Chapter 7
Black and white images from the 1946 movie version of Great Expectations flickered through his mind. To begin with there were scenes of Estella and Pip's doomed romance, a thwarted love story if ever there was one, to be replaced by the iconic scene of the cobweb bedecked wedding banquet of Miss Havisham. The mess bothered him and he despaired as he looked around the candlelit room trying to work out how he'd get it cleaned up before morning. Didn't anyone know how to use a duster any more? The place was an obvious fire hazard. As for the bride, she'd have to be retconned … however, just as he was about to slip a white pill into her glass, she looked up from beneath her veil, her lips opening to reveal a smile, one with a gap between the front teeth – oh, god, it was Gwen – she must have abandoned Rhys at the last minute and was waiting for Jack. The shock of this revelation was enough to rouse him sufficiently from the depths of his hypothermic lethargy to become aware of warm breath on the back of his neck.
As he drew closer to consciousness it was to discover that he was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and warm, naked limbs. The scent of something akin to exotic spices confirmed the identity of the naked body lying behind him, Jack's strong arms wrapped around his waist, his chest pressed up close to Ianto's back. Barely conscious of much beyond the bed, he felt content and pleasantly surprised; he really hadn't expected Jack to stay all night with him after Gwen's wedding. It vaguely occurred to him that he should have been too hot, but instead he felt chilled and on the verge of shivering.
"You stayed," he mumbled drowsily, his dry throat making him sound hoarse. Jack could only just make out the words, and after a moment's confusion he realised that Ianto must still be disorientated. He wasn't quite sure how to respond so he settled for tightening his grip in an affectionate hug.
"Yes, I'm here now."
Opening his eyes slowly and focussing on the fittings of the room, Ianto slowly came to realise that although he was indeed in a hotel room, it was not the one he'd been dragged into on the night of Gwen and Rhys' wedding. The past few days came back to him in a rush of jumbled memories, but the one that pushed its way belligerently to the foreground was the one where he'd woken alone, sore and still half dressed.
With a burst of energy fuelled by sheer anger, Ianto pulled out of Jack's embrace and rolled over to face him. A wild swing in a confined space stood a good chance of hitting its target, so with nothing to lose, Ianto swung a punch at Jack, catching him sloppily on the side of the jaw.
"You f-fucking bastard!"
"Ouch! I take it you're feeling better?"
"No… w-well yes… h-hitting you has made me f-feel a b-bit b-better." The exertion required to hit out at Jack had drained him more than he expected and he collapsed onto his back, breathless and dizzy. He pulled the blankets around him, aware of a gnawing cold, that seemed to permeate all the way through to his very bones.
"Still cold?" enquired Jack, rubbing his face.
"Yep, f-f-freezing." His teeth were chattering so hard now, there was no point denying it.
"Then come here you idiot so I can warm you up." Jack reached out and pulled Ianto back into an embrace that almost threatened to suffocate him.
"OK, but you're still a b-b-bastard."
"I agree, a complete and total bastard."
"Really?"
"Yep, wanna talk about it?"
"N-not yet. Least not until I can hit you harder than that."
Jack was relived that they could forestall that particular conversation for now, as he was still concerned about Ianto's state of health and wanted to make that the priority for the time being.
"Owen said you should drink plenty of fluids – no coffee though."
"Water please."
For a fleeting moment, Jack considered getting a bottle of water from the minibar, until it struck him that a chilled drink wasn't the best of ideas, so he went to the bathroom to fetch a glass of tap water.
He returned to the bed and helped Ianto to sit up, propping him against his chest as he leaned against the headboard. He gave the younger man the water and then pulled the blankets back up around them both, enclosing them in the heat.
"How are you doing now? Think you can you tell me what happened?" Jack asked softly, but still making it clear that he was expecting a report, rather than just enquiring after Ianto's well being. Despite his immediate concerns, there was also the pressing matter of genetically modified viruses and dead weevils.
Ianto allowed himself to relax into the warmth that seemed to emanate from Jack's body like a furnace. Clearing his throat, he closed his eyes and concentrated on sorting out the actual memories of the events of the previous day from the peculiar dreams and the annoying recollections of the weekend.
"For a start let me make a few things clear, before someone knocked me out, dumped me in the marshes and left me to drown, I was determined to have it out with you – all the crap from the wedding, but you weren't available. Now, there seem to be issues to deal with that put your transgressions into perspective for the time being. But later – there are things I do need to say."
Jack tried to work out what the resolute expression on Ianto's face could mean – he looked as if whatever he had wanted to say was something he'd been rehearsing since the weekend, which couldn't be good. He couldn't help but be frightened that it was the type of conversation that could signal the end of whatever their relationship had been. Swallowing hard, he acknowledged Ianto's request, and asked what he could remember, how he'd ended up in the state they'd found him in.
Ianto described the van he'd seen, including the registration number which he had committed to memory, and suggested that Jack call that information into Tosh, so that she could run checks on it. After a belated call back to the hub, where Jack apologised to Tosh for not having let her know what was going on, he found out to his surprise that Owen had already made a point of contacting her to apprise her of the current state of play.
Feeling yet again wrong footed by the team doctor, he called Owen to let him know that Ianto had woken up and seemed coherent. He left out the part about Ianto hitting him and calling him a bastard, even though it would probably have convinced the doctor that Ianto was well on the road to recovery. Owen prompted him to order some hot soup from room service and suggested it would be a good idea if Jack made sure he got dressed before it was delivered to the room.
mmmmmmmmm
Once Ianto had consumed a large bowl of soup, he felt much better, although he had found his co-ordination let him down, dribbles of soup on the bed sheets bearing testament to that. Jack had offered to feed him but an indignant look accompanied by a trademark eye roll had soon put paid to that idea. Before long the shivering had more or less abated and he was able to provide a reasonably full account of his encounter of the previous day.
"There were two men, bulky, ex-military types from what I could see, you know the sort, muscle going to fat, could imagine them as bouncers outside one of those clubs in town- " Jack nodded, able to picture them clearly, muscle for hire, therefore not the masterminds of germ warfare research.
"They were carrying what looked like a body, it was heavy enough that it was slowing them down. They were heading down the causeway, and I could see that they were wearing face masks and gloves, disposable ones from what I could tell. I would have called for back up, but there was no signal – shit, did you find my phone?"
"No – sorry, if it's out on the marshes maybe Owen will find it." Jack wasn't hopeful about it, but at least their mobiles didn't make direct contact with the Torchwood systems, but a proxy number in order to avoid detection.
"Anyway, I decided to check out the van, after all I figured it would be empty. I went to look inside the van – there was something there on the seat, damn it, something familiar – fuck! I can't remember now, but I'm sure it was important, if only I could remember … a scrap of paper, a letter, memo, or something, but there was something familiar about it, the letter heading maybe – fuck!" Ianto knew then that there was something his memory was withholding, something vital and he really hated it when he couldn't recall facts – it was one of his bloody strengths for fuck's sake!
Jack picked up on the tension and frustration and knew that it wasn't good for Ianto to get upset in such a way, a sudden increase in blood pressure whilst still recuperating from hypothermia could be dangerous. He attempted to soothe Ianto, pulling him back into his arms more securely and planting a kiss on the back of his head.
"Shush there, leave it for now, it'll come back to you – give it time. So if the men from the van were heading out for the marshes, who or what knocked you out"
"All I remember is looking in the window and then feeling something sharp on my shoulder – felt like a wasp sting." Ianto frowned and rubbed his face as something suddenly occurred to him. "Jack – what about my gun? I had it – I know I did – and the stun gun as well … I suppose I lost those as well?" He sighed to himself, so much for proving to anyone that he was capable of handling himself out in the field.
"No – sorry, they must have taken them. Thank god they didn't use the gun on you." He gulped heavily, recalling only too vividly that damned warehouse and the scum that would have killed Ianto, had it not been for a jammed bullet.
"Well, that's all I can tell you, the next thing I knew it was dark and wet. There was a storm and I was up to my knees in the mud, with a dead weevil for company. I could feel the mud sucking at my legs, thick, black, stinking mud-" he shuddered at the thought of what could have happened.
"Ah, that would account for the smell – you could probably do with a shower or a bath – " Jack could see a look of mortification descend on Ianto's face as he turned to look to him in horror. He tried to save his feelings by providing a plausible alternative reason for getting cleaned up "-and it would warm you up."
"And I suppose you need to help me to make sure I don't keel over or anything else pathetic?"
"Is it really so hard to believe that I'm actually worried and want to make sure you're OK?"
"To be absolutely honest with you Jack, after last weekend, yes."
mmmmmmmmmm
