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The Homecoming

Summary:

Fourth in the Birthright series:  The Rift is spewing out creatures with a grudge against Jack; Martha is coming for a visit; and someone else is returning to Earth.  Someone VERY unexpected.

Chapter 1: Prologue: An Unexpected Gift

Notes:

(mysterious smile)  Disclaimer!  None of the above-listed characters are mine; however, the Tregarths and their neighbors are.  I don't mind if you borrow them, just please ask first and return them alive and intact.  Thank you!

Chapter Text

  The Homecoming

 

Prologue

 

An Unexpected Gift

 

Earth, unknown location

Nearly four years after the deaths of Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato

Two weeks after the awakening of Sophia Tregarth

 

Four years.

Four sodding years in a dimension, a world, not his own.  Four years of doing the job he did on Earth, but doing it alone this time.  And the irony, of course, was that he wasn't even trying to get home when he chased those shape-shifters through the Rift.  But it was home (the smell told him that), and those bloody shifters were even now causing mischief.  Although, right now, it was looking more like they were doing a helluva more than that. . .five of them were beating the hell out of a poor sod who crossed their path.  He winced as the shifters pounded fists and feet into their victim's torso.  Time to intervene, before they beat the poor bastard to death.

Technically speaking, they weren't shifters at all, but parasites who took over the bodies of indigenous populations.  He fired a single shot into the air and the five froze, before allowing their victim to drop to the ground.  The newcomer smirked at them, without any real mirth, and said, "I suggest you blokes vacate your current residences and go back where you came from.  You won't like what happens if you stick around."  Not that he intended to do that. . .talk about the middle of nowhere.  One of the shifters bared his teeth, and the newcomer hissed.  The shifters reeled back and scattered.  He didn't bother giving chase.  They tended to do that when they intended to jump, and his concern now was with their victim.  He approached the fallen man, frowning thoughtfully.  There was something so familiar about him, so very familiar. . .

He dropped to one knee beside the man and rolled him carefully onto his back-and he received the second shock in the last few minutes.  He knew this man. . .God above, he knew this man!  He knew his face, his smile, his scent, his clothes.  He hadn't seen him in four years, but he still knew him.  As the victim of the beating gave a low, involuntary moan of pain at the movement, Dr. Owen Harper whispered, "Jack?"  Oh yes.  Captain Jack Harkness, Owen's former boss, friend, rival, bane of his existence at times.  Owen reached out a trembling hand and stroked the other man's cheek.  It was Jack.  And now, Owen knew he was home.

Incredibly, the familiar blue eyes fluttered open and the oh-so-familiar American accent emerged as Jack murmured, "Owen?  Not s'posed t' see an'thin' when ‘m dead."  Owen froze, before remembering the last few minutes in his own dimension before the white light took him and he woke up in another dimension, arse-naked, but completely alive.  Unexpectedly, Owen found himself blinking back tears, especially after Jack mumbled, "'M so sorry.  All m' fault.  Gray.  You.  Tosh.  All m' fault."  Owen had to remind himself this man was just beaten badly, so he couldn't shake him.  Four years on his own did teach him some patience.  Some.

"Don't you pull that with me, Harkness!  Your sodding brother made his own damn decisions, just like Tosh and me chose Torchwood.  Don't you go takin' that away from us," Owen hissed, before what Jack really said sank in.  Tosh?  He could see why Jack thought he was dead, but Tosh, too?  He lost them both in the same day, thanks to his crazy brother?  Owen wanted to close his eyes, but right now, he needed to focus on Jack, because he really didn't like how the bloke's breathing sounded.  Even after Owen gently lifted Jack up from the ground and against his chest, it hurt to listen to Jack breathe, it hurt to listen to him trying to breathe.

He also had to figure out a way to get Jack to safety.  However, that was resolved unexpectedly when a figure staggered toward them.  Owen kept one arm around Jack protectively, while his free hand went to the pistol at his hip (yeah, that was real cool. . .wake up in another dimension, arse-naked, but with weaponry).  However, it was the shifter-less human who assisted in beating the hell out of Jack only moments earlier, and his eyes widened with horror when he saw the figure in Owen's arms.  He cried out, "God, Jack, what the hell happened?"

He dropped to his knees beside Jack and Owen, asking, "Who are you?  Are you a friend of his?"  Owen, not knowing what else to do, nodded, and the man said, "So'm I.  My name is Matthew Halloran, I'm a neighbor of Jack's.  Well, sort of.  I'm guessing that his current residence would be the place to take him, rather than the hospital?"  Owen nodded again and Halloran continued grimly, helping to pick up Jack, "I figured as much.  With the local hospitals still reeling from that damned Miracle, and Jack's unusual disposition, that's the standard operating procedure when Jack's dead or dying.  My station wagon is around here somewhere. . .thank God Ava insisted that I bring it tonight.  Nat can bring her Patriot over later and get Jack's ATV.  You get in first, and then I'll put him in beside you.  What's your name, by the way?"

"Dr. Owen Harper," the younger man replied, "I used to work with Jack in Cardiff."  Surprisingly enough, Halloran just nodded and the doctor continued, "Not to sound like an idiot, mate, but where the hell are we?  I'm guessing we're somewhere in the States, judging by your accent, but where exactly?"  Even more surprising, Halloran didn't look all that surprised by Owen's question, which should have clued Harper into the truth.  Then again, a lot of things probably should have clued Owen into the truth.

"Oh, so you came through the Rift.  Yes, Dr. Harper, I know about the Rift.  My teenaged niece helped to open it. . .cost her and another girl their lives.  And in answer to your question, we're in Oklahoma.  The Rift opened here about three months ago, the same day Jack arrived with the Tregarth family.  I thought the timing was a little weird, but it was just one of those things," Halloran observed.  Owen shook his head.  Bloody Torchwood.  However, he strode at the other man's side, easing himself into the back of the station wagon which Halloran mentioned, and then braced Jack against his side when Halloran eased him beside Owen.  Jack moaned again, and Owen held him tightly.

"Think you can explain this Miracle you're talking about?  I've been in another dimension for four years, mate, I don't know what the hell is going on.  Hell, to the best of Jack's knowledge, I was dead," Owen replied.  Halloran sighed as he closed the door and circled around to the driver's side.  Owen forced himself to be patient just a little longer.  He was home after four years, and he was with Jack.  His patience was rewarded when Halloran pulled himself inside the car as well, and as he drove toward the Tregarth homestead, he told Owen about two months when no human being on Earth died and when only one man was mortal:  Jack Harkness.

By the time they reached the Tregarth homestead, Owen was filled with a righteous fury and a cold rage.  He didn't wonder at the contradiction, but accepted it as a matter of course.  That was the way things worked with Torchwood.  And even before he saw the people spilling out of the house, Owen realized that he would be sharing Jack with his new friends. . .but that was all right by him, because these new friends would help with that most difficult of tasks:  taking care of Jack Harkness without him realizing what they were doing.  Maybe it would have been easier with Tea-boy and Toshiko, but they weren't here.  Owen was.  And if Jack was all he had left, then Owen would damn well look after him and God help anyone who got in his way!

TBC