Title: Hitting the Ground Running
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: Adult
Pairing: Primarily Jack/Ianto, with other secondary pairings mentioned
Chapter: 37/?
Word Count: 3226
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: At the end, this time :D
Chapter Thirty-Seven
In Which More of Jack's Past Comes to Light, Ianto Faces his Own Past, and Jack and Owen Talk
"When the film stopped, these…shadows went past me."
"What kind of shadows?" Jack's voice was loud in the still theatre, the scent of old fabric and musk surrounding them. He had his hands set on Ianto's shoulders, rubbing his arms comfortingly though the fabric of his coat, and Ianto unconsciously leant toward his touch.
"Don't know. Wasn't clear," Ianto shook his head as if to clear it before coughing discreetly and changing the subject. "Something else: you were up there on the screen. Large as life."
"Hmm, what was I doing?" Jack breathed in his ear, and Ianto immediately had far too many pictures of things running through his mind that would hardly be appropriate to show at a family screening.
"You were on some sort of stage, outside a big tent. You seemed to be part of a traveling show," Ianto said carefully, trying to gauge Jack's reaction. Neither Gwen nor Owen seemed to believe him that Jack was in the film, but he knew what he'd seen.
"I heard it," Jack immediately told him. "Heard its music. Just a snatch of it. Ah, the good old days."
"You weren't honestly 'the man who couldn't die,' were you? What happened to keeping your…talents a secret?" Ianto was a tad incredulous, and Jack wrapped him up tighter from behind and let his chin rest comfortably on Ianto's shoulder.
"Nah, it was all an act. I was there on a covert mission for Torchwood, actually, but I'll say more about it when we're all back at the Hub. Won't do to repeat myself," Jack kissed his neck. "Regardless, I thought out of all the things in the circus I could have done, it had the greatest amount of dark humor in it."
" 'Dark' might be an understatement," Ianto muttered. "I'm just glad you didn't go killing yourself for a lark."
"Hey, it hurts!" Jack protested. And speaking of, why didn't you invite me along on your little movie night?
Honestly? You're so far behind on your reports that it's a little frightening, Ianto pushed back. "Also, I didn't think you'd be interested in old films of Cardiff…after all, you've seen it first-hand."
"So it had nothing to do with spending time away from me?"
"Nothing at all," Ianto promised, suddenly reminded of Jack's flippant comments from the wedding only days ago, and perhaps being in a place that reminded him so much of what he considered to be 'home' gave him renewed confidence, but he swallowed noisily before asking, "Jack?"
"Yes?"
"What happened to…to your child?"
He could feel Jack stiffen and wondered if he'd gone too far, but the older man merely sighed and held him tighter.
"Sorry, if you don't want to…"
"No, it's fine," Jack promised. "Really. I just…it's so far in the future now that…I wonder how she's doing. It…wasn't really my child, per say, but I was the sperm donor and the surrogate. They were…a couple at the time agency, actually, but neither of them could properly conceive, and me being young and wanting to experiment I decided to volunteer. Like I said, never doing that again. It's amazing, Ianto, but I'm far too restless to spend that much time indisposed again. Plus it's horrible for my figure."
"Must you always be so vain?"
"It's one of my most endearing qualities."
"I wouldn't necessarily pick 'endearing' in that circumstance," Ianto muttered. "But you can honestly get pregnant?"
"Most men in my time can. Oh, it couldn't happen now…there're tons of medical procedures and injections and whatnot that won't be invented for thousands of years, but yes, I can get pregnant," Jack said earnestly, and Ianto knew he was telling the truth.
"Amazing what can change."
"Mm," Jack kept his hold on Ianto firm before whispering, "I told you once that I wouldn't change this for the world. I still mean it, Ianto; nobody…no advanced future human or alien…could never replace what you mean to me, even though I know you still think you're utterly unremarkable…"
"Because I am," Ianto protested, but Jack hushed him gently.
"No, you aren't. You're exceptional," Jack turned him around and leant in for a tender kiss.
"Mmph, no," Ianto regretfully pushed him away. "We've got a case here, Jack; we can't go around snogging in dark theatres."
"But I've always wanted to snog you in a dark theatre!" Jack protested. "You have to admit, I'm always admirably well-behaved when we go to the movies."
"You are, and I'm grateful," Ianto assured him, starting to make his way down the aisle. "But we need to get back and figure out what's going on. There's something strange happening here."
