Fic: Reign of Scars; 8/15 [PG-13] TW/HL/DW crossover. Fix!it Big Bang
Title: Reign of Scars
Author: aeron_lanart
Beta: idontlikegravy
Artist: idontlikegravy - Art!.
Fandom(s): Highlander/Torchwood/Doctor Who (part of the Mystery Verse, my existing AU)
Characters/pairing: Gwen/Rhys, Siannon O'Niall (OFC) and Richie Ryan, with appearances from lots of other Torchwood and Doctor Who characters (both Classic and New Who).
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/teen. The only warnings are for language and angst, as it is a post Children of Earth story in the Torchwood scheme of things and the outcome of CoE is NOT the thing that's being fixed in this fic. Miracle Day is ignored in this verse. This is the direct sequel to Shattered in Aspect and includes some dialogue from that fic as part of it takes place in the same time period.
Disclaimer: The BBC/RTD own the Torchwood/Who universe and its characters. Panzer/Davis Productions own the Highlander universe and its characters. I own the OCs.
No copyright infringement intended, no profit made. Title and quote from the song of the same name by Pro-Jekt.
Summary: The Torchwood Hub is a hole in the ground, Jack Harkness has fled with no-one any the wiser as to his whereabouts and Gwen is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. However, while she still stands, there's a chance Torchwood could rise from the ashes of its destruction even though the road ahead is hidden in the shadows. This is the story of what happened to Torchwood in this verse during the 6 months at the end of Children of Earth, after the 456 and the destruction of The Hub, while Jack and Methos were wandering the world.
A/N:
Written for Fix-it Big Bang fixitstory. Please go here to see the lovely art.
Can also be read at AO3.
~ 7 ~
*
The next morning, Siannon emerged from the other side of her post Flat Holm visit downer with the renewed conviction that Torchwood was her family with Cardiff her home for the foreseeable future. As an immortal she was used to not making plans, used to following whim and whimsy and was an expert on going with the flow. Though she'd committed to Torchwood, said all the right things, done all the right things, part of her had been treating it as just another thing to do in her long life. What Flat Holm - and the rest of the team's way of dealing with the aftermath of the trip - had done was give that part of her a healthy kick. Torchwood needed her full commitment and though it had been easy for her to dedicate herself to protecting the people who made up Torchwood, the trip to Flat Holm had reminded her that the idea of Torchwood needed the same devotion. It was time to take her relocation to Cardiff seriously and make the place her home rather than somewhere she'd chosen to live and she was almost disgusted with herself to realise that she'd resisted doing just that. She strode over to the window and pulled the curtains back, flooding her room with the light of a new Cardiff morning. With the window at her back she glanced around the room with a critical eye and saw it for what it was - a temporary home and not a permanent one; there was too much of an air of transience about it. That at least she could change, would change, though she wasn't sure that Johnson or Simon would necessarily thank her for it. More importantly, she needed to do it sooner rather than later, before the rift and Gwen's pregnancy curtailed any opportunity for absences that took up a significant amount of time, plus she needed to find out if Rich was truly happy to continue making Cumbria at least a semi-permanent home for the next few years and it was not just something to do to help out a friend because he didn't have anything better lined up for the immediate future.
Certain elements of her plan were executed without much difficulty; Gwen readily agreed to her taking some time off and Rich made her feel old with his boundless enthusiasm. In short order there was only one thing left to do, which was organise her transport. Siannon chose her time, ensuring that Johnson was not obviously armed, except with cutlery, though she was fairly sure that with enough provocation Johnson would carve her heart out with a spoon and stab her in the eyes with a fork; even when supposedly unarmed, Johnson was always dangerous. Beating around the bush was liable to irritate Johnson even more so Siannon went straight to the point.
"I want to borrow the Land Rover," Siannon said into a break in the chatter that surrounded the table at meal times. Silence immediately fell like a pall and everyone's eyes swivelled toward Johnson who laid down her fork and raised her head, meeting Siannon's eyes with not-quite a glare.
