Ashes to Ashes/Torchwood - fic - Heroes, For Ever and Ever, Gene, Gwen, Jack, PG-13
Title - Heroes, For Ever and Ever
Author - laurab1
Characters - Gene, Gwen, Jack
Rating - PG-13 aka 12
Length - 1085 words
Spoilers - Ashes to Ashes 3.8, general series for Torchwood
Summary - In 2016, Jack lost Gwen
Disclaimer - alas, none of these people are mine
Feedback is loved and appreciated :) Enjoy! Even if it is very sad :(
Warning, of course, for character death. Off screen, though.
click on through for full size...
Heroes, For Ever and Ever
by Laura
He handed someone over to Nelson five days ago; Gene knows where he is, and what he’s there for. Then his Fenchurch East CID office changes around him, becoming, of all things, a Tube station.
And it’s just him.
Bloody scary, that is.
A grinding noise, a great big cog rolls back. A bird steps through, yelling, over the sound of the cog rolling closed, “Jack! Are you here? I know we can’t necessarily risk opening the Rift, so how the hell am I gonna get home, if your Vortex Manipulator’s not working?”
Dark-haired Welsh bird, apparently knows she’s out of her time, and is accepting this as something that could quite easily have happened to her. Well, that’s new. Which force did she belong to, this one? Who’s Jack, and what’s a Vortex Manipulator?
She clocks him, goes for her gun, and strides over. “Who are you?” she asks, weapon drawn. “How did you get in?”
Gene forces himself to look at her face instead of her rather impressive tits. “DCI Gene Hunt, love. Who are you?”
“Gwen Cooper. Torchwood. Which, I'm sorry, you aren't. And you didn’t answer my other question, DCI Hunt.”
He still doesn’t answer her, because he’s remembering something else. Torchwood. He’s sure he’s heard that one before. Yeah, he has. Many times. Flash, armed, American bastard who keeps coming here; staying for anywhere between three minutes and three days. His arrival’s always heralded by this Tube station appearing, and then, along with the man himself, disappearing.
Gwen Cooper, by the sound of her, was a copper at some point, before she ended up belonging to Captain Jack Harkness. From past conversations Gene remembers snatches of, he will no doubt be along after her soon enough. There’s the grinding noise of the cog door, now. That was bloody quick. Jack’s silent as he walks over to them.
“Guv,” he says, wearily, and Gene gives him a nod. Jack forces a smile onto his face, and whispers, “Gwen. You can drop your weapon, y’know.”
“How do you know this man, Jack?” Gwen asks, clicking the safety back on, then returning her gun to the waistband of her Levi 501s.
Jack doesn’t answer her, but she’s noticed something; it’s obvious from the look on her face. She’s running her eyes up and down his coat, again and again. If she belonged to Harkness, then she’s not going to have been a dozy mare.
“Jack Harkness, that blood stain on your greatcoat is exactly the same shape, and in exactly the same place as the version of you I just left in 2016. Your Vortex Manipulator wasn’t working then, either. And it wasn’t the Rift that brought me here,” Gwen says, becoming increasingly louder, finally meets his eyes. “So, you tell me right now, how the bloody hell did I get to 1985, how did you follow me to this exact point in time, and how are we gonna get home?”
He watches Jack take Cooper’s face in his hands, and kiss her forehead. “Gwen, honey…” he soothes.
“Jack.” She’s not having it, though, judging by the hard tone of her voice.
He says nothing, just strokes his hands down over her shoulders and arms, takes hers in his. Gene sees her get it, hears her scream, watches her shake her head.
“Yeah, Gwen,” Jack says, nodding, the tears in his eyes matching hers, as he grips her hands tighter, brings them to his lips for a kiss or two. “I’m the only one who’s gonna be going home, sweetheart. Price we pay, price I pay, working for Torchwood.”
“I’m never going to see Rhys or Meaghan again, Jack!” she shouts.
Jack’s voice is remarkably steady as he replies, “I'll look after them for you, I promise."
"You bloody better had."
"Hey, I just promised, didn't I? Okay?”
“Okay,” Gwen whispers, pulling her hands from Jack’s so she can wipe her eyes with her fingers.
Jack, for his part, pastes a smile back on his lips, and says, “Y’know, I ended up in the dark, alone, and frightened as hell so many times, for sixty years. But after the Queen’s Coronation, there was the Guv, and I wasn’t frightened quite so much. I’m sorry I’ve lost you, I love you, and I’ll miss you like hell, Gwen Cooper.”
Somehow, she laughs, and says, “Jack Harkness, you’ll see me often enough to not even think about missing me.” Acceptance, then.
“Too bloody right, love. In and out like a yo-yo, he is.” But acceptance that quickly probably means she’s not gonna be with him very long. He’s sure Jack knows that, too. Which would mean he’d be deliberately stupid, deliberately reckless with his life. “Harkness.”
“DCI Hunt?”
“I’ll look after her for you. I promise. Don’t want your bloody Tube station appearing around me tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Guv. It won’t, I promise. Sir,” Jack says, offering a salute.
And vanishing.
They’re silent for a while. “Where am I then, Guv?” Gwen asks, as Fenchurch East re-appears. She doesn’t really blink at this, it has to be said. Still more ex-Met officers with bigger issues over their deaths, then.
“A place where we go to sort ourselves, Gwen. Coppers.”
“I haven’t been a copper for years, DCI Hunt. I was Torchwood. We’re outside the government and beyond the police, we are.”
“Once a copper, always a copper, sweetheart. It’s up here.” He taps a couple of fingers on the side of her head.
“And in here,” she finishes, all gap-toothed smile, tapping a couple of her own fingers over her heart. He waits for the realisation to dawn on her.
“Oh my God, it’s still beating!”
“Of course it bloody is, DI Cooper.”
“DI?”
“Yes, woman. You were Jack’s, so you’re not stupid. Don’t ask me how he got here in the first place, though. I don’t think he’s ever told me, but I don’t always remember everything, either. I do know I’m the sheriff around here, which makes you my deputy,” Gene says. Coat and driving gloves on, he opens the door of his office. “Right, let’s fire up the Merc. Wish I could offer you the Quattro, but some clog-dancing Euro gangster bastards murdered it a couple of years ago. So now I’ve got a bloody diesel. Scumbags to catch, though. Coming?”
“Yes, Guv,” Cooper replies, with a grin, following him out.
She can find her warrant in the car, and her name plate will be waiting for her when they get back.
-end-
Author - laurab1
Characters - Gene, Gwen, Jack
Rating - PG-13 aka 12
Length - 1085 words
Spoilers - Ashes to Ashes 3.8, general series for Torchwood
Summary - In 2016, Jack lost Gwen
Disclaimer - alas, none of these people are mine
Feedback is loved and appreciated :) Enjoy! Even if it is very sad :(
Warning, of course, for character death. Off screen, though.
click on through for full size...
Heroes, For Ever and Ever
by Laura
He handed someone over to Nelson five days ago; Gene knows where he is, and what he’s there for. Then his Fenchurch East CID office changes around him, becoming, of all things, a Tube station.
And it’s just him.
Bloody scary, that is.
A grinding noise, a great big cog rolls back. A bird steps through, yelling, over the sound of the cog rolling closed, “Jack! Are you here? I know we can’t necessarily risk opening the Rift, so how the hell am I gonna get home, if your Vortex Manipulator’s not working?”
Dark-haired Welsh bird, apparently knows she’s out of her time, and is accepting this as something that could quite easily have happened to her. Well, that’s new. Which force did she belong to, this one? Who’s Jack, and what’s a Vortex Manipulator?
She clocks him, goes for her gun, and strides over. “Who are you?” she asks, weapon drawn. “How did you get in?”
Gene forces himself to look at her face instead of her rather impressive tits. “DCI Gene Hunt, love. Who are you?”
“Gwen Cooper. Torchwood. Which, I'm sorry, you aren't. And you didn’t answer my other question, DCI Hunt.”
He still doesn’t answer her, because he’s remembering something else. Torchwood. He’s sure he’s heard that one before. Yeah, he has. Many times. Flash, armed, American bastard who keeps coming here; staying for anywhere between three minutes and three days. His arrival’s always heralded by this Tube station appearing, and then, along with the man himself, disappearing.
Gwen Cooper, by the sound of her, was a copper at some point, before she ended up belonging to Captain Jack Harkness. From past conversations Gene remembers snatches of, he will no doubt be along after her soon enough. There’s the grinding noise of the cog door, now. That was bloody quick. Jack’s silent as he walks over to them.
