Torchwood: Divergence
Book Two: Adferiad
Chapter 4
A cold rain had started to fall shortly after the team had returned to the Hub, the overall temperature outside plummeting. Not unusual for late November, but not exactly welcome either. Ianto's ruined shirt and coat had gone into the massive alien tech augmented furnace five levels down from the Hub after Martha had Betadine scrubbed, antiseptic cream treated, and lightly bandaged the nasty set of gouges on his chest so he'd been able to put on a jumper. Jack had cheered the military style, deep blue-green wool blend he'd donned, then had made a point of rubbing the dyed to match suede patches on the elbows or petting the ones over the shoulders of the garment every time he'd passed the younger man.
The day had quieted considerably after the unpleasant excitement of the morning, so tentative plans had been made to go hunt up a new coat for Ianto when they'd finished lunch. However, a call from UNIT had side-lined the Captain, so Gwen had volunteered to take their young Guardian instead. With Jack's blessing, the loan of his back-up great coat and his cash card, the two friends had departed for the shops Ianto liked to frequent.
They'd been to several but hadn't had much luck finding anything that caught the young Welshman's eye, and were currently at the little café that Gwen and Rhys used to enjoy on Sunday mornings back before the baby had arrived. After a quick bit of cake and something to drink, they intended to expand their search to some of the newer shops that had gone in after Ianto's ill-fated encounter with the 456.
"I've tried to ask Jack about what happened in Thames House," Cooper admitted quietly, noticing that her friend's had suddenly tightened on the cup of coffee he'd been drinking. "I've seen the video… God, more times that I want to think about. But most of what was said after you went down was too quiet for the recorder to pick up. And all he'll ever tell me is 'we died'. I know it must be hard on you both to remember it, but I can't help wanting to know more. Especially after what you said about last night."
"I have seen the video too, you know," Ianto stated tightly after a clench-jawed moment of silence, his gaze locked on the table in front of him. "Kind of wish I hadn't. I… told him I loved him, wanted to know if he felt what we'd shared was good, hoped he'd say he loved me too but he didn't, asked if he'd forget me. He promised he wouldn't, begged me not to leave him, but I died anyhow. That's pretty much it."
There was an uncomfortable silence between them for several minutes, then the former constable reached over to gently touch his hand.
"Sorry," Gwen breathed, lightly caressing his knuckles with her thumb. "It's stupid and morbid of me. I just can't help thinking about everyone else who died that day. I can't make sense of the autopsy reports Johnson secured for Martha, so I don't really know the details. I mean, did they suffer? Or was it honestly too quick for that the way the Government claims? They had time to be afraid and try to escape. But once the virus got to them, did they die in seconds or did they linger?"
Ianto closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard, then slowly rose from his chair before meeting the Welshwoman's wide-eyed gaze.
"Maybe later," he hedged with one of his old, false cheer smiles, in no way wanting to discuss what had happened with the 456. "Right now, I need to find a coat so we can get back to the Hub. There's a new place across the road and about a block down from here, Lois claims they have 'great stuff' she was sure I'd like, so it might be worth a look."
Feeling both guilty and oddly chastised, Cooper rose to accompany the young Archivist out into the cold drizzle once more.
They'd been gone nearly three hours by the time they made it back to base, and hadn't spoken much for the last third of that span. Ianto took the bulky, hanger topped bag containing his purchase into the office, returned to the work area minus it and his borrowed RAF coat.
"Where's Jack?" the eternal twenty-six-year-old queried evenly, not seeing the man anywhere about.
"Firing range," Martha called as she came up from the medical bay. "Said he was feeling homicidal after being stuck on the phone with the ever-charming Colonel Darby for more than two hours."
"Oh, well… I'll just pop down and give him back his card," Ianto shrugged, heading for the correct corridor.
Gwen slipped away after him, managing to catch up outside the Boardroom's open door.
"Ianto," she called, putting a hand on his arm and moving to face him. "I shouldn't have asked you about London. I know how badly the subject affects you and Jack. I did not mean to upset you or make you angry with me."
The jumper clad Welshman looked somewhat startled by the last comment, quickly shook his head to deny it.
"I'm not mad at you, Gwen," Ianto insisted soberly. "And I'm not upset that you asked. It's just not something I can talk about without possibly ending up in a really nasty seizure. Especially after what happened last night. I understand why you want to know and that you'll never pry anything out of Jack. But until really strong emotions don't turn me into a total wreck and set off convulsions because of the Shadows inside me, I don't think I can help you."
"I'm rubbish," Cooper lamented, regretting she'd ever broached the subject with the Changeling. "I never considered that… I'm so sorry. Just forget I mentioned it at all, yeah?"
"It's fine, really," her friend reassured, offering the petite brunette a quick hug. "Don't worry about it. No harm done… other than the fact that I forgot to pay the bill at the café. Oh well, have to go back later and apologise."
"You're not serious," Gwen gaped, preparing to feel even worse than she already did until the young Guardian smiled. "You paid at the counter when we placed the order, didn't you?"
"Did I?" Ianto asked innocently, raising one eyebrow before smirking as he turned to start down the corridor again.
"Jack is having a terrible influence on you," the one-time PC complained, though she didn't feel quite so down-trodden now.
"Always been like this," Ianto called back. "Surprised you've never noticed before."
"Must be why the boss likes you best," Cooper chuckled, heading for her work station.
"It's not the only reason," she heard her friend counter in a sing-song voice. "Never underestimate the power of a measuring tape, a stop-watch, and a really good cup of coffee."
Laughing and blushing, the raven-haired woman returned to her computer array. Turlough didn't bother to ask, having learned that if it involved Torchwood's three most senior members, it was usually safer not to.
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AN: So, a bit of calm before things take a stormier turn once more.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM