Fic: The Sea After a Storm (19/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 19
Rating: R
Warnings: Little bit of language
Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©’s to Nora Ephron for the line I borrowed from When Harry Met Sally… No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Tosh stops by to see how Ianto is doing after the Incident…
Notes: Behind on comments again! I promise to catch up soon! A lso, I hate hate HATE this posting schedule. *frown* Not sure what to do about it yet, but I am trying to figure something out so I can post more frequently. So far the only idea has been to quit my job, LOL, so I still need to word out a few kinks . ;) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Nineteen
Ianto spent most of Friday morning shuffling between the sofa to grab little cat naps and the kitchen to make tea. He'd been unable to get to sleep after Jack and Owen had left, finally making a nest on the sofa and watching late night movies in the dark while he drank tea with copious amount of honey. He snoozed on and off until lunchtime, fighting the urge to get dressed and head to work every time he woke up. He would have risked Owen's wrath in a heartbeat, but he found the idea of facing that cold, closed off look in Jack's eyes enough of a deterrent that he just stayed on the sofa.
A little before noon, he heard a light knocking. He extricated himself from the duvet he had piled on top of him and answered the door.
"Tosh!" he exclaimed in surprise, his voice still sounding rusty despite all the tea.
"God, Ianto, you sound terrible," she said. Her eyes narrowed and she added, "And you look worse."
"You're too kind," Ianto said dryly. "Why aren't you at the Hub?" he asked as he stepped aside to let her in.
"Jack's in a foul mood. He spent all morning locked in his office pacing back and forth and when he finally came out, it was just to yell at all of us to clear out. Owen tried talking to him, but Jack just stormed back into his office. Our good doctor told me a little of what happened last night so I went to Tegan's and got four kinds of soup and some soft bread for you. Hungry?" she asked brightly, setting the bags she was carrying on the counter.
"You didn't have to - "
"Oh, shut up and get a spoon," Tosh said fondly. "I've got a wild mushroom risotto soup that sounded interesting, a basic tomato, some miso and vegetable. Which would you like first?"
Ianto just laughed and got down some bowls. He spooned up some of the miso and moved to the table while Tosh fussed around the kitchen.
"So are you going to tell me what really happened?" she asked as she poured a bit of the tomato soup in bowl to go with the sandwich she had brought and joined him.
Ianto's hand went immediately to his throat. "Does it look bad?"
Tosh tilted her head and studied him carefully. "I can see every one of Jack's fingers on your neck, especially here," she said, placing a gentle finger just below his Adam's apple, "where his thumbs must have been."
Flushing, Ianto pulled away. "He didn't mean to hurt me," he insisted.
"I believe you. So does Owen, for that matter."
"Gwen?" Ianto asked.
Tosh shook her head. "Doesn't know the particulars. She left as soon as Jack started yelling. She may have overheard Owen and me talking before that, but she was bidding on wedding favours on eBay so she wasn't really paying attention."
Ianto nodded and absentmindedly stirred his soup.
Tosh nudged his elbow. "Eat. And talk."
"You know, it's rude to talk with your mouth full," Ianto teased as he raised the spoon.
"Fine," Tosh said. "Whenever your mouth is full, you're off the hook for talking. So pick one - talk or eat."
Ianto chuckled and took another spoonful of soup. "I can't tell you everything," he prefaced. "If Jack wants you to know the details, it's up to him."
"I don't care about the details. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"It won't," Ianto said firmly. Then he sighed. "Of course, if Jack has his way, it might mean the end of… whatever we had. He was so cold last night after it happened."
"Of course he was! He feels horribly guilty. I just want to know if he should," Tosh said.
Ianto shook his head. "No, no, of course not. He's… a lot of bad things happened while he was… away with the Doctor. He's been having nightmares about it. Vivid ones that keep him from sleeping. At all."
Tosh nodded. "That explains the moods. I know he always says he doesn't sleep and I'm sure his rather unique physiology plays into that, but he has to recharge every now and then."
"He does. He… uh, well, he always slept pretty well when we were… you know, together so I asked him to come over here. I was trying to help. Whenever he'd wake up, I'd… I don't know, soothe him, I guess. Reassure him that everything was fine. And it was working, too. He'd slept for a few hours, only waking up now and then. Then, I fell asleep."
"And?" Tosh prompted when Ianto fell silent.
"And when I woke up, he was having another nightmare. He was struggling against something, someone I could see that much. I fucked up. I didn't want to wake him, so I just tried to stop him from, I don't know, flailing around. That's when he grabbed my throat."
"And throttled you half to death," Tosh said darkly. "Thank God you woke him up before he finished the job."
"I didn't," Ianto said with a shake of his head. "He pulled himself out of it and stopped. Called Owen right away. I told you he didn't mean it."
Tosh put her hand on Ianto's arm. "Just because he didn't do it on purpose, doesn't mean it can't happen again, Ianto." When Ianto shook his head, Tosh continued. "Sleeping with someone, I mean really sleeping, not sex, is a huge thing. We're at our most vulnerable then and if you can't trust the person you're with - "
"I trust Jack. I trust him completely, I always have."
"And look where it got you."
Ianto's eyes flashed. "That's not fair and you know it."
"Okay, okay," Tosh said, holding up her hands in surrender. "But it's a bit of a Catch-22, isn't? Jack hurt you because he isn't himself because he can't sleep and he can't sleep because he's afraid he'll hurt you."
"That's not why he can't sleep," Ianto said with a dismissive wave.
Tosh raised an eyebrow. "I'll bet it is now," she pointed out.
Ianto flinched and ducked his head over his bowl of soup. I was trying to help and I just made it worse. Why can't I ever get anything right?
"Stop beating yourself up," Tosh said crisply, almost as if she were reading his mind. She stood up and cleared her plates. "More soup?" she offered. When Ianto shook his head she packed up the rest of the take-away containers and stacked them in the refrigerator. She ran a tea towel under the water and then wiped her hands and headed for the sofa when she was done.
Ianto stood and rinsed his bowl. When he joined Tosh in the sitting area she had tidied up remarkably. Handing him the damp towel, she instructed him to wrap it around his throat. "Owen said cold compresses. He also said you wouldn't listen. No arguing. Now, what should we do?"
"About what?" Ianto asked as he obediently wound the cool towel around his throat. He shivered a little and resumed his place in the corner of the sofa, tucking his duvet around his legs.
"For fun," Tosh said with a smile. "We could watch a movie or, oh, you could see if today's the day you finally beat me at Go."
Ianto scowled at her. "Talk about kicking a guy when he's down."
"So, no Go, then?" Tosh said, blinking innocently.
"You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death," Ianto quoted.
Tosh laughed. "No more chick flicks for you. And was that a yes or a no?"
"Get the board," Ianto grumbled. He figured there were worse ways to spend the afternoon than getting your arse handed to you by one of your best friends over a board game. His hand crept back to his throat and Jack's cold, shuttered stare flashed across his memory. Much worse.
TBC in Chapter Twenty
Rating: R
Warnings: Little bit of language
Spoilers: Season Two thru Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2x01)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©’s to Nora Ephron for the line I borrowed from When Harry Met Sally… No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Tosh stops by to see how Ianto is doing after the Incident…
Notes: Behind on comments again! I promise to catch up soon! A lso, I hate hate HATE this posting schedule. *frown* Not sure what to do about it yet, but I am trying to figure something out so I can post more frequently. So far the only idea has been to quit my job, LOL, so I still need to word out a few kinks . ;) Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm found here. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Nineteen
Ianto spent most of Friday morning shuffling between the sofa to grab little cat naps and the kitchen to make tea. He'd been unable to get to sleep after Jack and Owen had left, finally making a nest on the sofa and watching late night movies in the dark while he drank tea with copious amount of honey. He snoozed on and off until lunchtime, fighting the urge to get dressed and head to work every time he woke up. He would have risked Owen's wrath in a heartbeat, but he found the idea of facing that cold, closed off look in Jack's eyes enough of a deterrent that he just stayed on the sofa.
A little before noon, he heard a light knocking. He extricated himself from the duvet he had piled on top of him and answered the door.
"Tosh!" he exclaimed in surprise, his voice still sounding rusty despite all the tea.
"God, Ianto, you sound terrible," she said. Her eyes narrowed and she added, "And you look worse."
"You're too kind," Ianto said dryly. "Why aren't you at the Hub?" he asked as he stepped aside to let her in.
"Jack's in a foul mood. He spent all morning locked in his office pacing back and forth and when he finally came out, it was just to yell at all of us to clear out. Owen tried talking to him, but Jack just stormed back into his office. Our good doctor told me a little of what happened last night so I went to Tegan's and got four kinds of soup and some soft bread for you. Hungry?" she asked brightly, setting the bags she was carrying on the counter.
"You didn't have to - "
"Oh, shut up and get a spoon," Tosh said fondly. "I've got a wild mushroom risotto soup that sounded interesting, a basic tomato, some miso and vegetable. Which would you like first?"
Ianto just laughed and got down some bowls. He spooned up some of the miso and moved to the table while Tosh fussed around the kitchen.
"So are you going to tell me what really happened?" she asked as she poured a bit of the tomato soup in bowl to go with the sandwich she had brought and joined him.
Ianto's hand went immediately to his throat. "Does it look bad?"
Tosh tilted her head and studied him carefully. "I can see every one of Jack's fingers on your neck, especially here," she said, placing a gentle finger just below his Adam's apple, "where his thumbs must have been."
Flushing, Ianto pulled away. "He didn't mean to hurt me," he insisted.
"I believe you. So does Owen, for that matter."
"Gwen?" Ianto asked.
Tosh shook her head. "Doesn't know the particulars. She left as soon as Jack started yelling. She may have overheard Owen and me talking before that, but she was bidding on wedding favours on eBay so she wasn't really paying attention."
Ianto nodded and absentmindedly stirred his soup.
Tosh nudged his elbow. "Eat. And talk."
"You know, it's rude to talk with your mouth full," Ianto teased as he raised the spoon.
"Fine," Tosh said. "Whenever your mouth is full, you're off the hook for talking. So pick one - talk or eat."
Ianto chuckled and took another spoonful of soup. "I can't tell you everything," he prefaced. "If Jack wants you to know the details, it's up to him."
"I don't care about the details. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"It won't," Ianto said firmly. Then he sighed. "Of course, if Jack has his way, it might mean the end of… whatever we had. He was so cold last night after it happened."
"Of course he was! He feels horribly guilty. I just want to know if he should," Tosh said.
Ianto shook his head. "No, no, of course not. He's… a lot of bad things happened while he was… away with the Doctor. He's been having nightmares about it. Vivid ones that keep him from sleeping. At all."
Tosh nodded. "That explains the moods. I know he always says he doesn't sleep and I'm sure his rather unique physiology plays into that, but he has to recharge every now and then."
"He does. He… uh, well, he always slept pretty well when we were… you know, together so I asked him to come over here. I was trying to help. Whenever he'd wake up, I'd… I don't know, soothe him, I guess. Reassure him that everything was fine. And it was working, too. He'd slept for a few hours, only waking up now and then. Then, I fell asleep."
"And?" Tosh prompted when Ianto fell silent.
"And when I woke up, he was having another nightmare. He was struggling against something, someone I could see that much. I fucked up. I didn't want to wake him, so I just tried to stop him from, I don't know, flailing around. That's when he grabbed my throat."
"And throttled you half to death," Tosh said darkly. "Thank God you woke him up before he finished the job."
"I didn't," Ianto said with a shake of his head. "He pulled himself out of it and stopped. Called Owen right away. I told you he didn't mean it."
Tosh put her hand on Ianto's arm. "Just because he didn't do it on purpose, doesn't mean it can't happen again, Ianto." When Ianto shook his head, Tosh continued. "Sleeping with someone, I mean really sleeping, not sex, is a huge thing. We're at our most vulnerable then and if you can't trust the person you're with - "
"I trust Jack. I trust him completely, I always have."
"And look where it got you."
Ianto's eyes flashed. "That's not fair and you know it."
"Okay, okay," Tosh said, holding up her hands in surrender. "But it's a bit of a Catch-22, isn't? Jack hurt you because he isn't himself because he can't sleep and he can't sleep because he's afraid he'll hurt you."
"That's not why he can't sleep," Ianto said with a dismissive wave.
Tosh raised an eyebrow. "I'll bet it is now," she pointed out.
Ianto flinched and ducked his head over his bowl of soup. I was trying to help and I just made it worse. Why can't I ever get anything right?
"Stop beating yourself up," Tosh said crisply, almost as if she were reading his mind. She stood up and cleared her plates. "More soup?" she offered. When Ianto shook his head she packed up the rest of the take-away containers and stacked them in the refrigerator. She ran a tea towel under the water and then wiped her hands and headed for the sofa when she was done.
Ianto stood and rinsed his bowl. When he joined Tosh in the sitting area she had tidied up remarkably. Handing him the damp towel, she instructed him to wrap it around his throat. "Owen said cold compresses. He also said you wouldn't listen. No arguing. Now, what should we do?"
"About what?" Ianto asked as he obediently wound the cool towel around his throat. He shivered a little and resumed his place in the corner of the sofa, tucking his duvet around his legs.
"For fun," Tosh said with a smile. "We could watch a movie or, oh, you could see if today's the day you finally beat me at Go."
Ianto scowled at her. "Talk about kicking a guy when he's down."
"So, no Go, then?" Tosh said, blinking innocently.
"You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death," Ianto quoted.
Tosh laughed. "No more chick flicks for you. And was that a yes or a no?"
"Get the board," Ianto grumbled. He figured there were worse ways to spend the afternoon than getting your arse handed to you by one of your best friends over a board game. His hand crept back to his throat and Jack's cold, shuttered stare flashed across his memory. Much worse.
TBC in Chapter Twenty