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Feb. 17th, 2008 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
songspinnera Torchwood fic
Title: Blanketed 1/2
Author: Songspinner9
Characters: Ianto, Owen. No pairings.
Spoilers: happens just after season one, so no spoilers for season two
Rating: PG-13
Summary/Notes: A two-part fic based on the word "blanket".
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Torchwood except my own theories, most of which will probably turn out to be wrong. Feedback feeds my imagination.
***
Note: The team continued going on missions after Jack went missing. One cold night, they find a welcome sign of life at a crime scene...the words in italics are thoughts.
***
The sirens were growing in the distance and Owen watched as Ianto hurried back to the SUV to get the Retcon pills. They'd need a few this time, he thought. With a grunt, he pulled the alien to one side, revealing the man it had killed. He'd just about figured out what he'd need to do for the autopsy when he heard a small sound.
Head turning quickly to send raindrops from his slicker into his face, he pushed himself to his feet and crept quietly toward the boulder that towered in front of the trees. Gun? Check. Too much adrenaline? Check. Wondering where the hell Ianto was? Check.
He wasn't particularly prepared for the little girl he found on the other side of the rock. Dark curls were matted down with rain and mud and probably tears, and there was a jagged scrape down the side of one arm. Shit...put the gun away....she's probably freezing, not just in shock, out here in just a t-shirt and pants. Looks to be about three years old. Injury's minor, but probably stings like... "Ianto? Gwen? I need some help here!"
Owen held out his arms in pure reflex. "Hey, sweetheart. It's all right. It's safe now. I'm with the police." She'll probably know what that means, and she's too bloody young to know what Torchwood is. "That's right...can you come out, over here to me?"
There was a moment's hesitation as she was clearly listening to his deliberately soft voice and gauging if he was to be trusted, and then she darted forward and he swung her up into his arms. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry as she wound her arms around his neck and stuck a cold nose into his shoulder.
"This ought to do." Ianto was there with a blanket; it wasn't one of the crackling silver emergency blankets either, but a soft green fabric. The other man's gentle hands wrapped the blanket around the little one, and as she was clinging too tightly for there to be any room between then, around Owen's own body as well. Not that I'm complaining, mind. It's ice in the air tonight, maybe snow later.
"Thanks, mate."
Ianto put a gloved hand to his mouth and stifled a cough. "Gwen found the I.D. of...well, the I.D. She's getting Andy to contact the little girl's mum. The woman apparently works a night shift nearby."
"Good." I should get him in the medbay later...that cough sounds worse than it did yesterday...
"Do you want me to take her?" Ianto moved forward a little. "I can take over for Gwen and she can..."
"No!" Damn, didn't mean to be that loud...she just burrowed in like a baby hedgehog. "Sorry, sweetheart. Didn't meant to startle you just then." He shifted her weight a bit. "I'll...I'll hold her for a bit. Tosh and Gwen can handle things, yeah?"
"Pretty sure, yeah." Ianto paused for a second to look at him, and a tiny smile flickered across his face.
"What?"
"Nothing, Owen." The Welshman reached out to pat the shoulder not occupied by the girl and went off to coordinate the clean-up.
Owen tugged the blanket closer around them and moved off toward the ambulance. Warmer there, probably, and I bet I can talk Andy into bringing us some coffee or something while Ianto's busy... "Let's go over here where it's not so cold, then, right? And maybe you'll thaw out enough to tell me your name."
"Polly." The whisper was so quiet that he almost missed it over the rush of the wind.
"Hullo, Polly. I'm Owen."
Blanketed part 2 of 2
Note: A quiet night just post "To The Last Man", when Jack and Tosh are the only ones in the Hub.
***
"Ridiculous, isn't it?" Toshiko's voice echoed through Jack's office. He glanced up from the paperwork he was trying hard to avoid.
"What is?" The paperwork was laid back onto a precariously leaning pile and he cocked his head to the side to watch her.
"With everything that happened in the past couple of days all being the result of working for Torchwood and here I am, in this building, throwing myself into my work to avoid thinking about him."
"Home didn't work, huh?" Jack watched her lean against the door, her slim frame rather more tense than usual. He walked over, slumped down on the couch, and let his head tip back to rest on the cushion. After a couple of slow, deep breaths, he turned to the side to face Toshiko where she'd answered the wordless invitation. "You know, when I came back, I checked the Hub before I came to find you all. That's a lot of modifications you made. Impressive."
"Well, I had to." She mirrored his position to meet his eyes. "Without you living here at night, that left four of us and fewer times we could do a night shift. Owen and Ianto insisted on doing a lot of them..."
"Ah, chivalry in this day and age. Also impressive." Jack smirked a little and stuck one foot over to push the shoes off her feet so she could fold her legs up onto the couch.
"Not according to Gwen, apparently. She complained they were being sexist. Anyway, I needed to set up something to allow us to monitor the Rift long distance, better than we'd been able to do before, if necessary. And I, uh...I set up a system with the newer facial recognition software to let me know if anyone but the four of us entered the Hub. To be sure I'd know if you came back."
"I noticed that bit when I did get back...sorry I disabled it. I figured you were all pretty busy at the time and didn't need the distraction mid-chase." Jack grinned at her apologetically.
"That's all right." Toshiko answered with a sweet smile in return. "You fixed it for me later, after all. I'm just glad you're here again." She sort of fell sideways onto Jack's shoulder, and he tucked her close into a hug. "Please don't keep scaring us like that, okay?"
Jack's answer was to lean his head down to rest on hers, breathing in the familiar scent of her, a mix of coffee and metal, and a subtle flower perfume. The combination of the scent and her presence made him relax with the realization of her forgiveness. "Didn't mean to scare you. Sorry. You're not angry with me? We didn't exactly talk about all of it, the two of us I mean."
"About Tommy or about you leaving?"
"Either."
"I am...I was." Toshiko's voice was firm in her honesty. "I just can't...it doesn't seem worth it to stay angry that way right now. Still sad, yes. And as for that second thing, a note would be good next time, okay?"
He huffed out a bit of a chuckle. "Yes, ma'am."
There was a long while, during which they both just focused on being there. The silence was broken when she had one more question.
"Jack, I know you were in World War II, but you were in the first as well, weren't you?" Her smaller hand slipped into his.
"Yeah. I was." The captain shuddered just a little as his mind flickered back to what he'd remembered in the derelict hospital when he'd pressed his hands against the cracked and stained floor. "Too much death and..."
"And what? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Her earnest tone made it tempting to stay silent about it.
"No details, Toshiko. Just...I just got tired of waking up and being the only one alive." He just about managed to keep his voice from cracking at the end of his sentence, and gratefully let his head rest on the top of hers where she instantly laid it on his shoulder.
It was almost an hour until Ianto would be there, opening the tourist shop after checking in about Rift activity. "Can we...do you mind just staying here for a while?"
"No," she answered softly. "I don't mind being an anchor at all."
Dozing a little, he was just barely aware an hour later of Owen and Ianto quietly moving about the Hub. The warmth of her sleeping body against his was soothing, and the blanket the doctor quietly slipped over them magnified it until the cold of the trenches of the War to End all Wars began to fade into steady heat. The morning meeting could wait.
***
Title: Blanketed 1/2
Author: Songspinner9
Characters: Ianto, Owen. No pairings.
Spoilers: happens just after season one, so no spoilers for season two
Rating: PG-13
Summary/Notes: A two-part fic based on the word "blanket".
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Torchwood except my own theories, most of which will probably turn out to be wrong. Feedback feeds my imagination.
***
Note: The team continued going on missions after Jack went missing. One cold night, they find a welcome sign of life at a crime scene...the words in italics are thoughts.
***
The sirens were growing in the distance and Owen watched as Ianto hurried back to the SUV to get the Retcon pills. They'd need a few this time, he thought. With a grunt, he pulled the alien to one side, revealing the man it had killed. He'd just about figured out what he'd need to do for the autopsy when he heard a small sound.
Head turning quickly to send raindrops from his slicker into his face, he pushed himself to his feet and crept quietly toward the boulder that towered in front of the trees. Gun? Check. Too much adrenaline? Check. Wondering where the hell Ianto was? Check.
He wasn't particularly prepared for the little girl he found on the other side of the rock. Dark curls were matted down with rain and mud and probably tears, and there was a jagged scrape down the side of one arm. Shit...put the gun away....she's probably freezing, not just in shock, out here in just a t-shirt and pants. Looks to be about three years old. Injury's minor, but probably stings like... "Ianto? Gwen? I need some help here!"
Owen held out his arms in pure reflex. "Hey, sweetheart. It's all right. It's safe now. I'm with the police." She'll probably know what that means, and she's too bloody young to know what Torchwood is. "That's right...can you come out, over here to me?"
There was a moment's hesitation as she was clearly listening to his deliberately soft voice and gauging if he was to be trusted, and then she darted forward and he swung her up into his arms. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry as she wound her arms around his neck and stuck a cold nose into his shoulder.
"This ought to do." Ianto was there with a blanket; it wasn't one of the crackling silver emergency blankets either, but a soft green fabric. The other man's gentle hands wrapped the blanket around the little one, and as she was clinging too tightly for there to be any room between then, around Owen's own body as well. Not that I'm complaining, mind. It's ice in the air tonight, maybe snow later.
"Thanks, mate."
Ianto put a gloved hand to his mouth and stifled a cough. "Gwen found the I.D. of...well, the I.D. She's getting Andy to contact the little girl's mum. The woman apparently works a night shift nearby."
"Good." I should get him in the medbay later...that cough sounds worse than it did yesterday...
"Do you want me to take her?" Ianto moved forward a little. "I can take over for Gwen and she can..."
