Five Go Mad in 1969

Chapter One

The layout the Cardiff Royal Infirmary was idiosyncratic to say the least. Built in 1837, the same year Victoria became Queen, it had been designed to provide state-of-the-art care to its 100 patients. In the past 132 years, as the population of Cardiff grew and medical knowledge advanced, the architecture had been adapted to meet – as best it could – changing demands. Over 500 beds were now housed in wards created by piecemeal alterations that left the layout of each of the four floors unique. Corridors zigzagged randomly and male medical students found many nooks and crannies in which to make amorous advances to the pretty nurses. Visitors got completely lost.

Owen Harper, junior doctor in the final days of his academic training, walked the corridors confidently. After six months he knew his way around and no longer had to ask for directions from the nurses. Currently, he was on the second floor in men's surgical. His shift had ended half an hour ago but he wanted to check on Mr Barlow who was recovering from the removal of his gall bladder.

"That's healing very well," said Owen.

"Still feels tight," said the patient. He peered at the scar on the upper right of his stomach, just below the ribs.

"Doctor's right, Mr Barlow, it's healing well," said Nurse Lily Roberts. "But it won't if you go poking it." She slapped his hand away.

Owen smiled. She was a tiny woman, barely five feet tall, but managed the male patients with ease. They cowered before her. "You can redress the wound, Nurse," he said.

"Yes, Doctor." She went about her work efficiently as he annotated the treatment chart.

"When you going to let me out?" asked Barlow. "The wife will be in later, she'll want to know."

"Two, three days maybe," Owen said. "Providing you do everything Nurse Roberts tells you. Take some gentle exercise but no lifting."

"Could be home for the weekend then, that's good."

Owen replaced the chart on the foot of the bed, said goodbye and left. He was humming as he entered the doctors' rest room crammed into a corner of the ground floor. Rows of metal lockers lined three walls with two battered settees in the centre of the room on either side of a narrow coffee table. A single shower and a toilet were in the basic bathroom next door. The room smelt of tobacco and the walls and ceiling were yellow with nicotine. The one window had been painted shut years before and there was nowhere for the smoke to go. Two men sat opposite one another on the settees, both reading newspapers and smoking. The smoke increased Owen's craving; he needed a cigarette.

"You off?" asked one of the men. Owen knew him and the other doctor, he had to as cases often overlapped, but neither were friends.

"Yep."

Owen went to his locker. It held only a few possessions. A spare pair of shoes. A squash racket and sports bag full of dirty clothes. A jacket hanging from a hook. His wallet, cigarettes and lighter were on the top shelf. Half a bottle of whisky was hidden under a old pullover for when the long shifts got too much. Stuck to the inside of the door, below a small mirror, was a photograph taken at Jack's birthday party back in April. It showed the five friends with their arms round one another's shoulders all grinning at the camera. It had been a good party with unexpected consequences. He smiled as he reached for the cigarettes.

"Might want to hang around a bit. Rumour is the results are being posted today."

Owen turned quickly. "They're not due for another couple of days."

The man shrugged. "Often happens." He went back to his paper, not interested in the results himself. He had qualified five years before.

"I'll go and see."

Owen quickly removed his white coat and stethoscope, hanging them on the hook that had contained his jacket. Pulling on the jacket, he stuffed wallet and cigarettes into the pockets. He took a moment to check his hair in the mirror before grabbing the sports bag. He shut the locker and turned the key.

"Good luck," said the man as Owen made for the door.

"Cheers."

He walked quickly round the building to administration at the back. His tutors were confident he would do well in these final examinations but he was still anxious to know for sure. The desire to be a doctor had been with him since he was a little kid and he'd worked hard to get where he was, helped by a lot of people who had had faith in him. He wanted success as much for them as for himself. And for Katie, of course. Time and a change of location had made her loss less painful but he still missed her. It seemed news of the results was getting round as a small crowd had gathered by the notice board. He recognised a few faces and edged towards one in particular. Owen had not made many friends at the hospital, preferring to keep his distance, but played squash with Gerry Williams.

"You heard then," said Gerry.

"Just now. It's true? The results are being posted?"

"Seems so. Waiting for the delectable Miss Morgan, we are."

"I'd wait a long time for her!" said one of the other young men. Ribald laughter followed. Cerys Morgan was the object of many a young medical students' desires.

