Vulgar Fictions of a Demented...uh...Fangirl

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (26/?)

2009-12-19T23:41:16Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 26

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations and dialogue borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Beth is put into hibernation and everything is fine… for now…

Notes: Damn! If I'd known the note on my last chapter would be so prophetic, I would have put in a bit about winning the lottery too!! More as soon as I can swing it – thanks as always for reading!! Previous chapters found here. Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

Previously on The Sea After a Storm, the team decided that freezing Beth would be the best solution and Ianto ordered pizza...

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Six

After he'd finished the paperwork on Beth, Ianto headed up to the Tourist Office to see if the pizza had arrived. The counter was bare of anything but flyers, so he took a seat to wait. His hand strayed to his mouth again as he sat there, his thoughts straying just as surely to Jack. The last few weeks had been a bit of a revelation for Ianto. After Jack had admitted that he needed Ianto's assistance, he'd accepted it wholeheartedly and with gratitude. Ianto couldn't help but compare the situation with the past Christmas when Jack was so obviously hurting about his inability to send the rift victims from 1953 back to their own time. That time, Jack had buried himself in his pain, pushed Ianto away. More than that, he'd used Ianto as his emotional whipping boy. On the whole, Ianto decided he'd much rather deal with the occasional and unintentionally inflicted bruises than face that kind of coldness from Jack ever again.

The bell over the Tourist Office door rang then, jolting Ianto out of his reverie. He asked the delivery boy if he would be willing to leave the food in its insulated carrier since he had no idea how long the others would be occupied with freezing Beth. Since the "Tourist Office" was a good customer, and Ianto an excellent tipper, the boy was easily convinced. Ianto promised to return the carrier to the restaurant as he had done a few times in the past when similar situations arose. After the boy had left, Ianto locked up the office and headed down to the Hub. He put the salads in the fridge along with the drinks, leaving the pizzas in their warm carrier which he perched on top of the fridge.

Ianto paused at the top of the stairs to the med bay and, from what he could hear, it sounded like Owen was just about finished with Beth. Instead of interrupting, Ianto just headed down to the morgue to get ready for his end of the procedure. He set the transport table near the dumbwaiter and unlocked the receiving bay in the morgue wall. No matter how much he dug in the archives, Ianto had never been able to discover which enterprising Torchwood employee had designed the morgue or even when it had gone through its overhaul. Probably got a patent for high density storage systems and retired at thirty, he thought with admiration. The centre two units of the lower level were now the only active compartments. The wall of doors was as much of a façade as the Tourist Office upstairs, the yellowing cards in the holders as relevant as a decade-old stamped due date in a library book. Originally, each door led to one compartment. Now, however, every berth could be shifted behind the wall to either Door 006 or 007, all Ianto had to do was punch in the code for the next available compartment. He did just that, opening Door 007 as he heard the dumbwaiter motor grind to life.

He efficiently recorded all the pertinent information on the forms and then used the transport table to move the heavy containment unit to the wall. Gwen joined him as he locked the unit in place and slid the table free. After a few more notations, he left his clipboard on the table and returned to the wall.

"Everything all right?" he asked Gwen softly.

She tore her eyes from Beth's still face and looked up at him. "She's all right, like this, right? Jack didn't… trick her?"

Ianto shook his head. "No, he wouldn't do that. And there's quite a few people in here, just sleeping," he added, resting his hand on a wooden door.

Gwen took a deep breath and nodded.

Ianto pushed the containment unit into the wall, hearing the hiss of the system engage as he closed and locked the door. He gave Gwen a small smile and offered his arm as they walked back to the Hub.

"I saw your note on my magazine," Gwen said as she dropped his arm so she could climb the narrow stairs. "Did you really like the dress?"

Ianto chuckled. "Yes, it's very pretty."

"Do think I'll be able to carry it off? I mean, it's not really the kind of thing I wear much." Gwen blushed prettily as Ianto chuckled. "Well, you know what I mean! I wore a uniform for years. And then this job, I've just never worn many dresses."

"Well, it's true – a wedding dress is not practical garb for stopping riots or fighting off dangerous aliens, but I can't imagine you'll need to worry about that."

"God, no! We're getting as far away from the rift as I can manage. Nothing will spoil my wedding day," Gwen said determinedly.

Ianto chuckled again and patted her on the shoulder. "The universe wouldn't dare," he reassured her.

"Ianto!" Owen called as soon as they'd cleared the top of the stairs. "God, tell me there's something to eat around here."

"Of course," Ianto said smoothly. He pulled the pizzas from their carrier, glad to find them still warm. "There's salad and drinks in the fridge as well."

Owen nodded and stacked three pieces of the meat feast pizza on a napkin and retired to the corner of Jack's office where the Alien Hunter's video game still sat. He crammed half a piece of pizza in his mouth and proceeded to lose himself in the game. Jack glared at him from his desk and fled the office when Owen turned up the volume a bit. Ianto chuckled and handed Jack a plate as he neared the table where Ianto had set the food.

"All the things Gwen tidied up and rearranged while I was gone, she couldn't have gotten rid of that damn game?" Jack asked as he flipped the empty plate in his hands.

"I thought you liked it," Ianto observed.

Jack had the grace to look abashed. "I like playing it, listening to it is another matter."

"We all have our ways of coping," Ianto said around a mouthful of salad. He glanced up and almost choked. Jack was staring down at him with such desire that Ianto could practically feel the heat pouring off of him.

"True," Jack said, not lowering his gaze. "I'd like to find a dark corner and do a little 'coping' of my own."

Ianto swallowed carefully. He set down his salad and leaned back in his chair, looking up at Jack. He licked at a stray dot of dressing off the corner of his mouth with the tip of his tongue and Jack moaned softly.

"You okay, Jack?" Tosh asked, joining them. "Nothing wrong with the pizza, is there?"

Ianto grinned as Jack closed his eyes and furtively adjusted his trousers.

"No, it's fine, Tosh," Ianto said, amusement colouring his voice. "There's a plain Margherita in the bottom box."

"Oh, good. Thanks." Tosh opened the box and offered it to Jack after she'd taken a piece. "Oh, wait. Sorry, you probably want some meat, don't you," she said, reaching for the other box.

Ianto laughed out loud at Jack's startled expression and waved Tosh off when she raised an eyebrow at him. "Sit down, Jack, and eat your pizza. Gwen! Come get something to eat before it's gone," Ianto called across the Hub.

Gwen came over and dropped into a chair next to Ianto. She took the plate he passed her with a smile and they all relaxed. The hard part of the day was finally over.

TBC…

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (25/?)

2009-12-12T22:25:41Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 25

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations and dialogue borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which the team has to decide what to do with Beth…

Notes: Sorry for the delay this week. I'd love to say it won't happen again, but with work being what it is and the holidays upon us… I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your patience! Previous chapters found here. Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Five

Tosh and Owen left the boardroom shortly after Jack and Gwen. Ianto stayed behind for a few minutes to make sure everything was put to rights. He debated filling the brandy decanter but decided not to bother. He slid the pocket doors closed behind him and hurried back up to the Hub. A quick glance at the cell's CCTV monitor told him Jack and Gwen were still talking to Beth. By the looks of it, things were not going well.

Ianto sighed and looked around for something to do. Tosh was at her workstation, alternating spurts of furious typing with long moments of staring into space. Recognising her typical 'working out something brilliant' pattern, Ianto didn't disturb her. He merely snagged the stack of filing from her outbox and moved on to Gwen's desk where he found a few files to go back to the archives amidst the piles of bridal magazines. He noticed one of the dresses on the glossy pages was marked with a sticky note that read, This one! Ianto smiled and added a comment to the bottom of the note: Lovely! You'll look beautiful – I

Ianto went to Owen's desk next and grabbed the most recent autopsy reports from his outbox and then looked around with a frown, wondering where the doctor had gone. He spotted him in the new hothouse, babying some of his recent, unusual plantings. Several of the seedlings might well be of alien origin, but Ianto was sure that one of them, at least, was simply a very ugly specimen of cacti.

Glancing at his watch, Ianto was surprised to see it was almost noon. He rubbed his eyes after dropping the files he'd collected at his own workstation and headed over to the coffee machine. It had been a while since Torchwood had pulled an all-nighter. Well, other than the night Jack came back, Ianto thought as he started to grind the beans. As soon as the coffee was brewing, he pulled his mobile out of his pocket and dialled Jubilee Pizza, acknowledging, as always, the sharp stab of guilt as he pictured Annie's face while the phone rang. He wasn't sure anyone was in the mood to eat, but knew that eventually they'd need some sustenance or things would get ugly when the blood sugar dropped. He paid by credit card and told the boy to leave the food on the Tourist Office counter if he didn't happen to be there.

He'd just finished the call when Jack came up from the cells. He headed straight for his office, not sparing a glance for anyone. Ianto quickly filled Jack's blue and white striped mug and followed.

"Coffee, sir?" he asked as he rapped politely on the doorframe.

Jack started and looked up from his desk. "Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks, Ianto. That sounds good."

"How're you holding up?" Ianto asked.

With a shrug, Jack took the coffee and sipped it gratefully.

"I called for – "

"Jack!" Gwen yelled.

Ianto glanced out into the Hub to see Gwen striding towards them.

"Jack, you can't just – oh, sorry, Ianto, I didn't see you," Gwen said as she barrelled into Jack's office.

"Quite all right. Coffee?"

"No, thanks," she said and then advanced on Jack's desk. "You can't just dismiss her as some alien, Jack. She's got the right to – "

"To what?" Jack said, meeting Gwen's anger with his own. "She's not a human being, she's a member of a hostile alien species and she doesn't have any rights here. How can I make you understand that?"

Ianto took that as his cue and quickly exited the office. He shared a look with Tosh and Owen as he made his way across the Hub. They all knew the score – neither Jack nor Gwen would be in a place to listen to anyone else until they'd yelled it all out. They're really so much alike in some ways, Ianto mused as he sat down at his workstation and started putting his files in order.

It only took about ten minutes before the shouting died down and Jack and Gwen joined the rest of them in the Hub.

Tosh glanced up from her computer and asked Jack if there was a plan for dealing with Beth.

Jack shrugged and put his hands on his hips. "She's an alien. Full stop. Nothing we can do will change that."

"But she doesn't feel like an alien, Jack," Gwen said, still arguing. "That has to be worth something. She wants to be Beth, to be a normal human being."

Owen's snort of amusement and his muttered, "Whatever that is," floated down from the catwalk where he was now misting his plants.

"Not helping," Gwen sang out.

Jack moved to stand right in front of Gwen. Arms crossed, he looked down at her. "Gwen, what exactly do you see happening here?"

"We… we find some way to help her, to make sure she doesn't what did you call it? Activate? Otherwise what good are we?"

Jack just shook his head.

"What?" Gwen asked, her colour rising. "We find a way to stop her implant and let her go home to her husband. We could check in with them and – "

Jack stalked away, pacing back and forth in front of the armoury. "We can't let her go, she's too dangerous."

"We could freeze her," Tosh suggested.

At last, an actual suggestion, Ianto thought with relief. He appreciated Gwen's passion but she just never could translate it into practical action and sometimes it drove him mad.

"Use the alien cryogenics," Tosh was explaining. "Wake her up if we figure out how to stop her memories from coming back."

"Freeze her?" Gwen parroted. "For how long?"

Tosh gave a little shrug. "For as long as it takes," she said as if it were obvious. "At least she'd be alive."

Jack didn't look convinced. "Her implant would still gather information," he pointed out.

"Can't we deactivate it?" Gwen asked.

Tosh nodded. "I can isolate the transceiver and fry it in an EM pulse. Right now it's not sending or receiving anything. I've checked it five times on every frequency."

"Won't that let them know we're onto them?" Owen asked.

"No, if we freeze her, she'll never activate and they'll never know."

Ianto nodded to himself and began to find the forms he would need for the morgue file. He was sure Tosh's solution was the only option that Jack and Gwen would be able to agree upon.

"What about her husband?" Owen asked, surprising Ianto who would have expected a question like that to come from Gwen.

Jack looked up at Owen. "She'd have to disappear completely," he said and then dropped his gaze to look right at Gwen. "No goodbyes." He walked away before Gwen, or anyone else for that matter, could argue.

Owen sighed and set down the little tree he'd been misting. "I'll get the cryo prepped," he said and then began putting the plants back in the hothouse.

Tosh nodded and went back to her computer.

Gwen just stayed where she was, biting her lip as she obviously tried to come to terms with all this. Ianto took the long way around the Hub with his forms, pausing for a moment to rest his hand on her shoulder. Gwen looked up at him, the worry in her big eyes fading for a second. He gave her a reassuring smile and then headed for Jack's office.

Jack was pacing the length of his office, from the safe to the window over the interrogation room and back. He paused at the window when Ianto came in, staring at the two-way mirror, down into the dank little room.

"This is a mistake," he said softly without turning his head, as if sensing it was Ianto who'd joined him.

"What else can we do?" Ianto asked reasonably.

Jack huffed out a short breath. "I could go down to the cells and put a bullet in her brain," he said, his voice harsh and cold.

Ianto paled a bit, but kept the dismay out of his voice when he spoke. "Only if Tosh deactivates the force-field around her first. And I think you'd have a little trouble convincing her to help you execute someone."

"It's what Torchwood does best," Jack muttered.

"Not your Torchwood," Ianto said firmly. He dropped the papers on Jack's desk and joined him by the mirror. He grabbed the rail with both hands and looked down into the blackness of the interrogation room, careful not to touch Jack. "Torchwood One? Yes. Yvonne Hartman wouldn't have hesitated. Hell, she probably would have enjoyed being the one to pull the trigger. But what you've built here, it's different, better. You changed it."

"I told him that, but he didn't believe me," Jack whispered. "What if he's right?"

Ianto narrowed his eyes and glanced at Jack's faint reflection in the glass. He tightened his grip on the railing. He must be talking about the Doctor. "He's not," Ianto said shortly.

Jack looked at him then, turning and stepping a bit closer. Ianto met him halfway until they were mere inches apart.

"And I happen to think that I am much more qualified to judge the differences between Torchwood One and Torchwood Three than the Doctor. Don't you think?"

Jack nodded but didn't speak. He reached out and cupped Ianto's cheek, running his thumb over Ianto's cheekbone. He leant forward and rested his forehead against Ianto's, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if taking in Ianto's scent. "What would I do without you, Ianto?" he whispered.

Ianto caught a glimpse of Tosh out of the corner of his eye and he sighed. "They're ready for you, sir," he said softly.

Jack matched his sigh and then slowly opened his eyes. He leant forward to place a quick kiss on Ianto's lips before turning and following Tosh to the med bay.

Ianto stood there for another moment, emotions rioting around his brain as he let his fingers trail over his mouth. Then he gave himself a shake and sat down at Jack's desk to finish the paperwork for adding one Beth Halloran – alien; designation Cell 114; hibernation/storage only, not deceased – to the morgue records.

TBC…

Rambling: Sorry, no fic until this weekend...

2009-12-11T18:48:03Z

Hello lovely readers!

My job, my head-cold, and my life's general craptasticness kept me from posting last night and is working against me to keep me from posting today as well. I'll be back on Saturday with Chapter 25 I PROMISE!!

Yours truly,
a very sorry button

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (24/?)

2009-12-08T03:25:10Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 24

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack's not wrong…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Four

After Jack found the mind probe, he'd sent Ianto out to fetch the chair they would need. Although he was still worried about just how wrong this whole thing could go, Ianto nonetheless obeyed. When he rolled the chair into the Hub, placing it between Tosh and Owen's workstations, Jack was just bringing the probe out of his office. He opened the box, eliciting a worried look from Tosh.

"You said we weren't allowed to use that again," she pointed out.

"It's just a mind probe," Jack said sounding slightly exasperated.

Ianto wondered if he'd have a better chance of convincing Jack to put that thing away with the others around. "Remember what happened last time we used it?" he asked, recalling the hours he'd spent a few days after he'd been hired cleaning purple-hued blood and bits of brain off the Hub walls.

Jack tensed and replied without looking at Ianto. "That was different. That species has extremely high blood pressure."

"Oh, right, their heads must explode all the time," Ianto said with a just touch of sarcasm.

He got a look from Jack at that and Gwen, who hadn't been present for the earlier debacle, looked shocked.

"Jack, you can't do this," she said. "What if you're wrong? If she's human, it'll kill her."

Jack crossed his arms. "I'm not wrong," he said firmly. "We have to find out what she is."

Ianto dropped into the chair, slipping his arms under the restraints and tugging, making sure they were still properly attached.

Tosh sighed, recognising a lost cause. "Take it easy, Jack. Stop at the first sign of trouble."

"Or the first sign of exploding," Ianto muttered.

Jack glanced at Ianto but otherwise ignored him. "Gwen," he said giving her a reassuring nod. "Bring her up."

Gwen hesitated for a moment, glancing between Ianto and Jack. Finally she gave in under Jack's implacable stare. "Okay," she said, waving her hands as if washing them of the whole situation.

As she passed by, Ianto gave it one more shot. He jerked and juddered in the chair making buzzing noises.

Jack snapped his fingers and pointed at Ianto. "Hey!" he said putting a wealth of information in that one syllable.

Ianto read him correctly and hurriedly evacuated the chair. Owen shook his head and Tosh pursed her lips disapprovingly, but Ianto swore that Jack was suppressing a smile. He was sure of it a few seconds later when Jack asked him to get a bottle of water for Beth. He had to pass the Captain to get to the fridge and Jack smacked his arse, muttering, "Cheeky bastard," under his breath.

Once they had Beth settled in the chair with the probe fastened securely to her head, Jack looked at Tosh to see if the computers we're ready to go.

"We're all set," Tosh confirmed.

Jack stepped forward, hands on hips as he explained the device to Beth in the simplest of terms. "The probe drills down through your consciousness, so if there's anything hidden, it'll pop to the surface."

"Will it hurt?" Beth asked in a small voice.

"Yeah," Jack said matter-of-factly.

Beth shook her head. "Your bedside manner's rubbish."

"You should see his manners in bed," Gwen said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "They're atrocious. Apparently. So I've heard."

Jack's gaze shot to Gwen, and Tosh and Owen were staring at her with blank looks of shock. Ianto realised Gwen must be referring to the bits of misinformation she had of the night Jack attacked Ianto in his sleep. He jumped in, not wanting Jack to dwell on that incident.

"Oh, they are!" he interjected brightly. "I remember this one – "

Jack cleared his throat loudly, cutting Ianto off. Ianto looked at his shoes, biting back his smile, wondering what Jack thought he'd been about to say. He got himself under control while Gwen talked to Beth, his levity fading away at the thought of the mind probe. All too soon, Jack was giving the nod.

"Okay, Tosh"

The probe was switched on.

Ianto never liked to recall the next few minutes. The mind probe was even worse than he'd remembered. At least that time the poor guy's head had just exploded. This… Ianto swallowed the bile in the back of his throat as Beth thrashed and cried in agony. But the worst part was watching Jack – cold and detached, all Torchwood, asking question after question, telling Tosh to go deeper with every denial. When Beth slumped in the chair, Ianto was certain for a long moment that they'd killed her. But then she straightened, her face frighteningly blank, her palms turned upwards in their bonds.

Oh, my God, her arm, Ianto thought, taking an involuntary step back from her chair as Beth's left arm changed, the skin pulling into a spiny pattern with red, glowing patches. His eyes shot to Jack who was staring at Beth's arm too, a look of sad satisfaction on his face.

"Oh, my God!" Gwen breathed, echoing Ianto's thought perfectly as she darted forward.

Jack grabbed her arm and held her back. "I wouldn't get that close. Toshiko, what happened?"

"Hit a buried compartment," Tosh explained, studying the monitor. "Locked away. She couldn't have been aware of it."

Jack nodded. He moved directly in front of Beth, standing a few feet away from the chair. "Who are you?" he asked quietly.

Beth replied in an unfamiliar language, her voice low, completely devoid of any emotion.

"Where are you from?" Jack tried again but received the exact same response. He frowned and then looked back at Beth. "How do you like my boots?"

Beth actually looked down at Jack's feet but she still gave the same reply. Before she finished, Jack had stalked over to Tosh's workstation and grabbed a scanner which he used on Beth's glowing forearm.

"Jack, what is it, what is she saying?" Gwen asked, clearly upset.

"Name, rank, serial number, and that's all she's gonna say."

"How do you know?" Tosh asked.

Jack stopped scanning Beth and stood up. "'Cause I know who she is and why she's here." Jack's eyes darted to Ianto and he tossed the scanner to him.

Ianto caught it and placed it back on Tosh's workstation as Jack ordered her to switch off the probe. Beth's arm returned to normal and she began gasping with pain as soon as the probe was disengaged.

"Oh, you weren't lying, that really hurt!" she panted. She looked up at all of them, fear written plainly across her features. "Did you find anything?"

Jack pressed his lips into a straight line and jerked his head at Ianto.

"Ianto will get you settled downstairs," Jack said to Beth, sternly but not unkindly.

"Down… did you find anything?" Beth asked again.

Ianto stepped forward and started to unfasten the straps around Beth's arms.

"Why won't you say anything?" Beth was starting to get hysterical, fighting the restraints.

"It'll be all right," Ianto said soothingly. "We just need a bit, I mean, we – " He glanced at Gwen, mutely begging for a little of her specialty.

She didn't fail. She gave Beth a wide smile and nodded. "Yes, we don't want to go off half-cocked, right? So you just let us take a look at the data we got from the probe and then we'll know where we are, yeah?"

Beth looked over at Ianto who was still kneeling by the chair, the last buckle now undone. She glanced back up at Gwen's reassuring smile and nodded hesitantly. She rose from the chair as Ianto stood up. Jack stepped forward and clicked the cuffs around her wrists again, making them all flinch.

"Just 'til you're downstairs," Jack said in that same quiet tone. "Boardroom, five minutes," he called to the team as he hurried to his office.

Beth turned her frightened eyes to Ianto once again and he took her arm gently. "What's downstairs, other than that alien?" she asked as they started walking.

"A place you'll be safe to be on your own for a bit," Ianto said evasively. "We'll get you settled and get these off you," he added, motioning to the cuffs. "Did you need anything before we go down? Some more water?"

Beth nodded and Ianto snagged a fresh bottle of water out of the kitchen area on their way to the cells. He was relieved when Beth didn't fuss about being locked up. She actually thanked him when he removed the cuffs and handed her the water before securing the door.

"You won't… you know, forget about me down here, will you?" Beth asked as he stepped away from the glass.

