Close encounters
Title:- Close encounters
Characters/Pairings:- Jack, Ianto, Lisa
Rating:- Suitable for all
Word count:- approx. 1950
Summary:- Ianto had been interested in Jack Harkness long before the Battle of Canary Wharf.
“Ianto Jones, you’re becoming obsessed,” Lisa laughed seeing the photo the Welshman held in his hand. “Though I must admit I can see why. He’s a bit of alright!”
Previously posted to Whofic.
Disclaimer:- Property of BBC, RTD and others, not me.
oOo
“Ianto Jones, you’re becoming obsessed,” Lisa laughed seeing the photo the Welshman held in his hand. “Though I must admit I can see why. He’s a bit of alright!”
Ianto scowled at his girlfriend putting the photo back down on his desk. “I’m not becoming obsessed,” he replied primly as they headed along the corridor for a coffee. “I just find him… fascinating. Even in dry Torchwood reports he comes across as having such a zest for life, unlike most of the people here,” Ianto gestured to the people sitting at the cubicles around them dropping his voice so only Lisa could hear. “Don’t you think there’s more to Torchwood than capturing aliens? Or, at least, there should be? Surely we should be trying to make friends not enemies?”
Lisa raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. It was unlike him to be so passionate. Ianto was usually a rule follower, fitting in with the expectations of the people around him. This was a whole new side to his personality, one she wanted to see more of. Maybe this obsession was a good thing.
oOo
Over the coming weeks and months Ianto read every scrap of information he could find on the mysterious director of Torchwood Cardiff. The volume of information available reduced greatly after January 2000 when Captain Jack Harkness cut all ties with London but Yvonne Hartman was obviously still keeping tabs on the American. Ianto wondered if he knew. From everything he’d read he felt confident very little got past Jack. It made him feel uncomfortable knowing that one part of the organisation he worked for was spying on another part - especially when Jack had shown himself loyal to Torchwood again and again over the years.
“Look at this,” Ianto called over to Lisa as she passed on her way through the office waving some paperwork at her.
“Ianto, I’ve told you before, you’re taking too much of an interest in this Jack Harkness. Is there something you want to tell me?” she asked giving him a look he couldn’t quite interpret.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing, nothing. Now, what was it you wanted to show me?” Lisa parried his question but couldn’t help be concerned by the, how would she describe it, warmth maybe, that came into Ianto’s tone when he talked about Jack Harkness.
Lisa allowed her mind to wander as Ianto talked her through the documents he’d found. She didn’t consider herself to be promiscuous but she’d had her fair share of boyfriends over the years, she was a bit older than Ianto after all, and much as she cared for the younger man she suspected, deep down, unconsciously even, she was more of a sister to Ianto than a girlfriend. He never seemed to mention any previous girlfriends but he did mention a few male friends in similar warm tones to the ones he was using now about Jack Harkness.
“Lisa… earth calling Lisa…”
“Mmm?” startled from her reverie Lisa looked down at Ianto, the look on his face obviously expecting an answer to a question.
“The dates, Lise, look at the dates. According to my research Jack Harkness must be over 100 years old but he doesn’t look anything over, what, 35. Recruited to Torchwood in 1899, served in India at the beginning of last century, both World Wars, the lot!”
“Don’t talk daft, Yan,” Lisa replied, watching Ianto squirm slightly at the pet name, “you must be reading it wrong. Father, son and grandson?”
oOo
‘I’ve missed this,’ Ianto thought breathing in the sea air. He was a city boy through and through but having been brought up on the South Wales coast he was used to the air having the tang of salt and ozone. ‘The best hangover cure there is,’ he smiled, ‘and boy do I need one!’ He’d spent most of the previous evening at the wedding reception of a distant cousin catching up with family and drinking way too much. Since the death of both his parents he’d pretty much lost touch with his relatives but when the invitation arrived it had seemed like the ideal opportunity to spend a little time in the city of his birth.
