Title: Memory and Time (3/?)

Author: Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, 10th Doctor, Torchwood Three, others

Rating: Starts PG, but hey, it’s got Jack and Ianto in it!

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, twelve years after Invincible Summer

Summary: Something is trying to mess with Jack’s time line…

Author’s Note: This is the first fic I’ve ever written where I can’t plot out the number of chapters in advance. It might fit into my usual frame, it might not. Sorry.

            In spite of a certain reputation for flamboyance, Toshi knew how to stay out of the way when it suited her. The discussion going on around the table scared her damn near witless. There was someone out there gunning for their Captain, and by extension all of Torchwood, and they were confident enough, or arrogant enough, to try and con a Time Lord into doing their dirty work. She hadn’t felt so out of her depth since her first day at the artifacts lab; looking at the others – Jonas, Lizzie, Tommy Ng – she could see the same uneasiness in their faces.

            After she had helped the Doctor to his seat she had gone to stand against the wall near the door. Playing Secret Service in the American Oval Office, her training officer had called it; seeing, hearing, and remembering everything but keeping your trap shut unless specifically called upon or an immediate threat materialized. Practice silence, he had said.  Silence and memory are  the most important things a new agent can learn.

            But there was something she needed to ask, and it was important. She needed to tell Uncle Jack –  the Captain, always the Captain while at work – something really important.

            “Captain.”

            Jack looked over his shoulder. “What is it, Toshiko Gwendolyn?”

            She winced at the full use of her name, but dammit, this was important. “Sir, should I remember someone named Rose? I think I should remember her, but I don’t know why.”

            The Captain stared at her for a moment, then turned to the people around the table. “Gwen? Do you remember Rose?”

            “Rose who, Jack?”

            “Andy?”

            “No. Nothing.”

            “John.”

            “Vaguely. We were talking about someone… no, sorry. It’s gone.”

            The Doctor’s face crumpled with grief. “It’s already happened, Jack. Rose is gone.”

            “I’m still here!”

            Ianto stroked the bracelet on his wrist. “The teacher has placed a stasis field around you. It will sustain you for a while, but if we don’t fix this soon the probability wave will get too strong to fight off.”

            “The TARDIS and I can trace the ripples back to the source,” the Doctor said.

            “And risk being caught in the wave as it solidifies?” TARDIS snorted. “Don’t even think about it.”

            “We need to do something!” the Time Lord snarled.

            “See this is why you big hero types need people like me.” Andy activated the virtual keyboard in front of him. “Finding someone is not Time Lord work. It’s cop work. Let see. Name?”

            “Rose Tyler,” Jack said, catching on. “Born in London in 1986 to Peter and Jackie Tyler. Father died the year after she was born. Lived in the Powell Estate. Gwen, look for a Mickey Smith…”

            “Don’t bother.” Andy tapped a key and the information he was looking at was displayed in all the monitors. “Eight-year-old Rose Tyler and her friend Mickey Smith were the last victims of Thomas Eversole, aka the Bad Santa.  Their bodies were found in the Thames several days after their disappearance. They had been slashed to ribbons. Eversole denied killing them, and the m.o. was different from all the others, but the police thought there was enough circumstantial evidence to charge him with the crimes."

            "Or maybe the police needed to reassure the terrified citizens that the monster had been caught," Gwen said. "It wouldn't be the first time."

            "Evidence was thin, but real," Andy said. "Eversole was seen on the estate near the playground where Rose and Mickey spent time after school. Positive i.d. from a number of parents and children. Eversole was a single white man, loner but seemed harmless. Neighbors were, as they say in the news reports, shocked and dismayed to find out he was a serial killer.”

            “Can we get his psych files?” Gwen asked. “They might have something we can use.”

            “Coming up.” Andy displayed more documents. “Eversole kidnapped and killed children in pairs, always a blond girl and a dark-skinned boy. He gave them biscuits and juice laced with poison. He claimed that he was instructed to do so by a Dark God and that he fought against it as long as possible. And get this. He also claimed that Rose and Mickey were killed by the Dark God himself. When asked to describe his God, he drew them a picture instead.”

            A new image appeared in the monitors. The thing on display was a madman’s version of the monsters that had attacked the Boeshane settlement.

            “All right. Now we know.”  Andy looked at Ianto. “Do we need hard copies?”

            “No.”

            “Oh, no, no, no. What do you two think you’re doing?” demanded the Doctor. “I will handle this myself.”

            “No, you won’t.” Uncle Ianto was using his calmest, most reasonable tone; Toshi hoped the Doctor was paying enough attention to catch the warning signs. “For three reasons. First, you cannot meet Rose Tyler or Mickey Smith at that particular moment, even if you’re wearing a different face. It will play merry hell with the time lines and we can’t attract the attention of the real Reapers at this point. Second, if we fail, you are the last line of defence in protecting Jack. And third, I can only take one and I need someone who speaks the language.”

            “You’re going to London!”

            “Cop, Doctor. I need someone who speaks cop, just in case. We don’t know when Rose and Mickey were taken and that’s exactly where we need to be. Least damage possible. In, get the kids away from Eversole, out. If we need to talk to the police, we need to be able to pass for one of them.”

            The Doctor seemed about to argue, then turned to the Captain, who had been watching the confrontation along with everyone else.

            “Jack?”

            “Sorry, Doc. Ianto’s right. You and I are stuck here for the duration. Besides, I don’t think I could do anything even if I wanted to.”

            He raised his hand. Toshi could see his skin becoming translucent as they watched. Small tremors shook his whole body like someone in the early stages of a seizure.

            “All right, that’s it, no more chatter,” Gwen jumped up. “Ianto, Andy, get going. Doctor, you have a job to do, so let’s get cracking before we run out of time.”

            The sight of her mother in full battle mode terrified Toshi more than everything else she had seen put together. Gwen Cooper-Williams’s children had figured out early that when their mother was at her bossiest was when she was the most scared.

            Uncle Ianto took the Captain’s hands and brought them to his lips. There was something so intensely personal in the look they shared that Toshi felt like an intruder. She knew they loved each other, but usually they expressed it in sexy glances, light touches, and playful commentary. It wasn’t often that the bedrock of commitment and passion was displayed for the world to see.

            “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Uncle Ianto whispered. “A few hours, no more.”

            “Can you do this, cariad?”

            “Teacher says I can go anywhere, anywhen on Earth. Don’t worry, you’re the risk taker in this relationship.” Rolling his eyes slightly at Jack’s answering snort, he turned to Andy. “Are you ready?”

            “No,” Andy sighed. “But it’s not going to stop me from going.”

            Ianto put his hand on Andy’s shoulder and the two of them faded from view.  Toshi heard the Captain mutter something about volcanoes before he turned back to the others.