Chapter Three
Jack slumped into his armchair, letting his head flop back. He was both mentally and emotionally exhausted. Lizzy had cried soundlessly into his arms for another half an hour, before she'd finally fallen asleep. Like her father, when her well-placed damn eventually broke, it was all Jack could do to hold on and see it through.
"When was the last time you talked to Ianto?" Arabella asked, standing over Jack with her arms crossed. It wasn't hard to see she was agitated about something and Dexter moved to pour himself a drink; he was going to need it for the impending fight.
"I don't know. A while ago I guess," Jack replied, eyes still closed and head still back.
"A while? Think, Jack. When was it?" Arabella retorted with an annoyed huff.
"January, I guess," Jack said, opening his eyes at her tone; his frown deepening as he took in her position above him.
"January? You've not heard from him since January?" Arabella began to pace. In the background, Dexter sighed, rubbing his temples and taking a long sip of his drink.
"I just figured he was busy. I've seen the reports from the project and it's almost finished. I've been busy as well, so we've just lost contact. I sent him a few letters, but I didn't get a response and he never answers his phone," Jack growled back not liking the implication behind Arabella's words. It may seem like he was just being a useless mate but he wasn't; he had his reasons and, when it came down to it, he didn't think they were anyone elses business.
"You didn't find the fact that your mate hasn't contacted you in four months a little odd?" Arabella snorted.
"Of course I did! But, what do you want me to do? Fly up there and demand answers?" Jack snapped, standing up and facing Arabella, automatically using his height and build as an intimidator.
Arabella wasn't fazed. "Why not!" They were now nose to nose as they argued with each other.
"He's not a child and I don't own him. I won't go and make a fool of us both. He has a wife, a job and a family up there; I'm not going to go and cause problems for him by storming in like a jealous lover."
"He has a mate down here, too. You still should have called him."
"Have you heard from him, either?" Jack demanded.
"He's not my mate," Arabella retorted, an annoying smugness in her voice.
"No, he's mine; and I know him better than you do."
Arabella raised an eyebrow and scoffed, shaking her head. "Doesn't seem like it to me."
"What does that mean?" Jack snapped, folding his arms across his chest as he glared at her.
She paused for a moment, before changing tactics and asking, "When has he - no matter how busy he is -, not answered your messages?"
Jack paused, stubbornly trying to think of just one instance but he couldn't. Arabella was right; Ianto always answered him. Jack's anger began to lose momentum as the circumstances began to sink in.
"When Lizzy didn't come to visit last time, I thought Cathalin might have been in one of her 'I hate Jack' moods again. I thought that might have been a reason why he hadn't contacted me."
"She's dead, Jack!" Arabella instantly defended her, Cathalin may have had a problem with Jack, but she and Arabella had become easy friends. Arabella was holding herself together for the moment, but later curled in Dexter's arms she would allow herself to grieve yet another lost friend.
"I didn't know. He didn't even tell me." Jack's reply was empty and hurt, with almost no trace left of his previous anger.
"Oh, Jack, you know he would have," Arabella sighed, reaching a hand up to rest on his arm only to have Jack step back out of her reach..
"But, he didn't, did he?" Jack snapped dejectedly.
Dexter watched the two from his position in the doorway. Seeing that they had come to a 'cease fire', he figured it was safe to join the conversation again. "Now, you two have both finished screaming at each other like a married couple, can we get back to thinking rationally?"
Jack and Arabella both had the grace to look a little shamed as they both nodded, urging Dexter to continue.
"Nothing about this situation sounds like Ianto. You're one of the most powerful men on the planet; pull some strings and find out what's going on up there. I can think of no reason why he wouldn't tell you about Cathalin. In fact you would have been the first person he contacted," Dexter continued as he made his way over to sit on the empty couch.
"Lizzy did say that both she and Ianto had sent you letters," Arabella said to Jack, taking a seat beside her mate, smiling when he automatically wrapped an arm around her waist.
Jack's eyes flickered between the couple and he felt a pang of longing, which he firmly squashed. "I didn't get them, though."
"Why?" Dexter questioned. He was silent for a moment, before he mused, "I think someone doesn't want you to know what's going on up there." He'd seen the look of jealous flash across his friend's eyes, but he didn't want to make Jack feel uncomfortable so he didn't move away from Arabella or say anything.
"You think someone's been blocking my contact with Ianto?" Jack asked. At first it had unlikely, but as he thought about it, the concept became more plausible.
"Do you have a better explanation?" Dexter asked casually.
Jack didn't answer; he was already pulling his phone from his pocket and dialling.
Ianto walked out of the medical wing to find Trixi and Max waiting for him by the lifts. "Are you alright?" Trixi demanded, standing as soon as she saw him.
He pulled the young woman into a comforting hug. "I'm fine, Trixi. Just like always."
"You've got to stop doing this; your nine lives are going to run out soon," Max said.
"I'll always bounce back. You don't have to worry about me," Ianto replied with a sigh.
"Good to see you back on your feet," a new voice stated from behind them.
The trio turned to find the head of the scientific department standing a short distance away.
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir," Ianto replied promptly, feeling Trixi and Max stiffen beside him. None of them liked their boss and none of them trusted him; there was just something about him that put them all on edge.
" Do you have any idea what went wrong in there, Davies?" their boss demanded, not bothering to even acknowledge Trixi and Max. All his attention was locked on Ianto as he waited for an answer.
"Yes, Sir, and I believe I can fix it," Ianto replied.
"Fix it?" he asked, his disbelief clear "Right now?"
"Yes, Sir. I know what it is that needs adjusting. The next time we work on it, I believe we'll have a success," Ianto confirmed, trying not to smile as Trixi gasped and shifted beside him, unable to contain her excitement at the news.
"Well, I suggest the three of you stop standing around talking and get back to work."
"But, Sir, he's only just been released from the medical wing," Trixi protested and their boss finally spared her an annoyed glance.
"The medical staff cleared him with a full bill of health; the only thing they found were a few bruises. There's nothing to stop him getting back to work."
Trixi, Max and Ianto stared at him in disbelief; not only had Ianto just been released but it was well past the end of the work day. "Sir, I apologise but I need to be getting home to my daughter. She..."
"Your daughter isn't home; she skipped off to the planet. Using an alias for that matter - she's going to be trouble that one. You should keep a closer eye on her." Ianto ground his teeth in annoyance at being lectured about raising his daughter by a man who had no children on his own.
"I'm sorry, Sir. If that's the case, I need to make sure she's okay and find out where she's gotten to," Ianto replied, moving to step around his boss but the larger man stepped into his path.
"The colony security have already looked into the matter. She was picked up by - and is staying with - a Captain Jack Harkness. I believe he's an acquaintance of yours, is he not?"
"Yes, Sir, he's a good friend," Ianto replied, relief obvious in his voice. If she was with Jack she was safe; but it still didn't explain why she'd left in the first place.
"Then, you have nothing to worry about; I imagine he'll be taking good care of your daughter."
"I'd still like to contact them and make sure she's alright, Sir," Ianto countered, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"You can contact them when you've completed your job. And unless you want to find yourself both jobless and homeless - since you're living in the science division's staff apartment - I suggest you get to work."
"Yes, Sir." Ianto muttered in irritation turning back to his work, determined to get it finished so he could call Jack.
"I can't believe he wouldn't let you even ring and find out about Lizzy," Trixi said as she held a small torch for Ianto to see what he was working on.
"There's probably a rule somewhere that says he can't stop you, you know," Max added from his computer where he was watching the scanner's readout.
"If she's with Jack I know she's safe; he would have called me if anything was wrong. We'll get this finished, then I can go home and ring them," Ianto said, continuing to make the small modification needed to the panel in front of him.
"We'd be getting this done a lot faster if he hadn't sent home all the junior staff," Max muttered.
"Have you got somewhere else you need to be? A date perhaps?" Trixi snorted, glaring at the other scientist and Ianto couldn't help but chuckle at the pair.
"If I had a date you'd know about it, since you'd have one as well, wouldn't you? No, I was just looking forward to a nice night in like we'd planned and you'd promised to make me pasta; you know how much I love your pasta," Max replied with a overdramatic sigh.
"It is really good," Ianto interjected with a nod of his head.
"Can we just get this over with, then?" Trixi replied and Ianto could just imagine the eye roll that went with the statement.
"Just one last... There... Max, how does that look?" Ianto asked, sitting up.
"It looks... perfect."
"Let's test the machine, then," Ianto grinned.
Slipping silently and unnoticed into the lab, he paused to look through the small viewing window near him. There, in the middle of the testing room, was the device; sitting in front of him with a pale blue force shield around it.
Commander Davies and his companions had done it. They'd successfully finished the device. Which would explain why they were currently drinking champagne and making a toast in honour of Davies' deceased wife.
Now, he had his own task to complete.
Pulling his pistol from under his jacket, he advanced on the unsuspecting trio.
"Lizzy? Come on, Kiddo, I need you to wake up," Jack said, gently shaking Lizzy's shoulder.
"Uncle Jack?" she asked, groggily rolling over to find him perched on the edge of her bed.
"Lizzy, do you know who Malcom Brig is?" Jack asked, brushing the hair out of her face as she sleepily rubbed her eyes.
"Mr Brig? Mr Brig is Tad and Ma... He's Tad's boss," Lizzy replied, frowning at the sigh she got from Jack in reply.
"Okay, Kid; I'm sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep and Arabella will explain everything in the morning," Jack said with a smile, hoping that Lizzy was still too sleepy to wonder what he was talking about, or pick up on the fact that Arabella would be the one explaining because Jack wasn't planning on being there when she woke up.
Of course, he had no such luck.
"Where are you going?" Lizzy asked, sitting up so she could look Jack in the eye.
"I'm going to fix things," Jack replied, standing and moving towards the door.
"You're not going to help Tad without me," Lizzy muttered and Jack could hear the sound of cloth moving as she started to climb out of bed.
"Lizzy..." Jack sighed, turning back to face his niece.
"Why did you want to know who Mr Brig is?" Lizzy demanded, her arms folded across his chest. She probably would have pulled off quite an intimidating look had it not been for the pink nightie she was wearing.
"He's the one who's been blocking communications between us, " Jack explained, wondering whether there was any way to escape what he knew was coming.
"I want to come; I can help. I know Tad's work and the people there. Plus I can recite all the access codes from memory," she stated, a pleased tone in her voice.
Jack studied the young woman before him, wondering when she'd grown up. He knew that he wasn't going to get out of it. If he went without her, he knew she'd pull the same kind of stunt she'd done to get to Jack in the first place. And, at least, if she was with him, Jack knew he'd have more chance of protecting her. "You are way too much like your father. Hurry up and get ready, or we'll miss our flight."
