Torchwood: Divergence
Book One: Dychwelyd
Chapter 27
"So, what is it?" Jack asked Turlough, occasionally glancing at the CCTV displays for the normal entrances to the Torchwood Hub as he observed the redhead at work
"Let me finish with the magnetized lead coating so I can get it into the ballistic gel and start the cryo process," the twenty-nine-year-old alien stated evenly, never pausing in his handling of the intricately etched item that looked a lot like an oversized lady's locket without the chain. "Then I'll give you the ugly run down."
"It sets my teeth on edge," Harkness confessed with a frown. "And makes my skin crawl. Not an attractive or comfortable combination and definitely not something I've ever experienced around any of the other alien gadgets we've recovered."
He looked over at the CCTV images again, beginning to fidget. Were Gwen and Ianto on their way back, or was his Archivist truly ill and he should head out to find them?
Jack returned his attention to the process taking place in the Autopsy Lab, watched Martha hold the special container steady so Turlough could use Archive tongs to insert the apparently dangerous item into the slit he'd made in the dense, Perspex housed 20% synthetic gelatine block, leaving the artifact suspended in the centre. So, the Captain missed Cooper passing the camera overlooking the Tourist Information Centre door on Mermaid Quay as she re-entered the base.
"Let's get this thing frozen," Turlough urged, placing the now sealed container into the nearby cryogenic coffin and triggering the top panel to engage the freezing process.
"Okay, so what..." Jack began, only to be interrupted by the cog-wheel door rotating open.
The American turned to see Gwen enter the Hub, frowning when it was obvious his partner wasn't with her... and the former PC was scowling.
"Boardroom," she snapped, pointing to Jack before hitting the keys on the nearest workstation to disable the CCTV for the named area. "You and me, Harkness, now."
Alarm bells went off in the immortal's head at her use of only his last name, and he began to worry more about what the still missing member of the team may have done to so badly irritate the woman instead of about the Welshman's well-being. He followed Cooper into the Boardroom, let the door close and turned to face the obviously angry brunette with a train load of questions.
"Do you really love Ianto, or was his death just a convenient excuse for you to abandon the Earth?" Gwen demanded, taking all the wind out of her coat clad leader's sails. "Because if you truly love him as much as you keep saying you do, you've got a piss-poor way of showing it."
"Excuse me?" Jack gaped, genuinely shocked. "What the hell brought this on?"
"Hell, Jack," the woman before him growled. "Not just a psychically created realm of personal angst ignited by those Lucifer matches, but the real deal physical plane that inspired the whole idea. Ianto spent almost two years there being tortured and changed for you, so he could come back and be at your side forever because of how much he loves you. The whole time we were trying to figure out the how and why, you swore that whatever had been done to him wasn't any danger to us or the world, even when he doubted himself. You told me you agreed to give the Scieron anything they asked to make him whole, because you didn't think their race was the kind to want blood or planets or power. But a group of Weevils – Weevils, Jack – runs from him, and suddenly you treat him like a possible enemy? You look at him like a freak, throw Owen's issues in his face, all but call him a liar because he can't explain why a pack of blood thirsty, shit eating alien scavengers are afraid of the Shadows in his body?"
Harkness opened his mouth to protest, his blue eyes icy, but Cooper didn't give him the chance.
"The very thought that you could suspect him of any deception or evil intent is what made him sick in the SUV," she stated angrily, pointing sharply at the ageless brunette before clenching both fists. "He was afraid that if he saw doubt or accusation in your eyes he'd likely throw up, felt unsettled enough to worry he might even have a seizure like before. That's how badly your little mood swing at St. Mary's has affected him. You hurt him, Jack. So much that he admitted there are four things that can lead to his death, his permanent death. And they all come right back to you."
The last was said in a vicious hiss, and Gwen ploughed on before the target of her ire could do more than draw a startled breath.
