Fic: The Sea After a Storm (37/?)
Feb. 1st, 2012 05:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
buttononthetopTitle: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 37
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just don't feel like changing the rating :)
Spoilers: Season Two thru To the Last Man (2x03)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Helen Raynor for situations borrowed from To the Last Man. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: Jack and Ianto investigate the contents of the box that is inextricably linked to Tommy and his mission...
Notes: Happy Hump Day, y'all! (and no, that doesn't mean there's smut in this chapter, sorry!) Thanks for coming back for the next chapter – comments are love! You can find all the previous chapters to The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Thirty-Seven
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: The box with the temporal seal finally opened, revealing that Tosh is somehow connected to Tommy's fate...
"Toshiko?" Ianto repeated warily. He took a few steps towards Jack's desk. "What do you mean, 'Toshiko'?"
Jack held out one of the sheets of paper he had unfolded. It was a full page pencil sketch of Tosh. Ianto let out a gasp and took the drawing from Jack, looking more closely at the picture. It was unmistakably Toshiko, the artist had captured her perfectly – her brows, her nose, the line of her jaw. Ianto knew without a doubt that if the sketch had been in colour that the jacket would be the reddish purple of an eggplant, an exact match for the leather coat Tosh had worn that day, but the pencil hadn't needed colour to illustrate the pain in Tosh's eyes.
Ianto let out a sad sigh and handed the page back across the desk, silently waiting for Jack to finish reading the letter. He recognised Gerald's neat script and knew he'd be adding these missing pages to Tommy's file before it was returned to the archives. He just wondered what was in store, especially for Tosh, before that time came. Ianto reached down and idly tipped the now-open mystery box as he waited, frowning when something inside the box clunked against the side. He reached in and pulled out a small brass machine of some sort, giving it a rub with his sleeve as he examined it.
"A sextant?" he guessed dubiously.
"Kinda looks like one, doesn't it?" Jack said, glancing up as he finished reading. He held his hand out and Ianto set the metal object on Jack's palm. "It's a rift manipulator," Jack clarified.
Ianto looked out the window at the huge piece of machinery in the centre of the Hub and back at Jack's hand. "That's a rift manipulator?"
Jack nodded. "A special one that isn't designed to deal with the entire rift, just one tiny piece. This one was created specifically for Tommy, a key for him to lock the door." Jack turned the brass manipulator in his hand, sliding his finger gently over the curve. "It's set to the frequencies of the moment in 1918 when the time shift began, when Gerald and Harriet pulled Tommy from his bed and froze him. Tommy's going to use it once he's back in 1918 to seal the breach, which will happen, according to Gerald's notes, at a quarter past eight tomorrow morning."
"And Tosh?" Ianto asked as he dropped into the chair by Jack's desk. "What does she have to do with any of it?"
"Gerald and Harriet saw her with Tommy," Jack explained, his eyes straying back to the sketch of Tosh. "He was on the floor, huddling against the wall of the hospital, our abandoned hospital, and she was holding him, protecting him from the tear between times."
Jack paused to clear his throat and Ianto swallowed hard. It was easy to picture, Tosh would sacrifice her own safety without a second thought.
"Anyway," Jack said after a long pause. "Apparently Tommy was balking. Gerald wrote down what he could hear along with his impressions and it sounds like Tosh was pleading with Tommy to finish the job, telling him what needed to be done."
"God," Ianto breathed. He glanced up at Jack, meeting his eyes. "Does she know what happens to Tommy after he goes back?"
Jack just shook his head and looked away.
"Are you going to tell her?"
For a long moment, Jack didn't reply.
"Jack, you have to tell her. You can't lie to her," Ianto admonished.
Jack sighed. "If she knows, it'll just be harder for her to do what needs to be done," he argued.
Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack. "Tommy's execution is public record. I found it about fifteen minutes after we put him back to sleep last year. If Tosh finds out later that you made her send Tommy to his death, she'll never forgive you. Or herself. You can't do that to her, Jack, I won't let you," he added forcefully.
Jack's gaze shot to Ianto's again and he held his eyes for a second before blinking and looking down. "If she asks, I'll tell her the truth," he promised grudgingly. "Christ, some days I really get what the Doctor means when he talks about spoilers," Jack added, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand.
Ianto frowned as he always did when Jack brought up the Doctor. "Are you using one of his half-baked philosophies to justify not telling Tosh?" he asked tightly.
With a frown that matched Ianto's own, Jack set the rift key down and rested his elbows on his desk. "I just promised I'd tell her, Ianto. I swore a long time ago that I wouldn't lie to you. I'm not about to start now."
Ianto had the grace to blush. "Sorry," he muttered. His mixed feelings of jealousy and resentment towards the Doctor always seemed to rear their heads at the worst times. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and pleated the crease in his trousers as he tried to rein in his emotions. "What did you mean about spoilers?" he asked in a milder tone.
Jack glared at him for another second before he relaxed and answered. "The Doctor," he said again deliberately, "plays fast and loose with time and history a lot, but now and then he'll get stubborn about an event. Like when he refused to bring me back to the moment I left. Part of me always thought he was just punishing me, but I'm starting to get it." Jack reached for the sketch of Tosh and smoothed his hand over her image with a sigh.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I'm not following."
"What if I'd known that Tosh plays an important part in saving the world this time? What if I'd had that information before I met her?"
Ianto shook his head slowly. "I still don't see it. If you knew that Tosh needed to be here, you'd have been even more determined to save her from that UNIT cell."
Jack's eyes shot up to Ianto, surprise clearly written on his face. "She told you about that?"
"She credits you with saving her life," Ianto said warmly.
Shifting in his chair, Jack gave Ianto a sad half-smile. "I'm guessing she won't feel like thanking me today. But what if I'd seen this sketch before I met her?" he asked, deftly steering the conversation back to timelines. "If I knew Tosh was the key to saving the world and I suddenly snapped like Alex did back in '99? With that information I could literally make the world a living hell. I could lock Tosh away and let 1918 bleed into now and just sit back and watch everything fall apart."
"But you could do that now," Ianto argued. "Why would having the information earlier make a difference?"
Jack was shaking his head. "You know. Gwen will be in here in a second and then she'll know. It's not in the hands of one man now. It's safer that way and Gerald knew that which is why he sealed it all up." Jack smiled without mirth. "You know, I think the Doctor would be proud of Torchwood if he'd stop and listen to me for two seconds."
Ianto reached across the desk and covered Jack's clenched fist with his hand. "It's his loss," he said softly.
Before Jack had a chance to reply, Gwen was heading into the office just as he'd predicted. Ianto sat back, his hands demurely in his lap as Gwen barrelled through the door.
"It's now, Jack, right now. I just confirmed with Owen on the comms. The painting Gerald refers to here is right outside the hospital and we checked a few other places where…" Gwen's voice trailed off as she took in the wholly unsurprised looks on Jack and Ianto's faces. She frowned and darted a glance at the now unsealed box. "It opened?"
Jack gathered up the papers, covering the sketch of Tosh as he nodded. He folded the pages and picked up the rift manipulator as he stood.
"Well?" Gwen asked impatiently.
"I'll brief everyone as soon as Tosh and Owen get back," Jack said evenly, looking down at the papers in his hand. "Ianto, can you get Tommy's things out of the archives? We'll need to make sure he goes back in the same clothes he was wearing when Gerald and Harriet took him so he can slip back into 1918 without anyone noticing. Gwen, bring everyone down to the boardroom as soon as they get back… including Tommy. I'll be downstairs."
Gwen watched as Jack strode out of the office with his shoulders hunched, her mouth hanging slightly open in dismay. Ianto stood as well and patted her on the shoulder as he walked by.
"Is it bad?" she asked quietly as he passed her.
Ianto paused for a second. He thought about the pain on Toshiko's face in the sketch and the barbaric fate that awaited Tommy in 1918. He knew Jack was tearing himself up over what they had to do as well. He sighed and turned back to meet her eyes. "Is it ever good?"
TBC…
.
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just don't feel like changing the rating :)
Spoilers: Season Two thru To the Last Man (2x03)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Helen Raynor for situations borrowed from To the Last Man. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: Jack and Ianto investigate the contents of the box that is inextricably linked to Tommy and his mission...
Notes: Happy Hump Day, y'all! (and no, that doesn't mean there's smut in this chapter, sorry!) Thanks for coming back for the next chapter – comments are love! You can find all the previous chapters to The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thrace_adamsfor all the help and support; any mistakes are mine! The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Thirty-Seven
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: The box with the temporal seal finally opened, revealing that Tosh is somehow connected to Tommy's fate...
"Toshiko?" Ianto repeated warily. He took a few steps towards Jack's desk. "What do you mean, 'Toshiko'?"
Jack held out one of the sheets of paper he had unfolded. It was a full page pencil sketch of Tosh. Ianto let out a gasp and took the drawing from Jack, looking more closely at the picture. It was unmistakably Toshiko, the artist had captured her perfectly – her brows, her nose, the line of her jaw. Ianto knew without a doubt that if the sketch had been in colour that the jacket would be the reddish purple of an eggplant, an exact match for the leather coat Tosh had worn that day, but the pencil hadn't needed colour to illustrate the pain in Tosh's eyes.
Ianto let out a sad sigh and handed the page back across the desk, silently waiting for Jack to finish reading the letter. He recognised Gerald's neat script and knew he'd be adding these missing pages to Tommy's file before it was returned to the archives. He just wondered what was in store, especially for Tosh, before that time came. Ianto reached down and idly tipped the now-open mystery box as he waited, frowning when something inside the box clunked against the side. He reached in and pulled out a small brass machine of some sort, giving it a rub with his sleeve as he examined it.
"A sextant?" he guessed dubiously.
"Kinda looks like one, doesn't it?" Jack said, glancing up as he finished reading. He held his hand out and Ianto set the metal object on Jack's palm. "It's a rift manipulator," Jack clarified.
Ianto looked out the window at the huge piece of machinery in the centre of the Hub and back at Jack's hand. "That's a rift manipulator?"
Jack nodded. "A special one that isn't designed to deal with the entire rift, just one tiny piece. This one was created specifically for Tommy, a key for him to lock the door." Jack turned the brass manipulator in his hand, sliding his finger gently over the curve. "It's set to the frequencies of the moment in 1918 when the time shift began, when Gerald and Harriet pulled Tommy from his bed and froze him. Tommy's going to use it once he's back in 1918 to seal the breach, which will happen, according to Gerald's notes, at a quarter past eight tomorrow morning."
"And Tosh?" Ianto asked as he dropped into the chair by Jack's desk. "What does she have to do with any of it?"
"Gerald and Harriet saw her with Tommy," Jack explained, his eyes straying back to the sketch of Tosh. "He was on the floor, huddling against the wall of the hospital, our abandoned hospital, and she was holding him, protecting him from the tear between times."
Jack paused to clear his throat and Ianto swallowed hard. It was easy to picture, Tosh would sacrifice her own safety without a second thought.
"Anyway," Jack said after a long pause. "Apparently Tommy was balking. Gerald wrote down what he could hear along with his impressions and it sounds like Tosh was pleading with Tommy to finish the job, telling him what needed to be done."
"God," Ianto breathed. He glanced up at Jack, meeting his eyes. "Does she know what happens to Tommy after he goes back?"
Jack just shook his head and looked away.
"Are you going to tell her?"
For a long moment, Jack didn't reply.
"Jack, you have to tell her. You can't lie to her," Ianto admonished.
Jack sighed. "If she knows, it'll just be harder for her to do what needs to be done," he argued.
Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack. "Tommy's execution is public record. I found it about fifteen minutes after we put him back to sleep last year. If Tosh finds out later that you made her send Tommy to his death, she'll never forgive you. Or herself. You can't do that to her, Jack, I won't let you," he added forcefully.
Jack's gaze shot to Ianto's again and he held his eyes for a second before blinking and looking down. "If she asks, I'll tell her the truth," he promised grudgingly. "Christ, some days I really get what the Doctor means when he talks about spoilers," Jack added, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand.
Ianto frowned as he always did when Jack brought up the Doctor. "Are you using one of his half-baked philosophies to justify not telling Tosh?" he asked tightly.
With a frown that matched Ianto's own, Jack set the rift key down and rested his elbows on his desk. "I just promised I'd tell her, Ianto. I swore a long time ago that I wouldn't lie to you. I'm not about to start now."
Ianto had the grace to blush. "Sorry," he muttered. His mixed feelings of jealousy and resentment towards the Doctor always seemed to rear their heads at the worst times. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and pleated the crease in his trousers as he tried to rein in his emotions. "What did you mean about spoilers?" he asked in a milder tone.
Jack glared at him for another second before he relaxed and answered. "The Doctor," he said again deliberately, "plays fast and loose with time and history a lot, but now and then he'll get stubborn about an event. Like when he refused to bring me back to the moment I left. Part of me always thought he was just punishing me, but I'm starting to get it." Jack reached for the sketch of Tosh and smoothed his hand over her image with a sigh.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I'm not following."
"What if I'd known that Tosh plays an important part in saving the world this time? What if I'd had that information before I met her?"
Ianto shook his head slowly. "I still don't see it. If you knew that Tosh needed to be here, you'd have been even more determined to save her from that UNIT cell."
Jack's eyes shot up to Ianto, surprise clearly written on his face. "She told you about that?"
"She credits you with saving her life," Ianto said warmly.
Shifting in his chair, Jack gave Ianto a sad half-smile. "I'm guessing she won't feel like thanking me today. But what if I'd seen this sketch before I met her?" he asked, deftly steering the conversation back to timelines. "If I knew Tosh was the key to saving the world and I suddenly snapped like Alex did back in '99? With that information I could literally make the world a living hell. I could lock Tosh away and let 1918 bleed into now and just sit back and watch everything fall apart."
"But you could do that now," Ianto argued. "Why would having the information earlier make a difference?"
Jack was shaking his head. "You know. Gwen will be in here in a second and then she'll know. It's not in the hands of one man now. It's safer that way and Gerald knew that which is why he sealed it all up." Jack smiled without mirth. "You know, I think the Doctor would be proud of Torchwood if he'd stop and listen to me for two seconds."
Ianto reached across the desk and covered Jack's clenched fist with his hand. "It's his loss," he said softly.
Before Jack had a chance to reply, Gwen was heading into the office just as he'd predicted. Ianto sat back, his hands demurely in his lap as Gwen barrelled through the door.
"It's now, Jack, right now. I just confirmed with Owen on the comms. The painting Gerald refers to here is right outside the hospital and we checked a few other places where…" Gwen's voice trailed off as she took in the wholly unsurprised looks on Jack and Ianto's faces. She frowned and darted a glance at the now unsealed box. "It opened?"
Jack gathered up the papers, covering the sketch of Tosh as he nodded. He folded the pages and picked up the rift manipulator as he stood.
"Well?" Gwen asked impatiently.
"I'll brief everyone as soon as Tosh and Owen get back," Jack said evenly, looking down at the papers in his hand. "Ianto, can you get Tommy's things out of the archives? We'll need to make sure he goes back in the same clothes he was wearing when Gerald and Harriet took him so he can slip back into 1918 without anyone noticing. Gwen, bring everyone down to the boardroom as soon as they get back… including Tommy. I'll be downstairs."
Gwen watched as Jack strode out of the office with his shoulders hunched, her mouth hanging slightly open in dismay. Ianto stood as well and patted her on the shoulder as he walked by.
"Is it bad?" she asked quietly as he passed her.
Ianto paused for a second. He thought about the pain on Toshiko's face in the sketch and the barbaric fate that awaited Tommy in 1918. He knew Jack was tearing himself up over what they had to do as well. He sighed and turned back to meet her eyes. "Is it ever good?"
TBC…
.
