Rani Meets a Alien

[Owen Harper]

ooc Side note. Owen is bitter. So he be that. PLEASE don't let him effect you PLAYERS but only your characters.

And Jack you are wonderful and Gwen and Sarah and well everyone. =)

Now we continue to our broadcasting. Proboards welcomes Dr Who Universe Torchwood!

[Sarah Jane]

One after the other, she watched her friends defend her with a ferocity that warmed her heart. It was everything she could do not to cry, for she'd felt so alone of late, but now was not the time for such things. Now she must be hard.

She kept her eyes on Jack. Though there is much depth to Sarah Jane's dark hazel gaze, it was her expressive mouth that silently told the tale as she lay there convalescing. Whatever the complexity of relationships the Torchwood Team had, whatever dirt they had against Jack was not the point. Quite frankly Sarah Jane was older than Gwen and Owen put together. She was also, in her way, leader of the Bannerman Street Gang, and understood the weight of that responsibility. She would die for any of them in a heartbeat, and hoped she never had to.

Now her eyes went to Gwen, a softness there for her. When she'd first met this woman, she never knew how much she was going to like her. Maybe the Welsh were all right.

"Gwen, if you will, I'll have you over to my house next week for tea and target shooting. I'll let you try my Sontarn Blaster. But right now, Jack and I need to talk, will you leave us . . . .please?" It is not a demand, she wouldn't try such with Gwen, but it is a strong plea, her own confidence in dealing with Jack clear in her voice even if she is a little uncertain in her thoughts.


((PS. I hate threads where everyone is happy all the time. Got to have grist in the mill, or we can't make it grind.))

[Jack Harkness]

The second Owen opened his mouth Jack looked up at him.
The undead friend laying out his thoughts and heart as he spoke to him.
And Owen was right in some parts, but Jack couldn't let it affect him. He had seen far too many friends die because of stupid decisions. And he wasn't going to do that to himself again.

He'd rather have them hate him and be safe as dead but friendly.
His blue eyes stayed on Owen until he left, a spark of pain still in his chest as he watched the broken man leave.
Jack couldn't be nice all the time, he had to be an asshole to keep his team and friends in check.

He took in a deep breath before turning to Gwen.
She was a whole different person from Owen, and he knew she'd like an explanation. One the Captain simply couldn't give her.
And it seemed the only one who attempted to understand asked the exact right question.
Sarah Jane asking for some room so Jack could actually say what he had wanted to say.

Of course he forgave her, and of course he knew people made bad decisions. But unlike him, then would be gone after these mistakes. They'd all leave him because of some stupid mistake.

[Gwen Elizabeth Cooper]

Gwen stood there, and looked at Sarah Jane. She began to inhale as if to say something, but thought against it. Gwen then turned to look at Jack, staring at her like he did when he was being serious. She inhaled once again, preparing some other Welsh tirade, and came up short. One more time she looked between both of them, and reacted the only way she really thought was appropriate. Awkwardly scratching her head, she looked at Sarah Jane. "Um, I'll see you for target practice then." She smiled and put her hands in her pockets. "I'll call you to work out the kinks." Gwen then walked out of the room, making sure to give Jack a "Go-Easy-On-Her-Look" as she did so. Gwen's eyes could speak volumes.

Gwen carefully closed the door, and slumped into one of the seats outside the room, letting her head hit the wall as she stared up at the ceiling. "Oh bollocks."

[Jack Harkness]

The look in Gwen her eyes weren't completely unneccisary.
Jack planned on telling Sarah exactly how he felt about this. He would tell her exactly how stupid it was to run out without telling anyone.
How she could have gotten herself killed or anyone else for that matter.

But Gwen, that bloody brilliant Welsh woman kept him from yelling.
He simply stood there, looking at his injured friend.
"What were you thinking?" the only words he could come up with without immediately snapping.

His voice even, soft and just full of questions.
Jack needed to know her answer, he needed to hear her tell him.

