Doomsday
a Torchwood story
by RoadrunnerGER
Dislaimer: Oh, really! They're the BBC's.
Suspense/hurt/comfort – T – Ianto Jones & Jack Harkness
A/N: Okay, the wait was long enough, so quick thanks to everyone for feedback, favs, and alerts. Enjoy!
Chapter 37 – Slow progress
Torchwood Tower
It was quite obvious for both Jeffreys and Owen that Ianto was scared and they could not begrudge him that.
"How?" Ianto hoarsely asked.
"We can use the circular saw to remove the arms that hold the blades," Jeffreys explained. "But it won't go through the restraints."
"The saw…" Once more Ianto choked.
"Yeah."
Ianto looked less than convinced that that was a good idea. The screaming of the saw still rang fresh in his ears, causing renewed chills to chase down his back.
"We don't have to do it," Jeffreys said. "I just thought that it would make things easier when they're gone."
"Easier? How?" Ianto asked sceptically.
"It would make it easier for Dr. Harper to treat you for example," Jeffreys explained.
Of course Ianto could understand that. He was not exactly fond of the sight above himself. Still his anxiety tried to get the better of him. Ianto closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing evenly as his breaths threatened to become erratic again.
"Ianto, we don't have to do it, if you don't want to," Jeffreys assured him. "Your decision."
My decision. Ianto was momentarily at a loss. He did not know what to decide. Removing the blades won't get me out. Jeffreys is right, though, when he says that it would make it easier for Owen to manoeuvre. So I should probably let them do it. Still I'm scared. They'll work with the big saw right above me after all.
Thinking about it physically hurt as Ianto was horribly tense. A shudder coursing through him made his muscles ache. Finally he made his decision.
"I'd like to call my sister first. I need to know if she and her family are all right. I just need a minute or so…" he trailed off as he felt rather awkward.
"That's okay," Jeffreys said. "We'll prepare while you make the call. All right?"
"Yes."
Nodding in confirmation Jeffreys turned around to inform his men and get the equipment ready. As he left Owen took out his mobile phone, Ianto gave him Rhiannon's full name and the number in Newport, and Owen dialled.
As nervous as Ianto had been when he had to make the decision about the blades being removed, it was nothing compared to how he felt now that he was about to talk to his sister.
If she even answers. Maybe she fell victim to the Cybermen. And what about Johnny and the kids? What if both parents are dead but the kids survived? Mam can't take them in. Could I?
Not with a job like Torchwood. Though this probably is the end of Torchwood. I didn't have a chance to ask Owen yet, but the Institute was in the centre of the storm so to speak. I wonder if it can be rebuilt at all.
"Ianto?" Sharp with excitement the voice of his sister startled him out of his musings. "Ianto! I thought you were dead! Where are you? How are you? Talk to me! Are you all right?"
"Rhi…!" Ianto tried to interrupt her to no avail.
"Yan? I'm scared to death. Talk to me! C'mon, Yan. Now answer me, for God's sake!"
"I would if you'd let me!" Ianto groaned, rolling his eyes at her use of his nickname.
"You're not telling me I'm talking too much, are you?" she groaned, but then her voice softened, still sounding kind of exasperated, "Sorry, Yan, but after years with only the annual Christmas card, I guess I have a lot of questions."
"I'm… just glad that I finally got an opportunity to call you," Ianto said. "Are you all right? Are the kids all right? Johnny?"
"We're doing okay now, Yan," Rhiannon told him. "After those things showed up everything went mad. Johnny wasn't here and the kids were crying. I didn't know what to do but climb up to the attic and pull up the ladder. I was so scared that they'd hear and find us."
"I'm sorry, Rhi," Ianto choked, blinking back rising tears.
"You should be," she teased, but he got it wrong.
"I couldn't call earlier," Ianto defended himself. "If you thought things went mad in Newport you can't even imagine what was going on here…"
"I mean the years before the crisis, Ianto," she clarified. "For all we knew you could have been dead. Why didn't you call once? Nobody knew where you were except that you went to London. Why, Ianto? Is it something I did?"
Now Ianto cried for real, his voice shaking when he tried to speak, "No, Rhi. It was me. I'm sorry. I wish I'd have been there to help you…"
"You could help now and tell me what the hell did happen, Ianto!" she prodded. "Those things, those… Cybermen. They weren't a figment of my imagination. That thing spoke to us. It scared the hell out of the kids. What were they? Are they gone now?"
Ianto trembled in his restraints. This was almost more than he could bear right now. His gaze flicked to Owen who watched him with obvious concern. It would be so easy to tell him that he could not keep talking. Still he knew that he had to.
"I… I don't really know, actually," Ianto told her. "Why do you think I would?" Above him he saw Owen raise an eyebrow curiously and wondered what he was thinking.
"Well, you're in London, aren't you? The news came from there, right?"
"Rhi, I was at the office when it happened. We were ordered to evacuate, but we couldn't get out."
"You couldn't get out?" Rhiannon gasped with renewed anxiety. "Ianto! You are all right, aren't you?"
"Yes, Rhi, I'm fine. I just… I didn't see a thing and now no one will tell me anything. They just say that the danger's gone, but not what it was." He heard his sister huff.
"Who are you trying to kid, Yan?" Rhiannon scolded. "Tell me the truth."
"I really don't know. There's rumours but I don't know what to believe."
"Tell me about those rumours then."
"Look, Rhi. I can't talk right now. There are other people waiting to call their families. I just wanted to hear if you're all right. I'll call again, but I have to quit now."
"Promise you'll call," she prodded.
"I promise. Say hello to Johnny and hug the kids from me, okay? Bye."
"I will. Bye, Yan."
Ianto sighed a breath of relief when Owen lifted the phone up and cancelled the call. Then the doctor dialled another number and scowled at the result.
"Is Doctor Sato still not answering?" Ianto queried. For a second there he could have sworn that Owen appeared to be confused by his question.
"No." Owen scowled thoughtfully. "Actually I couldn't even get a connection."
"To the phone at your headquarters or mobile?"
"Headquarters," Owen replied absently.
Now Ianto scowled with him. "When did you lose contact?"
"Can't tell," Owen murmured. "We were so busy. Didn't exactly look at my watch regularly."
Ianto wished for something encouraging to say, but claiming that Owen's co-workers would be all right would be pretentious, and he knew neither Captain Harkness nor Doctor Sato which made it impossible to judge how serious the situation really was.
"The landline could be damaged," he finally suggested.
"That doesn't explain why they don't answer their comm. links," Owen snarled. "Something bad must have happened. We shouldn't have split up. Torchwood One isn't our responsibility. The Rift is. We should be with our partners in Cardiff."
Yes, they should be, Ianto thought. All of a sudden he felt bad about keeping Owen stuck with him and he told him so.
"Stop kidding," Owen ranted at once. "You're my patient. I won't leave you alone."
"I won't be alone," Ianto told him, though it did not sound very convincing to his own ears. "There's Jeffreys and there'll be paramedics…"
"Stop right there," Owen huffed. "I'm your doctor. Plus, I promised to stay with you, so I'll stay. Got me?"
"Yeah," Ianto reluctantly conceded.
Before he could argue further Jeffreys came back into the cubicle, declaring, "We're ready."
"So are we," Owen told him with a glance at Ianto. The young man looked nervous which was no surprise at all.
"All right," Jeffreys said, stepping beside the conversion unit. "Could you help me, Dr. Harper?"
"Sure," Owen nodded and reached for the safety blanket that the fireman held out to him.
"What's that?" Ianto demanded to know.
"This will protect you against sparks," Jeffreys explained. "Or fine splinters."
Ianto choked. Suddenly he was not so sure anymore that this was a good idea.
