FIC: An Invitation to the Dance
Title: An Invitation to the Dance
Pairing: none
Rating: G
Word Count: 1402
Summary: Ianto expected Retconn, not a job offer.
Written for: lastficstanding's "Important Letter" challenge
Author's Notes: lastficstanding is a single-elimination writing challenge. Everyone writes, stories are posted anonymously and voting commences. I came out of this round with a +1. (One vote for winning story). Considering the winner only had a +3, I'm pretty pleased. This challenge limits you to 1000 words for your story. I've been told to really, never, ever sign up for things like this again as 'short' is not my forte. This is the FULL version. I wrote the story and then trimmed it to get under word count. And if you think cutting a third of your story out and still having it be cohesive is easy, try it sometime. *headdesk*
The short version is here if you're curious. (Oh and also, we're not allowed betas, so if anything's really wonky feel free to let me know.)
They were a week out of the carnage, and starting to shake off the immediate sense of shock. Torchwood Two and Three had come to co-ordinate the clean up now that they’d put a cover in place that would explain to the rest of the world why a sky scraper on the Canary Wharf coast was now missing and why they thought they’d seen metal men in their yards.
MacAlister from Two seemed to defer greatly to the leader of Torchwood Three out of Cardiff. Harkness, Ianto remembered. A Captain Harkness who was apparently from America, but a member of the RAF and now stationed in Cardiff. There was a field tent set up just to the west of the wreckage of the building. This was apparently this Harkness fellow’s office. After being told to stay home for three days, he was now being recalled to the site of the disaster to be interviewed.
Ianto swallowed. He had written a series of notes and put them in his diary, his computer, on his mirror and even in a breakfast cereal box. Even if they retconned him, he would find a way to remember Lisa. To remember where she was, what she needed and why he needed to be the one to take care of her.
As he approached he saw large machines pulled beams and huge chunks of concrete and piled them elsewhere. A small hoard of people then meticulously picked over the debris and the newest exposed layer of the disaster. He stopped and watched, blinking when his vision went blurry; refusing to let tears fall. Not now.
“Are you Ianto Jones?”
Ianto started at the unexpected voice. He tugged on the edges of his suit jacket and turned to face a petite Asian woman who was looking at him with a mix of pity and curiosity.
“Yes,” he offered her his hand. “Ianto Jones, from archiving.”
The young woman nodded and shook his hand. “I’m Toshiko Sato. I just started working for Torchwood Three in Cardiff a few weeks ago. Jack - my boss - he’d like to see you.”
Ianto nodded. That much had been made apparent in the answer-phone message he’d received that night when he’d come home from checking on Lisa. “Lead the way.”
Toshiko led Ianto into the tent where Jack Harkness was flipping through some files on a laptop. “Jack? This is -“
Jack stood, offering a hand, “Ianto Jones. Nice to meet you. I’m -“
“Jack Harkness,” Ianto said. Two could play at this game. And he wasn’t about to let this guy take him down without a fight. Lisa was worth more than that.
Jack nodded and held out a hand. “Thanks for coming out here. I know it can’t be easy being back here.”
Ianto scowled, but at the same time he softened inside a little. It was possible he was selling this Harkness fellow a bit short. Perhaps he wasn’t the unfeeling bastard Yvonne had always made him out to be. “It’s…” Ianto took a deep breath and tried to articulate his feelings. “It’s surreal, to be honest, sir.”
Jack nodded and sat back down. “Have a seat. Tosh, can you give us a minute?”
Toshiko nodded and squeezed Ianto’s shoulder as she left. For a brief moment he wasn’t sure if it had been in sympathy for being back at the site of the tower or for being left alone with Jack.
“I hear you’ve got a pretty good memory,” Jack said as he picked up an old fashioned fountain pen and tapped it gently on a legal pad.
“Yes, sir,” Ianto answered. Until you drug me, that is. He winced at the thought. He’d taken all reasonable precautions to be able to defeat the retconn. He just needed to get through this interview.
Jack pushed the pen and pad across the table to him. “I need you to make a list of every alien artifact that might be buried in that rubble.”
Ianto looked up at him quizzically. “You don’t have a computer inventory?”
Jack shot his laptop an evil look. “Your boss wasn’t big on sharing data with anyone. That included me and MacAlister. Your computer system well… ‘crashed’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
Ianto jerked back at the callous comment.
“Sorry,” Jack said. “I’ve… I’ve seen a lot of death. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
Ianto nodded accepting the apology. He picked up the pen and began to write.
Almost three hours later, Ianto had drained Jack’s fountain pen and switched to his own ballpoint. His hand had a cramp and his back was sore from hunching over the wrong side of the makeshift desk.
When he handed the list back, Jack flipped through it. “That’s a lot of stuff.”
“Yes, sir,” Ianto answered neutrally.
Just then there was a rap on the canvas of the tent. “Jack? Tosh said you have that Jones fellow in here. He’s the last one. Can I have him?”
The bloke in the doorway immediately set Ianto’s teeth on edge. He really didn’t want to go anywhere with him.
“Ianto Jones, Owen Harper. Owen’s the physician on our staff in Cardiff. I’d like him to give you a once over, if you don’t mind. I don’t have a hospital report in your file for the past week and I’d prefer if everyone were checked out.”
Ianto sighed. “Yes, sir.” Ianto stood and followed the dodgy doctor to another tent.
The physical was manageable enough, even if the doctor’s bedside manner was atrocious.
“Your hands are still a little blistered,” Dr. Harper said. He pulled a vial of pills and a tube of cream from a chest with a large red cross on it. “Here’s some pain killers and some cream. Other than, that I think you’re fit enough.”
Ianto nodded. “Thank you.” He jumped off the portable exam table.
“Jack wants to see you before you go,” the doctor said as Ianto made it to the flap.
Ianto headed back to Jack’s office, tucking the cream into his jacket pocket and considering tossing the pain pills into the bin until he realized he might be able to use them for Lisa. He cleared his throat as he stood in the open doorway. “Sir? Dr. Harper said you wanted to see me again?”
Jack came from around his desk. “Yeah, I was going to go get lunch. You want to go?”
Ianto wondered how much of a fuss would be made if he declined the invitation, ducking Jack’s chance to spike his tea with retconn. “I was actually hoping to go home.” He held up the bottle of pills. “Dr. Harper seems to think these will put me to sleep.”
“Ah,” Jack said, reaching one hand into the pocket of his greatcoat. “Then I’ll just give you this.”
Ianto’s heart skipped a beat, fully expecting Jack to simply hand him the little white tablet and watch him swallow obediently.
He wasn’t prepared for Jack to hand him a letter. “Wh-what’s this?” His eyes skipped back and forth between Jack and the paper.
“Come work for me in Cardiff,” Jack said quietly. “We’re a small group. Owen and Tosh you’ve met. Suzie’s out there supervising the salvage operations. We could use some help. Someone with good organizing skills, a good researcher and having a Welsh native around certainly couldn’t hurt.”
Ianto finally accepted the letter and unfolded it slowly. Sure enough, it was an offer to transfer to Cardiff’s branch of Torchwood. He wasn’t sure what to say.
Jack patted his shoulder. “I know this is kind of sudden. Go home, think about it for the next few days. I’ll be here for at least another week; come back and let me know.”
Ianto knew better than to look too eager, even though he already knew what his answer would be. He clutched the letter tightly IN his fist. “I’ll let you know by Thursday, sir,” Ianto answered.
“I look forward to hearing from you,” Jack said, shaking his hand once again.
Ianto hurried back to his car, back to Lisa. Moving her would be difficult. Finding a good place to hide her in Cardiff might even be harder. But he wasn’t being retconned back to nursery school, and maybe, just maybe he could find the answers they needed if he stayed with Torchwood.
Pairing: none
Rating: G
Word Count: 1402
Summary: Ianto expected Retconn, not a job offer.
Written for: lastficstanding's "Important Letter" challenge
Author's Notes: lastficstanding is a single-elimination writing challenge. Everyone writes, stories are posted anonymously and voting commences. I came out of this round with a +1. (One vote for winning story). Considering the winner only had a +3, I'm pretty pleased. This challenge limits you to 1000 words for your story. I've been told to really, never, ever sign up for things like this again as 'short' is not my forte. This is the FULL version. I wrote the story and then trimmed it to get under word count. And if you think cutting a third of your story out and still having it be cohesive is easy, try it sometime. *headdesk*
The short version is here if you're curious. (Oh and also, we're not allowed betas, so if anything's really wonky feel free to let me know.)
They were a week out of the carnage, and starting to shake off the immediate sense of shock. Torchwood Two and Three had come to co-ordinate the clean up now that they’d put a cover in place that would explain to the rest of the world why a sky scraper on the Canary Wharf coast was now missing and why they thought they’d seen metal men in their yards.
MacAlister from Two seemed to defer greatly to the leader of Torchwood Three out of Cardiff. Harkness, Ianto remembered. A Captain Harkness who was apparently from America, but a member of the RAF and now stationed in Cardiff. There was a field tent set up just to the west of the wreckage of the building. This was apparently this Harkness fellow’s office. After being told to stay home for three days, he was now being recalled to the site of the disaster to be interviewed.
Ianto swallowed. He had written a series of notes and put them in his diary, his computer, on his mirror and even in a breakfast cereal box. Even if they retconned him, he would find a way to remember Lisa. To remember where she was, what she needed and why he needed to be the one to take care of her.
As he approached he saw large machines pulled beams and huge chunks of concrete and piled them elsewhere. A small hoard of people then meticulously picked over the debris and the newest exposed layer of the disaster. He stopped and watched, blinking when his vision went blurry; refusing to let tears fall. Not now.
“Are you Ianto Jones?”
Ianto started at the unexpected voice. He tugged on the edges of his suit jacket and turned to face a petite Asian woman who was looking at him with a mix of pity and curiosity.
“Yes,” he offered her his hand. “Ianto Jones, from archiving.”
The young woman nodded and shook his hand. “I’m Toshiko Sato. I just started working for Torchwood Three in Cardiff a few weeks ago. Jack - my boss - he’d like to see you.”
Ianto nodded. That much had been made apparent in the answer-phone message he’d received that night when he’d come home from checking on Lisa. “Lead the way.”
Toshiko led Ianto into the tent where Jack Harkness was flipping through some files on a laptop. “Jack? This is -“
Jack stood, offering a hand, “Ianto Jones. Nice to meet you. I’m -“
“Jack Harkness,” Ianto said. Two could play at this game. And he wasn’t about to let this guy take him down without a fight. Lisa was worth more than that.
Jack nodded and held out a hand. “Thanks for coming out here. I know it can’t be easy being back here.”
Ianto scowled, but at the same time he softened inside a little. It was possible he was selling this Harkness fellow a bit short. Perhaps he wasn’t the unfeeling bastard Yvonne had always made him out to be. “It’s…” Ianto took a deep breath and tried to articulate his feelings. “It’s surreal, to be honest, sir.”
Jack nodded and sat back down. “Have a seat. Tosh, can you give us a minute?”
Toshiko nodded and squeezed Ianto’s shoulder as she left. For a brief moment he wasn’t sure if it had been in sympathy for being back at the site of the tower or for being left alone with Jack.
“I hear you’ve got a pretty good memory,” Jack said as he picked up an old fashioned fountain pen and tapped it gently on a legal pad.
“Yes, sir,” Ianto answered. Until you drug me, that is. He winced at the thought. He’d taken all reasonable precautions to be able to defeat the retconn. He just needed to get through this interview.
Jack pushed the pen and pad across the table to him. “I need you to make a list of every alien artifact that might be buried in that rubble.”
Ianto looked up at him quizzically. “You don’t have a computer inventory?”
Jack shot his laptop an evil look. “Your boss wasn’t big on sharing data with anyone. That included me and MacAlister. Your computer system well… ‘crashed’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
Ianto jerked back at the callous comment.
“Sorry,” Jack said. “I’ve… I’ve seen a lot of death. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
Ianto nodded accepting the apology. He picked up the pen and began to write.
Almost three hours later, Ianto had drained Jack’s fountain pen and switched to his own ballpoint. His hand had a cramp and his back was sore from hunching over the wrong side of the makeshift desk.
When he handed the list back, Jack flipped through it. “That’s a lot of stuff.”
“Yes, sir,” Ianto answered neutrally.
Just then there was a rap on the canvas of the tent. “Jack? Tosh said you have that Jones fellow in here. He’s the last one. Can I have him?”
The bloke in the doorway immediately set Ianto’s teeth on edge. He really didn’t want to go anywhere with him.
“Ianto Jones, Owen Harper. Owen’s the physician on our staff in Cardiff. I’d like him to give you a once over, if you don’t mind. I don’t have a hospital report in your file for the past week and I’d prefer if everyone were checked out.”
Ianto sighed. “Yes, sir.” Ianto stood and followed the dodgy doctor to another tent.
The physical was manageable enough, even if the doctor’s bedside manner was atrocious.
“Your hands are still a little blistered,” Dr. Harper said. He pulled a vial of pills and a tube of cream from a chest with a large red cross on it. “Here’s some pain killers and some cream. Other than, that I think you’re fit enough.”
Ianto nodded. “Thank you.” He jumped off the portable exam table.
“Jack wants to see you before you go,” the doctor said as Ianto made it to the flap.
Ianto headed back to Jack’s office, tucking the cream into his jacket pocket and considering tossing the pain pills into the bin until he realized he might be able to use them for Lisa. He cleared his throat as he stood in the open doorway. “Sir? Dr. Harper said you wanted to see me again?”
Jack came from around his desk. “Yeah, I was going to go get lunch. You want to go?”
Ianto wondered how much of a fuss would be made if he declined the invitation, ducking Jack’s chance to spike his tea with retconn. “I was actually hoping to go home.” He held up the bottle of pills. “Dr. Harper seems to think these will put me to sleep.”
“Ah,” Jack said, reaching one hand into the pocket of his greatcoat. “Then I’ll just give you this.”
Ianto’s heart skipped a beat, fully expecting Jack to simply hand him the little white tablet and watch him swallow obediently.
He wasn’t prepared for Jack to hand him a letter. “Wh-what’s this?” His eyes skipped back and forth between Jack and the paper.
“Come work for me in Cardiff,” Jack said quietly. “We’re a small group. Owen and Tosh you’ve met. Suzie’s out there supervising the salvage operations. We could use some help. Someone with good organizing skills, a good researcher and having a Welsh native around certainly couldn’t hurt.”
Ianto finally accepted the letter and unfolded it slowly. Sure enough, it was an offer to transfer to Cardiff’s branch of Torchwood. He wasn’t sure what to say.
Jack patted his shoulder. “I know this is kind of sudden. Go home, think about it for the next few days. I’ll be here for at least another week; come back and let me know.”
Ianto knew better than to look too eager, even though he already knew what his answer would be. He clutched the letter tightly IN his fist. “I’ll let you know by Thursday, sir,” Ianto answered.
“I look forward to hearing from you,” Jack said, shaking his hand once again.
Ianto hurried back to his car, back to Lisa. Moving her would be difficult. Finding a good place to hide her in Cardiff might even be harder. But he wasn’t being retconned back to nursery school, and maybe, just maybe he could find the answers they needed if he stayed with Torchwood.