The Measure of a Man
Title:The Measure of a Man
Chapter; I/9
Rating: PG at worst
Summary: The measure of a man will be determined not in times of comfort andsecurity but when everything's gone up the metaphorical creek without the metaphorical paddle.
Characters: Usual line up; Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Gwen, Evan
Pairing: Who do you think? Jack/ Ianto just
Spoilers:Countrycide though why any self respecting Torchwood fan hasn't seen it yet is beyond me. It's my favourite episode;)
Disclaimer:I own all of Torchwood and the characters...Oh, wait, my psychologist says I can't say that, I'll get sued.
“Jack, no!” shouted Gwen from across the room, dragging Jack out of his thoughts and back to the present day. To his team.
“He deserves it,” he growled, jabbing the gun at Evan’s head, his finger itching to pull the trigger and blow that monster’s brains out. Evan wasn’t human. He’d lost that right the first time he’d murdered.
“That may be so. But you want answers and you’re not going to get them if his brains are decorating the floor are you? Think of us, Jack,” pleaded Gwen, looking him in the eye, as she rubbed Ianto’s back soothingly, trying to calm the distressed young man and Jack got the hint; think of Ianto.
In the background, Jack could hear Owen checking Tosh over, his curses somehow lacking their usual ferocity. It came to something when even Owen, the most distanced of the team was affected and he hated these things even more for doing that.
“Fine. But I’m doing this for you, not him,” growled Jack who was quite proud of the amount of self control he was exercising all things considered.
“A few more seconds and he’d have bled out,” breathed Evan, tauntingly, a manic glint in his eye, causing Ianto to whimper involuntarily.
“Don’t you dare even speak about him! You have no right! Now why did you do it? Tell me!” snarled Jack, the sound of Gwen trying and failing to soothe Ianto aggravating him further.
“Jack just leave it. He ain’t worth it,” said Owen, wearily, seeing how angry Jack was. He didn’t blame him, but there was a time and a place and this was neither. Jack was scaring Ianto and he wasn’t having it, the poor man was scared enough as it was; any extra noise was only going to distress him further.
“I’ll tell you why I did it. Because… it made me happy,” smirked Evan, and Jack lost any control he had, punching the cannibal before storming out.
“Harkness, get your backside back ‘ere now!” shouted Owen. Jack ignored him.
“That stupid… arrogant….conceited…” Owen was cut off mid rant by Tosh pulling him into a hug.
“We’re okay. All of us; me, Gwen, Ianto, we’re all alive,” she murmured, knowing that the medic needed to be assured of this fact. He may act like he didn’t care but that was all a front to disguise how much he did.
For a moment, Owen allowed himself to be comforted. He could feel himself getting more and more worked up and knew that wasn’t good for anyone so concentrated on calming himself, slipping into doctor mode and analysing the situation as if he were an outsider.
When you were a doctor at A and E, you didn’t see how the patient got their injuries or how they’d felt, you just got the end result which made it that much easier to work as that person sitting in front of you was just another person. But these people were his friends; he couldn’t just pretend to not have heard Ianto screaming into his gag or the look of sheer terror pass over Gwen and Tosh’s faces. So instead he converted his own feelings of terror and repulsion into hatred and anger for the evil bastards who thought it a sick joke to scare people in this way.
“Thanks, Tosh. Right, call the police and tell ‘em to get their backsides over ‘ere now. Pull rank if you have to but I want this sorted yesterday. Any of this lot tries anything, shoot them. I don’t care what Jack bloody Harkness says, I’m ‘ere he’s not if he don’t like it he can lump it. Got it?” he ordered, knowing he was being too sharp with the girl but it was the only way he could cope right now. Tosh nodded and hurried away.
“Aw! Four kiddies playing the hero and only one’s left standing,” taunted Evan from his corner, cracking what little there was of Owen’s self control as he crossed the room in two strides and had him pinned against the wall like he were a lump of meat.
“Listen ‘ere, mate, you’re alive ‘cos I want you to suffer and quite frankly, I don’t want to waste a decent bullet on you. But don’t you dare push me ‘cos you won’t win. Alright?” he snarled, flinging a stunned Evan to the floor before going over to Gwen who was still holding Ianto close, stroking his hair and murmuring reassuring nothings in his ear. Owen exhaled, she meant well but she didn’t have a bloody clue. Not really. She hadn’t even thought to uncuff or ungag the poor boy yet. Still, give it time; she’d know what to do within a year or so. It was srprising how quickly you got used to these things he thought wryly as he crouched down beside the two.
