Torchwood: Divergence
Book Three: Rheoleiddiad
Chapter 34
Ianto had had an emotionally and physically damaging morning and early part of the day, and now it appeared that his suffering wasn't going to be ending anytime soon. And there was nothing the team at large could do to help.
"He looks terrible," Lois fretted as Martha emerged from the medical area.
"The Scieron didn't just tell him his niece died," the young doctor sighed. "They showed him everything that happened. His nephew was there too, got separated from his sister in the panic, then found her crushed under the car. He stayed with her till fire crews got her out and was covered in her blood. Ianto's afraid his sister and nephew won't recover from what happened. And he won't say, but I think it's eating him alive that he can't be there for them."
"Let's just hope his brother-in-law never gets his hands on the bastard who did it," Gwen growled as she appeared from the corridor to the Boardroom, her eyes red and her mascara trailed down her cheeks in damp stripes. "The booze guzzling piece of shit would deserve it, but having Johnny go to prison for murder really would put Rhiannon and David over the edge for good."
"I'll keep an eye on the news story while I'm working," Turlough offered, aiming for his station.
"I'd best head up," Lois murmured, casting worried glances at the office as she moved toward the main door. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
"Jack has his comms if he needs us," Martha told them all, reaching out to touch Gwen's shoulder. "You want to help me with the alien remains from this morning?"
"Yeah," Cooper agreed distractedly, then turned to face her co-worker. "Let me phone Rhys first. I'll be right down."
The team doctor nodded and moved off toward the Autopsy Lab once more, leaving Cooper to grab her mobile and go back into the Boardroom where she sat down on the floor past the door. She dialled her husband and put the phone on speaker.
[Hello, gorgeous,] Williams answered, obviously having seen her name come up on his mobile's display. [How's your day?]
"Bad," Gwen confessed tightly. "Really bad. Martha ran some tests and says my hormones are still a mess. That's making me a pushy bitch at work so I nearly got suspended, and it's probably why I've been on the prod so much at home too. The morning kicked off with an incursion the systems almost missed that left a young girl dead at the café, and I started a fight between Jack and Ianto over how to handle her body, and Ianto got so upset he came a hair's breadth from suicide because I made Jack take my side in things. But that's not the worst…"
[Slow down, sweetheart,] Rhys urged, obviously concerned by her slide toward tears as well as what she was telling him. [Ianto's alright, yeah? False alarm… just a misunderstanding. Now, take a deep breath and tell me slow what's got you so upset.]
"Have you watched the news today?" Cooper queried shakily.
[Off and on,] her husband replied, sounding unsure of the apparent change of subject. [It's mostly about some damn fool Cardiff City Councilman, falling down drunk first thing in the bloody morning, runs over a crossing guard and a bunch of little kids by a primary school up in Newport, and swears he didn't see them. Too damn hammered to see anything more like. Killed the woman outright, put eight kids in Hospital and two of them have died.]
"One of them was Ianto's niece, Mica," Gwen explained breathlessly, trying not to start crying again. "He'd been feeling unsettled and sad all morning, but we thought it was over what happened at the café because he was there and couldn't save the waitress who died. Then about fifteen minutes ago it got a lot worse and the Scieron… his Shadows told him his niece had died. The showed him what happened, Rhys. Eight years old and now gone forever. Ianto's hurting so much right now, and I feel bad for it. She was a sweet little girl. But… but all I keep thinking, is how glad I am it wasn't my daughter. And that's so selfish. Why can't I sympathize with him the way I always do with everyone else? Why can't I fell the right way over my friend suffering such a horrible loss?"
There was silence on the other end of the call for a moment, then she heard a muffled sniff.
[Jack's not letting him out of his sight, yeah?] Rhys prodded. [Christ… I can't even imagine what he's going through, the poor bastard. And as for what you think you should feel but don't… There's nothing wrong with being grateful that the loss isn't yours. But if it really seems so off to you, maybe it goes back to the trouble Martha found. Hormones do funny things, Gwen. Ask her if they could be the cause of this too and how you can start putting things back in proper order with them. Get you back to feeling and acting like your old self again.]
"I wish that didn't make so much sense," his wife sighed, rubbing at her cheeks and coming away with damp black smears on her fingers. "It seems like such a weak excuse, but I'll talk to her about it. Thanks, sweetheart. You're always there when I need you. Kiss Eb for me. I'll try to be home early tonight."
[Be careful,] Williams urged. [Just ring if there's anything I can help with over there, yeah? Even if it's taking the baby down to your mam's so I can help you lot cover a shift for the boys. Love you.]
"Love you too," Gwen breathed, letting him shut down the call first.
He was right. She needed to talk to Martha about this whole hormone issue and get it sorted, before it really did damage to the relationships she depended on so much. The one-time PC pocketed her mobile and clamoured up off the floor to go out to the medical bay. Jack had told her to take care of the situation, so she would. And hopefully it would be soon enough that she'd be able to help Ianto cope with the latest blow he'd suffered, the way he'd helped her when her dad had died. Time to step up and make things right.
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AN: A short but necessary bridge chapter this round.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM