1995-07-13: What Is Tomorrow?

Participants:

Madeline_icon.gif Jack_icon.gif

Scene Title What is Tomorrow?
Synopsis Madeline comes back to Jack's office, and Jack's packing!
Location Torchwood Offices
Date Jul 13, 1995
Watch For Jack's roguish smiles having NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER!
Logger Jack.

Jack is scurrying about the office, collecting bits of his stuff here and there. He frowns, pulling a parchment out from under the rollers of his chair, and sighs, shaking his head. It's too late now, for whatever it is. He balls it up, and tosses it toward the trash, and continues on his harried trip around. He steps toward the back room, and brings a few more things out from there. He's packing, it seems.

Madeline has not been seen in some time, but then, the last time she was by, the offices had been closed. Sometime between then and now, she'd grown quite scarce indeed. And now, just as sudden as her disappearance from the office, she now reappears, rapping a few times upon the door - gently, as though she isn't quite sure whether or not she wants to disturb him - and then she nudges it slightly open, slipping inside while Jack is in the back, so that it is as though she simply just appeared there. "I'm not … interrupting, am I?" she asks in a quiet, hesitant voice, as her gaze quickly sweeps over the packing job.

Jack hears the door open, and turns, startled. His wand is in his hand, and he tenses up, dropping a black silk sock on the floor. "Miss Sagace. Madeline. Oh." He pockets the wand, and then with some difficulty, stoops to pick up the sock. "Not exactly. I …" He pauses, deposits the whole lot on to his desk, and looks her over carefully. "Miss Sagace, I've been worried about you. Have you been all right? Is everything okay?" Jack Noble is a big brother, yes. He does the worrying thing well. And with no Rosie to worry about at the moment (or at least not a Rosie who will talk to him), he finds a new target. Plus, it being a pretty girl is a bonus.

Madeline, of course, goes quite red as Jack begins fussing about her, though she also seems as surprised as anything that he's been worrying. She's still not accustomed to people doing that. It's a thing about generally being invisible, is that you can disappear without a problem. She ducks her head and offers her best attempt at a reassuring smile, though it seems a bit weak. "I was visiting … family, that's all. I'm sorry to-to have … given you a fright." There's at least nothing outwardly wrong to be seen, other than her looking a bit peaked, perhaps. "I hadn't realized that you were, ah, looking…" That causes her to go more flush yet.

That's a non-answer, and it doesn't satisfy Jack's curiosity. "Well, of course, I worried. Someone doesn't show up for a while, and can't be found in the usual places…." He shrugs. "I dunno. I'm not your keeper, Miss Sagace. Just a friend." And my, doesn't that blush make her look fetching. He flashes her a grin, quirking an eyebrow for a moment, then catches the sight of the stuff on the desk. "Well, you did catch me packing. I'm headed to Bucharest the day after tomorrow, actually. I have to finish a few things up, and get out of here for a while." Running away? Maybe. He steps back into the small room, and comes out with several sets of completely new robes and some new muggle clothes. He folds them up gently. "So, what's up?"

"A- Yes, a friend," Madeline replies hesitantly, as though trying that one on for size. It gets another ghost of a smile from the woman, though her blush does not seem to be going anywhere soon. "I … truly am very sorry then, for making you worry," she adds, repeating herself even more sincerely this time than last. Still, there's no better answer forthcoming right now, and instead she watches him pack for the moment. "Is - is everything quite all right?" she can't help but ask, not sure whether she's allowed to be concerned after worrying him. "I- Up? Oh. Ah, well. I just … thought that it had been awhile since I had - had seen you last. And as I've … returned now…" Another non-answer really, and she trails off into silence rather than continue rambling.

Still not an answer. He shakes his head. He's not used to these conversations with many people. But he shrugs, and continues working on his pile-o'-stuff while he talks. "S'nothing. Nothing you really need to apologize for, at any rate. Just me, is all." He gives a smaller version of his flashing smile. "Well, as I said, I'm outta here in a couple days, so … if you want to come in here every few and check the post down at Jilly's, and bring it up here, or whatnot… Or if you'd rather just …" He strokes his chin, pausing in his rhythm to look up at her. "If you do, keep track of your hours, yeah, and I'll send you some for it."

"Well, I do feel badly for it, whether or not I … need to be," Madeline replies, perhaps taking his words a little too literally, but she seems happy to leave it just at that. It just wouldn't do to have him thinking she's only sorry when she needs to be. "J- Jilly's?" she echoes, trying to place that as a business or street name and having no luck. "But yes, I could … come and check for you, certainly, if you're sure that would be - be a help." She still hasn't really moved from her spot by the door, in contrast to his constant flurry of movement.