[Sarah Jane]

She saw a new side to Captain Jack Harkness that moment. If it had been one of her kids, she would have pinned them to the wall. Perhaps he was more of a thinker than she had guessed.

She contained herself as well, but there was an edge of frustration she could not keep out of her voice, frustration both at her own situation and because she hadn't had to answer to anyone for a long time. For a very very long time. But she owed Jack this considering they both stood on the front lines of Earth's defense.

"Jack, you've got Torchwood." A little jerk of her chin in the direction of the door the two fine Agents had just exited. "I've got teenagers. Clever, lovely teenagers." Her eyes dart away from his. She looks out the window but can still see him there looming there Somehow elegant even sticky from forehead to shoes. And annoyed with her. "A seventeen year old girl who lives next door to me called and told me she saw something out her window. What were the odds it was it was anything more than a trash bag caught on a branch, or some pervert looking for a thrill? I went over as an adult neighbor, not as. . . ."

'Not as a defender of humanity.' She had almost said, and did not, a wry curl to the corner of her mouth it was too corny. Just what was she exactly? She did not know.

[Jack Harkness]

Jack didn't quite know whether to be angry, relieved or completely furious at her.
It was fine to hear she wasn't dead, another thing to have her talk to him.
But no matter what he'd say of it, these things couldn't go on like this.

Jack kept his eyes on Sarah as she spoke.
She was right, their teams were not the same, but none the less.
Hearing her explenation just made him think.
Her last words unspoken "You went there as an adult neighbor?"

He paused for a moment. Jack would have done the same thing.
He wouldn't have called anyone for such a small thing, but then again. Jack couldn't die, he didn't have anything to fear in the universe.
"You didn't think, for one single second...that you could have told someone?"

Jack didn't believe that, he knew how it felt. To be able to check things out, possibly save people.
You wouldn't just, go out if you thought it was nothing.
"Anyone...those teens of yours? Or maybe the dog?"

[Sarah Jane]

When Jack mentioned K-9, her pulse got faster. It was annoyingly obvious with the soft beep of her monitor counting each one. With a quiet vexed sound, she took out her Sonic, made a quick adjustment, then pulled off the sensor lead from the end of her finger and stuck it on the Sonic instead. The tell tale beeped softly along at a steady 72 bpm now and would continue to report it as such to the nurses station.

Why hadn't she called on K-9? For the moment, her mind decided to skip over the two glasses of wine she'd had before Rani called her. For 30 years K-9 had been lousy in the woods. She'd simply forgotten her tin dog could teleport.

"Who am I supposed to call, Jack? Torchwood? Sometimes it feels like half my job is saving sentient beings from Torchwood. I run around trying to get to them first in hopes of saving them before you or Ms.Gwen 'Trigger Happy' Cooper can punch holes in them! You know, anything less than the Daleks, and I just don't need any help from you. I can do this on my own!"

[Jack Harkness]

Do this on her own?
"Well clearly you can't If it hadn't been for miss Gwen 'trigger happy'Cooper you'd be dead by now!" This was the first time he actually raised his voice at Sarah.
But this was rediculous, he knew Torchwood wasn't the best alien friendly club. But at least they kept their own asses safe and tried to to the best for earth.

"I know Torchwood must be a very evil place for aliens Sarah, but honestly, most of them don't come here to cuddle with the locals"
Somewhere along the way he had simply lost his cool.
Didn't she understand that no matter how much you wanted things to be peaceful, no matter how gentle you were.
That most aliens just washed up on earth tearing down anything around them?
That most aliens that came through that sink hole in the universe were exactly what they looked like? Dangerous beasts.

Jack had met very few aliens who didn't attempt to kill him.
And if they didn't want to kill the inhabitants of the planet they needed something else.
And it was just stupid to assume that 'it' might be nothing.

[Sarah Jane]

As she starts to shout back at him, her hand finds the bed control and she makes it sit her up with a creaking low hum.

