Author's Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2011 EVERYONE! First of all, my apologies for the lengthy delay in updating this story. I've been working updating my other current fic posted, as well as starting work on a couple of other Torchwood projects … sorry! But I'm back now and ready to go for the New Year, updating my current fics including this one! Enjoy and I won't be so tardy with my updates … especially since we've moving into the final chapters of this story!
Chapter 12
To say that Ianto was teetering on the brink of insanity, was to say the least! Ever since he had woken up and not felt the presence of John, he had been beside himself with worry, anxiety, anger and frustration ... in turn, he spread that blanket of negativity all around him.
John's friends had, one by one, reached the end of their tethers with him, restraining themselves with great effort, not to do Ianto any bodily harm. As tempting as it was to act upon their own frustration at Ianto's over-the-top reaction to John's absence, they all knew that upon their leader's return, they risked being dealt some serious physical harm if Ianto was hurt.
The only member of the team who could bear to be around Ianto and put up with his frantic antics, was Cookie – their cook … well … the one who was least likely to dish up food that was totallyinedible. He was a big, tubby bear of a man with a heart of gold and he felt sorry for Ianto. He knew how difficult it was for Ianto because he had spent some time on John's planet. He had seen far worse reactions amongst John's people when partners were separated, so during this period, he swallowed down his own frustrations with the young man and tried to be his friend, his confidante.
The rest did their level best to avoid Ianto as much as possible … but they did have to give Cookie some respite now and then. They argued amongst themselves about whether to 'lock him up' for his own good … okay, for their good … in one of the cells in the dungeon. But they knew they'd face John's wrath when he got back and it wasn't worth the risk. He could turn up at any time without warning and they wouldn't be able to move Ianto back in time … he'd probably complain to John anyway, so that wasn't really an option.
V'dahna spoke up, "I could seduce him into shutting up … wear him out so he's too exhausted to worry about John. Or even care about John. You all know how gifted I am in this area!"
Cookie and Redden just rolled their eyes at her. "He said we couldn't play with him so if you want to risk losing some of those pretty limbs of yours because you broke his toy … go right ahead!" said Redden dryly.
V'dahna scowled at him. She pouted, "But he's driving us all crazy! If he's not yelling, then he's howling; if he's not tearing around the place like an idiot, then he just drops into a ball, wherever he is, and sobs his heart out … loudly!"
Another round of arguments started amongst them as to how best to deal with Ianto, when into the room walked the very subject of their conversation … well, he slumped into the room. Worried eyes turned to watch his progress; muscles tensed ready to spring into action if appropriate.
Ianto looked … awful. In the relatively short time that John had been away, the young Welshman had managed to lose weight to the point where his ribs were protruding from his torso. His normally full face had sunken in; red-rimmed, swollen eyes stood out from dark circles that formed a stark contrast on his very pale skin. Not good … not good at all.
Cookie rose from his seat and walked slowly towards Ianto. Pain-filled, bleary blue eyes peered into the cook's face and cracked lips that were encrusted with dry blood opened as Ianto croaked one word, "Water", before shuffling over to the couch and flopping down. Cookie shook his head sadly. We have to do something … not just for John's sake, but also for Ianto. He is lost … so lost.
Cookie nodded at Ianto and slipped into the kitchen, returning a few seconds later with a tall glass of chilled water. Ianto winced as the cold lip of the glass touched on a painful crack in his lips. He slowly drank down the cool liquid, his eyes closing in appreciation. After draining the glass he turned to Cookie with sad eyes and ask, "Any news?". Cookie shook his head, knowing it would not help to add words to his gesture. He glanced over to his companions still speaking in low voices at the table and sighed.
Wouldn't bloody hurt one of them of come over and sit with Ianto. Just because he's not coping with John's absence, is no damn reason to ostricize him. He's enough of an outsider without making him feel ten times worse. John won't be happy at how they've treated him … not happy at all!
Ianto spoke in a low voice to him, as if afraid the others would hear him. "Do you have any kind of cream or balm I could use on my lips, Cookie? They're really starting to hurt now … guess this dry atmosphere just sucks up the moisture."
Cookie answered, "Of course! I should have bloody well thought of it! You're not acclimatised to our planet. I tell you what … it'll be more than your lips that need moisturising. I'm pretty good at giving massages, so why don't we nip down to your quarters and I'll rub some oil into you. We can grab some lip cream from the medical kit on our day down? We'll put something on those splits first … something that will close them up. How does that sound?"
Ianto gave Cookie a shy smile, grateful that someone actually seemed to care about him. He nodded and rose awkwardly from the couch and stiffly followed Cookie out of the room, head cast down. His muscles ached from him spending nights alternating between being curled up in the foetal position and thrashing around wildly on his bed. Depression had set in because he was not aware that this was one of the side-effects of being parted from John.
