The Impossible Children

Tish Jones spent a lot of time in this bloody Torchwood hub lately. Perhaps under different circumstances going to work with her sister Martha would be cooler, but then, she recognized that under different circumstances she would probably not be allowed, what with Torchwood being such a secretive operative.

Presently, she was being subjected to yet another battery of tests and scans. Martha and their friend (and fellow Torchwood employee) Mickey Smith presided over her. The team's leader Captain Jack Harkness would check in periodically. The latest test let them know that, at least for the moment, Tish was still in surprisingly good condition.

That was not to say Tish was in good condition overall, of course. She had been pregnant for a little over four months now with something that they all suspected from the start was not human. She could remember several blurry occasions of being abducted by some sort of aliens, if only just barely, and she knew this was not the first time she'd been impregnated. This was just the first time the baby whatever-it-was had survived this long.

She wondered how long this one would survive. Every so often, she would become incredibly sick and weak, and Martha theorized that her body was probably trying to reject the creature growing inside her. Still, it lived, and she lived. Somehow, she'd recover, and the cycle would eventually start anew. Right now, though, she was in one of the recovered stages and very much wanted to stay that way.

Upon Martha's request, Mickey began to mess about with one of the machines in the room. It was some kind of basic bioscanner, and Tish never thought she'd become so casual about a machine of its name or description. She'd been hooked up to it repeatedly over the past few months. Before, the scans failed or presented inconclusive readings, but lately the scans had been reading "alien" more often than not.

Today was one of those times. Tish Jones was no alien though, so there was all the more evidence that the baby inside her was alien enough for the both of them.

"How are we today then?" Jack asked as he entered the room once more, "Still alien?"

"Yep, apparently," Tish replied.

"According to this thing anyway," Mickey added. He said it as if the machine were a misbehaving child and that made Tish smile a bit. He removed the nodes of the scanner from Tish and went to work shutting it down and putting it back where it belonged.

"Well, by our best estimation, you're about eighteen weeks along," Martha began.

"Wow, only eighteen?" Tish asked rhetorically, looking down at her slightly enlarged stomach. "Feels so much longer somehow," she added more seriously.

"That means we should be able to get a better look at the baby now," Martha continued, "So, what I think we ought to do is do an ultrasound and see if we can get a better look."

"Okay," Tish responded.

"That machine over there, Mickey, if you could please, help me get that hooked up then," Martha requested.

"Yes, mum," he replied.

Everything was all set up and ready very quickly, and soon they began. Martha applied gel to Tish's belly and Tish flinched slightly at its cool temperature. Jack returned yet again, this time with the other members of the team, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones. "Tish, do you mind if we join you?"

Tish assumed the question was just a courtesy of some sort, since Jack seemed to have a certain fondness towards her; after all, she reckoned Torchwood did what it wanted, whatever it had to do. Even if this current case did involve her personally, it didn't mean her wishes were top priority or anything, she assumed.

"Yeah," Tish replied, "of course."

The display was a bit hard to interpret, even a little bit for Martha it seemed. "Right," Martha said, tone still confident, "Okay, I think this must be it. See, the head there." She began to gesture toward specific points. "And the spine. Look there! The legs! It's moving them now." Martha could not help but get excited as she deciphered the images they were seeing.

"Oh, believe me, I know," Tish responded, which got some laughs from everyone. They were all so captivated, seeing this thing that had somehow become just another part of her everyday existence now.

"The limbs look really long actually," Martha added, "The whole body looks rather big really. The head is a bit off compared to a normal human at this stage as well. The ears appear underdeveloped by those standards as well, and the face looks a bit different from what I can tell."

"So, it's alien?" Jack asked. Tish assumed this was a formality; he seemed certain already that it was.

Well, it looks like it's not all the way human, yeah," Martha replied.

"Probably a hybrid of some sort," Jack elaborated, "I'm thinking human plus whatever did this."

Tish just stared at the impossible creature wiggling on the display. She was not certain how she felt about it, about any of this anymore. Finally, she interjected, "But why?"

Everyone seemed to snap to attention as though they had somehow forgotten her. "Why do this? Why make an alien-human hybrid? And why me? Why place it in me?" At least, she assumed and hoped it was "placed" and not created by even more physically invasive means. The thought made her far too uncomfortable to contemplate, so she cursed how blurry and incomplete her memories were and forced the thought to the back of her mind where it was kept on lock-down.

Jack looked at her with more sympathy than he'd probably meant to show. He promptly returned his gaze to the ultrasound display. "We don't know that yet. That's what we hope to find out."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, Tish asked, "So, can you tell what it is then?"

"We've no idea, Tish," Martha replied, "I mean, not really—"

"No, I mean, is it a boy or a girl, or I dunno a species with a third option?" Tish clarified.

