(no subject)
Title: Collaboration Part 1
Rating: definitely NC-17/18/whatever the hell “shameless porn in writing comes under these days…. Or it will be in later parts. Not much in this one.
Summary: The Doctor and Ianto collaborate for Jack’s birthday present.
A/N: Don’t ask… its much safer believe me.
Disclaimer: I am the proud owner of some Torchwood Series 1 DVDs. That is it. Oh, and a John Barrowman CD and autobiography…. But yeah… nothing else but a dirty mind…The boys will be returned later, when I’m done playing with them. No profit, so don’t sue, I’m skint.
Previous parts:
I don’t think he’s wrong
http://newra-skylarke.livejournal.com/4284.html
I didn’t know, I swear!
http://newra-skylarke.livejournal.com/4887.html
The Consequences of being bad:
http://newra-skylarke.livejournal.com/5394.html
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The Doctor was mooching round the console room, looking for something to do. He was really bored. Jenny was showering somewhere, having been covered in some sort of manky yellow, what he suspected, to be saliva…But there were limits to what he would put his tongue near to check.
He very nearly jumped out of his skin when his mobile phone buzzed in his trouser pocket. He had taken to carrying it, purely for the sake of the fact that it came in handy when he wanted to play a game while he was waiting for something to happen. He never really expected it to ring, even though it did occasionally. Martha was the only one with his number, or so he thought.
He fished it out, looking at the screen. “Caller I.D. Withheld.” A phrase that normally meant trouble, but the Doctor was never one to shirk at danger and answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
A Welsh voice he had come to appreciate answered him, “Hello? Doctor?”
“Hello Ianto.”
“Oh good. I did get the number right.”
“What can I do for you?” The Doctor asked, sitting down and putting his feet up.
“Can you come to Cardiff for a bit? I need a hand with Jack’s birthday present.”
“What is it? And when is Jack’s birthday?” The Doctor was suddenly aware of the number of times he’s missed it.
“Thirteenth of May, and I’ll explain when you get here, because Jack keeps trying to find out what it is and he’s lurking everywhere.”
The Doctor chuckled at the amusement in Ianto’s voice. It did sound like Jack. “Alright, where and when do you want me?”
“There’s a Starbucks on the corner by the Plass. There around half seven in the evening on the twelfth?”
“Sure. Don’t be surprised if I’m late. Temperamental ship and all that.”
“With the Rift and all the crap that comes with it, I doubt it will matter much if you are,” came Ianto’s dry reply.
“OK, see you later then. Bye,” said the Doctor, cheerfully ending the call. He pocketed the phone and jumped up, setting the co-ordinates.
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The Doctor left Jenny a note, telling her he would be back later and that he had popped out in Cardiff, but not to go to Torchwood until he got back. He parked the Tardis and opened the doors onto the Plass. Where it was raining heavily. He squinted, trying to find the Starbucks, when a young man in a suit sped past him, his head down. The Doctor went to call out to him, but the young man ran straight towards the Starbucks he was looking for, answering his question.
He followed him into the shop, running himself and wishing he’d parked closer to the coffee shop. Like in it perhaps, or at the very least next to it. He shook himself off a little, flicking his rain soaked hair out of his eyes. The shop was full of people buying hot drinks and chatting, some in groups, some alone. He couldn’t see Ianto.
His phone suddenly rang. He flipped it open, “Ianto! Where are you?”
“I was about to ask you the same question. I’m at Starbucks.”
“So am I. Where are you?” He swept the room with his gaze. Why were there so many people in suits on the phone?
“In the queue. You?”
The Doctor retrained his attentions and spotted the young man he’d spotted on the Plass. He hadn’t recognised him as he sped past. “By the door, but I can see you so it’s ok.” He ended the call and Ianto looked straight at him. He walked over.
“What do you want?” Ianto nodded to the counter.
“Erm. I don’t have any - ”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it.”
“Tea then please. Just bog standard tea.”
The Doctor rocked on the balls of his feet, his hands stuffed into his pockets as Ianto ordered and paid for the drinks. He followed the young Welshman (taking the time of course to appreciate the rear view in what Ianto commented was a very Jack-like fashion) to a table that had just been vacated at the back of the shop. They sat down and the Doctor shrugged out of his slightly soggy brown coat.
“So. Jack’s birthday. What’s you’re plan?” the Doctor asked, adding sugar to his tea.
“Well…” Ianto outlined his idea in hushed tones. The Doctor quirked an eyebrow.
“Hmmm. Sounds like an excellent idea. Once told Jack he’d have to buy me a drink first. Guess it’s a bit late for that isn’t it.”
Ianto smiled. “Considering the Tardis, the showers, the office, Gwen’s desk, Jack’s room - ”
“Yes, yes alright!” The Doctor grinned.
The two spent several more beverages of their choice discussing and working out the logistics of their “gift”.
“We need to get him actual things too, so that he doesn’t get all suspicious,” the Doctor said. “Is there anything that he wants?”
“He could do with some new gadgets to play with. He’s the sort of guy who needs to keep his hands busy.” He paused to look at the Doctor who had sniggered. “What?”
“That sounded really dodgy… particularly in light of the conversation we’re having.”
