first_in_time | Zagreus Sits Inside Your Head (for Splendid

Barbara looked out at the view as Ian put the last of their things in the car. From the front door of the little Bed and Breakfast, she could see beautiful rolling hills for miles. The last of the morning was being chased away as the sun rose higher in the sky, thawing everything out. Even the cows seemed more active on one particular hill.

"I wish we could stay for a little longer," she sighed to Ian, turning her back on it all so that it might be easier to leave. Her arms folded, one hand still held on to the key they were yet to return. "I don't suppose your car has a secret time traveling device so we can spend an extra few weeks here?"

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From:

splendid_roman

"It was the sort of oddness you get with the Doctor," Ian added, but Jack didn't look any less disappointed with their answers.

"The Doctor's not the only alien who's ever visited Earth," Jack said.

From:

first_in_time

"We know," Barbara replied. "We saw the Daleks visit Earth in the year 2050."

Jack just glanced at her before ruling off a section of his notebook. "So I'm going to need a statement for our records."

"Whose records? And how do you know so much about the Doctor?" she interrupted. Jack barely so much as glanced at her.

"If you could tell me in as much detail as possible exactly what happened, I can be on my way and leave the two of you to your previous activities."

From:

splendid_roman

Ian blushed at that and let go of Barbara's hand. "We don't feel like giving a statement to someone who breaks into our flat and won't tell us anything." He folded his arms.

"I told you, I'm from Torchwood." Jack kept his pen poised over his notebook, as if they were about to give a statement.

"And we've never heard of Torchwood." Ian glared at Jack.

From:

first_in_time

"I'm not leaving until I have a statement," Jack said and sat on the arm of Ian's sofa. He had retreated back to his casual self, as though annoying people relaxed him.

Barbara huffed and put her hands upon her hips. "We had a flat tyre, I saw something in the forest, we followed it and ended up in some strange place, then found our way back to the car. That's all we're giving you. Now I think you need to leave."

From:

splendid_roman

Jack shook his head. "Why should I do that?"

"Because you can either leave on your own or I'll throw you out." Ian took a step toward Jack. He'd be happy to let Jack stay when it looked like he was going to be able to tell them what happened, but he either didn't know or was not going to say. In which case there was no use him being here any longer.

From:

first_in_time

Jack chuckled. "I'd like to see you try, Chitterton."

From:

splendid_roman

Ian ignored the mangling of his last name and went for Jack, going for the lapels of his coat.

Jack let him, but went limp, making himself harder to pull along. He waited for when Ian was using all his strength to pull him, then punched him.

Not expecting it, Ian fell backwards. Since he was still holding onto Jack, he pulled Jack with him.

From:

first_in_time

Jack laughed as he tumbled over Ian. After years of experience, he knew how to fall properly. Barbara rushed to Ian's side and knelt down to see if he had any injuries.

"How dare you?" she growled, "get out this instant!"

From:

splendid_roman

Ian had had enough experience of fighting and falling so he wasn't hurt either, although he'd be bruised tomorrow. He patted Barbara's hand to assure her he was fine.

"I only wanted a statement." Jack looked innocent as he backed away from them both. "You wouldn't want that sort of thing happening to anyone else, would you?"

From:

first_in_time

"Is this any way to go about it?" Barbara asked. "You broke into the apartment, listened to us like some criminal, then demanded that we talk to you about events that even we're struggling to understand. Tell me, what would you do if the places were reversed?"

From:

splendid_roman

"Tell me everything you know?" Jack grinned.

Ian glared at him, which Jack ignored. "We have every right to call the police," he pointed out, sitting up.

Jack sighed. "All right. Since you're so handsome and your wife's so pretty, I'll tell you what I think happened and we can exchange stories." Although not without first winking at Barbara.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara glared harder at Jack, he only chuckled to himself.