That's kind of how this works, isn't it? Jack runs around and is active and a bit crazy, and Madeline straightens things out, keeps things in order in his office. Jack nods. "Alright. That's set, then." He grins again, and flicks his wand, accioing his trunk down the stairs, flicking it again to levitate it over toward him, and avoid a messy crash. It's a practiced move, yes. It probably looks a bit … daredevil. "Yeah. The Owl Post office. Jilly Gale runs the place. Nice bird, just a bit…" He shrugs. "Oh. I need to make sure she knows you'll be collecting it for me. I have it collected there. Seems to be easier. She can diffuse a Howler pretty quickly." He grins sheepishly.

Madeline finds herself cringing a bit as the trunk comes shooting down the stairs, and while she certainly has faith in her former-and-possibly-still-current employer, there's still some relief when he manages to wrangle it without injury. "Oh, ah, yes. The post office, of course," she replies, looking a bit self-conscious that she somehow didn't know that for herself. Clearing her throat, she offers a faint smile and then nods again. "A … useful talent to have, I'm sure." Especially if she's going to have to pick up his Howler's for him!

Jack shakes his head again at her worry, and flips the trunk open, pushing a few things gently to the side to make a space for his now-neatly-folded new clothes. "Right. She's been there for a bit, I think." He can't remember. Just because he dated the girl at Hogwarts… Anyway, he continues packing and looks around. Eventually, with a slight flush on his cheeks, he turns and grabs Myfanwy from the top of the filing cabinet. "I guess it'd be a good signal to know if I'm in town." He gestures up toward the now-vacant spot. "I always take her on trips." Has since he was tiny.

Madeline watches his haphazard packing job, partly wanting to intervene, but somehow, organizing his personal things for a voyage seems far too personal, unlike organizing his office. So she forces herself to simply remain in place and watch as he nudges things about. There's a slight nod given to the matter of Jilly. "I … suppose I haven't been there enough to be - formally introduced." Not that unusual for her to simply go about things unnoticed, after all. When he gestures to the filing cabinet, she follows with her gaze, and then looks to Myfanwy, filing this detail away. "Ah yes. Well. I … am sure she must be good company." She offers a smile with that. Jack gives a soft chuckle.

"Yeah. She's pretty good." He shrugs again, tilting his head, and thinking. "Oh!" It's rather sudden, and he runs up the stairs, coming down with a small package of something, putting it down into the trunk."That should be every-…" He pauses again, going through a mental checklist. "Well, Jilly's decent. I've known her since school." Pretty well, if the makeout sessions in the greenhouses were any indication. He pauses again, frowning, then looks up at her. "You … you were just coming over to check things out, right? Not in some horrible huge trouble, or needing an advance on your salary or some joy bites or something?" With the mention of the candy, he pats his chest pocket.

Madeline blinks with a bit of surprise at Jack's sudden 'oh!', and she watches him with some curiosity as he rushes upstairs. The package is eyed questioningly, but she doesn't quite dare ask him what it is. "Have you … brought an extra pair of boots?" she suggests, since extra boots almost always come in handy, wherever he might be going. "Oh, so she's … a friend also?" Mads knows about how people sometimes had friends at Hogwarts, and she's almost pleased to have this knowledge. "I'm fine. I was- Yes. Just to check things out," she agrees with a nod. "Would someone really come all the way here for … joy bites?" She honestly wonders.

"Probably not." Jack admits to her last question. "They're only useful if you've got 'em before you get into a pinch." He thinks quietly for a moment, then, in a moment of decision, takes the bag out of his pocket and tosses it to her. "Don't think I'll need 'em as much as you will." Or if he does, he has a few more in his trunk. He thinks. "Best if you know the Patronus with 'em, but if you don't, they're still dead useful." He recloses his pocket. "Jilly? Oh, we went out for a bit." Probably more information than she really needed to know, but she asked. The comment about extra books gets a strange look."Yeah, and a pair of trainers and …" He grins. "I've been doin' this a bit."

Madeline seems a little surprised to suddenly have something tossed to her, but despite her rather girly flailing, she manages to catch the package between her hands. "I- Are you sure?" She's touched, really, by the gesture, looking down at the package with widened eyes and then back to him. "Though I rather hope I won't … be needing them so badly." Her attention is drawn from the matter of the candy by his sharing about Jilly, which brings a faint blush to her cheeks as she worries about having overstepped her bounds. Not that she could have known she was overstepping, even if she were. "I - Er - I see." She has no idea what else to say to that, so there's a pause before she moves right along. "Oh, ah, yes. Of - Of course you have."

Jack nods, reassuring her that he really and truly wants her to have the candy. "I think I've got some more in here, and … I'm not sure I'll need it." Left unsaid is that if he does, he may be in more of a bad situation than the small bits of pure joy can help him overcome. He runs his hand over his face, then shuts the lid to his trunk. "I think that's all of it." Some of it's shrunken in the chest to allow everything to fit, and then the trunk is shrunken itself with another quick wand wave. "Now, I'm good to go." He flashes her a smile. "Now, I just have to get through tomorrow, and Bob's your uncle." Muggle phrase, but Jack uses it anyway.

"Oh, well, all right," Madeline agrees, carefully taking hold of the package of candy in that case, holding it firmly at her side. Perhaps she's aware of what goes unsaid, since she is rather quiet about that - but then, it isn't as though she's boisterous at the best of times either. "Bob?" Mads repeats with some confusion, before realization sinks in and she offers a vaguely amused smile. "Oh yes. What's - ah - What's tomorrow?" Since he apparently has to get through something.

Jack can't resist. "The day between today and the day after." He grins his cheesiest grin at her. "No, it's just the last day before I leave. Always the worst." He shrugs. "So much to take care of. I've just gotten in the habit of packing a night early and then doing all the little stupid stuff that last day."

Madeline is somewhat taken aback by his wiseass remark, but then she comes out with a quiet laugh a moment later. Well, perhaps that was a rather stupid question, but at least his cheesy grin keeps her from feeling too self-conscious about it. "Ah, I - I see. If there's … anything I can do to help…?" she offers, trailing off with a slow shrug. "If- Since I … I still seem to be in your, ah, employ, it would be the … least I could do."

Jack thinks. "Well, maybe, if you didn't mind…" He frowns, and sits down, scrabbling around in the desk to find a quill, some ink and a spare parchment. He has to actually think about all the things he does. "I guess it doesn't have to be me who informs the Ministry, right? I mean, a representative'd do just as well, and …" He continues to scribble a small list. "These things I have to do myself. But these…" He circles several small errands, then turns the parchment over, writing those four on the bottom, and the others on the top. Then, he tears the parchment in half. "There you go. That'll be a great help, Miss Sagace." There's that smile again.

Madeline finally drifts a little further into the room, though she waits patiently by the desk while he works on writing out his list and figuring out which tasks she'll be able to do for him. "Of course, Mr. Noble. I'd - I'd be happy to do them," she assures him, as she reaches out to take her half of the list, returning the smile with a quieter version of her own. Her light gaze skips over the list, pretty much memorizing it as she goes, though it still gets folded neatly in half and tucked safely away in a pocket of her robe. "If there's anything else, please, ah, please just … let me know."

Jack nods, leaning back in his chair indolently. "Sure. Thank you so much." He smiles, putting his hands behind his head and closes his eyes for a few seconds. "That's a huge load off my mind, and now I can take my portkey knowing it'll be done." He knows how valuable she is, even if he doesn't say it much. "Also…" He leans forward again, and pulls out a small scheduling book. "I should be back by…" He licks his thumb, and then pages through to a date roughly six weeks ahead. "Well, by then. If I'm not, then something has gone awry or is being more difficult than usual, and I'll let you know. So, if people ask, …" If she's here, that is.

"Of course, Mr. Noble," Madeline replies simply to the thank you, giving an efficient sort of nod. Really, it's nice to have something to keep herself busy, and a purpose seems to have set her at least a little more at ease. She leans in slightly to watch as he pages forward, making a mental note of the date indicated. "Then I shall, ah, take a message and … let them know when to expect to hear back," she finishes that statement with an understanding sort of nod. It seems she's willing to be here, if he's willing to have her.

"Excellent." He grins again, leaning back in his chair, pushing it further against the wall. "So, tell me about what you've been up to." It's the opener to a long conversation, if she's willing to have it.

Madeline can't help but watch with a bit of wincing as Jack keeps leaning back in his chair, even though the past has taught her that he isn't likely to fall. It just looks so precarious! "Me? Oh, ah, not - not that much. I was … in Calais? It's … my father's family. From there," she begins to explain.


Further setup of Jack's trip to Romania.


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