1
Ianto stood watching as Jack spilt his coffee, then calmly stepped forward to mop it up as Jack continued his rant down the phone to some UNIT bod who apparently had the misguided idea he could ring and demand something.
It had been a week since Lisa, a week since it had all gone to hell and Ianto was just pleased to be alive. An achievement really, to survive two Cyberman attacks. Ianto still couldn't believe it, the fact that it had fooled him so cleverly. He now knew Lisa had been long gone and the bloody body snatcher had done a fine job of using her memories that had fired in death to make him a willing puppet.
Owen looked up from his workstation to see Ianto leaning over the coffee table, grimacing as his ribs pinched and caught the cup that had slid as Jack kicked the table and rose to scream even more shrilly down the phone. He stopped and took a deep shuddering breath that Ianto knew was heralding an immense response with dire threads so he dropped the cloth and snatched the phone, "Excuse me sir. I do believe her Majesty is waiting for your afternoon call since you can't go for high tea like she wanted."
Ianto spoke loudly with the phone near him and Jack blinked, then grinned like a shark as he realised what Ianto was doing, had always done for him, then Ianto placed the phone to his ear, "Hello? Sorry about that but the Captain had a prior appointment that he just couldn't get out of, you know how it is. Look, if you send a P654A form and remember to attach the signed QV99523 I will see what I can do. Good day sir."
Ianto ended the call and handed the phone back, then knelt to pick up the scattered files.
"Thank you Ianto" Jack said as he headed towards his office, then turned back, "Ianto? Are those real forms?"
Ianto stopped shuffling the papers and looked at Jack with confusion, "Sir?"
"P654A?"
"That is a request to acquisition a toilet seat for the royal chambers" Ianto said calmly, "and QV99523 is asking her majesty for permission to wear it to a fancy dress party. I do believe the Doctor has something to do with needing the second one, thought you might like it."
Jack blinked and then roared with glee as he shot up the stairs calling back, "wonder if he looks them up."
Ianto smiled back softly, pleased that he had tickled Jack's funny bone and then he went back to his tasks, his internal checklist still long.
Owen leaned back and watched him for a few minutes, then went back to his own work as Gwen entered with some cupcakes from Rhys.
They moved to the meeting room for lunch and Jack looked around, frowning then rose and called out to Ianto to bring his lunch and join them. Ianto slid into the room and along the wall to a chair in the corner but Jack patted the one next to him, forcing Ianto to sit between him and Gwen.
Jack looked at Ianto's cup of coffee and frowned again, "No food?"
Ianto looked up with surprise … directly at Owen then away as he shrugged and muttered, "Not really that hungry."
Jack reached out and grabbed a cupcake from the tin and placed it next to the cup, "Well you need some energy. Gods, you are so thin!"
Ianto stared at it like it was some sort of Tribble or something, about to multiply and eat him instead.
"Right, Tosh? Did you get that programme to compute?" Jack asked Tosh and Ianto picked up the cupcake with a look of wonder, then peeled the paper off it and placed it back down, now folding the paper cup carefully into a little star that he placed on the table. Jack looked at it and smiled, "So it's you doing the wee origami things, I thought it was Toshiko."
"Lisa taught me" Ianto said, then grimaced and glanced at Owen again, "Sorry."
"For what?" Gwen asked, leaning around to look at him.
"For speaking of her, sorry. It just … sometimes it happens. Sorry."
Gwen frowned, "Of course you think of her, she was someone you loved."
Ianto looked at his cup, the cupcake still uneaten beside it and nodded, "I did. Always will. But life goes on for those who can survive."
Ianto rose and started to clear the table, Jack reached out and snatched up the little star as he rose as well then he looked down at the table, "Ianto. Cupcake?"
Ianto snatched it up and shoved it in his mouth, then shot from the room as Gwen sighed sadly and shook her head, "Poor lamb. Imagine loving someone so much that you can't live without them, just survive instead."
"Yeah" Jack said thickly, swallowing back his own memories, "Imagine."
Owen walked past a wastepaper basket that was by the kitchen door for napkins and such, glancing in to see the cupcake spat out and he dropped his paper napkin over it before Jack could see, heading into the kitchen to find Ianto scrubbing the sink with a fevered intensity.
"You OK?"
Ianto grunted, pausing to glance at him and nod, his face devoid of expression and then he went back to his cleaning.
Owen sighed as he left him to it.