Nightingale: Agent of Torchwood

Ghost Machine [Final]

"I'm assuming your visions began when you first touched the machine?" Nightingale noted.

"Yeah. I had dreams when I was younger, but they drifted once I grew older..."

Nightingale nodded. "You shouldn't keep yourself locked away because of what you saw..."

"There's no way of stopping them, the visions?"

"I mean, if you don't use the machine, there's a chance they'll fade away like they did when you were younger. But I'm sorry, like me, I think that machine amplified our abilities to see into the past and possible future..."

"Possible?! I'm going to die out on that street..."

"I know it sounds mad, but just because you saw yourself..."

"Dead, yeah?"

"It doesn't mean it's going to happen. It's the thing about this gift...it only shows one possible future out of infinite possibilities,"

"Even so, you don't know how to stop it. For you or me." Bernie began pacing the room. "It's got right into my head, this thing. Some things you're just better off not knowing,"

Nightingale heard her phone buzz and huffed. "So much for girl code," she answered the phone. "Jack,"

"Ed Morgan. I think our friend Bernie Harris tried to blackmail him,"

Nightingale turned to look at Bernie. "Bernie was blackmailing him?"

"Looks that way. Tell me you're with him,"

"Yeah, I'm at Bernie's place,"

"We're heading over. Stay right there,"

Nightingale hung up the phone and looked at Bernie. "You saw Ed Morgan assaulting that girl, too, and you thought you'd make some money out of it?!" she noticed him looking out the window. "What, are we expecting someone?"

Bernie walked past her.

"Where are you going?" Nightingale voiced, "Bernie! Bernie!" she heard her phone ring in the other room but ignored it and followed after Bernie. "Bernie!" Nightingale froze when she saw Ed Morgan out on the street before Bernie.

"I knew you'd find me in the end," Ed said. "I knew you'd come for me. I've been waiting for years." He noticed Nightingale standing a bit behind Bernie. "Have you come for me, too?"

Nightingale moved closer when she noticed the knife clutched tightly in Ed's hand, the same knife that had taken Lizzie's life.

"I used to see it in people's faces when they looked at me. They knew. I tried to hide, but they knew." Ed looked at the dark sky. "I haven't been outside for so long.

"Edwin..." Nightingale spoke up.

"Little bitch!" Ed snapped, "You're all the same. You blame me and make me the bad one. Edwin, put the knife down,"

"I wasted my life for you,"

"We won't tell anyone." Bernie stammered, "No one else is gonna know,"

Nightingale noticed Jack sneaking up behind Ed and pushed Bernie back. "Stay calm,"

"I won't breathe a word. You'll never see me again, I promise,"

"I know. That's why I came," Ed reasoned. "It's what you want, isn't it?"

Jack moved as soon as Ed moved closer. "Got him!"

Nightingale moved and slid the knife over to her and away from Ed.

"Are we okay?" Jack called out.

"Yeah," Nightingale breathed. "Yeah, we're okay," she said, looking at Bernie. "No one died. What I tell you, one out of infinite..."

"I knew you'd come for me," Ed moved towards Nightingale, and right as Jack reached to stop him, the knife had already lodged near his heart.

"No..." Nightingale whispered as she dropped the knife and felt the familiar red sticky substance on her hands. "No, no, no..."

Jack moved to Nightingale "Gale..."

"I couldn't stop it...I couldn't..." Nightingale fell to her knees. "Loki, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop it,"

***

Nightingale was sitting on the docks near Torchwood. She didn't have to look up to know that Jack was coming to sit next to her. "I killed him. I've got his blood on my hands,"

"You can't take it personally, Gale. He wanted to die. He would have found a way, no matter what,"

"I'm not talking about Ed,"

"Loki," Jack said. "I was wondering why you said his name back there,"

"The problem with seeing the future is you can't just sit and look at it," Nightingale sighed. "When I saw things I didn't like, I tried to change things. Make it happen differently, just like I did tonight. But with Loki, I saw it all...from the moment we touched hands. Growing up, he was so sweet to me; it always made me question what starting event caused him to go down the path he did. But just like tonight...I killed him,"

"Gale..."

"I let go, Jack!" Nightingale exclaimed. "I could have held onto him just a bit longer...I could have taken this vortex manipulator and had us run away together...I could have..."

Jack stopped her rambling by kissing her. "Come on, Gale. The sun's coming up,"

"A new day," Nightingale agreed as she laid her head on Jack's shoulder.