incidental [ open to capnhotness & viable torchwood people ]
Work. Work is good and safe and the most viable option for distraction at this point in time. Ianto does not want to think about anything - about everything, about how he's ruined it, again, just like always - and so he throws himself fully into his work. There are requisition orders to be signed (though he is conscientious of the budget and ( Read more... )
"My team's always busy," Jack answers, keeping that eager-to-please smile in place in a way he knows Ianto, if no one else, will detect as an utter lie. It's a little bit of a slip, but it works so well with what he says next that he can't seem to help himself. "You should know that, sir." As well Ianto should, being as intimately familiar with Jack's style of leadership as anyone else at Torchwood Three, and he's only vaguely disappointed that his former office manager has seemed to have forgotten during his tenure as Director in London ( ... )
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The disbelieving - perhaps even sarcastic - look he gets only serves fuel Jack's sudden amusement at the situation. He shrugs again, this time with the casual air of a man who knows far more about the universe in the twenty-first century than the average human, a hint of a grin taking the superior edge off the motion and making it, rather simply, likable. "Here in the twenty-first century," he answers with the same sort of enigmatic tone he used to throw around Torchwood Three's Hub. Usually, he would have left the statement at that and allowed Ianto's imagination to fill in the gaps, but now he goes on to explain, "But in other parts of the universe? DNA is DNA and combining the limited number of chromosomes humanity affords to create a new lifeform isn't exactly, uh, rocket science for some aliens. You'll notice it's not scanning our sex organs." And now, quite clearly, the only way to add even more to the statement is by waggling his eyebrows suggestively ( ... )
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Although the first thing to come to mind might be a few choice words regarding the concept of them 'reproducing,' so to speak, Ianto doesn't say anything. Because what might have been taken all in fun in the former context of their relationship, the lack of an actual one at the moment could make harmless banter a stinging barb instead. He breathes out a sigh of relief as the device releases them, flexing his fingers just a little to reassure himself that all four and the thumb are still there. He decidedly doesn't want to acknowledge the spark that seems to pass from Jack's hand to his own at the touch ( ... )
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"I'm fine," Jack answers, not sure how or why he manages to sound reassuring, though his attention is still decidedly on Ianto's hand. Now, given the way he'd started the conversation, Jack regrets having mentioned honorable suicide and alien toxins; though, he supposes, it would hardly be a device for ritualistic suicide and he couldn't possibly be a second in said ritual if they both managed to get injected. He looks up quickly at the sound of Myers in the doorway, though he makes no motion to let go of Ianto's hand. In fact, he seems intent on smoothing one thumb over the intricate lines of his (former, he keeps forgetting) lover's palm ( ... )
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It's just a little too practiced, too simple, to entwine his fingers with Jack's, to casually and almost absent-mindedly hold hands with him right there in front of Myers. Their relationship, when they were in Cardiff, had remained clandestine to a point, and ironically now that said relationship is actually over, it's almost easier to be openly affectionate.
"Mm," Myers replies in a generally noncommittal fashion, gingerly picking up the device in his now-gloved hands and placing it carefully into the box. Now that he actually knows what it does (to a point), he seems a little more reluctant to handle it nonchalantly. "We'll look over the scan results, do the x-ray, and get Dr. Sato's opinion when she arrives. Carter will be in to collect samples from both of you, as we'll want to test for toxins or any other foreign compounds in the bloodstream."
Ianto remains silent, waiting for the technician to leave the room, then offers Jack a long-suffering but patient look. "Should I call down for coffee, then?"
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And even then, perhaps because it is too simple and too practiced, Jack doesn't pull his hand away. It also doesn't immediately occur to him, as it may very easily occur to Ianto, that allowing their fingers to casually twine might be something entirely too out of the ordinary. They aren't lovers, Ianto made his decision concerning that, but they can still be friends (despite Jack's lingering trust issues and Ianto's perhaps still pervasive ability to aggravate that) ... and this can still be a friendly gesture, can't it?
"Looking forward to it," Jack answers, playfully sarcastic, as Myers leaves with the boxed up device. His attention moves eagerly back to Ianto once the door has closed behind the retreating technician and he counters the long-suffering look with a patient smile of his own. "Sounds good. We might be here a while."
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That decided, and not feeling particularly as if he might drop dead at any moment, Ianto figures things aren't so bad just now. He retrieves his mobile from his jacket and rings down to one of the office assistants for coffee and a split-second decision that pastries might be nice, too.
Then the aforementioned Carter, actually a short, buxom young woman with blonde hair plaited at the nape of her neck, steps into the room in full containment gear, a small kit in her hands. "Director, Captain," she greets, shuffling over to the table to set her things down. "I'm just going to take a few blood samples, we want to make certain that nothing escaped from the device into your bodies. We'll be testing for toxins, parasites, and any chemical compounds unnatural to human biology."
She peers at Jack curiously, as if to say she's heard some things, but doesn't comment further. "Now, if you'll just roll up your sleeves, which of you gentlemen would like to go first?" she asks cheerfully, holding up a syringe ( ... )
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Jack hardly notices the way the doctor in question - who is rather good looking, at a glance - peers curiously at him, but there's a wide assortment of reasons why she might. (Captain Jack Harkness' flirtatious reputation, for one, almost always precedes him.) Instead, he's too busy noticing Ianto's hand again for the first time since they casually adopted the holding of hands, watching his (again, former) lover reluctantly pull away. Jack himself steps back and watches with interest as Ianto gets blood drawn, trying as he does so not to recall the last time the both of them were in a similar situation.
"My turn, then?" he asks needlessly, having already taken the opportunity afforded by Ianto going first to roll up one sleeve. Almost cheerfully (considering what the blood is being drawn for), Jack submits to the same.
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Dr. Carter is actually the rare woman whose attention is not captured by Jack Harkness because she's attracted to him. Oh, he's good looking and all, but there happens to be a Mr. Carter, and she's not easily distracted from her husband. She's pleasant but professional as she goes about taking the blood sample from Jack, still humming just a bit to herself as she does so. She carefully labels the second phial, then places a brightly-colored sticking plaster on Jack's arm as well (she's just a little eccentric that way; had plans of being a pediatrician before Torchwood roped her in ... careful, she might hand out lollipops next ( ... )
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For once - well, it seems to be the norm as of late - Jack doesn't attempt in any particular fashion to charm the pants off the good doctor. It might be the continued fallout from his time aboard the Valiant, it might be the fact that Dr. Carter has a needle in his arm; either way, Jack doesn't seem particularly interested in flirting and therefore isn't that shocked when she decidedly doesn't fall into a romance novel-worthy swoon. In fact, he's mostly interested in the brightly-colored sticking plaster now attached to the inside crease of his elbow. Pink. How appropriate ( ... )
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Two hours, a pot of coffee, and several pastries later, Dr. Toshiko Sato enters the room - notably lacking the containment gear of her earlier comrade, and carrying a folder with apparent results inside. She smiles uncertainly at Jack and Ianto, glancing back and forth between the two of them, maintaining momentary silence as if preparing to break bad news ...
Then laughs just a little. "Nothing serious," she informs them cheerily. "Ianto, all your results look normal. Jack, there were some minor indiscrepancies, but I've never done any tests on you with your ... condition in mind." She steps delicately around the subject of Jack's apparent immortality. "I think you should be fine. You're both free to go."
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'Condition' ... is an interesting way of phrasing it, Jack supposes, and as tactful as he could have ever anticipated from Toshiko. He grins, as easily as if he hadn't spent the last two hours in a confined space with his ex-boyfriend attempting to make pleasant conversation over coffee and pastries while coming to the spectacular conclusion that he really fails to fathom anything beneath the carefully surface kept surface of Ianto Jones. "Fantastic!" Jack declares, throwing an arm around Tosh's shoulders to give her a quick squeeze of a hug (almost as if he's testing the viability of her findings).
"I can get a copy of the final report, right?" Because 'minor indiscrepancies' piques his curiosity, but he's a bit too stir-crazy to actually consider asking about them at the moment.
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Although he's hardly actually surprised by the news, Ianto is pleased and somewhat relieved to hear it. He gets to his feet, rolling his sleeves down and reaching for his jacket. "It's not anything as a result of the device, is it?" he asks. "I mean - Jack's test result." What? Just because they're not together anymore doesn't mean he can't be ... concerned for his (former) lover's well-being.
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"I'll get you a full copy of the report," Tosh answers Jack, patting his arm in reassurance. "I don't think it's anything to be worried about, just a few abnormalities." There, she's gone about answering both Jack and Ianto's questions all in one go. "But - if either of you start to feel strange or in any way different, you will let me know, won't you? You're out of quarantine, but I still want to keep an eye on you."
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"Yes, Dr. Sato," Jack replies cheerfully, leaning in to plant a friendly bit of a kiss against her hair. "We'll come see you if there's any change whatsoever. Or at least I will. God knows I don't want any space plagues or anything. - And thanks for the save, Tosh. Don't know what we'd have done without you."
Relinquishing Toshiko, Jack heads out of the lab with a simple, yet indicative, nod to Ianto - just a very subtle goodbye.
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