Holiday!Bang 2008 entry for prompt 127 Part 3
Title: Dr. Harkness and Nurse Jones: Kenya (Part 3)
Author: blue_fjords
It took them two hours to reach Lodwar. After a whispered conference between Gwen and Sarah Jane, it was decided that Gwen would continue along in the helicopter to Nairobi with Rhys, Ianto, Jack and Owen’s body. Mickey would stay and help get Torched Wood’s patients settled into the Red Cross clinic in Lodwar. Gwen would come back for any patients that needed more extensive care.
The hospital in Nairobi had a helipad, and several hours later Gwen eased the copter down before hopping out to help Ianto and Rhys with Jack. Ianto noticed a couple of soldiers in uniform hovering by the roof’s entrance to the hospital. Gwen hung back to get information on the attack of Torched Wood Medical Facility. Rhys ran back to the copter to kill the engine and wrestle Owen out and down to the morgue. Ianto held Jack’s hand tight in his own as he was wheeled into an operating room.
“Nurse Jones? I’m sorry, but could you stand aside?” the attending doctor asked, not unkindly.
“May I…may I stay? I won’t get in the way; I’ll stand against the wall.”
The doctor hesitated, but one look at Ianto must have convinced him it was not worth arguing over. He sighed noisily. “Of course. But you’ve been through quite a traumatic experience. You should probably get checked -“
“I’m fine. Really. I just - I need to stay with him. Please?”
It took another two hours for Jack to get patched up. Ianto’s eyelids were drooping heavily as he followed Jack’s gurney as it was wheeled into a private room with two beds down the hall from surgery. A tiny Japanese woman and a tall redheaded woman were conferring quietly by the window. They looked up at Ianto and Jack’s entrance.
The Japanese woman gave him a half-smile and walked forward to shake his hand. “Ianto Jones? I’m Toshiko Sato, the Director of Programs for the Tyler Foundation in Africa. This is my assistant, Donna Noble -“
“How’s Jack? Is he going to be alright? What happened? Do you need a whiskey?”
Ianto felt a bit overwhelmed at the torrent of questions. Dr. Sato shot her a reproving glance. Donna had the grace to blush.
“Right then. Whiskey first. You sit down, here,” she practically manhandled Ianto into the sole chair in the room. “Now you take a deep breath, a drink and then you can answer our questions!” She presented a tumbler of icy whiskey to Ianto with a dramatic flourish. Ianto wondered briefly where she got the ice, and downed the whiskey in one gulp. Holding the icy glass up to his forehead, he began to speak.
“Jack should make a full recovery. Some of his organs got a bit…bruised…but there was a minimum of internal bleeding, and he’s been all stitched up. He needs sleep and time.”
Ianto wasn’t sure how technical to make his assessment of Jack’s health, and decided to leave it at that when Dr. Sato and Donna exchanged relieved looks.
“Another whiskey?” Donna asked brightly, taking his glass and turning towards the low cabinets on the other side of Jack’s bed.
“Your sister and Father Williams have taken a small plane back to Lodwar to pick up Dr. Jones, Nurse Smith, Mr. Smith, Mgumbe and Torched Wood’s patients. They should be here in another couple of hours,” Dr. Sato informed him.
“Thank you. Both of you,” he added, glancing up as Donna returned with a new whiskey. He took a sip. It was good whiskey; he hadn’t really tasted the first one.
“As to Torched Wood…Mickey will be able to give you a better idea of what happened. I still don’t -“ he took another drink.
“I know this must be hard for you. Please take your time,” Dr. Sato said gently.
“We were attacked by some warlord. I’m hazy as to the why.” One more sip. “There was a lot of fighting. I don’t know if - I couldn’t tell if any of his party were still alive. Jack did for the warlord.” He downed the rest of his drink. “We would all have died if Gwen hadn’t shown up.”
Dr. Sato and Donna exchanged glances again. “I think that’s enough for now, don’t you, Donna?”
Donna nodded. “I need to pester the hospital admin about getting spaces for our incoming guests. Take care, Ianto,” she gave Ianto a hearty handshake before turning to Jack and kissing his forehead. “You, too, Sleeping Beauty.”
Dr. Sato watched her leave with a slight smile on her face. “I need to make a few calls myself, Ianto. Donna brought some clean clothes if you’d like a wash. Why don’t you lay down for a bit? We’ll come back and wake you when the others get here.”
“Thank you, Dr. Sato.”
She blushed. “Oh, Toshiko is fine, or Tosh, really, that’s what everyone calls me.”
“Thank you, Tosh.”
“You’re welcome.” Tosh smiled again and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Ianto rose unsteadily to his feet. The whiskey was going straight to his head and reminding him that it had been hours since he had eaten anything. He stumbled into the tiny washroom and did a halfhearted attempt at getting clean. It was a far cry from his last shower. He could remember vivid details of Jack’s hands on him, Jack’s lips caressing his skin, the heat from the shower nothing in comparison to the heat between them. Ianto sighed and pulled on the spare clothes Donna had provided. He staggered out into the room. It didn’t even occur to him to take advantage of the second, empty bed. Carefully adjusting wires, he curled up next to Jack, pulling the thin blanket over them both. His fingers found Jack’s pulse point and took comfort from the steady throbbing. Nestling his head on Jack’s shoulder, he finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Ianto slept for ten hours straight, not even waking when the nurse came in at regular intervals to check on Jack. When he finally came back to consciousness, he could hear Jack talking softly and feel Jack’s arms around him, one hand on his neck and the other on his hip. Ianto became fully awake when he heard what Jack was saying.
“Those men were dead before we got there. If we wanted to hide the fact that we found them, we never would have told their families where they were.”
Ianto sat up and looked around the room. Jack’s arms tightened their grip briefly before going slack. Gwen was there with Mgumbe, who looked particularly distraught. Dr. Sato sat in the only chair, with Donna hovering at her elbow.
Gwen crossed the space that separated them and threw her arms around his neck. Ianto clung to her, breathing in the smell of her hair and rubbing her back. When they pulled away, Gwen’s eyes were wet but her smile was huge. Ianto kissed her forehead and put one arm around her shoulders. She snuggled her head down on his shoulder and leaned back against the bed. Ianto looked from Jack to Mgumbe.
“What were you talking about? Those bodies we found my first day at Torched Wood?”
It was Dr. Sato who answered. “Apparently, those men were members of Hart’s squad. Hart came down out of the Sudan a few years ago and took them from their village, but he trusted them enough to let them travel on their own. They had told Hart that they needed medical attention and were going to Torched Wood, as it was neutral. One of the men had realistically faked an illness for two weeks to convince him that they had a legitimate health concern. However, their actual plan was to desert. We think they may have stolen something that belonged to Hart when they left, though it hasn’t been recovered. They were making their way to Momba on the other side of Torched Wood; they had family there. They ran into a roving band from a rival Sudanese warlord. They call themselves the Ndugu Weupe, the Gray Brothers, because they move with the stealth of ghosts. They are the ones who executed the two young men and left them for the buzzards.”
“So . . . Torched Wood was attacked in retaliation for something the Gray Brothers had done?” Ianto asked incredulously.
Donna snorted. “Forget it, Ianto. That’s the Sudan.”
