Hitting the Ground Running: Chapter Thirty-Nine

[aoitsukikage]

Title: Hitting the Ground Running

Fandom: Torchwood

Rating: Adult

Pairing: Primarily Jack/Ianto, with other secondary pairings mentioned

Chapter: 39/47-ish (look!  An actual number!)

Word Count: 3370

Summary: AU. Majorly AU. Ianto Jones first encountered Torchwood as a teenager trying to leave his old life behind. However, when Torchwood Three gets rather violently restructured at the start of the millennium, he’s got a new assignment in Cardiff. The only thing he wasn’t prepared for was his new boss.



Disclaimer: …You really think it’s mine?  Much as I might wish it was, it isn’t.  I will go on the record and say that, unlike the show’s creative team, I firmly believe in happy endings.

Notes: At the end…

Chapter Thirty-Nine

In Which There Are Dinners, Explosions, and Confessions

“Jack, are you free tonight?”

“Mmm, depends. What are you planning if I am?” Jack was leaning back in his office chair, booted feet up on the desk, and Ianto unconsciously moved some papers away before he got footprints on them.

“My sister’s invited me for dinner.”

“And…you’re incapable of going to your sister’s place by yourself, are you?” Jack was teasing, Ianto knew, but he was too distracted to appreciate it.

“She’s threatening me,” Ianto finally perched on the desk. “Says that it’s time for me to move on from Lisa’s death, and that if I don’t show up with a date tonight, she isn’t resting until she finds me quote-unquote ‘a nice girl,’” he scoffed.

“And…?”

“And while you are most certainly not a nice girl, you are nonetheless my partner, and the last thing I really need right now is her trying to meddle in my life when I’m perfectly happy with it,” Ianto said firmly.

“You’d be willing to introduce me as that, then?”

“And why not? Why should I be ashamed of you?” Ianto asked curiously, and Jack sighed.

“Ianto, not everybody is as…open to homosexual relationships as this team is,” Jack spoke to him like he was a child, and Ianto promptly rolled his eyes.

“I know that. And I know I could ask Tosh to come with me, but I don’t want to hide from them. She’s my sister, Jack. Shouldn’t she be happy no matter who I choose to spend my life with?” he asked logically, and Jack nodded distractedly, staring at the ceiling.

“Theoretically, yes, but there’s no guarantee…”

“Great. So, you’re coming?”

“Rift-willing,” Jack sighed.

“And don’t sound so disappointed. I know you like Rhiannon, and you’ll love the kids,” Ianto leant down and gave him a quick kiss before standing up and adjusting his tie. “And sir? Those papers aren’t meant for you to rest your boots on. You really do need to fill them out.”

“Slave-driver,” Jack muttered, but he sat up and started working on the forms, and Ianto left the office with a smile.

000

“Why is it that every time I expect you to show up with a girl, you show up with him?” was Rhiannon’s greeting later that evening as she opened the door to reveal Ianto and Jack, who he had once again convinced to dress like he hadn’t stepped straight out of 1940.

Ianto took a deep breath, sighed, and decided to go for it. “Rhiannon, you know Jack…”

“And I’m very pleased to meet you again,” Jack kissed her hand, voice dripping with innuendo, and Rhiannon visibly blushed.

“That I do. He’s your boss.”

“Right. Well. Last time he was…that is, he’s still my boss, but…he’s also…”

Rhiannon stared intently at him before her eyes widened and she gasped. “No. Really, though? Really?”

“Really,” Ianto affirmed.

“But…for how long…”

“Soon after Lisa died,” Ianto’s voice still shook a little when he said her name, but every day the hurt was getting better. Jack obviously sensed his discomfort and sent a mental touch of reassurance. “Jack helped me to move on. He was always there for me, and I guess it just happened naturally.” He was not going to tell his sister that he and Jack had had undeniable chemistry since he was sixteen, no way.

“That long? Why didn’t you say anything?” she demanded, hands on her hips, and Ianto immediately took a step back.

