Hiya! This is my very first story. I hope you like it. I do not own Torchwood.
It was a quiet day at the Hub. Too quiet. Not that Jack was complaining, he liked a break as much as the next man, he just couldn't help feeling it was the calm before the storm. The rift had been quiet for the last few days: no energy spikes, no weevils not even any space junk. Nothing. Now as he wandered through the archives of Torchwood three, he realised something. He was bored. He'd sent the others home saying he'd call them if the rift did anything, so they'd all left. Now it was just him. In the archives. All alone. Why had he come down here anyway? Suddenly he heard a crash from up ahead, and jumped into action. All most without knowing it, he'd pulled his gun from its holster and was running towards the sound. It didn't take long to reach the source, and what met his eyes wasn't what he was expecting. There was a large pile of folders at his feet, most of them worn and discoloured with loose pages spread all across the floor. Leaning over this mess was a very familiar figure. The immaculate suit, the short brown hair and the beautiful blue eyes.
"Ianto." He breathed softly quickly replacing the gun in its holster.
The man he was addressing looked up at this, "Sir." He replied in recognition, the welsh accent clear in his voice, then returned to his task of gathering up the folders. Jack couldn't help rolling his eyes at this, "Can we please drop the sir. My name's Jack." He knelt down next to Ianto and began to help with the clean up, "What happened here?" There was a small pause, and Jack couldn't help noticing Ianto was having to think about his answer, finally he seemed to have decided on what he was going to say, "I tripped and knocked over a box of folders from the shelf." Lie. Jack always knew when Ianto was lying. They were two close for him not to know, and after the Lisa incident he'd studied Ianto's body language very carefully, he could read him like a book now, but for the moment he'd let it be. They worked in silence after that, putting pages back into the folders and then the folders back into the box. Finally they'd finished. Ianto quickly replaced the box on its shelf, then out of the blue he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. "So Ianto," Jack whispered into his ear, "how about you work some coffee magic, and you tell me what really happened down here." Without another word, the pair walked back up to the Hub. Ianto knew he'd been caught.
Ten minutes later they were sitting side by side on the old worn out sofa in the hub, sipping their coffee. As they sat there Jack couldn't help noticing something about Ianto. He was so pale, he looked as white as a sheet, and his forehead was glistening with sweat. Something was wrong. "So what did happen down there?" he asked, but Ianto didn't answer, he simply stared into his coffee, "Ianto?" What was wrong with him?
"All right." Ianto finally replied, "I didn't trip, I fainted." This really did shock Jack, "What! You fainted! Are you alright?" Unconsciously he'd begun to look Ianto up and down looking for any cuts and bruises,
"Jack," Ianto said, he almost sounded annoyed, "it was only for a second. I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me." He stood up and tried to walk away, but strong hands grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, Jack was worried about him and his face showed it, "Ianto..." Jack started, but Ianto interrupted him, "Jack honestly. I'm fine it was probably just something I ate." He went to walk away again, but Jack held him where he was. Silently he raised his hand and laid it on the younger man's brow. Ianto tried to say something but Jack hushed him and continued his quick examination. He leant forward and kissed Ianto on the forehead where his hand had just been, "What was that for?" his young lover asked, a mixture of curiosity and happiness in his voice. "My way of checking temperature," he replied, "Ianto you're boiling. You good fry an egg on your forehead." Ianto sighed at this, "Jack I told you..." but the Captain was having none of it, "Ianto you're sick."
"Jack I'm fine!" He said it with as much conviction as he could manage, considering it wasn't true. He felt awful, but he was busy here, he didn't have time to be ill. Jack didn't believe a word of it, he knew a fever when he saw it, and if Ianto had fainted, it was clearly bad, "I'm calling Owen in." He stated, "No!" Ianto shouted quickly, "Don't call him in I'll never hear the end of it!" Looking at Ianto now, Jack could tell bringing Owen in would probably make things worse rather than better, but he wasn't going to let Ianto work in this state. "Fine," He said firmly, " I won't call Owen in, but you're going home. Right now." If anything this seemed to make Ianto more agitated, "No Jack! I've got piles of paper work to get through!" Jack just shook his head, honestly he'd never understand what went through this man's head, "Ianto it'll be there in a couple of days, you're health is more important. Now, I am ordering you as you're superior. Go home." Ianto just stared at him with those adorable baby blue eyes, standing his ground. "Do I have to make you?" Jack asked. Ianto finally responded, "Make me?" He didn't sound convinced, "Ok I will." Jack said with a huge grin on his face. Swiftly he grabbed Ianto and lifted him into his arms. "Jack! Put me down!" The younger man shouted, trying desperately to get out of the Captain's arms, but he held him firm. "I told you I would Ianto. Now sit still I'm taking you home." Even after he'd said this Ianto continued to squirm and pull away. Jack carried him into the lift and out through the information centre. As he was carried outside, Ianto realised something, people would be able to see them, "Jack," he said urgently, "put me down. I'll go home, but please don't carry me." Jack ignored the young man's protests, but he couldn't help grinning as Ianto began to blush.
