Doomsday: Post Apocalypse
a Torchwood story
by RoadrunnerGER
Dislaimer: Oh, really! They're the BBC's.
Summary: Ianto comes to Cardiff for a week to help with the archives, but is it as simple as that? Jack/OC, Jack?Ianto
Suspense/hurt/comfort – T – Ianto Jones & Jack Harkness
Chapter 37 – Consequences
Upon waking, Ianto almost gagged. Still being dazed by sleep, he could not identify the smell that assaulted his nose, but he knew for sure that it did not agree with his agonizing headache and the queasy feeling in his stomach.
"Wakey, wakey, sleepy head!"
All Ianto could do was groan.
"C'mon, mate," the insufferably cheerful voice of Owen prodded, "If you can drink, you can work as well."
"I'll remind you," Ianto grunted and hid his head under a pillow. The light falling in through the panorama windows was way too bright. Unfortunately, his cover did little to muffle the laughter.
"C'mon, get up!" Owen enthusiastically prodded, tugging on the blanket and laughing again when Ianto grabbed it in reflex, trying to pull it up again. A devilish smirk cracked his features as he said, "It's half past seven and I made breakfast."
With another grunt, Ianto awkwardly tried to turn around and seek darkness between the backrest, his pillow, and the blanket. Owen was having none of it, snatching away the blanket.
"Get up, tea boy!" he commanded. "You won't be the fastest one this morning, so you need a head start!"
"Tell Jack you put me on sick leave," Ianto moaned against the backrest.
At that, Owen crossed his arms over his chest, glowering at his colleague.
"Oh, no. No can do, mate."
"Oh, really?" Ianto weakly challenged.
"Not for a hangover," Owen declared, taking hold on Ianto's arm and pulling him up. "C'mon. Don't let the food get cold."
It was then, that Ianto finally identified the galling smell as coming from what Owen had cooked. His stomach revolting, Ianto had no choice but try and hurry, almost falling off the couch in his uncoordinated attempt to get up. Desperately trying not to puke before he reached the bathroom, he staggered against the coffee table.
That was when Owen took pity on Ianto, grabbed him by his shoulders and steered him to the bathroom.
Just in time.
"You know," the medic taunted when Ianto's coughing finally eased, "I thought the Welshmen could hold their liquor."
"They can," Ianto groaned, still leaning over the toilet, "it's the hangover… I have a problem with."
"No kidding!" Owen scoffed. "And I thought it was my cooking skills."
"How would I know?" Ianto pressed through gritted teeth.
"Oi!" Owen complained with mock indignation, "It's not my fault you're too sick to taste my full English fry up."
"Smells like charcoal with grease."
"You have no idea what you're missing," Owen remarked laconically and returned to the sitting area where he picked up his plate and dug into his breakfast. While eating, he listened intently to the sounds coming from the bathroom. Ianto was unwell, as had to be expected, but nothing Owen heard warranted his intervention. At some point, expletives began to mingle with the choking, which put a smirk on Owen's lips. When Ianto finally emerged from the bathroom, Owen had polished off his meal.
"Better?" the medic prodded as the Welshman shuffled toward the couch.
"Shut it."
"I take it you don't feel like handling breakfast," Owen chuckled.
"Don't know…" Ianto groaned, grimacing at how fresh the doctor looked sitting crosslegged on the sofa. Heavily he plonked down beside him. "Are you offering painkillers?"
"Not on an empty stomach."
"Sadist."
"And proud of it."
Glowering a last time at Owen, Ianto took a deep breath and sank against the backrest, closing his eyes. Silence. Ianto really relished it, especially as he was secretly astonished to see that Owen could actually be silent for a prolonged time. Slowly, Ianto relaxed again and might have fallen asleep…
"So… what do you want for breakfast?" Owen asked out of the blue.
"Nothing," Ianto groaned without moving as much as opening his eyes. "I just need strong coffee and painkillers."
"Fresh coffee I can provide."
Ianto heard a faint creak as Owen got up and listened to the sounds of his retreating footsteps. Judging by what he heard, Ianto imagined him opening a thermos and pouring some coffee into a mug. Once more footsteps and a soft clatter when Owen sat the cup on the table. The couch dipped beside him as Owen sat back down.
Drawing in a long breath, Ianto contemplated the wisdom of doing anything today but sleep. His head was killing him. He still felt somewhat nauseous. All he wanted was coffee, painkillers, and more rest. In that order.
So Ianto finally moved and drank some of the coffee… only to freeze with shock.
"What's that supposed to be?" he spat.
"Coffee."
"Um… no. That's not coffee," Ianto stated, wrinkling his nose. "You may have used coffee grounds and water," Ianto told him darkly, "but that still doesn't make this coffee. Tastes more like washing water."
"Sod it, tea boy," Owen scoffed, but then a wicked grin cracked his features, "So, are you awake now?" A deep growl was his sole response. "It's all I have, so take it and be glad for it."
Ianto eyed the mug in his hand sceptically before he put it on the coffee table.
"Thanks, but I'll do without."
"Your decision…"
"Owen," Ianto gravely began, "this is an atrocious misappropriation of water and should be abolished by law."
Owen looked at him with open incredulity. When Ianto raised a questioning eyebrow, he elaborated, "Your vocabulary is select."
"Save the sweet talk," Ianto snorted, "your coffee still is fucking awful."
At that Owen laughed.
"You can make me some when we're at the Hub," he declared as he stood to return to the kitchenette.
Ianto whipped his head around and regretted it at once as the fast motion made his head spin.
"Not going," he mumbled.
"You won't take a duvet day on my watch," Owen stated matter-of-factly. "Won't happen."
"Look who's talking," Ianto grumbled. "Don't try to tell me that you never called in sick when you really were hung over."
"Not talking about me…" Owen 's sing-song voice was dripping with false sweetness. Upon his return, he placed a plate of some toast with jam and a glass of water on the coffee table.
"Did you bring painkillers, too?" Ianto reached for the water.
"Yeah… still try and have a toast."
Grudgingly, Ianto complied and was astonished that it seemed to agree with his unsettled stomach. Finally getting a pill from Owen, Ianto washed both down with the water.
"Good boy," Owen praised his patient. "Let's go."
"Go?"
"Yeah, go," Owen replied with wicked glee. "We don't want to be late, and I assume you want to stop by your bedsit to change, right?"
"Yeah…" Ianto drawled, sniffing at his armpit. "Not the worst idea."
"And don't forget to stop by the bakery," Owen teased, smirking broadly at the death glare Ianto shot at him, "to get the Welshcakes for your lord and master."
"Excuse me…!"
"And don't forget to get some for your physician, too," Owen cut any argument short, "I don't work for peanuts."
All Ianto could do was pout.
xXx
Despite his best efforts, Jack had not been able to find Suzie. That she dropped off the radar like that put him on edge. Locating her should have been easier. Without any idea of where he should search, Jack drove around Cardiff. It was almost dawning when he returned to the Hub.
Entering his office, Jack had found the glove on his desk. Nothing about it seemed to be wrong. It sat atop a file that he had left earlier, waiting for him.
I wasn't mistaken! I saw her take it!
Now the glove was back.
If only you could tell me her story, Jack thought as he finally locked the glove in his safe.
After that unexpected discovery, Jack had rested in his room beneath his office until he heard the proximity alert for the first time that morning. He saw Toshiko come in and sit down at her desk. A few minutes later, Suzie arrived as well and Jack was tempted to go and throttle her. Instead, he called her to his office. When she took a standing position in front of his desk, he ordered her to sit down, which she reluctantly did.
"I saw you take the glove," Jack told her straightforwardly. "Explain yourself."
"I have permission for the glove research," Suzie answered matter-of-factly. "You told me it was okay to test it."
"Yes… here at the Hub," Jack stated darkly. "You know that no alien tech leaves the base without my permission."
"Yes, and I weighed risk versus use and decided that asking forgiveness would prove to be more productive in the end than asking permission."
At that, Jack had to muster all the restraint he was capable of in order to ask as calmly as possible, "What are you talking about?"
"I noticed stray cats fighting near my house," Suzie explained, "and was searching for them in case one did not make it."
"I don't see your point yet," Jack all but growled.
"The point is, Jack, that the glove works best on the recently deceased," Suzie enthusiastically elaborated. "I knew I would get the best results if I took the glove to the carcass, not the other way round."
Did it work?
By a hair's breadth, Jack would have blurted it out. He could not deny that he was curious. No matter how important her discovery seemed, though, he should not support her arbitrary act.
"As bad as it is that they fought," Suzie went on with her tale, "I found one of the cats dying. When I put the glove to work, it responded immediately! It was amazing, Jack! We need to do more tests! If we can figure out how it works… imagine the possibilities!"
In Jack's opinion, amazing was not the word that he would have used to describe the experience. Actually, he wracked his mind about how he could discipline Suzie. While she had not endangered any lives, she had disobeyed his orders and violated protocol. He could not let it slide, because otherwise he would undermine his own authority.
"While a certain degree of initiative is definitely commendable," he stated and instantly saw anger flit across Suzie's features, "you crossed the line. Consider yourself to be on probation. The glove is off limits for now."
"But, Jack, it…"
Jack was having none of it.
"And you will apologize to Ianto."
"I won't…"
"Don't argue with me!" Jack thundered. For a fleeting second, he considered what it would be like to be called sir by all of his team members, but he dismissed the idea. That would be too weird. "You disappointed me! From my second in command I expected more than childish favourites games! For the time being, Toshiko will be second. You'll report to me before you leave tonight. You're dismissed."
Fuming, Suzie leaned forward in her chair, glowering darkly at Jack and obviously searching for a good argument.
"Swallow it," Jack told her before she could make up her mind. "You have paperwork to catch up on. Go and make yourself useful."
xXx
Both morning and afternoon passed relatively quietly. Suzie went to Ianto and apologized which he accepted even though he could clearly sense that she was not sincere about it, Toshiko was flustered when Jack declared that she now was his second in command, and Owen tried to appear that he did not feel slighted to be overlooked without so much as being informed that the opportunity was open.
Jack, though, retreated to his office to brood over what he had done wrong, what he could have done better, and what he should do from now on in order to shape the perfect team he had believed he already had.
Communication.
His gaze drifted through the round windows to the central Hub. Everyone was at their respective workstations. Everyone except Ianto. Jack assumed that he was working in the archives.
Solving our problems won't be done with talking alone, Jack suspected. But it would be a start.
Jack contemplated if he should go down to the vaults and see how his archivist was faring. In the end, he refrained from joining him for fear that he might be overstepping the line. He did not want to pressure Ianto, knowing that dealing with the invasion's aftermath was taking quite a toll on the young man. Motion at his door piqued his attention. Seeing a flustered Toshiko alerted him.
"Tosh. What's up?"
"Rift alert, Jack," she panted. "May be something big. Come, have a look?"
"Sure." He followed her to her workstation where they explored the readings closer. "You're right. We all need to go. Could you please get Ianto?"
"Okay."
Despite obeying readily, Toshiko could not help but worry about Ianto's involvement. Even though he had proven himself in their fight against the whirlwinds, he still was no trained field agent. She was not surprised to see Ianto astonished at being told to go with them, but he practically dropped what he was doing to comply. When they both reappeared from the vaults, they had to hurry to keep up with the others as Jack led them out to the garage. Chasing the SUV through the streets of Cardiff, Jack asked Ianto to survey and direct from the SUV, a task Toshiko usually performed. Due to the severity of the alert, though, she had to support the team.
Watching what the computer on board the SUV displayed, Ianto felt his anxiety rise. Whatever came through the Rift this time was big, and if that was not bad enough, there also was more than one.
"Tosh, can you identify it?" Jack asked as he brought the car to a screeching halt.
"Them," she corrected tonelessly, "and I have no idea yet what they are."
"Great," Owen huffed, checking on his gun. "Gotta love days like this."
"Two," Toshiko stated. "Yes, I think there are two… whatever they are."
"We'll take the Chula disrupters," Jack decided. "Tosh, you'll take the first, going with Owen and Suzie, I'll take the second and go after the other…"
"And I'll hold the fort," Ianto muttered nervously. Thankfully, Suzie already had left the SUV to gather her equipment from the boot. Toshiko and Owen followed suit, but Jack lingered for a moment, turning around to Ianto.
"You're gonna stay put," he told him. "Relay the information and don't intervene. Got me?"
"Loud and clear, sir," Ianto declared, shifting into position in his seat. Jack slid out of the car as well and a moment later, all Ianto could see of him and the others were blue dots on the map on the computer screen. Watching the red dots, Ianto said, "The good news is that I still get the readings of two individuals…"
"And the bad news?" Owen came over the comm..
"They're heading toward the city centre."
"Great," Suzie scoffed.
Ianto could hear her heavy breathing. As the dots indicating the two aliens reached an intersection, they paused, and then diverged, one going north and the other east.
"They're splitting up," Ianto informed the others.
"I'll take the right one!" Jack panted. "Whoa, they're fast!"
"Right," Owen snapped between his gasps and turned left in pursuit of the alien.
Cursing inwardly, Ianto tried to get into a CCTV system on St. Mary's Street. It had looked so easy when Toshiko did it, which it was not. When Ianto finally got a visual, he gasped.
"What?" Jack responded.
"Just had a look at… them," Ianto muttered, unable to find a better term. His own breathing accelerated with the fright he felt.
"Focus," Jack told him sternly. "Tell me something useful!"
"Taking a screenshot for comparison with the database…" Ianto murmured, still somewhat shaken from spying the Rift visitors with their two strong hind legs that gave them an advantage over the humans. Their shapes were not humanoid, though, their posture and the long tail making their appearance similar to carnivorous dinosaurs instead. Both made Ianto wonder how the team could still keep up with them. Maybe they were influenced by their strange location.
"Any result yet?" Jack queried between sharp breaths.
"No."
By now, Ianto could see that the two aliens put more distance between each other. While they could pursue, team Torchwood still could not really catch up. The creatures were quite agile and did not slow down. As he still got no match with the database, Ianto tried to deduce anything else useful.
"Well, it's risky to try to interpret their actions with no frame of reference," he hedged, "but if this were an incursion of humans, the military or police, for example, I would say they're performing a grid search."
He heard Owen snort, and then query amusedly despite being out of breath, "What… in bloody hell… would they be looking for?"
"How should I know?" Ianto replied. "Any of the thousands of things that have fallen through the Rift, I wou..."
"Fuck!"
Cut short by Owen's exclamation, Ianto pricked his ears and was almost deafened by the shrieks that followed.
"What's wrong?" he shouted anxiously, unable to find corresponding video footage.
"It got my gun!" Owen squealed. "Snatched it with its tongue!"
"It's a chameleon?" Ianto queried incredulously, as that information did not fit with what little he had seen earlier.
"Just its tongue," Owen relayed, "the rest looks like someone took a zoo and threw everything in a blender."
"Suzie, look out!" Toshiko shouted with alarm.
Finally, Ianto found access to a camera on the street in question, but on the pixelated image he could not make out much more than that they had it cornered in a blind alley. Turning its back toward its pursuers it whipped its tail threateningly.
"I don't know how we're gonna catch it!" Owen panted.
"Stun gun?" Ianto remarked wryly.
"Can't get close enough."
"Tranquilizer darts?" Ianto suggested.
"Didn't take those with us," Suzie huffed.
"C'mon, we're not gonna kill it just because we didn't bring the necessary equipment!" Toshiko cut in.
"For whomever it concerns…" Jack gasped between heavy breaths, "I didn't get close enough yet to see many details."
"Tosh," Suzie turned to her, "go and help Jack."
Toshiko twitched and was about to turn, when she stopped herself, "I'd rather you go, Suzie."
"You can both stay," Jack threw in with an effort, "I'll be fine."
Actually, Ianto was not so sure that Jack would be fine, as the creature moved toward a more populated area. The captain needed to stop it soon, and if he got into a fight with it, Ianto was certain that the alien would be a dangerous opponent. Due to his connection to Jack, he knew for a fact that their boss felt terrified. Not just for himself but especially for his team. They all were confronted with an unknown creature and he could not help them.
Momentarily cutting off the comms to the rest of the team, Ianto anxiously queried, "Jack?"