"You… what?"
"The Land Rover; I want to borrow it."
"May I ask why, or are you just going to commandeer it?"
"You can ask…" Siannon paused, then ducked her head to hide a smile at Johnson's expected and wordless grumble that filled the gap. "It isn't anything terribly exciting I'm afraid," she continued. "I need to bring some of my stuff down from Cumbria; it's time to make my place a bit more like home. Thing is, some of it is pretty bulky and while getting a trailer is no problem the Citroën isn't exactly the best car for towing, so…" she shrugged.
"That's all very well, but what are we," Johnson indicated herself and Simon, "supposed to drive in the meantime? We can't all use the van." Siannon mentally gave Johnson brownie points for not even suggesting the C6, time was she would have done just to make Siannon feel uncomfortable by needing to refuse.
"My Renault Scenic; I never did get round to selling it and it's been sitting in a garage not being used for the last couple of months. It doesn't exactly have the style of the C6 but it's not a bad car," Siannon said.
"As long as it isn't pink, it'll do." The thought of Johnson in a pink Scenic, hurtling round corners at speed and chasing down weevils was just too much to be borne and Siannon dissolved into fits of giggles.
"No, it's not pink," she wheezed. "It's a very nice boring black."
"Good colour," Johnson said. Siannon didn't need to look to tell she was trying not to smile.
*
The best thing about the Land Rover was that it was perfect for twisting, hilly roads but as a car for motorway driving it was somewhat less than perfect. Siannon took that into account and drove up to Cumbria the long way round - through the Beacons and the Marches in Wales - and avoided the motorway as much as possible once she'd hit England again.
The light was fading, the sunset painting the sky in shades of ochre and burnt umber when Siannon crested the last hill that hid her Cumbrian home from view. The squat bell tower of the old chapel stood sentinel above the jumble of roofs and walls that made up the rest of the house, though the bell itself had been silent for a long time. The door to the porch was open and golden light, warm and welcoming, poured out. The light wasn't the only welcoming thing visible either; Rich was there with the light from the door making his hair rival the sunset, though his smile was even brighter. The sight of him lifted her heart and Siannon almost fell out of the car in her effort to reach him.
There were hugs and laughter and more hugs before Siannon stepped back with her hands on Rich's shoulders, gave him a shake and declared,
"Richard Ryan, I think Cumbria suits you!"
Rich's grin broadened, something she hadn't been sure was possible.
"It sure does," he said. "Great roads, great beer and far away from Immortal Central; I love it."
"Tell me that again in ten years when the novelty has worn off and I might believe you. Now what have you been doing with yourself besides terrorising the four-legged locals with your bike?" Rich flung an arm round her shoulders and proceeded to tell her, chattering brightly as they made their way into the house.
Comfortably ensconced in her favourite chair with a Guinness in hand, Siannon felt a lot of the residual tension drain out of her. The windows were dark with the drawing in of the night, but the room was bright and warm. She rested her head back listening with half an ear to Rich's tales of settling in and generally making himself useful to the technologically wary community; it seemed he'd become their 'computer man' without even really trying and had even gone as far as looking into setting himself up in business to that effect. It was a good idea, a consultancy didn't necessarily need to be tied to one place and it reassured Siannon that Rich was telling the truth about being happy to stay; he wouldn't be looking to support himself if he wasn't. She wondered how he would react when she told him more about Torchwood and her need to have him as back up; probably with his normal enthusiasm, knowing him. She would find out the next day, she was far too comfortable and relaxed to think about Torchwood and it was good to feel that way.
*
Packing a chunk of her life up to take with her back to Cardiff proved much easier with help and Rich's insistence that she just come back for more if she needed to rather than try to take everything she thought she should at once. Siannon had to admit he did have a point.
"Even Mac doesn't keep hold of everything," Rich commented as she detuned a mandolin before carefully placing it in his case.
"He lives on a boat half the year, he couldn't."
"Yeah and half the year he doesn't. Have you seen the guy's storage lockers?"
"A couple. We were looking for something."
Rich chuckled. "Did you find it?"
"Eventually."
"So, do you have storage anywhere besides here?"
Siannon sat back on her heels and gave Rich a smile.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"Probably, but maybe not."
"There's a place in Ireland, but I've not been there for a while."
"How long is a while? Am I allowed to ask that?"
"You can ask and I won't even kill you for it. About 20 years, give or take a few."
"Oh, not that long then."
Siannon threw a cushion at him, from which Rich ducked, laughing as he snatched it out of the air.
"Brat," she said. Rich doffed an imaginary hat in a gesture he had to have picked up from Fitzcairn, which made her smile. He passed the cushion back to her and she shoved it back under her knees.
"Seriously, how long do you think you'll be in Cardiff?" Rich asked
"Years, most likely but I don't know how many exactly. Would you be prepared to stay on here for a few until I know for certain? Cardiff is going to be a long haul I think but a couple of years should have everything settled down as well as it can be."
"I don’t see why not. A couple of years of peace to recharge sounds like heaven; sure beats looking over my shoulder every time I turn round. I even found the dojo you use. I guess you could say that I'm settling in."
"Don't get too settled, Rich."
"Oh yeah?"
"I might need to call in a favour or two."
"And?"
"I'll tell you over a drink. Come on, leave this for now." Siannon scrambled upright and grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge on her way outside, where she sat in the sunlight with her back against the sun-warmed stone of the old chapel wall. Rich settled down next to her and accepted the bottle she passed to him.
"OK then; tell," he said.
"There's a rift - a crack - in time and space that runs through Cardiff and things fall through it. It's been policed for years by an organisation called Torchwood. I've worked with them occasionally in the past but now I've taken on a more permanent role, helping to build a new team."
"Whoa, hang on there. Things? Living Things?"
"Among other stuff, yeah."
"Aliens?!"
"And alien artefacts."
"No shit! Siannon O'Niall; Alien Hunter. Jeez!"
"Fancy being a trusty - if part time - side kick?"
"A part time alien hunter? Hell, yeah. Wait 'til I tell Mac." He paused and his face fell, Siannon was hard pressed not to smile. "Ah. I'm not going to be able to tell Mac am I?"
"I'm afraid not, but Methos knows all about Torchwood and I bet Joe knows something though how much, I'm not sure."
"Probably more than you'd like, knowing Joe."
"Probably," she agreed.
"You'll need me to come to Cardiff with you."
"I will?" Siannon asked with fake innocence and a smile.
"Aw c'mon Siannon, you know goddamn well you will. If you want me to work with your team part time and on short notice you'll need to introduce me and let them get used to me. Do they even know about immortality?"
"My boss does but as far as I know she hasn't told anyone else. Yet. They're going to have to learn at some point or it might cause a few problems." She'd avoided telling the team until they were *more* of a team, in part due to Johnson's past actions but that wouldn't be the easiest thing to explain to Rich.
"Won't immortality seem boring when compared with aliens?"
No, not the easiest thing to explain, but Siannon knew she was going to have to try; Rich had to know what he was letting himself in for, immortal or not. She sighed.
"To some, maybe it would but one of the team blew up the old base because someone thought that immortality was tied up with it."
"And you trust him?!"
"Her. And no we don't. Well, not exactly," Siannon said, hoping Rich would understand; it seemed he did as he carefully nodded.
"Which is why you want me," he said.
"Got it in one. You'll be my the eyes in the back of my head if I'm not there and the person I trust above all others to have my back if it all goes to shit - which it could well do."
"Count me in. You don't need to worry about me ever telling Mac; he wouldn't believe me if I did and to make it worse he'd then probably get on his high horse and tell me to steer clear of drugs."
Siannon clinked her bottle against Rich's in agreement, glad to have such a willing partner in crime. It was a pity he would never meet Tosh, he would have adored her, but she could see him getting on easily with Lois and Simon. Johnson might be wary of someone who looked as young as Rich did yet carried themselves like a warrior, though she might just assume he was a US veteran or that it came from years of sword work. She hid a grin against the bottle - with their history Johnson might believe that she'd dredged up Rich for sword practice rather than anything else and he could quite honestly say he'd been working with the sword for over ten years which would account for both his proficiency and his attitude.
Siannon went to pick up the trailer she needed to transport her things the next day, with Rich a willing passenger in the Land Rover. He took one look at the trailer and burst out laughing.
"I thought you said you weren't going to try to take everything at once! That thing is…" He waved an arm in the direction of the large trailer, unable to continue through his laughter.
"Bigger than you were expecting, Mr Ryan?" Siannon asked with a grin.
"Not exactly. I just didn't think that you would go ahead and hire one that big. Out here, I didn't know if you could!"
"That's rural living for you. The best thing is, this is a franchised hire company and there is another branch near Cardiff so I don't need to drive the damn thing all the way back up here again - one reason why I decided on this trailer."
"Oh yeah?"
"If I'm dropping it off in Wales, how the hell are you getting back up here? Public transport to my place is nonexistent, you know that."
"My bike is coming with us?"
"Yes, your bike is coming with us, which is why I've hired this monster; your bike isn't exactly small and it needs to survive the journey in one piece." She glanced at Rich when he didn't immediately reply to find him staring toward the misty hills in the distance, probably going over the journey in his head, knowing him. Eventually, he returned her glance, and smiled.
"It wouldn't be a problem if I took the long way round coming back here, would it?" He sounded almost sheepish and Siannon couldn't help but return the smile.
"Not at all, I think it would be a crime not to take the scenic route."
"Great," he replied and wandered off muttering to himself, leaving Siannon to deal with the nitty gritty of completing the trailer hire. He reappeared, in spirit as well as in body, to assist in getting the trailer hitched up to the Land Rover which meant they were back on the road quite quickly, much to Siannon's relief.
*
Chapter Eight
Author: aeron_lanart
Beta: idontlikegravy
Artist: idontlikegravy - Art!.
Fandom(s): Highlander/Torchwood/Doctor Who (part of the Mystery Verse, my existing AU)
Characters/pairing: Gwen/Rhys, Siannon O'Niall (OFC) and Richie Ryan, with appearances from lots of other Torchwood and Doctor Who characters (both Classic and New Who).
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/teen. The only warnings are for language and angst, as it is a post Children of Earth story in the Torchwood scheme of things and the outcome of CoE is NOT the thing that's being fixed in this fic. Miracle Day is ignored in this verse. This is the direct sequel to Shattered in Aspect and includes some dialogue from that fic as part of it takes place in the same time period.
Disclaimer: The BBC/RTD own the Torchwood/Who universe and its characters. Panzer/Davis Productions own the Highlander universe and its characters. I own the OCs.
No copyright infringement intended, no profit made. Title and quote from the song of the same name by Pro-Jekt.
Summary: The Torchwood Hub is a hole in the ground, Jack Harkness has fled with no-one any the wiser as to his whereabouts and Gwen is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. However, while she still stands, there's a chance Torchwood could rise from the ashes of its destruction even though the road ahead is hidden in the shadows. This is the story of what happened to Torchwood in this verse during the 6 months at the end of Children of Earth, after the 456 and the destruction of The Hub, while Jack and Methos were wandering the world.
A/N:
Written for Fix-it Big Bang fixitstory. Please go here to see the lovely art.
Can also be read at AO3.
~ 7 ~
*
The next morning, Siannon emerged from the other side of her post Flat Holm visit downer with the renewed conviction that Torchwood was her family with Cardiff her home for the foreseeable future. As an immortal she was used to not making plans, used to following whim and whimsy and was an expert on going with the flow. Though she'd committed to Torchwood, said all the right things, done all the right things, part of her had been treating it as just another thing to do in her long life. What Flat Holm - and the rest of the team's way of dealing with the aftermath of the trip - had done was give that part of her a healthy kick. Torchwood needed her full commitment and though it had been easy for her to dedicate herself to protecting the people who made up Torchwood, the trip to Flat Holm had reminded her that the idea of Torchwood needed the same devotion. It was time to take her relocation to Cardiff seriously and make the place her home rather than somewhere she'd chosen to live and she was almost disgusted with herself to realise that she'd resisted doing just that. She strode over to the window and pulled the curtains back, flooding her room with the light of a new Cardiff morning. With the window at her back she glanced around the room with a critical eye and saw it for what it was - a temporary home and not a permanent one; there was too much of an air of transience about it. That at least she could change, would change, though she wasn't sure that Johnson or Simon would necessarily thank her for it. More importantly, she needed to do it sooner rather than later, before the rift and Gwen's pregnancy curtailed any opportunity for absences that took up a significant amount of time, plus she needed to find out if Rich was truly happy to continue making Cumbria at least a semi-permanent home for the next few years and it was not just something to do to help out a friend because he didn't have anything better lined up for the immediate future.
Certain elements of her plan were executed without much difficulty; Gwen readily agreed to her taking some time off and Rich made her feel old with his boundless enthusiasm. In short order there was only one thing left to do, which was organise her transport. Siannon chose her time, ensuring that Johnson was not obviously armed, except with cutlery, though she was fairly sure that with enough provocation Johnson would carve her heart out with a spoon and stab her in the eyes with a fork; even when supposedly unarmed, Johnson was always dangerous. Beating around the bush was liable to irritate Johnson even more so Siannon went straight to the point.
"I want to borrow the Land Rover," Siannon said into a break in the chatter that surrounded the table at meal times. Silence immediately fell like a pall and everyone's eyes swivelled toward Johnson who laid down her fork and raised her head, meeting Siannon's eyes with not-quite a glare.
"You… what?"
"The Land Rover; I want to borrow it."
"May I ask why, or are you just going to commandeer it?"
"You can ask…" Siannon paused, then ducked her head to hide a smile at Johnson's expected and wordless grumble that filled the gap. "It isn't anything terribly exciting I'm afraid," she continued. "I need to bring some of my stuff down from Cumbria; it's time to make my place a bit more like home. Thing is, some of it is pretty bulky and while getting a trailer is no problem the Citroën isn't exactly the best car for towing, so…" she shrugged.
"That's all very well, but what are we," Johnson indicated herself and Simon, "supposed to drive in the meantime? We can't all use the van." Siannon mentally gave Johnson brownie points for not even suggesting the C6, time was she would have done just to make Siannon feel uncomfortable by needing to refuse.
"My Renault Scenic; I never did get round to selling it and it's been sitting in a garage not being used for the last couple of months. It doesn't exactly have the style of the C6 but it's not a bad car," Siannon said.
"As long as it isn't pink, it'll do." The thought of Johnson in a pink Scenic, hurtling round corners at speed and chasing down weevils was just too much to be borne and Siannon dissolved into fits of giggles.
"No, it's not pink," she wheezed. "It's a very nice boring black."
"Good colour," Johnson said. Siannon didn't need to look to tell she was trying not to smile.
*
The best thing about the Land Rover was that it was perfect for twisting, hilly roads but as a car for motorway driving it was somewhat less than perfect. Siannon took that into account and drove up to Cumbria the long way round - through the Beacons and the Marches in Wales - and avoided the motorway as much as possible once she'd hit England again.
The light was fading, the sunset painting the sky in shades of ochre and burnt umber when Siannon crested the last hill that hid her Cumbrian home from view. The squat bell tower of the old chapel stood sentinel above the jumble of roofs and walls that made up the rest of the house, though the bell itself had been silent for a long time. The door to the porch was open and golden light, warm and welcoming, poured out. The light wasn't the only welcoming thing visible either; Rich was there with the light from the door making his hair rival the sunset, though his smile was even brighter. The sight of him lifted her heart and Siannon almost fell out of the car in her effort to reach him.