"You can still change your mind," Jeffreys said. "If you don't want us to…"
"No!" Ianto rushed to say. "Do it. It's just… it'll be dark under this. I won't see…"
"But that's good, isn't it?" Owen cheerfully cut in. "I wouldn't want to watch them work on the blades. Do you?"
"Actually…" Ianto began, starting to think. "No. Don't think so."
"Okay, then?"
"Y-yeah."
Encouragingly Owen nodded at Jeffreys and they lifted the blanket up again only to stop when Ianto called out.
"I forgot to ask Rhi about Mam!" the young Welshman gasped. "Can we call her again? I'll be quick. Really."
The men exchanged a look and Jeffreys nodded, taking the blanket back from Owen who got out his phone to dial. The medic watched his agitated patient while he was talking to his sister a second time. The young man's relief was palpable when he finished his call reassuring his sibling that he would contact her as soon as possible.
"Good news?" Owen asked as he put the phone away and grabbed his end of the blanket.
"Yes," Ianto confirmed. "We're good to go then."
"All right."
Carefully they spread the heavy blanket over Ianto's upper torso and head. Then they awkwardly pushed it further down.
Even though Ianto knew that nothing dangerous happened yet he had to fight another surge of panic when he was dipped into darkness. His breath caught in his chest. This was kind of claustrophobic.
"All right," he heard Jeffreys say. "Let's get this over with."
For just a second Ianto considered calling out in order to stop them, but he bit his bottom lip, intent on enduring the procedure. To his surprise he felt the blanket move a little and a moment later a hand alighted on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.
"Owen?"
"Yeah," the medic replied. "Told you I wouldn't leave you."
"Th-thanks."
Ianto really felt grateful to the doctor and even more so when he heard the circular saw start with a whining sound that changed to a screech when it was put against one of the arms the unit's instruments were mounted on.
Despite his intention not to do so, Ianto screamed.
xXx
Cardiff
When Jack woke up he felt not quite as sore and drained as before. Tossing and turning under the covers he tried to find a more comfortable position until he realized that it was futile as something important was missing. He finally opened his eyes to be surprised that it was not entirely dark. So he looked around, searching for Ydris.
"Hey."
Turning to the sound Jack found the young man sitting astride a chair, his arms folded on top of the back rest and his head resting on his arms. He had to smirk at the sight.
"Hey."
"Your partner said I should let you sleep," Ydris told him.
"Toshiko?"
"Yep. I think we both were worried."
"Nah, I'm fine," Jack murmured and pushed the covers back to get up. The moment he stood beside the bed he saw Ydris's expression change radically.
"You know no shame, do you?"
"Oh, I do," Jack let him know. "Just not about my sexuality."
"Well, that much is obvious," Ydris quipped as he watched Jack clearly react to his presence.
"What can I say," Jack shrugged. "You're hot and I'm not made of stone."
"Stone wouldn't grow like that."
Jack smirked. "You like what you see?" He chuckled at the way Ydris quirked his eyebrows sceptically. "I could go get my handcuffs."
"Actually…" Ydris started evasively, "thanks, but no thanks."
"Well, I don't really have the time anyway. What a pity." Jack found the clothes Toshiko had brought in and slipped on a pair of trousers.
"You know a way out Toshiko doesn't?" Ydris queried.
"Why? Is the hub still in lockdown?"
"Yeah."
Jack's shoulders sagged and he sighed. Then he dropped back down to sit on the edge of the bed.
"You'd rather be out there again," Ydris stated.
"I hate to be stuck here when I'm needed elsewhere."
"Protecting Cardiff."
"Yes."
With both hands Jack ruffled his hair before he put his elbows on his knees to hide his head in his hands. It clearly ate away at him that he was rendered useless in his own headquarters.
"Doing a good job so far."
That made Jack look up just to see Ydris shrug.
"It still exists," the young man said. "Judging by what I witnessed earlier that is no matter of course."
For a moment Jack was too stunned to answer.
"Whenever weird things happen here, is it due to this phenomenon the octopus came out of? What do you call it again?"
