WHO WE ARE
Owen hadn't banked on Ianto being that bitchy, but as things stood, a cheap day return ticket to London from Cardiff, with underground pass, well that was a low blow by anyone's standards. It was bad enough to be jammed into a packed train carriage at 7am, but the insult to injury had come when the ticket barrier at Paddington station had swallowed his ticket and refused to give it back. Owen was fuming and found himself wondering if a certain tea boy of his acquaintance had tampered with the bloody thing before handing it to him that morning. Ianto had a mean streak longer than the M6 when he was pissed with someone and he'd got passive aggression down to a fine art. Owen was led to ponder what it was he could have possibly done, or maybe he was just being over imaginative.
It took twenty minutes to get his ticket back and after that waste of time he topped up his Oyster card at the kiosk and used that instead to get around the metropolis. Owen loved his home city and often wondered why he had left it in the first place. He emerged onto Embankment and walked alongside the Thames, watching the boats and early commuters as he strolled along. At least the weather was nice; it had been raining in Cardiff. Owen glanced at his watch, he was going to be early for his meeting, which was nothing short of a miracle for him. Of course if Ianto hadn't have dropped him at the station, moreover dragged him out of bed in the first place… He couldn't help but smile at the Tea Boy's super efficiency, but then Ianto had Captain Jack pants to organise on a daily basis. Owen didn't mind that much, it got him out of Wales for the day and away from all those bloody accents he could hardly make sense of. Only the Scottish were worse, especially old Archie at Torchwood 2, Owen needed a translator every time he was forced to communicate with the miserable git. Archie was always complaining about something.
TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW
Ianto, having dropped a grumbling Owen at the train station, continued on to the Hub. He wasn't normally quite so late, but he just didn't trust Owen to wake up early enough to get on his train, so he had re-arranged his usual routine to ensure said medic was where he was supposed to be, when he was supposed to be. Owen wasn't very good so early in the day, whereas Ianto was normally at his most alert and happy during the morning hours. Not that he wasn't alert all the time, even sometimes when he didn't need to be….. Ianto wished his brain would just shut up for a minute. He parked next to the SUV and sat at his steering wheel for a moment to gather his thoughts, going through his mental to do list for the day. With Owen absent it fell to him to be duty field medic so at the very least, if there was an alert, he'd be out and about with the team. Ianto sincerely hoped that the Rift and the weevils would behave themselves.
The Hub was quiet when he arrived and Ianto went straight to the coffee machine to start up a pot. After setting it going he hung up his damp coat and wandered over to his terminal to boot up the machine. There was a lot of 'paperwork' to be getting on with and Ianto settled himself down in front of his screen and began trawling through his emails. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack placed a mug of tea at his elbow an hour later.
"Thanks Jack." Ianto smiled and took the mug. He settled back into his chair as Jack perched on the edge of his desk making it judder slightly.
"I thought I gave you the day off."
Ianto shook his head. "That was Owen. He's in London, meeting with the UNIT emergency healthcare board remember?"
Jack didn't. Ianto gave him a knowing smile as Jack replied.
"Oh, yeah, sure. So what are you doing?"
Ianto rolled his eyes, it was only 8am and Jack was bored already. "My job, Jack. And you?"
Jack smirked. "Ianto bothering. You had breakfast yet?"
Ianto shook his head and then took a sip of his tea, which was good. Jack always made really excellent tea. "I was planning on having it ready at 9 for when the girls got in."
"Great, that's good."
Ianto looked up at his friend. "Spit it out Jack, what do you need?"
"What makes you think? Sorry, stupid question."
Ianto nodded.
"Go on." He added patiently, wondering what it was Jack had broken, or lost now.
Jack gesticulated. "It's the annual accounts, I can't get the figures to add up, would you please take a look?"
Ianto must have looked relieved because Jack pouted at him, realising that Ianto was expecting something much worse. He smiled at Jack.
"Leave the folder on my desk and email me the rest of the stuff. I can look at it tonight on the night watch."
Jack's pout melted into a frown. "You're supposed to be resting at night and the night watch is emergency cover only, you know that."
The Welshman sank further back into his chair, the mug clasped in both of his hands. "I never sleep when I am on call, you know that. It's fine Jack, I am well rested, trust me the accounts will need some concentration, I can do them in peace when everyone else is at home in bed and not asking me for things."
"Ok. When's Owen due back?"
"Day after tomorrow."
Jack rose to his feet and stretched like a cat. "I shall be down in the firing range doing the weapons check, call me up for breakfast?"
"Of course, sir."
Jack sighed, choosing not to comment on the 'sir' thing. It was proving to be a hard habit to break. He ambled off, leaving his own mug on Tosh's workstation as he passed it by, he was certain he heard Ianto roll his eyes as he left.
TWTWTWTWTWTWTW
Gwen and Tosh arrived at the same time, both of them grumbling about the rain and slow traffic through town. Ianto greeted them with a cheerful hello and advised them that coffee and pastries were waiting to be had in the board room. The two women shed their coats and with smiles on their faces made their up to meeting room. They discovered Jack sitting at his customary place chewing on a mouthful of cake. They sat either side of him and helped themselves to the fresh coffee and donuts. It took all three of them some time to realise that Ianto had not joined them so Jack got up and went to find him. He paused on the gantry as he spotted Ianto hunched over his desk, mobile phone to his ear and one hand rubbing at the frown on his forehead. Jack hesitated, not sure whether to go down to him, or eavesdrop on the conversation from where he stood. Ianto was clearly listening to someone at the other end of the end who was at the very least giving him a hard time. Jack recognised the closed expression on the Welshman's face that spoke of extreme annoyance.
"No…. I really don't. For God's sake Rhi, will you stop interfering, now I'm at work and this is not a good time." The words were hissed out in hushed tones and Ianto closed his eyes.
Jack wondered who this Rhi was. Ianto had not mentioned anyone new outside of Torchwood in his life. The long suffering look only deepened as Ianto appeared to be listening further and Jack was sure he could make out a strident female voice even from where he was standing.
"I can't, okay. I just can't. I know you feel differently about it. Does it not occur to you for one moment that I might actually be content with the way things are?. ….I'm not ready for anyone else in my life, I don't care how nice she is."
Jack frowned, what the hell was going on?
"It's okay for you to say that, but I don't have kids I don't want kids it's enough having your two… I know and I'm sorry about that. It's work Rhi, I've already told you, that has to come first….No, I've told you that too, official secrets act and all that!"
Ianto looked like he going to start banging his head on the desk with frustration. "Yes, I know Rhi. But you have to let me do what I think is right for me. I'm not a baby anymore. I know, and you've done Mam proud, you haven't let her down Rhi, but you've got your two to focus on and that lumbering idiot of a husband, so you don't need to be worrying about me….Now I have to go, really…Yes….. I will…..love you too." With a heavy sigh the phone was hung up and tossed onto the desk.
"It's okay Jack you can come down here now." Ianto was looking up at him in earnest and Jack had the decency to look guilty as he came down the metal steps to join his younger colleague.
"Are you ok?"
Ianto offered up a long suffering scowl and slumped back in his chair. "I was having such a good start to the day." He waved an arm about in a gesture that looked something like defeat. "My sister. I love her dearly but we are like…. Well total opposites. I have nothing in common with her and I have no idea how we are from the same genetic stock, really. God sometimes I just wish she'd stop mothering me and in the next breath I am glad that she does because it means she cares enough to ring me up and make sure I am okay." He scrubbed his hands down his face. "Sorry."
Jack smiled as he sat in Gwen's chair and wheeled it over to get a bit closer. "I didn't know you had a sister, you never mention her."
Ianto shrugged not meeting Jack's look. "Will you be insulted if I said that I just didn't want her tainted by all of this?" He glanced around their gloomy surroundings.
"I guess Gwen has the same problem with Rhys. I know it's tough, believe me, but it is for the best Ianto, to keep them safe."
"It's all I want Jack. Rhi, Johnny and the kids are the only family I have left. It's just she's always looked after me since Mam died and she knows I was caught up in Canary Wharf and even though she doesn't understand the details, she saw I was hurt and that was hard for her when she couldn't help me. I just I wish I could tell her things, not the crap stuff Jack….." He was smiling now. "Like that pictogram thing Tosh translated, or that music box, the nice things Jack, I'd love to tell her about that."
