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| Detention; Saturday Night | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 29 2008, 05:44 PM (227 Views) | |
| Toshiko Sato | Jun 29 2008, 05:44 PM Post #1 |
Time Lord
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OOC: Cont from Clubs and Restaurants > 'Tosh's Night Out'. Tosh had been able to cope with the ride back to the police station, the confiscation of her personal effects and the questions of Cardiff’s finest, mostly because she suddenly felt strangely weak and disorientated, baffled at what she’d done. Her heart pounded in her chest almost painfully. It seemed as if someone else had committed assault and she, quite unnecessarily, was being detained for it. The jokes and sneering comments of the officers went right over her head and she only managed to pay attention to them when they asked her to confirm that she was with Torchwood, and told her that they’d call Jack. (“And nutjobs like that run the fucking country,” one of the officers had commented with a shake of his head when he thought she was distracted again. “Explains a lot, doesn’t it? Bloody Torchwood.”) The light hurt her eyes, but everyone else seemed fine. Things only went really wrong, though, when Tosh had finally realized that no, they weren’t going to reprimand her and then let her sit in the waiting room till Jack came—they were going to lock her up. With a door that wouldn’t open. In a little space. All alone. As two officers walked her down the hall, Tosh saw the door that was open waiting for her and suddenly she couldn’t stop thinking about forever forever forever never out forever forever, the fact that she would die in there and she was sure, suddenly, that she could see orange from the corner of her eye, that the female officer on her left was hiding a UNIT badge underneath her uniform, that she was back here and she had mucked up and this time she would rot inside— Later, the police would say that she had fought like a woman possessed: suddenly the previously docile detainee began to struggle with all her might, hyperventilating and shouting and begging them not to lock her up, just to let her go. As three of them together managed to force her inside the pleas changed in to screams and sobs. Once locked up, though, the sounds abated quickly: from shouts to moans to whimpers to a dead silence, the Torchwood woman curled up in the floor and motionless. Tosh pressed her face into the wall and took quick shallow breaths, her eyes pressed tight shut. Forever. Never out. Forever. |
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| Captain Jack Harkness | Jul 1 2008, 05:33 PM Post #2 |
Director, Torchwood-Three
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"Maybe she found an alien, or something," he suggested. "And tried to apprehend it." Ianto bit his lip. Jack muttered irritably under his breath, accepting Ianto's theory with relief. "Probably so," he agreed, shifting restlessly in the passenger seat and regretting having Ianto drive - it would have given him something to do and he'd undoubtedly get there faster. Jack was out of the car before Ianto had shut down the engine with a pause barely long enough for Ianto to catch up before sweeping into the station, expression darkly grim. "Where is she?" he snapped at the front desk and something in his face, or his stance - so very still and so very ready - cut off any of the usual annoyances the constabulary sometimes tossed Torchwood's way. Jack's gut was tight with worry and frustration and he wanted nothing more than to clear the entire station with some well-placed alien technology. He was fiercely aware of his promises to Tosh. She was his. "Don't even think of getting in my way," Jack warned quietly as he turned towards the cells and a constable stepped uncertainly. The man was waved off by the shift supervisor who ended up hurrying after Jack and Ianto as they passed into the station. " - Ms. Sato has been charged with assault and we've called a psychological review considering her behavior - " Caught Jack's attention, sharpening his worry to real fear. Alien possession? A shapeshifter? He yanked the intake papers from the man's hands before he'd finished his sentence. He barely looked at them, interested only in the cell number, before passing them brusquely to Ianto. "Deal with it," he said flatly. He cast a dark look over his shoulder. "But stay close." He didn't want any more of the team going astray tonight. He waited with barely leashed impatience for the police to unlock Tosh's cell, conscious of the weight of his manipulator on his wrist -he could open every lock in the station with it - and the weight of his gun at his hip, a different sort of comfort. When the door swung wide, Jack breathed deep; taking in the heavy stench of bleach and cleansers, old vomit, sweat and Tosh's body scent. Unless it was a very skilled alien, it was Tosh in there. Lying in a fetal curve on the floor. Alone. "Tosh," Jack said, anguished, and hurried in to drop to his knees at her side. "Tosh ...." |
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| Toshiko Sato | Jul 2 2008, 04:24 PM Post #3 |
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Time Lord
