Will My Arms Be Strong Enough 15/45
Title: Will My Arms Be Strong Enough? 15/45
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys...and others!
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Rhys, John Hart, two OC's, Andrea (Andie) Carlowe and Nick Jones.
Spoilers: Set after Exit Wounds.
Summary: John tries to make Ianto trust him, while Jack organises a trip away.
Chapter 15
Ianto leaned back against the sofa, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand, enjoying the moment of peace in the Hub. He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of…the sound of silence.
He tossed his jacket over the back of the sofa, but as he did so, a piece of folded paper fell out of the pocket. Frowning, he unfolded it and sighed when he saw that it was the list of food that he needed to restock the fridge with - with ‘special cream’ at the top of the list in Jack’s handwriting. He groaned, remembering that he still needed to find a way to stop his lover from getting his hands on these lists. At least, this time, he’d caught it before it was too late.
The silence was suddenly broken by a small yelp coming from the autopsy bay. Quickly, Ianto was on his feet, but any panic he might have felt vanished when the yelp deteriorated into soft giggles and a voice said, “Oi, give it a rest, can’t you!” before also dissolving into giggles.
Ianto shuddered slightly and sat back down again, deciding that he really did not want to know what was going on down there. With John Hart, it could have been anything…as Ianto had seen for himself two weeks earlier…
~*~
The coffee machine gurgled loudly in the empty Hub. Jack was asleep in his bunk under his office, seemingly tired out, although whether it was from the Weevil hunt earlier or the mind-blowing sex that followed, Ianto had no idea. It didn’t matter; it was so rare that Jack slept nowadays, and even rarer that he slept when he was alone, so it was nice to see him relaxed for once. The man had seen and suffered so much…
Ianto was suddenly snapped out of his maudlin thoughts by the sound of someone humming a tune. Smiling, he stepped outside, about to tell Jack that he was just coming. But it wasn’t Jack at all. Instead, his hair windswept and his cheeks pinker than usual, stood Nick. He was clicking his fingers to an invisible beat and smiling all over his face.
With a smirk, Ianto cleared his throat loudly, causing his cousin to jump almost six inches in the air, before turning around to glare at him.
“Jesus, Ianto!” he spluttered. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Ianto snickered and flopped on the sofa, picking up one of the magazines that lay on the table. “Shouldn’t that be a ‘Hart’ attack?” he asked.
Nick cringed. “Ianto, that was worse than the ones you came up with when you were twelve!”
Ianto grinned and gave him a ‘couldn’t resist’ look. “So,” he added finally, his smile now turning into a wicked grin. “Were you humming Rick Astley?”
Nick ignored him and wandered into the kitchen. “Have you got any water? I still haven’t recovered from that bloody curry.” He rummaged in the fridge for a few seconds before emerging with a shout of victory and a bottle of cold water in his hand. “I’ll just run and get my stuff and then I’ll be right out of your hair.”
“Get your stuff?” repeated Ianto. “Where are you going? What do you mean, you’ll be right out of my hair?” He followed his cousin down to the autopsy room. “Nick, what’s going on?”
Nick stood up at that point. “I’m just going to stay at John’s for a while, just until I get back on -”
But he never finished the sentence. “What?!” exclaimed Ianto. “You’re going to - what? What’s wrong with just staying here, for God’s sake?!”
Nick turned round. “You think I should stay here?” he asked. “Well, as much as I love working here…no offence, mate, but it’s not exactly easy to sleep with you two lovebirds down there.” He took a sip of water. “I don’t think you guys quite realise how easily sound carries in this place and I really don’t want to hear Jack screaming at you to ‘ride him harder’ in the middle of the night.”
Ianto blushed harder than he’d ever blushed in his life. “Okay, so we’re a little…enthusiastic at times. But seriously, you’re going to stay with John? I thought he’d at least give it three dates.”
Nick looked at him in amazement before bursting into fits of laughter. “Three dates…oh, Ianto, was that what you thought?” He shook his head. “No, he just said that I could stay with him for a while…it’s just so I can get back on my feet.” A strangely dreamy smile flittered over his face. “He was so sweet about it, really…he was so romantic…”
“Now you’re turning into a teenage girl, Nick,” said Ianto a bit sourly as he flopped back on the sofa and dug out the magazine again.
