Is there any point in apologising for the horrendous delay? Real life, Christmas, being insane enough to have other fics going, writers block...take you pick. Thank you to the people who kicked me back into writing (you know who you are!). And thank you for waiting!
And because it has been so long, quick summary of where I left it:
Timeline- we're in the middle of Everything Changes, just after the team have left the hospital, narrowly missing hitting Gwen with the SUV!
Last chapter - Tosh and Owen have agreed to be 'just friends', so Towen is on hiatus. Jack insulted Ianto (accidentally-on-purpose) by implying he was 'doing the rounds of the team' so Janto is frosty.
"She's following you," Ianto reported.
"We see her," Tosh confirmed, twisting around in the back seat. "Two cars back."
"Pretty hard to miss her," Owen snorted.
"Tailing us in a police car." Suzie commented. "So subtle."
"She is leaving a car between us and her, though," Jack pointed out, either unable to keep the amusement out of his voice, or more likely not trying. "I'm sure they would have covered that in Surveillance 101."
"A bright blue and yellow police car, in full daylight," Suzie elaborated.
"Guess she missed the bit about using unmarked cars," Owen snickered.
"They must have covered that the same lesson where they mention you aren't supposed to barge through hazard tape," Tosh added bitterly, her mind still battling with the senseless death of the hospital porter.
The banter was unkind, but Tosh found it strangely satisfying. If that woman hadn't interfered, the poor man wouldn't have ventured into the restricted area, and he'd still be alive.
Jack tried to ignore the childish comments flying around inside the car. His fault, after all. He'd treated them like children, so he shouldn't be surprised if they behaved that way. Still, it was disheartening to hear Tosh joining in. He'd thought Ianto would be a better influence than that. And this tendency he'd developed of letting every train of thought lead to Ianto had to stop.
"We'll go in via the lift," Jack announced, his voice cutting through the chatter. "Vanish into thin air. That'll throw her. Ianto, I'll need you to collect the SUV as soon as she's out of sight of it."
"Yes sir," Ianto answered. That voice, Jack thought, could freeze lava, even via the comm. Damn it, he hadn't meant to be offensive, it just slipped out.
"And there's a Weevil in the back," Owen added. "The cell better be ready, Teaboy. Or should that be Weevilboy?"
Suzie snickered. "Sounds like a superhero's sidekick. The Amazing Weevilboy."
Tosh fumed in silence. She could easily imagine Ianto's hands clenching as he absorbed the insult.
"Our very own dynamic duo," Owen sneered. "Captain Cardiff and The Amazing Weevilboy."
"Owen," Jack said warningly. He wondered now whether the Ianto-baiting was his fault too. It occurred to him – quite belatedly - that his blatant flirting wasn't very respectful. He'd set the tone, and the others were just following along, in their own way.
"The cell is ready," Ianto said, voice clear and controlled. "And there'd be food if you'd bothered to supply the dietary requirements I asked you for last month, Dr Harper."
"It won't need feeding tonight," Owen said dismissively. "The sedative will suppress its appetite." He tossed a dark look over his shoulder. Looking straight through Tosh, or so it felt, as he checked the progress of their tail. The police car was still in pursuit, in spite of Jack's erratic driving. "Besides," Owen added, disgust clear in his tone, "It just had a nice snack of hospital porter. Courtesy of Cardiff's finest."
Joking about the irritating police constable was one thing, Tosh thought in annoyance, but making fun of the victim was another.
"A porter whose family will be looking for him tonight," she put in quietly. "And the people who should have protected him are in an SUV making tasteless jokes."
Suzie rolled her eyes. "Hey Owen, you forgot the damsel in distress, Ms Bleeding-heart."
Tosh glared across at Suzie. "At least I've got one! And since we're making the superhero list, Owen, don't forget Queen of the Dead here." Tosh bit her lip. Heaven help her, she was turning into one of them.
Suzie scowled, and even though Tosh regretted opening her mouth, she couldn't help warming at the grin Owen flicked towards her. She was pretty sure she'd heard the click of the comm. being muted, too, which meant she'd made Ianto laugh as well. Tosh began to understand why they used this sort of humor, cracked these tasteless jokes. It made it all seem just a bit less real.