There were hugs and laughter and more hugs before Siannon stepped back with her hands on Rich's shoulders, gave him a shake and declared,
"Richard Ryan, I think Cumbria suits you!"
Rich's grin broadened, something she hadn't been sure was possible.
"It sure does," he said. "Great roads, great beer and far away from Immortal Central; I love it."
"Tell me that again in ten years when the novelty has worn off and I might believe you. Now what have you been doing with yourself besides terrorising the four-legged locals with your bike?" Rich flung an arm round her shoulders and proceeded to tell her, chattering brightly as they made their way into the house.
Comfortably ensconced in her favourite chair with a Guinness in hand, Siannon felt a lot of the residual tension drain out of her. The windows were dark with the drawing in of the night, but the room was bright and warm. She rested her head back listening with half an ear to Rich's tales of settling in and generally making himself useful to the technologically wary community; it seemed he'd become their 'computer man' without even really trying and had even gone as far as looking into setting himself up in business to that effect. It was a good idea, a consultancy didn't necessarily need to be tied to one place and it reassured Siannon that Rich was telling the truth about being happy to stay; he wouldn't be looking to support himself if he wasn't. She wondered how he would react when she told him more about Torchwood and her need to have him as back up; probably with his normal enthusiasm, knowing him. She would find out the next day, she was far too comfortable and relaxed to think about Torchwood and it was good to feel that way.
*
Packing a chunk of her life up to take with her back to Cardiff proved much easier with help and Rich's insistence that she just come back for more if she needed to rather than try to take everything she thought she should at once. Siannon had to admit he did have a point.
"Even Mac doesn't keep hold of everything," Rich commented as she detuned a mandolin before carefully placing it in his case.
"He lives on a boat half the year, he couldn't."
"Yeah and half the year he doesn't. Have you seen the guy's storage lockers?"
"A couple. We were looking for something."
Rich chuckled. "Did you find it?"
"Eventually."
"So, do you have storage anywhere besides here?"
Siannon sat back on her heels and gave Rich a smile.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"Probably, but maybe not."
"There's a place in Ireland, but I've not been there for a while."
"How long is a while? Am I allowed to ask that?"
"You can ask and I won't even kill you for it. About 20 years, give or take a few."
"Oh, not that long then."
Siannon threw a cushion at him, from which Rich ducked, laughing as he snatched it out of the air.
"Brat," she said. Rich doffed an imaginary hat in a gesture he had to have picked up from Fitzcairn, which made her smile. He passed the cushion back to her and she shoved it back under her knees.
"Seriously, how long do you think you'll be in Cardiff?" Rich asked
"Years, most likely but I don't know how many exactly. Would you be prepared to stay on here for a few until I know for certain? Cardiff is going to be a long haul I think but a couple of years should have everything settled down as well as it can be."
"I don’t see why not. A couple of years of peace to recharge sounds like heaven; sure beats looking over my shoulder every time I turn round. I even found the dojo you use. I guess you could say that I'm settling in."
"Don't get too settled, Rich."
"Oh yeah?"
"I might need to call in a favour or two."
"And?"
"I'll tell you over a drink. Come on, leave this for now." Siannon scrambled upright and grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge on her way outside, where she sat in the sunlight with her back against the sun-warmed stone of the old chapel wall. Rich settled down next to her and accepted the bottle she passed to him.
"OK then; tell," he said.
"There's a rift - a crack - in time and space that runs through Cardiff and things fall through it. It's been policed for years by an organisation called Torchwood. I've worked with them occasionally in the past but now I've taken on a more permanent role, helping to build a new team."
"Whoa, hang on there. Things? Living Things?"
"Among other stuff, yeah."
"Aliens?!"
"And alien artefacts."
"No shit! Siannon O'Niall; Alien Hunter. Jeez!"
