Title: Flame beneath ashes - Chapter 6: The proposition
Summary: AU. After the events of Countrycide, Ianto was retconned and allowed to start a new life in London. Intervening accidentally in a burning building, it's a very different manJack meets four years later. But can Ianto really escape his own destiny?
Rating: T
Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Myfanwy, Original characters.
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Owen/Tosh, Gwen/Rhys (mentioned), Ianto/Lisa (past)
Genres: Alternate universe/action/romance.
Warnings: Violence, swearing, sexual situation (nothing graphic), character's death (temporary)
Spoilers: Spoilers for seasons 1 and 2. Exit wounds and Children of Earth are only mentioned as incidents and Miracle Day, of course, never happened
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes : A short interlude dedicated to Tosh and Owen's fans, before moving on to serious things regarding Jack and Ianto. After the nightmare that was the previous chapter, writing this one was a piece of cake. Special thanks to my wonderful beta reader welsh_Scotsman and to my lovely readers.
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Chapter 6 : The proposition
Cardiff, the same day, later on the afternoon
Hearing a soft knock on his office door, Jack raised his eyes from the paperwork he was working at clearing away his desk for the last two hours, mainly in a vain attempt to dispel the memory of Ianto's smile in the video.
"Come in."
Seeing Owen and Tosh slipping into the room one after the other, he threw his pen onto his desk and leant back into his seat with an weary sigh, ready to face up to a new salvo of good sense and advices. He was just surprised that they were the ones who had taken the job. He would have rather seen Gwen playing the role of Gemini Cricket and trying to convince him to retcon Ianto before he came back to London. Then he remembered that Gwen had asked him to leave early this afternoon in order to get to any family celebration, a birthday, if he remembered well.
"We need to talk," tackled Owen, without preamble.
Jack felt a surge of aggravation rising and immediately lifted a hand to stop him.
"Alright, Owen. I had my share of talking for today. Thanks. Don't worry: I got the message. The incident is solved. Ianto will go back to his life and we'll do likewise and keep an eye on him, just in case. So if you don't mind…"
He took his pen back, making them known that the conversation was over.
"It's not about Ianto," replied Owen, before taking a deep breath, as Tosh hung back and chewed her lower lip nervously. "It's about us."
Jack felt the tension flew back and a large smile spread on his face. Here we are. He chuckled, at the sight of their puzzled faces. Having pity on them, he made the first move.
"By us, I suppose you mean Tosh and you are having an affair. You're a little late, Owen. It's been over a month since I knew it and I think Gwen has heavy suspicions too. Besides, it wasn't as if you were really discrete. So, if there's nothing else..."
"Tosh is pregnant," came out Owen bluntly, taking Tosh's hand on his and squeezing it tightly.
Jack put down his pen once again and crossed his fingers on his paperwork, an unreadable expression on his face.
"This, on the other hand, is rather unexpected. And this happy event is scheduled for..."
"Approximately six months."
Jack was silent for a moment, before adding with a sigh:
"Well I guess I should call Martha and ask her to come as soon as she can."
"Why?" protested Owen immediately. "I can handle that. I treated Gwen when she was pregnant, and I don't remember any complaints."
Jack smiled mischievously.
"Yes, but unless I'm mistaken, I don't think you were Gwen's baby's father, were you?"
Owen rolled his eyes.
"Of course, not."
"And isn't there something in your code of ethics of you doctors, that prohibits you from treating your own family?"
Owen grunted noncommittally and Jack's smile widened.
"So, we agree that we need to appeal to another doctor. Moreover, I think Martha's our best choice. She's very capable, accredited by UNIT and Tosh and she already know each other." He paused and glanced at her. "If it's ok with you, of course."
The young woman nodded: "Fine for me."
Jack leant back into his chair.
"Alright. So I'll call her at the crack of dawn tomorrow." He paused and mused for a second. "We should perhaps consider the idea of a crèche. That would give a new meaning to the expression "engaged at the cradle", don't you think?"
He took another file on his desk and flipped through it distractedly, before adding:
"Speaking of that, we'll also need to make some recruitment in order to make up for your unavailability. Tosh would you be nice enough to draw up for me a list of the most promising graduates of the year from the Faculty of Medicine. Someone with medical knowledge could be useful."
"What? Are you intending to fire me?" shouted Owen
Jack lifted his chin and frowned.
"Of course not. But, honestly, you don't really think we're going to continue to work with only four people, when Tosh is pregnant and once she gives birth?"
"Why not? Gwen had Anwen and you didn't hire anyone."
"Exact. And do you know why? Because Rhys is a real mother hen who can work at distance and stay at home whilst his wife's hunting aliens across the city. Stop me if I'm wrong, but I do not think you can afford to do that."
Owen groaned and cocked his head, but he had to admit that Jack was right. Without being actually part of the team, Rhys had proved to be very useful and available any time they had needed his help.
"I'm glad that you finally share my point of view. Don't worry, Owen. You'll get a say in the recruitment."
He flashed them a quick smile.
"By the way, congratulations. I'm very happy for you," he added, before returning to his paperwork.
As his two subordinates didn't move, he looked up and raised his eyebrows.
"Anything else?"
"No. It's just that…" Owen squirmed. "We didn't expect you to be so… enthusiastic."
"Why?" asked Jack, vaguely offended.
Tosh cleared her throat.
"Well… When you picked me up in UNIT's prison, you made it very clear that I had to work for at least five years for Torchwood, before the charges against me were definitely dropped, and -"
"And?" Jack gave her a bewildered look.
"The five years aren't over," finished Owen lamely.
Jack blanched and his hand holding the pen gripped it so tightly that his knuckles were white, but he tried his best to keep his voice low and steady.
"I also think I said that any contact with your family was forbidden. But I don't think I've ever prevented you from seeing them."
Tosh lowered her eyes self-consciously.
"I know and I'm very grateful to you, it's just that..."
Jack brutally pushed back his chair, stood up and went to stand in front of the ancient circular window overlooking the main area. His voice was full of restrained anger and hurt.
"For about a century I was forced to work for Torchwood and to do things I didn't want to, because I was threatened to be thrown in jail for the rest of my life, if I didn't do it."
He paused and stared at the water tower through the window, hands crossed behind his back.
"I only said it to you because there were unfriendly ears listening, and I wanted to get you out of there. I had never intended to keep you on a leash. You're free to leave whenever you want. No retcon, no reprisals, no return to jail. Of course, that goes for both of you. "
"We don't intend to leave," Owen assured him immediately, feeling slightly ashamed for having doubted his boss.
"I'm glad to hear it," said Jack without turning around.
Eager to escape the awkwardness of the situation, Owen hastily retreated towards the exit, taking Tosh along with him.
"Well, it's getting late. I think we're gonna let you work, now. We took up too much of your time."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow then."
"Have… a good night, Jack." Tosh wished him hesitantly.
"Tosh…"
She stopped with her hand on the door's handle.
"Yes?"
He had turned around and stared at her, arms crossed on his chest.
"I…It's just… I really hope you didn't stay with us only because you thought you had to."
She retraced her steps and came back to him. Rising herself on tiptoes, she planted a kiss on his cheek.
"No, Jack. I didn't," she said with a soft smile, that Jack immediately returned to her.
She patted his forearm, then left the room and caught up with Owen.
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"Don't you think that, maybe, we're making a mistake?" she asked once they were back into the main area.
Owen, who was busy stuffing his things into his rucksack, froze on the spot.
"You... You have doubts?" he asked grimly.
Tosh gave him a puzzled look.
"What?"
He ran a hand though his hair and diverted his eyes.
"I mean, about us and the baby..."
"No! Of course, not," she hastened to say, wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him.
He couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief and hugged her back tightly.
"I was talking about Ianto. Maybe we should… I don't know. I can't help thinking that we should have handled it differently."
"And how do you want to handle it? Everything we could do has been done."
"But he looked so sad. Maybe we should tell him only a part of the truth to give him something to hold on."
"And which part do you want to tell him? How his girlfriend was in fact half-converted by the cyber men? How he tried to treat her and resorted to hims shagging his boss in order to divert his attention? Or maybe how we finished her off, after she killed two innocent people?"
She pulled a face.
"Of course, if you put it that way."
Owen sighed and tightened his hold.
"Tosh, I know you mean well, but it's too dangerous for him to remember. Besides knowing the truth wouldn't bring Jack and him together, on the contrary. He didn't forgive Jack for killing Lisa and there's no more reason why he should forgive him by now."
"I know. It's just that… Jack didn't cope well the last time, so..."
"Didn't cope well?" Owen couldn't help snorting. "He didn't cope at all. Scouring all the back alleys of the town and shagging every ass within reach isn't what I call a way to cope."
She tilted her head and glared at him.
"How do you… Owen! I can believe that you stalked him!"
"What? Didn't want to have to scrub his brain from his office's wall once again. Having to do it after Jasmine's case was enough..."
It took him half of a second to realize what he had just said, as Tosh's eyes got wider.
"You knew!"
She shoved him away.
"Tosh, I can explain…" he started, but she didn't listen to him and cut him off, pointing an accusative finger towards him.
"All this time, you knew and you didn't tell me anything!"
She started to paced furiously and suddenly turned around, hands on her hips.
"It means that when you shoot him before we opened the rift, you knew Jack was immortal, didn't you!"
Owen ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.
"Obviously, I knew. For God's sake, Tosh. I'm a doctor. I treat people, I don't kill them in cold blood."
She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh of exasperation, before shaking her head and resuming her pacing.
"I can't believe it! First Gwen, then you. And none of you even considered it could be relevant to tell me about it."
Owen put a hand onto his chest and lifted the other towards Jack's office, raising his voice for the first time.
"Bloody hell! I couldn't! Jack didn't want me to tell someone and, besides, I didn't even know about Gwen, before she told us after Abaddon."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently forced her to stop and to look at him.
"Love, I'm a doctor and Jack is my patient. A very uncanny patient I agree, but a patient nevertheless. I had no right to broadcast his… state, if he didn't want me to. And, believe me, he didn't. I'm sorry if I hurt you, because I didn't intend to. But, it wasn't my secret and I had to keep it for myself and respect Jack privacy. Besides, I don't think that, at that time, Ianto knew Jack's condition either, so you don't have to take it personally."
He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. As she didn't try to escape his embrace, he rested his cheek against her forehead.
They stayed silent for a moment, until Tosh lifted a corner of her mouth into a smirk and finally spoke.
"Well, I supposed things were very different between us at that time, so I shouldn't feel offended that you kept it from me. At least, if it proves something, it's that you're good at keeping others' secrets." She paused and her expression went to the one of a cat about to crunch a little bird. "Better that at keeping your own secrets, anyway."
Owen frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was thinking that, now that we've talked to Jack, you might as well go and get the ring that you're hiding in the trunk of your car for two weeks. If, of course, this is for me."
Owen's jaw almost hit on the floor.
"What? How…"
Tosh smiled at him mischievously and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I found the receipt from the jeweller in your trousers' pocket and…" She kissed him lightly on the lips. "…I only assumed you were waiting for the good moment to offer it to me and, maybe, ask me a certain question." She planted another kiss onto his lip and her smile widened. "Was I right?"
"Yes, yes…of course, "stammered Owen completely taken aback. "It's just that I wasn't sure of what your answer would be and…"
She shook her head and gave him a fond smile.
"And how do you intend to be sure of it, if you never ask me, idiot?"
A bright smile slowly spread on Owen's face and he lifted his index finger in front of her face.
"I… I… One minute. Just give me one minute."
Freeing himself from her embrace, he dashed towards the underground car park, whilst she perched herself on her desk and crossed her ankles. Before he reached the lift, he turned around and shouted through the main area.
"Whatever you do, please, don't move, ok?"
She shook her head and laughed.
"I won't go anywhere, I swear."
And indeed, she hadn't move an inch when Owen came back from the car park, five minutes later, out of breath and his heart pounding like a drum. Planting himself in front of her, he sank to one knee, presenting her with a red velvet box, which he pushed open to reveal a sparkling sapphire and diamonds ring. He tried to gulp down the lump in his throat, but his voice was still rough when he told to her:
"Toshiko Sato, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Do you want…" He had to clear his throat, unable to carry on at the sight of the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Do you want to marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?"
By way of answer, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him fiercely, almost knocking him over. After a long minute, Owen finally managed to extricated himself and couldn't help asking, just to be sure :
"Is that a yes?"
"Definitively a 'yes', Doctor Harper," answered Tosh, wiping her tears away before kissing him once again, this time more tenderly, but with just as much passion.
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Jack couldn't help smiling and feeling his heart swelling with love at the sight of the two fiancés lost in their kiss.
He hadn't miss a second of the scene and was really glad they had finally found each other for good. Both of them deserved to be happy and all he could regret was that it took them so long to admit their feelings.
Sadly, on the other hand their happiness only made his own loneliness more distressing. Gwen had Rhys and Anwen. Owen and Tosh had each other and would soon become parents too. It was nice, but what did it left to him? An endless life of loneliness, without anyone at his side?
His musing was interrupted by an alert signal coming from his computer. He moved away from the window and looked at the screen. The signal was coming from a distant part of Bute Park and the data seemed to indicate a lonely Weewil out enjoying himself.
Giving up the idea of disturbing the bliss of the two lovers below him, he grabbed the SUV's key on his desk and his coat from the coat stand.
A good rise of adrenaline couldn't hurt and, perhaps, afterwards, he could go to the Neon Club and find some pleasant company with whom spending the rest of the night.
When the SUV left the car park with a screech of wheels few minutes later, Jack was still too lost in his thoughts to realize he was tailed.
To be continued