066: A Clever Boy - for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
captain_flyboy
Sep. 5th, 2010 06:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
open_flameCharacters: Liz Sherman, Jack Harkness, Thomas Harkness (OC)
Fandoms: Hellboy/Torchwood
Setting: Bump in the Night Verse
Rating: PG – 13 (Language, explosions)
Word Count: 1750
Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
100_fairytales 066:A Clever Boy
Explosions never really frightened Liz much anymore, because she was more often than not the cause of them. Of course when the explosion was coming from her families garage, again, that was another matter.
“Oh, what the hell...?” She swung the reinforced door open after quickly pressing her thumb to the security pad, shocked to find it was already disabled. She coughed and choked on the smoky dust filled air as she stepped into the garage as quickly as was safe considering the mess that was behind the door.
“JACK!” She shouted as she kicked a chunk of red metal out of her path. She recognized the symbol that was once on the hood of the car immediately. Damn it, not the Porsche. AGAIN. “Sweetie, you alive?”
“Yeah, I'm alive! Would you help me!” The very cranky voice of her husband came from the corner of the ruined garage. “Do not yell at me.” She growled as she kicked a hot chunk of metal off his chest. She helped Jack to his feet, pulling bits of drywall and other things from his hair as she looked for injuries. He hardly had a scratch on him, save a few scorch marks on his blue shirt. Liz was glad it was one of the ones with stripes. Why he insisted on wearing stripes was beyond her.
“You hurt?” She asked with a frown. Not that it would have mattered much in the end given the way Jack was, but she still worried. She always worried. “I'm fine, Liz.” Jack grumbled as she ran her fingers though his hair, messing it up as the last little bits of debris fell to the ground. “Would you stop it, please?” he asked as he tried to smooth his hair out.
“I was just making sure your hair wasn't on fire again.” She sighed and pulled her fingers away, glancing around the room. She almost said she was thankful that the Ferrari was in the shop and that they'd left the SUV at work for equipment upgrades. Instead, she sighed sadly and looked at Jack inquisitively. “How did this happen?”
“Two guesses...” Jack said without missing a beat. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the doorway. “THOMAS! TREVOR!” He shouted in the same voice he often used at work, the voice that made every single agent stand at attention because they knew crossing Jack would lead to nothing but trouble when he shouted like that. At home it was a different matter, of course. He'd never, ever yell at his children the way he would the idiots that called themselves black suits at the Bureau, but that tone commanded the respect of the youngest members of the family nonetheless.
There was silence save the sound of the walls that weren't made of reinforced concert crumbling. Jack had insisted after the last explosion that the walls of their home be build with something that could handle pretty much anything, both mundane or supernatural.
It had worked. The house was fine, save a few pictures that had fallen over due to vibration. The garage however, would need to be rebuilt.
“Come on guys. You're not in trouble.” Liz shouted after a few moments. “We just want to talk to you.” Jack threw his wife a look, knowing as always she would be the one that would get carried away, panicking and raising her voice several octaves as she lost her cool. The conversation might even end with her threatening to make the boys stay in the house for the rest of eternity if she was the one to lead it. Liz rolled her eyes gently, then shouted again. “Your father just wants to talk to you.” She clarified a moment before the sounds of scuffling and arguing near the door caught her and Jack's attention.
“He did it.” Trevor Harkness said defensively as he shoved his twin brother into what was left of the garage. “I was playing video games.” He shouted as he rushed away. Thomas opened his mouth to protest, but he knew he couldn't pin this one on his brother. In fact, the more bookish of the two had spent much of the time Thomas had been 'working' in the garage earlier that day standing a few feet behind him, taunting him with a sing songy 'You're gonna get in trouble again...' He'd never tattle tale though. Like Uncle HB says, nobody likes a tattle tale.
Jack sighed, looking his son over with studious eyes. They'd been through this before, first with Liz's laptop computer and then with Jack's previous Porsche, the shining silver Boxter that had taken him decades to rebuild until it looked just like the one James Dean had had. When that one was destroyed, Liz talked Jack into one that was off the lot, for the most part. “You know people like us can't have nice things, Jack. They always get blown up somehow.” She reminded him at the time.
Thomas hadn't forgotten the look in his father's eyes when that car was in pieces. So much so that these improvements were intended to make up for that incident years ago. Unfortunately, like most of the plans made by a Harkness, be it the oldest or the youngest generation, this one didn't go as expected.
“Story time, son.” Jack walked slowly over to Thomas, who stood in the doorway with his eyes focused only on his shoes. Jack bent down to the boys eye level as Liz looked around the garage. She grumbled something about their insurance rates under her breath as she looked for a broom, attempting in vane to clean up the mess. At least the fire department wasn't coming this time. Jack had paid them off to allow him to handle any unexplained fires himself. “Thomas...?” He said gently as he reached out and picked his sons head up to make him look at him. “Tell me what you did.” He smiled in the hopes to coax he son into talking. He was upset, of course, but more than anything he was grateful that Liz HATED that car. The idea that someone other than him might have gotten hurt made a chill run down his spine, enough so that he shuddered slightly.
Thomas shook his head, afraid of the trouble he'd get into considering what happened the last time he tried to make one of his father's cars 'better'. “Baby, just tell us.” Liz urged her son as she put a hand on her husband shoulder. Trying to clean up was pointless, she decided. At least without a bulldozer and a dump truck for all the rubbish.
“I wanted to make it better. Dad's car. I read on the internet that you can make 'em go faster. REALLY FAST.” Thomas said with a hint of excitement, but more regret. “ Those part that were over there, that's all you need really. You just gotta reconfigure the wiring and adjust...” Liz held up her hand. “Short version, sweetheart.” She said before Thomas nodded.
“But the door was locked so I used that glowy blue thingy to get the door open.” He continued before Jack cut him off abruptly. “Really? That thing hasn't worked in years!” Jack looked at Liz with a bright smile, the pride he felt all over his face. “I thought it was broken for good. It must have had miles of dust on it, son.” He said as his smile grew even wider. Thomas simply nodded, agreeing that the tech was indeed filthy from years of storage when he found it.
“How'd you get it working?” He asked as he leaned closer, the pride and curiosity in his voice enough to make Thomas relax a bit. “It was easy,” he explained. “All I had to do was take off the black wire bit and replace it with some thicker wire so it would stop shorting out. I used the wire from the coffee maker.” He said before he gave his mother an apologetic look. “The coffee maker doesn't work anymore.” He said when she made a face like someone had just cut off her arm. “I can fix it!” Thomas shouted quickly as if it would make up for it.
Jack was unphased by the lose of his wife's favorite appliance. His smile widened and he was laughing a moment later. It was so obvious, and so bloody brilliant of Thomas to think of that. It was so simple, so crafty to used something so readily available. Hell, it reminded him of something The Doctor would have done, and for a moment he was lost in his own happy memories. He'd have still been thinking about his journeys with the Time Lord if his wife hadn't cleared her throat. “Jack...?” Liz shot him a serious look, as if to urge him to get on with the punishment or lecture or whatever disciplinary action he was going to lay out for their son.
Jack pondered a moment as he turned his eyes from Liz to Thomas. “Coffee maker?” He said slowly. He mentally kicked himself, wondering for a moment why he hadn't been that clever. “Son, that's genius. Good job. Amazing job.” He reached up and ruffled his son's hair, a clear signal that any trouble the boy was in was forgotten. “Nice work.” Jack grinned, laughing as he looked back at his wife.
Liz did not share his enthusiasm. Her arms were folded over her chest in a way that was a clear sign she was not amused. It was bad enough that Thomas had blown up the garage, but the fact he'd broken the appliance that was Liz's life line made it even worse. “Do NOT encourage him, Jack.” She said warningly as Jack's smile wavered just a bit.
“Come on, babe. He's gonna learn about this stuff sometime, isn't he?” Jack recovered his trademark grin, stood and kissed his wife on the forehead. "At least he's not playing in the armory, right? You'd throw a fit if someone messed up all your guns. ” He whispered seriously as her eyes grew wide with annoyance. Before she could get in another word, Jack was leading Thomas out of the remains of the garage. “Come on, I've got this cloaking device I just can't figure out. Maybe you can help me fix it.”
Fandoms: Hellboy/Torchwood
Setting: Bump in the Night Verse
Rating: PG – 13 (Language, explosions)
Word Count: 1750
Prompt:
100_fairytales 066:A Clever Boy Explosions never really frightened Liz much anymore, because she was more often than not the cause of them. Of course when the explosion was coming from her families garage, again, that was another matter.
“Oh, what the hell...?” She swung the reinforced door open after quickly pressing her thumb to the security pad, shocked to find it was already disabled. She coughed and choked on the smoky dust filled air as she stepped into the garage as quickly as was safe considering the mess that was behind the door.
“JACK!” She shouted as she kicked a chunk of red metal out of her path. She recognized the symbol that was once on the hood of the car immediately. Damn it, not the Porsche. AGAIN. “Sweetie, you alive?”
“Yeah, I'm alive! Would you help me!” The very cranky voice of her husband came from the corner of the ruined garage. “Do not yell at me.” She growled as she kicked a hot chunk of metal off his chest. She helped Jack to his feet, pulling bits of drywall and other things from his hair as she looked for injuries. He hardly had a scratch on him, save a few scorch marks on his blue shirt. Liz was glad it was one of the ones with stripes. Why he insisted on wearing stripes was beyond her.
“You hurt?” She asked with a frown. Not that it would have mattered much in the end given the way Jack was, but she still worried. She always worried. “I'm fine, Liz.” Jack grumbled as she ran her fingers though his hair, messing it up as the last little bits of debris fell to the ground. “Would you stop it, please?” he asked as he tried to smooth his hair out.
“I was just making sure your hair wasn't on fire again.” She sighed and pulled her fingers away, glancing around the room. She almost said she was thankful that the Ferrari was in the shop and that they'd left the SUV at work for equipment upgrades. Instead, she sighed sadly and looked at Jack inquisitively. “How did this happen?”
“Two guesses...” Jack said without missing a beat. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the doorway. “THOMAS! TREVOR!” He shouted in the same voice he often used at work, the voice that made every single agent stand at attention because they knew crossing Jack would lead to nothing but trouble when he shouted like that. At home it was a different matter, of course. He'd never, ever yell at his children the way he would the idiots that called themselves black suits at the Bureau, but that tone commanded the respect of the youngest members of the family nonetheless.
There was silence save the sound of the walls that weren't made of reinforced concert crumbling. Jack had insisted after the last explosion that the walls of their home be build with something that could handle pretty much anything, both mundane or supernatural.
It had worked. The house was fine, save a few pictures that had fallen over due to vibration. The garage however, would need to be rebuilt.
“Come on guys. You're not in trouble.” Liz shouted after a few moments. “We just want to talk to you.” Jack threw his wife a look, knowing as always she would be the one that would get carried away, panicking and raising her voice several octaves as she lost her cool. The conversation might even end with her threatening to make the boys stay in the house for the rest of eternity if she was the one to lead it. Liz rolled her eyes gently, then shouted again. “Your father just wants to talk to you.” She clarified a moment before the sounds of scuffling and arguing near the door caught her and Jack's attention.
“He did it.” Trevor Harkness said defensively as he shoved his twin brother into what was left of the garage. “I was playing video games.” He shouted as he rushed away. Thomas opened his mouth to protest, but he knew he couldn't pin this one on his brother. In fact, the more bookish of the two had spent much of the time Thomas had been 'working' in the garage earlier that day standing a few feet behind him, taunting him with a sing songy 'You're gonna get in trouble again...' He'd never tattle tale though. Like Uncle HB says, nobody likes a tattle tale.
Jack sighed, looking his son over with studious eyes. They'd been through this before, first with Liz's laptop computer and then with Jack's previous Porsche, the shining silver Boxter that had taken him decades to rebuild until it looked just like the one James Dean had had. When that one was destroyed, Liz talked Jack into one that was off the lot, for the most part. “You know people like us can't have nice things, Jack. They always get blown up somehow.” She reminded him at the time.