Jack wasn't laughing though. "That's enough, all of you," he snapped. "Grow up, for Godssake. Yeah, it went wrong today, but that's no reason to act like a pack of juveniles. Suck it up and pull yourselves together. And that's not a suggestion."
There was an awkward pause, shocked expressions, a chorus of mumbled apologies.
"If we take the SUV into the garage I can lower the Weevil down through the chute we use for corpses," Owen offered. "It'll go straight into the autopsy bay. Won't harm it, as long as it doesn't thrash around. Which it can't."
"I'll meet it in the autopsy bay then," Ianto agreed stiffly.
"I retconned the security guard who saw me taking the porter's body out to the Bay," Suzie added. "He'll remember seeing the porter leave, but nothing about us." She turned to Tosh. "You could work that into the cover story."
Tosh nodded. "He won't be registered as a missing person until tomorrow night, and he should wash ashore, um…"
"High tide on Tuesday," Ianto supplied.
"So we make a 'concerned citizen' report of something in the Bay on Tuesday evening," Suzie suggested.
"I do a lovely retired Londoner walking his dog who doesn't want to get involved," Owen offered.
"God Bless the Crimestoppers program," Tosh agreed.
"That's more like it," Jack said approvingly.
The rest of the trip passed in silence.
-XXX-
They approached the invisible lift in a group, intent on making sure they all vanished at the same instant. Owen cast a half-glance back. "Still there," he reported. "Naughty girl, she's parked illegally."
Tosh tried not to notice the way the game made his eyes twinkle. They were past that. They were friends.
A parking inspector approached the woman pursuing them, and they all stifled giggles as they leapt for the invisible lift while she was distracted.
"Poor love," Suzie said with satisfaction. "Oh look, here comes her little friend."
They clustered around the nearest CCTV feed and watched the drama unfold.
"Officer Plod is blaming it on the bang on her head," Owen said delightedly. "She won't be back."
"Yes she will," Jack stated. "And I'm not having her walk straight into one of you on your way out. If she's gonna find us, she'll do it our way. No-one leaves the Hub until further notice."
Tosh's heart sank. She'd planned to go down to the basement again tonight and implement some of Dr Tanizaki's suggestions that would supposedly make it easier to achieve separation from the converter. But if Jack insisted they wait for this Cooper woman, they could be stuck in the Hub all night. Lisa would be alone. Ianto wouldn't risk sleeping in the basement while they were all in the Hub. Tosh knew he'd fret about it, even though he'd spent last night with Lisa, and probably snatched some time with her while they were at the hospital, too.
"Conference room in half an hour, everyone," Jack ordered. "We're taking the opportunity for a team meeting. That little performance you all gave in the car suggests I've been letting too much slide lately. Time to smarten up, girls and boys."
A chorus of groans followed him to his office. But Jack looked over at the hand, back in its place by the door, and decided that if he had to change, so did they. Because given what had happened today, hell, for the last few months, they weren't ready. And they had to be.
-XXX-
Gwen glanced across at Andy, who'd insisted on driving. Of course he had, he didn't believe a word. Andy thought the bang on her head was giving her hallucinations.
There'd been nothing wrong with her head last night. She hadn't imagined seeing that man brought back to life. A murdered man. She'd heard that woman in the leather jacket trying to find out if the poor boy knew who killed him. The police officer in Gwen was elated at the thought of a victim having the chance to name his killer. Imagine if they could do that for everyone who'd been murdered! Surely it would comfort the victim to know whoever stole their lives wouldn't be able to vanish into the shadows. Vengeance or justice, however they wanted to think of it. Maybe it would give some of them a measure of peace to take with them – wherever it was they went.
But the rest of Gwen, the part that went home to tea with Rhys and cried in his arms when she'd had a bad day, that part shuddered. Knowing you'd died, hearing that you've got two minutes. Worse than dying in the first place, perhaps, especially if it had been a quick 'never knew what hit him' death.