"The Night Travelers," Jack said quietly.
"The what now?"
"I'll explain at the Hub. Let's just say that they were who I was investigating when I did my little stint with the circus. But it doesn't make any sense; rumors about them haven't even existed for over eighty years…"
"Whatever they are, apparently they're back, so let's get this sorted, yeah?" Ianto smiled, and Jack nodded in agreement before following him out of the cinema.
000
"They only performed in the dead of night. Anyway, it was just a tale that was around at the time; a ghost story. 'They came from out of the rain,' that's how people described them," Jack explained as they watched back the footage, Ianto smugly pointing out Jack on the screen as Gwen and Owen were forced to concede that it was really him.
"Jack, what did these night travelers do?" Owen asked hesitantly.
"Left a trail of damage and sorrow wherever they performed," Jack replied, heading down the stairs, and Ianto turned back to the film, his eyes narrowing.
"Tosh, can you run this frame-by-frame?"
"Sure," Tosh did so. "What are you looking for?"
"I'm not sure. But something's wrong. Something's…missing," he realized, watching the film closely, and by the time they'd realized that both the water-girl and the emcee were missing from the footage, he'd updated his assessment from 'wrong' to 'seriously wrong.'
"We don't sleep 'til we find them," Jack finally announced, and Ianto noticed that even he was looking a little wary. "There's got to be a way of tracing them. Ianto, with me. I need your local knowledge."
"Oh, is that what you're calling it these days?" Gwen called out after them, and Ianto snorted as Jack led him into the boardroom.
"So. Where do we start?"
"These so-called 'night travelers.' Were they just one troupe? Or were there others?"
"Again, impossible to tell," Jack leant back against the table, frustration clearly showing on his face. "Whether they were all rumors of the same troupe or similar stories from different ones…maybe we'll never know."
"Well, what we do know is that somehow they've come out of the film and are wandering around Cardiff doing God-knows-what," Ianto rationalized. "I bet we get a call from the hospital or the police in the next hour."
"And I'll bet you're right," Jack went to stand by Ianto, sliding a hand around his waist and gripping his hip in a move that felt almost entirely natural to both of them. "Another long night, huh?"
"Looks like it, sir."
"Darn it all. I was hoping the two of us could go home and…"
"Jack!" Tosh yelled from the computer stations, and Jack sighed and settled for giving Ianto a chaste kiss.
"It starts," he muttered, stomping out of the room with Ianto trailing dutifully behind him.
000
"So. Providence Park tomorrow, then?" Jack asked once they had returned from the hospital and gotten the rather cryptic story from the nurse on duty.
"Yeah. Best check up on it. Coffee?" Ianto returned briskly, and Jack blinked at the abrupt subject change.
"Hang on, what?"
"Coffee?"
"No, about Providence Park. You don't have to come if you don't…" Jack paused. "Oh, God, Ianto. Your mother."
"Yes," Ianto had started making coffee in the absence of Jack giving him an answer, and Jack put his hands over the younger man's to still them.
"Have you…"
"Rhiannon talked to her the last time she went to visit; asked her about me. She…she said she'd never had a son," Ianto sounded rather choked up, and Jack immediately pulled him away from the machine and into his arms.
"Shh, it's okay. Just let it out," Jack prompted softly.
"No, I just…I've known for years that she doesn't remember me…half the time Rhi says that she doesn't remember her either, but it's so…" he swiped a hand angrily over his eyes and shook his head. "Nothing. It's fine."
"No, it's obviously not fine," Jack gently led him away from the kitchen and sat him on the sofa, taking his hands and forcing Ianto to look at him. "You don't need to come with me."
"Yes, I do," Ianto said stubbornly, the look in his eyes clearly telling Jack not to try and talk him out of it. "I need to face this. And besides, even if we do see her, she won't…won't know who I am…"
"But you'd know it was her. And that would hurt you even more," Jack said quietly, hands squeezing Ianto's gently. "Ianto, you really, really don't have to come."
Ianto let out a giant huff of air and visibly deflated, sagging against the sofa. "I know. But I'm still going."
"Okay," Jack nodded slowly. "As long as you're sure."
