Fic: Of Blood and Of RetCon- Act 1 Scene 2
Title- Of Blood and of RetCon // AU -Act 1 Scene 2
Author- skullgirl013, (who else!)
Characters/Parings- Jack/Ianto, Lisa/Ianto, Owen/Tosh, Tom/Martha Rose/Jack and a cast of hundreds! (yes people I am that cheesy!)
Rating- 13, will probably get higher as we go along.
Spoilers/Warnings- Hmmmm everything TW and DW could be hinted at, actually scratch that, EVERYTHING TW and DW WILL be hinted at!
As well as that this is based on Romeo and Juliet so if you don’t know the play then BEWARE!
Disclaimer- I do not, nor will I EVER own torchwood or Doctor who, I simply mess about with the characters and do god knows what with them!
I also don’t own Romeo and Juliet, that's owned by the man himself William Shakespeare! I just like to muck about with that too haha!
Beta- The ever thorough and all round darling bassair!
Summary- Torchwood Cardiff and Torchwood London are always at each others throats, always have been, always will be.
But, can two men change that?
Link to previous chapters-
Act 1 Scene 1
Authors Note (ah don't you just love it!)- Ok hi people! *waves* So I'm sorry this took me so long, I really don't have any exscuse! But anyway, thank you for all the gorgeous coments I recived on the last chapter! I only hope this on will live up to your expectaions!
Dedicated to bassair , put_that_away , cherry_soup888 , 2nd_toshiko and rowanheart24 who are my girls, and I wouldn't change them for the world!
Grey swirled over a once sapphire sky, blocking out all traces of the sun and the warmth that it normally brings, creating a fog of dull grey light. Some of the cars that made up the rush hour traffic had even gone so far as to turn their lights on in an attempt to battle the mist that seemed to be coming down over the city.
It was times like these that Yvonne Hartman wondered why she bothered with London. The city was nothing more than a stack of buildings, all painted a uniform grey, that blended haphazardly with the more modern buildings being built in a an attempt to boost the city’s cultural status. Not that it needed any more boosting, London was already highly praised in the modern world as being ‘the peak of New Age society’ Yvonne sighed, if only they knew just how modern London really was.
Yvonne’s musings were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. She looked away from the window and turned to the door, happy for the distraction.
“Come in,” she called. The polished chrome door swung open and a tall girl pottered in. She was young, only about twenty six at the most and she was dressed in a black, knee length skirt, coupled with a pair of black high heeled pumps that clattered noisily against the hard wood flooring.
“Ah, Miss Hallet, take a seat.” The woman nodded gratefully and shrugged off her smart black blazer, slinging it over her arm before pulling out a chair and settling down. Yvonne moved away from the window and took her own seat at the head of the conference table. The younger woman watched every move she made but didn’t say anything until she was sure Yvonne was seated comfortably.
“So, did you think about my request?”
“I have,” Yvonne said, evenly, Miss Hallet waited for more to be said, but nothing came.
“Well?” the younger woman prompted, when the silence became too much for her.
“I can only repeat myself, Miss Hallet” Yvonne sighed and stood up again, beginning to pace. “He’s not been working at Torchwood for long, its a bit to early too be jostling him around like this, don’t you think?”
“It didn’t stop them from doing it to me,” Lisa replied tersely, her patience wearing thin. She had had this same conversation with Yvonne several times already and she was sick of getting the same answer. “Look, Miss Hartman, we’ve been talking about this for days now. I just need an answer from you!” Yvonne stopped pacing and looked at the dark skinned woman, her gaze wasn’t vicious, and yet it seemed to burn with an intensity that was difficult to name. Lisa fiddled with the side of her blood red top, suddenly feeling guilty, although she wasn’t sure what for.
There was a dull thunk and she looked up to see Yvonne’s hands resting on the table,the older woman's intense gaze still set on her.
“I know, Lisa. Trust me, I know what you mean.”
“Then make up your mind, Yvonne!” Lisa cried “For goodness sake, I won’t be around forever, I leave for Glasgow in a couple of day’s time and I want to take him with me!” The two women stared at each other for a moment, the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. After what felt like an eternity Yvonne sighed and slumped back into her chair.
“Look Lisa, I can’t decide for him. I have no problems with him coming with you, but if I tell you he can go that doesn’t mean he’ll be jumping on the train with you in a few day’s time”
“Why not?” Lisa said, haughtily. Yvonne resisted the urge to roll her eyes,
“Because part of it is up to him,” Yvonne said, in a slightly exasperated tone. “I won’t force him to go, just because you need an archivist.”
“But Torchwood two does need an archivist,” Lisa stated, the tone of her voice portraying just how little she really understood about people. Yvonne tried not to hit her head against the desk.
“I know Lisa, but I won’t make him go, he has to want it.” Lisa just stared at her as if she was talking gibberish. “I’ll tell you what, Lisa,” Yvonne said, trying to conceal wearing effect that this conversation was having on her. “We’re having a party here at Torchwood tonight, why don’t you come along and have a chat with him, let him get to know you, and then see what he thinks of it all.” Lisa nodded, politely.
“That sounds ... reasonable” She stood up and Yvonne followed her. “I’ll see you then” Lisa gave Yvonne one last, tight smile before striding to the door and exiting the small meeting room. As soon as the door snapped shut behind Lisa, Yvonne threw herself back into her chair and ran a hand haphazardly though her bottle blonde hair. This day was not getting any better: first the fight and now Lisa demanding she made a decision on what was quite obviously a delicate matter.
