Torchwood: Divergence
Book Three: Rheoleiddiad
Chapter 37
By the time the cryo chamber had shut down, Martha had finished her analysis and moved on to formulating a treatment to get Gwen's hormones back to normal. Turlough had been down taking care of the Weevils, with Gwen trying to concentrate on the supply usage report she'd told their leader she'd work on. So, Jack had gotten his partner out of the unit and back into their room, settled the twenty-six-year-old under the covers once more, had Martha in just long enough to rig the earlier prescribed IV, then stayed with him as he slept.
When he'd emerged about two hours later with the spent IV bag and its accessories, the rest of the team was taking a quick coffee break with the leftovers from breakfast. He left the medical supplies in the Lab, promised to join the others shortly as he wandered down to the Boardroom with his mobile in his hand, dialling the number he'd pulled from the voicemail left earlier.
[Ianto?] Rhiannon asked breathlessly when she answered, sounding worn out and on the verge of tears.
"No, Mrs. Davies, it's Captain Jack Harkness," the American replied evenly.
[Is he going to call?] the woman prodded hopefully.
"He's sleeping at the moment," Jack explained calmly. "I told him you needed to talk. He doesn't think he'd do very well over the phone and would like to try to meet in person later. Would you or you and your husband be able to come to the Pierhead Building around 5:30? We can use the Pierhead Suite for some privacy, and it's somewhere familiar for him. He's not in good shape right now, but your husband mentioned an accident so he wants to at least try to get together with you."
[We can be there,] Rhiannon stated tightly, trying to muffle a wet sniff.
"It sounds like something pretty bad has happened," Harkness commented, letting his concern for his lover colour his voice since he was uncomfortably aware of what had taken place. "Can I ask what? I'd rather be able to give Ianto some warning while he's still where out doctor can take care of him in case the news puts him into a major seizure."
There was silence for a moment, then the woman spoke again, her voice catching.
[Tell him…] she instructed brokenly. [Tell him his niece's been…]
Her words choked off in a half-sob, but she doggedly continued.
[Tell Ianto our Mica was killed by a drunk driver this morning,] she managed tearfully. [And his family needs to see him.]
"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Davies," the Captain breathed, his sympathy all too real. "I'll let Ianto know so he won't be blind-sided at the meeting tonight. Is there anything we can do for you that might help with your loss?"
[Let my brother come home,] Rhiannon wept.
"He is home, Mrs. Davies," Jack insisted as gently as he could. "And I can't let him go stay with you. You'll understand why tonight. When he feels up to working, what we do is not something he wants you or your family exposed to. And when he has days like today… he needs a lot of special care. I truly do understand how hard it is for you, but I have to ask that you don't try to force him to visit or stay with you. It honestly is for his health and sanity."
[I suppose…] the woman on the other end of the line whispered tightly. [You get him to that private room tonight, yeah? Johnny and me'll meet you there.]
"We'll see you at 5:30," the American vowed. "You have my word."
He let her disconnect first, then closed his mobile and put it in his pocket before trudging from the Boardroom to the Hub.
"Lois," Harkness called as he headed for the kitchenette to grab a cup of coffee. "Call Mrs. Carver at the Pierhead Building for me, tell her I need the Pierhead Suite for a private meeting tonight at 5:30 and apologise for any inconvenience."
"I was just heading back up now," Habiba acknowledged. "I'll ring her as soon as I get to my desk and give you a confirmation over the comms."
"Thanks," the Captain half-smiled, trotting downstairs to move back toward the office. "Rift's been quiet so far, but that could change. Ianto and I have a meeting set with his sister. Watch yourselves if you have to go out on any alerts while I'm gone tonight. Be. Careful. You've all been a lot of help this afternoon and I really appreciate it. I'll be in our room with my earcomm on if you need me."
"Jack," Gwen called tentatively, stepping closer when the man paused to look at her. "Martha has a treatment plan set up for me to help fix my attitude problem. And I promise to try really hard to just shut it and stay in the background till it gets things taken care of. But I want to help with what's happened to Ianto's family. What can I do?"
"I'm glad you're working on your issues," Harkness stated approvingly. "As for the other, I won't know if any of us can help until we meet tonight. If anything comes up that we can do, I'll let you know."
Cooper simply nodded and veered toward her workstation. Her boss continued on into the office and beyond, closing the bookcase door behind him. He immediately went to check on his partner, a little worried that the Changeling's temperature seemed to be climbing again.
"How are you doing, Ianto?" Jack called quietly, glad to see the Welshman stir and slowly blink awake. "No glowing eyes, so I guess the Scieron closed the portal. That's good, yeah?"
"Yeah…" Jones whispered, shifting to curl up under the covers and huddle closer to the older man when he settled on the mattress beside him. "The Scieron… Mother Shadow… was very sad for me. They can see everyone and everything that passes the Door… but they can only bring back a Chosen or Changeling."
"I'm sure it's hard for them to see you suffer like this," his lover observed, gently smoothing the young Welshman's short-cropped hair. "Losing a loved one can take a terrible toll. They may have had Guardian's in the past who couldn't face the grief and ended up committing suicide."
It was obvious that the possibility worried the American, especially considering how hard the recent tragedy had hit the younger man and the other serious issues they'd been having.
"I'm here for you, Jack," Ianto insisted shakily. "Losing you forever is the only reason I'd ever do that. I'm really sad and hurt over my niece dying so young, and I wish there was some way I could've been there to save her. But I'd never leave you because of something like that. I know I'll lose them all someday, that's part of the price for being able to share eternity with you. I just didn't expect it to start so soon, or have Mica be the first to go, especially in such a terrible way."
His partner leaned over to kiss him on the forehead, then more purposefully on the lips. The eternal twenty-six-year-old returned the contact as best he could, still very tired and weak.
"I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but it really doesn't," Harkness confessed as he drew back. "All I can do is promise to try to always be here for you when it happens. You really scared me when you wouldn't wake up earlier."
"I wanted to," his beloved Archivist murmured, looking apologetic. "I tried, but nothing happened. They told me to be brave and patient, that I was too deep in shock to be fully conscious but you'd help me get better."
"I just hope we don't undo that tonight," the Captain sighed, once more rhythmically stroking the younger man's hair. "I talked to your sister. They'll meet us at the Pierhead around 5:30. Think you'll be up to that?"
"I doubt I'll be able to manage a very long visit," Ianto admitted. "But enough to reconnect with Rhiannon. Hopefully it'll help at least a little."
"I think it'll do her a lot of good," Jack pronounced sagely. "Knowing for sure that she still has her baby brother can't heal the loss of her daughter, but it can go a long way toward dulling some of the pain. I know it'll be hard on you both. Don't try to fight if it starts getting to be too much, yeah? I'll be right there to take care of you, call it an early night if needs be, let her know you'll be okay. I don't want you to hurt yourself trying to hold back a seizure with as weak as you are."
The young Welshman gave a slight nod of agreement, closing his eyes once more and resting his head against his annwyl's side.
"Try to sleep some more if you can," Harkness urged. "I'll wake you up a little before 5:00, help you wash up and get dressed."
Ianto made a sleepy sound of understanding and burrowed closer to his Captain, who couldn't help but smile as he slid a comforting arm around him. Jack hoped the planned family reunion would help the younger immortal as well as his sister. Because he wasn't looking forward to handling the aftermath if it backfired.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
AN: The meeting is set… hopefully it will help and not harm.
Apparently the site is having that e-mail bollocks going on again and Notifications aren't making it to people. I can only apologise and hope you'll check the site for chapters until they resolve the issue this time.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM