Footnotes -- The Clockwise Man
Nov. 3rd, 2008 04:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gracie_musicaTitle: Footnotes
Chapter One: The Clockwise Man
Date Written: 11/1/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 2,501
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Owen/OFC, Jack/Ianto, Repple (NDA), Gwen, Tosh
Spoilers: For the Ninth Doctor Adventure novel The Clockwise Man
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Thanks so very much to my darling betas![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
totally4ryo and katestamps. Oh dear, DSoS is through, whatever will I do with myself? Oh yes. NaNo series!
Summaries for the books can be found at Wikipedia, at the Doctor Who wiki, and at Doctorwhoguide.com.
Owen Harper swore -- loudly -- when his cell phone went off. He reached over for his mobile and didn't even bother checking the ID. There was only one person who would call him at three fifteen in the morning. "What the fuck do you want, Harkness?" he hissed.
Jack's amused chuckle did not improve his mood. "Good morning, Owen. Need you to come in."
"Oh fuck no," Owen swore, then lowered his voice immediately. "Tosh swore tonight would be quiet."
"Which is why I was out hunting with Ianto," Jack said, in a fatherly, 'shut up and do it now' tone.
Owen resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What the fuck those two got up to during their so-called Weevil hunts, he really didn't care. As long as he wasn't the one who got the call to bail them out. Again.
Although Ianto had been pretty embarrassed and rather subdued for about a week.
"What, did the Tea Boy break a nail? Y'know, some of us are mere mortals," Owen complained. "Some of us actually need sleep."
"And I wouldn't be calling you in if it wasn't truly important," Jack replied. "And why are you whispering?"
"Not that it is any of your business," he ground out, "but I am entertaining."
"Oooh..." There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Well, that changes everything," Jack declared.
Owen closed his eyes and thanked whatever deity was listening. Maybe shagging Ianto on a regular basis was doing their captain some good. Maybe he'd recall how nice it was to have someone warm in the bed next to you, especially after going to bed alone most of the time.
"I'll give you fifteen minutes instead of ten," Jack said. "Wake her up, give her money for a cab, and call her in the morning."
"Jack -- " Owen started to protest, but the immortal had already disconnected the call. Owen swore again and threw the phone across the room. Sodding getting laid regularly bastard.
The body next to him stirred a little, but didn't awaken. What was her name again. Jean? Janice? Janette? Some G/J sounding name. Probably. Didn't matter, really. "Hey," he said, reaching over to shake her shoulder. "You can't stay here," he told her.
She groaned a little and sat up, the sheet falling down to gather around her waist. Oh hey, she did have nice tits. "You're kicking me out?"
"Sorry," Owen said, snagging his boxers off the floor. "Gotta go in to work."
"Oh yeah," she muttered, pushing her bleach-blonde hair back from her face with one hand. "You're a doctor, right?"
He had to think for a moment about how she knew that before he remembered that he'd used his profession as a pick-up line. They lined up when you told them you were a doctor or a lawyer. "Yeah," he told her, scooping up her dress off the floor and tossing it at her.
She caught it and pulled it over her head. He turned away to finish pulling on clothes, and turned back to find her writing her phone number on his mirror in her lipstick. She wrote her name over the digits; Jade. She smiled at him through the mirror. "So what's your specialty, Doctor?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Owen replied, going for his wallet.
-----
Ianto met him at the information booth with a mug of perfect coffee (one sugar, touch of milk) and a smile that shouldn't be displayed by someone still at work at three in the morning. He had a plaster on his forehead directly over his left eye. Owen arched an eyebrow, regarding the Welshman carefully as he drained his cup.
"If that is why Jack called me in," Owen said, nodding at the plaster, "I will kill him. Slowly."
Ianto chuckled a little, taking the mug back. He offered Owen a donut as they walked down to the main Hub. "Minor scrape," he reassured Owen. "Your patient's in the medical bay."
"A Weevil autopsy could have waited," Owen snapped.
"This patient's alive," Ianto said. Owen raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but was quiet so Ianto continued. "We were out hunting a Weevil, when one attacked a man in the park. Smacked his head a little."
"So instead of taking him to A & E, you woke me up to come in?" Owen said sarcastically.
"He'll also need a dose of Retcon," Ianto replied placidly. No fun. He wanted a fight, but Tea Boy wasn't giving him one.
"How is he?" Owen asked as the blast door rolled back.