"If you betray him to love someone else, turn your back on him because you get bored with having him around or decide he's some sort of liability, somehow manage to die and stay dead, or refuse to take a blade for him every ten years; do any of those and you'll be sentencing him to a sad, lonely, painful death at the end of the same knife he used on you in the firing range," the former PC snapped, her eyes blazing. "Because if he loses your love, it will break his heart and drive him to despair so deep that his only choice will be to commit suicide to escape the devastation. And if the Scieron feel that and Changeling steel in his heart at his death, they'll burn their cells from his body and leave him to cry and suffer in the Dark for all eternity, Jack. But he's scared to tell you that himself, because he doesn't think you'll believe him after your fit of attitude this morning. And he never thought he'd have to point it out anyhow, because he believed you truly loved and trusted him the same way he does you. As it is, he's physically sick, hurting, and afraid to come back to the Hub now. You know as well as I do that he's already been worrying about if he's too different to be around other people because he's a Changeling. Trying so hard to walk a self-imposed razor's edge so he doesn't do anything wrong or what the rest of us might see as 'bad', and you managed with only about a dozen thoughtless sentences this morning to make that a thousand times worse. Because you've used him as the target for your anger and frustration for so long now it's habit, but you can't do that to someone you care about, not if how you feel about them is real. So, I'll ask you again... Do you really love him? If you don't, you will lose him."
Harkness simply stared at her, his eyes now reflecting honest fear and expression stricken. Gwen could see panic rising in the ageless brunette, every muscle tensing.
"Where is he?" Jack managed after a moment. "I didn't... damn... I was so twitchy at St. Mary's; I wasn't trying to take it out on Ianto... I didn't mean to accuse him of anything, I just... crap… I just snapped at him because I always have, got nasty with him because he always just takes it and lets me. God... I need to fix this. The Scieron told me his existence depends on my love for him, but I didn't realise if he feels he's lost it that he'll kill himself. I need to find him, apologise for being an ass this morning, make things right between us again. Where...?"
"He needed someplace to be alone and try to work himself out of the state of panic he was slipping into," Cooper explained in a gentler tone, resting a hand in the middle of her companion's chest. "I told Ianto I'd deal with knocking some sense into you... he was worried I'd do it literally instead of verbally. He's not in a good place emotionally, so be quiet and gentle, yeah? Now put your game face on and go bring him home. He's watching the city wake up from the top of the Millennium Centre."
Jack nodded his understanding, and took a deep breath before activating the Boardroom doors and striding down the corridor to the main Hub. He was already sweeping out through the big rotating door by the time Gwen appeared near the workstations, Martha and Turlough both looking at her with raised brows.
"Where's Ianto?" Martha prodded curiously, stripping off the surgical gloves she'd been wearing. "Is he okay? Is he too sick to walk back? Is that where Jack's off to?"
"Our fearless leader was a Class-A bastard this morning and put Ianto into a serious panic attack," Cooper explained evenly. "He's gone to make amends."
"I can understand why he was on edge at the church," Turlough grimaced. "What we found would definitely rub his nerves the wrong way if anyone's. But that doesn't excuse any rude behaviour with his partner... if he's supposed to love Ianto enough to die for him every decade, he shouldn't even think about treating him like a two-legged replacement for the proverbial spaniel to kick, regardless of the reasons."
"Exactly," the former constable across the room agreed firmly. "And he'd bloody well better remember that from now on. I swear, sometimes I just want to beat his head against a wall when he starts the self-righteous 'I know best because I've been around the longest' and 'I can be a rude wanker to everyone because I'm the boss' rubbish."
"So, it wasn't the Weevils' distinctive malodorous cloud that made Ianto go green in the SUV," Turlough frowned. "But being ill-treated by the man he spent two years in Hell for. Captain Harkness isn't exactly famous for his sensitivity and tact. Let's hope he doesn't just make matters worse."
"Oh, I think I got the point across and planted this round," Gwen stated darkly. "Now I just have to wait to see if he's man enough to shoulder it and do the right thing."
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AN: Not the first time Jack has been a prat when it comes to Ianto… likely won't be the last. But he'll have to learn sometime…
Welcome to 2022… PLEASE, let it be a better year…
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM
