A Bump in the Night
Chapter Six
Eventually, and without a word, Ianto stood and pulled Jack to his feet and hand in hand they walked back the car. Only when they were inside did they speak.
"Remind me of this when things get frantic," said Jack quietly.
"Only if you'll do the same for me." Ianto considered finding the camera and taking some snaps but decided against it. A photograph could not capture the tranquillity and beauty of the place, better to leave it as a memory.
"I can manage that."
"I haven't seen you writing in your memory book this holiday," said Ianto as he started the engine. The noise was loud in the otherwise silent valley.
"I did a bit last night, after you were asleep."
"Good."
They drove slowly, unwilling to move back into the hustle and bustle of other people and real life. Joining the A4085 they headed back towards Beddgelert and the hotel. Just outside the village they saw The Saracen's Head Hotel and decided to stop. It was an old place, originally an inn and now a small hotel, restaurant and bar. It was still early, so they went to the bar and had a pint each of Old Tom strong ale while deciding whether to eat in the restaurant or the bar. As the bar meals looked so appetising, they opted for those and ordered fish and chips. Ianto had another pint with his meal but Jack returned to his usual water. More people arrived as they ate, locals as well as tourists, and the staff were busy providing drinks and bringing in food. The place was buzzing.
"We'd better get back," said Ianto when they'd sat watching the activity around them for some time.
"I guess so." Neither man made any attempt to rise, too comfortable to move. "Unless you want another drink."
"No, thanks. This is strong stuff."
"Want me to drive?"
Ianto considered this carefully. Jack had driven his car occasionally but Ianto did not like him doing so, didn't like anyone else driving it really. However, he – Ianto – had drunk quite a bit and it wasn't far to their hotel. "All right."
Jack beamed, pleased to be allowed in the driving seat for once. He had got used to being a passenger with Ianto but much preferred to drive even if it was under Ianto's eagle eye. "Let's go then."
The short journey back to their hotel was completed without incident and Jack chose his parking spot with care; in a corner of the car park partly obscured by a beech hedge. If all went well, they'd not want to draw attention to themselves when bringing down the ghost. Hefting the heavy rucksack once more, Jack led the way into the hotel and rang the bell on the reception desk. Geraint emerged from the bar.
"Good evening," he beamed at them. "I'm guessing you'll be wanting your parcel. It was larger than I imagined so we put it in the office." He gestured for them to follow him.
"Hope it wasn't an inconvenience," said Jack.
"Not at all. Here it is." A packing case a metre or so square stood at the side of a cluttered desk. "Want a hand getting it upstairs?"
"Not sure." Jack handed the rucksack to Ianto and tried the case. It was heavy but he managed to lift it unaided. "Should be okay, I think."
"We'd better take it between us," said Ianto. "Don't want to knock into the walls or anything."
Jack carried the case to the stairs where Ianto took one end and led the way slowly up the stairs with Geraint watching anxiously from below. The place had been completely redecorated the previous winter and he didn't want to have to start again. He was relieved when the two men reached the top without a problem.
-ooOoo-
"Now for the fun," grinned Jack creeping towards Ianto, his arms wide. "Time to get you excited." It was 21.15 and they had been back at the hotel for over an hour.
"Don't be daft." Ianto evaded the arms and went to stand by the window, adjusting the curtains that he had drawn earlier. "Run all this by me one last time."
"You know how it works, Ianto. We just need to attract ghostie." He reached for Ianto who sidestepped once more and ended up with his back to the bathroom door.
"Again, Jack."
"All right." Jack walked to stand in the middle of the room at the foot of the bed. "You and I get hot and bothered here on the bed. Soon as you feel that presence that's been stopping our fun, you press this red button." He held up the TV remote control that had been adapted for the purpose. "That triggers the emitters and holds ghostie in place." He swung his arm round to encompass the three small emitters – one balanced on the head of the bed and the other two on easy chairs – making a triangle with the bed inside it. "I jump up with grace and style and get ghostie in the containment box. Piece of cake."
"Didn't know we were having company," said Ianto dryly.
"Huh?"
"Grace and style. Who are they?" He kept his face straight.
"Oh very funny. I am a very graceful mover. See." Jack made some vaguely balletic moves, flapping his arms around and sticking a leg up in the air.
"You look like a dying duck," was Ianto's only comment.
"Rudi was impressed." Jack continued to prance around. "Said my leaps were out of this world."
"Rudi?"
"Nureyev." Jack stopped 'dancing' and stood in front of Ianto, his hands on the younger man's waist. "Taught me a lot of moves. A LOT of moves."
Ianto laughed and raised his arms until they wound round Jack's neck. "And here I was thinking you'd have taught him." He leant forward for a kiss.
"Well, it wasn't a one-one street." Jack initiated the kiss this time, gently pushing Ianto back until he was resting against the bathroom door. Hands started to explore under T-shirts and lips and tongues explored. "Gotta move," said Jack, stepping back towards the bed while keeping Ianto in his arms.
Ianto allowed himself to be sat on the end of the bed while Jack knelt in front of him. The kissing and fondling continued but Ianto could not relax and let himself go. He was aware of the emitters and the remote control that Jack had placed at their side, handy for use. All Jack's coaxing couldn't make him forget that this was a setup and he finally had to pull back.
"I'm sorry, Jack, this isn't working."
"Why not? What's the matter with you?"
"I don't know." Ianto shrugged. "It's … well, it's kinda weird."
"Thanks!" Jack sat back on his heels and studied the Welshman. Ianto looked cute with the little frown between his eyebrows, the slightly pursed lips and mussed hair. But there was no denying the lack of response Jack was getting to his usually irresistible moves.
"You know what I mean. Sorry."
After a moment's silence Jack asked, "So what will get you in the mood? Want me to dance some more?"
"No!" Ianto chuckled and rubbed Jack's cheek. "I need you to … to woo me."
"Woo you! You have got to be kidding."
"Nope." Ianto leant back on the bed, his arms bracing him. "You must have had some practice."
"Not really. Never needed to try very hard, who could resist me?" This was said with a grin that said clearer than any words that Jack wasn't totally serious. "Only you it seems."
"Only because this is so … unnatural."
"Okay, let's try something else."
Jack jumped to his feet and stood before Ianto, hands on the back of his head and hips thrust forward in a ridiculous pin-up pose. Then he seductively put his fingers under his T-shirt and eased it up to reveal a few centimetres of bare flesh. Slinking forward, he stood close to Ianto and raised the T-shirt a little further and then a bit more until with a flourish he removed it altogether, twirled it round and let go so it flew across the room to come to rest on top of the chest of drawers.
"What are you doing?"
"Striptease, isn't it obvious?" Jack's hands were now at his fly, idly fingering the zip. "I think you should help with this." He leant right forward, arms on either side of Ianto, wiggling his hips suggestively.
"Not working. It'd probably be sexier if you kept your clothes on." Ianto pushed Jack away and sat up. "Come and sit down," he said, patting the bed.
Dejected, Jack thumped down on the bed. "I don't know what else to do."
"Let's just talk."
"We've been doing that too much lately. And not enough of the other!" Jack fell backwards to lie down, hands resting on his bare stomach.
"Sorry." Ianto lay beside him, mirroring his pose. "I enjoyed today."
"Me too." Jack's tone softened and one hand moved to grasp one of Ianto's. "Coming away makes me realise how stressed it gets sometimes."
"Umm."
Staring at the ceiling, Ianto smiled recalling all they done in a busy day. He turned onto his side and cuddled against Jack. A minute or two later, he started drawing shapes on Jack's exposed stomach with a finger. The light movements became slower strokes, picking out the definition of his abs before the hand moved lower and unzipped Jack's jeans. Through all this, Jack lay still, a hand in Ianto's hair, only reacting when a particularly delicate fingertip made him shiver in anticipation. He decided to let Ianto find his own pace and own way of arousing them both. It took ten minutes for Ianto to strip Jack and himself and for them both to be hard and eager. He was still on top, using mouth and tongue on Jack's torso when he froze. The presence was back.
"Now, Jack!" he called, scrambling for the remote control that had got tangled in the pillows. He pressed the red button.
The three emitters hummed and particles of milippae shimmered into existence coalescing into a solid arc surrounding the bed. As the generated field grew more dense a form took shape hovering above Ianto who started and ducked away, rolling off the bed. Jack reacted with commendable speed and grabbed the containment box, a sixty centimetre cube of thin lead with a thicker layer of an alien substance called tymaline inside it. He moved towards the bed where the 'ghost' was becoming more visible. It glowed an eerie green and looked like a large, misshapen cantaloupe melon, around half a metre long and the same high. Standing on the bed, Jack edged closer holding the box open above the 'ghost' then swung it down in one swift movement and scooped up the alien. He slammed the lid closed.
"Got it!" he said delightedly, just as his foot slipped off the edge of the bed and he fell with a thud to the floor.
"Jack!" Rushing round, Ianto got to the other man's side, relieved when he saw the box was still closed, clutched in both arms against Jack's chest. Jack himself was blinking and shaking his head, obviously dazed. The relief of the moment and Jack's stupid expression set Ianto off and he went into peals of laughter, holding his middle in an effort to contain his mirth.
-ooOoo-
Midnight found the room back to rights. The emitters had been put into the packing case and the furniture returned where it belonged. The sealed containment box stood on the packing case and this was the subject of Ianto's gaze. He was sitting up in bed staring at it when Jack returned from the bathroom.
"Is it all right in there?"