Most people would say that she was being silly, what was one worker? But the man in question wasn’t just ‘one worker’ there was something special about him: he was obviously destined for much greater things than that of archives work but he refused to do anything other than filing. Although to say that Yvonne was ungrateful would have been unreasonable; she was, indeed, grateful that she had someone willing to file away the dangerous- and sometimes not so dangerous- items that Torchwood collects and decides are not useful, for the simple reason that there were not many who would. Most people seem to class it as insanely boring, and Yvonne couldn’t honestly blame them. Still, this was good opportunity for him. Perhaps it was time to mention it to the young man, to see what he thought. Perhaps the more time she gave him the easier it would be for him to understand that he wasn’t reaching his full potential here in Torchwood London.
You just keep telling yourself that.
“Jerome!” Yvonne called in a worn voice. A second later a short man with shaggy blonde hair poked his head round the door,
“Yes Miss Hartman?” he replied, cheerfully.
“Remind everyone about the party tonight. Do it over the tannoy if its easier” She yawned, rubbing the back of her neck.
“With all due respect Miss Hartman ... wouldn’t it be easier if you did it?”
“Probably,” she said, simply, “but I’ve got other things to deal with. Just remind everyone it is fancy dress and it’s tonight and leave it at that”
“Ok,” Jerome slipped his head back around the door.
“And ... Jerome!” Yvonne called. Jerome’s head obediently appeared round the door again “Send Adeola in” He nodded and disappeared around the door again. Mere minutes later a dark skinned girl trotted in, beaming at her boss. She stopped a couple of feet away and put her hands on her hips.
“What can I do for you Miss Hartman?” she asked, cheerily.
“I need you to go get someone for me.”
“Oh?”
“I need you to go get Ianto.”
With that the tannoy crackled into life.
***
“All I’m saying is...” Tosh shook her head; a vain attempt to throw hair off her face as the wind blew it around. She would have used one of her hands, had they not been currently in use. One had been covered with a white bandage, courtesy of Owen with strict instructions not to strain it. Translate this into Jack-speak and you have Tosh with a basically useless hand, on pain of Jack-glare. Her other hand was safely tucked in Jack’s, which had somehow wormed its way into his grey coat, effectively shielding their hands from the harsh wind that seemed to be blowing around them. Scattering leaves so they swirled around them, like a cloud of orange rose petals at a wedding. “Look at it this way, Jack. You can quell one love interest by finding another.”
“What do you mean, Tosh?” the young woman rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to hit her head against the nearby wall. She looked at the other man in despair. She loved Jack -he was her best friend- but sometimes he was thicker than two planks.
“Find someone new, Jack! For goodness sake! Go find someone else to lavish attention on, someone who cares enough to return it!” Jack sighed and looked away. He surveyed their surroundings. But he seemed not to be taking any of it in. Tosh had the sneaking suspicion that it was because he didn’t have to look her in the eye, because deep down he knew she was right, she was sure of it, Jack was just too much of a man to admit it.
“You’ve never met her, Tosh,” he said softly, his voice almost gentle enough to be carried off by the raging wind. Tosh turned to look at him properly, her eyes tinged with confusion. “If you’d seen her then you would know what I mean. Once you see her, she really is, unforgettable. She’s just too beautiful for words, and you don’t care that she doesn’t love you, because you don’t need her love to know that she cares.”
“Jack I...” Suddenly there was the sound of breath, somehow magnified by an unknown source, making it crackly and almost unreal. Then there was voice, what could have been soft and gentle was cannibalised by its enhancer, making it seems harsh and metallic.
“Just a reminder! All members of Torchwood London, and their friends, are all invited to the Halloween part tonight. Remember, dress for the occasion!” There was a rasp of something that sounded vaguely like laughter and then silence. It was only then that Tosh and Jack really realised where they were, somehow they had been too swept up in their argument to notice the tall building next to them; Canary Warf. They stood in a silence for a second, in awe at just how far they had managed to travel without noticing where they had been going.
Tosh’s thoughts eventually strayed to what the tannoy had said:
...and their friends...
With that her brain kicked into action, a million thoughts whizzing through her head, as if someone had released the flood gates of her mind.
Tosh was not one for slow thinking, her brain was either going at a hundred miles an hour, or it wasn’t going at all, and Tosh was never not thinking, even in sleep her brain was roaring away, painting her subconscious with unreadable images, mostly of objects they had found, items of no real significance to anyone, but her brain sifted through every single one of them and really decided if that were true or not. It was just the way her mind worked, and hey, who was she to judge?
“Jack!” Tosh exclaimed, all but bouncing up and down. Jack jumped at the young woman's sudden change.
“What!!?”
“Jaaaack!” Tosh pulled out the ‘a’ into an almost comically long phrase. He looked at her, confused by the desperation in her voice. “Rose practically lives half her life in Torchwood London” He still looked confused, Tosh rolled her eyes in despair and hit Jack round the head with her bandaged hand. This earned her a glare from Jack, as he stared at her damaged arm and rubbed his head with his other one.
“What that for?” Jack grumbled, still glaring at Tosh’s bandaged arm and hand, which was now -much to Tosh’s annoyance- aching. She shook it a little and Jack smirked, knowing exactly what was happening. Jack had to look at her properly when she started speaking again, desperation clearly etched into her voice.
“Think about it Jack!” she cried “Rose practically lives in Torchwood London! That means she’ll be at the party!”
“Oh...” Jack said meekly, as it all clicked into place. “But how would we get in?” Tosh smirked, that secretive, sexy little smirk that she got when she had an idea brewing. Which was probably why she looked so attractive most of the time, she was always thinking, she was just one of those people, she never stopped thinking and yet she was always so happy, so content in her own little world, but unlike some, she never disconnected with the rest of them, always content to live on the outside but never stepping over the line and into the cold depths that isolation brings.
“You leave that up to me, Jack!” she grinned sidling up to him again. “You just plan to see all the most beautiful girls in London - and their friends.” She winked “And I’ll prove to you that there's more to life than Rose!” Jack rolled his eyes at his friend, silently despairing at her lack of faith. She really believed that he didn’t care about Rose, that it was just lust. Well he was going to show her it was anything but. “You didn’t listen to a word of that did you?” Jack’s head snapped to look at her,
“Sorry, what?” Tosh rolled her eyes, good naturedly and tugged at his sleeve.
“Well while you were day dreaming about a certain blonde I was telling you go find an outfit!” She grinned. He looked down at himself
“What wrong with this?” He gestured at his ensemble and Tosh raised one eyebrow,
“God, you really don’t do Halloween, do you, Jack?” She asked rhetorically.
“Nope,” he answered, looking adorably confused.
“You have to find an outfit ... as in some sort of fancy dress” He looked at her, titling is head to one side, looking like a lost puppy trying to understand a human barking at it. Tosh rolled her eyes in despair.
“Ok” She sighed “Go research Halloween and THEN find an outfit!” Jack looked at her quizzically. She knew the question. “The Internet, Jack. Look on the Internet!” Jack nodded, understanding what Tosh was saying, even if his facial expression did still portray some confusion.
“What are you going to do?”Jack asked. Tosh smirked again, her whole face lighting up, and Jack found himself grinning back, although he wasn’t sure why exactly.
“I’m going to get us into the party” She grinned. The young woman glanced at her wristwatch- digital, of course. “Ooooh is that the time? Well, I better get going if we want to make this party in time!” She kissed Jack’s cheek lightly, “Call Owen in about an hour, he’ll tell you where to meet us”
“Why would he know?” Jack asked, confused again. Tosh danced around him until she was facing the way they had just come
“Because I’m heading over there to tell him!” she called as she skipped back the way they came. “Remember, Jack: research!” she shouted over her shoulder before disappearing behind some buildings and into the grey fog that seemed to surround London that day.
Jack put his hands on his hips, brushing back his coat so it billowed out behind him.
Sometimes Jack wondered if Tosh did this on purpose.
Fucking research!
***
Far below the main Torchwood institute, deep beneath the crisp, white walls and chrome exteriors, sits the Torchwood London archives. Covered in dust and littered with papers, containing the remnants of people’s lives, the items from long forgotten past. It was the one place that many feared to tread. Dust covered every surface, no matter how much dusting any one did, they could never quite shake it, and abandoned objects and papers covered that.
Deep within the archives, surrounded by said papers, was a man of about twenty five, dressed in a pristine suit which had somehow remained untainted by the dust and grime, his blue eyes shining bright against the clouds of dust that enveloped him as he placed objects in boxes and then piled them to be filed in lower areas, his focus entirely on his work, as if nothing else mattered.
It was true; Ianto Jones was the peak of professional perfection.
He was so wrapped up in his work, so obsessed with piecing back together the remnants of cases and filing away objects no one wanted, that he missed the distinct sound of high heels clicking across concrete. He didn’t even realise there was anyone there but himself until he heard the sound of a delicate sneeze behind him. Ianto wheeled around to see a dark skinned girl of about twenty five grinning at him whist she rubbed her nose with the sleeve of her dark coloured blazer.
“God, Addy! Don’t do that!” Ianto exclaimed, placing his hand on his heart “Talk about scaring a man half to death” Adeola just grinned at him. “What are you up to?” he enquired, immediately becoming suspicious. She shrugged.
“I have no idea!” Ianto raised one eyebrow. “I was just told to bring you to Yvonne.” She carried on grinning, Ianto had to admire that about her; Adeola always seemed to be able to keep a smile on her face, no matter what the circumstances.
Ianto sighed. “Ok but can I just file this one thing....” the rest of his sentence was cut off as Adeola grabbed his arm and yanked him from out of his piles of papers.
“Nope. Sorry, Yvonne wants to see you, and when Yvonne wants something she wants it now.” Ianto admitted that he had to agree with that, so he allowed himself to be dragged up to the main floors via the stairs and then thrown into an elevator.
Finally the elevator stopped and Adeola pulled Ianto into the corridor.
“Calm down Addy,” Ianto said, slightly breathless from being dragged around like a paper doll, belonging to some over excited three year old. But really he should have expected it, Adeola was always pulling him around, he was her best friend, and she milked that for everything it was worth.
“Nah, where’s the fun in that!” She beamed before dragging Ianto to Yvonne's office.
***
Ianto Jones was not usually one to be called into Yvonne Hartman’s office He wasn’t exceptionally bright -well, he wasn’t compared to some of the minds in Torchwood London- and he was sure that he wasn’t a bad employee; he simply did the job down in the archives, no mess, no fuss, unlike some people Ianto could think of. So he had to admit that he was a little worried by being presented to Yvonne by Adeola. He felt like some prize cut of meat, being eyed between two eager buyers. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling.
“Ok Miss Oshodi, you can go.” Yvonne said in a decidedly tired tone, as she walked from the window to her leather office chair and sank into it with a contented sigh, as though she had been waiting for the chance to do so all day.
Adeola nodded curtly, which was the only outwards sign of annoyance she gave before turning on her heel (Ianto mentally applauded her; with heels that high he was surprised she could do anything.) “Actually Miss Oshodi” Adeola swung back around, hands on hips. Yvonne ignored this impatient gesture and carried on, “You can stay. I think we might need you.” Adeola smiled and tucked her hands into her pockets, waiting expectantly for Yvonne to continue. After a long pause that seemed to stretch on for an eternity Yvonne spoke again. “Miss Oshodi, you’re a good friend of Mr Jones’ right?”
Hello? Mr Jones is sitting right here!
Ianto’s grumpy thoughts were interrupted by Adeola’s answer.
“Yes I am,” She beamed, all but skipping back and placing her hands on Ianto’s shoulders “One of his best, or so I’d like to think”
“Then you’d know that Mr Jones hasn’t been with us very long”
“No he hasn’t. He arrived a couple of months after me. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Ah Miss Oshodi, it has everything to do with what I’m about to tell you” Yvonne leant back on her chair and turned her attention the computer. Adeola leant down so her lips brushed against Ianto’s ear as she whispered to him.
“Any idea what the hell she’s going on about?”
“Not a clue.”
“Ah good, it’s not just me then.” Yvonne twisted back to look at them and beckoned Adeola to her. Adeola straightened up and pranced up to the computer screen. She took a couple of minutes to read through the screen and Ianto watched her intensely. Her expression was blank until she read the last paragraph. Then she froze. Ianto felt himself tense at her reaction. Adeola was never startled by anything. Well, except spiders but that's going off on a tangent. The point was that Adeola was never fazed by anything, whatever the problem was she always faced it with a smile and a clear head. But this was different: now she was scowling and muttering darkly at Yvonne whilst pointing at the screen. Ianto was only able to catch snippets of their conversation but he was sure that the words ‘transfer’, ‘No’ and ‘Lisa’ were mentioned repeatedly, along with his own name.
Finally, he couldn’t take the dark mutterings any longer,
“Will someone just tell me what you two are muttering about?” Ianto requested calmly. They jumped and twisted to look at him. Their eyes tinged with surprise and Ianto held their gaze, his eyes quietly inquisitive, but nothing more. Well, nothing that they could see.
“Yan” Adeola started looking back at the screen, as if it would help her explain.
“Mr Jones” Yvonne stated primly, giving up on letting Adeola explain after she looked between Ianto and the screen eight times. “As you know there are many branches of Torchwood...”
“Yes,” Ianto replied, simply.
“Then you’ll know that there is a Torchwood based in Glasgow?”
“Look Miss Hartman, with all due respect; get to the point.” Ianto continued to stare at them both calmly, and Yvonne had to marvel at how calm the young man was about all this; little did she know that Ianto’s entire body was thrumming with tension.
“Torchwood Glasgow needs a new archivist, and they’ve chosen you.” Ianto stared at her, not quite comprehending what she was saying.
“Yan?” Adeola walked back around to him and placed her hands back on his shoulders, rubbing gently, trying to ease the tension she could feel there.
“Is that it then?” Ianto did his best not to sound too upset but it wasn’t easy. He had been sure, so sure, that London was where he belonged. He felt like he’d finally found his place. He had some great friends, and best friend that he loved dearly. Torchwood London had filled the gap that had been left by his family and his old life. And now, the family that he thought he had were shipping him off to Scotland. He couldn’t believe it. No, he didn’t want to believe it.
Yvonne looked confused for a moment before it clicked into place and for the first time ever Ianto saw a genuine, smile creep onto Yvonne’s lips.
“No, it’s not... Ianto” Ianto was genuinely shocked, Yvonne never used people’s first name. It came with the job description. It was Miss this and Mr that and to hear her use his real name frightened him more than it helped, because now it was obvious, she was comforting. “You don’t have to go. Just meet Lisa -she helps Archie run the place. You can meet her tonight; she's coming to that party and then see how you feel about the idea, I’m not telling you to make a decision now.” Ianto nearly laughed out loud.
The young Welshman was happy regard himself as a great reader of people and he could see that behind that facade, the decision was already made, now all Yvonne needed was for him to agree. Oh sure to Lisa she would have been all innocent smiles and understanding about how “she couldn’t possibly let him go unless he wanted to go” but really the decision was made. He was nothing more than a minion to serve her needs and he’d have to go, even if the thought tugged painfully at something deep inside him.
“Yvonne” Adeola’s voice broke through Ianto’s thoughts “Are you sure they can’t have someone else? Ianto’s not been here for very long. For god’s sake; he’s barely seen his first alien!” Ianto had to agree with that, he’d only ever seen one alien up close and that was only because everyone who is allowed into Torchwood has to be checked, just to see that they wouldn’t crack if they really saw an alien. Of course, not many did see aliens; that was the field agent’s job, not the one of an archivist. “Really we ought to keep him here and train him up a bit before we send him out there?You remember all those rumours, about it being the most dangerous rift opening.” Yvonne just smiled again. Ianto looked away. That smile made him uneasy; the way her teeth glinted through ruby red lips made panic curl in the pit of his stomach.
“All I am saying is go meet her.” Yvonne said cheerily “Come to the party, have a good time and let her tell you about Torchwood Two, then see how you feel about it.” Ianto opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted by a sharp tap on the door. “Come in!” she shouted. Jerome’s head poked around the door.
“Sorry Miss Hartman, are you busy?” Yvonne looked at Ianto and Adeola for a second before smiling that wonderfully fake smile at Jerome, who didn’t even bat an eyelid. “I don’t think so, Miss Oshodi and Mr Jones were just leaving” Yvonne looked at them again “Weren’t you?” Ianto stood up and Adeola’s hands dropped back to her side
“Yes, I suppose so” Ianto smiled tightly at her “We’ll see you tonight at the party, Miss Hartman”
“That you will” Yvonne continued to smile at the as they exited to room and Jerome stepped in their place.
***
“Yan?” Adeola probed gently as they stood in the elevator.
“Addy?” Ianto replied, smiling softly at her.
“Will you miss me?” she asked sadly. Ianto turned to look at her straight in the eyes. He tried to make his smile bigger, to try and show her that he believed what he was about to say.
“I won’t need to,” he said softly, touching her arm. “I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled. “Not if I have anything to say about it!” Adeola tried to smile back at him.
“Thanks Ianto” She swallowed hard and Ianto pulled her into a hug. Wrapping his arms protectively around the younger woman.
“I promise I’m not going to leave you anytime soon.”
Author- skullgirl013, (who else!)
Characters/Parings- Jack/Ianto, Lisa/Ianto, Owen/Tosh, Tom/Martha Rose/Jack and a cast of hundreds! (yes people I am that cheesy!)
Rating- 13, will probably get higher as we go along.
Spoilers/Warnings- Hmmmm everything TW and DW could be hinted at, actually scratch that, EVERYTHING TW and DW WILL be hinted at!
As well as that this is based on Romeo and Juliet so if you don’t know the play then BEWARE!
Disclaimer- I do not, nor will I EVER own torchwood or Doctor who, I simply mess about with the characters and do god knows what with them!
I also don’t own Romeo and Juliet, that's owned by the man himself William Shakespeare! I just like to muck about with that too haha!
Beta- The ever thorough and all round darling bassair!
Summary- Torchwood Cardiff and Torchwood London are always at each others throats, always have been, always will be.
But, can two men change that?
Link to previous chapters-
Act 1 Scene 1
Authors Note (ah don't you just love it!)- Ok hi people! *waves* So I'm sorry this took me so long, I really don't have any exscuse! But anyway, thank you for all the gorgeous coments I recived on the last chapter! I only hope this on will live up to your expectaions!
Dedicated to bassair , put_that_away , cherry_soup888 , 2nd_toshiko and rowanheart24 who are my girls, and I wouldn't change them for the world!
Grey swirled over a once sapphire sky, blocking out all traces of the sun and the warmth that it normally brings, creating a fog of dull grey light. Some of the cars that made up the rush hour traffic had even gone so far as to turn their lights on in an attempt to battle the mist that seemed to be coming down over the city.
It was times like these that Yvonne Hartman wondered why she bothered with London. The city was nothing more than a stack of buildings, all painted a uniform grey, that blended haphazardly with the more modern buildings being built in a an attempt to boost the city’s cultural status. Not that it needed any more boosting, London was already highly praised in the modern world as being ‘the peak of New Age society’ Yvonne sighed, if only they knew just how modern London really was.
Yvonne’s musings were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. She looked away from the window and turned to the door, happy for the distraction.
“Come in,” she called. The polished chrome door swung open and a tall girl pottered in. She was young, only about twenty six at the most and she was dressed in a black, knee length skirt, coupled with a pair of black high heeled pumps that clattered noisily against the hard wood flooring.
“Ah, Miss Hallet, take a seat.” The woman nodded gratefully and shrugged off her smart black blazer, slinging it over her arm before pulling out a chair and settling down. Yvonne moved away from the window and took her own seat at the head of the conference table. The younger woman watched every move she made but didn’t say anything until she was sure Yvonne was seated comfortably.
“So, did you think about my request?”
“I have,” Yvonne said, evenly, Miss Hallet waited for more to be said, but nothing came.
“Well?” the younger woman prompted, when the silence became too much for her.
“I can only repeat myself, Miss Hallet” Yvonne sighed and stood up again, beginning to pace. “He’s not been working at Torchwood for long, its a bit to early too be jostling him around like this, don’t you think?”
“It didn’t stop them from doing it to me,” Lisa replied tersely, her patience wearing thin. She had had this same conversation with Yvonne several times already and she was sick of getting the same answer. “Look, Miss Hartman, we’ve been talking about this for days now. I just need an answer from you!” Yvonne stopped pacing and looked at the dark skinned woman, her gaze wasn’t vicious, and yet it seemed to burn with an intensity that was difficult to name. Lisa fiddled with the side of her blood red top, suddenly feeling guilty, although she wasn’t sure what for.
There was a dull thunk and she looked up to see Yvonne’s hands resting on the table,the older woman's intense gaze still set on her.
“I know, Lisa. Trust me, I know what you mean.”
“Then make up your mind, Yvonne!” Lisa cried “For goodness sake, I won’t be around forever, I leave for Glasgow in a couple of day’s time and I want to take him with me!” The two women stared at each other for a moment, the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. After what felt like an eternity Yvonne sighed and slumped back into her chair.
“Look Lisa, I can’t decide for him. I have no problems with him coming with you, but if I tell you he can go that doesn’t mean he’ll be jumping on the train with you in a few day’s time”
“Why not?” Lisa said, haughtily. Yvonne resisted the urge to roll her eyes,
“Because part of it is up to him,” Yvonne said, in a slightly exasperated tone. “I won’t force him to go, just because you need an archivist.”
“But Torchwood two does need an archivist,” Lisa stated, the tone of her voice portraying just how little she really understood about people. Yvonne tried not to hit her head against the desk.
“I know Lisa, but I won’t make him go, he has to want it.” Lisa just stared at her as if she was talking gibberish. “I’ll tell you what, Lisa,” Yvonne said, trying to conceal wearing effect that this conversation was having on her. “We’re having a party here at Torchwood tonight, why don’t you come along and have a chat with him, let him get to know you, and then see what he thinks of it all.” Lisa nodded, politely.
“That sounds ... reasonable” She stood up and Yvonne followed her. “I’ll see you then” Lisa gave Yvonne one last, tight smile before striding to the door and exiting the small meeting room. As soon as the door snapped shut behind Lisa, Yvonne threw herself back into her chair and ran a hand haphazardly though her bottle blonde hair. This day was not getting any better: first the fight and now Lisa demanding she made a decision on what was quite obviously a delicate matter.
Most people would say that she was being silly, what was one worker? But the man in question wasn’t just ‘one worker’ there was something special about him: he was obviously destined for much greater things than that of archives work but he refused to do anything other than filing. Although to say that Yvonne was ungrateful would have been unreasonable; she was, indeed, grateful that she had someone willing to file away the dangerous- and sometimes not so dangerous- items that Torchwood collects and decides are not useful, for the simple reason that there were not many who would. Most people seem to class it as insanely boring, and Yvonne couldn’t honestly blame them. Still, this was good opportunity for him. Perhaps it was time to mention it to the young man, to see what he thought. Perhaps the more time she gave him the easier it would be for him to understand that he wasn’t reaching his full potential here in Torchwood London.
You just keep telling yourself that.
“Jerome!” Yvonne called in a worn voice. A second later a short man with shaggy blonde hair poked his head round the door,
“Yes Miss Hartman?” he replied, cheerfully.
“Remind everyone about the party tonight. Do it over the tannoy if its easier” She yawned, rubbing the back of her neck.
“With all due respect Miss Hartman ... wouldn’t it be easier if you did it?”
“Probably,” she said, simply, “but I’ve got other things to deal with. Just remind everyone it is fancy dress and it’s tonight and leave it at that”
“Ok,” Jerome slipped his head back around the door.
“And ... Jerome!” Yvonne called. Jerome’s head obediently appeared round the door again “Send Adeola in” He nodded and disappeared around the door again. Mere minutes later a dark skinned girl trotted in, beaming at her boss. She stopped a couple of feet away and put her hands on her hips.
“What can I do for you Miss Hartman?” she asked, cheerily.
“I need you to go get someone for me.”
“Oh?”
“I need you to go get Ianto.”
With that the tannoy crackled into life.
***
“All I’m saying is...” Tosh shook her head; a vain attempt to throw hair off her face as the wind blew it around. She would have used one of her hands, had they not been currently in use. One had been covered with a white bandage, courtesy of Owen with strict instructions not to strain it. Translate this into Jack-speak and you have Tosh with a basically useless hand, on pain of Jack-glare. Her other hand was safely tucked in Jack’s, which had somehow wormed its way into his grey coat, effectively shielding their hands from the harsh wind that seemed to be blowing around them. Scattering leaves so they swirled around them, like a cloud of orange rose petals at a wedding. “Look at it this way, Jack. You can quell one love interest by finding another.”
“What do you mean, Tosh?” the young woman rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to hit her head against the nearby wall. She looked at the other man in despair. She loved Jack -he was her best friend- but sometimes he was thicker than two planks.
“Find someone new, Jack! For goodness sake! Go find someone else to lavish attention on, someone who cares enough to return it!” Jack sighed and looked away. He surveyed their surroundings. But he seemed not to be taking any of it in. Tosh had the sneaking suspicion that it was because he didn’t have to look her in the eye, because deep down he knew she was right, she was sure of it, Jack was just too much of a man to admit it.
“You’ve never met her, Tosh,” he said softly, his voice almost gentle enough to be carried off by the raging wind. Tosh turned to look at him properly, her eyes tinged with confusion. “If you’d seen her then you would know what I mean. Once you see her, she really is, unforgettable. She’s just too beautiful for words, and you don’t care that she doesn’t love you, because you don’t need her love to know that she cares.”
“Jack I...” Suddenly there was the sound of breath, somehow magnified by an unknown source, making it crackly and almost unreal. Then there was voice, what could have been soft and gentle was cannibalised by its enhancer, making it seems harsh and metallic.
“Just a reminder! All members of Torchwood London, and their friends, are all invited to the Halloween part tonight. Remember, dress for the occasion!” There was a rasp of something that sounded vaguely like laughter and then silence. It was only then that Tosh and Jack really realised where they were, somehow they had been too swept up in their argument to notice the tall building next to them; Canary Warf. They stood in a silence for a second, in awe at just how far they had managed to travel without noticing where they had been going.
Tosh’s thoughts eventually strayed to what the tannoy had said:
...and their friends...
With that her brain kicked into action, a million thoughts whizzing through her head, as if someone had released the flood gates of her mind.
Tosh was not one for slow thinking, her brain was either going at a hundred miles an hour, or it wasn’t going at all, and Tosh was never not thinking, even in sleep her brain was roaring away, painting her subconscious with unreadable images, mostly of objects they had found, items of no real significance to anyone, but her brain sifted through every single one of them and really decided if that were true or not. It was just the way her mind worked, and hey, who was she to judge?
“Jack!” Tosh exclaimed, all but bouncing up and down. Jack jumped at the young woman's sudden change.
“What!!?”
“Jaaaack!” Tosh pulled out the ‘a’ into an almost comically long phrase. He looked at her, confused by the desperation in her voice. “Rose practically lives half her life in Torchwood London” He still looked confused, Tosh rolled her eyes in despair and hit Jack round the head with her bandaged hand. This earned her a glare from Jack, as he stared at her damaged arm and rubbed his head with his other one.
“What that for?” Jack grumbled, still glaring at Tosh’s bandaged arm and hand, which was now -much to Tosh’s annoyance- aching. She shook it a little and Jack smirked, knowing exactly what was happening. Jack had to look at her properly when she started speaking again, desperation clearly etched into her voice.
“Think about it Jack!” she cried “Rose practically lives in Torchwood London! That means she’ll be at the party!”
“Oh...” Jack said meekly, as it all clicked into place. “But how would we get in?” Tosh smirked, that secretive, sexy little smirk that she got when she had an idea brewing. Which was probably why she looked so attractive most of the time, she was always thinking, she was just one of those people, she never stopped thinking and yet she was always so happy, so content in her own little world, but unlike some, she never disconnected with the rest of them, always content to live on the outside but never stepping over the line and into the cold depths that isolation brings.
“You leave that up to me, Jack!” she grinned sidling up to him again. “You just plan to see all the most beautiful girls in London - and their friends.” She winked “And I’ll prove to you that there's more to life than Rose!” Jack rolled his eyes at his friend, silently despairing at her lack of faith. She really believed that he didn’t care about Rose, that it was just lust. Well he was going to show her it was anything but. “You didn’t listen to a word of that did you?” Jack’s head snapped to look at her,
“Sorry, what?” Tosh rolled her eyes, good naturedly and tugged at his sleeve.
“Well while you were day dreaming about a certain blonde I was telling you go find an outfit!” She grinned. He looked down at himself
“What wrong with this?” He gestured at his ensemble and Tosh raised one eyebrow,
“God, you really don’t do Halloween, do you, Jack?” She asked rhetorically.
“Nope,” he answered, looking adorably confused.
“You have to find an outfit ... as in some sort of fancy dress” He looked at her, titling is head to one side, looking like a lost puppy trying to understand a human barking at it. Tosh rolled her eyes in despair.
“Ok” She sighed “Go research Halloween and THEN find an outfit!” Jack looked at her quizzically. She knew the question. “The Internet, Jack. Look on the Internet!” Jack nodded, understanding what Tosh was saying, even if his facial expression did still portray some confusion.
“What are you going to do?”Jack asked. Tosh smirked again, her whole face lighting up, and Jack found himself grinning back, although he wasn’t sure why exactly.
“I’m going to get us into the party” She grinned. The young woman glanced at her wristwatch- digital, of course. “Ooooh is that the time? Well, I better get going if we want to make this party in time!” She kissed Jack’s cheek lightly, “Call Owen in about an hour, he’ll tell you where to meet us”
“Why would he know?” Jack asked, confused again. Tosh danced around him until she was facing the way they had just come
“Because I’m heading over there to tell him!” she called as she skipped back the way they came. “Remember, Jack: research!” she shouted over her shoulder before disappearing behind some buildings and into the grey fog that seemed to surround London that day.
Jack put his hands on his hips, brushing back his coat so it billowed out behind him.
Sometimes Jack wondered if Tosh did this on purpose.
Fucking research!
***
Far below the main Torchwood institute, deep beneath the crisp, white walls and chrome exteriors, sits the Torchwood London archives. Covered in dust and littered with papers, containing the remnants of people’s lives, the items from long forgotten past. It was the one place that many feared to tread. Dust covered every surface, no matter how much dusting any one did, they could never quite shake it, and abandoned objects and papers covered that.
Deep within the archives, surrounded by said papers, was a man of about twenty five, dressed in a pristine suit which had somehow remained untainted by the dust and grime, his blue eyes shining bright against the clouds of dust that enveloped him as he placed objects in boxes and then piled them to be filed in lower areas, his focus entirely on his work, as if nothing else mattered.
It was true; Ianto Jones was the peak of professional perfection.
He was so wrapped up in his work, so obsessed with piecing back together the remnants of cases and filing away objects no one wanted, that he missed the distinct sound of high heels clicking across concrete. He didn’t even realise there was anyone there but himself until he heard the sound of a delicate sneeze behind him. Ianto wheeled around to see a dark skinned girl of about twenty five grinning at him whist she rubbed her nose with the sleeve of her dark coloured blazer.
“God, Addy! Don’t do that!” Ianto exclaimed, placing his hand on his heart “Talk about scaring a man half to death” Adeola just grinned at him. “What are you up to?” he enquired, immediately becoming suspicious. She shrugged.
“I have no idea!” Ianto raised one eyebrow. “I was just told to bring you to Yvonne.” She carried on grinning, Ianto had to admire that about her; Adeola always seemed to be able to keep a smile on her face, no matter what the circumstances.
Ianto sighed. “Ok but can I just file this one thing....” the rest of his sentence was cut off as Adeola grabbed his arm and yanked him from out of his piles of papers.
“Nope. Sorry, Yvonne wants to see you, and when Yvonne wants something she wants it now.” Ianto admitted that he had to agree with that, so he allowed himself to be dragged up to the main floors via the stairs and then thrown into an elevator.
Finally the elevator stopped and Adeola pulled Ianto into the corridor.
“Calm down Addy,” Ianto said, slightly breathless from being dragged around like a paper doll, belonging to some over excited three year old. But really he should have expected it, Adeola was always pulling him around, he was her best friend, and she milked that for everything it was worth.
“Nah, where’s the fun in that!” She beamed before dragging Ianto to Yvonne's office.
***
Ianto Jones was not usually one to be called into Yvonne Hartman’s office He wasn’t exceptionally bright -well, he wasn’t compared to some of the minds in Torchwood London- and he was sure that he wasn’t a bad employee; he simply did the job down in the archives, no mess, no fuss, unlike some people Ianto could think of. So he had to admit that he was a little worried by being presented to Yvonne by Adeola. He felt like some prize cut of meat, being eyed between two eager buyers. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling.
“Ok Miss Oshodi, you can go.” Yvonne said in a decidedly tired tone, as she walked from the window to her leather office chair and sank into it with a contented sigh, as though she had been waiting for the chance to do so all day.
Adeola nodded curtly, which was the only outwards sign of annoyance she gave before turning on her heel (Ianto mentally applauded her; with heels that high he was surprised she could do anything.) “Actually Miss Oshodi” Adeola swung back around, hands on hips. Yvonne ignored this impatient gesture and carried on, “You can stay. I think we might need you.” Adeola smiled and tucked her hands into her pockets, waiting expectantly for Yvonne to continue. After a long pause that seemed to stretch on for an eternity Yvonne spoke again. “Miss Oshodi, you’re a good friend of Mr Jones’ right?”
Hello? Mr Jones is sitting right here!
Ianto’s grumpy thoughts were interrupted by Adeola’s answer.
“Yes I am,” She beamed, all but skipping back and placing her hands on Ianto’s shoulders “One of his best, or so I’d like to think”
“Then you’d know that Mr Jones hasn’t been with us very long”
“No he hasn’t. He arrived a couple of months after me. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Ah Miss Oshodi, it has everything to do with what I’m about to tell you” Yvonne leant back on her chair and turned her attention the computer. Adeola leant down so her lips brushed against Ianto’s ear as she whispered to him.
“Any idea what the hell she’s going on about?”
“Not a clue.”
“Ah good, it’s not just me then.” Yvonne twisted back to look at them and beckoned Adeola to her. Adeola straightened up and pranced up to the computer screen. She took a couple of minutes to read through the screen and Ianto watched her intensely. Her expression was blank until she read the last paragraph. Then she froze. Ianto felt himself tense at her reaction. Adeola was never startled by anything. Well, except spiders but that's going off on a tangent. The point was that Adeola was never fazed by anything, whatever the problem was she always faced it with a smile and a clear head. But this was different: now she was scowling and muttering darkly at Yvonne whilst pointing at the screen. Ianto was only able to catch snippets of their conversation but he was sure that the words ‘transfer’, ‘No’ and ‘Lisa’ were mentioned repeatedly, along with his own name.
Finally, he couldn’t take the dark mutterings any longer,
“Will someone just tell me what you two are muttering about?” Ianto requested calmly. They jumped and twisted to look at him. Their eyes tinged with surprise and Ianto held their gaze, his eyes quietly inquisitive, but nothing more. Well, nothing that they could see.
“Yan” Adeola started looking back at the screen, as if it would help her explain.
“Mr Jones” Yvonne stated primly, giving up on letting Adeola explain after she looked between Ianto and the screen eight times. “As you know there are many branches of Torchwood...”
“Yes,” Ianto replied, simply.
“Then you’ll know that there is a Torchwood based in Glasgow?”
“Look Miss Hartman, with all due respect; get to the point.” Ianto continued to stare at them both calmly, and Yvonne had to marvel at how calm the young man was about all this; little did she know that Ianto’s entire body was thrumming with tension.
“Torchwood Glasgow needs a new archivist, and they’ve chosen you.” Ianto stared at her, not quite comprehending what she was saying.
“Yan?” Adeola walked back around to him and placed her hands back on his shoulders, rubbing gently, trying to ease the tension she could feel there.
“Is that it then?” Ianto did his best not to sound too upset but it wasn’t easy. He had been sure, so sure, that London was where he belonged. He felt like he’d finally found his place. He had some great friends, and best friend that he loved dearly. Torchwood London had filled the gap that had been left by his family and his old life. And now, the family that he thought he had were shipping him off to Scotland. He couldn’t believe it. No, he didn’t want to believe it.
Yvonne looked confused for a moment before it clicked into place and for the first time ever Ianto saw a genuine, smile creep onto Yvonne’s lips.
“No, it’s not... Ianto” Ianto was genuinely shocked, Yvonne never used people’s first name. It came with the job description. It was Miss this and Mr that and to hear her use his real name frightened him more than it helped, because now it was obvious, she was comforting. “You don’t have to go. Just meet Lisa -she helps Archie run the place. You can meet her tonight; she's coming to that party and then see how you feel about the idea, I’m not telling you to make a decision now.” Ianto nearly laughed out loud.
The young Welshman was happy regard himself as a great reader of people and he could see that behind that facade, the decision was already made, now all Yvonne needed was for him to agree. Oh sure to Lisa she would have been all innocent smiles and understanding about how “she couldn’t possibly let him go unless he wanted to go” but really the decision was made. He was nothing more than a minion to serve her needs and he’d have to go, even if the thought tugged painfully at something deep inside him.
“Yvonne” Adeola’s voice broke through Ianto’s thoughts “Are you sure they can’t have someone else? Ianto’s not been here for very long. For god’s sake; he’s barely seen his first alien!” Ianto had to agree with that, he’d only ever seen one alien up close and that was only because everyone who is allowed into Torchwood has to be checked, just to see that they wouldn’t crack if they really saw an alien. Of course, not many did see aliens; that was the field agent’s job, not the one of an archivist. “Really we ought to keep him here and train him up a bit before we send him out there?You remember all those rumours, about it being the most dangerous rift opening.” Yvonne just smiled again. Ianto looked away. That smile made him uneasy; the way her teeth glinted through ruby red lips made panic curl in the pit of his stomach.
“All I am saying is go meet her.” Yvonne said cheerily “Come to the party, have a good time and let her tell you about Torchwood Two, then see how you feel about it.” Ianto opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted by a sharp tap on the door. “Come in!” she shouted. Jerome’s head poked around the door.
“Sorry Miss Hartman, are you busy?” Yvonne looked at Ianto and Adeola for a second before smiling that wonderfully fake smile at Jerome, who didn’t even bat an eyelid. “I don’t think so, Miss Oshodi and Mr Jones were just leaving” Yvonne looked at them again “Weren’t you?” Ianto stood up and Adeola’s hands dropped back to her side
“Yes, I suppose so” Ianto smiled tightly at her “We’ll see you tonight at the party, Miss Hartman”
“That you will” Yvonne continued to smile at the as they exited to room and Jerome stepped in their place.
***
“Yan?” Adeola probed gently as they stood in the elevator.
“Addy?” Ianto replied, smiling softly at her.
“Will you miss me?” she asked sadly. Ianto turned to look at her straight in the eyes. He tried to make his smile bigger, to try and show her that he believed what he was about to say.
“I won’t need to,” he said softly, touching her arm. “I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled. “Not if I have anything to say about it!” Adeola tried to smile back at him.
“Thanks Ianto” She swallowed hard and Ianto pulled her into a hug. Wrapping his arms protectively around the younger woman.
“I promise I’m not going to leave you anytime soon.”