But still, it was nothing short of a miracle. Yesterday, she'd seen a dead man brought back to life. Today she'd seen a…a…well no it wasn't a man. It was some sort of beast that looked like a man and it had killed that poor porter. Had they brought the porter back to life?
Everyone at the hospital was accounted for, Andy said so.
Andy. It was a mystery why he and Rhys didn't get along, when they were so alike. Andy thought she'd imagined it all. Rhys would say the same. Rhys still insisted they'd hallucinated all the stuff that happened at Christmas. Drugs in the water, or some such, he said. Good, solid, dependable Rhys would rather believe that than trust what his own eyes told him. And her Granddad, all silver and spooky, coming to visit every day, that was just a glitch in the radio waves, according to Rhys.
When Gwen joined the police force, she'd swallowed the whole recruitment spiel and thirsted for more. Solving crimes and protecting the public. Excitement and adventure. But being a constable was all hanging around crimes scenes and protecting herself from the public. Like today. Trying to keep the peace and ending with a bang on the head. There might be some excitement if she ever got promoted to detective, but being a constable in Cardiff was as thrilling as watching paint dry, sometimes even less so. At least paint changed color as it dried. Nothing ever changed in Cardiff. Investigating the velocity of a kebab, that about summed it up.
But yesterday, and today, she'd seen something worth investigating, and no bugger wanted to follow it up. It was enough to make her bash her head against a wall, if it didn't already hurt so much.
Bang on the head, my arse, Gwen thought, fury warring with confusion. No such person as Captain Jack Harkness, bollocks. No such car. I was reading the bloody number out. I saw it. I saw it all, and none of it was my imagination.
So, fake name, fake license plate. A fake license plate on a big black car with Torchwood written on the side. Who uses an untraceable name and car registration and then goes on to stencil the name of an organization only the police knew about on the side of their car?
And how the hell did they vanish into thin air?
Gwen didn't know. Gwen didn't like not knowing. Gwen wanted to find out.
Gwen wasn't having tea with Rhys tonight. She had an appointment on the Plass.
-XXX-
The grumbling continued as they assembled in the conference room. Jack stalked in, gaze fixed on the stack of folders in his arms, as if his glare had the power to stop the tottering pile from obeying the laws of gravity.
"So we're all here," he said approvingly, mouth creasing into a smile though still not looking up. As Jack reached the head of the table, his smile turned into a frown at the absence of suit-clad arms relieving him of the folders. Tosh could hear his foot tapping impatiently, before Jack finally looked up and around with an air of something comically close to confusion.
Tosh nearly giggled. She still didn't know what Jack had done or said that upset Ianto so much that morning, though given Ianto's disparaging 'Jack being Jack' comment, she thought she could guess. Regardless, it obviously hadn't crossed Jack's mind that he'd risked losing the helpful presence at his elbow. Serve him right. Serve them all right. Time they realized. Even the most faithful hound eventually retreats from constantly being kicked in the ribs. And she'd use that, Tosh thought vindictively, after Ianto disappeared with Lisa. It'd be a damned good excuse, maybe even enough to stop them looking for him. Especially – now that was a thought – especially if she made sure a sufficient quantity of Retcon went missing when he left.
"All here except Ianto," Jack amended. "Doing a coffee run, is he?"
Owen leaned back in his chair. "Still settling the Weevil, I expect. Taking his bloody time about it, isn't he?"
The files dropped onto the table with an ominous thump. "You left him to do it alone? Christ, Owen, he's not armed. What if it woke up?"
Owen shrugged, completely ignoring the glares from both Jack and Tosh. "It's sedated. It won't wake up."
Jack shifted restlessly. "Then he should be back by now."
"I'll find him," Tosh said hastily. She didn't really think Ianto was in any danger. Owen was a doctor before anything else, and he wouldn't intentionally put anyone at risk. While she wasn't overly impressed with his attitude, she wasn't surprised by it either. Owen never missed a chance to put Ianto down, especially in public, and he'd consider Ianto's absence a bonus. No chance of being put back in his place by one of those 'oh so polite' sarcastic rejoinders.
But if Ianto hadn't been attacked, there were two likely explanations for his absence, neither of which would be improved by the addition of Jack. In fact, either possibility plus Jack equaled disaster.
Adrenaline poured through Tosh's veins and she rose to her feet on the edge of panic. She didn't see Jack move, but strong hands descended onto her shoulders, trying to press her back down into her seat.
"I'll go, Toshiko," Jack said firmly. "I'll assess and call for backup if I need it. Or," he added, with another dark glare at Owen, "medical assistance, as the case may be."
Owen merely snorted. "I know my bloody job. It's out for another four hours, at least, and it'll be dopey for a good while after that. The only way Teaboy's hurt is he's tripped over his designer shoes and knocked himself out."
Alarms rang inside Tosh's brain, so many she couldn't sort them out. OK, she didn't really think Ianto had been attacked by the Weevil, cancel that one. But she knew Jack didn't believe Ianto was in danger from the Weevil, either. Jack trusted Owen too, probably even more than she did. Besides which, if he really thought one of the team was at risk, he'd be down there already, not standing here chatting.
"He probably just turned his comm. off and didn't hear about the meeting," Tosh suggested, somewhat desperately.
"Then I might have a few choice words to say," Jack responded. "Which the rest of you don't need to hear."
What a rubbish excuse, Tosh thought. They all turned their comms off inside the Hub sometimes. Jack hadn't even tried ringing Ianto's mobile phone. No, Jack was going after Ianto for reasons that had nothing to do with Torchwood. She knew it. Especially given the stiffness and formality of even the most basic interactions between the two men today. Tosh didn't know whether to be sorry for Jack because it was obvious he'd been hurt, even though he'd never admit it; or angry at him for being insensitive enough to try again.
Ending the 'affair', if that was the right word for it, had softened some of the despair in Ianto's eyes. One less deceit on his conscience. But if he had to start it up again, to protect Lisa, Tosh had no doubt that he would. Hence alarm number two, blazing red and terrifying, because that led straight to the memory of the night Ianto turned up in pieces on her doorstep. She'd put him back together once, more through luck than judgment, and she had no illusions about being able to pull that miracle off a second time.
Alarm number three turned the adrenaline into ice. It was possible that Ianto had gone to Lisa. He might have risked a quick visit, to explain why she'd be alone tonight. Fear sent icy tendrils winding down Tosh's throat as she thought about what might happen if Jack found Ianto with Lisa.
Tosh didn't know what to do. If she followed Jack, she'd have the choice of dropping herself into it too by trying to help Ianto, or pretending to side with Jack so she could remain in a position to help Ianto through the aftermath.
She knew which Ianto would prefer. Tosh slid a finger beneath her collar and traced the outline of the chain Ianto gave her for Christmas. A locket to remember them by. He'd spent weeks trying to convince Tosh to retcon away her memories of Lisa because he was so afraid of taking her down with him if it all went wrong. Tosh hadn't actually promised to save herself - she'd dodged making a promise she didn't know if she could keep – but she knew what Ianto would want her to do. And if she stayed out of it, surely she'd be better placed to help him, anyway.
Tosh succumbed to the pressure of Jack's hands on her shoulders and sank back into her seat, hoping her decision wasn't the result of cowardice. She was probably mistaken, anyway. Ianto wouldn't risk visiting Lisa while they were all here. He was smarter than that. And he wouldn't risk taking up with Jack again, either. Would he?
Jack's eyes moved back to the folders and his mouth quirked into a grin. "Besides, you guys would probably prefer to have me out of the way while you - prepare."
His grin spread at the anxious glances that sped around the table. "Prepare for what?" Suzie demanded.
"We'll be discussing our budget," Jack announced. "We may not report to the Government, but they still fund us, and there are questions being asked about our expenditure. Find whatever relates to your own projects and be prepared to justify it."
Jack left, with much swirling of coat. A wasted effort, given that the team was staring at the stack of folders with horror. Eventually, Suzie rose to her feet with a groan and started passing them out. "Glove, that's mine," she recited. "Pharmaceutical, there are three of those. They're yours, Owen.
