Title: The Stand
By: minimumstitch
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Torchwood is not owned by me but is owned by the BBC and RTD and I am just enjoying playing with their characters.
Summary: Ianto takes a stand.

***

Jack looked at the clock, then at the Hub door, and then checked the clock again. This pattern continued for the next 30 minutes until the door rolled open. Jack sat back in his seat, satisfied, it was only 7am, and Ianto was only half an hour late, nothing to worry about.

However, after 5 minutes when there was still no aroma of freshly made coffee drifting up to his office, he began to fret. It was unlike the young man to be late; normally he was there at 6.30am at the latest, preparing the Hub for the day.

Jack made his way down the stairs and stopped as he saw Toshiko at her desk, staring intently at the screen, trying to find the flaw in the code for the translation program she was developing.

"Hey, Tosh! Have you seen Ianto on your travels?" Jack asked hopefully.

"No, why? Is he not here yet?" Tosh replied, her forehead creased with concern.

"No, I had hoped it was him coming in, but obviously not. I'll give him half an hour and then I'll call." Jack nodded, happy to have made a decision.

Jack was already dialling Ianto's number when Tosh came up to his office half an hour later. She sat at his desk, waiting impatiently for Ianto to answer. She moved forward when she heard the ringing stop and Ianto's husky voice answer.

"Hey, Ianto. Is everything alright? Where are you?" Jack asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine and as I'm assuming that you are calling from your office, if you look down you should see me about to come through the Hub door. Was there anything else you needed, sir?" Ianto asked, amusement evident in his tone.

Jack moved to the window and held a hand up in greeting as Ianto appeared in the metal doorway. "No, that's fine. Tosh was just concerned that you weren't in yet, that's all. Ow!" Jack glared at Tosh rubbing the back of his head. "I meant we were both concerned."

"Well if that's all I'll go and feed Myfanwy and the other pets." Ianto hung up before Jack could protest. Since when did Myfanwy and Janet get preferential treatment over him? It was 7.30am and he still hadn't had a cup of coffee.

Gwen and Owen arrived at 8.30am, trying not to look as if they had arrived together. Normally Jack would be happy to make them feel uncomfortable and see what stories they would come up with to explain how they came to be coming in at the same time, but not today. Today, all he wanted to know was what had happened last night that had caused Ianto's working pattern to change so dramatically.

He continued to watch the young man for the rest of the day and was disturbed when he spotted Ianto leaving the empty mugs on their respective owner's desk. Usually as soon as Ianto noticed a mug was empty it would be removed to be cleaned and tidied away, in fact it wasn't uncommon for the mugs to be removed from their hands before they even hit the desk.

The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach grew as he noticed the others scrambling around for objects that normally would have appeared magically (or so it appeared to Jack and the others). It was a source of constant amusement to the team that Ianto could predict their needs before they were even aware of them.

Jack was so caught up in observing Ianto that he failed to notice Tosh, Gwen and Owen march through his door. However, he couldn't fail to notice the loud crash as his door was slammed shut. Jack turned and laughed at the petulant looks on Tosh, Gwen and Owens' faces.

"You think it's funny do you? Something is seriously off with the Teaboy!" Owen snapped.

"I know that he isn't his normal attentive self, but I think it's a bit soon to say that something is seriously wrong." Jack protested.

"How far does it have to go before you take it seriously, Jack?" Tosh asked.

"Come on, guys! Granted he was late this morning, and yes, he hasn't been as attentive as usual, but maybe he's just having an off day. He is allowed."

Gwen stepped forward so she was right in his face. "When has he ever had an off day? After Lisa, he came in and tidied up the hub. And even after the cannibals he came in, typed up the reports, cleaned the SUV and put away the weapons; and that was with broken ribs and severe bruising."

"Okay! I get your point! What exactly are your concerns about Ianto? I want specific instances." Jack sat down at his desk and prepared to document their concerns.

"How about he hasn't brought a fresh cup of coffee unless we specifically ask for it?" Owen grouched.

"And the scanner that I needed wasn't on my desk; I had to ask Ianto for it!" Tosh chimed in.

"Hang on! Did you already have the scanner on your desk and it was removed or, was it just that you needed it and expected it to have been there automatically?" Jack asked.

