Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, or Doctor Who. Did you honestly think I did?
A/N: It having been a whole of two weeks since the last update, I thought..I'd get it up tonight. As it is, I got caught up..but the chapter's here, all the same. From now on, it'll be a little more regular.
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Sleep was never easy for Jack. Truth be told, since the whole immortality thing, he had never really needed it. It scared him sometimes, to close his eyes and see nothing. He could sleep…if he really had to. If he really wanted to. But it was too much like death. Eternal slumber. Just because he could endure both didn't mean he had to enjoy it.
Jack didn't like sleep, but he didn't mind rest. So the hours when humanity blinked out and slept, Jack simply rested. Revisited memories. Planned. Meditated. Sometimes he pulled on his coat and found himself on a roof hours later, looking out across the lights of Cardiff, or up at the stars and planets, and the deep vastness of space. In those moments, he would feel himself filled with hope, love, and somehow, absurdly, the need to protect this little Level 5 planet, the very thought weaving through his mind and calming him.
Jack sighed. His mind was far from being calm and still. If each thought was a thread waiting to be woven, then Jack's usually tidy mind was now a tangled knot of wool. And though he had all the time in the world, and then some, Jack had none to spare to untangle the mess. He had to meditate and get his mental filing done before his mind could calm down. But to do so, he needed a calm mind to begin with.
It was, he mused, an interesting conundrum. He saw no solution. All he could think of…one statement repeating insistently in his head…Ianto's good at filing. He pushed himself up off his bed and shook his head a few times. No matter how skilled Ianto was with paperwork, Jack couldn't see how Ianto was the solution to his problem. It was something he'd have to work through alone. And there was nothing he could do for now. His internal clock told him it was time to start the day.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS just as Jack re-entered the Hub with a box of pastries. No coffee – once you had tasted Ianto's, there was truly no going back. The Doctor rubbed his eyes a little wearily. Despite Jack's offer that the Doctor take Jack's bed, and Jack take the couch, and all the other variations Jack had thought up to keep the Doctor in what he hoped was a healthier environment, the Doctor had spent the night in the TARDIS. It hadn't been an easy night's sleep for him either. While he was physically refreshed, the Doctor felt mentally strained. And that really, had the greater impact on the Timelord.
"Morning Doctor! I thought we could do with some breakfast. There's nothing but meat in the fridge for some reason so I thought I'd get some pastries." He held up the box with a triumphant grin. "Fresh. Hot. Straight out of the oven. And from the best bakery in Cardiff."
The Doctor's face lit up, the perfect image of a child on Christmas morning rubbing away the doubts of a sleepless night as they saw that yes, Father Christmas was real, and yes, they had presents, and yes, it would be alright really, because they were loved.
"I'll get us some tea then shall I?"
Jack smiled and watched as the Doctor wandered into the little kitchen and eyed the appliances with the air of a mad scientist.
"Just don't touch the coffee machine. If you tamper with it, Ianto will kill me!"
The Doctor chuckled.
"Why am I going to kill you, sir?"
Jack spun, coming face to face with Ianto. His smile broadened.
"Ah! Ianto! Just in time. Have you had breakfast yet? I bought some pastries. Thought we could share."
"Didn't you get them for the Doctor, Jack?"
"Huh? Oh. Well. I thought the three of us could…" Jack's voice trailed off. "Ianto, are you jealous?"
Ianto blinked and then looked up at Jack with a courteous smile. "No, it just seemed as if you were having only the Doctor for breakfast. And then invited me at last minute."
Jack cringed inwardly. What had brought that smile to Ianto's face? It was the forced smile, the one Jack had come to know especially well in the days after Lisa, and the one Jack associated with Ianto masking over some inner hurt. But if he said anything directly, Ianto would never respond.
"Course not." He said cheerily, opening the box to show Ianto the contents. "Enough for three. And your favourites. I would have called, but your phone was turned off. So I took a chance and timed getting breakfast with the time you usually get here. So that they'd still be hot, you know?"
His wild grin eased into a more natural smile. His eyes glowed with soft sincerity. And when the words left his mouth, there was force behind the words, and a slight uncertainty, as if he were afraid Ianto would reject them. "I'm here for you. You know that right, Ianto? I'm not going to vanish anytime soon."
For some reason, Ianto was shivering, his arms crossed over his chest, hands clutching his sides. He wouldn't meet Jack's eyes.
Realising he would receive no reply, Jack launched back into the relative safety of his playful mindset.
"So, you want to eat? Oh, and for future reference, you're always invited to breakfast with me. I'd love to have you."
Ianto offered a weak laugh. He recognised this game. It was a cover. He was grateful for it, for Jack throwing it out there. It was another protective layer Ianto could add to his defences. A way of pretending. And now Jack had invited him to hide, instead of exposing his heart. The least he could do was play along.
"What's this, sir? I offer you dinner and you offer me breakfast instead?"
Jack grinned, a weight lifting from his heart. If Ianto was willing to play along, then surely things would be alright?
"As well as, not instead of."
Ianto smiled at the suggestion. "I'll go make coffee then, shall I?"
--
They sat around the conference table, eating. Jack and Ianto had coffee in front of them. The Doctor, tea. He said it was better for him, and they shouldn't let good tea go to waste anyway. At first, there was an awkward silence which stretched….They were all far too absorbed in their own thoughts to initiate conversation. And yet, the silence affected them. Ianto wondered whether they were silent because now, they could choose to be silent, and they were actually glad for the company, just unable to vocalise it. He wondered if there was a language more subtle than words, employed right then, across the table which could explain the lack of sound. He wondered if it was a game. He wondered if he was a third wheel.
It was Jack who cracked first and broke through the silence.
"So Doctor…I was thinking, maybe we should call Martha down? Her CV's outstanding, as far as Torchwood is concerned. Well travelled, good negotiation skills, saved the world…" He ticked them off on his fingers.
"You'll have to move quicker next time Jack. She's got a job with UNIT. Medical specialist or something."
Jack frowned. "That can't be right. She's not a qualified doctor yet."
"UNIT policy states that exceptions can be made if the potential employee is recommended by what they call an 'impeccable source' and if they have the right credentials. That is, known dealings with alien lifeform. For those in training or still studying they-" Ianto stopped as he found both Jack and the Doctor staring at him.
"How do you know that?" The Doctor ventured.
Jack gave a short laugh. "He's Ianto. Ianto knows everything."
Ianto shrugged, dipping his head in acknowledgement. "I try my best, sir."
Jack stood. "Well, anyway-" He stopped abruptly as his vortex manipulator beeped.
"Whoah, that never beeps." Ianto looked at it, surprised.
Jack was frowning. "That's what I was thinking." He looked at Ianto and the Doctor, a worried expression on his face. He pressed a button on the vortex manipulator to project a blue hologram. From the look on his face, it was instant recognition. Jack watched it, too stunned for words.
"I can't believe I got the answering machine. What can you be doing that's more important than me? Anyway…drinks. You know how to find me. And hurry up, work to do. Help me Obi-wan Kenobi! You're my only hope!"
And with that, the projection faded.
Jack looked at Ianto and the Doctor, his eyes fuming. "Stay here. Don't come after me!" The words were barked out furiously as he strode towards the door and disappeared.