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Tosh looked smaller in the corner of the room, small and lost and cold: goosepimples trailed over her bare legs even though the cell itself was warm enough; her skin was pale and clammy. At first she didn't seem to register the sound of the door at all: she remained entirely motionless but for the rise and fall of her ribs, her forehead pressed against the cement. She was hardly aware of the police station, of the night, of Cardiff at all: it felt as if she were back in that cell in the UNIT prison, as if she'd never left and never would. "Tosh, Tosh ...." Tosh's eyes opened at Jack's voice, and some emotion too strong to identify pounded through her, catching her breath in her throat and making her heart skip a beat. For a moment she was terrified and as he dropped to his knees beside her she recoiled instinctively, drawing herself up back against the wall with an almost animal desperation and pulling her legs between them. Physically she was hardly touched--a redness to her cheek from a slap, a tiny scratch just above her left eyebrow from the other woman's nails, grazed knees--but emotionally something was clearly wrong: Tosh looked at Jack wide-eyed and utterly terrified, seemingly about to try hopelessly to kick him away. His voice, though, his voice--and the way that he looked at her--the shape and size of him--and sudden rushing memories of him taking her away, of his offer, of his protection flooded back into her. This was Jack, her Jack. He was here. It was okay. The tension visibly drained out of Tosh's body and she seemed to crumple even smaller, birdlike and fragile, as she slumped forward onto him. Pressing her face into Jack's shoulder like a child she twisted her hands in the fabric of his jacket and gripped as hard as she could, as if terrified that someone was going to come and take him away from her. She tried to draw in a breath to speak to him, to tell him what had happened, but instead it caught on tears and Tosh just pressed closer, trembling. |
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| i_jones | Jul 2 2008, 07:32 PM Post #4 |
Time Lord
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Ianto followed a half-pace behind Jack as he strode - and strode really was the only word for it - into the station. He wasted no time demanding to see Toshiko, forgoing the usual "make nice with the coppers" plesantries (or rather, piss off the coppers with copious flirting) and all but ordering to be taken to her cell. Her cell - God, from what the man was saying it seemed that there wasn't a mistake, or at least, not a simple one. If she had assaulted someone, there could be numerous reasons why, but Ianto immediately set to worrying. Toshiko was tiny, and there weren't all that many people she could take in a fist fight. He grabbed the papers from Jack and scanned them, falling a little behind as they walked through the cells. He came to an abrupt halt and looked up when he came to the open cell, watching uncomfortably as Jack approached a clearly distressed Tosh. As startling as it was to see the panic etched across her features, it was even more surprising to watch it all drain away as Jack knelt down and wrapped her in his arms. Ianto knew Toshiko trusted Jack, but she'd been hurt like the rest of them when he left, and he'd never realized how much faith she seemed to have in him until that moment. He slid back, away from the cell, uncomfortable seeing Toshiko so exposed, and bent his head to the papers, gleaning the most useful information from them. |
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| Captain Jack Harkness | Jul 3 2008, 05:42 PM Post #5 |
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Director, Torchwood-Three
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"Hey," Jack murmured spreading a hand over Tosh's trembling back. "Hey, I have you. You know that. I have you." He was shaking himself, a fine tremor of fury, sharpened with the terrible memories of the Valiant and Tosh dying at his feet. The memory soured his mouth and he drew in a short breath, rubbing Tosh's back soothingly, feeling the beat of her heart - alive, alive, oh, she was alive - and the way she clutched fiercely to him. Jack's grip was careful, but implacable, no one was taking Tosh away from him. With her pressed close, Jack eased a hand along Tosh's back, down her arms and legs, searching for serious injury. She was pale and shocky, refusing to look up, scratched but not damaged and dressed as if she'd been planning a fine evening out. Her sweat smelled sharp and somehow off though Jack couldn't identify why. "Tosh," he said against the fall of her dark hair. He could nearly taste her memories of imprisonment but it seemed such a small thing now, when his own memories were thick with blood. But her fear, he couldn't stand to see her fear, to see her alone and unseen, ignored. Not his Tosh. "Tosh, you walked out before. Come walk out with me this time too." He stayed with her, patient as she sought to gather herself, giving her time and space -sheltered against his body - to find her way. Jack sought her gaze, all his attention on her, smiled when Tosh finally looked up. "Come with me," he said softly. "Tosh. You're with me." The sweat at Jack's temples and the pale look around his eyes were from memories no one here shared. Nothing that had ever happened. Things that he couldn't quite wipe from his mind. Jack kept Tosh close and measured each breath she took. She was alive. |
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| Toshiko Sato | Jul 31 2008, 04:42 PM Post #6 |
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Time Lord
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OOC: I'm not ignoring Ianto, by the way! Tosh is just oblivious to nearly everything beyond Jack at the moment. "Hey, hey, I have you. You know that. I have you." Tosh was entirely unaware that Jack himself was shaking: to her he felt like the most solid and stable thing in the world, and for a moment she was almost overcome with a child's desire to hide her face under his coat, to ignore the rest of the world until it dissipated like a nightmare. The movement of his hand over her back seemed to relax her and slowly Tosh leaned further against him almost like a stroked animal, each muscle smoothing out and each knot of tension slowly unwinding. His voice, though, that was what really drew her back: the depth and power of it, the voice of a man who you wanted on your side, definitely, and if he was--nothing seemed quite so bad anymore. "Tosh, you walked out before. Come walk out with me this time too." Jack gave her time, and even though Tosh couldn't articulate it yet gratitude rushed through her with an almost tangible warmth. Everything else seemed to recede, and what she had to do was manageable: to slow her breathing, brush tears from her cheeks, and finally manage--faltering, lightheaded, weak--to stand up beside him, leaning close against Jack's shoulder for support. Owen could say what he liked about Jack betraying them, Tosh thought with a sudden fierce devotion: Jack came back for her. He always came back for her. When Tosh looked up, Jack was smiling. "Come with me," he said softly. "Tosh. You're with me." Tosh nodded shakily, managing a faint trace of a smile. "I know. I know. Jack, I'm so--I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened--" For a moment Tosh considered telling Jack about the Lightbox, but it seemed suddenly silly, irrelevant. She made a helpless gesture, letting her arms fall back to her sides as if exhausted. Still trembling faintly and leaning close, it was hard to say just how bad she was--apparently better, but she still wasn't well. The healthy glow she'd been suffused with over the last few days had faded somewhat, leaving Tosh seeming tired, frightened and small. |
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| Captain Jack Harkness | Aug 1 2008, 07:06 PM Post #7 |
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Director, Torchwood-Three
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"Shh," Jack hushed her gently, keeping a steadying arm around Tosh's shoulders. "We'll figure it out." Tosh took a few faltering steps towards the door and Jack walked with her, hating the curious faces peering around corners and across the hallways as they made their slow, unsteady way out of the cellblock and through the station. "We've got the SUV nearby," Jack murmured, keeping up a small, soft commentary as they moved. Tosh's skin felt clammy against his fingers and he couldn't help but wonder - poison? Drugs? Alien disease? Worse? Or something as simple as the flu? "Call Owen back to the Hub," Jack told Ianto over Tosh's bent head, stress and worry betrayed, despite his efforts, in the lines bracketing his mouth and the tension around his eyes. "I want him there by the time we get back." |
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| i_jones | Aug 1 2008, 07:32 PM Post #8 |
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Time Lord
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Ianto watched uncomfortably as Jack helped Toshiko out of the cell and down the hall, following at a respectable distance. Most of him was consumed with worry about Tosh, but a little part of him felt like he was intruding on a private moment, and that he wasn't supposed to see Jack like this, all caring and supportive and warm. "Call Owen back to the Hub," Jack said, looking back at him, and Ianto could see that his calmness was just an act, that in fact he was torn up with worry as well. "Yes, of course," Ianto said, tucking the files under an arm and fishing out his mobile. He pressed the speed dial for Owen's mobile and tucked it between his ear and shoulder while gesturing for a PC. "Owen? Yeah, we need you at the Hub." He waved the files at the officer and mouthed 'can we keep these?' while waiting for Owen to finish grumping. "Yeah, but there's something wrong with Tosh. We're out, but we'll meet you there." The officer nodded, and Ianto hung up and thanked him before hurrying after Jack and Tosh. Whatever was wrong with her, they'd find out, and they'd fix it. Because they were Torchwood, and that's what they did. |
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| Toshiko Sato | Aug 2 2008, 05:31 AM Post #9 |
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Time Lord
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Tosh didn't look up as they made their way through the station, but she didn't need to--she could feel every pair of eyes on her, hear whispered comments. Torchwood Three had never been particularly popular with the Cardiff police force, and now here was some real gossip. The thought of it made Tosh feel slightly sick, or perhaps that was only the alcohol: she must have had a lot to cause the faint throbbing pain in her head, the aching of her eyes. Even reflected off the floor and Jack's boots the lights were bright. "Call Owen back to the Hub," Jack told Ianto. "I want him there by the time we get back." For a moment Tosh considered protesting, looking briefly up (she was just drunk and tired, it was just because the cell was so much like her nightmares, she only needed Ibuprofen and sleeping pills) and opening her mouth, but after a second she looked away again, silent as Ianto called Owen--who, from the faint noises on the phone, sounded fractious as usual. As her fear ebbed away it was replaced instead with a clinging sense of shame, of mortification that she could have done that. She was reliable, smart, well-behaved Tosh who made her grandmother proud: she certainly didn't pick up strangers in clubs and have fights with their ex-girlfriends on the street outside. That was far harder to accept than being part of an alien-fighting secret task force in the service of Queen and Country. She chose the back seat of the SUV, clipping herself in and leaning her head back against the rest, letting her eyes close. The familiar smell was reassuring, as was the knowledge that she could reach up and pull down her monitor, folding keyboard, and browse CCTV records or the Rift monitor. This was what she knew. This--Torchwood--was more her home than anywhere else. "I'm sorry," she said quietly when the others got in, not opening her eyes. |
