TITLE: To Separate The Lies From Truth
PART THREE OF SERIES: The Five Elements (AU Verse)
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Jack and Ianto have some family time
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who which is unlucky because Jack and Ianto deserve so much more!
WORDS: 2400
Notes: Hey I'M BACK!
So sorry it took so long, a) Uni work took a while, then b) I didn't get much chance to write after and when I did I kept writing too much, and c) I won't lie I got distracted by another fandom for a while after its season finale.
You'll how much I've written with later chapters – when did my 2000 words per chapter limit turn to 4000! So yes there is now going to 26/27 chapters and I've written 23 of them so at least there's loads of content now.
I think I'll post every other day (expect for maybe the odd chapters with cliff-hangers)
So, as it's been so long – lets catch you up. Suzie's at Flat Holm after coming under the glove's influence, and leaving Ianto to die in the burning archives. Afterwards, Ianto found his file in his belongings, but Suzie had added bait so he ended up being kidnapped by Lisa and Tanizaki and then arrested later by Swanson, all after a massive argument with Jack where Ianto called him a liar and hypocrite.
Caught up? Great! Lots more angst to come!
Chapter 12: Howling for the Moon (2007)
14th March 2007 (3 months later)
"Is there the chance I could get an afternoon off sometime this week, sir?" Ianto asked in introduction as he entered Jack's office that morning. "It's Mica's third birthday today, and I promised to show my face at some point soon after I missed David's at the end of December."
He wasn't sure it was fair to ask after having taken a month off already since the start of the year. His relationship with Jack was almost back to what it was before he'd found the file Suzie had left as bait, but despite Jack's assurances, part of him still believed things would never be exactly the same.
He found it hard to accept Jack still trusted him the same as before, but the latter had never given him a sign otherwise.
"Three already is she?" Jack exclaimed, in no way concerned by the request. "And of course. Take all of today if you want."
"You sure?" Ianto replied, hesitantly.
Jack nodded. "The predictor's quiet and with the amount of rain out there at the moment." He pointed at the CCTV of the Plass that was displayed on the monitor in his office. "I'd be shocked if even an aquatic species would want to invade."
"I'd stop while you're ahead if I was you." Ianto replied. "You don't want to jinx it."
"And since when did you become superstitious?"
"Who says I was?" Ianto countered, playfully. "I just have enough experience to wonder whether the Rift is actually sentient and can hear us."
"Well, if I jinxed us , then I'll deal with anything that comes up." Jack assured, before ushering Ianto away from his office with his usual grin. "Go, get out of here. I'll see you tonight."
As he'd allowed Ianto to take the day, Jack felt it was only fair the others could as well and had rung around telling them to stay at home, but to keep their phones close. However, even though Jack had told them to stay away that day, the silence in the Hub was deafening as he worked in his office.
As expected there weren't any alerts as the day passed slowly, even after the rain had soon stopped, and the silence was only broken suddenly by the unexpected ringing of his mobile. He looked at the clock that was still half-buried under paperwork on his desk.
17:48
Ah. Maybe the day had passed quicker than he thought.
Pulling out his phone, he was confused when it was still and silent in his hand, but the ringing continued regarding, and eventually he recognised the sound from his other secure mobile, locked in his desk. He quickly unlocked the draw and clicked accept, thankfully before it rang out.
"Captain Harkness."
"Father."
"Alice?" The voice of his daughter made him freeze, both in surprise, but mostly worry. "Everything okay?"
He'd put his secure mobile number in the letter he'd passed along on his very first visit, in case of emergencies, and while that did mean that his letter had finally been opened, considering how they'd left their last meeting, he wasn't sure why'd she'd be calling unless something was wrong.
"Fine." Alice answered dispassionately. "It seems you made an impression at the funeral."
His fear abated, turning into confusion but also into a spark of hope. From her tone, he could tell it wasn't her he'd made an impression on and that left one other person. "Steven?"
"He's got an assignment for a family tree and recognised you in the photo albums." Alice confirmed, sighing almost regretfully. "I told him you're my half- brother."
That made sense. Alice couldn't exactly tell Steven he was his grandfather, but what surprised him the most was that Alice had actually acknowledged that he was connected to the family, at least a little, rather than just being an estranged friend. Unfortunately, he was tongue tied with what to was answer to that.
"I'll remember that for the future." He replied eventually. "Was there something he wanted to know?" He could guess Alice wouldn't have called unless it was something for Steven.
"He asked to know more about your side of the family." Alice sighed.
"I think I've got some information and old relics belonging to your mother's family somewhere." Jack said, his gaze shifting over to the porthole in the floor that led to his room. When Lucia had fled with his daughter she hadn't had the chance to pack up everything. "I can bring them around sometime tomorrow."
"No, it's fine. You can just…"
"It's no bother. I would enjoy it." Jack interrupted before Alice could come up with an excuse for him not visit. "And thanks, it was good to hear from you. I'll see you tomorrow. Promise."
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
"Uncle Yanto!"
The small voice greeted him before he'd even made it out of the driver's seat of the car. Its owner came hurtling in pursuit of the sound, and he let his cane and carrier bag drop to the floor expectantly, before sweeping the young girl up into his arms.
"A little bird told me it was someone's birthday around here." Ianto joked. "Do you happen to know who's it is?"
"Siwwy Yanto. Tis mine!"
"No!" Ianto exclaimed in fake outrage and Mica giggled in his arms.
"Did you bwing me a present, Uncle Yanto?"
"Certainly."
He lowered his niece to the ground, and handed over the bag. Mica opened it to withdraw a soft stegosaurus plush.
"To go with your other friends." Ianto declared cheerfully with a wink. His niece had an ever-growing collection of dinosaur plushies, ever since he'd brought a replica of Myfanwy for her first birthday. Not that she knew about its name-sake of course.
"What do you say, Mica?" Rhiannon urged, coming to the front door to join them.
"Fank you, Uncle Yanto." She answered, excitedly. "I go put 'im wif the rest!"
With that, Mica went rushing back into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom, clambering rather loudly on the stairs. Bunching up the plastic bag into his pocket, he took the reaction as a win. He headed closer to the house, but not before rescuing his cane from where it lay on the front path.
"How's the leg?" Rhiannon asked as he finally made it through the front door.
"It's good." Ianto answered. It rarely bothered him now. Not even the fact the burns had scarred, as after all, it just matched the rest of them scattered across his body. "Shouldn't need the cane for much longer, hopefully."
"I still don't understand how you got burnt in the first place."
"Rhi, I told you, it was just an accident at work." Ianto sighed "I can't talk about it."
"Hrmm." Rhiannon hummed but at the moment Mica came charging back from her bedroom at full speed, halting his sister's well-meant but awkward probing as she turned to chastise her daughter.
"Mica! What have I said about running down the stairs?"
"Sowwy Mamma." Mica answered. "Can I watch telly pwease?"
Rhiannon sighed. "Just until your father comes back from picking David up. He's taking you and your brother out for pizza."
"Cool!" Mica cheered, then plonked herself on the floor in front of the large TV. Sometimes Ianto swore she was three going on ten.
Ianto hovered nervously in the room, unsure what to do next. "I erm…"
"Oh, sit down, you daft sod. I've got some of that spinach dip." Rhiannon teased, pointing to the kitchen counter. "And you and me, well, we've got things to talk about."
"What things?"
"You've been seen."
A hundred scenarios raced through Ianto's head, wondering whether he'd been spotted out with Torchwood, but it wasn't as if he'd actually been out of the Hub much recently, due to his leg. That and the fact he could sense only playful intrigue from his sister meant it was probably something else.
"Susan on the corner was in town and it was her birthday, so they her and her man went to that posh French place they like in town, by the memorial,…" Rhiannon started to explain, after they'd sat. She spoke slowly as if expecting an - or even judging his -reaction. "…and there was you, having dinner, with Jack."
"So?" Ianto repeated. He remembered the night clearly, having been his and Jack's first so-called date since the incident between them. But what he didn't understand why Rhiannon was eager to know more.
"Having dinner with Jack, in a restaurant."
"So?" The reason was becoming clearer, and he realised he had yet to tell his sister about his and Jack's no less than professional relationship. "You have dinner with Tina." He tried to reason, but Rhi wasn't having any of it. At least not that easily.
"Not in town. And Susan said it was intimate." Rhiannon continued. "Said that 'no girl was getting her feet round that table'."