Jack failed to hide his wonder. "You're a good man Ianto Jones."
Ianto blushed and shook his head. "Not really. It's like Suzie said to me once, we get so much shit to deal with, and sometimes we forget the magic." He paused lost in some distant memory and Jack wished he could see what it was.
"Is there any breakfast left?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, come an' get some, Gwen was on her third donut last I looked."
TWTWTWWTWTWTWT
Owen didn't like the coffee much but the sandwiches were excellent, so he scoffed 6 of them down along with some crisps and a Mars bar. The morning meetings had gone very well and he was impressed with the people he having to liase with. Most of them were trained paramedics and doctors though who would understand what would to be done in the event of a national emergency. He was glad now that Ianto had convinced him to come, it was rare for the civil defence gurus to meet let alone agree to anything. There was one meeting scheduled for the afternoon and then Owen decided he'd check out a couple of Soho bars before heading back to Cardiff on the last train.
TWTWTWTTWTTWTWWT
It was still raining and Ianto found himself wondering just how much more of the stuff was likely to come down. It was typical Cardiff weather of course and he knew he should be used to it by now, it didn't mean he had to like it though. At least he was nestled in the comparative warmth of the SUV whilst Jack and Gwen were dashing about outside chasing down a couple of weevils, Ianto was following their progress in the car so that they didn't end up hauling an unconscious weevil across a half dozen streets to get it into the cage in the boot. Ianto liked being on driver duty, especially when the weather was so shit.
He listened to the com chatter between Jack and Gwen as their leader directed her in breathless tones. The weevil was giving them the run around. Gwen was complaining about being wet and cold and Jack was reminding her of the lovely hot mocachino she'd be rewarded with when the errant weevil was caught. Ianto rolled his eyes knowing it would be him that would be making said beverage after all.
Ianto turned the SUV into an alleyway that linked two rows of run down terraces and the vehicle slid silently along as Ianto scanned the fences and back gardens for signs of their quarry. Jack was yelling again.
Ianto's blood froze for a moment at the sound of gun fire. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Jack?" He did his best to maintain an even tone.
"It's fine Ianto…. Just get here, we've got it, end of Melody Close."
Ianto nodded, it was at the end of this alley. "Be there in a tick." And he was.
Gwen and Jack were bent over the still form of something. Ianto got out of the car and grabbed a body bag from the back. Not a weevil then. A sickening smell rose up from the body that looked so alien Ianto could not even begin to describe it to himself. A thing. Blue stuff, blood he guessed, was merging with the rain. He'd need the clean-up kit and to take samples to make sure things were safe.
"I'd better get this contained and sterilised Jack, don't want any of that goo to go into the drains, just in case." He handed over the body bag. "Don't handle it until you've got gloves on." He turned and went and fetched his flight case.
Jack and Gwen unfolded the body bag and set it down on the wet tarmac. Ianto passed around the gloves and got busy with collecting samples as Gwen and Jack hauled the carcass into the bag and lifted it away, grunting under the weight as they loaded it into the back of the SUV. Jack directed Gwen to go and wait in the warmth of the car. He came back to Ianto and helped with spraying down and destroying the blue stuff. Ianto was taking another sample, double checking that their efforts to clean up were thorough enough to avoid any kind of need for a full hazmat protocol. One could never be too careful, but he was satisfied with the result that came up on the screen of his sample analyser. Jack was packing away the gear and by the time Ianto was done he was tugging off the gloves and stuffing them into the disposal bag.
"All done?"
Ianto stood up and glanced around him, the blue stuff was now greenish and diluted by the persisting rain.
"Yes. You and Gwen didn't come into contact with any of that blue blood did you?"
Jack shook his head. "We're good."
"Ok, I'm done." Ianto peeled off his gloves and put them in the bag that Jack held out to him.
"Great, let's get out of here."
It was a bit steamy in the SUV and Jack's coat smelt of old wet wool, Ianto hadn't the heart to complain though, because Jack did love his coat so. Gwen, however voiced her opinion, knowing full well the Captain would rise to the bait.
"You smell like a wet sheep."
Ianto gripped the steering wheel a little tighter to stop himself from sniggering.
"I do not."
Ianto couldn't help himself. "It's a classic scent Gwen, Eau D Coat, from the 1940's."
Gwen began to laugh loudly.
Jack opened his mouth to retort and couldn't come up with a response. He exchanged a grin with Ianto.
"You owe me extra special coffee for that."
Ianto nodded understanding the subtext well enough. "So, no idea what that thing in the boot actually is?"
He halted at a set of traffic lights.
"Not a clue, never seen anything that even comes close."
"I'll check the database when we get back, see if I can find a match. It'll help Owen with the autopsy."
Jack rolled his eyes in a way disconcertingly similar to Ianto. "We know how it died Ianto, I shot it."
"Yes Jack, but that could be just a coincidence. It might have been the bloody rain for all we know." Gwen chimed in. "It's certainly made a mess of my jacket."
"She's right Jack. Look, chasing aliens and catching them, your job, clean-up and research, my job, autopsies an smelly things, Owen's job."
"Go Ianto!" Gwen cheered.
"One up for the Welshies!" Jack added.
Ianto wondered where that comment came from. The light turned green and Ianto decided it was best he concentrate on driving. He thought about what he had to do when he got back to the Hub and stayed out of the on-going banter between Jack and Gwen for the remainder of the drive back to their underground lair by the bay.
It was a full hour later before said alien was stashed away in the fridge and the team were fed and watered. By this time was Ianto was feeling chilly and tired, so he opted for a hot shower in the locker room and a change of clothes. It was 9pm by the time he re-emerged in to the main area of the Hub and Tosh and Gwen had gone home. He could see Jack moving around in his office whistling to himself and Ianto decided that he too should go home to look over the accounts and monitor the alert. His overcoat was still damp and slightly smelly so he didn't put it on. He'd have to go to the dry cleaners tomorrow.
"Ianto, where are you going?" Jack's voice interrupted his reverie and Ianto faced him with a faint smile. He was still feeling a bit cold and somewhat tired and just wanted to get home for something to eat and a mug of hot chocolate.
"I was about to go home, sir…. Sorry Jack." He kept forgetting, old habits died hard with him. "Did you need anything Jack?"
Jack bounded over with far too much energy for this time of the day. He froze suddenly peering at Ianto very closely and Ianto wondered what the hell he had all his face to make Jack stare so.
"Are you alright?"
Ianto blinked at him. "Yes, just a bit tired, why, do I look like that bad?"
Jack edged forwards and took one of his hands. Ianto found himself looking down.
"Ianto you never look bad, but you do look pretty done in. I can take the alarm, you go home and get some rest." Jack replied gently, his other hand going to Ianto's cheek. Ianto couldn't help but tilt his head into the caress a little.
"You had the alert last night Jack. It's not fair. It's my turn, you shouldn't be doing it all the time. It's the rota we had whilst you were away so that everyone had a turn and break respectively. You should go out, have some fun."
Jack's hand fell away and he released his grip on Ianto's hand. "Oh. Yeah, of course. Right. So long as you're sure you're okay."
Ianto sighed. "Really I am fine Jack. I shall be tucked up on the couch doing the books and I shall have a nap for a few hours first thing in the morning as scheduled." He offered up a smile. "I know you're still adapting to this system of ours Jack, but it does work. You used to do all of that alone and when you were gone we had to change things, for all our sakes."
Jack's shoulders sagged. "I know. I just get bored being here with nothing to do and I'd rather be having fun with you." He admitted quietly.
Ianto took back his hand. "Then shut this place up for the night and come home with me."
Jack hesitated unnerved by the invitation, but a gentle tug on his fingers was enough to convince him.
"You can cook me dinner." Ianto added with an arched eyebrow. "I know you like to cook and I hate it so why don't you do that whilst I check those figures."
Finally Jack smiled. "That'd be nice."
TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW
Ianto rolled onto his stomach and lurched into wakefulness rather abruptly as he dropped off the side of the couch and landed with a thud on the carpet in his lounge. He groaned and sat up just as Jack got up to help him to his feet. Ianto swayed in his grip and sank down to the sofa.
"Hey, careful."