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| Captain Jack Harkness | Aug 3 2008, 05:00 AM Post #10 |
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Director, Torchwood-Three
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Jack slammed the back door shut and hauled himself into the passenger side while Ianto started the engine on the SUV. For a moment, hidden from Toshiko's view, he shut his eyes, head back against the seat rest, and fought back overreaction. "I'm sorry," Tosh said, softly, from the back seat. "No need," Jack said with forced lightness. He was rubbing his fist against his chest, still feeling the - Jack shook his head sharply, opening his eyes to stare out at the early morning darkness. "Just, give us a little warning next time you decide to try Owen's method of stress relief." At this time of morning, the streets were empty, not even the early morning shift was up and Jack sagged against the door, scanning the arrest report. This was so out of norm for Toshiko that, even though she was clearly fully within her mental capacity, Jack worried. There was always the nigglng fear, now, that somehow - somehow - a bit of the Year had slipped past the destruction of the paradox machine, as it for the Valiant, to follow him home and poison everything Jack treasured. His hand stole up to smooth across the center of his chest but there was nothing there and, in the rear view mirror, Tosh only looked tired and embarrassed, not dying. According to her arrest records, she'd been at a bar - brawling, of all things - and if she'd never done that before, that didn't mean she was incapable. Maybe, Jack thought, he was seeing bits of the Tosh from before UNIT, maybe she'd been a wildcat as a college co-ed. He didn't believe it, but it was a nice thought, that she was regaining a bit of who she'd been before UNIT broke her. It would be nice to imagine he'd done more than salvage what was left. |
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| Toshiko Sato | Aug 3 2008, 07:46 AM Post #11 |
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Time Lord
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OOC: If you two don't want to move this far ahead, feel free to cut in wherever! Opening her eyes, Tosh could only see the back of Jack's neck and shoulders, but she could tell that he was much more wound up than his flippant warning made it seem. His shoulders were raised slightly, muscles tensed; his eyes, as he looked briefly back to her in the rearview mirror, looked very old and contained a depth of guilt that Tosh could not understand or place. He'd always been a mystery, though, she reassured herself--right from the very moment he'd sat opposite her in that prison and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Yes, he was different now, his disappearance had changed him, but he was still Jack. Of course. Still Jack. For the rest of the drive Tosh simply rested her forehead against the window, her breath misting on the cool glass, and let herself be rocked by the smooth movements of the SUV as Ianto drove. She tried to clear her mind, but it was impossible: thoughts she couldn't identify were rushing through her almost audibly, an unsettled energy that was becoming familiar was reasserting itself, tingling in her fingertips and toes. Slowly, she felt better--or at least different, restless rather than afraid. The bright lights of passing streetlamps no longer hurt her eyes. She stole glances at the side of Ianto's face and wondered what he was thinking about her, what he thought of her. And Gwen--what would Gwen say? Andy, too: nice, sweet Andy. What would he think of her? Who would he think she was? Tosh tried not to think about Owen and how he would react, but it didn't work. By the time they reached the garage she had played out a hundred different scenarios in her mind, all of them involving laughter and teasing. Bit old for that, aren't you? Who do you think you are? And even worse, she thought as her heart skipped a beat, what if Jack told them all about where she'd come from? What if he told them that she was a criminal? When they finally arrived Tosh unclipped herself and quickly stepped out of the SUV, starting at the loud slam of the door behind her. She managed a shaky half-smile to the two men, pulling down at the hem of her skirt self-consciously and giving Jack a serious look which conveyed, she hoped, that she needed some time alone. "I'm just going to get a drink before I see Owen. Really, I feel much better now. Much better." Before they could argue she walked on ahead to the main level, glad that she was feeling strong enough now to walk steady and in a straight line. If she just got one little checkup over and done with, she told herself, then she'd be fine. More than fine. She'd be normal tomorrow, if embarrassed, she'd just hook up to the Lightbox again and carry on and no more alcohol, this time. She'd never been very good with it. OOC: Cont in Main Level > Medical Bays > Distress Call. Edited by Toshiko Sato, Aug 3 2008, 09:09 AM.
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