Fic: Ghost of You
Title: Ghost of you.
Rating: PG 13
Spoilers: None.
Summary. This is one of two companion pieces to
dr_is_in 's story; The Right Kind of Wrong.
This story tells us how Jack finds Kayla and finally beings her home.
Title is a MCR song which can be found here. . The video is just so fitting to this story and
bellasianna 's
Thanks to
plingo_kat and
bellasianna for offering beta'ing this and
dr_is_in for moral support and pushing to make this a *hopefully* good story :D
Alright Tosh, I’ll be there in a few,” Jack replied, shutting off his comm and picking up his pace.
The team had been out investigating two abnormal signals; one in Canal Park - Gwen, Tosh and Owen had taken the SUV - and the other just past Roald Dahl Plass. Jack had walked. Fresh air never did anyone harm, he’d quipped dashing out of the Hub. After two hours with no success, they had decided to regroup back at the Hub. Jack had been stalking along the Plass, looking at his wrist-comm with a desperate need to get coffee into his system when he crashed into her.
With an audible “Oof” she fell to the ground, dropping her handbag and scattering what seemed like hundred’s of leaflets across the ground.
“Kayla! Are you alright?” her blond companion asked, kneeling down next to her. Kayla nodded, cautiously moving her arm up and down. No broken bones then. All of a sudden, a big gust of wind set her friend running around the Plass collecting up the dropped leaflets.
“Captain Jack Harkness and I am really sorry,” Jack apologized, plastering one of his famous grins onto his face as he offered her his hand.
“Charmed, No harm, no foul,” she replied, looking up at her helper. Jack’s breath caught in his throat as he glimpsed the vintage necklace clasped around her neck. Although it's silver had become slightly tarnished from where it had been worn a lot, Jack could tell it had been looked after from the way the diamond still sparkled, momentarily blinding him as it caught the sun. She looked just like -
“Catherine?” he asked out loud. Kayla was still suspended in midair when her friend came back over to them.
“No, My name is Kayla,” Kayla corrected, trying to pull herself out of his grasp.
He let her hand go before she had her footing and she landed back on the ground. She glanced at Trina, who finally helped her to her feet, before turning back to deal with the psychotic stranger. “He’s gone,” she said gobsmacked. “What - Where - How did he disappear so quickly?” she glanced around the Plass searching in vain for a man in military clothing. Her gaze eventually fell on the water tower. Her vision swam just for a moment, making her feel dizzy, but she put it down to her fall.
“Kayla, who was that?” Trina asked, holding Kayla’s arm in her own and handing over her handbag. Kayla looked over all the of people milling about the Plass once more, not really understanding why she was looking for a man whom she was trying to escape from not two minutes earlier
“I don’t know - He - I think I recognize him,” Kayla replied, thinking hard. “But I don’t know where from…”
Ianto sat in front of his monitor watching Jack watch the two girls. They looked to be barely out of their teens and yet Jack couldn’t stop staring. Having nothing to do except wait for the others to get back, Ianto had decided to try and find Jack on the CCTV. Not that he had wanted to see Jack striding along, muscles flexing and his military coat flying out behind him. Not at all. But then he’d knocked over this girl. No-one special, just a girl.
Honestly, Ianto couldn’t have asked for a better spot for it to happen - plenty of full face footage to investigate later. However, it also allowed him a front row seat to watch the show now. He noticed Jack giving her his mega-watt grin that was usually reserved for Ianto alone, (obviously not anymore) but then his whole demeanor had changed, just like that. Jack wasn’t one for emotions at the best of times, but now his face was a mix of pure shock, anger and an underlining of … love? Ianto had never seen him like this - as though he was seeing a ghost.
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Jack stood on the perception filter a good five minutes after the two girls had gone before finally descending where Ianto was waiting with a cup of steaming coffee as he reached the ground.
“Sir,” he handed over the cup with a small smile. Jack took the mug, and with a curt nod retreated to his office. Ianto followed silently; jealously making him want to know what happened.
“Sir.”
“Ianto,” Jack replied. He picked up some paperwork that had been left on his desk.
“Who were those girls?”
“Not girls, women," he corrected gulping down his coffee and still not looking at Ianto.
“Fine, women. Who were they?”
“I don’t know…She - her name’s Cath- I mean Kayla. I bumped into her, that’s all,” Jack mumbles, his brain not really aware of what he's saying. “Catherine’s dead. Kayla is alive - Don’t be stupid.” Jack murmurs again, shaking his head as if to get rid of the thoughts. While Jack continued his mumblings, Ianto decided to make a hasty retreat back up to the Tourist Office.
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It was late when the team left to go home and Ianto was finally left to his own devices.
The abnormal signatures turned out to be some stranded aliens whose ship had broken in two. Their ship used something Jack had called a ‘Chameleon circuit’ to blend in with their surroundings, which explained why they couldn’t be found earlier. When they arrived back at the Hub, Jack had gone straight into his office and closed the door. They knew then that something was wrong - Jack only closed the door if he was angry, upset, pissed off or shagging Ianto. An hour later, Ianto had walked in with a cup of coffee and the manhole cover had been opened. Jack was already down in his room, trying to get some sleep.
Ianto quickly brought up a full face picture of Kayla. At that moment, all he knew was her first name. She was an attractive girl - sorry woman, by the looks of things; early twenties, slender, waist length black hair and her eyes, god, such a deep blue, almost as deep as the ocean. He recognized them from somewhere but couldn’t place exactly where.
The machine bleeped loudly, jerking Ianto awake. He looked sleepily at his watch; half past two in the morning. He yawned, stretching his muscles. He hated falling asleep sitting up - very painful when you finally wake. Pressing print he escaped to get some coffee.
Three minutes later and a cup of coffee in hand Ianto sat back down and flipped through the information that computer had spat out; birth certificates, GCSE and A level results, letters from her boss, her parents, ex-boyfriends, photos of Kayla with her family, photos of her family alone, photos of her grandparents and photos of her great-grandparents. Ianto looked at the photos again, his mouth falling open with shock. Out of everything he’d suspected - this had not even been on the list…
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“Sir, we need to talk,” Ianto said walking into Jack’s office without knocking. Jack didn’t even look up until Ianto had placed the cup of coffee under his nose.
“Thanks.” Jack looks up for all of three seconds and then back down to his ‘paperwork’, which under further scrutiny involved intricate circles and random doodles of everything from stickmen to snowmen.
“Sir!” Ianto almost cried, exasperated.
“What?!” Jack finally replied, his voice low and his eyes not focused.
“Jack, for God’s sake! It’s about Kayla,” Jack’s head snaps up at the sound of her name.
“What about her?” he asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing.
If Ianto had been the jealous type, Jack would have been faced with the green-eyed monster, but Ianto wasn’t the jealous type at all.
“Why do you care so much about her? You talked to her for all of two minutes and now you’re fucking obsessed-”
“I’m not obsessed! How am I obsessed?” Jack protested, his voice rising and he stood leveling with Ianto.
“Oh you want to know, do you? Yesterday you meet this girl - oops sorry - woman and then you go straight to your room; you don’t talk to us, not even…never mind…you just totally ignore us and shut us out.”
“I don’t even what?” Jack asked, his interest peaking. Ianto shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter, I shouldn’t have said anything, you’re the boss,”
“Didn’t stop you earlier, so c’mon tell me,” Ianto shook his head again. “You’re jealous.” Jack realized, his eyes widening.
“No-”
“Yes you are - you’re jealous.” Jack grinned his ‘cat-ate-the-canary’ grin.
“I’m not fucking jealous Jack - Is it so difficult to trust me enough to tell me that Kayla’s you’re great-granddaughter?” Ianto shouted.
“Kayla’s what?” Jack repeated, his mouth hanging open and his knees giving away from underneath him. Ianto stood still, silent and looking sheepish.
“Shit.”
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“God, Ianto, next time - make sure I’m sitting down when you decide to spring something like that on me,” Jack rubbed his knees knowing that the bruise was already gone.
“I’m sorry. I thought - I thought you knew and that was why you were acting weird and quiet,” Ianto explained, he spread the papers across the conference desk.
“Wow, you did you’re research,” Jack admired in a scolding tone. He placed a hand on the back of Ianto’s jacket and gently caressed the fabric. Ianto smiled.
“What did you expect?”
“You really are jealous aren’t you,” Jack stated in his tongue-in-cheek way.
“You’re lucky you’re sexy, Sir,” Ianto replied, sitting down next to Jack and pulling a piece of paper towards them. “Look, this is her family tree; that’s Kayla…” He traced his fingers up the roots. “Her mother and father; Alice Andrews and Christopher Michaels.” His fingers moved up more. “Her grandparent’s; Jack Andrews and Amanda Smith.” Again, his fingers moved. “And finally, her great-grandparents; Catherine Andrews and one Captain. Jack Harkness. Deceased at birth.” They both sat in silence for some minutes.
“I didn’t know she was pregnant.” Jack said eventually.
“No?”
“If I had, I would have come back. I wouldn’t have left her, not alone and especially not in 1940.” Jack explained, his voice low and his eyes sad.
“What…What were you doing in 1940?”
“I was an American volunteer, enlisted with the RAF during the war. It was part of my assign- job at the time. I was only there for four months, but those four months were some of the most amazing months of my life and believe me that’s a long time,” Jack knew he was offering more information that Ianto had asked for, but Jack trusted him. “To begin with she’d been an acquaintance to get information out of, but then I found myself growing closer to her and before I knew it I loved her. We’d been lovers for barely two weeks before I had to leave. We never said goodbye. It was wartime. No promises.”
“Jack, you don’t need to say anything else,”
“Maybe not, but I want to tell you.” He paused. “I gave her something to remember me by. Something that was as beautiful as she was. A diamond flower necklace. She’d always looked good in purple…” Jack trailed off, his eyes unfocused and a small smile on his face. Ianto knew this was going to be a long night.
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Kayla opened another letter. She groaned, another bill. She added it to the ever growing left pile. Being a medical student didn’t pay and left little time for a job. Ever since she had been a teenager, she had dreamed of working in medical investigation for the police; it was more interesting than just being a doctor and her parents had always encouraged her to go to medical school, to get herself a decent job, but none of them had realized how much money it would cost.
Finding a recent newspaper, she began scouring the jobs. If she was ever going to pay off her loans then she needed a part-time job. And quickly.
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“Urgh,” Kayla groaned as she opened the door to her flat and at least a dozen envelopes covered the doormat. “Why can’t I get letter’s saying I’ve won a million pounds instead of them saying I owe a million pounds?” She asked herself, bending down and picking up the letters. Fumbling with her coat, she dropped her keys into the basket and kicked the door closed. Hanging her threadbare coat up she walked into the open spaced kitchen where she opened the letters. One by one, she fell quieter and quieter.
‘Dear Miss. Michaels,
Due to the kindness of an anonymous donor, you’re loans have been paid in full including interest. If you ever wish….’
‘Dear Miss. Michaels.
Thanks to an anonymous donor, your credit card balance has been paid off in full. We hope that if you wish…..’
‘Dear Madam.
You bank has been credited with £10,000 from an anonymous donor…’
The room started swimming before her and with that she blacked out.
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Kayla skipped through the door, noting only one letter on the mat. Her new coat was hung up with care and her shiny boots left to dry on the mat. She sat down with a glass of orange juice and cracker before deciding to open the letter. Ever since that fateful date two weeks ago, she actually enjoyed opening her mail. Nibbling, she quickly scanned the letter before nearly choking in shock. She screamed at the top of her voice.
‘Dear Miss. Michaels.
We are pleased to accept you to this highly renowned internship. We feel that you are going to be a great asset to our company. You will be working with Mr. P. Bryant and four other students…’
“Yesssss!” She cried, jumping up and lunging for the phone.
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“She studied cryptozoology? What the hell is that?” Jack asked, scrutinizing the screen before him.
“I believe sir, that cryptozoologists study or search for mythical animals that are presumed to exist, but conclusive proof does not yet exist.” Ianto explained.
“I don’t know what the hell you just said, but those beautiful Welsh vowels….” Jack whispered trailing his fingers along Ianto’s arm.
“Cryptozoologists study or search for these hypothetical creatures…which are sometimes referred to by some as cryptids…or aliens,”
“Aliens, eh?”
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"You're being reassigned."
Looking up from the autopsy reports she was studying, Kayla frowned at her student advisor standing in the med lab doorway.
"Excuse me?" she replied, one eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"You heard me, you're being reassigned. Cardiff, in fact," Mr. Bryant retorted, crossing him arms, knowing an argument of some sort was coming from the med student in front of him. Inwardly, he sighed, regretting to have to lose Kayla to another assignment. When she wasn't questioning everyone and everything around her, or spouting off about beasts and creatures, she was actually one of the more intelligent college students working the crime office, completing her internship.
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Jack watched as Kayla hurried into the Hub, as though to get away from something or someone. She had an aura of annoyance yet utter fascination when she had walked in. That was quickly replaced by total disbelief. Her mouth opened in a silent ‘O’ shape and stayed open, her eyes widening and her gaze running around the room.
"Where the hell am I?" she asked in a state of horror and confusion.
“Torchwood," he replied. She jumped at his voice and if possible, her eyes grew wider as she took in his team behind him, including Owen. He saw her ignore Owen and then brace herself before hurrying up the stairs, towards the group and holding out her hand.
“Kayla Michaels, intern, reporting for duty," she states professionally. Taking her hand, his eyes dim, caught in a ghost of a moment; her hands, so small, dainty and soft; exactly like her great-grandmothers. Coming out of his reverie, he grinned. She grinned back. Now that was more like it.
"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said, introducing himself. "Leader of Torchwood. Let me introduce you to the rest of the team. You've met Doctor Owen Harper already, of course."
"Unfortunately," Kayla muttered under her breath. Jack grinned. God, she was like himself in so many ways.
"Ouch, way to wound a man kitten," Owen shot back, miming being stabbed in the chest.
*****
Flashback
“So you talk to a lot of pretty girls then? I supposed I should be flattered you took the time to talk to me.” Catherine flirted using her most-ladylike voice.
“Ouch,” the American soldier motioned being wounded in the heart, but was still smiling. “Here,” Jack offered one of the two glasses that he had been holding.
End Flashback
****
"And here I thought we were getting on smashingly, you falling at my feet and everything." Owen smirked, his voice a bare echo in Jack’s mind.
"You wish," she snapped back. Jack saw her flushing as she finally realized that everyone been listening. He watched as she turned her back to Owen. Jack laughed heartily. God, she was more and more like him every moment. She fitted straight in. This felt so right. More than right. She was finally home.