Fic: Hidden - Chapter 14/31
Title: Hidden
Rating: R/MA - contains violence, language and sexual references.
Length: ~48,000 words
Characters/pairings: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, OCs, mention of Rhys, Tosh and Owen. Jack/Ianto.
Disclaimer: The OCs are mine, anyone and anything you recognise from Torchwood belongs to the BBC.
Notes: Anything up to 'Exit Wounds' for Torchwood, with reference to the events of 'The Stolen Earth' and 'Journey's End' for Doctor Who. AU. Oh so very AU. Even more so once series three starts.
Thanks to: the lovely cazmalfoy and et_muse for beta-reading and general poking.
Summary: 'This is Torchwood Three...Torchwood Four's kinda gone missing, but we'll find it one day.' Torchwood One wasn't the first job Ianto had - wasn't the first Torchwood branch he worked for. Now his past is coming back to put everyone he loves in danger.
Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen
“Fuck,” Jack swore. “God dammit!”
Gwen bit her lip, unused to such language from him. She very carefully didn’t look at him, instead offering a sympathetic smile to Elen Jones. Elen had taken the Hub in her stride; after looking it over with a critical gaze, she had sent Gwen to get pastries and set Dave to mopping the floor. It was like having an older, female version of Ianto in the Hub - she even had Jack under her thumb.
“Language,” said Elen now, all parental disapproval. Jack grimaced, but then nodded and gave her an apologetic look. “What has my son done now?”
“He’s…” Jack hesitated, and Gwen shook her head slightly, willing him not to answer. Whatever Ianto had said to Jack - and she could guess, from Jack’s side of the conversation - it wasn’t something that Elen ought to know about. However much she knew about Torchwood, there were some things no mother should have to hear.
“What was that about my Ianto being a murderer?” Elen demanded doggedly. “There’s little you can say to shock me, Captain,” she added, clearly able to see Jack’s reluctance.
Jack managed a laugh. “No, I can tell,” he said. “You seem alright with aliens and Myfanwy.” The pterodon had greeted Elen with a loud screech, but Elen’s unimpressed reaction had just been to lift an eyebrow and comment on the difficulty of cleaning droppings from concrete.
“Oh, please,” said Elen, waving a hand in dismissal. “What were those creatures that made people stand on the roof, if not aliens?” Jack opened his mouth to speak, but she continued. “Not to mention those dreadful metal things, and don’t get me started on that ATMOS system. Ianto made sure I didn’t have one of those in my car.”
“Alright,” said Jack after a long moment. “Cards on the table.”
“Jack, no,” said Gwen quickly. She grabbed Jack by the arm and hauled him away from the couch. She poked him in the chest with one finger. “You cannot tell her that her son wants to kill someone,” she hissed. “Even if it’s true, which I doubt. Ianto wouldn’t do that. But you can’t tell her about it!”
“Why not?” Jack countered, voice equally low. He folded his arms and frowned down at her. “She’s no fool, Gwen. She knows the situation probably better than we do, and if there’s any chance she knows where Ianto might go, I’m willing to shatter a few illusions.”
“Jack, he’s her only son,” Gwen said insistently. “You can’t! I won’t let you.”
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” said Jack, expression hardening. Gwen almost faltered under his cold gaze - but she didn’t back down, refusing to let him intimidate her. “I am not going to let anything stand in the way of getting Ianto back safely,” Jack went on. “And Elen Jones doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman to back away from the truth.”
“You love him,” Gwen said after a moment, very softly. Jack lifted his chin, his eyes flicking away to stare over her shoulder at nothing in particular. “You do,” she breathed. “Does he know? Have you told him how you feel, Jack?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Jack,” said Gwen, frowning up at him. She wasn’t quite sure what she was feeling about this - she couldn’t help feeling a little aggrieved that it had taken so long for her to realise - but she refused to let Jack block her out. Not now, not after everything that had happened to them all. “Does he know?” she asked again.
“I’ve told him,” said Jack eventually, and he looked back at her. There was a vulnerable look in his eyes that didn’t sit well with her image of him. “Don’t think he believes me. But I’ve told him.” Gwen nodded, satisfied, but Jack took advantage of her lapse in attention to pull away from her and return to the couch.
