Author's Notes: Thanks to Stormymouse

Time Rift

"Can you tell me again, why we're here? Way out of our jurisdiction?"

Fraser didn't even break stride, walking alongside Ray, focused to reach their destination as soon as possible.

"Technically speaking, Ray, I'm not. Out of my jurisdiction that is. With Canada being part of the Common Wealth and Elizabeth II. as our head of state ..."

"Do not get the Queen involved in this, Fraser!" Ray jumped in front of his friend, stopping him with a finger pointing at his chest.

"Ray!" Fraser sounded irritated, trying to walk around him but Ray wouldn't have any of it, blocking his way.

"Ray, we don't have time for this."

"Make time." Ray was sick of this game. Ever since this -- thing had shown up in Chicago, which basically could have been a result of one screwed-up experiment as far as Ray knew, Fraser behaved like the world was going to end if he didn't reach -- Ray didn't even know what or whom exactly. Fraser was as tight-lipped as he could be, avoiding his questions ever since.

"Ray, you're behaving childishly."

"Don't pull that crap, Fraser!" It was very hard for Ray to keep his cool. Never before had Fraser been that secretive. Something really bad must be going on, and Ray wanted to know what. He had seen that thing, had seen Fraser's reaction and he hadn't known until that point that Fraser could be scared of anything. But he had been. White as a sheet Fraser had dealt with the thing, and had taken his leave shortly after. If Ray hadn't paid as close attention as he had he wouldn't be here with Fraser right now. Which Fraser might prefer. But they were partners, a duet, and where Fraser went, Ray went too. "Tell me what you know!"

"I'm afraid you won't believe me, Ray." Fraser said calmly, finally locking eyes with Ray as if Ray not believing him might be the worst that could happen.

"What?" Ray was amazed. He believed in each and every single caribou-Inuit-story Fraser had ever told him. All right, maybe not every single word but the ess--essent--the important parts, like not licking a lamppost in wintertime.

"There are more things happening in this world than you can see on the surface."

"Like this thing we saw," Ray prompted.

"Yes, a weevil."

"A what?" Ray paused. "You knew what this thing was all along?"

"Of course, Ray. How else could I have known how to eliminate it?"

Ray decided not to get upset, he really did. There was more going on than Fraser was saying anyway.

He grabbed Fraser by his uniform sleeve.

"What do you know, Frase? What happened to you?"

"I fell," Fraser suddenly whispered, avoiding Ray's eyes, a shiver running through his body. "When I was ten years old, Ray, I fell."

Ray couldn't make any sense of Fraser's words. He did fall every day as a ten-year-old but maybe it was different for Fraser, maybe even as a boy he wasn't supposed to fail. At anything.

"I..."

"I have seen things, Ray. Terrible things," Fraser's voice was distant like he was seeing it all over again. Whatever it might be. "I couldn't find my way back," he admitted. "I just couldn't. I might have died if," he paused, "if Jack hadn't found me."

"Jack? Who is Jack?"

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"I still don't understand," Ray shook his head. "Why are we in Cardiff to see the police if this thing, this weevil, showed up in Chicago?"

"Jack is not a member of the local police force, Ray. He is head of an organization called Torchwood here in Cardiff."

"Torchwood?"

"Torchwood Three actually. You see, Cardiff is built on top of a time rift that runs though the city. Torchwood is authorized to handle whatever comes through that rift to protect Earth."

Ray was speechless.

A time rift.

Aliens.

Fraser started walking again.

"Wait. Wait. Wait." Ray rushed after Fraser, stopping him again. "Are you telling me that you fell through a rift, a time rift, when you were ten years old?"

"Yes, Ray."

"How ..."

"Fortunate for me I fell into Jack's hands, almost literally, who was a time agent at that time; he safely returned me home, and made me promise not to speak of what I had seen. I started working for him when I turned twenty-one, guarding a small rift north-west of Inuvik, which he was able to close shortly before my father died."

"There is more than one? One rift, I mean."

"Apparently."

They had started walking again, reaching a wide-open plaza, Fraser heading directly for a small kiosk; a young, bored-looking guy in a fancy suit greeted them when they entered.

"How may I help you, gentlemen?"

"I would like to talk to Captain Jack Harkness, please."

The man looked skeptical, obviously about to turn down their request when a male voice resounded through the room.

"Let them through, Ianto!"

And through they went; Ray's jaw almost hit the floor because the small kiosk was somehow a cover for a much larger building behind/under/whatever, and he was about to mention that to Fraser when something huge flew over their heads, making Ray duck.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, taking in stonewalls surrounding computer desks, gadgets he had never seen in his life, people busily working while Fraser moved on unimpressed.

"More and more handsome every time I lay eyes on you," a guy, probably Captain Jack Harkness, Ray figured, said standing on top of some spiral steps, and looking down on them, a bright grin on his face.

To Ray's surprise Fraser didn't blush, tug at his collar, rub his eyebrow or whatever he was usually doing in a situation like this, he just hugged the guy when he made it down the stairs.

"Jack."

"Benton," Jack held Fraser at arm's length now, checking him up and down. "One gorgeous fellow you turned out to be."

"Sorry to interrupt," Ray made his presence known by stepping out of Fraser's shadow.

"Ah, you brought a present," Jack grinned broadly, taking in all of Ray. "Nice."

Now Fraser did blush and Ray was about to tell the guy what he could do with his `nice' remark when somebody interrupted the suddenly explosive atmosphere.

"Coffee? Anyone?"

"Yes, Ianto, of course." Jack was still smiling winningly, and took a step back. "Benton?"

"Tea, thank you kindly. Ray?" Fraser turned toward Ray, getting his attention off Jack.

"Yeah, thanks." Ray said, shrugging his shoulders to get rid of the tension that had built up while Captain Jack Harkness was squeezing the life out of Fraser. What was that all about? And how could Fraser have met the guy when he was ten; he couldn't be much older than either of them.

"My team," Jack spread his arms. "You met Ianto, Ianto Jones," he said, pointing at the man that had greeted Fraser and Ray in the kiosk and who was now about to make them coffee. And tea, of course. "Gwen Cooper, Dr. Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato."

Everybody looked curiously, like it didn't happen every day that people walked into their headquarters.

"Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," Jack continued, "and..."

"Kowalski, Detective Ray Kowalski, CPD," Ray said.

"And Ray," Jack finished, walking into some sort of conference room then. "I heard we have a situation in Chicago."

"Indeed," Fraser followed.

Slowly everybody gathered around the table, drinking freshly brewed coffee. And tea.

"Tosh?" Jack asked.

"I picked up some rift activity in the Chicago area but it's nothing like our rift here in Cardiff. It almost seemed manmade."

"Interesting." Jack scratched his chin. "Can you compare your data to a rift which occurred twenty-five years ago in the Northwest Territories?"

Tosh was nodding her head, walking out of the room.

"Jack?" Fraser asked, suddenly looking uncertain.

"It's a possibility, Benton," Jack said. "We could never figure out what caused the rift you fell ..."

"He fell through a rift, Jack?" Gwen's eyes turned even bigger than they already were. "And survived unharmed?"

"What do you mean unharmed?" Ray asked, looking curiously between Jack, Gwen and Fraser. "Fraser?"

"We shall concentrate on ...," Fraser tried to stir the conversation back to a safer topic, unsuccessfully if Ray's sudden tension was anything to go by.

"What usually happens when somebody falls through the rift?" Ray pointed his question at Gwen directly.

"More coffee?"

Gwen looked uncertainly at Jack who looked at Fraser; nobody paid any attention to Ianto.

"What happens when somebody falls through the rift?" Ray repeated. Louder, more insistent.

"Ray."

"People go mad." Jack held Ray's gaze steadily. "They loose their mind over the mere horror they experience."

"Fraser's not mad," Ray stated. "He's a freak but he's not mad."

"He's an extraordinary person, was so even at the age of ten," Jack smiled almost lovingly at Fraser. "And, perhaps, he was lucky to run into me."

Ray rolled his eyes.

Was that guy for real?

"Jack!" Tosh called from the other room and from the sound of her voice she had found something.

Everybody quickly gathered around her computer terminal.

"It's exactly the same," Tosh said, pointing at the screen with amazement.

"I didn't know somebody could create a rift," Owen said, a skeptical look on his face.

"Looks like I'm going to Chicago, ladies and gentlemen," Jack announced without further ado.

"What? Jack, no," Gwen replied, looking at her team for support.

"What could possibly happen?" Jack asked cheerfully. "I have Canada's finest with me and a Chicago Detective." He was about to turn when Ianto piped up.

"Jack ..."

"I will be fine, Ianto," he said, running up the stairs.

"Greatness," Ray whispered under his breath. This was exactly what he needed. A cheerful guy running on hormones, a rift, people fall through and go mad, and aliens running around in Chicago.

"Toshiko," Fraser asked, "could you tell me which dimension this rift in Chicago has?"

"Yes," her fingers flew across her keyboard. "It's nothing compared to our rift here in Cardiff. But still active enough for things to push through."

Ray was alerted all of a sudden. "Things? You mean like ..."

"The weevil. Yes, Ray." Fraser rubbed his eyebrow. There was something even more concerning than weevils turning up in Chicago. "Is it possible to check for missing persons since the rift occurred?"

Everybody went silent, watching Tosh's fingers working the keyboard, and holding their breaths.

"According to police reports the rate of missing persons increased 10% since the first incident."

"Damn," Ray cursed while Fraser straightened his back.

"Some things are beyond your control, Benton." Jack was suddenly back, standing close to Fraser, almost whispering in his ear. Ray didn't like it. At all.

"Understood." Fraser said but he didn't relax. Too vivid were the memories of when it had been him getting lost.

"Frase?"

"I'm all right, Ray."

"Yeah, sure." Ray knew better but what could he do?

"He will be fine," Jack said as if he knew Fraser better than Ray did. Which he might, Ray considered, and a feeling of jealousy crept up his spine.

"We better hurry," Jack said, taking a small bag Ianto had seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

"Of course," Fraser agreed and went after him, Ray on his heels.

~::~::~

Ray had to admit that the car was kind of cool. Nothing like his GTO, of course, but - cool.

Ianto was driving Fraser-style with Jack in the passenger seat and Ray and Fraser in the back.

"You never said why you went to Chicago after I closed the rift," Jack said, craning his neck to look at Fraser, and Ray was expecting Fraser's usual spiel of I came to Chicago on the trail of the killer yaddayadda but instead of straightening his back and composing his face, a sad smile appeared on Fraser's lips.

"My father was murdered, Jack."

That piece of information seemed to darken Jack's sunny mood momentarily. "You got the guy?"

"Yes, I did."

Jack just nodded as if he hadn't expected anything less and turned around again while they were slowly approaching the airport.

"Tosh got us onto the next flight to Chicago," Jack said, emerging from the vehicle, rounding the car, waiting for Fraser and Ray.

"Jack," Ianto called when Jack was about to leave.

Jack had his back to the car, a self-confident smile on his lips. He turned toward Ianto, reaching through the open window to take Ianto's face into both his hands, and kissed him.

Ray was shell-shocked, silly thoughts of laws against lascivious acts reeling through his mind. But most importantly: Fraser knew the guy, and as far as Ray could tell Jack liked Fraser. Like a lot and ...

"Ray. Ray! Ray!"

"He just kissed the guy," Ray said stupidly, watching Jack entering the airport.

"People tend to do so while saying their farewells, Ray." Fraser's voice held some sort of disapproval over Ray's reaction. He went after Jack, leaving Ray standing dumfounded at the curb.

"Greatness." Ray cursed and hurried after them.

~::~::~

Their flight was eventless if you didn't count the fuss Jack made about his earpiece of a phone.

Apparently American Airlines didn't give a shit about who he was, Captain Jack Harkness, or who he worked for; Torchwood didn't mean anything and he had to turn it off.

The incident didn't keep Jack down for long, though, he chatted with Fraser all the way across the ocean while Ray played games in his mind of how to unsuspiciously get rid of him. He couldn't stand Jack's cheery mood, especially when it was turned toward Fraser, which might be triggered by his fear of loosing his best friend. Jack seemed to catch onto Ray's thoughts, smiling at Ray while he touched Fraser all so innocently.

Ray was burning inside and tried to sleep, tuning out Jack's and Fraser's voices.

When he finally relaxed enough to let go of his murderous thoughts he tuned back in to their conversation, instantly realizing that Jack had dropped his flirty tone of voice, talking to Fraser like a proud father might do. Which made some weird kind of sense considering that Jack had known Fraser since he was ten years old.

Ray fell asleep then, leaving Fraser and Jack to their year-long catch-up.

~::~::~

"Ray." Fraser whispered into Ray's ear, carefully touching his shoulder to shake him awake. "Ray, we have arrived."

"Huh?"

"Come on, sleeping beauty, we have work to do." Jack was much less tender, already turning on his phone to contact Tosh, his body turning alert which woke Ray right up. "Where?"

They made it out of the plane, and the airport, without jostling people too much, Fraser's apologies following them like an echo.

"Car?" Jack demanded and Ray led the way.

It was night in Chicago; the area they were heading for poorly lit like in one of those old horror movies that gave Ray the creeps.

"I'm not staying in the car," Ray pointed out just in case Jack, and Fraser as well, were trying to go for that line. They needed the firepower anyway with Fraser not carrying a gun and Jack with this ancient weapon of his which might not even work anymore.

"Perhaps Jack and I are better suited to ..."

"I'm not staying in the car, Fraser," Ray repeated.

"Understood." Fraser backed down while Jack only smiled.

Jack used Tosh's directions to guide them toward a dark alley, a blinding bright light at the end of the alley leading the way once they reached. their destination.

"That the rift?" Ray asked, shielding his eyes while he slowed down the car.

"Yes," Jack answered, jumping out of the GTO, not even waiting for the car to come to a complete halt, Fraser hot on his heels.

Ray cursed.

By the time Ray was finally able to catch up, Fraser was already in Mountie-mode trying to convince the bad guy/alien/whatever - Ray couldn't see all that good with all the light - to give up his weapon - or whatever - and surrender. Jack on the other hand looked doubtful and if Ray was reading the situation right, he knew the guy, knew what his next step would be. Which was shooting. At Fraser.

Ray called out but there wasn't much he could do.

The light got impossibly brighter all of sudden and when Ray could finally see again, Jack was laying on the ground in Fraser's arms.

How he had managed to step in the way was beyond Ray but ... The light was gone, the rift closed and Fraser was tearing off his uniform, looking for some piece of clothing he could press on Jack's wound. Blood was streaming through his fingers.

"Ray, an ambulance!"

"No, Benton, no," Jack insisted, tightening his grip on Fraser's hand, a smile on his face. "It's just a scratch."

"If you call that a scratch, buddy ...," Ray scowled but Jack only looked at Fraser, holding his eyes.

"I will be all right, promise." Blood emerged out of the corner of his mouth then and he stopped breathing.

"He's dead." Fraser's voice was hollow like he couldn't believe it, like it was impossible for one Captain Jack Harkness to just die.

They were standing over Jack's body forever, Fraser on his knees on the ground, his hands covered in blood, and Ray's hand on his shoulder when suddenly Jack's body reared and seemed to be lifted off the ground by a few inches.

"What the ...?" Ray stepped back, watching in amazement as Jack opened his eyes.

"That hurt," Jack grinned, looking down at his shirt. "Another shirt ruined. Ianto won't be impressed."

"Jack?"

"I told you I'll be fine, Benton," he said, touching Fraser's blood-covered hands. "It seems I'm unable to die. I have to see the Doctor about that."

And that was all they got to hear about that.

They lifted Jack off the ground and took him back to the airport like nothing had ever happened. Not the rift, which was closed now just like Jack had promised, and not Jack dying and rising from the dead.

"I'm sure I'll wake up and all of this was a dream," Ray said when they were standing in front of the Chicago Airport once again.

Jack grinned while Fraser didn't say anything. He still looked shell-shocked.

"Take care, Benton." Jack hugged Fraser tight, holding on to him for a very long time. "We will see each other again."

"Thank you, Jack," Fraser finally managed to say.

"Second chances, Benton, second chances."

"Understood."

"Ray," Jack hugged Ray, his lips close to Ray's ear. "I may be immortal, but he's not, and neither are you," he whispered before he quickly placed a chaste kiss on Ray's lips.

Jack grinned satisfied then, stepping back, and smiling broadly. "Goodbye."

The End