"Jack's sitting up with him," Ianto reported. "He seems lucid enough, but we wanted to make sure he didn't have a concussion before sending him off."
"Right." Owen made a beeline for the medical bay, and almost tripped over something moving. He looked about and saw a streak of black zoom through the Hub. "What the hell?"
"The cat came in with him," Ianto replied with a shrug. "Refused to leave him. Harmless enough."
"... Right," Owen drawled and hurried down the steps. Jack was leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest as he chatted with his patient. The man had black hair and a handsome face that was smiling at something the Captain was saying. There was something off about the man, something rather similar to the sense he got off of Jack; he was much older than he looked, and had a sort of classic air about him.
"And this is Dr. Harper," Jack said, holding a hand out towards Owen. "He's going to check you over. Owen, this is Mr. Repple," he introduced.
"Really, there's no need," Repple said, holding up his hands. English accent, but Owen couldn't place it. "I'm perfectly fine."
"I pulled him out of bed just for you," Jack defended. Owen glared as he shrugged his lab coat on, and the Captain smiled and continued. "For my sake, let him take a look at you."
"I oughta kill you anyway," Owen grumbled. When he turned back towards Repple, he noticed that the man looked incredibly uneasy. He held up his hands in a nonthreatening gesture. "Steady mate, I just need to check you over, make sure everything's ticking properly."
At that, Repple threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing about the tiled room. Owen looked over at Jack, who shrugged.
"Trust me, sir," he said once he'd gotten a handle on himself again, "the ticking isn't the problem."
-----
Jack and Ianto went to go get some more coffee, leaving Owen to check out Repple. The man was completely polite, referring to him as "Doctor Harper" and answering all of his questions promptly. ("Where are you from?" "London, Doctor Harper. And you, where are you from?")
"I'm just going to do a quick scan, make sure you don't have any lasting injuries," Owen said, grabbing the Bekaran scanner off his instrument tray. Repple looked a touch paler than he had when Owen first saw him, but didn't say anything as the doctor pressed the scanner to his head. He thumbed the scanner, planning on zooming in to make sure there was no internal bleeding.
Owen blinked at the image on the screen, frowning. He pulled it away and shook it in front of his hand, making sure it was working correctly. He could see the bones and ligaments in his hands, see the blood pumping through his hand. Frowning, he put the scanner back up against Repple's head.
The inside of his head was made up of gears, like the inside of a clock. He could see the part moving, wheels clicking along in regular time.
"JACK!"
-----
"Is there anything I can get you, sir?" Ianto, ever the professional, asked. Owen had to fight a glare. No one should be so functional at four in the morning.
"I don't need anything," Mr. Repple replied, "but a glass of water wouldn't go amiss."
Ianto went over to the small coffeemaker in the corner of the meeting room. Jack leaned in on his elbows, regarding the man. "Android with a human brain," he guessed.
"That's impossible," Owen said before Repple could reply. "Scanned him from head to toe. He's all mechanical."
The man nodded. "He's correct, Captain."
Ianto set a glass of water at Repple's elbow before handing over the coffee. Repple nodded his thanks before turning to Jack. "Captain, have you ever heard of Katurian Empire?"
"I've heard stories," Jack admitted. Across the table from them, Ianto pulled out his PDA and started going through the Hub's computer. "Humanoid but nowhere near human looking." He grinned at Owen. "We'd spot them a mile away if they landed here."
"For us, that's saying something," Owen deadpanned, nursing his coffee.
Jack narrowed his eyes, but continued. "Peaceful democracy for years and years after the downfall of a dictator..." He snapped his fingers as he thought back, eyes rolling upwards. "... Vessily, I think."
"There was an incident involving the Katurians in 1924, in London," Ianto spoke up, thumbing through the file. "It involved the Doctor and..." he paused and licked his lips. "...and Ms. Tyler."
Jack nodded. "I think I've heard this story before."
"Well, I'm in the dark," Owen said. "So I'd like some answers, please."
Repple smiled at him. "Of course, Doctor Harper. The Katurian Empire was built and ruled by a man named Shade Vessily, as Captain Harkness said. From what I have come to understand, he was a very cruel dictator. Eventually, as things happen in that situation, a faction rebelled and overthrew him. The last act of the government Vessily had installed before they were overthrown was to banish Vessily to a more primitive planet as a punishment."
