Hello darlings! An update at last - hope you didn't all give up on me, I've been away for three weeks or so... anyway, here's chapter fourteen! It's not very long, and a bit... meh, but I hope you enjoy anyhow. Reviews would be lovely as always!
Donna xxxxxx
Chapter Fourteen - Hard To Digest
The rest of the day passed by painfully slowly, with everyone in total shock after yesterday's events. For Rose, it was just wondering... wondering what she could possibly have done, wondering how the Doctor could bear to leave her in such a way, wondering what the hell she could do next. Wondering if she could even remotely handle spending the rest of her life without him. And the answer to that, she decided practically straight away, was not a chance.
For Donna, it was utter confusion. There was the whole matter with Rose and the Doctor, of course... but then there was also Jack. Jack, who she had despised for so long for no real reason. Who had become the most unexpected hero to her over the past few days, who had made her feel unbelievably alive for the first time in years, who she was pretty sure that she loved... and who she had now messed up pretty much everything with. She hadn't meant to hurt him, a million miles from it, but her thoughts were so tangled up, her mind was so tired, that she was finding it hard to cope. Purely and simply, he needed to know exactly what was running through her mind... and after much deliberation, she had found a way to ensure that.
And Jack was, more than anything on that day, just hurt. Hurt by the way Donna had reacted to him this morning, after he had thought everything was finally perfect between them. He didn't know why she'd done it, nothing he had said could have spurred it on... and after running it over in his mind God knows how many times, he decided the only way to work this out was to be straight with her. Tell her exactly how he felt, and wait for her reaction. Perfect.
"So." Ianto sat down on her desk, speaking quietly in the empty Hub, "What d'you reckon...?"
"Oh," Gwen exhaled heavily, before looking up at him, her eyes wide and sorrowful, "I'd say everything's gone pretty much pear-shaped."
"I know." he considered, "It is a bit... hard to digest."
"Mmm." she agreed, a smile playing on her lips, "Bit like those bloody rock cakes you made..."
"Don't! I happen to think they were perfectly edible. Even if they did... make Mickey a little ill." Gwen raised her eyebrows and he squirmed, "Well, a lot ill... well, he may have gone to hospital, but..."
She couldn't help it any more, couldn't stand the morbid air that hung about the place, and let out a splutter of laughter even as Ianto remained looking annoyed.
"'Aye, I tell you what though," she said conspiratorially, still grinning, "Not everything's gone wrong. What d'you make of Jack and Donna?"
"I dunno." he considered, "I was pretty positive something happened between them last night, but then this morning they just seemed so..."
"Distant." she finished for him, "I know. But I think they do love each other really, it's just that-"
"...God's sake!" a distant cry cut her off mid sentence, sounding as though it was coming from upstairs.
Ianto raised his eyebrows, "Was that Jack?"
"I think so." Gwen replied, straining her ears to try and catch another sound, "Sounds like it's coming from his office. But... who's up there?"
Ianto shrugged, and there were a few moments where nothing was said, nothing needed to be, as they merely looked at each other, both formulating exactly the same plan of action. But then at last, Gwen made a tiny movement with her eyes, and they silently agreed. Simultaneously, the two of them shot out of their seats and over to the nearest computer, where Ianto quickly typed something in, and a picture popped up on the screen. Eagerly, they leaned in to see the live CCTV of the Captain's office, wanting to know who was in there with him...
As it turned out, no-one was. Gwen and Ianto exchanged a puzzled glance as they saw Jack alone, pacing frantically around the room with an irritated look on his face. Finally he stopped in front of the mirror, letting out one long breath and running his hands through his hair as though to calm himself, before adopting a determined expression and looking right at his reflection.
"This shouldn't be so hard." he told himself quietly, and Gwen frantically motioned for Ianto to turn up the volume so they could hear better as Jack continued, "I just have to tell her, just say it. Cool, casual, it's no big deal..."
He exhaled and shook out his arms, and Gwen stifled a giggle before she saw him look straight up once again, his face set.
"Donna, I don't know what's happening between us." he said frankly, and Ianto blinked, "I'm getting mixed signals from you here, last night you seemed so happy, but now this... Stay calm..." he reminded himself, before continuing, "But I for one know exactly how I feel, and I'm just gonna come right out and say it. Make of this what you will, baby, but all I know is I love you. I think always have, and I know I always will. So there. What d'you say to that?"
He looked down, "Okay, that was better. Maybe the I love you was a little harsh..."
"Is he... practisin'?" Gwen asked Ianto disbelievingly, a grin on her face, "Oh, this is just too perfect for words-"
"Shh, shh!" Ianto cut her off, gesturing at the screen with a smirk, "I don't think he's quite done."
"I love you." they watched Jack inform the mirror again, "Yup, definitely too harsh. I don't wanna scare her... okay."
He cleared his throat, looked back up at his reflection and said softly, "I love you."
He nodded, seeming satisfied with that tone of voice at last, and closed his eyes for a second, before sighing heavily and sitting back down at his desk, looking mightily pleased with himself.
Gwen managed to tear her eyes away from the screen, looking up at Ianto open-mouthed and finally finding the right words.
"That was bloody brilliant!" she said excitedly, "I just wish we'd recorded it, I'm sure we'd be able to use that juicy little bit of footage somehow..."
She trailed off as Ianto raised an eyebrow at her, his expression unfathomable, "What?"
He still didn't say a word, merely maintained that mysterious smile, and Gwen soon lost it, "What, Ianto? What the hell are you-?"
But she never got a chance to finish her sentence, didn't need to, for he silently reached out and pressed a few buttons on the computer, waited a moment, and slid a disk out of the tray. Gwen's mouth dropped open as he smiled casually.
"You said you wish we'd recorded it? Your wish, as always, Miss Cooper, is my command."
"So!" Martha squealed excitedly the second Mickey closed the office door behind them, "How do we think it went?"
He grinned, "Better than I'd hoped, to be honest."
"I know. I can't believe he actually left!"
"I can." Mickey said, a trace of spite in his voice, "That Doctor finally got what was comin' to him, thinkin' she'd cheated."
"Meanwhile his precious Rose plays the confused, innocent victim." Martha mocked, smiling viciously, "It was perfect. I couldn't have done this without you, Mickey, rigging up the comms and everything."
"Me? What about your scarily accurate impression? You were the star of the show here for sure."
"And what a show it was." Martha said proudly, but after a moment of reflection she bit her lip, "Mickey... you don't think they could figure us out?"
"Naah!" he waved a casual hand, "Who would even consider it? The Doctor's buggered off back to his own planet, and Rose is too busy feelin'; sorry for herself to suspect anythin'. Jack and Donna are the single two most self-absorbed people in the world, so they're too caught up in their own little soap opera to notice a thing. And as for Gwen and Ianto... well..."
Martha was once again smiling in amusement by now.
"Between you and me," she finished for him, leaning in close, "They're as thick as two short planks."
"You can say that again." Mickey let out a barking laugh, before yawning and checking his watch. "Actually, babes, we'd better get back downstairs. They'll probably be wonderin' where we've got to, and it's best not to arouse suspicion..."
"You kidding?" Martha grumbled, but stood up all the same to follow him out of the room, "Like you said, the lot of them are so bloody self-absorbed that they couldn't-"
She was silenced.
The two of them froze, the smiles wiped instantly from their faces and the panic lights blaring inside both their heads. For when Mickey, grinning widely, turned the handle, the heavy door swung open to reveal Captain Jack Harkness standing in the corridor, his arms folded and a murderous look on his face, obviously having just heard the entire thing.