Torchwood: Divergence
Book Four: Hatchweliad
Chapter 6

Jack gave Ianto a kiss and promised to be back in just a minute, trooping out through the office with the rest of the team and into the Hub. Time to put the whole stressful day to bed as well.

"Outstanding trauma work," the Captain stated wearily. "You three did a fantastic job. Thank you. I think you've more than earned an extra early end to the day."

"I can be here in five minutes if you need me," Martha insisted, stripping off her bloodied lab coat. "Just call, yeah? Even if it's for help with an alert… I'll drag Mickey with me and we'll take care of it."

Jack nodded with a tired smile, making a shooing gesture.

"I have your coat," Lois pointed out quietly. "I'll drop it by Mr. Grant's on the way in tomorrow morning, pick it up at lunch time or whenever he's got it ready. And I'll bring in breakfast so you two won't have to fuss with it."

"Greatly appreciated," Harkness breathed with a more heartfelt smile. "You three have a good night."

Turlough exited without a word after helping Martha finish cleaning up the Autopsy Lab, but the sidelong glance he gave Gwen where she lingered nearby spoke volumes. The cog-wheel door opened and closed, leaving the two long time co-workers basically alone. Cooper opened her mouth to speak, but found her voice silenced by the look in the immortal American's eyes when he finally turned to face her. He gestured toward the bedroom, obviously expecting her to head that way. The former PC went reluctantly, the more so when her leader stepped close behind her and spoke.

"I want you to see what we did," Jack said flatly, not giving her the space to turn around or avoid the dim room past the bookcase door. "That idiot security guard may have pulled the trigger, but this is our fault."

They stood just inside the bedroom, both focused on the heavily bandaged twenty-six-year-old beneath the covers.

"See that little flash of red at the corners of his eyes?" Harkness prodded quietly. "That means the Scieron have opened a portal inside his body to work, because he's that close to dying. He took the alert alone, wanting to give us a chance to work out the issue he heard us discussing. He told me he knew in his heart that I wouldn't give in. But that it really hurt to have you try after everything that's happened recently. That he thought you were better friends than that. You pushed him to this, Gwen, and I let you."

Cooper stood in horrified silence… she should have listened to Rhys, talked to the pair together about her obsession. But she'd thought it was kinder to bring up her guilty wish where the still often uncertain Changeling couldn't hear, selfishly hoped it would give her a better chance of getting what she wanted. Bad call.

"Ianto had us use a gag for the surgery to remove the bullets," the Captain pointed out, his tone clipped and angry. "Barely made a sound no matter how much pain he was in regardless. Like he was afraid if he cried out at all he might end up saying something that would upset me or the others. He hasn't opened his eyes since he saw you behind me in the back lot of the hatchery, hiding his pain and misery because he's worried I'll be hurt by it. We did this, we need to fix it."

"No…" Gwen managed at last, blinking tears from her yes and standing straight. "I need to fix it. I'm the one who started this and stirred the pot, all you did was let me talk and tell me no. I need to find out what he wants me to do, how I can patch up the hole my little misstep put in his heart, mend the break it made in our friendship. Is he awake?"

"Maybe," the still blood-spattered immortal behind her stated evenly. "But nowhere near stable even if he is. Until that portal closes, he needs to not be disturbed. So, if you want to try talking to him, it'll have to wait awhile."

"In the morning then," Cooper insisted as she turned to face him. "I can stay over tonight; help cover any Rift alters since he's out of action."

"Bad idea," Harkness countered, his expression leaving no room for argument. "Go home. I can deal with the Rift alone. I've done it plenty of times in the past. Just leave Ianto and I to ourselves for the night. If he feels up to a discussion with you in the morning, I'll let you know."

"Jack…" the one-time constable tried to protest.

"Goodnight, Gwen," the Captain cut her off, pointing toward the Hub.

Obviously unhappy with the dismissal, she moved past him to stride through the office into the Hub, grabbed her coat and purse, then stormed out the big main door as soon as it rotated open. And the minute she was gone, her boss was out in the primary cavern with his mobile, dialling her husband. He put the phone on speaker and paced the span behind the workstations.

[Hello] the Welshman in Penarth answered when the line connected.

"Rhys, it's Jack," the American began tightly. "Did you encourage Gwen to try to get me into bed?"

[No!] Williams responded, surprisingly sounding more shocked than angry. [No, I bloody well did not. She had a go at me about how Ruth caters to me at work. I told her it was pot-calling-kettle considering the way she still moons after you. Even right here in our own home at dinner the other night. I said she needed to get over it, have a proper talk with you and Ianto, get it out of her system once and for all. That I'd even spot her a one-nighter, because we both know damn well it'd never happen and she'd deserve the embarrassment of not getting her way for once in her life.]

"Not how she handled it," Jack explained. "She only talked to me, said you'd put her up to it, though she did admit that neither of you figured she'd get anywhere. But she really made an all-out go of it, and Ianto overheard. Now we've got a very serious situation on our hands, and I honestly don't know what it's going to take to make things right."

[Bloody hell] Rhys cursed sharply. [Is he alright? Didn't try to take that blade to himself, did he?]

"He's not alright, physically or emotionally," Harkness admitted unhappily. "He didn't actually try to hurt himself, but he answered a major Rift alert alone and got really messed up in the aftermath. I've sent Gwen home. She was insisting on talking to him, but he's in no way up to it right now, and to be honest, I'm too angry and disappointed to want to look at her. So, you can probably expect a good rant when she gets to the house, courtesy of me. I apologise for that, but she's the one who started this, so the fallout's all down to her."

[I'll deal with her] the man on the other end of the line promised grimly. [Can't believe she did something that daft and brazen. She's not gonna get tonnes of sympathy, I can tell you. She took a simple, friendly air-clearing and turned it into a sodding horror show. You want her at work tomorrow or no? I'll make sure she stays home or shows up at the Hub, whichever you say.]

"I don't know how long Ianto is going to be out of commission with all of his injuries," the Captain stated truthfully. "So, we'll need her here. But she has to be on her best behaviour, or she could be looking at an open-ended suspension. I won't have her upsetting Ianto while he's healing, and I honestly am completely out of patience with her at this point."

[Too bloody right] Rhys agreed. [Don't worry. I'll be sure she's at the Quay by 6:00, sorted and civil.]

"Thanks, Rhys," Jack sighed, feeling a little bit of his anger finally bleed away. "Sorry to drop this in your lap, but you needed to know before she showed up in a state, and I needed to know the truth about how this whole sordid mess got started. If anything changes about having her here, I'll send a text to your mobile."

[I'll keep it handy] Williams reassured. [You go look after your Barista Boy; I'll deal with Gwen-bloody-Cooper when she gets in. Tell him I'm sorry he got hurt because she completely bollocksed what I suggested, and I hope he feels better soon.]

"I will… give Ebrill a goodnight kiss from us both, and thanks again," the immortal Captain murmured, then sighed as he shut down the call after the other man had given an acknowledgement and disconnected from his end.

Resisting the urge to throw the phone across the Hub in frustration, he headed back into the office and through to the bedroom. There was still red light visible at the corners of his lover's closed eyes… and the tracks of tears trickling down the twenty-six-year-old's incredibly pale face.

"Ianto," Harkness called quietly, moving over to check the young Welshman. "You okay, buddy?"

"Tired…" Jones hissed in a barely audible whisper.

"I'm not surprised," his partner nodded, using both hands to carefully dry the younger man's tears. "Think you're all right for a couple minutes? I need to wash up and change, but I'll be right here with the door open."

"Yeah…" the injured Changeling breathed shakily.

Jack quickly grabbed a fresh undershirt, long-sleeved button-up, socks, and trousers to replace his damp and bloodied clothing, leaned against the chair to get his soggy boots off then hit the en suite. A super-fast wash up in the sink and change of clothes later, he came back to the bedside. The young Guardian beneath the covers was leaking tears again, and the older immortal gingerly eased over onto the mattress to cuddle close to his left side.

"You feel like talking?" the Captain asked softly, kissing his beloved Archivist on the forehead and finding that his skin burned to the touch.

"Is… is she going to leave Torchwood…?" Ianto queried hesitantly, sounding both exhausted and scared. "Is Gwen doing to leave because of me… like in the dream…?"

"If she goes, it won't be because of you," Harkness reassured. "This is all her, Ianto. She chose to handle things this way, and she needs to deal with the consequences. If she decides to leave, that's up to her. If she won't let this go and pushes again, I will fire her and make damn sure the Retcon sticks. Don't feel guilty about it, yeah? You're the victim in this, not Gwen."

"I'm sorry I messed up and got shot…" Ianto whispered after a moment. "I… I thought I'd finally managed to handle an incursion like a real Guardian… Didn't realise there was armed security…"

"Not your fault," the American snuggled beside him insisted, gently wiping away his tears once more. "You brought down a half-armoured, very irritated Arcturian Death Hound single handed and took minimal damage according to what we saw on the scanner. That is huge on the Guardian achievement scale. Plus, you still got the moron who shot you out of the building alive and well. I am incredibly proud of you for both. And I'm sorry I had a part in hurting you here at the Hub… before you took the mission and when we brought you back."

"You didn't…" the shivering twenty-six-year-old breathed with a wince. "You didn't give in… no matter what. And the surgery… was to help… I never blame any of you for that…"

"Turlough was right," Jack sighed, shaking his head. "You cut all of us way too much slack. Especially me and Gwen. I know how much you love me, Ianto… you show me and tell me in so many ways. You always have, since way back before our first full on erotic encounter, only now I'm paying attention. And I know how important Gwen's friendship is to you after losing Tosh and Owen. But you can't let us keep hurting you because you don't want to rock the boat. Your patience and calm are legendary in my book, and I really count on them a lot of times. But something like this needs to fall outside the realm of that. If one of us crosses the line, let us have it. You can be as polite about it as you want, just don't let it slide, yeah?"

"I'll try…" Ianto breathed, shivering harder than he already had been.

"They're still working away in there, aren't they?" his partner prodded worriedly. "Maybe I shouldn't've sent everyone home yet. If the Rift sounds off, I'm not real comfortable leaving you alone like this."

"Bullet in the thigh…" the fevered Welshman managed shakily. "Martha… repaired the tear it left in the femoral vein… but it'd scored the artery going in… It ruptured after she… closed the wound, when… the bandages went on…"

"Shit," Harkness frowned, reaching for his mobile where he'd left it on the night table. "I'll get her back in here…"

"Shadows are on it…" Ianto insisted softly, obviously too exhausted to move or even raise his voice at the moment. "That's why the portal's… still open and active… It's okay…"

"I still think I need to pull somebody back in for at least a few hours," the Captain countered, gently stroking the younger man's forehead and right cheek with the knuckles on one hand. "Somebody who can keep an eye on you and be Co-ordinator if I need to check a Rift spike."

"Lois…" his Archivist suggested with a wince. "She's quiet… but wants to help… Doesn't fuss or ask me… uncomfortable questions…"

Jack chuckled, well able to appreciate his lover's reasoning. He checked the contact numbers in his phone, engaged the correct one, then waited.

"Lois, how would you like some overtime?" he queried with a half-smile after a couple of seconds. "A few hours to play on the workstations, maybe do some minor fetch and carry, Co-ordinate if the Rift acts up, keep Ianto company for me if it does."

The immortal American listened to the reply, his smile turning to a grin.

"He's doing better, but still has his Shadows poking around inside through that portal they opened," he reassured. "I'd just feel better knowing there's someone here to look after him in case I have to leave the Hub. Probably till around 10:00 or so if you're okay with that."

There was another pause, the Captain reaching over to slowly rub his partner on the head.

"Not a problem," he stated cheerfully. "We'll see you soon. Thanks for stepping up."

He terminated the call and put his mobile aside again, then shifted to carefully cuddle closer to the young Changeling under the covers.

"Lois will be here in about twenty minutes," Jack murmured, lightly stroking his lover's bandaged left cheek. "Oh, and Rhys said to tell you he's sorry Gwen was an ass and he hopes you feel better soon. Can I do anything to help with that?"

"I'd… never say no… to a kiss…" Ianto breathed.

"My speciality," Harkness chuckled, easing into a position where he could engage the eternal twenty-six-year-old in a passionate, heartfelt snog without putting pressure on any of his bullet wounds.

Ianto simply sighed when they finally parted, a tiny smile ghosting across his pale features. His lover smiled broadly, trailing little kisses along his jaw, down the right side of his throat and across his clavicle. He ended by lightly pressing his lips to the well bandaged wound in the hollow of the Welshman's left shoulder, then started to relax.

"Oh… well… now you've done it…" Jones whispered sadly. "The rest of the… sore spots are jealous…"

The Captain laughed and moved to ease off the bed so he could fold down the covers. Then he returned to the mattress to carefully begin an injury-to-injury visit. When he'd finished, he got the covers tucked up over the now much more relaxed immortal Guardian and settled beside him for another eloquent kiss.

"Much better…" Ianto sighed happily, still sounding extremely tired but far less upset than he had been.

Jack chuckled warmly and just pressed as close as he felt was safe, letting his beloved Archivist rest and heal.

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AN: So, Gwen views her actions as a "little misstep"… she's going to find out that others do not share that view, and she's not going to like it.

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