A/N: This chapter includes elements of non-con. Please be warned in case it is a trigger for you.
Director Powell called an emergency meeting following Mary Edwards' meltdown. Nurse Richards was still upset about what had happened, and Doctor Wilson was clearly irritated that he had missed the opportunity to spend the entire day continuing his research. Griffith White and Constance Pritchard were sipping tea on the other couch while Director Powell sat in the armchair.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Powell said to the two Torchwood agents. "We've had some unexpected trouble with your Mr Harkness."
"We told you to assign your best personnel to the task," Griffith recalled.
"But that's exactly what we did! Nurse Edwards is our most senior nurse, with many years of experience!"
Constance chuckled. "Jack Harkness has an uncanny ability to get under your skin. He's a real handful not everyone can handle. Where is Nurse Edwards now?"
"I had to sedate her. She refused to stop screaming about having seen the devil," the doctor added to the conversation. "Nurse Richards has her locked in her room."
The Chief Nurse nodded. "She's sound asleep."
Constance Pritchard nodded and paused for a moment to consider their next steps.
"Good," she finally said. "Assign someone else to look after Harkness. Your nurse Edwards appears to be a devout Christian. Choose someone who holds more secular beliefs. Someone who can accept his oddity without believing he's been possessed by the devil."
Griffith took out a small vial with a single pill inside. "Make Nurse Edwards swallow this pill. It will help her forget her breakdown, and she will be able to return to working normal shifts by tomorrow morning."
He passed the vial to Nurse Richards, who slipped it into her apron.
"Give it to her and let her sleep through the night."
The nurse nodded and excused herself.
"The delays today were quite annoying," Doctor Wilson commented as he stood up. "Please excuse me; I still have work to do in my laboratory."
Following his departure, the Torchwood agents addressed the director, who stared at them solemnly. "We'll be back with a new shipment tomorrow. Make certain that there will be no issues and that your caretaker will have enough time to assist us in moving the boxes."
Director Powell nodded. As strange as the nightly deliveries were, they had become routine in comparison to the wild card known as Jack Harkness.
"Weren't you supposed to look after Jack? I mean, Mr Harkness?" Ianto asked, confused, when Mary reported for duty the following day.
Lynn and Ianto had been nearby when Nurse Edwards was taken away following the incident with her patient. There had been blood everywhere, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. After the madness they had witnessed the previous day, Ianto hadn't expected her to return anytime soon.
"I was," Mary said, with an unfocused look. "But he is a sensitive case, and I guess it just didn't work out. Nurse Richards believes that Keris is better suited to care for him." The nurse shrugged and walked into the day room, taking the tray of Therozine pills from Lynn's hands.
Lynn and Ianto exchanged glances. Then the young nurse shrugged and followed her older colleague through the door to begin the day.
Ianto looked after them, baffled. Had everyone forgotten about the blood?
Mary clearly had. Her dilated pupils indicated that she had received a precise dose of retcon. Ianto was an expert at administering this kind of amnesia pill, and he could tell when someone had been dosed.
He's really handsome, Keris thought as she watched Jack Harkness sleep. Well, he was unconscious, to be precise. His most recent dose of sedatives had completely knocked him out. She sat next to his bed, admiring his smooth features. The high cheekbones, straight nose, and fine lines of his perfectly shaped lips. She leaned forward, running her finger along his jawline. Quickly she drew her hand back.
Keris was well aware that she was not allowed to make physical contact with patients, at least not in this manner. She'd been at Westwood for five years and didn't want to lose her job. She had previously worked as a nurse in a regular hospital in Cardiff. It had been a good job with a good group of friends, but she'd reached a point where she couldn't go on. She just couldn't shape her life how she wanted, no matter how hard she tried. Westwood had been the perfect getaway. Free from societal expectations. She could concentrate on helping people without being distracted. And she was easily distracted, she thought with a smile as she continued to look at her patient.
Keris reflected on how she had wished for a loving husband, two children, and a lovely house. She had been so optimistic when she decided to become a nurse, fully intending to do so for only a few years before settling down and getting married. But for some reason, it never happened. All she wanted was to be a proper housewife with a perfect family.
Sometimes the young nurse wondered what was wrong with her. She was attractive and, in her opinion, a nice, hard-working young woman. Her long light blonde hair, which she wore neatly braided in a plait while working, and her soft blue eyes should be enough to drive any man crazy. She knew men loved her; they just didn't think she was good enough for marriage. She'd been a mistress twice, chasing the impossible dream that her lovers would abandon their wives to marry her. Sweet talkers they were, especially the pretty ones. What a fool she had been.
Keris eyed Jack even more intently. "Are you a sweet talker as well?" she wondered. She was curious if he had a wife and children. If so, did they know he was here? She hadn't seen any visitors. Most of Westwood's patients were left to fend for themselves. Society preferred to ignore the mentally challenged.
"Right now, you can neither sweet talk nor flee to your wife at home. I'm all you have, and I'll take good care of you." She smiled as she thought about Jack's possible background.
The days went by, and much to Ianto's chagrin, Keris's care of Jack went rather well. There were no commotions or complaints. He'd hoped she'd fail just as quickly as Mary. He needed to find a way to take over to be closer to Jack.
With no option but to wait, Ianto had spent the nights looking for more strange Torchwood activities in the basement. He had even tried to find a way downstairs at one point. But a special lock system, most likely alien technology, made all the doors impenetrable. He'd seen Torchwood come and go three times in the last two weeks. They were bringing large, heavy boxes and leaving with them clearly empty every time. Ianto had the theory that they were running out of cells at the hub and brought the overflow here. But what did they do with them in the basement? Was there a large prison underneath the structure? Hard to believe. Did they use the incinerator that Lynn mentioned? That could be, but it didn't explain the strange tremors and otherworldly noises. Whatever was going on down there, he'd reached a dead end; all he could do was his regular job as a nurse.
He desperately needed to talk to Jack.
Lynn and Ianto were overseeing their patients in the day room one afternoon when Keris Clarke wheeled her special patient into the room. Ianto became concerned immediately as soon as he saw the dire state Jack was in. Drool dripped from his mouth while his head dangled in front of his chest. Keris made him sit comfortably in front of one of the large windows. She cleaned him up and wrapped an extra blanket around his legs.
She then walked over to them and slumped down on a chair. When the older nurses were not in the room, the three of them had devised a little routine of afternoon tea and gossip. Ianto was curious about how things were going.
"Now would be a nice time for a cigarette," Keris sighed, gratefully accepting Ianto's mug of hot tea.
Lynn smirked. "You know very well that matches are not allowed near patients. You'll have to wait until you get to your room tonight."
"I know, I know. The last few days have just been so insanely hectic! Doctor Winslow's research requires so many appointments and tests that I can hardly get out of his examination room. After a while, that room begins to feel like a crypt! So I thought it would be nice if Jack spent a little time in the day room, with its beautiful view of the park!" Keris spoke tenderly. "I hope he notices the nice things I do for him, despite the current memory impalement."
"You know it takes at least a day to settle the mind after an ECT," Lynn reminded her.
Keris nodded and looked over at her patient with a sweet expression.
"He's such a dreamboat," she said, swooning.
"Like a movie star!" Lynn exclaimed.
They both blushed and started to giggle.
Ianto, who usually preferred only to listen when the two women gossiped, couldn't help but snort.
Lynn laughed and patted his hand. "Oh Ianto, don't be a wet rag, you're adorable too!"
Keris looked at the clock and emptied her cup of tea.
"Enough gossip, I need to bring Jack back to his room. Doctor Winslow wants to resume the ECT sessions tomorrow and he really needs some rest."
"More ECT?" Ianto asked, concerned. From the looks of it, they had electrocuted him enough for a lifetime.
"Oh, yes. I believe the doctor wants to see how much a human body withstands. Such testing will be extremely beneficial to future ECT patients," Keris said.
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you said he can't die. That sounds so fantastical," Lynn whispered in wonder.
"It's true! I've seen it. It's so surreal when he suddenly starts breathing again," Keris explained. "I can't deny that it was a little frightening at first. But, you know, there are so many unexplainable things in the world; this is just another one. I have a magazine in my room about miracles, and this sounds exactly like one of them. We've come a long way in the last ten years, but there's still so much we don't know. Doctor Winslow told me that these experiments could lead to a multitude of new discoveries."
Ianto looked at her with scepticism.
"Don't look like that, Ianto!" she laughed and playfully poked him in the shoulder. "How about you be a sweetheart and help me get him into his bed?"
"Sure," Ianto said as he stood up.
He had helped her a lot in the last few days. It was difficult for a petite woman like her to lift a full-grown man from a wheelchair into a bed.
Back in Jack's room, as Ianto lifted him from his chair onto the bed, the young man immediately realised something was wrong.
He held Jack for a moment to comfort him as best he could in the precious seconds he was allowed to hold him and gently laid him on the bed. When his vision suddenly blurred, he took a deep breath and held onto the bed frame. He fought down a wave of dizziness. Ianto cleared his throat and straightened his shirt as he turned to face Keris.
She stood patiently behind him, waiting for him to finish. Her face was flushed, and she had unbuttoned her blouse's top button. It looked nice but was against hospital regulations.
"Thank you, Ianto," she breathed, winking at him.
Was she flirting?
He gave her a brief, curt smile and murmured something like "It was a pleasure" before hurrying out of the room. With determined steps, he strode down the corridor. His hands clenched into fists until he reached the restrooms. Inside, he splashed cold water on his face. He held onto the edge of the washbasin and tried to relax.
It didn't work.
Ianto sighed exasperatedly. He knew what had happened.
Jack's pheromones were out of control.
Ianto looked at his flushed face in the mirror. He despised how easily his pale face betrayed his emotions.
As if his forced abstinence since arriving here wasn't difficult enough, the extra push made it difficult to control his libido. He looked down at himself, still holding onto the sink, and realised with horror how prominent the bulge in his trousers was.
"Dammit," Ianto groaned. He couldn't go outside like this.
Under normal circumstances, Jack kept a tight lid on his pheromones and could control their intensity. He only slipped when he became overly excited. But not like this. Maybe it was the ECT treatment? Or the sedatives had something to do with it. Whatever it was, Jack couldn't control himself in such a frail mental state.
If Ianto was having trouble, how did Keris manage? There was no way she would be unaffected. Her earlier flirting suggested that this could become a problem. He needed to find Nurse Richards immediately and persuade her to join him on a surprise visit to Jack's room. This may be his chance to get Keris relieved of her duties.
But first of all, he had to take care of himself. Ianto stumbled into the toilet cubicle and jerked himself off. He missed Jack, and he missed their intimacy. The intensity of their kisses and Jack's strong, reassuring aura wrapping him in a firm embrace. It didn't take long for his needs to be satisfied, and Ianto slumped against the wall and closed his eyes.
Keris giggled as she watched Ianto bolt from the room. He'd looked panicked all of a sudden. She had to admit it was too warm in the room, but there was no reason to leave so quickly. Dutifully the young nurse secured Jack's arms and legs with the leather bindings to his bed. She was advised not to administer sedatives for the night to achieve better results during the subsequent ECT sessions.
She took the metal gag off the shelf and turned it in her hands. She despised that thing. When she put it on, it looked highly uncomfortable. Jack was so out of it that she doubted he would scream in the middle of the night. Decision made, she put it back on the shelve.
As strange as it sounded, Jack looked much better after his sessions with Doctor Winslow when he was allowed to die during the examinations. He didn't die today, and he looked exhausted. His hair was sweaty, and his skin was clammy. His long eyelashes partially hid the black shadows around his eyes.
Keris gently pushed a few strands of hair away from his face. The burn marks from the electrodes looked painful. She reached for the ointment and applied some to his skin. She massaged it in with long, slow strokes. He was so beautiful even in this dissolved state, she thought dreamily.
A moan escaped his lips, but he was still far from waking up. Keris took a dry cloth and wiped away his drool. One of the inconvenient side effects of using too strong ECT settings. His mind had been pushed to its breaking point by today's treatments.
"Ssh, Jack," she said softly, comforting him. She gently stroked his hairline and leaned closer to whisper into his ear. "Everything will be all right. I will always take good care of you."
Keris opened another button of her uniform while her eyes focused on his slightly parted mouth. Drops of sweat shimmered on his upper lip in the sparse light of the room. She imagined how it would be to lick them away with her tongue. Her heart raced, and she was swaying slightly. Confused, she slipped her hand into her half-open blouse and placed it on her chest. She felt sweat pooling on the skin between her breasts.
Has it ever been this hot in here? This was worse than the kitchen during baking hours, she thought absent-mindedly, while her full attention was on Jack.
His lips were so beautiful. So red and delicately formed.
Keris licked her lips. Then she leaned down and let her lips brush against his.
So soft, she marvelled in awe.
Then she let her gaze wander down his still body and was overcome with the desire to do more than simply touch his lips. Short-breathed, she wiped away the sweat from her brow. She knew these were inappropriate thoughts for a young woman in her situation. But the need that was growing within her was so strong.
One glance at the door. Nobody would know.
She moved closer to the bed again and unbuttoned his hospital gown. She'd seen him naked before while washing and changing his clothes. But this was different.
Keris stroked her fingers gently over his chest, enjoying the smoothness beneath her fingertips. She hadn't lain with a man in so long that she had utterly forgotten how touching a man like this made her feel.
Timidly she touched her breast and caressed her hard nipples.
She was surprised to notice Jack's body respond to her touch. For a brief moment, she drew her hand away. Was he aware of what she was doing?
She giggled nervously.
It was most likely an automatic reaction to stimulation. She returned her fingers to his chest and drew circles on his pristine skin. As she felt her own body react, she moaned. Her nerves were on fire as arousal swept through her body.
Keris kissed his lips again, this time harder and more passionately. She wished he would kiss her back. She was confident he would if he was awake.
If he could only get to know her, she knew he'd want to marry her, and she'd be lucky to bear his children one day. They'd make a picture-perfect family. Her dreams would finally come true.
Light-headed, Keris stroked his hair and showered his face and neck with kisses. Driven by uncontrollable desire, she climbed on top of him, took off her apron and unbuttoned her uniform. Clad only in her bra, she bent down to feel his skin on hers. Her need for real intimacy almost overwhelmed her.