Turning Point - 25/64
Title: Turning Point
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ianto startled out of his frozen shock as his mobile rang in his jacket pocket. “Hello?”
“Hi.” Ianto frowned, wondering why Jack had phoned him, looking up to check on the CCTV that Jack was in fact holding his phone to his ear. “Sorry, forgot to pick up my comms. on the way out,” Jack continued, answering Ianto’s unspoken question. “Could you come up round the Tourist Office and take Gwen down with you? I think she might need a mug of hot sugary tea while I… deal with this.”
Ianto nodded, realising a second later that Jack, of course, couldn’t see him, and assenting verbally.
Gwen clung to his arm as they made their way from the Plass down to the Quay and the Information Office, leaving the invisible lift free for Jack to use while he worked out how to deal with Suzie.
Jack had murmured that she remembered everything as he passed Gwen over to Ianto, but from her reactions, Ianto wouldn’t have been able to guess that just the night before she had seen all the peculiarities of this entrance to the Hub.
He almost had to prise her fingers from his forearm as he settled her onto the Hub’s ratty sofa, digging an even rattier Afghan from down the back to wrap around her shoulders. She was already beginning to shiver slightly, a clear sign that shock was starting to set in.
He heard the invisible lift begin to lower as he stood in the tiny kitchen area, waiting for the kettle to boil for the tea. He didn’t turn around, knowing what he would see, and hoped that Gwen was too distracted to notice it.
The kettle clicked, and he put more concentration than was really required into pouring hot water into the waiting mug and adding copious quantities of sugar. Similarly, he studiously ignored the central area of the Hub as he returned to the sofa with it, placing it gently in Gwen’s shaky hands and encouraging her to take a sip.
“I’ve called Tosh and Owen back in,” Jack said from behind him some time later - Ianto wasn’t sure how long. When he turned around he was relieved to note that Suzie’s body wasn’t in sight. He assumed it was either in cold storage or the autopsy bay, but he didn’t want to ask; he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Jack took a few steps forward until he was standing in front of the sofa. “We need to discuss what happened here tonight, where we go from this.” Ianto nodded, one eye still on Gwen’s huddled form beside him.
“She really was going to shoot me, wasn’t she?” Gwen’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
Jack nodded. “Yes, she was. But she didn’t.” Ianto wasn’t sure Gwen was actually hearing the words at all.
The silence that fell over them was broken by the entry alarm as the cog door rolled back, revealing both Owen and Toshiko. Both looked grim, leaving Ianto in no doubt that Jack had given them at least the basics of the situation over the phone.
They clambered the stairs wearily and joined them gathered around the sofa; neither looked particularly surprised to see Gwen there.
“So what happened?” Owen asked, sighing as he leant on the edge of Tosh’s desk.
“The glove,” Jack said darkly. “It got inside her head, starting nudging at her, pushing her towards the darkness. I… I think she’s been going quietly insane for quite some time, and none of us even noticed.” He looked up at the wall behind the sofa, above their heads. “We never even realised that anything with her had changed.”
Ianto swallowed. “You’ve all spent so much time helping me instead,” he said quietly, feeling a little guilty as he realised that, if it hadn’t been for him and Lisa, it was likely that none of this would have happened to Suzie.
Jack sighed again and tilted his head at Ianto. “You’re right, we have been,” he admitted. “But that’s not your fault,” he added a second later, firmly. “Looking out for you when you needed it shouldn’t have precluded us from keeping Suzie in the loop too.”
He bit the inside of his cheek and settled his shoulders. “No, I’m the boss. This is my fault, I should have caught this before it got this far.” He looked around at them. “Which is why I made that request on the phone. Any unauthorised items you may have taken home to work on, no matter how innocuous you think they are, bring them to my office now.”
He twisted on his heel and strode into his office, Tosh and Owen grabbing the bags they’d come in with and following him. Ianto looked over to Gwen again before getting up to follow; she still seemed to be in a bit of a daze, barely noticing their departure. He couldn’t really blame her; just a few hours ago she’d been on the dangerous end of a loaded gun, and had then seen Jack shot and his subsequent resurrection. It was enough to overload anyone.
By the time he reached Jack’s office, Tosh and Owen had unloaded a tiny collection of generally harmless items onto his desk, to join the glove and the knife Suzie had been using.
Jack handed him a secure containment box and leant against the back wall while Ianto carefully stored the more dangerous items in it, locking it and clearly marking it as not for future use. The items Owen and Tosh had returned would probably - eventually - make their way down to the archives, but the knife and glove belonged in the more secure section of the archives, and that was in the corner of Jack’s office.
Jack had partially handed over the responsibility for the secure archives shortly after Ianto had begun his mammoth task of organising the main archive, and Ianto was fairly sure - and still slightly surprised at his own certainty - as he entered the combination that he was the only one had been taken into this confidence.
“What are we going to do about her?” he heard Tosh ask quietly as he pushed the box back and swung the door closed.
Jack’s voice was just as low, neither of them, obviously, wanting the woman in question to overhear. “I was considering offering her a job, actually.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Comments and concrit are loved!