He nearly hadn’t made it though. His leave was cancelled at almost the last minute and he’d only been able to come because Lisa had offered to work a double shift to cover. Time off was a precious commodity at Torchwood and all the lower grades covered for each other whenever possible knowing the favour would be returned.
He’d missed Lisa at the reception as everyone else seemed to be part of a couple but being alone for a few hours before getting the train back to London allowed him to be here - on the promenade at the edge of Roald Dahl Plass overlooking Cardiff bay. Waiting for Jack. Lisa would laugh at him if she knew, tell him he was smitten, but he just had to see this man, the man who had worked for Torchwood for so long with so little reward.
And there he was on the lower level. Ianto resisted the urge to duck down knowing the sudden movement would draw Jack’s attention. Instead he studied the man out of the corner of his eye whilst appearing to look out at the bay.
It had taken ages scouring the databases to find the general location of Torchwood Three and even longer to find the main entrance. Plans and schematics of a rogue base were not things he could easily get access to as a Junior Researcher but odd comments in mission logs and other documents combined with an intimate knowledge of Cardiff had allowed Ianto to make a few educated guesses. And now his perseverance was rewarded and he was able to look on the subject of his, maybe Lisa was right, his obsession.
Looking at the infamous Captain Jack Harkness Ianto admired the chiselled features and broad shoulders.
“Love the coat,” he whispered softly to himself feeling his heart race and his breathing deepen. He faintly heard Jack’s voice as he talked to other members of his team on the comms and Ianto felt his knees go weak and his body react in ways he’d vowed to put behind him.
‘Leave, leave now,’ he told himself but he couldn’t make his body move. ‘Move!’ he screamed in his head and finally, just as Jack Harkness turned to glance up at the young man leaning against the barrier above him, Ianto’s body came under his command once more and he pushed himself away from the railing and walked smartly away across the plass.
‘Lisa, Lisa, Lisa,’ he chanted in his head as he tried to get his breathing under control, ‘I love Lisa.’ Around him the air shimmered as the ghost shift began.
oOo
“Ianto, are you okay?” Lisa asked concerned. Ianto had been very quiet in the week or so since he’d come back from Cardiff, even quieter than he’d been when she first met him. The spark that had been in his eyes since he’d started investigating Jack Harkness on the side had been extinguished.
Ianto stood by the coffee machine at the end of their corridor in Torchwood Tower staring into his mug as though it held the answer to the meaning of life.
Lisa reached out to touch his arm gently, “Yan…”
“Huh?” Ianto turned to her distracted then, seemingly by an act of will, focussed his attention on his girlfriend.
“You’ve been really quiet since you came back from Cardiff. Did something happen?”
“No, nothing. I just came to a few decisions about what’s important in my life.”
Lisa tried not to make it too obvious when she swallowed nervously. ‘Here it comes,’ she thought, ‘it’s not you, it’s me…’
Ianto took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. “I wanted to make this special, take you somewhere, but if I don’t do it now I never will… Lisa Hallett,” he paused taking Lisa’s hand in his, “will you…”
Lisa never heard the end of what Ianto wanted to say as she was deafened as every siren and klaxon in the building went off at once. Reacting on instinct she pulled her hand from Ianto’s and ran to her post. Sighing Ianto watched her go before moving smartly to his own position.
“Bloody Torchwood,” he muttered under his breath and in the next few hours all the plans Ianto Jones had made for his life withered and died.
oOo
From a secluded corner on the twentieth floor of the Canary Wharf tower Ianto watched the two members of Jack Harkness' team work through the remains of the once great headquarters of Torchwood looking for anything they could scavenge. They had arrived within hours of the end of the Battle. From his research he recognised them - Suzie Costello, Harkness' second in command and Owen Harper, team medic. Both completely ignored the small number of shell-shocked staff still milling around the building concentrating solely on their mission. When he first saw them, the Welshman had intended to take them to Lisa, ask them to help, believing they would be sympathetic. As he watched them, however, he became more and more convinced that they would simply put a bullet through her head to 'end her suffering'.
