Torchwood Fic: They tell me it happened on a Wednesday (Chapter 10)

[marita_c]

Chapter 10         Gwen uses her key to enter the safe house, and finds it mostly dark. The only illumination in the living room comes from the television, the flickering light just allowing her to make out the shape of the room. She finds Jack sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep. Leaving her bags in the kitchen, Gwen quietly goes upstairs and enters the bedroom. The bedside light is on, casting a warm light on Ianto's pale face. Gwen walks further into the room, trying to make as little noise as possible, but freezes as Ianto begins to stir. As his eyes slowly blink open, Ianto takes in his surroundings, gaze still somewhat unfocused from the sedatives, and finally rests his eyes on Gwen. She tries to send him a reassuring smile, but it comes out somewhat watery. "Hey," she says softly. "Hey," he replies in a hoarse whisper. He pushes himself slowly, painfully, into a sitting position, his back against the headboard. He looks around the room again, and finally settles to stare out of the window. "Is this real?" he rasps, and the words are slurred. Gwen comes closer and sits on the edge of the bed. Ianto glances at her wearily. "It's real, Ianto. You're safe. Jack and Martha brought you back from that place," she says. "We're in the safe house, Jack is downstairs. I can call him over, if you want," she offers. Ianto is looking out the window again, and Gwen isn't sure that he heard a word of what she said. "I brought soup. Would you like a cup?" she tries. Ianto slowly turns to look at her, but he doesn't seem to know how to answer her question. Gwen sends him a tight smile, her bottom lip quivering. "I'll be right back," she says, and quickly leaves the room.    *** Jack wakes up slowly and it takes him a moment to remember where he is. When everything comes back to him he sits up with a jolt. He didn't intend to fall asleep. He can smell food, and hear a soft voice coming from upstairs. Gwen's. Jack rises from the sofa and slowly climbs the stairs, stopping short in the bedroom doorway. "… has your eyes. I bet she grows up to be a real beauty."   Ianto is awake, sitting up in bed. Gwen is sitting on the edge of the bed, right beside him, helping him put both hands around a large mug. "It's Rhys' speciality. Even little Andrew seems to enjoy it." When Ianto manages to get a firm grip on the mug, Gwen pulls away carefully. He takes a small sip, then slowly lowers the mug to his lap. "S'good," he mumbles. "Drink up, then. You need to get your strength up," Gwen says. Something crosses Ianto's eyes, but he just lifts the mug to his lips again and drinks. Jack shifts in his place, and the movement draws Ianto and Gwen's attention. Ianto tenses up slightly, and regards Jack with wary eyes, not saying anything. "I didn't want to wake you," Gwen explains. "You looked like you could use the rest."   Jack nods absentmindedly, eyes fixed on Ianto. Ianto looks away from him, and back at Gwen. "What day is it?" he asks her. "It's Tuesday," she replies, and at his blank stare, adds, "October 23. It's only been four days, for us." "Oh," Ianto says softly, and glances at Jack again. He drinks more soup, then hands the mug back to Gwen. "More?" she asks, and he shakes his head no. Gwen nods, and gets up, turns to take the mug back to the kitchen. When she goes past Jack, their eyes meet and lock for a brief second. Once she's gone Jack takes a couple of steps into the room. Ianto is avoiding his eyes, instead inspecting the gauze wrapped around his wrists. He picks at the edge a little, trying to look underneath. Jack clears his throat. "There are painkillers here for you, if you need them," he says. Ianto glances up briefly and shakes his head. "I'm… tired." Jack nods. "Go back to sleep, then. If you need anything… I'll be right in the other room." *** Jack is deep in thought, half watching some black and white movie on TV with the sound turned off. A soft sound from the direction of the other bedroom catches his attention, and he's on his feet before he even realizes it. The bedroom is dark except for a small area by the foot of the bed, illuminated by slivers of moonlight filtering through the partially open blinds. In the dim, bluish light, Ianto's face seems unnaturally pale. It's twisted in what looks like extreme anguish, and Jack can hear Ianto's rapid breathing, accompanied by an occasional distressed whimper. It makes Jack's gut twist.   He leans over Ianto and gently takes hold of his upper arms. "Ianto," he calls. "Wake up, come on…" he shakes him gently. For a moment, Ianto twists in his grip, and then his eyes snap open, huge and unseeing, and he screams, struggling to escape Jack's hold. "Ianto! It's not real, come back to me," Jack says, trying to get through to him. A hint of recognition flashes in Ianto's eyes, and he stills, breathing harshly. He blinks once, and makes a small sound in his throat. "Just a dream," Jack says gently. "Let go," Ianto breathes, and Jack releases him. Ianto scrambles away from the bed, and takes a few shaky steps to the other side of the room. He turns around, leans his back against the wall and slowly sinks to the floor. He sits there, knees pressed against his chest, the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes, and Jack can see he's shaking all over. His ragged breaths sound harsh in the quiet room. "Take it away," Ianto says abruptly. "I don't… I don't want to remember." Jack shakes his head, his eyes bright. "I can't. I'm sorry. They put something in your blood… Retcon could kill you," he says, his voice cracking. Ianto moves his hands away and fixes Jack with a dark, haunted glare. "I'm willing to take the risk," he says, emphasizing the words. Jack's eyes widen. "I'm not," he says harshly. "I've lost my daughter to these monsters. I will not lose you too," he says. Ianto looks away and there's a moment of silence. Then his face twists in pain. "I… I tried to save her. Every day I…" a sob escapes him. "I'm so sorry." Jack rises from the bed, and comes to kneel in front of the younger man, looking at him intently. "Don't… this is not what I meant. None of this is your fault, Ianto." The younger man looks down at his knees and tangles his hands in his hair. Jack reaches a hand out, but stops himself before touching Ianto's knee. "A couple of months… we'll do another blood test, make sure you're clear. If you still want the Retcon then, I give you my word you'll have it." Ianto lets out a sharp, painful laugh. "Two months…" he says, and shakes his head. But when he looks up at Jack again, he seems like he's starting to calm down. His eyes focus on something over Jack's shoulder, and when Jack turns his head in that direction he realizes Ianto is staring at the black duffle bag resting on a chair by the door. "Uh… that was in the back of the car you drove when you came to Cardiff. It has some of your clothes…" Jack trails off as Ianto climbs to his feet, his face set in a frown. When Ianto reaches the chair, however, he ignores the large bag and instead reaches beneath it and pulls out a plastic 'biohazard' bag containing a pair of dirty, dark grey pants, neatly folded. "Oh," Jack starts. "They gave them to me at the hospital, I was going to throw them away…" He trails off again as Ianto, ignoring him, opens the bag and pulls out the pants. He turns them until he finds the back pocket, then reaches inside. Carefully, he pulls out about half a dozen small notes, each no bigger than a post-it. Jack manages to discern that they're covered with condensed handwriting. Ianto lets the pants fall to the floor, and stares at the bunched notes for a moment, his face unreadable. He then blinks rapidly a few times and looks up at Jack. "The baby…" he says softly, "I think I'll name her Ann."

Continue to Chapter 11