"I'll… be fine," the captain panted. "Almost got it."
True to his word, he was only a few yards behind the alien and had to be careful not to be hit by its tail.
"It's approaching my position again!" Ianto called out. Distracted by the events, he had not noticed the direction the alien had taken earlier.
"Stay… where you… are!"
Jack's command fell on deaf ears as Ianto felt the captain's certainty that he would not be able to stop the creature on his own as well. His heart beating in his throat, Ianto climbed out of the car and advanced on the next crossing. The creature came around a corner, closely followed by Jack. The captain tried to stop it, getting into a fight that ended with Jack being tossed aside angrily and smashing into a wall.
Screaming, the creature looked around and found the young man standing right in the centre of the street.
"Shit!"
His voice almost gave out with the hiss.
Eyes widening at the sight of the muscle packed alien starting toward him, Ianto did not think but reacted. Backwards, aiming with his gun, he stumbled to the still open driver's door. The alien screamed, tensing for a jump that would bridge the short distance between them. Ianto's breath caught in his throat as he was certain that claws would slice his flesh any second now.
Instead, he incredulously watched the creature sag, impaired by a shot from Jack. He was not out of danger, though. Frantically, Ianto climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine, flooring the accelerator. The SUV shot toward the creature and collided. With the alien sprawled on the hood, Ianto drove into a wall. The crash lifted him off his seat and by a hair's breadth he would have hit the windscreen despite the airbag popping open. Reluctantly he raised his head, knowing he had to make sure that the creature was dead as the ugly crack that he had heard upon colliding was no guarantee.
Pushing the door open, Ianto reached for his gun. For a few seconds his aim wavered, but then he held the weapon steady. A rattling breath and an arm flailing made him pull the trigger. Three bullets in its head took the alien out.
With his knees feeling like rubber, Ianto stared at the dead alien. A few seconds later, he recalled that their captain might be badly injured. Stuffing the gun in its holster, Ianto ran around the car. Seeing the limp form, he rushed to his side.
"Jack!"
Sickened by the fear and agony that radiated off Jack, Ianto reached for his shoulders to try and turn him around. Heart racing in his chest and breaths catching painfully in his throat, Ianto crouched beside Jack and tried to focus through the emotional turmoil, his own and Jack's.
"Ianto?" Jack croaked. "Sorry about the coat."
"Never mind the coat," Ianto muttered, shifting his position in an attempt to settle Jack's head in his lap.
"D-don' go… 'way."
"I'm here, Jack," Ianto reassured him. "You can let go. I'll be here when you come back."
"Lo-lo…" the sounds faded as Jack passed away.
Ianto's heart skipped a beat at seeing the light in Jack's blue eyes die. He could actually feel it jump in his chest and his pulse thump at the base of his throat. His first reflex was to back off, because holding the dead body gave him the creeps. Thinking of the promise he made, though, he tightened his embrace and his tears began to flow freely, blurring his vision.
Can't stop!
All of a sudden, Ianto felt cold. A deep emptiness hollowed him out. Like losing Jack had ripped his insides out.
Totally thrown off balance, Ianto needed a long time to realize that it was not exactly emptiness that he felt, but the sudden lack of empathic input. Where Jack's emotions had previously flooded and overwhelmed him, Ianto now found only his own. The sensation was so overpowering that he had to gasp in steadying breaths. In his attempt to regain balance, his hands clawed at Jack's greatcoat. Only slowly his breathing evened out.
Holy shit! It's one hell of a difference to actually see, and feel, him die.
With a start, Ianto recalled that the situation was not cleared yet. Listening to the frantic calls of his colleagues, he deduced that the other alien could not be apprehended yet.
How long will it take? He came back relatively quickly when the black predator killed him.
Ianto refrained from exposing Jack's body to have a look at how he healed. That was just too weird.
Any moment now.
Out of the blue, Ianto felt a surge of panic assault his empathic senses. This time, though, his defences held. A second later, Jack arched off Ianto's lap with a strangled gasp.
"Shhhh," Ianto hushed, stroking the captain's forehead soothingly. "Easy. You're safe. Just take a deep breath…"
Even though his eyes darted around with sheer panic and his hands desperately searched for a hold while subconsciously defending himself, Jack tried to obey the gentle instruction. His breath shuddered.
