Title: The Hour of the Wolf (7/10)

Author: Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Torchwood Three team and their offspring

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Spoilers: None. This takes place in my Homecoming AU, four years or so after The Eye of Neith.

Summary: Something is happening in St. Catherine’s Glen, and whatever it is will change the Cooper-Williams family forever…

            Jack slammed on the brakes as Ianto materialized in his headlights. A small part of his mind noted Gwen’s scream and Rhys’s inventive Welsh curses, but the largest part was busy trying to keep from whimpering in superstitious terror. A couple of millennia’s worth of cultural development hadn’t managed to eradicate the influence of the tiny primate hindbrain that insisted the thing in front of him was something dangerous and alien.

            *I‘m sorry, cariad, I’m sorry! I didn’t think!*

            *God almighty, Ianto. What in hell is going on?*

            Ianto slid into the back seat of the SUV. “We need to get to the MacLeish cairns. The boys are there.”

            They were all thrown back as the SUV lurched forward. It jolted across the glen at full speed, skidding dangerously on the wet stone of a narrow bridge, then racing along a drover’s track that wound around the base of a small hillock. Clouds now obscured the moon, leaving the landscape around them in near total darkness and making the going even more dangerous.

            Ianto reached out to touch Gwen’s hand. She shrank away briefly, then returned the gesture. Their fingers twined as Gwen held on tightly, as if reassuring herself he was real.

            “It’s me, Gwennie, really. Don’t be scared.”

            “Ianto…”

            “We’ll talk about it, sweetheart, I promise, but… I’m sorry, but Pryce’s been hurt.” He winced as her hand became a vise around his wrist. “He’s alive, I swear, but we need to get him back to Torchwood House as fast as possible.”

            In the front seat, Jack reached out to touch Rhys’s shoulder.

            “Drive faster, Jack.”

            The Welshman’s voice was gravelly with sorrow.  Jack nodded and concentrated on keeping the SUV from flipping over as they careened over the rocky ground. The track rose steadily for a while then dropped away. Jack didn’t even bother with brakes. The SUV sailed over the crest and landed with a jarring bounce half-way down the slope.

            Suddenly the clouds parted and moonlight washed briefly over the glen, momentarily outlining the massive stone cairns at the far end. They  glimpsed several shapes gathered around the entrance to the largest tomb. One of them was definitely not human.

            *Ianto. Can you get inside the cairn from here?*

            *Yes. Cariad, will you Join with me?*

            *Do you need to ask?*

            *You were upset when I arrived.*

            *I thought you were… I don’t know what I thought. But I will always be here . With you. Joined to you for as long as you want.*  He felt Ianto’s relief as his partner relaxed into his mental embrace. So what did you learn this time?*

            *How to ride the Vortex without having to cling to the outside of a police box!* Ianto giggled mischievously then sobered up. *I’ll tell you the details later.*

            He kissed Gwen’s knuckles. “I’m going to get your boys, Gwennie.”

            He disappeared between two heartbeats. Gwen waved her hand through the space where he had been.  “Jack…”

            The soft, hesitant voice reminded Jack of the young officer he had recruited thirty-odd years before, and he felt the old need to protect her. Only the certain knowledge that Gwen would kick his arse into next year if she caught him at it kept him from offering some facile reassurance. Or maybe it was that he respected her – them – too much to lie.

            “I don’t know what’s going on either, Gwen, but it’s still Ianto. That much I do know.”

            “Then my kids are in the best of hands. Now let’s go get us a nice wolf-skin rug for the conference room.” She reached into the weapons locker under the seat and pulled out two rifles. “Jeeez. Trust Archie to have Westley Richards  hunting rifles instead of a decent armor-piercing semi-automatic. Rhys?”

            “I’d probably shoot off my own foot, cariad. You got something I can use to break heads?”

            Gwen rooted around in the locker and pulled out a golf club. “What the hell?”

            Jack laughed. “Archie had that especially made from the trunk of an Illigian oak that washed through the Rift. Four times stronger than steel but half the weight. They had to use diamond tools. It should do the trick for Rhys.”

            Gwen passed it over to Rhys. “Good?”

            He hefted it. “Yeah.”

            Jack aimed the SUV directly at the cairns. There was no chance in hell to sneak up on the monks. At this end the glen was a flat, brown expanse punctuated by stands of gorse. The only significant features were the cairns themselves. Besides, there was no way the bastards would miss the sound of the engine.

            *Jack. Pryce is in really bad shape.* Ianto sounded near tears.*TARDIS says he might not make it.*

            *Tell it we have an ace in the hole. Me. I’ll keep him alive until we reach Torchwood House.*

            *Hurry, then. Hurry.*

            Well, Jack reflected, there was much to be said for direct action.

            “Gwen. Flares.”

            His second showed him a box of small silver buttons. “I take back whatever I said about Archie.”

            “And so you should.” He grabbed a handful. “I’m going to bring the SUV as close to the entrance of the cairn as possible. Rhys, you run in and help Ianto with the boys. Gwen, a haemavore’s eyes are very sensitive to light. Scatter flares in every direction. If it’s out of commission we can deal with the others easily enough.”

            He threw the SUV into a turn and they all hung on for dear life as it struggled to keep upright against the centrifugal pull. Dirt and small rocks flew upwards in every direction. They could see the monks scrambling into the shadows cast by the cairn. Rhys opened his door and, as the SUV slowed, he threw himself out and ran into the cairn.

            The werewolf stood its ground, howling its displeasure at the intruders. Gwen tossed flares directly into its face.  Jack did the same thing from his side. The silver buttons burst into brilliant white light as they spun upwards, raining down on the creature, burning wherever they touched. It howled  and dropped to a crouch, scuttling away into the darkness. Gwen got out of the SUV, rifle under one arm, and started out after it.

            “Gwen, no!” The urgency in Jack’s voice stopped her cold.”We don’t have time. Come around here… look out!”

            One of the monks was charging at her, knife held high overhead. Gwen whirled aside, turning in mid-move and bringing the gun stock down on the man’s arm. He stumbled; Gwen swung the gun like a baseball bat and connected a solid blow to the back of his head. He collapsed at her feet and lay still.

            They heard running footsteps from inside the cairn and then Ianto burst through the doorway, carrying Pryce in his arms. In the light of the  head lamps they could see the horrific tears on the boy’s shoulder and chest. Pryce’s face was ashen, and his lips had started to turn blue.

            Before Gwen could even move, Jack jumped into the back seat. “Ianto. Give him here.”

            He took Pryce in his arms. Ignoring everything else, he concentrated on finding even the smallest spark of life in Pryce’s body. He felt a few stirrings, a flickering that seemed to reach out to him. He sighed in relief. It was more than he had gotten when the Cyberwoman had thrown Ianto into the fountain, and he had managed to bring Ianto back. He was not going to fail Gwen and Rhys; he was not going to lose someone he loved this time.

            Holding him carefully cradled, hand to cheek, he leaned down and breathed his essence into Pryce’s lungs. After a few anxious moments, he felt Pryce’s body start to respond, but the injuries were so severe that the energy could not keep up with the cellular disintegration. He opened himself completely, holding back nothing, until his head spun and his lungs seized.

            As he started to pass out Jack felt Ianto’s hand close over his. Fresh energy poured through him and into Pryce. Artron energy! Ianto and the TARDIS were keeping them both alive by feeding artron energy into their bodies. Pryce’s cell were too fragile to handle that sort of input. He tried to push Ianto away but could only wriggle like a fretful child.

            *Don’t worry, Jack. Pryce was born on the Rift and he comes from a long line of Rift talents. His body recognizes it. Look deeper.*

            Jack stopped struggling and watched as Pryce’s body began to slowly knit back the wounds caused by the werewolf. They were not out of the woods; there was a good chance the alien had infected Pryce. His mind shied away from the thought. They would deal with that later, somehow. Gwen was not going to lose her son; he would not lose his nephew.