Chapter 6: It was a Pleasant Afternoon - Part 3
Inspired by interactions in the Hotel California Panfandom RPG, this is a joint project between two women who adored the idea of Jack recruiting Buffy to Torchwood. Perhaps they adored it a little too much, but that remains to be seen.
Title: So Buffy Met Jack...
Authors: Amy tainted_crimson & Sarah magicom
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Torchwood
Spoilers: Through Buffy / Angel series finales and Torchwood Series 2 / Doctor Who Series 4.
Rating: FR-15
Disclaimer: Everything is owned by Joss/Fox and Russell/BBC!
Summary: After spending a few weeks trapped in an extratemporal holding cell together, Captain Jack Harkness offered Buffy Summers a job at Torchwood. And how could she ever turn down an offer like that?
Chapters: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05
IT WAS A PLEASANT AFTERNOON - Part 3
Buffy was keeping herself busy until the yummy coffee showed up by working on the forms Ianto had given her about her coat. She'd noticed Gwen glancing her way from the other woman's station, and finally the Slayer set down her pen and turned to fully face her. "Need something?" she called over, ever the impatient sort and just wanting to get to the point already.
Gwen felt for a moment like she'd been caught trying to sneak out of the house when she was grounded, but then she reminded herself that there was nothing wrong with being equally concerned and curious, and she wasn't going to be beaten up for asking a few questions. And when had that ever been an issue, anyway? Buffy had been nothing but sweet since she'd arrived, and Gwen being Gwen, she just wanted to make sure the younger woman was alright and really knew what she was getting into.
Standing, Gwen made her way over to her old station, where Jack had set Buffy up, and slid her hands into the back pockets of her pants. "So... those were some pretty impressive moves you had out there," she commented, looking as awkward as she felt. "How's your arm? I know I asked earlier, but..." she trailed off.
Buffy smiled up at the dark-haired woman, her kind nature reminding her of a high school Willow. "The arm's fine," she told her with full confidence. "Ianto helped me patch it up, and I was serious when I said I'll be good as new in a few days."
The Welsh woman clearly wasn't convinced about something. "And... all of this, the... healing, and the fighting...," she started, having to pause and think it through, still trying to wrap her mind around it all. "It's all because of you being a Vampire Slayer, yes?"
The blonde nodded with a knowing look. "Don't worry, not everyone can be all accepty right away," she assured Gwen. "I get it."
Gwen didn't. Which was probably the problem. Wearing a slightly dazed and rather confused and uncertain expression, she started back to her station, telling Buffy, "Right... I'll just let you get back to..." She finished with a gesture and then tried not to hurry off. That certainly hadn't gone as planned.
Ianto paused on his way to Buffy's station, watching Gwen as she stammered her way back to her own workspace. He just looked over at her for a second, then carried on. When he got to Buffy, he held out a small plastic badge in a small plastic bag. "Your security pass," he told her. "Carry it in your pocket. The Hub's sensors will recognize it when you approach and you'll be able to open the doors." Once she'd taken that from him, he handed her the gun. It was the same model as both Gwen and Ianto used. "Your gun," he said unnecessarily. "I expect you already know your way around that." He handed her an extra clip. "You need to keep extra ammunition with you as well," he told her. "Regulations." He took one more small plastic bag out of his pocket and held it out. It had a tiny electronic device inside. "This is your communicator," he told her. "It fits right inside your ear. You need to wear it at all times when you're on duty." He watched her with her hands full of the items for a moment. "Any questions?"
Buffy looked at each item as it was handed to her, though the gun was given a bit more distaste than the others, then looked up at Ianto with an almost pouting expression. "Sure I can't just get by with a pointy piece of wood?" she asked, only half joking. She still was really against the gun idea. "I mean, really, I break cell phones, and you expect me to keep this in one piece?" she shook the bag with the earpiece to emphasize her point.
Ianto crossed his arms, but there was a slight hint of humour in his tone. "Yes," he said flatly. "To both questions." His expression grew into a bit of a smirk. "And you'll have a 'cell phone'," he said, using the American term to echo her own words, "by the end of tomorrow."
Sighing overdramatically, she slumped back into her chair. "You may be a Coffee God," she told him with a hint of pout still in place, "but you're clearly just as mean as him," she nodded towards Jack's office. She had to salvage the moment somehow, so perhaps a bit of flustering was in order.
"Well, he had to learn it somewhere," Ianto told her breezily before taking her empty coffee mug off her desk and sweeping it away with him.
Jack was strolling over just in time to catch the tail-end of the conversation. "Who had to learn what where?" he asked. Ianto didn't answer as he brushed by him with a small cryptic smile and Jack just shrugged and turned to Buffy. "I see you've been processed," he said happily. He looked at his watch. "And in about half an hour you can say you made it through your first day. How's it been?"
Oh yes, Buffy definitely liked Ianto. Too bad they were both taken. Maybe she'd ask for a pocket-sized version for Christmas.
Dumping her handful of stuff on the little table, she looked up at Jack with a half-smirk. "You ever see Speed?" she asked in answer to his question. "It was kinda like that bus ride. Thrilling, slightly confusing, and leaves you wanting a sequel that can't possibly be as good as the first movie."
Jack grinned. "Sometimes sequels are even better than the original," he told her. "Give it a chance." Not that he thought she wouldn't. She'd gotten into their routine pretty quickly.
She grinned as well and waved her hand dismissively. "My life's always been too out there for a movie anyway," she admitted. "I'm thinking one of those old radio dramas, where they could write anything and not have to worry about it looking amazing on a screen." Looking around, she nodded and decided, "Yep, Torchwood, the radio show. Sounds about right to me."
Jack laughed. "You mock," he told her. "I remember those radio shows. They were the pinacle of entertainment technology, you know."
He leaned on her desk, his expression becoming more serious. "I want you to do the standard firearms qualification test on the firing range tomorrow," he explained. "I don't have any doubts that you'll pass it first try, but some things should be done by the book."
All joking thrown out the window again, she nodded, looking down at her lap again instead of at him. "Fine," she agreed, knowing it was pointless to argue. If she wanted this to work, she had to remember how to follow orders and give a little instead of being the leading stone she'd become in the final days of the war with the First.
"Thank you," he said firmly. He knew how she felt about the issue. It wasn't even the first time he'd had someone in the Hub who felt the same way, but Martha had never joined the team full-time, so he let her get away with it. It wasn't just about Buffy's safety, though he certainly cared about that. It was also about her ability to protect the team. She needed to have a projectile weapon. Just in case.
He turned to address everyone. "Alright," he told them. "Good work today. See you tomorrow." He turned back to Buffy. "Are you okay to get home?" he asked. "Do you need a ride?"
She shook her head, slipping into her coat and starting to pile her new things into her pockets until she could figure out a better arrangement. "I can walk," she told Jack with a shrug. "Need to get a feel for the city, anyway. Won't be very helpful if I get lost all the time." She just hoped that it wasn't raining again. Her mood wasn't going to get any better if she had to walk back to her apartment o' boxes while being utterly soaked again.
Not that she really wanted to go it alone that night. It was a sort of self-imposed isolation, something she'd always done when things got a little too complicated, giving herself space to try figuring out things. Maybe it really wasn't the best plan in these circumstances, but she really didn't have another one just yet.
Jack could see Gwen putting on her coat in his peripheral vision. He could hear Ianto cleaning the coffee machine. "Alright," he said. "If you're sure." He smiled. "Hey, maybe one of these afternoons, if it's quiet, we'll do a little walking tour of the city." He stepped back to allow her space to leave. "Go," he told her with a chuckle and a wave towards the door. "Get settled in, but if you need anything, just call me, okay? You have my number."
Smiling in return, she gave him a little mock salute and said, "Yes, sir!" Followed by a good dose of snickering.
Grabbing the small pile of papers she'd been working on, she stuffed them in a folder and, giving the team a wave, headed for the elevator.
He watched Gwen follow Buffy out. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Gwen and couldn't really tell if the two women had gelled. He turned and looked over at Ianto, who was carefully cleaning the coffee machine with that look of intense concentration that appeared on his face when he did even the most routine of his duties. Jack smiled to himself and walked back up to his office. When Ianto finished his work, that was where he would look for him. In the meantime, maybe Jack could make a dent in the paperwork he was supposed to sign.
Gwen and Buffy rode up to the surface in silence, Buffy fiddling with things in her pocket while Gwen tapped her hand against her leg, trying to figure out something to say. She wanted to get past the awkwardness so she could get to know her new teammate.
Finally, as they stepped outside into the chill, damp air, the dark-haired woman finally asked, "So did you have a good first day?"
Smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way, because really she wouldn't bite, Buffy shrugged a little and said, "Yeah, was pretty good. Definitely eventful. I don't think this job will be boring, and that's what I was hoping for."
They stopped to look out over the water, their hair blowing in the breeze, both of them glad the weather had decided to give them a respite from the rain. "I hadn't imagined Vampire Slaying would be a 'boring' occupation," Gwen commented, starting to ease into comfortable conversation. Finally.
"The past few years, I'd been doing more desk stuff, meetings and decision-making, than actual slaying," Buffy explained quietly. "I was ready for a change of scenery. Jack offered that to me."
"And you're glad you've taken the job, even after seeing what we do?" Gwen questioned further, summing up the young woman beside her, who at times seemed like a teenager, and at others she had a look about her... something that made her appear as ancient as Jack.
"Oh yeah," the Slayer answered with a smile. Turning to head off in the opposite direction, she gave Gwen a little wave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gwen."
"Yes... See you tomorrow," Gwen replied, still feeling at a loss when it came to the other woman. But she had a slightly firmer grasp on the situation now, at least, and she was starting to like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.
Apologies for shortness. We just wanted to finish up Buffy's first day with Team Torchwood.
Title: So Buffy Met Jack...
Authors: Amy tainted_crimson & Sarah magicom
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Torchwood
Spoilers: Through Buffy / Angel series finales and Torchwood Series 2 / Doctor Who Series 4.
Rating: FR-15
Disclaimer: Everything is owned by Joss/Fox and Russell/BBC!
Summary: After spending a few weeks trapped in an extratemporal holding cell together, Captain Jack Harkness offered Buffy Summers a job at Torchwood. And how could she ever turn down an offer like that?
Chapters: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05
IT WAS A PLEASANT AFTERNOON - Part 3
Buffy was keeping herself busy until the yummy coffee showed up by working on the forms Ianto had given her about her coat. She'd noticed Gwen glancing her way from the other woman's station, and finally the Slayer set down her pen and turned to fully face her. "Need something?" she called over, ever the impatient sort and just wanting to get to the point already.
Gwen felt for a moment like she'd been caught trying to sneak out of the house when she was grounded, but then she reminded herself that there was nothing wrong with being equally concerned and curious, and she wasn't going to be beaten up for asking a few questions. And when had that ever been an issue, anyway? Buffy had been nothing but sweet since she'd arrived, and Gwen being Gwen, she just wanted to make sure the younger woman was alright and really knew what she was getting into.
Standing, Gwen made her way over to her old station, where Jack had set Buffy up, and slid her hands into the back pockets of her pants. "So... those were some pretty impressive moves you had out there," she commented, looking as awkward as she felt. "How's your arm? I know I asked earlier, but..." she trailed off.
Buffy smiled up at the dark-haired woman, her kind nature reminding her of a high school Willow. "The arm's fine," she told her with full confidence. "Ianto helped me patch it up, and I was serious when I said I'll be good as new in a few days."
