Chapter 32

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

--Edgar Allen Poe

"Hey, Carsten, you got a minute?" Roberta's voice floated out of the hallway.

"Sure. What's up, kiddo?"

"I was just wondering—Kam's thing tonight…"

"Yeah?"

"You planning on going?"

"To dinner?"

"Well, yeah, that and—afterwards…"

"Ms. Tolbert—are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

"And if I was?"

"I guess I'd have to accept, so—are you?"

"I guess I am."

.

"Great. Pick me up half an hour after shift?"

"I'll be there."

* * *

"You're working tonight, eh, Tom?"

"Oh, hey, Leah. Yeah, yeah I am. Sorry about that. You're wondering about dinner?"

"Well, I figured you were working, but…"

"S'okay. No worries. Just figured I'd ask."

"You going anyhow?"

"Well, it's that or go hungry."

"No, I meant—after dinner."

.

"Suppose so. I mean, you'll be working, and the rest of my shift will all be there, so unless I want to be alone, which I don't particularly tonight, I guess I'll go. Unless you want me to swap shifts with someone?"

"You know, as much fun as it sounds like it's going to be, frankly if we're going to swap shifts, I'd rather do it when we can actually talk to each other. And be alone together, not with the whole ship watching. Do you mind?"

"No, I kind of like it. But I'll be thinking of you…"

* * *

"Hey, Lach?"

"Hey, you! What's up?"

"Tonight, you mind waiting for the second round so that we can go together? Not dinner. I mean, you're welcome to eat if you're hungry, but the rest?"

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

"Buddy?"

"Hi, Anneke. What's up?"

"You planning to go to Kam's thing tonight, after shift?"

"I thought I might. How about you?"

"I think it sounds fun. So, I was wondering—are you going with anyone? Not as a date or anything, just—with anyone?"

"I kind of figured I'd be going alone. Why?"

"Well, I thought, if you wanted, instead of us each going alone, maybe we could go together. As friends, I mean. What do you think?"

"When and where should I pick you up?"

* * *

"Anna?"

"Hiya, Jim! What are you doing down here at this hour? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I was hoping to catch you. Got a minute?"

"For you? Of course."

"You planning on going to Kam's thing tonight?"

"I kind of thought I'd wait for round two so that you and I could go together—if you wanted to, I mean."

"No, I mean, of course I want to, except that I kind of thought maybe I'd take advantage of my command prerogative and leave Mr. Chibnall with the bridge for a couple of hours. Only if you wanted me to, of course. If you'd rather wait…"

"I'd kind of like to see the captain's reaction, actually, if you're sure you don't mind."

"I'll meet you at dinner." And with a quick brush of his lips across hers, he was gone.

* * *

"No, Leah, I'm not going to ask him. Besides, we're on opposite shifts."

"Liza, one of you could damned well swap with someone or arrange coverage if you wanted to. It's not like either of you has a bridge post. You're both salvagers. See, you even have that in common!"

"What would he think? What could he possibly think if I did it?"

"Presumably he'd think that you might just be interested in him. Hardly a terrible thing. He's a nice guy, Liza, and I get the feeling that he's terribly lonely. If you asked, I don't think he'd say 'no'."

"And if he did? I'd still have to face him. Day in, day out, every day for the foreseeable future. He's never even given me a second glance, Leah."

"So don't make it sound like a date. Ask him if he wants to go together, just because. Because everyone else is paired up. Whatever. Take the plunge. I don't think you'll regret it."

"Is that what you did with Tom?"

"Liza, Sweetie?"

"Yes?"

"Haven't you figured out by now that I don't kiss and tell?"

Chapter 33

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times,

if one only remembers to turn on the light.

--Albus Dumbledore

Kam met Jack at the door to their quarters with a grin on his face. Jack eyed him suspiciously.

"What are you up to, Cariad?"

"I found something in the archives."

Jack eyed him speculatively. The archives of the Welshman were vast, far beyond those of a typical salvage ship of her class, but he was pretty familiar with the majority of what was there, and he couldn't think of anything in particular which would have put that impish gleam in Kam's eye.

"Oh?" he asked, leaning in for a kiss. Kam's lips welcomed his, warm and soft. A long moment passed before they separated.

"Yes."

"And?"

"It's a surprise. A celebration of a successful mission. And tonight we're going to the mess for dinner."

