Two chapters in two days. I'm terribly impressed with myself.
First it was the Jackuzzi, now it's the scalpel-wielding Rhiannon I can't escape from. My imagination is obviously a scary place to live.
Rhi doesn't actually make an appearance today, she's just an ominous presence.
Jack wasn't moving. Motionless and Jack were not concepts Tosh usually associated with each other. Except during a Weevil hunt, perhaps, but the only Weevil in the Hub was Janet, and she was securely in her cell, munching on the bacon sandwich that Owen had decided he didn't really need, given the first two had cured the nausea associated with today's hangover.
And Jack was being motionless outside the entrance to the Archives. Weird piled upon weird. Jack was often to be found in the vicinity of the Archives, particularly when Ianto was within. Only he wasn't usually outside them.
"What?" Tosh began, but fell instantly silent again at Jack's admonitory finger. The Hub might have been invaded, she supposed, but Jack hadn't actually alerted anyone, and he didn't look tense enough for that.
Tosh found a spot for the armful of files she'd come down to deliver and eyed her boss with avid curiosity. She was rewarded with a smile. A tiny smile that lit his eyes. A smile that hid laughter. Almost unbearably curious now, Tosh obeyed the beckoning finger, and drew closer to listen.
"It's been a while since I lost Lisa." Ianto's voice drifted through the door, which was quite thick enough to deaden sound, if someone hadn't opened it just a crack. Someone called Jack. Someone called Jack, eavesdropping on Ianto. Tosh delivered her best glare, and a firm elbow to the midriff, just on principle, even as her eyes filled in response to the words. But the tears didn't spill over because the tone wasn't right. Sad, yes. Solemn even. But not miserable.
Jack gave an exaggerated wince and rubbed his ribs. Tosh rolled her eyes in answer – Ianto had been giving her lessons. That dealt with, Jack grinned merrily, then beckoned her closer still before raising a finger to his lips again. The grin didn't belong either, so Tosh resolved to listen before making any further assumptions.
"And much as I still miss her, I…..I've found someone else," Ianto continued. He stopped, groaned, and swore in a manner that widened Tosh's eyes and left Jack literally biting his tongue to hold back laughter.
"Callous," Ianto muttered, in a completely different tone. "That just sounds callous. And careless." The sigh reverberated to where his unseen audience lurked.
"I miss her," Ianto began again, in somber tones, "But, I find I can't mourn her forever, and I've met someone who has helped me come to terms with the grief, helped me to find the happiness beyond it," he continued, before lapsing into further cursing.
Tosh blinked and applied an eye to the gap in the door, to see Ianto pacing the hallway beyond. His tie was loose, his hair ruffled. Tosh withdrew to eye Jack accusingly, only to conclude that he didn't look smug enough to have been the cause of Ianto's current state of dishevelment.
"And that sounds bloody pompous," Ianto scolded – himself? "You're not talking to a bloody jury, Jones." He sighed again. "Much as it feels that way. Judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one. How the hell am I going to do this?"
Tosh peered through the gap again. No-one else there. No phone to his ear. She could even see his Bluetooth lying on the desk. Ianto was talking to himself. Swearing at himself. And pacing. And running his hands through his hair.
Jack backed away. Tosh followed him up to the Hub, only to halt abruptly midway to his office as Gwen's hand closed around her wrist.
"What's going on?" Gwen demanded.
Tosh sighed, opened her mouth, then closed it again as footsteps sounded from the medical bay. She might as well wait for Owen and get it all over with at once.
"I just found Jack eavesdropping on Ianto in the Archives," she explained.
Gwen made a sound that might possibly be a squeal. "That's so cute!"
Owen snorted. "Doesn't he get enough at home?" he complained, dodging the ensuing swat from Gwen with the ease of practice.
Jack stuck his head out of the office and waved an imperious hand at Tosh.
"I'm being summoned," Tosh announced, trying to edge away without making it appear that she was, in fact, fleeing their presence.
Gwen pouted. "He tells you everything now, doesn't he?"
Tosh's feet ground to a stop at the note of genuine sadness in Gwen's voice. It was kind of unfair, she had to admit. Jack used to confide in Gwen, but since things between him and Ianto had gotten so much more serious, Jack had begun turning to Tosh instead. It started because Jack knew that Ianto often confided in her himself, which gave Tosh an edge when Jack needed a spot of Ianto-translation. However, in the process, she and Jack had drawn closer, too. A fact which would only hurt Gwen further.
"I think I'm more of a go-between," Tosh offered. She heaved a completely fake sigh. "For when Ianto gets in one of his cryptic moods."
Gwen patted Tosh's hand consolingly.
"Gooseberry," Owen corrected. "Watch out, Tosh, or they'll be inviting you to join in.
Both women gasped, then assumed almost identical dreamy expressions. Owen departed in vocal disgust.
"I should have been offended, shouldn't I?" Tosh asked Gwen.
"Hmmm? Oh yes, Tosh, of course," Gwen answered vaguely. "What a thing to suggest…."
Her eyes hadn't quite refocused yet. Tosh took the opportunity to escape.
Jack waved Tosh to a chair without taking his attention off the CCTV screen. Tosh leaned forward avidly. Yet another thing she ought to be disturbed by. Eavesdropping by camera. Jack's influence, obviously.
On-screen, Ianto continued to pace and mutter disconnected phrases.
"What is he doing?" Tosh demanded.
Jack smiled again, teeth flashing. He looked, Tosh thought somewhat uncharitably, like a dog that had just been patted. If he had a tail, it'd be wagging.
"Practicing," Jack answered gleefully. He leaned forward and accessed the audio as well. "Listen."
"I've met someone," Ianto's voice announced through the speakers. "We've been together for a while now, and we've even moved in together. I know it's sudden, Rhi, but it's…special?"
"Aw, he was doing so well," Jack said, with a distinct smirk in his voice. "He ruined it with the uncertainty at the end, don't you think?"
"No," Ianto admonished himself. "I should say, he's special. Get it out in the open straight away, that'd be much better." On screen, Ianto nodded to himself decidedly, and was actually seen to make a note.
Tosh frowned slightly. "Rhi? Rhiannon? Isn't that Ianto's sister's name?"
Jack nodded, looking unbearably smug. "He's working himself up to tell her about me," he said. The sheer joy in his voice made Tosh's eyes mist up again.
"It isn't men," Ianto said suddenly, drawing their attention back to the screen. "It isn't men, it's him." His voice changed again. "Yeah, I like that. That'll work."
More notes, then Ianto dropped into the chair behind his desk in the Archives, and raised his coffee mug in what might be a toast. To himself.
Jack logged out of the CCTV feed before Ianto had time to notice the extra light on the camera which meant the footage was being viewed, then turned to smirk at Tosh.
"Guess I'm about to become official, then." He gave a theatrical sigh. "And I was kind of enjoying being the dirty little secret, too."
Tosh's eyes narrowed. "No you weren't," she said.
Jack stilled for a moment, his eyes meeting hers without the shutters that so often hid his feelings. "No, I wasn't," he agreed.
"But I didn't want to pressure him," Jack continued. "And if he's decided to tell Rhiannon himself, well, that means something, doesn't it?"
Tosh's eyes filled again at the hopeful note in Jack's voice. Jack didn't let many people see beneath his veneer of supposedly unshakeable self-confidence, and she couldn't help feeling a sense of privilege when he opened up to her like this. She reached across and clasped Jack's hand within hers.
"It does," she agreed warmly. "Like there was any question of how he feels about you."
Jack squeezed her hand before releasing it and leaning back in his chair, his lips curving again. Tosh thought she'd never seen him smile so much. At least, not real smiles.
"Confirmation never hurts," Jack said. "But I was getting a bit tired of the double-life, anyway."
Tosh frowned. "Mysterious is one thing, Jack. Now you're just being cryptic."
Jack opened his eyes wide, an innocent expression that didn't fool Tosh for a second. He bore her gaze for nearly a full minute before dissolving into laughter.
"He's been like this for days," Jack confided breathlessly. "Weeks, even. And do you wanna know the best bit, Tosh?" Jack leaned across the desk, eyes shining. Tosh realised she was holding her breath.
"I met Rhiannon a month ago," Jack confided gleefully. "She stalked me around the Plass for a bit, gave me the third degree, and pretty much put me on probation before trotting off to lunch with him." Jack's eyes glowed with admiration. "She's one hell of a woman, that one."
Tosh frowned at him. "You've met her," she repeated. "You like her. And you're still making him go through all that." Tosh jabbed an accusing finger at the CCTV monitor. "Making him go through all that stress, for nothing? That's cruel, Jack."
Jack retreated back into his chair, contemplating the unfairness of Ianto having two tigresses in his corner, and finding himself stuck between them. It would serve them right if set Gwen onto them. Except that then he'd have Rhys to contend with, too.
The Welsh were scary. Why couldn't the Rift have been in London?
Tosh tapped her foot.
"Rhiannon made me promise not to tell him," Jack said plaintively. "I can't cross her, Toshiko."
Tosh couldn't help smiling. "You sound like you're scared of her!"
Jack nodded with enthusiasm, eyes widening almost comically. "I am. You should have heard the things she threatened me with if I hurt her baby brother." He shuddered. "Truly unspeakable things, Tosh. That woman is the living embodiment of the Welsh dragon."
Tosh giggled. She couldn't help it.
"C'mon, tell me," she urged. "What could possibly scare you?"
Jack leaned forward and whispered in Tosh's ear.
Gwen bolted out of her seat as a shriek that didn't sound anything like the usually composed Toshiko cut through the Hub. Even Owen ceased the metallic banging that usually filled the autopsy bay when he was in a bad mood about something and ascended into the Hub to investigate.
Tosh left Jack's office and tried to make it to her desk before anyone noticed. A futile effort. She could feel Gwen and Owen's eyes burning a hole through her back, right between her still-shaking shoulders.
"Well?" Gwen demanded.
"Jack's met his match," Tosh announced.
And neither of them could get any more out of her than that.
After all, cryptic was in vogue today.
Kind of sad, but I think I'll have to leave Rhiannon there. The 'coming out' scene is one of the few in CoE that I really love, so I can't invalidate it, even in my head. (Unless anyone's got any ideas for more – feel free to suggest!)