Fragmented

Prologue

Disclaimer- Everything belongs to their respective owners.

Eugene: the average life is full of near misses and absolute hits, of great love and small disasters. It's made up of banana milkshakes, loft insulation, and random shoes. It's dead ordinary and truly truly amazing. What you've got to realize is it's all here now. So breathe deep and swallow it whole because take it from me, life just whizzes by. -Random Shoes- S1E9

Running. Lots of running.

Truly unbelievable amounts of running. Her life seemed to be encased in a solid state of nothing but running anymore. Her current situation only spoke volumes of truth on the fact. Her trainers, something she wore everyday (a trait that Jack said reminded him very strongly of someone else); hit the ground with snaps as a voice shouted directions into her ear piece.

She skid to a quick stop at the end of a brick alley way, briefly thinking that this was always how bad situations started. "Left, go left", it was a constant ringing in her ear by now. A constant direction being repeated over and over again by the mousy computer geek Toshiko.

"Tosh, I would love to but all I see when I look left is a pretty brick wall" true to her word all she could see to her left was a plain wall, no fence, no fire escape, and most importantly no door.

"Impossible, the alien is right to your left, it must be inside the building somehow." She double checked the wall, lots of bricks and maybe some mortar but defiantly no door. Something odd caught her eye, a certain disharmony amongst the bricks. A section, large enough to be a door was made of pristine and new bricks, vastly telling compared to the old and browning ones around it. She gently pressed her small hand on one of the bright red bricks, and suddenly jumped back when a series of clicking noises interrupted the previously silent night. Quickly the clean bricks started sliding out of place, seemingly disappearing into thin air. One after another they slipped away to reveal a hallway devoid of anything other than darkness.

"Tosh, do you detect any rift activity in my location" he voice shook a little, partly out of shock and partly out of awe, but mostly from being the one to find something as astonishing as the door.

"Granger," it was a new voice this time, "you park yourself right there and wait for me I'm on my way" she smiled to herself, he was always trying to be a hero, putting everyone else's needs in front of the mission. She decided to meet him half way and wait for the quiet Asians' answer.

A couple clicks later and an answer followed by another question echoed through her ear piece. "No, why?"

"Because I just watched a door appear in front of me." She huffed in frustration before gathering her wits. "Jack," she started not waiting for an answer, she knew the alien had to be moving further away from her "Time is precious, I'm going in"

She readied her gun even as she heard her commanders' voice over the ear piece. "Granger stay where you are, Granger wait I'm almost there, Hermione damn it wait" she crept in slowly waiting for her eyes to adjust to the sudden flash from her torch.

"Hermione, the alien is still in there with you, its close" she mentally thanked Tosh for the slightly useless update, she was too cautious to say it out loud.

"Granger get out of there right now, you hear me. That's a direct order" Jacks voice kept shouting in her ear, concern and impatience increasingly coloring his every word as he went on. She smiled slightly, always the hero. Her smile was erased immediately afterward as she felt an alien arm clamp down around her neck. A small gurgle must have come from her as she suddenly heard both voices calling to her before she felt an immense pain in her neck as a cold solution slowly drained into her blood stream. Darkness followed seconds later.

"HERMIONE"

-xxxxx-

It was cold. Well to be more precise whatever she was lying on was cold while the temperature of the surrounding area was quite pleasant. She couldn't seem to grasp the once simple concept of moving quite yet but she could properly guess that the coldness that she was lying on was some sort of metal slab. Small conversations were looming above and around her. She could only hear small snippets as her brain and ears both worked to properly focus their way back to a state of being awake and active. "Owen, tell me you know what's wrong with her." It was the voice of a male. 'American' she mused silently to herself, 'It's been years since I've heard a Yank.'

"Yes Jack I know everything because I'm a bloody magician, of course I don't know and I can't know unless you let me do my work." the voice sounded agitated and Welch. A soft sigh followed as he continued on in a much calmer tone. "Look, I know you're worried. We all are, but she's strong. Go have some coffee and relax." A muffled grunt of affirmation followed as footsteps walked away, the sound of boots clanking on metal wafting through the atmosphere. Feeling suddenly returned as if someone had untied the bonds that held her down. She opened her eyes slowly, the harsh light immediately hurting her head. A young man, late twenties at least popped into her view, harsh cheekbones and worried eyebrows gracing his angled face. "Well good morning there sweetheart, have a good rest?" He turned to look over his shoulder. "Jack, look all your worrying worked, she's awake!"

Chocolate eyes wandered frantically around the room, high ceilings and dingy cream bricks covered the small circular room. Machines littered what little floor space was not taken up by the metal table she was on and images looking like computer screens projected onto the walls. It was the total opposite of the infirmaries she was used too. Heavy running, the same footsteps that just left, echoed off the walls as a tall man in his late 20's arrived into the room. Relieved blue eyes widened as the new man barreled towards her slowly rising form. Warm strong arms wrapped around her pulling her towards him as the man exhaled a small sigh. "Hermione, I'm so happy that you are awake, how do you feel?" he pulled her out of the hug to look her in the eyes, while speaking with a now much stronger tone, "don't you ever disobey an order and get yourself hurt like that again"

Hermione blinked twice and shook her head quickly, almost as if to clear the cobwebs, before she looked the handsome man in the face, "I'm sorry but who are you?"

Hermione Jane Granger remembered many things in her life. Her parents, Amelia Joan Granger and Solon Jonathan Granger were both accomplished dentists and amazingly lovely people. She remembered them well, even if they no longer remembered her. She remembered her first day of school, walking down the hallways, dragging a bag filled to the brim with books meant for children much older than her. She remembered being years older and being in the fourth grade desperately wishing for her beloved books to take her away to a fantasy world. Most of all she remembered her eleventh birthday, she could still feel the coarseness of the parchment containing the one piece of paper that finally did take her away to her dream life, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

She remembered the school, the wonderful school that swooped in and took over her life. She gave it easily and let the magic of the once unknown world swallow her up. She remembered how it felt to cast a spell, how the food tasted so much better, and how everything seemed so wonderful. She could easily call to mind the name of every friend, text book, potion, and disaster that she encountered while in the illustrious institution. Every new magical device seemed like something from her old fairy tale books and she relished in living in a world encased in it.

She remembered Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley and all of the asinine adventures they went through to exterminate the wizarding world from evil. She remembered winning, and the horrible price it cost. She remembered the deaths. Her beloved cat Crookshanks, her honorable headmaster Dumbledore, Moony, Tonks, Snape, all along with countless other needless deaths. Each one stuck to the corners of her mind with distinct detail, every cut, every glassy eyed stare, every pale hand that she held onto as she urged each soul to return to their dead body. She specifically remembered wanting to forget.

Hermione remembered attempting a relationship with the wizarding world's savior. It didn't quite work, too much history, to many times together that screamed of sibling love. They broke it off, each agreeing that it was impossible. She remembered her brief fling with the fiery redhead Weasley and the terrible fights they had each night. She remembered Harry and Ron both marrying, Ginny and Luna respectively, and remembered the horrid dress that Luna "Loony" Lovegood asked her to wear as a bridesmaid. She remembered her most recent birthday, twenty six; she spent it alone only joined by a TV, a plush robe, and a small tub of ice cream. Her best friends were busy with their new children.

Hermione, never to be called "Mione", "Mia", or "Hermy", always prided herself on her distinct memory, one that never failed her, a photographic one if you will. So why, she wondered to herself, did she not recognize this handsome man in front of her?

Why could she not remember this 'Jack' who held her so familiarly as if she were a long lost friend?

-xxxxx-

Jack and Owen cast strained glances at each other. Awkward situations occurred quite often in the hub, however ones including one of their own team members in such a fashion had never occurred before. Owen watched sadly as the brunette introduced herself to people she should have already known. She was up and walking, acting like she wasn't just in a coma like state for over a week, and it just seemed so wrong, her sudden memory loss reminded him greatly of his ex fiancée Katie and her parasitic tumor. In the current case however they didn't know what had caused her to forget her life, the only wound she even had was a small puncture in her neck and some bruising from the aliens arm. He knew that it was a neurological problem, something brought on by whatever had been injected into her, but despite his background in the field Dr. Owen Harper could not find any other clues on how to help his colleague.

Jack was perplexed. It was really quite strange to watch her now. Her little behavioral ticks seemed the same and she still reminded him of a female version of a very dear friend but it was the little things that differed, little things that seemed disastrously huge when coming from her. For instance after their initial introduction, or when she stared blankly at him as Jack liked to call it, she had asked for the date. Normally with Hermione's studious manner this didn't seem to off until after she found out the date she tried to run away claiming that 'Harry and Ron must be sick, it's been over a week and I promised to be at the burrow last Wednesday.' She had also immediately begun frantically searching for something yelling about her wand. Jack had laughed at her then, only to hastily wish he hadn't after the glare she sent his way, and stated that there was nothing in the entire hub that resembled a wand and she should stop moving around so much or she could hurt herself.

Ianto was in the middle of attempting to calm the distraught brunette when Hermione suddenly went still. He watched as her face switched from frenzied and confused to one of a small state of shock, her eyes wide and mouth slack. She had teetered for a moment, recognition crossed through her honey orbs right before they proceeded to roll back into her head and her entire body crumpled. Ianto Jones was never known to be an especially fast fellow, but in that moment he was astounded himself with how quickly he dropped his mug of coffee and grabbed the young woman's body before it hit the ground. "Jack," he had shouted to the now running immortal, "I don't know what happened, one minute she was fine and the next she looked surprised and fainted." Jack looked solemn and gently retrieved her from his tea boys arms.

Calmly he walked to the infirmary/autopsy room and gently laid her onto the cold slab once again. "Owen, fix her." With that said Captain Jack Harkness retreated to his private room for a stiff drink.

-xxxxx-

Hermione Jane Granger remembered many things in her life. Her parents, Amelia Joan Granger and Solon Jonathan Granger were both accomplished dentists and amazingly lovely people. She remembered them well, even if they no longer remembered her. She remembered her first day of school, walking down the hallways, dragging a bag filled to the brim with books meant for children much older than her. She remembered being years older and being in the fourth grade desperately wishing for her beloved books to take her away to a fantasy world. She remembered excelling in secondary school and studiously secluding herself in libraries absorbing any information they would give her. Most of all she remembered the nondescript man approaching her after one of her classes at the University and telling her that aliens were very real and very dangerous.

She easily recalled her subdued surprise when she learned the truth about the universe. She was always a social outcast, preferring the company of dusty tomes and paper pages to real human contact, so it was perfectly understandable that with her many years of time spent in libraries she had come across certain books pertaining to aliens, life out in the stars, and a "Doctor". She remembered the job offer clearly also, it was to be a research position; he had told her, one that didn't involve any danger or direct contact with any possible extraterrestrial species. She had foolishly believed him.

She remembered quickly connecting the dots and reading through the loop holes left by the cover stories that the British government felt they needed to explain the strange occurrences that seemed to happen more and more often. She knew it was this same knowledge that caused her eager mind to agree to the job offer, there were in fact other worldly creatures, and the more they learned about them the more protected they were for the future.

She remembered the room that was her office; shelves lined the walls filled with various books and paperwork, a small desk threatening to spill files and equations all over the floor and the damn desktop that took at least five minutes to start. Every day the same nondescript man who had revealed the world to her brought her strings of equations and untranslated conversations to solve. Every day she dutifully did so. She was trapped and she had known so, sure at the end of the day she could leave the office and return to her mediocre flat. She could recall the placement of each hidden bug and camera though, the silent threat they seemed to signify. She knew how valuable her mind was to the government, the knowledge she had gained over the years could either destroy the world or enlighten it and they were too smart to let that run away.

Hermione remembered the day Captain Jack Harkness saved her from the tedium of the confined room that was her world. He strolled into her life all swagger and confidence and grabbed her hand and led her out of that hell hole. He was her knight in shining armor, which was until he moved her to Cardiff and threw her in the line of fire. She mentally thanked him every day for bringing her to Torchwood. It was only within the cold underground of the base that she could finally make connections to people that were on a deeper level than simple paper and knowledge. She remembered first meeting the severe welsh doctor Owen Harper and all of his dysfunctions, the quiet and somewhat tortured Toshiko Sato and all of her computer genius, Suzie Costello and her engineering brilliance, and the ever primly dressed Ianto Jones and his oh so wonderful cups of coffee. It was Jack Harkness that she recalled the most, his daring nature and his need to love everyone and everything that would give him the time. He was more to her than a simple friend or lover could ever be, he was her leader and she would give anything to serve him. The team quickly became a family too her, making it able for her to spend her 26th birthday among like minds.

Hermione, never to be called "Mione", "Mia", or "Hermy", always prided herself on her distinct memory, one that never failed her, a photographic one if you will. So why, she wondered to herself, could she not recognize the look on the face of the handsome man in front of her?

Why could she not remember what happened to cause Jack Harkness to look upon her with such concern?

-xxxxx-

Toshiko Sato silently watched the heated exchange between the two brunettes in front of her. Jack wanted to play the mother hen to the newly conscious patient while consistently asking her various questions about her life. Hermione was fighting back to the coddling with a renewed vigor all the while answering every question correctly, looking confused about the verbal salvo all along. Tosh allowed a small smile to curve her lips as she watched them. It was wonderful to know that the female had her memories back and seemed to be in good health. What was slightly disconcerting however was the cause. Tosh remembered every agonizingly slow moment after she heard the small noise of shock over the headset. Muffled sounds of struggle filled her ears as fear and worry filled her head. It was the destructive silence that followed that frightened Tosh the most. Hermione was fast and good at her job, it was unreasonable that anything could take her down and it was only after she heard Jacks strangled cry for the jeep did realization sink in.

Hermione had been hurt. Her closest friend had been injected with an unknown fluid by an unknown alien and woke up acting like an unknown person. The Japanese computer genius had been severely distraught at the news that her closest friend seemed to be broken, and for all of her smarts and wits Tosiko didn't know what to do. She wanted to think that the threat was over with and out of mind but the emergence of another personality that Hermione had shown when she didn't have her correct memories worried the Torchwood team. Happy to have the researcher back to being herself Tosh allowed herself to file the fear into its own little mental filling cabinet.

-xxxxx-

Time seemed to drag on for Hermione as the team slowly returned to normalcy. Owen requested her presence every hour for cautionary readings but otherwise allowed the quiet researcher do as she wished. Susie had left hours ago stating that she had felt ill and would be back in the morning which didn't seem all too unusual for the socially awkward engineer who disliked intense social situations. She guessed having a teammate suddenly regain consciousness with an entirely new set of memories counted as one. Hermione let her thoughts drift in the quiet of the hub. Jack had told her that she referenced several people and places but she couldn't remember any of it. Hermione could only draw a blank when the American asked her about the other memories and wondered why she could not remember them now.

Finding no new information on any medical cases pertaining to her situation and having no leads on finding the alien that had drugged her she decided to retire to the couch underneath the unnecessary Torchwood sign. The blue eyed flirt in command had kindly requested she stay in the hub overnight so he could keep an eye on her, at least she was sure he thought it was a request. The order was voiced nicely and in concern but she knew now it was only a symptom of one of his kind commands. Ianto had kindly fetched her pillow and blanket before returning to tidy up the mess left from the Chinese takeout and keeping an eye on the rift monitor. She was barely comfortable before Jack came rushing from his office, which she also believed was his room, telling the sharply dressed man to call the team together to meet at a murder scene.

Hermione was up and pulling on her trainers before Ianto had made the first call. She was sliding into the back seat of the blue lit jeep before Owen had shaken himself awake from his desk. She was fighting with Jack before she knew what was happening.

"You are not even thinking of going with us on this one, it's a murder scene we can survive without you for the night" Jack had spit out the words before she opened her mouth to protest. His baby blues shined in the night as he eyed her with concern and she let a small smile cross her tired face.

"Jack I'm coming, I need to see what happened, what if it was from the same alien that attacked me? Please I'm feeling normal and all myself." Hermione punctuated her quiet plea by firmly snapping her seat buckle into the lock and reclining in the car. Jack could only glare from the front seat as she sat looking quite proud of herself.