Jack was driving the black SUV to Ianto's apartment. The man himself was in the passenger seat his eyes closed, and if anything he looked paler than before. He had clearly given up the illusion that he was fine. At the beginning of the journey Ianto had been coming out with every reason imaginable why Jack needed to go back to the hub, but none of them mattered. He had the rift scanner hooked up to his wrist strap so he could keep an eye on it, and other than that he couldn't see any other problems. When they arrived at his apartment Ianto's eyes shot open. He opened his door, and quickly jumped out. Big mistake. The sudden movement made his head spin. He felt as if he was going to fall, but almost instantly Jack was at his side supporting his weight. Ianto looked at the older man beside him, his face was full of concern, "You're not carrying me." Ianto said trying to lighten the mood, "The looks people gave us, I don't want to go through that again." Jack loved it when Ianto joked around, although it rarely happened he had a great sense of humour.
"All right," he replied, trying to keep the worry from his voice, "but if you swoon again, I'm picking you up like the fair damsel you are." Ianto couldn't help chuckling as they began to walk, "I wouldn't expect any less."
Ianto's apartment was spotless as always. Everything was where it was supposed to be, not a book out of place. As they came in Ianto went straight towards the kitchen, all he wanted was to get a cup of coffee and to fall onto the sofa, but Jack caught his hand. "Now, I know this isn't my apartment, but I've been here enough times to know the bedrooms that way." At this Jack moved his hand up to Ianto's shoulder and pointed him in the direction of his bedroom door. "Oh Jack," Ianto wined, turning towards him, "I'm dying of thirst. Just let me get a drink." However there was no arguing with Jack when he decided to dig his heels in, and now was no exception, "Fine then. Go take a shower and I'll get you a drink." Ianto looked as if was going to argue, but from the look in the older man's eyes, he knew he'd get nowhere. He sighed, and walked through his bedroom and into his bathroom. As he shut the door behind him, he collapsed onto the toilet, and sat there with his head in his hands. God, why did he have to be sick? There was so much going on at the moment, he didn't have the time to be fainting and vomiting. He knew hoping wouldn't make him better, but he wished it would. Suddenly his train of thought was broken by a distant, but very clear voice, "If I don't hear running water in the next 30 seconds I'm coming in there!" Though the prospect of having Jack in the shower with him was a nice one, he just wasn't in the mood. So with much effort, he pushed himself to his feet and started the shower.
In the Kitchen Jack heard the distant pound of water from the bathroom and couldn't help smiling. He cared about Ianto and wanted him to be well, but from all the years he'd lived he knew it would get worse before it got better. After a quick search through the kitchen cupboards, he found a pint glass. Why did Ianto have that? That was a question for later. He turned the tap on and let it run for a minute, to cool it, then filled the glass. He then walked through the lounge and into Ianto's bedroom, setting the glass on the bedside table. From the continuous sound of the falling water, he knew Ianto was still in the shower. He'd been in his young lovers flat many times, and knew straight away where Ianto kept his different clothes. Everything was folded and filed where it was supposed to be, kind of like the way he kept things in the hub. Quickly he fished out: a pair of underpants, some shorts and a white T-Shirt and laid them out on the bed, now all he needed was Ianto Jones himself.
Jack didn't have too long to wait, soon the water stopped and a few moments later Ianto came out, a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was damp as was the rest of his body and as he walked out he grabbed hold of the doorframe for support. He seemed shocked when he noticed the older man's presence, "I got you your drink," Jack said moving towards him, "and I got you some clothes. Get changed." Ianto didn't even bother to argue, he went to the bed and quickly picked up the clothes, but then stopped looking at Jack, "I'll change in the bathroom." He mumbled quietly, before making his way back into the adjoining room. Jack couldn't help giggling slightly. After all the time the two of them had spent together, Ianto was still shy about changing in front of him. What went through that man's head? A few minutes later Ianto came out again, now fully dressed in his make shift pyjamas. Jack pulled the duvet on the bed back and looked up at Ianto, "Get in." Dutifully Ianto plodded over and laid down on the bed, and allowed Jack to replace the duvet over him. Jack looked down at him, and placed his hand on his forehand again. "You're still hot." He said, talking more to himself than to the other man, "I'll be back in a minute." And with that he stood up and left the room.
Ianto simply laid there staring at the ceiling. He really wasn't feeling good. His body felt heavy and he was sweating all over. Of course he'd never tell Jack how bad he really felt, he didn't want to worry him. Then again, from the way Jack was acting , he clearly already knew how bad it was. After a while Jack returned holding a bowl in one hand and a cloth in the other. "What's that for?" Ianto asked quietly, "To bring your temperature down." He replied simply, sitting on the other side of the double bed and placing the items on the other bedside table. Silently he took the cloth and folded it into a rectangle, then placed it into the water. Once it was soaked he pulled it out, wrung it to get rid of the excess liquid, then laid it on Ianto's brow. The younger man frowned, and opened his mouth to say something, but Jack cut him off, "It may be old fashioned , but it works. Now," he stood and walked over to the window, drawing the curtains, "try to sleep. You need to rest." He then moved over, to the wall and flicked the light switch, plunging the room into near darkness. Ianto at that moment was feeling rather stupid. There he was at three o'clock in the afternoon, laying in bed trying to sleep, with a bloody cloth on his face!
He felt the bed dip, as Jack sat down beside him. "Jack, this is ridiculous!" He moaned as he tried to sit up, "I..." but he was cut off. A finger was laid on his lips to silence him, and a hand placed on his chest to hold him down. "Not another word." Jack said quietly, looking down at the Welshman beside him. Then out of the blue, he began to sing. It was an old lullaby his mother had used to sing to him when he was a child, it always used to help him sleep, so he figured it was worth trying it with Ianto. He sang it very gently, and as he did, he moved his hand from Ianto's lips and began to tenderly stroke his cheek. Ianto didn't know the song Jack was singing, all he knew was that it was beautiful. So beautiful. That combined with the slow and soft strokes of his lovers hand, seemed to calm his aching body. He no longer had to focus on his throbbing head or his sweating limbs, he just listened to the song, and focused on the contact. It was almost hypnotic. Unconsciously, Ianto's eyes flickered shut. He continued to listen and to feel. That was all he wanted, and after a while he was lost to it, as he drifted off into sleep.
Jack smiled as he reached the end of the lullaby. Ianto's chest was rising and falling steadily, and from his relaxed features, he could tell he was fast asleep. Looking down at him now, he looked so young and adorable. It was moments like those that made Jack realise how lucky he was to have him. He sat, for a few minutes, still gently caressing the younger man's cheek, then decided he needed to do something. He wasn't a patient man, and as sweet looking as Ianto was, he needed something to keep his mind occupied. Carefully, he lifted the cloth from Ianto's face, and dropped it into the water bowl once more and as he drew it out, wrung it. Slowly he dabbed Ianto's face with the damp fabric, trying to remove the sweat that was beginning to form, then laid it back on his forehead. Now what? What could he do? Ianto was bound to be hungry when he woke up. That's it! He'd make Ianto something to eat. Slowly, so as not to wake the sleeping man, he stood up, and walked through the small apartment to the kitchen. Opening the fridge he was greeted by a large amount of raw ingredients: eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables and a pack of chicken breasts. It was all perfect, only problem was Jack didn't have any idea what he'd do with any of it. Maybe something from the cupboard. As he pulled the cupboard doors open, what met his eyes was a vast improvement. As he inspected the contents, he quickly decided what he was going to make, and extracted a can of chicken soup from the back. All he had to do was heat it up, how hard could it be? After a quick of search, he found a saucepan, and placed it on top of the hob, then set about opening the can. He located the tin opener, and slowly managed to remove the lid, cutting himself several times in the process. Why did people enjoy cooking? As he went to pour it into the saucepan, a huge scream echoed through from the bedroom.
"Ianto!" He shouted, letting the soup drop to the floor as he ran to his lovers side.
Ianto was kicking and screaming on the bed, and it was clear Jack's prediction was right, it had gotten worse. The duvet had been kicked to the floor, and his whole body was covered in sweat. Jack raced over to the bed and laid his hands on Ianto's shoulders. Desperately trying to hold him still. "Ianto!" He yelled, trying to be heard over the young man's screams, "Ianto! It's alright! Wake up!" He continued to turn and twist, but he was no longer screaming, he was speaking, "Jack! Jack, help me! Please!" His pleas broke the older man's heart, "Ianto I'm here, you're safe." This continued for a few minutes, until finally, Ianto lay still, his chest rising and falling in quick succession. Jack simply sat beside him, his hand moving up and down his lover's back, making soothing patterns. Slowly, he stood up, and picked up the duvet, laying it over Ianto's sleeping form, and carefully straightening it out. He then took the cloth from the man's face, which had managed to cling on during his outburst, and wet it then slowly moved it across his face. As he wiped away the moisture he couldn't tell what was sweat and what were tears. As he placed it back on his forehead, Ianto's eyes snapped open, they were wide and full of fear. "Hey." Jack whispered gently, as he looked down at him.
"Jack," Ianto said weakly, looking up at him, "I don't feel well."
Jack couldn't help finding that slightly funny. He was fully prepared to be sarcastic, he already had his answer in his head, but as he caught Ianto's eye, he knew he couldn't say it. There were tears slowly trickling down the young Welshman's cheeks and he looked so young and frightened. Jack gently smiled at him, "Don't worry," he cooed as he leant down and kissed the other man's cheek, "I'll take care of you."
Please tell me what you think!