a tight hug. "You daft sod, where the hell have you been?" Tears were streaming down her face. "We thought you were dead." Gwen stopped, looking nervous. "Well...we thought you were gone forever". She let her hand fall to his wrist, and dropped it suddenly with a wary smile on her face.
" Yeah. Just something I brought back with me." Owen shrugged. "It was a bit of a shock believe me, waking up two months later with everything working again. I figure i'm a .. nuclear freak? Well.. anythings better than being king of the weevils. Though I might miss making Janet kne...."
"Owen, Gwen, what the hell are you talking about?" yelled Jack, interrupting Owen's rant.
"We- Who the hell is that?" Owen countered staring at Leanne. Ianto and Gwen exchanged glances. "Isn't she that cow who does the hospital liason thing?"
"That 'cow' has a name. Leanne Sackson. I'm your replacement."
*******************************
Once they had got Owen to stop shouting, Jack had managed to convince everyone it would be a good idea to move to the boardroom. Owen was still muttering under his breath, words like "betrayal" and "stupid cow" and "replaced, me?" just audible.
"Right, is someone going to tell me whats going on?" Started Jack. Instantly everyone started talking. Ianto rolled his eyes and resumed his obsessive contemplation of the coffee stains on the boardroom table. "Quiet! Owen tell us what happened to you.".
"I was in the nuclear power plant after the Cardiff explosions, following Tosh's instructions when there was an unpredicted power surge. The doors shut sealing me in." He glanced at Tosh who was looking down at her hands. " Tosh made the final moments of my li- existance so peaceful, I was so ready for death to finally take me. I - " Owen hurriedly looked around at the rest of the team. " Next thing I know, i'm awake with a splitting headache and by the look of those poor scientists faces, dissolved flesh or one eye or something" He laughed nervously. " I couldn't feel it really it was more of a burn. I put my hand to my face and this heat built up and the guy fainted. But i didn't realise it then. I walked out thinking i was in some sort of fucked up heaven when I felt my heartbeat." Gasps sounded around the table. " I decided to check out my theory, I made my headache disappear with just my fingers I'd already healed the cut on my hand. I - I can heal things! I'm bloody brilliant!". He smirked up at Ianto ."Take that teaboy.".
"Right, so we have Owen who can heal, Tosh who can turn invisible, what the hell is going on here?". Jack spluttered exasperated.
Owen looked at Tosh shocked. What the fuck did I miss? He thought. She jumped up from the table.
"That Owen. What was THAT?" She shrieked. The medic looked confused. "You just spoke to me, in my mind!"
"What did I say?". Owen asked nervously.
"What did I miss"
************************************************************************
Owen was petrified. He had unknowingly transmitted some of his thoughts into Tosh's head. What else can she hear?
That.
Holy shit.
Tosh coughed. " Owen! Language.".
Ianto snorted.
Jack looked at them quizzically. If his instincts were correct then Owen and Tosh had just created a telepathic bond. But it shouldn't be so strong yet. By the sounds of it, it was only established a few minutes ago.
" When did this start?" He asked Tosh.
" When Owen came back, I- He said my name in my head."
Gwen pondered the thought. " Can you send me a message Owen?"
A minute of silence passed, with Owens face screwed up with concentration and Tosh biting back timid giggles.
" I'm not getting anything."
"Thats probally a good thing" Laughed Tosh " You really don't want to know what he was thinking".
"Whats happening Jack?" Gwen pushed.
" I think that Tosh and Owen have got a strong telepathic bond. But i don't know how it happened or why? In the 51st century, it was common for humans to have weak telepathic links with partners or family members but it was rarely anything of this calibar and almost impossible to happen between someone that your not intimatly involved with" Gwen gave him a disgusted look.
"Or related too" He added with a wink.
" if it was rare how come you know so much about it?" Owen muttered.
" I said it was rarely strong amongst human life forms. Remember that humans were spread across twelve hundred galaxies by this point. Other species had evolved with this talent like I have evolved from you with pheromones and a bigger brain". Jack smirked. "Among other things"
Leanne chuckled "Evolved from us, god imagine if your my great-great-great-gre-"
Ianto coughed loudly and looked to Tosh " Back to the subject at hand, maybe the bond is linked to your abilities. You both have died and come back with 'powers'".
Noone noticed the angered glare that Owen shot in Tosh's direction.
Both died? What is he on about?
It doesn't matter
Of course it matters! What happened to you? Whe- How?
I was shot.
Who- wha-Why?
Gray. I don't know why. It was bad enough that you were dying Owen, I don't want to think about it.
Why didn't you tell me? Owen sounded resigned Why did you let me rant on when you wher- oh god Tosh. I'm so sorry. I didn't even think. I'm such a prick.
It's alright. We are here now.
Yeah, we're here; new and improved.
*
Jack sighed. "I think I'm in a bit far over my head here. There's only one man I can think of who might be able to help us." He shot an apologetic look at Ianto, ignoring Leanne's curious glance. "I think I need to call the Doctor."
Leanne gasped. Everyone turned to stare at her, confused. "I'm sorry," she grinned sheepishly. "It's just you sounded so dramatic. It seemed to fit the mood." The tension in the room dissolved immediately as everyone laughed. Except Owen. He glared at Leanne and only Tosh knew exactly what he was thinking.
***********
Soon, Jack was back in his leadership role distributing tasks to his team.
"Leanne give Owen and Tosh a full body examination, try to isolate any common factors that could be the source of these..er... powers."
Leanne smiled impishly "Do you want one too Jack or shall i save that for later?"
Jack just laughed nervously rubbing his neck. He glanced at Ianto who was glarring daggers at the floor.
God he's got a problem with jealousy.
Tosh glanced up at Jack inquisitively before resuming her conversation with Gwen.
*****************************
"Shirt off!"
Owen just sat there glaring at Leanne. She gave him a look. "Are you going to be a baby about this?"
"Don't think your replacing me." Owen growled. " Now I'm back things are going to change. You'll be out for a start, retconned and back in your poncy hospital."
Leanne wasn't phased. "I know you're not mad at me. Now just get on with this physical like a good little boy"
Owen leapt up and stood nose to nose with her. "You say that again and I'll punch you. I don't care if you are a woman-" he looked he up and down derogatorily "- even though your looks seem to suggest otherwise."
Leanne gasped. "Okay that was too far. I wasn't going to say it but it speaks for itself that they replaced you so quickly. Not up to scratch were we?" Owen lost control of his temper and shoved Leanne, pushing her into the wall.
All Owen could remember thinking before he blacked out was that Leanne Sackson had a mean left hook.