Insomnia [fic]
Title: Insomnia
Author: shadowbyrd
Rating: PG - 13
Pairing[s]: Jack/Tosh
Prompt: 33. Worried for otp_100
Spoilers: Takes place after Countrycide, allusions to Fragments.
Summary: Jack and Tosh after the cannibals.
The hallway floorboards creaking didn’t wake Tosh up; since tucking herself in around eleven she’d barely been to sleep, nervous energy from the Beacons still shaking through her. For a moment she couldn’t move, her limbs suddenly locking in place, straining to keep absolutely still. She reached slowly for her gun, snatching it to her and carefully, quietly, checking the cartridge and taking the safety off. She slunk down off the bed and, hearing the slow, measured footsteps coming closer, crawled spider-like into the corner behind her bedroom door. She always used to hide there when the guards were coming into her cell - even if they expected it, it always bought her another couple of seconds. She wasn’t there long (though God knew, it felt like it), but she learnt quickly how to dodge the guards. And their fists.
She pressed her back and her left palm against the wall, ready to springboard forward. The footsteps creaked closer, a shadow swaying to a halt on the other side of the door. She swallowed, gripping her gun tightly, her heart pounding so hard it felt as though her whole body were shaking from it.
The door dragged open, for a moment penning her in and she instinctively tried to push further back into the wall. The light flicked on and Tosh pushed off the wall, knocking the door back, catching her intruder hard on the side of the head, and holding up her gun, readying to take aim as she whipped out from behind the door, only to find the barrel of her gun pressed to Jack’s temple.
“Christ’s sake!” Toshiko growled lowering her and clicking the safety on. “What the hell are you doing sneaking in at this time of night?”
Jack was rubbing the side of his head, blood trickling sluggishly from his hairline, looking a little cowed. “I was checking in on you.”
“Well try ringing the doorbell next time,” said Toshiko, snapping the safety back on. “God only knows… I could have blown a hole in your head.”
“You’d have been the envy of your colleagues, I’m sure,” said Jack, slouching against her wardrobe and dabbing at his head. “I was going to ask if you were feeling okay, but clearly -”
“Clearly, I’m not in the mood for one of your of middle of the night, in through the window impromptu visits,” Tosh snapped.
Jack opened to his mouth to speak, then thought better of it, concentrating instead on finding a handkerchief for his head. Tosh shuffled her feet, the initial anger melting into guilt.
She cleared her throat, but Jack beat her to it. “You want some tea?”
“Yeah,” she said, relieved. “Tea’s good. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Jack nodded and departed for the kitchen. Tosh put her gun away, pulled her dressing gown on and followed.
Jack had folded his coat over one of the dining table chairs and Toshiko seated herself opposite. Jack himself was stirring sugar into two cups of tea. He set one down in front of her and sat down with his own.
“Can I take it you’re not okay?” asked Jack, pressing his handkerchief against his head - purely for effect, Tosh was sure.
She sighed. “Not especially, no,” she said, taking up her mug. “It’s just - there were a few moments, reminded me of being… in there.”
“Never mind the fact that you were almost beaten to a pulp and were chased through the woods by a crazed cannibal.”
Tosh glared. “Thank you for reminding me. I was forgetting about that.”
Jack laid a hand on her arm. “We’re not there anymore,” he reminded her. “We’re home and they’re all locked away somewhere, far away. You’re safe.”
Toshiko smiled, settling a smaller hand on his for a moment.
“You never really quite make it out, though do you?” she mused “You escape, or they let you go - or both -” She cast a wry look in Jack’s direction. “But there’s always a part of you that never got out of there. It’s still imprisoned somewhere.”
Jack tipped his head, looking thoughtful. “How long was it before you could wake up without thinking about it?”
“You mean, when I was able to wake up knowing I wasn’t there?”
“Yeah.”
“When I woke up and didn’t expect to find myself in my cell?”
“If you like.”
“When I didn’t even think about the fact that I might be waking up in there -”
“I’m picking up a certain reluctance to talk about this.” Jack looked to her. “Tosh?”
She tilted her head this way and that as though she were trying to work it out. “Coming on for a year. About.” She risked a glance. “What about you?”
“The first time around?” Jack asked. Tosh’s brows furrowed at “first”, but she nodded. “I - that took a hell of a long time. Would have taken longer, but the stuff I was doing… well that was messing with my head even more.” Staring off into some lost middle distance his eyes darkened. “The second time was the worst.”
There was a short silence. Finally, Tosh gave in. “What happened the second time?”
For a few moments Jack said nothing. Tosh, presuming this was one of those questions he wouldn’t answer, was about to change the subject, when he spoke.
“I had a friend. They decided he was weaker. They made me watch.” He stopped, his voice wrung tight. Tosh squeezed his hand. He squeezed back and continued. “You’re right. Doesn’t matter how long ago it was, part you never leaves.” Then suddenly he was smiling at her. “Course, you and me are lucky - all the good looking bits came out intact.” He tapped the end of her nose playfully. Tosh batted his hand away but couldn’t hold back the smile.
“…y’know, Ianto said something to me while we were trapped in there.”
“Oh?”
“He suggested that we enjoy the adrenaline rush we get from this job.” Tosh shook her head. “If he weren’t such a nice boy I might have had to smash him in the face with that crowbar.”
Jack patted her hand. “Thank you for restraining yourself.”
“Have you been to check up on him?”
“He’s spending the night at a friend’s,” said Jack, gulping his now lukewarm tea. “They’re taking care of him.”
“What about Owen?” Tosh asked “Can’t be any fun being on your own after -”
“Gwen’s with him,” said Jack shortly.
“Oh.” Catching Jack’s expression Toshiko’s eyes widened. “Oh. Right.”
“What about you?” asked Jack, setting his mug to one side. “You want some company tonight?”
Tosh frowned, leaning back. “I don’t feel like -”
“I kinda figured that.” Jack said, waving a hand. “I was wondering if you maybe wanted a guard dog. Obviously if anyone tries to steal up on you in the night, they’re going to get their face blown off, but it’d ruin your night’s sleep.”
Tosh raise her eyebrow. “Whereas you can kill people silently?”
Jack flashed her a grin. “In at least twenty-four different ways. Used to be twenty-eight, I think, but y’know. So, that a yes?”
Tosh stood, taking the mugs to the draining board. “You seem very keen.”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe I could do with being with somebody too,” he murmured. Tosh glanced at him over her shoulder and when he caught her looking he swept the sombre expression aside in favour of a look of mock pleading. “Please? I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Tosh swatted his arm. “There’s no need for that.”
“Excellent!” said Jack, getting to his feet and following her upstairs. “Hey, if I’m being guard dog, does this mean I have to bite the postman’s butt?”
Tosh yawned, too tired to roll her eyes. “Somehow, I think he’d object to that.”
“Oh, they’re meant to,” Jack informed her. “I’ve seen it in all the cartoons.”
A/N: For faith_less_one, if only because she'll get a kick out of Tosh bludgeoning Jack.
Author: shadowbyrd
Rating: PG - 13
Pairing[s]: Jack/Tosh
Prompt: 33. Worried for otp_100
Spoilers: Takes place after Countrycide, allusions to Fragments.
Summary: Jack and Tosh after the cannibals.
The hallway floorboards creaking didn’t wake Tosh up; since tucking herself in around eleven she’d barely been to sleep, nervous energy from the Beacons still shaking through her. For a moment she couldn’t move, her limbs suddenly locking in place, straining to keep absolutely still. She reached slowly for her gun, snatching it to her and carefully, quietly, checking the cartridge and taking the safety off. She slunk down off the bed and, hearing the slow, measured footsteps coming closer, crawled spider-like into the corner behind her bedroom door. She always used to hide there when the guards were coming into her cell - even if they expected it, it always bought her another couple of seconds. She wasn’t there long (though God knew, it felt like it), but she learnt quickly how to dodge the guards. And their fists.
She pressed her back and her left palm against the wall, ready to springboard forward. The footsteps creaked closer, a shadow swaying to a halt on the other side of the door. She swallowed, gripping her gun tightly, her heart pounding so hard it felt as though her whole body were shaking from it.
The door dragged open, for a moment penning her in and she instinctively tried to push further back into the wall. The light flicked on and Tosh pushed off the wall, knocking the door back, catching her intruder hard on the side of the head, and holding up her gun, readying to take aim as she whipped out from behind the door, only to find the barrel of her gun pressed to Jack’s temple.
“Christ’s sake!” Toshiko growled lowering her and clicking the safety on. “What the hell are you doing sneaking in at this time of night?”
Jack was rubbing the side of his head, blood trickling sluggishly from his hairline, looking a little cowed. “I was checking in on you.”
“Well try ringing the doorbell next time,” said Toshiko, snapping the safety back on. “God only knows… I could have blown a hole in your head.”
“You’d have been the envy of your colleagues, I’m sure,” said Jack, slouching against her wardrobe and dabbing at his head. “I was going to ask if you were feeling okay, but clearly -”
“Clearly, I’m not in the mood for one of your of middle of the night, in through the window impromptu visits,” Tosh snapped.
Jack opened to his mouth to speak, then thought better of it, concentrating instead on finding a handkerchief for his head. Tosh shuffled her feet, the initial anger melting into guilt.
She cleared her throat, but Jack beat her to it. “You want some tea?”
“Yeah,” she said, relieved. “Tea’s good. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Jack nodded and departed for the kitchen. Tosh put her gun away, pulled her dressing gown on and followed.
Jack had folded his coat over one of the dining table chairs and Toshiko seated herself opposite. Jack himself was stirring sugar into two cups of tea. He set one down in front of her and sat down with his own.
“Can I take it you’re not okay?” asked Jack, pressing his handkerchief against his head - purely for effect, Tosh was sure.
She sighed. “Not especially, no,” she said, taking up her mug. “It’s just - there were a few moments, reminded me of being… in there.”
“Never mind the fact that you were almost beaten to a pulp and were chased through the woods by a crazed cannibal.”
Tosh glared. “Thank you for reminding me. I was forgetting about that.”
Jack laid a hand on her arm. “We’re not there anymore,” he reminded her. “We’re home and they’re all locked away somewhere, far away. You’re safe.”
Toshiko smiled, settling a smaller hand on his for a moment.
“You never really quite make it out, though do you?” she mused “You escape, or they let you go - or both -” She cast a wry look in Jack’s direction. “But there’s always a part of you that never got out of there. It’s still imprisoned somewhere.”
Jack tipped his head, looking thoughtful. “How long was it before you could wake up without thinking about it?”
“You mean, when I was able to wake up knowing I wasn’t there?”
“Yeah.”
“When I woke up and didn’t expect to find myself in my cell?”
“If you like.”
“When I didn’t even think about the fact that I might be waking up in there -”
“I’m picking up a certain reluctance to talk about this.” Jack looked to her. “Tosh?”
She tilted her head this way and that as though she were trying to work it out. “Coming on for a year. About.” She risked a glance. “What about you?”
“The first time around?” Jack asked. Tosh’s brows furrowed at “first”, but she nodded. “I - that took a hell of a long time. Would have taken longer, but the stuff I was doing… well that was messing with my head even more.” Staring off into some lost middle distance his eyes darkened. “The second time was the worst.”
There was a short silence. Finally, Tosh gave in. “What happened the second time?”
For a few moments Jack said nothing. Tosh, presuming this was one of those questions he wouldn’t answer, was about to change the subject, when he spoke.
“I had a friend. They decided he was weaker. They made me watch.” He stopped, his voice wrung tight. Tosh squeezed his hand. He squeezed back and continued. “You’re right. Doesn’t matter how long ago it was, part you never leaves.” Then suddenly he was smiling at her. “Course, you and me are lucky - all the good looking bits came out intact.” He tapped the end of her nose playfully. Tosh batted his hand away but couldn’t hold back the smile.
“…y’know, Ianto said something to me while we were trapped in there.”
“Oh?”
“He suggested that we enjoy the adrenaline rush we get from this job.” Tosh shook her head. “If he weren’t such a nice boy I might have had to smash him in the face with that crowbar.”
Jack patted her hand. “Thank you for restraining yourself.”
“Have you been to check up on him?”
“He’s spending the night at a friend’s,” said Jack, gulping his now lukewarm tea. “They’re taking care of him.”
“What about Owen?” Tosh asked “Can’t be any fun being on your own after -”
“Gwen’s with him,” said Jack shortly.
“Oh.” Catching Jack’s expression Toshiko’s eyes widened. “Oh. Right.”
“What about you?” asked Jack, setting his mug to one side. “You want some company tonight?”
Tosh frowned, leaning back. “I don’t feel like -”
“I kinda figured that.” Jack said, waving a hand. “I was wondering if you maybe wanted a guard dog. Obviously if anyone tries to steal up on you in the night, they’re going to get their face blown off, but it’d ruin your night’s sleep.”
Tosh raise her eyebrow. “Whereas you can kill people silently?”
Jack flashed her a grin. “In at least twenty-four different ways. Used to be twenty-eight, I think, but y’know. So, that a yes?”
Tosh stood, taking the mugs to the draining board. “You seem very keen.”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe I could do with being with somebody too,” he murmured. Tosh glanced at him over her shoulder and when he caught her looking he swept the sombre expression aside in favour of a look of mock pleading. “Please? I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Tosh swatted his arm. “There’s no need for that.”
“Excellent!” said Jack, getting to his feet and following her upstairs. “Hey, if I’m being guard dog, does this mean I have to bite the postman’s butt?”
Tosh yawned, too tired to roll her eyes. “Somehow, I think he’d object to that.”
“Oh, they’re meant to,” Jack informed her. “I’ve seen it in all the cartoons.”
A/N: For faith_less_one, if only because she'll get a kick out of Tosh bludgeoning Jack.