Guilt - 48/69
Title: Guilt
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Torchwood is not mine. No matter how much I sometimes wish it was.
Spoilers: Better say everything through s2, just to be sure, although it takes place pre-S1.
Summary: Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you. - Well, what if he did?
This chapter: Jack stops by to visit Ianto in hospital, and Ianto just wants to get out.
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy for all her wonderful work, and my cheerleaders angelzbabe1989 and piper08 for putting up with me when I whine about being stuck.
Author's Note: Voting is open at Children of Time. This fic is nominated in the Jack&Ianto WIP category - it's up against some very tough competition but every vote counts! (hint hint)
Fic starts here
Previous chapters at my master list
Chapter Forty-Eight
Ianto had grown used to the team dropping in on him at random times throughout the day. So, when he hobbled carefully out of the tiny hospital room bathroom, it was no surprise to find Jack sitting in the chair beside the bed, flicking idly through one of the magazines one of the nurses had given Ianto to while the time away.
As he shuffled quietly back towards the bed, Ianto wondered briefly how Jack was finding the time to actually run Torchwood Three. He’d come to the hospital almost every day since Ianto had woken up, sometimes twice, and often lingered for an hour or more. The Rift hadn’t exactly been quiet in the last week or so either, not to mention the strange disturbances with the Weevils that Jack had mentioned during his last two visits.
Ianto just couldn’t imagine how he was doing all that and also keeping up with the seemingly never-ending stream of paperwork that Jack had complained about on a regular basis for all of the four months Ianto had been at Torchwood Three. He barely seemed to stay on top of it during quiet periods, despite his assertion that he didn’t sleep much. He didn’t see how he could be sleeping at all at that moment.
As he neared the bed, Jack finally looked up and spotted him. Dropping the magazine on the bedside unit, he pushed to his feet and offered Ianto a hand the rest of the way.
Ianto stopped for a moment and hesitated. It wasn’t that he was surprised at Jack’s offer - Jack had been lending him a steady arm to lean on while he got around ever since the doctors had allowed him onto his feet - but that he wasn’t sure he should take it. He had allowed the assistance when he’d really needed it. But he was doing a lot better now, and it wasn’t entirely necessary.
Still, there was something in him that was oddly reluctant to start rejecting Jack’s kind offer now. Quashing the little voice that told him he shouldn’t, he reached out and grasped Jack’s outstretched hand, letting him guide Ianto back to the bedside.
“So,” he asked once he was settled onto the bed once more, “anything new with those Weevils?”
Jack grinned triumphantly as he sat back down. “Yeah, actually. We cracked it. Ran in, shut it down, saved the day. It’s over. At least, it is unless some other bright spark gets the idea to try it again.”
Ianto just looked at Jack and raised his eyebrows; a satisfying explanation that was not. It took Jack a few seconds, but he eventually interpreted Ianto’s look correctly and started to explain properly.
“Well, part of it was luck, I suppose. We were on our way back from a second scan of that warehouse where we found the dead Weevil yesterday, when we got a report of one just outside the City Centre. Imagine our surprise when we get there to discover said Weevil being bundled into the back of someone else’s van.”
“What?”
“Yeah, exactly. We tried to follow but they lost us. Their driver made even Owen’s driving look cautious and careful. Luckily for us, Tosh is a genius.”
Ianto smiled; she really was.
“We’d managed to catch the number plate of the van. And, while searching for the details on the DVLA database only told us that the vehicle was illegal, Tosh didn’t give up.”
Ianto wasn’t even vaguely surprised that Tosh had gained access to the DVLA’s systems. There probably wasn’t a network out there secure enough that Tosh couldn’t hack into it if she was determined enough.
“She ran it through a program she’s been working on with the CCTV network, managed to follow it after we lost it in the SUV. Turned up at another warehouse down by the docks.”
“I’m assuming that’s where you found them, then,” Ianto filled in when Jack paused.
He nodded in response. “Oh yeah. Warehouse full of Weevils, beer and idiots with a death wish. Apparently just beating chunks out of each other wasn’t enough for these guys anymore.”
Ianto looked astonished. “You’re not seriously telling me they were fighting Weevils. By choice?”
Jack quirked an eyebrow. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. As I said, idiots with a death wish. We shut them down, and I can only hope that’s the end of it.”
Ianto shook his head. “Some people just aren’t safe to be left out in the world on their own…”
He was just finishing his sentence when Owen stuck his head through the door. “Not talking about me there, I hope, Mr Jones.”
Ianto tilted his head in mock contemplation as Owen fully entered the room. “Well… If the shoe fits…”
Owen scoffed.
“I was just filling him in on last night’s case,” Jack told him.
“Ah. You may have a point then,” Owen nodded at Ianto.
“Please say you’re here to tell me I can go home,” Ianto pleaded, fixing Owen with an entreating gaze.
Owen shook his head. “Sorry, mate, not quite yet.” He picked up Ianto’s chart from the end of the bed, flipping through it. “Maybe in a couple days though, if these numbers keep improving.”
He looked up at Ianto and had to suppress a grin at the uncharacteristic pout gracing Ianto’s face. “Look, I know you don’t like being here, but it’s for your own good. You can handle another few days, right?”
Ianto closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath - the fact that he could do this at all without doubling over in pain was a good marker of his recovery. When he re-opened his eyes, he nodded. “Yeah, if I have to.”
Owen fixed him with his best ‘I am a doctor, I do actually know what I’m talking about’ look. “You have to.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
All comments and concrit welcomed! (Comments = Love <3)
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Torchwood is not mine. No matter how much I sometimes wish it was.
Spoilers: Better say everything through s2, just to be sure, although it takes place pre-S1.
Summary: Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you. - Well, what if he did?
This chapter: Jack stops by to visit Ianto in hospital, and Ianto just wants to get out.
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy for all her wonderful work, and my cheerleaders angelzbabe1989 and piper08 for putting up with me when I whine about being stuck.
Author's Note: Voting is open at Children of Time. This fic is nominated in the Jack&Ianto WIP category - it's up against some very tough competition but every vote counts! (hint hint)
Fic starts here
Previous chapters at my master list
Chapter Forty-Eight
Ianto had grown used to the team dropping in on him at random times throughout the day. So, when he hobbled carefully out of the tiny hospital room bathroom, it was no surprise to find Jack sitting in the chair beside the bed, flicking idly through one of the magazines one of the nurses had given Ianto to while the time away.
As he shuffled quietly back towards the bed, Ianto wondered briefly how Jack was finding the time to actually run Torchwood Three. He’d come to the hospital almost every day since Ianto had woken up, sometimes twice, and often lingered for an hour or more. The Rift hadn’t exactly been quiet in the last week or so either, not to mention the strange disturbances with the Weevils that Jack had mentioned during his last two visits.
Ianto just couldn’t imagine how he was doing all that and also keeping up with the seemingly never-ending stream of paperwork that Jack had complained about on a regular basis for all of the four months Ianto had been at Torchwood Three. He barely seemed to stay on top of it during quiet periods, despite his assertion that he didn’t sleep much. He didn’t see how he could be sleeping at all at that moment.
As he neared the bed, Jack finally looked up and spotted him. Dropping the magazine on the bedside unit, he pushed to his feet and offered Ianto a hand the rest of the way.
Ianto stopped for a moment and hesitated. It wasn’t that he was surprised at Jack’s offer - Jack had been lending him a steady arm to lean on while he got around ever since the doctors had allowed him onto his feet - but that he wasn’t sure he should take it. He had allowed the assistance when he’d really needed it. But he was doing a lot better now, and it wasn’t entirely necessary.
Still, there was something in him that was oddly reluctant to start rejecting Jack’s kind offer now. Quashing the little voice that told him he shouldn’t, he reached out and grasped Jack’s outstretched hand, letting him guide Ianto back to the bedside.
“So,” he asked once he was settled onto the bed once more, “anything new with those Weevils?”
Jack grinned triumphantly as he sat back down. “Yeah, actually. We cracked it. Ran in, shut it down, saved the day. It’s over. At least, it is unless some other bright spark gets the idea to try it again.”
Ianto just looked at Jack and raised his eyebrows; a satisfying explanation that was not. It took Jack a few seconds, but he eventually interpreted Ianto’s look correctly and started to explain properly.
“Well, part of it was luck, I suppose. We were on our way back from a second scan of that warehouse where we found the dead Weevil yesterday, when we got a report of one just outside the City Centre. Imagine our surprise when we get there to discover said Weevil being bundled into the back of someone else’s van.”
“What?”
“Yeah, exactly. We tried to follow but they lost us. Their driver made even Owen’s driving look cautious and careful. Luckily for us, Tosh is a genius.”
Ianto smiled; she really was.
“We’d managed to catch the number plate of the van. And, while searching for the details on the DVLA database only told us that the vehicle was illegal, Tosh didn’t give up.”
Ianto wasn’t even vaguely surprised that Tosh had gained access to the DVLA’s systems. There probably wasn’t a network out there secure enough that Tosh couldn’t hack into it if she was determined enough.
“She ran it through a program she’s been working on with the CCTV network, managed to follow it after we lost it in the SUV. Turned up at another warehouse down by the docks.”
“I’m assuming that’s where you found them, then,” Ianto filled in when Jack paused.
He nodded in response. “Oh yeah. Warehouse full of Weevils, beer and idiots with a death wish. Apparently just beating chunks out of each other wasn’t enough for these guys anymore.”
Ianto looked astonished. “You’re not seriously telling me they were fighting Weevils. By choice?”
Jack quirked an eyebrow. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. As I said, idiots with a death wish. We shut them down, and I can only hope that’s the end of it.”
Ianto shook his head. “Some people just aren’t safe to be left out in the world on their own…”
He was just finishing his sentence when Owen stuck his head through the door. “Not talking about me there, I hope, Mr Jones.”
Ianto tilted his head in mock contemplation as Owen fully entered the room. “Well… If the shoe fits…”
Owen scoffed.
“I was just filling him in on last night’s case,” Jack told him.
“Ah. You may have a point then,” Owen nodded at Ianto.
“Please say you’re here to tell me I can go home,” Ianto pleaded, fixing Owen with an entreating gaze.
Owen shook his head. “Sorry, mate, not quite yet.” He picked up Ianto’s chart from the end of the bed, flipping through it. “Maybe in a couple days though, if these numbers keep improving.”
He looked up at Ianto and had to suppress a grin at the uncharacteristic pout gracing Ianto’s face. “Look, I know you don’t like being here, but it’s for your own good. You can handle another few days, right?”
Ianto closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath - the fact that he could do this at all without doubling over in pain was a good marker of his recovery. When he re-opened his eyes, he nodded. “Yeah, if I have to.”
Owen fixed him with his best ‘I am a doctor, I do actually know what I’m talking about’ look. “You have to.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
All comments and concrit welcomed! (Comments = Love <3)