Doomsday: Post Apocalypse
a Torchwood story
by RoadrunnerGER
Dislaimer: Oh, really! They're the BBC's.
Summary: Ianto comes to Cardiff for a week to help with the archives, but is it as simple as that? Jack/OC, Jack?Ianto
Suspense/hurt/comfort – T – Ianto Jones & Jack Harkness
A/N: Thank you for your comments, the favs and alerts. I hope you had a great Easter holiday. I used the time to polish some writing, so here's the next chapter. Special thanks to my beta mandassina! Enjoy!
Chapter 33 – Collective concern
Nagging doubts ate away at Jack. After spending a long night trying not to call Ianto or Owen, he felt like he had been spewed out by a garden shredder. Ever since his life had changed so drastically after a fight on a satellite gamestation a long time ago in the future, he did not need as much sleep as he used to, but now he was bone deep tired. Ianto is my responsibility, he told himself over and over again and still could not convince himself that it was more important to call and assure himself of the Welshman's wellbeing than it was to respect Ianto's wish for privacy.
His desire for fresh coffee led Jack out of his office and up to the kitchenette on the gantry. As so often before, though, he could only shake his head at the professional coffee maker that would never produce drinkable coffee when Jack tried his luck. Still yearning for a shot of caffeine, he leaned on the railing and looked down at the central Hub, willing the proximity alert to sound and announce Ianto's arrival. However, when it finally rang and the cog door rolled open it was Owen who trudged in. Slowly, he made his way over to his desk where he dropped in his office chair.
"Good morning," Jack hollered but got only an unintelligible grunt in return.
Muttering to himself with dismay, the medic went through all of his desk drawers and finally produced a pill bottle. The captain watched him look around in search of something, until Owen's gaze drifted upstairs and met Jack's.
"Isn't the teaboy in yet?" the medic called up to him.
Jack bristled on Ianto's behalf.
"Don't call him that," he scolded, but Owen ignored him.
"Do we have coffee?"
"Coffee grounds, yeah," Jack replied and watched Owen angrily push the start button on his computer to fire it up. Aside from that, the medic did not look like he intended to work any time soon. Instead, he stood with an effort and scuffled to the stairs.
Hung over? Jack mused. As Owen approached the kitchenette, his nose confirmed his suspicions. Oh, yeah. Seems to have been a long night with some heavy drinking. Knowing that he could hardly claim the moral high ground after recent events, Jack chose to ignore it.
"I have no fucking idea how that bloody thing works!" Owen complained and hit the coffee machine with his flat hand. "Even if I tried, the ruddy thing wouldn't spit out coffee!"
At that, Jack had to fight to prevent himself from laughing. It was a pity that none of them could work the machine properly, which would result in regular Starbucks runs in order to sate the team's need for caffeine.
Hopefully, not that soon, Jack sighed inwardly, all but cringing at the fact that Ianto was eventually going to leave Torchwood. Even though he usually tried to think positive, Jack could not help but feel a little more miserable with every day that passed and brought them closer to Ianto's impending departure.
"Don't we have anything useful in here?" Owen grunted as he rummaged through the contents of the fridge and finally produced a can of coke. With a sigh, he popped the can open and took a draw only to moan next, "Not the teaboy's coffee, but it'll do."
Again, Jack scowled deeply at Owen's use of his new nickname for Ianto that was generally beset with a derogatory meaning.
"Do you happen to have talked with Ianto last night?" he asked, trying hard to sound nonchalant as opposed to concerned.
"Nope," Owen shook his head. "Tried to reach him, but I've not seen him since the memorial service."
Right then the proximity alert interrupted their conversation. Owen did not miss how quickly it diverted Jack's attention to the cog door and how his features fell a moment later. A quick glance confirmed Owen's suspicion that it had not been Ianto who entered.
"Good morning," Toshiko's voice drifted up to them.
"Good morning," Jack hollered back, but his enthusiasm did not reach his eyes. Turning back to Owen he demanded incredulously, "And it didn't cross your mind that you should check on him?"
"Actually, it did," Owen shot back in his usual acerbic way, "but even if he would've opened the door, none of what happened next would be your bloody business but fall strictly under doctor patient confidentiality."
"He wasn't home?" Jack queried, confused.
"Obviously," Owen grunted. "Or he didn't want to see anyone."