The group had heard every word that passed between Cookie and Ianto, alert for any sign that Ianto was going to flip-out again. They maintained that status, even when it was obvious that the young Welshman had slipped to the other end of the scale … depression. Cookie supported Ianto with a gentle grip on his shoulder, leaning the young Welshman into his ample side as they left the room.
Redden wore a worried expression on his face and he expressed it to the team. "We should have kept a better eye on him, rather than just leaving Cookie to it. He's worse than any of us realised … he's gone down in such a short space of time. John is not going to like this!"
"We tried!" cried Jan-Torag indignantly, her tentacles waving agitatedly on her back. "We all tried, but only Cookie could get him to calm down! John should have warned us how Ianto might react, but he didn't, did he? He just got you to drug him, then he buggered off!"
"Doesn't alter the fact that John will be pissed at us when he says what condition Ianto is in!" hissed Redden in an angry tone.
V'dahna snorted, "Well Cookie has just taken Ianto down for one of his special massages … and he's gonna clean him up, so what's the problem?"
Redden's hands tightened into fists at his friend's callous attitude. "John will have a fit when he sees how much weight Ianto has lost! He'll blame us and he'll be right to do so. We spent so much time trying to avoid Ianto and not enough time caring for him!"
"Hey!" protested Jan-Torag, "It was Cookie's job to feed him … make sure he ate. Our job was to see he didn't destroy anything … hurt anyone … or hurt himself! We did our part!"
Redden's eyes rolled in frustration. "John expected our care of Ianto to include companionship … which no-one except Cookie, provided for him! We should have made the effort to get to know him … talk to him. The bond between him and John is causing a lot of pain for Ianto. We all know that's the reason for his erratic behaviour and I'll tell you this much … I've seen worse reactions with a broken bond than Ianto has exhibited."
What started out as rational conversation among the team, quickly degenerated into a noisy arguments as tempers flared, accusations were thrown and veiled threats implied … none of them realising until after the 'free-for-all'bar style fight that ensued, the only reason they were all upset with each other was because they all felt guilty. And a little afraid of John's reaction when he returned.
Just at that moment, when a brawl was about to erupt amongst the hotheads, a bright flash of light filled the room, causing them to blink and stumble as they all realised what that meant … John was back!
As they blinked to clear their eyes of the black spots and bright, tiny stars floating before their vision, two figures appeared, dark against the backdrop of light.
John's voice broke out cheerfully as he stepped out of the light, pulling the young man at his side by the arm. "Hey everyone!" Then he frowned, taking in the aggressive stances of his team. What the hell is going on? And where's Ianto?
A steely note crept into his voice as he glared at each person in front of him, his eyes sending them an all too familiar warning that their explanation had better be good. "So … what's happening here? If it's a free-for-all, you could have waited until I returned! You know I don't like missing out on any action. And … where is my Ianto?"
Redden stepped towards their leader, squaring his shoulders. "Just the usual disagreements between us, John. You know what we're like when we're bored. And your Ianto is being cared for by Cookie. I don't need to tell you what he's been like while you've been away. And … who is this?"
John relaxed his defence stance and grimaced. Yeah … I know what it's been like for Ianto. I haven't fared any better than him from this separation. It's taken me ALL my willpower not to jump on this Ianto!
John smirked at them all and answered, "This is Ianto Jones, an alternate Ianto Jones from an alternate Universe. And I can tell you this much … it was one helluva wild ride there and back! By the way, Redden, you did a fantastic job of tweaking my VM for me! Exceeded all expectations!"
Redden grinned with pleasure at the unexpected compliment from his leader. Yeah … I did do a damn good job! Maybe I should set up a sideline in electronics … at least it'd give me a steady income.
A-Ianto cleared his throat. All eyes turned from John, back to the tall, handsome and well-built young man at his side. He looked like John's Ianto but … he was so much more. Confidence shone from his stunning blue eyes, almost cockiness. And he certainly looked like he could handle himself in a fight. Just the kind of young hunk who would under any other circumstances, have caught John's attention.
John smiled as he looked up at the young man. "Okay team, this is Ianto Jones. This is my team _"
The door suddenly burst open and a very dishevelled, near naked Ianto Jones stood framed in the doorway, his mouth open and stormy blue eyes filling with tears as he stared longingly at John, frozen for a moment in time while he assured himself that the man he loved was really there in front of him. Hovering just behind him, Cookie looked over Ianto's head at John, relief and anger warring within his deep, brown eyes.
"John!" gasped Ianto hesitating momentarily, then ran into the room throwing himself at his Captain … his other Captain, sobs issuing from his throat and tears soaking John's shoulder and neck. John's arms embraced the taller young man in his arms, hands rubbing soothing circles down his back as he murmured comforting words to him.
Then John turned his head, his hand gently coming up to turn Ianto to him, and placed a soft kiss on the Welshman's cracked lips, gentle and reassuring him. Ianto pulled back slightly and despite the pain, his eyes flickered open and he gazed with naked love at John, before crashing his lips against John's and pouring all his heart into it. John groaned at the onslaught of love invading him, penetrating every part of his being as their bond flared into life.
The two men stayed locked in their tight embrace and passionate kiss for several moments … to the point where everyone else in the room began to feel uncomfortable and averted their eyes. Except V'dahna who scowled at the pair … and A-Ianto, who just watched in amusement.
Finally V'dahna couldn't stand it any longer and yelled out, "Oi! That's enough you two! Break it up!" And she moved forward to prise their bodies apart. Until John's head snapped up to glare at her. She backed off. Ianto groaned at the interruption, his eyes scanning over his lover and fingers gently running up and down the smaller man's body … checking for any injuries.
John disentangled himself from Ianto, an apologetic look in his eyes as he turned back to the team. "Okay, so this is the other alternate Ianto", he indicated turning to face the other man at his side, "and he's agreed to come with me back to Earth. Hopefully the Prince won't be able to resist him and the problem will be solved."
The team nodded in acknowledgement and as John had stilled failed to do so, introduced themselves to the Ianto who was not in John's arms. V'dahna spoke up, spite in her voice, "How could the Prince resist him? Look at him! He's gorgeous … built like a god … so much better than the other Ianto! Can I play with him before you both leave?"
A warning growl issued from John's throat as he turned a withering gaze upon V'dahna. Ianto looked at her, blue eyes reflecting the hurt inside and cheeks burning with humiliation at her needless barb. V'dahna cast her head down, regretting her cruel words. Her team also glared at her … especially Cookie who just wanted to walk over and shake the stupid woman … very hard! She mumbled an apology.
John looked over at the other Ianto, who had a speculative gleam in his eye as he ran his gaze slowly up and down V'dahna … then repeated this action with Redden. V'dahna was oblivious to his scrutiny as her head was still cast down. Redden noticed the young man's cool appraisal and didn't like it at all. His gaze shone with disdain as he stared into his admirer's eyes … making it patently clear that the young man's interest was not wanted! He received a nonchalant shrug in return.
Unperturbed by Redden's rejection, the young man remembered the gorgeous Prince whose eye and heart he hoped to win, a smirk on his face as he mused. Yes … I will definitely be upping my game in order to win that man! If he fell for my rival, well, it won't be long before I have him eating out of my hand! Oh yes … I fully intend to win … and keep that handsome Prince!
Ianto turned and looked at his alternate. He groaned inwardly as he realised V-dahna was right … the young man may have identical features to him … sort of … but he was so much more. Muscles outlined sharply beneath his tunic when he moved; hair was longer and casually styled giving him the look of a model; his stance was confident … almost arrogant. Overall – he really was more!
John's touch on Ianto deepened, sending reassurance to him that his eyes could only see one Ianto … the one here in his arms. Ianto melted back into John's arms, warmth flowing through him as their bond strengthened.
V'dahna rolled her eyes, then looked up and asked the new man, "What should we call you? And where are you from?"
The young man answered casually "In view of the fact that there's two of us here and you're all used to calling him Ianto, I suggest you call me Jones. That's what the other miners used to call me. We all referred to each other by our last names. Forgotten the name of the moon I was on now. We all did because it was the usual kind of nondescript satellite that most moons are. It was one of three orbiting Canesta, an agricultural world supplies food for all the planets in the Ragorian galaxy. Originally I came from Mekkan on the outer edge of that galaxy. Not much different from the moon I was on … stark and barren. A highly mechanised society because nothing grew well under the harsh sun of Crizellan. Well … it is in my Universe."
V'dahna and the rest of the team nodded, then Cookie gestured to Jones, inviting him to sit down with the team at the table as he said, "I'll prepare you some refreshments. You probably need it after your space-hopping so just relax. Rest awhile. I'll sort out suitable quarters for you soon."
Jones nodded enthusiastically as he followed them all over to the table, then asked, "Do you have something I could drink? Preferrably alcoholic?"
Cookie grinned at him and replied, "I'll give you something to tide you over til we have our main meal, with spring water to wash it down. This planet is very hot and dry … sucks the moisture out of you, even though we've got good air conditioning here. You need to hydrate first while you adjust to it. I'm guessing the moon you were on was pretty cold. We'll all have good potent drinks later on with dinner."
Jones scowled at having to wait, but accepted Cookie's words. Then he grinned at the large cook and took a seat next to Redden, determined that even if the man wasn't interested in sleeping with him, he would make the man at least like him … if only a little. And there was still the chance that the sexy female alien who wanted to play with him … might just get her wish before he and John left.
