To Save A Life - Ch.8
Title: To Save A Life
Topic: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Summary: Sometimes, surviving isn't enough. Sometimes, you need more. Sometimes, you need to loose in order to gain.
Rating: T
Genre: AU, angst, comfort, friendship
That night, the two of them had hailed a cab, and Jack had given the taxi driver his address. It had been strange, reciting the street name and apartment complex that had been out of his life for such a long time. He barely frequented the place before the accident, most of the time sleeping in the barracks at his base, or at random hotels around the country. The flat was more of a place of residence that a home. In fact, Jack hadn't had somewhere he could call home for a long time. The last occasion he had used that word was when he had lived with John, and he had been young, stupid, and thought he was in love.
Ianto had helped Jack out of the taxi and back into his wheelchair when the taxi pulled up in front of the Captain's destination. Jack was getting prepared for his goodbye when the Welshman had asked a surprising question.
"Jack…" He had said, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol and the internal pain. "I - can - I mean… If you want - can I stay here tonight? I'll - I'll take the couch…or the floor - or - I just don't want to be…alone."
Jack had flashed a reassuring grin at the man and nodded. "Of course, Yan."
They went into the building together, and rode the elevator up a few floors. Jack asked Ianto to get the key to his apartment from under his fluffy welcome mat. They entered the abode and Jack mechanically spelled out where the bathroom was, extra clothes, food. He had paused halfway through his tutorial, tears coming to his eyes as he realized for a moment he had forgotten where the bathroom was.
Ianto had nodded numbly, then started to walk toward the direction that Jack thought the bathroom was. The man himself wheeled into the kitchen.
Ianto was sidetracked by a table that sat next to a large couch. On the table was a ton of photographs, some in frames, some just propped up. Jack was in most of them, wearing that RAF coat of his. There was a black haired woman with a gap between her teeth in most of them as well, along with several other people in modern RAF uniforms. Ianto's eyes swept over the oriental young woman with the shy eyes, and the rough-looking man who was making crude gestures toward the camera. His heart skipped a beat when he locked onto almost familiar eyes. The face was different, and so was the hair, but the smile and the eyes were identical. Gray Harkness. Jack's brother. The one who had died. Lisa…
Ianto turned away, his eyes brimming with even more tears. He rushed from the room, wanting to stop his train of thought. He blundered into the bedroom, barely registering his movements as he stumbled through into the bathroom. It was a nice room, the walls a bland white, the curtain covered with an ugly pattern. It was so bare, so plain…so empty. Ianto closed the door and shed his clothes, slipping into the shower. He experimented with the temperature gauges until he managed to get it to a relatively comfortable temperature. He got under the water and closed his eyes, sighing as he let the warm water run down his body. He sagged under it's weight, and allowed his tears to mix in with the water droplets. He stood there for several minutes, not moving, his eyes closed, his head down. He didn't even think, he just let the water run over him.
His whole body began to shake, and he couldn't support himself any longer. Ianto slid down the wall of the shower until he hit the bottom, drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. His elbow had hit the temperature control on the way down, and the water turned icy cold.
Ianto didn't care.
Jack was emptying out the kitchen fridge, taking the long-expired food out of the shelves and throwing it into the trash can with a vengeance. He felt so helpless, so weak. Once the fridge was empty, he moved on to the lower cupboards. Once those were done, he went to reach for the higher ones, and stopped himself.
He couldn't reach the higher cupboards anymore.
Suddenly angry, he slammed the door that he had currently opened shut and turned around. He couldn't go there, not again. He had his chance, and he chose something more important. Right?
Then Jack realized that Ianto had been gone a long time.
Remembering how he had felt after finding out what had happened to him, and knowing how much of a fragile state that Ianto was in at the moment, Jack became frantic. The shower was quiet slippery, and he was sure there was a razor somewhere in the bathroom.
His arms pumped against the wheels, Jack shot himself toward the bathroom. He was halfway through the entrance to the bedroom when his wheels caught on the slight rise in the ground. For some reason, the floor was uneven, a half-inch difference in the floor between the bedroom and the living room. Jack's wheelchair was unable to transition from the two levels smoothly, and, in result, crashed. Jack was thrown onto the floor, his wheelchair out of reach. Not caring about that at the moment, he pulled himself toward the bathroom. He heard the water running, but there were no sounds of movement.
"Ianto!" Jack cried out, past the panic stage now. "Ianto!"
He reached the door and flung it open, falling onto the bathroom tiles. Ianto glanced up from his position sitting in the tub and let out a strangled yell of surprise. Jack yelped as well, noticing that the younger man was naked. He scrambled out of the bathroom and shut the door, leaning against it and breathing heavily. For a moment neither of them said anything. Ianto, on the other side of the door, recovered from shock long enough to turn off the water and turn a bright red.
Then, Jack started to laugh. It started as a soft chuckle, and then grew into a full out, hundred percent guffawing laugh. Ianto paused a moment, then joined in, unable to stop the laughter from pouring out of him. Then laughed until their sides hurt and they couldn't breath and tears came from their eyes. And then they laughed some more.
--xXx--
Ianto never left.
Jack wasn't sure when the Welshman had moved from becoming a guest to a formidable roommate. Maybe it was when Ianto moved from the couch to the guest bedroom, or maybe it was that night when Jack 'fell in' on him in the shower. If asked, neither of them would be able to give an answer.
They had stayed in the apartment for the next few days - wearing their pajamas, eating lots of takeout and pastries from the bakery down the street that delivered. They dove through Jack's DVD collected and sat in front of the telly, laughing and crying, sometimes because of the mood in the movie, and sometimes because they remembered something that their deceased loved ones had done.
It was a proper grieving session. Jack finally got the chance to mourn over the loss of all of his team members properly, and Ianto got to relive the passing of Lisa, this time for real. Some nights they would fall asleep on the couch, other's they would go to their own bedrooms, only to migrate to Jack's bed or Ianto's. Either way, in the morning when they finally woke up, they would be in the same bed.
A week passed before either of them made any contact with the outside world, other than the occasional food delivery call. Jack had caught Ianto on the phone to someone, the conversation was real hush hush, and as soon as the Captain had entered the room, Ianto had found some reason to hang up. Jack's curiosity grew.
Ianto looked really good in Jack's close - the Captain never stopped telling him that. However, the Welshman started to insist that they go shopping, for clothes, and food, and other small things that Ianto would need if he was really going to become Jack's roommate.
It had been another awkward conversation, the Welshman stuttering and whispering and all in all making it very difficult to understand. In the end, Jack had gotten tired of listening to Ianto beat around the bush, and quite plainly stated. "Yes, I need a roommate." He had also gone on about needing a driver, since he couldn't work the petals anymore, but the point had been made. Truthfully, Jack was relived that the other man had asked, after what had been going on the past few months, he wasn't sure he would be able to continue on being alone again.
The pictures of Jack's team has disappeared from the table the morning after they had arrived back at the flat, but slowly they were being put back up again. Ianto would catch Jack staring at the photos, running his fingers across them, or just talking to them every once in a while, though he never brought it up.
Jack heard Ianto on the phone one evening, calling his old landlord and letting her know that he would no longer need his flat, and that she could rent it out again, furniture, clothes, and everything included.
To sum everything up in a few words - both men were moving on.
On the day that Ianto had insisted they went shopping, the Welshman was busy putting away all the food that he had bought. It had been a very adventurous affair, the Captain not wanting to be there, and doing everything in his power to make sure that Ianto was suffering - he even went as far as refusing to push his own wheelchair.
Ianto was making sure he put everything that Jack had wanted to get in the lower shelves, while the foods and other ingredients he had turned his nose up at in the higher cupboards.
The sound of rubber hitting wood suddenly reverberated through the small flat, along with a long string of curses that came in the sound of Jack's voice. Sighing, Ianto put down the container of peanut butter he had been putting away and went to assist the man. Jack had been getting stuck a lot of lately, his wheelchair one of the most rudimentary kinds, and unable to maneuver well in small spaces. On these frequent occasions, Ianto tried to talk to Jack about buying a more flexible wheelchair, even going so far as to request an electric one. That had ended in things being thrown and even worse things being said.
"Ianto!" Jack yelled, annoyance in his voice. "I'm stuck! My bloody wheelchair wont fucking move!"
Ianto sighed again and walked toward the voice. The man got very explicit when angry. "Coming."
Jack looked up when the Welshman came into view, and muttered a few more choice words, using his arms to try and push himself through the doorway. However, he had attempted the passageway from an odd angle, and his right wheel was stuck in the doorframe. Ianto didn't say a word as he unclogged the door way, but grabbed the handle of the chair as Jack attempted to breeze past. "Jack."
"Ianto." The Captain replied snappily.
"You keep getting stuck…that wheelchair, it's not meant for long-term use like this." He explained, trying to keep his voice calm, knowing what would come next if he wasn't careful.
"There's nothing wrong with this one." Jack said icily.
"Yes, there is." Ianto pushed. Then, the chair was ripped from his hands as Jack spun around to face the Welshman.
Ianto was surprised by the look on his face. The anger that had been apparent in his voice didn't show on his face. Instead, there was a dark, desolate, hopeless look. "I can't, Ianto. I can't let go. I won't let go. I have to walk again…I have to."
And Ianto understood everything. Letting go of the wheelchair and settling for a better one was admitting defeat. And Jack wasn't ready to let go of his legs yet. He wasn't ready to move on. Guilt tore through Ianto, knowing that it was his fault that Jack wasn't in some really nice institute, walking down the hallways.
"I…I'm sorry." He managed to choke out. "Really sorry."
Jack's eyes widened as he realized what he had said, and hurriedly tried to fix it. "Ianto! No, I didn't - "
But the Welshman had already slipped past him and ran for the front door. By the time Jack had turned around and gotten to the entrance of his flat, Ianto was pulling out of the driveway a few stories below.
Several hours passed, during which Jack spent his free time crying, cursing himself, breaking things, and crying some more. It was because of that that he felt somewhat humiliated when Ianto returned only seven hours after he had left. His face was solemn, and his eyes slightly red, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that caused Jack to wonder.
"Well, are you coming?" Ianto asked, his voice slightly wavering as he stood by the door. Now more curious than confused, Jack nodded slowly and followed the young Welshman out of the flat.
On the ride to - wherever they were going, Jack tried several times to speak to Ianto. Each time, however, he was met by silence, or some offhanded comment.
They rode for over an hour, until Ianto pulled up at a private airstrip base. Ianto rolled his car to the security entrance and put down the window, giving a small smile and handing the security guard there an ID, shortly after they were issued through. Jack's heart skipped several beats when he noticed where they were. The insignia on the guards jacket was the royal seal. They were at the Queen's private airstrip.
"What exactly did you do for a living, again?" Jack asked Ianto, his voice a whisper from the awe. He was pretty sure that a simple 'PR' didn't get to have first hand access to the Queen's airplanes.
Ianto gave a small, sly smile, and for the first time, Jack caught a glimpse of the devious young man behind the mask - a small bit of the Ianto Jones from two years ago. And he liked it.
"Officially, I was the public relations officer for a small publishing firm. Unofficially? I was the office manager for a small, secret group of men and women who worked directly for the Queen, protecting her from foreign and domestic threats. Took out the trash, cleaned up after them, organized the missions, cleaned up their messes. Like a nanny."
Jack was speechless for the first time since he could remember. He was looking at a young man who had worked directly for the queen. "The queen of England?" Jack asked stupidly, and Ianto gave out a chuckle.
"Yes, the Queen of England…Lisa was one of the field agents…" Ianto said then, his voice growing dark. "The Queen promised me that she would take care of Lisa's hospital bills for me after the accident…"
The car grew quiet, and nothing else was said until Ianto turned it off. Jack's mind was still reeling with the new information. He thought that the Welshman had been telling the truth, he couldn't believe he could lie like that. Although, when your job is to lie, he guessed it was second nature, protecting secrets like that.
But any thoughts about Ianto and his job flew right out the proverbial window when Ianto helped Jack out of the car. Because sitting right in front of them was an airplane. A beautiful, experimental airplane with the royal seal stamped on the side.
"The queen funds lots of projects." Ianto was explaining as he wheeled Jack toward the plane. "One of which was finding ways to allow handicap officers operate heavy machinery. This is the first working prototype fighter jet. It's maiden voyage was a few months ago, and has had a total of twelve logged flights, all by men who had lost the ability to use their legs. Short flights, but successful. Her highness is looking for more pilots willing to test new models coming soon. I convinced her to allow you a test run, to see if you would be interested in the job."
Ianto paused, and frowned a bit when Jack didn't say anything. He let go of the wheelchair and walked around so he could see Jack's face. "Jack?" He asked, wondering if he had upset the man in any way.
Jack was staring at the plane, his face full of wonder and awe and pure happiness. He turned to Ianto, and there were tears streaming down his face. "Ianto…I…"
He choked on his words and shook his head slowly, unable to find the right words to explain how he was feeling just then. Ianto just shrugged. "You saved my life, Jack. You sacrificed so much for me, it was the least I could do."
Jack couldn't help himself. He grabbed Ianto by the sleeve and pulled him in, giving him a passionate kiss. The Welshman became ridged for a moment, but slowly melted under Jack's touch, and began to reciprocate it. Jack lifted himself out of the wheelchair, using Ianto to support himself.
A cough came from behind then and the two released their embrace. Jack sat back down in the wheelchair, a but upset that the moment had been disturbed. He turned to look at Ianto, wondering how the man would take what just happened. But the Welshman had already slipped behind the wheelchair, and Jack couldn't see the blush that was prominent on his cheeks, or the shy, genuine smile that was spreading on his lips.
"Jack Harkness, I presume?" Said a female voice, the source of the cough. She was dressed in an air force outfit, her hands positioned strategically on her hips.
"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack said, giving a large smile.
The woman returned it and nodded. "I'm Sarah, Sarah Jane. I'm going to be your co-pilot today, Captain."
Jack let out a shaky breath and nodded vigorously, still unable to believe that he was going to fly again, after everything that had happened.
The two of then headed toward the plane, leaving Ianto standing on the tarmac to watch. The Captain was assisted by Sarah, and together they entered the plane and got situated into the cockpit.
"I'm going to start in control, and when you feel comfortable, let me know. And please remember, this is a multi-million pound piece of government equipment, try not to damage it." Sarah said playfully, and Jack nodded.
"Yes ma'am."
Back on the tarmac, Ianto watched at the plane took off into the air. He could almost hear Jack's whoops of joy as the wheels lifted from the ground, and couldn't stop the large smile that was dominating his face. He watched until the plane disappeared into the sky, and then he kept watching.
"Sato?"
"Here are ready to go, Captain."
"Harper?"
"I'm here already!"
"Costello?"
"Ready when you are."
"Harkness?"
"Right here with you, brother."
"Cooper?"
"She called in sick Jack, it's just us."
"Alright crew, let's go."
-End
Topic: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Summary: Sometimes, surviving isn't enough. Sometimes, you need more. Sometimes, you need to loose in order to gain.
Rating: T
Genre: AU, angst, comfort, friendship
That night, the two of them had hailed a cab, and Jack had given the taxi driver his address. It had been strange, reciting the street name and apartment complex that had been out of his life for such a long time. He barely frequented the place before the accident, most of the time sleeping in the barracks at his base, or at random hotels around the country. The flat was more of a place of residence that a home. In fact, Jack hadn't had somewhere he could call home for a long time. The last occasion he had used that word was when he had lived with John, and he had been young, stupid, and thought he was in love.
Ianto had helped Jack out of the taxi and back into his wheelchair when the taxi pulled up in front of the Captain's destination. Jack was getting prepared for his goodbye when the Welshman had asked a surprising question.
"Jack…" He had said, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol and the internal pain. "I - can - I mean… If you want - can I stay here tonight? I'll - I'll take the couch…or the floor - or - I just don't want to be…alone."
Jack had flashed a reassuring grin at the man and nodded. "Of course, Yan."
They went into the building together, and rode the elevator up a few floors. Jack asked Ianto to get the key to his apartment from under his fluffy welcome mat. They entered the abode and Jack mechanically spelled out where the bathroom was, extra clothes, food. He had paused halfway through his tutorial, tears coming to his eyes as he realized for a moment he had forgotten where the bathroom was.
Ianto had nodded numbly, then started to walk toward the direction that Jack thought the bathroom was. The man himself wheeled into the kitchen.
