Torchwood: Divergence
Book Four: Hatchweliad
Chapter 12

Jack finally came out of the office at about 11:30, right around the time that Lois showed up in the Hub to take a vote on lunch. He told the team that Ianto would be out shortly, so there was some simple chit-chat for a few minutes on the subject of where to order from. Then Gwen saw movement in the shadows of the office, two intensely glowing spots of red light shining a couple of inches below knee level in the gloom. Their Archivist hobbled out of the darkened room, used both crutches in one hand and the railing to get down the three steps to the level of the work stations, then glanced back at the source of the crimson glow as he settled the crutches into proper position again.

"Come on, sweetie," Ianto coaxed quietly. "They don't mind you being here, they know you're helping me."

The skinny little slightly smaller than average Sheltie from Harwood's slowly exited the office, moving to pace directly behind the young Welshman as he made his way to the couch. He eased down to get his injured leg propped on the far edge of the table again, his four-legged companion coming to lie with her chin on his left foot.

"Who's your cute little friend?" Lois asked curiously.

"This is Hardd," the twenty-six-year-old on the couch explained quietly. "She's the dog I had to un-resurrect at Harwood's last October. Mother Shadow took her body away after that. They repaired the broken bones, purified her remains, and she's back now to allow the Scieron to help me without having to open a portal in my body or bollocks the Rift by engaging a full external portal. She's a good girl… aren't you, Hardd?"

The black and white herding dog glanced up at the gathered team with her Hell lit eyes, gently wagged her rough-plumed tail.

"Does she still like her ears scratched?" Habiba prodded with an arched brow.

"She's mostly hide and bone," Jack put in quietly, giving his partner a gentle smile. "But yeah, she likes her ears rubbed and still tries to give doggy-kisses. Only Ianto gets the full blown 'rub my tummy' routine though. So, she and I actually have a lot in common."

Lois and the rest of the team stifled laughter over the last comment, the young black woman coming to crouch down near the low table to offer the Shadow messenger her hand to sniff before carefully caressing the base of one slightly tattered ear.

"You're still so soft," she murmured, looking up to meet Ianto's somewhat tired gaze. "Does she eat or drink?"

"No," the young Guardian replied with a gentle smile and tiny shake of his head. "She has active Scieron Shadow inside her, that is slowing replacing her lost muscle mass and pulls its sustaining energy from the emotions of the people around her and the portals she passes through. So, she's alive but not, if that makes sense. You can feel her heart beat, she's warm, and air passes in and out of her lungs. But that's really just Hardd's body remembering how it worked in true life, and the heat is from the contained Hell portal you see in her eyes. Most of her vital organs are pure Shadow because the originals were beyond repair."

"Well, she's a sweet, beautiful little girl regardless," Habiba smiled. "I just didn't want to neglect her if we're ordering lunch. What would you like?"

"Honestly," Ianto sighed, looking from his GSO trainee to his partner, then the rest of the team. "It's been an age since I had pizza from Jubilee's. And I could murder a Pepperoni Feast."

"Pizza it is," Jack chuckled, coming to sit beside the younger man. "What'll you do if she puts her chin on your leg and asks for scraps?"

"Rub her ears and tell her horror stories of Owen and the post-Gauntlet alcohol binge," the brace-bound Changeling replied easily.

"That'd do it for me," Harkness blanched, draping his left arm over the cushions behind the other immortal. "Myfanwy's gonna get jealous, you know."

"I think the winged pest knows she'll still get her treats and pets at night, and is well aware of what lies inside of Hardd," Ianto reassured with a weary smile, leaning his head back against the American's arm. "She'll get a nasty surprise if she doesn't."

There was a petulant squall from the named pterosaur and a rattling of her enclosure, then quiet once more.

"Sometimes I wonder exactly how much that Pterodactyl understands of what's said down here," Gwen frowned, glancing up toward the area in shadow above the farthest workstation past the medical bay. "Or is it just Ianto's voice she reacts to?"

"Oh, she's given me plenty of back chat in the past," the Captain half-smiled. "She may not be able to speak English, but I think she understands things the way a dog learns the meaning of words like 'no', 'bad', 'bath', 'dinner', and 'vet'."

"Probably good that she can't talk," Turlough commented with a crooked smile, continuing work on the Rift Monitor programme amendment while Lois ordered the pizza. "Or we'd hear some right tales about you two and your evening activities."

"I'm sure we have no idea what you mean," Harkness insisted innocently.

"Naked hide-and-seek…" Cooper coughed into her hand.

"And that's the tame nights, I'm betting," Martha chuckled.

"You have no CCTV footage, you can't prove a thing," Ianto put in evenly, struggling to hide a smile but managing not to blush. "Gwen… be careful what you say. CCTV was on New Year's Eve."

The former PC had been a breath away from mentioning the old Hot House footage from before Tosh and Owen had been lost, but quickly closed her mouth with an apologetic smile for their team medic.

"New Year's Eve?" Martha prodded; her curiosity piqued.

"Her price for the Christmas carol," the redhead nearby reminded.

"Five hands of cards," Gwen admitted with a shrug.

"Strip Poker," the Captain supplied with a devilish grin.

"Oh…" the young doctor nodded her understanding. "I'd forgotten about that. So, how many hands did you lose?"

"All of them," Cooper confessed with a plastered-on smile.

"I lost too," Jack stated matter-of-factly.

"So, you and Gwen were pretty much down to your skivvies," Turlough chuckled. "And Ianto was minus?"

"The boots I took off before we started," the named Welshman said quietly, not able to hide his smile now.

"I've tried accusing him of being a card shark," Harkness laughed. "But I deal when we play, always have. And I'm lucky to have his socks off by the end every time."

"I've been contemplating some outrageous reverse cheating," the twenty-six-year-old beside him put in solemnly. "Just so he doesn't get demoralised and decides he doesn't want to play anymore. Either that, or raise the stakes to include spanking."

"Time for me to go pick up lunch," Lois called, trying not to giggle as their leader grinned like a fool and murmured 'up the ante' to his partner. "Back in ten."

"I'll come give you a hand," Gwen volunteered, snagging her coat and purse. "I need a breath of air since we haven't had any alerts to run about on."

"So, was 'PC Cooper' wearing police issue undies?" Martha asked loudly, seeing the named woman turn and point a warning finger at the pair on the couch.

"Lavender lace," Ianto replied, meeting the green-eyed Welshwoman's gaze with a tiny smirk. "Very frilly matching set. Likely a naughty gift from Rhys."

The one-time constable gave a slight squeal than retreated behind Habiba before the others could see her laughing. That had been the most unique twist on the truth she'd heard in quite some time. She'd been wearing a plain set of boy-cut panties and a no-jiggle sports bra. The only 100% accurate parts were that they were lavender and from her husband. Martha and Turlough's delighted laughter followed the two women into the lift.

"You took that awfully well," Lois remarked as they headed up toward the corridor to the kiosk, pulling out her car keys with a smile because she knew her co-worker hadn't been in the vehicle yet.

"Promise not the tell?" Gwen chortled, taking a deep breath when the younger woman nodded, just as happy to ride as walk the short distance to Jubilee's.

She explained the difference between what Ianto had said and reality, both of them giggling their way past the door to the TIC and down to the carpark.

"Why did he do that?" Habiba wondered aloud, climbing into the driver's seat of the 2010 midnight blue Fiesta that Jack had helped her find during his partner's earlier solo break.

"It's not what they expected to hear," Cooper breathed as she got in on the passenger side. "And it's that twisted sense of humour of his. Him and Jack'll just be cackling about it later, knowing I'll squirm worrying whether one of the others will check the CCTV. Which I could've sworn was off, but now I'm not so sure."

"Couldn't you erase it?" the young woman behind the wheel queried.

"Tosh could've," Gwen shook her head. "Ianto can manage it with a little time to work, maybe Jack, Turlough definitely. But I've never been that computer savvy and the Torchwood system is way beyond me. No… I'll just have to suffer, which is likely why the little shit did it to begin with. Ianto may not come right out and do or say something to get back at you when you cross him, but he always finds a way… a very sneaky, psychological torture way, where you do all the work for him."

"Does he have a reason to do that with you?" Habiba frowned, unaware of the underlying cause of the incident the evening before.

"Oh, yeah," Cooper breathed, thinking of how cold the young Welshman's eyes had been after breakfast when she'd tried to apologise. "And if this is the worst he throws at me, I'll be incredibly lucky."

They pulled up into the parking area for the pizza shop, both of them climbing out to go inside. Charlie greeted them cheerfully from the back, a new girl on the front counter ringing up their purchase with a smile. They were pizza laden and heading back for the Hub in no time, their earlier conversation pretty much forgotten.

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AN: Don't poke the Dragon, Gwen…

Delenn87 – Welcome to the madness. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.

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