Moonlight and Lusting Chapter 30/? Doctor's Orders
Owen visits Jack and Ianto on the second day of their vacation.
This chapter is rated PG-13.
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“Grey - No!” Two words torn from Jack’s nightmare shattered the night and yanked Ianto from his own disturbing dreams. Ianto turned on the bedside lamp throwing soft light over the bed and some of the room. Jack was on the floor his body trembling, breathing too fast and shallow and his eyes full of terror.
Immediately Ianto was down on the floor next to Jack wrapping his arms around him. “Jack, you’re okay, I’m here, and I’m alright. You’re hyperventilating; you need to slow down your breathing.” But Jack still seemed trapped in his nightmare with his eyes wide open. Ianto grasped Jack’s chin and then kissed him hard effectively forcing Jack to wake up and also breathe through his nose. Ianto held on and kept kissing Jack. He felt Jack’s breathing slow down as he responded to Ianto’s kiss, his trembling arms wrapped around Ianto’s waist. Finally Ianto pulled away just enough to say, “Are you back with me, Jack?”
“Yeah, I’m back,” Jack replied.
“Do you want to try and go back to sleep?”
“No,” Jack said shaking his head. “I’m afraid I’ll just have another nightmare. You need your rest Ianto; I’ll just go downstairs and read a book or watch a movie.” Jack got off the floor and pulled some jogging bottoms on over his boxers and put on a tee shirt. Ianto stood up and did the same. “You don’t have to keep me company Ianto,” he said.
“You’re not the only one having nightmares Jack,” Ianto replied pulling his tee shirt on carefully over his injured arm. “A couple more minutes and I’d have been the one screaming. Let’s go downstairs and I’ll make us some hot coco.”
Jack sighed, “Okay, but you need to take some painkillers for your arm too; pain’s not conducive to sleep either.”
“I’m fine Jack,” Ianto replied.
“No you’re not Ianto,” Jack said sadly. “And it’s my fault.”
Ianto cupped his hand against Jack’s face and Jack leaned into the touch naturally. “It’s not your fault, Cariad; I hope someday you’ll believe it because it’s true,” Ianto said kissing Jack’s lips. “Come on’ hot coco first and then we’ll watch a comedy or documentary DVD.” They headed downstairs to the kitchen. Ianto opened the cupboard to get the mugs and coco out and smiled when he spotted a large tin in the cupboard. “You think of everything Rhi,” Ianto said reaching for the tin and pulling it out.
“What did you say?” Jack asked walking over to Ianto carrying a bottle of milk and a saucepan to warm the milk up in.
“I found something Rhi left for us,” Ianto replied. He read the post-it note and smiled. “She says these are for afters or whenever we need comfort food.”
Jack took the tin from Ianto and opened it up. “Oh Rhi, you’ve outdone yourself! Look Ianto, there’s oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip and even peanut butter cookies!” Jack took an oatmeal one out and took a bite. “Hmm, fresh and moist too - Ianto you’ve got to have some!”
“I will after I’ve made the coco,” Ianto said. A few minutes later Ianto was sitting on the couch sipping his coco watching Jack peruse the DVD choices. Jack had convinced Ianto to take some Paracetamol for his sore arm or rather Ianto took it to keep Jack from nagging him.
“Interesting collection of DVDs,” Jack said reading the labels on the shelf. “They’re arranged in categories: Comedies, James Bond, Fluffy happy documentaries, Calming travel logs, Romantic Comedies, Action movies, Dramadies, and Happy Musicals. What do you want to watch?”
“How about a Fluffy happy documentary?” Ianto suggested. “I don’t want anything that will gear us up; I just want to wind down.”
“Okay, how about this one; It’s a Dog’s Life in the UK?”
“Sounds perfect,” Ianto agreed biting into a chocolate chip cookie. Jack put the DVD in and pressed the Play button. He sat down next to Ianto, picked up his coco and took a sip as the documentary started.
“It’s early morning on the Watts’ farm and the Jack Russell terrier pups are wide awake . . .” the narrator said in deep, posh tones as Ianto draped his good arm across Jack’s shoulders and settled down to watch.
He wasn’t sure if it was the sunlight shining through the sitting room window or the birds’ chirping which woke him up, but it didn’t matter. Ianto opened his eyes and realized he was still lying on the couch in the sitting room; last thing he remembered was watching the dog documentary with Jack followed by another entitled It’s Cool to be a Kitten. Somehow he’d ended up stretched out on the couch lying against Jack’s chest with Jack’s arms wrapped around him.
“You awake sleepy head?” Jack asked carding his fingers through Ianto’s hair.
