People Only Know What You Tell Them - Chapter Seven
Title: People Only Know What You Tell Them
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own either Torchwood or Catch Me If You Can. Would that I did.
Spoilers: None in particular for Torchwood, indirect for the movie.
Summary: There's a conman on the run, and Agent Jack Harkness is determined to catch him. But then things take a turn for the complicated.
Warnings: Contains timelines that might make your head hurt.
Author's Notes: Written for the reel_torchwood challenge, using the prompt Catch Me If You Can.
Thanks to: morbid_sparks for being my wonderful beta, and putting up with my slightly madcap style of writing this. Also angelzbabe1989 for helping me work out plot variations.
Chapter links at Master List
Chapter Seven - Earth, December 5060
Jack waited impatiently on one side of the transparent barrier that separated the visitors from the inmates.
He wasn’t entirely sure what had brought him here; he hadn’t even realised he was coming until he pulled up outside the gate.
A guard appeared a few minutes later, Ianto trudging along behind him.
Jack could see the surprise on Ianto's face as he was led towards a seat in a booth on the other side of the barrier.
“Merry Christmas, Ianto,” Jack said, knowing that Ianto could hear him now that he was seated in the booth.
“Yeah, merry Christmas,” Ianto said dully. “Why are you here?”
Jack shrugged. “I’m not sure I know. They do say the first year inside is the hardest.”
“Well, you put me here,” Ianto mumbled. “So what do you want now?”
Well that was a question. What did he want? “Maybe this was a bad idea,” he sighed. “I should get going anyway, I have somewhere to be.”
Ianto perked up a little. “Oh? Where?”
“Chasing a guy down, we got a tip about where he might be hitting next. Driving me nearly as crazy as you did.”
Ianto chuckled brittlely. “Oh yeah? You got any data on him? How he’s doing it?”
Jack hesitated, looking around him, and then pressed a button on his wriststrap, displaying a holographic image of what they had collected so far on the guy.
Ianto leaned in and looked at it. “And where did you say you were headed?”
“I didn’t,” Jack pointed out.
Ianto just looked at him.
“Frexnon Alpha,” Jack obliged. “In the late 40th century.”
Ianto shook his head. “Oh, no no no. You’ve got it all wrong…”
Ianto followed the warden down a long corridor, wondering what was going on. He hadn’t been outside the tiny cluster of cells he was held in for months. He knew it was approaching Christmas-time, because one of the guards had been humming some of the ancient Christmas songs for a few days now.
But that didn’t explain why he was being led down a corridor he didn’t recognise.
The end of the hallway opened out into a large room, a mostly transparent barrier across the middle and several small enclosed seats along the side of the barrier.
He looked around the room - realising that this must be the visitors’ room - and spotted Jack, sitting uncomfortably on the other side of the barrier.
The guard he was following led him over and directed him to sit down in the chair opposite Jack.
“Merry Christmas, Ianto,” Jack said almost as soon as he was settled in the seat. Ianto glanced around in mild surprise as Jack’s voice appeared to emanate from the booth walls around him rather than through the barrier.
“Yeah, merry Christmas,” he replied, not really seeing what was so ‘merry’ about it. “Why are you here?”
A frown passed across Jack’s face. “I’m not sure I know. They do say the first year inside is the hardest.”
Ianto hoped so; things surely had to get easier from here. “Well, you put me here,” he pointed out. “So what do you want now?”
Jack almost seemed taken aback. He moved as if to stand up. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I should get going anyway, I have somewhere to be.”
“Oh? Where?” Ianto couldn’t help but be curious - Jack was the first outside face he’d seen in over six months.
“Chasing a guy down, we got a tip about where he might be hitting next,” Jack told him wearily. “Driving me nearly as crazy as you did.”
Ianto chuckled “Oh yeah? You got any data on him? How he’s doing it?” Anyone who could drive Jack and his team crazy was clearly worth some interest. And he’d been out of the loop for too long.
Jack looked from side to side and then held his arm up close to the screen, pressing a button so that a screed of information scrolled past Ianto’s eyes.
Ianto leaned in and looked more closely. There was definitely a pattern emerging - even if Jack couldn’t see it, Ianto could see what this guy was up to. “And where did you say you were headed?” he asked innocently.
“I didn’t,” Jack responded.
Ianto looked away from the data, looked at Jack, the question in his eyes.
“Frexnon Alpha,” Jack admitted a few seconds later. “In the late 40th century.”
Ianto hesitated, wondered if he should do this. After a few seconds he shook his head. Jack was being led on a wild goose chase. If this man was going anywhere near Frexnon Alpha, in the 40th century or not, Ianto would eat his hat.
And he didn’t see the harm in giving Jack a helping hand - it wasn’t like it was going to cause him any trouble on the inside, not in the unit he was in.
“Oh, no no no,” he said patiently, working out quickly in his head how best to explain to Jack what was really happening here. “You’ve got it all wrong. What he’s doing, is…”
Chapter Eight
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own either Torchwood or Catch Me If You Can. Would that I did.
Spoilers: None in particular for Torchwood, indirect for the movie.
Summary: There's a conman on the run, and Agent Jack Harkness is determined to catch him. But then things take a turn for the complicated.
Warnings: Contains timelines that might make your head hurt.
Author's Notes: Written for the reel_torchwood challenge, using the prompt Catch Me If You Can.
Thanks to: morbid_sparks for being my wonderful beta, and putting up with my slightly madcap style of writing this. Also angelzbabe1989 for helping me work out plot variations.
Chapter links at Master List
Chapter Seven - Earth, December 5060
Jack waited impatiently on one side of the transparent barrier that separated the visitors from the inmates.
He wasn’t entirely sure what had brought him here; he hadn’t even realised he was coming until he pulled up outside the gate.
A guard appeared a few minutes later, Ianto trudging along behind him.
Jack could see the surprise on Ianto's face as he was led towards a seat in a booth on the other side of the barrier.
“Merry Christmas, Ianto,” Jack said, knowing that Ianto could hear him now that he was seated in the booth.
“Yeah, merry Christmas,” Ianto said dully. “Why are you here?”
Jack shrugged. “I’m not sure I know. They do say the first year inside is the hardest.”
“Well, you put me here,” Ianto mumbled. “So what do you want now?”
Well that was a question. What did he want? “Maybe this was a bad idea,” he sighed. “I should get going anyway, I have somewhere to be.”
Ianto perked up a little. “Oh? Where?”
“Chasing a guy down, we got a tip about where he might be hitting next. Driving me nearly as crazy as you did.”
Ianto chuckled brittlely. “Oh yeah? You got any data on him? How he’s doing it?”
Jack hesitated, looking around him, and then pressed a button on his wriststrap, displaying a holographic image of what they had collected so far on the guy.
Ianto leaned in and looked at it. “And where did you say you were headed?”
“I didn’t,” Jack pointed out.
Ianto just looked at him.
“Frexnon Alpha,” Jack obliged. “In the late 40th century.”
Ianto shook his head. “Oh, no no no. You’ve got it all wrong…”
Ianto followed the warden down a long corridor, wondering what was going on. He hadn’t been outside the tiny cluster of cells he was held in for months. He knew it was approaching Christmas-time, because one of the guards had been humming some of the ancient Christmas songs for a few days now.
But that didn’t explain why he was being led down a corridor he didn’t recognise.
The end of the hallway opened out into a large room, a mostly transparent barrier across the middle and several small enclosed seats along the side of the barrier.
He looked around the room - realising that this must be the visitors’ room - and spotted Jack, sitting uncomfortably on the other side of the barrier.
The guard he was following led him over and directed him to sit down in the chair opposite Jack.
“Merry Christmas, Ianto,” Jack said almost as soon as he was settled in the seat. Ianto glanced around in mild surprise as Jack’s voice appeared to emanate from the booth walls around him rather than through the barrier.
“Yeah, merry Christmas,” he replied, not really seeing what was so ‘merry’ about it. “Why are you here?”
A frown passed across Jack’s face. “I’m not sure I know. They do say the first year inside is the hardest.”
Ianto hoped so; things surely had to get easier from here. “Well, you put me here,” he pointed out. “So what do you want now?”
Jack almost seemed taken aback. He moved as if to stand up. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I should get going anyway, I have somewhere to be.”
“Oh? Where?” Ianto couldn’t help but be curious - Jack was the first outside face he’d seen in over six months.
“Chasing a guy down, we got a tip about where he might be hitting next,” Jack told him wearily. “Driving me nearly as crazy as you did.”
Ianto chuckled “Oh yeah? You got any data on him? How he’s doing it?” Anyone who could drive Jack and his team crazy was clearly worth some interest. And he’d been out of the loop for too long.
Jack looked from side to side and then held his arm up close to the screen, pressing a button so that a screed of information scrolled past Ianto’s eyes.
Ianto leaned in and looked more closely. There was definitely a pattern emerging - even if Jack couldn’t see it, Ianto could see what this guy was up to. “And where did you say you were headed?” he asked innocently.
“I didn’t,” Jack responded.
Ianto looked away from the data, looked at Jack, the question in his eyes.
“Frexnon Alpha,” Jack admitted a few seconds later. “In the late 40th century.”
Ianto hesitated, wondered if he should do this. After a few seconds he shook his head. Jack was being led on a wild goose chase. If this man was going anywhere near Frexnon Alpha, in the 40th century or not, Ianto would eat his hat.
And he didn’t see the harm in giving Jack a helping hand - it wasn’t like it was going to cause him any trouble on the inside, not in the unit he was in.
“Oh, no no no,” he said patiently, working out quickly in his head how best to explain to Jack what was really happening here. “You’ve got it all wrong. What he’s doing, is…”
Chapter Eight