A conversation, a realisation and a photograph.
“What the hell happened to you?”
Ianto eases Jack’s coat off his shoulder as he surveys the gash in Jack’s chest. The cut’s practically gone now (Ianto’s always marvelled at Jack’s self-healing abilities) but the quantity of blood tells him that it was not an insignificant wound.
“Weevil. I should’ve learnt by now not to stray in dark alley ways with strange men.” Jack shrugs off Ianto and strides over to his desk where he begins rummaging for something. Ianto’s hands stray over the wound, checking the tender bruising as Jack searches through the chaos.
“Looks like you need someone to organise you.” Ianto looks up from the cut and smiles suggestively.
“Sorry to bring you in on your night off,” says Jack as though he hasn’t heard a word of what Ianto’s been saying. He shrugs away from Ianto’s hands. Holding up a piece of paper up in triumph, he swiftly walks to the other side of the room and begins to type in details quickly on the computer; Ianto’s makes out parts or CCTV camera security codes and number plates.
“Damn, I wish I could do these things as well as Toshiko,” Jack mutters under his breath.
“I could help.”
Again, Jack ignores Ianto whose shoulders slouch slightly. He looks toward the door when Gwen hovers. She gives a little wave which he returns in kind, before turning to look at Jack again.
“Jack, you need to change your shirt… Jack? Jack, listen.”
Ianto goes over to Jack and places a hand on his arm, forcing him to look him in the eye. Jack resists for a moment before stilling. His forehead shines with sweat, as though he hasn’t stopped running for the last hour which, Ianto reasons, is probably the case.
“Look. Calm down. We’ll get Tosh in here and she can help us find whatever you’re looking for. Which is…?” Ianto adds as an afterthought.
“Weevil baiters. Gwen and I saw a van capture one in the NCP in town. It had blue windows. There’s got to be some sort of--”
“Jack.” Raising his eyebrows, Ianto pointedly looks at Jack. “Calm down. We’ll find them. By the time you change your shirt, Tosh will be here and then we can start sorting out things.”
The corner of Jack’s mouth rises in a reluctant smile, before he pulls away. “You’re right.”
“Aren’t I always? Now go.” Ianto grins as Jack goes into his office.
“Oh Jack?” He calls suddenly, thinking of something. “I thought Gwen had the night off. What was she doing with you?” But Jack has already disappeared and Ianto’s left wondering why on earth his days off always go like this, and why oddly, he doesn’t mind.
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I feel like a walk.
From: Jack H Mob
09:28 28-DEC-07
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Meet me outside.
From: Ianto J Mob
09:31 28-DEC-07
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Ianto tucks his tie in the inside of his waistcoat as he waits for Jack. The wind is rough, rippling the water on the docks in front of the information centre. The seagull’s calls are faint over the breeze and in the background the halyards, on the masts of nearby yachts, ring out eerily across the water. The sky is grey, too stormy for winter, as though the rain wants to wash away any traces of Christmas, cleansing the city for another new year.
Tucking his hands into his pockets, Ianto stands there, getting buffeted by the wind, until Jack appears at the Information Centre’s door. He shrugs on his great coat and shuts the door behind him before going to Ianto.
“Are you going to be warm enough?”
“I’ll cope,” Ianto says, rubbing his arms through his suit, to keep warm. Jack laughs and even that’s enough to make a spark of heat ignite in Ianto. “Come on.”
Ianto nods his head in the direction of the Senedd and Jack follows. Ianto watches the water, the way the lights from the surrounding restaurants reflect off the dark surface. It’s beautiful, but Ianto feels so detached from it all when he’s standing beside Jack.
“I can’t work out who’s behind these weevil attacks. I can’t think who it could be or why they’d want to kidnap weevils in the first place.”
Ianto smiles to himself. It pleases him that Jack thinks his opinions, his theories, are significant enough to be listened to. It makes him feel the most important he’s felt in months and it brings him a sort of happiness that has long been absent.
