Butterflies,
Pulling up to the house Jack let out a huge sigh and put his head on the steering wheel of his car. As he did he let out all the tension he had been holding onto since they had left the institute 19 hours ago. And now they were here. Being so far north it was only now getting dark; the twilight was causing the sky to bleed a deep red and Jack had to get Ianto inside and safe before the light faded completely.
Ianto on the other hand looked completely calm because the car had become a symbol of safety. It had been the drive from hell, and despite all their preparations, laying out the route they would take along with photographs of things they expected to see along the way, maps, deadlines, meal and toilet breaks,, there had been a major upset. Owen the new head of Torchwood Cardiff has set this up as an induction exercise and first mission for the four new members of the Torchwood team. They had had spent a great deal of time considering every possible contingency: from road works, to bad weather. They had even worked out possible detours and secondary routes. All carefully labelled and added to Ianto's substantial folder under Plan A, B and so on.
They had left as per the schedule at 4.30 am. As he got into the car Ianto kept to his blank state ignoring the goodbyes from the staff who was genuinely happy he was leaving with someone who had chosen to care for him. As they had left the gates and got further and further away Ianto had started to relax, and Jack could see the tension leaving his face. As they hit the motorway on time, Ianto had actually taken a sharp intake of breath and clapped with joy, his face radiating a huge grin.
An hour later disaster struck; a major pile up further down the motorway meant they got stuck for two hours in a huge traffic jam. At first Ianto had sat quietly then started to tap his finger on the map and kept looking at the car clock. He refused to be diverted even by offers of 'Nemo' and spent the time listening to his music which had been connected to the car sound system, slavishly going over the alternate routes in his folder. Jack was certain at one point he would start to bodily move the car's himself if he had to listen to the 'I like to move it, move it' song one more time.
Eventually they were back on their way and as the car started up, he saw Ianto relax; moving his finger along the map and pointing out the features captured in photographs as they passed them.
Jack knew they were seriously delayed and gone was the nice leisurely drive. He was left with two choices: pull in and stay somewhere for the night - he considered this for one micro second before dismissing it - or drive hell for leather. They had only had one deadline to meet the ferry crossing as it only had had only one sailing a day. They made it with minutes to spare. Ianto had been persuaded to leave the car, and joined Jack. They had stood on the deck, Jack's arm around his waist to steady him. Jack glanced at Ianto's face; he was lost in wonderment at the scene as the ship left the harbour hitting the green deep water of the open ocean. The seagulls following at the back of the ship really caught Ianto's attention. This however was nothing compared to the churning of the water by the propeller. Ianto was fascinated and pointed out to Jack several times with sharp intakes of breath. Jack was so happy he hugged him and kissed his cheek, and was rewarded as Ianto kissed his cheek and hugged him back.
Undoing his seat belt he got out and stretched, then went around and opened Ianto's car door. Ianto turned to the last section of his folder labelled 'arrival'. He pulled our several photographs in sleeves and studied each intently, making sure the house and garden matched the pictures he had been given. Several moments passed then he reached down and undid his seat belt.
Walking down the path, Jack used the electronic key to deactivate the internal and external security system he had had installed. Using a more standard brass key he unlocked the door. Jack held his breath, they had prepared Ianto for this moment, and everything - he meant everything - had to be exactly as described. He took a quick look around and it appeared to be just that. Handing the folder to Jack, Ianto consulted his pictures and found everything he saw matched the photographs in his hand. Jack led Ianto into each room allowing him time to settle before moving on.
They entered the lounge-kitchen area first; here was a state of the art kitchen that flowed into a large comfortable lounge complete with comfy sofa, and two large Lazy Boy-type chairs. The room also sported a large wide screen TV and sound system. Ianto ignored these and approached the large French style windows which Jack now opened and they folded away to the side. Once opened it made the room feel twice the size. The doors opened onto a large pink paved area complete with wooden pergola with a substantial wisteria cover. There was some outdoor furniture to complement including a swing seat.
This led into an extensive garden with tall solid stone walls; the house and garden were on a rise so the walls did not obstruct the extensive view of the sea.
With patience he led Ianto through the house as he consulted his pictures, finally they made it up the stairs. Here there was a spare bedroom with extra-large single bed, another room filled with art supplies and other things they might need on shelves and finally a large bedroom complete with en-suite.
As they entered Ianto gasped because one whole wall was all window, being one story up it took in the view of the garden and hill as it rolled down towards the sea. The hill was spotted with several sheep which Ianto pointed out in the fading light. Jack smiled at Ianto's reaction; having a photo was one thing, experiencing it was something else.
Ianto turned to him blinking as he saw the double bed. Jack put his arm around him.
" We're home," Jack told him as Ianto turned to him his eyes filling with tears. Ianto was overwhelmed. Jack had not lied to him, it was all true, every word, and he felt like he'd come full circle. He had promised he would get him out of the room, out of the bad place, trust me he had said. Seeing he was becoming upset Jack just held him. Ianto felt himself held in Jack's arms, as he broke down.
He had escaped, he was safe at last.
Jack turned to see Ianto race to towards him, something in his hand, and throw his arms around him distraught. He had been in the garden a short while ago enjoying the sunshine and he wondered what had happened. Jack was used to Ianto's swings of emotion; they had been here a week and he was very much up and down as per normal. The schedule still ruled but Ianto had far more to occupy him. The first major change had been that Ianto had found a tiny measure of independence. As long as he could see Jack he was happy to go and wander around the garden which he spent two hours in every day after lunch. He kept an eye on him as if he didn't fully trust the situation and Jack might disappear. That said all his other problems remained and he could switch form one emotion to another in an instant.
Jack heard a soft knock on the door and he called out softly for them to enter. He knew exactly who it was. It was their new G.P making an expected house visit to introduce herself. Noticing the scene as she entered, she quietly closed the door behind her.
Ianto pulled back and slowly opened his hand to reveal a dead butterfly. Ianto had discovered butterflies on his first day in the garden. The island was very windswept hence the solid enclosed garden. Its sheltered nature meant it was a haven for butterflies attracted by the few tatty beds of flowers and a couple of cabbages. He had watched completely absorbed as one had fluttered around him. Catching one on his finger he had brought the creature to Jack for explanation. They had then spent their book time going onto the internet to find pictures of every kind of butterfly they could come across and printing out several pictures.
"Ianto's discovered butterflies," Jack said in explanation as she looked around to see a large notice board almost covered in drawings of butterflies in every conceivable colour and size.
Ianto lent and whispered something in Jack's ear.
"It's dead Ianto, a kiss is not going to make it better," he told him. Ianto whispered something else then looked up expectantly at Jack.
"Yes, you can have a kiss to make you feel better," he said kissing him sweetly on the lips. Ianto turned now and saw they had a visitor and he stiffened immediately and dropped his eyes to the floor.
"This is Doctor Veronica Singh. Remember we talked about this? Today she's coming to visit to meet us and say hello," Jack told him. Ianto turned away to look into the distance.
Veronica did not react. Jack and Doctor Green had filled her in with great detail about what to expect.
Whispering again in Jack's ear he listened. "I think that's a wonderful idea Ianto," he said as he leant over and tore off a handy kitchen towel from the caddy. Holding it out Ianto carefully put the dead butterfly in it and wrapped it up. Leaning over he whispered again.
"I'm sure it would be very happy to be buried there," Jack agreed. Ianto now headed down and went back to the garden.
"I understood he was non-verbal?" Veronica said as Jack placed some water in a kettle and turned it on.
"Yes he was until three days ago. We had that storm that blew in. Ianto was sitting on the sofa in a bad mood…"