Turning on his heels, Owen made his way to the stairs.
"Wait," Jack called on him, following him down the staircase. "Didn't that worry you after what happened? You should've been more insistent!"
"Newsflash, Captain," Owen snapped over his shoulder as he walked over to the stairs to the rail level where Toshiko tried to appear like she was engrossed in starting her computers instead of furtively listening in, "He may not look like it, but Ianto's a grown man. I cared several hours for him while he was trapped in that ruddy conversion unit and despite what he went through, he did not break. He knows he can come to me if he feels the need. All I can do is to offer my help and it's not my fault if he doesn't make use of it."
Stunned, Jack slowed his steps.
"You could've gone to check on him," he persisted stubbornly and climbed up the stairs after Owen.
"Did you listen to anything I said?" Owen shot back indignantly. "I went to see him and he wasn't there. Didn't answer my calls either. I think it's safe to assume that he didn't want to talk with me."
"But you…"
"Shut it, Captain!" Owen yelled as he dropped in his chair. "I'm not in the mood to put up with your whinging. If you were so worried for him, you could've gone to him yourself. You did it to him after all!"
Reaching for the pill bottle, Owen popped it open, shook two tablets out, and washed them down with a big swallow of coke.
By then, Jack looked positively dangerous.
"What I did to him?" he snarled. "All that I did, I did to save his life!"
"Maybe he sees that different," Owen huffed.
"Maybe he's not in the condition to judge properly right now," Jack argued more heatedly than he liked, feeling a pang of guilt that he certainly would not show. He could not shake off the feeling that he had failed in his position as his team's leader.
I shouldn't have accepted Ianto's declaration that he would be all right. How's he supposed to know? He's traumatized! It's our job to take care of him. My job, to be exact! I should've stayed anyway.
"Then why are you yelling at me?" Owen shouted. "It's not like you ordered me to check on him!"
"Maybe I should have."
"Maybe you should give him some space."
"Space?" Jack scoffed, "He needs our support. He shouldn't be left on his own, thinking he was alone with his problems."
That was something that Owen could not dispute and apparently, he did not have to as Toshiko softly cut in, "Maybe you're both wrong. Ianto has no reason to believe that we wouldn't support him."
Gobsmacked, both men fell silent. Jack did not want to prod her, but when the distinct clatter of her keyboard suggested that Toshiko began to work on something, he could not help himself, "Did you talk with him?"
"Yes, we had a good long talk on the phone," she replied almost casually.
Obviously, she did not intend to elaborate, but as she did not seem to be concerned, Jack decided not to press the matter. Movement down in the central Hub distracted him, and when he looked around, he saw Suzie entering through the tunnel from the underground garage.
"Morning," she hollered when she felt the others' attention focussed on herself. "I'll go and do some more testing on the glove before the meeting if that's all right!"
"Fine with me!" Jack agreed. His anger at her still lingered. After returning from London she had fulfilled her vault duty as quickly and efficiently as possible and returned twice on Sunday, wrapping things up in record speed. As she did what she needed to do, Jack could hardly reprimand her, but her unfamiliar disrespect toward the creatures they were responsible for bothered him.
Before he could further wrack his mind about her unusual behaviour, his interest was torn off her and at the cog door that opened once more to let Ianto in. Deciding that the archivist looked a bit tired but otherwise all right, he let out a cheerful, "Good morning!"
Ianto winced, paused for a moment at the bottom of the stairs, turned his head and nodded curtly before he went up to the kitchenette. With a sigh, Jack abandoned his watch and returned to his office until he was ready for the meeting. A hard knot sat in his stomach and for once he dreaded the team's encounter. Today the Rift was quiet and aside from the memorial service they did not have much to discuss. So Jack decided to get it over with and went up to the boardroom. The others followed close behind and when everyone else was present, Ianto silently slipped into the room with a tray, put it down on the table, and slid into his chair.
Toshiko smoothly took the mugs and distributed them. She poured herself some coffee and gave the thermos to Suzie. They each helped themselves to coffee before Jack began with asking about the decommissioning. Toshiko, Suzie, and Owen reported what they had done and Jack listened intently if not patiently. He could not shake off a peculiar sense of hostility. As he doubted that Ianto would be comfortable talking about what had happened to him, Jack did not ask him anything about the memorial service but told the others about the spidermice that now lived down in the vaults and that Ydris had called to let him know that he and the thylacines arrived safely in Tasmania.
As soon as he finished up, Ianto quickly gathered the dishes and slid out of the room before Jack could address him. The others left the boardroom, but Jack leaned heavily in his chair and watched Ianto busying himself at the kitchenette. At some point he could not bear watching anymore and shook off his rigour to get up and join Ianto. He had just stepped out of the boardroom, though, when Ianto turned around and, two bowls in hand, headed down the stairs.
"Ianto?" Jack called after him. "Just a word, please…"
"Not now," Ianto replied curtly without looking around and bounded down the rest of the stairs to vanish in the tunnel leading to the archives and storage.
Confusion flit over Jack's features. Ianto's behaviour confirmed his assumption that he had done something wrong. He did not want it to stand between them, but he got no chance to follow and clear things up, as he saw Toshiko entering the tunnel before him. Feeling rejected, Jack slowed his steps.
He's probably gone to feed his pets.
Due to that fact, Jack was not eager to catch up on him. He was still contemplating whether he should go after Ianto anyway when he heard the phone in his office ring. Deciding that it was the lesser of two evils, Jack went to answer it instead.
xXx
With every step that carried him further down the tunnel, Ianto felt his stress level go down a notch. Going to work this morning had actually taken quite an effort and when he had entered the boardroom, it was all he could do not to baulk and drop the tray. Quickly he had tried to bring up his mental shields like Dr. Dryden once taught him, but he still could not prevent a wave of unbidden emotions sweeping over him.
Stepping through the door to the small room that served as a lock, Ianto heaved a sigh. Sorting everything was hard and he was afraid that it might break him if he was not careful.
I should ask Jack for help.
A shudder ran down his spine at the mere idea of coming near the captain.
Ultimately he's the only one who can help. I wish I wasn't so scared!
Ianto also wished that Jack would have been right where his empathy was concerned. After experiencing sort of a burnout after the overload at the memorial service, it came back with a vengeance.
The trouble was that it came in episodes.
Even worse, it was uncontrollable.
Making sure that one door was closed behind him, Ianto opened the other.
"Hey, kids," he greeted when he entered the storage room and put the bowls down on the floor. He heard the scurrying and noticed a few small shadows move in the twilight. Suddenly one of the spidermice appeared right in front of him, dangling on its rope. Seeing him elicited a smile from Ianto.
"Benny!"
When he held out his hand, the spidermouse lowered itself further down to land on Ianto's palm. There Benny sat and enjoyed Ianto petting him. For a fleeting second, Ianto could have sworn that he could sense the alien's joy, and a fresh surge of anxiety washed over him.
Still caressing the small animal, Ianto let his gaze roam around the room. Jack had put grids over the ventilation shafts that would not let the mice through. Aside from that, it really needed some serious work at decoration. There was not much the mice could climb on, just some pipes beneath the ceiling and, curiously, a laundry rack. At least they had space now, and Ianto smirked at the big nest the spidermice had woven between two tubes.
"You've been busy."
A loving smile flit across his features as he sat Benny down for breakfast and the spidermouse rushed to join in the meal. Hearing the door open and close, Ianto tensed. Stiffly he straightened up and looked around to find Toshiko.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you," she carefully said, "but you seemed upset."
"It's all right," he muttered, shyly looking over his shoulder at her. "Thanks for the talk last night."
As if on cue, a huge yawn escaped her and she mumbled, "No problem."
"I kept you awake half of the night," Ianto argued, uncertain about what he had expected. Toshiko's been so understanding. Why do I think she'd be angry?
"That's what I'm here for," she replied with a soft smile. Then she rolled her eyes, "Jack rounded on Owen for not checking on you."
"I saw that he had called," Ianto shrugged.
"But you didn't want to talk with him."
Ianto shook his head.
"I hope I could help you a little."
"You did, Tosh," he confirmed. "Thank you." For a moment, he tried to sort his thoughts before he continued, "I needed someone I could just talk with. Owen, or Jack for that matter, would have come back to discussing Canary Wharf and my collapse… and I wanted distraction rather than a therapy session."
"I understand."
Judging by her tone she really did. Ianto was relieved that being around her was not quite as awkward. Right now he also did not get any emotional input, which also helped with relaxing him. At the same time, he felt the nagging certainty that there would be another onslaught of empathy, which almost negated the calming effect her and his spidermice's company had on him.
"I'm glad that Jack changed his mind about taking them in," Toshiko said. "If the Rift remains calm, we should take the opportunity and get branches and rocks and start to decorate here, make their new home more comfortable."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," he said. "Maybe some potted plants, too. Ferns or something that will do well in the fluorescent lights. Something low maintenance that will be easy for you to keep up with when I'm not around."
"So, you really are leaving us then?" Toshiko asked.
Ianto could not tell from her tone whether she was surprised, disappointed, pleased, or angry. He believed that, as his friend, she wanted him to do what was right for him, but he had no idea how she felt about his leaving.
"I hope you're not upset with me," he said.
"I'll be sorry to see you go," she replied. "But I understand why you have to. Just… don't be a stranger, okay? Look us up once in a while. You're still a friend, you know?"
"Suzie wouldn't be pleased," he remarked dryly.
"I didn't say anything about Suzie," Toshiko pouted. Seeing the crooked grin he favoured her with, she realized that he had tried for humour and failed. As she was not sure what she should say, she remained silent to give him the opportunity to elaborate. His gaze drifted back to the spidermice and it took a while until he spoke again.
"It's not that I didn't think about staying," he tonelessly said. "I love these little critters. You and Owen became good friends… There are so many things I need to do, though. I can't stay. I have to arrange Lisa's funeral. I promised Virginia to scatter her ashes in the Highlands… and to talk with her mother who lives in America. Personally."
At the latter, a chill washed over Toshiko.
"You can't tell her the truth about what happened, Ianto," she anxiously told him.
"I know that," he scoffed. "But I can tell her that she gave her life defending this country. I can tell her that she was brave… in the face of death." There he trailed off and choked. "That she, even knowing that she was going to die, gave me the strength to survive."
Hearing his voice waver with deep emotions, Toshiko carefully stepped closer and put one hand on his shoulder.
"I am tempted, you know," he went on, sounding distant as if he was speaking to no-one in particular. He also could not look at her and fixated a spot on the wall instead. "Three's fascinating. Dangerous. So different from One. I only was an office worker. You showed me a whole new world." Before his mind's eyes flashed a series of pictures, remembered as well as imaginations of a possible future. "Staying here I could make a difference, like Dr. Markham told me. I received the basic training at One after all, even though I never was supposed to become a field agent. Staying here would mean to refresh that knowledge and refine those skills. It would mean that I could never have a normal life, a wife and kids and… Three would suck me in and swallow me whole and… and ultimately, choosing Torchwood would eventually get me killed." There he paused, "And that I'm readily embracing the whole idea is scaring the shit out of me."
A knowing smile flit across Toshiko's features. Torchwood was not a job that you quit so easily. Once she had chosen the dangerous work as the price to pay for her freedom, but now she would not want to miss it for the world. It got under your skin and changed you forever.
"What about Jack?"
Her softly asked query left Ianto stunned that she would ask about his relationship with their boss. He would never thought her the busybody type. None of your business, is it? he thought with wry amusement. Though I might tell you if I knew myself.
It was a matter of trust, and even though he considered her to be a friend now, he realized that he probably would not talk to her about it anyway. It was his personal business and none of her affair.
"Does he know that you're leaving?" Toshiko clarified.
Oh.
"We always said that my employment is temporary. So, yes, of course he knows that I won't stay."
Toshiko could not quite bite back a chuckle. Seeing his honest confusion, she said, "You must be the only one who took him at face value."
"Pardon?"
"I never was under the impression that he intended to let you go again," Toshiko shrugged. "Usually he gets what he wants."
"He can't make me stay against my will," Ianto stated. He did not want to believe that Jack could be that callous, but then he knew that the captain certainly was capable of doing a lot of things one would not expect him to do.
"Oh, he wouldn't try," Toshiko said.
The look she cast at him made him think that she knew something he was not seeing so far.
"But…?" he challenged.
"He's quite convincing," she lightly elaborated. "He'd trust his power of persuasion… one way or the other."
If she was trying to be cryptic, Ianto did not get it.
Why am I surprised? I'm a mess!
"I don't want you to get hurt, Ianto," she told him softly.
Ianto frowned.
