Turning Point - 28/64
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-Eight
As Jack had suspected, clearing out Suzie’s belongings wasn’t much fun. As per Torchwood protocol, nothing - with the obvious exception of perishables - could be discarded. Even with four of them working practically non-stop, taking barely four hours to sleep over Friday night, it was very late on Saturday afternoon before everything had been boxed up ready for transport to the storage lockers.
They hadn’t taken any particular care in the packing, other than to protect fragile items. Items were crammed into boxes any which way, based on their proximity before packing and space efficiency more than any sense of sensible organisation (as much as it pained Ianto’s sense of order). Papers were piled on top of crockery; books and electrical equipment shared space with cosmetics and cleaning supplies.
Nothing was examined too closely. A few small items that were obviously alien tech and belonged back in the Hub were packed separately to be returned and archived once they were done. None of them wanted to look too carefully into the details of Suzie’s life.
Things they did stumble upon only outlined clearly just how little they had known Suzie, despite, in some of their cases, years of working with her. They hadn’t been friends, didn’t really know anything about her life, outside her work at Torchwood. It stunned them just how much they had managed to miss.
It was no wonder they hadn’t seen this coming.
Another hour and everything was stacked - ostensibly neatly - in a soulless storage locker, alongside those containing the lives of numerous past employees. They couldn’t bring themselves to feel any satisfaction at the completion of the job; it felt far too morbid.
They all leant against the wall wearily as Jack drew the door of the unit closed and secured it. Tosh sagged against Owen’s side, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Jack looked over at them as the final security code locked down. “Go home, all of you,” he said firmly. “Get some sleep. And if I see any of you in the Hub before noon tomorrow without an emergency, I’ll be sending you straight back home. Take the whole day, if you want to. I need all of you firing on all cylinders for our new recruit’s first day on Monday.”
He watched as they all slowly pushed off the wall, nodding absently. Toshiko and Owen shuffled off towards their respective vehicles, wavering ever so slightly, and horrible images of crumpled and twisted metal suddenly filled Jack’s head. “Drive carefully!” he yelled after them, trying to purge the thoughts from his imagination.
He looked to his left and found Ianto waiting there patiently, blinking back at him when Jack narrowed his eyes. “That includes you, Ianto,” he said a few moments later when it became apparent that Ianto wasn’t going anywhere.
Ianto nodded. “I know.”
Jack shook his head. “So…?”
“I came over with you in the SUV,” Ianto pointed out tiredly. “My car’s still back at the Hub.”
Jack frowned; how had he forgotten that? “Right, of course,” he blustered. “Come on then.”
Ianto, even though he was hovering on the edge of exhaustion, could see plainly that something was still bothering Jack as they walked back to the SUV in silence and started back towards the Hub. They were all still reeling from the revelation of Suzie’s actions and subsequent suicide, but Jack seemed to be taking it harder than any of them.
Ianto and Jack had spent time together before in companionable silence, but the quiet of the SUV as the sped through the wet streets of Cardiff was anything but.
“You know, it wasn’t your fault, not really,” Ianto proffered quietly when they were more than halfway back to the Hub, taking a stab in the dark at what was troubling Jack.
“Oh no?” Jack sneered, letting Ianto know that he had guessed correctly. “I was her boss; I brought her in to Torchwood. I was supposed to be supervising her. I didn’t do that properly, and now several people are dead who didn’t need to be.”
“None of us saw it, Jack, and we all worked with her every day. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” He could see Jack’s mouth opening and rushed on before he could interrupt. “If we hadn’t been looking for something to help Lisa, Suzie would never have even been looking at the glove, and none of this would have happened.”
Jack turned to stare at him as he pulled the SUV to a stop in the Torchwood garage. “Please don’t tell me you actually believe that. You can’t blame yourself for something you could never have seen coming.”
Ianto stared right back at him, waiting for the implications of what Jack had just said to hit the Captain.
A very long moment later, something cleared in Jack’s eyes, and he sighed and sat back.
Ianto nodded. “Exactly.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
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-Eight
As Jack had suspected, clearing out Suzie’s belongings wasn’t much fun. As per Torchwood protocol, nothing - with the obvious exception of perishables - could be discarded. Even with four of them working practically non-stop, taking barely four hours to sleep over Friday night, it was very late on Saturday afternoon before everything had been boxed up ready for transport to the storage lockers.
They hadn’t taken any particular care in the packing, other than to protect fragile items. Items were crammed into boxes any which way, based on their proximity before packing and space efficiency more than any sense of sensible organisation (as much as it pained Ianto’s sense of order). Papers were piled on top of crockery; books and electrical equipment shared space with cosmetics and cleaning supplies.
Nothing was examined too closely. A few small items that were obviously alien tech and belonged back in the Hub were packed separately to be returned and archived once they were done. None of them wanted to look too carefully into the details of Suzie’s life.
Things they did stumble upon only outlined clearly just how little they had known Suzie, despite, in some of their cases, years of working with her. They hadn’t been friends, didn’t really know anything about her life, outside her work at Torchwood. It stunned them just how much they had managed to miss.
It was no wonder they hadn’t seen this coming.
Another hour and everything was stacked - ostensibly neatly - in a soulless storage locker, alongside those containing the lives of numerous past employees. They couldn’t bring themselves to feel any satisfaction at the completion of the job; it felt far too morbid.
They all leant against the wall wearily as Jack drew the door of the unit closed and secured it. Tosh sagged against Owen’s side, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Jack looked over at them as the final security code locked down. “Go home, all of you,” he said firmly. “Get some sleep. And if I see any of you in the Hub before noon tomorrow without an emergency, I’ll be sending you straight back home. Take the whole day, if you want to. I need all of you firing on all cylinders for our new recruit’s first day on Monday.”
He watched as they all slowly pushed off the wall, nodding absently. Toshiko and Owen shuffled off towards their respective vehicles, wavering ever so slightly, and horrible images of crumpled and twisted metal suddenly filled Jack’s head. “Drive carefully!” he yelled after them, trying to purge the thoughts from his imagination.
He looked to his left and found Ianto waiting there patiently, blinking back at him when Jack narrowed his eyes. “That includes you, Ianto,” he said a few moments later when it became apparent that Ianto wasn’t going anywhere.
Ianto nodded. “I know.”
Jack shook his head. “So…?”
“I came over with you in the SUV,” Ianto pointed out tiredly. “My car’s still back at the Hub.”
Jack frowned; how had he forgotten that? “Right, of course,” he blustered. “Come on then.”
Ianto, even though he was hovering on the edge of exhaustion, could see plainly that something was still bothering Jack as they walked back to the SUV in silence and started back towards the Hub. They were all still reeling from the revelation of Suzie’s actions and subsequent suicide, but Jack seemed to be taking it harder than any of them.
Ianto and Jack had spent time together before in companionable silence, but the quiet of the SUV as the sped through the wet streets of Cardiff was anything but.
“You know, it wasn’t your fault, not really,” Ianto proffered quietly when they were more than halfway back to the Hub, taking a stab in the dark at what was troubling Jack.
“Oh no?” Jack sneered, letting Ianto know that he had guessed correctly. “I was her boss; I brought her in to Torchwood. I was supposed to be supervising her. I didn’t do that properly, and now several people are dead who didn’t need to be.”
“None of us saw it, Jack, and we all worked with her every day. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” He could see Jack’s mouth opening and rushed on before he could interrupt. “If we hadn’t been looking for something to help Lisa, Suzie would never have even been looking at the glove, and none of this would have happened.”
Jack turned to stare at him as he pulled the SUV to a stop in the Torchwood garage. “Please don’t tell me you actually believe that. You can’t blame yourself for something you could never have seen coming.”
Ianto stared right back at him, waiting for the implications of what Jack had just said to hit the Captain.
A very long moment later, something cleared in Jack’s eyes, and he sighed and sat back.
Ianto nodded. “Exactly.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Comments and concrit are loved!