"Right, that's it, cariad," Ianto muttered softly. "Take another deeeeeeep breath… All right. There you go. Feeling a tad better?"
All Jack could do was cling to Ianto.
He feels different, Ianto thought with confusion. Shocked, helpless, surprised, grateful, vulnerable...
Suddenly, a rush of anger crashed against his defences, robbing his breath.
"What the hell… were you thinking?" Jack tried to snap, but it came out more like a croak.
"Wasn't thinking," Ianto shrugged, even though he felt anything but indifferent.
"You're a bad liar, Ianto Jones," Jack groaned, sinking heavily down on the young man's lap.
Ianto felt his disappointment and desperation roll off him.
"You put yourself in grave danger to protect me," Jack all but sobbed. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"
Sheepishly, Ianto worried his bottom lip.
"Such a brave gesture," Jack moaned, sitting up and fixating Ianto with a death glare while his voice became stern, "and incredibly stupid as well. Don't do that, Ianto."
A wave of nausea swept over Jack, making him sway a little. When he regained his equilibrium, he asked, "Feeling better?"
Confused, Ianto shot back, "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
"Probably," Jack shrugged with a crooked smile. "Are you feeling better?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Ianto nodded.
His reply transformed the crooked smile to a wholehearted one.
"Good."
Their gazes met and locked. Ianto's back tingled in response to the look in Jack's eyes. He felt drawn in, but before the moment could get even more intense, footsteps drew their attention to Owen who just came to a halt beside them, panting.
"We had no choice," he gasped. "The girls are guarding the body to keep prying eyes at bay. I see you had to kill yours as well. That'll be one hell of a cleanup."
Jack ignored the babbling. Right now he could hardly bear anyone's presence and was grateful that Ianto did not push him. He knew that Owen would not be so considerate and tried to make the most of every second he could sit in relative peace.
"Did it catch you with its tail, Jack?" Owen queried right on cue. "Quite some punch! Are you injured?"
"I'll be fine," Jack groaned, trying to stand up to prove his physical integrity. A brief surge of nausea threw a spanner in his plan.
"Sure," Owen huffed. "You look perfectly fine. Where did it hit you?" Seeing Jack subconsciously hug his own body, answered his query. "Your ribs might be cracked. Let me have a closer look."
"No way," Jack warded off, "We need to clean up first."
"He'll be all right, Owen," Ianto threw in, trying to distract the nosy doctor. "The blow just winded him."
"Oh, so you're the doctor now?" Owen snarled.
"No," Ianto countered, standing up and extending his hand to Jack to help him up, "but I am an empath, and I can tell you the pain in his arse right now is a lot worse than the pain in his ribs."
"Very funny, teaboy," Owen sneered. Pegging Jack with a stern glare as he laughed loudly at Ianto's jibe, he added, "We'll handle the cleanup, Jack. You, just sit there and rest." He turned to walk away, then turned back abruptly and said, "And don't think the teaboy convinced me, either. The only reason I'm not insisting you let me have a look at you is that nobody with busted ribs could cackle like that at such a bad joke."
The medic finally walked away toward the SUV, but that did not release the tension. Ianto just knew that Jack had only laughed to get rid of Owen. They did not need his prying. Not now that Ianto was left totally confused by himself at having admitted that he was an empath, and Jack did not need the attention either.
"Are you all right?" Jack murmured as he watched Owen gather supplies and stride away to rejoin the rest of the team.
"Yes," Ianto answered automatically. "No. Well, um, yes, I think. Probably not quite…" Helplessly he trailed off.
Carefully lifting his left hand, Jack gently brushed the back of it over Ianto's cheek. The touch already tingled, but what gave Ianto a real chill was the look in the captain's eyes that showed depths of emotions and a well of possibilities. For a long moment, their gazes locked, but then Jack's defences slammed into place, cutting off the connection.
"Work to do," Jack declared and pivoted around to go and get what they needed from the SUV. Ianto followed suite. The sooner they could dispose of the carcass, the sooner he could start pretending that nothing had happened.
tbc…