Title: Episode One Renewable Resource
Author: SoLeo
Pairing: Jack/Ianto duh.
Spoilers: Just for COE that I can think of, not that I'm really mentioning it in this chapter...
Notes: Thanks again to the lovely sheerpoetry for being my beta.
--__--__--__--
Chapter Three
Abertha arrived at the shelter where she volunteered at about half past ten. A few of the regular morning food servers waved or smiled at her. She hurried on to the laundry to check on the progress that the UNI students had made on their never-ending pile.
The laundry idea had been her pet project since she had gotten approval for it. It was more like a mini dry-cleaner: fancy washers, dryers, and a mechanical rack keeping all the clothes in order. When it first started, she had noticed an immediate improvement in the morale of those who took part. There was just something so uplifting about wearing clean clothes. She took a whiff as she entered the room and the stifling hot air put a smile on her face.
"How's it coming, Scott?" The young man stopped ironing a shirt and looked up at her. He was a nice enough kid, but she knew he was only here for two reasons; he was getting extra credit in his civics class and he was trying to get Nerys, another UNI student, to go out with him.
"It's coming along, Mrs. Grenier. I've just started on the ones we got this morning." He gave her a watery smile. The heat must be getting to him.
"Well, I'll take over for a while. You go help Nerys set up for lunch. Come get me so I can help serve." He got out of there quickly, this smile much more genuine.
An hour later, she had made an impressive dent in her current pile when a man entered. "Sorry to interrupt you, one of the other guys told me I could see you about some clothes?" If he had been one of their regular patrons, he wouldn't have had to ask.
"Yes, how can I help you?" She came around the ironing board and wiped the sweat from her hands before offering it to the man to shake. As she approached him, she could tell he was still young, but a hard life on the street had aged him beyond his years. Hair that would have been sandy when clean looked brown with built up dirt. His eyes were sunken in a bit, possibly from drug use at one time, but they looked to be an alert and clear brown.
"Anything you can spare really. These are the only ones I've got, and truthfully I don't think they'd even make good rags." She smiled gently, hoping to ease his discomfort.
"Sure thing. We've got plenty of stuff that hasn't been claimed in a while. I'm sure we've got something in your sizeā¦" She trailed off, hoping he'd take the hint and introduce himself.
"Oh, um. David. My name's David." She gave him her most dazzling smile, which he returned and led him to the unclaimed racks.
"You just take your time, David. Lunch won't be ready for another half hour."
--__--__--__--
"You guys sure are quick. I just filed my findings this morning." The coroner wasn't a big man, more like sturdy. His big hands were perfect for sewing up bodies, and some other pleasant things Jack could think of. His once brown hair was peppered with white, but the wrinkle lines of his face placed him in his early forties.
'Maybe he's just prematurely graying. He certainly looks fit for his age.' Jack looked him up and down as the man led them into a back freezer. Four separate bodies were laid out on gurneys, dark body bags making them indistinguishable.
"Things like this are always taken very seriously." Jack said hoping the other man hadn't caught him checking him out.
The older man was about to open the bag closest to the door, but stopped. "You think it could be some sort of new skin disease?" The man speculated; excitement and fear laced the question. He took a step away from the body bag.
"We don't think so, but if we don't check we'll get a reprimand." Ianto cut in, downplaying the situation to quiet the man's fears. If it didn't seem like a big deal, then it could get swept away without anyone noticing. "Just let us take a look so we can get out of your way."
"Of course. Take as long as you need. I'll just be right outside if you need anything." The man made a hasty retreat, maybe to wash his hands five or six times. Jack almost chuckled aloud, but Ianto passed him a pair of rubber gloves and was already opening the body bag.
"You really are incorrigible, you know that?" Ianto said. He couldn't tell if he was really put off, or if he was just making a show of it.
"Ianto Jones, you know I only have eyes for you. Would you deny me looking at the menu, when you know I always eat at home?" He tried to be charming, but Ianto could be very straight faced when he wanted to, so he didn't know if it was working or not.
He was being ignored as Ianto began to examine the body of Ryan Douglas.
He looked away from the tempting image of Ianto leaning over the body, getting a better look to see for himself what was so interesting about this corpse. Ryan had been fair of hair and skin. Freckles could clearly be seen all over his exposed flesh. They stood out because the skin had paled further in death.
"Did you see that?!" Ianto asked as he jumped away from the body.
Jack leaned in closer to see what his companion had seen. He strained his eyes, trying not to blink, and then he saw it. The dark spots he had originally thought were freckles started wriggling and writhing. They pulled up from the skin, trying to reach him, but were stuck to the flesh.
"Whoa. Don't let them touch you Ianto." He tried to examine the little creatures without getting too close, but they kept blurring as they moved.
"Should we take a sample for further study? We have no idea if they contributed to the man's death." Ianto was keeping as far away from the body as he could.
"We don't have the proper facilities at the moment. So we'll just have to destroy them." He hated when he had to do that. The micro aliens weren't at fault, well not completely, but he really had no way to send them back where they belonged. "Contact Gwen, see if she can track where he came in contact with them. If they're being spread around the population it's going to be a lot harder to cover up. This could take days, but we need to check out all leads. I'll get this guy over to be incinerated."
Ianto nodded and tapped his Bluetooth, to bring up Gwen or possibly Lois. Left to his own task, Jack zipped up the bad hiding the small creatures from sight and began rolling the gurney out of the freezer.
--__--__--__--
A/N: Sorry this is so late. I had it ready about three days ago, but I caught a nasty little cold and I didn't want to do anything. So I hope you enjoyed it.
