Flashes of the Past Part 2/?
Title: Flashes of the Past, Part 2/?
Rating: Errrr 15 for language probably.
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Owen
Spoilers: All off series 2 except exit wounds to be on the safe side.
Summary: Set early on in series 2. Jack finally has to answer to his past.
Disclaimer: Regrettably I own nothing, none of the characters, zip. Wish I did though.
Author’s Notes: Just a random idea I had that grew into a fic. Comments are always loved and adored.
“Ianto………..” Jack paused, not able to believe he was about to say it. “This is Zara. She’s my daughter.”
“What?!” Ianto spluttered, a look of complete confusion creasing its way across his features.
“My Daughter Ianto. Look, I…………..don’t know where to start here……….I…….” Jack was lost, his mind simply a whirl of emotion. Zara, the only real legacy he had ever left in his own time was there, right in front of him. He had thought that he had left her behind for good; he’d never counted on her growing up and trying to find him. “Please, I just need you to trust me right now Ianto……..I need time.” He managed to mumble.
“I trust you Jack, you know I do. But if I’m right, I think you need to worry about other people right now.” Ianto nodded, and right then Jack felt a huge wave of love wash over him. It was times like this when any other lover would have not understood, or said something rash. Ianto however was as thoughtful as ever, and his deep trust of Jack was obvious by his “no questions asked” attitude.
“Thanks Ianto.” He smiled, turning his attention back to Zara. “You better follow me.”
In his office, Jack closed his door, something that he did very rarely. He needed to shut out Torchwood, as for the first time in years, this was about him. His life. His life before Torchwood.
“So, where exactly are we?” Zara asked, sitting down in his chair, leaning back and surveying her surroundings casually.
“Torchwood. We protect humans from what comes through the rift pretty much. Arming them for the future.” Perching on his desk, Jack couldn’t help but stare at the young woman his daughter had grown up into. She was strikingly beautiful to say the least, her big, round eyes the same ocean blue as his own. His mind flashed back to the day he’d had to run and leave her. She’d been so young.
“Sounds a bit like the police to me.” She smirked, fiddling idly with a pen on his desk.
“We’re not the police.” He spat back, more harshly than he had intended. “So last night, you were the one who came through the rift?”
“You think? I didn’t exactly make it difficult for you to detect it did I?” She hissed bitterly, smiling as she saw her Dad shake with frustration. Part of her wanted to make him irritate him, to make him as frustrated as he’d made her feel since he’d left her.
“You might think you’re clever Zara, but trust me, we’ve dealt with far more intelligent aliens than you.”
“Oh, I’m an alien now am I? What the fuck are you doing here? Playing happy families with your little pet outside?” Standing up to face him, Zara glared back at Jack, her chest moving breathlessly as she gasped for more air.
“Don’t you dare bring Ianto into this!” Jack almost screamed, his voice reverberating around the room. Zara was stunned into silence, and all around him, the air became quiet.
As the silence grew, Jack felt his anger well up inside him, bubbling to the surface. He couldn’t contain the intense emotion anymore, however hard he tried. “Why are you here Zara?!”
“Why am I here?” Zara paused, her confident exterior gone in an instant, replaced by tears in her eyes. “I came looking for you! I spent my whole childhood trying to figure out where my Dad had gone. Why he had just dumped me and never been seen again! It got to the point where…….where I couldn’t stand it anymore. And then I was old enough to do something about it.” She paused, wiping her eyes, scrabbling at what remained of her strong self image that lay tattered on the floor.
“But how? I mean how did you find me?” Softening, Jack let his voice return to its calm pitch, as he watched the tearful woman in front of him, who only moments before had been as strong as him.
“You weren’t easy to find. I researched, I read everything I could about how the Time Agency had worked, how you were able to travel through time. So I made this.” Delicately she held out a slender wrist, showing him the makeshift wristwatch that was wrapped around it. “It took some fine tuning, but I got it to work at least.” Jack reached out and admired the neat circuitry, not being able to help but nod in approval. He was impressed, and deep within him felt pride well up inside him. Despite everything she was still his daughter. But as he continued to look at it, he noticed something familiar within in the wiring, a kind of brilliance that only one person he’d met had ever shown before.
“Impressive.” He breathed.
“Why did you leave?” She suddenly blurted out, her eyes fixed on his.
“Zara……” Taking a deep breath, Jack contemplated his next few sentences. “I thought…….I thought, I was doing the right thing. When your Dad died, it was just you and me. I was going to make it work I swear, you meant, mean everything to me.” He paused, reaching forward and bravely gripping her hand. “But, I was on the run. It was impossible. I felt like with every step I was endangering you more and more. So, I left you with Xavier. I knew you’d have questions, but at least I knew that you were safe.” Jack watched, as fresh tears poured down the young woman’s face. In one swift movement, she stood up and threw her arms around him, clutching him tightly. It was the first time Jack had ever wanted to hang on to his past so tight. All the harsh words lay around the room forgotten and discarded. Neither of them needed to hide anymore.
Barely 10 minutes later, Gwen, Tosh and Owen all filed into work, greeted by the wonderful aroma of Ianto’s coffee drifting up into to the Hub. Handing out each mug to his eager colleagues, Ianto glanced over to Jack’s office. He had so many questions about this mysterious Zara, about Jack’s past life, about who he had been in the past that he felt like his head would burst.
Almost on cue, the door to the office opened, and Jack stepped out, holding Zara by the hand, leading her after him. Ianto smiled, although he felt that infuriated that Jack had never even thought to tell him he was a father, he had to admit that he loved seeing him like that. His face looked so much more at peace than he had ever known it to look, and deep down that made Ianto understand that whatever had happened that morning had been positive.
“Hey Jack! Who’s this?” A beautiful woman in the office and of course Owen was the first to notice. Although he looked unconvinced by the strange, almost other worldly woman standing hand in hand with Jack.
“Zara, I’d like you to meet Owen Harper our resident medic, Toshiko Sato our computer genius and Gwen Cooper, our police liason. Oh and you’ve already met Ianto of course.” Jack smiled, nodding to each of them as he said their names. “This is Zara, my daughter.” Jack hadn’t been sure how to break the news to them, so he had opted to be blunt and to the point, he owed them that at least.
If Ianto had been able to take a picture of each of the teams reactions he would have done. Gwen’s was a classic, her mouth open sub consciously as she processed the news, staring at Zara with amazement. Tosh simply smiled and turned away, hiding behind her hair, avoiding everyone’s eyes. Owen simply looked with wide eyes at the woman who he had been sizing up in a totally different light, a half grin spreading across his face.
“You’re kidding right Jack?” He chuckled.
“No, no Owen I’m not.” Jack answered sternly.
“But Jack. You’re daughter? I don’t-“ Gwen began, her mouth still open in surprise.
“Look guys, as much as you want to talk about my life, we still have work to do. Owen, I need that autopsy report done by today. Gwen, I’m going to need you to sort out that how situation with the police last week. And Tosh, if you finish that translation software today, you’d be a goddess.” Flashing his characteristic smile he turned to Zara. “Will you be ok hanging around out here for a while?”
“Sure.” She smiled. “I might be some use out here.”
“You might. We’ll talk later ok?” He smiled, squeezing her hand and then letting go of it. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”
Rating: Errrr 15 for language probably.
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Owen
Spoilers: All off series 2 except exit wounds to be on the safe side.
Summary: Set early on in series 2. Jack finally has to answer to his past.
Disclaimer: Regrettably I own nothing, none of the characters, zip. Wish I did though.
Author’s Notes: Just a random idea I had that grew into a fic. Comments are always loved and adored.
“Ianto………..” Jack paused, not able to believe he was about to say it. “This is Zara. She’s my daughter.”
“What?!” Ianto spluttered, a look of complete confusion creasing its way across his features.
“My Daughter Ianto. Look, I…………..don’t know where to start here……….I…….” Jack was lost, his mind simply a whirl of emotion. Zara, the only real legacy he had ever left in his own time was there, right in front of him. He had thought that he had left her behind for good; he’d never counted on her growing up and trying to find him. “Please, I just need you to trust me right now Ianto……..I need time.” He managed to mumble.
“I trust you Jack, you know I do. But if I’m right, I think you need to worry about other people right now.” Ianto nodded, and right then Jack felt a huge wave of love wash over him. It was times like this when any other lover would have not understood, or said something rash. Ianto however was as thoughtful as ever, and his deep trust of Jack was obvious by his “no questions asked” attitude.
“Thanks Ianto.” He smiled, turning his attention back to Zara. “You better follow me.”
In his office, Jack closed his door, something that he did very rarely. He needed to shut out Torchwood, as for the first time in years, this was about him. His life. His life before Torchwood.
“So, where exactly are we?” Zara asked, sitting down in his chair, leaning back and surveying her surroundings casually.
“Torchwood. We protect humans from what comes through the rift pretty much. Arming them for the future.” Perching on his desk, Jack couldn’t help but stare at the young woman his daughter had grown up into. She was strikingly beautiful to say the least, her big, round eyes the same ocean blue as his own. His mind flashed back to the day he’d had to run and leave her. She’d been so young.
“Sounds a bit like the police to me.” She smirked, fiddling idly with a pen on his desk.
“We’re not the police.” He spat back, more harshly than he had intended. “So last night, you were the one who came through the rift?”
“You think? I didn’t exactly make it difficult for you to detect it did I?” She hissed bitterly, smiling as she saw her Dad shake with frustration. Part of her wanted to make him irritate him, to make him as frustrated as he’d made her feel since he’d left her.
“You might think you’re clever Zara, but trust me, we’ve dealt with far more intelligent aliens than you.”
“Oh, I’m an alien now am I? What the fuck are you doing here? Playing happy families with your little pet outside?” Standing up to face him, Zara glared back at Jack, her chest moving breathlessly as she gasped for more air.
“Don’t you dare bring Ianto into this!” Jack almost screamed, his voice reverberating around the room. Zara was stunned into silence, and all around him, the air became quiet.
As the silence grew, Jack felt his anger well up inside him, bubbling to the surface. He couldn’t contain the intense emotion anymore, however hard he tried. “Why are you here Zara?!”
“Why am I here?” Zara paused, her confident exterior gone in an instant, replaced by tears in her eyes. “I came looking for you! I spent my whole childhood trying to figure out where my Dad had gone. Why he had just dumped me and never been seen again! It got to the point where…….where I couldn’t stand it anymore. And then I was old enough to do something about it.” She paused, wiping her eyes, scrabbling at what remained of her strong self image that lay tattered on the floor.
“But how? I mean how did you find me?” Softening, Jack let his voice return to its calm pitch, as he watched the tearful woman in front of him, who only moments before had been as strong as him.
“You weren’t easy to find. I researched, I read everything I could about how the Time Agency had worked, how you were able to travel through time. So I made this.” Delicately she held out a slender wrist, showing him the makeshift wristwatch that was wrapped around it. “It took some fine tuning, but I got it to work at least.” Jack reached out and admired the neat circuitry, not being able to help but nod in approval. He was impressed, and deep within him felt pride well up inside him. Despite everything she was still his daughter. But as he continued to look at it, he noticed something familiar within in the wiring, a kind of brilliance that only one person he’d met had ever shown before.
“Impressive.” He breathed.
“Why did you leave?” She suddenly blurted out, her eyes fixed on his.
“Zara……” Taking a deep breath, Jack contemplated his next few sentences. “I thought…….I thought, I was doing the right thing. When your Dad died, it was just you and me. I was going to make it work I swear, you meant, mean everything to me.” He paused, reaching forward and bravely gripping her hand. “But, I was on the run. It was impossible. I felt like with every step I was endangering you more and more. So, I left you with Xavier. I knew you’d have questions, but at least I knew that you were safe.” Jack watched, as fresh tears poured down the young woman’s face. In one swift movement, she stood up and threw her arms around him, clutching him tightly. It was the first time Jack had ever wanted to hang on to his past so tight. All the harsh words lay around the room forgotten and discarded. Neither of them needed to hide anymore.
Barely 10 minutes later, Gwen, Tosh and Owen all filed into work, greeted by the wonderful aroma of Ianto’s coffee drifting up into to the Hub. Handing out each mug to his eager colleagues, Ianto glanced over to Jack’s office. He had so many questions about this mysterious Zara, about Jack’s past life, about who he had been in the past that he felt like his head would burst.
Almost on cue, the door to the office opened, and Jack stepped out, holding Zara by the hand, leading her after him. Ianto smiled, although he felt that infuriated that Jack had never even thought to tell him he was a father, he had to admit that he loved seeing him like that. His face looked so much more at peace than he had ever known it to look, and deep down that made Ianto understand that whatever had happened that morning had been positive.
“Hey Jack! Who’s this?” A beautiful woman in the office and of course Owen was the first to notice. Although he looked unconvinced by the strange, almost other worldly woman standing hand in hand with Jack.
“Zara, I’d like you to meet Owen Harper our resident medic, Toshiko Sato our computer genius and Gwen Cooper, our police liason. Oh and you’ve already met Ianto of course.” Jack smiled, nodding to each of them as he said their names. “This is Zara, my daughter.” Jack hadn’t been sure how to break the news to them, so he had opted to be blunt and to the point, he owed them that at least.
If Ianto had been able to take a picture of each of the teams reactions he would have done. Gwen’s was a classic, her mouth open sub consciously as she processed the news, staring at Zara with amazement. Tosh simply smiled and turned away, hiding behind her hair, avoiding everyone’s eyes. Owen simply looked with wide eyes at the woman who he had been sizing up in a totally different light, a half grin spreading across his face.
“You’re kidding right Jack?” He chuckled.
“No, no Owen I’m not.” Jack answered sternly.
“But Jack. You’re daughter? I don’t-“ Gwen began, her mouth still open in surprise.
“Look guys, as much as you want to talk about my life, we still have work to do. Owen, I need that autopsy report done by today. Gwen, I’m going to need you to sort out that how situation with the police last week. And Tosh, if you finish that translation software today, you’d be a goddess.” Flashing his characteristic smile he turned to Zara. “Will you be ok hanging around out here for a while?”
“Sure.” She smiled. “I might be some use out here.”
“You might. We’ll talk later ok?” He smiled, squeezing her hand and then letting go of it. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”