When Everything Changed - 4/30
Title: When Everything Changed - A Torchwood/Dr. Who/Sarah Jane Adventures Crossover
Author: tonjavmoore
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Eleven and Amy Pond, and a lot of people from the Whoniverse at large
Rating: PG
Word Count: Total: 31,520; Chapter 4: 1,369
Spoilers: This assumes that you are familiar the five days of Children of Earth. Otherwise, you’ll be a bit lost. This is a timey-wimey fixit that takes up action partway through Day 3.
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Dr. Who, and Sarah Jane Adventures all belong to the BBC and RTD. Sadly.
Betas: Thanks to midlist_writer and welsh_scotsman. Also, for my friend Alexandria Cameron who put up with my squeals and tantrums when it just wouldn’t get out through my fingers the way I wanted it to.
Dedication: This is for my good friend and the best roommate anyone could have ever the pleasure of having, Susan Garrett. She was taken from us by cancer and the world is not as bright as it was before she left.
Summary: When the Shadow Architects find a paradox that is destroying the Universe, can the Eleventh Doctor find a way to restore Jack’s timeline to what it should have been?
Story starts here:
Chapter 1
Chapter 4
At the warehouse informally christened Hub 2, Ianto Jones watched Lois’ writing and translated the shorthand as efficiently as he did everything else. Part of his mind was busy wondering about Jack. Jack had disappeared a while ago and Ianto was worried. He didn’t think Jack had fully recovered from being sealed in concrete. Gwen and Rhys pretty much assumed that no lasting harm was done to Jack by anything, but Ianto knew better. Jack had been claustrophobic ever since Grey. He couldn’t stay in his cubbyhole longer than five minutes; he slept in Ianto’s flat with a window open now, no matter what the weather. Ianto had bought a tarp for under the bedroom window to allow for the Cardiff rains.
Clem was pacing around muttering, distracting Ianto. Lois’ hand faltered as everyone she could see looked dumbfounded at the tank. Finally, she wrote in clear text: “10%. We want 10%. We want 10% of the children of this world.” It was a good thing he didn’t need to translate, because he didn’t think he could form words.
Clem’s muttering became audible. “They want to take them, like they did before. Like the man did!”
They all turned to him. He hadn’t seen the screen, so how did he know? “What man, Clem?” Gwen asked, her voice wavering.
“He’s coming back,” Clem said, sniffing the air like a trapped animal. “He’s coming back!”
“Who, Clem?” Gwen tried again. “Who is it? Who is coming back?”
Clem’s voice began to rise in pitch. “He's coming. He's coming. He's coming.” Hysteria was making him shout now. “He's coming! He's coming! He's coming!” Clem pointed at the shadows.
After a moment, Jack stepped into the light. His face was ghastly pale and his eyes were dark caverns. He stood straight as though at attention, but Ianto, alert to every nuance of Jack’s appearance, could see the slight trembling in his hands. He moved toward him, but Jack held him off with a look that was both stern and anxious. The rest of his face stayed impassive as he faced Clem.
“He hasn’t changed,” Clem said, his voice back down to a whimper. “He’s the same, the same, the same! All those years. How can he be the same?”
Gwen spoke up. “What's he talking about, Jack?”
Jack said quietly, “I remember. Clement MacDonald. You sat in the middle of the bus. You didn’t talk to any of the others. You were afraid. Of all of the children, you were the only one who was scared.”
“You were there? In 1965?”
Typical Gwen. Asking the obvious, Ianto thought. Couldn’t she tell how tightly wound Jack was? How close to breaking down?
“I didn’t want to go,” Clem half-sobbed. “I didn’t want an adventure. That’s what he called it. An adventure.”
Jack didn’t reply. His head lowered. “Yes,” he whispered.
“He was the man!” Clem insisted.
“No, no,” Gwen’s voice came soothingly. “He was there to fight them. This is what he does. He fights aliens, isn't that right, Jack?”
“Not then.”
“Then what were you doing there?”
“I gave them the kids.” Jack’s voice was even quieter. He was swaying on his feet now and Ianto stepped forward. Jack continued in the same monotone. “In 1965, I gave them twelve children.”
Gwen paled with evident shock and horror. “What for?” she demanded harshly. Ianto took another step toward Jack.
“As a gift.”
“Stop it, Gwen,” Ianto said firmly. He took hold of Jack by the shoulders, stepping in between his lover and the others. Jack raised haunted eyes to him and Ianto tugged him gently into an embrace. By now, Jack’s slight trembles had moved into actual shivering. His skin felt clammy against Ianto’s cheek.
So softly that none of the others could hear, Jack murmured, “There are two of me and I don’t know which one is real. My past… my present... they’re here…”
Clem’s voice again, agitated and bitter. “You are in every nightmare I’ve ever had.” A scuffling noise came from behind him. Jack’s grip suddenly tightened and Ianto found himself shoved hard to one side. “No!” Jack cried. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I -“
The crack of a pistol stopped Jack’s words.
The Doctor sighed. He’d deposited Alice and her son Stephen in a hotel near some nondescript estate housing in Cardiff. They would be all right for now. He was glad that he had a never-ending supply of psychic paper. It always got a workout when he was molding the past into the correct present.
As the TARDIS took the small hop into the fourth day of the invasion, the Doctor’s thoughts turned to the Companion he had treated so unfairly. He could tell himself all he liked that Jack made him sick to look at, but it wasn’t the whole truth. The Doctor knew the reality was that he was bone-deep afraid of Jack Harkness and what his existence meant.
A human that could not die was something outside of his experience, and his experience was vast. He didn’t understand how the TARDIS could have made Jack so, even with the Time Vortex. It wasn’t supposed to work that way. Beings of any kind were meant to move steadily forward and then perish. None of them should be a fixed point.
That was not the only peculiarity of Jack’s existence. From the moment the Doctor had first encountered Jack, he had been aware of the time energy that saturated him. All time travelers retained a certain amount of the Void substance they acquired while passing through, but Jack had more than that. Every cell in his body was integrated with Time. All the Vortex had needed to do was to change those cells to reset themselves.
The Universe was changing. The Doctor could feel it moving. That probably meant Jack Harkness was feeling it too, and more strongly.
“Are we there yet?” Amy’s voice brought him out of his disturbing thoughts.
“We’re here.”
“Where do we need to go?”
“For this, we aren’t leaving the TARDIS. I just have a phone call to make.” He strode over to the telephone and coughed, clearing his throat. His ship had researched as well as she could - he stopped to give her a soothing caress - and found a phone number and person who would call it. James Frobisher. The Doctor had to alter his voice. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at his mouth and dialed the number.
“Yes, sir?”
The female voice was harsh, cold, and respectful. He spoke, his voice sounding very odd to his ears. “Call off the search for Carter and the boy. I’ve located the Captain.”
“Where?”
The Doctor gave her the address of the warehouse. “Use his team as hostages. He will do nothing to endanger them.”
“Are you sure?” The deference was still there, but the tone was skeptical.
“Positive.” In for a penny, in for a pound, the Doctor thought. Might as well leave Jack some comfort. “Don’t separate him from Jones. He won’t risk anything happening to him, especially if it’s something he can see.”
“Ah. I have the cells prepared. The Captain will stay docile. Johnson out.”
Amy harrumphed. “What was that all about? And what happened to your voice?”
He put the screwdriver back into his pocket. “I had to sound like someone who could give that scary woman orders.”
“You were talking to a scary woman?”
“She’s going to take Jack and his team into custody, where they won’t interfere with what’s going to happen until the right time. She won’t hurt them - they’re too valuable alive.”
“Why aren’t you just bringing them all on the TARDIS?”
The Doctor shook his head violently. “That wouldn’t do at all. We have to move Jack along without his knowing about it. Later. We’ll bring him on later.”
“So, what next?”
“We’re going to sit here for a bit to give the TARDIS time to rest. We’re going to watch to make sure there’s no trouble when Jack and crew are taken. Can’t afford to risk innocent bystanders at this juncture. Butterfly effect and all that. And then you are going to go visit a very cautious woman in Cardiff.”
Chapter 5
Author: tonjavmoore
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Eleven and Amy Pond, and a lot of people from the Whoniverse at large
Rating: PG
Word Count: Total: 31,520; Chapter 4: 1,369
Spoilers: This assumes that you are familiar the five days of Children of Earth. Otherwise, you’ll be a bit lost. This is a timey-wimey fixit that takes up action partway through Day 3.
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Dr. Who, and Sarah Jane Adventures all belong to the BBC and RTD. Sadly.
Betas: Thanks to midlist_writer and welsh_scotsman. Also, for my friend Alexandria Cameron who put up with my squeals and tantrums when it just wouldn’t get out through my fingers the way I wanted it to.
Dedication: This is for my good friend and the best roommate anyone could have ever the pleasure of having, Susan Garrett. She was taken from us by cancer and the world is not as bright as it was before she left.
Summary: When the Shadow Architects find a paradox that is destroying the Universe, can the Eleventh Doctor find a way to restore Jack’s timeline to what it should have been?
Story starts here:
Chapter 1
Chapter 4
At the warehouse informally christened Hub 2, Ianto Jones watched Lois’ writing and translated the shorthand as efficiently as he did everything else. Part of his mind was busy wondering about Jack. Jack had disappeared a while ago and Ianto was worried. He didn’t think Jack had fully recovered from being sealed in concrete. Gwen and Rhys pretty much assumed that no lasting harm was done to Jack by anything, but Ianto knew better. Jack had been claustrophobic ever since Grey. He couldn’t stay in his cubbyhole longer than five minutes; he slept in Ianto’s flat with a window open now, no matter what the weather. Ianto had bought a tarp for under the bedroom window to allow for the Cardiff rains.
Clem was pacing around muttering, distracting Ianto. Lois’ hand faltered as everyone she could see looked dumbfounded at the tank. Finally, she wrote in clear text: “10%. We want 10%. We want 10% of the children of this world.” It was a good thing he didn’t need to translate, because he didn’t think he could form words.
Clem’s muttering became audible. “They want to take them, like they did before. Like the man did!”
They all turned to him. He hadn’t seen the screen, so how did he know? “What man, Clem?” Gwen asked, her voice wavering.
“He’s coming back,” Clem said, sniffing the air like a trapped animal. “He’s coming back!”
“Who, Clem?” Gwen tried again. “Who is it? Who is coming back?”
Clem’s voice began to rise in pitch. “He's coming. He's coming. He's coming.” Hysteria was making him shout now. “He's coming! He's coming! He's coming!” Clem pointed at the shadows.
After a moment, Jack stepped into the light. His face was ghastly pale and his eyes were dark caverns. He stood straight as though at attention, but Ianto, alert to every nuance of Jack’s appearance, could see the slight trembling in his hands. He moved toward him, but Jack held him off with a look that was both stern and anxious. The rest of his face stayed impassive as he faced Clem.
“He hasn’t changed,” Clem said, his voice back down to a whimper. “He’s the same, the same, the same! All those years. How can he be the same?”
Gwen spoke up. “What's he talking about, Jack?”
Jack said quietly, “I remember. Clement MacDonald. You sat in the middle of the bus. You didn’t talk to any of the others. You were afraid. Of all of the children, you were the only one who was scared.”
“You were there? In 1965?”
Typical Gwen. Asking the obvious, Ianto thought. Couldn’t she tell how tightly wound Jack was? How close to breaking down?
“I didn’t want to go,” Clem half-sobbed. “I didn’t want an adventure. That’s what he called it. An adventure.”
Jack didn’t reply. His head lowered. “Yes,” he whispered.
“He was the man!” Clem insisted.
“No, no,” Gwen’s voice came soothingly. “He was there to fight them. This is what he does. He fights aliens, isn't that right, Jack?”
“Not then.”
“Then what were you doing there?”
“I gave them the kids.” Jack’s voice was even quieter. He was swaying on his feet now and Ianto stepped forward. Jack continued in the same monotone. “In 1965, I gave them twelve children.”
Gwen paled with evident shock and horror. “What for?” she demanded harshly. Ianto took another step toward Jack.
“As a gift.”
“Stop it, Gwen,” Ianto said firmly. He took hold of Jack by the shoulders, stepping in between his lover and the others. Jack raised haunted eyes to him and Ianto tugged him gently into an embrace. By now, Jack’s slight trembles had moved into actual shivering. His skin felt clammy against Ianto’s cheek.
So softly that none of the others could hear, Jack murmured, “There are two of me and I don’t know which one is real. My past… my present... they’re here…”
Clem’s voice again, agitated and bitter. “You are in every nightmare I’ve ever had.” A scuffling noise came from behind him. Jack’s grip suddenly tightened and Ianto found himself shoved hard to one side. “No!” Jack cried. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I -“
The crack of a pistol stopped Jack’s words.
The Doctor sighed. He’d deposited Alice and her son Stephen in a hotel near some nondescript estate housing in Cardiff. They would be all right for now. He was glad that he had a never-ending supply of psychic paper. It always got a workout when he was molding the past into the correct present.
As the TARDIS took the small hop into the fourth day of the invasion, the Doctor’s thoughts turned to the Companion he had treated so unfairly. He could tell himself all he liked that Jack made him sick to look at, but it wasn’t the whole truth. The Doctor knew the reality was that he was bone-deep afraid of Jack Harkness and what his existence meant.
A human that could not die was something outside of his experience, and his experience was vast. He didn’t understand how the TARDIS could have made Jack so, even with the Time Vortex. It wasn’t supposed to work that way. Beings of any kind were meant to move steadily forward and then perish. None of them should be a fixed point.
That was not the only peculiarity of Jack’s existence. From the moment the Doctor had first encountered Jack, he had been aware of the time energy that saturated him. All time travelers retained a certain amount of the Void substance they acquired while passing through, but Jack had more than that. Every cell in his body was integrated with Time. All the Vortex had needed to do was to change those cells to reset themselves.
The Universe was changing. The Doctor could feel it moving. That probably meant Jack Harkness was feeling it too, and more strongly.
“Are we there yet?” Amy’s voice brought him out of his disturbing thoughts.
“We’re here.”
“Where do we need to go?”
“For this, we aren’t leaving the TARDIS. I just have a phone call to make.” He strode over to the telephone and coughed, clearing his throat. His ship had researched as well as she could - he stopped to give her a soothing caress - and found a phone number and person who would call it. James Frobisher. The Doctor had to alter his voice. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at his mouth and dialed the number.
“Yes, sir?”
The female voice was harsh, cold, and respectful. He spoke, his voice sounding very odd to his ears. “Call off the search for Carter and the boy. I’ve located the Captain.”
“Where?”
The Doctor gave her the address of the warehouse. “Use his team as hostages. He will do nothing to endanger them.”
“Are you sure?” The deference was still there, but the tone was skeptical.
“Positive.” In for a penny, in for a pound, the Doctor thought. Might as well leave Jack some comfort. “Don’t separate him from Jones. He won’t risk anything happening to him, especially if it’s something he can see.”
“Ah. I have the cells prepared. The Captain will stay docile. Johnson out.”
Amy harrumphed. “What was that all about? And what happened to your voice?”
He put the screwdriver back into his pocket. “I had to sound like someone who could give that scary woman orders.”
“You were talking to a scary woman?”
“She’s going to take Jack and his team into custody, where they won’t interfere with what’s going to happen until the right time. She won’t hurt them - they’re too valuable alive.”
“Why aren’t you just bringing them all on the TARDIS?”
The Doctor shook his head violently. “That wouldn’t do at all. We have to move Jack along without his knowing about it. Later. We’ll bring him on later.”
“So, what next?”
“We’re going to sit here for a bit to give the TARDIS time to rest. We’re going to watch to make sure there’s no trouble when Jack and crew are taken. Can’t afford to risk innocent bystanders at this juncture. Butterfly effect and all that. And then you are going to go visit a very cautious woman in Cardiff.”
Chapter 5