* * *

A quick mental head count told Jack that the entire night shift was gathered in the mess when they entered. Not that uncommon, he supposed, as everyone was just coming off of shift, and not too many people skipped meals in deep space, but still interesting that, for example, no one had decided to head for a quick workout before their meal. Even more unusual, the lights were dimmed, the tables set with cloths and bottles of wine. Flameless candles flickered around the room. Jack glanced at Kam.

"Did I miss someone's birthday?" Anna was in charge of arranging the birthday celebrations, but usually she mentioned them to him in advance, offering at least the semblance of asking his permission before hijacking the mess hall and chef.

"Nope," Kam answered smugly, unhelpfully. "Oh, look—there's a place for us at the table with Anna and Mr. Smeed."

Jack looked over sharply. He hadn't noticed his first officer in the midst of the night shift, and raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Don't worry, Jackie," Smeed responded as the Captain and pilot approached his table. "It should be smooth sailing today, but Mr. Chibnall knows where to find me if anything comes up. And Mr. McLean and Mr. Anders have promised the day shift the same meal at the end of their day."

"Do you know what's going on, Jimmy?"

His old friend shrugged, and cast an indulgent glance at his companion. "All I know is that the fine doctor asked me to join her tonight, if I were able," he lied.

The smell of warm roasted meat wafted in to the room and Lach emerged, with platters of synthesized roast beef, turkey and goose, accompanied by Yorkshire pudding and steamed asparagus. Jack did a quick mental calculation. No, this wasn't anywhere close to Christmas, even if anyone on the crew even had a clue what Christmas was, much less a traditional English Christmas. He watched , pondering the menu, as McLean served the tables, casting a practiced eye around before slipping into an empty seat at the captain's table. His gaze met that of the young pilot.

"Meet your approval?"

"Perfect, Lach. It's just like—" He glanced at Jack and bit his tongue. After working on this surprise for so long, he'd almost blown it. Turning back to McLean, he finished simply. "Thank you."

Lach tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"My pleasure. I've been looking forward to tonight."

* * *

The rec room had been turned into a lounge—low lights, comfy chairs and couches which had been produced from god knows where, with a big screen as a focal point of the little clusters of seating.

"Couldn't miss the chance of a Movie Night with my best guy," Anna whispered to Jack, scooping up a tub of buttered popcorn before leading a bemused Smeed to a somewhat secluded love seat.

Movie night?

The rest of the night shift collected popcorn and settled into seats. Few of them had ever seen a movie, some had no idea what one even was. Kam picked up a large tub of popcorn and a couple of drinks, then led Jack to a comfy settee.

"We tried to recreate more kinds of traditional movie foods, but Lach and I couldn't find enough information to have any idea what Jujubes, Raisnettes or Hot Tamales were like to even try to make them. So, we have popcorn. With or without butter."

"Cariad---"

"Be patient, Jack. Just for another minute, would you?"

The lights dimmed. As soon as he heard the tinkling theme music, Jack looked over at Kam, shocked. It had never occurred to him that somewhere a copy of THIS might still exist. Much less buried in the archives of his own ship.

Kam leaned in to whisper in Jack's ear. "At first I wasn't sure this was the same story, since the title is different, but it is! I found a copy with subtitles, not dubbed. I thought you'd prefer to hear it in the original language."

English. How long had it been since Jack had heard spoken English? At least spoken by anyone other than Henry, on the rare occasions when they were alone, without possibility of being overheard. It wasn't a politically good move to be heard speaking English these days. And what better to hear in English than the story of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? Short of Shakespeare, he couldn't imagine anything that appealed to him more. Jack remembered seeing the film originally with Suzie Costello, his first hire in the rebuilding of Torchwood Three after Alex had massacred almost the entire team. How very, very long ago that had been… The majority of his memories of Suzie had been tainted by what happened in the end, but not, for some reason, those of the day they'd played hooky and gone to see Harry Potter.

He allowed his mind to wander for a moment more, to visit with Suzie, that Suzie he had known in the beginning, before she was seduced by the glove, and with Tosh, so lovely and gentle, and Owen, whose acerbic wit and complete disdain for authority disguised a deeply damaged but caring heart. And then there was Gwen. Five hundred years later he still wondered over the initial pull she had exerted on him. He supposed it was her brashness, in contrast to Ianto's initial reticence, still protecting a horrific secret, torn apart by guilt, fighting his attraction to Jack at the moment that she joined their little team. But he'd struggled for a minute to come up with her name, and Ianto lived permanently in his heart and soul.

