Cold Turkey
Title: Cold Turkey
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper
Rating: PG
Words: 1167
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Substance Addiction".
Author's Note: I am not a doctor. My medical “knowledge” comes from google, where I found lots of sites with completely conflicting information. I just chose the data that best fit the story I wanted to write.
“Uh, Jack? Can I have a word please?” Owen asked as they filed out of the conference room after their morning briefing.
“What’s up?” Jack asked, following the doctor into the medical bay.
Owen leaned against the table and turned to face the Captain. “It’s Ianto.” He shuffled his feet and fixed his gaze over Jack’s left shoulder, “I’ve been reviewing the team’s annual medical tests, scans and blood tests.”
Jack felt panic grip his chest as he folded his arms defensively, “if there’s something wrong, you really need to talk to him as the patient.”
“Well, I thought, as the boss and his partner, you might talk to him?” Owen said in a small voice.
“No. If you have something to tell Ianto, you tell him. If Ianto wants me there as moral support I will be there. For him, not you.”
Jack squeezed Owen’s shoulder lightly as he left the medical bay and went back up into the main Hub.
Finding his partner at the coffee machine, he stood close behind the young Welshman, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his head on Ianto’s shoulder. Ianto turned in his embrace and Jack kissed him tenderly, tongues dancing together sweetly.
“What was that for?” Ianto asked, some minutes later.
“Nothing.”
Ianto knew him too well for the lie to work. “Jack?” he asked, searching the Captain’s eyes.
Jack sighed and slipped his hands down to rest on Ianto’s hips, their foreheads resting together.
“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, but Owen has been reviewing the staff medicals. He wanted to discuss your results with me, but I told him that patient confidentiality means he has to talk to you himself.” Jack felt Ianto stiffen, obviously worried but trying not to show it, “I’ll go with you if you want of course, but it wouldn’t be right for me to hear whatever he has to say before you do.”
Ianto didn’t respond. He chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously as his mind raced through the possibilities of what Owen might have found.
Jack was worried too, but knew that he had to be strong to support his young lover, whatever the problem was. He lifted a hand to cup Ianto’s face, stroking his thumb softly across those full lips. “I’m sure it will be fine.” He said quietly, with more conviction than he felt, before leaning in and lightly kissing his partner.
“Yeah,” murmured Ianto, drawing strength from the Captain.
Just then Gwen appeared in the doorway, “Ianto love, is the coffee ready?”
“Oh, um, yeah of course.” Ianto pulled away from Jack and picked up Gwen’s mug, handing it to her.
“Thanks,” she beamed and beat a hasty retreat. She hadn’t realised Jack was there with Ianto and hadn’t meant to interrupt them.
“You ok?” Jack asked.
“Yeah. I’d better take Tosh’s drink to her, then could you meet me down in the medical bay. Let’s get this over with.”
“Of course.” Jack replied, watching his lover pick up Tosh and Owen’s coffees and leave the kitchen. He took a deep breath and counted to ten before grabbing his own and Ianto’s mugs and leaving to go down to see Owen.
Jack arrived just as Ianto was handing Owen’s coffee over to him. He moved to Ianto’s side and passed him his drink and then put his arm lightly around his partner’s waist, both of them leaning against the autopsy table as they waited for Owen to speak.
Owen put his cup down and looked from Ianto to Jack, and back to Ianto again. “Ianto, as I’m sure Jack told you, I’ve been reviewing your annual medical tests. The thing is, I have found that you have dangerously high levels of caffeine in your system.”
Ianto couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing. Jack joined in, the tension and fear both men had felt draining from them.
“I’m serious!” said Owen.
“I’m sorry Owen,” Ianto struggled to get himself under control. “It’s just, when Jack said you found something in my tests I thought you were going to tell me I had cancer or something!”
“No, nothing like that!” Owen smiled, then sobered, “but this is still serious Ianto. Excessive caffeine intake can be a major factor in high blood pressure and heart disease. And it has been linked to type two diabetes, not to mention insomnia and other sleep disorders.”
“You haven’t been sleeping well for a while now…” Jack mused.
“I’m more worried about your blood pressure,” added Owen.
Ianto looked at the cup of coffee in his hand. “Maybe I should try and cut down. What about the rest of you? Are you all over dosing on caffeine too?”
“Me and the girls don’t drink as much as you two. I know you make yours and Jack’s stronger than ours. And also we haven’t touched a drop outside of work for months now - it’s just not the same. I’m guessing you two carry on drinking it all the time?”
“Yeah. What about Jack? Is he ok or does he need to cut down too?”
“To be honest I don’t know. I didn’t check Jack’s samples for things like that. His body auto resets every time he dies.” He turned to the Captain, “I only check you for anything alien and weird, or anything you could infect the tea-boy with.”
“Hey! I’m clean.” Jack stated indignantly, as Ianto blushed.
“Doesn’t hurt to check.” Owen said.
“Anyway,” Ianto interjected, trying to bring order back to the situation, “do you recommend complete cold turkey, or just reduced caffeine intake?”
“Well, um, I’m not sure really. I guess I would say it might not be a bad idea to do a complete detox for a couple of weeks, then if you want to return to drinking coffee, limit it to a much more sensible three or four cups a day?”
“Ok,” Ianto said, then looking down at the steaming mug in his hand added quietly, almost to himself, “I can do that.” He wasn’t sure how, but he would manage. People broke addictions all the time, right? And he had stopped smoking when he first joined Torchwood One. This couldn’t be any harder, could it?
Jack put down his own mug, then reached over and gently prised Ianto’s from his fingers. Then he moved to stand in front of his lover and cupped his hands around Ianto’s face. “Yes you can,” he said softly, “and I’ll do it with you.” He leaned in and kissed his partner passionately, Ianto giving as good as he got, hands fisting in each other’s hair, tongues duelling for dominance in each other’s mouths.
Owen just shook his head and made his way up the stairs and out of the medical bay.
When they eventually had to come up for air, Jack pulled back and picked up their coffee mugs, “Come on, let’s enjoy these before they go cold. We won’t be having another for a while.”
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper
Rating: PG
Words: 1167
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Substance Addiction".
Author's Note: I am not a doctor. My medical “knowledge” comes from google, where I found lots of sites with completely conflicting information. I just chose the data that best fit the story I wanted to write.
“Uh, Jack? Can I have a word please?” Owen asked as they filed out of the conference room after their morning briefing.
“What’s up?” Jack asked, following the doctor into the medical bay.
Owen leaned against the table and turned to face the Captain. “It’s Ianto.” He shuffled his feet and fixed his gaze over Jack’s left shoulder, “I’ve been reviewing the team’s annual medical tests, scans and blood tests.”
Jack felt panic grip his chest as he folded his arms defensively, “if there’s something wrong, you really need to talk to him as the patient.”
“Well, I thought, as the boss and his partner, you might talk to him?” Owen said in a small voice.
“No. If you have something to tell Ianto, you tell him. If Ianto wants me there as moral support I will be there. For him, not you.”
Jack squeezed Owen’s shoulder lightly as he left the medical bay and went back up into the main Hub.
Finding his partner at the coffee machine, he stood close behind the young Welshman, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his head on Ianto’s shoulder. Ianto turned in his embrace and Jack kissed him tenderly, tongues dancing together sweetly.
“What was that for?” Ianto asked, some minutes later.
“Nothing.”
Ianto knew him too well for the lie to work. “Jack?” he asked, searching the Captain’s eyes.
Jack sighed and slipped his hands down to rest on Ianto’s hips, their foreheads resting together.
“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, but Owen has been reviewing the staff medicals. He wanted to discuss your results with me, but I told him that patient confidentiality means he has to talk to you himself.” Jack felt Ianto stiffen, obviously worried but trying not to show it, “I’ll go with you if you want of course, but it wouldn’t be right for me to hear whatever he has to say before you do.”
Ianto didn’t respond. He chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously as his mind raced through the possibilities of what Owen might have found.
Jack was worried too, but knew that he had to be strong to support his young lover, whatever the problem was. He lifted a hand to cup Ianto’s face, stroking his thumb softly across those full lips. “I’m sure it will be fine.” He said quietly, with more conviction than he felt, before leaning in and lightly kissing his partner.
“Yeah,” murmured Ianto, drawing strength from the Captain.
Just then Gwen appeared in the doorway, “Ianto love, is the coffee ready?”
“Oh, um, yeah of course.” Ianto pulled away from Jack and picked up Gwen’s mug, handing it to her.
“Thanks,” she beamed and beat a hasty retreat. She hadn’t realised Jack was there with Ianto and hadn’t meant to interrupt them.
“You ok?” Jack asked.
“Yeah. I’d better take Tosh’s drink to her, then could you meet me down in the medical bay. Let’s get this over with.”
“Of course.” Jack replied, watching his lover pick up Tosh and Owen’s coffees and leave the kitchen. He took a deep breath and counted to ten before grabbing his own and Ianto’s mugs and leaving to go down to see Owen.
Jack arrived just as Ianto was handing Owen’s coffee over to him. He moved to Ianto’s side and passed him his drink and then put his arm lightly around his partner’s waist, both of them leaning against the autopsy table as they waited for Owen to speak.
Owen put his cup down and looked from Ianto to Jack, and back to Ianto again. “Ianto, as I’m sure Jack told you, I’ve been reviewing your annual medical tests. The thing is, I have found that you have dangerously high levels of caffeine in your system.”
Ianto couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing. Jack joined in, the tension and fear both men had felt draining from them.
“I’m serious!” said Owen.
“I’m sorry Owen,” Ianto struggled to get himself under control. “It’s just, when Jack said you found something in my tests I thought you were going to tell me I had cancer or something!”
“No, nothing like that!” Owen smiled, then sobered, “but this is still serious Ianto. Excessive caffeine intake can be a major factor in high blood pressure and heart disease. And it has been linked to type two diabetes, not to mention insomnia and other sleep disorders.”
“You haven’t been sleeping well for a while now…” Jack mused.
“I’m more worried about your blood pressure,” added Owen.
Ianto looked at the cup of coffee in his hand. “Maybe I should try and cut down. What about the rest of you? Are you all over dosing on caffeine too?”
“Me and the girls don’t drink as much as you two. I know you make yours and Jack’s stronger than ours. And also we haven’t touched a drop outside of work for months now - it’s just not the same. I’m guessing you two carry on drinking it all the time?”
“Yeah. What about Jack? Is he ok or does he need to cut down too?”
“To be honest I don’t know. I didn’t check Jack’s samples for things like that. His body auto resets every time he dies.” He turned to the Captain, “I only check you for anything alien and weird, or anything you could infect the tea-boy with.”
“Hey! I’m clean.” Jack stated indignantly, as Ianto blushed.
“Doesn’t hurt to check.” Owen said.
“Anyway,” Ianto interjected, trying to bring order back to the situation, “do you recommend complete cold turkey, or just reduced caffeine intake?”
“Well, um, I’m not sure really. I guess I would say it might not be a bad idea to do a complete detox for a couple of weeks, then if you want to return to drinking coffee, limit it to a much more sensible three or four cups a day?”
“Ok,” Ianto said, then looking down at the steaming mug in his hand added quietly, almost to himself, “I can do that.” He wasn’t sure how, but he would manage. People broke addictions all the time, right? And he had stopped smoking when he first joined Torchwood One. This couldn’t be any harder, could it?
Jack put down his own mug, then reached over and gently prised Ianto’s from his fingers. Then he moved to stand in front of his lover and cupped his hands around Ianto’s face. “Yes you can,” he said softly, “and I’ll do it with you.” He leaned in and kissed his partner passionately, Ianto giving as good as he got, hands fisting in each other’s hair, tongues duelling for dominance in each other’s mouths.
Owen just shook his head and made his way up the stairs and out of the medical bay.
When they eventually had to come up for air, Jack pulled back and picked up their coffee mugs, “Come on, let’s enjoy these before they go cold. We won’t be having another for a while.”