"Umm?" Jack flung back the duvet and got into the bed, sitting up beside the Welshman. "Is what all right where?"
"The ghost in the box. What's going to happen to it?"
"I thought we'd try sending it back through the Rift. If Tosh can predict when one will open, we can release ghostie." He moved further down the bed until his head rested on the pillow. "Now, don't we have things to do?"
"It's always sex with you, Jack Harkness." Deciding to forget about the ghost for the present, Ianto turned off the lamp and rolled over on top of Jack. "Which is good, 'cos I want some too."
They made love urgently. Ianto was anxious about whether he would be stopped again but the containment box did the trick and the 'ghost' was powerless to intervene in the two men's pleasure. After the first coming together, they lay in one another's arms enjoying the comfort of sex in bed after having to make do with the car and gazebo. Jack lay on his back, one arm under his head on the pillow, while Ianto rested against him. Despite an early start to the day and all they had done, neither man was tired enough for sleep and they talked a little about this and that. Finally Ianto raised the subject that had been bothering him since before the start of the holiday.
"Tell me more about Martha," he began lightly. "I never thought you'd ever willingly let anyone from UNIT inside the Hub."
"She's no more UNIT that you are, not really."
"Yes she is."
"Oh she works for them, sure, but she's so much more than they'll ever know." In Jack's mind he saw her facing up to The Master, a tiny woman outwitting a megalomaniacal madman, and smiled. The Doctor knew how to pick his companions.
"How do you know her?" Ianto waited but Jack said nothing for several minutes. "Jack?" Raising his head, he saw Jack's smile and wondered if he really wanted to know the answer. The man's expression looked far too friendly for Ianto's peace of mind. Had they been lovers?
"You won't like it," said Jack eventually, meeting Ianto's gaze and recognising the flicker of jealousy which was there then gone. "Oh no, we didn't shag. She had eyes for someone else, not me."
"Really?" Ianto found it hard to believe she would not fall for Jack, everyone else did, and yet … He recalled when they had seen her off in the Plass and she had kissed Jack. Hadn't she said something about wanting to try it? That did imply she hadn't kissed him before.
"Really. She travelled with The Doctor. I met her when I … was away with him."
Ianto's expression hardened at the mention of The Doctor, the man – alien, he amended – who had not saved his friends at Canary Wharf and who obviously had a hold on Jack's heart. To hide his expression, Ianto put his head back on Jack's chest. He did not bother to say anything. Jack had made it very clear that the months he had been away were not to be discussed even though they were the source of the nightmares he still occasionally suffered.
For his part, Jack tightened his hold on Ianto's shoulders and ran his other hand up and down a bare arm. There were many things that Jack kept secret from Ianto, for the man's own good mainly but also because they did not reflect well on Jack and that mattered. Jack wanted Ianto to think well of him. There was so much in his past of which Jack was ashamed or which would hurt the Welshman. He wished that his relationship with The Doctor had remained a secret too but it had been necessary to explain a little or Ianto would never have resumed their relationship.
"She's a very good friend, Ianto. Resourceful and brave and … so many things. Must be something about you Joneses, you're all like that."
"I'm not brave."
"Nonsense! You faced up to cannibals, Weevils and Blowfish without turning a hair. AND let Owen loose on your coffee machine which requires bravery entirely above and beyond the call of duty." He chuckled when he felt Ianto shiver at mention of Owen's recent attempts at making coffee.
"Don't remind me. I nearly brained you when you suggested that."
"Hey, I saw your face. If looks could kill I'd have dropped down stone dead."
"You deserved to." Ianto pinched Jack's nipple which was handy.
"Ow!"
"Just don't make any more stupid suggestions like that."
Ianto knew that Jack had, yet again, successfully diverted him from a contentious subject – namely Martha Jones – and onto less difficult topics. He accepted it although he still hoped to find out more about the woman. Jack had not introduced any other friends to him or the rest of the team - if one ignored John Hart, as Ianto automatically did - which made Martha unique. Idly, Ianto wondered whether there were others, in Cardiff and elsewhere, to whom Jack was close. He thought there ought to be, considering how long Jack had been living in the area, and rather hoped there were; he deserved the comfort of friends even if they could only be transitory. Did he, Ianto, mind if they were kept secret from him? Sometimes, he admitted, in those moments when he wanted to encase himself and Jack in a time bubble that nothing and no one could penetrate and they could be together forever. But the rest of the time, which was most of the time, Ianto accepted that knowing everything about Jack would take away some of the man's appeal. And, he admitted to himself, if Jack was totally open and honest then Ianto would feel obliged to reciprocate and he was not prepared to introduce him to Rhiannon and Johnny just yet – if ever!
Ianto rapidly brought his thoughts back to the here and now and concentrated on what Jack was saying.
"… fingers will be a problem. I just hope we're over the worst."
Ianto had no idea what Jack was talking about and try as he might he couldn't make sense of the snippet he had heard.
"Do you think we are?" Jack prompted.
"Umm …"
"Were you even listening to me, Ianto Jones!"
"Sorry, I was thinking of something else." He raised his head again and smiled sweetly, wondering whether to divert Jack's attention with some foreplay.
"I hope it was important." Jack pouted sulkily. "I was saying," he continued deliberately, "that Owen will have problems with two broken fingers. Gwen was helping with the autopsy when I was in the Hub and I know Tosh has done the same. But I think Owen has accepted his … situation."
"As best as anyone can," agreed Ianto, chin resting on Jack's chest so he could look into the other man's eyes. "But do you really want to be talking about Owen when we're alone, in bed with nothing to stop us … dabbling?"
"Absolutely not."
-ooOoo-
Friday morning was overcast with a fine drizzle. Looking out of the window, Jack could not see the top of the mountains for the wreaths of mist; it was lucky the weather had not been like this when they had climbed Snowdon. He smiled at the memory of the trek to the top, the three girls who had been their companions and the fantastic views. He may complain about being made to climb up but it was certainly a day he wanted to remember. He turned back to the hardback exercise book open on his knee and added a few more notes, anxious to capture the day so that he would be able to look back on it in the years to come and remember it clearly. Next, he wrote of the journey on the railway and the trip through the slate caverns which reminded him that he had taken some snaps of Ianto in a hard hat. Getting up, he retrieved the camera from the top of the chest of drawers and scrolled through the images until he came to them: he wanted copies of these to go in his book. Thinking of the caverns also reminded him of the sweet shop and he rummaged through the small paper bags until he found pear drops and popped one in his mouth.
"Stop making so much noise," came from the bed.
Jack sat next to the supine Ianto who had his eyes tight shut. "How can paper rustling wake you up?"
"It's not the paper, it's the sucking."
"Want one of your own?" Jack asked, leaning down to kiss the other man's lips.
"No." He pushed Jack away and finally opened his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Half six."
Ianto groaned and turned over, burying his face in the pillow. Jack rose and went back to the chair by the window. He wrote a little more in his book then closed it and sat looking out at the grey day. Maybe the drizzle would stop before they left then Ianto would be more willing to stop at Portmeirion. It would be the perfect way to end the holiday. Reaching for his mobile, he flicked it open and pressed speed dial for the Hub. It rang five times before it was answered.
"What!"
"Good morning to you too, Owen." He spoke quietly so as not to disturb Ianto if he had managed to get back to sleep.
"What do you want, Harkness? Haven't you buggered me up enough without pestering me with calls in the middle of the night?"
"It's gone seven," Jack pointed out patiently. "Anything to report?"
"Nope. Not since you LAST rang me."
"That was last night."
"It was this morning, Jack. Two o-bleeding-clock to be precise!"
"Oh yeah."
"Yeah! Just to tell me you and Teaboy had been screwing like rabbits all night! Not appreciated."
"I called to tell you we'd caught the energy being," said Jack seriously but the chuckle in his voice was unmistakable. He HAD called to gloat about his and Ianto's night of uninterrupted sex.
"Humph!"
Jack waited by Owen did not say any more. "So, it's been a quiet night then. For you."
"Yeah. Even the Weevils stayed home for once."
"Good. We may be a bit later back than we thought, early afternoon. That okay?"
"Suppose. Tosh wants to talk to you about some of the stuff coming out of old Parker's house and Gwen said something about needing Ianto."
"What for?"
"I don't know! I've tuned her out. Sick of hearing about wedding dresses and all that crap. Maybe she wants him to help pick out the flowers!" Owen's malicious laugh came through loud and clear.
"I'll get him to call her later. And Tosh can call me if she needs an answer before we get back. Anything else?"
"Nah."
"Okay. We'll be back this afternoon then."
"Right." Owen abruptly ended the call.
"And goodbye to you," murmured Jack as he closed the phone.
"Who have I got to call?" Ianto was lying still, on his right side facing away from Jack, and had obviously not been asleep after all.
"Gwen. She wants you for something." He got up, put the mobile on the side table and got back into bed.
"Now?"
"No, she's not in yet." Jack moulded himself against Ianto's back. "I need you though, right now."
"Too bad."
"What? You'd make me wait?"
"Uh huh." With his face half hidden by the pillow, only Ianto knew he was smiling. He liked playing hard to get every so often; Jack feeling sorry for himself was funny. And usually led to something … inventive.
"You're a hard man, Ianto Jones." A hand snaked over the Welshman's hip and made straight for his groin. "Umm, not quite hard enough though." The hand started on a course of action designed to rectify this perceived deficiency.
It was an hour later before the two men rose, washed and dressed. Both of them were feeling very smug – and satisfied.
The boys will be heading back to Cardiff in the next, and final, chapter.