Presence: Chapter 4
Title: Presence
Chapter: Four
Words: 1,722
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Ianto/Gwen, eventual!Jack/Ianto
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Summary: Librarian Ianto Jones' marriage is coming to an end when he notices that his wife, Gwen, may be involved with her boss, Jack Harkness. Intrigued by the man, Ianto does some research on him and finds out he's been living in Cardiff for over 100 years.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters.
Chapter 3
After another sip of her coffee that only increased her worries, the door to Jack's office opened and the captain emerged with a big grin on his face. Ianto followed behind him and when he met Gwen's gaze, he continued on with that blank look she had come to hate so much. With her rage boiling over, Gwen shouted, "What the fuck is going on Jack?"
Taken aback, Jack responded, "This is Ianto Jones. I've just hired him as our new archivist."
"How dare you! I asked one thing and that was to stay out of my private life; now you go and pull something like this?"
Jack looked between them, confused. "Do you two know each other?"
"Don't be daft. Do you expect me to believe that you hired my husband by accident?"
Jack's eyes widened as he turned to Ianto, "Husband?"
Ianto lowered his head and answered in a soft voice, "I thought you knew."
A tense silence filled the room that was finally broken by Owen snickering, "This is your husband?"
Gwen shot back a murderous glare, "What about it?"
Owen continued to laugh, "Nothing. He's just nothing like how I pictured him. If you're married, how come he isn't wearing a wedding ring?"
Gwen looked away, embarrassed but Jack stared at Ianto expecting him to answer Owen's question. In the most diplomatic manner possible, Ianto replied, "We're separated."
"That makes sense," Owen added.
"Shut it, Owen!" Gwen commanded before turning to Jack, "He's not staying."
Owen kept up his teasing, "Why not? If he's good enough to get Jack's attention then he should stay. Who knows, perhaps you two can reconcile?"
Gwen fumed, "Jack, we need to talk about this in private."
Jack, still stunned, answered, "Yes, follow me to the boardroom."
Once Jack and Gwen left the room, Ianto found himself alone with Tosh and Owen. Tosh was visibly uncomfortable with the situation and could only give the young man a sympathetic smile, but Owen was unabashedly looking him up and down. After a few minutes of staring, Owen took a seat at his station and sipped his coffee, "Did you really make this?"
Ianto nodded, "Coffee is kind of a specialty of mine."
Owen grinned in approval, "What else can you do?"
"I notice things."
"Like what?"
"Your weevil, Janet, is hurting herself."
With curiosity, Owen pulled up the CCTV on Janet's cell. Ianto directed him to zoom the lens and pointed out the fresh scars on her head. He then had Owen fast forward through the day's footage. Soon he stopped him, "There! Something's upsetting her."
On the screen, the creature was grasping desperately with her hands to cover her head. Ianto helped Owen go through other days and find similar behavior. He then cross checked those events with what else was happening in the Hub. Ianto called, "Toshiko, would you mind going out the cog door and coming back in?"
Tosh, who had become interested in what they were doing, quickly agreed. Ianto and Owen watched the monitor closely and when the cog door alarm sounded, Janet wailed and scratched at her head. Owen turned in his chair and gazed at Ianto intently, "Very impressive, Mr. Jones."
Gwen paced the room furiously as she spoke, "He can't work here; he's not qualified!"
Jack, who was sitting at the table, answered, "He's plenty qualified and we're in desperate need of an archivist especially since we took on so much of London's materials."
"That's not it. He's delicate; he can't handle such a crazy environment."
Jack chuckled, earning him another glare from Gwen, "I've only known him a day but he is anything but delicate. I've never seen anyone so accepting and so inquisitive."
Gwen scowled and tried another tactic, "It's not professional! I can't concentrate if I have to worry about him."
"It's not like he's going into the field; he'll be mostly taking care of the Hub. When did you separate?"
Gwen crossed her arms, "He moved out last night. It was our anniversary and I forgot about it."
"OK, so you've been working too much. Maybe if you two are around each other more, things will work out. He's a reasonable man; he'll forgive you if you ask."
Gwen stopped her pacing and was quiet for a minute. She could feel the same horrible sensation as when Jack would tell her to go home to your husband. Softly, she announced her decision, "I want him retconned."
"Gwen, he understands you now. Do you really want to take that away?"
"He needs to go back to his life and I need to continue with mine," Gwen said as she sat down next to Jack. "Do you really want to see him and me together all day? Wouldn't that bother you?"
Jack thought for a moment of Ianto's blue eyes and the way they stared straight into him, trying to find the human that he hid away. Softly, he replied, "Yes, I 'spose it would."
Gwen sighed in relief, "Good, then we're agreed: we're retconning Ianto."
"Oh, no we're not." Jack and Gwen turned their heads to see Owen standing in the doorway, "We're keeping him."
"This is none of your business, Owen!" Gwen shouted angrily.
"It is now. Jack, you cannot bring around a super intelligent bloke who makes the best cup of coffee in the world only to take him away because it makes Gwen uncomfortable. He's staying."
Gwen stood and faced the smug looking Owen, "He's still my husband and I decide what happens to him. I'm retconning him and that's final."
"Where exactly will you be finding this retcon? I'm the medical officer and have ultimate control over what drugs are distributed."
While Owen and Gwen continued arguing Jack slunk back in his chair, torn about his feelings for a man he only just met. As if he had summoned him, Ianto silently walked into the room and almost like a butler set a fresh cup of coffee in front of Jack. With an appreciative smile, Jack gazed up at him and nodded his thanks. Ianto then interrupted Gwen and Owen, "It doesn't work on me."
Gwen jumped slightly at his sudden appearance and cursed how quietly he moved, "What are you on about?"
"The drug you're talking about, retcon, it doesn't work on me," Ianto continued.
Ianto then proceeded to tell them about the night he arrived home and Gwen was waiting for him with a cup of tea.
It was unusual since Gwen hardly ever entered the kitchen let alone make something for Ianto, but he accepted it happily. With unusual apprehension, Gwen watched as he sipped at the Earl Grey and asked, "How's that big project at work? Have you made any progress?"
Ianto was delighted that she remembered and answered, "Not as quickly as I'd like. I hit a snag when the records switched from Welsh to English, but things are starting to get going again."
Gwen nodded, obviously not paying attention and when Ianto stopped speaking, she started, "I'm sorry that I haven't been 'round much. This new job has been insane, but it's important work."
"It would have to be. I thought being a police officer was your life."
"I still am but it's special ops. I may not wear the uniform but I'm still protecting this city. We can't all sit in a library our whole lives sorting through moldy old books."
Ianto raised an eyebrow at her insult making her backtrack, "I'm sorry; that was out of line. What I wanted to talk about was this bloke at work, Owen."
As Gwen spoke, Ianto noticed his vision beginning to blur.
". . . We only did it for a few weeks. It was a mistake . . ."
Ianto began to have trouble sitting up and weakly asked, "What was in that tea?"
"It's retcon; we use it at work. This has been eating away at me Ianto. Even though we've ended it, Owen keeps harping that I'm bad for doing it, for cheating. Tell me I'm that you forgive me, Cariad. Tell me I'm a good person."
Just as Ianto lost consciousness, he gazed back at Gwen and whispered, "Go to hell."
Jack, Owen, and Gwen stared at him in silence before Gwen asked in a small voice, "You remembered?"
"Yes, I did. So it was supposed to wipe my memory?"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"What was there to say? It's not like it was the first time."
Owen let out a low whistle, "That's amazing. The incident rate for retcon immunity is . . ."
"1 in 1000," Jack finished and then stood with a flash of anger in his eyes. "Gwen, you used retcon on a civilian? After everything that happened with Suzy, you used retcon for your own purposes?"
Gwen was shocked at Jack's anger as she sputtered, "It was only the one time and it was a small dose, so I thought-"
She was interrupted by Ianto, "Look, I've already signed the contract and I'm ready to start, but if I'm really not wanted here, I can leave. In the end, I'll do what you want, Jack." Ianto stood in front of Jack and gazed at him intently, "Do you want me to stay?"
Jack returned Ianto's gaze and felt his heart racing. Reaching out to gently clasp Ianto's shoulder, Jack replied, "Yes, please stay."
Chapter 5
Chapter: Four
Words: 1,722
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Ianto/Gwen, eventual!Jack/Ianto
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Summary: Librarian Ianto Jones' marriage is coming to an end when he notices that his wife, Gwen, may be involved with her boss, Jack Harkness. Intrigued by the man, Ianto does some research on him and finds out he's been living in Cardiff for over 100 years.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters.
Chapter 3
After another sip of her coffee that only increased her worries, the door to Jack's office opened and the captain emerged with a big grin on his face. Ianto followed behind him and when he met Gwen's gaze, he continued on with that blank look she had come to hate so much. With her rage boiling over, Gwen shouted, "What the fuck is going on Jack?"
Taken aback, Jack responded, "This is Ianto Jones. I've just hired him as our new archivist."
"How dare you! I asked one thing and that was to stay out of my private life; now you go and pull something like this?"
Jack looked between them, confused. "Do you two know each other?"
"Don't be daft. Do you expect me to believe that you hired my husband by accident?"
Jack's eyes widened as he turned to Ianto, "Husband?"
Ianto lowered his head and answered in a soft voice, "I thought you knew."
A tense silence filled the room that was finally broken by Owen snickering, "This is your husband?"
Gwen shot back a murderous glare, "What about it?"
Owen continued to laugh, "Nothing. He's just nothing like how I pictured him. If you're married, how come he isn't wearing a wedding ring?"
Gwen looked away, embarrassed but Jack stared at Ianto expecting him to answer Owen's question. In the most diplomatic manner possible, Ianto replied, "We're separated."
"That makes sense," Owen added.
"Shut it, Owen!" Gwen commanded before turning to Jack, "He's not staying."
Owen kept up his teasing, "Why not? If he's good enough to get Jack's attention then he should stay. Who knows, perhaps you two can reconcile?"
Gwen fumed, "Jack, we need to talk about this in private."
Jack, still stunned, answered, "Yes, follow me to the boardroom."
Once Jack and Gwen left the room, Ianto found himself alone with Tosh and Owen. Tosh was visibly uncomfortable with the situation and could only give the young man a sympathetic smile, but Owen was unabashedly looking him up and down. After a few minutes of staring, Owen took a seat at his station and sipped his coffee, "Did you really make this?"
Ianto nodded, "Coffee is kind of a specialty of mine."
Owen grinned in approval, "What else can you do?"
"I notice things."
"Like what?"
"Your weevil, Janet, is hurting herself."
With curiosity, Owen pulled up the CCTV on Janet's cell. Ianto directed him to zoom the lens and pointed out the fresh scars on her head. He then had Owen fast forward through the day's footage. Soon he stopped him, "There! Something's upsetting her."
On the screen, the creature was grasping desperately with her hands to cover her head. Ianto helped Owen go through other days and find similar behavior. He then cross checked those events with what else was happening in the Hub. Ianto called, "Toshiko, would you mind going out the cog door and coming back in?"
Tosh, who had become interested in what they were doing, quickly agreed. Ianto and Owen watched the monitor closely and when the cog door alarm sounded, Janet wailed and scratched at her head. Owen turned in his chair and gazed at Ianto intently, "Very impressive, Mr. Jones."
Gwen paced the room furiously as she spoke, "He can't work here; he's not qualified!"
Jack, who was sitting at the table, answered, "He's plenty qualified and we're in desperate need of an archivist especially since we took on so much of London's materials."
"That's not it. He's delicate; he can't handle such a crazy environment."
Jack chuckled, earning him another glare from Gwen, "I've only known him a day but he is anything but delicate. I've never seen anyone so accepting and so inquisitive."
Gwen scowled and tried another tactic, "It's not professional! I can't concentrate if I have to worry about him."
"It's not like he's going into the field; he'll be mostly taking care of the Hub. When did you separate?"
Gwen crossed her arms, "He moved out last night. It was our anniversary and I forgot about it."
"OK, so you've been working too much. Maybe if you two are around each other more, things will work out. He's a reasonable man; he'll forgive you if you ask."
Gwen stopped her pacing and was quiet for a minute. She could feel the same horrible sensation as when Jack would tell her to go home to your husband. Softly, she announced her decision, "I want him retconned."
"Gwen, he understands you now. Do you really want to take that away?"
"He needs to go back to his life and I need to continue with mine," Gwen said as she sat down next to Jack. "Do you really want to see him and me together all day? Wouldn't that bother you?"
Jack thought for a moment of Ianto's blue eyes and the way they stared straight into him, trying to find the human that he hid away. Softly, he replied, "Yes, I 'spose it would."
Gwen sighed in relief, "Good, then we're agreed: we're retconning Ianto."
"Oh, no we're not." Jack and Gwen turned their heads to see Owen standing in the doorway, "We're keeping him."
"This is none of your business, Owen!" Gwen shouted angrily.
"It is now. Jack, you cannot bring around a super intelligent bloke who makes the best cup of coffee in the world only to take him away because it makes Gwen uncomfortable. He's staying."
Gwen stood and faced the smug looking Owen, "He's still my husband and I decide what happens to him. I'm retconning him and that's final."
"Where exactly will you be finding this retcon? I'm the medical officer and have ultimate control over what drugs are distributed."
While Owen and Gwen continued arguing Jack slunk back in his chair, torn about his feelings for a man he only just met. As if he had summoned him, Ianto silently walked into the room and almost like a butler set a fresh cup of coffee in front of Jack. With an appreciative smile, Jack gazed up at him and nodded his thanks. Ianto then interrupted Gwen and Owen, "It doesn't work on me."
Gwen jumped slightly at his sudden appearance and cursed how quietly he moved, "What are you on about?"
"The drug you're talking about, retcon, it doesn't work on me," Ianto continued.
Ianto then proceeded to tell them about the night he arrived home and Gwen was waiting for him with a cup of tea.
It was unusual since Gwen hardly ever entered the kitchen let alone make something for Ianto, but he accepted it happily. With unusual apprehension, Gwen watched as he sipped at the Earl Grey and asked, "How's that big project at work? Have you made any progress?"
Ianto was delighted that she remembered and answered, "Not as quickly as I'd like. I hit a snag when the records switched from Welsh to English, but things are starting to get going again."
Gwen nodded, obviously not paying attention and when Ianto stopped speaking, she started, "I'm sorry that I haven't been 'round much. This new job has been insane, but it's important work."
"It would have to be. I thought being a police officer was your life."
"I still am but it's special ops. I may not wear the uniform but I'm still protecting this city. We can't all sit in a library our whole lives sorting through moldy old books."
Ianto raised an eyebrow at her insult making her backtrack, "I'm sorry; that was out of line. What I wanted to talk about was this bloke at work, Owen."
As Gwen spoke, Ianto noticed his vision beginning to blur.
". . . We only did it for a few weeks. It was a mistake . . ."
Ianto began to have trouble sitting up and weakly asked, "What was in that tea?"
"It's retcon; we use it at work. This has been eating away at me Ianto. Even though we've ended it, Owen keeps harping that I'm bad for doing it, for cheating. Tell me I'm that you forgive me, Cariad. Tell me I'm a good person."
Just as Ianto lost consciousness, he gazed back at Gwen and whispered, "Go to hell."
Jack, Owen, and Gwen stared at him in silence before Gwen asked in a small voice, "You remembered?"
"Yes, I did. So it was supposed to wipe my memory?"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"What was there to say? It's not like it was the first time."
Owen let out a low whistle, "That's amazing. The incident rate for retcon immunity is . . ."
"1 in 1000," Jack finished and then stood with a flash of anger in his eyes. "Gwen, you used retcon on a civilian? After everything that happened with Suzy, you used retcon for your own purposes?"
Gwen was shocked at Jack's anger as she sputtered, "It was only the one time and it was a small dose, so I thought-"
She was interrupted by Ianto, "Look, I've already signed the contract and I'm ready to start, but if I'm really not wanted here, I can leave. In the end, I'll do what you want, Jack." Ianto stood in front of Jack and gazed at him intently, "Do you want me to stay?"
Jack returned Ianto's gaze and felt his heart racing. Reaching out to gently clasp Ianto's shoulder, Jack replied, "Yes, please stay."
Chapter 5