"It's got a hand there," Mickey said, pointing and laughing, "It's a modest alien baby."

"Hm." Martha studied the tiny life form. It wiggled once again, allowing Martha a better look at its developing genitalia. "Looks a bit...ambiguous...it's hard to tell...it might be a boy, but...I can't be sure. Sorry, Tish."

"It's okay," Tish said, "doesn't really matter. I was just curious, I guess."

Mickey started laughing again. "He's doing it again! Lookit!"

"I think you're getting way too much enjoyment out of this, Mickey," Gwen said, clearly amused by her co-worker.

After they were finished, everyone except Martha and jack resumed other tasks. The two asked Tish if she would stay in the medical bay for a while, and she agreed that she would as long as they would allow her to take a nap at some point, if they kept her too much longer. Then, they left her there alone.

Martha accompanied Jack to his office where they could meet in private. "So, it's alien, then," Martha began once they were behind closed doors.

"Yeah," Jack said, "I'm just trying to think of the best course of action from here."

"Yeah, me, too," Martha said, "I already talked to Tish back when this all started about her options..."

Jack knew what she was talking about. He looked at Martha very seriously. "What do you think is best?"

"Honestly, Jack? I don't know. I know I want Tish to have input and as far as the baby and her body goes I want her to have final say." Martha was sure that notion would be contested, but she was prepared to stand firm.

If Jack disagreed in any way, he made no indication. "Yes, but what do you think?"

"I think we have no idea what is going to happen to Tish or the baby. I mean, it might not even survive to term, even if it has already surpassed our expectations. Just because it's lived this long is no guarantee though. And Tish...well..." This part was harder for Martha. "We don't know what effects this will have on her. I mean, her life doesn't seem to be in danger right now, but that could all change very quickly."

"So, what are you suggesting?" Jack asked.

"I'm not suggesting anything. What are you suggesting then?" Martha retorted with slight irritation.

"Should we terminate the pregnancy?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Martha said, "and that's for Tish to decide anyway. I'd like to go talk to her about all this if that's alright."

"Of course," said Jack, and he dismissed her.

"Tish?" Martha said as she entered the medical bay once more.

"Hm?" Tish had been lost in thought. She looked at Martha expectantly. "So," she said, "what were you and Jack talking about then? Am I allowed to know?"

"Tish, you're a part of this now; you're allowed to know everything we know," Martha replied. After a pause, she added, "And, yes, it did concern you. That's actually what I wanted to talk with you about."

"Oh?" Tish asked.

"So, as you know, it's alien," Martha began, "or some sort of very alien hybrid...And you're about eighteen weeks along by our best estimate. We're trying to decide how its best to proceed, but we need your input."

"You want to know whether I want to let it live, or, well, maybe live, or...kill it?" Tish asked.

Martha flinched slightly at her sister's choice of words. She continued, "It's up to you, Tish, but we do need to weigh the options. I mean, it's possible the creature won't survive to term anyway or even after it's born. We can't know that, and we can't know what this will do to you either. I don't mean to frighten you, but your health could be seriously affected. Your life could even be at risk."

Tish met her sister's dark brown eyes, knowing how hard this was for her. If not for all of her medical training and experience, Martha would have a much more difficult time giving news like this; even so, Tish could tell dealing with such grim matters with a family member was taking its toll on Martha. She was thankful that Martha was such a strong person; otherwise, they both might have broken down over this.

Tish was pretty strong herself, of course. With a look a bravery that only came from resignation, she responded, "I understand." They both paused. "God, I wish I knew what the right answer was," Tish confessed.

"Me, too, sis," Martha responded.

"Give me a minute to think about this, okay?" Tish said.

"Take as much time as you need," Martha said, "If you need me, I'll be around."

Tish nodded and watched her sister leave the room once again. This was the hardest decision she had ever had to make. Alien or not, this thing was alive and maybe, just maybe, the two of them would survive. Not that she necessarily wanted to have a child, alien or not, but she just wanted everyone to live. She wanted some sort of good to come out of all this, all the torture she'd been put through. Just for a moment, she dared to hope something good could come of it all.

However, she knew the odds of that weren't good. The last baby had miscarried, and this one was certainly not out of the woods. Neither was she. Only about three weeks prior, she became so ill she was certain both she and the baby were doomed.

If this thing suffered when and how she suffered, maybe this...procedure would be a mercy killing. Not to mention, they had no way of knowing if it would ever be viable. If it didn't die now (naturally and horribly or by abortion and hopefully swiftly), who was to say it would not die (and likely suffer greatly in the process) later on?

And what were its alien "parents" planning for it? What if their plans were horrible—evil even? They had no way of knowing whether or not those aliens would harm the baby hybrid.

Tish found herself repeating, "God, I wish I knew what the right answer was." She sighed and wiped her eyes. Although still unsure if it was the "right answer", she had made her decision.