Apocalypse Rising (Book Three)

Prying

"Anything else?" Ianto asked.

"That's all I'm getting now," Tosh shook her head. "But from what I've seen, this woman is who he looks at the most," she nodded at the Israeli.

Gwen bit her lip. "What's so special about them?" she wondered out loud.

"You could always ask," a voice above them said, and they all jerked, looking around, startled, seeing Jack leaning on the railing, face void of expression, though anger glinted in his eyes. "Instead of hacking into my server."

"It's just," Gwen began.

"I don't want to hear it, Gwen," Jack snapped, coming down the staircase. "This is something I need to do by myself."

"Did you ever think we could help you?" Gwen insisted.

"No," Jack said bluntly. "Not with who I'm trying to find."

She swallowed. "Is it your sister?" she asked quietly as he passed her by.

Jack froze, narrowing his eyes as he remembered when he'd asked Gwen to join Torchwood.

+++

"Owen and Toshiko," Gwen said as Jack joined her up on the roof. "You didn't tell them that you were shot in the head and survived."

"You didn't tell them, either," Jack pointed out. "Followed my lead. Keep doing that, and you might just get through this."

"But she killed you!"

"I can't die."

Gwen swallowed. "OK."

"But I can't," Jack shook his head. "Something happened to me a while back. Long story and far away. But I was killed, and then I was brought back to life. And ever since then, I can't die."

"But, how - ?"

"I don't know." He swallowed. "But one day, I'm going to find my sister, and she can explain it, but until then . . . " He shrugged.

"Your sister?"

"Little." Jack shook his head. "But that's not important."

Gwen shook her head. "Nothing kills you?"

"Well, it kind of freaks people out, so, best if you don't say anything."

Gwen sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway. You'll only wipe my memory again."

"Why would I do that?" Jack asked. "Torchwood's got a vacancy. Job going spare. Do you want it?"

Gwen gaped at him. "But, what do you need me for?"

"'Cos you were right," he told her. "We could do more to help. What do you think? Do you want to join up?"

Gwen looked out over Cardiff and smiled. "Yeah," she nodded. "I do, yes."

+++

"Yes," he said quietly.

"Then let us help you," Gwen begged. "You don't need to tell us why, just tell us what we can do."

Jack stared at her before sighing. "There's a woman I'm looking for that might know something that . . . happened to me a long time ago," he said carefully, looking around at his team. "I would ask someone else, but that woman was on the list of the dead from Canary Wharf." He swallowed. "Her name was Rose Tyler."

"I know that name," Ianto frowned. "You kept asking me about her."

"That was why," Jack nodded. "But I know she was with the woman I'm looking for. I don't know what she looks like, but that's where I need the help. If you can find Rose Tyler from these last few months and tell me who she was with, I can find her again."

Tosh nodded, turning to her computers. "One Rose Tyler, coming up," she said.

"Who's this woman?" Owen asked. "We don't need a name, but is there something she does that can help us?"

Jack smirked. "She deals with aliens," he answered. "And . . . she's a bit of a doctor." He swallowed. "Wife of a doctor."

+++

Jack took a deep breath, walking up to her. "In the fifty first century, the Time Agents were told all the time about the Time Lords. Two of them stuck out to me the most. The Earth Shaker and the Oncoming Storm."

"The Apocalypse and the Doctor," the Apocalypse said softly before sitting down on a bench nearby, brushing her long hair out of her face. "Yeah. That's me." She waved a little. "Hello!"

+++

"And the best woman I've ever known," he finished. "Will you help?"

Tosh just smiled and went back to work. "We've got you," Owen nodded, going back to his station.

Gwen smiled. "We'll help, Jack," she promised, squeezing his arm and heading to her computers.

Jack took a deep breath and bowed his head, staring down at the necklace on his desk, the same necklace he'd gotten the Apocalypse on Woman Wept. "I'm one step closer, Calypsie," he whispered. "One step closer."

Ianto silently headed up the staircase, going back to his desk. "Calypsie," he repeated quietly to himself as he sat down.

They had work to do.

***

I love the Torchwood team. :) They'll be into this investigation more, and we'll get some more insight into how each of them is able to help more and more. Tosh has already met the Apocalypse, even though I didn't include that interaction in "Aliens of London," but she was the doctor examining the space pig. She was "covering for Owen," apparently. :)

But Torchwood is going to be very important to the Apocalypse, and they are going to feature a lot in the future. :)

Next up is "Gridlock!" It'll be updated ASAP!