"Jack! That is the point. Yes. Earth is like a ripe fruit, full to the brim humanity and innocent as a babe. Yes, they come here to plunder and reap! But not all of them, Jack. I expect more from someone who has Traveled. You've been the Alien. You've been the 'invading party' thick in the middle of the trouble and looking guilty as hell when all you're there to do is help, or acquire enough energy to get home. Jack, if I want to put my life on the line or even loose it to avoid summarily executing Aliens, that is my prerogative!"

[Jack Harkness]

This little conversation was turning into a full blown argument pretty fast. And honestly said, Jack didn't mind.
It was hard to find a challenge in life if you've lived for centuries.
It seemed the only challenge left was to keep his team and friends safe.
He'd gladly accept that challenge.

She was right, he had been the alien life form. Trapped in a time line that wasn't his.
But most of those times he wasn't treated like a guest either.
This of course didn't mean that they should kill anything different on their planet.

But every time his team or him met anything possibly dangerous they would tell.
"We shouldn't hurt aliens?"
His blue eyes were sharp, it wasn't like he wanted to kill every living alien on earth.
It was just that he'd rather have them dead as his friends.

"We shouldn't let aliens hurt our team!"
He snapped back at Sarah Jane, wondering if there weren't any nurses or doctors around who wanted to break them up.

[Sarah Jane]

A nurse heard the argument and went to look in. One peek in the window sent her back to her desk with a low whistle. She was not getting between Sarah Jane Smith and Captain Jack Harkness. Not as long as Ms.Smith was strong enough to put out a voice like that.


"Jack! I'm not part of your team. You can't tell me what to do. I do what I do because it's the only way I know how to be."

Even as she went off on him, she noticed the red line that went 'round his neck lessening and smoothing under the grime. He was covered in his own blood and that of her foe. He'd lost his head, if not for her, then for Owen who was determined to save her. It stung. The size of her mistakes. Her eyes find refuge out the window. Her voice dropping.

"Jack. Things have been . . . hard . . since the boys graduated. I was drinking. It's been so hard."

[Jack Harkness]

Not part of his team? Didn't she get it?
Every friend of his was as important as his Torchwood team.
And he was about to actually make this clear, voice still raised as Sarah's voice changed.

His eyes were still sharp, listening to every word.
He shouldn't let this go, he shouldn't let her go off like this.
But he was truthfully doubting whether he should actually yell at her if she was like this.

None the less, he needed to get this point across before the thoughts would be forgotten.
"You are as much part of the team as anyone on Torchwood, and you should start telling me!" he snapped.

Jack took a step closer to Sarah, wanting her to look at him.
Just to see that he truly meant every word he said.
"No matter how unimportant things look, you should tell me"
The last words were more of a warning.

[Sarah Jane]

She looked up at him as he loomed closer. His face was fierce. His words earned him a low laugh. She imagined telling Jack about any of the stunts she'd been pulling lately. She was still patching laser holes in the walls of her stairwell. And no one had noticed her missing pinkie toe on her left foot from a close call a couple of weeks ago.

It would be so easy, so terribly easy to start using Torchwood at least as back up. Just when things turned too dark. Sarah Jane reached out and took Jack's hand in both of hers, squeezing.

"Jack . . .! If I don't keep following the Doctor's rules . . .he won't come for me any more! I won't matter anymore!" Her face shut down, now stubborn with a stiff upper lip as she is a little aghast with herself. Those words had simply burst from her. dang his eyes. But Jack was the one person who might understand.

[Jack Harkness]

The moment Jack heard that name he froze.
Was she being reckless because of him? Did she think she needed to put herself in danger for him to come back for her?
Jack had tried that theory, he had gotten himself into so much trouble. And never had the doctor come back for him.

She took his hands rather gently, something he didn't expect her to do.
"If you keep up this reckless behaviour he won't have anything to come back to..."

And that she even considered the fact that she 'didn't matter' was complete nonesense.
If there was one thing the Doctor had taught all of his companions and friends is that they were important no matter what happened.