'I'm not going to let that happen,' Ianto thought. 'There's others out there who will help. I just need to keep Lisa safe in the meantime..
Watching Suzie and Owen continue their work a plan began to form in Ianto's brain. His research had shown him there were plenty of unused tunnels and rooms in Torchwood Three's underground base in Cardiff. If he could just get himself recruited to Torchwood Three he could hide Lisa in one of the out of the way rooms until he could work out who might be able to help her. Maybe once he was settled he could even seek help from the captain. But how to get himself recruited by Jack Harkness? He smiled ruefully - after all Lisa's teasing this was where his research on Jack would come in useful after all.
oOo
Ianto watched Jack through the leaves of the tree he was hiding behind as Jack fought the rogue weevil lit by the lights of the SUV. ‘Still gorgeous,’ Ianto thought, ‘even in hero mode, especially in hero mode,’ then chastised himself. I’m not here for me, this is all about Lisa.
Seeing the weevil take the upper hand in the struggle with Jack Ianto grabbed a thick bough from the ground at his feet and entered the melee.
After it was all over and the weevil secure Ianto dared to look Jack in the eye.
“And you are?” the American asked, curious.
Ianto’s mind nearly froze as he took in those blue eyes, openly admiring him. ‘I can’t do this,’ he thought, I can’t deceive this man like Torchwood has been doing for the last hundred years, keeping him under suveillence. But then he thought of Lisa, his beautiful Lisa, the woman he wanted to marry, to spend the rest of his life with, who was now sedated and hidden in the grotty little flat he’d rented after travelling all night to get from London to Cardiff, to Jack. ‘I have to do this, for Lisa!’ he steeled himself. Keeping a picture of Lisa in the forefront of his mind, his ears ringing with her screams of pain, Ianto managed to reply confidently, “Jones, Ianto Jones.”
Characters/Pairings:- Jack, Ianto, Lisa
Rating:- Suitable for all
Word count:- approx. 1950
Summary:- Ianto had been interested in Jack Harkness long before the Battle of Canary Wharf.
“Ianto Jones, you’re becoming obsessed,” Lisa laughed seeing the photo the Welshman held in his hand. “Though I must admit I can see why. He’s a bit of alright!”
Previously posted to Whofic.
Disclaimer:- Property of BBC, RTD and others, not me.
oOo
“Ianto Jones, you’re becoming obsessed,” Lisa laughed seeing the photo the Welshman held in his hand. “Though I must admit I can see why. He’s a bit of alright!”
Ianto scowled at his girlfriend putting the photo back down on his desk. “I’m not becoming obsessed,” he replied primly as they headed along the corridor for a coffee. “I just find him… fascinating. Even in dry Torchwood reports he comes across as having such a zest for life, unlike most of the people here,” Ianto gestured to the people sitting at the cubicles around them dropping his voice so only Lisa could hear. “Don’t you think there’s more to Torchwood than capturing aliens? Or, at least, there should be? Surely we should be trying to make friends not enemies?”
Lisa raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. It was unlike him to be so passionate. Ianto was usually a rule follower, fitting in with the expectations of the people around him. This was a whole new side to his personality, one she wanted to see more of. Maybe this obsession was a good thing.
oOo
Over the coming weeks and months Ianto read every scrap of information he could find on the mysterious director of Torchwood Cardiff. The volume of information available reduced greatly after January 2000 when Captain Jack Harkness cut all ties with London but Yvonne Hartman was obviously still keeping tabs on the American. Ianto wondered if he knew. From everything he’d read he felt confident very little got past Jack. It made him feel uncomfortable knowing that one part of the organisation he worked for was spying on another part - especially when Jack had shown himself loyal to Torchwood again and again over the years.
“Look at this,” Ianto called over to Lisa as she passed on her way through the office waving some paperwork at her.
“Ianto, I’ve told you before, you’re taking too much of an interest in this Jack Harkness. Is there something you want to tell me?” she asked giving him a look he couldn’t quite interpret.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing, nothing. Now, what was it you wanted to show me?” Lisa parried his question but couldn’t help be concerned by the, how would she describe it, warmth maybe, that came into Ianto’s tone when he talked about Jack Harkness.
Lisa allowed her mind to wander as Ianto talked her through the documents he’d found. She didn’t consider herself to be promiscuous but she’d had her fair share of boyfriends over the years, she was a bit older than Ianto after all, and much as she cared for the younger man she suspected, deep down, unconsciously even, she was more of a sister to Ianto than a girlfriend. He never seemed to mention any previous girlfriends but he did mention a few male friends in similar warm tones to the ones he was using now about Jack Harkness.
“Lisa… earth calling Lisa…”
“Mmm?” startled from her reverie Lisa looked down at Ianto, the look on his face obviously expecting an answer to a question.
“The dates, Lise, look at the dates. According to my research Jack Harkness must be over 100 years old but he doesn’t look anything over, what, 35. Recruited to Torchwood in 1899, served in India at the beginning of last century, both World Wars, the lot!”
“Don’t talk daft, Yan,” Lisa replied, watching Ianto squirm slightly at the pet name, “you must be reading it wrong. Father, son and grandson?”
oOo
‘I’ve missed this,’ Ianto thought breathing in the sea air. He was a city boy through and through but having been brought up on the South Wales coast he was used to the air having the tang of salt and ozone. ‘The best hangover cure there is,’ he smiled, ‘and boy do I need one!’ He’d spent most of the previous evening at the wedding reception of a distant cousin catching up with family and drinking way too much. Since the death of both his parents he’d pretty much lost touch with his relatives but when the invitation arrived it had seemed like the ideal opportunity to spend a little time in the city of his birth.
He nearly hadn’t made it though. His leave was cancelled at almost the last minute and he’d only been able to come because Lisa had offered to work a double shift to cover. Time off was a precious commodity at Torchwood and all the lower grades covered for each other whenever possible knowing the favour would be returned.
He’d missed Lisa at the reception as everyone else seemed to be part of a couple but being alone for a few hours before getting the train back to London allowed him to be here - on the promenade at the edge of Roald Dahl Plass overlooking Cardiff bay. Waiting for Jack. Lisa would laugh at him if she knew, tell him he was smitten, but he just had to see this man, the man who had worked for Torchwood for so long with so little reward.
And there he was on the lower level. Ianto resisted the urge to duck down knowing the sudden movement would draw Jack’s attention. Instead he studied the man out of the corner of his eye whilst appearing to look out at the bay.
It had taken ages scouring the databases to find the general location of Torchwood Three and even longer to find the main entrance. Plans and schematics of a rogue base were not things he could easily get access to as a Junior Researcher but odd comments in mission logs and other documents combined with an intimate knowledge of Cardiff had allowed Ianto to make a few educated guesses. And now his perseverance was rewarded and he was able to look on the subject of his, maybe Lisa was right, his obsession.
Looking at the infamous Captain Jack Harkness Ianto admired the chiselled features and broad shoulders.
“Love the coat,” he whispered softly to himself feeling his heart race and his breathing deepen. He faintly heard Jack’s voice as he talked to other members of his team on the comms and Ianto felt his knees go weak and his body react in ways he’d vowed to put behind him.
‘Leave, leave now,’ he told himself but he couldn’t make his body move. ‘Move!’ he screamed in his head and finally, just as Jack Harkness turned to glance up at the young man leaning against the barrier above him, Ianto’s body came under his command once more and he pushed himself away from the railing and walked smartly away across the plass.
‘Lisa, Lisa, Lisa,’ he chanted in his head as he tried to get his breathing under control, ‘I love Lisa.’ Around him the air shimmered as the ghost shift began.
oOo
“Ianto, are you okay?” Lisa asked concerned. Ianto had been very quiet in the week or so since he’d come back from Cardiff, even quieter than he’d been when she first met him. The spark that had been in his eyes since he’d started investigating Jack Harkness on the side had been extinguished.
Ianto stood by the coffee machine at the end of their corridor in Torchwood Tower staring into his mug as though it held the answer to the meaning of life.
Lisa reached out to touch his arm gently, “Yan…”
“Huh?” Ianto turned to her distracted then, seemingly by an act of will, focussed his attention on his girlfriend.
“You’ve been really quiet since you came back from Cardiff. Did something happen?”
“No, nothing. I just came to a few decisions about what’s important in my life.”
Lisa tried not to make it too obvious when she swallowed nervously. ‘Here it comes,’ she thought, ‘it’s not you, it’s me…’
Ianto took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. “I wanted to make this special, take you somewhere, but if I don’t do it now I never will… Lisa Hallett,” he paused taking Lisa’s hand in his, “will you…”
Lisa never heard the end of what Ianto wanted to say as she was deafened as every siren and klaxon in the building went off at once. Reacting on instinct she pulled her hand from Ianto’s and ran to her post. Sighing Ianto watched her go before moving smartly to his own position.
“Bloody Torchwood,” he muttered under his breath and in the next few hours all the plans Ianto Jones had made for his life withered and died.
oOo
From a secluded corner on the twentieth floor of the Canary Wharf tower Ianto watched the two members of Jack Harkness' team work through the remains of the once great headquarters of Torchwood looking for anything they could scavenge. They had arrived within hours of the end of the Battle. From his research he recognised them - Suzie Costello, Harkness' second in command and Owen Harper, team medic. Both completely ignored the small number of shell-shocked staff still milling around the building concentrating solely on their mission. When he first saw them, the Welshman had intended to take them to Lisa, ask them to help, believing they would be sympathetic. As he watched them, however, he became more and more convinced that they would simply put a bullet through her head to 'end her suffering'.
'I'm not going to let that happen,' Ianto thought. 'There's others out there who will help. I just need to keep Lisa safe in the meantime..
Watching Suzie and Owen continue their work a plan began to form in Ianto's brain. His research had shown him there were plenty of unused tunnels and rooms in Torchwood Three's underground base in Cardiff. If he could just get himself recruited to Torchwood Three he could hide Lisa in one of the out of the way rooms until he could work out who might be able to help her. Maybe once he was settled he could even seek help from the captain. But how to get himself recruited by Jack Harkness? He smiled ruefully - after all Lisa's teasing this was where his research on Jack would come in useful after all.
oOo
Ianto watched Jack through the leaves of the tree he was hiding behind as Jack fought the rogue weevil lit by the lights of the SUV. ‘Still gorgeous,’ Ianto thought, ‘even in hero mode, especially in hero mode,’ then chastised himself. I’m not here for me, this is all about Lisa.
Seeing the weevil take the upper hand in the struggle with Jack Ianto grabbed a thick bough from the ground at his feet and entered the melee.
After it was all over and the weevil secure Ianto dared to look Jack in the eye.
“And you are?” the American asked, curious.
Ianto’s mind nearly froze as he took in those blue eyes, openly admiring him. ‘I can’t do this,’ he thought, I can’t deceive this man like Torchwood has been doing for the last hundred years, keeping him under suveillence. But then he thought of Lisa, his beautiful Lisa, the woman he wanted to marry, to spend the rest of his life with, who was now sedated and hidden in the grotty little flat he’d rented after travelling all night to get from London to Cardiff, to Jack. ‘I have to do this, for Lisa!’ he steeled himself. Keeping a picture of Lisa in the forefront of his mind, his ears ringing with her screams of pain, Ianto managed to reply confidently, “Jones, Ianto Jones.”