Fic: Winged
Title: Winged
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto Crow, Jack, Owen, Team.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Torchwood is dangerous, even for a were-crow, as Ianto discovers.
Word Count: 2053
Written For: Prompt 298: Wing at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Working for Torchwood was dangerous, Ianto reminded himself. It was never going to be anything else. Just because he was in his much smaller and more agile crow form didn’t mean he was somehow immune to the dangers inherent in his job. Sadly, he’d remembered all that a little too late for his own good.
He’d taken on the task of keeping track of an alien that had come through the Rift, following it and relaying its location back to the team because he’d been able to get to the coordinates of the recent Rift event far faster than they could. They had to follow the roads, and the one-way system, dealing with red lights and traffic jams, while he was able to take the more direct route by air.
It wasn’t the first time the team had split their resources this way since Ianto’s new ability had manifested, and it was unlikely to be the last, or so he hoped. Right now though, things weren’t looking too good for him, and he was beginning to worry that his luck might be about to run out.
Initially he’d been keeping a safe distance from the new arrival, flying from one suitable perch to another, knowing that Tosh would be monitoring him on her computers via the tracking chip in the tiny communicator he wore around his leg. Everything had been going as planned until the alien, heavily armoured and decidedly hostile, had left the almost deserted business park where the Rift had dumped it and approached a suburban area where there were people, and more importantly, an elementary school. To make matters worse, it was breaktime and Ianto could hear the children shouting and laughing as they ran around and played.
The alien could hear them too, and attracted by the unfamiliar sounds it was now making straight for the school playground. If it got that far there was no telling what it might do. All those young, innocent lives…
By now the team in the SUV were no more than five minutes away, but by the time they arrived, there was a good chance the alien would have already started killing, targeting anyone it encountered, so Ianto had felt he had no choice but to go on the offensive. Diving down at the alien, cawing loudly, he fluttered around its head, pecking at it, trying to drive it in the opposite direction, away from the children. His tactics had been working, the alien had veered from its chosen course, raising its arms to shield its vulnerable head from Ianto’s sharp beak and claws, but then it had swung one heavy arm at him, and Ianto hadn’t been able to dodge quite quickly enough…
It had only been a glancing blow, but his left wing had gone numb, and although Ianto had done his best to flutter away to safety, with only one fully operational wing he’d soon tumbled out of the sky, landing awkwardly in a flurry of black feathers. He huddled against the side of a building, one wing hanging limp, trying to catch his breath and reorient himself following his precipitous landing.
Focused on Ianto now, to the exclusion of everything else, the alien stalked towards him, raising a heavy weapon that looked more like a club than a firearm, and quite possibly served as both. Ianto hopped and scrabbled away as well as he could manage, seeking somewhere to hide, but he could see nothing close enough that might serve as a refuge.
Just as he was certain he was doomed, he heard the roar of the SUV’s engine, then the squeal of tyres and the screech of brakes. Distracted, the alien turned to face the new threat with a defiant bellow. Ianto couldn’t see what was happening, there was a low wall in the way, but he knew his team and their standard response to this kind of situation, so he wasn’t surprised when the deafening sound of gunfire filled the air. While the Torchwood Three team preferred to use lethal force only as a last resort, there were times when the only logical course of action was to neutralise the threat immediately and permanently, and this was one of those occasions. The alien crashed to the ground just a few feet from Ianto, dead from several bullets to the head.
“Ianto!” Before Ianto could do more than blink, Jack was there, dropping to his knees beside him, frantic with concern, reaching out but then drawing his hand back, worried that he might inadvertently cause more harm. “How badly are you hurt?”
Too dazed to reply in words, Ianto fluffed up his feathers and gave a forlorn croak. What if he was never able to fly again? What would he do then? Crows were never meant for a life on the ground.
Moments later Owen joined them, wielding one of his medical scanners.
“Okay, Crowboy, hold still while I check the damage.”
The order was a bit redundant since moving was the last thing Ianto wanted to do. His wing was throbbing, and he would have liked to switch to human form, so he could cradle his injured arm against him, but he didn’t fancy being naked in public. There was a chilly wind blowing and his feathers were his only insulation against it. Besides, he was worried that if he moved his wing might fall off.
He remained motionless as Owen scanned the damaged wing and then the rest of him before digging in his bag and pulling out a roll of bandage.
“Well, the good news is your wing’s not broken, just badly bruised. I’ll strap it to your side for now and patch you up properly once you’re human again.”
With Jack’s help, Owen manoeuvred the injured wing into a less uncomfortable position and used the bandage to hold it in place. There was already some swelling around the elbow joint, making it stiff and painful to bend, but an ice pack would probably help with that once he was back at the Hub.
As Jack carefully picked him up, Ianto relaxed into his lover’s arms, finally finding his voice.
“Caw! That was too close.”
“You’re telling me! What were you thinking?” Jack carried Ianto Crow to the SUV and slid into the front passenger seat, settling his lover on his lap.
“It was heading for the school, Caw! Had to stop it.”
“You didn’t have to get so close! You could’ve been killed!”
Ianto knew Jack was right, he only had himself to blame for his injury; he’d acted without thinking. He would have tucked his head under his good wing in shame, but that would have pulled on the damaged one so he just fluffed his feathers again and looked as dejected as he could.
Jack sighed. “Owen, you’re driving. Get us back to the Hub.”
Owen scowled through the open door. “What about the bloody alien?”
“Load it in the boot. The three of you can manage that, can’t you? I need to keep Ianto warm; he’s probably suffering from shock.” Jack petted Ianto gently before shifting him carefully so he could remove the communicator from the crow’s leg. “There, you don’t want to still have that on when you change back.” He slipped the tiny device into his pocket and arranged the heavy wool coat so that it draped over Ianto, surrounding him in comforting warmth and Jack’s familiar aroma.
The back of the SUV dipped as the alien was loaded inside, then the rest of the team scrambled in, and Owen started the engine.
Ianto zoned out on the journey back, trying to ignore the throbbing of his wing. It wasn’t a comfortable ride; a lot of Cardiff’s roads were in serious need of some maintenance, and he winced every time they hit a pothole, so was a relief when the SUV stopped and the engine cut off. He peeped out of Jack’s coat to see they were in the underground garage.
“Here we go,” said Jack, trying to sound cheerful. “Home at last. Let’s get you fixed up.” Swinging the passenger door open, he climbed clumsily out, both arms cradling Ianto Crow protectively. “Leave the alien for now, Owen, I’ll help move it once you’ve seen to Ianto.” With that, Jack marched out of the garage and across the Hub to the med bay.
Owen trailed after him, grumbling under his breath. He hated having to treat his teammates, but he was a medical doctor, not a vet, and now he had a were-crow for a patient.
Shrugging awkwardly out of his coat, one arm and then the other, while still holding Ianto, Jack draped the garment over the cold metal of the autopsy table then set his lover down on it. “Okay, change back and wrap yourself in my coat while I fetch your clothes.”
“Caw! Bandages!”
“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Jack reached out, but before he could even begin removing them, Owen arrived, grumbling his way down the stairs.
“I’ll deal with those,” he said, bustling up behind Jack, all business now he was in his own domain. “Get his clothes, then you can help him dress. I’m not treatin’ him until he’s decent.
Ianto Crow rolled his eyes. Yes, even as a crow he could still do that.
Jack huffed annoyance. “What is your problem? You’re a doctor, don’t tell me you’ve never treated naked people before.”
“Not by choice.”
“You ever think maybe you picked the wrong profession?”
“Only all the time.” Owen started unwinding the bandage from Ianto.
Shaking his head, Jack bounded up the steps out of the autopsy bay three at a time to fetch the clothes Ianto had left neatly folded in his office a couple of hours ago. By the time he got back, Ianto was in his human form, sitting on the table, Jack’s coat preserving what was left of his dignity. His left elbow was swollen, and half his arm was already turning various shades of blue, black, and purple, the bruising extending along the back of his arm from just above his wrist to halfway up his bicep.
Ianto couldn’t see the damage himself, not without looking in a mirror, or twisting his arm, which was out of the question, but he couldn’t miss the way Jack winced.
“That bad?”
“I’ve seen worse.” It was true, but probably not particularly comforting.
“I did say his wing was badly bruised,” Owen pointed out. “He’s lucky it’s not worse; bird bones are fragile, what with bein’ hollow.” He looked at Ianto. “Ice the elbow, ten minutes at a time, six times a day. No flying until the swelling goes down and the bruises are fading. You’ll probably need to do some physio, gentle bending and straightening to keep the elbow from stiffening up, but not for a few days, you don’t want to aggravate the injury. I’ll dig out a compression sleeve for you to wear. Take painkillers as needed, and I’m prescribing anti-inflammatories to help bring the swelling down.”
“Thanks, Owen.”
“Whatever. Next time use your birdbrain and don’t get close enough to get swatted like a bug.” Owen stomped away, throwing back over his shoulder, “And get some damn clothes on!”
Ianto sighed, drooping dejectedly.
“Ignore him.” Jack smirked at his lover. “You know he’s just jealous of your muscles and... other attributes.” All the flying involved in being a were-crow had toned Ianto’s upper body to perfection. “Makes him feel all weak and weedy. Come on, let’s get you dressed; we’ll start at the bottom and work our way up.” Setting the clothes down, Jack picked up Ianto’s socks and knelt to slip them on his feet.
“Thanks.” Ianto dredged up a wan smile. “I’m sorry, Jack. I know I was stupid, getting so close, I just didn’t think that brute would be able to move so fast.”
“Well, now you know better. Just don’t take chances like that again, okay? You’re not indestructible, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’ll be more careful in future, I promise.”
“That’s all I ask.” Standing up, Jack leaned in for a quick kiss.
As Jack helped him with the rest of his clothes, Ianto reflected that he still had a lot to learn about being a part-time crow.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto Crow, Jack, Owen, Team.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Torchwood is dangerous, even for a were-crow, as Ianto discovers.
Word Count: 2053
Written For: Prompt 298: Wing at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Working for Torchwood was dangerous, Ianto reminded himself. It was never going to be anything else. Just because he was in his much smaller and more agile crow form didn’t mean he was somehow immune to the dangers inherent in his job. Sadly, he’d remembered all that a little too late for his own good.
He’d taken on the task of keeping track of an alien that had come through the Rift, following it and relaying its location back to the team because he’d been able to get to the coordinates of the recent Rift event far faster than they could. They had to follow the roads, and the one-way system, dealing with red lights and traffic jams, while he was able to take the more direct route by air.
It wasn’t the first time the team had split their resources this way since Ianto’s new ability had manifested, and it was unlikely to be the last, or so he hoped. Right now though, things weren’t looking too good for him, and he was beginning to worry that his luck might be about to run out.
Initially he’d been keeping a safe distance from the new arrival, flying from one suitable perch to another, knowing that Tosh would be monitoring him on her computers via the tracking chip in the tiny communicator he wore around his leg. Everything had been going as planned until the alien, heavily armoured and decidedly hostile, had left the almost deserted business park where the Rift had dumped it and approached a suburban area where there were people, and more importantly, an elementary school. To make matters worse, it was breaktime and Ianto could hear the children shouting and laughing as they ran around and played.
The alien could hear them too, and attracted by the unfamiliar sounds it was now making straight for the school playground. If it got that far there was no telling what it might do. All those young, innocent lives…
By now the team in the SUV were no more than five minutes away, but by the time they arrived, there was a good chance the alien would have already started killing, targeting anyone it encountered, so Ianto had felt he had no choice but to go on the offensive. Diving down at the alien, cawing loudly, he fluttered around its head, pecking at it, trying to drive it in the opposite direction, away from the children. His tactics had been working, the alien had veered from its chosen course, raising its arms to shield its vulnerable head from Ianto’s sharp beak and claws, but then it had swung one heavy arm at him, and Ianto hadn’t been able to dodge quite quickly enough…
It had only been a glancing blow, but his left wing had gone numb, and although Ianto had done his best to flutter away to safety, with only one fully operational wing he’d soon tumbled out of the sky, landing awkwardly in a flurry of black feathers. He huddled against the side of a building, one wing hanging limp, trying to catch his breath and reorient himself following his precipitous landing.
Focused on Ianto now, to the exclusion of everything else, the alien stalked towards him, raising a heavy weapon that looked more like a club than a firearm, and quite possibly served as both. Ianto hopped and scrabbled away as well as he could manage, seeking somewhere to hide, but he could see nothing close enough that might serve as a refuge.
Just as he was certain he was doomed, he heard the roar of the SUV’s engine, then the squeal of tyres and the screech of brakes. Distracted, the alien turned to face the new threat with a defiant bellow. Ianto couldn’t see what was happening, there was a low wall in the way, but he knew his team and their standard response to this kind of situation, so he wasn’t surprised when the deafening sound of gunfire filled the air. While the Torchwood Three team preferred to use lethal force only as a last resort, there were times when the only logical course of action was to neutralise the threat immediately and permanently, and this was one of those occasions. The alien crashed to the ground just a few feet from Ianto, dead from several bullets to the head.
“Ianto!” Before Ianto could do more than blink, Jack was there, dropping to his knees beside him, frantic with concern, reaching out but then drawing his hand back, worried that he might inadvertently cause more harm. “How badly are you hurt?”
Too dazed to reply in words, Ianto fluffed up his feathers and gave a forlorn croak. What if he was never able to fly again? What would he do then? Crows were never meant for a life on the ground.
Moments later Owen joined them, wielding one of his medical scanners.
“Okay, Crowboy, hold still while I check the damage.”
The order was a bit redundant since moving was the last thing Ianto wanted to do. His wing was throbbing, and he would have liked to switch to human form, so he could cradle his injured arm against him, but he didn’t fancy being naked in public. There was a chilly wind blowing and his feathers were his only insulation against it. Besides, he was worried that if he moved his wing might fall off.
He remained motionless as Owen scanned the damaged wing and then the rest of him before digging in his bag and pulling out a roll of bandage.
“Well, the good news is your wing’s not broken, just badly bruised. I’ll strap it to your side for now and patch you up properly once you’re human again.”
With Jack’s help, Owen manoeuvred the injured wing into a less uncomfortable position and used the bandage to hold it in place. There was already some swelling around the elbow joint, making it stiff and painful to bend, but an ice pack would probably help with that once he was back at the Hub.
As Jack carefully picked him up, Ianto relaxed into his lover’s arms, finally finding his voice.
“Caw! That was too close.”
“You’re telling me! What were you thinking?” Jack carried Ianto Crow to the SUV and slid into the front passenger seat, settling his lover on his lap.
“It was heading for the school, Caw! Had to stop it.”
“You didn’t have to get so close! You could’ve been killed!”
Ianto knew Jack was right, he only had himself to blame for his injury; he’d acted without thinking. He would have tucked his head under his good wing in shame, but that would have pulled on the damaged one so he just fluffed his feathers again and looked as dejected as he could.
Jack sighed. “Owen, you’re driving. Get us back to the Hub.”
Owen scowled through the open door. “What about the bloody alien?”
“Load it in the boot. The three of you can manage that, can’t you? I need to keep Ianto warm; he’s probably suffering from shock.” Jack petted Ianto gently before shifting him carefully so he could remove the communicator from the crow’s leg. “There, you don’t want to still have that on when you change back.” He slipped the tiny device into his pocket and arranged the heavy wool coat so that it draped over Ianto, surrounding him in comforting warmth and Jack’s familiar aroma.
The back of the SUV dipped as the alien was loaded inside, then the rest of the team scrambled in, and Owen started the engine.
Ianto zoned out on the journey back, trying to ignore the throbbing of his wing. It wasn’t a comfortable ride; a lot of Cardiff’s roads were in serious need of some maintenance, and he winced every time they hit a pothole, so was a relief when the SUV stopped and the engine cut off. He peeped out of Jack’s coat to see they were in the underground garage.
“Here we go,” said Jack, trying to sound cheerful. “Home at last. Let’s get you fixed up.” Swinging the passenger door open, he climbed clumsily out, both arms cradling Ianto Crow protectively. “Leave the alien for now, Owen, I’ll help move it once you’ve seen to Ianto.” With that, Jack marched out of the garage and across the Hub to the med bay.
Owen trailed after him, grumbling under his breath. He hated having to treat his teammates, but he was a medical doctor, not a vet, and now he had a were-crow for a patient.
Shrugging awkwardly out of his coat, one arm and then the other, while still holding Ianto, Jack draped the garment over the cold metal of the autopsy table then set his lover down on it. “Okay, change back and wrap yourself in my coat while I fetch your clothes.”
“Caw! Bandages!”
“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Jack reached out, but before he could even begin removing them, Owen arrived, grumbling his way down the stairs.
“I’ll deal with those,” he said, bustling up behind Jack, all business now he was in his own domain. “Get his clothes, then you can help him dress. I’m not treatin’ him until he’s decent.
Ianto Crow rolled his eyes. Yes, even as a crow he could still do that.
Jack huffed annoyance. “What is your problem? You’re a doctor, don’t tell me you’ve never treated naked people before.”
“Not by choice.”
“You ever think maybe you picked the wrong profession?”
“Only all the time.” Owen started unwinding the bandage from Ianto.
Shaking his head, Jack bounded up the steps out of the autopsy bay three at a time to fetch the clothes Ianto had left neatly folded in his office a couple of hours ago. By the time he got back, Ianto was in his human form, sitting on the table, Jack’s coat preserving what was left of his dignity. His left elbow was swollen, and half his arm was already turning various shades of blue, black, and purple, the bruising extending along the back of his arm from just above his wrist to halfway up his bicep.
Ianto couldn’t see the damage himself, not without looking in a mirror, or twisting his arm, which was out of the question, but he couldn’t miss the way Jack winced.
“That bad?”
“I’ve seen worse.” It was true, but probably not particularly comforting.
“I did say his wing was badly bruised,” Owen pointed out. “He’s lucky it’s not worse; bird bones are fragile, what with bein’ hollow.” He looked at Ianto. “Ice the elbow, ten minutes at a time, six times a day. No flying until the swelling goes down and the bruises are fading. You’ll probably need to do some physio, gentle bending and straightening to keep the elbow from stiffening up, but not for a few days, you don’t want to aggravate the injury. I’ll dig out a compression sleeve for you to wear. Take painkillers as needed, and I’m prescribing anti-inflammatories to help bring the swelling down.”
“Thanks, Owen.”
“Whatever. Next time use your birdbrain and don’t get close enough to get swatted like a bug.” Owen stomped away, throwing back over his shoulder, “And get some damn clothes on!”
Ianto sighed, drooping dejectedly.
“Ignore him.” Jack smirked at his lover. “You know he’s just jealous of your muscles and... other attributes.” All the flying involved in being a were-crow had toned Ianto’s upper body to perfection. “Makes him feel all weak and weedy. Come on, let’s get you dressed; we’ll start at the bottom and work our way up.” Setting the clothes down, Jack picked up Ianto’s socks and knelt to slip them on his feet.
“Thanks.” Ianto dredged up a wan smile. “I’m sorry, Jack. I know I was stupid, getting so close, I just didn’t think that brute would be able to move so fast.”
“Well, now you know better. Just don’t take chances like that again, okay? You’re not indestructible, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’ll be more careful in future, I promise.”
“That’s all I ask.” Standing up, Jack leaned in for a quick kiss.
As Jack helped him with the rest of his clothes, Ianto reflected that he still had a lot to learn about being a part-time crow.
The End