Tosh blushed. "Well, they are normally there waiting to be used."

"Alright, so, so far all we have is that he came in late and isn't pre-empting our every need. Is that correct?" Jack asked sceptically.

"No, 'cause when my pen ran out and I asked Ianto for another one, he told me, and I quote 'You know where the stationery cupboard is' and walked off." Gwen told him, looking outraged.

"Alright, so that doesn't sound like him. Anything else?" He asked, his concern growing.

"Yeah, have you seen the state of the Hub?" Owen asked Jack.

Jack looked through his window and saw immediately what Owen meant, there were sandwich containers on their desks, crumpled up paper on the floor, files leaning perilously on Gwen's desk and the bins were overflowing.

"Alright, guys. I'll have a word with him and find out what is going on." Jack promised. He watched them leave and then activated the comms unit. "Ianto, can you come up here a moment?"

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Ianto asked as he walked through the door. Jack studied him, looking for signs of anything untoward.

"Yes, take a seat." Jack nodded to the chair in front of him. As Ianto sat, Jack began. "Is everything all right? Has someone done something to offend you?" He asked.

Ianto smiled. "Everything is fine, Sir."

"So no-one has upset you or annoyed you?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"No more than usual. Just the day to day squabbles."

"So, why are you in a bad mood?" Jack demanded frustrated.

"I'm not; I'm in a very good mood if you must know." Ianto replied calmly, a peaceful smile on his face.

"You really are, aren't you?" Jack muttered. "So what's with the attitude and the sloppy work?" Jack asked. He knew he had said the wrong thing, as the peaceful smile disappeared and was replaced with a dark scowl.

"As far as I am aware, I have not had an attitude and my work has been exemplarily as usual. If you wish to check I will show the section of archives I have been working on." Jack winced at the icy chill in Ianto's voice.

"I'm sorry; I put that the wrong way. I'm sure you're work is fine, but you have to admit that you have been acting very strangely today."

"No, I just haven't been pandering to everyone's every need and they actually had to fend for themselves instead of being taking care of like children." Ianto snapped.

"What's happened? This isn't like you, Ianto. Something must have brought this on." Jack rose from his chair and moved to perch on the desk near Ianto's chair.

"Nothing happened, Jack. I just… I suppose you could say that I had an epiphany last night. I realised that I have been trying to justify my place here by going above and beyond what is expected of me. And then I realised that I don't need to justify myself, I am a member of this team and yes, I have fucked up, but so have Gwen, Tosh and Owen, and they don't feel the need to prove themselves." Ianto smiled. "Well Gwen and Owen don't anyway."

"So what, you are just going to stop doing your job?" Jack said incredulously.

"No, that's not what I'm saying! I'm saying that I no longer need to do my job and parts of everyone else's job in order to feel good about myself. I'm saying that I no longer feel like I have to agree to do every little thing, to do favours for people that I know don't respect me and treat me like crap!" Ianto flushed with anger.

"Don't be a drama queen! No one treats you like crap!" Jack snapped.

"Of course they don't." Ianto said his voice thick with sarcasm. "It's perfectly reasonable to throw things at someone to get their attention; it's not at all demeaning to be referred to as the 'Teaboy', it's fine to bitch and moan when someone is doing something to help you! You're right, Jack, I'm being a drama queen."

"Alright, I shouldn't have said that. And you're right; it's not acceptable for anyone to be treated like that. But don't you think you're taking it a bit far?"

Ianto snorted with disgust. "No, strangely enough, I don't! From now on I will do my job and only my job. I will help in the field when necessary, I will still maintain the equipment and archives and I will provide coffee if asked, politely; but I will not tidy up everyone's desks. I will not clear the autopsy room when Owen just leaves it after he has finished an autopsy and I will not be the errand boy, if people want something they can get it themselves, they are not helpless."

Jack smiled. "You know, Mr Jones, I think I like this feisty side of you. Carry on, but please can I ask one thing?"

"Certainly, Sir." Ianto nodded.

"Please, just let me know if you are going to be in a bit late, it stops me worrying. And one last thing, please can I be the first pet that you take care of in the morning, I really missed your coffee this morning." Jack implored, hands together as though in prayer.

Ianto laughed. "Of course, Sir."

***