Turning Point - 4/64
Title: Turning Point
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Thanks to: My lovely beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Four
Tosh looked and smiled at Ianto, thanking him for the mug of coffee he had just set on the edge of her desk.
As he moved on to put another mug beside Owen, she was glad to note that the dark rings under his eyes were slowly beginning to lighten.
She’d been worried about him, desperately worried.
She’d watched him drift steadily downwards for two weeks following Lisa’s death. Watched him slide closer and closer to the edge, trying to keep a hold on him, trying to help him back, but watching helplessly as he slipped further and further away.
Then, about a week ago, something had changed. It was like he’d hit the bottom and finally found some strength there to start climbing back up.
Something had pulled him back.
No, someone had pulled him back. Jack had pulled him back.
She didn’t know what had happened. Didn’t know what Jack had finally done or said that had helped Ianto turn that oh-so-important first corner.
But, to be completely honest, she didn’t care. All that mattered was that the corner had been turned. He still had a long way to go, and she didn’t labour under any delusions that his road was going to be easy, but he was on it.
With help from them all - and she knew that they were all just waiting right there to help - Tosh was beginning to have a little confidence that he was going to make it through this, eventually. She was starting to feel that if she held out her hand to pull him along, he’d be able to grasp it and come along with her.
She only hoped she was reading the signs right.
She took a sip of her coffee - prepared, as always, despite Ianto’s own state of mind, just as she liked it - and watched as Ianto tapped on the doorframe leading to Jack’s office.
Jack’s head lifted from the paperwork he was diligently attempting to keep on top of - for once - and he smiled up encouragingly at Ianto.
“It’s not just me, right?” Tosh asked Owen, who she noticed was watching Ianto just as closely as she was.
Owen turned and looked at her questioningly.
“Ianto,” Tosh clarified. “He’s looking… better. Well, a little better, anyway, isn’t he?”
Owen nodded and turned back to look towards Jack’s office. “Yeah, he’s looking up a bit,” he confirmed. “It’s not just you.”
Although he would have died before showing it too overtly, Owen had been dreadfully scared for Ianto in the last weeks. The haunted eyes, dark circles and gaunt expression all told of a man who wasn’t sleeping or eating properly; a man who just wasn’t taking care of himself at all.
Owen couldn’t really fault him for that - he barely remembered those first weeks after Katie; they were swallowed up in a haze of grief and anger and pain. He’d been lost, and if it hadn’t been for Jack, and the new focus he’d given him at Torchwood, he didn’t know if he’d have made it out the other side.
He was relieved to see that something Jack was doing - and he didn’t much care what - was finally starting to do the same for Ianto.
If it had gone much longer without any sign of improvement - or any change at all, in fact - he knew that he would have had to intervene and prescribe Ianto something. He was still tempted to give him sleeping pills; despite the improvement, he still didn’t think Ianto was sleeping enough yet. Again, he couldn’t really blame him, but he hated to see the effect it was having on the young Welshman.
He was also still tempted to force feed Ianto something filled with calories and fat, as he had become almost painfully thin. Even before Lisa’s death, Owen had known that Ianto was not always eating properly. If the whole team were not staying late for one reason or another and therefore ordering in take-away of some sort for dinner, Owen suspected Ianto had been skipping meals entirely in order to spend as much time at Lisa’s side as possible.
Combined with his almost pointed lack of appetite in the fortnight following her demise, it had left Ianto on the verge of becoming dangerously underweight. Owen had been watching him carefully - and, he hoped, surreptitiously - and was pleased to see that he had, at last, begun eating properly again.
They both watched as Ianto handed Jack his mug of industrial strength coffee and made to leave, only to be called back by Jack and cajoled into sitting down.
A moment or two later, something that could almost be called a brief smile momentarily graced Ianto’s lips.
Both Owen and Tosh smiled to see it. Ianto was finally within reach of the light at the end of the tunnel and, with support from them all, he was going to make it through.