"No!" Damn, didn't mean to be that loud...she just burrowed in like a baby hedgehog. "Sorry, sweetheart. Didn't meant to startle you just then." He shifted her weight a bit. "I'll...I'll hold her for a bit. Tosh and Gwen can handle things, yeah?"
"Pretty sure, yeah." Ianto paused for a second to look at him, and a tiny smile flickered across his face.
"What?"
"Nothing, Owen." The Welshman reached out to pat the shoulder not occupied by the girl and went off to coordinate the clean-up.
Owen tugged the blanket closer around them and moved off toward the ambulance. Warmer there, probably, and I bet I can talk Andy into bringing us some coffee or something while Ianto's busy... "Let's go over here where it's not so cold, then, right? And maybe you'll thaw out enough to tell me your name."
"Polly." The whisper was so quiet that he almost missed it over the rush of the wind.
"Hullo, Polly. I'm Owen."
Blanketed part 2 of 2
Note: A quiet night just post "To The Last Man", when Jack and Tosh are the only ones in the Hub.
***
"Ridiculous, isn't it?" Toshiko's voice echoed through Jack's office. He glanced up from the paperwork he was trying hard to avoid.
"What is?" The paperwork was laid back onto a precariously leaning pile and he cocked his head to the side to watch her.
"With everything that happened in the past couple of days all being the result of working for Torchwood and here I am, in this building, throwing myself into my work to avoid thinking about him."
"Home didn't work, huh?" Jack watched her lean against the door, her slim frame rather more tense than usual. He walked over, slumped down on the couch, and let his head tip back to rest on the cushion. After a couple of slow, deep breaths, he turned to the side to face Toshiko where she'd answered the wordless invitation. "You know, when I came back, I checked the Hub before I came to find you all. That's a lot of modifications you made. Impressive."
"Well, I had to." She mirrored his position to meet his eyes. "Without you living here at night, that left four of us and fewer times we could do a night shift. Owen and Ianto insisted on doing a lot of them..."
"Ah, chivalry in this day and age. Also impressive." Jack smirked a little and stuck one foot over to push the shoes off her feet so she could fold her legs up onto the couch.
"Not according to Gwen, apparently. She complained they were being sexist. Anyway, I needed to set up something to allow us to monitor the Rift long distance, better than we'd been able to do before, if necessary. And I, uh...I set up a system with the newer facial recognition software to let me know if anyone but the four of us entered the Hub. To be sure I'd know if you came back."
"I noticed that bit when I did get back...sorry I disabled it. I figured you were all pretty busy at the time and didn't need the distraction mid-chase." Jack grinned at her apologetically.
"That's all right." Toshiko answered with a sweet smile in return. "You fixed it for me later, after all. I'm just glad you're here again." She sort of fell sideways onto Jack's shoulder, and he tucked her close into a hug. "Please don't keep scaring us like that, okay?"
Jack's answer was to lean his head down to rest on hers, breathing in the familiar scent of her, a mix of coffee and metal, and a subtle flower perfume. The combination of the scent and her presence made him relax with the realization of her forgiveness. "Didn't mean to scare you. Sorry. You're not angry with me? We didn't exactly talk about all of it, the two of us I mean."
"About Tommy or about you leaving?"
"Either."
"I am...I was." Toshiko's voice was firm in her honesty. "I just can't...it doesn't seem worth it to stay angry that way right now. Still sad, yes. And as for that second thing, a note would be good next time, okay?"
He huffed out a bit of a chuckle. "Yes, ma'am."
There was a long while, during which they both just focused on being there. The silence was broken when she had one more question.
"Jack, I know you were in World War II, but you were in the first as well, weren't you?" Her smaller hand slipped into his.
"Yeah. I was." The captain shuddered just a little as his mind flickered back to what he'd remembered in the derelict hospital when he'd pressed his hands against the cracked and stained floor. "Too much death and..."
"And what? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Her earnest tone made it tempting to stay silent about it.
"No details, Toshiko. Just...I just got tired of waking up and being the only one alive." He just about managed to keep his voice from cracking at the end of his sentence, and gratefully let his head rest on the top of hers where she instantly laid it on his shoulder.
It was almost an hour until Ianto would be there, opening the tourist shop after checking in about Rift activity. "Can we...do you mind just staying here for a while?"
"No," she answered softly. "I don't mind being an anchor at all."
Dozing a little, he was just barely aware an hour later of Owen and Ianto quietly moving about the Hub. The warmth of her sleeping body against his was soothing, and the blanket the doctor quietly slipped over them magnified it until the cold of the trenches of the War to End all Wars began to fade into steady heat. The morning meeting could wait.
***
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 03:13 am (UTC)And I really like Jack and Tosh talking things out, and Jack leaning on her a bit. And Owen putting a blanket on them was a nice touch tying both parts together.
Wonderful writing!
no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 05:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 05:27 am (UTC)And very glad that Tosh worked in the second one for you, as she was difficult to write.