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ianto startled out of his frozen shock as his mobile rang in his jacket pocket. “Hello?”
“Hi.” Ianto frowned, wondering why Jack had phoned him, looking up to check on the CCTV that Jack was in fact holding his phone to his ear. “Sorry, forgot to pick up my comms. on the way out,” Jack continued, answering Ianto’s unspoken question. “Could you come up round the Tourist Office and take Gwen down with you? I think she might need a mug of hot sugary tea while I… deal with this.”
Ianto nodded, realising a second later that Jack, of course, couldn’t see him, and assenting verbally.
Gwen clung to his arm as they made their way from the Plass down to the Quay and the Information Office, leaving the invisible lift free for Jack to use while he worked out how to deal with Suzie.
Jack had murmured that she remembered everything as he passed Gwen over to Ianto, but from her reactions, Ianto wouldn’t have been able to guess that just the night before she had seen all the peculiarities of this entrance to the Hub.
He almost had to prise her fingers from his forearm as he settled her onto the Hub’s ratty sofa, digging an even rattier Afghan from down the back to wrap around her shoulders. She was already beginning to shiver slightly, a clear sign that shock was starting to set in.
He heard the invisible lift begin to lower as he stood in the tiny kitchen area, waiting for the kettle to boil for the tea. He didn’t turn around, knowing what he would see, and hoped that Gwen was too distracted to notice it.
The kettle clicked, and he put more concentration than was really required into pouring hot water into the waiting mug and adding copious quantities of sugar. Similarly, he studiously ignored the central area of the Hub as he returned to the sofa with it, placing it gently in Gwen’s shaky hands and encouraging her to take a sip.
“I’ve called Tosh and Owen back in,” Jack said from behind him some time later - Ianto wasn’t sure how long. When he turned around he was relieved to note that Suzie’s body wasn’t in sight. He assumed it was either in cold storage or the autopsy bay, but he didn’t want to ask; he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Jack took a few steps forward until he was standing in front of the sofa. “We need to discuss what happened here tonight, where we go from this.” Ianto nodded, one eye still on Gwen’s huddled form beside him.
“She really was going to shoot me, wasn’t she?” Gwen’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
Jack nodded. “Yes, she was. But she didn’t.” Ianto wasn’t sure Gwen was actually hearing the words at all.
The silence that fell over them was broken by the entry alarm as the cog door rolled back, revealing both Owen and Toshiko. Both looked grim, leaving Ianto in no doubt that Jack had given them at least the basics of the situation over the phone.
They clambered the stairs wearily and joined them gathered around the sofa; neither looked particularly surprised to see Gwen there.
“So what happened?” Owen asked, sighing as he leant on the edge of Tosh’s desk.
“The glove,” Jack said darkly. “It got inside her head, starting nudging at her, pushing her towards the darkness. I… I think she’s been going quietly insane for quite some time, and none of us even noticed.” He looked up at the wall behind the sofa, above their heads. “We never even realised that anything with her had changed.”
Ianto swallowed. “You’ve all spent so much time helping me instead,” he said quietly, feeling a little guilty as he realised that, if it hadn’t been for him and Lisa, it was likely that none of this would have happened to Suzie.
Jack sighed again and tilted his head at Ianto. “You’re right, we have been,” he admitted. “But that’s not your fault,” he added a second later, firmly. “Looking out for you when you needed it shouldn’t have precluded us from keeping Suzie in the loop too.”
He bit the inside of his cheek and settled his shoulders. “No, I’m the boss. This is my fault, I should have caught this before it got this far.” He looked around at them. “Which is why I made that request on the phone. Any unauthorised items you may have taken home to work on, no matter how innocuous you think they are, bring them to my office now.”
He twisted on his heel and strode into his office, Tosh and Owen grabbing the bags they’d come in with and following him. Ianto looked over to Gwen again before getting up to follow; she still seemed to be in a bit of a daze, barely noticing their departure. He couldn’t really blame her; just a few hours ago she’d been on the dangerous end of a loaded gun, and had then seen Jack shot and his subsequent resurrection. It was enough to overload anyone.
By the time he reached Jack’s office, Tosh and Owen had unloaded a tiny collection of generally harmless items onto his desk, to join the glove and the knife Suzie had been using.
Jack handed him a secure containment box and leant against the back wall while Ianto carefully stored the more dangerous items in it, locking it and clearly marking it as not for future use. The items Owen and Tosh had returned would probably - eventually - make their way down to the archives, but the knife and glove belonged in the more secure section of the archives, and that was in the corner of Jack’s office.
Jack had partially handed over the responsibility for the secure archives shortly after Ianto had begun his mammoth task of organising the main archive, and Ianto was fairly sure - and still slightly surprised at his own certainty - as he entered the combination that he was the only one had been taken into this confidence.
“What are we going to do about her?” he heard Tosh ask quietly as he pushed the box back and swung the door closed.
Jack’s voice was just as low, neither of them, obviously, wanting the woman in question to overhear. “I was considering offering her a job, actually.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Comments and concrit are loved!