Fic: Vizzini's Rule (13/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 13
Rating: R
Warnings: A bad word
Spoilers: Cyberwoman (1x4)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which Jack and Ianto talk...
Notes: Comments and con/crit much appreciated. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and encouraging me to keep writing!! :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Thirteen
They stood motionless for a moment, each man frozen in place. Jack - a wide-legged stance, gun drawn and pointed at Ianto. Ianto - mouth hanging open, holding the sides of the broken picture frame.
Jack moved first, quickly aiming his Webley safely at the ceiling. He holstered the gun as he watched Ianto who was still just standing there. Looking uncomfortable, Jack spoke. “I heard a crashing sound and I thought…well, I don’t really know what I thought but it didn’t sound good.”
Ianto just stared at him.
Jack closed the damaged door best he could and stepped cautiously into the room. Ianto finally moved, tossing the remains of the picture frame to the side. He stood up straight and faced Jack. With bravado that he didn’t feel he asked, “Have you decided then?”
“Decided what?”
“What…what you’re going to do to me,” Ianto replied trying not to sound as frightened as he felt.
“No,” Jack said abruptly. “Sit down.”
Ianto frowned, “Thank you, sir, but I prefer to stand.”
“Dammit, Ianto, just-” Jack took a few paces towards Ianto who tried to step back but hit the edge of the sofa. Jack threw up his hands. “Fine! Stand there.” He dropped into the closest chair, sprawling over it in his normal fashion. He glared at Ianto. “I have a few questions I need answered.”
Ianto nodded.
“I’m gonna skip over the big questions like ‘what the fuck did you think you were doing’ and go with some specifics.”
Ianto nodded again.
Jack reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small bottle. He set it on the coffee table, carefully avoiding the broken glass strewn across it. “What’s that?”
Ianto looked down. “It’s the morphine I was giving…her for the pain.”
Jack steepled his fingers, tapping them against his lips as he contemplated Ianto. He shook his head. “No, it’s not.”
“What?” Ianto asked. He reached down to grab the bottle. He turned it over carefully in his hands. It was the same. “Yes, this is the morphine I took from Torchwood One.”
Jack shook his head again. He pointed at the bottle and said, “That is a bottle with a morphine label. Owen was cleaning up the medical supplies in your little basement hideaway after you left.” Jack’s hand returned to his mouth, absentmindedly pulling at the cut on his lip. Ianto cringed, remembering how it got there. He continued. “Owen was cleaning those up and noticed that the seal on one of the bottles looked broken. So he did a quick analysis, didn’t want to be adding drugs that had been tampered with to our stores. Turns out every bottle of ‘morphine’ in your fridge was opened, emptied and refilled with a mixture of adrenaline and methandrostenolone.”
“What’s that?”
Jack looked oddly pleased. “Well, that answers my next question. It’s a steroid, used by bodybuilders until it was banned years ago. We have - no, make that had some in the Hub drugs stores, been there for ages. Owen checked, it’s all gone missing.”
Ianto sat down suddenly. “You mean…she…you mean she was…”
“Yes,” Jack said harshly. “My next question was going to be whether you were dosing her but given your response, I going to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Ianto leaned forward to grip the edge of the coffee table. “I had no idea! I thought it was morphine! She was always in such pain…”
Jack eyed Ianto’s hands, so close to the broken glass and spoke carefully. “I’m sure she was, Ianto. I think the cybernetics were slowly taking her over, bit by bit, until they finally won.”
Ianto bowed his head and tried to breathe.
“Next question,” Jack said. “When you were constructing the conversion unit-”
“Life support!” Ianto lifted his head to meet Jack’s eyes. “It was only supposed to be a life support system. I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Then why include the conversion instruments at all?”
“I…I didn’t. L- she told me what pieces to look for, which parts to use. I didn’t know those things were there until I saw them tonight.”
Jack looked skeptical.
“You have to believe me!” Ianto cried, gripping the coffee table harder.
“No, I don’t!” Jack yelled. He sprang up from his chair and started to pace. “I don’t have to believe a word that comes out of your pretty little mouth. You betrayed me, Ianto. You played me. From the moment I met you, you’ve done nothing but lie to me!”
Ianto cringed, tears beginning to fall again. “I had to! I had to try to save-”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard it all in the Hub. I still haven’t heard why you didn’t just come talk to me about her in the first place. I thought you trusted me. I could have helped you-”
Furious again, Ianto stood up. “Helped me? How, Jack? How would you have helped her?”
Jack paused for a moment and then said very quietly, “I would have made it quick.”
Ianto closed his eyes, his suffering written plainly across his face. “I had to try.”
“And two innocent people paid with their lives.”
Ianto crumpled back onto the sofa, burying his face in his hands. “I know,” he whispered. When he looked up again, Jack was aghast to see his face was covered with blood. He stepped towards the other man again and grabbed his hands. The glass from the table had sliced his palms in at least five separate places. Jack dragged Ianto up off the sofa and through the flat, following the path of destruction.
In the kitchen, Jack ran the tap and forced Ianto’s hands under the cold water. He hissed in pain as Jack checked the cuts to make sure there wasn’t any glass stuck in the wounds. He found a clean towel and wrapped it around Ianto’s hands. He grabbed a second towel and held it under the water for a moment. Then he turned to Ianto and began to clean the blood off his face.
Ianto stood stock still under Jack’s ministrations, unable to believe Jack was still willing to be this close to him. When Jack had finished, he took Ianto’s chin between his fingers and turned his head to the left and to the right, making sure he’d gotten all the blood off. Satisfied, he threw the towel in the sink and turned to go.
The box on the table caught his eye. He knew those boxes - there was a room in the Hub that was lined with them, all neatly labeled. He sighed and reached for the box of ashes but Ianto leapt in front of him and snatched it up, holding it to his chest.
A defiant look on his face even as his eyes filled again, Ianto said quietly, “You can’t file her away, Jack. If it means I’m fired, or Retconned, or…or killed, then so be it. I’m going to put her to rest.”
Jack looked at him for a moment and then nodded.
He walked back into the living room and Ianto followed. Jack had his hand on the doorknob before he spoke again, looking at the door and not at Ianto. “You’re suspended. I...we both need some time. I’ll check on you in a few weeks.” He nodded towards the box in Ianto’s arms. “Say your goodbyes. Decide what you want. I’ll do the same.” Then, with another brief nod, he left.
Ianto’s legs gave out the moment the door shut. He sat on the floor, still holding Lisa’s ashes, listening for the sound of the SUV’s engine. When he heard it fade into the distance, he felt all the tension in his body fade with it. Jack wasn’t going to shoot him. He wasn’t even going to take his memories of Torchwood and the team…and him. Suspended until further notice, Ianto thought. Think about what I want. He looked at the box.
Say goodbye.
TBC in Chapter Fourteen
Rating: R
Warnings: A bad word
Spoilers: Cyberwoman (1x4)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which Jack and Ianto talk...
Notes: Comments and con/crit much appreciated. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and encouraging me to keep writing!! :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Thirteen
They stood motionless for a moment, each man frozen in place. Jack - a wide-legged stance, gun drawn and pointed at Ianto. Ianto - mouth hanging open, holding the sides of the broken picture frame.
Jack moved first, quickly aiming his Webley safely at the ceiling. He holstered the gun as he watched Ianto who was still just standing there. Looking uncomfortable, Jack spoke. “I heard a crashing sound and I thought…well, I don’t really know what I thought but it didn’t sound good.”
Ianto just stared at him.
Jack closed the damaged door best he could and stepped cautiously into the room. Ianto finally moved, tossing the remains of the picture frame to the side. He stood up straight and faced Jack. With bravado that he didn’t feel he asked, “Have you decided then?”
“Decided what?”
“What…what you’re going to do to me,” Ianto replied trying not to sound as frightened as he felt.
“No,” Jack said abruptly. “Sit down.”
Ianto frowned, “Thank you, sir, but I prefer to stand.”
“Dammit, Ianto, just-” Jack took a few paces towards Ianto who tried to step back but hit the edge of the sofa. Jack threw up his hands. “Fine! Stand there.” He dropped into the closest chair, sprawling over it in his normal fashion. He glared at Ianto. “I have a few questions I need answered.”
Ianto nodded.
“I’m gonna skip over the big questions like ‘what the fuck did you think you were doing’ and go with some specifics.”
Ianto nodded again.
Jack reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small bottle. He set it on the coffee table, carefully avoiding the broken glass strewn across it. “What’s that?”
Ianto looked down. “It’s the morphine I was giving…her for the pain.”
Jack steepled his fingers, tapping them against his lips as he contemplated Ianto. He shook his head. “No, it’s not.”
“What?” Ianto asked. He reached down to grab the bottle. He turned it over carefully in his hands. It was the same. “Yes, this is the morphine I took from Torchwood One.”
Jack shook his head again. He pointed at the bottle and said, “That is a bottle with a morphine label. Owen was cleaning up the medical supplies in your little basement hideaway after you left.” Jack’s hand returned to his mouth, absentmindedly pulling at the cut on his lip. Ianto cringed, remembering how it got there. He continued. “Owen was cleaning those up and noticed that the seal on one of the bottles looked broken. So he did a quick analysis, didn’t want to be adding drugs that had been tampered with to our stores. Turns out every bottle of ‘morphine’ in your fridge was opened, emptied and refilled with a mixture of adrenaline and methandrostenolone.”
“What’s that?”
Jack looked oddly pleased. “Well, that answers my next question. It’s a steroid, used by bodybuilders until it was banned years ago. We have - no, make that had some in the Hub drugs stores, been there for ages. Owen checked, it’s all gone missing.”
Ianto sat down suddenly. “You mean…she…you mean she was…”
“Yes,” Jack said harshly. “My next question was going to be whether you were dosing her but given your response, I going to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Ianto leaned forward to grip the edge of the coffee table. “I had no idea! I thought it was morphine! She was always in such pain…”
Jack eyed Ianto’s hands, so close to the broken glass and spoke carefully. “I’m sure she was, Ianto. I think the cybernetics were slowly taking her over, bit by bit, until they finally won.”
Ianto bowed his head and tried to breathe.
“Next question,” Jack said. “When you were constructing the conversion unit-”
“Life support!” Ianto lifted his head to meet Jack’s eyes. “It was only supposed to be a life support system. I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Then why include the conversion instruments at all?”
“I…I didn’t. L- she told me what pieces to look for, which parts to use. I didn’t know those things were there until I saw them tonight.”
Jack looked skeptical.
“You have to believe me!” Ianto cried, gripping the coffee table harder.
“No, I don’t!” Jack yelled. He sprang up from his chair and started to pace. “I don’t have to believe a word that comes out of your pretty little mouth. You betrayed me, Ianto. You played me. From the moment I met you, you’ve done nothing but lie to me!”
Ianto cringed, tears beginning to fall again. “I had to! I had to try to save-”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard it all in the Hub. I still haven’t heard why you didn’t just come talk to me about her in the first place. I thought you trusted me. I could have helped you-”
Furious again, Ianto stood up. “Helped me? How, Jack? How would you have helped her?”
Jack paused for a moment and then said very quietly, “I would have made it quick.”
Ianto closed his eyes, his suffering written plainly across his face. “I had to try.”
“And two innocent people paid with their lives.”
Ianto crumpled back onto the sofa, burying his face in his hands. “I know,” he whispered. When he looked up again, Jack was aghast to see his face was covered with blood. He stepped towards the other man again and grabbed his hands. The glass from the table had sliced his palms in at least five separate places. Jack dragged Ianto up off the sofa and through the flat, following the path of destruction.
In the kitchen, Jack ran the tap and forced Ianto’s hands under the cold water. He hissed in pain as Jack checked the cuts to make sure there wasn’t any glass stuck in the wounds. He found a clean towel and wrapped it around Ianto’s hands. He grabbed a second towel and held it under the water for a moment. Then he turned to Ianto and began to clean the blood off his face.
Ianto stood stock still under Jack’s ministrations, unable to believe Jack was still willing to be this close to him. When Jack had finished, he took Ianto’s chin between his fingers and turned his head to the left and to the right, making sure he’d gotten all the blood off. Satisfied, he threw the towel in the sink and turned to go.
The box on the table caught his eye. He knew those boxes - there was a room in the Hub that was lined with them, all neatly labeled. He sighed and reached for the box of ashes but Ianto leapt in front of him and snatched it up, holding it to his chest.
A defiant look on his face even as his eyes filled again, Ianto said quietly, “You can’t file her away, Jack. If it means I’m fired, or Retconned, or…or killed, then so be it. I’m going to put her to rest.”
Jack looked at him for a moment and then nodded.
He walked back into the living room and Ianto followed. Jack had his hand on the doorknob before he spoke again, looking at the door and not at Ianto. “You’re suspended. I...we both need some time. I’ll check on you in a few weeks.” He nodded towards the box in Ianto’s arms. “Say your goodbyes. Decide what you want. I’ll do the same.” Then, with another brief nod, he left.
Ianto’s legs gave out the moment the door shut. He sat on the floor, still holding Lisa’s ashes, listening for the sound of the SUV’s engine. When he heard it fade into the distance, he felt all the tension in his body fade with it. Jack wasn’t going to shoot him. He wasn’t even going to take his memories of Torchwood and the team…and him. Suspended until further notice, Ianto thought. Think about what I want. He looked at the box.
Say goodbye.
TBC in Chapter Fourteen