The Trouble with Nessie - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, darn it.

Author's Note: This takes place almost immediately after "Aftermath", and is Josh Gates' first mission for Torchwood. The idea actually came from a comment made by DomIantoRules over on AO3, about something going wrong with Nessie's cybernetic implants and Toshiko being brought in to help. It turned into a first case for Josh Gates who, in real life (and fic life) is a certified scuba diver, and you'd need one of those for a lake monster, right?

1 June 2012

Torchwood House

Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Josh Gates leaned against the window of the rented car, watching the scenery roll past, as he and one of his new teammates, Dr Toshiko Sato-Swanson, headed toward Torchwood House, on their way to an assignment that Josh had yet to be clued in on, which was irritating yet exciting at the same time.

Of course, he knew all about Torchwood House; it had been in his initial training briefing when he'd been hired on. It had been the first of the Torchwood bases, set up by Queen Victoria after she'd been attacked by a werewolf.

A werewolf.

From outer space.

Josh would have freaked out about that if it weren't so fucking cool.

He'd had very little real idea what he would be getting himself into when he'd hopped on that plane just after the Battle of New York, and the subsequent attack on the UN. All Josh had known was that there was a dragon involved with Torchwood, most likely the very same dragon he'd gone hunting in Cardiff for his now-cancelled television programme, Destination Truth, and he'd wanted to be a part of that sort of thing if a dragon was hanging out there. He'd been banging around, trying to decide what he'd wanted to do now that his only source of income was gone, and it had seemed like serendipity when he'd caught the news about the fighting going on.

Aliens. In New York.

Well, he'd truly seen his first aliens in Cardiff. It had led to the memories of every single member of his crew being wiped, along with any evidence they'd gathered...only whatever Torchwood had done hadn't worked on him. Plus, he'd gotten quite a speech about the human race not being ready for that sort of knowledge by one Ianto Jones, who'd seemed to understand that better than anyone else. It had made him realise that it was true, that humanity would have only rationalised it away as a hoax or a publicity stunt, and Josh had let it lie.

He'd gotten first-hand knowledge of that after the entire planet had been moved. No one seemed to believe it, and had come up with all sorts of theories to explain it. It had taken the Battle of New York to prove to many of them that aliens did exist; yet, even now, there were a majority of people out there who hadn't accepted that the Battle had been real. That sort of crap made Josh want to bemoan the idiocy of his own people over that.

After all, he was now teammates with Clint Barton, Hawkeye, who'd been on the front lines of the Chitauri invasion. If that wasn't proof, then Josh had no idea what was.

Josh had been doing his training in Cardiff, but he'd already decided he wanted to work on one of the London teams. His Gran lived nearby, and he thought it would be nice to be close. Jack Harkness, Torchwood's Director, had taken both Josh and Clint on, and was putting them through their paces as fast as they could learn. Luckily, Josh had already been familiar with guns; he'd been taught at a fairly early age, and had only needed refreshers on caring for his own personal weapon...which was in the duffel he'd hurriedly put together once he'd gotten word that he was needed in Scotland.

As he was the only certified diver in the entire organisation, the assignment had fallen onto him.

He still didn't have any idea what that assignment was, however. Because apparently Jack loved to be secretive with newbies and, from what Toshiko had said, liked to see if people would actually follow his orders without questioning every single motivation Jack had, and with very little information…since that happened quite frequently in Torchwood. She'd claimed it had happened before, the whole questioning of orders thing, although that person didn't work for Torchwood anymore. As a matter of fact, Toshiko was totally put out by the whole situation because Jack hadn't shared with her, either, and hadn't been afraid to bitch about it on the train trip up. Josh really hoped that Jack's ears were burning off from her diatribe.

Whatever it was, it also needed Toshiko on board as well, as Torchwood's Head Tech. For the life of him, Josh couldn't figure out how diving and Tosh's brand of science was going to mesh, but he'd been promised a briefing once they got to Torchwood House.

Ianto was there, and he would be the one handling the brief. Josh had been just a little disappointed that the dragon hadn't been in Cardiff for his arrival; Jack had explained that, as Head Archivist, it was Ianto who was responsible for preparing the House to become Torchwood's Main Archive once more; according to his new boss, Torchwood House had been decommissioned for quite a while and now, Her Majesty the Queen of England – their ultimate boss – had decided that it needed to be reopened, and Ianto was the person for the job. Once that was done, Ianto would be heading back to Cardiff, and there would be someone else in charge of the Archive.

Ianto Jones was a real, honest-to-God, dragon. Josh had wanted to make embarrassingly loud noises when he'd worked that out.

Sure, he'd known that Ianto Jones was something else, not entirely human, because of his clear empathy with the so-called dragon – or Torchwood Dragon, as Captain America had named him – that Josh and his Destination Truth team had been sent to investigate. But he hadn't even dreamed that the man who'd worked for the Welsh Tourism Board, and had been Torchwood's Second, was the actual creature they'd been trying to locate. It gave him a thrill to know that there was at least one last dragon out there in the world, but it also really pissed him off that human beings had killed all the rest.