“Hmm, I suppose so, but I don’t want to get up,” Ianto admitted.
“You don’t have to get up; we could just lie here on the couch for a while and you could rest some more,” Jack replied.
“I’d like to but unfortunately my bladder insists I get up now before it’s too late,” Ianto replied. “Besides, Owen’s coming today to check how my wound’s healing and how you’re recovering as well,” he added getting up from the couch and stretching.
“My gunshot wound healed up yesterday,” Jack replied getting up as well and following Ianto upstairs.
“That’s good,” Ianto said from the bathroom. Jack heard the toilet flush and saw Ianto poke his head out the bathroom door. “Owen wasn’t too worried about your gunshot wound although it took longer to heal than is normal for you; he’s more concerned about you falling into depression.”
Jack worried his lower lip and sighed. “I’m very sad and upset over what happened with Grey and Hart, but I’m not depressed, Ianto,” he replied.
“I hope you’re not, but Owen’s worried and I am too, so just let him check you over, alright?” Ianto asked.
“Okay,” Jack agreed.
“Good. Now I’m going to take a shower; care to join me and scrub my back?” Ianto asked.
Ianto’s invitation was rewarded by a small smile on Jack’s face. “I’d love to,” Jack replied joining Ianto in the bathroom.
The shower stall wasn’t quite as big as the one in their flat, but they managed to shower together. Jack reveled in simply gently washing Ianto’s body with a soft flannel and their favorite shower gel; he was extra careful with Ianto’s wounded arm. Ianto returned the favor by doing the same for Jack. Ianto wasn’t surprised they went no further than touching and kissing and for now it was enough. They got out of the shower just before they ran out of hot water.
What time is Owen going to be here?” Jack asked. They’d dressed and were in the kitchen making breakfast. Jack had decided to make American flapjacks while Ianto was making the coffee and bacon.
“His text said anytime after 11 a.m., so I guess we should plan on feeding him lunch,” Ianto replied. He finished making the coffee and placed the mugs on the kitchen table and then went to remove the bacon from the frying pan. He watched Jack expertly flip the flapjack in the skillet by tossing the flapjack in the air and catching it back in the skillet. A stack of flapjacks was in the oven being kept warm. Ianto enjoyed this domestic part of their relationship; just preparing a meal together was comforting after all they had been through recently. “Almost done then?” Ianto asked.
“Yep, this is the last flapjack,” Jack said. Ianto pulled the rest of the flapjacks out and placed them on the kitchen table along with the bacon, butter, maple syrup, strawberry preserves, chocolate syrup, and even whip cream. Jack liked a variety of things on his flapjacks depending on his mood.
They sat down at the table and dug in; Ianto went with maple syrup and butter while Jack decided today he’d indulge in strawberry preserves and squirty cream. They ate in companionable silence.
Jack finished first and started putting things away. “I’ll wash, you dry?” he asked Ianto.
“Sure,” Ianto agreed finishing the last of his flapjacks. They made quick work of the wash up and then adjourned to the sitting room. “What do you want to do today after Owen’s done with us?” he asked Jack. This was their second day at the cottage and they’d spent the first day simply sleeping, eating and lounging around.
“Maybe we could just go for a long walk; you could show me the sights around here?” Jack suggested.
“Sure, Ianto agreed. “Right now I’m going to check my email account and see if anyone from work had any questions about the archives.” Harold had packed a Torchwood encrypted laptop in Ianto’s luggage like Ianto had requested so Ianto could touch base periodically to check in. He knew Jack would be more willing to be away from work if they could check on things remotely from time to time; it was a small concession in Ianto’s mind. Logging on he discovered five emails. Opening the first one he found a greeting from Gwen assuring him and Jack that things were quiet so far, no intergalactic space slime had appeared in Cardiff just a few Weevils popped up in a pet shop eating some dog chow. “Let us know if you need anything. Take care of yourselves,” she said in closing.
The next one was from Tosh confirming what Gwen said about things being quiet and not to worry. “If Jack wants us to dispose of Grey and Hart’s ashes or if he wants us to bring them out to the cottage so he can have some sort of closure, just let us know,” Tosh wrote. “We’re all worried about you and Jack and miss you, but we know you need to do whatever it takes to recover from the recent events, so do what you have to do. Love, Tosh.”
Owen’s email was simply, “I’ll be out to check up on you two shortly after eleven, so get your naked hide and seek out of the way before I arrive. - Owen”
The one from Anian was actually a legitimate question asking where he should file a new piece of junk which came through the rift yesterday. Ianto opened the attached JPEG file and chuckled. He wrote back to Anian the object in question was actually an Ood toy which played music and generated a light display for children; they’d had one come through the rift last year. Anian could put it with the other one and Ianto told him what section of the archives he’d stored the first one in.
