Title: The Life and Times of Ianto Jones as Witnessed by a Distinguished Feline (9/12)
Pairing: Jack/Ianto main, but there's a whole lot of everything in the mix.
Rating: PG-13-R
Summary: Moses had a good life. In fact, he was inclined to believe he had an exceptionally good life. And then he lost Estelle. Now he has Ianto, and he thinks maybe it was always meant to be. Witness the life and loves of Ianto Jones through the eyes of one extremely observant feline.
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them...I cry a little on the inside typing those words.
Warnings/Spoilers: Oh...just about everything. Also, there is minor bashing...but it hardly counts, it's from a cat ^_^.
Authors notes: A different look into everyone's favorite Tea-boy, through a distinctly different pair of eyes. Reviews are adored and cherished and I would love to hear what everyone thinks! Enjoy.

Part Nine: Wherein There are Nightmares, Zombies, and a Wonderful Human called Martha

Moses had come to the conclusion that whatever 'peace' that seemed to be achieved in his Ianto's corner of the world was destined to not last long, due in a large part to the 'Torchwood' business and the Stomper. Even if Moses was somewhat more accepting of the Stomper of late (not that the Stomper was aware of this, as Moses was still prone to nip and hiss at the funny smelling Human should the chance arise), he knew with every inch of his feline intuition that the Stomper was a large part of the troubles in his Ianto's life. Such as the current problem that had arisen over the past few nights, after his very confused looking Ianto and the Stomper had walked into the flat, claiming to not have memory of the past two days. However, both knew that they themselves had somehow forced themselves to forget the days (which Moses found quite queer but he had long stopped questioning the habits of Humans), but seemed puzzled as to why.

Frankly, Moses didn't know why they were prying into their own decision to forget, as it had obviously been imperative that they did so in the first place; it seemed counter-productive to question and look into the 'whys and whats' afterward.

They had both furrowed their thoughts over their dilemma for most of the night, which Moses had accepted as a strange part of the Stomper's courtship ritual in light of his Ianto's very clear expectations, but had eventually given up and decided it was probably best they didn't know (honestly, if Humans had a fraction of a feline's common sense they would have come to this conclusion long ago). Moses had opted to sleep on the couch for most of night, as the Stomper's (and admittedly his Ianto's as well) insatiable mating habits once more become a normal occurrence in the flat, and did not return to sleeping until the Stomper had been absent for a day or so.

That was when they started. Well, at least that was when Moses started to become concerned. You see he had noticed, in the odd moments that his Ianto was home sans the Stomper, brief spells where his Ianto looked at his hands in mild alarm, as if a phantom thought or memory kept teasing his mind. As if he was expecting them to do something horrible (a truly puzzling thought as those hands were quite talented scratchers and opened up cans of food, thus quite appreciated by Moses). However, the spells were brief and fleeting and just as soon as they came upon his Ianto, they were gone, replaced with a smile and a shake of his head, so Moses did not overly concern himself with them.

It wasn't until the night terrors started up that he took concern to it.

Now, Moses was no stranger to his Ianto having nightmares, as it had pretty much been standard since his first nights with him since the metal 'Hub' space that was not mentioned, and while they had abated, they had not disappear. He understood that his Ianto had a good deal of baggage that most Humans did not and that while he was well adjusted for a Human who had gone through so much sadness, these terrors were unfortunately just a part of his life, something he could handle but would never truly go away. So it wasn't quite the nightmares themselves, but rather how they left his Ianto afterward. His Ianto had never started awake and then retch violently for hours, coming back and staring blankly until dawn came and seemed to snap his Ianto out of it.

And the muttering…Moses was not sure of what was said but it contorted his Ianto's normally affable and attractive face into something ugly and decidedly NOT his Ianto.

However, what was most disconcerting to Moses was that his Ianto seemed unaware during these more troubling moments, as if his mind was elsewhere, which only served to create more confusion, frustration, and sleeplessness throughout the day (and no Human was ever pleasant in those circumstances). Moses knew that the forgotten time was responsible for whatever was wrong with his Ianto's dreams, but it wasn't as if he was able to confront his Ianto about said problems (which was really what was required…his Ianto was notoriously stubborn about such silly things like asking for help). Because the time in question had happened away from the flat, Moses had no knowledge of the driving forces behind the Humans' decision to erase those days. That also meant that the other Humans would probably not be of much help either, since they were probably either also having nightmares or couldn't remember (which rendered them useless in Moses' opinion and plans).

Which basically left him with the Stomper, as Moses was positive he was too strange to have been affected the same as his Ianto. A sad day indeed, in Moses' world, when he had no one but the uncouth Human to turn to.

His plan was simple; since the Stomper had proven on more than one occasion his inability to comprehend feline mannerisms (a huge failing to be sure), Moses had to appeal to Human senses and rationalities and hope the Stomper's own intellect could rise to the occasion and figure out something was wrong with, who he thought, was his Ianto. Moses did not allow himself to give into despair at the thought that all depended on the Stomper's intelligence. After attention was garnered, Moses only had to sit back and hope his silly Human and the Stomper were strong enough to counter whatever nightmares their memories housed.

The Stomper appeared at the flat within the week and inwardly Moses rejoiced (something he would not speak of later…desperate times, desperate measures and all that riff-raff), nearly prancing from his napping spot in the living room to the kitchen. He ignored the swaggering smile and generally cocky aura surrounding the Stomper as he sexually molested Moses' Ianto (note the possessiveness, a feline trait…and sometimes a fault Moses could admit). He glanced between the two, noting the dark circle under his Ianto's eyes, but how otherwise looked quite healthy. He had to get the Stomper alone…he had to be patient.

"—with tentacles! All I can say is, never again will I eat out with a Solarian and let her order for me…speaking of forceful, witty women, you get my memo about our guest coming at the end of the week?"

"If by memo you mean the small, crumpled, sad excuse for a post-it note you attached to my computer screen which promptly fell off and nearly got buried under the mountain of files you plopped on my desk to archive then yes, I got your memo. Luckily for your less than stellar methods of keeping staff informed, I had already been notified by UNIT; everything is set."

"You know I love it when you're all organized."

"Careful, sir, I'll think that your office fetish is all you're after."

"Well, that among other things…"

Moses saw his opening and attacked. He pounced on the Stomper's shoes and bit like his life depended on it, sinking his claws in and holding on with a death-like grip. As predicted, the Stomper was not pleased and after a startled yell, he looked towards his amused Ianto and silently demanded some sort of retribution. "I don't know what you expect me to do; he won't listen to me even if I told him to stop. Shut him in the bedroom if you like."

"I swear, that cat has it out for me."

"Probably."

The Stomper scowled (which was awfully close to a childish pout from Moses' perspective), and somewhat roughly scooped Moses up, carrying him away from the kitchen and towards the bedroom, grumbling under his breath the whole way. Moses squirmed enough to not let the Stomper catch on that he was being had but was overall pleased with the initial results. But now, now came the hard part; Moses steeled himself as he was dropped unceremoniously onto the bed, looking up into the Stomper's reasonably attractive face (Moses may not like it, but he admitted attractiveness when he saw it and the Stomper was appealing), ears flicking back on his head while his tail twitched at his side. He meowed, a deep, soulful meow that implored, nearly begged (Moses wasn't THAT desperate) the Stomper to stop and try to listen.

He preened internally when the Stomper stopped mid-step and turned back, looking at Moses with an oddly baffled look on his face, torn between utter bewilderment and slight amusement. No doubt the sight of Moses willing trying to engage him confused him. Moses stepped forward and meowed again, a bit lighter but equally as loud, sitting at the edge of the bed, still looking up at the Stomper's face. The Human looked behind him, a last ditch effort in deciding whether or not Moses was addressing him (honestly, Humans) before he leaned down, hands on his knees, head cocked to the side. "Yes? You want something?"

Moses batted at the Stomper's dangling coat and meowed again.

"Ah yes, I thought we'd hit this snag. For as many places I've been, there is not another life form I've come across with your speech pattern. You're species are decidedly unique…which I suppose wouldn't surprise you, would it? Cats are so insufferably arrogant."

Moses thought it was quite ironic for the Stomper to be criticizing him for being too arrogant.

He narrowed his eyes and grumbled a growl before he voiced his annoyance. The Stomper had the audacity to laugh…it was decided, Moses would never turn to the Stomper for aid again, no matter the severity. However, he was already paw deep in his mission, he wasn't about to back out in the middle of it now. He meowed once again, this time with a hint of a growl to indicate the urgency of the situation and that it was important the Stomper at least attempt to communicate with him. He held the Stomper's stare, unflinching and unwavering in the manner only a feline could possess, and finally, something seemed to click within the Stomper's head.

"You're trying to say you need me for something, right?" Moses was pleased that the Stomper did not find it odd that he was speaking to a feline in the same terms he would speak to a Human (but then again, the Stomper had proven himself abnormal already…at least now it served a purpose).

Moses meowed in agreement.

"And, I'm guessing it probably concerns something related to you as I can't see alien beaming down warning or impending doom to you—"

Moses growled a no.

"—considering I'm not your favorite person, am I? Oh…well, I'll take that as a no. Does the apartment have a gas leak? I heard a rumor about pets being able to detect household and natural disasters from someone before…"

Moses glared at the Stomper and growled again.

"No leaks? Well that's good…being exploded is not my favorite way to go, after trial and error. Hm, perhaps something is wrong with your owner?"

Moses ignored the 'owner' comment (Humans did NOT own felines) and meowed excitedly, near giddy the Stomper had finally grasped the correct answer.

"Ianto?" Moses was pleased at the flicker of worry and concern in the Stomper's face. "I guess you would know that better than most, wouldn't you?" The Stomper adopted a pensive expression as he scanned through what had to be a mental list of what could be wrong. He frowned and nodded his head, coming to his conclusion. "Nightmares, right?"

Moses meowed and purred in agreement. The Stomper smirked and patted Moses on the head, scratching his ears briefly (which Moses grudgingly admitted he enjoyed) before flashing his usual, confident grin. He spun and left Moses on the bed, letting out a loud, rambunctious laugh when his Ianto asked if he and Moses were plotting something (because his Ianto had excellent instincts, Moses thought with a swell of pride). Moses, feeling his mission accomplished and successful curled up on the end of the bed and closed his eyes, knowing that the Stomper would do what he needed to do.

And later, Moses blinked his eyes open sleepily for a moment and watched as his Ianto talked quietly with the Stomper, eyes far away and confused, the Stomper holding him close and listening, murmuring as much encouragement and belief as needed. He yawned and closed his eyes once more, calmly pleased that all was back on its way to being well.

**

Moses' introduction with the lovely, dark-skinned Human called Martha began on a normal enough morning. He had been sitting in the window, watching the neighborhood dogs and Humans with hawk-like intensity (yes, he knew he had compared his observation with that of a bird's, but the raptors were much more respectable than the silly pigeons on the roof) and the door had opened, surprising him since his Ianto had left the previous morning and had made sure the food and water dishes were more than full. Overfilled food and water dishes was indicative of his Ianto being away from the flat for a few days, as Moses discovered after a few weeks of living in the flat (and a very bad stomachache that had resulted in a very bad surprise for his Ianto when he returned and found several of his rugs ruined). Yet, here he was, smiling and ushering in a very lovely looking Human who smiled naturally and had dark eyes that were full of humor.

Moses liked her instantly.

"So, this is your flat? It's nice! I thought maybe there'd be more antique-looking furniture…or a bit less clutter. Not that this bad or anything, I love it…I was worried you'd be a bit too neat."

"Well, sadly, all of my neat skills are focused on the Hub."

"Oh! Is this your cat?"

"That would be Moses…I sort of inherited him. Moe, play nice."

Moses spared his Ianto a superior look before he sauntered toward the lovely Human, purring deep and rubbing against her legs, his fluffy tail curling with him. She laughed in delight and crouched down to pet him, using both hands to both stroke down his back and scratch under his chin. "I think he likes me."

"I think he's a clever bastard," his Ianto replied. Moses purred deep in response and nudged the hand petting him. "Don't be fooled by that docile act, Martha, I assure you he's every bit as troublesome as Jack says, right down to the world domination plots." Moses purred in amusement at the wry tone of his Ianto's voice. The Stomper was awful dramatic.

"I don't think that's possible. The way he talks about him, you think this cat could single handedly destroy the world!"

His Ianto quirked a grin, but didn't disagree, which made the Human, Martha, role her eyes and coo to Moses how she knew it wasn't true and that he was too handsome to be a dastardly mastermind. Moses enjoyed her attentions for another couple minutes before his Ianto let out that he had found his keys (Moses was beginning to think that Humans were incapable of keeping track of their 'keys') and she, albeit reluctantly, stepped away from him. She frowned and waved good bye to Moses before twirling on her foot and facing his Ianto.

"Just think of how cute Moses would look in a UNIT cap." She grinned devilishly and Moses purred again at the slight red tint that colored his Ianto's face.

"I should've known you'd be a cat-person." He grumbled some more with a reluctant smile as she laughed and followed him out the door. Moses arched his back and went back to his windowsill, quite happy he had not been napping that morning.

**

Not long after the wonderful Martha had been introduced, his Ianto stumbled through the door once more…but this time his suit was rumpled, his face was strained and his eyes were haunted. Moses (who had been secretly playing with one of his many toys because he was a full grown cat and wasn't about to indulge his kittenish behavior where just anyone could see him) was immediately concerned. His Ianto tossed his things haphazardly on the floor and began rummaging through drawers at his desk, his hands shaking and his breathing labored. Moses, at first, feared that his Ianto was injured in some way, but after a careful inspection he determined he wasn't…there wasn't so much as a scratch on him.

Moses meowed in concern beside his Ianto, deeply worried about the young Human, adopting a submissive position, ears flicked back and eyes wide (felines were cursed, as most other on-Humans were, to sense their Humans' distress…). His Ianto paused his ragged searching and slowly turned dangerously wet eyes to Moses, a small, tragic smile spreading across his face. He reached for Moses with one hand and Moses met it with his head with an almost desperate nudge, hating that his Ianto was hurting and he did not know why. He purred deeply, hoping that his own vocalization of affection would cheer his Ianto somewhat.

"Hello Moe." His Ianto's voice was rough and suspiciously uneven. Moses rubbed his head against the listless hand even more. "Sorry but I can't really…I have to find Owen's contact information. See if he had any—any family who need to know that…"

His Ianto trailed off and resumed his messy searching. Moses backed off, recognizing that this was what was needed right now, that he needed to be near and here for his Ianto but that he had to let his Ianto do what he needed to do. Grief, Moses could see it now…grief was what had transformed his vibrant, beautiful Ianto into this shadow that seemed one hiccup away from melting to the ground in a heap of sadness. He knew grief, he knew I well, and sadly, Moses thought his Ianto knew too much of it.

Owen…the Man in White. Something terrible had happened to him…perhaps even as terrible as death. Moses felt a pang as he recalled his Estelle but settled next to his Ianto and offered his own silent, composed presence…his Ianto needed him and he would not shame his kind by failing him. He purred loudly when he felt his Ianto absently reach for him, his fingers not really petting him, rather tangling up within his fur, anchoring himself to a living being that had not, once again, left him.

His Ianto sat back from the desk, still in his suit, with a stack of folders besides him. He turned to Moses once more and laid back, the fingers moving gently down his back. Moses meowed in appreciation and sympathy for his Ianto's loss (for while he had never really gotten along with the Man in White, he knew he had been a good friend to his Ianto), nudging the hand when it reached up to scratch behind his ears. He and his Ianto stayed like that for a time, silent, except for the purrs and small meows, and together. His Ianto took a deep breath and gave him one last tickle before he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing the folders beside him. He still looked terribly sad but there was a tiny bit of light back in those eyes.

"Thanks, Moe. Don't wait up for me, I'll be back in a day or so." He gave Moses a very tiny, fragile smile but it was enough.

Moses felt like he had done what he needed…the rest would have to heal over time (as cliché as that sounded, Moses agreed with the Human sentiment in terms of grief).

However, he should have none that things would not proceed normally with the 'Torchwood' business and the Stomper around. His Ianto's more angry mutterings of 'zombies' and 'idiots' a few days later were indicative of that. Moses did not know what a zombie was, per say, but it could not have been anything good. And when the Stomper finally made his appearance (as was expected by Moses…he was getting rather predictable), face somewhat apologetic while his Ianto's looked more than a bit angry, all he could do was sit back and watch them explode (which was more like a favorite pastime of his, if we were going to be honest).

"Jack, would you like to explain to me why Owen is a walking, talking corpse and we all had to battle 'Death' tonight? And please, be specific." His Ianto was seething.

Moses felt a cackle of evil glee rise up within him as hey all turned towards the Stomper. This was going to be good.

TBC…

**

Cliffhangar??!! Well, kind of. The conclusion of this fight will be in the next chapter…because let's face it, not a lot Moses can do with Owen and the really sad bride plotline. Cheers.