Title: Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?
By: Bry-Jack
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Tosh Sato, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Martha Jones, OMC's, OFC
SPOILERS: For all of Series One
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 & Claw
Summary: Ianto has a secret. A terrible secret that he's kept safe since childhood, but with his past back to haunt him and truths exposed, will the Team ever see him the same way again? More importantly, will Jack?
***
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.
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.
"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.
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.
***
Rubbing his eyes, Jack pulled it closer to him. He couldn't believe what he was reading.
Torchwood House
The Werewolf Report
Part 55
2008
I. Jones
"What the hell is this?" Jack shouted, looking around the room and staring at the three people in it. 'Why would Ianto write a report for Torchwood House? And about werewolves? We haven't even seen a werewolf, so how the hell can he write them…'
"Read it, Jack. Then we'll tell you why we wish to talk with Ianto." Martha said in a calming voice.
With his face tight with skepticism, Jack opened the file. He was a bit surpried to find that there were only two bits of paper wedged between the heavy card. The papers were sunburnt and stained with god knows what, making it difficult to read in parts. With a quick glance Jack could tell that the scraps were not in-sync to one another, like they had come from different ends of the report.
Werewolves and their change are not solely ruled by the full moon. They may change between their human and werewolf form whether it is night or day, half moon or no moon, but they cannot stop the change that will take place during the full moon. During certain months that changing between bodies becomes more exhausting and difficult than others e.g. March, December. Other months the changing becomes easier e.g. February and October.
Werewolves age at an almost unnoticeable rate, far slower than that of a human, meaning they live to a very old age (no figures at this time). Rumours tell of a human being newly turned in the mid 1800's alive to this day (2009). Similarly, there is evidence of a werewolf born in 1916 also alive today (2009). He is officially 93 years old, but because of the slow aging rate, looks no older than early 20's. (See The Blaidd Report 1966 for further details.)
Most werewolves will only mate with other werewolves that they have turned; while others will mate solely with pre-existing werewolves. This means that many wives, husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends have been turned. There is also a very small group of werewolves that don't mate with any other werewolves, these are usually the loners of the 'pack' or don't wish to be involved with subjects regarding their alternate forms. A small few of that group 'mate' with just humans.
Reluctance to mate with other werewolves may be a result of the afflicted living in denial of their change, or equally, owing to a desire not to pass their 'curse' onto a beloved.
Torchwood House
Page 5 of 35
Jack flipped over the next page, but immediately saw it'd been torn. A great diagonal rip/tear ran up the base of the page and off to the right. A dark odorless fluid had spattered across the text but whether it was coffee or mud or even blood he had no way of telling. The heading,
The Werewolf Report Part 55 Ianto Jones
2008
, was barely intact.
The Captain squinted at the neat letters blurred below. He could see documentations of months and the cycles of the moons relating to werewolves (harvest, blood and others he'd never heard of, the words 'sugar moon' and 'frequent recreational sex' and 'killings' taking his interest) and silently raised an impressed eyebrow. If the report hadn't appeared so weather-worn he'd have suspected the doctor had damaged these herself. Jack could see traces of Ianto's cooled intellect and couldn't see why the pushy blonde was so up-in-arms. By all accounts this report seemed sound, even if it was lacking a good thirty pages at least.
Maybe she was here to force the rest of out the Welshman?
The report was something that Jack could see Ianto writing. His Ianto maybe, but not the Ianto that had worked at the Tower when everything in his life seemed to be going so well, his job, Lisa. He could imagine his Ianto sitting in the depths of the archives or curled up in the corner of his couch, ink spattered hands and hair ruffled, leaning over files and folder. It was an image that made Jack smile.
And while he could not deny that the report had the same feeling of past reports that Ianto had written and while he wouldn't shy away from such topics, Jack just couldn't accept that Ianto would do something like this without saying something.
In his mind Jack admitted he thought Ianto could have written this, but a name and a feeling wasn't much proof.
"You're telling me that you want me to call Ianto in on his day off just to talk about a report that he may have written and all the proof you have is this cover and two pages of a report. Is that that you're saying?" Jack asked, slouching confidently back in his chair.
"You just confirmed that the Ianto Jones who wrote this report is the same Ianto Jones who works for you. I order you, Captain, to call him in right now." Doctor Hill insisted, glaring down at him.
Jack turned his chair, "What aren't you telling me?" he asked the Brigadier, who looked up from his hands.
The Brigadier sighed, "Ethan Pierce is being transported here."
"Who's Ethan Pierce?" Jack raised an eyebrow ", and why is he being brought here?" Jack asked. That feeling of dread was beginning to rise.
"Ethan Pierce was a werewolf -a very old werewolf- who was captured by Torchwood One just over three years ago, weeks before the battle of Canary Wharf. During the battle he escaped to Scotland, but a few months ago he was seen in Wales. UNIT caught him roaming the west side of the Brecon Beacons national park near Carreg Cennen Castle."
"Why is he being brought here?" Jack repeated through clenched teeth, feeling frustrated that his question was being ignored.
"Torchwood One was going to question him about being a werewolf for the report and then…" The Brigadier trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "...then they were going to execute him for his crimes. Murder, rape, disfiguring and mutilating innocents and corpses as well as turning people into werewolves." Jack felt his mouth go dry, shocked that Ianto was even remotely involved in this at Torchwood One. The Brigadier cleared his throat, drawing Jack's attention back to him.
"As we found Ethan in Wales it was thought that Torchwood Three would be the best place for the questioning and execution. That decision was based on the fact the Mr. Jones works here and he is the only Torchwood One member who isn't dead, in a nursing home or been Retconned." The Brigadier gave a cautious look to the blonde Doctor. "Another factor was that Doctor Hill here feels that he is interfering with her research by carrying on with this report." The Brigadier paused, leaning forwards.
"Jack, UNIT and Torchwood just don't have the money to even think about trying to contain him. And I know you don't execute anyone or anything just because we tell you to, but trust me when I say that he can't be allowed to live. He has killed and ruined so many lives and he will carry on do to so. Even if we held him in some sort of cell he would break free because it won't be strong enough or he won't be watched closely enough. And god only knows how long he will live, I mean, he's been alive for over a hundred years, who the hell would want to waste their life watching him only to be replaced by wave after wave of younger officers to do the same job."
Jack was unimpressed that this whole thing was being lumped on Torchwood. On him. And so what if Ianto's report clashed with the blonde's? She worked for UNIT and Ianto for Torchwood. Ianto's findings was for private eyes only and hers for UNIT and Torchwood eyes. Looking at the impatient blonde doctor and a worried looking Martha, Jack stared into the Brigadier's eyes.
"So what you're telling me is that you are having a disturbed man transported here just so she," Jack thumbed towards Doctor Hill, "can question him?" The Captain felt his eyebrows rise in distaste, ", and then what?"
Jack looking from person to person interrogatingly.
"You're going to execute him, Doctor? You Alistair? What about you Martha? Or are you going to give the honor to me? And why the hell should I phone Ianto and tell him to come in just so you can interrogate him about a report that you don't have the whole of?" Jack stood up, leaning on his desk, looking down that the three of them.
"Don't make this more difficult than it has to be, Jack. We just want to talk to him before Ethan gets here." Martha said, leaning her palms on Jack's desk, looking him straight in the eye.
"What do you have to say about this, Alistair?" Jack looked at the now quiet Brigadier who had inched to the edge of the sofa and was looking at him with a tired helplessness.
"Jack, I'm just here to observe these two young ladies during this investigation and the execution of Ethan." The man lowered his voice to something gentler. "I'd also like to talk with Mr. Jones again." The Brigadier said softly.
Sighing, Jack tilted his head down towards his desk, not truly looking at it. Instead, he was looking fondly at the group photo which was barely new on his desk. A kooky snapshot of all five of them, squished on the sofa behind Tosh's desk.
Ianto was sat on his lap, his own arms that were bare to the bicep with the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt wrapped around the thin waist. His suave grin and Ianto's kind smile weren't aimed at the camera, but each other in a private little encounter. Tosh leaned at his other side with Owen's arm around her. She was blushing and trying to hide her small smile with her hair. Owen wasn't paying any attention to the camera, something embarrassingly coy mixing with his usual nonchalance as the snapping lens caught him glancing nervously at Tosh. And there at the end was Gwen, the only one who was looking straight at the camera, scrunching her face comically and flashing the gap in her teeth and fluttering her brown eyes at it, truly happy to be there.
It'd been Ianto -in his own adorably morbid way- that had spurned him wanting a keepsake of their abnormal 'family', saying 'It's a rare treasure the five of us together, Sir. Too bad it won't stay that way forever.'.
Jack sighed. 'How many times am I going to do that today?' "I'll call Ianto, but you are going to tell my team everything that you just told me while we wait. Then the eight of us are going to talk about this bloody report and what is going to happen with Ethan Pierce. And no, Doctor Hill, you, nor Martha gets a say in this if you want Ianto Jones here." Jack glared at the young woman before looking from one to the other, "Do you understand?"
"We understand perfectly, Jack." Jack caught a glimpse of the tight 'Got my own way' smile from the blonde as she turned to look at the Brigadier. "Martha, why don't you lead us up to the boardroom while Jack talks with his team?"
The Brigadier stood from the sofa and opened the door, holding it -seemingly mostly out of duty- for Martha and Doctor Hill. After the girls slipped past he turned back to Jack, "I'm sorry about Doctor Hill and Doctor Jones. You know how young officers want to show that they're the best even if they are being out of line." Alistair gave a small smile before he too slipped through the door, closing it behind him.
Slowly sitting down, Jack rubbed his hands frustratingly over his face. 'Fuckaty fuck fuck.' Reaching over, Jack moved the mouse of his computer. There on the screen was what was left of Ianto's file. After the battle of Canary Wharf there was very little of it left. Ianto had filled in as much as he could -or as little as he could get away with- name, date of birth, address, school grades, family, past jobs and medical notes. There was nothing even hinting at any of the things that had been said, no report, Ethan or anything Werewolf related. Closing the file, he jumped from his seat and marched out the door, signaling to Tosh and Gwen to follow him into Owen's lair.
"What are they doing here? And why are you three coming down here?" Owen asked, looking up from his gameboy.
"They want to talk to Ianto-"
"What's he done to make UNIT come all the way here just to talk to him?" Owen asked, hopping off the autopsy table to stand next to Tosh, gameboy forgotten.
Jack frowned, his expression tight, closed off.
"Something about a report that he apparently wrote about werewolves when he was at Torchwood One. Doctor Hill thinks that he is interfering with the research she is doing now." Jack's voice was lowered. Gwen was watching the three officers as they sat waiting. Tosh's face was tight with worry about UNIT's presence, but Jack could see in her eyes that she was relieved that it had nothing to do with her. Owen looked petulant at not knowing what the hell was going on. "I want you three to go up there and listen to what they have to say." Jack's body was tense, knowing that the reaction to the next piece of news wouldn't be good.
"In a few hours one Ethan Pierce is going to be arriving here. UNIT are going to be questioning him and then… then he is going to be executed." Jack warily mouthed that last sentence, knowing it would only give him a few seconds before-
"WHAT! No! Jack, we don't just execute people! We lock them up or we try and take them back were they came from!" Gwen shrieked pushing forwards, she pulled on his braces.
Grabbing her wrists, Jack pulled her hands off of him sternly. "Gwen, the people that we try and help haven't killed hundreds of people or mauled children for fun. That's what this man has done for the last hundred years." Jack gently shook the Welshwoman.
Letting her go, he headed back up the stairs, once at the top he turned back, "Now please go listen to them while I go see if I can persuade Ianto into coming in." Going back into his office, Jack sat down and picked up his phone, dialing the familiar number. In the past he had dialed and dialed repeatedly only to hang up before the other had the chance to answer, realizing with embarrassment that he had nothing to say. No asking if he was allowed around, no meaningless chit-chat, not even an emergency to use as an excuse to call him. That'd neverhappened to him before.
Ring-ring, ring-ring, ri-
"Hello, Ianto Jones speaking."
Ianto had pulled on a pair of ratty old jeans and a red holey t-shirt. The only part of the outfit he wore still in one piece being a pair of knee-high rainbow striped socks.
They'd been a gag-gift from Tosh last Christmas. Only a few months had passed since then and already he was down to them, his last clean pair, Ianto mused. He hadn't had the time for laundry lately.
Lifting a knee, he regarded the footwear with a humoring cringe, thinking how he looked like the Wicked Witch of the West beneath the piano.
Retreating to the kitchen, Ianto was drying his last plate, glowing with happiness at finishing sorting a month's supply of laundry, when he heard the phone ringing. Looking through the kitchen door into the sitting room, he put the plate down on the marble counter. Walking quizzically over to the sofa, he picked up the phone and, pushing the answer button; he pressed it to his ear.
"Hello, Ianto Jones speaking." He said into the phone, sitting down, absentmindedly pulling loose fluff from his top. He didn't have the time to deal with anything that wasn't on his list for the day.
"Ianto… Ianto you have to come in."
Ianto was floored with disbelief.
He knew that this would happen one day. He just thought he would be better prepared for when it did. Maybe, just maybe, he could get out of this.
"Jack… Jack it's my first day off and I have plan-"
Jack butted in, not giving Ianto a chance to continue, his tone rushed and apologetic, "I know that and normally I wouldn't call you in, but UNIT is here and Ethan Pierce is being brought in later this afternoon. And-"
Jack's voice faded into white noise. Ianto felt like his world had stopped. 'Ethan Pierce…' "UNIT and Ethan?..." Ianto could barely say that name. He was beginning to feel sick.
Ianto swallowed down his fears, hardening, letting his anger take over. "I'll be there as fast as I can."
"Ian-" Ianto cut Jack off, anxiously chucking the phone back on to the sofa. He ran out the door and down the corridor towards his bedroom. He banged into the door, causing it to crash into the wall, a terrified sob caught in his throat. Throwing himself on to the floor next to his bed he pulled out a small navy blue cash box, opening it resolutely. There sitting on the bottom was a H&K USP Match.[1]
Picking it up, he stood straight, the cold metal heavy in his hand. He checked to see if it was fully loaded -it was- and that it had the safety on. He pushed it into the back of his trousers and hid it with his t-shirt. Leaning over the bed he grabbed a black zip-up hoody and headed out to the front door, pulling it on was he went.
Stopping, he slipped on old black suede shoes and yanking his keys off the hook. Ianto struggled to open the door as he felt the panic inside of him rising. Taking a deep breath, he calmly undid the three door chain and turned the two deadbolts.
Slamming the door shut, he locked it and jogged along the corridor and down the stairs. Coming out of the converted flats he set off at a run down the street. He didn't live that far away from the hub, but Ianto hoped that the time it took him to get to the hub he'd have calmed down enough that Jack or anyone else wouldn't notice that he was freaking out.
[1] - I "borrowed" the gun from Underworld (Film)
***
"I don't believe for one minute that Ianto would step on anyone's toes when it comes to research." Tosh looked up from the report.
"Believe me, Miss. Sato, Mr. Jones has been, as you say, 'stepping on my toes' for some time now." The blonde scoffed the comment, walking primly behind Martha. Martha herself seemed somewhat bored and gratefully took a seat at the glass table, close to the Brigadier.
"Are you sure that you can't somehow come up with a plan that doesn't mean that Ethan has to be executed?" Gwen asked, glaring at the Brigadier.
Alistair stared back at her; he didn't feel the slightest bit intimidated by the glare. "Mrs. Williams, I assure you that UNIT has thought of a number of plans that would insure that Mr. Pierce lives until the end of his days, but understand, Mrs. Williams, this is the real world. Neither UNIT nor Torchwood have the money or resources to keep him alive in the long term. And to be brutally honest, I don't think anyone wants him to live after what he's done." The Brigadier was beginning to question Gwen's competence. He looked at her as if she was too naïve for this kind of work.
"I jus-" Gwen was interrupted by the door opening. Everyone turned with baited breath and silence reigned as Ianto slipped past.
He slowly walked into the room, looking at the seven people around the board table. He could easily feel the tension in the room and how it had risen at his appearance. It was eased slightly when Alistair stood up and held out his hand.
"Mr. Jones, it's nice to meet again." Looking at the hand, Ianto pulled his right hand out of his jean pocket and shook the older man's palm.
"Brigadier." Ianto sighed, looking around the room again, his eyes resting on Jack.
"Is there a reason you called me in, Sir. I assume, it wasn't just for me to make coffee," Ianto give Jack a dirty look, lowering his tone. ", because if it was then may I remind you, Sir, that this is my day off."
Even though Jack knew that he should feel somewhat guilty he couldn't help but admire Ianto's body and the way it was being flaunted in front of him. It was so far away from Ianto's usual attire, hugging and showing more skin then the familiar suits.
"I know that, Ianto, but Doctor Hill her-" Jack was interrupted by the young Lieutenant.
"We wanted to know if you recognize this report, Mr. Jones." She said, her body strung with impatience as she leant over the table to retrieve the file from where Tosh had left it, snapping the pieces of card together and sending the oriental girl a dirty look. She held it up, showing it to Ianto.
Ianto raised an eyebrow at the young woman before turning his eyes to the cover of report.
The Werewolf Report
Part 55
2009
I. Jones
"Of course I recognize it, I'm still writing it after all. Why do you ask?" Ianto asked, pulling the seat next to Jack out from under the table and sitting down, he had the feeling that this was going to take some time. Time that he really didn't have.
"So you are still writing this then Mr. Jones?" Doctor Hill asked, slamming the printed paper down in front of Ianto.
Ianto raised an eyebrow at the childish behavior and calmly replied.
"Why yes, Doctor Hill, I believe that's just what I said." Ianto answered, he knew that he was wasting time, but he hoped that if he pissed about then Doctor Hill would throw a hissy fit and Jack would get bored enough to throw them out.
Doctor Hill pulled her lips into a tight line, "Why are you still writing it?"
Ianto glanced at the report, "Because I'm still alive and I'm being paid to do so."
"Who's paying you? Captain Harkness had no idea about the report and Torchwood One is no longer running."
Ianto flinched, just out the corner of his eye he could see Doctor Hill walking around the table, circling in a decidedly vulture-like manner. "You don't have to tell me that, Doctor Hill, I was there when it crashed and burned. And I didn't answer to Torchwood One and I don't answer to the Captain about this report."
Ianto was becoming uneasy. He had never talked this much about the report before, not to anyone.
"If you don't' 'answer to' Torchwood or UNIT then who?"
Ianto looked Doctor Hill straight in the eye, hiding nothing and with a level of dignity and pride he said;
"Torchwood House and the Queen herself if you must know." Ianto paused, looking around the room at the shocked faces of his colleagues.
"When Queen Victoria was setting up Torchwood she also set up a group of people to look into werewolves and their habits and it was these people that started this report. It's been passed down from group to group which has been handpicked by Torchwood House and the Queen or King of the United Kingdom for decades. Just because I was based in London didn't mean I answered to them." Ianto glanced at Jack before staring coldly at Doctor Hill.
"What about now? Do you work for Torchwood Three or do you still answer to the House and the Queen?" Martha asked.
"I work and answer to Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood Three. But this report has nothing to with either of them."
"I think you'll find soon enough that you will no longer be required to add anything more to this report." Doctor Hill said, her thin lips pulled into a smug smile.
Ianto squinted at her; he didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"
"I haven't read your whole report, Mr. Jones, but I bet when Torchwood House and the Queen read mine, they will see that I'm the better researcher and that you know nothing about werewolves or their habits."
The blonde stood straight as a rod, self-assured, hand on hip. Breathing heavily through his noise, Ianto leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
"Why don't you let us read your 'report' and let Alistair decide who knows what they're talking about." Ianto smiled. He may let everyone think he was just the teaboy and part-time shag -it was easier that way-, but he would not let her try and drag his name and reputation through the mud just because she thought she knew it all.
"What do you…? What does he mean, Brigadier?" Doctor Hill had lost her smugness and was now looking worried.
The Brigadier looked at Ianto with a warm fondness that twinkled in his eyes.
"Mr. Jones and I have known each other a very long time. I have seen every draft of this report since he started working on it. And I agree with Torchwood House and the Queen that Mr. Jones and his findings are accurate." The Brigadier looked at the gawping blonde with a sympathetic face and shrugged. "But if you really want to prove that you can do a better job than him then please go right ahead, Doctor, I certainly won't stop you." The Brigadier leaned back.
Ianto grinned. He could see that Doctor Hill was getting ready to blow a casket, but she was unable to retaliate if she wanted to keep her job and they all knew it. Swallowing, she shifted uneasily, walking around the table and stopping next to Martha. Doctor Hill opened her briefcase and pulled out two copies of her 'better' report, gently setting one in front of Ianto. Just by glancing at it Ianto could see that it was only a few pages long, unlike his thirty-five page ongoing report.
The Werewolf Report
2009
Doctor R. Hill
'Very original. I wonder where she got the idea for the title from…' Ianto rolled his eyes and turned over to the first page. As he started to look over it, he felt like he was reading a badly written horror novel with all the stereotypical thoughts and theories about werewolves being laid out thickly across all the pages.
"Not every werewolf is the same you know." Ianto said, looking up from the substandard report. "Some of them never show any physical sign that they are a werewolf, while some people…" He looked at her carefully before deliberately going into the gorier details. "Their teeth grow longer than normal, and the tops of their ears grow into pointy tips. And you know what some of those people do? They file down their teeth or they pull them all out. And as for their ears, they cut the tips off or worse they tear the whole thing off."
Ianto flicked to the last page, he shook his head at the text. "Here you go again, throwing everyone into the same box. It doesn't matter who has bitten the victim. All that matters is how old they are -if the victims are newly bitten, then they have no control over the moon change. When they're a bit older they can change gradually over a small space of time.
"Changing," Ianto shuddered, seeing flashes of ripped skin and snapping bones before taking a strained breath and carrying on. ", their faces and limbs will slowly become more wolfish. Just before they reach the final stage their spine, ribcage and organs will grow and become elongated and 'canine-like'. The final stage of the transformation means their teeth and claws will become razor sharp and a thick coat of fur will cover their whole body." Ianto pushed the report away from him, it slid across the table, stopping in front of Doctor Hill, "It seems to me, that you don't know anything about werewolves. May I suggest that you pick a different topic to research? Maybe something that isn't so complicated."
Doctor Hill looked like someone had just slapped her. Ianto couldn't really blame her. He'd just ripped apart her whole report and research with two short statements. But what was he meant to do? Let her steal his job from right under his feet? If she had done a better job than him and had gotten all her facts right maybe, just maybe, he would have let it go without a fight. But he had spent just under half of his life working on this one report, making it a large part of his life. Ianto glanced around the room. The Brigadier had a small smile playing on his face; he almost looked like a proud father. Ianto had had a few run-ins with Alistair just before he was appointed to carry on writing the old report. Ianto had always been grateful that Alistair had helped him to get on the panel of authors for the Werewolf Report.
Martha had a dumbfounded expression on her face. 'Not surprising.' Ianto thought. 'She blindly believed that Doctor Hill knew what she was talking about.'
Both Tosh and Owen looked shocked -whether it was because of the ghastly details that Ianto had just reeled off or because of how coldly he had stated them Ianto had no idea. But Ianto was sure that Gwen's mortified look was due to the graphic information about the werewolf's transfiguration.
And finally Jack, Ianto couldn't read what he was thinking. Jack's mask was firmly in place, hiding everything from the outside world.
Ianto pushed the chair back and stood up. "If that's all. Brigadier? Captain? I… I have things that I need to do." Ianto turned towards the door, 'I have to get home. NOW!'
Beep-beep Beep-beep
Ianto turned sharply back towards Tosh who was franticly typing at her laptop.
"Tosh, what the hell was that!" Jack demanded jumping from his seat.
Ianto shivered. Even though that harsh voice wasn't aimed at him he knew that he was the cause of it.
"I'm trying to find out, Jack… It looks like something is happening in the garage."
"That must be Lieutenant Stevenson and Major Green with Ethan." The Brigadier stood from the table.
"Give me a minute and I'll bring up the CCTV from the garage." She pushed the 'enter' button and the footage of the garage came up on the big screen behind the table.
The camera slowly moved left to right showing the clean black SUV. Sitting next to the SUV was a UNIT Truck. The windscreen was cracked, three bullet holes over the driver's side, one of the back doors was missing, a broken arm hanging out and there on the floor next to the truck was a gun.
A man's body was thrown across the screen, landing on the bonnet. It crumpled under the force of the impact. His throat was ripped out and both arms were bent in the wrong direction, as was both legs.
A tall man walked over to the crumpled body, pulling on a bright white shirt.
Stopping, he looked straight up at the camera with cold crazy eyes. He gave a bloody grin, showing stained teeth. Blowing a kiss, he walked out of range of the camera. A few seconds later a metal door landed on top of the UNIT truck. Reddish trails began to leak out from the sides of the metal panel, the dead body obviously squished.
Ianto couldn't look away from the devastation that was on the screen. He blocked out what was being said by the others in the room. He could barely breathe. Opening and closing his mouth he sucked in a cold blast of air. 'Oh god…' He felt sick. He couldn't believe that Ethan was here and already he was killing people.
On top of it all, he was sure he was going to faint.
"Ianto? IATNO!" Pulling his eyes away from the screen he looked at Jack. The Captain stared back at him with concerned eyes. Glancing around the room, Ianto saw that everyone had pulled out their guns seemingly from nowhere.
"Jack, those aren'-" He was interrupted when a chair came crashing through the glass door. They all turned to look. Tosh who was the closest took a few careful steps towards it.
"Tosh, don't!" Ianto shouted. He'd barely taken half a step when Ethan jumped through the broken door and grabbed Tosh, swinging her around roughly, almost breaking her neck. He pulled her so her back was flush with his chest, causing Tosh's gun to fly across the room towards Ianto who became as still as a statue.
Ethan hadn't changed since the last time Ianto had seen him.
He was a skinny, six foot man with light brown hair that hung down into his cold blue eyes. His lips were plump and far from his usual dull pink. They were bright red from Lieutenant Stevenson and Major Green's blood.
"Hi, Baby." Ethan grinned. "Miss me?"
Staring into the sinister eyes Ianto started to shiver. He remembered looking into those cold eyes when he was being held by Ethan all those years ago. They still haunted his nightmares... and his dreams.
Never looking away from Ianto, Ethan leaned in and took a long sniff before licking Tosh's cheek. He grinned into the side of her face, "Oh, Precious, she's tastes so good, but she's so very afraid. Do you think it's because all those guns are pointed in this direction or because she's in the arms of a werewolf?"
A gun was cocked.
"I think she's afraid because she's in the arms of a fucking cold-blooded killer." Owen snarled, tightening his grip on his gun.
For the first time Ethan looked away from Ianto, "Oh, I think she's afraid because you're all pointing guns at us that will kill her much sooner than me." He turned back to Ianto, baring flirtatious bloodied teeth, asking "What do you think, Baby?"
Only now did Ianto notice he was trembling.
"I… I-I think that everyone should drop their guns. They're not going to hurt him and they're certainly not-not going to kill him before he's br-breaks Tosh's neck." Ianto stuttered, watching out the corner of his eye as everyone reluctantly let their guns fall to the floor.
"You were always my favorite, Baby. Fabulous in bed, smart and …" Ethan bit his lip, growling lustfully, watching Ianto with his lifeless eyes. "So feral."
"What do you mean 'your favorite'?" Jack asked, glaring at Ethan, who licked his lips hungrily. "Oh, didn't Precious tell you?" He pulled Tosh closer to him and pushed both of them further into the boardroom.
"Tell me what?" Jack clenched his hands into fists, wishing that he had still had his gun.
Ethan gave a twisted grin that showed all his razor sharp teeth, "Precious here is a werewolf."
***
All the air rushed from Ianto's lungs. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything. The one thing that he didn't want anyone to know was being exposed. 'God! Breathe. Just breathe. No one is going to believe him. He's going to mess up sooner or later and when he does, I'll kill him before he kills anymore people.' Ianto took a deep breath and looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him with scared eyes. 'This is was what I afraid of. No one is going to look at me the same way again. It'll be worse than what happened after Lisa'"You don't believe him do you, Jack?" Ianto pleaded around the lump in his throat.
Jack sighed, his eyes still trained on Ethan. "Of course not, Ianto."
"Not even if I had some proof?" Ethan whispered, snuffing Tosh's cheek again. The terrified woman twisted her head, but did nothing more, not wanting to provoke the beast.
Quickly, Jack glanced to Ianto before snapping back to Ethan "What proof?" He almost sounded like he was hungry for evidence that Ianto was a werewolf.
"He has a tattoo on his foot." Ethan said, his eyes glinting madly.
"That doesn't prove he's a werewolf. All that shows is that you've see his feet." Gwen piped up, forgetting her fear for just a minute.
Ethan turned to look at Jack, "Have you seen it? No? I bet you didn't notice it when you were fucking him. I can smell you, you know. Your scent is all over him. But I can't blame you, he is a fantastic fuck. Does he still whimper and cry when he's being fucked? He always was a bit of a whore."
"SHUT UP!" Ianto shouted through clenched teeth, his face flaring red despite the danger of the situation.
Ethan slowly, mockingly, shook his head from side to side. He tutted parentally.
"Oh, Baby, you still haven't learned to control that temper of yours. You're right. It proves nothing really does it? Baby, why don't you show them and they can make up their mind as to how close I had to be to see your little tattoo?"
Ianto bristled and wrapped his arms tightly around his upper body, reeling back.
"No! I'm not playing your sick game." Ianto didn't understand why Ethan wanted everyone to see his tattoo. It didn't prove he was or wasn't werewolf, all it really proved was that he had tattoo and that maybe he was a bit of a rebel when he was younger.
"Oh, but if you don't play I'll just snap her in half." Ethan said, tightening his grip on Tosh. She gasped and grimaced in pain. Through one cracked eye she stared pleadingly at Ianto.
"Alright, alright!" Ianto shouted, toeing off his right shoe. He leaned down, pulling up his trouser leg and rolled the knee high sock off. He chucked it at Ethan, who gave a small laugh at the neon clothing. Ianto hiked his foot up and laid it flat on the glass table. There on his big toe was a tiny tattoo of a moon. The points were crawling off the edge, the blues were bleeding into each other, the design hugging his flesh.
Everyone was craning their necks to get a glance at the tattoo. They did nothing to hide what they were really thinking. The Brigadier was a far step from the proud father that he had been before, now looking disappointed in Ianto. Glancing at it, Owen turned his glare back towards Ethan, his face full of anger and disgust. Tosh looked shocked that what Ethan had said had been true. Gwen, Martha and Doctor Hill all had the same flashes of revulsion and fear across their faces. Jack's face was tight, making it hard for Ianto to read what he was thinking or feeling.
"Gwen's right, just because you knew about Ianto's tattoo doesn't really mean anything." Jack said, looking from Ianto's foot to Ethan with hard eyes.
"You're right, it proves absolutely nothing. But what's about to happen does." Ethan grinned, pulling Tosh back towards the smashed door. Pulling his foot off the table Ianto turned to look at the clock. 7:32[2]. Ethan had tricked him into wasting time and he had let him.
Doubling over, Ianto wrapped his arms around his stomach. Ianto couldn't hear the calls of his name over the growing howls ripping from his throat. Ianto almost fell to the ground, stumbling over to the glass wall. He leaned his head against it. Ianto scratched and grasped at it with his left hand. He could hear the sickening pop and crack of his bones as they twisted and grew.
The pain stopped as quickly was it had started. Holding up his head, Ianto looked at the marked glass. His eyes were bloodshot and sunken in; deep wrinkles surrounding both his eyes and mouth. His skin was discoloured from its usual pale white, now a greyish brown. His lips were a seething purple; pulled back in a snarl, showing twisted, yet human teeth. His right ear was pointed and hairy, more like a dog's than a human's.
He looked down. His right arm was still wrapped around his stomach, but now it was disfigured. He couldn't really describe what he was feeling; there was this numb sensation all over. It was almost like watching it happen to someone else. The skin was stretched over his warped bones. Through his shredded sleeve he could see blood trickling from the ripped skin running over stretch-marks. His nails… his claws were a dark brown, almost black. They were gnarled and sharp, digging into his stomach as he clawed at it.
"Ianto?" Jack asked stepping closer. Ianto could see Jack's reflection quivering in the marred glass. He looked worried. Panting, Ianto pushed off the glass and stood straight. Turning slowly, he stared at the carpeted ground; he was unable to look Jack in the eye.
He could hear the echo of his own accusation ringing in his ears, '… you're the biggest monster of all.' He didn't want to see the look of fear and disgust he knew would be there once Jack saw the monster that had been working for him, had been laying in his bed all these months.
He could hear gasps of horror echo around the room. He could also he hear Ethan's little laugh.
"Oh Baby, you're all grown up. A few years ago you would have been fully changed by now. I'm so proud." Ethan said belittlingly, yanking Tosh and himself closer to Ianto.
Dragging his eyes from the floor, Ianto looked at Ethan. He spoke slowly, each word fighting to be heard over the throaty 'grr' that had become lodged in his throat. "I don't want you to be proud of me! I want Alistair to be proud of me, I want Jack to be proud of me, hell I even want Owen to be proud of me, but not you!" Ianto snorted as he took in a deep breath through his nose. He couldn't normally breathe standing up in mid-transformation.
Ethan laughed patronizingly, showing pearly white teeth. "Baby, do you think that they'll ever look at you the same?" He gave an unpleasant-sounding laugh that caused Ianto's skin to crawl. "That's if they get out of there alive." Ethan grinned.
Ianto still hadn't looked at anyone apart from Ethan, not even Tosh who was trying frantically to make eye contact with him.
"The only person not getting out here alive is you." Staggering towards Ethan, Ianto tried to see the man that he… that he had loved. The man who had helped him through one of the most horrifying phases of his life. And he could still see that side of him, he could. That man was just underneath, hiding. But Ianto knew that it was all a trick, a lie. It was what Ethan wanted him to see. To have hope. He didn't want Ianto to remember that he had killed a whole orphanage just because it was fun. That he had raped so many people, including Ianto. He was the man who didn't care, he was the man who killed and raped because he was bored and wanted something fun to do. He was the man who was really a wolf, and to be honest, Ianto wasn't afraid of the big bad wolf anymore.
Reaching back around, Ianto used his disfigured hand to pull out his gun. Holding it out straight, Ianto aimed it at Ethan's shoulder, cocking it.
"Precious, you and I both now that-"
BANG
The bullet struck its target, hitting Ethan's shoulder and causing him to fling Tosh towards Jack. She swayed disorientated, her eyes rolling even as Jack helped her up straight and held her tightly. Ethan grabbed his shoulder, yelling as he doubled over. Thick blood oozed out and ran from between Ethan's fingers.
Ethan sounded like a short-tempered parent even when he was looking at Ianto with pain-filled eyes and panting blood. "Baby, it's going to take more than one silver bullet to finish me off." Ethan snarled, straightening up, blood blooming through the bright white shirt. Ianto looked into the cold blue eyes and knew that Ethan was right. Even with the liquid silver it would take more than just the one to kill him.
BANG
Opposite shoulder
BANG
Lower torso
BANG
Right leg
BANG
Right between the eyes.
Never looking away from the cold unblinking eyes, Ianto watched the silver slowly seep through Ethan's body, burning and mutilating flesh and bone.
The hot metal in his grip began to quiver, his transformed hand unable to hold it.
He couldn't believe it. He had done it. He had killed the big bad wolf. But what was he going to do now? He couldn't leave the hub unless he wanted to kill some innocent passerby. And he couldn't stay where he was. Ethan might have been right about him being 'all grown up', but that didn't mean he trusted himself not to kill anyone in the room.
Choking, he dropped the empty gun. It landed somewhere near his feet, but he didn't care. He grabbed his stomach and fell to the floor. He felt his bones shift and writhe under skin and muscle with nauseating crunches and snaps. Arching his back he struggled to roll on to his front, keening when he finally he managed it.
Excruciating pain coursed through his body as bones shortened and lengthened. His face was unrecognizable as it reshaped. He howled as he felt his ribcage expanding, making room for organs that were shifting. His hands and feet become paws with murderous black claws. His tailbone shot from his lower back tearing through flesh and skin, growing into a long unkempt tail. Silky brown fur grew from the bloody ribbons of the skin covering his whole body.
It only took a few seconds for him to change from human to werewolf, but to Ianto, it felt like a lifetime. Lying where he had fallen, he listened to the breathing of everyone one in the room. It was almost like they weren't there. The sharp intakes and fast releases of air filled Ianto's ears as well as the nervous sinking of shoes in the blood soaked carpet. Panting, he gathered the strength to stand up on his shaking four legs. Slowly, he lifted his head looked at Jack who was still holding Tosh close. He was watching Ianto with unreadable eyes.
Whimpering, Ianto lowered himself closer to the floor. Looking at Jack and Tosh with big puppy eyes. He shuffled forwards, stopping a metre away Ianto give a 'don't you feel sorry of me'cry before lying down with his furry head on his paws.
Biting her lip, Tosh pulled away from the still-shocked Captain, leaning over she stared into the stunning blue eyes so familiar to her. Taking a deep breath, she slowly raised her hand and stroked a soft furry ear. Sighing, Ianto let his eyes sleepily fall shut. No one had ever touched him like this when he was fully transformed. Ianto could sadly say that there were only a handful of people that Ianto would trust enough to let them touch the real monster that he had been hiding just beneath the surface. Tosh was luckily one of the few.
Feeling a different hand -a hand that was stronger than Tosh's and a lot less hesitant- stroking his head, Ianto sharply opened his eyes. He looked straight into Jack's blue eyes. His wolf-like brain couldn't understand the flashes of this and that feelings that passed through them. It didn't help that the emotions were never the same twice or that they were gone as quick as they appeared.
In the back of his mind he knew that he should be locked up in one of the cells -preferable the one next to Janet- so that he didn't hurt anyone. But instead, he was lying on the floor being petted like he was a prize puppy or something. He felt a rumble starting in his chest, almost like a purr -but if asked he would deny it and kill anyone for even thinking such a thing- closing his eyes and tentatively cocking his head to the side for more.
Hearing the clicking of a gun his eyes snapped open. Looking through the gap between Tosh and Jack, past Alistair, Owen, Martha and Doctor Hill he could see Gwen pointing her gun straight at him.
Tearing his head from underneath Tosh and Jack's hands Ianto stood on all fours, backing away from them and the danger of Gwen's gun. Growling, Ianto bared his pointy teeth and flexed his curved claws. Out the corner of his eyes he could see everyone tense up and hold their breath, not understanding the sudden change in his demeanour. Tosh pulled herself back, watching him with wide eyes and Jack…
Jack stayed where he was, his face darkened. Ianto could practically hear what Jack was thinking.
'I shouldn't have trusted you. Not after that Cyberwoman and definitely not after you changed in a monster right in front of me.'
But Ianto knew that no one could see Gwen pointing a gun at him. From the back of the room she was practically invisible to everyone else. That thought sent a fearful rage spiking through his spine. Not only was she threatening him, but she was also endangering everyone in the room with her. If someone moved even an inch she could seriously hurt or kill them.
Snarling, Ianto lowered himself, ready to jump. Ready to protect himself. Gwen's finger tightened on the trigger a split second later Ianto jumped.
The bullet tore through his left shoulder as he turned away from the room and jumped through the glass wall down to the hub floor below, shards spattering everywhere.
Landing with a thump, Ianto picked himself off the ground and ran towards the archive stairs. He struggled to climb down them with four legs and a shoulder wound, but somehow he managed to 'safely' make it to his archive. Whimpering, he slowly limped along one of the many aisles until he reached his desk. It was hidden deep in the archive. So deep in fact that Ianto was sure that no one knew that it was there. Crawling under the desk, Ianto shuffled around until his head was the only thing poking out. His large limbs bunted against the desk uncomfortably, but he felt safe.
Settling down, Ianto sighed. His whole body hurt. His muscles stinging, bones creaking, but what hurt most was his shoulder. He knew that by the morning it would have become yet another scar on his body. Keening, Ianto shut his eyes. God only knew what would happen when he was found and Ianto was under no illusion that he wouldn't be.
[2] - I just made up the time of the moonrise as I couldn't find it online. I'm sure that it is somewhere and that I've got the wrong time.
***
Jack was shocked to watch a bullet pierce Ianto's shoulder just before he broke through the shattered glass. He couldn't even think about moving. Ianto hadn't told him that he was a werewolf. Jack knew that he should be thinking about all this rationally, but he just couldn't stop thinking about Ianto's deceit. He was sure that he was in shock. Ianto had even lied to Jack about it, in front of everyone. Just before the gun had gone off Jack had seen in Ianto's eye that he just knew what Jack was thinking. He couldn't deny that while he felt hurt that Ianto hadn't trusted him- Ianto was beautiful. Deep blue eyes that were so like his human eyes and a glossy brown fur coat. There was no mistaking that this werewolf was his Ianto.
Jack could sense movement behind him and looking he could see Owen helping Tosh to a chair and Alistair talking Gwen's gun away from her. She didn't put up much of a fight; too busy staring blankly at the smashed wall. Talking a deep breath, Jack stood up and turned to Owen, ignoring everyone else in the room.
"Where do you keep the tranquillisers?" Jack demanded, slamming his hands on the table.
Owen looked up from Tosh, but didn't move away from her.
"First cupboard next to the stairs on the right." Owen answered before turning back to Tosh, not giving him a second glance.
"You alright? No glass hit you did it?" Owen carefully turned Tosh's arms over, checking them for glass.
Tosh blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears. "No I'm fine… Do you think Ianto's ok?... He sounded like he was in a lot of pain."
"I'm sure Mr. Jones is alright, Miss Sato." Alistair said, stepping in the way of Jack. "What are you planning to do Jack? After you tranquillise him, what then?"
Jack glared "I don't think it's any of your business what I plan to do." Jack wasn't above pushing Alistair to the ground if he had too.
"Jack! You have to do something." Gwen nearly knocked Doctor Hill over as she barged past, her face creased in fear.
"What should I do, Gwen? Should I shoot him? I think you've done enough shooting for everyone." Jack spat at Gwen, causing her to step back. Gwen straightened defiantly, but her tone held a warped sincerity.
"He was making a noise, Jack, and I thought he was going to hurt you. I'd never want anything to happen to you... or Tosh." Gwen added as an afterthought.
"He was happy, Gwen. Happy that someone was touching him." Tosh stood up, ignoring Owen who was unsuccessful in trying to make her sit. "Happy that we weren't treating him like the- the danger that he thinks he is. He was acting like a dog getting petted by people that love him." Tosh was fighting the tears that filled her eyes. "He wasn't going to hurt us… He saw that you had the gun and he didn't want anyone to get hurt."
As Tosh got more and more upset Owen wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He rubbed her back soothingly and she tried not to break down and cry, giving Gwen a blatant glare from over Tosh's shoulder, an expression that clearly said 'look what you've gone and done now'.
Jack felt like his whole team were falling to pieces all around him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But he knew that wasn't strictly true. He could look after Ianto for the rest of the night, making sure that his shoulder healed nicely in the morning. And maybe, just maybe, he would get some answers.
Looking back at Alistair, Jack could see that he was prepared to fight Jack if he didn't agree with his plan about what to do with Ianto.
"I'm going to get a tranquilliser gun and take him back to his apartment. I'll watch over him until the morning." Jack reluctantly told the Brigadier. "I don't want anyone near him. Not even you."
Alistair stared at Jack with sad eyes. The Brigadier nodded solemnly, but acceptingly. "Look after him Jack. He may act all tough, but really he's still a little boy who needs to be loved and looked after."
Not saying a word Jack walked around Alistair and down the stairs. He carefully stepped on the glass-covered floor, avoiding the splashes of blood littering it. He climbed down the autopsy stairs, knelt in front of a cupboard and opened it. On the little shelf was the tranquilliser gun as well as the box of darts. As he picked the gun up he also grabbed a dart. Standing, he loaded the gun and headed up the stairs, his entire air expressing impassiveness.
Stopping at the top of the curved staircase, Jack looked around the main hub floor. Jack knew that there were very few places that Ianto could and would hide. The archive was the most likely place, but also the most difficult to search if Ianto was up and moving.
Taking a deep breath, Jack once again made his way over the glass, grabbing a torch along the way before going down the stairs into the archive.
Shining the torch up and down the room he stared along the thirty endless rows of artefacts. He could be here for years looking for Ianto, but he hoped that Ianto was hiding at his little desk that he seemed to think no one knew about. Jack smiled to himself. Ianto could never keep small secrets from him. Jack's expression fell. Only big ones it seemed…
Slowly setting off down the 'J' aisles Jack held the tranquilliser gun out in front of him, ready to hit Ianto with the dart if he jumped out at him.
Jack walked and walked, passing boxes that were stacked neatly on rows of shelves, nothing out of place and no sign of dust. Just when Jack thought about giving up and turning back he heard light rumble.
Snoring?
Stepping warily, Jack carefully raised the torch.
There, curled up under his desk, was Ianto sound asleep. Sighing, Jack came closer, the gun still held high. He could see blood slowly running down the hit shoulder; a shallow pool of the substance had trickled down onto the laminate floor, flowing down from the clotted fur.
Kneeling down, Jack aimed for Ianto's right haunch.
Ianto's eyes shot open, staring straight at him. He'd woken at the click of the gun. He saw Jack's fingers coiled around it, the trigger already eased back. Holding still, Jack watched Ianto watching him. Startled eyes glistened back at him. Jack guessed that Ianto didn't know that the gun he was holding was in fact a tranquilliser and that he had no intention of killing him. Smiling gave Jack an air of reassurance, Ianto's eyes still trained on him.
"It's alright, Ianto. It's alright." Jack whispered, shooting Ianto's back leg.
Ianto's eyes widened before slowly becoming droopy and closing. Taking a deep breath, Jack stood up and chucked the gun on top of the desk. Leaning down he ran his hand through the thick fur that sat behind Ianto's ears. Reaching around, Jack carefully slid Ianto out from underneath the old desk. Gently, he lifted Ianto into his arms. Jack was surprised by how little Ianto weighed in this form. He felt strange. He knew this was Ianto, but this sinewy, heavily-jointed body lax in his arms felt so different compared to his affectionate Welshman.
But no matter what he weighed; Jack struggled to carry both Ianto and the torch. He somehow managed get the both of them safely back to the hub. Not even pausing to catch his breath or to drop the torch, Jack soldiered on up the stairs towards the garage, his face strained with effort. Walking through the ruined door, Jack could see that the bodies of Lieutenant Stevenson and Major Green had been moved in the time that he had been finding Ianto, something he was grateful for.
He laid Ianto softly on the ground -avoiding the patches of blood- to search his trouser pockets for the SUV keys, praying that he hadn't left them in his great coat. Finding them, he unlocked the door, wrenching it open he then threw them and the torch on to the passenger seat.
Being careful not to step on Ianto, Jack opened the back door, the black steel swinging wide. Turning around he braced himself before picking Ianto up. Jack grunted, panting while placing him in the backseats.
Slamming it shut, Jack jumped in the driver's seat. He grabbed the keys and shoved them in the ignition. He felt a line of sweat ease down his temple as the engine revved and the garage door rolled back, showing the road ahead. Easing out of the drive, Jack glanced at Ianto in the rear-view mirror. He hadn't moved since Jack had shot him. He knew that was a good thing, the tranquilizer was obviously doing the trick, but it was worrying how easily he had gone down. Pulling out onto the road, Jack sighed and headed in the direction of Ianto's apartment.
Stopping outside Ianto's apartment, Jack killed the engine, taking the keys out of the ignition and stuffing them into his trouser pocket. He looked out of his side-window up at Ianto's block of flats. He could see people moving around in their apartments, going about their normal lives totally unaware of the danger that was right outside their doors. And it was breaking his heart because he was thinking about Ianto being dangerous instead of weevils and other things that go bump in the middle of Cardiff.
Jack stared at Ianto in the rear-view mirror as he reached down and unfastened his seatbelt. If it wasn't for the gentle movement of Ianto's breathing Jack would have believed he was dead. No eye movement under closed eyelids or soft snoring that could sometimes fill a quiet space.
He didn't know that he was doing here or what he was going to do now, he hadn't really planned that far ahead. All he knew was that he needed to get Ianto out of the base as fast as humanly possible before something horrifying happened to someone. He really didn't have many places to choose from. The Hub, Flat Holm or Ianto's apartment. The first two were out of the question and the third option… the third option was the best one and that said something all three.
Slipping out of the SUV he slammed the door shut and ran around to the other side. Taking in a deep breath, he pulled open the back door, half stepping inside he reached over and wrapped his arms around Ianto's soft belly. Hearing the sound of car doors opening and closing, people shouting and laughing, Jack stopped and lifted his head, looking around he could see shadows of people dancing and running in the street. He waited -watching them- until they had disappeared out of sight before he carried on, gently sliding Ianto out of the SUV. Walking backwards, Jack struggled slightly under the weight of Ianto. Turning around Jack swung his leg back, kicking the door shut.
Panting lightly he shuffled around the car and onto the road. He didn't bother to lock up the SUV as he knew that it would self-lock after ten minutes thanks to the modifications that Tosh had made. Crossing the street Jack and Ianto safely made safely up the 'garden' path to the block of flats. It was truly a sad attempt at a garden. No flowers or water-features, not even a bench to sit on. He prayed that no one popped in or out of their homes while he carried the heavy beast that was his lover. Maybe if he ran into someone he could pass Ianto off as an Alsatian or something… Highly unlikely to work, but that's what retcon is for.
Jack leaned against the brick wall, filling his lungs with puffs of cold February air. His arms were starting to ache once again, but he wasn't going to let go of Ianto until they were both safe inside, hidden away from prying eyes.
Turning his head toward the brightly light doors Jack took a deep breath, readying himself for the worst. Pushing himself off the wall Jack shoved the door back using his back to prop it open until he had Ianto inside. He didn't know what or who he should be glaring at the most- the stairs for being there and not a lift instead or Ianto for living on the top floor in a building that had no lift. Jack settled on glaring at the stairs as it meant he was less likely to fall over while carrying Ianto up them.
Staggering to the top of the stairs, he quickly and gently lay Ianto down on the carpeted floor. Bending over and leaning on the wall Jack struggled to breathe, but he didn't care… well, not as much as he would under normal circumstances. As he caught his breath he ran his hand through the soft fur that was behind Ianto's ears- which where twitching lightly now.
Stepping over Ianto, Jack pulled out his ring of keys, looking of the two keys to Ianto's apartment. One after the other he shoved the keys in and unlocked the two deadbolts. Jack threw his keys deep into the apartment and the door back into the wall, going back over to Ianto and picking him up- he was very tempted to drag Ianto into the apartment, but he couldn't bear to do that even if his arms were hurting.
Kicking the door shut Jack was tempted to stop and lean for air once more -this time against the shut door- ,but he was so close to his goal -Ianto's bedroom and bed- that he daren't stop. The Captain dragged his feet over the wooden floors of Ianto's corridor towards the bedroom. Entering the room, Jack hiked Ianto higher into his arms before gently laying Ianto on the edge of the bed.
Having reached his goal Jack sat down next to the drugged werewolf on the lovely, beautifully soft bed that he was sorely tempted to ask its hand -if it had any- in marriage.
Looking around the room he realized that he could see Ianto had somehow left his lights on when he left this afternoon. 'God was it only this afternoon. I wish this whole day was at an end, but it won't be over for a long time yet.'
After resting for a few minutes Jack crossed the corridor to the bathroom and looked for the first aid kit, leaving Ianto on the bed. Finding it under the sink he went back to Ianto's side. Jack set it next to Ianto on the bed. Opening it he searched for gauze swabs and antiseptic to clean the wound. Once he cleaned the bullet-hole -somewhat grateful that the bullet had eased from one side and out the other since he'd dealt with bullets fragmenting inside the skin and poisoning the victim's blood before- Jack picked up the first aid kit and put it on the dresser next to all of Ianto's personal affects.
Sitting back on the bed, Jack started to stroke from the tip of Ianto's nose to the tip of his tail. Taking in the blackened pink of that wet feature and the smoothness of that fur Jack could hardly believe Ianto was anything more than a large Alsatian or Doberman. He watched the rise and fall of Ianto's back before staring off into space. He knew that there was nothing that he could really do until Ianto woke up, and that wouldn't be until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Sighing, Jack laid down next to Ianto. Still running his had up and down the silky fur; he wished this entire day had never happened.
Sometime during the night Jack had dosed off, but he was woken by the snapping and popping of Ianto's transformation back to human. Pulling away, Jack fetched the used antiseptic from the first aid kit, rubbing it on the bullet wound that was now only bright pink skin and the surrounding skin. Clearing everything away, Jack looked in the opened closet for something for Ianto to wear. Behind Ianto's clean suits was a light blue shirt of Jack's. He'd been looking for that shirt for a few weeks now. He had never thought to ask Ianto about it, but he should have. Running his hand down the empty sleeve he remembered helping Ianto slip it on before sending him home on a cold wet night after a weevil had destroyed Ianto's shirt and waistcoat. It was very unlike Ianto to have not have washed and returned it. Sighing, he took it off the hanger and started to unbutton it. Tugging a pair of boxer-briefs from a half-closed drawer, Jack turned back to Ianto.
The fabric slipped over Ianto's limbs as Jack manipulated them through the holes. He wasn't surprised that Ianto was still under despite the transformation- if the tranquilizer could knock a werewolf on it's ass it would have no problem keeping a human down.
After dressing him in the shirt and boxer-briefs, Jack carefully laid Ianto under the covers and left the room. He watched him for a few minutes from the doorway, his face forlorn, before walking out of the room, down the corridor and into the sitting room. Going up to the sofa, Jack sat down on the cordless phone that Ianto had thrown yesterday afternoon. Wincing, he yanked it from underneath him before throwing it aside.
Glancing at the clock, Jack saw that it was just before noon. There was nothing for him to do until Ianto woke up which could be hours from now. He hadn't been entirely sure what dosage of tranquilliser he had hit Ianto with, but he knew he was in for a long wait.
***
Ianto reluctantly began to wake up. He could feel the sun tickling at his feet, making them hot and uncomfortable. While he could ignore the unpleasant heat he couldn't ignore the throbbing pain of his left shoulder. Slowly opening his eyes, he rolled them, looking around his room -which was a bit of a shock in itself- for any evidence as to how he got home.
He didn't really remember what had happened yesterday… he remembered going to the hub, meeting Alistair, Martha and a Doctor Hill…
He-he remembered looking at a report about werewolves written by Doctor Hill… But after that it was a blank. Oh, he knew that it would all come back to him eventually. But he wondered if he should be relaxing or waiting for Jack to burst in and shoot him right between the eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed back the covers and flung his legs over the side of the bed. He was stunned to find himself wearing a pair of boxer-briefs and one of Jack's shirts.
Flash
Warm hands playing gently with his ears.
Flash
Frowning, Ianto stood up and warily walked to the door. Poking his head out his bedroom, he looked up and down the corridor. He could see nothing out of the ordinary. Gathering some courage, Ianto stepped out and walked towards the sitting room. Stopping outside the door, Ianto listened for any sound. Hearing nothing, Ianto went into the dark room. Carefully, Ianto shuffled across the room towards the windows, closing his eyes he pulled back the curtains. He could feel the sun brush up against him, caressing his face and hugging him, sighing Ianto wrapped his arms tightly around his body. He gently opened his eyes, his reflection was staring right back at him.
Flash
Twisted broken teeth, blood splintering over thin purple lips, gnarled arms clawing at bare flesh.
Flash
Blinking rapidly and sucking in deep breaths Ianto couldn't determine whether it was a new memory or an old one. The second flashback he had had many times before, but… but the one he had when he first woke up… he'd never had before. It could just have been wishful thinking -he had always wanted someone to look after him when he was 'ill'- or it could be a memory. Which was worse he couldn't decide. Sighing he rubbed his hands over his face.
"Why?" A voice asked from behind him. Startled, Ianto turned sharply, squinting into the shadowy room. Sitting on the window-facing sofa was Jack. He was studying his hands, not looking at Ianto. He was wearing his familiar outfit. Light blue shirt. Dark trousers. Somehow the red braces and how brightly they lay against the dull black leather was unexciting and lacking from the usual panache of the Captain. It was chilling. Looking up from his hands, Jack asked again,
"Why? Why didn't you tell me you were werewolf?"
Looking back out the window, Ianto watched a new mum being pulled towards the park by a young child. He could just remember doing that to his mum. He would pull and plead and beg her to hurry and she would laugh at him and shake her long brown hair. 'I miss her.' Ianto wrapped his arms around his body and turned his back to Jack.
"I wanted to. I really did. But… but last year when I first started working for Torchwood Three you wanted nothing to do with me." Ianto eyed Jack over his shoulder before looking back out the window. "Oh, you wanted to fuck me alright, but that was it." His hands clutched his ribs, holding them tight. "And that was just fine because I could use that to my advantage. You could flirt away with me and I could help Lisa and that's all I wanted. I just wanted to help Lisa, then for us leave Cardiff altogether." Ianto stopped, taking a deep breath.
"But we know how that ended." A humourless chuckle escaped past his lips as he tried to hold back the tears that filled his eyes. "And just when we were getting back to normal -well as normal Torchwood can get- we were almost eaten by cannibals." He voice was becoming strained as he fought against the bitter tears. "Then everything that happened with Tosh and Mary, then Suzie coming back and Gwen almost getting killed." Sighing, Ianto rubbed a hand over his face.
"And then there's what happened at Christmas. John's suicide. Diana flying back through the rift and Emma going off to London, and they were lucky! I don't want to imagine what the rift could have done to them. And to top it off Owen throws a wobbly and climbs into a cage with a weevil. And let's not forget all that stuff with Bilis Manger and Abaddon. Tosh told me what you were doing when you were stuck in the past, about the 'real' Captain Jack Harkness."
The tears that he had been struggling to keep at bay broke free and ran down from his luminous eyes and over his pale cheeks.
"I thought that everything was going to be ok after all that-that shit that happened" Ianto spun round, tears streaming and squinting at Jack. ", but oh no you proved me wrong again! You ran off with the Doctor. Just when I thought I could tell you, you go running off."
Ianto wiped the tears across his cheeks and dabbed his eyes using the sleeve of 'his' shirt.
"The first few weeks after you were gone were really shit. Tosh being even quieter than usual, Owen being bitchier and Gwen looking high and low for you… and me… I don't know what the hell was going on with me. I was back to hiding in the shadows. We soon found out that we couldn't go on like that. We'd only end up getting some innocent bystander killed and we'd have no one to blame but ourselves."
Ianto stared straight into Jack's eyes with an unblinking cold stare.
"And let me tell you, Jack, you are not worth someone else dying." Seeing the hurt expression on Jack's face, Ianto turned away, feeling guilty even if it was the truth.
"We started to work together, better, -even better than when you were here- and we were started to be a real team. And then… then you show up out of nowhere and save the day." Ianto snorted, smirking at the oak wood floor. It wasn't that he was ungrateful that Jack had stepped in and shot the Blowfish. The problem was that they were starting to get back on their own feet and stand on them without "daddy" watching every single move.
Hearing the cracking and squeaking of leather Ianto glanced up at Jack, watching him through his eyelashes.
"Why didn't you tell me when I came back? Sure last year was fucking crazy with all that shit that you just said, but you could have told me anytime when I came back!" Jack said, his voice rising as he stood from the sofa, running his hands through his hair as he started to pace back and forth.
"When was I meant to tell you, Jack? After you came back acting like nothing had ever happened? Or when your Ex dropped in almost killing all of us? Or what about when the Sleeper agents were killing people and almost taking over the earth using its own nuclear warheads? And let's not go into Tommy and Tosh's doomed relationship and the time shifts. Should I have told you when we were dealing with the space whale and Rhys finding out about Cardiff's answer to CSI?" Ianto broke off, his face twisted with frustration and a little slice of jealousy. "How is it that Gwen can break every rule in the book and get away with it? If Tosh or Owen or I did half of what she did we would have been Retconned so fast it would make our heads spin. And I don't even want to talk about the two days of memories that we all lost." Ianto shivered at the loss of those memories. It still terrified him to think about what could have happened during those two days.
Ianto slowly sat down on the window seat behind him. He gripped the wooden edge, his knuckles turning white. He couldn't bear to look at Jack, he knew that Jack was hurt by what he was saying but from Ianto's point of view it was all true. Jack had done nothing to refute that point of view. Even though Ianto hated the way that everything had be laid out in the open he couldn't deny that it felt so good.
"Maybe I should have told you I was a werewolf when your friend Martha came to investigate the Pharm- you still haven't told me how you know her or the real reason why you let her in."
Ianto looked up from the wooden floor, giving Jack a suspicious look.
"We all know that you wouldn't let UNIT anywhere near our investigation, Jack, never mind calling them in to help."
In a sarcastic tone of voice Ianto carried on, "Maybe I should have told you when Owen spent time in a real hospital because of that gunshot wound. You think I had the time to explain myself then? Who the hell did you think had to help Martha around here until he came back? Well? It was me, Jack! I don't know why you think she's such an excellent doctor because I have to tell you she wasn't ready to work in a place like Torchwood. Maybe she can get away with the stuff she pulled at UNIT, but not here. But she's just like Gwen. Getting away with everything 'cause you fancy her."
The more Ianto talked the angrier and angrier he got. He bared his teeth like a trapped animal -a trapped werewolf.
"And what about during the disaster that was Gwen and Rhys' wedding? You couldn't have looked anymore like you wanted to fuck her right there on the dance floor. I had to jump in a save both your asses before Rhys went over there and killed the pair of you. Could I have told you then? When I just knew that you'd have called Gwen back in before she even got on the plane for her honeymoon and pissing Rhys right off in the process."
Panting, Ianto tried to calm himself down before he carried on, but he couldn't get hold of the anger and jealousy that was created by his fears -fears that had been bubbling up and up for months. Fears like his feelings of doubt about his place in Jack's life and how he couldn't talk about it for fear that his place would change. Then there was his fears related to his 'big' secret.
"Just when I thought it was the right time to tell you everything, our date, that we had planned, went up in smoke because you didn't feel like going out for some unknown reason." Ianto give a harsh sarcastic laugh. "What a fun night I had with Gwen and Owen. Do you know why I wanted to go to that old cinema? I wanted to show you somewhere that was special to me. My dad and I use to go there on weekends and watch cartoons and old films. But what does it matter if I want to share something with you? I never really get anything back do I? It's a two-way street you know, Jack. You can't expect me to tell you everything about myself and not get anything in return."
Ianto could feel himself deflating and his body sagged as his anger started to waver and sadness entered his voice. His face pulled into a grimace, hurt that he had told Jack every little dark and dirty thought that had gone through his head over the past fifteen months.
Uncurling his hands from around the window seat Ianto hugged his ribs so hard the he could almost hear them pop under the pressure. Biting at his lip, Ianto looked up from the oak floor right into Jack's eyes, seeing the guilt, shame and anger that mirrored in his own before tearing his eyes way.
Ianto knew that he was being a hypocrite and that he was putting most, if not all of the blame on Jack's shoulders. He also knew that Jack wasn't the only one in this 'relationship' that had kept things hidden in the basement. Lisa being one of them. The fact that he was a werewolf was another. But how those two secrets measured against Jack's long list of 'sins', he didn't know. He was sure that is it was close, but who was wining he wasn't sure.
"I know that I sound like a petulant child and that maybe I've got it all wrong and you don't love Gwen like that. Maybe you just see her as someone you've loved and lost in the past. But I wouldn't know because you never tellmeanything. Nothing important. Like the fact that you couldn't permanently die. Maybe… maybe I've been reading more into this relationship then you have."
"NO! That's not true." Jack shouted, throwing himself across the room and kneeling in front of Ianto. He grabbed his arms and shook him in a hope to drive those sorts of thoughts away.
"Maybe you are right about me looking at Gwen like that… I do love her, but I don't see her as a lover and I'm certainly not in love with her because…" Jack paused, watching his hands as they slid down Ianto's arms to his hands, stroking the back of them softly with his thumbs, Jack sighed. "It's you I'm in love with."
Jack took the time to look at Ianto's hands. They were pink with red splotches and his nails were broken. He had seen them like this before and he had always stupidly assumed that it was caused by Ianto washing the dishes by hand or even the cold. But now that he really thought about it, it only lasted for a few days and only after a full moon.
"You know where I come from its not uncommon for someone to have more the one lover or too be married to more than one husband and/or wife. You could even have a husband or two, a wife or three and have a few lovers on the side. There's loving someone and there's being in love with them. I know that's not how it is here and you'd think that after being here over a hundred years I would remember that... but I guess that the way I've grown up really stuck."
Looking up from Ianto's hands Jack tried to catch Ianto's beautiful blue eyes, but Ianto wasn't breaking his staring contest with the floor.
"I also forget that you're a boy, who was born in the 20th century and who is living in the 21st century, were monogamy is taken very seriously and I should have tried harder to remember that."
With tired eyes, Ianto looked into Jack's. He could still see the guilt and shame there, but anguish had replaced the anger.
"And you're right. There was never a right time to tell me. There should have been. I should have made time. I hold my hands up to that, but… you should have made me sit up and notice. You know that I've got my head up in the clouds. But I also know that's not an excuse to not see that something wasn't right because now that I look back on everything I can see that something wasn't right… that there was always something hanging in the air." Jack sighed, standing up and letting go of Ianto's hands. "But that's the problem with hindsight. You can be going along thinking everything's fine but it's not. It's really not." Ianto watched as Jack stepped back, turning away from him.
"And as for me not telling you anything, you're right about that too. I just find it... it's hard to share my past. And doesn't that just make me the hypocrite." Jack snorted. "It's not like you're asking me to tell you're every nitty-gritty detail about me all in one go. And who knows how long we'll have to get 1 year, 2 years maybe even 5 years before Torchwood rips you away from me."
Jack sighed, running his hands through his hair.
"I'm ninety-three years old, Jack. And I could live for another ninety-three years, or maybe a few hundred years. I don't know… You're not wrong that something, anything could happen to me, but unlike Torchwood's other agents I have heightened senses, I heal ten times faster and I've been through hell and back more than once."
Ianto bit his lip, picking at torn nails, letting them fall to the floor. He didn't want to think about World War Two or the battle at Torchwood One or any other evil things lurking in the dark depths of his mind. "I'm not asking you to change who you are, just… just have a little more thought about me before you act. I feel so dirty when you act like I'm a toy that you pick up and use when you have nothing better to do. And I don't want you tying yourself to me because I'm not asking you too." He sighed and scratched his cheek with sharp nails.
"I knew that we weren't going to be lovers forever. I mean, you could have anyone you want, why would you stay with me? But I thought that we could maybe be friends at the very least. It would have been nice to know that I wasn't going to be alone when I watched my friends grow old and die… but it doesn't matter." Ianto cringed; he knew that his tone of voice gave away just how deeply it did matter to him. You'd think that he would be better at lying than this considering his job.
Sighing, Ianto pulled his lips tight; they crinkled as he nibbled on them.
Jack stood, looking straight past Ianto's head with unfocused eyes. His mouth was dry as dirt, but it didn't matter that he couldn't talk; he didn't know what to say anyways. He always had a way with words; you had to when you were a conman or if you wanted to get into someone's bed, but now he felt like all the words in all the languages were of no use to him. After a long silence, Jack started to talk. "I promised myself that if I got you back I would do things right… I was going to have a real relationship with you. You know. Go on dates; find out more about each other… But just as soon I get you back I mess it up." Jack hesitated before reaching out and taking Ianto's hands.
That promise had been broken so many times. Instead of making things better, the secrets and lies had mutated into something unrecognizable, all because they couldn't talk to each other. That was a pretty good reason to just put a stop to the whole thing, but Jack couldn't do that. He had to save what was left of this relationship. Here was the one chance to have someone in his life for more than a few months, few years. It was purely selfish, he knew that, but his feelings where telling him to be. Just this once he could have the 'happy ever after' and all he had to do was tell Ianto what he wanted, needed, deserved to hear.
And that's where the biggest problem lay. A solution to some of the problems was also one of the problems. For this to work, for him to salvage something from this whole thing he had to give something back. So that there was something that was worth all the pain they had gone through. He just had to take the leap and pray that Ianto caught him.
"Maybe we should stop seeing each other." Ianto whispered, breaking Jack's train of thought.
"No."
Ianto looked into Jack's eyes frowning. "What?"
"It would be too easy to give up. To just say 'It's been fun, but so long!' We've just been through hell and back with Ethan." Jack leaned in closer, his face almost touching Ianto's. "And you would be right in saying that all we do is hurt each other and that we should stop seeing each other but… But I feel something when I'm with you that I haven't felt in a long time. And it's selfish, I know, but I don't want to give up you or that feeling because I love you."
Jack noticed that Ianto had ignored his declaration of love. He hadn't looked at him with loving eyes or even batted an eyelid. Did he think that Jack was incapable of loving him? That he really was a monster? Or did Ianto just not see how amazing he truly was. Did he honestly think so lowly of himself? Had he always been like this and Jack hadn't noticed or… or had Jack turned him into this self loathing mess?
"How..." Ianto swallowed, pulling away from Jack.
"How what?"
"How can you see this working? How can either of us listen to the other without wondering if it's the truth? Just how is this going to be ok?" Ianto tightened his grip on Jack's hand. "Because I do want it to, but I just can't see it happening."
Jack grabbed the back of Ianto's head and pulled him close. "Maybe it wouldn't work. Maybe we'll just end up hurting each other even more. I don't know. But I want to give it a chance. And about the truth thing... Maybe not the entire truth. We all need to lie about some things some of the time. As long as we talk about the big things, the things that make us jealous or angry, things that need to be talked about… we'll be ok."
Ianto grabbed Jack's shirt, pulling his body closer so they where flush, body against body. "You make it sound so simple." He whispered.
Jack gave a snort "It won't be. It'll be bloody hard work. But it would be worth it. Don't you think so?"
Ianto bit his lip, his face tight with worry. He so desperately wanted to say yes, but the little voice in his head told him that Jack was setting him up for an even bigger fall, even if he didn't mean to. Burying his face in Jack's shoulder Ianto begin to sob. He couldn't stop thinking the worst of Jack, even after everything that Jack had said.
"Oh, Ianto." Jack sighed, pulling Ianto off the window seat and into his lap. He kissed the small patch of skin behind Ianto's left ear, stroking up and down his bony back. "Oh, Ianto, beautiful Ianto. If this is what the thought of us being together does to you, then I'll let you go. It would tear me apart but I would, I really would. Because I love you." Jack whispered softly, his lips brushing over Ianto's ear as Ianto cried into Jack's blue shirt.
Pulling back, Ianto stared deep into Jack's eyes, looking for anything to show Jack was telling the truth or lying. Ianto searched and searched but he couldn't see anything . Just blue eyes watching him. Swallowing, he curled up against Jack again and nodded.
Grinning, Jack pulled Ianto even closer, rocking back and forth a few times before pulling away and looking closely at Ianto. His eyes were red and full of tears, his face was blotchy and his cheeks were wet from the tears that had run down before they were swiped across.
Sighing, Jack ran his knuckles over the smudged tears, drying Ianto's cheeks. "Why don't we go sit on the sofa for a bit?" He whispered.
Ianto blinked slowly back at Jack before nodding. The Captain gradually helped Ianto stand up before he himself got off the floor. He was beginning to worry about Ianto. It was almost like he had shut down to give himself time to build up the walls again, as if he needed time to protect himself against the hurt that may or may not come with being in a new relationship with him.
Guiding Ianto over to the leather sofa, Jack carefully pulled him close, wrapping an arm around him. Turning them both around, Jack gently sat them down. Ianto hugged his legs to his chest and rested his head on his arms. Leaning back, Jack ran his right hand down Ianto's arched back, watching Ianto stare blankly out the window.
For some reason Jack had this image in his head that everything would be ok. That a few words there, a few words here and that would be it. Even though he knew that it was never going to be like that, the stereotypical happy ending that happens at the end of films, just wouldn't go away. And he felt bad for having that stuck in his head or for thinking that at all. Jack knew it would never be that simple. Never. And he didn't want it to be. He wanted it to be hard so that he'd remember that he came so close to losing Ianto permanently.
Biting his lip, Jack leant over. He curled himself around Ianto, resting his head on his shoulder, whispering into Ianto's ear. Taking a deep breath, he started to talk, "I grew up in a place called Boeshane Peninsula. A desert-like planet with sand grass and blue oceans as far as the eye could see. And hot, god it was hot." Jack sighed softly. "I lived with my mum and dad and my little brother Grey." Jack stopped; he had picked one of the hardest things to talk about. Not only because of what happened to Grey, but because he couldn't really remember his mum or dad. He was so old now that things were beginning to fade away and he couldn't help it. No matter how hard he tried they would slip away when he wasn't looking.
Jack gave a snort, thinking how much of a corner he'd backed himself into. Before he could start up again, Ianto interrupted.
"My dad is still alive. He's a hundred and twelve years old. I go and visit him when I can, up at Providence Park. The nurses and doctors that work there think I'm his great grandson. I push him around the beautiful gardens in his wheelchair and we talk about mum and the old shop. He's the only one left. The last constant in my life which has nothing to do with Torchwood." Ianto whispered, turning to look Jack in the eye with wide eyes and a sad expression.
Jack gave a gentle smile, kissing the corner of Ianto's mouth. He could feel the muscles dance under his lips. They gently rubbed their cheeks together as they leaned against each other more and more; the tension slowly washing away. Pulling away, Ianto let go of his legs and swung over Jack's.
Jack didn't think that they that would be having anymore big talks today or the next, maybe not even this week, but what they had shared, while it wasn't big, it was a start. A start towards something better, something good, just something that made all the pain and suffering all worth it.
Getting comfortable, Jack slouched, letting Ianto lay on top of him like a blanket wrapped around him. They sighed and huddled up close together on the sofa, hiding away from the world. They were giving themselves time before they had to go in and deal with the chaos in the Hub, which they would have to do at some point today. But for now, Jack was quite happy letting them lounge about until they absolutely had to, watching the sun crawl from one side of the room to the other.
***
They'd showered before they left Ianto's apartment, slowly and carefully washing each other. After getting dressed they'd eaten what Jack had somehow scraped together from what was still in date hidden in the kitchen. Having not said anything since they talked on the sofa the silence surrounding them was calm, soothing and not stale with tension.
It was early evening when they left the apartment and Jack had driven them back to the Hub, taking the longer, scenic route to get there. Having parked the SUV they were now standing in the lift, the pulling sensation tugging at them as it moved downwards. Jack's arms wrapped tightly around Ianto's waist, holding him close. He knew that Ianto was now strong enough to stand on his own, that he didn't need Jack's arm around him 'holding him up' but Jack couldn't stop himself. He needed Ianto, not only close to him, but to be touching him. In this moment he needed the warmth that proved Ianto was here, next to him, alive and well.
Ianto was subconsciously clawing at Jack's greatcoat with broken nails, snagging at the older man. He could feel the worry gnawing at his insides as he and Jack descended into the Hub. He wasn't a hundred percent sure what to expect when they walked in and saw everyone. No-one with the exception of Suzie had lied on this scale before and she was dead with so many bullet wounds that Owen has to stitch her back together so she wouldn't fall apart. Not even hiding Lisa came close to his lie about being a werewolf.
As the lift doors opened Jack begin stroke Ianto's left hip with his thumb, not quite sure who he was trying to comfort. Walking cautiously into the hub they both looked around to see where the team and UNIT were. Looking up at the conference room Ianto could see that the broken glass panel was now taped up with plastic sheeting covering the hole and the smashed glass that had been lying across the floor had been swept up and hidden from prying eyes.
Jack sighed, glad that someone had tidied the blood and glass and not left it for Ianto to clean up just the once. As he guided –pulled- Ianto towards the stairs he could hear shouting coming from the conference room.
"He will have to be executed, after he's been questioned of course." That was Doctor Hill.
"Now wait a minute. What has he done that requires you to 'execute' him?" And that was Owen. Tosh must have beaten him into acting like a Doctor and a human, which was odd for Owen, acting like both at once.
"Oh, so it's alright for Ianto to be running around like that, but Ethan couldn't?" And Jack was pretty sure that was Gwen. He felt Ianto falter as they climbed up the stairs. Turing his head he kissed Ianto's forehead before they started again.
"Yes. Because Ianto hasn't done any of the things that Ethan did." Good old reliable Brigadier.
"How do we know that, huh? Ianto isn't going to tell us if he killed children or not, and it's not like we can ask anyone else either."
"How can you say that? Even think it!" Jack asked hoarsely as he and Ianto walked into the room. He could feel the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach both at Gwen for saying that and for him not really knowing the answer. He and Ianto had talked -more like fought- about why Ianto hadn't told Jack in the first place and about staying together. Not once did Ianto talk about Ethan or what had happened when he became a werewolf for the first time or how he lived after that. He didn't want to think that Ianto had done things like raping and killing for fun or for any reason.
But the doubt was there, wriggling and writhing in the back of his head all because Gwen had said something that even he though he hated held a hint of truth. Really, really hated it.
Seeing the doubt on Jack's face Ianto ripped himself away from him, looking at everyone with eyes full of bitterness. He was trembling and alternating between wringing his hands and pulling and straightening his clothes.
"You want to hear about how when I was six years old Ethan how broke into our house and tore my mum apart and then he came after me and… and turned me into this animal… this monster?" Ianto flattened his hands against his stomach, his face pulled into a grimace.
"There was blood all over the snow. I never knew that a six year old boy could lose so much blood and still be alive. God. The pain. There was so much pain I wish I had died." His eyes glassed over as he became lost in his memories. Snapping out of it, Ianto took in a deep shuddering breath, "You should have seen my dad. Not only was his heart broken with my mum's brutal murder, but he had to live with this thing that had once been his loving son."
Gwen, Martha and Doctor Hill stood huddled together behind the Brigadier, who had stepped in front of them, not wanting a repeat of what happened yesterday. This was the last thing he had ever wanted. He should have put his foot down and told Doctor Hill and Martha to put a stop to their investigation. And above all else, he should have warned Ianto that Ethan was coming to Torchwood and to stay as far away as possibly.
"I had to be locked up in the basement at every full moon 'cause my dad couldn't take the chance of letting me out! And I started to hate him! I didn't… I didn't mean too… I just was slowly suffocating under the weight of his watchful eyes. I thought that he wasn't letting me grow up when all he was trying to do was make sure that I was safe and that nothing happened to me. I was a stupid, stupid teenager who thought he knew better. And look what happened!" Jack tried to move closer to Ianto, but stopped when Ianto stepped further away from him.
"I met Ethan again when I was eighteen. Of course I didn't know then that he was the reason that I had no mother and that I was a werewolf. Still didn't until years later." Ianto bit his lower lip until it threatened to bleed.
"For once in my life I felt something other than shame and fear and it was all his doing. I didn't have to hide what I really was, I didn't want to. You see, that's what Ethan does. He makes you like him, love him even and everyone else disappears into the background so it just the two of you. And that's when it happens. Just when everything is so good, the wool is whipped off so fast that your head spins and then… then you see what you're been sleeping with, what you've been falling in love with."
Jack wanted to get closer to Ianto, but he knew that he couldn't, knew that Ianto was one breath away from doing something drastic. He wanted to say something, anything that would stop Ianto's sickening ramblings. All he had wanted was the truth, but he had never wanted this. Jack knew that if he had asked Ianto privately, quietly, that Ianto would tell him what he needed to know without throwing himself into hysterics. Just once Jack wished that he had kept big mouth shut.
"I didn't want to stay with him but… but you don't get to choose whether you stay or leave. You stay and you watch all the horrible twisted things that he does or you leave him and he still does those things while he looks for you." Ianto pulled at his collar, distorting the cotton t-shit. He was suffocating under the pressure of the memories.
"To punish you, to kill you, to hurt everything that you hold dear. It didn't matter what he did to you because you knew that it was going to be painful. And you'd never see it coming. Oh, you think you would, but you wouldn't, 'cause he'd wormed his way into your life before you knew it and shattered it into a million pieces." Ianto's bottom lip was scarlet and swollen from where he had bitten it.
"I saw him do that once before. A past lover of his had run off without telling him. Of course he found her months later. She had just gotten married to a very nice Frenchman -he was a famous writer I think- their picture was all over the papers. They looked happy. Well Ethan couldn't have that. She was his and Ethan didn't share. So Ethan became friends with him. It wasn't long before the friendship became a horrible long affair. On the happy couple's wedding anniversary Ethan knocked the man unconscious." Ianto gave a violent shudder. He had just noticed the weight of everyone's eyes on him, watching his every move.
"After fucking him senseless he tied him to a chair. They waited hours before she came home. She didn't get the romantic meal that she was expecting, instead she got her ex-lover torturing her husband for days on end, but her punishment wasn't over yet." He stared blankly at the blood-stained carpet.
"Ethan made her kill him…"
Ianto gagged. He remember hearing the wet pleading sobs that passed her lips as she killed her husband, begging for the nightmare to stop as he sat helplessly in the next room.
"In a way it was a mercy killing. He left her there in that house with the body. It was weeks later when someone found them. She'd gone mad. It was thought best that she was put in a home. Years later Ethan came back and finally finished her." He stared vacantly at Jack. "He snapped her neck."
Tosh's eyes were raw with tears as she listened to Ianto. She wished that he was talking about some horror film that he had see or that it was some other person telling them this story.
Owen pulled Tosh back so she was standing flush against him. He knew that she had been upset even before this argument started, but now that Ianto was standing in front of them saying everything that came into his head. It was bad enough that he was feeling like shit he didn't want to imagine what she was feeling. They had been so fucking stupid, bloody fighting about whether or not they got to shoot Ianto right where he works, even he could see that.
"In that moment I decided that it was better to stay and watch then leave and watch over my back, waiting from him to strike. I wasn't going to end up like her or the hundreds of other stupid people who tried to leave him." A look of disgust flashed across Ianto's face as he remembered all the screaming and blood as thick as syrup spraying up the wall not just from her, but all the others that had tried to leave.
"In 1966 after 30 odd years of all this shit I got a chance to leave and I took it. Even with everything I knew about him, I took it. Ethan took me along when he was robbing a museum. Things went wrong pretty fast and he legged it, leaving me stuck there with all the things he wanted." Ianto scoffed. That had been so like Ethan. He'd torture those around you and then kill you if you tried and leave him, but if it meant that he got away without a scratch then he would happily leave you to the 'wolves'.
"Instead of the police showing up it was UNIT. UNIT and Torchwood had been looking for Ethan after a tipoff telling them he was in London. Instead they found me. That's when I met the Brigadier and he gave me the choice to tell them everything I knew about Ethan and the things he was planning to do or to be locked up and maybe executed at a later date. I chose to tell them everything."
Ianto pointed shakily at the Brigadier. "After that you said you would talk to Torchwood House about me working on their report. They said that they would accept me if the Queen gave her approval, which she did shortly after meeting me after the blundered robbery."
"After that I travelled all over the world, working on this report. And for once I didn't have to worry about Ethan turning up and killing me. I never stayed in one place long enough for him to find me. That was until I was based at Torchwood One where everything went to hell in a hand-basket. After that Torchwood House said I was on leave and that I didn't have to start working on it again until I was ready." Ianto gave a full-body shudder. Those months after the Battle had been the worst in his life. Worrying about Lisa, about getting into Torchwood Three, about Ethan slinking his way into Ianto's life before he knew it and slaughtering everyone in it.
"I didn't think that I was ever going to be ready, not with Lisa to look after, but when she died I had nothing to live for. Nothing that really made all the pain and fear worth living through. So I started writing it again and things started to get a bit better." Making fists, Ianto willed himself to stay where he was even though he could feel rising tension inside himself. He didn't think he could hold off much longer before he had to pick fight or flight
"So that's everything. You can shoot me in the head now. 'Cause there is nothing else for me to say. So come on. DO IT!" Ianto held out his arms, shouting at everyone in the room. Everyone froze, holding their breath as the tension rose and rose, making the air turn sour. Taking a deep breath, Jack slowly crept forwards until he was close enough to wrap his arms around Ianto.
"No!" Ianto shouted, pulling and twisting against Jack, not wanting to be near him. Jack held on tight and let Ianto tire himself out, which didn't take long. Ianto was almost like a small child that had stayed up well past his bedtime and was now feeling cranky. Not that Jack could blame him. Everything seemed to be against Ianto at the moment.
Shuddering and swallowing, Ianto slowly came to a stop. He let Jack hold him close. Gripping Ianto's chin gently, Jack stopped Ianto's shaking head, making him look Jack straight in the eye.
"No one is going to do anything to you. And if they try then they will have to go through me." Jack whispered, but he made sure that everyone in the room heard the warning.
Laying Ianto's head on his shoulder, Jack looked at the Brigadier. "There's no reason for UNIT to be here so I want you, Martha and Doctor Hill to get out of here right now. And don't you ever turn up here without clearing it with me because I will shoot first and ask questions second."
The Brigadier's face hardened, wanting to put up a fight, but he knew that it would not be in the best interest of intercommunications between UNIT and Torchwood as well as what was best for Ianto. Nodding, he turned back to his two doctors, "Ladies, if you could gather your things, please."
The pale doctor Hill nodded shakily, stacking her papers and chucking them into her briefcase. She gave them a final lasting look before snapping shut the catches as if it were the last time she would see them. Standing tall she tried to leave the room with some air of dignity, but it was lacking due to her blatant 'putting down' the day before.
"Jack, I'm sorry." Martha looked like she on the verge of tears and more like the Martha that he knew. She was no longer acting like the spoiled child that had arrived yesterday, but he didn't have the time to deal with her now. And maybe he never would, but Jack was sure that the Brigadier would look after her, maybe even take her under his wing now that she back to being the Doctor's Martha.
"Doctor Jones, it would be best if you follow Doctor Hill out. I'm sure that Jack will contact you when he has the time." The Brigadier said quietly, taking her elbow and walking her to the door. Turning back he reached out and grabbed one of Ianto's hands and gave it a gentle squeeze, before he too left the room.
Ianto watched the Brigadier with red blotchy eyes that were filled with tears. Sighing, he turned his head back into Jack's neck as his body began to sag against him.
Jack didn't want to deal with any of his team's questions. In fact, he didn't want to do anything other than stay with Ianto. "Tosh, Owen, Gwen. I think that you lot have work that you need to be getting on with." He said calmly, which couldn't be further from the truth.
As Tosh came back to herself she jerked away from Owen. "Yes, of course." Without looking back she hurried out of the room.
"Right." Owen muttered, trying not to watch Tosh scuttle out as he too left, taking Gwen with him as he did. Jack was sure that she was in a state of shock after Ianto's story. He couldn't blame her. He was close to being in shock too and after the life he had led it was strange to think it would, since he was far more desensitized than her, Tosh or Owen combined.
Jack waited until he could hear the clatter of the keyboards from below them before he moved Ianto's head from its hiding place. He and Ianto were face to face with each other, unable to look way.
"I know that I broke our promise, but I didn't want to. A doubt was planted and before I could ask you privately about what happened, you… You just blew up. Not that I blame you. I would have done the same if I had heard things we did." Jack stroked Ianto's cheek, curling his hand around the back of Ianto's head, letting it rest there. "We're just going to have to sit down and set rules or something before we really start talking... and then... maybe I could get to meet your dad?" Jack gave a breathless chuckle. He couldn't believe that he had just suggested something that most of the time he tried to avoid. The Captain was even more surprised that he really did want to meet Oscar Jones. "Because I have to tell you I want to meet the man who created and raised this beautiful man in front of man."
Sighing, Jack wiped away a stray tear that broke free across Ianto's cheek. "I'm going to hug you. And maybe if I can force myself to let go we'll go back to your apartment and put this whole ordeal behind us and start to make things better, in-between sleeping, eating and anything else we can think of to pass the time before the world goes to hell in a hand basket and we have to go save the day. What do you say?"
Ianto sniffled, looking at Jack's blue eyes that were twinkling madly at him as the Captain waited for his answer. He knew that only moments ago he had lost it. Spewing every little disturbing detail that he knew on some level would cause damage to everyone in the room, even him, but here was Jack offering him the chance to put his 'little' breakdown behind them and to start afresh. Ianto knew at some point the older man would ask about his past and Ianto would have to talk about it, but for once he didn't feel terrified at that prospect of having to do that.
Ianto gave a happy sigh. His lips curled into a smile as he whispered softly, "Yes, please."
End
***
The Werewolf Report Part 55 Ianto Jones 2008Werewolves and their change are not solely ruled by the full moon. They can change anytime they want between human and werewolf, whether it be night or day, half moon or no moon, but they cannot stop the change that will take place during the full moon. There are certain months that changing between bodies becomes more exhausting and difficult than others e.g. March and December, and other months were changing is easier e.g. February and October. Werewolves age at an almost unnoticeable rate, far slower than that of a human, meaning they live to a very old age (no figures at this time). There are rumours about a human being newly turned in the mid 1800's alive to this day (2009). Similarly, there is evidence of a werewolf born in 1916 also alive today (2009). He is officially 93 years old, but because of the slow aging rate, looks no older than early 20's. (See The Blaidd Report 1966 for further details.) Most werewolves will only mate with other werewolves that they have turned; while many others will mate just with werewolves. This means that many wives, husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends have been turned. There is also a very small group of werewolves that don't mate with any other werewolves, these are usually the loners of the 'pack' or don't wish to be involved with any werewolves. A small few of that group 'mate' with just humans. This reluctance to mate with other werewolf's may be a result of the afflicted living in denial of their change, or equally, owing to a desire not to pass their 'curse' onto a beloved.
January - Old Moon/Ice Moon and December - Oak Moon/Cold Moon/Frost Moon Werewolves do not hibernate, but during January and December werewolves do not kill, but will eat the food sorted during October and November. Also, during January and December they take part in very little recreational sex.
February - Wolf Moon/Hunger Moon During February (the wolf moon) werewolves can change more frequently between human and werewolf. This is because strength increases during this month, making the afflicted able to handle the painful transforms more easily. Their senses also become heightened to help them find food and a mate. February has the third highest statistics of kills of humans, sheep and cattle (sometimes even chickens) by werewolves. This is because during the Hunger moon (the wolf moon is also known as the Hunger moon) the werewolf's hunger grows because of their changes becoming more frequent and their participation in more sexual activates. Both the human and the werewolf will eat high quantities of foods from all of the five groups. Instead of the normal recommended servings from the food groups, the human and werewolf will eat three to four times that. Alpha werewolves during this month will look for a temporary mate. Sometimes they mate with the same werewolf every year, but unlike 'normal' creatures, werewolves don't necessarily mate to produce young. One or two remaining families of werewolves (travelling packs) do mate to produce young, but many werewolves prefer to turn people into werewolves during October (harvest/blood moon) or November (hunter's/snow moon) instead in preparation for the next Hunger Moon.
March - Lenten Moon/Sugar Moon Throughout March the werewolves' diet changes. Instead of eating a high level of meat (humans, sheep, cattle and chickens) they will eat a lesser quantity of meat, and as humans will ingest more sugary and fatty foods. Werewolves will also spend more time sleeping than normal. Their energy having been sapped from the activities of the previous month i.e. the mating and frequent transformations. The pregnant female will be resting before giving birth next month, while equally other werewolves will be resting to look after the young.
April - Egg Moon/Waking Moon The female werewolves impregnated during February will give birth after roughly 63 days (April and sometimes early May). More often than not the female werewolves will give birth as a werewolf (there has been an only handful of werewolves recorded giving births as a human). Human werewolf births -a werewolf in their human body- has a much higher chance of killing both mother and child.
May - Milk Moon During the five months of May, June (Flower Moon/Strawberry Moon), July (Hay Moon/Thunder Moon), August (Grain Moon/Red moon/Lighting Moon) and September ( Fruit Moon) werewolves do very little. Werewolves -during the whole year- take part in mass amounts of recreational sex, but only during February do female werewolves (and human werewolves) become impregnated. Most recreational sex happens during these five months. Werewolves are more prone to sexual activity from March to September rather than October to January. Unlike other months were werewolves will hunt regularly they will eat the creatures that they stored earlier and only kill when hungry.
October - Harvest Moon/Blood Moon October has the second highest kills of humans, sheep, cattle and chickens by werewolves. Not many of the creatures killed are eaten. More often than not they are stored either in forests, caves, abandoned buildings etc, for later consumption during December and January.
November - Hunter's Moon/Snow Moon November has the highest kills of humans, sheep, cattle and chickens by werewolves. The werewolves, again, kill and store food during this month much like in October, also turning humans into new werewolves. About 90% of new werewolves are turned during this month.
Torchwoo House
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***
- Main Torchwood slash page
- New stories page
- Jack/Ianto stories
- Ianto/Owen stories
- Other pairings stories - ie threesomes
- F/F stories
- Gen stories
- Amazon.com - Torchwood: Children of Earth
- Amazon.co.uk - Torchwood - Children of Earth [DVD] [2009]
- Amazon.ca link - Torchwood - The Complete First Season (7DVD)