“Right, mate, sorry it took so long. Had to deal with that prat over there honestly, when will villains learn to behave eh?” he said casually as he gently untied the gag and before tentatively taking Ianto’s cuffed hands in his and unlocking the cuffs as Gwen looked on.
“Will he be alright?” she asked, anxiously and Owen looked up to see genuine concern in her eyes.
“He can hear you and he is quite capable of answering for himself,” said Ianto, pointedly, tired of being treated like he was invisible.
“Oh. Right. Sorry, love, how are you?” asked Gwen, taken aback at Ianto’s sharpness, he was usually so polite. Owen smirked to himself; he had to hand it to the man, even after all he’d been through, he could still put people in their place.
“Ecstatic. Considering vegetarianism. How the hell do you think I feel, Gwen?” snapped Ianto, knowing he was beyond hysterical. Possibly within the realms of deep shock but unable to stop; he was tired and in pain and scared and wanted to go home. Being treated like a child making him more agitated, he knew he’d mucked up; there was no need to rub it in.
“Sorry. I didn’t think,” muttered Gwen, looking away. She’d only been trying to help, to feel a bit less useless but Ianto was so difficult to fathom; he’d become less reserved since Lisa but it still felt like talking to a brick wall. Jack said she should persevere; it was difficult for Ianto to trust after all he’d been through.
“Gwen, why don’t you go and find Jack and tell him to get his backside ‘ere now yeah?” said Owen, pointedly, breaking the tension before someone did something they’d regret. Gwen nodded before leaving.
“Was that entirely necessary?” asked Owen, gently as he checked Ianto for signs of concussion, moving in front of him, shielding him from the cannibal’s view.
“Probably not,” sighed Ianto, wearily, resting his head against the cupboard and rubbing his sore wrists, he felt completely useless; everyone else knew what to do and then there was him; getting it wrong as usual. He was amazed that Owen, the most likely to shout at him was even here; let alone talking to him civilly.
“Never mind. We’re all a bit jumpy at the moment. Now, any major breaks, bruising etc I should know about?” asked Owen as he carefully applied pressure to Ianto’s side, making the young man flinch and reflexively push him away.
“Not here… Not with them…” he stammered, curling away from the medic, glancing over at where the cannibals were looking menacingly at him.
Owen followed the Welshman’s gaze and upon seeing the cause of his concern nodded understanding, swallowing his anger for fear of scaring him further. He knew Ianto was what was technically known in the medical profession as losing it, the post traumatic stress kicking in. I f they didn’t move to neutral surroundings soon, they’d lose him and Owen didn’t feel like he knew the poor boy well enough to be able to pull him back. Jack was usually quite good at getting through to him but the idiot had buggered off somewhere, leaving Owen to deal with the fallout. It occurred to Owen that he should have tried harder with the young man.
“Okay, well it looks like you’re okay at the moment, but I will examine you once we get back to the Hub okay?” Ianto nodded, his knees drawn to his chest, not looking at him and Owen doubted he’d heard what he’s said as he squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before moving over to where Tosh was attempting to keep control.
“How is he?” she asked briefly glancing up at him before turning her attention back to the cannibals. She looked exhausted, the bruises starting to become apparent on her neck.
“Hanging on. He’s stronger than he looks,” replied Owen, softly, looking over at where Ianto was staring vacantly into space.
“Didn’t you already know that? You call him the tea boy but I think he’s stronger than the rest of us put together,” said Tosh, almost reverently and Owen had to admit she had a point. At 23, Ianto was by far the youngest of the team yet paradoxically, he was also the longest serving Torchwood member, and as a consequence had been through the most. Owen still didn’t understand how even after fighting in Canary Wharf (and he had fought, he’d been been the last line of defence along with two others. Only Ianto had survived), and Lisa, Ianto still managed to come back to a job that had nearly claimed his life on several occasions and maintain a veneer of indifference.
“You know what Tosh? I think you’re right.”
welsh-scotsman.livejournal.com/3201.html chapter two
Chapter; I/9
Rating: PG at worst
Summary: The measure of a man will be determined not in times of comfort andsecurity but when everything's gone up the metaphorical creek without the metaphorical paddle.
Characters: Usual line up; Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Gwen, Evan
Pairing: Who do you think? Jack/ Ianto just
Spoilers:Countrycide though why any self respecting Torchwood fan hasn't seen it yet is beyond me. It's my favourite episode;)
Disclaimer:I own all of Torchwood and the characters...Oh, wait, my psychologist says I can't say that, I'll get sued.
“Jack, no!” shouted Gwen from across the room, dragging Jack out of his thoughts and back to the present day. To his team.
“He deserves it,” he growled, jabbing the gun at Evan’s head, his finger itching to pull the trigger and blow that monster’s brains out. Evan wasn’t human. He’d lost that right the first time he’d murdered.
“That may be so. But you want answers and you’re not going to get them if his brains are decorating the floor are you? Think of us, Jack,” pleaded Gwen, looking him in the eye, as she rubbed Ianto’s back soothingly, trying to calm the distressed young man and Jack got the hint; think of Ianto.
In the background, Jack could hear Owen checking Tosh over, his curses somehow lacking their usual ferocity. It came to something when even Owen, the most distanced of the team was affected and he hated these things even more for doing that.
“Fine. But I’m doing this for you, not him,” growled Jack who was quite proud of the amount of self control he was exercising all things considered.
“A few more seconds and he’d have bled out,” breathed Evan, tauntingly, a manic glint in his eye, causing Ianto to whimper involuntarily.
“Don’t you dare even speak about him! You have no right! Now why did you do it? Tell me!” snarled Jack, the sound of Gwen trying and failing to soothe Ianto aggravating him further.
“Jack just leave it. He ain’t worth it,” said Owen, wearily, seeing how angry Jack was. He didn’t blame him, but there was a time and a place and this was neither. Jack was scaring Ianto and he wasn’t having it, the poor man was scared enough as it was; any extra noise was only going to distress him further.
“I’ll tell you why I did it. Because… it made me happy,” smirked Evan, and Jack lost any control he had, punching the cannibal before storming out.
“Harkness, get your backside back ‘ere now!” shouted Owen. Jack ignored him.
“That stupid… arrogant….conceited…” Owen was cut off mid rant by Tosh pulling him into a hug.
“We’re okay. All of us; me, Gwen, Ianto, we’re all alive,” she murmured, knowing that the medic needed to be assured of this fact. He may act like he didn’t care but that was all a front to disguise how much he did.
For a moment, Owen allowed himself to be comforted. He could feel himself getting more and more worked up and knew that wasn’t good for anyone so concentrated on calming himself, slipping into doctor mode and analysing the situation as if he were an outsider.
When you were a doctor at A and E, you didn’t see how the patient got their injuries or how they’d felt, you just got the end result which made it that much easier to work as that person sitting in front of you was just another person. But these people were his friends; he couldn’t just pretend to not have heard Ianto screaming into his gag or the look of sheer terror pass over Gwen and Tosh’s faces. So instead he converted his own feelings of terror and repulsion into hatred and anger for the evil bastards who thought it a sick joke to scare people in this way.
“Thanks, Tosh. Right, call the police and tell ‘em to get their backsides over ‘ere now. Pull rank if you have to but I want this sorted yesterday. Any of this lot tries anything, shoot them. I don’t care what Jack bloody Harkness says, I’m ‘ere he’s not if he don’t like it he can lump it. Got it?” he ordered, knowing he was being too sharp with the girl but it was the only way he could cope right now. Tosh nodded and hurried away.
“Aw! Four kiddies playing the hero and only one’s left standing,” taunted Evan from his corner, cracking what little there was of Owen’s self control as he crossed the room in two strides and had him pinned against the wall like he were a lump of meat.
“Listen ‘ere, mate, you’re alive ‘cos I want you to suffer and quite frankly, I don’t want to waste a decent bullet on you. But don’t you dare push me ‘cos you won’t win. Alright?” he snarled, flinging a stunned Evan to the floor before going over to Gwen who was still holding Ianto close, stroking his hair and murmuring reassuring nothings in his ear. Owen exhaled, she meant well but she didn’t have a bloody clue. Not really. She hadn’t even thought to uncuff or ungag the poor boy yet. Still, give it time; she’d know what to do within a year or so. It was srprising how quickly you got used to these things he thought wryly as he crouched down beside the two.
“Right, mate, sorry it took so long. Had to deal with that prat over there honestly, when will villains learn to behave eh?” he said casually as he gently untied the gag and before tentatively taking Ianto’s cuffed hands in his and unlocking the cuffs as Gwen looked on.
“Will he be alright?” she asked, anxiously and Owen looked up to see genuine concern in her eyes.
“He can hear you and he is quite capable of answering for himself,” said Ianto, pointedly, tired of being treated like he was invisible.
“Oh. Right. Sorry, love, how are you?” asked Gwen, taken aback at Ianto’s sharpness, he was usually so polite. Owen smirked to himself; he had to hand it to the man, even after all he’d been through, he could still put people in their place.
“Ecstatic. Considering vegetarianism. How the hell do you think I feel, Gwen?” snapped Ianto, knowing he was beyond hysterical. Possibly within the realms of deep shock but unable to stop; he was tired and in pain and scared and wanted to go home. Being treated like a child making him more agitated, he knew he’d mucked up; there was no need to rub it in.
“Sorry. I didn’t think,” muttered Gwen, looking away. She’d only been trying to help, to feel a bit less useless but Ianto was so difficult to fathom; he’d become less reserved since Lisa but it still felt like talking to a brick wall. Jack said she should persevere; it was difficult for Ianto to trust after all he’d been through.
“Gwen, why don’t you go and find Jack and tell him to get his backside ‘ere now yeah?” said Owen, pointedly, breaking the tension before someone did something they’d regret. Gwen nodded before leaving.
“Was that entirely necessary?” asked Owen, gently as he checked Ianto for signs of concussion, moving in front of him, shielding him from the cannibal’s view.
“Probably not,” sighed Ianto, wearily, resting his head against the cupboard and rubbing his sore wrists, he felt completely useless; everyone else knew what to do and then there was him; getting it wrong as usual. He was amazed that Owen, the most likely to shout at him was even here; let alone talking to him civilly.
“Never mind. We’re all a bit jumpy at the moment. Now, any major breaks, bruising etc I should know about?” asked Owen as he carefully applied pressure to Ianto’s side, making the young man flinch and reflexively push him away.
“Not here… Not with them…” he stammered, curling away from the medic, glancing over at where the cannibals were looking menacingly at him.
Owen followed the Welshman’s gaze and upon seeing the cause of his concern nodded understanding, swallowing his anger for fear of scaring him further. He knew Ianto was what was technically known in the medical profession as losing it, the post traumatic stress kicking in. I f they didn’t move to neutral surroundings soon, they’d lose him and Owen didn’t feel like he knew the poor boy well enough to be able to pull him back. Jack was usually quite good at getting through to him but the idiot had buggered off somewhere, leaving Owen to deal with the fallout. It occurred to Owen that he should have tried harder with the young man.
“Okay, well it looks like you’re okay at the moment, but I will examine you once we get back to the Hub okay?” Ianto nodded, his knees drawn to his chest, not looking at him and Owen doubted he’d heard what he’s said as he squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before moving over to where Tosh was attempting to keep control.
“How is he?” she asked briefly glancing up at him before turning her attention back to the cannibals. She looked exhausted, the bruises starting to become apparent on her neck.
“Hanging on. He’s stronger than he looks,” replied Owen, softly, looking over at where Ianto was staring vacantly into space.
“Didn’t you already know that? You call him the tea boy but I think he’s stronger than the rest of us put together,” said Tosh, almost reverently and Owen had to admit she had a point. At 23, Ianto was by far the youngest of the team yet paradoxically, he was also the longest serving Torchwood member, and as a consequence had been through the most. Owen still didn’t understand how even after fighting in Canary Wharf (and he had fought, he’d been been the last line of defence along with two others. Only Ianto had survived), and Lisa, Ianto still managed to come back to a job that had nearly claimed his life on several occasions and maintain a veneer of indifference.
“You know what Tosh? I think you’re right.”
welsh-scotsman.livejournal.com/3201.html chapter two