Fic: The Sea After a Storm (105/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 105
Rating: R
Warnings: Nothing really, just didn't feel like changing the rating
Spoilers: Season Two thru Something Borrowed (2x09)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended! All ©'s to Phil Ford for situations borrowed from Something Borrowed.
Summary: In which the team works on Operation Wedding Mop Up...
Notes: Hope y'all had a great weekend! 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 One Hundred-Five
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: After Jack took care of the Nostrovite with his Really Big Gun, Gwen and Rhys were finally married...
Ianto and Jack danced together for several songs until the next enterprising DJ played something more upbeat. They joined the rest of the team at their table and watched as the party slowly started to wind down.
Jack glanced at his wriststrap and nodded. "Just about right."
"We've got this down to a science," Owen agreed.
"How much longer?" Tosh asked.
"Five, ten minutes."
"Final drink, anyone?" Ianto's offer was met with shaking heads and murmured negatives, so he headed for the bar alone.
Rhys and Gwen were finishing one last dance alone on the dance floor. Ianto caught Rhys' eye and pointed at the bar. Rhys replied with a grateful nod, so Ianto poured two beers after confirming the bartender had gone. Jack had slowly been dismissing all the event staff, making sure the hotel was as empty as possible. Ianto wasn't sure if the plan was to Retcon the remaining staff or just work around them, but he assumed Jack had everything under control.
He walked back to the table where the newlyweds had joined the rest of the team and set one of the glasses of beer by Rhys.
"There you go."
"Cheers, mate," Rhys replied.
There was a moment of silence and then Rhys looked over at the table where the parents of the couple were both sitting. Ianto followed his glance to see Gwen's mum sound asleep with her head on Rhys' mum's shoulder.
"You'd never think a couple of hours ago they all nearly got torn apart by some alien psycho-bitch."
"It's all been a bit too much for my mum and Brenda," Gwen added.
Rhys nodded. "I never thought I'd see that."
Gwen frowned, looking around at the guests, all of whom were either sleeping or at least moving very slowly. When the girl at the DJ station slumped over the equipment, causing a shriek of feedback to echo through the room before everything fell blessedly silent, Gwen looked over at Jack.
"Ooookay, Jack, what's going on?"
"Strange thing," he replied. "When you mix Level Six Retcon with champagne, really makes the party go with a schwing... then you fall asleep."
"You retconned our families?"
Jack gasped and covered his mouth in mock horror at his actions. Then he gave Gwen a dimpled and completely unrepentant grin.
Gwen smiled back. "It's probably for the best. I don't want my mum remembering what happened to her today."
The smile slid off Jack's face and he glanced over at Ianto who nodded at the two full champagne glasses on the table. Jack pushed the glasses over to Rhys and Gwen.
"Maybe the happy couple shouldn't either?" he offered.
Rhys looked at Gwen, clearly ready to take her lead.
"No, thank you," she said firmly. "There'll be no secrets in this marriage."
After a short silence, Owen tapped the coaster he'd been shredding on the table. "Time for bed, I think."
The comment galvanized everyone into action.
"We'll see you after the honeymoon," Rhys said. "Stay out of trouble."
The team slid their chairs back and, one by one, said goodbye to Gwen and Rhys. Gwen gave Ianto a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for the wedding dress.
He smiled and gave her a quick hug. "Take care," he said, turning to shake Rhys' hand as he passed by.
Rhys and Gwen were just out of earshot when Tosh sighed. "Something tells me our bedtime is a long way off," she observed, looking around the room.
Ianto and Owen nodded.
"That's right, guys," Jack confirmed. "It's been a busy day, but we are not finished yet. We've got a lot to do. We've got a major mop-up operation and I want your best work. Remember, it's Gwen's wedding."
The team separated, starting to execute their previously discussed portions of the clean up.
"That's what I love about Torchwood," Ianto reflected as he headed out of the hall. "By day you're chasing the scum of the universe. Come midnight, you're the Wedding Fairy." He heard Owen chuckle as he walked out.
His curiosity about Jack's plan for the hotel staff was satisfied when he arrived in the lobby and found the concierge sound asleep with her head resting on the front desk. Ianto carefully liberated the registration ledger and gave it a quick glance. He was happy to see all the information they'd need was easily accessible and he wouldn't have to try to hack the computer system. Another few minutes of hunting yielded a master key which he tucked in his pocket.
He took the log back to the reception hall where he found Owen pawing through a woman's handbag.
"Got it?" Ianto asked, setting the book on the table.
"Yep... Marie Edmonds... and here's the key."
"Excellent. Edmonds... Edmonds..." Ianto ran his finger down the list of names in the ledger. "David and Marie. Room sixteen. Wager that's David?" he added, pointing at the gentleman snoozing next to Marie.
Owen groaned pathetically and then shifted the portly man slightly so he could pull his wallet out of his back pocket. "We have a winner. Which one d'you want?"
Ianto was considering the couple when Jack joined them.
"Gwen confirmed that everyone still here has a room booked, so that's helpful."
"Looks like having the wedding in the middle of nowhere saved the day," Ianto observed with a quick smile.
Jack gave him a dirty look. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was just up in the groomsman's room... Martin?"
"Mervyn," Ianto and Owen said together.
"Right. Well, Mervyn's room is a complete loss. I think we'd do best to finish it off like an accidental fire - do a controlled burn on the bloodstain, make it look like a stray cigarette or something. There's an extinguisher close to his room. We can use that and then leave it there like he panicked after putting out the fire. I'll talk to the hotel manager after everyone comes in in the morning and settle the bill. Everything else on track?"
"Seems to be. We were able to match this couples names off IDs and they had their key handy. I have the master key if we need it."
"Great. So these two together?"
"Room sixteen."
Jack pulled David Edmonds from his chair and manoeuvred him into a fireman's carry. Owen took the opportunity to shove the man's wallet back into his pocket and then hefted the wife onto his shoulders.
"Let's get this show on the road," he said cheerfully, hitching up Mrs. Edmonds a bit.
As Jack and Owen carried the first two guests to their rooms, Ianto identified the other woman at the table and followed suit. Once in the hotel room, they left the guests on the beds, taking a moment to remove their shoes, loosen ties on the men, take off any hazardous looking jewellery from the women, and then cover them with a blanket. The effect was definitely one of someone who had overindulged and stumbled back to their room to pass out. The hope was that the Retcon had erased the evening back to just before Jack stopped the wedding or thereabouts - before the appearance of the bridesmaid screaming bloody murder. Without any other suggestion, it was likely most of the guests would think it had been one hell of a party and leave it at that. Gwen could always show them photos of the post-Nostrovite ceremony and the reception if need be.
While Jack, Owen and Ianto were shuffling bodies back and forth like resurrection men, Tosh was dealing with the catering cleanup. She muttered about it being sexist that the woman was doing the dishes, but Owen rightly pointed out that she wouldn't be able to carry anyone larger than the flower girl across the hall, let alone up several flights of stairs. He got a dirty look, similar to the one Jack had given Ianto earlier.
The sky was just starting to lighten when Ianto got the final guest to his bed and then joined the others in Mervyn's room where Jack had just finished carefully burning away the bloodstained patch of carpet.
"Nice touch with the drapes," Ianto said.
"Thanks," Jack replied, stomping on the centre of the pile of smouldering curtains one last time before stepping back so Owen could douse the whole mess with the fire extinguisher. "So... Mervyn accidently set the place on fire, tried to put it out with the curtains. Called for help which is when someone grabbed the fire extinguisher and broke the door. They put out the fire together, panicked and fled. Sound good?"
"Poor Mervyn," Tosh said sympathetically as the others nodded their approval.
"Indeed," Ianto agreed.
After they left the room, closing the broken door as best as they could behind them, Jack declared Operation Wedding Clean Up complete. Owen offered to drive Tosh home in her car which she happily accepted.
"Guess that leaves us," Ianto said, leaning a little against Jack as Owen and Tosh headed out.
Jack slid his arm around Ianto and kissed his temple. "I'm tempted to say 'let's get a room' but I'm pretty sure we just filled them all up."
Ianto chuckled.
"Tell you what, I'm going to go see if I can wake up the front desk gal and deal with the charges on Mervyn's room. Why don't you grab a quick nap in the SUV and I'll meet you there when I'm done?"
"Meet you there," Ianto echoed. He stopped himself from giving Jack a kiss, keeping in mind their new agreement to try to distance personal from work. And while they might be in the middle of a romantic hotel, this was definitely a work moment.
When Ianto stepped outside, the sun just peeking over the horizon. He glanced at the SUV and decided there was no way he'd doze off knowing Mervyn's half eaten corpse was resting in the cooler, so he fastened his coat and took a seat on the front step to watch the sun rise while he waited for Jack.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/124802.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: Nothing really, just didn't feel like changing the rating
Spoilers: Season Two thru Something Borrowed (2x09)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended! All ©'s to Phil Ford for situations borrowed from Something Borrowed.
Summary: In which the team works on Operation Wedding Mop Up...
Notes: Hope y'all had a great weekend! 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 One Hundred-Five
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: After Jack took care of the Nostrovite with his Really Big Gun, Gwen and Rhys were finally married...
Ianto and Jack danced together for several songs until the next enterprising DJ played something more upbeat. They joined the rest of the team at their table and watched as the party slowly started to wind down.
Jack glanced at his wriststrap and nodded. "Just about right."
"We've got this down to a science," Owen agreed.
"How much longer?" Tosh asked.
"Five, ten minutes."
"Final drink, anyone?" Ianto's offer was met with shaking heads and murmured negatives, so he headed for the bar alone.
Rhys and Gwen were finishing one last dance alone on the dance floor. Ianto caught Rhys' eye and pointed at the bar. Rhys replied with a grateful nod, so Ianto poured two beers after confirming the bartender had gone. Jack had slowly been dismissing all the event staff, making sure the hotel was as empty as possible. Ianto wasn't sure if the plan was to Retcon the remaining staff or just work around them, but he assumed Jack had everything under control.
He walked back to the table where the newlyweds had joined the rest of the team and set one of the glasses of beer by Rhys.
"There you go."
"Cheers, mate," Rhys replied.
There was a moment of silence and then Rhys looked over at the table where the parents of the couple were both sitting. Ianto followed his glance to see Gwen's mum sound asleep with her head on Rhys' mum's shoulder.
"You'd never think a couple of hours ago they all nearly got torn apart by some alien psycho-bitch."
"It's all been a bit too much for my mum and Brenda," Gwen added.
Rhys nodded. "I never thought I'd see that."
Gwen frowned, looking around at the guests, all of whom were either sleeping or at least moving very slowly. When the girl at the DJ station slumped over the equipment, causing a shriek of feedback to echo through the room before everything fell blessedly silent, Gwen looked over at Jack.
"Ooookay, Jack, what's going on?"
"Strange thing," he replied. "When you mix Level Six Retcon with champagne, really makes the party go with a schwing... then you fall asleep."
"You retconned our families?"
Jack gasped and covered his mouth in mock horror at his actions. Then he gave Gwen a dimpled and completely unrepentant grin.
Gwen smiled back. "It's probably for the best. I don't want my mum remembering what happened to her today."
The smile slid off Jack's face and he glanced over at Ianto who nodded at the two full champagne glasses on the table. Jack pushed the glasses over to Rhys and Gwen.
"Maybe the happy couple shouldn't either?" he offered.
Rhys looked at Gwen, clearly ready to take her lead.
"No, thank you," she said firmly. "There'll be no secrets in this marriage."
After a short silence, Owen tapped the coaster he'd been shredding on the table. "Time for bed, I think."
The comment galvanized everyone into action.
"We'll see you after the honeymoon," Rhys said. "Stay out of trouble."
The team slid their chairs back and, one by one, said goodbye to Gwen and Rhys. Gwen gave Ianto a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for the wedding dress.
He smiled and gave her a quick hug. "Take care," he said, turning to shake Rhys' hand as he passed by.
Rhys and Gwen were just out of earshot when Tosh sighed. "Something tells me our bedtime is a long way off," she observed, looking around the room.
Ianto and Owen nodded.
"That's right, guys," Jack confirmed. "It's been a busy day, but we are not finished yet. We've got a lot to do. We've got a major mop-up operation and I want your best work. Remember, it's Gwen's wedding."
The team separated, starting to execute their previously discussed portions of the clean up.
"That's what I love about Torchwood," Ianto reflected as he headed out of the hall. "By day you're chasing the scum of the universe. Come midnight, you're the Wedding Fairy." He heard Owen chuckle as he walked out.
His curiosity about Jack's plan for the hotel staff was satisfied when he arrived in the lobby and found the concierge sound asleep with her head resting on the front desk. Ianto carefully liberated the registration ledger and gave it a quick glance. He was happy to see all the information they'd need was easily accessible and he wouldn't have to try to hack the computer system. Another few minutes of hunting yielded a master key which he tucked in his pocket.
He took the log back to the reception hall where he found Owen pawing through a woman's handbag.
"Got it?" Ianto asked, setting the book on the table.
"Yep... Marie Edmonds... and here's the key."
"Excellent. Edmonds... Edmonds..." Ianto ran his finger down the list of names in the ledger. "David and Marie. Room sixteen. Wager that's David?" he added, pointing at the gentleman snoozing next to Marie.
Owen groaned pathetically and then shifted the portly man slightly so he could pull his wallet out of his back pocket. "We have a winner. Which one d'you want?"
Ianto was considering the couple when Jack joined them.
"Gwen confirmed that everyone still here has a room booked, so that's helpful."
"Looks like having the wedding in the middle of nowhere saved the day," Ianto observed with a quick smile.
Jack gave him a dirty look. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was just up in the groomsman's room... Martin?"
"Mervyn," Ianto and Owen said together.
"Right. Well, Mervyn's room is a complete loss. I think we'd do best to finish it off like an accidental fire - do a controlled burn on the bloodstain, make it look like a stray cigarette or something. There's an extinguisher close to his room. We can use that and then leave it there like he panicked after putting out the fire. I'll talk to the hotel manager after everyone comes in in the morning and settle the bill. Everything else on track?"
"Seems to be. We were able to match this couples names off IDs and they had their key handy. I have the master key if we need it."
"Great. So these two together?"
"Room sixteen."
Jack pulled David Edmonds from his chair and manoeuvred him into a fireman's carry. Owen took the opportunity to shove the man's wallet back into his pocket and then hefted the wife onto his shoulders.
"Let's get this show on the road," he said cheerfully, hitching up Mrs. Edmonds a bit.
As Jack and Owen carried the first two guests to their rooms, Ianto identified the other woman at the table and followed suit. Once in the hotel room, they left the guests on the beds, taking a moment to remove their shoes, loosen ties on the men, take off any hazardous looking jewellery from the women, and then cover them with a blanket. The effect was definitely one of someone who had overindulged and stumbled back to their room to pass out. The hope was that the Retcon had erased the evening back to just before Jack stopped the wedding or thereabouts - before the appearance of the bridesmaid screaming bloody murder. Without any other suggestion, it was likely most of the guests would think it had been one hell of a party and leave it at that. Gwen could always show them photos of the post-Nostrovite ceremony and the reception if need be.
While Jack, Owen and Ianto were shuffling bodies back and forth like resurrection men, Tosh was dealing with the catering cleanup. She muttered about it being sexist that the woman was doing the dishes, but Owen rightly pointed out that she wouldn't be able to carry anyone larger than the flower girl across the hall, let alone up several flights of stairs. He got a dirty look, similar to the one Jack had given Ianto earlier.
The sky was just starting to lighten when Ianto got the final guest to his bed and then joined the others in Mervyn's room where Jack had just finished carefully burning away the bloodstained patch of carpet.
"Nice touch with the drapes," Ianto said.
"Thanks," Jack replied, stomping on the centre of the pile of smouldering curtains one last time before stepping back so Owen could douse the whole mess with the fire extinguisher. "So... Mervyn accidently set the place on fire, tried to put it out with the curtains. Called for help which is when someone grabbed the fire extinguisher and broke the door. They put out the fire together, panicked and fled. Sound good?"
"Poor Mervyn," Tosh said sympathetically as the others nodded their approval.
"Indeed," Ianto agreed.
After they left the room, closing the broken door as best as they could behind them, Jack declared Operation Wedding Clean Up complete. Owen offered to drive Tosh home in her car which she happily accepted.
"Guess that leaves us," Ianto said, leaning a little against Jack as Owen and Tosh headed out.
Jack slid his arm around Ianto and kissed his temple. "I'm tempted to say 'let's get a room' but I'm pretty sure we just filled them all up."
Ianto chuckled.
"Tell you what, I'm going to go see if I can wake up the front desk gal and deal with the charges on Mervyn's room. Why don't you grab a quick nap in the SUV and I'll meet you there when I'm done?"
"Meet you there," Ianto echoed. He stopped himself from giving Jack a kiss, keeping in mind their new agreement to try to distance personal from work. And while they might be in the middle of a romantic hotel, this was definitely a work moment.
When Ianto stepped outside, the sun just peeking over the horizon. He glanced at the SUV and decided there was no way he'd doze off knowing Mervyn's half eaten corpse was resting in the cooler, so he fastened his coat and took a seat on the front step to watch the sun rise while he waited for Jack.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/124802.html. Please comment there using OpenID.