BTBD Challenge 167 - Sticking it out

[m_findlow]

Title: Sticking it out
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Andy, Gwen, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,966 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 167 - Quit at beattheblackdog
Summary: Andy is fed up with his new job.

'Alright everybody, pack it up and let's go home,' came the order from Jack. 'Oh,' he said, turning to Gwen and Andy, 'and maybe you two might want to think about getting a bus back to the hub. I don't mean to be rude, but, well, you kinda stink,' he said, pulling a face. 'And the last thing I need is for Ianto to chew me out about the state of the SUV, if you know what I mean.'

'Guess we'll see you back at the hub, then,' Gwen said, resigned to their fate. She couldn't blame him for wanting to avoid yet another defilement of the SUV. Unlike the rest of them, Ianto had special punishments reserved solely for Jack that, at least in Jack's opinion, were far worse than being put on decaf. Scarily the smell that covered her from head to toe was losing some of its potency, at least in her mind. Perhaps she was just getting used to it. That or it was destroying her sense of smell.

Jack leant closer to her ear, though she could tell it was unpleasant as he caught another whiff of her. 'Next time Andy is about to get too close to a non life-threatening alien, let him. A few more incidents like today and maybe he'll get the message.' He stood back and waved his hand in front of his nose. 'Phew! Eau de rotting dumpster is not going to take off, even around Splott. See you back at the hub,' he said, striding off towards the SUV with Johnson sidling into passenger seat before the car pulled away, leaving the pair of them behind on the now empty street.

The alien plant, what was left of it, was in the back of the SUV, and incredibly, didn't seem to smell at all. The projectile pollen that had doused her and Andy had thankfully missed the rest of them. It would have missed her too had she not stepped forward to try and pull Andy back. As harmless as it had looked, the slight pulsing at its base made her nervous and Andy had crossed the imaginary five foot line that she always kept from any alien until she could be certain it really was as harmless as it appeared. It may have been a defence mechanism but Jack seemed to think it was a last ditch attempt for the plant to spawn, furthering its species for the greater good of the universe. It didn't seem to care that Andy and Gwen didn't make suitable vessels. She supposed if she was dumped and injured on an alien world and her only purpose in life was to go forth and multiply, she might do the same thing. Funny how the longer you worked for Torchwood the more you came to think like aliens did.

'Come on, Andy, bus stop is this way,' she said, thumbing over her shoulder. He trudged silently behind her.

She came to stand under the bus shelter, for once wishing it were raining so it could wash off some of the smell. She shrugged out of her leather jacket and gave it a solid shake, dislodging the worst of the foul smelling grey dust. The rest of her was much harder, wiping down her jeans and shaking out her hair. Next to her, Andy just slumped onto the bench, not even bothering to dust off the layer of grey. 'Come on, Andy, cheer up. At least it's not slime, or blood.'

'As soon as we get back, I'm handing in my resignation,' he declared.

Gwen felt like she'd been kicked in the guts. 'You can't!'

'Why not? Johnson hates me, Jack thinks I'm a complete idiot, and I don't even know what Ianto thinks because he's too bloody polite to say so, but I think we can be certain that it's not an overwhelming sense of pride.' He sighed. 'D'you know, Gwen, I really don't think I'm cut out for this.'

'How can you know? You've only been at it a few weeks.' It was always going to be rocky going. Torchwood didn't do smooth sailing or an easy induction.

'I heard what Jack said to you. I'm not a total idiot. Next time Andy wants to step out in front of a moving truck, let him. At least then he won't be our problem anymore.'

'That wasn't what he meant.' Even if it was, he should have learned by now to keep his big mouth to himself. The job was hard enough without having to battle some preconceived notion that Andy wasn't cut out for it.

Andy slumped lower on the bench. 'Could have fooled me.'

Gwen's reply was cut off by the hiss and squeal of brakes as the bus pulled up. Gwen stepped aboard and tapped her card, a bit of Torchwood technology that worked almost anywhere, allowing her access to buildings, restricted areas and also doubled as a handy way of getting around town. The bus driver gave her a quick smile despite how she must have looked. The smile dropped away quickly however as she moved away, seeing Andy fumbling through his wallet for the right card, then giving up and tapping his real transport card, only to find it didn't have enough credit.

'D'you mind if I pay in cash?' The glare told Gwen all she needed to know about how the driver felt about Andy's proposal. In the end the driver gave up, setting the bus in motion and sending Andy lurching down its length, grabbing a handrail to steady himself before plonking down next to Gwen.

Andy heaved a sighed. 'And I used to think Temple was bad. Wonder if he'd let me have my old job back. I just hope he didn't read my comments from the exit interview. Bollocks. Shouldn't have said anything about the biscuits in the tea room. Better ones in the rooms where the DCIs have lunch, I said. Ten hours on the beat and not so much as a chocolate hobnob on offer whilst they sit behind their desks drinking tea and reading SOCO reports. That's me, Andy Davidson, making a stellar last impression.'

