marita_c | Torchwood Fic: They tell me it happened on a Wednesday (Jack/Ianto, Adult, Part II/III) (Reply)

Part II notes: Those of you who have particularly delicate souls... you may want to give this one a miss.

Part I – Prologue + Chapter 1

Chapter 2 - 11 months later

"What the hell was that?" Jack asks, looking at the monitor over John's shoulder.

John presses a few keys and frowns. "Don't know. Something big. Look at that spike…" He points at the screen. "Bristling with Sigma radiation."

"Can you get a location?" Jack asks.

John types in some data and the coordinates appear on the screen. "Whatever it is, it's forty thousand feet above ground, and it's not moving," he murmurs.

"A spaceship?" Jack asks.

John shakes his head. "The energy readings are all wrong. It doesn't appear to have any sort of engine."

"Then how can it be suspended forty thousand feet above ground?"

"It's not suspended," Gwen interjects.

Jack moves over to her station. "What do you mean?" he asks, and then looks at Gwen's monitor. "That's today's UNIT briefing," he says, then starts reading through it. "No way…" he says after a minute.

"Hey, share with the group, will you?" John yells over to them.

Gwen rolls her chair back to look at him. "The Valiant is passing above us more or less now. This thing, whatever it is, landed on the Valiant."

Jack looks at Gwen and then at John and frowns. "Coincidence?" he asks.

Gwen shrugs. "Let's give them a call up there," she offers.

Jack nods. "Get in touch with the Captain, his name is Atkins, and ask him what's going on. I'm going upstairs to find Claire."

* * *

Jack feels a shiver go down his spine when he steps off the plane and onto the Valiant's landing platform. He didn't expect to find himself back on this ship so soon. Behind him, Claire is surveying their surroundings. She looks unimpressed, but then, Jack thinks, that's how she usually looks. With her shades on, subtle differences are hard to detect.

A man in UNIT uniform approaches them. Jack wants to remind Claire to keep a low profile, but then he notices that she has her earphones on and is making an effort to ignore him completely, so he doesn't bother.

"Lieutenant Stevens," the man introduces himself and Jack nods and shakes his hand.

"Captain Jack Harkness. What have you got?" he asks. If Stevens is in any way bothered by the fact that Jack refrains from introducing his young companion, or by her purple hair and nose ring, he shows no sign of it.

"The object is about fifteen feet in diameter. It's some sort of rock with a high metallic content," Stevens says as he starts leading them into the ship. "Our scanners show that it's hollow, but can't recognize the content." They take a left turn into a narrow hallway.

"Did you try to get inside it?" Jack asks.

"We're working on it. Our head of Operations and Strategy is taking care of the situation personally." They take a lift down to sublevel four, and emerge into a spacious hanger. A large singed rock is sitting in the middle, surrounded by half a dozen people who seem to be assembling something around it. Jack whistles as he takes in the size of the thing.

Beside him, Claire takes off her earphones and tilts her head slightly, as if she's trying to listen to something only audible to her.

"I'm surprised that thing didn't break the ship apart," Jack comments.

"We have a gravity field generator on board," answers Stevens. "It was activated automatically the moment our radar detected the rock, and slowed the descent."

Jack is about to respond when the lift doors open behind them. Stevens turns around and nods. "Commander Jones," he calls.

Jack turns around and has to struggle to keep his jaw from dropping in shock. "Ianto?"

At his tone, Claire turns around as well. Jack's eyes roam over the younger man, whom he's not seen for nearly a year. Ianto is wearing black slacks, a grey shirt and a UNIT jacket. His hair looks a little different, with a few locks falling over his forehead.

Ianto doesn't seem nearly as shocked as Jack is when he looks his former boss up and down.

"Jack. It's been a while," he says genially, stopping a few feet away. His eyes stray to Claire who's looking between him and Jack with a somewhat curious expression. He raises an eyebrow and looks back at Jack. "New recruit?" he asks.

Jack is still staring at him, somewhat nonplussed. "What?" he asks, startled, then finally seems to shake off his daze. "Oh, right! Yes…" he says, now all business again. He looks over at Claire. "This is Claire Tally."

Ianto nods at her and introduces himself. She smiles back, then pushes her sunglasses a little higher up the bridge of her nose. Ianto then looks beyond her at the large rock. "Ah, the laser gun is almost ready." To Jack's questioning look he adds, "Our scanners show that the rock is hollow, but we can't drill through it; the metallic compound is very dense. We're trying lasers now."

"Do you mind if we run a few scans?" Jack asks.

"Be my guest. It'll take at least another half an hour before they get it open."

Jack takes out the scanner but hesitates for a few seconds, looking at Ianto again. "Actually," he starts awkwardly, "Claire can do the scans. Is there somewhere we can go to... catch up?"

Ianto looks at Claire a bit sceptically but finally nods. "My office?" he suggests.

Jack hands the scanner to Claire, who looks none too happy but takes it anyway and starts towards the rock. "Thanks," Jack calls after her, and seems mostly resigned when she ignores him. "Lead the way," he tells Ianto.

Ianto turns to Stevens. "Let me know as soon as they get it open," he says.

Stevens nods. "Of course, sir."

Ianto signals Jack to follow him and proceeds to lead him through a maze of corridors and into a spacious office with a large window showing the night sky. Jack eyes the title on the door ('Ianto Jones' and below it 'Head of Operations and Strategy') before closing it behind him.

"Office with a view," he comments, looking outside.

Ianto goes over to a mini bar and takes out a couple of water bottles, handing one to Jack, who nods in thanks. "Comes with the title," he replies with a shrug.

"That's quite a promotion from 'Diplomatic Affairs'," Jack says. "A quick one, too… been sleeping with the boss?" he jokes.

Ianto blinks. "Old habits die hard," he says.

Jack frowns. "Seriously?"

Ianto just looks at him, his face unreadable, before taking a sip from his water. "How've you been, Jack?" he asks.

Jack clears his throat and turns around, suddenly fascinated by the bookshelf. "Never better."

"And Torchwood?"

"The same, more or less." Jack's mouth twitches. "The archives are a mess…"

"My replacement isn't big on filing?"

Jack turns to look out the window again. "You don't actually have a replacement… well… Claire sits in the tourist office most of the time, but confronted by paperwork she runs screaming. Not to mention cleaning…"

Ianto smirks and walks around the desk. "Hardly shocking… What is she? Fifteen?" he asks before sinking into the large executive leather chair.

"Seventeen. She's… uh… special." Jack looks suddenly uncomfortable, and changes the subject. "So… Gwen came back from maternity leave," he supplies.

Ianto nods. "I know. We… email."

"Oh," Jack says.

There are several long seconds of awkward silence, and finally Jack clears his throat. "What are you doing here, Ianto?"

Ianto looks away from him. "I'm doing quite well, as you yourself said."

Jack shakes his head. "I thought you wanted out. A desk job. Normal life. A family, maybe. I…" he pauses. Sighs. "I let you go, because I wanted you to have those things. Because I thought you wanted them."

"I thought I did too," Ianto says quietly.

Jack looks at him searchingly for a moment, then something in his eyes shifts. "I'm guessing after getting used to saving the world on a weekly basis, sitting behind a desk wasn't really keeping your interest. How long did it take you to request a transfer? A month?"

One corner of Ianto's mouth curves slightly upwards. "Three weeks, actually."

Jack huffs. "You could have come back. How is this better than Torchwood? And don't tell me you're here for the fancy job title, or the big office."

Ianto's eyes lock on his, and the answer is suddenly painfully clear.

"Ah. I see. It's me, then."

Ianto looks away and clears his throat, but doesn't try to deny it.

"It's been nearly a year. Are you really still angry?" Jack asks, his voice not quite steady.

Ianto shakes his head. "I was never angry at you," he says gently.

Jack looks at him questioningly.

"I'm not blind, Jack. You were a mess when you left. And then you came back and you were… better."

Jack's shifts, his posture turning defensive — arms folded across his chest and shoulders hunched.

"I don't know what exactly happened with your brother," Ianto continues. "Mostly because you wouldn't talk about it. And I don't know what the Doctor did for you that Gwen and I couldn't. But it obviously helped."

Jack looks away, face set in a scowl. "If you weren't angry, why did you leave? And more importantly, when are you coming back?"

Ianto sighs, then gets up slowly and walks to the window. "I… don't think I'm coming back."

"Why the hell not?" Jack asks, not bothering to hide his frustration, and then adds more gently, "If you don't want to be… with me… anymore, I can deal with that. It'll be purely professional."

Ianto turns around and smiles. "Jack, you… I don't think you realize what you are, to the people around you." He shakes his head and looks at his feet. "Captain Jack Harkness, a larger than life hero. You shine bright enough to light up the lives of everyone you touch..."

Jack's obvious surprise at the words is gradually replaced by a frown. "I'm foreseeing a 'but' coming up soon…"

Ianto folds his arms across his chest, unconsciously mimicking Jack's posture. "It's like a moth to a flame, isn't it? If one gets too close to you, one gets… burned."

Jack visibly deflates, blinking rapidly a few times. Ianto takes a few steps towards him, stopping just short of touching. "I didn't mean…" he tells Jack, "It's not your…"

"I get it," Jack interrupts. "I'm not here to whine. If you think it's in your best interest to stay here…"

Ianto just nods and they both fall silent for a few moments.

"Tell me there's a bright spot in all of this," Jack says finally, resigned.

"Well…" Ianto smiles tentatively. "That beauty behind you is my brand new Marlinc espresso machine. In less than three minutes I can make you the best cup of coffee you've ever tasted."

Jack lets out a startled laugh and is about to respond when he hears a fragmented voice through his earpiece. Ianto's goes off simultaneously. Jack taps his a couple of times. "Claire? I didn't get that. Say again?" Her voice comes through again, still fragmented, but he manages to discern the words 'open' and 'alive'. "I'm coming," he tells her. Beside him, Ianto is already heading for the door.

Continue to Chapter 3

Part I – Prologue + Chapter 1