Torchwood: Fanfic: Lost at sea

[m_findlow]

Title: Lost at sea
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 2,526 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for badly_knitted's prompt "Any, any, lost at sea" at fic_promptly
Summary: The ocean is a big place, full of all kinds of creatures

The boat had exploded underneath them, sending them all headlong into the briny sea, before peppering them with detritus that had blown sky high, now falling back to earth to come and meet the rest of its pieces on the bottom of the sea bed. For a long while, there was nothing but silence and the sound of the waves undulating up and down on the water's surface, bobbing their unconscious bodies around like corks.

The alien they'd been pursuing had started off in the bay but quickly proceeded to make its way out into the Bristol Channel. Jack had quickly rounded them up onto one of the many vessels in their underground marina, before setting a course to intercept the creature's projected location based on heading and currents.

They'd been sitting out in the middle of the ocean, playing a game of hide and seek with it, still unsure what it was, when everything started to go wrong. The boat began to rock back and forth on its side, and they gripped the rails in desperation, trying to hang on for dear life as something seemed to be determined to capsize them. Then a couple of huge tentacles came soaring out of the water, blindly trying to get a purchase on anyone it could find. One probing appendage managed to wrangle itself around Tosh's ankle, sending her sliding along the deck, towards the edge. Ianto grabbed her hands, and Owen grabbed Ianto as they both tried to win the tug of war game with Tosh as the prize.

On the other side of the boat, Jack and Gwen were trapped in the wheelhouse, with another slimy tentacle trying to force its way in through the side window to get at them. There was a rumbling running through the floor of the vessel, which they both felt as they huddled in the far corner, growing steadily more violent.

'What's happening?' Gwen asked.

'Sounds like the engines are clogged,' Jack replied. 'Must've shoved a tentacle in there and got caught.'

There was a wailing screech and suddenly the tentacle that had been thrashing about in the wheelhouse, retracted and disappeared back into the water. Jack and Gwen didn't hesitate in making their escape from the wheel house, not liking the idea of being a pre-prepared meal for it.

At the back of the boat, they met up with the others, all looking relieved that the attack was over for the moment.

'What just happened?' Owen asked, still out of puff.

'I think it got an owie,' Jack replied.

'Is that the technical term?' Ianto quipped.

They didn't get a chance to debate the matter before the boat rumbled dangerously underneath them again, shuddering and shaking hard.

'I think the engine's gonna blow!' Jack yelled. 'Quick, get the life raft!'

They fumbled with the large yellow inflatable, managing to pull the cord and throw it over the edge of the boat, but that was as far as they got before the engine had other ideas.

And blow it did, ripping apart the ship from the inside out.

Gwen came to and reacted to the shock of being in the freezing water, flapping about madly before realising that her life jacket was keeping her upright and afloat. Not far off, she could see the yellow life raft, somehow undamaged despite the mess of wood and metal everywhere, in amongst bits of blubbery looking flesh that must have been the alien. She tried to swim for the life raft, finding it hard, more of an awkward paddle until she was clutching the side roping. She spun and looked around.

'Jack! Owen! Tosh!' she yelled.

'Over here!' she heard Tosh's voice, spotting the waving arm.

She grabbed the edge of the raft and dragged it with her.

'Gwen!' She heard Ianto call out, spotting her. They met up with Tosh, helping her into the raft, before clambering in with difficulty, trying not to topple it.

'Did you find Owen or Jack?' Ianto asked.

'I haven't seen them,' Tosh replied.

'Oi!' Owen yelled. He was a good forty yards away, but between them they managed to paddle the distance, hauling him up and out of the water with a grateful groan.

'Worst hangover ever,' he moaned, lying back in the raft. 'Where's Jack?'

They scoured the surface of the water, but there was no sign of him amongst the floating bits of debris.

'Was he wearing a life jacket?' Gwen asked.

'I don't remember,' Ianto said, sounding slightly panicked. 'I don't think so.'

'If he was knocked out by the blast like the rest of us...' Tosh said, sounding worried.

'He'll have drowned,' Owen finished.

'But he'll come back, yeah?' Gwen said.

'And what's the first thing he'll do when he resurrects, Gwen?' Ianto said. 'Suck in a huge lungful of air. Only it won't be air, it'll be seawater.'

