Fic: Ianto Unknown (3/4)
Title: Ianto Unknown (3/4)
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: Teen
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Team Torchwood
Word Count: 1940
Summary: Ianto Jones wakes up on the floor one morning with no recollection of how he got there - or of Torchwood. When the team investigate a violent attack against one of Ianto’s neighbours, Jack must juggle his responsibilities to the team - and to Ianto.
Spoilers: Everything up to Adrift. Vague references to a few of the Torchwood Novels, but you don’t have to have read them to understand the reference.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, though I wouldn’t say no to a pet pterodactyl.
Authors Notes: Written for the Jantolution Challenge - The Harlequin Challenge. Based on this summary for the Harlequin novel Identity Unknown.
Beated by cindergirlgrimm
Chapter 1 can be found here.
Bookcover made by erin_giles
Saturday
The following morning, Ianto was sat in a chair in one of the Torchwood Three interrogation rooms. If anybody realised that it was the same room they had used when interrogating Suzie, after her return from the dead, then nobody mentioned it.
Gwen sat in the seat opposite him while Jack paced behind her. Tosh and Owen were watching the conversation on the CCTV footage from Tosh’s workstation.
Jack was allowing Gwen to do most of the talking. Her police training skills were usually the most effective way to get people to talk, and he was still wound up after his third trip to the hospital to see Miss Smith had not yielded any better results than either of his previous trips. He didn’t trust himself not to say something stupid or harsh that would spook Ianto.
“Can you tell me what you did on Wednesday?” Gwen asked. “Tell me everything you can remember.” Ianto took a sip of water, from the beige plastic cup in front of him before he started to talk.
“I got up around six, showered, got ready, ate some toast and then got into work around seven. I made Jack coffee and then went to do some filing in the archives for a few hours. I came back up just before nine to make some more coffee. Just after Owen arrived the Rift alarm went off. The signal was coming from a farm just outside of Splott. When we got there, it was to find a 39th century music box had come through the Rift and landed in the field. We spent the rest of the day trying to find all the pieces in the field.
“Once we got back to the Hub, Jack had a conference call with Archie so he said we could go home and he’d call us if he needed us. I fed the fish and Myfanwy then Jack walked me out while he was waiting for Archie to ring.” Ianto frowned and took another drink of water. “I remember saying ‘bye to Jack and the next thing I remember after that is waking up on the floor.”
“Can you tell me what the time was when you left the Hub?”
“About quarter to five, I think.”
“And you don’t remember anything after that?” Ianto shook his head.
“No, it’s not fuzzy or anything, it’s just blank.” Gwen nodded, before sliding some pictures across the table towards him. “Do these help? They were taken from the CCTV in your building at around 7pm on Wednesday night.” Ianto frowned as he looked at the black and white pictures of himself carrying ASDA shopping bags into his flat. “No. I don’t remember that.”
“Okay. Can you tell me what happened after you woke up?”
“Jack, Tosh and Owen came to my flat. Owen checked me out and then you came in and I fainted. You guys brought me back to the Hub and Owen checked me out again. After that, Jack said I had to stay in the vaults until you knew for certain that I wasn’t a threat.”
“Okay.” Gwen nodded her head before looking at Jack. “Is there anything else you want to ask?” Jack shook his head. “Right, well I think we’re done.” Jack nodded.
“I’ll take Ianto back downstairs. I want to meet you, Tosh and Owen in the boardroom in five minutes.” Gwen gave Ianto a tentative smile as Jack led him out of the room. Neither of them saw the smile fade and be replaced with a worried glance.
***
“I swear they didn’t look at each other once.” Gwen said. She, Owen and Tosh were sat in the boardroom waiting for Jack to return from taking Ianto back down to the vaults.
“I noticed that as well.” Tosh said. “It must be hard on them though. Ianto’s stuck in the vaults and he knows it’s Jack who ordered him to be put there. Jack’s not just his boss he’s his - boyfriend?” Gwen shrugged.
“I dunno what they’re calling themselves,” Owen replied. “I know it’s more than just sex though.” Both Tosh and Gwen looked at him in surprise. Owen waved his hands. “Look, when I first - when this happened - I said some things to Ianto I shouldn’t have. Jack found out and told me that if I ever say anything to Ianto again, he’d use me as a punching bag. Can we drop it now?”
Gwen and Tosh nodded. “Did anybody else notice if they looked at each other, the other times we questioned Ianto?” Gwen asked. Owen shrugged his shoulders, while Tosh shook her head.
“Not when we’ve been questioning him. However, I know Jack’s been going down to the vaults on a night. I was in early this morning and saw him come back up.” Gwen frowned.
“So why won’t they look at each other when we’re questioning them?”
“They’re at work.” Owen replied. “I know I’m the first one to say something whenever they get caught at the Hub, but during work hours they’re strictly professional. At least since Jack came back they are.”
“I think Owen’s right.” Tosh said. “When we’re questioning Ianto, he’s Captain Jack. He has to put everybody’s safety first. When it’s just the two of them, he can go back to being just Jack.” They were all silent for a few seconds, as they thought about Tosh’s statement. “I’m glad I’m not in his position.” Tosh continued.
“I don’t know what I’d do, if it was my boyfriend.” Gwen nodded. She had placed Rhys in the Torchwood vaults once before and it was something she hoped she would never see again.
“Don’t worry about it,” Owen replied “this is unusual even for Torchwood…Who wants to bet Jack turns into overprotective boyfriend from hell once this is all over?” Gwen and Tosh grinned.
“I bet Ianto isn’t allowed out of the Hub for a month.” Gwen replied.
“I’m tempted to keep him locked in the Hub forever.” Gwen jumped; she hadn’t heard Jack enter the boardroom. “But something tells me he wouldn’t be keen on the idea. And he can get out of any restraint, no matter how tightly I tie him to the bed.”
“Moving on!” Owen proclaimed loudly as Gwen laughed and Tosh blushed. Jack sank wearily into his chair.
“What do you think then?” He asked.
“Looks like he’s got all of his memory back,” Owen replied, “except during the time the victim was attacked. Everything he remembers before and after the attack seems correct.” Jack nodded.
“That’s what I thought. Tosh, how long until you have that tracking software finished?”
“Half an hour, tops.”
“Right; Tosh get that software finished. If somebody tries to interfere with the cameras, I want to know everything about them. Name, address, favourite colour, anything you can find. Owen, check all of Ianto’s results again - and ring Martha. It’s a long shot, but she might be able to think of something we’re overlooking. Gwen - go grab us some coffee will you? I promised Ianto nobody would attempt to use the coffee machine. When you’re done I want you to ring Andy, see if you can find anything else out about these past robberies.”
Jack ran his hand through his hair as the rest of his team jumped up and filed out of the boardroom. Slowly he raised himself out of his chair; it was time to feed the pterodactyl again. He stopped outside of the boardroom and looked at his team below him. He forced back the sudden burst of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. Gwen was standing next to Tosh, asking if she wanted a cake or anything else while she was out, while Owen was talking on his mobile while scanning Ianto’s results for what felt like the hundredth time.
Normally even when Ianto wasn’t in sight, there was a sign he was around. The smell of fresh coffee; piles of forms to be signed, placed neatly on the corner of Jack’s desk with a yellow sticky note on top; the gleam of the boardroom table where Ianto had cleaned it. You could always tell when it was Ianto’s day off as stray pizza boxes seemed to turn up everywhere.
Jack walked into the kitchen to prepare Myfanwy’s food, trying to pretend that this was just one of Ianto’s rare days off.
***
Ianto was already sat next to the door when Jack arrived that evening. “You look tired.” Ianto said as Jack sank to the floor with a groan.
“So do you.” Ianto shrugged.
“This isn’t the most comfortable of places to sleep. I don’t think I’ll complain about that camp bed under your office ever again.”
Jack closed his eyes. God this was hard. Nobody would know if he opened the cell and sat with Ianto, especially if he wiped the CCTV footage. Jack didn’t need much sleep, just a few hours here and there. He had tried to sleep, but his little room seemed darker and colder than usual. Jack hadn’t fallen asleep alone since he had come back from his trip with the Doctor.
“No.” Ianto’s voice was harsh and jerked Jack away from his thoughts. “Don’t go there. You know you can’t do it, so don’t torture yourself. And Tosh will know if you’ve adjusted the CCTV. She can hunt out edited footage before you say Weevil.” Jack laughed quietly.
“I miss how you always know what I’m thinking.” Ianto smiled slightly.
“I miss waking up to you singing in the shower.”
“I miss your coffee.”
“I miss you flirting with me when I deliver your coffee.”
“I miss you shouting at me for doing something stupid.”
“I miss making up with you after we fight.”
Jack sighed and leant his forehead on the glass. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“I can’t believe how hard this is.”
“Me neither. Has it really only been three days? It seems like longer.”
“Yeah…Ianto?”
“Hmmm?”
“I’m sorry.” Jack turned away from Ianto to face the wall. “I should have been there.” Ianto stared at Jack in confusion. In any other situation, Jack would have laughed at the bemused expression on Ianto’s face.
“What are you on about?”
“Wednesday night. I was supposed to come over after work but I couldn’t get Archie off the phone. Then there was a Weevil sighting. I spent three hours chasing this Weevil across Cardiff. By the time I got it sedated and locked in a cell, it was four in the morning. I didn’t want to wake you up so I went back to my office and tried to finish some paper work.” Ianto started to laugh. “I should have been with you…What’s so funny?”
“Oh Jack. How long has this been eating you up?” Jack shrugged and looked at the floor sheepishly.
“Since about three minutes past four on Thursday morning.”
“You idiot. Jack, there was nothing you could have done. I understand that with this job, there’s going to be some nights we’re not going to spend together. Though for future reference, I’d rather you came home and woke me up for a few minutes than spent the night alone at the Hub.” Jack smiled.
“I’ll remember that next time. You forgive me then?” Ianto laughed.
“Yes, I forgive you. Do you forgive me for remembering who Gwen was before you?”
“I suppose, though I hope you noted how well I took that!” Ianto laughed again.
“I did notice. I’ll make it up to you.” Jack smiled before leaning his head back against the glass.
“Okay if I stay with you again tonight?”
“Always.”
Comments are loved!
Click here to go to Sunday
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: Teen
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Team Torchwood
Word Count: 1940
Summary: Ianto Jones wakes up on the floor one morning with no recollection of how he got there - or of Torchwood. When the team investigate a violent attack against one of Ianto’s neighbours, Jack must juggle his responsibilities to the team - and to Ianto.
Spoilers: Everything up to Adrift. Vague references to a few of the Torchwood Novels, but you don’t have to have read them to understand the reference.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, though I wouldn’t say no to a pet pterodactyl.
Authors Notes: Written for the Jantolution Challenge - The Harlequin Challenge. Based on this summary for the Harlequin novel Identity Unknown.
Beated by cindergirlgrimm
Chapter 1 can be found here.
Bookcover made by erin_giles
Saturday
The following morning, Ianto was sat in a chair in one of the Torchwood Three interrogation rooms. If anybody realised that it was the same room they had used when interrogating Suzie, after her return from the dead, then nobody mentioned it.
Gwen sat in the seat opposite him while Jack paced behind her. Tosh and Owen were watching the conversation on the CCTV footage from Tosh’s workstation.
Jack was allowing Gwen to do most of the talking. Her police training skills were usually the most effective way to get people to talk, and he was still wound up after his third trip to the hospital to see Miss Smith had not yielded any better results than either of his previous trips. He didn’t trust himself not to say something stupid or harsh that would spook Ianto.
“Can you tell me what you did on Wednesday?” Gwen asked. “Tell me everything you can remember.” Ianto took a sip of water, from the beige plastic cup in front of him before he started to talk.
“I got up around six, showered, got ready, ate some toast and then got into work around seven. I made Jack coffee and then went to do some filing in the archives for a few hours. I came back up just before nine to make some more coffee. Just after Owen arrived the Rift alarm went off. The signal was coming from a farm just outside of Splott. When we got there, it was to find a 39th century music box had come through the Rift and landed in the field. We spent the rest of the day trying to find all the pieces in the field.
“Once we got back to the Hub, Jack had a conference call with Archie so he said we could go home and he’d call us if he needed us. I fed the fish and Myfanwy then Jack walked me out while he was waiting for Archie to ring.” Ianto frowned and took another drink of water. “I remember saying ‘bye to Jack and the next thing I remember after that is waking up on the floor.”
“Can you tell me what the time was when you left the Hub?”
“About quarter to five, I think.”
“And you don’t remember anything after that?” Ianto shook his head.
“No, it’s not fuzzy or anything, it’s just blank.” Gwen nodded, before sliding some pictures across the table towards him. “Do these help? They were taken from the CCTV in your building at around 7pm on Wednesday night.” Ianto frowned as he looked at the black and white pictures of himself carrying ASDA shopping bags into his flat. “No. I don’t remember that.”
“Okay. Can you tell me what happened after you woke up?”
“Jack, Tosh and Owen came to my flat. Owen checked me out and then you came in and I fainted. You guys brought me back to the Hub and Owen checked me out again. After that, Jack said I had to stay in the vaults until you knew for certain that I wasn’t a threat.”
“Okay.” Gwen nodded her head before looking at Jack. “Is there anything else you want to ask?” Jack shook his head. “Right, well I think we’re done.” Jack nodded.
“I’ll take Ianto back downstairs. I want to meet you, Tosh and Owen in the boardroom in five minutes.” Gwen gave Ianto a tentative smile as Jack led him out of the room. Neither of them saw the smile fade and be replaced with a worried glance.
***
“I swear they didn’t look at each other once.” Gwen said. She, Owen and Tosh were sat in the boardroom waiting for Jack to return from taking Ianto back down to the vaults.
“I noticed that as well.” Tosh said. “It must be hard on them though. Ianto’s stuck in the vaults and he knows it’s Jack who ordered him to be put there. Jack’s not just his boss he’s his - boyfriend?” Gwen shrugged.
“I dunno what they’re calling themselves,” Owen replied. “I know it’s more than just sex though.” Both Tosh and Gwen looked at him in surprise. Owen waved his hands. “Look, when I first - when this happened - I said some things to Ianto I shouldn’t have. Jack found out and told me that if I ever say anything to Ianto again, he’d use me as a punching bag. Can we drop it now?”
Gwen and Tosh nodded. “Did anybody else notice if they looked at each other, the other times we questioned Ianto?” Gwen asked. Owen shrugged his shoulders, while Tosh shook her head.
“Not when we’ve been questioning him. However, I know Jack’s been going down to the vaults on a night. I was in early this morning and saw him come back up.” Gwen frowned.
“So why won’t they look at each other when we’re questioning them?”
“They’re at work.” Owen replied. “I know I’m the first one to say something whenever they get caught at the Hub, but during work hours they’re strictly professional. At least since Jack came back they are.”
“I think Owen’s right.” Tosh said. “When we’re questioning Ianto, he’s Captain Jack. He has to put everybody’s safety first. When it’s just the two of them, he can go back to being just Jack.” They were all silent for a few seconds, as they thought about Tosh’s statement. “I’m glad I’m not in his position.” Tosh continued.
“I don’t know what I’d do, if it was my boyfriend.” Gwen nodded. She had placed Rhys in the Torchwood vaults once before and it was something she hoped she would never see again.
“Don’t worry about it,” Owen replied “this is unusual even for Torchwood…Who wants to bet Jack turns into overprotective boyfriend from hell once this is all over?” Gwen and Tosh grinned.
“I bet Ianto isn’t allowed out of the Hub for a month.” Gwen replied.
“I’m tempted to keep him locked in the Hub forever.” Gwen jumped; she hadn’t heard Jack enter the boardroom. “But something tells me he wouldn’t be keen on the idea. And he can get out of any restraint, no matter how tightly I tie him to the bed.”
“Moving on!” Owen proclaimed loudly as Gwen laughed and Tosh blushed. Jack sank wearily into his chair.
“What do you think then?” He asked.
“Looks like he’s got all of his memory back,” Owen replied, “except during the time the victim was attacked. Everything he remembers before and after the attack seems correct.” Jack nodded.
“That’s what I thought. Tosh, how long until you have that tracking software finished?”
“Half an hour, tops.”
“Right; Tosh get that software finished. If somebody tries to interfere with the cameras, I want to know everything about them. Name, address, favourite colour, anything you can find. Owen, check all of Ianto’s results again - and ring Martha. It’s a long shot, but she might be able to think of something we’re overlooking. Gwen - go grab us some coffee will you? I promised Ianto nobody would attempt to use the coffee machine. When you’re done I want you to ring Andy, see if you can find anything else out about these past robberies.”
Jack ran his hand through his hair as the rest of his team jumped up and filed out of the boardroom. Slowly he raised himself out of his chair; it was time to feed the pterodactyl again. He stopped outside of the boardroom and looked at his team below him. He forced back the sudden burst of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. Gwen was standing next to Tosh, asking if she wanted a cake or anything else while she was out, while Owen was talking on his mobile while scanning Ianto’s results for what felt like the hundredth time.
Normally even when Ianto wasn’t in sight, there was a sign he was around. The smell of fresh coffee; piles of forms to be signed, placed neatly on the corner of Jack’s desk with a yellow sticky note on top; the gleam of the boardroom table where Ianto had cleaned it. You could always tell when it was Ianto’s day off as stray pizza boxes seemed to turn up everywhere.
Jack walked into the kitchen to prepare Myfanwy’s food, trying to pretend that this was just one of Ianto’s rare days off.
***
Ianto was already sat next to the door when Jack arrived that evening. “You look tired.” Ianto said as Jack sank to the floor with a groan.
“So do you.” Ianto shrugged.
“This isn’t the most comfortable of places to sleep. I don’t think I’ll complain about that camp bed under your office ever again.”
Jack closed his eyes. God this was hard. Nobody would know if he opened the cell and sat with Ianto, especially if he wiped the CCTV footage. Jack didn’t need much sleep, just a few hours here and there. He had tried to sleep, but his little room seemed darker and colder than usual. Jack hadn’t fallen asleep alone since he had come back from his trip with the Doctor.
“No.” Ianto’s voice was harsh and jerked Jack away from his thoughts. “Don’t go there. You know you can’t do it, so don’t torture yourself. And Tosh will know if you’ve adjusted the CCTV. She can hunt out edited footage before you say Weevil.” Jack laughed quietly.
“I miss how you always know what I’m thinking.” Ianto smiled slightly.
“I miss waking up to you singing in the shower.”
“I miss your coffee.”
“I miss you flirting with me when I deliver your coffee.”
“I miss you shouting at me for doing something stupid.”
“I miss making up with you after we fight.”
Jack sighed and leant his forehead on the glass. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“I can’t believe how hard this is.”
“Me neither. Has it really only been three days? It seems like longer.”
“Yeah…Ianto?”
“Hmmm?”
“I’m sorry.” Jack turned away from Ianto to face the wall. “I should have been there.” Ianto stared at Jack in confusion. In any other situation, Jack would have laughed at the bemused expression on Ianto’s face.
“What are you on about?”
“Wednesday night. I was supposed to come over after work but I couldn’t get Archie off the phone. Then there was a Weevil sighting. I spent three hours chasing this Weevil across Cardiff. By the time I got it sedated and locked in a cell, it was four in the morning. I didn’t want to wake you up so I went back to my office and tried to finish some paper work.” Ianto started to laugh. “I should have been with you…What’s so funny?”
“Oh Jack. How long has this been eating you up?” Jack shrugged and looked at the floor sheepishly.
“Since about three minutes past four on Thursday morning.”
“You idiot. Jack, there was nothing you could have done. I understand that with this job, there’s going to be some nights we’re not going to spend together. Though for future reference, I’d rather you came home and woke me up for a few minutes than spent the night alone at the Hub.” Jack smiled.
“I’ll remember that next time. You forgive me then?” Ianto laughed.
“Yes, I forgive you. Do you forgive me for remembering who Gwen was before you?”
“I suppose, though I hope you noted how well I took that!” Ianto laughed again.
“I did notice. I’ll make it up to you.” Jack smiled before leaning his head back against the glass.
“Okay if I stay with you again tonight?”
“Always.”
Comments are loved!
Click here to go to Sunday