"I just…I feel horrible for never going to visit her, but if…"
"It isn't your fault," Jack told him firmly. "You've been through so much, and if she really doesn't know…"
"She doesn't. Rhiannon says she always seems happy, but she has the mentality of a five-year-old. I don't…know if I'm strong enough to see that, and I feel like a coward for it," Ianto laughed bitterly.
"You aren't. The mind is a funny thing, Ianto, and sometimes when it's…damaged the damage can't be undone. Best to leave them live in what they feel is happiness," he murmured.
"Past experience?"
"I ran, too," Jack said slowly. "My mother…I told you about her, but when she realized that Dad and Gray were…dead and gone, she was never the same. Her grief tore her apart, and eventually I went to live with a cousin until I was old enough to join the Time Agency. I never went back home, not to that. Does that make me a coward?"
"Of course not!"
"Then stop calling yourself one," Jack chided gently. "And come to bed. We've got a full day tomorrow."
"Bed sounds good," Ianto admitted with a yawn, and he gave a half-hearted protest when Jack bodily picked him up to carry him to the bedroom, although he didn't try to push the other man away.
000
"They came from out of the rain. At night. Came to the village."
Christina kept talking as Ianto pushed her wheelchair under a gazebo on the hospital grounds, glad that Jack had the foresight to lead them outside instead of to one of the indoor common areas. The wind was cool, but the sun was bright and it was still more than warm enough to spend time outside.
"How old were you at the time?" he asked as he sat, Jack plopping down beside him with his usual lack of grace.
"Oh, just a child. Five, I think…or six. Are you visiting someone?"
Ianto froze, and Jack shot him a quick glance before replying. "Christina, we've come to see you."
"No one comes to see me," she lamented, and Jack reached out to lightly touch her tiny hand. She looked closely at him, her eyes widening as she noted, "Your eyes are older than your face."
"Is that a bad thing?" Jack quipped, a half-hearted smile on lips that faltered almost instantly.
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "It means you don't belong. It means…you're from nowhere."
Ianto felt a shiver steal up his spine at the words, this fragile old woman unwittingly reminding him of his conversation with the Doctor: what I mean…what I meant…was that Jack doesn't fit in time. I look at him and I can't tell where he belongs. He reached with his foot and gently bumped Jack's leg, and Jack sent him a mental touch of thanks before clearing his throat and asking.
"Christina, tell us about them? The people who came out of the rain."
"There was…music. Hurdy-gurdy music; acrobats; and a man with…fire in his hands," she remembered, staring at a place neither of them could see.
"Who else was there?" Ianto asked cautiously.
"A man in dark clothes, and a woman. A beautiful young woman in a silvery costume. She seemed to glisten," Christina recollected, and Ianto had to stifle his gasp, especially when she turned to look right at him. "They touched you. I can sense it. They touched you as they passed you by."
"Tell us about the man, Christina," he said quickly, the air around him suddenly going cold, and he listened half-heartedly to her explanation about the silver flask and stealing breath as he thought about the night before, how it had felt when the shadows slipped by him.
All things considered, he thought he was very lucky that passing by him was all they did.
000
They arrived at the theater later that day, Jack armed with an old Super 8 camera as they met Gwen and Owen outside the doors. "You got a key?" Jack asked the boy, Jonathan, who nodded and shakily opened the door, the five of them spilling into the lobby.
They could hear music coming from the cinema, Jonathan immediately rushing in to find his parents.
"Gwen, after him!" Jack commanded, and she nodded and followed. "Owen, hate to ask you this, but could you head up to the projectionist's booth? They've gotta be in there, and if they're bringing their friends through, us filming them in the theater is the best way to catch them."
"Jack, it could be dangerous…"
"No," Owen shook his head and looked at Ianto with a cocky grin. "It's not dangerous at all, Ianto. Think about it: this Ghostmaker or whatever he calls himself steals breath, right?"
"Yes…"
"Dead man. No breath," Owen winked and took off up the stairs.
"He'll be fine, Ianto," Jack said briskly as Gwen led a sobbing Jonathan out of the cinema, and fearing the worst Ianto and Jack rushed in, seeing his parents sitting like statues in one of the rows and watching the figures on the screen literally step out of the film and onto the stage.
"Get down," Jack whispered, creeping into the back row as Ianto followed him and crouched down, both of them watching in horrified awe as the last performer stepped out of the film and the girl in the silver costume went over to talk to them, no doubt giving them instructions.
Of the man in the top hat…the Ghostmaker…there was no sign, but Jack obviously wasn't taking any chances as he depressed the button and started the camera rolling.
We've got to find him before we can flash that film.
I know, Jack said back. But there's enough film in here for that. Hopefully…
"Jack, Ianto, he's coming your way," Owen's voice came through the comm system, and Jack shared a look with Ianto before the both of them ducked out of the cinema.
000
"How's he taking it?"
Owen's voice sounded tinny over the mobile, and Jack looked once at Ianto, sleeping fitfully, before getting out of bed and striding into the kitchen. "Not good."
"Hate to say it, mate, but this isn't the first time lives 'ave been lost because of us."
"But that's just the thing, Owen: it wasn't because of us. This had nothing to do with the Rift or aliens or mistakes we made, it was just…one of those things," Jack rubbed his temples as he made his way to the table and sat in one of the chairs, glancing out the window at the lights reflecting on the dark waters of the bay.
"Well, tell him that."
"I did," Jack huffed a sigh. "I…"
"Jack, if this is a call to complain because tea-boy wasn't putting out, I'm going to hang up," Owen said, but Jack could hear the underlying humor in his voice. "Not that I would have cared about your love life before, mind, but now that I can't partake in carnal activities, it's just painful. Don't kick a bloke when he's down."
"That's not what I'm calling about," Jack growled into the phone, a little offended when Owen merely snorted in response. "It's just…you're a doctor…"
"Oi, I've told Ianto time and time again that I can take care of his body, but his mind and his heart are things can't fix…"
"No," Jack said quietly. "I just wondered…what did you do when a patient of yours died?"
Owen, for his part, let out a pained sigh; a completely human response even though he really had no breath to sigh with. "Honestly? I shagged something."
"Thanks, Owen. You're really helpful," Jack muttered.
"Well, I did!" Owen protested. "But…but I also had to keep telling myself one thing: it's my job. I can't save everybody, and the only way to get through the bad times is to believe that the next time, you're gonna walk away a hero."
"Owen…" Jack swallowed heavily, surprised at the level of emotion in the young man's voice. "Thank you."
"You asked an honest question, Jack," Owen said softly. "And forgive me for this, apparently death has made me sappy, but the best thing that could happen to me after a bad day at work was to wake up the next morning in Katie's arms. I know you're not the committed for life type of guy, but I'm pretty sure you're calling me from tea-boy's place right now, so can you give him that, at least?" he tried to turn it into a sarcastic statement, but Jack knew he was honestly concerned for Ianto and was grateful that even Owen could bring out a side of himself at times that proved he was, quite honestly, nothing less than a nice guy at heart.
"I can. I will," Jack promised. "And I know that Ianto may have been closest to the trauma today…catching that flask and all…but I know that situations like this are hard on everybody. And…" he smiled to himself as he added, "I'm pretty sure you're at Tosh's place right now, so do you think you can return the favor?"
"Cripes, Harkness, you know how to guilt a man, don't you?" Owen joked. "She'll complain that I'm cold. I'm always cold."
"Owen…"
"Alright, alright. Was planning on it anyway," he added in an undertone, and Jack chuckled before looking up, noticing Ianto staring at him from the doorway.
"Sorry. Gotta go."
"Right. See you tomorrow," Owen hung up and Jack put the phone down.
"Couldn't sleep?"
"Wondered where you went," Ianto slurred, still blinking sleep from his eyes, and Jack absently took his arm and guided him back to the bedroom, climbing in behind him and moving to hold him tight. "Mm. 's nice," Ianto murmured, and Jack pressed a kiss to his brow, tucking Ianto's head under his chin and trying to follow his lover into the world of sleep.
A/N: Okay, so I know this chapter was a little angsty, but the last one was mostly fluffy, right? Also, I know a lot of people aren't keen on 'From Out of the Rain,' but I quite liked it the first time I watched it because a) circuses kind of creep me out (especially clowns), so I found it suitable freaky and b) I LOVE old theatres and I'm a film student, so it connected with me on that level (and, for anybody who thinks that the whole 'flashing the film' thing is improbable, it actually isn't. I've seen a flashed film, and literally the screen flashes and goes white, so anything on the film is lost forever…)
Anyway, discourse aside, thanks again for all of the lovely reviews/comments (and I know some of you have requested the Jack/Owen late-night conversation, so I added that in ^_^).