"Mica's hearing this." He didn't think this was a conversation for a newly three-year-old to hear, though she did seem rather distracted by the television to be actually listening to the conversation.
"She's not bothered." Rhiannon agreed, nodding towards his niece, who hadn't even turned once at the mention of her name. "Go on…"
"I um…" Ianto thought fast to think of an excuse, but in the end there wasn't really a reason to say he needed to. He closed his eyes and sighed. "He is very charming."
"You're kidding me!"
"Now stop it." Ianto returned, firmly.
"Really, though? Jack? Your boss, Jack?" His sister was shocked, but he thankfully he couldn't read anything that suggested she wasn't happily so. "I know we've met and all, and he's nice, but oh my god. I mean, since when?
"Couple years or so, physically I mean." Ianto answered. "He was hesitant at first. Didn't want to think he'd forced me into something. Like transference or something like that - because of how we met - but we know it's not that now."
"But that does mean your bender though, yes?"
Ianto shrugged. "It's different for me. It's not men, or even woman. It's just him. It's only him." Having gone missing when he was 15, and not remembering life beforehand meant he'd never really felt anything for anyone else. "I've never had to really label my sexuality before."
"Oh, no, that's fine, honest." Rhiannon assured. "And if you want it kept quiet, I swear, I won't say a word, I promise."
"Aye aye, gay boy. She says you're taking it up the arse." As it turned out Johnny had entered the house at precisely the wrong moment. "Mica, will you get off that thing and go get changed?."
Rhiannon looked down guiltily have having already spread the gossip before he'd even confirmed it.
"Thanks." He whispered, sarcastically, but he wasn't too offended, he could tell Johnny didn't mean anything by it.
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
15th March 2007
The doorbell was louder than he'd expected and made him tense. With it went his last chance to back out, then and there. But he wouldn't have. No matter what was likely to happen, he didn't want to miss the chance he might never have again. Already, he heard movement inside and the next moment, the door opened. He stood straight but nervously as he took in his daughter, who stared back unenthusiastically.
"Alice." He couldn't quite muster is usual charming smile, but he came close.
"You came." she replied impassively.
"I said I would." Jack shrugged helplessly. "May I come in?"
For a moment, he worried she wouldn't let him but the door was eventually pushed open wider, and she stepped aside to let him through.
"Steven's running late from school." Alice informed neutrally after they'd sat down at the kitchen table. She set about making a cup of coffee, her back turned from him as she spoke. "He'll be back any minute, though I still don't get why you had to bring whatever it was in person."
"They're historic items. I'd rather not trust the post office…" Jack joked, trying to ease the tension, but it fell flat. "…and I thought maybe, I could show them to him. Explain about them, in more detail?"
"And what do you get out of it?" Alice asked suspiciously, finally turning to face him as she placed a mug down in front of him.
"Other than time with my grandchild? Nothing."
"Never seemed to bother you before." Alice replied, coldly.
"You've read my letter. You had to, to get my number." Jack interjected. While the letter had been short and rather restrained, not wanting to criticise Lucia, he still had argued part of why he hadn't been around, yet it seemed it had had little impact. "Your mother was the one that didn't want me around."
Alice angered flared, no matter how much he'd downplayed it, it had still been the wrong thing to say. "Because you're dangerous!" she accused. "It was the one and only thing Mum drilled into me."
"Our job is dangerous, not me." Jack hissed back, hurt. "And your mother knew that when she signed up, but she did anyway."
A car door slamming shut outside signified Steven's return, distracting them.
"I'll give you 30 minutes, " Alice conceded, aversely. "Then he will have other homework to do."
Jack nodded positively, as the front door opened and Steven entered ahead of his father. It was only then, that Jack realised it was actually the first time he had seen Joe, other than from a distance at the funeral. He remembered the friction between the two of them that day, and wondered whether that had been solved, but still he shook hands civilly.
"Captain Jack!" Steven exclaimed, clearly surprised to see him. "Mum says you're my Uncle. I've never had an Uncle."
Jack smiled warmly, the nervousness from earlier now forgotten as his grandson took his arm and dragged him from the kitchen. He still might have a lot more work to do, but this was better than he'd expected after how their last encounter had gone.
"Hey Soldier, good to see you. I'll got some things to show you."
Notes: Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter is the start of Small Worlds... Once again sorry for the wait!
