69 Memory Lane - Monday

[time_watcher]

As soon as Ianto had gotten done laughing at Jack for falling out of a tree he'd helped the older man get out of his clothes and into a hot shower. Jack's back had looked like some sort of goth patchwork quilt with his black and blue marks and Ianto had merely rolled his eyes and shoved the older man towards a fluffy towel when Jack had tried to

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[beenthroughthat]

Sam, for no particular reason, decided it might be a good day to pay his, er, employer a visit. Good workplace relations and all that.

And if he looked at all tired and -- ahem -- bruised from his weekend, at least he looked very happy about it.

[time_watcher]

Damn it, if only Jack had that excuse.

It wasn't Jack who answered the door but rather a handsome young man in a three piece suit and a polite -in an English butler sorta way- smile.

"Hello, Mr. Anders. Won't you come in?"

[beenthroughthat]

"Ianto," Sam said with a nod and half-smile as he stepped in. "How's it going today?"

[time_watcher]

"Quite well, Mr. Anders." Ianto responded, closing the door.

"I imagine you're here to see the Captain? He's on through in the study if you'd like to show yourself in. May I get you something to drink?"

[beenthroughthat]

"Coffee?" Sam asked hopefully. Yes, he actually liked the stuff Jack called coffee. He'd used his own to unstick rusty screws, once. Worked like a charm.

"Just thought I'd check in, yeah. On both of you, really." He'd been self-conscious enough about his role in things as a teenager to even think about trying to pass Ianto off as part of the furniture, no matter how much his role resembled a servant's at times.

[time_watcher]

Anders would be in Heaven with Ianto's coffee then, as the young man made it Jack strong with without the bitter.

"Of course," Ianto said with that reserved but surprisingly friendly smile of his and his eyes might have twinkled a little at the idea of being checked in on but he didn't say anything because actually ... it was kinda nice.

"Captain fell out of a tree last night, do be sure to fun him for it, he'll try to pout and look piteous but don't believe him."

[beenthroughthat]

"Out of a tree?" Sam repeated, utterly failing to hold back a bit of a guffaw. A legitimate excuse to poke fun at his boss's dignity was perfectly fine by him. "How did he manage that?"

[time_watcher]

"I was showing Miss Manning how to climb a tree and ... also how not to get out of one," Jack said peevishly from the doorway of the study.

"Of course, Sir. I'm certain it was all part of your cunning plan."

"Shudup," Jack said, though there was no heat in his tone.

"I'm getting Mr. Anders some coffee. You may get yourself a bottle of water," Ianto said completely unimpressed by the admonishment.

"Ianto," Jack whined.

"Grown men who fall out of trees..." Ianto began but Jack put his hands together and looked pathetically hopeful. "Oh, very well. Coffee for you both." Ianto relented.

Jack looked pleased and though he moved stiffly, he seemed to bounce a little as he nodded Anders into the study.

"Come on through, Sam. What can we do for you today?"

[beenthroughthat]

"Sort of a 'do as I say, not as I do' demonstration?" Sam inquired amusedly. Edging into the study, he dropped into a chair with a slightly sore lack of grace that might have hinted at what he'd been up to all weekend. "No particular reason for dropping by. Just seemed like the thing to do. Being . . . neighborly and all that. You know."

[time_watcher]

Ianto had returned with the coffee and Jack slowly lowered himself into the chair across from Anders.

"Well actually that reminds me," Jack began. "Ianto?"

"Yes, Sir."

Ianto disappeared, returning a few minutes later with a box, which he held out towards Jack.

Taking the box, Jack set his coffee aside and popped it open, exposing a shiny, new cell phone with blue tooth headset and all manner of goodies.

"Do you have a sim card?"

[beenthroughthat]

. . . ooo. Shiny indeed.

"For my phone, you mean?" Sam asked, after a moment of staring -- okay, and savoring the coffee buzz, because mmmmmmmmmm. He fumbled the phone off its clip on his belt and turned it over in his hands. "Yeah . . . what is it, going in there?"

[time_watcher]

"Ahyep," Jack confirmed, holding out his hand for the old cell phone.

"I'm a demanding cuss of a boss and I like to know that when I call I don't get the 'my cell phone didn't work' excuse," he began, holding up the new phone that managed to look both ruggedly durable and full of all sorts of shiny neat features. "Plus these come with filters that will block any attempts at eavesdropping."

[beenthroughthat]

Well, so much for that excuse, not that Sam had intended to use it. "Which is more than you typically get with any cell phone. Nice," he remarked, handing his own phone over -- battered old thing that it was, and well past due for an upgrade anyhow. "It doesn't happen to make candy, does it?" he asked casually.

[time_watcher]

"Only if you pull taffy over it, which probably wouldn't keep it in good working pitch," Jack said as he adroitly broke into the old cell phone and extracted the sim card.

Making the replacement, Jack flipped over the new phone and toggled it on. Taking a moment to flip through a couple of things to make sure it was working, he handed the whole box of goodies over to Sam.

"Instruction booklet in the box, don't worry about minutes or payment. The plan is on Torchwood."

[beenthroughthat]

"Nice," Sam said, a little awed as he took hold of the box, gingerly. "Is this one of those business-use-only deals?"

This was comforting on one level, and more than slightly intimidating on another; not really helping with the niggling worry that he'd all but sold his soul to this.

[time_watcher]

Jack chuckled and sat back with a flinch.

"Use it as your own, I certainly do." He said honestly.

"So, how was your weekend?"

What? Did Sam think his slight winces had escaped Jack's notice?