"The way I see it, is that you got your flat tyre in the normal way but stopped near a point where space and time were weak. It isn't quite a rift like we've got in good ole Cardiff, but it was something. The moment you guys start to investigate is the exact moment the TARDIS is slowly drifting past for whatever reason. So you end up on board and then, by another miracle, you're thrown back out to nearby your car. I hope you both realise how lucky you are."

Edited Date: 2013-08-11 08:52 pm (UTC)

From:

splendid_roman

"That sounds very unlikely." Ian wasn't convinced by that story.

"So what did you see?" Jack asked.

Ian decided he might as well tell Harkness in the hopes of getting some information. He stood up and put an arm round Barbara. "We just walked into the forest and found a Cheshire cat. Then there was a library with a caterpillar. A secret door led us to the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. Then we saw the Queen of Hearts, who was a man, and her playing cards. We followed a white rabbit, which led us down a hole and back to the forest."

"It doesn't sound much like the TARDIS," Jack agreed. "But it could have been another ship in the vortex."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara reached around behind Ian for his free hand and knotted their fingers together as he spoke.

"We don't believe that it was the TARDIS. There was no Doctor, no Vicki. There weren't any Daleks either, thank goodness."

From:

splendid_roman

"What do you mean by other ships?" Ian frowned. "There can't be other ships that can travel in time too?"

"Can't there?" Jack looked amused.

Ian glanced over at Barbara, wondering what Harkness was trying to say. "If you're not going to tell us anything, I think you should go."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara nodded in agreement at their visitor. He needed to go. Things were awkward and and weren't improving.

Jack took a deep breath and tucked away his notepad. He looked back up at them with a cheeky grin and said: "well, if you want, I can hang around and show you a few moves...you'll be impressed, I promise." He winked at Barbara then grinned a little wider at Ian.

From:

splendid_roman

"Certainly not!" If he and Barbara were likely to talk to anyone about their sex lives, which they weren't, it wasn't going to be a man they'd just met.

Ian made a move towards him to throw him out and Jack put up his hands and started towards the front door.

"All right, I'm going. I'm sure the 1960s were supposed to include the summer of love and throwing off all those old fashioned British attitudes to sex."

From:

first_in_time

"Get out!" Barbara growled and advanced with Ian.

Jack blew a kiss toward them and reached out to open the door behind him. "And that dress is only half as good as as the last outfit."

From:

splendid_roman

Ian slammed the door behind Jack, practically hitting him with it and enjoying far too much the muffled "Ow" from the other side.

Then Ian leaned against the door and ran a hand over his face. "Any normal person would apologise, not make suggestive marks." And not broken into their flat in the first place.

From:

first_in_time

"He's gone," Barbara sighed and held out her arms for a hug, "that's the main thing."

She cuddled up to his chest, arms slipping around his waist. After she kissed his cheek, her tummy tumbled loudly.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian put his arms round her, resting his head on hers for a moment. He smiled at her tummy rumbling and pulled back a little to look at her. "Let's see what we have for dinner." He let go of her to take her hand to walk to the kitchen. Maybe they could banish the memory of Captain Harkness and his suggestive comments.

From:

first_in_time

She followed and let go of his hand to lean back against a counter top and fold her arms. "Do you really think he meant it?" Babara asked eventually while she subtly admired Ian's shape through his trousers as he bent over to rummage through his fridge and cupboards.

From:

splendid_roman

"Meant what?" he asked as he stood up with a block of cheese that hadn't gone mouldy in one hand and some pasta in the other. "How about macaroni cheese with pasta?" Not that they had a great deal of choice of what to eat, but at least the long life milk didn't smell like it had gone off.

From:

first_in_time

"Sounds lovely," she smiled before going back to her question: "do you think he meant it about other ships like the TARDIS? I thought we destroyed the only other one when we came back home."

From:

splendid_roman

"It's hard to tell what he said that was true." Ian put the pasta on to boil and set about melting the cheese. "I suppose if the Daleks got time travel from the Doctor then it's possible that others could have too."

Once everything didn't need his constant attention he turned to face Barbara and lean against the opposite counter. "I like the idea that there are other ships out there."