Torchwood: Divergence
Book Two: Adferiad
Chapter 40
"Jack?!"
"Oh, good," the American's voice sounded from the Autopsy Lab. "I never can put band-aids on one handed."
"What happened?" Ianto demanded, hurrying down the stairs to find the older man having used disinfectant and gauze to clean up a small but ugly cut across the tip of his right index finger where part of the nail was torn away.
"Didn't quite yank my hand back fast enough when Weevil-slut hit the door," Harkness grimaced, watching as the twenty-six-year-old checked the wound for contaminants before coating it with antiseptic cream and carefully covering it with one sticking plaster that he then secured with a second one around the digit. "Got my finger pinched between the slot plate and the tiles when the springs snapped it into place."
"Then Jerry gets to live a little longer," his Welshman frowned, turning automatically to start cleaning up the used supplies. "But we may still have to put her down. When I got close to the cells and noticed the blood on the floor, the other three hit the far corner moaning. Jerry snarled and rammed the door, even with me standing right next to it. Whatever's wrong with her, I don't think it has anything to do with breeding."
"If she's even aggressive with you, I'd have to agree," Jack nodded. "I take it you were already contemplating her demise."
"If I'd come up here and found you Weevil mauled in any way," Ianto stated bluntly, his expression deadly serious and his grey-tinged blue eyes unusually dark and cold. "As soon as I was sure you'd be okay, Jerry would've been on a morgue slab."
There was silence between them for a moment as the younger man finished cleaning up and turned to face his companion once more. His general demeanour indicated he was expecting to be lectured on controlling any violent impulses, or otherwise scolded. Instead, Jack reached over with his uninjured hand and gently cupped it against the Welshman's right cheek, and met his uncertain gaze.
"You've told me before, that as a Scieron Guardian you're here to protect me and what we both cherish," the former Time Agent said quietly. "But the part about you protecting me just never sank in till now. It explains why you feel guilty every time I take damage on a mission, why you take risks to shield me. There's no reason for you to bear any blame when I'm reckless and pay for it you know. And even though I don't ever want you getting hurt because of it, the fact that you're looking out for me means a lot."
"I know we try to capture containable aliens alive whenever possible," Ianto murmured, still seeming rather unsure of the situation. "And I'm behind that same as before. But if they hurt you, or worse yet manage to kill you… all bets are off. They're either going to be permanently disabled or just plain dead. Whichever way, nothing and no-one is getting off unscathed if they do you damage, Jack."
"Even the team?" the Captain pressed, wanting the whole truth out in the open.
"Depends," Ianto shrugged, his expression growing pensive and his breathing accelerating. "If they're being controlled or under duress, they'll likely get by with a minor concussion or broken bone, depending on what it takes to stop them. But if they knowingly, willingly, purposefully hurt or kill you and aren't under your direct orders to do it, I may not kill them but they're likely to wish that I had. And if it's Johnson… no promises regardless. I still owe her for the two bullets, the bomb, the cell full of concrete, holding your family hostage, and forcing your hand with your grandson."
Harkness didn't have anything to say to that blunt presentation of the truth, instead he just put both arms around the young Welshman, pulled him close and waited for him to relax. The Changeling hid his face against the older man's neck, hesitantly returned the embrace with a shuddering sigh.
"I'm sorry if I'm overprotective," Ianto whispered, not wanting his partner to be angry with him or feel smothered. "I try not to be, but I can't help it."
"You don't have to apologise," Jack murmured, bringing one hand up to rub the back of his lover's neck and stroke his hair. "I'm the same with you. Hell, I committed genocide because of it. It's just kind of a surprise to be on the receiving end."
"Genocide?" the twenty-six-year-old in his arms breathed uncertainly, then shivered. "You tracked down the 456, didn't you?"
"Every single one of the self-serving, illegal drug addicted bags of snot," Harkness stated flatly, holding his Welshman a little tighter. "Spanned five galaxies and hit their homeworld just to be sure. Earth wasn't the only planet they'd been blackmailing, and you'd be surprised at the celebrations when they were gone."
"You can't get in trouble for that, can you?" the still somewhat tense Archivist he was holding asked worriedly.
"First someone would have to protest their eradication," the Captain explained with a tiny shrug. "Then they'd have to be able to prove it was me. Considering it's been at least a full year now; I don't think they've been missed. And honestly, they probably would have been wiped out by any number of races a long time ago if it weren't for their biological warfare abilities. Besides, their own killer harmonics are what destroyed them. I just happened to turn them right back on the aliens I found, using the wave pattern we isolated here on Earth when they killed Clement MacDonald. Ran it through a converted biometric sound amplifier with a sympathetic resonance broadcaster… neither of which we had access to in London."
"So, no-one will try to take you away for like war crimes or anything?" Ianto prodded, obviously not entirely reassured.
"Nope," Jack half-smiled, shifting to kiss the younger immortal on the ear. "You're stuck with me."
"Good," the young Guardian sighed, cuddling close to his partner's chest like a child after a nightmare.
"Hey," Harkness prodded quietly after several minutes. "Why don't you get some fresh coffee going before Gwen and the clan show up?"
"That reminds me," Ianto stated softly, giving the older man a tight squeeze before stepping away. "Let me set the coffee to brew in the side pot, then I need to go grab something from my box in the wardrobe."
"Okay…" the Captain shrugged, following his lover out of the Lab and into the work area. "But I'm still wounded for at least the next ten or fifteen minutes, so I'm going to occupy the couch and rest my poor finger."
"I'll come kiss it better before I head for the bedroom," Ianto half-smiled, jogging up the steps to the kitchenette. "And before you suddenly manifest pains anywhere more entertaining, remember that we're expecting mixed company."
"Wow," Jack chuckled. "The thought had only just crossed my mind, and you shot me down in flames before I could even say a word. I obviously need to up my game."
"You can up anything you like," the young Welshman countered after a brief moment of bean grinding. "As soon as we've got the base to ourselves again."
He trotted down from the kitchenette a few minutes later, came over to carefully put his lips to the other man's bandaged finger as promised, then spared a more substantial kiss for his mouth before smiling and heading toward the office. Fun and games would just have to wait.
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AN: So, now Jack understands a little bit more of what Ianto being a Scieron Guardian means and why he was chosen. He's there for Jack… the rest of the planet and Universe at large comes second.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM