The Day After The End Of The World (for coffee_cult)

[kateriffic]

The quarters of Torchwood One are just as bleak as the rest of the institute. They are built for function and use, not for decoration. The rooms each contain two bunk beds, with a small stand on each side and a wardrobe. The floor is covered with a black, rubberized tile to prevent slippage from the occasional leaks that permeate the entire

Comments

[coffee_cult]

Twenty-four hours and more since the Toclafane invasion. Torchwood have been scrambling to decide their next move. Ianto hasn't slept since it happened, and it shows. He's freshly showered and shaved (with a nick under the jaw for his trouble), clad impeccably in his usual three-piece suit, chain of a pocketwatch dangling from the waistcoat. Being down in the civilian quarters probably isn't a good idea. No one bothers stopping or interrupting him - most of that comes from upstairs, from bitter employees still upset at being virtually locked in. Until the dust settles, he can't allow anyone to leave. The news stations aren't broadcasting any longer; any satellite signals on the television bring up empty static. There are a brave few still trying to infiltrate the Internet and radio channels, but they've no way of knowing how much longer it will last.

Ianto has been concentrating on his work, on their next move - on anything but the hopelessness of the world ending, or Jack being in enemy hands, or the probability that his parents are somewhere on the surface, dead. He keeps his pace through the corridor brisk, until he reaches the room that Moira assigned to his sister and one of their other guests. He lifts a hand and raps lightly on the door.

[kateriffic]

She's very focused on her task. So much so that when the knock comes, she gets startled. Kate cuts the flesh between her left thumb and finger with the seam ripper. She looks at the injury. A spot of red appears but there is no immediate healing. That part of her is still gone.

"Come in," she calls and then shakes her hand. The cut stings just a bit.

[coffee_cult]

Ianto feels almost guilty as he opens the door and steps inside. He shakes the feeling away - it's foolish, at best. The smile he summons is half-hearted, levity in such a situation is difficult. The world is being destroyed, there are aliens on the loose, and ... the feeling of hopelessness is almost stifling. Ianto pushes it away; even in his darkest moments, he's never felt anything so insistent like this.

"How are you?" he asks, hand still on the doorknob as he eases the door ajar behind himself.

[kateriffic]

How is she? That is an extremely loaded question. She's not good but no one right now is doing well. "I'm fine." It's an easy enough response with some kernel of truth. She removes her sewing project out of her lap and onto the bed next to her. It would be rude to work on it with company.

"What about you?" It's a very civil start to their uneasy conversation.

[coffee_cult]

Ianto doesn't mean it as a loaded question - no tricks, no subversions. He leans against the door jamb and puts his hands in his pockets. Body language training tells him that's a sign of insecurity. But Kate is hardly a threat. He draws in a breath and shakes his head slightly.

"I'm - getting through," Ianto replies, trying to make his voice as light as possible. Which isn't much, given the situation. "Look, I ... I know you must be wondering why I came down here."

[kateriffic]

Were this any other situation, Kate would be more than sympathetic. It can't be easy talking to the pregnant lover of your lover. However, it's not. She's trying very hard to be civil and not give into the emotions that she's trying to suppress. "I suppose that's the best that anyone can do now, getting through." The rest of her sewing project is bundled up. The seam ripper folded carefully inside the deconstructed t-shirt.

"I've..." She sighs and then continues, "The thought has crosed my mind. Actually, it hadn't. Prior to the alien invasion she had wondered a lot as to why Ianto had brought her here. "You could come in all the way if you like."

[coffee_cult]

"Right, um - sorry." At the urging to come in, Ianto steps the rest of the way into the room and closes the door behind himself, and after another moment actually lets go of his discomfort enough to go and take a seat on the bunk opposite the one Kate is sitting on. He sits stiffly for a moment, then loosens up and leans forward, bracing elbows on his knees.

"I brought you here because we suspected something would happen," Ianto begins, fidgeting with his hands. "But even our most cynical predictions didn't project anything like this."

[kateriffic]

She watches him cross the room and then sit down opposite her. Kate even smiles politely when he apologies though it is very brief in it's duration. "I see. Why" That much she could gather on her own, that bad things were about to happen. "Why me and what about your own family?" Why had he brought her here when there is undoubtedly people closer to him that he could have saved.

"I don't think anyone could have foreseen this."

[coffee_cult]

The thought of his own family makes Ianto cringe, just a little. His brother was one of Saxon's campaign assistants - not something that he would let just anyone know. "My sister, Fred - she phoned our parents before the invasion, they ... they were alive, then." He draws in a breath, glancing up at the ceiling to blink back tears. Then he pauses, forcing his gaze back down so that he can meet Kate's eyes. "I thought you might be targeted because you're ... close to Jack. After Saxon - the Master - tried to kill us. He flooded the Torchwood Hub in Cardiff."

Ianto stops himself - he can't fathom, for a moment, that he's telling her this much. "I didn't want anything to happen to you, or to your baby."

[kateriffic]

She doesn't mean to make him cringe. It's an honest enough question that she had wanted answered ever since being brought here. Why her? What was his justification in leaving behind his parents? "I see." Kate dwells on this a few moments. "And you still don't know where Tosh is?" She had met Tosh. She had liked Tosh even.

"Thank you." Kate really does mean that it and it shows in her face. It's hard enough moving about as it is with her big belly. She doesn't know what she would have done if left to her own devices. Survive? Possibly. The more likely answer is far more grim.

[coffee_cult]

"No." The thought of Toshiko is painful. Besides Jack, Tosh is his best friend in the world, and they have no idea where she is. Unable to track the GPS signal on the SUV, unable to reach her by mobile - if they even dare use it. Ianto pushes the thoughts away, because with them comes the questioning of when he'll have to, within all reason, call the search off and declare her MIA, probably KIA.

"We've capable doctors here who can attend to you," Ianto offers after another moment. "And this, really, is no place for you and a baby. If you don't mind, you're welcome to the room behind my office. It's not much larger, but it's private. We could find a crib of some sort." It won't be the nursery he saw in the Cardiff house, but it's a start.

[kateriffic]

"I'm very sorry to hear that Ianto. I hope you find her safe and sound." There are plenty of plausible explanations as to why Tosh isn't here. Some do not even involve her death or capture and Kate decides to think on those alternatives instead. "I'm sure she's alright." She can hope.

"Oh." Capable doctors, well, at least they had some. "That's good to know." She seems uneasy, and she is, with the prospect of giving birth here. It's a bleak world wherever you look. Kate's not blameless but his next suggestion does add to her uneasiness. Her head lifts up to look at him directly. "That's a very generous offer but I don't warrant special treatment. I can make do." And she can too. "You're in charge here. You are going to need that private space more so than me."

[coffee_cult]

Ianto does not accept sympathy very well, but he nods his thanks to the concern over Tosh. They're all worried, of course. Him, Owen, Gwen ... it's unlikely they'll find her alive, if they find her at all, but they can't lose hope. He sits back a bit, careful not to bump his head on the upper bunk, and rubs at the back of his neck.

"This isn't the sort of world to bring a child into," he states with a sigh. "But we haven't much choice. I want you to be as comfortable as possible." Ianto frowns slightly, the next words difficult in coming out. "I think ... that Jack would want the same."

[kateriffic]

"It isn't? I hadn't noticed that at all." The words are no sooner out of her mouth before she regrets them. She raises a hand to her face. "I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."

Oh, what Jack would have wanted? That's an incredibly low blow. "Ianto... It's a nice offer but it's not fair to everyone else. I get that you're doing this for Jack and it's nice. But I mean, come on, you don't even like me. It'd be a bit uncomfortable, don't you think?"

[coffee_cult]

Really, it hadn't been Ianto's intention to use Jack to manipulate the situation. (Unfortunately, things like that happen to ... come a bit naturally to him.) He looks a bit taken-aback at her response, but takes it gracefully. Somewhat. Perhaps he should have known better than to attempt to extend the proverbial olive branch. As nice and unassuming as Kate seems, Ianto has no reason to think that she likes him any more than he does her - he has no idea whether she's comfortable with Jack's lack of monogamy. (All he knows of this woman is what Jack told him - and for all his love of the captain, it would be like Jack to stress the good points.)

Ianto frowns more deeply and gets to his feet. "I don't expect us to become close," he says bluntly, his voice hard. "But Jack is on the Valiant. Saxon has him. He might never come back. I'm sorry that you're trapped here, but for the time being ... I'm the closest thing you've got to a friend."

[kateriffic]

She accepts Jack for who he is. Kate doesn't want him to change and when she had found out that she was with child, she had considered just leaving. A baby changes everything and she didn't want that for him. She doesn't want him to change from the man that she fell in love with.

Kate is sorry for the snark. The words just tumbled forth without a second thought. Kate has both a martyr complex and a guilt complex. What's a Catholic without guilt, really? "I know he has Jack." She replies, her tone even. "He is going to come back, damnet. I refuse to believe anything else." Kate watches as he gets to his feet and she sighs. "Fine. I don't want to be a freeloader though."