Ficlet: Necessity
Title: Necessity
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Gwen.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: The Torchwood team are struggling and Jack is at last ready to accept they need some new recruits.
Word Count: 718
Written For: m_findlow’s prompt ‘Any, any, the day of knowing they couldn't keep going on like this,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Standing outside his office, Jack surveyed his ragtag little team. They were clearly exhausted, not to mention battered, all of them doing their best to soldier on despite their injuries. Owen had a black eye and heavy bruising along the right side of his jaw, Ianto’s left arm was in a sling to keep the strain off his broken collarbone, and Tosh had her right leg up on a padded stool Ianto had conjured up for her from the depths of the archives, the white bandage around her sprained ankle stark against her skin in the Hub’s dim lighting. Gwen’s nose was broken, both her eyes blackened, and her lip split where she’d almost bitten through it. Jack had told her to stay back, but as usual she hadn’t listened, determined to help him, and the alien had swatted her across the face. She was lucky it hadn’t broken her neck, but as it was, the whiplash collar meant she wouldn’t be much use in the field for a few weeks.
“We can’t go on like this.”
Jack didn’t realise he’d spoken out loud until a voice behind answered him.
“No we can’t, Jack. The Rift’s getting more and more active and there’s no way we can keep up with everything it’s throwing at us. I know you prefer to keep the team small, because the fewer of us there are the easier it is to stay more or less under the radar, but the five of us just aren’t enough, not anymore. We need help, a couple more field agents at the very least. A second doctor wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Owen does his best, but he’s so swamped right now dealing with our injuries he doesn’t have time for much else, and who takes care of him when he gets hurt?”
Jack sighed heavily and nodded, agreeing with everything Ianto had just said. It was alright for him, being immortal and quick to heal, but the others weren’t as lucky and ended up bearing the brunt. It wasn’t fair on any of them. “I know one person who might be interested in joining the team.” He fell silent again until Ianto nudged him with his good arm.
“Care to share?”
“What? Oh, sorry. Mickey Smith, former companion of the Doctor’s. I’ve told you about him, right?” At Ianto’s nod, Jack continued. “I’ll give him a call. At the very least I think he’d be willing to help out for a bit, while we interview possible recruits.” He turned to face Ianto. “D’you have any suggestions?”
“Andy Davidson would probably jump at the chance; he’s wanted in for a while, and I think he’d be a good fit; sensible, competent, good at following orders. Not sure how Gwen would feel about her ex partner joining the team though.”
Jack brushed that concern away. “Gwen’s not the boss; I am. Alright, talk to Andy and I’ll call Mickey. If we can get them on board, it would be a start. Then once they’ve had a couple of weeks to settle in, if they accept, there’s that PC Evans we met a few months back. Might be worth approaching him too, see if he might be tempted away from the ranks of the Heddlu by the promise of more money and all the excitement he can handle.”
Ianto nodded his approval. “Definite potential there. Seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders.”
Jack smiled faintly. “The rest of him didn’t look too bad either,” he joked. As humour went, it was a bit half-hearted, testimony to how much their current situation was weighing on him, but at least he was making an effort. “I might approach Martha too, see if she’s ready to quit UNIT for somewhere she’ll have greater autonomy and less red tape to deal with. Her presence would brighten this place up a bit.”
“Good idea; I doubt even Owen would object to sharing the medical duties with Martha, and I’m sure Tosh and Gwen would be happy to have another woman around here.”
“Right then. Let’s get to it while this quiet spell lasts.” Hopefully by the end of the day Torchwood might have a couple of new recruits. The way things were going it wouldn’t be a moment too soon.
The End
Sequel: ' Welcome To The Bat Cave'
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Gwen.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: The Torchwood team are struggling and Jack is at last ready to accept they need some new recruits.
Word Count: 718
Written For: m_findlow’s prompt ‘Any, any, the day of knowing they couldn't keep going on like this,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Standing outside his office, Jack surveyed his ragtag little team. They were clearly exhausted, not to mention battered, all of them doing their best to soldier on despite their injuries. Owen had a black eye and heavy bruising along the right side of his jaw, Ianto’s left arm was in a sling to keep the strain off his broken collarbone, and Tosh had her right leg up on a padded stool Ianto had conjured up for her from the depths of the archives, the white bandage around her sprained ankle stark against her skin in the Hub’s dim lighting. Gwen’s nose was broken, both her eyes blackened, and her lip split where she’d almost bitten through it. Jack had told her to stay back, but as usual she hadn’t listened, determined to help him, and the alien had swatted her across the face. She was lucky it hadn’t broken her neck, but as it was, the whiplash collar meant she wouldn’t be much use in the field for a few weeks.
“We can’t go on like this.”
Jack didn’t realise he’d spoken out loud until a voice behind answered him.
“No we can’t, Jack. The Rift’s getting more and more active and there’s no way we can keep up with everything it’s throwing at us. I know you prefer to keep the team small, because the fewer of us there are the easier it is to stay more or less under the radar, but the five of us just aren’t enough, not anymore. We need help, a couple more field agents at the very least. A second doctor wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Owen does his best, but he’s so swamped right now dealing with our injuries he doesn’t have time for much else, and who takes care of him when he gets hurt?”
Jack sighed heavily and nodded, agreeing with everything Ianto had just said. It was alright for him, being immortal and quick to heal, but the others weren’t as lucky and ended up bearing the brunt. It wasn’t fair on any of them. “I know one person who might be interested in joining the team.” He fell silent again until Ianto nudged him with his good arm.
“Care to share?”
“What? Oh, sorry. Mickey Smith, former companion of the Doctor’s. I’ve told you about him, right?” At Ianto’s nod, Jack continued. “I’ll give him a call. At the very least I think he’d be willing to help out for a bit, while we interview possible recruits.” He turned to face Ianto. “D’you have any suggestions?”
“Andy Davidson would probably jump at the chance; he’s wanted in for a while, and I think he’d be a good fit; sensible, competent, good at following orders. Not sure how Gwen would feel about her ex partner joining the team though.”
Jack brushed that concern away. “Gwen’s not the boss; I am. Alright, talk to Andy and I’ll call Mickey. If we can get them on board, it would be a start. Then once they’ve had a couple of weeks to settle in, if they accept, there’s that PC Evans we met a few months back. Might be worth approaching him too, see if he might be tempted away from the ranks of the Heddlu by the promise of more money and all the excitement he can handle.”
Ianto nodded his approval. “Definite potential there. Seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders.”
Jack smiled faintly. “The rest of him didn’t look too bad either,” he joked. As humour went, it was a bit half-hearted, testimony to how much their current situation was weighing on him, but at least he was making an effort. “I might approach Martha too, see if she’s ready to quit UNIT for somewhere she’ll have greater autonomy and less red tape to deal with. Her presence would brighten this place up a bit.”
“Good idea; I doubt even Owen would object to sharing the medical duties with Martha, and I’m sure Tosh and Gwen would be happy to have another woman around here.”
“Right then. Let’s get to it while this quiet spell lasts.” Hopefully by the end of the day Torchwood might have a couple of new recruits. The way things were going it wouldn’t be a moment too soon.
The End
Sequel: ' Welcome To The Bat Cave'