"Jack wouldn't hurt me, not intentionally," he replied, noting with surprise that he sounded somewhat defensive. At the same time he wondered, where his conviction came from. "I don't like what he did, but I know he had to do it to save my life."
She looked amazed.
"I think we're talking about two different things."
"Probably," Ianto conceded. "I mean, what he did in London was a personal intrusion, but he had no choice. Despite my repulsion, I'm grateful. It's just… we need to talk about what happened. I know we have to, but right now, I just can't. I don't know how. I'm so raw and hurting and… confused."
Easy prey.
Ianto started. It was more like an echo of a thought, a sense of danger, so he could not be sure if it was his own or Toshiko's. He tended to believe that it was his own, though, as he never showed any telepathic talent. To him the mere idea of reading others' thoughts was disturbing.
"I think, what I mean to say is… Take care, Ianto. Do what you have to do and what is right for you."
"I'll try my very best," he assured her.
"It won't be the same without you. I'll miss you."
Ianto chuckled softly at her getting nostalgic, "I've only been here for… God, was it only eleven days so far? As busy as you lot are, a week from now, you'll barely know I exist."
"Stop kidding!" she pouted. "You're selling yourself short, love. You've made quite an impression! So quit telling me we'd just forget about you, because we're not!"
An embarrassed smirk cracked his features.
"That's bloody right, Mister Jones," Toshiko chided. "So let me tell you again: Don't be a stranger!"
"I won't," he promised. "That you've taken me in means a lot to me. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"It's too early for goodbyes, though," Ianto tried to lighten the mood. "First we'll have to brighten this storage room up. I won't go anywhere before my spidermice have a nice new home."
"Now, there's a deal," Toshiko agreed with a smile.
"See you later, kids," Ianto bid his spidermice goodbye before he went with Toshiko up to the central Hub. While she returned to her workstation, Ianto strode toward Jack's office, feeling grasshoppers in his stomach.
"Jack's not here."
Owen's statement stopped Ianto dead in his tracks. When he looked around, the medic still seemed engrossed in the magazine he held. Ianto waited, but the doctor did not look up.
"Do you have a moment?" Owen asked.
"If I can't talk to Jack now, I should go back to the archives," Ianto replied flatly.
"Well… that wasn't a request," Owen stated, finally putting the magazine down onto the chest. "C'mon."
Rolling his eyes, Ianto followed him down to the med bay.
"You know, this is pretty awkward," he said, miserably eyeing the autopsy table.
"Don't often deal with living patients," Owen remarked. "Let me have a look at the abrasions."
"They're much better. Thank you."
"Good. Let me see."
Once more rolling his eyes, Ianto complied and shrugged off his jacket.
"If I wouldn't know better, I'd say you're only doing this to get me out of my clothes."
"I don't have Jack's passport in my pocket," Owen grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited impatiently for Ianto to finish. "I've got a job to do, though, so drop the attitude and let me do it!"
Grudgingly, Ianto shed the rest of his clothes.
"Better?"
"Get up on the couch."
Scowling deeply, Ianto growled, "That's not an examination couch. It's for autopsies."
"Autopsies, surgeries, exams… all the same to me," Owen smirked devilishly. "Now, hop up."
"Do you at least have a blanket or something?" Ianto queried. "The metal's cold…" Trailing off he became aware that that was not the only reason why he felt so uncomfortable and rasped, "It's like… the conversion unit."
Realizing his faux pas, Owen relented, "You're right. I'll get something. Don't run away."
Rummaging around in his cupboards, Owen dug up green sheets that he spread across the metal table. Gritting his teeth, Ianto scooted up to sit on it. Carefully, Owen examined the sores.
"Healed well," the medic murmured. "Sorry about, you know," he gestured at the table and his med bay in general. "Got to work with what I have."
Ianto snorted with wry amusement. Compared with other doctor's offices, this one was not just in prime condition but also offered a few extras that nobody else even knew about.
Nodding at what he saw, Owen straightened up in front of Ianto and fixated him with a stern look.
"How was your weekend?"
"Okay."
Sceptically, Owen raised an eyebrow, saying, "I'm just asking because for one, you're my patient and I'm responsible for you, and second, I saw you moving gingerly. You're tense. Do you sleep properly?"
Ianto remained silent as he did not want to tell Owen that he hardly slept at all during the weekend. Being woken by onslaughts of empathy did not help with getting rest either.