It wasn't fair how nasty the human race could be, to creatures that never did it any harm, and to its own fellows.

They'd left Cardiff that morning, taking the train to Aberdeen, getting the rental at the station. It was now growing dark as they approached Torchwood House. From what Josh could see, it was a truly awesome edifice, all stone, and very old. The part of him that was purely archaeologist was straining to study the place, including what looked to be some sort of observatory on one of its turrets.

He'd read the information on the House, knew that the observatory was anything but. It was actually some sort of alien werewolf killing device.

Just how cool was that?

That made him want to even more explore the place from top to bottom, to immerse himself in the sheer history of Torchwood House.

Toshiko parked the late model Peugeot toward the rear of the house, next to a dusty, older Land Rover. There were two other vehicles parked there as well: a lorry that had seen better days and a dark blue sedan that he couldn't tell the make and model of in the growing darkness.

She touched the comm in her ear, activating it. Josh did the same, not wanting to miss anything.

"Ianto, we're here," she reported, getting out of the car.

Josh followed her around to the boot, to help with the bags and equipment, and he heard Ianto answer, "I'm in the study."

Toshiko accepted her laptop case with a smile. "Let's go and see what this is all about, shall we?"

Josh gave her a grin of his own. "Let's."

Neither of them had any idea why they'd been sent to Torchwood House, only that Sir Archie, the man who would someday run the place, had said it was urgent. Jack had known exactly what was going on, because of the shit-eating grin he'd been wearing when he'd told Tosh to take the 'new guy' along with her was an indication of Josh's new boss being up to no good. He'd been around Jack only a couple of days when he'd come to recognise that expression.

Toshiko had simply rolled her eyes at Jack's vagueness, letting Josh know that their boss was sometimes like that and to pay the man no mind, although that hadn't stopped her from ranting about it on the train up. In the three weeks he'd been at Cardiff, there were certain things Josh had learned about his new employer, and one of those was that Jack tended to enjoy springing surprises on them from time to time, and that the older team members had long come to expect that sort of thing.

There was also the flirting, but he'd noticed immediately that Jack flirted with everyone. Rhys Williams had taken him aside and let him know that if it made him uncomfortable, Jack would stop. He'd reassured Rhys that he was fine, especially since their boss was in a committed relationship with a certain dragon, and had figured out that it was just something Jack did, and didn't mean anything by it. Rhys had given him a bright smile, had said that he was glad that Josh had worked it out, and then had claimed that Josh was going to fit right in with the team just fine.

Josh quite liked Rhys. Especially when it came to finding the best pubs in the area. The Welshman had assured Josh that Tom in London would be the one Josh would need to speak to about the pubs down there, if that was where he ended up. Josh had been grateful for that little piece of information.

Torchwood House was ancient on the outside, but on the inside there were many up-to-date features, such as the security system they both had to clear before they could actually enter, the keypad hidden quite discretely behind one of the bricks at the front door. Bright lighting made the dark wood panelling glow, banishing any shadows that might have lingered in the corners and under the stairs to the upper floors. Paintings and tapestries that Josh longed to stop and examine more closely lined the walls, depicting both the former lairds of the manor and colourful hunting and domestic scenes from the Middle Ages. Josh knew he could have spent weeks at the House and not seen all of the historical elements that had survived the centuries.

Toshiko directed Josh to just leave the baggage by the staircase, then to follow her deeper into Torchwood House. The study was just down the hall from the front door, and had once been a sitting room that had been converted to business use, probably not that long ago either. A desk took up residence against one wall, opposite the immense fireplace that had seen recent use, judging from the dusty nature of the brass andirons in front of it and the ashy remains on the hearth.

While it was June, they were pretty far north, and it wouldn't be that warm even in the summer.

Ianto Jones was seated at the desk. He hadn't changed at all since Josh had last seen him; still resembling a young man in his early twenties, with dark hair and blue eyes that looked far older than his face. He was wearing a jumper and jeans, quite a change from the suit he'd worn back when Josh had first met him. He stood as they entered the room, a welcoming smile lighting his Welsh-pale features. "Doctor Gates," he greeted warmly. "I'm sorry I wasn't in Cardiff to greet you when you descended onto Torchwood..." He seemed amused, which Josh counted as a good thing.

"Mister Jones," he greeted in return, adding his own smile, one that he didn't bother to temper his excitement in.

"Please, it's Ianto." He offered a handshake. His hand was warm, almost too warm, and Josh would have questioned it if he didn't already know the truth.

"Then, it's Josh."

There was a tiny voice in the back of his mind that was making rather undignified noises at being asked to call a human-shaped dragon by their first name, and Josh just let it do whatever it wanted to. As long as he didn't give in to making those noises out loud, he was fine.

"Allow me to introduce you to Penelope Garcia, Toshiko's Second and primary computer expert here at Torchwood House."

Penelope Garcia was curvy blonde in a red and black dress that would have had almost too much taffeta in the skirt if it hadn't seemed to suit her, with a black sweater over the top that was embroidered with bright flowers. A matching bow held her shoulder-length hair back from her face, and she had cats' eye glasses perched on her nose. She was cute, and Josh couldn't help but smile at her. "It's a pleasure, Ms Garcia."

"None of that, Gorgeous," she answered, her accent very American, "it's Penelope. And I have to admit, I did watch your show with a friend of mine, when we had the opportunity." She grinned, dimples appearing. "Especially the dragon one."

"Little did I know I'd end up working for that dragon," he laughed. That particular episode had been aired a couple of times, but beyond that it was one of the many that didn't get rerun all that often.

Ianto joined in on the laughter. "I doubt any of us would have foreseen that." Then he turned to the second person in the room. "And this is Sir Archibald MacLeish, soon to be in charge here at Torchwood House."

Sir Archie was shorter than Ianto, but broader in the shoulders. His curly hair and well-trimmed beard were grey, his eyes blue, and he definitely had the legs for the kilt he was wearing. However, he didn't seem as welcoming as Ianto and Penelope had been, if the scowl on his face was any indication.

"I dinna like this," the man growled, crossing his arms over his chest, his Scottish accent thick with disapproval. "I recall the last time this scoundrel showed up, and it caused all sorts of hullabaloo up at the loch."

Josh frowned. The last time he'd been up in Scotland had been for the episode on the Loch Ness Monster, which had turned out to be a bust...much like the majority of their investigations. He had no idea what sort of 'hullabaloo' he and his crew had made; the townsfolk in the village they'd stayed in up at Loch Ness had been nothing but inviting.

"Josh is currently Torchwood's only accredited scuba diver," Ianto pointed out, with what sounded like infinite patience. "His expertise may be needed."

Ah, so that confirmed what Jack had said, and why a trainee had been ordered up here; there might be some diving involved. Josh stood a little straighter, glad that his experience could be put to good use.

"I dinna know why ye and Jack hired him in the first place," Sir Archie pressed. "An American television presenter? Really? What's to stop him from running off and blurting everything he knows to all and sundry? He was after you at one point, Ianto."

Josh was insulted. Yes, he'd been on TV, but that didn't mean he couldn't do the job. He opened his mouth to say so, but Toshiko beat him to it.

"That's not fair," she exclaimed. "Josh is both an archaeologist and a cryptozoologist. He has an open mind and he cares. He's not here for any sort of story or exclusive; he really wants to help."

Josh was a little surprised at her vouching for him; he'd gotten the impression that Toshiko was tolerating him because Jack and Ianto had hired him. Well, that attitude had thawed a lot in the time he'd been working with Torchwood, but there were still times when he thought she still didn't quite approve of him.

"Archie," Penelope cut in, "I've seen the background check that was run on Josh the moment he showed up in Cardiff...both times. It was really impressive."

Well, that didn't surprise Josh in the least, that they'd run checks on him before officially hiring him. He would have been disappointed if they hadn't!

"Plus, I've seen his show," she added. "It was all about preservation, not exploitation. Sure, he did it for an audience, but there was always that sense of wonder and adventure, and you just can't fake that."

It was time for him to defend himself, although Josh really appreciated the way they were standing up for him. "I'm not sure what I've done to make you mad at me, but I can promise you I'll only do the best job I can for Torchwood. I do want to help, and that means abiding by all that damned paperwork I had to sign before Jack even let me inside the Hub. I'm not going to betray Torchwood secrets to anyone. Nor am I going to hurt anyone unless I'm provoked. Protecting innocent humans and aliens is my goal and, if I get to meet new races and learn from them, so much the better."

Sir Archie didn't seem mollified by Josh's assurances. "I don't trust ye around Nessie, and that's all there is to it."

What?

"This is about Nessie?" Toshiko asked.

Ianto sighed. "You mean Jack didn't explain?"

"No, he didn't, because you know how he is about dropping surprises on people to see how they react." The eyeroll she gave would have been epic if Josh wasn't too busy being shocked to notice.

What?

Josh realised that he'd said that out loud when everyone stared at him. A small voice in the back of his mind wondered just how high-pitched his voice had gone, because it had to have been shrill.

"Gods and Goddess and Great Dragons," Ianto groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sir Archie had the sheer gall to laugh in the face of Josh's confusion. The bastard.

"Are you saying…and I just want to make sure I've got this right…" And then, he couldn't say it.

Penelope seemed to be the one to take pity on him. "Yes, the Loch Ness Monster really exists."

Oh my God.

They were telling him that the Loch Ness Monster was real.

Josh suddenly needed to sit down.