Owen took the folders with poor grace and flipped one open. "He's gone through it with a bloody highlighter," he moaned. "That's Teaboy's influence, that is."
Tosh smiled, because she knew Owen would expect it. Her mind was following Jack.
-XXX-
"Back again, sweetheart?" Lisa's eyes glowed.
Ianto smiled and leaned over the converter for a kiss. "I can't stay long," he warned. He noticed the text scrolling across the screen Tosh had given Lisa for Christmas. "What are you reading?"
"Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," Lisa answered.
"Again?"
"I read faster now," Lisa admitted. "I've already read everything Toshiko scanned in, so I'm starting over."
Ianto frowned. "Maybe she can get you some more. I'll ask. But I have to get back now, love. I only came to tell you that you might be alone tonight. Someone's been following the team in the field, and Jack's ordered everyone to stay in the Hub."
Lisa's eyes widened. "They're still here? You shouldn't have come down while they were still here!"
"I wanted to…."
"Don't be ridiculous, Ianto! I'm not stupid, especially not now. I would have known you'd have a reason for not coming back tonight. You shouldn't have risked this. They'll find me!"
"But, sweetheart…."
Lisa's eyes widened. Her hand tightened around Ianto's, then released it altogether.
"I can hear someone in the Archives," she hissed. "You have to leave. Hurry."
Ianto bolted for the door but froze halfway. "You can hear that far?" he asked, voice shaking. Jack had found him in the Archives a few times, when he hadn't gotten into the main Hub quick enough. Had she heard that? Did she suspect? Or did she know?"
Ianto blinked rapidly. Lisa hated it when he cried.
Lisa shut her eyes. "Don't, Ianto. Don't ask any more, for both our sakes. Just go."
The door slammed, the lock rattled. He was gone. The agonized expression on his face lingered behind her eyelids.
And he was breathing the way he does when he's trying not to cry. I shouldn't have said that. I panicked.
If he thinks I know, he'll think he's lost me. Should I talk to him about it, or should I pretend to forget again?
I can't remember how these things work. Emotions are so confusing.
I can't lose him now. We're so close to completion. So close to freedom.
Maybe I should ask Tosh what to do. She's smart, Toshiko is. It's a pity Ianto doesn't want to take her with us. Maybe he'll think differently – after. Of course he'll think differently. He'll think like me. He'll be like me. We'll be together, at last, and Jack won't matter then. He'll be gone.
I'll enjoy deleting that one.
-XXX-
Suzie delved through the rest of the pile. "One for the knife, I expected that. Dry-cleaning, we can leave that for Teaboy. Summary from Jubilee Pizza – hell we eat a lot of junk – Teaboy can have that too. Invoices from the hardware suppliers, that'll be me. Pathology? Owen, don't you do that yourself?"
"I farm out the routine blood tests when we're busy," Owen said vaguely. "The human ones." He was still flicking through the first file.
"Mine," Suzie continued. "Mine again. Teaboy. Jack can do this one himself. Teaboy, Mine. Another for you Owen. That's it." She looked accusingly at Tosh. "Why didn't you get any?"
"Probably because I always include the costings in my reports," Tosh answered smugly.
"Who's got time for that?" Owen grumbled. He flicked open the second folder and his eyes widened. "Shite, look at this invoice. It's gotta be wrong. No bloody way I've ordered that much morphine."
Tosh's heart didn't hammer. It stopped. Thank God she'd stayed. "Can I help, Owen?" she offered weakly. Maybe she could fix it. She had to fix it. Why hadn't she considered this when she'd first begun siphoning away medication for Lisa? But she knew why. Jack usually left all the accounting to Ianto.
Owen nodded, still immersed in the folder. "Yep, thanks Tosh. It's ridiculous, there's no way we go through this amount of painkillers." He pushed the folder towards her. "See? Buckets of anti-inflammatory drugs, all sorts of other painkillers."
"Chandler and Bell," Tosh noted, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I'm pretty sure their system had a virus, I remember our firewall catching something."
Tosh was quite proud of that. Damn good for an off-the-cuff idea. If this blew up, and Jack noticed the way all the Chandler and Bell material stopped at the firewall, she could put it down to the virus she was about to create. Tosh relaxed slightly. She and Ianto could manage this between them, even though it would probably add embezzlement to their list of felonies. What was one more, after all?
"Leave it with me, if you like," she offered.
"You're a gem, Toshiko," Owen said gratefully.
Tosh stared at the file, thinking hard. Infecting the Chandler and Bell mainframe with a virus wouldn't be too difficult. After all, she'd originally chosen them for her manipulations because their protection software was so weak. And best of all, she could now claim to fix the virus. They already had enough meds to supply Lisa until Dr Tanizaki arrived.
Making it appear retrospective would be the challenge, but Tosh liked a challenge.
-XXX-
Ianto raced from the basement. If Jack was already in the archives, he couldn't risk going back that way. He turned into the corridor that led to the containment cells, his mind busy forming his own cover story. He'd need a distraction, and his gut churned at the thought, because he knew exactly what sort of distraction worked best with Jack. Every fiber of his being rebelled against it, but Lisa was right, he'd put her at risk for the sake of a five minute visit. He had to fix it, whatever the cost.
Don't ask anymore, for both our sakes. She'd said that. And she could hear what happened in the Archives. Ianto choked back nausea. She knew. She must know. Did she understand, or would she hate him for it forever? Don't ask. She didn't want to talk about it. Perhaps that would be best. Maybe they could just start again. Put it all behind them. Do whatever they had to do, both of them, to get themselves out of this living hell.
He ran past the slumbering Weevil and stopped as an idea hit. Oh yes, that'd work. And he might even be able to get away unscathed.
-XXX-
Jack found Ianto in a Weevil cell. Alone. The Weevil they'd caught today slumbered in the cell next door. Ianto was unhurt. And undressed.
Well, partly. Jack's eyes widened appreciatively. Oh, this was worth the trip downstairs, this was.
Ianto was cleaning the cell. Jacket off, tie off. Both items hanging neatly from a hook in the wall. Sleeves rolled up, shirty unbuttoned at the throat, arms and neck glistening. Trousers tucked into wellingtons. He was wet. Well, damp.
And he hadn't switched his comm. off, as such, but he obviously couldn't wear it with the ear defenders on. Made sense, Jack supposed. The whine those high-pressure water cleaners made was a bit annoying.
Jack found the water source and turned it off. Ianto swung around and the annoyance on his face didn't diminish when he saw Jack, lounging against the doorway, eyes burning.
Jack waited pointedly until Ianto removed the earmuffs. "Team meeting," Jack said shortly, swallowing against the dryness in this throat. "We've been waiting for you."
Ianto shrugged, rolling his shoulders quite deliberately and feeling a sickening sense of power as Jack's Adam's apple jerked again. Distraction accomplished, Ianto thought. Now how do I distract him from the distraction? A tiny smile graced his face. Nothing more dousing to the ardor than Weevil poo.
"If you want to keep the Weevil here, it'll need alternate quarters while the cell's being cleaned," he said coolly. "Can't leave in its own filth, can we?"
"Unhygenic," Jack agreed. "Not to mention the smell."
Jack smiled in return. Ianto's heart sank as he realized what sort of smile it was. Appreciation, definitely, but nothing to do with his Weevil wrangling skills.
"There's an internal gate between this cell and the one it's in," Ianto continued, hoping to drown Jack in the details. "So I won't have to get it sedated in order to move it. Just put its food in the cell I want it to move to, I thought."
"Good idea," Jack agreed, still watching. Ianto rolled his sleeves down. Jack smirked. Striptease in reverse.
"And it's a She," Jack corrected.
"She," Ianto repeated, tugging his tie down from the hook.
"What, no comments about my ability to sex a Weevil? I'm disappointed, Ianto."
Ianto finished dressing without another word. Jack remained immovably in the doorway.
"My shoes are out there, Sir," he prompted.
Jack jerked his head towards the slumbering Weevil. "My turn to choose a name," he suggested. "Since you got to name the pterodactyl. I was thinking Janet."
Ianto shrugged. Without the shoulder rolling this time. "Sounds OK to me."
"As in, Damn-it, Janet," Jack prompted. "Rocky Horror. Crack a smile, Ianto, that's funny."
"Whatever you say, Sir." No smile.
Jack sighed. "Tell me when you've finished being childish, won't you?"
"Me, sir? You're the one blocking the doorway."
Jack backed out of the doorway and grabbed a couple of the visitor's chairs that lurked near the cells. "Sit down," he ordered.
Ianto obeyed, suspicion in every line of this body.
Jack sighed again, theatrically. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you this morning."
"Of course you didn't," Ianto agreed, rising back to his feet. "So that's sorted then. Team meeting, you said?"
Jack sighed. "What's it gonna take? Formal apology? Fine." His voice raised an octave, designed to grate on the ears. "I'm sorry, Ianto, for the unprofessional comment. It was completely unintentional and I regret any offence. Will that do, or do you want it in writing as well?"
He seriously wanted to laugh at the expression on the young man's face. This was ridiculous. They were both behaving like teenagers. But Jack had to admit he'd been out of line this morning and laughing would only make it worse. Jack dropped his voice back to its normal register. "And I didn't actually mean it the way it sounded, really I didn't."
Ianto merely nodded and stepped towards the heavy door that separated the cell block from the main Hub. "I assume that's all then, Sir?"
"I haven't finished. Sit." Didn't obey this time. Feisty little Welshman. Damn, he was fun to have around.
"What I meant to say," Jack continued, cudgeling his mind back onto the professional path, "Is that we seem to be training you as everyone's back up. If it's too much to manage, with your current workload as well, I expect you to say so."
"I can cope," Ianto said stiffly. "I'm quite willing to do anything for Torchwood." For Lisa, he amended silently. Anything, for her. He'd wounded Jack's pride and he had to face the outcome. He could take it. Three more weeks.
Jack flinched at the venom hiding beneath the civilized words. He'd been trying to apologise, damn it. His own temper flared afresh. "Or anyone?" he demanded.
Ianto paused at the door to deliver his parting shot. "You should know. Sir."
Jack was at the door himself before he even realized he'd moved. His hand covered Ianto's on the door handle. And the way his skin sizzled at the simple contact only fuelled his anger.
"If you want to stay at Torchwood, Ianto," he hissed. "You don't have to do me, but you do have to work with me. For me. So put a gag on the insolence."
It was really difficult to intimidate someone about the same height, Jack noted. Ianto's eyes burned with a cold fire as they met his own. Jack wondered if the air between them was actually going to start steaming.
Ianto saw the anger in Jack's face and his own rage vanished in an icy wave of fear. If he pushed Jack any further, he'd either be thrown to the ground or thrown out of Torchwood. That was why his hands were shaking. That was why his throat was dry. Fear.
Lisa, he reminded himself. Three more weeks. Twenty-one days. Deep breath, bad idea. Ignore whatever the hell was in Jack's aftershave. Must be aftershave. No one smelt like that naturally. Humor. Deflect him with humor. That's worked before.
The eyebrow raise had never felt less nonchalant. "I can assume you'll be putting a gag on the harassment, then, Sir?"
Cheeky little brat. Jack's anger ebbed, and his hand dropped back to his side. "Not a chance," he said cheerfully.
"There are actually laws against it," Ianto pointed out, yanking the door open and taking a lungful of untainted air. His head cleared.
"Sue me," Jack answered cheerfully. "Then we can settle out of court."
Ianto fled through the door. Back to the Hub, back to safety.
He couldn't let it happen again. He couldn't. Lisa had heard. Maybe she knew. Maybe she only suspected. Maybe Lisa had forgiven him for what he'd had to do. But she'd never forgive him, never, if she knew the truth. If she knew…..if she ever suspected….that he'd enjoyed it.
Yes that was mean, I know, but don't blame me, blame RTD. I'm trying to get them to the point where Jack can shove a basketball into Ianto's face without looking at him and Owen can say those horrible things to Tosh in Countrycide.
If I've missed any canon threads, I'd appreciate it if you let me know and I'll work it into the next chapter.