"Wish she'd hurry up," muttered Owen. He checked his watch, a gold-plated Rolex, a joint twenty-first birthday present from Jack, Gwen, Ianto and Toshiko.

"Got a hot date?" teased Gerry.

"Yeah, actually. But she'll wait for me."

"Such confidence! If she's got any sense she'll –"

Owen never knew what Gerry was going to say. Miss Morgan, a vision in mini-dress and boots, appeared from the office. She had to push through the crowd of young men to get to the notice board but didn't seem to mind. Very slowly, she pinned a single sheet of paper up. No one watched her as she returned to the office, everyone was trying to find their name and their results.

-ooOoo-

The quarterly budget forecast was due and Takahiro Sato had decamped to the boardroom to spread out the files and forms on the long table. It seemed there was more information required every time, some new way for Torchwood One to torment him. Director Yvonne Hartman prided herself on being a sympathetic manager but Takahiro thought otherwise. She had favourites and kept secrets from those who worked for her, two things he abhorred. His own management style was very different. He treated every member of his team with formal courtesy and shared information, encouraging their suggestions and ideas. It worked well, both with his old team and this new one.

He moved to the glass wall and looked down into the Hub. Sandra Chivers was sitting at her desk in the work area. She had resigned once after her health deteriorated following exposure to an Intullisian perfume but come back to help out when the previous team had been wiped out. Six months on, she was still here and likely to stay a little while longer. Takahiro was pleased to have her; at 49 she brought maturity and good common sense to the young team. Sitting alongside her, swinging round in her chair, was Suzie Costello, his second in command. The sole survivor of the doomed team, she had recovered from her wounds and now led operations in the field. Her technical, mechanical and practical skills were invaluable. As he watched, she threw back her head and laughed at the antics of Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper. Takahiro had groomed Jack for Torchwood ever since meeting him six years' before, as one of his daughter Toshiko's friends, and yet was still surprised by his all-round ability. Jack was a superb linguist, fearless in the field and had a innate grasp of alien logic. More than once he had used persuasion to defuse a dangerous situation and made friends of potential enemies. Gwen was also a friend of Toshiko's but had been pursuing a career in the police force until fate had intervened and she had learnt about Torchwood. Now she was also an operative. Her track record was not perfect - she made mistakes – but she learnt from them and was a dogged investigator. She was to be married in just over a month but was intending to continue working.

The group were joined by Stuart (Mac) McGregor who had come from London to help out and stayed. He was in his late-20s, the same age as Suzie, and with similar experience. A Scot, he kept the more exuberant Jack in check and was the team's weapons expert. On this occasion it seemed Jack was unstoppable and Mac was dragged into a 'horse' race - Jack with Gwen on his back, Mac with Suzie – around the Hub. They charged off, up and down staircases, and Mr Sato prayed they wouldn't break a leg.

He turned back to the table and the papers waiting for his attention. They were not as formidable as they might have been; Ianto Jones, yet another of Toshiko's friends, had prepared them. He was the other permanent member of the team, a meticulous even obsessive organiser, who ensured the Hub ran smoothly. His duties, ill-defined when he had transferred from London with Jack, were too numerous and varied to write down. He was a trained archivist and kept the Torchwood Three records in pristine order, including the rooms full of artefacts. He looked after residents in the cells, always divining what they needed and providing it. He had also taken over ordering supplies, liaison with Glasgow and London (except with the Director herself) and almost all the paperwork. Takahiro did not know how he managed before Ianto came to Cardiff.

"We won!" yelled Gwen, throwing up her arms in triumph.

"You cheated," complained Suzie, slipping off Mac's back. "I saw you cut the corner."

"Us? Cheat?" Jack straightened up and Gwen slid off him. "As if we would." His expression was innocence personified.

"Och, you would." Mac bent over, hands on his knees breathing hard.

"Too fast for you, old man?" Jack slapped him on the back. "Or is Suzie too heavy?" He danced away as Suzie lunged at him.

"Is that the time? I have to run." Gwen lightly skipped up the stairs to the work area. "Suzie, you remembered I have a dentist's appointment, right?"

"Yes, I remember." She gave up trying to catch Jack and strolled to her desk. "No need to come back seeing we're so quiet. But keep your pager with you."

"Cheers, I will." Gwen had her light denim jacket on – it was early July and warm outside – and grabbed her bag from her desk. She clipped the pager to her jeans belt. "Bye, all."

"Remember, when he asks you to open wide he means your mouth," said Jack as she passed. She threw him a dirty look but didn't reply as she walked quickly to the cog door.

Jack stood, hands in his trouser pockets, and looked round. He was bored. The Rift had been quiet for a couple of days, just one opening, and the Weevils had stayed in the sewers. There was a translation half-done on his desk but he had too much pent up energy to knuckle down to that. He knew what he wanted and he decided to go in search of it – or rather him. He checked the kitchen and the boardroom before heading for the archives. Just before he reached the archway leading down, Suzie called out to him.

"Jack, you and Ianto can get off too if you like. Mac and I'll cover the evening."

"Great, thanks. I'll go and tell him."

The corridors of the lower levels of the Hub were no longer strange or unfamiliar. Jack had explored them over the past six months and played some special games down here with Ianto when the pair were manning the base alone. He lost most games of hide and seek – unless he cheated - because his partner knew these levels even better, constantly digging around and unearthing caches of forgotten records and artefacts. It seemed Ianto was rooting around again as he was not in the archives or the cells or the main artefact storerooms. Jack stopped at the head of a flight of stairs that led to the firing range and listened; no firing so he wasn't down there. He went to the next staircase and descended to one of the little-used levels. Convinced they had missed one another in the labyrinth, Jack was about to give up when soft footsteps heralded Ianto.

"Hey, where've you been?" asked Jack. "Been looking for you."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Bored again, are you?"

"Suzie says we can leave early, like now." Jack reached out and pulled Ianto close. They had been friends since meeting at school and lovers for the past three years. "A whole evening, just you and me." They kissed.

Ianto responded to the kiss. The team tried to work it so Jack and Ianto's shifts coincided but time together was still rare enough to be treasured. "I should check with Mr Sato first. He's doing the budget and might need me."

"Oh come on, Ianto. We could go out. Do a movie. Or a meal."

"Umm."

Jack frowned. "Don't you want to?" A few weeks ago, if anyone had asked, Jack would have said he and Ianto were totally happy with one another. They lived and worked together in complete harmony, their very different personalities complementing one another. Any disagreements were trivial and short-lived. However now he was not so sure. There was a distance between them, barely noticeable but it hadn't been there before, and Ianto often worked late when he didn't have to and disappeared without explanation. "Is there something wrong, Ianto? Have I done something wrong?"

"No, 'course you haven't. A movie would be great. Maybe we could go and see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, everyone's raving about it." Ianto smiled brightly and pressed closer to Jack. "But I will check with Mr Sato."

Reassured, Jack took Ianto's hand. As they walked back along the corridor, Jack looked over his shoulder at the dimly-lit area where Ianto had emerged. "What were you doing down there? Found more records?"

"That's right." Ianto did not like lying to Jack but he was not yet ready to tell the American who would probably not understand.

-ooOoo-

The tiny bed-sit was used by Bernard Wells, a consultant surgeon, as a pied-à-terre for those times, after a long shift, when he didn't want to drive back to his home in Newport. When he wasn't using it he allowed a chosen few of his surgical team to borrow it for a few hours, no questions asked. Owen shut the front door behind him and smiled at the naked woman propped up in the bed covered by a single sheet.

"Sorry I'm late. The results were posted just as I was leaving."

"And?" she asked eagerly. She sat up letting the sheet fall to reveal her full breasts. "Tell me!"

"I passed." He waited a beat. "With honours. You are now looking at a fully-qualified doctor."

Gwen squealed with delight and jumped out of bed. The two kissed passionately before she dragged him to the bed.

-ooOoo-

It was late afternoon when Jack and Ianto approached their home in Kent Street, Grangetown. They were on foot, only using the car when one or the other was working late. Walking through Tiger Bay at night was foolhardy even for experienced alien hunters.

"So a quick meal, a bath and out, okay?" said Jack.

"I could get the washing done before we go."

"No! This is a freebie night and we're going to enjoy ourselves. You can –" Jack broke off as Ianto stopped walking. "What?" He turned his head to follow Ianto's gaze. His mouth fell open.

"Hi. Hope you don't mind me just showing up." John Hart was sitting on the doorstep, a full kitbag on the ground beside him.

Oh dear, looks like the friends are going to have complicated lives. More coming soon ...