Torchwood: Divergence
Book Three: Rheoleiddiad

Chapter 14

At 5:30 am, the Hub was quiet, the only light on being in the office atop the desk. The shared shower Torchwood's two senior most officers had engaged in earlier had been fun though necessarily limited in many areas, and having something as simple as apple and currant topped porridge with crisp sausages from the diner had been rather novel. Jack had helped Ianto pack the leather duffle as an overnight bag afterward, the younger man careful to include his phone charger so they could stay in touch. He also had his PDA and his Desert Eagle with a few extra clips of ammo, just in case he ran into anything odd while he was gone. The Captain had made sure his lover had his cash card for their now merged bank accounts, as well as enough loose money for meals and transportation. A quick call had summoned a taxi, and the two had shared an intense kiss on the way up to Millennium Square via the invisible lift. A warm but ginger embrace, and Harkness had watched his partner's coat draped form walk away into the heavy morning mist to meet the taxi that had pulled up nearby. The young Welshman had winced putting his bag in the on the seat, raised one hand in farewell before ducking to hide the lost child expression he wore as he'd climbed into the vehicle and closed the door.

That had been half an hour ago, and since then Harkness had been down in his office, sipping black coffee and half-heartedly going through some of the paperwork he'd allowed to pile up again. So, when his mobile rang he was somewhat surprised, though a glance at its readout jogged his memory.

"Hey, Gwen," he answered briskly. "You're up earlier than I was expecting."

[I made breakfast for Rhys,] Cooper smiled on the other end of the line. [Thought I'd give you a call while he's getting Eb ready for the day. I was thinking about how I need to avoid getting too close to Ianto…]

"It's not a problem," Harkness interrupted smoothly. "You don't have to do anything special to give him space for a little while, so don't let it sway your decision."

[What, the issue just magically disappeared overnight?] the former PC demanded after a shocked pause. [Yesterday afternoon I'm the bloody Antichrist, and this morning…]

"He's gone," Jack stated bluntly. "You don't have to avoid him, because he's not here."

[Oh, God…] Gwen breathed, suddenly sounding panicked. [What happened? Was it because of me or that he hurt Martha?]

"Oh, no… nothing like that," the Captain hurriedly reassured. "No, he's just on leave for a few days. Something he wants to take care of on his own and now seemed a good time. We had an early breakfast, called a taxi, and he waved goodbye about thirty minutes ago. He didn't want the team to jump to wrong conclusions, so he thought it would be best to leave before anyone else makes it in. He sent everyone an e-mail saying he was taking a short, Torchwood approved sabbatical to keep from interfering with normal operations while he recovers from the fight with the new fish-freak and surgery after. Told the team to be careful, reminded Lois to follow his instructions with the coffee, asked everyone to be patient with me while he's away, and hoped you feel up to resuming your duties soon."

[So, you two didn't have a row or anything?] Cooper insisted. [He's not run away because of that nightmare?]

"No to both," her boss stated evenly. "The only connection is that he thought this was better than having you play dodge-and-weave when you come back."

[You're sure…] the one-time constable began, only to be interrupted again.

"You make me repeat myself one more time and you'll be solo on Weevil feeding duty for a month," Harkness warned, though he was half-smiling now. "So… are you planning to haul your butt back to work, or do you think you need a couple more days to get in the swing of things again?"

[I…] Gwen started, then paused. [I don't bloody know. Let me talk to Rhys. You'll either see me by 7:00 or I'll be playing stay-home Mam.]

"Fair enough," the undying American chuckled, amused that he'd managed to fluster her. "See you whenever you feel up to it. Bye, Gwen."

He disconnected the call and sat the mobile aside, glanced over at the dark, open space of the bedroom. He missed Ianto already. But he'd promised not to go psycho while the younger man was away, vowed to sleep in their bed like a normal human being and not scare the rest of the team, so he needed to buck-up and deal with it. At least Jones had promised to call a couple times a day… that was much more than he'd ever done the times he'd gone off alone and left the young Welshman wondering if he'd ever be back.

Jack sighed and picked up his coffee. This was a test. A trial of his devotion and of his partner's belief in him. It was about trust, and he'd be damned if he was going to fail. So, he tried to just concentrate on the paperwork in front of him and trust that his beloved Changeling would be back safe and well in a couple of days. And he'd actually managed to plough through several of Ianto's already prepared reports and finished a few log entries by the time 6:30 rolled around, was currently up getting more coffee when Turlough came in with Lois.

The young receptionist was again without a car, her used Volvo having finally been beyond repair when it gave out the week before. Maybe he'd help her find a new mode of transportation… give him something to focus on during the quiet times the next few days. The Captain poured his fresh cup slowly, letting the redhead below bring up his workstation and call Habiba over to look at the priority e-mail that immediately popped up. The two had finished reading the message when Harkness sauntered down from the kitchenette, both looking at him with concern.

"Was he healed enough to be off on his own?" Turlough prodded. "Those staples need to come out, you know."

"The Shadows in his body shoved them out around 2:00 this morning once the incisions were fully sealed," Jack reassured. "He was still sore and putting off a fair amount of heat at 5:00 when he headed out, but he should be fine. He's promised to call periodically while he's away, and you can be sure I'll ask how he's knitting up inside when he does."

"He's doing this to make things easy on Gwen, isn't he?" Lois prodded, silently thinking it would have been better for the former PC to make herself scarce than to have their resident Guardian out and about while he was still on the mend.

"I'm sure that was on his mind," their leader nodded, sipping his coffee. "But he also has some things to do that he's been putting off, and figured this was a good opportunity since he'd be too sore for missions till at least tonight. This is Ianto's version of the whole two birds with one stone bit."

"He grants her way too much slack," Turlough commented, glancing over as he brought up the Rift logs on his workstation. "I know she's had a few hard knocks recently, but if I were Ianto and had that dream, I don't think I'd be so accommodating. Especially not with the way Gwen looks at you sometimes… and you look back. But then I have more trust issues than most."

"Says the man whose girlfriend lives in Australia," Habiba gaped, obviously shocked that the thirty-year-old Trion noble had been bold enough to make such a comment to Jack's face. "I need coffee."

The sweater-dress clad woman hurried toward the kitchenette, hoping there wasn't about to be an argument to start the day.

"Ianto would be pleased to know you consider him a good enough friend to get in my face on his behalf," the Captain stated evenly. "Embarrassed, but pleased. Just for the record though, he's very well aware of what you brought up and admits it bothers him, but he trusts me to do the right thing. And I will, because he trusts me."

"Which makes you both better men than me," Turlough replied soberly, then raised his voice as Lois grabbed a headset and made for the main door with her mug in hand. "And if you met the blokes who live in Tegan's home town, you'd know why I don't worry."

"Looks aren't everything," Habiba protested on her way to the lift.

"I rest my case," the young alien across from Jack half-smiled. "Back on subject. Ianto does put up with a lot of crap from you and Gwen. I understand that the three of you have history. But that's a nineteen-month-old baby, a circuitous tour of the galactic shipping lanes to cover a genocidal death-hunt, and nearly two years in the trans-dimensional inspiration for Hell ago. This is now… and PC Cooper's time in the ages waiting for you and Ianto is really just a blink of the eyes. Considering what he was willing to endure to be with you again, he deserves to have you keep her minor role in your lives in proper perspective. And no, it's not really my business, but I've been around the Universe a few times as well, Captain, so I'm not afraid to say what no-one else will when it comes to one of the rare beings I consider a friend."

"Which I'd probably appreciate more, if I wasn't already feeling like an ass over the situation," Jack admitted candidly. "On which note, I'm going back to my paperwork to sulk and brood. Shout if the Rift acts up."

"Will do," Turlough nodded, heading for the kitchenette to grab his own morning drink.

Another potentially hectic day had begun.

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AN: Ianto is on leave, Gwen's cranky because of it, and Turlough is more than happy to speak his mind. Wonder how the time of separation is going to go…

The E-mail issue appears to be resolved… though I'm still drastically limited on internet access. So, please be patient still regarding any review replies.

Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM