IF YOU HAD A TARDIS.....
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: Mild PG for M/M relationship
Spoilers: General, for series
Disclaimer: Not mine; they belong to the BBC.
Summary: Jack likes to pose questions to get his team thinking.
"If you had a TARDIS, where would you take it?"
The other three paused in the middle of their meal and stared at Jack.
"What's a TARDIS?" Gwen asked after a moment.
Owen rolled his eyes. "Didn't you read the background information on Torchwood? I'll kill you if you managed to get away with Ianto force-feeding you ten tons of decimated rainforest."
"Well, he gave me quite a lot of background reading but I'm still working my way through it," Gwen confessed.
Owen rolled his eyes. "You'd better get up to speed."
"Why?" Gwen asked.
"Because I like to do pop quizzes," Jack said with a small grin. "All right, Owen, tell Gwen about the TARDIS."
"It looks like a blue Police box, travels in time and space, and it's home from home for the Doctor, who is Torchwood's number one enemy. That's about it, really." He went back to munching on his sandwiches.
"What, anywhere in space and time?" Gwen asked, her eyes huge. Jack nodded. "Oh my. Well, I suppose if I could go anywhere in space and time, I'd probably go back to when my Nan fell down the stairs and died-"
"Sorry, can't change the timeline," Jack said regretfully. "Causes all kinds of chaos."
"What's the point of travelling in time if you can't use it to save people?" Gwen demanded.
"Oh, you can save people. You just can't save people that are going to directly impact on your life," Jack explained. Seeing her bewilderment, he tried to think of a way of explaining it.
"If you save your Nan from dying then you won't have experienced the grief of her death and that will mean that you'll make different decisions further down the timeline," Tosh chipped in. "We are all shaped by our experiences and if those change, we change."
"Oh, I see." Gwen looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, I think I'd go back in time and meet Marilyn Monroe. I'd love to know if she was having an affair with JFK."
Owen snorted his amusement. "Typical. All of space and time and all you can think of is celebrity gossip!"
"All right, Mr Smarty-pants, what would you do?" Gwen demanded a little sharply.
A dreamy expression crossed Owen's face. "I'd go into the future, find a library and read up on the stock exchange, then come back and make a killing. Or maybe I'd pick up some advanced medical equipment or drugs and come back and be a hero."
"Both of which would get you into trouble with the people who police the time-streams," Jack said dryly. "You don't want to know what they'd do to you once they got you, either."
Owen shrugged. "They'd have to catch me first. What about you, Tosh?"
Tosh looked thoughtful, then looked up as Ianto walked in with the coffee and some cakes. "I can't decide. What about you, Ianto? Where would you go if you had a TARDIS?"
For a moment, Jack saw Ianto's eyes widen and an expression of longing touch his face, then it was gone again and there was only polite impassivity. "I take it the normal rules about non-interference are in force?" he asked. Jack nodded, intrigued to know what was coming. "Then I would choose the Library of Alexandria," he said. "I would like to read some of the scrolls that were lost to Humanity when the Library was destroyed."
"Oh, yes!" Tosh said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "I'd come with you on that trip!"
Owen rolled his eyes. "Flippin' geeks, the pair of you. Trust you to waste a golden opportunity, Ianto."
Ianto shrugged and continued to pour the coffee. "Each to his own, Owen."
Much later that night, Ianto lay in Jack's arms, three-quarters asleep.
"Were you serious about the Library?" Jack asked softly.
Ianto nodded. "All the knowledge of the ancient world was in there," he said drowsily, "and then it was destroyed. Just the thought of being there... I have total recall. What I read I keep forever. Who could pass up a chance like that?"
"If we ever meet the Doctor, we could ask him if he'd mind."
Ianto managed a sleepy chuckle. "If we meet the Doctor, we'll probably be up to our necks in some kind of alien invasion! Besides, he doesn't do day trips."
"You don't know that for sure," Jack objected, but Ianto was asleep.
OOO
Next story in chronological order is Life Force at http://tanarian5.livejournal.com/6741.html
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: Mild PG for M/M relationship
Spoilers: General, for series
Disclaimer: Not mine; they belong to the BBC.
Summary: Jack likes to pose questions to get his team thinking.
"If you had a TARDIS, where would you take it?"
The other three paused in the middle of their meal and stared at Jack.
"What's a TARDIS?" Gwen asked after a moment.
Owen rolled his eyes. "Didn't you read the background information on Torchwood? I'll kill you if you managed to get away with Ianto force-feeding you ten tons of decimated rainforest."
"Well, he gave me quite a lot of background reading but I'm still working my way through it," Gwen confessed.
Owen rolled his eyes. "You'd better get up to speed."
"Why?" Gwen asked.
"Because I like to do pop quizzes," Jack said with a small grin. "All right, Owen, tell Gwen about the TARDIS."
"It looks like a blue Police box, travels in time and space, and it's home from home for the Doctor, who is Torchwood's number one enemy. That's about it, really." He went back to munching on his sandwiches.
"What, anywhere in space and time?" Gwen asked, her eyes huge. Jack nodded. "Oh my. Well, I suppose if I could go anywhere in space and time, I'd probably go back to when my Nan fell down the stairs and died-"
"Sorry, can't change the timeline," Jack said regretfully. "Causes all kinds of chaos."
"What's the point of travelling in time if you can't use it to save people?" Gwen demanded.
"Oh, you can save people. You just can't save people that are going to directly impact on your life," Jack explained. Seeing her bewilderment, he tried to think of a way of explaining it.
"If you save your Nan from dying then you won't have experienced the grief of her death and that will mean that you'll make different decisions further down the timeline," Tosh chipped in. "We are all shaped by our experiences and if those change, we change."
"Oh, I see." Gwen looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, I think I'd go back in time and meet Marilyn Monroe. I'd love to know if she was having an affair with JFK."
Owen snorted his amusement. "Typical. All of space and time and all you can think of is celebrity gossip!"
"All right, Mr Smarty-pants, what would you do?" Gwen demanded a little sharply.
A dreamy expression crossed Owen's face. "I'd go into the future, find a library and read up on the stock exchange, then come back and make a killing. Or maybe I'd pick up some advanced medical equipment or drugs and come back and be a hero."
"Both of which would get you into trouble with the people who police the time-streams," Jack said dryly. "You don't want to know what they'd do to you once they got you, either."
Owen shrugged. "They'd have to catch me first. What about you, Tosh?"
Tosh looked thoughtful, then looked up as Ianto walked in with the coffee and some cakes. "I can't decide. What about you, Ianto? Where would you go if you had a TARDIS?"
For a moment, Jack saw Ianto's eyes widen and an expression of longing touch his face, then it was gone again and there was only polite impassivity. "I take it the normal rules about non-interference are in force?" he asked. Jack nodded, intrigued to know what was coming. "Then I would choose the Library of Alexandria," he said. "I would like to read some of the scrolls that were lost to Humanity when the Library was destroyed."
"Oh, yes!" Tosh said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "I'd come with you on that trip!"
Owen rolled his eyes. "Flippin' geeks, the pair of you. Trust you to waste a golden opportunity, Ianto."
Ianto shrugged and continued to pour the coffee. "Each to his own, Owen."
Much later that night, Ianto lay in Jack's arms, three-quarters asleep.
"Were you serious about the Library?" Jack asked softly.
Ianto nodded. "All the knowledge of the ancient world was in there," he said drowsily, "and then it was destroyed. Just the thought of being there... I have total recall. What I read I keep forever. Who could pass up a chance like that?"
"If we ever meet the Doctor, we could ask him if he'd mind."
Ianto managed a sleepy chuckle. "If we meet the Doctor, we'll probably be up to our necks in some kind of alien invasion! Besides, he doesn't do day trips."
"You don't know that for sure," Jack objected, but Ianto was asleep.
OOO
Next story in chronological order is Life Force at http://tanarian5.livejournal.com/6741.html