Mgumbe grimaced and nodded. “That is basically it, yes. We wouldn’t even know this much if we hadn’t run into a Gray Brother in Lodwar. He was there looking for medical attention himself. We were at the airfield waiting for Ms. Cooper’s return. He said he would trade us information for someone to look at his knee. He was quite gleeful about his story.” Mgumbe paused, and met Ianto’s eyes. “Nurse Smith is of the opinion that he will never be able to walk with that knee again.”
Ianto nodded slowly. “Thank you, Mgumbe. I guess knowing is better than not knowing.”
Jack’s nurse bustled back into the room, and frowned at the number of visitors. Jack squeezed Ianto’s hand and asked if he would go check on Martha and the others for him as everyone gathered up their things and filed out of the room. Ianto nodded again, and leaned down to kiss him on the lips. It was not a particularly chaste kiss, and Jack’s grin was back to megawatt when Ianto pulled away and followed Gwen out into the hall.
He offered Gwen his arm, and she smiled as she threaded her arm through it. “Ianto Jones. There is something you want to be telling me.”
Ianto made a noncommittal sound, but couldn’t prevent his own smile from growing larger and larger.
Gwen actually giggled. “I’ll get all the details from you, eventually, you know.”
“And until that time, perhaps you can tell me what room houses the lovely Dr. Jones?”
Over the next few days, the survivors of Torched Wood recuperated, in body at least. Their current patients were fully absorbed into the Nairobi hospital’s system, and Ianto was relieved to note that their impromptu trip in the back of the truck did not cause them more harm. Martha got stronger and checked out of the hospital, but was still there all the time anyway to see Jack. Jack was slower to get his strength back. He had lost a lot of blood. Sometimes Ianto thought it was a miracle he had survived at all, but he was careful not to voice this thought to Jack. Jack was incredibly impatient to get back to normal. It made him a restless and cranky patient. Ianto kept a rein on his own temper whenever Jack had these black moods, and was able to tell when Jack needed him to be there and when Jack needed his space. It was during these latter times that Ianto learned more of the battle at Torched Wood.
Gwen was eager to talk, eager to explain her actions; Rhys was self-deprecating and a little nervous; Mgumbe chose his words very carefully; Martha wanted to talk about anything but the fight; Sarah Jane heaped praise upon his head for getting Jack out alive; and Mickey wanted to go over each and every aspect of the attack. Then there were the debriefings with Dr. Sato and Donna. The rest of John Hart’s band had returned to Torched Wood and completely burnt it to the ground in further retaliation. Much had to be decided. It was exhausting, and Ianto was grateful to escape back to Jack’s room, bad mood or no. Jack himself avoided the subject, and Ianto was content to let him deflect for awhile. He knew they would have to talk about it eventually. Ianto spent his nights crammed into Jack’s hospital bed with him. At first, the night nurse had tried to kick Ianto out, but Ianto’s own credentials as a nurse helped to persuade her that she could leave Jack in his care at night. She never made mention of the fact that they shared the same bed.
The days passed slowly, and Ianto was surprised one morning to wake up and realize that it was already Christmas Eve. Gwen had been humming Christmas tunes for the past few days, and Rhys had stopped by and informed them that there was to be a service that night in the hospital chapel. When they arrived that evening, Ianto was actually a little surprised that it was so well-attended; in addition to about twenty patients and various family members, about a dozen doctors and nurses had crowded into the tiny chapel. Gwen had saved them seats in the front. Ianto suspected that she was seeing Rhys in a slightly different light after the attack on Torched Wood. His sister was a bit wild, but perhaps Rhys was just the person she needed to keep her grounded.
Rhys welcomed everyone to the chapel, and launched straight into the Christmas story. The combination of so many warm bodies in such a small space, the lowered lights, and the soothing quality to Rhys’ voice was starting to have an effect on Ianto, and his eyelids drooped. Rhys cleared his throat, and Ianto started guiltily. “One of our patients has volunteered to sing a special song for us to help celebrate Christmas Eve. Dr. Harkness? Are you ready?”
Ianto looked at Jack in surprise. He didn’t know Jack was planning to sing. “Don’t blame Gwen,” Jack whispered as he gingerly stood up and shuffled around to face the chapel.
“Good evening, everyone, and Merry Christmas.”
The congregation dutifully echoed his greeting.
“I don’t have any accompaniment for this song; in fact I just learned it this morning. It was apparently the favorite Christmas song in the Cooper-Jones household when Gwen and Ianto were young, and Gwen mentioned in passing how much she missed hearing it around the holidays. So, ‘Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913’ for you all.”
Ianto’s breath caught in his throat. ‘I’m in a hospital chapel in Africa, and my . . . boyfriend . . . is serenading me with a John Denver song. This is insanely surreal,’ he thought. Gwen reached over to him and gripped his hand. They used to watch John Denver’s Christmas special with the Muppets every year, and always re-wound to this song.
The song was about a soldier in World War I, on Christmas Eve during a cease fire. As Jack’s voice broke over him (and Jack had a lovely singing voice, strong and clear), Ianto thought how oddly appropriate the song was for him. Ianto imagined Jack as a soldier, an easy image to conjure, stopping on a hill and being overwhelmed by the beauty of the stars. The juxtaposition worked; the physicality of soldiers in battle with the prospect of death always so close, and the ephemeral radiance of a starry sky.
A frosty Christmas Eve, when the stars where shining
I traveled for the home, where westward falls the hill
And for many, many a village, in the darkness of the valley
distant music reached me, peels of bells were ringing.
Then spread my thoughts to olden times, to that first of Christmases
when shepherds who were watching, heard music in the fields
and they sat there and they marveled, and they knew they could not tell
whether it were angels, or the bright stars a-singing
But to me heard a far, it was starry music
the singing of the angels, the comfort of our Lord
words of old that come a traveling, by the riches of the times
and I softly listened, as I stood upon the hill
and I softly listened, as I stood upon the hill
There was a deep silence when Jack finished the song. He shuffled awkwardly back to his seat, and only then did people start to clap, long and loud, for him. Gwen hugged him and whispered, “Thank you.” Ianto didn’t know what to say, so he just took Jack’s hand in his and squeezed. He had no trouble staying awake for the rest of the service. After the Benediction, they said good night to Gwen and Rhys; Martha, Sarah Jane, Mgumbe and Mickey; Dr. Sato and Donna. They would all meet late the next morning for a Christmas brunch at the hospital.
Ianto and Jack made their slow way back to Jack’s room. Ianto helped him into bed, took off his own clothes and then crawled under the covers with him. Jack shifted so that his head was above Ianto’s heart, his fingers drawing lazy patterns on Ianto’s lightly furred chest.
“Jack?”
“Hmmm?”
Ianto took a deep breath. “What’s going to happen when you leave the hospital?”
“I get to ride in a wheelchair out to the curb.”
Ianto sighed. “I’m serious.”
Jack did not pause in his drawing. “Do we have to talk about this tonight? It is Christmas Eve.”
Ianto capitulated, and cursed himself for doing so. “No, you’re right. That’s a worry for another day. You should sleep.” He kissed Jack’s forehead, and tightened his arms around him.
Jack did pause then, and lifted his head to gaze at Ianto. “Ianto, whatever is going to happen, we’ll have had this time together. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yup, seize the day, and all that.” Ianto fixed a smile on his face and wished Jack would look away.
He didn’t. “I meant what I said. In the helicopter. I love you.”
Ianto’s smile became more natural. “Good.”
“Good? All I get back is a good?”
“Ummm . . . good night?” Ianto teased him.
Jack growled, and seized his face, pulling him in for a possessive kiss. The kiss continued, deepened, and Ianto moved his body carefully over Jack’s, afraid of hurting him. They finally broke for air.
“Ianto, help me out of these stupid pajamas.”
“Are you sure? You should really be cleared by your doctor -“
“I am a doctor. And I say I need sex, now, or I will burst.”
Ianto pretended to consider. “Well, that would be messy. I think I should help you.”
Ianto unbuttoned Jack’s pajama top and gently slid his arms out before dropping the shirt over the side of the bed. He paused at the sight of Jack’s bandage, his fingers smoothing down the corners.
“Jack, you’re absolutely -“
“Oh my God, Ianto, do you have any idea what you do to me?! I am painfully horny right now! Look, if it makes you feel any better, I will fuck you lying down, no harm to my precious bandages. Just please, take off my pants!”
Ianto gave him a reproachful look, which was slightly ruined by his own excitement at what Jack was suggesting. “Try to keep your voice down; this is a hospital,” he whispered, pulling at Jack’s pajama bottoms and boxers and dropping them over the side of the bed with the pajama top. Ianto looked down. Well. Jack certainly looked ready to have sex. Ianto hadn’t planned ahead, so he slid down Jack’s body and took him in his mouth. Jack groaned loudly, and stuffed his fist in his mouth when Ianto paused to raise a disapproving eyebrow at him and look meaningfully at the door. Jack’s other hand stroked Ianto’s hair encouragingly. Ianto chuckled softly. Jack bucked at the sensation, and whispered Ianto’s name. Ianto moved back up his body and replaced Jack’s fist with two of his own fingers. Jack looked strangely serious as he sucked on Ianto’s fingers, and Ianto could feel something in his heart open up. He tamped down on the feeling. Jack may have said he loved Ianto, but that was not a promise of forever. Ianto didn’t know if he even wanted forever, but the expression on Jack’s face at this moment made it harder for him to figure out his own feelings. Withdrawing his fingers from Jack’s mouth, he slowly worked them into himself, opening himself up. Jack stared at him for a moment, and tried to rise to kiss him. Ianto managed a slight glare, but it was difficult when he felt so very good. Jack frowned back, but then reached over to the bed remote and flicked the switch to move the head of the bed up. The sudden movement startled Ianto, and he almost fell out of the bed, Jack’s arms catching him and pulling him to his chest. Jack began to laugh quietly, and Ianto couldn’t help but join him.
“Ianto! You have to be quiet!” Jack laughed into his ear between kisses.
“I am a master of stealth!” Ianto laughed back, kissing along Jack’s neck and his bobbing Adam’s apple as he continued to chortle quietly. Jack was still laughing as Ianto managed to re-straddle him and eased himself down onto Jack’s saliva-slicked cock. Jack’s last chuckle cut off into a decidedly less innocent moan. Ianto leaned over and captured Jack’s lips with his own. Jack moved one hand to the small of Ianto’s back to hold him steady, and the other hand began to slowly caress Ianto’s already hard cock. Ianto had never fucked (or, he admitted to himself, a more apt phrase would be “made love”) so slowly before in his life. He could feel each and every shift of Jack below him. Jack’s hand burned into the small of his back. Jack’s fingers were like gossamer one moment on his cock, and the next they brought him right to the edge, before coaxing him back to draw it out just a little longer. Jack’s kisses were turning his brain to mush, and it was all Ianto could do to keep the both of them relatively quiet. Each time Ianto shifted on Jack’s lap, taking more of Jack into him and then easing up again, Jack moaned and Ianto swallowed each sound into his mouth. Their eyes were locked on each other, and Ianto could feel himself glowing from the look in Jack’s eyes. Jack made him feel like the most desirable creature on the planet. Jack let out a particularly loud moan, and Ianto tightened all around him. Jack came, crushing Ianto’s lips to his own. His head fell back against the pillows, his eyes meeting Ianto’s again. Jack reached over to the bed remote and put the bed back to normal. Ianto regretfully slid off of Jack, still achingly hard. Jack’s arms tugged at him, pulling him up the bed as he slid further down it. Jack’s mouth closed around him, and in less than two minutes, Ianto was coming into Jack’s mouth. Jack lapped it all up, making sure no part of Ianto escaped him.
“Jack, Jack, I meant to say, not ‘good,’ but I love you too. I do.” Ianto’s fingers were tangled in Jack’s hair, and he could feel himself smiling witlessly, but he didn’t care. Jack didn’t answer, but crawled back up the bed and kissed him soundly. They soon fell asleep, arms around each other, feet entangled, mouths scant centimeters apart.
The next morning Ianto managed to get up before the nurse came in to check on Jack, so they were both suitably pajama-ed when she entered the room.
Later that morning, all of the former employees and volunteers of Torched Wood met with Dr. Sato and Donna for Christmas Brunch. The talk inevitably turned to the future of the clinic. As full employees, Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane and Mgumbe stood to be affected the most. Ianto and Martha were only supposed to be volunteering there for a couple of months, Gwen had other outposts on her route and Rhys would still need to travel out to the village. Dr. Sato had been evaluating the state of the Tyler Foundation’s other clinics in Africa. There was one up in Ghana that would be happy to absorb Jack, Mickey and Sarah Jane, and Donna had suggested that Mgumbe stay on in Nairobi at the Africa Headquarters as an interpreter and community liaison. It would mean a substantial raise in pay and responsibility for the young man, and Ianto felt happy for him even as his stomach clenched at the thought of his impending separation from Jack.
All throughout the meal, as he smiled and laughed with the others, Ianto’s eyes kept returning to Jack’s. Jack had seemed happy with the Ghana assignment. There was supposedly a brilliant doctor in charge of that clinic. Ianto tried to stave off jealousy. Yes, Jack loved him, but what they had was one of those things, like a wartime romance, that could only survive in certain circumstances. Once you took away the threat of death, the culture shock, the geographic isolation, the romance would fade. Ianto tried to accept this, and smile, and wish the three heading to Ghana safe travels and many new adventures with the doctor there. He caught a couple of sympathetic glances from Martha, so he wasn’t sure he was all that successful.
That evening, Jack’s doctor came by his room and after a thorough check-up, declared him fit to leave the hospital the next day. After the doctor left, they undressed each other almost solemnly, both realizing that this was the last time. Ianto tried to memorize each plane and curve of Jack’s body, all the tiny scars and miniscule wrinkles. He used his eyes, and hands, and tongue, fixing Jack in his memory. The look in Jack’s eyes was almost painful in its mixture of desire and affection. Ianto wanted to remember that look forever. The sounds Jack made when he was totally absorbed by Ianto, his moans, the way his breath hitched, the way he chanted Ianto’s name like it was a prayer; Ianto internalized them all into his private soundtrack for the future. The feel of Jack when he was in Ianto, and the feel of him when Ianto was in Jack, these were things that Ianto would be able to keep forever. And he knew that no matter who else he met in his life, who else he would come to love, he would never feel this passion with anyone else. As Jack fell asleep on Ianto’s chest, a satiated smile on his full lips, Ianto allowed himself one tear.
Boxing Day was a flurry of packing up and checking out. Jack opted not to ride out in the wheelchair, which was just as well because the thing looked positively ancient. Dr. Sato and Donna picked them up from the hospital and drove them immediately to the airport. Donna would be going to Ghana with the three from Torched Wood to get them settled and do their semi-annual inspection. Ianto and Martha would be flying to London together, and Ianto would continue on alone to Cardiff. The others were already at the airport. Gwen threw her arms around Ianto in a crushing hug.
“I love you, duckling,” she whispered in his ear.
He kissed her forehead. “Thank you for dragging my arse to Africa,” he whispered back to her, and was rewarded with a gap-toothed smile.
Ianto shook hands with Mickey, Mgumbe, Rhys, Dr. Sato and Donna, and gracefully submitted to another hug from Sarah Jane. Then he got to Jack. He awkwardly held out his hand for a handshake, conscious of their colleagues and dozens of Kenyans and tourists moving through the airport. Jack just raised his eyebrows at him and pulled him into a hug. Ianto clung to him, hoping it would never end, but then Jack pulled away. Instead of letting him go, though, Jack cupped Ianto’s face in his hands and kissed him deeply, totally heedless of their audience.
A voice came over the intercom, announcing the boarding for Ianto and Martha’s flight to London. Ianto pulled back from Jack reluctantly. They didn’t exchange words, just one look, and then Ianto turned, linked arms with Martha, and left them behind. He risked one glance back over his shoulder. Mickey and Sarah Jane were grabbing bags and shuffling tickets, Donna drew Dr. Sato’s face up to hers for a quick kiss good bye - and how had he missed that!, but Jack was still watching them leave. Ianto raised his arm in farewell and Jack nodded in acknowledgement. Ianto’s last sight of him was that patented Harkness grin that could make him go weak at the knees.
Martha’s fiancée had upgraded their tickets to business class as a surprise for Martha, so they spent the flight swilling champagne, with their legs stretched out in front of them. Martha regaled Ianto with the tale of how she first met Dr. Jack Harkness, on a UN Peacekeeping mission in Serbia. The mission itself was a disaster, but she had found a lifelong friend in Jack, and in Owen a little later. Mention of Owen threatened to kill their buzz, so Ianto told Martha about falling off Jack’s hospital bed. Martha inhaled champagne through her nose, and the rest of the flight they spent swapping increasingly raunchy stories and giggling madly.
Ianto didn’t arrive at his flat in Cardiff until the next day. He was hungover and filthy, utterly exhausted and thoroughly lonely. His flat looked so much smaller and darker. Cardiff was even wetter and colder than he remembered. Being an eminently practical person, Ianto started his laundry, ran down to the corner store for milk, eggs, bread, butter and chocolate, and took an extremely long hot shower before collapsing on his bed and sleeping for fifteen hours.
Three Months Later
Ianto couldn’t believe so much time had passed since he was last with Jack in the African sun. He had resumed his duties at the hospital in Cardiff. If his co-workers noticed a change in him, they kept their observations to themselves. Since he left Africa, he and Jack had exchanged several long letters, but there had been no phone calls. It was just as well. Ianto didn’t think he would be able to maintain his professional demeanor if he heard Jack’s voice again.
It was a particularly windy and rainy day in March when his life changed for good.
Ianto had prepped a small boy for a rough surgery that morning. The boy’s parents had put on brave faces for their son, but fallen completely apart the minute he was wheeled out of his room. Ianto had patted their shoulders, and offered his hanky, and even got them coffee from the nurses’ breakroom (which he had made himself). Barely two hours into the surgery, however, the little boy had flatlined and not come back. Ianto did not expect his parents’ marriage to survive his death. They had finally had to sedate the couple when more relatives starting showing up at the hospital. Ianto had been much too busy to take his break, and had worked several hours over his shift. When he was at last able to escape, he walked along Mermaid Quay, taking in the sight of the Bay. Nowadays, the blue of the water always called to mind the blue of Jack’s eyes. The sight soothed him.
By the time he made it down to the end of the quay, the sun was fighting to poke out of the clouds. Figures, there was less than an hour left of daylight anyway. Ianto leaned on the railing and gazed out across the water. If he squinted in this poor light, the waves could pass for the African savannah. He hadn’t been standing there long when he sensed another man join him further down the railing. Ianto gave him a pleasant nod without even looking at him. The wind shifted again, and Ianto caught the distinct smell of musk and cinnamon, and that something undefinable that was simply Jack. Jaw dropping, he turned to face his companion.
“Surprised to see me, Ianto?” Jack asked.
Ianto nodded mutely. Jack looked beautiful in the failing light, all flashing teeth and sparkling eyes. He had a great big blue overcoat on to protect himself from the chill. Ianto ached to reach out and touch Jack, hold him near, breath him in. Find out why he was there and for how long.
“I’m a little surprised to be here, myself. It happened so fast, and then it almost didn’t happen at all.” Jack smiled again, a little nervously. “Are you going to say anything, Ianto?”
Ianto shook his head, and reached out hesitatingly. He let his arm drop when Jack gazed out at the Bay, unseeing.
“I know I should have called first, but I wanted to say this in person. I did this all wrong.” Jack sighed. “Martha told me I should call first,” he muttered to himself. He seemed to steel himself. “Ianto, I need to talk to you about something very important.” He looked beseechingly at Ianto.
Ianto nodded again. He still didn’t trust his voice.
“Okay. Well. The doctor we’ve been working with in Ghana - he’s incredible, Ianto, you would definitely like him -“ Jack’s voice picked up speed as he warmed to his topic “-anyhow, he’s been asked to start a whole new clinic in Thailand - Sarah Jane’s going to go with him, and we want to expand the one in Ghana, add an orphanage to it; that’s why I’m here, we have to meet with the Foundation head in Cardiff. I want to do this with you. I want you to come to Ghana with me. So, that’s, that’s what I want. That’s why I’m here,” Jack’s voice trailed off.
Ianto closed his eyes, convinced that when he opened them again, Jack would have disappeared and none of it would have happened. But when he opened them, Jack was still standing there, waiting expectantly, nervously. Ianto reached out and pulled him close, one hand at the nape of his neck, the other circling his waist and pulling him ever closer. He kissed him thoroughly, eyes wide open and drinking in the sight of Jack, here, in his arms. Wanting more.
They finally pulled away to breathe again. Jack’s eyes caught the last of the sun’s rays. They were so impossibly blue, Ianto thought. Why do they have to be so blue?
“What do you say, Ianto? I met this woman, Harriet Derbyshire, I think she’ll be great at running the orphanage, and you and I would have the clinic. Can’t you picture it?” He smiled, hope shining out of his eyes. And something else. It looked like the future. How could he say no to that? It was impossible, really.
Ianto took one look over Jack’s shoulder at the Bay. All that water, blue and beautiful. Ianto looked back at Jack, into his eyes. He smiled.
“Yes.”
The second part of this story is posted, but the third part won't follow until after the Big Bang (so this summer). Here's the second: blue-fjords.livejournal.com/4970.html#cutid1
Author: blue_fjords
It took them two hours to reach Lodwar. After a whispered conference between Gwen and Sarah Jane, it was decided that Gwen would continue along in the helicopter to Nairobi with Rhys, Ianto, Jack and Owen’s body. Mickey would stay and help get Torched Wood’s patients settled into the Red Cross clinic in Lodwar. Gwen would come back for any patients that needed more extensive care.
The hospital in Nairobi had a helipad, and several hours later Gwen eased the copter down before hopping out to help Ianto and Rhys with Jack. Ianto noticed a couple of soldiers in uniform hovering by the roof’s entrance to the hospital. Gwen hung back to get information on the attack of Torched Wood Medical Facility. Rhys ran back to the copter to kill the engine and wrestle Owen out and down to the morgue. Ianto held Jack’s hand tight in his own as he was wheeled into an operating room.
“Nurse Jones? I’m sorry, but could you stand aside?” the attending doctor asked, not unkindly.
“May I…may I stay? I won’t get in the way; I’ll stand against the wall.”
The doctor hesitated, but one look at Ianto must have convinced him it was not worth arguing over. He sighed noisily. “Of course. But you’ve been through quite a traumatic experience. You should probably get checked -“
“I’m fine. Really. I just - I need to stay with him. Please?”
It took another two hours for Jack to get patched up. Ianto’s eyelids were drooping heavily as he followed Jack’s gurney as it was wheeled into a private room with two beds down the hall from surgery. A tiny Japanese woman and a tall redheaded woman were conferring quietly by the window. They looked up at Ianto and Jack’s entrance.
The Japanese woman gave him a half-smile and walked forward to shake his hand. “Ianto Jones? I’m Toshiko Sato, the Director of Programs for the Tyler Foundation in Africa. This is my assistant, Donna Noble -“
“How’s Jack? Is he going to be alright? What happened? Do you need a whiskey?”
Ianto felt a bit overwhelmed at the torrent of questions. Dr. Sato shot her a reproving glance. Donna had the grace to blush.
“Right then. Whiskey first. You sit down, here,” she practically manhandled Ianto into the sole chair in the room. “Now you take a deep breath, a drink and then you can answer our questions!” She presented a tumbler of icy whiskey to Ianto with a dramatic flourish. Ianto wondered briefly where she got the ice, and downed the whiskey in one gulp. Holding the icy glass up to his forehead, he began to speak.
“Jack should make a full recovery. Some of his organs got a bit…bruised…but there was a minimum of internal bleeding, and he’s been all stitched up. He needs sleep and time.”
Ianto wasn’t sure how technical to make his assessment of Jack’s health, and decided to leave it at that when Dr. Sato and Donna exchanged relieved looks.
“Another whiskey?” Donna asked brightly, taking his glass and turning towards the low cabinets on the other side of Jack’s bed.
“Your sister and Father Williams have taken a small plane back to Lodwar to pick up Dr. Jones, Nurse Smith, Mr. Smith, Mgumbe and Torched Wood’s patients. They should be here in another couple of hours,” Dr. Sato informed him.
“Thank you. Both of you,” he added, glancing up as Donna returned with a new whiskey. He took a sip. It was good whiskey; he hadn’t really tasted the first one.
“As to Torched Wood…Mickey will be able to give you a better idea of what happened. I still don’t -“ he took another drink.
“I know this must be hard for you. Please take your time,” Dr. Sato said gently.
“We were attacked by some warlord. I’m hazy as to the why.” One more sip. “There was a lot of fighting. I don’t know if - I couldn’t tell if any of his party were still alive. Jack did for the warlord.” He downed the rest of his drink. “We would all have died if Gwen hadn’t shown up.”
Dr. Sato and Donna exchanged glances again. “I think that’s enough for now, don’t you, Donna?”
Donna nodded. “I need to pester the hospital admin about getting spaces for our incoming guests. Take care, Ianto,” she gave Ianto a hearty handshake before turning to Jack and kissing his forehead. “You, too, Sleeping Beauty.”
Dr. Sato watched her leave with a slight smile on her face. “I need to make a few calls myself, Ianto. Donna brought some clean clothes if you’d like a wash. Why don’t you lay down for a bit? We’ll come back and wake you when the others get here.”
“Thank you, Dr. Sato.”
She blushed. “Oh, Toshiko is fine, or Tosh, really, that’s what everyone calls me.”
“Thank you, Tosh.”
“You’re welcome.” Tosh smiled again and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Ianto rose unsteadily to his feet. The whiskey was going straight to his head and reminding him that it had been hours since he had eaten anything. He stumbled into the tiny washroom and did a halfhearted attempt at getting clean. It was a far cry from his last shower. He could remember vivid details of Jack’s hands on him, Jack’s lips caressing his skin, the heat from the shower nothing in comparison to the heat between them. Ianto sighed and pulled on the spare clothes Donna had provided. He staggered out into the room. It didn’t even occur to him to take advantage of the second, empty bed. Carefully adjusting wires, he curled up next to Jack, pulling the thin blanket over them both. His fingers found Jack’s pulse point and took comfort from the steady throbbing. Nestling his head on Jack’s shoulder, he finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Ianto slept for ten hours straight, not even waking when the nurse came in at regular intervals to check on Jack. When he finally came back to consciousness, he could hear Jack talking softly and feel Jack’s arms around him, one hand on his neck and the other on his hip. Ianto became fully awake when he heard what Jack was saying.
“Those men were dead before we got there. If we wanted to hide the fact that we found them, we never would have told their families where they were.”
Ianto sat up and looked around the room. Jack’s arms tightened their grip briefly before going slack. Gwen was there with Mgumbe, who looked particularly distraught. Dr. Sato sat in the only chair, with Donna hovering at her elbow.
Gwen crossed the space that separated them and threw her arms around his neck. Ianto clung to her, breathing in the smell of her hair and rubbing her back. When they pulled away, Gwen’s eyes were wet but her smile was huge. Ianto kissed her forehead and put one arm around her shoulders. She snuggled her head down on his shoulder and leaned back against the bed. Ianto looked from Jack to Mgumbe.
“What were you talking about? Those bodies we found my first day at Torched Wood?”
It was Dr. Sato who answered. “Apparently, those men were members of Hart’s squad. Hart came down out of the Sudan a few years ago and took them from their village, but he trusted them enough to let them travel on their own. They had told Hart that they needed medical attention and were going to Torched Wood, as it was neutral. One of the men had realistically faked an illness for two weeks to convince him that they had a legitimate health concern. However, their actual plan was to desert. We think they may have stolen something that belonged to Hart when they left, though it hasn’t been recovered. They were making their way to Momba on the other side of Torched Wood; they had family there. They ran into a roving band from a rival Sudanese warlord. They call themselves the Ndugu Weupe, the Gray Brothers, because they move with the stealth of ghosts. They are the ones who executed the two young men and left them for the buzzards.”
“So . . . Torched Wood was attacked in retaliation for something the Gray Brothers had done?” Ianto asked incredulously.
Donna snorted. “Forget it, Ianto. That’s the Sudan.”
Mgumbe grimaced and nodded. “That is basically it, yes. We wouldn’t even know this much if we hadn’t run into a Gray Brother in Lodwar. He was there looking for medical attention himself. We were at the airfield waiting for Ms. Cooper’s return. He said he would trade us information for someone to look at his knee. He was quite gleeful about his story.” Mgumbe paused, and met Ianto’s eyes. “Nurse Smith is of the opinion that he will never be able to walk with that knee again.”
Ianto nodded slowly. “Thank you, Mgumbe. I guess knowing is better than not knowing.”
Jack’s nurse bustled back into the room, and frowned at the number of visitors. Jack squeezed Ianto’s hand and asked if he would go check on Martha and the others for him as everyone gathered up their things and filed out of the room. Ianto nodded again, and leaned down to kiss him on the lips. It was not a particularly chaste kiss, and Jack’s grin was back to megawatt when Ianto pulled away and followed Gwen out into the hall.
He offered Gwen his arm, and she smiled as she threaded her arm through it. “Ianto Jones. There is something you want to be telling me.”
Ianto made a noncommittal sound, but couldn’t prevent his own smile from growing larger and larger.
Gwen actually giggled. “I’ll get all the details from you, eventually, you know.”
“And until that time, perhaps you can tell me what room houses the lovely Dr. Jones?”
Over the next few days, the survivors of Torched Wood recuperated, in body at least. Their current patients were fully absorbed into the Nairobi hospital’s system, and Ianto was relieved to note that their impromptu trip in the back of the truck did not cause them more harm. Martha got stronger and checked out of the hospital, but was still there all the time anyway to see Jack. Jack was slower to get his strength back. He had lost a lot of blood. Sometimes Ianto thought it was a miracle he had survived at all, but he was careful not to voice this thought to Jack. Jack was incredibly impatient to get back to normal. It made him a restless and cranky patient. Ianto kept a rein on his own temper whenever Jack had these black moods, and was able to tell when Jack needed him to be there and when Jack needed his space. It was during these latter times that Ianto learned more of the battle at Torched Wood.
Gwen was eager to talk, eager to explain her actions; Rhys was self-deprecating and a little nervous; Mgumbe chose his words very carefully; Martha wanted to talk about anything but the fight; Sarah Jane heaped praise upon his head for getting Jack out alive; and Mickey wanted to go over each and every aspect of the attack. Then there were the debriefings with Dr. Sato and Donna. The rest of John Hart’s band had returned to Torched Wood and completely burnt it to the ground in further retaliation. Much had to be decided. It was exhausting, and Ianto was grateful to escape back to Jack’s room, bad mood or no. Jack himself avoided the subject, and Ianto was content to let him deflect for awhile. He knew they would have to talk about it eventually. Ianto spent his nights crammed into Jack’s hospital bed with him. At first, the night nurse had tried to kick Ianto out, but Ianto’s own credentials as a nurse helped to persuade her that she could leave Jack in his care at night. She never made mention of the fact that they shared the same bed.
The days passed slowly, and Ianto was surprised one morning to wake up and realize that it was already Christmas Eve. Gwen had been humming Christmas tunes for the past few days, and Rhys had stopped by and informed them that there was to be a service that night in the hospital chapel. When they arrived that evening, Ianto was actually a little surprised that it was so well-attended; in addition to about twenty patients and various family members, about a dozen doctors and nurses had crowded into the tiny chapel. Gwen had saved them seats in the front. Ianto suspected that she was seeing Rhys in a slightly different light after the attack on Torched Wood. His sister was a bit wild, but perhaps Rhys was just the person she needed to keep her grounded.
Rhys welcomed everyone to the chapel, and launched straight into the Christmas story. The combination of so many warm bodies in such a small space, the lowered lights, and the soothing quality to Rhys’ voice was starting to have an effect on Ianto, and his eyelids drooped. Rhys cleared his throat, and Ianto started guiltily. “One of our patients has volunteered to sing a special song for us to help celebrate Christmas Eve. Dr. Harkness? Are you ready?”
Ianto looked at Jack in surprise. He didn’t know Jack was planning to sing. “Don’t blame Gwen,” Jack whispered as he gingerly stood up and shuffled around to face the chapel.
“Good evening, everyone, and Merry Christmas.”
The congregation dutifully echoed his greeting.
“I don’t have any accompaniment for this song; in fact I just learned it this morning. It was apparently the favorite Christmas song in the Cooper-Jones household when Gwen and Ianto were young, and Gwen mentioned in passing how much she missed hearing it around the holidays. So, ‘Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913’ for you all.”
Ianto’s breath caught in his throat. ‘I’m in a hospital chapel in Africa, and my . . . boyfriend . . . is serenading me with a John Denver song. This is insanely surreal,’ he thought. Gwen reached over to him and gripped his hand. They used to watch John Denver’s Christmas special with the Muppets every year, and always re-wound to this song.
The song was about a soldier in World War I, on Christmas Eve during a cease fire. As Jack’s voice broke over him (and Jack had a lovely singing voice, strong and clear), Ianto thought how oddly appropriate the song was for him. Ianto imagined Jack as a soldier, an easy image to conjure, stopping on a hill and being overwhelmed by the beauty of the stars. The juxtaposition worked; the physicality of soldiers in battle with the prospect of death always so close, and the ephemeral radiance of a starry sky.
A frosty Christmas Eve, when the stars where shining
I traveled for the home, where westward falls the hill
And for many, many a village, in the darkness of the valley
distant music reached me, peels of bells were ringing.
Then spread my thoughts to olden times, to that first of Christmases
when shepherds who were watching, heard music in the fields
and they sat there and they marveled, and they knew they could not tell
whether it were angels, or the bright stars a-singing
But to me heard a far, it was starry music
the singing of the angels, the comfort of our Lord
words of old that come a traveling, by the riches of the times
and I softly listened, as I stood upon the hill
and I softly listened, as I stood upon the hill
There was a deep silence when Jack finished the song. He shuffled awkwardly back to his seat, and only then did people start to clap, long and loud, for him. Gwen hugged him and whispered, “Thank you.” Ianto didn’t know what to say, so he just took Jack’s hand in his and squeezed. He had no trouble staying awake for the rest of the service. After the Benediction, they said good night to Gwen and Rhys; Martha, Sarah Jane, Mgumbe and Mickey; Dr. Sato and Donna. They would all meet late the next morning for a Christmas brunch at the hospital.
Ianto and Jack made their slow way back to Jack’s room. Ianto helped him into bed, took off his own clothes and then crawled under the covers with him. Jack shifted so that his head was above Ianto’s heart, his fingers drawing lazy patterns on Ianto’s lightly furred chest.
“Jack?”
“Hmmm?”
Ianto took a deep breath. “What’s going to happen when you leave the hospital?”
“I get to ride in a wheelchair out to the curb.”
Ianto sighed. “I’m serious.”
Jack did not pause in his drawing. “Do we have to talk about this tonight? It is Christmas Eve.”
Ianto capitulated, and cursed himself for doing so. “No, you’re right. That’s a worry for another day. You should sleep.” He kissed Jack’s forehead, and tightened his arms around him.
Jack did pause then, and lifted his head to gaze at Ianto. “Ianto, whatever is going to happen, we’ll have had this time together. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yup, seize the day, and all that.” Ianto fixed a smile on his face and wished Jack would look away.
He didn’t. “I meant what I said. In the helicopter. I love you.”
Ianto’s smile became more natural. “Good.”
“Good? All I get back is a good?”
“Ummm . . . good night?” Ianto teased him.
Jack growled, and seized his face, pulling him in for a possessive kiss. The kiss continued, deepened, and Ianto moved his body carefully over Jack’s, afraid of hurting him. They finally broke for air.
“Ianto, help me out of these stupid pajamas.”
“Are you sure? You should really be cleared by your doctor -“
“I am a doctor. And I say I need sex, now, or I will burst.”
Ianto pretended to consider. “Well, that would be messy. I think I should help you.”
Ianto unbuttoned Jack’s pajama top and gently slid his arms out before dropping the shirt over the side of the bed. He paused at the sight of Jack’s bandage, his fingers smoothing down the corners.
“Jack, you’re absolutely -“
“Oh my God, Ianto, do you have any idea what you do to me?! I am painfully horny right now! Look, if it makes you feel any better, I will fuck you lying down, no harm to my precious bandages. Just please, take off my pants!”
Ianto gave him a reproachful look, which was slightly ruined by his own excitement at what Jack was suggesting. “Try to keep your voice down; this is a hospital,” he whispered, pulling at Jack’s pajama bottoms and boxers and dropping them over the side of the bed with the pajama top. Ianto looked down. Well. Jack certainly looked ready to have sex. Ianto hadn’t planned ahead, so he slid down Jack’s body and took him in his mouth. Jack groaned loudly, and stuffed his fist in his mouth when Ianto paused to raise a disapproving eyebrow at him and look meaningfully at the door. Jack’s other hand stroked Ianto’s hair encouragingly. Ianto chuckled softly. Jack bucked at the sensation, and whispered Ianto’s name. Ianto moved back up his body and replaced Jack’s fist with two of his own fingers. Jack looked strangely serious as he sucked on Ianto’s fingers, and Ianto could feel something in his heart open up. He tamped down on the feeling. Jack may have said he loved Ianto, but that was not a promise of forever. Ianto didn’t know if he even wanted forever, but the expression on Jack’s face at this moment made it harder for him to figure out his own feelings. Withdrawing his fingers from Jack’s mouth, he slowly worked them into himself, opening himself up. Jack stared at him for a moment, and tried to rise to kiss him. Ianto managed a slight glare, but it was difficult when he felt so very good. Jack frowned back, but then reached over to the bed remote and flicked the switch to move the head of the bed up. The sudden movement startled Ianto, and he almost fell out of the bed, Jack’s arms catching him and pulling him to his chest. Jack began to laugh quietly, and Ianto couldn’t help but join him.
“Ianto! You have to be quiet!” Jack laughed into his ear between kisses.
“I am a master of stealth!” Ianto laughed back, kissing along Jack’s neck and his bobbing Adam’s apple as he continued to chortle quietly. Jack was still laughing as Ianto managed to re-straddle him and eased himself down onto Jack’s saliva-slicked cock. Jack’s last chuckle cut off into a decidedly less innocent moan. Ianto leaned over and captured Jack’s lips with his own. Jack moved one hand to the small of Ianto’s back to hold him steady, and the other hand began to slowly caress Ianto’s already hard cock. Ianto had never fucked (or, he admitted to himself, a more apt phrase would be “made love”) so slowly before in his life. He could feel each and every shift of Jack below him. Jack’s hand burned into the small of his back. Jack’s fingers were like gossamer one moment on his cock, and the next they brought him right to the edge, before coaxing him back to draw it out just a little longer. Jack’s kisses were turning his brain to mush, and it was all Ianto could do to keep the both of them relatively quiet. Each time Ianto shifted on Jack’s lap, taking more of Jack into him and then easing up again, Jack moaned and Ianto swallowed each sound into his mouth. Their eyes were locked on each other, and Ianto could feel himself glowing from the look in Jack’s eyes. Jack made him feel like the most desirable creature on the planet. Jack let out a particularly loud moan, and Ianto tightened all around him. Jack came, crushing Ianto’s lips to his own. His head fell back against the pillows, his eyes meeting Ianto’s again. Jack reached over to the bed remote and put the bed back to normal. Ianto regretfully slid off of Jack, still achingly hard. Jack’s arms tugged at him, pulling him up the bed as he slid further down it. Jack’s mouth closed around him, and in less than two minutes, Ianto was coming into Jack’s mouth. Jack lapped it all up, making sure no part of Ianto escaped him.
“Jack, Jack, I meant to say, not ‘good,’ but I love you too. I do.” Ianto’s fingers were tangled in Jack’s hair, and he could feel himself smiling witlessly, but he didn’t care. Jack didn’t answer, but crawled back up the bed and kissed him soundly. They soon fell asleep, arms around each other, feet entangled, mouths scant centimeters apart.
The next morning Ianto managed to get up before the nurse came in to check on Jack, so they were both suitably pajama-ed when she entered the room.
Later that morning, all of the former employees and volunteers of Torched Wood met with Dr. Sato and Donna for Christmas Brunch. The talk inevitably turned to the future of the clinic. As full employees, Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane and Mgumbe stood to be affected the most. Ianto and Martha were only supposed to be volunteering there for a couple of months, Gwen had other outposts on her route and Rhys would still need to travel out to the village. Dr. Sato had been evaluating the state of the Tyler Foundation’s other clinics in Africa. There was one up in Ghana that would be happy to absorb Jack, Mickey and Sarah Jane, and Donna had suggested that Mgumbe stay on in Nairobi at the Africa Headquarters as an interpreter and community liaison. It would mean a substantial raise in pay and responsibility for the young man, and Ianto felt happy for him even as his stomach clenched at the thought of his impending separation from Jack.
All throughout the meal, as he smiled and laughed with the others, Ianto’s eyes kept returning to Jack’s. Jack had seemed happy with the Ghana assignment. There was supposedly a brilliant doctor in charge of that clinic. Ianto tried to stave off jealousy. Yes, Jack loved him, but what they had was one of those things, like a wartime romance, that could only survive in certain circumstances. Once you took away the threat of death, the culture shock, the geographic isolation, the romance would fade. Ianto tried to accept this, and smile, and wish the three heading to Ghana safe travels and many new adventures with the doctor there. He caught a couple of sympathetic glances from Martha, so he wasn’t sure he was all that successful.
That evening, Jack’s doctor came by his room and after a thorough check-up, declared him fit to leave the hospital the next day. After the doctor left, they undressed each other almost solemnly, both realizing that this was the last time. Ianto tried to memorize each plane and curve of Jack’s body, all the tiny scars and miniscule wrinkles. He used his eyes, and hands, and tongue, fixing Jack in his memory. The look in Jack’s eyes was almost painful in its mixture of desire and affection. Ianto wanted to remember that look forever. The sounds Jack made when he was totally absorbed by Ianto, his moans, the way his breath hitched, the way he chanted Ianto’s name like it was a prayer; Ianto internalized them all into his private soundtrack for the future. The feel of Jack when he was in Ianto, and the feel of him when Ianto was in Jack, these were things that Ianto would be able to keep forever. And he knew that no matter who else he met in his life, who else he would come to love, he would never feel this passion with anyone else. As Jack fell asleep on Ianto’s chest, a satiated smile on his full lips, Ianto allowed himself one tear.
Boxing Day was a flurry of packing up and checking out. Jack opted not to ride out in the wheelchair, which was just as well because the thing looked positively ancient. Dr. Sato and Donna picked them up from the hospital and drove them immediately to the airport. Donna would be going to Ghana with the three from Torched Wood to get them settled and do their semi-annual inspection. Ianto and Martha would be flying to London together, and Ianto would continue on alone to Cardiff. The others were already at the airport. Gwen threw her arms around Ianto in a crushing hug.
“I love you, duckling,” she whispered in his ear.
He kissed her forehead. “Thank you for dragging my arse to Africa,” he whispered back to her, and was rewarded with a gap-toothed smile.
Ianto shook hands with Mickey, Mgumbe, Rhys, Dr. Sato and Donna, and gracefully submitted to another hug from Sarah Jane. Then he got to Jack. He awkwardly held out his hand for a handshake, conscious of their colleagues and dozens of Kenyans and tourists moving through the airport. Jack just raised his eyebrows at him and pulled him into a hug. Ianto clung to him, hoping it would never end, but then Jack pulled away. Instead of letting him go, though, Jack cupped Ianto’s face in his hands and kissed him deeply, totally heedless of their audience.
A voice came over the intercom, announcing the boarding for Ianto and Martha’s flight to London. Ianto pulled back from Jack reluctantly. They didn’t exchange words, just one look, and then Ianto turned, linked arms with Martha, and left them behind. He risked one glance back over his shoulder. Mickey and Sarah Jane were grabbing bags and shuffling tickets, Donna drew Dr. Sato’s face up to hers for a quick kiss good bye - and how had he missed that!, but Jack was still watching them leave. Ianto raised his arm in farewell and Jack nodded in acknowledgement. Ianto’s last sight of him was that patented Harkness grin that could make him go weak at the knees.
Martha’s fiancée had upgraded their tickets to business class as a surprise for Martha, so they spent the flight swilling champagne, with their legs stretched out in front of them. Martha regaled Ianto with the tale of how she first met Dr. Jack Harkness, on a UN Peacekeeping mission in Serbia. The mission itself was a disaster, but she had found a lifelong friend in Jack, and in Owen a little later. Mention of Owen threatened to kill their buzz, so Ianto told Martha about falling off Jack’s hospital bed. Martha inhaled champagne through her nose, and the rest of the flight they spent swapping increasingly raunchy stories and giggling madly.
Ianto didn’t arrive at his flat in Cardiff until the next day. He was hungover and filthy, utterly exhausted and thoroughly lonely. His flat looked so much smaller and darker. Cardiff was even wetter and colder than he remembered. Being an eminently practical person, Ianto started his laundry, ran down to the corner store for milk, eggs, bread, butter and chocolate, and took an extremely long hot shower before collapsing on his bed and sleeping for fifteen hours.
Three Months Later
Ianto couldn’t believe so much time had passed since he was last with Jack in the African sun. He had resumed his duties at the hospital in Cardiff. If his co-workers noticed a change in him, they kept their observations to themselves. Since he left Africa, he and Jack had exchanged several long letters, but there had been no phone calls. It was just as well. Ianto didn’t think he would be able to maintain his professional demeanor if he heard Jack’s voice again.
It was a particularly windy and rainy day in March when his life changed for good.
Ianto had prepped a small boy for a rough surgery that morning. The boy’s parents had put on brave faces for their son, but fallen completely apart the minute he was wheeled out of his room. Ianto had patted their shoulders, and offered his hanky, and even got them coffee from the nurses’ breakroom (which he had made himself). Barely two hours into the surgery, however, the little boy had flatlined and not come back. Ianto did not expect his parents’ marriage to survive his death. They had finally had to sedate the couple when more relatives starting showing up at the hospital. Ianto had been much too busy to take his break, and had worked several hours over his shift. When he was at last able to escape, he walked along Mermaid Quay, taking in the sight of the Bay. Nowadays, the blue of the water always called to mind the blue of Jack’s eyes. The sight soothed him.
By the time he made it down to the end of the quay, the sun was fighting to poke out of the clouds. Figures, there was less than an hour left of daylight anyway. Ianto leaned on the railing and gazed out across the water. If he squinted in this poor light, the waves could pass for the African savannah. He hadn’t been standing there long when he sensed another man join him further down the railing. Ianto gave him a pleasant nod without even looking at him. The wind shifted again, and Ianto caught the distinct smell of musk and cinnamon, and that something undefinable that was simply Jack. Jaw dropping, he turned to face his companion.
“Surprised to see me, Ianto?” Jack asked.
Ianto nodded mutely. Jack looked beautiful in the failing light, all flashing teeth and sparkling eyes. He had a great big blue overcoat on to protect himself from the chill. Ianto ached to reach out and touch Jack, hold him near, breath him in. Find out why he was there and for how long.
“I’m a little surprised to be here, myself. It happened so fast, and then it almost didn’t happen at all.” Jack smiled again, a little nervously. “Are you going to say anything, Ianto?”
Ianto shook his head, and reached out hesitatingly. He let his arm drop when Jack gazed out at the Bay, unseeing.
“I know I should have called first, but I wanted to say this in person. I did this all wrong.” Jack sighed. “Martha told me I should call first,” he muttered to himself. He seemed to steel himself. “Ianto, I need to talk to you about something very important.” He looked beseechingly at Ianto.
Ianto nodded again. He still didn’t trust his voice.
“Okay. Well. The doctor we’ve been working with in Ghana - he’s incredible, Ianto, you would definitely like him -“ Jack’s voice picked up speed as he warmed to his topic “-anyhow, he’s been asked to start a whole new clinic in Thailand - Sarah Jane’s going to go with him, and we want to expand the one in Ghana, add an orphanage to it; that’s why I’m here, we have to meet with the Foundation head in Cardiff. I want to do this with you. I want you to come to Ghana with me. So, that’s, that’s what I want. That’s why I’m here,” Jack’s voice trailed off.
Ianto closed his eyes, convinced that when he opened them again, Jack would have disappeared and none of it would have happened. But when he opened them, Jack was still standing there, waiting expectantly, nervously. Ianto reached out and pulled him close, one hand at the nape of his neck, the other circling his waist and pulling him ever closer. He kissed him thoroughly, eyes wide open and drinking in the sight of Jack, here, in his arms. Wanting more.
They finally pulled away to breathe again. Jack’s eyes caught the last of the sun’s rays. They were so impossibly blue, Ianto thought. Why do they have to be so blue?
“What do you say, Ianto? I met this woman, Harriet Derbyshire, I think she’ll be great at running the orphanage, and you and I would have the clinic. Can’t you picture it?” He smiled, hope shining out of his eyes. And something else. It looked like the future. How could he say no to that? It was impossible, really.
Ianto took one look over Jack’s shoulder at the Bay. All that water, blue and beautiful. Ianto looked back at Jack, into his eyes. He smiled.
“Yes.”
The second part of this story is posted, but the third part won't follow until after the Big Bang (so this summer). Here's the second: blue-fjords.livejournal.com/4970.html#cutid1