A Question of Time

(Author’s Note: In this universe Ianto didn’t work for Torchwood One when the Cybermen/Daleks invaded… so Lisa PROBABLY died. So no Cyberwoman episode.)

Rachel knew that she was in Cardiff, in the house and bed that she shared with Ianto Jones, Head of Torchwood Three… however right now her emotions, her feelings… everything was telling her she was in a distant time and place…

Dust hung heavy in the air around her, a train whistle blew and the train car shook as it moved. All around her there were men in soldiers uniforms… and those men were dying, one by one. Starting at the back of the train and moving towards her, man after man fell back, creating a horrifying silence in the car.

Rachel found herself looking down at one of the dead men, as her vision seemed to gain a red tint… the men lay back against bales of hay, their mouths stuffed with something red… one of the dead men’s head rolled forward and red rose petals fell out.

Rachel woke silently and she did not sit up. Neither sound nor movement woke Ianto. He was woken by an echo of terror which had passed from Rachel to him through their mating bond.

“What is it?” Ianto whispered, reaching out to wrap his arms around Rachel.

“Trouble,” the young Time Lady whispered, slowly reaching a hand out towards the bottom of the bed, her hand grasped something that didn’t belong there.

Ianto looked at Rachel’s hand, in which lay a single red rose petal.

“Ianto…” Rachel slowly turned to look at her mate. “You don’t happen to know anyone who's claimed to have seem fairies, do you?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gwen yawned as she passed through the main door and entered the Torchwood Hub. Owen was talking to someone on the phone while Toshiko was staring at a computer screen which had the surveillance tapes form the Hub displayed upon it.

“What’s happening?” Gwen asked as Owen hung up the phone and set it aside.

“Ianto and Rachel are out, something about visiting an old friend,” Owen shrugged as Gwen put down her coat and bag. “Told us to keep an eye on things and call us if there’s an invasion or massive weevil uprising.”

“So nothing’s happened yet?”

“No rift spikes, ufo sightings or weevils. Only a couple of freak weather patterns…” Toshiko trailed off as she stared at the screen.

“What are you looking at Tosh?” Gwen asked as she made her way over to the Japanese woman’s station.

“I was looking over the feeds from last week, when we found that ghost machine,” Toshiko explained, maximizing one of the videos and turning up the sound. “After we all left, Rachel and Ianto stayed behind for a few moments… and I thought what they said was odd.”

Owen and Gwen leaned over Toshiko’s shoulders as the video footage began to play.

“Ray… what you said about the future, how much of that was you simplifying things for us dumb apes?”

“All of it… none of it. We don’t really know anymore. The rulers of time are gone.”

“What do your fathers think? What did they tell you?”

“Certain moments in time are fixed. Everything else is in flux and anything can happen… but those moments have to stand.”

“Then the only problem is figuring out just what moments are fixed.”

“What’s that all about?” Gwen asked, staring at the now paused image of Rachel and Ianto leaving the Hub.

“He’s so bloody secretive!” Owen grumbled.

“They both are,” Toshiko sighed. “Did you know she lives with him?”

“What?” Gwen and Owen blinked, staring at their fellow Torchwood Member.

“Remember when we went Weevil chasing together?” Toshiko asked. “We went to her place so she could get a change of clothing. Ianto’s stuff was all around, the stuff he used to keep in that hole.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So who is this we’re visiting?” Rachel asked as they entered the meeting hall, passing by a poster which read “Fairies: Fact or Fantasy?”

“Her name’s Estelle. She used to look after me when I was little.” Ianto whispered as he took a seat in the back, with Rachel next to him.

An older woman was standing at the front of the room, a photograph of “fairies” projected on to the screen behind her.

“I suppose I'm one of the fortunate few who's been allowed to see our little friends…” Estelle’s face seemed to brighten when she caught a glimpse of Ianto, who smiled back at her. “And it's been no easy task. One needs to have the patience of a saint and the blind faith of a prophet.”

On the screen behind Estelle the Cottingley glass-plate photos were now displayed. “But for me the long wait has been worthwhile,” Estelle stated as the photo changed to one of a ring of stones in the middle of a forest.

“This is my first picture. Not that clear, I know, but the ring of stones can be seen quite distinctly,” Estelle smiled as Ianto and Rachel watched intently… and the photo changed again, to a close up, blurry photo of what appeared to be fairy lights.

“Well, of course, I'm not the world's best photographer. But this little person is just about visible. I was so lucky to have seen them, so privileged to witness such a magical moment. Because fairies are shy, you see. But I know in my heart that they're friendly, loving creatures!” Estelle shut the project off and smiled at the audience. “Thank you.”

