m_findlow

Title: Home delivery
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Rhys, Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 937 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for fffc May Special Daily Challenge - May 18th - Road trip, Truck, Sun
Summary: Rhys gets more than he bargained for on his delivery run.

Dan being off sick was the best thing that had happened in his week, as far as Rhys was concerned. As much as he hated the traffic around the city, sometimes it was nice to be back behind he wheel of a truck, hurtling down the highway, just him and the road and his destination ahead. On a day like today though, it was stunning, with the sun daring to break out from behind the clouds. It almost felt like a holiday.

He twirled up the radio dial letting the music play a little louder than he strictly liked for his own drivers. He was the boss after all, if he couldn't treat himself, then what was the point? He sang along, tapping the wheel in time as the miles to Caerphilly flew by, before something on the side of the road caught his eye. At first he thought it was a paramedic van, but thought it was bright yellow, there were no blue lights flashing and no signs of NHS staff. Curious, he pulled over. They might just be broken down and in need of a jump start, which he was more than well placed to help out with. He'd have appreciated it if it were him broken down.

He indicated and pulled over behind the broken down vehicle. Only as he was getting out of the truck did he notice that it was leaning in the ditch at the side of the road, and that it didn't look like any kind of vehicle he'd ever seen, even those fancy European ones.

Oh, no, he thought, putting two and two together. Of all the motorways in all of Wales, why did it have to happen on the one stretch of road he had to be driving on?

He should just get back in the van and call Gwen, he knew that. Whatever it was that had decided to drop out of the rift could have been some nasty alien bent on world domination. Then again, it might be some completely innocent creature, injured in the accident. It'd take Torchwood half an hour to get here, even with Jack's terrible driving. He'd never forgive himself if he could have helped and didn't. He jogged back to the passenger side of the van and popped the glove box, slipping out the first aid kit.

Alright, Rhys Williams, he said to himself. Time to go and sort out the aliens. He stepped carefully down the ditch, finding the grass and mud slippery underfoot from last night's rain. Now, if I were an alien crash landed on a strange planet, where would I go? he asked, before spotting a thin area of trees a little way off. He walked towards them.

To call out or not to call out, that was the question. He didn't want to startle anyone and get shot, but he also didn't want to give himself away in case they weren't so friendly.

He needn't have worried though. A little way into the trees, he spotted a tangled mess of orange tentacles. It looked as if it might have been several different aliens all jumbled together, but apart from the tentacles, he couldn't find any heads or eyes or anything else that he could communicate with it. Perhaps it had been separate when it had arrived, or perhaps the tumble through the rift had caused its current condition. How it had made it this far was impressive, but it didn't look like it was going much further. Right now, there was really only one thing to do, pulling his phone out and dialling Gwen.

'Eh, love. D'you fancy a road trip?'

'Not now, Rhys,' she said, clearly distracted. 'I'm in a hurry to a rift alert just outside of Caerphilly.'

'Yeah, about that,' he began.

Gwen didn't answer at first, spotting the van ahead parked at the side of the road with the Harwoods logo emblazoned on its rear doors. 'Please tell me that isn't your van, Rhys.'

'Er, well, on the plus side, they're not hostile.'

'Rhys!' she scolded, already furious with him for even attempting to get close.

'Yeah, yeah, have a go at me later, alright? Just get here and help us out. We're over in that patch of trees up ahead on your left. Hope you've got a really big jar of Vaseline in that SUV of yours.'

The whole team were quickly on scene, taking charge in an efficient way that always boggled his mind. How they never looked surprised by what they found was baffling. After about an hour, they finally had the what turned out to be four aliens detached.

'We couldn't borrow your van, could we?' Ianto politely asked, Harwoods clipboard in hand. 'We'll even arrange for your delivery so as not to inconvenience you.'

'Er, yeah, suppose so,' Rhys said, handing over the keys before he'd consciously agreed.

'Good job, Rhys,' Jack said, clapping him on the back. 'You didn't get anyone killed this time.'

'For the record, I've never gotten anyone killed.'

'That you know of,' Jack said, teasing. 'So, Gwen, looks like you've scored yourself an extra passenger. What's say I ride shotgun with Ianto and meet you back at the hub?'

'Yeah, alright. Owen, Tosh? You ready to go?' She received two nods as they both climbed into the back of the SUV.

'See you back in Cardiff,' Jack said, tipping them a salute. 'And thanks, Rhys.'

Rhys puffed up his chest, looking pleased with himself. 'Just call me the Torchwood rapid response unit.'

Jack pulled a face. 'Don't ever call yourself that again.'