Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 83
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just more Zombie!Owen ;-)
Spoilers: Season Two thru A Day in the Death (2x08)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Joseph Lidster for situations and dialogue borrowed from Dead Man Walking. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which we find out what Jack was thinking...
Notes: Happy Birthday week to one of my best commenters - hope you had a great day,
reddevilpoes! You can find all the previous chapters of
The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to
Vizzini’s Rule and
To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Eighty-Three
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: Jack and Ianto had a serious disagreement over Jack's actions to save Owen...
Ianto shut off his alarm and lay back in bed, letting his eyes adjust to the near darkness of the room before attempting to get up. Five-thirty always seemed unbearably early in the winter, and it was especially painful after sleeping for the last two days and lying awake most of the night. Ianto sighed and hauled himself up before he fell back asleep. He stumbled to the shower and let the hot water pound down on him until he felt human again.
He dressed with care, choosing a black pinstripe suit with a waistcoat and a crisp white shirt. His hands lingered over his ties for a moment, finally selecting a heavy, dark-red silk. His eyes narrowed at his reflection as he tied his usual Windsor knot, remembering that it was one of Jack's favourites. He almost pulled the tie off and chose a different one, but he told himself he was being ridiculous.
He hadn't heard from Jack since their argument beyond the text message to the entire team. Part of him was relieved - he had still been angry and not particularly ready to speak reasonably about the situation. However, the fact that Jack hadn't even tried to contact him hurt Ianto more than he wanted to admit. He hoped they might have a few moments to talk before the day began even as he worried about what Jack might say.
Shaking off his melancholy, Ianto gathered up his wallet, keys and coat and drove to the Hub. His hopes of finding Jack alone were dashed the second the cog door rolled back.
"Tosh, you're here early," he noted, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.
She turned from her computer and looked at him over the rims of her glasses. "Five. O. Clock. Five," she repeated. "Jack calls me and tells me to get in here. Five!"
Ianto raised his eyebrows at her vehemence. "Coffee?" he offered tentatively. After all, that's all I'm good for, he thought spitefully.
"God, yes."
His eyes flicked to the office as he walked by, but he didn't see Jack. When he brought Tosh her cup of coffee and some flapjacks with sultanas, he asked, "So what was so important at five a.m.?"
"Oh, God, thank you," she said taking a sip of the coffee as she tore open the package of flapjacks eagerly. "Energy spike," she explained as she chewed. "It is strange, but as far as I can tell, it's not remotely important. Definitely not five a.m. important. I have no idea what bug crawled up Jack's arse this morning."
At Ianto's surprised look, Tosh rolled her eyes and swallowed a mouthful of the flapjack. "Sorry, I'm tired. And I haven't even showered yet," she complained, motioning to her oversized sweatshirt and jeans.
"Can I help? With... er... any of that?"
"Would you? Oh, thanks, Ianto. If you can just keep an eye on the monitor here and note any energy spikes near this address - anything over this level here - that would be great. I'll just pop down to the locker room and freshen up."
"Take your time," he said, heading back to the coffee maker to get himself a cup.
He'd been settled at Tosh's workstation for some time when Jack finally put in a appearance. He called out from his office before he'd actually entered the Hub. "Tosh! So what do we have? Is there any... oh. Ianto."
"Good morning, sir," Ianto said calmly, not looking away from the display in front of him. "Tosh stepped away so I'm monitoring the spikes for the moment."
"Ah. Uh..." Jack cleared his throat. "Anything significant?"
"Doesn't appear so." Ianto fought to keep his voice even. "You can look over her log if you like."
"It can wait," Jack said.
There was a long moment of silence while Ianto stared assiduously at the monitor, not letting his gaze drift toward Jack. For his part, Jack stood in his office doorway, swaying slightly as if he couldn't make up his mind whether to go back or come out. Ianto watched him out of the corner of his eye, wondering what he would decide. Finally, Jack stepped out into the Hub. Ianto held his breath.
"Thanks, Ianto!" Tosh called out from the top of the stairs. She was dressed in a purple sweater and a black skirt, looking and sounding much more like her usual self. "Oh, Jack, the readings have been steady since we last spoke. A few surges, but nothing like the big one."
Ianto stood to let Tosh take her place back at her workstation. As he stepped back, Jack walked closer.
"Any coffee, Ianto?" Jack asked, looking at Tosh's log instead of Ianto as he spoke.
Ianto froze for a moment and bit back his first snide response. "Yes, sir," he said mildly.
"Good, grab me a cup," Jack ordered, adding a belated and half-hearted, "Thanks."
Tosh shot a surprised glance between the two of them, but didn't comment when Ianto replied.
"Yes, sir," he said through clenched teeth and then, in more relaxed tones, "Tosh, a refill?"
"Yes, thanks, Ianto," she said, looking between them again.
A few minutes later, Ianto deposited their full mugs of coffee at Tosh's workstation and retreated to his own computer. Martha was the next one in, around eight. She and Jack had a long conversation in his office, where Jack had been most of the morning, and then headed straight to Ianto when they were finished.
"Morning, Ianto. Jack says I'm to talk to you about accommodations. I'm going to be... well, staying on for a few more days at least. I'm fine with the hotel, if it's okay that I keep staying there. He said you were the one to talk to."
"Already taken care of," Ianto said with a smile. "You'll just need to tell the front desk the night before you plan to check out and they'll have everything taken care of."
"Wonderful! Thanks, Ianto. You really are -"
Whatever he was was drowned by Jack's bellowing Ianto's name from his desk.
Martha looked surprised at Jack's tone, but Ianto just gave her a tight smile. "Excuse me."
He steeled himself before he entered Jack's office, taking a deep breath and straightening his tie.
"Yes, sir?"
Jack glanced up from his desk, but only raised his eyes as far as Ianto's knees. "Owen's on his way in. I'll need your assistance when I relieve him of his duties. You can get started on the paperwork now."
"Will that be all, sir?" Ianto asked, a bit of an edge in his voice.
Jack flinched slightly but simply nodded and waved Ianto away.
Stung, Ianto headed back to his desk and pulled up the forms he would need to complete for Owen's suspension. While they loaded on the screen, he pulled out a spare holster and fastened it under his jacket. God, this sucks. He hesitated for a moment over the forms once they'd been populated with the standard data, but since Jack hadn't specifically stated that he was sacking Owen, Ianto only printed out the temporary suspension form. If I'm wrong, I'm sure Jack will let me know, he thought sourly, in great detail.
He had almost completed the form when Owen finally came in. Jack called them both into his office before Owen had even removed his jacket. Ianto stood to the back whilst Jack took a seat at his desk.
"Morning," Owen said as he joined them. "What's going on?"
Jack rested his arms on his desk, tapping his fingertips together. When he spoke, he addressed his comments to the wall, not looking directly at Owen. "Doctor Owen Harper, Torchwood Officer 565, I'm relieving you of your position."
"Bollocks!" Owen said immediately. "I'm sorry, Jack, this is bollocks!"
"Hand in your weapon and your security pass," Jack continued in that same cold voice.
"But why? I'm fine," Owen protested.
"Three days ago you died," Jack said, looking up for a second. "We need to examine you. We need to find out what you are." Jack dropped his eyes. "We need to be certain you're okay."
"Yeah, well, it almost sounds as if you care," Owen scoffed. "Well done."
Jack finally looked directly at Owen. "Until I'm confident you're fit for duty, Martha Jones will replace you as Torchwood's new medical officer."
Ianto glanced out at the Hub to where Martha was talking quietly to Tosh, wishing he were somewhere - anywhere - else. A nice bog, perhaps, or a nest of weevils...
"She's doing all right out of this, isn't she?" Owen sneered.
Jack stood. "She's worked out a series of test and examinations."
"And what if I refuse?" Owen turned slightly as Jack strode over to him, looming over him menacingly.
"You'll be confined to the cells," Jack said.
Ianto stepped forward at that, moving to Owen's side in a show of support. Jack either didn't register Ianto's movement or he didn't care. He kept talking.
"The tests will be done. And if the results show that you're a danger to the team, appropriate steps will be taken."
Owen turned away as Jack stepped even closer.
"I'm asking you, Owen. Please." Jack sounded more like himself than he had all morning. "Let us help you. Let us make sure you're safe."
After a painful pause, Ianto said quietly, "I'm gonna need your gun."
Owen turned and looked at him with such pain on his face that Ianto nearly faltered. It took a long moment, but Owen finally pulled his gun from under his jacket and handed to Ianto.
"And your security pass." Ianto holstered Owen's gun, the weight at his back feeling a hundred times heavier than the gun itself. He cursed Jack again silently as Owen gave him another disbelieving look. "Please..." he added softly.
Owen crossed his arms protectively over his chest as Ianto sealed his badge in an evidence bag. "And how long are Doctor Jones' test going to take?" he asked.
"As long as they need to," Jack said, the coldness back in his voice. He moved back behind his desk.
"And what the hell am I supposed to do in the meantime?!" Owen shouted.
Jack shrugged carelessly and picked up his blue striped mug. "We always need someone to make coffee," he suggested.
"Oh, no," Owen said.
Oh no, Ianto thought.
TBC...
.
This entry was originally posted at
http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/112991.html. Please comment there using
OpenID.