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fandomweekly2026-01-05 11:32 am
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2026-01-05 11:32 am
Entry tags:
[#285] NOTHING CHANGES (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #285 - Fresh start
Title: Nothing changes
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Gwen is excited to see the unveiling of the brand new Torchwood hub, but it isn’t what she expected.
‘Keep your eyes closed,’ Jack told Gwen as he led her by the hand.
‘They're closed,’ she promised, squinting whenever she thought he might not be looking.
‘Watch your step here,’ he said, helping her up o to throw flagstones where she broke her promise completely, finding herself standing upon the large flagstone in front of that water tower. The sound of the water trickling down its surface had given the game away.
‘Same old secret entrance?’ she asked, letting Jack slide his arm around her waist as he flipped open his wrist strap and the heavy stone lurched downward, disappearing them beneath the Plass without a single person noticing. His other hand covered her eyes, since she couldn't be trusted to keep them shut.
‘I like the big reveal,’ he whispered in her ear as the stone rumbled ever downward. He didn't wait too long before removing his hand, revealing the newly reconstructed hub. It had been almost a year in the making but now she finally got to see it again. Her home away from home.
The place took Gwen's breath away. She arced her head slowly from left to right taking it all in. ‘But it looks…’
‘Exactly like the old place?’ Jack said. ‘You were expecting shiny and new, weren't you?’
‘I wasn't sure what I was expecting,’ Gwen replied.
‘Just not this,’ Jack replied.
‘You never did like change, did you?’ Gwen said with a smirk.
‘Plenty of change in the last hundred and fifty years,’ Jack said. ‘Why add to it?’
The lift came to a thunk at the bottom of the hub and they stepped off. She could feel Jack’s eyes on her as she took her first tentative steps, running a hand over the railings, feeling the cool metal underneath. Of course some things had to be new – or at least not old. She couldn't feel the chipped paintwork on the railing anymore; this new one was without a scrap of paint on it, not shiny and golden and bright yellow. Even the markings on the floor warning of edges and steps were deliberately repainted, then scuffed.
‘So, you hate it right?’ Jack said. ‘You expected modern twenty-first century advancements and you got this instead.’
‘No, I love it.’
Jack nodded. ‘Okay, well, I've got a few phone calls to make. Feel free to take a look around.’ He gave her a wink. ‘I doubt you'll get lost.’
Gwen took her time, reacquainting herself with the place that had become central to her life. It was all at once new and familiar, picking out small details that she’d barely noticed in all the time she’d worked here, yet she knew belonged. Even her desk was as if she’d never left it, right down to the photo of Owen and Tosh pinned to the edge of the screen. Her heart sank a little as she realised there were some things Jack could never replace.
She let herself wander up and down, the cells and morgue remade anew, destroyed in the blast, but the archives had survived, too far down to be more than a little toppled by the cave in from rubble above.
Eventually she went all the way up, and gasped as she came out into the old tourist office. The brochures sat in their holders, crisp and glossy and new. She moved around behind the desk and fingered the beaded curtain, plastic beads gently clacking. On the counter top sat a nice flat screen computer to replace the clunky, boxy screen that had been there before. Apart from that, everything else appeared just as it always had. Every single detail painstakingly replicated, right down to the three clocks on the wall, all with Cardiff local time, to the glass cabinet full of Buckingham Palace endorsed collectable fine china teacups and saucers, always for sale, never purchased.
She let her hand run across the surface of the desk, picturing the man who had so often sat behind it until she met with the souvenirs and pamphlet holders once more. She picked up a tiny snow globe and tipped it upside down, watching silver glitter flutter down over a snarling dragon.
‘Thought I might find you up here,’ Jack said, suddenly leaning in the doorway.
‘It's exactly how I remember it. I thought that maybe…’
Jack shrugged. ‘What can I say? I'm forever the optimist.’ He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes.
Gwen felt that same sadness well up inside her. She wanted to touch his arm and say he'll be back, but she wasn't sure that was true. It had been close to a year and Ianto had a new life and a new job in London. She'd wandered around the bay, drinking coffee with him when he visited, and she didn't get any sense that he wanted to come back. Not even for Jack. Torchwood had claimed his life once and he wasn't ready to try his luck on surviving a second time. It was one thing when the hub had been under construction and Jack was living with Ianto in London every other day but now how much would they see of each other? One day a week? Could their relationship survive that?
‘It'll be different this time,’ Jack promised her. ‘It has to be. A fresh start for us.’
‘And you're okay with that?’
Jack shrugged her off with a smile. ‘New year, new me,’ he said, then the smile dropped from his face. ‘I'll be fine. I have to respect what he wants.’
Gwen wondered if Ianto had seen that face; the one that said he was anything but okay with this. She couldn't picture Ianto letting Jack hurt like this whilst maintaining that they'd be okay working apart in different cities. ‘It won't be easy, she replied.’ Not for her with a little one under six months, and not for Jack.
‘Easy is overrated,’ he replied. ‘Besides, Torchwood always finds a way to survive.’
Title: Nothing changes
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Gwen is excited to see the unveiling of the brand new Torchwood hub, but it isn’t what she expected.
‘Keep your eyes closed,’ Jack told Gwen as he led her by the hand.
‘They're closed,’ she promised, squinting whenever she thought he might not be looking.
‘Watch your step here,’ he said, helping her up o to throw flagstones where she broke her promise completely, finding herself standing upon the large flagstone in front of that water tower. The sound of the water trickling down its surface had given the game away.
‘Same old secret entrance?’ she asked, letting Jack slide his arm around her waist as he flipped open his wrist strap and the heavy stone lurched downward, disappearing them beneath the Plass without a single person noticing. His other hand covered her eyes, since she couldn't be trusted to keep them shut.
‘I like the big reveal,’ he whispered in her ear as the stone rumbled ever downward. He didn't wait too long before removing his hand, revealing the newly reconstructed hub. It had been almost a year in the making but now she finally got to see it again. Her home away from home.
The place took Gwen's breath away. She arced her head slowly from left to right taking it all in. ‘But it looks…’
‘Exactly like the old place?’ Jack said. ‘You were expecting shiny and new, weren't you?’
‘I wasn't sure what I was expecting,’ Gwen replied.
‘Just not this,’ Jack replied.
‘You never did like change, did you?’ Gwen said with a smirk.
‘Plenty of change in the last hundred and fifty years,’ Jack said. ‘Why add to it?’
The lift came to a thunk at the bottom of the hub and they stepped off. She could feel Jack’s eyes on her as she took her first tentative steps, running a hand over the railings, feeling the cool metal underneath. Of course some things had to be new – or at least not old. She couldn't feel the chipped paintwork on the railing anymore; this new one was without a scrap of paint on it, not shiny and golden and bright yellow. Even the markings on the floor warning of edges and steps were deliberately repainted, then scuffed.
‘So, you hate it right?’ Jack said. ‘You expected modern twenty-first century advancements and you got this instead.’
‘No, I love it.’
Jack nodded. ‘Okay, well, I've got a few phone calls to make. Feel free to take a look around.’ He gave her a wink. ‘I doubt you'll get lost.’
Gwen took her time, reacquainting herself with the place that had become central to her life. It was all at once new and familiar, picking out small details that she’d barely noticed in all the time she’d worked here, yet she knew belonged. Even her desk was as if she’d never left it, right down to the photo of Owen and Tosh pinned to the edge of the screen. Her heart sank a little as she realised there were some things Jack could never replace.
She let herself wander up and down, the cells and morgue remade anew, destroyed in the blast, but the archives had survived, too far down to be more than a little toppled by the cave in from rubble above.
Eventually she went all the way up, and gasped as she came out into the old tourist office. The brochures sat in their holders, crisp and glossy and new. She moved around behind the desk and fingered the beaded curtain, plastic beads gently clacking. On the counter top sat a nice flat screen computer to replace the clunky, boxy screen that had been there before. Apart from that, everything else appeared just as it always had. Every single detail painstakingly replicated, right down to the three clocks on the wall, all with Cardiff local time, to the glass cabinet full of Buckingham Palace endorsed collectable fine china teacups and saucers, always for sale, never purchased.
She let her hand run across the surface of the desk, picturing the man who had so often sat behind it until she met with the souvenirs and pamphlet holders once more. She picked up a tiny snow globe and tipped it upside down, watching silver glitter flutter down over a snarling dragon.
‘Thought I might find you up here,’ Jack said, suddenly leaning in the doorway.
‘It's exactly how I remember it. I thought that maybe…’
Jack shrugged. ‘What can I say? I'm forever the optimist.’ He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes.
Gwen felt that same sadness well up inside her. She wanted to touch his arm and say he'll be back, but she wasn't sure that was true. It had been close to a year and Ianto had a new life and a new job in London. She'd wandered around the bay, drinking coffee with him when he visited, and she didn't get any sense that he wanted to come back. Not even for Jack. Torchwood had claimed his life once and he wasn't ready to try his luck on surviving a second time. It was one thing when the hub had been under construction and Jack was living with Ianto in London every other day but now how much would they see of each other? One day a week? Could their relationship survive that?
‘It'll be different this time,’ Jack promised her. ‘It has to be. A fresh start for us.’
‘And you're okay with that?’
Jack shrugged her off with a smile. ‘New year, new me,’ he said, then the smile dropped from his face. ‘I'll be fine. I have to respect what he wants.’
Gwen wondered if Ianto had seen that face; the one that said he was anything but okay with this. She couldn't picture Ianto letting Jack hurt like this whilst maintaining that they'd be okay working apart in different cities. ‘It won't be easy, she replied.’ Not for her with a little one under six months, and not for Jack.
‘Easy is overrated,’ he replied. ‘Besides, Torchwood always finds a way to survive.’
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