With a mental shake, he brought himself back to the present, to Kam's marvellous gift, to two hours of listening to spoken English—ENGLISH—and the wonderful world of Hogwarts. Pulling his lover closer against him, he leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you, Kam. Thank you."

Chapter 34

There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

An Cho sat alone in the back row of the arranged "movie salon." She had chosen the seat assuming that the Captain and Mr. Anders would sit front and centre, and she would be as far from them as possible. She would have passed on Movie Night all together, but was afraid that her absence would not only be noted but also commented upon. Instead, the Captain and his Cyprian ended up sitting directly in front of her. She couldn't have avoided seeing and hearing them no matter how hard she tried.

Not that they were actually DOING anything. The Captain had his arm around the boy, and Kam was snuggled in against him. They were cuddling, but both were completely enthralled by the film, and other than a bit of soft whispering at the beginning and an occasional soft exclamation of recognition from Kam, which made An think that he had some prior familiarly with the story, they were silent.

It was just the FACT of them, and how the Captain shoved his proprietorship under their noses. Celebrating the fact that he had bought this boy, removed him from the only place his family knew to find him, so that if they WANTED to track him down, they couldn't.

She'd tried so hard to keep away from Anders, to avoid getting to know him, to like him, but the Welshman was a small ship; it was impossible to avoid ANY other crewman, especially one who served on the same shift, on the same bridge crew. And he was such a damned likeable kid, which made it all the worse.

Not for the first time did she second-guess her decision to sign on as a permanent part of Welshman's crew. But she was SO tired, had spent so much time looking over her shoulder, keeping up her defences, moving from place to place, making sure she was unnoticed by anyone and everyone, feeling so much hatred, so much pain. She was worn out, and frankly deciding what to do next, if she left the ship, would have taken more energy than she possessed. Besides, other than—well, otherwise it was a good job, interesting but not overwhelming. The crew was treated fairly, and with respect, and when was the last time that had been true of anywhere she'd found herself? Plus the money wasn't bad, and she liked her fellow crewmembers. She thought back to the brawl she'd gotten into on Omega, and a frisson of pleasure coursed through her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like she was truly part of something the way she had that day, sitting at the detention centre, singing with Buddy and the rest. For at least a few minutes, she hadn't hurt. And she couldn't remember the last time that had been true either. And so she had stayed, and signed. And agonized.

Epilogue

The stars shall fade away,

the sun himself Grow dim with age,

and nature sink in years,

But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,

Unhurt amidst the wars of elements,

The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.

--Joseph Addison

Kam Anders set the Bonny Welshman down on the deck of the Omega Station landing bay like a feather drifting onto the ground. Intimately familiar with their ship, Captain Harkness and First Officer Smeed felt the touchdown. For the rest of the crew, arrival was signalled by the sound of the engines powering down.

Tom Chibnall, on the bridge for the approach and arrival, shook his head ruefully.

"Never will I be able to land a ship like that," he sighed. Kam looked at him with surprise. Flying ships came as naturally to him as breathing, sometimes easier. He knew he was a good pilot, and took some pride in his ability, but it was clear from his expression that he really had no understanding of how extraordinarily skilled he truly was. Jack Harkness clapped a friendly hand on Chibnall's shoulder.

"Not many people can, Tom. You've become a damned good pilot nonetheless, and I'm glad to have you on my crew." He glanced around the bridge, and realized that virtually the entire crew had gathered for their arrival at the station. "That goes for all of you. And I'm not just glad, I'm proud to be working with you." He met Avi Stasi's eye. "All of you.

And that's something I've not felt for a long time."

He cast his gaze around one more time, before continuing.

"All right. Twenty-four hours freedom, then back to work. Mr. Smeed has some pocket money for each of you—a thank you from me for indulging this last little detour. Be sure you pick it up before you go. And I've arranged to pick up the tab for a meal and a couple of drinks each at Bessie's. It's a little off the beaten track, but worth finding. And I'll see everyone back at your duty stations and ready to work tomorrow..."

FIN

(for now—Helen's up next with another doozey of an adventure!)