“Ianto’s gone looking for John Marshall,” he told Elen. “He wants revenge for what happened to his sister.”
“Jack!” exclaimed Gwen angrily, hands on her hips.
“It’s quite alright, Gwen,” said Elen, displaying admirable equanimity. “I’ll admit I hoped I raised Ianto with more sense and better values, but I can’t say I’m surprised.” She sighed then, looking tired, and Gwen dropped onto the couch next to her. She wanted to put an arm around the older woman, to comfort her in some way, but she wasn’t sure it would be taken well.
“Ianto - he’s smart, he’s not going to do anything stupid,” she said instead, hating the uncertainty she could hear in her voice. Elen gave her a sceptical look.
“We are talking about the same Ianto Jones, are we not?” she said dryly. “He’s stubborn as a mule.” She smiled a little, pride evident in her expression. “He gets that from me, Lord help him. No, Ianto sticks to his decisions once he’s made them.”
“Believe me, I know,” said Jack fervently. “There’s times he -“ He cut himself off with a sheepish glance at Elen. “Never mind. Listen, Elen, I need your help.”
“Tell me,” she said, folding her hands together in her lap and looking up at him.
“I need to know if there’s anywhere you know Torchwood Four worked when they were training Ianto,” Jack explained, sitting on her other side. “I’m betting Marshall’s going to try to get Ianto to cooperate by threatening you, so they’ll meet someplace local. Somewhere Ianto will know.”
“But wouldn’t that give Ianto an advantage over them?” Gwen wanted to know. “Surely they’d choose somewhere more neutral? And public?”
“No,” Jack shook his head. “They won’t want to risk exposure in case it turns into a fire fight.”
“You mean in case Ianto goes in ‘guns blazing’, as they say,” observed Elen. Jack nodded silently, and Elen heaved a sigh. “To be honest, I’m not sure,” she admitted. “There were all sorts of places they went locally, as well as further away. They were gone whole weekends most of the time. I didn’t know them all, and it was a good eight years ago now.”
“Anything you can remember,” said Jack, touching her shoulder briefly. “Because right now all we know is that he’s been in Leeds.”
“Jack!” Gillian pushed her chair away from the desk, where she had been monitoring both CCTV and the Rift. “I have him heading out of Leeds.” Jack was at her side in moments, peering over her shoulder at the grainy photograph. “He’s been caught on a speed camera,” Gillian went on. “Driving a motorcycle without a helmet, so there’s enough for the facial recognition program to pick him up.”
“Oh, he’s in for a spanking,” Jack murmured. “His head’s not that hard. Like the leather, though.”
“Too much information,” said Gillian quickly, making a face. “But we know how he’s travelling now, and we have his number plate.” She reached for the phone. “Do you want me to call the police and get him stopped?”
“No,” said Jack, grabbing her hand to stop her. “No, don’t.”
“You can’t just let him kill Marshall,” protested Gwen. “Or go in there without backup.”
“He won’t be without backup,” Jack snapped. “Elen - like I said, anything you can remember. Gwen, prep the SUV and get the cops to evacuate anywhere Elen can remember. Dave - where’s Dave?”
“Cleaning out those Weevil things,” said Elen, lifting an eyebrow at him. “Those cells were filthy.” Jack started to say something, but changed his mind under her imperious gaze.
“Right,” he said instead. “Weevil cells. Of course. Uh. I’m just going to…” He pointed towards his office. “Make a call.”
“Jack, can we - “
“No,” he cut Gwen off. “We can’t.” Jack glared at her for good measure, and then turned on his heel and went into his office, making sure the door was closed behind him. He leaned against the door for a long moment, allowing himself to dwell on his fears for just a short time, and then he took a deep breath and went to his desk. There would be time to worry about Ianto later - now he had to plan how to help.
* * *
Chapter Fifteen
Comments are love.
Thanks to everybody who expressed relief about my mum - unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly obvious that she's not actually going to be able to walk normally again, thanks to our local hospital's incompetancy and the fact that, two and a half years after she originally broke a bone in her foot, they finally realised that not only was it still broken, but that the bone has in fact died. Sigh. Life sucks.
