Ianto's Journey - Chapter 10
Title: Ianto’s Journey - Chapter 10
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Ianto Jones, Lisa Hallet, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper
Series Rating: 15
Words: 2205 / 25351
Spoilers: S1E4, S2E12, DW-S2E12, DW-S2E13
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Exhaustion".
Start at the Prologue
Previous chapter - Chapter 9
Getting Lisa into the Hub basement had been far easier than he had ever imagined. He had finished the life support machine and was wondering how he was going to get Lisa in without anyone noticing when Jack practically handed the perfect opportunity to him on a silver platter. The rest of the team was going on a retrieval mission to on the other side of Newport. All the long range scans indicated that it was just space debris that had come through - no life forms registering, and no dangerous tech. But there was quite a lot of it, so they were going to take the SUV and another car and needed all of them there to help pick up the pieces. Jack decided it would be the perfect time to test how well Ianto had learnt about running the scans, directing the team and coordinating the comms. So they had left him alone, with about an hour before they got to the crash site and actually needed him. Ianto had said he would be down in the archives for that hour and was reachable on his comms but would only come up to the computer screens when they got nearer the site, or if they needed him.
That had given him one hour to go home and fetch Lisa and get her into the Hub and onto the life support machine. Then he had to leave her for twenty minutes whilst he did some work directing the team and proving that he had been listening when Tosh told him what needed to be done. Lisa was asleep by then anyway, allowing the machine to start its healing work. Then he had another hour to doctor the CCTV and then sit with Lisa and make sure she was comfortable before the others got back.
Over the next few weeks Ianto’s life developed into some semblance of a routine. He would arrive at the Hub through the tourist office at 6:45. Spend fifteen minutes sorting things out up there, throwing away old leaflets and arranging new ones on the stands, making sure everything was tidy. Then he would make his way into the hub proper, the cog door siren announcing his arrival and drawing Jack out to greet him.
Today was just like any other and Ianto wondered, not for the first time, if the Captain ever went home. He was always there when Ianto arrived in the morning, smiling and happy to see Ianto’s coffee, if not the man himself.
“Morning Sir,” Ianto nodded, making his way to the kitchen. Jack followed him and lounged against the doorway watching as he worked his magic with the coffee maker. It used to make Ianto nervous the way Jack stared at him, but now he was used to it. And he had worked out that as long as Jack was looking at him like that, like a potential conquest, he wasn’t really seeing him, or more importantly what he was doing, at all. Ianto passed his Captain the blue and white stripy mug, their fingers brushing and their eyes locked together as they both sipped their drinks savouring the bitter taste. Ianto let his eyes slide closed, the lids feeling unbearably heavy, the caffeine not yet having kicked in to get him through the day.
Jack stepped into the room and put down his mug on the work surface. The noise alerted Ianto to Jack’s intentions but he didn’t open his eyes, just melted into the Captain’s touch as Jack reached up and massaged the younger man’s shoulders. “You don’t have to come in so early you know. The others won’t be here for another hour and a half.” Jack murmured.
“I can’t sleep in. Might as well come to work and do something useful.” Ianto replied.
Jack gently took the mug from Ianto’s hands then cupped his face, his thumb rubbing across those gorgeous cheek bones. He leaned in and placed a slow but chaste coffee scented kiss on corner of the young man’s lips. When Jack pulled away Ianto allowed himself to lick his lips almost wistfully then sighed deeply and opened his eyes, reaching over to pick up his mug, “I should get going Sir. Work to do.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jack replied, stepping back to allow Ianto to leave the kitchen first.
As Ianto walked away, he called back over his shoulder, “I can feel you watching my arse, Sir.”
“What? It’s a nice arse!” Jack’s deep chuckle followed Ianto all the way out of the main section of the Hub.
Once down in the archives away from the gaze of his Captain, Ianto sank wearily into the chair at his desk drinking his coffee and reviewing his to do list for the day. The rest of the team would be due in around 8:45 and Ianto was always in the kitchen making a coffee for them at 8:40 sharp. Because everyone trusted him to be there at that time he knew that although Jack might come looking for him early on, nobody would bother to look for him after 8:20. If they needed to speak to him they’d just wait until he took the coffees.
He always spent the evenings, as soon as he could get away from Jack, and most of the night curled up in the chair in Lisa’s room. He chatted to her, read to her, administered her medicines and watched over her, dozing when she slept but alert at the slightest sound. At around four in the morning he would kiss her goodbye and then sneak out via the garage and the smallest path that he had carefully cleared in the CCTV coverage, and head home for a shower and a change of clothes and, if he was lucky, an hour in a proper bed.
Now, as the hands on his watch ticked around to 8:20, Ianto pulled himself up from the chair, stretching out his tired and cramping muscles then headed deeper into the bowels of the hub towards Lisa’s room. It was time to give her another dose of morphine. Ianto found himself praying that she was asleep, so that he would be able to go in, add the drug to her drip, and leave as quickly as possible. As soon as he thought that he felt guilty. Poor Lisa was stuck in that room - the least he could do was spare fifteen minutes to talk to her, even though all he wanted to do was go back to his desk and curl up in the big comfy chair, just for ten minutes.
Ianto unlocked the door and pushed it open slowly. Lisa’s deep chocolate brown eyes met his from across the room. “Good morning Sweetheart,” he said with a smile.
During the day, whenever Ianto was able to get away without being noticed he would sneak down to check on Lisa. This proved to be far easier than he had expected. He had made blending into the background into an art form. Nobody noticed him when he was there quietly going about his business, so equally nobody noticed when he wasn’t, as long as the coffee kept flowing at regular intervals and any files that they needed appeared on their desks, often before they even knew they needed them. Jack had once asked him how he managed to do that. He had just replied with what he hoped was a sexy and enigmatic smile. The truth was fairly mundane though. He just paid attention at the daily briefing where the team were given their assignments or reported on progress they were making on their projects. He took notes and dug out anything of any relevance from the archives.
Jack was the only one who ever really noticed him at all. Tosh was lovely and would always say hi and smile at him shyly but she was so wrapped up in her work that the moment he left her sight he was forgotten. Ianto didn’t take it personally it was just how she was.
And when Jack did notice him, and he could sense a question begin to form on the Captain’s lips, Ianto always knew how to deflect it with a flirtatious comment or a bit of innocent body contact, which always sent sparks of electricity shooting along his nerve endings.
Jack was an attractive man, there was no denying it. Although that was an interesting thought; since when did he find men attractive? He loved Lisa, always would. But Jack had the gravitational pull of a small planet, he couldn’t help falling towards him in moments of weakness.
Like now.
Owen had called them together to discuss the findings in his latest autopsy. Ianto just let the details and the discussion flow over and around him. He wouldn’t be expected to give any actual feedback anyway. The meeting was drawing to a close and Ianto had zoned out completely. He had spent the last ten minutes going over in his mind the details of Dr Tanazaki’s visit which was scheduled for a fortnight’s time, checking that he had everything in place to make the cybernetics expert’s stay as comfortable as possible. Now, satisfied that he had planned for and covered every eventuality, Ianto let his mind go blank. Owen was still droning on in the background, although it sounded like he was wrapping things up. The chair Ianto was sitting in, though not noted for its comfort was starting to feel more and more comfortable as Ianto felt his eyelids grow heavy. He was so bone weary that all he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep for a week.
Ianto became aware of the meeting coming to an end, the others scraping their chairs back and standing up. Ianto went to join them but his reactions were slow, dimmed. Everything was so much harder work than it should be, it felt like he was moving through treacle. He stood and steadied himself against the table with one hand.
“Ianto, a word?” Jack asked.
Ianto looked up, the movement catching him off balance and he swayed, only Jack’s arm suddenly around his waist stopped him from falling.
“Woah, steady.” Jack muttered as Ianto felt himself sinking into the Captain’s embrace.
