Title: Wreckage
Author: Captains Cariad
Pairing: gen
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: After watching CoE - 'Day 5 Disclaimer: They're definitely not mine, but the boys like to play and so do I.
Summary: Spoilers for 'Children of Earth'. Missing scene from 'Day 5' - set before the 'Six Months Later' banner. Jack walks through those doors in the Army facility into the light and returns to Cardiff.

***

The Captain returned to Cardiff shortly after the defeat of The 456.

He stands alone, amongst the rubble in Roald Dahl Plass: a solitary figure, small but defiant against the utter devastation. His heart is as broken and twisted as the remains of what was once Torchwood Three.

His coat billows in the wind coming off the bay, which carries the trails of smoke from the still smouldering remnants out across the grey waters. Then the rain begins — big, fat drops of water that cool the heavy, dust laden atmosphere, making the ashes of The Hub pop and fizzle as they land. Each one pierces Jack's heart like a dagger.

His body crumples, wracked with sobs, bringing him to his knees on the charred ground. In his shaking hands, he holds a purple and silver striped tie, which he slowly unfurls to reveal wrapped within a battered stopwatch. Tears course down his cheeks, burning trails like scars over his skin. They mingle with the rain, which is coming down faster now. He raises his face to the rapidly darkening sky and howls.

***