Still, off to the Hub on Friday *grins* anyone else going?
Rating: R/MA - contains violence, language and sexual references.
Length: ~48,000 words
Characters/pairings: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, OCs, mention of Rhys, Tosh and Owen. Jack/Ianto.
Disclaimer: The OCs are mine, anyone and anything you recognise from Torchwood belongs to the BBC.
Notes: Anything up to 'Exit Wounds' for Torchwood, with reference to the events of 'The Stolen Earth' and 'Journey's End' for Doctor Who. AU. Oh so very AU. Even more so once series three starts.
Thanks to: the lovely cazmalfoy and et_muse for beta-reading and general poking.
Summary: 'This is Torchwood Three...Torchwood Four's kinda gone missing, but we'll find it one day.' Torchwood One wasn't the first job Ianto had - wasn't the first Torchwood branch he worked for. Now his past is coming back to put everyone he loves in danger.
Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen
“Fuck,” Jack swore. “God dammit!”
Gwen bit her lip, unused to such language from him. She very carefully didn’t look at him, instead offering a sympathetic smile to Elen Jones. Elen had taken the Hub in her stride; after looking it over with a critical gaze, she had sent Gwen to get pastries and set Dave to mopping the floor. It was like having an older, female version of Ianto in the Hub - she even had Jack under her thumb.
“Language,” said Elen now, all parental disapproval. Jack grimaced, but then nodded and gave her an apologetic look. “What has my son done now?”
“He’s…” Jack hesitated, and Gwen shook her head slightly, willing him not to answer. Whatever Ianto had said to Jack - and she could guess, from Jack’s side of the conversation - it wasn’t something that Elen ought to know about. However much she knew about Torchwood, there were some things no mother should have to hear.
“What was that about my Ianto being a murderer?” Elen demanded doggedly. “There’s little you can say to shock me, Captain,” she added, clearly able to see Jack’s reluctance.
Jack managed a laugh. “No, I can tell,” he said. “You seem alright with aliens and Myfanwy.” The pterodon had greeted Elen with a loud screech, but Elen’s unimpressed reaction had just been to lift an eyebrow and comment on the difficulty of cleaning droppings from concrete.
“Oh, please,” said Elen, waving a hand in dismissal. “What were those creatures that made people stand on the roof, if not aliens?” Jack opened his mouth to speak, but she continued. “Not to mention those dreadful metal things, and don’t get me started on that ATMOS system. Ianto made sure I didn’t have one of those in my car.”
“Alright,” said Jack after a long moment. “Cards on the table.”
“Jack, no,” said Gwen quickly. She grabbed Jack by the arm and hauled him away from the couch. She poked him in the chest with one finger. “You cannot tell her that her son wants to kill someone,” she hissed. “Even if it’s true, which I doubt. Ianto wouldn’t do that. But you can’t tell her about it!”
“Why not?” Jack countered, voice equally low. He folded his arms and frowned down at her. “She’s no fool, Gwen. She knows the situation probably better than we do, and if there’s any chance she knows where Ianto might go, I’m willing to shatter a few illusions.”
“Jack, he’s her only son,” Gwen said insistently. “You can’t! I won’t let you.”
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” said Jack, expression hardening. Gwen almost faltered under his cold gaze - but she didn’t back down, refusing to let him intimidate her. “I am not going to let anything stand in the way of getting Ianto back safely,” Jack went on. “And Elen Jones doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman to back away from the truth.”
“You love him,” Gwen said after a moment, very softly. Jack lifted his chin, his eyes flicking away to stare over her shoulder at nothing in particular. “You do,” she breathed. “Does he know? Have you told him how you feel, Jack?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Jack,” said Gwen, frowning up at him. She wasn’t quite sure what she was feeling about this - she couldn’t help feeling a little aggrieved that it had taken so long for her to realise - but she refused to let Jack block her out. Not now, not after everything that had happened to them all. “Does he know?” she asked again.
“I’ve told him,” said Jack eventually, and he looked back at her. There was a vulnerable look in his eyes that didn’t sit well with her image of him. “Don’t think he believes me. But I’ve told him.” Gwen nodded, satisfied, but Jack took advantage of her lapse in attention to pull away from her and return to the couch.
