Fic: Life-Changing Moments
Title: Life-Changing Moments
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Lisa.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Fragments, Cyberwoman.
Summary: Ianto goes through a rollercoaster of emotions in the space of a few days.
Word Count: 1074
Written For: Prompt 021 - Blessing In Disguise at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
“Ianto?” Lisa said hesitantly, coming into the kitchen where her boyfriend was sitting at the breakfast bar.
“Mm?” Ianto looked up from reading the paper; he was already dressed for work, aside from putting on his jacket. Catching sight of the expression on Lisa’s face, he frowned. “Everything okay, love?”
“I… I’m not sure.” Lisa gnawed on her bottom lip. “I missed my period; with everything that’s been going on at the Tower recently I didn’t realise until now, but…” She trailed off uncertainly.
Ianto just looked at her for a long moment, scarcely daring to breathe. “When you say ‘missed’… By how long?”
“I’m nearly a month late.”
Ianto’s heart speeded up. “You think you might be…?” He couldn’t finish the sentence, scarcely daring to breathe.
“I don’t know, but it’s possible. I mean, the pill isn’t completely foolproof and… I might’ve forgotten to take it one day.”
A slow, wondering smile spread across Ianto’s face. “A baby! Our baby!”
Lisa laughed with relief. She’d been worried about what Ianto might say; they were both so young and they’d only been dating for eleven months. They didn’t even live together, just stayed over at each other’s flats a couple of times a week, mostly at weekends. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, babe; we don’t know for sure yet. I’ll have to take a pregnancy test; I’ll pick one up at the chemists after work.”
Only they both ended up working late that night because of the Ghost Shifts, and the shop was closed when they got there. “Maybe we should wait until the weekend; a few days won’t make any difference. Then if it’s positive we can celebrate in style instead of having to go to work.”
Ianto wanted to know as soon as possible, so they could start making plans, but Lisa often teased him about his Boy Scout need to always be prepared, so… “Sure, if that’s what you want to do.” It was Monday night, Saturday would be here before they knew it, and Lisa was right; what possible difference could a few days make?
Wednesday morning, Lisa was waiting outside the Tower’s main entrance when Ianto arrived for work, and she pulled him aside, where they could talk privately.
“I got my period this morning.”
“Oh.” Ianto felt like he’d been punched in the gut. It should have been a relief; he and Lisa weren’t ready for parenthood, and neither of their flats was big enough for a family, both of them had only one bedroom, but the disappointment that raced through him made him feel as though all the air had gone out of his lungs.
“It’s probably for the best,” Lisa continued. “I mean it’s a bit soon to be thinking about having kids. We might not even still be together eight months from now.”
“We would be. We will be. I love you, Lise, you’re everything to me. I can’t imagine my life without you, I don’t even want to try.”
“And I love you, but kids are a big commitment.”
“They are, I know, but I want them with you. Move in with me. My flat’s a bit bigger than yours and it would mean only having one rent to pay. That way we can save up for a bigger place, one with two bedrooms.”
Lisa’s reaction was disappointing. “We’ll talk about it at the weekend; we’re both a little emotional right now, we need some time to think. Anyway, we’d better get inside before we get in trouble for being late.”
“Fine.” Ianto knew he sounded a bit petulant, but honestly, what was there to talk about? Their anniversary was less than a month away and he’d been planning to ask Lisa to move in with him then…
They barely spoke to each other for the rest of the day and went back to their flats alone that night.
The following day, Hell came to Torchwood Tower and all Ianto could think about was Lisa. Breaking protocol, he called her personal cell phone during office hours, something that could land them both in big trouble with Director Hartman if she found out, but Ianto didn’t care; this was an emergency. He’d gone straight from the research department on five to Lisa’s office on the eighth floor, but she hadn’t been there, and he had to find her!
“Lisa! Where are you? We have to get out of here!”
“I’m on twenty-seven, Miss Cuthbert sent me up to the small animal labs with some worksheets Professor Billingsley forgot to sign.”
“I’m coming to get you.”
“No, Ianto, there’s no point. I’m coming to you; I’ll take the south stairs. Wait for me in the stairwell and we’ll get out of here together.”
“Okay, just… hurry, please, and be careful.”
“I will, of course I will, I’m already on my way. And Ianto? I’m sorry about the other day. I do want to move in with you, really I do, I just didn’t want you to feel like you have to rush into anything because of my pregnancy scare.”
“I wasn’t, I’ve been planning to ask you anyway. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Ianto…” Lisa sounded out of breath, and he could hear her footsteps clattering quickly down the concrete stairs. “If anything happens to me, if I don’t make it…”
“Don’t talk daft, Lise. You’ll be fine.” Ianto started up the stairs towards her, pushing past people heading down.
“But if I’m not… Don’t forget me?”
“Never, I swear.”
Afterwards, Ianto thought Lisa must have somehow known she wouldn’t make it to safety in time. Maybe she’d heard the clanking tread of cybermen approaching. When he eventually found her, she was strapped to one of the conversion machines on the fifteenth floor. He’d gone up to the twenty-seventh, then worked his way down, floor-by-floor, searching everywhere…
Looking at the woman he loved, so broken and helpless, the thought hit him like a brick; what if she really had been pregnant? There was no way their child would have survived this. Lisa would have miscarried and that would have been so much worse than the disappointment of a false alarm.
It would be okay, they’d have plenty of time to try for real, but first he had to get her out of here, find someone who could remove the implants and heal her. Lisa was all that mattered now.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Lisa.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Fragments, Cyberwoman.