"I, for one, am frankly getting insulted that Earth is considered a primitive planet," Owen said, looking at Jack.
"You'll catch up in a few centuries," the Captain reassured him. "But how does any of that relate to why you're here?"
"Mr. Repple here was sent as a decoy, in case the resistance tracked him down here," Ianto said, not looking up from his PDA screen. "Which they apparently did. Says here that Vessily attempted to turn Big Ben into a spaceship to get off-planet." He paused and looked over at Repple. "There were guards sent as well."
Repple nodded. "Two. Aske, who was my guard. The true guard for Vessily, however, was the cat."
"The cat?" Jack asked. "You mean the cat out in our Hub?"
"Oh yes, but it's harmless," Repple said. "It only attacks if he's threatened."
"Attacks... how, exactly?" Owen asked. "I assume it's not just a cat."
"No, it's robotic as well," Repple verified. "Normally attacks with lasers, although it's got some terrible claws as well."
"Myfanwy likes fluffy things," Ianto reminded Jack.
"Right." Jack clapped his hands. "Mr. Repple, if you would be so kind as to catch your cat?"
Repple nodded and stood. Jack nodded at Owen, and he stood as well, moving to watch Repple move about the Hub. He stood outside the door and watched the mechanical man walk about the Hub, whistling softly for the cat.
"How's your head?" he heard Jack ask in a low tone. He resisted looking over his shoulder, giving Jack and Ianto their privacy.
"Well enough," Ianto's reply was just as quiet.
"No pain?" The worry was evident in Jack's voice.
"Nothing an aspirin can't sort out." Ianto's reply was affectionate, amused even.
He looked over his shoulder when he heard some movement and noticed that Jack had moved around the table to stand next to Ianto. He was leaning over and pressing his lips gently against the plaster over Ianto's forehead. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the look of fondness on the Tea Boy's face.
"Jack, it's just a scratch," Ianto was saying. "And I didn't even get it from the Weevil. I got it because I wasn't paying attention and got blindsided by a branch."
"Blinded is just about right," Jack said. "And I still get to worry about you."
Down on the floor, Repple had caught the cat and was stroking its ears. Owen sighed as he watched the man start towards the stairs again. "I'll give the Tea Boy a once over too, okay? Now can you stop being so sickening before I have to go give myself an insulin shot?"
Jack chuckled, but didn't move. Ianto met Owen's gaze levelly, but didn't say anything. No fun. He used to be able to get the younger man all flustered when he'd imply things about him and Jack.
He had the scar in his shoulder to prove it.
"What are we going to do with Mr. Repple?" Ianto asked as the man showed up as if summoned.
"If the Doctor -- and Torchwood 1924 -- let him free, he can't be that much of a threat," Jack reasoned.
"So I am free to leave then, Captain Harkness?" Repple asked. The cat looked at Owen curiously and leaned over to butt its head against his arm. Friendly guard, then.
"I do have just one request before you go," Jack said. "If you don't mind," he added.
"Depends on the request, Captain," Repple replied.
"Nothing horrible, just... time consuming," the immortal reassured him.
The man's face split into a smile. "Time, I have."
-----
Tosh and Gwen came down together, laughing about something or other. Owen didn't look up from his computer screen, throwing a careless wave over his shoulder. Repple -- and the cat -- had agreed to a series of full scans. The machines were running their thing, leaving Owen free to look at the completed scans and compare their makeup to flesh and blood animals. He was giving it ten more minutes before he fobbed it off to Tosh (who would probably have an orgasm over all the intricate tech) and went surfing for porn to push Ianto's buttons.
"Aw, look at the kitty!" Gwen cried. Owen looked over his shoulder to see both girls bending down to run their hands over its back. The cat was purring and arching into their touch, clearly loving the attention.
"Did Myfanwy adopt another stray?" Tosh asked, pushing her hair out of the way to look over at Owen.
"Oh, I hope she doesn't end up eating this one," Gwen agreed. "He's a cutie, he is."
"No it's not," Owen said loudly. "The cat is annoying."
The Tea Boy, of course, chose that precise moment to turn up with coffee for the girls. "Don't kick it," he reminded in that deadpan voice of his, handing over their respective mugs, "it fires lasers."
Gwen and Tosh froze with their cups halfway to their mouths. "... Seriously?" they both asked in unison.
"From it's eyes," Ianto verified.
Gwen took a giant step backwards. Tosh turned big eyes down on the ball of fur currently rubbing against her ankle.
