Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Tosh Sato, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Martha Jones, OMC's, OFC Pairing: Jack/Ianto SPOILERS: For all of Series One and almost all of Series Two. Warnings: Swearing,Blood, Violence, Shooting, Angst, Characters Death… Word Count: 23,410 Words Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction. I do not own the characters or the show, BBC does. No profit was made from this fic. Beta'd: Saiyan_Bride Notes: Written for spook_me's Halloween Ficathon 2009. Creature Prompt was Werewolf. No mystery prompts were used.I used some little details from the Doctor Who episode - Tooth and Claw but I have not based my story on that episode.
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Saturday 4th November 1922 - Newport
'Get away, get away, get away, get away, getaway, getaway, getaway, getawaygetaway.' He had to get away, he just had to. Mummy had told him that he had to run, run as fast as he could and that he couldn't let them get him. His mummy had made him promise never to stop running until he saw Mr. Hunt, the local policeman, who lived in the village near to where he and his mummy and daddy lived. He had almost broken that promise when he heard his mummy scream into the cold night.
Pushing himself through the broken gate he felt the jagged metal catching his pajama top and tearing his sleeve as he shot across the muddy field towards the forest, the moon guiding him.
Slipping and sliding, he reached the other side, climbing over the stone wall and into the dark forest that was filled with warped trees that looked like they would eat little boys lost in the sinister night.
He tripped, stumbling on the frosty muddied patches of the forest floor as he scrambled over rotten logs and rough rocks that stuck out from the snow-covered ground. Twigs snapped and crisp snow crunched under his little feet as he ran deeper and deeper into the forest, pushing at the thick bunches of branches that blocked his path.
Running out of the forest he could just see the village, its warm light flickering in the night.
Grinning and panting, he leaned against an old willow tree whose bare limbs knotted together swayed gently. He was almost there. He was almost safe. Pushing himself off the tree he slowly started to run towards the village through a whitened field.
He hadn't gotten far when he heard the snapping of branches behind him.
He stopped and unwillingly looked back over his shoulder. Bright yellow eyes blinked back at him. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, he couldn't even blink. He was frozen with fear. Slowly the creature crawled closer, mouth pulled into a snarl showing its razor sharp teeth. The monster's clawed feet left bloody footprints as it drew near to the terrified little boy, growling and snapping as it went.
The boy drew in a deep breath to scream, but the creature jumped and sunk its strong teeth into the boy, silencing him forever.
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Sunday 4th October 2009- Cardiff
Beep beep beep beep be-
Slamming his hand down on his alarm clock, Ianto slowly opened his eyes and blearily looked at the time.
10:00AM.
Sighing he pushed himself up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Leaning against the headboard he looked around his bedroom.
The closet's open doors had swung crookedly towards him in the night- he'd been meaning to fix it, but had never gotten around to it. His pocket-watch, stopwatch, wallet, loose change and his diary sat askew on top of his unkempt dresser.
His dirty worn clothing lay across the sun-starched carpet from the door to the side of the bed that he'd climbed in late this morning.
He had been working late into the night, helping Jack and Tosh capture a weevil- now named Jim. Jack said that's just what Ianto gets for having the next three days off, a weevil running amuck into the wee hours of the morning. He could just see Jack and Owen killing each other because they hadn't had their morning coffees. He did sometimes wish that they could all -not just Jack and Owen- make their own coffee every once in a while, but that would mean that they'd have to go into his kitchen and use hiscoffee machine. He growled protectively into his pillow. Oh he knew that its really Jack's coffee machine -one that he came across during the 30's- but he was the only person that could work it, so over the last year or so it became his little baby, after Myfanwy of course.
Pushing the single thin sheet off, Ianto sluggishly got out of bed. Rubbing his hand over his right eye he walked into the bathroom across the hall, pulling his dressing gown off the door and on. Bumping into the sink, Ianto opened his eyes fully. Bright red veins surrounded his sleep-dulled eyes and dust clung to his soft long eyelashes.
'I look like death warmed over.' he thought as he turned the taps on and filled the sink with warm water. Picking up a pale facecloth he plunged it into the water, ringing it out he patted it over his face. Shoving the cloth back, he pulled the plug from its niche and watched the water swirl down the drain.
Reaching up he picked up a glass and toothbrush. Filling the glass, he brushed and flossed his teeth meticulously, rinsing with the cool water. He staring sleepily at the all-too-familiar image of himself with mussed hair and white foam dripping down his lips reflected in the medicine cabinet.
Next he shaved and combed his hair, double-checking his face for any missed hairs or nicks. Seeing none, he shuffled back to his bedroom and sat down on the end of his bed, sighing.
He had a lot to do before tonight. Clean up in here, clean the kitchen, clean the bathroom, do the washing and get food for the next month. And then all the things he would have to do before he had to go back to work. So much for using his days off to relax and refresh.
Sighing again he resolutely stood from the bed and went in search of his cleaning box.
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"COFFEEEEE!!!!" Owen whined as the cog door rolled open, letting himself and Tosh into the hub. Tosh was juggling her PDA, a full cup holder containing three cups full of hot Starbucks coffee and her bag that was slipping off her shoulder.
"Owen, we just bought perfectly good coffee from Starbucks." Tosh said as she walking awkwardly, struggled towards her desk.
"But it's nowhere as good as Tea boy's coffee." Owen moaned, shuffling over to his desk, sipping the substandard coffee and grumbling about Tea boys and their days off.
"Owen, you, Tosh and Gwen get late mornings and early evenings while Ianto is here before the crack of dawn." Jack gave the doctor a reprimanding look before continuing. ", and most nights while you lot are curled up in bed, or in your case Owen, while you're chasing young willing bodies to sleep with, Ianto is sacrificing his own time for all of us. So I don't think it's too much of Ianto to ask for three days off. Do you?" Jack asked, leaning against the door frame of his office.
Owen glared sleepily at Jack over the top of cardboard cup.
"No."
"Good, I didn't think so." Jack smirked, walking over to Tosh; he gratefully picked up one of the cups. He gave her a small smile. She gave him a secret smile as she turned to her desk, slipping off her coat and hanging it on the back of her chair. Looking around the hub she noticed that it was clean. There were no Chinese takeout cartons, no pizza boxes, no empty Starbucks cups or any half- eaten biscuits or sweets.
"What happened to all the rubbish that was here yesterday?" She asked, looking back over her shoulder at Jack who was just sitting down in Gwen's chair.
"The rubbish fairy came and cleaned up while we're sleeping." Jack grinned cheekily at her, knowing that she wouldn't believe it for one minute and knowing that she would tell Ianto how 'good' Jack had been when she saw him next.
"Where's Gwen?" Owen shouted from his station, still glaring at Jack.
"She's meant to be here right now same time you two came in." Jack murmured around the cup.
"I didn't see why she gets to be late the whole time." Owen grubbed getting up from his seat. Jack pulled the cup away from his month, sighing as he watched Owen slink away into his lair.
"Don't mind him, he's just hung-over and although he won't admit it- he's missing Ianto."
Frowning, Jack pulled his eyes away from the top of Owen's head to look at Tosh, who was biting her bottom lip in an attempt to stop smiling, which she was sadly failing.
"He's not even been gone a whole day. How can Owen be missing him?" Jack grinned. "Tosh, do you know something I don't?" Jack rolled Gwen's chair closer to Tosh. He couldn't deny the thought of Ianto and Owen together wasn't unpleasant, 'darn right sexy in fact'.
Laughing, Tosh leaned down so she was face to face with Jack. "Jack, if Owen thought he could shag Ianto without fear of you or me killing him he would. It's his nature. But given the choice between sex with Ianto or Ianto's coffee, sex wouldn't even come close."
"Oh I wouldn't say that." Jack grinned, standing up and screwing up the Starbucks cup, chucking it in the wastebasket next to Tosh's desk. Leaning in close to the woman he whispered in her ear, "Sex with Ianto is very high on my list of favorite things as is his coffee."
Jack watched her suppress a stunned snort of laughter behind her small hands and her eyes crease mischievously before heading back to his office, also wearing a smirk. Just as he was entering he could hear Myfanwy screeching and flapping her wings franticly at him. Looking up at her, he could see that she was watching him with her pale yellow eyes.
"Oh Myfanwy. I know, I know, but Ianto will be back soon. Maybe if you're a good girl he'll bring you some chocolate." Jack called up to her. He knew that Myfanwy was very fond of all his team -he suspected that she viewed them as her chicks- but Ianto was undoubtedly her favorite. He didn't know if it was because Ianto found her first or because Ianto spent some much time at 'home' with her, but the pterodactyl seemed to be calmer when Ianto was around.
Myfanwy bobbed her head a few times before she hopped back into her ledge where hay and fleece from sheep that she had killed before Ianto had trained her lay for her bed.
Smiling, Jack carried on into his office and shut the door before opening it again and sticking his head out. "Tosh!" She looked up from her computer screen. "When Gwen gets in tell her that she has seven reports to finish before the end of the day."
"Will do Jack."
Pulling his head in and shutting the door once more, he could just see the cog door roll back and Gwen walk in before he could sit. It looked like she was going to make a b-line for his office, but stopped when Tosh delivered his message. Gwen gave Jack's office an affronted look before storming over to her desk and starting on one of the reports.
Pulling away from the door, Jack walked over to his desk and sat down. He looked up at the tall stack of files that Ianto had left there the day before. He had the feeling that this was going to be a long day. Sighing he reached out and grabbed the uppermost folder. Flipping it open he set it down in front of himself and began to read.
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Rubbing his temples, Jack looked up from Tosh's over-completed report.
'I wish Ianto was here, he could give the abridged version.'
It wasn't like Jack couldn't understand what Tosh had written. It was just that he liked listening to Ianto's voice. It made the whole 'listening to reports' more pleasant and pass quickly.
Leaning back in his chair, Jack looked around his clean office. He had worked his ass off last night cleaning up around the hub and in here. He didn't think it would be very good for Ianto to come back after three days of peace and quiet only to find the hub in chaos so Jack had stayed up late into the night washing plates and cups, binning takeout boxes and half eaten bits of food. He had made sure that Janet and Myfanwy had been fed and he also looked through the post that had been sent to the 'fake' Tourist office, dealt with three phone calls from Flat Holm and signed his own signature to the files and reports that had been piling up on his desks since Ianto hadn't had time to sign 'Cap. J. Harkness' before he had left.
Jack knew that Ianto did a lot, but he was shocked by just how much extra he did on top of his job. General support/archivist was a hard enough job without adding looking after a pterodactyl and a weevil, but also running a Tourist office- even if it was fake. Then there was Flat Holm and their requests. And not to mention three grown adults who seemed to be unable to look after themselves. Fetching food, cleaning up after them and even doing some aspects of their own jobs.
Jack chuckled blithely to himself and leaned back enough to make his wooden swivel chair creak, thumping his darkened boots on top of the desk. Before immediately removing them and looking around for Ianto's disapproving stare or the feel of a heavy file hitting the back of his head.
Sighing, Jack picked up his pen and began to look over Tosh's report again. Just as he was getting into a rhythm he heard the cog door roll open and the beep of the alarm. Throwing the file and pen on his desk, he jumped up from his chair and ran out the door.
"Tosh, how did someone get in?!" He shouted as he pulled out his Webley and pointed at the floor as he watched the door open.
He recognized the front woman immediately with her bright eyes and larger than life smile.