The Welsh woman clearly wasn't convinced about something. "And... all of this, the... healing, and the fighting...," she started, having to pause and think it through, still trying to wrap her mind around it all. "It's all because of you being a Vampire Slayer, yes?"
The blonde nodded with a knowing look. "Don't worry, not everyone can be all accepty right away," she assured Gwen. "I get it."
Gwen didn't. Which was probably the problem. Wearing a slightly dazed and rather confused and uncertain expression, she started back to her station, telling Buffy, "Right... I'll just let you get back to..." She finished with a gesture and then tried not to hurry off. That certainly hadn't gone as planned.
Ianto paused on his way to Buffy's station, watching Gwen as she stammered her way back to her own workspace. He just looked over at her for a second, then carried on. When he got to Buffy, he held out a small plastic badge in a small plastic bag. "Your security pass," he told her. "Carry it in your pocket. The Hub's sensors will recognize it when you approach and you'll be able to open the doors." Once she'd taken that from him, he handed her the gun. It was the same model as both Gwen and Ianto used. "Your gun," he said unnecessarily. "I expect you already know your way around that." He handed her an extra clip. "You need to keep extra ammunition with you as well," he told her. "Regulations." He took one more small plastic bag out of his pocket and held it out. It had a tiny electronic device inside. "This is your communicator," he told her. "It fits right inside your ear. You need to wear it at all times when you're on duty." He watched her with her hands full of the items for a moment. "Any questions?"
Buffy looked at each item as it was handed to her, though the gun was given a bit more distaste than the others, then looked up at Ianto with an almost pouting expression. "Sure I can't just get by with a pointy piece of wood?" she asked, only half joking. She still was really against the gun idea. "I mean, really, I break cell phones, and you expect me to keep this in one piece?" she shook the bag with the earpiece to emphasize her point.
Ianto crossed his arms, but there was a slight hint of humour in his tone. "Yes," he said flatly. "To both questions." His expression grew into a bit of a smirk. "And you'll have a 'cell phone'," he said, using the American term to echo her own words, "by the end of tomorrow."
Sighing overdramatically, she slumped back into her chair. "You may be a Coffee God," she told him with a hint of pout still in place, "but you're clearly just as mean as him," she nodded towards Jack's office. She had to salvage the moment somehow, so perhaps a bit of flustering was in order.
"Well, he had to learn it somewhere," Ianto told her breezily before taking her empty coffee mug off her desk and sweeping it away with him.
Jack was strolling over just in time to catch the tail-end of the conversation. "Who had to learn what where?" he asked. Ianto didn't answer as he brushed by him with a small cryptic smile and Jack just shrugged and turned to Buffy. "I see you've been processed," he said happily. He looked at his watch. "And in about half an hour you can say you made it through your first day. How's it been?"
Oh yes, Buffy definitely liked Ianto. Too bad they were both taken. Maybe she'd ask for a pocket-sized version for Christmas.
Dumping her handful of stuff on the little table, she looked up at Jack with a half-smirk. "You ever see Speed?" she asked in answer to his question. "It was kinda like that bus ride. Thrilling, slightly confusing, and leaves you wanting a sequel that can't possibly be as good as the first movie."
Jack grinned. "Sometimes sequels are even better than the original," he told her. "Give it a chance." Not that he thought she wouldn't. She'd gotten into their routine pretty quickly.
She grinned as well and waved her hand dismissively. "My life's always been too out there for a movie anyway," she admitted. "I'm thinking one of those old radio dramas, where they could write anything and not have to worry about it looking amazing on a screen." Looking around, she nodded and decided, "Yep, Torchwood, the radio show. Sounds about right to me."
Jack laughed. "You mock," he told her. "I remember those radio shows. They were the pinacle of entertainment technology, you know."
He leaned on her desk, his expression becoming more serious. "I want you to do the standard firearms qualification test on the firing range tomorrow," he explained. "I don't have any doubts that you'll pass it first try, but some things should be done by the book."
