Doomsday: Post Apocalypse
a Torchwood story
by RoadrunnerGER
Dislaimer: Oh, really! They're the BBC's.
Summary: Ianto comes to Cardiff for a week to help with the archives, but is it as simple as that? Jack/OC, Jack?Ianto
Suspense/hurt/comfort – T – Ianto Jones & Jack Harkness
Chapter 21 - Searches
"Okay, Benny, I'm back," Ianto chirped when he returned to the kitchenette. "I'm going to spare a few minutes to take you home, kid. We don't want you to give anyone a scare again, right?"
He sat the tray down on the kitchen counter and put the mugs and plates into the sink. As he shoved the tray in its place beside the cupboard, he groaned.
"Oh, no… Benny?"
Squatting down, Ianto opened the left door of the bottom cupboard. When he needed a safe place for his spidermouse earlier, he had taken the plates and bowls out that gathered dust down there and left the little creature in it instead. As he did not want to lock it tightly, he secured the door with one of his shoelaces, so it would open a crack but not far enough to let the animal through.
The shoelace lay on the grid of the catwalk. The knot was still intact but obviously Benny had gnawed on the lace until it gave way. A look into the compartment confirmed Ianto's suspicion: the spidermouse was gone.
"Benny?" he said, hesitating to call out aloud. "Oh, c'mon! Come back. You'll get banana if you come back."
Chirruping, he tried to lure his pet out of its hiding place. To no avail. Benny remained missing.
"Jack's gonna kill me," Ianto muttered, only to see erotic alternative pictures flash before his mind's eye. Trying to shake off the images, he searched the whole kitchenette for any sign of the spidermouse. "Jack's really gonna kill me."
Of course, the creature was a really good climber, so Ianto extended his search on the surrounding catwalk and the ceiling. The mouse was nowhere to be seen.
"Benny!" Ianto rasped with growing agitation. "Where are you?"
Hoping against hope that his pet did not go far away, Ianto searched the kitchenette a second time.
"Benny!"
There was no denying it, the spidermouse had escaped into the Hub.
"Please, whatever you do, don't go to Jack," Ianto pleaded and started down the staircase, checking the construction with every step in case the mouse sat on the handrail or between the banister's bars. No such luck. Down on the gantry, Ianto went straight to Toshiko's workstation.
"Tosh?" he asked softly and she turned around to him. "Do you happen to have a banana?"
She shook her head no. "Sorry, Ianto. Don't you have one of those pastries left?"
"It's not for me, it's for Benny," he whispered conspiratorially. "He must've snuck into my bag or my coat. I caught him in Jack's office earlier, but now he's gone."
"Oooops!"
Ianto huffed. "Can you help me search? God, he could be anywhere in the Hub by now. I should've taken him back home straight away, but there was the morning meeting and I didn't want to let you wait or miss it entirely."
"Of course I'll help," Toshiko reassured him. "Where did you last see him?"
"In the kitchenette," Ianto said. "But I searched there twice. He's not there."
"Does he have other favourites than bananas?"
At that Ianto could only shrug.
"Okay, let's go search. Which part do you take?"
"Let's both search the whole central Hub," Ianto sighed. "Then we have a better chance to find him, don't you think?"
This time, it was Toshiko who shrugged, Ianto rolled his eyes, and they both started to search.
xXx
Seeing Ianto and Toshiko talk put a smile on Jack's face. He really liked that they became friends.
If he forms bonds with his co-workers he might be more willing to stay.
Watching closer, he could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Ianto looked worried and Toshiko seemed to share his concern. When they set about searching, Jack watched for a minute more before he returned his attention to the file he was putting together.
Hope he didn't lose anything important.
Writing reports definitely was not Jack's favourite pastime so he soon let himself be distracted by the search party. That the two were looking into each and every corner made him curious.
What could he have lost? And why are they searching in such peculiar places?
Slowly realization dawned and a small whimper escaped the captain.
Oh, crap! The spidery mouse thing ran away!
His breathing quickened and his heart rate increased.
Please don't let it come in here!
Impending panic almost paralyzed him. Then he realized that the door to his office stood wide open.
Argh!
Pushing himself out of the chair, Jack quickly strode around the desk but paused, looking around the office, scanning it for the loathed creature. When he could not spot it, he made a beeline for the door and pushed it shut. Leaning against it with his back, he tried to regain control over his breathing.
Keeping the spidery mouse things here at the Hub? No, Ianto, I don't think so.
xXx
The longer they searched the more desperate Ianto became. He was so worried. About Benny finding his way back to Jack's office and scaring the crap out of the captain, but also about the spidermouse itself as it was Ianto's secret favourite and he did not want anything to happen to the tiny being.
What if he gets out of the Hub? Who knows if he can survive out there on his own? And he'd be so lonely without his family.
"Benny!" he whispered insistently. "C'mon! Show yourself!"
Thankfully, Suzie was working somewhere else in the Hub. It would be so much more embarrassing having to explain to her what they were searching for.
"Did you see anything?" Toshiko asked.
"No. Not even a silk thread," Ianto replied, his concern clearly audible by now. "Where could he have gone?"
"As you said… he could be anywhere," Toshiko shrugged helplessly. She wished she could reassure the young Welshman, but the truth was that they had no idea where the spidermouse had gone. "Hope Yvonne doesn't find him before we do."
"What?" Ianto gasped. "No! Poor Benny! We've got to find him!"
They were searching the area around the silver column now and Ianto intently scanned the tidal basin. Could spidermice swim? He had no idea.
"What about the vaults?" Toshiko asked. "Could he have gotten so far?"
"Probably," Ianto mused aloud. "They're excellent climbers and can move pretty fast."
"Maybe we should extend our search."
Thoughtfully, Ianto worried his bottom lip. For some reason, he did not believe that Benny really travelled so far. There was nothing in the tunnels that might be of interest for the little creature. Maybe dark places to hide in, but those could be found in the main Hub as well.
"Argh!"
Jack!
Freezing with shock, his eyes growing wide, Ianto stood stock still for a moment. Then he realized that it had not been the captain's voice.
"Owen!" he and Toshiko said as one and they darted up the stairs and to the med bay.
"Bloody hell!" the medic shouted. "That's my stash! What are you doing in there? And what the hell are you anyway? Get out! Shoo!"
Both Toshiko and Ianto stood upstairs at the handrail and watched the doctor gesticulate wildly. Benny had to be alive and well to cause that reaction. Ianto could have cried with relief but forced it back. Crying over a spidermouse in front of Owen or Suzie if she came along was not an option.
"What's wrong?" Toshiko demanded to know.
"There's a… thing sitting in my drawer," Owen complained, pointing at one of the two drawers in his small workstation down in the med bay.
"Do you happen to have a banana in there?" Toshiko asked teasingly.
"Among other things… What the bloody hell is that thing?"
"A spidermouse," Ianto snarled and went down the stairs. Pushing the doctor aside, he peeked into the drawer where his pet was sitting among candies, chocolates, an open soda bottle… and a very ripe banana. "Benny," Ianto sighed and reached in to pick him up. "Come here. Naughty boy."
"Is that yours?" Owen grunted.
"Yeah. First he snuck in and then he ran away. He must've smelled your banana. Can he have it?"
"Take it, for God's sake." Stepping closer, Owen had a second look at the spidermouse with its long, twitching nose, the big round ears, and the eight spindly legs. "Actually it's rather cute," he conceded. "It just surprised me."
"You screamed," Ianto teased.
"Well, yeah. That was a reflex to allow the lungs to expand again to breathe."
Both Toshiko and Ianto laughed at that and a third voice also joined with a chuckle.
"Did you secure it?" Jack asked. His eyes were widened but he still watched from upstairs.
"Yes," Ianto confirmed. "Maybe I should take him home now."
"Yeah, do that," Jack agreed and shied just a little back when Ianto passed him on his way up the steps and over to the cog door.
"I'll be back in about half an hour, sir," Ianto told him.
"Fine. Take your time," Jack muttered. Seeing the broad and proud smile Ianto favoured him with made him feel better and he straightened up a bit more. "Back to work," he declared.
Owen sat down at his workplace to examine some specimens and Toshiko returned to her workstation. Only when the cog door had closed behind Ianto, and the spidermouse, Jack dared to go back to his office.
xXx
Convincing Benny to go back into the cage was a hard piece of work. The company of his family could not coax him inside and Ianto pleaded with him as he feared that the spidermouse might escape the bedsit while he was at work. When Benny finally rejoined the others, Ianto used the opportunity to refill the water bottle.
They don't have enough space. I feel so bad keeping them in that small cage.
With a sigh, he said goodbye to his pets and left the small flat. On his way out of the house, he was intercepted by his landlady.
"Oh, Ianto!" she shouted from out of the bakery. "Just a minute, please!"
Dreading another bag of pastries, Ianto slowed his steps and entered the bakery. Instead, she held out a small package to him.
"I accepted your mail in your stead," she announced. "Here, my boy."
"Thank you, Mrs. Dillard," he replied and felt the urge to roll his eyes. As he had been friends with her nephew when they were in school, she felt nostalgic towards him. He took the carton from her and a smile touched his lips when he thought of what was inside.
"Is it something nice?" she asked.
"A gift," he told her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Ianto. Have a nice day."
"You, too, Mrs. Dillard," he said cordially.
"Do you want another pastry?" she asked before he could get to the door.
"Not right now," he declined her offer. "But thank you very much. My boss enjoyed your Welshcakes very much. He asked me to relay to you that they are delicious."
"Oh!" her features lit up with joy. "Thank you! Do you want to take another one for him?"
"I shouldn't spoil him," Ianto joked. "But if you'd have fresh ones tomorrow morning I wouldn't say no."
"All right. I'll pack you a bag," she smirked. "Goodbye."
"Bye, Mrs. Dillard."
Before she could engage him in further conversation, he left the bakery and went back to the Hub. Knowing that they did not have much time left until Saturday, he went straight to Suzie, asking her about their cooperation.
"You can leave the financial things to me," she told him brusquely. "Just prepare the documents terminating their contracts with Torchwood and I'll do the wage and pension administration. I'll put it all together for you so you can advise them after the memorial service."
So much about working together, Ianto thought. Aloud he asked, "What about those who want to transfer to UNIT?"
"They need a new contract with UNIT," Suzie said.
"And a proper notice of termination…" he thought out loud, "along with some sort of credentials or references verifying their employment with Torchwood? Or the respective cover business?"
"Yeah," she grumbled. "All right then, I'll do this and you'll do that. Okay?"
"Fine," Ianto agreed and swore she would get decaf from now on. On second thought that might not be such a good idea as caffeine withdrawal will make her even bitchier.
As he was not sure which conditions he needed to include in the references, he went to Toshiko next.
"Hey," she greeted. "Is Benny all right?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "But I really need to find another place for them. They need more space. A lot more space."
"Yeah, I know," she agreed. "Jack didn't look too happy when he saw Benny. Guess he doesn't like him."
Lowering his voice Ianto let her know, "It's not so much about dislike."
Catching on to what he was implying, she looked at him with astonishment. "Oh!"
Nothing more. More was not necessary. Ianto loved her for that.
"Can I help you somehow?" Toshiko asked.
Ianto nodded. "Yes, with the contracts exit interview packets. I just want to know what I need to include. Maybe you could also have a look at them when I'm finished before I give them to Jack?"
"Sure. No problem."
"Thank you," he smiled and produced the parcel. "I got something for you."
"Oh, Ianto!" she said. "That's not necessary."
"I wanted to. I saw it and thought it was perfect for you. C'mon, go ahead," he gestured her to open the carton.
Seeing his whimsical smile, she could not help herself and eagerly picked at the package. Another carton was inside, but the content was printed on it and realizing what she got, Toshiko beamed up at Ianto before she opened the other carton. Carefully, she pulled the egg cup out and held it up like a trophy.
The cup holding the egg looked like half of a broken eggshell with two duck feet. A computer keyboard was under the right foot and a cable wrapped around both legs, the mouse lying on the left foot.
"Oh, my God! Ianto!" Toshiko cheered. "It's brilliant!"
"And so much you," he teased lightly. "As I said, I saw it and thought that you had to have it."
"You're a peach," she beamed and got up to wrap him up in a big hug. "Such a surprise! Thank you." When she let go of him, she looked around her workstation. "I think I'll keep it here. Just where…?"
In the end, she sat it down right behind her keyboard.
"I'll go down to the archives for a while," Ianto told her and put on his earpiece to be available if necessary.
"Okay," Toshiko replied. "Call me if you need something."
"Will do," he smiled. "Oh, do you have a torch? Some areas in the archives aren't well lit."
"Sure. Somewhere around…" she searched on her desk and then opened a drawer, "here."
"Thank you," Ianto said as he took the torch. "Later."
First, Ianto went to his workstation down in the vaults and was surprised to find a handwritten list on the tabletop. Jack actually had managed to finish the description of his symbolized filing system. Ianto sat down for a moment to read it and decided to go and get a better overview over the archives. After examining row after row in two adjacent rooms, Ianto had enough. He needed a break.
Let's see what else they have down here.
Strolling down the tunnel, Ianto found another door and opened it. More shelves, crates and artefacts greeted him. Right now, he did not want to know more about the room's contents and put examining it on his mental list. He went further down into the bowels of the Hub until he reached another set of doors. The one on the left side of the tunnel bore a symbol that stood for danger on Jack's list and when Ianto tried to open it, he had to realize that it was locked. The door right across led to a small room where he found bucket and broom and other cleaning utensils. There also was a water tap. A door on the left side probably led to the room that lay at the end of the tunnel.
Ianto peeked inside. It was quite big. He closed the door again and tried the one at the end of the tunnel to see his assumption confirmed. The beam of his torch could not quite reach the other side of the room. It seemed to be empty when Ianto strolled in. There were a couple of boxes, but that was all. Ianto felt a light breeze and his mind started to race.
Oh, kids, this would be brilliant!
Shining above with the torch showed him that the ceiling was higher than it was in the tunnel. The room really was quite spacious.
"We could turn the storage room into a lock!" Ianto mused aloud. "It doesn't have to be an air lock, just a room we can enter through where we can store things and make sure that nothing is getting out."
Once more, he looked around and a plan formed in his mind. He needed to make a sketch and outline what he needed to secure the room against breakout attempts. The ventilation shaft for example needed another grid that would not let the small animals through. Otherwise, they could climb into the shaft and come out in the main Hub. Not a good thing as long as Jack still reacted phobic to the spidermice.
"That will work!" Ianto cheered. "I'm sure it will! I just have to make sure that I don't leave Jack any reason to argue."
Ianto looked at his watch. Another hour and he would return to the Hub to see what the others were doing. Maybe he would go up to the tourist office to check how they could make it a better front as he waited for Ydris as well. If the computer there worked, he could even start to work on a first draft of the exit documents.
With a whole bunch of ideas fresh in mind, Ianto continued his exploration.
xXx
After his shift, Andy Davidson found himself at Cardiff Bay. He had no idea why he came to Mermaid Quay as it was not a place he usually frequented. Strolling across the Roald Dahl Plass, he got down to the boardwalk and leaned on the railing. Overlooking the bay, he watched the boats and the people.
Ever since he had seen the lizard at Mrs. Sandford's flat, he could not shake the feeling that he encountered it before. Still he could not remember when or under which circumstances.
It bugged him. Not knowing put him on edge. It was like a déjà vue, just the other way round.
Like when you're searching for something. Your keys for example. You try to remember where you've last seen them. You're racking your mind because you believe you know it. It's just an inch away, but you can't grasp it.
An annoying feeling.
Bugger! Why can't I remember?
Shaking his head, he tried to clear his mind. Maybe it was better if he forgot about it, but that was the point as the sight of the lizard had triggered a vicious circle. He could not remember where he had seen the creature but he could not stop thinking about it either.
Maybe it's got something to do with the missing day? Andy wondered. That would explain why I can't grasp the memories. I mean, if I forgot that I had an all over body waxing there could be so many other things that I've done and don't remember.
Andy wished that he also did not remember the day after the missing one. After waking up in his living room, his partner Gwen and a stranger who called himself Ydris sleeping in the easy chair and on the sofa beside him, he did not think anything was wrong and Gwen also did not say a thing… but when he went into the bathroom he saw that he did not have a single hair on his head. Even his eyebrows were gone. Returning to the living room and confronting Gwen, she sheepishly declared that she did not want to disturb him, only to dissolve into laughter next.
That was soooo nice of her. I could've strangled Gwen. It was not funny!
Thankfully, his hair was growing back. It was not very long yet, but at least he was not completely bald anymore. Finally, he looked like a normal human being again.
Snippets of events. Only pictures. A quick motion. Can't even grasp what it is, a swinging coat or something? Heavy rain. Another thing we were told about later, the strong thunderstorm that made the others think Cardiff would be washed away. We missed it and yet I've got flashbacks of heavy rainfall.
And then there's Darth Vader. Why in bloody hell do I connect Darth Vader with the missing events?
Andy did not have a clue.
He sighed. He knew he would not find the answers here so he decided to go to the animal shelter to see if someone came to claim the lizard. As he was getting hungry, he went up the stairs to Eddy's Diner to have a burger beforehand.
tbc…