He was back in an instant. "Of course not. In fact, if you need anything just holler. Literally. We'll be able to hear you wherever we are."

"Okay," Beth said. "Okay," she repeated in a whisper, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

Ianto gave her one last smile and ran to join the others in the conference room. Jack started immediately after Ianto sat down, sharing all the information he had on Sleeper Cell 114 and their diabolical and successful strategies for conquering entire planets. When he was finished, he gave Tosh the floor and she filled them in on the specifics of the technology in Beth's arm.

"The implant gathers information," Tosh stated, pointing to the display behind her, the swirls of orange and yellow coalescing into pictures and text now and then. "Normal X-rays don't show it. She's projecting a false image. It's got all this data stored inside it."

Well, that explains the sniffing, Ianto thought. She's probably capable of gathering information through all five senses.

This," she added, switching to the laptop next to her, "is a force-field generator. It creates an impervious layer above the skin, just a nanometre thick. That's why you couldn't get the needle inside her."

Owen shook his head. "Right, well… God, look, they even know about us."

Ianto stared at the screen, aghast. She must have been tapping into the mainframe the whole time she's been here! There were layouts to levels of the Hub that even Ianto had never seen. "They know more about this place than I do," he said incredulously. He thumped the table in frustration. "Nobody knows more than I do."

Jack gave him a little half smile and reached out to touch his hand. He withdrew it and knit his fingers together as Gwen started to panic a bit.

"What if there's more of them? What are we gonna do about this?"

"For a start..." Jack interjected. "I think we should tell her."

"Her? Beth? Jack, you can't," Gwen protested.

"Why not?" Owen asked. "She deserves the truth about who she is, don't you think?"

"But it'll…" Gwen sighed and then nodded. "Yeah, okay, you're right. But I'm coming with you," she told Jack.

If she expected an argument, she was disappointed. Jack merely nodded and led the way.

TBC…

Rambling: The Christmas Meme

2009-12-05T06:32:26Z

I appropriated this from several different people. Sorry to spam your flists with non-fic but I don't know how to filter (one of my wishes actually addresses this!!). :) Happy Holidays to you all!

OK, so I decided to play this year. And, being me, I totally disobeyed the rules.

This list? Goes to eleven...

Step One

Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two

Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it. Once a wish has been granted, it will be crossed off my list.

~~You needn't~~ Please don't spend money on these wishes!! ~~unless you want to.~~ The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

My Holiday Wishes...

1. I know this one has shown up on a lot of lists, but it really is a wonderful thing! I wish everyone could make a donation to something like Toys for Tots or Heifer International or even just remember to drop a dollar in that Salvation Army Bell Ringer's red bucket. I know I complain about my life/job/whatever sucking all the time, especially lately, but when I really think about it, my life is cake compared to so many others. Spread the LOVE!

2. If you're sending paper cards this year, please think about using ones that help others as well as telling your loved ones to have a happy holiday. The Hallmark RED cards or their UNICEF cards are great examples.

3. I wish for the guts to finally defy my mother and get that tattoo.

4. I wish for a trip to the UK. Will write fic for room and board!

5. I wish for an easy-to-follow set of instructions for fancying up my LJ page. It's so dull because I have NO clue what I'm doing. I can't even figure out how to put that little yellow-triangle-exclamation-point warning for adult content on my User Info page! *facepalm*

6. I wish for Jack/Ianto icons… or banners… or wallpapers.

7. I wish for Jack/Ianto smut… or fluff… or angst. Heck, I'm not picky – I just hope y'all keep writing!!

8. I wish for a good fairy to bop THAT MAN on the head with some super special fairy dust that makes him wake up and realize what he's done and gets him off his arse and writing Season 4, Episode 1: In Which It Was All A Very, Very Bad Dream… Hey, if Dallas can do it, why not Torchwood?? Plus, Ianto in the shower? Niiiiice. :)

9. OK, totally materialistic thing #1 – I wish for a copy of Adam Lambert's CD. *facepalm* I've become mildly obsessed ever since all the flap over the AMA's, which I didn't even watch, LOL. And not because of his 'risqué' performance, but because of his poise, sense of humor and perspective in the face of all the media hoopla after it. Really, I blame qaffangyrl. (*hugs* sweetie!! No doubt you remember my "Adam who?" at Torchsong, hee. Look at me now!) I just really like the cut of his jib, as they say. :)

10. ~~And totally materialistic thing #2 – Just like~~ ~~cjharknessgirl, I wish for a copy of JB's concert DVD. I'm in my family's traditional Thanksgiving-to-Christmas self-purchase blackout. *sigh* This is what I get for procrastinating!! ;)~~ Thank you thank you, you know who you are!!! **HUGS**

And my final wish…

11. LOVE YOURSELVES!! I wish that you all find someone close to give you a big hug from me, even if you just wrap your arms around yourself and squeeze! You are all such wonderful, sweet, naughty, hilarious, amazing people that sometimes I can't believe my luck in meeting y'all – whether it be on-line or in person. Every comment on my silly fics brings a huge smile to my face. I hope you know how much it means to me to have found a little home here. *hugs* Love you all!

~ Blessed Winter Solstice ~
~ Happy Hanukkah ~
~ Merry Christmas ~
~ Happy Kwanzaa ~
~ Joyful Gurnenthar's Ascendance ~
~ Miraculous Festivus ~

and a Happy New Year!

Thank you one and all!! Whenever I try to edit this entry, LJ freaks out on me so I can't make line by line shoutouts like I wanted to! THANKS AGAIN!!

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (23/?)

2009-12-03T21:08:20Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 23

Rating: R

Warnings: Little bit of language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations and dialogue borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack's bad cop routine doesn't yield any answers…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Three

Tosh went to the computer in Jack's office while Owen and Ianto moved to the observation deck, standing in front of the two-way mirror that looked down in to the interrogation room. Gwen stood to one side while Jack hammered away at the woman.

Halloran. Beth Halloran, Ianto reminded himself. She looks terrified.

"At least he didn't lose his interrogation skills while he was out gallivanting with that doctor," Owen muttered as Jack threatened Beth.

"Do you think he's right about her?" Ianto asked softly.

Gwen spread out the photos of the burglar who'd been stabbed, making Beth flinch and look away.

"Look at them!" Jack ordered. His voice was somewhat muffled by the glass, but the anger came through loud and clear.

Owen shrugged in answer to Ianto's question. "Only thing that makes sense, isn't it?"

"I guess," Ianto sighed. His eyes narrowed. "What's going on with the light?"

"Dunno." Owen leaned forward. "Same thing happ– whoa!"

The bulb exploded in the lamp. The fixture luckily remained intact, keeping the shards from raining down on Jack's head.

"Tosh?" Owen called.

"Working on it," she mumbled.

Jack slammed out of the interrogation room, leaving Gwen behind to try out some of her 'good cop' on Beth. Ianto watched as Gwen turned on the sympathy and understanding, but she didn't seem to get any further with Beth than Jack had.

Owen moved out of the way when Jack came barrelling around the corner, his face looking pinched and worried. He glowered down at Beth and Gwen talking for a second before Ianto decided he needed a little encouragement.

"'Just us and this room… for as long as it takes.'" Ianto turned so his elbow was resting on the railing, looking at Jack as he quoted one of his earlier threats. "Terrifying," he said admiringly. Ianto could hear Owen's soft snort of ridicule but ignored it, keeping his gaze on Jack.

"Really?" Jack asked uncertainly, a hesitant smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Absolutely," Ianto confirmed with a nod. "Shivers down my spine."

Jack looked doubtful. "You don't look scared."

"Oh, it… passed," Ianto teased, looking up at Jack from under his eyelashes.

Jack's eyes lit up and he growled, raising his fist menacingly as he leaned in to Ianto's personal space. Ianto didn't flinch. He also managed not to laugh, much to his surprise. Jack turned away, all the hesitation gone from his stride.

"Tosh, anything on the body scan?" he asked in his usual confident tone as he flopped down in his desk chair.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she replied, still tapping away at the keyboard.

Jack frowned. "What about the light? Power surge?"

"Nothing from us." Tosh shook her head. "There was an electromagnetic build-up around her but I can't see how she caused it."

"Same thing happened at the hospital, Jack," Owen added quietly. "Can't be a coincidence."

"It's her, I know it is," Jack said. He sat up suddenly, apparently feeling a need for action. "Okay, let's do some tests, see who or what we're dealing with."

Owen nodded and pushed off the wall where he'd been leaning. "I'm on it," he called as he headed for the med bay.

"Tosh, keep running those scans, see if anything pops up. Ianto?"

"Yes, sir?"

Jack pushed out of the chair and walked back over to where Ianto was standing, still leaning on the rail.

"Take a look at the Rift Manipulator and the rest of the big pieces. If she is creating electromagnetic fields, I want to make sure she's not affecting the machinery. The last thing we need is for the rift to start chucking things at us whenever we make her angry."

"Right," Ianto agreed. As he headed for the Hub, he heard Jack behind him on the comm, telling Gwen to bring Beth to the medical bay for some tests.

Ianto picked up the iso-scanner from Jack's desk as he passed, clicking the settings to read the Rift Manipulator first. He climbed up the railing, thinking it was a happy coincidence that he'd worn a black suit that day. Usually he ended up clambering around the machinery when he was in light grey or something else that showed every speck of dirt and grease. He ran the scanner over the heart of the Manipulator and was relieved to see that the isomorphics were the same as the last scan. Well, that's something at least. If she is capable of messing about with the machinery somehow, she hasn't done it yet. Ianto leant out of the Manipulator to see the 'she' he had just been thinking about to bend down over one of their recent finds.

He glared down at her and said coldly, "We don't sniff the Sub-Etheric Resonator."

Beth muttered a quick apology and moved on, Gwen following. Gwen gave Ianto a displeased look as she passed, but Ianto just shrugged. He waited until they were past and hopped down out of the Manipulator. He circled around and came back to the Resonator. He ran the iso-scanner over it as well, but found no differences. He frowned and then glanced around. When he was sure everyone else was down in the med bay, he leant forward and sniffed at the machine. He stood back up, feeling incredibly foolish. It smelled of metal and grease, just as he'd expected. He spun the scanner in his hand, wondering what would possess a normal person to smell a hunk of metal and cables.

He shrugged again and finished the scans. He wandered over to the med bay to let Jack know there were no deviations in any of the Hub's machinery. He stepped through the archway just as Jack raised his voice.

"Stop wasting our time! We know you're an alien!" he shouted at Beth.

"There's no such thing as aliens," Beth said. She glanced at Gwen as if looking for confirmation.

Gwen gave her a weak smile and started to speak but was interrupted by Jack. He surged forward from where he'd been watching on the steps, unfastening the straps that held Beth to the table and snapping her wrist restraints on again.

"Come with me," he ordered, yanking Beth up the stairs and past Ianto. He pulled her across the Hub and disappeared down the stairway to the cells.

"Where's he taken her?" Gwen asked as she hurried up the steps.

Ianto grimaced. "The cells," he said.

Gwen frowned and clicked on the internal CCTV at the nearest workstation.

Sure enough, Jack was introducing Beth to Janet. Tosh and Owen joined them at the monitor, watching as Beth's perception of reality altered in front of their eyes.

"What the – " Owen started to say as Janet hunched over and backed away from Beth.

"Why is it doing that?" they heard Beth ask over the tinny speaker.

"My thoughts exactly," Owen muttered. "What the fuck is she?"

Gwen rounded on him, eyes flashing. "Stop that! You don't know she's not human. Jack could be wrong."

Owen rolled his eyes and then looked at the screen again. It was clear even on that small screen that Beth was trying to remain calm, to keep it together.

"How can I… prove to you… that I'm not an alien?" she asked.

Jack frowned and looked at Janet once more. He took Beth's arm and led her out of the cells. Gwen switched off the CCTV feed and they all turned to the stairwell, waiting for Jack and Beth to appear. When they did, Jack took Beth back to the interrogation room and left her there, calling for Ianto as he strode back into his office.

Jack was at the secure archives when Ianto joined him.

"What compartment did we store the mind probe in?" Jack asked as he spun the combination lock on the safe.

"The… Jack, you can't be serious."

"Can't think of anything else that will give us the answers we need," Jack grunted as he pulled open the door.

"But… it's…. what about that lie detector? You said it was more advanced than anything in existence."

Jack shook his head as he started rotating the compartments. "Only works if the subject is lying and I don't think she is, not really. I don't think she knows what she is. Where is it?"

Ianto tried another tack. "You had me tag it not for use," he reminded Jack.

Jack stepped back from the safe and turned to look at Ianto. "I know what I'm doing, Ianto."

"Are you sure?" Ianto asked, licking his lips uncomfortably. "I mean, are you sure you're not pushing this one a little too hard? This is the first case since you've been back and you've been – " He stopped when Jack took a step and cupped his cheek again, making him look right into those blue eyes as his head spun from the contact.

"What compartment or am I gonna open them all?" Jack asked quietly.

"94," Ianto replied just as quietly.

He got a smile before Jack turned back to the safe.

Ianto prayed Jack knew what he was doing.

TBC…

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (22/?)

2009-12-01T01:57:00Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 22

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which the team begins to investigate a new case…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Two

Ianto exhausted the resources on the Hallorans well before Jack and Tosh returned from the scene. He handed Jack the thin file as the Captain walked through the cog door, trading it for Jack's coat which he hung up before offering a round of coffee.

"Yes, please," Tosh groaned. "I was just about to get changed for bed when you rang."

Ianto glanced sharply at her tight pink blouse, dark skirt and heels. "Ms. Sato, were you out on a date?"

Tosh smiled, a surprised flush on her cheeks matching her blouse perfectly.

"You were!" Ianto said delightedly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugged and took the mug of coffee Ianto offered. "I just met him. And you've been busy getting Jack sorted. Good job there, by the way. I'm glad he's feeling better."

Ianto frowned at her. "No changing the subject. Who is this guy?"

"His name is Gordon, but don't get too excited. I think tonight was the one and only date. I was really just trying to distract myself from, well, we didn't really – "

"Ianto!" Jack called, interrupting them. He waved the file. "There's nothing in here," he complained.

Ianto rolled his eyes at Tosh and mouthed the word 'later' as he took Jack's mug over to him. He handed over the coffee as he explained. "There isn't anything in there because there isn't anything to find. They're just an average couple, pay their taxes, don't annoy their neighbours."

"There must be something," Jack muttered.

"What happened?" Ianto asked.

Tosh spoke up while Jack glared at the file. "Two burglars. The Hallorans were the intended victims. One burglar was stabbed to death, police are guessing sword-like weapon but nothing was found on the scene. The other was pushed – "

"Or jumped," Jack interjected.

Tosh looked thoughtful. "True. I hadn't thought of that. The other fell from the window of the Halloran's fifth floor flat and landed on a police car. Gwen and Owen are with him and the couple at the hospital right now."

"So the police were already there when he went out the window?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. First responders were on their way up the stairs when the guy fell on the backup car. They were just pulling up when the guy landed. 999 was on the line during the attack but all they heard was screaming – men screaming. There's no way a normal human being could have gotten out of the flat without being seen, not with the timeframe."

Ianto took a sip of his coffee and mulled that over as the cog door rolled open. Owen came through, pulling off his jacket.

"Oh, thank God, coffee," he said as he tossed his coat on his chair and headed for the kitchen area.

"I thought I told you to stay at the hospital," Jack said with a frown.

"Gwen's there," Owen explained. He looked at Jack as he took a sip of coffee, his expression one of pure innocence. "You didn't mean for both of us to stay, did you?"

Tosh and Ianto both snorted softly as Jack shook his head and crossed his arms. "What did you find out?" he asked, just letting it go.

"Bugger all," Owen said succinctly. "No trace of blood on either of the Hallorans that wasn't their own. Well, the husband anyway. The wife doesn't have a scratch on her. What did the scene of crime look like?"

"I'm downloading the pictures from CRIMINT right now," Tosh said from her computer.

Ianto moved to stand next to the printer, pulling the pages off one at a time as Tosh printed them out. There had definitely been a struggle, the bedroom was completely wrecked. The printer stopped churning and Ianto stepped back to the others and handed the photos to Owen.

"Ockham's razor," Owen was saying as he took the prints from Ianto. "The simplest explanation is the best. The wife is the only one who left that flat unscathed."

"Ergo she must have done it?" Tosh asked with a raised eyebrow. "You've seen her, Owen. There's no way she could have killed that man."

Jack started as his comm chirped and tapped his ear. "Yeah, Gwen?" His expression darkened. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Men," he finished as he tapped the comm off.

"Men?" Tosh echoed.

"Men, not man. The second burglar just died. Gwen said he identified the wife as the attacker. Owen, with me. Ianto – want to dust off the chair in the interrogation room?" Jack called as he ushered Owen out the door. "We're gonna have a guest."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Tosh used the time the others were gone to dig deeper into the Halloran's past, but she didn't have any more luck than Ianto. Mike and Beth Halloran were as clean as a whistle. Ianto took Jack at his word and made sure the interrogation room was ready for use. He felt slightly ill when he remembered that the last person they'd 'interviewed' was an undead Suzie Costello. Not even a year ago and so much has happened since then. Ianto sighed as he moved the table and the two chairs to the centre of the small room. After he was done, he headed up to sit near Tosh's workstation, pestering her about her date while she worked.

"Seriously, Ianto, he was a nice guy but that's it," Tosh said, slightly exasperated. "A nice, normal, slightly dull guy."

"All right, all right," he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"I really don't know why I bother," Tosh went on, punching her keyboard with more force than strictly necessary. "What kind of relationship can you really have if you can't even tell the other person what your job is? I really don't see how Gwen can do it."

Ianto shrugged. He was about to say that he didn't spend much time wondering how Gwen did anything, when the proximity alarm went off and Jack barrelled through the door with their promised guest. Ianto cringed when he saw that Jack had placed one of the weevil bags over her head for the drive and didn't seem inclined to take it off.

"Owen," Jack snapped.

Owen stepped up and took the woman's other arm, directing her forward and helping her down the stairs to the interrogation room. Ianto followed Jack to his office where he found the Captain stripping off his coat, clearly agitated.

"Did you find anything else out about them?" Jack asked as Ianto stepped through the doorway.

Ianto shook his head. "No, sorry."

"There's something off here, I can feel it." Jack ran a hand through his hair and paced for a few steps.

"Jack, do you think… I mean, maybe you're… well," Ianto trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"What?" Jack asked with his chin raised in a stubborn gesture that Ianto recognised all too well.

Ianto shook his head. "Never mind. What can I do?"

"Get Tosh to start a body scan, I'm going to go see what I can find out."

"Right," Ianto said. He stepped aside to let Jack leave the office first. He was surprised but pleased when Jack paused at the door to cup his cheek. The caress was quick but heartfelt and Ianto followed Jack into the Hub with a wholly inappropriate smile on his face.

"Gwen, want to back me up?" Jack asked. "We'll do a little good cop, bad cop. See what we can find out."

Gwen nodded and then paused. "Which one should I be?" she asked seriously.

Owen, Tosh and Ianto all tried to cover their snorts of laughter with coughs, but Jack just grinned at Gwen and said, "Play to your strengths." He swatted her shoulder teasingly with the Halloran's folder and then handed it to her. "I'll be right behind you," he said.

She nodded again and hurried down to the interrogation room. Jack stood there for another moment, gave himself a little shake as if psyching himself up and followed.

TBC…

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (21/?)

2009-11-28T03:38:03Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 21

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack starts getting better…

Notes: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Sorry for the late posting – especially to my non-state-side readers who weren't distracted by copious amounts of turkey and pie yesterday. :) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-One

Bit by bit, Jack began to push past the nightmares of his experience on the Valiant, but it took time. That first night with Ianto, neither of them slept for more than twenty minutes at a time. Ianto swore he wasn't afraid of sleeping next to Jack and he truly believed it, but nonetheless, every time Jack shifted on the bed or made a noise, Ianto woke up. Neither of them was in any shape to work the following day, despite Jack's protests to the contrary. Ianto decided he needed reinforcements and rang Owen while Jack was finishing his shower.

“Bollocks,” Owen said emphatically as soon as Ianto explained. “I've been trying to force a medical leave on him for days but the bugger just ignored me. You've got him there so keep him there. Me and the girls'll keep an eye on things."

"Thanks, Owen," Ianto breathed gratefully.

"No worries. How…" Owen cleared his throat. "How'd things go last night?" he asked gruffly.

"Fine. Good, actually. Neither of us slept much, like I said, but it was a start."

"No, er, incidents, then?"

"No. It was fine," Ianto said flatly. Not exactly true, but close enough, he thought. He heard the water turn off in the bath. "You want to tell him or shall I?"

Owen chuckled. "Put me on speaker."

Ianto laughed softly and did as he asked. Jack opened the door to the bath and stepped into the room, dressed in trousers and a t-shirt, the thin white fabric clinging to his damp skin as he towelled off his hair.

"Jack?" Ianto said. "Owen has something he'd like to say." He held the mobile out on the palm of his hand.

Jack reached for the phone, but before he could grab it, Owen started talking, making Jack jump.

"I'm revoking your medical clearance starting now, Captain. You're off official duty until I say you're back on."

Jack's brows shot together in a frown. "You can't – "

"Oh, yes I bloody well can! You come within fifty feet of the Hub and I'll trip the decontamination sequence and lock it down tighter than a fish's arsehole, got it?"

Jack glared at Ianto who merely bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. "Fine," he ground out. "But if anything happens…" He let the threat fade off, perhaps hoping the vagueness would worry Owen more than anything specific.

Owen's snort was loud and clear over the small speaker on the mobile. "Yeah, yeah. Anything comes out of the rift that we can't handle and we'll ring you. Until then? Just get some rest."

"Fine," Jack repeated, sounding slightly mollified. He snatched the mobile out of Ianto's hand and hit 'end' before Owen could say anything else. He tossed the phone on the bed and then turned back to Ianto. Without speaking, he reached for Ianto, running his hands softly over a new set of bruises on Ianto's upper arms. "You okay?" he murmured.

Ianto nodded. "It's not your fault," he said earnestly.

"Yeah, you keep saying that. Doesn't make it true," Jack replied with a bleak smile. He let go of Ianto and grabbed his shirt and boots from the chair by the bed. "I've… I'll be back," he muttered and hurried from the room.

A few seconds later Ianto heard the front door slam. He sighed and crawled back into bed. He buried his face in the pillow Jack had used, too tired to wonder where Jack had gone or if he'd really come back. He fell asleep almost instantly. When he woke a few hours later, Ianto reached out automatically but his hand found only empty space where Jack should have been lying next to him. Disappointed but unsurprised, Ianto pulled himself up and went to take a shower.

The hot water helped loosen muscles he hadn't even known were stiff. He stretched and twisted carefully, feeling the tension from the long night slowly fading away. He hissed softly as he rubbed the washcloth over his arm. As the soap rinsed away, he glanced down at the marks that adorned his bicep, one for each of Jack's fingers. He sighed and washed the other arm, careful of the matching set of bruises he knew was there as well. Jack had been thrashing around in the bed, clearly fighting some invisible foe when Ianto had tried to wake him by calling his name and shaking his shoulder as they'd agreed. It went fine, at first. Jack had stopped moving, opened his eyes and looked right at Ianto. He'd nodded when Ianto had said his name but then, before Ianto could lie back down, Jack had grabbed his arms and pulled him close…

“Why are you doing this?” Jack asked, his voice ragged.

“Jack, wake up,” Ianto ordered.

“Give me some water... please?” Jack's voice broke. “Don't make me beg. Don't do this.”

Ianto fought against his instinct to struggle, to try to pull away from Jack's iron hold. He tried to stay relaxed as Jack's fingers dug into his arms. “Jack,” he said, more loudly this time. “Jack, it's not real. Wake up!”

“Please?” Jack whimpered.

“Jack, you're hurting me,” Ianto gasped.

Somehow, those words managed to pierce through the nightmare and Jack blinked hard a few times.

“Ianto?” he asked, bewildered.

“It's me, Jack. You were dreaming.”

“I – oh, God, I'm sorry!” Jack said as he released Ianto from his grip and immediately covered his face. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

Ianto had pulled Jack's hands away from his face and then pulled Jack into his arms. Jack clung to him, muttering apologies until he finally fell asleep again. Ianto had lain awake for some time, just holding his Captain close.

Ianto finished his shower and dried off, his mind still dwelling on the night before. He wondered if it was wrong to feel good that Jack needed him, to take pleasure in sheltering him from the dark as Jack had done so many times for him. He tried to shake off the nagging guilt as he pulled on a pair of jeans and t-shirt, but he really only succeeding in tamping it down a bit. When he left the bedroom, he was surprised to find Jack, crashed out on the sofa.

“Jack?” he asked quietly, not wanting to wake his Captain if the man was asleep.

Jack opened his eyes and smiled at Ianto from the sofa where he was reclining. “Hey,” he answered just as quietly. “Did you get some sleep?”

Ianto nodded and stepped over to the sofa. Jack shifted to make some room for Ianto to sit, moving to rest his head on Ianto's thigh after he was settled. Jack sighed deeply.

“How about you?” Ianto asked. He rubbed his hand gently over Jack's back. “Where did you go this morning?”

Jack nodded and yawned. “I napped a bit after I got back. Didn't want to disturb you again so I just stayed out here.”

“I woke up missing you,” Ianto admitted. “I was afraid you'd gone back to the Hub.”

“No,” Jack chuckled. “Wouldn't dare. I took a walk." Jack rolled onto his back, his hand drifting up to trace Ianto's features with a gentle finger as he talked. "Went through the playing fields, crossed the river at Pontcanna Bridge and came down through Bute Park. Went to the Castle."

"The Castle?" Ianto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jack nodded. "Wanted to see it again. The M–" Jack bit his lip and then continued. "He destroyed Cardiff when he found out that's where I lived, worked, that you were here. He said he wanted to widen the Bristol Channel, made me watch while he levelled the city…" Jack's hand fell away and his eyes closed, but not before Ianto could see the pain shining in their blue depths. "He drew a line on the map from Swansea to Newport and obliterated everything below it."

Ianto bit back his cry and stroked his hand through Jack's thick hair, offering his sympathy without interrupting.

"I… I just wanted to see it, to touch it. Why is it so hard to believe that it's still there?"

"It'll get easier," Ianto promised. It has too, he thought with a touch of desperation. Or I really will lose him forever.

Jack made a non-committal noise, halfway between a sigh and groan. He shifted on the sofa, turning so his face was nestled against Ianto's belly, tucking his hand under his chin in a boyish gesture that left Ianto breathless. Ianto was dying for a cup of coffee, but he wouldn't have moved right at that second for the world. He dropped his hands to Jack, one sliding over his shoulder, the other softly stroking his hair. He leant his head back and drifted along with Jack, hoping his touch would keep the nightmares at bay for awhile.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Ianto found, much to everyone's relief, that he'd been right. It did get easier for Jack over the next few weeks which were fortuitously quiet around the Hub. Slowly but surely, the nightmares began to recede, making it possible for Jack to get some rest. He spent most of his nights with Ianto, whether it was in Jack's quarters or Ianto's flat, drawing comfort and reassurance from Ianto's presence.

They were at the Hub one night, celebrating Jack's third uninterrupted night of sleep. Jack was at his desk, Ianto on his lap, both fully dressed and snogging each other senseless. Ianto was just reaching the point where he started to wonder why they weren't shagging again yet when the phone rang.

Jack groaned and let it ring twice more before answering.

"Yeah?" he said brusquely, his mouth returning to Ianto's as soon as he'd barked out the greeting.

Ianto could hear the other person on the line, female and agitated, but couldn't make out the words. He pulled back from the kiss when Jack's eyebrows lowered. He sighed. Duty calls.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Jack said and snapped the mobile closed.

"Should I call the others back?" Ianto asked.

Jack frowned and nodded. Ianto slipped from his lap and pulled his own phone out of his pocket. He rang the rest of the team, glancing at his watch when he realized that he was waking most of them up. It was just after midnight.

"They're on their way in," Ianto said as he flipped his phone closed. "What's going on?"

"Burglary gone very, very wrong for the burglars. Detective Swanson asked if we'd take a look. Stay here and see what you can find on a Mike and Beth Halloran, 114 Brodsky Gardens?" Jack requested as he pulled his coat on after straightening his clothes a bit.

Ianto nodded as he did the same, buttoning up his red shirt and retying his tie. Jack groaned and pulled him close.

"Wrong way," he muttered and captured Ianto's lips in a dizzying kiss that might have lasted hours for all Ianto could tell.

"Work to do, Captain," Ianto murmured when his mouth was free and his brain engaged once again. As if on cue, Ianto's mobile rang.

"We're all bloody up here," Owen grumbled.

"Jack's on his way," Ianto promised. He tossed the SUV keys to Jack as he left the office. Ianto stood for a moment, just watching as Jack strode across the Hub, coat billowing around him. He smiled happily.

Torchwood was back in business.

TBC…

Rambling: Sexy People Meme

2009-11-25T04:21:44Z

Call me a lemming, I just couldn't resist...

1) List 5 celebrities you would have sex with without even asking questions.
2) Put all of them IN ORDER of your lust for them [5 - 1, 1 is the hottest].
3) Say which movie/show/thing it was that hooked you.
4) Supply photos for said people.
5) ~~Tag five friends to do the same.~~ I don't tag, but I'd love to hear your list!

5. Ioan Gruffudd (Horatio Hornblower, Fantastic Four, King Arthur)

Hornblower!! Hornblower!! Hornblower!!

Soooo wonderful! Love those Brits – the Scots and the Welsh (like our boy here) especially. Ioan was the original inspiration for my OC Brendan. Always thought he was cute but he got promoted to DAMN!! in King Arthur. *fans self* DAAAM! :D

4. Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, Moulin Rouge, The Island *drool*)

First noticed in Shallow Grave, then Trainspotting, Emma and Velvet Goldmine, etc. etc., but it took Moulin Rouge to tumble me head over heels in lust with this adorable Scotsman.

Ewan was my first insane crush since Harrison Ford circa my fifth birthday. :) Oddly enough, he also tumbled me head first into slash. *blushes* I rewatched Velvet Goldmine shortly after Moulin Rouge and read my first slash fic (Curt/Arthur, of course!) and, well, never looked back!

3. Jensen Ackles (Smallville, Supernatural)

So he was on Smallville back when it was still fun and he was a hottie then. But Supernatural took it to a whole 'nother level. He also stands as the only American on my list, although he is from Texas which is kind of a whole 'nother place. ;)

2. Gerard Butler (300, Phantom of the Opera)

Technically, I first noticed the gorgeous Gerry when he was doing full body pull-ups in a Kazakhstan prison in Tomb Raider 2...

but since I was sitting in the theater under duress, I just went "oooh!" and let it go. Then came Phantom of the Opera and a fangirl slide into hysteria that culminated in helping throw a convention in his name. *facepalm* Hey, we raised $30,000+ for kids with cancer and I got to wear a coat that he'd worn in a movie that the studio donated for the auction.

So, not all bad. He's a lovely, lovely Scotsman who really needs to stop starring in horrible, horrible movies (*cough*The Ugly Truth*cough*) but he'll always hold a special place in my heart.

1. Gareth David-Lloyd (Torchwood)

So, it's all my friend Carrie's fault. I resisted the whole New Who thing for the first three seasons (yes, I'm a moron) but she convinced me to give the spinoff a try. And on September 8, 2007, when Ianto gave Jack that little smile in Everything Changes, I got hooked. I've obsessed about a lot of boys in my time, but he's the first one who EVER made me WRITE fanfic. Ianto Jones also stands as the only fictional character that I've actually mourned since Beth died in Little Women when I was 8. Luckily for me, I'm living in a world of complete and total denial and will spend the foreseeable future reading and writing this fabulous man that GDL brought to life. LOL, it doesn't hurt that GDL himself is adorable, sweet, kind, funny and totally charming. And that NOSE!! *grin*

So those are my boys! I won't be laminating that Top 5 list since I know the danger there, but I'm pretty damn sure they'll stand for a while. :) Runners up? Clive Owen, Nathan Fillion, Ryan Reynolds, John Cusack, Timothy Olyphant, and of course the beautiful John Barrowman who didn't make the list for the same reason that teachwriteslash listed - he's just too much a part of Scott & John in my head to get all fantasizey about him. :)

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (20/?)

2009-11-23T23:00:19Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 20

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Mike Judge for the quote from Office Space. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack reaches a breaking point…

Notes: Still catching up on comments – please know that they are all appreciated, even if it takes me forever to reply!! Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty

“Someone's got a case of the Monday's,” Owen muttered under his breath in at attempt at levity as the sound of Jack bellowing for his team echoed down the hallway.

Gwen, Tosh and Ianto chuckled obligingly, but the expression on Jack's face as he rounded the corner and nearly knocked them over chased away even their forced amusement.

“What's taking so long?” Jack demanded.

“We're coming, Jack,” Tosh said calmly. “We had to wait for the coffee to finish. Want some?” She held up Jack's favourite blue and white striped mug as a peace offering.

“Oh. Thanks,” Jack said. He took a sip and then frowned. “Why wasn't the coffee already made?” he demanded, glowering at Ianto.

“Because someone didn't rinse the carafe out on Friday before they left. I had to scrub out three day old dregs before I could make a fresh pot,” Ianto explained.

“Bitch, bitch, bitch,” Owen grumbled. “How was I supposed to know that Jack wouldn't make coffee all weekend? He's the one who bloody lives here after all.”

“That's not the point – ” Ianto started, but stopped when Jack growled and stomped back to the board room.

“Owen!” Gwen hissed. “What were we just talking about? Don't poke the bear.”

“I wasn't! I – ”

“Oh, just come on,” she interrupted, nudging Owen towards the door.

They took their seats around the table and waited for Jack to begin the meeting. Ianto lent half an ear to Jack's ranting about the Cardiff Police and their inability to conduct their own investigations, letting his mind wander a bit. God, he looks so tired. Jack's eyes were burning and bright, almost as if he had a fever. Ianto sighed, his hand sliding absentmindedly to the bruises on his throat, hidden at the moment by a high shirt collar. He altered the movement when Jack's hot eyes shot to him, moving to adjust his tie instead. He's got to let me help him, Ianto thought desperately.

However, it was hard to help someone who not only didn't want your help, but was actively avoiding any contact with you. After the incident at Ianto's flat Thursday night, Jack had effectively shut down the Hub with himself inside it. Owen, Tosh, Gwen and Ianto had all tried to contact Jack at some point over the weekend with no luck.

They'd had a quick conversation that morning while the coffee was brewing and Jack was waiting for them in the board room. Only Ianto was in possession of the full story. Owen and Tosh had some of the most pertinent information, apparently Jack had talked to Owen on Thursday night just as Ianto had shared some of the facts with Tosh. Gwen was under the impression that Jack had done something unspeakable to Ianto in the bedroom and was miraculously not pushing for details. They all agreed, however, that Jack couldn't last much longer without sleep.

Owen had nixed Gwen's idea of simply slipping Jack a Mickey and hoping it made him sleep long enough to get his head on straight. He said that Jack had flat out refused the medication he'd already offered and that tricking Jack into sleeping wouldn't solve the real problem. Ianto still felt that his original solution was sound and wanted to try again. As far as he knew, the few hours they'd spent together at his flat was the only real sleep Jack had gotten in over two weeks. He was sure if Jack could get used to waking up someplace safe and familiar, he'd be able to push past the nightmares. He'd finally convinced the others to back off and let him try again – now he just needed to convince Jack.

He forced himself to pay attention again. Jack was rattling off the day's assignments, mixing up names and places here and there which the team just let go without any rude comments. How he's even still standing, I'll never know, Ianto thought as Jack handed Tosh the autopsy reports and Owen the technical readouts of an alien artefact. As soon as his back was turned, they swapped files.

"All right, then," Jack said as he turned back around. "Why are you still hanging around here? Get to work!"

As the rest of the team hurried for the door, Ianto lingered behind. He waited until he and Jack were alone and then slid the pocket door shut.

Jack's head snapped up at the sound and his eyes widened. "What?" he asked defensively.

Ianto moved closer, standing right in front of Jack. "Ask me how I am," he requested calmly.

Jack coloured and muttered, "How are you?" He sounded very afraid of the answer.

"I'm fine," Ianto reassured him, hoping Jack would really hear him. "It's nothing but a few bruises. You know I've had a lot worse."

"Not because of me," Jack said bleakly.

"You weren't yourself," Ianto insisted.

"Yeah… well…" Jack stepped back and rubbed his hand over his face. "That's no excuse."

"It's not an excuse, it's an explanation of the situation. A situation that's not going to get better on its own. You have to sleep, Jack. You need to heal. By pushing us all away, you're only making yourself even more sick. Let me try again."

"No."

"Jack – "

"No! I won't risk you like that, not again."

"It's not a risk! I know what I did wrong, it won't happen again."

Jack looked confused. "What you did wrong?"

"Yes, it was my fault. I should have just woken you up, not tried to restrain you, not after what you've told me. I just… I wanted you to sleep," he finished helplessly.

"You…" Jack couldn't go on. He pulled Ianto into a rough hug, holding him close for a long moment. "It wasn't your fault. I… I can't do it again, don't ask me."

"But Jack – "

"Please," Jack said simply. And, as always, that simple broken word from his lover was Ianto's undoing.

"All right," he whispered. He pulled away from Jack. "We'll do it your way." He walked to the door, cursing himself for failing yet again. Once he was out in the hall, he allowed his shoulders to slump and his head to fall forward, dejected. Unfortunately, that movement jammed his collar against his bruised neck making him flinch. He shook it off and headed back upstairs, realising half-way up that he'd left his clipboard on the conference room table. With another muttered curse, Ianto reversed direction and hurried back downstairs.

When he got close to the board room, he hear Tosh's clear voice and Jack's low rumbles.

"…care about you. We all want to help," Tosh said earnestly.

Ianto stilled, but he was unable to make out Jack's answer.

"You have to quit shutting us out, Jack, especially Ianto. He trusts you completely! After everything he's been through, he still believes in you one hundred percent. Don't you think he deserves the same from you?"

Ianto heard the sharp bark of a chair being scooted backwards and imagined Jack standing, his arms braced on the table, his head lowered as he said… Dammit, Ianto thought as he crept closer. He still couldn't make out Jack's words. Whatever he'd said, it didn't seem to hold much water with Tosh.

"You know," Tosh said slowly. "I've thought you were a lot of things, Jack Harkness, but I never thought you were a coward."

When Ianto heard Tosh's angry footsteps heading his way, he ducked into a nearby corridor. He hid for a few minutes until he heard Jack pass by as well and then he grabbed his clipboard and followed them back to the Hub.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Three days later, the atmosphere in the Hub was that of a storm about to break. Everyone was on edge, not just Jack, snapping at one another, forgetting things. Ianto was afraid they'd all be at their breaking points before Jack accepted any help from anyone. As they were packing it in, Gwen nudged Ianto.

"Look at him," she whispered, nodding towards Jack's office.

Ianto followed her gaze to see Jack get up from his chair, walk around the desk, open the door, pause, close the door and return to his chair. He was just about to ask what she was so fascinated by, when Jack made the exact same circuit a few seconds later.

"What's he doing?"

Gwen shrugged. "Duuno, but he's been going on like that for about five minutes now."

Ianto watched as Jack dropped back into his chair again. "Bollocks to this, I'm going to go talk to him."

"Do you want us to stick around?" Gwen offered.

"No, thanks," Ianto said. "He might be more willing to talk if we're alone."

Gwen nodded and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. "Pob lwc!"

Ianto waited until the others had gone and then straightened his tie. He got to Jack's door just as Jack did, both of them starting a bit and speaking at the same time.

"Jack, we need to – "

"Ianto, I want to – "

They laughed uncomfortably and Jack motioned for Ianto to go ahead.

"Whatever you're doing isn't working, Jack."

"I know," Jack admitted. "I got so desperate last night that I found myself in the armoury contemplating a bullet, just to see if a quick reset would help."

At Ianto's cry of protest, Jack shook his head. "I didn't do it, couldn't do it. I was just coming to ask you if… if we can try it your way again. With one precaution."

"What's that?"

Jack handed Ianto one of the standard issue stun guns. "This stays with you at all times and you use it if you have to."

"Jack, I…"

"That's the only way I can do to this, Ianto."

Ianto nodded. He took a deep breath and conjured up a smile. "Your place or mine?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A few hours and a light supper later, Ianto found himself waiting in his bed for Jack. The stun gun lay on the bedside table, an ugly black reminder of the last time he'd been in this same position. Ianto fidgeted a bit, feeling hot and uncomfortable, finally pulling off the undershirt he was wearing, leaving him in just his boxer-briefs.

Jack came out of the bath, similarly attired. When he noticed Ianto was shirtless, he smiled and for a second Ianto didn't see his sunken eyes and pale skin, just the man he cared for beyond all good sense. Then the smile faded and Ianto was reminded of just what they were doing.

"Is this okay?" Jack asked, pulling his own shirt off.

Ianto nodded and Jack crawled into the bed.

"Thank you," Jack said quietly as he slid under the covers.

Ianto nodded and leant forward to take a brief kiss. "You're welcome. Try to sleep, I'll be here. And I'll just wake you if you start thrashing around this time."

Jack nodded as well, his hand coming out to stroke the back of Ianto's head as he kissed him back. "You're really not worried?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Nope," Ianto replied. He kissed Jack one more time and then leant over to turn off the bedside light.

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"What's what?" Ianto felt Jack's hand on the back of his shoulder. "Oh, that," he said.

"When did you get a tattoo?" Jack's fingers traced the design, following the swoops and curves.

Ianto thought back as he rested on his elbow and let Jack explore. "April. I spent the weekend in London with Jamie and Mark. There was drinking involved."

"There usually is," Jack chuckled. "Is it… is it a design or a word?"

"A word. Cryfdwr.”

“What does it mean?” Jack asked softly.

“It's – it was Mark's idea," Ianto explained, his cheeks heating. “It's one of the Welsh words for strength," he added.

He felt Jack's lips on his skin and shivered.

"It's perfect for you," Jack murmured.

Ianto turned off the light, rolled over and pulled Jack into his arms. "Sleep," he whispered.

Fingers still tracing the letters on Ianto's back like they were worry beads, Jack finally drifted off.

TBC…

*Pob lwc – Good luck
** I actually designed Ianto's tattoo. I can post a pic if anyone is interested in the visual… it's here :)

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (19/?)

2009-11-19T17:01:56Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 19

Rating: R

Warnings: Little bit of language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©’s to Nora Ephron for the line I borrowed from When Harry Met Sally… No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Tosh stops by to see how Ianto is doing after the Incident…

Notes: Behind on comments again! I promise to catch up soon! A lso, I hate hate HATE this posting schedule. *frown* Not sure what to do about it yet, but I am trying to figure something out so I can post more frequently. So far the only idea has been to quit my job, LOL, so I still need to word out a few kinks . ;) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Nineteen

Ianto spent most of Friday morning shuffling between the sofa to grab little cat naps and the kitchen to make tea. He'd been unable to get to sleep after Jack and Owen had left, finally making a nest on the sofa and watching late night movies in the dark while he drank tea with copious amount of honey. He snoozed on and off until lunchtime, fighting the urge to get dressed and head to work every time he woke up. He would have risked Owen's wrath in a heartbeat, but he found the idea of facing that cold, closed off look in Jack's eyes enough of a deterrent that he just stayed on the sofa.

A little before noon, he heard a light knocking. He extricated himself from the duvet he had piled on top of him and answered the door.

"Tosh!" he exclaimed in surprise, his voice still sounding rusty despite all the tea.

"God, Ianto, you sound terrible," she said. Her eyes narrowed and she added, "And you look worse."

"You're too kind," Ianto said dryly. "Why aren't you at the Hub?" he asked as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Jack's in a foul mood. He spent all morning locked in his office pacing back and forth and when he finally came out, it was just to yell at all of us to clear out. Owen tried talking to him, but Jack just stormed back into his office. Our good doctor told me a little of what happened last night so I went to Tegan's and got four kinds of soup and some soft bread for you. Hungry?" she asked brightly, setting the bags she was carrying on the counter.

"You didn't have to – "

"Oh, shut up and get a spoon," Tosh said fondly. "I've got a wild mushroom risotto soup that sounded interesting, a basic tomato, some miso and vegetable. Which would you like first?"

Ianto just laughed and got down some bowls. He spooned up some of the miso and moved to the table while Tosh fussed around the kitchen.

"So are you going to tell me what really happened?" she asked as she poured a bit of the tomato soup in bowl to go with the sandwich she had brought and joined him.

Ianto's hand went immediately to his throat. "Does it look bad?"

Tosh tilted her head and studied him carefully. "I can see every one of Jack's fingers on your neck, especially here," she said, placing a gentle finger just below his Adam's apple, "where his thumbs must have been."

Flushing, Ianto pulled away. "He didn't mean to hurt me," he insisted.

"I believe you. So does Owen, for that matter."

"Gwen?" Ianto asked.

Tosh shook her head. "Doesn't know the particulars. She left as soon as Jack started yelling. She may have overheard Owen and me talking before that, but she was bidding on wedding favours on eBay so she wasn't really paying attention."

Ianto nodded and absentmindedly stirred his soup.

Tosh nudged his elbow. "Eat. And talk."

"You know, it's rude to talk with your mouth full," Ianto teased as he raised the spoon.

"Fine," Tosh said. "Whenever your mouth is full, you're off the hook for talking. So pick one – talk or eat."

Ianto chuckled and took another spoonful of soup. "I can't tell you everything," he prefaced. "If Jack wants you to know the details, it's up to him."

"I don't care about the details. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"It won't," Ianto said firmly. Then he sighed. "Of course, if Jack has his way, it might mean the end of… whatever we had. He was so cold last night after it happened."

"Of course he was! He feels horribly guilty. I just want to know if he should," Tosh said.

Ianto shook his head. "No, no, of course not. He's… a lot of bad things happened while he was… away with the Doctor. He's been having nightmares about it. Vivid ones that keep him from sleeping. At all."

Tosh nodded. "That explains the moods. I know he always says he doesn't sleep and I'm sure his rather unique physiology plays into that, but he has to recharge every now and then."

"He does. He… uh, well, he always slept pretty well when we were… you know, together so I asked him to come over here. I was trying to help. Whenever he'd wake up, I'd… I don't know, soothe him, I guess. Reassure him that everything was fine. And it was working, too. He'd slept for a few hours, only waking up now and then. Then, I fell asleep."

"And?" Tosh prompted when Ianto fell silent.

"And when I woke up, he was having another nightmare. He was struggling against something, someone I could see that much. I fucked up. I didn't want to wake him, so I just tried to stop him from, I don't know, flailing around. That's when he grabbed my throat."

"And throttled you half to death," Tosh said darkly. "Thank God you woke him up before he finished the job."

"I didn't," Ianto said with a shake of his head. "He pulled himself out of it and stopped. Called Owen right away. I told you he didn't mean it."

Tosh put her hand on Ianto's arm. "Just because he didn't do it on purpose, doesn't mean it can't happen again, Ianto." When Ianto shook his head, Tosh continued. "Sleeping with someone, I mean really sleeping, not sex, is a huge thing. We're at our most vulnerable then and if you can't trust the person you're with – "

"I trust Jack. I trust him completely, I always have."

"And look where it got you."

Ianto's eyes flashed. "That's not fair and you know it."

"Okay, okay," Tosh said, holding up her hands in surrender. "But it's a bit of a Catch-22, isn't? Jack hurt you because he isn't himself because he can't sleep and he can't sleep because he's afraid he'll hurt you."

"That's not why he can't sleep," Ianto said with a dismissive wave.

Tosh raised an eyebrow. "I'll bet it is now," she pointed out.

Ianto flinched and ducked his head over his bowl of soup. I was trying to help and I just made it worse. Why can't I ever get anything right?

"Stop beating yourself up," Tosh said crisply, almost as if she were reading his mind. She stood up and cleared her plates. "More soup?" she offered. When Ianto shook his head she packed up the rest of the take-away containers and stacked them in the refrigerator. She ran a tea towel under the water and then wiped her hands and headed for the sofa when she was done.

Ianto stood and rinsed his bowl. When he joined Tosh in the sitting area she had tidied up remarkably. Handing him the damp towel, she instructed him to wrap it around his throat. "Owen said cold compresses. He also said you wouldn't listen. No arguing. Now, what should we do?"

"About what?" Ianto asked as he obediently wound the cool towel around his throat. He shivered a little and resumed his place in the corner of the sofa, tucking his duvet around his legs.

"For fun," Tosh said with a smile. "We could watch a movie or, oh, you could see if today's the day you finally beat me at Go."

Ianto scowled at her. "Talk about kicking a guy when he's down."

"So, no Go, then?" Tosh said, blinking innocently.

"You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death," Ianto quoted.

Tosh laughed. "No more chick flicks for you. And was that a yes or a no?"

"Get the board," Ianto grumbled. He figured there were worse ways to spend the afternoon than getting your arse handed to you by one of your best friends over a board game. His hand crept back to his throat and Jack's cold, shuttered stare flashed across his memory. Much worse.

TBC…

Rambling: HAPPY BIRTHDAY THRACE!

2009-11-18T17:01:24Z

Have a very happy birthday thrace_adams !

I don't have your fic (cuz I suck). Instead I offer a pretty boy with a balloon and a pin. ;)

Have FUN!!! *waggles eyebrows*

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (18/?)

2009-11-16T20:19:17Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 18

Rating: R

Warnings: Language, some violence

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01) plus Fragments (2x12)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©’s to Chris Chibnall for situations borrowed from Fragments. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack finally fesses up and Ianto tries to help…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Eighteen

On Monday, Jack was snappish and cranky. By Wednesday, he was downright impossible. Gwen and Tosh cornered Ianto more than once to ask him what Jack's problem was, but try as he might, Ianto was unable to find out what was causing Jack's lack of sleep and his increasing lack of patience. Finally, on Thursday night, Ianto was finishing a rather depressing late dinner of Weetabix and a banana, when his mobile rang. He almost choked on his cereal when Jack's name appeared on the display. He answered immediately, not even pausing to swallow.

"Hello?"

"It's me. Are – what's that crunching?"

"Sorry," Ianto mumbled and swallowed. He had a quick sip of juice and then continued. "Caught me finishing my dinner."

"Sorry, I should have thought… I'll let you go. Don't want your dinner to get cold," Jack said.

Ianto laughed and set his bowl in the sink, rinsing it quickly. "It was a bowl of cereal. It started out cold and I'm finished so don't worry about it. Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I… I need… shit, I need to… I really can't sleep, Ianto. It's driving me mad."

Ianto grabbed his juice and moved to the sofa. "Well, you know they say the first step is admitting you have a problem," he teased, trying to keep things light. "When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

"1892," Jack answered promptly.

"Jesus, Jack!" Ianto sputtered as his juice went down the wrong way. He coughed for a few moments and then added, "I used to think you were joking when you said things like that."

"I know," Jack said sadly.

"Why then? What happened?" Ianto could hear Jack shifting around on the other end of the phone and wondered where he was.

"I died. First time after Rose… changed me. First time I came back. After that? Waking up from a deep sleep was… uncomfortable, too similar. I, well, I went on a bender, actually. I found that passing out was a lot easier than falling asleep. It made all the dying and coming back more bearable as well."

"How long?"

Jack was quiet for a second. "Seven years."

Ianto bit back his exclamation of dismay, knowing his shock and his pity would both be unwelcome. "Why did you stop?"

"Torchwood. They found me after a bar fight in 1899, added a few more things that wouldn't kill me to my list and then 'recruited' me."

"1899…" Ianto mused. "Holroyd, right?"

"Yeah, she was in charge then. Her and that nutcase Alice Guppy. They were enough to give anyone nightmares."

"Is that it, Jack?" Ianto asked, picking up on Jack's tone. "Is that why you can't sleep now?"

"Because of Alice and Emily? I don't think so, that was a long time ago, Ianto," Jack said trying to laugh it off, but Ianto could tell he'd hit on the problem.

"True, but God knows you've had plenty of nightmare-worthy things happen to you recently."

There was a long silence. Ianto was afraid Jack had just hung up when he heard his voice.

"It's stupid," Jack muttered softly.

"Stupid?" Ianto repeated.

Jack sighed. "Every time I fall asleep, I'm back there, on the Valiant just… waiting. All I did for that whole damn year was wait. Wait for the Doctor's big plan to work, wait for that bastard to show up and kill me. Hoping… Hoping it'll be something quick." Jack's voice broke.

"Jack," Ianto whispered.

"And I can't tell… I'm afraid that..." Jack took a deep, shuddering breath. "It feels like I'm still there. That I never got out. It feels like this is the dream and that's real and I'll never make it home."

"Where are you, Jack? At the Hub?" Ianto asked as he stood up and began hunting for his shoes. "I'm coming to get you."

"Ianto – "

"No, Jack. I know you think you can do this alone, but you can't. You always say that you sleep better with me, so let's at least try. You can sleep on the sofa if you don't want to be in the same bed with me, or I can. But at least I'll be there, if you – "

"Ianto!"

"What?"

"I'm outside your flat."

"Oh." Ianto dropped his shoes. He walked to the door and pulled it open, spotting the SUV parked a few doors down. "Why are you sitting in the car?"

Jack chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I meant to come in, I just couldn't."

"Well, come in now. Okay?"

"Okay."

Ianto ended the call and waited for Jack at the door. He watched Jack haul himself out of the SUV, moving as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. He took his coat and hung it up, ushering Jack to the sofa.

"Can I get you anything? A cup of coffee seems counterproductive at this point. A cup of tea, then. Let me just get the kettle on – " Ianto stopped as Jack grabbed his wrist.

"Stop fussing and just sit down," Jack ordered.

Ianto did as instructed and found himself enveloped in Jack's arms. He let himself relax and simply enjoyed holding Jack. They sat like that for some time, not speaking just drawing comfort from one another's presence. Ianto felt Jack grow heavy against him and remained perfectly still, not wanting to disturb him.

Suddenly Jack jerked awake and looked around with haunted eyes.

"Jack, you're in my flat, it's okay," Ianto said quickly.

Jack shuddered and scrubbed his hand over his face. He sighed.

"Is that what it's like every time?" Ianto asked as he stroked Jack's back.

Nodding, Jack pulled away and stood up. "This isn't going to work," he said miserably.

"You don't know that. We weren't even trying yet. Maybe if I'm here every time you wake up, your mind will start to trust that this is real. Come to bed," Ianto said.

Jack allowed himself to be led to Ianto's bedroom. Ianto left him to wash up while he locked the doors and turned off the lights. He switched on the small lamp on his dressing table and then shut off the overhead in the bedroom as well. When Jack emerged from the bath, his shirt was unbuttoned and his shoes were off, but other than that he was still fully dressed.

"I wasn't sure…" Jack said, waving at his clothes.

"Get comfortable, Jack," Ianto said with a shake of his head. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Jack smiled, a hint of his old grin peeking out from behind the tiredness. He pulled off his shirt and trousers, leaving on his pants and undershirt. Ianto did the same.

"We could… that is," Ianto said awkwardly. "If you wanted to have sex, I mean, if you think it would help, we – "

Jack glared at him, his eyes blue eyes burning. "No."

"It's not like – "

"No!" he said again. Jack strode over to Ianto and grabbed his arms. "Not like this. Not some kind of pity fuck, Ianto."

"I didn't mean – " Ianto broke off and bit his lip. "I'm sorry," he said more quietly. "I didn't mean it that way."

Jack's hands gentled. "Sorry, I yelled." He stepped over to the bed and picked up the book on the table. "Tennyson?" he asked as he slid under the covers.

"Rereading Idylls of the King and other things," Ianto said, following Jack. "Did you want a book?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I just want to sleep. But you can't be tired yet it's only – " Jack glanced at the clock, " – God, a quarter of ten."

"Here," Ianto said as he arranged himself comfortably in a sitting position, with Jack curled around him. "If you start to dream, I'll be here."

"Read to me?" Jack asked sleepily. "Want to hear your beautiful Welsh vo-ow–" The rest of the word was lost in a jaw-cracking yawn.

Ianto nodded and flipped to a new poem. He slid his hand through Jack's hair, coming to rest on his back. He stroked his thumb along Jack's neck absently as he started to read.

"On either side the river lie, long fields of barley and of rye, that clothe the wold and meet the sky; and thro' the field the road runs by to many-tower'd Camelot…"

After he finished The Lady of Shallot, Ianto's sense of dramatic irony insisted that he read The Lotos-Eaters. Whether it was the choice of poetry, the sound of Ianto's voice, or pure exhaustion, Jack drifted off almost immediately. Whenever he woke, Ianto would reassure him with a word, a touch, and Jack would fall back asleep. Around midnight, Ianto found himself nodding over his book. He decided to leave the light on, it was dim enough in the room for him to sleep and he didn't want Jack to wake up in the dark. He scooted down carefully, trying his best not to disturb Jack. He snuggled against Jack's warm back and followed his Captain into slumber.

Ianto awoke an hour later to find the covers on the floor and Jack moving restlessly beside him. He pulled the duvet off the floor and settled it over Jack. As soon as the blankets touched his body, Jack began to struggle against an unseen foe. When he caught Ianto across the cheek with his fist, Ianto grabbed his wrists to hold his arms still.

The effect was instantaneous.

"NO!" Jack screamed and pulled his hands free. He shoved Ianto down on the mattress, his fingers wrapping around Ianto's throat as he muttered under his breath, the sound angry and unintelligible.

"Jack," Ianto gasped, struggling for air. He clawed ineffectually at Jack's hands, lights sparking behind his eyes. "Jack!"

"No, no, no!" Jack kept repeating the word, eyes open but fixed on something that existed only in his mind.

Ianto beat on Jack's chest and shoulders, the blows getting weaker as Jack squeezed tighter. His vision started to tunnel as the ringing in his ears increased, his lungs screaming for air.

Just before the world went black, Jack finally woke up. Ianto registered the horror in his eyes when he realised what was happening. With an agonised cry, Jack loosened his grip on Ianto's throat and scrambled back, falling off the bed in his haste to get away.

Ianto reached for him, coughing and gagging as he tried to draw breath.

"No, no, nonono." Jack was still muttering, an eerie echo of his dream as he crawled across the floor to his trousers and fumbled for his mobile. He dialled with shaking fingers. "Owen! Ianto's flat, now!" he barked into the phone. He snapped it shut and let it clatter to the floor as he bolted for the bath. He returned a moment later with a glass of water which he held to Ianto's lips.

Ianto took one sip and then pushed the glass away. He was still coughing and wheezing, trying to get enough air. He leaned on Jack, too dazed to do anything but breathe.

It seemed only seconds later that Owen was pounding on the door. Jack rushed to let him in and Ianto could hear Owen scolding him as they walked back to the bedroom.

"…middle of the night because you got carried away in one of your weird sex games."

"Shut the fuck up and do your job, Owen," Jack said tersely.

Owen opened his mouth to reply, but paused when he stepped inside the door and saw Ianto. "Christ," he breathed. He stepped over to the bed, all traces of snark and humour gone. "Sit back, don't lie down. Jack, bring me a damp towel. Let the water run for a few minutes so it's as cold as it can get."

Jack headed for the bath, only stopping long enough to snatch his trousers off the floor.

"What's the towel for?" Ianto croaked.

"Good, you can still talk. He didn't damage your larynx or hyoid. The towel is to keep Jack out of my hair while I take a look at you." Owen examined his throat thoroughly, inside and out, pronouncing him extremely lucky. "There'll be some bruising and I wouldn't recommend anything stronger than tea for a few days. You might want to stick to soup until the swelling goes down. And just what the fuck happened here?" he asked quietly.

Ianto's eyes darted to Jack who was waiting in the doorway to the bath, a wet towel clenched in his hands. He shook his head. "It's not what you think," he said roughly.

"And it won't happen again," Jack added, his voice like ice.

Owen held Ianto's eyes for another moment and then shook his head. "I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered as he put his instruments away. "Prop some pillows up when you go to sleep, it'll help keep your airway open. You want anything for the pain?"

Ianto shook his head and Owen snorted.

"Figured as much," he said. "I don't want to see you at the Hub until Monday. Cold compresses for the bruising. Coming, Jack?" The implication was clear – there was no way Owen was letting Jack stay.

Without tearing his eyes from Ianto, Jack replied, "In a minute. Wait outside for me."

Owen rolled his eyes, gave Ianto a quick smile and left them alone.

"Jack – " Ianto started but Jack just shook his head.

"It was a mistake. I meant what I said. It won't happen again. I'll sort this out myself. I – " Jack cleared his throat and pushed off of the doorframe. He handed Ianto the damp towel and ran his hand over Ianto's tousled hair. He dropped a soft kiss on Ianto's forehead and hurried from the room before Ianto could say another word.

TBC…

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (17/?)

2009-11-12T17:34:18Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 17

Rating: R

Warnings: Little bit of language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Ianto stops by the Hub to see what’s wrong with Jack…

Notes: Still catching up on comments. T hank you to everyone who’s left one – you really make my day!! Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Seventeen

Ianto spent the rest of the night tossing and turning restlessly on the sofa. He could have gone to bed after Jack's abrupt departure, but the sofa still held lingering traces of Jack's scent and Ianto was loath to give that up. He'd buried his head in the cushions, feeling almost as bereft and pathetic as the first night Jack had vanished. He'd dozed off around dawn, exhausted from worrying and wondering what was wrong.

He took a long run around lunchtime to clear his head, meandering through the city with no clear direction. It was almost a surprise when he found himself standing on the Plass, staring at the water feature and nursing a stitch in his side. Typical, he thought as he tried to catch his breath. I'm like a fucking compass but instead of north, I point to Jack. He shook his head and made up his mind to head home straight away.

As soon as he'd cooled down a bit.

And had some water.

Snorting derisively at himself, Ianto jogged around to the Tourist Office entrance and headed down to the Hub, pausing only to grab a towel. As soon as the cog door had rolled back, Ianto headed to the kitchen area, resolutely not looking over at Jack's office. He took a long drink of water before glancing around. Myfanwy gave him a little squawk and then shuffled back into her den. Other than that, the Hub was silent.

Ianto frowned and listened again. Ah, not quite silent, he thought. It seemed that Jack was down in the shooting range, taking out his frustrations on paper targets again. Ianto hesitated, taking another sip from the bottle. When the faint popping sounds paused for a moment and then began again almost immediately, Ianto shook his head and started down the stairs to the lower levels.

He paused at the doorway, waiting for Jack to finish before entering. As he waited, he looked around, aghast at the vast quantity of casings that littered the ground at Jack's feet. He must've been down here for hours.

Jack fired the final round in the gun he was holding, finger clicking the trigger several times before he realised it was empty. He turned to toss it on the table behind him just as Ianto stepped forward. Jack jerked in surprise but set the gun down and then removed his ear and eye protection.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, panting slightly.

"Just out for a run," Ianto said casually. "Wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jack's chin raised defiantly.

Ianto stepped closer, moving around the table so he could stand next to Jack. "You bolted so fast last night, I just – I didn't get to say thank you for a lovely evening."

Jack held on to his frown for another ten seconds or so and then his face softened. "I'm glad you had a good time," he said.

"I did, right up until you ran out," Ianto said quietly. He reached out to touch Jack's shoulder. "What happened? Did… did I do something –"

"No!" Jack's reply was immediate and definite. He pulled Ianto into a quick hug and then let him go. "No, it wasn't you, I just didn't mean to fall asleep."

Ianto reached up and stroked the thin skin under Jack's eye with his thumb. "You don't look like you've been doing much of that lately."

"What’s that?" Jack asked as he pulled away and turned back to the table.

"Sleeping," Ianto said.

Jack shrugged one shoulder, the gesture half-dismissive, half-defensive. He picked up one of the many guns that littered the surface, popping out the clip and reloading.

Ianto sighed and tried a different tack. "So, are we expecting an invasion?" he asked brightly.

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "No," he said as he snapped the clip home. "Just need to make sure I didn't get rusty."

"Competing against yourself isn't any fun," Ianto observed. He gave his face one last swipe with the towel and then tossed it on the table. "What would you say to a little wager?"

"And just what would we be wagering, Mr. Jones?" Jack asked suspiciously.

Ianto picked up a .22 that was very similar to the first gun he'd ever fired at Torchwood Three. He smiled at the memory of his first time in the shooting range with Jack and loaded the gun, fetching some protective-wear from the booth when he was done. He fitted the earmuffs over his head and then glanced at Jack, tapping the mic.

Jack rolled his eyes and followed suit, huffing into the mic once he had it on. "Well?"

Ianto tilted his head and smiled at Jack. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to put your coffee privileges on the line?"

Jack snorted. "No way."

"Didn't think so. Why don't we just shoot and whoever has the best score can decide what they want when it's over?" Ianto almost held his breath.

Jack narrowed his eyes, obviously weighing the possibilities. "Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?"

Ianto laughed and chambered a round. "Beat me and you won't have to find out."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
An hour and several dozen rounds later, Jack finally had to concede.

"Dammit! All right, Ianto, what do you want?"

"Now there's a loaded question," Ianto murmured as he safetied the gun and removed the empty clip. He glanced at Jack who was almost swaying on his feet, looking as worn and tired as Ianto had ever seen him. Ianto sighed. He'd had a plan – after he beat Jack, he was going to make Jack tell him what was going on, but he found that he couldn't do it. He wanted Jack to want to tell him things, not to force his hand. Ianto sighed again and stepped closer to Jack. "Just take me to dinner again some time."

Jack's expression changed from wary to pleased at Ianto's words. "Yeah? I can do that."

"It’s a date, then,” Ianto said. He looped his arms around Jack’s waist and took a quick kiss. He glanced at the clock in the booth and groaned. “I better be going.”

“You have to?” Jack asked sadly. “Big plans?”

Ianto snorted. “Oh yeah, big exciting plans. Laundry, market, cleaning – just Sunday stuff.”

Jack leaned in and took a quick kiss of his own, and then a longer one, and then another. “You sure you have to go?” he whispered against Ianto’s mouth.

With a groan and a nod, Ianto gave Jack one last kiss and stepped back. “I really do. Did you want me to make a pot of coffee on my way out?”

His face lighting up, Jack nodded. “That would be great.”

Ianto smiled and grabbed his towel off the table before turning to head back upstairs. He turned back when Jack said his name. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for… well, just… thanks,” Jack said awkwardly.

Ianto smiled again. “Sure. You know, if you need anything or just want to talk or whatever, you can always just call me,” he added just as awkwardly.

Jack jerked his head in acknowledgment and busied himself with one of the guns on the table.

Ianto sighed and headed up to the Hub. He paused to start a pot of coffee brewing and tossed a handful of treats to Myfanwy when she glided down from her den. He reminded himself to check the hiding places in the morning to see if she’d found the treats in all of them yet. He still felt bad sometimes that she was trapped here, even though he knew that had anyone else found her she’d have been killed or sent to a research lab immediately. He made a mental note to ask Jack about letting her fly around the bay more often. She’d always returned well before dawn and they’d never seen any reports of dinosaur sightings so he was confident she just stretched her wings over the water, avoiding people.

When he reached the Plass, Ianto took a deep breath and did a few warm-up stretches before starting a slow jog home. He chose the most direct route, using the time to wonder if Jack would call, if he would ever really let Ianto get close to him. By the time he arrived at his flat, he was gripping his mobile in his fist, willing it to ring, but the phone remained stubbornly silent.

And it stayed that way all night long.

TBC…

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (16/?)

2009-11-09T19:47:01Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 16

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: I n which Jack and Ianto finish their date…

Notes: Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I hope to get caught up on all my comments tonight – sorry for the delay… Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Sixteen

"Oh, my God, this is good," Jack moaned as he took another bite of bruschetta.

Ianto chuckled and helped himself to a piece of the bread. His hum of delight matched Jack's exactly. The bread was crisp, the tomatoes fresh, and the balance of seasonings was perfect.

"How's your salad?" Jack asked.

"Just as good. Here," Ianto said, sliding his plate closer to Jack. "Try some."

They were only on the starters but the small table was already covered with food. They'd ordered the bruschetta, a caprese salad and the classic prosciutto wrapped melon for Jack.

Jack took a slice of the mozzarella and a tomato from Ianto's plate, insisting that Ianto eat some of his honeydew even if he wouldn't try the prosciutto.

"You don't know what you're missing," Jack observed as he ate the spare piece of ham.

Ianto rolled his eyes and popped the melon into his mouth. "I know exactly what I'm missing and, trust me, I'm not missing it."

"Do you think you'll ever eat meat again?" Jack asked.

"Don't know," Ianto shrugged. "It never sounds appealing. If that changes and I start to crave it? Sure, I'll try it again."

"God, I crave everything. I can't get enough since I got back. Except swede." Jack made a face. "If I never eat anything from the entire turnip family again, it'll be too soon."

"Swede?" Ianto inquired.

"That's all I had to eat on the Valiant," Jack said. "I think I dreamt of pizza as much as I dreamt of you," he added with a wink.

Ianto chuckled. "All you had to eat? I'm surprised you didn't starve."

"I did," Jack said casually, reaching for a stray tomato on the bruschetta plate.

"What?" Ianto reached across the table to grab Jack's other hand.

Jack nodded, popping the tomato in his mouth. "He decided early on to see how long it would take me to starve to death. Luckily he got bored waiting – it takes a long time, you know – and cut off my water as well." He shrugged. "That sped things along."

Ianto ground his teeth. He didn't need to ask who 'he' was. He wanted nothing more than to find the man in black from his visions and personally kill him six or seven times.

"Hey, he's dead, Ianto, I swear it," Jack said with that uncanny knack for reading his mind. "Dead and scattered to the four winds."

Ianto nodded and gripped Jack's hand harder.

"Should I not tell you these things?" Jack asked softly, covering Ianto's hand with his free one.

"No," Ianto said firmly. "No, it's fine." He didn't ever want Jack to keep secrets from him again, even if the truth was painful to hear. "I just hate to think of you dying like that, again and again."

Jack stroked his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "I always come back."

"You still die," Ianto said sharply. "It still hurts, still takes something from you. I've seen you, Jack. Don't ask me to like it or dismiss it as nothing."

"I won't," Jack promised. He held onto Ianto's hand for another moment and then pulled away as the waiter approached the table.

"All finished?"

At their nods, Alessandro cleared the table, refilled their glasses and reset their places for dinner. Jack and Ianto reached for their glasses simultaneously, each of them taking a long drink of the wine before the waiter returned with their entrées.

"Penne arrabbiata," Alessandro said, smoothly placing the pasta dish, fragrant with basil, chillies and garlic in front of Ianto.

"And the bistecca alla piazzaola," he finished, setting the second plate in front of Jack. He waited for Jack to cut into his steak to make sure it was cooked to his liking and then left them to enjoy their dinner.

They each made a concerted effort to change the topic to something lighter, chatting easily about trivialities while they ate. They yielded to temptation when Alessandro mentioned dessert, choosing to share an order of tiramisu along with a demitasse of espresso for each of them. As they lingered over their coffee, Ianto idly let his hand fall over Jack's on the table. He stroked his thumb over Jack's, sliding his hand over Jack's warm skin. When his fingers touched the edge of Jack's wriststrap, Ianto rubbed the edge of the leather for a moment.

"What is it?" Jack asked quietly.

Ianto realised he was frowning and tried to relax. "I was just thinking about all the places and times you can go, now that this is fixed. Do you think you'll want to be a Time Agent again? And just what is a Time Agent anyway?"

"Ianto…" Jack said regretfully.

"Sorry, is it one of those things you can't tell me about?"

"No, it's not that," Jack said. He turned his hand and wrapped it around Ianto's. He drew his thumb gently over Ianto's knuckles as he talked. "I know you don't believe me and I know it's my fault, but I really need to you trust that I'm not going anywhere. The Doctor offered to drop me anywhere in the galaxy that I wanted. I chose to come back here. Then, right before he left, we were standing on the Plass and he asked me to travel with him, be his companion again."

Ianto made a wordless little sound of protest. He heard John Hart's voice in his head, mocking him. How you've managed to keep him trapped in this primitive backwater for more than a week, is beyond me… You're not enough to keep him here and you know it. Ianto gripped Jack's hand, holding on while he could because deep down he knew that Hart was right.

"I turned him down because this is where I belong, Ianto," Jack continued.

"But you waited for him… all those years. How could you say no?"

Jack shook his head. "I wasn't waiting for him," he explained. "I was waiting to get my answers."

Ianto shot him a disbelieving look which made Jack chuckle.

"All right," Jack admitted. "I was waiting for him at first. But the longer I waited, the longer I had to think about everything? Trust me, all I've wanted from him for a very long time was an explanation." He shrugged. "And I got it. And this?" he added, gesturing to his wriststrap with his free hand. "The Doctor disabled the teleport and time-travel capabilities when I decided to stay."

"What?"

Jack squeezed Ianto's hand. "It's fine. I've gotten used to it being burned out."

"But why would he do that? It's yours!"

"I don't know, he's the one who fixed it – "

"So that just gives him the right to break it again?" Ianto sat back, pulling his hand from Jack's.

Jack sighed and rubbed in hands over his face for a moment. "Look, Ianto, when I met the Doctor I wasn't a good person. I was angry and out to make a buck. I was using anachronistic technology to swindle people and the con went wrong. Luckily, the Doctor and Rose were there to fix it. I think he’ll always see me as that conman."

"Well, then he's not as clever as everyone seems to think," Ianto said stiffly.

Chuckling, Jack gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Ianto noticed Alessandro hovering discretely in the background and finished his last sip of espresso. Jack settled the bill and then escorted Ianto back to the car. The sun was just setting washing the city with warm golden light. Ianto turned and leant against the passenger side door.

"Do you need to get back to the Hub right now?" he asked.

Jack shook his head and stepped closer, resting his hands on the roof the car, one on either side of Ianto.

"We could – " Ianto swallowed hard as Jack kept moving until he was pressed against him. "We could go see a movie? Or get some coffee?"

"We just had coffee," Jack murmured.

"Oh. Oh, right."

"Did I tell you how great you look tonight?" Jack asked.

"Uh… I don't remember."

"Well, you do. I love this shirt. I remember the first time I saw it."

"I… you look nice too," Ianto said desperately trying to rein in his body's reaction to Jack's proximity.

"Thank you." Jack leaned forward and brushed his lips across Ianto's.

"Jack?" Ianto whispered.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you want to come back to the flat?"

Jack nodded. "I'd love to." He shifted, reaching behind Ianto to open the door.

Ianto practically fell into the seat, passing Jack the keys. Jack grinned and closed the door, hurrying around to the driver's side. It didn't seem like any time at all before they were back at the flat, Ianto opening a bottle of wine and Jack flipping through the channels looking for a film.

"Hey, what was that with Damian Lewis?" Ianto asked as he joined Jack on the sofa.

"Um…" Jack flipped back to the right channel. "Looks like a modern-day retelling of Much Ado About Nothing."

"Oh, I saw the beginning of this once, it was funny. Interested?"

"Sure," Jack said agreeably. He took the glass Ianto offered. "Ooh, cute blonde!" he teased as the woman playing Hero came on screen.

"Just your type, eh?"

Jack put his arm around Ianto and pulled him close. "Not at the moment," he said softly, dropping a kiss on Ianto's forehead.

Ianto chuckled and leaned against Jack, sipping his wine, watching the movie, perfectly content.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Ianto tried to open his eyes.

Something was wrong.

He heard a strange noise, blinking against the blackness of the room as he tried to identify it.

Something moved next to him and he heard it again, a kind of strangled groan.

Ianto shook his head, trying to wake up. Jack, he thought suddenly. He'd been watching a movie with Jack on the sofa. We must have fallen asleep. He tried to sit up but was trapped by Jack's arms and legs.

"Jack," he said quietly.

The arms around him tightened almost painfully. Jack began to mutter but Ianto couldn't make out any words.

"Jack," he said again, more loudly this time.

With another strangled cry, Jack released him and scrambled off the sofa. Ianto sat up and fumbled for the lamp. Light flooded the room. Jack was standing a few feet away, shirt still unbuttoned from their rather energetic snogging session during the latter half of the film, his face hidden in his hands.

"Jack, are you all right?" Ianto asked.

After a shuddering sigh, Jack nodded and let his hands drop. "Sorry about that," he said with a dreadful parody of a smile.

"About what? Come sit down."

But Jack shook his head and started to button his shirt. "Didn't mean to fall asleep. I better get back."

Ianto followed him to the door, finally managing to catch Jack's arm as he reached for the doorknob.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ianto asked.

Jack just shook his head. He caught Ianto's face between his hands and kissed him for a long moment. He finally broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Ianto's for a quick second, and then he was gone.

TBC in Chapter Seventeen

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (15/?)

2009-11-06T16:13:58Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 15

Rating: R

Warnings: Little language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack and Ianto go on a date (not in an office)…

Notes: Sorry for not getting this posted yesterday! :( I swear, there is something wonky in the universe – stars out of alignment, the Nothing getting closer, I don’t know what – but everything that can go wrong is going wrong (from work to LJ to Photobucket to stupid birds pooping on my car). **sigh** At least it’s Friday!! Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Fifteen

Ianto's mobile rang while he was getting ready for dinner. He figured it was Jack, ringing with an emergency or some reason he had to cancel. Stifling his disappointment, he just flipped the phone open without looking at the display.

"Hello?"

"Jones? You're actually taking my calls now?"

Ianto closed his eyes and mouthed the word 'fuck'. "Hey, Jamie. What do you want?"

"Nice manners," Jamie teased. "So have you forgiven me yet?"

"No. Seriously, Jamie. What would you do if I showed up and punched Mark in the face for no reason?"

Jamie chuckled. "Send you a nice bunch of grapes after Mark put you in hospital. And I had my reasons."

"Jack's never done anything to you," Ianto protested.

"Qui me amat, amat et canem meam," Jamie said in wise tones.

Ianto snorted. "Love me, love my dog?" he asked.

"Oh, shit, I thought that was the one about an injury to one is an injury to all or something like that. Do you remember that one?"

"Yeah, it was something about malum ut totus and – damn it, Jamie, did you need anything in particular? I'm about to go out."

"With Jack?" Jamie asked a little too casually.

Ianto sighed and stepped into his bedroom. "Yes, as a matter of fact. We're going to dinner. His idea, by the way."

"A proper date?"

"Yes, father."

"Are you sleeping with him?"

"None of your business."

"So you're glad he's back?" Jamie asked.

"Yes," Ianto said with a roll of his eyes. "Any other impertinent questions, Smith?"

"Of course! What are you wearing?"

Ianto laughed. "Right now? My dressing gown." He relaxed a bit, the relief in Jamie's voice matching his own. They hadn't spoken in the week since Jack's return. Ianto had rung Jamie from the hotel after Jack had gone back to the Hub and Ianto's consideration for the people in the next room was the only thing that had kept the conversation from disintegrating into a shouting match. Ianto had ignored Jamie's almost daily calls since then. He was glad he'd answered by mistake, however. He hated fighting with his friend.

"So where's he taking you?" Jamie asked.

"I don't know," Ianto admitted. "He just said dinner."

Jamie clicked his tongue, thinking out loud. "Okay, okay, Saturday night… dinner… somewhere in town, probably…"

There was a long pause.

"Smith?"

"Shut it, Jones, I'm visualizing your closet… Okay, wear the black shirt you wore when we went to The Tides and the olive trousers I picked out that I'm sure you haven't worn yet because you think they're too 'army'. And the Ferragamo's. And a black belt. That should work anywhere."

"How can you do that?" Ianto asked in wonder.

"I'm a genius. So… we… we're okay, right?"

Ianto sighed. "Yeah, we're okay, Jamie. Just lay off Jack, all right?"

"Will do. If you love him, I love him. Hey," Jamie exclaimed with a laugh. "Now I can say it and it'll make sense!"

"Say what?" Ianto was confused.

"Qui me amat – "

"Say goodbye, Smith," Ianto interrupted.

"Goodbye Smith," Jamie said with a chuckle. "Have fun tonight," he added and then rang off.

Ianto flipped his mobile closed and tossed it on the bed. He turned back to the closet and looked at it for a long moment. He shrugged and began pulling the items Jamie had mentioned off their hangers.

Who am I to question genius?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Jack knocked on Ianto's door promptly at 7:30 just as Ianto was slipping into his shoes. He still couldn't believe Jamie had talked him into spending almost £300 on a pair of shoes, but he had to admit – they looked great and felt even better. He glanced at himself one more time in the mirror, hoping he was dressed right for whatever Jack had planned.

The look on Jack's face when he opened the door put all his doubts to rest.

"Hey," Jack said. Hungry eyes raked up and down Ianto's form.

"Hey," Ianto replied, doing some looking of his own.

Jack had left the greatcoat and braces at the Hub. He was dressed simply in black trousers and a deep blue shirt that was open at the neck. Jack had apparently left the undershirt at the Hub as well, the long line of his throat unbroken by the usual white cotton.

Ianto realised he was staring. "Sorry," he exclaimed. "Did you want to come in?"

Jack nodded and then glanced at his watch. "Actually we should maybe just go, if that's okay?"

"Of course." Ianto smiled and grabbed his keys from the table. He pulled the door shut behind him, making sure it was locked.

"So what are you in the mood for?" Jack asked as he guided Ianto across the street to the SUV, his hand at the small of Ianto's back. "We could do Indian – Cardamom's not far from here. Or Italian? We could go to Casanova's or maybe Giovanni's? Or how about French? There's that place by the Hub that's pretty good."

Ianto chuckled softly. He was distracted from the myriad of choices for a moment by a smudge on the chrome of the door handle. He clucked disapprovingly and rubbed at it with his finger.

"Hey, no working," Jack scolded. "I would have brought a different car but this is pretty much my only option."

"We could take mine," Ianto offered. "I'd even let you drive."

"Yeah?" Jack's face lit up. "Really?"

"Sure." Ianto tossed him the keys and led the way back across the street. "It's this one," he said stopping by his little blue BMW.

"Nice. Great colour," Jack said as he unlocked the car and slipped inside. "Oooh, very nice."

Ianto got in as well, enjoying the rich scent of leather as he always did. He ran his hand over the dash and then looked over at Jack. "I've never sat over here before," he explained.

Jack grinned. "I'm the first person you let drive?"

Ianto nodded but didn't reply, his eyes drawn to the unusual and tempting sight of Jack's throat. He swallowed hard and forced his gaze back upwards to find Jack's eyes twinkling with amusement. Flushing slightly, Ianto asked, "So… um… where should we eat?"

Jack shook his head. "Up to you. This is your night, Ianto."

"It is, is it?" Ianto said with a smile. "Okay, then, how about Giovanni's?"

Nodding, Jack pulled out into the road with extra care, making Ianto smother a grin. The drive to Giovanni's was short and mostly filled with Jack's exclamations over the smooth handling of the BMW and moans of delight as he fiddled with all the buttons and knobs in the dash. He found a parking place on The Hayes and handed the keys to Ianto before pulling him into a quick, tight hug.

"Love the car, Ianto," Jack murmured, dropping a quick kiss on Ianto's forehead. "Thanks for letting me drive."

Ianto smiled and gave Jack a squeeze. "Thank you for using third gear," he teased.

Jack laughed and took Ianto's hand. As they walked the few metres to the restaurant, Ianto fought an unexpected urge to pull away. The annoying little voice in his head (which sounded a lot like his father at that very moment) was scandalized. You're holding hands with another man in public! Ianto shook his head and twined his fingers more comfortably with Jack's. He received a warm smile from Jack which made him relax a little. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This is what I want. This is real, he told himself. No more hiding.

Despite the rather large crowd waiting in the foyer of the restaurant, they were seated immediately in a small, secluded booth. Ianto accepted his menu and thanked the hostess before narrowing his eyes and looking over at Jack.

"What?" Jack asked innocently.

"Did you make reservations?"

"It's possible," Jack hedged as he perused the wine list. "Do you feel like a red or should we decide what to eat first?"

Ianto closed his menu and regarded his Captain. "How did you know I'd pick Gio's?"

Jack mirrored his actions, setting down the wine list and crossing his arms on the table. "I didn't." A slight flush highlighted Jack's cheekbones. "I made a reservation here, at Casanova's, Cardamom, and Garçon, and I called the Packet just in case you wanted to go to the pub. I told you I wanted to do this right."

Ianto's mouth dropped open. Before he could say anything, the waiter appeared at his elbow.

"Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Alessandro. Would you care for a bottle of wine to start? Or do you need a few moments?"

"Ianto?" Jack cocked an eyebrow across the table.

Ianto closed his mouth and nodded. "Red's fine," he murmured and then promptly hid behind his menu. He listened as Jack discussed a few choices with the waiter, finally setting on a bottle of Amarone Valpolicella. He felt a foot slide along his calf and lowered the menu a bit to see Jack smiling at him.

"Starters?" Jack asked, blithely ignoring Ianto's embarrassment over the care he'd taken in planning the evening. "I'm starving."

TBC in Chapter Sixteen

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (14/?)

2009-11-02T21:29:00Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 14

Rating: R

Warnings: Language and a slight descent into sappiness…

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Ianto muses over Jack’s return and Jack asks a question…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Fourteen

Ianto groaned softly as the room brightened around him. He'd been woken up every morning at five for the past week. Damn summer sun. Sleeping at the Hub does have its advantages, Ianto thought drowsily. His mind was immediately flooded with visions of other advantages the Hub boasted which had nothing to do with the lack of outside light. His sleep-warmed skin flushed a little more and he groaned again. He buried his face in the pillow and let the thoughts and memories of Jack – holding him close in the little camp bed, soaking wet with a dirty grin on his face in the shower, surreptitiously squeezing his arse as Ianto handed him his morning coffee – wash over him.

Ianto sighed into his pillow. Jack had been back for a week. A week. And it's been… Ianto was hard pressed to come up with a suitable word for the atmosphere around the Hub since Jack's return. On the surface, it was business as usual, especially after Gwen finally stopped challenging every word that came out of Jack's mouth. Ianto chuckled at the memory of Gwen's face when Owen had finally snapped and given her what for…

Jack and Owen returned to the Hub from a visit with Chandler and Bell who were still hawking potentially dangerous tech on eBay to unsuspecting bargain hunters. Gwen started sniping at them before the cog door had even rolled closed, taking Jack to task for conducting an investigation without the full knowledge and go-ahead from the team, insisting that when she was running things, everyone had a say in what was done. Instead of arguing or simply telling her off, Jack pressed his lips into a thin line and retreated to his office.

Owen turned to Gwen with his arms crossed over his chest. "Don't you think it's about time you climbed down off that high horse?" he sneered. "Jack fucked up. He knows it. We know it. Everyone knows it. He's even apologised for it. What you seem to forget is that we all fucked up, too, so just let it go."

"What are you talking about?" Gwen asked, honestly confused.

Owen rolled his eyes at Tosh and Ianto who were standing nearby, watching the scene with interest. "A little matter of mutiny?"

Gwen flushed, but refused to back down. She gave a half-hearted laugh. "I hardly think the word mutiny is –"

"Ianto?" Owen called out without turning around.

Ianto stepped forward and clasped his hands behind his back, in perfect schoolboy form. "Mutiny: an open rebellion against authority, especially by soldiers or sailors against their officers."

"What do you think, Gwen? Do you think defying direct orders and shooting the boss qualify?" Owen asked.

Gwen opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. She finished her guppy impersonation with a frown and a nod, stepping over to her desk and bending over her keyboard.

Ianto wasn't sure she really believed that turning on Jack was as deep a wound as his months-long abandonment, but at least she backed off and let Jack run Torchwood once again.

Ianto chuckled again, remembering how much fun it had been to tell Jack the story after everyone had left that night. Before he sent me home, too. He realised that falling back asleep was an impossibility and forced himself out of the bed. He ran a brush over his hair and cleaned his teeth before pulling on his running shorts and a light shirt. He'd shower at the Hub after his run.

After a few rudimentary stretches, Ianto took off at a slow jog, heading for the Taff Trail. As he ran, Ianto let his mind wander. Not surprisingly, it went straight to Jack.

Jack had been very careful around Ianto since he'd returned. Gone were the flirty comments, the innuendo, the casual touches and clandestine kisses. Jack had been all business, never mentioning their personal relationship or the date he'd suggested when they were searching the office building the night he'd returned. As much as he appreciated Jack giving him space and respecting his wishes that they not just jump back into bed, Ianto missed Jack. I miss him more now than I did when he was gone, Ianto thought mournfully as he quickened his pace. Before he was just gone, now he's here, right in front of me and I still can't touch him.

Ianto knew he was being overly dramatic but he couldn't help himself. He felt like there was a wall between the two of them and he had no idea how to break through it. And the knowledge that he'd been the one to erect the wall in the first place was killing him. Ianto shook his head and put on a burst of speed as he passed the Millennium Stadium. When he ran this particular route, he always sprinted the mile between the railway bridge just south of the stadium and the bridge at Clarence Road where the trail crossed the Taff, using the half-mile or so from there to the Hub as his cool down. As Ianto concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as fast as he could, he felt his body begin to react as it always did on a good run, demanding his entire focus. He gratefully let all thoughts of Jack slip away, leaving him in peace for a few blissful minutes.