Ianto thought about it for a moment and smiled as he realised what the Doctor meant. “Point. Not what I meant, but truth enough.” He shrugged.
The Doctor thought for a moment. “I have lots of gizmos in the Tardis Jack would like. We’ll have a rummage and see what would suit him.”
Ianto nodded. “Where did you park it?”
“On the Plass, by the fountain. Can top her up on Rift energy while I’m here. Keep the old girl happy.” The Doctor smiled.
“I didn’t see it.”
“There’s a perception filter on it. Can’t see it unless you know where it is, or you watched it land. Blink and you’ll miss it.”
“We have a lift that works like that. Jack likes to introduce visitors that way because it’s “swanky” and cool, whereas the front door isn’t.”
“Jack and his toys.”
“Exactly.”
“Can I see that way?” The Doctor asked, his expression turning to one similar to a kid in a candy store.
“After his present, I think you could ask for anything your whim desires and he would be unable to refuse you.” Ianto took another sip of his coffee. “Though having said that, if I told him you were on the Plass he would probably be more than happy to show off and come up to greet you that way, especially as it seems to have stopped raining.” They peered at the sky suspiciously. It seemed to be daring them to come back out so that it could open up and dump some more water on them unceremoniously.
“What should I wear to this shindig then? Suit seems a bit much really. Jeans and a t-shirt? Or maybe a casual button down shirt?” the Doctor mused.
“Oh no, stick with the suit. Jack is a sucker for a guy in a suit. One of the reasons he likes me so much. I look good in a suit, and so do you. Girls it’s tight jeans and t-shirts, men, it’s all about the suit with the ass defining trousers.”
“Is that why he couldn’t ever keep his eyes off me and on whatever task he’d been given?” The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
“That and the fact that it’s Jack. He will stare at you until the cows come home with alien friends.”
“Ah. I see. All right then, suit it is, just to keep the birthday boy happy. Where did you get the idea for this set up then?”
“Aside from the oh-so-positive response from last time? The archives, you and Jack cross reference to each other everywhere. It’s an interesting read, going through all the stuff that he said about you throughout the century before he found you again. He went from loving you, to being really bitter, to loving you again. The bitterness showed up when he had to lock us in the Hub for the day because it would mess with the time lines if we bumped into Jack running around with you in Cardiff. Not that we were told that at the time, not even when the Rift opened. He wouldn’t let us out even then, just said it would get fixed and that it would all be fine. Owen manked for weeks until Jack threatened to piss in his coffee if he didn’t quit.” Ianto looked suddenly sad.
“Who was Owen?” the Doctor asked gently.
“Our old medic. He died. Twice. Sort of. Completely gone now. Not even a body. Just a name on a filing cabinet and some belongings. We lost two that day. Lost our tech expert that day. She was brilliant. They both were.” Ianto replied.
“What was her name?”
“Toshiko Sato.”
“Was she a doctor?” the Doctor queried, straining his memory. He was sure he knew that name from somewhere.
“No. She had to fake it once because Owen was hung over, unreachable and useless. It was quite funny really. Something about a space-pig.”
“Space-pig! I knew I’d met her before.” The Doctor grinned. “Japanese woman. Pretty, petite, wears glasses?”
“Yeah, that’s Tosh.”
“I met her. She must have been bloody good, because I thought she was a medic.”
“Tosh was good at everything. No, she was better than good, she was fantastic. They both were. Despite all the snarkiness we were quite a tight knit group, particularly after Jack left, cause we had to cope without him, and it made us stronger as a unit. There was never any real malice even if we argued properly. It was all just bickering.” Ianto swirled the remains of his coffee, smiling softly at the memories. It was still a sad smile.
“How did they die?”
“Owen got shot by some nutty professor the first time. Then Jack used a piece of alien tech, which brought him back. Very bad idea. We had death wandering around for the day. Had a go at getting thirteen souls. Got defeated by the dead man walking. Owen being dead got us out of a tight spot that day. Wouldn’t have managed it otherwise. Second time he got stuck in a nuclear reactor. His body disintegrated. Tosh got shot by Jack’s psychotic brother Grey. Jack let go of his hand when they were kids. They were running from invaders and Grey got caught because Jack let go. Resulted in him wanting to get Jack back for the years of torture he endured. Even when she went down she kept going, and didn’t give up until she’d stopped a nuclear meltdown. Spent her last moments saving the world. As did Owen.”
“At least it wasn’t an incident with a toaster.”
Ianto burst out laughing. “That’s what she said. That is almost creepy.”
“I have a knack for things like that.” The Doctor thought back to all the companions he’d lost, or left behind. Ace, Perry, Sarah-Jane, Adric, Susan… Rose. He whacked back the last of his tea, deciding a lighter topic of conversation was needed. “Shall we go and see what we can find in the Tardis for our favourite Captain?”
“Yup. Come on.” They started outside but then the Doctor froze.
“What’s wrong?” Ianto asked, following the Doctor’s gaze. He couldn’t see anything. Apparently this was the problem, as neither could the Doctor.
“The Tardis is gone.”
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Dun dun dun! Where has the Tardis gone? With Jenny still inside? Find out when ever I get round to typing up the next bit!