outsiders ; open

[Owen Harper]

Owen dropped the pen on top of the pile of paper with a triumphant, if slightly pained grin, flexing his hand to try and ease the cramp that had taken hold. Four recent reports and three rewrites done, all by hand, and he reckoned the others should appreciate that he'd taken the time to make sure they were all correct. After all, it was unusual for him to offer to do anything of the sort. He laid back in his chair for a minute and looked up at his computer screen, watching the Torchwood logo bounce around on his screensaver [who had bothered to make that, anyway?] and just resting for a moment. Knowing his luck, this would be the point someone came along and had a go at him for not doing anything.

He groaned and pushed himself back up from the depths of his chair, this time rolling his head round as his neck started seizing. This was why he didn't like sitting still for too long, especially for something as dull as paperwork – he just ended up aching and then he'd be moody, and everyone else would just have a go at him for being a miserable sod when it was their fault in the first place. Maybe it would serve them right if he was in a foul mood for the rest of the day, a whole... four hours, he discovered as he checked the time on the computer. Huh, he'd thought it was closer to a reasonable time for bunking off, but apparently paperwork really did have the power to cause time to slow down. He wondered if Jack had ever thought about investigating that one – maybe paperwork was just an alien ploy, used to try and take over the planet! Or maybe it was just really dull. Either way, paperwork should be eliminated.

Pleased with his logic, Owen shifted himself from his seat and stood up, stretching and yawning slightly as he sought out further life in the Hub. He had hoped he'd be getting some coffee, if he was lucky, but somehow everyone seemed to have disappeared, leaving him alone, save for the cry of Myfanwy up above. Was there a meeting he'd missed the memo for or something? A little put out but unwilling to let it get the better of him, he grabbed his white jacket from off the back of his chair, slipped it on and trundled down to the autopsy bay. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at the sight of a half-devoured alien who'd been on the wrong end of a Weevil attack, still lying on the table. He'd forgotten he'd left it there and it was starting to stink.

”Oops?” he muttered to himself, walking to its side and looking at the notes he'd left on a pad, now slightly covered in green slime that was oozing from the corpse. He picked up the pad with a pair of tweezers, lifting it in front of his face and watching the ooze drip back off it and onto the floor. He pulled a face. ”Lovely...”

He dropped the pad to the floor and set about shifting the body back into cold storage, ignoring the mess he was making on the floor as he carted the body around and dislodged the ooze. ”Sod this, someone else can clean it up...”

[Jack Harkness]

Jack was returning to the Hub after being gone for several weeks on his honeymoon with Gwen. After everything that had happened at their reception, Gwen and Jack had been ready for the vacation. As he entered the Hub from the Tourist Office, he slowly made his way downstairs. He was surprised that no one had greeted him and wondered if the team was on a mission. The main door opened and Jack looked around. Sure enough, the Hub was empty, but then Jack heard a noise in the Autopsy Room.

Owen. Only he could be making so much noise in the Autopsy Room. Jack made his way over, but didn’t announce himself at first. Instead, he peeked down to see an alien corpse on the table dripping green ooze. Not the most pleasant of sights, but then again, Jack had somewhat missed the challenge of chasing after aliens while on his honeymoon, but realized that the time with Gwen was more precious than he first thought.

Jack started walking down the steps and looking at Owen. “I’m gone for a couple of weeks and you turn this place into a pig sty? I don't think any of the girls will want to clean up after you.”

Jack started to laugh as he looked at Owen.

“How are you Owen? Managed to survive with the girls okay, I hope?”