Ianto shook himself and yawned. "Oh, God, I fell asleep. I'm sorry." He said and sat there shivering with cold again. His head ached and he sighed gratefully when a cool hand came to rest on his forehead.
"Ianto, you're running a fever. Come on, you need to get to bed." Jack advised rather firmly.
Ianto rubbed at sore eyes, but allowed himself to be stood up once more and steered into his bedroom. Everything got a bit vague after that.
TWTWTWTWTWTWT
"Jack will you bloody well calm down! It is the flu, human flu and the Tea Boy needs to be left alone to rest not dragged into the Iso lab for tests!" Owen hissed absolutely furious at being got out of his bed for this, especially with the banging hangover he was nursing. "I have tested his blood, snot and pee, trust me Ianto has the flu. He'll feel like shit for a week and probably sick it on the rest of us, stop stressing before I lock you in a cell with Janet!"
Jack balked. "Owen, double check, that's an order, we were dealing with some weird alien shit yesterday."
"Jack, I know, I read the report. I even checked Ianto's very vast database and the alien was harmless from the point of view of contagions. Ianto HAS THE FLU!" Owen glared even more cross that his medical opinion was being questioned. "For God's sake Jack, just stop it! Go back to Tea Boy's place and make him some hot lemon and give him a stash of paracetamol. I know what I am doing, I promise you." He realised then that his day off had just been ruined too. "Bollocks!"
Jack sighed. "Sorry." He was fighting the urge to get snarky because he was worried, Ianto had died a terrible death in 'that year' and Jack didn't ever want to see it happen again. The whole thing was still too fresh in his memory. "Sorry."
Owen nodded with a sigh. "It's ok Jack. You did the right thing, it's the drama queen routine that was freakin me out."
Jack gaped at his medic. "I am not a drama queen!"
Owen met his look with a crocked grin. "You are where the Tea Boy is concerned and since you got back from who knows where, with all of us, which is good really, but still kind of weird." He narrowed his eyes. "I know it's got something to do with what happened whilst you were away, you want to talk about it?"
Jack was still gawping and he physically shook himself to gather his composure. "No."
Owen shook his head in exasperation. "Tosser! Now piss off and take these to Ianto and tell him to stay away from the Hub for a couple of days, with a bit of luck the rest of us might avoid getting what he's got."
Jack almost snatched packet of pills from Owen's outstretched hand.
TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWT
Ianto really didn't like being ill. He hated snot, hated tissues, having a sore red nose, taking tablets and generally feeling like shit. He was glad when Jack finally left him alone and stopped fussing. He surprised when Gwen dropped by with a big pan of homemade chicken soup (which was very tasty) and very happy to have Tosh come by and sit and natter with him over coffee and cakes. Owen visited once with needles and a stephoscope in hand and for that entire week Jack avoided him like he had the plague.
TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW
Toshiko peered at the fragile document that Ianto had laid out on her desk with avid interest. She had been working on a new translation program for some time and Ianto had suggested trying it out on some things that he had in the artefact archive that had yet to be identified. One such item had been a case of documents. The parchments looked worn and well used, though the material they were made was incredibly soft and flexible. Intricate scrawling scripts and pictograms had covered each one so she had picked out one at random and Ianto, with cotton gloved hands had laid it out for her on the scanner table. He was clearly as fascinated as she was, but not for the sake of her new program. Ianto just wanted to know what the document said and where it came from, his natural curiosity getting the better of him. There had been no references to anything remotely similar in Torchwood's vast database and Ianto had no memory of processing anything like it either. He knew the database inside out. Jack had taken a quick peek and raised his eyebrows and then silently walked away and Ianto was pretty sure it was a language that Jack was familiar with. He wondered if Jack wanted them to solve the puzzle by themselves.
Tosh ran the scanner through a cycle, firstly to analyse the material of the parchment and secondly to make a detailed copy of the text. She back to her terminal and began rapidly typing at her keyboard. Ianto remained at the scanner table. He could find no obvious form or sentence structure to the document, wasn't sure whether he should be reading from top to bottom or from right to left, or possibly none of those. He carefully grasped the corners and spun the document to look at it from a different angle. He even glanced underneath to discover that it was even opaque or see through. Part of him wanted to take off his gloves, but he didn't want to risk damaging it for the sake of some tactile connection that was purely an emotional need on his part.