"Hey …" Ianto said as he pulled back from John's embrace a little. "Are you okay?" John returned Ianto's anxious gaze of concern and affection with a confident smirk.
"Of course I am! You had some doubts?" he asked the young Welshman, his voice cocky and arrogant and he cocked an eyebrow at him.
Ianto shook his head slowly, "I _ I was just worried about you … and I missed you." Then he leaned into the Captain's embrace, strengthening his own hold on him as he allowed John's pheromones to permeate his whole being.
"Okay … soooo … care to explain to me why you're nearly naked, Ianto? Not that I object! It's just not like you to wander around in such a state of undress when there's people around." John then cast a lingering gaze down Ianto's body … then he stiffened. His eyes widened as he realised what he was looking at. The pallor of Ianto's skin pale with whiter patches where it stretched over protruding ribs.
"What the hell, Ianto? How the hell did you lose so much weight in so short a time? What? Were you fasting or something?" John demanded, more angry at the state he was in rather than at the young man himself.
Ianto jumped in fright, then wilted beneath John's horrified gaze, slumping in humiliation. "I wasn't coping well without you, John. Couldn't eat … couldn't sleep. Ran out of places to clean. I _ I'm sorry, John. Should have looked after myself better."
John grabbed Ianto fiercely into his arms, pulling the young man close to him, breathing in his scent. "Hey, shush, baby. Didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried about you. You look like shit Ianto!"
A wry grin crossed Ianto's face as he said, "Thanks for the affirmation, John. With sweet talk like that, I can't understand how you didn't bring a harem back with you!"
John returned Ianto's grin, but the worried look in his eyes remained. He hadn't expected the Welshman to melt down as badly as he did. Then his eyes hardened as he turned towards his team. He yelled out to them, anger in his tone, "So! This is how you looked after Ianto while I was gone?" Silence greeted him as his team turned to him, all conversation at a halt.
"John!" Ianto exclaimed, not wanting the Captain to bawl out his team, "It's my fault I'm in this state, not theirs. They tried to _"
"They didn't try hard enough!" John retorted, his steely gaze remaining fixed on them as he waited for their response. When no-one ventured an answer, John gestured for Ianto to wait where he was, then he stalked over to the table and stood glaring down at them, hands firmly braced on his hips.
Cookie spoke up, hesitantly, "We're sorry, John. You're right, we should have done more."
Redden spoke up, looking John in the eye and said, "No, Cookie. You were there for Ianto the whole time. It's the rest of us who didn't do enough … just left him to you. You're right, John, we should have done more."
Grateful at Redden's honesty, but still bristling with anger, John addressed them all. "There will be consequences, I promise you that! Except for you, Cookie. How come I'm not surprised that you would be the one to help him?"
Ianto shuffled over to stand by John, gently reaching out to turn his face towards him, sadness coating his words, "John. Please. Don't do anything to them. Please!"
John turned to Ianto, reaching out to pull him to his side. "I trusted them to look after you, babe. What kind of leader would I be if I just let this slide?"
After searching John's eyes carefully. Ianto replied with assurance, "The kind of leader I would look up to. Respect. Because I see … yes, there it is … I see a man who commands his team with integrity and knows when it's right to instil discipline … and when it's right to let things go."
John sighed deeply, feeling his lover's anxiety in his plea. How can I impose my unique kind of 'discipline' now after what Ianto has just said to me in front of my team? Damn! Hmmmm. First I need to deal with Ianto, check that Jones is okay for the night, then come back and see my team … alone.
John turned to the others and said in a tight voice, "I'm going to spend some time with Ianto. See to Jones' needs. Then I'll be back!" He nodded at Jones, then slipping his arm around Ianto's waist, proceeded to lead him out of the room.
An audible groan escaped from V'dahna's mouth. The rest of the team grimaced in acknowledgement of it. They all knew John wasn't going to let this go … there would be consequences. Redden shuffled in his seat.
Cookie broke the tense atmosphere by rising out of his chair. "I'll fix you something light to eat" he told Jones with a small smile then walked over to the kitchen. Jones nodded, feeling awkward now. Sensing this, Redden put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cards.
"Who's up for a game? Do you gamble, Jones?" he asked with a grin, hoping to dispel some of his earlier ill-will towards the young man. Jones grinned back at him and nodded, pulling a money pouch out of his pocket.
Murmurs of approval and asset went around the table, as money pouches and wallets started to appear on the table while Redden nonchalantly dealt out cards to them all, explaining the game and it's rules to Jones. By the time Cookie came back to the table with Jones' snack, they were into their second round. He grumbled a bit about 'impatient people who couldn't wait for him' then pulled up a chair and slipped a hand into his jacket to retrieve his wallet, eyes keen with anticipation for the third round.