This isn't anything
The first thing Ianto hears after he dies is Dr Owen Harper cheerily declaring, "Finally! That filing cabinet's needed sorting for ages."
"Owen!" Toshiko scolds. Carefully, Ianto opens his eyes to find himself staring at a ceiling. He's lying on carpet, he realises, in a room that feels much longer than it is wide. Beneath him is vibration and a humming noise, the sensation of movement. A train car, he realises.
"Of course the afterlife is a train," he mutters, not moving. "That makes perfect sense." Sighing (and oh, it's so much easier to breathe now - an ironic thought, considering), he slowly sits up, grabbing hold of the plush velvet fabric of a nearby seat so that he can pull himself to his feet. He sways a little with the movement of the train and wonders where exactly they're going as he looks around. Tosh is sitting in a booth, laptop open on the table in front of her and a game of sudoku poking out from behind a couple of database windows; opposite her, Owen sprawls across his seat, a creased Stephen King book held open in one hand and some kind of scanner in the other. "Well this is--" a beat, as he struggles for an appropriate word, then settles for, "nice."
"It's better than it was," Owen concedes. "When we got here it was pitch black. Some of the coolant from the power plant leaked through and it was enough to hook up the generator again. Stupid thing had burned out."
Ianto is surprised to find himself nodding in agreement as though the explanation actually does explain anything. "Right. Well." He pauses, taps a finger against his thigh. "How are things?"
"Bit busy at the moment," Tosh replies, not looking up. "What did you do, take an entire building out with you?"
"Yes, actually," he admits, and feels compelled to explain, "It was Jack's fault."
"Never doubted it," Owen agrees. "Well, now you're up I should go scan tickets. Tosh'll explain, won't you Tosh?"
Tosh just waves a hand at him, and Owen points the scanner in Ianto's direction, pressing a button so that a red light flashes. It doesn't seem to do anything except get in his eyes, so he decides to assume that Owen's just messing around. He takes his seat as he leaves, and suddenly finds himself staring at the top half of Tosh's head over her laptop screen.
So. Dead, then.
"Owen!" Toshiko scolds. Carefully, Ianto opens his eyes to find himself staring at a ceiling. He's lying on carpet, he realises, in a room that feels much longer than it is wide. Beneath him is vibration and a humming noise, the sensation of movement. A train car, he realises.
"Of course the afterlife is a train," he mutters, not moving. "That makes perfect sense." Sighing (and oh, it's so much easier to breathe now - an ironic thought, considering), he slowly sits up, grabbing hold of the plush velvet fabric of a nearby seat so that he can pull himself to his feet. He sways a little with the movement of the train and wonders where exactly they're going as he looks around. Tosh is sitting in a booth, laptop open on the table in front of her and a game of sudoku poking out from behind a couple of database windows; opposite her, Owen sprawls across his seat, a creased Stephen King book held open in one hand and some kind of scanner in the other. "Well this is--" a beat, as he struggles for an appropriate word, then settles for, "nice."
"It's better than it was," Owen concedes. "When we got here it was pitch black. Some of the coolant from the power plant leaked through and it was enough to hook up the generator again. Stupid thing had burned out."
Ianto is surprised to find himself nodding in agreement as though the explanation actually does explain anything. "Right. Well." He pauses, taps a finger against his thigh. "How are things?"
"Bit busy at the moment," Tosh replies, not looking up. "What did you do, take an entire building out with you?"
"Yes, actually," he admits, and feels compelled to explain, "It was Jack's fault."
"Never doubted it," Owen agrees. "Well, now you're up I should go scan tickets. Tosh'll explain, won't you Tosh?"
Tosh just waves a hand at him, and Owen points the scanner in Ianto's direction, pressing a button so that a red light flashes. It doesn't seem to do anything except get in his eyes, so he decides to assume that Owen's just messing around. He takes his seat as he leaves, and suddenly finds himself staring at the top half of Tosh's head over her laptop screen.
So. Dead, then.