Hucking Harkness

Chapter 6

Abergelli Farm, Swansea

Very early the next morning, Ianto was awake before his alarm. Taking a few seconds to remember where he was, he decided to stay where he was and enjoy the silence of the early morning until the alarm went off. He was dozing lightly when it finally beeped, so he rolled over to switch it off and started to prepare for the day. It looked to be fairly cool outside the small window, so Ianto took a spare jacket along with his tall boots and an extra pair of long socks.

Deciding this would be a good opportunity to explore the area, Ianto also put in the pair of Torchwood contact lenses while he was in the bathroom, linking up with Jack, who was the only one manning the hub at this time in the morning. Ianto didn't blame the others for making the most of the early morning to sleep- they were after all, trying to run Torchwood without his coffee. The lenses focused themselves, and Ianto blinked until he could see his own reflection staring back at him.

Gorgeous!

Ianto grinned at his reflection, before winking and walking back into the bedroom. The message faded, to be replaced by another.

Miss ur coffee -J

Ianto rolled his eyes as he read the message, knowing Jack would recognise the motion. He received a cheeky wink in response. Before Jack could get distracted any further however, Ianto brought him back to the matter at hand, exiting his sleeping quarters and creeping as silently as possible down the stairs. He took his time, making a mental note of which of the stairs creaked and where, until he could scale them in silence.

Bored! Lets go explore?!

Ianto laughed softly before exiting, he could just picture the childlike excitement that would be on Jack's face and sparkling in his eyes, at the thought of the mini adventure.

The barns were quiet in the crisp morning half-light, but it wouldn't last long, he knew. Ianto skirted the outside of each barn, looking at everything, hands deep in his pockets. It was far colder at this time in the morning than it had looked from his bedroom's window; and although Ianto could occasionally be found awake at this hour, he was usually 'weevil hunting' and chasing weevils with Jack. Neither was ever a cold past time for the pair! Besides, Jack himself radiated heat.

Tracing the final wall, Ianto walked briskly across the open space between the last outbuilding and the shed. This was the spot where Jack and Owen had registered a spike in the long range readings. Wind buffeted him as he crossed the open space, whipping away the mist his breath made on the chilled morning air. He had just reached the shed, changing gait to amble casually towards the side with the door, when someone called out.

"Hey, what are you doin'?"

Ianto turned slowly, letting his eyes sweep the various locks on the sturdy door and the surveillance camera pointing towards the entrance. "Paranoid or what?" he muttered. "Hello!" He said brightly, meeting the hazel eyes of the man in front of him. "Jones. I'm supposed to be starting today."

"Eh, righ' well, whatcha doin' here then?" Asked the man. He was dressed similar to Ianto himself and spoke with a soft Yorkshire accent.

"Just looking 'round the place. Is this the feed room?" Ianto gestured the door he'd just been looking at. It was a feasible question, feed rooms were often separate from the main stable blocks and a lock wasn't uncommon, though the heavy bolts were unusual.

"Nah, feed's tha' way." He pointed to the first door on a small block nearest them, Ianto knew there was a hay store and tack room in the same complex. "Bu' they all gets measured by Mr Llwelyn hisself or Cledwin. It's Brendan, by the way, Bren for short." He held out his hand and Ianto grasped it firmly in his own hand. "You wan'ta get started then?" Asked Bren, leading the way back up to the main stable block. Reluctantly Ianto followed, glancing back for one last view of the sturdy shed.

Jack sent him a 'Good job' message before leaving his lover to get on with the day.

Just as Owen traipsed into the hub through the cog door that morning, the rift monitor went off. The alarm on the door, clashing loudly with that being emitted from Tosh's computer. She ignored it, and chose instead to focus on what had come through. Until Jack came out of his office and bellowed across the hub.

"TURN IT OFF!" he boomed. He was not in the best mood. Having suffered coffee withdrawal for several hours, he'd finally succumbed to the draw of Starbuck's coffee and reminded himself, rudely, exactly why he had grown to hate the stuff. There was just no comparison to Ianto's brew. "Thank you!" He sighed, as Tosh finally cancelled the alarm, "Now, what have we got?" He made his way to the workstations, leaning over Tosh's shoulder to see the screen.

"It's a Rift opening. Hang on..." She hacked into the CCTV of the location and they were just in time to see what looked like a large jelly fish extract itself from the bay and expire on the water's edge. "Ooh, what's that?" queried Gwen, freeze framing an image of the creature on her own screen, in time for Owen to see it as he reached his own desk. "That!" said Jack dramatically, "was once a prized possession!" He shrugged, "Ah well, no good to the owners now, come on kids! Owen, bring a waterproof anatomy bag and some long gloves, these fellas are sticky."

- T -

By lunch time, Ianto was grateful for the huge pile of BLT and cheese and pickle sandwiches delivered to the barn. He had the early shift. Being the first up that morning, he'd been assigned to the early meals shift. Ianto had removed the contacts during his mid-morning break, because they were getting covered in dust and making his eyes itch, but aside from the short tea break, he'd been working non-stop since breakfast, which was taken after his shift's first string of warm-ups around first light.

He hadn't done too badly that morning, only being yelled at twice. Once for not using blinkers on Sunshine Sweetheart, but they hadn't been on her bridle when he'd tacked her and he'd managed fine without. The second time he was yelled at, was for not holding back Deus Velo, on the track that morning. But according to Jenny, one of the other young grooms, it was a test he'd done very well at, since the dark horse was notoriously difficult to control. "You did loads better than me! Half way round the track you managed? First day here I only managed the length of the straight. I lost it on the corner down there and he dumped me in the mud!" She giggled at the memory before joining him in filling hay nets, continuing to natter away cheerfully.

Back at the hub, Owen was dissecting the slimy and almost translucent something, which they had caught that morning. The creature left a clear, slick substance on everything it touched which Jack had said it was a prized lube on many planets in the galaxy, before he disappeared into his office for a conference call. Owen just took his word for it, and tried to keep as much of the viscous fluid off himself as possible. This revelation had the added bonus of keeping the autopsy tidier, and the smell contained a little, since Owen wasn't leaving a trail of the stuff from the autopsy room to his computer and back, like he usually did as he ran various tests. The rest of the team were grateful for this small mercy. The smell was intoxicating, and slightly alluring.

After Owen had been working on the corpse about an hour, Jack had been forced to send the team outside for some fresh air. "Go and clear your heads, I can feel the sexual tension from my office." Jack had ordered, watching them all traipsing slowly to the door, as if they were high, shaking his head at their blown pupils.

TBC

Ha ha lol That was fun to write...

Wow, I have been overwhelmed with some fantastic reviews! Thanks folks. Sorry this took so long, I really have no excuse. Anyone who cares to write the team's encounter in full, with the slimy, translucent alien that morning, is welcome to it; though I've added more than I was going to so there isn't much scope. Perhaps just a fabulous name?

Carrie; )