'Yeah, but he'll swim for the surface for air, won't he?'

'It's two hundred feet straight down!' he cried. 'He'll drown again long before he can reach the surface.'

Gwen slumped down, not knowing what to say. She hadn't though about it in that much detail, but Ianto obviously had. He was unclipping his life jacket, when Owen tried to stop him.

'What do you think you're doing?'

'There was scuba gear on the boat. Some of it might have survived. If we can get it, we can find Jack and bring him back.'

'Ianto, mate. It's a million to one long shot, assuming the equipment isn't damaged. Our best bet is to stay here and wait for a passing ship to rescue us. The emergency beacon is active and we're in the middle of a busy shipping channel. Once we're back in Cardiff, we can get some proper kit and come back out here.'

'And how many thousands of times will he die in the meantime?' Ianto said, shaking with fury.

'He's right, Ianto,' Tosh said, grabbing his arm. 'We all wish there was more we could do. Please come back and sit down.'

He looked at them like they'd all mutinied against him, ready to throw him overboard, then he saw how upset they all were at their predicament and sat down. Gwen even gave him a hug which he didn't protest against, despite being averse to such displays.

They'd only been drifting for half an hour when Owen pointed out at something nearby.

'Is that a shark?'

They all turned and looked in the same direction, suddenly fearful of being surrounded by killer sharks on top of everything else. A grey object broke the surface and they collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

'It's only a dolphin,' Gwen said.

It came right up to the edge of the raft, nudging it with its nose, looking like it wanted to play.

'I didn't know there were dolphins in the Bristol Channel,' Tosh said.

'Must be lost,' Owen replied.

It ducked and dived around them for a few minutes more before disappearing back under the water. They were sad to see it go. For a few brief minutes it had given them company and hope. Then Ianto spotted it further out.

'What's that?' he asked, pointing. 'That's not a dolphin, is it?'

The object moved close and closer, until they could all be make out the familiar patch of blue and grey.

'Oh my God,' Gwen cried, 'it's Jack!'

He was floating towards their raft, face down. Only then did they realise that something else was moving him. It was their dolphin friend from before. Once he was close enough, Ianto and Owen reached over the side and hauled his body into the raft. It was cold and blue and lifeless, but it was Jack, and that was all that mattered. The dolphin gave a few clicks and squeaks before disappearing once more.

In the raft, there was a gurgled gasp and coughing. A hand gripped Ianto's arm so hard he though it might snap right in two.

'Help me get him on his side,' Owen instructed, as Jack began coughing up seawater. There was enough to fill a bucket before Jack was finally able to suck in fresh clean air, coming to his senses, and relaxing slightly though still heaving in lungfuls of air.

'It's okay, you're okay,' Ianto crooned, stroking Jack's wet hair.

'Couldn't breathe,' he croaked.

'Sshh,' Ianto said.

A loud horn broke the silence, and on the horizon loomed a trawler vessel, having picked up their distress signal. Ten minutes later, they were hauled up on deck, wrapped in blankets and offered weak tea by the Cornish man who owned the boat.

'What happened to you lot?' he asked.

'Capsized,' Owen replied.

Hmph, the man said, surprised since the conditions had been so flat. He decided that they looked like amateurs, so they were probably just bad at sailing and lucky to be alive. Leaving them to it, he headed the vessel back to port, agreeing to stop off in Cardiff on his way back.

Ianto was huddled against Jack as they steamed back home, head resting against Jack's, eyes closed. He'd had quite a enough of the sea for today, more than happy to let it remain a scenic view from the plass rather than be out and about on it.

'How'd you find me?' Jack asked. His recollections were still a bit hazy, but he knew enough to know that he'd drowned several times over.

'It was a dolphin,' Ianto murmured. 'He found you and brought you back,' he added, snuggling closer, holding Jack tight.

Jack frowned. Ianto wasn't making any sense. Perhaps he'd swallowed too much seawater. Deciding it didn't really matter, he wrapped his arm tighter around Ianto and closed his eyes as well.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Yay for heroic rescue dolphin!

Boo for exploding boat, but at least it finished of the tentacled beastie.

Now I feel all cold and shivery.

Thanks for the fill!