The last email was from Harold saying he hoped Jack and Ianto were settled into the cottage and things were running fine in their absence. “By the way, you might want to stop by and say hello to Pete while you’re out for a walk with Jack. Pete was asking about you two and he remembers you, Ianto, fondly from your previous visits with your mam and tad when you were growing up. He’s getting on in years and he’s a little lonely now that his wife passed on and his son is living in Cardiff and teaching at Uni. I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d visit him. - Harold”
Ianto smiled fondly remembering Pete; he was always kind and friendly. He had told Ianto and Rhiannon lots of stories about the old days before lycans were officially recognized by the Queen and brought under her protection. Visiting Pete would fit in nicely with their plans for a walk this afternoon. He emailed Harold and told him they’d visit Pete this afternoon. Finished with his emails, Ianto turned and asked, “Jack do you want to check your emails before I shut down the laptop?” Jack, who was watching a movie, just shook his head without his eyes leaving the screen. Ianto shut down the computer and joined Jack on the couch. “What are you watching?” he asked.
“Cat Ballou,” Jack replied. Ianto went and joined Jack on the couch. They watched the scene where the hero’s hat was blown off his head by the wind, he leaned over to pick it up and fell off his horse into a horse trough getting soaked through and through. Jack roared with laughter. “I love that scene!” he said. Ianto laughed along with him. Their viewing was interrupted by the arrival of a car and the slam of car door.
“That will be Owen, no doubt,” Ianto said putting the movie on pause. He went and opened the door before Owen could even knock. “We heard you arrive,” Ianto said.
“Thought I’d never get here,” Owen replied. “Where’s the loo?”
Ianto replied, “It’s upstairs on the left.”
Owen greeted Jack before running upstairs to use the loo. The flush of the toilet and the running of water in the basin announced Owen was done with his business and he appeared downstairs a moment later. “I’ll check Ianto’s wound first and then I’m giving you the once over as well,” Owen announced. “Where do you want to do this?” he asked.
“Here in the sitting room is as good a place as any,” Ianto replied.
“Fine, then off with your shirt, Ianto,” Owen said.
Once Ianto had his shirt off he sat down on the couch and Owen sat down next to him. Jack stood nearby wanting to find out if Ianto was healing okay or not.
Owen took off the bandage Ianto had wrapped around his arm after his shower. Examining the wound Owen said, “No sign of infection looks to be healing nicely. I’d say it’s time to remove those two stitches from the exit wound.” Owen opened up his kit and took out the suture removal instruments and laid a small towel down on the coffee table. “You know the drill Ianto, just hold still for me.” Owen snipped the sutures apart and then with two quick tugs the sutures were out. “Right, now show me the range of motion you have right now and tell me how bad the pain is; usual pain scale of one to ten.”
Ianto raised his arm and made a circular motion then pumped and flexed his arm carefully. “Doesn’t hurt too badly; I can feel the tug of the scar tissue building, though,” he admitted.
Owen took Ianto’s blood pressure and temperature and took a blood sample. “Everything seems to be on the mend. You can stop putting your arm in the sling, but don’t lift any weight above five pounds with your injured arm for at least another week. Listen to your body - if it hurts to do something, don’t do it. Otherwise it’s plenty of sleep, eat well and keep an eye on Jack. Any questions?”
“Yes, I haven’t morphed into my lycan form since I was shot; would I reinjure my arm if I did morph?” Ianto asked.
Owen thought about it for a moment and replied, “it’s possible you might aggravate your injury because when you morph your body mass is larger and you might possibly pull at the healing tissue so I recommend you hold off on morphing at least for another week.”
Ianto nodded agreeing with Owen’s explanation. “Alright I’ll stay in my human form until next week.”
“Good. Put your shirt back on,” Owen said as he rolled the used instruments up in the towel and stored them back into his kit. “Come on Jack; let’s see how you’re doing. Plunk your arse down,” Owen said patting the couch where Ianto had just vacated.
Jack complied and sat down. Owen scanned Jack’s thigh with the Bekaran scanner just to make sure he had fully healed from his gunshot wound. “When did you fully heal from the gunshot wound,” Owen asked.
“Yesterday,” Jack replied.
“So you didn’t heal quite as quickly as you normally do,” Owen stated. He took Jack’s vital signs just like he had done with Ianto and also took a blood sample. “Are you sleeping and eating okay? And remember Ianto is standing right next to you, so don’t even think of lying to me.”
Jack sighed, “I’m not sleeping real well; I have terrible nightmares and either wake up panicked or Ianto has to wake me up because I’m thrashing about and screaming in my sleep,” Jack admitted. “I feel bad about it because I’m keeping Ianto awake too.”
“Don’t be silly Jack,” Ianto said in his defense. “I can always take a nap during the day to catch up on my sleep; keeping your nightmares in check is more important.” Looking over at Owen, Ianto added, “Jack is eating just fine, so no worries there at least.”
Owen looked at Jack and Ianto and could see how tired they were; especially Jack. “Ianto’s right, Jack, he can take naps to catch up on sleep. Have you tried the mild sedative prescription I gave you just before Ianto and you left to come here?”
Jack shook his head. “No, I’m afraid to; what if I take it and then I can’t wake up and get out of a nightmare?”
“The sedative won’t prevent you from waking up. All it does is relax you enough to get into a deep sleep. The light sleep, REM sleep, is where nightmares occur. Trust me Jack you’ll still be able to wake up from your nightmares. Have you tried talking to Ianto about your nightmares? Do you want to talk to me or someone else about them?” Owen asked.
“I’m not ready to talk about them just yet,” Jack replied. “Please don’t force me to talk about them.”
“Alright I won’t force the issue right now, but you know it will help you to talk about them,” Owen replied. Putting his stethoscope and blood pressure cuff up Owen summarized his findings. “I think your body is still recovering from the trauma of being buried and then being shot as well as the emotional trauma of it being done to you by your brother. I also think you’re depressed but not to the point that antidepressants are warranted yet, so I’ll hold them in reserve. So my doctor’s orders for you are to rest as much as you can, continue to eat well, take care of Ianto and if you really feel you can’t talk to anyone yet about your feelings I’ like you to at least keep a journal or draw pictures; do something to express your feelings.”
Jack thought about it for a moment; “Do I have to show the journal or the drawings to you?” he asked.
“Not if you don’t want to Jack,” Owen replied honestly. He knew from past experience how therapeutic journaling or drawing could be for someone who had been traumatized even if they didn’t share them with anyone, so the idea of Jack even thinking about doing something like that was a good sign.
“Okay, I’ll think about doing something like that,” Jack agreed.
“Good,” Owen replied closing up his medical kit. “Now how about giving me some lunch and coffee - I’m starving!”
“I’ve got some quiche warming up in the oven,” Jack replied. It should be done in about ten minutes.”
They chatted about mundane things while Jack tossed a salad and Ianto made some coffee. Owen went out to his car, put away his medical kit and came back into the kitchen carrying the empty travel mugs and a coffee thermos. “They’re clean,” Owen said about the travel mugs he handed to Ianto. “And I’d love to take some of your coffee back on my return trip. I’m going through coffee withdrawals.”
Ianto chuckled at Owen’s remarks. “I’ll make another batch of coffee and fill up the thermos before you leave,” Ianto replied.
“Lunch is ready,” Jack said pulling the quiche out and setting it down on the trivet on the kitchen table. He sliced it up and served it to Ianto and Owen before sliding a slice on to his own plate. Sitting down they tucked into a lunch of quiche, tossed green salad, rolls, and coffee.
“This is good Jack; did you make it from scratch?” Owen asked.
“No; apparently Rhi and some friends prepared some dishes for us just in case we didn’t feel like cooking. All I had to do was heat it up,” Jack replied.
“Well God bless em one and all,” Owen said taking another bite of his quiche before attacking his salad.
“Who are you - Tiny Tim?” Ianto asked with a smirk.
“Call me whatever you like as long as I get food like this,” Owen replied. They finished their lunch and had coffee and some more of Rhi’s cookies for afters. Ianto made a fresh batch of coffee for Owen as promised and sent him on his way with a full thermos.
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A note from socalrose: This chapter was so long I had to divide it in two. Next chapter coming on Friday. Comments and questions are always appreciated
Update: I had to chuckle when
missthingsplace commented about the flapjacks Jack made for breakfast. I should had said American flapjacks or pancakes which are light and fluffy and oh so fabulous with butter and maple syrup or like Jack had his with strawberries and squirty cream - yummy! An easy way to keep flapjacks/pancakes warm for service is to preheat an oven to 200F degress before you begin cooking. As they come off the griddle or frying pan place them on a sheet pan in a single layer and hold them in the oven. Here's a link to a recipe for American flapjack/pancakes:
allrecipes.com/Recipe/Good-Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/detail.aspx
This entry was originally posted at http://socalrose.dreamwidth.org/12136.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
This chapter is rated PG-13.
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“Grey - No!” Two words torn from Jack’s nightmare shattered the night and yanked Ianto from his own disturbing dreams. Ianto turned on the bedside lamp throwing soft light over the bed and some of the room. Jack was on the floor his body trembling, breathing too fast and shallow and his eyes full of terror.
Immediately Ianto was down on the floor next to Jack wrapping his arms around him. “Jack, you’re okay, I’m here, and I’m alright. You’re hyperventilating; you need to slow down your breathing.” But Jack still seemed trapped in his nightmare with his eyes wide open. Ianto grasped Jack’s chin and then kissed him hard effectively forcing Jack to wake up and also breathe through his nose. Ianto held on and kept kissing Jack. He felt Jack’s breathing slow down as he responded to Ianto’s kiss, his trembling arms wrapped around Ianto’s waist. Finally Ianto pulled away just enough to say, “Are you back with me, Jack?”
“Yeah, I’m back,” Jack replied.
“Do you want to try and go back to sleep?”
“No,” Jack said shaking his head. “I’m afraid I’ll just have another nightmare. You need your rest Ianto; I’ll just go downstairs and read a book or watch a movie.” Jack got off the floor and pulled some jogging bottoms on over his boxers and put on a tee shirt. Ianto stood up and did the same. “You don’t have to keep me company Ianto,” he said.
“You’re not the only one having nightmares Jack,” Ianto replied pulling his tee shirt on carefully over his injured arm. “A couple more minutes and I’d have been the one screaming. Let’s go downstairs and I’ll make us some hot coco.”
Jack sighed, “Okay, but you need to take some painkillers for your arm too; pain’s not conducive to sleep either.”
“I’m fine Jack,” Ianto replied.
“No you’re not Ianto,” Jack said sadly. “And it’s my fault.”
Ianto cupped his hand against Jack’s face and Jack leaned into the touch naturally. “It’s not your fault, Cariad; I hope someday you’ll believe it because it’s true,” Ianto said kissing Jack’s lips. “Come on’ hot coco first and then we’ll watch a comedy or documentary DVD.” They headed downstairs to the kitchen. Ianto opened the cupboard to get the mugs and coco out and smiled when he spotted a large tin in the cupboard. “You think of everything Rhi,” Ianto said reaching for the tin and pulling it out.
“What did you say?” Jack asked walking over to Ianto carrying a bottle of milk and a saucepan to warm the milk up in.
“I found something Rhi left for us,” Ianto replied. He read the post-it note and smiled. “She says these are for afters or whenever we need comfort food.”
Jack took the tin from Ianto and opened it up. “Oh Rhi, you’ve outdone yourself! Look Ianto, there’s oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip and even peanut butter cookies!” Jack took an oatmeal one out and took a bite. “Hmm, fresh and moist too - Ianto you’ve got to have some!”
“I will after I’ve made the coco,” Ianto said. A few minutes later Ianto was sitting on the couch sipping his coco watching Jack peruse the DVD choices. Jack had convinced Ianto to take some Paracetamol for his sore arm or rather Ianto took it to keep Jack from nagging him.
“Interesting collection of DVDs,” Jack said reading the labels on the shelf. “They’re arranged in categories: Comedies, James Bond, Fluffy happy documentaries, Calming travel logs, Romantic Comedies, Action movies, Dramadies, and Happy Musicals. What do you want to watch?”
“How about a Fluffy happy documentary?” Ianto suggested. “I don’t want anything that will gear us up; I just want to wind down.”
“Okay, how about this one; It’s a Dog’s Life in the UK?”
“Sounds perfect,” Ianto agreed biting into a chocolate chip cookie. Jack put the DVD in and pressed the Play button. He sat down next to Ianto, picked up his coco and took a sip as the documentary started.
“It’s early morning on the Watts’ farm and the Jack Russell terrier pups are wide awake . . .” the narrator said in deep, posh tones as Ianto draped his good arm across Jack’s shoulders and settled down to watch.
He wasn’t sure if it was the sunlight shining through the sitting room window or the birds’ chirping which woke him up, but it didn’t matter. Ianto opened his eyes and realized he was still lying on the couch in the sitting room; last thing he remembered was watching the dog documentary with Jack followed by another entitled It’s Cool to be a Kitten. Somehow he’d ended up stretched out on the couch lying against Jack’s chest with Jack’s arms wrapped around him.
“You awake sleepy head?” Jack asked carding his fingers through Ianto’s hair.
