29.01.09
He shook hands with the irritatingly officious civil servant and the equally irritating and holier than thou junior minister she was chaperoning. They left him with insincere smiles and another of his throbbing headaches, and not enough time before his next meeting. His to-do list was longer, too, and he'd had six texts in the last ten minutes.
"There isn't enough coffee in the world," he muttered, flipping his notebook shut with more force than necessary. "And not enough time..." Another text buzzed in and he picked it up, stabbing at the screen. "Oh, what now?"
'Can Gwen never take a hint? Need advice.'
"No, she can't." He rubbed his forehead and ignored the text, then gathered up the last of his papers and hurried back to his office.
He threw himself into his chair, running a hand through his hair and sighing heavily. Five minutes of peace and quiet, with a good cup of coffee and his eyes closed, that was all he needed. Just as he stood up to make his coffee, the phone rang with another meeting appointment, and by the time he was done with that his five minutes were impossible.
Another text and he almost growled. 'I'm serious," Ally had sent, "She's doing my tree in. How do you shut her up?"
'You don't. You just ride it out. Hide in the Archives until the bee escapes," he fired back.
He did have fifteen minutes to go through his emails and add them all to his to-do list, so he reached for his mouse and did that. There were a dozen arrived in half an hour - most of them just FYIs, thankfully, and the only really important one was the new plans for the Cardiff development. He sent those to the printer to enjoy later and then, reluctantly, opened the one from Gwen. It was an official incident report, sent to both him and Jack. "What are you up to?" he wondered, opening the report with reluctant curiosity.
'Jack,
Attached are the details of my investigation of the disappearance of Jonah Bevan. As you can see, this disappearance correlates with a negative Rift spike, I've cross referenced the other negative spikes, and found at least six other disappearances from Cardiff in the last 12 months.
I really feel like this is something we should investigate further.
Gwen.'
"Oh... Crap." He ran a hand through his hair and reached for his phone, but hesitated with his hand over it. No time. "Not my office," he muttered to himself. "Jack's business."
He sighed and replied to Gwen's email. "Thanks for the heads up, Gwen. I'll leave you two to look into it.
Jack, if you need support from us, let me know.
Ianto."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, gave up on coffee and hurried to his next meeting.
He had another dozen by the time he got back. Gwen was having an argument with a brick wall, but she wasn't giving up. He had another three texts, two from Ally and one from Tosh, and two missed calls from Jack. He sighed and rang him was answered in an instant.
"Ianto. What can I do for you?"
He smiled despite his frustration as soon as he heard Jack's voice. "You already have. But you know what it's about." He tapped his pen on the desk and waited, but Jack didn't say anything. "She's not backing off."
"Of course she isn't."
"That's why you hired her, Jack. It could be good for her." He paused but still got nothing. "You keep saying we could do more, that you want to. And a lick of paint is only going to do so much. It's just a suggestion."
"I'm taking it on board," Jack said carefully. "And then I'm going to ignore it."
"That's fine. It's your call." He rubbed at his eyes again. "But if you need help..."
"I don't. From you or from her. But I appreciate your offer," he added. "I really do."
Ianto smiled. "I know. That's why I made it. How is Jonah?"
"He's... I don't even know." He sighed heavily and Ianto could hear the weariness. "I'm sorry," he said. "This isn't your problem. It's mine."
"Gwen likes to make everything everyone's problem. That's what we love about her." He shook his head and reached for his computer. "What are you going to do?"
Jack took a while before he admitted, "I don't know that either."
# # #
He poured a large glass of wine as soon as he got in and shoved a frozen chicken tikka in the microwave, loosening his tie with one hand and reaching for his phone with the other. Jack wasn't as quick to answer as he usually was, so he had just enough time to get a mouthful of wine before he picked up.
"Ianto. How can I help?"
"I'm home," he said. "Just... calling my fiancé to see how he is after what sounds to have been a pretty shitty day at work." Jack chuckled and he took another sip. "This is terrible wine, it really is."
"Cheap?"
"Three quid, I think. Wouldn't have bothered me a year ago." The microwave beeped and he winced. "You've changed me."
"Was that the microwave? Not changed you that much." Jack huffed. "What is it tonight? Chicken chow mein?"
"Tikka masala. It's a Mumtaz one, though."
"Oh wow. Gourmet dining." Jack somehow managed to roll his eyes audibly. "You really are a sophisticate. Remind me why I take you out to nice restaurants?"
Ianto raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I'm usually the one who ends up paying. And planning it." He thought back. "And you never did take me out for that movie you offered."
"Only because you could never choose one," Jack pointed out. "I did take you out for dinner. And I asked you to marry me."
"Only once or twice." His ring rested against his glass as a comfortable and familiar weight. He got to wear it every day these days. "I got the right answer on the second attempt."
"Well, you can't be right every time. How's the curry?"
Ianto popped the microwave open and checked it. "Stir and put it back in for another two minutes. Does anyone ever actually do that?"
"I wouldn't know," Jack chuckled, "because I never microwave my meals."
"Only because you missed them being invented." He couldn't stop himself smiling, and he wasn't really trying anyway. "I guess I'm lucky you missed the 70s. Prawn cocktail isn't my idea of classy."
Jack barked a laugh. "Like you'd know. Mumtaz." He sighed. "Your mother would be ashamed."
"If it's only of my cooking skills, I'm doing okay." Ianto took another sip of his wine. "How are you now?"
"Better. I think I know what to do. I don't think it's what I want to do, but it's what I need to do. I... I'm going to need you," he said, "tomorrow night."
"Can I step in sooner? As your boss?"
"No. I've got it covered." Jack sighed. "But can we just eat your terrible curry and talk about anything other than work?"
# # #
30.01.09
His phone rang on the work surface, and he dived across to pick it up before it vibrated off the edge. The sun was setting outside on a beautiful clear winter's day. "Jack. Is it done?"
"It's done. Everything..." He sighed, a shaky, heavy one. "Where are you? Are you home, or still at the office?"
"I'm home." He looked back over his shoulder. "Your dinner's in the oven, ready when you are."
Jack took a moment to take that in. "I'll be home as soon as I can. Half an hour, tops."
Twenty minutes later his key turned in the lock, and Ianto hauled himself out of his seat. His lighter was ready on the table, and by the time Jack had got his boots and coat off the candles were lit and Ianto was pouring the wine out. He picked up the first glass and turned to pass it to him, allowing Jack to pull him closer for a kiss first. "Hi." Their fingers brushed as Jack took the glass and he rested his other hand on Jack's arm. "Are you okay?"
"No. Not at all." Jack couldn't meet his eyes.
Ianto slid his hand down to lace their fingers together. "You don't have to be."
"I know." Jack reached up to cup Ianto's cheek. "And I appreciate it." He looked over at the table. "I appreciate all of it."
"Do you want to talk?"
He sighed and looked up. "Will dinner keep?"
"As long as you need." He tugged Jack to the sofa and they sat side by side, legs pressed together and hands twined in Ianto's lap. Jack tipped his head back, sighing heavily, and a comfortable silence settled over them.
When he'd finished his wine, Jack started talking. "Andy called her in. He's been supporting Jonah's mum since he went missing., and he connected it to us. And between them, Gwen and Tosh made the rest of the connections. They're good, I know they're good. I should have just told them."
"Probably," Ianto agreed.
"You said that, didn't you?" Jack squeezed his hand and smiled. "I should listen to you more often."
Ianto lifted their joined hands so he could wrap his arm around Jack's shoulders. "I do try, you know." He squeezed him. "What happened?"
"I told Ally. And then I let things run their course." He leaned his head back on Ianto's arm. "Once I pointed her in the right direction, she didn't need much help. She got it, too. Just... understood. I don't think Gwen did. They went out there to see it for themselves, and Gwen just had to take his mum out there." He took another very shaky breath. "I followed, but it was too late. They heard it."
"Oh Christ."
"Yeah." Jack lifted his head and looked at him. "I can't stop hearing it."
Ianto put his glass down and wrapped Jack in a tight hug again, and Jack burrowed into it, clinging on to him as tightly as he'd ever done.