Clear Blue Sky (37/55)
A/N: Sorry about the lack of update yesterday. I seem to be suffering from some mild form of winter virus. It's not awful but I'm pretty tired.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Jack had to laugh at the Doctor; staring in awed disbelief, he seemed to honestly believe that the work on the paper could be Ianto’s. But then, Ianto was putting on a convincing act, looking the Doctor straight in the eye and pretending he’d found the solution first. Jack loved this side of him, this playful, mischievous quality that was always unpredictable in the times it chose to emerge.
But, while Jack had no end of appreciation for Ianto’s brilliance - he made light work of skills Jack hadn’t managed to master in centuries of living - it was abundantly clear that calculations of this level weren’t among them. Aside from anything else, it wasn’t his handwriting; but then, the Doctor wasn’t to know that.
Jack and Nyssa were now in on the joke, watching the Doctor expectantly. But Jack quickly gave in and burst out laughing, Nyssa joining him. Only Ianto managed to keep a straight face, before he smiled at Jack, rolling his eyes. Jack could read his expression:
Honestly. We nearly had him, you big kid. You don’t half show me up.
Either way, the jig was up, and the Doctor laughed along with them.
*~*~*~*~*
It was just as well the charade hadn’t been continued; Ianto could never have held up Nyssa’s part of the discussion that ensued - although Ianto got the feeling Jack would’ve liked to see him try. They were working out how to convert the invisible matter above them into pure energy, and were using neither Jack nor Ianto had ever heard before.
Jack didn’t look too worried about it, and Ianto understood why; this was what the Doctor was good at. And, apparently, what Nyssa was good at, too. When the time came, there’d be something more appropriate for them to do. No good butting into a conversation to which he couldn’t hope to make a significant contribution.
Finally, they stopped discussing the theory and started to make a plan of action, and Jack tuned in once more.
“We’ll need to go back to the observatory,” Nyssa said, and by immediately rolling up the large piece of paper she’d been scribbling on made it clear that she meant now.
“Right,” the Doctor said, standing up and reaching for his coat.
“The process will be extremely complex,” Nyssa went on, now talking more to Jack and Ianto than to the Doctor. “It’s likely to take five or six hours.”
She said this apologetically, and Ianto raised his eyebrows at her tone. To him, that such a task could be done at all was staggering. It was a testament to her brilliance - and complete lack of arrogance - that she felt the need to apologise for what was, he thought, an ambitious and highly impressive timeline for a near-impossible task. In that moment, he felt a pang; she reminded him strongly of Toshiko.
“There’s another problem,” the Doctor said suddenly, turning much more grave. “What we’re doing will be visible, from … wherever they’re orbiting. Chances are it’ll spook’em, and they’ll probably attack.”
Nyssa nodded, her face anxious. “We’ll be safe, but the people out there won’t know anything about it. They always attacked at night; they won’t be expecting it in the afternoon.”
“Okay,” said Jack briskly, and Ianto could see that with this, he was coming more into his element. Taking action, delegating, distribution of resources. This was all familiar to him. “You and the Doctor can go to the observatory and do … whatever needs doing. And Ianto and I will go into the city and tell people what’s happening, and what to expect.
A thought occurred to Ianto. “Couldn’t we bring them back here? Inside the walls, where it’s safe?”
“There isn’t room,” Nyssa said, gently. “I thought of that a while back. But if people think they’ll be safe here, they’ll come in their thousands, and it would end up being just as dangerous as it is out there. Besides, I’d be very surprised if they’d make the journey, knowing what’s coming. They’ll want to get underground.”
“All of them?” Jack asked, suddenly. “What about the children? Couldn’t we at least try to bring them back here?”
“You could try,” Nyssa allowed, but she looked doubtful. “But the most important thing to tell them is to stay hidden.”
“And tell them help’s coming,” the Doctor added. “They need to know that.”
Jack nodded and looked at Ianto. They both stood, and made their way towards the door.
“And, Jack?”
Jack turned and looked back towards the Doctor, who gave him a serious, almost warning look from behind his glasses.
“Be careful.”
Jack smiled and nodded nonchalantly, but the Doctor raised both his eyebrows and his voice. “I mean it. It’ll take time for them to detect us, so nothing should happen for the first couple of hours. But after that, I don’t know. Be careful.”
*~*~*~*~*
Side by side, they walked through the large door out of the university. It was so quiet that, despite the broken, devastated city, it was difficult to imagine the brutality the Doctor seemed certain would arrive before the day was over.
“Will it work? This plan of theirs?” Ianto asked without looking at him, looking instead at the scraps of paper and dirty fabric his feet kept catching on.
“I thought you were the expert, Professor,” Jack said teasingly, nudging him with his shoulder.
“Oh, I am,” Ianto replied gravely, “you’ll be getting graded on your answer.”
Jack laughed, then sighed. “I don’t know whether it’ll work. Most of the Doctor’s plans do; or they fail spectacularly, but it somehow works out for the best. But they’re not always without a cost.”
Pausing for breath, he looked sideways at Ianto, and saw that a worried, almost anxious expression had broken through his calm, neutral façade. And he felt the need to reassure him.
“But, hey, maybe this’ll be one of his luckier plans. And Nyssa came up with the same answer, didn’t she? Two heads are better than one.”
“Three,” Ianto said, grinning once more, referencing his own contribution.
“Three,” Jack confirmed, laughing, reaching out and putting an arm around Ianto’s waist as they walked.
“So, what do we do now?” Ianto asked.
Jack stopped walking, let his arm drop, and looked around him, turning full circle. “Just look for people, I guess. They must be hiding somewhere. Underground, Nyssa said.”
Ianto glanced around, but couldn’t see any stairways or passages that led underground. “Perhaps inside a building …?” He wondered aloud.
Jack nodded, and led the way to the nearest edifice, a squat three-storey construction whose top had been completely sheared off. Ianto followed, grimacing as the door Jack pushed open sagged, then fell off its hinges. Inside, it resembled a building site, planks and concrete blocks everywhere, dusty and cold. But there was a staircase leading below the ground floor, and they made their way towards it, stepping over and around the debris. As they began to walk downstairs, Jack stopped and put his hand on Ianto’s arm, gesturing at him to listen.
Ianto stopped and listened carefully, holding his breath. Then he heard what Jack had heard.
Voices.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Jack had to laugh at the Doctor; staring in awed disbelief, he seemed to honestly believe that the work on the paper could be Ianto’s. But then, Ianto was putting on a convincing act, looking the Doctor straight in the eye and pretending he’d found the solution first. Jack loved this side of him, this playful, mischievous quality that was always unpredictable in the times it chose to emerge.
But, while Jack had no end of appreciation for Ianto’s brilliance - he made light work of skills Jack hadn’t managed to master in centuries of living - it was abundantly clear that calculations of this level weren’t among them. Aside from anything else, it wasn’t his handwriting; but then, the Doctor wasn’t to know that.
Jack and Nyssa were now in on the joke, watching the Doctor expectantly. But Jack quickly gave in and burst out laughing, Nyssa joining him. Only Ianto managed to keep a straight face, before he smiled at Jack, rolling his eyes. Jack could read his expression:
Honestly. We nearly had him, you big kid. You don’t half show me up.
Either way, the jig was up, and the Doctor laughed along with them.
*~*~*~*~*
It was just as well the charade hadn’t been continued; Ianto could never have held up Nyssa’s part of the discussion that ensued - although Ianto got the feeling Jack would’ve liked to see him try. They were working out how to convert the invisible matter above them into pure energy, and were using neither Jack nor Ianto had ever heard before.
Jack didn’t look too worried about it, and Ianto understood why; this was what the Doctor was good at. And, apparently, what Nyssa was good at, too. When the time came, there’d be something more appropriate for them to do. No good butting into a conversation to which he couldn’t hope to make a significant contribution.
Finally, they stopped discussing the theory and started to make a plan of action, and Jack tuned in once more.
“We’ll need to go back to the observatory,” Nyssa said, and by immediately rolling up the large piece of paper she’d been scribbling on made it clear that she meant now.
“Right,” the Doctor said, standing up and reaching for his coat.
“The process will be extremely complex,” Nyssa went on, now talking more to Jack and Ianto than to the Doctor. “It’s likely to take five or six hours.”