Chapter Five
Comments and concrit are loved!
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Thanks to: My lovely beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Four
Tosh looked and smiled at Ianto, thanking him for the mug of coffee he had just set on the edge of her desk.
As he moved on to put another mug beside Owen, she was glad to note that the dark rings under his eyes were slowly beginning to lighten.
She’d been worried about him, desperately worried.
She’d watched him drift steadily downwards for two weeks following Lisa’s death. Watched him slide closer and closer to the edge, trying to keep a hold on him, trying to help him back, but watching helplessly as he slipped further and further away.
Then, about a week ago, something had changed. It was like he’d hit the bottom and finally found some strength there to start climbing back up.
Something had pulled him back.
No, someone had pulled him back. Jack had pulled him back.
She didn’t know what had happened. Didn’t know what Jack had finally done or said that had helped Ianto turn that oh-so-important first corner.
But, to be completely honest, she didn’t care. All that mattered was that the corner had been turned. He still had a long way to go, and she didn’t labour under any delusions that his road was going to be easy, but he was on it.
With help from them all - and she knew that they were all just waiting right there to help - Tosh was beginning to have a little confidence that he was going to make it through this, eventually. She was starting to feel that if she held out her hand to pull him along, he’d be able to grasp it and come along with her.
She only hoped she was reading the signs right.
She took a sip of her coffee - prepared, as always, despite Ianto’s own state of mind, just as she liked it - and watched as Ianto tapped on the doorframe leading to Jack’s office.
Jack’s head lifted from the paperwork he was diligently attempting to keep on top of - for once - and he smiled up encouragingly at Ianto.
“It’s not just me, right?” Tosh asked Owen, who she noticed was watching Ianto just as closely as she was.
Owen turned and looked at her questioningly.
“Ianto,” Tosh clarified. “He’s looking… better. Well, a little better, anyway, isn’t he?”
Owen nodded and turned back to look towards Jack’s office. “Yeah, he’s looking up a bit,” he confirmed. “It’s not just you.”
Although he would have died before showing it too overtly, Owen had been dreadfully scared for Ianto in the last weeks. The haunted eyes, dark circles and gaunt expression all told of a man who wasn’t sleeping or eating properly; a man who just wasn’t taking care of himself at all.
Owen couldn’t really fault him for that - he barely remembered those first weeks after Katie; they were swallowed up in a haze of grief and anger and pain. He’d been lost, and if it hadn’t been for Jack, and the new focus he’d given him at Torchwood, he didn’t know if he’d have made it out the other side.
He was relieved to see that something Jack was doing - and he didn’t much care what - was finally starting to do the same for Ianto.
If it had gone much longer without any sign of improvement - or any change at all, in fact - he knew that he would have had to intervene and prescribe Ianto something. He was still tempted to give him sleeping pills; despite the improvement, he still didn’t think Ianto was sleeping enough yet. Again, he couldn’t really blame him, but he hated to see the effect it was having on the young Welshman.
He was also still tempted to force feed Ianto something filled with calories and fat, as he had become almost painfully thin. Even before Lisa’s death, Owen had known that Ianto was not always eating properly. If the whole team were not staying late for one reason or another and therefore ordering in take-away of some sort for dinner, Owen suspected Ianto had been skipping meals entirely in order to spend as much time at Lisa’s side as possible.
Combined with his almost pointed lack of appetite in the fortnight following her demise, it had left Ianto on the verge of becoming dangerously underweight. Owen had been watching him carefully - and, he hoped, surreptitiously - and was pleased to see that he had, at last, begun eating properly again.
They both watched as Ianto handed Jack his mug of industrial strength coffee and made to leave, only to be called back by Jack and cajoled into sitting down.
A moment or two later, something that could almost be called a brief smile momentarily graced Ianto’s lips.
Both Owen and Tosh smiled to see it. Ianto was finally within reach of the light at the end of the tunnel and, with support from them all, he was going to make it through.
Chapter Five
Comments and concrit are loved!