"Martha!... Martha what are you doing here?" Jack asked, walking towards the young doctor and inconspicuously slipping his gun away. He glanced at the people behind her. One of them a young woman with long blonde hair that was pulled into a tight ponytail. Her face looked pinched like she had been standing in a cold wind. She was looking around the hub with big cold eyes; all the while hugging the large briefcase that she had brought. While Jack didn't recognize her, he knew the man that was trailing in behind her. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
Jack had met the Brigadier a few times before when he had attended meetings at UNIT's London office, Jack had always liked him. The Brigadier would always guide young officers when they fell from their path or when they were barking up the wrong tree. It was the way that the Brigadier would deal with officers who were adamant that they were right about anything and everything, that's what Jack liked the most about him. Lethbridge-Stewart would let them run their tests, do their research and talk about things they had no clue about until they were proven to be wrong. Jack loved the fact that he would allow the Officers to make total idiots of themselves before correcting them.
"Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, how good to see you again." Jack said around his grin. He walked up to the Brigadier and they shook hands.
"Captain Harkness." The older man returned the grin immediately and turned to the blonde woman who was still looking the hub in amazement. "This is Doctor Rachael Hill-"
"Captain Harkness, I demand to speak with Ianto Jones." She pushed past the Brigadier and deliberately stood in front of Jack. Jack raised an eyebrow as the woman attempted a contemptuous stare, obviously trying to 'look down her nose' at him. The effect was undermined greatly by the fact he was a good foot taller than her. He gave a sideways grin as she settled for a defeated expression of disgust.
Biting his lower lip, Jack glanced at the Brigadier who cleared his throat to mask the laugh that was bursting to get out. The Captain cleared his throat stiffly, reminded that this was no time for laughter. These people barging into his domain were obviously on a mission.
"Why don't the four of us go into my office and you can tell me why the hell you are coming into my hub and demanding to speak to my staff." Jack said, swiping his arm out to let the Brigadier, Doctor Hill and Martha walk in front of him.
He watched the two girls go in and pull up chairs to the front his desk, hurriedly taking out folders and files as the Brigadier slowly sat down on the old sofa, barely paying attention to what the girls were setting up. Jack had the feeling that the man was only there to chaperone. He gave a fleeting smirk at the image of the Brigadier having to hold back the two women like whining children in the rages of a temper tantrum.
"Tosh, I want you to pull up Ianto's file and send it to my computer while I deal with UNIT." Jack muttered to Tosh who had slinked over at the mention of Ianto. Even Owen had come out of his hiding place to watch what was going on.
"Yes, Jack." She whispered, slowly going back to her desk, all the while watching the three officers in Jack's office. She knew that Jack would look after her and fight to keep her by his side and as a firm member Torchwood -so would Owen and Ianto- but she still couldn't let her guard down when UNIT was in her workplace only a few feet away from her. It unnerved her.
"Jack, do you want me to call in Ianto?" Gwen asked, opening and closing her mobile, her eyes shifting from Jack's office to Jack himself. She was curious to know why Martha and her colleagues were here to talk to Ianto and what he had done to make them come all the way to Cardiff.
"I hope that won't be necessary… at least not right now."
"If you say so, Jack." Gwen didn't quite believe that. Doctor Hill looked very determined to talk to Ianto.
Sighing once more, Jack walked into his office, a distinct feeling of dread beginning to settle. He just knew when he woke up this morning that it was bound to go tits up. Slipping into his chair Jack looked from doctor Hill to Martha to the Brigadier and back to doctor Hill.
"So who wants to tell me what's going on and why you want to speak to Ianto?" He asked, bracing himself for the answer. 'It couldn't be worse than a Cyberwoman in my basement.' he thought.
"I just want to make sure that we have the right Mr. Jones- Ianto Jones, born on 19th August 1983, born in Cardiff, Parents- Oscar and Elizabeth Jones (deceased), great Grandfather- Oscar Jones (living in Providence Park), worked for Torchwood One for five years and has worked for Torchwood Three for just under two years." Doctor Hill took in a deep breath to reel off more facts about Ianto, but Jack slipped in.
"Yup that's our Mr. Ianto Jones. Now that we've cleared that up you can tell me why you want to talk to him." The Captain's voice was tense, wanting her to get to the point.
"Jack, have you ever seen this report?" Martha gently laid down one of the files that she and Doctor Hill had pulled out before in front of Jack.
The Captain paused.