fractured_agent | Sacrifice [for slayers

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Sacrifice [for slayers_desire]

The city of Cardiff is eerily quiet in the aftermath of Abbadon's passing. Those who died beneath his shadow had their life forces returned once the demon died... all but one.

Captain Jack Harkness lies in the Torchwood Three morgue, cold as stone. Gwen sits at his side, waiting patiently for him to revive. But where he only took minutes to come back from the dead before, there isn't even a whisper of life from him now.

Lost without their leader, who they so recently betrayed, the team drifts in uncertainty.

It's Tosh who finds April's contact information in Jack's antique Rolodex, and gives her a call, not sure if this is a plea for help or a final death notice.

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Owen casts his medic's eye over her critically, even though he's encountered her before. She's warm, color's right, breathes like a normal human being. So maybe the literature is wrong about that. "Saying it's unpleasant is a bloody understatement," he says, still feeling the pain from the fresh bullet wound in his shoulder from yesterday.

"Not one of my favorite things either," Jack says. He knows that his team are going to be thinking about Owen shooting him because of it, but the more he acts like it doesn't deeply bother him, he's hoping they'll start treating it as normal too. The worst part about Torchwood in the past was most people treating him like a freak.

She can sense his critical medic eye on her. "When I take my vampiric form... I go cold. I have no pulse. No breath. No heartbeat."

"If you want to see it..." She leaves the offer open. It doesn't bother her, taking that form.

"You don't have to," Gwen says quickly. She's still trying to process all the events of the day and she's a bit overwhelmed. She certainly doesn't want to make April uncomfortable after all she's done to help Torchwood, regardless of if she drinks blood or not.

Jack stays quiet, watching the rest of his team for their reactions. He has faith in them to do the right thing, even after they all turned on him to open the Rift. He handpicked them all for a reason.

Tosh isn't sure what to say, she stays quiet too. "Sure," Owen says, leaning forward a little so he can watch better. He's used to analyzing different species to learn about them, so it's easy for him to take refuge in his scientific mindset instead of dwelling on what happened today.

Part of Ianto wants a closer look, but he's still cleaning up the bloodstain, and if April wanted to avoid it he doesn't want to make anything worse. So he continues as he was, scrubbing the concrete.

"It doesn't hurt. And it doesn't change my personality, or who I am. This is a part of me," April gently explains to Gwen. She can sense that Gwen just wants April to be comfortable.

Her eyes go red first. Her facial features aren't quite as drastic as typical Buffyverse vampires, but there is a difference to her bone structure. Her fangs elongate.

She consciously stops breathing. Stops her heart. And holds out a hand to Owen... letting him be scientific.

For Owen, immersing himself in the scientific side of things is one of his biggest coping mechanisms, and he really needs that right now. He takes her hand, turning it over to inspect it for any differences in the skin texture and tone, her nails, every little detail that might tell him something. He puts two fingers against the pulse point on her wrist. "No pulse. Body temperature's slightly cooler than normal." He makes a note of that, wondering if the cooling will continue the longer she's in this other form.

He starts to reach for her neck, then stops, reminding himself that this isn't a corpse like he normally examines. "May I?"

"Go right ahead. I don't bite..." A small joke.

"I bloody hope not," Owen mutters absent-mindedly. He double checks her pulse against her carotid artery, then lays his palm flat against her throat. Seems slightly more appropriate than feeling up her chest to check for breathing, and he doesn't have a mirror on-hand. "Do you breathe when you speak?"

Jack is pleased and impressed with how well Owen is handling this, especially so soon after the most stressful day Torchwood has ever had. I knew I hired him for a reason.

"I don't even know if I should describe the experience to you..." April tilts her head. "No. I don't."

That's backed up by what he feels, or rather doesn't feel when she speaks, and he makes note of that too. Must be some other mechanism. Owen drops his hand and looks closely at her face, noting the color of her eyes, the fangs, the shift in her facial structure. God, I'd love to get her under a microscope. He's not going to ask, though. Even he has limits to his rudeness. And he doubts that giving him permission to study her outwardly also extends to making her a lab subject. If she was a hostile, that would be one thing.

Ianto is the one who speaks up in the silence, as he puts the bloody cleaning cloths and his rubber gloves into a biohazard bag and seals it. "Is it the smell that bothers you, ma'am?"

"I wouldn't use the word bother... it is a temptation."

"I had the same reaction when Owen was shot."

"How strong a temptation?" Gwen wants to know. "Is it like... a drug, or more like craving chocolate?"

((Funny side note, Owen is going to end up undead in the next season, so this is good practice for him, lol))

"I wouldn't compare it to a drug. I am not addicted to it. I need blood to live."

"Nor would I compare it to craving chocolate. The best way to compare it is... when you walk by a familiar smell of bakery, or sweets, or your favorite food, and it makes you hungry."

"I don't need to consume any other nourishment, as long as I drink my weekly intake."

That's reassuring to them. Wanting something that smells good is something they can all relate to, and is something easily resisted. "Oh, that makes sense," Gwen answers.

Owen finishes his observations of what he can see on the outside. He's sure there's something different about her internally, given her need to digest blood, and the way she can change from a seemingly human form into this one, but he knows studying that isn't an option. "You can just shift back and forth whenever you want, yeah?"

"Yes. My species appears human, except when we take on our vampiric form."

"I have enhanced abilities like speed, agility, strength, sight and smell."

"I also have enhanced healing."

Curiosity sated for the moment, Owen looks at Jack. Now that he's immersed himself in that scientific mindset, it's easier to face his boss without remembering the horrible things they said and did to him today. "What about you? That revival thing a voluntary thing?"

Jack shakes his head. "Nope. It happens no matter what I do."

April stays in her vampiric state, in case any one else is curious.

"He is stubborn like that..."

Jack appreciates April's attempt to make some humor out of it. Sometimes it's hard not to think about the more depressing implications of his involuntary talent.

"You needed help this time," Ianto points out, and he can't stop worrying about what might have happened if April hadn't been able to come.

"We all have moments, where we need to be reminded of the strengths and supports in our life." April speaks from personal experience.

"Gotta admit, it's one of the nicer ways I've come back."

"One other thing you should know... my predatory nature scares Weevils."

"Scares them how?" Tosh asks.

"They can smell me... and during the times I helped Jack round up a few stray Weevils, the weaker ones cowered from me."

"They can tell that I am a stronger predator than they are."

"Made rounding them up a lot easier," Jack agrees.

"You went Weevil hunting without any of us? Sir, you know that's against regulations," Ianto says with a frown. It's dangerous, and even though he now knows that Jack can't die, the idea still bothers him.

"I had backup from a temporary associate. That's perfectly in line with the rules." That aside, Jack is the one who makes the rules.

"Don't feel left out Ianto. I kept a close eye on him."

Ianto is a little pleased by the way she worded that. Whether Jack is truly immortal or not, Ianto cares about him and wants to see him safe. Or as safe as Torchwood ever is, anyway.

"You should come along again sometime," Jack says with a smile. He's been gaining some energy back during this talk, and his color is almost back to normal. He doesn't look like a dead man walking anymore.

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