"Because if you don't," Owen went on, "I could prescribe you a mild compound," seeing that Ianto was about to object, he stilled him with a raised hand, "made of passion flower. Just to take the edge off the anxiety you might feel."
"I'm not developing Post Torchwood Stress Disorder if that's what you're worried about," Ianto growled from deep in his throat.
Chortling at his patient's pun, Owen reached for his chair. His view still fixed on Ianto, he pulled it in and rolled it under his butt.
Ianto stared back at him and waited. He could not get any empathic sense of Owen, which was a relief. At the same time it annoyed him. It was like someone switched off the sound at the most suspenseful part of a movie that he did not know yet. As he was incapable to judge his opposite, seeing the medic's features soften, put him on edge.
"Ianto, seriously, I can see that something's wrong," Owen stated. "If there's anything I can do for you…"
"There's nothing wrong with me!" Ianto hissed and scooted off the table. The sheets slid off and landed on the tiled floor.
"Hey!" Owen quickly stood and stopped Ianto from reaching for his clothes. "We're not done yet!"
"Yes, we are."
"Sit! We're gonna do a whole checkup! Then I'll tell you if you're all right or not!"
Glaring at Owen, Ianto stood and tried not to shiver as the coolness of the tiles crept up his body. Owen grabbed an aural thermometer but missed Ianto's ear as the young man shied back.
"Hold still!" Owen commanded, taking Ianto by the upper arms and manoeuvring him to sit onto the stool. Then he pushed the probe into his ear and waited. Checking on it he read aloud to himself, "Ninety-eight point two. So far so good," before he took his sphygmomanometer and took Ianto's blood pressure. "That's a bit high," he stated and listened at Ianto's heart and lungs next.
Breathing deeply as ordered, Ianto tried not to punch Owen in the face. His logical mind told him that the medic was just doing his job, while he felt his annoyance at the prodding and poking grow.
"Enough," he said and stood up, snatching his trousers off the other chair. Before Owen could object, he put them on. "I appreciate your concern, Owen, but I'm fine. Well, if I say fine, I mean not sick. Well, if I say not sick, I mean physically all right. I mean…"
"Stop!"
Ianto pulled his vest down and stilled.
"You know, I strongly advise you to take those pills," Owen stated and opened a drawer to get his pad and scribble the prescription down. "Take… three, one with each meal. It'll help you relax."
"I am relaxed," Ianto grumbled.
"Sure, that's why you're so easily cheesed off," Owen huffed. "Just try it."
"But you're a peach to work with, House," Ianto shot back and shrugged into his dress shirt. "You're just that hard to bear because you have a bad conscience for letting me go after the memorial service." This time he cut off Owen's objection. "Let me tell you something: I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself."
Owen gaped at him.
"You watch Dr. House? Seriously? I'm disturbed by your choice of entertainment."
Ianto smirked. "And yet you know him."
"Only his reputation," Owen grunted.
As quickly as it had cracked his features, the smirk dropped from Ianto's face, "Lisa watched it. She loved Hugh Laurie."
"There's no accounting for taste."
As soon as his thoughtless words had slipped off his tongue, Ianto could see the medic's features crumble. Owen actually looked chagrined, which seemed rather strange. Seeing the unfamiliar expression almost made up for his careless comment.
"Ianto, I didn't want to…"
"I never knew why she was attracted by his character," Ianto cut him off, but then his eyes grew wide.
"What?" Owen felt compelled to ask suspiciously.
"If she loved Dr. House, she'd certainly been a fan of your unique brand of bedside manner."
Now it was Owen's turn to glare at Ianto.
"Why, thanks for the compliment!"
For a moment, the two men stood and stared at each other in silence. Finally, Ianto turned away to put on his shoes.
"I'll go now," he stated as he straightened back up. "I've got work to do, you know."
"All right," Owen conceded, but held out the slip of paper at Ianto. "In the end it's your decision. I just wanted to help. You know that you can come to me any time, right?"
"I do," Ianto nodded. "Thanks, Owen."
Of course, Ianto knew that there was more to the problem, but maybe the pills really helped with the nightmares. It was worth a try.
"Did Jack say when he'll be back?" Ianto asked, pausing as he stepped onto the short flight of stairs.
"Nope."
Nodding, Ianto turned around and left the med bay.
tbc…