"The Rift," Jack told him automatically.
"Yeah. Are all the supernatural events happening in Cardiff connected with this rift?"
"Not all of them."
"What about the ghosts? Did they come through the rift?"
"No."
"Where did they come from then?"
"I don't know."
Ydris scowled. "Then why do you say that their appearance had nothing to do with the Rift?"
"Because the Rift is a local phenomenon," Jack explained. "The appearance of the ghosts was worldwide. I think it's most likely that they came from a parallel universe."
"Parallel universe. I see."
Intently Jack watched the young man, surprised that he accepted everything with quiet serenity. Then he remembered that Ydris had already asked for a job with Torchwood. Jack knew that certain people were fascinated when they first learned about the confirmed existence of aliens and the fact that Torchwood dealt with extraterrestrial visitors. Usually they were excited, dazzled by the rush of adrenalin they experienced in whichever situation they happened to encounter aliens and Torchwood agents.
Ydris had shown fascination as well, but Jack sensed that his attitude was different. Now that he felt more secure in Jack's presence he had something easygoing about himself and the way he reacted to the revelations about the Rift.
"What?" Ydris chuckled. "Was I supposed to freak?"
Quirking one eyebrow curiously Jack deadpanned, "Kind of, yeah."
That made Ydris laugh. "About the aliens…" he paused a moment to heighten the tension which seemed to work as Jack leaned forward expectantly, "or about your blatant advances?"
This time Jack laughed as well. "Oh, Ydris Rhydderch, you don't know what you're missing!"
"Hire me and I'll help you with the aliens. I'm a quick learner."
"Oh, I'm sure you are," Jack quipped with a salacious grin that left no doubt about his intentions.
"How quickly the aliens are forgotten…" Ydris teased.
That instantly wiped the grin off Jack's features. "You're right, the power should be back on soon, so I shouldn't just sit and twiddle my thumbs," he declared and strode to the door. "I have to get ready. With the rift being as volatile as it is right now I have to be prepared for more disaster."
"I'm glad to see you've got your strength back," Ydris said, getting up when he saw that Jack already was in the hall. Following him he added, "Though you might be a bit ahead of yourself."
"Why?" Jack asked, pivoting around.
"You miscalculated," Ydris shrugged.
"Why? Just how much time has passed?"
"About four hours."
Jack clearly was surprised, but he recovered quickly. "So we have another two hours to kill." he beamed at Ydris. "Do you have any idea what we could do?"
Stepping forward he reached out for the young man, but Ydris backed off. Jack scowled. The way Ydris had reacted to his flirting had promised more. Now he was surprised to see the Welshman avoid him. Once more he showed him the unscarred side of his face and Jack began to understand.
"Ydris," he said, carefully cupping his chin to try and turn his head. "Accidents happen. I mean what I said. You have gorgeous eyes."
"You think so?" Ydris murmured, facing Jack, but avoiding his gaze.
"Yes," Jack whispered back and leaned forward, breathing a kiss on the skin beside his left eye. Ydris flinched, winding out of the light hold. "Is it more than that you don't like me to look at it?"
Grimacing Ydris nodded. "It ruined everything."
"How so?" Jack could not help but ask.
It took a moment for Ydris to decide about his answer. "It… it's not just superficial, you know. I had perfect eye sight, but… after the accident I needed glasses."
"So…?"
"I wanted to be a pilot."
Oh. Jack drew the conclusion, "And you can't become a pilot with the impaired sight."
"A cornea transplant would fix it, but I'm never going to get to the top of the list because I still have full vision in the other eye. If I could find a dedicated donor, someone to bequeath their cornea directly to me when they die, I could have it done, but then I'd have to pay for it myself, there's no telling if they'll pass on in time for me to resume my military career, and really, it's bloody ghoulish."
"Yeah."
Thoughtfully Jack nodded. He still felt as if there was more to the story. "And?" he prodded.
"And I had to quit uni," Ydris spat. "Once I had recovered I wanted to start again, but I… I ran out of money, and given how I financed my studies. They didn't let me come back."
"Oh?" Jack was intrigued. "Why was that a problem? What did you do?"
Ydris rolled his eyes uncomfortably. "I was working for an escort agency."
Jack scowled. "And that's why they didn't let you continue studying?"
"What? No," Ydris shook his head. "The escort agency wouldn't take me back. I found another job, but it wasn't enough to support me, the rent, the car… even though I sold the latter I was forced to quit."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Jack did not want to argue about other possibilities to organize his studies as it became obvious by Ydris's tone that he wanted to quit this conversation as well, so Jack asked, "Do you plan to pick up where you left off?"
Ydris shrugged. "Too late, I guess."
"Only if you decide that it's too late."
"I'm not actually interested anymore, okay!" the young man finally growled. "Now let it slide."
"It's all right to be angry," Jack said. "But you shouldn't hold a grudge forever. You've got your life to live, Ydris. And this…" Once more he reached out for him to pull him close and kiss his scar. "This shouldn't stop you from doing it."
"But…"
"No buts," Jack scolded, caressing his cheek. Then he smirked. "We could start right here and right now with celebrating the fact that we're alive."
This time Ydris smirked back. Obviously he made up his mind because he caressed Jack's neck, let his fingertips run over his skin, finding their way to the back of his neck. Then he took hold of Jack and pressed a kiss to his mouth.
"I like your idea of a pastime," Jack murmured against Ydris's lips. "Should I go and get my handcuffs now?"
"That won't be necessary," Ydris mumbled back, kissing him again and shoving him backwards into the room, pushing the door shut.
xXx
Torchwood tower
"Ianto?" Owen called out softly and squeezed his shoulder. "You can open your eyes now, mate. It's over."
Rigid with terror Ianto lay in the conversion unit and kept his eyes firmly shut. He was not sure if he wanted to obey. Fear made his whole body ache and even if he wanted to he just could not move a single muscle.
"Ianto, are you listening?" Owen asked calmly. "Jeffreys is done with the blades. They're all gone. You're safe."
Really?
Ianto thought he said it out loud, but when he got no response he was not that sure anymore. Breathing was hard. Each breath seemed to catch in his chest before the air could reach his lungs. So he concentrated on breathing in and out consciously.
"He's still terrified."
That's Jeffreys, Ianto realized. He must think I'm a pathetic coward. And Owen as well.
"He's got every right to be scared," Owen replied.
"I don't think I can imagine what he's going through," the fire-fighter said.
"I'm still here, you know," Ianto threw in without looking at either of the men.
"I know, sorry," Jeffreys told him. "I'm just impressed."
"Impressed?" Finally Ianto opened his eyes to look at the fireman.
"That you're doing that well, actually," Jeffreys told him. "Sure, you're terrified. There's no shame in that in your situation. Still you manage to pull yourself together when it's necessary. Most people would just freak."
"Oh."
Owen smirked. "Don't you think that they did a good job?"
Glancing upwards Ianto had to agree. Not a single one of the torture instruments was left.
"Your work certainly increases the value of the property," Ianto said. "I refuse a raise on my rent, though."
While Jeffreys chuckled Owen laughed out loud.
Between hiccoughing gasps for breath Owen snorted, "I'm surprised you even pay rent, seeing that you were working here."
"Yeah, should have read the small print more carefully when I signed my work contract."
"So true."
"The Institute didn't pay me enough for something like this."
"Apply for early retirement. I'm sure it'll be granted."
Ianto was about to answer when he bit his tongue. They were not alone and there were things they should not talk about in front of outsiders. So Ianto settled for, "If anyone's retiring it should be the management."
Owen was about to retort that that was Jack when he thought better of it, realizing that Ianto did not need to be reminded of the fact that no management was left.
"Our cue to leave then," Jeffreys said. "I'm sure the next job's already waiting."
"Long shift ahead?" Owen asked.
"Two hours on the regular shift," Jeffreys replied. "But nothing's as usual lately. We'll be off duty when we're off duty."
"I know what you mean," Owen sighed. "Irregular hours are the usual."
"Part of the job," Jeffreys shrugged.
"Yeah."
The fireman got out his mobile phone to check for incoming messages and sighed.
"Nothing new on your partner?" Owen queried and Jeffreys shook his head.
"I'll call you," Jeffreys promised. "As soon as I know myself."
"Thanks."
"Thanks for getting rid of those instruments as well," Ianto cut in. "I hope your colleague will be all right. I'm so sorry…"
"Thank you," Jeffreys cut him short. "Good luck. I'm sure Dr. Harper will find a way to get you out. We've got to go now."
He turned around to follow his colleagues who had already left, taking the equipment with them. Ianto heard the plastic curtain swish and fading footsteps, then he was alone with Owen again.
He didn't say goodbye, Ianto noticed. Maybe because he doesn't believe what he said. He probably thinks that I'll never get out. He won't call either.
"Brooding again?"
Shifting his gaze to Owen first Ianto then rolled his eyes. "I'm not brooding, I'm thinking."
"Same difference, don't you think?"
Ianto just huffed.
"Really, you shouldn't be brooding that much, Ianto. We didn't exhaust all possibilities yet. We'll find a way to get you out. It… will just take longer."
"How encouraging."
"Stop it, Ianto. We need more time," Owen explained. "We didn't have a chance yet to search the tower for anything that could be helpful. We still have to examine the Cybermen's technology. Suzie's good, but Tosh is better. As soon as we're back in touch with her and Jack I'll ask them to come to London. Together we'll find a solution."
"Together…" Ianto whispered and was tempted to ask for how long Owen had now lost contact with his team mates in Cardiff.
"Yes, together," Owen insisted. "That they don't answer the phone doesn't mean that something bad has happened. I have faith in them. Tosh or Jack will call. I'm sure of that."
"If you say so."
"Whoa!" Owen howled. "Ianto Jones! I could just grab and shake you! Or slap you!"
Instead of expressing his frustration with Owen and his general condition Ianto yawned widely.
"Oh, yeah. I know that feeling," Owen said, trailing off as he yawned with Ianto. Then he tapped at his ear piece. "Yeah, Suzie? Oh? Can't be that difficult to find, can it?"
Curiously Ianto listened to the part of the conversation he could hear. "What is your partner searching for?"
"Files," Owen replied curtly.
"What kind of files?"
Only now Owen seemed to pay attention. "Personnel files."
"Yours?" Ianto queried. "I mean, of your team?"
For just a moment Owen hesitated before he answered. "Yes."
"I could help. Give me the ear comm.?"
Reluctantly Owen agreed. Then he listened with astonishment to how Ianto guided Suzie through the archives.
"You must have good memory if you can navigate those giant archives just in your mind," Owen said as he removed the ear piece.
"I'm just familiar with the system."
"It's still impressive."
Snorting Ianto rejected the compliment. Then he yawned.
"You should try to get some sleep," Owen suggested.
"Nah, I'm all right."
"Sure, that's why you're yawning that widely," Owen teased. "You need your rest."
"You need some rest as well, if you're working since the attack," Ianto shot back. "You should have a break as well."
"I won't leave you alone, Ianto. I promised. Remember?"
"Yeah, I remember. You can have both, you know."
"Oh?"
"Well, if I can sleep in this thing you can find rest on the floor beside it."
Incredulously Owen stared down at Ianto.
"Ianto, you…" he trailed off, thinking, "are absolutely right."
Seeing his patient's smirk warmed the medic's heart.
"You're okay with me getting some sleep?" Owen queried, afraid that he might feel abandoned.
"Are you kidding?" Ianto asked back with a wink. "What kind of use is a tired doctor to me?"
Relieved Owen laughed softly.
"See you later then," he said.
"I won't go anywhere," Ianto teased. "Sleep well."
tbc…