“She’s wrong,” Rachel whispered to Ianto as the two moved towards Estelle, who had already prepared the slides for Ianto to look over.

“Ianto Jones, I see you so rarely!” Estelle smiled brightly, turning to look at Rachel. “First he runs off to London and we don’t hear from him for months, then he moves back to Cardiff and I never see him!”

“How horribly rude of you, Ianto,” Rachel smirked at the mock-glare this earned her.

“Estelle, when did you take these?” Ianto asked, gesturing to the photos.

“A couple of nights ago. In Roundstone Wood,” Estelle replied. “It’s nice to see you again… and to meet your girlfriend.”

Rachel, who was not used to being referred to as Ianto’s girlfriend, blushed a bright shade of red. “I wish I could see faries as you do Estelle… but I’m afraid I’ve only see the bad ones.”

“I suppose one person’s good could be somebody else’s evil.” Ianto remarked as he studied the pictures.

“Oh Ianto, if only you had seen them there in the wood. They were happy. They were dancing. The fairy lights were shining!”

“Do you have any more photos?” Ianto asked Estelle, who nodded.

“Yes, at home.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“And that thing Rachel keeps using!” Owen remarked. “Looks like a mini-flashlight, but makes that strange buzzing sound?”

“It’s some sort of hacking device,” Toshiko decided. “But it also seems to fix things… almost like it can do whatever needs to be done.”

Gwen sighed as Toshiko’s fingers flew over the keyboard in front of her. “Perhaps UNIT was trying to breed geniuses.”

Owen laughed as he leaned back in his chair. “Her background is a little sketch,” he remarked. “We’ve seen stranger things at Torchwood!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ianto and Rachel were helping Estelle to carry her things back into her home. The screen got placed against a closet door while Ianto put a stack of book and Estelle’s projector on a table.

Estelle placed her bag on the sofa and turned to look at Ianto as a cat emerged from deeper into the house and nuzzled against Rachel’s legs. “This is Moses.”

“Hello, Moses,” Rachel smiled as Estelle held a portfolio out to Ianto.

“They’re mostly just pictures of the area,’ Estelle explained, picking up Moses as Rachel and Ianto looked through the pictures. “Come on, my darling, it's quite time you went outside, isn't it?” Estelle smiled as she let Moses out of the house.

“Estelle… the next time you see these creatures---” Estelle cut Ianto off.

“I’ll call you immediately,” Estelle smiled gently.

“Night or day, it doesn't matter, just call us.” Rachel smiled at the older woman.

“And be careful, it's important to me…” Ianto smiled as he hugged Estelle goodbye.

Ianto and Rachel left Estelle’s home and headed back to their car. “Estelle shouldn’t be living in town…” Ianto sighed as he slipped behind the wheel. “She belongs in the countryside.”

“How often do you get to see her?” Rachel asked.

“Not as much as I’d like to… Estelle was a sort of honorary grandmother when I was younger,” Ianto explained. “She’s always believed in fairies… but I’ve never had to involve her with Torchwood before.”

“They’re not fairies… not really.”

“What?” Ianto blinked in confusion.

“They’ve never really had a proper name…” Rachel sighed. “Something from the dawn of time - how could you possibly put a name to that?

“Alien?” Ianto asked.

“No… they’re part of our world, but humans know nothing about them. So you pretend that you know what they look like. You see them as happy, imagine they have tiny little wings and they bathe in moonlight.”

“So we’re actually fighting fairies?” Ianto sighed as Rachel nodded. “How worried should I be?”

“No one in my family has run into them,” Rachel sighed. “We’re relaying on second and third hand information… but they’re dangerous, something you can only half see. It’s like a myth, the spirit world and reality all jumbled together.”

Rachel’s eyes seemed to lose their focus, gazing ahead of her without seeing really seeing anything. Ianto quickly glanced over at Rachel, before he was forced to look back at the road.

“Old moment and memories, frozen in with the present… like debris spinning around a ringed planet-- tossing, turning, whirling. Backwards and forwards through time,” Rachel turned to look at Ianto. “We have to find them… before all hell breaks loose.”

… and for the briefest of seconds, Ianto could swear that Rachel’s eyes were glowing gold.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Owen, Gwen and Toshiko had stopped talking about their boss and his second in command just a few seconds before they were alerted that the two were entering the base… now Torchwood Three was in the meeting room, reviewing the Cottingley glass plate photographs.

“I blame it on magic mushrooms,” Owen yawned as Ianto placed a cup of coffee in front of Rachel before taking a sip of his own cup.

“What you do in private is none of our business,” Rachel smirked.

“But these photographs were fake!” Gwen protested.

“Conan Doyle believed in them,” Rachel pointed out.

“Well, he was gaga at the time,” Gwen shrugged.

“And Houdini,” Rachel added.

“Self-publicist,” Gwen replied.

“How do you know so much about it?” Ianto asked.

“I wrote an essay on the Cottingley glass-plate photos when I was at school,” Gwen explained. “Besides, when the girls were old ladies they admitted they were fakes.

“So where was this sighting then?” Toshiko asked as she projected Estelle’s photos up on the wall monitor.

“In a place called Roundstone Wood,” Ianto told his team.

“I know it,” Owen remarked. “Has an odd history.”

“How d'you mean, odd?” Ianto asked.

“It’s always stayed wild. In the ancient times it was considered bad luck to walk in there or even to collect timber. Even the Romans stayed clear of it.”

“I've had no report of any sighting.” Toshiko noted.

“You won't,” Rachel sighed. “These things come in under the radar, but they play tricks with the weather, so set up a program for unnatural weather patterns.”

“Are you saying our machines can't pick them up?” Gwen asked, looking between Rachel and Ianto.

“Nothing can,” Rachel whispered.

Toshiko blinked as she looked down at her laptop. “We’ve got a report… man died in police custody. Four other prisoners nearby, but no one saw anything.”

“Owen, Gwen… go investigate. Toshiko, Rachel, start working on a program to monitor for weather abnormalities. I’ll go through the archives.”

Gwen and Owen nodded and gathered their things before leaving for the Police Station, while Rachel pulled out her computer and Ianto descended into the dusty archives of Torchwood Three.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Deceased is Mark Goodson, worked in town as a business consultant.” Gwen’s voice echoed in the Hub. Ianto had several dusty files which he was looking through with Rachel help, while Toshiko was monitoring the program they’d written to search for weather anomalies.

“Cause of death?” Ianto asked, not looking up from the file he was currently working on.

“Well, going by the pinpoint hemorrhages on the eye-lids and around the hairline, I'd say oxygen deficiency. But it's odd. There's no fingertip bruising on the face, no areas of pallor…” Owen trailed off. “There’s nothing to suggest that pressure was applied. He suffocated alone in a locked cell.”

“Wait a minute…” Gwen muttered, and there was the sound of the two members of Torchwood moving around the cell.

“Flower petals. The man suffocated on flower petals.” Owen stammered. “I’ve never heard of anything like this…”

“I have,” Rachel whispered, her voice so low that not even Ianto could hear her.

“We’re heading back to the Hub,” Owen told Ianto before hanging up.

“Toshiko, can you pull up the CCTV footage?” Ianto asked as he abandoned his files and leaned over Tosh’s shoulder.

“I looked up Mark Goodson… he was a convicted pedophile, used to hang around schools,” Tosh remarked as she brought up the CCTV footage. “The camera isn’t catching whatever it is that killed him… see, he just looks like he’s being attacked by nothing.”

Rachel, Ianto and Toshiko looked over the CCTV footage until Owen and Gwen returned, carrying a bag of the flower petals which had killed the man.

“Why put the petals in his mouth?” Gwen asked Owen as they entered the Hub.

“Just a bit of fun on their part,” Rachel remarked, taking the bag from Gwen and peering at the red rose petals.

“You call that fun?” Gwen spat, glaring at Rachel.

“That’s the way these creatures like to do things. They play games, they torment and they kill…” Rachel paused, peering at the computer screen where the information on Mark Goodson was displayed.

“But why do that?” Toshiko asked, looking up at Rachel.

“As a punishment or a warning to others… They protect their own, the Chosen Ones. Somehow children and the spirit world, they go together.”

“So how do we stop them?” Ianto asked his mate.

“First we have to figure out who they want,” Rachel sighed as she sat down next to Ianto. “We can't trap them. They have control of the elements - fire, water, the air that we breathe. They can drag that air right out of our bodies. My dad thought they might be part Mara…”

“Malignant wraiths,” Ianto explained to his team. “It's where the word ‘nightmare’ came from. They suffocate people in their sleep.”

“I found this file in the archives,” Rachel said, offering copies to the rest of Torchwood. “There was a troop train in 1909. Sixteen men found dead. All had suffocated and had petals in their mouths.”

“How do you know it’s connected?” Toshiko asked as she looked through a copy of the file.

