Title: A Nice Trip to the Country
Author: Amanda
Rating(s): NC-17 to be on the safe side, because of Jack's dirty mind
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto (sort of)
Disclaimer: The Torchwood 5 belong to the BBC, RTD etc. I'm merely borrowing them so Ianto can dress down and Jack can take liberties.
Warning(s): Spoilers for Cyberwoman.
Summary: The gang go alien hunting in the country. Ianto gets lost. Jack finds him. They resolve their differences. Ianto sleeps. Jack gets distracted. The end.
A/N: The idea for this came from reading the synopsis for Countrycide. It was intended to be a gen action/adventure piece until the smut bunnies gate crashed and chased the plot bunnies away. It turned out to be just a little something I thought I'd like to see in that episode, but know I won't. Big thank yous to Elfinessy, Feardantane and Crystalshard for doing a super Beta job and some much needed nit-picking. Also for offering suggestions for an important line. Archive with pleasure, but let me know where it's going at asudderick@aol.com.

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Ianto could feel his heartbeat hammering in his chest, pounding through his head. He could hear his breaths coming too fast, too loud. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and tried to focus on calming himself down. Deep breaths; in through the nose, out through the mouth. In, out. What the fuck was he doing out here, anyway? He didn't belong out here, so far away from the ordered, safe -- well, relatively safe -- confines of the Hub.

Strange, likely alien, phenomena originating somewhere in the Brecon Beacons, Tosh had said. That was all Jack needed to have them go haring out there, not properly taking into account their lack of experience with nature.

They had driven for nearly an hour before surreptitiously dumping the SUV a safe enough distance away from the signal so they didn't advertise their presence to the alien.

Simply walking in the direction the tracking device was pointing them in had turned out to be hazardous. Jack had decided that the almost full moon didn't warrant the use of torches, in case it alerted the alien to their presence, so they had tripped and stumbled their way along, muttering curses under their breaths.

"The signal is stronger now. We're close,' Tosh had announced.

Owen had tripped over for the third time, and he had waited for the expected torrent of quiet expletives. Instead, he had heard a quiet gasp, and Owen stumbled backwards. It was male -- he could make that much out amongst the torn flesh and blood -- and from the way he was dressed, looked like a tramp. He'd had to look away before the bile rising in his throat forced its way out. Owen had given the body a once over and declared that if the tracking device wasn't picking up an alien presence, he'd have said that it was a wild animal attack; frenzied and primitive.

For a fleeting moment, he had wished he were back in his suit waiting for the pizza to be delivered.

Tosh had pinpointed the alien's location to a thicket a couple of hundred metres in front of them, and they had waited. When Jack was sure it was staying put, he had decided they should split up in an attempt to surround the alien. They were to stay in touch using their intercoms, but only when necessary. Owen and Gwen had circled round to the left. He and Tosh had gone right. Jack had gone straight on. That was when it had all gone to hell.

Tosh had tripped over a branch and fallen awkwardly. He had tried to help her, but she assured him she was fine. He had known she wasn't but bit his tongue and watched her struggle for what seemed like a good 10 minutes before insisting she stop before doing herself permanent damage. He had used the guilt card. Unfair, he knew, but it had seemed the easiest way of getting her to stop. "What use are you going to be in a struggle? You could get us all killed.'

It did the trick. She had switched on the intercom to let the others know she was injured, and was rewarded by white noise. Something was interfering with the intercoms. They, or rather, Tosh, had decided that he should continue without her. Deal with the threat and then come back to help her back to the car. Good plan, in theory. However, he had never had a great sense of direction. That coupled with the darkness and he had found himself completely lost. He had not been able to see his watch but knew he had been walking for far longer than it should have taken him to circle round and closer to their target. There were also much fewer bushes around then there should have been. He didn't know how, but he had been wandering in the wrong direction.

So here he was. On his own in the middle of fucking nowhere, freezing his ass off, scared half out of his mind, expecting every noise to be the last thing he ever heard. His only consolation was that at least he had on his old comfortable Cat boots, jeans and a waterproof. Jack had told him to change before they left. To tell the truth, he'd been so gob-smacked that Jack was expecting him to go with them that it hadn't even crossed his mind that an expensive suit might not be the most practical thing to be wearing when chasing an alien through the Welsh countryside. So he felt rather foolish when the others appeared in reception, dressed for a hike in the hills.

"You know, grass stains are a bitch to get out of clothes. I know it offends your sense of propriety to be any less than immaculate, but how about changing into some civvies?' It was a subtle mix of sarcasm and humour and he didn't know whether to be embarrassed or infuriated. The slight clenching of his jaw must have registered with Jack, who then quickly added "Besides; I've waited far too long to see your rough-and-ready look. We'll be in the car,' as he and the others exited the building.

Great. Wardrobe advice, and Jack thought that was enough to prepare him for being out in the field. Jack could be such an asshole. Maybe you should have spent more time training me in the art of gun handling, and given me a fighting chance. No; that wasn't fair. It wasn't Jack who had tripped over a root and lost the damn gun. Stupid. At least he hadn't shot himself while doing it. The last few hours had been a comedy of errors and he just hoped he'd have the chance to look back on it and laugh. One thing was for certain, he thought dejectedly. Jack would never allow him to accompany them on a mission again.

He slid down the structure's wall, landing with a small thud on the hard, but dry, ground. His breathing had slowed sufficiently for the pounding in his head to slow to a dull ache, which allowed him to think. He considered his options; Stay put or keep on moving. Quite simple really, only he didn't know which action was more likely to get him back to civilisation in one piece.

He looked up and around him. It was hard to make out anything in the darkness. Although it was a clear, moonlit night, the lack of unnatural light that city dwellers were so accustomed to meant that everything appeared grainy, out of proportion. The run-down, bare structure he was sitting in might once have been a barn; a man-made shelter from the elements in this otherwise open environment. His thoughts kept coming back to the tramp; kept picturing the way the chest had been torn open, and what had done that to him. He shook his head forcefully to banish the images. He wondered if the others were safe, if they'd caught it, what they were thinking about his disappearance.

He yawned and suddenly realised how very tired he was now that the adrenaline had, temporarily, stopped pumping. He made a guess at the time and thought that he had three or four hours left before dawn.

Stay or go, stay or go?

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by something scuttling over his feet. Ordinarily he wouldn't have reacted in the way he did -- to a rat -- but the fact that he could be unwittingly waiting here for some predatory monster to strike seemed to justify it. He jumped up and yelped, there was no other word for it. He looked and could see the gleam in the rat's eyes as it stood a few feet away from him, seemingly laughing at him. In the split second it took for him to move to kick the rat, he considered whether he should be worried about his sudden overwhelming urge to harm a defenceless animal.

He never had a chance to finish that thought as something grabbed him from behind and yanked him back. His yell was muffled by the hand that covered his mouth, and he started struggling.

"'Ssh.''

Jack felt him still immediately, and he removed his hand from over Ianto's mouth. He could feel Ianto's chest heaving against his arm, and loosened his grip.

He moved his mouth against Ianto's ear and whispered, "'You know, if that's your reaction to a rodent, just as well you missed the mother-fucker we were after.''

He was aiming for levity, but missed the mark. Ianto wrenched himself away from his grip and spun to face him. Jack took one look at his face and realised that a smart-ass remark had its time and place, and now was not it. The last time he'd seen that particular mix of fear and anger on Ianto's face, he'd been the cause, and he didn't like to be reminded of that incident.

"'Is that why you brought me out here? To prove what a liability I am to you all?''

Jack thought he detected a hint of hurt amongst the vehemence of his accusation. He bit down on his instinctive urge to defend his actions; something he'd had to do too much of lately, and took a deep breath instead. He turned away from Ianto and took out a mobile phone. Good old mobiles. Couldn't get a sophisticated intercom signal to work out here, but you could rely on a mobile phone practically anywhere. He punched a number and waited.

"'I found him . . . yeah, he's okay. All okay your end?'' Jack paced around, listening to Gwen telling him that there hadn't been any further activity showing on the tracker since he'd left them back at the SUV. Tosh was apparently still refusing to go to the hospital until both he and Ianto were safe. Jack glanced back at Ianto, who was watching him intensely, looking to pick up any clue as to what had happened in his absence.

"'Look, Gwen. It's only a few hours "til dawn. We're going to stay put until then . . . Yes, we're someplace safe . . . Yes, I am sure Ianto is okay. You wanna talk to him?'' As if he would lie about something like that. He must have sounded suitably irritated, as Gwen ceased that line of questioning. "'Tell Tosh we are both fine and that I want her to let you take her to the hospital now. Tell her that's an order. Meet us back there at 7am. And yes, I'll call if there's a problem,'' he added, anticipating her concern.

He hit the call end button and gave a long sigh. The worst thing about being in charge was the staff. Getting to know them, caring about whether they were hurting physically or emotionally, dealing with the fallout from that. Part of him wished he could remain cold and detached. No doubt the others thought of him that way already. He thought they should think themselves lucky that they didn't have to make the unpopular decisions. That was his job.

He looked again at Ianto. As much as he didn't want to do this, they had to have a conversation about the cyberman Ianto had stashed in the basement. He'd done the “not talking about it and pretending everything was okay when it really wasn't” approach, but Ianto had just demonstrated that wasn't working, sensitive to the most innocuous comment. They had to clear the air, so instead of the totally viable option of trekking back to the SUV straight away, he was putting himself in the unenviable position of stranding them out there together so they could have it out and then move on, once and for all.

He missed the easy banter. He also hated the way he now felt uncomfortable asking and expecting Ianto to do everything he asked without question, and hated the fact that he had expected him to do so and taken him for granted before.

"'Is everyone okay?'' Ianto's question shook him out of his contemplative state.

"'Yeah.''

"'How's Tosh doing?''

"'Sprained her ankle. She's hurting, but you know how stubborn she can be. Refused to have it looked at "til she knew you were okay.'' He felt a strong need to emphasise that point to him.

"'What happened?''

"'Something I can only describe as a lycanthrope. A werewolf or, in this case, an alien spirit in the form of a wolf. Bloodthirsty too, in the traditional sense. Not very smart, though. Had me in its sights and didn't even sense Owen coming up behind it. Luckily, he didn't need silver bullets to stop it, or it would have ruined my favourite coat. Fairly simple clean up operation too. I wish all our alien friends were that easy to deal with.''

Ianto looked like he was deep in thought, contemplating what Jack had said. He wished he was better at reading people; wished he knew what was going through his mind.

"'You said we were staying here until it got light. If there's no longer a threat out there and you know the way back, why are we staying?'' From his tone, Jack knew Ianto was suspicious of his motives.

Ianto was right, or course, but he couldn't help it; it irritated him. "'Aside from the fact that it'll take a good hour to trek back in the pitch black, I'm not infallible and it is possible that I could get us lost.'' He walked slowly towards Ianto. "'That's another hour on top of the time I've already spent tracking you that Tosh is waiting, in pain, rather than being at the hospital.''

He was being sarcastic again, knew it, and didn't care. He stopped right in front of him until they were eye to eye. "'Is that a good enough reason, or were you expecting something more melodramatic?''

He was wired now. He wanted a reaction. Instead, he found himself disappointed when, instead of the fight he was subconsciously looking for, he got the flight he was half-expecting. Ianto walked away from him and sat down, forearms resting on knees, head bowed.

This was not going the way Jack had hoped. He crouched down in front of Ianto, who didn't move.

"'I do not think you're a liability.'' His voice was soft, a clear contrast to what it had been a few seconds ago. Still no response. "'And if I set out to prove anything by bringing you out here, it was that you are part of this team.''

That got a response. Ianto looked him in the eye.

"'I lost my gun as well, you know.''

He made a mental note to reprimand Ianto on the seriousness of that particular incident at a later date, and smiled instead. "'I've been thinking it's about time I gave you some one-on-one refresher training on gun handling.''

He was rewarded with a small smile. "'I've heard what that entails.''

Jack knew it was time to broach the subject. "'Ianto, we need to talk about Lisa.'' He didn't like humanising what he saw as an alien threat by using the name, but he didn't want to get into the "she had a name' argument. That wasn't what this was about.

He saw the pained look in Ianto's eyes before he looked at the floor again. "'Do we have to? I thought we'd dealt with that. That it was in the past.''

He was going to be the one that had to do all the work on this. "'We haven't spoken about it. I thought at the time that that was the best approach. Draw a line underneath it and carry on as normal, as if nothing had happened.'' He hoped Ianto would continue to look at the floor so he didn't have to deal with the pain, which he knew he had significantly contributed to.

"'But it's still there, under the surface, getting in the way. As team leader, I can't have anything affecting our effectiveness. As Jack, I don't want to have to hesitate before making a comment or sharing a joke, wondering if you're going to take it the wrong way.''

Ianto looked up and opened his mouth, but Jack was on a roll. "'Wait; hear me out.'' Ianto was wavering. "'Please.''

That bought him some time. Ianto closed his mouth and returned to studying the floor.

"'I don't want to talk about our reasons for doing what we did. We both know what they were and they're not going to change. We need to talk about the here and now. Where we go from here.'' Jack suddenly felt restless, stood up and stretched.

"'Aside from anything else, I'm really impressed with the ingenuity you showed in bringing her and all that other equipment to the Hub, and keeping it there, without me knowing. Still don't know how I didn't notice something was up. That's a skill the team can utilise.''

Ianto met his eyes and he was encouraged by what he thought was a genuine appreciation of what he was saying.

He started walking up and down. "'I did nothing to make you feel part of the team. I'm a little ashamed to have to admit that. You just did everything I needed you to do, a lot of the time without me having to ask first. I took you for granted and I underestimated your abilities. I'm not sure which is worse. I'm sorry I did that. You shouldn't have let me do that."'

He looked around; not that he could see much, but all this truth and honesty stuff was making him slightly antsy and he wanted something to focus on other than the other man. "'What it comes down to is this. I want you to do a lot more than clear up after us. I want you to get involved in our investigations. There's no question that you have what it takes. I just need to know whether you can and will commit yourself 100% to this job.''

"'How do you know you can trust me?''

Out of all the things Ianto could have said, he wasn't expecting that. He knew what Ianto was really asking and looked at him. "'I trust you to do your job to the best of your ability, and to not do anything that would jeopardise your colleagues or the public at large. If you're asking whether I trust you not to make good on your personal threat to me, well, I guess I'll find out in time. It matters to me what you think of me, but I can't change what I did and I can't say that in hindsight I would have dealt with it any differently.''

There. Everything he wanted to say was said. Now it was up to Ianto. He leaned back against the wall and looked at him. Ianto stared back, as if considering everything he had said. Jack was just beginning to feel uncomfortable with the silence when Ianto gave him his answer.

"'I haven't got any plots afoot to watch you suffer and die.'' Straight to the point. That was one of the things he liked about Ianto and he would have smiled if the subject matter wasn't so important. "'I know you did what you felt you had to do. You saw a problem. You dealt with it as you always do, with efficiency and detachment. You don't consider the people that are affected by what you do; you don't care about their feelings.'' It was a personal accusation that hurt.

"'And in that respect I am the monster you said I was. I hope you know that whatever I may feel, I can't allow myself to consider those feelings. Sometimes I have to decide that a few people are going to suffer for the good of a whole lot of people. The job comes first.'' He looked back at Ianto, silently imploring him to understand. Ianto stared back at him, then at long last gave a sigh.

"'I know.''

Ianto's tone was that of resignation and defeat, but he also thought he heard a note of acceptance of his reasoning. The fact that Ianto retained eye contact was a good sign.

"'I'm sorry. I promise you nothing like that will ever happen again.'' Ianto got to his feet and walked over to Jack, extending his hand.

"Damn right, or next time I won't hesitate to put a bullet through your head,' Jack thought. He took the offered hand, feeling how cold it was, and shook it. "'Good.''

When Jack released his hand, Ianto retreated a few steps, wrapping his arms around himself as if to warm himself up.

"'You okay?''

"'Yeah. It's like I suddenly realised how cold it is out here.'' He shivered, and then yawned.

"'That's endorphins for you. Now you're calmer, the cold and tiredness will really bite.'' He could feel the chill in the air, now Ianto had brought it up.

"'Oh good. Can this night get any worse?'' He rubbed his hands together.

"'You could always impress me with your survival skills and go build a fire.'' He could tell from the uncertainty on Ianto's face, that he didn't know whether he was joking or not. He smiled. "'I've got a better idea. Come here.''

He took hold of Ianto's wrist and led him over to the wall. He then sat back against the wall, spread his legs and tugged on Ianto's sleeve. "'Sit down.''

If he had to describe the look on Ianto's face, it would have been "mortified'. "'Sharing body heat is an effective way of staying warm. I don't like being cold; so sit.'' He pointed to the space in front of him.

Ianto turned his back to him and sat, careful to avoid anything more than minimal contact. Jack held back a laugh. He insinuated his hands under Ianto's arms, wrapped them around his chest and hauled him back against him. "'There, that's better.''

He could feel how tense Ianto was and got a perverse thrill from his discomfort. "'Breathe, Ianto.'' Ianto let out a long breath, and Jack could sense him make a conscious effort to relax into the embrace.

"'Are you comfortable?'' He knew it was a wicked question to ask, but he couldn't help himself. He was having a bit of puerile, but he thought well deserved, fun.

"'Mm-hm.''

"'Sorry, what was that? Do you want me to move.'' He shifted slightly, bringing them into closer contact and bit on his lip to stop himself laughing.

"'No, no. I'm fine.''

Stop it, Jack, you're going to scare him off. He listened to the voice in his head and settled back. He idly wondered how long Tosh would be waiting in casualty before being seen. Knowing the NHS, she'd probably still be there when the others came to pick them up. He heard Ianto yawn again.

"'You're tired. We've got a couple of hours before we get started. You should try and get some sleep.''

"'What about you?'' He was still shivering

"'I don't sleep as much as I used to. I'll catch a few hours back at the Hub. Come on, close your eyes.''

"'I think I will, just for a bit.''

Five minutes later and Jack thought that Ianto must have been on the verge of sleeping. He gave a slight start when Ianto suddenly said, in a sleepy relaxed voice "'Now I'm a fully paid up member of the club, does this mean I get invited along on your jollies?''

"'Of course'''

"'And I get to play with the alien toys?'' Another yawn and he felt Ianto relax fully and settle himself back against him.

"'They're not toys and they're not to be played with, no matter what Owen might tell you.''

"'And you're going to start taking your turn making the coffee?''

"'Have you ever tasted my coffee?''

"'No. That's rather the point.'' One more yawn.

"'I think the end result would breach health and safety regulations.'' He waited to see what Ianto would come up with next, but there was only silence.

A few minutes later he wondered if Ianto was finally asleep. He silently thanked the alien spirit wolf thing for bringing them out here so he and Ianto could finally resolve their issues. He hadn't realised how much they needed to talk about it until they had. He then decided that he was going to sign them all up for one of those "survival courses' in case they had any other "out in the wilds of Wales' experiences. Then he decided that sometimes he should stop thinking so much and just clear his mind.

He took a deep breath and focussed on a spot in the far corner. For the first time he noticed how quiet it was. No traffic, no white noise. It was as unusual as it was natural. He could hear the slow deep breaths Ianto was taking. He listened and found himself slowing his own breathing in unison.

The next thing he became aware of was the body heat radiating from Ianto. He realised that he was no longer cold, but pleasant warm, almost tingling where their bodies were touching. He squeezed the body in front of him slightly, enjoying the easy comfort of it against him.

The appearance of a rat, which may or may not have been the same one that had made Ianto emit a girly scream, caused him to move his head, to watch it scurry across the ground. As he did so, he found his nose millimetres from Ianto's neck.

He breathed in deeply.

He was used to Ianto smelling a certain way. He wore the same aftershave every day; a fresh, citrus scent that he always associated with Ianto. There was just a hint of that left, along with the stronger and far more intoxicating scent of Ianto himself. It was definitely addictive.

He closed his eyes, and took another deep breath against Ianto's neck. As he breathed out, he knew he was in trouble. His breathing was faster and shallower again. Whereas before he was ever so slightly aroused at the close contact, now he was fully aroused, constrained only by the tight jeans he was wearing.

Fuck.

He cursed his errant libido and idly wondered what Ianto would think if he suddenly woke up to find Jack sniffing him. He'd probably reply with some smart-ass remark about getting in touch with his senses. After all, he could see him. He was touching him.

He could hear his breathing.

Smell him.

Without thinking about it, he pressed his lips to Ianto's neck, just behind his ear. He licked gently and could taste the slight saltiness of his skin. It was definitely sensory overload. He could feel his cock throbbing, begging to be released from its confines. He tried to shift himself to a more comfortable position, but Ianto made a protesting noise and he stopped, not wanting to disturb his sleep.

He was in hell. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this aroused without immediate gratification. Well, he reasoned, if he was in hell, he might as well enjoy it. He buried his nose between Ianto's jaw and shoulder and, barely, nuzzled his neck. As he did so, he wondered what kind of lover Ianto would make.

Had he had sex with a man? Some throwaway comment he had once said about men giving better blow jobs suggested that he had.

Did he have much experience? Probably not. That was okay, he was a good teacher, and what he didn't know about sex wasn't worth knowing. He'd be attentive, definitely. Probable sub; possible switch. Oh yeah, he could see himself bent over his desk while Ianto worked off some of that built up tension by ramming his cock inside him again and again, balls slapping against his ass, hitting his prostate with every thrust. Ianto only caring about his own satisfaction. Having to beg Ianto to touch him or allow him to touch himself. There weren't many people he'd let himself sub to, but Ianto was definitely on the list.

He groaned. This was tortuous. He was actually causing himself physical pain, and as much as he enjoyed a little pain to enhance orgasm, it was no fun if no orgasm was imminent. He wrenched his head back, hitting his head on the wall for good measure, and thought about Weevils. This was going to be a long couple of hours.

Five hours later and he was back at the Hub, telling them all to go home and get some well-deserved rest. He'd managed to survive his self-induced torment and when Ianto had asked him if anything interesting had happened while he'd been asleep, he just said he needed to piss and jerked off in record speed as soon as he was alone. His faith in the NHS had been restored when Tosh informed him that it had only taken her an hour to be seen and that she couldn't fault the doctor, who was "drop dead gorgeous, but that was besides the point.' Everyone seemed comfortable with each other, and it was good to see.

Finding himself alone, he walked back to his desk to shut down his computer, when he noticed he had an email from Ianto. Curious, he opened it. "Thought I wasn't going to be excluded from the fun any more. Next time we're alone like that, wake me up.' He shut down his computer and smiled. Things were definitely looking up.

End

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