Thomas hadn't forgotten the look in his father's eyes when that car was in pieces. So much so that these improvements were intended to make up for that incident years ago. Unfortunately, like most of the plans made by a Harkness, be it the oldest or the youngest generation, this one didn't go as expected.
“Story time, son.” Jack walked slowly over to Thomas, who stood in the doorway with his eyes focused only on his shoes. Jack bent down to the boys eye level as Liz looked around the garage. She grumbled something about their insurance rates under her breath as she looked for a broom, attempting in vane to clean up the mess. At least the fire department wasn't coming this time. Jack had paid them off to allow him to handle any unexplained fires himself. “Thomas...?” He said gently as he reached out and picked his sons head up to make him look at him. “Tell me what you did.” He smiled in the hopes to coax he son into talking. He was upset, of course, but more than anything he was grateful that Liz HATED that car. The idea that someone other than him might have gotten hurt made a chill run down his spine, enough so that he shuddered slightly.
Thomas shook his head, afraid of the trouble he'd get into considering what happened the last time he tried to make one of his father's cars 'better'. “Baby, just tell us.” Liz urged her son as she put a hand on her husband shoulder. Trying to clean up was pointless, she decided. At least without a bulldozer and a dump truck for all the rubbish.
“I wanted to make it better. Dad's car. I read on the internet that you can make 'em go faster. REALLY FAST.” Thomas said with a hint of excitement, but more regret. “ Those part that were over there, that's all you need really. You just gotta reconfigure the wiring and adjust...” Liz held up her hand. “Short version, sweetheart.” She said before Thomas nodded.
“But the door was locked so I used that glowy blue thingy to get the door open.” He continued before Jack cut him off abruptly. “Really? That thing hasn't worked in years!” Jack looked at Liz with a bright smile, the pride he felt all over his face. “I thought it was broken for good. It must have had miles of dust on it, son.” He said as his smile grew even wider. Thomas simply nodded, agreeing that the tech was indeed filthy from years of storage when he found it.
“How'd you get it working?” He asked as he leaned closer, the pride and curiosity in his voice enough to make Thomas relax a bit. “It was easy,” he explained. “All I had to do was take off the black wire bit and replace it with some thicker wire so it would stop shorting out. I used the wire from the coffee maker.” He said before he gave his mother an apologetic look. “The coffee maker doesn't work anymore.” He said when she made a face like someone had just cut off her arm. “I can fix it!” Thomas shouted quickly as if it would make up for it.
Jack was unphased by the lose of his wife's favorite appliance. His smile widened and he was laughing a moment later. It was so obvious, and so bloody brilliant of Thomas to think of that. It was so simple, so crafty to used something so readily available. Hell, it reminded him of something The Doctor would have done, and for a moment he was lost in his own happy memories. He'd have still been thinking about his journeys with the Time Lord if his wife hadn't cleared her throat. “Jack...?” Liz shot him a serious look, as if to urge him to get on with the punishment or lecture or whatever disciplinary action he was going to lay out for their son.
Jack pondered a moment as he turned his eyes from Liz to Thomas. “Coffee maker?” He said slowly. He mentally kicked himself, wondering for a moment why he hadn't been that clever. “Son, that's genius. Good job. Amazing job.” He reached up and ruffled his son's hair, a clear signal that any trouble the boy was in was forgotten. “Nice work.” Jack grinned, laughing as he looked back at his wife.
Liz did not share his enthusiasm. Her arms were folded over her chest in a way that was a clear sign she was not amused. It was bad enough that Thomas had blown up the garage, but the fact he'd broken the appliance that was Liz's life line made it even worse. “Do NOT encourage him, Jack.” She said warningly as Jack's smile wavered just a bit.
“Come on, babe. He's gonna learn about this stuff sometime, isn't he?” Jack recovered his trademark grin, stood and kissed his wife on the forehead. "At least he's not playing in the armory, right? You'd throw a fit if someone messed up all your guns. ” He whispered seriously as her eyes grew wide with annoyance. Before she could get in another word, Jack was leading Thomas out of the remains of the garage. “Come on, I've got this cloaking device I just can't figure out. Maybe you can help me fix it.”
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