m_findlow

Title: Flames of remembrance
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 430 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for paceisthetrick’s prompt "any, any, lanterns on the beach" at fic_promptly
Summary: Jack finds a way to commemorate all the lost souls

Jack had disappeared from the hub early that afternoon. He hadn't said where he was going or when he'd be back. That in itself wasn't unusual, but he'd been acting strangely morose all day. Tosh had told Ianto not to worry, she was sure he'd be back to his old self tomorrow.

When he received the text message on his phone at nine o'clock, he didn't hesitate. It simply gave him coordinates. As his car followed the old coastal road down to the deserted beach that marked the location, he noticed a tiny glimmering of lights which grew brighter as he got nearer.

He got out of the car and proceeded down the scrubby track to the beach itself. Somewhere amongst the twinkling lights that scattered across the beach, he could make out the shadowed outline of Jack's coat, wandering between the lights.

As Ianto made his way across the beach he could see more closely the lights. Each was in fact a tiny paper lantern with a small flame glowing brightly in its centre. It was tied loosely to the one nearest it on each side, and strings of dozens of them littered the sand all the way across the wide stretch of beach.

He stood for a moment just frozen by the sight, and then watching as Jack's shadow carefully bent down and continued lighting the last few.

'What is all this?'

Before Jack could answer, they were joined by Gwen, Tosh and Owen also making their way down the beach.

'I wanted to do something to remember all the people who've been lost because of the rift. It was Tosh's idea actually. One lantern for every soul.'

'How many are there?' Gwen asked quietly.

'Two hundred and fifty seven in the last year.'

No one knew what to say. Had here really been that many?

'They deserve to be remembered.' Tosh stated.

'Yes they do,' Jack replied

Jack tugged at one of the lengths of string, unravelling the clever knot that had held them down on the ground. He walked down the beach tugging at each series of strings, a dozen in all.

Ianto watched as they floated gently upwards. His mam would have described them as angels rising up to heaven. Perhaps that's what they were. Suddenly the whole sky was full of glittering lights, adding to the stars already twinkling.

The five of them sat there and watched the beautiful spectacle, arms wrapped around each other.

Torchwood wasn't about the aliens and the technology. At the end of the day, it was about protecting people.