She said this apologetically, and Ianto raised his eyebrows at her tone. To him, that such a task could be done at all was staggering. It was a testament to her brilliance - and complete lack of arrogance - that she felt the need to apologise for what was, he thought, an ambitious and highly impressive timeline for a near-impossible task. In that moment, he felt a pang; she reminded him strongly of Toshiko.
“There’s another problem,” the Doctor said suddenly, turning much more grave. “What we’re doing will be visible, from … wherever they’re orbiting. Chances are it’ll spook’em, and they’ll probably attack.”
Nyssa nodded, her face anxious. “We’ll be safe, but the people out there won’t know anything about it. They always attacked at night; they won’t be expecting it in the afternoon.”
“Okay,” said Jack briskly, and Ianto could see that with this, he was coming more into his element. Taking action, delegating, distribution of resources. This was all familiar to him. “You and the Doctor can go to the observatory and do … whatever needs doing. And Ianto and I will go into the city and tell people what’s happening, and what to expect.
A thought occurred to Ianto. “Couldn’t we bring them back here? Inside the walls, where it’s safe?”
“There isn’t room,” Nyssa said, gently. “I thought of that a while back. But if people think they’ll be safe here, they’ll come in their thousands, and it would end up being just as dangerous as it is out there. Besides, I’d be very surprised if they’d make the journey, knowing what’s coming. They’ll want to get underground.”
“All of them?” Jack asked, suddenly. “What about the children? Couldn’t we at least try to bring them back here?”
“You could try,” Nyssa allowed, but she looked doubtful. “But the most important thing to tell them is to stay hidden.”
“And tell them help’s coming,” the Doctor added. “They need to know that.”
Jack nodded and looked at Ianto. They both stood, and made their way towards the door.
“And, Jack?”
Jack turned and looked back towards the Doctor, who gave him a serious, almost warning look from behind his glasses.
“Be careful.”
Jack smiled and nodded nonchalantly, but the Doctor raised both his eyebrows and his voice. “I mean it. It’ll take time for them to detect us, so nothing should happen for the first couple of hours. But after that, I don’t know. Be careful.”
*~*~*~*~*
Side by side, they walked through the large door out of the university. It was so quiet that, despite the broken, devastated city, it was difficult to imagine the brutality the Doctor seemed certain would arrive before the day was over.
“Will it work? This plan of theirs?” Ianto asked without looking at him, looking instead at the scraps of paper and dirty fabric his feet kept catching on.
“I thought you were the expert, Professor,” Jack said teasingly, nudging him with his shoulder.
“Oh, I am,” Ianto replied gravely, “you’ll be getting graded on your answer.”
Jack laughed, then sighed. “I don’t know whether it’ll work. Most of the Doctor’s plans do; or they fail spectacularly, but it somehow works out for the best. But they’re not always without a cost.”
Pausing for breath, he looked sideways at Ianto, and saw that a worried, almost anxious expression had broken through his calm, neutral façade. And he felt the need to reassure him.
“But, hey, maybe this’ll be one of his luckier plans. And Nyssa came up with the same answer, didn’t she? Two heads are better than one.”
“Three,” Ianto said, grinning once more, referencing his own contribution.
“Three,” Jack confirmed, laughing, reaching out and putting an arm around Ianto’s waist as they walked.
“So, what do we do now?” Ianto asked.
Jack stopped walking, let his arm drop, and looked around him, turning full circle. “Just look for people, I guess. They must be hiding somewhere. Underground, Nyssa said.”
Ianto glanced around, but couldn’t see any stairways or passages that led underground. “Perhaps inside a building …?” He wondered aloud.
Jack nodded, and led the way to the nearest edifice, a squat three-storey construction whose top had been completely sheared off. Ianto followed, grimacing as the door Jack pushed open sagged, then fell off its hinges. Inside, it resembled a building site, planks and concrete blocks everywhere, dusty and cold. But there was a staircase leading below the ground floor, and they made their way towards it, stepping over and around the debris. As they began to walk downstairs, Jack stopped and put his hand on Ianto’s arm, gesturing at him to listen.
Ianto stopped and listened carefully, holding his breath. Then he heard what Jack had heard.
Voices.