I Owe You? 1/1
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I Owe You?
McRaider
Summary: He understood their anger, he understood their feelings of betrayal, what he didn’t understand was how they thought he owed them anything.
Author’s Note: This is set shortly after Meat but before Reset. People write it a lot, and some get it right, but so many don’t.
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: They’re mine all mine MWAHHAHA…no seriously they aren’t just kidding.
Ianto was annoyed, his eyes watched as Jack sat quietly in his office brooding. However, Ianto wasn’t annoyed for the obvious reasons, what was frustrating him was that Jack refused to talk to him. The man was so damn stubborn he’d rather sit alone in his office and brood about something no one understood, than speak to someone who did understand him and work through his feelings.
Rolling his eyes, Ianto couldn’t help but feel a bit like an underpaid therapist. He grabbed Jack’s favorite mug, and a moment later he was stepping into Jack’s office with a mug full of coffee and concern etched in his pale blue eyes. “You okay?” He asked quietly. He wasn’t really expecting an answer.
“Fine.” Mumbled Jack. Gwen and Rhys had long since left, leaving Jack staring at the screen. His heart aching, his head hurt and his whole body tingled as if on fire. The blood rushed through his veins, as if searching for an exit sight. But unlike the memories coursing through his brain, there were no exit wounds. Jack was fine, or at least physically he was.
“She only wants someone to understand, Jack. You have to admit, after everything we’ve all gone through, you owe her at least that.” Ianto knew the minute it was said, it was the wrong thing to ever say.
Jack’s head snapped around so hard Ianto was sure he’d broken it. The older man’s eyes were on fire, a fire inflamed by his own anger and betrayals. “Owe you? I owe you? Tell me Ianto Jones, what the hell do you think I owe you?” He glared at the young man for a hard and long moment. “Do I owe you all an apology? Why? Because last time I checked you’re the one who brought his cybernetic girlfriend into my home, I’m the man who lost someone I loved, then I’m betrayed by all of you, a giant mutiny because Jack is just so heartless. So yeah I left, I ran towards the one and only thing that ever loved me, the one person who would never call me a freak. And you know what, he did. I was wrong. So I don’t owe you a goddamn thing Ianto Jones, I don’t owe any of you anything. Excuse me.” Without another word, Jack brushed past Ianto and strode away from his office towards the invisible lift.
He was aware Tosh and Owen’s eyes were on him as well as he rose into the air, unwilling to let anyone see the other side. They hadn’t deserved that, Ianto had deserved that, hadn’t deserved to be yelled at like that for things that weren’t entirely his fault.
Jack had long since forgiven his teammates, hell his family for their actions against him. He knew they’d all been in the heat of anger and fear at the time, but for once he couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive them. Today had been too much, it brought back far too many memories for him.
He hated himself for yelling at them, but he wanted to protect them, he wanted to keep them from the pain of the world. Instead he let the pain devour them on a regular basis. They were all scared and so young. Jack had loved a lot of people, he still loved a lot of people, but this team was something different.
Jack found his favorite building and stood at the top, looking out of the city. Standing here made him feel like he could protect and watch over his beautiful city. It made him feel strong again, instead of the weak man chained up for a year.
“For what it’s worth, we are sorry.” A soft voice spoke behind him.
Jack smiled ruefully, Toshiko Sato, always the peacemaker. In a way, she was his favorite-it sounded stupid, but she was so easy to get along with and understand. She was his first recruit and he loved her in a way he wouldn’t ever love anyone else. She was always the right person to send to him, because she had the ability to see something no one else could, she could take a situation and tear it to pieces, then rebuild it correctly again and find out the truth.
“Jack how long were you gone?” She asked quietly, doing the quick work in her own mind.
“Six weeks.” He replied.
“Actually you were only gone a month, so how long were you really gone?”
Jack sighed, dropping his head and closing his eyes. “One year and six weeks. One year that was completely erased from your memory, two weeks cleaning up the mess it left, and the Doctor brought me back a month from when I left to spare time lines.”
“Does he look the same as he did when I met him?”
Jack’s head snapped around again and he looked at her, “When?”
“When I went to London to check out the space pig. I met the Doctor, I didn’t realize it was him until you got drunk a few months later and were describing him. Is it still the same man?”
Jack shook his head. “If it is I didn’t know him nearly as well as I thought.”
“I won’t ask the question we all want to ask, but I will ask this. What do you want from us, Jack? We’ve all been pressing to get apologies for you because you left. But you were right, we betrayed you-“
“I forgave you all a long time ago for that. I was just angry. Sorry.”
She chuckled as she stood up on the top of the building right beside him, she gripped his hand in hers and smiled warmly at him. “Stop apologizing, we all forget you’re human. You have pain too. If you want to talk about…anything, we’re here Jack.”
“I know.”
Nodding, Tosh remained standing beside him, for a long time. Just the two of them, silent support flowed between the two.
The End
I Owe You?
McRaider
Summary: He understood their anger, he understood their feelings of betrayal, what he didn’t understand was how they thought he owed them anything.
Author’s Note: This is set shortly after Meat but before Reset. People write it a lot, and some get it right, but so many don’t.
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: They’re mine all mine MWAHHAHA…no seriously they aren’t just kidding.
Ianto was annoyed, his eyes watched as Jack sat quietly in his office brooding. However, Ianto wasn’t annoyed for the obvious reasons, what was frustrating him was that Jack refused to talk to him. The man was so damn stubborn he’d rather sit alone in his office and brood about something no one understood, than speak to someone who did understand him and work through his feelings.
Rolling his eyes, Ianto couldn’t help but feel a bit like an underpaid therapist. He grabbed Jack’s favorite mug, and a moment later he was stepping into Jack’s office with a mug full of coffee and concern etched in his pale blue eyes. “You okay?” He asked quietly. He wasn’t really expecting an answer.
“Fine.” Mumbled Jack. Gwen and Rhys had long since left, leaving Jack staring at the screen. His heart aching, his head hurt and his whole body tingled as if on fire. The blood rushed through his veins, as if searching for an exit sight. But unlike the memories coursing through his brain, there were no exit wounds. Jack was fine, or at least physically he was.
“She only wants someone to understand, Jack. You have to admit, after everything we’ve all gone through, you owe her at least that.” Ianto knew the minute it was said, it was the wrong thing to ever say.
Jack’s head snapped around so hard Ianto was sure he’d broken it. The older man’s eyes were on fire, a fire inflamed by his own anger and betrayals. “Owe you? I owe you? Tell me Ianto Jones, what the hell do you think I owe you?” He glared at the young man for a hard and long moment. “Do I owe you all an apology? Why? Because last time I checked you’re the one who brought his cybernetic girlfriend into my home, I’m the man who lost someone I loved, then I’m betrayed by all of you, a giant mutiny because Jack is just so heartless. So yeah I left, I ran towards the one and only thing that ever loved me, the one person who would never call me a freak. And you know what, he did. I was wrong. So I don’t owe you a goddamn thing Ianto Jones, I don’t owe any of you anything. Excuse me.” Without another word, Jack brushed past Ianto and strode away from his office towards the invisible lift.
He was aware Tosh and Owen’s eyes were on him as well as he rose into the air, unwilling to let anyone see the other side. They hadn’t deserved that, Ianto had deserved that, hadn’t deserved to be yelled at like that for things that weren’t entirely his fault.
Jack had long since forgiven his teammates, hell his family for their actions against him. He knew they’d all been in the heat of anger and fear at the time, but for once he couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive them. Today had been too much, it brought back far too many memories for him.
He hated himself for yelling at them, but he wanted to protect them, he wanted to keep them from the pain of the world. Instead he let the pain devour them on a regular basis. They were all scared and so young. Jack had loved a lot of people, he still loved a lot of people, but this team was something different.
Jack found his favorite building and stood at the top, looking out of the city. Standing here made him feel like he could protect and watch over his beautiful city. It made him feel strong again, instead of the weak man chained up for a year.
“For what it’s worth, we are sorry.” A soft voice spoke behind him.
Jack smiled ruefully, Toshiko Sato, always the peacemaker. In a way, she was his favorite-it sounded stupid, but she was so easy to get along with and understand. She was his first recruit and he loved her in a way he wouldn’t ever love anyone else. She was always the right person to send to him, because she had the ability to see something no one else could, she could take a situation and tear it to pieces, then rebuild it correctly again and find out the truth.
“Jack how long were you gone?” She asked quietly, doing the quick work in her own mind.
“Six weeks.” He replied.
“Actually you were only gone a month, so how long were you really gone?”
Jack sighed, dropping his head and closing his eyes. “One year and six weeks. One year that was completely erased from your memory, two weeks cleaning up the mess it left, and the Doctor brought me back a month from when I left to spare time lines.”
“Does he look the same as he did when I met him?”
Jack’s head snapped around again and he looked at her, “When?”
“When I went to London to check out the space pig. I met the Doctor, I didn’t realize it was him until you got drunk a few months later and were describing him. Is it still the same man?”
Jack shook his head. “If it is I didn’t know him nearly as well as I thought.”
“I won’t ask the question we all want to ask, but I will ask this. What do you want from us, Jack? We’ve all been pressing to get apologies for you because you left. But you were right, we betrayed you-“
“I forgave you all a long time ago for that. I was just angry. Sorry.”
She chuckled as she stood up on the top of the building right beside him, she gripped his hand in hers and smiled warmly at him. “Stop apologizing, we all forget you’re human. You have pain too. If you want to talk about…anything, we’re here Jack.”
“I know.”
Nodding, Tosh remained standing beside him, for a long time. Just the two of them, silent support flowed between the two.
The End