“I just…since he…”

“You were afraid I’d disown you or something because he’s a man? You daft sod,” she thwapped his shoulder with the dish-cloth she was holding and he winced. “I’m just happy he makes you happy, it doesn’t matter to me if he’s a man or a woman or whatever else is out there,” she said firmly, and Ianto sighed in relief and threw his arms around her.

“Thanks, Rhi.”

“Of course. You know Johnny’s going to tease you, right?”

“With all due respect, Mrs. Davies, I think I can…handle him,” Jack smirked, and Rhiannon positively giggled.

“Oh, you’ll be doing none of that, Captain. You probably already have plenty of experience handling my brother, so keep those hands off of my husband, you hear?”

“Rhiannon!”

“What? I’m just saying…”

“I know I’ve said it before, but I like this woman,” Jack slung his arm casually over Ianto’s shoulders.

“Well, no sense in us standing out here freezing. Come in,” Rhiannon stepped back and let them enter.

“Where’re David and Mica?”

“Oh, Johnny bought them some new gaming system. I can’t tear them away…David! Mica! Come say hello to your uncle and his boyfriend!”

“Rhi!” Ianto hissed.

“Come off it, Ianto,” Rhiannon chided. “One of Mica’s best friends has two mams. It’s fine.”

“Uncle Ianto! Uncle Ianto!” Mica came running over. “Didja bring me anything?”

“Mica, be nice!” Rhiannon scolded, and Ianto chuckled.

“How about I take you out for ice cream sometime soon?”

Mica nodded shyly and turned to Jack. “You’re Uncle Ianto’s boyfriend, right?”

“That I am, little lady,” Jack flashed one of his most charming smiles at her and she held out her arms, inviting him to pick her up, which he gladly did. “She’s going to grow up to be a real heartbreaker, this one,” he told Ianto.

Can you think with your brain instead of your cock, just this once?

Ooh, we’re touchy, are we? You never use dirty language outside of the bedroom, Jack winked at him and went back to looking at Mica, and from the look on his face he was having a Very Serious Conversation with the young girl.

“Oh, he’s great with kids, he is,” Rhiannon patted Ianto’s arm. “Ever considered adoption? Finding a surrogate?”

“Would be hard with our jobs,” Ianto said without thinking.

“Ai, right, civil servants. Saving the world now, are you?”

“You’d be surprised,” Jack said blandly, putting Mica down as the girl immediately ran back to the game console, arguing with her brother over the controller.

“David!” Rhiannon called again, sounding marginally more irritated this time. “Come say hello!”

“Hi, Uncle Ianto,” David said in a rush, and Rhiannon sighed.

“I wish Johnny had never gotten them that. Now they’ll never go outside,” she headed for the kitchen. “Dinner’ll be ready soon, but in the meantime, can I get you boys anything to drink? Beer, Ianto?”

“Yes, thanks,” Ianto nodded.

“Jack?”

“Just water would be great,” Jack went to sit at the table, beckoning Ianto to join him. They heard the door open a few minutes later and Rhiannon went out to intercept Johnny before he could come into the kitchen. Ianto hoped it was to tell him to go easy on him and Jack, but knowing Johnny, he didn’t think he could expect too much…

“Aye aye, gay boy, she says you’re takin’ it up the arse…”

…and, unfortunately, he was right.

000

“So, I take it I can expect to be invited to more family dinners with you?” Jack asked when they’d gotten back to Ianto’s flat.

“You were remarkably well-behaved. I’m thoroughly impressed,” the young man deadpanned, and Jack swept him into his arms and into a heated kiss.

“Want to show me how impressed you are?” Jack was already fondling him through his trousers, and Ianto hurriedly closed and locked the door behind him.

“You know cheesy lines don’t work on me, Jack.”

“This is telling me otherwise,” Jack replied, squeezing gently to prove his point.

“Bed,” Ianto ordered, and Jack stole another kiss before hooking a finger around the knot in Ianto’s tie and leading him into the bedroom.

000

Their hopes of sleeping in the next morning were dashed when the Rift monitor woke them up, and only about an hour later they, along with Tosh and Owen, were pulling up to a lot full of abandoned buildings while Ianto tried vainly to contact Gwen, eventually settling on leaving her a message.

“Gwen, we’ve texted you the location; we’re querying four or five signs of life, definitely non-human. Get here as soon as you can,” he snapped his mobile shut and slipped it into his pocket.

“So, sure they’re not Weevils?” Owen asked generally, and Tosh glanced up from her scanner before answering.

“Don’t think so, different energy patterns. Can’t make sense of it. Not a species we’ve encountered before.”

“Well, let’s hope they’re friendly, then,” Owen muttered, although his tone implied that, all things considered, he didn’t have a lot of hope that they would be.

“Owen, Ianto, take the other side of the building. Check the uppers floors,” Jack instructed. “And be careful.”

“Will do, Jack. I won’t let anything happen to your precious tea-boy,” Owen clapped Ianto’s shoulder and the two of them headed off. They entered the smaller of the two buildings, and Ianto glanced around. The large space was completely empty, no signs of what the building once was, although he supposed that, being abandoned this long, looters had probably already taken everything of interest from the site.

“Y’know, these creatures are very quiet,” Jack’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Maybe they’re sleeping,” Owen suggested, once again sounding like he didn’t believe that for a second.

“Or hatching,” Ianto added.

“Bloody optimist, you are,” Owen glanced around, spotting a silver box on the floor. “Ianto, check that way.”

“Yup, I see it,” Ianto moved toward an identical box, keeping his gun trained on it.

“Or maybe they aren’t creatures at all,” Tosh sounded worried, and as soon as Ianto saw the little glowing red numbers counting down to zero, he knew why.

“Just explosive devices,” Jack sounded calm, but Ianto knew he was panicking. Ianto, can you get…

No time, sir.

But…

“Snap,” Owen announced, and Ianto closed his eyes as the timer reached ’01,’ hearing the building explode around him.

000

He could hear Jack screaming, out loud and in his head, and he forced his eyes open and scrabbled at the rubble, groaning as a jolt of pain shot up his arm. Great. He tried to shout for Jack but his throat was too dry, and he ended up just sort of squeaking instead.

He drifted for a while until he saw a pair of familiar boots stop in front of him. “Ianto!”

Jack.

“Okay, Gwen, we’ve gotta get him out of there. Ready? On three. One, two, three…” Jack, thankfully, grabbed his good arm and hauled him out, Gwen helping to support him once he was upright. “You okay?”

Ianto coughed, clearing some dust from his throat, before rasping out, “My shoulder. I think it’s dislocated.”

Jack cautiously felt his arm, the vaguely disgusted look flitting over his face when he skimmed over Ianto’s shoulder telling the younger man that his assessment was right.

“Can you take this?” Jack asked, his normal business-filled tone softened slightly, and Ianto knew that, all things considered, he really didn’t have a choice.

“Yeah.”

“Take a deep breath,” Jack instructed, grabbing his arm.

Ianto closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, free hand reaching for Gwen’s, and she grabbed it and gave it an encouraging squeeze as Jack popped his shoulder back in, although he couldn’t stop the hoarse scream that ripped from his throat at the sharp jab of pain the action caused.

He opened his eyes, panting, to find Gwen looking at him wide-eyed, and he gave her a tiny smile of apology and squeezed her hand in thanks. “Where are the others?”

“We need your help to get Toshiko out,” Jack was stroking his back almost convulsively, and Ianto leant toward the touch.

“Owen?” he asked, fearing the worst, and Jack shook his head.

“No sign yet,” Gwen answered.

“If anything happens, he can’t repair himself,” Ianto reminded them.

“Of course, he can’t heal, can he?” Gwen’s eyes went even wider, if that were possible.

“Okay, we’ll help Rhys with Toshiko. Let us know when you find Owen. And be careful, okay?”

Gwen nodded and darted off through the rubble as Jack moved his hand to rest over Ianto’s heart. “Okay? All right?”

“Been better,” Ianto admitted with a flash of a smile. “God, that hurts…”

He squeaked as Jack hugged him tightly, pulling back enough to all but ravish his mouth with a passionate kiss, and Ianto grabbed at him with his good hand, running it up his coat to tangle in his hair and he changed the angle a bit.

Thought I’d lost you.

Not yet, sir.

You’re lucky. You’re all so…

“Jack,” Ianto pulled back. “Did you die?”

“Yeah.”

“…God.”

“Yeah,” Jack repeated, kissing him again. “I thought…I thought you all, but…”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay, Tosh is alive, and Owen…he’s a stubborn prat, you know he’ll make it,” Ianto tried to reassure his lover.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’ll be fine,” he kissed Ianto once more, as if he couldn’t stop. “I love you.”

“I…now, sir? Really?” Ianto let out a short, clipped laugh.

“All I could think about when I woke up was if…if you were dead, and I’d never said it, and I just…”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Ianto reached to cup his cheek. “Thank you. For saying it.”

“Of course,” Jack finally moved away, but not too far. “Now, we have to help Tosh. She thinks her arm is broken, so if Owen’s not around we’ll have to at least splint it and find a sling for her.”

“Right. Let’s go.”

000

“Rhys!”

“Took you blokes long enough!” Rhys was hefting stones, making a clear spot so they could pull Tosh out. “All right, Ianto?”

“Fine,” Ianto nodded, dropping to his haunches. “Tosh?”

“I’m glad to see you,” Tosh looked terrified, and Ianto couldn’t blame her.

“How’s it coming, Rhys?” Jack asked, all business once again.

“Just that one,” Rhys pointed to a massive rock hovering over Toshiko’s back, and Jack nodded. “But I can’t move it myself, so…”

“I’ll help you,” Jack promised. “Ianto, get ready to pull her out.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Right,” Jack and Rhys moved to the rock and lifted, and Ianto grasped Tosh’s good hand and pulled, happy beyond words that she got out smoothly and he gathered her into a hug as Jack and Rhys let the stone drop.

“How’s the arm?”

“Still think it’s broken, but I’m no doctor,” she was holding it at an awkward angle, and Jack gently took it and felt along it.

“Yeah, that’s a break. Feels clean, at least, but I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do…the kit’s still in the SUV,” he looked regretful, but Tosh shook her head.

“It’s okay,” she dug in her jacket and pulled out a scarf and a syringe. “Some of Owen’s extra-strength non-drowsy painkillers, and we can use this as a sling for the time being.”

“Great,” Jack expertly set up the sling as she gave herself the injection, and she sighed in relief a few moments later.

“I love this stuff,” she smiled.

“Right. Gwen’s looking for Owen, so we’d better get out of here before the whole place comes down,” Jack pulled Ianto to his feet. “Rhys, can you help Toshiko?”

“Of course. Come on then,” Rhys braced her and the four of them made their way out of the building, glancing up only to see Gwen and Owen heading from the other way.

“You okay?” Jack called.

“Yeah. What about you lot? Tosh, what happened?” Owen jogged over.

“Broken arm, bruised ribs, about an inch away from being crushed by a girder,” Tosh rattled off, and Owen sighed in relief before grabbing her and kissing her, Tosh’s eyes opening in surprise before she returned it.

“You were lucky,” he whispered, checking the sling before letting her go.

“We all were,” Ianto put in, and Owen put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

“Jack, who’s done this?” Gwen asked.

“And where’s the SUV?” Ianto looked around, groaning when he realized the big black vehicle was missing again. Jack’s wrist-strap beeped and he pressed a couple of buttons before a hologram appeared.

A hologram of somebody very familiar.

“Oh, no,” Ianto groaned.

“Jack, what does he want?” Gwen demanded.

“Oh, Déjà vu! Or did I say that already? Hey, team! ‘Course, there might be a few less of you by now. Don’t know if you liked my little gift. ‘Course, you can’t die. And with all that life, all that time, you can’t spare any for me. Oh! Say ‘hi’ to the family…”

Another hologram appeared, this time of a young man, and Jack’s mouth nearly dropped open in shock. “No, it can’t be!”

“Been a while since you’ve seen your brother, eh, Jack?”

“Gray?” Jack asked in disbelief, and Ianto looked closely at the young man, seeing a bit of resemblance now that he knew who it was.

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. Everything you love, everything you treasure, will die. I’m going to tear your world apart, Captain Jack Harkness, piece by piece. Starting now. Maybe now you’ll wanna spend some time with me,” John finished before both holograms winked out.

“Jack? What is he talking about? What is he going to do?” Gwen asked anxiously.

“I don’t…Ianto, can we track the SUV?”

“Already done, sir. Looks like he’s taken it back to Torchwood,” Ianto replied, glancing at Tosh’s monitor. “And…”

“We’re getting readings of Rift activity all over the city. Major flares at St. Helen’s Hospital, the Police Headquarters, and the Central IT Server Station,” she announced, and Ianto jumped as his phone rang loudly.

Grateful that it somehow was still intact, he flipped it open. “Andy, we’ve got major Rift activity down at the station. What’s going on?”

“Somebody’s gotta get down here. It was some sort of alien…thing, never seen it before. Murdered the four most senior officers; everyone’s running around like crazy,” Andy relayed, sounding about a minute away from panicking himself.

“Calm down. We’ll get somebody over there as soon as we can. Who’s in charge?”

“At the moment? Nobody,” Andy replied.

“Can you do it?”

“Can I…Ianto, I’m just a constable! I’m not…”

“Andy, take it from me: in a crisis, ranks don’t matter. If you’re calm and you give them good instructions, they’ll follow you. Get everybody to calm down and keep everybody there. We have a good idea what’s going on and if the aliens have left, they won’t come back. We’ll send Gwen over,” he promised.

“Okay. Okay, I’ll do it,” Andy audibly swallowed over the phone and Ianto smiled.
“Keep your head up. We’ll get through this,” he promised before hanging up. “That was Andy. We’ve got four senior officers killed by some unidentified alien species,” he announced grimly.

“They’re trying to shut down the city!” Tosh exclaimed. “Take out the police, take out the hospital, take out the central server? We’d be helpless!”

“We’re not gonna let that happen,” Jack growled. “Okay, here’s the plan: Rhys, drop Owen off at the hospital. Tosh; Ianto, cover the central server building. Gwen, the police station. Then take me to Torchwood.”

“You think we’re all gonna fit in here?” Rhys exclaimed, gesturing to the car.

“Ianto can sit on my lap. Now move,” Jack ordered, and Rhys obediently unlocked the car, letting Toshiko take the front passenger’s seat due to her arm.

“Jack, these are traps!” she looked back as she got in.

“So be careful. You know what John’s capable of,” the older man warned.

“What about you?” Gwen crawled into the middle of the backseat.

“I’m gonna go reason with him,” Jack responded, getting in and pulling Ianto on top of him.

Jack, really…this is a tad embarrassing!

Sorry, but nobody can sit on Owen because he’d break, so you’re stuck with me.

Figures.

“He tried to kill us!” Owen protested, barely getting his door shut before Rhys took off.

“I was the only one who could ever control him. That’s why the Time Agency partnered us,” Jack explained patiently.

“Did you just say Time Agency?! Don’t tell me that’s based in Cardiff, too!” Rhys called from the front seat, but Jack predictably ignored him.

“But why’s he doing this, Jack? What’s he want?” Owen looked worried, and Jack tightened his arm around Ianto before replying.

“That’s what I’m going to go ask.”

Notes:

1. Okay, so I didn’t see this the first couple of times I watched ‘Fragments,’ but the Owen-Ianto shoulder-grab has to be one of my favorite ‘They’re totally friends in canon!’ moments, because Owen looks so concerned and he rushes right to Ianto and just grabs onto him xP

2. ‘Fragments’ also has one of the entries I love in the BBC Captain’s Blog, because Jack’s so much more protective of Ianto in it than he often seems in canon: Staff: Everyone came out of the explosion pretty beaten up, but no major damage. We got lucky. And so did John. Because if he’d killed anyone - if he had hurt Ianto - I would have slowly ripped him limb from limb.

Other Staff issues: Although I have to say, Ianto does look good all messed up and dirty.

3. Once again, thank you all for the comments and reviews and everything. You’re all awesome ^_^ And, as some of you have mentioned, ‘Exit Wounds’ is next. Any ideas on what’s going to happen?

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