Fic: Vizzini's Rule (25/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 25
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of violence
Spoilers: Season One thru Countrycide (1x6)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: In which the team deals with the aftermath of their trip to the country...
Notes: There has been hurt - now, let there be comfort. :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Twenty-Five
The sun was fully up when they finally headed home. Jack and Owen had returned to the campsite to pick up their gear and shoved it in the back of the SUV best they could. Ianto groaned when he saw the mess and tried to straighten it up when they got back. Jack had stopped him, pointing out that it all fit and that was the important part. There was as much debate about the seating arrangements for the ride home as there had been for the ride out. Tosh insisted that Ianto should sit up front with Jack and Owen was arguing that Gwen should sit there. Gwen and Ianto, vying for the title of Most Injured, just leaned against the SUV tiredly as the discussion went on. Giving Gwen a brief smile and a roll of his eyes, Ianto solved the whole issue by pulling himself into the back seat behind Jack and refusing to get out.
Tosh climbed in next to him and Owen, with no grumbling at all, got in the back with them. After Gwen was situated so that the seatbelt didn’t press against her wound, Jack kicked on the lights and sped away from the scene as fast as possible.
The ride home was fairly quiet. Gwen was dozing in the front seat and Jack carried on a quiet conversation with Tosh about what had happened after they separated. Ianto, who was not allowed to fall asleep on Owen’s orders, stared out the window and tried not to listen. Every so often he would glance up at the rearview mirror and find Jack watching him. He tried to smile reassuringly, but that only made the crease between Jack’s eyebrows deepen.
When they reached the Hub, Owen insisted that Jack let him take Gwen and Ianto down on the lift. He ushered them both to the medical bay once they were inside. He gave each of them a tetanus shot and some painkillers right away and then had Gwen sit while he x-rayed Ianto. He cleaned the various cuts on Ianto’s neck and face, relieved that none of them needed stitches.
“Alright,” Owen said, pulling off his gloves. “That’s it for you. Go take a shower and get cleaned up while I develop these films. If you’ve got any broken ribs I’ll want to tape them up before I go. I don’t think you’re concussed, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Thanks,” Ianto said.
Owen just waved him away and turned to Gwen, pulling on fresh gloves.
Ianto made his way down the showers slowly. The long ride in the car hadn’t done him any favors and his whole body was stiff from the abuse of the night before. He showered slowly, discovering new bruises and scrapes with every stroke of the washcloth. When he finished, he stood in front of the mirror to assess the damage. He had a gash at his hairline, bruises down the side of his face, his nose was tender but not, thank God, broken. There was a long cut on his neck from the cleaver. He rubbed his fingers gently over the mark, hoping it wouldn’t scar. He didn’t want a reminder of that night carved into his skin for all time. His torso was a mass of bruises. He took an experimental deep breath. It hurt, but not with the stabbing pain he associated with broken ribs. All in all, it could have been worse, he thought just before he started to shake. Delayed shock, his mind said logically but no matter how he tried he couldn’t stop shivering.
He made his way across the room, hoping he had something warm to wear. On the bench in front of his locker, sat a pile of neatly folded clothes. He picked them up and found some clean socks, a pair of worn flannel pajama bottoms and a soft cotton t-shirt with long sleeves. Ianto realized that Jack must have brought them in while he was showering. Whispering a ‘thank you’ to his boss, Ianto pulled on the clothes and his shivers lessened considerably. He couldn’t help but press a sleeve to his face once he was dressed. There it was, the enticing, dizzying, wholly unexplainable scent that was Jack. Ianto smiled and took a deep breath, savoring the fragrance for a moment before that little voice in his head started making rude comments.
Ianto headed back up to the Hub, glad to find that he didn’t ache as much anymore. Whether it was due to the hot shower or to Owen’s painkillers, he didn’t really care. The Hub was silent except for Myfanwy cooing over her dinner. Ianto called out for Owen as he headed for the med bay but it was darkened and empty. Wondering if everyone had left him, Ianto started to shake again. He headed for Jack’s office and was relieved to see the Captain sitting behind his desk. He looked up at Ianto’s approach.
“Hey,” he said, putting down the paper he’d been reading.
“Hey,” Ianto replied. “Thanks for these,” he said, pointing at his clothes.
“You’re welcome. Sit down, you look exhausted.”
“Thanks, I am rather.”