'You are not quitting Torchwood,' Gwen said in hushed tones, making her feelings clear.

'Oh, boss of me now, is it? Look at them,' Andy said, tilting his head surreptitiously at their fellow passengers. 'Even they don't like me and they don't even know me.'

'Andy, we're covered in an alien pollen that makes us smell like a dead body. Of course they don't like us.'

'You know what I mean, Gwen. Even in the police. You know how it was. Nobody ever took me seriously. Not really. Didn't help that you lot knicked all the interesting cases. Patrolling football matches and breaking up pub brawls, that's all I was good for.' He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging a cloud of pollen. Behind him an old lady with a poodle clutched in her arms scrunched up her face at him and the dog sneezed and yapped angrily at him, clearly having upset its delicate sensibilities.

Andy leaned over closer. 'I know I nagged you for ages to give me a go, but I'm really not good with all this alien stuff. Give me a line up of ten drunken valleys girls on a Friday night and I can tell you which one is going to give trouble, but I don't know if something from another planet is about to eat my spleen or want me to rub its tummy.'

'You can't expect to be an expert overnight,' Gwen replied. 'I'm no expert. There are days when I don't even think Jack is an expert. The universe is too big to know all the answers.'

Andy huffed a sigh and began staring out the window at the blur of cheap terrace houses. It was clear to Gwen he'd made up his mind and didn't want to talk about it.

'Do you want to know how my first day went?' Gwen asked him. 'Believe me, it wasn't what you'd call a success.'

'Spilled coffee on your keyboard? Used the gents instead of the ladies by accident? Walked in on Jack having some "me" time?' Andy rattled off the suggestions whilst continuing to stare out the window.

'Far worse than that. I released an alien gas from a crashed meteorite. It took host inside a young girl and turned her into a sex crazed fiend. She shagged about twelve people to death.'

Andy scoffed. 'Tough gig. I'm sure those blokes were really disappointed. Probably the way  most blokes would like to end their day.'

'No, seriously. As in, she fed off their orgasmic energy and turned them into a pile of dust. There was nothing left of them.'

'Blimey.'

'Yeah.' Thoughts of being in that cell with Carys and snogging her still made Gwen's cheeks flush pink. She'd been ready to go all the way with her. Lucky she'd been a woman, otherwise her first day would have also been her last. 'It'll get better, I promise. Torchwood isn't like other jobs. There's no instruction manual you can follow.'

Andy snorted. 'Tell that to Ianto. Have you seen that thing he left on my desk? Said I should read it cover to cover. I've got more chance of finishing War and Peace than I have that thing.'

Gwen spotted their stop coming up and pressed the button, alerting the driver before alighting. 'Just promise me you'll stick with it a bit longer? Jack's not always the easiest person to please, but I know he sees the same thing in you that I do. You do have what it takes, even if you don't think so right now.'

'You mean if I get good at this I'll only get covered in horrible alien excrement every second day?'

Gwen couldn't help but grin. 'Maybe even only every third.'

Andy sucked in a deep breath, already able to smell the salt in the air sweeping up off the bay in the distance. Only a few dozen yards away, the water tower stood silver and gleaming in the overcast afternoon light. It was an imposing sight, made only more important by what it represented - a secret entrance to a secret base.  Only he and a handful of others knew what really lay beneath those paving stones; a whole other world of madness, and he was one of them now. No more Sergeant Andy Davidson. He was now Torchwood, not that he could put that in a Christmas card to his mum. Special Ops. Andy Davidson, Special Ops. That had a nice ring to it. 'Okay,' he said, resigning himself to giving it another go. 'And just so we're clear,' he added, turning to Gwen, 'that thing today. That wasn't a hazing, was it? Only if you and Jack are in cahoots to give me a hard time...'

Gwen grabbed his arm and looped hers around it. 'I wouldn't dare. As for Jack, however...'

He gave her a penetrating look, pausing and making her look him straight in the eye. 'What?'

'Well, let's just say if he asks you to go water the Hondrixan Lily up in the hothouse, don't. Not all alien plants like being watered. Some more so than others.'

'Ah, the old "now, is this the kind of plant that prefers water or blood?" trick, or it'll shoot poisonous thorns at you?'

Gwen beamed at him. 'Something like that. In any case, I'm sure Ianto put it in the manual. It's the sort of thing he's not likely to forget after Jack failed to warn him about it.'

Andy sighed. 'Just when I thought the dangerous stuff was what we left the hub to contend with.'

Comments

[bk_forever]

Poor Andy! But the truth is, half the time even Jack doesn't know what they're dealing with. Most of the job is guesswork. It takes time to get used to the insanity, and even then everyone still makes mistakes. Andy needs to stop being so hard on himself.