Turning Point - 40/64
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'tdidn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Forty
“Ianto! Gwen!” Jack bellowed into the cavernous space of the Hub. “Both of you, shooting range, now!”
Without waiting to see if they were coming, he turned and headed back down the corridor that led to the stairs that would take them to the range.
It was nearly a minute before Ianto and Gwen joined him in the wide soundproofed tunnel. Both looked apprehensive and more than a little confused.
“I’m assuming there’s a reason you wanted us down here,” Ianto said carefully. “And I’m hoping it’s not that you want us for target practice.”
Jack chuckled and shook his head. “Both of you need training.”
“But I don’t usually…” Ianto started to protest.
Jack cut him off. “You know as well as I do that just because you usually stay in the Hub doesn’t mean you’re necessarily safe.” The memory of crouching helplessly over Ianto’s bloodied body still reared its head in his nightmares, on the occasions he allowed himself to sleep. “You need to know how to use a weapon to defend yourself, and Gwen definitely needs to know how to use one.”
Ianto nodded, although it looked reluctant.
“Hopefully neither of you will be called upon to use this training ‘in anger’ too often,” Jack said, taking a wild guess at the cause of Ianto’s reluctance. “But you need to know, just in case.”
“Do I really have to?” Gwen asked nervously. “I mean, I don’t want to kill things. I don’t even kill spiders in the bath.”
Jack laughed as he felt a wave of relief pass through him. He was supremely glad that neither Gwen nor Ianto were likely to turn trigger-happy as soon as he’d taught them how to shoot. That was one of the things he’d tried hard to stamp out in his time at Torchwood, and even more so since he’d taken over Three. “Neither do I,” he smiled. “Not with a gun.”
“I did have a tiny bit of training when I joined London,” Ianto admitted. “Not much - since I was never a field agent - but they taught me how to avoid accidentally shooting someone, at least.”
Jack knew what the basic employee induction training in London had comprised of and nodded absently in agreement with Ianto’s assessment. Researchers and field agents in the London office had rarely interacted directly; many of those in the minor research departments had never even encountered true alien technology first hand - let alone faced an actual alien being.
Even the minimal weapons training Ianto had been through had only been introduced because one particular overzealous, but unfortunately narrowly focussed, health and safety officer had deemed the very presence of firearms in the building dangerous without every employee receiving safety training.
He should, he reflected, have probably given Ianto weapons training months ago - within the his first few weeks after joining really, even taking into account the fact that they had been getting things ready for Lisa. Who knew what differences it could have made to all the events since if he had?
Pushing the ‘what ifs’ to the back of his mind - knowing they never got anyone anywhere - Jack directed his concentration back to Gwen and Ianto.
“Well, by the end of this session, hopefully both of you will know not only how not to shoot someone, but also how to aim and shoot at something when necessary,” he told them.
Exchanging a glance, Gwen and Ianto both nodded.
Jack looked between them. Hopefully he wouldn’t need to go completely through everything twice, as long as whoever was second could pick things up from the first time through.
“Right,” he said, beckoning them over to a table. “First thing you both need is protective gear. Headset and glasses.” He picked up the same for himself, keeping an eye on Gwen and Ianto for when they were ready.
“All set?” he said into the microphone, pleased to see that they had both clearly heard him as they nodded - albeit hesitantly.
“Okay.” Picking up the most basic of the weapons he had laid out, he carefully showed them how it was loaded and handed it to Gwen. Not having had even the minimal experience Ianto had, Jack suspected Gwen might need a little more work.
Gwen immediately confirmed his suspicions when she took the gun and accidentally waved it right into his face. He gripped her wrist, directing it more at the floor. “Safety tip number one,” he said. “The only place we point the gun is at the target.”
Releasing her wrist, he indicated for her to take aim at the Weevil-shaped targets further down the huge tunnel. He wondered just how many action films she’d been watching when he saw the pose she took up to aim.
Shaking his head, he stepped up close behind her and loosened her grip, easing her body around into a better stance. “Use your arm to help you aim,” he said in her ear, holding her close to him to keep her body in the right position. “Look down, across your shoulder, and bring your arm up.”
He felt her jerk slightly. “Slowly,” he cautioned, a hand on her waist to steady her. “Nice and smooth. Get the target in sight.”
Minutely, she nodded. Reaching forward, he cocked the gun, leaving one hand to steady her wrist when he noticed she was shaking slightly. “Breathe,” he reminded her. “Nice slow breath in, and then as you breath out, just gently… squeeze the trigger.”
The reverberations shuddered through both of them as the shot rang out, hitting the edge of one of the targets. He could hear Gwen’s nervous laughter in the headphones.
He took a small step back, just far enough that he knew she would still be able to sense him in her personal space. Close enough to keep her a little off balance, force her to push it aside and concentrate on the shot. There would always be distractions in the real world; he didn’t believe in training his staff in an environment where they were completely free to focus entirely on the shot.
“That one was a bit of a joint effort,” he said, his eyes flicking sideways to notice Ianto grinning a little. “On your own this time.”
He stayed close as she fired several more shots, shifting around until he was completely out of her line of sight, knowing it would rattle her. Her first solo shot missed the target by a mile, but he could see definite improvement as she started to concentrate properly. He had a suspicion that with a bit of practice, Gwen could actually be quite a crack shot.
When the ammunition ran out, he called Ianto back over to show them both how to unload the empty clip and reload the new one, then nodded Gwen to go back to where Ianto had been watching from before.
When he looked back to Ianto, he noticed that the younger man looked a little apprehensive. “Did you actually have to fire a weapon at any point in your training in London?” he asked, holding onto the gun for a moment longer.
Ianto shook his head. “It was all about making sure the safety was still on and not waving it around willy-nilly.”
Jack nodded. He had thought as much.
He handed Ianto the weapon, glad to see that the combination of whatever he’d been taught two and a half years before in London and watching Gwen meant Ianto gripped it safely, with no chance of it going off in either of their faces.
While both Gwen and Ianto knew about his troubles with mortality, he would much prefer it if they could get though the session without him having to put it into practice.
“Right, go on then,” he encouraged. Ianto’s brow furrowed a bit as he methodically set up his stance, clearly trying to copy how he’d watched Jack move Gwen. While the stance itself was more or less correct…
“Hey,” Jack said, putting his hands on Ianto’s shoulders, “you need to relax a bit. If you fire a shot all tense like that, you’re going to do yourself an injury. Take deep breaths and loosen your shoulders.”
Ianto took an audible breath, and the muscles under Jack’s hands softened. Stepping in closer, he commanded Ianto to take aim, pleased again to see that Ianto had been listening while he was instructing Gwen and was peering down his arm as he lined up the shot.
“Just squeeze gently,” he prompted, not quite close enough this time to feel the slight jolt of the kickback as Ianto fired.
He didn’t move as he indicated for Ianto to take another shot, knowing he was close enough that he was definitely invading the other man’s space. Ianto didn’t seem to be perturbed at all by his nearness, and Jack found a corner of his mind that was actually upset - despite the fact that, as far as the training was concerned, it was a very good thing.
The problem, he discovered as he shifted slightly, was that the technique that was supposed to be distracting Ianto only seemed to be distracting himself. Most of the time, despite his secret fantasies, he’d avoided getting quite this close to Ianto.
He barely noticed when Ianto stopped shooting as the ammunition had run out, and twisted around to look at him.
“Jack?”
He blinked and shook himself. “Yeah, yeah, great. You both seem to have a good handle on the basics. Now let’s try something with a little bit more oomph.”
Chapter Forty-One
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'tdidn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Forty
“Ianto! Gwen!” Jack bellowed into the cavernous space of the Hub. “Both of you, shooting range, now!”
Without waiting to see if they were coming, he turned and headed back down the corridor that led to the stairs that would take them to the range.
It was nearly a minute before Ianto and Gwen joined him in the wide soundproofed tunnel. Both looked apprehensive and more than a little confused.
“I’m assuming there’s a reason you wanted us down here,” Ianto said carefully. “And I’m hoping it’s not that you want us for target practice.”
Jack chuckled and shook his head. “Both of you need training.”
“But I don’t usually…” Ianto started to protest.
Jack cut him off. “You know as well as I do that just because you usually stay in the Hub doesn’t mean you’re necessarily safe.” The memory of crouching helplessly over Ianto’s bloodied body still reared its head in his nightmares, on the occasions he allowed himself to sleep. “You need to know how to use a weapon to defend yourself, and Gwen definitely needs to know how to use one.”
Ianto nodded, although it looked reluctant.
“Hopefully neither of you will be called upon to use this training ‘in anger’ too often,” Jack said, taking a wild guess at the cause of Ianto’s reluctance. “But you need to know, just in case.”
“Do I really have to?” Gwen asked nervously. “I mean, I don’t want to kill things. I don’t even kill spiders in the bath.”
Jack laughed as he felt a wave of relief pass through him. He was supremely glad that neither Gwen nor Ianto were likely to turn trigger-happy as soon as he’d taught them how to shoot. That was one of the things he’d tried hard to stamp out in his time at Torchwood, and even more so since he’d taken over Three. “Neither do I,” he smiled. “Not with a gun.”
“I did have a tiny bit of training when I joined London,” Ianto admitted. “Not much - since I was never a field agent - but they taught me how to avoid accidentally shooting someone, at least.”
Jack knew what the basic employee induction training in London had comprised of and nodded absently in agreement with Ianto’s assessment. Researchers and field agents in the London office had rarely interacted directly; many of those in the minor research departments had never even encountered true alien technology first hand - let alone faced an actual alien being.
Even the minimal weapons training Ianto had been through had only been introduced because one particular overzealous, but unfortunately narrowly focussed, health and safety officer had deemed the very presence of firearms in the building dangerous without every employee receiving safety training.
He should, he reflected, have probably given Ianto weapons training months ago - within the his first few weeks after joining really, even taking into account the fact that they had been getting things ready for Lisa. Who knew what differences it could have made to all the events since if he had?
Pushing the ‘what ifs’ to the back of his mind - knowing they never got anyone anywhere - Jack directed his concentration back to Gwen and Ianto.
“Well, by the end of this session, hopefully both of you will know not only how not to shoot someone, but also how to aim and shoot at something when necessary,” he told them.
Exchanging a glance, Gwen and Ianto both nodded.
Jack looked between them. Hopefully he wouldn’t need to go completely through everything twice, as long as whoever was second could pick things up from the first time through.
“Right,” he said, beckoning them over to a table. “First thing you both need is protective gear. Headset and glasses.” He picked up the same for himself, keeping an eye on Gwen and Ianto for when they were ready.
“All set?” he said into the microphone, pleased to see that they had both clearly heard him as they nodded - albeit hesitantly.
“Okay.” Picking up the most basic of the weapons he had laid out, he carefully showed them how it was loaded and handed it to Gwen. Not having had even the minimal experience Ianto had, Jack suspected Gwen might need a little more work.
Gwen immediately confirmed his suspicions when she took the gun and accidentally waved it right into his face. He gripped her wrist, directing it more at the floor. “Safety tip number one,” he said. “The only place we point the gun is at the target.”
Releasing her wrist, he indicated for her to take aim at the Weevil-shaped targets further down the huge tunnel. He wondered just how many action films she’d been watching when he saw the pose she took up to aim.
Shaking his head, he stepped up close behind her and loosened her grip, easing her body around into a better stance. “Use your arm to help you aim,” he said in her ear, holding her close to him to keep her body in the right position. “Look down, across your shoulder, and bring your arm up.”
He felt her jerk slightly. “Slowly,” he cautioned, a hand on her waist to steady her. “Nice and smooth. Get the target in sight.”
Minutely, she nodded. Reaching forward, he cocked the gun, leaving one hand to steady her wrist when he noticed she was shaking slightly. “Breathe,” he reminded her. “Nice slow breath in, and then as you breath out, just gently… squeeze the trigger.”
The reverberations shuddered through both of them as the shot rang out, hitting the edge of one of the targets. He could hear Gwen’s nervous laughter in the headphones.
He took a small step back, just far enough that he knew she would still be able to sense him in her personal space. Close enough to keep her a little off balance, force her to push it aside and concentrate on the shot. There would always be distractions in the real world; he didn’t believe in training his staff in an environment where they were completely free to focus entirely on the shot.
“That one was a bit of a joint effort,” he said, his eyes flicking sideways to notice Ianto grinning a little. “On your own this time.”
He stayed close as she fired several more shots, shifting around until he was completely out of her line of sight, knowing it would rattle her. Her first solo shot missed the target by a mile, but he could see definite improvement as she started to concentrate properly. He had a suspicion that with a bit of practice, Gwen could actually be quite a crack shot.
When the ammunition ran out, he called Ianto back over to show them both how to unload the empty clip and reload the new one, then nodded Gwen to go back to where Ianto had been watching from before.
When he looked back to Ianto, he noticed that the younger man looked a little apprehensive. “Did you actually have to fire a weapon at any point in your training in London?” he asked, holding onto the gun for a moment longer.
Ianto shook his head. “It was all about making sure the safety was still on and not waving it around willy-nilly.”
Jack nodded. He had thought as much.
He handed Ianto the weapon, glad to see that the combination of whatever he’d been taught two and a half years before in London and watching Gwen meant Ianto gripped it safely, with no chance of it going off in either of their faces.
While both Gwen and Ianto knew about his troubles with mortality, he would much prefer it if they could get though the session without him having to put it into practice.
“Right, go on then,” he encouraged. Ianto’s brow furrowed a bit as he methodically set up his stance, clearly trying to copy how he’d watched Jack move Gwen. While the stance itself was more or less correct…
“Hey,” Jack said, putting his hands on Ianto’s shoulders, “you need to relax a bit. If you fire a shot all tense like that, you’re going to do yourself an injury. Take deep breaths and loosen your shoulders.”
Ianto took an audible breath, and the muscles under Jack’s hands softened. Stepping in closer, he commanded Ianto to take aim, pleased again to see that Ianto had been listening while he was instructing Gwen and was peering down his arm as he lined up the shot.
“Just squeeze gently,” he prompted, not quite close enough this time to feel the slight jolt of the kickback as Ianto fired.
He didn’t move as he indicated for Ianto to take another shot, knowing he was close enough that he was definitely invading the other man’s space. Ianto didn’t seem to be perturbed at all by his nearness, and Jack found a corner of his mind that was actually upset - despite the fact that, as far as the training was concerned, it was a very good thing.
The problem, he discovered as he shifted slightly, was that the technique that was supposed to be distracting Ianto only seemed to be distracting himself. Most of the time, despite his secret fantasies, he’d avoided getting quite this close to Ianto.
He barely noticed when Ianto stopped shooting as the ammunition had run out, and twisted around to look at him.
“Jack?”
He blinked and shook himself. “Yeah, yeah, great. You both seem to have a good handle on the basics. Now let’s try something with a little bit more oomph.”
Chapter Forty-One
Comments and concrit are loved!