All joking thrown out the window again, she nodded, looking down at her lap again instead of at him. "Fine," she agreed, knowing it was pointless to argue. If she wanted this to work, she had to remember how to follow orders and give a little instead of being the leading stone she'd become in the final days of the war with the First.
"Thank you," he said firmly. He knew how she felt about the issue. It wasn't even the first time he'd had someone in the Hub who felt the same way, but Martha had never joined the team full-time, so he let her get away with it. It wasn't just about Buffy's safety, though he certainly cared about that. It was also about her ability to protect the team. She needed to have a projectile weapon. Just in case.
He turned to address everyone. "Alright," he told them. "Good work today. See you tomorrow." He turned back to Buffy. "Are you okay to get home?" he asked. "Do you need a ride?"
She shook her head, slipping into her coat and starting to pile her new things into her pockets until she could figure out a better arrangement. "I can walk," she told Jack with a shrug. "Need to get a feel for the city, anyway. Won't be very helpful if I get lost all the time." She just hoped that it wasn't raining again. Her mood wasn't going to get any better if she had to walk back to her apartment o' boxes while being utterly soaked again.
Not that she really wanted to go it alone that night. It was a sort of self-imposed isolation, something she'd always done when things got a little too complicated, giving herself space to try figuring out things. Maybe it really wasn't the best plan in these circumstances, but she really didn't have another one just yet.
Jack could see Gwen putting on her coat in his peripheral vision. He could hear Ianto cleaning the coffee machine. "Alright," he said. "If you're sure." He smiled. "Hey, maybe one of these afternoons, if it's quiet, we'll do a little walking tour of the city." He stepped back to allow her space to leave. "Go," he told her with a chuckle and a wave towards the door. "Get settled in, but if you need anything, just call me, okay? You have my number."
Smiling in return, she gave him a little mock salute and said, "Yes, sir!" Followed by a good dose of snickering.
Grabbing the small pile of papers she'd been working on, she stuffed them in a folder and, giving the team a wave, headed for the elevator.
He watched Gwen follow Buffy out. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Gwen and couldn't really tell if the two women had gelled. He turned and looked over at Ianto, who was carefully cleaning the coffee machine with that look of intense concentration that appeared on his face when he did even the most routine of his duties. Jack smiled to himself and walked back up to his office. When Ianto finished his work, that was where he would look for him. In the meantime, maybe Jack could make a dent in the paperwork he was supposed to sign.
Gwen and Buffy rode up to the surface in silence, Buffy fiddling with things in her pocket while Gwen tapped her hand against her leg, trying to figure out something to say. She wanted to get past the awkwardness so she could get to know her new teammate.
Finally, as they stepped outside into the chill, damp air, the dark-haired woman finally asked, "So did you have a good first day?"
Smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way, because really she wouldn't bite, Buffy shrugged a little and said, "Yeah, was pretty good. Definitely eventful. I don't think this job will be boring, and that's what I was hoping for."
They stopped to look out over the water, their hair blowing in the breeze, both of them glad the weather had decided to give them a respite from the rain. "I hadn't imagined Vampire Slaying would be a 'boring' occupation," Gwen commented, starting to ease into comfortable conversation. Finally.
"The past few years, I'd been doing more desk stuff, meetings and decision-making, than actual slaying," Buffy explained quietly. "I was ready for a change of scenery. Jack offered that to me."
"And you're glad you've taken the job, even after seeing what we do?" Gwen questioned further, summing up the young woman beside her, who at times seemed like a teenager, and at others she had a look about her... something that made her appear as ancient as Jack.
"Oh yeah," the Slayer answered with a smile. Turning to head off in the opposite direction, she gave Gwen a little wave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gwen."
"Yes... See you tomorrow," Gwen replied, still feeling at a loss when it came to the other woman. But she had a slightly firmer grasp on the situation now, at least, and she was starting to like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.
Apologies for shortness. We just wanted to finish up Buffy's first day with Team Torchwood.