Ha. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.
Chapter One: The Clockwise Man
Date Written: 11/1/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 2,501
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Owen/OFC, Jack/Ianto, Repple (NDA), Gwen, Tosh
Spoilers: For the Ninth Doctor Adventure novel The Clockwise Man
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Thanks so very much to my darling betas
totally4ryo and katestamps. Oh dear, DSoS is through, whatever will I do with myself? Oh yes. NaNo series!Summaries for the books can be found at Wikipedia, at the Doctor Who wiki, and at Doctorwhoguide.com.
Owen Harper swore -- loudly -- when his cell phone went off. He reached over for his mobile and didn't even bother checking the ID. There was only one person who would call him at three fifteen in the morning. "What the fuck do you want, Harkness?" he hissed.
Jack's amused chuckle did not improve his mood. "Good morning, Owen. Need you to come in."
"Oh fuck no," Owen swore, then lowered his voice immediately. "Tosh swore tonight would be quiet."
"Which is why I was out hunting with Ianto," Jack said, in a fatherly, 'shut up and do it now' tone.
Owen resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What the fuck those two got up to during their so-called Weevil hunts, he really didn't care. As long as he wasn't the one who got the call to bail them out. Again.
Although Ianto had been pretty embarrassed and rather subdued for about a week.
"What, did the Tea Boy break a nail? Y'know, some of us are mere mortals," Owen complained. "Some of us actually need sleep."
"And I wouldn't be calling you in if it wasn't truly important," Jack replied. "And why are you whispering?"
"Not that it is any of your business," he ground out, "but I am entertaining."
"Oooh..." There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Well, that changes everything," Jack declared.
Owen closed his eyes and thanked whatever deity was listening. Maybe shagging Ianto on a regular basis was doing their captain some good. Maybe he'd recall how nice it was to have someone warm in the bed next to you, especially after going to bed alone most of the time.
"I'll give you fifteen minutes instead of ten," Jack said. "Wake her up, give her money for a cab, and call her in the morning."
"Jack -- " Owen started to protest, but the immortal had already disconnected the call. Owen swore again and threw the phone across the room. Sodding getting laid regularly bastard.
The body next to him stirred a little, but didn't awaken. What was her name again. Jean? Janice? Janette? Some G/J sounding name. Probably. Didn't matter, really. "Hey," he said, reaching over to shake her shoulder. "You can't stay here," he told her.
She groaned a little and sat up, the sheet falling down to gather around her waist. Oh hey, she did have nice tits. "You're kicking me out?"
"Sorry," Owen said, snagging his boxers off the floor. "Gotta go in to work."
"Oh yeah," she muttered, pushing her bleach-blonde hair back from her face with one hand. "You're a doctor, right?"
He had to think for a moment about how she knew that before he remembered that he'd used his profession as a pick-up line. They lined up when you told them you were a doctor or a lawyer. "Yeah," he told her, scooping up her dress off the floor and tossing it at her.
She caught it and pulled it over her head. He turned away to finish pulling on clothes, and turned back to find her writing her phone number on his mirror in her lipstick. She wrote her name over the digits; Jade. She smiled at him through the mirror. "So what's your specialty, Doctor?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Owen replied, going for his wallet.
-----
Ianto met him at the information booth with a mug of perfect coffee (one sugar, touch of milk) and a smile that shouldn't be displayed by someone still at work at three in the morning. He had a plaster on his forehead directly over his left eye. Owen arched an eyebrow, regarding the Welshman carefully as he drained his cup.
"If that is why Jack called me in," Owen said, nodding at the plaster, "I will kill him. Slowly."
Ianto chuckled a little, taking the mug back. He offered Owen a donut as they walked down to the main Hub. "Minor scrape," he reassured Owen. "Your patient's in the medical bay."
"A Weevil autopsy could have waited," Owen snapped.
"This patient's alive," Ianto said. Owen raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but was quiet so Ianto continued. "We were out hunting a Weevil, when one attacked a man in the park. Smacked his head a little."
"So instead of taking him to A & E, you woke me up to come in?" Owen said sarcastically.
"He'll also need a dose of Retcon," Ianto replied placidly. No fun. He wanted a fight, but Tea Boy wasn't giving him one.
"How is he?" Owen asked as the blast door rolled back.
"Jack's sitting up with him," Ianto reported. "He seems lucid enough, but we wanted to make sure he didn't have a concussion before sending him off."
"Right." Owen made a beeline for the medical bay, and almost tripped over something moving. He looked about and saw a streak of black zoom through the Hub. "What the hell?"
"The cat came in with him," Ianto replied with a shrug. "Refused to leave him. Harmless enough."
"... Right," Owen drawled and hurried down the steps. Jack was leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest as he chatted with his patient. The man had black hair and a handsome face that was smiling at something the Captain was saying. There was something off about the man, something rather similar to the sense he got off of Jack; he was much older than he looked, and had a sort of classic air about him.
"And this is Dr. Harper," Jack said, holding a hand out towards Owen. "He's going to check you over. Owen, this is Mr. Repple," he introduced.
"Really, there's no need," Repple said, holding up his hands. English accent, but Owen couldn't place it. "I'm perfectly fine."
"I pulled him out of bed just for you," Jack defended. Owen glared as he shrugged his lab coat on, and the Captain smiled and continued. "For my sake, let him take a look at you."
"I oughta kill you anyway," Owen grumbled. When he turned back towards Repple, he noticed that the man looked incredibly uneasy. He held up his hands in a nonthreatening gesture. "Steady mate, I just need to check you over, make sure everything's ticking properly."
At that, Repple threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing about the tiled room. Owen looked over at Jack, who shrugged.
"Trust me, sir," he said once he'd gotten a handle on himself again, "the ticking isn't the problem."
-----
Jack and Ianto went to go get some more coffee, leaving Owen to check out Repple. The man was completely polite, referring to him as "Doctor Harper" and answering all of his questions promptly. ("Where are you from?" "London, Doctor Harper. And you, where are you from?")
"I'm just going to do a quick scan, make sure you don't have any lasting injuries," Owen said, grabbing the Bekaran scanner off his instrument tray. Repple looked a touch paler than he had when Owen first saw him, but didn't say anything as the doctor pressed the scanner to his head. He thumbed the scanner, planning on zooming in to make sure there was no internal bleeding.
Owen blinked at the image on the screen, frowning. He pulled it away and shook it in front of his hand, making sure it was working correctly. He could see the bones and ligaments in his hands, see the blood pumping through his hand. Frowning, he put the scanner back up against Repple's head.
The inside of his head was made up of gears, like the inside of a clock. He could see the part moving, wheels clicking along in regular time.
"JACK!"
-----
"Is there anything I can get you, sir?" Ianto, ever the professional, asked. Owen had to fight a glare. No one should be so functional at four in the morning.
"I don't need anything," Mr. Repple replied, "but a glass of water wouldn't go amiss."
Ianto went over to the small coffeemaker in the corner of the meeting room. Jack leaned in on his elbows, regarding the man. "Android with a human brain," he guessed.
"That's impossible," Owen said before Repple could reply. "Scanned him from head to toe. He's all mechanical."
The man nodded. "He's correct, Captain."
Ianto set a glass of water at Repple's elbow before handing over the coffee. Repple nodded his thanks before turning to Jack. "Captain, have you ever heard of Katurian Empire?"
"I've heard stories," Jack admitted. Across the table from them, Ianto pulled out his PDA and started going through the Hub's computer. "Humanoid but nowhere near human looking." He grinned at Owen. "We'd spot them a mile away if they landed here."
"For us, that's saying something," Owen deadpanned, nursing his coffee.
Jack narrowed his eyes, but continued. "Peaceful democracy for years and years after the downfall of a dictator..." He snapped his fingers as he thought back, eyes rolling upwards. "... Vessily, I think."
"There was an incident involving the Katurians in 1924, in London," Ianto spoke up, thumbing through the file. "It involved the Doctor and..." he paused and licked his lips. "...and Ms. Tyler."
Jack nodded. "I think I've heard this story before."
"Well, I'm in the dark," Owen said. "So I'd like some answers, please."
Repple smiled at him. "Of course, Doctor Harper. The Katurian Empire was built and ruled by a man named Shade Vessily, as Captain Harkness said. From what I have come to understand, he was a very cruel dictator. Eventually, as things happen in that situation, a faction rebelled and overthrew him. The last act of the government Vessily had installed before they were overthrown was to banish Vessily to a more primitive planet as a punishment."
"I, for one, am frankly getting insulted that Earth is considered a primitive planet," Owen said, looking at Jack.
"You'll catch up in a few centuries," the Captain reassured him. "But how does any of that relate to why you're here?"
"Mr. Repple here was sent as a decoy, in case the resistance tracked him down here," Ianto said, not looking up from his PDA screen. "Which they apparently did. Says here that Vessily attempted to turn Big Ben into a spaceship to get off-planet." He paused and looked over at Repple. "There were guards sent as well."
Repple nodded. "Two. Aske, who was my guard. The true guard for Vessily, however, was the cat."
"The cat?" Jack asked. "You mean the cat out in our Hub?"
"Oh yes, but it's harmless," Repple said. "It only attacks if he's threatened."
"Attacks... how, exactly?" Owen asked. "I assume it's not just a cat."
"No, it's robotic as well," Repple verified. "Normally attacks with lasers, although it's got some terrible claws as well."
"Myfanwy likes fluffy things," Ianto reminded Jack.
"Right." Jack clapped his hands. "Mr. Repple, if you would be so kind as to catch your cat?"
Repple nodded and stood. Jack nodded at Owen, and he stood as well, moving to watch Repple move about the Hub. He stood outside the door and watched the mechanical man walk about the Hub, whistling softly for the cat.
"How's your head?" he heard Jack ask in a low tone. He resisted looking over his shoulder, giving Jack and Ianto their privacy.
"Well enough," Ianto's reply was just as quiet.
"No pain?" The worry was evident in Jack's voice.
"Nothing an aspirin can't sort out." Ianto's reply was affectionate, amused even.
He looked over his shoulder when he heard some movement and noticed that Jack had moved around the table to stand next to Ianto. He was leaning over and pressing his lips gently against the plaster over Ianto's forehead. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the look of fondness on the Tea Boy's face.
"Jack, it's just a scratch," Ianto was saying. "And I didn't even get it from the Weevil. I got it because I wasn't paying attention and got blindsided by a branch."
"Blinded is just about right," Jack said. "And I still get to worry about you."
Down on the floor, Repple had caught the cat and was stroking its ears. Owen sighed as he watched the man start towards the stairs again. "I'll give the Tea Boy a once over too, okay? Now can you stop being so sickening before I have to go give myself an insulin shot?"
Jack chuckled, but didn't move. Ianto met Owen's gaze levelly, but didn't say anything. No fun. He used to be able to get the younger man all flustered when he'd imply things about him and Jack.
He had the scar in his shoulder to prove it.
"What are we going to do with Mr. Repple?" Ianto asked as the man showed up as if summoned.
"If the Doctor -- and Torchwood 1924 -- let him free, he can't be that much of a threat," Jack reasoned.
"So I am free to leave then, Captain Harkness?" Repple asked. The cat looked at Owen curiously and leaned over to butt its head against his arm. Friendly guard, then.
"I do have just one request before you go," Jack said. "If you don't mind," he added.
"Depends on the request, Captain," Repple replied.
"Nothing horrible, just... time consuming," the immortal reassured him.
The man's face split into a smile. "Time, I have."
-----
Tosh and Gwen came down together, laughing about something or other. Owen didn't look up from his computer screen, throwing a careless wave over his shoulder. Repple -- and the cat -- had agreed to a series of full scans. The machines were running their thing, leaving Owen free to look at the completed scans and compare their makeup to flesh and blood animals. He was giving it ten more minutes before he fobbed it off to Tosh (who would probably have an orgasm over all the intricate tech) and went surfing for porn to push Ianto's buttons.
"Aw, look at the kitty!" Gwen cried. Owen looked over his shoulder to see both girls bending down to run their hands over its back. The cat was purring and arching into their touch, clearly loving the attention.
"Did Myfanwy adopt another stray?" Tosh asked, pushing her hair out of the way to look over at Owen.
"Oh, I hope she doesn't end up eating this one," Gwen agreed. "He's a cutie, he is."
"No it's not," Owen said loudly. "The cat is annoying."
The Tea Boy, of course, chose that precise moment to turn up with coffee for the girls. "Don't kick it," he reminded in that deadpan voice of his, handing over their respective mugs, "it fires lasers."
Gwen and Tosh froze with their cups halfway to their mouths. "... Seriously?" they both asked in unison.
"From it's eyes," Ianto verified.
Gwen took a giant step backwards. Tosh turned big eyes down on the ball of fur currently rubbing against her ankle.
Ha. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.