“Could it be another alien race? Cardiff’s been known to house some pretty rough species. Perhaps Earth’s just the place to settle their differences?”
“Too much thought and not enough impulse. Humans are meditative creatures but they forget simple things, like cleaning up after themselves. They make too many mistakes. I’d say this was more likely the work of a human than an alien.”
“You have a point, Jack.” They’re outside of the Senedd now. Ianto walks along the lower pavement whilst Jack walks on top of the next level. A smile raises the corners of Ianto’s lips as Jack’s hand brushes casually against the top of his arm. “Baiting. What about baiting? I mean realL baiting. Perhaps they’re doing it for sport?”
“An intergalactic fox hunt? No one’s that ruthless.”
“Humans are, Jack.”
“Ah, yes. That’s true.” Jack smiles sadly. “But why would humans want anything to do with weevils? Normal people would run a mile at the sight of a creature like that.”
“I don’t know.”
There’s a coffee cart near the Norwegian Church as they walk along the bay front. Ianto offers to get Jack a cup, but he refuses, no one makes coffee as good as you, so Ianto ends up buying one tea for himself.
“I thought you only drank coffee,” Jack says as they sit on a bench and look out over the bay.
“I may make coffee for a living but I’m also Welsh. We need our cups of tea in a crisis.”
That familiar laugh of Jack’s washes over Ianto, who smiles over his cup.
“You know, just once I’d like a simple case. Something not too taxing. A bit of a holiday.”
“You’d complain if you were anywhere else, Jack.”
“That’s true.” Jack’s silent for a second. “It’s funny how this little city’s drawn me to itself. The people, the places… they’re all so familiar.”
The warmth of Jack’s coat is comforting as he stands and the hem brushes Ianto’s shoulder.
“Are you free this afternoon? I need to visit one of the people of that list of people you pulled up. Seems the police report described injuries that, shall we say, were a bit more serious then those of a late night out in Cardiff.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“If you want to.”
“Yes, Jack. Of course.”
A flash of a smile appears on Jack’s lips. “Great. Let’s leave in half an hour then. Can I trust you to get the SUV?”
“Sure.”
Finishing his cup of tea, Ianto’s throws the paper cup into the bin and jogs to catch up with Jack. They walk into the Information Centre as inconspicuously as they can, ignoring the looks from people passing by, who clearly are wondering what two well-dressed men want with an abandoned shack.
“Should we bring grapes, sir?” Ianto asks, ducking behind the reception desk to find the keys for the SUV.
“Why not? See you in ten, Ianto.”
Ianto’s unable to repress a snort of laughter.
“What?” Jack’s the picture of innocence and sweetness combined. Ianto doesn’t fall for it one bit.
“Never mind, Jack,” he says, and Jack grins. “See you in ten.”
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[TIM conversation starts]
Tosh: Hi Jack.
Jack: Toshiko, have you got everything ready for tonight?
Tosh: Everything’s pretty much set up.
Jack: Janet’s been hooked up to our tracking systems.
Jack: Toshiko?
Tosh: I still can’t believe you’ve named her. Only you, Jack. Only you.
Jack: I try to be different :)
Tosh: Is Ianto coming?
Tosh: Jack?
Tosh: Jack, you can’t keep him locked away in the hub all day long. He’s as trained as any of us.
Tosh: Jack?
Jack: When I need to be told what to do with my staff, I’ll ask.
Tosh: Sorry Jack.
[Jack signed out]
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To: "Ianto Jones"
Sent: Friday, Dec 28, 2007 19:03 PM
From: "Jack Harkness"
Subject: Tonight
Toshiko and I are planning taking Janet out for the tracking mission tonight. I expect you to be coming with us. We may need you for get-away driving or something ;)
Meet us at 8, in the hub.
To: "Jack Harkness"
Sent: Friday, Dec 28, 2007 19:53 PM
From: "Ianto Jones"
Subject: RE: Tonight
You mustn’t get my hopes up with subjects like that, Jack.
I’ll be with you and Tosh in five.
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