Disclaimer- I do not have the pleasure of owning Torchwood. If I did, there would be less aliens and more beautiful Welsh vowels. As you can tell by the aliens, the BBC has the honour of owning the show. And also Doctor Who, from whence many of the characters in this fic are also borrowed.
Spoilers- Lets say seasons 1 & 2 to be on the safe side
Rating- T
Synopsis- AU. Jack's working nights, Ianto's getting stressed, and Tosh is having nightmares again. With Gwen and Owen playing up too, can peace reassert itself in the Harkness-Jones household before disaster strikes?
General Notes- AU: the aliens only come out at night; and Torchwood is merely the name of a house. Idea came from nowhere; title is stolen from a Delta Goodrem song which may or may not be connected. My first Torchwood fanfic, so please be nice! Constructive criticism is always welcomed. And don't kill me for the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff *g*
Chapter Notes- N/A
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Chapter 2
"If you were just one more shade of pale, Ianto, you'd be a ghost," John Smith proclaimed anxiously as he literally ran into the Welshman in the front entrance hall. Holding Ianto's shoulders to steady him from the impact, Smith eyed the dark bags under his friend's eyes with worry.
"You're a doctor of astrophysics, not medicine," Ianto grumbled, pulling away; secretly rather touched by his colleague's concern.
John shrugged. "Ok, so I'll produce an equation to prove you need more sleep, if that's what it'll take for you to rest."
Ianto smiled wryly. "It's not that simple, Doctor."
"So tell me," the Englishman urged, ushering Ianto through the doors and along the corridor to his office.
Ianto sighed, sinking down on the sofa which John insisted on keeping in his office for some bizarre reason. But then again, he was a fairly bizarre man. Dr John Smith, PhD- 'The Doctor' to his friends- was tall and lanky, with spiky yet floppy brown hair and warm brown eyes; eyes which personal tragedy made appear older than his thirty-six years, even though the rest of him looked barely past his twenties. He was a damn good-looking man, in an individual kind of way; and Ianto might well have been interested had he not known that the Doctor was straight. And also for the fact that he had arrived in Cardiff in the company of his girlfriend (now his wife). And also that the man had more energy than anyone Ianto had ever met in his life- being in the same room for too long exhausted the Welshman. Regardless of that, he was the best Acquisitions and Research Manager Ianto had ever had, despite the fact that his PhD was in astrophysics rather than history. Ianto wasn't quite sure how a highly qualified, insanely intelligent English astrophysicist from Oxford had ended up working as the Acquisitions and Research Manager of Cardiff's biggest archive, but the Welshman was eternally glad that he had.
Even if he did drag Ianto into frustrating conversations like this. The Head Archivist sighed again, running a hand through his hair. The Doctor sighed too, narrowing his eyes.
"Now come on, Ianto Jones, tell me what's bothering you. Are things alright with Jack?"
How to answer that question? Ianto nodded automatically. "Yes, things are… fine. It's nothing, John, really."
The Doctor sighed again, somewhat uncharacteristically giving up for the present even as he resolved to speak to Jack as soon as possible.
"Fine, go and work the stress off then," he responded, exasperated. "But don't make the mistake of thinking that this conversation's over."
Ianto treated him to a tired smile as he rose and headed for the door. "Why thank you, Doctor. But don't make the mistake of thinking I don't appreciate your concern when you can't find me to continue this conversation." And with that he was gone.
John sighed again, rubbing his temple. How typically Ianto. The young man had a habit of bottling things up inside to the point of it being detrimental to his health. If something really was bothering him, he'd probably keep it hidden until the shit hit the fan and life exploded in his face. As his friend, John felt justified in his determination not to let it escalate to that point. Particularly as the happiness of both his closest friends rested on whatever the issue was.
Making a snap decision, he reached for the phone and dialled a numbed which he knew by heart.
"Fuck off, Smith, can't you see it's the middle of the night?" impatient American tones snapped down the line, and the Doctor chuckled.
"Oh, so that must explain why I've just seen a ghost."
A mile or so away, Jack Harkness groaned and rolled over in bed. "I'm warning you, John, I'm not in the mood right now. This had better be serious- we had three call-outs last night and I'm fucking exhausted."
Smith could tell- usually Jack kept swear words to a minimum, conscious of the risk of slipping up in front of his kids if he swore regularly (not that he really needed to worry- the kids, had he only known it, knew language that would make a sailor blush.)
"Yeah?" John challenged, swinging his chair around to face the window. "Well so's Ianto, and I'm worried about him. Are things ok between you two?"
He could sense the movement when Jack sat up straight in bed. "Why; has he said anything?"
"No," John conceded, smiling as he knew that Jack had just flopped back against the pillows with a sigh, turning the bedside light on (the room had blackout curtains.)
"As far as I know, we're ok," Jack commented, sounding exhausted. "I mean, Tosh is having nightmares again and it's taking its toll on our sanity; but I wasn't aware that it was damaging our relationship."
John sighed, turning back to the desk again, resting his chin thoughtfully on his hand.
"I wish you'd take her to see a doctor, Jack," he commented, the slight muffling of his voice informing Jack exactly what pose his friend was striking.
"I will," he replied, and John could practically hear his grin down the phone. "When are you free?"
The Doctor tutted. "Jack. You know that's not what I mean."
Jack chuckled. "I mean it though. When are you free? It feels like I haven't seen you in ages."
It was John's turn to chuckle. "One week, two days and ooh… Eleven hours and twenty minutes?"
The American grinned again. "Like I said- ages."
The Doctor smiled. "Coffee, today, say five?"
Jack shrugged. "Sure, sounds good. I can get Gwen to babysit; she always wants the money and I doubt Ianto will emerge from his precious archive any time before six."
Noting the faint hint of bitterness in Jack's voice, John frowned again. "Don't be so hard on him, Jack. If I remember rightly, the two key rules of your household are 'Never call Dad out of work' and 'Never call Dad when he's asleep during the day'."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "The latter of which you may notice you're breaking."
The Doctor chuckled. "Well yes, but then I'm not a member of your household, am I?"
"You think that's going to stop me being pissed off?"
"Grumpy old man."
"Hey, less of the 'old'!" Jack retorted, grinning. "I'm not ready to be thrown on the scrapheap just yet, thank you!"
"Who said anything about the scrapheap?" John murmured innocently, and Jack chuckled.
"You've been spending too much time with me, Doctor."
"Occupational hazard of being your best friend, Jack," the Doctor shot back, grinning.
"Oh, does that mean I should be bouncing around making scientific exclamations about the colour of the sky and eyeing up blondes?"
"Well, you can't deny you fancied her too, Jack."
"Bastard."
The Doctor knew the insult wasn't serious, mainly from the grin in his friend's voice.
"Actually, my parents were married when I was born."
Jack chuckled. "Yeah, yeah; I know they were. But really, there's nothing wrong with being born out of wedlock."
Knowing precisely to whom Jack was referring, John smiled too. "I know, Jack, I know. She's a credit to you; even if she does have a bit of a temper."
His friend laughed. "Ah, but don't forget we have her temper to thank for introducing me to the delicious archivist you'd been hiding from me…"
He would never forget that day. It had started just like any other- and carried on that way, right up until that phone call at ten past twelve…
"Earth calling Jack… Are you receiving me? I repeat: are you receiving me? Come in, Captain Harkness…"
The Doctor's voice cut across Jack's thoughts, dragging him reluctantly back to the present.
"Earth? Where's that?" he quipped, knowing it would draw a smile from his friend.
"Well, if you're going to have delusions as a result of exhaustion…" the Doctor shot back, grinning.
"Oh, don't remind me!" Jack groaned, making John laugh.
"I'll leave you to your beauty sleep then."
"Sure; see you later sweetheart." Jack could almost see the Doctor's eye-roll, despite the distance between them.
"Bye, Jack."
A sharp click followed by the dial tone replaced John's voice, and Jack replaced the receiver on its stand, glancing at the clock to calculate if Gwen would be in a lesson and groaning as his eyes met with nothing and he remembered that Tosh had purloined it. Reaching for his watch instead, he noted to his delight that break time should be just starting. After waiting impatiently for a minute or so to ensure that Gwen would have left her lesson, he grabbed the phone again and dialled his daughter's number from memory.
"Hello?" Her breathless tones never failed to make him smile.
"Gwennie darling, I need you to babysit for me tonight." Jack was not one to beat about the bush.
Her gasp of dismay was audible even down the line. "Aww, but Dad! I had plans with Rhys tonight."
Jack raised an eyebrow, refraining from comment with difficulty- Rhys Williams was a nice enough lad, but nevertheless the American was sure that his daughter could do better.
"And what might those plans be?"
"He's taking me to Costa La Vista after school."
Ah, Costa La Vista. THE place to be seen on an after-school date if you were a teenager. No wonder Gwen was disappointed and just a little mutinous. Jack sighed, calculating how to play it.
"Well, your plans with Rhys have changed," he informed her brusquely, suppressing a chuckle as he felt her pout down the phone. "You come home straight after school and look after Tosh and Owen; and then Rhys can come round about sevenish and you can have pizza. In your room. Just don't tell Ianto."