“Hmm, I suppose so, but I don’t want to get up,” Ianto admitted.
“You don’t have to get up; we could just lie here on the couch for a while and you could rest some more,” Jack replied.
“I’d like to but unfortunately my bladder insists I get up now before it’s too late,” Ianto replied. “Besides, Owen’s coming today to check how my wound’s healing and how you’re recovering as well,” he added getting up from the couch and stretching.
“My gunshot wound healed up yesterday,” Jack replied getting up as well and following Ianto upstairs.
“That’s good,” Ianto said from the bathroom. Jack heard the toilet flush and saw Ianto poke his head out the bathroom door. “Owen wasn’t too worried about your gunshot wound although it took longer to heal than is normal for you; he’s more concerned about you falling into depression.”
Jack worried his lower lip and sighed. “I’m very sad and upset over what happened with Grey and Hart, but I’m not depressed, Ianto,” he replied.
“I hope you’re not, but Owen’s worried and I am too, so just let him check you over, alright?” Ianto asked.
“Okay,” Jack agreed.
“Good. Now I’m going to take a shower; care to join me and scrub my back?” Ianto asked.
Ianto’s invitation was rewarded by a small smile on Jack’s face. “I’d love to,” Jack replied joining Ianto in the bathroom.
The shower stall wasn’t quite as big as the one in their flat, but they managed to shower together. Jack reveled in simply gently washing Ianto’s body with a soft flannel and their favorite shower gel; he was extra careful with Ianto’s wounded arm. Ianto returned the favor by doing the same for Jack. Ianto wasn’t surprised they went no further than touching and kissing and for now it was enough. They got out of the shower just before they ran out of hot water.
What time is Owen going to be here?” Jack asked. They’d dressed and were in the kitchen making breakfast. Jack had decided to make American flapjacks while Ianto was making the coffee and bacon.
“His text said anytime after 11 a.m., so I guess we should plan on feeding him lunch,” Ianto replied. He finished making the coffee and placed the mugs on the kitchen table and then went to remove the bacon from the frying pan. He watched Jack expertly flip the flapjack in the skillet by tossing the flapjack in the air and catching it back in the skillet. A stack of flapjacks was in the oven being kept warm. Ianto enjoyed this domestic part of their relationship; just preparing a meal together was comforting after all they had been through recently. “Almost done then?” Ianto asked.
“Yep, this is the last flapjack,” Jack said. Ianto pulled the rest of the flapjacks out and placed them on the kitchen table along with the bacon, butter, maple syrup, strawberry preserves, chocolate syrup, and even whip cream. Jack liked a variety of things on his flapjacks depending on his mood.
They sat down at the table and dug in; Ianto went with maple syrup and butter while Jack decided today he’d indulge in strawberry preserves and squirty cream. They ate in companionable silence.
Jack finished first and started putting things away. “I’ll wash, you dry?” he asked Ianto.
“Sure,” Ianto agreed finishing the last of his flapjacks. They made quick work of the wash up and then adjourned to the sitting room. “What do you want to do today after Owen’s done with us?” he asked Jack. This was their second day at the cottage and they’d spent the first day simply sleeping, eating and lounging around.
“Maybe we could just go for a long walk; you could show me the sights around here?” Jack suggested.
“Sure, Ianto agreed. “Right now I’m going to check my email account and see if anyone from work had any questions about the archives.” Harold had packed a Torchwood encrypted laptop in Ianto’s luggage like Ianto had requested so Ianto could touch base periodically to check in. He knew Jack would be more willing to be away from work if they could check on things remotely from time to time; it was a small concession in Ianto’s mind. Logging on he discovered five emails. Opening the first one he found a greeting from Gwen assuring him and Jack that things were quiet so far, no intergalactic space slime had appeared in Cardiff just a few Weevils popped up in a pet shop eating some dog chow. “Let us know if you need anything. Take care of yourselves,” she said in closing.
The next one was from Tosh confirming what Gwen said about things being quiet and not to worry. “If Jack wants us to dispose of Grey and Hart’s ashes or if he wants us to bring them out to the cottage so he can have some sort of closure, just let us know,” Tosh wrote. “We’re all worried about you and Jack and miss you, but we know you need to do whatever it takes to recover from the recent events, so do what you have to do. Love, Tosh.”
Owen’s email was simply, “I’ll be out to check up on you two shortly after eleven, so get your naked hide and seek out of the way before I arrive. - Owen”
The one from Anian was actually a legitimate question asking where he should file a new piece of junk which came through the rift yesterday. Ianto opened the attached JPEG file and chuckled. He wrote back to Anian the object in question was actually an Ood toy which played music and generated a light display for children; they’d had one come through the rift last year. Anian could put it with the other one and Ianto told him what section of the archives he’d stored the first one in.
The last email was from Harold saying he hoped Jack and Ianto were settled into the cottage and things were running fine in their absence. “By the way, you might want to stop by and say hello to Pete while you’re out for a walk with Jack. Pete was asking about you two and he remembers you, Ianto, fondly from your previous visits with your mam and tad when you were growing up. He’s getting on in years and he’s a little lonely now that his wife passed on and his son is living in Cardiff and teaching at Uni. I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d visit him. - Harold”
Ianto smiled fondly remembering Pete; he was always kind and friendly. He had told Ianto and Rhiannon lots of stories about the old days before lycans were officially recognized by the Queen and brought under her protection. Visiting Pete would fit in nicely with their plans for a walk this afternoon. He emailed Harold and told him they’d visit Pete this afternoon. Finished with his emails, Ianto turned and asked, “Jack do you want to check your emails before I shut down the laptop?” Jack, who was watching a movie, just shook his head without his eyes leaving the screen. Ianto shut down the computer and joined Jack on the couch. “What are you watching?” he asked.
“Cat Ballou,” Jack replied. Ianto went and joined Jack on the couch. They watched the scene where the hero’s hat was blown off his head by the wind, he leaned over to pick it up and fell off his horse into a horse trough getting soaked through and through. Jack roared with laughter. “I love that scene!” he said. Ianto laughed along with him. Their viewing was interrupted by the arrival of a car and the slam of car door.
“That will be Owen, no doubt,” Ianto said putting the movie on pause. He went and opened the door before Owen could even knock. “We heard you arrive,” Ianto said.
“Thought I’d never get here,” Owen replied. “Where’s the loo?”
Ianto replied, “It’s upstairs on the left.”
Owen greeted Jack before running upstairs to use the loo. The flush of the toilet and the running of water in the basin announced Owen was done with his business and he appeared downstairs a moment later. “I’ll check Ianto’s wound first and then I’m giving you the once over as well,” Owen announced. “Where do you want to do this?” he asked.
“Here in the sitting room is as good a place as any,” Ianto replied.
“Fine, then off with your shirt, Ianto,” Owen said.
Once Ianto had his shirt off he sat down on the couch and Owen sat down next to him. Jack stood nearby wanting to find out if Ianto was healing okay or not.
Owen took off the bandage Ianto had wrapped around his arm after his shower. Examining the wound Owen said, “No sign of infection looks to be healing nicely. I’d say it’s time to remove those two stitches from the exit wound.” Owen opened up his kit and took out the suture removal instruments and laid a small towel down on the coffee table. “You know the drill Ianto, just hold still for me.” Owen snipped the sutures apart and then with two quick tugs the sutures were out. “Right, now show me the range of motion you have right now and tell me how bad the pain is; usual pain scale of one to ten.”
Ianto raised his arm and made a circular motion then pumped and flexed his arm carefully. “Doesn’t hurt too badly; I can feel the tug of the scar tissue building, though,” he admitted.
Owen took Ianto’s blood pressure and temperature and took a blood sample. “Everything seems to be on the mend. You can stop putting your arm in the sling, but don’t lift any weight above five pounds with your injured arm for at least another week. Listen to your body - if it hurts to do something, don’t do it. Otherwise it’s plenty of sleep, eat well and keep an eye on Jack. Any questions?”
“Yes, I haven’t morphed into my lycan form since I was shot; would I reinjure my arm if I did morph?” Ianto asked.
Owen thought about it for a moment and replied, “it’s possible you might aggravate your injury because when you morph your body mass is larger and you might possibly pull at the healing tissue so I recommend you hold off on morphing at least for another week.”
Ianto nodded agreeing with Owen’s explanation. “Alright I’ll stay in my human form until next week.”
“Good. Put your shirt back on,” Owen said as he rolled the used instruments up in the towel and stored them back into his kit. “Come on Jack; let’s see how you’re doing. Plunk your arse down,” Owen said patting the couch where Ianto had just vacated.
Jack complied and sat down. Owen scanned Jack’s thigh with the Bekaran scanner just to make sure he had fully healed from his gunshot wound. “When did you fully heal from the gunshot wound,” Owen asked.
“Yesterday,” Jack replied.
“So you didn’t heal quite as quickly as you normally do,” Owen stated. He took Jack’s vital signs just like he had done with Ianto and also took a blood sample. “Are you sleeping and eating okay? And remember Ianto is standing right next to you, so don’t even think of lying to me.”
Jack sighed, “I’m not sleeping real well; I have terrible nightmares and either wake up panicked or Ianto has to wake me up because I’m thrashing about and screaming in my sleep,” Jack admitted. “I feel bad about it because I’m keeping Ianto awake too.”
“Don’t be silly Jack,” Ianto said in his defense. “I can always take a nap during the day to catch up on my sleep; keeping your nightmares in check is more important.” Looking over at Owen, Ianto added, “Jack is eating just fine, so no worries there at least.”
Owen looked at Jack and Ianto and could see how tired they were; especially Jack. “Ianto’s right, Jack, he can take naps to catch up on sleep. Have you tried the mild sedative prescription I gave you just before Ianto and you left to come here?”
Jack shook his head. “No, I’m afraid to; what if I take it and then I can’t wake up and get out of a nightmare?”
“The sedative won’t prevent you from waking up. All it does is relax you enough to get into a deep sleep. The light sleep, REM sleep, is where nightmares occur. Trust me Jack you’ll still be able to wake up from your nightmares. Have you tried talking to Ianto about your nightmares? Do you want to talk to me or someone else about them?” Owen asked.
“I’m not ready to talk about them just yet,” Jack replied. “Please don’t force me to talk about them.”
“Alright I won’t force the issue right now, but you know it will help you to talk about them,” Owen replied. Putting his stethoscope and blood pressure cuff up Owen summarized his findings. “I think your body is still recovering from the trauma of being buried and then being shot as well as the emotional trauma of it being done to you by your brother. I also think you’re depressed but not to the point that antidepressants are warranted yet, so I’ll hold them in reserve. So my doctor’s orders for you are to rest as much as you can, continue to eat well, take care of Ianto and if you really feel you can’t talk to anyone yet about your feelings I’ like you to at least keep a journal or draw pictures; do something to express your feelings.”
Jack thought about it for a moment; “Do I have to show the journal or the drawings to you?” he asked.
“Not if you don’t want to Jack,” Owen replied honestly. He knew from past experience how therapeutic journaling or drawing could be for someone who had been traumatized even if they didn’t share them with anyone, so the idea of Jack even thinking about doing something like that was a good sign.
“Okay, I’ll think about doing something like that,” Jack agreed.
“Good,” Owen replied closing up his medical kit. “Now how about giving me some lunch and coffee - I’m starving!”
“I’ve got some quiche warming up in the oven,” Jack replied. It should be done in about ten minutes.”
They chatted about mundane things while Jack tossed a salad and Ianto made some coffee. Owen went out to his car, put away his medical kit and came back into the kitchen carrying the empty travel mugs and a coffee thermos. “They’re clean,” Owen said about the travel mugs he handed to Ianto. “And I’d love to take some of your coffee back on my return trip. I’m going through coffee withdrawals.”
Ianto chuckled at Owen’s remarks. “I’ll make another batch of coffee and fill up the thermos before you leave,” Ianto replied.
“Lunch is ready,” Jack said pulling the quiche out and setting it down on the trivet on the kitchen table. He sliced it up and served it to Ianto and Owen before sliding a slice on to his own plate. Sitting down they tucked into a lunch of quiche, tossed green salad, rolls, and coffee.
“This is good Jack; did you make it from scratch?” Owen asked.
“No; apparently Rhi and some friends prepared some dishes for us just in case we didn’t feel like cooking. All I had to do was heat it up,” Jack replied.
“Well God bless em one and all,” Owen said taking another bite of his quiche before attacking his salad.
“Who are you - Tiny Tim?” Ianto asked with a smirk.
“Call me whatever you like as long as I get food like this,” Owen replied. They finished their lunch and had coffee and some more of Rhi’s cookies for afters. Ianto made a fresh batch of coffee for Owen as promised and sent him on his way with a full thermos.
tw~tw~tw~tw~tw~tw~tw~tw~tw~tw
A note from socalrose: This chapter was so long I had to divide it in two. Next chapter coming on Friday. Comments and questions are always appreciated
Update: I had to chuckle when
missthingsplace commented about the flapjacks Jack made for breakfast. I should had said American flapjacks or pancakes which are light and fluffy and oh so fabulous with butter and maple syrup or like Jack had his with strawberries and squirty cream - yummy! An easy way to keep flapjacks/pancakes warm for service is to preheat an oven to 200F degress before you begin cooking. As they come off the griddle or frying pan place them on a sheet pan in a single layer and hold them in the oven. Here's a link to a recipe for American flapjack/pancakes:
allrecipes.com/Recipe/Good-Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/detail.aspx
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