Ianto was sidetracked by a table that sat next to a large couch. On the table was a ton of photographs, some in frames, some just propped up. Jack was in most of them, wearing that RAF coat of his. There was a black haired woman with a gap between her teeth in most of them as well, along with several other people in modern RAF uniforms. Ianto's eyes swept over the oriental young woman with the shy eyes, and the rough-looking man who was making crude gestures toward the camera. His heart skipped a beat when he locked onto almost familiar eyes. The face was different, and so was the hair, but the smile and the eyes were identical. Gray Harkness. Jack's brother. The one who had died. Lisa…
Ianto turned away, his eyes brimming with even more tears. He rushed from the room, wanting to stop his train of thought. He blundered into the bedroom, barely registering his movements as he stumbled through into the bathroom. It was a nice room, the walls a bland white, the curtain covered with an ugly pattern. It was so bare, so plain…so empty. Ianto closed the door and shed his clothes, slipping into the shower. He experimented with the temperature gauges until he managed to get it to a relatively comfortable temperature. He got under the water and closed his eyes, sighing as he let the warm water run down his body. He sagged under it's weight, and allowed his tears to mix in with the water droplets. He stood there for several minutes, not moving, his eyes closed, his head down. He didn't even think, he just let the water run over him.
His whole body began to shake, and he couldn't support himself any longer. Ianto slid down the wall of the shower until he hit the bottom, drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. His elbow had hit the temperature control on the way down, and the water turned icy cold.
Ianto didn't care.
Jack was emptying out the kitchen fridge, taking the long-expired food out of the shelves and throwing it into the trash can with a vengeance. He felt so helpless, so weak. Once the fridge was empty, he moved on to the lower cupboards. Once those were done, he went to reach for the higher ones, and stopped himself.
He couldn't reach the higher cupboards anymore.
Suddenly angry, he slammed the door that he had currently opened shut and turned around. He couldn't go there, not again. He had his chance, and he chose something more important. Right?
Then Jack realized that Ianto had been gone a long time.
Remembering how he had felt after finding out what had happened to him, and knowing how much of a fragile state that Ianto was in at the moment, Jack became frantic. The shower was quiet slippery, and he was sure there was a razor somewhere in the bathroom.
His arms pumped against the wheels, Jack shot himself toward the bathroom. He was halfway through the entrance to the bedroom when his wheels caught on the slight rise in the ground. For some reason, the floor was uneven, a half-inch difference in the floor between the bedroom and the living room. Jack's wheelchair was unable to transition from the two levels smoothly, and, in result, crashed. Jack was thrown onto the floor, his wheelchair out of reach. Not caring about that at the moment, he pulled himself toward the bathroom. He heard the water running, but there were no sounds of movement.
"Ianto!" Jack cried out, past the panic stage now. "Ianto!"
He reached the door and flung it open, falling onto the bathroom tiles. Ianto glanced up from his position sitting in the tub and let out a strangled yell of surprise. Jack yelped as well, noticing that the younger man was naked. He scrambled out of the bathroom and shut the door, leaning against it and breathing heavily. For a moment neither of them said anything. Ianto, on the other side of the door, recovered from shock long enough to turn off the water and turn a bright red.
Then, Jack started to laugh. It started as a soft chuckle, and then grew into a full out, hundred percent guffawing laugh. Ianto paused a moment, then joined in, unable to stop the laughter from pouring out of him. Then laughed until their sides hurt and they couldn't breath and tears came from their eyes. And then they laughed some more.
--xXx--
Ianto never left.
Jack wasn't sure when the Welshman had moved from becoming a guest to a formidable roommate. Maybe it was when Ianto moved from the couch to the guest bedroom, or maybe it was that night when Jack 'fell in' on him in the shower. If asked, neither of them would be able to give an answer.
They had stayed in the apartment for the next few days - wearing their pajamas, eating lots of takeout and pastries from the bakery down the street that delivered. They dove through Jack's DVD collected and sat in front of the telly, laughing and crying, sometimes because of the mood in the movie, and sometimes because they remembered something that their deceased loved ones had done.
It was a proper grieving session. Jack finally got the chance to mourn over the loss of all of his team members properly, and Ianto got to relive the passing of Lisa, this time for real. Some nights they would fall asleep on the couch, other's they would go to their own bedrooms, only to migrate to Jack's bed or Ianto's. Either way, in the morning when they finally woke up, they would be in the same bed.
A week passed before either of them made any contact with the outside world, other than the occasional food delivery call. Jack had caught Ianto on the phone to someone, the conversation was real hush hush, and as soon as the Captain had entered the room, Ianto had found some reason to hang up. Jack's curiosity grew.
Ianto looked really good in Jack's close - the Captain never stopped telling him that. However, the Welshman started to insist that they go shopping, for clothes, and food, and other small things that Ianto would need if he was really going to become Jack's roommate.
It had been another awkward conversation, the Welshman stuttering and whispering and all in all making it very difficult to understand. In the end, Jack had gotten tired of listening to Ianto beat around the bush, and quite plainly stated. "Yes, I need a roommate." He had also gone on about needing a driver, since he couldn't work the petals anymore, but the point had been made. Truthfully, Jack was relived that the other man had asked, after what had been going on the past few months, he wasn't sure he would be able to continue on being alone again.
The pictures of Jack's team has disappeared from the table the morning after they had arrived back at the flat, but slowly they were being put back up again. Ianto would catch Jack staring at the photos, running his fingers across them, or just talking to them every once in a while, though he never brought it up.
Jack heard Ianto on the phone one evening, calling his old landlord and letting her know that he would no longer need his flat, and that she could rent it out again, furniture, clothes, and everything included.
To sum everything up in a few words - both men were moving on.
On the day that Ianto had insisted they went shopping, the Welshman was busy putting away all the food that he had bought. It had been a very adventurous affair, the Captain not wanting to be there, and doing everything in his power to make sure that Ianto was suffering - he even went as far as refusing to push his own wheelchair.
Ianto was making sure he put everything that Jack had wanted to get in the lower shelves, while the foods and other ingredients he had turned his nose up at in the higher cupboards.
The sound of rubber hitting wood suddenly reverberated through the small flat, along with a long string of curses that came in the sound of Jack's voice. Sighing, Ianto put down the container of peanut butter he had been putting away and went to assist the man. Jack had been getting stuck a lot of lately, his wheelchair one of the most rudimentary kinds, and unable to maneuver well in small spaces. On these frequent occasions, Ianto tried to talk to Jack about buying a more flexible wheelchair, even going so far as to request an electric one. That had ended in things being thrown and even worse things being said.
"Ianto!" Jack yelled, annoyance in his voice. "I'm stuck! My bloody wheelchair wont fucking move!"
Ianto sighed again and walked toward the voice. The man got very explicit when angry. "Coming."
Jack looked up when the Welshman came into view, and muttered a few more choice words, using his arms to try and push himself through the doorway. However, he had attempted the passageway from an odd angle, and his right wheel was stuck in the doorframe. Ianto didn't say a word as he unclogged the door way, but grabbed the handle of the chair as Jack attempted to breeze past. "Jack."
"Ianto." The Captain replied snappily.
"You keep getting stuck…that wheelchair, it's not meant for long-term use like this." He explained, trying to keep his voice calm, knowing what would come next if he wasn't careful.
"There's nothing wrong with this one." Jack said icily.
"Yes, there is." Ianto pushed. Then, the chair was ripped from his hands as Jack spun around to face the Welshman.
Ianto was surprised by the look on his face. The anger that had been apparent in his voice didn't show on his face. Instead, there was a dark, desolate, hopeless look. "I can't, Ianto. I can't let go. I won't let go. I have to walk again…I have to."
And Ianto understood everything. Letting go of the wheelchair and settling for a better one was admitting defeat. And Jack wasn't ready to let go of his legs yet. He wasn't ready to move on. Guilt tore through Ianto, knowing that it was his fault that Jack wasn't in some really nice institute, walking down the hallways.
"I…I'm sorry." He managed to choke out. "Really sorry."
Jack's eyes widened as he realized what he had said, and hurriedly tried to fix it. "Ianto! No, I didn't - "
But the Welshman had already slipped past him and ran for the front door. By the time Jack had turned around and gotten to the entrance of his flat, Ianto was pulling out of the driveway a few stories below.
Several hours passed, during which Jack spent his free time crying, cursing himself, breaking things, and crying some more. It was because of that that he felt somewhat humiliated when Ianto returned only seven hours after he had left. His face was solemn, and his eyes slightly red, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that caused Jack to wonder.
"Well, are you coming?" Ianto asked, his voice slightly wavering as he stood by the door. Now more curious than confused, Jack nodded slowly and followed the young Welshman out of the flat.
On the ride to - wherever they were going, Jack tried several times to speak to Ianto. Each time, however, he was met by silence, or some offhanded comment.
They rode for over an hour, until Ianto pulled up at a private airstrip base. Ianto rolled his car to the security entrance and put down the window, giving a small smile and handing the security guard there an ID, shortly after they were issued through. Jack's heart skipped several beats when he noticed where they were. The insignia on the guards jacket was the royal seal. They were at the Queen's private airstrip.
"What exactly did you do for a living, again?" Jack asked Ianto, his voice a whisper from the awe. He was pretty sure that a simple 'PR' didn't get to have first hand access to the Queen's airplanes.
Ianto gave a small, sly smile, and for the first time, Jack caught a glimpse of the devious young man behind the mask - a small bit of the Ianto Jones from two years ago. And he liked it.
"Officially, I was the public relations officer for a small publishing firm. Unofficially? I was the office manager for a small, secret group of men and women who worked directly for the Queen, protecting her from foreign and domestic threats. Took out the trash, cleaned up after them, organized the missions, cleaned up their messes. Like a nanny."
Jack was speechless for the first time since he could remember. He was looking at a young man who had worked directly for the queen. "The queen of England?" Jack asked stupidly, and Ianto gave out a chuckle.
"Yes, the Queen of England…Lisa was one of the field agents…" Ianto said then, his voice growing dark. "The Queen promised me that she would take care of Lisa's hospital bills for me after the accident…"
The car grew quiet, and nothing else was said until Ianto turned it off. Jack's mind was still reeling with the new information. He thought that the Welshman had been telling the truth, he couldn't believe he could lie like that. Although, when your job is to lie, he guessed it was second nature, protecting secrets like that.
But any thoughts about Ianto and his job flew right out the proverbial window when Ianto helped Jack out of the car. Because sitting right in front of them was an airplane. A beautiful, experimental airplane with the royal seal stamped on the side.
"The queen funds lots of projects." Ianto was explaining as he wheeled Jack toward the plane. "One of which was finding ways to allow handicap officers operate heavy machinery. This is the first working prototype fighter jet. It's maiden voyage was a few months ago, and has had a total of twelve logged flights, all by men who had lost the ability to use their legs. Short flights, but successful. Her highness is looking for more pilots willing to test new models coming soon. I convinced her to allow you a test run, to see if you would be interested in the job."
Ianto paused, and frowned a bit when Jack didn't say anything. He let go of the wheelchair and walked around so he could see Jack's face. "Jack?" He asked, wondering if he had upset the man in any way.
Jack was staring at the plane, his face full of wonder and awe and pure happiness. He turned to Ianto, and there were tears streaming down his face. "Ianto…I…"
He choked on his words and shook his head slowly, unable to find the right words to explain how he was feeling just then. Ianto just shrugged. "You saved my life, Jack. You sacrificed so much for me, it was the least I could do."
Jack couldn't help himself. He grabbed Ianto by the sleeve and pulled him in, giving him a passionate kiss. The Welshman became ridged for a moment, but slowly melted under Jack's touch, and began to reciprocate it. Jack lifted himself out of the wheelchair, using Ianto to support himself.
A cough came from behind then and the two released their embrace. Jack sat back down in the wheelchair, a but upset that the moment had been disturbed. He turned to look at Ianto, wondering how the man would take what just happened. But the Welshman had already slipped behind the wheelchair, and Jack couldn't see the blush that was prominent on his cheeks, or the shy, genuine smile that was spreading on his lips.
"Jack Harkness, I presume?" Said a female voice, the source of the cough. She was dressed in an air force outfit, her hands positioned strategically on her hips.
"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack said, giving a large smile.
The woman returned it and nodded. "I'm Sarah, Sarah Jane. I'm going to be your co-pilot today, Captain."
Jack let out a shaky breath and nodded vigorously, still unable to believe that he was going to fly again, after everything that had happened.
The two of then headed toward the plane, leaving Ianto standing on the tarmac to watch. The Captain was assisted by Sarah, and together they entered the plane and got situated into the cockpit.
"I'm going to start in control, and when you feel comfortable, let me know. And please remember, this is a multi-million pound piece of government equipment, try not to damage it." Sarah said playfully, and Jack nodded.
"Yes ma'am."
Back on the tarmac, Ianto watched at the plane took off into the air. He could almost hear Jack's whoops of joy as the wheels lifted from the ground, and couldn't stop the large smile that was dominating his face. He watched until the plane disappeared into the sky, and then he kept watching.
"Sato?"
"Here are ready to go, Captain."
"Harper?"
"I'm here already!"
"Costello?"
"Ready when you are."
"Harkness?"
"Right here with you, brother."
"Cooper?"
"She called in sick Jack, it's just us."
"Alright crew, let's go."
-End