Jack looked at him for a long moment, leaning back and resting his chin on his hand. “Oh! Owen said you don’t have any broken ribs or a concussion. He left these for you,” he said, pushing a small bottle towards Ianto. “If you need them.”
“Thanks,” Ianto said again.
“I sent everyone home for a few days,” Jack went on. “I can take you home if you’d like, but I don’t want you driving yourself right now,” he said sternly.
“I… I’d rather stay here for a bit, if you don’t mind. Don’t really want to be alone right now.”
Jack nodded, “That’s fine.” He sat forward and crossed his arms on the desk. “What would you like to do? Sleep? Eat? Talk? Not talk? Couple rounds of boxing?” he teased.
Ianto smiled. “Actually all I really want is a cup of coffee. Would you like some?” he asked as he stood up.
“I should be offering to make you coffee,” Jack said. “But I think you’ve been through enough today.”
Ianto laughed as he headed for the kitchen area, Jack following.
“I just want to say one thing, Ianto.” Jack had a serious look on his face. “I would never have purposefully chosen something like this for your first experience in the field, but you handled yourself well and I’m proud of you.”
Glad he had the coffee maker to focus on, Ianto nodded and said in a rough voice, “Thank you, sir.” When he reached for a mug, a tremor started in his hand and spread until he was shaking from head to foot again.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Jack said, reaching an arm across Ianto’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“D-d-don-don’t know,” Ianto stuttered. “K-k-k-keeps hap-happening.”
Jack pulled Ianto close, holding him against the warmth of his body. He reached around Ianto for a mug and tried to pour the coffee. He actually got quite a bit in the mug which he held in front of Ianto. “Here, drink this.”
Ianto grasped the mug with two shaking hands and drank a bit of the coffee. The trembling seemed to abate for the moment but Ianto didn’t know if it was due to the hot beverage or the fact that Jack was still wrapped around him. He leaned against Jack and slowly drained the mug.
“Better?” Jack asked solicitously.
Ianto nodded.
“I think you’re just exhausted and probably suffering from shock,” Jack said. “Bed. Now.”
Nodding again, Ianto started to walk to his usual napping spot on the ancient sofa in the break area. He was stopped by Jack’s hold on his elbow. He raised one eyebrow at Ianto, “Did I say ‘sofa’? I said, ‘bed’. Come on.” Jack hauled the protesting Ianto into his office and through the hole in the floor to his little room under the Hub.
“Sir, really, the sofa is fine. You don’t need to give up your bed for me!” Ianto was still trying to make Jack see sense.
“I’m not giving it up,” Jack said provocatively as he hopped off the ladder and stood right in front of Ianto. He chuckled at the shocked look on the younger man’s face. “Relax. I just meant that I wasn’t planning to sleep right now anyway.” He pulled back the covers and pointed at the mattress. “In!” he said firmly.
Feeling like a naughty school-boy, Ianto sighed and crawled between the sheets.
“Now, I’ll just be at my desk so holler if you need anything, okay?”
“Yes, sir. And… thank you,” Ianto said quietly.
Jack nodded once, flicked a switch that dimmed the lights and then climbed the ladder.
Ianto stretched, mindful of his bruises. He curled onto his side and buried his face in Jack’s pillow. There was that scent again, stronger here than in the freshly laundered clothes. Jack, he thought. The tremors were almost completely gone now. Ianto relaxed into the mattress and soon drifted off to sleep.
. . .
“Ianto? Ianto! It’s okay, c’mon, come back to me.”
He heard Jack’s voice but it didn’t make any sense. He was trapped, bound and gagged, a bag over his head. A hand on his shoulder. “No!” he cried trying to get away, but the hand pulled him closer. Strong arms around him. “Nonononono!”
“Ianto! Wake up!” Jack sounded upset. He wanted to make Jack feel better but he couldn’t move. Couldn’t see. Open your eyes. Can’t see. Open your eyes.
Ianto forced himself out of the nightmare. He woke up, gasping with terror, to find himself in Jack’s bed, in Jack’s arms. He clutched at his Captain, trying to assure himself that he had actually woken up. He decided that Jack seemed real enough. And if he wasn’t, then he didn’t really want to wake up anyway.
Jack held him close, stroking a gentle hand down his back as his breathing slowed to normal. “You alright?” he finally asked when Ianto seemed calm again.
Not trusting his voice, Ianto nodded. He stayed where he was, enjoying the sensation of being draped bonelessly over Jack.
“You’ve been asleep for a few hours,” Jack said. “I’ve been checking on you and you seemed fine, until you started screaming.”
Ianto cringed. Jack was the last person he wanted to know about his nightmares. Well, maybe second-to-last. God knows what Owen would do,. Ianto thought with a shudder.
Jack tightened his arms around Ianto. “Would it help to talk?” he asked gently.
Ianto started to shake his head and then sighed. Maybe it would. “I was back in that room,” he whispered. “God! I can’t… I can’t take this! How many nightmares can one person have?” he asked with a helpless note in his voice.
Jack didn’t answer. He just kept stroking Ianto’s back.
“Everyone I love dies, everyone I knew in London, Lisa, Tosh, everyone.”
“Tosh didn’t die,” Jack corrected.
“But she could have.”
“But she didn’t.”
“But-”
“But she didn’t,” Jack said. “You saved her. She told me what you did to give her a chance.” Ianto flushed and struggled against Jack’s arms. Jack released him immediately and sat back on the bed as Ianto stood and began to pace. “It was a very brave thing to do, Ianto.”
Ianto shook his head. “No it wasn’t.”
Jack just looked at him, a question clearly written across his features.
Ianto took a deep breath. “I was thinking about you. And how if I died saving Tosh then maybe you would think better of me. That’s not brave.” Before Jack could speak, Ianto started to shake again. He clasped his hands together but it didn’t help. He felt the panic start to flutter in his chest. Gasping for air, he reached for Jack, a mute plea for help.
Jack jumped to his feet and took Ianto’s face between his hands, just as he had at the campsite, except this time mindful of the bruises. “Slowly… deep breaths. Focus on me.” Ianto steadied himself by grabbing Jack’s arms as he tried to get control over his body. He was just inches away from Jack again. Inches away from that perfect mouth. Suddenly Ianto was completely calm. Marveling at his composure, his hands tightened on Jack’s arms and he finally closed the gap between them.
TBC in Chapter Twenty-Six, Part One
Note: Yes, I'm evil. More tomorrow for Sunday Smut! :)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of violence
Spoilers: Season One thru Countrycide (1x6)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: In which the team deals with the aftermath of their trip to the country...
Notes: There has been hurt - now, let there be comfort. :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Twenty-Five
The sun was fully up when they finally headed home. Jack and Owen had returned to the campsite to pick up their gear and shoved it in the back of the SUV best they could. Ianto groaned when he saw the mess and tried to straighten it up when they got back. Jack had stopped him, pointing out that it all fit and that was the important part. There was as much debate about the seating arrangements for the ride home as there had been for the ride out. Tosh insisted that Ianto should sit up front with Jack and Owen was arguing that Gwen should sit there. Gwen and Ianto, vying for the title of Most Injured, just leaned against the SUV tiredly as the discussion went on. Giving Gwen a brief smile and a roll of his eyes, Ianto solved the whole issue by pulling himself into the back seat behind Jack and refusing to get out.
Tosh climbed in next to him and Owen, with no grumbling at all, got in the back with them. After Gwen was situated so that the seatbelt didn’t press against her wound, Jack kicked on the lights and sped away from the scene as fast as possible.
The ride home was fairly quiet. Gwen was dozing in the front seat and Jack carried on a quiet conversation with Tosh about what had happened after they separated. Ianto, who was not allowed to fall asleep on Owen’s orders, stared out the window and tried not to listen. Every so often he would glance up at the rearview mirror and find Jack watching him. He tried to smile reassuringly, but that only made the crease between Jack’s eyebrows deepen.
When they reached the Hub, Owen insisted that Jack let him take Gwen and Ianto down on the lift. He ushered them both to the medical bay once they were inside. He gave each of them a tetanus shot and some painkillers right away and then had Gwen sit while he x-rayed Ianto. He cleaned the various cuts on Ianto’s neck and face, relieved that none of them needed stitches.
“Alright,” Owen said, pulling off his gloves. “That’s it for you. Go take a shower and get cleaned up while I develop these films. If you’ve got any broken ribs I’ll want to tape them up before I go. I don’t think you’re concussed, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Thanks,” Ianto said.
Owen just waved him away and turned to Gwen, pulling on fresh gloves.
Ianto made his way down the showers slowly. The long ride in the car hadn’t done him any favors and his whole body was stiff from the abuse of the night before. He showered slowly, discovering new bruises and scrapes with every stroke of the washcloth. When he finished, he stood in front of the mirror to assess the damage. He had a gash at his hairline, bruises down the side of his face, his nose was tender but not, thank God, broken. There was a long cut on his neck from the cleaver. He rubbed his fingers gently over the mark, hoping it wouldn’t scar. He didn’t want a reminder of that night carved into his skin for all time. His torso was a mass of bruises. He took an experimental deep breath. It hurt, but not with the stabbing pain he associated with broken ribs. All in all, it could have been worse, he thought just before he started to shake. Delayed shock, his mind said logically but no matter how he tried he couldn’t stop shivering.
He made his way across the room, hoping he had something warm to wear. On the bench in front of his locker, sat a pile of neatly folded clothes. He picked them up and found some clean socks, a pair of worn flannel pajama bottoms and a soft cotton t-shirt with long sleeves. Ianto realized that Jack must have brought them in while he was showering. Whispering a ‘thank you’ to his boss, Ianto pulled on the clothes and his shivers lessened considerably. He couldn’t help but press a sleeve to his face once he was dressed. There it was, the enticing, dizzying, wholly unexplainable scent that was Jack. Ianto smiled and took a deep breath, savoring the fragrance for a moment before that little voice in his head started making rude comments.
Ianto headed back up to the Hub, glad to find that he didn’t ache as much anymore. Whether it was due to the hot shower or to Owen’s painkillers, he didn’t really care. The Hub was silent except for Myfanwy cooing over her dinner. Ianto called out for Owen as he headed for the med bay but it was darkened and empty. Wondering if everyone had left him, Ianto started to shake again. He headed for Jack’s office and was relieved to see the Captain sitting behind his desk. He looked up at Ianto’s approach.
“Hey,” he said, putting down the paper he’d been reading.
“Hey,” Ianto replied. “Thanks for these,” he said, pointing at his clothes.
“You’re welcome. Sit down, you look exhausted.”
“Thanks, I am rather.”
Jack looked at him for a long moment, leaning back and resting his chin on his hand. “Oh! Owen said you don’t have any broken ribs or a concussion. He left these for you,” he said, pushing a small bottle towards Ianto. “If you need them.”
“Thanks,” Ianto said again.
“I sent everyone home for a few days,” Jack went on. “I can take you home if you’d like, but I don’t want you driving yourself right now,” he said sternly.
“I… I’d rather stay here for a bit, if you don’t mind. Don’t really want to be alone right now.”
Jack nodded, “That’s fine.” He sat forward and crossed his arms on the desk. “What would you like to do? Sleep? Eat? Talk? Not talk? Couple rounds of boxing?” he teased.
Ianto smiled. “Actually all I really want is a cup of coffee. Would you like some?” he asked as he stood up.
“I should be offering to make you coffee,” Jack said. “But I think you’ve been through enough today.”
Ianto laughed as he headed for the kitchen area, Jack following.
“I just want to say one thing, Ianto.” Jack had a serious look on his face. “I would never have purposefully chosen something like this for your first experience in the field, but you handled yourself well and I’m proud of you.”
Glad he had the coffee maker to focus on, Ianto nodded and said in a rough voice, “Thank you, sir.” When he reached for a mug, a tremor started in his hand and spread until he was shaking from head to foot again.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Jack said, reaching an arm across Ianto’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“D-d-don-don’t know,” Ianto stuttered. “K-k-k-keeps hap-happening.”
Jack pulled Ianto close, holding him against the warmth of his body. He reached around Ianto for a mug and tried to pour the coffee. He actually got quite a bit in the mug which he held in front of Ianto. “Here, drink this.”
Ianto grasped the mug with two shaking hands and drank a bit of the coffee. The trembling seemed to abate for the moment but Ianto didn’t know if it was due to the hot beverage or the fact that Jack was still wrapped around him. He leaned against Jack and slowly drained the mug.
“Better?” Jack asked solicitously.
Ianto nodded.
“I think you’re just exhausted and probably suffering from shock,” Jack said. “Bed. Now.”
Nodding again, Ianto started to walk to his usual napping spot on the ancient sofa in the break area. He was stopped by Jack’s hold on his elbow. He raised one eyebrow at Ianto, “Did I say ‘sofa’? I said, ‘bed’. Come on.” Jack hauled the protesting Ianto into his office and through the hole in the floor to his little room under the Hub.
“Sir, really, the sofa is fine. You don’t need to give up your bed for me!” Ianto was still trying to make Jack see sense.
“I’m not giving it up,” Jack said provocatively as he hopped off the ladder and stood right in front of Ianto. He chuckled at the shocked look on the younger man’s face. “Relax. I just meant that I wasn’t planning to sleep right now anyway.” He pulled back the covers and pointed at the mattress. “In!” he said firmly.
Feeling like a naughty school-boy, Ianto sighed and crawled between the sheets.
“Now, I’ll just be at my desk so holler if you need anything, okay?”
“Yes, sir. And… thank you,” Ianto said quietly.
Jack nodded once, flicked a switch that dimmed the lights and then climbed the ladder.
Ianto stretched, mindful of his bruises. He curled onto his side and buried his face in Jack’s pillow. There was that scent again, stronger here than in the freshly laundered clothes. Jack, he thought. The tremors were almost completely gone now. Ianto relaxed into the mattress and soon drifted off to sleep.
. . .
“Ianto? Ianto! It’s okay, c’mon, come back to me.”
He heard Jack’s voice but it didn’t make any sense. He was trapped, bound and gagged, a bag over his head. A hand on his shoulder. “No!” he cried trying to get away, but the hand pulled him closer. Strong arms around him. “Nonononono!”
“Ianto! Wake up!” Jack sounded upset. He wanted to make Jack feel better but he couldn’t move. Couldn’t see. Open your eyes. Can’t see. Open your eyes.
Ianto forced himself out of the nightmare. He woke up, gasping with terror, to find himself in Jack’s bed, in Jack’s arms. He clutched at his Captain, trying to assure himself that he had actually woken up. He decided that Jack seemed real enough. And if he wasn’t, then he didn’t really want to wake up anyway.
Jack held him close, stroking a gentle hand down his back as his breathing slowed to normal. “You alright?” he finally asked when Ianto seemed calm again.
Not trusting his voice, Ianto nodded. He stayed where he was, enjoying the sensation of being draped bonelessly over Jack.
“You’ve been asleep for a few hours,” Jack said. “I’ve been checking on you and you seemed fine, until you started screaming.”
Ianto cringed. Jack was the last person he wanted to know about his nightmares. Well, maybe second-to-last. God knows what Owen would do,. Ianto thought with a shudder.
Jack tightened his arms around Ianto. “Would it help to talk?” he asked gently.
Ianto started to shake his head and then sighed. Maybe it would. “I was back in that room,” he whispered. “God! I can’t… I can’t take this! How many nightmares can one person have?” he asked with a helpless note in his voice.
Jack didn’t answer. He just kept stroking Ianto’s back.
“Everyone I love dies, everyone I knew in London, Lisa, Tosh, everyone.”
“Tosh didn’t die,” Jack corrected.
“But she could have.”
“But she didn’t.”
“But-”
“But she didn’t,” Jack said. “You saved her. She told me what you did to give her a chance.” Ianto flushed and struggled against Jack’s arms. Jack released him immediately and sat back on the bed as Ianto stood and began to pace. “It was a very brave thing to do, Ianto.”
Ianto shook his head. “No it wasn’t.”
Jack just looked at him, a question clearly written across his features.
Ianto took a deep breath. “I was thinking about you. And how if I died saving Tosh then maybe you would think better of me. That’s not brave.” Before Jack could speak, Ianto started to shake again. He clasped his hands together but it didn’t help. He felt the panic start to flutter in his chest. Gasping for air, he reached for Jack, a mute plea for help.
Jack jumped to his feet and took Ianto’s face between his hands, just as he had at the campsite, except this time mindful of the bruises. “Slowly… deep breaths. Focus on me.” Ianto steadied himself by grabbing Jack’s arms as he tried to get control over his body. He was just inches away from Jack again. Inches away from that perfect mouth. Suddenly Ianto was completely calm. Marveling at his composure, his hands tightened on Jack’s arms and he finally closed the gap between them.
TBC in Chapter Twenty-Six, Part One
Note: Yes, I'm evil. More tomorrow for Sunday Smut! :)