Fic: Vizzini's Rule (49/105)
Sep. 7th, 2008 05:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
buttononthetopTitle: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 49
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: More sad/violent(ish) images
Spoilers: Season One thru Random Shoes (1x09) and Season Two for the episode Adrift (2x11)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: In which Ianto visits Flat Holm for the first time...
Notes: My laptop is back! My laptop is back!! I broke the power supply just before I went on vacation (it slipped off my lap and landed right where the cord connects - *shakes head* it's hard to be clumsy!) Anyhoo, I got to pick it up today and it's back and I'm so thrilled!!! Ah-em, oh and here's a new chapter. :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Forty-Nine
The small crew tied off the boat at a slip on the far side of Flat Holm. Jack spoke to the rift victim again in that same strange language and then lifted her gently into his arms.
“Ianto? Stay close,” Jack ordered and headed inland.
Ianto followed, picking his way carefully along the remote path Jack took to a series of low buildings built into the bluff. He entered a code on the keypad by the door and then stepped back, asking with a nod that Ianto open the door.
They entered what looked like an old army bunker, heading through a small hallway to a central area that looked like a nurse station in any modern hospital. A black woman in scrubs with a kind face looked up at their approach.
“Captain,” she said by way of greeting. “You’re not alone?”
“Good morning, Helen. This is Ianto Jones. He works with me.”
“Glad to meet you, Ianto,” Helen said as she held out her hand. He shook it and smiled briefly at her. “This one can use all the help he can get,” she continued, jerking her head at Jack.
Jack just smiled. “You know me too well, Helen. Which room?” he asked.
“This way, we’re all set,” she said briskly leading the way down another hall. This one was slightly wider and had doors opening off of it. Each door had a chalkboard with a name written on it. Some of the doors were also decorated, like a dormitory at a University or, Ianto thought sadly, the pediatrics ward at a hospital.
Jack and Helen were talking as they walked down the corridor.
“Were you able to learn her name, the poor dear?” Helen was asking.
“No, she hasn’t spoken any English since we found her. I hope that when she’s more comfortable and realizes that she’s safe, she’ll open up a bit.”
“Yes, we’ve seen that before, haven’t we? I’ll get the doctor in here right away to look at those poor feet. How people can do these things is beyond me,” Helen said, the disgust in her voice making Ianto like her even more. “Here we are.” She swiped an access card at an unlabeled door and opened it for Jack.
He stepped inside and set the woman down on the bed, which was neatly made with a cheery yellow duvet. The woman looked around the room, her hands stroking the cover almost reverently. She looked at Helen and received a warm smile. She stood again, pulled Jack’s coat from her shoulders and held it out to him. As he took it, she leaned close and whispered a single word in his ear. Jack’s face had the oddest combination of joy and anguish that Ianto had ever seen.
“Yes,” he whispered fiercely. “Yes!”
Then, clutching his coat, Jack fled the room. Ianto looked at Helen for a moment, who nodded.
“He’s always like that. Heart’s too big for this world,” Helen said sympathetically. “You go after him, luv. I’ll get the lady settled here and meet you out on the path.”
“The path?” Ianto asked.
“That’s where you’ll find Jack. He can’t stand it in here too long, poor man.”
As Ianto slowly retraced his steps through the facility, he saw several people in a lounge. One man was playing checkers by himself, slowly turning the board with his left hand after every turn. His right arm was shriveled and wasted from the elbow down, resting uselessly in his lap. Another man was listening to the television, his scarred blind eyes turned toward the screen as if he could still see. The sound of a muted scream began to fill the air and the man in front of the television used the remote to turn up the volume.
His throat tightening and his stomach turning over with impotent anger, Ianto ran to the surface after Jack. When he reached the fresh air and sunshine, the contrast to the dark sadness inside did him in. He ran as far from the door as he could before his stomach rebelled and he vomited into a nearby bush. He wiped his mouth with a shaky hand and looked around for Jack.
“I envy you,” he heard Jack say. He stepped out from the shadows under the trees. “I always feel like puking after I’ve been in there but I never can. It just sits in my gut, eating me from the inside.”
Ianto took a few steps and found himself enveloped in Jack’s arms. As he held Jack close, he asked, “What did she say? It was English, that time wasn’t it?”
Jack nodded. “Yes. She said ‘safe’” Jack’s voice broke and he clutched at Ianto, pulling him so tight that neither of them could breath easily.
“God, Jack, is it like this every time?” Ianto asked in a small voice.
“No,” Jack said. “Sometimes it’s much, much worse.”
They held each other until they heard the clank of the door behind them.
“Jack?” Helen asked as they broke apart.
“How is she, Helen?” Jack asked.
“She’s settling in fine, Captain. Don’t you worry that handsome head of yours about her. I just thought you might want these.” She handed Jack an envelope and patted him on the shoulder. “It was very nice to meet you, Ianto,” she said. “I’m glad this one had some help. He takes too much on himself.”
Ianto smiled. “I tell him that all the time.”
“Hey! Standing right here,” Jack complained.
With one last smile, Helen returned to the bunker and her patients. When the door clanged shut again, Jack let out a long sigh. He glanced in the envelope and handed it to Ianto. “Your engraved invitation to Flat Holm,” he said, forcing a lightness he obviously didn’t feel into his voice.
Ianto looked inside to find a swipe card like the one Helen had used and a slip of paper with a six-digit code and a phone number written on it. Ianto recognized the number as “FH” on the secure-phone.
“Come on,” Jack said tiredly. “Let’s go home.”
TBC in Chapter Fifty
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: More sad/violent(ish) images
Spoilers: Season One thru Random Shoes (1x09) and Season Two for the episode Adrift (2x11)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: In which Ianto visits Flat Holm for the first time...
Notes: My laptop is back! My laptop is back!! I broke the power supply just before I went on vacation (it slipped off my lap and landed right where the cord connects - *shakes head* it's hard to be clumsy!) Anyhoo, I got to pick it up today and it's back and I'm so thrilled!!! Ah-em, oh and here's a new chapter. :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Forty-Nine
The small crew tied off the boat at a slip on the far side of Flat Holm. Jack spoke to the rift victim again in that same strange language and then lifted her gently into his arms.
“Ianto? Stay close,” Jack ordered and headed inland.
Ianto followed, picking his way carefully along the remote path Jack took to a series of low buildings built into the bluff. He entered a code on the keypad by the door and then stepped back, asking with a nod that Ianto open the door.
They entered what looked like an old army bunker, heading through a small hallway to a central area that looked like a nurse station in any modern hospital. A black woman in scrubs with a kind face looked up at their approach.
“Captain,” she said by way of greeting. “You’re not alone?”
“Good morning, Helen. This is Ianto Jones. He works with me.”
“Glad to meet you, Ianto,” Helen said as she held out her hand. He shook it and smiled briefly at her. “This one can use all the help he can get,” she continued, jerking her head at Jack.
Jack just smiled. “You know me too well, Helen. Which room?” he asked.
“This way, we’re all set,” she said briskly leading the way down another hall. This one was slightly wider and had doors opening off of it. Each door had a chalkboard with a name written on it. Some of the doors were also decorated, like a dormitory at a University or, Ianto thought sadly, the pediatrics ward at a hospital.
Jack and Helen were talking as they walked down the corridor.
“Were you able to learn her name, the poor dear?” Helen was asking.
“No, she hasn’t spoken any English since we found her. I hope that when she’s more comfortable and realizes that she’s safe, she’ll open up a bit.”
“Yes, we’ve seen that before, haven’t we? I’ll get the doctor in here right away to look at those poor feet. How people can do these things is beyond me,” Helen said, the disgust in her voice making Ianto like her even more. “Here we are.” She swiped an access card at an unlabeled door and opened it for Jack.
He stepped inside and set the woman down on the bed, which was neatly made with a cheery yellow duvet. The woman looked around the room, her hands stroking the cover almost reverently. She looked at Helen and received a warm smile. She stood again, pulled Jack’s coat from her shoulders and held it out to him. As he took it, she leaned close and whispered a single word in his ear. Jack’s face had the oddest combination of joy and anguish that Ianto had ever seen.
“Yes,” he whispered fiercely. “Yes!”
Then, clutching his coat, Jack fled the room. Ianto looked at Helen for a moment, who nodded.
“He’s always like that. Heart’s too big for this world,” Helen said sympathetically. “You go after him, luv. I’ll get the lady settled here and meet you out on the path.”
“The path?” Ianto asked.
“That’s where you’ll find Jack. He can’t stand it in here too long, poor man.”
As Ianto slowly retraced his steps through the facility, he saw several people in a lounge. One man was playing checkers by himself, slowly turning the board with his left hand after every turn. His right arm was shriveled and wasted from the elbow down, resting uselessly in his lap. Another man was listening to the television, his scarred blind eyes turned toward the screen as if he could still see. The sound of a muted scream began to fill the air and the man in front of the television used the remote to turn up the volume.
His throat tightening and his stomach turning over with impotent anger, Ianto ran to the surface after Jack. When he reached the fresh air and sunshine, the contrast to the dark sadness inside did him in. He ran as far from the door as he could before his stomach rebelled and he vomited into a nearby bush. He wiped his mouth with a shaky hand and looked around for Jack.
“I envy you,” he heard Jack say. He stepped out from the shadows under the trees. “I always feel like puking after I’ve been in there but I never can. It just sits in my gut, eating me from the inside.”
Ianto took a few steps and found himself enveloped in Jack’s arms. As he held Jack close, he asked, “What did she say? It was English, that time wasn’t it?”
Jack nodded. “Yes. She said ‘safe’” Jack’s voice broke and he clutched at Ianto, pulling him so tight that neither of them could breath easily.
“God, Jack, is it like this every time?” Ianto asked in a small voice.
“No,” Jack said. “Sometimes it’s much, much worse.”
They held each other until they heard the clank of the door behind them.
“Jack?” Helen asked as they broke apart.
“How is she, Helen?” Jack asked.
“She’s settling in fine, Captain. Don’t you worry that handsome head of yours about her. I just thought you might want these.” She handed Jack an envelope and patted him on the shoulder. “It was very nice to meet you, Ianto,” she said. “I’m glad this one had some help. He takes too much on himself.”
Ianto smiled. “I tell him that all the time.”
“Hey! Standing right here,” Jack complained.
With one last smile, Helen returned to the bunker and her patients. When the door clanged shut again, Jack let out a long sigh. He glanced in the envelope and handed it to Ianto. “Your engraved invitation to Flat Holm,” he said, forcing a lightness he obviously didn’t feel into his voice.
Ianto looked inside to find a swipe card like the one Helen had used and a slip of paper with a six-digit code and a phone number written on it. Ianto recognized the number as “FH” on the secure-phone.
“Come on,” Jack said tiredly. “Let’s go home.”
TBC in Chapter Fifty
