Taking Care

Title: Taking Care
Word count: 1,658
Setting: Post-Countrycide, sequel to "Take Care"
Disclaimer: All rights go to the BBC
A/N: This is the sequel to my story "Take Care", although you don't need to read that. Either way, enjoy!

Monday

It was 10:30 AM.

Just as This Morning started, the doorbell rang. "Typical!" thought Rhiannon Davies as she made her way to the front door.

Just as she expected, it was Ianto, although she didn't expect his appearance. He looked terrible; he was pale, making the cuts and bruises on his face and hands stand out. The worst though, was the massive one on his neck. Well, she couldn't see much of it due to the hoodie he was wearing, but she was pretty sure it was massive.

He'd told her something bad had happened at work, and his boss had said he needed to get away from everything for a week. She never in a million years thought she'd see this.
"What happened to you!" she demanded.
Ianto smiled weakly. "Good to see you too."
"Rhi!" came Johnny's voice from upstairs. "I can only find my right shoe! Any idea where my left is?"
"It's down here by the door!" she shouted back at him, then she turned to Ianto. "Come in then."
Johnny bounded down the stairs and got his shoe then turned to Rhiannon before he noticed Ianto and his injuries. "I'll be back around half 5, quarter-to, if you want I can get some bloody hell, what happened to you!" Ianto looked down in embarrassment. "Rhi said you be staying for a week 'cos something happened, but Christ almighty! You've gone from smart bastard to street bastard!"
"Just go to work Johnny!" Rhiannon shouted. She gave him a quick kiss then pushed him out the door and turned back to Ianto. "I am so sorry about him-"
"No, no, it's fine, it's fine."
"Sit down, at least."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

A few minutes later, Rhiannon made her way over to the sofa where Ianto was half-watching This Morning. She put two cups of tea on the coffee table in front of them and turned the TV off. She turned to face him as he started to drink his tea.
"Are you just gonna come out and tell me what happened, or am I gonna have to squeeze it out of you like I used to when we were kids?"
Ianto smiled at the reference. He remembered those times all too well. They always ended really badly for him, but really well for his big sister.
"Don't say you were in a fight, 'cos I know you weren't." Rhiannon shot at him. "If you were you wouldn't have come here. And I know it had something to do with work. What exactly do you do?"

Ianto sighed. He hadn't really thought about this on the way over; he'd been too busy trying to stay conscious in a moving vehicle. He'd given it a little thought as Rhiannon made the tea though.
"We're a sort of special-ops division." He knew that that was what Gwen told Rhys. "We were checking something out in the Brecon Beacons, and it didn't go as we thought it would."

Rhiannon nodded at him when he stopped. "What happened?"

Ianto sighed again. "There were reports of people going missing, so we were called to check it out. Then our car was stolen. Toshiko and I went to look for it while Jack, Gwen and Owen went to find who was causing the disappearances. Tosh and I got captured. The people who took us, and caused all the disappearances were... were…"

Rhiannon could tell he knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't want to say it. "Go on." She said. "You know you can tell me anything."

Ianto looked at her, tears in his eyes. "They were cannibals." With that he burst into tears. Rhiannon grabbed both of their teas and put them on the coffee table before hugging Ianto and rocking him back and forth, while whispering soothing rubbish into his hair.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

A few hours later, Ianto woke up. He'd cried himself to sleep on Rhiannon's sofa. He looked at the wall clock; 3:16 PM. He'd been asleep for a long time.

He sat up and his ribs creaked in protest. There was a note on the coffee table in Rhiannon's handwriting.

Ianto,

Just gone to pick up David and Mica from school as their bus broke down. I will tell them you are here. If you want to finish telling me what happened, remember I'm always here for you. I should be back around half past 3. I've left you some tea, and there are some biscuits in the cupboard next to the stove.

Rhi xx

He had a sip of his tea. It was luke-warm. He heaved his stiff body off of the sofa and poured the tea down the sofa. He was hungry, but when he leaned down to look for those biscuits, his ribs decided against it, so he sat back down on the sofa.

He found his phone in his pocket and called Jack.
"Ianto?" came Jack's panicky voice almost immediately. "Are you okay? What happened!"
"Nothing, nothing!" Ianto wanted to laugh at Jack's voice, but knew what it would to his ribs and decided against it. "You wanted me to call you every day, so I am. Have I called at a bad time?"
"No! No, there's nothing going on here. Your sister looking after you alright?"
"Yeah, she's great. Her husband's face when he was me was priceless!"
Jack laughed. Ianto wished he could do that without having to experience so much pain.
"Who's that?" Ianto heard Owen in the distance.
"It's Ianto." Jack replied.
"Give it to me." Ianto could faintly hear a bit of a struggle for the phone until Owen's voice came on, loud and clear. "Ianto, how are you? You still feeling nauseous?"
"No. My ribs hurt like hell, and my neck's killing me, although that could be because I fell asleep on a sofa."
Owen laughed. "Yeah, that'll probably be it. As for your ribs, just try not to move too much. Is your sister there? Can I speak to her?"
"No, she's gone to get her kids from school, although I can call you back and get her to speak to you when she gets home."
"Please and thank you. What have you told her already?"
"I told her we're a special ops division. That we were looking at the disappearances in the Brecon Beacons and were kidnapped by cannibals."
"Okay, not bad. I've gotta hand you back over to Jack now, though. Take care, mate."
Seconds later Jack's voice was in Ianto's ear again.
"Ianto, if…if you ever want…I can always come round…You know that…right?"
Ianto was taken aback by this. "Yeah. Yeah, Jack I know that. I'll…I'll call you if…if I ever…need you. Yeah."
"Great." He couldn't see him, but Ianto knew he was grinning the famous Harkness grin. "Call me tomorrow anyway, though."
"Will do, Jack."
"Take care, Ianto." Then Jack hung up.

Ianto just sat there with the phone to his ear for what felt like ages. He stuffed it back into his pocket when he heard the front door open.
"Uncle Ianto!" came Mica's unmistakable voice behind him. Within seconds, she launched herself at him in a bear hug. She was crushing his ribs, but he still managed to hug her back. When she finally released him, he got off the sofa so she and David could play on the Xbox. On his way past, David gave him a hug too, crushing his ribs to the point where he thought he would burst into tears right in front of them.

He walked around David as he begun fighting with Mica over what game to play, and walked up to Rhiannon.
"I called my boss. My doctor said he wants to talk to you."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Ten minutes later, Ianto was playing on the Xbox with David while Rhiannon spoke to Owen about him. When he finally lost to David and handed the controller over to Mica, Rhiannon called him over to the kitchen area.

"Owen told me what happened. I would hug you, but David and Mica have probably pummelled your ribs enough for one day."
Ianto laughed, and regretted it instantly. He couldn't hold it in anymore and began sobbing uncontrollably. Despite what she had just said, Rhiannon pulled Ianto into a hug and started rocking him. When David and Mica looked at them, she gave them a 'back to your game' signal.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

At dinner that night, Ianto realised how hungry he was and polished of his plate. He was in the shower when Johnny got home, who immediately questioned Rhiannon, who told him as little as she could. When he came downstairs, Johnny gave him a sympathetic smile.

Rhiannon set a pillow and a blanket up on the sofa after David and Mica had gone to bed. She left his phone on the coffee table so he could call his boss (who she'd spoken too, but had decided not to tell Ianto) Jack who said he could call any time.

She tucked him up and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He had fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow. He looked so young and vulnerable, the bruises and cuts amplifying that fact. She sighed. Her poor baby brother.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Ianto woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He'd had a nightmare. That didn't surprise him. He grabbed his phone.
"Ianto? Are you okay?" came Jack's voice immediately. Somehow, just hearing him made Ianto feel better.
"I-I-I'm fine. I ju-just…"
"Had a bad dream? I kinda figured. Tell me about it." Ianto hesitated. "You may not believe it, but it will make you feel better.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

As Ianto hung up, he realised he'd been on the phone for over an hour. That was really gonna cost him. It made him feel better. He settled back down on the sofa, and wondered how this week was going to pan out.

A/N: This isn't the end! I'm planning for this to pan out during the week Ianto stays with Rhiannon and her family (so, seven chapters), but people need to press that button there and review, or I'll forget to update! I hope you enjoy!