“Guv,” he says, wearily, and Gene gives him a nod. Jack forces a smile onto his face, and whispers, “Gwen. You can drop your weapon, y’know.”
“How do you know this man, Jack?” Gwen asks, clicking the safety back on, then returning her gun to the waistband of her Levi 501s.
Jack doesn’t answer her, but she’s noticed something; it’s obvious from the look on her face. She’s running her eyes up and down his coat, again and again. If she belonged to Harkness, then she’s not going to have been a dozy mare.
“Jack Harkness, that blood stain on your greatcoat is exactly the same shape, and in exactly the same place as the version of you I just left in 2016. Your Vortex Manipulator wasn’t working then, either. And it wasn’t the Rift that brought me here,” Gwen says, becoming increasingly louder, finally meets his eyes. “So, you tell me right now, how the bloody hell did I get to 1985, how did you follow me to this exact point in time, and how are we gonna get home?”
He watches Jack take Cooper’s face in his hands, and kiss her forehead. “Gwen, honey…” he soothes.
“Jack.” She’s not having it, though, judging by the hard tone of her voice.
He says nothing, just strokes his hands down over her shoulders and arms, takes hers in his. Gene sees her get it, hears her scream, watches her shake her head.
“Yeah, Gwen,” Jack says, nodding, the tears in his eyes matching hers, as he grips her hands tighter, brings them to his lips for a kiss or two. “I’m the only one who’s gonna be going home, sweetheart. Price we pay, price I pay, working for Torchwood.”
“I’m never going to see Rhys or Meaghan again, Jack!” she shouts.
Jack’s voice is remarkably steady as he replies, “I'll look after them for you, I promise."
"You bloody better had."
"Hey, I just promised, didn't I? Okay?”
“Okay,” Gwen whispers, pulling her hands from Jack’s so she can wipe her eyes with her fingers.
Jack, for his part, pastes a smile back on his lips, and says, “Y’know, I ended up in the dark, alone, and frightened as hell so many times, for sixty years. But after the Queen’s Coronation, there was the Guv, and I wasn’t frightened quite so much. I’m sorry I’ve lost you, I love you, and I’ll miss you like hell, Gwen Cooper.”
Somehow, she laughs, and says, “Jack Harkness, you’ll see me often enough to not even think about missing me.” Acceptance, then.
“Too bloody right, love. In and out like a yo-yo, he is.” But acceptance that quickly probably means she’s not gonna be with him very long. He’s sure Jack knows that, too. Which would mean he’d be deliberately stupid, deliberately reckless with his life. “Harkness.”
“DCI Hunt?”
“I’ll look after her for you. I promise. Don’t want your bloody Tube station appearing around me tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Guv. It won’t, I promise. Sir,” Jack says, offering a salute.
And vanishing.
They’re silent for a while. “Where am I then, Guv?” Gwen asks, as Fenchurch East re-appears. She doesn’t really blink at this, it has to be said. Still more ex-Met officers with bigger issues over their deaths, then.
“A place where we go to sort ourselves, Gwen. Coppers.”
“I haven’t been a copper for years, DCI Hunt. I was Torchwood. We’re outside the government and beyond the police, we are.”
“Once a copper, always a copper, sweetheart. It’s up here.” He taps a couple of fingers on the side of her head.
“And in here,” she finishes, all gap-toothed smile, tapping a couple of her own fingers over her heart. He waits for the realisation to dawn on her.
“Oh my God, it’s still beating!”
“Of course it bloody is, DI Cooper.”
“DI?”
“Yes, woman. You were Jack’s, so you’re not stupid. Don’t ask me how he got here in the first place, though. I don’t think he’s ever told me, but I don’t always remember everything, either. I do know I’m the sheriff around here, which makes you my deputy,” Gene says. Coat and driving gloves on, he opens the door of his office. “Right, let’s fire up the Merc. Wish I could offer you the Quattro, but some clog-dancing Euro gangster bastards murdered it a couple of years ago. So now I’ve got a bloody diesel. Scumbags to catch, though. Coming?”
“Yes, Guv,” Cooper replies, with a grin, following him out.
She can find her warrant in the car, and her name plate will be waiting for her when they get back.
-end-