"Fancy being a trusty - if part time - side kick?"
"A part time alien hunter? Hell, yeah. Wait 'til I tell Mac." He paused and his face fell, Siannon was hard pressed not to smile. "Ah. I'm not going to be able to tell Mac am I?"
"I'm afraid not, but Methos knows all about Torchwood and I bet Joe knows something though how much, I'm not sure."
"Probably more than you'd like, knowing Joe."
"Probably," she agreed.
"You'll need me to come to Cardiff with you."
"I will?" Siannon asked with fake innocence and a smile.
"Aw c'mon Siannon, you know goddamn well you will. If you want me to work with your team part time and on short notice you'll need to introduce me and let them get used to me. Do they even know about immortality?"
"My boss does but as far as I know she hasn't told anyone else. Yet. They're going to have to learn at some point or it might cause a few problems." She'd avoided telling the team until they were *more* of a team, in part due to Johnson's past actions but that wouldn't be the easiest thing to explain to Rich.
"Won't immortality seem boring when compared with aliens?"
No, not the easiest thing to explain, but Siannon knew she was going to have to try; Rich had to know what he was letting himself in for, immortal or not. She sighed.
"To some, maybe it would but one of the team blew up the old base because someone thought that immortality was tied up with it."
"And you trust him?!"
"Her. And no we don't. Well, not exactly," Siannon said, hoping Rich would understand; it seemed he did as he carefully nodded.
"Which is why you want me," he said.
"Got it in one. You'll be my the eyes in the back of my head if I'm not there and the person I trust above all others to have my back if it all goes to shit - which it could well do."
"Count me in. You don't need to worry about me ever telling Mac; he wouldn't believe me if I did and to make it worse he'd then probably get on his high horse and tell me to steer clear of drugs."
Siannon clinked her bottle against Rich's in agreement, glad to have such a willing partner in crime. It was a pity he would never meet Tosh, he would have adored her, but she could see him getting on easily with Lois and Simon. Johnson might be wary of someone who looked as young as Rich did yet carried themselves like a warrior, though she might just assume he was a US veteran or that it came from years of sword work. She hid a grin against the bottle - with their history Johnson might believe that she'd dredged up Rich for sword practice rather than anything else and he could quite honestly say he'd been working with the sword for over ten years which would account for both his proficiency and his attitude.
Siannon went to pick up the trailer she needed to transport her things the next day, with Rich a willing passenger in the Land Rover. He took one look at the trailer and burst out laughing.
"I thought you said you weren't going to try to take everything at once! That thing is…" He waved an arm in the direction of the large trailer, unable to continue through his laughter.
"Bigger than you were expecting, Mr Ryan?" Siannon asked with a grin.
"Not exactly. I just didn't think that you would go ahead and hire one that big. Out here, I didn't know if you could!"
"That's rural living for you. The best thing is, this is a franchised hire company and there is another branch near Cardiff so I don't need to drive the damn thing all the way back up here again - one reason why I decided on this trailer."
"Oh yeah?"
"If I'm dropping it off in Wales, how the hell are you getting back up here? Public transport to my place is nonexistent, you know that."
"My bike is coming with us?"
"Yes, your bike is coming with us, which is why I've hired this monster; your bike isn't exactly small and it needs to survive the journey in one piece." She glanced at Rich when he didn't immediately reply to find him staring toward the misty hills in the distance, probably going over the journey in his head, knowing him. Eventually, he returned her glance, and smiled.
"It wouldn't be a problem if I took the long way round coming back here, would it?" He sounded almost sheepish and Siannon couldn't help but return the smile.
"Not at all, I think it would be a crime not to take the scenic route."
"Great," he replied and wandered off muttering to himself, leaving Siannon to deal with the nitty gritty of completing the trailer hire. He reappeared, in spirit as well as in body, to assist in getting the trailer hitched up to the Land Rover which meant they were back on the road quite quickly, much to Siannon's relief.
*
Chapter Eight