“A week earlier a few of those soldiers got drunk, dove a truck through a village and killed a child. I think that child was a Chosen One. They lost that child, so now they‘re determined not to lose this one… Chosen Children don‘t show up that often.”

“So how do we stop them?” Gwen asked.

“We don’t,” Ianto replied. “We find the Child and protect him or her.”

“Ianto, we’ve got more weird weather!” Toshiko called out, projecting the result upon the wall. “Forecast is sunny, but we’ve got a freak weather pattern at Garreg Primary School.”

“Feed directions to the SUV,” Ianto told Toshiko.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The SUV arrived at the School, but the freak weather patterns had vanished, leaving Torchwood searching for a clue to lead them to the Chosen Child… as Ianto, Gwen, Toshiko and Owen inspected the area, searching for lingering energy traces and such, Rachel found herself staring out at the trees near the fairground.

“I know you’re there… and you know what I am,” Rachel whispered to the seemingly empty air, dropping her natural shields just enough that it was clear that she wasn’t entirely human. “I have read that the children you take are better off for having been taken…”

Rachel shivered as the wind whipped around her. She closed her eyes for a second, as if the Time Lady was struggling to hold back tears. “I see… and I swear upon the blood of Gallifrey, I shall protect her from harm and deliver her to you.”

Rachel nodded respectfully to the empty and air and quickly moved to Ianto and the other members of Torchwood. “Rachel?” Ianto asked, seeing the strangely calm look upon his mate’s face.

“I know who the Chosen Child is… we need to hurry,” Rachel told the team, leading them to the SUV. “Her name is Jasmine Pearce.”

In no time at all the SUV was in front of a modest house, which was decorated for a party. Rachel was the first out of the car and she stood in the front yard, not moving as the rest of Torchwood stood a few steps behind her.

“Why aren’t we going in there?” Gwen asked.

“She’ll come to us,” Rachel replied… and suddenly there appeared a creature in the air in front of her. “Always nice to see what your doing business with,” Rachel murmured as she bowed.

Our last Child was taken from us… our powers are weak. We can not take the child away, she must call upon us. The creature spoke, without opening it’s mouth and without any real “English” being heard… as if something was translating for the members of Torchwood.

“I will explain to Jasmine. You must tell her to trust me, and you must swear upon the blood of your Chosen Child.”

What shall we swear, Lady of Time? the Fairy asked.

“In the future you must only harm those directly responsible for harming your Children. I understand that you were angry, but most of those men on the train had nothing to do with the death of your child.”

We understand Lady of Time. We shall limit our rage and we apoligise… the Wind blew around the members of Torchwood, as if sealing the deal with Rachel. Our Child comes!

A young girl with long blond hair which had been done up in two braids was standing in the doorway of the house, looking at Rachel with sad eyes. “They put a fence up so I can’t visit my friends.” She told Rachel as she slowly walked across the yawn towards the young woman. “And they’re having a new baby… they don‘t want me.”

The little girl sniffed, trying not to cry and Rachel smiled softly, kneeling down and placing a hand on Jasmine’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Jasmine…”

Without a second thought, Jasmine leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Rachel, who effortlessly picked her up. Rachel turned to face Torchwood, the little golden haired girl still in her arms.

The creatures which had been hovering in the air nearby suddenly shifted, their appearance shifting so that they looked like the sort of Fairies which you read about in children’s books. “Your appearance is linked to your emotions…” Ianto realized as he looked between the Fairies and Rachel. “You were afraid and wanted to protect her, so you took on an appearance which would frighten those who wished to harm her.”

The Fairy seemed to nod, before it went back to watching Rachel and Jasmine.

“They say you’re smart,” Jasmine remarked, pulling back from where she’d been resting her head on Rachel’s shoulder. “The forest… it’s magical, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Rachel nodded, before gesturing to the Fairy. “Jasmine, your friends… they want to take you away. They’ll take care of you… but if you go with them you can’t come back here. You can’t see your mother ever again.”

Jasmine look up at Rachel and smiled. “I want to go with them.”

Rachel smiled softly. “Then we need to go to your woods… will you show us the way?”

Jasmine nodded and Rachel set her down. The little girl grabbed Rachel’s hand and pulled her along, around the side of the house, around the fence her step-father had put up and into the woods.

When Jasmine stopped they were in the center of a clearing. Rachel kneeled down next to Jasmine. “Jasmine… I’m sorry that you were so alone. I know you’ll be happy,” Rachel turned to look at the Fairies. “They will keep you safe.”

Rachel’s voice was cold and Ianto felt a shiver run through his body at the thought of what Rachel would do if she ever heard that the Fairies weren’t taking care of Jasmine.