“Ianto’s gone looking for John Marshall,” he told Elen. “He wants revenge for what happened to his sister.”
“Jack!” exclaimed Gwen angrily, hands on her hips.
“It’s quite alright, Gwen,” said Elen, displaying admirable equanimity. “I’ll admit I hoped I raised Ianto with more sense and better values, but I can’t say I’m surprised.” She sighed then, looking tired, and Gwen dropped onto the couch next to her. She wanted to put an arm around the older woman, to comfort her in some way, but she wasn’t sure it would be taken well.
“Ianto - he’s smart, he’s not going to do anything stupid,” she said instead, hating the uncertainty she could hear in her voice. Elen gave her a sceptical look.
“We are talking about the same Ianto Jones, are we not?” she said dryly. “He’s stubborn as a mule.” She smiled a little, pride evident in her expression. “He gets that from me, Lord help him. No, Ianto sticks to his decisions once he’s made them.”
“Believe me, I know,” said Jack fervently. “There’s times he -“ He cut himself off with a sheepish glance at Elen. “Never mind. Listen, Elen, I need your help.”
“Tell me,” she said, folding her hands together in her lap and looking up at him.
“I need to know if there’s anywhere you know Torchwood Four worked when they were training Ianto,” Jack explained, sitting on her other side. “I’m betting Marshall’s going to try to get Ianto to cooperate by threatening you, so they’ll meet someplace local. Somewhere Ianto will know.”
“But wouldn’t that give Ianto an advantage over them?” Gwen wanted to know. “Surely they’d choose somewhere more neutral? And public?”
“No,” Jack shook his head. “They won’t want to risk exposure in case it turns into a fire fight.”
“You mean in case Ianto goes in ‘guns blazing’, as they say,” observed Elen. Jack nodded silently, and Elen heaved a sigh. “To be honest, I’m not sure,” she admitted. “There were all sorts of places they went locally, as well as further away. They were gone whole weekends most of the time. I didn’t know them all, and it was a good eight years ago now.”
“Anything you can remember,” said Jack, touching her shoulder briefly. “Because right now all we know is that he’s been in Leeds.”
“Jack!” Gillian pushed her chair away from the desk, where she had been monitoring both CCTV and the Rift. “I have him heading out of Leeds.” Jack was at her side in moments, peering over her shoulder at the grainy photograph. “He’s been caught on a speed camera,” Gillian went on. “Driving a motorcycle without a helmet, so there’s enough for the facial recognition program to pick him up.”
“Oh, he’s in for a spanking,” Jack murmured. “His head’s not that hard. Like the leather, though.”
“Too much information,” said Gillian quickly, making a face. “But we know how he’s travelling now, and we have his number plate.” She reached for the phone. “Do you want me to call the police and get him stopped?”
“No,” said Jack, grabbing her hand to stop her. “No, don’t.”
“You can’t just let him kill Marshall,” protested Gwen. “Or go in there without backup.”
“He won’t be without backup,” Jack snapped. “Elen - like I said, anything you can remember. Gwen, prep the SUV and get the cops to evacuate anywhere Elen can remember. Dave - where’s Dave?”
“Cleaning out those Weevil things,” said Elen, lifting an eyebrow at him. “Those cells were filthy.” Jack started to say something, but changed his mind under her imperious gaze.
“Right,” he said instead. “Weevil cells. Of course. Uh. I’m just going to…” He pointed towards his office. “Make a call.”
“Jack, can we - “
“No,” he cut Gwen off. “We can’t.” Jack glared at her for good measure, and then turned on his heel and went into his office, making sure the door was closed behind him. He leaned against the door for a long moment, allowing himself to dwell on his fears for just a short time, and then he took a deep breath and went to his desk. There would be time to worry about Ianto later - now he had to plan how to help.
* * *
Chapter Fifteen
Comments are love.
Thanks to everybody who expressed relief about my mum - unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly obvious that she's not actually going to be able to walk normally again, thanks to our local hospital's incompetancy and the fact that, two and a half years after she originally broke a bone in her foot, they finally realised that not only was it still broken, but that the bone has in fact died. Sigh. Life sucks.
Still, off to the Hub on Friday *grins* anyone else going?