When he arrived at the Hub, Ianto was a sweaty mess. The temperature was climbing, even at this early hour and it promised to be another hot one. Ianto snagged a towel from his stash under the counter in the Tourist Office before making his way to the stairs. He was still blotting his face when he stopped at the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

"Ianto?"

Jack sounded surprised and… something Ianto couldn't quite identify.

Ianto swallowed his mouthful of water as he closed the fridge and turned to Jack. "Good morning. I was just on my way to the showers but I can start the coffee for you, if you like."

"No, I mean, yes, that would be great but you don't have to. I can… er... good run?" Jack asked uncomfortably.

"Fine. It's no problem to start the coffee."

"Okay, then. Thanks." Jack offered Ianto a tentative smile and then watched as Ianto went about the measuring and grinding. Once the brewing was underway, Jack spoke again. "Ianto, do you have any… that is, are you busy tomorrow night?"

Ianto raised his eyebrows. "I don't have any plans. Why?"

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you were still interested in dinner. With me, that is."

"Yes! I mean, yeah, I said I was, didn't I?" Ianto said, trying to cool down his initial reaction. "I guess, I thought maybe you'd changed your mind."

"No, not at all."

Ianto took another drink of water and stepped closer to Jack. "You've just been so by-the-book lately," he murmured, wondering where this playful confidence was coming from. "It seemed like you'd changed your mind."

Ianto stopped when he was standing toe-to-toe with Jack. Another inch and he'd be pressed up against him.

Jack's hands shot out of his pockets and grabbed Ianto's hips, almost as if he were holding him back. "I haven't changed my mind. I'm just trying to –" Jack swallowed hard. "I want to show you that I'm not taking you for granted or expecting anything. Although you're making it damn hard in that get-up."

"What's hard?" Ianto whispered, swaying forward against Jack's iron grip.

Jack let out a strangled laugh. "Ianto! You've been hanging around… well, me, too much."

Stepping back with a rueful grin, Ianto nodded. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Jack said softly. "I like it."

Ianto chuckled. "I think I missed you most in the mornings."

"Yeah?" Jack leaned against the nearest workstation, arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah," Ianto admitted, picking at the label on his water bottle so he didn't have to look Jack in the eyes. "This time, when it was just us, before the day got started, before anything dire had happened." He shrugged. "I just like it," he finished.

"Good to know," Jack replied. He looked at Ianto for a long moment and then moved forward suddenly, cupping Ianto's face in both hands. "So? Tomorrow night? Dinner? I'll pick you up, make it all official?"

Ianto smiled. "Yes," he said simply.

Jack returned the smile and kissed Ianto gently. "Great. Now, go get out of those tempting clothes before I throw out all my good intentions."

Leaning forward to take a kiss of his own, Ianto nodded and headed for the showers. His steps were infinitely lighter than they had been only moments before. Jack didn't change his mind, Ianto thought happily as he stripped off his sweaty shorts and moved under the spray of the shower. Dinner tomorrow night, dinner, like normal people. Ianto laughed out loud and shook his head as he squeezed some shampoo into his hand. So maybe 'normal' wasn't in his grasp, not with a job like Torchwood and definitely not with a man like Jack, but it looked like 'happy' might just be in the cards after all.

TBC in Chapter Fifteen

Org Post: The Sea After a Storm

2009-11-01T01:58:22Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm
Author: buttononthetop
Rating: NC-17 overall
Length: TBD
Summary: This is the sequel to Vizzini's Rule and To The Pain, my Ianto-centric gap-fillers. This story covers the events of Season Two.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Warnings: Varies by chapter, please read carefully. Overall, I’ll give it a TV-MA (L for language, S for explicit sexual content, V for violence, and another S for slash)
Spoilers: ALL episodes of Torchwood Season One and Season Two. Also spoilers for Season Three of Doctor Who.
Author’s Notes: Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine. And a special thanks to cjharknessgirl for my supercool story banner and draw_yourworld for the supercool story icon!
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (13/?)

2009-10-30T01:25:59Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 13

Rating: R

Warnings: Little language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which the big talk comes to a close…

Notes: Day. From. Hell. Apologies for the late posting, especially to my lovely UK readers! Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Thirteen

"Jack?" Ianto asked softly. He wasn't sure his Captain was awake and he really didn't want to move to find out. He was finally where he'd longed to be for the last four months, wrapped in Jack's arms.

After their heated discussion and Ianto's confession, Jack had surprised Ianto with a kiss that was sweet with forgiveness and rich with promise. Jack had surprised Ianto even more by not taking the kiss any further. He had snogged Ianto senseless and then pulled him down onto the sofa, but where the old Jack would have immediately started tearing Ianto's clothes off, this new Jack just held him close and kissed him again. Ianto had drifted off to sleep at some point, the exhausting tension he'd felt from the moment he'd first seen Jack – pistol raised, shit-eating-grin firmly in place – had finally faded, leaving him drained.

"Jack?" Ianto whispered again, his lips soft against the skin of Jack's throat.

"Hmmm?" Jack hummed.

"Are you asleep?"

"Mmmmhmmm," Jack replied and then chuckled.

"What happens now?" Ianto asked. He shifted slightly, resting his head on Jack's shoulder.

Jack's arms tightened. "I vote for more of this," he murmured, pressing a kiss into Ianto's hair. "God, you smell good. I used to dream you were with me. I'd wake up and I'd swear I could smell you, that my arms were free and wrapped around you just like this. And then I'd remember…"

"You weren't – I mean, what I saw in the vision, when I… reached you – were you chained like that for a long time?"

Jack froze for a second. Ianto would have sworn his heart even skipped a few beats. "Yeah," he said roughly. "A long time. The man you saw, he figured out early on that I couldn't die. Had fun experimenting on me, finding out which deaths took me the longest to come back from, things like that."

"God, Jack, that's – " Ianto couldn't think of a word vile enough for that man in black. "How did you survive?" He flushed and buried his face against Jack's chest. "I mean, I know why it didn't kill you but how did you… endure, I guess is the best word."

"I thought about you, about Tosh and Gwen and Owen, about coming home. I thought about all the things I know are in store for the human race, things that could only happen if we kept fighting. I knew there was no way the Doctor would give up, so I just held on until we could stop the M– " Jack broke off. "What did you call him? The man in black?"

Ianto looked up. "Who was he?" he asked.

But Jack was already shaking his head. "No. No, I can't, I won't tell you anything more about that year. The year that never was," he said softly. When Ianto started to protest, Jack silenced him with a deep kiss and then said, "It's too dangerous. I don't know what would happen to you if you remembered anything that happened during that time."

"How could I remember it if it didn't happen for me?"

"How could you cross time and space into a parallel dimension and find me?"

"I… I don't know," Ianto admitted.

"Neither do I," Jack said brusquely. "So we're not taking any chances."

After a long silence, Ianto asked a question that had been on his mind since Jack had told him the visions were real.

"This connection between us, do you think… I mean, is it still there?"

"I don't know," Jack said pensively. He chuckled and pulled back, looking right at Ianto. He positively leered. "Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?"

"A blind monk could tell what you're thinking right now," Ianto said dryly. "I'm serious, Jack."

"I know, I just couldn't resist." Jack shifted them slightly, moving onto his back with Ianto held closely along his side. "Honestly? I don't know. Is it something you want to explore?"

Ianto hesitated, his fingers absently toying with a button on Jack's shirt. He answered as truthfully as he could, hoping he didn't hurt Jack's feelings. "No. No, I don't. I am glad I tried, glad I was able to find you. It – " Ianto laughed quietly. "To say it eased my mind is an enormous understatement."

"I'm sorry," Jack sighed. "I really fucked up and I know it. No matter what I planned, I should have guessed that anything involving the Doctor wouldn't go smoothly. I spent a good portion of that year kicking myself for not leaving a message somehow. It was stupid and thoughtless and I'm really sorry." Jack sighed again. "As for the psychic stuff? I think it's best to just leave it alone."

"It was… big," Ianto said.

"Too big," Jack agreed. "And too hard on you. It's something that becomes more common in the future as humanity evolves, but that time's a long way off."

"Is that why it worked? Because you're from the future?"

Jack shrugged and kissed Ianto's temple. "Possibly, but I never showed much aptitude for it. I never cared for anyone being in my head and it's hard to keep it a one way street. I was always better at shielding than sharing."

Ianto nodded. Sounds about right, he thought ruefully, wondering if Jack would be able to open up more in the future.

"So, tell me what you really want," Jack said softly.

"What do you mean?" Ianto furrowed his brow and pulled back to look at Jack.

"You asked me what happens now. What do you want to happen?"

"I want…" Ianto thought hard. "I want more of this, of being together."

"Sounds good to me. What about at Torchwood? You were slowly getting more involved in fieldwork when I left and it looks like you really stepped up these last few months. Did you want to keep on?"

"I… yes. Yes, I do."

"Good," Jack said. "Can I beg you to still make the coffee, though?" he asked with a laugh.

Ianto's chuckle mingled with Jack's. "Of course, sir."

"Good," Jack repeated. He tugged Ianto closer and fitted their mouths together for a long, lingering kiss.

When Ianto finally broke the kiss, it was with a regretful sigh. At Jack's questioning look, Ianto pulled away and sat up.

"What is it?" Jack asked. He ran a comforting hand over Ianto's back.

"I'm not, I mean, I really want to but I think, I mean – "

Jack rested his hand on Ianto's shoulder, giving him a little squeeze. "Hey, I'm not asking for anything here, Ianto."

"Yeah?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah. Tell you what. We'll go down and have a massage or a seaweed wrap or something. Okay? Indulge a little. Drink some cucumber water and not think for a bit."

Ianto smiled and heaved a little sigh of relief. He nodded. "Sounds great," he said.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Jack and Ianto spent the afternoon being pampered down in the spa. They ran into both Tosh and Owen at different times throughout the day as they did the same. At one point they saw Gwen and her fiancé in the restaurant when the rest of the team met for dinner, but they were luckily seated across the room from the happy couple so no awkward questions arose from Rhys.

After a long dinner with several bottles of wine, Ianto found himself in the hallway outside his room with Jack once again. He hesitated, fiddling with his door key as Jack said goodnight to Tosh. He didn't want to just bolt but he also didn't want to risk having to turn Jack down if he wanted to come inside. After the day's revelations, Ianto wondered if he was being conceited to even think that Jack might want to spend the night. He was so distracted by the thoughts tumbling around in his mind that he jerked when he heard his name.

"Ianto." Jack was suddenly right in front of him, a small smile hovering around his lips. "I can hear you worrying."

Ianto chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry," he offered. He took a deep breath. "Thanks for today."

"You're welcome," Jack said softly, moving ever so slightly into Ianto's space. "I'm glad we talked."

"Me, too. I – er – goodnight, Jack," Ianto said in a rush. He held his breath, wondering what was going to happen next.

Disappointment flashed briefly across Jack's face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. "Goodnight, Ianto," Jack whispered. He brushed his lips over Ianto's in a feather-light caress and then stepped back. "Sleep well. I'll see you bright and early on Monday."

"Monday?" Ianto asked with a frown. It was only Saturday night.

Jack nodded. "Barring a full scale invasion, I should be able to manage the Hub 'til then. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

Ianto watched Jack walk down the hall towards the elevators, torn between the knowledge that he was making the right decision and the mad desire to drag Jack through the door and into his bed. He called out. "Jack!"

His Captain turned and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Ianto bit his lip. The words to call Jack back were right on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't bring himself to utter them. "Don't… um, don't touch my coffee maker," he finished lamely.

Jack grinned. "Yes, sir."

TBC in Chapter Fourteen

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (12/?)

2009-10-26T19:02:36Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 12

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which the boys discuss Jamie… and Brendan…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twelve

"Jack."

"Ianto, this is – "

"Jack, tell me what he said," Ianto insisted.

"No." Jack went back to the room service tray and stuffed half a cold waffle in his mouth.

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "Now, I know you can still talk. I've seen you carry on entire conversations with a lot more than that in your mouth."

Jack rolled his eyes and shrugged, still chewing.

"Jack, do you really think Jamie won't tell me everything if I ring him?"

"So ring him," Jack said thickly as he reached for some juice.

"I'd rather hear it from you. Without Jamie's colourful embellishments."

Jack swallowed again and finished his juice. "Why does it matter?"

"Because," Ianto explained with a frown. "I got very, very tired of people talking about me behind my back while you were gone."

He was given a long look by Jack, who finally heaved a great sigh and, after pouring himself another cup of coffee, joined Ianto on the sofa again.

"Fine," he capitulated. "Where should I start?"

Suddenly Ianto looked a little unsure. "Why… why did you go to my flat?"

"I told you, I wanted to see you. Try to explain things. You weren't at the Hub and your tracers said you were at home. Which reminds me, looks like you bought a car."

"Yeah, I finally bit the bullet."

"Not that yellow Mini, right?" Jack asked, eyes twinkling.

Ianto laughed. "No, that's Jamie's car."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Jack drawled. "I saw a black Audi on the block that seemed much more your style."

"Actually, I got a BMW. I just… couldn't get the A4 you picked out. I tried it, but I – I got in and had this vision of you, sitting in the passenger seat, dead and – "

"Hey, it's okay. I'm glad Ramsey had something on the lot you liked, that's all." Jack reached out to give Ianto's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Ianto took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, he wanted me to get something else because the BMW doesn't have ATMOS but Brendan said – " Ianto bit his lip.

Jack nodded and said calmly, "Yeah, Jamie mentioned Brendan visiting. And I saw the report on the case he brought to you. That was some good work, Ianto. Not sure I would have been satisfied just handing him over to UNIT, but that dealer sounded like first-rate scum."

"Right, yeah, he was. So – Jamie. What did he say? What happened?" Ianto asked, colour high as he neatly turned the subject away from Brendan for the moment.

"Um, what happened. Well, I knocked on the door, he answered, called me a bastard and then clocked me."

"What?! Jack, I am so sorry!"

Jack chuckled. "No apologies necessary. No damage to the jaw line, so all is good," he said with a wink.

"Well, thank God for that," Ianto deadpanned.

"Hey, after he started listing off his grievances, I counted myself lucky to escape with a sock on the jaw. He was really worried about you, Ianto. He said you ignored his calls for months and when he finally came to check up on you, you were a mess."

"Yeah," Ianto said, looking down at his hands. "I, well it's like I said earlier, I got too focussed on trying to reach you. Everything else sort of… slipped for a while."

"Everything else – like eating and sleeping?" Jack asked softly.

Ianto nodded, not looking up.

Jack sighed. "He told me a little bit about the reservoir story, just what he'd heard from Tosh and… and Brendan. He blames me for you going out on your own. That you were trying to do my job."

Ianto's eyes flew to Jack's. "He doesn't know, what we do, so he doesn't understand. You can't blame yourself for what happened."

"Neither can you," Jack said firmly. He took Ianto's hands in his own. "You couldn't have saved that man, Ianto, not if he really wanted to die. And you can't stop the rift from taking him when it's time. I know that's crossed your mind but we can't interfere, it's too risky."

"Timelines and all that," Ianto said bitterly.

Jack nodded.

"So was that all?" Ianto asked.

"From Jamie? Basically," Jack said. He pulled away and ran a hand through his hair. "He… er… he also took me to task for outing you before I left."

"Oh, God," Ianto groaned. He buried his face in his hands.

"I realise how it must have sounded to him – me kissing you in front of everyone and then vanishing like that – but you have to believe me that I never meant to – "

"Jack, stop," Ianto said, dropping his hands. "I know. I… that was Jamie's take on things, not mine. I didn't feel that way, not then and not now."

Jack leaned forward and cupped Ianto's face between his hands. "After everything that happened with Abaddon and before, I was just so glad to see you that I didn't even think about the others being there. I didn't think at all, I just needed to kiss you." Jack's eyes darkened and he leaned forward, resting his forehead on Ianto's. "Kind of like now," he said breathlessly.

Ianto swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Jack was so close and all Ianto wanted to do was close his eyes and lose himself in Jack's lips, his hands, that amazing scent. But there was still something between them and Ianto knew it would haunt him until it was out in the open.

"Wait," he whispered.

Jack stilled and sighed. He moved slightly, dropping a soft kiss on Ianto's brow before sitting back. "There's something else," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"I meant what I said, Ianto. I left you with no word, no hint that I'd be back. Anything that happened while I was gone is none of my business."

"None of your – " Ianto's eyes flashed. "What do you want for us, Jack?"

"What?" Jack asked, clearly confused.

"Last night, you said you didn't want to go back to what we had. So. What do you want?"

Jack looked completely flustered. "I want… Christ, Ianto, I don't know. I guess I just want what I've always wanted. I want you."

"I need more than that now, Jack," Ianto said in a low voice. "I need to know this isn't just a… a hobby. Something fun to do when you're bored."

"It's never been that, Ianto," Jack said, his voice sure. "Never."

Ianto shifted on the sofa, looking into Jack's eyes. "If it's more, if I really mean something more to you than that, then I have to say this, you need to know."

"Tell me," Jack said immediately.

Ianto took a deep breath and let the words rush out of him. "I had sex with Brendan."

Jack winced but nodded and didn't drop his eyes. "Were you safe?" he asked, when Ianto waited for him to respond.

"Uh…" Ianto was thrown by the question. "Yes, of course, I mean, I… er… I kind of forgot, at first and… um… but then after that we were. And I've had Owen test me three times since then, to make sure I'm clean. I would never put you at risk like that."

The corner of Jack's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "Ianto, you couldn't hurt me if you had measles, malaria and syphilis all at once. I was concerned for you, not me."

"Oh."

"Is that it?"

Ianto's eyes got wide. "Is that it?" he repeated.

"Is there anything else? I… Look, what do you want me to say here?" Jack asked through clenched teeth.

"I don't know," Ianto said. "I thought… I… Are you mad?" he asked. <>Great, Ianto thought, cringing, now I sound like a whiny schoolgirl.

Jack took a deep breath and held it, almost as if he were counting to ten. "I don't have any right to be mad. I'm the one who left."

"But you – "

"What do you want from me, Ianto?" Jack said, springing up from the sofa. "Do you want me to say that thinking about the two of you together makes me want to beat someone bloody with my bare hands? Preferably that damn kid? Or do you want to hear that it's okay, that I understand?"

"I just want to know the truth," Ianto said.

"That is the truth!"

"Which one?"

"All of it!" Jack yelled, grabbing Ianto's arms and pulling him off the sofa. "I want to tear that kid's head off for even looking at you but – " He broke off and his hands gentled, stroking. "But I understand. I know what it's like to need someone like that."

"I am sorry, Jack," Ianto said quietly.

Jack sighed. "What do you want, Ianto?"

"I want… you. But I want something real, something I can count on."

"I came back for that. I spent a year dreaming of it," Jack murmured, his arms sliding around Ianto, pulling him close. "I came back for you," he whispered as he lowered his head and captured Ianto's lips with his own.

TBC in Chapter Thirteen

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (11/?)

2009-10-22T18:46:58Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 11

Rating: R

Warnings: Language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Ianto confesses something that has been weighing on his soul…

Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Eleven
Previously on The Sea After a Storm…
"I remember because it was right after – " Ianto broke off, a dull flush flooding his cheeks.

Jack went very still and pulled back so he could see Ianto's face. "After what?" he asked carefully.

Ianto sighed deeply and sat up. He stared at his hands for a long moment and then looked at Jack.

"I have to tell you something," he said.

Ianto pulled away from Jack, moving to one end of the sofa. Jack sighed and leaned back. He rubbed one hand over his face and then turned slightly, one arm along the back of the sofa.

"What is it?" he asked sounding wary.

"I… I messed up, Jack. I made a mistake and I'm not sure you'll ever be able to forgive me," Ianto said sadly.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment and then shook his head. "I left you with no word, no hint that I'd be back. I don't blame you for anything that happened while I was gone, okay? You don't even need to tell me if you don't want to."

"I have to," Ianto whispered.

Jack sighed and nodded. "I'm listening."

Ianto took a deep breath and started at the beginning. "A few days after you disappeared, I started trying to… to reach you. I would spend every night trying, every second I was alone really." Ianto felt the heat begin to creep up his throat and knew he'd be bright red by the time he was done. He swallowed hard and kept going. "I didn't sleep, I stopped eating, it was… it was like when I first started here. When Lisa was still alive," he whispered.

"Oh, Ianto," Jack said, reaching out to him.

Ianto flinched and pulled back, curling deeper into the corner of the sofa. "Don't, please. Let me… let me get through this?"

Jack clenched his fist, but nodded and sat back.

"The others saw and tried to help, but I just pushed them away," he admitted miserably. "Owen caught me in a trance one day when we were out in the field. I started slipping in and out of them, even when I wasn't trying. He – I wouldn't tell him what was really going on, but he gave me a bollocksing for falling apart. I couldn't stop trying to find you, but I tried harder to hide it. I started running more which gave me enough of an appetite that I could eat, started paying more attention to the others when they were around. I almost… I almost gave up but then I, uh." Ianto broke off, flushing even harder.

"What?" Jack prodded carefully.

"I was in the cells and I remembered what you said about the weevils having telepathic abilities."

Jack groaned. "You didn't."

Ianto nodded. "I tried and… and it worked, God help me. It was awful. I couldn't go near them for weeks without my headphones blaring something loud to try to block them." Ianto shuddered at the memory. "Never again," he said firmly.

Jack shifted on the sofa, as if he wanted to touch Ianto but was holding himself back. "What happened after the weevil experiment?" he asked.

"I kept trying, even harder. I couldn't give up. I was so weak and tired and, God, so stupid. I – Jack, I – it was all my fault."

"What happened? Just say it, whatever it is, we'll get past it, I swear."

"I…" Ianto forced himself to look Jack in the eyes. "I lost a rift victim, Jack. He killed himself right in front of me and I wasn't strong enough to stop him."

Jack looked stunned. "What? I mean… what?" he asked, obviously confused.

Ianto cringed. Oh, God, Jack can't even conceive of me doing something so awful. Ianto had dreaded this moment for months, ever since the other Jack had disappeared beneath the water of Llanishen Reservoir. "I'm sorry," he whispered, not trying make excuses, to defend his failure.

"You're…" Jack shook his head. "Ianto, what are you talking about?"

"Tosh brought me a report from the rift monitor," he explained, his voice flat and dead. "It was a spike, one that brought someone back. I drove out to the coordinates alone. There was a man. He… he was hurt, injured, burned, but still functioning. We talked about what had happened to him. He talked about creatures and fire and said that they'd hurt him, killed him. I told him I could help, that I had someplace for him to go but he just wanted to go home."

"God, Ianto – "

"I fucked up, Jack. He told me he was from 2012, talked about the Olympic Games in London. I – I froze. I couldn't think what to do. We'd never found anyone who had been taken from the future, I didn't know what tell him so I… God, Jack, I told him the truth," Ianto admitted. "About where he was, when he was. I was still trying to figure out what to do next when he hit me."

"What?" Jack exclaimed. He leaned forward, cupping Ianto's cheek. "Did he hurt you?"

Ianto squirmed away from Jack's hand. "He knocked me out cold. The punch wouldn't have even fazed you, he never would have gotten out of the clearing, but I was such a mess he got away from me and – " Ianto swallowed painfully. "I chased him but I was too slow, too late. He – his name was Jack, too. Did I tell you that? He was a doctor and his wife's name was Rhosyn. I did some research, and I found him, they live in Culverhouse Cross, I've been by their house, seen them, I don't – "

"Ianto, stop, just stop," Jack said firmly.

Biting his lip to keep the words from pouring out of him, Ianto stopped. He flinched when Jack reached out for him.

"Christ," Jack muttered under his breath. He pulled Ianto into his arms, holding the rigid body against his own until Ianto finally started to relax. "What did you think I was going to do to you?" Jack asked softly.

"I don't know." The words were thick with unshed tears.

Jack closed his eyes and held Ianto tighter. "What happened after he punched you?"

"He ran. I chased him. He got to the reservoir and… jumped. I couldn't find him. I kept diving but I couldn't find him. If I'd been faster or stronger or more on my game – "

"Stop," Jack told him again. "It's not your fault. Sometimes it just goes wrong."

Ianto sighed deeply. "I just kept thinking that if you'd been there it wouldn't have happened."

"Well, then that makes it my fault, not yours."

"I didn't mean it like that," Ianto said, sounding horrified. He pulled out of Jack's arms and sat on the sofa facing him again. "I just – you've never – "

"Yes, I have," Jack said in a rough voice. "Three times."

"What?"

"One woman died in my arms just minutes after I found her. Another died a few days after I got him settled at Flat Holm. The doctors said his injuries were just too severe. The third one…" Jack grimaced and looked away. "He told me to leave him to die, but I didn't listen. I took him to Flat Holm, thinking he would get better, change his mind. He hanged himself in his room the minute he was alone."

"Jack…" It was Ianto's turn to reach out, covering Jack's clenched fist with his hand.

They sat like that for a few minutes, just comforting one another, until Jack spoke up.

"When the team found you at the reservoir, did they ask you any difficult questions? I didn't see any reports that seemed to cover what you described, with or without mention of Flat Holm."

Ianto shook his head. "No, I wouldn't have told them, not after you asked me not to. But they were focussed on getting me back to the Hub and Gwen was worried about an argument we'd had earlier so no one ever asked me to fill out a – " Ianto broke off, his eyes narrowing. "How did you know the team found me by the res?"

Jack jerked and looked away. He pulled out of Ianto's grasp and stood up. "Um, well…"

"Did you talk to Owen or Tosh about it?"

"Not exactly," Jack hedged.

Ianto was starting to lose his patience again. "Jack, if you already knew, why did you make me go through it all again?"

"I didn't know, not the details." Jack ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I made a stop before I found you guys last night. I, well, I really wanted to see you. Just you. So I went to your flat."

"And?" Ianto said, not making the connection at first. "Ohhh," he breathed when it finally clicked. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "He's a dead man."

"Now, Ianto – " Jack started.

Ianto turned the scowl on Jack. "Sit down. I want you to tell me everything Jamie told you. Right now."

TBC in Chapter Twelve

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (10/?)

2009-10-19T20:41:39Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 10

Rating: R

Warnings: Language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01); References to Doctor Who (Utopia 3x11, The Sound of Drums 3x12, Last of the Timelords 3x13)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©’s to He Who Must Not Be Named for situations borrowed from Doctor Who: Utopia, The Sound of Drums, Last of the Timelords. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which Jack explains some of the Year That Never Was…

Notes: Hope y’all enjoyed yesterday’s bonus chapter! And now back to your regularly scheduled programming. :) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Ten

Ianto stared at Jack.

"A year," he repeated.

Jack sighed and dropped onto the sofa behind him as he rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sorry. I really didn't want you to know that."

"You were just travelling around with the Doctor?" Ianto asked coldly. "For a year?"

"No!" Jack looked up, his eyes meeting Ianto's. "I swear, it wasn't like that I…" Jack blew out a long breath. He motioned to Ianto, waving him over to the sofa. "Come on over here and get comfortable. This is going to take a while," he said.

Ianto stared at him for another long moment and then rose from the table. He filled both their coffee cups and crossed to the sitting area. He didn't join Jack on the sofa, choosing one of the armchairs instead. He handed Jack his coffee and settled himself with his own cup, looking at Jack over the rim.

"Thanks," Jack said with a nod. "Wish it was your coffee, though. God, I missed your coffee."

"I had to get a new machine for the Hub," Ianto said pleasantly, trying not to let his frustration show in his voice.

Jack read the steel behind Ianto's tone correctly and stopped stalling. "I wasn't travelling with the Doctor, not like you think. I went to him to get answers about the… the way I am. I had only planned to talk to him on the Plass when he came out, go with him for a few days if I absolutely had to, but by the time I got up there, the TARDIS was already starting to disappear."

Ianto nodded. He'd seen all this on the CCTV the day Jack vanished.

"Well, I did the only thing I could think of and I grabbed a hold of the TARDIS and didn't let go. Apparently she tried to shake me off, flew to the end of the universe, a place even the Doctor hadn't ever been."

"Good restaurant, I hear," Ianto said solemnly. Reliving Jack's departure hadn't improved his mood in the slightest.

"Yeah, not so much," Jack said drily. "We landed in the middle of… of some difficulties among the locals and then someone stole the TARDIS and came back here, the last place the Doctor had been. We followed him with my Vortex Manipulator," Jack said, tapping his wriststrap.

"You can travel through time with that?" Ianto asked. "But then why did you stay here all those years?"

"It was broken. I burned out the circuits getting back to Earth after the Doctor left me on Satellite 5 where I was changed. The Doctor fixed – "

Ianto sat up straighter in his chair. "He just left you?"

Jack nodded looking, of all things, ashamed. "That's why I had to find him again. I needed to know what had happened to me, why he left, if I can ever die."

With a pained smile, Ianto replied, "I think I can understand feeling like that."

"Yeah." Jack ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I got my answers but the price was too high."

"What do you mean?"

"It's my fault," Jack spat out. He stood up and started pacing again. "We only ended up at the end of the universe because – because I'm wrong. I'm a freak. That whole year, all those people, everything that happened, the TARDIS being stolen, the Doctor, Martha, her family, the – "

Ianto set his mug down on the coffee table with a sharp crack. "Jack! Stop it. Sit down and stop pacing and stop saying things like that. You are not a freak."

Jack sat back down on the sofa and dropped his head into his hands. Ianto wanted nothing more than to sit next to him and hold him close, but he could tell Jack needed to get this all out.

"Look," he said gently. "The twenty questions thing isn't working. Why don't you just tell me what happened, whatever parts of it you can. And I'll listen."

Jack's shoulders heaved as he sighed deeply. Without raising his head, Jack began to speak. He told Ianto about facing three Daleks, about the pain and the blackness, about waking suddenly and finding himself alone on a satellite outpost far across the galaxy in a future so distant Ianto couldn't even fathom it. He explained that he had 'hopped' using his wriststrap, but had ended up in the wrong century with no way out. He glossed over his years of waiting for the Doctor and working for Torchwood, some of which Ianto already knew from his forays into the archives. He told Ianto what the Doctor had said when he'd finally been able to ask his questions – that he was a fixed point in time, that he was wrong, and that it was going to last forever. Ianto shifted uncomfortably, wanting to argue that Jack was anything but wrong, but he held his tongue and let Jack exorcise his demons.

"After the TARDIS got stolen, we had to hop back here with this," Jack continued, motioning to his wriststrap again. "The Doctor had made sure the TARDIS could only travel to the last place she'd been, which was here and now. But we were too late again and spent a year trying to set things right. The M… the man who'd stolen the TARDIS used her to create a paradox machine. He changed the world, did… horrible things. We were able to defeat him and destroy the machine which… well, it reversed time to the moment the machine was turned on. Kind of like what happened with John last night when time jumped back, only on a much bigger scale. And that's why the Doctor wouldn't take me back to the moment I'd left." Jack looked at Ianto for the first time since he'd started talking. "I begged him to take me back to February, Ianto. He flat out refused, because it would mean crossing my own timeline. You have to believe me."

"I do," Ianto said softly. There was no mistaking the sincerity in Jack's eyes. Ianto leaned back in his chair and looked at Jack, speaking carefully. "Last night, when the bomb exploded in the rift, I… felt it."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's like a headache, a migraine, really – the worst headache you can imagine. I've felt it twice before. The first time was when you destroyed Abaddon," Ianto said slowly. He swallowed hard, remembering Jack laid out on the grass, so pale and still that Ianto was sure he would never wake up.

"And the second?" Jack prompted

Ianto cleared his throat. "The second time was the worst. It was a few days ago. We weren't anywhere near the rift, though. We were in Pakistan."

Jack nodded, his face showing no surprise.

"You know about that?" Ianto asked.

Jack nodded again. "I read through the reports on my desk this morning when I was at the Hub. Owen mentioned your, well, I think he called it an episode. He referenced some earlier reports and your medical file, but I didn't look those up yet. I wanted to get back to see you."

Ianto's fair skin betrayed him yet again and his cheeks pinked. He covered his response with a cough and shrugged his shoulders. "Owen said the episode in the Himalayas was something akin to psychic shock." Ianto met Jack's eyes. "So if it's not the rift, it must be – " He broke off, unable to complete the sentence.

"Time," Jack finished for him. "I destroyed the paradox machine and reversed time at almost the exact instant Owen's report said you collapsed."

"So," Ianto swallowed hard. "So I can feel – somehow I can sense when time, what? Resets? Changes? What?"

It was Jack's turn to shrug. "It sounds like it. Maybe being in Torchwood Tower when the Doctor opened the Void affected you. Maybe it was your training at Torchwood One. Maybe it's just you. I've always said you're amazing, Ianto Jones." This last sentence was almost a physical caress.

Ianto swallowed hard and looked away. Ask him! his mind screamed. He reached for his empty coffee cup, curling both hands around the mug to disguise their shaking. "There's something else," he started, speaking so softly he wasn't sure Jack would be able to hear him.

"What is it?" Jack asked, just as softly.

Ianto shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "While you were gone, I… we all tried everything we could think of to find out where you were, if you were okay. I tried, I mean, I think I – God!" Just say it, you fucking prat. He took a deep breath. "I tried to reach you… psychically."

Jack paled, his face going a careful blank. "What do you mean?"

"I… well, I tried to establish a psychic link with you, wherever you were. I just – I wanted to know you were alright and I couldn't think of anything else."

"That can be tricky, Ianto. Dangerous, if you don't know what you're doing," Jack said evasively.

Ianto nodded. "I know, I got a little out of control with it for a while," he admitted. "Every night for weeks, I would come up with some reason to stay after everyone had gone and I would go down to your bunk and try until I fell asleep or…" he trailed off.

"Or fell into a trance and couldn't get out?"

Ianto nodded again. "I kept dreaming about you, kept seeing you chained in a basement or a prison or some place like that." Ianto closed his eyes, lost in the memories of those visions. He barely registered Jack's surprised gasp as he continued. "There were soldiers and a man in black. I could never see his face but he was… he was hurting you and I couldn't get to you. I tried again and again, but the soldiers would stop me and… and… one night I got through, I talked to you… I touched you…" Ianto felt dizzy, the memories that night overwhelming him.

"Ianto!" Jack said sharply. He stood and pulled Ianto out of his chair with a little shake, the coffee mug falling to the carpet.

Ianto's eyes flew open. "I… I thought… it was just a dream," he whispered through numb lips. "Was it, Jack?"

"How can you remember that?" Jack asked wonderingly as he slid his hands up from Ianto's shoulders to cup his face. "You shouldn't remember."

"Was it real?"

Jack looked like he was being torn apart. "Ianto, I… You can't know…" He closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes," he finally said. "Yes, it was real."

Ianto felt his knees buckle. Jack's arms were around him in a flash, helping him over to the sofa where they both collapsed. Ianto was trembling, unable to process what Jack's admission meant.

"I don't understand how you remember," Jack mused.

"Why wouldn't I?" Ianto asked shakily.

"Because it happened during the time we erased when I destroyed the paradox machine," Jack explained gently, his arms still wrapped around Ianto. "What is it?" he asked when Ianto began to shake his head.

"No, it was before we went to Pakistan. You'd only been gone two months, I remember because it was right after – " Ianto broke off, a dull flush flooding his cheeks.

Jack went very still and pulled back so he could see Ianto's face. "After what?" he asked carefully.

Ianto sighed deeply and sat up. He stared at his hands for a long moment and then looked at Jack.

"I have to tell you something," he said.

TBC in Chapter Eleven

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (9/?)

2009-10-18T20:27:42Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 9

Rating: R

Warnings: Little language

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©’s to Helen Raynor for dialogue borrowed from Doctor Who The Sontaran Stratagem. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which The Talk commences…

Notes: Early posting for all those who make my day by asking for More! Now! Especially for monikkk who offered me cookies next time I'm in Warsaw and for cjharknessgirl who made me a gorgeous story banner. :) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Nine

Ianto had just finished shaving when there was a knock at the door. He tugged the robe on over the towel he had slung around his hips and turned off the music before he went to let in the food.

"Good lord!" he exclaimed when he opened the door and saw the heavily laden cart.

"Too much?"

Jack was leaning on the wall across the hallway, arms crossed over his chest.

"Not if we're expecting another ten people," Ianto said drily and then looked around for the room service chap.

"I sent him away," Jack said, reading his mind. "With a nice tip," he added.

"Okay." Ianto hesitated for a moment and then started to pull the cart inside the room. "Did you want to come in?" he asked Jack quietly.

Jack smiled and nodded. He pushed the cart the rest of the way in and closed the door behind him.

"The table's over there," Ianto said with a wave towards the other side of the suite. He closed his robe and tied the belt.

"Oh, I brought you something," Jack said. He reached under the cloth that draped the room service cart and brought out a small bag which he tossed to Ianto. "Not that I don't love what you're wearing, but I thought you might be more comfortable in those."

Ianto opened the bag to find a t-shirt and some flannel pyjama bottoms that he often wore after hours at the Hub.

"I ran over this morning after the all-clear. Made sure there were no ripples from the temporal displacement, grabbed a few things," Jack explained as he began removing the covers on the food.

"Thanks," Ianto said. He stepped into the bath to change, not sure about just stripping off in front of Jack with things so up in the air between them. He left the door ajar, however, so he heard Jack's next comment clearly.

"I would have brought you a fresh suit, but I didn't see any of your clothes there," Jack said softly.

Ianto nudged open the door as he tied the drawstring. "Jack, I – "

"Coffee?" Jack interrupted with another of those bright, fake smiles.

"Thanks," Ianto said, taking the cup and sipping gratefully before he rushed to explain. "I don't want you to think we just left the Hub unguarded. I spent – "

"Hey, hold on, just… sit down. Have some breakfast. We can talk after you've eaten something."

Ianto flushed slightly and nodded. He didn't think he'd ever dreaded or wanted something so much at the same time in his entire life. For more than four months, he'd longed for the chance to talk to Jack. He'd played the conversation in his head so many times he had it memorized, but now that it was really going to happen, he was terrified.

Ianto looked at the feast spread out on the cart and looked at Jack. "Did you just order one of everything?" he asked as he began to serve himself some fluffy scrambled eggs topped with chives.

Jack grinned. "Yeah. It's easier than making a decision, plus most of it will keep if we don't eat it all."

"If?" Ianto exclaimed with a chuckle. He topped off his eggs with some sautéed mushrooms, added some potatoes, a grilled tomato, and a piece of French toast to his plate and took a seat. He took a slice of toast from the rack and buttered it, watching Jack as he loaded up his own plate. "Second breakfasts?" he murmured. He reached for the strawberry preserves and gave Jack a tentative smile.

It was returned and, Ianto was relieved to see, it actually met Jack's eyes.

"Yeah, I had a bite before I headed to the Hub. Ordered up carts for everyone so you and Tosh wouldn't just have coffee and a muffin. Or in your case, just the coffee."

Ianto rolled his eyes, his mouth too full to argue.

Blue eyes looked him over carefully. "Although, I guess it wasn't necessary. You don't look like you're skimping on meals anymore. You look a lot better than when… than before I left."

"Owen didn't give me much choice," Ianto explained drily.

Jack nodded and fiddled with his fork. "Sounds like you all really took care of each other," he observed.

"We had to." Ianto bit his lip. He hadn't meant to snap. "I'm sorry, Jack. It was just… it was hard, without you. For all of us."

"I am sorry, Ianto," Jack said solemnly. "I never intended to be gone that long. If I had, I would have told you."

Ianto nodded and reached for a croissant from the basket of pastries on the cart. "Should we… I mean, how do we even start talking about this?"

Jack sighed. "I can't tell you everything. I wish I could – well no, actually, I really don't. Most of it is irrelevant now anyway."

Ianto doubted the veracity of that statement, but knew better than to push. "So what do we do?" he asked.

"Why don't you just ask me what you want to know and I'll answer when I can," Jack offered.

"Our old standby?" Ianto teased.

"What?" Jack asked, obviously confused.

"I can't tell you everything but I promise not to lie," Ianto quoted.

"Oh, yeah." Jack laughed, the sound brittle. "I'd almost forgotten that," he added softly. He shook his head and shovelled a big bite of eggs and potatoes into his mouth. He raised his eyebrows at Ianto as he chewed, clearly inviting him to begin.

Suddenly Ianto's head was full of every single thing he'd wondered about while Jack was away. He was completely lost, unsure of what to ask, where to begin. He finally just blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.

"Why did you take that hand?" he asked.

Jack was gob-smacked. He stared at Ianto for a long moment and then he began to laugh. It started out as a soft snort of amusement but he didn't seem to be able to stop. The laughing turned to coughing as he choked on his mouthful of breakfast and took a long drink of juice. He was still chuckling when he was finally able to talk again.

"You want to know about the hand?" he asked incredulously.

Ianto flushed and shrugged his shoulders. "It's been a topic of discussion since I started at Torchwood. It was a hand. In a jar."

"Hardly the strangest thing in the Hub," Jack pointed out.

It was Ianto's turn to snort. "Close to it. Are those Belgian waffles?" he asked.

Jack nodded and passed him one off the plate that was suspended over a warmer. He watched Ianto butter his waffle and then said quietly, "It was the Doctor's hand."

Ianto dropped his knife. "He lost a hand?"

Jack nodded again. "Christmas before last."

"The Sycorax," Ianto said slowly, working out the dates. "Poor man."

"Oh, he grew it back."

"He what?"

Jack grinned. "You sound just like Martha."

"Who's Martha?"

"The Doctor's companion."

"Like you were."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Ahhh…" Jack hesitated. "That's a tricky one."

Ianto tilted his head. "Why?"

"Time doesn't exactly stay linear when you're travelling with the Doctor," Jack equivocated.

"Or when you're a Time Agent, I would imagine," Ianto added, thinking of the things John Hart had said. He glanced up at Jack before taking a large bite of his waffle.

Jack grimaced and shook his head.

Ianto swallowed and tried a different tack. "How long were you waiting for him?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "It's complicated."

Ianto was losing his patience. "Jack, if this is one of those things you can't tell me then just say it."

"No, I can, I just…" His voice trailed off.

"What?" Ianto asked. He reached across the table to put his hand over Jack's.

The touch seemed to reassure Jack and he smiled ruefully. "I don't want you to know how old I am," he muttered.

Ianto bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. "Is that all? I spent a lot of the time you were gone down in the archives," Ianto said.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I've found quite a few references to you in some very old files… what?" Ianto asked. Jack was shaking his head.

"I thought I destroyed everything they had on me when I took over after Alex."

Ianto smothered a laugh behind his coffee cup. "You missed a few," he said drily, thinking of the piles of documents in the archives with Jack's name on them. "Jack, we kind of assumed the resurrecting does something to you and you don't look a day over fort– "

Jack's brows drew together in a sudden scowl and Ianto revised his estimate quickly.

"Thirty… er, four," he finished lamely.

Jack glared for a moment but then his face softened and he chuckled. "Nice save. I was almost thirty-eight when… when I changed."

"What happened?" Ianto asked softly. "Did the Doctor do something to you?"

"No! No, it wasn't him. He was just my best shot at some answers. So I waited."

"How long?"

There was a pause and then Jack spoke. "A hundred and thirty-nine years give or take a few months."

"Christ," Ianto breathed. "So that makes you – "

"Old enough to be your ancestor."

Ianto took a long drink of his coffee and imagined the last four months of waiting stretching out for a hundred and thirty-nine years. He shook his head. "There've been sightings of the Doctor all throughout the twentieth century. Hell, he worked with UNIT for years during the seventies… or the eighties, I always forget. Why did you have to wait so long?"

"Karma?" Jack suggested ruefully. When Ianto raised an eyebrow, he continued. "Timelines, for one. I had to find my Doctor, the one who knew what had happened."

Ianto chose not to dwell on the way Jack said 'my Doctor'. He frowned. He could think of a dozen sightings of the Doctor in the last decade alone. "But surely – "

Jack pushed away from the table and began to pace. "Look, Ianto, I don't know what you want to hear. Bad luck, a broken ankle, traffic, a seriously creepy little cartomancer who practically cursed me – I don't know why. I just know that when I heard the TARDIS that day, I ran. I knew it was my one chance and I took it. And the fact that I didn't even think about what it might to do you ate at my guts for a year."

Jack stopped dead as Ianto's glance shot to him.

"A year?" Ianto asked in confusion.

"Oh, shit," Jack said. "I wasn't going to tell you that part."

TBC in Chapter Ten

Fic: The Sea After a Storm (8/?)

2009-10-15T19:40:39Z

Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 8

Rating: R

Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!

Summary: In which the team get settled at the hotel…

Notes: Back to the Ianto!Verse. :) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Eight

The team rode up in the elevator together, Gwen continuing on to the top floor by herself. Everyone was starting to fade, as if the mere proximity to so many beds had reminded them all that they'd been awake for more than thirty hours. Jack said a few words to Tosh and then to Owen before each of them went into their rooms. The sound of Owen's door closing seemed to echo in the quiet hallway.

Jack and Ianto were alone again.

Ianto stood outside his door and gripped his keycard as Jack turned and walked slowly towards him. He hadn't heard all of Jack's conversations with Tosh or Owen, but it seemed to be something along the lines of 'I'm sorry, good work, goodnight'. He swallowed hard, wondering if Jack would have anything more to say to him.

Jack stopped a few scant inches in front of Ianto. For a long minute he just stared, his blue eyes raking over Ianto's features. For his part, Ianto didn't waste any energy fighting the blood rising in his cheeks; he focused everything on trying to remember to breathe.

"Ianto, I…" Jack faltered. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I lied earlier."

Ianto furrowed his brow. "When?"

"When I said… when I said I came back for all of you. I mean, I did, of course, to some extent anyway. What we do, Torchwood, the team, defending the Earth," he said with an odd little smile. "It's important. But what I said first, that was the truth. I came back for you, Ianto, and I hope you'll give me the chance to prove it."

Ianto could feel his mouth drop open in surprise. He snapped it closed and tried to speak but nothing came out. He simply could not think of a thing to say so he did the next best thing. With a strangled sound somewhere between a groan and a sob, Ianto pushed forward into Jack's arms and kissed him.

Jack was surprised, but recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around Ianto and kissing him back. For several long moments, Ianto just floated on sensation – the feel of Jack's hands on his back, in his hair, touching his face, the taste of Jack in his mouth again, Jack's dizzying scent intensifying and surrounding them. How long they stood there, locked in each other's arms, Ianto couldn't say, but eventually a desperate need for air forced them apart.

Jack looked at Ianto with heavy-lidded eyes and whispered his name as he reached for him again, but Ianto's better sense suddenly prevailed.

"Wait," he said softly.

"Hmm?" Jack hummed as he nuzzled Ianto's neck.

"Jack… please… please stop."

At the word 'stop' Jack pulled back instantly. He looked adorably confused for a second and then he shook his head. "Right, stop. Sorry, I just got carried away."

"It's my fault," Ianto said as he shook his head. "I… I promised myself I wouldn't do this. I can't just go back to the way we were before… before you left. We – " He swallowed hard. "We need… I need to…"

Jack nodded slowly. "Talk," he finished for Ianto.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do. I… a lot happened while you were away and I'm not sure…" Ianto trailed off and then gathered up his courage. "I'm not sure you'll still want me when you know everything," he said miserably.

Jack reached up to cup Ianto's face. He stroked his thumb over Ianto's cheekbone and smiled. "I seriously doubt that," he said softly. "But you're right. We should talk, but not now. You need some rest. You look tired."

Ianto nodded and, after leaning into Jack's hand for a second, turned away to open his door. Jack took a few steps down the hall towards his own room and then looked back.

"Ianto?" he called softly.

"Yes, sir?" Ianto said with a half-smile.

"I don't want to just go back to what we had before either. I wanted you to know that. Sleep well," Jack murmured.

Ianto nodded, too overcome to speak. He let himself into the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned against it for support, his legs shaking. His whole body was shaking, every nerve tingling and aching for more. He shook his head and pushed himself off the door and into the room.

The suite was lovely, the king sized bed taking up one wall with a small grouping of armchairs and breakfast table arranged in a conservatory-like area near the balcony. Ianto pulled off his tie as he strolled around the room, peeping into the ensuite to admire the deep tub and huge shower as he slowly undressed. He pulled on the plush hotel robe and bundled his clothing into the proper bag and called down for laundry service before securing the door and turning off most of the lights. He decided to treat himself to a hot bath before turning in. As the tub filled, he perused the mini-bar and chose a one-glass-sized bottle of red that wasn't half bad for having a screw-top. Feeling deliciously decadent, Ianto added a bit of bath oil to the water and slipped into the tub.

His sigh of contentment bounced off the tile and made him chuckle. He sipped his wine and enjoyed a nice long soak until he realised he was falling asleep. He drained the tub and stepped into the walk-in shower for a quick rinse and then headed for the bed. Sitting on the edge for a moment, he made sure his mobile was on and within easy reach. He also plugged his iPod into the dock in the clock on the bedside table and scrolled through his music, looking for something to suit his mood. He finally settled on Elgar's cello concerto in E minor, the haunting strains of the music a perfect compliment to the turmoil of dread and desire that were warring in him whenever he thought of talking to Jack.

Jack. Ianto stroked his finger over his lips and snuggled down into the bed. Jack. The smile was still on his face when he fell asleep.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The first thing Ianto noticed when he woke up was that he was sleeping sprawled across his whole bed and yet he wasn't hanging off the edge anywhere. He stretched and tried to catch the edges of his mattress with his fingers but couldn't reach. Confused, he raised his head and looked around.

Oh, right, hotel, he thought hazily. God, this is a big bed.

The second thing he noticed was that he was starving. He shifted onto his side and curled around one of the many pillows scattered across the bed. He fought the hunger, closed his eyes and tried to drift off again.

His stomach growled.

Ianto sighed. So much for sleeping in, he thought. He rolled over and glanced at the clock. Or not. It was just after eleven which meant he'd been out for more than twelve hours. He stretched luxuriously and then pulled himself out of bed. Pulling on the hotel robe again, he checked the room service menu. It looked like he was probably out of luck for getting breakfast delivered since the cut off was 10:30 but he needed to eat something.

"Yes, this is room 603. I was wondering if there was any chance I could still get breakfast."

"Mr. Jones?"

Ianto was startled. "Yes," he said cautiously into the phone.

"Ah, good. Captain Harkness arranged for your breakfast early this morning, we were just waiting to hear from you. We will have the selections up to you in less than half an hour. Will that be sufficient?"

"Uh… yeah, yes, that should be fine. Um, wait – what do you mean by selections?" Ianto asked.

The room service manager chuckled. "I think you'll be able to find anything you want on the cart, Mr. Jones. Captain Harkness was very… thorough in his choices."

Ianto smiled. "I can just imagine. Thank you. I'm sorry to call so late."

"No trouble at all, Mr. Jones. One of my boys will be up shortly."

Ianto thanked the man again and hung up the phone. His hand hovered over his mobile for a long moment as he tried to decide if he was ready to talk to Jack. In the end, he sighed and reached for his iPod instead. He set it to shuffle all and turned up the volume. When the first notes of Snow Patrol's latest album filled the room, he smiled and headed for the shower. He and Jack could talk later, after he'd had some coffee and something to eat.

And if his annoying inner voice scolded him for delaying the inevitable, Ianto didn't listen.

TBC in Chapter Nine

Fic: Candy Floss (A Happy Birthday Fic for cjharknessgirl)

2009-10-14T15:42:23Z

Title: Candy Floss (A Happy Birthday Fic for cjharknessgirl)

Rating: PG

Warnings: Unadulterated FLUFF!

Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)

Pairings: Jack/Ianto

Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named.

Summary: Jack and Ianto's Day of Fun!

Notes: This is a fluffy little piece I started for cjharknessgirl this summer (and was unable to finish due to being in a totally non-fluffy place). Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!

To cjharknessgirl: Happy Birthday, sweetie! I finished/polished this up and offer it here as a birthday prezzie and a thank you for all your lovely comments and icons and wallpapers and just for being your sweet self! I hope you have a wonderful day!
**hugs**
button

Candy Floss
Set vaguely during early season 2. This is a one shot and NOT part of my Ianto-Verse. :)

Ianto sighed.

He was blue.

Not a deep, dark, dangerous blue – he hadn't been that blue since… well, since Jack got back, he admitted to himself. But he was blue, nonetheless. It was a pale blue, tinged with grey, like a winter sky when the sun just wasn't strong enough to burn off the fog.

Ianto rolled his eyes at himself, wondering just when he'd become such a drama queen. I'm sure it's Jack's fault, he thought and then sighed again, opening another filing cabinet.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Unbeknownst to Ianto, he was under close observation. Jack narrowed his eyes, taking in the droop of Ianto's shoulders, the sad set of his mouth as he moved onto to a new stack of papers and began filing them.

Jack frowned. He hated it when Ianto was unhappy. He especially hated it when he was the cause of that unhappiness. He was fairly sure he hadn't done anything to hurt Ianto… well, recently, that is, he thought. Since he'd gotten back from his ill-fated trip with the Doctor, he'd been doing everything in his power to make amends to his young lover. He'd even done the one thing he'd never been good at – he backed the hell off. He chuckled as he remembered their one real 'date' together. Maybe Ianto has a point, he grudgingly admitted.

Jack had gone completely overboard on the date, picking Ianto up, bringing flowers, holding the door for him, pulling out his chair at the fantastically expensive (but not especially tasty) restaurant, peppering Ianto with questions about himself and trying very hard to just listen and not jump in with a story of his own. When they got to the part in the evening where Jack had arranged for a horse-drawn carriage ride, Ianto had balked…

"What the hell is this, Jack?" he asked, bemused.

"I'm just… I'm trying, here, Ianto."

"Trying to what? Recreate a scene from An Affair to Remember? You can, go," Ianto told the driver with a shake of his head. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

The driver just shrugged and clicked his horse, pulling away from the curb.

Ianto turned to Jack. "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not necessary. When I said I wanted more, I meant…" Ianto paused, searching for the right words. "I just meant more of you, who you really are." He moved forward and stroked Jack's cheek. "I don't need you to change, to be some huge romantic gesture type of guy. I don't want that, I just want you."

Jack blew out a long sigh of relief. "Really?"

"Jack," Ianto tsked. "That's all I've ever wanted."

Ianto had kissed him then, a soft press of lips that made Jack want to forget all of his resolutions about taking it slow and just drag Ianto back to his bed. But he behaved himself that night. And every night since, Jack thought as he slipped his hands in his pockets and tried to ease the fit of his suddenly too-tight trousers. He refocused on the monitor to see Ianto standing still, staring at the piece of paper in his hands meant for the file. He saw Ianto's shoulders heave in another giant sigh and then he started filing again.

"That's enough," Jack muttered. He flipped off he monitor and stalked back into his office to grab his coat. As he hurried through the Hub, he called to the rest of his team. "Early night, ladies and gent."

"What's up, Jack?" Gwen called.

"Who cares?" Owen said as he slung his jacket over his shoulder.

Jack grinned. "Everything's fine, there's just a nice lull so go home. Enjoy the afternoon, okay?" He didn't wait to see what happened, he was certain Owen would be able to get Gwen and Tosh to pack up. He sped down the stairs to the lower archives where Ianto was filing.

"Ianto! I need you, come on," he called as he burst through the door.

Ianto dropped his file and jumped about half a foot in the air.

"Christ, Jack! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Ianto complained.

Jack just grinned. "Come on," he said again.

Ianto tidied up his papers and followed with a question. "What's wrong now?" he asked in a voice that clearly implied he was expecting the worst.

"There's just something I need you to do with me. Won't take long," Jack said. He tugged Ianto along, hurrying him back to the Hub and onto the invisible lift.

"Where'd everyone go?" Ianto asked, noting the empty workstations.

"Afternoon off."

Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack. He swayed a little as the lift started to move, holding onto Jack's arm for balance. "Jack, I told you that I'm not ready to –"

"Relax," Jack said. He shifted so he could put his arm around Ianto's shoulders. "This isn't about sex."

"Oh." Ianto couldn't tell if he that made him happy or just a little more miserable. He sighed and leaned into Jack. Bit of both, he thought sadly.

Jack tightened his arm around his lover and grinned. This was going to be great.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"A carnival?" Ianto exclaimed in disbelief.

"Why not?" Jack asked.

They'd been driving for about forty-five minutes, leaving Cardiff behind them and heading out to the countryside. Jack had noticed the fair when he'd been out this way investigating a negative rift spike a few days before. Luckily the spike had been harmless, as they usually were this far out. When he'd been driving back, he passed the fair and slowed to check out the dates. It had been ages since he'd been to a carnival and it seemed like the perfect place to cheer up Ianto.

"You drove me all the way out here to… to eat candy floss and knock over milk bottles and – "

"And win a teddy bear. And ride the Ferris wheel," Jack added with a smile that was almost a caress.

Ianto glared at him for a moment and then laughed despite himself. The sound filled the SUV, happy and relaxed, a sound Jack hadn't heard since he'd left to follow the Doctor. Jack reached for Ianto, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

"See? It's already a good idea and we haven't even gotten out of the car."

Ianto smiled and squeezed Jack's hand in return. "Ok, Captain. Let's do this." He opened the door and then turned back to Jack. "But I am not carrying around a teddy bear all day, I do have some dignity."

Jack laughed and opened his own door, more determined than ever to win Ianto a dozen teddy bears.

They paid at the gate and received matching stamps on the backs of their hands. Ianto gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed the image was supposed to be a clown, but it looked more like a melting ice cream cone someone had dropped on the pavement. It was also a lurid pink.

"So much for dignity," he muttered trying to blot the ink but only succeeding in imprinting a mirror image on the palm of his other hand.

Jack chuckled and pre-empted any more fussing with the stamp by taking Ianto's hand and threading their fingers together. "What do you want to do first?" he asked.

Ianto looked around at the brightly coloured tents and rickety-looking rides scattered around the grass. "I have no idea," he admitted.

"Let's just walk then," Jack suggested.

Ianto nodded and let Jack lead him through the fairgrounds. They circled the entire carnival slowly, talking easily with one another about trivialities. Jack noted the booths with the silliest looking prizes, intent on winning something for Ianto as soon as possible. He smiled, imagining the pink flush in Ianto's cheeks and the dangerous sparkle in his eyes as Jack presented him with a bright yellow smiley face pillow or a set of fuzzy purple handcuffs. Ianto tugged his hand free from Jack's and removed his suit coat.

"Nice day, should have left my jacket in the car, too," he noted as he unbuttoned his waistcoat and loosened his tie a bit. Jack almost moaned when he went a step further, rolling his sleeves up and undoing the top two buttons on his crisp white shirt. "What?" Ianto asked, flushing under Jack's heated gaze.

"Nothing, you just… God, you just look edible, that's all."

Ianto recognised the gleam in Jack's eyes and took a hurried step back, bumping into a pram. He apologised to the woman who smiled and manoeuvred around them and then turned back to Jack. "Stop that!" he hissed at his lover who was still looking at him with desire written plainly across his face.

"Stop what?" Jack asked innocently. "Can't I just like looking at you?"

"Not like that," Ianto said firmly. "Not in public."

Jack laughed. "How about when we're not in public?" he teased.

Ianto hooked his finger through the tag in his jacket and slung it over his shoulder. He reached down and slipped his free hand back into Jack's, much to the other man's delight.

"Hmmm…" Ianto pondered. "I suppose it's okay," he said, looking up at Jack from under his eyelashes.

Jack groaned. "Come on," he muttered, tugging Ianto over to the closest booth. "Let's play some games before you get me in trouble."

"Me!" Ianto protested as he followed.

"You! Now here," Jack said, handing Ianto a handful of darts. "Pop some balloons."

Ianto chuckled. "Yes, sir."

They both did well at the game, each winning a prize. Jack was disappointed that this booth didn't seem to have the fluffy, fuzzy prizes that he was dying to win for Ianto. He chose a decoder ring that just fit on the first knuckle of his pinky and Ianto picked a puzzle of linked metal rings that he slipped into his pocket. More determined than ever, Jack headed to a shooting range game, knocking over wooden ducks with a pellet gun as they "swam" back and forth on their little conveyor belts. He finally hit enough to win one of the big prizes and chose a three-foot high pale pink teddy bear with a red collar that spelled out "Sweetie Pie" in rhinestones, the i's dotted with little hearts. Ianto groaned and turned a matching shade of pink when Jack proudly presented him with the bear.

"You can't be serious," he muttered.

Jack just grinned. "Come on, sweetie pie," he teased. "Let's play something else."

Ianto smiled back, unable to resist Jack's infectious enthusiasm. He tucked the bear under his arm, promising himself that he'd get rid of it at the first opportunity. Luckily, that opportunity came quite soon. At the next booth, a little girl was on the verge of tears because her rubber frog hadn't landed on a lily pad but in the water instead.

"I'm sorry, honey, but you didn't win a prize," her father was saying. He looked a bit desperate as the little girl's bottom lip began to quiver. "We'll try again, okay?" he said, reaching for his wallet.

While Jack bought them some rubber frogs to play the game, Ianto squatted down so he was at eye level with the little girl. He put the teddy bear in front of her and smiled at her involuntary gasp.

"This is my friend… er… Sweetie Pie," Ianto said. "He needs a home. Would you like to have him?"

The little girl nodded and reached out for the bear. She hesitated and looked up at her father who was smiling at Ianto, relief written all over his face. He nodded and said, "It's okay, honey."

She squealed and grabbed the bear around the neck, hugging it to her. Ianto laughed – the bear was almost as big as she was. He got to his feet and smiled down as she bubbled over with thanks and promises to take extra good care of Sweetie Pie.

"Thanks, man," her father added, sotto voce as his daughter examined the sparkly stones on the bear's red collar.

Ianto chuckled. "No problem. I should be thanking you," he murmured.

The man laughed and turned back to his daughter. They wandered off, the little girl turning around to wave at Ianto one last time. He waved back, still smiling.

"And where is your bear, Mr. Jones?" Jack growled in his ear.

Ianto laughed and leaned back against Jack. "He left me," Ianto sighed, sounding as sad as he could with a grin plastered across his face. "Found someone younger."

Jack's breath tickled Ianto's neck as he chuckled and kissed the soft skin behind Ianto's ear. "Silly ol' bear," he murmured.

Ianto shivered. "I think that was Pooh."

"What was poo?" Jack asked, confused.

"Winnie the Pooh, he was the silly ol' – never mind." Ianto turned and kissed Jack, quick and hard on the lips. "What's next?"

"Leap frog," Jack said as he handed Ianto three rubber frogs. "Three tries to get the frog on the lily pad. Come on, I need to replace your bear."

Ianto just shook his head and stepped up to the tent.

They spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the fair, playing games, sampling all kinds of unlikely food on sticks, chatting and just having fun. Every time Jack won a stuffed animal – teddy bears to snakes to a rather cute little hedgehog – Ianto would carry it around for a while and then find some disappointed kid to take it off his hands, much to Jack's amusement.

Jack spotted the line for the Ferris wheel as Ianto was slowly pulling mouthfuls of pink candy floss off a paper cone.

"You up for it?" he asked.

Ianto looked at the tall, rickety, wooden wheel for a moment and then shrugged and licked his fingers. "Sure. Don't see what the fuss is about, though. The one in London is a lot bigger."

Jack snorted. "That's not a proper Ferris wheel," he scoffed.

"Why not?"

Jack wrapped his arms around his lover from behind and rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder. "It's enclosed, for one thing. You can't feel the breeze, plus you can't rock the cars," he said with a grin.

"Jack, you're not supposed to rock the cars on any Ferris wheel," Ianto scolded.

"Spoilsport," he murmured, his lips busy with the skin behind Ianto's ear again.

"Jaaaack."

"Hmmm?" he hummed. He bit Ianto's neck gently.

"Stop that!" Ianto whispered.

"Why?"

"Because… because we're… people can see us, Jack."

Jack looked around as they moved a few steps forward in the line. "No one is looking at us, Ianto and even if they were, who cares? We're not doing anything wrong."

Ianto stayed stiff for a moment and then finally relaxed back into Jack's strong arms.

"That's better," Jack said approvingly. He stopped teasing Ianto and just held him close as he finished his candy floss. Jack gave Ianto a squeeze, promising himself he'd never take this for granted again.

Soon it was their turn to board the Ferris wheel. Jack got in first and rocked the car a little as Ianto stepped inside. He got a glare and a huff as Ianto joined him on the seat.

Jack laughed and slipped his arm around Ianto's shoulder. "I'll be good, I promise," he whispered with a kiss.

Ianto chuckled dryly. "I believe that’s a statistical impossibility, sir."

The wheel moved a bit, moving them off the boarding pad so the next people in line could have their turn. Jack sighed happily and Ianto leaned his head on Jack’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Jack said softly as he tightened his arm. “You still blue?”

Ianto shook his head. “Not at all, this has been wonderful.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So… uh… what was wrong? Before?” Jack asked.

“Don’t know,” Ianto said with a shrug. “Just… blue, I guess. You never get like that?”

Jack chuckled. “Ianto,” he scolded softly as he reached up to stroke his lover’s cheek. “I’ve been around for a hundred and sixty-eight years. Sixty-nine, if you count the year I was gone. You think I’ve never been blue?”

Shrugging, Ianto let himself relax into the Captain a little more, almost purring at the cuddle. “You never show it,” he murmured.

“Years and years of honing my suppressing skills,” Jack said dryly. He slid his hand over Ianto's, chuckling when he realised how sticky his lover's fingers were.

"Sorry," Ianto said, flushing. "Hazard of candy floss."

He tried to curl his fingers into a fist to hide them, but Jack wasn't having any of that. He brought Ianto's hand to his mouth and slowly sucked the sugar off of each finger. Ianto was trembling by the second finger and moaning by the time Jack got to his thumb. Jack glanced around as he pulled back, letting Ianto's thumb fall free with a very suggestive pop.

They were at the top of the Ferris wheel.

"Look around, Ianto," Jack murmured.

Ianto forced his eyes open and tried to focus on the scenery and not on Jack. It was difficult, but the view was worth it – green, rolling hills, the hedgerows dividing the fields, the village nestled in the trees.

"It's almost a cliché, isn't it?" Ianto mused.

That got a chuckle from Jack. "I suppose it is," he agreed.

Ianto settled back in the seat again, pleased to find Jack's arm snaking around his shoulders. He sighed and tilted his face up to his lover's. "Thank you," he whispered.

Jack looked down and took Ianto's mouth in a gentle kiss. "So you liked my distraction?" he asked as the wheel began to move again.

Ianto nodded and kissed Jack again. "I think I might need some more candy floss, though."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Ianto said.

"You'll get all sticky again," Jack warned.

Ianto gave him a wicked smile. "That's the idea, Jack."

Jack's chuckle mingled with the breeze ruffling Ianto's hair, making him smile. Snuggled together in the little car, they slowly made their way back to Earth, both of them feeling in the pink.

~ * ~ end ~ * ~