Nick grinned and flipped his hair into two fake bunches. “I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world…” he sang in a high-pitched voice. When that didn’t garner any response, he rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Ianto, what’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” repeated Ianto, finally looking up. “What’s wrong with you? Come on, Nick, how dense can you be? Don’t you know what kind of man John Hart is? He’s only going to hurt you - look at what he’s already done to you!”
Nick threw his hands in the air. “Oh, God, don’t tell me we’re back to Flat bloody Holm again? I’ve told you already, Ianto; he took me there because I asked him to! Yes, it was horrible, and yes, going there was devastating for me. But what about what it did to him? He only did it because he respected me enough to be honest - which is more than you or Jack did!”
“We would have told you in the end!” retorted Ianto, getting up. “There was no need for you to know straight away - you’ve been through enough shit as it is!”
“You would rather have had me live in false hope and then find out the truth later?” asked Nick incredulously. “Yes, I have been through shit, but we all have. Let me ask you now - if it had been you, what would you have wanted?”
He nodded when Ianto turned away. “You can’t answer that, can you? And do you know why? Because you just can’t accept that despite his past, John might actually have changed. He’s a good man, Ianto - I thought you knew that -”
“Okay, so maybe he was right!” hissed Ianto. “But how do you know he’s changed in other ways? How can you be sure that he’s really serious? How do you know he won’t treat you the way he’s treated everyone else he’s been with?”
“Because I know that he can love,” answered Nick. “Look at the way he is with Jack. Come on, Ianto; even you can see how he felt about him. But he’s done the noble thing and bowed out gracefully…he’s let Jack go and he’s moving on. Give him a chance, can’t you?”
Ianto laughed out loud. “How do you know that?” he asked furiously. “How do you know that he’s changed?” In a sudden fit of temper, he burst out, “For all you know, as far as John’s concerned, you’ll just end up being his part-time shag!”
Silence followed. For a split second, Nick stared at his cousin as if he’d been slapped. Then, quite suddenly, he set his face and started to walk away. “I’ve got my mobile,” he said calmly. “If anything happens, just give me a ring.”
Ianto sighed. “Nick, I’m sorry…I didn’t -”
But Nick had already gone back to the autopsy room, picked up his things and, without a backward glance, disappeared back onto the Plass.
~*~
Ianto closed his eyes and breathed out. He and Nick had hardly spoken since that day, and even then it had been strictly professional. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to him, to explain, of course he did, but he knew that it would just end in a row. Stubbornness seemed to be a trait in the Jones family and Nick had inherited it in buckets.
He was distracted, however, by a soft ‘flump’ beside him and turned to see Jack looking at him. “Hey,” he said, wearily. “Sorry, I was miles away.”
“I noticed.” Jack smiled and edged a little closer. “Where is everyone?”
“John and Nick are in the autopsy room and the girls are out chasing a Weevil.”
Jack’s smile grew even wider. “Oh…is that what they’re calling it now?” Chuckling, he edged a little closer and slipped his hand inside Ianto’s left leg, stroking his thigh.
“Jack!” Ianto tried to move away. “Not with my cousin in earshot!”
Jack snorted. “Oh, come on, I hardly think he’s going to care,” he said as he moved upwards and, faster than blinking, he had Ianto’s trousers open and his fingers stroking him inside his…”Oh, hello,” Jack suddenly crooned, a truly dirty smile lighting up his face. “Ianto Jones…I do believe that you are wearing silk boxers.”
Ianto wriggled and hissed. “I would have thought…you’d…” but the last part of his sentence was lost as Jack calmly removed his hand and fastened his trousers up. Smirking, he planted a kiss on his partner’s lips and walked - no, skipped - towards one of the computers.
Ianto barely had time to think something extremely uncomplimentary about his Captain when a loud crash from the autopsy room distracted him. Quickly, he jumped up and, with Jack hot on his heels, raced towards the balcony…only to be greeted by a rather surprising sight.
John was sat, quite calmly, on the autopsy table with his shirt off and an enormous dressing on his shoulder. That wasn’t too surprising; the wound had been pretty nasty.
However, what was surprising was the small silver tray of medical equipment that was lying on the floor…and the fact that John also had his trousers open. Equally surprising was the fact that Nick, usually the professional, was totally ignoring the mess and was blushing profusely and giggling as John caught him by the waist and whispered in his ear…and that his shirt was only half-buttoned.
Jack snorted again - loudly - but Ianto scowled. “Don’t you two ever stop?” he asked crossly, before turning on his heal and stalking away.
“Ianto!” shouted Nick, but the only answer he received was the slam of Jack’s (newly repaired) office door. This was followed by another loud crash.
Jack sighed. “I’ll talk to him,” he said, racing off after his lover. He sighed when he caught sight of the glass on the floor. “What is with you Jones boys and breaking my door?” he asked.
Ianto shook his head. “Sorry. I’ll clear it up.”
But Jack caught his arm. “What’s gotten into you, Ianto?” he asked him, his voice stern but calm. “Why are you treating them this way? Is it because you don’t want to see your cousin with another man?” He kept his voice steady, but couldn’t stop a pained expression from flickering over his face.
Ianto whipped round fast. “Jack, no!” he gasped out. “I knew Nick was bisexual before I figured I was - I probably figured him out before he did. No…no, it’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s that it’s John!” shouted Ianto, spinning around.
Now, Jack was confused. “John?” he repeated. “What…you want John? Well, I can always ask -“
“No!” yelled Ianto. “No, I don’t want to be with John! You know that you’re the only one I want!”
“Then why -”
“Because he’s going to break Nick’s heart!” exclaimed Ianto. “I know you think he’s changed, Jack, and I admit, to a degree, he has become a better man. But I just…” he paused, “I don’t trust him with my cousin’s heart. Nick’s like me, Jack; when he falls in love, he falls in love completely. He needs someone who he can trust to understand that - like I eventually found that I could trust you. And I don’t think that John’s the one to do that.”
He turned back to his partner. “I just…I don’t trust him.”
~*~
“Okay, don’t try and lift anything heavy for the next few days,” said Nick as he helped John with his shirt again. “If you get any pain or bleeding, come straight here…and chances are I’ll yell at you for doing something stupid.”
John chuckled slightly and hauled himself upright again. “Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you mind when I...you know…touch you?”
Nick laughed out loud, the sound filling the empty room. “If I did mind, you’d know,” he said. “Chances are, if I did mind, you’d have your balls ripped off faster than you could blink.”
A small grimace flickered over John’s face before it was replaced by a smirk. “Oh, no, you wouldn’t! My balls are like oranges of steel!”
Nick chuckled and rolled his eyes before turning serious again. “Ianto doesn’t trust you.”
“No, I know he doesn’t. And, to be fair, he’s not got much reason to trust me. I might have changed, Nick, but…I know I still broke you with what I did…”
Nick sighed. “I’m not going to lie to you, John - yes, you did. But you’re also making it up to me,” he said, turning to smile at him. “And that’s what matters. What Ianto thinks isn’t important, okay? Yes, I care about him and yes, I always will. But, ultimately, I have to make the final choice. And this is the choice I made. I can see that you’ve changed; these past two weeks have shown that. Sure, you’re not perfect, but no one in this world is. And,” he paused and leaned over to kiss the side of John’s neck, “I…don’t…care…”
John smiled and let himself get lost in those kisses, but all the while knowing that, somehow, he was going to have to make Ianto trust him.
And he had a plan.
~*~
Two days later...
“All right,” said John, standing in front of them. “Now, as I see, you’ve all taken my advice and come in old and comfortable clothes today, which is useful - and I must say that some of you look very dashing indeed.”
He tipped a huge wink towards Nick, who blushed. Jack snorted, the girls giggled, and Ianto barely refrained from rolling his eyes.
“Okay!” John clapped his hands together and then drew out six pairs of what looked like earpieces. “Take these.”
“What are they for?” asked Andie, turning them over in her hands.
“Well,” said John, slowly. “This is a new technology that I’ve been working on for a while, now. And it may well save your lives.” He looked at all five of them with no hint of laughter in his face. “You see, as accomplished as you all are as field-workers, we all know that you don’t know how to handle yourselves in a proper battle. Now, I’m not saying that such a thing will ever happen. It might not. But then again, it might. You never know. And you have to be prepared for if it does.”
He indicated the earpieces. “When you wear these, they will give the impression, through sounds, that you are actually in a battle. You’re going to hear sounds of…breaking, screaming, shooting - all sorts. Things will be breaking in the Hub too. What I’ve done is made some arrangements so that the Hub will apparently be falling around you. You’ll have the lights going on and off and illusions of breaking glass, among other things. Then, you’ve also got targets all around the base, but you won’t always know exactly what they are. Some will be moving and some will be still. What I’m going to do is give each of you one of these paintball guns which you will use to shoot as you find. Obviously, the targets won’t be real, but they will have weapons, just the same as yours. They are also programmed to shoot as they find. And, while they may not be out to kill you, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take this seriously. You have to at least have some idea of what to do in case you should ever find yourself in the middle of a real life-or-death war.”
“Like what happened at Canary Wharf,” muttered Nick.
“Exactly,” agreed John. “Now, I mean no disrespect to the dead, but…tell me, Ianto, when the Cybermen and Daleks invaded, could you say that you and your colleagues knew what you should do in such a situation?”
“No,” replied Ianto. “We didn’t.” He looked up. “And because of that, hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were killed. Only twenty-seven made it out alive, myself included…because no one knew how to react. We hadn’t been properly trained for if such a thing should happen.”
John nodded. “So…are you all ready for this?” He waited for the other five people in the room to nod, although he did notice that Ianto did so with some reluctance, before he handed each of them a large gun that could have been mistaken for being real until he said, “Now, like I said, these are paintball guns. You do need to know what to do in this situation, but I’m not going to send you into a falling Hub with real guns when you won’t necessarily see what’s happening.”
“Wouldn’t make much difference for me,” quipped Jack.
John ignored his former partner. “Now, as you see, there is a timer on the weapons. The timer will run for forty minutes from when we leave this room. You will have half an hour in which you will essentially be on your own. Then, exactly ten minutes before the end, you will see three flashing lights ahead; one will be red, one will be yellow and the last will be blue. You will also note a white band around your weapon handles. At this time, you will feel them heating up - not enough to burn, but enough so that you notice it. When that happens, look down and you’ll see that it will flash in one of those three colours. When you follow corresponding light, you will hook up with a partner, who you have to trust to get you out of here. Hopefully, by the end of this exercise, we’ll end up on the Plass after forty minutes.”
He led them all out of the shooting range and pressed a button on his wrist strap. “Good luck.”
The moment that he said the words, it started. The lights started to flicker and spark before finally going out altogether. Then, silence followed…but only for a second. A sound, easy to miss at first, began to fill his ears; a strange, ear-piercing whistle, slowly growing louder and louder, even as other different sounds began to filter through…screaming…heavy footsteps…gunshots.
As the atmosphere darkened, John took a huge breath, squared his shoulders and readied his gun, placing his finger on the trigger as he started to move.
~*~
Andie Carlowe, in all her years of knowing the two former Time Agents, had never been involved in anything quite like this. She had known how to fight - growing up in dangerous climates, she’d had to - but she had never found herself in the middle of a battle before. It was terrifying, so terrifying…and yet, there was also something wonderful, something…something exhilarating about it all. It was something she never wanted to lose.
She suddenly recalled reading Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings as a girl and remembering the story of Éowyn, the beautiful shieldmaiden who had ridden to war in disguise and had been a hero in battle. Her bravery had at once been a source of delight and terror, but something that Andie had never thought she herself would have the chance to show. But now, hearing the sounds of destruction and death, she realized just how real this was. This was her chance to show what she could do - to do what she had been trained to do.
Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and fired.
~*~
Nick jumped to the floor again and rolled out of the way as soon as he registered the weapon being pointed at him. Once he was out of the way, he crawled onwards and fired, until he was out of sight. Gasping, he mopped his brow and checked himself over. He was stiff and tired, but, as yet, not too badly injured. A grim expression of satisfaction crossed his face; he’d had to push himself to the limit, but he knew he was doing the right thing. While sometimes, injuries in battle were unavoidable, there was no sense in walking right into any more danger than was necessary. A battle was bad enough; the last thing the team would need was to have their doctor out of action in such a situation.
It was strange; John had talked about how serious this job was and how you had to be prepared for anything that could happen. But, even despite what he had seen before, it was only now that Nick realized just how right he was. When you were in a battle, you couldn’t take your eyes off your surroundings even for a second, not even to check if your partner was all right. You had to rely on your instincts and keep going. A split second’s indecision could cost lives - and, unlike when he had worked at the hospital, that didn’t just mean the life of your patient.
It could mean the lives of your friends, of people you barely knew…of everyone around you.
~*~
Ianto shuddered as he fired at the shape advancing on him in the flickering lights. He could hear the Hub crashing around him, could see the bricks falling even through his watering eyes. From behind him, he heard a loud crash and then a bright flash exploded from somewhere. With a yell, he flung himself to the ground, moments before a sparking cable hit the ground in front of him.
Even though he knew that panicking was the worst thing you could possibly do in this situation, he found that he couldn’t help himself. No matter how hard he tried to tell himself that he was only at the Hub and this was only a training exercise, his mind would keep going back to Canary Wharf, with the Daleks and the Cybermen bearing down upon him and it terrified him. Every time he heard a sound, he would freeze for a moment, expecting to hear their mechanical voices.
In fact, he was shaking so badly, it was a moment before he realised that his gun was growing hot in his hand. When he did realise, he was so shocked he nearly dropped it, before remembering exactly what was happening. Quickly, he looked down and saw that the tape on the handle was flashing red. At the same time, a loud siren echoed through the Hub and, moments later, three spots of light started flashing around him, moving all the while. Barely even stopping to think, Ianto took a huge breath and followed the red light, not even caring where it led him. Unfortunately, in his haste, he was barely looking where he was going and tripped over a cable that was lying on the ground. He swore loudly and threw out a hand to break his fall - but at the last moment, he felt himself being pulled upright and, at the same time, he realised that the red light had stopped moving and that he was being bathed in it. Twisting slightly, he looked up - and almost fainted when he found himself looking into a pair of very familiar green eyes.
“I’m going to get you out of here!” John shouted over the noise. “But you’re going to have to trust me. Come on - this way!” He grabbed Ianto’s arm and half-dragged him across the Hub, keeping his gun out as he went. “Don’t let go of my hand! I don’t want you falling back in there alone!”
He pressed a button on his wrist strap and immediately they started to move. Ianto, still shaken by what had just happened, screamed loudly, causing John to wrap his arms around him and hold him close. He tried to get away, but the hold was too strong, and he eventually gave in and slumped against him, trembling. It seemed to take forever, but eventually they stopped - and Ianto gasped in relief at the feeling of cold air on his face.
John untangled himself and sat down on the step. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Look, I know that was tough, but you do need to know what to do when you’re in this sort of situation. You don’t want a repeat of what happened in London, do you?”
Ianto shook his head. “No.” He still didn’t look the other man in the eyes, but before either of them could say anything else, two other figures raced up to them. Once he’d identified them, Ianto rushed up and pulled the young man in front of him into a rib-cracking hug.
“I’m sorry,” he gasped out. “I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean…I mean, I just…” but the rest of the words wouldn’t come.
Nick looked surprised, but then smiled. “Hey, Ianto…can’t breathe.” He gently pushed his cousin back slightly so that he could look at him. “Look; I’m okay. It’s only paint, yeah? I’m fine.” He smiled, forcing back his own feelings; Ianto didn’t need to know that he was pretty shaken up as well; he’d never stop fussing over him if that happened.
“You okay, Ianto?” asked a voice. Jack came round and rested a hand on his lover’s shoulder. Slowly, Ianto looked round and, blushing a little, nodded and smiled.
“Well, I thought that was quite useful,” commented Gwen.
“Yeah, it was,” agreed Jack. “John’s right, guys. We all know how to fight and how to defend ourselves. But that’s not enough. You have to be able to use those skills in battle. You have to know what to do in this sort of situation.”