Summary: Ianto goes through a rollercoaster of emotions in the space of a few days.
Word Count: 1074
Written For: Prompt 021 - Blessing In Disguise at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
“Ianto?” Lisa said hesitantly, coming into the kitchen where her boyfriend was sitting at the breakfast bar.
“Mm?” Ianto looked up from reading the paper; he was already dressed for work, aside from putting on his jacket. Catching sight of the expression on Lisa’s face, he frowned. “Everything okay, love?”
“I… I’m not sure.” Lisa gnawed on her bottom lip. “I missed my period; with everything that’s been going on at the Tower recently I didn’t realise until now, but…” She trailed off uncertainly.
Ianto just looked at her for a long moment, scarcely daring to breathe. “When you say ‘missed’… By how long?”
“I’m nearly a month late.”
Ianto’s heart speeded up. “You think you might be…?” He couldn’t finish the sentence, scarcely daring to breathe.
“I don’t know, but it’s possible. I mean, the pill isn’t completely foolproof and… I might’ve forgotten to take it one day.”
A slow, wondering smile spread across Ianto’s face. “A baby! Our baby!”
Lisa laughed with relief. She’d been worried about what Ianto might say; they were both so young and they’d only been dating for eleven months. They didn’t even live together, just stayed over at each other’s flats a couple of times a week, mostly at weekends. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, babe; we don’t know for sure yet. I’ll have to take a pregnancy test; I’ll pick one up at the chemists after work.”
Only they both ended up working late that night because of the Ghost Shifts, and the shop was closed when they got there. “Maybe we should wait until the weekend; a few days won’t make any difference. Then if it’s positive we can celebrate in style instead of having to go to work.”
Ianto wanted to know as soon as possible, so they could start making plans, but Lisa often teased him about his Boy Scout need to always be prepared, so… “Sure, if that’s what you want to do.” It was Monday night, Saturday would be here before they knew it, and Lisa was right; what possible difference could a few days make?
Wednesday morning, Lisa was waiting outside the Tower’s main entrance when Ianto arrived for work, and she pulled him aside, where they could talk privately.
“I got my period this morning.”
“Oh.” Ianto felt like he’d been punched in the gut. It should have been a relief; he and Lisa weren’t ready for parenthood, and neither of their flats was big enough for a family, both of them had only one bedroom, but the disappointment that raced through him made him feel as though all the air had gone out of his lungs.
“It’s probably for the best,” Lisa continued. “I mean it’s a bit soon to be thinking about having kids. We might not even still be together eight months from now.”
“We would be. We will be. I love you, Lise, you’re everything to me. I can’t imagine my life without you, I don’t even want to try.”
“And I love you, but kids are a big commitment.”
“They are, I know, but I want them with you. Move in with me. My flat’s a bit bigger than yours and it would mean only having one rent to pay. That way we can save up for a bigger place, one with two bedrooms.”
Lisa’s reaction was disappointing. “We’ll talk about it at the weekend; we’re both a little emotional right now, we need some time to think. Anyway, we’d better get inside before we get in trouble for being late.”
“Fine.” Ianto knew he sounded a bit petulant, but honestly, what was there to talk about? Their anniversary was less than a month away and he’d been planning to ask Lisa to move in with him then…
They barely spoke to each other for the rest of the day and went back to their flats alone that night.
The following day, Hell came to Torchwood Tower and all Ianto could think about was Lisa. Breaking protocol, he called her personal cell phone during office hours, something that could land them both in big trouble with Director Hartman if she found out, but Ianto didn’t care; this was an emergency. He’d gone straight from the research department on five to Lisa’s office on the eighth floor, but she hadn’t been there, and he had to find her!
“Lisa! Where are you? We have to get out of here!”
“I’m on twenty-seven, Miss Cuthbert sent me up to the small animal labs with some worksheets Professor Billingsley forgot to sign.”
“I’m coming to get you.”
“No, Ianto, there’s no point. I’m coming to you; I’ll take the south stairs. Wait for me in the stairwell and we’ll get out of here together.”
“Okay, just… hurry, please, and be careful.”
“I will, of course I will, I’m already on my way. And Ianto? I’m sorry about the other day. I do want to move in with you, really I do, I just didn’t want you to feel like you have to rush into anything because of my pregnancy scare.”
“I wasn’t, I’ve been planning to ask you anyway. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Ianto…” Lisa sounded out of breath, and he could hear her footsteps clattering quickly down the concrete stairs. “If anything happens to me, if I don’t make it…”
“Don’t talk daft, Lise. You’ll be fine.” Ianto started up the stairs towards her, pushing past people heading down.
“But if I’m not… Don’t forget me?”
“Never, I swear.”
Afterwards, Ianto thought Lisa must have somehow known she wouldn’t make it to safety in time. Maybe she’d heard the clanking tread of cybermen approaching. When he eventually found her, she was strapped to one of the conversion machines on the fifteenth floor. He’d gone up to the twenty-seventh, then worked his way down, floor-by-floor, searching everywhere…
Looking at the woman he loved, so broken and helpless, the thought hit him like a brick; what if she really had been pregnant? There was no way their child would have survived this. Lisa would have miscarried and that would have been so much worse than the disappointment of a false alarm.
It would be okay, they’d have plenty of time to try for real, but first he had to get her out of here, find someone who could remove the implants and heal her. Lisa was all that mattered now.
The End