Stranger in the Night 3/5
Title: Stranger in the Night 3/5
Author: Iantojjackh
Spoilers: Everything up to Exit Wounds. Set several years post s2 where CoE and MD don't exist.
Pairing/Characters: Jack/Ianto, Past Ianto/Lisa, Gwen
Warnings: Some darkish themes in later chapters
Beta: czarina-kitty
Rating: PG
Summary: Someone shows up suddenly and unexpectedly in Cardiff one rainy night. Why has she shown up now, after all this time? Most importantly what does Ianto know about the reappearance?
Notes: It's been almost a year since I last posted to this story, but I've reworked what I had posted and now the story is complete and I will be posting a chapter a day. Please leave feedback so I know what you think.
Chapter 3: The Captain and The Other Woman
"What is it?" Ianto paused, sensing the hesitation in Gwen's voice.
Gwen smiled and shook her head. She could not ruin his night and with the way she left Lisa, the woman was not going anywhere. She had a look of abject horror and shock on her face at hearing Ianto's side of his conversation with Jack. "Nothing." She forced the smile to look real. "You and Jack enjoy your evening. Happy Anniversary," Gwen offered her well wishes and placed a friendly kiss on the Welshman's cheek. "I don't want a call that you two were arrested."
"The charges were dropped last time."
"No more naked hide and seek on the wharf."
"Right," Ianto laughed, gave a half salute and ran toward the garage where Jack was waiting in the car.
Gwen shook her head and smirked. Long gone were the days where Ianto was quiet and reserved. There were some days he was worse than Jack. Gwen doubted Lisa ever saw this side of Ianto. When she returned to Lisa, she saw the woman was now fuming mad.
"What kind of games are you lot playing?" Lisa ranted, refusing to believe any of things she just heard.
"None." Gwen shook her head.
Lisa closed her eyes and slammed her hand on the table, "Bollocks. That man is not Ianto Jones. My boyfriend would never cheat on me. And married? Is this why he never wanted to visit his family? He has a secret life here?" Lisa did not think Ianto was the deceptive type and wondered what his connection with Three was. Was he spying on Yvonne for Jack or spying on Jack for Yvonne and the whole marriage/civil partnership was part of the cover. Ianto was always a James Bond fan. The idea of him getting his spy thing on bought a hint of a smile to her face.
"I don't know why Ianto never visited before he moved here, but he is now close to his sister and her family," Gwen answered. Ianto's past was usually an out of bounds issue, something Ianto only shared with his other half.
"Now?" Lisa stuttered.
"Some time passed since you arrived here. I'm sure you have heard that a rift through space and time runs through Cardiff." There was so much to say and Gwen knew she was not the person to say it.
"What does this rift have to do with me?" Lisa's jaw clenched, frustration growing at the lack of answers. She knew about the rift, but she never bothered to understand what it did.
"Things sometimes slip through the rift. Things out of their space or in your case out of their time." Gwen tried to explain it in the simplest terms.
With the gun not pointed at her, Lisa was able calm down and not let fear rule what came out of her mouth. "Out of my time?"
"I would say approximately six years. Once I know more I can give an exact time. Did you bother asking your guest what the date is?"
The voice made both woman jump, not expecting anyone else to be here.
"Jack," Gwen said nervously. "I thought you two left." She looked around to see if Ianto had come with him.
"Stayed in the car," Jack's voice had an edge of menace. It was obvious what Gwen was looking for. "You were never a very good liar. Ianto knew something was wrong and I decided to see what it was before we left. Though, I'd admit, this is not what I expected." Jack fought to keep his cool, despite the explosive potential of the situation. There was no harm in marking his territory and making sure Lisa saw the wedding band on his finger.
Lisa kept a close eye on Jack, his smugness radiating off him and purposefully flaunting the ring on his finger. Her hands trembled slightly and she clutched them to her side. "Six years? How are you certain?" Lisa carefully studied the man behind the many stories. Many of them where dead on. Smug, arrogant, charming and drop dead gorgeous, although she would not admit the last one even if her life depended on it.
"It's how long Ianto has been back in Cardiff," Jack said giving as little information as possible. He knew anything he said could affect the time line. In fact Lisa being here had a chance for major repercussions. She was going to need a nice dose of retcon once they were ready to send her back, but Jack's main concern was what this was going to do to Ianto and the uncertainty made his stomach tighten.
"Is being vague the way things work here? Or is this just lies and made up lies to get back at us. To punish Yvonne for the bollocking she gave you last month?" Lisa looked between the two for answers.
"No lies. Only vague when timelines are concerned. Say the wrong thing and everything changes," Jack said nonchalantly. The only conversation with Yvonne that Lisa could be talking about happened two months before Canary Wharf fell. "You are here for Mica's third birthday?" With that little bit of information, Jack was able to figure out exactly where in time Lisa came from. A month for now in Lisa timeline, her life as she knew it would come to an end.
"Yes," Lisa allowed. Adrenaline coursed through her body and fear clouded her eyes. "Why is this happening? Did you brainwash Ianto into being with you? He would never go for someone like you." She did not know what Jack was capable of and it was oddly exciting and scary at the same time.
"Someone like me? Do you mean because I'm a man or...." Jack tilted his head, trying to read Lisa. From what Ianto said about Lisa, she did not seem the homophobic type, but when one realized their supposed boyfriend is married to another man harsh words can be said in a fit of anger. Jack recalled Ianto mentioning Lisa's sister was living with a woman before he left London.
"She said some things before," Gwen interrupted.
"You had a gun in my face. How did you expect me to react? I've heard the stories about you? What kind of lifestyle is that? And I mean having someone or something different in your bed every night. A man slut is the phrase I would use,” Lisa said with her nose turned up at the promiscuous tales of Captain Jack Harkness.
Jack laughed with smug satisfaction. "Let me guess, Yvonne Hartman told you?" He was not going to speak ill of the dead. "Those are just stories and most of them might have been true when you heard them, but those days are long behind me. I've been in a monogamous relationship for the last five years. There was no brainwashing involved." It was time for petty Jack to come out and play. There was no way he was going to give up the best thing that ever happened to him without a fight. In his mind there was no way to compare a relationship that only lasted a third of the time he had been with Ianto.
Gwen quietly excused herself and retreated to another part of the hub to give the two people vying for Ianto some privacy.
"Five years?" Lisa repeated just to make sure she had heard that right. She still was not convinced that Ianto had not been brainwashed. "I heard Ianto's half of his conversation with you. That sounds nothing like him. You had to do something to him."
Jack did not take kindly to being accused of whatever Lisa was trying to stay. "I don't like what you are implying. We both are very willing participants in our marriage. Either of us can walk out whenever we want." The Captain did his best to remain calm and not begin to boast about his amazing sex life with the sexy Welshman. There was a time and a place for that kind of talk and this was not it. It also was not the time to tell her that Ianto's devotion to her could have brought about the end of the world. There would never be a right time for that.
Lisa's mind was reeling with everything her brain was trying to process. It was like she had fallen though the rabbit hole and everything she knew had changed. In the case the rabbit hole was a very real thing called the rift. There were so many questions that she had, questions that she doubted Jack or Gwen would answer.
Why was Ianto no longer working in London?
Why were she and Ianto no longer together?
What would make Ianto fall for someone as unscrupulous as Jack Harkness?
Is Ianto a part of his child's life and is Jack a part too?
How was she going to get home and stop this future from happening?
"I want to talk Ianto and hear his side of everything," Lisa demanded, but it sounded almost like a desperate plea. She wanted to see her boyfriend for herself to make sure he was really okay.
"I can do that." Jack's voice was even, not displaying any emotion. Truthfully, he was scared like he had never been before. Had Ianto had a normal breakup with Lisa he would not be worried, but he knew there was still a part of his husband that loved Lisa, a part that would always love her. Ianto still got withdrawn and sullen on the anniversary of her death. Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets and sulked off back to the car park.
Lisa watched as Jack walked away, not expecting to see the vulnerability in his eyes. She could see he was scared and worried about losing something that he cared for more than himself. That did not fall in line with what the stories of Jack Harkness were about.
Ianto sighed and crossed his arms over chest when he saw Jack return and the look on his face. It was clear that their celebration was not going to happen. "What happened? Are we going to have to cancel dinner?"
"You know I love you, right?" Jack pulled Ianto into his arms and held on like it could be their last time. His face was buried so deeply against Ianto's neck, Jack could hardly breathe.
"I know and I love you too, but now you are scaring me. What's going on, Jack?" Ianto kissed the side of his husband's head. He knew well enough to know it had to be very serious. Jack was usually good at hiding how scared he was, but when he showed it, it meant the situation was usually dire.
"Lisa, she came through the rift from when you two came here for Mica's third birthday." Jack felt his heart rip from his chest when Ianto pulled out of the embrace and took off for the main part of the hub. One of Jack's greatest fears began to come true. He felt as if this was the beginning of the end.
To be Continued... Chapter 4
Previous Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2