“Mmm” Ianto murmured, then chuckled as he realised what he had said. He was so tired that the rational part of his mind was shutting down and he was acting like he was drunk. He thought that there was nothing nicer than being held in a strong embrace when you were that tired. It felt like coming home. He wondered if that is how Lisa felt when he held her after a long and hectic week. Then he felt the guilt stab him like a physical jab to the stomach and he lurched away from Jack and fell against the table, sinking back into his chair.
Jack perched on the desk and looked at him in concern. “You’re working too hard Ianto. You’re always first one in and the last to go home. You’ve got nothing to prove. I know I said there was no job for you originally but you’ve already made yourself indispensable around here, not to mention the work you are doing in the archives. We need you Ianto, but you are no use to anyone like this.”
The truth of Jack’s words struck home. He was no use to Lisa like this. And then the pang of guilt struck him again. Here was Jack complimenting his work, showing concern for him and Ianto was betraying him and the team in the worst possible way. A stray tear rolled down his cheek.
Jack continued, “What if we had a crisis and the team had to go out on a mission? What if we left you running comms? Could you really function well enough to direct us if our lives were in your hands? Could you live with yourself if any of us got hurt because of you?”
Ianto mutely shook his head. He had only ever meant to use Torchwood Three and Jack as a means to an end, but he found himself getting quite attached to all of them. Sure, he argued with Owen, but that was just the doctor’s way. Toshiko was lovely, if a little too shy to be a real friend, especially as Ianto didn’t have the time or energy to invest in drawing her out of herself, another thing he regretted. Suzie had been difficult, a bit of an enigma, but the new girl, Gwen, was sweet and open and not nearly as tough as she tried to be. And Jack was just Jack, sexy, capable, caring, playful. Ianto couldn’t bare it if they were hurt because of him.
“Come on, let me take you home. We’ll get Owen to give you a tablet to make you sleep and then I don’t want to see you here before eight tomorrow morning, understand?”
Ianto smiled weakly, “Thank you Sir.” He wouldn’t take the pill, he needed to be able to sneak back into the Hub later that night to check on Lisa, but a few hours rest in his own bed this afternoon would be heaven.
On to Chapter 11
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Ianto Jones, Lisa Hallet, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper
Series Rating: 15
Words: 2205 / 25351
Spoilers: S1E4, S2E12, DW-S2E12, DW-S2E13
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Exhaustion".
Start at the Prologue
Previous chapter - Chapter 9
Getting Lisa into the Hub basement had been far easier than he had ever imagined. He had finished the life support machine and was wondering how he was going to get Lisa in without anyone noticing when Jack practically handed the perfect opportunity to him on a silver platter. The rest of the team was going on a retrieval mission to on the other side of Newport. All the long range scans indicated that it was just space debris that had come through - no life forms registering, and no dangerous tech. But there was quite a lot of it, so they were going to take the SUV and another car and needed all of them there to help pick up the pieces. Jack decided it would be the perfect time to test how well Ianto had learnt about running the scans, directing the team and coordinating the comms. So they had left him alone, with about an hour before they got to the crash site and actually needed him. Ianto had said he would be down in the archives for that hour and was reachable on his comms but would only come up to the computer screens when they got nearer the site, or if they needed him.
That had given him one hour to go home and fetch Lisa and get her into the Hub and onto the life support machine. Then he had to leave her for twenty minutes whilst he did some work directing the team and proving that he had been listening when Tosh told him what needed to be done. Lisa was asleep by then anyway, allowing the machine to start its healing work. Then he had another hour to doctor the CCTV and then sit with Lisa and make sure she was comfortable before the others got back.
Over the next few weeks Ianto’s life developed into some semblance of a routine. He would arrive at the Hub through the tourist office at 6:45. Spend fifteen minutes sorting things out up there, throwing away old leaflets and arranging new ones on the stands, making sure everything was tidy. Then he would make his way into the hub proper, the cog door siren announcing his arrival and drawing Jack out to greet him.
Today was just like any other and Ianto wondered, not for the first time, if the Captain ever went home. He was always there when Ianto arrived in the morning, smiling and happy to see Ianto’s coffee, if not the man himself.
“Morning Sir,” Ianto nodded, making his way to the kitchen. Jack followed him and lounged against the doorway watching as he worked his magic with the coffee maker. It used to make Ianto nervous the way Jack stared at him, but now he was used to it. And he had worked out that as long as Jack was looking at him like that, like a potential conquest, he wasn’t really seeing him, or more importantly what he was doing, at all. Ianto passed his Captain the blue and white stripy mug, their fingers brushing and their eyes locked together as they both sipped their drinks savouring the bitter taste. Ianto let his eyes slide closed, the lids feeling unbearably heavy, the caffeine not yet having kicked in to get him through the day.
Jack stepped into the room and put down his mug on the work surface. The noise alerted Ianto to Jack’s intentions but he didn’t open his eyes, just melted into the Captain’s touch as Jack reached up and massaged the younger man’s shoulders. “You don’t have to come in so early you know. The others won’t be here for another hour and a half.” Jack murmured.
“I can’t sleep in. Might as well come to work and do something useful.” Ianto replied.
Jack gently took the mug from Ianto’s hands then cupped his face, his thumb rubbing across those gorgeous cheek bones. He leaned in and placed a slow but chaste coffee scented kiss on corner of the young man’s lips. When Jack pulled away Ianto allowed himself to lick his lips almost wistfully then sighed deeply and opened his eyes, reaching over to pick up his mug, “I should get going Sir. Work to do.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jack replied, stepping back to allow Ianto to leave the kitchen first.
As Ianto walked away, he called back over his shoulder, “I can feel you watching my arse, Sir.”
“What? It’s a nice arse!” Jack’s deep chuckle followed Ianto all the way out of the main section of the Hub.
Once down in the archives away from the gaze of his Captain, Ianto sank wearily into the chair at his desk drinking his coffee and reviewing his to do list for the day. The rest of the team would be due in around 8:45 and Ianto was always in the kitchen making a coffee for them at 8:40 sharp. Because everyone trusted him to be there at that time he knew that although Jack might come looking for him early on, nobody would bother to look for him after 8:20. If they needed to speak to him they’d just wait until he took the coffees.
He always spent the evenings, as soon as he could get away from Jack, and most of the night curled up in the chair in Lisa’s room. He chatted to her, read to her, administered her medicines and watched over her, dozing when she slept but alert at the slightest sound. At around four in the morning he would kiss her goodbye and then sneak out via the garage and the smallest path that he had carefully cleared in the CCTV coverage, and head home for a shower and a change of clothes and, if he was lucky, an hour in a proper bed.
Now, as the hands on his watch ticked around to 8:20, Ianto pulled himself up from the chair, stretching out his tired and cramping muscles then headed deeper into the bowels of the hub towards Lisa’s room. It was time to give her another dose of morphine. Ianto found himself praying that she was asleep, so that he would be able to go in, add the drug to her drip, and leave as quickly as possible. As soon as he thought that he felt guilty. Poor Lisa was stuck in that room - the least he could do was spare fifteen minutes to talk to her, even though all he wanted to do was go back to his desk and curl up in the big comfy chair, just for ten minutes.
Ianto unlocked the door and pushed it open slowly. Lisa’s deep chocolate brown eyes met his from across the room. “Good morning Sweetheart,” he said with a smile.
During the day, whenever Ianto was able to get away without being noticed he would sneak down to check on Lisa. This proved to be far easier than he had expected. He had made blending into the background into an art form. Nobody noticed him when he was there quietly going about his business, so equally nobody noticed when he wasn’t, as long as the coffee kept flowing at regular intervals and any files that they needed appeared on their desks, often before they even knew they needed them. Jack had once asked him how he managed to do that. He had just replied with what he hoped was a sexy and enigmatic smile. The truth was fairly mundane though. He just paid attention at the daily briefing where the team were given their assignments or reported on progress they were making on their projects. He took notes and dug out anything of any relevance from the archives.
Jack was the only one who ever really noticed him at all. Tosh was lovely and would always say hi and smile at him shyly but she was so wrapped up in her work that the moment he left her sight he was forgotten. Ianto didn’t take it personally it was just how she was.
And when Jack did notice him, and he could sense a question begin to form on the Captain’s lips, Ianto always knew how to deflect it with a flirtatious comment or a bit of innocent body contact, which always sent sparks of electricity shooting along his nerve endings.
Jack was an attractive man, there was no denying it. Although that was an interesting thought; since when did he find men attractive? He loved Lisa, always would. But Jack had the gravitational pull of a small planet, he couldn’t help falling towards him in moments of weakness.
Like now.
Owen had called them together to discuss the findings in his latest autopsy. Ianto just let the details and the discussion flow over and around him. He wouldn’t be expected to give any actual feedback anyway. The meeting was drawing to a close and Ianto had zoned out completely. He had spent the last ten minutes going over in his mind the details of Dr Tanazaki’s visit which was scheduled for a fortnight’s time, checking that he had everything in place to make the cybernetics expert’s stay as comfortable as possible. Now, satisfied that he had planned for and covered every eventuality, Ianto let his mind go blank. Owen was still droning on in the background, although it sounded like he was wrapping things up. The chair Ianto was sitting in, though not noted for its comfort was starting to feel more and more comfortable as Ianto felt his eyelids grow heavy. He was so bone weary that all he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep for a week.
Ianto became aware of the meeting coming to an end, the others scraping their chairs back and standing up. Ianto went to join them but his reactions were slow, dimmed. Everything was so much harder work than it should be, it felt like he was moving through treacle. He stood and steadied himself against the table with one hand.
“Ianto, a word?” Jack asked.
Ianto looked up, the movement catching him off balance and he swayed, only Jack’s arm suddenly around his waist stopped him from falling.
“Woah, steady.” Jack muttered as Ianto felt himself sinking into the Captain’s embrace.
“Mmm” Ianto murmured, then chuckled as he realised what he had said. He was so tired that the rational part of his mind was shutting down and he was acting like he was drunk. He thought that there was nothing nicer than being held in a strong embrace when you were that tired. It felt like coming home. He wondered if that is how Lisa felt when he held her after a long and hectic week. Then he felt the guilt stab him like a physical jab to the stomach and he lurched away from Jack and fell against the table, sinking back into his chair.
Jack perched on the desk and looked at him in concern. “You’re working too hard Ianto. You’re always first one in and the last to go home. You’ve got nothing to prove. I know I said there was no job for you originally but you’ve already made yourself indispensable around here, not to mention the work you are doing in the archives. We need you Ianto, but you are no use to anyone like this.”
The truth of Jack’s words struck home. He was no use to Lisa like this. And then the pang of guilt struck him again. Here was Jack complimenting his work, showing concern for him and Ianto was betraying him and the team in the worst possible way. A stray tear rolled down his cheek.
Jack continued, “What if we had a crisis and the team had to go out on a mission? What if we left you running comms? Could you really function well enough to direct us if our lives were in your hands? Could you live with yourself if any of us got hurt because of you?”
Ianto mutely shook his head. He had only ever meant to use Torchwood Three and Jack as a means to an end, but he found himself getting quite attached to all of them. Sure, he argued with Owen, but that was just the doctor’s way. Toshiko was lovely, if a little too shy to be a real friend, especially as Ianto didn’t have the time or energy to invest in drawing her out of herself, another thing he regretted. Suzie had been difficult, a bit of an enigma, but the new girl, Gwen, was sweet and open and not nearly as tough as she tried to be. And Jack was just Jack, sexy, capable, caring, playful. Ianto couldn’t bare it if they were hurt because of him.
“Come on, let me take you home. We’ll get Owen to give you a tablet to make you sleep and then I don’t want to see you here before eight tomorrow morning, understand?”
Ianto smiled weakly, “Thank you Sir.” He wouldn’t take the pill, he needed to be able to sneak back into the Hub later that night to check on Lisa, but a few hours rest in his own bed this afternoon would be heaven.
On to Chapter 11