The Bad Wolf Code
Part Eight
Notes: This is the last chapter of this fic. It had to come to an end eventually...even though I wish it didn't (you however may feel differently). The support I've received for this has been so encouraging, so look forward to more from me in the future!
A bit of Iack in this again. Not too much though. And yes, Iack. Say it out loud. You've just said the word 'yak', and it applies to Jack and Ianto. SO much better than Janto, in my opinion (which as my friend Nez says, sounds like an ugly brand of jam). All credit for coining the term Iack (as far as I'm aware) goes to Roy...long may she reign.
Onwards!
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Tosh was sitting at her computer when a sudden draft swirled around her, picking up her hair. Puzzled to hear that the breeze was accompanied by a particularly bizarre sound, she rose cautiously from her seat and moved towards the stairs.
"Owen? Is that you?" she called out tentatively. The sound increased in volume and, impossibly, Toshiko saw a bright light fading into view several feet in the air, just in front of the main entrance. As she watched, the light was followed by a tall blue box structure which she recognised from some old trivia website as a police box, most commonly seen in Britain in the 1950s. It certainly had no business landing in the Hub. Or invading the Hub. Was this an invasion? Tosh's mind began to race and she forced herself to calm down, recognising that she was becoming irrational.
She heard a slight scuffing sound as whatever was inside the police box began to make it's way out. Tosh retreated further up the steps and snatched up a standard issue Torchwood pistol. She wasn't really one for weapons, but in the face of the unknown, she'd prefer to have the gun. The door swung open with a creak and to her complete amazement Gwen stumbled out, followed swiftly by Jack and then Ianto.
"Oh my God," Tosh breathed. "What on Earth…where have you been? You just…disappeared." She felt her grip loosen on the gun and it clattered to the floor. Jack just grinned and gave her a tight hug.
"We're all fine, I promise," he said.
"What about Rose? Rose Tyler, where is she?" Tosh babbled as he released her. He wandered lazily back towards the door and poked his head inside.
"Rose?" he called.
"Yeah?" she yelled back, her voice sounding impossibly far away.
"Can you come out here for a second? Bring the Doctor," he added as an afterthought. He nodded towards Toshiko. "I think you'll like him."
"Yeah," Tosh said, still reeling. Gwen smiled in sympathy.
"Don't worry, I don't understand any of this either," she said, giggling as she too pulled Tosh into a hug. "Sorry we scared you."
"I'm fine, I just…" Tosh trailed off as Rose Tyler and a very tall and somewhat handsome man whom she presumed was the Doctor also emerged from the police box. "How big is that thing?"
"Take a look," the Doctor invited her, his blue eyes twinkling. Toshiko looked around at the others' smiling faces and hesitantly approached the police box and slipped inside.
"Nice place," said the Doctor approvingly. "I like what you've done with the whole 'underground lair' idea. You've made it your own. You have…" There was a hungry screech from above them and something soared overhead with a lazy flap of massive, leathery wings. The Doctor looked up. "You have a pterodactyl."
Tosh poked her head out of the door again, her eyes lit up in wonder. "It's incredible in here!" she said excitedly. The Doctor chuckled appreciatively.
"Go for it, explore," he said. "It's called the TARDIS by the way. That's T-A-R-D-I-S. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Try not to get lost, and don't touch anything you don't recognise, even if it asks you nicely." Tosh gaped at him and he nodded encouragingly. "Off you go."
With a delighted grin, Toshiko disappeared back inside.
"You do realise she won't want to leave," Jack said. "You've just presented Toshiko with techo-heaven. She'll go nuts trying to work out how you get the outside around the inside."
"Let her try," the Doctor said with a grin. "If she's as smart as she must be since she's working here, she won't do anything stupid." He clapped his hands together. "Now. If someone puts the kettle on and makes me a nice cup of tea, I'll have a shot at answering your questions. Then we have a timeline to fix."
"Tea. That's my department," said Ianto with a smile, beginning to make his way towards the clean corner of the Hub with a kettle and a sink which he liked to call the kitchen.
"I suggest the rest of us go up to the conference room," said Jack. "But Gwen, you should go home."
"What?" Gwen looked confused and a little hurt.
"Look, you've had a difficult twenty-four hours. Go home and spend some time with the boyfriend. Get some sleep." Seeing that she wasn't convinced, he continued. "You should have had today off anyway. Owen's not come in and the instant Tosh finds her way back out of the TARDIS, she'll be going home too."
"And what about Ianto?" Gwen demanded. Jack didn't answer for a moment.
"He can leave too, if he wants to," he said eventually. He pulled her to one side and, recognising that they could do with some peace, the Doctor started chatting animatedly to Rose about the water tower, while Jack continued to talk to Gwen. "Go home, tidy up your flat and look pretty for your boyfriend. Don't let it unravel, Gwen." She glared at him defiantly. "You promised me," he added quietly.
Her expression softened. "You call me the instant anything comes up," she said, pointing at Jack in a threatening manner. Jack grinned in response and gestured the Doctor and Rose towards the conference room. But the Doctor stood his ground, waiting until Gwen had left.
"Why did you really send her home?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Jack.
"Because she complicates things," he replied, his own eyes giving away nothing. Seeing the confused look on Rose's face and the frown on the Doctor's, he realised he would have to explain that statement further. "We have to fix the timeline, and that's gonna mean rewriting it. Gwen wouldn't like the idea of her history being changed. It's better that she's not here."
"What do you mean, rewrite history?" Rose said, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Jack and then the Doctor in turn. "How much are you gonna change?"
"Let's go and sit down, OK?" the Doctor said, avoiding her gaze. "Wouldn't want to waste Ianto's tea."
The conference room was neat and formal with none of the homely clutter of Jack's office or the work stations. Rose picked at the sleeve of her borrowed jumper uncomfortably before sitting down in one of the stiff, upright chairs. The Doctor took the head of the table and Jack sat to his left, opposite Rose. Ianto had clearly already been in before them because there was a teapot in the middles of the table surrounded by mugs, but none of them touched it.
"We have two options," the Doctor said, his hands folded in front of him. "Captain, I'm guessing you have something that'll wipe memories?"
"Retcon," Jack replied. "And plenty of it."
"I don't want my memory tampered with," said Rose firmly. "And besides, you'd have to wipe loads of people. Mickey, all my friends, everyone here at Torchwood. And you Doctor. It just wouldn't work."
"Exactly," he replied, looking pleased with her. "Which brings me to option two. I go back in the TARDIS to when we were supposed to meet. I take the Retcon, just me and no one else. And then we meet, just as we were supposed to, for the first time."
"But what about me here and now? Do we all just get…wiped out?" Rose was trying to get her head around time travel still.
"You won't even notice it," he promised. "You'll go to sleep tonight and wake up in a completely different place with a new set of memories. And I'll be one of them." He smiled at her, a warm smile which she immediately returned.
"I'll look forward to that," she said.
"OK. Sounds like a plan," said Jack briskly, getting up. "I'll fetch you some Retcon."
"Hold on," Rose said, suddenly remembering something. "What about the code?"
The Doctor frowned. "What code?"
"The bad wolf code," Rose said. "The one that told Jack about me, that time had been changed. That's the reason all of this started. So what was it? Where did it come from?"
There was a moment of silence. "I don't know," said the Doctor eventually. "That sounds impossible."
"Someone must have written it," Rose persisted. "How could someone know about a version of Time that doesn't even exist yet?"
"Maybe we're not meant to know all the answers Rose," said Jack gently after another pause. "If there's one thing I've learnt in my life, it's that nothing ever makes sense. And never try and bed a Kraken, but that's another story."
"Or perhaps...perhaps the answer's hidden," said the Doctor, deep in thought. "Maybe it's in the future, our future. Bad wolf."
Rose looked at him and felt a sudden, gentle tug on her heart. Her senses seemed to dim but she could still hear something, something very far away. Music...soft, eerie music throbbing through the air, or perhaps just in her mind. Familiar music. Strange music. Music she knew and didn't know and wanted to know. And stranger still...music that knew her. She listened to it...and it was listening to her.
"Bad wolf," she echoed. The Doctor looked at her strangely.
"Rose? Are you alright?"
His voice brought her back to reality and she attempted a weak smile, still feeling a little spacey. "Yeah, fine."
He paused, then grinned and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Captain Jack Harkness, I am looking forward to meeting you," he said. Then he turned to Rose. "And Rose…" He smiled softly and laced his long, calloused fingers through hers. "See you soon."
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That evening, Jack sat at his desk, reading through the decrypted code one last time. Then he gathered up the papers and dropped them into the bin. Pouring a drink, he leant back into his chair and closed his eyes.
"I'm off now, sir." Jack opened his eyes to see Ianto stood in the doorway. "Unless there's anything else…"
"Stay."
Jack watched Ianto for a reaction, some shocked look, but none came. There was a slight pause, then he slowly walked up to Jack's desk and perched on the edge of it, watching the Captain with a slight smile.
"Of course," he replied. "For as long as you need me."
Jack smiled back gratefully and poured out a second drink, which he offered to Ianto. He accepted graciously. "Time's about to change, Ianto," he said. "We could wake up in a completely different place, in a different life. I've wished for that dozens of times. But I just realised something…when I wake up, I want to be here still, with you and Gwen and Tosh. Even Owen. All of a sudden, I've got a hell of a lot to lose."
Ianto watched his boss and saw, to his surprise, that Jack was frightened. He swallowed. "Jack. Wherever you wake up tomorrow…I'm sure you'll be exactly where you need to be," he said quietly, lowering his gaze. He felt Jack's hand close over his own.
"Thanks, Ianto."
The seconds ticked closer to midnight, but neither of them spoke. They stayed still and silent, in a moment that would soon be lost in time forever.
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A moment in the future. The Doctor cowers on the floor, looking up at his beautiful Rose with frightened eyes. She's glowing with ancient, dangerous power, and it's all for him. It's all to save him, and their life together. And even if Rose herself doesn't realise it, the Doctor knows that there's a power here that transcends friendship. That terrifies him all the more.
She speaks. "I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself."
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The dummies were walking now, slowly and unsteadily, but definitely moving towards her. She backed away her heart pounding uncomfortably in her ears as she groped for an exit. She tried to stare defiantly at that first dummy, but it made no reaction except to raise its arm…
Rose Tyler closed her eyes, praying for someone to rescue her. And suddenly, incredibly, she felt a warm, living hand grab her own. She turned to see a strange man, dark haired and striking, wearing a leather jacket. He leant in towards her and said one word, just one word.
"Run!"
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END