Subject: Fic: The Sea After a Storm (44/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 44
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just don't feel like changing the rating :)
Spoilers: Season Two thru To the Last Man (2x03)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Tosh and Ianto spend the day alone in the Hub whilst the rest of the team investigates a series of suspicious attacks in the mountains...
Notes: Sorry this is a day late! You can find all the previous chapters to The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta, wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Forty-Four
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: The team recovered from the events surrounding the time-shift in their own way...
Ianto waited impatiently as the cog door rolled back and then strode into the Hub, his shoes squishing unpleasantly. He was soaked from mid-thigh down, compliments of a lorry-driver swinging too close to the kerb while Ianto was double checking his coordinates.
"Still raining, is it?" Tosh asked, glancing up from her computer.
"Yeah," he answered succinctly. "Any word?"
She shook her head. "They've only just passed Neath," she said with a nod at the monitor displaying a map, the SUV represented by a blinking red dot west of Cardiff.
Jack, Gwen and Owen were on their way to investigate a rash of brutal attacks in several mountain villages between Craig y Llyn and Hirfynydd. The descriptions of the slaughtered livestock, escalating into assault on a young woman, were similar enough to weevil attacks that Jack felt it needed Torchwood's expertise. Ianto had taken one look at the mountains on the map and shuddered. They may not have been officially part of the Brecon Beacons range, but they were too close for his taste. He had swallowed his discomfort and prepared to face his demons, but he got a last second reprieve in the form of a negative rift spike.
So that rainy, Monday morning he had been dispatched to check out the spike, while the rest of the team headed out, leaving Tosh behind to monitor any further attacks while she babysat an algorithm she'd been working on for days and couldn't leave. Luckily, the negative spike had been benign. Ianto searched a square mile around the coordinates, but hadn't come across anything out of the ordinary. He had breathed a sigh of profound gratitude and driven home, thinking that soggy shoes and trousers were a small price to pay to avoid a trip to Flat Holm.
Ianto glanced at his watch and down at his wet clothes. "Right, well, it'll be a bit before they have anything to report. What do you say to a spot of lunch after I change into something a little more comfortable?"
Tosh raised her eyebrows and lowered her glasses. "Ianto Jones, are you hitting on me?" she teased.
"What?" he asked, completely confused. Then it dawned on him what he'd said and he felt his cheeks heat. "Oh! No, I meant - I mean, well - " He gestured to his muddy trousers and squished his shoes for effect.
Tosh just laughed. "I know, Ianto. I think you need another cup of coffee along with fresh clothes," she observed, sliding her glasses back on when her computer beeped.
"Yeah," Ianto said rubbing his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I think you're right," he muttered. The whole Beacons thing must have freaked him out more than he'd realised. Taking Tosh's advice, he grabbed a mug of coffee on his way down to Jack's quarters. He drank it as he changed and left his trousers to soak in Jack's sink. He figured the shoes were a total loss, but set them in the shower to dry just in case they could be salvaged. His spare suit matched his shirt and tie pretty well, so he didn't bother to do more than put on the clean trousers and swap jackets. He found his spare shoes and headed back to the Hub to find Tosh at the printer.
"Did it finish?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh, no, not yet. This is just a preliminary report… I think… yes, I think that shifting the factors in the third function really - " She broke off and looked up. "You don't really care, do you?"
"Of course I care, I just don't understand," he said with a chuckle.
Tosh smiled. "I'll spare you the gory details and say it's looking good."
"Good. Lunch?"
"Yes, please."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
They wound up at the pub since neither of them wanted to deal with the summer crowds around the bay. As soon as they were settled with their food, Tosh asked Ianto if he was okay.
"Me?" he asked. "I lured you to lunch to see if you were okay."
Tosh frowned at him. "I saw you go white as a sheet when Jack brought up the location of the attacks this morning."
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that."
He poked at his salad. "It's stupid," he mumbled.
Tosh raised an eyebrow at him but didn't speak.
"Okay, fine, it still bothers me," he admitted, setting down his fork and crossing his arms over his chest. "I hate that I can't just forget it. I used to love camping, did I ever tell you that? And now the mere idea of it throws me into a panic. Hell, the idea of getting anywhere near the Beacons, camping or not, clearly does it. And worst thing is that it isn't even the worst thing we've ever seen in this job. So why does that one fucking psychopath get to haunt me for the rest of my life? Christ, eight hundred people died at Canary Wharf but it's that damn butcher knife that shows up in my nightmares." Ianto blew out a sigh and gave Tosh a rueful smile. "I guess I'm not that okay."
She harrumphed at him which turned his smile more genuine. "They do say the first step is admitting you have a problem," she said, her glare melting a bit. "You can't beat yourself up over what gives you nightmares and what doesn't."
"I suppose," he replied and picked up his fork again. "Your turn, how are you doing? I know it's only been a week or so since... everything, but are things getting better?"
"They are," Tosh said slowly. "I still catch myself going over the facts, thinking the whole thing through again, trying to see where we could have saved Tommy but… " She looked at him sadly. "I really don't think there was a way."
Ianto shook his head. "If there was, we would have found it."
"That's what I keep telling myself. Some days it's easier to believe than others. Today's a good day," she said simply.
"I'm glad," Ianto said. "Because that means I can ask you about Owen and not feel like a total bastard for changing the subject."
"What about Owen?" Tosh asked. Her tone was casual but she refused to look up from her plate.
"He's been ending up at your place a lot the past few days, hasn't he?"
"I wouldn't say a lot," she hedged. "He was just checking up on me last weekend which you know because you guys sent him over. And on Tuesday, my car was at the shop so he gave me a ride home."
"And picked you up for work on Wednesday morning, and stopped by that night to make sure you'd gotten home okay, and then again on Friday after we all went out for drinks - "
Tosh glanced up. "How did you know about that?" she asked.
Ianto grinned. "Because I asked Jack to stop by before we went back to the Hub, but we saw Owen's car parked out front so we just left you alone."
"You could have come in, you know. We were just talking."
"And how is the 'talking' going?" Ianto asked archly.
Tosh's cheeks pinked charmingly. "You stop it, right now. And don't you say anything to Owen, either. I don't want you making him think that I think there's more going on than there really is."
Ianto laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "I promise," he swore. "I just think you should take advantage, ask him out or something now that it seems like he might actually be getting a clue."
"You never know," she said, giving him an impish smile. "How are you and Jack doing?"
"Better," Ianto said happily. "He - sorry." He broke off when his mobile started buzzing in his pocket. "Speak of the devil," he said into the phone.
"And he doth appear," Jack replied.
Ianto chuckled. "What did you need, sir?"
"Just checking in. We've been to the hospital - the girl who was attacked is still unconscious but expected to make a full recovery. We're about to go talk with the local police in Seven Sisters, get some more details. What?" There was a pause. "Oh, sorry, Gwen. We're about to liaise with the police. Did Tosh turn anything up in her research?"
"Anything more about the attacks?" Ianto asked Tosh, dropping the phone away from his mouth for a second.
She shook her head. "No, and nothing to indicate the weevils have travelled that far from the city either."
"Interesting," Jack said, when Ianto relayed Tosh's comments. "Okay, we'll tread lightly then, and try not to step on anyone's toes."
"Tread lightly? I'm sorry, who are you and what have you done with Jack Harkness?" Ianto teased.
Jack growled. "Watch it, Jones. Do I need to remind you who's boss?"
"Oh, I think that sounds like a splendid idea... sir," Ianto practically purred in response.
A bark of laughter rang in Ianto's ear as Jack ended the call. Ianto grinned and snapped his phone closed. "Sorry," he said to Tosh as he picked up his fork again and dug into his salad.
"Don't be silly," Tosh said, waving her hand. "Just tell me what the splendid idea is."
"Nope."
"Oh, come on."
"Nope."
Ianto spent the rest of lunch deflecting Tosh's interested questions and teasing her about Owen. When they got back to the Hub, Tosh immediately went to her computer to check on the algorithm whilst Ianto gathered up the filing he'd been ignoring and retreated to the archives.
It was after midnight when Jack, Owen and Gwen returned. Tosh had gone home already, but Ianto had just made himself comfortable on the sofa with a book. He could tell from their expressions as the rest of the team traipsed through the cog door that the day had not gone well.
"It was a great bloody cougar!" Gwen said before Ianto could do more than say hello.
"A cougar," he repeated blankly. "What - ?"
"Some arsehole must have smuggled her into the country as a kitten and then abandoned her when she got too big," Owen explained, heading for the coffee. He poured himself a cup and glanced at Jack who was standing just inside the door, stiff as a statue, his face set in a frown. "I'd love to get my hands on that bastard."
Ianto looked over at Jack, who was nodding at Owen's words, but couldn't catch his eye.
"She was starving," Gwen said, her big eyes full of tears. "That's why she was attacking the sheep. We think she just happened across the young girl while she was hunting and got spooked. I mean, you could count every rib on the poor thing."
"What happened?" Ianto asked.
Gwen dropped next to him on the sofa. "We used the infra-red scanner in the SUV as soon as it got dark and the computer was able to sort through the images and disregard anything that should be in the area. We trapped 'the anomaly' - that's what the computer kept calling her - anyway, we caught her in a copse of trees near one of the pastures and were able to tranq her. I couldn't believe it when I saw what it was."
Ianto breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Jack again. He still hadn't moved but his eyes met Ianto's this time. "Well, that's good," Ianto said, not breaking eye contact with Jack. "What's going to happen to her?"
Gwen answered yet again. "Well, the constable just wanted to shoot her right there - I'm pretty sure he only cared about the stupid sheep - but I wasn't having any of that. I contacted a wildlife rescue and they're going to come fetch her as soon as they can. They called the vet in to make sure she stays sedated so she can't hurt anyone else until the wildlife people get there."
Jack made a face and then walked hurriedly to his office. Ianto stood and followed, wishing Gwen and Owen a goodnight as he crossed the Hub.
"Jack, what is it?" Ianto asked when he reached Jack's door, watching as Jack hung up his coat. "Do you think there's more to it?"
With a deep sigh, Jack dropped into his chair and shook his head. "No, this was your garden variety stupid, cruel human situation." He grimaced. "I didn't want to rain on Gwen's parade, but I don't think that cougar will last long, rescue or not."
Ianto slipped behind the Jack and rested his hands on Jack's shoulders. "You did everything you could, it sounds like," he said softly.
Jack sighed again and let his head fall back on Ianto's stomach. "And once again, it's just not enough."
"Stop that," Ianto scolded. He leant down and dropped a kiss on Jack's forehead.
Jack reached up to caress his cheek. "Nothing from the spike this morning, I assume?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
"Not a thing. And I think that's enough shop talk for today. You can remind me who the boss is tomorrow night. Do you want to go down to your quarters or back home with me?" he asked.
"Home," Jack whispered.
Ianto smiled and leant down again to place an upside-down kiss on Jack's lips. "Home it is," he murmured.
TBC in Chapter Forty-Five
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/97521.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just don't feel like changing the rating :)
Spoilers: Season Two thru To the Last Man (2x03)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Tosh and Ianto spend the day alone in the Hub whilst the rest of the team investigates a series of suspicious attacks in the mountains...
Notes: Sorry this is a day late! You can find all the previous chapters to The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta, wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Forty-Four
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: The team recovered from the events surrounding the time-shift in their own way...
Ianto waited impatiently as the cog door rolled back and then strode into the Hub, his shoes squishing unpleasantly. He was soaked from mid-thigh down, compliments of a lorry-driver swinging too close to the kerb while Ianto was double checking his coordinates.
"Still raining, is it?" Tosh asked, glancing up from her computer.
"Yeah," he answered succinctly. "Any word?"
She shook her head. "They've only just passed Neath," she said with a nod at the monitor displaying a map, the SUV represented by a blinking red dot west of Cardiff.
Jack, Gwen and Owen were on their way to investigate a rash of brutal attacks in several mountain villages between Craig y Llyn and Hirfynydd. The descriptions of the slaughtered livestock, escalating into assault on a young woman, were similar enough to weevil attacks that Jack felt it needed Torchwood's expertise. Ianto had taken one look at the mountains on the map and shuddered. They may not have been officially part of the Brecon Beacons range, but they were too close for his taste. He had swallowed his discomfort and prepared to face his demons, but he got a last second reprieve in the form of a negative rift spike.
So that rainy, Monday morning he had been dispatched to check out the spike, while the rest of the team headed out, leaving Tosh behind to monitor any further attacks while she babysat an algorithm she'd been working on for days and couldn't leave. Luckily, the negative spike had been benign. Ianto searched a square mile around the coordinates, but hadn't come across anything out of the ordinary. He had breathed a sigh of profound gratitude and driven home, thinking that soggy shoes and trousers were a small price to pay to avoid a trip to Flat Holm.
Ianto glanced at his watch and down at his wet clothes. "Right, well, it'll be a bit before they have anything to report. What do you say to a spot of lunch after I change into something a little more comfortable?"
Tosh raised her eyebrows and lowered her glasses. "Ianto Jones, are you hitting on me?" she teased.
"What?" he asked, completely confused. Then it dawned on him what he'd said and he felt his cheeks heat. "Oh! No, I meant - I mean, well - " He gestured to his muddy trousers and squished his shoes for effect.
Tosh just laughed. "I know, Ianto. I think you need another cup of coffee along with fresh clothes," she observed, sliding her glasses back on when her computer beeped.
"Yeah," Ianto said rubbing his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I think you're right," he muttered. The whole Beacons thing must have freaked him out more than he'd realised. Taking Tosh's advice, he grabbed a mug of coffee on his way down to Jack's quarters. He drank it as he changed and left his trousers to soak in Jack's sink. He figured the shoes were a total loss, but set them in the shower to dry just in case they could be salvaged. His spare suit matched his shirt and tie pretty well, so he didn't bother to do more than put on the clean trousers and swap jackets. He found his spare shoes and headed back to the Hub to find Tosh at the printer.
"Did it finish?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh, no, not yet. This is just a preliminary report… I think… yes, I think that shifting the factors in the third function really - " She broke off and looked up. "You don't really care, do you?"
"Of course I care, I just don't understand," he said with a chuckle.
Tosh smiled. "I'll spare you the gory details and say it's looking good."
"Good. Lunch?"
"Yes, please."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
They wound up at the pub since neither of them wanted to deal with the summer crowds around the bay. As soon as they were settled with their food, Tosh asked Ianto if he was okay.
"Me?" he asked. "I lured you to lunch to see if you were okay."
Tosh frowned at him. "I saw you go white as a sheet when Jack brought up the location of the attacks this morning."
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that."
He poked at his salad. "It's stupid," he mumbled.
Tosh raised an eyebrow at him but didn't speak.
"Okay, fine, it still bothers me," he admitted, setting down his fork and crossing his arms over his chest. "I hate that I can't just forget it. I used to love camping, did I ever tell you that? And now the mere idea of it throws me into a panic. Hell, the idea of getting anywhere near the Beacons, camping or not, clearly does it. And worst thing is that it isn't even the worst thing we've ever seen in this job. So why does that one fucking psychopath get to haunt me for the rest of my life? Christ, eight hundred people died at Canary Wharf but it's that damn butcher knife that shows up in my nightmares." Ianto blew out a sigh and gave Tosh a rueful smile. "I guess I'm not that okay."
She harrumphed at him which turned his smile more genuine. "They do say the first step is admitting you have a problem," she said, her glare melting a bit. "You can't beat yourself up over what gives you nightmares and what doesn't."
"I suppose," he replied and picked up his fork again. "Your turn, how are you doing? I know it's only been a week or so since... everything, but are things getting better?"
"They are," Tosh said slowly. "I still catch myself going over the facts, thinking the whole thing through again, trying to see where we could have saved Tommy but… " She looked at him sadly. "I really don't think there was a way."
Ianto shook his head. "If there was, we would have found it."
"That's what I keep telling myself. Some days it's easier to believe than others. Today's a good day," she said simply.
"I'm glad," Ianto said. "Because that means I can ask you about Owen and not feel like a total bastard for changing the subject."
"What about Owen?" Tosh asked. Her tone was casual but she refused to look up from her plate.
"He's been ending up at your place a lot the past few days, hasn't he?"
"I wouldn't say a lot," she hedged. "He was just checking up on me last weekend which you know because you guys sent him over. And on Tuesday, my car was at the shop so he gave me a ride home."
"And picked you up for work on Wednesday morning, and stopped by that night to make sure you'd gotten home okay, and then again on Friday after we all went out for drinks - "
Tosh glanced up. "How did you know about that?" she asked.
Ianto grinned. "Because I asked Jack to stop by before we went back to the Hub, but we saw Owen's car parked out front so we just left you alone."
"You could have come in, you know. We were just talking."
"And how is the 'talking' going?" Ianto asked archly.
Tosh's cheeks pinked charmingly. "You stop it, right now. And don't you say anything to Owen, either. I don't want you making him think that I think there's more going on than there really is."
Ianto laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "I promise," he swore. "I just think you should take advantage, ask him out or something now that it seems like he might actually be getting a clue."
"You never know," she said, giving him an impish smile. "How are you and Jack doing?"
"Better," Ianto said happily. "He - sorry." He broke off when his mobile started buzzing in his pocket. "Speak of the devil," he said into the phone.
"And he doth appear," Jack replied.
Ianto chuckled. "What did you need, sir?"
"Just checking in. We've been to the hospital - the girl who was attacked is still unconscious but expected to make a full recovery. We're about to go talk with the local police in Seven Sisters, get some more details. What?" There was a pause. "Oh, sorry, Gwen. We're about to liaise with the police. Did Tosh turn anything up in her research?"
"Anything more about the attacks?" Ianto asked Tosh, dropping the phone away from his mouth for a second.
She shook her head. "No, and nothing to indicate the weevils have travelled that far from the city either."
"Interesting," Jack said, when Ianto relayed Tosh's comments. "Okay, we'll tread lightly then, and try not to step on anyone's toes."
"Tread lightly? I'm sorry, who are you and what have you done with Jack Harkness?" Ianto teased.
Jack growled. "Watch it, Jones. Do I need to remind you who's boss?"
"Oh, I think that sounds like a splendid idea... sir," Ianto practically purred in response.
A bark of laughter rang in Ianto's ear as Jack ended the call. Ianto grinned and snapped his phone closed. "Sorry," he said to Tosh as he picked up his fork again and dug into his salad.
"Don't be silly," Tosh said, waving her hand. "Just tell me what the splendid idea is."
"Nope."
"Oh, come on."
"Nope."
Ianto spent the rest of lunch deflecting Tosh's interested questions and teasing her about Owen. When they got back to the Hub, Tosh immediately went to her computer to check on the algorithm whilst Ianto gathered up the filing he'd been ignoring and retreated to the archives.
It was after midnight when Jack, Owen and Gwen returned. Tosh had gone home already, but Ianto had just made himself comfortable on the sofa with a book. He could tell from their expressions as the rest of the team traipsed through the cog door that the day had not gone well.
"It was a great bloody cougar!" Gwen said before Ianto could do more than say hello.
"A cougar," he repeated blankly. "What - ?"
"Some arsehole must have smuggled her into the country as a kitten and then abandoned her when she got too big," Owen explained, heading for the coffee. He poured himself a cup and glanced at Jack who was standing just inside the door, stiff as a statue, his face set in a frown. "I'd love to get my hands on that bastard."
Ianto looked over at Jack, who was nodding at Owen's words, but couldn't catch his eye.
"She was starving," Gwen said, her big eyes full of tears. "That's why she was attacking the sheep. We think she just happened across the young girl while she was hunting and got spooked. I mean, you could count every rib on the poor thing."
"What happened?" Ianto asked.
Gwen dropped next to him on the sofa. "We used the infra-red scanner in the SUV as soon as it got dark and the computer was able to sort through the images and disregard anything that should be in the area. We trapped 'the anomaly' - that's what the computer kept calling her - anyway, we caught her in a copse of trees near one of the pastures and were able to tranq her. I couldn't believe it when I saw what it was."
Ianto breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Jack again. He still hadn't moved but his eyes met Ianto's this time. "Well, that's good," Ianto said, not breaking eye contact with Jack. "What's going to happen to her?"
Gwen answered yet again. "Well, the constable just wanted to shoot her right there - I'm pretty sure he only cared about the stupid sheep - but I wasn't having any of that. I contacted a wildlife rescue and they're going to come fetch her as soon as they can. They called the vet in to make sure she stays sedated so she can't hurt anyone else until the wildlife people get there."
Jack made a face and then walked hurriedly to his office. Ianto stood and followed, wishing Gwen and Owen a goodnight as he crossed the Hub.
"Jack, what is it?" Ianto asked when he reached Jack's door, watching as Jack hung up his coat. "Do you think there's more to it?"
With a deep sigh, Jack dropped into his chair and shook his head. "No, this was your garden variety stupid, cruel human situation." He grimaced. "I didn't want to rain on Gwen's parade, but I don't think that cougar will last long, rescue or not."
Ianto slipped behind the Jack and rested his hands on Jack's shoulders. "You did everything you could, it sounds like," he said softly.
Jack sighed again and let his head fall back on Ianto's stomach. "And once again, it's just not enough."
"Stop that," Ianto scolded. He leant down and dropped a kiss on Jack's forehead.
Jack reached up to caress his cheek. "Nothing from the spike this morning, I assume?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
"Not a thing. And I think that's enough shop talk for today. You can remind me who the boss is tomorrow night. Do you want to go down to your quarters or back home with me?" he asked.
"Home," Jack whispered.
Ianto smiled and leant down again to place an upside-down kiss on Jack's lips. "Home it is," he murmured.
TBC in Chapter Forty-Five
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/97521.html. Please comment there using OpenID.