“Otherwise you’ll have another Canary Wharf on your hands,” said Nick quietly. He turned away when he saw John looking at him sharply.
Jack cleared his throat. “Listen, the Rift activity predictor says that we should have a few days of quiet starting from tomorrow, so I want you all here, with enough clothes and provisions for four days, at ten o’clock. Go home, get some sleep and relax and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Turning around and making sure to allow his coat to swish in the air, he offered his arm to Ianto, who took it, blushing and led him up the Plass to a nearby restaurant.
John cleared his throat. “Shall we go?”
“I was there,” Nick blurted out, surprising himself more than anyone else.
John blinked. “What?”
“I was there.” Nick turned to look at the other man. “When Torchwood One fell. I was there, John…I watched it burn…I heard the screams…saw the survivors coming out; God, they were so broken…it was awful, just seeing them and…knowing that, no matter what they said in the end, there was nothing I could do for them.”
He swallowed hard, tears pricking his eyes. “It was worse than going to…to Flat Holm.”
John watched him for a split second before he moved over and caught his shoulders in a firm, protective grip. “That was a terrible day for everyone,” he said slowly. “But it doesn’t do to dwell on the past, Nick. Learn from it, but don’t dwell on it. Learn from the past…and live for the future.”
They stayed where they were for a few seconds before John smiled. “Now, come on. Let’s go home - I’m going to be cooking tonight, if you don’t mind.”
“You cook?!” spluttered Nick, his eyes widening. “You actually know how to cook?”
“Hey! While Jack was off parading his award-winning rear, I was quite the Naked Chef in my day!” retorted John with mock indignation.
“I hope you don’t mean that literally.”
“Oh, wait and see, Nick. Wait and see.”
~*~
The next day...
“Jack, we’ve been in the car for over two hours and the new lovebirds are driving me insane!” complained Ianto, giving his driving lover a glare. Every time he happened to accidentally glance into the rear view mirror, he could see John and Nick tickling each other and squealing with laughter, before settling down for a series of long kisses.
“You’re just jealous, Eye Candy!” snorted John. “And besides, it’s hardly any different to when I’m driving and happen to see you and Jack shagging in the back seat!”
“Tell me about it,” added Gwen.
“Oh, I don’t know,” put in Andie. “It’s really hot once you get used to it.”
Ianto groaned. “Jack…exactly where are we going?”
Jack turned a corner, not even pausing to look at him. “Why?”
“Well, it’s just that the last time you insisted on us all packing tents, I ended up almost getting eaten by cannibals.” Ianto frowned. “Jack, I swear, if you’ve brought us back to the Brecon bloody Beacons again, we are so -”
“Oh, come on!” interrupted Jack. “Do you really think I’d do that again? No, this is completely different and, I promise you, there’s nothing Torchwood-y about it at all. It’s just a short trip away. You see, I felt as though the fun wasn’t there any more - yes, our job’s serious, but we’ve also got to have fun too - and I am taking this opportunity to bring it back! So relax!”
Ianto rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to lean back in his seat, conscious to glare at John and Nick occasionally, even when he was only rewarded by Nick poking his tongue out at him (‘How mature’, he thought) and John giving him a smile that could best be described as suggestive.
He must have fallen asleep though, because the next thing he remembered was his eyes fluttering open as Jack kissed his way slowly down his neck, his fingers gently unbuttoning his corduroy shirt.
“Hey, you,” he said with a smirk.
“What the - Jack, it is freezing!”
Jack’s grin only widened. “Well, it woke you up.” He leaned over and pulled him out of the car. “Well, we’re here now.”
Gwen smiled. “I love this place. I used to come here when I was a girl.”
Nick grinned. “We did too, remember, Ianto?”
John, however, frowned as he glared at a muddy puddle that had dared to get in his way. “Where are we? I mean…where are we, apart from in the bloody countryside?”
Jack forced back a smile as he remembered Owen saying something very similar. “Team,” he said, clapping his hands. “Welcome to Fishguard, Pembrokeshire.”
***
Next Time: The team share silly stories at the campsite. What’s this, a trip to the countryside that goes off without a hitch? You’ve got to be joking; this is Torchwood we’re talking about! What will the team face on their time off.