We will keep her safe, throughout Time we will stand guard over her. The Fairies promised.

“What do I do?” Jasmine asked, looking up at Rachel as more and more Fairies appeared in the clearing.

“Go to them… they’ll take you away,” Rachel told Jasmine, giving her one last hug before letting the little girl walk towards her ‘friends’

Gwen seemed like she was about to step forward, but both Owen and Ianto stopped her, while Toshiko just smiled sadly and waved goodbye to the little girl.

The girl stepped up next to the Fairies and their glow seemed to reach out and be transferred to her. She smiled and suddenly she was glowing a ethereal gold. She turned back to Torchwood.

“Thank you, Lady of Time.” Jasmine smiled, her voice changed to be more like that of the Fairies. “You’ll come visit us, won’t you? When you little brothers are born?”

“It may take a bit of arguing with my parents, but I’ll bring them,” Rachel promised.

Jasmine smiled and turned away from Torchwood, skipping off into the woods, the Fairy lights shimmering around her until she herself turned into a fairy light and vanished.

“What the hell was that about?!” Gwen yelled, leaping at Rachel only to be blocked by Ianto, who took the young woman into his arms.

“That girl didn’t belong here… her father’s gone and her mother’s marrying a man who hates her,” Rachel practically growled. “What else could I do!”

“That thing called you a Lady of Time,” Toshiko remarked, her voice only just above a whisper. “It respected you, listened to your demands.”

“How did you do that?” Owen asked, staring at Rachel in confusion as Gwen continued to glare at Rachel.

“The Fairy recognized that I deal with the same forces that they do. They are somewhat attuned to Time… and I’m a Lady of Time,” Rachel replied.

“And what does that mean?” Gwen asked. “How do you become a Lady of time?”

“It’s my race,” Rachel replied. “I’m a Time Lord.”

“You’re an alien?!?” Toshiko gasped.

“Partially,” Rachel replied. “My mother was human.”

“This is a conversation we should be having back at the Hub,” Ianto informed his team, gesturing towards the SUV, which they quickly piled into.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“You’ve all heard stories about the Doctor… you’ve all seen the old documents which regarded him as Torchwood number one enemy.”

The team had returned to the Hub and were now sitting at the large table in the conference room. Ianto and Rachel were sitting at the head of the table, as Ianto tried to explain things to his team.

“Torchwood was founded because the Doctor saved the life of Queen Victoria. Due to a misunderstanding she banished the Doctor from England and established the Torchwood Institute…. the Doctor is not our enemy, he never has been.”

“Why are you telling us about this Doctor?” Gwen asked. “What does it have to do with Rachel lying to us, telling us she was human.”

“Because the Doctor is my father,” Rachel sighed.

“But you said that Rachel’s father helped get you your job!” Toshiko protested, gesturing to Ianto.

“He did. The Doctor was asked to recommend one of her former companions to head up Torchwood Three and he recommended me,” Ianto told his team. “I used to travel with the Doctor, that’s where I met Rachel.”

“So your half- Time Lord?” Owen asked as he read over a paper that Rachel had given him about the medical differences between Time Lords and Humans.

“Actually I’m two-thirds Time Lord and one third humans… I have three parents.” Rachel sighed, leaning back in her chair.

“Three?” Tosh blinked.

“Two Time Lord ‘Fathers’, the Doctor and the Master,” Rachel said, pulling a picture out of her pocket and gesturing to the three men in it. “And my “Mom”, a human male named Jack Harkness.”

“Your mother is a man…” Owen stated, raising one eyebrow.

“He’s from the future,” Ianto attempted to explain.

“So that thing you keep whipping out, that little buzzing thing which fixes stuff…” Tosh trailed off.

“It’s a sonic-laser screwdriver,” Rachel sated, pulling out her screwdriver to show it to Torchwood.

“Screwdriver?” Tosh, Gwen and Owen said as one.

“Yes,” Rachel sighed.

“Rachel is a perfect example of how not all aliens are bad… some are quite good in fact,” Ianto sighed. “She’s save the world… how many times?” He asked, turning to Rachel.

“Earth?” Rachel sighed, trying to figure out the right answer. “Around… 42 times.”

Ianto and Rachel struggled not to laugh as the rest of Torchwood stared at Rachel in amusement… when the team remained in a state of awe, Rachel got up and grabbed her coat, motioning for Ianto to do the same.

“You guys can do the paperwork!” Rachel called out as she and Ianto hightailed it out of the Hub.

TBC

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