Forgiven - 9/9
As Jack sat cuffed by wrists and ankles to a metal chair, with only his cell walls for company, his mind wandered. Who decided on cream walls? And why? What is cream? Is it white? It can't be white. If it was white, they'd call it white. Is it a light brown? No, more gold than brown. Jack had been in many cells on many planets in many time periods. As such, he considered himself a bit of a cell connoisseur, perfectly able to give advice on cell etiquette. I should be a cell consultant. I could teach them how to make the best cells. Wouldn't teach 'em how to make 'em escape proof though. Then how would I get out next time I'm arrested?
To an observer, it would appear that Jack was trying to keep himself busy. And that would be true. But it wasn't himself he was worried about. Instead, it was Ianto. Jack had been locked up for nearly two hours with no word from Mace either about his own arrest or how Ianto was faring. Himself, he could always find a way to escape. And even if he did stay locked up, it wasn't as if the experience would kill him. Ianto, however, had just been forced to relive the worst day of his life. Now he was sitting in a cell, alone, cold, probably scared. The last time Ianto'd been handcuffed, it had been by cannibals. On a mission that Jack had hoped would be light and fun. Funny how these types of things keep happening. I try to get him out of the office and have a good time, show him it's not all man-eating humans, get to know him, and what happens? We get held at gunpoint and stuck in a cell. At least I'm consistent. Still, Jack was concerned that the day may have been too much for Ianto. He’d seen how Tosh was treated during her time in a UNIT prison camp, and he’d be damned if he’d see the same thing happen to Ianto.
And this shocked Jack. The vehemence he felt in putting Ianto in a similar situation was not something he’d expected. Sure, as a member of his team and a potential friend (or more?), he didn’t want to see him hurt. But at that moment, Jack realized that he would fight tooth and claw to get Ianto out, himself be damned. When had he started thinking like this? When had Ianto become so important, such a permanent fixture, that Jack couldn’t image Torchwood without him?
Just as Jack came to this startling realization, the heavy metal door in front of him opened. He refused to look up, refused to acknowledge that Colonel Mace was most likely coming to read either a death sentence or a life imprisonment. Does he know I can’t die? What type of death sentence is it? I think UNIT still uses injections. Do they sterilize the needle before the injection? Hate to come back to life only to get lockjaw from a dirty needle.
Smirking and watching as he lightly jangled the cuffs, Jack leered, “If you wanted a little bondage, Mace, all ya had to do was ask.”
He was, therefore, surprised when he felt calloused fingers unlock the cuffs and pull him upright from behind. He looked up, startled to see Ianto watching him with a knowing smile and Mace standing behind Jack with a decidedly unpleasant air.
“As authorized by Security Council Resolution #359, I am hereby required to release you into the custody of one Mr. Ianto Jones,” Mace hissed. “If you will follow Mr. Jones, an orderly will see you to your car. Now get off my goddamn base Harkness!”
“What?” Jack said, whipping his head from Mace to Ianto and back again, thoroughly confused at this new situation.
“Perhaps we should do as the Colonel requests, Sir. The team is expecting us back soon, and it looks like rain later,” Ianto said, nodding towards the door. Jack just stared at him for a moment, shrugged, and followed, resigning himself to asking questions later.
As Jack and Ianto followed three heavily armed guards out to the car (pre-packed with their belongings, courtesy of a very pissed off UNIT colonel), Jack finally was able to see Ianto well. The cells had horrible lighting, and he’d only been able to make out the barest of expressions on the young man’s face. Here, though, in the hazy sunshine of an English morning, Jack was able to see the exhaustion, strain, and paleness of Ianto’s face. He’d have to get the young man into bed soon. What with the arrest last night and the terror the night before, he suddenly realized just how tired Ianto must be. Add to that the strain of reliving Canary Warf and…well…any one would be about to fall over.
Jack snatched the keys from Ianto’s outstretched hands and jumped into the driver’s seat.
“Uh, Ianto,” he began, “What about the Havelon weapon?”
“Taken care of, Sir. It’s in the trunk.”
“What?!”
“Later, Sir, if you don’t mind. I’d very much like to get off this base as soon as possible. I don’t believe our welcome will be extended much longer.”
As Ianto strapped on his seatbelt, convinced that his destiny was to be killed not by an alien or alien weapon but instead by Jack’s horrible driving, Jack decided to abide by Ianto’s wishes and leave. They left the base amid a cloud of dust and a trail of flying gravel, just barely missing the guardpost fence as it slowly opened. Once out on the open road, and sufficiently far enough away from UNIT for Ianto to begin to relax, Jack started the questioning.
“Wanna tell me what the hell just happened?” He asked suspiciously.
“I believe that was called a rescue, Sir, though I apologize for not arriving in a tractor and breaking the wall down. Next time I’ll use more visually impressive methods,” Ianto replied dryly, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.
“Ianto!” Jack growled. “What. The hell. Happened?!”
“Like I said, Sir, a rescue. I placed a phone call which led to our release and Torchwood’s appropriation of the Havelon technology.”
“And how did you do that?” Jack ground out. “Who did you call?”
“Ghostbusters?” Ianto smirked. Jack sighed and stopped the car in the middle of the road. “Fine, Sir, if you must know. I called Her Majesty.”
“The Queen? You called Queen Elizabeth?”
“Yes Sir. And Her Royal Highess would like me to thank you for the diamond bracelet you sent for her birthday.”
“I didn’t give her a bracelet.”
“Yes you did.”
“No, I didn’t. I don’t think I gave her anything,” Jack said, completely confused. Ianto just looked at him sideways. “Ah. You mean I have her a diamond bracelet like I gave Hannah Goldstone crib toys?” Ianto nodded. “Seriously, Ianto, you gotta tell me these things. What if she’d said thanks in person and I didn’t know you’d sent it in my name?”
“When on earth do you ever speak to the Queen?” Ianto asked, repulsed at the idea of leaving Captain Flirtatious anywhere near the Queen unsupervised.
“You spoke to her.”
“That’s because I have a sense of decorum.”
“Anyway…Wanna tell me what happened?” Jack asked, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
“If you agree to continue driving, then yes.” Jack nodded and hit the gas.
“I placed a call to Her Majesty. As is usually customary, she was more than pleased to speak with me. We developed an acquaintance after you attended that meeting with her and the Prime Minister on appropriate disaster preparedness for Whitehall and Windsor Castle. Your behavior was simply horrid, Sir, and after dinner I apologized on Torchwood’s behalf. I told her you were simply exhausted after helping fix the Torchwood SUV all week and that you often take your frustration out via flirtation. She then asked what type of engine the SUV has, and we spent a rather interesting hour discussing antique cars. She has quite the taste, Sir, having worked on them during the War.”
Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re friends with Queen Elizabeth because you both like antique cars?”
“Indeed.”
“Okay. I’ll save that conversation for later. How did your call get us out of prison and our hands on the hair dryer?”
“I informed the Queen of our predicament and asked if there was anything she could do, stating that Cardiff and England needed Torchwood’s Captain in the case of any future disasters. She was more than willing to assist me, on the condition that you are never allowed to attend meetings again without me by your side. And should you attend said meetings, you are not allowed to speak. Of course, I agreed without hesitation.”
“Uh-huh. Yet something else we need to talk about.”
“Anyway, Sir, the Queen contacted the UN Security Council, which oversees UNIT.”
“And that helped us how?”
“Think about it, Sir? Which five countries have veto power in the Council?”
Jack thought back. Admittedly, his knowledge of UN procedures was generally limited to personal contact with Ambassadors and their spouses. And their bedrooms. And the quickest way out of their bedrooms. “Ummm…The US, Russia, China, France, and Britain?”
“Exactly,” Ianto smiled. “At the moment, the US needs to placate Britain if it wishes Britain to continue its support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Russia wants relationships with the EU and NATO, not full membership, mind, but some sort of heightened friendship. And England is imperative to win over. China wants to increase its investments in Britain and vice versa, and France wants us to be less friendly with the US. Hence, everyone needs and owes Britain at the moment, and all were more than happy to accede to the Queen’s request.”
“Which you knew would happen from the start,” Jack stated.
“I may have had an idea. No offense to your wonderful plan, Sir, but one should always come up with a backup suggestion.”
Jack just rolled his eyes, secretly astonished at Ianto’s foresight, but unwilling to let the young man see just how inadequate his own plan had been. Jack hated being the damsel in distress. “And the Havelon hair dryer?”
“The second part of the Queen’s request. When explained to the Council in those terms, they were more than happy to part with it.”
“Uh-huh. You know, Ianto, sometimes I think I need to give you a raise,” Jack said raising an eyebrow,
“It wouldn’t be unwelcome, Sir, though since I am the one who does the Hub’s books, might I suggest waiting to request it in the next budget cycle?”
“Why, you need a raise that big? Something going on that I don’t know about?’ Jack asked. He had meant the raise comment as a joke, but here was a golden opportunity to find out why Ianto had so many bills even though he had received such a large settlement from London.
Ianto looked distinctly uncomfortable, shifting around in his seat and wringing his hands. Jack took pity. “I’m sorry, Ianto, I shouldn’t have asked. I said I wouldn’t push, and I wont, ok? I’m very impressed by what you did today. Everything, standing up to Parsons, figuring out how to get us freed. I’m very, very impressed.”
Ianto said nothing, just staring out the door window. “Thank you, Sir,” he finally said quietly.
They were silent for the ride back, Ianto considering everything he had been through and receiving a very large headache for his troubles. He fell asleep forty minutes outside Cardiff, completely drained, head leaning on the window, breath making small clouds of condensation on the cool glass.
Jack saw Ianto fall asleep. He smiled, pleased that the young man was finally resting, and vowed to make the ride back as gentle as possible. He wasn’t, therefore, best pleased when another car slammed into them from behind at a stop light. Both men were thrown forward, saved, though with burns, by the seatbelt and air bags.
“What the hell?!” Ianto cried as he was forced awake by the impact.
“Sorry! Sorry! Are you ok?” Jack asked.
“What happened?” Ianto asked again, looking over at Jack.
Jack turned his head, grimacing at the soreness there. He looked behind them. “Someone hit us.”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Obviously,” he muttered. He unbuckled himself and got out, prepared to witness what he was sure would be a rather large dent in the trunk and a completely destroyed piece of Havelon technology. What he saw, however, had him gaping.
Slammed into the rear bumper of the now less-than-shiny convertible was the Torchwood SUV. Owen and Gwen were sitting in the front seats, staring at Ianto in shock.
“What. The. Hell.” Ianto asked, trying to remain calm. He ran over to the SUV door. “Are you alright?!” he cried, pulling it open. “What happened?”
“Ianto?” Owen asked, seemingly still in shock. “We…we were out.”
“Yes, I see that,” Jack said, coming up on the other side of the car and pulling open Gwen’s door. “Are you both ok?”
Both Gwen and Owen nodded. “Get out then, let me see for sure. And Gwen, Ianto, have Owen look you over just in case,” Jack commanded.
Gwen and Owen both stepped out, Gwen still shaky, but Owen now fully in command of himself.
“What happened?” Jack demanded. “Why aren’t you at the Hub?”
Owen looked around, his eyes shifty. “Well, we were out. On an errand. And got distracted.”
“Distracted,” Ianto asked. “Distracted? There’s a great bloody dent in the SUV! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a dent out of an SUV bumper? It’ll take me hours! And this rental car had better be insured, Jack! And the hair dryer! It’s in pieces!”
“Ianto, mate, take it easy,” Owen coaxed. “I’m sure both cars will be fine, yeah? Look, just don’t hit me, ok? You’ve got a nasty right hook.” Ianto began charging at Owen, fully planning on breaking the medic’s jaw for what he had done to the SUV.
Jack jumped in, physically restraining Ianto. “Easy, Ianto, easy. I promise you won’t have to fix the SUV. We’ll take it to a shop and Retcon ‘em if we have to, ok? And at least now no one can use the hair dryer, eh?”
Ianto hissed as Jack’s hands wrapped around his chest and pulled him back. Jack dropped his arms and looked at him in concern. “Just a seatbelt burn, Sir. It’s fine.” Ianto ran a hand through his hair and pulled out his mobile. “I’ll call Tosh. Have her call a car service or something. Maybe she can come get us.”
As Ianto walked away to speak with Tosh, Jack cornered Gwen and Owen. “Now tell me what happened,” he growled.
“It was my fault, Jack,” Gwen said.
“How?”
“Owen was driving, like you saw, yeah? And I distracted him.”
“How?” Jack demanded again.
“Um…well…see…there was this….and I….and we…..”
“Gwen, I’m not getting any younger here!’
“We were fooling around, ok?!” Owen cried.
“You were what?!” Jack asked, abashed.
“We were fooling around, snogging!”
Jack sighed. “Listen, ok, I don’t give a damn what you two do outside the Hub. But when you’re on the clock you fucking behave like adults! What if you’d hurt yourselves?! What if you’d hurt Ianto or an innocent driver?”
“I’m sorry Jack!” Gwen said, beginning to cry.
“Yeah, mate, listen, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean anything, honest.”
Owen was wearing one of the most sincere expressions Jack had ever seen. Considering that no one, aside from a few bruises and burns, had been injured, Jack decided to let it slide. But not without reparation for Ianto. “Fine. I get it, you’re sorry. But this…This can never happen again! You two need to learn there’s a time and a place!”
Owen snorted. “Wanna share with the class, Owen?” Jack smirked.
“It’s just, ‘time and a place,’ Jack? That’s rich, coming from you.”
Jack glared at the medic. “I flirt, Owen, oh I flirt. But I have never, ever, injured someone because I was too busy flirting to do my damn job! For the next month, Doctor Harper will be on Weevil cleaning duty while Ms. Cooper will be mopping the Hub floor!”
Jack turned as he saw Ianto walking back over. If the young man had been tense and ready to strike before, now he looked ready to kill. “Ianto? You ok?” he asked, suddenly very concerned.
“I just spoke with Tosh, Sir. She’s calling a van to pick us up and two wreckers for the vehicles. And she told me something else, Sir.”
“What’s that Ianto?”
“I regret to inform you, Captain, but there will be no coffee waiting for you on the way back to the Hub.”
“What?!” Jack could take losing the SUV for a week or two; they’d make do. But there was no way Torchwood could function without coffee.
“It appears, during a fit of pique, that our esteemed medic decided to attempt to make coffee yesterday. While Dr. Harper may be an excellent medic, Sir, he is apparently completely unable to operate even basic machinery. Not only did he destroy part of the kitchenette counter by burning a hole in it, he set the machine of fire, which then spread to the stash of imported, very rare and very expensive, coffee beans!”
Jack glared at Owen. Owen looked back sheepishly. “That’s why Gwen and I were out. We went to a specialty store to order a replacement machine. There’s only one store in England that sells that machine.”
“Captain,” Ianto said, suddenly very calm. Jack was afraid of this calm. This was the calm that got Ianto through hiding a cyberman in his basement. “I absolutely refuse to have anything to do with Doctor Owen Harper. Take me back to the UNIT base, Sir. I’d rather be imprisoned there.” The two men faced off, neither willing to drop their gaze. Seeing the barely repressed anger behind Ianto’s eyes, Owen muttered an apology. Ianto turned on a heel, stalked off to the back of the SUV and pulled out Owen’s laptop, turning it on.
“Ianto, mate, whatcha doin?” Owen asked, suddenly very nervous.
Ianto typed for five minutes without speaking, shooting evil glares at anyone who dared step closer. He finished, looked at Owen, and handed him the computer.
“What the hell!” Owen cried.
“What’d he do?” Jack asked, now very curious as he watched Ianto walk away to sit primly on a large rock at the edge of the road.
“He went into my hard drive! He deleted my porn! Fucking bastard deleted all my porn! That was two years of porn!”
Jack had never laughed as hard as he did before he saw that look of indignation on Owen’s face. It was at that moment that Jack realized, despite everything, despite betrayal and death, Ianto Jones had finally become a part of his team.