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: OMG, was it really four weeks since I posted ch33? I assure you, it doesn't feel like so long, time's flying. Thank you, Guest, for your nice comment. I also need to thank everyone for reading, commenting or putting the story on favourites, as well as my beta mandassina for her valuable help. Enjoy!
Chapter 34 – Confrontations
Ianto had hoped that Jack would return soon, but there was no sign of him yet. In hindsight, he should have stayed with Owen, because as soon as she spotted him leaving the med bay, Suzie waved at him to come over. Why did his appearance pique her attention? Suzie did not like him one bit after all. As he neared her work area, he saw her handling something at her workbench. Sparks of light danced on the shiny surface and when Ianto looked closer, he recognized that she sharpened an extraordinary knife with secondary blades on its sides. It looked quite scary and just for a second, he saw the blades pierce his skin.
Whoa!
Disturbingly it felt like a flashback. It was so intense that Ianto wondered if he experienced another bout of sudden empathy.
Back at Canary Wharf Suzie was nice. What has changed? I can't imagine she feels threatened by me. My employment is temporary after all. It must be something else, but I can't tell what it might be.
"What are you working on?" he asked.
"Just a piece of weaponry," Suzie deflected and put her tools down. "Come, have a look at this."
She gestured him to come around the workbench and when he followed her beckoning and could see past her, he saw the metal glove.
Ianto scowled.
"I know," she warded off, "you're not a fan of the glove. That's exactly why I'd like to ask for your help."
You want my help? By a hair's breadth he would have blurted it out. Despite himself he became curious.
"How can I be of assistance?"
Not quite unexpectedly, Suzie chuckled at his phrasing.
"Did you ever attend a butler school?" she teased.
"No..."
"I just wondered... 'cause you remind me of Max."
As her reference was unknown to him, Ianto asked, "Who's Max?"
"You know, Max, the butler in Hart to Hart." Looking at him expectantly, she paused. "The TV series with Robert Wagner." Once more, she waited for a moment before she came around, "Never mind."
"I'm an archivist," Ianto remarked defensively as he could not tell what her agenda was. Somehow her conversational and slightly amused tone did not want to fit with the look she cast at him.
"Then why don't you behave like one?" Suzie queried as she put a hand on the back of the glove. Questioningly, she raised an eyebrow at Ianto.
"Pardon?"
"Max was the archetype of a butler, always courteous, diligent, and loyal like their dog Freeway."
Now a chill ran down Ianto's spine. He did not need his empathic talent to know that Suzie intended to debase him.
"Max's duty was to take care of the household, clean and cook for the Harts, but when they moonlighted as detectives, he helped them solve the case or came to the rescue."
Ianto was sure that she wanted to make a certain point, but so far it eluded him.
"Back at One, I made coffee, too," he stated matter-of-factly.
"You think it's just about the coffee?" Suzie chirped and shook her head, "No. That's not the point. You've become loyal so quickly because you feel obligated to Jack. Don't make that mistake."
Does she think she's giving advice? Ianto scowled but let her talk.
"Ianto, you don't know what you're getting yourself into," Suzie went on, "You don't know him at all, and yet you're letting yourself be sucked in and coming under his spell. You think he has your best interest at heart?"
Yes, indeed.
"Jack's main interest is to get you laid."
Good to know that you've got a really high opinion of your boss. Or is that just the voice of a woman scorned?
"He may appear jovial and trustworthy. He's really good at that. Has to be in his line of work."
And you're his second in command? Ianto was beginning to doubt her own position toward Jack. Get to your point!
"Ultimately, you should trust your instinct. Don't get entrapped in Torchwood. This isn't your world, and you shouldn't choose it out of a misguided sense of duty or, even worse, out of unrequited love."
Ianto registered every word, but did not sway from his own opinion about Jack Harkness. Nor did he change his views on Suzie Costello.
"What did you want to ask about the glove?" he queried in order to return to the previous subject.
"Oh, right," Suzie said as if she only now became aware that she had wanted something from him. "I know you're against it, so I thought I should give you more information. So you can dispel your prejudices."
"My reluctance has nothing to do with prejudices."
"Maybe you should try it," she suggested light-heartedly. "See for yourself how amazing it is! You said yourself that it is impressive. Imagine the possibilities. I'm sure you could do it. I have a feeling as if it's just waiting for you. Try it! Only then can you judge it!"
"I don't need to try it to see the ethical questions you're raising," Ianto stated. "I also told you that before. Now, where did it even come from?"
"It got washed up in the docks," Suzie told him. "It would be really interesting to know where it originally came from, but that's a secret that it won't reveal."
With a sigh, she let her fingertips run over the metal reverently before she lifted the glove off its stand.
"So… How about it?"
With the glove lying on both her palms she offered it to Ianto who eyed it curiously. Part of him was tempted to accept her offer, while another part argued that the device wielded a power that humans should not have.
"No."
"C'mon, you know you want it."
"No," Ianto insistently declared. "I don't want to mess with an unfortunate being that has suffered an untimely death. Did you ever spare a thought to the animals?"
"I see, you're one of those fanatic animal lovers," Suzie huffed and let the glove sink, holding it with one hand now. As she spoke, she reached for something among the plethora of things on the bench and the shelves above, retrieving a small cage. "Then you should be especially enthusiastic to try and bring it back, right?"
Looking at the cage, Ianto's blood ran cold. His eyes widened in disbelief and he gasped for breath…
"What the bloody hell have you done?" he shrieked at the sight of the dead spidermouse.
"I wanted to see if it worked on alien life forms as well," Suzie stated matter-of-factly. "Isn't that why you brought them here? For experimentation?"
"That's not…"
Ianto had trouble formulating a whole sentence as he was shivering with barely contained rage. He could not wrap his head around what Suzie had done. His eyes still glued on the poor animal he tried to identify it. Even though he did not name them all, he still could tell them apart by their faces or colouring. He did not notice that one of them was missing when he had fed them just minutes ago. Seeing the small creature dead now, hit him hard.
"Awww, c'mon. I'm sure they multiply as rapidly as mice or spiders. It's not like you're going to miss one or two."
"Two?" Ianto bellowed, and it was all he could do not to punch that ridiculously smug grin off her face.
"Jack certainly agrees," she went on as if she was totally unfazed by his wrath. "Why else should he have allowed them in?"
Baring his teeth in unconcealed rage, Ianto slapped at the glove that she held up between them. It slipped out of her hand and clattered onto the concrete.
"How dare you?" Ianto roared, getting into her face before she could bend to pick up the glove. He was beyond appalled by her actions. "A legitimate scientist is bound by ethics! You're no better than a sadistic brat pulling the wings off butterflies!"
Unnoticed by either of them, Toshiko got up from her workstation, and only a moment later, Owen appeared at the entrance to his med bay, lured out by the heated argument.
"Oh, really, Ianto. How else are we supposed to learn anything? They're lab animals. Nothing more, nothing less. Bloody hell, they're not even from this world!"
If it's alien, it's ours.
Clearly, One's motto rang in Ianto's ear. He was shocked to realize that Suzie seemed to share the same attitude.
"They're amazing creatures who deserve your respect!" Ianto rounded on her. "They survived One's scientists! They survived the Cybermen and the Daleks fighting it out in Torchwood tower! They survived UNIT! And now you just took one and killed it? What the hell is the matter with you? If you're so curious about it, maybe we should test the glove on you!"
"Oh, c'mon. Don't you think you're overreacting?"
"Overreacting?" Ianto's voice broke on that single word. "Overreacting! I can't believe you're so callous! Your disrespect for life is disturbing to say the least! You don't respect boundaries either! I was responsible for the spidermice! I saved them and took care of them after the battle! I brought them in because we could learn from them! Instead you not only invaded my space! No, you also…"
"Your space?" Suzie hollered. "Come off your high horse, kid. You don't have any space of your own here. It's our storage room, and the spidery mouse things were Torchwood property then and they are Torchwood property now!"
"You took a helpless little animal and killed it just for spite and to experiment on!" Ianto screamed with rage
"Because it was necessary," Suzie declared.
Ianto thought he did not hear right.
"Necessary?" Ianto howled. "You took an animal that you would never have been able to easily catch if it wasn't trusting enough to come to you and killed it just to practice? To see if you could get a few seconds more out of your perverted experiment? You're no better than the Cybermen!"
"You're comparing me with those tinmen?" Suzie frayed. "If it wasn't for our compassion, you'd still be stuck in that conversion unit!"
"If that's your compassion," Ianto spat, thumping her chest, "I'd rather take my chances with the tinmen, you Nazi!"
"Enough!"
In a whirl of coat, Jack breezed toward them just as Suzie seemed to be about to continue the fight physically. Suzie paused and stepped aside, while Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto's waist as a precaution to keep him from going after the technician.
"That's enough," the captain repeated sternly. "Stop it!"
Baring his teeth, Ianto strained against Jack's hold as rage still burnt inside of him and he felt the overwhelming urge to go after the murderer of his pet and make her pay for what she did.
"She killed it!" he howled, struggling to break free from the restraining arms like his frustration and irritation broke free in a burst of rage that he could not contain anymore.
Holding him firmly and mustering all his empathic talent, Jack barely audibly said, "Ianto… Ianto, calm down. We'll resolve it. Now calm down."
Slowly, Ianto actually relaxed, feeling a sense of ease seep into him. He stood down, but a moment later he began to shiver again, not with rage but with anxiety and repulsion. This time he tried to hide it, which became increasingly difficult. Due to frayed nerves he sobbed, "What's to resolve? It's dead."
Of course, Jack noticed the quivers. At first he thought that Ianto's rage got the better of him, but then he realized that Ianto tried to get away.
From me! Jack felt a pang of regret. Why?
"What happened?" the captain barked at his second in command.
"She killed my spidermouse!" Ianto accused, his voice almost cracking with the distress that made him oblivious to the fact that he sounded childish.
"Suzie?"
"No reason to break the glove," she grumbled, bending to pick it up. A quick check assured her that it was still intact.
"It's not that fragile," Jack snarled. "Wait in my office."
"What for?"
Her innocent confusion act angered Jack, and he snapped, "For me. Go."
"Excuse me," Suzie chirruped, "but he is the one making all the fuss."
"And I'm your boss, and I'm telling you to go to my office and wait."
Jack looked positively dangerous, but still Suzie glared at him for a moment before she put the glove onto its stand.
"Take it with you."
Without a word, Suzie obeyed and strode away. Then Jack turned to Toshiko and Owen who still watched the spectacle. Toshiko seemed worried, but after sharing a look with Jack, she silently returned to her workstation.
"Owen! Don't stand there gaping!" Jack roared. "Take the mouse and tell me how it died!"
"You want me to autopsy the spidery mouse thing?" Owen asked.
With a little too much enthusiasm for Ianto's liking, the medic came over to retrieve it and hurry to his med bay. Cautiously, Ianto tried to back away unnoticed. Jack's presence was overwhelming, making his heart beat frantically and his head swim. Thankfully, Jack took a step back. It was not enough for the sickening sensation in Ianto's chest to dissipate, but its intensity decreased.
Gently, Jack asked, "What happened?"
"She asked me to try the glove," Ianto whined. "I declined and she showed me the dead spidermouse."
"I hope it wasn't Benny."
Momentarily stunned by Jack recalling the mouse's name, Ianto stared at him, frozen, before he shook his head.
"You didn't see her kill it then?"
"No," Ianto admitted. "But they were all alive and well when you brought them here yesterday, weren't they?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. She was there then, actually, taking care of the weevil and the dinosaur."
"I just came from feeding them," Ianto sobbed. "I can't believe she's so callous. We're not on best terms, but that she should take it out on the animals is appalling."
For once, Jack was at a loss of words as they seemed inadequate. Only a few days ago, Ianto's world had been turned upside down and he had lost so much. Suzie's actions did not just bring him more sorrow, but also enforced the most recent grief. In addition, Jack remembered only too well how Torchwood once had dealt with alien life, killing a sentient being without second thought. Just like Ianto, he was dismayed by Suzie's attitude.
"I never knew her to be so cold," Jack finally murmured.
"Maybe it's Canary Wharf," Ianto choked. "You fought for your lives here, went to London where you fought even more, trying to put right what One ballsed up. That sort of thing leaves its mark on people."
Jack could not disagree with Ianto. I failed again! I should notice when someone's traumatized. Not only did I miss how badly it has shaken Ianto, no, I also failed to take care of my own team. They're my responsibility, for God's sake!
"I talked with Tosh," Ianto went on breathlessly, "and we shared how it affected us. I know the other two have their ways to release the stress as well. But still…"
"But still what?" Jack prodded.
"I'm not sure it's healthy," Ianto gasped and tried to back off. "The stress needs an outlet. I can feel it. Maybe that's why Suzie's being so inconsiderate. Talking might help. Not necessarily with a professional, but… I mean…"
Ianto felt his anxiety rise. Being so close to Jack made his mind respond in a way that he could not control. His heart was in his throat and he was just short of bolting to a secluded place down in the vaults.
"You're the boss, Jack," Ianto panted. "You came to me to listen. You could do the same for the others, too, couldn't you?" His voice almost broke in his frantic ramble. "You're the one with the experience after all. You've seen so much. Who'd be better qualified?"
Jack listened with a heavy heart. Of course he knew that he should be there for his team. Yet, he felt reluctant. If he expected Suzie, Toshiko, and Owen to be more open toward him, they would ask him to do the same, and he was not prepared to do that.
"What am I doing wrong?" he asked instead as he could not bear the squirming anymore. "Why are you so eager to get away from me?"
"You did nothing wrong," Ianto groaned, fighting another surge of anxiety. "Not now. Just… when you helped me, something, I don't know… connected?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said you kind of switched off my empathy, right?"
Jack nodded.
"But when I'm close to you, it feels like it's still there. Well, not exactly." Ianto rolled his eyes. "I don't know how to explain it."
"I think I get what you mean."
Ianto doubted that.
"I need to talk with Suzie now," Jack told him, "and I brought Chinese take away for all of us. After lunch, though, we two should talk. All right?"
Ianto nodded, even though he was far from being enthusiastic. He just knew that he had no choice. It did not get better on its own, so he had to resolve it with the captain's help, no matter if he wanted to or not.
"Would you be so kind to take the bags up to the boardroom?" Jack asked, favouring Ianto with a broad smile that failed to be as dazzling as usual.
"Sure," Ianto agreed and watched him go to his office.
xXx
Together with Toshiko, Ianto prepared the boardroom for lunch, unpacking the bags and collecting dishes and cutlery, the latter just in case. While they worked, Toshiko remained silent, but Ianto could imagine that she was bursting with curiosity. He really appreciated that she did not bombard him with questions. When she sat down, Ianto sank into the chair beside her. For a moment they sat in silence, until…
"I can't believe Suzie's done that," it burst out of Toshiko. "Ianto, I'm sorry. That never should've happened."
"Easy, Tosh," Ianto murmured, "it wasn't your fault. You have nothing to apologize for."
"I have to apologize for my colleague's poor judgement," she insisted. "She made a mistake in taking one of the spidermice. Even if they were to experiment on, she would have had to ask Jack for permission."
Curiously, Ianto raised an eyebrow at her latter statement.
"You know," he told her somewhat sourly, "when I said that they might have practical use that we should explore, I meant their silk."
"I know," Toshiko assured him. "I would never kill one to learn more about their physiology. Using the unfortunate opportunity is another matter, though."
Ianto frowned.
"I understand, but I don't like it." He worried his bottom lip. "One cured me of that kind of thinking."
Before Toshiko could answer, the others entered the boardroom and gathered around the table. Ianto felt renewed unease, but it was not as intense as it had been before.
Hopefully it'll come to rest now. I'm not bent on working on it with Jack, but I won't have another choice, no matter how painful it may turn out to be.
"All right," Jack said, taking one of the boxes and chopsticks, "Owen, do you have something for me?"
"Suffocation," Owen mumbled past his noodles, shooting a death glare at Suzie. "There was water in its lungs."
Rolling her eyes, Suzie sank against the backrest of her chair.
"You bloody drowned it?" Ianto gasped.
"Actually, it was an accident," Suzie shot back, "but yes, it drowned. Unfortunately. I didn't want to miss the opportunity."
"So how was it an accident?" Jack asked, surprised that he didn't hear of that before when Suzie stoically listened to his questions about the incident instead, saying not a single word in her defence.
"It fell into the bucket when I was cleaning up… and got under the mop," Suzie explained. "When I noticed, it was dead."
Ianto shuddered. Suddenly, everything she had told him before appeared in a new light.
"Seriously," Owen muttered, "why should Suzie kill one of those crawlers?"
Because she wanted to hurt me.
Ianto better kept his mouth shut now in order to quench any remark that could further alienate his co-workers.
I won't stay much longer anyway.
Jack was not the stoic type, "Suzie, why didn't you tell me that when I was asking you?"
"Why bother to tell the same story twice?" she shrugged. "It's kinda tragic, but really not spectacular."
"Owen, was there soap in its lungs?" Toshiko queried. Feeling with Ianto, she tried to clear up the facts of the poor creature's demise.
"Yeah," Owen mumbled. At least that most likely was what he said with his mouth full.
"You let me believe you did it on purpose," Ianto accused.
"I just didn't contradict your assumptions," Suzie smirked. "Now you'll never know…"
"Suzie!" Jack hissed. "What got into you?"
"Oh, Captain," she jeered in a deliberately sweet tone, getting up from her chair and strolling over to the door to the catwalk, "I'm so sorry your pet lost one of his."
"Suzie!"
Fury at her disobedience as much as her presumptuousness made his blue eyes sparkle as Jack shot up from his seat to go after her. Just when he reached the door, an alarm made him pause.
"Rift alert!" he hollered. "Tosh! Check it out!"
"On my way!" she confirmed, shoving her food aside and following their boss out.
Hastily stuffing his face with noodles, which made him look like a hamster, Owen got up. Just for a second, he contemplated taking another bite before he hurried after his colleagues.
Ianto still sat at the table, staring at the glass door, when he heard the cog door rolling shut behind the team. Digesting everything, the constant emotional up and down over the weekend as well as today, made his stomach ache. Grief for the little spidermouse tightened his chest. Its intensity surprised him, as it was just a small animal and not even one of those few that he had named. Still, he felt responsible for its wellbeing, and its death weighed heavily on his conscience.
I wish there was a way to undo it.
Unfortunately there was.
Nobody's here. I could give it a try and they'd never know. Who's to tell if it's really meant to be temporary?
If he was not so grief-stricken, Ianto might never have contemplated using the glove, but in his current fragile state it seemed logical. Like in trance he made his way down to the med bay. Only when he walked down the short flight of stairs it occurred to him that Owen had examined the alien. When he found it lying on the table, though, it appeared to be untouched.
Owen probably just used the scanner.
Carefully, Ianto picked the spidermouse up and took it to Jack's office where the glove lay on the captain's desk. Ianto placed the mouse on the tabletop and reached for the glove. Its metal was astonishingly cold. His whole hand became cold when he slid the glove on. Slowly, Ianto felt it warm to his body temperature.
It's prickling.
He was not sure about what he had to do. All he recalled was that you had to sort of feel it. So he lightly touched the spidermouse with one gloved finger…
tbc…