Title: Hitting the Ground Running

Fandom: Torchwood

Rating: Adult

Pairing: Primarily Jack/Ianto, with other secondary pairings mentioned

Chapter: 29/?

Word Count: 3189

Summary: AU. Majorly AU. Ianto Jones first encountered Torchwood as a teenager trying to leave his old life behind. However, when Torchwood Three gets rather violently restructured at the start of the millennium, he's got a new assignment in Cardiff. The only thing he wasn't prepared for was his new boss.

Disclaimer: …You really think it's mine? Much as I might wish it was, it isn't. I will go on the record and say that, unlike the show's creative team, I firmly believe in happy endings.

Notes: ….I'm drawing a blank here, guys. You all continue to be awesome, and your reviews and comments always make my day :)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

In Which Aliens Are Intelligent, Tosh Sees Something She Shouldn't, and Ianto Has a Bone to Pick with Duct Tape

"So how exactly is Gwen justified in making quips about my so-called bedside manner?" Jack griped, stalking into his office to brood as Ianto quickly followed him in and closed the door. "And why did you back her up?"

"I was just trying to make Beth more comfortable, sir," Ianto replied. "No sense in getting into an argument about something such as that, is there? Especially since she's dead wrong," the young man added softly, and Jack turned to him with a half-smile. "You're an utterly perfect gentleman in the bedroom, Jack."

"I'd like to believe that," Jack nodded and Ianto gripped his shoulder.

"Believe it, Jack. It's true."

"And Gwen will never know, so we shouldn't take what she says seriously, right?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow as some semblance of his good humor returned.

"Well, she'd better not," Ianto looped his arms around Jack's neck and pulled him in for a kiss, which Jack deepened almost immediately, hands coming up to frame Ianto's hips before he yanked him forward, pushing their bodies together. "Jack," Ianto protested, glad that Jack seemed to be moving forward from his experiences in the time he was away but also wondering whether this was the best time to bring back the sexual side of their relationship.

"Let me," Jack whispered against his lips, pushing his suit coat from his shoulders; Ianto registered the soft 'thump' as it hit the ground and was going to reprimand Jack for throwing his Armani around before he remembered just how good Jack was at kissing and promptly forgot about the coat.

He slid Jack's braces down before reaching for the buttons on the older man's shirt, getting them undone in record time and reaching to grip the hem of Jack's undershirt before sliding it upward, breaking the kiss in order to pull it off before rejoining their mouths.

Jack had Ianto's own shirt undone by this time, not bothering with taking the tie off as Ianto scrambled to unbutton his shirt-cuffs so he could discard it.

"Jack, we've got an…sorry!"

Ianto froze, his hands now gripping Jack's shoulders as he slowly turned to regard a mortified Tosh, her hand over her mouth in either horror or amusement, and Jack sighed and gave her an inviting smile. "Yes, Tosh?"

"We've got an issue. Beth's gone," she straightened up, all business once more, and Jack absently picked his shirts off of the floor and looked at them.

"How?"

"We think…there was some sort of perception filter; something to protect her. To us and our machines she appeared frozen, but…"

"Alright. Do we have any idea where she could be?" Jack was tugging on the shirts now and Ianto worked quickly to make himself look presentable as well.

"Depending on who's in control, Beth or the alien…I'd say the first place to look would be the hospital," Tosh surmised logically.

"Right, she wanted to see her husband," Jack snapped the braces into place before turning to Ianto. "How do I look?"

"Fine, sir," Ianto re-buttoned his cuffs and picked his suit coat up before sliding it back on. "And I apologize, Tosh; we should know better."

"No; no problem," she said quickly, the faintest hint of a blush on her cheeks. "Should have checked before I barged in anyway."

"We'll try to refrain from such activities during work hours in the future. Won't we, sir?" Ianto asked, arching his eyebrow as Jack looked ready to protest.

"Uh…yeah. Of course we will. After-hours only," Jack nodded. "We'll be right down, Tosh. Is anybody checking the hospital?"

"Gwen called Andy; he was out on patrol, so he's going to swing by and see if she's there," Tosh answered.

"Good. Tell him to be careful," Jack added as she left and she raised a hand in acknowledgement. "Well. We got a little carried away."

"A little, sir?"

"Just a little," Jack affirmed with a grin, reaching to kiss Ianto quickly. "We'll continue this later?"

"I should hope so," Ianto replied, stepping back and smoothing down the fabric of his coat. "But we have work to do."

"Right," Jack put a hand between his shoulders as they exited the office, heading down to the boardroom where the rest of the team was waiting.

"Alright, troops. Anything?" Jack went to stand in his normal place at the head of the table.

"Just got a call from Andy; Beth's definitely at the hospital," Gwen replied.

"Right. Ianto, with me. We'll go check this out. The rest of you, keep an eye out for any indication that the rest of the Sleeper cell is waking up. They won't have sent only one as a guard, and I worry that by trying to put her offline we've inadvertently revealed ourselves as enough of a threat that the rest of the cell will try to stop us," he warned. "Anything fishy, let Ianto and I know right away."

"Will do," Owen spoke for the three of them and stood as they dispersed from the boardroom, but he caught Ianto's arm on the way out. "Really, mate? Couldn't you at least have made it to his bunker?"

"Come off it, Owen," Ianto muttered, yanking his arm away. "As if you wouldn't do the same thing."

"But that's just it, mate: it's exactly what I would do. I think I'm rubbing off on you."

"Heaven forbid," Ianto snorted. "And Tosh didn't see anything incriminating, so if you're looking for juicy gossip you're not getting any," he added.

"Not like Tosh would tell me anyway," Owen sighed dramatically. "And not like I'd want to hear any details about what the two of you get up to."

"Then don't make it sound as if you would," Ianto patted his arm before turning away. "But I have to run."

"Yeah, go save and world 'n stuff," Owen nodded, and Ianto quickly followed Jack through the Hub.

000

"Don't'cha just hate it when the aliens are smart?" Jack asked, flipping his mobile shut with a sigh. "Nothing. Comms down, phones down…"

"They took out the phone network. What did you expect?"

"Alien mobile," Jack wiggled the phone at him. "But even that's not going through. We're cut off."

"There has to be a way. There's…more than one way to send a message, right?" Ianto was thinking aloud, meandering back to the SUV and digging through the glovebox for something, anything that could keep them in contact with the Hub.

"Hang on," Jack rushed over. "I think there's an old CB radio in there somewhere. The phone network being down wouldn't affect the radio, would it?"

"Doubtful," Ianto replied, digging the radio out. "You used to use these?"

"Before we got the comms we did. The other half should still be somewhere in the main area of the Hub, so as long as we can get reception…" he brushed past Ianto and dug a roll of duct tape out. "Perfect."

"Sir, if you're going to tape that to the sideview mirror, I regret to inform you that you will be removing the residue left by the tape," Ianto deadpanned, and Jack waved off the comment before taping the radio to the mirror regardless and picking up the mouthpiece.

"Toshiko? Owen?"

"Jack?" Tosh's voice came through, sounding incredulous. "How did you…"

"Sometimes, alien tech just can't compete with good ol' fashioned human things," Jack was grinning. "So, my beautiful Toshiko, got anything for me?"

His grin slipped away as Tosh relayed the information about what the military base was actually guarding, and while he tried to crack a few jokes over the radio, Ianto could clearly tell he was worried as he broke the connection and they continued driving.

"So what are our chances?"

"Provided we get there? Pretty good," Jack repeated, pushing the SUV to its limit. "I'm just worried about the 'getting there' part."

"We'll make it. We have to," Ianto glanced back to the backseat, noting that Beth was looking about as worried as he felt.

"Right," Jack nodded and pushed the gas pedal to the floor, and while normally Ianto would complain about him driving too fast, right now all he wanted was to go faster.

000

"Ianto?"

Ianto turned to the radio, which was hissing static at him, but he managed to make out Tosh's voice through the noise. "I'm here, Tosh."

"What happened?"

"We did it. It's done," he sighed heavily. "We'll head back pretty soon."

"Is Jack…" she hesitated, seemingly not wanting to say the words but unable to think of another reason why they wouldn't be heading back immediately.

"Not yet," Ianto told her in a low voice. "But it's bad, Tosh. I don't…"

"I'm sorry, Ianto," she sounded sympathetic.

"It's okay. I think that no matter how many times I see it it'll never get any easier," Ianto admitted.

"We'll see you when you get back, alright?" Tosh said gently.

"Right. Bye, Tosh."

Ianto put the mouthpiece back with the radio and turned to Beth, who was looking a little lost. "Alright?"

"Fine, thank you," she gave him a tremulous smile.

"If you want to get in, we'll head back in a few minutes. I just need to make sure Jack's alright," Ianto gestured.

"He's…not human either, is he?" Beth asked cautiously.

"Not entirely," Ianto finally opted on telling a version of the truth. "He's from 3000 years in the future."

"Normally I'd think you were pulling my leg, but after what I've seen today…" she shook her head. "Take care of him, then," she opened the door and got in, and Ianto turned around, unsurprised to see Jack slumped on the ground. "Jack?"

"Ianto," Jack tried to smile at him but failed miserably as he grimaced and let out a groan, hand coming up to press over the bleeding wound. "Alright?"

"Fine, sir," Ianto assured him, walking over before kneeling down in front of him. "Are you…"

"Ah. Yeah," Jack hissed through his teeth. "You or me?" he asked casually, picking up his Webley.

"You don't mean…"

"Have to…Ianto," Jack attempted to shrug. "Y'see…I'm gonna…" he breathed out slowly through his nose before continuing to speak. "If I bleed out, which I will, it'll take a long time to heal. This is…it did a lot of damage," he finally settled on. "But if I…if I end it quickly, right here and now? I'll heal a lot faster and be in a lot less pain."

"Jack, I can't shoot you," Ianto vehemently shook his head. "Call me a coward for it, but I can't…"

"Alright," Jack cut him off. "It's fine, Ianto; I'd kind of hoped you wouldn't," he admitted. "It's good to know that you don't want to kill me."

"Of course not," Ianto shook his head.

"Don't look," Jack told him, putting the gun to his temple as Ianto closed his eyes and turned away, the 'bang' of the gun making him flinch even though he was expecting it. He opened his eyes after a few seconds, still hating to look at Jack when he was…dead, but he figured that the older man would appreciate having him near when he woke up.

Ianto carefully took the gun from Jack's hand and pulled the other man into a seated position, resting his back against Ianto's chest so Ianto could wrap his arms around him.

It didn't take Jack long to come back, and when he gasped to life a few minutes later, Ianto held him tightly until he stopped thrashing and calmed down. "…Ianto?"

"Yeah."

"You stayed," Jack sounded relieved.

"Had to. Couldn't leave you alone," Ianto's hand instinctively searched for the wound in Jack's chest which was, of course, gone without a trace.

"I'm fine," Jack assured him, struggling to sit up. "Okay, maybe not. I'm exhausted," he admitted with a tired laugh. "Can you possibly drive us back?"

"I'd planned on that, sir," Ianto helped him to his feet and they walked back to the SUV, Jack nodding to Beth as he took his place in the passenger's side, immediately closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep.

"And Jack?"

"Yes, Ianto?"

"You're still cleaning the mirror when we get back."

"Bugger," Jack replied with a dramatic sigh, reaching to place a hand on Ianto's thigh as he started the SUV, and Ianto found that, as he drove out of the base, he didn't want to move it.

Any reassurance he got that Jack was alive, no matter how many times he'd seen him come back, was a good thing.

000

Ianto walked past Gwen, who was making her way out of Jack's office, and gave her a kind smile which she tremulously returned. "Heading home?"

"Yes," she replied, stopping to lean against the wall.

"Okay?" Ianto asked gently, knowing that Gwen had gotten close to Beth even with only knowing her a short time.

"I will be," Gwen tried to sound chipper and ended up failing, but Ianto could understand.

"Well, go home to your wonderful fiancée and get some rest or…get up to whatever it is you get up to these days," Ianto put a hand on her shoulder and she reached up with her own to cover it before nodding.

"I will. Thank you."

She gave him another flash of a smile before hurrying out, and Ianto watched her go before striding through the doorway into Jack's office. Jack didn't look up, engrossed as he was in examining Beth's arm-blade, and Ianto perched himself on the desk, content to wait until Jack had finished his task.

He placed the blade almost reverently on his desk and, without looking at Ianto, commented, "I hate to say it, but maybe now she'll understand."

"Sir?"

"Gwen. When Rhys died, he came back, making her still the only one of us not to lose somebody they loved. Now…even though she only knew Beth for a short time, it was obvious they were close, so maybe…"

"Still a difference, Jack, between having a friend die and having a lover die," Ianto had to point out, and Jack looked at him sharply.

"True," he finally conceded, taking a last look at the blade. "We'll get that into storage later. Dinner?"

"Have you cleaned the SUV mirror yet?" Ianto wondered aloud, and Jack groaned. "Don't worry about it, sir; I did it."

"Ianto, you didn't have to…"

"I know. But I figure that you dying gets you out of a few chores," Ianto reached a hand behind him and smiled when Jack took it, although the rather tender kiss brushed across his knuckles surprised him.

"I appreciate it. But you don't have to do my work for me," Jack assured him, standing up and moving to pick his greatcoat off of the coat-rack. "Now. Dinner?"

"I could go for a bite," Ianto agreed, sliding off of the desk and helping Jack into his coat, the action so normal by now that it was second-nature to both of them.

"Pick your poison," Jack grinned at him as he powered down the main lights and they headed onto the invisible lift.

"Actually, as bland and unimaginative as this may sound, right now I could really go for plain old fish and chips," Ianto admitted, and Jack slung a casual arm around his shoulders.

"You know something, Ianto Jones? So could I," Jack agreed.

000

"The Rift is going to behave tonight, is it?" Ianto asked, idly setting up the coffee-maker while Jack followed him into his flat, toed off his boots, and flopped unceremoniously onto the sofa.

"Far as Tosh can tell, it's going to behave for a couple of days, so we'll have a bit of a respite," Jack replied, throwing an arm up over his face and lounging rather comfortably. "Coffee?"

"You're horrible," Ianto retorted, but he was already halfway to the kitchen, having anticipated this request from Jack.

He started the machine and headed back to the living room, using his foot to knock Jack's legs off the sofa before plopping beside him. "So what's on the agenda for tomorrow, then, if the Rift is going to be good?"

"Don't you remember? It's Tosh's favorite day of the year," Jack grinned at Ianto, who nodded in understanding.

"Well, it used to be her favorite day of the year, but now she's got a boyfriend," he reminded Jack.

"Ah, yes. Well, sort of," Jack amended. "Not like she and Owen will ever admit it."

"Tommy's such a sweet boy he'll probably be over the moon for her, though," Ianto shifted and lay back so his head was on Jack's lap. "You tired?"

"A little," Jack admitted. "I'll sleep for a couple hours and then go in."

"Stay," Ianto prompted. "We know what we have to do to get ready; it'll only take a little while."

"I…"

"You don't have to sleep if you don't need to, just…stay," Ianto said quietly, really hoping he didn't sound like he was whining or being excessively needy.

"Okay," Jack shrugged, letting his fingers slip through Ianto's hair. "Okay, Ianto; I'll stay. It's just so…I'm not used to it," he finally admitted. "Being….what we are."

"And God knows how much you hate to put a label on it," Ianto snorted.

"Does it bother you?"

"Whatever, Jack. We know what we are to each other; that's all that should matter, right?" he gave Jack a tiny smile.

"It bothers you," Jack decided. "It's just so…such a posturing thing, you know? Like if you announce it to the world it makes it more official or something, when it should be obvious that if two people are together they're together, you know?"

"Maybe in your time, but in this one? Labels are pretty much everything. You always introduce somebody as what they are, not just they're name. It's expected," Ianto told him bluntly.

"Like if somebody asked about you and Owen you'd say, 'This is Owen. He's a git?'" Jack asked with a snort and Ianto, despite himself, started to laugh.

"Exactly. But we're okay anyway; you're my boss, I'm your employee," Ianto shrugged. "Simple, really."

"But you're more than that."

"And if you want anybody other than us to know it, you have to label it. Sorry," he closed his eyes and tried to will the conversation away, regretting starting it in the first place.

"So, if I said, 'This is Ianto, he's my partner?' Would that be okay?"

Ianto's eyes snapped open and he looked at Jack in shock. "Well…I mean, that is…I just…was expecting 'boyfriend' at the most, but…"

"You are, aren't you?" Jack looked leery again, that old skittish look in his eyes that Ianto had seen much more often since he'd returned from his trip with the Doctor creeping into them once more.

"I just…" Ianto relaxed against Jack and reached to take his hand. "Yeah. Of course I am, Jack."

"Good," Jack bent to kiss his forehead. "Now, come on. Bed." He playfully shoved Ianto upright and led him to the bedroom.

Ianto, for his part, knew this would be the perfect opportunity to confess how he really felt about Jack.

But again, he just couldn't get the words out.