"Anything Tosh?" He turned to face her and watched with a smile as she slid out of binary mode and lifted her head.
"Not yet, this will take a while, but it looks like a vegetable based 'paper' type material."
"Wow, I mean it survived coming through the Rift and being stored in our damp basement since 1956. There has to be some pretty special preservative in the parchment." Ianto bent down and peered at it intently through a magnifying glass. "I can see the fibres, it's amazing." He lost himself in his observations and Toshiko watched her younger colleague with a smile on her face. It was rare to see this side of Ianto.
"You should have been an archaeologist." Gwen stated as she got up from her terminal to come and have a look. "It is pretty."
Ianto straightened up and nodded.
"Maybe it's like a child's drawing or a school project." Gwen speculated.
"It could be just a work of art or a bloody shopping list too." Ianto added. "It's exciting isn't it?"
Gwen couldn't help but be drawn into his enthusiasm.
TWTWTWTWTWTWTWWTWTWTW
"My beloved,
I write to you of a beautiful day where the moon is bright and many stars shine like your eyes. We have had much fighting here and lost so many, on both sides and I see no end to the destruction until I look up.
I see you looking down at me and shielding me. Your… I think the next word is hands…..hands are clasped around my soul and you hold me close to your love.
I wish I was not here so far from you and I look up and some days the hope fades that I will see you once more. Hold our young ones tightly, sing to them of the stars and let them not be soldiers. Don't tell them of glory and heroism. Remind them of loss and death and the stench of a decaying culture. Remind them only to love, no matter what.
I know your love is the most powerful thing in the verse….that means universe, I'm pretty sure…I stand here and I look up and I feel it.
Your beloved."
Ianto had to wipe the tears from his cheeks as he fled the boardroom. Gwen, Tosh and Owen were still watching Jack as he carefully put down the translation.
"Good work Tosh." He said with a gentle smile.
She dipped her chin and then glanced at the door, wondering why Ianto had left the room in such a hurry. Jack slid the piece of paper back to his tech and rose from his seat. He left the room without another word.
"What's up with Ianto?" Gwen asked.
Tosh half shrugged. "After I made the first translation it was quick and easy to run the rest through the computer. Ianto read them all. They are all dispatches from some frontline war zone, mostly letters from the troops, but some other things too, like supply orders and death certificates. I looked at a few….. it's very sad."
"No reason for him to get that upset surely?" Gwen glanced from Tosh to Owen.
"Two words Gwen. Canary Wharf. That was a warzone, he saved the lives of eight of the survivors before going back in there to drag Lisa out. He lost more than just Lisa and gained a whole lot of memories I am sure as hell glad I don't have." Owen explained.
Gwen sighed wondering if Ianto used that particular incident rather too much to get attention but she kept that somewhat unpleasant thought to herself.
"Oh. I'd have thought he'd be over that by now. I mean he never says anything about it."
Both Owen and Tosh gave her sharp looks.
"He talks to Jack, because Jack understands, he's been through it. Ianto's not one for shouting from the tree tops about how he feels." Tosh replied gathering up her papers, she got up and left the room in what Gwen could only describe as a huff.
Owen was shaking his head. "You know for the supposed heart of Torchwood, you can be a right bitch."
Gwen shot him a dirty look. "I was just saying is all. If he is that bad why doesn't he have counselling?"
Owen actually rolled his eyes. "Yeah that'd be good, he'd have to Retcon the poor therapist after every session. Sometimes Gwen there are just reminders, this was one of those times. Ianto cares too much, finds it hard to let go. He's still guilt tripping over the deaths over that pizza girl and Tanizaki. You remember guilt Gwen, your first day nine men died because you let an alien sex gas loose."
Gwen sucked in a jolting breath. "Yes I remember guilt Owen, thank you very much." She up and stormed out of the boardroom.
AN: Ok so this story only has one point, to emphasise the fact that our classic heroes of the show are missed and that they actually have personalities…..Those of you that know me will also know how I feel about Miracle Day. This is passive aggression on my part….