Fic: Secrets and Hope (6/9)
Title: Secrets and Hope - (6/9)
Characters/pairings: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Rhys, various other characters introduced in CoE. Jack/Ianto and Gwen/Rhys
Rating: PG, maybe pg13ish in places.
Genre: Happy ended angst, hurt/comfort.
Summary: As Torchwood rebuilds following the events of CoE the government is still keeping secrets and it's up to Ianto to reveal the truth.
Spoilers: Children of Earth days 4 and 5.
Authors note: A CoE fix-it fic. I’m aiming to update once a week, but with a new baby my posting schedule could sometimes be a bit late.
part one
part two
part three
part four
part five
With no computer access of his own, and unable to risk giving Ruth, however much he has come to trust her, access to the Torchwood database, Ianto knows that finding out just how and when the other thirteen people were exposed to Retcon will be difficult.
The information held on file about them by the Audley Clinic is fairly detailed, and it’s immediately obvious that none of the people have any connection with Cardiff, so the likelihood of them having been given the Retcon by Torchwood Three is small.
Unfortunately that only leaves them being given it by Torchwood One. Finding out more than that Ianto knows is unlikely, as many of the records from Torchwood One had been lost during the attack, and still more in the chaos that followed as rescue workers tried to rescue the few survivors and put out the fires that had broken out amounts the wreckage.
Perhaps most interestingly, in Ianto’s opinion, is that two of the people are UNIT personal, their files showing that they had served onboard the Valiant. Ianto suspects that it was after the events there, events that Jack has only told him about in the vaguest terms, that they had received the Retcon.
The fact that UNIT personnel had been given Retcon at all confirms something that Ianto has suspected for a while, that Jack had been more heavily involved in the clean up operation on the Valiant that he’d admitted. Not that he holds it against Jack for not telling him, Ianto knows that whatever happened there is something that Jack probably wishes he could Retcon away as well.
It’s just one of the many things that Ianto hopes that he’ll have the opportunity to tell Jack about, as the fact that his involvement by giving them Retcon has saved their lives might help him feel a little better about what happened at Thames House.
Ianto hasn’t been able to find out anymore about what happened, except that the 4-5-6 have been defeated and that it had cost Jack his grandson, and that in some form Torchwood continues exist.
The fact that Torchwood is still operational is oddly comforting, and not just for the fact that it means that Jack and Gwen have survived, it’s being part of something that no matter what happens to it it goes on.
With the fall of Torchwood One and Lisa’s eventual death any hopes that Ianto had had about growing old with a family of his own had died. Torchwood is his family, his legacy now, and knowing that it will continue long after he is gone, that it will go on keeping Earth safe the best it can means more to Ianto than he can say.
* * *
The days continue drag on at the clinic, although gradually Ianto notices that the atmosphere has changed, there’s a sense of impatience about the people carrying out the tests.
The reason, as Ruth tells him on one of her frequent visits, is that everybody is worried about the six month performance review. It makes sense, progress has been slow, and since the connection with Retcon had been made no further breakthroughs have occurred.
Ruth has tried to reassure him that whatever happens regarding the review she’ll keep him in her study group and not hand him back over to Doctor Munro. Ultimately though Ianto knows that the decision isn’t in her hands, and that however much she’ll try to keep him from being a part of Doctor Munro’s more invasive testing, if those people in charge of the research decide that he should she won’t have any choice but to comply with their demands.
For now though Ianto decides it’s not worth worrying about, as it’s entirely out of his hands, instead concentrating on helping Ruth with her research, hoping that if her study is ahead of Doctor Munro’s then she’ll be allowed to carry on with her method of study.
* * *
Gwen stands at her and Rhys’ bedroom window and looks out at Cardiff, and into the distance at the empty hillside where Jack had stood just an hour before. "I can't believe he's really gone."
“He might come back,” Rhys says, as he walks over to her. “You never know, stranger things have happened.”
Gwen shakes her head, before saying sadly, “Not this time, you heard him, he’s running as far away from Cardiff and me as he can.”
“He’s not running away from you, love.”
“He is,” Gwen says sadly, turning round to face Rhys. “He lost his grandson and in a couple of months we’ll have a child of our own. I don’t blame him not wanting to stay and see.”
Rhys frowns. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Neither had I until Lois mentioned it.”
“Talking of Lois,” Rhys puts his arms around her. “You said you had to be up early to meet her, so she could do something with the computers. Maybe if you get some sleep things will look better in the morning.”
“I don’t know how they can.” Gwen leans back against Rhys with a sigh. “I’m in charge of it all now, aren’t I.”
“You did it before,” Rhys tries to reassure her. “Did a good job of it too, as I remember.”
“I had Owen and Tosh and Ianto to help me last time. What if I make a mess of it? People could die, Rhys, and it would be my fault.”
“Of course it wouldn’t, you’d have tried.”
“Trying might not be good enough.” Gwen’s hand strays to her stomach, her voice not entirely steady. “I’ve got to keep the world safe, for him, for us. I’ve seen the things that are out there.”
“You’re not doing this alone you know,, you’ve got Andy, and Lois and Johnson, and you said you’d started looking for more staff.” Rhys tries to comfort her. “And you’ve got me, I could make us some cheese toasties,” Rhys offers. “Can’t be sad when you’re eating a cheese toastie.”
“Cheese on toast? That’s your answer.”
“Why not?” Rhys says a little defensively, “Can’t save the world on an empty stomach.”
“You’re daft, you know that?” Gwen laughs and hugs Rhys. “But I’m so glad I married you.”
Laughing as well now, Rhys kisses Gwen, their troubles temporarily forgotten.
* * *
It's the early hours of the morning when Ianto is woken up by Ruth shaking his shoulder, and whispering urgently to him, "You've got to get up."
Bleary eyed, Ianto looks at her confused, before asking, "What's happening?
"You've getting out of here tonight." Ruth hands Ianto a bag containing a t-shirt, some jeans and a pair of shoes, "And I'm going to help you."
"What's changed?" Ianto asks quietly, pulling the clothes from the bag. It's a surprise that Ruth is doing this, but he isn't about to turn down the offer of help to escape, and he trusts her enough to know that this isn't a trick.
"The research plans. I saw the recommendations made by the board of governors, I wasn’t supposed to see them until tomorrow, but Doctor Munro had them on his desk, and I was curious." Ruth keeps her head turned away as Ianto starts to get dressed. "He’s planning to re-infect a quarter of the patients with the 456 virus to test for continued immunity. Your name was on the list."
Ianto shivers, and not just because the room is cold and he's half-naked. He's not allowed himself to dwell on the details of what he'd thought at the time to be his death, and if he's honest dying in Jack's arms hadn't been the worse way to go. This though, being deliberately re-infected and having Doctor Munro watch and record his last few breaths with clinical dispassion makes his stomach churn.
Not that there's time to really think abut that now. Dressing as quickly as he can, it feels almost surreal to know that in a few short minutes time he'll be on his way to freedom for the first time in months.
"I don't know how long you'll have until they raise the alarm, but it won't be long." Once Ianto has finished dressing Ruth hands him her keycard, saying, "If you can get to one of the doors you can use this to get outside. There's a staff car park to the right of the main entrance, it's got a barrier and there's a security guard, but you might be able to take a car before anyone sees you."
"Any other way out?" Ianto asks, knowing that hotwiring a car is something he's not exactly proficient in. He's sure that given enough time he could manage it, but time isn't going to be something on his side tonight.
Ruth thinks for a moment, "Well if you can get across the lawns without being seen and into the woodland at the edge of the estate there's a river, if you follow it downstream you'll reach Henley in Arden, it's on the mainline between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon. You could catch a train."
Neither of the two options holds any particular appeal, but losing himself in the crowds in Birmingham does sound like it might have a slightly better chance of success.
"You'll need evidence and some money." Ruth gets some of the test notes from her labcoat pocket, before taking thirty pound from out of her purse and handing them both to Ianto.
"Thank you." Ianto takes the papers and the money from her, pushing them into his pockets, asking, "What about the other patients? Are you getting them out as well?"
Ruth shakes her head. "I can't."
"Why me?" Ianto asks walking over to his door and listening for the sounds of anybody moving about in the corridor outside.
"You're Torchwood, you've got connections, you can come back and shut this place down. None of the others stand a chance."
"Will somebody else have to take my place in the test?" Ianto asks, feeling sick at the thought that his freedom could cost of somebody else their life.
"I don't know." Ruth looks at him sadly. "I really don't. I'll try to get them to hold back the tests for a few days, say we need to re-evaluate the test group. Try to get you enough time to get back here and stop them."
"What if they suspect you're involved in my escape?" Ianto hesitates at the door to his room. Ruth has been a good friend to him, the only one he's had in the last six months, and he doesn't want to think what might happen to her if Doctor Munro or anybody else who's in charge finds out she has helped him.
"It doesn't matter. I've been part of this too long, it's time I did something right." Ruth gives him a quick hug. "Now get going, don't let this have been for nothing."
"I won't, I promise." Ianto hugs her back. "And it does matter." Then, heart pounding, Ianto slips out of his room and makes his way quickly and quietly along the empty corridors. Most of the doors he comes to are locked, and even with the key card he knows that it's likely that there will be guards on the exits.
Eventually Ianto finds a door to a ground floor utility room that has been left unlocked. Knowing that every second counts, Ianto climbs up onto the sink to reach the only window in the room. It's small, but Ianto is sure that he'll fit.
Nearly dying, followed six months without takeaways certainly is slimming, Ianto decides as he squeezes through the window. It's still a tight fit, but dropping down on the lawn below Ianto has never been so glad of the bland, healthy food that they've been feeding him.
Ianto waits for a moment listening for any indication that his escape has been noticed. There's nothing, but Ianto doubts it will stay that way for long, and decides that speed rather than stealth is probably the best course of action.
Keeping to the shadows until he's clear of the house, as soon as he is Ianto starts to run, not stopping until he's across the lawns and into the woodland.
It doesn't take Ianto long to find the river. Deep, cold, swiftly flowing, Ianto hesitates knowing that being in the water for any length of time in freezing early March cold would be asking for hypothermia.
The sound of an alarm and the sudden sweep of lights from the clinic, accompanied by the barking of dogs leaves Ianto with no other real option, and with the sounds pursuit coming closer he dives in.
part seven
Characters/pairings: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Rhys, various other characters introduced in CoE. Jack/Ianto and Gwen/Rhys
Rating: PG, maybe pg13ish in places.
Genre: Happy ended angst, hurt/comfort.
Summary: As Torchwood rebuilds following the events of CoE the government is still keeping secrets and it's up to Ianto to reveal the truth.
Spoilers: Children of Earth days 4 and 5.
Authors note: A CoE fix-it fic. I’m aiming to update once a week, but with a new baby my posting schedule could sometimes be a bit late.
part one
part two
part three
part four
part five
With no computer access of his own, and unable to risk giving Ruth, however much he has come to trust her, access to the Torchwood database, Ianto knows that finding out just how and when the other thirteen people were exposed to Retcon will be difficult.
The information held on file about them by the Audley Clinic is fairly detailed, and it’s immediately obvious that none of the people have any connection with Cardiff, so the likelihood of them having been given the Retcon by Torchwood Three is small.
Unfortunately that only leaves them being given it by Torchwood One. Finding out more than that Ianto knows is unlikely, as many of the records from Torchwood One had been lost during the attack, and still more in the chaos that followed as rescue workers tried to rescue the few survivors and put out the fires that had broken out amounts the wreckage.
Perhaps most interestingly, in Ianto’s opinion, is that two of the people are UNIT personal, their files showing that they had served onboard the Valiant. Ianto suspects that it was after the events there, events that Jack has only told him about in the vaguest terms, that they had received the Retcon.
The fact that UNIT personnel had been given Retcon at all confirms something that Ianto has suspected for a while, that Jack had been more heavily involved in the clean up operation on the Valiant that he’d admitted. Not that he holds it against Jack for not telling him, Ianto knows that whatever happened there is something that Jack probably wishes he could Retcon away as well.
It’s just one of the many things that Ianto hopes that he’ll have the opportunity to tell Jack about, as the fact that his involvement by giving them Retcon has saved their lives might help him feel a little better about what happened at Thames House.
Ianto hasn’t been able to find out anymore about what happened, except that the 4-5-6 have been defeated and that it had cost Jack his grandson, and that in some form Torchwood continues exist.
The fact that Torchwood is still operational is oddly comforting, and not just for the fact that it means that Jack and Gwen have survived, it’s being part of something that no matter what happens to it it goes on.
With the fall of Torchwood One and Lisa’s eventual death any hopes that Ianto had had about growing old with a family of his own had died. Torchwood is his family, his legacy now, and knowing that it will continue long after he is gone, that it will go on keeping Earth safe the best it can means more to Ianto than he can say.
* * *
The days continue drag on at the clinic, although gradually Ianto notices that the atmosphere has changed, there’s a sense of impatience about the people carrying out the tests.
The reason, as Ruth tells him on one of her frequent visits, is that everybody is worried about the six month performance review. It makes sense, progress has been slow, and since the connection with Retcon had been made no further breakthroughs have occurred.
Ruth has tried to reassure him that whatever happens regarding the review she’ll keep him in her study group and not hand him back over to Doctor Munro. Ultimately though Ianto knows that the decision isn’t in her hands, and that however much she’ll try to keep him from being a part of Doctor Munro’s more invasive testing, if those people in charge of the research decide that he should she won’t have any choice but to comply with their demands.
For now though Ianto decides it’s not worth worrying about, as it’s entirely out of his hands, instead concentrating on helping Ruth with her research, hoping that if her study is ahead of Doctor Munro’s then she’ll be allowed to carry on with her method of study.
* * *
Gwen stands at her and Rhys’ bedroom window and looks out at Cardiff, and into the distance at the empty hillside where Jack had stood just an hour before. "I can't believe he's really gone."
“He might come back,” Rhys says, as he walks over to her. “You never know, stranger things have happened.”
Gwen shakes her head, before saying sadly, “Not this time, you heard him, he’s running as far away from Cardiff and me as he can.”
“He’s not running away from you, love.”
“He is,” Gwen says sadly, turning round to face Rhys. “He lost his grandson and in a couple of months we’ll have a child of our own. I don’t blame him not wanting to stay and see.”
Rhys frowns. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Neither had I until Lois mentioned it.”
“Talking of Lois,” Rhys puts his arms around her. “You said you had to be up early to meet her, so she could do something with the computers. Maybe if you get some sleep things will look better in the morning.”
“I don’t know how they can.” Gwen leans back against Rhys with a sigh. “I’m in charge of it all now, aren’t I.”
“You did it before,” Rhys tries to reassure her. “Did a good job of it too, as I remember.”
“I had Owen and Tosh and Ianto to help me last time. What if I make a mess of it? People could die, Rhys, and it would be my fault.”
“Of course it wouldn’t, you’d have tried.”
“Trying might not be good enough.” Gwen’s hand strays to her stomach, her voice not entirely steady. “I’ve got to keep the world safe, for him, for us. I’ve seen the things that are out there.”
“You’re not doing this alone you know,, you’ve got Andy, and Lois and Johnson, and you said you’d started looking for more staff.” Rhys tries to comfort her. “And you’ve got me, I could make us some cheese toasties,” Rhys offers. “Can’t be sad when you’re eating a cheese toastie.”
“Cheese on toast? That’s your answer.”
“Why not?” Rhys says a little defensively, “Can’t save the world on an empty stomach.”
“You’re daft, you know that?” Gwen laughs and hugs Rhys. “But I’m so glad I married you.”
Laughing as well now, Rhys kisses Gwen, their troubles temporarily forgotten.
* * *
It's the early hours of the morning when Ianto is woken up by Ruth shaking his shoulder, and whispering urgently to him, "You've got to get up."
Bleary eyed, Ianto looks at her confused, before asking, "What's happening?
"You've getting out of here tonight." Ruth hands Ianto a bag containing a t-shirt, some jeans and a pair of shoes, "And I'm going to help you."
"What's changed?" Ianto asks quietly, pulling the clothes from the bag. It's a surprise that Ruth is doing this, but he isn't about to turn down the offer of help to escape, and he trusts her enough to know that this isn't a trick.
"The research plans. I saw the recommendations made by the board of governors, I wasn’t supposed to see them until tomorrow, but Doctor Munro had them on his desk, and I was curious." Ruth keeps her head turned away as Ianto starts to get dressed. "He’s planning to re-infect a quarter of the patients with the 456 virus to test for continued immunity. Your name was on the list."
Ianto shivers, and not just because the room is cold and he's half-naked. He's not allowed himself to dwell on the details of what he'd thought at the time to be his death, and if he's honest dying in Jack's arms hadn't been the worse way to go. This though, being deliberately re-infected and having Doctor Munro watch and record his last few breaths with clinical dispassion makes his stomach churn.
Not that there's time to really think abut that now. Dressing as quickly as he can, it feels almost surreal to know that in a few short minutes time he'll be on his way to freedom for the first time in months.
"I don't know how long you'll have until they raise the alarm, but it won't be long." Once Ianto has finished dressing Ruth hands him her keycard, saying, "If you can get to one of the doors you can use this to get outside. There's a staff car park to the right of the main entrance, it's got a barrier and there's a security guard, but you might be able to take a car before anyone sees you."
"Any other way out?" Ianto asks, knowing that hotwiring a car is something he's not exactly proficient in. He's sure that given enough time he could manage it, but time isn't going to be something on his side tonight.
Ruth thinks for a moment, "Well if you can get across the lawns without being seen and into the woodland at the edge of the estate there's a river, if you follow it downstream you'll reach Henley in Arden, it's on the mainline between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon. You could catch a train."
Neither of the two options holds any particular appeal, but losing himself in the crowds in Birmingham does sound like it might have a slightly better chance of success.
"You'll need evidence and some money." Ruth gets some of the test notes from her labcoat pocket, before taking thirty pound from out of her purse and handing them both to Ianto.
"Thank you." Ianto takes the papers and the money from her, pushing them into his pockets, asking, "What about the other patients? Are you getting them out as well?"
Ruth shakes her head. "I can't."
"Why me?" Ianto asks walking over to his door and listening for the sounds of anybody moving about in the corridor outside.
"You're Torchwood, you've got connections, you can come back and shut this place down. None of the others stand a chance."
"Will somebody else have to take my place in the test?" Ianto asks, feeling sick at the thought that his freedom could cost of somebody else their life.
"I don't know." Ruth looks at him sadly. "I really don't. I'll try to get them to hold back the tests for a few days, say we need to re-evaluate the test group. Try to get you enough time to get back here and stop them."
"What if they suspect you're involved in my escape?" Ianto hesitates at the door to his room. Ruth has been a good friend to him, the only one he's had in the last six months, and he doesn't want to think what might happen to her if Doctor Munro or anybody else who's in charge finds out she has helped him.
"It doesn't matter. I've been part of this too long, it's time I did something right." Ruth gives him a quick hug. "Now get going, don't let this have been for nothing."
"I won't, I promise." Ianto hugs her back. "And it does matter." Then, heart pounding, Ianto slips out of his room and makes his way quickly and quietly along the empty corridors. Most of the doors he comes to are locked, and even with the key card he knows that it's likely that there will be guards on the exits.
Eventually Ianto finds a door to a ground floor utility room that has been left unlocked. Knowing that every second counts, Ianto climbs up onto the sink to reach the only window in the room. It's small, but Ianto is sure that he'll fit.
Nearly dying, followed six months without takeaways certainly is slimming, Ianto decides as he squeezes through the window. It's still a tight fit, but dropping down on the lawn below Ianto has never been so glad of the bland, healthy food that they've been feeding him.
Ianto waits for a moment listening for any indication that his escape has been noticed. There's nothing, but Ianto doubts it will stay that way for long, and decides that speed rather than stealth is probably the best course of action.
Keeping to the shadows until he's clear of the house, as soon as he is Ianto starts to run, not stopping until he's across the lawns and into the woodland.
It doesn't take Ianto long to find the river. Deep, cold, swiftly flowing, Ianto hesitates knowing that being in the water for any length of time in freezing early March cold would be asking for hypothermia.
The sound of an alarm and the sudden sweep of lights from the clinic, accompanied by the barking of dogs leaves Ianto with no other real option, and with the sounds pursuit coming closer he dives in.
part seven