Hmm, Ianto. He was not going to be best pleased by this. Ianto's belief in the Family Meal was adorable beyond belief, yet at the same time often really rather irritating. But then again, if he could persuade Gwen to feed Tosh and Owen when they got in from school, and moved his coffee appointment to four… Then he'd have enough time to cook Ianto a romantic meal and actually have the chance to spend some time with his partner. Oh yes, that sounded like a plan.
"Really?" Gwen's excitement was palpable. Jack grinned, knowing she could sense it even if she couldn't see it.
"Sure. But there's one condition."
Leaning against her locker, Gwen stiffened. Her father's 'conditions' were not always pleasant.
"What would that be?" she asked cautiously.
"You feed Tosh and Owen," her father answered promptly. "There's chicken nuggets and oven chips in the freezer; and you know where the baked beans are if you want to introduce the merest vestige of healthiness into the meal. You do that, and I'll let you have Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert," he bargained, knowing for sure that would sway her. It did.
"Okay, I can do that," she agreed, and he could feel her adorable gap-toothed grin.
"Good girl." There were times that Jack really loved his eldest daughter. "Have a great day at school, sweetheart. I'll see you at ten to four, yeah?"
"Yeah, for about ten seconds!" she teased lightly. "What's the big occasion, anyway?"
"Oh, just coffee with John," Jack replied equally lightly, not wanting to let slip that the pair were meeting for serious conversation rather than the usual witty banter.
"Ah, the lure of a mocha!" Gwen mocked, grinning. Ianto was generally in charge of coffee at home, and they all knew how the Welshman hated 'adulterating' the drink with chocolate. Mochas with the Doctor were her father's guilty pleasure- or one of them, anyway.
Jack grinned back, knowing his daughter could sense the smile.
"Yeah, you know me- just can't resist the combination of chocolate and coffee."
Even as he finished the sentence, the bell for the end of break rang. Gwen swore, drawing a frown from her father.
"Shit, I've gotta go."
She had hung up even before her father could open his mouth to reprimand her for the oath. Sighing, he rolled his eyes, decided that teenagers were teenagers and there was nothing he could do to change that, and dialled another number. The phone was answered immediately.
"Hello, Cardiff Central Archives, Acquisitions and Research Department. How may I help you?"
"Doctor, that coffee? Can we make it four?"
Jack could sense the Doctor roll his eyes even as he grinned.
"Why, Jack, you're practically asking me to leave at lunchtime! Something come up?"
Jack leered. "Well not yet, but I intend it to later."
"Always the same, Harkness, always the same. Have you no shame?"
"Nope, and you know it."
Despite the distance, the Doctor knew exactly what expression was on the American's face at that precise moment.
"Seriously though, what am I supposed to tell Ianto when he sees me sneaking out early?"
"Easy- just tell him you've got a hot date."
"Because that in no way infers that I'm meeting up with you," the Doctor shot back sarcastically, causing Jack to grin. It was- fractionally- true though: if John wasn't straight, there was no way on earth that Jack would ever have had kids. Except by adoption, of course. As it was, the American was more than happy with his current life; but he still enjoyed teasing the Doctor about his university crush on his friend. John humoured him. Best friends since the first week at Oxford, he knew Jack almost better than Jack knew himself.
"So? Can you knock off that bit earlier?" the American demanded impatiently, keen to piece together his day before he tried to get some shut-eye. John shrugged.
"I don't see why not. I take it you got Gwen to babysit then?"
Jack nodded, despite the fact his friend couldn't see the action. "Yep. And I bribed her to feed Tosh and Owen, so I can cook a romantic meal for Ianto and spend some time with him before I have to leave for work."
"Ah, it's all falling into place now…" the Doctor quipped, pushing his thick-framed square glasses further up his nose. "Excellent plan, I commend it. But now… You need your beauty sleep, and I really need to get some work done if I'm going to rush off at half past three."
"I'll text Rose and tell her not to disturb you," Jack joked back, enjoying the snort of indignation he received in response.
"I'll have you know we're completely professional at work, Captain."
"Ooh, now I know I'm in trouble!" Jack teased. Oddly enough, the Doctor only used his friend's nickname when he was formal or annoyed.
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Goodbye, Jack."
Jack grinned and replaced the phone on its stand, flicking off the light as he did so. As the relative darkness engulfed him, he found himself slipping easily into a deep, welcome sleep.
Coincidentally, a mile or so away Ianto was experiencing exactly the same thing as he rested his head on the desk just for the briefest of moments.
For some strange reason, his subconscious drew him into a vividly realistic dream of the day he had met a certain dashing American.