Welsh Weather
Title: Welsh Weather
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones
Rating: 15
Words: 1992
Spoilers: S2E1
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Hypothermia"
Author's Note: As always, comments and criticism are welcome and would help me to improve.
Author's Note 2: Many thanks to iantojjackh for the idea.
Ianto was woken by the alarm. He rolled over to hit the snooze button and came face to face with a sleepy looking Jack. “Morning gorgeous” he said as he stopped the alarm and snuggled into Jack’s embrace.
“Hmm good morning”, Jack replied as he kissed the Welshman softly before proceeding to say good morning in a way that left them both very satisfied.
Last night had been the first night they had spent together since Jack got back a little over a week ago. They had been on that first date that Jack had promised. Jack had been the perfect gentleman, picking Ianto up and taking him out to the nice Chinese place on the quay. Not a very original idea for a date, granted, but it was exactly what Ianto wanted - something normal.
Afterwards, Jack had asked Ianto if he wanted to go and see a film, but it had been a long day so Ianto opted to just head back to his flat and relax with a couple of bottles of beer before going to bed.
Once there, Jack had worshipped Ianto’s body, making him feel like he was the only person in the world, and Ianto started to believe that maybe, just maybe, Jack had meant it when he said he came back for him.
When they had got their breath back, ianto extracted himself from Jack’s embrace and fetched a cloth from the bathroom and cleaned them both up. Then he put on his robe and headed for the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Jack called.
“Coffee. I’m assuming you want one?”
“Oh yes please!”
A few minutes later Ianto returned and handed Jack his perfect cup of rich black nectar. Then he went to the window and drew the curtains. “It looks wild out there!” he exclaimed seeing the sleet lashing down onto the icy street and the trees bending in the strong wind. “Good old bracing welsh weather!” he laughed as he finished his drink. “Come along Jack, time to face the day.”
“Do we have to?” Jack whined, pulling the covers closer.
“Yes” said Ianto pulling them off him. “I’m not letting a bit of sleet get in the way of our day off!” Jack grabbed for the covers, “Please Ianto,” he said “Don’t go out in that.”
“Don’t be such a baby”, Ianto laughed.
“No, seriously, please.” Jack begged, his tone of voice stopping Ianto in his tracks.
“Jack? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Jack lied petulantly, “I just don’t want to get cold and wet.”
“We live in wales Jack. If you don’t want us to go out in the cold and wet, we’re going to be stuck inside for at least three hundred days out of the year. Anyway, you’ve never worried about it before.”
“Please don’t.” Jack said in a small voice, closing his eyes with a shudder.
Ianto relented and climbed back into the bed, sitting next to his lover and taking his hand. It wasn’t unusual for Jack to act like a spoilt child to get his own way, but this was different. He did actually look genuinely scared. Something had changed since he went away and Ianto was going to find out what and help Jack to find his confidence again.
“What happened whilst you were away Jack?” he asked gently. Jack turned and looked up at him. He saw nothing but love and support in those blue eyes.
Jack sighed and pulled Ianto down into the bed so that they were laid next to each other, Jack spooned around his young lover’s back, holding him close, drawing strength.
“I suppose I can’t hide it from you any longer. When I went with the doctor it wasn’t all fun and games. And we were gone for a lot longer than it seemed to you. But then you probably worked that much out.”
Ianto held tight to Jack’s arms where they wrapped around his chest. “I do know everything remember,” he said with a smile.
“Yeah, which is why I know you’ll find this out eventually so I might as well tell you. I’m sorry I left in such a hurry. I didn’t think I needed to leave a note because the TARDIS is a time machine. The Doctor could have me back before you even knew I’d gone. Jack looked up at Ianto, his eyes pleading, “I had to go. I couldn’t miss him. I’d been waiting nearly two hundred years to see him again so that he could fix me.”
“It’s ok.” Ianto soothed, “I understand.”
“Yeah. Well, the Doctor said I was wrong. I guess the TARDIS thought so too. She tried to shake me off and we wound up at the end of the universe. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we found another Timelord. But this one, the Master was mad, evil. He stole the TARDIS, but the doctor managed to lock it so the only time and place it could travel to was the last place it had been. Here and now. “
“OK…”
“Then the doctor fixed my wrist strap so we could use it to teleport home. I tried to call you then, but you were unavailable. I found out later that the master had sent you all on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas.” Jack practically spat this last bit out, his hatred of the Master for doing that to his team evident.
“What? Why did he tell you that?”
Jack swallowed hard and held Ianto closer. “Because he had.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a long story. In a nutshell, the Master had used a mobile phone network as a kind of psychic mind control thing. He got everyone to vote him into office as Prime Minister so that he could use his position of power to help him destroy the world. We, that is the doctor, his companion Martha and I, were captured as we tried to stop him. The Master did something to the Doctor, reversed his regenerations so that he showed all his nine hundred plus years. Martha used my wrist strap to get back to earth to organise the populace to use the Master’s psychic network against him and free the doctor, so that he could save the world.” Jack’s grip tightened again on his lover as he finished quietly “But it took her a whole year to do it. In that time the doctor and I and Martha’s family were held hostage.”
Ianto was aware that Jack was just glossing over the details of what had happened, giving him a very condensed version, but he didn’t mind. Jack would tell the full story over time and Ianto would piece all the little bits of information together and be there to help jack through and piece him back together.
Ianto reached behind him and threaded his fingers through Jack’s hair. “What did he do to you?” he whispered.
Jack took Ianto’s hand and kissed it before holding Ianto close again, wrapping his arms around his lover, holding both of his hands. “He tortured me. Every day for a couple of months. But I didn’t mind, because whilst he was torturing me he was leaving Martha’s family alone. Then one day, he took it too far. He killed me. But then I came back.” Jack paused. Ianto wanted to turn and comfort him, but was aware that Jack was probably holding him like that so that he could say what he needed to say without seeing Ianto’s sympathy and love, so that he could get the words out.
So instead, Ianto just shifted slightly so that he could wrap his legs in Jack’s to offer support by maximising their contact. Jack nuzzled into Ianto’s neck, grateful for the silent support. “My resurrection interested the Master, so he spent the next several months finding more and more inventive ways to kill me and timed how long it would take for me to come back from each one.”
Ianto bit his lip, to keep from crying out and interrupting Jack’s flow.
“But even that didn’t break my spirit, didn’t get the result he wanted. So he found new ways to torture me. He showed me satellite pictures of his pet robot spheres destroying the planet, killing people, wiping out entire cities.” Ianto extricated a hand from Jack’s grip and reached behind him to put his hand on Jack’s hip, cuddling him as best he could from this awkward position. “Again, I didn’t let that break me, but my subconscious must have weekend. I cried out in my sleep for you.” Jack admitted with a sob.
Ianto’s heart swelled and he held Jack’s hand to his lips and kissed him tenderly.
“The master put two and two together. He knew I was with Torchwood, which is why he had sent you all to the Himalayas to keep you out of the way. He realised that it must have been you that I wanted to see. So he found you on the satellite imaging. You were all stuck on the mountain in freezing conditions. He left me watching you for days, slowly weakening, dying. Owen went first. Then Gwen.”
Ianto felt Jack’s hot tears on the back of his neck. “Then for another two days I watched you and Tosh, huddled together for warmth, trying to keep each other’s spirits up. The Master somehow zoomed the image in on your face, so I could watch your last hour, your lips forming my name as you finally gave into the hypothermia. Tosh held your body until she too eventually succumbed.” Ianto did turn around then. Jack had said all that he could and Ianto needed to hold him. He held Jack flush against him, getting as close as possible, wrapping his arms tightly around his lover and entwining their legs.
“Sh, it’s ok Jack. I’m here. I’ll always be here, for you.”
“But you died! I don’t want to lose you!”
“I didn’t die Jack, I’m here with you now.”
“Only because the Doctor managed to create a time paradox which wiped out the year that the Master was in control. Nobody except the people in the heart of the paradox on the valiant can remember it, but it did really happen. You all died.”
“Then we’ve been given a second chance,” Ianto said, stroking Jack’s face, forcing him to look at him. “Let’s make the most of it.” Ianto lent in and kissed his partner softly, then drew back and just held him.
When Jack had calmed Ianto said. “You don’t need to worry about the cold weather. I promise not to go on any crazy missions to frozen mountains.” Jack managed a weak smile with him, “and you’ve heard the saying about there being no bad weather, just bad equipment and clothing. Well, I’m a Welshboy born and bred. I know all about bad weather and I am always prepared for anything. As soon as the weather starts to turn in the autumn I make sure to have spare warm coats, waterproofs and boots for all of us in the SUV. We won’t get caught out.” Jack kissed Ianto then “what would I do without you. You really do think of everything.”
“Yup I do. And I have an idea. Wait there, I’ll be right back.”
And with that Ianto got out of the bed, and returned a minute later with two sets of thermal underwear, ski trousers and jackets and woolly hats and thermal gloves “Trust me?” he asked Jack.
“Yes…” said Jack, sounding unsure.
“There is nothing better than driving out to the rural coast and watching the wild stormy sea in weather like this. As long as you are properly wrapped up and have someone to cuddle up with and share stories and drink coffee or hot chocolate.”
Jack kissed his lover softly, wondering how he ever coped without him. “Go and make the coffee then.”
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones
Rating: 15
Words: 1992
Spoilers: S2E1
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Hypothermia"
Author's Note: As always, comments and criticism are welcome and would help me to improve.
Author's Note 2: Many thanks to iantojjackh for the idea.
Ianto was woken by the alarm. He rolled over to hit the snooze button and came face to face with a sleepy looking Jack. “Morning gorgeous” he said as he stopped the alarm and snuggled into Jack’s embrace.
“Hmm good morning”, Jack replied as he kissed the Welshman softly before proceeding to say good morning in a way that left them both very satisfied.
Last night had been the first night they had spent together since Jack got back a little over a week ago. They had been on that first date that Jack had promised. Jack had been the perfect gentleman, picking Ianto up and taking him out to the nice Chinese place on the quay. Not a very original idea for a date, granted, but it was exactly what Ianto wanted - something normal.
Afterwards, Jack had asked Ianto if he wanted to go and see a film, but it had been a long day so Ianto opted to just head back to his flat and relax with a couple of bottles of beer before going to bed.
Once there, Jack had worshipped Ianto’s body, making him feel like he was the only person in the world, and Ianto started to believe that maybe, just maybe, Jack had meant it when he said he came back for him.
When they had got their breath back, ianto extracted himself from Jack’s embrace and fetched a cloth from the bathroom and cleaned them both up. Then he put on his robe and headed for the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Jack called.
“Coffee. I’m assuming you want one?”
“Oh yes please!”
A few minutes later Ianto returned and handed Jack his perfect cup of rich black nectar. Then he went to the window and drew the curtains. “It looks wild out there!” he exclaimed seeing the sleet lashing down onto the icy street and the trees bending in the strong wind. “Good old bracing welsh weather!” he laughed as he finished his drink. “Come along Jack, time to face the day.”
“Do we have to?” Jack whined, pulling the covers closer.
“Yes” said Ianto pulling them off him. “I’m not letting a bit of sleet get in the way of our day off!” Jack grabbed for the covers, “Please Ianto,” he said “Don’t go out in that.”
“Don’t be such a baby”, Ianto laughed.
“No, seriously, please.” Jack begged, his tone of voice stopping Ianto in his tracks.
“Jack? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Jack lied petulantly, “I just don’t want to get cold and wet.”
“We live in wales Jack. If you don’t want us to go out in the cold and wet, we’re going to be stuck inside for at least three hundred days out of the year. Anyway, you’ve never worried about it before.”
“Please don’t.” Jack said in a small voice, closing his eyes with a shudder.
Ianto relented and climbed back into the bed, sitting next to his lover and taking his hand. It wasn’t unusual for Jack to act like a spoilt child to get his own way, but this was different. He did actually look genuinely scared. Something had changed since he went away and Ianto was going to find out what and help Jack to find his confidence again.
“What happened whilst you were away Jack?” he asked gently. Jack turned and looked up at him. He saw nothing but love and support in those blue eyes.
Jack sighed and pulled Ianto down into the bed so that they were laid next to each other, Jack spooned around his young lover’s back, holding him close, drawing strength.
“I suppose I can’t hide it from you any longer. When I went with the doctor it wasn’t all fun and games. And we were gone for a lot longer than it seemed to you. But then you probably worked that much out.”
Ianto held tight to Jack’s arms where they wrapped around his chest. “I do know everything remember,” he said with a smile.
“Yeah, which is why I know you’ll find this out eventually so I might as well tell you. I’m sorry I left in such a hurry. I didn’t think I needed to leave a note because the TARDIS is a time machine. The Doctor could have me back before you even knew I’d gone. Jack looked up at Ianto, his eyes pleading, “I had to go. I couldn’t miss him. I’d been waiting nearly two hundred years to see him again so that he could fix me.”
“It’s ok.” Ianto soothed, “I understand.”
“Yeah. Well, the Doctor said I was wrong. I guess the TARDIS thought so too. She tried to shake me off and we wound up at the end of the universe. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we found another Timelord. But this one, the Master was mad, evil. He stole the TARDIS, but the doctor managed to lock it so the only time and place it could travel to was the last place it had been. Here and now. “
“OK…”
“Then the doctor fixed my wrist strap so we could use it to teleport home. I tried to call you then, but you were unavailable. I found out later that the master had sent you all on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas.” Jack practically spat this last bit out, his hatred of the Master for doing that to his team evident.
“What? Why did he tell you that?”
Jack swallowed hard and held Ianto closer. “Because he had.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a long story. In a nutshell, the Master had used a mobile phone network as a kind of psychic mind control thing. He got everyone to vote him into office as Prime Minister so that he could use his position of power to help him destroy the world. We, that is the doctor, his companion Martha and I, were captured as we tried to stop him. The Master did something to the Doctor, reversed his regenerations so that he showed all his nine hundred plus years. Martha used my wrist strap to get back to earth to organise the populace to use the Master’s psychic network against him and free the doctor, so that he could save the world.” Jack’s grip tightened again on his lover as he finished quietly “But it took her a whole year to do it. In that time the doctor and I and Martha’s family were held hostage.”
Ianto was aware that Jack was just glossing over the details of what had happened, giving him a very condensed version, but he didn’t mind. Jack would tell the full story over time and Ianto would piece all the little bits of information together and be there to help jack through and piece him back together.
Ianto reached behind him and threaded his fingers through Jack’s hair. “What did he do to you?” he whispered.
Jack took Ianto’s hand and kissed it before holding Ianto close again, wrapping his arms around his lover, holding both of his hands. “He tortured me. Every day for a couple of months. But I didn’t mind, because whilst he was torturing me he was leaving Martha’s family alone. Then one day, he took it too far. He killed me. But then I came back.” Jack paused. Ianto wanted to turn and comfort him, but was aware that Jack was probably holding him like that so that he could say what he needed to say without seeing Ianto’s sympathy and love, so that he could get the words out.
So instead, Ianto just shifted slightly so that he could wrap his legs in Jack’s to offer support by maximising their contact. Jack nuzzled into Ianto’s neck, grateful for the silent support. “My resurrection interested the Master, so he spent the next several months finding more and more inventive ways to kill me and timed how long it would take for me to come back from each one.”
Ianto bit his lip, to keep from crying out and interrupting Jack’s flow.
“But even that didn’t break my spirit, didn’t get the result he wanted. So he found new ways to torture me. He showed me satellite pictures of his pet robot spheres destroying the planet, killing people, wiping out entire cities.” Ianto extricated a hand from Jack’s grip and reached behind him to put his hand on Jack’s hip, cuddling him as best he could from this awkward position. “Again, I didn’t let that break me, but my subconscious must have weekend. I cried out in my sleep for you.” Jack admitted with a sob.
Ianto’s heart swelled and he held Jack’s hand to his lips and kissed him tenderly.
“The master put two and two together. He knew I was with Torchwood, which is why he had sent you all to the Himalayas to keep you out of the way. He realised that it must have been you that I wanted to see. So he found you on the satellite imaging. You were all stuck on the mountain in freezing conditions. He left me watching you for days, slowly weakening, dying. Owen went first. Then Gwen.”
Ianto felt Jack’s hot tears on the back of his neck. “Then for another two days I watched you and Tosh, huddled together for warmth, trying to keep each other’s spirits up. The Master somehow zoomed the image in on your face, so I could watch your last hour, your lips forming my name as you finally gave into the hypothermia. Tosh held your body until she too eventually succumbed.” Ianto did turn around then. Jack had said all that he could and Ianto needed to hold him. He held Jack flush against him, getting as close as possible, wrapping his arms tightly around his lover and entwining their legs.
“Sh, it’s ok Jack. I’m here. I’ll always be here, for you.”
“But you died! I don’t want to lose you!”
“I didn’t die Jack, I’m here with you now.”
“Only because the Doctor managed to create a time paradox which wiped out the year that the Master was in control. Nobody except the people in the heart of the paradox on the valiant can remember it, but it did really happen. You all died.”
“Then we’ve been given a second chance,” Ianto said, stroking Jack’s face, forcing him to look at him. “Let’s make the most of it.” Ianto lent in and kissed his partner softly, then drew back and just held him.
When Jack had calmed Ianto said. “You don’t need to worry about the cold weather. I promise not to go on any crazy missions to frozen mountains.” Jack managed a weak smile with him, “and you’ve heard the saying about there being no bad weather, just bad equipment and clothing. Well, I’m a Welshboy born and bred. I know all about bad weather and I am always prepared for anything. As soon as the weather starts to turn in the autumn I make sure to have spare warm coats, waterproofs and boots for all of us in the SUV. We won’t get caught out.” Jack kissed Ianto then “what would I do without you. You really do think of everything.”
“Yup I do. And I have an idea. Wait there, I’ll be right back.”
And with that Ianto got out of the bed, and returned a minute later with two sets of thermal underwear, ski trousers and jackets and woolly hats and thermal gloves “Trust me?” he asked Jack.
“Yes…” said Jack, sounding unsure.
“There is nothing better than driving out to the rural coast and watching the wild stormy sea in weather like this. As long as you are properly wrapped up and have someone to cuddle up with and share stories and drink coffee or hot chocolate.”
Jack kissed his lover softly, wondering how he ever coped without him. “Go and make the coffee then.”