Torchwood: Divergence
Book One: Dychwelyd
Chapter 18
The trip back to base was pretty quiet so far, and the small group in the vehicle were silently glad for the various traffic re-routes caused by the situation they'd just left behind.
"I know this probably isn't appropriate," Lois called to the two men in the rear of the van. "But should we stop somewhere to pick up lunch on the way back?"
"It's not inappropriate at all," Jack replied with a smile. "I think the team could use a nice round of comfort food after the morning we've had. What did you have in mind?"
"We could stop at the chippy over on Bute Street," Habiba suggested, surprised at herself for so easily accepting what she'd witnessed on the rooftop. "I could run in for some fish and chips, and it'd still be hot when we got back to base."
"What d' ya say, kids?" Harkness queried over the comms. "Fish and chips all around?"
[Perfect,] Gwen replied with a smile in her voice.
[Don't suppose we could get a side of their pickled onions and veggies, could we?] Turlough put in.
"Absolutely," their leader called back, looking to Ianto who nodded and made a gesture in favour of the addition to the menu. "Okay, Lois… we're looking at five orders of fish and chips and three of the requested side. Tell Mrs. Cameron to put it on my tab, and I'll come by tomorrow to settle up."
"Yes, Captain," the young woman driving the van smiled, pleased to have made a noticeable contribution to the team, if only by boosting morale.
"You're looking kind of grey again," Jack murmured to Ianto, still unsure if he should be worried about the heat the younger man was radiating. "Heart rate need another boost?"
"Yes, but no," the Archivist breathed shakily, shivering once more where he sat on the side bench behind the driver. "I wouldn't want to shock Miss Habiba and end up under a lorry because she's distracted."
"Oh, don't mind me," Lois chimed in cheerfully. "As long as I don't see clothes flying about, you go right ahead and do whatever makes you feel better."
"Wow, she catches on fast," the Captain grinned, carefully unbuckling his safety belt and switching across to the bench seat so he was in a better spot to properly interact with his partner. "Come 'ere, gorgeous... let's get you back on the upswing."
Ianto didn't protest, secretly elated that the former Time Agent was so willing to offer such intimacy in front of others now, and that he himself no longer felt the flare of embarrassment he used to. The kiss was long and involved, and the young Welshman was definitely feeling a lot better when Harkness finally eased away.
"Moving quite nicely into the Ten range," Ianto pronounced with a thoughtful expression. "But still just a little shy."
"We'll see about 'shy' tonight," the older brunette warned with a laugh, settling so he could put his arm around his lover's shoulders as they pulled into the parking area closest to the chosen chippy.
"I'll be right back," Lois called, turning off the van and exiting the vehicle. "All I ask is that you're both still dressed when I come out."
Then she was off, leaving the two men alone with the medical equipment and weapons carryall.
"Is your side still bleeding?" Jack asked solicitously, his concern obvious.
"Off and on," his partner confessed with a wince. "Johnson's a damn sight heavier than she looks, and pretty much everything tore open as soon as I caught the first strong updraft. But it's healing fairly well, so I should be one hundred percent by evening. How's the shoulder?"
"Knitting right along," Harkness confirmed. "And itching like mad. We should be bandage free at about the same time tonight."
"Convenient," Ianto remarked with raised brows, a smile fighting to win free.
"Nerve-wracking," his companion countered solemnly. "You haven't been back in the world a full week, and you've already taken more damage in one morning than you ever even came close to during any given six-month period at Torchwood Three before the 456. I just got you back... I don't want to risk losing you again so soon. You don't have to take chances because the Scieron told you that you won't stay dead."
"I won't, Jack, not from anything short of death by my own hand with Scieron steel," Jones responded, reaching up to lightly touch the Captain's cheek. "So, you can't lose me... ever. And I'm not taking chances. I'm trying to protect what I care about from anything the Rift spits out. Today wasn't exactly a good start, but I don't quite have the knack of this Changeling stuff down yet either. Training is a lot different than practical application. You've had more than 150 years to practice saving the day and staying in one piece, I've had about six hours. I promise I'll get better, and I'm sorry if it worries you. But this is part of why I'm alive again, so I can't not fight when there's need... and it scares me to see you in danger or getting hurt too."
"I am really not used to having the shoe on the other foot," Harkness admitted unhappily, leaning in to rest his forehead against the younger man's. "Watching someone I care about willingly step into the danger zone."
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Ianto whispered, then winced and slipped his right arm around his partner's waist. "Sorry..."
"No," Jack shook his head, shifting in his seat so he could let the eternal twenty-six-year-old lean against his good side. "This is part of the price for having you with me. I need to learn to accept it and pay up like everyone else now."
"What if I'm not worth it?" his lover breathed uncertainly. "What if you change your mind about wanting me here or find someone else you love more?"
"I won't," Harkness stated firmly, holding the young Welshman close and again worrying about the extreme heat he was giving off. "I made you a promise yesterday, and I'm going to keep it. Stop fretting and concentrate on healing, yeah?"
The sat together in silence for several minutes waiting for Lois to return, then the older man's concern got the better of him.
"You are incredibly hot," Jack began, only to have his companion chuckle slightly at the choice of words. "And I'm not talking about being sexy in or out of a suit... even though you are. No, your skin is giving off so much heat right now; I'm surprised you aren't soaked in sweat instead of just a little damp around your hairline. It's like you're running a really high fever. You're radiating more heat than a small furnace, but shivering hard enough to mix a martini. I'm just worried that it's not normal."
"I'm not sure what 'normal' is for me now," Ianto pointed out. "But I think it's because the Scieron cells are so active trying to repair the damage to my body. Kind of like the friction you get when you buff out a scratch on a car door or antique desk, only inside."
"Okay," Jack nodded, deciding it sounded reasonable. "So, whenever you get hurt, ice cream is not a good idea for edible consolation."
"Neither is chocolate," Ianto sighed. "Unless you're after sauce for the melted ice cream."
"Barista Boy ala mode with hot fudge sauce…" Harkness grinned, his eyes dancing as he obviously visualized the idea and catalogued it for serious contemplation at a later date. "Yum."
Just then the van's side door opposite their seat slid open and Lois placed a huge brown paper bag on the single seat nearest the opening.
"Hope I'm not interrupting," she smiled, secretly thinking the two were extremely cute all cuddled up together. "Mrs. Cameron said to tell you this round is on the house because she hasn't had any business from you in so long, and she's glad to be on Captain Jack's lunch list again."
Then she closed the slider, walked around the front of the van, opened the driver's door and climbed in behind the wheel.
"I wonder if she has any ice cream," Jack whispered to his partner.
"What was that?" Habiba called as she started the van and prepared to head for the Hub.
"Nothing," Ianto replied quickly. "Just wondering if I'll have time to change before lunch without risking my portion being devoured by the rest of the team."
"I'll beat them off for you," the young black woman promised with a laugh, heading into the tunnel that led to the private Torchwood parking area, sensors detecting the vehicle's tracker and opening the barred gate.
"Thank you," Jones smiled, shouldering Jack slightly when the man pressed his face to the back of his neck to stifle what sounded perilously close to giggles.
"Is it always this busy when the Rift isn't blocked?" Lois enquired as she parked and prepared to exit the vehicle once more. "I mean one thing and another all day long?"
"No," Harkness replied, having managed to smother his amusement. "Normally we get maybe one or two major spikes a week during higher volume periods and not all drop unwelcome visitors. There's time for research, special projects, cleaning up from past incursions, and hunting down items or aliens that have been here awhile and either need removed for public safety or protected somehow. But there's more than a month's worth of Time and Space debris built up that's starting to shake loose right now. Things are gonna be pretty chaotic till that clears."
"Oh," Lois breathed, sounding somewhat disappointed as she opened the side door for them and took charge of the food once more. "I was hoping there'd be time for me to learn how to properly use one of the workstations. So I can... you know... be more helpful to all of you."
"The lessons may get interrupted a lot," the Captain stated evenly, carefully climbing from the vehicle and offering his partner a steadying hand when the younger brunette's knees went slightly weak as he stepped down from the van as well. "But we'll get you trained. Ianto and Gwen know the system the best, but Turlough's pretty handy on it already too. Between the three of them, you'll be ready to take on in-Hub back up in no time."
"Brilliant," Lois smiled, pausing to lock up the vehicle before starting inside with her two companions.
She hurried past them to get doors open and such as they made their way into the base, and soon they entered the main chamber where Gwen and Turlough still manned their stations.
"Lunch break in the Boardroom," Jack called, drawing their attention.
"Oh, God, Ianto... are you all right?" Cooper fussed as soon as she saw the blood staining almost the entire left side of the twenty-six-year-old's shirt.
"I'll live," the Changeling reassured with a tiny smile, though he'd started to shiver again. "I'm just going to pop into the room to change... again."
"Turlough," Harkness caught the redhead's eye and nodded toward where his injured lover was passing into the office. "Would you grab some gauze and get him re-bandaged? The rest of us will set lunch out in the meantime."
"Let me pull some supplies," Turlough stated evenly, heading down into the medical area. "UNIT reports that the creature's been destroyed, and the sulphurous residue they say it left pretty much confirms it was a Sontaran Proxy Vapour. Their probing can do permanent damage to mammalian life forms, so Martha's going to be at St. Helen's for some time doing a full work up on Johnson and the other victims. Oh, PC Davidson got the story circulating that a lightning strike caused a breach in the building's main air con unit, which leaked coolant into the gas lines and caused a nasty chemical reaction that retained heat and set off some of the upper storey sprinklers. He also Retconned the couple who saw Johnson on the roof, so the situation's pretty much in hand. No new Sontaran invasion, no major casualties, no fatalities."
"Well done," Jack acknowledged with a please smile, looking over at the two women nearby as well. "Everyone really stepped up and did their part today. Stopping alien threats is a big part of what Torchwood is all about. We can do the job better than anyone else, and you all proved that this morning. This team and those who backed us up."
"I'll let Andy know that," Gwen smiled, and then took charge of the big bag of food so Lois could get plates and utensils from the kitchenette.
"And I'll go patch up Mr. Jones," Turlough stated calmly, though it was obvious he appreciated the bit of praise as well.
He disappeared into the office, Jack followed Gwen and Lois to the Boardroom to lay out everyone's lunch, casually keying his headset to connect with Ianto's as he went.
"Your current NP turned me down flat when we were introduced," the Captain warned jokingly. "So I'd better not see any 'love bites' on either one of you when you come to lunch."
[No 'love bites' where you can see them,] Ianto responded, purposefully twisting the other man's words before adding a soft "oops" at the end.
Harkness laughed; glad his partner was feeling well enough to joke.
"What's your beverage of choice?" he queried with a smile.
[Wah...] the young Welshman's answer broke off in a quickly stifled yelp of pain, and he was breathing a lot faster when he spoke again. [Sorry... just had a rib shoved back into place. Water would be lovely, Jack, thank you.]
"Don't be long," Jack urged, wincing in sympathy for the pain the eternal twenty-six-year-old must be in.
[On our way,] Ianto responded with a small groan.
Moments later, Turlough and a slightly slower moving Ianto arrived in the Boardroom, the latter buttoning up a deep crimson shirt from the second suit that no longer fit him properly. Everyone took a seat, Gwen and Lois having plated up the meals, dished out the side and provided bottles of water all around, so they could simply dig in and relax for a little while... Rift permitting.
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AN: A brief interlude before the next crisis can arise… Things obviously won't stay calm for long with the Rift kicking back into gear, so the team should try to enjoy the downtime while they can.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM
